Today I'm going to be talking about Balance Me, a brand I haven't heard of until earlier this year when I picked up one of their products as a freebie in a magazine. Balance Me started in 2005 by two sisters who would make their products up in their kitchens before making it big. Their products mainly use natural ingredients and they are against animal testing which is always a bonus in skin care products.
A few months ago I picked up a travel sized Balance Me Pure Skin Face Wash in one of my magazines. I had never heard of the brand before so I was looking forward to testing the product out. The first thing I noticed when I opened the lid was the gorgeous smell. I love pretty smelling products and this face wash contains essential oils and and blended grapefruit so it has a really complex luxurious scent. I cant quite put my finger on the exact smell but its almost spicy, it reminds me of and old English herb garden.
I also love the consistency of this product. It's not as gloopy as some of my other face washes and it feels really light on my skin. It foams up really quickly and leaves my skin feeling very smooth and soft. I will use this face wash with my face cleansing brush every week or so to get a really deep thorough cleanse.
One thing I have noticed about using this product is that I really have to keep on top of moisturizing after using. Although it claims to be a hydrating cleanser I feel as though it does dry my skin out. This isn't really too much of a problem as I moisturize daily after cleansing with any product.
One thing I love about this face wash is that as I mentioned earlier they use mostly natural ingredients, 98.8% natural to be exact. This product doesn't have any parabens or artificial fragrances or colours. I know it sounds silly as I'm only 20, but as i'm getting older my once bright teenage skin is starting to look very tired and i'm really looking to use more natural products to get my skin back into a nice condition.
The only thing I didn't like about this face wash was that it wasn't exfoliating. Although I do feel like I got a good cleanse with this product, I much prefer using exfoliating face washes as I love the feel of my skin after using them. I did use this product with my electronic face brush and the cleanse I got with that was great, but I don't like to use it every day as it can be quite harsh in my skin. Saying that I have enjoyed using this product daily as it is a very gentle soothing face wash.
After using this product for a few months I do think it helped balance my skin and stopped any possible break outs. It smells amazing and I feel very fresh after using it. I'm going to continue using this product until it runs out and after that I don't think I could bring myself to repurchase. Although it's a very nice product, it's more of a luxury than an essential and to me it just isn't worth £11 for a 50ml size. Overall I would give this face wash a 7/10 as it just wasn't perfect.
Have you tried any products from the Balance Me range?
Thanks for reading!
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Thinking of taking a break in the city of tulips? You won't be disappointed! There is so much to see, do, and erm, smoke, in Amsterdam that you could spend weeks wandering the pretty city. And with no end of visitors flocking there I thought I should pop together a list of the most typical tourist things to do. There are tonnes of cultural things to do in A'dam, but were going to ignore those for now!
So what are my top 5 things every tourist should do in Amsterdam...
The Hard Rock Cafe Amsterdam
1. Eat or drink at the Hard Rock Cafe - This one of the main things me and Sean wanted to do when we planned our trip to Amsterdam. We're slowly but surely ticking off the list of Hard Rock Cafes, previously visiting the Barcelona and the London branches. Although we had been to others before we had never actually had a meal there and that was at the top of the to do list! Although it was slightly pricey our meals were delicious and I wouldn't hesitate to dine there again. We each had a burger which was cooked to perfection and was really well presented. If you do make a trip there you have to try a Southern Rock Cocktail. I cant remember whats in it but I know it's super strong and really tasty!
A Giraffe at Amsterdam Zoo
2. Go to the Zoo - We went to the zoo on the last day after running out of realistic things to do. We said before we left for Amsterdam that we wouldn't go to the zoo as we have been to so many over the last couple of years but I'm so glad we went. It's around 20 Euros to get in but it's a really fun relaxing day out. There's so much to do that we just couldn't possibly do it all, but we took our time and saw the most important things. I was really happy to find out that they have elephants here and as they are my favourite animal I did spend quite a long time looking at these beautiful creatures. While you are here make sure you take a trip to the aquarium. It's not huge but there's some lovely setups in there and it's a quite a relaxing way to finish the day off.
The famous penis chair inside the Amsterdam Sex Museum
3. Visit the famous Sex Museum - I'm sure you've all heard about the Sex Museum. Most people I've spoken to about Amsterdam say you have to visit the Sex Museum. It's only 4 Euros to get in and it really is a must see. There's tons of sex related tat and a fair bit of actual interesting information too. You can do the whole thing in maybe just over an hour so I wouldn't set aside much more time than that to visit it. If you do go make sure you take a photo with the giant penis chair shown above!
A typical cityscape in Amsterdam
4. Take a canal boat trip - There are so many boat trips available in Amsterdam you really are spoiled for choice. Before we went we knew we wanted to take a boat trip but we didn't know just how cheap and how many there were. We decided to go with a company just outside the train station who did the same tour as Thompson's but for around £7 cheaper. Tours usually last around an hour but you can get longer or shorter ones depending on how much time and money you have spare. If you really want a boat trip but are short of cash, the ferry to North Amsterdam is free so that's worth doing if you are running out of Euros.
Cocktails at the fiercely cold Amsterdam Ice Bar
5. Grab some drinks at the Ice Bar - Before we went to Amsterdam my cousin said I had to go for drinks at the Ice Bar. I hadn't heard of it before but after a little research Sean and I really wanted to go. It costs 16 Euros to get in and you get 3 drinks included, one in the normal bar and two in the actual Ice Bar. I didn't think that was too pricey considering a beer would cost you 5 Euros in most bars in Amsterdam. When you book your ticket you choose the time you want to get there and usually spend around half an hour in the Ice Bar itself. We spend around 20 minutes in there as it was just too cold to be in there any longer. This isn't somewhere you would visit more than once but I would definitely recommend it to start a night out!
So those were my top 5 things every tourist should do in Amsterdam. There's so many touristy things to do in this beautiful city so it was really hard to narrow it down to just 5.
Have you been to any of these places? What do you think should have made the list?
Thanks for reading!
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A few nights ago me and Sean decided to go for a meal at the Brindley Place Handmade Burger Co. We've been to the ones in the Bullring and Solihull several times and it has become one of our favorite places to eat. We usually get very good service and our meals are always cooked to perfection, so when Sean suggested we go out for dinner, I decided to bring along my camera and review our first time eating at the Brindley Place restaurant.
Price - Handmade Burger isn't the cheapest place to eat out in Birmingham; many pubs do two meals for £10 or a beer and a burger for a fiver, but it's worth it. The burgers average out at about £9 or £10 each depending on what you order and the chips are set at £3.25 each. The drinks however are a very good deal, for £2.70 you can order a 'bottomless' drink that you can refill as many times as you like. I've never drank alcohol here but they only serve beer and wine which tends to be quite pricey. One thing we discovered, unfortunately after we had paid, was that they do a 15% student discount which is doubled to 30% on Mondays!
Service - When we arrived we were seated straight away, near the window as I requested so that we could look out over the canal and watch the boats. After ordering, our food took a little longer that usual to arrive, this could have been due to the burgers we ordered as they weren't made using the regular beef. Once we had finished we pilled all the plates into the middle but it took a very long time for them to be cleared away. This is very usual for Handmade Burger especially as we went on a Sunday night and there were only a handful of customers. Me and Sean both agreed that the staff in the Bullring and the Solihull restaurants are a lot more friendly.
Food/ Drink Quality - Overall the food and drink quality was amazing as usual. The ingredients are always fresh and cooked perfectly. Me and Sean decided to try a 'Jimmy's Farm' burger; the beef is from rare breed, free range beef that has been matured for 3 weeks. This type of burger is priced at £9.95 and tastes amazing; the caramelized onion is a yummy added bonus. Our burgers were topped with smoked bacon and a gorgeous cheese, both of which only enhanced the overall taste. As usual we had a bowl of onion rings which are the best onion rings ever, the are so sweet and fluffy. I didn't think the chips were as nice as usual but Sean loved his.
Cleanliness - I couldn't fault the cleanliness of the restaurant. The tables, floor and drink area were spotless. I hate being seated in a restaurant to find that my table is still sticky but that wasn't the case here. Unfortunately a little trip to the ladies room ruined all of that. The bins hadn't been emptied and were overloading, as for the stalls, they were just a bit messy. Sean said the men's were perfectly fine.
Location - Handmade Burger Brindley Place is very central, located just off Broad Street and virtually opposite the ICC. It's very easy to get to as there are many bus stops and taxi ranks near by, it's also about a 15 minute walk from the Bullring. It overlooks one of Birmingham's busy canals, which I imagine would be lovely in the summer with the doors open. It is also surrounded by many other bars and restaurants as well as being virtually right next to Birmingham's famous Broad Street.
Overall I really enjoyed my meal and wouldn't hesitate to order one of their 'Jimmy's Farm' burgers again. I always love eating at Handmade Burger and although there were a few things that weren't perfect about that night, it didn't put me off dining there again. I would rate the overall experience ☆☆☆1/2.
I hope you enjoyed reading this restaurant review, I want to start doing this sort of thing more regularly on the blog. I've love to know if you guys have ever eaten at a Handmade Burger Co. What did you think?
Thanks for reading!
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Just before Christmas I treated myself to some beauty bits from Topshop. I'd never bought anything from their beauty range before but after hearing nothing but good things about it, I wanted to try it out. I picked up a gorgeous lipstick and this pretty little eyeshadow in shade 'Wax & Wane'.
I'd never seen anything like this before let alone owning any similar colours; I knew it had to be mine. It retails at £9 which I thought was quite expensive for a single eyeshadow when you can easily purchase a whole pallet for the same price. Even though I thought it was pricey I couldn't leave it and it came home with me that night to be vigorously tested over the next few months.
I love this colour, it's such an unusual shade but it's so pretty and I literally I feel like a fairy whenever I'm wearing it. Depending on how it catches in the light it can look pink/ purple/ blue or orange. I know something like that wouldn't be to everyone's taste but I can't get enough of it. I feel like it really suits my skin tone too, although I can see this being a very universal product that would look nice on most complexions.
One thing I love about this product is how long it lasts. I can do my make up in the afternoon for a night out and it would be still very much intact the next morning if I forgot to take it off. Saying that it is very easy to remove and doesn't stain the skin at all like some eyeshadows.
It is also a very pigmented product. A little goes a very long way and you don't have to smother your eyelid in product to get a decent result. This also means it's less likely to crease on your eyelid and you won't have to repurchase it every five minutes.
I really love wearing this product, it's a very versatile colour that is wearable all year round. Although it's a little bit pricey it more than makes up for this in how long it's lasts and it's quality. I have gotten so much wear out of it and I would not hesitate to buy it again. Overall I'd give it a 10/10 as I really can't fault it!
Have your tried any of the Topshop beauty range? Let me know what your favorite bits are!
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