my week in pictures #1

Well guys, its been a while and to be completely honest with you all I have 0 excuses for why I've been absent. Some could say I was hit by that dreaded blogger's block, in reality it was just down to sheer laziness. Nevertheless, I am giving myself a right ol' kick up the bottom and I'm (fingers crossed) will be back with weekly posts! Intro out the way, lets look at my past week (more like a few days..) in pictures. Enjoy!

 1. Starting my week off with a medium mocha from costa (each sprinkling of chocolate on top, as you do) 2. Time for a little haircut in Glasgow, taking some hair inspiration from the latest magazines! 3. Ah Stirling uni, you truly are a peaceful place. Took this picture whilst waiting for my next lecture 4. Another day, another dog walk. Love taking the little one for a stroll around the park (normally turns out me chasing after her)

1. A new morning, a new coffee shop! This time it was a visit to Café Nero for a hot chocolate with whipped cream on top, yum 2. Waiting about for lectures again, so I took a cheeky trip to topshop.. shameless changing room selfie 3. Spend my time on trains these days #trainlife 4. Ending my week with my favourite lush bath bomb; butterbear


Something a little different for my blog guys, hope you liked a little insight to my week. Until next time..

Nicole x

Summer Edit | Fitness Tips

 

To kick things off on my Summer Edit series, I'm starting off with sharing some of my fitness routines and tips. No one likes to try to get there summer body ready with only a few weeks til the season starts so hopefully this post will help you prepare a little better and earlier. I will be posting a few more health/keep fit posts in this series, so stay tuned!

 

 

Sculpted arms; when it comes to my arms I'm pretty much a weakling, so to add a bit more definition to them I like to do around 20 push ups a day. If you're like me and are totally unable to do push ups start off with a low number, then as the week/months progresses begin to add a little more into your routine. Also you could try half push ups, so begin by doing the exercise on your knees. If you want to work on your biceps try using dumbbells and incorporate them into exercises such as lunges and squats.

 

Abs of steel; summer time normally includes slipping back into your well loved swimsuit, but after all the holidays (Christmas, new year, Easter, eating for the sake of eating holiday...) that beloved item might not fit like it did last year. So what I've been doing for the past month is starting up the well known exercises like sit ups, plank/side plank (which I hold for a couple more seconds each day), Russian twist and V sit ups.

 

Killer legs & bum; its no secret that the way to a great 'tooshie' is squats... plain and simple. I've been doing squats every day for quite sometime now and I really do notice a difference. When I first started I done about 10 a day, then began to add a few more each time that now brings me up to 60. The key is to start off slow, get used to them, add a few more in each time then if you want add in things like dumbbells to also work the arms at the same time. Another great exercise is lunges, backwards lunges and wall sit (that's a real killer). I've noticed a real difference in my legs by doing some of these every day and now have a decent amount of strength in them.

 

Everyday exercises; so maybe you don't have time to fit a workout in everyday, that's ok! Some simple daily things that you may or may not do already also help your body to keep fit such as like taking the dog a walk, gardening?, walking to work/school etc. Next time you go to the supermarket take one of your grocery bags in each hand and use them like dumbbells (might sound silly but it works if you buy a lot of food!).

 

I'd just like to add that of course I'm no elite personal trainer, however these exercises work for me and help me to build up my strength whilst tone parts of my body, so I thought id share them with you. For inspiration, look on places like Youtube and Pinterest (I have my own fitness category on there) and remember just to take little steps at a time, nothing will happen over night. Another thing to keep in mind is make sure to do some sort of warm up or stretching before you workout to get the oxygen flowing to your muscles.

 

 

Let me know what kind of exercises you do in the comments. Do you work out every day?

 

Sincerely, nicole

S U M M E R E D I T

 

 

Since summer is fast approaching I have decided to start my very own summer series, which I am super excited about! For the next upcoming weeks, I'll be posting all things summer including foods, fashion, fitness, things to do etc. So I hope you will all stay tuned as my first post will be going up this Thursday.                                                                                             

 

 

I really hope that you all that read my blog will enjoy this series and hopefully can pick up some fun tips for summer 14. If any of you have a specific topic you'd like me to talk about please

write down in the comments below, I am always open to suggestions!                                        

 

 

Sincerely, nicole                                                                                                                           

 

 

 

Review: La Roche-Posay Rosaliac CC Cream

La Poche-Rosay CC cream*

 

Earlier this week I received the La Roche-Posay CC cream and decided that I would try it all week before writing my honest opinion on it. This is my first ever French product and I'm proud to say that I've been converted for sure (even though it was bound to happen at sometime).  There is quite a lot of science ingredients in the cream which I could write a list about but I wont bore you with it haha, but basically the cream is to correct any redness on the skin and make is look visibly reduced. I don't really have redness problems however I do have acne scarring on my cheeks and wanted to see if the cream could reduce this.

 

So, the packaging itself is really handy. Its a slim bottle so it doesn't take up to much room in a makeup bag, not that you'll need to touch up with it for during the day but for travelling purposes its pretty beneficial. Another little feature that I actually really like about it is the smell. Now I don't normally like my face products to have a scent, but this one is pleasant and is smells fresh, not to overpowering for summer months! Plus the cream is spf30, again another bonus for summer.

 

As for the actual product, like I said its a French company so straight away you're onto a winner. I took a reasonable sized amount (enough to cover my entire face) and blended it in with just my fingers. You could definitely do this with a stippling brush or any type of brush for that matter, but I found that it blended so beautifully without them. The shade of the cream itself is a just a little bit darker than my skin tone but I think it will be a perfect match once I get a bit more colour into my skin (praying that the sun comes out in Scotland soon). Apart from that small downside, I really do love everything else about the product as it does cover my acne scars to a certain extent and doesn't cling to any dry patches at all.

 

La Roche-Posay cc cream normally retails at £19.50 however you can order it here at Escentual for £13. Escentual currently have 1/3rd off all French pharmacy brands throughout the month of March, take a look at their website here, and make sure to follow them on twitter at @escentual

 

What do you think of CC creams, have you ever tried them?