24 February 2013

I'm off . .



. . .Yep as you read this I am on my way to JAMAICA!

I am very excited as 1) I'll get a good dose of sunshine (which, lets be honest folks, the UK hasn't really seen a great deal of for god knows how long), and 2) I'm looking forward to seeing my family and spending my birthday with loved ones.

I will try and blog, but there is no guarantee as I have a jam packed 2 weeks.

Ta ta for now . . .


17 February 2013

Design Glassware by Mont Bleu



For the past year or so I have really taken to looking after my nails properly; treating them, cutting and ensuring the nail edges are neat and tidy. Emery-boards are what many people use to file their nails, but they actually do more damage than good! From time to time I kept hearing that using glass nail files were a lot better for the nails but I never really took much notice. However I was a little curious and started doing a bit of researching and they are infact pretty good (my nails no longer split!). I have seen and purchased a glass nail file which does the job, but lacks design, until Mont Bleu caught my attention.

11 February 2013 カマグラ 価格

Nivea Lip Butter 'Raspberry Rosé'


As of late when I go food shopping I seem to find myself heading straight for the beauty products aisles, as quite a few supermarkets nowadays seem to sell products normally found in drugstores at reasonable prices. I had a little 'mooch' around Walmart (Asda to us UK people), and I came across the Nivea Lip Butters. I had seen blogposts crop up from time to time on my blog dashboard about them, but I never really took much notice until now. I saw 'Raspberry Rosé' and 'Caramel Cream', but as there were only 2 left of the 'Caramel Cream' whereby some 'mutt' had stuck their lil mitts into it (so annoying), I opted for Raspberry Rosé. 

''The NIVEA Lip Butter Raspberry Rosé is an aromatic treat for the lips. It comes in an innovatively designed tin uniting long-lasting moisture and trendy flavours''
(Nivea, 2013)

 First impressions of this product - I love the packaging; so chic, cute and small which makes for fitting into a handbag very practical. Not only is it small, but it's light in weight with 16.7g/19ml of product which will last for a considerable amount of time. The opening mechanism for the lip butter tin is a simple lid whereby you either twist and open or just pull (dependent on your preference). I am not usually one for over sweet products as I find some tend to be too sickly to the point where I end up wiping the product off shortly after applying. But this lip butter is surprisingly very subtle in scent and not overpowering (result!). 


The product itself I am very impressed with. Its consistency is thick and creamy, and I felt that my lips were really moisturised and nourished after applying. I did find that the lip butter was slightly white/pinkish on my finger and left my lips slightly white-ish, but working the product in well that soon disappeared.


Many products I purchase now especially lip butters/lip balms and hair products, I always make sure there are no traces of petrolatum as it does nothing but ''bulk'' out the product! I was very impressed to discover there were no traces of petrolatum in this lip butter, although there are traces of mineral oil (paraffinum liquidum, a byproduct of crude oil), which is a little disappointing. Just like petrolatum mineral oil does absolutely nothing for the part of your body you are using the product. The lip butters contain Butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) and Ricinus communis (castor seed oil) which I think is sufficient enough to make a product moisturising and nourishing especially during the colder weather. 

Overall I am quite impressed with this product. It looks great, smells lovely and does a pretty good job at protecting the lips from the weather. The mineral oil is a little annoying, but this product is decent enough to do the job of looking after your lips.

RRP £1.49, and available in Original, Vanilla and Macadamia, and Raspberry Rosé. Best places to find these lip butters are:

ASDA
Superdrug
Sainsbury's
Tesco
Acado
Boots
Morrisons

Have you purchased any of the Nivea Lip Butters?

www.nivea.co.uk




8 February 2013

Amy Childs - Georgia 'Nude' Dress


 If you have been following my blog since day one you may remember that I did a blog post on Amy Child's clothing collection, and I admired a particular dress which I just thought was gorgeous. I never really got round to buying it (for what ever reason I have no idea why) until now.

 Lace dresses started to make a huge come back onto the high street a few years ago, and if I am honest I never understood why as my memories of lace as a child is ''old, granny'ish, itchy and irritating''. However lace has come back into fashion in full force with some pieces surprisingly being really nice. I came across this Amy Childs 'Georgia' dress and instantly fell in love with it. The dress is of a nice cut, sleeves are 3/4, the lace is soft and the contrast nude lining is comfortable against the skin. And if you're tall (like moi 5ft 9), you'll be happy to know this dress finishes just above the knee (not under your butt cheeks) and the quality is really good. The neck line at the front of the dress finishes quite high to the neck, but the nude lining finishes at a a 'sweet heart' line to give the dress a chic look. The back of the dress has a button fastening, with a circular cut out.


The contrast lining of the dress is nude so I opted for a pair of nude peep toe shoes, with a bit of 'dazzle' to jazz up the dress. Peep toe shoes and I have a love/hate relationship. One minute they are 'thee' most comfortable pair of shoes, and the next they absolutely burn my toes! But in the name of fashion I had to get these as they really are amazing (even thought they are 4'' heels and make me look like the BFG (Big Friendly Giant).


Amy Childs Georgia 'Nude' dress - £65.00
Next Heatseal Peep Toe Shoes - £38.00

The price of the dress I think is perhaps a little steep, but it really is a classic dress that can be worn numerous times. As for the shoes I think they are a reasonable price; they look amazing and the quality is really good. 

Are you a fan of Amy Childs clothing, or are you not so keen?



3 February 2013

Discounts and Savings - February 2013


As promised every month I will be unleashing a blog post of all the discount codes, savings I find online. As I said in my previous post any codes I find which are amazing, I will tweet them over at @Serenityofbeaut. So here are the codes for February . . . .Enjoy!



Boohoo - Free delivery on orders over £30 Code: FREE30 Valid until: 3rd March 2013

Brand Alley - £10 off your first order. Code: GET10 Valid until: 28th February 2013 

Cloggs - 15% off orders. Code: VCUK15 Valid until: 9th February 2013

Dorothy Perkins - £5 off orders over £30 Code: DPLOVE Valid until: 14th February 2013

Joules - £15 off orders over £75 Code: AF1575 Valid until: 13th February 2013

Kurt Geiger - 25% off orders Code: VOGUE25 Valid until: 5th July 2013

La Redoute - £15 off first orders over £30 Code: 4708 Valid until: 30th September 2013

Look Fantastic - 14% off orders plus UK free delivery Code: LFVAL14 Valid until: 15th February 2013

Lipsy - 10% off orders Code: VC1301C Valid until: 5th February 2013

Oasis - Free delivery on orders at Oasis Code: HOORAY Valid until: 7th February 2013

The Body Shop - 40% off online orders Code: KISS Valid until: 4th February 2013

Urban Outfitters - 10% off orders Code: UOFEB10 Valid until: 28th February 2013

Happy Shopping!


50 Random Facts Tag about Moi . .

I very seldom do tag kinda posts as I don't like to clutter up people's dashboards. But this one I thought I would do as I feel not many of you really know me apart from what I 'jabber' about on twitter. So here goes and I hope you enjoy reading.


1. Passed my driving test first time 
2. Have danced since the age of 4 years old; Ballet, Tap, Modern and Jazz. When I hit 10/11 years of age I started Pointe.
3. I use to play 4 musical instruments; Piano, Flute, Violin and Recorder
4. I can twerk my butt cheeks in time to the Mr Muscle theme tune
5. Graduate in the study of Criminology and Sociology
6. I am a Pisces
7. Both of my parents are Jamaican
8. I love music
9. My inside leg is 34''
10. Chocolate is my weakness (although I am on a 'sabbatical')


11. Fear of flying
12. Lilac/purple is my favourite colour
13. Don't like this number (Yes I am superstitous)
14. Big fan of James Bond
15. Collect teddies (usually from places I have visited, or have great significance in my life)
16. The cold weather and I are not friends
18. Owner to over 70 pairs of socks
19. Phobia of clothes hangers (I use them still, but when it's a mass of them . . .*shudder* )
20. Drinking a pint of water is a must for me first thing in the morning
21. Was my favourite age - had the best year of my life


 22. Don't like cheese/pizza
23. I have 1 brother
24. Flying to the Caribbean on this date later this month
25. I hate bullies
26. Never eaten Indian food
27. Use to have a cat when I was little, but it ran away
28. My Birthday :)
29. I can get my leg behind my head
30. Bad mannered people annoy me
31. I often go shopping on my own; therapeutic and get so much more done

 
32. Swam with Dolphins
33. Great believer of ''What goes around, comes around''
34. Love wearing high heeled shoes
35. Always singing
36. Chasing a dream career, determined to succeed
37. I love wearing dresses/skirts
38. People who ''dribble'' on the toilet seats - annoy me
39. I have two draws full of underwear (to the point where the draws won't shut)
40. Huge lover of Tiramisu
41. I enjoy walking


42. Huge fan of Formula 1 and Lewis Hamilton
43. I am a volunteer
44. I don't like wearing 'batty riders'
45. I am not a huge drinker of alcohol (we have a love/hate relationship)
46. I use to model for Rolls Royce
47. I'm not a 'morning' person
48. I love Athletics
49. I currently have 2 duvets and 2 blankets on my bed (yes, I get very cold at night)
50. My cousin use to be part of the USA 4 x 100 men's relay

 . . . . . Annnnnnnd relax!


Hope you enjoyed reading my response to the 50 random facts tag.

If you've done the tag, put your link in the comment box - would love to read what you've all written.


1 February 2013

Kringle Candle Company



I never really was a person for candles; I use to just buy, light, burn, stick in which ever room in the family home and that be that. But I have started to pay much more attention to what candles I buy, often finding myself either in TKMaxx or HomeSense trying to find gorgeous candles for a fraction of the retail price (yes I like to save a few pounds where I can). Now and again I do find Yankee Candles however because they are so popular you don't see them very often; they come in today, the majority are gone tomorrow (that's how it works in my local stores, no kidding) . The majority of us all love Yankee Candles purely because their scents are phenomenal, very strong, with great burn time. However they are incredibly expensive here in the UK and because of this I very seldom buy them. However whilst doing a bit of googling earlier this week I came across Kringle Candle Company, which in fact was created by the son of the founder of Yankee Candles. I had never heard of them before, but browsing the site and spotting some gorgeous scents, I decided to order a small selection.


As with Yankee Candles, Kringle Candles come in a variety of styles, such as jars, tumblers, votives, tealights to name but a few. I opted for Daylights which to be honest are just a slightly bigger version of Tealights but with more burn time. The lids of the daylights are of a clear plastic with the scent name on the top. The wick is of good length and thick. And if you haven't already noticed, the actual candle itself is white, which burns clear. This I found quite different, unusual (considering the scents the candles have been given), but this is to ensure the candles fit to the consumers decor. Not only that but they're dye free, coloured only by the purest of fragrance oils and consistently yield the most luminous white light. Now you're all wanting to know did the candles smell amazing? . . .OMG YES!


I opted for four scents; coconut pineapple, gingerbread, mango and vanilla mint. I honestly did not think from a reasonably size daylight that these would have such a good scent, absolutely divine. 

*Daylight 'Coconut Pineapple' £1.60 - ''If you like Pina Colada then you'll love this tropical fusion of fresh, juicy pineapple and sweet creamy coconut.'' I'm not usually a fan of coconut fragrances, but this one is lovely. It's not too overpowering but has a gorgeous fruity blend with the pineapple.

*Daylight 'Gingerbread' £2.00 - ''Everyone has pleasant memories of warm gingerbread figures served up with a glass of milk. This familiar spicy blend of nutmeg, cinnamon and sweetness is at the heart of our comforting Gingerbread''. If you love the festive gingerbread scents, then you'll definitely love this. The smell of spice is rich, but not overpowering to the point of becoming sickly. I admit I don't usually like said scents, but I love this one as it's very sutble.

* Daylight 'Mango' £2.00 - ''We've captured the true essence of this wondrous tropical fruit; Mango's green top notes blend with a hint of citrus followed by lush honeyed-pear succulence''. I love mangos and I absolutely adore this candle. Very sweet smelling but not strong.

*Daylight 'Vanilla Mint' £1.60 - ''Pairing vanilla's comforting familiarity with the bracing bite of mint, Vanilla Mint is a just-right new delight that must be experienced''. Out of the four, this is one is my favourite. So fresh and light with a gorgeous scent which lingers throughout my bedroom.


Now . . for the costs. Yankee Candles as previously mentioned are expensive here in the UK, Kringle Candles on the other hand are somewhat in-between. The votives, tealights, daylights, breakable wax potpourri range from 80p to £2.00. The tumblers (small, medium, large) range from £9.50 to £19.00. The pillar 2-wick (small, large) range from £17.50 to £20.00. And the Apothecary jars (small, medium, large) range from £6.00 to £18.00. The smaller candles I think are pretty reasonable and are a great way to sample new fragrances. The bigger candles are slightly cheaper than the bigger Yankee Candles, but this is determined by which style of candle you opt for.

Of course being a candle company, Kringle also sell the usual candle accessories of burners, holders and lighters. And (get this) they even have 'The Gentleman's Line', which yep you've guessed it, masculine scented candles for the other sex - how cool is that? Of course, I did not purchase these as I have no fella in my life to sample/trial. But I can imagine they smell pretty amazing. So ladies if your bfs/partners are into candles, then this might be of interest to you.

Overall I am hugely impressed with the Kringle Candle Company. The scents are amazing, the prices are decent, and the delivery is quick. I definitely think this company will give Yankee Candle a 'run for its money'. . . . .

www.kringlecandle.co.uk

Have you tried Kringle Candles?