Healthy and beauty goodies- mini haul

Hey everyone, spring is finally here in the UK. I have my window opened my room and its so refreshing! lol. Anyways I was suppose to do this blog last week but because I was ill I didn't get round to it. It's just a quick talk about the health and beauty goodies I bought from Holland & Barratt over the Easter holidays when they were doing the Buy 1 get 2nd half price deal.

Good Hemp Protein Fit Shake

I bought 2 of these because it was 2 for £24. The original price for one is £16,  that's actually £3 cheaper than Planet Organic and Good' website.

I've always wanted to get protein shakes but wanted ones that are natural. Ones you get from fitness shops tend have a lot of artificial ingredients in them. This Fit Shake is suppose to make you feel fuller for longer, aids weight loss, body sculpting, and well being. The green tea helps detox the body. The list of ingredients is very simple just hemp. Green Tea, Stevia (Natural sweetener), Natural flavouring (Strawberry) and Xantham Gum. It's also free from;

• gluten diary,
• lactose,
• whey
• soya, 
• sugar,
• GMO, 
• Hexane, 
• pesticides,
• herbicides, 
• additives or preservatives.

Linwoods Flax, Sunflower, Pumpkin & Sesame seeds & Goji berries.

I bought a bag of mixed seeds for £5.49, original price was almost £8. This contains sources of fibre, protein, Omega-3, zinc and iron. You can add them to whatever you like, I've been adding them to my porridge and smoothies.

Holland & Barratt Vitamin E Oil

I bought a bottle of vitamin E oil at its original price, £7. Bought this because I've been thinking of making my own beauty products, so that is one of the ingredients I will need. It's very thick like castor oil, in fact I find this thicker. There's only one ingredient dl- Tocopheryl Acetate-this long name is basically natural vitamin E.

That's my mini Easter haul. I will do another shopping haul at H&B soon, I love them! Thanks for reading

Guest Post- How to Grow Long Eyelashes, Get Extensions and Care For Your Eyelashes

Hi lovelies, this is a guest post by Danielle McAnn. She works for Lash Design (Click on the link Lash Design to find out more) and has given some very useful tips in getting long eye lashes. Enjoy!

Long eyelashes are desired by people all over the world. But to get those long, luscious lashes, you are are going to have to treat them right. There are various natural and cosmetic ways to promote eyelash health and growth. To get those long lashes that you dream of, you can try applying them with oils and leave them to sit overnight to absorb.

Castor Oil has been shown to be very effective for natural eyelash growth for many women. You can use any castor oil for this approach, just apply a little to a cotton bud (q-tip) or clean mascara brush and dab lightly with a tissue to remove excess oil. Leave to sit over night and before long you will be impressing people with your new healthy lashes.

Vitamin E oil is another option, it often results in either thicker strands, new lashes, or both. You can purchase the oil or gels and capsules to squeeze the oil out. Apply the same way at the castor oil, or ingest the supplement. Emu oil is the oil made from the fat of the Emu bird from Australia. While it promotes hair growth, it may not be the most ethical option if that is a concern.

I find that making sure I clean my make up off my face before bed can do wonders for the health of my eyes. Making sure you don't have any gunk on there before you go to sleep allows your lashes to grow without being hindered by mascara. I also use a mascara with a lightweight liquid and a good quality brush that doesn't weigh down my eyelids.

If you don't want to wait for your lashes to grow, you can try the cosmetic approach which means eyelash extensions. Salons such as LashDesign Studios offer a variety of options. Acrylic and silk are the preferred extensions, providing a soft result with different finishes to suit your needs. You can have long and thick lashes, voluptuous lashes, or even natural looking lashes when you just need a little lift. They come in permanent and semi permanent varieties There are also some aftercare considerations such as not getting them wet of exposing them to steam for 24 hrs to let the glue set. There is also mascara that is made specifically for eyelash extensions, although it is likely that you won't even need them!

A week of pain and flu

Hi everyone. The sun seems to be shining more often but its still so cold! I finally started my revision and one of my assignments. I'm going to do this quickly as I feel absolutely unwell.

This week I my workout regime is quite different. The gym I go to was shut because of some construction work but the rest of the leisure center was open so I went to the exercise classes instead. I still went spinning on Monday, I'm still struggling with that and its a beginners' class. lol.

On Tuesday, I participated in the Tone Zone class which is basically aerobics but with dumbbells in your hands. It was a killer, I think its harder than spinning because when you get tired during spinning you can at least reduce resistant and you're only using your legs but with Tone Zone you're using everything. You have to keep moving. I could feel the result instantly, the muscles in my thighs were hurting later in the day. The next day was worse, when I woke up I struggled to get up. lol. Muscles all round my thighs, lower back, stomach, shoulders, arms, and glutes were hurting. The worst thing was, I was going out for lunch in Covent Garden (going lunch isn't the worst thing lol) that day which meant I had to take the train and a lot of walking up and down the stairs. I was in pain, I had to hold on to the hand rails lol! Despite the pain, I loved it. On Thursday, I was supposed to go to Sculpt class but my muscles were still in a lot of pain so I didn't go.

Moules et Frites, & Onion soup

As for food, I ate out again this week as mentioned earlier. I went for lunch with some old university friends at a French restaurant, Palm Court Brasserie, in Covent Garden. It was another deal I found on Top Table; 50% off A la Carte menu, 2 courses only per person. For starter, I had French Onion Soup with Gruyere Cheese and for main I had the traditional French dish, Moules et Frites (Mussel and chips). Quick review: It was average, I don't think I would go back again. The onion soup was nice but the portion was quite big. As for main course, it was very nice, I loved the sauce. However, I don't know if it was sand or undissolved salt (?), I kept eating sand or small crunchy particles. When the waiter came over and asked if everything was ok, I told him. And he was like 'are you sure?' So I said, 'Well, something is very crunchy'. Then he just walked off. I wasn't expecting anything from him anyways, its because he asked.

Back to Monday. For breakfast I had a cheese and ham roll and a banana oat smoothie. I normally try to avoid bread because of the yeast, but the roll was gluten and wheat free so wanted to try. My dad bought it because it was on sale for 10p. Lol! People said gluten free products aren't nice, but it wasn't that bad. 

Monday brekkie

Monday Dinner

My dad also made some smoothies so I had some of it. I'm not quite sure what he put in it but there were definitely some oat and carrots lol. It was nice though.

For dinner my dad cooked some stir fried aubergine with some mixed green leaves. He bought those leaves from Tesco, ones that are pre-packed for you. It was on sale for 10p and he bought like 5 bags of them lol. It was a mixture of water cress, rocket and spinach. The dish wasn't so nice. The nutty taste of rocket doesn't go so well. My mum made stir fried turkey breast with broccoli. (My parents always cook together which is why they cooked a dish each lol)


On Tuesday morning, I had some congee that my dad made the previous night. I don't know if it counts as being congee because my dad didn't put any rice, there were a variety of grains, including; red and green beans, goji berry, mung beans and different types of barley.  My dad also made some smoothies that had pineapple, tomatoes, beetroot and ginger. Not sure if he put anything else in, was good though. Sorry didn't take pictures of those.

After the Tone Zone class, I didn't have the energy to cook lunch so I just made something quick. Rice crackers and Ryvitas topped with cheese, turkey ham and cherry tomatoes. There were some pineapples left over from the smoothie, so I had that and a pear.

Tuesday's Quick lunch

Tuesday's Dinner

Later in the day, I went to see my boyfriend and I cooked for him. I made stuffed peppers, some beef in sauce and boiled potatoes. It was my first time making stuffed peppers, and it turned out quite nice. I know people usually put feta cheese inside but I wasn't sure if I would like the cheese as I don't like the smell of sheep and goat's milk so I used mozzarella cheese instead. I stuffed it with rice, mushrooms, onions and cherry tomatoes. Excuse the presentation of the dish, I started eating and remembered to take a photo of the food lol.

For dessert I made American banana flavoured pancakes. It was also my first time making American pancakes, my boyfriend wanted banana flavour so I blended half a banana into the batter. And oh my days, the pancakes were good and so fluffy! So proud of myself. lol.



Wednesday morning, the breakfast was boring just a whole meal bap with cheese, egg and ham. I made a smoothie, similar to the one I made last week but instead of celery I put cucumber. Still tasted good.

my new invention

On Thursday my body was still in so much pain so I thought I need something high in protein. So for breakfast I had Chocolate Soy Porridge:
-1 small carton of Alpro chocolate soya milk
-1 egg
-1 cup of oat
-1/2 teaspoon of maca powder sprinkled on top when porridge is cooked.

First heat the oat and some of the soya milk together. Gradually add the rest of the soya milk. When it starts to thicken or gets hot add the egg. Cook for another 2 minutes or until egg is cooked.

I know it doesn't look very appealing lol but it was nice and chocolatey.

Chocolate porridge

I started feeling ill on Friday. I was feeling tired, my lower back, arms and joints were aching. I didn't have the appetite so I just made a small breakfast. Gooseberry yoghurt wit chopped up apples and sprinkled with mixed seeds (Flax, sunflower, pumkpin, sesame seed & goji berries)

I didn't stay in to rest though because I had a meeting in the evening with one of the founders (Thais) of Glow (a beauty business). I am working with them for my dissertation. So I ate out at Le Pain Quotidien to meet with her, I never knew they serve organic food. Always been past it and always thought they did fatty bakeries. lol. I had Organic Quinoa & roast vegetables with artichokes, courgettes and aubergine & tomatoes. I didn't take a picture because Thais might think I'm weird, it was our first time meeting each other.  

Saturday and today I was just been in bed the whole day and had plain congee both days for lunch and dinner. Below is my Sunday breakfast that I still managed to make; porridge with chopped up bananas, sprinkled with mix seeds and manuka honey.  

Sunday Breakfast

I said I would do this post quickly but ended up writing a lengthy post lol. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and  stayed tune for more.  Thanks for reading. 

My Easter week

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you all had a great Easter weekend, did any of you stuff your face with chocolate eggs? I didn't as I've never really been a fan of chocolate. Ok, don't freak out now. I know it's weird for a girl to not like chocolate. lol. Don't get me wrong, I would eat it if it was there but it just wouldn't be part of my shopping list.  I was suppose to have started revising but I just couldn't be bothered and so gave myself an excuse that it is Easter holidays so I need to chill. lol

Anyways, this week I've changed my workout routine a bit. Normally, I would do a full body workout 3 times a week but instead I did upper body workout on Wednesday, lower body workout on Thursday and abs only on Saturday. Not to forget, spinning on Monday. I try to do an intense cardio session at least once a week as that makes me feel I've done enough cardio for the week. I just hate cardio. On the days I do strength training, I will go on the treadmill for 10  minutes only as a warm up.

Monday breakfast and date night

Before the spin class (an hour before*), I had a big breakfast to ensure that I have the energy to keep up with everyone else in the class. I made cheese omelette with baked beans (protein protein and whey protein from the cheese), a bowl of organic bio-live gooseberry yoghurt with chopped pears, a bit of maca root powder (for energy boost) and sprinkled with some oat, and a mug of semi-skimmed milk. I love my yoghurt sprinkled with oats, it gives it more texture and its just not the same without it.

In the evening, I went out on a date with my boyfriend (it's been a while since we've gone on a date. We usually cook for each other). We went to Reform social and grill, a restaurant in Mandeville Hotel. We had lobster burger with fat chips, roast pumpkins (this was sooo nice) and a bottle of red wine. It was a deal I found from Top Table; £14 per person, great deal right?




My workout on Wednesday started with a 10 minutes warm up on the treadmill then 10-15 minutes of ab workout and 40 minutes of strength training on my upper body- arm,back,shoulders and waist. Before going to the gym, I had porridge with some maca and almond powder and topped with 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries for breakfast. Lunch aka post workout meal I made a protein meal; quinoa (high in protein), grilled red and orange sweet mini peppers and cherry tomatoes and grilled halloumi cheese. It was lovely!

My dad made me some vegetable smoothies made with; beetroot, tomatoes, red peppers, carrots and cucumber. My younger brother and I cooked dinner together, we made stir fried turkey breast with tofu and carrots, steamed salmon and boiled long lettuce leaf. It's like a bit of English, a bit of Mediterranean and a bit of Chinese food through out the day lol.

Wednesday's food and drink

On Thursday my work out was like this;

• 10 minutes on the treadmill
• 15 minutes of ab and oblique workout
• 30-40 minutes (approx) of lower body workout;
• 10 minutes of lunges; walking, side, front and back
• 15 reps of squats- 2 sets
• 15 reps of hip abductor (inside and outside of thighs)- 2 sets
• 20 reps of bridges- 2 sets

For breakfast, I had a slice of rye bread with peanut butter spread and an oatmeal smoothie made with strawberries, blueberries, raspberry yoghurt, maca root powder and soya milk. I don't usually eat rye bread but saw them when I went Sainsbury's and thought I'll give them a try. They are organic too. Does anyone know what goes well with rye bread? 

 After workout, I had Ryvita crackers topped with grilled halloumi cheese, sliced cucumber and cherry tomatoes. For drink I made banana chocolate milkshake made with soya milk (this is my recovery drink). Sounds like a lunch you would have in the summer doesn't it? As for dinner, my dad made (bottom right) stir fried tomatoes with tofu and halloumi cheese (he was being creative with the cheese there lol). Monk fish with some sauce that he invented and some stir fried iceberg lettuce. I must say my dad is quite good at making sauces. He doesn't follow any recipes, he just makes it on the spot and put whatever he thinks is right and most of the time turns out really good. I only took a photo of one dish as that is the only interesting one lol.

Thursday's food and drinks

Friday, I took a day off from the gym and I went out for lunch with my family. I didn't take pictures of the food as I was too hungry lol. I'll just tell you. I had mixed seafood congee, with fried dough stick and stir fried noodles in supreme soy sauce. Yes, the traditional Hong Kong breakfast but that wasn't my breakfast. For breakfast I had porridge made with almond milk and I thought I'll be a bit creative so instead of adding honey for taste I added gooseberry yoghurt and some maca root powder. WARNING! Do NOT ever...I repeat EVER... mix yoghurt with hot food. The heat of the porridge made the yoghurt taste like vomit. It was disgusting! But I forced myself to finish it lol! As for the smoothie of the day, my dad made something with tomato, red pepper, carrot, cucumber and something else. Sounds weird but tasted good though.

Friday's breakfast- gone- wrong

On Saturday, I went gym and did 30 minutes of ab workout and 20 minutes of cardio. On Friday night, I actually researched for some new ab and oblique workout. I'm bored of doing the same workout over and over again.

Got home and made some quinoa, cheese and tomato omelette. It was pretty good, but it would have been nicer with spinach.

Saturdays's post workout meal

For drinks aka my smoothie of the day, I made something that I had from Planet Organic (planetorganic.com) before. I think they called it Energy booster.

- 1 carrot

- 1/2 celery (be careful not to put too much celery!!)

- 1 apple

- 1 cup of orange juice

- a bit of fresh ginger (size of your thumb? depends if how much you like ginger)

- 1 tablespoon of Manuka honey. 

This combination works really well, the ginger gives it a kick. Planet Organic made it as a juice so eliminated all the bits (fibre), I kept all my bits (except for the orange). I used a blender to make it, .and used the juicer for the oranges only.

Home made Energy Booster drink/smoothie 

That's it for this week. Hope you enjoyed my lengthy post and found it interesting. lol. Btw, did anyone realise this post is a little different; the photos are in pretty collages. ^.^ I used those pic stitch apps to put them together. Does it make my blog look more sophisticated? lol Thanks for reading!


*Note: If you do an intense workout within an hour of eating, you may vomit it all back out so best to eat at least an hour before. But if you do intend to workout within the hour of eating, have a light breakfast.

Glossybox March edition

Hi beauties,
I got my Glossy box over the weekend and managed to find some time now to talk about it. The Valentine's edition was very pinky but this time I think it is also quite pinky.

From left to right:

TRESemmé Salon Finish Extra Hold Hairspray
I got the travel size which is handy. I've heard that TRESemmé's hair sprays holds the best so I'm looking forward to use it. 

Elizabeth Arden, Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant Fragrance Free
I've never used Elizabeth Arden's product before. I just tried a bit on my hand, the cream isn't the regular white cream. It's more like a thick orangey gel texture and its quite greasy. Not too keen on it already.

Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics, Lip Blush
This is a lip stain, never tried lip stain but apparently is suppose to be better than lipsticks. I love the pink though lol. This lip stain contains beeswax and ceresin wax, sounds good. 

Juicy Couture, Couture La La
Loving the pink again, lol, and it smells good too. But the smell isn't unique at all, it smell like something I've smelt before. Nothing special at all.

There's actually another product, Nails Inc, St James. A classic pillar red. I tried it but its a bit too red for me. It's not in the photo because I forgot I took it out when I took the photo. And I can't be bothered to take a photo of it lol.

I am satisfied with this box, I love GlossyBox. Anyways that's it for now! Speak to you later!

Introduction to "Health Freak's" Diet

Hello Lovelies, hope you're all enjoying this spring snow. First of all, I'm not ON a diet, I just decided to start blogging more often about my diet that I consider healthy. I may not be a guru but I want to share my food/drink recipes, food and exercise tips and my workout regime.

My lovelies 

A few months ago, some guy in my University (not from my course but in the same department & we've NEVER met) asked me 'Are you the health freak?' I was like 'what?...yyehhh...who told you that?' Lol. I sort of admitted it but at the same time I was thinking who has been bi*tching about me and what's wrong with eating healthy. Lol.

However, I may be a "health freak" after I did my food shopping. haha! Last week I went Tesco and bought organic rice cakes, organic rye bread with pumpkin seeds, organic almond milk, organic chocolate soy milk, organic raspberry yoghurt and packet of Ryvita multi-grain crackers. So am I one? lol


What started me to pursue a healthy diet and lifestyle?

I started eating healthy in 2010 which is about 2 and half years ago which is when I started this blog- I also became very interested in beauty at that time hence why I started this blog. Not that I didn't eat any vegetables or fruit before but I used to eat quite a lot of junk, didn't exercise much (only exercised in the summer which is kind of pointless to a certain extent. I will talk about that later) and wasn't "obsessed" with the healthy diet and lifestyle.


In 2010, I took part in a Chinese beauty pageant and that is when I started to exercise hard core and went on a diet- first time in my life. I wanted to be slimmer because Chinese people prefer skinny people and I thought maybe that would earn me some brownie points lol. 

I went to the gym 4-5 times a week doing about 30 minutes of cardio (treadmill, cross trainer and bike), 10 minutes of ab workout and 20 minutes of strength training on my bum and legs only. I researched all the food I should be eating to lose weight and get my body toned quick. However, I didn't starve myself because one that is not that correct way to lose weight and two because I love my food too much. I reduced the portion of  meals; I ate 5 meals a days. I swapped all simple carbs to complex carbs, i.e. white bread to wholemeal bread, white pasta to brown pasta, white rice to brown rice, etc. I was having more chicken and vegetables and I even sacrificed desserts for three months. Oh gosh that was so hard!!

Did I lose any weight? Yes I did, but only about 3kg and my waist size went down an inch. After the pageant was over, I was back to my normal size and weight lol. But I'm happy with my body shape and size though. I didn't stop eating healthy or exercise, but I wasn't as strict with myself. I had desserts, went gym 2-3 times a week instead.

Near the end of 2010, I met my gorgeous boyfriend. He is my motivation in keeping fit and staying healthy. Reason being he has a fit body (girls would be drooling over...hehe) so I feel I have to keep up. lol. He introduced me to smoothie oatmeal as breakfast and he became my part time 'personal trainer'. I never used to do any strength training on my upper body because I was scared I would get bulky but he explained to me it won't happen because for a women to get bulky they would need to do a lot of heavy weights and eat lots. I now work out about 3 times a week (including upper body) throughout the year and not just in the summer, and the results are so much better. 

Pigging out

As for my diet, I'm eating a lot more vegetables and fruits now. I'm always making fruit juices and smoothies-sometimes vegetable smoothies/juice too- I don't really eat meat that much now, I can go without meat in a meal whereas before I had to have meat in my meals.Why? I don't actually know, lol.  I just don't enjoy eating too much meat. Because of that many people think I'm a vegetarian lol. But I'm not, I still love my chicken and mushroom pies from Greggs. =D I basically try to keep my diet high in protein and fibre...of course with fair amount of carbs. I still research about good food and why they are good.

I used to feel guilty after pigging out but ever since I started eating healthy everyday and working out more often I don't worry as much also its alright to treat yourself from time to time. I love my healthy food, I feel a lot healthier, cleaner and I'm happy with my diet. I will blog about some of the foods I had during the week later.

Stay tuned for my recipes and tips. Thanks for reading! 

Valentino Master of Couture- The Catwalk

Hiiii!! Hope you're all enjoying your weekend.  On Tuesday, I went with my friend Patrycja to the Somerset house to see the work of Valentino showcases over 130 exquisite haute couture designs.

Signs on the floor

The exhibition was divided into three sections. The photo above shows the first section that we entered. There were archives of his work; a few sketch designs of his work, fashion magazines that Valentino have appeared in, letters and invitation designs that he sent out for his fashion show.

On the walls were timelines of his personal archive. 

Moving on to the second part of the exhibition known as The Catwalk. This programme was given to us at the reception, it gives information about the 130+ couture on display. 'It reflects the convention for identifying designs in a couture presentation, first established in the early twentieth century in Paris and London. There's a twist to this section of the exhibition, visitors will be walking the catwalk to view the couture designs displayed on the seating area of the viewers. 

The picture above is taken at The Catwalk, there were loads of people as you can see. The mannequins are on both side of the "catwalk". Visitors weren't allowed to take photos but I sneaked a few lol. Below is a few pictures I took of the couture designs and I will give some info about them that was provided from the programme.

Don't remember which year this was made.

A/W 1989/90
White candy jacket and dress ensemble with silk embroidery and sheepskin trim at the collar and cuffs.

A/W 1967/68
Red crepe evening dress embellished with sequins and rhinestones.
This is one of my favourite, I love the pink. ^.^

A/W 1966/67
White crepe evening dress with beaded embroidery detailing
I love the back of this dress!!

Designed in the 1950s, realised in 1990.
White wool crepe day dress with cashmere leopard print cape

The animal print collection

S/S/ 1966
Zebra print cotton ensemble with crepe bow detail

Some very elegant red carpet dresses

Kate Moss' seat at The Catwalk

As you walk out of The Catwalk, there was a wedding dress worn by Queen Elizabeth II.

I couldn't take a good picture of it as there was a staff standing there. I was hiding my phone behind the programme. Lol

This is some cool outfit, but no one would wear this on the street. There were videos showing how this was made. Every stitch was sown by hand. I wonder how long it took them to make this. Anyways, that's all.  Overall, it wasn't that impressive, it was kind of boring. lol. The best part was the catwalk though.