Travalo - A Must Have Product

Wish you could bring your favourite perfume with you on the go but can't because it's too bulky for your handbag? Well I can safely say we are onto a winner here with the Travalo. This product has been on the market for four years and I can understand why they have sold over ten million of these babies so far.

This is the Classic Excel Black Travalo with silver nozzel and black case and costs €14.99. It's nifty refill system allows you to bring your favourite perfume with you wherever you go and perfect for travelling abroad in your hand luggage. Also perfect for popping into your clutch for that night out on the town. You simply remove the spray nozzle from you fragrance bottle, place your Travalo on the stem and pump to fill. The atomizer has a tiny pressure sealed hole on the bottom. It takes seconds. It's tough, leak proof and comes in ten different colours.

It holds enough for sixty five sprays and the window on the side allows you to see how much you have left. An aluminium version with a dot pattern is also available in Boots and costs €17.99. 

If you decide to fill with a different fragrance just clean your Travalo by filling it with water from a travel spray bottle, you can buy them from most pharmacies. Spray the water out and you are good to go. If you're really minted you could just purchase a Travalo in a range of colours and have one for each fragrance. I'll just stick with this one for now!

Love,

Sarah

Elle MacPherson - Instant Nail Wraps Or Instant Nail Fail?!

I bought these Elle MacPherson Instant Nail Wraps in Argos a few months ago. They seem to be unavailable on their website now but you can purchase them from Elle MacPherson's website for a whopping £9.99. They are available in pink, gold and silver and the kit includes a nail file.

I've tried many different brands of nail wraps/stickers but no matter how hard I try to like them they never sit well with me. Their major selling point is that unlike using nail polish there is no drying, peeling, chipping, smudging or chemicals involved. This is all very true but there is no denying the fact the wraps I have applied for this review look god damn awful. I've tried time and time again to apply them leaving no creases and have failed. After removing the excess wrap with the file the tips look far from professional. There is best result tips involving a hair dryer but ain't nobody got time for that! The kit includes 48 wraps to suit all nail sizes including your toes. Ew!

The price annoys me slightly as I don't think they are worth that much in any way shape or form. But noting annoys me more than the one hundred percent photoshopped picture on her website showing what the nail wraps should look like on. The picture doesn't even show the correct nail design, just a plain pink nail!

"Perfect nails, minimum fuss" it says on the packaging. Sorry, just being honest here but I found them fussy and far from perfect! Now I sound like a right grumpy sod! 

If you have tried these or a similar brand before please let me know in the comments below how you got on. 

Love,

Sarah

My Afternoon Tea experience at Bellinter House

Bellinter House is an 18th century manor nestled in the countryside of Co Meath. Being only a stone throw away from where I grew up I'm surprised that I had not visited before and was delighted to have recently received a voucher for Afternoon Tea for two which gave me the perfect excuse to go check it out.

Not knowing what to expect I called the morning of my visit too see if I needed to book and was told I could just walk in which is nice if you're in a spur of the moment kinda mood! There was lots of parking outside and we fell in love with the romantic setting straight away. The outside of the house was surrounded by rose bushes and the staircase leading up the the reception was full of character and very inviting.

We went through reception, passed the library and drawing room which took us to the bar. The entire building was decorated with a mixture of old and new furniture. Very quirky, colourful and simply amazing. Friendly staff and a cosy atmosphere made Bellinter house a real home away from home experience for us. As the weather was good (believe it or not!) we decided to sit outside and I'm so glad we did as we had a lovely view of the back of the house and the surrounding countryside.

John had never been to afternoon tea before so it was exciting to see his reaction when the three tier cake stand of absolute goodness arrived. We had a selection of sandwiches made up of chicken and cheese, salmon and salad and plain salad. We moved swiftly onto the lemon scones. Can I just stop and say HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD! If you know me you will know that I am obsessed with lemon cake. These scones made my weekend folks, simply delicious! Yummy butter, cream and jam accompanied them also. I think John felt like it was a bit of a race or else he wanted everything for himself because before we knew it we had made it to heaven...I mean the top tier! Chocolate biscuit cake, mini strawberry meringues and a chocolate mouse filled cake with raspberry on top.  I got a cappuccino sprinkled with chocolate and John had a pot of tea.

Overall we really enjoyed our visit to Bellinter House and will be back again. Afternoon Tea for two costs just €25 which is a really great price for the service, atmosphere and of course yummy food.

Check out their website and see just how wonderful this place is. The drawing room has a vintage pool table which is great for the guys. Stable rooms perfect for a girlie getaway and bath house for luxury treatments. 

Love,

Sarah