Sprouting From The Tree | Banyan Bar & Restaurant Bloggers Event

Meow!

Last week, I was invited to the preview of Banyan Bar & Restaurant within Leeds to have a look and try out some of their food and drink before it opened to the general public on Saturday that has just gone.

Banyan Bar & Restaurant is owned by Arc Inspirations. If you're from Leeds or go to Leeds often like myself then you might know Arc Inspirations via their other venues such as The Arc which is a bit of an obvious one, The Pit, Manhatta and Trio. The fun thing about Banyan is that it is named after the Banyan tree. Personally, I think that this is interesting because the restaurant has a little more of a history to it compared to some more mainstream bars whose names feel like that they were drawn out of a hat.

We entered the establishment and walked up the industrial influenced copper stairs to head into a private section of the restaurant. As soon as we got up the stairs, we were greeted by Kirstin who had invited us to the event, We had a look around and then myself and Luke were given a Pea & Mint Bellini. I know that this sounds like a strange drink to consume but it was honestly really nice. It was Prosecco layered with a homemade sugarsnap syrup, mint and an elderflower liqueur. I think that the pea sugar syrup wasn't really the main focus but added a hint of freshness to the drink and that it would be a great drink to have with some appetizers outside when the weather wants to be nice.

We then sat down and was given a Cucumber Cooler to drink. This contained Hendricks Gin, Giffards Pamplemousse (I have no idea either), elderflower liqueur, Passion Fruit and Pineapple syrup and Prosecco. The gin takes a back seat in this cocktail and the syrups take centre stage. I also like the fact that the syrups and the Prosecco give the drink a light and fruity taste and makes it one of those drinks that you would be drinking whilst catching up with your friends.

The first thing that I had to eat was the Crispy Duck Spring Rolls with an Oriental Dipping Sauce. The wrapper of the roll was crispy but flaky and I loved it! The meat was tender and fell apart but wasn't tough which is an amazing thing for Duck because sometimes its a bit tough and then the Duck is ruined. The dipping sauce was sweet but slightly spicy which I also quite liked. I think that these would be great to eat when catching up with friends with a few cocktails.

Tbe next dish that I sampled was Teriyaki Belly Pork (it is Pork Belly but the menu has called it Belly Pork...) I'm a massive fan of Pork Belly so I loved this! The teriyaki glaze was a bit sticky for a sample size and seemed a bit like too much effort just for a mealy piece but as the full size would be a lot bigger off the menu then I would love to enjoy this with either a cool refreshing citrus based cocktail or a nice cold Japanese located beer.

The last of the first nstallment of canapes were Crushed Avocado & Pea Toasts. Crushed Avo on Toast is all the rage at the minute and is on most brunch menus but weirdly this was the first time that I have had Crushed Avocado on Toast and I kind of liked it. The pea took more of a centre stage role within this dish and added a hint of sweetness to the food. It was served with a Wasabi Sour Cream which I loved. I always like my Avocado with some Lime or something acidic to give it a kick which this did. I also think that this would be good as a salad but turn the toast into croutons!

Before round 2 of canapes, we were served another crazy but cool cocktail. This one was in the form of a Rum & Raisin Mai Tai. This luscious drink contained Bacardi Oakheart, homemade Raisin syrup, Lime and Almonds. I hate raisins but honestly the raisin syrup was really nice in this, I think the sugar syrup sweetened the raisin taste a bit and made it a bit more bearable to the palate. This is quite a sweet drink though so I think that I would only be able to handle 2 of these at most.

Deep fried Brie Wedges were offered up next but that sounded like death for someone who is lactose intolerant and honestly I'm not a massive fan of Brie when I do want to divulge into Cheese so I decided to opt out of trying this dish.

The next dish that we all shared was Tempura King Prawns. Now if you know me then I adore Ribs and I adore seafood so I was delighted when these were popped down on the table. The batter was so light and crispy but the Prawns were so plump and tender. It was just amazing, I think that these would be good to bulk order and share between people if out with friends or just a good dish to go along whilst perusing the menu for your main or for when you want to watch the world go by outside in the alfresco area.

The final savoury dish was Crab on Toast. Now I can't really find it within the menu unless I haven't had a in depth look into the menu but this was amazing. I could honestly eat these all day. Savoury but sweet. Crisp but soft. Mmm... As I said, I love seafood! They're more of a brunch thing though in my eyes!

Time for the final round The drink that was served for this round was a Pistachio Espresso Martini. This contained Reyka Vodka, Tia Maria, espresso and homemade pistachio syrup. The pistachio comes out a lot in this and takes a good bit of the edge off from the strong coffee flavour via the Tia Maria and Espresso. Don't be fooled by the taste of coffee because it contains a good kick of alcohol.

There was only 2 desserts on offer to try but they were both amazing in completely different ways!

The first one was a Salted Caramel and Chocolate Torte. Oh my god. This was amazing. Chocolate and caramel is always an amazing combo but in the form of a cake with an added kick of sea salt makes it that little bit more luxurious! I think that this dessert would be an amazing way to end a decadent evening but I do think that it could do with the addition of some tart fruit just to cut through the richness of the dish.

The last dessert was Vanilla Cheesecake with Spiced Sugar and Passion Fruit. I loved the cheesecake but honestly I think that the Passion Fruit could have been embedded into the Vanilla mix as the Passon Fruit was overcrowded via the spiciness in the spiced Sugar. I did like the mix of the spiciness of the sugar and the creaminess of the cheesecake.
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Banyan Bar is located within a five minute walk from the train station and offers food all day including pies, sandwiches and other types of food, They also offer a brunch menu and a 2 for 1 cocktail offer which you can check via the website here.

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post and all of the amazing food mentioned in this post. I hope that you come back next time for another post!

Meow!
Jamie x

All of the food and drink was given in exchange of mentioning the restaurant on Social Media/via a blog post. All opinions and ramblings are my own.

Celebrating National Stationery Week With A Pop Of Colour

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Yes, it's a bad photo but I'm sure you can cope with it. 

This week is National Stationery Week where all things stationery is celebrated and as a student and a blogger I love stationery (I could always do with more) so I thought that I would tell you guys a bit more about National Stationery Week. I was also sent a couple of thingr s from Maped Helix as they are the brand behind National Stationery Week so I thought that I would talk about them as well!

National Stationery Week celebrates all things handwritten and all things stationery, The aim of this week is to get everyone talking about stationery and why writing by hand is so important especially in the world where everything is digital including this blog post. The sort of side aim of this week is to get people to send cards and letter more rather than going for the simpler/easier within some eyes option of sending a text or an email.

I have been celebrating this prestigious week in many ways such as writing out cards instead of just messaging people as I feel that this has a more personal touch and I have also been writing this into my blog/business diary a lot more instead of just typing it on my phone and letting it fester within a file on my mobile device. Doing this has made me realise that not everything has to be done via your phone and that it is kind of fun to jot down something so you can flick back and remember what you need to do without needing to have a charger just to access it.

The first thing that was sent to me was the Maped Graphic Peps Fine Liner. You get 10 of these within a pack and each pen is a different colour which is great as this means that you don't have to stick to the boring black and blue pens. It also could mean that you could use a different colour for a specific thing which would make you pretty organised within life. They're pretty lightweight and from the times that I have used them this week they have a good flow when writing.

The last product that I received was the Maped Color'Peps: Coloured Pencils in a Metal Box. These were self explanatory. They were coloured pencils that came in a metal box. Sadly, I haven't really had the chance to review this yet and I wanted to get this post up for National Stationery Week so I don;t have an opinion on them when it comes to using them but nevertheless I shall tell you a bit about them. They are easy to sharpen which means that you don't have to spend ages over trying to sharpen it just to colour for ten minutes or so before it needs sharpening again. The pencils are also shock resistant which is something that I haven't really seen within a colouring pencil before. I also think that these would be a cool gift for anyone who is obsessed with colouring/colouring books!

Have you been participating within National Stationery Week? Are you a massive stationery fan? Let me know in the comments section below!

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post all about stationery and I hope that you come back for my next post!

Meow!
Jamie x

Finding The Magic Within Myself | Lynx Daily Fragrances Review

Meow!

The guys over at Lynx decided to send me some of their new products so I thought that I might as well as tell you guys what I thought about them.

Lynx have been a main cosmetics company that in some way shape or form has moulded at least one teenager within society. They are most well known for their scents such as Africa and Excite but are now known for many other reasons. If I know my stuff right then they started off mainly making producs for the male target audience but then ventured out into producing scents/products for females too. They have also been known for their adverts lately as they have slowly been redefining what it means to be a man.

The first product that I got sent was the Adrenaline Daily Fragrance. This has the scent of Iced Musk & Ginger. Now, I'm not a massive fan of Musk but the fact that it's 'iced' gives it a sort of cooling scent within the background of the fragrance which I think works amazingly with the warming Ginger. I think that it does what it says on bottle which is to invigorate you. I think that this scent works perfectly when its a slightly warmer than usual sort of day. I love the packaging of the product. The box that it comes in is black with a rectangle explaining the scent and coordinating that scent with a colour which is pretty interesting. It also states on the box that the fragrances are no gas which I love as this means that there isn't any added pollution when you buy the product! I would give this product an 8.5/10.

The second product that I was gifted was another daily fragrance, The scent of this one is Tobacco and Amber. Some may think that Tobacco shouldn't be in fragrances but it really works well within this product. The tobacco gives a smoky element whereas the amber gives it a slightly deep but sweet note which makes the fragrance enticing to both men and women which is pretty great. I also think that there is a bit of Vanilla in the backnote but I could be wrong! The scent works perfectly on most days and lasts quite a long while when applied to the skin. I've already had it on for quite a while today and I can still smell it. I would give this a good 8.85/10, There is always room for improvement in every product but I do love this quite a bit!

The last thing that was delivered to me was the Natural Looking Styling Clay. Now I have to admit, I rarely use products but since I got my hair cut short I have been using products to try and keep my hair somewhat tame and I have loved this. It gives a matte finish which I do like quite a bit and isn't too hard to the point where you can't really rework your hair which is annoying sometimes. The hold of the product is pretty great. I didn't really need to apply anymore to keep it together until the end of a warm day where I already looked like hell due to being busy and being sweaty within the weird but warm weather. I think I would give this an 8 due to it being my first introduction of wax/clay based hair products but I am slowly growing to loving it a bit more. The packaging did come a bit bumped which is a sad point but that sometimes happens when you get sent things.

Have you ever used Lynx? What's your favourite Lynx scent? Have you tried any of the products mentioned above? Let me know in the comments section!

If you want to check anything else that Lynx has to offer then click here to have a look. I hope that you have enjoyed this beauty based post. I hope that you come back to read the next post! I hope that you're having a great Monday!

Meow!
Jamie x

I collaborated with Lynx for this post therefore all products mentioned within this post were gifted. All opinions, views and ramblings are my own!  Please also notice that I am not a professional photographer therefore apologies are probably needed for any amateur looking photos within this post. 

Shoes, Shirts & Boxer Briefs! | Latest Wishlist

Meow!

Today, I thought that I would do a little wishlist post. If you're like me and you end up procrastinating in any way shape or form then you will understand why I've been window shopping so much lately as I end up procrastinating a bit when it comes up to things such as exams and such so I thought I would share with you what I have been lusting over at the minute...

The first thing that I have been lusting over at the minute are Oliver Sweeney shoes. Yes, I know that sounds a bit strange but they are so amazing aesthetically and they are a little bit out of my price range so I've had to just lust over them... It also doesn't help that I finally got a chance to check out their new VQ Leeds store which has been refurbished. The store is amazing but it makes you want all of the products within the store as soon as you step in as its just that magnificent. A pair that I have been loving at the minute are Kelfield Tan Brogue Boot. I love these as you can wear them with smart clothes such as a suit depending on the colour, you can wear them with a tshirt and jeans combo and if you can wear them with the two suggestions then you can wear them with anything which makes them so versatile! If you want to see more about Oliver Sweeney then click on their name to go straight to their website.

The next thing that I have been wanting is floral. I already have some floral but whilst I was out the other day within Leeds, I popped into H&M, There is also one closer to where I live but I only check that branch out if I'm near it. I saw an amazing floral top and a shirt to add to my collection. I just think that floral prints are amazing! They also shout that it's Spring to the world!

H&M Floral Shirt

The next place that I have found stuff that I have loved on the internet is Burton. Burton have a sale on at the moment. I also get student discount on top which makes it very hard to resist but sadly everything costs nowadays and I know that my money can be spent on things that I need and nowant. Although, I do love a good shirt and Burton do some amazing shirts like this pink one. I do love a good pink shirt for Wednesdays! Click here for the link to the pink shirt that I am in love with at the minute. (I did find one that I loved that was on the sale but it has sold out so I have found another one that I adore!)

The one that I had found on the sale before writing had sold out so have this one instead. 

I have two places left that I have been loving the look of at the minute and the first one is Drake & Hutch. You may of or may not of heard of this brand before. They are mainly a male underwear and tshirt company. Now, we all need good looking underwear within our lives and I love the look of their new range but especially this black dotted one and this stripy navy one which shows that its spring,. I know that it might look a bit naval but stripes and patterns show that its time to experiment! Click here to go to their site!

The last thing that I have lusted over isn't a piece of clothing but is more something from the cosmetics section of the world. It is the Tom Ford fragrances. I have heard so much about these so I thought that I would pop into my nearest Debenhams and sprayed a little onto my wrist and within a few seconds I realised why this was the rage and fell head over heels in love with it instantly. I have been loving the Velvet Orchid at the minute and also love the smell of Black Noir. It's just so amazingly aromatic! I thought that it would be best to just link to Debenhams where you can check out all of the fragrances and lust over your favourite one!

Have you been lusting over anything at the moment? Have you checked any of the brands mentioned? Have you checked out the new Oliver Sweeney store within Victoria Quarter Leeds? If so then let me know down below in the comments section!

I hope that you have enjoyed reading my lust list! I know that its a bit different but its the best way for me to not stress out about my exams. I hope that you've enjoyed reading about what I have been lusting over and I hope that you read my next post!

Jamie x

Escaping The World For Some Cocktails | #TheEpernayEscape | Epernay Leeds Menu & Cocktail Bloggers Event

Meow!

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I love a good cocktail! So, when Epernay Leeds invited me to #TheEpernayEscape where there would be cocktails on offer to try then i had to say yes!

Myself, Michelle and Luke arrived within Leeds a tad bit too early as I finished doing coursework early. After an accident with my laptop happened (sadly), we decided to go into Lush as well myself and Michelle are big advocates of Lush. I ended up getting samples of D'Fluff and Karma Kream.(If you want to see the review for those products then click here,)

We strolled to the venue and arrived a tiny bit early so we used that time to have a natter and to find Epernay as it is within a little section called Electric Press which contains a whole host of amazing places including Epernay and Revolution.

We entered the grand venue and met Jenna who had invited us to the event. We had a little conversation, grabbed a glass of Champagne and made our way to the bar. I know this sounds so weird but the bar felt that elegant that I felt a bit like James Bond... A few more bloggers came including Lucinda and Carolanne. We said hi and had a little natter and then Jenna told us a tiny bit about Epernay as I think a good few of us at the event had never been there before which I'm not sure why as it is an amazing venue and a lot of their drinks sound absolutely amazing!

We then had a little talk from the manager of Epernay Leeds who told us what was going to happen throughout the night and to share pictures on social media throughout the night which was possible but my phone has a tendency of dying when I need it to work at the minute so it was a case of using Lukes for the majority of the night and sharing via his account!

After the little chat, the head barman introduced himself and talked to us about how the Summer menu was well more uplifting and Summer like. He began the tasting via creating a cute little cocktail called Blue Grass Smash, This cocktail includes Zubrowka Vodka, fresh Blueberry Syrup that is made within the Champagne Bar and Mint Leaves. I love Vodka, Blueberries and Mint so this was a perfect cocktail for me! It was quite a sweet cocktail which some may loathe and some may love but I'm with the latter and I absolutely adored it! The colour of the drink was so pretty that I could literally sit at a bar for a couple of hours and just look at this cocktail whilst drinking it! There were also canapes throughout the night and the first canape which went wonderfully with this drink was a Caprese Salad. It was just wonderful against the sweetness of the drink!

The second cocktail that was given for us to drink was Koko Kanu. (I love saying this for some weird reason!) This one contained Koko Kanu Rum, Orgeat (which is a syrup) and Raspberries. I loved the colour of this one and it reminded me of Mean Girls due to the bright pink and the fact that it had Koko in the name. I love Coconut Rum so that was a good start for the cocktail but I was a bit indecisive about the syrup for some reason... I loved it on the whole though and it reminded me of Summer and the sort of drink that you might have in Hawaii due to the fresh fruit and Coconut. I think that I would have this drink when I'm out with other people and end up lusting over the colour of the drink compared to drinking the first one on my own within the bar. The canape that accompanied this cocktail was a sort of little Raspberry Pastry thing... I'm not completely sure what it's called but it was Puff Pastry sandwiched with Raspberry Coulis and Cream and oh my god it was heavenly!

The last cocktail that we were all served was The Morning After. The cocktail contains Apriocot Briotte, Portobello Road Gin and Fresh Grapefruit. I love the name of this to begin with as some will interpret it in their own way but it is based off the whole coping with a hangover the morning after a good night. The coloured looked more subtle compared to the others but the aroma and scent of this drink was amazing. Thanks to the Grapefruit, it smelt so citrus like and so uplifting which would be great for waking you up! The canape that accompanied this cocktail was a sort of Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Bruschetta sort of thing which went perfectly with the citrus notes of the cocktail!

We were then supplied with more champagne and some more canapes in the form of a scrumptious sausage roll which was amazing! I could have eaten them all night with a sort of salsa/good dip! Myself, Michelle and Luke nattered until we were halted to a stop via a business card competition which was to win things from the bar. Michelle won a Cocktail masterclass at the bar which sounds amazing! We all chatted a bit about the offers at Epernay which I will talk about a bit more below then we drunk more champagne then left the bar.

All in all, we all had an amazing night at Epernay Leeds and we all shared the hashtag #TheEpernayEscape out so if you want to find out who else was at the event or what else happened then check out the hashtag! Have you been to Epernay Leeds or any of the other Epernay bars before? If so then let me know in the comments below!

Epernay Leeds also do a Bottomless Brunch where you get to eat brunch within the beautiful bar and have unlimited/bottomless drinks from their brunch selection. I think that this is an amazing way to spend brunch within Leeds especially if you're with someone who doesn't know Leeds that well. It just screams elegance to me!

Thanks to Michelle for coming along and taking the photos! She always takes amazing photos such as ones that are within this post so check her Flickr out if you haven't already by clicking on her name throughout the post!

I would like to thank Jenna for inviting myself and Michelle to this event. I would also like to thank the staff at Epernay for putting on an amazing event! I have Epernay's website to their name within this post in case you want to look at their drinks menu or if you want to book a reservation! I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post! I hope to see you next time!

Meow!
Jamie x

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DOAML | Trying A Trio Of Terrific Things For Myself | Ocean Salt, D'fluff Shaving Soap & Karma Kream Review

Meow!

Welcome to another DOAML post! I know that I haven't done these in a while due to many reasons but I thought that I would do a review post today because well why not?

As you all know, whenever I end up in Leeds, I end up in Lush and as I am in Leeds every other week for either some shopping or an event I thought that I would try some new things from Lush. I have got these all in sample form just because they are all somewhat skin/body care and I was feel a bit iffy buying something that I never have tried before especially when the body/skin care products are sometimes over £10 and I don't want to waste money on something that I don't like, I also thought that it would be best to tell you guys what I thought of the products just in case you want to buy them/you've heard about them before and you've been indecisive just like myself.

The first product that I am going to talk about is Ocean Salt. This product is a Face and Body Scrub and comes in many versions. There is self preserving, normal, alcohol free and self preserving and alcohol free. This salt scrub contains sea salt (duh), vodka steeped limes, avocado butter, coconut oil and much more! The directions suggest using it on dry skin but I feel like its best to use it on damp skin just as it does contain vodka, lime and salt and applying this to dry skin might make it a slight hue of red...The scent of this is quite amazing. You don't get much of the vodka within the scent but you do get a good mixture of citrus and salt and just smelling it wakes you up so you don't feel like a zombie for the rest of the day. It is quite a scrubby scrub due to the salt so if your skin is extra sensitive then it might not be the best product for you but it works a treat on my skin. I give this an 8/10. There's nothing much you can change but I think that it could be tweaked maybe via adding a bit more citrus than salt but otherwise its a great product to use to get rid of dead skin.

Carrying on with the face care products, the next product that I want to talk about is D'Fluff. This is a Strawberry Shaving Soap but it can also be used as a body wash apparently... The product contains Strawberries, Rapeseed, Coconut and Rose Hip Oil, Egg Whites, Golden Syrup and many other things. This is quite a mousse like product due to the egg whites but spreads quite easily which is the best thing when it comes to shaving products as sometimes they're a bit too thick and you have to use loads just to cover where you're shaving. The scent is quite similar to Yummy Mummy/the Strawberry Feels Forever massage bar in the fact that it is a deep strawberry scent with a floral back note. It's quite nourishing and is amazing for a shaving product. If they did a range of D'Fluff in more scents than just strawberry then it would be amazing but the Strawberry scent is pretty good as it is. 8.75/10.

The last product that I am going to talk about is Karma Kream. As you can tell by the name, it is a body cream/lotion that has the well known Karma scent embedded into it. It contains Almond Oil and Cocoa Butter which makes the skin extra supple when you apply it to the skin. The Karma scent is made up of Orange, Pine, Patchouli and a slight hint of Lemongrass. You can smell the Patchouli and Orange and when it blends onto your skin it creates such a lovely yet deep scent which makes you sniff at it all day long. I applied it this morning about 10 and it is now half 8 at night and I can still smell it on the skin. I give this a good 9/10, The only main problem for me is the price but it will last a long time so I think I'll warm to the price of it over time.

Have you tried any of these products? Let me know in the comments section down below!

I hope that you have enjoyed this DOAML post! I haven't done any DOAML posts in a while so I thought that I would do a bulk load of them just to catch up with things. I hope that you come back next time for another blog post! Thanks to Lush PR for sending me the pictures over for this post. I mixed up Karma Kream for Grease Lightning when sending the email so I got that one from the website.

Meow!
Jamie x


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DOAML: Gorilla Fragrances: Dear John

Meow!

Welcome to another DOAML post. Yeah, this series is slowly starting up again... If theres anything that you would like me to review from Lush or talk about skin wise then please let me know in the comments section down below!

Today I am going to talk to you guys about Dear John as I bought it a couple of weeks ago and it feels fitting to talk to you guys about the perfumes that are available at Lush as I don't think that they get enough recognition.

Dear John is a perfume that is sold at Lush. All perfumes that are sold at Lush are under the Gorilla Perfume brand. I don't know the exact story behind Gorilla Perfumes but I know that Lush created Gorilla Perfumes as it's own brand to compete with high street perfumes and so that they wouldn't be just sold at Lush stores from what I know. I could be wrong but I'm sure thats somewhat the story. Gorilla Perfumes have their own store within Islington, London and have a full on gallery within the Lush Oxford Street superstore.

The best way to tell you the scents that make up Dear John is to just list all of the scents instead of saying this is the base note as I feel like they change a bit depending on your skin so it's best to just say. Dear John contains Cedarwood, Coffee and Tobacco which gives it a deep smoky scent, Lime to give it a bit of a citrus kick, Pine, Clove, Coriander/Cilantro depending on where you are within the world and Vetivert.

The perfume comes in many forms but I decided to get the body mist as honestly its the best amount for your money as a 150g body mist bottle comes in at £13 which is pretty amazing. There is also a solid version for £7 and other bottles for various prices.

When you spritz this, you instantly get the smokiness of the coffee/cedarwood/tobacco/vetivert but when it settles you get more of a citrusy scent from the Lime. It's such a great scent for all year round but I like it most within either Spring or Autumn due to the smoky-sweetness of the product. You also get a sort of soapy hint when it has settled which I kind of like because I've never had a fragrance that did that before and it just makes you stand out when theres a lot of scents going on in the room. I also love that the scent stays on the skin for quite a while and if needed you could buy the solid just to top up on the go as the bottle is quite clunky when it comes to storing in your bag.

I would give this a 9.5/10. The only problem that I have found with it is that the other bottles are very pricey and if this wasn't the case then I would have every type of this fragrance within the confinements of my beauty drawer! I love the sweet smokiness and I love how the Coffee and Tobacco isn't off putting but adds more to the smokiness instead of being so strong that you can't smell anything else except Coffee and smoke.

Have you smelt this within a Lush store? What do you think? Have you tried any of the Gorilla Fragrances that are on offer within Lush? Let me know in the comments section down below!

Click on Dear John to find out more about the fragrance! I hope that you have enjoyed this DOAML post and I hope that you read the next post that is on my blog! If you want to keep up to date then follow my BlogLovin!

Meow!
Jamie x

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Disappearing From The Screen | Why I Stopped YouTube

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If you've read the blog for a while or know me personally then you will know that I used to do the whole YouTube/talk to a camera thing. If you're subscribed to my channel then you will have realised that I stopped within October last year and I thought that today I would tell you why I kind of disappeared from YouTube...

So within October, I said on my channel that I would start the whole DOAML (Diary Of A Meowing Lushie) series on my channel as well as my blog and then I just vanished after that. I did have intentions on creating the series onto YouTube but honestly creating posts and creating videos of the same thing just became challenging for myself as I would have to set the camera up and then make sure it would focus and that everything was perfect and then wait for the product to dissolve into water and it just slowly made videomaking and beauty products very boring and tiring for me. (With doing it via my blog I can just take a picture of the product and then enjoy it in my own time and then just talk about the product afterwards.) I just wanted my videos to be something that myself and yourself would enjoy and when I stopped enjoying making them I thought that you wouldn't really enjoy them if I just made them as haphazardly as possible. If you do want to watch amazing Lush based videos then check out Jen and Phil's channels.

In November, I decided that I was going to change the series to where I just and to start redoing vlogs of when I go to events and things like that but college got in the way in the form of me making films for coursework and things like that which took up most of my time which meant that I would be able to film but it probably wouldn't have been edited until a month had passed by and I feel like with certain things it would have felt unnecessary when it was finally on YouTube.

Time passed by and I got more coursework and more things came up and I just thought that it would be best to try and review if I have the time and patience to do videos and if I do then the YouTube thing will become a thing again but until then its best that I stick to my blog as I just feel like its a lot easier to keep up with compared to videos as you don't have to do the whole waiting for everything to export and upload with a blog.

Don't forget to check out Jen and Phil's channels!

I hope that you have enjoyed this sort of rambly post and I hope that you come back to read the next post! I hope that your week is going well!

Meow!
Jamie x

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DOAML: Telling The Story Of Bubbles | Tales Of Bath Spa Bloggers Event At Lush Leeds Spa

Meow!

Welcome to another DOAML post. I ended up in Lush once again (even though I'm in there most of the time when I'm in Leeds) for the launch of the Tales Of Bath treatment that is available in all of Lush Spa's within the UK.so if you want to have the treatment after reading this post then you can check the Lush website for the nearest spa and get yourself booked in for a wonderful treatment! (Images won't be great but I hope that you don't mind.)

Myself and Luke strolled leisurely to the store and ended up being the first two people there. I would like to say that this surprises me but it seriously doesn't. We waited for a tiny bit and then more and more bloggers waited outside with us. A few moments later, the doors to the store opened and we all made our way into the store. We walked in, got our names checked off on the list, grabbed a drink (there was many choices but I stuck to juice just because it was the night before the deadline for coursework and I didn't want to be drinking until after that deadline) and grabbed an mini apple pie as there were sweet things on offer all throughout the night.

We chatted to Urika who kindly took our things and put them behind the till as I had a massive laptop and two other bags and I didn't think massive bags and picking up products was the best idea. We had a little wander and then was asked to go down to the Spa to find out a little more about the new spa treatment. We went down the wooden spiral stairs and then made our way to one of the treatment rooms where the lovely staff of Lush Leeds Spa told us the story behind the Tales Of Bath treatment. She then went on to tell us about the actual treatment as it contains a shoulder massage, a bath that has epsom salts and other things within and a full body massage which includes a side-lying technique which is amazing for pregnant people or people like me who aren't fully keen on lying face down during massages... Yes, I know that having a bath within a treatment sounds very weird but its Lush and they are very well known for their bath products and their treatments so it's not that surprising that they have entwined them into one via a treatment.  The bath is private so it's not that awkward as you think.

We then went into another room to find out about The Good Hour treatment which includes a full body deep tissue massage which is based on pressure points within your body which I think is pretty amazing. Sea shanties fill the room which makes the experience that bit more relaxing somehow. We then went to check out another treatment and then we were asked if we wanted a demo of The Sound Bath treatment, a Comforter oil massage or a palm reading. Luke chose palm reading and if you want to find out more about that then click here. I chose the Comforter oil massage just as I knew that I would like it as I've had it before and that I could always do with a massage so it felt right to go with that. The oil/serum massage is a part of The Comforter treatment which I want to try at some point as it sounds amazing and I love all things Comforter so... The rose serum is bright pink in colour and is applied to the skin whilst slightly hot so it sinks into the skin quickly. The scent is a slight mixture of rose petals, the comforter and the rose jam scent. You get a bright whiff of rose petals but then if you keep sniffing you get a mixture of cassis from the comforter and a sweet hint of rose jam which blends together for a sweet floral scent.

We then headed back up to the shop floor. We had a little bit of a mooch until one of the lovely member of staff called Beth came up and talked to us. Now, as I end up in Lush every time that I'm in Leeds she knew exactly who I was and asked if there was anything that I haven't tried which was a tricky question for myself to answer. I said that I could do with a tiny bit more knowledge about the face masks and hair care. I explained that I normally stick to two face masks which are Catastrophe Cosmetic and Don't Look At Me which I fell in love with whilst in the Oxford Street superstore. She then explained and demoed Cosmetic Warrior on me. This mask has a mixture of tea tree and garlic to cleanse, green grapes which cool the skin and honey and fresh free range eggs which tighten the skin and moisturise at the same time. I fell in love with this one as I loved the colour of the mask and loved what it did. The smell was different as I was a bit indecisive on if a mix of garlic and honey would be the best scent to smother on your face but it worked really well and was quite mild.

We then went over to the hair care section where Beth told us about the shampoo bars. Now, I tried a shampoo bar at Oxford Street and I felt a bit weird after using it so I haven't tried a shampoo bar since then. I just think that the whole trying to get them to lather and then trying to get them to dry puts me off buying them more regular;y. She explained the New shampoo bar to start off with, this one is heavily spiced with things such as Cinnamon and Cloves which stimulate new hair growth hence the name. She explained that if you want your hair to grow then this one would be the best for you.

 She then went on to Seanik as I explained that I would like moisture with a slight bit of volume as I like to have a slight bit of volume in the back on my hair just so its not all flat/lifeless. This one has seaweed, sea salt and lemon in it to give the hair volume and shine but has a summery scent to it so if you're looking for a shampoo that will make you feel like a marvellous mermaid then this would be the best one for you!

Beth then went on about the Honey I Washed My Hair bar as this one is the best for moisture. It has the scent of Golden Egg/Honey I Washed/It's Raining Men which is a toffee scent but is made up of Orange and Bergamot (I'm not sure how either but I love the scent so I'm not complaining!) Honey is very well known for adding moisture so if you're like me who wants moisture within their hair then this one might be for you! It does have Gold lustre within so if you're not a big fan of lustre then it might not be the best for you? It's up to you really!

We then had another mooch about and then went to make our own Comforter Bubble Bar's. Yes, I was very excited as I love The Comforter and I love making Lush products. We sat ourselves down and was given a chunk of white and pink. We then had to squish them together and start turning them. Mine decided to crumble very quickly which meant that I had to fiddle with it a little. I then started to try and turn it until it resembled a cone and then squished it which resulted in more crumbling but it looked pretty damn pretty. The lovely staff member decided to give us another one as she had made some in advance just as she guessed that mine would crumble as soon as you tried to get it out of the packet. I forgot to get her name but thank you Lush staff member! They will be used with love as I know that they have been made in front of my eyes!

I was deciding if I wanted anything as I felt that it would be best to get stuff then instead of coming back in when the store would probably be busy. I decided that I would not get anything as I already have enough within my lush drawer and that it would be best to replenish nearer the time of when I didn't have so much products to get through! Beth then gave me a sample of Grease Lightning to try as I said that I had heard about Celestial which is a Moisturiser from the wonderful Kellie but as my face is dry and normally in some sort of acne plague so Grease Lightning would be better for myself.

Urika came over for a little bit of a chat. It's always amazing to see Urika. We had a little natter and a selfie and then myself and Luke grabbed our things, got our goodie bags and said bye to all of the staff.

I thought that I would do a little paragraph about the things we got in our goodie bags as I know that you're all nosey people who want to know! We got a Full of Grace facial serum which is basically a massage bar full of Lavender for the face. A Therapy massage bar which contains Lavender, Neroli and Sweet Orange Oil. A Green Bubbleroon which contains Avocado, Lime and Bergamot and Golden Egg Bath Ballistc/Melt as it has the fizz of a ballistic but the melting of oils such as Cocoa Butter and Olive Oil. It smells amazing! To compliment the honey scent, there was also a Honey I Washed My Hair Bar to try in the bag as well!

Have you tried any of the products mentioned in this post? Have you tried out the Tales Of Bath treatment? Let me know in the comments section below!

I would like to thank the wonderful Urika for inviting me to the event! I would also like to thank the Lush Leeds Spa staff for putting on an amazing event! I hope that you have enjoyed this lengthy post and I hope that you read the next post whenever it is up!

Meow!
Jamie x

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Making The British Roses Bloom | The Body Shop British Rose Blogger's Event at Leeds Briggate

Meow!

I was invited a couple of weeks ago to go to The Body Shop Leeds Briggate store to check out the new British Rose range that they have released! Whenever I am in Leeds, I end up popping in to just have a mooch around and think about if I want anything from the store which has led the staff to know me by face and probably name... 

Luke met up with me after college a bit early as I didn't feel that great... Once I had located Luke, we walked up to the train station and got the train to Leeds like we normally do. We decided to kill some time by getting some food as I thought that I would feel a bit better after I had some food in me, After eating a good footlong from Subway, we mooched about within Trinity Leeds until the time came to go to the event. 

We strolled into the store where we saw a vast amount of bloggers. It was great to see that the store was buzzing with people! Myself and Luke chatted to a few bloggers that we knew and even introduced ourselves to a few new bloggers! We were then all called to gather around whilst the team demonstrated the new British Rose range that the event was showcasing. The best way to describe the scent is via saying that it is a fresh floral sort of scent. It's not too strong but it's not weak at the same time. It is a very Spring time sort of scent and reminds me of floral clothing somehow! If you like your fresh/floral based scents then you will love the smell of the British Rose range! The staff then told us about how the Rose scent is extracted so it can be put into the range which is via putting roses into Welsh water just like some of you might have done in school to create Rosewater!

We were then split up into three groups of ten; one would go to skincare ; body care and makeup. Myself and Luke's group were sent to the skincare section where two members of staff would tell us more about skincare. They wanted a blogger to demonstrate some products on and I thought that I might as well as sit down and be the guinea pig as myself and Luke were the only ones of the group... I was asked by the amazing Anisa what I would describe my skin type as. I described it as very dry as it mainly is due to lactose intolerance. When your skin is either very dry or very oily, it will probably create a lot of spots due to scientific reasons which I won't go into which happens with me quite a lot. Anisa first used Nutriganics Foaming Face Wash and then I think she used Oils Of Life Intensely Revitalising Facial Oil which I was told to dab into my skin instead of massaging into my skin as it sinks in a lot quicker. She then used Vitamin E Cream but there is a few Vitamin E Creams and sadly I can't remember which one was put on my face. There is a fair few so I would have a look and see which one suits you the most. We were then told about the new ranges that were coming out soon which include the Oils Of Light range which is influenced from the Asian culture of lightening creams from what I remember.

We were then told to move about and was directed over to the Makeup section where Laura Beth was demonstrating the new makeup range that is available at The Body Shop. She told us about the new palette that is available which includes a few different shades which are very soft when you touch them. She then told us about the Lip and Cheek stains and then talked a bit about how people sometimes forget that TBS sells makeup! We talked for a little bit longer and was ushered over to the last section...

We went over to the body care section where two of the staff members talked to us about the Spa of the World range and how it can invigorate, relax you or do other great things for your body. This is a great range for when you need a sort of spa day in the space and comfort of your own home which is great for people like me who don't really have the money/time/energy to head to a spa for a treatment. There is several great products in the range such as the Dead Sea Salt Scrub which is the greatest product to exfoliate as the texture of the sea salt crystals are the best thing to use on your body to scrub the dead skin away! Japanese Camellia Cream which has been used by Japanese women for centuries! It has a relaxing scent so could definitely be used as a great way to help you relax before you go to bed or to keep you nourished all the way through the day and the Egyptian Milk and Honey Bath which apparently was a favourite of Cleopatras so you can feel as luxurious as Cleopatra when you use this! It contains Honey, Olive Oil and Milk from Egypt to make this as luxurious as possible. I can't wait to try this as I want see if my body reacts to the milk or not as I have lactose intolerance and mainly because this sounds divine as hell!

We then wandered about and had a look at a few other things such as the Honey & Oat Face Mask which smells kind of like Banana Flapjack and many other things. Luke finally decided to buy the British Rose Shower Gel as he liked the scent or not and I thought that the shower gel would be a good base to work from as if you like the scent when the product lathers up then he can buy more of the range but if he doesn't then he can give it to someone who does like the range and the shower gels are pretty cheap at TBS.

I went up to purchase it and was handed two goodie boxes at the same time which includes some great things including the Hand Cream from the new British Rose range which I am using at the minute to keep my hands feeling and smelling divine! We said our goodbyes and off we went home!

Have you checked out any of the British Rose range? If so then let me know in the comments section below! Did you love it or loathe it?

Thanks to Tom, Laura-Beth, Anisa and the rest of the terrific team at The Body Shop Leeds Briggate store for inviting me and for putting on an excellent event! I would also like to thank them dearly for the gorgeous goodie box! I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post and I hope to see you next time for another post!

If you want to check out any of the products that have been mentioned within this post then go and check out The Body Shop!

Meow!
Jamie x

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