Little Lottie: January 2015

Saturday 31 January 2015

Health Haul and How I Keep Fit

I never make a New Years resolution but this year is different, after discovering more natural, organic products and starting my little corner of the internet, Little Lottie, last year made me much more conscious of what I use and consume.

I'm officially on a health kick, I want to be more toned by next year with less wobble and more ab action going on. I'm already starting to see results and I'm feeling so much more confident, I may be a size 8 but I still never felt like getting my tum out or bearing a little in crop tops so I thought I'd finally do something about it. The 'This Girl Can' campaign is such a powerful message to girls who feel unattractive but don't do anything to change it.

Exercising has always appeared like a chore before but once I started doing the Insanity workout and saw a few pounds drop to get me bikini ready for my holiday I was convinced. Now my aim isn't to loose pounds but tone what is already there, I started by just doing sit ups every night until I was able to do 50 at a time then I looked up more toning workouts and realised sit ups only work a small section of your abs, I added planking, crunches and leg raises to make the workout more intense.

These days I go for a run a few times a week (usually at the weekend) and do a 5-10 minute cardio or ab workout every night. I use a free app or a YouTube tutorial. I find the most effective moves are squats and spiderman planks. My abs and legs always ache after so I know it's working.
I got some new gear from Primark to help me workout more comfortably.





This armband is so helpful when I go out for a run and was only £2.50!





The perfect time to pick up some health goods is when Holland and Barrett have their penny sale on. I have recently been researching into Omega fatty acids and how they are a miracle worker for clear skin and long, silky hair. I've looked into various supplements like Omega 3 6 9, Cod liver oil, Flaxseed oil and many more. I went for fish oil in the end as it contains EPA & DHA which are anti-inflammatory. This tub was £12.99 and I am taking 1,000 mg a day.


The best way of pumping some Omega into the body is through food, these Omega Sprinkle bags were 2 for £3 and don't taste amazing but a pinch on top of my cereal is barely noticeable.
£2.99 each or 2 for £3 in the penny sale. My daily breakfast is a bowl of cereal topped with omega sprinkles and a banana with plenty of almond milk, delicious!





Who doesn't use coconut oil these days? I've just finished my tub and had to pick up another asap. I use it as a hair oil, body moisturiser, eye cream, lip balm, frying oil, baking ingredient and for shaving sometimes. It's a wonder product! The jar is £14.99.


Last year I became a Love Your Body member, it's a great initiative for Body Shop fans and means you get 10% off every purchase as well as gifts every now and then. The latest gift was a free Body Butter worth £13 and I went for the cocoa butter because it reminds me of chocolate!



I also drink two liters of water a day and at least one cup of green tea, usually lemon flavour. It was really hard to drink water at first but I've replaced my usual drinking bottle with a liter bottle and I only need to fill up once which encourages me to drink up more. 


I'm no nutritionist or gym addict but I'm feeling more confident and healthy as well as seeing a difference on the outside. If I'm ever stuck for motivation or ideas I look on Pintrest and sometimes save a fitness pic as my screensaver to remind me to workout.

If you have any tips or tricks leave them in the comments and help motivate each other.

Little Lottie XO

Friday 23 January 2015

Remembering to take a break...

Last weekend Nick and I went to Devon (about an hour away) for a weekend break. This was an amazing Christmas present from my mum and I have been so excited since opening the secret envelope under the tree.

Everyone has moments when life gets overwhelming, having anxiety means this happens for me often, don't get me wrong I love my job and my life but the stress and anxious feelings seem to build and creep up on me without me realising. This luscious weekend away really enabled me to strip away any negative feelings and really relax, it has made me realise how important it is to just take some time out once in a while and stop going at 100 miles an hour.


We stayed on The Hoe which is a coastal area of Plymouth City. On Saturday morning we walked into the City centre and did a spot of shopping, I'm really enjoying H&M lately and finally bought a pair of jeans, I have been searching for the perfect pair for 6 months!

The view from the hotel
We went to The Americano Coffee House for lunch which we have never been to thinking it was just coffee, but oh no, this place is brilliant! They have such a big food menu including burgers, salads, grills, sandwiches and not to mention the best flavours of hot drinks EVER! I went for a Ferrero Rocher Hot Chocolate but there was chocolate orange, Oreo, strawberry cream and pretty much everything you can think of. I had a sweet chili chicken ciabatta which they really generously filled and the sauce was incredible!


We strolled back to the hotel at 3 to check in and see our room, we were on the 7th floor and had a gorgeous view of the city and country fields behind it. The gym and pool were free to use and we couldn't resist so did an hour workout, I mainly used the treadmills and tried to do fat burning cardio exercises, getting in the pool afterwards was lovely and a relaxing swim was the perfect cool down, not to mention the steam room and sauna.

After a shower and spruce up we had dinner in the penthouse restaurant, the food was incredible and Nick was very jealous of my roasted pork with bacon, leek mash, roasted carrot and apple sauce. Being too stuffed for dessert we sat in the bar and enjoyed a few drinks before heading to bed and watching a film.



The next morning I had a naughty cooked breakfast and soon felt like I needed to use the gym again so I've been enjoying going for runs and using my 10 minute cardio app.


We are looking at local hotels that have a gym and pool which we can use at the weekends to make sure there is just a small section of the week reserved for relaxing.

What do you do to take time out?
Little Lottie XO

Friday 16 January 2015

Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Review

Since returning to the office after a lovely, but short Christmas break I have had many compliments on my complexion. I think a break from work and the air con probably plays a major part but I have switched a few things up in my skincare routine for 2015.

In a previous post I mentioned that I was trying out the Nip + Fab Glycolic fix range after seeing it plastered all over Instagram by beauts like Kylie Jenner and Millie Mackintosh. Call me a fool for believing the celeb sponsor and hype but at a reasonable price I couldn't resist picking them up.

As a serial ingredient watcher after a few uses I pushed them to the back of the cupboard, typical me. I thought the perfumes would offend my sensitive skin and haven't even glanced at them for weeks. I announced in my last post that I have stopped using toners and as a result my skin is liking the simplicity of the new routine but needed a little oomph and glow put into it. I turned straight to the Glycolic Fix Exfoliating Pads and have been using them at night after a cleanse with my Ren Clay Cleanser. It has seriously changed my life. I should have given them more of a chance before and looked into using them properly. The directions on the pads advise using them morning and night everyday but the Glycolic acid is too harsh to use daily and especially on delicate skin like mine so I am following the rule of 3 nights on, 3 nights off and only at nights when my skin benefits the most. Although it is very tempting to use them more often the skin needs time to repair itself after having the layers stripped from it so I use Aloe Vera at nights on my 'off days' to boost the repair process.

As soon as I use the pad I see a difference, chemical exfoliants are very effective and in ways more gentle than a manual scrub because the process happens overnight rather than scrubbing away dead skin and irritating it at the same time.

I am officially converted to acid exfoliants and have found myself pushing my microdermabrasion scrub to the back of the shelf. I'm keen to try the Nip+Fab body products next.

Have you tried Nip + Fab or acid exfoliants?
Leave a comment and let me know your favourite product!

Little Lottie XO

I'm really enjoying my new set up after getting a new camera and tripod from my one and only for Christmas. Here are some 'sneak, peek' behind the scene snaps.





Monday 5 January 2015

Ren Clay Cleanser Review

My last cleansing post was called 'the average cleansers' because I didn't see results, even much difference after using them. I'm constantly on the look out for new and natural skincare products to try and after a colleague recommended Ren I couldn't believe I hadn't tried them before. 


They have a big range of products and cleansers come in all different forms but the Clay Cleanser stood out to me most. It's part of their ClearCalm3 range and claims to smooth skin. My breakouts are hormonal so I didn't think anything I put on my face could change much but I've just finished my first bottle and I can honestly say I'm in love! 


Clay is known to be good for the skin and has really agreed with mine. I've used the cleanser as a mask to let the clay do its 'thang' and it never fails to leave my skin feeling velvety soft and without redness or large pores which other cleansers have done before. 

It reminds me of the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser in the way it takes off markup and mascara well but the Clay Cleanser is much more creamy and easy to work into the skin so I'm never pulling on my eyes to get product off. 


I also love the packaging of Ren products, you can always see how low you are and the pumps give just the right amount. It took me about 3-4 months to finish the entire bottle. I usually take one pump and work the clay into my skin for a minute or so, then I steam my face and remove the cleanser with an exfoliating cloth... (I'm loving Primark flannels right now, don't judge me.) 

I have only been using the cleanser once a day, in the evenings. Even though it's a very natural product it does clean the skin well and would be too much for my sensitive skin in the morning so I have just been steaming my face in the mornings and lightly washing with an exfoliating flannel. 

During my trip to Egypt, members of the spa would come round the beach trying to get us to come in for a facial, they explained to us that our pores are always closed because we live in colder places and the sun isn't out to open them and let our skin breath. They also use steaming in their facials to open pores further, I feel like we are so focused on banishing pores with toners and cold water so after steaming I have been leaving my skin then applying Aloe Vera so it gets into the skin rather than sitting on the surface. I have also stopped using toners in my routine and my skin is loving the simplicity of products now. 

So if you are struggling to find a new skincare 'turn to', I highly recommend Ren and am definitely going to check out more of their products. 

Let me know what skincare you're in love with. 
Little Lottie, XO