A Skincare Secret is Revealed…

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A mysterious locked box. A key hidden in a secret garden. It sounds like something from a children’s box. Well it was a reality for me last week when Dr Organic couriered a super secret box to my office. I had no idea what was inside. The tag read “…receive your key at Dr Organic’s secret garden tomorrow night”. This is what working with brands and PRs is all about. I was eager to find out more so I headed to The Ham Yard Hotel roof garden the following evening.

I’ve been to my fair share of roof gardens (Londoners love them, especially in Summer) but this one was different. It felt as though I had walked into a country garden, albeit it a slightly smaller version. Beautfiul wild flowers surrounded a decadent fountain, and all round us were Dr Organic Snail Gel products littered amongst logs, moss and ivy. It all felt very magical.

As we sipped on cocktails and ate our fair share of canapés (with my partner in crime Jamila) we were treated to a talk by make-up artist Kenneth Soh. He told us the best way to pair the products with our daily make-up routine. It was refreshing to hear from someone who wasn’t a typical ambassador for the brand, but instead was someone who used the product themselves and genuinely loved it. As the night drew to a close we said our goodbyes under the fairy lights, before rushing home to open our boxes with the keys we had acquired. Incase you were wondering, the boxes were filled with the new Dr Organic Snail Gel range (hand cream, face serum, face gel, face cream, eye serum and face mask), all of which will be released on October 8th in Holland and Barrett stores.

OOTD: Pattern Practise

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Blazer* – Missguided | Tshirt* – Missguided | Jeans – Topshop | Boots – Topshop | Bag: Zara

I love stripes, everyone knows this. Yet my wardrobe is pretty much void of any other pattern. It’s plain to see that I need to be a bit more adventurous and work more patterns into my style.

The idea of playing with florals in Autumn seemed a bit odd (florals for Spring, groundbreaking) yet these feisty fellas are still popping up in stores and on catwalks. I thought I’d try a more toned down version, something that suited my style and the season. Thankfully Missguided have a ridiculously gorgeous selection of A/W florals on the site. I was in luck! Paired with a black boyfriend blazer, jeans and boots the pattern really stood out.

Mission 1 accomplished.

This post is part of the How to Wear Project in collaboration with Voucher Codes.

Review: NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Club Mix

Some people may change their wardrobe for Autumn, I change my lipsticks. Yes it’s true, I have a whole collection of lipsticks that I set aside just for A/W. Although in my defence it sounds worse than it is. It’s usually only about 3-4 lipsticks – don’t worry I’m not hoarding cupboards of them. This year I also have a new lip pencil to add to that collection, and it’s one that I’m very excited about.

NARS is a brand that has been recommended to me by several people, but never for their lipsticks. However I received one of their Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils in a goodie bag from ASOS recently, and it was in one of my favourite shades – a deep berry, or s NARS are calling it ‘Club Mix’. I was ready to make my first foray into the brand.

Pros:
+ Long lasting
+ Barely transfers
+ Good pigmentation
+ Applies easily
+ Moisturising


Cons:
– Needs to be sharpened after use


Notes:
It’s rare that I come across a lipstick that will stay put when drinking or eating. Even high-end brands fail at the task we all want them so desperately to succeed at. A lipstick stain on a cup may look good on Instagram but in reality none of us want to be re-applying our lippie all day. That’s why I’m so impressed with this little number. The NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil offers long-lasting wear with minimal transfer. It applies easily with a creamy texture that feels very hydrating, and doesn’t dry out lips. The pigmentation is excellent, giving you the exact colour you see on the tube. The only downside to this amazing lipstick-gloss combo is the design of the product. Unfortunately this is very much like a pencil in that you have to sharpen it once it wears down. I’m not a fan of sharpening kohl, lip pencils etc. It’s a messy business and I don’t want anything to do with it. Still, I love this shade so I may give it a go once I use it up. Although I am already having premonitions of me breaking it like I did all of my eyeliners in high school. As for price, these retail at £18 each, which is pricey but considerably less than I spend on my Chanel lipsticks. Keeping that in mind, I probably would buy the matte version of the lipstick over this gloss one, purely because of personal preference.

You can buy the Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Club Mix at NARS and at counters nationwide.

Chamonix Travel Diary: Part 6

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It’s been just over two weeks since we returned from Chamonix, and already I’m craving French food and long walks in the mountains. My nostalgia got me thinking; what better way to remedy my withdrawal symptoms than with a blog post? I have yet to publish the photo diaries from my last few days in France, so now seemed as good a time as any.

A walk alongside the river to La Praz is perfect for a mild day in Chamonix. We headed back via train and wound up in our favourite omelette restaurant…yes an entire restaurant dedicated to omelettes. Afterwards we went for another walk around the outskirts of town, and to the mountainerring/crystal museum. Unfortunately it seemed as though we chose the worst time to leave as we were greeted with torrential rain. So we ran through town, ducking and hiding under canopies before deciding that cake and hot chocolate were in store. After only a few minutes of nibbling on a Mont Blanc we had already forgotten about our wet clothes and the impending walk back to the apartment.

A London Life… in Shoreditch

 Yellow Stripe Bag by Hanelca, at Luna and Curious
 
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 Coffee break (Fika) at Fika, on Brick Lane
Tote bag by Wonderound

A London Life is a new photo diary series I have decided to start on the blog. I often get friends from outside of London, be it from Norfolk or as far away as Tokyo, asking me for more of an insight (read: less touristy) into the city. So I’ve decided to upload a series of photo diaries of my adventures/life in London. I won’t be including massively long descriptions in these posts, unless needed. Instead, I’ll be adding short and sweet tag lines and links to the photos e.g. “Coffee Break at Fika, on Brick Lane”.

If you have any questions always feel free to comment or tweet me.
As always, if there’s anything you’d like to see, let me know.

View more of the  ‘A London Life…’ series

Baking Beautiful with Eric Lanlard and Cake Boy

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Thanks to the popularity of TV shows such as The Great British Bake Off I’m sure that most of us would love to have a top patisserie chef on-hand to bake sweet treats whenever it takes our fancy. Unfortunately that isn’t a reality for most people (and if it is for you…can I borrow him/her for the day?), but last week I was invited to a private event at Cake Boy for a masterclass in baking with Eric Lanlard.

Joking aside I’d much rather learn how to bake than have someone do it for me, so I was over the moon when I received my invite. After a champagne reception we were sat down in the Cake Boy kitchen, where owner Eric Lanlard walked us through how to make his Red Velvet Cheesecake and West Indies Chocolate Tart. Along the way he gave us some handy tips for baking, and more than a few laughs. He told us how a red velvet cake should never be bright red, and if it is then it’s probably just a regular sponge with food dye in it (a sneaky trick used by a lot of supermarkets) – a top tip for those who like to source their cakes outside of their own kitchen. As for those who prefer to bake at home, Eric dispelled the age old myth of not opening your oven door whilst baking – good to know. Although my favourite tip of the night was when Eric explained that when baking with chocolate it should always be served at room temperature, “like a red wine it needs time to breathe.” Afterwards we were given our own mini (read: adorable) red velvet cakes to decorate with white chocolate butter cream. After a bit of a kerfuffle with my piping bag, I think it’s safe to say I won’t be leaving blogging for a career in baking anytime soon.

We left the event with a signed copy of Eric’s latest cookbook Totally Chocolate and a 9-Speed Kitchen Aid Hand Mixer so we could create our own beautiful bakes at home. I had a lovely evening and it has really inspired me to get back into baking, in fact I already have some cookies in the oven.

For more of Eric’s tips on baking head over to the Curry’s blog.