Caudalie Instant Detox Mask

I love French pharmacy brands - Bioderma, Nuxe and La Roche Posay are all staples in my skin care routine. They’re gentle, effective and so reasonably priced compared to high end skin care. Until now Caudalie was one brand that I just didn’t have a lot of experience with. I originally associated the brand with the Beauty Elixir which received cult status in the blogging world a couple of years ago but with my skin being on the oily side it didn’t really appeal to me (this was before Caroline Hirons taught me the importance of double toning of course). Recently Caudalie brought out a range of 4 face masks designed to target all of your skin concerns. There’s the Gycolic Peel Mask for radiance; Purifying Mask for controlling oil; Moisturing Mask for skin in need of hydration and the Instant Detox for congested skin. A few weeks ago I won the Caudalie Instant Detox Mask on an Escentual Twitter competition (I never win anything, I was so excited!), and I have to say, so far I’m obsessed. 

Over the last few months my skin has went from being oily to more combination so I’ve been finding that my usual cleansing mask of choice, Origins Clear Improvement, has been a bit too much for my skin leaving it feeling quite tight, so far Instant Detox is the perfect solution for confused skin. According Escentual, it has a “cocktail of 8 essential oils which has a detoxifying effect on the skin whilst promoting regenerating, smoothing and purifying action”. It also has papaya enzymes to which lightly exfoliate the skin. I’ve found it deeply cleanses my skin without drying it out and it leaves my skin super soft. And no break outs! So massive thumbs up from me. I’m dying to get my hands on the other 3, so I’ll keep you updated! 

Have you tried any of the Caudalie masks? What’s your favourite face mask just now?

Pinspiration - Fireplace Styling

 The living room in my new flat is a Pinterest addict’s dream. It has stained wooden floors, big white bay windows, high ceilings, original ornate coving and a gorgeous white fireplace. Last week our sofas and side tables finally arrived so the room is feeling a bit more put together and I’m really feeling as though it’s starting to take shape. We’ve stuck to a grey, blue and white colour scheme to keep the room looking clean and simple but homely. As much as I love Scandinavian design I think there’s always the risk that the room will feel a bit cold and clinical so this is something that I’ve been very aware of when I’m been trying to find inspiration on Pinterest(you can see my last living room post here).

Now the fireplace was always a feature I knew I would have fun styling. My dad and boyfriend spent last weekend hanging up a massive mirror. I have a serious thing about mirrors - I think they make a room look so much brighter. I bought a couple of cream hurricane candle holders in the Laura Ashely sale a couple of months ago and I’ve got a few Jo Malone candles waiting to be used from my Estee Lauder days (God I miss that discount). As always, I’ve been using Pinterest for inspiration and I definitely think I need something to vary the height a little bit. I’ve been toying with the idea of a white mantle clock – I’ve seen this one from Matalan. Although I love the cluttered look on Pinterest I don’t think it’s something that would work for me – I like to clean too much – so I’m going to have to play about with the fireplace to get the right balance.

What do you think? Any advice for styling a fireplace?

Budapest

A couple of weeks ago my boyfriend and I went on a little city break to Budapest. In all honesty Budapest was pretty a random decision, I wanted to go somewhere a bit different and after looking through some travel blogs I seen this review for The Corinthia Hotel in Budapest and basically seen all the heart eye emojis. The hotel was absolutely stunning, such a great central location and great value - you'd pay at least double for a hotel of that standard in most other places in Europe. Arnold Schwarzenegger was staying there the last night we were there too!

Budapest itself is absolutely stunning - it's like something from a Disney film. And SO CHEAP! The first night we walked up to Heroes Square, where we found an ice rink overlooking Vajdahunyad Castle and a market.

Here I am loving life with langos - fried dough, sour cream and cheese. Do I even need to say anything else?

We went on a Hop On Hop Off bus tour, the ticket was valid for 2 days and great value, it was something like £12 each. We did find the times a bit limiting as they stopped about 3pm - we arrived a week before they changed to the summer schedule! Fisherman Bastion was on all of the "must see" guides and I certainly understand why. You can see great views of Pest, the bridges and the parliament building.

The Budapest Parliament building makes the houses of Parliament in London look cheap. No joke. We went on a tour inside which although it was beautiful, was a little disappointing, we waited for an hour and a half because you could only go in as part of a guided tour and then it only lasted half an hour. Definitely worth a visit but check times - I was a bit apprehensive about booking tickets online (the site didn't look the most legitimate) but if I could do it over I would.

I also pre booked a candle lit dinner on the Danube which was fantastic - the food was actually really good and seeing everything lit up at night was stunning. And beer was like £1. 

Moral of the story - visit Budapest.