Contrary to many of my friends I cannot, in good faith, say that I am a loyal fan of The Body Shop. Fair enough I used to love it when I was younger, but growing up I somehow gravitated away from it. I still, however, find some of their products (like, for example, the Tea Tree Flawless BB Cream) to be absolutely amazing – and am often intrigued by their launches (as was the case with their earlier Shimmer Waves and their recent Red Musk range).
This month their Smoky Poppy body care range has literally got me on my toes, with its sleek and sensual black & red packaging and its promise of a fragrance based on “a captivating blend of sultry spices, elegant florals and earthy woody notes” (which just happens to be right up my alley).
The corresponding Smoky Poppy makeup also looks like something I can’t really frown upon – with some gorgeous nail colors and the company’s first ever chubby lip (& cheek) pencils thrown in for good measure. I personally do not like the two eyeshadow palettes (which might actually be a blessing in disguise) but can’t wait to drop by my local Body Shop to swatch (and, if I’m being honest, probably purchase! ) a few of my picks from the collection – as seen above.
How about you guys? Are you excited about the, limited edition, Smoky Poppy range? Have you tried (or do you plan on buying) any of the products?
In spite of being vegetarian, I have to admit I hate don’t particularly like eating certain veggies – broccoli being one them. This smooth blended, velvety version – combined with an assortment of other veggies and a generous amount of spicy blue cheese – somehow manages to make it a pleasure for me to eat, every time. A comforting, cold weather meal – which should go down well, with most of the family. Do let me know what you (& your friends, boyfriend, family, kids etc.) think, if you happen to try this…
Ingredients
2 tbsp rapeseed oil (I used 3 tbsp of Greek olive oil)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 medium potato, diced
1 knob butter
1L low salt or homemade chicken or vegetable stock (being veggie, I used the latter)
1 head broccoli, roughly chopped
140g Stilton, or other blue cheese, crumbled
(Onion and/ or garlic croutons and some extra, crumbled Stilton for serving)
Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and then add the onions. Cook on a medium heat until soft. Add a splash of water if the onions start to catch.
Add the celery, leek, potato and a knob of butter. Stir until melted, then cover with a lid. Allow to sweat for 5 minutes (I switched off the heat for this). Remove the lid.
Pour in the stock and add any chunky bits of broccoli stalk. (Replace the lid &) Cook for approximately 15 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft.
Add the rest of the broccoli and cook for a further 5 minutes. Carefully transfer to a blender (most probably in two to three batches) and blitz until smooth. Stir in the Stilton, allowing a few lumps to remain (I actually added the blue cheese before blitzing, allowing no lumps to remain – then added a crumbled bit of it on top as garnish along with a handful of garlic croutons, as seen in the pic above). Season with black pepper and serve.
I’m back with yet another beauty haul which took shape, very innocently, when I tried to re-stock my Caudalie Hand Cream via LookFantastic.
I had been hearing reading loads about the Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie lipsticks and glosses and since we can’t really get them in store where I come from, I thought I’d briefly check out swatches online and order one of each, just to see what the fuss was about. Fast forward to a couple of days ago, when I received my LookFantastic package containing:
In my defense, I was getting one thing delivered anyway (plus Bare Minerals is so budget friendly), so it all kinda made perfect sense.
Now, I haven’t actually used the hand cream yet – since I am still only half way through the 3 tubes of L’Occitane I bought myself just before Christmas (!) – but I have used all of the Bare Minerals products (which just goes to show I needed them more, doesn’t it? Hehe…).
Here’s a brief review of everything (in case you’ve been living under a rock and have not read any of the other, gazillion, rants and raves out there on the blogosphere):
Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lip Gloss
I got this in what felt like a ‘safe’ shade (officially described as a ‘rosewood shimmer’), since I am not that big a fan of vibrant colors when it comes to glosses, but am now more than ready to take the leap and order some of the bolder options available. My first impressions upon unboxing were immediately positive: the product comes in a sleek, edgy tube and the angled doe-foot applicator looks (& actually is, as it turns out) great. As promised, the gloss itself provides a sheer to medium but still nicely pigmented wash of color and has a very refreshing, minty feel to it. It’s got the perfect consistency (not too liquid-y/ not too sticky) and lasts extremely well (around 2- 3 hours, involving eating/ drinking, on my lips) considering it’s a gloss. Its shimmer is very discreet and looks lovely once applied. To top it all of, the product feels quite nourishing and smoothing on the lips – which is always a plus, in my book. All in all, I have to admit this lives up to the hype. I love using it and would highly recommend it (which in itself is a. weird and b. pretty high praise – considering my usual dislike of most things glossy). New shades on my ‘to buy’ list: ‘Game Changer’, ‘High Roller’ & ‘Spark Plug’.
Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipsticks
Let me begin by saying that I blame getting three of these on this video:
That said I, thankfully, haven’t been disappointed by my purchase. First off, the packaging of these is ingenious (not to mention gorgeous). I do believe they’d be worth getting, if only to sit on your makeup counter and make it look pretty. All the colors I picked up are great (except maybe ‘Get Ready’ which is slightly paler on me than I thought it would be) and feel absolutely amazing on the lips (which I guess is due to all the minerals and hydrating ingredients they’re infused with). They’re quite buttery and glide on smoothly, giving an ultra pigmented finish in just one swipe. I did notice a slight transference issue, more with some of the shades than with others, but that’s not a major deal breaker for me (be advised if it is for you, though). My favorite shade is ‘Raise the Bar’ (officially described as a ‘pearlescent raspberry’) but I also quite like ‘Live Large’ (quite aptly described as a ‘berry rose’). New shades on my ‘to buy’ list: ‘Call the Shots’ & ‘Finish First’ (if I can find it).
What do you guys think of the Marvelous Moxie range? Do you love it as much as I do? Got any favorite shades? Sound off below…
Back when I was in my teens I used to love Stephen Kind and would practically devour everything he published – especially his earlier “full-time horror” novels like ‘The Shining’ & ‘IT’. Somewhere along the line, my dwindling attention span combined with King’s tendency to increasingly verge towards the metaphysical made me give up on him and his high page-count books altogether.
Having recently picked up and largely enjoyed some of Joe King’s work (check out my earlier reviews of ‘Heart Shaped Box’ and ‘Horns’), Amazon deemed it appropriate to suggest I buy one of Stephen King’s short story collections, ‘Full Dark, No Stars’. I thought it was about time I gave the ol’ boy another chance and I am delighted that I did.
Shorter stories seem to be this guy’s major strength and the ‘Full Dark, No Stars’ collection features what’s possibly some of his best writing to date. Focusing on the inherent darkness of human nature, instead of on the supernatural, his stories are relatable, creepy and stay with you long after you’ve finished them.
I don’t really want to give anything away, so I’m not gonna go into more detail regarding each of the stories. I’ll only say that, if you are a fan of the genre in general and Stephen King in particular, this is one book you definitely need to check out.
As for me, faith in this guy now properly restored, I’ll be picking up another of his short story collections (“Everything’s Eventual’ or maybe ‘Just After Sunset’) next.
Now, I have to admit I was not a fan of its (very unique) fragrance and slightly “tacky” texture at first, but I did stick with it and boy have I been compensated by the results (not even a single major spot has reared its ugly head since I started using it, not even the persistent hormonal cysts I used to get around those days of the month).
Impressed by the brand (& happy to have found an all natural, organic and animal friendly company whose products actually deliver on their promises) I proceeded to buy the Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser and the Geranium & Thistle Rebalancing Day Cream. Having used those for a little less than a month now, I feel like I have to admit to being a Pai convert (as I read somewhere, ‘once you go Pai, you never look back’).
The cleanser is absolutely sumptuous and smells divine. It feels luxurious and leaves you with a fresh, clean face that doesn’t feel stripped of its natural oils (I hate that squeaky, dehydrated feeling that foaming cleansers tend to leave behind – especially the ones aimed towards acne prone skin). The, included, muslin cloth is a pleasure to use and helps exfoliate/ buff the skin in the most natural way. The 100ml bottle may seem small at first but, considering how little product is actually needed for each use, is more than adequate. Bonus points have to be allocated for the fact that this is a multi- tasking product, which doubles as an excellent eye makeup remover (I cannot testify to its prowess when it comes to removing waterproof mascara, since I don’t often use it, but otherwise it is stellar).
On to the day cream… Another exquisitely smelling product (if you are partial to the smell of geraniums you are gonna love this) that does what it says on the tin: it effectively prevents breakouts, balances out my (combination to oily) skin, reduces pores and leaves behind a lovely matte finish – providing the perfect base for my morning makeup. All that while retaining a very lightweight, but somehow intensely moisturising and nourishing texture – something very few of the other products I have tried can claim. All in all, another fantastic product I would have no qualms recommending to any of you out there with skin like mine.
The Rosehip oil is quite interesting, it feels luxurious and nourishing without being too oily and absorbs real quickly, leaving behind baby smooth skin. The smell is nothing to write home about but, compared to the Ole Henriksen Pure Truth Youth Activating Oil which I tried last night (and which initially smelt lovely and citrus-y but after a few moments started smelling fishy and, frankly, slightly disgusting), is still something I can live with – especially considering its texture which is much nicer (thicker and yet somehow quicker to absorb) than the Pure Truth one. As for results I guess it would take longer to judge them, still this is one product that will definitely make it into my basket next time I place an order with Pai.
To put it in a nutshell, I am extremely happy with everything I have, thus far, tried from Pai and will (despite the slight delay in delivery and slightly higher- end prices) most definitely keep re-purchasing. I will post an update re: the Skin Brightening Exfoliator once I’ve tried it out, but for the time being I would highly recommend the brand (as a number of my friends, to whom I’ve been raving to about it, would testify).
How about you guys? Have you tried anything from the Pai range – and if so, what did you think?
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