Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged new
Krispy Kreme Leicester
0I’d been hoping for Krispy Kreme to come to Leicester’s Highcross shopping centre ever since it was redeveloped in 2008, and I know this was a wish shared by many. And now, after years of waiting, thanks to popular demand, Leicester finally has its first kiosk! The kiosk, which is located on the ground floor of Highcross outside Tiger, launched on 14th February, with 170 people waiting in line before it even opened. Unfortunately I was unable to make it down on opening day, but I made a visit last weekend to grab myself some much coveted doughnuts!
I got there just before the kiosk opened at 10:30am, and there was already a queue forming. The kiosk is bigger than I was expecting, with a full-size cabinet full of sweet treats, hot and cold drinks available, and a fairly large seating area. I was also impressed by the staff that I met, who were all friendly and efficient.
At any one time, Krispy Kreme has around fifteen different varieties to choose from, and you can buy them singly or in threes, or you can choose one of their boxes – original glazed dozen, assorted dozen, or choose your own dozen. I got the assorted dozen, which featured twelve of Krispy Kreme’s best sellers, including my two all-time favourites – Strawberries and Kreme, and Chocolate Dreamcake.
I also spotted Krispy Kreme’s two latest limited edition offerings in the cabinet, both of which I will be going back for. The Lotus Caramelised Biscoff doughnut is filled with biscuit spread-infused Kreme, and is topped with biscuit spread icing, biscuit crumb and white chocolate shavings. The Reese’s Peanut Butter doughnut is filled with, you guessed it, Reese’s peanut butter! It’s then finished off with chocolate icing, hazelnuts, and Reese’s peanut butter drops.
Krispy Kreme is very much a welcome addition to Leicester, and I’m looking forward to visiting again soon!
Naomi x
ASOS Wayfarer Sunglasses GIVEAWAY
45
6 years
Summer is almost upon us, and what better way to celebrate the sunny weather than with a giveaway?! I have one pair of brand new ASOS Tortoiseshell Wayfarer Sunglasses to gift to one lucky winner, courtesy of Red Hot Sunglasses, and it’s really easy to enter. All you have to do is become an email subscriber and leave a comment on this post, and then you have the option to earn extra entries, via Twitter, Facebook, Bloglovin’, and Instagram. To enter, use the Rafflecopter form below.
I have a pair of these sunglasses myself, and they’re the perfect combination of functional and fashionable. They add a touch of retro glamour to any outfit! The pair pictured above are mine, but you will receive an unused, sealed pair, complete with protective pouch.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The giveaway will be open for two weeks, and will close at midnight GMT on Friday 30th May. The giveaway is open internationally to those aged 18 or over, and all entries will be verified. A winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter on Saturday 31st May and will be contacted via email the same day, so please use a valid email address when subscribing. The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize, and if the prize isn’t claimed another winner will be chosen.
Good luck and thanks for entering!
Naomi x
*These ASOS Tortoiseshell Wayfarer Sunglasses were sent to me by Red Hot Sunglasses for use at bewitcheryblog.co.uk. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Thrifty Finds No.2: ASOS Rabbit Across Body Bag
3
7 years
As my regular readers will know, I’m always on the hunt for a bargain, and last week something special caught my eye through the window of my local Oxfam charity shop – a gorgeous little bag with a rabbit motif on the front. Unfortunately the shop was closed, but I knew I needed that bag, so the next morning I whizzed on down to buy it, with my fingers firmly crossed in the hope that it hadn’t already been sold. Luckily it hadn’t, and I was surprised to find that a) it was an ASOS bag (I half expected it to be from Primark), and b) it looked brand new!
A quick Google search revealed that, though ASOS no longer stock this bag, it was quite a popular design last Autumn/Winter, and cost £20.00 on their website, and is regularly being sold on eBay second-hand for close to that. I paid the small sum of £4.99 for mine, which I’m very pleased with considering it looks new!
The bag itself is made of mink coloured faux leather and is also lined. It has a nice sturdy shape to it and is accented with gold corners and, of course, that beautiful little rabbit motif. The strap is long so it fits across the body, and adjusts with a buckle. I just love it, and though it’s not a colour I’d usually wear, it’s neutral enough to go with almost anything.
What do you think of this thrifty find?
Naomi x
Making the Most of 2013
2Happy New Year everyone! Whether you spent hours partying or had a quiet evening at home, I hope you all had a wonderful time last night. I’m not usually a fan of celebrating the New Year, but last night I enjoyed spending time with my fiancé’s family; eating food, playing games and watching the children put on puppet shows.
2012 was a successful year for me in many ways. I finished the first year of my Masters degree and started the second, I got a new job as an Academic Support Worker at a university, which I really enjoy, and of course, I started blogging and have gained lots of writing experience and ‘met’ lots of lovely like-minded people! So, I’d like to thank every single one of you for all your support throughout 2012, and here’s to another exciting blogging year!
There is one thing I think 2012 was lacking though, and that’s fun! With my new job and my degree taking up most of my time, I didn’t get a chance to go on holiday, I rarely had enough money to go to gigs or on days out, and I forgot how to relax. I didn’t even make it down to London which I do every year! So, I’ve decided that this year will be different. I have a dissertation to write which will obviously take up a lot of my free time, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take a few breaks! I’d like to go on holiday, and I definitely have to visit London to shop and see an exhibition or two. I also want to go to Brighton and Whitby at some point. There are few smaller things I want to do in 2013 as well, things I’ve never done before. Nothing overly exciting, just things like bake a soufflé and read a Stephen King novel, because it’s always good to expand your knowledge!
I don’t usually make New Year’s Resolutions, and this year is no different. There are things I want to do, but they’re not resolutions as such. 2012 was an exception however, as I vowed to change my lifestyle for the better, both in terms of eating and exercise. And you know what? I did it! I lost two stone in weight, stopped eating so much rubbish and started doing more exercise. I even ran the Sport Relief Mile in March which I was very proud of. I want to run it again this year too, this time with my fiancé, so we better start training!
2013 might be an ugly number (it just doesn’t have the same ring to it as 2012), but I’m hoping it will be full of good surprises. I’m particularly hopeful that I will make more of Bewitchery this year! What’s on your ‘To Do’ list for 2013?
Naomi x
Montagne Jeunesse Exotic Fruits Collection
4The lovely folks over at natural skin care company Montagne Jeunesse recently launched their latest face mask collection, Exotic Fruits, and I was lucky enough to be offered the chance to try the range for myself. There are three Exotic Fruit Face Masks available; Dragon Fruit Sauna, Paw Paw Peel Off and Prickly Pear Peel Off, all of which are animal friendly and suitable for vegetarians like me.
The first thing that struck me about these masks when I received them, other than the eye-catching, colourful packaging, was the size of the sachets. They are slightly smaller in size to the Montagne Jeunesse sachets that I’m used to, but they still contain a generous amount of product which is more than enough for one application, so you’re not getting ripped off!
As soon as I saw it I really, really wanted to try the Dragon Fruit Sauna mask as it is self heating, and I absolutely love Montagne Jeunesse’s self heating Hot Chocolate mask, but this one contains kiwi which I’m allergic to, so I will be passing this mask on to a lucky someone at some point. So, the mask I will be featuring in this post is the Prickly Pear Peel Off.
The Prickly Pear Peel Off is described as being a ‘Shockingly Juicy Skin Boost’, and contains nourishing, natural ingredients from unusual fruits which are included to tackle blemishes. The Prickly Pear extracts are rich in minerals and Vitamin C, which help to soften and smooth the skin, and the second fruity ingredient, Mangosteen, is known for its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory spot fighting properties. The mask also contains Melon, which is rich in Vitamin A and cleansing antioxidants.
The product itself is really quite pleasing to the eye, as well as the nose. It is a bright pinky purple colour which, in all honesty, I would LOVE as a nail varnish shade, and it smells absolutely divine. The sweet smell of pear comes through really strongly, but not overwhelmingly, and other fruits such as the melon come through too. It smells and feels so light and fresh – it’s just lovely, and a nice little flashback to summer!
As with all Montagne Jeunesse masks, application is simple. After washing your face with warm water, you simply smooth it on with clean hands and then relax for 15-20 minutes whilst it dries. I found that the smaller size of the sachet meant that, for some reason, it was a lot easier to squeeze the mask out of the sachet without making a mess. It’s really important to create an even layer of mask on your face when applying so it dries evenly, and this was also very easy to do as the thicker areas showed up darker, so I just evened these areas out whilst it was still wet.
When I first applied the mask it made my skin burn slightly, which obviously worried me a little bit, but after 5 minutes or so the burning sensation calmed down and my face was left feeling cooled and invigorated. I’m not sure what caused the burning sensation but I have been using medicated gel on my face lately, which can make my skin feel quite sore, so it could have been down to that.
After 20 minutes the mask was completely dry but it didn’t go tight at all like some masks do, which is great. It also peeled off really easily (but unfortunately not in one piece so I wasn’t left with a ghost face to scare anyone with!). After use my skin felt amazingly soft and I didn’t need to use any moisturiser afterwards as it added moisture to my skin rather than taking it away. In fact, the next morning my face still felt as soft as it did after using the mask, which is pretty good going.
The whole Exotic Fruits Collection is available on Montagne Jeunesse’s website, as well in Asda and Boots, and each sachet costs just £1.29 – a small price to pay for such a fruity little treat!
Have you tried this range yet?
Naomi x
Tried and Tested: Avon’s NEW Colortrend Range
6
8 years
After years of sticking with simple black and pink packaging, Avon have just had a complete overhaul of their Colortrend range. The old lipsticks, glosses, eyeshadows and nail enamels have been scrapped and replaced with a bigger and brighter selection of shades, and everything else has also been spruced up with a fresh look. I received a few items from the new range with my last Avon order, and this is what they look like…
Pictured above, in no particular order, you can see:
- Color Me Pretty Suede Effect Nail Enamel in ‘Soft Violet’
- Color Me Pretty Nail Enamel in ‘Velour’
- Pencil Play Eyeliner in ‘Turquoise’
- Plump Out Mascara in ‘Black’
- Read My Lips Lip Gloss in ‘Clear’
- Read My Lips Lip Gloss in ‘Fluorescent Pink’
- Kiss ‘n’ Go Lipstick in ‘Doll Pink’
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a fan of white plastic products. White iPhones, white Wii consoles, white kitchen equipment all look slightly tacky in my eyes, so at first I wasn’t best pleased to see that Avon had replaced the traditional Colortrend black with white. However, when I saw the boxes and wrappers that everything came in, I changed my mind slightly. I love the colours, shapes and fonts that have been used, and I think they offset the white nicely so you hardly even notice it in the end. The Colortrend range is aimed at younger Avon users, and I definitely think the new look gives the products a more young, lighthearted and fun image than they had before, so in that respect the overhaul has been successful!
But what about the products themselves? Have they been improved? Well, I haven’t yet tried a lot of them (some of the items pictured above were for my customers) so I can’t comment on everything, but I have tried the Suede Effect Nail Enamel and Read My Lips Lip Gloss, so I will now give my thoughts on those…
Color Me Pretty Suede Effect Nail Enamel in ‘Soft Violet’ (RRP £3)
‘Soft Violet’ is a rich purple with a silver shimmer running through it. It is also matte, which combined with the shimmer gives it that ‘suede’ look, as does the fact that it feels almost soft to the touch! I really like the colour and it is very different to Avon’s other purple matte varnish, which is good as I find it quite annoying when a company have two very similar shades!
The consistency of the varnish is excellent, and a definite improvement on the old, runny Colortrend varnishes. It sits comfortably in the middle of thick and thin so it applies smoothly, with no streaks, and you can achieve an opaque look in just two coats, instead of the three or four it took before.
The only thing I was disappointed with was how long the varnish lasts. Because it is matte, I couldn’t apply a top coat as all of my top coats are glossy, so it chipped within a day on several nails, and the ends showed wear very quickly.
Despite the chipping, I am in love with this nail varnish. It’s a breath of fresh air within the previously rather basic Colortrend nail enamel collection, and it is much better quality than I was expecting too. There are two other suede nail enamels available (a blue and a pink), and twelve other glossy nail enamels, including two ‘morph’ colours which look a bit like Models Own Beetljuice range. Now I know how good the formula is, I will definitely be getting some more! Starting with ‘Fuschia Feel’ and ‘Vixen’.
Read My Lips Lip Gloss in ‘Clear’ (RRP £3.75)
On its own.
Over lipstick.
Whilst browsing the last Avon brochure I realised that (shock horror) I didn’t actually own a clear lip gloss! That needed fixing pronto, so I ordered this one as it was on offer for only 99p. When I first opened the tube I thought the gloss smelt a bit funny and it put me off a little. I made my mum sniff it and she liked the smell, so I guess that one’s just down to personal taste. The gloss applies quite thickly, but it isn’t too sticky which makes up for it, and gives a nice shine to naked lips. As you can see, I also applied it over matte lipstick and it really made my lips stand out. It made the lipstick stay on a LOT longer than it does without gloss, which I wasn’t expecting so was an added bonus!
Overall, despite my initial reservations with the change of packaging, I am glad that Avon have given the Colortrend range a new lease of life. I was getting a bit bored of seeing the same few shades over and over again, so the new products have come as a breath of fresh air for me. The shades are bold and exciting and I can’t wait to see and try more of them!
Will you be trying any of the new Colortrend products? If you fancy a browse of the new range, you can visit my Personal Online Brochure here. You can even place an order with me if you feel inclined to do so! Colortrend products are currently 2 for £4, so you can really grab a bargain right now 
Naomi x
MUA Lip Booms in ‘Bring It’ and ‘It’s A Situation’
3
8 years
by Naomi in Lips
Earlier this week I ordered two of MUA’s NEW Lip Booms via their website and, after a 24 hour wait, my package arrived yesterday! I have been excited about trying the Lip Booms ever since I heard about them, so I was very happy to get my hands on some so soon to see whether or not they lived up to the hype.
My first impressions were that they look absolutely great. I really like how chunky they are and they look really slick in the classic MUA black packaging with the shiny silver font.
The Lip Boom collection includes 8 stunning shades, and each boom is double ended, featuring a matte lipstick and a glittery highlighting gloss. The two shades I went for are ‘Bring it’ and ‘It’s A Situation’…
MUA teamed up with British pop artist Alexandra Burke to create the Lip Boom range, and they can be worn in four different ways; as a matte lipstick, as a sheer gloss, as a glossy lipstick or to create the illusion of more volume! For the latter look, the trick is to apply the lipstick first, then highlight the centre of your lower lip and the Cupid’s bow on your top lip for ‘fuller curvaceous lips’.
Here is a demo of each look in each shade. Sorry about all the pictures! The top shade is ‘Bring It’, and the bottom shade is ‘It’s A Situation’. As you can see, the glosses are very similar.
Sheer
Matte
Glossy
Volume
I really love both lipsticks when worn matte as they’re easy to apply and nicely creamy. They also stay on for AGES and are fairly difficult to remove, but I see that as a good thing as it means they have the potential to last all day! I thought the gloss looked great as a highlighter too. However, the gloss isn’t just shimmery, it’s glittery, and the glitter is quite coarse, so when there is a lot of gloss on your lips it is really quite irritating! Every time I rubbed my lips together when wearing the sheer and glossy looks, the glitter felt gritty and uncomfortable, so I’m not sure I’d actually wear the gloss like that very often. The gloss also has a VERY strong scent, like creme brulee, which I initially found quite overpowering, but the sweetness soon grew on me. If you don’t like scented lip products though, you probably won’t like the Boom gloss, but give it a chance as the scent fades eventually and leaves no taste.
In terms of colour, both are absolutely stunning! ‘Bring It’ is a bold, daring red which is perfect for a sultry evening look. ‘It’s A Situation’ is a deep violet purple, which happens to be my favourite lipstick colour so this one is definitely my favourite!
Overall, MUA Lip Booms have lived up to my expectations (despite the gloss issue) as they’re versatile, look great and are amazing value for money. Lip Booms are currently available online via the MUA Store and cost just £3 each, and will be in Superdrug stores from 9th May. I think I’ll be getting ‘LMK’ too once they’re in shops!
Which shades will you be trying?
Naomi x
NEW Bewitchery Logo – Sneak Peak!
0
9 years
by Naomi in General
Just a quick update with a sneak preview of my new Bewitchery logo! The logo isn’t yet complete and will eventually feature some cute swirly patterns, but this gives a basic idea of what the finished product will look like. Of course, it’s purple
What do you think?
Naomi x
