My workout routines:

Hello lovely bloggers,

Recently i was asked to make a post about my fitness regime. 
Since my break up, i have lost a fair bit of weight, mainly due to a combination of working out and my diet (with a little bit of stress weightloss in there too).

Height: 5ft7
Starting weight: 61kg/135 pounds
Current weight: 57kg/125 pounds

To give you an idea of my journey, here's a before an after:

I'm not going to lie, it was hard work, and it really is more of a mindset/lifestyle than a diet.
I've written about to stay healthy on a budget and about previous weight loss/diets on my blog as well. 

But for this post, i'm going to show you more of an example of the workouts i actually do rather than my diet. I will be doing another more in-depth diet post though.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO JOIN A GYM TO LOSE WEIGHT.  All the weight i've lost has been done in my own bedroom, or out running round parks. 


Workouts:

HIIT:  This stands for high intensity interval training.  For me, this is the most effective form of cardio. Not only is it known for burning fat quickly, but its incredibly efficient. Unlike going for a 45 minute jog, you can burn the same amount of fat in 20 minutes through this type of training. Its designed to be a short cardio session, but training yourself in intervals. A great example of this is if you run often.  Running for 1 minute as fast as you can, and then taking a 30 second break continuously for 20-25 minutes is much more efficient than simply running at an even pace for 40 minutes. There are so many different forms of HIIT training, but the ones i follow are ones that can be done at home.  So no need for a gym! They're quick and will kick your butt! 

The main workout video i use is this:

I only do this work out 3-4 times a week, with rest days in between. Mainly because HIIT is quite intense, and it would be too harsh on your body to be doing it every day. Your body needs rest days.
On days that i do not HIIT train, i stick with lower intense cardio such as walking (i walk EVERYWHERE) or i'll go for a quick, relaxed run round the park.

That being said, i tone every single day.

In terms of toning, it takes a tiny portion of my day to do.  I'll often do it just after waking up.

The main areas i focus on are my abs, and my lower section.  As someone who is pear shaped, i need to focus on my lower body because its where i store all my weight as opposed to the top.

My average toning workout compromises of this (I've included videos for ideas):

Abs:

- 50 crunches

- 60 side crunches (30 on each side)

- 40 reverse crunches

- 30 leg raises

- 40 bicycle crunches (20 on each side)

Legs and bum:

- Squat challenge every day

- 20 plie squats

- 20 sumo squats

- 40 fire hydrants

- 40 donkey kicks

- 3x 30 second wall sits

Even though i don't focus that much on arms, i still do some of the toning exercise for them.

I have rounded shoulders so in order to bring them back, i've had to strength my back and stretch out my chest.  

If you have bad posture like me, i would DEFINITELY recommend this video, its helped my shoulders dramatically:

As for arm workouts, these are great:

Like i said earlier, you do NOT need a gym membership in order to lose weight. You just need motivation and a good, clean diet.

My next post will be on foods i eat, foods i avoid, and a couple of healthy recipes for clean eating :)

GIVEAWAY winner announced! - Naked Basics palette!

Hello lovely bloggers,
As you know, i've have been hosting a 100 follower give-away on my blog, and for travel reasons, i've had to end it a few days earlier than expected (i am so sorry if you didn't get a chance to enter, but its out of my hands :( )
I can't change the date of when the contest ends, so please don't enter anymore, i have closed this give away!

Anyway, the winner is....


Amber from Amber Love! :)   blog here

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I have sent you an email now asking for your address so i can post your prize to you!

Thank you to everyone who entered/followed/and tweeted me, i appreciate every single one of you and i wish i could give you all this palette!

100 Follower GIVEAWAY! NAKED basics palette by Urban Decay

Hello lovely bloggers!

I have an exciting post for today, i have decided to open my giveaway! I wasn't sure what to giveaway for a while, i wanted the prize to be something special for my first one :)

So, the prize to be won is -drum roll-


the NAKED basics palette by Urban Decay!  A beauty staple and raved about across the beauty community. It is a great staple, and very versatile.

Rules for the giveaway:

1. You must be following my blog, i will check to see whoever wins is following. 

2. Only one entry per person.

3. Giveaway ends on April 13th and winner will be selected randomly using rafflecopter.

When the winner is selected, i will message you and ask for your address so i can arrange posting the palette to you. 

Ways to up your chance of winning:

1. Follow me on BlogLovin as well.

2. Follow my twitter

3. Tweet about the giveaway (again, i will be checking tweets/mentions)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope you enter my giveaway! Definitely excited to for my first one :)

Thank you to all those who have followed me, and got me this far <3 

October favourites!

Hello lovely followers!

So October has finally ended and thank god.  The halloween hype in Cardiff is insane and was driving me crazy.  Usually i love halloween but i didn't get a chance to do anything for it this year so i was such a scrooge about it!

Anyway, grumpiness out of the way, i'm doing my very first monthly favourites :-)

this month i have definitely been a lot more into make up and hair care!


1. Wet n Wild: Mega Glo in the colour 'toasted'

I know this looks a bit battered but i absolutely adore this! Its a perfect highlighter that adds that instant sun-kissed glow or dewy effect to your skin.  I've been using this since winter struck in a desperate attempt to hang on to a little bit of summer! A little bit of this goes a long way. It can be used as a cream eye shadow, blush or even lip gloss! Perfect.


2. Rimmel's Kate Moss matte lipstick in the colour: 107

This is a gorgeous fall lipstick colour. The colour is such a rich deep red. I love the fact that the colour is matte as well, i'm not too keen on shiny lipsticks. I would suggest using a lip balm underneath though as it can be a bit drying!

3. Bobbi Brown under eye corrector in 'light peach'

This product is my absolute saviour. I literally cannot go without it since i bought it! I genetically have VERY dark circles under my eyes, and a lack of sleep does not help my situation. Luckily for me, this corrector removes any trace of them! The peachy tone of the corrector not only hides the circles, but also brightens up underneath the eyes, leaving you looking fresh and awake! My only issue with the product is that its £18 for that tiny little pot, but i have yet to find a decent dupe for it. wah!

4. Chanel Perfection Lumiere foundation

I literally love this foundation to death, and i'm so gutted about the £36 price tag! Luckily for me i found a decent dupe, and i even did a post on this which can be found HERE. It just gives such an even and flawless coverage, and has quite a bit of lasting power. Recently i've been mixing it with my rimmel wake me up foundation and its just lovely! 

5. L'oreal Elvive Extraordinary oil for all hair types

This has been an absolute life saver for my frazzled hair! It can be used on both wet and dry hair, and even as a conditioning treatment! I use it the same way i would a serum and add it to wet hair just before i blow-dry/heat style (with heat defence spray of course!) for added protection and shine! my hair literally feels so soft when i use this! 

Hope you enjoyed this! 

What have your favourites been?

Hair extensions: My experience.

Since the age of 19, i have been wearing hair extensions religiously.  Mainly because i have very fine swedish hair, that takes so long to grow! i don't think its ever reached past my shoulders and thanks to extensions, i'm ok with that.
But i thought i would do a review on the different types, as i've had nearly every hair extension type possible! Just to help give an insight on the variations of extensions and after care, as i could never find much information on them myself.

1st type: Clip ins.

Now i have always sworn by these due to how simple they are to use and are often a lot cheaper than the more semi permanent types of extensions.  They were the first extensions i ever had, and i've found that i always come back to them. They come in either human hair, or synthetic, but i find human is the best. You can cut, heat style and dye human hair unlike its synthetic counter part.  To attach them, you simply open the clip, attach it to the hair, and then close it. Here is a tutorial on how to insert them: how to clip in extensions. I've had so many sets of these, but they do wear out if you over heat style them (like i did, mainly going out too much at uni in my first year!), so invest in a spray leave in conditioner and heat protectant and they'll last you. You can buy them in literally any length and colour, and now more popular is thickness. The average hair extension set is about 100-120 grams with a range between 7 and 10 wefts to clip in, but thicker sets at about 160-180grams are becoming increasingly popular.
Here is an example of what the wefts would look like:

 I guess the thicker the hair, the more realistic they look. If you don't want to buy an expensive set of thicker hair, you can buy a 6ft weft of hair on eBay and your own clips and make your own, i used to do that and double up each piece so they were a lot thicker. There are so many tutorials on youtube on how to do that. I would definitely recommend these if you're looking for any easy way to add volume/length without committing to semi permanent ones. Good places to buy these online are ebay or foxy locks extensions, which are a bit pricier but definitely worth it!
These can also be worn in up-do's as well if clipped in right, you can literally do anything with them!

An example of my hair with clip ins: (also happens to be my favourite hair colour)

2nd type: Glue-in wefts

This type is definitely the messiest type of extensions, and also the 2nd type that i tried. I began to get fed up of putting my clip in extensions every time i wanted to go out somewhere, and researched into other ways in which to wear them. I stumbled across a website that sold 6ft wefts of hair, as well as a bonding glue (known as liquid gold) which would stick them into your hair for up to 2 weeks. You were also given a bond dissolver for when you wanted to remove them. I decided i liked the sound of these and bought them, cutting my own wefts (i usually doubled my wefts) and having my poor bf glue them in for me! You cut them in wefts like that of clip in extensions, but instead of clips, you're gluing them into place. However, they were so messy and needed so much care as if the slightest bit of conditioner got on the bonds they would loosen and slip. The glue would also get absolutely everywhere! I hated these the most, but i loved how thick and voluminous my hair was with them. It was a love-hate relationship. I wouldn't really recommend these, the glue often gets stuck in your hair and you sit there spending hours trying to comb out the remainders of it! You can't really put your hair up in these either which is a pain. I haven't ever gone back to using these but they do look good if you can get past the maintenance aspect.
If you do consider these, have a look on youtube for a few tutorials, i know there are some good examples of how to insert these.

An example of my hair with glue-in wefts:

(can you see what i mean with the volume??)

3rd type: U-tip bonds
These are the type that last the longest, usually up to 4 months if maintained properly! These are also the ones i've had most recently. They are applied to your head in individual strands along rows of your head, and often give the most natural look, and you are able to wear them in pretty much any style without the bonds showing. The glue is made of keratin, a protein naturally found in hair. They are attached by selected a some strands of hair, melting the glue and rolling it around the hair to bond it. Here is what the tips look like (this is a bundle of strands) and a video: U-tip extension tutorial

These are brilliant if you want a more permanent solution. To have these done in a salon, you're looking at about £300 pounds depending on how much hair/length you want, and you would have anywhere between 150 and 250 strands of hair, again depending on whether you want volume, length or both. I've had 3 sets of these put in, however, being the cheap skate i am, i bought my own off ebay and had my boyfriend painstakingly put them in one by one (he really is a star!). I loved them to begin with, but i do recommend buying a tangle teezer brush, (found here: tangle teezer) as it makes it a hell of a lot easier to comb through your hair and avoid matting! Again, with these you need to look after them using deep conditioners (as they are not part of your head, they dont get the same oils your own hair would), heat protectant, and leave in conditioners to keep them shiny and healthy! I would recommend aussie miracle leave in conditioner, it smells lush and keeps your hair so soft! My only bad experience with these was the removal process, as well as how much work went into them to keep them in a healthy condition!

An example of my hair with U-tip bonds:

4th type: Micro bead/bond extensions:

Last but not least, these are the final type of extensions i've had in my long journey. Attached individually like that of the u-tip bonds, they require no heat or glue whatsoever and are usually the more popular choice. Where the U-tips would have glue, these have a metal or plastic bead that are squeezed shut to attach to the hair (see video: micro bead extension video). These often last just as long as the u tips as well.  I've had two sets of these, one set i bought myself and attached, and one set done professionally. I found that these looked great and were comfortable and again, they can be worn in any style. My only problem was that the beads would slip quite a lot and you need regular maintenance to keep them from doing so. Otherwise, they last around 4 months like the others. I really loved mine but the slipping beads drove me nuts! Simple things like having a shower and drying my hair were starting to become a chore due to the sheer effort it took to dry them! To have them done professionally, it cost me £150 pounds from a mobile hair stylist who also provided a free tangle teezer ;) If you would like to know where i had them done and live in the Cardiff area, message me and i'll give you her info! Again, the hair needs to be conditioned (never near the bonds though) and protected like the others.

An example of my micro beads:

I hope this review helped anyone researching into hair extensions!

How to go from light brown to blonde: Garnier Color Naturals 110 review!

Let me give you a little background into my hair, it was originally a highlighted blonde pictured here: (my face was blurry so i blacked it out, sorry!)

And as usual, i got bored and dyed over it.  This time i decided to dye it a copper brown with ombre blonde tips.  I don't know why i always try and go darker, because i end up missing the blonde and having to go lighter again!

This was the colour of my hair when it was ombre. luckily for me the colour didn't last long thanks to the swedish sun + dandruff shampoo

And it faded to this:

I thought i was going to have to make a trip to the hairdressers and have gradual highlights done again (the slowest, most irritating way to go light without any ginger mishaps), and as i am in Dubai at the moment, i really struggled to find any hair bleach in any of the stores to do it myself. But then i stumbled across this in the super market:  Its called Garnier Color Naturals in 110 Sandy Light Blonde. 

Now usually i would avoid blonde box dyes like the plague as they are usually a recipe for a ginger disaster and an expensive trip to the hair dressers, but something drew me in. It states on the box that it will lighten hair 3 to 4 tones lighter, which for me was perfect as i wasn't planning on going too light. This is what is known as an 'extra lightening shade' which can also be found in brands such as l'oreal feria metallic silver blonde

The key is to look for the words 'extra' or 'ultra' lightening. This means that the dye alone will lift your hair colour without needing to bleach (depending on your starting colour). I know clairol do some excellent ones as well! However, this garnier was all i could get my hands on.

 I originally planned just to add highlights using a foil technic but ended up just applying it to my whole head as i lacked patience!  my natural root colour is a light ash brown (the mousy brown kind) so i was a little worried that my roots might end up turning orange! I watched the dye carefully for 30 minutes and then rinsed with the conditioner provided in the box.

And here is the result:

A light sandy blonde with remaining highlights!  it looks natural, and i managed to avoid the clown orange tones somehow!