What's Inside My Birchbox

Happy March everyone. I do hope we're enjoying the snow and the freezing cold winds that have come with it!

The other week my first Birchbox arrived. For a while I'd been thinking about signing up - a little treat to land on my door mat every month ... something to look forward to. I'd been a member of Glossybox and Birchbox years ago when beauty boxes first became a thing. I then stopped them, as I'd felt like I'd accumulated a few too many products and was literally drowning in them. This time I signed myself up for a six month subscription which cost nearly £75 including postage. I can cancel the subscription at anytime if I'm not happy with the services.

Well enough of that... fast forward to now and Februarys box. Every month there is a theme with each box and this months theme was beauty through the decades. You could select a 70s, 80s or 90s box. Being a cool 80s baby, I opted for the 80s box. I think they got the design spot on! Thumbs up Birchbox. Anyhow let's crack on with what is inside this month.

Cowshed - Cow Pat Moisturising Hand Cream | I'm not the biggest fan of hand creams and kind of feel like I was the only Birchbox subscriber to receive this. However with all this cold weather my hands have become a little rough. I do love the grapefruit and bitter orange scent, as they are quite strong and they linger on your hands afterwards.

Lord and Berry - Concealer Stick | I do like to try brands I would never pickup myself and I've heard so much about Lord and Berry's makeup. I'm not a fan of the pencil as you obviously have to sharpen it when it gets low. I'd much rather it be a twist up pencil applicator. I was sent the colour beige which happens to be a little dark for my current skin tone, however in summer it might be perfect!

The Beauty Crop - Eyeshadow Trio | These are totally my colours and it was nice to get a full size eyeshadow palette in my box. However if I want to go for a bronzed goodness look, I'm more likely to dig out my original Naked palette by Urban Decay. This is the perfect travel size palette if you just literally want one eye look. Sadly when I gave these a swatch I found the shadows to be dusty and not very pigmented which is a shame.

Luseta - Coconut Milk Hair Mask | This smells divine - I do love a good old coconut product. The sample size I was given was 30ml and I used it tonight on my hair. I have quite thick hair so I ended up using the whole tube. It would of been nice to get a little more than one use out of it. When I sniff my hair I do get a slight hint of coconut and it is quite soft. I especially enjoy the fact this is a cruelty free item. I wish Birchbox would do a whole month of cruelty free options... hint hint wink wink.

Percy and Reed - Quite Frankly Flawless Finishing Polish | What a mouthful of a name! Forget the name length though, this is a finishing product which captures any fly aways hairs with a gentle hold. I've tried this once so far after I had styled my unruly hair with my straighteners. It's a thick cream and you don't need much and you're not left with a crispy hair look you can get with some products.

That's it for the box. I think my only disappointment with my first box is the fact received two hair products. It would of been nice to have something else like a body product or skincare item perhaps. Birchbox usually have offers on when you first sign up for a box, so keep an eye out for coupons and offers. I received a free full sized sample of Smith and Cult lipgloss as part of my offer which I love and wouldn't of ever picked out and bought myself. #Winning!

Have you ever been interested in signing up for a subscription box service?

Angela x

Second Hand EBay Finds

There's that saying "one mans junk is another mans treasure". I think in this day and age we have become very much a throw away society. I can hold my hands up myself and say I pretty much donate to charity shops on regular basis. However I think I should perhaps try to sell my no longer loved items instead of popping them to the charity shop. Donating to charity; yes it is a GOOD thing, but some times it would be nice to get a little cash in MY pocket instead. No offence.

Lately I'm being quite careful where I spend my money, as I'm living off maternity pay and that pays peanuts. I cannot complain really, as at least we get paid money in the first place to stay home and look after our babies'. Since I had Grace I feel a little meh about my clothes. I'm living in-between sizes as I still have the mum-tum. I'm not bothered that I have a mum-tum, but it's annoying as I cannot find anything that works for me right now. I do aim to lose weight, but I'm in no big rush to get my Victoria Secrets model like body back. Not like I had this in the first place I might add.

Instead of nipping in to my trusty Primark or to charity shops I thought I would log in to EBay and look for some items that were no longer being loved and needed a new home. Here is what I got...

GAP Cream Mohair Jumper 
I really liked this jumper as soon as I saw it and it was for sale for a mere £3.97 plus postage of £3.50 - a bargain total of £7.47. I like the look of the vertical ribbing and the collar. We're still having some chilly days and I thought this looked nice and snug. When it arrived, unfortunately it was marked which I told the seller about and she was more than happy to refund me if the stains didn't come out once washed. What looks like happened was the bag she posted the jumper in had a blue lining that rubbed off. Luckily it came off no problem.

I've had two issues with the jumper... firstly it can be a little see through meaning no white or black bras underneath unless you have a vest on first, which is fair enough. The second issue is the jumper can shed a little. I try not to wear it around Grace as I know she'll get the jumper fibres stuck in-between her fingers. I don't want her eating fluff just yet.

The burning question you have is, would I buy this again?? The answer is ... probably. Like I said the shedding is annoying, especially since I have a baby where everything gets stuck in her hands and spaces between her fingers. Apart from that it is a nice buy, even if I get a year or 18 months of wear it is still worth it I think.

Peacocks Alexa Skinny Jeans 
I've bought the Alexa jeans from Peacocks before in store, but they never seem to have them in size 12 and this is why I took to EBay. The seller had these marketed as a buy now offer for £9.99 including postage. I made her an offer of £8.00 which she came back with a counter offer of £8.99. I though this seemed fair deal considering it included postage. I know what it's like to sell items and how much postage can sting you.

Once I got the jeans, they looked fine apart from that I'VE BEEN SAT AROUND FOR A BIT smell, however a good wash sorted that. I like the detail on the back pocket... I've not got this on my other Alexa jeans. What I like about this range of jeans is the stretch and give they have. I found 14s a little too stretchy and this is why I was looking for 12s. I popped these on and these just kept wanting to wriggle down but not because I think they are too big. I think they are on the small size which is a shame. I can wear them but I have to pull them up now and again. I might have to dig belt out!

Now would I buy them again? Yes certainly. I've got a pair of jeans for half price as Peacocks sell these for between £16 and £18 and there is nothing wrong with them. After I lose a couple of pounds I think they will be more of a better fit. Whoop whoop.

That's it for now for my EBay purchases. I'm also going to do a post soon on some charity shop finds. I will get to share with you all a coat that I found and I'm seriously proud of this beauty and how much I paid for it!!

Do you shop on EBay for second hand clothes?

Angela x

Tips For A Cleaner House

Ha. Who would of thought I'd be writing tips on this subject. The older I've gotten I have kind of morphed into my Mum and become a bit of a clean freak. I'm a firm believer in the saying 'messy house, messy mind' and since I've been promoted into a stay at home mummy, I really feel the affects of clutter and mess in my house. It makes me go a bit nuts. I thought I'd share a few of my favourite tips that I like use daily in my home to try to keep on top of things.

One Touch Method
I've been nagging my hubby about this for years and it is slowly getting through LOL. One touch is exactly what it means - one touch and deal with it straight away. If you've finished drinking that coffee -instead of leaving the cup by the sink or dish washer, wash it up or pop it straight into the dish washer straight away. You've come in the door after work, put your jacket away on its coat hook. Don't throw it on the sofa first only to pick it up later on. You're helping yourself in the long run by tidying mess up before it's even there.

High Traffic Areas
These are areas of your home which are walked on frequently throughout the day. Vacuum these daily, ours are the hall way by the front door and the kitchen. They are magnets for bits of dirt - I don't know where it comes from! Just a quick blitz with my trusty Dyson and order is restored. Our stairs are high traffic too, but I leave these to the weekend as they are a bit more time consuming and who wants to vac their stairs everyday? No one!

Clean Up The Kitchen Before Bed
This might be a big task, but if you're keeping on top of things throughout the day then this should not be too hard. The last two things I like to do before I go upstairs to bed is to switch on the dishwasher and wash the kitchen floor. Your dishes will be ready and clean in the morning and the floor will be all clean and not walked on all night. No body wants to come down to a bomb site of a kitchen first thing in the morning. If you load the dish washer during the day, wipe your counters down, rinse out the sink then when the morning arrives all you will need to do is put the dishes away.

Wipe Down The Bathroom When You're On The Loo
Two birds one stone hey. When it's my time to go - I will spray the bath and tiles... I'll then do my business for a few minutes. Afterwards whilst washing my hands I'll wipe out the sink and then I rinse the bath and tiles with the shower. You don't have to do this every time you pee, but once a day really helps. A deep down clean will be done once a week, but keeping it clean during the week helps a lot. Another tip; I love is to put bleach down the toilet just before I got to bed every other night. I also wipe down the seat so that it is fresh for the morning #Winning!

Make Your Bed
This is such an obvious one. Your bed makes up for most of what you can see in your bedroom, if it is a mess and not made you sure are going to notice it. It takes seconds to make it and it will really make a big difference. Trust me.

I hope these tips inspire you. Even if you don't do all these tips I have given and just pick one then that is a good start. It is all about being kind and helping your future self.

Do you have any tips for a cleaner home?

Angela x