Bliss Lemon and sage Body butter

So Summer has (sort of) arrived, and on a rare sunny day I got a little bit burnt. This of course made me give extra attention to my moisturising routine, as I don't want my skin to peel. So I checked my stock of creams and found one I hadn't yet tried. Bliss Lemon and Sage body butter to be precise.

Well first impressions were of extreme lemon! Really sharp, and reminded me of lemon cake! I wondered how long the fragrance would last on my skin?

I applied the cream all over my body, and WOW! In the space of 10 minutes I could feel the difference in my skin. A lovely cooling sensation covered my body and lasted for some time. The cream is not greasy, but the moisturising effect lasts for days! In fact I have not used it since yesterday evening, and my skin still feels soft and luscious! Even on my elbows there is no rough skin, and this is after only two days of using the product!
I am happy to say the sharp lemon smell did not remain on my skin, but the pleasant cooling effect did - and so far, I am happy to say my skin has not peeled!

Priced around £20 I would definitely recommend this cream, it has the added bonus of being paraben free too! I am happy to say it will remain one of my summer staples.

A death in the family - Race For Life

So some of you may know that there has been a recent death in my partners family - a lovely vibrant woman passed away long before her time because of Cancer. She will never get to see her children have children, or enjoy her retirement with the husband she left behind. Cancer is a cruel cruel illness that takes family and friends from us indiscriminately. It leaves us feeling helpless, and made me want to do something to try and bring something positive to a tragic experience.

I decided to do a last minute sign up to do the Race For Life in Llanelli on Sunday 12th June - because it was last minute I currently have NO SPONSORS!!! Nevertheless I am going to do it anyway as I feel the need to do something, but it would be really nice to raise some money in the process. If you think you could spare a small amount to raise some money for a worthy cause here is my Just Giving page - I would be very grateful for any help you can give - or even a retweet if you can't!

One In A Million!

So there is a new game sweeping facebook, called One In A Million, or OIAM for short. It's free to play and you earn points which you can exchange for prizes - always a bonus!

The game requires you to exchange your points for seats, there are a million seats, and the game starts when all seats have been 'sold'. Seats are then eliminated at each round of the game, and you can 'sell' your seats in any round for more points, the longer you leave them the more they are worth - there is one seat left in round 10 and that person wins a large amount of points. I was lucky enough to win, and won over 300,000 points. Pop over to http://apps.facebook.com/oiamfreetoplay/ to check out the prizes on offer, which range from hoodies to Kindles and many more.

Once you have had a little practice on the free game you may wish to try the 'play for real' version http://www.oiam.co.uk/ where you can win real money! The game works exactly the same as the free one, and OIAM have very kindly offered the code TWITTER10 which will credit your account with £10 free play when you join - no deposit required. I tried it and won £60.90 in Bank Holiday Monday game.

You can get the lowdown from their twitter feed @OIAMTHEGAME or check out their facebook page

Hope you enjoy playing!

Kate Middletons Wedges!

Royal Wedding fever has gripped Britain, and while I was eager to see the wedding dress I have to say it was eclipsed for me by the fabulous patent wedge shoes that Kate wore before and after the wedding. They are fabulous, and the perfect shoe for a girl who definitely does not want to trip over in front of millions!
So after a bit of an internet hunt, I have tracked them down to LK Bennett, they are called 'Greta', but don't seem to be available to buy yet. I am keeping my eyes peeled for the high street stores to start rolling out affordable copies, I'm sure it won't be long!

Diana Wynne Jones

Last night I had a funny dream. I dreamt I was riding a broomstick, flying for miles across the land. I marveled at how the broomstick could take my weight, and how I could still find it comfortable.

I woke up and was reminded of the scene in Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones in which the broom, mop and hoe are reunited. This made me smile - despite the fact that it has been years since I read that book.

I logged on to twitter this afternoon to find that today Diana Wynne Jones has passed away after a long battle with cancer. I found her books to be an inspiration to me as a child, teenager and adult. Do not dismiss her books as 'childrens books'. She preceded J K Rowling in writing books to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

I think my favourite of her books are Fire & Hemlock and Howl's Moving Castle. The latter has been made into a film, which I am happy to say I have not seen, as the images evoked by her writing have stayed with me for far longer than anything on television ever could.

I am going to search my bookshelves to find my copy of Fire & Hemlock and re read it tonight (possibly by candlelight during Earth Hour) and remember a woman who gifted hundreds and thousands of children with doors to other worlds, Seven League Boots, and their very own castle's in the Air.

RIP Diana Wynne Jones x

Fat Sheep Food Challenge

Some of the 'Flock'on twitter are holding a #FatSheepFoodChallenge to see how many items of food they can win in this year - currently I am not doing very well but that could all change this month - I will attempt to post a chart of our progress so far at some point today!

Elemis Sparkling Beauty Gift Set Review

As I have mentioned, entering competitions is a hobby of mine, and recently I was lucky enough to win an Elemis Sparkling Beauty Gift Set from Coupobox UK on Facebook in conjunction with skinhq.

I have sensitive skin which can be oily and spot prone, so I am always keen to try new products and see if they can soothe my skin.


Having used Elemis before I know my skin does not usually react badly to their products so I had no qualms about getting stuck into a pampering session!


The Gift set is priced at £50 and contains:

• A stunning fuchsia pink cosmetic bag
• New Elemis Eau de Parfum 4ml
• Visible Brilliance 10ml
• Pro-Collagen Lifting Treatment Neck and Bust 15ml
• Cellular Recovery Skin Bliss Capsules 14 caps
• Pro-Collagen Marine Cream 30ml

The cosmetic bag is a lovely girly pink, and will be very useful for going away. The first thing I did was to smell the perfume - a lovely fresh scent, similar to Clinique's 'Happy'. Very nice indeed. Next I investigated the Skin Bliss Capsules. The pot contained 7 green (Lavender) capsules to be used at night, and 7 pink (Rose) capsules to use in the morning. As it was evening, I selected a green one, and was pleasantly surprised by the scent. As directed I warmed the oil in my hands and spread it over my face. It easily smoothed onto my skin, and I found my skin feeling nice and smooth already.

Leaving it to settle for a while, I then applied some of the Pro-Collagen Marine Cream. Again this had a lovely fresh smell, and I only needed a very small amount to cover my whole face. It was not greasy at all, and was quickly absorbed by my skin, leaving it feeling smooth and light.
A dab of the Visible Brilliance around my eyes left them feeling cool and soothed.

Face done, I inspected the tube of Neck & Bust Treatment. To be fair, I usually just use a body cream all over, and have never used a bust specific cream, so I was interested to see if there would be much difference. It left me feeling very soft and smooth, more so than usual, and again absorbed quickly into my skin without leaving a greasy residue.

The next morning, I found that my skin felt lovely and smooth, and my foundation was definitely easier to apply.

Initially I thought that the price tag of £50 (from skinhq) might be a bit steep, but the products although small sizes will last a while as you only need a small amount, and it is an ideal way to test whether the product is suitable for your skin type.

A big thanks to Coupobox UK and skinhq for giving me the opportunity to try such lovely products.

A bit about me....

Best to start with an introduction I think, so here goes...

I am Lynsey, an (almost!) mid thirtys girl with a penchant for toffee crisp popcorn, comping, reading the latest vampire/witch/werewolf related novel, and navigating my way through parenthood with the help of my partner in crime Sim, and my 2 boys Alex (6) and Harrison (3).

You will find me on twitter as @iridessa76 which is why this is iridessasblog - not because I am a Disney Fairy.

I hope to include some interesting product reviews here, as well as my own random ramblings, and I hope you will bear with me while I get to grips with the art of blogging :)