Review: Mobile Fun Smart Stand Case

I recently contacted by Mobile Fun and asked if I would like to review a case for my mobile phone. I thought, 'Why not?' as almost everyone I know uses a mobile phone case and would consider them a necessity for protecting one of their most expensive possessions!

I use my mobile - Samsung Galaxy S2 - all the time, basically. It is like another limb and I feel totally lost without it! That is tragic to admit but I think a lot of people are the same. I have it with me all the time and am constantly browsing the internet, using apps or watching YouTube videos. My previous phone case was a few pounds from eBay, and had a little bit that I unclipped to create a stand. This however had broken, and was totally useless!

After browsing the many accessories on the site, I liked the look of the SD Smart Stand Case* as it looked simple but sturdy, plus had an in built stand which is great when watching videos.

The case is made from a tough, rubberised material but is still lightweight and not too bulky. The stand feature is great - you simply pull the section at the back and it bends/folds down, and voilà  Your mobile can now stand on its own.

This is the main feature that makes this case great for me - I watch YouTube videos on my phone quite often, usually daily! With this case I can just flick open the stand, stick on a video and watch it while I do the dishes/cleanse my face/clean my teeth/apply make up... that's how useful it is for me! Brilliant. You can also stand it upright for easy web browsing too.

There are a few negatives for me, however. Due to the stand section on the back, the phone cannot lie completely flat on a surface. For example, in work of I have my phone lying on the desk and am trying to sneakily type a message without picking it up, it wibble-wobbles all from side to side as I type! Easier to just pick it up. Also, the volume and on/off buttons are covered up which can be very irritating; regular changing of volume and locking the screen by accident. I have even managed to take screenshots without meaning to!

Apart from that though my phone has survived several falls in this and is still intact and functional! The stand feature of this case is invaluable to me and if this one were to break, I would definitely get another one. At £9.95 it is a reasonably priced, durable case for my third arm!! Mobile Fun have a huge range of accessories for a variety of brands so there is something for every phone!

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*PR Sample provided for review

Hello! But ByeBye Google Reader...

Hello, strangers! I see there are almost 500 of you now, WHUT?!

Thank you all so much for following, I am stunned! It has been brought to my attention, and probably yours too, that Google Reader will soon be no more! Sacrilege.  However, you can follow my blog via both Bloglovin and Hello Cotton, links are in the sidebar! Just click whichever you like best... ------------>

I have been somewhat absent as of late, and for that I can only offer my apologies and thank everyone who still reads what sporadic posts I have managed. Life has done more than 'got in the way' lately. Some serious shizzle has went down since December. My grandfather was very ill all throughout December and January, which was a very stressful time for my whole family. Christmas and New Year were pretty much non-events for us. Hogmanay with him in hospital was not a night for celebrating.

My contract at work ended on Friday 25th January, which I was sad about as I had enjoyed my time in that job. Then on Saturday 26th January, my wonderful grandfather lost his battle with life and passed away. I have still not completely came to terms with this - even typing this now is making me very upset. However I know he is at peace now and no longer suffering.

Since then I have had little to no motivation to blog. I don't know why; I have really enjoyed making videos for my YouTube channel, and can completely get lost in the creation and editing of them. However the passion had really left me for posting on here... I have shared a lot on this blog and I suppose I didn't feel ready to share more just yet, no matter what the content matter. I couldn't even bring myself to read my favourite blogs which is crazy! I think I have just enjoyed more escapism through videos.

Other than that I have just been muddling on with life, doing some temporary work and enjoying my house and own space. Last week I was offered a new job. A proper, grown up job with a very decent wage (about time!) and a view to becoming permanent. So it is all exciting and terrifying at the same time right now. However it will mean working 9 - 5.30 with an 80 mile round commute every day (40 miles to work and 40 home again!) so once I get used to my new hours I suppose I will just see how blogging and filming will fit in, really.

I truly thank all for you for reading/following/stopping by when you do. It humbles me no end.

I hope to be blogging regularly again soon.

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Review: Making Stains Vanish

Since moving in to my own house in October, my life has changed in many ways... especially having to do my own housework all the time! It is all too easy to take it for granted when someone presents you with your clean, freshly washed clothes (sorry, mum!) on a regular basis. However, now I have to do my own washing and it is a pain in the backside.

When Vanish contacted me to ask whether I would like to put some of their products to the test, I decided to give it a try. Washing is a tedious task, and anything that will help with stain removal and make life easier has to be worth a go!

I also had recently stained a pair of trackie bottoms. These are not something that I wear in public on a regular basis; they are my highly attractive and extremely comfortable 'slobbing lounging around the house' trackie bottoms... and I spilled oil-based eye make up remover on them. Typical. They had already been through several normal washes, however a dark patch remained on the leg where the eye make up remover had been.

The lighting makes it hard to see the stain in this photo but trust me, it's there!

Vanish kindly sent me their Oxi Action Crystal White Gel* and their Oxi Action Powder* to put to the test. After reading the directions (necessary evil) I decided that I would tackle the oily stained patch with the Oxi Action Crystal White Gel, as this can be used to pre-treat clothes quickly, without soaking, before putting them in the machine.

I poured a little of the gel on to the stain (the bottle recommends 2mls) and rubbed it in. A word of advice; do not do this using your bare fingers, like I did. Rather uncomfortable! I then left it for the ten minutes required.

I then machine washed the bottoms as usual and added 60ml of gel in the cap to my wash and.... bye bye oily stain! I was very pleased with the results of the gel treatment, as there was no sign of the discoloured patch. I now I add between 40 - 60mls to every wash to help bust any stains and also - without sounding too much like something off QVC - I really love how fresh this makes my clothes smell! (Definite sign of being too mature.)

I then thought I should really put the Oxi Action Powder to the soaking test, so I chose some of my worst stained items... TANNING MITTS.

Sadly, I am not great at keeping my tanning mitts spick 'n' span as I use them so rarely!

I would bet I am not the only one who is lazy at washing their tanning mitts, am I right?! The one on the right of the photo is the oldest of the two mitts, and has been through countless applications of St Moriz Dark, as illustrated by the greenish tinge to the material.

The package directions recommended 1 scoop of powder per 4 litres of water; I halved these amount to soak the mitts. I left the mitts for approximately 5 hours before rinsing them and putting them in with a normal wash.

I was equally impressed with the results of the soaking using the powder. The mitts came up almost spotless. The older mitt retained a bit of its green tinge, which didn't surprise me, but the other mitt looked brand new!

I am very glad I got to try these products, as I now know that they are items I will always keep in my household stash. They will come in immensely useful for all the spillages that are likely to occur in my house; make up stains, coffee stains, red wine stains... the list is endless really. The Vanish website even has advice on how to remove blood stains.... let's hope it doesn't come to that, although you never know now that my boyfriend is moving in with me!! (jokes, he's not that annoying.... usually!)

Is Vanish something that gets regular use in your household? Let me know what stains it has busted for you!

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* PR Samples

Tutorial: Smokey Silver Eyes.

Hello! Have you had your Christmas party yet? I had mine last night and it was brilliant craic, though I have suffered for it today! 

I thought I would share my tutorial for this make up look with you, in case people are looking for ideas for Christmas Party looks! This is easy to do, great for a night out and would suit all eye colours, but isn't a look restricted to the festive season either! It is also very affordable as I used the MUA Starry Night palette, I have been trying out new things with my YouTube videos and am really enjoying it. If you want to see them you can check out my channel here. 

Enjoy!

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Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic & Skin Repair Moisturiser

I have been very in to my skin care recently, as you may have noticed! I love discovering new products that are beneficial for my skin not only on a daily basis, but in the long term. I don't want to look in the mirror in ten years time and wish I had paid more attention to my skin! In fact I am already worried that I neglected having a 'proper' skin care routine for so long!

Liz Earle is a well known brand in the beauty blogging world, and I am a big fan of their Hot Cloth Cleanser which I have blogged about here. I finished using the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer* and Skin Repair Light Moisturiser* a few months ago, and I still really miss using them!

The Skin Tonic in the spritzer bottle was so refreshing and cooling on the skin; I used it both morning and night as a toner and found it to be fresh enough to perk me up the the mornings but the scent was also calming enough to use at night too.

I opted for the Skin Repair Light Moisturiser due to my oily/combination skin and this worked wonderfully. It was quickly absorbed in to the skin and didn't leave any sort of film, residue or greasy feeling. It was a light consistency cream and, again, smelled fresh and very pleasant. I loved that it was packaged in a hygienic pump bottle, although this did mean it was hard to know when I was nearing the end of the product! However, both products lasted a long time, the moisturiser ran out first after about 6 weeks and the Skin Tonic lasted a good 8 weeks at least!

I absolutely loved these two products and while I was using them my skin was very clear with minimal breakouts, which is always a good thing! These items are available from the Liz Earle website, and are products that I will definitely return to in the future. These are currently on offer for the December Skin Care Essentials regime too!

Have you tried these too? Or what Liz Earle products would you recommend?

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*PR Samples

If You Can't Read Me, Watch Me!

I have been taking advantage of my new found freedom and speedy internet connection by filming some new Youtube videos! I know I have been quiet on the blogging front lately, and I hope to get back to it soon. In the meantime I have filmed about skincare, empties and a follow-up review of my Rio Sonicleanse. If your want to watch, here are the videos!

My Current Skincare Routine:

Review: Rio Sonicleanse:

Empties! October & November:

Thanks for reading and/or watching!

Avon Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil

Well that's a long title for this product! As a fan of hair oils I couldn't help but treat myself to one of these when I saw them all brand shiny new in the Avon catalogue. It was on offer at £2.99, as opposed to its full price of £5.50.

This comes in a sturdy glass bottle with a handy pump dispenser. You get 30ml of product which has lasted me a fairly long time; I got this around September and am only approaching the end of it now. It is a thick golden oil, and two to three pumps is sufficient for my long but fine hair. My hair is dry at the ends but gets greasy at the roots, and I have found that since getting my hair dip-dyed the ends are drier than ever, so hair oils are a necessity to prevent my hair from looking totally frazzled.

I use this after washing my hair when it is still damp. I rub two or three pumps of the Avon Argan Oil between my hands and then smooth it through the lengths of my hair before drying and styling as usual. I feel that it adds some extra nourishment and life to my fine hair, especially at the ends where my hair gets quite dry. I tend to only use this on dry hair if it is particularly dry or as an overnight treatment if I am washing my hair in the morning.

I find this no better but certainly no worse than previous hair oils I have tried, including the VO5 Miracle Concentrate and the L'Oréal Mythic Oil. It isn't going to perform miracles, however it will definitely make a difference to dry hair that's prone to split ends. I even think that my hair has grown a bit faster than normal lately but I suppose there's no concrete proof as to the cause of that! ;) 

My only annoyance is that now I am approaching the end of the bottle, the pump has all but given up the ghost, and I'm having to unscrew the top to pour it out!

You can buy the Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil from your local Avon representative, or you can also buy it online here where it is, at the time of writing, on offer for £3.50.

Have you tried this hair oil before? Any recommendations?