Hillarys At The Harbour

When you buy your first home, the first thing you dream about is decorating it. I never thought it would be something I was that bothered about, but actually I am and spend many hours on Pinterest looking at all kinds of interior design pictures wishing that was my home or particular room.

When Joebloggers invited me to an event called 'Hillarys at the Harbour' I was really looking forward to going because, I have always wanted to go to this particular hotel to see whether the views are as spectular as some friends had told me there were and because I wanted to know more about the brand Hillarys, whom you might recognise for their blinds and curtains.

The event itself was held at the stunning Chelsea Harbour Hotel, the world stunning really isn't the best description to describe it, but it is everything and more. The views from the balcony were breath taking over the harbour and as I dreamt of owning one of the yachts, the real reason I was there was to see the new collection that Hillarys were to showcase called House Beautiful Collection, which is a collaboration with the magazine House Beautiful.

The collection itself featured a lot of bright prints, bold colours and amazing patterns which are said to have been inspired by architects from across the world.  At the even, those present were very lucky to be able to look really closely at each design. I particularly loved the Lattice design which is a small-scale geometric design.  Each Pattern comes in three colours which can, if necessary be put together for layering when and where necessary.

Once we'd had a chance to look around, we all took a seat to listen to the Head of Product Design at Hillary's, a fabulous and very knowledgeable lady called Sarah Quilliam, whom had been on hand the entire evening to answer questions and queries that we might have. Throughout her speech, Sarah told us all about the inspiration behind some of the designs, how long they take to put together and how all the photos on the website and in brochures are taken which show the products inside the homes of actual people, not in a factory where I had assumed everything might be taken to create that perfect photo, but no, they source a house/home and use those which actually I liked the sound of.  After Sarah had finished her speech, we had a brief talk from a lady called Julia Goodwin, who is the editor of House Beautiful magazine and with whom the collaboration is shared with.

This was my first time attending an event like this and I had a great time and really enjoyed learning more about a brand I had only heard of, but never used or seen, other than on the TV or through mentions from friends and families and I was surprised at how much time and effort goes into each aspect of creating a product, getting it ready, publishing it, creating the media profile and then getting the finished product out to potential client and customers.

Have you ever used Hillarys?

How to wear the AW14 Blanket Scarf

With autumn well and truly announcing its arrival, the one accessory that seems to have really taken off is the 'Blanket Scarf', a trend I have seen more and more of my friends mention on social media.

Whether it is striped, checked, an Aztec design or with fluffy bits, there are quite a few I am liking the design of.  With that in mind, Accessorize have produced a YouTube video to show have you can use just one scarf and wear it in five different ways:

Have you got a blanket scarf? How do you wear it?

**This is a sponsored post

Alesha Dixon Rose Quartz Perfume

I am not usually a fan of celebrity perfumes, I just don't like them. However, when I was sent the Alesha Dixon Rose Quartz perfume**, I didn't want to like it, but I just did!.

Rose Quartz is the first fragrance in Alesha's crystal collection, named after the precious stone that promotes a feeling of love, self worth and positive thoughts, something she also happens to believe in.

So the bottle, well I have to say it is lovely, it takes on the ombre look with the pink shade working its way down through the bottle, being more noticeable at the bottle and it has a lovely chunky feel to it. To look at, it actually reminds me of a crystal that my Nan has around her home to ward off bad feelings and the likes, only in a bigger form. 

The scent is described as being a floral symphony with opening notes of bergamot, grapefruit, geranium and magnolia throughout. Also mixed in you will find Patchouli, Rose, Jasmine, Vetivert, Amber, Cedar and musk. So on a first spritz the fruity notes are the first thing you notice and then once the scent has settled down, the more musky smells become apparent, with Rose, for me, being one of the more dominant scents.

A 100ml bottle will cost you just £25 which is an absolute bargain because it is so affordable and with the scent lasting almost all day on my skin, it is rather impressive. I only needed to re-apply if I had a late meeting or was going out in an evening.

Are you a fan of celebrity perfumes?

Privet Body - My First EVER Pedicure!

Everyone who reads my blog will know I have a hatred of feet, not just mine own but everyone elses too and the thought of them being touched or me having to touch anyone elses literally makes my stomach lurch, so when I was challenged on Twitter to try a pedicure, I decided to give it a go, having never had one, I couldn't wait to give it a try, though admittedly I was really nervous incase I did empty the contents of my stomach.

Privet Body is a brand new, luxury, top-to-toe body topiary service, for men and women in the heart of Notting Hill and was to be the place I ventured too for this pedicure by the lovely Erinah, who was just fabulous. As I walked to Privet Body, I was struck by how amazing the decor was and it is the kind of place where your inner child comes out and you just want to touch everything. I was shown to a lovely little table and chair, offered a drink and then asked to complete a form, which is essential incase you have any allergies. Once completed, I was then handed a tray of Essie Nail polishes and asked to choose, well I could have sat there all day trying to decide which one I wanted and in the end it came down to a choice of two, which as you can see below are quite different.

Having made my choice, I was shown to the Log Cabin and upon entry I was awestruck at how amazing the decor was, simply look at the photo ive shown below. Not only was it really relaxing, there was definite similarities to how my Granddad had his lounge whilst he was alive, with the fire and mantelpiece being very similar. The treatment I was to have is called The Central Park Pedicure which lasts for around 75 minutes and in a word it is absolute bliss. There ive said it, got it out of the way, I enjoyed it!

The treatment included - a Foot soak, nail file and shape, cuticle work, exfoliation of legs and feet, hard skin removal, callus peel, foot file, deep conditioning paraffin treatment with heated booties, lower leg and foot massage. The if that isn't enough for you, you then have your toe nails painted with the polish you chose upon your arrival, which in my case was Smoking Hot by Essie which is described as being a creamy gun-metal griege.

As Erinah began touching my feet, I did warn her that I might voluntary kick out, it is a reaction to hating my feet being touch, but she put me at ease and I am sure the soothing music in the background helped a lot and I managed not to kick anyone or anything and I don't think I flinched and grimaced too much. Once my feet had been soaked, filed, buffed and then exfoliated, I was then treated to the deep conditioning paraffin treatment, not if you have never had anything like this before, like me, it is a little strange but wholly amazing all at the same time. As your feet are immersed into the hot paraffin, it feels like candle wax when it is melted. After a few minutes, your feet are removed from the paraffin and then placed inside some plastic booties and then wrapped in warm towels and left to soak.  Ir was absolute heaven, I could feel the aches and pains in my feet simply melting away.  As the paraffin is left on for a good 15 minutes, I got an amazing hand and arm massage too which was also wonderful and very very relaxing.

Once my feet had been removed from my plastic booties and then soaked again in warm water, my feet and lower legs were then massaged, now I admit, this I wasn't looking forward too, someone rubbing my feet is usually a massive no-no, but I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and Erniah was so gentle, it was actually amazingly relaxing and my poor aching feet no longer ached.

The final part of the treatment was the painting of the toenails and again this treatment was quite extensive as my nails were buffed, cuticles dealt with, filed and then a basecoat, the Essie Polish and a top coat all added to my toes to make them look extra nice.  As the polish was drying on my toes, I was able to relax and read a magazine, which again was amazing.

I have to say that I had an amazing experience and am extremely grateful to Privet Body for allowing me into the lovely place and for giving me the opportunity to try a pedicure for the very first time in my life.  Erinah was amazing and my feet have never looked and felt so good, and I actually enjoyed it too!

If you ever are in need of a pedicure, I cannot recommend a visit to Privet Body highly enough, absolutely amazing place and everyone is so friendly and welcoming, I loved it.

Do you like having pedicures?