Eid Wishes

Wishing each and every one of you reading this.....

A 

Very 

Happy 

Eid

Mubarak!

---

=)

Venchi - my favourite chocolatier

When I heard the fabulous news that Venchi has just opened a store in Covent Garden, I was so excited I squealed with delight. Venchi is an Italian chocolatier founded by Silvano Venchi.

I think this is their first store in the UK, which is so surprising because they definitely deserve so much more recognition. Venchi was established in 1878 so it has come a long way! 

I hope that this will be as famous here as it is in Italy.

It is so different compared to other chocolatiers such as Thornton's and it brings a refreshing blend of chocolates to our palettes.

Ask me what my favourite chocolate is and I'll immediately tell you it is Gianduiotto, made from a paste of sugar, cocoa and hazelnut. And Venchi has so many of these and more, it certainly satisfies any sweet chocolate cravings one has.

I cannot wait to try each of their chocolates and their gelatos. I am so pleased that they've made their mark in London. And although they are costly treats, try them and you'll understand just how worth it they are.

If you want to visit their site out of curiousty, here it is.

My pair of TOMS

A year ago, I saw these pair of shoes flying off the shelves and in the closets they became part of the must have item. But that's besides the point. The purchase of these pair of shoes means donating another pair of shoes to one less fortunate person in the world. Amazing notion I think.

When I first looked at it, I wondered if I could pull it through. It looks pretty simple. Humble pair of shoes. But I had doubts as to whether it would go to waste if I got a pair. I tried it at last a few weeks ago and I have to say, they were so so comfortable. They are now one of my most used pair of shoes when it doesn't rain.

So I'm hoping it doesn't rain anytime soon because I am looking forward to wearing these again!

Lush's Lipstick and Eyeliner

Lush has bravely gone ahead and launched their first cosmetics. No doubt so many of us are excited about it. Who doesn't want safer, more natural ingredients in their cosmetics?
I remember a few years back when Lush had a sister company 'B Never Busy to be Beautiful' (if I remember correctly) and they had a load of products which I assume supported Lush's incentive and used where possible, natural ingredients as opposed to chemicals. I was so disappointed when this shop closed down and always wondered whether Lush would bring back some of its sister company's products.

For now, I got the black Independent liquid eyeliner and the Perspective lipstick.

Let me start with the liquid liner:

When the sales assistant tested this at the back of her hand at the store, I was amazed. I saw a pigmented solid black line gliding through with ease. I explained that I have tried gel and liquid eyeliner before, but especially when it came to liquid eyeliners, I am all out allergic to. I was reassured that this would work on me and with that I got it, hoping this will be the magic potion.
When I tried it at home though, my eyes stung as soon as any liquid managed to get through to my eyes, so applying this on my waterline was virtually impossible! I was disappointed because I was expecting it to be gentle enough to use. It did sting pretty bad....! Or maybe I am just allergic to all liquids entering my eyes?

Also I found that the colour didn't resemble the pigmented black ink I saw at the store. On my eyes it settled to a dark ashy grey colour. 

And then I tried the Perspective lipstick:

Now this product is my magic potion people!
I wanted a shade that wasn't sparkly and one that was slightly darker than my lip colour. This was the perfect shade. It lasts 3-4 hours before it gets dry but even after it is dry it stays on your lips for hours. I was so so surprised with its staying power and there is no doubt that I will be looking into other shades.
It is very pigmented, comes in a liquid form but dries quickly and envelopes your lips with its rich colour.

Aveda's Eyeliner

I purchased this Aveda eyeliner last summer after suffering from irritated eyes and my sudden allergic reaction to Bobbi Brown's gel liner (which I am hoping is temporary because Bobbi Brown gel liner is my absolute favourite).

Since then though, I decided that I will be on a hunt for more natural, organic eyeliners. The lesser chemicals there are the better, or the lesser 'harsh' chemicals there are, then the more perfect.

I wore Aveda's eyeliner on my holiday to Rome last year in the sweltering heat of at least 30 degrees. It surprised me because I thought it would smudge and make me look like a panda by the end of the day. It didn't. However, it did smudge a little on my waterline. On some days, after 3-4 hours of application, I could only see a faint eyeliner in that area. So that was the only downside for me.

However, it is easy to put on and it didn't irritate my eyes at all. I have very sensitive eyes so the ingredients must be top quality. I would purchase this again but it will be an eyeliner I would opt to wear in the winters.

Innocent by Theirry Mugler

I got this perfume around January this year and I would describe it as a hit and miss fragrance. You either love or hate it. First impressions were its top notes which were so over powering. When I first sprayed it on, I was sure this fragrance wasn't for me and I assumed that the middle and base notes were nothing impressive.Top notes consist of bergamot and mandarin orange, I couldn't tell these made up the notes until I looked them up and I was very surprised because the combination sounds like they would work together in harmony but for some reason it doesn't work at all for me.

But then, since I already sprayed it on my skin as I was testing it, I eventually smelt the base notes and I was surprised. It was musky, dark, sparkly and sophisticated. 

This was the reason I ended up getting the perfume.

As soon as I wore it a few times though, unfortunately I ended up giving this perfume away as I just couldn't stand the top and middle notes. It took forever to settle to the base notes and gave me a headache in the process. I'm disappointed but I notice that there is a lighter version of this perfume released and I am assuming it is because other people are also finding this fragrance too overpowering.

The Best Popcorn Ever is... *drum roll*

...LONDON KETTLE POPCORN!

Source

I have tried so many popcorns from supermarkets, food stalls, popcorn stands, cinemas etc. More or less they were all similar to each other. But then I tasted London Kettle Popcorn. And my standards for popcorn has gone up by many levels.

Seriously, London Kettle Popcorn is the best popcorn I have ever tasted. It doesn't get stuck in my teeth. It has the perfect blend of sweet and salty. The texture is exactly how popcorn should be, simply amazing, well popped. And there are no 'unpopped' corn in each bag of popcorn. I'm telling you, this is quality.

They turn up in different locations in London and the people who launched and run this company are a very genuine, friendly couple. I hope this business will be a success because it surely deserves more recognition.

Track them now at their site and try them!

http://www.londonkettlepopcorn.com/