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Afternoon Tea With An Alcoholic Twist @ Park Plaza, Cardiff


Park Plaza claims their Hendrick's 'G&Tea' is a must for all gin lovers. However, having sampled their afternoon tea a couple of weeks ago, I'd like to extend this claim to also being a must for gin sceptics such as myself. Gin is never my first drink of choice, but the Hendrick's gin cocktail, infused with elderflower liquor, lemon juice and Maraschino liquor, was fantastic and I happily sipped away at it in its dainty tea cup.



Of course no afternoon tea is complete without some sophisticated snacks. A word of warning: visit Park Plaza's Laguna Bar on an empty stomach as I was totally full up after this mini feast! Presented perfectly on a three-tier stand, I think you can agree that the afternoon tea dishes are a treat for the eyes as well as the stomach!
The soft, delicate finger sandwiches are the perfect savoury treat to complement the rich assortment of sweet cakes to follow. The handmade scones are perfectly baked - and residing in Devon, I know what a good scone tastes like! The sweet cakes and pastries were also to die for - the lime jelly was superb but my favourite dessert had to be the Chocolate Opera gateau.


I couldn't review the afternoon tea without mentioning the atmosphere of the Laguna Bar itself. The bar encompassed a chilled and modern atmosphere which felt very sophisticated and really added to the experience. All the staff were very attentive and I really couldn't have asked for more! Thank you to Park Plaza for the whole experience - I can't wait to join you again on my next Cardiff visit!


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REVIEW: Soap & Glory 2-in-1 Brow Filling Pencil & Brush

For a while now, I've heard so many people raving about Soap & Glory's make-up range. In particular I've heard great things about their infamous 'Sexy Motherpucker' range and more recently their eyebrow products which have been compared to the much pricier Anastasia Beverly Hills' range of brow products. So you can imagine my excitement when I was asked if I'd like to review one of their brow products!


I picked up Soap & Glory's Brow Filling Pencil & Brush in the shade 'Love Is Blonde' from my local Boots store. I tend to use a pencil product to fill in my eyebrows so I was curious to try one from a new brand. The twist-up nib of the pencil is super thin and this allows you to be really accurate and create a sharp edge. I like using it to draw in short hair-like lines where I have gaps in my eyebrows to make them look more natural. The shade is a perfect match for my actual eyebrow colour, which I always tend to have trouble finding. A lot of blonde eyebrow products I've tried tend to come out with a reddish undertone, but not this one (finally!). Moreover, the spoolie brush on the other end of the pencil is so handy for brushing out my brows before and after I've filled them in, so I can be sure I've created my perfect brow shape. 

*Please excuse my resting bitch face*
I honestly can't think of anything I would change about this product, and for £8 you can't really go wrong! Soap & Glory have won me over in the make-up, as well as the bath & body, department!


ALSO - calling all students! If you're a University student, you can apply to become a Soap & Glory Glambassador which could also lead to an internship at S&G as well as a visit to their New York offices! If I was still at Uni I know I'd be applying, so why not give it a go?! Find the application form here: http://glamonboard.soapandglory.com/pluck-me.php
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A Colour Spectrum of Nail Polishes: My Top 10


I wanted to write something that I'd never seen done before; not something generic like a monthly favourites or a stand-alone product review. Although I love reading (and writing) these kind of posts, I still want to be able to stand out and bring something slightly different to the blogging world. This idea came to me when my mum informed me that I own 130 nail varnishes (yes, she counted). I love painting my nails and I love mixing it up with different colours so in my head this amount of polishes is totally warranted, right? I'm also using the "I'm a blogger, I need them" excuse. I went through all them and picked out my favourite of each colour to share with you today.



1. Fiji by Essie - my love, my life, my one and only. Fiji is my favourite nail polish ever (I
spoke about it in a post a few months back which you can read here). It's the perfect pale pink and goes with everything. And it looks amaaazing with a tan. I also love Essie's super smooth formula.

2. Big Apple Red by Nails Inc (Kate Spade New York limited edition) - this is the truest red nail polish I own and I love it. I don't really opt for reds very often but if I do, it tends to be this (or a more autumnal burgundy). I always feel super classy and glamorous when I wear this colour.

3. Tropical Pink by Collection - despite the name, this is definitely a coral colour closer to orange than pink in my opinion. I love wearing this colour on my toes or on my fingernails especially for a holiday. Collection nail polishes are great and cost next to nothing as well!

4. Lemon by Barry M - I'm not really one to go for a yellow nail polish but I kind of needed to add it in to go with the colour spectrum theme. However, this pastel yellow by Barry M is pretty cute and I think it would look fab on very tanned skin. I like using it as a nail art base to make little bees. #sorrynotsorry

5. Little Duck by Tanya Burr - I believe her collection has been reformulated and repackaged now but I still love this pale green shade by Tanya Burr. And how adorable is the name?! It's no Essie Mint Candy Apple - it's not as pastel/blue-toned as that - but it is a gorgeous murky green (in a good way) that looks fab on nails.

6. Shade 693 by Kiko - I couldn't see an actual name for this polish but I had to include it. I love the formula and finish of Kiko's Velvet Satin nail lacquers. They dry almost matte and it looks absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately because of this, it does chip very easily and only lasts a day or two but I think it's perfect for a night out or special occasion.


7. Strut Your Stuff by Essie - oops, another Essie polish! I just bloody love these nail polishes and this blue is stunning. If you ever find yourself wondering what my favourite ever colour in the world is, it's this. Essie is definitely my favourite nail brand.

8. Shock Wave by Maybelline - the Maybelline Colour Show nail varnish line is so great - it's really affordable and they have a huge colour range. The formula is smooth and long-lasting (not quite as long-lasting as Essie in my opinion) and I love this deep blue/navy colour. Perfect for winter/Christmas as it also has a hint of sparkle.

9. Go Wild-er-ness by Rimmel - I ALMOST included another Essie polish for this one but I refrained. This Rimmel polish has a gorgeous formula and is a really lovely lilac colour. Their brushes are a good size as well which allow you to cover the whole nail in one swipe. Also a very affordable brand.

10. Jack Frost by Models Own - well I couldn't not include a glitter polish! I love topping my polishes with this colour, especially around Christmas time. It captures the light beautifully and is one of the best glitter polishes I've used.

And that's the end of the round-up! I hope you like this kind of post, please let me know your thoughts in the comments as I'd love some feedback! Happy nail painting!
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Easy Pina Colada Cupcakes with Sugar and Crumbs

Firstly, apologies for the lack of blogpost - I promise they will be more regular from now on, I've just been a busy bee! Now, onto the good stuff: cupcakes!

I think we can safely say I'm a very amateur baking. I can follow a recipe to an acceptable standard but I'm no Mary Berry. I received a bag of Sugar and Crumbs Pina Colada flavoured icing sugar at the #BloggerTikiParty event (which you can read about here!) and I thought I would put it to good use - on cupcakes of course!


I followed a very basic cupcake recipe (from a kids cookbook, naturally) which was almost completely successful, bar the odd nipple-shaped tops on the cupcakes which you can see in the picture below. Before icing, I cut off the nips (sorry) to make a flatter surface.


Once the cupcakes had cooled down, I proceeded to make the Pina Colada buttercream. There was a buttercream recipe on the back of the packet which was a godsend because I'm useless with winging it when it comes to baking. Sugar and Crumbs recommended using some normal icing sugar in with the mixture for a slightly less intense flavour which I did and I was so impressed with the taste! The coconut and pineapple flavours were very evident and didn't taste artificial at all. I (attempted to) use an icing bag to pipe the cupcakes and it was then that I realised that I'm pretty useless at piping. But I had a go anyway and here is the outcome.


As you can probably already tell, I strategically placed the best one at the front (the rest kind of look like they are topped with dog poop) but I can guarantee you they tasted wonderful! They went down so well with the rest of my family so big thumbs up and thank you to Sugar and Crumbs for providing this fabulous icing sugar!


Bon appétit.
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I Was Featured In The Guardian?!

A few months ago I was contacted by Nicola, a freelance writer who had been commissioned to write a double spread for the Guardian's University clearing supplement which was published in August just before students received their A-Level results. The supplement provided vital information for prospective University students who may not have achieved the A-Level grades they needed for their University choice and so had to go through the UCAS clearing process.


The article I was involved with was depicting a 'diary of a student blogger' through Instagram photos and interview questions to complement these. Unfortunately, the article was only available in paper form on the day it was released and isn't online, so I thought I would share and expand on some of the questions with you! (Apologies in advance for the poor quality photo - it's hard to take a picture of a picture!)



Even since finishing Uni, I still love going to the gym and eating well. I was pretty good at budgeting at University and I think part of it is down to knowing the best places to buy food (e.g. fruit was cheaper from a market stall in town) and not eating meat every day of the week. If you're interested in cooking yummy vegetarian meals, I wrote up some of my favourite recipes a while back on my blog which you can read here and here. The photo on the right was taken at the Makeup Revolution 2nd birthday party in London a few months back. I feel so lucky to be invited to amazing events like this one and I have met so many incredible people through these experiences!


I love the photo on the left of my final year uni fam at Christmas. They're totally going to rinse me if I make this soppy but it was so sad moving out because it was such a great year, even if most of it was spent deciding what film to watch in the evening. I couldn't write this article without mentioning the charity I was involved with (predominantly in second and fourth year) - Student Minds. It's a national charity with regional branches within Universities that aim to support students struggling with their eating. Student Minds was one of the reasons I decided to work on an eating disorders ward on my placement year at Uni and I loved every minute of it. We held some great fundraising events as a group and I feel so privileged to have been part of such a wonderful society at Uni. And of course I had to mention my little (5 year old) pup Alfie - LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS!

A massive thank you to Nicola for contacting me and writing up my national newspaper debut - I'm so glad I could be a part of it and it's perfectly rounded off a fantastic four years at University. If you're interested in reading my blog series on starting University, I'll put the links below. Let me know about your Uni experiences in the comments!

The Ultimate Uni Checklist: http://www.highstreetbeautyjunkie.com/2015/09/what-should-you--take-to-university.html
Making Friends at Uni: http://www.highstreetbeautyjunkie.com/2015/09/making-friends-at-uni-my-top-five-tips.html
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