Discovery Club from The Fragrance Shop

I received an email from The Fragrance Shop about their new venture, Discovery Club and was offered the opportunity to try out a box to review.

If you're not familiar with Discovery Club, think of it as a perfume version of Glossybox or Birchbox. The Fragrance Shop Send out the Discovery Club box quarterly with an annual subscription costing £25. 5p from every subscription and subsequent transactions at The Fragrance Shop is donated to Rays of Sunshine children's charity and so far over £100,000 has been donated!

I was sent the 4th edition of the box, which contains 6 new fragrances and vouchers to purchase the fragrances £10 off!

Upon receiving the box, it was presented really nicely in a smart black box, with the samples and voucher booklet wrapped up in chic tissue paper. This edition contains Si by Armani, Jour by Boss, Untold by Elizabeth Arden, Aura by Loewe, La Vie Est Belle Eau Legere by Lancome and Made to Measure by Gucci (for men). I actually received Si by Armani for my birthday and I love it! It's a very elegant scent with pretty floral tones and almost a pink grapefruit smell. So pretty and I will definitely be using the £10 voucher to repurchase this one.

Jour by Boss is a crisp fragrance with a blend of white flowers and citrus. It's very pretty and perfect to wear during the day. Untold by Elizabeth Arden is gorgeous! So pretty and feminine; it's floral and fruity and has the kind of scent, which will keep heads turning all day. Aura by Loewe is my least favourite. It's floral but slightly too woody and spicy for me. It smells a bit too grown up for my taste. La Vie...by Lancome smells like femininity in a bottle! Very fruity with a touch of jasmine and vanilla. So pretty! Made to Measure by Gucci is the only men's eau de toilette in the box and it is fronted by the gorgeous James Franco, so I'm sold. Very masculine with notes of lavender, bergamot, nutmeg and leather. I spritzed it on Darren and it smells goooooooooood!

If you're interested in trying out the Discovery Club box by The Fragrance Shop then click here.

Would you try out the Discovery Club? Enjoy x


*the Discovery Club box was sent to me as a PR sample. All opinions are my own and honest.

Cambridge Satchel Company

I have always been a fan of niche brand The Cambridge Satchel Company, ever since their launch a few years ago.

The humble satchel has become a fashionista's bag of choice. Chic, fun, stylish and understated. Designer labels such as Mulberry have created their own interpretation of the satchel, but brand The Cambridge Satchel Company have dominated the style all on their own.

Needless to say, I have wanted one for a while. I have never taken the plunge and bought one, but have sat and drooled over images online and in store many times. I was never sure whether to opt for a simple brown leather version, timeless and classic, or a block bright colour, or a fun print. The company have created new colours and prints each season, and the choice is amazing.

On the August Bank Holiday, myself, Darren, Elijah and a few good friends decided to take a day trip to Cambridge. While walking around the shops, we stumbled (obvs) onto a Cambridge Satchel Company boutique. Naturally, all the girls stopped and started pointing out the various colours and styles and choosing which one we would go for. Sadly, at £130 a pop, we walked away empty handed, but the thought of them lingered.

I was extremely touched when, 6 weeks later, I was presented with a gift from said very good friends at my birthday party (how babyish do I sound?!) I opened the wrapping paper and was faced with a dustbag. I flipped the dustbag over and there were the words "The Cambridge Satchel Company." Needless to say, I squealed with excitement, whipped open the bag and pulled out a stunning sunshine yellow satchel.

I LOVE it!

A beautiful, buttercup, sunshine yellow. The perfect colour to cheer you up on a grey winter's day and to compliment the sun on a hot summer's day. The satchel is sturdy and stylish and will be perfect for slinging over my shoulder and carrying around all day.

What wonderful friends I have with wonderful taste!

What do you think of the Cambridge Satchel Company? Have you got one of their renowned satchels? Enjoy x

Here is the satchel in three different light's, just so you get an idea of the colour in natural and artificial light.

with flash

without flash

in daylight

Birthday Bonanza Weekend!

Sorry I have been absent for a few days, but it's been my birthday! Yep I've turned a number that freaks me out to say out loud, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon enough.

I have spent 3 days celebrating with friends, family and my hubby and baby and have had the best time. So, I thought I would do a little photo heavy blog of what I have spent the last three days doing...as well as a little peek at my amazing birthday presents.

My birthday originally started last weekend when I went to Bloomsbury Lanes with friends for bowling, pizza and karaoke, but I sadly have no photos!! I blame the shots of sambuca thrust upon me!!

So on Friday I dropped Elijah off at my in-laws and hopped on the tube to meet Darren. We booked a room at the Tower Grange Hotel in Tower Hill, a fabulous 5 star hotel in the city. They upgraded us to a mini suite on the 12th floor, so we had stunning views of the city. The hotel also kindly surprised me with a birthday cake and "happy birthday" written in chocolate on the plate. I decided I wanted to stay in the room, get room service and drink a lot of champagne as opposed to going out for dinner. Literally perfect. I had a bath with Ren goodies, drank too much champers, had an amazing burger and watched Family Guy.

After a yummy breakfast, we left the hotel and walked to Borough Market, passing Tower Bridge and the Tower of London on the way. We walked along the Thames and got to the market as it was heaving. We spent about an hour checking out all the amazing food stalls, sampling way too much cheese and other yummy morsels, drinking fresh wheatgrass juice and buying huge chewy bread sticks with olives and cheese. Drool!!

We then left the market and headed into the West End, where we popped into some shops (MAC) mooched around Carnaby Street and the Liberty beauty hall, before making our way to the Sanderson Hotel, where we had booked the Mad Hatter's Tea. O...M...G, what an amazing experience. Tea was held in the gorgeous courtyard and we were led to our table by a rather fabulous waiter in a tux. When we sat down, we were presented with the menu, which was hidden in a vintage children's book, and the sugar caddy, which was a music box with a dancing ballerina inside. Such a whimsical touch.

We were then offered "smell me" bottles, which contained different tea flavours - strawberries and cream, rhubarb and custard, mint choc chip and apple pie! I opted for apple pie and Darren got mint choc chip. The tea came in stunning tea pots, decorated with the King and Queen of Hearts with matching tea cups and saucers. Then came the food. WOW! a four tiered cake stand starting from the top: a black and white tea cup filled with pea shoots and meraigne carrots, next, a selection of "magic" strawberries and cream mushrooms, then a beautiful mini Victoria sponge cake, a dark chocolate tea cup filled with white chocolate and green tea mousse and popping candy and a rainbow coloured white chocolate case filled with a passion fruit cheesecake and a melting mango "yolk" hidden inside. The final tier held sweet and savoury scones - a raisin and orange zest scone and a goats cheese and spinach scone - a quiche, "drink me" potion and a selection of yummy sandwiches.

The final course came from the jelly service - a gorgeous silver trolley adorned with a selection of delicious jellies, which you helped yourself to. At the end of the meal, we were stuffed! I was then surprised with ANOTHER birthday cake, and a chorus of happy birthday. Awww...such a sweet touch.

I honestly can't recommend the Mad Hatter's Tea highly enough. For a special treat, it's just amazing. The atmosphere, the surroundings, the food. You really do spend a couple of hours down the rabbit hole.

Finally we headed to Covent Garden to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What a fab production! We had second row seats in the stalls, and as a huge fan of the book and original movie, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was great. Hilarious original songs, amazing sets, a brilliant Willy Wonka and Oompa Lumpas and a great cast. It was such a fun production, you should definitely book yourself a ticket!

After the show, we headed to Five Guys to grab a quick burger before heading home.

Phew! Onto Sunday!

We picked up Elijah and went to my parents house, who had decorated the house with birthday banners and balloons. We had a huge family (I have quite a big immediate family) tea with birthday cake, pink champagne, babies, presents, scones and sandwiches and more. Followed by a chilled night on the couch watching Django Unchained.

Onto my actual birthday, which was Monday. After being awoken by Elijah bright and early, I opened presents from my parents and then Darren and Elijah. After receiving my first ever "happy birthday mummy" card, Darren presented me with Elijah's present, a gorgeous rose gold heart keyring from Mulberry...what a good boy! And my wonderful hubby got me a one of a kind (he had it made) rose gold bracelet with 5 square cut diamonds. It is just stunning. I don't wear bracelets, so I really wanted a special one, and I am never taking this off. It means so much to me.

After breakfast we loaded the car and went to Oxford for the day. I haven't been before and it was such a fun day out. We parked the car and just walked around the whole city, stopping at some shops and Jamie's Italian for a spot of lunch. We walked around the colleges and the gardens as well as the castle and other sights of the city. It's only an hour away for us and it was such a great day trip and was amazing spending the whole day with my boys.

When we got home, we put the little one to bed and ended my birthday weekend with a chinese takeaway and Glee!

Wow! I can't get over what a fabulous birthday I had. I was given the most wonderful gifts and was spoiled rotten by everyone. I ate waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much and Weight Watchers well and truly went out the window for 3 days, but it was so worth it.

Sorry about the longest blog post in the world, but I wanted to share my special day with you! I hope you enjoyed x

Elijah In Print!

Total self promotion kinda post I'm afraid!

Just in case anyone here might be interested, I now have a regular column in The Jewish News, all about trying to remain glam while being a new mummy. The column is called "Confessions of a (Nearly) Yummy Mummy" and it will feature funny and pretty accurate tales from mine and Elijah's happenings...with a dose of fashion and beauty thrown in of course!

The first column is out in today's issue and is also available to view online, so make sure you check it out.

OK, plug over! Enjoy x

Essie After School Boy Blazer

I am a nail varnish addict. There should be a support group somewhere for people like me! I'm often asked why I don't get gels and the simple answer is because I love to change my nail colour way too often to bother with a manicure that makes the colour last for weeks!

When Essie brought out their range in Boots last year, I was so excited. Essie is normally quite pricey, but the drugstore range is much cheaper - £7.99 for a really good polish is a bargain to me! Plus, their brushes are, in my opinion, better than the regular Essie brushes. Shorter, thicker and easier to apply.

I wanted to check out the new AW13 range of colours and the one which really caught my eye, and several other bloggers, is After School Boy Blazer...the most perfect dark navy blue you ever did see!

The colour is amazing. A dark inky black in some lights and a rich navy blue in others. It's dramatic and stylish, the perfect colour for adorning your nails for the new season.

I applied it on the weekend and it's staying power is fab and I've had loads of compliments on the colour. I think this will become a bit of a cult shade so make sure you grab a bottle.

What do you think of After School Boy Blazer? Enjoy x