Château Impney Afternoon Tea review

I visited the beautiful Château Impney on a gorgeous sunny day to try their afternoon tea.

The Château is located in Worcestershire and is an absolutely stunning place to visit and stay.
Built in 1875, it was the dream home of John Corbett, a local businessman who made his fortune mining salt.
He married a beautiful French lady and when they had a growing family he decided to build a magnificent château to honour his wife's home country.
Unfortunately, John and his wife separated years later and she left to live in Wales while he remained at the château alone. He then decided to open the grounds to the public so they could enjoy it too.

Now the chateau is a beautiful hotel where everyone can enjoy the chateau itself and the grounds.

Plus the afternoon tea!

I had the Chateau Afternoon Tea at £13.95. There is also a Chateau High Tea that includes extra sandwiches and cream cakes at £16.95. Great for sharing.

Click to enlarge

Glossybox May 2014 review!

The May Glossybox is a collaboration with Superdrug who are celebrating 50 years!
I was excited to see what was inside this special box.
Let's see!

 I do like the themed box designs!

First up, a full size Max Factor Facefinity All Day Primer.
I am so happy I have this! I like the Facefinity foundation and was thinking of buying the primer, so this is great it's in my Glossybox! Full size too - perfect.

Next up another full size product! A Maybelline Great Lash mascara.
I do love this mascara. I haven't used it in a while because I'm a bit of a mascara addict and chop and change and try different ones all the time.
But I'm confident as soon as I put this on, it will give me great lashes! Fab item.

Birchbox May 2014 Review!

I have been looking forward to the May Birchbox after I found out we could be getting a Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, plus everyone would receive a Benefit They're Real! mascara, which I love.

So, lets check out the Birchbox/Harper's Bazaar collaboration box!

 I love the box design. Exotic and summery!

So first up is a 3ml sample of Aromatherapy Associates 'Relax Light' bath and shower oil.
I'm liking this sample! It's a one time use, either add it to a bath or use it on the body before showering.
It smells relaxing and exactly like a spa. One of my favourite scents!
I'm going to save this for when I've had a particularly hard day and need a chill out.

Next is a mini size Benefit They're Real! mascara.
I do love this mascara so I'm always happy to get a sample. It really does lengthen my lashes quite a bit. If I use it for a while I tend to get used to it, then try something else and quickly realise just how good They're Real! is.

Then we have a mini 50ml Philip Kingsley 'One More Day' dry shampoo.
I'm a big fan of dry shampoo. It really does help get another day out of my hair and it's a chore doing my hair! This 50ml will give me a couple of uses so that's a good way to test.
I've not used the Philip Kingsley one before so I'm hoping it will be a good one!

Glossybox October 2013 review!

The October Glossybox is themed on 'Dark Romance'. Ooh I thought, this sounds fun and interesting! Then I had a sudden second of dread, uh oh, does this mean a really dark nail polish and really dark lipstick I won't want?!

Well, let me show you what I actually did get!

I have to say, I needn't have worried about the dark polish and lipstick. There were none (although I would have expected it!). In fact, I'm not totally understanding the Dark Romance theme!

First up is a 20ml Monu Illuminating Primer. I'm happy with this as I always like trying primers and it's something I'll always use. 20ml is a good size to get a good feel for the product too.

Next we have a 20ml Premae Harmony Smoothie Lotion. This goes on as a primer but can be made into a BB Cream by mixing with foundation. I like Premae because they are allergy free, vegan and cruelty free, hooray! Definitely will be using this.

Glossybox September 2013 review!

This months theme in September is London! And it comes in a very cool box!

Up first is a 30ml Toni&Guy Shine Gloss Serum. I don't really use serum on my hair, but will give it a go as I need a bit more shine!

Next is a 3ml tube of Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips.
I have heard good things about this but not yet tried it, so I'm happy with this and it's great for the colder weather that's on the way!

Birchbox September 2013 review!

I really like this months Birchbox!
The theme for September is Backstage to Real Life! Inspired by London Fashion Week.

Let's take a look!

First up, a 40ml Aromatherapy Associates Revive Body Gel.
I like the sound of the gel, as I tend to favour oils and gels over creams when it comes to body products, so I'm excited to try this out.
It smells very 'aromatherapy', as you would expect. It is quite strong, but I don't mind the smell!

Up next, a 30ml Molton Brown Ylang-Ylang body lotion (to compliment the shower gel in Augusts box).
I like the smell, but I'm not sure about using it as a body lotion. It's a great scent for a relaxing bath, but I'm not sure I'll use the lotion!

Next is a very awesome 20ml bottle of Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water. I got the Sensibio, for sensitive skin (there is a combination skin variant too) and I'm very happy with this product!
I love the idea of micellar water and have wanted to try this brand for a while. Now I get to. Yay!

Lancome Blush Subtil Palette review!

I purchased the Lancôme Blush Subtil Palette a few months ago as I thought it was great that it was a 3-in-1 product. 

I'd been after a contour for a while so as soon as I saw the palette I got it! 

It is a blush, contour and highlighter in one. Genius. 

The palette comes in two colourways: 01 Rose Flush (the one I have) and 02 Nectar Lace.
Rose Flush is slightly pinker in colour and Nectar Lace is more of a deeper pink.
I have fair skin and the Rose Flush is just right and not too deep a colour for my skin tone.

Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea at the Sanderson review!

I love Afternoon Tea.
I love the mini sandwiches, the fresh scones, the fabulous little cakes, the tea.
I love the ceremony and the history of it, it's such a uniquely British institution.

And what makes an Afternoon Tea even better? A themed Afternoon Tea!!!

There are a surprising amount of themed teas out there, from fashion to theatre, fairy tales to rock 'n roll.
Most of them are limited editions so you have to get in there quick before they disappear!

In this post I'm going to show you the Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea at the Sanderson hotel in London.
I had this tea as a birthday celebration and the menu has since changed. I'm doing the post with the old menu because in a few months I'll be having the new version! Plus, it's always nice to see what has been before, even if you can't try it anymore, it's still fun to look at the cute cakes!

The Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea is served in the Courtyard Garden and is the perfect place for a Alice In Wonderland themed tea. There is a waterfall, topiaries, little pathways - it's like a magical secret garden!

The menu is also a combination of wondrous sounding food!
The sandwiches are rainbow coloured, there is a hot and cold lolipop and an exploding lolipop, plus a drink potion with 3 different flavoured layers!

First up, it's the rainbow sandwiches. There were Egg Mayonnaise on brown bread, Cucumber and Black Pepper on beetroot bread, Ham and Mustard on yellow saffron bread and Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese on green spinach bread. I'm vegetarian and the staff were great in substituting the ham and salmon sandwiches for more egg and cucumber sandwiches! They were delicious and I could have eaten another round easily!

Tokidoki Makeup Bag

I just had to show you one of my most recent purchases!
My Tokidoki makeup bag, yay!

If you have never heard of Tokidoki, let me introduce you!

Created by artist Simone Legno, what started out as artwork, became a range of amazing bags and accessories. I am so in love with Tokidoki bags! They were a seriously hot item when LeSportsac collaborated with them a few years ago.
I tried to collect as many as I could, but it was hard work as they were a USA only release. Hence painfully expensive eBay purchases over a couple of years!

They were a massive success and as the collaboration with LeSportsac ended, Tokidoki carried on releasing new bags and then clothing and then jewellery and then shoes and then cosmetics!

The addictive thing is, they release new designs all the time and each one is sooo cute, you have to get one of each design! The same characters appear on the merchandise, but with a different theme each time, there has been a Paradise theme, Pirates, Transport, Christmas, Rock Concert, Jungle and more!

I have 5 amazing bags and 3 pairs of shoes now, which I love dearly and hardly ever use because they cost me so much, oh well!

Not only do I have a bag addiction, but then Sephora went and collaborated with Tokidoki and released the cutest makeup, ever!

Again, USA only, so every time I went to America on holiday, I tried to pick up a piece of the collection.

I have a cute set now, which will be an upcoming post, but to just introduce you to the brand, or whet your appetite for the makeup posts, I want to show you my makeup bag!

Glossybox August 2013 Review!

August's Glossybox theme is High Flyers - products that can be taken on your travels and they have also come from other countries. Nice!

So first up, from the USA, we have a 40ml tube of Aquaphor soothing skin balm from Eucerin.
This is a balm that helps very dry skin and is gentle enough for use on babies. I do have really dry skin on my legs and this is a good size tube to be able to give it a good test!
Worth approx. £2

Next we have, also from the USA, a TRESemme Treatment Shot.
This little tube is to be applied to already shampooed hair and left on for 60 seconds, then rinsed. It's meant to help get you soft. smooth, frizz-free hair. I can't wait to see if it works!
Worth £1.49

Birchbox August 2013 Review!

August's Birchbox is a collaboration with InStyle magazine and themed on Summer Nights! This makes me think of warm, comforting, tropical things! Let's see if any of those are in this months box!...............

First up is a small bottle of Amber and Argan oil from Montibel.lo. This promises to nourish, moisturise, smooth and soften your hair. I haven't tried this yet, but will do, as I'm still looking to find an amazing hair oil that works for me!

Next is a tube of Bluemandarines Skin Life Energetic Cellular cream.
"This moisturiser contains concentrated peptides that stimulate and protect the skin stem cells".
Sounds good so I'll give it a go.

Next we have Gerda Spillmann Hydro Pearls. This is a primer that can be used alone if you have oily and combination skin, or used with your moisturiser if you have dryer skin.
I love primers so will definitely try this!

TONY MOLY Petite Bunny Gloss Bar

I love Tony Moly. They have such cute packaging.
I already reviewed the amazingly cool Latte Art Morning Pack and now it's time for some lip gloss!

Here is the Petite Bunny Lip Gloss Bar!

How cute is this little bunny?!

Zatchels V.I.P Event - Part 2 - Outlet Shop & Bags! Bags! Bags!

I recently had the chance to visit the Zatchels factory and also visit the newly opened Factory Outlet Store in Leicester - see my factory tour post here!

In this post I will show you all the lovely satchels and bags available in the shop for a discounted price!

The shop is located on 10 Charter Street in Leicester and is easy to locate and also has free parking, which is great.

The shop sells discounted satchels, barrel bags and saddle bags, as well as accessories like luggage tags and tablet cases. There is a grading scale used for all items which relates to the discount given, but all the items I saw, I couldn't really see any bad defects at all. They looked good and the discounts were great. You can see some of the prices on some of my photos if you look carefully!