Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Week
Debenhams Random Acts of Kindess
0
7 years
by Naomi in Fashion
Ben de Lisi Spike Drop Necklace
February 9th saw the start of Random Acts of Kindness week, and to celebrate Debenhams surprised me with their very own RAK, and let me choose a little treat from their range of jewellery. There were quite a few pieces to pick from, and after much deliberation I settled for this striking spike drop necklace, by Ben de Lisi for Principles.
The chunky cord chain, large glass gems and silver plated accents make this necklace look effortlessly glam, and it really does make a statement. It looks amazing teamed with a little black dress, either dressed up with a pair of heels and a clutch, or down with a pair of ankle boots and cute cardigan.
The necklace usually costs £18, but is currently on offer with 20% off. Shop it here!
Naomi x
*This Ben de Lisi Spike Drop Necklace was sent to me by Debenhams as part of Random Acts of Kindness week. All 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
Chocolate Treat Week: Hair
1
9 years
Hello everyone! Today’s Chocolate Treat Week post will focus on chocolate coloured and scented hair care products. I have spent a lot of time recently trying to improve the look and feel of my hair, as it tends to switch between being dull and dry or lank and greasy depending on the weather and how often I wash it. In my search for products suited to my hair I happened to discover two fantastic ones which are also chocolatey, and as such are perfect for this post. Allow me to share them with you…
Wash with… Toni & Guy Chocolate Brown Colour Reviver Shampoo
I’ve always been somewhat thrifty when it comes to shampoo, but when I found this Colour Reviver Shampoo by Toni & Guy I decided to invest as it looked and sounded too good not to. This particular Colour Reviver, in ‘Chocolate Brown’, is intended for use on natural or dyed brown hair, and claims to ‘extend the richness and depth of tone’. As a proud brunette, I like to accentuate the colour of my hair as much as possible without the use of hair dye, so I was keen to try it out.
The shampoo itself has a very thick consistency, and is speckled with bronze and golden glittery deposits, which cling to the hair to give it that ‘depth of tone’. Unfortunately, it doesn’t smell like chocolate (it has a fairly standard shampoo scent) but I suppose that makes it suitable for those who dislike strongly scented hair products.
Due to the thickness of the shampoo, it is slightly difficult to work into the hair at first, but with a bit of persistence a nice lather can be built up. The bottle says to rinse the shampoo out thoroughly to avoid staining, and that it can be used for every wash on natural hair and every other wash on dyed hair.
I use Colour Reviver with my usual Avon conditioner, and then blow dry my hair as normal. After using the Colour Reviver, my hair always has a rich, intense colour to it, is fantastically soft and shiny and moves fluidly… Almost like melted chocolate! I couldn’t get a photograph that shows just how nice this shampoo makes my hair look, but you can clearly see how shiny it makes it! It really is quite impressive. The results are hardy too… I washed my hair before going swimming today, and even after getting it wet in the pool it still looked great after it dried.
The only thing I don’t like about this product is the packaging, but that’s personal choice… I’m just not that keen on the flip lid design!
Toni & Guy’s Chocolate Brown Colour Reviver Shampoo retails at £5.80 for a 250ml bottle, but is currently on offer on Amazon for £4.06. It’s hard to find this shampoo in shops these days so the internet is probably your best bet if you want to try it for yourself!
Freshen Up with… Superdrug Chocolate Brownie Dry Shampoo
I usually wash my hair every day, but sometimes I don’t have the time or I just can’t be bothered, and that’s when dry shampoo becomes an essential. In the past I have used Batiste dry shampoo, but to be honest I never really got on with it… It didn’t seem to make much difference to my hair, other than leaving behind a white residue. So, when I picked up some of Superdrug’s Chocolate Brownie Dry Shampoo instead, I was very happy.
Like Toni & Guy’s Chocolate Brown, Superdrug’s Chocolate Brownie is for use on brunette hair as it is lightly coloured, and as such doesn’t make your hair look powdery and white! The spray has a very strong chocolate scent which doesn’t smell at all artificial – it literally smells like warm chocolate brownies in the oven! Delicious.
To use the dry shampoo you just need to spray it onto dry hair from about 30cm away, then gently brush it through, et voila! Freshened hair. A word of warning with this one though… The spray is VERY strong. I have asthma and used this in my bedroom last week with the windows closed and could barely breathe afterwards, so make sure you use it in a well ventilated area!
Superdrug’s Dry Shampoo makes unwashed hair look less greasy and gives it a bit of volume, and the results last a good few hours before you need to tse the spray again. I actually bought this on offer recently at three cans for £2.99, which is an absolute bargain as one 150ml can lasts for ages. If you’re quick, you can take advantage of this offer too as it’s still running, but even at £1.99 full-price it’s amazing value for money. Chocolate Brownie Dry Shampoo can be found in Superdrug stores, or online 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 Tianna of Storybook Apothecary.
Can you recommend any chocolate scented, flavoured or themed beauty/fashion products?
Intrinsic Organics has a chocolate mint lip balm that is lovely! I also love using cocoa powder and honey as a face mask to get glowing skin, does that count? Lol. I’ve posted about the lip balm on my blog here.
What is your favourite chocolate treat to eat, and why?
My favorite chocolate is Godiva dark chocolate with raspberry sauce filling. It is sooo good. The rich bitter flavor of the dark chocolate with sweetness of the raspberry is to die for!
I hope you have enjoyed today’s post, and thanks for reading! Do you use any chocolate scented or coloured hair products?
Naomi x
PS. Please don’t forget to check back tomorrow for my next Chocolate Treat Week post, which will focus on makeup!
Chocolate Treat Week: Skin, Bath and Body
24
9 years
In my first Chocolate Treat Week post I will be sharing with you the very best chocolate scented skin care, bath and body products that I have been using lately. Whenever I have the house to myself of an evening I like nothing better than to run myself a relaxing bath and treat myself with an indulgent beauty regime, and the following four items are the perfect products for a chocolate themed pamper session.
Bathe with… Handmade Soaps Chocolate Bath Treats
I recently discovered a fab little company called Handmade Soaps, who stock and sell a large range of soaps, bath bombs, bath melts and gift sets, all of which are very appealing to the eye as well as the nose. Among their range they have quite a few wonderful chocolate scented bombs, melts and sets. The chocolate products pictured above are (clockwise from the top): Chocoholics Gift Set, Fruity Creamy Bath Bar, Chocolate Bath Meltz, Sink the Pink Bath Bomb, Very Berry Bath Creamer, Love Cloud Bath Creamer and Chocolate Ballotin Gift Set.
I have a lot of bath products from Handmade Soaps so I haven’t tried all of them yet, but my favourite so far has to be the Chocolate Bath Meltz, which costs £2 for one melt. As you can see, it looks absolutely lovely – almost like a fancy chocolate truffle, especially with the cute little chocolate heart sitting on top! The melt combines Cocoa and Arabica Coffee to give it its rich chocolatey aroma and colour, and also contains Lavender and Ylang Ylang essential oils for added relaxation. I used this melt over the weekend and it really is glorious. I popped it into the water just before the bath was full and then got straight in. I recommend doing this as it’s when the melt fizzes that you are met with its beautiful scent. Unlike some bath products that I’ve tried, this one doesn’t fizz too violently so you don’t get bombarded by the bomb whilst you’re trying to relax. In fact, I actually found it quite therapeutic watching it spin in the water! My favourite thing about the Chocolate Bath Meltz is how intensely moisturising it is. I really wasn’t expecting such a dainty melt to have much effect on my skin, but it made my skin feel creamy and smooth even when I was still in the water, which resulted in long-lasting softness – impressive!
Handmade Soaps pride themselves on their customer service so if you decide to order anything from them you won’t be disappointed! They deliver their items quickly and they even have a ‘remarkable wrapping’ policy so everything you receive will be as beautifully wrapped as possible. Everything they sell is already reasonably priced, but Handmade Soaps have been kind enough to give me a special discount code to share with you so that you can get 10% off everything you order! The code is ‘bewitchery10‘ – just enter it at the checkout to get your 10% discount.
Exfoliate with… Betty Buff ‘Scrummy Choco’ Sugar Scrub
As I’ve mentioned in several of my previous posts, Betty Buff‘s Sugar Scrubs are my absolute favourite go-to exfoliators. All of Betty Buff’s scrubs are high-quality and handmade to vintage recipes. They contain no parabens or artificial colours and fragrances either, so are excellent for use on sensitive skin like mine.
As well as containing granulated sugar, Evening Primrose Oil, honey and glycerine, ‘Scrummy Choco‘ is made with 100% cocoa which gives it an incredible scent. As Betty Buff says, it really does smell ‘good enough to eat’ (but please don’t!), almost like a chocolate brownie or uncooked cake mix… It honestly made my mouth water when I first smelt it!
I have been using this for a while now and the effects are very noticeable. The cocoa makes the scrub delicately moisturising, and always leaves my skin feeling silky smooth, and my dry patches caused by the drying summer weather have all vanished! Due to the rich colour of the scrub it also leaves a light brown sheen on the skin, which sounds odd but actually looks great, especially if you already have a tan you want to accentuate.
Betty Buff ‘Scrummy Choco’ Sugar Scrub comes in three different sizes. The size pictured is the 150ml version, which costs £6.50, but there’s also a 250ml tub available for £8.00 and a 100ml sampler for £4.00. A little goes a long way with Betty’s scrubs so each size is fantastic value for money. If you’d like to try it for yourself, which I highly recommend you do, you can purchase it here.
Moisturise with… Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Rich Feeling Lotion
Vaseline’s Cocoa Radiant Rich Feeling Lotion is ideal for those who aren’t too keen on beauty products with a strong chocolatey aroma or appearance. The lotion is pale in colour and delicately scented with cocoa beans so it isn’t overpowering, and it also has a very delicate formula.
Cocoa Radiant is rich like a body butter, but also lovely and light so it doesn’t feel heavy on the skin. It absorbs quickly without being greasy, rather, it leaves behind a soft creaminess which makes skin feel healthy and supple. I like to use this after exfoliating and also after shaving as it is protective so prevents any drying or soreness. What I love most about this lotion is how long the scent lingers… After a day of wear I can always still smell a sweet tinge of cocoa on my skin which is nicely comforting.
Vaseline’s Cocoa Radiant is currently on offer for £2.63 in Superdrug for a 400ml bottle, which is a massive bargain for such a quality product so grab it cheap while you still can!
Cleanse with… Montagne Jeunesse Hot Chocolate Self Heating Face Mask
After a relaxing bath and moisturising session, a face mask is the perfect way to finish an evening of pampering. Now that Autumn is here and the weather is getting colder, it’s time to step away from the cooling masks and use something a bit more seasonal… So, what’s better than a self heating mask? Montagne Jeunesse’s Hot Chocolate Self Heating Face Mask is currently top of my face mask list as everything about it is luscious and screams ‘me time’!
I used this mask last night and couldn’t get enough of it. The formula is fairly thick, basically like melted chocolate, so it is a little bit difficult to apply but it is well worth the effort. As soon as it touches your skin it heats up to a comfortable temperature which feels incredible and helps to soothe tired skin and muscles.
The mask is scented with cocoa and orange – a winning combination in my eyes (and nose). The orange cuts through the sweetness of the chocolate to give a decadent scent which makes for a delicious fifteen minutes of wear, and a good few hours of gorgeous smelling skin.
The mask stays wet and doesn’t dry like a conventional clay mask so it is quite easy to wash off, but its deep colour can make a mess so make sure you use an old towel! Like all of Montagne Jeunesse’s products, their Hot Chocolate mask is vegetarian and natural, and it contains orange oil which is refreshingly moisturising. As such, the mask is extremely nourishing to the point that you don’t need to use any moisturiser after wearing it.
Montagne Jeunesse’s Hot Chocolate Self Heating Mask is available on their website for £1.09 per sachet, but I’ve also seen it in Wilkinson, Asda, Superdrug and Boots. I only used half a sachet for one application so you could get two uses out of it if you’re lucky, which is always a bonus.
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 Donah of Sweetjellybean.
Can you recommend any chocolate scented, flavoured or themed beauty/fashion products?
Although I try to not use any products that are chocolate scented (as I’ve had enough of Palmer’s Cocoa Butter when I was pregnant!), these days, I’ve been indulging myself with Leor’s Chocolate Truffle Body Lotion. Surprisingly, this doesn’t smell as strong as Palmer’s but still has that lovely chocolate aroma that isn’t distracting. so yes, I definitely would recommend this to anyone, who can’t stand Palmers’ but still love to indulge themselves in a chocolate-flavoured product.
What is your favourite chocolate treat to eat, and why?
Toffee Crisp! Can’t get enough of this when I was pregnant (a hush-hush since I was not supposed to eat this, so this is my guilty pleasure haha) But I definitely don’t mind having one bar or two every week.
Thanks for reading my first Chocolate Treat Week post – I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please come back tomorrow to read all about chocolate hair products.
Naomi x
*I was kindly gifted the Handmade Soap Bath products and the Betty Buff ‘Scrummy Choco’ Sugar Scrub by their respective companies for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Introducing Chocolate Treat Week!
6
9 years
For the past few weeks I have been planning something a little bit different for my blog that I hope you will all enjoy. Starting tomorrow and ending on Friday I will be running a chocolate themed week, called Chocolate Treat Week, and will be sharing my favourite chocolate scented, flavoured, coloured and themed beauty and fashion products. Each post will cover a different area of fashion and beauty, including skin care, bath and body, hair, make up, nails and clothing and accessories. I don’t know about you, but I think chocolate is the best kind of treat, so the aim of my posts will be to show you that there are plenty of ways to carry a love of chocolate through to your beauty regime and relax and pamper yourself with a chocolate treat that isn’t the edible kind.
There seems to be a divide when it comes to chocolate beauty products, so everything I recommend has been thoroughly tried and tested and only the best will be featured! I will talk about a variety of products, some for the hardcore chocoholics among us, and others for those that like to keep it subtle, but I can almost guarantee that there will be something suitable for everyone – even the haters!
I’ll also be including a tutorial or two along the way, and a few chocolatey words from some of my favourite bloggers at the end of each post.
Now that you know what it’s about, I hope you’re all looking forward to Chocolate Treat Week as much as I am!
See you tomorrow,
Naomi x
