Back in March I was lucky enough to win a competition with In Magazine for a Signature 2 night break for two at the Lifehouse Spa in Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex.

I was sooooo excited as I have never really won anything before and decided to take my aunt Kathleen with me as she is always spoiling me bless her and I felt it would be nice to treat her to some serious pampering!!

The Signature package included…

• A two-hour Oriental Bathing Experience (AMAZING!!!)
• A House face 35 minute treatment (Heavenly!)
• Welcome drink on arrival
• Full board – dinner, breakfast and lunch
• Use of a robe during your stay and complimentary slippers
• Gratuities included
• Meet and greet service from Thorpe-le-Soken station or a valet car parking service
• Porterage of luggage
• Unlimited use of the thermal spa area
• Unlimited use of gym, all gardens and grounds facilities
• Full access to Lifehouse resort activities programme

We booked our trip for the 6th – 8th August and counted down the weeks until the day was finally here!!

On arrival at the Lifehouse Spa we were greeted by a lovely lady who checked us in and spent some time going through what our package included and where everything was. They had devised a timetable for us and even made reservations for our lunch and dinner. From the second you arrive they just want to make things as easy and relaxing as possible for you.

We got there at 4pm and we were actually booked in for our Facials at 4.30pm (Kathleen) and 5.15pm (myself) which left us just enough time to check out our room and get changed into our robes and slippers.

The rooms were brilliant. Very modern, fresh and clean. They were a great size and the shower was fab! The beds (we had a twin room) were so comfortable and I can honestly say I had the best 2 nights sleep I have had in a LONG time there.

After donning our dressing gowns and funky flip flop slippers we made our way to The Hub which is where you check in for your treatments. We still had 5 minutes to spare so grabbed ourselves a seat on the balcony in the Juice Bar.

Kathleen was called for her treatment first and she returned 40 minutes later to find me sound asleep in the chair, glass of water still in hand. She was shocked as, like I mentioned earlier, this is actually very rare for me. I suffer with Insomnia and do find it very hard to relax but the Lifehouse Spa worked it’s magic VERY quickly! Kath was so pleased with her facial and I was really happy when she told me I was booked in with the same lady. I love being pampered but I sometimes find it a bit difficult when you go to a beauticians and the therapist talks to you throughout the treatment. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good chat and I promise I am not by anymeans unsociable but when I am having a facial I like to just try and drift off  and realax. Kaz was amazing! The first thing she said to us both was that she didn’t want us to talk and that when she spoke, it was just to let us know what she was doing and what she was using. She was such a lovely lady and very friendly and polite – I really can’t recommend her enough.

After our treatments, we headed to the relaxation room at the other end of the hall and spent about 30 mins on the massage chairs. They literally reclined until you were upside down! We had great fun on these and really did feel great. We then headed back to our room to change for dinner. We were told when we booked in that we were more than welcome to go down in our dressing gowns but as we walked passed the restaurant we seen that most were dressed so we quickly got changed and headed back downstairs for some food.

There was a bar attached to the restaurant and we had left ourselves time for a quick drink before we ate. The bar staff were lovely and very polite – have to give a special mention to the Scottish bar man who was very friendly and has now got me hooked on curiosity cola! The drink prices were very reasonable, no more expensive than any other hotel bar.

The restaurant was lovely and the food was AMAZING!! You have to make sure you try their Smoked Haddock and Leek Risotto and the Cauliflour Puree which accompanied the Scallops was gorgeous too. I am going to have to try convince my hubby to make this! Considering the food is included with your stay the quality is not compromised in any way. I actually had the best peice of steak I have ever tasted on the Sunday night.

We decided to have an early night as we had an early start the next day so went to reception to see if they had any DVD players left. I had read in previous reviews that they hired these so we grabbed a couple of DVD’s from home before we left but we needn’t have bothered as they have a list of around 100 DVD’s you can hire all free of charge!

The next morning we headed to breakfast around 8.30am. You’re spoilt for choice here and can have anything from yougurt & berries through to a full english. On the Sunday we had something lite as we were booked in for our treatment at 9.00am so didn’t want anything too heavy but we did treat ourselves to the full english before leaving on the Monday and it was very good!

We had heard so many good things about the Oriental Bathing Experience (OBE) so we were both dead excited. This is a treatment for 2-3 people so we were able to enjoy this together. I don’t want to say too much about this as I would hate to spoil it for anyone who decides to go but it was honestly out of this world! It consists of a Thai Foot Ritual, A Malaysian and Thai bathing experience, a head and scalp massage, full body exfoliation and then finishes with a warm oil & hot stone massage. The ‘Experience’  lasts around 90 minnutes then once this is finished you are taken to a ‘Sleep Pod’ where you can relax for a little while. We were very lucky as they were quite quiet on the day we went and we ended up sleeping for around 3 hours! It was just unreal. I have never felt so relaxed in my life and this is something I will definately be treating my Mum to very soon. Here’s a video from the Lifehouse Spa site for a little taster..

We had the rest of the day to ourselves and although we had great intentions of just going back to the room for a little nap after lunch and then hiring a couple of bikes and going for a ride around the beautiful grounds, we actually fell asleep for over 4 hours and just about made dinner!

Our weekend flew by and I can hand on heart say there was not a single thing we were disappointed in. Everything is so clean, bright and fresh and all the staff were extremely welcoming and friendly. We fell in love with the handcream in the toilets and were dead pleased to find they sold these in their shop – the little things that get us eh lol! Neither of us managed to keep hold of them very long though as my Mum and Nan fell in love with them too (they make your hands silky soft and smell gorgeous!) so we gave them away as presents – ah well, it’s a good excuse for us to visit again.

I cannot recommend the Lifehouse Spa enough – for pure relaxation in luxurious settings and a chance to completely detach from the outside world for a little while!  It’s a little peice of heaven tucked away in a small village in Essex.

Make sure you come back on Monday for details of some amazing offers for you to take advantage of. Don’t miss out!

Emma @ Military Wedding Discounts xXx

Mon Amie Bridal Salon is a family owned and operated business that has served as the West Coast of North America as most elegant and premiere bridal salon since 1976. Mon Amie Bridal Salon offers an impressive collection of couture & special occasion debutant gowns with expert in-store alterations & finishing touches to complete your debutant look.

Mon Amie Bridal Salon has created a revolution in gown selection with our “In-store Boutiques”. Mon Amie Bridal Salon’s Boutiques feature the most complete collection of gowns found outside the designer’s own workshops from world-renowned designers; Stephen Yearick, YSA Makino, Ines Di Santo, Liancarlo, Augusta Jones, Bliss by Monique Lhuillier, Legends by Romona Keveza, Lazaro, Alvina Valenta, Tara Keely, & Jim Hjelm. Mon Amie also offers several designs styles created exclusively for Mon Amie Bridal Salon by design houses.

Mon Amie has been awarded the “California Bridal Retailer of the Year” many times.  Mon has been voted the “Best Bridal Store” in Orange County by the Orange County Register for the past 10 years, and received “The Knot’s Best of Weddings Bridal Salon” for 8 straight years.  in 2011 Mon Amie was award “Best Bridal Boutique” on the West Coast.  As an industry leader the store is well respected by the bridal community.

Whatever your dream gown may be…you’ll find it at Mon Amie.

***Special Offer***

The 8th Annual Military Bridal Gown Giveaway!

On Sunday, October 16, 2011 at the Air Corps Station Miramar, Mon Amie Bridal Salon will give away a wedding gown to the first 100 Military brides-to-be.

To qualify, brides must be engaged & be on active duty in the military or have a fiancé on active duty.

All military brides must show ID, copy of deployment papers, orders or other qualifying proof.

Brides from all branches of the military are welcome.

Call Mon Amie Bridal Salon at 714-546-5700 or e-mail at info@monamie.com.
What an AMAZING offer!! I’ve been looking at their website all morning and it has made me wish I was getting married again! They stock some beautiful dresses – you will be spoilt for choice! A big thank yo to Scott Flatten for sharing this with us and make sure you get yourselves down there on Sunday 16th October – you’d be mad to miss out!

Emma @ Military Wedding Discounts xXx

First of all I need to apologise for the lack of posts over the last week but following our launch last Tuesday we have been SO SO busy BUT I promise that from today I will be making every effort to upload at least one post a day and we have some very exciting Supplier Spotlight interviews coming from our lovely featured advertisers and sponsors along with some brand new content which I will hopefully be able to tell you more about by Friday.

For today’s Bargain Beauty and Fashion buys I have decided to tell you all about my make up bag must haves! Yesterday afternoon I noticed that my ‘day’ make up bag (the one that I carry in my handbag every day) was starting to look as though it was going to burst at the seams so I was very strict with myself and emptied it all out and only put back the items that I use on a daily basis and thought I would share my top 6 of these with you (couldn’t decide on 5 so added an extra one in there!) – So introducing Emma’s make up essentials…..

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer

I was only introduced to this product last year and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! You only need to use a teeny weeny bit and it makes your skin feel lovely and smooth so your make up goes on much easier and it makes it last a lot longer too!

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation

I have found this foundation to be very light and again a tiny bit goes a long way! It gives great even coverage and is a real bargain at £8.99 although Boots have got this on special offer at the minute for £5,99 – see here for further info.

Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder

I have been using this product for years and wear this daily. I am not one to put a full face of slap on each day but I will not go out without a bit of Hoola on. It gives you a lovely glow. Be careful not to put too much on though as my sister learnt when she ‘borrowed’ mine recently – she came out of the bathroom looking like she had just returned from a fortnight in the Bahamas! A good look perhaps in the summer but it wasn’t so convincing on a cold December day! A brilliant product which although quite pricy at £23.50 really does last a long time.

Benefit’s Bag Gal Lash

Can’t say enough good things about this! I am lucky to be blessed with quite dark long lashes (I’m not bragging at all here and you must understand that having also been ‘blessed’ with the family double chin, chunky knees, premature grey hairs and hamster cheeks it has been been VERY hard to find something to be thankful for lol!) and Bad Gal Lash just accentuates them even more and gives a false lashes effect! One application is great for day wear but two gives you a fab look for a night out!

Jemma Kidd Hi-Shine Silk Touch Lipgloss

Finding a perfect lipgloss was a real case of trial and error. I love the feeling when you have done all your make up and then watching the whole look come together and finished off as you add your lipgloss but what I hate is when you put it on and your hair gets stuck in it and your lips just feel full of yucky goo. Jemma Kidd is a godsend! I have been using this lipgloss for nearly two years and not only does it not attack my hair but it tastes lovely too! I use the ‘Oyster’ and ‘Candy’ ones which are both quite neutral but have a great finishing effect and need very few touch-ups too!

Vaseline Lip Therapy Rosy Lips

Now this gets a lot of use! My lips can get pretty dry so I can not even think about leaving home without this! Even with daily use (and probably 3/4 applications a day) I still only need to buy one every 2 months and at just £1.99 a time this is without doubt the most essential product in my make up bag.

So there you have it – my top 6 make up must haves!!!

Please feel free to share yours below as I do love a but of make up so I’m always looking for new bits to try.

Emma @ Military Wedding Discounts xx

All of the opinions above are my own personal recommendations based on my own experience with the products.

For today’s post, I just have to share with you my fab bargains that I picked up yesterday!!

The hubby called during the day to ask if I would pop into town and pick something up for him and told me to ‘pick something up for yourself if you see something nice hon’ – well I don’t need telling twice!!

After telling you all about the sale in Debenhams last week, I still hadn’t had the chance to go and have a look myself so thought I would pop in and see if there were any little bits left to pick up and I think I managed to grab myself one of my favourite bags I’ve (ok, the hubby!) ever purchased – well it’s certainly in my top 5 and anyone who reads this that knows me can tell you that my bag collection was just under 50 at last count!

So let me introduce you to my lovely new lil purchase…..

This is the ‘J by Jasper Conran Taupe Sophie Large Satchel bag’ which I got at a bargin price of not £48.00 (which was the original price) not even £24.00 (which was their 50% off price) but a bargainitious £14.40!!! A HUGE 70% discount which I am sure most of you will agree would have been a sin not to have added to my collection at that price!

Now again, anyone who knows me will vouch for the fact that I am a slight perfume addict too. I have my signature scents – Day time: DKNY or Marc Jacobs (the original one in the cute rectangle bottle) something nice and fresh and then in the evening I love to wear Chanel Mademoiselle or Agent Provocoteur (original pink one). They are my signature scents and I LOVE them but I am always open to trying out new ones and thought I would give this one a shot…..

Paul Smith Floral – a steal at just £12.25 for 30mls

It smells lovely and fresh and has really lasted too – I tested this on my wrists at around 2pm and could still smell it just before having my bath a good 6 hours later! I think I will be adding this to my list of day perfumes from now on!

I would like to take this chance to say that I promise I don’t work for Debenhams or even know anyone who does (more’s the pity really!) so the fact that I have posted about them twice in a week is purely a reflection on the great deals they currently have on.

Back later some fab USA finds!

Military Wedding Discounts xx

Today’s Bargin Beauty Buys come courtesy of Debenhams who I have found by chance have some fab discounts on their beauty products. Here are my pick of the best…..

Some lovely colours for the summer in this great 8 peice Nail Varnish Set
Eight-Peice Mavala Nail Varnish Set – Was £32.00, Now £16.00

My make-up always ends up loose in the bottom of my bag as I keep forgetting to get myself a little make-up bag to put it in when I’m out and about – No excuses now with this cute bargin!
Red Polka Dot Beauty Purse by Floozie – Was £8.00, Now £5.60

Eight Fragrance Favourites for you to try, all the perfect size to carry in the handbag on a night out – what’s better is that there is a voucher included for a full size bottle of your favourite one once you have managed to choose between them!
Fragrance Favourites For Her – Was £40.00, Now £30.00

This fantasic bargin contains 10, yes TEN lipglosses (10ml) in some great colours which were a steal at full price but with a 30% discount you just can’t say no!
Red Herring Lip Gloss Barrel – Was £6.00, Now £4.20

A brilliant summer scent leaving you smelling fresh all day! I get lots of comments when I wear this perfume so I will certainly be stocking up at this price!
X20 for Women by Ted Baker (75ml) – Was £37.50, Now £18.75

Well that’s me convinced! I’m off into town to pay Debenhams a little visit and see if there are any other bargins to be had in store and I promise I will let you all know if I find anything else!

Now onto my Fashion buy of the week…..

Last week I realised that although I have plenty of open toe summer sandals (the usual Birkenstocks, Gladiator sandals etc) I haven’t actually got any closed toe shoes so decided to use this as an excuse to have a wander round the shops and I am very pleased to say I found just the thing in Office – Espadrilles!

I got the Grey and Navy ones pictured above and the best thing is they are only £10 a pair!

I wore them this weekend and it feels like you’re wearing your slippers – they are fab!! They might not be the most practical closed toe summer shoes I could have got BUT they are mega comfy and look pretty good too!

Military Wedding Discounts xx

The first of today’s Bargain Beauty Buys comes as a personal recommendation.

If you’re anything like me and have the tendency to blush or go red and the smallest little thing and you’re a bit worried about looking a strange beetroot colour in all your wedding photos, then I could have the perfect solution for you!!

Confessions of a Concealaholic – Benefit

This make-up kit contains the following….

- “that gal” brightening face primer
- boi-ing (01, 02) industrial strength concealer in 2 shades for custom concealing
- erase paste (no. 2 medium) brightening camouflage for eyes and face
- lemon aid color correcting eyelid primer
- eye bright instant eye brightener
- concealer brushes
- step-by-step lesson

I actually went to a Benefit make-up counter (Thank you Emma at Debenhams Lakeside!) and already had an idea that this is what I was looking for so Emma kindly did a free trial for me and gave me a make-over (using this kit as the base) . I had this applied first thing in the morning and then spent the rest of the day shopping for an outfit for a party that evening. Now, I’m sure you can understand the pressure of HAVING to find a perfect outfit in a couple of hours is enough to break you out in a hot sweat just thinking of It BUT add to that the fact that I was in Lakeside! Well, 7 hours later, still no outfit , very hot and flustered BUT my face was still looking a very normal colour and the make-up stayed on a treat so straight back to Emma I went!

I love the ‘That Gal’ primer and have since purchased a full size bottle of this. It really does brighten up your skin and I always get comments when I wear it telling me how well I look! This for me was one of my best beauty buys.

Oh and I just have to mention the Dear John moisturising cream too – OH WOW! Emma Kindly gave me a little trial pot and I have just finished it. It is amazing! Made my skin feel so silky smooth and soft and the only way I can describe it is like marshmallow. At £26.50 it’s quite expensive so I haven’t bought the full size version yet but it’s on my birthday list!

Today’s second Bargain Beauty Buy is from Sephora

Haven’t decided on what fragrance you are going to wear on the big day yet? Well don’t panic just yet – Sephora could have just the thing for you!

Sephora Fragrance Samplers

Best of Fragrance Deluxe Sampler contains 10 samples and Deluxe Fragrance Sampler contains 12.

This set allows you to trial these scents and then includes a voucher which you exchange for a full-size version of your favourite one!

If you are super-duper organised and your perfume has been chosen and purchased then fear not as these would also make great Bridal Party gifts too. I’m sure any Bridesmaid would be delighted with one of these – I know I would (ahem hint hint!!)

When are you coming to London Sephora? I NEED you!

Military Wedding Discounts xx