Gelish Manicure

Gelish Manicure link

Whilst I am a fan of Biosculpture Manicures it was something of a relief when my friend Laura started up Heaven & Gel offering Gelish manicures from the comfort of my own home. My weekends are often spent on blogging or catching up with friends and I can't bear visiting salons for manicures of any nature as I find the whole process so boring. Now I can sit in my own front room, tv on and catching up with a friend whilst ending up with a wonderful gel manicure.

Whilst my gel manicure love started with Biosculpture and at first I found that Gelish lifted quicker on me than Biosculptures would, largely due to aforementioned laziness to visit the salon I have had more Gelish manicures from Heaven & Gel and very pleased with the results.

You will have no doubt seen my various gelish manicures over on Instagram of varying colours and I find that they last up to 2 weeks and often it's colour boredom setting in before a need to remove them (I still haven't found a less boring way to remove gels fyi!).

If you do live in the Essex area and are looking for an at home gel manicure do give my friend Laura at Heaven & Gel a call, she has some fantastic bright neons ready for Summer.

Birthday TIme

Things around these parts have been a little sporadic lately as I have celebrated weddings, Easter and today, my birthday so I do hope you bear with me. Celebrations are quiet today after mum and I celebrated at Bob Bob Ricard for lunch and some shopping in London yesterday and this weekend I am Brighton bound with Ben (fire over any recommendations). Normal service will resume shortly.

The Palmers Pedicure

Palmers Foot Magic Scrub* link
Palmers Heel Repair* link

My favourite treatment at the salon is a pedicure and the one I'll always chose when I want a little pick me up. There's nothing better than sitting back in the comfy chair whilst someone scrubs and moisturises your feet. That said as we hope to enter warmer weather and dust off our flip flops it's time to pay a little bit more attention to our tootsies at home in between those salon visits.

I'm pretty good at applying foot cream having just said goodbye to my tub of Lotil Foot Cream I'm now back to using Palmer's Foot Magic* which is perfect for dealing with feet that have been tucked away but the other steps can be a little lacking.

You may remember I have dabbled with the Margaret Dabbs foot scrub but for the price point it wasn't anything special (read more in this post) and instead I was just giving a cursory scrub of my feet with any of my body scrubs I had to hand. Luckily Palmer's have a more budget friendly option, the Palmers Foot Magic Scrub* so I can now give my feet the proper attention they deserve.

Regular readers will see Palmer's products pop up on the blog quite a lot and I love their chocolately scent which unfortunately is missing from the Foot Magic cream but is very evident in the scrub. The Foot Magic scrub is grittier than the body scrubs I was relying on so is far more effective at ridding my feet of any rough or dry patches - particularly those heels as we think about layering on the fake tan.  

I also received the Palmers Cocoa Butter Heel Repair* which I was slightly dubious about wondering how easy to use would a stick be for tackling the contours of the feet? Whilst of course it's never going to get between the toes like a cream and your fingers will be for anyone that isn't a fan of feet this is perfect as you won't need to touch! 

Whilst I'm not squeamish in that way it is handy to use when you don't want to get greasy hands as this is an oily product so you can either apply from the stick and leave it at that or like I prefer rub over the feet and then rub in between toes and the like. This is also handy if you need some slip to get a tight pair of shoes on! And what the Foot Magic Cream lacks in that familiar scent the Heel Repair has in abundance. I actually leave the Heel Repair on my coffee table alongside my hand cream so that I can reach for it when I'm sitting in front of the tv and my feet need some attention. This is definitely my favourite product of the three as I've never felt my feet feel so smooth after using anything that hasn't required more than a quick swipe.

Do you look after your feet at home or leave it to the professionals?

*PR Sample

Activbod Pick Me Up Scrub | Review

Activbod Pick Me Up Scrub* 

Activbod is a new range of 'gender-neutral' products designed to help the body pre and post exercise. The range can be found in Boots here and includes skin coolers, muscle warmers and the Pick Me Up Scrub* which I was sent to try.

The range was developed by skin and sports experts to assist everyone from regular or occasional gym goers to trained athletes - of which admittedly I am neither. Perhaps I'll be more suited to their mood-boosting balm to get me in the zone!

Whilst the team researched the effects of exercise on the skin and developed this regime to cope with the exposure to heat, sweat and the lack of moisture and I may not be the ideal 'test case' for this product due to my lack of physical activity in the gym I do find myself doing a lot of walking, I have been known to 'cut a rug' on the dance floor in hot and sweaty nightclubs and then there is the joy of travelling London Underground, weighed down by bags on my shoulders and battling the ever changing weather conditions of Spring in the UK where trains can go from ice cold to hot and sweaty in a matter of minutes. Activbod's ranges are formulated with ingredients for protection, perspiration and body odour control (side note maybe more people on the underground could benefit from this!) and  prepare muscles to aid recovery, maybe not specifically for carrying too many shopping bags but I'll take any help I can get.

Activbod Pick Me Up Scrub is a deep cleansing body polish to scrub away dirt, cleanse pores and stimulate circulation with an energising scent (pepper, eucalyptus and lemon) that makes it perfect for morning use. I particularly find that since cutting my hair shorter so it sits just below my neckline on my shoulders as well as the recent scarf wearing I've had to pay more attention to ensure I give my back and shoulders a scrub from any build up and the light gritty - or micro-scrubbing particles as they're know - formula of Activbod makes it perfect to do this job. Whilst I love my Breakfast Scrub from Soap & Glory it's a little harder to work with on my back, often dropping the product before managing to hit my back with it.

As we enter holiday season and the chance to visit warmer climes and becoming more activity whether it's walking miles sightseeing or just a few extra laps in the hotel pool Activbod Pick Me Up Scrub definitely gets a plus for it's transportable and lightweight tube - which makes it easier to throw in your gym bag too.

So whilst I may not be the gym bunny this product is intended for I've definitely found that it really does suit everyone and has worked quite well for me. What are your favourite body scrubs?

*PR Sample

Rhubarb at Prestonfield House Hotel

Rhubarb at Prestonfield House Hotel link

I return to my Edinburgh adventures to share the chosen venue for dinner to celebrate Ben's birthday. The Rhubarb at Prestonfield House Hotel is a favourite of his sisters and one she often chooses to celebrate her own birthdays, engagements and the like so we were all quite excited to see what was on offer.

Car doors were opened by kilted members of staff and we were led through the double doors and up stairs to one of the many dining rooms. The whole setting was amazing although slightly lacking in atmosphere, it was all very quiet and we were slightly disappointed that despite numerous tables available we were sat next to a couple who were clearly not going to receive any privacy that evening and any sweet nothings would have to be whispered very quietly. 

Those of you that know will not be surprised that I had already scanned the menu and was aware that my dinner was going to be very similar to that of The Witchery but I did spot soup available to start so I could mix things up a little. Once handed our menus' there was no soup to be found and whilst I feared it would be beetroot and goats cheese once again for me on asking one of our waiters we were brought an additional menu we could also choose from. This was similar of the small touches that were missing at the Rhubarb that made our experience slightly lacklustre. Whilst we were lucky enough to layer our tables with cocktails it took some time between drinks being brought, ordering our wine and then of course our food orders that left us checking our watches and having to call waiters over rather than them come to us.

Gressingham duck and foie gras terrin, lime brioche, nibbed cacao and macerated blueberries

Isle of Mull scallops, saffron-braised chicken wings, charred spring onion and crispy anchovy

Starters arrived and I'm so glad I tracked the soup down as it was delicious. My memory is a little hazy but I'm pretty sure it was a butternut squash soup of some description. It was actually served with some goodies (blog speak for I can't remember what) at the bottom of the bowl and the soup poured in by the waiter which was a nice touch. My fellow diners were for the scallops and terrine which I hear were delicious also.

This evening Ben was happy to have steak too so we all ended up choosing the Chauteaubriand which was served in delicious platters. Whilst the spectacle was quite nice having the waiters serve it felt time consuming when all I wanted to do was dive in! It was something of a carb overload (no Aitkens fans here) with crushed potatoes and the most amazing crunchy yet smooth potato croquettes that unlike the previous days dinner after eating a full plateful I was beyond stuffed and ready for a snooze. A subsequent picture of me went on Facebook of me pretending to fall asleep in the restaurant that far too many people fell for and I was living with 'I can't believe you fell asleep in the restaurant' comments for days.

Chateaubriand for two

Belly fit for bursting I chose the mix of ice cream, sorbets and sherbets needing something a little lighter whilst Lavinia was slightly braver and kept going with a chocolate fondant which was melt in the mouth delicious.

Freshly churned ices

Whilst I'm glad to have visited the Rhubarb and I'd be interested to return in the Summer as the grounds were amazing and would love to stay there and perhaps try their Afternoon Tea the evening was slightly lacking. In comparison to The Witchery were there was a gothic ambience Rhubarb felt too stuffy. It was a shame that the rather large table next to us below wasn't filled earlier in our evening. When the group did arrive in full kilts and evening wear they added the energy our evening needed.

That said and despite all that food I still managed to pinch a cake leftover from Afternoon Tea on my way out! 

Have you ever visited this restaurant?