L'Oreal Infallible Matte Foundation & Max Lip Colour Review

I've seen so many things online about the new Infallible range from L'Oreal I had to try it. I'm always on the look for a new foundation so I was excited to try the infallible 24hr matte foundation and I'd heard good things about the Matt Max lip colour so I had to try.

A Little Health Update...

I feel like it's been ages since I sat and wrote a chatty post and these are the types of posts I love reading/writing the most. I thought seeing as I hadn't updated you all on the whole stoma/IBD situation I'd catch you all up a bit.

Last week I had an appointment at the hospital with one of the Gastro team just to check how I;m doing and get my bloods done and stuff. As I'd had a blood test a few weeks earlier, I thought I'd ask how my iron levels were doing as I've really been struggling with tiredness and breathlessness and when I was at the gym the other week I'd got the high heart rate warning. Turns out I'm super anaemic against likely due to a combination of not absorbing iron and loosing it through my mucus fiscula because it still has active colitis in it. However they are checking for pernicious anaemia as it does run in my family.

Because I react badly to iron tablets (they make me sick and I don't always absorb them) I'm getting an iron infusion so I'm currently in the process of chasing up people to make sure I get it ASAP. Why is it always such a pain to get in touch with the right people at hospitals and actually get what you need?? I have to say though, my consultant I saw this time was actually really good though and listened and helped.

We also had a brief discussion about what surgery I wanted to do next; reversal or make my ileostomy permanent. I want to keep my ileostomy for various reasons (I think I'm going to do a post on it soon actually!) however every time I mention this to a doctor or nurse they all think I'm a bit mad for not wanting to at least try for a reversal because I'm so young. Little do they know how stubborn I am and once I've made my mind up, I'm unlikely to change it!

When I was at the hospital I mentioned how I was still getting bad joint pains but no one seems to bothered about that at the moment...I think the plan is to get my anaemia under control first!

In good news, I've managed to put weight on and I'm now at a healthy weight! Now I've just got to make sure I don't put too much weight on now as I've got used to eating puddings and cakes guilt free and having bigger dinner portions!!

What I Wear to the Gym

I try to keep active, whether that be going to the gym or to a class at the lifestyle fitness studio at home. We all know the struggle of getting round to going to the gym however I am a firm believer in good, stylish gym wear makes going to the gym a lot more pleasing!

Everything apart from my trainers are from USA Pro with both of the tops from Little Mix's range which I absolutely love! When I saw this sports bra/crop top I had to buy it because I love the purple/blue/pink tie dye. It's also super comfy and offers really good support which is what you want and need from a sports bra.

I put on the grey Little Mix tank top on top because I'm not one of those people who can go to the gym in just a crop top (and no, it's not because of my stoma or scars it's just I don't really get it!!). I love the colour of the top with the grey tones and I got a size bigger than normal because I like baggy sports tops and it means you can see the sports bra underneath as well.

The leggings are just the normal black USA Pro ones and they're super comfy and do offer good support for your stoma...part of me wishes they were a bit higher to cover the whole bag just so it was more supported but I haven't had any trouble and it doesn't dig in on my stoma either. I have these in the cropped style too which are just as comfy but the longer ones are more practical in the colder months.

Finally my trainers. These are the Skechers Flex Appeal Sweet Spot which I absolutely love. The best trainers I've ever had are my two pairs of Skechers, and I have some of their normal shoes too, mainly because of their memory foam sole which are perfect when you're working out as it cushions your feet and helps prevent your joints from jarring. I've been looking online and I can't find any in this colour any more but my mum got them in grey and turquoise and I wish I was a size smaller because I'd steal them to wear all the time because the pink is a little bright for day to day. Keep your eyes peeled on sports direct from them because they sometimes have really good deals (I got mine half price in the sales).

Let me know in the comments below what your essentials for the gym are!!

Theatre, Food & Chinese New Year

Last weekend (not Valentine's, but the weekend before) I had a jam packed weekend which was one big food fest as my mum came down to visit me and we went to see Lee Nelson too. I tried some new restaurants/cafes as well as returning to some of my old favourites and we even managed to squeeze in watching the Chinese New Year parade too!

Ricola Sugar Free Sweets*

When Ricola got in touch about trying some of their sugar free sweets I jumped at the chance because I'm a self confessed sugar addict; I love my sweets, cakes and chocolate way too much and I'm not alone. Apparently 64% of Manchester's adults  are careless about their sugar intake with 10% enjoy a sweet treat every day (this is definitely me) and 26% realising that they have too much sugar (again, this is me)

I was skeptical to say the least about sugar free sweets because lets be honest, sugar free never fulfils that sugar craving you want/need. However, as soon as I tried these I knew they were a winner! Since getting them two weeks ago, I've let friends and family try some too and we've all said the same; you really can't tell there's no sugar and they taste so sweet and refreshing. So far, I've tried Cranberry, Orange and Elderflower and all three taste delicious. I don't like liquorice so I gave that one to my mum who really enjoyed it and now has them in her bag all the time. 

Ricola had a Sugar Swap event in January to encourage shoppers to ditch the sugar and swap it for the Ricola sweets and if you're interested in you can head to www.ricola.com. There's also the Change4Life Sugar Smart App where you can track the amount of sugar you eat. I'm not sure whether I'm ready to do that yet purely because I know that I will be shocked at how much sugar I do eat.

However as lent has arrived, I've decided I'm going to cut down on sugar, especially the chocolate, so if you know of any good sugar free recipes, leave them in the comments below! 

*The Ricola sweets were gifted to me however all thoughts and opinions are my own genuine ones. Read whole disclaimer here

FEBRUARY | Ostomy Outfit of the Month

So here's this months ostomy outfit of the month and I have to say this is a new favourite of mine. I've only just bought the shirt/dress/tunic however it's so comfy and it's such a simple and classic outfit.

So, the shirt is from Primark and is £10.00 and is the perfect length and bagginess so you don't have to worry at all about your bag blowing up or anything. Because there's a lot of vertical stripes on it too, it can make you look taller and slimmer too. I teamed it with a thin brown belt which I took from a different dress just to sinch it in at the waist. I think it would probably look better with a think black belt however I didn't have one so a brown one will do.

Because it's a sleeveless dress, I put a long sleeved black t-shirt from Primark too (£3.50) as it's quite chilly outside. not only does it add a layer to keep you warm but I think it works well at dressing down well for the daytime.

For this outfit, I've just teamed the shirt with some thick leggings from H&M which are super comfy and are actually quite warm considering they're leggings.

And finally, my shoes! These are my Chelsea boots which I got from the Office discount shop last year (which isn't in open anymore which sucks!).

So that's this months ostomy outfit of the months. You can see last months here and all of the series here.

Let me know in the comments below what you think of the outfit and leave your ostomy outfit tips!

Tech Wishlist*

I love my tech and recently I've been lusting over a lot of different things. This could also be called the camera wishlist because there's a fair few I'd quite like at the moment!

The first item on my wishlist is the Panasonic Lumix Camera, specifically the DMC-LX100. I love the size of the camera as it's more of a compact size however it has a lot of features and add ons (lenses and flashes etc) which you can get.

The second camera is a GoPro; I've wanted one of these for ages! They're just so compact and very durable which is a big plus for me because I manage to break EVERYTHING! I really want to get the dog attachment too just to take a dogs eye view video.

Now onto the Apple products. I'm an Apple girl; I love my iPhones, macbook and iPads so it's not shocking that an iPad Pro. The main reason I want one is because I find my iPad mini a bit too small to do work on but my Mac too heavy to carry to uni so the new iPad seems like the perfect in-between...it's just a shame it's so expensive!

The next thing on my list is the marble iPhone and Macbook covers. I know, it's a blogger cliche with the whole marble thing but it just looks so damn good! Plus, I love a good cover on my tech!

The final thing on my list is some iPhone clip on lenses just to try out and see what difference they make to the photos. They just look really cool and like they could up my instagram game!


*this post is in collaboration Panasonic. Read the full disclaimer here

Ileostomy Friendly Healthy Salmon & Broccoli Cous Cous Lunch

I decided to share this recipe as it got a lot of love on social media when I did the obligatory Instagram/tweet about it. This is like my go to lunch and when I know I have this in the fridge ready to eat, I get so excited for my lunch because it tastes so good!!  I feel like I need to do a bit of a disclaimer that this meal doesn't block my stoma or cause irritation because I can tolerate broccoli fine. I'm just mentioning this because I got a few comments on my last recipe post about how certain foods which I'd included could cause blockages/irritation but you've got to remember that everyone can tolerate different things with their stoma and this is what I can tolerate! Okay, so back to the recipe :) It's a really easy recipe perfect for a quick lunch

January in Photos

• I saw New Year in with my mum, dad & grandad with a gorgeous meal 
• I've definitely tried to make fitness one of my new year resolutions and have found myself going to the gym or fitness class at least once a week
• Another New Year's Resolution was to see my friends more which obviously includes curry/board games nights
• It snowed! Which means obligatory snow walks ft pictures
• I got these awesome 101 Dalmation Vans. I'm just a little bit obsessed with them! 
• I spent the weekend in Newcastle with one of my best friends which included going to a cat cafe...what more can you want in life!
• I saw the first snowdrops of the year in the last few days of January! 
• The most amazing hot chocolate ft cream, marshmallows, malteasers and a chocolate spoon!
• Finished the month with cold and windy dog walk around a lake