You know the feeling: you've had a great Wednesday night out but perhaps aren't feeling too fresh for your 9am lecture the next day. You can't sack it off but all you want to do is stay in your cosy pyjamas. Here's where Get The Label come to the rescue! They offer super comfy athleisure wear (as well as much more) which makes it look like you've made the effort even if you're a little bit hungover still.
Us gals go through a lot in our lives: we put up with monthly periods and all the fun and cramps that come with them; we push babies out of our bodies like some kind of Superwoman; and on top of all that, we go through the pain of trying to take off glitter nail polish that just doesn't want to budge. We've all been there - desperately scrubbing away at a chipped glitter coat with a cotton pad, only for the cotton wool to drag and cling onto the tiny pieces of glitter until your left in a crying heap on the floor and glitter nail varnish STILL on your nails. Okay, this may be an exaggeration, but it's a pain, right? Something we could do without? Well fear not glitter lovers, Leighton Denny has come up with a solution.
I was generously gifted Leighton Denny's NEW Easy-Peel base coat, along with one of their glitter nail polishes called Twinkle Twinkle to try with it. The instructions say to put two layers of the Easy Peel base coat on before topping with your fave glitter polish. The base coat paints on white and then as it dries it turns clear. It dries super quickly and doesn't feel thick or gloopy, so it doesn't take long to do the two base coats. Once they were dry, I put on two layers of Twinkle Twinkle to complete the look. I love the look of a glitter polish and this silver colour goes with most outfits so it was perfect for my Saturday night out.
Now here is my recommendation: this peel-off base is great if you want to wear a glitter polish for a day or for a particular event, without the trouble of taking it off the next day. It is PERFECT for that. However, don't expect it to last a whole week. The beauty of this product is that it's super convenient if you want to be able to take off your polish really easily. I found that after submersing my nails in water quite a bit during the day (e.g. while showering, washing up dishes) the nails started to come off. In the instructions, it suggests that you gently push at the edges of your nail until the polish comes away from your nail bed. And it really is that easy! And also how satisfying is it peeling off nail varnish? (The answer is VERY). If you peel of shellac or normal nail polish, it often leaves nail beds feeling rough and brittle. With the Leighton Denny Easy Peel base, my nails felt perfectly healthy and smooth after taking them off - bonus!
If you're a local, you'll no doubt be aware of Cardiff's City Road - jam-packed with so many delicious eateries from all over the world, you really are spoilt for choice. Saray is a Turkish restaurant situated about halfway down the infamous road, and they kindly invited me, along with a few other bloggers, to a cooking masterclass with their fantastic chefs.
We were sat down in the restaurant and offered a beautiful cup of Turkish tea - very unlike my usual morning English Breakfast tea! The aromas were fantastic too and complemented the smell of freshly baked breads coming from the kitchen.
We started off with an Adana kebab masterclass using minced lamb (my favourite meat!). We were shown how to roll and place the mince onto the skewers so that they look presentable before they are cooked. They made it look a lot easier than it actually was! Regardless, I like to think I did a pretty good job of it in the end!
We then went through to learn how to make their fresh breads, and we also made Pide - a kind of Turkish pizza. These can have an array of different fillings - we made a Ispanakli pide (feta cheese, spinach, red peppers, onion and mushrooms) as well as two meat pides (one chicken, one lamb) but the vegetarian pide was my favourite for sure.
The best bit about the cooking class? Being able to eat it all at the end! They say food always tastes better when you've made it yourself, and this was no exception! The lamb kebab and pides were beautiful, and the fresh bread and dips complemented the dishes perfectly. The fact that we saw all the food being freshly prepared made me realise how different Saray is to other Turkish restaurants I've been to. Every single thing I ate (even the hummus) had been freshly prepared in the restaurant - and you can really tell! The flavours were fantastic and I can't wait to go back and bring along friends and family.
If you're a Cardiff student like me (or even just visiting Cardiff) looking for somewhere to eat out - perhaps City Road feels a bit overwhelming with its huge choice of restaurants - look no further than Saray!
What's better than a good old fashioned workout to make you feel great? I'll tell you what - a good old fashioned workout followed by a glass of prosecco!
I was invited to try out Tramshed's latest fitness craze - a workout class followed by a relaxing glass of bubbly. It might seem counter-intuitive but in fact there's nothing more refreshing than the fizz of prosecco after working your socks off.
I took my flatmate to the class with me - it's a really social atmosphere and a great place to meet people or hang out with friends. The class I took part in was "Smash Hits" - all the tunes! The workout was a body combat style and I'll tell you now it wasn't easy! However I got stuck right in and by the end of it I felt like a street fighting pro. The instructor was really engaging and made sure everyone of all abilities was able to get involved, which made all the difference.
At the end of the class, we sat down in Tramshed's bar/restaurant area called The Waiting Room. Unfortunately I can't comment on the brunch part of the event because due to chef illness that day there was no food. However, the prosecco went down very well and added to the social aspect of the event.
I think Tramshed's Class and a Glass is a fantastic idea - it's fun, keeps you fit and allows you to hang out with your friends at the same time. They even do a student discount for us University go-ers! The class is the perfect to sweep away that Sunday morning hangover! Keep an eye on http://tramshedcardiff.com/ for any more upcoming classes in Cardiff!
This month, two of my favourite things in life (Japanese food and talking about mental health) came together and I couldn't be happier. I visited Wagamama in Princesshay, Exeter a couple of weeks ago to talk about their current collaboration with the charity Mind - and of course a lot of delicious food was devoured in the process.
As a Psychology graduate and also now a Psychology PhD student, mental health is something I am and have always been interested in, and I'm aware that Mind are a fantastic charity that provide invaluable resources and advice to so many people across the UK.
Wagamama are donating 25p from every one of their Positive juices that they sell up until 6th March - AND they're delicious! The juice is made up of pineapple, lime, spinach, apple and cucumber and is super refreshing. All the ingredients are great to cleanse the body, as well as the mind.
Wagamama are also promoting mindfulness and its benefits for improving mental health. Their paper placemats are the perfect canvas for some mindful colouring while you wait for your food. They are also supporting mindful eating - the act of being in the present and taking in and appreciating every single mouthful.
During my visit, I tried the grilled duck donburi along with numerous delicious side dishes - my favourite side had to be the ebi katsu: gorgeous crispy fried prawns with a chilli sauce. The duck was also beautiful. I wanted to try something different from my usual ramen noodles and I was recommended the donburi, which was a great choice!
I'll definitely be visiting Wagamama again soon and picking up a Positive juice to support Mind and the amazing things they do... and hopefully you will too!
