Photo Diary: London Skies & Coffee Bars

There’s nothing better than walking around East London on a sunny day. I took my mum and sister around my usual haunts, and to a few new places. The sky was absolutely clear, so it was no wonder we were looking up at the rooftops. I find that a lot of amazing architecture is missed out on because we just don’t look up. Well I spent last Sunday looking up, and I saw some amazing sites.

Interview: Keiko Lynn

I’m sure you all know of Keiko Lynn already, but if you don’t then you’re in for a nice surprise. Keiko is the gorgeous face from Brooklyn behind the fashion, beauty and style blog Keiko Lynn. Her blog, (established in 2008) features beautiful photography and even more eye catching content. You’ll find hair & make-up tutorials and outfit posts galore – as a reader you’re spoilt for choice. She took the time recently to answer a few questions for me, and here’s what she had to say.

You’re my style crush, and I think it’s safe to say you’ve influenced a lot of people through your blog. So what I’d like to know is who, and what, influences you?
I take influence from so many places, it’s sometimes difficult to pin down. My great grandma always had a big impact on me – she was an excellent seamstress and taught me everything I know. She had the best style, and the fact that she made most of her own clothes made it even better. Sewing is what got me interested in fashion. I’m also a big fan of the ladies featured on Advanced Style, because I believe in wearing whatever makes you happy, and not adhering to any boundaries set by others. As far as style influences, I’d say I look to the past. The 60s and 90s are big influences. I watched a lot of My So Called Life, growing up.

Do you have any favourite fashion brands you couldn’t live without?
I’m crazy about a lot of niche brands: Sretsis, Vivetta, To Be Adored, Family Affairs, Rachel Antonoff…the list goes on.

Of course your tattoos are a big part of you, and your personal style. Do you have a favourite? And would you have any advice for someone who is thinking of getting their first tattoo?
I waited for years to be tattooed by Amanda Wachob, so my floral piece on my forearm is my favorite. It makes me so happy when I look at it – I can’t remember a time when I was without it! First time tattoos: do your research, and be patient. Don’t go in without a clear idea of what you want. Don’t rush something that will be on your body forever.

You are always looking flawless, so I’d love to know how you keep your skin looking so great, and what your favourite beauty/cosmetic brands are.
I use a lot of Mario Badescu products, and also get my facials there. Lately, I’ve been using Biologique Recherche P50 1970 as my toner, and I swapped out my normal moisturizer for Coconut Oil.

Finally, as the majority of my readers are based in the UK I’m sure they’d love to know a little bit about Brooklyn. 
Do you have any favourite spots you’d recommend? 
I’m actually working on an ongoing guide to Brooklyn, so I’ll have a more cohesive list, soon!
Some of my go-to spots would be:

Treats:
Farmacy (for an egg cream or an ice cream sundae)Dough (for the best donuts)Four and Twenty Blackbirds (pie) 

Brunch, Lunch, Dinner:
Vinegar Hill House,
Buttermilk Channel,
Hunter’s, Al Di La, Clover Club (jazz night on Wednesdays) 

Shopping:
Beacon’s Closet,
Bird
Article, Cloak and DaggerCatbird,
Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store, Brooklyn Flea

Thank you to Keiko Lynn for being kind enough to answer my questions.
Photo credit to keikolynn.com.

Review: Clue Quest – The Live Escape Game

clueQuest – The Live Escape Game
On Wednesday evening I met up with some shady looking characters in an alley in East London. I’m kidding! Those shady characters were actually some of the lovely people from Nuffnang. We were there to celebrate Nuffnang’s birthday with a night full of experiences and adventure. It was a fabulous night, but today I’m going to chat about our first outing of the evening – clueQuest.
clueQuest is currently the top #1 London attraction on Trip Advisor, so maybe you’ve heard of it?
Well if it just so happens that you haven’t, you’re in for a treat, because this is an attraction like no other. clueQuest is a live escape game where you are locked in a room (don’t worry it’s not scary!) and given only 60mins to escape. The room/s are full of mysteries and clues that you and your team need to figure out in order to progress through the game, and to ultimately escape your room. You don’t need to be strong, or fast. Nope. You just need your wits, common sense, some logic, and a bit of teamwork. Anyone can do it (it’s suitable for all ages), but you will need a team of people, between 3-6.
We arrived at clueQuest HQ and were immediately debriefed.  It turned out Mr Q had been watching all of us bloggers for a long time. He had chosen us, out of everyone in London, as potential new agents. We were handed a clipboard, pen and walkie talkie (to communicate with HQ), and sent out on our mission. Little did we know what Mr Q had in store for us behind that locked door. Now naturally I can’t say much about the room, or show you any photos. Why? Because that would spoil the experience, silly! All I can say is that the whole experience was unlike anything I’ve ever done before. I’m a bit of a gamer and I love solving riddles etc. so this was like Christmas for me. My team – Team Awesome – were all on the ball, and we went into super spy mood as soon as we heard the key turn in the door. So, did we escape the room? Of course, we did! Finally, as we left and celebrated our escape, we were given special secret agent cards. Mr Q was very happy with our work and had recruited us to help save the world!
There were riddles, brainteasers and lots and lots of clues to make sense of. I can’t recommend this enough, and it’s perfect for pretty much everyone – as long as you enjoy a good mystery, and solving puzzles.
Prices start at £17 per person. If you’re curious, head over to clueQuest to find out more and book your escape!

Photo Diary: Culture, Peanut Butter, Skincare and Me

If I ever had my own autobiography it would probably be named something close to the title of this post. The past week or so I’ve really been doing a bit of everything I love, which has been really lovely. The change in weather has given me a bit of a boost and it also means I can get out a bit more. Friends and family have also been visiting, so I get to do lots of stuff I wouldn’t usually do.

I’ve been visiting lots of museums, restaurants and art galleries. I live for culture, probably even more than I live for beauty products – shock, horror! It’s been fun being able to indulge in that particular passion, and I know it won’t end soon. I’ve also been receiving some exciting items in the post, which I’m sure you’ll see on here, no doubt. I thought my love of photography might suffer, what with my camera being sent back for repairs. Luckily that hasn’t been the case, and even though my iPhone 5s isn’t as good, it does the job.

You can follow me on Instagram @bloomzy

Where to Eat in London: Bone Daddies

Bone Daddies | Japanese Ramen | Lunch/Dinner | Soho | Website
– reservations not available –

Bone Daddies is a ramen bar based in Soho. This is a rather spacious take on the Japanese ramen bar, with a simple interior.

I headed there on a Saturday afternoon, with 3 friends. I was a little worried we would be queuing for a while as we headed there about an hour after they had opened for lunch. Luckily there was no queue and we were seated as soon as we arrived. I’d heard a lot about Bone Daddies, and being a big fan of ramen (and deeply missing sitting at a noodle bar with strangers in Tokyo) I was really hoping the hype was justified. The food menu is simple yet plentiful, and the drinks menu were aptly themed, however I personally would have loved to see some umeshu on the menu. I choose the ramen salad as I fancied the asparagus and corn. My friends chose the Tantanmen (spicy!) and T22, with a side of fried chicken. My ramen was delicious but I don’t think it was clear enough as to what I would be getting, yet I didn’t mind…because it was so damn delicious. Everyone else enjoyed their food too, making me wish I’d had one of everything. The service at Bone Daddies was friendly, and everything was dealt with promptly. Yet I was still left feeling like I’d missed something. The atmosphere just wasn’t there, and people were left queuing along by where our bags were hooked making it a bit cramped. My bowl was chipped, which isn’t a big deal to me but actually bothers quite a few people I know. The prices are close to extortionate, compared to the ramen bars in Japan (where the quality is just as good). I know this isn’t Japan, but I feel that if you’re going to run something so niche you need to do it justice. As much as I enjoyed the food I don’t think I’ll be going back, purely based on the price and atmosphere.

Review: Boujies London Candles


Last week Boujies sent me a couple of their candles.
Now I am a massive candle addict so this was wonderful.
I can’t resist buying a candle in a particular scent that I adore.
These two definitely fit that bill; Earl Grey and Black Ginger.
Ginger and Earl Grey tea are two of my favourites scents!
Boujies started out just down the road from me at Spitalfields market in 2009.
They believe in using 100% natural wax in their candles, which they manufacture in Britain.
Their range of 7 scents are expertly chosen and feature fragrances such as Indian Vetiver and Black Dahlia.
The candles start at £14 and the diffusers start at £19, with prices going up to £68 for gift sets.
For luxury scented candles hand-poured in England, the pricing is pretty amazing.
I was so excited to receive these and see if they smelt as good as they sounded.
The packaging was the first thing I noticed – I really like the minimalist approach.
The mini candles have a paint pot type lid that you need to pry off before lighting them.
These ones in particular burn for around 20 hours, so they may look tiny but they have a good life.
The scents from both these candles is completely spot on and they absolutely smell amazing.
Part of me wants to burn these all day so my apartment smells like Earl Grey tea or Ginger.
The other part of me wants to save them because I don’t want to use them up completely.
You can purchase both the Earl Grey candle and the Black Ginger candle at Boujies.

Photo Diary: Birthday Celebrations

As some of you may have noticed it was my birthday this week.
I know people say that your birthday gets less exciting the older you get, but I dislike that saying.
So I always end up using my birthday as an excuse to fill the whole week with things I love to do.
This week I went out to several different restaurants for meals, with the fiancé, and my friends.
The fiancé and I went for an amazing French dinner at La Sacre Coeur in Angel, Islington.
The food was traditionally French and very authentic, as well as being incredibly delicious.
My birthday is also the date of our anniversary (which makes it a lot easier to remember).
The next day I visited the Saatchi Gallery with Hanni, which I’ve been meaning to do for ages.
We had a lovely lunch on Kings road, which involved pasta and cake…although not altogether.
The following day a bunch of us went for food at Far Rockaway and then for drinks at The Book Club.
I received some amazing birthday presents of course, from some wonderful people, which I’m so grateful for.
Yes that is one of the new Tatty Devine horse brooches, a dino-sir card and a brand new iPhone 5S.
I’ve been uploading photos of them every now and again, because I’m just so giddy over everything.
Going out also means an excuse to dress up, so I’ve been uploading my outfits over the last few days too.
You can follow me on Instagram: @bloomzy