Essence Make up Review

You may or may not have read my last make up review (if not, read here!) I was less than impressed with the foundation I bought last time, not only with the quality, but, with the price tag. 

Anyhoo, I was shopping in Manor the other week and I decided to give the the make up section a little browse, not expecting to find anything (which is probably the best circumstances to go shopping under as thats when I always find something!) When a brand called 'essence' caught my eye, I think it was a combination of the bright, candy colours and the sparkly nail polishes that attracted the magpie in me. 

Upon closer inspection I found that not only was every single item completely beautiful but it was also sold at realistic prices! I picked up three everyday, essential items to try, I didn't want to go overboard because I couldn't be entirely sure of the quality and I didn't want another Astor style disappointment! 

The items I chose (pictured above) are:

1. 'All About Matt' oil-free make up in Beige CHF 5.50  (View on Manor Website)

Rating: 10/10 !! This foundation is incredible, I don't have to use any kind of primer or moisturiser underneath, its so soft and gives amazing coverage even if you use a little bit! And it really is long lasting, I put a little bronzer over the top and I don't need to reapply at all during the day! 

2. 'Sun Club' matt bronzing powder in 01 blondes CHF 5.50 (View on Manor Website)

Rating: 10/10! I chose the bronzer for 'blondes' as I'm quite pale and its a really nice shade with very even coverage, it also smells like coconuts so you can't go wrong! 

3. 'Get Big Lashes' volume curl mascara in black CHF 3.75 (View similar on Manor Website)

Rating: 8/10. It wasn't the best mascara I'd ever tried (my favourite will always be 'they're real' by Benefit) But I do still use it every day, I couldn't find my version on the Manor website but if you look at the range they do a number of different mascaras so maybe there is one that would suit me more as I prefer a slightly more dramatic look. 

I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and range of the essence products, they are also 100% AGAINST animal testing so they are a huge win my books, I couldn't recommend them highly enough. 

I always prefer to look for lower cost versions of my everyday products, not only because I would definitely rather buy a 3.75 franc mascara and still have money left for a book or some fabric that spend 10 times that on a Clinique or Estee Lauder when the quality is very similar. Although, the expat struggle is real when trying to find an equivalent to your essentials that its very easy to see those familiar names and fall into the designer trap! 

I can't wait until my next shopping trip, I'm definitely going to purchase some of their glitter polishes! You can view a full range of the essence products on their website here, or use their store finder to find a distributor near you!

Thank you for reading! Yasmin x

Hoegaarden Rose Review!

Whilst in France last week, we popped into the local Intermarché to stock up on Kronenberg and Heineken, as you do! We were browsing the shelves when I saw this Hoegaarden Rose on aktion and figured we'd give it a try!
Hoegaarden recommend that their wheat beers are best served in a frozen glass, particularly one of their hexagonal shaped glasses, I assumed it was relative to the thickness of the glass and luckily I have some vintage beer mugs from France that are of a similar thickness so I chucked them in the freezer for  a couple of hours!
The Rose beer has quite a low alcohol content of 3.0% and has hints of raspberry but doesn't get sickly like other flavoured beers do so its a perfect companion for a sunny afternoon! 
Now, it is pink but that DOES NOT make it a beer for women! If you're embarrassed of the colour, then maybe you're not manly enough for this beer ;)

There are instructions on the Hoegaarden website on how to serve this properly so here goes:

1. Frosty glass - check!

2. Pour 2/3 of the beer into the glass, swirl the remainder around the bottle to stir up the yeast that settled whilst waiting for you to get your thirst on, according to the website, this will 'allow you to fully enjoy the aroma and taste'.

3. Pour the remainder in, serve with your favourite snack and enjoy!

I highly recommend this for all your upcoming BBQs and parties, and the frosted glass definitely makes a difference, those Hoegaarden guys know what they're talking about!

Thanks for reading, Yasmin x

WeightWatchers Sorbet Review!

Hello! I found this little gem last night and I am desperate to share it with you! I was just browsing the ice cream selection at Coop and was about to pick up my usual Mars ice cream bar when I saw this little easter egg hiding on the other side!
I chose the 'Ice Exotic' flavour, and, at 69kcal a pot I wasn't expecting fireworks, but seriously, this ice cream is amazing! And it even has a little foldy spoon in the lid, who doesn't like those?!
Its described on the pot as a sorbet but the exotic sorbet is swirled with a really creamy frozen yoghurt.
I think it cost around 1.60Fr for a pot which was 10 cents more than my Mars ice cream so quite the bargain I think you'll agree! 
There were two other flavours on offer in my local store: Caramel and Coffee, who knows, your local Coop may be overflowing with a whole range of flavours (let me know if it is, I'm there!) But for now I'm pretty stoked with my Ice Exotic, which doesn't break the bank, or the thighs! heh heh!
This is seriously going to be my not so guilty pleasure this summer!
Let me know what your healthy/low fat secrets are! 

Thanks for reading! Yasmin x

Astor BB Cream Review!

Helloooo Ladies! I've got another little product review lined up for you, as I slowly run out of my trusty British products and start experimenting and dipping into Swiss ones!
This week I ran out of foundation, as you can see from the photo, I had squeezed every last drop of life from the tube and knew it was time to move on.
I knew this day would come, so I prepared myself, I did a little research into what make up brands they have here. A friend recommended Yves Rocher, and at first I was tempted, as their website was plentiful with bargains,  and I do like a bargain (sign up to their newsletter and you get some pretty juicy discounts too!) BUT, I didn't fancy my chances at guessing the right colour foundation, and I couldn't really justify a trip into the city for that, so I thought screw it, I'll order it off asos or amazon, but then I thought of the customs (oh, the customs, insert angry face here) and then amazon didn't have my colour, distraught, I took to co op, make up free and avoiding eye contact with everyone. With the make up section located,  I began squeezing samples onto my hand until I wasn't sure what my skin tone was anymore, and then I saw this little easter egg sitting there, skin match? Check, BB cream? Check, beauty balm? check! I'm not entirely sure what beauty balm entails but it was a close enough match so I snapped it up!
The verdict? errrr, its OKAY. It's a lot thinner than my old make up so I really have to cake it on, it's very wet and doesn't rub in so much and it kind of stings my eyes a little.
Next time? I guess those customs charges aren't so bad after all....

Bar Royal Sprizz - Review!

Hi Everyone! 

Summer is peeking around the corner and that means only one thing - sitting in the sun with a fruity drink! 

We were gifted this bottle of 'Bar Royal Sprizz' for our housewarming party and I have been dying to crack it open ever since! 

I would buy something like this in England but I haven't been that adventurous over here, so I was pretty excited when we got it! 

The bottle describes itself as an "Aromatised wine based cocktail', that, coupled with the colour and 'the fine taste of fruit' written on the front led me to believe I was in for something deliciously fruity, with hints of passionfruit and orange, I was wrong.

The smell was reminiscent of a sweet Prosecco but the taste was very similar to cider.

Now, don't be put off because I'm not talking about a dry, english cider, I mean a nice, sweet european cider. It was very refreshing and lovely served with strawberries (note: the strawberry becomes quite sour when its been in the drink for a while!)

Overall this was a really pleasant (and surprising!) drink, and I would definitely buy it again, maybe for a BBQ or as a gift at a dinner party! 

Thanks for reading! Yasmin x

(alcohol content 3.9%)