THE BODY SHOP REVIEW - CHINESE GINSENG AND RICE MASK

Happy Sunday Everyone! ... Okay let's have a quick catch up, I know I've been absent for a loooong time, I know. And I'm so sorry, but I just let adult life take over! All I've done for the past few months is work! I've had a change in role at work and I've just spent a bit of time finding my feet and I can honestly say I'm in such a good place right now with work! I've got some time off and I started reading through my blog ... it made me realise that I enjoy blogging so much and I need to start making time for our little community! So here I am! Today I'm going to do a little review for you on one of the masks that The Body Shop have recently released. If you've ready my blog before you'll know I love face masks and some pamper time ... I also love The Body Shop! So when I heard that they were releasing some brand new masks I knew I had to get my hands on them!

The actual mask comes in a beautiful dark glass jar which for makes it look and feel so much more expensive. It's not the most travel friendly but I always have an empty lush tub so if I need to take it on the road with me I just decant a little! As you guys know I love an exfoliating mask and the rice in this mask is such a lovely soft exfoliator, if you have more of a sensitive skin type this would be a good one for you because it is not an abrasive exfoliant at all its super gentle. Along with the rice the mask is packed with sesame seed oil and ginseng extract, all three ingredients combined will reveal brighter-looking, even and supple feeling skin according to The Body Shops website! I've used this mask a few times over the last few weeks and I have to say it has won me over. I typically enjoy a more abrasive scrub because I feel like it's doing something. But as I was washing the mask off under the shower I could really feel the mask working, I tend to work the mask in whilst washing it off to really exfoliate and cleanse the skin. The creamy formula meant that my skin didn't feel overly dried or have that tugging feeling some of us get when we have used a face mask. There was no lingering scent and my skin did look and feel much cleaner and brighter! Hope you guys enjoyed this review and let me know if you have tried one the masks from the new range at The Body Shop! I would love to hear your thought and recommendations! Have a lovely week and I shall be back again on Sunday with another post ... see you then!

THE BODY SHOP MACA ROOT SHAVING KIT

Happy Sunday Everyone! There's been a lot going on in the past week and I really needed some retail therapy to help me feel better and so I went into town and visited my local Body Shop! It's been a while since I last had a massive splurge and I really wanted to treat myself ... let's just say there will be a few Body Shop reviews popping up over the next few weeks! The first thing I'm going to share with you guys is a few bits I picked up to change up my shaving routine!

The kit was actually a super last minute purchase, I was waiting in the queue to pay and spotted the display in the corner. I walked over and had a gander before a lovely assistant came over to tell me a little bit more about the range. I took little to no convincing, honestly ... I basically just said I'll take it! I've been reading a lot about shaving and the best way to shave and I had read a lot about the benefits of using a shaving cream with a brush over a basic shaving foam. There was an offer in store and it worked out cheaper to buy the three pieces individually, I didn't get a fancy tin but let's be honest I'd probably just lose it anyway! I picked up the Maca Root Shave Cream, a Wooden Shaving Brush and also the Maca Root Razor Relief! My regular shaving routine usually takes place in the morning after a shower, I find that a hot shower opens the pores up nicely in the face and also softens the hair to allow for a smoother shave. I also tend to use a mild face wash or 'The MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator' to cleanse my skin and to remove any dirt. I've been using a Gillette razor ever since I started shaving and I've always found that it gets the job done. In terms of prepping my skin for shaving I've used gels and foams before and again it gets the job done and really that's all I can ask for ... until now!

So last night before bed I decided I was going to give the kit a go and I have to say I am super impressed! I didn't have a shower last night and so I was a little uncertain but I thought I would power through anyway. I gave my face a quick wash using a face wash before reaching for the Maca Root Shave Cream. Now, I have never used a cream before to shave with and there wasn't really any directions to follow so I just got on with it! Using the lid of the tub as a palette, I dabbed the shaving brush into the cream quite lightly - the brush at this point had already been ran under the tap. I then swirled the product in the lid to build up a lather. Because I normally use foam it wasn't really what I expected. The cream did lather but it only very slightly, I used the brush to distribute the cream evenly onto the face in circular motions, another tip I have read about recently! I used my regular razor to shave with and I have to say it gave me the closes shave I have ever had! The cream had enough slip to let the blades glide with ease over the skin but enough give to allow for a super close shave. It was a comfortable and easy shave and I didn't have to go over any areas, before I would always go back over my face as I was never really happy with what I was left with, there would always be little patches that I couldn't quite reach. Another thing I noticed was how clean my razor was after I had finished! This might sound gross but the foam would tend to clump up between the razor and I would have to spend a few minutes giving it a good clean to make sure it was clean and ready for next time! This time however there was nothing, all I had to do was run it under the tap and I was done! The overall finish was really amazing, there were no patches and my skin was left feeling clean and refreshed. I did find that my skin felt a little bit dry and stripped of it's oils almost however I normally experience this after shaving anyway and I always apply something after shaving to rehydrate my skin. This is where the Maca Root Razor Relief comes in! The formula is super light and the cream is quite watery, I usually like quite a thick shaving balm but this works just as well as any other balms I have used in the past. My skin tends to get irritated after shaving and I normally give in and start scratching, this of course just makes the itch worse and then the redness begins! However after applying some of the razor relief my skin felt instantly cooled and there was no itching whatsoever! I would always apply moisturiser once it has sunk into the skin but honestly I have to say this did leave my skin feeling super soft and did have a certain element of hydration! Overall this kit is definitely a winner for me and I can honestly say this has changed the way I will be shaving from now on!

Hope you guys enjoyed this post, I know it's slightly different from the usually beauty posts you would see on here but I am honestly so happy with the kit I had to share how much I loved it all with you lot! Let me know if any of you guys have tried any of the grooming products from The Body Shop before or anything else that you might think I'll take a fancy too! I picked up the new Pinta Colada shower gel and it smells like holiday! But I'd love to know if there is anything else I should be grabbing on my next trip into town! Hope you guys have a lovely week and I shall see you on the next one!

THE CRAFTISAN BAY SPRING FAIR - SUKI SABUR DESIGNS

Happy Sunday Everyone! I've had such a chilled weekend, I'm not quite ready for Monday to come around again ... anyway this week I wanted to share some amazing work that one of my besties has been working on for a while. A few weeks ago Suki and I headed down to St Martins House in Leicester for The Craftisan Bay Spring Fair. Suki had a stall at this years fair and it was one of her firsts for this season, she had prepped weeks in advance and had so many amazing pieces hand crafted to sell at the fair. Suki needed someone to go along with her and I was so excited to go along and help out!

It was an early start but a very rushed one too, I am in no way an early bird and I'm late about 99% of the time haha! I had everything planned out but there's always something that takes me off schedule and on that morning it was my choice of outfit! I really wanted to wear something that would compliment Sukis lovely work and I have this soft blush pink top that I wanted to wear ... of course it didn't quite pan out like that and instead I ended up in all black! We managed to find the place pretty quickly, I had an idea of where it would be so it wasn't too bad however I don't think St Martins House is widely known within Leicester? It may just be me though! Anyway we got there just in time for our slot in the car park to offload, Suki had a lot of stuff both design wise and also to display her designs on. Half an hour later we were back in the car to park it at the NCP nearby before heading back to start setting up. It was a beautiful day and the grand hall  had large windows that lit up the room! It actually took a while to set up, a lot longer than I thought it would but it looked really good once we had finished off the displays! It wasn't until we had stopped that we had a chance to look around the room and take in the work that was set up around us. Each stall was different, they all had their own style and flare, it really was super cool! Suki has always had such beautiful vision and to me there really is no surprise at how well she has been doing. The scarves that Suki designs are honestly something else, she hand draws each design by scale before painting them with gouache and adding dimensions by shading with pencil. The initial designs were planned out in May 2015 and the collection wasn't finalised until the end of the year! The amount of effort, detail and time that goes into each of the scarves that Suki makes is out of this world! It felt so lovely being able to help out someone so passionate, the day honestly flew by! At one point we both realised that we hadn't eaten anything all day and if you know me you know that I love food! I was adamant that I wasn't hungry but it did honestly get to a point where I caved and had to eat something and I mean some real food not the jelly beans that Suki had laid out on the table haha! I ended up eating a baguette super quick behind one of the displays Suki had up ... I mean I didn't want to put anyone off the beauties that Suki had on the stall haha! The end of the day came around super quick, you know what they say? Time flies when you're having fun! I almost didn't want the day to end but then again I really wanted to just take my shoes off too haha! It got to about 15 minutes before the end of the fair and you started to hear tiny little rustles of people starting to pack away. Suki and I started to slowly pack things away too ... well it escalated quickly because each and every stall basically decided it was the end and started bringing down their stalls, it was hilarious! The room was soon empty and all the colours that had earlier bought the room to life was packed away into boxes, crates and bags!

I am honestly so proud that I could be a part of Sukis journey, she is so crazy talented and I know she is on her way to something special! It would mean a lot to me if you would head over to her website and her Etsy shop and take a look at some of her amazing designs! Be sure to let her know if you like anything, she is such a sweet and lovely friend. She really deserves all the success that's coming her way! I've left a few of Sukis links below for you all! I hope you have a lovely week and I shall see you again on the next post!

Blog | Official Website | Etsy

THE INSTA-DIARY #10 - THE CATCH UP EDITION

Happy Sunday Everyone! I've been promising to do an updated Insta-Diary pretty much every month and somehow time gets away with me and it never happens! However I was scrolling through instagram today and thought I really needed to get it together and upload a catch up edition! It's been a fair few months since the last one so I'll do a little wrap up of each month for you! As always if you like what you see make sure you check out my instagram and give me a cheeky follow, you can find me using @primalmajithia ... enjoy!

Okay, so it seems like we're starting from the beginning of the month as my last one was for December! January was quite a mellow month, there was a lot of catch ups with friends, selfies galore and Prim and Propa started it's terrible two's! And strangely that was very true! My blog went through a stage where the uploads were sparse towards the end of January, there just comes a point where you need a little break to allow some creativity and blog ideas to start brewing if you know what I mean!

February was a rollercoaster of emotions, there was valentines day, my birthday but we also lost someone this month and so the month was really quit sombre. Everything got on top of me a little and I decided to take a month out from blogging and just allow myself some time to breathe ...

March saw the start of a very expensive habit ... but oh my it's worth it! Haycock and Tailbar opened in Leicester and it has quickly become my favourite bar ever! Tara and I went on a day trip to Birmingham and had a make over with Make Up Forever! Me and the mamacomes had a really lovely catch up with cocktails, dinner and a show! We went to see Pixie Lott in Breakfast at Tiffany's at the Curve! She was really good, maybe could have worked slightly better on the accent but her singing ... oh! Amazing! Ooh and the blogging did a Britney and made a comeback!

April was another chilled month, it was my bestie birthday and another one of my besties took part in an amazing craft fair ... blog post coming to a screen near you! The sun also started to make a few appearances and so I bought what felt like 100 pairs of sunglasses! Haha!

Okay! So there you have it, we have finally caught up Insta-wise! I know these normally come out on a Friday but there was so much to catch up on I thought it would be best to give this Insta-Diary it's very own Sunday! Hope you guys have a lovely week and I shall see you next Sunday for another post!

THE OGX REVIEW - BIOTIN AND COLLAGEN

Happy Sunday Everyone! Today I'm going to do another little hair care review for you guys! When I was in Birmingham a few weeks ago I went a little crazy in Superdrug and treated myself to a new shampoo and conditioner. If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know I'm always on the look out for something that's going to give my hair a boost of life and create a more fuller and thicker look. So when I saw the Biotin and Collagen formula from OGX I thought I would give it a try!

I'm going to start off with the packaging because ... just look at it! It's so beautiful! I really like the shapes of the bottle too, although I have to say once you get about a quarter of the way throught it gets a little bit more difficult to get the product out because the plastic is quite tough! Scent wise it isn't overpowering but has a lovely warm and subtle floral note. So I've been using this stuff for a bout 2-3 weeks I think and so far so good! It's a lovely set and it always leaves my hair feeling clean and super soft ... but, I don't think it has done any wonders in terms of making my hair look or feel thicker? I'm about halfway through the bottles and I do really like them but it's not ticked all of the boxes for me if you know what I mean. I try to wash my hair every other day because it's super important to let the natural oils in your hair to come through. It can be quite harsh if you're constantly washing the oils away and that's one of the main reasons you can end up with oily hair because your scalp will produce more of the oil to make up for it! I'm going to carry on using this formula and see if it does make a difference to my hair but if not I don't think I'd pick this one up again? I am really intrigued by the rest of the range from OGX. I have heard some amazing things about their one with coconut in it! I love using coconut oil in my hair to keep it healthy so I'm sure I'll be a fan of that formula but I'll be sure to do a review once I've got through these ones!

I hope you guys have enjoyed this blog post, like always I will say that although I'm not completely in love with this formula it might be completely different for you, it's most definitely worth a try! Let me know if you've tried any of the other formulas OGX have on offer! I'd love to know how you guys got on, make sure you leave your comments below or feel free to tweet me! Have a lovely week and I shall see you with my next post!

THE LUSH HAUL - HAPPINESS EDITION

Happy Sunday Everyone! For me, my day has definitely been filled with happiness as I have just re-discovered a Lush Happiness Gift Box I was gifted for my birthday! I was going through my floor-drobe ... #SorryNotSorry and I found a bag full of lots of goodies that I was given over my birthday! I have to say, I don't think I've ever been excited to find a box of Lush stuff ... ever! I haven't been able to pop into my local Lush store in such a long time and I am running dangerously low on amazing smellies for bath time! And with the sun starting to show the happiness gift box is perfect!

The box comes wrapped in a beautiful graphic print with a ribbon so it's perfect for birthdays or even just as a little treat to yourself! However the real wonders are within the box! As you can see the products used are bright an colourful, it will definitely pop a smile on your face! The first thing I picked out of the box was a bath bomb, the 'Yoga Bomb' has a beautiful pastel colouring. It's very peach with a slight orange warmth! Scented with sandalwood oil it has a very earthy scent with hints of a fruity aroma. The bomb fizzes away in the bath and once the orange has come away it reveals an inner centre of purple and turquoise! The next thing I found within the box was the 'Yuzu and Cocoa' shower cream, now I have a little collection of shower creams in my bathroom but I absolutely love them. They're super rich and moisturising, this particular cream smells amazing! It smells exactly like chocolate oranges! I then saw a pop of pink peering through the styrofoam, it was a bubble bar! I have to say as much as I love bubble bars sometimes they're a little bit more of an effort? But I will most definitely be making the effort for this little beauty! This little sample size of the bubble bar is packed with essential oils and has a super citrus scent! Crumbled under running water this is perfect for a pamper evening! The last thing buried in the box was a soap! Now this will be the first soap I have ever used from Lush, I don't tend to use soaps around the house and although some of the soaps lush have on offer look absolutely gorgeous, I'd rather spend my money on something I know I'll love to use! However this may just change everything! Bohemian is a gently cleansing soap with a light citrus scent, one of the things that I am super excited about is the ingredients in the soap. I've had a quick look online and one of the things that stood out to me was the coconut oil! Everyone knows how amazing coconut oil is for your skin and my hands tend to get a little dry around this time of year so I cannot wait to start using it!

I hope you guys liked this post, it's been a while since I've done a Lush post but it is honestly one of my favourite things to write about! Hope you guys have a lovely week and be sure to check out my other Lush posts below!

The Lush Haul | The Lush Haul - Valentine Edition | The Lush Haul - Easter Edition | The Lush Haul - Oxford Street Edition | The Lush Haul - Halloween Edition | The Lush Review - Don't Look At Me

THE POWER OF MAKEUP

Happy Sunday Everyone! I'm doing something a little different for you guys ... actually it's very different! I've spoken a lot about beauty and skincare on my blog but never anything about makeup. Makeup for men has always been a taboo subject and although not many guys won't admit it, there's a load of you raiding your mums or your sisters makeup bags! However more recently it's become less controversial for a guy to pick up a concealer to cover a spot or top up their tan with a bit of bronzer ... and I'm no different! Last week I took a day trip to Birmingham with my bestie T and we were made over by Make Up For Ever! I have always been super self conscious about my looks, I was bullied through most of my childhood for near enough anything and so I take my appearance quite seriously! However I didn't want the make up artist to pile on the coverage! I just wanted something light and natural that would make me feel more confident about myself!

As I was sat in the chair I got quite a few strange looks from people passing by, but with some of the things I have experienced in my life I've learnt that I have to live for myself. In other words f*ck what people think about you, if you're happy do it! The first thing I was introduced to was the face and body liquid tint, this stuff has the consistency of water and the coverage is extremely light. I had to look really hard in the mirror to see the difference but it's actually really nice, It just evens out my skin tone with ease! Now I actually feel quite blessed with my skin, I don't suffer from a lot of acne and so I asked for a little more coverage on my cheeks because I have quite patchy and red cheeks. The makeup artist used a small amount of the Make Up Forever, Full Cover concealer which made me a tiny bit nervous because I thought it was going to look ridiculous on me, and fake? If that's the right word? But the makeup artist used it in minimal amounts and it just helped cover the redness on my cheeks and brighten the darkness under my eyes. Because I'm dark skinned I lost a little bit of the warmth my skin naturally has and so the makeup artist applied a little some cream bronzer from one of their pallets. I have to say this applied beautifully and blended in seamlessly. It just added a slight glow and some warmth back into my skin but it wasn't OTT or too orangey! Finally he applied some of the HD Powder to remove any shine from my face and if I'm honest that really is something I hate about my skin. I don't want to look shiny as it can easily look oily if you know what I mean? Once we were finished I was so happy. And that for me is the most important thing ... to be happy! I looked like me but better, I felt like me but much more confident! A while ago Nikkie Tutorials uploaded 'The Power Of MakeUp' on her channel, this was something that really inspired me and I wanted to do something similar! I know a lot of beauty gurus have done something similar but I haven't really seen any male bloggers do something like this! So I wanted to ... both for me and for anyone else out there who's like me!

I hope you guys have enjoyed this post, It really did take a lot for me to post this because I'm basically telling you guys what my flaws are and that takes a lot! But things like this are important so I'm really glad I have you lot to share it with! I'd love to see your guys take on this post, whether it be a full on blog post, an insta or a tweet be sure to tag me and let me know! I hope you guys a lovely week and I shall see you when I'm back with my next post!

'my aspiration in life ... would be ... to be happy' - Beyoncé