Scent Your Home With Munio Candela - A Review For My Pure

Me and my mum have a bit of an odd obsession - candles! There are lovely smelly candles in just about every room in the house. As well as making the house smell nice (a necessity when you have 4 cats and 2 litter trays!), I always think that candlelight induces a feeling of calmness and wellbeing.

I've never actually reviewed candles on my blog before but when I saw that My Pure had introduced a new brand of home fragrance and wellbeing I knew that now was the time.

I picked a candle from Latvian brand Munio Candela. The candles are completely handmade in Lativa using local ingredients and 100% natural soy wax. Kinder to the environment and containing no animal or genetically modified ingredients, natural soy wax produces less toxins during burning. It's also biodegradable and washable!

There are several different varieties and fragrances of Munio Candela candles on the My Pure site but I went for the Scented Mini Soy Wax Candle in Cinnamon.

Packaged in a recycled, unbleached cardboard box, the 220ml candle contains a lead free cotton wick  and can burn for to 15 hours. Before you even notice the candle itself the first thing you experience when you open the box is the smell, it a gorgeous subtle but natural cinnamon and clove scent.

The candle on initial glance doesn't appear to look that interesting, just a plain white candle with a white cotton wick, but look a bit more closely and you can in fact see real cinnamon sticks embedded into the wax!

There is nothing unnatural about this candle at all, even the smell is seems natural. If your used to more commercially available candles this one might be a bit of a disappointment. It doesn't contain any synthetic ingredients or fragrances the smell so to be honest isn't that strong, don't get me wrong you can smell it especially when you've put the candle out, but don't expect this to scent your house out like some of the larger brands can, it's much better when you use it in a smaller room. As to the burning time will I'm 10 hours in and it's still going strong.

Oh and if like me your a bit on the fence with soy wax, this candle made a pleasant change. I love the fact that soy wax is so easy to clean and this candle is no different I spilt a bit of the wax on my sheets and it washed clean away, with no residue or staining. On the other hand though my previous experiences with soy wax generally haven't been that great, I've experienced terrible sooting in the past, not with this one though, although you do get a little bit of smoke when you blow it out I've noticed no black marks on the walls where the candle has been.

Are you as big a candle fan as me? What fragrances do you like? leave me a comment and let me know x

Munio Candela Scented Mini Soy Wax Candle - Cinnamon retails at £11.00 for 220ml  from My Pure. To check out the other candles and fragrances in the Munio Candela range please check out the My Pure website x

(Munio Candela Scented Mini Soy Wax Candle - Cinnamon 220ml Was Provided By My Pure For Review Purposes)

Goodies From Mummy Lou and A Small Body Shop Haul

Hi Guys - I hope you've all had a lovely day - the weather's been lovely in Co. Durham this afternoon, still a bit chilly but the sun was beaming, a definite indication that Spring is nearly here.

If you follow me on twitter you'll know that this week my mum treated me to a little MUA order, really to say thank you for looking after her so well over the past week or so. Well she's my mum what else was I going to do lol - it's wore me out beyond belief and I seriously feel as though I'm running on empty at times but she is so worth it - thankfully she's nearly over the worst of it, she's still experiencing a lot of pain but she's moving around a bit and she's even managed to interfere with my spaghetti bolognese lol - two women in a kitchen is a recipe for disaster - lol I'm really pleased she's getting better though it's awful seeing someone you love in so much pain x

Anyways on to the goodies - I really wanted some of the tinted lip balms so I ordered two :) - First up Sugar Lips

and  Sweet Kiss

I also got one of the Love Hearts nail polished in U ROK

It's a lovely shade - I would probably describe it as Periwinkle blue, the perfect combination of lilac and blue - I'm going to do a full post on these Love Hearts product in my Budget Beauty Series, featuring some swatches, lip shots, and some nails shots in the next week or two :)

I also got a couple of polishes from the normal line - left is Shade 1 a gorgeous navy blue with a bit of sparkle. and shade 9 yet another blue nail polish :)

I know I included my MUA nail polishes in my original Budget Beauty Series post, but I've bought so many since I think I'll do separate nail polish collection for you which again I'll try and put up in the next month or so. Don't forget I also have a Budget Beauty Series post on MUA Professional to come too - I promise that will be up just as soon as I can manage it - it's taking so long to catch up on the photos that I lost, hopefully with the better light starting I'll manage to catch up - I'm going to be MUA'd out lol.

I've also bought a couple of things for me over that last week -  my Godmother kindly picked me up a few Body Shop things whilst she was at the Metro Centre - As much as I'd love to have a proper look around the shops, getting the bus there and walking round at the moment is just too much for me :( She got me a bottle of the Tea Tree Toner which is a real essential for me and she also picked up a bottle of the new Chocomania Shower Cream for me - yum - it smells really nice and not as sickly as I expected x

Those little purchases have taken me a little bit over my limit for February but the Tea Tree was an essential purchase so I'm not too worried x Any questions as per usual leave me a comment I love reading them xx

Another Beauty From Catherine Arley - Nails Of The Day

I know I promised you a review today but I couldn't resist showing you a new nail polish. I mentioned in my recent Catherine Arley NOTD post that I'd already purchased another could from the line well this is it.

Catherine Arley Silky Touch Nail Lacquer 668 is the most beautiful combination of nude, gold, and copper with the most fabulous holographic sparkle. It really reminds me of a created gemstone called goldstone, or gold sandstone. This is three coats but again it applied like a dream, and the finish is super smooth and shiny -time for lots and lots of pictures x

Love, love, love this colour yet another winner from this brand I've already got another couple of Catherine Arley polishes in my sights. What do you think of this colour?

Smooth and Sparkly - Nails Of The Day

I bought this polish from ebay a few weeks ago, after seeing it on a few blogs, I had high hopes for it and I have to say I wasn't disappointed.

Catherine Arley Silky Touch Nail Lacquer 667 is the most gorgeous silver grey holograph, it applies like a dream, and it leave the smoothest, glass like finish ever. You need at least two coats to see it in it's true glory but this is no hardship when it's as gorgeous as it is - cue lots of pictures :

Gorgeous isn't it definitely one of my new favourite polishes - I can't stop looking at my fingers and looking at all the different flashes of colour - I've already purchased another Catherine Arley polish which I'll show you next week x What do you think of this polish ? Do you love it as much as I do ?

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush - Flush- A Review and A Rave

In the middle of last year I made my first purchases from the Daniel Sandler cosmetic line, a Watercolour Blush in Cherub and a Waterbrush (click here to see the post and some swatches). Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blushers are simply amazing, their silicone based, oil free formula, provides a super pigmented but sheer colour that lasts and lasts.  I've tried other products by Daniel Sandler since then but my first love was definitely the Watercolour Blushers so in the after Christmas sales I bought another one.

Appearing in my January favourites video the colour I went for this time was Flush, it's a beautiful natural pink shade that gives you the perfect flush (sorry ;) to your cheeks. Admittedly the bottle for these blushers is quite small at 15ml but you really don't need very much product so it's going to last for ages. This is usually the amount I start off with x

As you can see it's super pigmented and that's probably one of the reasons that you don't need very much To use it I usually shake the bottle to combine the ingredients, then I usually put a few dots on my hand and then I blend it into my face using the Waterbrush.

You can use your fingers too but I like the delicate touch of the Waterbrush, as you can see from the swatch on my hand it blends down beautifully, to a gorgeous pale pink shade

What's good about this product though is how easy it is to build up a stronger colour, as I say I normally start off with a few drops, but if you want a stronger look you can always add more to build the colour up. It's pretty hard to capture this on my face but I've given it my best shot here but even here it looks like I've covered my whole face with it - which I haven't lol x

Pretty isn't it and so natural, and the good thing for me is how well it lasts. I was a little nervous of the silicone content as my skin normally looks greasier when I use products containing it, but I didn't even notice it. This blush looked incredibly fresh on my oily / combination skin and I was really impressed with how long it lasted compared to say some cream blushers. These little bottles of magic aren't the cheapest at around £14.50 each but as I say they will last for ages and they give an amazing result. I definitely want to try some more of Daniel Sandler's face products especially the Watercolour Creme Rouges which look equally amazing. Oh and if your an avid stalker of BuyaPowa like me you might be interested to know that there is a Daniel Sander Watercolour Blush and Waterbrush on the coming soon list - I hope it's in a shade I don't have ;). Have you tried Daniel Sandler Water Colour Blushers? and Do you have any Daniel Sandler recommendations?

My Nail Polish Collection - Avon

I've been buying Avon products for quite a few years now, and I have to say I've always been pretty impressed with the things that I've purchased. I have to be honest though and say that the nail polishes always seemed to fall under my radar - I picked the odd one up here and then but that was it. Recently though I've fell in love with Avon polishes in a big way, so I thought I'd show you the ones I have in the next instalment of My Nail Polish Collection Series. The majority of the polishes that I own come from the Nailwear Pro line, you get 12ml of product for anywhere between £2.50 - £6.00 depending on the current offers and promotions, I usually find you need two coats for maximum coverage but again it depends on the polish - OK time for pretty colours - again click the names to see a corresponding nails of the day post x

From left to right - Sequined Turquoise and Ruby Slipper

Again from left to right - Blue Escape, Splendid Blue and  Blue Shock

The final polish that I own from Avon is from the Matte Nailwear range, as you'd probably expect these are matte polishes - the colour I have is Violetta 

Avon do have a habit of discontinuing their polishes, so I'm not sure how many if any of these are still available if any. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the polishes that I have from Avon and I definitely wouldn't hesitate to buy more, what do you think of Avon polishes and do you have any recommendations?

Happy Shrove Tuesday

Hey My Loves - Just though I'd show you a picture of my pancakes - I've assisted but I've never made them on my own before today. The first one was a bit of a disaster, a bit too much pancake mix meant it remained quite soft and collapsed when I took it out of the pan. Never mind I persevered and the rest were cooked to perfection, multiple tosses, the works. Key tips if your going to make pancakes - first of all a non stick pan makes life a lot easier, and secondly don't put too much mix in the pan at once - Voila perfect pancakes which are 100% gluten free and were lovely. I'm a tradtionalist when it comes to pancakes and served mine with a mixture of freshly squeezed lemon, orange and lime juice, and sugar all topped with evaporated milk - yum - Have you had pancakes today and What's you favourite pancake topping?

Midnight Blue - Nails Of The Day

I recently rediscovered this polish while sorting out my nail varnish drawers for my nail polish collections posts, and I have to say I love it. It's not that original and I have several similar colours in my collection such as MAC Biker Blue but these beautiful midnight blues with shimmers and glitters have a special place within my nail polish loving heart.

The name Avon Nailwear Pro - Splendid Blue suits this colour perfectly it truly is splendid. As per usual this is two coats but with careful application you could probably get away with one x

Pretty isn't it ? I'm not sure if this colour is still available but if you can track it down it's well worth it. What do you think of Splendid Blue?

From The Catwalk To The High Street With The Body Shop and Vauxhall Fashion Scout

Unless you've been living under a rock you'll know that we're slap bang in the middle of London Fashion Week, alas I wasn't lucky enough to receive a coveted invite but I've been getting my fashion week kicks through twitter, emails, and the interweb. Like most bloggers I've received quite a few emails and press releases regarding London Fashion Week but one stood out more than the rest - a British company and a showcase for new talent all in one

As you probably already know I am a huge fan of The Body Shop - a British company born and bred it's no surprise that their presence is strongly felt in the UK's show piece fashion event.

For the second season running  The Body Shop will be the official make up sponsor of Vauxhall Fashion Scout, the leading independent event at London Fashion Week. Vauxhall Fashion Scout is famous for showcasing new talent, and over the last few years they have introduced designers such as Peter Pilotto and William Tempest to the wider market. Yes fashion is all about the established designers and the big shows, but it's also about new and upcoming talent and I love that the fact that Vauxhall Fashion Scout provides a platform for new or less established designers to showcase their talent, and make their mark in the cut throat world of fashion.

The partnership between The Body Shop and Vauxhall Fashion Scout, will see The Body Shop's own cruelty free make up range being used over the next few days to produce some of the key make up looks for Autumn / Winter 2012, all created by top make up artist Lan Ngyuen.

I really can't wait to see what looks she creates for this seasons shows, I've seen a few bits floating around on the web up to now, but she has a lot to live up to as some of last seasons looks were simply breathtaking.

One of the key looks the team created for the Spring / Summer 2012 shows and one of my favourites was their Geisha inspired look, flawless yet dewy skin, using Moisture Foundation, Radiance Highlighter, and the Vitamin E Facial Mist, strong lips and cheeks using Lip & Cheek Stain in Rose and Love Gloss 11 Raspberry Pink, and dramatic brows created using the Brow and Liner Kit.

To check out more looks from The Body Shop and Vauxhall Fashion Scout collaboration  for Spring Summer 2012 as well as behind the scenes footage and interviews with Lan Ngyuen, I definitely recommend watching this video - even if it's just to marvel at the shoes at 00.41 -wow!!



Whilst some of the make up looks that you see on the catwalk may be a little over the top, the involvement of high street companies like The Body Shop in events such as London Fashion Week means that the key looks and products are available right there at out finger tips. No I wouldn't go out wearing the Geisha style look, but the principles behind it translate easily into everyday life, fresh,dewy, skin, defined brows and a statement red lip is a classic make up look with a twist.

I for one think that the collaboration between Vauxhall Fashion Scout and The Body Shop is a good one. As well as supporting new talent the collaboration also highlights the versatility and adaptability of The Body Shop's make up line, which is at home on the catwalk as it is on the high street. I can't wait to see what looks Lan Nguyen and The Body Shop team create for this weeks Autumn / Winter 2012 shows, and above all I can't wait to see how the looks become translated and adapted for everyday life as the year progresses. - I'll promise I'll keep you posted just as soon as the looks become available x To learn more about Vauxhall Fashion Scout and to see the designers involved please check out their website, and to find out more about the products mentioned in this post please check out The Body Shop website. Have you been following Fashion Week? Let me know in the comments x

(This Post Was Written On Behalf Of The Body Shop / Vauxhall Fashion Scout - I Have Not Been Compensated In Anyway)