Phoebe Eats: Patty & Bun

A quick post for you all today. As I mentioned previously, I want to add more of a lifestyle aspect to That's so Phoebe. All the fashion will remain exactly the same, but from time-to-time I might review the odd restaurant or let you know what I've been up to. I hope you enjoy reading them, because they are some of my favourite things to read and I want to share my own experiences. This series is aptly titled 'Phoebe Eats' and will be an homage to any restaurants of cafes I have been loving at the moment. Hopefully you will find these posts interesting and useful if you are ever in the area, looking for a bite to eat! 

I went to London last weekend with my boyfriend and we couldn't decide where to go for our evening meal on Saturday night. We wanted somewhere fairly cheap and central and something that you couldn't just get anywhere. I'd read about Patty & Bun on 'The Londoner' blog (one of my favourite lifestyle blogs- a must read!) and we decided to give it a try. We visited the James Street location but you can also find it in Liverpool Street. You can't book a table, however, it's generally quite a quick turnaround as the food is pretty casual so you won't be waiting too long for a table (and boy it's worth the wait!).

The menu- as the name suggests- consists of only burgers, and as a vegetarian, there was only one I could choose, the Portobello 'Dig It' Burger. However, I didn't mind the lack of choice as it was absolutely D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! The 'Dig It' comprises of a breaded portobello mushroom, oozing with cheese sauce and plenty of other saucy goodness  such as coleslaw, pickled onions and garlic mayo. All of this, enclosed in a fluffy brioche bun. If I was a meat-eater, the meaty burgers looked equally tasty and my boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed his! We both chose the rosemary fries and they were just the right amount of crispy and flavour- perfect. 

I'd definitely recommend Patty & Bun, the food is incredible. It's quite a speedy experience, with quick service the food is so amazing you'll probably wolf it down so if you're looking to take your time with a nice, long, relaxed sit-down meal this might not be for you. Saying that, for a casual date night or lunch and dinner after a shopping trip this is just the place! Prices ranged from £7.50-£8.50 for burgers and around £2.50 for sides, so all in all, a reasonable meal and a tasty one at that!

www.pattyandbun.co.uk

Review : Impress Nails

I thought I'd post a quick review of these Impress Nails before I go into town today. I received these nails in a goodie bag from a Little Black Dress event a few weeks ago and I waited until my acrylic nails needed to be taken off before trying them out.

I'm very 'impressed' with these (no pun intended!). As the packaging suggests, they are very quick and easy to use, with the total application taking about 5 minutes. They feel secure and are thick enough to hide my weak, thin nails underneath. Considering you don't need glue, these nails don't feel like they are going anywhere. I applied them Monday and other than a couple of mishaps where I have lost a nail, they were all still on by Friday. I just glued the two nails that fell off back on with a tiny bit of nail glue and I was good to go. 

A few people have asked me what nail varnish I used to do this effect, or even whether they were another set of acrylics, which shows how professional and realistic they look.

You can buy these nails from Boots for about £8-9 but I do think they are a little on the pricey side so I would wait for them to be on special offer before repurchasing. Overall I think they are great false nails, very quick and easy, and would be perfect for a special occasion like a wedding, prom or Christmas. I now have my acrylic nails back since I am home from university for Christmas but if I ever have a break from them and need my nails to look nice I would definitely buy these again.

Have you ever tried Impress nails? What do you think?

xxx

Review: Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo

I thought I would post a quick review for you all today. I've been so busy with school work lately that I've neglected my blog a little, but I've got some ideas for posts lined up now and I will reply to the comments from my last post soon :)

I got this shampoo* a few weeks ago but I wanted to properly test it out before I did a review on it. It's called the Aussie 'Miracle Moist Shampoo' and I really like it. I haven't ever tried anything from Aussie before but I've always been tempted by their products and I'm so pleased I tried this!

The shampoo is for people with dry, damaged hair. I use too much heat on my hair so the ends are a bit frazzled so I was excited to try this. It works really well and has made my hair a lot smoother and I have started to notice it is less frizzy lately as well. My hair is still a little dry at the ends but they are improved! I was a little sceptical at first because I thought that it might weigh my hair down and make it limp because it has  Macadamia nut oil but luckily that hasn't been the case. My hair just looked shiny and nourished when I used this and not weighed down at all. In my local Superdrug this is £5.99 which isn't the cheapest on the market but you do get 500ml which is a lot, so I think the price is justified. The smell is an interesting one, I'm not sure what it is but it kind of smells like bubblegum. I'm not mad for it, but it's not particularly offensive and I like the product anyway!

I think I'm going to try out the conditioner in the range next as I'm impressed with this shampoo!

Has anyone else tried this? What are you favourite hair products? I have bought some new hair treatments recently that I'm testing out at the moment because I'm on a quest for healthier hair!

xxx

*PR sample

L'Oreal Caresse Review

I've been intrigued by the 'lip butter' hype for some time. After reading reviews on the Revlon Lips butters but after looking at them in person I decided not to get any. Many of the pinks are very blue toned (which doesn't suit me) and most of the colours have shimmer in them which I don't really like in lip products. However when I started hearing about the new L'Oreal Caresse lipsticks I felt certain that these would be more 'up my street' and on Thursday I dashed to my local Superdrug to buy one. Unfortunately there was a tiny selection but I managed to purchase one anyway. The colour is No.03 'Lovely Rose' and it's a gorgeous bright baby pink. 

The lipstick is similar to a tinted lip balm in texture but with a lot more pigmentation. It is still pretty sheer compared to a normal lipstick but it definitely has great colour pay off for a lip butter. I find this type of lipstick great for Summer as they look more natural. The lipstick colour lasts for a decent amount of time before reapplication, but this doesn't matter as I would re-apply lip balm frequently anyway and this is so moisturising that it replaces the need for an additional lip balm. It also wears off nicely and doesn't cling to cracks in your lips which is great. 'Lovely Rose' is not too blue toned and so it would suit a range of complexions and has no shimmer in it. My lips are quite pigmented so sometimes I put a tiny bit of foundation over them first so I get the true colour of the lipstick. 

Overall I'm really pleased with this lipstick and I'm dying to try more out of the range- I just need to find a store which stocks more than three colours. I love sheer lipsticks at the moment as they are a really wearable way to start wearing bright lips during the day. I'm currently eyeing up Chantecaille Lip Chic in Geranium but for £29 I'm not going to be getting it for a while! 

Have any of you tried any lip butter/ sheer lipsticks at the moment? What are your recommendations, I want to try more! 

xxx

MAC Naturally Collection

As soon as the Mac Naturally collection I knew it was right up my street. I love nudes and like a glossy and polished look for my make up so this collection seemed perfect. I don't know if anyone else from the UK does this, but I'm always checking MAC.com to see the new collections before they get released here! I'd made my mind up I was going to get many more things than I actually did, but once it was released here I had to cut my list down to the two products that I would be the most disappointed if I missed out on them. I wish I had a money tree but unfortunately I don't!

Mineralise Blush- Fresh Honey

I've wanted a peachy blush for a while now. I usually wear pinks (my favourite being NARS Deepthroat) but as Spring was approaching- well sort of!- I wanted something to give me a more tanned glow. 

This blush is really pigmented and has a lovely soft consistency. It's quite powdery- you just need to touch your brush on the blush and you pick up a lot of product- but I like this. I thought it might have more shimmer but it's actually fairly matte. I think this is nice though as sometimes I can go a little overboard with the shimmer on my face!
 In reality the colour is slightly deeper than my camera is showing and it gives a gorgeous glow to my cheeks! I think this is an amazing blush, I prefer the formula to my normal MAC blushes and although for £19 it isn't cheap, if you're looking to treat yourself to a nice new blush, this is the one to get! I wish I could get the other two colours as they were lovely too.

Lipstick- Sweet Sunrise

I love MAC lipsticks, they are my favourite for formulation, smell (vanilla cupcake scent mmm!) and in my opinion they are quite reasonably priced for a high end product. 'Sweet Sunrise' is no exception. It's creamy, glides on and looks great. The finish is a Lustre which I love. 
I've compared the colour to others in my collection to give you an idea of what the colour is like.  It's very simmilar to Creme D'Nude but a little lighter and more pink toned. The colour is also slightly more sheer. Considering how pale it appears, it still manages to be very wearable. I think this is due to the glossiness and of it the fact it is more sheer than other nudes. This is not to say that you can't see it on your lips, you definitely can, but it just makes it a softer colour.

I'm so pleased with my two products. I ordered both off the internet so I'm glad I like them- I always feel ordering make-up is a bit of a gamble! If I had more money I would have liked the Redhead MSF but I'll make do with the two things I have for now :) 

Did anyone else get anything from the Naturally collection?

xxx

Review: Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish

I thought I'd write a little review today on my absolute favourite skin care product: Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. I'm aware that everyone in the blogging community seems to have reviewed this however it doesn't hurt to have another opinion, especially if you're new to reading blogs! I have not been sent this, I buy it myself and want to share my love for it!

What is it and how does it work?

The Cleanse and Polish is a 'hot cloth cleanser'. To use it, I massage the thick cream into my skin (with or without makeup on- personally I generally use this to remove my makeup) for a few minutes. Next I take the muslin cloth provided in the starter kit and run it under hot water. I squeeze out the excess and buff the cloth onto my skin in circular motions to remove the product and gently exfoliate at the same time. I finish by rinsing my face, patting it dry and admiring the baby soft skin that is left.

What I like about this product:

One

The consitancy is amazing. It's thick and creamy so literally melts into the skin. Heavenly.

Two

The smell is lovely, it's a light, fairly floral fragrance which makes the cleanser feel luxurious when used. 

Three

The use of the muslin cloth means that my skin gets a mild exfoliation everyday which keeps it looking bright and clear. It also helps my skin to feel so soft upon use.

Four

The ingredients. This cleanser contains Chamomile for soothing, Rosemary for it's antioxidant properties, Hops extract for toning and Cocoa Butter for moisture.

I've been using this product since before I'd even heard about blogging and Youtube. In fact, it was my Mum who first introduced me to the Liz Earle cleanser when, aged 14, I needed to remove the thick stage make-up I had on for a dance show. Of course I hardly wore make-up then so didn't start using it regularly until I was 15/16. However four years on from that day and I still remain loyal to this product. Although I have dabbled into the realms of other cleansers, I always come back to this and I rarely break out when I'm using it. In case you're wondering, I have dry/ normal skin, however I know that this works for people with oily skin too so whatever your skin type, don't be afraid to give this a try.

I buy the 200ml because I think it's the best value. I know that I like the product so I'd rather buy the big size every few months. You can buy it directly from Liz Earle- Link!

Have you ever tried this cleanser or do you have another favourite?

xxx

Review: BaByliss Waving Wand (& mini FOTD)

I've debated getting this hair tool for a while now as I must own every kind of waving/ curling tool out there! From hot rollers, to conical wands to traditional barrel curlers- you name it, I've tried it!- but I just can't seem to stop myself getting caught up in 'new product' hype. I know this has been out for a little while now but I wanted to wait and get it with my Christmas money and since I was ill so soon after Christmas, I haven't had a chance to have a proper go with it until now. 

The features:

1. Unique oval shape barrel

2. Professional Styler with no clamp

3. Up to 200°C

4. Includes a heat resistant glove (especially good for clumsy people like me, I always burn myself!)

What I like about the Waving Wand:

Firstly, I really like that the temperature goes up to 200°C as I often have to resort to my straighteners to create a curl (or wave!) that actually lasts the whole day. The high temperature means that not only to my curls stay in tact (providing it's not too windy) but they last the next day as well. This is a first for any curling iron I've tried until now, and it means I get soft effortless waves the next day in my hair as well! The temperature can be adjusted and there is also a flashing light to tell you when the wand has reached the correct temperature which takes literally seconds. I always use the highest temperature even though I don't have the thickest of hair- naughty me!

The shape of the wand is also very nice. It stops your waves becoming to spirally and 'done' looking which is what I like. I find it easier to use than conical wands as my hair doesn't seem to slip off the barrel as easily. 

I find the waving wand extremely quick and easy to use. I was pleasantly surprised because it often takes me a few attempts to get the right technique when I buy a new hair tool but the first time I used this it worked out great!

Would I recommend this?

Yes definitely! I bought this with my own money from boots for about £20 on offer (it normally retails for about £30)- Link! For the money I think the waving wand is worth it, I get waves that last two days and I think the style it produces is so pretty. I can't really fault it. I've had many BaByliss products over the years and I think they are all exceptional quality- including my straighteners which I think rival GHD's!

To achieve the look I did, I took random pieces of hair and wrapped them around the wand for about 10 seconds each. I then waited 5 minutes for my hair to completely cool before brushing it out very gently and spraying my hair with hairspray. I twisted the front sections of my hair and secured them behind my head with grips.

What are your favourite hair tools? I'd loved to know!

Also if anyone has any suggestions for blog posts I'd love to hear them. I've got exams over the next few weeks so I might not be able to do as many OOTD's (I'll be comfy clothes revising most days!) but I'll try and continue posting for you all. As soon as my exams are over posts will go back to normal :)

In case you're wondering, here is the make up I'm wearing:

MAC- Studio Sculpt Foundation

Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer

Nars- Laguna Bronzer

Nars Deep- Throat Blush

Dior- Diorskin Poudre Shimmer Amber Diamond

MAC- Zoom lash Mascara

MAC- Sheen Supreme Lipstick- Behave Yourself

Eye shadows from the Urban Decay Naked Palette 

Top- Jack Wills

xxx