HD BROWS REVIEW

Hi guys! So today I decided to try HD Brows for the first time, and thought for that reason I would do a before and after, and express my feelings about the whole experience. So basically HD Brows involves the normal shaping/waxing etc of brows but is done with a lot more detail. Before you have your first appointment you must have a test patch on your skin for approximately 48 hours, just to check you're not allergic to the tinting dye they use. When I first went in, I was asked to complete a form about my health/allergies etc and asked about how I would like my eyebrows to be. Due to my eyebrows being a bit fairer than my natural hair colour, I had them tinted a shade darker and this was done first. They applied the tint, waited 2 minutes and then showed me to check I didn't want them any darker.

Following this I had my eyebrows completely drawn all over, basically lining up where my eyebrows should start and end, and where the bow in them should be. After this I was shown again and I looked hilarious but this didn't last long. Straight after this the waxing started, following by plucking to sort out the remaining hairs. After this some threading was done simply to shape my eyebrows hair rather than pluck them any further, and then some hairs were cut with a pair of scissors just to sharpen the brows.

Following all of this I was shown my eyebrows again just so I would know how they were going to look if I did nothing to them day to day. Lastly some parts of my eyebrows where the hair hasn't fully grown yet were filled in with an eyebrow pencil.

Overall I have to say I am so happy with the results! My eyebrows look amazing, especially compared to the state I'd let them get to. The treatment cost £26.50 and it is recommended you get it redone every 4-6 weeks, so I will be returning in 5! If you have questions about HD Brows at all let me know! 

FITBIT FLEX REVIEW

As I mentioned in my previous post I started wearing a Fitbit Flex wristband in the new year. Fitbit's are a great way of monitoring steps, sleep, calorie and water intake, and are aimed at helping people achieve a greater fitness level. One of my friends bought a Fitbit a year ago, and once she told me it cost her £80 I did not understand why she'd got one. However having said this, come the new year I aimed to improve my overall fitness level, and had a look into the Fitbit range. They offer many different forms of monitors, the Flex being the most basic. When I found it to be on sale in the colour black in Argos I decided to go for it and I'm really glad I did!

You wear the Fitbit Flex on your wrist 24/7. Due to it only needing charging at the most once a week and it is very fast charging, as well as water resistant so you can wear it in the shower or bath, you can literally track your exercise and sleep patterns every day and night. Having struggled with my sleep for some years now I was very interested to see how well I do actually sleep (I tend to get quite a bit of sleep but it's very restless, probably why I'm always tired!). Fitbit recommended you wear your Flex on your non-dominant hand for the best results, and has been found to be around 99% accurate compared to other pedometers. When I'm at work, I do have to wear it on my ankle but I haven't found this to be a problem at all, and it still picks up all the steps I do.

The Fitbit Flex monitor itself has differing light patterns for what you want to know. As shown in the pictures below you simply tap the device a couple of times and it will show you how many steps you have done so far that day (one dot for every 2000 steps). When you reach your daily target of steps which is automatically set to 10,000 but can be adjusted, the device will vibrate and flash a full set of 5 dots for a couple of seconds. In order to track your sleep, simply tap the device for a couple of seconds when you get into bed and it will change to sleep mode. This is displayed by a dot being lit up on either side of the device screen which goes off after a second. Do the same again when you wake up to turn the device back into wake mode.

Overall I do feel this device has pushed me to drastically increase the amount of exercise I do day to day, especially when in competition with my friends! You can add as many people as you want to the Fitbit app which is free to download and shown in the image below. On the app is also where you enter your calorie and water intake, both of which are very easy to do as long as you remember to do them! Entering this information can really help you monitor how many calories you've burnt in relation to how many you've eaten, and encourage you to improve your diet and exercise. One thing I noticed was I definitely did not drink enough water and I have been trying to best to increase this amount ever since.

When you purchase a Fitbit Flex it comes with the monitor itself which is a small black device, and a choice of two different sized wristbands for you to put the monitor into. It also comes with a dongle to sync to your laptop and a charging adapter in USB form. I would highly recommend this device especially if you need a little extra push to improve your fitness and diet. It's even better if you have friends or family you can add to it as this pushes you even more to beat them! Although the devices are quite costly I have used it everyday since I purchased it so I do feel I am getting my moneys worth. Let me know if you have any questions for me about the Fitbit Flex, if you are considering getting one yourself!

Roberta x

MISSGUIDED ACTIVE VS BOOHOO FIT REVIEW

Before I say anything else I just want to apologise for the atrocious quality of these photos, as I came back to university and forgot the charger for my SLR camera so had to use my iPhone woo! As many of you probably know both Missguided and BooHoo have very recently released women's sportswear ranges. Finally some affordable sportswear! As soon as the websites released their ranges, I purchased from both and I have been a gym regular for many years but particularly since the start of this year (to go more was one of my new years resolutions, which is actually going surprisingly well!). Both ranges are different to the majority of sportswear already available out there; colourful, stylish and primarily aimed at teens and young adults.

Immediately when I looked at the Missguided Active range I loved nearly every piece. Sadly I couldn't afford every piece so I narrowed it down to the pieces shown above. All are comfortable, soft and easy to wear; perfect for a work out. I bought everything in my normal clothing sizes and everything fits exactly right which is great. I wear these looks for the gym, but also for yoga and running and they are great for all three forms of exercise, due to how easy they are to move in. How cheap they were was a massive benefit and I also received 20% student discount at the time of purchase which made it even better! I will definitely be purchasing from this range again in the future should more be released!

As you can see I have only purchased one item from the BooHoo Fit range so far. I saw this jumper featured on another blog post and thought it looked great, however when I looked at the rest of the range; although like the Missguided range it was colourful and aimed at the same age group, not as much appealed to me, however this may change in the future should more pieces be released of course! The jumper I did buy I love, however I am normally a size 8 top, bought the jumper in a size 10 as I wanted it to be somewhat baggy, and it just about fits me. The sleeve length is just to my wrists, so I tend to roll the sleeves up, however due to how much I love it I still wear it, and it is great for pre and post-workouts to just throw on over your top/sports bra.

Presently overall I would definitely say I prefer the Misguided Active range, simply due to personal clothing taste. The sizing was much better for Misguided Active than BooHoo Fit so should I purchase something from the BooHoo range again in the future I'll have to remember to size up. Having said that, both ranges over great sportswear options at affordable prices which is perfect and I am so glad they did! Also as a little end note you may have noticed the black band on my wrist, this is my FitBit and I will be doing a review of this in the near future.

Roberta x

NIKE FREE 4.0 FLYKNIT REVIEW

Nike Free 4.0 Flyknit Women's Running Shoes: Nike

I've been trying to find some new running trainers for months now, and it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be! For a while I really wanted the Nike Free's 5.0+ however I couldn't find these for sale anywhere in the UK and did not want to purchase from a website abroad due to the risk they may be fake. When the new Nike Free's were released I loved the look of them and considered purchasing those, however I then read reviews from many different sources and they were not good. As I wanted a running trainer that was going to be comfortable and last a good few years I decided these were not the right choice. I then looked at the highest rated Nike women's running trainers on their website and found the Nike Free 4.0 Flyknit's. The reviews all described the trainer as amazingly comfortable, long lasting and perfect for running long and short distances in the gym and on the street. Despite them costing £110 I decided to go with these knowing I could return them for any reason within the first 30 days of having them.

I am so glad I went with these trainers! Yesterday I completed my first gym session wearing them and noticed straight away how much more comfortable they were than my old trainers which were Adidas one's that I purchased a couple of years ago. Because of how light and flexible the trainers are it literally felt like I was walking on clouds, it was incredible. I did a 20 minute run on the treadmill and they were great, not uncomfortable in any way, the material of the shoes are perfect as they fit like a sock due to the knitted texture of them. They were also great when I went on the cycling machine and for all of the weights machines I use! Despite the fact this was the first time I'd worn the trainers other than trying them on when they arrived, they didn't rub at all, the first time new shoes haven't caused me pain in as long as I can remember! Overall I would say these shoes so far are perfect and definitely worth the large price tag, because from the looks of things they will last a good while!