The Fragrance Shop's Discovery Box

It's been 2 years since The Fragrance Shop first started producing their Discovery Boxes giving the gift of Perfume Samples and Money Off Vouchers since 2012.

These remarkable little boxes are lovely and I have gone on to purchase a few perfumes, one being Vera Wang's Lovestruck which I fell in love with as soon as I smelt it. That was back when the box only really catered to women's fragrances and now it not only has increased the amount of fragrances but now includes men's scents too.

Every box is always lovely and this box is no exception and with it being a Birthday Box, it included a very special little surprise - A Miniature Bottle of Estée Lauder's Modern Muse.

There are 10 Samples in this quarter's Birthday Box as well as the mini Modern Muse, so 11 smells in total. And it's only £5 per quarter..BARGAIN!

1. Jimmy Choo - Jimmy Choo Eau De Parfum

This scent is nice, it's very florally and citrusy. In my opinion it is more of a perfume for the mature lady. It just seems very grown up. I would wear this to a posh party.

2. Nina Ricci - Nina Eau De Toilette

This is absolutely up my street. It's sweet and fresh makes me think of summer and I think this would be perfect for a summer day, it's definitely a day to day perfume.

3. Lacoste - Touch of Pink Eau De Toilette

I can tell you I don't like this perfume. I didn't like it when it came out, it's just something about Lacoste scents that just don't seem to mingle well with my sense of smell. I know plenty of girls who do love it though.

4. Jean Paul Gaultier - Classique Eau De Parfum

This is definitely a confident scent. It's a classic and timeless perfume. Whenever I think of this perfume I think about the message it holds behind it - it's strong and sensual (am I allowed to say that?) I would wear this if I wanted to make an impression like to a job interview or a date. I think so many people can relate to this smell.

5. Givenchy - Very Irresistible Eau do Toilette

This is beautiful! I love Givenchy and this is no exception for that. This is a floral smell and it's mix of rose and peony smells makes it the perfect scent for spring! I would wear this out to lunch and sitting in the beer garden.

6. Thierry Mugler - Angel Eau de Toilette

This is a perfume my sister adored years ago. It adapts to your own natural scent and it can do one of two things. It will either be something that you'll wear and wear and wear because the scent it develops is perfect or it doesn't haha!! Thierry Mugler's Alien is more my speed.

7. Paco Rabanne - Lady Million Eau My Gold!

Paco Rabanne is on the money with this one. It's so fruity and fresh but it does feel more of a night time fragrance, I'd probably wear this for dinner out with the girls.

Now on to the Men's Fragrances

8. Paco Rabanne - Invictus Eau de Toilette

Oohh now this is lovely. I love Paco Rabanne Fragrances for men, they are gorgeous. This is definitely a Saturday Night smell for men for a night on the town driving the girls wild.

9. Hugo Boss - Bottled Eau de Toilette

This is endorsed by Ryan Reynolds - 'nuff said! This is a pretty lovely smell, I'm not going gaga over it but think this is a great day to day fragrance for men.

10. Issey Miyake - L'eau D'Issey Pour Homme

My dad wears this and it's really nice. It reminds me so much of him. It's a very sophisticated scent which I think is perfect for the older male! This is definitely a night with the wife/partner scent.

BONUS - Estée Lauder - Modern Muse Eau de Parfum

This is a fragrance I would probably give to my older sister or mother in law which are connoisseurs of fine fragrances. It's a little too overpowering for me but it is very alluring fragrance which screams confidence and sensation!

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Evolution of the Eyebrow

Now if you know me from my previous blog, you'll know how much I love my brows! The people over at Transform sent me this to look at and I loved it so I thought I would share it with my readers. My favourite part of this little timeline is the "What Your Eyebrows Say About You..." topic right at the end which tells me I like to spend time with my friends and family and that is so true.

Transform are a company which offer a range of treatments and surgeries which, if you choose to, can make people with certain gripes about themselves feel amazing. Some of the testimonials for Transform are amazing. They don't endorse change, they endorse happiness. For more information on Transform please visit their website.

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A Book Review: Girl Online

Now this book has recently caused some controversy as of late. The muchly anticipated book by Vlogger Zoe Sugg AKA Zoella was released at the end of November, it was Zoe's first novel. It later came out that the vlogger did not write the book but it was ghost written. I stand by Zoella for this book. It may have not been written fully by her but you can completely feel her input, ideas and personality shine through in the words of this very "teeny bopper" book!

The book is very much aimed towards pre-teens. It took me back to being about 12/13 reading Jaqueline Wilson's Girls in Love. I did enjoy it but wouldn't be recommending it to any of my friends to read but will definitely be telling my younger family members about it.

The story is about a girl called Penny who lives in Brighton, she's a budding photographer and works part time in her parents wedding business "To Have and To Hold". Penny writes anonymously under the pseudonym "Girl Online" she writes about her life and mishaps, the only person who knows the truth is her best friend Elliot, who has his own gripes with his own family not accepting his sexuality. Her blog starts attracting more attention when Penny starts addressing the reason why she keeps having funny moments and blacking out, she has anxiety which was brought on by an accident she had when she was younger. Her readers explain in comments that it's not as uncommon as Penny thinks.

When Penny has an incident in school just before the Christmas break so her parents (who own the wedding business) have been invited to New York to plan a wedding in the World Famous Waldorf Astoria and Penny and Elliot are coming along for the journey. Penny has anxiety about travelling to New York being terrified of travelling, Elliot gives her some great coping mechanisms to help her relax on the flight.

When they arrive they are completely in awe of the place. Penny is asked to assist with the wedding and take some candid pictures. Whilst exploring the hotel Penny stumbles across Noah, a mysterious boy who Penny immediately takes a liking to. Noah is the grandson of the caterer for the wedding. Penny is asked to run an errand for her mother and Noah is more that happy to accompany her. Penny instantly takes a shine to this boy. Could this be the start of something wonderful or can a secret that Noah is keeping from Penny ruin her for the worst and put her greatest trust and relationship on the line?

You'll need to read it to find out.

Overall I did like this book, it was a good story. It was a bit predictable but that's only because I'm not in the demographic the book is reaching out to. I would happily recommend this to the parents of 10-15 year old girls. I know all Zoella's fans will be reading this book and I commend anyone who stands by Zoe for purchasing and reading her wonderful story told through the words of someone else.

Girl Online can be purchased from most major supermarkets, bookstores and online for £5 at Amazon for the bargain price of £5.

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Silver Jewellery Cleaning

Now I own quite a lot of jewellery by Thomas Sabo and it's really important to take care of it. I have quite a lot so I only get a chance to do it every so often. So when I do it, it's important I take my time to make them sparkle.

The way I do this is use Goddard's Silver Dip. I've used this to clean my silver for years and years. One down point though, it properly stinks! I didn't want to say this word but it's kind of farty but my gosh does it work amazingly! I would recommend this for anyone with solid sterling silver jewellery because even if the silver is going black (which it does when it's been exposed to heat and direct light for too long) it cuts straight through tarnish which is well worth enduring the smell. Now I know some people say they have "home-made cleaners", tried 'em, they are no use! Goddard's is about £2.50 in most major supermarkets and the jar lasts me well over a year.

The tools you need to clean is a small glass, a spoon, some kitchen roll and if you have one - a tiny eyeshadow sponge (I used to have one of these but it's gone missing but it's perfect for cleaning silver which also has enamel on it..I'll get to that in a bit.) and some handwash for after all this has been done.

First off I detached my charms from my bracelets as each charm has a different amount of cleaning needed so I'll usually do the ones that need less cleaning first and the ones that need more attention to the last.

I pour a small amount of the dip in the small glass as the jar is quite large so it's harder to fish the charms out so I put it in the glass and then just chuck the charms in and then the bracelets and necklace (which I fish out last). The solid silver ones usually take less than a minute. Whilst in the dip I give it a little swish and then I fish them out using the spoon and rinse them off and dry them with a piece of kitchen roll to absorb any excess dip.

With my enamel charms I dip some of the kitchen roll into the Silver Dip and carefully dab round the enamel to clean the silver. This is important as the Silver Dip can remove the enamel. It is a lot easier if you've got a eye shadow sponge applicator as it can get the trickier parts of the charms.

There you have it, after attaching all my charms back, I then use my Thomas Sabo Jewellery Box to keep them safe. I used to always have a bad habit of leaving my bracelets on the table and in front of the telly which is bad so this box keeps my bracelets and charms away from anything that may make them rotten.

Do you have any tips for cleaning and storing your jewellery? I would really love to know how to keep White Gold clean as I have a ring I always wear which is looking quite dull. 

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Barry M Picks!

Now some of you may know I write on another blog called The Beauty Hot Squad which all of us are currently taking a break from so I've decided to do a beauty post exclusively on this blog here.

I do love make up, I am not great when it comes to application of said make up but I do love buying it. Lately I've seen in Boots that Barry M is currently bringing out some amazing stuff. I have already been and got some stuff but I know I'm going to go back and get more ASAP (when I get paid). SO here's a list of my top Barry M picks from December 2014.

1. Show Girl Extra Volume Mascara - £4.99

I actually bought this mascara and was so made up with it. It gave my lashes so much more shape and definition. It was a bargain and it's great, I do love a good mascara! 

2. Limited Edition Eyeshadow Palette - Starry Eyed - £6.49

Now who doesn't love a bit of sparkle at Christmas? I love this eye and cheek palette and have been trying to get it in stores for a while now but it's always out of stock. I think I will have to buy this when I get paid off of the website. My fave it the bronze gold and I want to see if the blush is anything like the Nars Orgasm.

3. Barry M Brow Kit Shape and Define - £5.99

I see this and think "Brow-Zings" except sooo much cheaper. I love brows and this is just perfect because it's small enough to just pop in your bag and with the little compact mirror you can top up your brows on the go - Amazing!

4. Gelly Hi Shine Lips - £4.99

I hate lipsticks and lipglosses but love these. These give great colour and shine without feeling sticky or clumpy. I really like the shade gsl4 which is a rose coloured pink and is gorgeous.

So there you have it, some of my top picks for Barry M. They have some amazing products available! I remember when Barry M used to be all Dazzle Dust and Nail Polish but I love all the new stuff they offer now.

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Snow Fairy!

One of my favourite parts of this time of year is all the new stuff that Lush bring out. One of these being Snow Fairy Shower Gel which I adore.

Snow Fairy is like childhood memories wrapped in a million sparkles. This pink concoction smells exactly like it's come out of an old timey sweet shop with strawberry bon bons coming to mind. It's a limited edition and only available around Christmas time. I bought myself some and I've asked for some for Christmas. It's no longer available online but can be bought in stores for a limited time only and the price ranges depending on which size bottle you get.

A little bit makes lots of lovely bubbles and there's a little sheen of glitter in the gel which doesn't transfer onto skin but it makes all the bubbles shimmer like diamonds. It's just a really lovely product, it's probably my second favourite Lush product after Rock Star soap. I just felt I really needed to share this with you before it disappears until Winter 2015.

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Our Christmas Day Out

After booking tickets for Ross Noble for the 11th December me and Lee decided to take two days off from work and make the most of it being all Christmassy.

Thursday morning we got the bus, yes a bus (those who know me know I'm not one for public transport after many a mishap a few years ago), up to the train station and took the train to Ormskirk. 

In Ormskirk, we went to new restaurant called Salt & Liquor, a place we have wanted to visit this since we first heard it was opening earlier on this year. My first impression walking in was just like "whoa, very hipster" it's definitely aiming it's demographic toward 18 - 30 year olds, even though when we walked in (even though it was a Thursday afternoon) there were a few people there older than this demographic that seemed to be enjoying their meals. Now I want to do a full review of this place, but we were cold and hungry by the time we got there so we just dug in!

The decor is lots of exposed brick walls with dark wooden floors with some oddities hung up on the walls. The tables and chairs feel like going back to school with mis-matched furniture which just adds to the hipster-vibe of the place. There wasn't a theme going on but I did like it. 

Onto the food. We ordered: 

• Deep Fried Belly Pork Bites
• Corn Dogs
• Salt & Liquor Burrito from the Express Lunch Menu (Served between 11am-4pm)
• Double Bacon and Cheese Burger

Now as I said we were starving so only managed to get a few pics and only 2 of the food. One thing I will say before I write about the food is that our server was the new boy and missed off a few things off our order but the manager rectified it within minutes making the burger and a round of drinks free, which do show the hospitality of the place. And all the staff in there were so lovely and friendly, one of the main reasons why I want to go back.

 

The food was pretty good, it's definitely our type of place to go to eat. As I said we want to go back when of a night when we are prepared for a full on feast. The Street Eats (Belly Pork and Corn Dogs) were just amazing, they are definitely a winner. My standards of Corn Dogs are set extremely high due to my love of American Food and these definitely lived up to my expectations, they were lovely. My burrito and fries from the Express Lunch Menu was an amazing deal at just £6, the burrito was stuffed with Pulled Pork lots of cheese, guac, sour cream, salsa and rice with a serving of fries on the side. It was amazing, I even said to Lee "I am stuffed, just like that burrito", Lee had a Burger which just looked amazing, he tucked in before I got a chance to get a picture. It was a homemade beef burger on a Brioche Bun with crispy smoked bacon, chilli cheese, cheddar and lettuce, beef tomato and pickle. You don't get a side order with it but you can choose extras from the menu. 

There is lots of choice if you love different types of draft and craft drinks. Lee got a Strawberry Beer and I just got a coke because I'm just a bit boring. 

When we go back we know we want to try some more street eats, nachos, loaded fries, wings, ribs and the desserts. This is definitely a place we will recommend. 

Salt & Liquor is situated right by Ormskirk Train Station, which is about 25 mins on the train from Central Liverpool. There is parking nearby behind Ormskirk Town Centre. Price Range is £-££ dependant on when you go. It's perfect if you go to Edge Hill University and have a break between lectures because it's cheap and quick from the Express Lunch Menu. A copy of their menu and pictures of their amazing food is available on their Facebook and Twitter Pages.

Onwards from Salt & Liquor we went to the new Wetherspoon's in Ormskirk, the Court Leet. It's a beautiful new and MASSIVE building. Lee got a Pilsner of Erdinger and I got a Strawberry Daquiri (YUM) I love the Wether's because it's a great place to go if you're looking for a cheap night out or an afternoon drink. 

We then took the train into Liverpool and walked through the Christmas Market. Now I love Liverpool at Christmas, it's beautiful with all the lights and there is just a great atmosphere all around. 

We weren't there to shop but there was one market stall I couldn't just walk past. The fudge stand, last year my sister bought this amazing fudge from this stand and it was just like heaven. I went for 5 bars for £10 and we got Red Velvet, Chocolate Orange, Salted Caramel, Mint Choc and Rocky Road. I can't wait to try the Red Velvet. We also stopped by the Custom Cupcake Company which is a cupcake shop which specialises in over 100 different flavours of cupcakes. We went for a Twix and a Red Velvet (of course!) they were £2 each and they very, very yummy. 

Before we went to go and see Ross, we stopped by Revolution in St Peter's Square in Liverpool, it's one of my fave Rev's to go to. We got a Swedish Pirate Jug which is Rum, Malibu, Chambord, Orange Juice and it's all topped off with a Mango & Raspberry Rekorderlig Served over ice in a Copper Jug. It was very alcoholicy, but I did love it. Lee loved it too and he's not normal a cocktail drinker. 

Finally on to the main attraction. Ross Noble in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic! I've been a fan of Ross' since I was about 16 with one of my college friends lending me Sonic Waffle. This was the second time I have seen him live and as last time I was completely in awe. He was amazing, he's the type of comedian who interacts with his audience and every show is completely different. My face was aching from laughing sooo much. From making jokes about an over sexualised half kestral-half human woman who's laugh very much duplicated the sounds of the predatorial bird to talking about his 2 daughters, he is very much the doting dad and very proud of his youngest's "mentalness" and his eldest's likeness to his wife. He also talked about the charity, of which he is an Ambassador, Riders For Health. It's a charity which funds the restoration of off road vehicles which are made into emergency vehicles which can reach places further than ambulances in Africa, all of the proceeds from his merch being sold were going towards this charity with the government matching all donations raised up until Christmas, so we got a Tee for Lee and another Signed Poster for me. Another amazing show Ross, I can't wait to see you again! 

I had an amazing Christmassy day out in Ormskirk and Liverpool. I was sooo tired when I came home and so was Lee, we just crashed and slept in which shows how amazing and fulfilled our day was. I can't wait for our next day like this. 

Liverpool is a GREAT Christmas day out for Adults and Children a like with shopping, bars and restaurants for the Adults. The Liverpool ONE Ice Festival has so much fun to be had for the little ones with rides, fair games and an ice rink it's the perfect day out to be had by all. 

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