Tuesday 27 November 2018

Licking The Scent Off Your Body & Into Your Mouth | Smith & Sinclair At Trinity Leeds

Hey everyone!

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new blog post! The wonderful guys over at Smith and Sinclair, invited me to the launch of their pop up, at the wonderful Trinity Leeds, and I thought that today, I would talk to you all about the launch event.

A long thin champagne flute filled with clear prosecco topped with a thick layer of white foam with a wooden cylindrical thin stick poking out of the top on a rectangular silver table with a blue cloth on a dark background

Smith and Sinclair believe that adults should approach life with the same freedom and curiosity we did as kids, but with a slosh of booze to fuel the adventure.

We arrived at the pop up store, to be greeted with smiles and hugs. We made our way towards the drink station, where there were glasses of Prosecco, with lollipops to add to the drink, and Boba to add to the drink. Both of these had different flavours, so you could mix and match the flavours. Luke had a Cherry based one,. because Luke loves Cherry anything, and I decided to go for a more Orange flavoured lollipop with Lychee based Boba. I loved choosing different flavours, and seeing how they blended together with the taste of the Prosecco. I also loved how, when you instantly dunked the lollipop in, the drink fizzed and foamed up.

Semicircular glass clear bowls containing red, yellow and white small spherical balls of boba on a silver rectangular table with a blue cloth on a dark background

Yellow, orange and red lollipops on wooden thin cylindrical sticks on a rectangular silver box on a silver rectangular table with a blue cloth on a dark background

After trying a couple of flavours, we wandered around and slowly found out about the edible fragrances that Smith and Sinclair have to offer the public of Leeds at their pop-up. The concept of edible fragrances can be worn on the skin, or used to flavour/spruce up a drink, by spraying it on the side. I think adding it to things like Gin and Tonics, or maybe a Mojito, or simple Lemonade, would be interesting. I decided to go for Watermelon and Citrus. I love how the Watermelon intermingles with the Citrus notes, to create a sort of Warm Summers Eve style scent.

A long white rectangular board saying eat your drink in black bold font on a dark background

Post checking out the fragrances, we moved onto the Selection Boxes. These are boxes filled with alcoholic (vegan) sweets that ensure that sweets are also for adults! You can choose to purchase a box that has been curated around a theme, including the After Dinner Selection and Gin Lovers Selector, or you can pick and mix. I decided to get a Pick & Mix, which is filled with several scrummy flavours, including, Mocha Espresso Martini, and Hibiscus Negroni. (If you want to find out all about my review of the sweets, look out for my review that will be up soon.)

After looking around the wonderful pop-up store, we were then treated to a few drinks at the intriguing yet excellent establishment, The Alchemist. We first tried the Bubble Bath, which contains, Tanqueray gin, Aperol, Chambord, lemon, apple, and, 'fairy liquid'. The drink also came in a sort of spiralised martini glass which added to the aesthetic. To say that I don't like Gin, I loved the taste of this drink. I'm not sure if its because of the Chambord mixed with the Lemon, but I just kept on sipping and sipping. The 'fairy liquid' was such a weird texture on the lips. Although it was weird, it was kinda of brilliant at the same time. I love Bubbles, Baths and Alcohol, so if you've never tried this one before, I'd definitely tell you to give it a go!

A rectangular white box with Smith and Sinclair in black bold font on a large wooden rectangular table on a dark background

A long stemmed martini glass filled with pink liquid and topped with white bubbles on a large rectangular wooden table on a dark background

I chatted with a few of the other bloggers for a bit, including, Lizi and Kayleigh, before the next deliciously different drink came by. This one was called, 'Lightbulb Moment'. This contains, Tanqueray gin, Pimms, ginger beer, raspberry, lemon, mint. The background of this drink, is that half of the drink comes in a lightbulb shaped glass which you add to your drink. I loved this drink instantly, because well, you get to interact and make some of your drink. Again, I'm not the biggest fan of Gin on it's own, but I love Ginger Beer and Raspberry in anything! (I'm that person that will pick the Raspberry garnish out of a drink, and save it for the end.) The Raspberry and Ginger Beer gave it a sort of sweet but warming taste to it, which is perfect for this time of year.

Don't forget to check out Smith & Sinclair! 

Thanks again to the lovely guys at Smith & Sinclair and Trinity Leeds, for inviting me to this amazing event!

I hope that you've enjoyed this food based blog post! I hope to see you next time, for another blog post! 

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

This post wass in collaboration with Trinity Leeds & Smith & Sinclair. All views, opinions and ramblings are my own!

Friday 16 November 2018

Pull That Cracker and Eat It's Contents! | Subway Christmas Menu

Hey everyone! 

How are you? 

Welcome to a brand new post! I thought that, today, I would talk to you all about the new Christmas Menu at Subway. Christmas is slowly upon us and this means, all of the food reviews.

A red rectangle with get a taste of christmas in bold white font with a light golden brown sub filled with brown meat and green salad with a green subway logo on the bottom left on a white background

The festive season is kicking in, which means that all the lights are twinkling, the festive songs are playing, and all of the restaurants and fast food chains are revealing their Christmas/Festive Menus, to ensure that we're all getting into the spirit. I love this time of year, because it means that I can be greedy and get away with it.

I heard that Subway were releasing their Christmas Cracker Sub, as a part of the Festive Menu, and I knew that I had to try it. I love Subway, but I don't go in all of the time unless I am in the mood. (Mainly because if I do, I end up wanting all the cookies and then my stomach is screaming internally at me...)

The new Sub for Christmas contains:  tender turkey, streaky bacon, cranberry & orange chutney, succulent pork & sage stuffing and gravy. You have the option of getting this delicious new decadent sandwich in either a Sub, or a Wrap, depending on your mood. (If you're Veggie, then I'm sure that you'd be able to get a Veggie Patty Sub and then add the Sauces to make it festive?)

A long golden brown sub containing light and dark brown rectangular slices of meat, light brown circular pieces of stuffing, brown and red sauces on a white background

I always decide to go for a 9 Grain Honey Oat when it comes to bread at Subway. I just think it's more filling and I always love that sort of sweet flavour against the bread. The gravy has to be heated up separately to the Sub. I added Peppers, Onions, Sweetcorn & Gherkins to add a bit of crunch. (The debate of Pickles can be left for another time but personally I love a good thick Pickle.) I added Sweet Onion to my sandwich, grabbed a Chocolate Orange Cookie (yes, just one), and I was on my way. (I did want to try a Gingerbread Latte, but I was in a bit of a rush.) I got a footlong version of this sub, because well you've got to go big at Subway. There's no point going small with sandwiches, wheres the fun in that?

The Turkey was succulent and thick. I love a good thick slice of meat. The Bacon added a slight smoky taste and added more bulk to the sandwich. The Cranberry and Orange Sauce added a bit of fruitiness to the sandwich. When tasting it, you got a hint of Orange but it wasn't overwhelming. The Stuffing was amazing and added a bit of spice to the sandwich. In my opinion, I don't think that stuffing is ever a bad thing to add to anything. I love a good bit of stuffing. (I'm that one person at Christmas that can eat it for days.) The gravy was a weird one. I was expecting the sandwich to be swimming in it, but instead it was just a light spray but it ensured that the sandwich was soft and delicious.

I also got a Chocolate Orange Cookie. The cookie itself was crispy on the edges, but so soft and squidgy in the middle. The best way for a cookie to be! The chocolate was melted so it just meant that every bite was gooey and a bit messy. The Orange flavour wasn't too overppowering, as I could still taste the Dark Chocolate in the sweet treat. I could eat five of these in one go with a nice warm inviting hot drink.

A light brown circular flat cookie with pieces of thin small rectanuglar pieces of orange zest and black spots of dark chocolate on a white background

Have you tried the new Subway Menu? Let me know down below! 

(This isn't a sponsored post, but if Subway want to collaborate with me, then, I'd be very fine with that.) I hope that you have enjoyed this post.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x

Have You Heard That God Is A Bath Bomb? | Lush Goddess Bath Bomb

Hey everyone!

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new post! I thought that, today, I would talk to you about the Goddess Bath Bomb, that was released at Lush Showcase.

If you don't know about the Lush Showcase, then Showcase is an event that happens once a year, to showcase the new products that are coming within the next year at Lush, to press and customers that have got tickets to come to the event.


Ingredients & Smell: 

List Of Ingredients:

Sodium Bicarbonate Citric Acid Titanium Dioxide Jasmine Absolute Osmanthus Absolute Rose Oil Sandalwood Oil  Oudh Oil Cream of Tartar Fair Trade Colombian Cocoa Butter Water (Aqua) Cornstarch Argan Oil Fair Trade Shea Butter Synthetic Fluorphlogopite Sodium Coco Sulfate Tin Oxide Cocamidopropyl Betaine Maltodextrin Laureth 4 Dipropylene Glycol *Eugenol *Limonene *Linalool Perfume Colour 77491 Colour 42090:1 Colour 45430:1 Colour 42090 Colour 19140 Colour 17200 Colour 45410

The Bicarb is essential in any bath bomb to ensure that it fizzes and bubbles in the bath. Nobody want a bath bomb that just plops and dissolves, do they? Jasmine is the main front in this bath bomb, so when the Rose mixes with it, it creates a fresh floral base for the product. The Oudh and Sandalwood adds depth to the product to ensure that it's just not flowery, and the Osmanthus adds fruitiness to the bomb. Personally, I think that the Rose and Jasmine are the most prominent in this product.

Background Of The Product: 

A fan of Ariana Grande's asked Lush to create a bath bomb based around Ariana. After months of tinkering and mixing, Goddess was born.

What Does It Do In The Bath?: 

When the bath bomb first fizzes in the bath, the colour slowly seeps out from a light blue to a deep purple throughout the duration of the bath which helps to a create a sort of slight, ombre effect in the water. The lustre that is in the middle of the concave hole in the product spreads throughout the water to create an iridescent effect. The butters that are in the ballistic slowly seep out at the end to create a foam on top of the coloured water which, then, hydrates the skin due to being so moisturising.

Price:  

£5.95

Opinion On The Product: 

I think, if you like deep floral scents, and/or Ariana Grande, then this bomb is for you. Personally, I liked it but I wasn't instantly addicted like I was to The Experimenter, or, say the new Luxury Lush Pud. I think that its good for one of those times where you want something light and floral and a bit more moisturising, then say, Sex Bomb. I love the concept and I kinda love the design, even though I did think it was a bit of a weird look at first. I think that this bomb is definitely one, that you have to try yourselves before making a decision on it.

Have you tried Goddess? Let me know down below! 

Thank you for reading this post. I hope that you come back next time for another post.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x