Haulin' #5: Winter Warmers

Winter Warmers by ruby-frampton featuring a zip sweatshirt

I am so jealous of people living in the US that get to go Black Friday shopping, so I thought I'd do a bit of my own online. 

Sheinside is an online Asian 'fast fashion' website. They have thousands and thousands of items to look through all for really cheap prices.

Despite the fact that I'm blogging about these items, I haven't actually received any of them as the shipping times are extreeeemly long. However, the prices and discounts make the wait worth while. All of the items were discounted between 30%-80% so I got some amazing deals, plus on Cyber Monday I got an extra £6 off my order for spending over £60. 

It's been getting super cold in England recently so I thought I'd use the sale as a chance to expand my winter wardrobe. My favourite items are definitely the ombre jumper and the faux fur gilet. I have been eyeing up the Topshop boxy faux fur gilet for so long now, and even added it to my Christmas wishlist. But I came across this one which looks identical for only £18, less than a third of the price of the Topshop one! I stuck to a monochrome colour scheme as I think that all of the pieces I bought are very versatile and interchangeable.  

If you do decide to make an order on Sheinside be sure to google 'Sheinside discount codes' because you will always find a 10/20% off code to use towards your purchase. 

The fluffy grey cat ears hat is actually from H&M but I thought I would pop it in with this haul. 

What are your favourite winter warmers at the moment?

Love Ruby.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I thought that I'd share how I've jazzed up my bedroom this Christmas. I popped to Tesco as they always have reasonably priced Christmas decorations and found some lovely bits to decorate my room with. 

Wreath: Tesco £1

Gingham bows: Tesco 50p for 3

Gingham heart garland: Tesco £5

Red baubles: Tesco 80p for 8

Silver and white glitter baubles: Tesco (last year) 

Artificial tree: Argos £20

Merry Christmas bunting: Tesco £2.50

How have you decorated your house this Christmas?

Love Ruby.

Dupe Day: Chanel Lego Clutch

Chanel Lego Clutch - £5,370

eBay Lego Phone Case - £19.99

I will admit this is one of my more gimmicky 'Dupe Day' items, but fun nonetheless. The dupe isn't an exact match, I found an iPhone 5 case rather than a clutch but you get the jist. The less fashion savvy people I know just have no clue what it is, but I like it and that's all that matters! The phone case actually comes with a silver chain so that you can wear it over your shoulder - I thought it was hideous so took it off. It is definitely an eye-catching accessory for any Chanel loving iPhone 5 owner...

Here is where I found mine: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231090803997?var=530260247465&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649  

Love Ruby.

November Favourites

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 402 Bronze: 

I've been going for some sun beds (naughty me) in preparation for some parties I'm going to over Christmas, so the only foundation that matches me is my MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC40 which I no longer like. My skin isn't perfect, but I only get the occasional spot which I can easily cover up with concealer, so I've been recently drawn to lighter coverage foundations. I've seen Youtubers like Tanya Burr and Fleur De Force mention the Rimmel Match Perfection foundation in recent videos so I thought I'd give it a go. Luckily, the Asda that I work in has a Rimmel counter and it is only £4.98 which is £2-3 cheaper than in Boots or Superdrug, plus I got my staff discount which took it down to about £4.50. It claims to be a 'Light Perfecting Radiance Foundation' which I definitely agree with - it matches my skin tone perfectly and gives me a glowy finish. 

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in Medium:

My second monthly favourite is also a base. I have been eyeing this BB cream up for months, after seeing Youtuber Carli Bybel rave about it in one of her videos. But the one thing that put me off was the £27 price tag. Boots were having one of their points events where you got £12 worth of points for every £50 you spent, so I thought it would be an ideal time to purchase it. I was matched to both Light/Medium and Medium, but I opted for the darker so I could wear it with a tan. It's supposed to be a 5-in-1 BB cream able to prime, perfect, protect, hydrate and control oil. One big plus to the product is that it has Smashbox's primer in it which is supposed to be amazing. The first time I wore this product I knew it was going to be one of my all time favourite products. It really does control oil - no matter how much powder I use with other foundations, I normally find myself with an oil slick down my nose throughout the day - but not with this BB cream! After wearing it for over 8 hours, it still looked as good as it did when I first applied it. Yes it is expensive, but I believe it is worth every penny and will definitely repurchase.

Maybelline New York Brow Drama in Dark Brown: 

I've never bothered that much with my eyebrows, accept from filling them in with an Estee Lauder eyeshadow. I find that brow sets are mostly always fairly expensive so I have just stuck to the same thing. However, on a trip to Boots I came across this and for £4 something, I couldn't say no. I still use the eyeshadow to fill in my brows, I just use this product to set them in place and it works wonders. 

L'Oreal Lash Architect Mascara in Midnight Black:

I am definitely guilty of mascara hoarding. Apart from my L'Oreal Telescopic mascara, I rarely repurchase the same one twice in a row. I thought I would give this one a go, and have fallen in love with it. It's very volumising and does give some length too, plus I think it's quite comparable to the finish of Lancome Hypnose Drama. L'Oreal mascaras do seem to be the best for me, they are more on the expensive side of the highstreet range being £10+, but I do think you get what you pay for. 

L'Oreal Color Riche Lipstick in 461 Scarlett Creme:

Around the Christmas period, Boots start doing gift with purchase for certain brands. If you spent over £15 on L'Oreal you received a gift box worth £28. Normally they fill these boxes with absolute rubbish, but for the most part the one I received was really good! In it I received this Color Riche Lipstick in Scarlett Creme which is the perfect festive red colour. It has a really creamy texture and a slight glossy finish to it. It has good longevity, but failed to remain on my lips after I ate a huge amount at Wagamamas on a Christmas shopping trip. It's definitely one of my favourite red lipsticks, and the fact that it was free makes it even better.   

L'Oreal Color Riche Nail Polish in 401 Rouge Pin Up:

This was also included in my L'Oreal gift with purchase. It's also a lovely pillar box red colour ideal for Christmas, plus it applies really well only taking 2 coats for a nice opaque finish. 

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette:

After my 'Shopping My Stash' blog post I have managed to get so much use out of this palette. I'm training myself to wear more eye shadow in the day time, plus I have had a few nights out where I've created some lovely looks with the palette. After seeing some reviews on the recently released Naked 3 palette, I will no doubt be purchasing that too with Christmas money in the New Year. 

Love Ruby.

Weightloss Journey: BooTea Teatox Review

Grab a cup of tea, this is going to be a long one. BooTea is a UK based tea detox company. I came across it on Instagram and had to try it as I wanted something to kick start my weightloss. I opted for the 14 day teatox (£19.99), as I had a friends 21st birthday party coming up and thought it would be a quick way of losing a bit of weight beforehand. I received 14 Daytime Detox teabags to be used everyday, and 7 Bedtime Cleanse teabags to be used every other night. Here are the ingredients of the teas:

Ingredients (Bootea) - Loose Tea
Chinese Oolong tea, Maté leaves, Ginger root, Fennel seeds, Lemongrass, Dandelion leaf, Ginseng root, Gotu Kola leaves, Nettle leaves.

Ingredients (Bootea) - 'Bedtime Cleanse' Tea

Senna leaves, Peppermint leaves, Fenugreek seeds, Liquorice root, Burdock root, Hawthorn leaves, Valerian root, Psyllium seeds.  

My BooTea arrived on the 21-11-13 and I made the first tea as soon as I received it.. First impressions:

Weight

On the 20-11-13 I weighed 61.8kg (as per), I didn't weigh myself on the day I started the detox as 1. I had to leave for uni super early, and 2. I didn't know the detox was going to arrive on that day. However I did weigh myself on 22-11-13 and I weighed in at 61.3k, which I was shocked about as I did not expect to lose weight within a day!

Taste

Both teas taste fine to be honest - just like a herbally green teaish taste. The Bedtime cleanse has peppermint leaves in it, and I'm not a fan of the taste of peppermint, but I'll stomach it for the sake of losing weight. BooTea says you can add lemon juice or honey to either of the teas to make them to your taste. 

TMI

I will say that the Bedtime Cleanse tea is definitely cleansing as it does contain senna leaves. In other words, I was up at 6:30am and needed the toilet 3 times within 30 minutes. Sounds gross, but it really wasn't that bad. I've read your stomach will get used to it as the teatox progresses so it's not a big deal to me. The Bedtime Cleanse also says on the packet that the laxative effect will take place in approximately 8 hours, which it did to the T as I drank the tea at 10:30pm. 

Diet

To get the best results from the teatox I have decided to follow their eating plan. There are loads of different healthy options for a Morning, Mid-Morning Snack, Lunch, Mid-Afternoon Snack and Dinner. It really is a change of lifestyle more than a 'diet' - you're not depriving yourself. The only one thing you cannot/advise you not to eat is meat. The only thing I find slightly questionable with the eating plan is that you could end up having bread in 4/5 of your daily meals, which I don't think is ever a good idea, let alone if you are trying to lose weight. So I am allowing myself 1 meal containing wholemeal carbs at the most. I have been drinking water like there is no tomorrow. I've been drinking upto 3 litres of water a day, it's super important to keep hydrated during the teatox.

Exercise
One thing I did find today, was that I was able to run for literally tripled the time I have ever been able to run before. I am so so so so so bad at running, and I usually do a 5 minute run as a warm up and feel dead after that. But today I did 15 minutes which I have never in my life run before. Maybe it's mind over matter, but I'm pretty sure it's down to the tea making me feel more energised.

After the teatox: 
I finished the tea yesterday (04-12-13) and I lost a total of 2 kilograms (was 61.8kg, now 59.8kg). I'ts extremely frustrating because the initial weight loss made me think that I would continue losing at that rate which I didn't. I lost 1 kilo over the first 3 days, and then another kilo over the last 11 days. I didn't have any cheat days at all, and exercised for 1 hour 30 minutes 4-5 days a week. I will say I have seen a difference in myself, and the fit of my clothes and I lost 1.5 inches off my thighs and 1 inch of each of my arms. 
I am pleased I lost something, as I have been stuck at 61.8kg for so frickin' long, I'm just a bit disappointed it wasn't more. It is good if you want a kick start for weight loss, but if like me you lead a relatively healthy lifestyle in terms of eating and working out, you probably won't see huge results. I did feel less bloated, and I have actually decided to continue eating vegetarian (accept from Christmas day ha)as I really don't miss it.  
I would recommend doing the teatox, it's only £19.99 and whether it works or not in terms of weight loss, you'll still experience health benefits from detoxing your system.