Monday 23 April 2012

Review: Liz Earle Botanical Shine Treatment



Since I had my hair highlighted at an Aveda salon specifically because I find their colour a lot less drying and damaging, I figured I had better also try my best to keep it well conditioned and healthy. Enter Liz Earle Botanical Shine Treatment.

Like the Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo and Conditioner, the Treatment leaves hair light, clean and moisturised. The website states, 'a blend of red algae, cotton extract and sumac wax has been specially selected to smooth and tame even the most unmanageable hair'. I definitely feel as if my hair is being 'treated'. I love the squeaky clean feeling it leaves me with, as well as fantastic shine.

If you read my review of the then newly launched Liz Earle Shampoo and Conditioner back in 2010, you'll remember that I liked them. However, my hair was so difficult at the time due to the effect of my RA drugs, I feel like I'd like to give the products another go. I'll probably like them even more.

Friday 13 April 2012

Laptop Bag Review: Knomo Helena

sofarsochic

Blogging has its perks, that's for sure. Meet my gorgeous new laptop bag – the 13 inch Knomo 'Helena' in cognac. It looks like a super-smart, quality leather handbag; you wouldn't know it held a laptop at all and yet it's the perfect fit for my Macbook. When I took it to London last week I just popped the stuff I would normally take in my handbag into the Helena, which meant I only had to carry one bag.

Inside there are two main compartments in addition to the laptop section, as well as a side zip and several small pockets. There is also an open-topped sleeve on the back of the bag which is snug enough to carry anything that you need quick access to such as your Oyster card.

My previous laptop bag was also Knomo and it has lasted me years. It's only recently starting to show its age. They are such a practical choice to carry and protect your laptop and yet you don't have to compromise on looks either. I love this wine red colour but it also comes in black.

As an added bonus, all Knomo laptop bags come with a tracking number and a phone number for Knomo. You register your bag on their website and in the event of losing your bag, if some kind soul finds it, you will more than likely get it back! Another reason to love Knomo.

For more details on the Knomo Helena visit: knomobags.com/uk.

Can you believe Charlie getting in on the act in these photos? Such a poser. He does it every single time! Just stands there like a furry lemon.


This is not a sponsored post and all my opinions are my own.

Thursday 12 April 2012

Snowboarding for Girls



I wasn't sure I was going to be cut out for snowboarding. Visions of me lying in a crumpled heap, crying and swearing swam before my mind... Turns out I wasn't far wrong. Snowboarding is very fun, it's also pretty painful and quite difficult. It's not hard to get the basic skills in place so that you can 'falling leaf' down a blue run but it is tricky to try to progress beyond this level and inevitably involves falling over a lot.

In theory I have no issues with falling over but I found that after three or four consecutive falls on a particularly crap run I would be feeling nervous, possibly winded and probably fighting back tears. I also told my boyfriend a couple of times that I was going to bash him to death with my snowboard for making me go on this holiday.

Resilience is key. You have to keep going and not be defeated. I am very determined but I'm also very competitive and a perfectionist. To not be able to do something while not knowing how to improve was very frustrating! And by all accounts I was the 'best' person in my beginner group at snowboarding school. I probably fell over the most but then I also went the fastest and took the most risks!

Before our trip to Tignes I researched anything that might help with the inevitable aches and pains I would experience snowboarding. Kneipp Bath Salts were recommended to me by Caroline at Beauty Mouth and I would have a bath filled with them at the end of every day. Having never been snowboarding before I had no frame of reference for how much they helped assuage my aching muscles but J said he felt nowhere near as fragile as he had on his past snowboarding trips. The salts also smell glorious and provide a welcome sensory relief at the end of a hard day on the slopes. You can buy them at Victoria Health.

We rented our accommodation privately and absolutely lucked out, snagging an amazing 10-bed chalet to ourselves for most of the week. If you're heading to the Val de Saire/Tignes region of France and are looking for accommodation I highly recommend it. sutski.co.uk

I wanted to wait a while after my return to form an opinion on snowboarding. This is a generalisation but I think that men are more hardy and 'gung-ho' when it comes to extreme sports. I imagine these qualities make it easier for them to get to grips with snowboarding. I think if you had a more relaxed attitude than mine this would also help. I think I would go again (and will probably be forced to) and that if I can iron out the few areas where I really don't know what I'm doing then I will start to love it. To summarise: when it's good it's really good, but when it's bad it's awful!

Do you like my orange hat? I look like the end of a decongestant tablet.