Femme Luxe UK collaboration - Party Pieces

Tonight I have something new for the blog, a little collaboration with https://femmeluxefinery.co.uk. I actually hadn't tried anything from the brand before they approached me, but after looking at their website, I knew that they fit my style perfectly. It was actually pretty hard to choose what I wanted to try! They have so many gorgeous dresses! I also found their website incredibly easy to navigate, the price of the clothing incredibly reasonable and they also have next day delivery for us impatient or unorganised gals (you know who you are). But every girl can relate to getting overexcited about clothes coming through the post, so naturally I couldn't wait to try these few items on. I went for 3 going out options, in a pretty neutral palette. You know that I love simple colours, less is more in my eyes!  SO I chose a one shoulder jumpsuit, a V neck midi and a One shoulder Knit dress. All very minimal and classy just how I like my outfits! 

Black belted shoulder jumpsuit - Evelyn

I'm having a real moment for one shouldered pieces as you will see further down. You probably know that I'm also a little sucker for a 70's vibe so a flared jumpsuit is also right up my street. About the actual jumpsuit, the material is pretty thick and stretchy which is really nice on a fitted piece, because it kind pulls everything in! Also it makes the boootay pop, which were all game for. I paired this with a pair of Dalmatian print heels. I think this is the best kind of outfit for winter, its still super figure hugging and sexy but also super warm! so if you are braving winter weather maybe consider this cute little number.  RRP £35.98 but they currently have a sale so you can pick this up at £15.99!!

https://femmeluxefinery.co.uk/products/black-belted-one-shoulder-jumpsuit-evelyn

 White ribbed V neck midi dress - Regina

Next on the line up this gorgeous figure hugging White V neck midi. Once again he quality of this item is really nice, its thick and form hugging around all the right places. I really like the neckline its very flattering and the straps sit really well which is always something I look out for.  I can imagine wearing this at so many occasions, but I think its great for this time of year if your hitting the town because its warm but still dressy! I wouldn't feel out of place going for dinner or clubbing in this with a statement shoe! I also think this is a fab dress for the summer too which is always good, when you get to use an outfit all year round. RRP £31.98 currently on sale for £11.99!

 https://femmeluxefinery.co.uk/products/white-ribbed-v-neck-midi-dress-regina

White knitted mini dress - Macie 

Last but certainly not least, my absolute favourite item! A one shoulder ribbed knit dress. (Yes another one shoulder) Perfect for the winter season! There are so many ways you can wear this dress, want to stay warm on a night out? add some killer heels. I have worn this out for my boyfriends birthday with a navy duster jacket and knee high grey suede boots. Which was such a power outfit. We had a meal in a pretty laid back restaurant and then had cocktails in a pretty classy joint. The outfit was perfect on both occasions because it can be dressed up or down! Its so versatile. I have to say its deffo a white underwear only dress but that's not a massive no no for me. RRP £29.99 but currently on sale for £10.99! 

https://femmeluxefinery.co.uk/products/white-knitted-ribbed-one-shoulder-sleeve-bodycon-mini-dress-tessa

Overall I'm so in love with the items I received they are all true to size, good quality and absolute steal prices at the moment! I will 100% ordering from them again, in fact I have a tab open as we speak perusing the bargains! I hope that you liked the outfits as much as me. If you happen to get caught up in the sale and make any purchases please let me know what you think. I love seeing your purchases!

Bottomless Brunch @ Sohe Jesmond

No surprise that I leaped at the chance to go back to Sohe for another delicious meal! Another visit another amazing deal.  Me and Nath were invited to try their bottomless brunch; that's 90 minuets of free flowing drinks, a sharing starter and a main for £25.95pp.  I think that a great price regardless but coupled up with the relaxed atmosphere of Sohe it's unbeatable. Every time me and Nath go to Sohe I instantly feel relaxed, the dim lighting comfy seats and smell of gorgeous food instantly makes you feel at home.  We settled into our nice plush booth and order our first (of many) drinks, I started off with a classic glass of Prosecco and then moved on to try their Yuzu spritz which I loved! If you like tarte drinks you'll adore the spritz! Nath was on the beer of course.

We then tucked into the sharing starter which consisted of: Chicken Satay, Veggie spring rolls, prawn crackers with tamarind dip and salt and chili squid. The dip that came with the crackers was a firm favourite of mine (only complaint is that I didn't want to share with Nathan) I also really enjoyed the chicken satay the sauce was so creamy! There's plenty food there for two, in all honesty I was actually pretty full. I then went on to have the Lamb Massaman curry, which I have to say is one of my favourites that I have eaten at many restaurants. This was definitely up there with some of the best and most authentic, I absolutely love crispy shallots sprinkled on my Massaman, the lamb was cooked to perfection it pretty much fell apart in the bowl! Certainly a dish I could wolf down again and again. Nath was so impressed with our last visit he ordered exactly the same meal King prawn vermicelli, he is a creature of habit after all. Nether the less he was more than happy with his meal! We had such a laugh, good food and we were never without a glass. It's available Friday and Saturday 12pm-5pm, so pretty much ideal for a girly lunch date fuelled by prosecco and gossip  Make sure you book a table if you fancy a tipple!

Visit https://www.sohe.co.uk/special-offers

Parichat @ Sohe jesmond

Is it completely shallow that the first judgment I make of a restaurant is its interior? I think its fairly common with the selfie generation to pick places based on it's 'insta hotspot photobility.' Before you exit this blogpost, I'd like to point out that I am mainly influenced by the menu but I'd be lying if I didn't say a good photo opportunity doesn't lure me in. I'm happy to point out that Sohe has the ability to boast both strengths; a beautiful menu that's  complimented by it's chic interior. 

Last Saturday I found myself seated in a beautiful beau window with the sun beaming in, sampling the set menu at Parichat at Sohe (as well as the cocktails). Purely on first impressions glancing around the room, I thought 

I am actually surprised these guys do a *happy hour* type menu and it's so reasonably priced. The decor feels very luxe and modern that you would naturally expect a luxe price tag. Yet three courses for £15.95 is incredibly reasonable, especially considering the quality of the dishes I experienced. 

To start I had Spring rolls with a homemade sweet chilli dip. My fella 

had the Steamed pork and spring onion dumplings which were accompanied by a soy, chilli oil and coriander dip.  Both were incredibly flavoursome, I had some of Nathans... purely for research purposes only of course. With five starter options in total,;I think its a brilliant set menu with plenty of variety. In fact it was quite hard to decide which one I wanted to try. I guess that just warrants another visit! 

Then along came the main meals, I chose Pan fried Sea Bass filet with a smoky curry sauce, Pak Choi and jasmine rice. I most definitely stand by my choice, I'm pretty sure Nathan had complete food evny over my dish. The smoky spiced sauce with the crisp salty skin of the Sea bass was an utter delight. The fish just fell apart if was so beautifully cooked and the accompaniment of my favourite chinese vegetable Pak Choi added a lovely crunch. I love a mix of textures in my food it adds so much to the experience. A dish that I would order again in a heart beat and honestly haven't really been able to stop thinking about since we left. Once again there was a nice variety of options meat, fish and a vegan dish.

In between courses I was obviously sampling the gorgeous cocktails. I love elaborate designs and fancy glasses when it comes to cocktails. Theres something about it that just makes you feel like you are in the lap of luxury, maybe that's just me? I have to also point out that these drinks are not style over substance they tasted amazing and were all made with quality ingredients. The drink in my first photo in the amazing glass is called Destination Unknown which was a gorgeous Gin tipple. I also sampled Noh Aku Aku which is Rum based and as I've heard a customer favourite. It's not hard to tell why, it comes in the most amazing novelty glass shaped like a face. Lastly I knocked back a drink called find your zen, which was another fruity number that came with a slice of watermelon and a sprig of lavender. I mean all are worthy of appearing on your instagram grid. 

Lastly we had desert, Nathan's favourite course. He had Salted caramel and peanut ice-cream which I didn't get a photo of because it was half way down his neck before I could even open my mouth. Apparently it was just too good to wait. I had Rum and Chilli roasted pineapple with coconut sorbet, which was just a lovely balance of sweetness and spice and a lovely way to end the meal. 

If you fancy a gander at the menu its available on their website under special offers  but you best be quick as this spring menu will not be around for long! Set menu is available Mon - Thur 5pm - close, Fri - Sat 12pm- 6pm and Sunday 3pm until close.  2 courses £13.95   3 courses £15.95

Moda In Pelle: Launch at Fenwick Newcastle

I still pinch myself that I get invited to these kind of events! What a dream to browse a gorgeous range of shoes from Moda In Pelle ( Prosecco in hand) and then get to pick out my very own pair. The event was to celebrate the official launch of Moda In Pelle in Fenwick Newcastle. I have to admit that I didn't know much about the Moda In Pelle before the event, but I always love discovering new brands!

A little Back story: The brand was was founded in 1975 by Stephen Buck, they have been crafting beautiful leather shoes for over 40 years! They aim to bring together British design and Italian quality.

Looking around the store I was quite impressed at what a diverse age range this brand catered for, they do everything from glitzy sandals, comfy trainers to going out heels. I could line up every single woman in my family and there would be something to offer her here! At one point I was wishing I had a 9-5 job with a suit and such, just so I had an excuse to wear their gorgeous brogues and loafers.

There were quite a few shoes that stole my heart so choosing a pair to take home was quite a task. So I decided to photograph my absolute favourites! I think my top picks show just how diverse of a range they have! First up we have the trainer. Now I am not stereotypically a trainer kinda gal, but these screamed all kinds of Gucci vibes at me. These are just the chicest little pair of trainers I ever did see. Black with a leopard print pop and a stripe of red, also the chunky sole is so on trend! AND if you aren't obsessed with animal print are you even in 2019.

Second runner up were these gorgeous Valentino-esque heels, completely more my usual style.  Not only do they resemble a very popular design of shoe, the colours are just insane. I'm really into a statement shoe and these would certainly turn heads. The only reason I didn't end up with a pair in this style is because I have a few shoes similar in shape (not colour) and I wanted to go for something a little different to what I already own.

Here we have it, the raining champion... the boldest pair of shoes in the store! A gorgeous glossy pair of patent leather orange heels, with a block heel featuring a gorgeous metallic finish. Not only do they look amazing but oh the comfort.  They have a full leather padded sock which means you can dance the night away and still be able to walk the next morning. I was inspired to buy these after speaking with Leanne who was running the event, she mentioned that Moda In Pelle want their customers to be bold, to try something they might not usually lean to. These shoes are most certainly bold and I feel like they really capture my style I can see a 70's influence in the block heel and the metallic has a very 90's vibe.

I'm going to link the website here so you can all browse their shoes https://www.modainpelle.com But if you can why not pop into Fenwick Newcastle because the shoe's really are worth seeing in person! To wrap this up I really just want to say one last Thank you to Moda In Pelle and Fenwick Newcastle and another Huge thanks to Leanne for organising the event and being a such great host!

Sometimes life just gives you Lemons.

Steal my style, as always items are linked. 

Bikini by Missguided

Light weight knit Pretty Little Thing 

Old favourites & New found loves

I'm just going to put it out there, I keep my makeup way longer than recommended. Basically if it doesn't smell or look yuck, it gets to live another day. Expect mascaras and eyeliners, nobody wants an eye infection. So when I do these 'old' favourites posts, some of these items have genuinely been with me forever. (No shame) My Mac skin finishes were an obsession, when I first started really loving makeup. I own lots of Mac powders, but these two are ones I still reach for. I feel like Soft & gentle has a place in a lot of ride or die Mac fans hearts. This to me was the original highlighter before highlights became such a thing! I clearly have loved mine to death as I have hit pan. There are truly very few products I ever use that often, so its a real testament to how much I adore this. Golden Globe is another amazing skin finish by Mac, but seeming underrated. This when your tanned and summery just takes your glow full JLO. Forever a summertime / fake tan anytime favourite. 

The two Chanel items are complete happy accidents. The lippy my dad got me for Christmas because the colour I wanted was limited edition and out of stock and this one was similar! I actually think I prefer this to the one I chose! Its the shade Sourire, its very sheer with a light pink glittery cast! Very cute. The Coco Noir perfume my boyfriend bought me for Christmas, after becoming confused in the perfume store and picking this up thinking it was Tom for Black orchid (which I wore at the time). I really love the smell of this perfume and its not something I think I would have picked up for myself! So I'm pleasantly surprised, after all that he could remember was 'it comes in a black bottle' it could have been a true disaster. 

My newest found love are the Makeup revolution Pro brushes which I picked up for under £3 each. I'm truly impressed with the quality of these brushes for the tiny price point. They apply my foundation really nice and are much easier to clean that my other goat haired brushes. Don't get me wrong I'm not about to throw away my brush roll full of mac brushes but they certainly are a brilliant alternative if your on a budget! I can't really justify spending £20 plus on one brush these days, especially when there are such great cheaper alternative around! 

I'd love to know what your die hard favourites, maybe its a new obsession or a long term affair! Let me know!

Insert heart eyed emoji

Silver/lilac hair compliments of Bleach London

Veganuary at Wagamama

If you recently had a gander at my instagram, you will have seen that on Wednesday I had the pleasure of sampling the Vegan menu at Wagamama at Intu Metrocentre. What perfect timing as we are currently in the midst of Veganuary! (Something that I wish I knew was a 'thing' before the middle of Jan, because I would have certainly took a crack at it). For those that are unfamiliar with a vegan diet, you essentially do not consume anything that is a by product of an animal or that contributes to their suffering. Whereas a veggie would avoid meat, vegans would also not consume dairy, honey and eggs etc.

To start the event off we were taken upstairs in Wagamama where we could dine in private. We were first given some samples of vegan canned drinks to try and a menu to peruse. I was truly impressed that Wagamama dedicates an entire menu to both vegetarian and vegan food, most restaurants I eat in, asterisk three options on the menu that are suitable to vegetarians, which is just a bit crap. The drinks were Cucumber & Mint and Mango & Ginger. I'm not a huge fan of Mint so the Cucumber can was a bit of a write off for me, but the Mango & Ginger was really tasty. I love anything spicy and this had a lovely kick of warmth after you had a sip of sweet Mango.

After a little chat with James the manager, the starters were brought out for us all to try. There were four vegan options, Edamame, Wok fried greens, Yasai gyoza and Mixed mushroom & panko aubergine hirata steamed buns. That sounds a little overwhelming so let me give you a run through. Some of you might know what Edamame are, but if not they are steamed beans with seasoning poured over the pods (you only eat the bean). I have actively avoided these in the past, but I'm so glad that I tried them because they are actually really tasty! A perfect little snack that you can just pick away at. Moving on to my favourite dish of the entire night, the Wok fried greens. I am a total garlic fiend, so this dish won me over from the get go. It is tender stem broccoli and Bok choi (Chinese cabbage) in a soy and garlic sauce. What a taste sensation, I'm truly ordering this every time I visit Wagamamas now. Yasai gyoza is essentially a vegetable dumpling, pleasant enough but I'm not a massive fan of dumplings. Lastly the Mixed mushroom & panko aubergine hirata steamed buns. It looks like a little burger with panko crumbed aubergine and mushrooms on top. I actually really liked this dish, it was pretty filling and it had a nice texture to it. The crisp of the aubergine complimented the soft texture of the bun and mushrooms. I also thought I hated aubergine until I tried this, which just goes to show it's always important to step out of your comfort zone.

After indulging so much on just starters we had a little food break and a chance to chat with the team about the restaurant itself. If you haven't eaten at Wagamama before the most unique thing about it, is that they cook your food fresh there and then, this means that your orders can come out at different times, but the beauty of this is that your food is never left sitting there waiting, it's as fresh as it gets. I actually learnt that every morning the chefs sit a prep the fresh ingredients for the dishes and that they barely use any oil. So not only is it really fresh its also pretty healthy! I was also impressed to see that they have a separate part of the kitchen to prepare vegan options, so there are no cross contamination of animal products.

Stepping away from the food for a second I was truly impressed with the general ethos of Wagamama. I found that their values are instilled in every staff member and that health is so important to them as a company. Not just your diet, but your well being too. Wagamama employees are all given a log in for a meditation app, that helps them in everyday situation for example walking up or dealing with a stressful day. I really love that mindfulness seems to be at the core of everything they do. I was also really impressed to see that they are partnered with the charity Mind, which focuses on mental health. For every Power of Super Green juice (image above) purchased, 25p is donated to Mind. This made the entire experience of drinking a super healthy juice feel enriching for my body and soul.

Ok back to pigging out! On to the main courses. Pictured above is Yasai Yaki Soba, this is a noodle dish with the egg removed from the noodle to make it vegan. It is jam packed with lots of delish veg and garnished with shallots, ginger and sesame seeds. I love a good veggie stir fry and its was certainly very flavourful! I then tried two tofu dishes, which I was sceptical about but I had nothing to worry about. The Yasai samla curry is the thicker looking one which was coconut and lemongrass. The tofu in this was kinda spongy and not my favourite texture but by no means not edible just different. I much preferred the tofu used in the Kare Burosu ramen, This was silken tofu and it had a lot creamier softer texture. The Ramen dish is a veggie broth with vegan noodles, tofu and lots of veg! Very tasty I really recommend giving this one ago.

I am not a vegan, I have dabbled in vegetarianism multiple times but never committed fully. So tasting this menu was a complete new experience for me, one which I would urge even the most committed meat eater to at least try. I believe there are misconceptions of vegan food, some of which I think I was guilty of thinking before I got to the event. Will I still be hungry? Will it be bland? Will I feel like something is missing?  To all of which the answer is NO. I don't want the purpose of this blog post to try and convince you to give up meat, I think I'm just aiming to try and get people to try something new! I really want to stress that you don't need to be vegan to enjoy vegan food.

A massive thank you to the staff at both Wagamama and Intu Metrocentre for putting together this event! I really enjoyed a new experience and found foods and flavours I had never tried before. We also received a lovely goodie bag that I showed in my instagram stories, containing some lovely little gifts like bath bombs, herbal teas and a gorgeous notebook that fit the ethos of Wagamama perfectly! Hope you have all enjoyed this lengthy post, well done for making it this far. I just had so much to say!

Urban Decay On The Run

Last Friday I got the chance to get a little sneak preview of three brand new palettes launched by Urban Decay named the On the Run palettes. Pictured above is Bailout a lilac themed palette. The other palettes are Detour which is green themed and Shortcut which is blush themed. All the palettes contain four mattes and four shimmer shades and they are all inspired by the very coveted Born to Run palette (hence the name). It was a hard decision of which palette I wanted to buy and honestly at £24 a pop I nearly bought all three! Yet sanity prevailed and my bank card cried in relief as I only came home with the one little beauty.  These palettes will be officially in store come Tue 15th of Jan, I seriously recommend you go in and at least have a swatch!

The girlies at UD did a little demo for our group using the blush palette and the results were stunning. They created such a pretty look and the steps seemed pretty easy to replicate! It was great to see the shadows in action and how they complimented each other! I've inserted a little shot of the look below.

I actually learned a fair bit about Urban Decay that I didn't know before the event. They are consciously trying to become a vegan brand around 79% of their products are currently vegan but all are veggie and cruelty free. I also didn't know that they make the darkest black mascara on the market, its called perversion. Which I will most definitely be trying.

It's not a secret that I love UD. I've used their products for years infact my first ever eyeshadow palette was from UD, so it's an extremely nostalgic brand for me. It was a little bamboo palette with a swivel hinge and bright colours in, it was completely ahead of it's curve, no other brand was doing bold colours like UD. I still think that they are. They always produce bold and different colour stories and these three palettes are no different. The shades are wearable but they all have a daring shade to turn your look into something unique.

I'm just gonna pop a few pictures in from the event itself! Please let me know if you purchase one of these I'd love to know what you think / love to see what looks you create!