Chocolate Afternoon Tea at The Tamburlaine Cambridge

After attending the launch for The Tamburlaine back in April it has been on my radar as somewhere in Cambridge I would take any excuse to visit, so when I saw they had a Chocolate Afternoon Tea for National Chocolate week I knew I had to book.



The Afternoon Tea is set in the Garden Room with ornate Victorian wallpaper and gorgeous silk velvet sofas creating the perfect setting for an afternoon tea. I just want to live in this hotel because the décor is so beautiful and their use of velvet and marble furnishings, as well as lush green foliage and detailed wallpapers, create a blogger/instagrammers paradise.



We started with cucumber, ham, egg and smoked salmon sandwiches. Then, as well as the traditional fruit scones with clotted cream and jam, the scones had a chocolaty twist with a home made chocolate spread to use on them. Next came the mass of chocolate goodness; pistachio and chocolate macaroons, chocolate orange tart, white and dark chocolate truffles, meringue nests topped with a chocolate hazelnut and chocolate brownies topped with ganache. Chocolate heaven!



Finally, after almost lapsing into a chocolate food coma, we were treated to glass of hot chocolate which after so much chocolate I was unsure I could manage but it was the best hot chocolate I have had in a long time! I think I would definitely go back even just to have a hot chocolate! It's always a hard goodbye leaving The Tamburlaine because I just want to move in there!

Glossier Comes To The UK!👋🙂

You may have noticed a massive craze over Glossier launching in the UK last week unless you have been living under a rock. I had heard about the brand from bloggers such as I Covet Thee and HelloOctober a few months ago, so as a brand they were on my radar. When I saw that they now ship in the UK from a UK warehouse (so you can avoid the long shipping wait and extra charges, which is brilliant), I just had to place an order.



I found it hard to decide what to pick up but I went for the Phase 2 set, which saved me £8 rather than buying them separately; this set included the Boy Brow in Brown, Stretch Concealer in Light and Generation G in Crush. I also picked up Perfecting Skin Tint in the Light shade. With my order I also received some cool stickers including a scratch-and-sniff sticker of their new fragrance launching soon, as well as the classic pink pouch with my products, a sample of the new perfume and a sample of the Milky Jelly Cleanser.



So far I have tried out all but the perfume and I must say I am seriously impressed. I've used the Stretch Concealer the most out of my purchases; as someone who doesn't wear foundation on a daily basis, this has worked so well at covering areas that I feel need a little help and also under my eyes. I can get a really nice natural base just by applying a small amount of the concealer and setting it with a touch of translucent powder. I also think my Boy Brow is a serious rival for my Gimme Brow by Benefit. Both products are really comfortable to wear and this doesn't feel heavy which I really like. The Perfecting Skin Tint was also such a nice way to do a quick base. It is really dewy and just a very sheer coverage to even out your skin, for me it took down the slight redness I have in my cheeks which was great. I wore all three of the products out to an afternoon tea at The Tamburlaine and it took me very little time to get ready because of the ease of blending with these products. I also used my sample of the milky jelly cleanser and it reminds me of Fresh Soy Cleanser in the fragrance but it does a really good job of cleansing your skin without it feeling dry or tight afterwards.



I bought my products through a rep link which meant that I got 20% off my order and they had an offer too on so my shipping was free. You can also use my link to get 10% off: https://t.co/XiNjW12zkI

*Using my link you get 10% off and I get credit to spend on Glossier so the more you shop the more I can shop! ;)

Tanya Burr Chasing the Sun Collection

Tanya Burr has just launched her new collection of beauty goodies and I just had to get my hands on them to try them out! The new collection consists of two contour sticks, three illuminating powders and 3 scented lip balms.



I picked up the Contour Stick in Light* and the Illuminating Powder in Champagne Sorbet*. I was really excited for this launch because she hasn't done products like this before and I just had to try them out.



The contour stick is a really good colour for fair skin because its not orangey or too dark. If you are wanting a much stronger contour I would go for the darker shade or the two because its a more natural bronze. Its really creamy and super blendable without moving the rest of your base. Its very good quality for the price of only £6.99.



The illuminating powder I picked up was Champagne Sorbet which was a hard choice because the other two were just as stunning. The texture is super soft and blends really nicely. This would work really nicely to highlight your inner corner of your eyes as well. Its a very glowing highlighter, a nice balance between skimmer and natural glow. Again its super pigmented so you don't have to keep dipping back into the pan for more. Certainly the best powder highlighter I've tried for its price at £7.49.

The full collection is available now from both Superdrug and FeelUnique. *Affiliate Links

Max Factor Colour Elixir Matte Bullet Lipstick

I just thought I'd put up a quick post on a lipstick I received as part of a Stylist competition. Its the Max Factor Colour Elixir Matte Bullet Lipstick in shade Love 35*. There are seven other shade which I think are more my shade choice of pinker colours. Though if your looking for a statement red this is definitely the one.



The formula is super comfortable to wear and feels very creamy to apply. I wouldn't say it was that matte for a matte finish though it does have a nice finish. I would suggest that with it being a creamy formula I would maybe apply with a brush rather than straight from the bullet; maybe use a lip liner as well with it being a bold colour. You could also apply less of it and do a wine stain effect with it.



*Affiliate Link

Spooky Halloween Goodies

I am very much a seasonal gal so when I can I like to celebrate autumn both in the way my wardrobe changes and I like to change up my bath times with some new Lush Halloween products. I reviewed the Sparkling Pumpkin, Monsters' Ball and the Pumpkin Bath Bomb last year so this year I decided to pick up the new Bewitched Bubble Bar and the Pink Sparkling Pumpkin.

The Bewitched Bubble Bar intrigued me being a different scent to those I'm normally drawn to in Lush, with it being a more fruity blackberry scent. It made such a lovely bubbly bath with dark black water which happily I found didn't stain the bath - always a bonus. It was perfect for a spooky Halloween bath. Olibanum Oil adds to the sweet, woody and fruity scent and helps soothe and tone skin with a protective layer which also reduces fine lines. The Bergamot Oil creates a fresh zesty fragrance encouraging your sense of well being and also refreshing your skin. I would really suggest you try out this bubble bar if you like fruity and zesty fragrances in your bath.

For a contrast to the dark and spooky bubble bar, I picked up the pretty Pink Sparkling Pumpkin Bubble Bar.  This sparkling beauty has Geranium and Bergamot oils which work as a cleansing, toning and balancing effect on the skin. The Jasmine Absolute and Geranium oils create a very floral scent so if you're not into floral I would go with the Bewitched bubble bar. The pink lustre in the bar also leaves you shimmering pink which would be pretty if you were going out or just wanting to be sparkly!

Both retailing at £4.25 I think they seem reasonably priced as you can get a few baths out of them if you're clever. I like to cut my bubble bars up to maximise the usage and with even with a small amount of the bar you can still get lots of bubbles.

Rimmel Free Your Skin

Rimmel London have just launched a new collection of products called Free Your Skin which consists of a new range of foundation and concealer. They claim to be long-wearing and lightweight, with breathable skin technology that moisturises for up to 25 hours.



The foundation is called Lasting Finish Breathable Foundation*, it comes in 17 shades from light ivory to dark. It says that it's light to medium coverage but when I have been using it I've found it more towards the light side, though I'm sure you could build it up but I don't tend to go for very high coverage products. I also tried applying it in various ways; from on top of moisturiser, to on top of primer, to bare skin and I found it did seem to apply best to clean dry skin as it is quite a watery formula. I also tried various ways of applying it and I found that between using my hands, Beauty Blender and a flat top foundation blending brush, I found the brush gave the best results. The applicator in the bottle is like an enlarged doe foot applicator which is a nice way to apply it directly to your face. With all this being said it is a very comfortable formula on my skin but I did find for me it oxidised and went fairly orangey though it may be different for people with different skin tones. For the price of under £10 I would definitely say to try it.



I've also been trying out the Lasting Finish Breathable Concealer; it has a sponge applicator at the top which personally I find is very hard so I just dot it onto my under-eyes with the sponge and blend out with my fingers. This is a nice concealer but I would say it is fairly light coverage so if you're wanting something to conceal all sins this won't be for you. It is a comfortable formula and I find this doesn't oxidise as much as the foundation did.

I've put some pictures in with all these on my skin with just a finish touch of the Rimmel Kate contour palette that I received as well and the Rimmel Wonder'Fully Real Mascara (See my Wing the Look post for more). I loved the highlighter from this palette so I may reach for this more!




*I received these products from Influenster for testing purposes. **Affiliate Links