Things I’m Currently Loving

As we are now a quarter of the way through the year I thought I would share some of the things I have loved so far this year.

Beauty

At the end of last year i decided to make a more conscious effort with using cruelty free products, by no means am i perfect but I am a lot more selective and have changed a majority of my body and skincare items cruelty free.

About a year roughly I saw on Superdrug’s Instagram Story they were introducing a brand called Noughty who did hair care products, they are cruelty free and vegan friendly. So I did a little bit more research and explored their website and found that their products are 97% natural which sold me even more on using their products. I have very greasy, fine hair I cannot leave it for more than 3 days and I can find that some brand such as Tresemme just sit on my hair and make it feel horrible. So I ordered their Detox Dynamo shampoo and their 1 Hit Wonder conditioner and since then I have reordered so many times, however I have switched the conditioner to the Care Taker conditioner and now I think I have a winning combination. I like how both don’t have strong smells and they don’t sit on my hair I actually feel like it’s clean. The Care Taker conditioner is amazing as I have a sensitive patch on my scalp that would be sensitive if I hadn’t washed my hair for a while and now because of the conditioner I haven’t felt it for ages. I love these products so much that I have a bottle of shampoo at my boyfriends because I know it works for my hair. I’d highly recommend they are available in Superdrug but I order straight through Noughty themselves. Each costs £6.99 with free delivery over £10 and it only takes a few days to turn up, I normally place an order once a month.

Check out the Noughty website: Noughty Haircare

Following the haircare topic something else I have been loving is the Tangle Teezer Wet Detangler brush. I use this in the shower to run through my conditioner so it's distriputed evenly and then I use it to detangle my hair whilst it is wet. I love this brush it is so gentle on the hair when using and also it's a more precise way of making sure I've covered my head in conditioner. I find my normal Tangle Teezer is too harsh on my wet hair as my hair is only fine and can get very knotty very easily. I love Tangle Teezer generally as a brand and haven't used any other hairbrush for literally years and even got my friend into using them as well as she uses the thick curly hair one with the long teeth. 
Check out the Tangle Teezer website: Tangle Teezer

Something I am not very good or consistent with is skincare which is terrible of me and it’s out of pure laziness. However, when I do use skincare I have been using The Body Shop, so I have very combination skin I suffer a lot with open pores and blackheads particularly. A while ago I picked up The Body Shop Tea Tree set and it had everything in it, a foam cleanser, a toner, a 3 in 1 wash, scrub and mask, a pore minimiser which I love, a night lotion and a Anti-imperfection daily solution which is like a serum. I mainly use the cleanser and the night lotion but I did speak to the lady in store the other day to talk about a routine and I need to do this. Another product I bought to try is from their seaweed collection which I want to try when my Tea tree items run out as it is for combination skin. I bought the Seaweed Oil Control Lotion with SPF 15 as I didn’t have a daytime moisturiser and also to try and build a routine that I can do day and night. I love the Body Shop and think it will now be my go to for skincare as again it’s cruelty free and natural.
Check out The Body Shop website: The Body Shop

I love Lush bath bombs always have done and always will, I had so many at uni but over the past year Ive found myself not buying any except Snow Fairy at Christmas. At work we are all female minus my boss and we all love Lush which has started to kickstart my love for Lush again because that’s what we buy each other for birthdays. So when I was in London I picked up two bath bombs which are an old favourite Intergalactic and a new one in Goddess. Then on Friday 29th March they released 25 new bath bombs of which I bought 4 which were Strawberry and creams, Harajuku, Comforter and Peachy. I’m excited to use them and share my opinions on them.

Check out more of the new Lush bath bombs on their website: Lush

Music and Podcasts

I listen to a lot of the same stuff so for me to find new music I like is a groundbreaking thing. I use Spotify obviously but I am still really old fashioned and I buy songs and listen to them. I have 2 songs and an album that I have been loving. Song number one is Sucker by Jonas Brothers, I loved them back in the day and on March 1st was completely surprised when this was announced so I watched the video which is epic with their partners in and bought the song as soon as. It’s upbeat and catchy and it’s never left my head since it came out. The other song is Dancing with a Stranger by Sam Smith and Normani, I first heard this on a driving lesson and loved it ever since. Again it’s upbeat and you just want to dance and sing along until your hearts content. Finally the album I have been loving is one I feel like I waited forever for and that is The Heathers London Cast recording which I saw back in October last year and loved. I love this album and I love a majority of the songs, it’s everything I needed and more I’m so happy it’s available to listen to and we have something with Carrie Hope Fletcher’s incredible voice on.

I have never been someone into podcasts but that has all changed since on of my favourite people Carrie Hope Fletcher started a fortnightly podcast with her fellow acting friend Celinde Shoenmaker called Wonder Women. Each week they have a different target that comes under the umberella of Wonder Women and it is so fascinating and I feel like I'm learning so much from them. Also they are just hilarious with some of the things they come out with. I would highly recommend, it's something to brighten up your day I think. It's available on iTunes go check it out.

Tech

In March I got two new tech items that I have been loving and wanting to share. First one is Logitech keys to go keyboard for my iPad, it’s a Bluetooth keyboard basically that’s ultra light, it literally weighs nothing. It’s got almost a rubber texture to it which means if anything gets spilt on it it’s easy to wipe over, it is also the perfect size it’s no bigger than my iPad and it’s very thin so easy to take anywhere. Also the battery life is insane I haven’t charged it yet in the month I’ve had it and I’ve used it quite a lot. Now the next tech item is a marmite one but I love them and have been debating over them for a while and that is Apple AirPods. At the end of March I finally saved enough to myself some and they are amazing, it’s so much easier not having a wire and they are so comfortable to wear, I am going to get so much use out them they are a very good investment.
Check out the Logitech Keys-to-Go keyboard, only at Apple: Logitech Keys-to-go Keyboard
Find out more about AirPods here: Apple Airpods

Food and Drink

The main food thing I want to talk about is Hello Fresh, this is a weekly meal plan subscription food box service where you can choose what type of box, how many people and what meals you want each week for a set price each week. Back in September/October last year, me and my mum made the decision to give it a try as meals at home were becoming monotonous and we weren’t eating proper and feel crappy about food. Since getting Hello Fresh we have not looked back at all we love it so much and it’s helped improve our eating and general mood and wellbeing I think. We have the classic box with three meals for 2 people every week which costs us £29.99 a week and I think it’s 100% worth it because we don’t have to buy a lot of food every week now, it’s encouraged us to try different foods and flavours as well as getting us cooking properly from fresh. We get our box delivered on a Monday and we normally do it Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday every week. We did try 4 meals a week but it didn’t work for us and some weeks we have skipped because we didn’t like the choices on offer. I get excited every Sunday because we can choose another week. I think our favourite recipe is the Oven Baked Risotto it was amazing so we’ve picked it again in a couple of weeks. I would highly recommend if you have a busy lifestyle or like us got stuck in a rut with food, if you can afford it then I would say give it a go.

Check out Hello Fresh: Hello Fresh

My drink choice is the Diet Coke Twisted Strawberry, I love artificial strawberry flavouring it’s my favourite thing, I love anything with strawberry in and so when I heard this had came out I had to try it and I love it so much, it’s not too sweet like the cherry version. I’d say it’s similar to a strawberry Maoam sweet, it’s my lunch drink at work it’s amazing. 

Miscellaneous

This is everything else I’ve loved that’s random, firstly is Shop Disney Spirit Jerseys. In the Disney community there is a lot of hype surrounding these tops called Spirit Jerseys, everyone who visited the Disney American parks has one and they branched over to Disneyland Paris and were gone in seconds. Finally in March, they have been introduced to Shop Disney here in the UK with the first wave being a red Mickey Mouse one and white Minnie Mouse one, I went for the Mickey Mouse one and I can see the hype and I’m part of the hype. They are a bit thinner than jumpers but are so comfortable, however I got the medium and it swamps my arms but that’s fine I’ve had it a week and lived in it. The design is also lovely with the white lettering and the Mickey on the back with the mouse himself. Then ShopDisney announced they were bringing the Disneyland Paris as well as a Lion King Spirit Jersey out. I went for the Lion King one because I loved the design in multicolours and also on the back it says Pridelands since 1994, now I was born in 1994 so I felt like I had to get it because of this fact. I went for a small this time and it fits so much better, the arms aren’t as baggy. I cannot wait to see what others they are going to bring out in due course.
Check out the Spirit Jerseys on Shop Disney: Shop Disney- Spirit Jerseys

The last thing I wanted to talk about is books, I adore reading always have done but I struggle to read new things and end up re reading a lot of books I love some more than others. This year I have really loved it in particular I loved re reading the Noughts and Crosses series by Malorie Blackman. I adore this series I read it in school and it shaped my reading, I remember being the first in school to read Double Cross from the library. I forgot how good and heartbreaking this series is and it had a very profound effect now reading as an adult they are powerful and still very relevant to this world now. I look forward to the new novel being released in the summer set 30 years after the first one which is mind blowing. I urge everyone to read these books because they are amazing. Another series I am in the middle of re reading is everyone’s favourite and that is Harry Potter, I always forget how much better the books are compared to the film and all the minor details that get left out of the films. This series is amazing and iconic not much more I can say that hasn’t already been said. 

I hope you enjoyed me sharing everything I have been loving recently. 

Until next time

Stacey x 

Disney Instagram: disneybystaceyx