As well as festive Fridays I also wanted to do a series of posts devoted to the joy of hand-making items for Christmas. I always love adding my personal touch to Christmas, whether it’s homemade decorations, DIY gifts, creative gift wrap or home-baked festive food, so this series is all about that. I hope you … Continue reading Homemade Christmas: Festive Gift Jars
This week I was lucky enough to be invited down to La Senza for their “Hello Sugar” launch, which in a nutshell consisted of drinks, sweet treats, lingerie themed nail art by WAH nails and a full bra fitting experience which resulted in me walking away with one perfectly fitting and super-pretty new bra set. The first … Continue reading La Senza and My New Well-Fitting Party Bra
The Christmas countdown continues with the second of my Festive Friday series, and todays is all about Christmas jumpers. After shedding their geeky image and becoming massively fashionable in recent years, this Christmas they are still looking to be as popular as ever. And if you don't want to miss out I'd recommend getting yours sorted early as they could … Continue reading Festive Friday: Ways to Wear Novelty Knits
I've made the decision to give my trusty old favourite MAC mascara the elbow for ethical reasons (they currently sell into China where animal testing is required on cosmetics). After it ran out I decided I wanted to give Urban Decay a go instead, because not only do I like their makeup in general, they’ve also been brave enough to pull out … Continue reading Reviewed: Urban Decay Lush Lash Mascara
I'm continuing with the winter ice skating theme today as Selfridges have just opened their ice rink at intu Trafford Centre for the festive season. This ice rink is undercover, which is great if the weather is bad (most likely) and sits just outside the fountain entrance of Selfridges - which as you can see … Continue reading Selfridges Ice Rink at intu Trafford Centre
So this is the first of my Festive Friday series, which will be all about spreading those Christmas feelings. I hadn’t planned on starting quite so early, but when I heard that the Spinningfields ice rink was being launched this week, it definitely made me feel a little bit more festive! The Manchester city centre … Continue reading Festive Friday: Spinningfields ice rink now open!
I love statement lip colour, and that means finding strong shades that are heavily pigmented. I recently ran out of my No.7 Gay Geranium, which was my all-time favourite, and because I prefer to go cruelty free these days I decided to find a new one. The hunt lead me to Lush and their Emotional Brilliance range, and specifically to my chosen … Continue reading Pigmented Lip Colour: I Believe!
I've always wanted to try making my own "real" hot chocolate, and there's no better time than a chilly weekend afternoon in the approach to Christmas. This really did make me feel festive too! Here's how to make real hot chocolate (enough for 2 mugs): Gently heat 125ml double cream together with 300ml milk and … Continue reading Winter Warmers: Homemade Hot Chocolate
It’s always nice to try out new lunchtime eating places in Manchester, and the latest that I can tick off my list is the Rosylee Tea Rooms, which opened in Manchester’s Northern Quarter fairly recently. It’s quite a unique place, particularly for that side of the city centre. The décor is quite a nice mix … Continue reading Lunch in the City: Rosylee Tea Rooms
Lush massage bars are solid bars of essential oils that melt on the skin when warm to create the perfect massage oil. The great thing about them (in my opinion) is that they’re naked – that is, they have no packaging at all, which makes them a great environmentally friendly product! I’d never used one … Continue reading Lush Energised Massage Bar
English Rose from Manchester's Blog 