A few weeks ago I popped over to Manchester with my friend Louise.  British Gas, along with Lastminute.com, had challenged me to use their new Remote Heating Control* to see how I get on with the device after a day out.  The day out I found myself attending was a scrumptious day of chocolate making* with the My Chocolate team.  I'm a massive chocolate fan, and so is Louise, so this was very exciting!

We spent the day getting very messy (despite the sexy plastic apron!) tasting a wide range of chocolate and making lots and lots of chocolate treats.  It was a lot of fun decorating giant chocolate buttons - it's harder than it looks to make a round chocolate button!  My favourite part of the day was making the truffles, I actually feel like I've gained a skill!  I was amazed with how professional they looked once they'd been decorated with a bit of coconut and pink chocolate sprinkles!

At the end of the workshop we had a wonder round the shops in Manchester and also stopped at Tampopo for some lunch.  Now if you know Manchester you'll know it can rain A LOT.  It rained a lot when we were there.  It was absolutely freezing and by the time we made it back to the train station to head home we were pretty much soaked!  With  an hours train journey from Manchester to Leeds it was the perfect time to set my heating to 'on' via the Remote Heating Control App.  I was very grateful to return to lovely toasty house!

To say I've come to rely on this nifty little app is an understatement.  Unfortunately with the weather in the UK being like it has been during these so called 'spring' months, we've had to have the heating on a little more than we'd like.  Not only has it been great to be able to set the heating on just before you get home, or turn it off if you decide stay out and away from home a little bit later than planned, if you're like me this app is perfect if you're too lazy to get out from under a blanket to turn up the heating.  It can all me done from your phone!

Check out the British Gas website if you're interested in trying out the Remote Heating Control yourself!

Benefit Fake Up (L-R) Deep, Medium, Light* - £18.50

I've been meaning to put this post up for a while mainly because, and I'm going start with this, I absolutely love Fake Up and I've been wanted to rave about it for some time - it's just so hard to find the time!

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend an event in Leeds held by the lovely Lisa Potter-Dixon and the Benefit PR team, to celebrate the launch of Fake Up, the new hydrating concealer that is also crease controlling.  I have to say that even though I've been desperate to find a truly hydrating under eye concealer for some time, I was slightly sceptical about the idea of encasing a concealer with a hydrating balm.  I was still sceptical despite the Benefit girls' contagious enthusiasm for the product!

So, the light defusing concealer is encased by hydrating ring containing apple seed extract (not sure what properties that is supposed to have) and vitamin E - which we all know has anti ageing properties that are great for the skin!  My first thoughts were, after falling in love with the pretty packaging, that's a lot of balm and it has that cheap lipstick smell to it.  When I swatched it on my hand at the event I  was also concerned that it seemed quite thick for an under-eye concealer.

It does feel different to other concealers aimed at under eyes, but it's definitely not heavy.  It blends in really nicely, leaving a brightened dewy finish to the skin.  Benefit claim that this is a crease-control concealer, and I have to 100% agree!  It's not exactly crease less, I have one crease under my eyes that it sometimes sits in, but that's all.  I've not once had to worry about this concealer like I used to with Bo-ing.  The best thing about Fake Up however is that it actually moisturises the area, and keeps it moisturised all day!  I've actually noticed more of a change to my under eye area from using Fake Up for a few weeks than I have with most eye creams.  My under eye is softer, smoother may even have fewer fine lines!

Benefit's Fake Up comes in three different shades, Light, Medium and Deep.  We were given all three shades to take away to try.  I currently find myself in between Light and Medium, the two blended together work great.  I'm not convinced Deep would suit all darker skin tones, but hopefully blended in it would look good.  Lisa Potter Dixon gave the tip of using the Deep as a contour on lighter skin, which I think is a great idea if you've got a dry skin, but I don't know if the balm will work well on my already oily skin.

Benefit Fake Up is released this weekend in the UK, so seriously go check it out!

This week I attended the Harvey Nichols Leeds Spring Summer 13 Fashion Show in the stunning Victoria Quarter.  After bumping into the lovely Laura from A Forte For Fashion we took our seats at the very end of the catwalk, perfect for taking great shots of the outfits - it's just a shame my camera battery died half way through the show.  Bad fashion blogger!

I did manage to get a few pictures of my favourite outfits though, and even though the show featured lots of the bright colours and bold prints that are so big this season, it was the all white looks that caught my eye.  What a coincidence after I decided to wear mostly white on the evening! ;-)  (Though really just I'd gone the show straight from work - Work Outfit Of The Day anyone?)

What do you think of the all white trend?  Stunning or too much of a dry cleaning nightmare?

A traditional Irish Ceilidh Band at a family party  //  My current favourite bracelet combo!  //  The best place to eat in Monaco! Stars and and Bars!  //  Loving the name of the Yacht!  //  The gorgeous Buddha Bar in Monaco  //  Chris enjoying a pint in Florence  //  Our gorgeous hotel on Lido  //  The Grand Canal Venice!  //  Enjoying the beach on Lido  //  A sunny day in the beautiful Roundhay Park, Leeds  //  Legs!  //  Yummy breakfast!  //  Enjoying the sun at home  //  Friends :)  //  How many peplum tops can you fit in one lift??  //  Tea at the Dock Street Market Leeds  //  Cakes at the first Blogzilla Leeds Meet Up  //  Lovely Leeds bloggers (L-R) Lauren, Rosey, Laura, Clare, Deanna and Clare!

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A very lovely cheap and cheerful bag I picked up in Parfois on holiday in Gozo, while bags are perfect for summer!!  //  A free Cafe Nero coffee thanks to O2!  //  A walk in the sun  //  Sheep!  //  Homemade bruschetta!  //  Loving this Korres facemask, watch out for a a review coming soon!  //  Starbucks at the Meadowhall event  //  No7 demo at the Meadowhall event  //  Rose getting her make-up done by Glenn at Illamasqua  //  Bethanie tucking into a Handmade Burger Co burger!  //  My finished look after the blogger style challenge!  //  The big wheel in York  //  Bracelets  //  The best cocktail ever! (Inga from Sweden in Biltmore, York)  //  Late night instagraming while waiting for the last bus home  //  On the fifth book of A Game of Thrones!  //  A lovely walk in Knaresborough  //  Nachos!

Last Thursday, straight after work, my friends and I trotted on down to Leeds' beautiful and historical Victoria Quarter to attend one of Leeds' ultimate shoppers events, The Mad Shopper's Tea Party.  The event, a Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland style, Mad Hatter's Tea Party, had the whole of the Victoria Quarter fabulously decorated with bunting, balloons, giant teacups, 'drink me' bottles and white rabbits.  Theatrically dressed entertainers, hosts and hostesses wondered the centre, some even on stilts, getting the party going and handing out bedazzled cupcakes and bubbly for all!




There was a great atmosphere with shoppers making the most of not only the discounts and special offers available on the evening, but also the the fabulous party atmosphere throughout the whole VQ.  Most individual stores also held their own parties, with DJ's, drinks, canapes and gift bags.  My personal favourites on the night were Mulberry, and L'Occitane, who both hosted particularly impressive events.  Celebrating it's 40th anniversary, Mulberry had an atmosphere akin to an exclusive bar.  Handing out mini bottles of bubbly, slices of special 40th anniversary edition victoria sponge cakes, balloons in the shape of Mulberry bags and with a photobooth, thongs of people were queing to get into that party!  The newly opened L'Occitane, kept it's atmosphere de provence with champagne and the soothing melodies of a classical harpist...  A lovely goodie bag was also greatly appreciated.  I can't wait to try out the sample L'Occitane products!

L'Occitane goodie bag | Kiehl's samples | Liz Earle purchases | Mulberry 40th anniversary cake

Despite the party atmosphere, The Mad Shopper's Tea Party was a shopping event.  So, after reading so many rave reviews around the blogosphere, I decided to use this opportunity to visit the Liz Earle store and finally treat myself to some Liz Earle products.  After a consultation with a lovely advisor, I came away with the great summer skincare essentials offer, including the must-have Cleanse & Polish, plus free sample of Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion.  Stay tuned for a full review coming soon to this blog!


The whole event was just so much fun, so much so I didn't remember to take that many pictures, but I hope enjoyed these few!  I just wish I hadn't been driving, as the champagne was flowing all round... I could have ended up pretty merry!


Thanks VQ for this great event!

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On Thursday I attended the unveiling of the Whistles Spring Summer 2011 collection.  Located at the Leeds store in the fabulous Victoria Quarter and coinciding with the introduction of the reinvention brand to the region, this intimate event was hosted by Grazia Magazines Polly Vernon.

I've featured some of my favourite items from the collection above.  I'd have to guess one of the best selling items on the night was the light peach crop skinny jeans.  With 20% off on the evening I was desperate to get my hands on a pair.  Alas, by the time I went to try them on, EVERY pair had already been snapped up!!

Overall, amazing fashion mixed with champagne, cupcakes, plus the fact that Space NK sent along make-up artists to treat the guests, all made for a really great evening!  I was especially pleased to bump into two lovely ladies whose blogs I read regularly, Lucy from Miss Lucy Loves... and Jen from A Little Bird Told Me... It felt a bit weird approaching them and announcing 'I recognise you, do you have blogs?' but I'm so glad I did, they are both such friendly girls!

I'll leave you with a few pics of the fab goodie bag I received... I was too busy having fun to take any decent pictures during the event, but do check out this Culture Vulture article, the writer Eleanor Snare has shared some great pictures of the evening on her Flickr account. 

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