The Quintessential Fabric must haves!

Hi all today's post is a break from beauty to look at these beautiful scarves from Thequintessential.
If you follow me on twitter you will have seen me looking very cosy wearing the 'breeze scarf' a scarf in  pale yellow with white print. This scarf is absolutely perfect for this mild Autumn/ Winter we have been having.
The Quintessential is a creative design led company that started in 1997 at a craft market in Cambridge,after securing funding and travelling India for inspiration and searching for fabrics they then moved on to trade shows in 2001 and are now proud to be in their own words 'suppliers of all things fabric!'
They are really passionate about what they create and i think their products have a timelessness due to the fact that they 'nod to the trends, without being controlled by them'
They are a wholesale company so If you are interested in becoming a stockist you should take a peek at their website http://www.thequintessential.co.uk/

The scarf that I got to review is so pretty and delicate.It is cosy enough to wear for mild Autumn/Winter like we have been having and light enough to be worn in Spring /Summer. It is big enough that it can be used as a shawl or wrap which I think would be just beautiful teamed with a black dress for a special event or as the perfect cover up for chilly summer evenings. These would most definitely fly out the door of any shop they are stocked in they are amazing quality at such a great price point.
This RRP of this scarf is £19.50.

For now I have been wearing It classic scarf style wrapping up my neck. I have gotten so many compliments about how pretty the scarf is and you can just tell the great quality of It, Its light but not flimsy. The range of different fabrics they have for their scarves is really extraordinary they certainly have something for every occassion. I have my eyes firmly on the silk Dove blue printed scarf and as soon as It is back in stock I will make it mine, Its such a pretty vintage colour and design. RRP £15

I also want to add a little note about their cosmetic bags RRP £11.25 and notebooks RRP £18.75 as they are just so fabulous looking I couldnt leave them out. Im a sucker for makeup (obviously!) and stationary so these definitely appealed to me and are firmly planted on my wishlist.
As I have said earlier the Quintessential is a wholesale company but If you would like to purchase some of their products direct as a customer you can phone them on 01223525717 or email :info@thequintessential.co.uk

Have you tried anything from the Quintessential? Let me know in the comments. x

Christmas Party ready with Naked 3

Hi Everyone delighted to welcome you to this really exciting collaboration with House of Fraser and Urban Decay. I will be creating a really quick Christmas party make up look with the *Naked 3 palette. Let me start off by saying that I am not a makeup artist and don't claim to be amazing at applying makeup but I do love it very much and so what I am aiming to do here is create a look that is simple and quick but effective and pretty.

The whole look is created using only the shadows and brush from NAKED 3 along with some liquid eyeliner and mascara. 

The first step was to prime eyes with urban decay eyeshadow primer potion which comes with the NAKED 3 palette, I used original for this look. 

I then covered my whole lid as far as browbone in shade strange. 

Next step was to create a cut crease type look by using shade nooner you can also place this shadow higher on the eye than I have done to create a more dramatic look. 

I then filled in my eyelid with shade buzz a lovely deep rose shade with a little sparkle. 

Next up I lightly blended all of the shadow using shade dust so I could add a little Christmas sparkle to the look. 

I then finished off the look with liquid eyeliner, some mascara and urban decay lipstick in shade anarchy. 

The best thing about this look is how versatile it is you can switch any of the shades for others e.g if you want to create a more dramatic and defined look you can use blackheart in the crease and limit on the lid blended over with dust for sparkle. 

The Urban Decay NAKED palettes are available from House of Fraser stores and online at www.houseoffraser.co.uk priced at £37. 

What are your favorite shades from NAKED 3? 

*Collaborative Feature

Gluten free mug brownies

Hi everyone! So not sure if I have mentioned it before but my husband is a coeliac so I always have my eyes peeled for everything gluten free, so when I was given the chance to sample some mug brownies I jumped at the chance and asked for the gluten free version! 

Gluten free desserts well at least the ones I make ( with the exception of my mince pies which I have perfected) never taste or look good and are certainly never simple and quick and so I was really intrigued to see how I would get in with these. 

The mug brownies are packaged really stylishly and on trend in a plain cardboard box. The instructions on the back are really simple to follow and most important the dietary info is right there on the front of the pack. 

The pack contains enough mix for 4 mug brownies. 

You first measure margerine into a mug heat it in microwave until soft then add the brownie mix and some water stir until looks like a kind of paste

 and then cook in the microwave and you have brownies! 

This was so simple I couldn't believe that it was actually ready! It smelled good but I was a bit nervous to taste, I need not have been these mug brownies are absolutely amazing the sponge in the brownie was so soft and moist and it kept some of that liquid melty centre that characterises the perfect brownie. Needless to say these brownies were devoured really quickly and hit the after dinner spot perfectly. 

Mug brownies have completely surpassed all of my expectations and they will definitely become a cupboard staple in my house, they do give you a serving suggestion of adding I've cream with this I didn't but take their suggestion I've cream would be amazing paired with these brownies. 

Along with these gluten & milk free brownies you can also get chocolate, chocolate orange ( I really want to give this one a go) and espresso flavour. They retail at £4.95 and are available from www.bakedin.co.uk

These would be a perfect way to make sure you have something yummy for all your callers over christmas or even better as a great fun alternative to a box of biscuits or chocolates as a stocking filler. 

Have you tried any of the bakedin mug brownies yet, let me know in the comments x 

Christmas at The Body Shop

When I think of Christmas at the Body Shop I remember my first purchase from the Body Shop when I was little a Christmas gift I had saved up to buy, the most amazing red foam/felt pencil case ( it was probably for makeup brushes!) with a yellow tiger stuck to the end, I also really vividly remember that It supported the World Wildlife Federation.

The Body Shop are still continuing with the tradition of contributing to charity. This year their chosen charity is War Child a charity which supports education for children of war. For every Christmas gift purchased this year no matter how small a donation will be made to this charity. This spurred me to make my first purchase many years ago and definitely still sways me now.
The Body Shop products are always great quality with amazing smells and this years offerings are no different. I have trialed products with the smells of Vanilla, Cranberry and Glazed Apple and can 100% guarantee that each one of them smells divine!

I will start with the Schoolbook of Wishes RRP €23 this was created in honor of their children in education charity war child. There are three books Peace (glazed apple) Love (frosted cranberry) and Joy(vanilla).

Each gift set contains a 50ml of body butter, 60ml shower gel, 20ml lip balm and a pretty heart shaped soap. What I thought was a lovely touch was the different quotes on the inside cover each relating to the specific theme of the book e.g. for joy I got a quote from Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol 'there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour' Its this attention to detail that makes these gifts extra special. All of the products in here are great quality and of course smell divine. They are also really good sizes for such a reasonable price. My absolute favorite from the books has to be the frosted cranberry lip balm so yummy( dont eat this please!) and Christmassy. This is the perfect gift for any lady in your life I know I would be very happy waking up to this Christmas morning.

Next up Ive got some gorgeous Glazed apple goodies!
The smell of these beauties is just out of this world it reminds me of the smell of apple drops but with a sort of Christmas twist.
These body butter €18.95, bath sprinkles €10.95 and soap €3.95 are all sold separately but I think they make a really good gift when combined together especially if you add in one of the really cute winter animal bath sponges €3.95, the penguin in the top picture is my favorite.
The body butter is really thick and creamy so luxurious and is absolutely perfect for putting on just before bed after a bath using the sprinkles......( im transporting myself mentally to such a relaxing pamper night! ) the smell is a little subtler on the skin than when you smell it out of the tub, It does manage to be just the right amount of scent neither over or under powered.

The Body Shop also have a glazed apple room spray which I will definitely be buying as I cant imagine anything nicer than my home smelling like this!

*I recieved these from the Body Shop as PR samples.
Have you got any Body Shop goodies on your Christmas list? Let me know in the comments.

HELLO Dental Treats

A few weeks ago I won a goody bag of Hello Treats. I was really excited to get this prize as I had just recently missed the launch of hello in Ireland.
Hello is a range of dental products from the USA that is just making its way into the Irish and UK  market.
In my goody bag I received 3 breath sprays and one mouthwash.

The flavours in the range are really fun the breath sprays I got are pink grapefruit mint, (pink) supermint (blue) and mojito mint (green).
All of the breath sprays have no artificial sweeteners, alcohol or dyes. They retail at €4.75
They have very handy packaging small enough to fit in your handbag or even pocket and you can twist the pack so the sprayer is covered so it wont gather any dirt from the bottom of your bag!
In fact the company have won awards for their packaging.

The Mouthwash that I got was the mojito mint flavour but it does come in supermint and pink grapefruit mint too. The mouthwash rrp is €7.50. The packaging is unusual for a mouthwash but makes it a little fun. I really love the fact that the mouthwash is clear its so unusual to see this in a mouthwash. The mouthwash like the sprays is 'naturally friendly'. It makes your mouth feel really clean and tastes nearly too good I had to remind myself that I couldnt drink it!

All hello products are leaping bunny certified which means the individual ingredients along with the finished product are never tested on animals.
Hello also have a huge celebrity following including Kylie Jenner, Christina Milian, Krysten Ritter, Nick Lachey and Elijah Wood. 

Have you tried any hello products yet? Let me know in the comments.