Lidl Autumn/Winter Fashion Event- In Stores Starting This Thursday

Lidl launched their first fashion collection last spring, and it was a great success for them. Classic macs, coloured jeggings and smart striped tops all sold out quickly. I really liked their choice of pieces for that season, so I was excited to attend their autumn/winter fashion launch this morning. 

The showcase was held in Belfast's Sixty6 cocktail lounge, at the peak of four or five flights of stairs. I think everyone needed a sit down by the time they got up there! But the trek was worth it, to get a sneaky peek at what will be in our local stores in the coming weeks, starting with  these items this Thursday.

The rest of the collection will be released over the coming weeks until November, so if there is a specific item you've set your heart on, you might have to make weekly Lidl trips to catch it. 

This is the £14.99 leather look jacket I had seen on other blogs from the south and fancied. It's also available in tan which would be my choice. 

And you know I love my leopard. There are tops, fine knit sweater and jeans in leopard print for this winter. 

YI love this tshirt. I'm addicted to stripes so I simply HAVE to get this when it hits my local Bangor store. 

One of my other favourite pieces was the dogtooth wrap. There are wraps coming instore in various colours and designs, and the wool is great quality, it doesn't feel like it would ball up. They'll be £22.99

I love the women's collection but I find the kids wear a bit hit and miss. The quality is fine and the prices are great, but they just don't appeal to my style. This hooded top obviously did though- but I want one in my size! 

The men's wear is great too, and complimentary to the women's looks. 

So here are some of the items that should be instore from this Thursday. The leather look jackets I mentioned and the tan stretch trousers are on my list. 

Shrimps' Faux Fur Dream World Is Coat Lust Heaven

I'm prone to hyperbole, but oh my god aren't these the best scarves and coats you've ever seen in your life? 

 Shrimps is British designer Hannah Weiland's imagination gone wild, with scarves akin to the two tone furry wonders that Prada had a few seasons ago. Until they have a sale I'm only dreaming, but I'm adding Shrimps to my favourite British designer label list which is topped by the fabulous Rodnik Band.

Win an Olive It! Recipe Book & Selection of Olives

​A delicious ensemble of olive marinades, tapenades and tapas, this beautiful recipe book will spark your imagination and show you how versatile and delicious olives can be.

The simple and easy to follow book has something for everyone – irrespective of cooking ability – and for every season. So discover a new flair in the kitchen or develop an old skill using the Olive it! recipe book’s clear guidance and inspiring culinary combinations.

With over 40 recipes that will get your taste buds tingling and awaken new culinary talents, you can explore unique yet delicious combinations, such as green olives with figs, orange and bay to more adventurous combinations such as black olives with wasabi, ginger and smoked salmon, and green olives with manchengo, chorizo and melon.

Loved around the world for their delicious taste and nutritional benefits, olives are the star of the show in this book, which also includes information on the history of this versatile fruit, the different types of olives and what makes them such a healthy treat.

To keep up to date with the Olive it! campaign visit www.oliveit.eu or follow on Twitter @Oliveit_UK and like on Facebook www.facebook.com/OliveitUK.

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Yogland Is a Self Serve Parlour of Pure Joy

I begin a fortnight cycle of my weight loss program again tomorrow, so Michael and I rushed off to review  Yogland on Belfast's Lisburn Road this afternoon. It's a cool little Sunday afternoon treat stop that has something for everyone.

Frozen yoghurt has always been the lower fat cousin of sinful, sugar-laced icecream, but Yogland goes one further with their own blend of high protein, zero sugar recipes, some of which are gluten free.

The flavour options are immense. We tried watermelon, cookies & cream, red velvet cake batter and peanut butter, all tasted beautiful. I'm not keen on plain frozen yoghurt, but there is a classic greek flavour if you want to keep it original.

How Yogland works is simple. You pick a tub, dispense the flavours you desire in the quantity you wish. They encourage trying more than one flavour and we both were able to fit three flavours in their small tub each.

Next comes the fun part. Now if you are having frozen yoghurt as part of a clean eating, fat free diet, you can still top your tub with coconut, fruit & jelly bubbles. If you're a seven year old boy, or a total sweet tooth like myself, then the world is your oyster where toppings are concerned. You can take as much as you want, you're just limited by how much you can balance on top of your yoghurt! 

There are cereals, granola, broken Oreos & Reece's Pieces, Haribo, Love Hearts, Dolly Mixtures, Skittles, Cadbury Buttons, Smarties, just a kid's dream really. 

I tried the little fruit bubbles, which burst in your mouth. I'm wondering is that what's in bubble tea? Whatever they are, they are my new favourite thing.

Cookies & Cream and Red Velvet frozen yoghurt with bubbles, white buttons and coconut topping

Cookies and cream frozen yoghurt with bubbles, Oreos, peanut butter cups, white buttons and Smarties

As the whole process is self serve, they don't charge per tub size, but rather by weight. So they'll weigh your finished tub and charge you depending on that. 

Watermelon frozen yoghurt, popcorn, Cocopop and Haribo toppings

There are window seats downstairs, so if you have a pram in tow you can sit there. Upstairs is more spacious, with lots of bright decor and board games! While we were there a group of student age friends were enjoying their frozen yoghurts and having a Jenga tournament. 

So we loved Yogland, the variety of options means there is something for all the family. I reckon we will drive up every so often to treat ourselves. Given the health aspect, I will definitely be choosing Yogland over any icecream cafes if we are up in that area. I just wish we had one in Bangor for after school treats. 

The Two Week Drop a Jeans Size Challenge- Will Anyone Join Me?

Well it only took a week and I'm completely addicted to The New You Plan. I'm 'off plan' this weekend as I have some other food products to review, and Yogland NI to visit later today or tomorrow, but even then I've had two cups of their broth & one of their coconut meal bars today anyway. 

On Monday I plan to begin a stint of their program for two weeks as part of their drop a jean size challenge. I bought a New You product bundle with four products for each day. You can have any four items you like, but they advise only one meal replacement bar a day due to their mild laxative effect if you had more than that.

I didn't really get into which of the products I liked and which I didn't last week, so I'll run down the choices and what I thought of them now. It works out at just under £5 a day which I find quite reasonable as remember that you don't have to buy anything else like veg to bulk anything up.

Raspberry & chocolate orange flavours coming soon- will definitely need to try both as mousse

Shakes count as one of your four products a day. Because I prefer to 'eat' my products than drink them as shakes or soup, I always make shakes into either lollies with a freezer mould, or mousse, by whizzing the powder in with a smaller amount of water and letting it set in the fridge. 

The flavours are banana (I avoid as I don't like banana anything), vanilla (makes a Mily Bar Button tasting mousse), chocolate (you can mix with coffee granules and heat to make a choco-latte), strawberry, hazelnut (I didn't like it) and mint chocolate (my favourite).

Soups next.  I used a Secret Slimmers Facebook Page hint and made my soup mixture into little crisps last week. Again that's because I want to eat my four products rather than be drinking one as soup. For that I'm guessing the chicken soup is the best, but I will try them with the vegetable and mushroom packs I have in this coming week. There is also a new flavour out, asparagus, which I'm yet to try.

The very low calorie meal section hold your next decisions.  There are a couple of products that I would deem as 'breakfast items'. I've ordered five oatmeals and five apple & cinnamon porridges to start my day with on the school days. These both are made very easily with boiling water and taste like regular Oats So Simple.

The other two breakfast products are Maple Pancakes and omelette. I have both to try still so I will probably use them next weekend and let you know then how I get on. 

The other meals are more suited to lunch and dinner. The Spicy Noodle Nosh & Chicken Noodle Curry are quite similar. The vegetable Chilli, carbonara and pasta broccoli all are great. They can take a bit of practice making up, and there is advice on presoaking and how best to cook the meals on the Facebook Page. The newest product is vegetable risotto, which I didn't order because I don't like risotto anyway!

The meal product that did it for me was the cottage pie. I found it the biggest serving, tastiest and easiest to cook and get right. I'll be almost living off it as I ordered so many! Big thumbs up. 

Cookie Cream

Meal replacement bars. These I love. Handy for quick breakfast, or to save as your final product of the day for some after dinner chocolate. My favourites are the Chocolate Cream Cookie, Hazelnut, Lemon and the new Coconut Bar. I could eat the coconut bar for every meal it's so tasty. There are also choices such as maple fruits, chocolate truffle and strawberry cereal. 

Coconut bar

You can buy a bundle with just the straight four products a day, or you can add snacks which are ketosis friendly and recommended not to exceed two or three a week. 

Packs of crisps in BBQ, Salt and Vinegar or Onion soya chips. They are surprisingly big bags too. 

The other snack options are packs of wafers in several varieties, apple & cinnamon biscuits, chocolate mousse, hot chocolate, or BBQ nuts. 

The New You Plan means drinking a lot of water daily, between two and four litres. If you need a bit of help then there are water flavourings which you can use unlimited. Not just the cold drinks, but also a broth. I am totally addicted to this broth already. It's just like cup a soup, and with the days getting colder it's the ideal product to see you satisfied between meals. 

The final product I want to mention is the pineapple fat burner. These come in little sticks of powder that you mix with 250ml of water. Some people find they make them a bit hyper, so I've always stuck to mine first thing in the morning. I mix two in a 500ml bottle of icy water and drink it while I'm getting ready for the school run. 

So, is anyone interested in joining me? If you use the referral code VdxfiJV2 then I can get money off my own next order, so please use that if you do make a purchase. Thank you to whoever read and used my code so far!

I'm looking forward to starting on Monday and taking another step closer to my goal weight and size.

The Perfect Pink Lipstick- For Only One Pound!

I've been wanting to do a little 'my daily make up routine' type post for a while now, and today I managed to find the perfect pink lipstick, so the time is right! 

Everything I wear day to day is squeezed into this little case

Now I'm no beauty blogger or expert; I only started wearing foundation a few years ago, but the past year I've found myself getting more & more into make-up. I must be going through what most girls do as teenagers, except I haven't developed an interest in blusher & eyeliner until my thirties!  

I now have a daily makeup routine that takes about seven minutes, but that packs quite a lot in. I'm very into my bargain dupe beauty products, especially as I've had to teach myself how to use them, so buying £28 eyeshadow and then not being able to apply it properly wasn't an option. 

So this 'routine' or whatever the professional beauty bloggers call it, is ideal for someone who is a bit of a beginner when it comes to putting on a face. 

Here is what I wear day to day. 

Rimmel Perfect Match foundation in Classic Ivory. This is a really easy foundation to apply as its liquid form and blends without too much work. I used a brush for foundation for a while, but in the end I've found it just as successful to use my fingers to apply it as a base. It costs around £6.99 which is the average price for a Rimmel foundation.

Next I go straight to eyes. If you haven't shopped in Superdrug for makeup before then you are in for a treat when you discover their Revolution range.  

I bought the  Redemption Iconic 1 palette, which is a measly £4. Revolution is a 'dupe' range mostly, meaning their products are a bargain version of similar more expensive versions. There are quite a few of these £4 palettes to choose from. I also picked up a version with blues, purples and greens, but I've yet to apply them without looking a bit like a clown. Like I said, I'm new to this makeup malarkey!

The furthest left shade of shadow is perfect for a base, so I also got it by itself for £1, as I've nearly used it all up in the palette. I apply that right up to my brows, then the light shimmery gold colour in the centre of the palette on the eyelid. Then I brush one of the darkest colours into the crease. I actually learnt my eyeshadow skills from watching Ru Paul's Drag Race & hearing that 'garage doors' are when someone only uses the one shade of eyeshadow. You certainly get an education watching Drag Race.

As I'm writing this I've just noticed my nails are chipped in all the photos! I'll never make it as a beauty blogger at this rate! 

Next up is eyeliner. Over the years I've tried pencils, eyeliner pens, little ink pots with brushes, but I still can't seem to get the liner in the right place! So if you struggle with eyeliner I'll let you know my little secret. I used a Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeshadow crayon. It's a thick, soft stick of blackness that even with my shaky hands, I can line my bottom lids with. I've long since given up trying to get any liner on the top lids. I think this was about £5.99 to buy in Superdrug.

Whilst my top lids escape liner, I define them instead with mascara. I use a Boots No.7 waterproof one at the moment, and although the brush looks like it wouldn't do much to your lashes, I find it better than any big thick brush. 

Brows are next. I have Susan, who I go to for my laser tattoo removal, to thank for teaching me how to define my brows. I feel like I'm putting on fancy dress makeup if I ever had tried an eyebrow pencil, but Susan gave me this little palette and a wedge shaped brush which is just perfect for filling in and making your eyebrows look neat. 

Next, contouring, of a sort. I've really wanted to attempt the clown contouring I've seen on YouTube, but with my makeup skills still being very new, I haven't contoured excessively for my daily makeup routine. Instead I use the Revolution Sculpt & Contour Kit in Ultra Fair to put a bit of highlight shimmer on my cheekbones, and bronzer below. I'm still playing around with this 'step' of my routine, but I think practice will make perfect in the end. 

The Rimmel foundation, whilst giving great coverage,  can be a tiny bit shiny, so I apply a tiny bit of pressed powder. Again I went for a cheap and cheerful range and got the shade Candlelight from Collection.

Lipstick is the final step! I haven't bought any lip liner to practice with as yet, so it's always just straight old lipstick and no messing around. My friend Claire from  The Lily Pink Bakery gave me this Soap & Glory palette about two years ago, and I still have it on the go. Naked Beige is my usual colour to wear, as its closest to my natural lip colour.

But, as the title of this blog post says, I have found the perfect pink lipstick for me, and it only cost £1! 

It's Revolution from Superdrug again and the shade is called 'crime'. I've always stayed away from brightly coloured lipstick as I'm self concious about my bottom teeth being crooked, but my friend Jane has told me on a few occasions that I should just go for it, so I took her advice. I bought that pink thinking it would either look okay, or it would look atrocious and go straight in the bin. Luckily my £1 was well spent and I really like how it looks!

So that's my daily makeup routine as of September 2015. I imagine it will only get longer as I practice with more products and follow more tutorials from all the proper makeup bloggers out there. But for now, that's my flirtation with beauty blogging done! 

Day Seven : The New You Plan : Does It Work?

It's day seven, I've completed the week. So, has it been worth it, and what is my over all opinion on the plan? 

My starting weight was 9st 9.6lbs, and my finishing weight is 9st 6.4lbs, so I've lost 3 lbs. to be honest I expected more of a loss than that, as most people seem to have an initial loss of between 7-14lbs just in the first week. My result could be lower for a number of reasons however.  

Firstly my BMI to begin was 23 (it's now 22), and the higher your BMI the bigger the loss you are likely to get when you start a diet.

Secondly, when I was speaking to my friend Adam, who is a personal trainer, he said it could be that my body is properly hydrated for the first time, and that can add a little weight. Before I began the New You Plan I was lucky if I drank one litre of water a day, never mind the three to four I've been putting away daily the past seven days. So I could go back to drinking my normal tiny amount and probably see another 3 lbs come off overnight, but that wouldn't be a realistic reading, and long term you lose weight more easily if you stay hydrated, so I'm still going to keep pushing the water intake. 

So my scale reading wasn't quite as great as I expected, but I do wish I had taken measurements last week, as I'm quite sure my clothes are a good bit looser already. I put on my Asos leopard print coat this morning for the first time this autumn and its a size too big now! It feels like someone else's coat! So even though my stats might not show tonnes of weight loss, I'm positive that it is happening, and that gives me incentive to continue.

Continuing! The next subject to tackle! I have ordered a lot more product this past week, so I have enough to carry on for at least another fortnight. With The New You Plan, you get into a state of ketosis after three to four days, so you can't just have a couple of days off plan without having to start over again almost. There is a lot of information on their site however, of how to taper off or maintain.  

Personally I'm going to take a day's break from the plan tomorrow, but still eat as low carb as I can, and hopefully not knock myself out of ketosis, but it's a chance I have to take. 

The New You Plan is tough. I'm not going to pussyfoot around it and say it's not. Sticking to just the four products a day isn't doable for everyone. You have to be completely committed to wanting to lose the weight, and not cheat. Saying that, if you serious about it and stick to plan, there are tonnes of other people there to cheer you on in the Secret Slimmers Facebook Page. I've never been part of such a useful, encouraging online group before. There is always someone there to help you if you're struggling with the plan.  

So the plan is tough, but you will get results. It works, it's as simple as that. But how well it works depends on you and your willpower to stick to it. 

So carrying on into next week, what's my plan? I am going to get back into four products a day from Saturday, and see how I go. I AM losing weight, so I'm encouraged to keep going. I think The New You Plan will work great with my daily lifestyle now Michael is at school all day. I might not stick to it 100%, I may have days where I have five products, or a day where I have a Subway salad as one of the meals, but I am going to use The New You Plan to get to my goal weight of 8 stone 3lbs, because I'm confident it will work for me.

So have you been tempted to start your own weight loss journey from reading my blogs this week? There are lots of meal bundles to choose from to get you started, and if you enter the code VdxfiJV2 then you can help me get points towards my future purchases, so I'd appreciate it if you could! Remember this plan works best for people with a BMI over 25, and you should speak to your GP before beginning a low calorie diet. Thank you so much to The New You Plan for this trial week, I think the ultimate seal of approval is the fact I've ordered another two weeks' worth of products. Onwards to my goal!

Day Six of The New You Plan - Let There Be Broth

Day six begins with a confession. I had a little blip last night. My parents and son had Dominos Two for Tuesday, which I went to pick up, and sat watching them eat with my total food replacement cookies and cream bar.  Torture. 

I managed to resist the pizza however! The blip occurred when we got home. I had an extra product, making yesterday a five product day, not the set four. I placed an order for snacks and the broth, so that should arrive today. That means if I feel the need to have a fifth item any other day, I'll have them to choose from. You can have two or three of the ketosis friendly snacks in a week. There are crisps, nuts, wafers and chocolate mousse to choose from. 

My plan was to just have three products today, to balance out my slip up last night, but when I shared it with the Secret Slimmers Facebook group, they told me nope, I have to stick to four. I hadn't thought about it, but it's all to do with your RDA of vitamins and nutrients. The New Plan products are all specially prepared to give you 100% of what you need in a day, just in a very low calorie package. So if I only had three products today I wouldn't be getting my 100% RDA of everything, and they want to make sure you stay healthy. So I've just had a lemon bar, frozen cause they last longer that way. 

Lunch will be vegetable chilli, dinner my favourite meal their cottage pie, and I've a vanilla shake made up with a smaller amount of water so it's like a Milky Bar Buttons tasting mousse.

4:30pm My delivery arrived with my products to carry on the next couple of weeks. My plan is to not be just as intensive, but to eat a carb free meal once a day and have two New You Plan products for the other two meals. I've also ordered lots of their ketosis friendly snacks, so the weight will keep coming off even on a less strict version of the diet.

My most exciting product to arrive however is their savoury broth. It's unlimited, you can drink as much of it as you want each day, and I've had three cups already! It's like a vegetable cup a soup Flavour, which I've added a lot of pepper to. It's absolutely delicious. I've already realised even when I'm not on the New You Plan I'll still have to order a supply of it, and the coconut meal bars!  

I can't believe tomorrow is day seven. I'll tell you tomorrow my plans to carry on with The New You, and on Friday I'll let you know what my weight loss has been. I'm scared about that as I've checked and I'm not dropping as much as most people report to In their first week. I do have the factor that my BMI was already 23 when I started to take into consideration however. Well, we shall see on Friday if my hard work has paid off! 

* consult your GP before embarking on a low calorie diet. Results vary from person to person. My first week's products have been supplied for review purposes*