GlossyBox | May 2012 | Happy 1st Birthday!

How quickly has the time gone since I last posted about my April GlossyBox subscription? It literally seems like yesterday!

It was quite a special month for GlossyBox, being their 1st birthday & all. I can't quite believe it's only been a year for them; they seem so well established & in my eyes, leaps & bounds in front of other competitors. 

There were a few lovely extras this month, to celebrate birthday-ness. Special wrapping, with cakes etc. a bright pink balloon, which I think is so cute & a little compact mirror, which is essential to any girl who loves her beauty.

NOBLE ISLE Summer Rising Cornish Hedgerows Bath & Shower Gel - This came in a lovely little travel size, so perfect for taking away on your jolly’s. I do have about a zillion body washes, but you can never be too clean eh? This smells soooo good. It’s a really fresh & citrusy gel; which sort of reminds me of the shower gels you get in swanky hotels, if you know what I mean!

LOLITA LEMPICKA Eau de Parfum & Si Lolita – OH MY. I am in love. These scents are actually amazing. I am particularly in love with the Eau de Parfum. Both are so florally, with little hints of musk to even out the sweetness. If it was food, I would definitely gobble it all up. I’m definitely going to buy the full size bottles.

OSMO Berber Oil™ Hair Treatment – I’ve only used this once & was quite impressed. The consistency isn’t dissimilar to Moroccan Oil; it’s quite thick, & not too runny.  It smells super sweet, literally just like when you walk in to one of those old fashioned sweet shops. I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of the smell, it’s a bit too sweet for me; but the product works well. It left my hair super soft and smooth, when applied to damp hair before blow drying, whilst adding a little volume. One thing I would say is it didn’t leave my hair looking as shiny as other oils I’ve tried have.

ELDORA false eyelashes – I haven’t worn false eyelashes since I studied musical theatre at college, they’re not my favourite beauty accessory to be honest. I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve dared to try them :)

APIVITA Express Beauty Masks with Honey – Again, another product I haven’t tried yet. I’ve never heard of Apivita before, so I’m looking forward to giving it a whirl. Plus, I loveee honey. Nom.

I’ve seen quite a few reviews going around saying that they weren’t too thrilled with their contents this month; that previous boxes had over shone what people were expecting to be a ridiculously great box, considering the occasion. I think what people forget, is that this is a sample beauty box, to try products you wouldn’t necessarily come across otherwise, not a competition to see how many full sized products you can get for your money. I personally feel this is a great box, & well worth the £10! I received exactly what I signed up for, & yet again, I’m not disappointed :)

What did you think of yours this month? Or have you been tempted to sign up if you haven’t already? 

Taupe walls

Absolutely liking this living room from Martine Chaisson via Lonny

The chandelier, the taupe walls, geometric hide rug...

Bracelet giveaway winner

And the winner is...number 3:

Monique said...


I follow via Google Friends Connect. Enter me!
May 29, 2012 6:51 AM

Dear Monique, congratulations, please email me your adress to beaulifestyleblog@gmail.com so I can send you the neon bracelets!

A Sneak Peek With A Bench Make Over

I recently finished a custom job for Stephanie from the blog Steph Modo. I love doing custom work especially when it comes to using textiles because I get an opportunity to use fabric I may have not purchased for my self. This is a Robert Allen ikat with just the most energetic colors!

Twin mama recap.

They share very well (xoxoxox)

This is after we played in the sprinkler for an hour. Look at Liam in the back ground! Passed out on his back.

Movie night!

Anyway, I'll be at The Modern Cottage on Friday, I hope you can stop in!

Oh My....300!!!

via

There is a reason to parteeeyyy
Thank you, thank you, thank you all my dear friends! All together you are 300 followers...
How come I deserve all this goodness.
Blogging has been a great blessing in my life, being connected with people of the same interests from all over the world has rocked my world.
And I am only doing this because of you!
I send you 300+ kisses

Before and after

Yesss, I did it again! I found another pitiful nightstand on the street. It look very similar to the one I found last year, but it´s a but more damaged. You must have seen the looks of peoples faces when they saw me walk with the dirty old nightstand under my arm, many people don´t get it, but I see potential in things. A friend came up to me that he also saw me walking with an old nightstand and was wondering what I do with this crap!

Well, see next foto, I turn it in to this:

This is the one I have next to my bed and I am missing one for on the other side, hopefully the next one will look similar. Let me get you to the next before and after.

This is how I should look like every day in my office...

And this is the reality...many times I look like this, with a white coat on, hair pulled back and a colicky baby sleeping on my shoulder...so you know it, this is my Beau Lifestyle...

Craigslist Finds

On my board "Craigslist Finds"Pinterest - someone commented:

"Ive seen these for $20, how much is fair in your opinion?" 

This is a really excellent question! 

This also goes not just for campaign furniture but also, old west palm & regency. It depends on where your location is usually. For example the south commonly have these on CL for around $100 but, in the North West I've seen one nine drawer on CL in one year and a half. I see about 10 six drawer dressers per year. (maybe)

The same goes for faux bamboo! Is your location a spot where it was a trend while it was made? 

Florida was flooded with palm beach style.

The east coast was flooded with beautiful antiques because that's where some of the original shipping ports were.

We sure have a TON of mid century here in the North West, the french style was also a popular one. 

Another thing to consider when finding your rare gem:

Mind you if you are using key word searches that means people know what they have.

 Example: I recently picked up a faux bamboo dresser with a keyword as "artistic dresser" The owner put no mention of it having any bamboo/asian look so it flies under the radar!

Get it? :)

Btw: Thanks for the wonderful question reader! People email me all the time when it comes to my "finds". Please feel free to follow me on Pinterest where I am constantly pinning beautiful decor for my readers. Things that I pass on for my self and the shop.

What we did last weekend...

Adding some pictures of our last weekend, I finally bought some candles for our candleholder, and I am very pleased with how it looks. The flowers are real orchids, I am so in luv with them.

The Peonies are back! They are my most favorite flowers. As a child I admired them in my parents yard, such nice memories!

 

Last Friday I mentioned we were going to the beach, It was Matteo´s first day ever on the beach and he absolutely loved it, we stayed in the shadow, underneath a parasol and applied sunscreen...I am very aware that the sun does no good to a Baby´s skin. The sound of the breaking waves are very soothing and he din´t stop smiling, wiggling, kicking his feet and brabeling, going to the beach was a success.

I spoiled myself this weekend...I got these earrings from an english jewelry designer Lucas Jack.

I have checked their website, and oh my, such nice things they have...

My gal Patricia and me we are making more bracelets for our brand Leonor designs, in this picture the friendship bracelet with rhinestones is the one we made and we have scored our first shop customer in Spain, and this weekend we made several new ones. Now that I have a little bit more time on my hands (besides already running a successful business and having baby Matteo) i will invest more time and love in to our handmade jewelry. Soon more to come...

We watched this movie, ´´the Help´´and I was quite impressed by it, I recomend everyone to go and see it. This is a quote from the movie that Aibileen said to babygirl, and I had to explain to mr Beau why she wasn´t speaking proper English. I will tell this to Matteo when he has an age that he will understand this. Every child should feel that they are kind, smart and important!

p.s. don´t forget to participate in the neon bracelet giveaway, there aren´t many comments yet, so the fact of you becoming the lucky one is very big!

Raspberry Grape | Unique Jewellery

I have become a bit of a twitter addict as of late; & have had the pleasure of getting to know the lovely Lauren of RaspberryGrape*insert raspberry blowing on someone’s belly here* through the wonders of the web. I found myself lusting after her beautiful little pieces over at her jewellery shop & when she tweeted that she’d like to offer some of her pieces for review I jumped at the chance!

She sent me the rather scrumptious wide upper finger ring*, which I’d tweeted her about previously, telling her how much I liked it.

I absolutely love it. Beautifully hand wrapped with cute little stickers, I was so excited to get it opened! I haven’t really come across middle finger rings before, but I’m a bit of a raving fan now. They’re a bit different aren’t they? I love the thickness of the ring & the pretty shapes running throughout. Another great thing about these is that they have adjustable backs, so you can change it up & wear it as a regular ring too, if you fancy it. I think they’re perfect for summer, adding a bit of bohemian chic to your look. My one came up quite small (before adjustment), so they fit really snugly on the upper half of your finger. No flying off in to the air when you’re jumping around like a mad woman to your favourite song – yes, we all know you jump around, flailing arms & all…

I’d say that Lauren’s shop leans slightly towards the more alternative type of jewellery, but mixes it up with some really delicate pieces too. Ranging from skull bracelets to vintage rings, there really is something for everyone.

At £3.85 for this little beaut, with free postage & packaging you can’t really go wrong, can you? :)

*Lauren kindly sent me this ring FOC for review, all opinions are my own. I have not received financial compensation for this post. 

California here we come.

Early July I will be heading to California with the boys for a week long (much needed) vacation! Among a handful of things on our to do list is of course stop in to local decor shops! My problem is that I don't know any and would love suggestions from my readers and where I should go.

Help?! 

I plan on also hitting up the Fillmore Jazz and Blues festival or the Portland waterfront fest which has always been a favorite of mine, enjoy the exploratorium, lay on beach, driving through the red woods and most importantly visiting my family.

Do you have any local decor or even antique shops to suggest that I must see? What is their style like? Also kid activities would be helpful.

Chicken Marinade Recipe

I wanted to kick off today with an amazing marinade recipe for all you families that have the bbq going today. It's best marinated over night but, about 4-5 hours will do just fine. Enjoy!

Marinade Recipe:

3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 cups low sodium soy sauce

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 bunch of green onions, chopped (save some for the top)

1/4 cup white onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

1 (13.5oz) can of coconut milk

Add onions as garnish!

This dressing is not only local but, insanely tasty.

Neon bracelets giveaway

Hope you have had a lovely weekend? There are so many thinks to tell and to share with you, but first I want to do this giveaway of 3 of my self made neon bracelets. I really like the neon look that is going on and decided to make a few myself. The 3 colors are: hot pink, neon yellow and neon orange.

They are made of gold colored chain and elastic neon cord, so it will hug your wrist.

The pictures don´t do them justice, the colors are more vibrant!

To participate, be or become a follower and simply leave a comment!

The Giveaway ends this wednesday.

Guest Post | Kristin of Beauty Xpose

A few months ago, i joined the wonderful world that is IFB - Independent Fashion Bloggers. It was such a warm welcome in to the world that is blogging & I've been lucky enough to get to know some really lovely ladies along the way. One of them being the beautiful Kristin of Beauty Xpose. Have a little read, & get to know her a wee bit; I'm sure you'll love her as much as I do!

1.What three things can make you smile no matter your mood
Starting off with an easy one :) - 1) My boyfriend 2) Pictures of teacup pigs 3) Crappy television

2.What is your favorite part of blogging?
My favorite part is all the wonderful people I’ve met from fellow bloggers to industry folks to readers. It’s so fabulous thinking of all the people that blogging brought in to my life.

3. Do you have a current favorite/go-to fashion item?
Right now I’m loving my J.Crew eyelet shorts, and Kate Spade necklace. If no one would notice, I would wear them every day! Unfortunately, my desire to not repeat outfits holds me back. 

4. And beauty - do you have a current favorite/go-to beauty item?
I have two, both from Smashbox. I LOVE the Shades of Fame lip glosses, which have turned me on to lip gloss. Second is the Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer. It evens out my skin tone and keeps my makeup in place all day. What more could you ask for?!

5.What bit of fashion/beauty advice would you give to anyone?
Don’t worry about the trends and what everyone else is doing. Find clothes and products that work with your body and personality. If you are comfortable and feel great, you’ll look great too!

6. What made you want to start blogging?
I sort of fell in to blogging. Three years, I started an internship at a Public Relations agency. Right when I was starting Anne (my now BeautyXpose partner-in-crime), who happened to be my supervisor, had just started a blog. I initially helped to write a post here, a review there. However, next thing I knew, I was working hand-in-hand with Anne and sharing all the ownership responsibilities. Three years later, we’re still going strong. It’s a miracle she’s not sick of me yet :)

7. Which beauty product would you never re-purchase again and why?
Easy – butter LONDON LIPPY. I love their nailpolishes, so couldn’t wait to try their new LIPPIES. However, I was SO let down. The glosses are goopy and don’t go on evenly. Plus, the smell and taste like plastic.

8. Name one beauty product you can't leave the house without?

Well – if we’re talking I can only wear one makeup item for a day, I’d have to say mascara. I love Covergirl LashBlast Fusion. However, if I get to put on all my makeup and then just leave the house with only one thing, I would pick Burt’s Bees chapstick. I’m a pretty simple girl … sometimes.  

9. Do you have any other hobbies aside from blogging?

Does shopping count?! I’ve recently started to dabble in running (but I wouldn’t call myself a runner). From time to time, I add a new page to my scrapbook. A couple of weeks ago, I bought myself a Cannon Rebel t2i, so I’m starting to play around with photography. I hope those count!

10. What would be your dream job?

Ok, woah on the tough question! I’m not sure, and this is something I’m actually trying to figure out for myself right now. I would love to find a way to mix my passion for beauty and fashion with my desire to help others and make the world a better place. Those two things go hand-in-hand, right?! If you can think of anything that fits that description, feel free to let me know :)

So what did you think of the beaut that is Kristin? 

Fancy getting to know me a bit better too? You can see my post on her blog here: http://beautyxpose.com/2012/musings/guest-post-megs-of-wonderful-you.html#

Harry Allen - Pig

*Sing*How much, is that little piggy, in the window... Oink-oink!

Sorry. I had to. 

Am I the only one who thinks this little piggy is a wonderful way to add a playful and fun touch to a room? I'd take the gold one please! You can find one here at Furbish.com

Can you spot him?