One thing I always say I love about Essie polish in general is how fast they dry and this new Gel Couture collection is no different, maybe even quicker than normal polish. With 42 new shades and with a promise of 14 days wear with a no LED lamp application - could it be too good to be true?I was sent 3 shades & a top coat: Signature Smile is a sharp fiery rosé, Hang Up the Heels – jet black accessorized with jade shimmer & Bubbles Only – classic burgundy crème. 

The designs of the gel bottles set them apart, with a twizzled body shape and the same goes for the applicator, which is wider, flatter and allows you to push the brush down and stroke up with ease - meaning you apply less coats as it covers the nail bed. Because the applicator has a swirled body, the polish can gently run down, instead of running down a straight body and you getting a blob of polish that you didn't want - you know what I'm talking about.

So far I've tried Signature smile, that took 2 coats and came off using regular nail polish. I did only wear it for a couple of days as I really wanted to try the 'anti Summer' shade, Hang Up The Heels, the jet black with jade shimmer running through it. I only needed 2 coats and by the time I had finished both hands, the gel top coat was ready to go on and nothing smeared, smooth application. It's important to cap the free edge of nails to prevent any nails from chipping or peeling. It'll be interesting to see if through, showering, cleaning and whatever else if these hold up for 14 days. 

Who here has has ever put themselves on a liquid diet in order to lose weight?. Well I have good news! I have actually found a liquid that will aid your weight loss whilst eating healthily. It’s not a fad, it won’t take over your life and it’s temporary but could introduce you to a healthier eating regime. It’s called the Bootea 14 Day Teatox.

I’m a massive lover of a good cuppa. English Breakfast, Green Tea, Raspberry and Echinacea… The whole of the Twinings range. So I was amazed to discover Bootea 14 Day Teatox which meant I could keep up my tea addiction and lose weight. The Teatox comes in two different packets – the Daytime Cleanse and the Bedtime Cleanse. 

Upon waking every day you flick your kettle on and instead of your normal Earl Grey you whip up a Bootea Daytime Cleanse instead. Inside the pyramid teabag is a recipe of Chinese Oolong tea, Maté leaves, Ginger root, Fennel seeds, Lemongrass, Dandelion leaf, Ginseng root, Gotu Kola leaves and Nettle leaves. If you’re familiar with herbal tea then you will thoroughly enjoy this earthly blend, however if you are more of a builder’s tea type then you may find the taste a little strange. However it is very healthy and refreshing, so stick with it! After a couple of days your taste buds will have acquired the taste and you will be gulping it down! (Slowly mind… The stuff is hot).

The Bootea 14 Day Teatox is designed to increase your metabolism, burn calories and fat, assist in the digestion of food, suppress your appetite and improve your skin. Whilst the Daytime Cleanse is designed to be consumed every day, the Bedtime Cleanse is designed to be taken every other night. The reason for this is the Bedtime Cleanse works as a laxative… And your body wouldn’t be able to cope with this every day. Because believe me when I say it works, it reaaaallllly works. The Bedtime Cleanse teabag houses a family of ingredients of Senna leaves, Peppermint leaves, Fenugreek seeds, Liquorice root, Burdock root, Hawthorn leaves, Valerian root and Psyllium seeds. Now I will leave the rest to your imagination… I’m sure you won’t want me to go into all the details, but yeah. It works.

The great thing about Bootea is that they don’t sugarcoat their Teatox plans and claim that by drinking their tea you will lose a million pounds and end up with a tight and toned body to rival Megan Fox. They tell you that in order for the Teatox to work, you have to work. That means eating healthily and working out. So get off your rounded butt and go for a walk/skip down the road/cartwheel to your gran’s house. The more you can do to aid the plan, the better the results. So the burning question I’m guessing will all be on your lips is “did it work?”

Well yes. It did. But I worked too!

As well as drinking the tea twice a day, I was working out 5 times a week and eating healthily. I didn’t drastically change my diet at all, just cut out the junk. So you can leave the 90 calorie packaged soups that taste like cardboard on the shelves for the other fad dieters, those days are over for you! As I result I lost a total of 7 lbs over the two week course! Bootea also offer a 28 day Teatox plan if you fancy trying it for a little longer. You could potentially lose double what I did! View all of their plans here. So can you see yourself giving Bootea a whirl? It could be the kickstart you need to a healthier life in general. What have you got to lose? Apart from the obvious…

*post contains a press sample

Around a week ago, I hit Boots to check if I could find anything that would draw out a few spots I’ve been getting lately, and the design of the Quick Fix masks really drew me in. It looks very simple and powerful, and more at home with men’s skincare than the pretty products that belong in with the women’s skincare.

There was quite a few different Quick Fix masks, but I went for the for congested and lifeless skin. I wanted a clay mask as I find it draws out spots ad impurities really well but there wasn’t any and I’ve used charcoal products before and got on well with them. As well as charcoal, the mask contains dragon fruit and cinnamon.

The colour of this mask is really unusual, I expected it to be pure grey but it has a blue tinge to it. If you look really closely, it’s grey with lots of tiny blue specks. It has an unusual smell too, kind of fake? But nice at the same time. To use, you spread a thick layer on clean skin and leave for five to ten minutes, before removing with warm water. I’ve used this twice, and I left it on for around an hour both times. Not on purpose, just because I always get too comfortable and lazy when wearing masks. I definitely wouldn’t advise leaving the mask on this long, as it turns from being purifying to being really drying and my skin felt quite stripped afterwards. I tried it again for around 15 minutes and it was a lot less stripping, although I did still need a good moisturise afterwards.

Despite being quite drying, I do really like this mask. I’ve had a few spots while testing it out and it’s definitely helped to draw out my smaller blemishes. I feel like my skin looks and feels smoother after using it each time too.

I would recommend this mask if you suffer from blemishes and blackheads and don’t want to spend a lot on a face mask, but I’d also recommend you get a good moisturiser so you can hydrate your skin again afterwards. I’ve recently found these two products which are more expensive but work amazingly on cystic acne, so I’d recommend them 100%.

Have you tried any Quick Fix face masks? Or have you got a favourite mask I need to know about?