Afternoon Tea at Kensington Palace

I have to admit that recently I've been rather spoilt when it comes to afternoon teas. When a best friend visited from Australia, it was top of her wishlist to enjoy an Afternoon Tea in London, even a few of my meetings recently have been over tea and scones in some of London's most decadent hotels. Absolutely spoilt. What many teas do not offer, however, is the grandeur of an incredible building - a palace, perhaps would quite literally be the icing on the cake to create the most fabulous experience. That is why, today's post is all about Afternoon Tea within The Orangery of Kensington Palace. Once the setting for Queen Anne's raucous parties, with ornate ceilings and 18th century architecture, it makes for by far the most grand of Afternoon Tea locations I am yet to encounter.

Last weekend, while still feeling a little delicate following our Christmas Jumper Party the night before, I was invited to try out their Festive English Afternoon Tea. Mum and I took our seats within the bright and airy room before being given a brief history of the building and it's colourful past. Before long, our table was decked with a three tiered selection of sandwiches, scones and sweet treats, but I did struggle a little to see what made it festive! Nevertheless, each 'course' was exactly what I was hoping for, hearty sandwiches including an Egg mayonnaise roll, smoked salmon and cream cheese mini bagels and turkey and cranberry sandwiches (oh, there's the festive part!).

The scones and cakes were traditional and tasty - many teas choose to make their sweet courses outlandish and incredibly creative but sometimes loose the quality of the food itself, but at The Orangery the selection was simple yet delicious.

While munching our way through the tiers, we enjoyed a festive tea as well as a traditional English Breakfast, on beautiful china emblazoned with the royal crown.

The tea itself is very well priced in my opinion, at �26 per person including tea, it's certainly one of the better value teas in town, especially given the grandeur of the surroundings!

And what does one wear to Afternoon Tea in the grounds of a palace? Well, as much as a fan as I am of getting all dressed up, my 'delicate' state lead me to opt for an outfit that I felt comfortable in for the mild December morning; a wine coloured leather skirt, brown jumper and my favourite new neopolitan striped faux fur scarf.

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Have you visited Kensington Palace Gardens for Tea?

xoxo

Christmas with Clarins

Ok so the title of this post may not strictly be utterly correct, and I may be just teasing you and giving a glimpse into what is actually only going to be hitting the shelves in 2016, but I just couldn't resist showing you all the beautiful newness from Clarins. We all need something to look forward to during these chilly mornings and gloomy nights, and I for one am looking forward to getting back my glow. Yes, a holiday in the sun would be preferable, but thankfully the Clarins Spring Collection has everything we need to bring that radiance back into our complexions.

Starting with the lips, dry chapped lips can be quenched with the new Instant Light Lip Perfectors - I've been a fan of these since they came to my rescue during the coldest months last Winter - as the ingredients soften and protect as well as offering just a hint of beautiful colour. The new purple plum shade doesn't look as intense on the lip as it does in the tube, but offers a light wash of colour and just a hint of shine.

As for the lipsticks, Clarins is my go-to brand when I need a lippy that delivers serious colour, but also moisturisation for my lips. The new shades of Rouge Eclat offer exactly that - protecting lips and also working to minimize fine lines. If that's not enough, they also contain ingredients which actually battle against dehydration and boost collagen! All of this doesn't compromise on the appearance or lasting power of the lipsticks though, and I can confirm that after standing on the rugby pitch side lines for over 3 hours in the biting winds, my lippy remained in tact, and I didn't even find myself reaching for my trusty lip balm once inside!

Claris never fail to hit the nail on the head when it comes to eyeshadow palettes, I've become a collector of their small palettes, and their new rose-bronze compact is my favourite so far! The shades are so incredibly wearable, ranging from a light beige (perfect for the brow bone or inner corners) to deep velvety browns, all of which are superbly blendable - making for an easy smoky or natural eye look. I'm never a fan of the brushes that come with these palettes (Naked Smokey palette is an exception) and I'm not too blown away by the one in the Clarins palette. It's OK for emergencies but these eye shadows deserve a proper blending brush to bring out their beauty.


The four new shades of Ombre Iridescent eye shadows look just like little round candies, dotted around my makeup drawer - and as fun as they are to look at, they are to apply too. With a pearlescent finish, I still find the cream to powder formula rather mind-boggling. How can something so flat in the pot create such a pop of colour and luminous glow?! I'll never know, but boy do I love it!

Available online and in-store on January 10th.

Which is your favourite from the new Clarins Spring Makeup range?

xoxo

Why You Should Update your Skincare Routine for Autumn

Your skincare routine in many ways is a little bit like your wardrobe - as the seasons change, we should switch out the pieces that don't fit for the changing temperature, as much as we swap our shorts for our jumpers, we should be swapping our moisturisers and serums for something a little more weather appropriate too.

For many, sticking to one moisturiser all year round seems like the safest option when you think you've found 'the one', but not only does the weather change in autumn, but so does our skin and how it reacts to the change in temperature, and even our hormones, so it's important to pick out new products for different seasons. So what should you do to transform your beauty regime from the summer warmth to the autumn crisp chill?

1. Personalise your Skincare Routine!

When putting together a new skincare routine, consider your age, the climate you live in (humid? urban?) your skin type, and how your skin reacts to new products. As a 23 year old living in central London with combination skin that's easily agitated, I need a cleanser that not only will thoroughly remove the dirt and buildup from days when I'm in the city centre, but also be calming to my skin which during the transition between Summer and Autumn always tends to flare up at the slightest change in ingredients. I've been using Sunday Riley's Blue Moon Cleanser - it's a pale blue hard balm in the midnight blue pot, but after warming between your fingers it melts on the skin into a soft balm, lifting away all my makeup and impurities - even on my eyes and lashes. It's perfect if your skin gets a little dry in Autumn, or if, like me, your skin becomes extra sensitised and irritated as it isn't stripping or drying - quite the opposite in fact. The Blue Tansy ingredient which gives the balm it's colour is also used to reduce irritation, so if chilly winds and central heating have stressed out your skin then this balm will soothe, nourish and hydrate - and with the heavenly smell it feels like a pampering treatment every time you use it.

Get Your Beauty Sleep

As skin can become agitated during the change in seasons, its more important than ever that we let skin recover at night. You don't need me to remind you that choosing a night cream, oil or serum that suits your skin type makes an incredible impact on the skin that you wake up with, so spend some time considering the best product for your skin's needs. A product which everyone, I mean everyone was raving about over the Summer months is Sunday Riley's Luna oil, and while I sometimes found it too powerful for Summer, my skin is craving it's skin perfecting abilities now that the temperature is changing. Also containing Blue Tansy like the cleansing balm, it battles any redness in the skin overnight, and your skin drinks in the oils also including Avocado and Chia leaving you with a glowing complexion the following morning. 

Up your Eye Game

Some eye products are just too powerful for the delicate under eye area during the warmer months, but in Autumn, brisk temperatures and often biting winds mean that your eye cream needs to seriously deliver. I've switched to the power-packed Premier Cru Eye Cream from Caudalie - it has revitalising and renewing effects on the delicate eye area and it combats by dark circles and puffiness with the signature blend of highly concentrated ingredients. The evenings drawing in and grey mornings may leave us feeling a little energy zapped, but at least our eyes won't be the tell-tale sign!

Give your Skin What It Wants

Your skin is pretty good at telling you what it wants and needs, and choosing a face mask to target those needs is often the quickest way of giving your skin the pick up that it needs. Clay masks are my favourite and I've been alternating between two recently - first, the L'Occitane Rebalancing Face Mask - the one to try if you want to give your skin a deep cleanse but don't love the tightness of clay masks. With a blend of vegetal and mineral powders, it removes impurities and tightens pores but the essential oils also rejuvenate skin and leave your skin feeling radiant and sebum free.

A mask which packs even more punch is the Chantecaille Detox Face Mask. When my skin is seriously stressed, I treat myself to this heavenly scented black clay mask, which noticeable improves skin tone and tightens pores but again without tightening or stripping skin. This one isn't cheap so I save it for times when my skin is in desperate need of a pick-me-up, and boy does this one deliver.

How do you update your skin for Autumn?

xoxo

The Tasting Menu at Roux at Parliament Square

One day, I hope that visiting restaurants run by Michelin Star chefs will be just a normal part of life. Whenever I fancy it, just calling up and booking a table, dressing up in my finery and sipping on cocktails and dining on the finest food without a care in the world. It's experiences like this that give me the motivation to succeed, be ambitious, but for now, experiences such as an evening enjoying the tasting menu at Michel Roux's Roux restaurant at Parliament Square, bookable through Virgin Experiences, really are just the most special treat. 

Set within a Grade-II listed building in the heart of Westminster, stepping into the Roux restaurant almost felt like stepping into the home of an aristocratic relative - with paintings on the walls and a cosy fireplace, it felt more living-room than Michelin restaurant, but something about the atmosphere made us relax a little, after all, I have to say I was a little nervous stepping into the dining place of London's most powerful MPs and socialites!

In contrast to the white wash room, the first dishes to be presented to us were full of colour - the result of a new head chef; Masterchef winner Steve Groves. It took a lot of will-power not to narrate the food to myself as I expect Michel Roux would have done had he been judging each course, "exceptional presentation, smooth consistency... good". But to my far less experienced palette, our appetisers alone could not be faulted - the Butternut Squash mousse topped with a swirl of goats cheese followed by slow roasted beetroot with toasted seeds and more Tymsboro goats cheese were both tiny but full of taste; leaving us wanting more.

Next on the tasting menu was a Roast Scottish langoustine with prawn tortellini and coastal vegetables, followed by a Carbonara of squid and smoked bacon and confit egg yolk but as a non seafood lover my next few courses were expertly swapped with a Mushroom flatbread tarta fine with mixed vegetables and a creamy truffle mousse, and lamb hogget. The kitchen had taken old recipes and given them new light - all dishes which you'd seen on many menus before, but nothing like this. I may not be a professional food critic but I found it hard to fault any of the dishes.

Confit of Suckling Pig was our final savoury course, it arrived looking like an artistic structure - a thick slab of the meat covered in crisp skin, with a small smattering of light vegetables and a tasty jus. We could tell that a lot of thought had gone into the choice of dish - as a Masterchef veteran the chef is no stranger to the importance of presentation and it came across in each and every dish.

Just when we thought that we could eat no more, the cheese trolley arrived. We couldn't resist. We chose from the vast selection and they were presented to us with crackers and breads - each of which was chosen to perfectly compliment our cheese choices! (And there's me thinking that Jacobs Crackers will do for any type of cheese... apparently not!) Finally, a Monbazillac poached pair with almond, chamomile and fennel, but we had to admit defeat and opted to share our final course.

The service throughout was formal yet familiar, and the staff were experts on each dish that they served. If I owned the place I'd give the decoration a spruce, because the ambience inside the restaurant didn't do justice to the fabulous dishes which we enjoyed. Overall, an exceptional experience and a celebration of seriously spectacular food. 

Our visit to Michel Roux at Parliament Square Tasting Menu for Two was courtesy of Virgin Experiences.

xoxo

The Bellevue Palace

The Bellevue Palace in Bern attract's the Swiss capital's most discerning visitors; we were told during our tour of the presidential suite how ever President had stayed in the hotel over the years (apart from Barack Obama), and as the most luxurious five-star hotel in the city it made the perfect base from which to explore the capital. 

We let out an audible gasp when we reached our hotel room, towering over the river valleys, the balcony boasted unparalleled views of the countryside surrounding the city, with chalets sprinkled across the hills. From the larger than life floral display in the grand lobby to the entire wall decorated with gin bottles (full ones at that!), the style is grand palace meets Soho House, and as well as a fine afternoon tea, there is also a smaller much more cosy long bar where the cocktails are the best in the city (so we decided!). The area is packed with sofas and small table sections that give a welcoming club feeling; the perfect setting for enjoying some Swiss wine & charcuterie.

Just steps away, the Federal Palace of Switzerland became a light show spectacle; unlike anything we'd seen before, the opulent building was transformed into a burning building, or melting mansion, all by projectors beaming from across the square. If you're heading to the Swiss Capital between now and Christmas, it's an experience not to be missed!

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Plaid Dress by Superdry   |   Faux Fur Stole by Monsoon   |   Watch by Caravelle   |   Boots by Russell & Bromley   

We stayed at The Bellevue Palace in Bern, with flights from London Southend via SkyWork airlines.

xoxo