New Jars; Love Potion No. 9

New jars for sale, our gorgeous Valentine's Day edition; Love Potion No. 9 - Hot Chocolate in a jar, it's genius. It's also delicious. It's also very well priced at $10 a jar, serving five people; a group of your girl friends or two very gluttonous lovers. By all means keep the whole jar to yourself, we wont judge you.

For the best results eat a couple of the marshmallows from the jar as you first open, we have crammed a few extra in because we already know some wont make it as far as into your hot choccie.

Next, fill the jar 3/4 of boiling water, shake well and top up with hot milk. Shake some more and serve.

Watch the chocolate melt in the jar as you shake and watch the marshmallows float to the top of your cup and slowly melt as you drink. Aaaahhh, sweet sugary perfection.

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F&S

Valentine's Day as a Single White Woman

Well, what can I say, that dreaded day is quickly approaching, there are red roses and goddam hearts everywhere you look yet not a date insight, at least no suitable candidates anyway.

You never feel more single and alone than you do in the first two weeks of February with the Hallmark holiday, Valentine's Day, lurching around the corner and rubbing it in your face.

So, how do singles celebrate? They don't. Guys get drunk and prowl, but what's new. Girls get drunk, eat a whole lot of carbs and watch rom-coms together; some of your classics such as Bridget Jones' Diary, The Holiday or god forbid, The Notebook, all whilst bitching about their loved up friends.

Yes, it's a bitter time for a lonely soul.

How do I cope? I shop. I shop for sexy lingerie that no one is going to get to see. Making the most of Farmers notorious lingerie sale, I stocked up large, I have decided to ditch the coloured cottons and sex it up a little. Sexiness comes from within, how you feel and how your present yourself. Surely lovely lacies will have an impact on how I feel, right?

Nevertheless, I will be celebrating Valentine's Day this year as a sexy single, drinking with my friends and loving the loner life.

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S

A Valentines visit to Lush

Yesterday I paid a wee visit to the wondrous dreamland that is Lush. Luckily, I was just in time for the launch of their Valentines limited edition goodies, therefore what was I supposed to do other than spend?

I purchased three treats; a love locket bath bomb, a unicorn horn bubble bar and a heart throb bubbleroon.

Since my trip to Lush yesterday I've already had two baths after two very long days at work, always a great excuse to treat yourself to a bubble bath. The first of the three purchases that I tried out was the love locket bath bomb, a larger than normal pink bath bomb in the shape of a heart; you crack it on the side of the bath and it splits into two and reveals another bomb inside; three in one! You can use it all at once for an epic bath time or use the three separate pieces in three separate baths which is what I decided to do. It smelled of candy floss and all things sweet, it turned the water pink and released cute pink hearts.

This evening's bath featured the unicorn horn bubble bar, you place in the bath and run the water on top to create a purple bath with big bubbles that last until your hands turn wrinkly.

Looking forward to using my heart throb bubbleroon, I am going to try my hardest to save it for Valentines day!

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S

Frankie's Lashes

Before/After

Before/After

So... I went and got some eyelash extensions done tonight. I had been tossing up whether to cancel my booking or follow through with it as I have had them before and they didn't seem to last. But I plucked up the courage to give them another go and I am absolutely in love. This time I went to Ashley Allen in Henderson, she was so lovely and as was the other lady that was also working. The environment was clean and I felt super comfortable; this is always important when you are having beauty treatments. I highly recommend going to see Ashley Allen if you are even slightly considering having some lash extensions as I am extremely happy with the outcome.

http://www.ashleyallen.co.nz

https://www.facebook.com/ashleyalleneyelashextensions

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Create Your Taste

Today I crumbled under hipster food hype pressure. I went to try out the latest craze to hit Auckland's salty streets. Yes, I went to McDonalds. McDonalds you say? Yes, the ol' golden arches have released a new way to order your food with an exciting and slightly more sophisticated presentation, highly favoured by those addicted to photographing their food. We are all guilty of it, it's ok.

Balmoral McDonalds is the first restaurant in New Zealand to receive the trial run of 'Create Your Taste' with four more testaurants* nation wide yet to be named. 

Upon arrival we are greeted by large white touch screen menus, this is where the fun begins; choose your bun, extra meats, cheeses, followed with sauces and salad options, plus a couple of extras ie. guacamole, mushrooms, fried egg, crunchy tortilla chips... as per regular Maccas tradition you can choose your combo size, I opted for medium, and drink of choice. 

After using paywave to complete and pay for your order you then receive a table number as such, you clip your table number to the board on your table of choice and wait for your gourmet takeaway to be served to you, waiter and all.

The wait was relatively normal, around ten minutes, which in McDonalds, felt like a lifetime. But boy oh boy was it worth it, I have to say that it was one the most delicious burgers I have had in a long time. I will 100% be going back to try out new variations and I most certainly will be dragging Frankie down with me.

I included a picture of my order to show how it works and some of the options you can choose from.

Well played McDonalds.

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S

*testaurant(s)

  noun

  A word Steph made up to combine the two words "test" and "restaurant" 

Steph's Evening Skincare and Beauty Routine

Good Evening all!

Post shower this evening I gathered all my products preparing for my evening beauty routine, whilst doing so I realised just how many products are included and how much I swear by each of them. Therefore, let me share with you some of my favourite and holy grail products.

You're welcome.

Ps. I haven't included facial washes as this is included in my showering stage and I am yet to discover something I am confident to swear by. In the mean time I am more than happy to continue trialling various products until I stumble across my one and only.

Products Photographed:

in order of use...

Colgate Optic White Toothpaste - every morning and every night, watch your teeth turn pearly white.

Rexona Clinical Protection Antiperspirant - I prefer the scent of 'gentle dry', this is incredible and I refuse to use anything else. Rexona recommend to use it every second night before bed (as it destroys your clothing), however I am a fan of using it every evening for a completely stank free following day.

Mecca Kissable Lips - using only a small amount, massage into your lips exfoliating away all dead skin and leftover lippie colour.

Hurraw! Moon Balm Lip Balm - special evening formula for extra nourishment and conditioning. I can't sleep without lip balm, it is completely necessary considering I am an excessive lipstick wearer.

Nivea Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Night Cream - same goes for facial moisturiser, I cannot sleep with a dry face. I was highly recommended the Nivea Q10 eye cream (below) by a dear friend, so I decided to pair it with the night cream for good measures.

Nivea Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream - like they say, the prevention is better than the cure.

The Bodyshop Tea Tree Oil - an age old secret for blasting unwanted blemishes. You only need the smallest amount otherwise you risk drying out your nasty spot and wind up with a crusty face. There's no hiding a crusty face. I swear by this product, it is a natural product and fast working.

RevitaLash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner - I sweep a small amount across the lashes of each eye for long and luxurious lashes. A pricey product but well worth the investment.

Bio Oil - an oldy but a goodie. Used on stretch marks, blemish scaring, uneven skin tones and everything else inbetween. The perfect way to ice the cake, the cake being your beautiful bod of course.

Where To Purchase:

Almost everything can be purchased from your local Countdown otherwise you can find the following here...

Mecca Kissable Lips - Mecca Cosmetica

Hurraw! Lip Balm - http://www.iherb.com/Hurraw-Balm/Lip-Care

The Bodyshop Tea Tree Oil - The Bodyshop

RevitaLash  - http://www.beautypod.co.nz/revitlash-nz.html

Bio Oil - some supermarkets and most pharmacies

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S

Steph does Frankie's Makeup

Frankie asked me to do her makeup on Saturday evening for a friend's BYO dinner. This is the result and how I achieved it.

I used one of my latest cosmetic purchases to achieve this romantic smoky look, Stila 'Spirit' eyeshadow palette. 

My favourite colour of the moment, 'pigalle', a deep burgundy was used on Frankie's outer V, various golden colours all over the lid, highlighting the inner corner and deepening the outer V with dark browns. 

I lined her lower lash line with Stila magnificent metal eyes in 'comex copper' with a clean sweep of black liner on her top lid. 

We decided to complete the eye look by adding a set of wispy false lashes.

The look was polished off with a dark nude, over drawn lip, similar to that the colour of her cheek.

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S

East Day Spa

This was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I have never had a facial or any sort of real massage so this was a real treat. One of my wonderful friends Maddy treated me to this and I cannot thank her enough, it was amazing. 

We both had the Herbal Lavender Repair Facial, this is perfect for the restoration of skin balance and it helps to heal and repair oily, congested skin. It deeply cleanses the face to help draw out skin impurities, it also reduces unwanted shine, helps to refine the pores and treat skin breakouts. 

Before the facial they also treat you to a range of herbal teas and a lower leg and upper shoulder massage.

After the spa we had to get lunch because all that relaxing can make you a tad hungry. We popped into Fred's located at 181 Ponsonby Road (although entrance is off Franklin Rd) we got the Breakfast Bruchetta and the Menemen to share they were both delicious.

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F

Frankie's Lush Haul

So, apparently I'm addicted to Lush... someone host an intervention. Last week I decided it was time to go grab a bath-bomb to sooth my sunburn but I ended up walking out of the sweet scented store with not one but eight products. I went for bath-bombs and bubble bars that I hadn't tried before as they were highly recommend by the awesome lady that served me. Due to my rather large spend up of $66 she gave me these great containers to store them in, this helps to keep them fresh so they don't soak up any moisture.

https://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/143_145/id/1113/Bath-Bath-Bombs-Pillar-of-Fizz

https://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/143_145/id/83/Bath-Bath-Bombs-Think-Pink-Bath-Bomb

https://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/143_145/id/2/Bath-Bath-Bombs-Big-Blue-Bath-Bomb

https://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/143_145/id/1309/Bath-Bath-Bombs-Rose-Queen-Bath-Bomb

https://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/143/id/237/Bath-Sunny-Side-Bubble-Bar

https://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/143/id/1574/Bath-Brightside-Bubble-Bar

Not everything I got was available online but I have added what I could find.

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Weekend Getaways

I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer. One great thing about New Zealand and living in Auckland is that we have so many amazing beaches so easily accessible to us. Last weekend, Steph and I and a few friends drove up to Tawharanui for the day, it was amazing, the weather was beautiful and the water was so warm. Tarwharanui beach is only 1.5 hours away from central Auckland so it's great for a day trip; pack a picnic and head out for the day, you won't be disappointed.

http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/tawharanui

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