My 2018 Discoveries

Hi everyone,

I thought I would share with you a few things that I did and also discovered during 2018.

Personal Planner
I first found out about Personal Planner towards the end of 2017, but I didn't start using a planner from them until the beginning of 2018. This is also the company that has successfully got myself into planning, as I could never do before with a ring binder planner. I love how customisable the planners are from Personal Planner, and the options are endless. I'm really looking forward to using my 2019 Personal Planner, as I think I've finally found something that finally works for me.

My Favourite Etsy Stores
Sugarloop - Sugarloop is owned by Bernadette whose based out of Auckland, New Zealand. If you love your pastels and watercolours then you'll love this shop for planner stickers. I cannot fault Bernadette's customer service, and I would highly recommend the 'Sugarloop' store.
Happy Cutie Studios - 'Happy Cutie Studios' is ran by Carol whose based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you love your koalas, then you'll love 'Happy Cutie Studios' as her main characters are Koko and Kiki the Koalas. Lovely designs and lovely customer service. Another shop from Etsy I would highly recommend.

Owning a Planner & Planning
Due to discovering Personal Planner I have also managed to get myself to plan. I've found that I am more a plan-as-I-go planner, and I like a horizontal layout with no lines, monthly and yearly spreads, and to also use coloured fine liners for different tasks. I also like to use stickers to mark off or highlight different events. This is what I have discovered I like throughout 2018.

Celebrating my 30th & 'The Meeting' by Charlotte Jones
I've combined the two as they are related. I went to down to Chichester to see 'The Meeting' by Charlotte Jones as part of my 30th birthday present to myself. It was a tiring journey as it was only an overnight trip, and 'The Meeting' was a lovely piece of theatre to watch.
For my 30th birthday I went for a meal to Miller and Carter, followed by drinks at Hard Rock Cafe. The meal was gorgeous, and Miller and Carter couldn't do enough for us as it was to celebrate my birthday. While at Hard Rock Cafe I had my favourite 'Big Kablue-na' cocktail.

Discovering that my Favourite Book Has a Sequel 
My favourite book is 'The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed out of the Window & Disappeared', as I love how it contrasts between the War and the modern day. To my surprise I found out that this book actually has a sequel called 'The Further Adventures of the One Hundred Year Man'. I haven't got around to reading too reading it yet, but I am really looking forward to reading to it.

Wearing Coloured Eyeshadows & Discovering Angelica Nyqvist's YouTube Channel
Angelica Nyqvist is a Swedish Youtuber who is really well known for wearing extremely colourful and beautiful eyeshadow looks. It was Angelica who inspired me to start experimenting with colourful eyeshadow, as too be honest I thought I was too old. I've had a go with playing around with pastel pinks, rose gold, pink champagne, 'Tonic' and 'Fireball from Urban Decay, and I've really enjoyed the looks that I have come up with, but I want to start experimenting with more colours that would hopefully compliment my complexion.

These are my discoveries that I have made throughout 2018. I wonder what 2019 holds???

Review: Dr Botanicals Moroccan Rose Superfood Facial Oil

Hi everyone,

I have been using the Dr Botanicals Moroccan Rose Superfood Facial Oil for maybe around a year, and its the best rose oil I've ever used. I really love having this step as part of my evening skincare routine.

The Moroccan Rose Superfood Facial Oil from Dr Botanicals is an absolute pleasure to use, and it smells delicious. 

It has a lovely, lightweight consistency that sinks into the skin straight away, and it also layers well with other products. I use this as my last step before I apply my moisturiser.

Claims

- Packed full of minerals & vitamins that all work together to help to rejuvenate, renew & protect the skin

- Rich in antioxidants & moisturising prosperities to keep the skin protected & hydrated when it needs most.

The main ingredients are :-

- Vitamin C

- Vitamin A

- Almond Oil

Vitamin C

Vitamin C helps to stimulate collagen production for younger looking skin

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant which helps to rejuvenate the skin, even out the skin tone & reduce the signs of ageing, while at the same time protecting it from free radicals such as pollution

Almond Oil

Almond Oil helps to deeply moisturise & nourish the skin, while helping to brighten the complexion for a brighter, fresher looking skin

I'm absolutely in love with this Rose oil from Dr Botanicals, as I adore how it smells and what it does for my skin. It's one of my favourite elements in my evening skincare routine, and I don't ever want to be without it. I have tried a few Rose/ Rosehip oils in the past, but nothing comes close to this one - for myself personally. 

If you wanted to try adding a Rose oil into your skincare routine, but a little unsure where to start. Give this a go, and they do offer this serum as a travel size. 

Superdrug Boxing Day Sale Haul

Hi everyone,

I have recently done a little bit of shopping during the Boxing Day sales at Superdrug. I've only picked up a few items as I rarely shop during the Boxing Day sales.

Cosmos by Zoella

This is a lovely fine fragrance mist from Zoella, and it smells like peppermint and vanilla. This is a very subtle, but also very wearable scent as it seems to be more of a delicate vanilla fragrance with just a hint of vanilla. In the end I ended up picking up three bottles, as the scent is gorgeous as well as having a freshness to it.

Reach for the Moon Hand Cream by Zoella

The formula for Zoella's 'Reach for the Moon' hand cream is a massive jump from last years release of 'Winter Wonder Hand'. This formula is very lightweight while being very hydrating at the same time. It has the same peppermint and vanilla fragrance as the Cosmos fine fragrance mist. I took a chance and picked up two tubes of the 'Reach for the Moon' hand cream.

Bloom Driftwood & Sea Salt EDT 50ml

Bloom is one of Superdrug's own fragrance lines, and the Bloom fragrances are inspired by the well loved Jo Malone fragrances. 'Driftwood and Sea Salt' is there take on the Jo Malone fragrance 'Wood Sage and Sea Salt', which I also own. But saying that the 'Driftwood and Sea Salt' actually has a subtle hint of fruitiness too it, which the original Jo Malone fragrance does not. I really love the freshness of this fragrance, and because its an EDT will make it ideal for me to wear for work.

This is all I have picked from the 2018 Boxing Day sales in Superdrug. I know I've picked up a few duplicates, but that's because I don't think I will be able to get hold of those items again in the future.

Have a wonderful 2019 

Blog Update

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to say that the 'Blue Diamonds Forever' blog will be back up and running from the 15th January 2019 at 9am GMT.

I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year

Best Wishes

Lauren xxx

Taking A Break Over Christmas & New Year

Hi everyone,

I'm just letting you know that my blog will taking a break from December until mid January. 

The reason I'm doing this is because everything got a little too much, and I don't want that to happen again. So they will be no posts from the beginning of December until maybe the third week of January. 

I'll let you know when my blog will be and up and running again by sending out a post a week prior to the blog resuming as normal.

Best Wishes

Lauren xxx

Review: Caudalie Vine Activ Anti-Wrinkle Serum

Hi everyone,

I have been using the Caudalie Vine Activ Anti-Wrinkle Serum as part of my evening skincare routine. I have been using this since I have found that my favourite Caudalie Polyphenol C15 serum had been discontinued :(

The Caudalie Vine Activ Anti-Wrinkle serum is a vitamin C based serum, so if you are using other serums or oils make sure this is the first to applied to skin after you have done you toner. Even though this is new serum from Caudalie; I did use the same method to apply the product when I was using the discontinued Polyphenol C15 serum and I have never experienced any problems doing it this way.

Claims

- Concentrated serum is packed with antioxidant polyphenols

- Helps to protect the skin from everyday aggressors such as pollution & stress on a daily basis

- Visibly smoothing initial signs of wrinkles & restoring a new healthy glow to the skin

- It's light & watery texture blends into the skin leaving no sticky residue

This is a lovely, lightweight formula which sinks into the skin straight away, and it also has the signature Caudalie scent to it; which is a light and fresh fragrance. 

I only use one pump of this serum in the evenings as part of my skincare routine, as that seems to be more than enough. I have also been getting a lot of compliments on a glowy my complexion is recently.

This is a lovely serum from Caudalie, but I don't think it could replace the discontinued Polyphenol C15 serum. Even though they are a similar product they are definitely not the same.

Review: Kiehl's Creamy Avocado Eye Treatment

Hi everyone,

I have been using the Kiehl's Creamy Avocado Eye Treatment as part of my evening skincare routine for the past couple of months; and I'm really enjoying it.

This is a lovely, and very hydrating eye cream that works brilliantly as part of an evening skincare routine. Since I have introduced this into my evening skincare routine I have noticed my under eyes don't seem as dehydrated as they once were.

Claims

- Rich & creamy Avocado treatment

- Unique & concentrated texture is enriched with Avocado to gently moisturise the delicate eye area

- The formula does not migrate into the eyes

A little bit goes a very way when using this, and it also goes into a lightweight almost watery texture once it has been blended into the under eye area. 

Tip

Apply a grain of rice amount to your fourth finger, and then use your other fourth finger to help warm the eye cream up. While you're doing this you should notice that the texture changes from a thick texture to a lightweight and watery consistency. This happens because as your warming the eye cream up you are actually helping to burst the hydrating molecules, which will help to keep the under eye hydrated. 

  It's important that you warm the eye cream up otherwise its going to take a very long while to sink into the skin.

I'm really enjoying using the Kiehl's Creamy Avocado Eye Treatment, especially now that I have found out how to use it the correct way. This is a wonderful eye cream to use your in a need of a little hydration under the eyes.