Philosophy Melon Daiquiri

I've had a bottle of Philosophy shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath (it's the triple threat of the bath product world) for a while now but have only been using it as a shower gel until I came across the posts by CherrySue and LovelyGirlyBits, highlighting how effective this is as a shampoo.

Normally I'm a bit sceptical of 2 in 1 products, so a 3 in 1 product was too much for me altogether until I read said posts and tried it for myself. I love Philosophy products, they always smell good, the packaging is very cute and the 480mls in each bottle takes an eternity to get through. I love the smell of melon so was particularly drawn to this and happily received it as a gift from my lovely sister.
This has a thick and creamy formula and works well as both a shower gel and a shampoo- providing a good lather, leaving hair clean without tangles or the product build up I've been having from other shampoos lately (argan and moroccan oil based products do not seem to agree with me- a review to follow soon). I haven't used this in the bath so I can't say how effective it is in that department but I am definitely now converted to the world of shampoo/shower gels (Philosophy only so far!).

Eos Lip balms

"It started with a kiss"..actually, no, sorry that's not right. It started with the honeysuckle/honeydew melon flavour eos smooth sphere lip balm. Although, granted, the latter's not as catchy as the former. As per the beautyemporium.ie website, this balm:

"is 95% organic, 100% natural, and paraben and petrolatum free. Packed with antioxidant-rich vitamin E, soothing shea butter and jojoba oil, eos keeps your lips moist, soft and sensationally smooth".

And boy does it do what it says on the tin. My lips were like those of a shriveled old crone before I started using this and are now lovely and soft. I was beginning to doubt that any lip care product actually existed that would work but at last, I can wear matte lipstick (I'm mostly referring to my new Tom Ford..swoon) and not look manky. Anyways, the purchase of the melon balm for 5.75 euro on beautyemporium.ie had me so pleased that I tried it out on HTB when he had a sore lip and low and behold, it cleared it up so quickly that it got his seal of approval too, even though he's not a huge fan of melon. So being the dutiful WTB (wife to be), I then purchased the strawberry sorbet flavour, which is also lovely. And, eh, well I also thought the lemon flavour would be a good idea for the Summer as it contains an SPF of 15. That's my reasoning and I'm sticking to it.

    Lemon, Honeysuckle/Honeydew and Strawberry Sorbet

The balms are clear and matte so I usually wear it on its own at bedtime or under a lipstick. I also find the flavours are so delicate that they're never overpowering. The packaging is very cute but also hygienic, I hate dipping my finger into a pot of balm, I think it's a bit germy. But that's just me being odd. Look at them though:

Dinky!

Adrenalin Rush

Oh how I love me some glitter. In fact, I think this may accurately describe why I love the sparkle so much:

Granted, this would probably be quite an unfortunate medical condition but I doubt it'd be rare. I'm not alone in my glitter love, is what I'm saying, if the depleted stocks of my new (almost) favourite nail polish, Adrenalin, by Topshop is anything to go by. This was sold out online but thankfully there were a couple left on the shelves in-store and I helped myself to one, using my now well out of date student card (don't tell Topshop) to get 10% off. So I think this was around 8 euro. About average for a polish but I know a lot of people have an issue with Topshop's version of the exchange rate...as in, we're being horribly ripped off when you look at Sterling prices. Personally, it isn't a huge problem for me. It's annoying, yes but I fail to see how it's going to change any time soon and God knows I need a bit of Topshop in my life.
On that note, here is said polish:

And behold...with flash! It looks like this in bright lights, or you know, the sun, so an ideal polish for the current weather or for those who enjoy an auld rave.
It's a very light pink/ clear base with small pieces of pink/lilac glitter and slightly larger, circular hologramy (I'm aware it's not a word but it's not easy to describe, dammit!) glitter which change colour in the light. I love this. I kept looking down at my nails all the time when I was wearing it and almost hypnotised one of the local Spar merchants on one of the more sunnier days recently when I reached for my change.
It does have one major downside though- it comes off in one whole piece, unbidded by myself. I used base and topcoat, before you ask, and still, I kept looking down to find another entire nail of polish had come off and was now God knows where. Obviously, not a good idea if you're planning on preparing or serving food, or don't like looking mental when you go out to find you've only the odd nail of polish left here and there. So not a huge success. I may instead try out one of the Model's Own glitters available on ASOS or the Ciate polish "Jewel", which looks amazing here on the lovely blog of hazyindublin. Got to get my glitter fix!!

I just can't get enough...

I tend to get fairly attached to certain products and then when something new and shiny comes along I get distracted and go for them instead. So before that happens, here's what I'm loving..at the moment..

Jo Malone Body Creme in English Pear and Freesia. I love the scent of this- delicate yet strong, floral yet fruity, such a great combination. It's also the right texture- not too thick and not too thin (I'm sensing another Goldilocks moment here) so it blends in nicely. I've been using it lately (when I can be bothered) just after a shower at night and I find my skin is ultra soft by the next morning. If I use it in the morning I find the scent is almost too overpowering so that I can't wear perfume as well but if used at night it isn't a problem. This being Jo Malone, it is on the pricier side (if memory serves it was around the 65 euro mark) but as I bought it with a gift voucher, I feel no guilt! Hurrah!

This is Origins Drink Up- Intensive Overnight Mask. I love this. It's rather like a super moisturiser, in fact it should come with a little cape and possibly some spandex pants. Suggested use is twice a week, gently massaged onto clean skin with the excess tissued off. I generally use an exfoliator first to get full benefit from this and then rub it in, I've never needed to tissue excess off because my skin just drinks it up.

It smells kind of like a peach yoghurt, which is probably not that surprising, given that it contains Apricot Kernal oil. It also has Avacado oil and Mango butters..mmm, almost edible. Less delicious sounding is the Japanese seaweed, Hyaluronic acid and Plant Glycerin. Not sure what the latter two actually are but I am assured they do wonders for the skin. And my skin is definitely feeling it.

Moving on, Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish hot cloth cleanser. This has been praised high up and low down across the blogosphere and I have nothing new to add to the adoration..except more adoration, obviously. This came beautifully packaged along with with two Muslin cloths, the Instant Boost Skin Tonic (which I also really like-smells divine), the Skin Repair Moisturiser (good but I don't think it's the Holy Grail of moisturisers to which I seek) and the Energising Body wash (not overly keen on the smell nor do I find it hugely energising). I also received a mini bottle of the cleanser and an extra cloth which is very handy for traveling.
Back to the cleanser itself:
"Naturally active ingredients include cocoa butter to soften, smooth and moisturise. Rosemary, chamomile hops and eucalyptus to tone, sooth and purify".
Recommended use is twice a day, massaged onto dry skin and removed with a hot muslin cloth. It's divine. I actually look forward to taking my make up off now (except for eye make up, I find this struggles a little bit with mascara but again, that could just be the immoveable force that is Benefit's "They're Real". It does take it off, it just requires a bit more effort than the rest of my make up). I just love this, the smell is incredible and I truly believe it's the best cleanser I've ever used. I am fearful of how I'll react once it's empty (wailing and general despair no doubt)- this inevitability is fast approaching and I annoyingly missed out on the recent online offer of a bottle reduced to 11.25..I probably would've bought several, such is my love for this.

This has also been blogged about to death but I can't help it, I love it and must sing it's praises- Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait. I haven't tried this in any other shade so I'm basing my opinion purely on this little beauty. This colour is just so flattering- like natural lips only better. There's great pigmentation and a nice sheen and unlike a matte lipstick, it's super easy to apply and ideal for Summer. Love.

Lastly, Rimmel Sunshimmer Instant Tan in it's new waterproof version (at last- why did it even take them this long to think of it?!). I'm not a huge fan of fake tans, I'm quite pale, which I like but I do feel certain situations warrant the use of a tan. I'm thinking- weddings, any time I feel like wearing white, neon (never happens) or if a beach is involved (whilst I enjoy being pale I think an entire body of blinding white flesh on show on a sunny day is guaranteed to scare small children..I refer you to the time in Gran Canaria at a water park where a small Spanish child pointed at my friend Jenn and said in a terrified, hushed tone- "Like a ghost". I rest my case). Anyway, I got this in Light/Matte, which gave me a nice glow without running the risk of falling into Katie Price territory. It's a tinted lotion so you can't really go wrong with application as you can see where it's going, but it does need to be rubbed in quickly as it stains, fast. Like it says on the tin, it doesn't wash off, even if some drunkard decides to spill a pint of beer down your back at the Kilkenny Cat Laughs...just as a for instance, obviously. Ahem. The next day it came off easily in the shower with soap and water- simples! A great tan that's as cheap as chips, I picked this up in Penneys along with a tanning mitt and had change from a tenner, which I undoubtedly then promptly spent on some random Penneys goods..as is my want.

Daniel Sandler Watercolour blush

I'm prone to a bit of hype and there was quite the blogging frenzy when the Daniel Sandler Watercolour Fluid blusher came out, so naturally I had to try it too. I got this in the shade "so pretty", which it is indeed:

I have no issue with spending money on blushers or lipsticks because they help stop me from looking like one of the undead (I've been watching far too much zombie related stuff lately) so the 17.00 euro asking price for this on beautyemporium.ie didn't perturb me. This is watery (not that shocking, given the name) in texture but has great pigmentation and gives the skin a lovely natural flush, quite dewy looking, rather than heavy the way some powder blushes can apply. This is the deal with this, from the beauty emporium website:

"Multi award winning Watercolour fluid blusher contains Vitamin E and Jojoba to enhance application and nourish skin. It's silicone based oil free, doesn't clog pores and suits every skin type. The silicone makes it virtually rub-off proof plus water-resistant.Daniel says "I chose a silicone based oil free formulation as it doesn't clog pores and suits every skin type. The silicone makes it virtually rub-off proof. Lifts all skin types with an instant radiance".

Best applied with the Daniel Sandler Watercolour Brush"

So being a total sucker I naturally also bought the Watercolour Brush, priced at 18.50.

I was so glad I did though, you could apply this with fingers but I don't think you'd have the same finish as you get with the brush. The suggested method of application is to
"squeeze a small amount onto the back of your hand (left) and blend (right) onto cheeks using fingertips or waterbrush", but I still think it applies better with the brush.

I love this brush, so much so in fact that I'm considering buying the foundation brush from the same range. This applies the product really well, blending it in in one easy sweep, handy for people like me that are not qualified make up artists.

All in all, two really good buys. I really like this blush, it's superseded my Clarins Instant Light blush in my affections, and I really didn't think that would happen. Also, you only need a small amount each time so I think it may take me a while to get through the bottle's 17mls! Yay!

Zoya and Sunshine

All this beautiful sunshine requires an equally bright and cheerful nail polish ..step forward Zoya in "Tobey".

I hadn't tried this particular brand before, and given my love for all things nail polish, that situation had to be rectified. So I checked out their website to find out the 411...kids still say that, right?? I'm still cool, right?!! Anyway, this is the story:

"Designed for fashion runway shows in New York, London, Paris & Milan, Zoya Nail Polish is proud to be the new color fashion. Zoya nail polish and nail care treatments are free of nasty (potentiality carcinogenic) ingredients like toluene, formaldehyde, DBP and camphor. Did you know that Zoya was the first company to remove these ingredients from their products almost 12 years before anyone ever considered the potential health risks. Not only is Zoya Big 3 Free, Zoya is also designed to be the longest wearing natural nail polish. Zoya really is the "Healthy New Color of Fashion"."


So now. I love me some pink polishes but I think this particular shade might be moving a little too much into Barbie territory. Which is fine, it just means I need to acquire a Malibu Dreamhouse and a new fella called Ken, with questionable body parts.
There's a crazy amount of shades available though, so i may have another perusal. This was 9.90 euro on the Beauty Emporium website, which isn't too shabby.
And here it is on- I applied it whilst sitting out in the sunshine, reading my kindle and trying to avoid ants.

This is two coats, with a top coat of Seche Vite. It applies well but once it's dried, it feels a bit thin on, more like I've coloured my nails with a cheap children's paint rather than a proper polish. So I put on an extra coat this morning- still feels the same. Now in fairness, that could well just be me being mental and it is still a nice polish so I'd be happy to try out another shade. More importantly- Hurrah for sunshine!!

"Sex, Lies and Rinsing Guys"

I made a foolish error yesterday by watching "Sex, Lies and Rinsing Guys", on 4OD. I love a good Channel 4 documentary but this one had me cursing at my laptop in frustration and eventually turning green and bursting out of my clothes..thankfully no one was injured..this time.

                            Photo from The Daily Mail (of course, you just know they'd love this)

If, like me, the term "rinsing" is new to you or you assumed it had something to do with one of the cycles on a washing machine, let me explain. "Rinsing is the art of getting gifts from men and promising nothing in return". Apparently this "new breed of women are exploiting men's weaknesses and relying on their charms to get what they want".
The show features three women, Jeanette, Danica and Hollie (Jeanette is pictured above, in between two of her friends who also enjoy an' auld rinse), who thanks to their "rinsing" of wealthy men, have received Champagne, designer bags, clothes and shoes, underwear, Tiffany earrings, cash, exotic holidays, laptops, plastic surgery and bizarrely, a Huskie called Simba. In return, the men get "the pleasure of my company and my time, I think that's worth more than a present or a nice cheque". And that's all they get. The golden rule of rinsing is that "men open their wallets while the woman's legs stay  closed". As if somehow this disguised form of prostitution is better than the usual more overt kind. Yeah, it's really not.
Two of the women featured, who meet wealthy men in clubs, add them to their phone messenger service where they let their wealthy contacts know what presents they want. They then trowel on some make up, hair extensions, false eyelashes and nails, gold jewelry, uber tight dresses, fake tan and highlight their surgically puffed up lips, cheeks and breasts and provide the "pleasure of their company", which as far as I could see seems to be mostly them trying to finagle more gifts out of their date.
But what do the men get out of this? Apparently, "guys have fantasies, buying women presents is one of those fantasies". Really? That's news to me. Even men who love their partners dearly loathe the prospect of present shopping for a woman and yet, this is taking place. It boggles the mind.
Terrifyingly, one of the women, Hollie, meets men in the lapdancing club she works in or while she's out advertising said club..in her underwear and a pair of stilts, randomly enough. It just doesn't really seem like the best environment to meet someone who'll treat you well. She came out with some of the more interesting quotes from the show:

"Bills are not something I want to pay for, so I'm not going to pay for them. The guys I date all have a duty to pay some of it. They date me for my appearance and that's how they pay for it."
"I like to think of myself as a modern day geisha."
"I've got no time for fairytale romance, lovey dovey stuff."
"What's the point of scrimping and saving all your life when some muppet down the road is going to treat you like a princess."

There's so many things wrong with everything she just said that I don't even know where to start. Her own mother's motto is "Take what you can, give nothing back", which explains a lot really. Worst of all, she has a young child..it seems like a crazy example to be setting for your kids that if you don't wan't to pay for something that everyone has to pay for, i.e, bills, that you just find a stranger who will and you use your looks to achieve that..whatever happened to finding a job and being independent? Gah.

Jeanette, meanwhile, studies forensic pyschology and claims that an understanding of the male pysche is "crucial in setting up the rinse" and "People buy marketing ideas cause they're stupid..it's the same thing". She also tries to pass all of this off as female empowerment, saying:

"It's about girls on top". 
Really? It just all seems a bit desperate and depressing to me.

I thought all that was bad enough, until we came to Danica, who rinses men through social networking- Skype, Twitter and her very own website, which mostly is just pictures of her in the nip. A chat on Skype for 10 mins is worth 50 quid and she doesn't do sex talk- she says "men just want someone pretty to talk to". Aww, how sweet. It's a good job that there's women out there providing men with this vital service, the poor things. Vom. All was well until she said this:

"I'm using what I'm good at to get what I want, just as nurses do"...This provoked the following response from me:

Except without the "are those shoes on sale part", obviously. I'm a nurse so, firstly, "what I'm good at", like most other nurses, is using what I learnt from my 4 year degree, two post graduate higher diplomas and many years of experience to create, implement and assess plans of care for sick, vulnerable and dying people in order to provide the best possible care for them and their families. "What I want" is to be paid appropriately for the long hours of back breaking work I do and for my level of knowledge and experience. I fail to see how nursing is an appropriate analogy for rinsing men. I feel like writing an angry letter saying all of the above, but I don't know who to address it to..the ghost of feminism past maybe? Cause it seems like feminism is nowhere to be seen here. Despite all their protests to the contrary, these women are in reality, prostituting themselves by using their appearances, which in my opinion is the opposite of empowerment. And now to go and consume some mind altering alcohol (absinthe maybe?) and forget these awful people exist.

Recently Watched

Somehow in between watching The Walking Dead, Mad Men, Homeland and The Killing, we've managed to find time to watch a few (ahem) films as well. Most of these were (clearly) HTB's choice but in spite of that, some were surprisingly good!

1) Warrior, starring Tom Hardy (nom nom) and Joel Edgerton (no, me neither), is the story of two brothers, alienated from each other due to their seriously dysfunctional family, who both enter a mixed martial arts tournament in the hopes of winning the 5 million dollar prize. Anyway, there's loads of fighting scenes, some excellent acting, a few tense moments and an emotional ending. Full disclosure: I did fall asleep for a few minutes during this but that's no reflection on the film- it was warm and I was sleepy. Anyway, worth a watch if you like mixed martial arts...or more realistically, if you like Tom Hardy in the semi-nip.

2) Hugo in 3D, starring Ben Kingsley, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen and Jude Law, amongst others. This is a rather sweet drama, produced by Martin Scorsese and Johnny Depp, which picked up 5 Oscars. Set in Paris in the 1930's, it follows the life of a 12 year old boy, Hugo, who now orphaned, lives in the walls of the train station and maintains the clocks there, while working on his deceased father's last project (he was a gifted clockmaker). Although a bit sad to start with, this turned into an interesting little love letter to the origins of film making and movies in general. Overall, a charming film, which will happily while away a couple of hours for you. Worth a watch!

3) The Avengers in 3D, which we were both greatly anticipating, did not disappoint. This is a Joss Whedon project, which as I've previously mentioned, is always a plus for me.  This action/adventure brings together Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), IronMan (Robert Downey Jr), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), as the members of Project S.H.I.E.L.D, lead by Nick Fury (Samuel L.Jackson) to fight against Loki (Thor's evil and much less attractive brother- he's adopted) and his attempts to enslave all humans. This was surprisingly funny and although I thought it was a little long in places, we both really enjoyed it. There were also lots of "in" jokes which all the nerds in the audience (and to my shame), HTB and I chuckled at (we're marvel comic nerds and enjoy a good superhero tale). This is currently no.1 in the box office everywhere so I'm not alone in my appreciation. Go see!!

4) Contraband, starring Marky-Mark and Kate Beckinsale, is a thriller wherein Mark Wahlberg's character is forced into returning to his former life of crime by running contraband on a cargo ship, in order to satisfy a rather scary mobster (Giovanni Ribisi), who's been threatening his family. I wasn't expecting to like this but it was real nail-biting, edge of your seat stuff and very entertaining. I would recommend!

5) Puss in Boots. HTB got me this, knowing my love for possibly the world's cutest cat (I used to think he was like an animated version of my now sadly departed cat, Mr Meowington. Sniff). Puss, voiced by Antonio Banderas is amazing. I LOVE this film. There's no point in me telling you the plot of this, you just have to watch it and ignore said plot and focus on Puss and his unbelievable cuteness. He has some amazing lines and somehow Banderas manages to make a cartoon cat both dashing, (akin to a feline casanova) AND adorable- like that surprised kitten video clip on Youtube. Watch it!!!
..(the film and the Youtube clip-both are great).

6) Lastly, Safe, starring Jason Statham. Brutal. I fell asleep (again, it was warm and I was tired but mostly cause this was terrible and my dreams were a much more entertaining alternative). I missed most of this but HTB reliably informs me this was awful and not worth seeing. So now.

Yummy lunch and Mini cosmetics haul!!

I just spent a rather lovely lunch with a friend, followed by some unnecessary make up shopping (that's a lie, it's never unnecessary).

We ate in the Pepperpot cafe in Powerscourt, which was rather yummy:

Goat's cheese, pesto and sun dried tomato tart with caremelised onions, greens and edible flowers (left), cappucino and flowerless chocolate cake (amazing) right..so delicious.

We then popped over to Brown Thomas as I was in need of new foundation. After a spot of handbag fondling (Mulberry, Lulu Guinness, Miu Miu, Anya Hindmarch etc), I got matched to this foundation:

I've wanted to try this for a while as I'd heard great things. It's "Designer Lift Soothing, Firming Foundation" with SPF 20, from Armani. This is in shade no. 2. From my consult with the Sales Assistant, I found out that I'm apparently yellow toned, which is interesting as I always thought I was pink toned. You learn something new every day, wha'? This is it, blended in, and yes, I'm aware of how freakishly pale I am:

This is really light on but with great coverage. It does need powder to set it but I think the formula will be perfect for my arab's sandal-esque skin. I also needed concealer (damn hormonal-spot-prone chin), so I got "High Precision Retouch", also no.2 (below), which seems to have similarly great coverage. This can be used as a concealer for blemishes, the under eye area, as a highlighter (a la touche eclat) and as an eye shadow primer. Handy.

Brown Thomas had an offer on in store whereby if you spent a certain amount on cosmetics you were entered in a draw to win varying amounts in gift vouchers..I won a fiver! Hurrah! I used it to full advantage to get some money off a pair of the "award winning" Shu Uemura eyelash curlers, which I've been lusting after for a while, in the hopes of improving the appearance of my current sad little stumpy lashes :-(

This features a silicone pad (it also comes with a spare pad for when the first one wears out), which apparently gives a more sweeping curl, rather than the crimped look a lot of a lot of other curlers. I haven't tried it yet as my lashes are at present heavily coated in Benefit's "They're Real" and I can't be bothered trying to take that off yet (I find it usually takes a lot of cleanser and several lamenting comments from me to HTB about how I look like the Joker before there's no trace of it left) but I'll keep you all updated on how good this is after some proper usage! All in all, a successful outing!

Current wish list..

I tend to compile these little lists of things I'm lusting after in my phone or if it's really good-in my head. So I thought I'd share my current list of wants here as well.
For the home:
I'm really after a scent diffuser (apparently they last ages, look pretty and don't run the risk of burning your house down like candles do, so you know- bonus). I haven't seen any around but my sister assures me Max Benjamin do lovely ones, so I'll be having an auld look about town for them:

                                                       Photo from www.maxbenjamin.ie

I'm a huge fan of Not on the High Street and follow them on Facebook, which alerted me today to the existence of this little beauty:

                                                Photo from www.notonthehighstreet.com/

This is a print by artist Freya Ete whose work "portrays a forever optimistic view of the world". How sweet. I am seriously in love with this.

For me:
For a while now I've been driven demented trying to find a classic trench coat that would be well fitting, a neutral shade so that it'd go with everything and one that would not make me look like Inspector Gadget on a bad day. Behold:

                                                         Photo from www.topshop.com
Ding! Ding! Ding! I think we may have a winner.
To go with my new ladylike trench, I will obviously require a new ladylike bag...ahem.

                                                       Photo from www.tedbaker.com/
Yes, I am aware that this costs 159 sterling and would probably only fit a miniature lipstick and some spare change but the force of beauty is strong in this one and she calls to me...unfortunately, this appears to be sold out on the Ted Baker website, which is a shame but it also means that I'll now have to devote valuable time in the future to checking the site to see if it comes back in stock. Le Sigh.
Lastly:

                                                      Photo from www.beautyemporium.ie

This is EOS smooth sphere lip balm in "Summer fruits". I recently bought this in "Honeysuckle/Honeydew" and fell in love. That may be a gross exaggeration of the relationship I have with a lip balm but you get the idea. I'll be reviewing the melon flavour soon so I won't go into too much detail here, except to say that this product is 100% natural, is housed in hygienic packaging (no disgusting finger-balm dipping for me!) and has made my lips really soft! Plus it's only 5.75 euros on the beauty emporium website, which is a bit of a bargain really. It comes in other flavours but I think Summer fruits sounds rather appealing, what with the time of year and all.

C'est ca. I'm sure I'll come up with plenty more things I want in the not too distant future (all it really takes is for me to wander around with my eyes open and a new list has already somehow formed, as if by osmosis).

Recent Delicious Things

            Warm Mississippi Mud Pie with cream and caramel sauce from our favourite restaurant.

                           Chocolate Ganache cake, as provided by my lovely Mother-in-law-to-be.

           
                    Raspberry and almond and double chocolate muffins from the best bakery ever.

                                                Cold Champagne in our lovely new glasses.

 Marzipan fruits! Present from HTB. I used to think these were amazing when I was small..I was right!

                                     
                                       Baked Alaska with a rather lovely message attached!

                                   Welcome Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.

         Lemon drizzle puddings, as made by my sister..potentially the greatest dessert of all time..

A cake stand of amazingness..mini fruit and cream topped meringues, macaroons and little chocolates.

                  Custard filled tarts, topped with raspberries, strawberries and apple mint.

                                                                Mini Banoffee Tarts.

                                                   Fresh cream and jam sponge cake.

                                                           Coffee and Walnut Cake.

                                                              Lots more Champagne!!

(I ate lots of everything and yes, it was all amazing!!)