Tag Archives: positive

Mother’s Day gifts Part 2

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Eloise again! So, as I was saying, we got Vivienne more than one gift this mother’s day (partially because it’s the last one we’ll spend with me living in this house, at least until university falls through and I have to move back in).

The other gift we got was from a lovely online store called T. H. Baker, who do really nice,
more upmarket pieces than I’m used to.

The necklace I chose for Vivienne was a rose gold chain, with a pearl and interlocking rose gold design. In a case of the overly-matching, this is because she recently got the rose gold iPhone 6, and we’re a colour very co-ordinated family. She’d also mentioned wanting more delicate jewellery, and I was happy to oblige.

I really loved this delicate necklace, not just because pearls are my favourite of all the gemstones, but also because I felt like it ticked all the boxes I could want.

T.H.Baker is a lovely store and I highly recommend it for all your gifting needs. Excellent delivery, too!

Mother’s Day gifts Part 1

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SO! Sunday 6th March. Mother’s Day. We’re not really all that big on gift giving in the powderpuffgirls household, but we (Eloise et al except Vivienne) decided that this year V deserved some pretty gifts – and Eloise had a bargain or two up her sleeve.

 TheJewelHut is a delightful site full of v v pretty things that made me extra happy, so I knew I could get something delightful.

I chose this, which is a beautiful heart shaped bead for the Pandora charm bracelet. This one is sort of an inside joke, because the script on the bead reads ‘first my mother/forever my friend’.
The sentiment is definitely meant, but it is a far cry from our usual taste – Vivienne is into very classic, art deco stuff, not so much syrupy-sweet messages.

HOWEVER. This bead is lovely, and she really wanted more metal beads for her bracelet, so I couldn’t resist this adorable charm!

The Jewel Hut (thejewelhut.co.uk) is a delightful online store that I highly recommend. Happy Mother’s Day!

Envy Haircare

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Okay.

I’ve been putting off writing this review, because the product(s) I’m about to tell you about are almost a little secret miracle I want to keep to myself.

Envy’s philosophy is  one product for all hair types. They use 6 ‘intelligent products’ that promise to help repair, tame, lift, add shine, enhance colour, reduce frizz and make blowdrying easier.

Normally, all-in-one haircare products make me nervous. They never work like they’re supposed to, and they’re always overpriced. Not so Envy’s Blowdry set!

This is a £40 good-hair-day ensurer and is definitely worth the price*. I’ve been using the full treatment for almost exactly a month and I’m soooo happy. My hair has never been shinier or softer, and it takes exactly one minute longer than my usual washing routine, so it’s not at all time consuming. Even the conditioner is better than any I’ve ever used, including the one I used basically religiously before finding Envy, leaving my hair tangle-free for ages.

Because I’m nothing but good to you people, I even got a discount for you! Use discount code BLOG40 to get 40% off until the end of March.

Eloise

*Full disclosure, I got this set for free, but I’m definitely going to buy this product again, and at full price this time!

Anna Sui: Fairy Dance

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Eloise here! Sorry for the long wait, but you know how the Christmas rush goes. Back unto the blogging breach once more… I have loved the Anna Sui fairy perfumes since I was a very tiny girl. Donkeys years ago, … Continue reading →

The Nail Bar – Chesterfield

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IMG_0769One thing I won’t shirk is decent manicure. I feel so much better when my nails are gorgeous! I am a happy regular at the Nail Bar, so please excuse this if it seems a little over the top. I have had my nails done here at what is now my nail bar of choice since 2012.

The salon is simply laid out in the New York style, and it’s a drop in. Appointments can be made, but most people don’t. One of the team gives you an idea of how long you will expect to wait, which is usually no more than 20 minutes.

Sarah and her Vietnamese team are fast, efficient, polite and very good at what they do. I have acrylic french tipped overlays on my naturally long nails with a glossy gel finish, but they offer every colour imaginable, with any length and any paint effects you can think of. You often start off with one tech preparing your nails before a more experienced tech shapes and finishes your nails. After they dry there is some mango scented hand cream next to the dryer, which is a nice touch.

My nails always last a very long time, and I’ve never had any issues with them breaking (as people often worry about with acrylics). The only reason I get them retouched as often as I do is because of how fast my nails grow, which is obviously no fault of the team.

I haven’t tried any other treatments that they offer but have seen someone get permanent eyebrow tattoos and they looked really natural. There isn’t a web site so I have added this link to their Google+ The Nail Bar so that you can find them easily.

Oh, and it’s educational – I have even learned a little about life in Vietnam and a couple of words of Vietnamese. Cam on Nail bar team! – Vivienne

nailbar

Benefit Total Moisture Facial Cream

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Yay for our first product post! This moisturiser is my saving grace. Benefit is well known to be a slightly more upmarket high street brand, which my friends have told me to try for years. This particular cream has worked wonders for my skin.

I have normal to oily skin, which often makes finding
a good moisturiser difficult. I have struggled in the past to find a product that didn’t leave my skin feeling greasy and looking overly shiny. After complaining about this to my friends, I was basically sat down and told to look into Benefit Cosmetics.

I was gifted a tiny sample of the Total Moisture Facial Cream, which made my face feel touchably soft. I was therefore delighted to receive the £29.50 1.7 oz. tub as a Christmas gift.

You only need to use a tiny amount of this cream at a time as a little goes a long way, which I think makes it worth the price. I would never normally spend so much on skincare, preferring to hunt down a bargain, but this cream is a lifesaver, and I will definitely be restocking once mine runs out.

The cream is described as a ‘hydra-concentrated facial cream formulated for normal to dry skin that provides immediate and long-term hydration for an ultra-radiant complexion’. Looking at their site, most reviews say that it has drastically improved people’s dry skin. These reviews would lead to you the idea that this cream is just for people with dry skin, but I think if you can get your hands on a sample you should give it a try. I’m not the targeted skin type and I have definitely seen an improvement in the overall appearance of my epidermis.

Essentially, the Benefit Total Moisture Facial Cream is a miracle in delightful packaging. Peer pressure aside, you can’t argue with results, and I have certainly benefited from using this product (*snigger*).

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Reds Salon Ltd – Chesterfield

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redsReds Salon Ltd, where my mum and I most recently went to get our hair cut, is a friendly, calm environment, and I have never been more pleased with the result.

For a little while, my mum has been cutting my hair, because she is creative, it is easy, free, and she does what I ask. However, this year I decided I wanted something a little bit shorter and fancier. We strolled around Chesterfield town centre, looking for somewhere that would allow walk in appointments. After checking out a couple of hairdressers and deciding they weren’t for us, we stumbled across Reds.

They gave us the works. We each had our hair washed by friendly women IMG_9946
using incredibly delicious smelling shampoo. I was then directed to a seat near the window where Duncan Yates instinctively knew exactly what I wanted. Not the most confident person, I didn’t know how to tell him what I wanted my hair to look like, but he took my rambling and gave me the best haircut I’ve had in years. He knew exactly how to shape my hair to best frame my face, and when the cut was finished blow-dried my hair into glorious ringlets. (pictured right: Eloise)

Overall, the professional but friendly service and excellent quality of cut meant that I thought we’d have to fork out a fortune, but in the end it was a very reasonable price – less than the last time I went to a proper salon.

I loved this salon, and I loved the results.

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Barlborough Spa & Beauty – Chesterfield

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Okay, so first I should say that I have not used the spa facilities; I went for eye lash extensions, so can’t really comment on anything else. It’s a cozy little retreat on a working farm, some way out of town, in Barlborough.

Nicki, the owner,  welcomed me with open arms. When you arrive you enter a large room which has a huge hot tub in the centre, with a sauna and shower to the side. The treatment rooms are just off this, and are small but sassy. She told me that the hot tub can be privately rented and that they hold young girls parties there, which I have since heard are very popular with the little princesses.

As I had worn extensions before I thought I knew what I was in for but this was a completely different experience. Nicki carefully applied each extension to one of my individual natural lashes, choosing the exact length and size to get the desired effect. This took two hours! The reason is so that, as your natural lashes shed, you only lose one, not a clump that is attached to one. Makes sense, if time consuming. They don’t stick together, and I was impressed both with how natural they looked, and Nicki’s patience.

I have since stopped using eyelash extensions, which I will blog about later, but if you want long natural looking lashes for a special event I would certainly recommend this place – here is the link Barlborough Spa.

Powderpuff Girls rating XXXX

 

 

Daresbury Park Hotel & Spa – Warrington

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I went here for a Spa weekend in January. The hotel has had some rough reviews, but I think it depends where you are in the building as some of it needs refurbishing. Our room was in the newer part of the hotel and just a hop and a skip from the “Spa”. I use the term loosely.

Our twin bedded room was reasonably well appointed, with lots of room, 2 easy chairs and a table, plus a reasonable sized bathroom. Mainly the hotel seems to have 2 main sources of clientelle, wedding parties and refugees, neither of which caused us any issues. We also met some other ladies that had taken up the same weekend Spa offer that had enticed us.

The Spa

This is Spindles Health club, which is also open to the public with a membership fee.There is a 15 metre swimming pool, so we chatted to the attendants and found the times when it was likely to be empty. Such luxury! At other times it is over run by rather boisterous hens and/or stags. There is a jacuzzi which is rather odd, as the step into it is so far down you could almost think it is a plunge pool. My friend adores the bubbles, but only attempted it once. Ridiculous shape. Then there is a fabulously designed Turkish bath. It is fairly small but covered in mosaic and the black ceiling has twinkling lights. Incredibly relaxing and I want one… Other than that there is a shower that changes lights and patterns, hmmm.

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We didn’t have any spa treatments included in our stay, but were very  lucky to find an available space, although it had to be straight away.  Otherwise they are booked up with bridal parties, very busy. If you want  to go, booking in advance is a must.

I was impressed with the full body salt scrub that I had, and my friend  enjoyed her massage which we had simultaneously. Fun to chat a little as  we were worked on, and the beauticians were excellent.

Food and Drink

We had breakfast and an evening meals in our package. This is in a large and rather rowdy room rather like a cafeteria. We both found something to eat but I was not very impressed. This is catering en mass for a limited budget, and I felt they were trying to do their best with poor ingredients. On the second morning I asked for a poached egg, and the chef seemed very happy to do this, and she made a good job of it too, bless her.

There is also a bar just outside the restaurant, and we did spend a pleasant evening with a group of like minded people, although the bar prices are a tad on the expensive side.

Summary

If you find a bargain deal on this hotel, take your own beauty treatments and champagne, as we did, ask for something you want for breakfast, and make the most of the limited facilities. It’s not bad, it’s clean, and we had fun!

Powderpuff Girls Rating XXX

 

Silver Scissors – Chesterfield

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Silver Scissors – Chesterfield

silveracissors

This is a fun, welcoming salon a little way outside town – on the Brampton mile for the pub crawlers – but with easy parking and a handy cash machine across the road. I had my hair styled by Chris who has since retired in June (a bit young to retire, Chris!). It is still family run by the next gen, and the salon has now recruited an excellent colourist. Click Silver Scissors to see their FB page which will give you a feel for the relaxed atmosphere of the salon and examples of their creations.

The salon is unisex, uni-age and an overall pleasurable experience.

Powderpuff Girls Rating: XXXX