Holi Festival of Colours

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I think I love my new blue mascara more than I thought I would! It definitely is perfect for events like this. 

This was my first festival experience and I absolutely loved it! When we arrived, literally as soon as we walked through security, it started to pour down with rain and it was heavy rain! This was definitely not enough to dishearten the mood let alone kill it, in fact we were all kind of enjoying it! It was fun being in the pouring rain with friends, loud music, people excited and having a good time. 

Some photos may have come out blurry/not great quality due to the paint powder being everywhere including on the camera lens!

I cannot even begin to describe how much fun it is being in an environment where everybody is having a good time and there is a mad amount of colour being thrown around! I mean the powder paint was so much fun. Getting that first hit of colour to your white outfit is probably one of the best parts. At points it was as if you are swimming in a rainbow. Literally, you are only surrounded by bursts of colour.

Powder all on my camera lens :(

Holi is the festival in India where people celebrate the victory of good over evil and the coming of spring. This is also where everyone gathers together under vibrant coloured powders thrown into the air to express their freedom!

That vibe and atmosphere was certainly present on this day! Everybody was so friendly and happy, celebrating life and with colours thrown in the air, everybody was a colourful mess :)

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The music was incredible, it was one song after the next that makes you wanna move! From drum&bass - dubstep - trap music it was just so good. I mean the line up included ESKEI83 and BBC Radio One's Zane Lowe what wouldn't there be to love? There was definitely a lot of Shazam-ing!

I had such an amazing day! I couldn't have wished for a better first festival experience and had an amazing time with the people I went with! Thank you!

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Here's a small video of the day:

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If you haven't been before, you should definitely look to go next year! It is an experience one should experience at least once in their lives!
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What was your favourite festival experience?

YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush - 04 Orange Fougueux ♥ Review

YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush - 04 Orange Fougueux £27

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This particular shade from YSL's Baby Doll Kiss and Blush range was sold out online and going from one department store to another on Oxford Street, I was being told that it was also sold out :( and as I was nearing the end of all hope of getting my hands on it, finally, I managed to find one in Debenhams (with limited stock). Hooray for me!!! These are available in 12 different shades!

The packaging is consistent with the entire brands usual look. The bottle itself is so adorable! I love the fact that it is nail varnish-esque or ink bottle like. It has a tall lid and small pot. The lid is gold and the top part of the pot is black. I love that YSL have done something fun and extremely cute with regards to it's appearance! It definitely makes for a 'buy me' feature!  

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This little gem is a two in one product. Now I am hardly keen on these kinds of products as it usually works better in one area than the other. With cheek and lip stains/lipsticks, which we have all seen around, I find that the texture is either too watery for the lips or too thick for the cheeks. But. I have to make an exception for this product, as the instant you start applying it on your lips and cheeks, you feel the soft velvety creamy mousse smoothness. It doesn't leave a sticky residue and the consistency is extremely buildable! A little goes a long way.

The colour Orange Fougueux itself looks very intense and super bright but the beauty behind this product is that it's blendable! You literally only need a few dabs on your lips/cheeks for a very light sweet natural look. 

The applicator is tapered and spongy! Its tear drop shape and its 'patented' hidden pearl makes it the perfect applicator as it is easier to apply to the cupid's bow and the corners of the lips!

As you can see from the colour swatch above, you can achieve around 3 levels of intensity.

 The first is completely unblended and applied heavily which shows off its bright tone! - Perfect for when you have sun kissed skin on holiday. 

The second swatch is applied in a much lighter format and lightly blended!

The third swatch is literally one dab of the brush and blended. This makes for an everyday wearable shade and will bring a slight hint of colour to your day.

They say that it is meant to be a soft matte but it doesn't really go matte until a good 20mins later and even then it has a very light luminous glow to it - not that I am complaining, I quite like it. The formula isn't drying and is extremely soft on the lips (I have mentioned this before but I thought I would remind you)

Since I bought this, I carry it in my bag, everywhere! It's just the cutest and most versatile, multi-tasking YSL product ever! I LOVE IT! 

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Have you tried YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush yet?

Sweet, Sugar, Candyman! - Afternoon Tea inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

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"Who can take a sunrise
Sprinkle it in dew
Cover it in chocolate 
and a miracle or two?"

. . .

"The candyman can cause he mixes it with love 
And makes the world taste good

And the world tastes good cause the candyman thinks it should"

What I Wore

Shirt: Zara - Vest Top: H&M - Trousers: Fenn Wright Manson - Shoes: Carvela - Bag: Zara - Bracelet: Tatty Devine

Afternoon Tea at One Aldwych Hotel was ...well ...to die for! Everything was so much fun that it brings out your inner child! I mean for starters it was one of my childhood dreams that Willy Wonka's delights would be real and this was pretty close to living that dream!

Everything was just so playful that it had us reeling in delight. The menu was absolutely perfect and a true reflection of Roald Dalh's classic story. The savoury and sweet part of the menu complimented each other brilliantly. Everything was so light and delicate. There wasn't one thing that was either too sweet or the base of a tart overcooked/under-cooked. Everything was in the right balance!

The Menu

My favourite things from the entire menu were the Leek and Stilton Quiche from the savoury and the Chocolate Caramel Milk, Homemade Candyfloss and Golden Chocolate Egg filled with Vanilla Cheesecake and Mango Puree! Everything was so light and fluffy! It didn't leave you feeling bloated or sickly! We chose to have the Smooth Caramel tea which had a hint of vanilla in it! It complimented everything so beautifully, I can still taste the aroma now (far far away in my bed)! On top of everything being so yummy, the service was exceptionally friendly and caring.

They serve the savoury part of the menu first and then once you have finished they bring out the sweet menu, however we requested to have the sweet alongside the savoury and within 5 minutes they brought out the (best part) sweets! 

When presented with the sweet part of the menu, our host told us to try and guess what flavour the candyfloss was! When we took a bite into it, we were shocked because it wasn't the candyfloss sweet you expect it to be. Instead it had a tangy kick to it! It was almost refreshing for something that is meant to be so sweet! The flavour was Rhubarb and Custard! I don't think I can enjoy normal candyfloss as much after this one!

  

Happy girls -  Karen and I are all smiles!

I definitely recommend this for anyone who enjoys going for afternoon teas, anyone who has a sweet tooth, anyone who likes food and appreciates a touch of elegance with a quirky twist!

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Make sure you check out Karen's food blog Digestible Love for scrumptious recipes 

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Where is your favourite spot for afternoon tea?

Zara Gussetted Shopper Bag

£29.99

I've been looking for a good decent white bag for what seems to be forever. One rule when it comes to online shopping is that I never purchase a bag without seeing it instore beforehand (unless it's from a Korean/Japanese online store then I don't really have that luxury), as I find that bags can be deceiving and I am let down by the quality. However I made an exception for this beauty. I came across this bag on the ZARA website and fell in love with its simplicity. I loved the fact that  it looks like the zips at the top are a bow; it adds a delicate feminine touch. It comes with adjustable and detachable straps which is always a plus point as you can wear it in two different ways. Its size is quite generous for those who, like me, carry a lot with them. It has 1 zip compartment and two smaller compartments in the inside zip part of the bag and it has two empty sections on either side of it. The bag itself is quite lightweight which makes it easy to carry around. I was not let down by the quality of this bag and know that this has become my staple summer bag!

Composition: 100% Polyester

Dimensions: 20 x 25 x 10 cm / 8 x 10 x 4" 

What's your favourite ZARA bag?

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KAWAII OVERLOAD - ♥ Artbox Haul ♥

(=^-ω-^=)

Since most of my closest friends have moved abroad/returned home! I find that the nicest way to stay in touch with them is by writing letters. It is more personal and for one thing, I LOVE receiving letters/postcards/parcels from my friends as they are filled with love, so I can only hope that they feel the same! As my letter set was running out I decided to purchase a new one .... 

.... but I kinda got sidetracked with the amazing overload of cute stickers, and when I say overload I kinda do mean over load!!!!  However, I did stick to my original purpose and purchase 1....2....3... ok... 4 letter and envelope sets aswell as ALOT of stickers. I mean there were so many to choose from and they were all so fun and cute that I couldn't decide, so decided to buy them all! 

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Artbox Letter Set: Folding Pink - £1.60

Crux Letter Set: Funny Funny Panda - £4.50

Artbox Letter Set: Bonjour Panda - £1.50

Q-Lia Lette Set: Slowly and Slowly - £1.60

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Q-Lia Stickers: Penguin - £2.60

Q-Lia Stickers: Salary Panda £2.60

Kamio Stickers: Mochi Panda £2.80

Q-Lia Stickers: Japanese Cat - £2.60

Crux Stickers: Penpit Animals - £2.40

Crux Stickers: Cute Ghosts - £2.40

San-X Stickers: Korilakkuma - £3.20

SuAtelier Stickers: Gamja - £1.50

SuAtelier Stickers: Mayor of London £1.50

SuAtelier Stickers: Kokeshi - £1.50

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Do you like to keep in touch with friends through letters?

Michael Kors Glam Jasmine

As the days are getting warmer and summer is slowly making its appearance in London :) I wanted something very young, fresh and alluring for the holidays, as the perfumes I generally tend to use are more mature, sensual and sexy. Now I don't know if it's because it is the meaning of my name but I have always loved the smell of Jasmine. When I was younger we used to have Jasmine flowers wrapped around the wooden garden arch, and when the flowers bloomed I loved passing through it and sitting under it! 

So as I was testing the different perfumes available, I was having a hard time choosing a new fragrance that matched what I wanted. The scents were either too sweet with cherry undertones or far too floral (in a sticky sweet kind of way). 

I then remembered that Michael Kors had brought out fragrances and somewhere in the back of my mind I had a vague memory of one being called Glam Jasmine. At this point my arms and wrists were covered in various scents and to be quite honest all the smells had fused together so I was having a hard time differentiating the perfumes in general. I sprayed it on my shoulder and it was love at first sniff. 

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The packaging is simple and elegant in white with gold details: 

 Glam Jasmine is in a tall, glass flacon with a golden stopper that has MICHAEL KORS EST. 1981 engraved into it and a stud in each corner:

They are available in 30ml, 50ml and 100ml. Unfortunately boots didn't stock the 100ml so I got the 50ml.

Top Notes

 White florals with a hint of sparkling citrus and cassis   

Heart Notes

 Egyptian jasmine, jasmine sambac and jasmine petals

Base Notes

 A deep seductive dry-down of creamy sandalwood and cedarwood

The perfume itself has strong staying power and silage. The smell only slightly lightens after 3-4 hours.

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I have only had my bottle for 4 days and I have worn it everyday since! It's alluring, indulgent and statement-making. Anyone whom I have had contact with, and on a couple of occasions, just walked past, have complimented and asked what I was wearing. This is definitely now my staple everyday, feel good summer scent.

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