Wednesday 25 May 2016

'Nice Things' Cafe & Gift Shop in Ledbury, Herefordshire

Recently, I went out for breakfast to my favourite cafe, 'Nice Things'.  It's situated in the bustling market town of Ledbury in Herefordshire & it is a real gem! 



One reason why it's my favourite place to eat is that since I'm intolerant to wheat & cow's milk, I am always guaranteed to be able to eat & drink there, as they tailor their menu to suit everyone's needs & dietary requirements. They have such wide variety! 

The staff are super friendly & extremely professional.  The owners, Laura & Craig really are amazing at what they do - they really care for the customer. It has such a welcoming atmosphere that you won't want to leave!  Craig's food is superb.  His hearty soups & wonderful roast dinners are particular favourites of mine!!  They also serve the best coffee; putting the likes of Costa & Starbucks to shame! 

The gift shop is attached at the front of the cafe & is stocked full with a variety of local products, cards & gifts - perfect to treat yourself or a loved one.





So, when I headed to Nice Things recently for my breakfast, I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed - I ordered my usual large soya latte (Did I say how much I love their coffee?!) & then I went for their lighter option - the 'slimmer's breakfast' with gluten free toast - yum! 
My friend also ordered a cooked breakfast, toast & her usual mammoth hot chocolate!  The hot chocolates are wonderful too with lots of naughty cream, flakes & marshmallows!




Nice Things really is the perfect place to head out to - whether you fancy a cooked brekkie like me, a sunday roast, a toastie, a quick coffee & cake or just popping to the shop to buy a gift for a friend (or yourself!) - whatever it is you fancy, Nice Things suits everyone!  

If you are holidaying in Herefordshire (there is always lots of tourists, particularly in the summer months) or live in the locality & not tried it yet, make sure to check out Nice Things. It's the perfect cafe, restaurant & gift shop!  

Bee x 

Wednesday 11 May 2016

The Liebster Award

I've been nominated by Holly from http://hollylizabeth.blogspot.co.uk/ for the Liebster Award.  Thank you very much Holly (go check out her blog, she's great!).  The Liebster Award is an award that recognizes small & upcoming blogs.



The rules for this are as follows;
1.  You should thank the person who nominated you & post a link to their blog on your blog
2.  Display the award on your blog
3.  Nominate 5 - 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award & have less than 200 followers
4.  List these rules in your post
5.  Create 11 questions for your nominees to answer
6.  Inform the people/blogs that you nominated them & provide them with a link to your post. 

So, here's the questions Holly has asked me to answer.  Here goes!

1.  Who inspires you the most?
My best friend Laura.  She has achieved a lot in her life & I would love to have her positivity.  She's always smiling!

2.  Have you ever been on a plane?  If yes, where did you go?
Yes, I've been on a plane several times. Been to many places including Florida, Dubai, Rhodes, Germany, Menorca & Tenerife.

3.  What is your favourite lipstick colour to wear?
That's a hard one! I love Modesty by MAC, Nude Pop by Clinique & shade 917 by Kiko!

4.  What is one song that you could listen to on repeat?
This is the hardest question!! I have too many! Err.. Any song by Robbie Williams or Take That, Don't Speak by No Doubt, Nobody Noticed It by Lisa Marie Presley, Careless Whisper by George Michael.... right I'll stop now! 

5.  Do you have a favourite film?  If yes, what is it?
Possibly a film called Rush (I like lots of films though!)

6.  What's your favourite perfume?
Roma by Laura Biagiotti

7.  If you could have any animal as a pet, what would you have?
I'd just stick to dogs! Love them! 

8.  Who do you like more, Superman or Batman?
Superman!

9.  What is your dream job?
Probably my current one - my day job is a mobile beauty therapist & I love it. 

10. Do you play any instruments?  If yes, which ones?
I did play the recorder at school & also the organ when I was young.  I can't play either now! 

11. Are you a cat or dog person?
Dog person, all the way!!

My nominated blogs;

Naomi - http://www.naomivictoria.co.uk/
Katie - http://katiesbeautiqueblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Stephanie - http://stephanieclairebeauty.blogspot.co.uk/
Amy-Jade - http://mylovesthisweek.blogspot.co.uk/
Frances - http://www.lovefrances.com/

I would like my nominated girlies to answer the following;

1.  If you could only use one brand of makeup, what would it be & why?
2.  If you could travel back to one decade, which one would it be & why?
3.  What is your favourite candle scent?
4.  What would your ideal day consist of?
5.  What is your favourite beauty treatment?
6.  Who are your top 3 youtubers?
7.  What do you do to relax?
8.  You meet a friend in Costa or Starbucks - what do you order?
9.  What is the one thing that is guaranteed to make you smile?
10.What is the first thing you do in the morning when you wake up?
11.What was the last film you saw at the cinema?

Thanks again for the nomination Holly! I look forward to seeing the responses! 

Bee x 


Let the battle of the concealers commence....YSL, Maybelline, Collection & NYX

So, I thought I'd share with you my concealer collection! 

I suffer from very dark circles under my eyes & I also have a scar on the side of my left eye which I have due to a traumatic birth.  I have noticed that, unfortunately, my scar is becoming more pronounced as I get older & I will do anything to hide it! 

I do sometimes use 'correctors' as well, which make the concealing task more effective, however, here is the low down of what I think of the concealers I have at the moment when used on their own....

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radiant Touch...



I have purchased this on & off for years.  I mainly buy it at duty free as it's cheaper!

I always thought Touche Eclat would be a bit of a let down even though there was so much hype around the product, but I took the plunge anyway & I've always been really pleased! 

I really think it 'wakes up' my under eye area & it's great for touch ups too.  It's the perfect colour for me & yep, I will be purchasing again! 

Maybelline The Eraser Eye...



Now, this product I love!  (I saw the youtuber Kaushal Beauty recommend this & she was right!) 

The first time I used this I really found that this was doing something for my skin.  It contains goji berries & Haloxyl & felt really tingly.  I've not noticed it tingling as much the more I wear it, so not sure if the ingredients are wearing off, but in any case, I find that the coverage is good & I have the shade light, which I don't think is too pale for me.  I find for me, this is more for concealing & not for highlighting.  I'm sure it would be perfect for highlighting if you have a darker skin tone.

The only drawback though, is you do seem to go through the product very quickly.  It does produce good results so it's definitely worth it.

Collection Lasting Perfection...



Everyone on Youtube & in the blogging world seemed to rave about this, so of course, I gave into the hype & purchased it.

Yes, it's really good for highlighting & brightening (I have the shade Fair 1) but for directly under the eyes I find this a bit drying & it does tend to crease after a long day, so it makes me look as though I have more fine lines than I had to begin with! 

It's not the worst concealer in the world - I can understand why so many people like it & at about £4.00 it's great value for money, but I doubt I will be buying it again.

NYX HD Concealer...



This is a recent purchase.  In fact, I only bought this about 3 weeks ago.

I was on a day out in Bath, when I popped into their local (& big!) Boots & was stunned to see that they were finally stocking NYX!  I've heard so much about this brand, so I had to buy a few bits.

Anyway, I picked up this concealer & so far I can say that I'm very impressed.  I have the shade CW01 Porcelain.  It's high definition, photogenic, mineral enriched & free of talc & parabens.

It feels lovely on the skin & not drying at all.  It's light enough for highlighting & great for concealing.  A really good coverage.

It will be interesting to see how long this product lasts before I have to repurchase (& I'm sure I will!).


So, that's my round up on my current collection of concealers & I hope it has helped you if you fancy purchasing any of these.

What's your favourite concealer?  Is there one I need to try?  Let me know! 

Bee x 





Wednesday 4 May 2016

My April Favourites!

It's a new month, so I thought I would let you all know what I loved in April!

Keeping Fresh...

The first of my favourites for the month of April is a anti-perspirant!  It is the Maximum Protection one by Sure.  The current scent I'm using is Sport Strength.  They have other scents in the collection which all smell really lovely.



It is a solid formula which you twist up twice & then apply.  It does advise you to use it twice a day, but I feel it is enough to use once per day & keeps you feeling fresh all day, everyday!

I think this is the best anti-perspirant I've ever used & I highly recommend it. 



A great quirky place to eat...

Next up is a new restaurant discovery.  I've heard about this place before & it really intrigued me.  It's a restaurant called 'Bills'.  



As regular readers of my blog will know, I am gluten, wheat & dairy (cows milk only) intolerant & eating out can be somewhat of a pain.  So, you can imagine my relief when I found out that Bills does some great alternatives to your 'run of the mill' restaurants.

They do have some different dishes, with a variety of funky salads, gluten free bread, breakfasts....& amazing cocktails too! The only downer for me is a lack of desserts.  Yes, they do have gluten free ones but not dairy free.  I do sadly find this very common in many restaurants, but I guess, on the up side, its better for my waistline!!

If theres a Bills near you, go check it out.  I've not quite worked out the theme yet, but the vibe is definitely a bit quirky, with great furnishings & a little shop too, so you can take a bit of Bills home with you. 



My next favourites for the month are all about makeup.....

Better Lashes...

I have a love-hate relationship with my eyelashes!  Sometimes they look great & long.  Other times, they look clumpy & short!  I do find though, since using this new product they have looked a lot better.

So, its all down to 'They're Real' Tinted Primer by Benefit, which I received in a beauty box.



The colour is mink brown & is perfect to use either on its own or under mascara. 

It does seem to really lengthen my lashes & make my eyes look more awake!

I currently use it everyday before applying my mascara & I find that I don't need to put mascara on my bottom lashes as this primer already gives a good enough effect.

If you have never used a primer on your lashes before, I would strongly recommend trying it - I'm sure you will be impressed with the difference it makes!



A New Lip Colour...

So, I popped into Kiko a few weeks ago.  I fancied a new lipstick & wanted something that looked a bit brighter & not what I normally wear.  I had in my head that I wanted a coral/peachy colour.

Anyway, I ended up with colour number 902 in the 'Smart' lipstick range - my favourite range by Kiko & such great value for money! (see my review here)



Now, its not as peachy when applying it, as compared to the bullet.  It's probably more pinky (it's called 'pastel pink' on the website & looks more pinky there than in real life), but I love it.

It's a really nice summery colour (wishing I was somewhere hot right now!) & a lovely creamy consistency.

So, as you can tell, I came away rather pleased & it didn't cost much at all! Bargain!



My First 2 MAC Items...

As the title says, I've finally purchased two MAC products & I've been loving them!

They are a lipstick in the shade 'Modesty' & a lip liner in the shade 'Soar'.

The lipstick is a cremesheen, which is perfect for me as I have such dry lips, so I need something which is very moisturising.  The shade 'Modesty' is a lovely nudey pink which you can wear with everything. 

Of course, with my lipliner, I had to purchase the shade 'Soar'.  The shade everyone seems to love!  And I can understand.  It's a nice pinky 'lip' colour & again, seems to go with everything - with most lipsticks, or on it's own.  It is also very comfortable on your lips, soft & easy to apply.

Overall, very pleased with my MAC products.  Theres a few more added to my list now....best get saving!




So, thats what I loved in April.  What products did you love last month?  I'd love to know!

Bee x