August 2016 – MISS HOLLY P

misshollyparish beauty

||REVIEW|| Tient Idole Ultra Cushion Foundation by Lancome

So there is only one reason why I tried this foundation when I heard the hype on the shop floor at work and that was to prove that cushion foundations are stupid and a gimmick. Oh how wrong I was. As you can see I bought it and I am in love with it. Now, working in beauty I don’t get a whole lot of time outside of my working week to wear anything more than the products that I’m contracted to wear by my company, so for me to pay full price for this- which I rarely ever do for anything- that really is saying something.

Purchase, price, packaging-

I went over to my Lancome counter and I colour matched myself as there are only 9 shades and I went for an 02 Beige Rose as I am quite fair. You can buy the insert for £19.50 or with the compact holder together for £30. I went for both as I felt you do really need it and it makes it feel that more special and luxurious but it is the only initial extra cost the first time, this also makes it cheaper if you’re someone who tans easily or fake tans to have multiple shades. When you buy the refill it comes in a packet that you just clip into the compact really easily. This is their second cushion foundation and learning from their first it now has a filter beneath the top cushion to ensure good distribution of product and to prevent drying out.

Application, coverage and finish

The idea of that ‘pat, pat, pat/ tap, tap, tap’ patient and gradual application was something that me-the girl permanently in a rush- couldn’t stomach; however is really isn’t as time consuming as I had envisioned. The sponge is conveniently sized the same as the cushion so you’re covering a decent amount of surface area of the sponge and the sponge has a little loop on the back so you can slip your fingers through the back.

It’s a really build able coverage that you can wear light or heavier depending on your desired look but regardless of how much you put on I have found that it feels totally weightless. It has a really lovely finish too, it has a really lovely flawless luminosity despite it being oil free. I myself am extremely combination and it does last the majority of the day even without powder, although powder does increase its longevity (I use the Estee Edit Flash Photo Powder.) I have tried it on my friends with more dry and dehydrated skin and it still looks great but not as glowy and also on my 59 year old mum and it looked fab on her too- I used just a light layer.

Favorite things

I love that its in such a handy compact so I can touch up throughout the day and make the biggest difference to my makeup whilst still only using a clutch bag.

I love that its SPF 50 pa+++, it’s rare to find a full coverage foundation with a protection that high

At a Glance

Coverage- Full

Shade Range- 9

Finish- Satin/ Luminous

Application- Compact

Price- £30 with compact/ £19.50 Refill

Key features- SPF50 pa+++ and Oil- Free

The finished look

Has anyone else tried this foundation and loved it?

Thanks for reading,

Love Holly xxx

misshollyparish beauty

Almond Extension Perfection

A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to splash out and treat myself to some full on gel extensions as the days of wishing my nails would grow naturally into the desired length and shape were becoming more frustrating as all they seem to do is break. I made myself an appointment to go and see Chris of sketch nail design at the brand new a prestige salon The Edge. Featured in the ‘one-to-watch’ Union building The Edge offers a new dimension to Norwich beauty with its minimalist modern and stylist furniture (oh so insta-worthy), panoramic city skyline views and laid back atmosphere.

I got myself ready to go teaming the hat and leather jacket combo to combat the rainy August day.

On arrival I noticed the reception looked incredibly premium and brand new with integrated screens and clean white surfaces and seating , it defintiely offered a great first impression. The Edge salon is on the 4th floor so I made my way up there. There’s lots of work going on in the building as the building is still in development but don’t let this put you off as soon it’ll be one of the places to be with the first Norwich rooftop bar and restaurant coming here soon.

When I walked in the salon I instantly fell in love, the furnishing was just up my street. I love big airy open places particularly with natural light and The Edge is definitely not short of that with its huge Windows and panoramic views!

Chris used to do my nails when he worked in Jarrolds and this is the first salon that had been a good location for me to get to so my long wait to be reunited with his talents was finally over! I picked myself a colour (N93) and we got started, he started by getting the tips and glueing them to my natural nails- for those extension sceptics gel extensions don’t require filing into your nail- the next step was to create the perfect almond shape which Chris did perfectly! Following this because this is a sculted gel extension he created the shape and thickness with a clear gel which is cured first….

I actually kind of liked it like this but hopefully you can see the strength and thickness from the photo. After this stage there was more filing to make the shape even more perfect before the colour was applied and cured. The colour application is the quickest part and gives the lovely shine too! He used The Gel Bottle shade N93 which I had spied on his Instagram! Colour cured can only mean one thing…. Voila!

I love them! The look so perfect! The whole process took a couple of hours but 2 weeks later and they’re still looking pretty spectacular AND these bad boys you can infill too!

Thank you so much Chris for your precision and being a perfectionist! Go check him out ladies on Instagram @sketchnaildesign and @theedgenorwich

Thanks for reading!

Has anyone been here or have any stars of their own nails to share?

Holly xx

misshollyparish blog

The Doughnut Diaries

So, I am having to write this post as a matter of urgency because these DELICIOUS doughnuts did not hang around long and I wanna get words to page whilst I’m still experiencing the immense sugar high. If you’re local to Norwich or have visited in the last few weeks you may have noticed a number of people walking around proudly carrying a Krispy Kreme dozen and wondered where they came from. Well on Friday the 2nd of September a Norwich Krispy Kreme fresh store will open its doors in Chapelfield for the first time.

On Thursday night I attended the Norwich Bloggers social at none other than the Warwick Street Social and we were very privileged to be joined by the lovely folks from Krispy Kreme!! On arrival I was presented with my very own assorted dozen!!! After a proper rubbish day I was made up only having tried an original glazed the previous week and already hooked I was gagging for the extra flavours! As you can imagine by the speed this post has been published the following 24 hours involved a lot of doughnut eating…..

Thursday Night Dinner- Nutty Chocolatta- The most delicious, amazing, topped and filled doughnut filled with NUTELLA!! All that chocolate hazelnutty goodness set me up good and proper for a few drinks at the WSS!

Midnight Snack- Glazed Raspberry- A classic raspberry jam filled doughnut with that signature iced glaze on top, shared with the mother and put a smile on her face.

Friday Coffee and Cake- Cappuccinos for 3 and an Original Glazed, Nutty Chocolate, Chocolate Iced and an Apple Pie- shared with my parents who grew up in the 50’s and state they’ve “never had doughnuts so light” and their childhood holidays both mostly consisted of seaside resorts famed for doughnuts!

Special Delivery for the one I love- Strawberries and Kreme, Chocolate Dream Cake, Chocolate Sprinkles and Triple Chocolate Cake- I hand delivered these to my boyfriends building site for him to share with his boss, strawberries and kreme is his favourite and was perfect as always, he gave 2 to his boss who proceeded to buy him lunch and let him leave off early. There really is no denying the joy that is the Krispy Kreme effect!! *Bribery is never a good route to go down but if you’re planning on it Krispy Kreme is clearly a damn good idea to use*

Friday Night In- Strawberry Gloss- Now this is 100% my new favourite. Definitely the one that always caught my eye at service stations with its princess pink glittery, glossy, glaze; thankfully its taste did not disappoint. O M G is all I can say, I’ll be going back for this one first. Teamed with a glass of fizz this was the ultra girly night indulgence.

Sharing is Caring- Chocolate Custard- I was gonna eat this with my lunch but as I had already definitely had my fill but I gave it to a friend at work when she coincidentally told me how this was her favourite KK. Definitely made her morning.

12 doughnuts. 6 happy people. 36 hours.

If you do decide to let your dozen hang around longer than I did do not refrigerate to ensure soft and fluffiness and they are good for 3 days.

Enjoy folks, do not underestimate the power of the Krispy Kreme. 1st in line for the Norwich store on the 2nd gets a gold card which is a years worth of free doughnuts and many more giveaways too so get yourselves down to Chapelfield to enjoy the launch. I on the other hand will be hopping on the treadmill to jog off my day of doughnut decadence.

Whats your favourite KK?

love Holly x x

misshollyparish Cocktails

All Bar One Launch Party

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to receive an invitation to attend the launch night for the brand new and improved All Bar One in Norwich. All Bar One has been closed for some time due to a fire and has had a £1m refurbishment so I was super excited to see the changes!!

It started at 5 so I got myself dressed up and headed on down straight from work, on arrival they had door staff to let you in and a hostess checking names on the guest list which made me feel pretty special. My party were greeted inside by a lovely lady handing out the arrival bubbles and she explained the concept of the evening. Each of us received a drinks token to either go to the left to the wine bar and try some of the new wine available on the menu or go to the right to the cocktail bar to taste one of their cocktails! A Cosmopolitan or a Disoronno Sour. (A lady driving gave me her tokens so I had both. Yum yum yum.)

We found ourselves somewhere to soak up the atmosphere and get stuck in to our drinks and watch the venue fill. Throughout the night the incredibly knowledgable staff came round handing out complimentary tasters off the main menu from mini burgers, to calamari, falafel and filo feta parcels for the vegetarians out there. We even got out own antipasti slate too! It just was wonderful to see the place alive again! So I thought I would just break it down to cover everything!

The Decor

I love what they have done with the place, It has such a warm and modern feel with amazing attention to detail. Thick hardy leather chairs and stools which will endure the major footfall in warm tan tones and deep teal. There are loads of different lighting features including the -so on trend right now- exposed element Edison bulbs and soft lit lamps throughout. The lights have perfectly clever placement near cut glass mirrors to add light to the space. The colour palette chosen of muted Jewel tones- think teals and blues, tan and brown with hints of nude and orange with a lot of strong wood. On the walls they have chosen colourful artwork and some picture clusters which all work really well. It still looks like an All Bar One which is vital to keep that brand continuity but is a welcome return to the Norwich bar scene.

The Staff

The new team all seemed great and I wanna commend them all on their amazing manners and service. I haven’t been served by such polished and polite waiting staff in Norwich for ages. They all made you feel genuinely special and welcome. On top of that they new all the dishes they were serving inside out from memory so have clearly been trained really well!

The Food and Drink

Everything that I tried I loved! The menu appears to be updated and diverse with something for everyone. Inspiration from lots of different global cuisines, lots of choices for veggies and if you’re healthy eating and from full meals, sharers, tapas and light bites. You would struggle for even the fussiest person to not find something they would like! And last but certainly not least the drinks. The cocktail menu is quite extensive so a blend to tickle all tastebuds! The house white I tried was lovely and the cocktails were made good and strong the way they should be. They also had an Aperol bar which isn’t my cup of tea but looked really popular! You can take a look at the menus right here!

I had such an awesome night! Thanks so much to the manager Clive and the team and I’ll definitely be back very soon!

Has anyone else been since the reopening? What’s been your favourite thing?

Thanks for reading!!

love Holly xx

misshollyparish Uncategorized

Katie Loxton: New favourite

So I recently discovered Katie Loxton and her amazingly chic and affordable accessories in Quest Gifts in Norwich. Quest is an independent retailer selling gorgeous gifts, accessories, home furnishings, jewellery and beautiful cards and gift wrap.

I treated myself to a couple of Katie’s stunning bits from her accessories range- the Girly Goodies nude clutch for-wait for it- £15.50 ladies!! And the super cute ‘key to my heart’ key ring for £7.99!! (Pictured below with some of my other hero products)

Her pouches all feature a cheerful little slogan embossed in gold like my Girly Goodies there’s also the likes of “Ooh La La”, “Pretty in Pink” and “Bag of Tricks” giving her bags a unique and fun twist and not to mention affordable enough to get one in every colour to go with every outfit!! And there is the selection to do so too if you have a wardrobe full of colour!!

The fabric is a leather look PU with a similar cross-hatched texture to Michael Kors and Prada bags- which guys let me tell you is amazingly wipe clean because I had a few too many on Saturday night and dropped mine about a million times!! With the key ring in the same finish there’s no messing up that bad boy knocking around in the bottom of my big old handbag. Still looks good as new!! What’s not to love??

Well if bargain premium quality accessories weren’t enough she also makes candles and reed diffusers too in lush scents also featuring those convivial little messages. I haven’t tried these yet but the home range looks just as special!!

My whole experience was left nothing short of luxury when my items were beautifully wrapped and I was given an official Katie Loxton bag shopping bag (pictured below) too which was a nice finishing touch and really gave it that premium edge!

Go check it all out! Quest have stores in Norwich, Holt and Bury St Edmunds to visit or you can go check out the woman herself on her official website katieloxton.com and bag yourself some treats of your own!

Has anyone tried the home ranges? Or got some favourites of their own? I love my bag to match my favourite Dune Cliopatra shoes <3

Thanks for reading, Holly xx