FIRST TIMER

YOU Beauty Box

2016-07-01T04:00:00.002-07:00

Another lovely month and another beauty box…this time round it is the YOU Beauty Box

YOU Beauty Box gives you the option to choose two samples from a shortlist of selected products each month. This month the following were the items shortlisted

BalanceMe Congested Skin Serum (7ml)
BareMinerals NEW SkinLongetivity (7.5ml)
KIKO Velvet Touch Creamy Stick Blush (10gm)
Ladival SPF15 (150ml)
Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser (30ml)
Nails Inc Porchester Square Nail Polish (14ml)
PRO:VOKE Liquid Blonde Colour Activating Treatment Shampoo (50ml)

Plus each box included a Kneipp Devil’s Claw Massage Oil (20ml ) and Organii SPF 50 Sun Milk…but that’s not a big deal …well at least not for me!

So the goodies I picked were,

Bareminerals NEW SkinLongetivity – Sample Size 7.5ml/£6.75 (RRP £45 /50ml)

If you haven’t heard of this product in the last couple of weeks, you have either been avoiding beauty magazines, blogs or Instagram or just crawled out from your favourite hiding spot. It’s been everywhere. SkinLongetivity is designed to reawaken and help maintain your skins most vibrant look of health. Basically promises of a younger looking skin. The serum itself is a white creamy texture serum which almost immediately sinks into my skin. With no residue, perfumed smell or any sticky aftereffect it’s something that can included in your nightly skincare routine.

KIKO Velvet Touch Creamy Stick Blush – Full size product (RRP £7.90/10gm)

Everyone’s got their sticks out this summer, from your strobes, highlighters, bronzers and KIKO joining the bandwagon with their blush stick.This creamy stick promises a gorgeous hint of colour for a healthy flushed effect.

The verdict? It’s a lovely pigmented dusky pink creamy texture which required a bit of blending in once applied. But it does give you a natural flush of colour on your cheeks.

I have never used a blush stick and have always preferred using a powdered blush and brush to blend it in. But the packaging and the actual size of the product makes it chic and convenient to pop it in your makeup bag. I might not ditch my brushes just yet but its definitely a must try product.

Kneipp Devil’s Claw Massage Oil –Sample Size 20ml/£2.19 (RRP £10.95/100ml)

The Kneipp's Massage oil is a thick blood like liquid which promises to be effective in a tropical manner by adding the oil into your bath. I've not tried the oil yet , mainly because since I have had my child the concept of a 'Bath ' is more of a luxury than anything else.

Organii Everyday Organics SPF 50 Sun Milk -Sample Size 3ml/£.47p (RRP £19.90/125ml)

Another product that I haven’t had the priviliedge to use mainly due to the tains (1^st day of summer they said L)….This is a sun protection lotion which is supposed to be fragrance fee and quickly absorbed by the skin.

The YOU Beauty Box seems like the best budgeted beauty box on the market at just £6.95 a month including P&P. Each month subscribers get the opportunity to choose which two products they want in their box and there are some full sized products. One thing to note you do pay on a monthly basis, so if you do not intend to continue after your initial purchase , please do remember to cancel your subscription.

Overall, for £6.95 for a monthly subscription , which I get to cancel at a later stage and products worth at least over £15 I think its good box. It’s a great way to try out beauty products from some really good and known brands and also some new discoveries and you get some actual full size products.

Have you tried the YOU Beauty Box? What are your thoughts on the June edition? What are your favourite beauty boxes?

Lost in Paradise

2016-06-09T02:51:00.003-07:00

Hello my lovelies, hope you guys had a lovely bank holiday weekend and just counting days till the weekend, as, believe it or not , its almost here.

Mr Not-So –Spontaneous surprised me and the little bundle of joy over the bank holiday weekend. Usually it’s down to me to search for deals , weather, food and stalk tripadvisors looking for reviews.

Over the weekend we paid a visit to the Paradise Wildlife Park, a family run zoo in Hertfordshire. I absolutely love visiting zoos and just love, love …LOVE being around animals. Ok, so in my head…zoos need a lot of space to run and this is London, so putting 2 and 2 together I automatically assume that this zoo has got to be like really ..really far away, but we got there in like about 40 mins from home (Chigwell). Which makes me think their car parks must be cramped or worse case FULL!!…it being bank holiday and all! But it wasn’t. Ample space and no lack of instructions. Great, you would think that would be it. But no, my head just goes to the next possible disaster, what if it isn’t all it promised to be. Boy Oh Boy! How wrong was I?

The zoo is apparently the only zoo in UK who shelters 5 massive cats.

Home to over 400 animals from your lion, tiger, lemurs as well as sheep, goats and pigs, it also offers a full programme of animal shows every half an hour or so , a play area for the toddlers and also your park area for your ‘getting back to nature’ walks.

I personally feel the park is a great day out for couples and families, especially if you love animals.

Just make sure the suns beaming as I cannot imagine doing those walks in the rain.

My son loved it to bits and I think his favourites were definitely the 5 cats which were the White Lion , White Tiger (who was having a siesta…shame!!) Snowy Leopard, Jaguar and the Tiger.

It was just awesome to see these animals in their full element. There are eating areas available all over the park , same with toilets and baby's changing facilities.

My little one enjoyed it to bits and I’m sure kids of all ages will really look forward to it, even if it is the kid stuck within the adult you.

Peppa World

2016-05-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

“Let’s go to Peppa World, this Easter bank holiday weekend”. This was followed by a minute of silence to allow my boys to digest the fact that we will be spending most of the day outside queueing up for rides on a day where there was about 80% chance of rain and horrid windy moments. So after the awkward one minute silence the hubby comes back with this, isn’t that more of a little girls thing. We both look at our 2 and half year old son who’s already ranting about how I was Mummy Pig, my husband, Daddy Pig and if he would see dinosaurs. So that pretty much sums up how a 2 and a half year old thinks. Blue, Pink, green, aqua, the stereotypes don’t matter to them.

We set off at 9 am, the little bundle of joy slept for most of the journey, the weather was getting grim and so was my expectation of this being a good out. We arrived by 11 and managed to get a parking space, 3 minutes walking distance from the main entrance. The car park was full, which wasn’t surprising to be honest, it being Easter bank holiday and all.

As we entered the park, there were moment where I actually asked myself,” Are we at the right place.?”. There was no sign of Peppa or the whole pig clan. It took us a bit to realise that the actually Peppa Pig is a part of the Paultons Park .Which worked brilliantly for us as Paultons park have rides more suited for your teenagers and adults . Funny enough, it was my little boy who first spotted Peppa World and before we knew it, we had a child on the run.

To say he enjoyed it, is an understatement, he LOVED it, mainly because he knew the characters. He couldn’t read but he understood we were at Peppa’s house, the Windy castle, the helicopter rides and George’s dinosaurs. He even stopped at Peppa’s school for a photograph, all smiling minus any of those “before shots” tantrums. He told me he wanted to get in a yellow car and the blue seat on the train. This was his world and he definitely was no stranger here. The ones who felt out of place was my hubby and my friend’s daughter who was a teenager. Hubby, because the weather was getting to him (Did I mention it was so windy , we could see the helicopter rides actually shaking mid-air ??) and my friends daughter, because she was a teenager and she couldn’t force herself to enjoy this world and just couldn’t understand why we weren’t trying out the rides at Paulton Park. So this world does come with an age limit. I think my son might appreciate it for another year and maybe that’s it. But I’m sure by then there will be more 2 and a half’s in there knowing their Peppa World like the back of their tiny palms.

The park itself looks small and you might feel for a second or so that this can be covered under half an hour. But perfect enough for those little people in our lives. All rides are basically a variation of the same thing , they are all rides going in a straight line or around a wheel. There’s an eating area with both indoor and outdoor eating facilities and toilets and baby’s changing facilities, all clean. There’s food available which is mostly your burgers, chips hotdogs that kind of thing. Or you could just have a mini picnic and you might even have a curious duck walk up your table for a morsel. There’s a souvenir shop with all your Peppa Pig merchandise from your stationery to your towels. In addition to this, Paultons Park has another souvenir shop which you will see as you enter the park, which houses merchandises of most of your cartoon characters.

I would have loved the experience all the way through if we had better weather and the hubby didn’t end up losing my little boy's backpack. But it was still a good day nevertheless and you just won’t be able to get that Peppa Pig tune out of your head, even if you tried. It plays everywhere in Peppa World all day. It s a shame I couldn't get any pictures as my camera was acting up and all I have are just videos.

The tickets aren't cheap but kids under 1 meter go free. But there are offers available if you go in groups. Check out ticket options here : https://paultonspark.co.uk/tickets/buy?category=21

Needless to say , my little one was knackered for the journey back home and when we got home he asked if we can go to Paw Patrol World next time round….HELP!!!

How were your bank holiday breaks? Do you have any family faves?

I'M BACK!!!

2016-05-03T10:02:00.001-07:00

It’s been 5 months since my last post. Yes, I left my ‘baby’ for 5 whole months!!! I just had way too much on my plate and just needed a break away from it all. Hope you all are doing good and are in the best of your health and spirits.

One thing I’ve learned from this whole exercise was just how difficult it was to stay motivated to blog as often as possible. The longer I left the more things got out of trend or got covered by hundred other bloggers/vloggers. But this place is my ‘baby’ and I have really decided to take things under control if not for anything else, mainly for just being really cross with myself for not being able to complete or continue something that I started.

So, the things that I was up to during my sabbatical…

Death

Well obviously not mine, but a really good friend of mine who was battling with cancer for 3 years. This just broke me. You know when your IT guys ‘advise’ you to just reboot your machine and see if it works. Well, I desperately needed a reboot. It’s weird how nothing ever prepares you for that feeling you go through when someone whose presence you have taken for granted is just not there anymore. He was the life of the party, the one who loved to take pictures and make memories, the king of OCDs and a real gem of a human being. And till this date I miss him and his banter.

Travel

Last year we also decided to make a mini trip to India with our little bundle of joy . This was part of the reboot I was talking about. I now have full respect for parents who travel with 2 or more kids. Our days were just spent scheming thing to wear him off so he would sleep in the flight, coz nobody wants to be those parents whose kid keeps the whole plane and the neighbouring countries up all night. No, our scheming didn’t work .Yes, he was awake for most of the flight journey and yes, he most definitely decided to do his vocal checks 35,000 feet up in the air. But you know what I realised, when your baby cries; you try to calm him and you just couldn’t give two hoots about the judging eyes around you.

Weddings

So we had about 3 weddings in 3 different states in India and yes, it was as hectic as it sounds. If you weren’t already aware or lived under a rock for most of your life, Indian weddings are a true piece of work. You are just knackered by the end of the events that just goes on for days. Ok so now try this with a toddler who just cannot fathom why we aren't having a White Christmas and just refuses to wear anything on as the heat was just too much for him to deal with. Yup, he worked on his ‘diaper look’… till he found out how he could take them off and then it was just 2 grown-ups looking at each other just nodding off questions like ‘ Is that your child?’. This was going very well till he started pointing at us and calling out “DADDDYYYY!!!!”, “MUMMMMY!!!!” at the top of his voice. Lucky for us, he’s still at that age where people just go…’Awwww!!!’

….what else?

There has been loads of mini stories happening here and there in my life.Some blog worthy and some not so much. Divorces, friends moving on in life, new jobs, new homes, laughter, joy and oodles of bliss moments! Now lets get crackin'.....

The Graham Norton Show

2015-09-29T02:51:00.000-07:00

Sawubona lovely peeps!!Hope you guys are all set for autumn and embracing the last rays of sun we might see for a bit. I have had couple of amazing days with some even amazing experiences and all blog worthy I assure you!

So if you have read any of my previous posts you will know by now that I am actually looking for experiences in this beautiful city of London and this weekend it happened. Now, one of my guilty pleasures is binge watching the Graham Norton Show with subtitles on…thank you BBC. And no , it’s not because I don’t understand the Queen’s English it’s a precaution …just in case I miss out something hysterical if my 2 year old decides to showcase his vocal talents. So imagine my excitement when I got an email from SRO audience saying that I actually had a chance of watching this show LIVE at the ITV studio and on a Saturday!!

Ever since I went for the BBC radio’s recoding for Sketchorama I just had to see a TV show as well. So I requested for some tickets on the SRO audience website and it actually took some time for them to get back to me with ticket availability. So the hubby backed out and in comes my friend Sandy and the two of us made our way to the itv Studios, a 10 minute walk from Waterloo Station. Now I thought I was being really smart by turning up at 4:30 pm , when the email actually mentioned about showing up at 5:15 pm for a 6:30 show. So, that chuffed smile didn’t last too long when I saw an already massive queue in front of the building. But regardless, we queued up and were given a neon yellow wrist band around 5pm. We were told to come back and that they will be calling out the numbers and if your number gets called out you get to go in and if not you get priority tickets for another show or the same show another day.

Note : Once you get your wrist band you are free to go away and come back closer to the time the studio door opens . If you have a priority ticket or a red chair story, you don’t need to queue up once you get your wrist bands. And it does help if you get there as early as you can.Security is quite tough here and if they say No Pics, they actually mean NO PICS. Unless you want to be turned away after all that queuing up.

So we went to the pub round the corner for a quick lunch and saw people in their with wrist band going into the 400s range .Now my ticket was 299 and Sandy’s was 300 and you can imagine the sigh of relief we had when we got back in the queue and it was announced that anyone with ticket number greater than 300 would be turned away as the studio was full. Talk about luck!

There were just so many disappointed faces as they had been queueing up in the cold and it really didn’t help the sorry feeling when we got in the studio and Sandy had one look at Jonathon Ross’ pic and asked out loud “Who’s that dude?”

By the time we managed to get inside the studio, most of the seats were occupied and we didn’t get to sit together but they were real good seats. Graham Norton came on at about quarter to 7 and he was just hilarious intentionally and unintentionally.

I’m not going to give too much away about the show as it’s going to be aired this week but I can say , how they manage to get guests who have amazing chemistry between all of them surprises me and the show was just spot on . We had Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway for their new movie The Intern . Sir Kenneth Branagh for his own company’s new play in the West End directing Judi Dench in The Winter’s Tale and Tom Hiddlestone for his new movie Crimson Peak. Graham Norton was just hilarious both on camera and off camera and The Shires were the music segment and they filmed this first .They were just amazing …how can a couple of brits sound that country?

It was definitely a brilliant evening and I would definitely recommend applying for tickets just to see the whole process involved in getting a show out to you. And if not for anything else, for the whole novelty of being a couple of feet away from some huge personalities and also just to see how the show comes to life on screen.And all this for...absolutely FREE!!!

You can get tickets for the GNS or other similar shows by going to the SRO audience site and by applying for tickets.

Have you been to similar TV shows? What’s been your favourite?

More of Hawksmoor, please!

2015-09-18T08:41:00.001-07:00

So I turned another year wiser and the other half turned another year older. And to celebrate us getting another year closer to the grave, my mates bee and bottom took us to The Hawkmoors steakhouse at Spitalfields. Now, I knew this was happening and had to keep my tummy well empty and I’m glad I did.

If you love your meat, then chances are you have heard of Hawkmoors and if you have been there you know it’s worth the hype. The restaurant is just a walk from the Spitalfields Market and oozes British decadence. The interiors are just lush with brick display walls, leather seating and wooden tables.

We had reservations for lunch on a Sunday and it was buzzing with people queuing up. We grabbed our seats next to the window and right in front of the special board displaying the variety of different cuts of beef.

The girls had their minds set on the Chateaubriand (the most expensive one) and we opted for the Porterhouse. The meat is priced according to the quantity you order, I ordered 900g for the two of us and the girls ordered 800 g between the both of them. We ordered our meat Medium rare and it was just lush….and by far the best I have ever had. My taste buds have been too pampered and a bit spoilt now. It’s difficult to explain just how perfectly tender and moist the meat was. Another recommended item that we tried out was the Bone Marrow with Onions for starters, which was still good but did not have much portion-wise and I preferred my Roasted scallops with white port & garlic. The sauces we had with our meat were the bone marrow sauce and the béarnaise sauce. And trust me when I say this it was lush and I am partially drooling as I write this!!!!

Now the meat just comes on its own so it’s up to you to order your sides we had Anya potatoes, creamed spinach and roasted field mushrooms and all played a perfect part in making this the best food I have had in a while. The food was excellent, if you haven’t figured out yet and the service was excellent. It is a bit up there price wise but it does deserve at least a onetime visit.

Needless to say we were stuffed but had enough space to squeeze in one teeny tiny dessert in the form of the Strawberry &White Chocolate Cheesecake, the Crunchy bar and the Peanut Butter Shortbread with Salted Caramel Ice-cream….ahhhh Lushhhh!!!!

Bee, Bottom…the carnivore in me thanks you from the bottom of my hoofs and I have now realised that I am not drooling and it is in fact my taste buds shedding tears at the very thought of the lovely food! Respect!

Thinking inside the box

2015-09-18T08:26:00.003-07:00

Hallo me lovelies!!! Can I please start this post with a question that’s in most of our minds….Where has the sun gone??? Is this officially autumn? I can’t even believe it’s almost the end of 2015…I just blinked there for a while and now we are here almost welcoming 2016. I had to attend some courses and write some exams and hence the long gap. And can i just say....I HATE exams!!!…I mean the whole reason I did uni was just cause I thoght that was the very last time I would have to do an exam. I’m just a complete wreck close to the actual exam. And I was so foolish to think that my uni days will be the last time I would ever hear the words exams and results and in some worse cases both words put in the same sentence. But with the competing work environments right now and most companies actually wanting their employees some sort of qualification trained …it’s just unavoidable!

So, as a treat for clearing a previous exam, decided to have a girl’s night out. This time, in the hope of learning a bit of art and culture, I and the girlies decided(again.as with most of my decisions to step out and do something..I had very little to do with this decision!) to take a trip around the world with Joseph Cornell’s Wanderlust, the latest exhibition at the Royal Academy.

Joseph Cornell was an American artist, sculptor (who could not, ironically, draw, paint or sculpt!!!) and one of the pioneers of assemblage, the art of making connections or reuniting things. Using his art and the ideas behind his work, Cornell manages to travel across seas and oceans, at the comfort of his own New York home. The exhibition gives an opportunity to see a good number of collections of Cornell’s work.

There is a whole of deal of meticulousness and patience that he put into his work and it’s not a case of piling boxes next to each other. The contents of his pieces seem to be scavenged from thrift shops and antique shops as most of his work seems to be massively made of maps, travel guides and toys. But he manages to convey stories with his pieces and you have to admire the thought process that was involved into each composition.

If you, like me, enjoy surreal art or even better, appreciate Cornell’s work, you will definitely appreciate the exhibition and if you don’t, this could be an opportunity to see something really unique. The former textile salesman manages to fulfil his dream to travel the world and discover cultures without having to set foot outside New York and in the process transform everyday objects into treasures.

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/joseph-cornell

4 July — 27 September

Saturday – Thursday 10am – 6pm
Friday 10am – 10pm

The Sackler Wing, Burlington House
£11.50 (without donation £10)

Latest in Beauty

2015-09-18T08:23:00.001-07:00

Merhaba you gorgeous peeps…and welcome to my blog. Most of you would have enjoyed your ‘blink-and-you-might-it-summer’ by now. I can’t believe this was it, the summer of 2015. It’s actually flown by so quick, the winter, spring, summer everything and now I’m being forwarded Christmas catalogues….*gasps at the horror! Am I the only one who feels that it seems like the older you get 24 hours just doesn’t seem enough for a day!

In August I received my Glamour Summer Edit Beauty Box from Latest in Beauty. As with my previous boxes, this was my first time trying out the Latest in Beauty box and I just loved the whole design of the box and the contents. When this box landed in my hands it was pouring down like cats and dogs and I had this wonderful watermelon printed box with summer goodies just oozing summer-ness….needless to say I did not appreciate the irony!!!

So, the Latest in Beauty. Similar to the LFBeauty box, there is no rolling contract for the Latest in Beauty box .There options for the kind of box you prefer for the month for eg. The LIB Beauty awards 2015 Winners box, the Pure and Simple box, the Capital FM box, The Glamour Beauty box and some more. For August I chose the Glamour Summer Edit Box, as the goodies seemed for exciting and also it looked like I had covered most of the travel size goodies in some of my previous month’s beauty boxes. Ever season Glamour (that’s right, the very same mag!) teams up with Latest in Beauty to create little boxes of goodies perfect for that particular time of the year.
So the goodies, in no particular order

Vita Liberata Trystal Minerals in Sunkissed + full size brush 3g /£11.50 (RRP £35 /9g )

One of the main reasons for opting for this box was the addition of some full size products and this looked like a decent size product and also the tag line of first ever self-tanning bronzer. It’s the first one I’ve ever used and it does a great job as a bronzer but I haven’t used it enough to confirm the lasting tan effect yet! It also comes with a ridiculously soft mini Kabuki brush .So score!!

Pixi Glow Tonic – Sample Size of 15ml/£1 (RRP £18 /250ml )

Some beauty products manage to achieve the title of the Holy Grail and this is definitely the month of the Pixi Glow. This stuff is often sold out in most places as I learned the hard way. It’s an oxygenating, exfoliating facial glow tonic and helps to tone, firm and tighten the skin and works over time to get your skin look like that I-live-on-kale-and-water kind of look. It has no alcohol or oils in it , which will be good news for many out there and also includes Glycolic Acid which can help to lighten skin pigmentation and also great for acne. Again, great quantity portion to try out and see check if it’s actually meant for you.

Nails inc Gel Effect Nail Polish – Full size (RRP £15/8ml)

One of three available shades, I received .This needed at least two coats for a nice glossy gel like finish. Its ok, but nothing too exciting. Perfect summer colour…when it finally gets here that is!

Caudalie Divine Oil – Sample Size of 15ml /£8 (RRP £13.25 /250ml )

The bottle says divine oil for the face, body and hair and this is a high claim. This multiuse oil has a very pleasant feel to it and this manages to give your skin that dewy feel without making it feel greasy or worse leave an oily residue. Again, another product to try out before reaching out for the full size bottle. And that smell….just …well, divine!

Bourjois Color Boost Lip Crayon – Full size (RRP £7.99)

I have never tried out the Bourjois lip colour. I haven’t opened this yet. But couple of things on this it offers SPF protection for your lips and it promises to last for up to 10 hours. You will receive one of the three different shades. So, can’t wait to try this out soon.

Eucerin Sun Protection – Full size (RRP £16.50/200ml)

As I mentioned earlier, it was raining cats and dogs when I got my LIB Box and it’s just seemed very non-ironically funny when I got a SPF product in the box and that too a full size product. Eucerin is ideal for sensitive skin and again no oily residue after application.

L'Occitane Essential Oils Shampoo and Conditioner-Sample size of 35ml/£2.40( RRP £17 (each )/250ML)

I haven’t had a chance to try out L’Occtaine Hair care products yet but going by the L’Occitane skin care products this should definitely give your hair the needed TLC, plus look at that packaging!!!!

Balance Me Super Toning Body Polish - Sample Size of 50ml /£6 (RRP £18 / 150ml )

I see loads of beauty boxes giving out at least one balance me product, be it masks, exfoliator or in this case a body polish. Differences between a polish and exfoliator….a body polish is a treatment for the skin kind of like a facial for the body and an exfoliator works to rub off hard and flaky skin aiming for baby smooth skin. So this is a polish works as a n exfoliator, toner and moisturiser, all packed in one, to improve the skin tone, smooth the skin and with it gentle buffing ability give good circulation for the skin. Another perfect, sample size product.

Seekers of the Sun Temporary Tattoos

The box also contains some temporary tattoos from Sun seekers which are completely lost on me so I will be giving them to my ‘almost’ 2 year old!

Overall, not bad for £17.99, a no strings attached deal with a value of at least over £100. It’s a great way to try out beauty products from some really good and known brands and also some new discoveries and you get some actual full size products.

Have you tried the Latest in Beauty Box? What are your thoughts on the August edition? What are your favourite beauty boxes?

Hello Hello Fresh!

2015-08-11T05:55:00.001-07:00

Dia dhuit my loveliessss…..another day another post.

Now, if you live in London, chances are you have been handed a voucher for HelloFresh at some point or left in some package you got, like me. I got my £25 off coupon card with my Glossybox. So I grabbed this chance to check this service out.

Now, in our household, all the food shopping takes place on the first week of every month. And we usually stock up on things just to avoid the hassle of schlepping to the supermarket for an onion or a potato. But it was exciting to get a box with just enough ingredients for 2 meals. And I was impressed with the pre measured ingredients and with absolutely no wastage at all. I did read some reviews saying that some items were missing off their box but I received every little ingredient even the 2 cloves of garlic!!

The recipe cards for the 3 meals were very easy to follow and if you follow it to the t you will have no issues getting it right. So a Michelin star chef you definitely don’t have to be.

Hello Fresh gives you 3 options for recipe boxes. You have your Classic box which comes in options 3 meals per week for 2 people (£39), 3 meals per week for 3 people (£49), 3 meals per week for 4 people (£59) and 5 meals per week for 2 people (£49). I selected the Classic box - 3 meals per week for 2 people which came up to £39 and with the £25 off it came up to £14, which worked out really good for me.

There’s also a vegetarian option which comes up to £36 for the 3 meals for 2 people and £59 for the 3 meals for 4 people. And a Family box which consists of 4 meals for 4 –5 people per week.

You get an option to select the days and time you will be around to receive your box, weekends included, and this is a weekly commitment if you decide to stick with it and again you can choose the days you will be able to receive your box. I ordered the Classic box and it had fish, chicken and steak in it. I couldn’t open my box till the next day but it was fresh as it had ample ice packs and Styrofoam to make sure the stuff stays fresh.

Now I’m a total food junkie and would love to think I appreciate good food. But the hubby is tougher to please. Luckily, the 3 meals that we had were all crowd pleasers and definite summer style dinners. We had the Chicken Paillard with Rosemary potatoes, rocket salad and gremolata, Chipotle Steak wedge and Coconut Poached cod with kaffir lime and noodles.

Ok so pros – very easy process, easy to read recipe cards, Quantities are spot on with no wastage, fresh produce from local farmers and butchers, you don’t have to possess culinary skills or knowledge to have a go.

Cons – some of the recipes do require you to use techniques like butterflying a chicken breast, you can choose not to but if you have never even heard of this, it might put you off a bit.

Since we already had most of the items purchased as part of our monthly shopping, there were instances where the hubby had to turn around and ask me could you not have just made this yourself with the stuff we have. Meh!He is right though…I love cooking so the meals would have been something that I would make in my kitchen anyways and bar the chipotle paste, red wine vinegar and the kaffir lime leaf, I had everything else in my kitchen. I think this would be ideal for couples on the rush or for people who despise the thought of cooking.

There’s just too much food for one person for one meal and the measurements don’t include for just one person. The follow up calls…..oh the follow up calls! And emails- it just annoyed me! Now my deal with Hello fresh was a one off try it kind of deal but I have received at least one mail every couple of weeks since then. So if you ever do try it, please don’t give out a mail address that you usually use.

I know it looks like there more cons than pro but that’s not the case the cons are just teeny tiny things compared to the convenience this will compensate for. Overall, 3.5/5

Have you used Hello Fresh yet?What are your thoughts?

Look Fantastic

2015-08-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

Ola my darlings…and welcome to my blog. If you have been reading my previous posts you will know by now that I am a subscription box junkie. I love the whole concept of goodies selected and sent out to you in gorgeous little boxes. One of the things I want to learn from this exercise is what boxes are worth your time and what boxes are really not worth your time and effort.

In June I received my June edition of the lookfantastic beauty box (yup! It’s late and yup! I completely forgot about it) and this month I received my Birchbox August edition.

So first, the lookfantastic box. The June edition contained some high end brands to treat your skin and hair, and all in travel sizes, which will be perfect for my new Birchbag. The best thing I liked about the LFBeauty box is that it’s not a rolling contract like the Birchbox or the Glossybox. They are one off boxes which you can purchase without committing yourself to a contract.

So the goodies, in no particular order

Murad Rapid Collagen Infusion – Sample Size of 5ml/£9.29 (RRP £65 /35ml )

Now I haven’t used any Murad products before I started using the Murad Age spot and Pigment Lightening Serum . And if the Murad Collagen is to be reviewed purely by the potential of the Lightening Serum it should be equally good or maybe better.

Nuxe Crème Prodigieux Anti Fatigue Lotion – Sample Size of 15ml/£7.88 (RRP £21 /40ml )

So a product I haven’t heard of before .But it says anti fatigue on the tube so guess I will be using this for all the damages I put my face through binge watching Orange is the New Black…..btw have you guys seen this gem of a show….if not, you might be the only ones left. Again.. a lovely addition to my travel potions.

Caudalie Radiance Serum – Sample Size of 10ml/£15 (RRP £45 /30ml )

Now this particular product I was super excited to try out and I get my excitement got the better of me. I pumped the sample size tube and it just spurted out a huge amount of lovely serum, which I had to then spread all over my face. The serum itself was very cooling and was absorbed in real quick. The serum is clinically proven to improve the appearance the dark spots and pigmentation. So will be testing this out as well. For 1/3^rd the size of the full size product, there was quite a generous amount.

Label M Protein Spray – Sample Size of 50ml/£2.65 (RRP £13.25 /250ml )
So the LabelM I have heard of but never had a chance to use .But I tried this product on and I loved it. My hair is naturally curly and when you spray this on before you blow dry your hair it kind of brings your hair under control if you get what I mean. It didn’t seem as frizzy or not as much flyaways as I would normally have. So yes, I will be definitely looking out to buy the full size product soon.

Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask - Sample Size of 15ml/£9.60 (RRP £32 /50ml )

The first time I saw the REN brand was when I was in Debenhams. Now , I haven’t shopped in Debenhams in a while. As there was a time when Debenhams just failed to impress me at all.And it was like this place I would go to buy your secret Santa gifts and your perfumes. BUT I was amazed with the whole new look that the Debenhams in Oxford Circus has got going on and also the large number of known skincare and beauty products and some new discoveries as well. The particular Mask has a bit of a powerful citrusy scent but does do its job brightening up the skin once used.

Korres Aloe &Soapwort Shampoo - Sample Size of 50ml/£1.80 (RRP £9 / 250ml )

So I have never heard of Korres until I got this box but from what I can see it’s a perfect travel size goody .They are a Greek Homeopathic company with all natural products in them and the concept of Aloe Vera in anything sounds good and healthy. I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet but it does smell lovely.

Overall, not bad for £15, a no strings attached deal. It’s a great way to trial beauty products from some really good and known brands and also some new discoveries.

Have you tried the lookfantastic box? What are your thoughts on the June edition? What are your favourite beauty boxes?

Birchbox-ed

2015-08-10T07:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome back…..so this month, like with my Glossybox, I forgot to cancel my rolling contract with Birchbox. And again no reminders or emails from the company letting me know that my next month’s box will be sent out. BUT O.M.G! What a box! I just loved….L.O.V.E.D!!!!.... this month’s beauty box.

So another month another set of products…

Kebelo Clarifying Shampoo – Sample Size of 50ml/£ (RRP £13.95/250ml)

I love clarifying shampoos …anything that promises that you will be product free before you hit the bed. Currently I use the Tresemme Cleanse and Renew Deep Cleansing Shampoo which works like a dream for me. The Kebelo shampoo promises similar things so will look forward to trying this out.

Huygens Exfoliating Cream – Sample Size of 10ml/£ (RRP £19.90 / 50ml)

This is a Birchbox exclusive and something completely new for me as I have never heard of this brand before. I haven’t had a chance to use this yet but it smells lovely which ticks one of the main requirements for me in beauty products. And it’s got this nice creamy texture and not the usual pasty kind of feel. So can’t wait to try this.

Rituals Ayurveda Body Scrub – Sample Size of 70ml/£ (RRP £10 / 150ml)

So, the first rituals product that I ever used was the Rituals White Lotus and Ginkgo Biloba Miracle Hand balm. And after smelling this body scrub I see a pattern with Rituals products. They just smell heavenly and the scrub I received contains Multani clay which has exfoliating micro beads in them to brighten and soften dull skin …so in the travel bag it goes!!!

Lord & Berry Blush in Lotus – Sample Size of 2gm/£ 1.50 (RRP £18 / 24gm)

So, when I heard a blush was included in the box, I was super excited expecting to see a super cute compact blush with a mini mirror. But that dream didn’t last too long! The sample product actually comes in one of those MAC eyeshadow pans. And I’m not too confident to just leave it without the plastic packaging that it comes with. Just in case it crumbles and ruins my bag or worse my other products. The product itself is a nice soft pink which looks quiet natural against my skin tone. But I think I might be using it more of an eyeshadow than a blush.

Laura Mercier Kohl eye pencil in Black Violet - Sample Size of 0.8gm /£12.95 (RRP £17.50 /1.08 gm.)

Ok, I don’t usually experiment with colours with my kohl eyeliners except for black and blue, but this was a beautiful violet colour. I’m yet to decide on a look that will complete or work with this colour though. The shades more violet than black though so not sure about the name Black Violet. The colour itself on the skin is quiet intense and pigmented but I find it not very cooperative in the smudging department .This can work with or against you depending on the look you are going for.

Illamasqua Matte Veil - Sample Size of 3ml/£3.20 (RRP £32 / 30ml)

Ok for the actual price for the full sized product. I had to try this on just to see if the hype was worth it. And sadly, I was disappointed. I wore this under by Giorgio Armani Luminous silk foundation. For those of you who use the foundation would know that the foundation itself does have a silky texture to it and I feel it does have a, if not a full …a slightly matte like finish so it looks more natural. When applied underneath the foundation, it didn’t do much for me except for the initial dewiness.

Overall, I loved this months beauty product and thats 2 months in a row Birchbox have managed to get some really awesome goodies out to me! So definitely a 5/5 from me and did I mention about the free emoji stickers included in the box?

Have you tried this month’s Birchbox? What are your thoughts? What are your favourite beauty boxes?

Have you heard the Bzz!!!

2015-08-05T05:02:00.000-07:00

Xin Chao my lovelies!!! I'm not making any more excuses for the lack of posts and heading straight to my post for today. Now I love my free stuff like any other normal person well duh! …and ever since I have started this blog I have just grabbed on any opportunity to build some sort of influence in the blogging world.

Recently I tried BzzAgent and honestly I can't complain. Well, so far at least!

The whole program works on a score basis and a majority of this does require filling in surveys. The surveys you fill, the more points you get and the more freebies you get sent to review. It took me 2 weeks before I got send out my first item to review after filling in all the surveys they had for grabs and my score was only 3.5 out of 10. So it’s not like you need to be filling out hundreds of surveys before you get your first item to review. The score system is very easy to understand and once you get your item don’t forget to hook it up on all possible social media sites for more points.

I haven’t tried this out yet but it’s also possible to accumulate points and redeem the points you’ve earned for gift cards, cash back or travel miles much like your credit card rewards program.

My first BzzAgent item was the new Jacobs crackers and all 3 flavours in full size, each retails for £1.99 ...so that’s basically £5.97 worth items. Also, did I mention they were FREE!

So overall, I would definitely recommend the BzzAgent for anyone looking to get your foot into the reviewing world and earn rewards quicker. It’s definitely easy to use!! Go on...click on the bee above... to give BzzAgent a try!

Have you tried BzzAgent? What are your thoughts? Do you know of any similar reviewing platforms?

GlossyBox-ed Again!

2015-07-16T11:46:00.002-07:00

Ni Hao my lovelies..as mentioned in my previous posts, I have missed almost a week and was at home playing mum and haven’t had a chance to update my blog .I have had one reader asking me why I haven’t updated my blog recently (getting emotional here * sniff, sniff*….Thanks Bottom!). So, I’m just going to use this time between putting baby to sleep and dinner time to cram in here as many posts as I can. Mostly it’s a push for me to get my blog going on.

Now,if I have already mentioned this in any of my previous blogs, I love my beauty boxes. I just love the concept of sample sizes and the whole idea of being able to try on items before actually buying the actual sizes. So last month I had my heart set on receiving my lookfantastic June box and was quiet surprised to get an email from GlossyBox that my beauty box for the month has been dispatched. Funny, as I don’t remember ordering them since May. So guys point to be noted, if you do do a monthly subscription with GlossyBox, it doesn’t mean that the payment ceases after the selected month, it actually keeps going till you actually cancel the membership and you do not get any reminders letting you know that you will be receiving a box. So you would need to cancel your GlossyBox membership on their site.

Ok, so I’m not a festival-kinda girl. Mostly because I like the luxuries in life, you know, like clean water, clean loos…preferably with privacy included and mostly sound sleep. So going with the festival theme, Glossy box has decided to join the bandwagon and base at least some of their items around the festival theme. It wasn’t very exciting for me and I will moan more about it further down.

So in no particular order

Kueshi Anticellulite Booster – Full size 150ml RRP£13.89

Ok, so an actual full size product. Now GlossyBox, if you ever read this….PLEASE… PLEASE…Puh-lease Can I have a…any moisturizer or even any body lotion in an actual full size rather than a cellulite cream which promises to reduce your cellulite, which I believe in as much as I believe in unicorns and leprechauns .I personally do not have cellulite and feel like this is completely wasted on me. Although I do think that creams like this help in improving the surface of your skin. Girls, if you really need to get rid of the dimples, working out would be the best option. So for anyone there who thinks this thing is “totes amazeballs !” , please do let me know and I will get this out to you absolutely free.

Essence The Gel Nail Polish – Full size RRP £1.71

I love my colors, I mean I’m one of those gals who go completely crazy seeing things organized by colors and if there’s a shade I haven’t heard of try to figure out where it belongs in the spectrum. So naturally I have a nail color in almost every color…EXCEPT for coral. Now being Asian Indian , it’s quite tricky to carry off coral be it blush, lip color even nail color, and make it look natural rather than the whole “Chucky’s bride” look. So was quiet happy with corally orangey red nail color from Essence. Most probably will try them out on my feet first rather than my fingertips. Haven’t the world suffered enough?

MONUspa Rosewood Reviving Mist – Travel size - Full size for £11.95

I do see myself using this. The actual bottle itself is one of those travel friendly sizes and the mist is quiet cooling and refreshing. I can even use to set my makeup.

Halo Facial wipes – Travel size RRP £1.20

Who doesn’t like wipes? And this is, again, your travel friendly size with 10 in a pack. That would last me five days. Although this is not strong for removing makeup, it is good for the general face refreshing when you are sans make-up.

Glossybox Metallic Tattoos - Full size RRP £6.50 (What!?! Seriously?)

Ok, seriously Glossybox…get your boxes in order…I mean which 30 year old or even 20 year old will want to walk around Glastonbury with GlossyBox embossed tattoos…and that’s really cheeky of you include this as one of the full items in the box. Again, any die hard GlossyBox fans, please let me know and again absolutely free of cost.

So, not a great bigYayy from my end.Although I did get a £25 off voucher for Hello Fresh. So might try that out as well. What were your thought on the box?

Cartoon Museum

2015-07-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

Aloha me lovelies…it’s been a while and this has been solely down to me playing single parent for a week as the hub-ster had to get out of town for work. And after a week of playing mommy, chef, nurse and still go to work, I have this new found respect for all the single parents out there. Seriously! My son is an almost 2 year old who acts like he’s on battery fluid rather than milk or any other kind of baby food, as he just tends to go on and rarely tires out. Fortunately my work places is quiet understanding about things like this and try to make things at work as manageable as possible for me. And this is something mums out there need to know more about rather than suffer in Silence. Most multinational and government offices currently support most kinds of personal situations, all you have to do is ASK! So expectant mothers, Adopters, Single Mums and dads find out what options your employer is willing to offer.

So a week later I log on to my blog page and have found out some readers in the US, France, Romania and Ukraine along with some from the good ol’ UK. Guys please do let me know how you find the blog and also some ideas to get more noise in here. But seriously, thanks for stopping by!

Well, before the week off, my friends Bee and Bottom along with their work mates decides to visit the cartoon museum and expecting some of my old cartoon classics I decide to tag along, not knowing that this is your “OLD” classics like your Beano , your Dandy you get the picture. Now these are some classics and it’s always nice to get a quick visit to Nostalgia Town especially if the ride is free. Considering how popular comic strips were and also how significant input in Britain’s satirical culture both past and present I was quiet surprised that I haven’t seen more of museums like these.

I know that the direction that the worlds heading to right now, freedom of speech is just so last century and it’s all about the “freedom to be comfortable” but I’m so old fashioned in that way and find that the freedom to express your thoughts is just so under rated. So it was refreshing to see a museum dedicated to showcase some of the more risky cartoons along with your fav old comic strips.

Considering the range of comic strips that are out on display a change of illustrations every now and then is almost guaranteed. The evening we visited they had a little show on and the theme was Heckling Hitler World War 2 in cartoon and Comics.Heckling Hitler shows how World War II unfolded through the eyes of British cartoonists and comic artists, as throughout the war they played their part in helping to raise the morale. There was also a small piece on the Globe Dance from one of the classics ‘The Great Dictator’ starring Mr Chaplin himself. Fun fact, born four days apart, Hitler and Chaplin are actually 2 equally famous faces, and for some, namesof the 20^thcentury .One, a genocidal fascist tyrant and the other a lovable socialist clown, the words poles apart springs to mind. In the Great Dictator Chaplin plays both Adenoid Hynkel (read Adolph Hitler), dictator of the fictional country of Tomania and a Jewish Barber. The movie is all about mistaken identities and how the Barber Chaplin is mistaken for the Hynklel Chaplin. The touching scene in the movie was when Chaplin had to give a speech after the attack on the fictional country Austerlich (read Austria) and was neither Hynkel nor the Barber but a mere human being crying out “Enough is enough…let’s just embrace peace now!”. Sad, considering that nothing much has changed since the movie.

The scene played by the actor on the day was the scene where Hynkel dancing on his toes, tossing a gigantic helium inflated globe from hand to hand and gracefully cavorting through his office whilst dreaming of world domination.

Now I have to say this, the ambiance in the museum is quiet friendly and everyone’s just out there to talk to each other and sometimes even share thoughts. So if you like to visit museums with just you and your thoughts this might not be the museum for you. Along with the cartoon display, there was also a session on how to dance the foxtrot and you also get the chance to show off your "Jazz Hands!!!"...for which my friend Bee was selected a winner....so you necessarily don’t even have to be good at it.... ;) Just kidding Bee!!!

The dance moves were taught by the same young lady who acted out the globe scene so a one trick pony she definitely is not. There was also a little drawing competition to sketch your version of a British superhero! The best sketch gets a little prize in the form of more comic books. There was a mini bar for refreshments and a gift shop to buy some little souvenirs but nothing that you wouldn’t get in any other souvenir shop.

All together, another hidden gem and worth visiting but please make sure what exhibition will be on display and also if there are any additional activities happening on the day, like the dance lessons, from their website.

http://www.cartoonmuseum.org/

Mon - Sat: 10.30 - 17.30

(inc. Bank Holidays)
Sun 12.00 - 17.30

Toy Kingdom - Harrods

2015-06-26T08:18:00.003-07:00

Ahala. This gone weekend, I think I had a nostalgic journey through my pre-teen ages. When I was a child, there was nothing more amusing than a well organised toy store, arranged by the type of toys. And it was nice to know the child in me is pretty much still around.

In order to keep my 20 month old (I know…I know…I should start referring him as a year and half old) entertained and in a major plan to wear him out a bit?(seriously super active kid), we decided to treat him with a trip to the Harrods Toy kingdom. But it turned out to be a bigger treat for the hubby and me.

Often toy stores tend to be crammed and just too busy for my taste so I usually tend to avoid it and just order my stuff online..well I say my stuff but it’s actually for the kid…honest! But the sheer size of the place will just impress you. I have never thought of this as a place to visit while in London but it’s definitely in my list now. The colours, the different types of toys, music and the different cartoon movies playing in different corners of the floor all will definitely take you back to your precious ages!!!

Couple of years back, now 6 year old Riley Maida was all over the news, explaining her frustration on the stereotype filled marketing of children’s toys and sectioned into pinks and blues. It might be Riley’s laments that may have got Harrods to put their thinking hats back on and make a bold decision to organise the department organised by themes as opposed to gender and the divide the department into six different worlds. My son didn’t see pink or blue, he just saw toys sectioned into 2 categories, Things I can put in my mouth and Things I can’t.

The department is sectioned into 6 worlds. In the words of Harrods

- The Big Top: a fairground of circus acts and candy floss, with magicians and jugglers on stage surrounded by fancy dress costumes, doll houses, rocking horses and soft toys.

- The Candy Store: a curious chocolate counter displaying a bizarre array of chocolate fancies and flavors, alongside Papa Bubble who makes flavorsome candy concoctions to order throughout the day.

- The Enchanted Forest: fairies whisper from tree trunks, while wigwams on the forest floor house the latest collections from Sylvanian Families and Flutter Fairies, alongside arts and crafts.

- Wonderland: a colourful ‘Grand Canyon’ of Harrods’ most exclusive and jaw-dropping toys (presided over by a giant dragon) is filled with Hornby train sets, remote-controlled helicopters and Scalextric.

- The Odyssey: a gigantic space rocket crashes through the floor and a huge sun bursts through the wall in front of an Area 51-inspired space and gadget zone, complete with alien space pods and limited-edition pieces.

- The Reading Room: choose from favorite children’s stories at the rotunda of books, climb into one of the special cubby holes to hear famous voices reading extracts, have fun with electronic gaming pods and explore the world of Harry Potter.

Trust my boy to go through all 6 worlds in 3 hours and not break a sweat. As toy stores go this is definitely one I would recommend. The whole place reeks of Willy Wonka-esque styling and will definitely be appreciated by the older kids as well.

The adults had a browse through the beauty section (Me!), Food section(Me!) and the technology section (Him!). I bought some skin care products for a dear price but hopefully the results will be worth the price tag. Will be putting more details in the Beauty section soon.

Needless to say my lil boy was knackered by the end of the journey and we all had some good night’s sleep!

BODY SHOP DROPS OF YOUTH BOUNCY SLEEPING MASK :Review

2015-06-26T07:56:00.001-07:00

…you would understand this if you were a Bollywood buff. I AM…a complete Bollywood buff well until recently. I used to know the songs, the plots, the names of the actors everything. Maybe it was the colours, maybe because they were the initial creators of Twerkin’…but a Bollywood movie was an absolute treat for me once upon a time. But this post is not about Bollywood.

Miredita..that’s hello in Albanian. And today I’ve got some reviews sorted out for the Beauty column which seems to be quiet empty for some time now. So I love me some beauty products, like seriously good products that actually work. And The Body Shop is one of my fav places that have actually nailed this. The product that actually made me go gaa gaa goo goo is the The Body Shop Drops of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask. I was actually walking by TBS when I saw there 30% off promotion unfortunately this item was not included in the offer. Just my luck!

Ok , now let’s talk about the packaging , it actually comes in this gorgeous green glass jar and not the usual plastic tubs. love my glass jars, I use them usually to store stuff after I’m done with the product but there’s nothing fancier than glass jar products on the dressing table or by the bathroom sinks bouncing off lights all over the place. But this isn’t your fragile glass jars but quiet a heavy flat glass jar. But saying this, this might make it the only reason why this would not be favoured as travel friendly product.

Now, can we please talk about the consistency of this item? It’s not something; I have ever seen or felt before. The cream is an opaque, “bouncy”,crème caramel-y like of paste and the paste goes back to the smooth surface every time you open the lid. I have to keep this jar far far away from my little one as he could easily misunderstand it for one of his icky looking puddings.

I just used my finger to grab some pudding…I mean cream..and applied it to my face resisting every temptation to smell or taste it. The cream itself is actually a bit heavy for my taste and a bit oily on my face, so I didn’t use much product on my face. The concept of sleeping masks is to spread the cream on your face, let your skin absorb it and then sleep without washing it off. And obvio wash it off the next day. I personally love the smell, but I was not a fan of the sticky fingers that I had post application.

The next day my skin actually felt quiet hydrated and not the usual dry, ‘morning face’ kind of feeling that I usually get. I didn’t get glowy skin like those women off the ads but my skin felt taken care off and nourished so definitely yayy from me.

In a nutshell, don’t expect miracles with this cream but I can see this as an essential for the dry weathers and definitely one of dry or dehydrated skin. I did see some bounce but that could also be due to my chubby cheeks!!!!

KIKO Gel Eye Liner:Review

2015-06-26T07:55:00.001-07:00

Goeda dag, Hallo my fellow beauty lovers.

For some time now I have been on the lookout for a good eyegel that would give me perfect jet black (ness) that I needed and also all the -proofs in the world….you know your waterproof, smudgeproof, foolproof..the works.

I thought I almost had my perfect match with my Bobbi Brown Long wear gel eyeliners and with all the lovely colours that they have. But I have no idea what secret coding they have in the gel but gone 1 month the gel just dries up and is just beyond useable and for £18 per pot, it costs much too dear to be unusable makeup. And it was even sadder to see this happening across all my colour pots.

I actually decided to browse the KIKO store in Westfield Stratford as my eyeliner was barely there and thought I could fix it whilst I was in the store.I tried some from the tester pots and it looked a perfect black. I always have issues getting the perfect black. There are just way too many random blacks in that transition from the perfect black to the greys. My other half just doesn’t get this and thinks I’m bonkers amongst many other titles. Please tell (assure!) me I’m not the only one who has this issue.

I was actually on my way to catch up with a friend of mine in Stratford and was quiet surprised that the liner was on my lids completely intact and still the same perfect black when I got home and also needed a bit of cleanser to actually get it off. Obviously when I went in there the next day to get some a glorious pot they were all gone. Just my luck!

But same store, another week, this time with a sale on, I found my KIKO eyeliner. The pot is quiet generous and has got a 6ml of whipped gel liner in there. Not sure how much it measures up with Bobbi Browns 3gm pots but it definitely looks like it’s got more in there than BB. Also, with or without the sales you still end up getting the KIKO pot £10 cheaper than BB. Sorry Bobbi Brown !

Pros: Actually delivers, doesn’t dry up as quick and also has this nice matte finish

Cons: Just the one colour…..WHYYYYYY!!!!! Why couldn’t they just do them in at least another 4 colours or even more?

Harry Potter-ed

2015-06-24T02:19:00.000-07:00

Konnichiwa…ok I just had this crazy idea to start off my posts with a greeting in a foreign language…so this was Japanese. I have no reasoning behind this, and I know I will not learn a language by learning the word “Hello”….but hey it’s a start.

So, keeping up with the pace my month has been, my weekend was super busy and fun…Again!!! So my darling friend Bottom turned a year wiser and to mourn this occasion we decided…well I say we...but I had no voice in this as this part of the day was sponsored by her lovely sis Bee….so as I was saying…'we' decided to visit The Making of Harry Potter Studios….say whaaaa!!!! So this was my reaction when this was revealed as the plan for the day…now before I hear the wrath from the Potter fans….I just have to put it out there I haven’t seen any of the movies since the first and the only reason I saw the movie was because I read the first book which was Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. I always tried to read the later ones but always had something or the other come up….this something or the other used to usually be a thing called A LIFE!!! I’m only kidding…I’m just rubbish at remembering characters, their super powers and their sworn enemies for too long…all though how I remember Rebecca (aka Becky) Brandon (nee Bloomwood ) from the Shopaholic Series of novels by Sophie Kinsella is beyond me….oh well !!!

But this wasn’t my birthday and if I had to pretend to ignore the fact that the 3 main characters have'nt aged a bit and still look like they are still in their teens…and that this could have been a potter curse/blessing…then that’s what I will do for the birthday girl….besides it’s another thing to blog about…Cloud, meet your silver lining.

The Studio itself is based somewhere around Watford and I had to get off the Watford Junction station and make my towards the collection points where there were buses that looked like they were drenched in the Harry Potter film realms. But it does add to the excitement and I could see little kids really enjoying themselves and some even crying with excitement. OMG! Have I missed out on something BIG by skipping these books!

The girls were in their Potter mode and were looking at me for some or any facial reactions. They could have been talking German for all I knew, coz I had no clue. Desperate to make some Potter related conversation; I told them how sad Christopher Lee’s passing away was …completely oblivious to the fact that this was a Lord of the Rings character and not a potter character, but seriously did they have similar stylists???Yes, I did get geeky "tsks tsks" and nodding of the heads. But come on, there’s just too many similarities to ignore, both include stories of short guys guided by old guys with beards, there’s your mystical creatures and potions,and you also have one of the Potter creatures looking a bit like the lil bald guy looking for ‘Precious !’…although why Golum needed a bit of Gabby Sidibe in his life...I will never know... I’m going to regret saying this on a public platform…aren’t I?

So couple of helpful pointers

1. Bee had to book way ahead for the timed ticket slot. But my co-sister…wait …is that actually a word???…my main girl Sheets decides to join us the last minute and had to get a later timed slot. But if you ask any of the Potter guides, they will happily let your group through if it’s not too busy. The tour that we were on was moderately busy. But yea, book early to avoid disappointment.

2. There’s an hour and half, depending on your pace of walking, before your next food/coffee stop or the loos. So relieve yourself or/and stuff yourself before the tour. And try not be distracted by the inviting gift shop.

3. If you are travelling with kids, please do find out about getting Potter passports for them .This is free and also has a lovely treasure hunt. I HAD to have one. But saying that a 5 ft 8 inch woman begging for a Potter passport is not a pretty sight. It’s a great souvenir for the kids (and adults!!) and the passport does get stamped at key points of the treasure hunt. I got my souvenir pic stamped...*smug look

4. You do not have to know the entire collection back to back or even who the good and bad guys are to appreciate The Great Hall. If it is your birthday or if it’s just gone by, you get the golden opportunity to open the doors to the Great Hall. Listen to the guides as they do know their stuff and not too shy to share their geeky potter knowledge.

5. The place does have Wi-Fi available absolutely free. So if you do need it, please do ask for this. If not for anything else, check yourself and/or your mates in on your social pages.

6. When inside, jump on the Flying Ford Anglia or the broom in front of the green screen for a picture souvenir or video souvenir. And more importantly go crazy with l’expressionz. You do get to decide later on if you want to buy it or not.

7. An hour and a half after your walk you come out of one the studios and there is a break out seating area with a food and the ButterBeer counter. Now again , I had no clue what ButterBeer was and I just couldn’t understand why 3 grown women were drooling over the word ButterBeer….I love butter…I like beer….but I don’t like my butter on my beer or the other way round. You do get to buy a souvenir plastic beer mug if you want to. The food selection was very basic and it was like hot dog, hotdog with onions, burger…yea..you get the picture. The ButterBeer was “interesting”…it tasted like a light butterscotch drink. I actually liked the froth; it was like eating cream and the froth gets frothier if you leave it for a bit. So more cream! Also, I came up with this “Bee and Bottom bought a bit of ButterBeer, but the ButterBeer was too bitter, So Bee and Bottom let the ButterBeer bubble, to make the ButterBeer better”

Ok, so it’s not your average tongue twister.

Bring your own picnic lunch if you want to, you can eat it in the restaurant area.

8. The second half of the tour is more of what went into the creation of the movie like the creatures, monsters and architecture. There’s nothing that will prepare you for the amazing room that held the scaled down model of the castle, which was (using my very limited Potter knowledge here) for all dreamy exterior shots. Amidst all the photography poses that you will be striking in this room, don’t forget to use the touchscreen displays which will allow you to learn more about what actually went on in getting the films together.

9. While walking you just land in this magical land with all goodies and before you know it…you realize (sadly!) that the tour is over and also you have ended up in the gift shop. Ok, so being a gift shop for something this prestigious and popular, the prices were a bit steep for me but it is your average London souvenir prices. But I had to get something for my better half (consider this as a bribe money, as he had to take care of the little one !!) and my little boy. I got a beer mug which came up to around £13 and a battery operated blue flying car which sadly didn’t fly and just kept going in a continous loop like some drunk puppy trying to catch its tail which came up to £12 and a fridge magnet for me, which was around £6 , so… not cheap!

10. If you can, watch the movies or read the books but I dont think that would make the appreciation of the place any less. I have been told that the movies don’t come close to how beautifully the books unfold the stories. But do know your Potter basics so that you appreciate the little things all over the place. I was wikipedia-ying the whole thing as we were walking through the tour. You will appreciate the art that went in the creation of the movie, regardless!

The Heartbreak Hotel

2015-06-10T07:46:00.001-07:00

Yallllowww!!!! So I had a pretty busy 2 days and after a day to catch up on a well-deserved break I was back on my feet to check into the Heartbreak Hotel. No, I just didn’t make that up and yes, it’s another thing I ended up doing. For anyone wondering, all my weeks aren’t this exciting and there are some days where I treat going to the shops for grocery as a trip. But my friend Bee actually stumbled upon this whilst looking for places to eat around central London when our mutual friend decided to visit us. And yes, we all get very easily distracted. So the four of us (Me, Bee, Bottom and the hubby) decided to check out the show, which was based at the Jetty, along the River Thames, near North Greenwich tube station . Now my lovely husband is very very difficult to please and was quiet hesitant about joining us but tagged along as it was a lovely day.

So first things first...lunch!!! Grabbed some Kebab from the Yalla Yalla Beirut food restaurant.My lamb was a bit dry but the chicken tasted awesome...but dont you just love the yellow and black theme that the restaurant had going!!

Heartbreak Hotel is set in a…well, a hotel…which is a temporary theatre platform, by the riverside. Now we had tickets for the 18:30 show but were about 4 minutes late so we had to wait for the next show which was at 19:30.

You check in to the hotel by handing your tickets to the counter and getting a room number assigned to you ( Mine was 103), where you will be handed a sticky label with your name and room number. As we were late we sat by the Bar and snacks area for some drinks. There are some table inside the hotel lobby as well some outside by the riverside. TBT, one hour just flew by.

Then at 19:30 sharp, we made our way to the counter and were showed to our relevant rooms by the receptionist. The hubby and my friend Bottom left for another room (7).

We were led to the corridor by a bell boy where we met some disciples of the ACHE program, who explained what A.C.H.E stood for ( I forget now L) and what they hoped we would achieve by the end of this “experience”.The corridor was filled with A.C.H.E inspirationalists and it did give this whole "cult" vibe. It did get spooky when one of the inspirationalists called me out by my name ....till i realised i had my sticky badge with my name on it ....duh!! When the journey was about to start there was another inspirationalist talking to us from a recording from a small TV monitor.

The hotel corridor looked really dodgy and it looked like somewhere people who fled from the law would end up staying. It’s in these rooms by the corridor where little stories unfolded. Lost souls, couples trying to reconnect, guilt ridden lovers and overly excited camp inspiritionalist , which was my personal favourite. The inspirationlists lead you from one room to another....so basically from one story to another.

I don’t want to say out much about the plot, but this was something new to me and Bee tells me its quiet similar to the Punchdrunk shows but not that polished. The production did have its glitches as we kept bumping into the actors when we were led through the corridors and they kept breaking out of their characters and I also heard one of the guys throwing a tantrum as we started the show about 5 minutes late.To be honest I didnt know what to expect ,the Youtube video looked a bit grey and there were cautionary messages on the tickets and around the place advising if any of the stories made anyone a bit uncomfortable or closer to the reality they should give one of the staff members a shout ...so I was expecting horror but was pleasanly surprised... I liked it as it was something different; hubby hasn’t still made his mind about it.

The tickets were around £15 each and the show was about an hour and a half. Although that hour and half flew by too quick.

Camden Town Market

2015-06-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

I have been to many markets in London but the Camden Market is the liveliest and bubbliest markets that I have been to.

In these days with new towers scraping the skies and construction sites all over the place, Camden Market is hanging on its unique style and doesn’t look like giving this up anytime soon.

Camden Market is definitely one of the coolest markets in London with its hippy haven, cradle of design talent and multi-cultural melting pot.

The history behind the Camden Market is when the commercial activity around the Regents Canal came to an end in the 70’s, the market was born with all the warehouse and storage facilities available. The Camden Lock Village Market usually has stalls selling ethnic and savoury dishes, but it was all closed when I went this time. Hope its back soon as there are some awesome food stalls based in this area of the market.

We weren’t really hungry but I had to show CeeCee the Chin Chin Labs with their ice cream revolution in their science themed parlour. The ice creams are created in front of you using liquid nitrogen…so you get a treat and a science show out of it!

I was actually looking for the Honest Burgers joint, but just couldn’t find it. And if I wasn’t hungry before I was looking for it, I definitely was famished by the end of the search, so we went to The Diner. Now, there are plenty of food stalls selling a range of food.

But we decided to go to the Diner as we wanted to just sit and relax. So, The Diner looks quiet massive and stood out with the glowing neon red signs with outside seating area. I had the Arch Burger and the Sweet Potato fries and Cee Cee had the Juicy Juicy , both quiet massive and very filling.

Although I think I might just order the pulled pork separately as it was just a sloppy mess. But oh so tasty!!

The Market consists of stalls selling clothes, bags, shoes, jewellery and other bric-a-bracs. There are lots of young designers selling original ideas with reasonable price tags. Definitely a highlight for anyone visiting London and for anyone who wants to step out from their comfort zone. Don’t miss out the life-size tribute to Amy Winehouse.

Things to be noted, the markets going to be overcrowded and be warned about pickpockets and if they do sell Louis Vuitton wallets for £20, chances are it is an original FAKE.

Thursday to Sunday 10am to 5.30pm and the nearest underground station is Camden Town. www.camdenmarket.com

Portobello Market

2015-06-09T09:17:00.002-07:00

Ok, so if you live in London and haven’t visited any markets you are missing out. You get some beautiful finds and some treasures for peanuts! Besides it’s fun to just walk and explore.

So, another glorious day, off from work and the weather looked a bit indecisive. So I and my friend CeeCee decided to visit some of the markets.

Ok surprisingly CeeCee had never been to the Portobello Market and the Camden Market. Two of my personal favourites. So off to the markets we go!!!

If you love your antiques and vintage items, then the Portobello Market would be perfect for you. The market is a series of markets stretching from Notting Hill Gate tube station to just past Ladbroke Grove. It took us about 2 hours to cover the entire market space, browsing and the odd purchases here and there, plus a pit stop for breakfast in the form of crepes.

A bit of history, Up until the 1940s, Portobello Road market was like many other London markets and mainly sold food and other essential items, and this still continues today. However in the 1940s, more and more ‘rag and bone’ men started selling their wares, soon joined by other traders specializing in bric-a-baccs and antiques. Gradually, antiques have become what Portobello Road Market is best known for, with Saturday being the main trading day.

The market opens at 9:00 a.m. and even then you will not have all the stalls open at 9. There weren’t many food stalls open, this might be because we were there way to early or maybe it might be due to the fact we were roaming Londoners in a market on a Friday.

I was actually on the lookout for some mismatching photo frames, and there were plenty available. Along with, mismatched cutlery, china , glassware’s etc etc.

There were also plenty of metal signs, tins and boxes all that can be categorised under Quirky Collectables. And for the tourists, there are plenty of t-shirts declaring your undying love and devotion to London.

I also had a look at the some of the fashion displays at the Westway, for some unique pieces. For a fraction of the high street price, the items out on the display were unique and quiet gorgeous. The best stuff is under the Westway; the market does continue on and into Golbourne Road but it degenerates into car boot type second hand goods past Cambridge Gardens.

I’m sure the market must be there on all London guide books and is swarming with tourists along with common Londoner folks, but it is a great afternoon out and I’m sure you will find your perfect lost treasure or a fabulous find.

But please bear in mind none of the stalls accept cards so please make sure you take some money with you.

Friday and Saturday Market Open 9am to 7pm and the nearest underground stations are Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill Gate. www.portobelloroad.co.uk

BBC 4 Radio - Sketchorama

2015-06-09T08:31:00.002-07:00

My friends Bee and Bottom were audience members for 8 out of 10 cats and raved about how fun it was. Since then I have been on the lookout for some show tickets and there are so many websites out there dedicated solely for this .Since my day off was kind of a last minute thing, I went on the BBC site to check for available tickets. So I was quiet happy with the 2 tickets I got for the BBC radio show Sketchorama.

Neither I nor my accompanying friend CeeCee have ever been to the recording of any show before. The recording was to take place at the RADA studios next to Goodge Station.

Even though the tickets did mention that the venue opens at 18:15 p.m., you will be allowed in to the recording studio at 19:15 p.m and the recording would only start at 19:30 p.m. Us being the eager beavers that we were ended up getting there 18:15 on the dot and ended up waiting around for an hour as the bar did not have much seating available.

Saying that, the set was open at 19:15 on the dot and the show started at 19:30 on the dot.

I was surprised with the fact that there wasn’t much effort put on the set. All it had was a Radio 4 sign and couple of chairs and microphones.

We saw three sketch groups performing on the night, In Cahoots, Miranda Hennessy and friends and Clever Peter. Each act performed for around 30 minutes each and my favourite groups of the night were Miranda Hennessy and friends. Their sketch were quiet varied and all equally hilarious. In Cahoots were the only group I had previously heard off and was quiet excited when I heard they were going to perform that evening. Unfortunately I had previously seen all their acts…thanks to YouTube, so kind of found myself repeating the punch lines. But the guys had a brilliant rapport and were really good. Clever Peter didn’t establish any connection with the audience in my point of view as they were reading from their scripts. This being a radio show did not stop any of the group performers from being visually humorous well.

It was a free, alternate and more over a fun evening. Next, maybe a TV Show? Pretty please!!

Afternoon Tea

2015-06-09T08:28:00.004-07:00

All the walking that took place in the Wallace collection obviously meant we were famished and had definitely burned out our breakfast sins. The Wallace Restaurant is located within the beautiful Wallace Collection which is in an enclosed courtyard.

The location is spectacular - comfy seating and natural daylight without the worry of rain or excess sunshine in our case.

Now I did do a review check on this restaurant prior to ordering and I did see some negative reviews and I just wasn’t sure about ordering sandwiches or soups for the prices advertised and thought let’s make it special.

So we ordered the Afternoon tea with 2 earl grey teas.

At £17.50 each, I thought the tea was really good value and quiet filling too. The food was good – not your 5* quality but not bad considering entry to the museum was free. The tea consisted of

1. Sandwiches (smoked salmon, coronation chicken, egg, ham and cheese), this was passable and tasted fine ,at perfect room temperature

2. Scone (1each) was out of this world, accompanied by gorgeous clotted cream and jam.

3. 3 types of pastries the lemon meringue tart , white chocolate with white chocolate mousse on it and a milk choc solid mousse on a piece of choc mousse with a jam centre, proper jammie dodger style. I personally loved the Chocolate solid mousse which tasted so decadent. While my friend CeeCee was a fan of the white chocolate mousse on white chocolate

There are no re-fills but that's to be expected for this price - it works out as four finger sandwiches, one scone and three mini cakes per person. The staff were really friendly and the service was real quick.

So definitely would recommend this for affordable tea in central London. More tummy sins to burn…sigh!!!

The Wallace Collection

2015-06-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

So with our tummies filled with love and whole lot of carbs we headed out to the London City, more specifically Bond Street. No, this wasn’t for more shopping but actually a bit of culture education.

We headed out to The Wallace Collection which is a well hidden piece of gem in Manchester Square.

A bit of history, the Wallace collection is an institution in honor of Lady Wallace’s, nee Amelie –Jule Castelnau’s late husband Sir Richard Wallace.

Sir Richard Wallace and his father, the 4th Marquis of Hertford, were connoisseurs, collectors and devoted Francophiles, spending most of their time in France, mainly Paris. The collections were left by the French woman under the condition that the gallery would have free entrance and also no item from the collection may be lent.

So if you want to the see more pictures like this happy…I think he’s happy ….chap here,

..chances are you will only see it here.

This is London’s answer to the Palace of Versailles and thank you Mrs W for making sure that us Londoners would be able to enjoy this beautiful collection.

So what’s in this beautiful collection – the collection mainly comprises of paintings and more paintings, gorgeous furniture, glassware, sculptures, armour, clocks and china.

The rooms itself were just gorgeous, it’s something you would imagine Buckingham palace to look like.

Each room had a unique wall color and mainly jewel color based. It was just gorgeous with heavy chandeliers and antique furnitures with carefully placed urns and clocks.

All rooms looked like they would have been successful Good Home covers, the 1500 editions.

There was also a massive room dedicated to religious treasures with paintings of angels, glass goblets and altar pieces.

All ,again, extremely beautiful and you do not have to be a arts connoisseur to appreciate this art. And the best bit, all of this for absolutely FREE!!

Breakfast Club

2015-06-09T07:47:00.002-07:00

The first rule of Breakfast club is…You Do not talk about Breakfast Club

The second rule of Breakfast club is….
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT BREAKFAST CLUB!

Well…if you listen to all rules…you miss out on all the fun!!

Do you ever get the feeling that works just getting to you or you just need a mini break from it all. Well this was me couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t want to hang around my haven doing my usually organising chores but wanted to go about roaming this beautiful city. But I know this was never going to happen till I could find a perfect hommie to do this with. So when my girlfriend hence worth to be refereed as Cee Cee came over to chill for a week. I grabbed on to this wonderful opportunity. My main reasons for doing this over the week, I hate the mad rush that the weekend brings along with it and also the crazy prices for entries and meal prices just because it’s the weekend.

So after dropping my little bundle of joy at his nursery, the gurlz made a start on their London City escapade. First things first, we had to grab some breakfast and almost immediately.

So we made a move to Liverpool Street to our very own Breakfast Club. The last time I decided to give them a try the queue was just ridiculous.

But guess what….no queue at all…KER- CHING!!!! Score First Timer – 1 Sods law – NIL.

So thank you Londoners for being so hard working and giving me this wonderful food-gasmic opportunity. I personally thought the queue thing was just a hype but the food is actually AHMAAAZZZZZINN….and the staff were just friendly and chilled. Actually the whole ambiance of the place was quiet chilled.

And I was actually droolin’ just reading the menu. But I had to have the pancakes and I could hear the All American calling out my name over and over again. The All American was basically Pancakes, eggs, sausage, home-style fried potatoes, streaky bacon and maple syrup for £11.00. And CeeCee had the Eggs Benedict with ham and fried potatoes for £8.

TBT, I didn’t know what to expect. You know that feeling you get when you go to restaurants and end up eating something just to realize you could have made this at home and it would have tasted much better and would have been must cheaper.

I would have dreaded this feeling if the food was not close to my expectations. But the food gave full justice and it as just amazing. The pancakes tasted like little clouds of heaven and needless to say it didn’t take us much long to get our plates finger lickin’ ly clean.

The eggs benedict were gorgeous as well. So happy, happy day it definitely was. If only breakfasts like this was an everyday thing.

Then everyone would have made it the most important meal of the day and maybe even the only meal of the day!!!