CastleCourt Goes Curvy

​This month, leading Belfast shopping centre CastleCourt brings you CastleCourt CURVE – a fantastic event celebrating style at any size.

Models will range from size 12-20

Featuring well-known brands from across the UK and beyond, the CastleCourt Curve event, which takes place on Saturday 25 June, is a great opportunity for women of all shapes, sizes and silhouettes to see plus-size collections on a group of body confident, curvy women.

The fashion shows will take place at regular intervals throughout the afternoon from 12.30 until 4pm, and there’ll also be beauty tips and hair advice from key partners including INGLOT as well as Debenhams beauty brands.

Host Charlotte Coyle added: “I’ve been promoting a healthy integration of plus size in fashion for a long time, so it’s great to see such a major shopping centre like CastleCourt embracing their customers in this way. Let’s eliminate negativity surrounding plus size and allow women of all shapes and sizes to enjoy fashion and feeling body confident.”

I'm a size 12 on the bottom and 14 on top, so I'll be interested to see examples on the runway with models up to size 20. I really need tips on dressing for apple shape, so maybe I shall see you all there.

Celebrating 50 Years of Boots in Northern Ireland, in the Europa Penthouse Suite

Boots the Chemist are celebrating 50 years of trading in Northern Ireland this year. To celebrate, during an intimate event at the Europa Hotel, the No7 teamof makeup artists recreated key looks from the past five decades, documenting the swinging 60s styles, the electro 80s, right through to today’s current trends – from contouring to creating the perfect brow.

1960s' hair & makeup using Boots products

I went along to the Europa penthouse suite, where a dozen of makeup & beauty concessions had sent their dream teams to pamper & paint our lucky faces.

Anne Higgins, Head of Customer Experience from Boots in Northern Ireland commented; “When the first Boots store opened in Northern Ireland in Belfast’s Corn Market in 1966 it brought with it a wealth of beauty and wellbeing essentials helping customers feel good right across the province."

"Boots also brought to Northern Ireland its No7 brand, which was originally introduced in the 1930s. The now iconic brand has brought a huge range of innovative products to the market through its beauty and skincare collections, from its ground breaking Protect and Perfect Intense Advanced Serum, the UK’s first serum clinically proven to deliver anti-wrinkle results that get even better over time, to its No7 Match Made service which helps you discover the colours shades and finished perfectly suited to you."

The event was a beauty blogger's dream, and as a woman who is now hooked on makeup, I had a whale of a time. There were many international beauty houses available at Boots including Smashbox, Benefit, Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, Lancôme and Bare Minerals, who showcased their latest products and trends.

FaeriBex tries some Lancôme lippie

I was also treated to skincare from Liz Earle, No7, Clarins and Clinique with summer hair trends demonstrated by Bumble & Bumble.

Liz Earle

The No7 brand has developed throughout the years, working with top skin scientists and specialists, to meet the demands of today’s savvy shoppers, professional makeup artists and beauty fanatics. Today, its latest new products include the new Lift and Luminate Triple Action Serum, Bronze Shimmer Palette and the Special Edition Gold Lash Impact Mascara.

We also came away with lots of samples, so what did I love, what secret products are in the pipeline, and which items will I be buying full size thanks to the samples or demonstrations? 

The first stop on my tour of the room were the ladies at Estée Lauder.  I had always heard great things about their Double Wear foundation, and Julie from their main Boots store offered to apply it for me so I could compare it to my usual medium coverage Rimmel foundation.

See the result of how the new foundation looked, later on in this post. 

That's me in the background! 

Julie used the Double Wear To Go £33.00 compact in the lightest shade. The clever compact dispenses a pump of foundation, one for light coverage & two for a more heavier look. This Double Wear incarnation has a slight glow to it, it's not matte but it's not too shiny either. In the words of Goldilocks, it was just right. So I've my eyes set on buying the compact myself once my ten day trial has run out. 

Each Estée Lauder concession currently has a ten day sample available for customers to try Double Wear at home. Just come along to your local store & they will use their little machine to match your skin tone & send you off with your ten day trial.

The next sample I'm loving is the No7 Lash Impact in limited edition gold glitter packaging.

I'm really very fussy about mascara. I only use Estée Lauder, Benefit Bad Gal or RollerLash, but not They're Real, or No7 mascaras. 

I dislike mascara that clumps, or makes my lashes look spidery, but No7 wands don't let me down, so if I have to recommend a mascara I would say this was top three. 

Next is one of the products we were teased with, but that isn't available to buy yet. Here is a snap of the adjustable head eyeliner Lancôme are launching very soon. I didn't get a photo myself, so this is from Alison, PassionsandPreening's snapchat.

I struggle with my eyeliner so I'm dying to get my hands on one of these flexible head types. 

Moving on to something I did get a sample of, the Smash Box Primer £25.50 

I've tried a couple of brands of primer but never fully added it into my makeup routine. This product might just change that. It's hard to describe how it makes your skin feel, but it's so soft, you'll just want to keep touching it. 

Bumble & Bumble Thickening Hairspray £22.00 next. They gave us a couple of samples and they all smell so good. This hairspray isn't an aerosol, which is great because cans of hairspray bring me out in a rash. This is more liquid, but has a tonne of hold. My hair felt very natural and not full of product, despite the curl I had put in holding so well.

Another full size sample the Boots Coconut Oil 100ml at £2.54 is a versatile product you can use for your hair, skin and nails. I used it as a body moisturiser & of course the scent is delicious.

Lastly, if you are into beauty you'll surely have heard about the new Benefit Brow Collection coming soon. I've my eyes set on Gimme Brow in shade 4, £18.50 after the girls colour matched my brows and applied the gel for me. 

So my makeup below is Estée Lauder Double Wear To Go foundation & blush, Clinique mascara, Benefit Gimme Brow, Lancôme Juicy Shaker lips. Thanks for a wonderful day, Boots!

Six Bikes to Win Thanks to Little Wing

As Smix & I's favourite local restaurant chain prepare to expand into mainland UK, they are revving the engines for summer & giving away six kids' bikes, one for each store. 

Entry is simple – enjoy a tasty Little Wing pizza in any of the six locations, fill out a ‘Get on Yer Bike’ Giveaway flyer and you’ll be entered into the draw to win. The competition will for one month, from 15th June - 15th July, with winners being drawn week commencing 18th July.

The competition launched on Wednesday 15th June to coincide with Bike to School Day. If you want more information, to find out where your nearest Little Wing is located, or to nosy through the whole menu, visit their website. They even have their own gaming app!

Father's Day 2016 is Sweet at M&S

Father's Day is this Sunday in the UK & Ireland. Smix & I popped along to our local Bloomfields branch in Bangor, to see what's in store to pick up for your Pops this weekend.

Firstly there's a great offer to pick up a smart polo shirt, shorts and greetings card for £19.50 perhaps best for the older Dad, my own Dad would love this set. It's all mix and match, so you can choose from dozens of colour combinations to make the outfit that's right for your Dad's day in the sun.

There are other offers you might be interested in, like 30% off men's fragrance, toiletries and toiletry gifts. 

Or there's the classic mug option! A Father's Day staple in our household for many a year as I was growing up. 

There are dozens of craft ales, which I'll come to later, but if your dad is teetotal then check out this fancy root beer. I picked up the matching cream soda,  priced at £2 each and would make for a very fancy bbq refreshment at any time this summer.

Now onto the main Food Hall offerings. I'm a sucker for an M&S cake, and there's a special Dad cake on the shelves for this weekend's celebrations. The £8 cake is a delicious combination of Belgian chocolate, coffee & salted caramel in layers.

The off license section of your local store is stocked with a wealth of apt Father's Day tipple ideas. I couldn't resist this pre-mixed espresso martini, for £12, which we will chill to ice cold & serve on the rocks. 

And here's the tempting praline cream soda I mentioned, which would make a neat little gift with some of M&S's yummy gingerbread men. The minis are £1.10 and the regular sized are £1.50

My dad has a sweet tooth and loves nougat, so I chose this huge slab of his favourite for £5, which I will give to him along with a nice bottle of red wine. Many of the Belgian chocolate boxes are half price right now, in celebration of Father's Day, so if your dad loves his sweeties too, check out what your local Food Hall has on offer. 

Now, onto that bottle of red wine I mentioned! I was lucky to notice there is a  dine in style offer on right now. You pick a main, from a selection of great bbq/summer style dishes, two sides, and a bottle of wine, or two bottles of ale/beer. So it's definitely a dad themed sort of meal deal! You get all that for a tenner, and with bottles of wine usually costing £7.99 at least these days, you can't be bad to that.

I chose these products, and snapped some of the other choices for you. 

They also have some great hot hot sauces in the Food Hall, the packaging of these caught my eye. 

These are the ales you can pick from and take two of for the meal deal, or a bottle of wine as usual. 

Some more of the alcohol gifts I thought would make good presents. These colourful gins were £14 each.

You could put together a great gift set of ales, beers or ciders for your dad to try out.  If you buy six you save a huge 25% so it's worth your while stocking up for you too! Have a great Father's Day 2016!

P.S. We cooked the Dine in Meal this evening, shared between 3 adults & Smix, with just an extra chicken kebab and small salad to fill out the meal as it was meant for two people.  We are full! For £10 with a bottle of wine or two ales, it's a steal.

The Mayo that comes along with the sweet potato fries is to DIE for. I highly recommend it!  

Football Themed Snacks Score a Goal at Lidl NI

Northern Ireland's first match kicks off in 20 mins. I ran over to  Lidl Bangor quickly to pick up some snacks for during the nail biter.

Good luck, NI! We can do this! 

79p

79p

99p

£1.99

£1.99

Snap Before You Sip With Ground Espresso & Win a Holiday to New York!

Your next cup of coffee could be your ticket to the holiday of a lifetime in the city that never sleeps. 

Northern Ireland's home grown, quickly expanding coffee chain Ground Espresso has launched an initiative that will invite their fans to submit themed stills for inclusion in a beautifully bound coffee table book, which will be sold and all proceeds given to The Ground Honduras Project.

Ground coffees are pretty as a picture

The aim of this campaign is to capture shots that range from favourite Ground drinks, to a precious memory shared at Ground, and even quirky snaps of Ground’s coffees and signature tray bakes out and about at NI’s famous landmarks. The initiative welcomes participants at all levels of photography from smartphone users to professional shutterbugs.

Snap quickly before the Nutella cake disappears!0

Ground also provide free tap water in every store- a great help for families

The initiative will shortlist 12 runners-ups who will be announced in August 2016.

Each runner up will receive a premium prize package of Ground treats including a £100 Ground gift card, brew-at-home coffeekits, and some bespoke branded products. In addition to this, the overall winner will receive a complimentary weekend break in New York City with flights and accommodation courtesy of Ground Espresso Bars.

All winners will also have their submissions included in Ground’s first coffee table book, which will be available for sale to the public at the end of year.

For further information and to join the campaign visit www.groundcoffee.net.

Spot Ground, top right

Smix & I finally visited the new Ground Espresso Bar that opened as part of the big, new Next store at Bloomfields in Bangor. It's the town's second branch, with the first cafe along the ring road always a hive of activity, and this concession set to thrive also. 

Previously the space was a department store, where you could get a light lunch, and Ground is the perfect replacement, with lots of good choices on offer from light bites to bagels, to toasties, to traybakes. 

The salted caramel brownie is the stuff of legends

Manager Chris was on hand on a hot Friday afternoon to show us the sparkly new store.  

Just as with the other Bangor branch, the Bloomfield cafe offers the whole  Brew Bar experience, which I covered in this blog post which is a must for coffee connoisseurs.

There's also a fabulous selection of Suki Teas, another local hero product, made in Belfast.

Because it was so hot I didn't fancy a big mug of steaming hot coffee, so Chris made me a double espresso with a little foamed milk.  

Michael's favourite and what he has religiously every time we go to Ground, is the Nutella cake. It's as heavenly as you'd imagine. 

Coupled with a babycino

I tried their bacon & cream cheese bagel. I'd had their bacon bap before in their Sprucefield cafe, but the bagel is a total belly buster! So much delicious bacon. I needed a lie down after eating that! But it was worth it! 

As with the other stores, this Ground also has a range of expert coffee paraphernalia to use at home. 

Dont forget to sign up for the Ground reward scheme if you are a frequent visitor, and there are also gift vouchers available if you know someone who loves their coffee & would be interested in the brew bar experience they can't get elsewhere. 

So thanks to Chris & the team, we had a fun first visit to our second local Ground. They sent us off with one of their special fruit & veg smoothies, as I was curious to taste the Kale Kick. It's an authentic superfood drink, icy cold in this hot weather, but a bit too healthy for me. The Oreo flavoured icecream milkshake is more my thing! 

You can connect with Ground on social networks with the username @GroundEspresso

Stendhal Music & Art Festival- Bring the Whole Family & Camp Under the Stars

Set in the picturesque surrounds of Ballymully Cottage Farm on the outskirts of Limavady, Stendhal Festival of Art brings an all encompassing artistic experience to the Roe Valley, home of Danny Boy. Celebrating the creativity of artists from all over Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and further afield, Stendhal Festival of Art is much more than just a music festival.

90% of all shows are completely family-friendly, anything not is clearly labelled as such. You can visit by the day, or camp on site for that authentic festival experience. 

Stendhal Festival website.

Stendhal Festival Facebook Page.

A Cat Cafe for Belfast? YOU Can Help Make Kittywinkles Cat Lounge Happen!

Caitlin- the woman with the plan

Caitlin McClelland emailed me this week with quite possibly the most exciting news of 2016 so far- the prospect of a cat cafe for Belfast. What's that? What does it entail? How can we make Caitlin's dream a furry reality? We had a chat about the best animal in the world, the cat. 

What's a cat lounge?

Alizul blog

Well, it's a comfortable space where friendly, pampered cats live. The cats roam around and do as they please while visitors relax and socialise. There are already 9 cat cafés in the UK but I want Kittywinkles to be something different. It will be a calm, open space.

Your visit is booked so you don't queue or wait, your seats are ready for your arrival and you can spend your time there doing whatever you like. Bring a friend for a chat, bring your laptop and study, bring a cat-lover along for an amazing surprise - it's up to you.

Why Belfast? 

I feel like we should try to bring new ideas and opportunities to Northern Ireland. Cat cafés already exist in London, Edinburgh, Newcastle, etc. and I think Belfast deserves one too. Belfast is changing and lots of new small businesses are popping up regularly, I think we're ready for Kittywinkles Cat Lounge.

What can we expect to see when Kittywinkles opens?

I want Kittywinkles to be something new and different for Belfast. I love the quirky style of interior decorating that is becoming more popular around Belfast these days. Reclaimed furniture, funny and eye-catching artwork, up-cycled oddities… Originally this was my vision for the cat lounge, but during the planning stage I started to feel that maybe that wasn’t new anymore, I could give Kittywinkles a style that doesn’t exist in Belfast.

thinkGeek.com

The cat lounge will be based on Japanese cat cafés - over-sized floor cushions, little tea-tables, squashy beanbag seats and soft throws and pillows. The cat lounge will be tailored to helping our visitors to relax and feel at home, so I want it to be like their second living-room.

global.rakuten.com

The cats will live in this space and their experience will be quite different. I plan on installing walk-ways along the walls and windows and hidey-holes for cats to peek out from. I’ve seen some fantastic furniture for cats such as mini bunk beds, cat-sized rope ladders and little fabric hammocks for cats to laze on. The style I’m aiming for is quirky, comfy and welcoming.

The café area will be separate, of course, to maintain high levels of hygiene when we’re serving drinks and snacks. On the Kittywinkles menu you’ll see lots of varieties of locally-sourced tea and coffee, as well as a few fun additions like bubble-tea and milkshakes. I’d like to serve mainly dessert-style snacks like flapjacks, macarons and cupcakes. Cats can’t taste sugar so you won’t have to share your treats with a kitty!

Kittywinkles will bring a new style to Belfast then?

Yes, starting with the branding that you can see in the Kittywinkles logo, it is a style called ‘Kawaii’ which means ‘cute’ in the context of Japanese culture. For instance, brands like Hello Kitty, Rilakkuma and Molang are considered kawaii; they’re adorable, chubby and based on cute animals. Our mascot is an attention-seeking brown cat called Kwinkle.

Who do you expect to see visiting the Kittywinkles cats? 

I think that Kittywinkles is a place for all (unless you are allergic to cats!). It might look like a place for kids because of the cute brand but the cat lounge is for anyone who wants to spend time with cats.

Our visitors might not be allowed pets in their home or have never owned a pet before and want to try it out by visiting. I imagine that most people who like animals will want to come and see Kittywinkles Cat Lounge because it’s a new kind of space they haven’t used before. It’s not like a bustling café or a noisy pub and I’d say Kittywinkles won’t be the only cat café in Northern Ireland for long once people experience it for themselves.

Kittywinkles Cat Lounge is currently raising start up funds on Kickstarter. Backers can choose their reward from the project and pledge an amount to bring Kittywinkles to life. The project will run until 24th June.