Sleep Tight

2016 has not been a great year for sleep it takes me a while and once I am asleep I wake up and various points worrying about work, Dylan (my cat) and most recently my impending house move....

I was delighted when Holland & Barrett started recommending products to aid sleep and challenging you to to see if they improve your sleeping habits within just 7 days. You first need to delve a bit deeper into your sleep habits to work out the best products for you. Holland & Barrett have a fun little sleep quiz on there website to work out which type of sleeper you are looking at what is usually on your bedside table.

After taking the quiz I am definitely 'The Caffeinator' not that I am drinking Coffee but Lucozade and Red Bull has become a little bit of a habit I need to kick when I am feeling sleepy or a bit grumpy.

"Most of us are sucking back far more caffeine every day than we should be. You wouldn't think a cup of coffee, tea or that can of coke would be a problem, but they actually block the receptors that produce the feeling of tiredness."

Most of us are drinking far too much caffeine every day than we should be. Some may think this has little to no effect on their sleep, but caffeine actually hinders your body’s ability to tell you that you’re feeling tired and disrupts a peaceful nights sleep but it's hard to give up. Holland & Barrett sent me a sleep pack to get me back to having the best nights sleep I have had in a long time the pack came with decaf, a selection of herbal teas and remedies and a silk pillow which I have been after for a while, not only does it help give you a luxurious night sleep but helps your skin a hair!

Also most products are half price, H&B always have a good deal going on:

• Dr Organic Lavender Skin Lotion: After a relaxing shower moisturise up with this soothing lotion. Organic lavender oil has soothing, revitalising and restoring properties for a relaxing nights sleep whilst giving you silky smooth skin.
• Miaroma Relaxing Lavender Temple Balm: Place this on your temples, ear lobes, back of your neck and wrists and let the soothing blend of lavender, chamomile and patchouli relax the senses.
• Yogi Tea Bedtime Tea | Dr Stuarts Valerian Plus Tea | Health & Heather Organic Camomile Tea Bags: Chamomile or herbal tea are always going to soothe you to help you get a restful nights sleep and I do not drink them enough! My favourite out of the three is the Yogi Tea combining valerian, chamomile and passionflower.
• Holland & Barrett East Meets West Sleep Formula 60 capsules: I am not usually one who believes in herbal pills I always thought they they do not really work but I actually think these and the Lemon Balm Capsules are the ones sending me to sleep. These contain Shatavari which supports the normal onset of sleep.
• Holland & Barrett Lemon Balm Capsules: These capsules give you a temporary relief of the symptoms associated with mild anxiety which I do suffer from especially with the stress of moving house! 
• Miaroma Peppermint Pure Essential Oil: This is a replacement for caffeine the aroma is the perfect essential oil to keep you alert.

Hope this helps you in getting a good night sleep.

  

 This is a sponsored post but my love / need for sleep is real! 

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Scrub me down with Coffee

I have found you a new BFF and it includes coffee, now I am not a fan of the stuff when it comes in a mug but when it comes in a scrub its a whole new ball game! Ladies are rubbing the stuff all over their bodies and brands are benefiting from the social media frenzy of taking snaps of this beauty routine. Basically cover your face and body with the potent coffee scrub then take a selfie or two. 

This key trend all started with FrankBody (well that is the first brand I saw on my Instagram feed). With coffee fever taking over I wanted to rub the stuff all over me to figure out the benefits of this new craze and which brands are out there.

Coffee is a natural exfoliator so it works as an exfoliator, an anti-inflammatory, circulation booster, it also helps reduce cellulite (which I am starting to see more and more of) and even makes your skin glow.

If you fancy using one of these popular Coffee Scrubs:

1. Jump in the shower;

2. Grab a handful of coffee scrub and massage all over your body;

3. Concentrate on any lumps or bumps;

3. Leave on the skin until you have read all the bottles in the shower;

3. Rinse

4. Smell the coffee.

Coffer scrubs are usually 100% natural so it's great for your skin, with no nasties.

Some of the brands I have been loving are: Scrub Love 'Original Lovin', Clean Beauty Co, Scrub Life, Bean Body fromHolland and Barrett and the Original Coffee Scrub from Frank Body!

These may smell delicious but DO NOT EAT.

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7 Natural Beauty Products

Do you know what is in your beauty products… you have no idea, neither do I?!? I recently wrote an article about how stress was affecting my skin but I also think some of my beauty products could be to blame. That brings me to this article, a roundup of 100% natural (to my knowledge) beauty products currently on the market. Cruelty free, paraben free and vegan friendly. 

1. Bean Body Coffee Bean Scrub, Coconut

Rub me down with coffee that smells of coconut any day! Confusing I know but coffee scrub is great for exfoliating and with natural ingredients with the likes of coconut oil, vitamin E and sea salt it is the perfect recipe for great skin. Sorting out rough, dry skin, stretch marks and cellulite. Remember it might smell delicious but DO NOT eat the stuff. You can own this sweet smelling scrub for £14.95 from Holland & Barrett. 

2. Nuva, Flavoured Water 

I love a sip of flavoured water but when you are running around like a headless chicken why not grab a Nuva, with so many refreshing flavours: lemon & ginger and cucumber & mint. So delicious with no calories, no sugar and no sweeteners. If you fancy one, head to your nearest Whole Foods or Waitrose.

3. Miaflora, Cacay Oil

This little oil is made up of 100% pure Cacay oil which is full of vitamin A, E and fatty acids. This natural oil moisturises, soothes and tones your skin for brighter looking complexion and it has properties to help with fine lines – anything that helps with my forehead is a winner. If you’re looking for shiny hair add a bit to the tips when wet. You can purchase for £24.99 from Holland & Barrett.

A fun fact for you all: Cacay oil is actually better for you than the famous Argan Oil having a higher concentration of Vitamin E.

4. Native Unearthed, Natural Deodorant 

Aerosols are not great for the environment so a deodorant stick made from naturally occurring mineral salts mixed with aloe vera is a kinder alternative and I also know from my reality TV addiction that Kourtney Kardashian is a fan. Say BYE, BYE to body odour with volcanic crystals & Aloe that actual stops the growth of bacteria, all for £7.87

5. Perfectly Pure, Virgin Coconut Oil

Coconut oil, OH that magical word it's not fatty and makes food taste even better and this 100% virgin oil from Holland & Barrett is a fab one. If you are not a cook, Coconut oil can be used for a whole host of other day-to-day tasks, such as moisturiser, conditioner or add spoonful in smoothies. You can purchase for £15.59 from Holland & Barrett.

6. Ecodenta, Extra Black Whitening Toothpaste with Charcoal 

Years and years ago charcoal was used as a natural teeth whitener so why not bring it to the 21st century. Enter: Ecodenta. Not only do you get gleaming white teeth but it removes plaque and tartar so your teeth feel fresh and clean for only £3.99 from Holland & Barrett. 

7. Antipodes, Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream 

I have not used Antipodes for a while now but I adore the avocado night cream (you can see my review here) and all the products are made of natural ingredients. My new favourite is the Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream with manuka honey active 20+, rosehip & antioxidant vinanza grape. This light day cream has pure botanical extracts from New Zealand for £24.99 from Amazon.

 

This post is a collaboration all opinions and love for natural products are all my own.

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Friday Favourites: 11th March 2016

Morning Lovelies! This week has been about getting back into blogging / healthy eating mode, reminiscing about my time in Iceland and keeping warm with home comforts.

Dreaming of food & my next holiday destination

From being in the freezing cold in Iceland (which I loved and features below) it was nice to be home to get back to reality. This did include getting back on the eating healthy bandwagon as this all went out the window since my birthday.

With the need to feel warm due to the weather I was drawn to one of my fave comfort foods: soup…not just any soup but ‘SkinnyLicious’ soup from Glorious, flavoured: Vietnamese Supergreen and it tasted YUMMY. Glorious soups have the added bonus of making me day-dream about my next ‘hotter’ holiday destination for the summer. Why?! the packaging is all centered on a destination and this one made me want to go back to Vietnam OOO the food there is amazing!!! Right must stop day dreaming now, so if you eat one of these tasty treats they will make you holiday day-dream and you will only be consuming 2% fat and under 150 calories. What more could you ask for from a little skinny soup!

Healthy Goodness

Staying on the topic of a health kick the heath gods at Holland & Barrett sent me a dream basket of loveliness filled with everything you need to keep healthy over the next month...healthy me is going to be back with a serious bang! Some of my favourite items I received were:

·         Oatly which goes great with smoothies instead of milk

·         Bounce energy bars taste yummy and are full of protein (9g per ball).

·         Chia seeds: I have never tried these before but Chis seeds full of so much goodness and great to sprinkle on top of my morning yogurt.

·         Nakd bars: These snacks are fab, I have been eating these for a while now and they curb my chocolate cravings.

Guilty Shore

GUILTY I love reality TV and Geordie Shore is one of my all-time favourites maybe it's because my mum is from Newcastle or maybe I secretly want to be them without all the sex on TV banter! Anyway Ex on the Beach is now over (not as exciting as last year mainly due to Megan McKenna not being a crazy Biatch like last time). So head to MTV next Tuesday for season 11 of Geordie Shore as I will be glued to my screen possibly snapchatting away - hint to find me Username: Time2Gossip.

Oh hello YouTube

So I have taken the plunge and finally set up my YouTube channel YEY!  Although I made so many faux pas with my first one:

1. The video goes on for a minute extra just with music...oh poo

2. Its’ quite shaky, need to get a steady hand.

3. Do I really sound like that?!? Is my phone voice coming out, I don't sound that posh do I?!? Maybe with more practice I will become more natural…

Anyway thanks for all the YoutTube love, I was a tiny bit scared to launch this channel but all your lovely comments and having over 80 subscribers in the first 12 hours was just an amazing feeling. LOVE YOU ALL oh and here is a cheeky link: www.youtube.com/user/Time2Gossip

Iceland

So many kisses for Iceland it is one of the most beautiful places I have been to and although I didn't see the northern lights the sky is just incredible 24/7. I want to go back in the summer as it never gets dark, there are photos of people surfing at 3 in the morning when the sky is orange...I MUST GO BACK! I traveled quite a bit of Iceland staying in Vik, The Golden Circle and Reykjavik.

I will be sharing a full post and Vlog about this in a few weeks, so keep your eyes peeled. If you want to check out my latest travel post, links are here:

Skiing in Austria

What to pack for a skiing holiday

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