Sunday 23 February 2014

Time For Tea...A Detox Afternoon Tea

When my friend Martha sent me the link to a voucher for '50% off a detox afternoon tea for two' at the beginning of January I decided it was exactly the kind of thing we needed to try! We went ahead and bought the voucher and then booked the afternoon tea for a weekend in February. 




When we arrived at the gorgeous five star Pelham Boutique Hotel in South Kensington London last Sunday afternoon we felt incredibly...civilised. The decor is gorgeous and the hotel has a very luxurious feel to it. We had the afternoon tea in the Bistro downstairs which consisted of:

Cucumber and Lime Sorbet
Brown Rice and Ginger Scones 
Beetroot and Pomegranate Jelly
Yoghurt Drizzle Lemon and Basil Cake
Poached Salmon on Rye Bread
Berry Skewers With Honey
Carrot and Cucumber Sticks with Carrot Hummus
A choice Beautiful Skin Tea, Skinny B*tch Tea or Toxin Killer Tea

It all sounds incredibly healthy right? I guess that's what made this experience so fun and unique. We both went for the 'Beautiful Skin Tea' which was delicious. I'm not entirely sure what was in it but it tasted a lot like camomile. Each item on the cake stand was full of flavour and incredibly tasty. It was strange because usually an afternoon tea would fill me up and I would struggle to finish that last scone. But because everything was so light and tiny we didn't feel full at all. I still haven't decided if this is a positive thing. But I guess that's the point of a 'detox' afternoon tea. For that reason I'm not sure I would pay the full price. But I would be more than happy to pay the £12.50 each again to enjoy a lovely and unique afternoon in the Pelham Hotel. Maybe next time we'll go back for the 'unhealthy' version which from what we could see included mini burgers! 




Martha (in the picture above) found this deal on the 'London Timeout' website and unfortunately it is no longer running but I would definitely recommend it so keep your eyes peeled for more deals! 

Sunday 9 February 2014

Beauty Haul: Recent Additions


I was on a clothes spending ban during January but I seem to have picked up more beauty items to make up for that...oops. To be fair, most of these products were on offer and I did purchase most of them with a gift voucher and my Boots points. So the damage isn't as bad as it looks. I'm also really pleased with everything that I bought, especially the Revlon Colourburst Matte and Lacquer Balms.

I've been using the Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean Cleanser for about two weeks and I am already starting to see a difference to my skin. I've also already incorporated the L'Oreal Cleansing Oil into my routine and it really helps to budge that last bit of eye make up. I haven't used the La Roche Possay Effaclar Duo Plus yet but I love using the Effaclar Duo twice a day and have a feeling this one might be even better. 

The little purple lipstick is from the Littlemix range by Collection. I don't normally pay much attention to lines like this but my friend was wearing Perrie's shade the other week and I thought it looked lovely so got one for myself. At £2.99 you can't really go wrong with Collection lipsticks. The Maybelline Colour Tattoos are amazing, so I finally added the shade 'Pomegranate' to my collection and find that it's great for creating a quick and easy smokey eye. I also picked up the MUA LUXE Power Brow and I'm liking that so far, however the colour range wasn't that great when I was trying to decide which one to get and I'm worried that it might be a bit too dark. What I do like about this brow pencil is that there's a highlighter at the other end. 

Lastly, we have the L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint. I love the formulation of this foundation and think it will be great for spring and summer time when you want less coverage and something less heavy. But I found it very difficult to pick a shade as the range isn't great so ended up choosing 110 Warm Ivory. I'm a bit worried that in the summer this might be too light, but all of the other shades were way too orange. Did anyone else find this?

Have you tried any of these products? What are your thoughts? Or have you picked up anything new recently that you would recommend? 

Sunday 2 February 2014

YES PLEASE to Carrots


I don't know about you (I guess it depends whether it's winter where you live) but recently, my most reached for products have been hand creams and lip balms. I make sure that I always have one of each handy (pardon the pun) in my handbag, on my desk at work and in my bathroom home. This doesn't mean I have three of the Yes To Carrots hand creams and three of the lip balms (I wish). But out of the ones I've been using, Yes To Carrots is hands down (two in one paragraph) the winner of both categories.

I don't think the products smell like carrots...what do carrots actually smell like anyway and would that even be pleasant? I can't actually describe the scent, but it's a nice one and isn't too over powering.

The texture of the hand cream is lovely and it isn't greasy. It blends into the skin nicely and absorbs almost instantly. This is a massive plus when it comes to hand creams for me. I can't stand it when you can't do anything just after you've applied hand cream because your hands are too slippery!

The lip balm is also incredibly nourishing and contains coconut oil which really does moisturise your lips. It's also probably the most natural lip balm I own.

I have some of the cucumber wipes which I also love so I'm thinking of expanding my cucumber collection next. Have you tried anything from Yes To?