New Yankee Candles

I have a bit of a candle obsession.

It started a few years ago when I used to work at the Christian Dior head office. I was the Front of House gal and a PA, and one of my jobs was to keep the entrance of the office looking pristine and perfect. One of the regulations was that there always had to be a Diptyque candle burning and it had to be Opoponax. I had to bulk order these candles (about 20 at a time) to ensure we always had one burning. When the candle got down to about a quarter empty (or full if you like) that candle was discarded, as it looked messy apparently, and a new one was lit.

Now, this seemed like a HUGE waste to me, and considering my 21 year old brain couldn't fathom the idea of binning an almost £40 candle, when it still had about 15 hours of burn time left, I asked if I could take the discarded Diptique candles home with me. And they said yes!

So that was the start of the obsession. Not just for scented candles, but expensive (tsk tsk) scented candles. They just smell better, burn better, last longer and look nicer. Yes I am a bit of a candle snob. I tried the cheap versions, but they just didn't do it for me. However, I also realise that spending £40 on a candle is a bit cray cray, so my eyes were opened up to the world of Anthropologie candles and, of course, the amazing Yankee Candles. Here you have candles, which do everything the crazily expensive candles do, but for a quarter of the price (depending on sizes).

I received a marketing newsletter from an online gift company recently, about a flash sale for Yankee Candles. Normally these emails make no impression, but I was quick to click on the links and be taken to the Yankee Candle section of the website. All candles at 30% off! Cue one happy girl!

Now, I am trying to save and not splurge at the moment, due to doing major house renovation works, but I have been very good recently so I thought, these candles would be a good compromise purchase - 30% off AND you could argue that they are a home essential, thus needed for the house. That was all the convincing I needed.

I decided to limit myself to just 2 of the large jars. These have around 100 - 135 hours of burn time, plus the chunky glass jars look great and can be used as storage jars when they have finished (thrifty girl me!)

After scrolling up and down the choices for ages, I finally narrowed it down to 4 candles. It is hard choosing scents without smelling them, but I knew I wanted to go for sweet, edible smells. Their floral fragrances are gorgeous, but I aim to put one in the kitchen and one in the lounge, and the yummy smells always seem to suit my house the most.

After a bit more umming and ahhing, I finally chose Vanilla Chai (my favourite hot drink) and Snowflake Cookie (who could resist such an adorable name?) The Vanilla Chai is a deep red and smells just like its namesake. Vanilla, cinnamon and slightly spicy. Mmmm! As for Snowflake Cookie, it's a pretty fairy pink and smells all warm, sugary and just like freshly baked cookies. It makes me hungry just smelling it.

We're not moving back into our home for another 4 weeks or so, and I have been very tempted to light one up at my parent's house, where we are staying, but I am going to save them for when we move back home. Is it sad that I can't wait to light them up, even more so than to see my home with its new look?!

Have you tried either of these scents? What's your favourite candle? Enjoy x

That Shop Around the Corner

You know when you stumble across a real treasure of a shop, and part of you wants to keep it a secret, so no one knows where you bought that amazing gift from and part of you wants to rave about it so everyone can go? Well, I  have found such a shop and decided to do the latter...rave about it and, more precisely, blog about it!

I work in Kensal Rise (just off of Ladbroke Grove) and it is a little hive of activity. Cool, little independent shops and restaurants, a smattering of celebs, a canal with pretty barges and a laid back vibe. It's an area of London I have never worked in before (and I have worked ALL over London) so I was a bit unsure of it at first, but I have actually grown to love it.

During lunch breaks, I like to go out for a wander, either down by the canal or to check out the local shops and cafes. I always pass a little gift shop called Rise and I have always been so tempted to go in, but often found myself in too much of a rush. The shop frontage is so intriguing, that most people stop to have a little peek when they pass. The shop's sign is that if an old fairground sign. The word RISE spelled out with light bulbs surrounding the letters and a general vintage look about it.  There is a black chalk board outside the shop, which always has a fun or witty quote or slogan written on it in white chalk. The shop window contains all those gorgeous little bits and bobs, which I always find so difficult not to buy - homeware, jugs, candles, mugs, Jelly Cat teddies...things basically saying "please buy me!"

Last week I actually had a genuine reason to venture in. It was my parent's anniversary and I wanted to get them a present and card and I thought that Rise should be able to rise (sorry) to the occasion!

I popped along during my lunch and had a lovely schmooze. The shop is small but beautifully presented. Signs, candles, jugs, cushions, gorgeous cards and wrapping paper, door mats and door stops, incense and delightful bits and bobs all called to me and I instantly fell in love. A Russian Doll water decanter was very almost purchased, as was the giant white Jelly Cat rabbit (a favourite of Elijah) and the beaten leather cat door stop almost found its way home with me, when my eyes fell upon a gorgeous display of Rob Ryan pieces. If you are not familiar with Rob Ryan, he is an amazing artist who creates intricate illustrations of sweet, whimsical scenes. Displayed on a lovely wooden display case, were Rob Ryan mugs, jugs, plates and the most gorgeous white ceramic vase with a blue design of a boy and girl smelling some flowers, with the words "Smell Us" written on it. My dad recently (accidentally) broke one of their vases, so this seemed like the perfect choice!

I was asked if I would like it gift wrapped for an additional pound and the choice of wrapping paper was so adorable and kitsch, I couldn't say no! I chose a beautiful pink paper with Bambi and love hearts in white silhouette decorating it. Topped off with a yellow ribbon, the gift looked too good to open! While it was being wrapped, I continued to look around the shop. Gorgeous kitchenware adorned with illustrations of animals caught my eye, along with displays of glassware and beautiful cushions. The greeting card display was filled with fun and colour cards, the kind you always take ages to look at and read because they are all so delightful and sweet.

Fast forward a few days and my parents loved their present. I loved buying it, which always makes the process so much nicer. I can't wait for another excuse to go back to Rise and choose another present...but then again...do I really need an excuse?!

If you fancy paying Rise a visit, you can find them at 21 Kilburn Lane, London, W10 4AE. Maybe I'll bump ino you there! Enjoy x

Disney Villains Perfume Bottles

It's been a while since I posted a fashion or beauty related news story, but I recently came across one, which just couldn't be ignored really!

My step-sister-in-law (#toomanyhyphens), who loves Disney films as much as I do, excitedly showed me a link, filled with amazing images. A Japanese designer who goes by the name Ruby Sparks, has basically created the most amazing illustrations of 19 stunning perfume bottles, each taking on a persona of a Disney villain! Genius!

Now, Disney villains have always been a big hit in the fashion and beauty world (some of MAC's best collections have been villain themed) and with the new movie Maleficent about to be released, it's no wonder that these sassy bad guys are so en vogue at the moment.

The artist explains; “There’s something special about each and every Disney villain. When I look at them, they have a sort of mysterious sexiness you’d never get from the princesses.”

Ruby goes on to say that she her inspiration for the set came from musing about the different kinds of perfume women have to choose from. “Perfumes aren’t always soft and floral. Some of them have a tempting character, something that feels almost a little dangerous, even. I thought it’d be wonderful to combine perfumes like that with the motif of Disney villains.”

Hopefully some perfume company will realise how amazing these designs are and commission Ruby Sparks to create the bottles for real. I already have my eyes on at least 6 of them!  

Here are the bottles and I have popped the names of the villains underneath...but come on...you Disney fans should know who they are inspired by without looking! 

Enjoy x

The Evil Queen from Snow White

Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty

Ursula from The Little Mermaid

Ratcliffe from Pocahontas

Captain Hook from Peter Pan

Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Wicked Stepmother from Cinderella

Cruella de Ville from 101 Dalmations

Hades from Hercules

Jafar from Aladdin

The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland

Gaston from Beauty and the Beast

Foulfellow and Gideon from Pinocchio

Mother Gotheil from Tangled

Doctor Facilier from The Princess and the Frog

Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove

Madame Medusa from The Rescuer's

Prince John from Robin Hood

Scar from The Lion King

A Jar Full of Love

It was my friend Sarah's birthday last week and I wanted to make her something special, as it was a bit of a milestone birthday!

You might remember Sarah got me a gorgeous, personalised Nails Inc nail varnish, which I posted about here.

I remember reading a post by Becky from Milk Bubble Tea, where she created recipe, where a whole cake (rainbow coloured at that) was mixed and baked in a glass jar. I loved the idea of creating something lovely in a jar that I decided that was the way to go with Sarah's birthday present.

Like me, Sarah is a huge fan of beauty products. We have had many a conversation and many a Boots trip involving lipsticks, mascaras and beauty balms, oh my! So, I decided to make Sarah a jar of beauty!

First I went to Cargo and picked up a Kilner jar. These are those rustic looking jars with the clip latch, which look lovely in a country style kitchen. They are not the cheapest (between £3-£4 a jar) but they look so pretty! I then headed to Poundland and picked up a bag of iridescent scatter stuff and mini eggs. The pretty sparkly stuff is perfect for lining your jar and making it look like a a jar full of magic and sparkle!

I then headed to Boots and Superdrug and picked up a load of lovely beauty things like nail varnishes, Maybelline Baby Lips lip balm, vintage looking nail files, a face mask and a few other bits.

The next step was to line the jar with the sparkly stuff and then arrange the items in the jar. I carefully placed them in, as I wanted you to be able to see what was actually in there. Then I scattered the mini chocolate eggs in the jar to fill up any spaces...and because girls need chocolate...fact!

The finished result looked so pretty and I was so excited to give it to Sarah! It went down very well and I have already started planning the next jar.

The best thing about them is that you can spend as much or as little as you want on them and make them completely personal to the person you're giving them to.

What do you think of this gift idea? Would you give it a go? Enjoy x

New Discovery - SilkFred.com

I love finding out about a new fashion hotspot!

I was browsing on Facebook early this morning, when a link shared by a friend caught my eye. The website was called SilkFred.com and the images being advertised were of a gorgeous black jumpsuit. 

Now I love me a jumpsuit and this one was perfect! Harem style trousers, V neck and very slouchy. I immediately visited the website, without really looking into it too much and purchased the jumpsuit in black and in a blue tropical print. I couldn't pick between the two and at under £40, I thought, get both, see if they look good, if they do put them away for the summer.

Once I made the purchase, I then started to browse around the rest of the website. I was so impressed with the unique collection of designers, that I clicked on the "About Us" page. SilkFred.com are basically a website dedicated to scouting out the best untapped and newly emerging fashion designers. Their collection of designers are so cutting edge, I hadn't really heard of many of them. 

You can browse the online boutiques of these rising stars of the fashion industry, who's collections are all hand selected by the SilkFred.com team. The designers are a mixed bunch of trend-makers, each with their own brand concept. They are sourced at London Fashion Week, graduate showcases and shows and launch pad style initiatives. 

I've put three of my favourite designers below; Never Fully Dressed, Dancing Leopard and Vaccine. Their collections really caught my eye and I'll be sure to keep visiting the website to see which new and exciting designers they recruit!

Have you visited SilkFred.com before? What do you think of the concept? Enjoy x

Anthropologie Whipped Cream and Pears Candle

I am a huge candle fan. Whenever I have a birthday or Christmas rolls around, you can be sure that there are several candle requests on my wish list.

Over the years, I've sampled quite a few different brands and scents and my all time favourite candles come from the beautiful Anthroplogie. To be exact, their Illume Boulangerie range. Not only do the candles smell amazing and look fabulous - they come in gorgeous, vintage French style ceramic screw top jars, but they are a great price. £14 for 40 hours burn time...but I've found they last slightly longer than that. My top fragrances have been the Sweet Vanilla and Cinnamon and Vanilla and Fig...that is until I tried Whipped Cream and Pear last year. A-MAY-ZING! Just the most precious fragrance of fresh pears and sweet cream...sweet but not sickly and makes the whole house smell beautiful.

I was very excited then when my hubby presented me with a hand wrapped parcel from Anthropologie for our anniversary on the 27th. I opened it up and a HUGE candle fell into my lap. Upon inspection, it was a giant version of the Whipped Cream and Pear candle. The Incremental version of these candles is brand new and twice the size of the original size, giving you 80 hours of amazing burning time. That's a whole lotta goodness. At £24 it is a tenner more expensive than the original, but with double the burn time, I think this is great value for money, especially when you take into account other luxury brands are at least £10 more than this!

What do you think of Anthropologie candles? Are you a fan? Enjoy x

O.P.I Glitter Polish Dupe...From Poundland!

I love finding a good dupe for a pricey or out of stock product. There is something very satisfying about making a little discovery like this, so I was very excited when I spotted a little something something at my local Poundland the other day.

Now I'm a huge Poundland fan...I go quite regularly to pick up essentials like baby wipes, cotton wool pads, Wotsits (!) boring kitchen essentials etc. I normally bypass the beauty aisle, as I am very wary of random, unknown brands, especially when it comes to make up and skincare. However, I decided to have a little look, just to see what they had. Amazingly, they actually had nail polishes and eyeshadows from some great drugstore brands - Maybelline, Rimmel and even Sally Hansen. Feeling like a greedy little girl, I grabbed a load of them and plonked them in my basket. Then, my eyes fell on something sparkly...

It was Poundland's own nail varnish brand, Pretty. Quite a lot of them. The first thing that caught my attention was the packaging...identical to O.P.I. Good solid glass bottle with a chunky black, matte lid. I was impressed. I delved deeper to look at the colours. The sparkly one that caught my eye went in my basket first, as it was an exact dupe of O.P.I's Rainbow Connection, that cult blogger polish, which was impossible to get hold of. Gorgeous speckles of pretty rainbow sparkles. Not only did they have this beautiful glitter polish, but confetti polish with different coloured hearts, iridescent shapes and more, all suspended in a clear polish.

I loaded my basket with a few and off I went. When I got home, I tested out the rainbow polish straight away, expecting to be disappointed with consistency. Wrong! A clear, non gloopy finish with a good application and decent brush and staying power...3 days without a single chip! I was impressed. This polish looked great layered over a pretty nude and by itself, with a few coats to build up the sparkles.

So there you go...an amazing O.P.I dupe for a mere quid! #winning

Have you tried out any Poundland beauty products? What did you think of them? Enjoy x

New Year, New Look

Just a quick update today to see if you have noticed anything different?

Well, if you are a long term reader then you might have noticed that my blog has a completely new look. Seeing as I created my last blog design about 3 years ago, it was really high time for a new design. So when my lovely and very talented artist friend Rachel offered to create a new logo and background for a birthday present...I jumped at the chance!

What Rachel has created is so perfect for me and Belle of the Ball. She has illustrated me, looking far prettier than in real life...I do love this girl, and drawn a whole load of my favourite things to complement the background and basically give the blog that little bit more personality, which it really needed.

I am so, SO happy with it and I can't stop looking at it. If you are looking for a new look blog, or looking to get some beautiful artwork created, Rachel is an amazing artist, who I highly recommend. She has also painted a stunning picture, which is hanging in my lounge. She has a website showcasing some of her work, and she can be contacted through that. Get in touch! She's fab and super lovely to boot. http://www.rachelthomasjones.co.uk/

What do you think of Belle of the Ball's little makeover? Enjoy x

Nails Inc Couture

When I went to visit my lovely friend Sarah the other day, she presented me with a belated birthday present.

I knew she was excited about it because she has been telling me how excited she was about it for about a month before my birthday!

She handed me a beautiful white glossy box with black ribbon around it and immediately my eyes fell upon the "Nails Inc" logo and the "Couture" stamp on the front...heart rate went a little faster at this point.

I opened the box and inside was a simply stunning glittery gold nail polish, nestled snuggly in its packaging. The gorgeous gold glitter polish would have been gift enough, but what I didn't realise was that this was a personalised bottle of polish, designed by Sarah. The lid is an amazing black leather with chunky silver studs! So me! The colour is actually called Chelsea Embankment and then I looked at the base of the polish, and darling Sarah had named it after me - "B'day Belle" and the product code "CBF 30" (those are my initials and yes my age!)

I was so blown away by this incredibly thoughtful and personal gift and I absolutely love it. Sarah then told me about the Couture service that Nails Inc provide online, so I checked it out when I got home. It is an amazing thing to do for someone, of they love nail varnish as much as I do. You start by choosing your lid design, then the colour and then you personalise the name. You also get little stickers to add to the base if you want to.

What do you think of my very own nail polish? Didn't Sarah do well? Enjoy x

Pixi Glow Tonic Vs Ren Clarifying Toning Lotion

I have been a big fan of the cult product Glow Tonic by beauty brand Pixi for quite a while. I picked up a full size bottle from their Carnaby Street store back in August (read about it here) and I am only just running out now. Keep in mind I have been using it pretty much every morning and evening since August, so my £16 went a very long way.

However, now that I have only a few pumps left (sob) I thought about repurchasing OR trying out something new. Toning is such an important part of the skin care regime and I do not take it lightly.

I have been hearing some very good things about Ren's Clarifying Toning Lotion and after going back and forth between repurchasing or trying something new, I decided to give the Ren toner a go.

I picked it up at my local M&S (yes they stock Ren! How amazing?!) and at £18 for a bottle, it is £2 more expensive than the Pixi Glow Tonic, but seeing as these products last so long, it's worth the investment.

So what do I think? It might be a little too early to say it, but I love it! It is an exfoliating toner, much like the Glow Tonic, but it is very gentle. It contains Salicilin, Glycolic Acid and Tartaric Acid, which all help to unclog pores, get rid of dead skin cells, prevent breakouts and tone. I used it for the first time at night and my skin felt so refreshed and clean, and in the morning, I noticed a difference in the brightness and softness in my skin.

Overall, I am very happy with this toner. It really leaves your skin soft, bright and feeling utterly toned and cleansed. I use it after my Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm and Bioderma and always follow with either my Origin's Ginzing moisturiser or an over night Youth Code by L'Oreal.

Have you tried the Ren Clarifying Toning Lotion or the Pixi Glow Tonic? Which do you rate? Enjoy x