#TheBloggersSnailMail My Spring Pairing!

As many of you who stop by this blog regularly or follow me on twitter will know that I run #TheBloggersSnailMail. Signups are currently open for the Summer round and if you want to find out more info check out this post here, come and get involved it is so much fun! So many lovely bloggers from across the globe have already signed and there is still time to go, I think this is going to be a bumper round!

So way back in March I paired up with the gorgeous Jude from Cocojude for the first ever #TheBloggersSnailMail, for over a month we swapped emails and found we both work in the voluntary sector. Jude is an amazing crafter and her blog is filled with bits and pieces she makes. I also found out she is a keen runner (My current position on running is one should only run if being chased!), and is also such a lovely, positive, fun person. How does she fit it all in?! I think Jude is secretly Wonder Woman! It has been a real pleasure getting to know Jude and I enjoyed checking my inbox for her emails!

I was so excited when my Snail Mail arrived from Jude, enclosed was a fabulous set of Revlon Nail Varnishes (I can’t wait to sport the orange and yellow shades in the summer. A really cute owl key ring that Jude made herself, you all must check out her shop here! Jude also sent me the pattern for fabric Russian dolls, which I can’t wait to play with as I recently given some really lovely fabric that I was at a loss as what to do with.

I would like to say a massive thank you to Jude for being a fab Snail Mail Partner!

Thailand || Extras

I can’t believe this is my final Thailand related post. I also can’t believe it’s been 3 months since I’ve been back! Time is going horrendously fast at the moment! So this is an ‘extras’ post, a few bits I really to share that didn’t really fit into any of my previous posts.

FOOD//

The Thais like everything sweet. I’m pretty sure sugar or syrup goes into most of their dishes. Also if you're a tea or coffee drinker like myself be warned, they used condensed milk. It’s weird, again super sweet and doesn’t taste right at all but you do get used to it.

Street food is the only way to go. I did not have one bad meal from a street vendor. The food was just to die for and just so much better than the restaurants we visited and also so much cheaper!

Also if you like a bit of spice be warned, medium spicy is HOT! It definitely isn’t what the UK would deem as a medium!

ROAD//

You have to see this one to believe it, the roads and traffic system in Thailand is pure chaos! Some of the sights I saw included... the majority of drivers were on their phones, whole families of 5 on one moped, children’s buggies with said child inside tied onto the side of the moped with string and being towed along, no one wears helmets. On top of all that what are lanes?! It’s a free for all, if you can drive on the pavement, go for it! Don’t expect any vehicle to stop for a pedestrian, and as for traffic lights, they are just there for decoration. The only rule of the road seems to be keep moving!

PRICES//

Thailand is so unbelievable cheap! You can easily keep costs right down whilst travelling out there.

On average this is what we paid...

Street food and a beer – 60-250 baht // £1.10 - £4.58 GBP

Chang 20-60 baht // £0.37 - £1.10 GBP

A bottle of 500 ml coke – 17 baht // £0.31 GBP

A T-shirt - 150 baht // £2.75 GBP

PEOPLE//

The Thai people are so genuinely nice. I felt so safe in Thailand even in the larger cities of Bangkok and Phuket. The people were all so friendly, funny and helpful.

I hope that this info comes in handy to anyone planning a trip to Thailand. It really is an incredible country and I hope I get to explore more of it one day.

 

You can check out my previous blogs on Thailand here:

PHUKET & PHI PHI

KOH LANTA

AO NANG & KRABI

New Years Eve in Bangkok

Bangkok

Nails // H&M Nail Polish in 'Serenity Now'

Huge apologies for the feet! I am not a fan of feet but I wanted to share with you this gorgeous polish. Whilst in H&M recently I stopped and had a mooch at their beauty bits. It was the first time I have had a proper look at the range and this gorgeous polish caught my eye!

It’s called ‘Serenity Now’ and is a fantastic cobalt blue which is one of my favourite colours. It surprised me as it is really good quality, it has a great brush, is easy to apply and didn’t chip!

Have you tried any of H&M’s beauty range?

April's Degustabox

 

After spending a ton on various different beauty boxes and not using half the products id receive, I made a pact with myself that I would no longer subscribe to any. I’m supposed to be sorting my finances out after all, so I’m being behaved! Or at least I was until I kept seeing fab reviews for Degustabox. It’s filled with food and refreshments, not beauty so that’s ok right?!

Any I was so glad I did cave in as I received so many lovely goodies! This is what came in April’s box:

Crabbies Raspberry Alcoholic Ginger Beer – in the box was also some cocktail recipes using the ginger beer, which I can’t wait to try!

Cawston Press Sparkling Apple and Rhubarb Juice Soft Drink – Rhubarb reminds me of summers and Rhubarb crumbles…

Keoghs Atlantic Sea Salt and Irish Cider Vinegar Potato Crisps.

Mornflake Superfast Fruit and Nut Muesli – I am terrible at eating breakfast so being in a little tub this is so handy. I can take it to work and eat it when I get there!

Jaffa Cakes Mini Rolls in Berry Burst and Tropical.

Go Splash Low Calorie Energy Lightening Red Sugar Free Water Flavouring.

3x Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Bars – this just happens to be my favourite chocolate of all time, yey!

2x Organic Instant Miso Soup on the go – perfect for lunch at work when you’re having a crazy day.

Fine Cooks Chocolate in Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate – I feel a baking session coming on!

I think I will definitely be getting another Degustabox for £12.99, it’s such a bargain when you look at the amount of products you receive! I am really impressed and it’s a great way for me to try new things.

Do you have a subscription box you would recommend?

Motivational Monday #14

I love this quote so much! I am a huge believer in what comes around goes around and what you give out is what you get back. I know that when I’m positive in mind and attitude, positive things tend to happen.

I am really trying hard to embrace life at the moment and make the most out of each day. So this week I plan to keep today’s quote at the forefront of my mind.

Happy Monday lovelies!

 

MAC Girl About Town Lipstick

 

Is it possible to actually love a lipstick, I mean really LOVE?! I wanted to invest in a new MAC lippy for a while but have been hesitant as just couldn’t decide on a shade! After months of ‘umming’ and ‘aaaahing’ I decided on ‘Girl about Town’ and I can’t explain how happy I am that I did! I am so in love with this shade, it’s a complete beaut!

 

‘Girl about Town’ is a blue based bright pink fuchsia and It's an Amplified Crème formula, so it's completely opaque, semi-creamy, and really pigmented. It can be built up on your lips and it doesn't budge. My skin tone is pretty fair but I think it would look fab on most skin tones. Being so well pigmented it really stays put and when it does start to fade it leaves a gorgeous stain.

 

It applies very smoothly with no patchiness or drying sensation and doesn’t seem to smudge or bleed. To top it all off it has a gorgeous Vanilla scent which just adds to its perfection for me. What more could you want in a lip product!

I have been wearing this lipstick every day and it’s so versatile you can easily wear it day and night.

If you were keen to find a negative to this product, the only thing I can think of is the £15.00 price tag. However it is so well pigmented that you really don’t need much to get good coverage so I think it will last a while. It’s also just such a good quality product I feel I can justify the price tag.

The Bloggers Snail Mail - Signups now open!

 

So in the beginning of March I launched the first ‘The Bloggers Snail Mail’ and we had over 40 lovely bloggers sign up! It was really good fun, and the feedback from those who took part was so lovely I just had to run another!

So here is how it works:

A quarterly gift exchange where you can meet other bloggers from around the world and spread a bit of positivity! People get paired up in March, June, September and December. During the sign up period, every participant will be paired with one other new participant and you’ll spend a few weeks becoming BFFs (i.e. reading each other’s blogs, sending happy e-mails, you name it!). After that, you’ll send your partner a gift from your country that you think they may like from the info you now know about them. There’s a £5 limit on the gifts to make this project as affordable as possible. Be as creative as you can and make it meaningful! Motivate them, tell them all the beautiful things you learned about them, and make them feel special! We could all use a little encouragement, especially from our new friends. Also, each package should include a postcard (or a letter if you can’t find one!) with some motivating love or positive words of wisdom written all over it.

So to sign up for the ‘The Bloggers Snail Mail’ you just need to send an email to whatsinyourmakeupbag@gmail.com, title it ‘The Bloggers Snail Mail’ and include in it your name, where you are from, and you blog! Sign ups will be open until the Friday 30^th May. I will then randomly match you all up aiming to make sure you are with someone from another country or at least in another area from you! I will then let you know by Monday 2nd June who your partner is and you then have 4 weeks to get to know them! So the week of the 30^th June, you can then send your new buddy their Snail Mail!

Once you receive your gifts, write a blog post about your experience, sharing what you gave, received, and learnt through this being part of this and meeting your new pal.

If you want to tweet about this project, use the hashtag #TheBloggersSnailMail, You can also tag me @GemmaMarieJames and ill retweet your post, so everyone can share your experience!