Lifestyle, food and drink, and our family life and travel adventures.
Hello!
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year. I really needed the break and now I’m ready to get back into it again. I’m in that mood where I just want to sit and write, write, write and ignore everything else for a bit. I have so many ideas for content, and I’m excited for a new year blogging and hopefully pushing myself a bit further this year. I need to get focused again. Last year I was very distracted for most of it and I didn’t end up where I want to be, so I’m determined to stop procrastinating in 2018!
I’ve got some lovely favourites to share this month, so let’s get to them!
I was sent this beautiful eye oil from Angela Langford – a Masterchef finalist – and I have really been enjoying using it over the last few weeks. I didn’t know that an eye oil was a thing – in fact I thought it wouldn’t be possible to create an oil that could be used so close to the eye, but it really works. Angela has taken her love and passion for cooking to create an organic skincare range that uses the very best ingredients nature have to offer.
This nourishing eye oil contains cucumber, rosehip and argan and is perfect for the delicate skin around our eyes. It feels so lovely to use and I absolutely adore how quick it is to slap on – it comes in a rollerball so it’s so quick to do a couple of rolls under both eyes and dab it in gently. I use this all the time, both morning and night, but I particularly love it when I’m in a rush (so, always). Obviously it’s hard to know if this makes a difference long term but I do think it helps reduce any puffiness especially overnight, and it is so soothing on tired eyes. I think it’d be amazing if it was kept in the fridge for a cooling effect too but I know I’d never remember to use it if I did that. I do want to try it though.
Angel Eyes costs £19.50 which I think is reasonable seeing as it is made with quality ingredients and will last absolutely ages. I’ve used it for a while now, most mornings and evenings, and I’m not even a quarter of the way down the little bottle. It’s also great because you don’t have to stick your fingers in a pot – so more hygienic but also you don’t use too much accidentally. It’s perfect to taking away with you too.
Would I buy it again? Yes, and I really want to try other products in the range. I think I’m going to order the ‘sample skincare pack’ soon, which sounds great.
I’ve really been enjoying Kombucha recently and love drinking something that I know is really good for me, that I also enjoy. I have this Equinox Kombucha that I get from Abel&Cole. Kombucha is an alive fermented drink made from green tea and organic cane sugar with SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacterias and yeast), and it’s another thing that’s really good for your gut.
I tend to have one bottle in the evening, mostly when I’m trying to stop myself drinking wine. It tastes a bit like it could be an alcoholic drink (and in fact does contain a teeny bit of naturally occurring alcohol), it reminds me of cider, except I don’t like cider and I like this a lot.
I got this ‘Mother like no one’s judging‘ mug for Christmas and I love it. It was from the Mutha Hood store and I just love the sentiment. I also got the pin with it on too which I also love.
I don’t know exactly what it is about them, but it’s the social media I spend the most time on now. My interest in Instagram waned a little while ago now, I just wasn’t that interested in looking at loads of pretty pictures that often made me feel inadequate.
But I really love Instagram Stories. You get to see the real person, hear how they talk and get to know them a bit better, they’re quick and easy to consume, and I just really enjoy them. They’re easy to dip into, and I like how the ones I watch the most end up at the top of my screen regularly. I’ve noticed I seem to really like fashion-y bloggers on there in particular; I really like style posts and looking at what women are buying and wearing. I find it really interesting. I like watching people talking but I also like photos as well. I have noticed that I don’t particularly enjoy watching videos of other people’s kids in general unless it’s someone who I know in real life. It’s funny how we like different things depending on the medium, isn’t it?
I really want to make more stories myself too, and record myself talking more; I think it’s a really nice way to get to know a blogger more, and I really enjoy making them. I love that you don’t have to worry about a picture looking particularly perfect on Stories (not that you have to anywhere) and it’s quick and easy to share something, but you can still be creative. I love them.
Do you have any favourites from the last month? Let me know in the comments below!
*I was sent Angel Eyes, but all words and opinions are my own. See my full disclosure policy here.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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