My Top 5 Positive Things About January & Blog Post Links

Finally it's the end of January.  It has felt like the longest month ever hasn't it?

I've decided to list some of the positive parts of January because it seems all around us are negatives and fear and worry and it would be very easy to list all of those but we all know that list would go on for pages and pages ... and so I do feel that it's probably better for my mental health to focus on some of the things that have actually been good about (dreary, cold, wet) January.

1.  Foxes in the Garden

Now, depending on how you feel about foxes you could see this as a positive or a negative I guess, however we (the kids and I) have been thrilled when Fantastic Mr Fox has strutted his way across our garden several times this month, bold as brass and very beautiful.  Our dog obviously wasn't amused and glared at him through the glass but Mr Fox decided to ignore him.  He really was very beautiful, I've attached a little video to show you.

2.  The Vaccine

Controversial perhaps, but whether you're pro or anti the Covid-19 vaccine I think it's pretty much the general consensus that the 4 million plus people who have been vaccinated so far in the UK are in a much better position than they were 8 weeks ago.  So I feel this is a positive and it does give me hope that at some point (who knows when) things will start to get better.  

3.  January Blog Posts

I've been quite prolific with the whole blog posting thing this month, I think because I have a lot more time to actually do it whilst overseeing the dreaded homeschooling.  I'm pleased because I wrote four posts, when you consider I wrote nine in the whole of 2020 I'm doing pretty well ;-).  So, here are this months posts

Lisa Armstrong Collection for Avon

Beautypie Plantastic Apricot Butter Cleansing Balm

My Top 5 Blogging Tips

First 2021 Post and Lockdown 3.0

4.  Lots of Exercise and Fresh Air

One thing about lockdown is that it forces me to concentrate on my level of activity and I have been making myself go for a walk with the dog at least once a day - even in the bad weather.  This is for two reasons, one - my eating has gone to pot and I'm snacking more than I should on unhealthy things and two - exercise, in any form, has always improved my mental health and like everyone, I do feel very down at the moment.  So for me I'm probably doing this more for my mental health than physical I think but of course, any physical benefit is a bonus, isn't it?  I've been doing my weekly Zoom pilates class, I would normally be in the studio of course, and I've also been doing two back to back sessions from Own Your Goals Davina three times a week.  I signed up to OYG about a year ago and it was brilliant for me during the first long lockdown, I discovered Yoga which I loved and have been doing ever since.  

5.  We Have Managed To Do Normal Things Regardless 

What I mean is, regardless of lockdown.  For example, my youngest son sat his 11plus exam a week ago albeit socially distanced and online rather than the written papers they usually do.  He has a Zoom interview tomorrow.  And my eldest son turned 16 so we have had a birthday which we managed to do with presents and balloons and cake and Zooms to relatives.  We would normally have gone out for a meal as a family but we couldn't of course, so the meal came to us in the form of a fancy takeaway which was expensive but very, very yummy!

It's important (but not easy) to try to think of positives during this time but I do try.  I don't always manage it, for example today I'm in a bad mood, I've had a meltdown at the kids for something minor and I'm really tired because I keep waking up at 3am unable to get back to sleep.  So today positives aren't really working, but tomorrow they might.  Take it one day at a time as my Dad always says!

Lisa Armstrong Collection for Avon

I need to talk about the new Lisa Armstrong for Avon range.

I've not ordered from Avon for ages, years in fact but recently a lovely school friend from back home has become a rep and you know you can order online on their shop page and then have it delivered direct to you?  Well I did that.  It arrived really quickly as well.

I could have bought more, obviously, but it was before Christmas so I thought I'd better start small with the first order.  So other than some Skin So Soft I ordered a couple of products from the Lisa Armstrong range.  Now Lisa (incase you don't know her) is famous in the UK for two things, first for being a top notch and highly rated make up artist who has worked on all sorts of TV and fashion shows (and the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing I believe, amongst other shows) but also because she used to be married to Ant McPartlin from Ant n' Dec and had the most awful time in the media when she was going through her divorce, bless her.

Light Up Concealer

So the first thing I went for is the Light Up Concealer because I did need a new concealer.  It's in pen form like Touch Eclat so easy to apply and I'd had something similar from Avon before so I thought it would be good.  The nice thing about this pen is that it does a lot of stuff, it conceals, it brightens, it's brilliant under eyes (because it's not heavy or thick) and you can also use it as an eye shadow primer.  So what's not to love?  It comes in several shades, I chose Shade 1 because I'm super pale and it's a good match.  So far I haven't used it as an eye shadow primer but it's worked beautifully for everything else.  Also it only costs £12 which is great for a really good concealer I think.

I only have one tiny complaint and that is that the brush is quite small and thin, I'd have preferred slightly thicker brush but it's minor and it won't stop me repurchasing.  Link to Light Up Concealer

All About The Base Priming Moisturiser

I bought this thinking it was a primer but really I do believe it's more of a moisturiser.  I guess the thought behind it was that it was a moisturiser that you could use as a primer too (voila - a 2 in 1) but I prefer mine separate really.  

So, while I am sure it does a brilliant job as a primer, I can't really vouch for that.  What I can vouch for however, is that it does work beautifully as a night cream.  I don't like night creams generally because they always seem to be quite heavy and don't sink in particularly well but this is really lovely.

It's made up of Vitamin C and Shea Butter and has a lovely scent.  I couldn't work out what it smelled like so I asked my kids and they came up with "summer candles" "lemon sherbet sweets" and "that mosquito spray we use" so I'm guessing it's tone is lemon 😆 - to be fair when they pointed it out they were right, it does have a lemon smell to it but not sickly, just very refreshing and quite cooling on the skin too, I thought.

This retails at £15 for 25g,  a little bit goes a long way too so it should last a while.  Link to moisturiser.