Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Cadbury
The Blogging Process: Stationery
1
8 years
For me, blogging is so much more than just sitting down with my laptop and reeling something off in a few minutes. It involves planning, making notes when the moment strikes, drafting, taking and editing photos, organising my time, and of course, writing and publishing the final post! Over time I’ve noticed that I’ve hoarded quite a lot of stationery to aid these stages, so I thought I’d share with you my stationery essentials for the process of blogging.
Notebooks and Pens
As a writer, and an Academic Support Worker, I always carry notebooks and copious amounts of pens with me at all times, as I need them for my work. But I have special notebooks that are dedicated to just blogging. I carry a little one with me in my handbag so I can make notes when I’m inspired whilst out and about, and I use a bigger one at home to roughly draft post ideas, make lists of upcoming posts, and doodle nail art designs etc.
Sticky Notes
I use sticky notes a lot when I need to remind myself of something, such as sending invoices or replying to PR emails. My notebooks and bedside table are covered in them!
Highlighters
I love to have a highlighter or two handy so I can highlight important points in press releases. It just makes getting all the relevant information into a post that little bit easier!
USB Stick
After 3 years my laptop is well and truly on its way out, so just to be safe I like to back up my blog posts and photos on a USB stick. That way they’re portable too, so I can organise posts on someone else’s computer or laptop if needs be.
Paper Clips and Rubber Bands
Not an essential, but I like to be organised, so I use these to keep press releases neatly together!
After all this planning and prepping, I like to settle down on the sofa with my laptop and a cheeky chocolate treat, and type away whilst I have something good on TV in the background.
What are your stationery must haves for blogging?
Naomi x
*This stationery was sent to me on behalf of Viking Direct for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Mini Nail Varnish Haul featuring Models Own and Barry M
20Hi everyone,
Just a quick post from me today as I want to share with you my recent nail varnish buys. As well as the Models Own sale items I ordered a few weeks ago, I have acquired a few more shiny pretties lately. In fact, they’re ALL glittery! It must be the time of year, what with the party season and Christmas just around the corner.
The most exciting new varnishes in my collection are three from the new Models Own Wonderland range. The range features five sparkly, wintery glitters, all of which give a different stunning effect. The three I went for are…
From Left to Right:
- Northern Lights (pink micro holographic glitter)
- Southern Lights (purple micro holographic glitter)
- Jack Frost (Blue micro glitter in clear varnish)
Aren’t they ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL?? The photos really don’t do them justice. I can’t wait to try them on! I nipped into Boots to buy these yesterday and was extremely pleased to find them included in a 3 for 2 offer, so I got all three for a total of £10, saving £5. If you want the whole set I recommend you grab these whilst they’re on offer as it works out cheaper than buying the full boxed set from the Models Own website!
The next varnish in my little haul is a new one from Barry M – Ruby Glitter.
Barry M released this shade along with a few other glitters a few weeks ago. There are quite a few in the range that I would like (especially Amethyst Glitter), but I went for this one first because I instantly fell in love with it. It consists of different sized flecks of black glitter, studded with red/magenta glitter. It reminds me of Valentines Day (my birthday) for some reason… It just has an air of passion and luxury about it! Like most Barry M Nail Paints, Ruby Glitter retails for an affordable £2.99.
The final little gem in this haul is one that my mum brought back from Portugal last week – a lush purple shade from a range called ‘Yes Love’.
This varnish is Cadbury purple with a delicate golden shimmer running through it. I’m wearing this at the minute and it looks really lovely on. Apparently it only cost a bargainous 1 euro as well, which is a miniscule price tag for such a good quality varnish.
I’ll be reviewing all of these varnishes over the coming days and weeks, starting tomorrow with the ‘Yes Love’ purple so keep an eye out. Which is your favourite so far?
Naomi x
Chocolate Treat Week: Fashion and Accessories
8
9 years
Welcome to my final Chocolate Treat Week post! It’s been a busy week but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, and I hope you have too. Today’s post will focus on chocolate themed fashion and accessories, including a rather nifty T Shirt, a couple of stunning items of jewellery and a cuter than cute pocket mirror. So, let’s begin…
Cadbury’s Chicken or Creme Egg T Shirt from TruffleShuffle
I was recently sent this amazingly quirky T Shirt by a fab clothing company called TruffleShuffle, and I absolutely love it. Creme Eggs have to be one of my favourite chocolate treats (why oh why do they only sell them at Easter??) and, as my regular readers will know, purple is my favourite colour. As such, this T Shirt really was made for me, especially when you consider my penchant for philosophy! After all, the fun, clever design takes on one of life’s most pressing questions.
The T Shirt itself is extremely comfortable as it is cut well to fit womanly curves, and you can tell that the fabric is fantastic quality. It is very soft and quite thick, and has a good stretch to it, and it’s also a nice length… I’m 5’10” so very often I will get T Shirts which are irritatingly too short for me, but this one is just right due to its slightly longer length.
I love how bold the purple shade of the fabric is, and the logo is equally as bright. The logo is also really well printed, and neither the fabric or the logo have faded since I received the T Shirt. The fading you can see in the photograph is part of the retro design, and the rest of it isn’t going anywhere in a hurry! This T Shirt has already become a treasured part of my wardrobe and, just like the logo, it’s here to stay.
TruffleShuffle’s Cadbury Chicken or Creme Egg T Shirt retails for £14.99, which is incredible value for money for such a high quality product, but you’ll be pleased to know that you can get an even better deal at the minute as it is on sale for £11.99! They have a few other Creme Egg designs in various colours too, for men as well as women. TruffleShuffle specialise in 80s and Retro T Shirts but they also sell jewellery, accessories and gifts. Their customer service is outstanding as if you order before 4pm your items will be posted the same day. I actually received my T Shirt the day after it was sent, and it even contained some sweeties which was a nice extra touch! TruffleShuffe really are ‘Officially Awesome’ and I’ll be going to them from now on for all of my T Shirt needs!
Milk Chocolate Ring from Purple Magpie
This gorgeous statement ring was made by Lynda, an independent jewellery maker who runs a lovely little jewellery company called Purple Magpie. Lynda is a self-employed artist and has been creating jewellery for the past two years, which she sells at Newcastle’s Quayside every Sunday, as well as on Etsy and Folksy. Most of Lynda’s jewellery features food and sweets, and her Milk Chocolate Ring is no exception!
The chocolate fudge-looking ring is handmade using polymer clay and it is very neat. The detail on it is absolutely incredible too… From the teeth marks in the ‘bite’ to the piped chocolate heart on top, it all looks so real! If I didn’t know better I’d want to eat it, but obviously I wouldn’t, that’s just silly. The ring itself measures 18mm in diameter at its smallest, but it is adjustable so it is suitable for just about anyone. It might be chunky and a decent size, but don’t let that fool you. Polymer clay is very light so it doesn’t weigh your hand down at all when wearing it which is a massive bonus.
Purple Magpie’s Milk Chocolate Ring is available on Etsy for just £4, and there are a few other chocolatey items in Lynda’s jewellery range too. It is clear that all of Lynda’s jewellery is carefully made with love, and considering the high quality of her products you are getting an absolute bargain. If you decide to buy, I’m sure you’ll love your chocolate ring as much as I love mine!
Miniature Chocolate Necklace from Sweet n Neat Jewellery
Necklaces are perhaps my most worn accessory, and out of the many that I own this Miniature Chocolate Necklace is one of my favourites. The necklace is handmade by Laura of Sweet n Neat Jewellery, who started making jewellery last November, and has since started making accessories as well. All of Laura’s jewellery is made from Fimo, and she tells me that she likes using Fimo as it is easy to mould and comes in any colour under the sun! She also takes pride in making her jewellery as ‘sweet’ and ‘neat’ as possible, hence the name.
The chocolate pendant is very dainty and cute, but despite its small size it is still detailed and looks wonderfully realistic! It is coated with a glaze which makes the chocolate look shiny and yummy, but unfortunately it isn’t edible (although the missing corner makes it look like someone’s had a nibble!) The pendant also hangs perfectly as it lies flat and at a slight angle, and since it is on an 18″ chain it sits nicely in the centre of my chest. I do believe the chain is sterling silver too, so it doesn’t leave any green marks on the skin.
Laura’s Miniature Chocolate Necklace comes delivered in a gift box and is currently selling on Etsy for only £6. You can even buy matching Miniature Chocolate Hair Grips! If you’d like to follow Laura, her Twitter name is @SweetnNeatJwlry, and she also has a Facebook page.
Cocoa Cookie Pocket Mirror and Comb from eBay
My final chocolate themed accessory is this cute pocket mirror which I picked up on eBay for 99p. The mirror says ‘Cocoa Cookies I Like’, which isn’t fantastic English but that doesn’t really matter I suppose. The mirror is made to look like an Oreo cookie, and is quite a decent size. It might have been cheap, but the quality is pretty good and I think it looks absolutely adorable! Probably the most exciting thing about this mirror, however, is what’s inside…
That’s right – the cream inside the cookie is actually a little comb! How innovative is that?
If you’d like one for yourself, you can order your Cocoa Pocket Mirror here.
The Last Rolo…
The Last Rolo is where I hand over the last few words of each Chocolate Treat Week blog post to another blogger. In the run up to Chocolate Treat Week I asked five of my favourite bloggers a couple of questions about their favourite chocolate treats, and today’s answers come from Nonfashionista.
Can you recommend any chocolate scented, flavoured or themed beauty/fashion products?
Well I like the chocomania products from body shop. I’ve tried the lip butter and it’s nice!!!
I’m a fan of their body butters but I haven’t tried the chocomania one..i’m sure it’s as nice as their coconut one!
One of my friends really likes the chocolate shampoo from carol’s daughter.. I think they talked about it at Oprah’s.
What is your favourite chocolate treat to eat, and why?
My favorite chocolate treat..that’s a thought one..I love chocolate!!! I love anything chocolate..I would probably have to say a good slice of my mother’s chocolate cake, that’s really moist and creamy inside! Also I make a mean chocolate mousse 
and.. ben’s cookies: any chocolate or other 😛
So, that’s it! The end of my first ever themed blog week – Chocolate Treat Week. I really hope you’ve enjoyed all of my posts, and if you have then please share them with your friends and fellow bloggers! If you haven’t already seen my other chocolate posts, you can do so here:
Skin, Bath and Body
Hair
Makeup
Nails
Thank you so much for reading, and a big thank you to all of those who took part in The Last Rolo!
Naomi x
*The Chicken or Creme Egg T Shirt, Milk Chocolate Ring and Miniature Chocolate Necklace featured in this post were kindly gifted to me by their respective companies, for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and my own*
Chocolate Treat Week: Nails
5
9 years
In this penultimate Chocolate Treat Week post I will be talking about all things nail related. I will be sharing my favourite chocolate coloured nail varnish, by Barry M, as well as some new nail art featuring five of my favourite chocolate treats! See if you can guess what they are. Oh, and of course there’ll be a few words at the end of the post from one of my favourite bloggers, in The Last Rolo.
Nail Varnish… Barry M Nail Paint in ‘Chocolate Brown’
Since first discovering them many moons ago, I have always loved Barry M’s Nail Paints, so it seemed only natural to include their ‘Chocolate Brown’ shade in this post. Like all of their paints, this one has a fantastic formula. It applies effortlessly easily and leaves no brush strokes or streaking behind, and opaque, even coverage can be achieved in just two coats. The paint dries impressively quickly too so there’s no hanging around for hours waiting for it to dry, and as you’d expect of Barry M it is very long-lasting.
‘Chocolate Brown’ is a really stunning shade, and it has a high shine, creme finish which gives it a true look of chocolate! The brown colour is highly pigmented with an undertone of orange so it isn’t too dark. As such, even indoors in dim light it looks rich brown rather than dull black. I’m sure you’d all agree that ‘Chocolate Brown’ is perfect for Autumn/Winter 2012 as deep, earthy nail shades are bang on-trend right now.
Barry M Nail Paints are available in Superdrug and Boots for £2.99 each, but as far as I know they aren’t currently stocking this shade. However, you can get it even cheaper on a great website I discovered recently called Scentsational. They are selling ‘Chocolate Brown’ for £2.95 with free delivery, but if you ‘Like’ their Facebook page you can get £1 off your order! That’s how I got hold of this shade, so you can definitely trust the website and discount code!
Nail Art… Chocolate Wrappers
After much deliberation about what I would do for a chocolate themed nail art design, I came up with this – the wrappers and logos of five of my favourite chocolate treats! Can you guess what they are?
If you said (from left to right) Cadbury’s Creme Egg, Terry’s Chocolate Orange, Cadbury Twirl, Milky Bar and Maltesers then you are correct! I had a LOT of fun creating this look and I’m very pleased with the results… Especially the Milky Bar nail! I surprised myself with how neat and accurate I got the font on that one. As usual, I used nail dotting tools to draw this design, and the colours I used were:
- Avon Nailwear Pro ‘Real Red’
- Saffron ‘Shade 16′ (Purple)
- Rimmel 60 Seconds ‘Blue My Mind’
- Barry M ‘Yellow’
- Barry M ‘Chocolate Brown’
- Laval Crystal Finish ‘White’
- Primark ‘Black’
- NYC In A Minute ‘High Line Green’
- Avon Nailwear Pro ‘Coral Beat’
- Leichner Nail Gloss ‘Blueberry’
What do you think? Which five chocolate bars would you include in this design?
The Last Rolo…
The Last Rolo is where I hand over the last few words of each Chocolate Treat Week blog post to another blogger. In the run up to Chocolate Treat Week I asked five of my favourite bloggers a couple of questions about their favourite chocolate treats, and today’s answers come from Ra of RaRa Reid.
Can you recommend any chocolate scented, flavoured or themed beauty/fashion products?
I would recommend the Soft Coeur masage bar from Lush. It smells incredible and is amazing for your skin. Like most Lush products! It’s also heart-shaped which I love. Lush also have a lip tint called Double Choc. I haven’t actually tried this as brown shades don’t suit me, but it just smells wonderful! As for fashion, I am a huge fan of kitsch jewellery, especially necklaces. I got a Jammie Dodger necklace a while back from Diamond Lil’s and they have a lovely Bourbon Biscuit necklace which I’d also love to add to my jewellery collection. This is their website. There are plenty of other sites that have similar necklaces to this too.
What is your favourite chocolate treat to eat, and why?
Choosing a favourite chocolate treat is really quite difficult, I love all chocolate! My absolute favourite has to be a Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter, I haven’t actually had one for over 2 years now though as Teddi is allergic to nuts. Other than that, I love all the chocolates that I used to have as a child. Like Freddos and Curly Wurlys.
Once again, thank you so much for reading my latest Chocolate Treat Week post. Please come back tomorrow to read the final chocolate themed post which will focus on fashion and accessories.
Naomi x
