The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Dating!

This is a bit of a different post for us but we thought we'd share our experience with you. We decided that while we were both single we would try speed dating. We thought it would be something different to do for an evening and would be a fun night and something to laugh about in the future!

When we turned up at the bar it's safe to say we both wondered why we were doing it. Nerves kicked in and wine and vodka were needed before we went in. We both had thought it would be really awkward and had worked ourselves up that four minutes was a really long time. The nerves got worse as we were waiting to go up and when we headed we did it was strange at first as all the women seemed to group together and chat and the men did the same until it was time to sit down.

The session we went to the women had to sit and the men moved around so as all the women sat down the guys then made their way around the room. We were given a piece of paper and you get to chose whether to ditch, date or friend someone. You enter these choices the next day in your account online and then get given the email addresses of any matches that you get.

The Good

We were both pleasantly surprised how easily it was to talk to the majority of the guys. The four minutes go really quick and sometimes you found yourself just wanting a few more minutes with some guys. We definitely enjoyed a few drinks which helped conversation flow a little easier.

The next day was nerve racking wondering what matches you were going to get and what people had thought the same as you.

M has stayed in contact with one of the guys she was matched with and has since been on a date and is going for another. It wasn't anything I had expected and even before turning up for my date I didn't think it would be good as I had only previously spoke to this guy for 5 minutes. I soon relaxed and found myself easily chatting to him and turns out 4 and a half hours later I'm making my way home. I wondering if the dating nerves go or is that part of the fun of it. I'm looking forward to date no.2 now.

The Bad

The nerves in the beginning were hard and we found ourselves wanting more drinks but we knew we shouldn't drink too much. A drunk girl never comes across well! What we hadn't thought about until we were there was the fact that we were both likely to like the same guy. Sharing isn't caring in that case!! We both look for similar attributes in guys. It turned out ok in the end though.

Unfortunately for L, after being matched with one of the guys are talking to him quite a bit over a week or two it became clear that he wasn't who he said he was! It turned out he was a lot younger than he previously had said and was actually friends with her brother's friends! This would have been far too awkward to take any further and the fact he was so much younger was a turn off. Plus if he lied about a few little things what else is he likely to lie about?! So she sent him a message saying that she had met someone else...

The Ugly

There were definitely a couple of guys who didn't come across well!! First up we had a guy who proceeded to just stare at your boobs, that made for a very awkward and long four minutes! Unluckily for M she managed to get stuck with him sat there as there 4 minutes was before a break and he didn't move!! He also was telling us all different stories which we found out when socialising with some of the other girls afterwards.

We had a guy who proceeded to tell us it was his fourth time at speed dating and went on to tell us which dating sites were good and which ones weren't worth it. That was a little weird. Most other people said it was their first time at such an event which was a lot more comforting.

Lastly we had a guy who seemed to have prepared a speech! He'd ask a question that led to you having a short answer then he'd cut you off and give a little rehearsed talk, ask another question and then do the same again! We ended up wishing he'd just stop talking. He was very up himself and seemed to have the impression that he'd been and done everything and knew everything there was to know. After telling me about his love for poetry and his PhD in drug use in South America he was a little thrown when I told him I worked with drugs for a living....the conversation soon tailed off when he realised I knew more about it than he did. Awkward.

Another thing that was unfortunate was that there was an imbalance of men and women; a group of 5 men hadn't turned up. This meant that sometimes you were sat on your own which for L meant that every time the host got distracted and forgot that the time had gone over 4 minutes she was sat on her own....for up to ten minutes at a time! 

It was definitely a fun experience that we'd possibly do again in future.

What are your experiences of dating? Have you been to a speed dating event? Have you tried internet dating? Should we try that too??

L and M xxx

China Glaze Stocking Filler

Evening all!

Bit of a later post for you today. I had my work Christmas do last night which was a good laugh. I had to get to work early which meant a 5am alarm followed by work til 2 then the meal and out afterwards all whilst being sober as unfortunately I had to drive the hour home too!

So although I have no hangover I've been feeling pretty tired and run down today, I've had plenty of naps and cups of tea throughout the day though and hopefully an early night will sort me out!

Today's post is a beautiful stocking filler I managed to pick up from TK Maxx.

China Glaze is one of the brands that me and M both love; their polishes are really good, 3 free and come in sizeable bottles for their relatively cheap price. As they're American they're not available in any shops here, but you can buy them online in multiple places including Amazon and sometimes you can get lucky and find them in stores such as TK Maxx. I picked mine up from a London store, the one near Covent Garden on my trip there 2 weeks ago. 

Both colours are very Christmassy; a red/gold glitter and a rose gold glitter. If you ever needed any polishes for the festive Christmas period I'm pretty sure you'll be covered with this set! They sparkle in the light (shown in the picture with flash above) and still shimmer in natural light (below).

The first one I tried was the rose gold glitter called Champagne Kisses. Arguably this isn't a champagne colour, but the shade is an opulent and luxurious gold glitter so maybe that's the route they were going for!

I applied 2 coats for these pictures, without flash above and with flash below. You could easily apply this over another polish for a gold glitter accent nail, glitter tips or general glitter disco ball nail which is exactly the look I would go for!




This is a gorgeous colour and I would imagine I'd get wear out of it all year round as I'm a bit of a sucker for gold polishes. I tend to wear lots of gold jewellery so normally end up with gold nails every weekend for nights out. That and I like applying it over nude polishes to jazz them up a bit!


The second polish in the set is called Pure Joy. I believe this is exactly the polish I would create if tasked with designing one for Christmas called 'pure joy'. I mean what else would you pick, red and gold are just the perfect combination and basically define Christmas from the rest of the year!




I applied this over Champagne Kisses for these photos but still applied 2 coats. I was off out somewhere so wanted my nails to be Christmassy, I applied it in the Chanel style where you can still see a ring of the underneath colour at the base of the nail.



Without flash you can see how well it covers after 2 coats and it just glimmers away on the nails without being too garish, which in all honesty I thought it might have been!





With flash you can see the true red colour as this is what it looks like in person. How pretty!


This was a random purchase from TK Maxx, I do love going in there for a rummage. I often come out empty handed but there's been plenty of time I've also come home with bag loads!

This cost a bargainous £10 and it would be great as a present for a friend, family member, colleague, Secret Santa or for yourself as I did with mine!

How is your present shopping going this year? I wish TK Maxx would sell more products online although I do love finding a hidden gem.

Are you a China Glaze fan? What do you think of these polishes?

L xxx

London at Christmas: Part 2

This is my second post of my trip to London, if you missed the first you can read it here. It's all about the shop window displays at Liberty and Selfridges.

This post continues on from there when we went to Harrods and Covent Garden.

Harrods is the next store that really needs no introduction. The sign is another that is iconic enough!

Harrods store looks absolutely stunning lit up, we were lucky enough to get there just as it was starting to get dark at 4ish and it looks so pretty.
The windows and doors were framed with hedges that were filled with fairy lights. It was so simple but effective.

As for the actual window displays the theme was based on the Orient Express and each window was a different carriage:

Each window was dressed so beautifully and extravagantly I felt like I'd gone back in time. Not only were the models dressed fabulously the scenes were exquisite and the attention to detail was out of this world.

This one was my favourite, mainly because of the unbelievable dress and stunning Louboutins

Another of my favourite things was every carriage had a 'window' which was a tv screen with a rolling view of snowy landscapes and even some famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower which i managed to snap quickly!

The windows were amazing and obviously getting inside the store was even better. I didn't enjoy wandering around Harrods as much because I had a lot of shopping by this point and there were so many other people around.
The food section was unlike anything I've ever seen before and I would absolutely die to go there and sample some of the freshly made food as it was stunning and smelt like I was abroad depending on which stand I was near.

Wandering around London was great in itself and each street was lined with rows and rows of Christmas lights and baubles:

The above photo is one of my favourites as the snowflakes are beautiful!

Our last stop was Covent Garden which wasn't planned but as we had a bit of spare time we couldn't resist a wander around here too.

The massive baubles and disco balls were so beautiful and made the whole place light up!

Outside near the Royal Opera house was a massive hedge reindeer covered in lights and even had a red nose; touches like this are so special and make the whole Christmas experience that much better.





This tree was the opposite side to the reindeer and was absolutely huge!

London was so much fun to walk around and the Christmas decorations in streets, windows and stores were absolutely gorgeous!

Have you or will you be making a trip into London to the shops?

I think it will have to become a tradition for me and my mum!

L xxx

Clarins Hydra Quench Cream and Mask

Good morning!

I've another skincare post for you today. I've been really taking care of my skin the past few months and especially over winter my skin needs an extra hydration boost.

I was lucky to be given both of these by a friend who could no longer use them. I'm not sure why but i was grateful for the chance to use them as they were still pretty full when she gave them to me and I've been loving them!



Clarins are obviously a well known brand and their Hydra Quench range is very popular. I've previously tried samples of their Hydra Quench Bi Phase Serum and loved it, so I was looking forward to testing these out.



The Hydra Quench Cream was the first product I tried. The moisturiser was designed for normal to dry skin and is to applied to your face and neck in the morning and evening. As with all other Clarins products it has been allergy tested and is non-comedogenic.

This product is a thick white cream that sinks into skin really nicely on application. I've found that it moisturises my skin really well without overloading it during the day or night. Due to my oily t-zone I do have issues with 'dry skin' products sometimes causing my oil levels to overload and therefore create more spots and problems.



I've had no problems at all with the moisturiser with twice daily use and my skin is loving it, I would definitely repurchase this in future. For £34 for 50ml I think this is an expensive product but again, you get what you pay for and this is a great moisturiser.


The Cream Mask is very much the same. I applied this once or twice a week when my skin was feeling dehydrated and left it on for as long as I could, normally around 10/20 minutes or so. It's hard to time it so I normally do a job or paint my nails whilst its on!



After application I then removed it by washing it off with a muslin cloth. It says to remove it with a cotton pad but I'd prefer not to leave any excess on in case my skin is overloaded and there's not a lot of difference between the two methods!

This was great at hydrating my skin and I've had no problems with blemishes caused by it. This retails at £33 for 75ml. I'm not sure I'd repurchase this as readily as the moisturiser as I feel that the cream does the job on its own now I've upgraded to a more hydrating moisturiser on a daily basis.




The whole Hydra Quench range can be viewed on their website here; I've got my eye on the lotion which might be better for oily skin during the day and then the cream for my nightly application.

I've also got my eye on the full size of the serum which I really enjoyed using.

Are you a Clarins fan? Have you tried anything from the Hydra Quench range?


L xxx