July Favourites 2018

August 3, 2018July 25, 2018 - cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

It has been such a long time since I shared my favourites of the month. This is usually because I do not have a lot of favourites or I end up forgetting, however, this month I have had a few. They range from a couple of beauty pieces, some household items, a little bit of food and of course who could forget a few things Jess has been loving.

Raspberry Pavolva

The first item I want to share with you is the Possibility 3 in 1 Raspberry Pavlova. This I only actually use as a shower gel because I am still loyal to my Lush hair care routine. As some of you may know I used to be obsessed and only use lush shower gel but I thought I would give this a try. Oh wow, the smell of this is so amazing it does actually make me want to be able to drink or eat this.

That is because of the fact it is so nice to smell, sometimes I find that cheaper shower gels do not actually lather up enough. This is one which does actually lather up so well and it is also mosituring which is something I am finding I am needing because the sun is actually drying out my skin. I was shocked to find that it was only £2 for the huge 500ml which is a fraction of the price of lush. I think that this is one which I would be purchasing again I want to try some of the other favourites because if they are the same as this I can see myself getting obsessed.

Summer Romance

Body spray is something which I actually love in the summer months because it helps me smell better. When I picked up the Possibility shower gel picked up the Summer Romance body spray. This is something which just before I go out I spray all over the outfit I am wearing. It smells of berries and floral goodness which of course just has to scream summer to me. The scent does last for a while which is always a bonus because there is nothing worse than having to respray you outfit throughout the day. This body spray is going to last me for a while because it is 250ml and you do not need too much. It was on the 3 for 2 offer and came in at £4.99 so is not going to break the bank either.

Naked Noodles

Noodles are something which I have been loving for the past couple of months. I think this because it is something easy to make for lunch and at the moment I am trying to write as many blog posts as I can before Joe finishes for summer and we move house. So I have found myself when I am bored of sandwiches reaching for Naked Noodles which are Egg Noodles in a range of flavours.

I actually am yet to find a flavour which I do not like which is always a bonus. They are full of flavour which I always like because there is nothing worse than noodles which taste like nothing. They only take about 4 minutes to be ready which as a busy person is something you want. I have been picking these up when they have been on offer I know you can get them at Asda and Iceland for as little as 75p.

Dyson V6 Trigger

You know when you are getting a little bit older when one of your favourites this month is a hoover. Yes I am loving the Dyson V6 Trigger which is the handheld hoover which we have currently. This is something which is amazing because it does mean that I can just get it out and clean up the mess which Jess has made. It is so handy that you can actually take this out to the car as well we always have a messy car because of the amount of time we spend in the car. It does not struggle too much with my hair which is great because I molt more than a dog so sometimes we find it hard.

Even Joe loves it because of how easy it is even cleaning it is so simple. I managed to get this when it was on offer for around £100. This is something I know we are going to get even more use out of when we move into the new house. The only thing which annoys me is that I forget to put it on charger and then sometimes struggle to hoover everywhere I need to.

Micro Trike

The final couple of things which I have been loving this month well technically they are Jess’s. The first one is the Micro Trike this is something which I was fortunate enough to be sent after entering a competition. This is that good that basically it has replaced her pram which I did not think would happen. Jess uses this to ride to nursery it is a trike which folds down so basically nothing which means that it can be stored so easily. We have used it in a range of places including Ikea and never had any problems. In the next couple of weeks I hope to have a full review of the trike up but for sure this is something which we have been using every day since we got it.

Orchard Games

The final item which we have been loving this month is the Orchard Games. I picked them up in Aldi when they had them for £2.99 because we wanted some games so that Jess is not always on Youtube after nursury. I picked up the Teddy Holiday Snaps which is basically snap, Holiday Heads & Tails which is where you have to match the pictures in order to win and the final one we have it a counting game. Where you have to spin the spinner and then find the number of shells on a card. The one who wins is the one who has the most sandcastles. These games have kept us all entertained and have actually been so fun and Jess is learning every time when play. I have actually found Jess playing this on her own. This just shows how much she loves the games.

What have you been loving this month?

Charlotte xxx

Review- Admiral Men’s Skincare

July 13, 2018July 12, 2018 - cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

Men’s skincare has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. Gone are the days when men only had a moisturiser now some of them have as many products as us women. I for one am not saying that this is a bad thing at all if anything I am all for it. Recently I was contacted by Admiral skincare to see if I would like to review some of their products.

Joe recently in the past few years has got more into looking after his skin. This could be due to the fact that I have got him into using more products. Or it could be as a result of there being more products on the market which are aimed at men rather than just been female.

Admrial Organic Antioxidant Moisturising Balm

Moisturiser is one which we have used a number of brands including Lush and Bulldog. However, we have found that they can be way to thick which is annoying when you have glasses and they slip off or you end up with smear marks on the glasses. Or they are too thin which you do not think that you are getting enough moister into your skin.

Where with the antioxidant moisture balm with artichoke extracts this is not too thick for us which means that it is not all over our glasses which is always an bonus however, it does actually moistener your skin giving it the hydration which your skin needs. For sure this is a product which I know has changed my skin due to the fact that it has never felt so soft this product does not have a harsh scent either.

This is something which I think we are both going to use over the next few months when the weather gets even warmer when our skin needs looking after. Along with the fact that this product is going to be great when the wind burn occurs in autumn because I am sure it will save our skin from too much damage.

Admiral Men’s Detoxifying Facial Skin Care Scrub

Facial scrubs are a product which we both love so much because we find there nothing worse than a clogged up pores. We have been using this product for several weeks now and I have to admit my skin has never felt so much cleaner. This is a gel scrub with the little bits which are actually in product. These particles are not very large but they are still effective at removing all of the grime out of the face.

Even though this is aimed at males because admrial specialist in male skincare there is no reason why women can not use this. It does actually mean that this can be a little bit more aggressive that a female one would be. This does mean that my skin does feel like it is more clean and smooth than it would be if I used a female scrub. For sure this is a product which we are going to repurchase well I we already have this just shows how much we love it.

Admrial Men’s Moisturising Skincare Body Wash

Body wash is something which we are both very fickle about we rarely repurchase the same one. Even if it is from Lush, we change the scent so much. This product is one which we found did not make the skin too dry which is always something which you want. This is a scent which does linger on the skin which is nice because of the fact that it is such a nice scent rather than been too harsh.

This lathers up a lot which is rare for some of the male ones which I have tried, in my experience I find that they lather less than the female ones. Truthfully I am unsure if I would repurchase this shower gel because this is £11 and this is more expensive than Lush. This is something which we think is at the upper end of the budget that we should spend on shower gel.

Admiral 2 in 1 Shampoo & Conditioner For Men

Shampoo is something which I would say I am a snob when it comes to however, Joe on the other hand is not. This for sure is one shampoo which I do think is amazing it does clean your hair. It gets rid of all of the rubbish which has been building up this also makes your hair so soft. Having a soft feeling is something which I love because then I feel like my hair is actually in a good condition.

The scent of this shampoo and conditioner is very hard to describe the people at admiral have not made this such a masculine scent it just feels very clean. I love the pump because it does mean that we get the correct amount which we need in order to clean our hair without using too much of them. This for sure is one product which we would repurchase because it seems to last for so long and it is £10 but can be often found on offer.

If you fancy grabbing anything for yourself or a loved one, you can use the code Cups25 to get 25% off which makes the products so cheap. I have even used my own code to repurchase some of the products. These would make an amazing birthday or even thinking very early Christmas present.

Have you ever heard of Admiral Grooming?

Charlotte xx

This post includes a PR sample

Life Is Making My Hair Fall Out

July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 - cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

Recently I have been having so much stress I am sure that it is making my hair fall out. If it is not the stress of having to hand my university undergraduate dissertation in on time, on top of having other assignments. Of course, I have the crazy toddler who can have tantrums which mean that I actually want to scream and pull my hair out. I keep joking that my hair is always falling out due to my hair aways molting. I shed more than your average dog I think I might have two coats like a pug. I have googled it and found out it is normal to lose 50-100 strands of hair per day anyway so I guess I am normal.

I thought today I would share with you some of the stories which have left me wanting to pull my hair out. Some are Jess related stories and some are non-parenting related.

One day we were sat on the train home which is very normal for us. Nursery had taken Jess’s vest off which mean that she only had a top on nothing underneath she managed to get her arms out of the straps on the pushchair and then take her top off. I think I was busy reading a book or something similar so I did not realised that my child had become a stripper and was now topless. It was pretty embarrassing because she kept shouting so that people would look at her and she managed to do this a couple of times on the same day. It’s safe to say that the straps have now well and truly been tightened meaning she can’t do this again.

I think it’s safe to say that Jess has selective hearing and she chooses to hear what she wants. For example, if I have told her we are doing something on a set day or we have a treat she can have when we get home she will not forget and will repeat it several times till she gets it. Once I swear she mentioned getting sweets when we got home constantly for a couple of hours. It does make me not want to tell her she is going to get something nice before we are at home.

I am someone who wears a lot of vest tops no matter if it is the winter or the summer. Jess has a habit to pull the neckline of them down which has meant that she has several times she has exposed my bra and boobs to other people. This has been embarrassing because it always occurs at times when we are in public. I am sure more than enough people have seen my boobs and including people who have not wanted to which is never nice.

Another thing which makes me want to tear my hair out is the fact that Joe will find out that he is going away with work however, plans can change right up till the day they go. Even when he is away things can change for example the day he is coming back can be put back days/ weeks which means that we can not plan anything. This is something which is very annoying and means that we can not be a normal family.

People asking me when I am going to either get married or have another child is something which makes me want to pull my hair out as well. Just because I have a child who is coming up to 3 does not mean that I want another one at the moment or because of the fact that I have been dating someone for a period of time we want to tie the knot. At the moment the focus is on getting a family house so we can feel like we are more of a complete family than we do at the moment and this is something which is annoying.

I hate the way my hair is falling out or sheding a lot at the moment and if it does not improves I can see me having to take action. Recently been looking at the hair transplant cost at the Harley Street Hair Clinic, as I feel I may need some serious help from them if things don’t start to improve for me soon. After all, I need princess’ hair in case we do get married in the future for the wedding pictures.

What makes you want to tear your hair out?

Charlotte xxx

This post is in collaboration with Harley Street Hair Clinic

Sleep better with Feather and Down

March 30, 2018May 3, 2018 - cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

Sleep of course is something which we all need and love. It is something which some of us as parents do not get enough. I regret not sleeping more before Jess was was born because I used to be able to go to bed after a night out at 4-5 am and then still be up and at a 9 am lecture. Gone are the days of that now I need to be in bed by 10-11 pm in the week days.

Recently it was national sleep week and I was contacted Feather and Down. They are a company whose products are made in England who have a range of bath,body and home fragrance helping you drift of to sleep.

Shower Cream

Now showering is not something I always do a lot before bed because I prefer to shower in the morning due to the fact that the shower wakes me up. However, I did start showering at night because of the fact that this is claims for you to have a better night sleep as a result of using this shower cream. I have used this in the shower as well as using in in a bath for Jess. When applied to wet skin in the bath or shower, this creamy, dreamy shower cream immediately lets off a hit of calming Lavender and Chamomile essential oils. It made me want to drift off stood in the shower which is not usually something that occurs to me as I struggle to sleep.

I did notice if you use a shower puff and apply the cream to this instead of directly on to the skin the scent does last longer. This is something which I am used to due to using Lush a lot so this is something which I loved. I asked my partner to use this as well and he reported that he liked it as well however, he did not know how much it effected his sleep. One thing which I made him guess is the price and to be honest he was not very far away this bottle costs £6 for 250ml. You can get your hands on it from Boots I would recommend picking some of this due to the fact it might help you sleep better and it does smell amazing.

Sleep Balm

Feather and Down do another product which is a sleep balm this is a little pot which you are supposed to apply to your pulse points. I think this would be amazing because as many of you know I do travel a lot which means this could be popped into my bag. It could be applied if you want to take a nap in the car and also if you like me struggle with nerves I am sure this could be on which could calm you down before an exam or something which is stressing you out. This little pot will last you a long time and does not actually break the bank as it is only £7. I usually apply this an hour or so before bed when I am starting my routine this is going to help my body know it is bed time when the lighter nights come. This is one I would recommend for people like me who are always on the go.

Pillow Spray

There is a lovely pillow spray which has been created by Feather and Down it is £7 which is a fraction of the price of that of this works and other brands which I have seen. I have used this a few times and have noticed that there is a huge scent of lavender when you spray this. This is something to be aware of because I know some people like my mum can not deal with that it would give her a headache. I do have to spray this a little bit before I go to bed because otherwise I do find it too much. I do not again know if this was due the scent but I think I slept better and this bottle is going to last a long time which is always a bonus.

My thoughts

I think that Feather and Down are an amazing brand they can not say that you are going to have an amazing night’s sleep due to the fact that you have used some of their products. I would really recommend the shower cream of the three items which I have tried from them. It amazing that you can get them from the the high street for under £7 is a steal as some brands you would be paying double. I think this is going to be amazing if the weather comes warm in the UK where you end up struggling to sleep or even if you are going on holiday these might be great. I feel like I am going to have to have a look at more of this range because candles are something which I adore.

Have you seen this brand or tried them at all?