Happy Birthday Our Queen

Outfit- 

• Pretty Little Thing Bodysuit - https://www.prettylittlething.com/elisia-blue-snakeskin-cross-front-thong-bodysuit.html 
• Topshop Jeans- http://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/clothing-427/jeans-446/moto-deep-blue-joni-jeans-5182847?bi=160&ps=20 
• Ray Ban Glasses, Clubmaster- http://www.ray-ban.com/uk/sunglasses/RB3016%20UNISEX%20001-clubmaster%20flash%20lenses%20gradient-tortoise/8053672603828?category_Id=135118
• Adidas Trainers- http://www.adidas.co.uk/superstar-shoes/C77124.html 
• River Island Belt (old) 
• ASOS Crown- http://www.asos.com/asos/asos-tie-dye-hair-crown/prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=6018605&clr=Multi&SearchQuery=crown&pgesize=36&pge=0&totalstyles=50&gridsize=3&gridrow=7&gridcolumn=2 
• New Look Mug (old)

CCX

May-June Favourites

I'm adding new June favourites into this blog too as I feel I have so much content to show right now that I'm loving! So here goes- 

• Decleor- So not only do I have food allergies I also have extremely sensitive skin when it comes to lotions and body products, I'll know straight away if one doesn't agree with me as I'll come up in rashes or an uncomfortable itch like I've been bitten. 

I've been using Decleor for 5 years now but I treated myself to a facial last week at a Clinic that uses only Decleor products so I indulged and added more to my collection. I was first introduced to these products when using the Spa at Centre Parcs (Here in the UK) and I have to say I have no complaints. 
Going to the gym on a regular basis and diet can have a big impact on your skin regime, I don't wear any face make up so my face is extra moisturised and nourished throughout the day and night with these amazing products.

UK Site- http://www.decleor.co.uk

This is my 3x a week routine-

• Decleor Micellar Oil- Cleanses and removes make up. I lather this on then rinse thoroughly
• Decleor Aromessence Neroli- 3 drops of oil onto the palm, rub hands together then smooth over your face whilst stopping to press gently onto your pressure points
• Decleor Hydra Floral 24 hour Hydrating Light Cream- Finish with your moisteriser only a pea sized amount, glides easily over the face and neck.

The other products in the picture are the Decleor Aroma Cleanse exfoliating cream which I use once a week for a deep cleanse. 
The Aroma Nutrition Oil can be used for body, face and hair (before washing). 
Last but not least a mini Aroma Cleanse which was thrown into my goody bag ;)

• Pretty Little Thing Lexus White Framed Sunglasses- https://www.prettylittlething.com/lexus-white-pattern-framed-sunglasses.html 

I'm loving the mirrored Sunglasses that everybody seems to be wearing right now, these ones contain very dark shades which are great for when in the sun. Considering how cheap they are I was surprised! 

• Garnier Summer Body Lotion- I bought this last week and I love the difference it makes on my body. I'm pretty WHITE to say the least, I never fake tan or sunbed but I sometimes need to add a bit of colour to my skin. I use this after the shower as it moisturises the body and gradually tans it and you really see the difference. No streaks either no matter how you apply it. 

http://www.boots.com/en/Garnier-Summer-Body-Lotion-Deep-Sun-Kissed-400ml_1116007/

• My absolute favourite product of the month are these MILANI Amore Matte Lipsticks! They are by far the best Matte lipsticks I have ever applied. They don't leave my lips until I wipe them off myself with a cleansing wipe. 

I can't rave about these enough they're long lasting, bright, come in all different colours, never fade, easy to apply, dry quickly and they're cheap! I can't see myself wearing anything else for a long time, my MACs are sad! 

These are my 3 favourites! I bought these from Amazon.

Shade Gorgeous- https://www.amazon.co.uk/MILANI-Amore-Matte-Lip-Creme/dp/B01AVC7X6K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464961710&sr=8-1&keywords=milani+matte+gorgeous

Shade Fling- https://www.amazon.co.uk/MILANI-Amore-Matte-Lip-Creme/dp/B01BLTSYUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464961828&sr=8-1&keywords=milani+matte+fling

Shade Fancy- https://www.amazon.co.uk/MILANI-Amore-Matte-Lip-Creme/dp/B01BX8Y936/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464961878&sr=8-1&keywords=milani+matte+fancy


Tip- one time application is best if you layer them they will rub off, so much goes onto the brush anyways I find myself wiping it off onto the sides before I've even started applying. 

Me wearing Gorgeous. 

• My last but not least favourite is very random but- Face Jewels ! 

Big festival vibes going on which isn't like me but when it comes to decoration of the eyes I'm the one doing it. 
Get used to seeing these in all of my pictures from now on. I love wearing one under each eye to really finish off an outfit and to add some more decoration excluding Jewellery.
The pack shown below are £3 from Amazon but I do know clothing websites like PLT etc... are introducing them too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00PW52ZOW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Please continue to follow my blog to keep up to date with future posts. Mwah!



CCX

Free From Sugar Treats

After many years of searching and patiently waiting, I have finally found some of my favourite snacks and treats that I buy on a weekly basis. These treats to me are the most flavourable and essentially 'normal' treats that don't make you feel like you have to eat tasteless food when it comes to sweets because you have food allergies ! 

I believe a lot of people have a bad perception when it comes to Dairy/Gluten free, because of the taste difference and how poor some of our foods can be. My most favourite supermarkets to get FF from, are- Tescos, Waitrose, Morrisons and small health stores. I am very aware of the sugar that is in our sweets, especially dairy free chocolate! I'm sure its more fattening than a Galaxy bar... Anyways here are my go too treats- 



This is my breakfast treat which I usually have on work days as its a quick brekkie to make when rushing in the Morning. I bought these from a Health cafe near to me in Loughton. Its a Dairy Free chocolate spread! I was so excited when I came across these as I've been saying for years that we need a replacement for Nutella. Mmm... This spread is very tasty and also completely Nut free!

Ingredients always have the most used Ingredient at the beginning of the list, as you go further down your list of Ingredients you will see what was used the most and then, secondly, thirdly etc. This spread has Sugar as its first Ingredient alongside palm oil, cocoa powder and organic milk. 

Secondly I have my favourite Yogurt. This is pretty pricey for two small Yogurts so I don't buy this as much as I'd like but they are very tasty. The fruity flavour is at the bottom so you have to have a good stir before diving in. 

This is another favourite snack of mine which I found in Waitrose who are amazing at Gluten and Dairy free products! I couldn't rave about them enough.
These are very tasty and sour which I like and come in different flavours, they also do plain sweets without the sugar layer. 
You'll find these in your sweets isle not the Free From section. 

Now we go onto my favourite chocolates! I apologise that I can't rotate these pictures, my computer isn't allowing me to move anything around! 
These are by far my favourite chocolates since changing my diet. These are also from Waitrose. 
You get 5 tasty chocolate treats in each pack.

There you have it, some snacks for the week. All healthy when consumed occasionaly as we all know! 
I hope this helps those that have similar dietary requirements, carry on snacking! 



CCX

April Haul- Getting ready for summer!

I hope everybody enjoyed their Bank Holiday weekend. This is what I made of mine with my fashion faves right now. 

Heres some of my new purchases to get me ready for the British Summer.

First I'll start with my new Bomber Jacket from MissPap.co.uk. I'm very new to this site but I love their bold prints, especially their selection of Bomber Jackets. This Jacket is very thin and would work perfectly with those go too summer outfits with its unique badges and colours. 

http://www.misspap.co.uk/megan-mckenna-nude-badged-bomber-jacket.aspx 

I styled this outfit with my new Missguided creeper shoes, which are so so comfortable and easy to wear, plus I love the effect that the material has on the shoes. 

https://www.missguided.co.uk/footwear/flats/lace-up-flatform-trainers-pink 

My second outfit that goes perfectly with my new shoes is this Elephant Mesh T-Shirt Dress from Missguided. I bought this over the weekend and as soon as it arrived I wore it on my night out.

You can really dress this up with a sexy bra underneath, or you can use it on holiday as a bikini cover up when going for lunch by the sea. I love the art of this piece and how easy it is to style, it'll definitely keep you cool in the summer too.

https://www.missguided.co.uk/new-in/clothing/flock-elephant-mesh-t-shirt-dress-nude 

Added some heels- (From previous Blog) http://ego.co.uk/ankle-boots/chloe-ankle-boots-in-pink-patent-with-pink-heel.html?___SID=U

My Third Outfit is my beautiful PrettyLittleThing Bodysuit. Its a Suede V Neck Bodysuit which I have to admit is slightly uncomfortable after a while of wearing it, but the material itself feels beautiful on the skin and I love the festival/summer vibe with this piece. 

I also throughout this blog am modelling my new topshop jeans... I do love Topshop but I feel their jeans are pricey but they also have an expiry date. Most of the ones I own lose their tightness and elasticity, but these ones feel like proper Denim (not jegging!)so I'm seeing how these work out. 

https://www.prettylittlething.com/rebecca-stone-faux-suede-eyelet-v-neck-bodysuit.html 

http://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/clothing-427/jeans-446/petite-moto-cain-jeans-5520113?bi=0&ps=20

My final Outfit was a very random purchase which I'm so so happy about. My Sister actually gave me this dress as she didn't feel it suited her and felt it was more up my street. 

As most Fashion lovers may know, this dress was worn by Kim K on the night of her Hen do in the beautiful city of Paris! This is a copy of the Balmain dress she wore, which has always been my favourite look of hers as its more something I would wear. Kim Ks style isn't exactly up my street at all I find it quite bland and boring for me, but this dress has always stuck in my mind and I've searched online before for copies and couldn't find one anywhere!

This Dress is from a cute Boutique near to where I live, its the type of Boutique where the clothes will be found in many others like it but generally hard to find online... sucks! 

These pictures are just me showing off the beauty of this dress ! ;)

Hope you enjoyed this blog and had a wonderful Bank Holiday Weekend.

Please subscribe if you like my posts, so you can get updates on my next Blog.

Much Love x

CCX

My story, my diet.

Warning - This long hauled blog is about my story and my journey in life around my diet and health. This blog is mainly focused to those that have intolerances or those who suffer from stomach pains etc... I hope to raise awareness with this blog and to help others who may suffer. For those that are lucky enough to not suffer from intolerances or other related health issues you don't need to read on, but if you do feel this may be helpful to you or others you know; please do. 



Isn't it lovely to wake up of a morning (naturally) and pain free?
For most of us that is the case but for people like me it sometimes isn't, and for years and years I thought my body was normal and that everyone woke up in pain like I did. 
I also thought it was normal to feel faint in pain most of my day and to feel weak and bloated as soon as I finished school.
I've been told by many that I should write this blog to raise some awareness about this common issue and for me personally I would love to help those suffering and hopefully offer some insight. 


I'll try and cut this short. 


For as long as I can remember I have suffered from chronic stomach pain, pain that can only be explained as a knife soaring through me and burning, feeling like my insides are shifting and horrible stomach cramps.(nice)  


THREE YEARS OLD 

When I was 3 I went to Tunisia and was inoculated against Typhoid, in simpler terms I had an injection in my butt cheek! The right one to be precise.  
Me being the swimming addict that I am I swam a little too early and picked my scab off my bum whilst in water. Not long after coming home my Mum took me to the Doctors as it looked like I had a flesh eating disease on my bum, which was later confirmed. My Doctor gave me a very strong and dirty antibiotic which we feel I was way too young to have as it completely killed my immune system.

This is where we feel the problems started as I've known this pain for as long as I can remember. 


HIGH SCHOOL

Before High School and during High School I suffered terribly with anxiety. I was incredibly attached to my Mum and would even cry being at School because I felt my School was too far away from my home and I would feel home sick. I'd even panic because I then couldn't see where my Mum was or know what she was doing which scared me. I suffered from Panic Attacks on occasion for about 6-7 years and then learned to control them thankfully. 

I feel my tummy problems also brought on my Panic Attacks as I never enjoyed sleep overs or play dates etc due to my pain, and at home I felt my most comfortable as there was a toilet close. 
It was only when I attended a friends sleepover (never to actually sleep over) that I realised that not everybody goes to the toilet as much as I do and that nobody is bloated like me or cramps like me or feels sick after a meal etc. Very strange but that is my first memory of this realisation. 
It was then that my Mum started me on fish oil daily as I was incredibly thin and unwell and I could see the strain in my Mum as she could see it in me. I can only imagine how horrible it must be to see these changes in your child.  I had horrible dark circles under my eyes, I could never keep food down, you could see all my bones and some people in my family even thought that I was Bulimic ! 

I won't go too deep into this but during this time for years I was going to the Doctors having tests and telling them that I'm sick or ill as soon as I eat any food, and they would always say theres nothing wrong with me... Very frustrating. 

After my GCSE's I went away with my Mum and Dad and during my summer break I went to see a lady at her Intolerance Clinic in Westcliff. 



SUMMER

My Mum was told about food allergies by a friend who was a Coeliac and who had taken her Son to see this Woman about his Health. My Mum and I went along, not knowing much about what we were doing and I remember my Mum said to me "After this we'll get some McDonalds" If only we knew... 
Long story short, sort of! I went into the clinic and the Lady took me and my Mum into her room to start the tests. I can only explain it as weird. She got a metal handle and asked me to hold it in my left hand and then to put my bare foot onto her lap so she could place a metal pen looking thing onto the corner of my 2nd toe. 

She places every food group you can imagine into a little machine, one at a time. They are in little tiny capsules. She then puts pressure on the metal pen on your toe and watches the dial swing from 0-100. She told me before we started that 0 was poor and 100 was right for my body (no intolerance). Lets just say I was mostly 15 on everything. My Mum and I were stunned ! As soon as we left all I could eat was a bag of carrots.

It made me so incredibly happen to finally find an answer to my pain. I was overwhelmed and saw this Woman as an Angel! lol She was amazing. 

Did you know that pain in your stomach leads to less brain activity. I was using 20% of my brain before, now I'm on 95% lol. My focus was off completely and I couldn't focus on one thing for a certain amount of time as my brain was always focusing on the pain. 

Near the end of the session she gave my Mum and I some ideas on what foods to make and how to add more flavour etc. And then some Homeopathic medicine to help detox and cleanse my bowel and stomach to prepare for the diet.  It changed my whole life ! It took only 1 day to change me, my stomach pain had gone completely and I was having usual bowel movements and most importantly keeping food down. 


SIXTH FORM 

Entering Sixth Form I felt like a new person, my head was clear, my stomach was flat, I was sleeping on my tummy (which had never happened before), I wasn't using my stomach pain as my daily alarm clock and I was at a healthy weight. 
I felt like I had lost weight but it was actually my bloated tummy I had lost and I had so much energy all the time I felt rejuvenated. 
Diet wise I was practically left with some vegetables, potato, bacon and eggs. I stuck to this for 1 month and then each month I would have my appointment with my Allergy Angel and she would test me like before and see how my numbers had changed. 
It generally is a detox for a few months, you need to stay away from certain foods for a while and then slowly start to reintroduce yourself back on to them slowly. But as we know every one is different. 

Some foods went to 100 and some didn't. 80-90 is a slight intolerance and lower is more pain and discomfort. So it's best to stay off them completely so your body can repair itself. 
For me Wheat and Dairy (that being everything from the Cow) was off limits, and it always will be for me. 
I also struggle with mixed moulds (Mushrooms), Acidic foods like oranges, lemons and tomatoes, also onions.
So I'm not a confirmed Coeliac by my Doctor but I generally have to live as one.

FUTURE

I sometimes have the odd off day now and then but I can confirm that ever since my lifestyle change I have never ever had pain like I did back then and can happily live a normal life.
I do feel if I didn't make the change I would not be living the life I am today. 

I was referred a few years ago to a Gastroenterologist for other pains that were non related to my diet. 100 blood tests later and 2 colonoscopies later he confirmed that I have Microscopic Colitis and IBS which was laughable as its been pretty obvious that I've had this for years. The Colitis isn't exactly microscopic like people think, it's actually another form of Colitis that can cause uncomfortable pain. It's like an open wound in the colon that causes inflammation, hence the bloating. 

I was finally given some medication to take 3 times a day before my breakfast, lunch and dinner. One was a sachet and one was a tablet which would help line my stomach before a meal, my Gastroenterologist wanted to do a camera down to my stomach to confirm me being a Coeliac but I would of had to of eaten wheat and dairy for a month to do this test which I wasn't going to do. That would mean a month off of work and a month of being on the toilet or in my bed the whole time ill... This should of been confirmation enough. 


HEALER 

My Family and I are very spiritual people, we know Psychics, Healers, Homeopathic Doctors etc and we've had many positive experiences with these routes which is the reason why most of us have such faith in them. 

I was referred to a Healer by a friend of mine whose children I used to Nanny for. She told me about friends of hers that he had helped and that he specialises in Crohns, Colitis etc... 
I went to see him last year in the summer and I didn't know where to start. I had to tell him about everything listed above and then some! 
He started work on me straight away and helped me tremendously. Lets just say I have never taken my prescription meds ever since. And the rest is history.



So thats my story! 

I'd also like to add that Waitrose and Tescos are my saviours when it comes to Free From food, not everything is in the Free From section you just need to take a close look at the ingredients and check whats written in bold. 
Since seeing my Healer I attended a 10k run in London with my Partner. We raised over £500 for Crohns and Colitis UK which was a tremendous achievement considering when I was in my early teens I would never of imagined running that far with the pain I was in. 
Feeling run down all the time can completely knock your confidence but luckily for me I was offered the right help in life to help lead me onto the path that I am on today.

I really hope I have helped someone that may be in the same boat as me. If you feel you have any of these symptoms please make an appointment with your local GP OR your Allergen expert... 


Signs and Symptoms of Colitis

• Abdominal Pain
• Diarrhea - With or without Blood in stool.
• Cramping
• Fever 
• Chills
• Fatigue
• Dehydration 
• Eye inflammation 

This info is from- http://www.medicinenet.com/colitis/article.htm




Thank you.




CCX

OOTW- Pink Blush

Yes I am still addicted to Velvet but I also love this new Crushed Velvet dress that I bought from Missguided a few weeks ago. 

This blog is about Crushed Velvet but not just my dress in particular, this can be for all different kinds of Crushed Velvet- colour, style etc...

It's also about my new boots which I bought last week from a shop I found online called Ego. 

I was desperate for a Pink patent version of the Public Desire boots that are everywhere at the moment! I bought a flesh coloured pair at first and completely regretted it as they blended in with my pale skin tone. So I went back to the drawing board to find these babies and this is how I styled them- 

I especially love the Pink Heel on these and the fit. They're incredibly comfortable and would work great for a night out on the town minus the pain of usual heels! 

This look is more of a Winter/Autumn look, I always wear black tights with these type of dresses and a belt to add some shape. I love chunky Gold belts and Jewellery with this look and of course my amazing Fur coat.

Boots - http://ego.co.uk/chloe-ankle-boots-in-pink-patent-with-pink-heel.html 

Similar Belts- http://www.asos.com/search/gold-belts?q=gold+belts

Enjoy! 

CCX