TT Fitness Haul & Try On

TT Fitness is an Aesthetic Fitness Apparel combing both fitness and fashion and ships worldwide! Link to website

I am definitely a massive fan of TT Fitness after receiving my products! The products are high quality yet affordable and more importantly, the leggings are SQUAT PROOF!! So many gym leggings these days are see through and no one wants to show everyone their underwear!

Use my promotion code 'ELTT' for 15% off your order at the checkout!

Colossal Womens Vintage Shorts

I got 3 gym shorts from TT Fitness as I intend to wear these abroad in a hot country as they are perfect for wondering around in and for the beach! Personally, I prefer wearing leggings in the gym as I don't want to draw too much attention to myself but if you have great legs and the confidence to rock these shorts, these are perfect for the gym too! These gym shorts are incredibly soft and comfortable but they are short so beware you are not showing too much unless you want to!

Pink available here

Purple available here

Grey/black available here

Euphoria Leggings

These leggings are great quality and squat proof! I love the pattern of these leggings too and they are available in 3 colours! They also come up quite high and have tummy control which is perfect for if you want to hide unflattering areas of your body like me!

Grey available here

Pink available here

Grey/Black available here 

Grey/Black available here

Colossal Pro Tank & Classic Sports Bra

These tanks are tight fitting which I don't actually like as I like to wear a loose top so that the top doesn't cling to my unflattening areas of my body! That is just my opinion though as I do have fat around my body which I prefer to hide! Also, the colour isn't as bright as shown in the professional photos on the website but I still like the colour it comes in. If you have a good body, this top would look great on you but because I still have some work to do, it isn't the most flattering for me!

The classic sports bra is really comfortable and I would highly recommend it and it has a cute cross at the back! Great design!

Purple available here
Sports bra available here

Ladies Future Leggings

These leggings are great quality, comfortable and has a thick waistband. These leggings are again squat proof so you don't need to worry about showing the world your underwear! I also love the pop of colour for the logo at the bottom of the leggings!

Available here

Available here

LOOKBOOK | CARIBBEAN CRUISE EDITION

I was luckily enough to be able to go on a Caribbean Cruise with my family for 10 nights on the Royal Princess.

I picked out 10 outfits for dinner and thought I would share my outfits with you guys. 

There were 2 formal nights, 8 smart casual nights! Not everyone enjoys dressing up but it is one of my favourite things about cruising and of course I pick out my favourite outfits! 

I used the same handbag every night and the same watch and bracelet. I changed up my necklace a few times and my earrings but I like to keep it very simple in terms of jewellery.

I filmed all my outfits on the cruise so if you would like to take a look, here is the link:

Outfit 1 - Formal

Dress - Forever Unique

Shoes - Ebay 

Handbag - Mulberry

Outfit 2 - Smart Casual

Dress - Elise Ryan (Asos)

Shoes - Ebay 

Handbag - Mulberry

Outfit 3 - Smart Casual

Playsuit - Ax Paris

Shoes - Ebay 

Handbag - Mulberry

Outfit 4 - Smart Casual

Dress - Asos

Shoes - Ebay 

Handbag - Mulberry

Outfit 5 - Smart Casual

Dress - Ax Paris

Shoes - Ebay 

Handbag - Mulberry

Outfit 6 - Smart Casual

Dress - Missguided

Shoes - Ebay 

Handbag - Mulberry

Outfit 7 - Smart Casual

Dress - Redherring (Debenhams)

Shoes - Ebay 

Handbag - Mulberry

Outfit 8 - Formal 

Dress - Lipsy (VIP Collection)

Shoes - Ebay 

Handbag - Mulberry

Outfit 9 - Smart Casual 

Dress - Ax Paris

Shoes - Ebay 

Handbag - Mulberry

On the right! Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a photo of me in this dress on my cruise therefore this photo is taken back in September when I was on my last cruise!

Outfit 10 - Smart Casual

Dress - Ax Paris

Shoes - Ebay 

Handbag - Mulberry

Hope these outfits help you to decide what to wear on your cruise or just give you an idea of where I purchase my dresses from! Most of these dresses are affordable. The formal dresses are on the pricier side, however I feel that they are definitely worth it!

I love dressing up and it's not everyday I get this opportunity therefore I like to go all out!! 

I hope you enjoyed this post :)

My First Boxing Lesson

Genesis Mind and Body

For my first boxing lesson, I visited Chris in his studio.

"Genesis is a holistic wellness centre located in Shepherds Bush, West London. Our services include personal training, expert nutritional advise, physiotherapy and life coaching.

We provide a fun, friendly and inspiring environment to cater for all of our clients goals."

For more info see below:
Website: www.genesismindandbody.co.uk click here
Enquiries: Chris.davies@genesismindandbody.com

A few words from Chris himself:

"Hi guys, 
I'm Chris Davies.

I am a highly experienced personal trainer and co owner of Genesis mind and body. 
I have worked in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years and I still retain the passion and enthusiasm I started out with.

I would describe myself as someone who likes to inspire and motivate others to be the best version of themselves both inside and out."

My Initial Thoughts of Boxing

Prior to speaking to Chris, I had never really given much thought to boxing and when he suggested boxing, I was a little sceptical about it. For some reason, I have always associated boxing with violence... However, since becoming more passionate about leading a healthy lifestyle and wanting to try out new things, I thought why not?

Having always been a girly girl, I'm sure my friends and family would never have imagined me putting on boxing gloves and punching away at some pads! Nevertheless, having had my first encounter with boxing, I now think about it as not only being a different type of exercise but also a fun way to exercise. More and more personal trainers are incorporating boxing into their workouts with clients which have been incredibly effective!

I decided to film part of my lesson to show you guys! Enjoy!

First Impression

My first impressions of having my hands wrapped and having boxing gloves put on my hands, I thought ohmygod what have I got myself into. My advice is not to have long nails when you're going into a boxing lesson/class! Trust me, it hurts when you punch!! Being a fast learner, I was able to pick up the stance quickly and then the names of the moves. In just a short amount of time, I learnt a combination and now know how to punch!! My favourite move is the 'hook'. According to Chris, I have a mean left hook so guys, watch out! Only joking....

The boxing lesson was incredibly fun and it definitely helps if the lesson is with someone who is fun!! Chris is a great trainer to be able to deal with me as I''m so hyperactive and impatient when it comes to learning new fun things!

Having really enjoyed my first session boxing, it is something I definitely want to continue with. 

Chris praying I don't accidentally punch him in the face!

Teaching me some new moves!

Would I Recommend Boxing?

Absolutely.

I think boxing would be perfect for those who want to have fun and exercise at the same time or for those who get stressed and/ or angry because you can relieve your stress/anger on a punch bag!

I would really urge those who have never given boxing a try to go and try it out! Go take part in a boxing class or simply book a one-on-one lesson (this can be done with Chris at Genesis).

Thanks Chris for giving me my first boxing lesson!

My Fitness Journey

Intro

I recently embarked on a fitness journey after eating so much fried food when I was living in London and not exercising because I was going out clubbing and consuming large amounts of alcohol. I realised my lifestyle needed to change because I was incredibly unhealthy!

As I am really serious about changing my lifestyle, I have got myself a personal trainer and train with him once a week and working towards losing some body fat and achieving a nice toned body!

I thought I would show you a few photos I took of myself quite early on in my journey. I'm still in the early stages so there hasn't been that much physical change in my body. However, after 3 weeks, I've lost 2kg. I know that my physical appearance will not change straight away as it takes time so I am being patient!

If you want to follow my fitness journey, follow me on Instagram: click here

Day 13

Day 20

Day 25

This top is everything. It's how I feel most mornings but I still get up and get going with the rest of my day and ensure I exercise as I want to achieve my goal!

I bought these beautiful Nike trainers as soon as I joined LA Fitness to motivate me!

Diet

This is something that needed to drastically change as I am addicted to everything junk food related and love fried food! When I was in London, I would skip breakfast and just snack until lunchtime on junk food like crisps and chocolate. For lunch, I would get one of those lunch deals from Tesco where I would have a chicken mayo sandwich, a pack of crisps and a Tropicana Orange or a Fanta. I was also getting into the habit of going for lunch in a pub with my friends and consuming unhealthy burgers and chips with a plate of onion rings on the side and a fizzy drink. For dinner, I had cheesy pasta, chicken and chips or I would go dine out with friends and have fish and chips, pizza or some other fried food! Obviously, if I carry on eating this way, I think I would die!! My heart would not be able to handle all the fast food and junk food! Also, to make things harder, I really do not like vegetables and I am an incredibly picky eater therefore I really have to force myself to eat vegetables now and to not be so picky with food!

Myfitnesspal App

Now that I have embarked on my fitness journey, I was recommended by my personal trainer to download the app 'Myfitnesspal' which has helped me massively. This app allows me to keep track of the food I'm consuming and help keep track of the calories, nutrients and macros. I also bought scales to weigh my food so that it's more accurate!

Breakfast

For breakfast, I usually have Greek Style yoghurt, the original flavour. With the yoghurt, I add a selection of berries, banana and granola as seen in the photos below. In one of the photos, the yoghurt is slightly pink because I decided to mix it up a little and put the yoghurt in my Nutribullet and blended the yoghurt with some berries and banana. However, I didn't do this again as it didn't taste as nice! Also, that way, I was consuming far too much sugar according to Myfitnesspal! My personal trainer actually told me to eat Natural Greek Yoghurt and I tried the one by Yeo Valley and it made me nearly sick! It was far too strong in flavour and extremely creamy. I absolutely hated it and bought a huge tub which is so annoying but oh well. I'm going to stick with Greek Style yoghurt as I way prefer the taste.

An alternative breakfast option is Oat So Simple. I get the original flavour which has individual sachets as I find it easier to measure portions. I add semi-skimmed milk to this and warm it up in the microwave then add honey when it is hot. I also like to add a selection of fruit to my porridge as I think it tastes a lot better and makes me more full so I don't snack. This is a great breakfast option as porridge is not only good for you but oats are high in fibre and naturally contain beta-glucan which helps lower cholesterol! 

Sometimes when I'm in a rush and don't have time to make breakfast, I grab a banana and a Special K cereal bar. This isn't as good but it's better than nothing!

Blended the yoghurt with a selection of berries and some banana then added the fruit on top. This is actually far too much sugar for your daily allowance so I wouldn't really recommend it. Also, it didn't taste as nice!

Oats So Simple porridge with fresh strawberries and a banana

Lunch

I tend to mix it up for lunch. When I'm in lectures all day, I pack myself a salad for lunch containing chicken, egg, mixed salad leaves and some charlotte potatoes like in the second photo. When I'm not out, I will have either risotto that I made from the night before containing chicken, broccoli and cauliflower and add some mixed salad leaves. Sometimes, I even have salmon, sweet potato and some mixed salad leaves. I try and keep lunch quite simple.

Risotto, chicken, broccoli, cauliflower and mixed salad leaves.

Mixed salad leaves, chicken, boiled egg and charlotte potatoes

Dinner

I enjoy cooking but I find it takes up so much time and sometimes I just don't have the time to cook therefore cook in big portions then have them as leftovers in a box and put it in the fridge for the next couple of days.

For dinner, I always incorporate some veggies now like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, sweet potato and peppers. I always have some sort of meat like salmon, chicken and steak. I absolutely love meat and having a lot of protein is good for you as it makes you feel more full and means it will limit the chances of you snacking!

Okay the last photo there are chips in it but I never really have chips anymore as it is bad carbs. I only had it that day as I was rewarding myself for maintaining a good diet oh and it goes well with steak!

Snacking

This is probably the hardest for me as I love snacks! However, obviously with my fitness plan, I'm not meant to be eating junk food! I have a nutribullet so nowadays, I do blend a lot of fruit and water to make myself a juice. 

My go to juice has been my 'green juice' which includes lots of spinach, a banana, one apple and a handful of strawberries. It tastes absolutely delicious! I sometimes don't use apple and add mango and pineapple instead.

Types of Exercises I do

Most of my workout incorporates weights as my aim is to tone up and lose a bit of weight as I have a high percentage of body fat.

For every exercise, I do 3 sets of 15 reps and add weights whenever I can. I warm up by doing 5 minutes on the cross trainer and stretches.

Examples of the exercises:

Squats - 10kg 

Lunges - 3kgs

Chest Press - 15kg

Leg Press - 40kg

Pull Down - 25kg

Seated Row - 15kg

Slam Ball - 8kg-12kg

Kettle Bell Swings - 12kg

Vsit Rotations - 6kg ball

Sit Ups with Shoulder Press - 6kg ball

Vsit - 30 seconds hold

Plank - 30 seconds hold

Burpees

Leg Raises

Cardio:

10 mins Treadmill

10 mins Stepper

15 mins Rowing

I've also been participating in some exercise classes like conditioning where it's basically circuits containing exercises like press ups, kettle bell swings and using a rope.

I absolutely love playing with gym equipment as it makes exercise a lot more fun! I do not enjoy cardio as I find it so boring.

Also, when I feel like I'm going to skip a gym session, I go on the internet and buy myself some cute gym wear to motivate me again! Try it if you feel the same way!

Back to Blogging

Hello all!

For the past 6 months, I've been extremely busy due to work commitments and also went a little crazy with my social life! Anyway, now that I am back to being a university student (final year), I have a little bit more time so I can finally blog again! Some of the upcoming posts will be about my new fitness regime as I really let go in the summer, my life in London over the summer including some tips about London property and my recent holiday to Greece, Italy and Turkey. I'm really excited to share these with you!

Just a little update

Over the summer, I lived in Kentish Town (northern line) throughout the summer which I really enjoyed! I worked at a bank and made loads of new friends on my internship that I went out so much, probably about 3 times a week and spent barely anytime actually in my flat in London! I ate out all the time which I absolutely loved!! However, this really was bad for my diet as I started to get fatter! I tried to go for a run every so often but this was like once every 3 weeks and the run didn't last long....

When my internship finished at the beginning of September, I went on holiday with my parents and sister on a cruise around Greece, Italy and Turkey which was really fun. We actually decided to try Celebrity Cruises again even after the disaster from the last Celebrity cruise we did back over Christmas and New Year. However, this time the ship was a lot better and so were the staff which made it more enjoyable although the entertainment was still really poor. I will do a review of this cruise in a post soon!

I'm now back at Loughborough University in my final year studying Banking, Finance and Management. I also have a graduate job lined up which I am so happy about as this means I have more time to myself as I don't have to apply for jobs like crazy! I've been hitting the gym 5-6 times a week as part of my new fitness regime and meet with my personal trainer once a week for a session! I am absolutely loving the new healthy me where I eat more healthily, TRYING to stop snacking on chocolate and crisps but it is definitely proving difficult for me! I just can't resist!!! You can track my fitness journey via my Instagram account click here. A blog post on my fitness journey so far will be posted this weekend!!

Quote of the Day

"If you can dream it, you can do it."

- Walt Disney

My Allergic Reactions - Sensitive Skin

Quick Intro

This is a very difficult topic for me to talk about. I didn't really want to upload photos on the internet of my allergic reactions because they really are ugly. However, I think it is extremely important to send a powerful message across to everyone regarding products you're applying to your delicate skin.

Please do not just apply any product on your skin! Research and speak to people about the products or you may suffer long term damage to your skin!

This blog post is about a recent experience with a brand that has caused long term damage to my skin. I'm going to be telling you about my skin before the incident, a bit about the brand that caused my allergic reactions and finally my skin now.

As a result of my severe allergic reaction, I was prescribed steroids, antibiotics and given two different creams.

BEFORE

My skin type was combination and my skin was not sensitive. I also had clear skin luckily and never really had a big outbreak of spots. Sometimes during my period, I would get the odd spot.

This is me make-up free. I had just got my hair dyed red so you may see red around my forehead! Haha

Arbonne Incident

Back in October 2014, (one year ago) I was given the opportunity to try some skincare products from Arbonne and I took that chance to trial the products for a few days. I absolutely loved trying different products from different brands and basically thought my skin could handle absolutely everything as I didn't have sensitive skin.

Unfortunately, the experience was absolutely awful which resulted me being severely allergic to the products and now I am suffering long term damage to my skin as a result of the products. Please note that the products will not affect everyone in the same way. I did a review on my horrific experience using Arbonne skin products so if you wish to have a read of my experience, please click here. 

I'm still really unsure why my skin has reacted this way but my guess is that the products that were given to me to trial were already opened and could have been contaminated. I was stupid enough to still apply the products to my skin but the way I see it, when you go into shops and there are samples there for you to try, they are already open. I never had an allergic reaction from sample products from shops so I didn't think anything of it when I applied the Arbonne products to my skin.

The Arbonne skin care range I tried.

After

My skin type is still combination. My skin was not at all sensitive before the Arbonne incident. However, ever since applying Arbonne skin products, I have been suffering from random allergic reactions which have been so bad that I had to go seek doctors advice. My skin is now also incredibly sensitive which is really upsetting as before I didn't need to worry about what I was applying to my face. Now, I have to be extremely careful with products I pick up and try.

The photos I will be showing you really don't show how bad my skin was when I had a severe allergic reaction which is really annoying. My doctor has now arranged for me to go see a dermatologist however I have to wait a couple more months before my appointment.

Products I used in the past, I can no longer use including Johnson's face wipes (moisturising for dry skin) which I used all the time before. They are now too strong for my skin so now I have to use Simple face wipes and Johnson's extra-sensitive face wipes. I also have to look for products that are only suitable for extra sensitive skin which really limits the amount of products I can use.

The photo below shows the random severe allergic reaction I suffered. I have a feeling this was due to using the Johnson's face wipes (moisturising for dry skin) as it really felt like my face was burning when I wiped my face with it. I suffered from redness and extremely dry flaky skin for about 2 weeks before my skin got progressively worse. My face and neck started swelling up and the redness got worse and eventually my face and neck swelled so much that I could barely open my eyes and my face stung so bad. My neck was also infected from me scratching because the reaction was incredibly itchy so I scratched during the night when I slept. My face was burning so much that I went to grab ice and I iced my face and neck but the next day, my face and neck were so bad I had to go see my doctor. I actually looked like someone who had suffered from burns to my face and neck because my skin was that red raw. Unfortunately, the photos don't really show this.

I was living in London for work and my doctor was all the way in Sussex. Unfortunately, this came at the worst time as there was a tube strike in London therefore I had to get an Uber to Victoria station and of course I did not want to be seen by anyone in the state I was in so I wore the biggest sunglasses in an attempt to hide my face and neck! The journey took 3 hours to see my doctor.

Severe allergic reaction to my face and neck. You can see my face is really swollen and I can barely open my eyes.

My mother picked me up from the station and was absolutely shocked when she saw my face. Likewise, my sister was scared when she saw what I looked like. She said I didn't even look like myself. When I saw my doctor, she immediately knew it was an allergic reaction and was feeling really sorry for me.

Due to the severe allergic reaction, I was given steroids to take for 7 days along with antibiotics for my infected neck and cream to apply over my face and neck. I have now been referred to a dermatologist.

Luckily, my skin got better after about 4 days of taking the medication.

However, my skin has never fully healed. I have been suffering from random allergic reactions but luckily they haven't been as extreme as above.

Reaction on my cheek.

Redness above my eye and on my cheek.

Conclusion

Now that you've seen photos of my allergic reactions, please do not just apply anything to your face. Really research products and speak to people about the different products.

I have to be extremely careful with what I apply on my face and neck now to reduce the chances of suffering from another allergic reaction.

Also, if you have an advice for me, please post a comment or send me a message as I'd love to hear from you if you know anything about skin :)

Glam Make-up Look

Products Used

Benefit Porefessional Primer

Ex1 Foundation in F300 and F400

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Medium

Clinique Stay-Matte Pressed Powder in Stay Honey

The Balm Bahama Mama Bronzer

BH Cosmetics Glamorous Blush (matte dark pink shade)

The Balm Maryloumanizer 

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Chocolate

Inglot eyeliner in black (77)

No 7 Exceptional Definition Mascara

Mac Extended Play Gigablack Lash (bottom lashes only)

Nyx High Definition Eye Shadow Base

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette: 

- Salted Caramel in the crease

- Semi-Sweet in the outer v and bottom lash line

-  Creme Brulee on the lid

- Champagne Truffle in the inner corner

Lashes from Hong Kong but any pair will do

Nyx Red Retractable Lip Liner

Nyx Lip Smacking Colours in Eros

The focus of this look is on the bright red lips and lashes. This look can be worn to an event such as prom, formal dinner or even a dinner date. This look isn't too heavy on the eyes as I want the focus to be on the lips.

If you are going to be taking photos, remember to try and use a foundation that contains no SPF to ensure there is no flashback in photos! You do not want your face to look white compared to the rest of your body. Likewise, make sure the setting powder you use also contains no SPF as that too can cause flashback in photos.

You can opt for a lighter concealer if you want the more "highlighted" look to brighten up your face but I decided to use a concealer that is quite close to my foundation colour.

I also opted for a very flirty blush colour, a dark matte pink because I wanted to get that "flush" of colour on my cheeks.

Also, remember to use a highlighter on your cheekbones so that when the light catches your face, you are glowing! You can also use highlighter on your cupid's bow, your nose and above your eyebrows.

For my eyes, I first applied my mascara, eye liner and lashes because this is the process I like to do but everyone does their make-up different so don't think you need to do it my way. I then applied an eyeshadow base, the NYX high definition eyeshadow base is a very good one to use and I've been using this one for ages and it seems to work very well! I decided to use my chocolate bar palette from Too Faced. Too Faced are such an amazing brand and I love the packaging of their products. I especially love their eyeshadows and my chocolate bar palette actually smells like chocolate! I used salted caramel in the crease so that it enables my eyeshadows to all blend together nicely. I then applied semi-sweet which is a dark brown in the outer v and bottom lash line. I blended semi-sweet out with salted caramel and smoked out the bottom lash line by blending it so it doesn't look too harsh and opted for a brown rather than black so it too doesn't look harsh. I used creme brulee on the lid and this shade is a metallic gold colour and it is so beautiful! I do not think the photos do this look any justice to be honest! The final shade I used is champagne truffle in the inner corner to brighten up my eyes.

NYX is one of my favourite brands because of how affordable the products are. The lipsticks are so creamy and buttery in consistency that it glides on so easily. Unfortunately, not all drugstore products are like this! Anyway, I lined my lips with the red retractable lip pencil so that it prevents my lips from "bleeding" red from the lipstick. I overlined my lips because my lips are generally quite thin and this is easily done by just following the outline of your lips. It is only slightly overlined though otherwise I think I would look silly if I went overboard! I then applied the lipstick in eros by NYX. The lipstick is quite glossy so I decided not to apply a lip gloss over it but if you want your lips to look extra glossy, go ahead and apply your favourite red lipgloss!

To finish off the look, you can apply a facial setting spray. Usually, I use Mac Fix +.