Evening Meal Deal at Jamie's Italian

Last week, myself and Andy were invited down to Jamie's Italian, Liverpool, to review their new Evening Meal Deal. You may not know, but we have been going to various Jamie's Italian restaurants over the past three years a hell of a lot. It's our go to place to go, for birthdays, celebrations or a light lunch. We both have the loyalty card called the Gold Card and we know that every time we go it will be completely worth the money. We've been to the Liverpool, York and Newcastle branches and all have exceptional service and beautifully seasoned food, so when we were asked to come to review we headed straight to the website to look up what the menu had to offer.

Our host that seated us ensured we had a comfortable booth to sit in and was absolutely lovely. Our waitress then came over and explained everything in detail making sure we were looked after and it started the evening off on such a good note. I started with the Passionfruit Royale which was just as I imagined; fruity, easy to drink and topped with Jamie's Prosecco. It was that good that I had another straight after I'd finished it. Andy went for the Moretti beer that he has every time that he comes whilst we looked over the Evening Menu. It's available from 6pm Monday-Thursday and is £18.95 for three courses which in my opinion is a steal.

As we had a Gold Card, every month you get a free taster and this month's was the Italian Nachos which is fried ravioli filled with mozzarella, ricotta and bello lodi served with a spicy tomato sauce. We get this as a full starter every single time we visit as it's extraordinary. We usually split this with the Polenta Chips too as they're like comfort food to me.

For the starter Andy ordered the Cured Meat Plank which was a selection of meats including fennel salami, pistachio mortadella, prosciutto & schiacciata piccante with mini buffalo mozzarella, pecorino and chilli jam and a selection of olives and pickles. For the portion size I'd say this was fairly large for a starter so to be included in the Evening Meal Deal was pleasing.  I went for the Tomato and Ricotta Bruschetta which consisted of slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, whipped buffalo ricotta with basil and extra virgin olive oil. It tasted almost like a really healthy pizza which I'd be keen to try out at home too. I have one of Jamie's recipe books already and this starter has encouraged me to try more of his recipes out. It was clear that fresh ingredients were made and that's what made it really special.

Andy noticed that the steak was on the meal deal, which is £15.95 normally so if you chose this you're definitely getting your money's worth. He's had the steak before and really enjoyed so was happy to try it again. It's flash-grilled prime beef steak with a herby heirloom tomato salsa, rocket, aged parmesan and spiced fries. They recommended it served pink so this is what he went for, not that I can really put an opinion forward as I don't eat steak. I went for the Spicy Sausage Casarece Pasta which was a free-range pork and fennel sausage ragu with British Cobble Lane 'nduja served with breadcrumbs and shaved parmesan to your taste. It was an incredibly generous portion and whilst I ate what I could, I only managed about half. I wouldn't say it was particularly spicy for my standards but I enjoy spicy food so for someone not used to it, it might bring a little kick.

For dessert we opted to order two and split them as we normally both get the Chocolate Brownie from the usual menu. First we tried the Baked White Chocolate Cheesecake which was the tastiest cheesecake I've ever tried aside from those in The Cheesecake Factory in America. The ratio of biscuit to filling was perfect and the coulis that it was paired with was impeccable. The second dessert we tried was the Molten Chocolate Praline Pudding which was a warm chocolate lava cake filled with a praline centre served with vanilla ice cream and crushed praline on top. Again this was a course that tasted like it was made fresh and the praline centre was something else. It was intense and rich and I don't think I could have eaten a full one even if I tried. 
Jamie's Italian never let me down and in this case they exceeded my expectations. The Evening Meal Deal is amazing value for money with decent portion sizes and packed full of flavour. 

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Spring To Summer OOTD with Kurt Geiger

Over the past month we've had super sunny weather to some bad floods here in the UK. We're in the period between Spring and Summer and I thought I'd create an OOTD for this type of weather. For during the day you can wear a cute summery dress - this one from Primark was an absolute steal at £5, paired with the most stunning platform shoes that steal the show. These are the Kurt Geiger Klaire Platforms in Nude (£120)* that really take this outfit to the next level. The shoes also come in Navy and both pairs can lift an outfit and add a touch of glamour. The sole is 90mm covered in supple suede and they are the main focus of any outfit. They can be worn with skinny jeans and a blouse for cocktails in town, or with a simple dress to give you that height and show off your legs.

Instead of adding sandals to your outfit, the Klaire Platforms add a few inches onto your height and gives you a huge boost in confidence. The height helps elongate the legs whilst the base of the shoe has been to ensure you're walking comfortably. The straps around the ankle help you keep your balance too and I felt at ease walking around in them. You can easily wear the platforms with your Spring or Summer wardrobes and you can buy them now, wear them now as well as in the summer months. The barely there style means that the opportunities to style them with are endless.

The touch of silver through the upper strapwork and buckle goes perfectly with the suede platform and isn't too 'in your face' and the leather lining is perfect when you're out in the sunshine. When ordering from the New In section over on the Kurt Geiger website, you're lucky enough to receive next day delivery when ordering before 8pm, knowing that your shoes will be delivered safely in their KG boxes. I couldn't have asked for a better pair of platforms and have already been scoping out some sandals on their website to buy during Summer as their items go perfectly with whatever you're wearing. I'm next going to pair the Klaire Platforms with culottes and a kimono style wrap top to glam up my outfit.

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Illamasqua Metamorph Range

Illamasqua is a brand that's new to me, so when the Metamorph range recently came out I was intrigued to try it out. The idea behind Metamorph is the celebration of the evolution of nature and its seasonal rejuvenation. Glowing, fresh skin and defined brows, embracing natural beauty through makeup. The collection aims to unite colour with technology within makeup essentials and I'll be reviewing three products from the collection. All the products from the Metamorph collection are available at Illamasqua Stores including the one in Liverpool's Metquarter and from Illamasqua.com.

The Brow Build (£18.50)* is essentially a brow gel that boosts brows and adds definition and depth. They come in four shades: Rise (Soft Blonde), Flow (Warm Brown), Thrive (Medium Brown) and Amplify (Deep Slate Grey). I opted for Rise just in case the other shades were too dark for me. Luckily it's darker than my Mac brow gel and blends in really well underneath my Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz. The wand is thicker than I was expecting but the product looks like its adding tiny fibers onto your brows helping them look fuller.

Masquara Gain (£20.00)* was created to bring volume and length to the lashes whilst defining the individual lashes at the same time. Another intriguing factor was that the Masquara aims to tint the lashes progressively due to the Walnut extract that acts as a natural dye for the lashes. The colour is jet black and you're supposed to see 'improved colour intensity' after 2 weeks, even when the lashes are bare. My lashes are naturally blonde and I did notice them gradually getting a bit darker but only to an ash brown shade. The brush is really thick which I love because you can get to the root and curl the lashes upwards for a more feminine look. The product didn't clump on my lashes nor did it break off after a long time wearing it. I've actually moved into my permanent mascara draw as it's just the mascara I've been looking for.

Finally, the Vital Palette (£34.00)* is a quad set of eyeshadows that all matte which instantly made me want to swatch it before I took photos. Illamasqua says they are highly pigmented that provide a high performance colour pay-off and I have to agree. Although my swatches aren't the best, as the shade Bubbles (Warm Peach) doesn't look particularly bright on my hand, with a primer beneath it you can see the pigmentation a lot better. I'm in love with the shades Envision (Warm Brown) and Trace (Cool Grey Brown) as they work so well with multiple eye looks. They blend seamlessly into the crease and look beautiful beneath the lower lashes too. For the outer-v, Drop (Deep Mid Brown) is a gorgeous chocolatey brown that works well with both cool and warm toned shades. 
As a quad the colours work really well together and you could really finish off the look by adding another product in the Metamorph collection: the Beyond Powders (£32.00) in either OMG (Champagne) or Epic (Warm Bronze). There are two nail varnishes in the collection called Nail Veil (£14.50) in Breathe (Pale Pink) and Bamboo (Pale Peach) which really suit the collection well, bringing out your natural beauty.

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Summer Holiday Essentials*

With summer upon us, I thought it would be a good time to put together a summer holiday essentials list to make packing that little bit easier. I've picked out some of my favourite items that would be great to take away with you to make your holiday perfect.
You can't go out in summer without a pair of sunglasses, and I found these Quay 'All My Love' glasses for £40. I first discovered Quay when I took an interest in Pretty Little Liars and noticed Shay Mitchell wearing them since I started following her on Snapchat and have wanted some ever since. They are quite different style to other brands which I like, and you may have noticed I'm easily swayed towards rose gold items. 
Even if I wasn't a blogger, I'd still want to take a camera away with me as you can capture some great views and moments of your holiday. There is so much choice when it comes to cameras nowadays and it can sometimes be hard to know where to start. I think for a holiday, I would prefer to have an all in one compact camera that you can throw in your bag when you go out for the day or head down to the beach. This one by Panasonic is the best travel camera I've seen and has some great features for its size. It packs a 1 inch sensor with 10x optical zoom, and can record up to 4k video, which makes it perfect for bloggers and vloggers to capture summer memories. It has a good range of shooting modes and comes with handy features such as WiFi which I know would be very handy. 
Holidays are always a good excuse to pick up some new clothing items and I've chosen a couple of my preferred choices. The Topshop Stripe Ruffle Body is a nice summery off the shoulder top that only costs £20 which isn't bad. I'm quite into the denim shorts this summer and love these Topshop Acid Wash Dip Dyed Mom Shorts (£30) which would go well with the body. I like the two tone colour which does give them a nice bright feel. Last on the clothing list are the Miss KG Dream 3D Floral Flip Flops. I don't really own a pair of pretty sandals and I'm quite keen to add some flat ones to my shoe collection. The design is rather girly with the flower decoration, which is exactly what I want to take away with me on a summer holiday. I know you can get cheaper sandals than this, but for knowing you are getting the high quality that comes with the Kurt Geiger brand, I don't think £40 is too bad. 
The last few items are some that you can't forget to throw in the suitcase. Presuming you will be going somewhere with a beach or pool, a towel is an essential item to take. I do have quite an obsession with cute themed things, and this beach towel from John Lewis is right up my street. I love the watermelon pattern with a bright and summery colour to the towel which is perfect, and is only £15. I know this might not be an essential, however on the topic of cute items, I couldn't resist including this cup from New Look, and it's a steal at only £6.99. Just think about heading down to the beach or the sunbed by the pool and wanting a proper cup to keep your drink cool rather than one of the disposable cups you get from the bar. 
Something else to include to make sure you cant take all the important things out with you is a bag and thought this was a great fit for the summer look. It's £85 from River Island and I love the fringing and patterns on it, and there is still enough space to fit plenty of things in. Last item on essentials list is the cute little luggage tag from Skinny Dip and its only £6. It would be a little something to add to your bag so it makes it easier to find when collecting it. 


*This is a sponsored post with Panasonic

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Elemis Biotec Range Review

Having previously only really tried moderately priced skincare products, being able to review products from Elemis has been a godsend. Not because they're pricey but because I have heard wonderful things about Elemis as a brand and I am not someone who can drop a load of money at once on skincare that I've not used before. I tried these products out for just over four weeks and it's safe to say I'm happy with the results. This is the new Biotec range from Spa brand Elemis which claim to prevent your skin from looking dull and tired by boosting your skin's energy levels. They contain zinc and copper which are meant to increase mitochondria cells in the skin to give it more energy, as well as including anti-inflammitories and anti-oxidants to help clear your skin and reduce puffiness. This range does come to a total of £199.50, which does make you wonder whether it is worth it. I was certainly worried that I'd fall head over heels and not be able to replace the products.

BIOTEC Skin Energising Cleanser (£39.50)*

Even with using this as part of my skincare routine over the past few weeks, it still looks as though I've barely touched it so even though it's more expensive than other, it does last incredibly long. I always use an exfoliating glove or my Magnitone with the cleanser to make sure I get the full use of the cleanser. I tend to use this most days with my anti-acne cleanser being used in-between as I am prone to breakouts. From my experience, I wouldn't say it feels too different to other cleansers I've used before. When removing my makeup, I use micellar water as my first step, and then use cleanser afterwards, so I can't really comment on how way it remove makeup. Elemis say that this cleanser helps "reduce surface oils and impurities" from the skin which is supposed to help re-balance the skin. 

BIOTEC Skin Energising Day Cream (£75.00)*

I love the fact it has two sections and when you pump the product they come out together. As you can see from the photos, I have used this a LOT. The white side is hydrating face cream and the green side is a cooling serum which leaves my skin soft and nourished. It feels lightweight and go under makeup, but for me I do need a primer on top as I have oily-combination. I can't lie, I love the packaging that that you have to mix the two sides together before applying and you only need two pumps for your entire face.

BIOTEC Skin Energising Night Cream (£85.00)*

This is slightly thicker than the day cream and is my favourite product in the range. My skin is very sensitive to creams and I tend to have a love/hate relationship with them but my skin feels so incredibly nourished. I do have to cleanse my face in the morning as my face does produce more oil when using creams but it's worth it for the overall look and feel of my skin. I'm aware there's a hefty price tag attached and I will be totally lost when I've ran out of it. I don't even want to think about what I'm going to do when I've ran out as I've used more than half of the product now!
On the Elemis website you can pick up all three products for £179.50, saving you £20.00 overall which basically means you buy the cleanser for half the price too. If you're looking to try some Elemis products out I'd highly recommend them if you have dry or combination skin.

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Maybelline Brow Drama Pomade Crayons

Last month Maybelline kindly sent me the new Brow Drama Pomade Crayons (£5.99)* to try out. As you will know I have blonde hair and blonde brows so I have to fully draw on my eyebrows every day. I've tried tinting them but I'm never happy with the result. Depending on what makeup I'm wearing that day I do change the colour of my brows. The Pomade Crayons come in four colours: Blonde, Soft Brown, Deep Brown and Auburn. I don't have the Auburn shade here as it is way too warm for my brows, but I've tried all three shades so can report back on the finish. Maybelline know how important a well-formed arch is as your brows frame your face, so having a good product to hand is vital. The pigmented formula helps your fill in your brows easily as it has a creamy texture. It's a wax pomade and lasts all day with setting spray or a brow gel on top.

I prefer the Soft Brown shade as it isn't too warm to give you that awkward ginger tone to your brows when you're not looking for it. The Blonde shade is lovely when I'm wearing 'no makeup makeup' or just filling them in to go on errands. I've used the Dark Brown shade lightly but that defeats the point when the Soft Brown looks perfect. Having a thick handle means the product is easy to use and you fill in your brows so much quicker than using a thin pencil. I brush through my brows after applying it to even it out and I'm ready to go. If you wanted to use a brush to apply it, like you would with a lipstick in some scenarios it also works well.

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Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit Review

I honestly never thought I'd buy the new Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Gleam as I'm not normally one to drop $40 (£39 in the UK which is a conversion rip off as it should be £28ish but anyway) on a bunch of highlighters. Whilst browsing Sephora in Los Angeles and was picking up quite a lot of makeup, I saw the stall and thought I'd just swatch the shades. I do tend to be one of those people who will just swatch products out of interest with no intention of buying them, just the same as I feel clothes in shops to see if they're made out of nice material. My boyfriend finds it hilarious but I'm just curious!

Now I was not expecting what happened. I'd already picked up the ABH Contour Kit as I had heard wonderful things and was going to get it regardless of the swatches. I swatched them and had honestly never seen such pigmented shades before, especially in highlighters. In the pan you can see there is a fair bit of shimmer in them and I was worried it would come out a bit chunky but it's so just finely milled. The highlighters just glide on and they're so light that you can't feel them on the skin. I honestly don't know how I'd ever even hit pan on these as you can barely notice when you swatch it let alone use it every day.

There are four shades in the palette, Hard Candy, Starburst, Mimosa and Crushed Pearl. Hard Candy is described as a Golden peach with a pink-pearl shimmer, Starburst is an iridescent pink with cooler undertones, Mimosa is a metallic peach with gold undertones and Crushed Pearl is a pearlescent pink with a frost finish. Crushed Pearl is the perfect shade for a light and bright highlight, and I use the darker shades to contour with. You can easily incorporate the shades into your eyeshadow looks too. Anastasia Beverly Hills also recommends that you should use it with a damp brush for a more intense glow which I am yet to try out.

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Tartelette In Bloom Palette Review

You may have seen this beautiful palette pop up on my Instagram feed or my American Makeup Haul but in case you haven't, I finally have the Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Amazonian Clay palette $45 (£35 on QVC) which beauty lovers around the world have gone crazy for. Not only does it have the most beautiful packaging but the product inside of high quality too. I have to say it was a good 50% for the eyeshadows and 50% because I wanted the pretty packaging that I bought this from Sephora. I'm not even sorry. There are twelve shades including in the palette, featuring nine matte shades and three luster shades.

The only issue I have with this palette is that the shade 'funny girl' is upside down. I know that's a simple producing error and it will only be with my palette but once I've used the shade more which I have, a lot, since taking these photos you won't even be able to tell. With most palettes, the darker the shade, the more pigmented the eyeshadow is. As you can see from the swatches below, you can barely see Charmer on my arm but on the eye it is slightly more pigmented, and I would advise to apply this shade with your finger as a base colour. Shades like Leader, Activist, Smokeshow and Rebel are incredibly pigmented and really easy to blend out. Rebel is my favourite shade at the moment to create a warm toned outer-v or cut crease look as it's a matte shade. Adding a bit of Firecracker underneath the bottom eyelashes really brings my blue eyes out too.

I feel like this palette is perfect for creating quite a few looks with and would look amazing during special occasions like proms and graduation balls. Funny Girl is just so beautiful and could be used as a highlighter too which makes me happier as I love multi-use products. Although before this I'd never tried anything from Tarte before, I'm optimistic for their other powder products including their vast range of blushers which remind me of the Too Faced Love Flush blushers which I've also reviewed. They last all day providing I use an eyelid primer as I have oily lids. I'm so tempted to look into Tarte's other products as this is my new favourite palette at the moment.

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Too Faced Love Flush

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think 7 year old Polly-Pocket obsessed Laura would be obsessed with this product. At 22 I'm equally as blown away by the Too Faced Love Flush Long-Lasting Blush (£22) in How Deep Is Your Love? From the packaging to the formula of this blusher, I give it a million marks. Too Faced brought out this blusher that is long-wearing, "fade-proof" and smudge-proof that aims to last for 16 hours. I swatched this in Sephora and I fell in love in an instant.

My usual blushers are Nars Orgasm, Benefit Hervana and a few from various palettes so it was nice to buy a new one after not switching up my blusher since November. The formula is buttery and is incredibly easy to blend onto the skin. I use a Real Techniques Stippling Brush to apply my blusher so it's not too bold and I've not had a single problem with it so far. Although the aim is for a bold colour payoff, I tend to have my blusher looking a little more natural as I am fair skinned and I don't want to look like my mistakes aged 14 with block illuminated blusher. I've used the blusher about twenty times now and it doesn't even look like I've used the blusher much.

Each packaging of the six blushers in the range all match the blusher inside which I take my hat off to. The attention to detail is there for all to see, from the adorable heart shape on the outside to the embossed Too Faced logo paired with bunnies and flowers on the inside. The only issue I have with the packaging is that when I'm wearing false nails it's a little tricky to get into, but I can manage it. I'd buy this again in the rest of the colours and has overtaken Nars Orgasm as my favourite blusher. The colour goes better with my skin tone and the matte finish means it's wearable everyday. The colour I'd pick up next would have to be I Will Always Love You as it's more of a peachy pink than this coral pink blush. Have you seen my other Too Faced posts?

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Tom Ford Ultra-Rich Lip Color Mini Review

I've not long picked up Tom Ford's Ultra-Rich Lip Color in Les Mepris which was a beauty buy from Sephora near Rodeo Drive which you may have seen featured in my Spring & Summer lipstick post. It's so beautiful and did break the bank a little at £39 but it was totally worth it. I was in Sephora with full intentions on doing a huge splurge and boy did I spend a lot. All for good cause, as I saved and saved for so long to be able to throw away money like it was no tomorrow whilst I was in LA. I've always wanted a Tom Ford lipstick as they're so glamorous, but as a 22 year old graduate it wasn't something I was expecting to get my hands on for quite a few years. I had completely forgotten about Tom Ford being stocked in Sephora until I walked past a stand in the final shop I went in and was so excited that I may have done a little dance.
I had no idea what colour to choose from and I didn't even know what the lipstick would be like but I knew I wanted one. There were only around 5 lipsticks to choose from as they were on an end of aisle stand but the one featured was Les Mepris which is French for Contempt, and the colour was just so beautiful. I envisaged myself in the summer with my long blonde hair curled, a tan on my skin and the most shimmery highlighter on, wearing this lipstick. When it comes to lip colours I tend to have three variations: nudes, dark vampy colours and really bright colours that exclude Barbie pink. If you're blonde like me there's a good chance you haven't worn a hot pink lipstick since you were 14 as you can't stand being called Barbie. This colour however, is a bright pink with more coral undertones which currently match my nails.
The packaging is simple and looks expensive. It's heavier than a normal lipstick and has the TF embossed into the lipstick which I've already started to wear away. The shape of the bullet means you can really get into the corners and bow of your lips without getting it everywhere or massively overdrawing them and it makes a change having not having a circular bullet too. Would I buy another one? Yes. But it would have to be the perfect bold red shade but aside from that I'm pretty happy with my extensive Mac Lipstick Collection until I win the lottery.

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Too Faced Hangover Primer Review

  I recently picked up the new Too Faced Hangover Primer in a Sephora in Los Angeles and it was the first thing from the Too Faced stand that I saw. I had heard so many good reviews about it and considering I've only really picked up drugstore primers I definitely wanted to try some from my newly discovered favourite brand. I know Too Faced has been around in the UK for a short while now and I've got both of the Chocolate Bar and Chocolate Bon Bons palettes I'd never tried anything else from the brand. The Too Faced Hangover Primer is £24 ($32) and is described as a replenishing face primer that hydrates, smoothes and brightens the skin for a dewy effect, giving off a healthy looking skin finish. The primer is infused with coconut water, probiotics and 'skin revivers' that when combined boost radiance, promote elasticity and to help hydrate your skin. At the same time, it aims to lock down your foundation, promoting a flawless finish and longer lasting makeup.
First off I can't comment for the dewy skin look as for someone with oily/combination skin the idea of dewy looking skin petrifies me as to me it just looks like I have excess oil. I've been using my trust Maybelline 24hr Stay face powder which is a tad cakey, so if I come across a lighter powder I might be able to provide an update for whether it looks dewy. From the name itself, the product aims to show that your skin looks like it's had a good nights rest and staying hydrated and I have to say I can tell that my skin looks more awake and bright. I was dubious as to whether it would brighten my skin and I don't know whether it's because the product is white that it helped or not.
Some reviews have said they have seen the product cause break outs but I don't tend to wear makeup every single day so I can't comment from an everyday perspective. I'm naturally prone to break outs due to excess oil my skin produces and from what I've used so far (about ten times) I've not seen my skin any worse that it normally is so I would naturally rule out this as a cause. It definitely depends on your skin but I'd see if you can get a sample first before buying it if you were concerned.
I definitely think it makes my makeup last all day but I do have to add an extra pit of powder after having it on for 5+ hours due to the extra moisture it gives me skin. I wouldn't say my pores were covered more than using any other primer but my skin does feel better after using it. I think in the upcoming months I'll test it on a night out and see how it lasts! The last feature I love about the Too Faced Hangover Primer is that when you take the lid off it has a handy pump so you don't squeeze out too much product, making that £24 go a long way. Anything with a pump pleases me as I really hate wasting makeup as I don't have hundreds of pounds to repurchase products after I've wasted half of them. Overall I really enjoy using this primer and I'm now intrigued to try out their eye primer too.

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