Fashion Meets Music event, Camden Town, London

January 6, 2017January 6, 2017Leave a comment

On Thursday 10th of November 2016, I attended a great event for some interesting and exciting emerging designers organised by Fashion Meets Music

The event started at 6p.m. and all attendees had an opportunity to mingle and meet the designers while having a bite to eat and some wine. We also had a chance to view some creative brands that were being showcased during the evening.

There were also a couple of live performances from 2 singers including Matthew CS Hughes.

If you would like to discover some of the brands that were showcased during the evening then you need to visit Fashion Meets Music Pop Up shop located in Camden in London.

The address is:

Unit 57

Camden Market, [London Gate Entrance] Chalk Farm Road,

NW1 8AH London

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Fesive menu at Ember London

December 11, 2016December 11, 2016Leave a comment

This week I would like to tell you about the festive winter tasting menu you should try at EMBER London.

I visited Ember London just before I left for my honeymoon. It is a new hidden bar, dining and late night destination.

Location and name:

Ember London is located in Monument on Pudding Lane where the Great Fire of London started in 1666. The venue’s name references this event and 2016, the year Ember opened, marks the 350^th anniversary of the fire.

Venue:

At first glance, Ember London looks like many of the small-bites eateries however if you go inside you’ll discover that it offers five unique spaces. The Main Bar is designed for dining and is complete with a DJ booth for after-hours partying in the lead up to the weekend. The Cellar Bar offers a more relaxed experience for small-group gatherings along with its own private room The Vault, which provides guests with a secluded self- service bar, for those that do not want to be disturbed. The main bar includes two further private rooms, each with their own independent identity and unique design features. The Snug is tucked away in the furthest, quietest corner of Ember and has a mysterious feel with dark mirrors covering the walls and ceiling The Retreat is a relaxing and personal space that works well for wine, whisky and sake tastings.

Festive menu:

Ember London serves an innovative collection of Asian-influenced contemporary dishes created by Executive Chef Jonathan Villar. Ember London currently have 2 festive menus-3 courses for £30 or 6 courses menu for £60. I decided to try their 6 course festive menu.

The first dish I had was Amuse bouche-a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre.

For second dish I had Inari pocket tempura.

For third course I chose to have a Thai rice taco with some minced prawns, tamarind, chilli, crushed peanuts, kaffir lime & coriander, sweet chilli aioli.

Next I decided to have some Duke of Berkshire pork adobo taro rosti with crispy shallots Shiraz.

All 4 small plates dishes were delicious and presented beautifully. I could even describe them as rather Instagram-friendly.

For my dessert I had some mouth-watering orange blossom panna cotta.

The meal ended with a selection of petit fours.

Ember London has a great cocktail menu so I also ordered a Matcha 3 cocktail which was a perfect combination of herbal and fruity flavours. It served one important purpose-it washed any residual heat from the spices in my mouth instantly.

Overall:

Ember London is a pleasant venue that offers some great food at the reasonable prices. If you are looking for a new place to catch-up with friends or colleagues then it is a no-brainer choice for an easy meal and cocktails. I will definitely be returning there soon!

Opening hours:

Open weekdays Monday to Wednesday 11.00 am to 12.00am and Thursday to Friday 11.00 to 02.00.

Website:

www.ember.london

Address:

1a Pudding Lane
London EC3R 8AB

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Tried and tested: KeraStraight Intense Boost Protein 30 Day Conditioning Treatment

December 9, 2016December 10, 2016Leave a comment

As you probably remember, I recently tried a few haircare products from the KeraStraight Volume Enhance range. I liked them so much that I decided to try a signature KeraStraight Intense Boost Protein 30 Day Conditioning Treatment at Trevor Sorbie salon in Covent Garden in London.

Do you struggle with hair that is:

Dry / Damaged?
Curly / Wavy / Frizzy?
Too Thick / Takes Too Long?
or all of the above?

If your answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, than you should definitely give this express treatment a go. KeraStraight Intense Boost Protein Treatment contains the most advanced proteins and lightweight moisture encapsulation on the market today to repair and rehydrate hair from the inside out.

Treatment:

My KeraStraight treatment took only around 35 minutes. My hairdresser started it with washing my hair and then he applied KeraStraight Protein mask and dried my hair as the mask is heat activated. Once my hair was dried he rinsed off the mask and blow-dried my hair.

Result:

I loved the results of my KeraStraight Intense Boost Protein Treatment. My hair feels stronger, healthier and is definitely more manageable now. KeraStraight treatment is a perfect solution for everyone who finds their hair hard to manage and wants to give their hair some intensive repair and boost. I would definitely want to try more KeraStraight treatments soon!

You can see the results of my treatment on the picture below:

Price:

Price of this treatment depends on your hair length, area etc. You can find a KeraStraight Salon near you by clicking the link listed below:

https://www.kerastraight.com/pages/find-a-salon?locale=en

I hope that you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Tried and Tested: Eyelash extensions at Yasmin Tans & Lashes in London

December 7, 2016December 7, 2016Leave a comment

In preparation to my honeymoon I decided to have eyelash extensions to help me look my best, even when I am bare faced. I was recommended to visit Yasmin Tans & Lashes run by an expert spray tan artist and eyelash extension specialist. She has over 5 years experience in the beauty industry and she has recently opened her own tanning and eyelash studio. It is located at Reveal Salon which is just around a corner from Farringdon station and within close proximity of Chancery Lane station and Barbican station.

When I arrived at Reveal Salon I was welcomed by a receptionist and a few minutes later Yasmin invited me to come to her room. She was extremely friendly, smiley and she prides herself in being an absolute perfectionist. She is a fully qualified, highly experienced Lash Technician and she guarantees her clients absolutely no damage to their natural lashes.

Treatment:

The treatment takes around 1.5 hours and it lifts the natural lashes from the root creating extra length and volume to your natural eyelashes without the use of extensions, adhesive or mascara. You can see my before & after photo below:

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Result:

I love my eyelash extensions. They are perfect for opening up the appearance of your eyes. As the effects last for up to 6 weeks these eyelash extensions are great for everyday, special occasions and holidays. Having them done is the perfect way to achieve long lasting, glamorous lashes without the need for mascara!

If you wish to try them then Yasmin gave me a discount code for £20 off to all my readers. Please insert 1stclasslouge while checking out to benefit from this discount.

You can book your appointments here.

Address:

Yasmin Tans & Lashes
11 Eagle Court,
Farringdon, London, EC1M 5QD

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Top Land-Based Casinos In The United Kingdom

December 2, 2016December 2, 2016Leave a comment

Have you ever wanted to learn about the casinos? As some of you might know, I got married recently. I am not much of a gambler however my husband could be a pro as he knows so much about the casinos and the games that you can play in them.

I decided to investigate this topic further as the wife of a pro gamer and gambler. He’s told me on many occasions that if you know the rules of the games you want to play you might have a fun and entertaining time when you visit a casino. In addition, I was informed that many casinos regularly host live entertainment events, such as stand-up comedy, concerts, and sporting events. Many of them are also offering dining experiences combined with a bit of gambling which could appeal to anyone who feels a bit adventurous. To start with, if you are willing to learn more on that topic, I would recommend you check out this informative catalogue about all the casinos located in the UK, it is very comprehensive and covers a wide variety of places. I came across this website and I liked its layout as it provided a summary of all casinos located in specific cities in UK. History: Casinos have been called by many names: gaming houses, saloons (in USA), betting house etc. According to Wikipedia: ‘In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities.’ The history of gambling is mysterious. Many believe that in some form or another many of societies had entertainment based on games of chance. The first known European gambling house, was the Ridotto, established in Venice, Italy in 1638 by the Great Council of Venice to provide controlled gambling during the carnival season. Where to go? There are hundreds of casinos in UK, many of them located in central tourist areas of hotels. As I live in London, I would recommend you to visit one of these 5 best casinos based here:

1. The Empire Casino in Leicester Square

empire-leicester-square

2. The Hippodrome Casino

hipodrome

3. The Grosvenor Casino

groswenor

4. Maxims

maxims

5. The Sportsman

sportsman

I hope you enjoyed reading this post!

Pauline

Horrible night out at Montezuma Club, London

October 28, 2016October 30, 2016Leave a comment

Today I would like to tell you about my night out at Montezuma Club in South Kensington in partnership with VIP Lounge.

I recently won a Twitter competition run by VIP Lounge @VipLounge and I was extremely looking forward to my night out with friends.

My prize was:

A bottle of vodka with mixers
Access to VIP Lounge area in the club
Champagne sparklers

I shared the details of my Twitter prize with some of my friends and was asked to forward all their names and surnames so they can be added to the guest list. We all registered on the website and got ready for our night out. I decided to wear one of my little black dresses from River Island.

After a couple of drinks just around the corner from the club we made our way to Montezuma London Club which is located a minute away from South Kensington station.

When we first arrived at the club at around 10:30p.m., my husband and a male friend of mine were asked to pay £20 for entry… We were all surprised but we paid and went downstairs.

Montezuma is extremely small… The dance-floor is basically of similar size to my living room and believe me my living room is not massive. But well, we sat down and I called Paul from @VipLounge to confirm when we will receive our drinks. First warning sign there was no answer… I texted @VipLounge and 40 minutes later I have finally heard from Paul. Basically I think that he is a club promoter who asks you to put your and your friends name on the list so he gets a commission out of attracting you to the club. Our drinks arrived over an hour later at 11:40.

We took a couple of photos and in the meantime the waitress asked 5 girls that we didn’t know to sit at our table. The waitress gave them drinks from the same bottle of vodka that I won and 5 minutes later she asked us to leave the table. I went to speak to the club manager he told me that if we want to stay sitting where we were than we need to pay for it! How rude?!? We left the area, my husband bought us all some drinks and we started dancing. The DJ was horrible but as we didn’t have any sitting area at that time, we started dancing. Within the minutes the dance-floor was soo full that we were unable to move. It was also quite smelly and one of my friends felt quite sick as she was unable to breathe.

The drinks were also overpriced and a bottle of White Goose Vodka was £450. I was shocked to discover that considering how tacky and small this club was.

Overall:

I would never visit Montezuma again-it is overpriced, small, overcrowded and service was extremely rude and unfriendly. Be aware of any Twitter competitors from @VipLounge as they work with this club (I believe on a promoter basis) and if you win their Twitter prize then you will end up paying for everything anyway.

Hope you stay away from Montezuma-there are hundreds of other nice clubs in London that are better for a night out.

Pauline

Our dinner at the Grill Restaurant at Amba Hotel, London

October 21, 2016October 22, 2016Leave a comment

I visited Amba Hotel Marble Arch in London for the first time, a few months ago when I went there for my afternoon tea with my friend Sylwia. I had a lovely experience last time so I really wanted to go to The Grill restaurant for a dinner with my husband. We decided to book it for our second wedding ‘lunaversary’-yes, that’s right we are married for 2 months now. Time flies!

So let me tell you a bit about The Grill restaurant located at Amba Hotel.

Venue and location:

The Grill restaurant can be found on the first floor at Amba Hotel Marble Arch -just off Oxford Street in central London. It is easily accessible by public transport and the nearest tube station-Marble Arch is around 3 minutes away. It is perfectly located in the very heart of London’s glittering centre. If you decide to go to central London in order to get some gifts for the upcoming Christmas then you should definitely visit.

Times:

The Grill restaurant is open 7 days a week. Lunch and dinner are served from midday until 10 p.m.

Atmosphere:

We reached Amba Hotel Marble Arch at around 7 p.m. The atmosphere and staff were both pleasant. On our arrival, we were acknowledged by a friendly receptionist who then asked one of the waiters to take us to our table. The lights were dimmed, there was a relaxing music playing in the background and we were taken to sit at the candlelight table which provided a perfect setting for our romantic dinner.

The menu:

Once we were comfortably sited, our friendly waiter offered us to start our dinner with a glass of champagne. A few minutes later, we received a chilled glass of bubbly each and then we started considering what to pick for our dinner.

There were a lot of nice dishes to choose from so it took us a few minutes to decide what we would like to have:

Starters:

To start with I decided to have some cured Smoked Salmon with Horseradish crème fraiche and wild rocket. It was delectable.

My husband had some classic Prawn Cocktail with tempura king prawn. It was presented beautifully and was very tasty.

Mains:

For our mains we both selected the items from the charcoal Josper Grill.

I decided to have 35 Day Dry Aged Ribeye Steak with peppercorn sauce. As a side I decided to have some rosemary and Parmesan fries and buttered spinach. My main was simply delectable-steak was cooked to perfection (just as I like it) and sides complimented my dish faultlessly.

My husband had some British Lamb Cutlets with mint sauce. Again-his lamb was very tender and he loved it.

Desserts:

As some of you know, I have a very bad sweet tooth so I decided to have a Pecan and Maple Syrup Tart with honeycomb ice cream. My dessert was mouth-watering.

James decided to be healthier than me and had some fresh strawberries with clotted cream.

Dress code:

The dress code at The Grill restaurant in Amba Hotel Marble Arch is smart casual. I decided to wear one of my pink Prada dresses with a pair of Jones kitten hills.

Overall experience:

The Grill restaurant at Amba Hotel Marble Arch offers a welcoming atmosphere, friendly service and great quality food. I would definitely visit again. You should definitely go there next time you are shopping on Oxford Street if you wish to have a nice, reasonably priced meal.

In addition, The Grill restaurant will be running a special ‘seasonal’ set menu that will be available throughout December 2016 (excluding Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve)

If you are interested, than it will be served from midday to 10 p.m. and you’ll get a glass of sparkling wine on arrival, followed by a three-course meal for only £39 per person.

Website:

http://www.amba-hotel.com/hotels/united_kingdom/london/marble_arch/restaurants_and_bars/the_grill.html

Address: Bryanston Street, London W1H 7EH

I hope that you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Gremlins 2 screening at the Warner Bros headquarters in Holborn London

October 9, 2016October 12, 2016Leave a comment

I was invited to attend a special screening of Gremlins 2 movie at the Warner Bros headquarters in Holborn London on Monday 3^rd of October.

The event started at 6:30pm and all participants were encouraged to play with the new LEGO Dimensions new Story Pack content, Battle Arenas and playable characters Gizmo and Stripe from Gremlins.

My husband who sometimes turns into a little boy loved the expansion of LEGO® DIMENSIONS™.

The collection was launched last week on September 30 and introduced all-new, four-player competitive Battle Arenas, and exciting new packs based on entertainment properties including Harry Potter, Ghostbusters, Mission: Impossible, Adventure Time, and The A-Team.

If you were a fun of Gremlins (the film is about a young man who receives a strange creature called a Mogwai as a pet) then you will be super excited to hear that Gremlins will be joining the ever expanding roster of entertainment properties on the 18th November with the Gremlins LEGO Team Pack, which features Gizmo and Stripe as playable characters.

The Gremlins Team Pack will also grant players access to the Gremlins Adventure World and Battle Arena.

Before the movie started we were also informed about the new, special edition HMV Premium Blu-ray Collection is available to buy exclusively at HMV, from October 3.

The collection includes 10 titles:

sci-fi classics: Logan’s Run, Soylent Green, Forbidden Planet, Them!, The Omega Man.
horror classic: The Shining.
horror comedies: Gremlins 2 and Little Shop of Horrors.
classic dramas: Diner and All The President’s Men.

These beautifully packaged combo packs (featuring Blu-ray and DVD discs as well as digital download) include director’s cuts and extended cuts never seen before on Blu-ray. Each title is packed with extras and comes with a set of highly collectable film cards. They are perfect as a gift.

The screening of ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch’ started at 7:30 p.m. The story is a continuation of the adventures of the creature Gizmo and we were both looking forward to discover what is going to happen next in the lives of Gremlins.

I am looking forward to watching some more of these classic movies!

Pauline

Disappointing Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson Hotel

September 11, 2016September 18, 2016Leave a comment

This week, I would like to tell you about my recent Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea experience. I was invited to attend it at the beginning of my hen night celebrations last month. I was accompanied by my 7 of my best friends.

Venue and location:

Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea takes place in the luxury, 5* Sanderson’s hotel. It is just situated between Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road stations.

Times:

Afternoon Tea is served from 12:30 pm until 4 pm.

Atmosphere:

We were seated in the corner of the restaurant. It was extremely busy, noisy and the service was extremely sluggish so my first impressions weren’t great… I love eating out and I’ve been to hundreds of restaurants before so I was quite surprised by that. We weren’t able to hear any music and to add to our misery their Air-con wasn’t working so it was absolutely boiling inside…

The menu:

Our Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea menu was hidden inside a vintage ‘Alice in Wonderland’ book.

As it was a special occasion, we started our experience with a glass of pink Champagne which was lovely and then ordered a few pots of Sanderson-exclusive teas. I decided to have some iced-tea instead as it was boiling inside and unfortunately I had to wait for it to arrive for almost 45 min as our waiter simply forgot about it. When I reminded him about my order he cheekily asked me: ‘Did you order it?’ To which I answered: ‘Yes, from you…’

Moving on, a while after these initial dissatisfactions, we finally received our stand of sweet and savoury treats. They were definitely the highlight of our experience. They were all presented beautifully and they were all very tasty. I am sure that a lot of thought was put into creating these beautiful selection of luxuries.

Our savoury treats included:

Scottish smoked salmon, quail egg and caviar scotch egg;
Wiltshire ham and smoked Applewood croquet-monsieur;
Cornish crab and herb éclair;
Cucumber and cream cheese sandwich on fresh lime bread.

Our sweet treats included:

The blue caterpillar;
Wonderlands magic marshmallow mushrooms;
Curious carrot meringue;
The White Rabbit’s pocket watch macaroon;
Red velvet ladybird;
Banana bread-and-butterfly;
The Queen of Hearts Oreo cookie soldier;
Alice’s drink me potion;
Scones served with seasonal fruit preserves and Cornish clotted cream.

Dress code:

The dress code at The Sanderson’s hotel is smart casual. I decided to wear my white Coast dress with some Dior sandals.

Overall experience:

Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea in Sanderson Hotel offers you a great alternative to a traditional Afternoon Tea. All sweet and savoury treats were amazing and the only let down was the service we received. I would be happy to visit The Sanderson hotel in the future however I hope that they will put their waiting staff through some customer-service training as the service we all received during our visit was simply unacceptable for this beautiful 5* hotel.

Address: The Sanderson, 50 Berners Street, Fitzrovia, London W1

Website: www.sandersonlondon.com

Price: £65 per person excluding service.

Pauline

Kassandra Lauren Gordon ‘Finding Water On Mars’ private fine jewellery viewing.

September 9, 2016September 9, 2016Leave a comment

I attended a fine jewellery private viewing event by Kassandra Lauren Gordon after work on Monday.

Location:

Kassandra Lauren Gordon is currently exhibiting her fourth solo show to showcase her new collection called ‘Finding Water On Mars’ at The Corner Shop in Farrington from the 5^th until the 11^th of September 2016.

Address: The Corner Shop, Craft Central, 21 Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R 0DX

Designer:

Kassandra Lauren Gordon studied jewellery manufacturing and design in Hatton Gardens and is a registered Fair-trade Goldsmith based in London. Two years after setting up her private handmade jewellery studio in Hackney London, she is now celebrating becoming a partner of ‘Not on a High Street’. She has experience as a domestic violence worker and has worked in the public sector for almost 10 years . Her interaction and day-to-day contact with women in the community have convinced her of the need for women to be more assertive. Many of the pieces from her collection are named after inspirational female scientists.

Collection:

‘Finding Water On Mars’ collection is inspired by the geology of Mars and it explores the idealism of beginning anew on a blank slate.

Kassandra Lauren Gordon’s collection includes pendants, earrings, rings, bangles and chokers. All pieces are made from precious metals and gemstones by hand and many of the pieces available for purchase from her website are made specially to order. It normally takes 2 to 4 weeks from the date your order to receive your handmade pieces.

Who is it for?

Kassandra Lauren Gordon jewellery pieces can be worn by anyone. Gordon wants all her pieces to be full of sentimental value for their owners thus she has a high commitment to customer service. Her collection is chic but, at the same time, elegant. Gordon’s stunning designs cater for anyone who wishes to wear some beautiful, handmade pieces made from precious metals and values uniqueness and high quality. All of her jewellery can be worn faultlessly in professional and casual contexts as it adds some playful glamour.

Prices:

As all of Gordon’s pieces are handmade they are more expensive than usual pieces you would get from a high-street jeweller. Nonetheless, the quality and uniqueness of her designs convinced me that they are worth paying a bit more for.

Please refer to the website for more details.

Website:

http://www.kassandralaurengordon.com/

Please find some photos of her pieces below.

Rings: