Review: You Me Sushi

I live disgustingly close to four different supermarkets; I'm talking 2 minute walk to each of them... But yesterday evening, I was far too lazy to make this trip to any of them, so instead decided to order some sushi. A quick google search sent me to You Me Sushi and, seeming to be pretty standard stuff, I decided to try it.

I'm a bit rubbish with sushi and never know how much to order. Needless to say, I ordered WAY too much - so much so that they brought two sets of chopsticks and soy sauce, assuming it was for two people (fatty) - and so I am planning on making a lunch out of it today as well (I'm not entirely sure that this is the best idea, but the supermarket is just soooooo far).

The sushi was OK, although it had become a bit warm as my order included gyoza as well. They had thought ahead and kept them in two separate bags, but the proximity had made them go a bit 'sweaty'... They were also not very uniform at all, and fell apart pretty quickly (probably as a result of the sweatiness), but the spicy mayo that comes with certain sushis (is that the plural?!) is reeeeally good. My main issue though: there was NO wasabi - I didn't even think that was possible - so be sure to ask for some when ordering to avoid such bitter disappointment. As for the service, the site was easy to use, but the delivery was about twenty minutes late - not a great problem, but just be aware if you are about to eat your own arm.

This wasn't the worst sushi I've ever had, but it also wasn't the best, so if I were looking to get some delivered again, I'd probably try somewhere different before going here for the second time (or I'd just get off my ass and go to the supermarket). There are a LOT of branches of You Me Sushi across London though, so potentially I was just unlucky with my order/branch, so all in all, a pretty useless review...

L'été Papillon de Chanel - Summer 2013 makeup collection

While perusing the local El Corte Ingles on a cloudy day in Palma, the latest Chanel makeup collection really caught my eye. I've already snapped up the Bel-Argus vernis from the L'été Papillon de Chanel Summer 2013 collection but on this trip the 'Stylo Eyeshadow' really caught my eye. I've never seen eyeshadow in pencil form, and I'm a sucker for packaging, so I had to try this.

I picked up the shadow in Black Stream as, although the collection is all about mixing bright, vibrant colours, I'm not quite brave enough for a yellow mascara, and something tells me that my attempts won't quite end up like this:

So, anyway, this is how the 'pencil looks:

And this is how my efforts turned out. And, I know what you're thinking, "wow, are you the model from the campaign?!"... On the brighter side though, it was very easy to use. It is advisable, however, to smudge the shadow with a brush, as it has a tendency to rub off onto other parts of the eyelid and give you those horrible specks of makeup around the eye that nobody tells you about all day...

Also in second image: mascara / liquid eyeliner / pencil eyeliner in Graphblack

(It is SO hard to take a selfie of your eyes and not be cross-eyed. I just embraced it in the end...)

One thing to note is that this is exactly the same product as was brought out last year, although in a different form. I bought the potted form of this eyeshadow in a few different colours and absolutely loved it as the colours were great and would stay on for days (which I definitely didn't find out after my 21st birthday party...). However, it was a little bit difficult to apply, especially using the mini brush provided (I DESTROYED my cream bedroom carpet with the black one), and the shadow went very dry after a few months. I know, technically, you're supposed to throw out makeup after a couple of months, but I'm pretty sure nobody actually does that, unless it's a clumpy mascara or something. Anyway, so far, the new form of shadow is already winning for its easy application and I'm hoping that the pencil version will last longer too.

The fact still remains that I am awful at applying eyeshadow- I have way too much of a fear of looking like a drag queen (it troubles me daily). But maybe I just have to get a bit braver so that I can try some of the other shades, because nobody can look like a drag queen in yellow and green eyeshadow, right!?

Any tips on eyeshadow application would be greatly received - unless your name is Tanya Hyde or Chi Chi LaRue - I already know all your tricks.

Prints Charming

I would say a good 90% of my wardrobe is black. Black and plain. Which makes for very easy washing loads, but doesn't make for incredibly interesting outfits and consequently, I've realised, blog posts (not that interesting content seems to have been the main focus so far...).

Anyway, I think that shopping for a holiday wardrobe has made me a little more open to more 'exciting' clothing options. I particularly love print dresses, and I think that these ones are a nice first step as they're still dark and so could be pared down with black tights and shoes and a leather jacket if I wasn't feeling too adventurous.

McQ by Alexander McQueen print dress / Peep toe platform / Comme des Garçons zipper wallet / Tiffany & Co. gold hinged bracelet / Ring / Paloma Picasso gold jewelry

Izzey Tropical Floral Bodycon / Manolo Blahnik navy suede pumps / Lanvin necklace

Review: Castillo Hotel Son Vida, Majorca (Rooms)

Looking back, I realise that the last post was RIDICULOUSLY long, and so the idea of doing another one on the same topic seems somewhat excessive. However, this one promises to be a lot shorter. Basically, this is just a little recap of the rooms at Castillo Hotel Son Vida, as they were probably the best bit of the hotel.

 bathroom

main room

The rooms were HUGE and complete with a well stocked mini bar, an impressive magazine rack, 4 double wardrobes (not that I unpacked, but I'm sure others would find them useful) and a bathroom that had a separate toilet, lovely toiletries that were replenished daily (the brand was Cinq Mondes, which I've never heard of, but they smelled very nice) and a massive bathtub with a window above that looked straight through to the cracking view.

Admittedly, the window is a bit weird if you're sharing a room, but there are shutters that can be used for a bit of privacy. The status of these shutters are, however, at the hands of the person outside the bathroom, so make sure you share with somebody you trust/don't mind seeing more than you're comfortable with showing!

(Also, if you can't tell, I've invested in a new app - Diptic - which allows you to condense two or more photos into one collage, as well as lots of other fancy filters/photo enhancing gadgets - which allows for much shorter posts. Definitely worth the 69p, I'm sure everyone would agree...)

Review: Castillo Hotel Son Vida, Majorca

Ok, so I am clearly awful at blogging - a week of posts and then I go off on my holidays to Majorca for a week and absolutely nothing. What can I say? A week of excessive sunbathing, relaxing and carb-consumption didn't leave me with a lot of free time. I think this picture sums up the stressfulness:

Anyway, it was all in the name of blog-development (and my brother's 30th...); I've worked my way through a bit more of my 101 list and I can do a post or two about the lovely time that was had by all. How exciting. 

We were staying in the Castillo Hotel Son Vida, which is about a 15 minute drive from Palma, up in the hills. It used to be a castle and was built in the 13th Century, but now it's a swanky 5* hotel surrounded by golf courses and enormous villas. As a result, the hotel is pretty vast and architecturally impressive, but most importantly, it has some bitchin' views.

Inside, there is beautiful foyer, and numerous restaurants, bars and lounge areas indoors and out:

(this is possibly my favourite thing of all - cabinets of tiny little figurines from the Civil War - I like to imagine they use them for a massive annual reenactment)

Most days were spent around the pool (minus one day trip to Port Sóller - which is definitely recommended, just FYI - and a day round Palma due to cloudiness, boo). The hotel also offers a spa -  with a token for a free half hour massage given to each guest at check-in, which is niiiiice - which also boasts a gym, indoor pool, jacuzzi etc. However, I was SO lazy, I didn't even take up the offer of the free massage, I decided to give up the space reserved for my trainers for a 3rd pair of heels and the indoor pool room was hotter than the sun (fact) so I have very little to say about how good these facilities were. The bits I saw looked pretty good though...

All in all, the hotel was everything you would expect: friendly staff, clean, relaxing with a fantastic attention to detail. The rooms were incredibly nice (watch this space) and the only bad thing I really have to say is that it has an air of the hotels from The Shining and Dirty Dancing (the first one a little more disturbing that the second, depending on who you ask...) about it, but I'm pretty sure that's because it was early in the season, so it wasn't jam-packed, and the fact that the hotel is pretty massive. And in reality, that's hardly an issue, more a sign that I watch WAY too many films...

We're (hopefully) all going on a summer holiday!

As is well documented, I am (hopefully) off on my holidays today and so, as you can imagine, I was feeling like this:

However, the French air traffic control are striking. What. A. Surprise. Fair play to them though, it really is high time that they started standing up for their rights - they really don't do that enough. When I was living in Paris, I often thought that what the French lacked was an opinion and that protestor 'won't do' attitude.

Anyway, I digress. The result of this great news is that I have now had to change airports, travel to Frankfurt, wait there two hours and then get on another flight to Palma. Great news - I'm glad it's such a simple fix... Suffice to say, my mood has rapidly gone from this:

To this:

Un. Im. Pressed. 

Chanel-lo!

While shopping yesterday, I picked up Chanel's new Summer 2013 vernis, Bel-Argus. 

I'm a bit of a sucker for a Chanel polish, and I absolutely love this colour (it's a pretty good Everton blue). I particularly like the fact that it only needs one coat and is very metallic without being glittery, as that tends to look pretty cheap.

Also worth noting is that Selfridges London has a great pop-up Chanel manicure bar set up at the moment (although it does end tomorrow!), so it's the perfect time to try out their new collection before you commit.

Issy's Milky Way

I am off on holiday tomorrow, during which I shall be wearing a bikini about 80% of the time (vom), and so I should be surviving on a diet of water, celery and cabbage soup. Instead, I went to a 50s American themed diner that serves hotdogs, ice cream, shakes and cakes. That's what I call dedication...

Issy's Milky Way is an incredibly kitsch little cafe tucked down my favourite street in Angel: Camden Passage. Now I love a theme, especially 50s American (stemming from my obsession with the film Grease), and I love anything kitsch (see the picture below of my amazing lampshade) so this place was right up my street.

The interior was really cute, with muted turquoise and pink walls lined with retro American memorabilia (most of which was for sale) such as cat clocks and hula girl lamps, black and white 50s movies playing on a TV in the corner and Elvis blaring through the speakers. 

Here's an idea of the treats that were on offer:

For some reason, I decided to go for something sweet first. I blame my excitement and the overwhelming selection of amazing looking sweet options on offer. So, I started with the triple chocolate brownie (and a diet coke, because that cancels it out, obvz, and I love a glass bottle):

Granted, it's not the most exciting of presentations but, despite appearances, it was actually really moist and very tasty and definitely something I would recommend.

Kira, my lunch date, was a little more conventional and started her meal with a hotdog. It came in a little basket, which was a nice touch, and a side plate with salad and a gherkin so that you could do a little customising if you wished (pretty sure NOBODY puts salad on their weiner).

As good as my brownie was, I was still hungry after it (in my defence, it was almost 2.30pm and the first thing I'd eaten and I had been to the gym earlier...) so I decided to try a vegetarian hotdog, seeing as I'm a pescatarian and all. The 'dog was a little depressing and limp, but I think the fact that it was veggie was to blame for that, and it was soon fixed by smothering it in ketchup and some delicious mustard:

Kira rounded off her meal with a banana shake, which looked (and I am told was indeed) pretty good. I may have to come back to try one...

All in all, it was an enjoyable, laid back lunch and a place I will probably return. However, although I would recommend giving it a try if you're in the area, I don't think it would be worth a trek across London if you're not. It is the first one to be crossed off the 50 restaurants I have to try in the next 1001 days though, yay!

My 2013 Highlight

I saw Jane McDonald today. She spoke to me (literally and spiritually).

Best. Day. Ever. ¡Arribaaaa!

Crochet Cray Cray

This is somewhat of a continuation from the previous 90s post but I can't help it, I'm just loving it right now and, for some reason, nothing says 90s to me more than crochet. Maybe because my mother had a vast collection of the beautiful stuff...

Anyway, as much as I'm bummin' it, I don't want to go overboard, as I'm 99% sure it's something I'm going to look back on and regret, so I feel that these two outfits are just enough without looking like this:

Crochet cray cray 2 by lucyjcross featuring leather shoes

Crochet Cray Cray by lucyjcross featuring a curb chain necklace

Now I just have to find some way of funding the two Saint Laurent bags and the Chopard. Fingers crossed for those 10 lottery tickets from my 101 list...