This weeks soap making!

Hi girlies, Ive had a pretty busy week working on a few new products and re-stocking some of the favourites. The best thing for me about making products is the constant learning curve that you take when creating.

Freshly cut this morning is my Zingy Lemon Slice. This is made with Shea butter, coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, Castor oil, and silk. I used a new nozzle for the piping on top and really like how it turned out. I'm loving all the fresh vibrant scents right now.

Today i had my first attempt at an all coconut recipe for soap. This is 100% coconut oil with added goats milk and a super fat of 23% so it should be really bubbly and moisturising. It wasn't the easiest of soaps to make as it didn't want to blend together very well and so we will have to see what its like when i cut it. Fragranced with a sweet coconut it reminds me of holidays.

I also made a repeat soap of my Strawberry slice. This one has a biscotti fragranced base made with oatmeal for a light exfoliation and a delicious strawberry scent topping. This sells really well so i try to keep it well stocked.

Lastly i made my first attempt at making sugar flowers. I use them to go on the top of bath bombs and they are quite expensive to buy if you use them a lot like me so i thought id give it a shot. I know they are not perfect but I'm quite pleased with them as a beginner. I will use these when i make my next batch of vanilla cupcake bath bombs.

Thanks for reading and hope you all had a good weekend xx

Bargain Bat your eyelashes

I love False eyelashes but even more so when i can find them at a great price. The other day i was looking on eBay and came across these little beauties

You get 5 pairs in a pack for just £3.97 and £1.28 postage which costs less than your average price for just 1 pair of lashes. BARGAIN

You never know the quality when you buy from eBay Ive had some lashes that were awful and some brilliant ones too. These ones are the latter. They are soft and easy to apply and they don't feel heavy on the eyes. I really like the design with the little clusters of lashes in between the shorter ones which make the lashes look lovely and full without being too OTT.

Before eyelashes

After

If you fancy trying these out for yourself head over to eBay here and grab a bargain.

Alterna Bamboo 48hr Sustainable Volume Spray

It cant be denied that the Big hair look has and probably will forever be one of the biggest trends in hair throughout the UK and elsewhere for that matter. After all thick volumous hair has always been a sign of youth and wellness but in my eyes i always think the bigger the hair looks the slimmer the face looks and for a round moon face like mine its a no brainer.

Now i wasn't blessed with luscious thick hair unfortunately Ive always had fine hair but lots of it but with many years of colour and straightening and general wear and tear and of course ageing Ive found that my hair feels quite thin and flat a lot of the time.

I am constantly searching for volumising products and am considering extensions as i mentioned in an earlier post as i am envious when i see someone with gorgeous thick hair but hey ho i have to work with what i have and so when i was offered the chance to try the Alterna Bamboo 48hr Sustainable Volume spray i jumped at the chance.
      Alterna Bamboo 48hr Sustainable Volume spray 

The product itself is free of Parabens and other nasties which is a pleasant change and with the promise of increasing volume by 105% i was very excited to try it out. 

Reading through all the ingredients i can promise you there is a lot of brilliant stuff in this which again gave me high hopes. Bamboo Extracts and Maca Root to help with the body building and strengthening aspects.
The product is priced at £24 for 125ml so its not the cheapest of products but in this case id say you definately get what you pay for.

How did it Rate?

I'm really impressed by the product. I sprayed about 8 pumps throughout my hair and blasted with the hair dryer. The photo shows my hair immediately after drying. It gave me more volume it also left my hair feeling a lot thicker but the 3 main things that i love about this product are:

1. The fact this product didn't leave my hair sticky like 95% of thickening products do. You can still run your hands through your hair and it feels lovely and soft which is a HUGE bonus.

2. The Volume lasted all day long. Ive tried products that give great results and big hair but it usually lasts a few hrs on my fine hair so again this was a brilliant result for me.

3. If i wanted my hair bigger than this all i did was gently tease with a thin comb at the roots and it held in place for hours. No rough backcombing needed as the product seemed to hold the gentle teasing in place which for my type of hair is really the only way its going to give huge volume.

I can honestly say i will be using this product a lot in the future. Have you tried this yet and do you love Big hair like me?

Loosing the Xmas Fat Before & After Pics!

Today's post is a little bit daunting for me. At 5ft 2 and 38 years young i have found that over the last 6 months i was steadily putting a few pounds on here and there and generally eating a lot of convenience foods and feeling really unhealthy. I have always been prone to gaining weight but am finding as I'm getting older the battle of the bulge is harder to maintain. 

On New years eve i made a resolution. My resolution was to get healthy. I'm not measuring my health by weight but my goal is to tone up, get fitter, healthier and stronger. After years of dieting and loosing weight and putting it back on Ive realised that there has to be a better way.

I don't want to count calories. My metabolism is shot from eating so little and then binging that i have to try something that i can maintain that will fit in with my everyday life and not make me feel deprived.  So this is what I'm doing:

Cutting out processed foods 

Cutting out Alcohol, Coffee, Fizzy drinks

Exercising

Taking supplements

Here's How I'm doing so far.

1/1/2014          7/2/2014

1/1/2014        7/2/2014

I have also lost 10 pounds in weight

I can do 10 Press ups ( Compared to 0 )

I can run for 20 mins on a treadmill (Compared to 5)

I have to say I'm surprised at how fast my body has changed. It hasn't been easy and i still have a long way to go but i am proud of myself for what i have achieved in just 6 weeks. I am happy to share what foods Ive been eating and what exercise Ive done if anybody is interested. Thanks for reading and i will be keeping you updated as i continue on this healthy mission. If anybody has any links to healthy eating or exercise blogs id love you to leave me a link so i can get some inspiration xx

GOSH BOOMBASTIC Mascara Volume XXL Review

I'm always on the look out for a great mascara. I am not a mascara snob by any means, i would be just as happy using a £2.99 cheap one as i would using a high end brand. Saying that though i am Very Very fussy. The reasoning of my overly fussy nature when it comes to mascara is the fact that my own lashes are pity full so therefore i need a mascara that is a miracle worker. Not only are my lashes very short but they are fine too. The latest mascara i purchased was this Boombastic XXL from GOSH. Priced at £8.49 available from Superdrug.

 The brush on this Mascara is huge. The brush can literally cover the full width of my eye with one stroke which is a bonus if you are short on time. The bristles are firm and close together and the shape is straight rather than curved like a lot of mascaras. The Colour is deep black and i found it easy to apply.

2 Coats of Mascara on Top & Bottom Lashes

Pros: Its great for fast thick lashes. It builds up almost instantly and if you had long lashes I'm sure it would look stunning.

Great Colour. No chalkiness just Jet Black lashes.

Lasts really well and is easily removed

No Smudging.

Cons: Can become clumpy if you use more than 2 coats (Not that you need to)

All in all I'm happy with this mascara and for the price i am impressed. It is a lot better than some of  the higher end mascaras that Ive tried out. Its not the best mascara for me personally but if you have normal lashes that are just not particularly thick or dark then id definitely recommend giving this one a shot.

Valentines At Marshmallow Blends & A Discount Code

The last few weeks i have busy making new products for Valentines and Mothers day. I love all the pretty girly products that remind me of innocent love but i also love some of the vibrant sexy shades so i tried to incorporate a little of each in the line up. 

Here are some of the new products that have just become available or have been re-introduced for the occasion:

Sugared Rose Lip Butter £4.50

A rich Lip Butter Made with Shea butter, olive oil, Castor oil Beeswax and honey. Hand swirled with a pretty pink mica. Fragranced in a soft delicate rose water dusted with icing sugar. Packaged in a pretty heart shaped tin.

50 Shades of Grey Soap £4.00

One for the boys. A rich masculine soap with Shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, Castor oil, palm oil, sweet almond oil and added silk for a smooth silky finish. Fresh Fun & Sexy.

Bite Me Soap £4.00

Made the old fashioned way with natural butters and oils. Each piece has a unique swirl throughout and is fragranced in Bite Me. A fantastic fruity fragrance with notes of Cherries, pineapple and citrus. Rich and soothing formula that leaves skin feeling pampered.

Voluptuous Vanilla Soap £4.00

Vanilla is said to be one of the worlds best aphrodisiacs so what better fragrance to buy for someone you love. Deep red rose buds or petals top these heart shaped soaps to finish them off perfectly. These are a limited edition soap so wont be around for long.

Lovers Spell Hand Wash Petals £4.50

A gift for the lady who has everything. These heart shaped tins are filled with individual fabric rose petals that have been dipped into soap. The idea is you keep them in your bag as each petal contains enough hand wash to be used as a one off then disposed off. The fragrance is one of the best selling fragrance types at marshmallow blends. A fruity flirty scent that leaves you wanting more.

Strawberry & Champagne Massage Candle £6

Perfect to share or to use alone as a real treat for skin. Light the candle and wait for a pool of warm oils to melt. Blow out the candle and pour into your hands and rub into skin. Warm and sensual made with soy bean oil, coconut oil and apricot to soothe and moisturise. A sweet strawberry with a splash of champagne bubbles.

I hope you like the look of the products. As its Valentines and mothers day i think all the ladies deserve a little treat so I'm giving everybody 10% off all orders between now and the 15th Feb when you spend over £15. Just use the words VALENTINES in the coupon box when you checkout

Where has the last year gone?

Today's post is a little catch up to share a few changes that have happened for me recently that i want to share with you.

The first one which I'm so so happy about is the fact i passed my driving test . Yaaay it was one of my new years resolution's in 2013 that i would learn to drive and get a car and I'm really proud of myself even though it took me all these years it feels like i have a new lease of life.

Ive also started Kettle bell classes and am on a bit of get strong and healthy kick. I have not drank any alcohol, tea, coffee or fizzy drinks since new years eve. I have to admit the alcohol will be re introduced soon but the rest i am hoping to avoid most of the time as i feel so much better for it.

I am sure i will be blogging about the fitness and my goals etc at some point as its playing a big part of my everyday life right now.

My boys are growing up fast. My youngest Rocco is 6 tomorrow and Ive been busy making cake pops for his party. I am finding a bit more time for myself now he is not so dependant on me and i must admit I'm enjoying that bit of time to be me and not just a mum.

Marshmallow Blends is growing in popularity especially here in my home town of Barnsley where i have a front space in a shop where i sell the products as well as on line of course. I am still loving my job and am excited to see what this year will bring.

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend and thanks for the warm welcome back to the blogging community xx

Hair we go again!

I have always had a love hate relationship with my hair. I LOVE long hair. I have always had my hair long but its so fine that unless i could find the time to stick big rollers in everyday then it just looks flat most of the time.

Thank goodness for extensions which have been a god send for nights out or when i want to feel the ooomph factor.

I have tried lots of different types but one of my favourites is the Halo. This picture was taken a few years back and my hair is a different colour now but these have to be the easiest of extensions to pop in and out and for hair that is fine like mine its amazing as the fine clear band means you don't have any tell tale signs of the awful grips which are a dead giveaway. If you would like to see the review its here.

Then of course there are the various hair pieces like this one below which is a 3 1/4 piece which adds loads of volume and i love the look but wouldnt feel comfortable myself wearing every day.

So my question now is whats next? I seriously love this look and I'm hoping by having some extensions put into my hair i can achieve something somewhat like it. I'm looking for a little bit more of a permanent look so thinking of going for the Pre bonded hair. I see Halo now do these here  and i also have a friend who is amazing at hair extensions so when i decide which ones to get i will be getting her to apply them with some before and after photographs.

 

What type of hair extensions if any do you recommend and if you have had them would you do so again?

BFF's Bloggers, Followers & Friends!

Hello out there to the gorgeous girlies that are still following. I haven't been around for so long here but this is where i started and this is where i want to return. I have decided to start blogging again but this time I'm hoping that a few of my fellow bloggers will join me here at Nicolettas Beauty space to add some of their own reviews on the Marshmallow Blends products and any other bits and bobs that they think my readers might find interesting.

I have to say this massive break from blogging has done me good. I feel refreshed and ready to see whats out there again and as I'm turning 39 very soon i think it will be interesting to be blogging when i hit the big 40.

Ive missed you lovely ladies and i will be catching up on your blogs very soon so look out for my comments. If you have purchased any Marshmallow Blends products and would like to be a guest reviewer then please let me know id love to hear from you. 

I cant say its not a little bit intimidating to be returning after such a long break but I'm looking forward to being back and finding some new fantastic products along the way. Please feel free to comment id love to see some familiar faces and if we haven't met on line then say hi and i will pop over to your blog too.

Nicoletta

xxx