January 2014 Glossybox - Back to Basics

So the Glossybox theme for January is "Back to Basics" I kind of like the sound of that I thought as I opened the box up.
Firstly the box has been slightly revamped, it is glossy and feels nice to the touch.  I use the boxes after I have emptied them out for all sorts of things, I have one holding my belts and buckles, one for my pens at work, one holding my cotton wool pads I could go on.

Back to Basics

I opened the box right up and this bit is always thrilling to me as I have a sense of expectation of what I will find inside.  Some months I am happy, others not so sometimes I am on the fence.  This month fell into the fence category.  I always read the magazine that comes with the box but even that did not set me alight with inspiration compared to other months.

The first thing I laid eyes on were the 2 small tubes of Yu-Be moisturising skin cream.  click here for more details.  A little does go a long way and yes it is a nice cream but I was not over impressed after using it a few times and its not a repurchase product for me.

I then picked out the Anatomicals Puffy The Eye Bag Slayer Wake-Up Under Eye Patches click here.  Great name for a product and although I have not used it yet I know I am going to like it.  The packaging is bright and funky and after using their facial spray I know these eye patches will suit my skin.  The price is at a good price point £6.00 for a 3 pack and I know I will repurchase.

I pulled out next Vaseline Essential Moisture Lotion, the brand is already a firm favorite already with me, I use the spray formulas and like them so seeing this in the box was a good thing as I will use it but also a let down as I like to try new untried products with my subscription. Vaseline products is available in many places including Boots click here.  I prefer the spray function much easier in the mornings and I highly recommend the spray and go moisturiser click here

Next out was tweezers.  Now I groaned, I like tweezers and I have a few but the fact is one or two of mine have come from previous Glossy Boxes so I have a few already in my collection.  These tweezers are from The Vintage Cosmetic Company click here and look nice, floral and pretty but are no different the the HD Brows tweezers sent a few months back or any of the others I own. These will be given away and I hope someone else will enjoy them.

My last item out was Balance Me Super Toning Body Wash click here, nice smell not convinced about the toning part but lathers up and the fragrance stays with you for a good while after.  A nice product but nothing amazing.

Vaseline/Anatomicals/Yu-Be/Balance me/The Vintage Cosmetic Company

Vaseline/Anatomicals/Yu-Be/Balance me/The Vintage Cosmetic Company

Balance me/Vaseline

Anatomicals/The Vintage Cosmetic Company

Mixed feelings about this Glossy Box, but on the whole I was left disappointed but the products inside.
If you subscribe to Glossy Box did you feel the same?

Cinema, food and more shopping

It's been a frustrating week this week but as I look back I can't work out where the frustrations were coming from. The things I had put my mind to worked well and to my advantage, I was formally observed and got amazing positive feedback which is always good to hear, interviews are going well and I felt on top of my game. Maybe it's that time of year joined in with the tiredness I think the cold wet days and the long dark nights don't appeal to all.

We decided mid week that we would go to the cinema, lots of great films out now and coming out in February so I booked up "The Wolf of Wall Street".  Oh boy, did that bring back memories and a light bulb went on about halfway through.  When I was in my previous incarnation I would not suffer fools, but I realised that now working with kids slowly but surely I have become softer, more patient and dare I say it I care more deeply.  It sounds like a good thing and to be honest it is but I need to be aware and not be taken advantage of, not that I think anyone around me can take advantage of me now but I need to be aware that there will be some people who for their own selfish reasons could play on my new softer side.

So before the cinema we went shopping, I needed supplies.  My skin went very dry this week, the cold damp weather has not been helping, I move from warm dry cozy rooms to the cold 6 or so times a day and my skin does not know what way is up.  I decided to leave my skin alone this week, using gentle cleansing methods and my make up consisted of cream products such as MAC cream blush and liquid bronzer.

The first place I headed to was Boots and the Clinique counter, I wanted a tub of Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm I heard some good things about this product and the consistency looked nourishing to me, I used it for the first time last night so it is too early to say whether the product will suit me but I liked how my face felt after using the product.  I also purchased a new Chubby Stick in Broadest Berry, I love these easy to use lip gloss/chap stick they are so moisturizing with a good amount of colour.

Last weeks purchases. MAC studio Sculpt NW20/MAC Cremeblend Blush Ladyblush

Last week whilst on the way to Arsenal I stopped off for my foundation, in my rush to get to the Emirates I forgot to get a new mascara and powder bronzer.  So after seeing the lovely ladies on the Clinique counter I headed to the Boots make up displays and picked 2 mascaras the first was Maybelline big eyes mascara, I liked the fact that it was a double ended mascara, one end for the top lashes and the other for the lower lashes.  The other was from Max Factor Excess Volume Extreme Impact Mascara another double ended mascara but this is one that builds glossy top lashes.  Both mascaras have had good write ups and I am hoping they do live up the hype.  I then went to the Smashbox counter and purchased the lightest bronzer they have, just because I live in Essex does not mean I have to be orange, but I do like to have a little definition to my face and I like having a glow to my face. I purchased the sunkissed bronzer and it looks lovely and subtle on.  I also purchased a lip gloss The O Plump will change colour that is tailored to your own lip colour whilst giving a bit of ommph to the lips.

I moved on to Lush and I purchased a few things for the body and bath plus a face mask to help with dry skin Oatifix smells divine and I did so want to eat it but I hope it does what it says on the tub!

Lush King of Skin/Clinique Chubby Stick/Smashbox bronzer/Smashbox O-Plump/Lush Oatifix/Max Factor Volume Extreme/Maybelline Big Eyes.

After the film (which was very good) we had a late lunch/early dinner at Jamies Italian, amazing food and great service.  I wanted to take a picture of my dinner but I totally got caught up with the yummy smells I tucked right in without a second thought.  I had a burger (no surprise there as I am a burger addit) and and garlic chips.  I was so full I could not finish it off and I wish I had taken it away in a doggy bag.  Mr JAEG had a meatball pizza followed by a lush looking lemon meringue pie.  I would love to go back and try some other things on the menu, it all looked very nice.
Today will be spend clearing out the study in readiness for the surveyor and then a fitted home office.
I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

What Anxiety is like for me.

This is a fantastic video about anxiety.  After going through a pretty rough time with this illness and it is an illness I found different ways of coping.  It still can be an issue but I have wonderful people around me who know what to do should it manifest itself whilst out and about. This video shows that there are many of us who suffer and we are not alone.  I also have to say Pixiwoo do amazing make up tutorials and excellent brushes if you like that sort of thing.
I hope that if you suffer from anxiety or panic attacks this video helps you in some way.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Forerunner 620: Running Dynamics

What I am loving right now.

I just wanted to put out there what I am loving right now.

TV

1. I am loving Sherlock, the last one was Sunday but it has been gripping since the first episode of the new season.  The episode when John gets marries was fabulous.
2. Eastenders, I am not going to lie I like watching it even though it can be depressing and sometimes the story lines are just wrong.  I mean you have to suspend belief when watching it as it is not a true portrayal of the London's East End, after all I should know its not that far away!  But, I like the new Carter family (I once did have a thing for Danny Dyer) and I think they have tackled a tricky story line well.  Eastenders is the only soap I will watch and I am glad they are trying with new characters.  Although I sort of like the old characters, Ian Beale has had more wives/girlfriends than I care to think about but I have known people like him.  The Jackson family are always good to watch, Bianca pinching the TV remote from her ex boyfriend was funny.
3. Breaking Bad, ok this is not on mainstream TV but I have Netflix to thank.  What a programme, highly addictive and I just cant stop watching it in marathon sessions, I am up to season 5 and I have no clue what can happen next.  I highly recommend.
4. Celeb Big Brother, a bunch of mixed up people locked away and fighting, snogging, sleeping and playing a game.

Film

1. Sweeney
2. Despicable me 1 and 2.

Music

1. Can We Dance - The Vamps
2. We Are Young - Fan
3. Roar - Katy Perry
4. Happy - Pharrell Williams I love this video

Beauty

1. MAC Studio fix
2. MAC lipstick  - Fanfare
3. Medik8
4. Urban Decay Naked 3

Other

1. My new Superdry glasses, the case is rubbish but the glasses are brilliant.
2. My pewter Dr Martens co comfy now they are broken in.
3. Sharps bedrooms they are designing the study we both cannot wait for the finished room.
4. Arc Notebooks the best way of organising a set of notes.
5. Moleskine passions books a good way to consolidate information, I wish they did one for make up/beauty.
6. All my Duo boots

What are you loving right now?

A week in make up

A new week meant I changed my make up. I am trying different combinations before buying any more products.

I moved back to my Nars blush in Orgasm, I have hit pan on this and I'm sure I will repurchase as some point. My bronzer was from K-co I have no idea where I purchased this,I think I got it from a clothes show/make up/model type exhibition. I like this bronzer as it's not glittery, not orange and does not look muddy on. Again I have hit pan on this, would I buy again? To be honest I am not sure, maybe but I want to check what else it out ther like this one.  I am back to using MAC mineralize skinfinish in Light Year as my highlighter, I love using this.

My foundation is still MAC but I'm now using up my bottle of Hyper Real in NW300 which is more drying than I remember, my skin did feel dry towards the end of the mornings, after day 1 I decided to spritz my face with the Body Shop vitamin E spray and that improved things but I am on the look out for a new foundation.  I decided to use the primer that came in my Glossy Box a while back. MONU first defence illuminating primer, I think this is very similar to MAC strobe cream.

I have kept my eye cream and concealer the same for the week along with my Naked 3 pallet.

I kept nail varnish off my nails for a week as I didn't want the nails to yellow and I decided to start the week with Get Your Number from OPI, another one from their liquid sand range.

The look is like stars in the night sky, flecks of glitter with a blue background. I love the liquid sand range as they are hard wearing but they are a devil to remove.

I'm looking forward to the new make up ranges being launched for spring. I see OPI bringing out some sheer varnishes, MAC have new pallets to rival Urban Decay and Stila have some fabulous products including metallic eyeliners coming out, I can't wait.

By the time this gets posted I will be on my way to watch Arsenal at home, although I'm fairly girly with my make up etc I still like going to a football match (especially if it's Arsenal) and joining in with the singing and banter you get at matches.

Hope you are having a fantastic weekend.

Changing

We are almost 2 weeks in to 2014 and they have gone by so quick.
I was back to work on Monday, the first day back after the Christmas break is always inset and in my place we use it as a review day of what went well and even better if......
I guess schools are no different to individuals in wanting to reflect back over the past year so see what did work and what could have been improved.
As I was driving into work one morning I suddenly realised how different I was now compared to this time last year.  I was ill in January 2013 and I was struggling to cope with all sorts of issues, anxiety being one of them.  Anxiety came about as I was ill and the doctors could not figure out what was wrong and it took until mid March to get to a point of knowing what was wrong with me and starting to put it right.  I spent the first part of 2013 very unhappy, highly anxious, ill and upset.  Now I feel contentment, I am better with regard to my anxiety and I am on the right track once again.  I don't often want to think about those dark days let alone discuss in the public domain.  However I feel that I wanted to share the message of hope to those who need it, it is the truth when you hear the saying it is always darkest before dawn.  If you are in a bad place there is always hope, the first step on the road to recovery is always the hardest but once you make that first step things do get easier. I am enjoying life once again, singing in the car and looking forward to all the little things in life.  I think the one thing I have taken from the last year is that we cannot change our past as it has happened and we cannot wait for the future but to concentrate on the here and now. I once wanted a tattoo saying "That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger" quoted from Fredrich Nietzsche, who knows I may still go for it to add to my 6 others but for now I am happy enough to just reflect on that.
I know some people keep a happiness journal, others a normal journal but I wanted to start something else off for 2014.  I purchased a book from Amazon called Q & A a day - 365 questions, 5 years, 1825 answers.  It has a fabulous quote in the front by Andy Warhol "they always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself" and I thought this quote summed up perfectly the last year.  This book is great, its not a huge commitment just a few lines each day answering the question of the day and this journal gives you the opportunity to answer that question again over the next 4 years.  It is then a record of how you felt or whatever and you should be able to see the changes over the years.
The question I had to answer yesterday was "write down something that inspired you today."  Working in a school I would have thought that would be an easy question to answer, after all I read fantastic blogs each day, work with brilliant people, I am learning all the time and the students never cease to amaze me I am lucky enough to feel inspiration each and every day, but....this question was tough it was asking for one thing that inspired me, not a list.  I sat and thought about it, reflected and decided that there was a moment in the day that inspired me above all else and that was listening to John Lennon's Imagine during a year 8 Humanities class.  It has always been a lovely song to listen to but hearing with a group of 12/13 year olds it was like hearing it for the first time I could see the message was clear to them as it was to me, live life in peace.  Music plays a big part in my life at work and at home, we are a musical school the students get 2 hours of music lessons a week, music is used in other lessons and I always think a song can change the mood of a lesson or the mood of an individual.
Wow deep I didn't mean for this to be so deep.

So....moving on.
I decided that along with the new year, new term I was going to try out a new routine with regard to beauty.  First off I decided that I will double clean my skin of a night, especially when I have been wearing make up.  I use Liz Earle's Hot Cloth Cleaner first click here for details and wipe clean with a muslin cloth and then I go over with with my clarisonic and Oil of Olay Regenerist Daily Regenerating Cream Wash click here. After cleansing I am now using products from the Medik8 range, including the facial roller.  I will not lie, the roller was painful to start with but it took 2 or 3 days to get used to the sensation and the skin is very red for a while after (which is why the procedure is conducted at night).  Since starting that I have felt my skin really freshen up, and I am am not getting as many dry patches and break outs as I normally do this time of year.  My dental hygiene has also changed, I hate the thought of having bad teeth (or seeing people with bad teeth) I hate the dentist visits too.  So I looked around to what could help on op of the normal brushing twice daily and flossing, a new toothbrush was ordered, as my last one was on its last legs, an Oral B 5000 Trizone and with that I also ordered a Phillips Airflosser.  Since using both my teeth have become whiter, they feel smoother than before and I hope it will keep the dentist visits to the minimum.
I also changed up my work make up.  I moved back to MAC Studio Fix in NW30, I had been using Benefit's Hello Flawless in Ivory but I felt it was too pale for me and the coverage was so so, not sure I would agree with the brightening tag, but you can see I have given it a good try.

I had forgotten how much I love the feel of a MAC foundation on my skin, light, creamy with just the right amount of coverage.  I thought I would give a cream blusher a go, so I moved from Dior to MAC Blush Creme in Brit Wit.

I have a decent amount of make up and I like to change things around to keep things fresh.  With all these changes I wanted to start to keep a log of my make up, what brands, finishes, colours etc I like and what doesn't work well for me and I wondered how other people keep a log of their make up, what they have and what works etc.  I sort of what to keep a note of all my products and also what I want to buy, so I dont buy duplicates when I have no need to, so I know when I go shopping what I do want to purchase and also what works for me what doesn't.  So I am going to end this by asking what do you do to keep track of your make up, do you note your products or just rely of remembering?  It would be good to hear from you.

2014 Mission Statement

Happy New Year!

I first started to post back in 2012, in fact my actual first post was 31st December 2011 (click here for recap).  I am still very new to this blogging thing and I sometimes wonder why I started to do it, I enjoy reading others and I do gain valuable insight into other things, I always learn wonderful things from others and I like to be open minded when finding a new blog to read.  For instance I enjoy reading blogs about beauty, education, fashion, organisation and lifestyle and I like to think my musings cover some of those things too.

I decided that I would not write resolutions for 2014 but have a mission statement instead, to me that feels like less pressure trying to stick with it and there is room for movement, to tailor it as the year progresses.  My mission statement for this year is to build upon what I have started already, so continue to evolve and self improve, to learn from past mistakes never making the same mistakes again.  I am going to learn new things and continue to do the things that make me happy.  So there you go pretty open ended, I will say yes more and seek challenges more often.

Last night was lovely, for the first time in a while I have spent Christmas and New Year in the UK, I normally go to Washington DC for the holiday break.  Although I missed spending time with that part of the family I was glad to be home for the holiday, it meant I could sleep in, mooch around in PJ's go to the stores when I and Mr JAEG wanted and relax with my loved ones.  Last night involved a few drinks with Mr JAEG and the family, watching the fireworks on the TV.

I am not going to do a complete 2013 favorites as I have used so many products and I have not kept a full note on them all but I will be reviewing what I have enjoyed using in December.
The first thing I have been enjoying is hot chocolate, I have finally found a chocolate powder I actually like when mixed with warm milk.  It is Spanish drinking chocolate and very nice, not too rich and blends nicely with soya milk.

I purchased mine from Amazon, a gamble that paid off.

The next thing I have been enjoying is the new coffee machine Mr JAEG and I purchased just before Christmas, it is from Nespresso and it makes the best coffee ever from a 'capsule' machine and I have tried a few over the years. It is very stylish and matches the kitchen perfectly.

This machine comes with its own milk frother and is far superior to other disc machines.

My next item also sits in the kitchen.

I was given a bread making machine for Christmas, it's from Lakeland and makes a loaf from start to finish in 3 hours, perfect size for 2 people.  The smell of fresh baked bread fills the house and makes it very homely, we both enjoy trying different types of bread and the beauty is as the loaves are small there is no waste.

I am also enjoying Sweetbird salted caramel syrup, nice with the aforementioned hot chocolate and coffee.

We have spent some time decorating the house, so my next item is a paint.

This is from Craig and Rose and the shade is 'Sensual Silver' from their opulence range found in B & Q. This shade is not a shy shade it is out there loud and bold but it suited the room perfectly.

I have been enjoying candles, well it's that time of year.

The Pecksniff's candle was a Christmas gift and the Yankee candle was purchased in the sales.  The Pecksniff's is an orange scent and as you can see from the label on the Yankee candle that scent is apple.  Both burn lovely and clean and fragrance the rooms very well.

I have new reading glasses, so they have to make the favorite list.

The case floored me to be honest it's like an old school style pencil case with a slide out top.  I won't use the case for the glasses but I like how funky the case and glasses look together.

Onto 2 beauty products to finish off.  This time of year my skin really plays up it becomes dry so I absolutely love the Body Shop body butters, my current love is vanilla but is am also loving the gingerbread fragrance and the almond so I am switching between the 3 depending on what I am doing that day and what perfume I'm wearing.  I also like using almond oil grape seed oil for the really dry days.

I am also using Johnson's eye make up removal pads, I am reviewing my skin are routine and thought I would trial the pads for a few weeks and see how effective they are.

I am also looking to expand my make up brush collection and will be researching some over the next few weeks.

I was also given a pair of Doc Martens for Christmas, I have no picture of them at the moment but they are the real deal! No knock off copies here, they are in pewter and are a thing of beauty and will be wearing them in for a few days.

What have you enjoyed using during 2013?