YouBeauty - Discovery box - September

Hello Lovelies,

Today's post is a review on the YouBeauty discovery box (YouBeauty Discovery). I've seen a few of these beauty boxes floating about recently, the general idea is you can pick one or two items that you'd like to try and you get a few mystery ones too. There was an offer floating about to try this months box for free so I thought I'd give it ago - the normal cost is £6.95 a month which I think is a pretty good deal! It's really simple to order and choose what items you'd like to try, because of the free trial offer a lot of the items were out of stock but I still managed to find some that'd I'd like to try. I think this was dispatched about 4 days after I placed the order and it was delivered via Myhermes in a little plastic packet. I have to admit when it arrived the size of it made me think it was just going to be full of those little sachets you get inside magazines, but I was happily wrong!

This is what I found when I unwrapped the package - it's quite a sturdy little box and definitely would be re-useable.

Inside was a little booklet, full of offers and descriptions of the included products.

Under the booklet was the first of my chosen items - Eyeko London hydrogel eye patches. I used to buy Eyeko Beauty products when they first came out and everything had a Manga twist to it, and thought I'd like to try some more of their products. These patches are for reducing puffiness, bags and de-stressing and I'm looking forward to trying them!

 

Some Crabtree and Evelyn tea bags - These smell lovely, I didn't realise that C&E made tea as well as beauty products.

A make-up sponge! These are always super useful, this one is quite nice and smoothly applies makeup.

Mavadry - This was the second of my chosen products, this dries any nail polish in 60 seconds! Perfect for me as I'm such a fidgit and always manage to smudge the polish before it's set.

 

This was the last of the mystery products, Toni & Guy Glamour Volume Pumping Whip. I'm really pleased with it, My hair is quite short at the moment and this gives some great lift, it's very easy to use as well.

It's a very odd texture, it's almost like a dense foam? It smells quite lovely too. It doesn't seem to make my hair heavy or sticky either and I think I'd also buy this again once it runs out.

Stuck in the bottom of the box was another offer for a food service, I'm not sure that's its something I'd use but it was an interesting concept.

I'm really impressed by this box and for £6.95 a month I think that's a pretty good deal. I had originally intended to just get one box but might wait and see what's in the next one before cancelling. I do like to try new beauty products and this seems a very good way to try them out with out investing a lot of money.

Ta-ta for now

X

Ace Café London!

Hello Lovelies,

By the time you read this I should be on the second day of my motorbike training! I've decided to bite the bullet and try and get my licence by the end of the month! (I already have my CBT and Theory test). As some added bonus practice for this my husband and I took a trip up to London to the Ace café! It was quite a long trip as on my current licence I'm not allowed on the motorway, it's a pretty good job too, as one of the bolts for the chain guard on Lexy decided to jump off about half way there!! It was great to get in the practice and the café is lovely too!

I'd love to take a trip up there once I have a full licence for one of the bike nights as it looks like great fun!

Ta-ta for now,
X

Kawaii Club Monthly ~*~August~*~

Hello Lovelies,

Today's post is a review of August's Kawaii club box - it's a little late as I only just received the box due to Keep It Secret suffering delays with customs. This is the last box I will be receiving for awhile as I'd like to try a few others and I've currently cancelled my subscription.

 

Upon opening the box, inside was a letter detailing this months items and a leaflet for the upcoming event Keep It Secret are hosting. Animanga Pop look like it will be an interesting event!

And here's everything that was in the box! The theme for this pack for was Cute N' squishy and it certainly was.

Kiki charm - There was either Kiki or Lala in the boxes and I was lucky enough to get the adorable Kiki - I don't know much about little twin stars and this is the first item I have for them, but this is pretty adorable.

Alpaca charm - Now this is something I know all about! I love these alapcas and this one has a pretty sparkly scarf on - he'll be going on my new handbag when it arrives!

Funassyi charm - Now I've seen this little character popping up a lot recently - he's the unofficial mascot for the city of Funabashi in Japan.

 

Hello Kitty diorama (There were 8 different ones) - I think I've put this together correctly - there weren't any instructions on how to put it together and it does look like parts are missing, but I think this might be to attach it to the others in the series.

Melon pan squishy wrist rest - The note in the box said this is a sweet scented wrist wrest and I will try it out for work but it looks like it might be a little high for this purpose? Mine also doesn't smell sweet, it smells more like rubbery plastic!

Two lollipops - I think this was the apology for the box being nearly a month late. I've had these in a previous box and they are pretty nice.

So, as I've said I won't be receiving any more of this particular box for the time being as I'd like to try a couple of the others out there, so keep an eye out for upcoming reviews!

Ta-ta for now,
X

Reinbo Neko - Alpaca Necklace~*~Sponsored Review~*~ POSITIVE

Hello Lovelies,

Today's post is a sponsored review of Reinbo Neko's Alapaca necklace! Those of you that know me well will know I have a huge love of the Alpacasso Alpaca's and I'd previously had my eye on the necklace on Reinbo Neko's webstore.

I placed my order through the etsy webstore on the 13/08/14 and it was posted on the Friday (That's posting day for those who don't know!) And it arrived on the Monday in a very secure jiffy bag.

Inside the jiffy bag was this cute paper bag sealed with a Reinbo Neko logo sticker - How cool is that?!

Inside the bag was my necklace a free gift in little jewllery bags (I love the patterns on these! They remind me of Sailor Moon) and a business card.

Inside the bags.

And here's the necklace! How cute is the little alpaca? It's very solidly made and feels very sturdy. You can tell a lot of care and attention went into creating it.

The chain is made up of different beads as well a normal chain. The end of the chain is finished with a little heart bead which is a lovely touch. I love the star shaped bead on this - they are glittery and sparkle really well in the light.

And this cute little cupcake ring was the free gift! I think it'd go really well with the alpaca necklace too.

All in all I love my new necklace and ring and I'd like to thank Tia for the opportunity to review them. I'll definitely get a lot of wear out of them. In fact the background fabric is a new dress I had made and I think it'd work very well with this too or with a more casual fit too!

Reinbo Neko has currently updating their store (I've got my eye on a few bits, and I love the Totoro phone cases!) So you should definitely check out the new ranges. You can visit Reinbow Neko on the link below.

Reinbo Neko Store

Ta-Ta for now

X

Reinbo Neko - ~*~NEW SPONSOR! ~*~

Hello Lovelies,

That's right - You've read correctly, Kitt N' Kaboodle has its very first sponsor, the wonderful Reinbo Neko! Before we get on to the review item I thought it would be nice to do an interview with the owner of Reinbo Neko - The lovely Tia!

 Q: So we know your name is Tia and you own Reinbo Neko! Tell us a bit more about yourself?

A: Well, I will try to keep this brief and hopefully interesting! I've always been an artist, I started drawing as soon as I could pick up a pencil. Throughout my life I discovered many different types of art and crafts and decided I pretty much loved it all. In 2011 I graduated from university with a degree in Illustration with Animation. I'm also a lefty, I love cats, and it is my dream to visit Japan
Q: What made you want to start Reinbo Neko?

A: I started off as an illustrator, but that didn't really work out for me and I felt like I lost some of the passion for it after doing it for three years in university. Crafting helped me to discover new ways to be creative again and I find it so much fun! My interest in Japanese and alternative fashion led me to start designing quirky accessories, which then resulted in the creation of Reinbo Neko

Q: What’s your favourite thing about owning Reinbo Neko?

A: I love sharing my creations with other people. It's such a good feeling with someone receives something I've made and they love it. It's a little thing that makes a big difference to me. Overall though, I just enjoy making things and I'm glad Reinbo Neko gives me that platform to showcase it.

Q: What would you like Reinbo Neko to acheive in the future?

A: I'm planning big things for future! Going back to my illustration roots, I plan to create some designs based my original drawings and characters. I feel this will create a more unique feel for Reinbo Neko and it also allows me to combine different skills. My partner is also very creative himself and he supports my dream. As his style is darker and more gothic, we've been talking about some designs that he could create with a bit of a darker twist, as a separate range within Reinbo Neko. As well as this, I also plan to start attending conventions and events across the UK, where people will be able to see and buy my creations in person. I did my first stall for Reinbo Neko recently at a small convention in Manchester called Mancstercon and I very much enjoyed the experience.

Q: Everything at Reinbo Neko is handmade, how long do you spend crafting on a weekly basis?

A: Unfortunately my creative things don't pay the bills, so I also work a full time job during the week. My time for crafting is normally within a Friday, Saturday or Sunday at the moment, when I'm not doing other things. It is my intention to be able to create things full time one day though.

Q: Do you try and incorporate cute things into your decor at home or at the office?

A: Of course! I love to be surrounded by inspiration. I have a rather colourful home and I often make my own decorations, especially on occasions such as Christmas. I do however like to be inspired by other people's work too, so I do also have artwork around the place from various different artists and illustrators.

And just for fun!

Q: If you could have any job in the world what would it be?

A: Probably just to craft full time and maybe open my own little shop somewhere. I think that would be nice. I don't want to be rich, I just want to be happy and do things I enjoy.

Q: Do you have a favourite food?

A: My favourite food is Thai food, particularly Thai green curry and coconut sticky rice!

I'd just like to say thank you to Tia for choosing me as a sponsee (Is that the right word?) I've chosen a very cute little Alpaca necklace and the review will be coming very shortly. Having brought from Reinbo Neko before I know I'll love it and that I'm very much looking forward to working with them in future! I'm also super jelly of her amazing make up skills! I wish I could do that!

Ta-ta for now
X

THE TEA PARTY CLUB 7TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT ~ 20/09/2014 21/09/2013- LONDON

Hello Lovelies,

Today I want to tell you about an event happening in the very near future!

The Tea Party Club is the UK's oldest and biggest lolita community. Each year they celebrate their birthday and each year the birthday events keep on getting better and better. In 2013 I attended Frock On! Which will always be an amazing memory for me (You can read about this here: Frock On!)

This year The Tea Party Club is proud to anounce that Metamorphose temp de fille will be their main guest for our 7th year Anniversary. The anniversay runs over two days - Saturday 20th September and Sunday 21st September.  The Saturday being the main event with shopping, fashion shows workshops and with a tea party hosted on the Sunday. (I'm attending the Saturday only as I had a prior engagement on the Sunday unfortunately, else I'd be there like a shot!!) The venues they have booked look utterly amazing and so, so posh! You're guaranteed to feel like a prince or princess on the day!

Now the bad news, the TPC is short nearly £1000 due to slow ticket sales (I can't imagine why this as every other event has sold out so quickly!!) And this means unless the ticket sales pick up the event will have to be scaled down, TPC will loose out on deposits and we may never get a grand event on this scale in the UK again. I can honestly say that the TPC events are one of the best days out for a Lolita and it really would be a shame to miss out on future events. 

If you'd like to attend the event, and lets face it, who wouldn't?! You can check out the event page or book tickets at the sites given below.

TEA PARTY CLUB 7TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT

BUY TICKETS FOR THE TPC 7TH ANNIVERSARY

Ta-ta for now

x

Let's Cook! ~*~ Healthy Konjac noodles with tofu ~*~

Hello Lovelies!

Today I'm bringing you a new segment called Let's Cook! I hope you enjoy these tutorials as I've got a few planned!

Today we're going to make: Healthy Konjac noodles with tofu.

Go get (to serve two people!) :-

• 37g Mangetout
• 220g Aubergine
• 60g Baby plum tomatoes
• 160g Pak choi
• 40g Bean sprouts 
• 1/2 pack of egg tofu
• 1 pack of Konjac noodles (These usually come in 200g drained weight packs) or Zero/Slim noodles
• 1.5 TBSP Sauce of your choice - I used Yakitori
• 1 Cal cooking spray

Fill a kettle with water and turn on - whilst the water is boiling, open the outer noodle packet and then the inner, place the noodles in a sieve and once the water is boiled carefully rinse the noodles (Don't scald yourself!) Leave them to sit a moment and drain.

Spray roughly 5 pumps of the cooking spray in a frying pan and light the hob on a medium setting.

When the oil has turned a golden yellow colour, it's time to add the noodles to the pan! Stir them occasionally to make sure they don't burn.

Wash the bean sprouts through with cold water and set to one side.

Roughly chop the aubergine up into smallish squares no bigger than 1cm. 

Add these to the pan with the noodles and mix them up well.

Add in the bean sprouts.

Cut the end of the Pak-choi off and disguard.

Roughly chop up the leaves - remember these will shrink when cooked so it's best not to cut them too small! Give the leaves a thorough rinse through.

Add these to the pan too and stir in.

Cut up the mangetout in pieces and half the tomatoes, set these to one side.

Open your Tofu packet and cut it up into small pieces whilst tying not to be disturbed by it looking like Bavarian smoked cheese.

By now your stir fry should look something like this (about 8 minutes of cooking time).

Add in the tofu and remaining vegetables, and try not to laugh at the noise the tofu makes!

Give it a good mix through and allow to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add in your sauce, you can pretty much use anything you like and stir through to make sure everything is covered. Konjac noodles don't have any flavour of their own so you'll want to make sure that they are well covered. Cook for a further two minutes and remove from the heat.

And that's it! A super easy to make noodle dish - it still tastes good cold as well so you can take it to work with you! You can alter the recipe with different meats, vegetables and sauces. I usually have quorn in mine but I happened to buy some Tofu and wanted to try it. If you like spicy foods why not try adding some crushed chilli? Be sure to let me know what you try, I'd love to hear!

Calorie values per serving: 108

Unicurd - Egg Tofu,  g 36 - 25

Ebara - Yakitori Sauce, 0.75 Tablespoon 19

Baby Plum Tomato, 30 g 6

Konjac Noodle, 100 g 14

Pak Choi, 77 g 10

Aubergine, 110 g 18

Mangetout, 18.5 g 13

Morrisons - Beansprouts, 15 g 3

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Well I hope you enjoyed this recepie! I'll be posting another soon, so keep an eye out!

Ta-ta for now

x