Vevie pop-up shop in London

Feeling fabulous and beach-ready with Vevie

Seaside frolics, anyone? How to refuse an invitation to such themed event? Impossible – so off I went to the Vevie pop-up shop on the King’s Road in London. I am glad I did and got to know more about Vevie, a lifestyle, exercise and fitness clothing brand that also do the cutest swimwear.

I got a very warm reception from Alexandra and Carie from Seymour PR and the lovely British designer Caroline Greenslade, who designed swimwear for big brands during her career before deciding to fly solo and launch Vevie at the end of 2012. There was bubbly, lovely canapes and a cute cutout board for pictures.

However, the stars of the evening were really the garments, especially the swimwear. The fabrics are amazing; you can really feel the quality upon touch. The designs are classics and very stylish; clean with adorable touches, slightly retro. They also have in-built support, removable cups, boning, are chlorine resistant, have anti bag & sag performance (up to 200 hours!!!) and are resistant to suntan oils and Body oils.

The fitness wear was also impressive, beautifully designed and crafted, oozing quality and style – think workout jackets, vests, leggings, yoga pants in a beautiful colour palette.

Given the quality, design and craftsmanship, it comes to no surprise they are priced accordingly. Fitness wear prices range between £35 and £125 and swimwear, £80-£160. All styles are available in UK sizes 8-18.

I also got a peek of a beautiful line of bikinis, some with stunning vintage prints, launching soon. Be very excited!

The goody bags were very generous, with goodies from King’s Road spa EF Medispa (putting together a bag with products from Skinceuticals, Biologique Recherche, Cosmedix and Results RX, £25 off a facial), Caudalie with a Divine Oil, balance Me with a skin bright hydrating face mist, a 50% off voucher for Vevie and 50% off all treatments at Lash Perfect Lash Bar! Phew!

They will be on the King’s Road Pop-up Britain shop until the 17 July. I recommend that you pay them a visit and touch the garments. You will, like me, fall in love. Pretty, pretty!

You can also get your hands on the gorgeous fitness and swimwear on the Vevie website.

Vevie’s creator, designer Caroline Greenslade

My favourite swimsuit!

Detail on fave swimsuit

Lovely green

The details are really lovely

It’s all in he detail!

Swimwear

Patterned

Cute swimwear, great colour!

Fitness wear – love the details

Amazing canapes!

Cupcakes!

Canapes

The very generous goody bags!

The contents of the goodie bag!

Product review: Bahoma London Vanilla Black scented candle

As I mentioned a few times, I really believe beauty is also influenced by everything around you, and is partly a state of mind – nothing better than to feel beautiful! And I really like when my house smells good – I think most of us do; it makes me feel as if I am surrounded by beautiful things. Now that I have finally organised our new(ish) home, I love just to sit around and enjoy the place.

Bahoma Vanilla Black scented candle

And I’ve been, for the first time in my life, burning scented candles. Bahoma London has a line full of home and body products, with fragrances designed by their perfumier Malgorzata Strug-Gozowska in their London studio, where they are also manufactured. There are candles and fragrance diffusers (for the home and garden) to treat your senses and fragrances, lotions, scrubs and shower gels to treat your body.

I got some Vanilla-themed items (as it is my favourite fragrance!) and the very first thing I used was the Vanilla Black scented candle. This baby has a great vanilla scent that is not sickly sweet – of course it has some sweetness, but the amber core in the fragrance makes it ; and after only 30 minutes burning, it leaves a lovely subtle scent in the ambient that lasted very well. It is so lovely to walk in or move around in the room and catch a whiff of this candle! I am very happy with it!

Their recommended burn time is 3 hours for a medium sized room and the candle lasts for an amazing 75 hours. They have a great range of exclusively designed fragrances for their scented candles.

The packaging, a round glass jar, is neutral and unobtrusive enough for any room in the house.

Bahoma Vanilla Black scented candle

For more info on candles or other products, visit the Bahoma website.

This post contains PR samples. This review , however, is based on my own true experience with the products and reflects my honest opinion on them.

Selfridges London events

I am a huge fan of the brand events Selfridges holds at their stores – in London< Manchester and Birmingham – they are a cool opportunity to explore different products and have something done (most of the time) for free; the booking fee is usually redeemable against products!

In the next month a couple exciting things are going on for beauty lovers – specifically nail enthusiasts – who might be around…

Chanel pop-up nail bar, from 31 May to 12 June

Giant Le Vernis bottles and celebrity nail tech on the 06 June. £25 fee redeemable against any Chanel beauty purchases on the same day. Appointments with Sophy Robson are £30.

Ciaté Corrupted Neon pop-up, from 27 June to 04 July

Neon polish and glitter zing plus UV light topcoat! Complimentary manicure with any purchase!

From the 17-23 of June, Selfridges is also hosting a week long beauty festival with make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury. Make overs, as well as work shops and other activities are taking place!

And for whisky lovers, a tasting programme running in May and June – Whisky Rocks.

Events take place in other shops too, and you can find out more on the Selfridges website.

Treatment review: Lipocavitation and lymphatic drainage massage at Body Wise Clinic

Flávia starts my lipocavitation – with a smile!

I love a good body treatment but I usually have face ones more often. When I was invited by Flávia Azevedo at Body Wise Clinic to sample one of theirs I was chuffed – it seemed she read my mind, as I have been retaining a lot of liquid, and feeling a bit puffed up after changing medication.

The clinic is located in one of the business units above shops on the Queensway, a super central and easily accessible location. The petite clinic, pretty much the treatment room itself, is very clean and comfortable and the calming ambiance felt miles away from the bustle of the main road.

Flávia suggested the lipocavitation, a treatment known as the “non-invasive liposuction”. The machine has metallic pads like an ultrasound one, and it works pretty much the same way: by emitting strong sound waves that reaches the fat layer, breaking down the fatty structures into a something that our bodies can absorb and use as energy. Nice eh?

There are a few contra-indications to this treatment; those suffering from fatty liver disease, some types of cancer, decompensated diabetes, high blood fat, renal insuffiency or women wearing copper IUD (for stomach treatments) should not do it, so Flávia asks about all these conditions beforehand.

She recommends that you follow some rules to maximise the treatment, such as not eating for an hour before and after the treatment, avoid alcohol during the treatment, especially 24 hours after (as the fat is processed by the liver) and not to wash the area at least for an hour after treatment, so the products can keep working.

Lipocavitation in progress

And it goes on….

After lipocativation and radio-frequency

The machine!

Metal pads

Warming product

Little roller used during the massage

Some of the products used by Flávia, all from Brazil

My measurements, before and after!

She first asked what area concerned me the most in my body. After marking the region to be treated, I stepped onto the treatment bed for a real treat. She applied a warming product to the marked area, then a gel (similar to ultrasound gel). There is a discreet noise and you feel a tiny bit of vibration while she works the area. This goes on for 5 minutes on each treated area. After that, she applied radio-frequency for 10 minutes, which heats up the skin’s deeper layers, aiding tightening. After the treatment, the area feels quite warm and the skin goes slightly red and a tiny bit itchy from the all the stimulation, but it is nothing uncomfortable.

Flávia will recommend a tailored treatment to suit your needs, depending on how much and where you want to see reduction. Usually, a couple sessions a week are recommended, as well as a minimum of 48 hours between sessions, for better results. The typical measurement reduction is of about 0.5 to 1 cm per session; legs and waist areas usually show better results, with loss in arms being less.

After that, I had a great lymphatic drainage massage. This is no ordinary massage – it is a gentle, rhythmic massage to push the toxins and fat broken down by the previous procedure towards the lymph-nodes and subsequently into the blood stream, to be eliminated by the body. It is very good for circulation and those suffering from “heavy legs”; it also helps diminish the appearance of cellulite.

Following that, an “aesthetical massage”, which works at a fat level and not muscle. It is worth remembering that this massage does not eliminate fat, but helps to smooth the skin appearance and shape the body by helping to eliminate liquids retention.

I really like that Flávia explained the procedures and what I would feel in detail, so there were no surprises. She told me about the main benefits, touched on secondary benefits but she didn’t create false expectations; many times she mentioned that measuring takes place before the course of treatments, in the middle and at the end, not after very session not to create anxiety. I asked her to measure me… and the reduction was, amazingly, more than 2 cm from one of the measured areas (and about 1 in others)!!!!

At the moment, there is a promotion until the end of May; six 30 minute lipocavitation sessions for £120. The normal price per session is £40.
For the all over the body (not face) lymphatic drainage massage, a single 50 minute sessions costs £40, but packages are available, at £175 for five sessions.

BodyWise Clinic is located at 54 Queensway, London, phone number 078 6831 9584 . You can get more information about the range treatments and the team on their website. You can also buy their treatments at Wahanda.

Exclusive interview: Kimberly Wyatt launches Beautiful Movements Cosmetics at Holland & Barrett

Kimberly Wyatt's Beautiful Movements Cosmetics - somanylovelythings

Gorgeous Kimberly shows off her make-up range

We all know Kimberly Wyatt – the blonde bombshell from the Pussycat Dolls and a star judge on Sky1’s Got to Dance programme. What we didn’t know (well, at least I didn’t know) is that Kimberly has a lovely make up range called Beautiful Movements Cosmetics, launching in June at Holland & Barrett.

The mineral make-up line, which consists of foundations, concealers, eye shadows, lip colours and blushers, is as pretty as it is good – it is free from parabens, animal products, synthetic dyes, fragrances and other chemicals usually present in cosmetics. To make it even better, it is cruelty free, not tested on animals, vegetarian friendly and approved by PETA and BUAV (that is the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection).

Mixing medium, foundation, lipgloss in cherry bomb and eyeshadow in aquatic

My very first impression was that, even though the line is mineral, it does not carry that dullness of mineral products already on the market (come on, you know what I mean!). On the contrary – and it is not just because Kimberly’s face adds that extra glamorous touch, it is also because of their fabulously vivid colours. Of course, the basic, nude colours are also present in the collection.

Before talking to Kimberly herself, I spoke to her business partner, Laura McCosmiskie, who is also responsible for skincare range Love the Planet. She told me BM Cosmetics have been selling online for more than 2 years, but they wanted to make sure the products delivered what they wanted, before hitting the streets. Plus, people really needed to physically try them, especially foundations. She highlighted that make up that is kind to the environment and the skin is paramount, as she suffers (like me and many others) from problematic skin and Holland & Barrett, being the health haven it is, seemed to be a natural stockist for the range. Her favourite product from is the Dewy Perfection finishing powder, a light diffusing powder that gives the complexion a soft focus effect! Nice!

Now, tell me….

During my short, but perfectly formed exclusive interview, Kimberly told me that she decided to venture into make-up because has always been a massive fan of make-up and loves the “artistic, creative side of creating a flawless face”. As she became more aware of what ingredients products contained, she found a big passion in wanting to make positive changes, not only as a consumer, but as a business. She describes the project as the perfect blend between a passion and wanting to make that positive change.

Kimberly Wyatt's Beautiful Movements Cosmetics and Dani Dutra from somanylovelythings

There are 37 products in the range. Look at all those colours!

Do I look pretty?

When asked about her favourite beauty look, she quickly replied natural, earthy tones for day with colourful lips, and darker eyes, with a more natural looking lip colour for the night – mentioning the range offers products to create both looks. She looked very natural on the day, wearing black eye liner with a flick. Very smiley and attentive, she came across as super nice and genuinely passionate about make-up, mentioning quite vivaciously how much she loves playing with make-up, the colours, the pigments and that natural make-up should not need to make sacrifices when it comes to those.

When asked about healthy habits, she said she tries to create as healthy lifestyle, and “beauty start from inside out, as cliche as it sounds”, praising fruit, vegetables and nuts in a healthy diet and regular exercise, as well as being aware about the “added extras” in products that we put in our skin. But we are all humans, and Kimberly, who is now based in London, confesses that her guilty pleasure is chocolate – actually, chocolate digestive biscuits!

Her fave product from the range is the silky Mixing Medium Prime & Create, which can be used alone, as a primer and also mixed with the powder, to create a cream consistency foundation, blusher or eyeshadow. Luckily, I got a sample which I have been using.

After the interview

Catch that light, accentuate that shadow

We finished with her telling us what her best beauty tip was: contouring. “Pay attention to the contours of your face and bring out the natural beauty using that”. Watch the shadows in your face and then use highlighter and darker shades to highlight and contour, enhancing what you already have. “Bring out your natural beauty, instead of creating a mask of make-up”. Well, I cannot disagree, that is a hell of a good tip, for more than one reason. Write it down ladies – this comes from someone who always looks good!

And to top the interview off I had to embarrass myself and ask for an autograph for my other half, who is a fan. Ah, boys….

Beautiful Movements Cosmetics - somanylovelythings

The goodies I’ve been trying!

I took home a few goodies to try – and trying I have been! review will come very soon!

You can buy it from Holland & Barrett in June. If you cannot wait, head over to the Beautiful Movements website to browse the range and find out more about the brand.

Product review: Holland & Barrett sleeping beauty box

We all know that sleeping well is essential to our beauty. Dark circles, tiredness, dull skin, dry patches: a badly slept night can literally be seen in you face.

So although some of the products here are not really beauty products per se (apart from the one), I believe they can also be part of a beauty regime. I am lucky to sleep quite well already, but a helping hand is always welcome, especially in more stressful times.

I received four products, to be used in steps just before saying night-night:

First, the Wonder Oil, a combination on olive, sunflower seed, wheat germ, sweet almond, sesame and jojoba oils and a blend of 14 herbs in a base of Safflower oil and a citrus blend of grapefruit, lemon and orange (phew!) so plenty of goodness there, to be used on the skin, hair, nails. I use it after showering, on damp skin. It absorbs quickly, leaves a subtle orangey smell on the skin for a little while and you I could still feel my skin moisturised and soft in the morning. It retails at £10.99.

Then, the Black Cherry concentrate. This is yummy. My favourite way of taking it was as yoghurt topper. OMG, it is sooooo tasty, and healty. You can add to ice-cream, use instead of squash for a delicious cherry drink – hot (lovely just before bed!) or cold. Love it. Has no added sugar and cherries contain the sleep hormone melatonin. It is also said to help relieve gout symptoms, arthritis pain and help prevent heart disease. The only problem is that I could not find the nutritional information for this anywhere – it would be nice to know how many calories and carbs it has. You can buy a 473ml bottle for £11.69.

After that, the lavender oil. I love lavender oil. For me, the way of using it is in the oil burner. Smells great and if you have undesirable moths in the house, this really helps to get rid of them – keep a soaked cotton ball in the wardrobe! This little bottle retails for £4.99 (10ml)

I also received a Dr. Organic Moroccan Argan oil night cream. It smells amazing and it is of a thick consistency great for drier patches, I used on my hands, elbows, knees, around my hips and waist, as well as on my decolette. I found a bit too rich for my face, but it will probably be alright for more mature skin. It also contains Kigelia, Roselle and Baobab, all organic ingredients, of course! It retails for £9.49 for a 50ml tub.

You can find all these products and much more at Holland & Barrett.

This post contains PR samples, however, this review is based on my own true experience with the products and reflects my honest opinion on them.

Still alive

Right.. so it has been 10 days since I posted. I am alive. Barely. The last month was really maniac for me: work has been quite busy, I moved homes, been away for a few days and submitted an essay for the second module of my post grad course. I feel exhausted, but glad it’s kinda over.

I just wanted to apologise for being totally MIA and to say I am coming back to the normal blogging rate soon. Hopefully when I am in Brazil too (yeah, going soon – sun, here I come!)

Also, feeling a bit down about my nails. All the manual work of packing and box/furniture shifting has taken its toll on my talons. One horrendous breakage, 3 bad ones, a few splits. not happy. They are now ridiculously shorter and I was so busy I went a week without a manicure. May the nail gods forgive me. All averted now, and my tiny nails are at least manicured. Will be posting soon.

Have so many posts in the back burner, can’t wait to get them all out! 🙂

xxx

Some Valentine’s inspiration…

Hello all. I am about to write about something that is not inspiring me much this year: Valentine’s day.

Yes, sounds a bit bitter, and I am usually a big fan of the day, but my boyfriend is away for work and I will spend my evening alone. Well, not alone – I booked myself a lovely facial and massage at the Elemis spa (which I will be reviewing), so that will detract from the fact I should be sipping some champagne in a romantic setting!

I can still look around and think of options for outfits, places, Valentine’s things I like… a bit sad, but hey, there is always next year! There are so many cute dresses out there at the moment, I am really into bodycons. So how about a pretty dress for the night? Here are some ideas from the high street:

This H&M stripey dress – For a great figure!

The Dorothy Perkins dress – Chic

The Topshop dress- for a little mystery

The Zara red dress – simple but sexy

The back of Miss Selfridge cream bow dress – So cute!

And some shoes, of course!

Vinyl panelled shoes from Dune

Metal platform shoes from Zara

Nude and black shoes from Topshop

Nude shoes from River Island

Red and gold from Miss Selfridge

I usually like to pamper myself; put a face mask on before the date; I tried the Elemis freshskin deep purifying mask, followed by their magical moisture quenching face mask and woke up with calm, soft skin. Love it!

For extra soft kissable lips, I found a favourite: Lush Bubblegum lip scrub. It is made of sugar, tastes amazing and you can eat it afterwards (I know, right?). I wear it daily, in the morning, then apply my favorite lip balm (at the moment, Nivea lip butter).

How about a little treat for the couple? I came across this cute Elemis couples’ kits – for her, an Exotic Frangipani Monoi body oil and a bath and shower cream; for him, a Sharp Shower Body Wash (with invigorating spearmint and peppermint essentials oils) and a Time For Men deep cleanse facial wash. They retail at £12 each. I have the Frangipani body oil and it is amazing – the smell is lovely, it absorbs well in the skin and leaves you really moisturised and soft – I will post the full review soon! You can buy these lovely sets here.

Ladurée macaroons are also a very nice little treat! I am a big fan – they are really the best and their little boxes are super cute….

If you are in London, I find there are so many options of lovely places to go with your loved one. I know that they are overpriced, but sometimes it is just worth going for the experience. There are so many amazing options… For example, Altitude 360 is doing a romantic 5-course with a glass of champagne each for £99. Searcy’s champagne bar offers a special menu and their champagne selection is fantastic, but my favourite has to be the Wallace restaurant at the Wallace Collection, set in a beautiful courtyard in central London, and amazing value for money, at under £30 pp for the set menu. The London Eye has special Valentine’s flights with champagne from £35.04 (online booking price).

Staying in? Waitrose is doing a special twist on their dine-in deal: a three-course meal and a bottle of bubbly for £20!

This year, we had a play booked for the day before Valentine’s (we managed to re-book for the following week!) – and I think this is a nice way of spending the evening with the loved one!

However, the most important thing is that you have each other and have fun spending time together!

Happy Valentine’s day!

x x x

Product review: Russell Organics Argan Oil

My hair (and skin, for that matter) really suffers on the run up to the winter. Something in this transitional period really upsets my hair – it gets drier at the tips, lifeless and a bit dull, so anything that can do any good is very welcome, especially at this time.

I received the Russell Organics argan oil and on the same day started to use it. I’ve been using it for three weeks now on my hair. The bottle has 2 fl. oz, and a pipette, which I love! I applied a few drops on my hand and rubbed it to warm, applying then to the ends of my towel dried hair.

My first impression was that the hair naturally dried softer, heavier but not greasy, with less fly-aways. As the days progressed and I kept using it, I feel my hair has a little bit more weight to it and is less straw-y.

Something I like liked about this product is that it has no fragrance, no smell at all. Also, it can be used all over the body, as a moisturiser, on your nails and of course, hair and a few drop go a long way!

This product is 100% pure argan oil, carefully sourced from Morocco, and eco-certified. It is toxin and cruelty free, as well as vegan.

Their whole range uses pure natural ingredients. Packaging is fuss free, to minimise environmental impact, but very functional. Russell Organics, which carries the slogan “naturally luxurious”, is a carbon free organisation and also certified cruelty free and vegan – so goodness all around!

They also have a long toxin list on their site, to raise awareness about the ingredients we should avoid putting on and in our bodies! Nice!

They are a US company, available online and in various shops but will ship internationally, with reasonable rates, according to their site.

This product was sent to me by the company to try, and I became their media partner, meaning I will receive a product once in a while. This review is, however, based on my own true experience with the products and reflects my honest opinion on it.

Genoa cosmetics and make-up trolley from Beauty Boxes

Genoa Cosmetics & Make Up Trolley from Beauty Boxes - So Many Lovely Things

A girl’s beauty dream

If you are a make-up mad person as I am, I doubt you never dreamt about having all your lovely cosmetics organised in a gorgeous beauty trolley.

I mean, just think about having everything visible, in one safe place that is mobile. Well, I no longer have to dream.

The Genoa trolley from Beauty Boxes is a “workstation on wheels” and it is suitable for make-up artists and beauticians, as well as to have at home. It’s not too big and bulky, so it sits comfortably even in homes that don’t have that much space (like mine), and because it is very pretty, it can (and should) be on show!

The delivery service was exceptional – next day and I got an email on the day specifying an hour time slot for delivery, and it came 5 minutes into the slot. In all my excitement, I opened the box to find an amazingly sturdy, finished to a high standard trolley, with very smooth hinges and sliders. There are two mirrors inside and it also comes with two make-up brushes holders which can be hung on the trolley when open. The top compartments have a good depth and the bottom part too – it’s deep enough to fit hair tools. It also has a key.

I fit most of my make-up in it, well, the usual suspects that is, leaving out many odds and sods, some palettes and a few products I haven’t opened yet! At the top I put my face and lip products. In the second fold of drawers I put my single eye shadows and all eye stuff. In the compartments at the bottom, I put my beloved Urban Decay palettes and bags with the other eyes, lips and face stuff I use less often. There were two empty compartments where I could put my other eye shadow palettes, skincare and/or hair dryer, straighteners, curlers and products. On top of it, when closed, I had the brush holders and my lovely Revlon mirror with lights, so the trolley is really versatile!

In terms of mobility, I found it is not too heavy when loaded. The wheels are smooth, and the handle strongly built.

It comes in three colours; mine, rose, a lovely bright-ish pink with a snake skin-like texture, baby pink and silver, both with a metal finish – all in 38.5cm width, 62cm height, 30cm depth and 7.4kg of fabulousness.

Would I recommended that anyone that has a considerable amount of make-up and cosmetics buy one? Definitely. If you don’t have that much, Beauty Boxes has an exciting range of practical, durable and versatile beauty boxes and trolleys which are also very pretty and stylish, to cater for varied needs – oh, and with free delivery!

Beauty Boxes kindly sent me this as a PR sample, and I could not be happier. Serious amount of excitement. Views are my own, based on honest experience with the product.

So Many Lovely Things

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