Home fitness - natural beauty comes from a healthy body

I’ve introduced a new category to Fashion Infatuation; Health & Fitness.

I think this is an important topic, and even though my blog is mostly about fashion and beauty, I believe health and fitness is part of beauty, and I hope it’s a topic you’ll be interested in reading about. As we all know, real beauty doesn’t come from makeup and face creams, but it comes from within. Therefore, it’s very important that we make space for health and fitness in our busy lives.

For my first real post in this category (the very first post on the topic was simply about how new gym clothes can give you motivation to exercise) is about how you can fit in some everyday exercising at home. I do drag myself to the gym 2-3 days a week, but sometimes there’s just no time, and at those times it’s great to have a little mini home gym. The pieces I’ve got can all be used in the house – even in front of the TV if you wish. So there’s really no excuse not to do it!

Simply start off with a fast paced walk around the neighbourhood in order to warm up and burn a few calories , or – if it’s raining or you don’t want to miss your favourite TV show – simply hop on the step machine. This little baby is absolutely brilliant! It measures time, pace, distance and calories. You’ll burn about 100 calories in 15 minutes at a medium pace.

I then usually move on to some muscle training, and I’ve got a few different dumbbells that does the job for this. However, I do actually prefer bodyweight training when it comes to working your muscles. Squats, lounges, the plank, and other ab workouts are great for this.

I also have a couple of tools in my mini home gym that will work your core. It’s the twist board (another great tool for when you’d rather watch TV than work out), which you simply stand on and twist from side to side to work your abs, and it’s the ab roller – which works your deep core muscles for a great posture.

The ab roller is proper hard work, but it’s really the best tool for your core.

I usually do a few rounds of the different tools, and squeeze in about 30 minutes of exercising in my busy day when I’ve not had time to actually go to the gym. It’s essential for your body that it gets at least 30 of moderate exercise every day. But just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you can be sloppy about your training clothes. I wear these comfy Gola trainers for my home training, and I also tend to keep them in the car so that I can easily swap my shoes if I want to go out for a power walk on my lunch break at work. 

Another health tool that is a new addition to my collection is this sleek scale from Ozeri which as well as weighs you measures your percentage in water, bones, fat and muscle mass. A very clever little thing!

Did you know that about half of your weight (up to 60%) consists of water? Water is the  most important component of body weight, but I was surprised to find out how much it was.

The normal muscle mass percentage on the body weight is between 38% and 54% for men and between 28% and 39% for women depending on age and physical activity level. My muscle mass is at a whopping 36.7%, meaning I’m very muscly for a woman – but I knew that already ;) That is after all what I’m working for at the gym.

When it comes to average body fat percentages it really differs from person to person depending how active they are. My 23% falls within the brackets for ‘Fitness’, which I am very happy about.

I have always wanted to try those fancy scales at the gym to see your fat and muscle mass, so I’m very happy that I’ve actually got one of these scales myself now. I always thought I weighed so much, but obviously muscles weigh a lot more than fat. Health is so much more than just those kilograms of the scale.

Glitzy and star filled #PANDORAwishes VIP event in Leeds

The exteremly popular jewellery store Pandora (so popular that people queue to get in there on a normal Saturday) had organised a VIP event for local bloggers and press last week on Briggate in Leeds, and I was lucky enough to get invited.

The event was called #PANDORAwishes, and highlighted the fact that you can create your own wishlist on Pandora's website to share with your friends and family. Great for Christmas which is just around the corner! Cause how annoying is it when that ring you wanted shows up in the wrong size, or the wrong colour, and you have to go and get it changed?! Thanks to Pandora's wishlist you can make sure that people who are buying presents for you get it right the first time around.

 I really wouldn't mind these rings as a Christmas present for example *hint hint*

 I absolutely love Pandora's rings, especially as you can wear them on their own, or as stacking rings in different combinations. Some of these have definitely been added to my wishlist!

But what was really the fuzz about this #PANDORAwishes event? Cause surely a simple wishlist wouldn't get that much attention...?

Will you look at that! A celebrity entrance! Pandora has teamed up with singer Louise Redknapp, and her famous ex footballer husband Jamie Redknapp to be their brand ambassadors.

I of course took the chance to get photographed with Jamie Redknapp - it's not every day that you meet a celebrity! ;) (even though I don't like football one bit)

Pandora spoiled us with really fancy canapés and a choice of prosecco or non alcoholic refreshments. The dessert canapés were especially impressive.

Just ask my partner in crime blogger Kristina from Mode of Style - she scoffed hers down in a second ;)

The dark chololate and gold star lollies were delicious.

The presenter, and later DJ of the night, was TV personality Sarah-Jane Crawford. Absolutely stunning, isn't she?! Girl crush, big time!

Overall, it was a great night, and having seen a bit more of Pandora's jewellery I'm very impressed. Kristina and I also took the chance to take some silly photos in the photobooth they had set up. Why not, hey? ;)

Thank you so much to Pandora for inviting me to this fab event!

Because Winter is not here quite yet...

I'm cosying up with a fur collar this Autumn. Faux fur really is the big trend for this season!

The lovely fluffy faux fur sits on my new bohemian looking "coatigan" - a mix between a coat and a cardigan - from Joe Browns. Clever, isn't it? It's perfect for those days when it's not too cold, and you don't really fancy wearing a big and heavy coat. It's also really great for indoor shopping this upcoming winter - and by that I mean shopping centres and other big department stores, where you don't spend too much of your shopping spree outdoors.

So what am I wearing underneath this so called coatigan on this particular day?

Let's strip off and see... ;)

It's a cream coloured slouchy off-the-shoulder t-shirt dress with batwing sleeves, which is tight around the hips. It's from WearAll, and I absolutely love this kind of style as it's a bit alternative but still versatile.

You can either wear it as a short dress with thick tights underneath - I've gone for dark brown ones - or as a long t-shirt paired with skinny jeans.

The print is a bit cheeky though; 'Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful'. But oh well... I feel confident enough wearing it ;)

I've gone for very simple accessories for this outfit - just a stylish silver ring with a lime green marble stone that I once bought in Scotland. Apparently this type of marble can be found on their cold and stony beaches up there.

To top it all off (or bottom it off in this case?) I've gone for my trusted black lace-up boots from Anna Field at Zalando. They've got that kind of rocky edge to them, and work with almost anything.

Dressing up as Bond girls for a casino night in Leeds

Last week, Kristina and I got to dress up in proper James Bond style in our little black dresses and red lips, for a casino event at White Cloth Gallery in Leeds.

The event was organised by bgo casino, and at arrival we were greeted with £50 worth of pretend money, and a few poker chips which we could swap for drinks at the bar. Very clever!

I've never been to Las Vegas, but this event had everything I imagine they have over there, but on a smaller scale - stylish girls (all us Leeds bloggers, of course ;) ), free alcohol, great music, competitions, and of course a lot of gambling in the form of Roulette and Black Jack.

For this special occasion I had painted my nails in a casino themed nail art. This was extremely popular and appreciated by everyone, and lots of bloggers and even the organisers came up to me and wanted to photograph them. My casino nails even won me a prize for best Instagram of the evening using the #bgomeetup hashtag. 

AND... my claws also got featured over on bgo's blog.

We had a great night, and after having a professional croupier teaching us how to play Black Jack properly, we spent a couple of hours trying to win some more chips. I'm clueless about Roulette so I stayed away from that table, but at the end of the night I had doubled my pretend money and ended up at £100 - which won me another prize for being the blogger with the third most chips.

The biggest winner was Jess from Glitterbat. It was great seeing her again after the Paul Mitchell blogger event the week before. 

Thanks to bgo and Joe Blogs blogger network for a fun and unusual blogger event! It was great getting the opportunity to dress up like a Bond girl.

Paul Mitchell blogger event in Leeds

Last thursday, I was lucky enough to be one of the few bloggers invited to an exclusive blogger event for well-known hair styling brand Paul Mitchell. The event was held in one of the luxury suites at the beautiful Quebec hotel in central Leeds, and we were greeted with prosecco and canapes on arrival.

It was a very friendly and quite casual event where the purpose simply was to mingle with fellow bloggers, and trial some of the products that were showcased. As well as some gorgeous looking sets from Paul Mitchell that would be perfect as Christmas presents, there was also makeup from the brand New Cid Cosmetics to try. I was really impressed with the iGloss, which is a coloured lipgloss with a built in light and mirror - perfect for when you're on the go!

But that's not all! On top of the delicious drinks and foody nibbles we were treated to a hair styling session by two hair stylists from Padd Hair Studio in north Leeds.

It was everything from Hollywood volume to complex braids, and when I was asked what I wanted I gave them free hands. A stylist knows best, right?

After having curled my hair into cork screws with the help of a rounded barrel straightener, the stylist magically transformed my hair into a bridal inspired curly side bun - with the help of 22 hair pins that I was wrestling with to get out later that night (totally worth it though!) and Paul Mitchell's absolutely fantastic Freeze & Shine hairspray. The spray was so good that my hair was still bouncy and curly the next morning when I woke up!

I had such a good time at Paul Mitchell's 'Gift of Style' event in Leeds, and I met a bunch of new friends and fellow bloggers including Jess from Glitterbat, Phoebe from North of London, Jaye from Jaye's Journal, and Claire from xClaireabella. And not to forget my Swedish partner in crime Kristina from Mode of Style.

I must say Paul Mitchell were extremely generous with their goodybags - this is the best goodybag I've ever received at an event! It consisted of a full size shampoo and conditioner from their Tea Tree range, an Extra Body daily boost, a lovely lemon scented candle, and - to my delight - the iGloss that I was so impressed by at the event, in a gorgeous brownish pink hue with a golden glitter effect.

Thank you so much to the lovely people at Paul Mitchell for inviting me to this fab event!

A leather dress for my heavy metal heart

As many of you know I'm a bit of a rock chick, and into my hard rock and metal. So when I came across this black leather look bodycon midi dress from WearAll I was over the moon.

It's absolutely perfect for a night out in town, whether you're going to a concert or a night out with friends, and want to look a bit more hardcore.

It's tight as a second skin, so when wearing it you really need to think about what underwear to choose, as you want to avoid any visible lines. A smooth silhouette is definitely the look to aim for. Although, the dress tend to ruffle a bit around the waist, but that's probably a good thing.

Since I went back to blonde hair I don't feel very tough and rocky anymore, so when I want to look the part I go for a lot of black makeup.

The smoky eye is my absolute favourite, and it goes perfectly with this leather look dress. When putting so much focus on your eyes, it's best to go for quite pale and neutral lips.

You may remember earlier this year that I featured this 3D look clutch bag from Today I'm Me. I had this blue and yellow one, as well as an orange one, and I gave away one in a giveaway. I was left with this one as the winner chose the orange one, but I'm quite happy with it as it's the colours of my home country Sweden :)

I've featured my beloved leather and stud platform shoes from Jeffrey Campbell quite a few times. If they don't scream heavy metal, then I don't know what does! A perfect match to my new leather look dress, I'd say.