Back To Blogging and Update

Hello everyone. I have been absent from my little corner of the internet for quite some time; 9 months in fact. Although I wasn't posting any content myself, I've still been reading my favourite blogs and keeping up to date on YouTube. I just felt that I had somehow lost my spark for it and I didn't want to just write posts for the sake of getting content up.

Also in my personal life I had just finished my Specialist Practitioner Qualification in district nursing and although that had been over the course of 2 years, I felt like I never wanted to go near a computer again! It was just nice to enjoy coming home from work and not having to think about picking up a book or nursing journal to use for an assignment. I enjoyed the summer, with my family in the evening and on my days off, and then came the autumn with winter quickly after it. Time just escaped me and before I knew it the new year was here and I hadn't felt like blogging. Until now...

I have decided that I'm just going to post content when I feel like it. I really admire the bloggers who have set days where they post, but I just can't commit to that. I'm a mother to a 5 1/2 year old girl, I'm a wife, I work full time and I have a house to run. I also don't have an overflowing bank account that allows me to buy lots of new products on the market to write about. So I'll just go with flow for now and blog whenever I get the urge!

I'm still quite active on Instagram (heartoceansecrets) and I'd love you to come say hi. I'm just getting back into Twitter (rachel80jones) so bear with me on that! Thanks to my followers who have stayed with me with the occasional tweet/email/insta asking how I am.

See you all real soon

Rachel xx

image from stocksnap

Ole Henriksen ~ African Red Tea Foaming Cleanser

Back in July last year I wrote about the Clinique skincare products that I was using. Back then the cleanser really suited my needs but at the beginning of this year my skin seemed to change, going back to the breakouts that made me switch in the first place. Whilst reading other blogs and clicking through links on various products, I came across the African Red Tea Foaming Cleanser by Ole Henriksen. Suitable for all skin types, this is really gentle and doesn't dry my skin too much where I'm left with that tightness after drying. The longer I have been using this the more benefits I have noticed to my skin. The red blotchy areas to my chin began to fade again and the faint lines around my eyes started to be less noticeable. The cleanser itself, once pumped onto your hand, is a foam but once rubbed in turns to a lather and is quite creamy. The smell is divine with a gentle citrus scent of grapefruit, tangerine and orange. I first bought the 45ml as the pictures show for £7 from Feel Unique and has lasted me ages. I have since purchased the full size of 207ml. At full price this is pricey at £26 but I was sent a discount code for 20% as I hadn't placed an order for a while, and I was enticed back there... All in all I really love this at the moment, but unfortunately my skin, over time, seems to adjust back to its old ways and I have to look for something new to sort it out, but at the moment this is working just fine.

Rachel xx

Gold Accessories For Summer

Apart from my wedding band, I never really wear gold jewellery. Although I do own some beautiful pieces of real gold that were my mothers, I tend to stick with silver; that was until quite recently. The jewellery featured here are new items I have picked up since giving some of my unworn costume jewellery to the charity shop.
The triangle necklace with the star was from Not On The High Street and is 18k gold plated. The enamel is available in five colours. I chose the white as it will go with anything. The 'M' is my daughters initial. The longer necklace is from Accessorise from the Z range and I have worn them together as they are different lengths for the boho layered look. The Fiorelli bracelet is one of my favourites and the band is a very soft grey/gold colour. I also bought my best friend the exact same one as we have extremely similar tastes. The bow bracelet was from Miss Selfridge in a sale for 50p and is quite dainty on the wrist. It's actually been a nice change for me to wear gold especially as the weather is sunny and I'm slowly getting a tan which I think compliments the jewellery.

Rachel xx

Bumble and Bumble Surf Foam Wash Shampoo

It's taken me quite a while to deviate away from my beloved Lee Stafford shampoo which I wrote about here as I still really love it, but I fancied a change and for me, a change is good as I get to put my thoughts about different products here on my blog for you all to read. After sniffing and googling my way around Boots I decided to try Surf Foam Wash Shampoo by Bumble and Bumble after reading some good reviews. For me, B&B is quite a luxury high end brand and personally I think the prices for the products are a tad expensive so I was delighted to see they offered some mini products. The shampoo itself smells really nice - a clean and fresh scent that leaves hair completely squeaky clean. The first application didn't lather quite so well but the second certainly made up for it. Once out of the shower the scent lingered in the bathroom. After drying my hair and styling it in the usual way with my usual products my hair was soft but also had that textured feel to it that helped keep my waves in place throughout the day without becoming frizzy and wild which sometimes happens. I also noticed that my hair was less oily the next day and I was able to restyle it by adding some curls without the need to use any dry shampoo. Bonus! For 60ml I paid £6.50 which isn't going to last me very long. For 250ml which is full size, will set you back £18.50. Would I pay this much? I don't really know, but I if I did purchase the full size I definitely wouldn't use it everytime my hair needed washing, just on the occasions where I wanted to really cleanse my hair and make my style last all day.

Any thoughts on Bumble and Bumble products?

Rachel xx

The Body Shop Colour Crush Eyeshadows

I bought two eyeshadows from The Body Shop back in November last year. During the Christmas season I bought one more and I have to say I really like them.  They're part of the Colour Crush range and these three are pearlescent. They also have some matte colours. These can be used wet or dry and are really easy to blend and really pigmented. Steel My Heart is a beautiful silver metallic colour and is really great for the inner corner. Grape Expectations is like a cranberry colour which works well blended out for a subtle smoky eye. Melt My Heart is a beautiful gold with a hint of peach shimmer which I wore frequently over the Christmas period.

Light application

Heavier application

I actually really love these three colours, although perhaps not together, but there are still some shades I would like to get that compliment them. I personally feel that these can rival MAC if you're on a budget costing £7. The packaging is simple and clean looking, very easy to store due to being slim and the lid is clear making it easy to see the shades. Love, love love!

Any shades you've tried?

Rachel xx

No7 Early Defence ~ #SlowMoYourSkin*

It's no secret that I have a love affair with all things No7 as my regular readers will know, so when their new skincare range landed on my desk, I was obviously quite excited.
The Early Defence range is targeted for the 20-35 age bracket to keep young skin looking younger for longer.  

With three products released, Early Defence skincare protects and boosts young skin's natural defences. With lightweight texture that is non pore clogging, it keeps skin free from breakouts. The day cream has unbeatable 5* UVA protection and an SPF of 15. Both the day and night creams are Hypo-Allergenic so even the sensitive of skin can use the range. The smell is lovely too which is a huge bonus as I hate facial products that smell clinical. The eye cream is for the delicate area under the eyes and contains Vitamin C to de-puff and reduce dark circles. This is great for targeting those first fine lines that appear in your late 20's. Use this day and night as part of the skincare routine. Even if you're over the age of 35, this would be ideal if you're not keen on using thick creams, as I find can sometimes make my skin look oily (depending on the brand).
Although not cheap (facial creams are £19.50 and the eye cream £13.50) you don't need to use a lot. With regular 3 for 2's and £5 off vouchers throughout the year, there are savings to be made, so why not give this range a go and #SlowMoYourSkin.

Rachel xx

*PR Samples

Boots

Wax Lyrical Emperor's Red Tea Candle

Wax Lyrical is a candle brand that I haven't tried before. It is a British and privately owned brand making scented candles and reed diffusers in Cumbria. For a new range, Wax Lyrical have teamed with home decorating and design company Fired Earth and have released seven tea inspired scents in glass containers to compliment their popular colour palettes.
After an in-depth smell test to decide which one I liked best (I was at least 15 minutes) I chose Emperor's Red Tea. Wax Lyrical describe this as...

'an intense sensual scent with fresh citrus of bergamot warmed by rose pepper and red tea, 

resting on a base of a precious woods and vanilla".

Sounds quite nice doesn't it, but to be honest I wouldn't be able to pick these notes out by just whiffing it as I'm hopeless at it but vanilla and a wood combo is what I normally go for.

Burn time is 90 hours for the largest two wick size which I purchased. It burns evenly and fills the room with its lovely scent. After I left the room to go to another part of the house I could smell it quite plainly in other areas which was a pleasant surprise. After blowing out and leaving to cool overnight I could actually smell the candle when I walked past it the next morning.

Overall I'm very impressed with this and will definitely splurge in more from other ranges that Wax Lyrical produce. This large candle and the Fired Earth range retails at £35 but I bought it for £22 at my local stockist. Small size candles cost £20 and the reed diffusers from £14 from the Wax Lyrical site.

Rachel xx