Life Tonics - The Perfect Post-workout Drink!

We all know the importance of drinking water and staying hydrated throughout the day. Finding drinks that hydrate, aren't loaded with sugar, but still taste amazing can prove quite the challenge - the struggle is real, says the recovering coco cola addict *hangs head in shame.* Over recent months I discovered coconut water, and although not quite love at first taste I've finally found a brand that I love... Life Tonics*- a new soft drink that hydrates and tastes incredibly refreshing. Given my recent health kick now seemed like the perfect time to share Life Tonics with you all.

Life Tonics drinks hydrate, energise and are great for on the go, at work or even post-workout. I've found I'm never without a bottle in my gym bag. Before trying Life Tonics I used to feel dizzy and lightheaded after workouts (despite all the water I drank.) I drink Life Tonics drinks throughout my workout or sometimes after and I find that I feel a lot better after workouts - I mainly put this down to staying hydrated. All Life Tonics drinks have a blend of coconut water and natural fruit extracts, they taste so refreshing and even better they are loaded with minerals and vitamins. No nasties here as all Life Tonic drinks are formulated without refined sugars or artificial sweeteners only natural fruit extracts - there's only 90 calories per bottle! 

My favourite flavour has to be Elderberry and Juniper.  Who knew that Juniper is a berry that's used to flavour gin (it's no wonder this one is my favourite.) All of the flavours are lovely, the coconut taste is very subtle, so subtle that even if you aren't the biggest fan of coconut water I would still recommend trying as they taste so refreshing. 

The Life Tonics drinks are available in three flavours, coconut and mint, Dalandan Orange and Elderberry & juniper. Life Tonics are stocked in WH Smith and Waitrose and are priced at £1.49. 

How do you stay hydrated throughout the day? What is your favourite pre/post workout food/drinks? 

*PR Sample

P.S I'm thinking of writing up a post on pre workout snacks/drinks so keep an eye out for that! 

Makeup & Mojitos at The Body Shop!

Mojitos, Krispy Kremes and chocolate treats were waiting when I arrived at The Body Shop Mojito launch event. As a huge fan of everything Body Shop I was thrilled to receive an invite to an in store event at  Meadowhall. Makeovers, skin consultations and product demonstrations were all on the menu – here’s what I got up!

The evening kicked off with a demonstration of the new Mojito range. Lime and fresh mint the new products in this range have a lovely, fresh scent that’s perfect for summer. It’s worthwhile noting that all the products in this range have quite a subtle scent; the products aren’t quite as strong  as other TBS ranges, e.g. satsuma, but, I can imagine this subtle, fresh scent will be a favourite for a lot of people, especially for the warmer months. The products feel super refreshing, making them the most obvious choice for hot summer days (if we get any!?) The range includes a shower gel, body scrub, body butter, body sorbet and body splash. The sorbet and scrub are very high up on my list at the moment, but I’m waiting for a discount as we all know, TBS is great for discount codes! The body splash is a brand new fragrance format which is unlike anything I have seen before. This zingy fresh scent has a liquid texture, allowing you to splash the perfume or rub into your skin after lotion. The body splash smelt slightly stronger to the other products in the range, but again nothing too overpowering.  I felt a little underwhelmed with the mojito range, I expected the scent to be a lot more zingy, sweet and citrus smelling. If you are a fan of subtle scents then the Mojito range might be for you, but for now I’ll be sticking with my satsuma and coconut scented products.

 

After the Mojito demonstration we headed to a different stand to learn all about TBS skincare, products for different skin types and general skincare tips. Did you know that TBS offers free skin consultations? This was news to me; I think it’s brilliant though, as the range of products expands it can be difficult to work out which products are suited to your skin type so it’s great to have that extra bit of knowledge when choosing products. The lady who talked to us on the night was so informative and knowledge, as soon as she mentioned about pores not opening or closing I knew that I could trust her every word! We received a demonstration of the new Vitamin C products which I’ve already reviewed over here; she also showed us the cleansing oil and microdermabrasion products, both of which have been added to my wish list. I was surprised to discover that my skin type is ‘normal’ I always sway towards products aimed at oily skin types which could be where I’m going wrong with my skincare. I picked up a few goodies on the night including the Vitamin e oil-serum the lady mentioned that this would help with my scarring which is something I struggle with.

 

 

As we all know skincare is the foundation for healthy skin, so after hearing all about our skin and the range of products available, we were then given the opportunity to find out more about the base products and eye makeup on offer at The Body Shop. I haven’t had that much experience with TBS makeup in the past, I do however remember owning lots of glossy lip products back in the day…anyone else used to be obsessed with their raspberry lip balm pots? One of the bloggers had a makeover on the night; her eye makeup in particular looked gorgeous. We got to see the Shimmer Cube pallet in action and I have to say they seemed to apply well, they were super pigmented and I saw little fall out, I’m definitely going to check this out as I love a little bit of shimmer especially for holidays.

I felt like the whole evening has rekindled my love of The Body Shop products (so much so that I will have a haul going up over the next few weeks.) I’m excited by all the new ranges and can’t wait to pick up more body products to try.

What are your favourite The Body Shop products? What are your favourite skincare ranges? Have you tried the new mojito range?

Healthy Eating Goals - June

Although I've written about fitness quite a lot on my blog, you may have noticed healthy eating isn't something I have talked about much and here's why - I struggle. I have no shame in admitting that my will power is non existent when it comes to the food I'm putting in my body. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware how important diet is and if I want the toned, lean body I'm dreaming of I know that things will have to change drastically. Throughout June I want to look at the food I am eating and make small tweaks here and there. Today I thought I would share the changes I'll be making throughout June...

1. 5:2 Diet
5 days of healthy eating (no sweets or chocolate) two days of treats. In the past a 5:2 split has worked really well for me. My sugar cravings have eased up and I find myself with a lot more energy.

2. Eat every three hours
At the beginning of the year I was eating every three hours every day, after a few months of sticking at it religiously, I saw results, I felt less tired throughout the day and my body was looking a lot more toned. Throughout June I'll be eating three meals and three small healthy snacks daily.

3. Swap fizzy drinks for water
I drink 2 litres of water without fail, but on top of all that water I also drink a lot of coke. Fizzy drinks are my downfall. As I don't drink tea/coffee at work I rely on fizzy drinks for that energy boost. After recording my diet for a few weeks on the MyFitnessPal app sugar seems to be my downfall I think cutting out fizzy drinks should help me reduce my daily intake.

4. Healthier snacking
Crisps…god I love crisps. I'm so unhealthy when it comes to snacks. Throughout June I would like to start eating more fruit and veg. I went through a healthy phase of eating carrots, tomatoes and celery with homemade dips for work. This month I want to stop being lazy and bring back my homemade dips - maybe I'll even include some recipes on my blog?

5. Packed lunches
Eating out not only costs a small fortune per week, but I also find myself choosing the most unhealthy meals. Now that I have a new job that's closer to the city centre the temptation to head to McDonalds or KFC in my lunch break is difficult to resist. I want to meal plan my lunches, pasta, chicken wraps and salads are all on the menu throughout June.

What are your healthy eating goals? Do you have any healthy eating tips? What are your favourite healthy cookbooks?

3 Free Fitness Apps I Love

However much I hate to admit it, I'm one of those people who is pretty much addicted to my phone, whether it's a quick flick through Instagram or a glance at Twitter - I'm lost without it! So, if I'm spending quite a lot of time on my phone anyway, it makes sense to have something productive on there and I've found free fitness apps have made me more motivated over recent weeks. These free apps I'm writing about today not only record my progress, but they also offer free workouts that you can do at home or on the go, nutrition tips and recipe ideas!

1. Nike+ Running
The Nike+ Running App tracks your distance, time, pace and calories burnt. Not only is it a great app to track your progress, but there's also plenty of free training plans, the app even sends you a reminder on run days - so there really is no excuse! The app has built in audio feedback which is great when you are out and about, I find it stops me from constantly clock watching. Both of the Nike apps I'm writing about today record something called Nike fuel, which is a universal way to measure movement  for all kinds of activities, all of your information is recorded in the app and syncs to your Nike account which you can view online.

2. Nike Training
I'm a Nike training app newbie and I have to say I'm impressed with the variety of workouts available - I just can't believe this app is all free! Whether you want a 15 minute HIIT session or fancy 30 minutes of Yoga this app has it all. You can choose from beginner, intermediate or advanced workouts so you can tailor your workout to suit your fitness levels. I'm currently on beginner as I find the workouts very hard - you get a real sweat on…or maybe I'm just really unfit. This app offers clear demonstrations for all the workouts so you make sure you are doing the moves correctly. I have actually found my form has improved so much with this app. This is so handy to have for travel or for days where you fancy an at home workout.

3. MyFitnessPal
You can track calories, diet, exercise and even your water intake with this app. I'm not one for calorie counting, but this handy app has a bar code scanner which I swear is so addictive. I've turned into a complete looney scanning all my food. Although in the past, I haven't been the biggest fan of recording calories or food intake, I have found the past few week's eye opening, my diet isn't quite as clean as I thought it was…in fact it's actually quite shocking! On average, most days I'm 50g over my daily sugar intake - yup 50g! This app is full of fitness tips and a blog that's full of healthy recipes.

What are your favourite fitness apps? How do you track your progress?

P.S I did originally include two more apps but since writing this post they sadly aren't free anymore!

The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Enhancer & Moisturiser

Dull, tired, grumpy skin? You need The Body Shop Vitamin C products in your skin care line up. At this time of year my skin becomes a little unhappy, the transition from Winter to Spring/Summer leaves my skin looking dehydrated, dull and just plain yuk. When I first heard about the new products that were recently added to the TBS Vitamin C range I just knew I had to head to my nearest store to try the products in person - it was pretty much love at first use! As you can imagine both the moisturiser and enhancer have a gorgeous citrus, sweet scent, at first I was a little apprehensive as my sensitive skin doesn't always react very well to fragrance in skincare products, however the Vitamin C line is naturally scented without perfume. I've been using both products for around four weeks now and my skin has never looked brighter, my skin looks more radiant and I put it down to these two products, here are my thoughts -

Vitamin C Instant Glow Skin Enhancer £14.00 
If you are looking for an instant fix the skin enhancer will be perfect for you. I tend to use this product as a primer underneath makeup, but it works really well on its own too -it's perfect for no makeup days! I find that the peachy pigment instantly brightens up my dull, sallow skin. This feels refreshing when applied to the skin and the scent is so uplifting on tired mornings. When I use this my makeup stays fresher for longer, this manages to add a healthy glow without looking glittery or making my skin look sweaty. You do have to work this product into the skin quickly as it dries almost instantly, I quite like this though, as it doesn't leave a tacky layer on my skin like other primers I have tried. I'm quite surprised at how much I have enjoyed using this product as I haven't been a fan of any of the other TBS primers. I like that this doesn't have silicone texture, it works really well with my combination skin.

Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturiser £16.00 
The Vitamin C moisturiser has a fresh, lightweight formula that feels slightly cooling on the skin. This hydrates my skin and over the four weeks I have been using this I have noticed a huge improvement in my skin. My skin looks plumper, brighter and healthier. With this having a gel texture I can imagine it will be perfect for the Summer months, unlike other gel moisturisers I have tried that tend to sit on the skin, TBS one absorbs really well - it feels like my skin drinks this stuff up. If you suffer with dull or dry skin, then you may enjoy this moisturiser as much as I do. Before I started using this I was suffering with dry patches, but a few weeks on and the texture of my skin has improved so much. I love this stuff.

I'd love to try more products from the Vitamin C range the Microdermabrasion and Skin Reviver serum are on the top of my to buy list at the moment. I'm super impressed with both of the products I've tried, both of the products not only smell amazing, but also are super effective at brightening up my skin, I wouldn't hesitate to repurchase or recommend the products I have tried. 

Are you a fan of the The Body Shop Vitamin C range? What are your favourite glow boosting products? 

P.S There aren't currently any promotions on but it's certainly worth waiting I managed to buy these two when there was £10 of any £25 order!