Wednesday 30 March 2016

Davidoff Cool Water Tender Sea Rose - Review Davidoff Cool Water Tender Sea Rose - Review




Hello

I hope you had an amazing Easter Weekend! With soaring sunshine and passing clouds, weather has been a delight this side of the world. Easter egg hunts and trips to the mall has kept the boys busy. Nevan seems to be growing into a young charmer, with sly smiles and coaxing looks, he has found his way with the ladies ;)


As for today's post,I would like to bring you my new found love, Tender Sea Rose Eau de Toilette for women by Davidoff.  It was an impulsive buy at the duty shop during one of my travels and I have been addicted to this amazing perfume. Formulated by Nathalie Lorson, it is said to be an extension of the classic Cool water fragrance for women.





With  sensual notes its delightful and not overly sweet smelling. It is a mix of grapefruit, jasmine and rose and  musk imparting the sensuality. I tend to shy away from Jasmine and rose notes when it comes to my perfume and I feel the jasmine and rosy notes are well concealed behind the top note of grape fruit  and base note of musk,this balances out the overall fragrance. I picked up a 30ml bottle as I had my fair share or apprehension about this, but with more than satisfactory results, I totally see myself going back to a bigger a bottle!

The Tender Sea Rose Eau de Toilette comes in 30ml, 50ml and 100ml sized bottles; you can pick it up from your local Superdrug store or buy it online from amazon!



Staying true to Davidoff style, Tender rose comes in a transparent flask shaped bottle in lovely pink packaging and the perfume itself has a beautiful pale pink shade. The 30ml bottle is quite handy and perfectly sized for the handbag!

I tend to apply my perfume on sides of the neck, folds of hands and wrist and surprisingly it lasted a good 7-8 hours.

For all the ardent jasmine detesters out there, I would say –try this perfume and you might be surprised by the results!
WE would love to hear all about your ‘go-to’  fragrance! Are you the daring one or are you more of the stringent ‘one perfume all my life’ sort of person!

Until Next time!
Take care!









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Friday 25 March 2016

Arctic Rolls for the Celebratory Easter Banquet!! Arctic Rolls for the Celebratory Easter Banquet!!


With Easter just around the corner –we would like to bring you this fantastic dessert recipe!


The Arctic Roll is just the perfect way to end your Easter Banquet! I am using a  Jamie Oliver recipe I saw  on telly a few months back and made a mental note of giving it a go! These rolls are quite similar to ‘Swiss Rolls’ (aka Jam Rolls) and I used to hate it whilst growing up and over the years just grew to love these rolls like crazy!

The Recipe is hassle free and with easily available ingredients and very little prep time –It might be one of my favorite dessert recipes till date!





Ingredients:
3 Large eggs
100gms Golden Caster Sugar
75gm Plain Flour
1 table spoon of cocoa
Butter to grease
1 tub of Vanilla Ice cream
1 tub of Chocolate Ice cream
Strawberries
Mint


Method:

Pre Heat the oven at 180 degrees and Ready Steady Lets get into action!!

Move the Ice cream tubs from freezer to fridge, so that they soften by the time you use it.

Sieve the flour and set aside. For the sponge, break the eggs into a bowl and whisk away, Blend in the sugar. Once the eggs are nice and frothy blend in the flour, by adding little amounts at a time.

We will need a flat baking tray for this dish. Grease the tray with some butter and line it with some grease-proof paper. Make sure there isn’t any crease and apply another layer of butter on top.

Now carefully ladle half the batter into the tray, to the other half blend in the cocoa and mix up.
Add the cocoa batter to the tray and you can create a marble affect by making swirls with the end of a spoon.


Common sense eluded me when I first tried this recipe (lol) But please Make sure to tap the tray so that the batter is nice and uniformly spread and you have a sponge with even thickness when it comes out of the oven.

Place the tray into the oven and its going to take approximately 15 mins to bake. You can test by placing a fork into the cake and if it comes out all clean –we are good!

Whilst the sponge is in the oven, Set aside another piece greasing paper and lie with butter, make sure to leave some extra length on either side of the paper so that you can roll the sponge easily. Add a few spoons of caster sugar across the paper. The sugar will form a nice layer outside the sponge.

Once the cake is done baking, you need to flip the cake onto the buttered greaseproof paper that was set side. This has to be done nice and fast –so that we do not tear the sponge. Once flipped on to the Paper-Carefully peel away the grease paper from the top of the sponge( the one that was used to line the baking tin).

Now roll the sponge allowing the paper to guide you and leave it to cool for a good 20 mins.

Once its cooled, Get the ice cream tubs ready.  Slowly open up the sponge roll and spoon out vanilla and chocolate ice cream onto the center of the cake. We need to leave some room on either sides of the cake as we will be bringing in the ends together to join up the roll , rather that rolling up the cake-ice cream mix. 







I would recommend moving a bit fast at this stage, as you are working with ice cream that is going to melt away quick.

Once the cake is rolled up, leave it in the freezer for a good 3 hours to freeze. And when it’s serving time, cut away the ends of the roll and it can be discarded. The arctic roll slices can be served with some freshly chopped fruits, I have used strawberries-but raspberries can also go beautifully well!


We would love to hear about your Easter family traditions! 

Do you have a go to dessert recipe!



We wish you a happy Easter and a good long weekend with loads of rest!

Until Next time
Take care!

















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Wednesday 23 March 2016

For the love of spring colors, Flared Jeans and rickety white bridges For the love of spring colors, Flared Jeans and rickety white bridges




Spring is (almost) here they say, with wall-to-wall sunshine predictions day in and out and much forgiving temperatures at night-it surely feels like  the darkest of days is now over!!






Celebrating bursting buds, blooms and homecoming birds this season –I had to indulge in a spring-inspired jumper! Between the compelling bright yellow and flamboyant flouncy sleeves-my faint heart just could not resist the temptation, I gave in, and it has been one of my proudest buys this season! The lovely marl knit comes in two refreshing colours , a happy pink and a lemony yellow, perfect for your spring wardrobe. Mine is from H&M and  I am loving this one from Free People.




An  important life lesson after years of obsession with my wardrobe- I have picked up is You never throw your Old Jeans! Be it torn,ripped,faded from 'almost living in those  day after day'-Ladies –Do not(ever) bid farewell  to that good old pair of jeans-You never know when it’s going to be in Vogue!

ta Dah- Here’s my all time favorite Levis Boot cut Diva jeans making a comeback! Almost 6 years now ,It fits like a charm and I couldn’t have been happier (WOOT WOOT) . 

You know that feeling when you  have an emotional attachment to a piece of clothing in your wardrobe-it can be the odd scarf the bestie  gave or the  embarrassing stripes that was so comfortable that you wore it literally “everywhere”. And Like a picture, when you unexpectedly dig out this forgotten piece of garment, it floods you with a world of memories and feelings that’s woven deep into it! As for my diva jeans , I still remember the  time I first  tried it  on,with much eager,fascinated by the lovely silver tab and charmed by the perfect shade of blue.

 My sister had got them for me (there is no denying the perks of  having an older earning sibling;) )and it felt so damn amazing - like I was on top of the world( lol) .Today I am super  grateful to her not just for buying me the most awesome  jeans ever but also for giving me this amazing memory that's going to last well beyond the lifetime of my diva jeans!

Now Back to the outfit details ;) 
Leather belts with western detail is making a comeback this season, I got mine from Top shop. Loving the double buckled ones like this one –it can totally jazz up the blue jean-white shirt look! This cognac colored one from Vero Moda is worth checking out!






Saddle Bag from Top Shop and the statement necklace from forever21 are my current favorites and have been on a repeat mode ever since I got them!



Loving this from mango and the best part is its on sale at the moment!(HURRY HURRY)




Whats your favorite  buy this season. If you were to pick one favorite wardrobe piece what will it be! Do you have any particular  garments in your wardrobe that are really close to your heart! We would love to hear your stories!

Until Next time!

Take care!


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Saturday 19 March 2016

MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour Review MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour Review



Hey Hey Hey :) 

Hope things are awesome that side of the world! I have been a bit absent from this space, it’s been duly noted and rest assured I am back with a bang!

It was one of the ‘down in the dumps’ week, with things not going the right way -but I am glad to have bounced back!

The boys are doing well, from beginning to walk, little Nevan has graduated to becoming a little gangster of mine; It is a thing of delight to watch him chase his big brother around the house!


As for today’s post, I am supper psyched about my latest buy –the recently launched MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lip Colour!  



Ladies, I tell you – MAC has taken Matte to a completely new level with this product! I was so blown away  by these when I tried them at the store that I came back with 5 as a safe measure, just in case they  got all sold out!(lol)




The range comprises of 15 shades in total. Its priced at 20$ for 5 ml / 0.17 US fl oz.

The ones I picked up are:
To Matte with Love--a bright raspberry
Dance with Me- deep cranberry red
Rich and Restless-- mid tone pink (Almost salmon pink)
Back in Vogue-- a peachy nude

Lady be good--mid tone nude




They come in a very cute lip-gloss tube, the caps replicating the MAC lipstick caps. The applicator is petal shaped and has small pockets on either side to pick up enough product. The wide design of the applicator helps you to apply the product nice and smoothly and gives you good coverage as well!



To Matte with Love,Dance with Me,Rich and Restless,Back in Vogue, Lady be Good


As for the formula, they have a slightly viscous consistency and depending on the shade, they can be opaque or slightly patchy. The pigmentation is quite impressive. I love the way they apply, but it can make your lips feel a tad bit dry , I wasn’t overly bothered by that. One coat of this and you are good to go, I applied an extra layer for a long lasting finish. The only challenge I had was that I found it difficult to smoothen out the edges with the second layer, it might be because they tend to dry out real fast.

I got a good 9 hours with this, yes; you heard it right- 9 HOURS. I wore it on my birthday outing which included much coffee drinking and heavy hogging! The lippie stayed put pretty much the whole day with very little transferring and fading! 


These are available online and in stores.


Here is a pic from my birthday, I mixed To matte with love and Rich n Restless (Kindly pardon the picture clarity as it was taken on my phone)




As for my final verdict-MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lip Colour is yet another epic product from MAC and you should try it for sure!

We would love to hear about your favourite Matte lippies. Do you have any recent Matte(Or MAC)  obsessions.

Until Next time!

Take care!

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Sunday 6 March 2016

February Favorites from MakeupSOS!! February Favorites from MakeupSOS!!



Hi There :) I hope you are doing well!

With Ian joining school in April, my little man is enjoying his break from pre-school! Needless to say, ‘tantrum’ is the word all day every day!


OH and Nevan turned one, Time surely flies and he definitely seems to be having a ball with his brother! He has begun to walk; it is adorable to see him going about one tiny step at a time, which means he is all over the place! There isn’t any nook or  cranny left to be explored in the house-He has been there seen it!(lol)

As for today’s post, I am excited to announce ‘My Monthly Fav’s series’. I will be featuring my cool finds and things I have been obsessing about, from amazing skin care finds to places I love and ‘wow’ worthy food finds!

So here goes…

Carte Noire classic Velvety and Rich


I love coffee and I am quite brave when it comes to trying out new brands! I love it when I discover an instant one and
Carte Noire classic velvety and rich, absolutely caught my wildest coffee fantasies and gives me that required coffee buzz every morning!

A few spoons of this coffee magic, some milk and vigorous swishing action and Walla- you have  homemade coffee that’s almost comparable to your Starbucks cappuccino.







Artisan Tofurky


I love sausages- but over the last few months, I have been cutting down my intake considerably! I spotted Artisan Tofurky during my grocery-shopping grind and thought of giving it a go.In spite of not being much of a Tofu lover, I was blown away by this amazing product! Its meat free,Non GMO and comes in 3 exciting flavors-Cajun,Apple,Spinach and Pesto. The spinach and pesto one is an absolute delight and has become a regular on my weekly meal plan! They have a range of salami as well, will be trying that next for sure!





Garnier Micellar Cleansing water




I have always been a bioderma girl when it came to cleansing water and when it got over I was looking for a much needed change and went for the Garnier Micellar one.  




I must say I have been happy with the results. With lesser ingredients than bioderma,it  removes makeup with much ease and for the price I totally recommend this product-It’s definitely worth trying!




Jo Malone London Peony suede and Blush perfume



I am late to the Jo Malone party. This one needs no introduction. It was my Christmas gift from my hubby.  I have been using it on a regular basis and have been addicted to it!




Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons palette





I can’t get over this palette from Too Faced , you can read my full review here.It was an obvious choice for my monthly fav’s.

MAC retro Matte Liquid lipstick



I adore liquid lipsticks and I was excited (no surprises there  hehe) when MAC announced their liquid lipstick range! AMAZINGG is the word for these beauties! It ticks all the right lipstick check boxes! Long-lasting and very little fading. I promise to bring you a detailed write up soon-stay tuned for that!


I hope you liked my picks! We would love to hear about your current favorites!! Do you have a go-to coffee Brand?  Have you tried the Retro lippies from MAC?

Until Next time! Take care!

Love,

Merin 

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