Sparkling Cresent Moon Crystal Pendant Droplet Hair Clip

I purchased this rose gold  crescent moon crystal pendant hair clip from Ebay UK for £3.99 including delivery.  The clip comes in rose gold, silver, gold and black tone.  The droplets are different, cascading lengths with little stars and plastic, sparkling droplets.  The clip is substantial, I have very thick hair and I could still fit the clip through it.  This clip would be great for Halloween as part of a sparkly witch's outfit or it could also be clipped on to a ribbon to make  statement choker necklace. 

Available here: Ebay UK

Review & Win: Xtava Satin Wave 5 in 1 Curling Wand with Temperature Control

The Xtava Satin Wave 5 in 1 Curling Wand with temperature control comes with 5 interchangeable ceramic tourmaline barrels, a heat resistant glove and a cute travel case. It costs £21.95 if you have Amazon Prime. It has dual voltage.  The wand has 9 settings from 90 to 210 C and has a 60 minute sleep function.  It has a swivel cord.

It is great that with one wand you can have different size curls.  It does heat up very quickly and it is great that a heat glove is included (although the wand was still very hot when using the glove on high settings).  There is a clear digital screen so it is easy to see what setting you are using.  The swivel cord and automatic sleep function are great safety feature. It comes nicely boxed and is a great price.  

 A major downside to this set is the fact the barrels do not have cool safety tips, so it is quite easy to burn your head.  The clips are are a great idea but they effect your curl, making it wonky.  The heat control buttons are just where you would hold the wand so it is very easy to knock the settings without noticing.  Once the wand has heated up it is difficult to change the barrel to get different sized curls, as you have to use quite a lot of pressure to change the barrel and the wand is hot.  As I have problems using my hands I have difficulty changing the barrels as I have to use quite a lot of pressure to get the barrels to lock in place.  Some of the barrels come with little stands to protect the floor etc from marks whilst they cool down.  These are great in theory, but the stands themselves got warm and I was concerned they would leave burn marks.  

Overall the Xtava Wave comes nicely packaged and you get a lot of different attachments which, with practice, will give you lots of different styles - wavy to different sizes of curl.  What I didn't like  was the absence of safety tips - which is acknowledged in the guide - I only curl the pony tail part of my hair, but there is no way would I put it near my head as I do not want to burn it.  The clips spoil the wave of the curl.  The wand takes ages to cool down and the barrels are difficult to change.  Finally I do not trust the stands, in principle they are a great concept, but I do not think in practice they work that well.   

Always use a protective heat spray.
This competition is only open to the UK and runs from 28 Sept to 5 October.

enter here >>>>> a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received the xtava Satin Wave 5 in 1 Curling Wand with Temperature Control for free from review.directory in exchange for an honest review. 
It is available from Amazon UK

The Beak Knows: Anna Sui Fantasia Eau de Toilette 30ml

  


Fantasia Eau de Toilette (£33 for 30ml, £45 for 50ml, £55 for 75ml) is the much anticipated new fragrance by Anna Sui. Coveted as much for the intricate bottle design, a unicorn standing upon a bottle which looks almost like an acorn with little flowers engraved on it, as much as the fragrance itself, it is a floral, fruity gourmand yet woodsy fragrance. The unicorn and bottle accents are gold tone and the Anna Sui logo is embossed on the neck of the bottle.   The top notes are pink pomelo and pink pepper.  The heart are floral - violet, orange flower, pastel orchid and raspberry praline and the base notes are golden cypress and Himalayan cedar wood.  At first the fragrance is very sweet and raspberry, but as it settles the base notes become more apparent, leaving a lovely lingering, fresh and unique pine, woodsy smell.  It is not a traditional cutesy candy gourmand scent as the woodsy, pine notes contrast with the floral, raspberry chocolatey notes it is a grown up feminine fragrance with enough depth to be a great winter perfume.


  

I bought this for the Instagramable bottle as much as the actual fragrance but I have found myself reaching quite often for it.   

I purchased this item myself.
Available from Amazon UK

Book Review: One Night Exotic Fantasies (Mills & Boon)

One Night Exotic Fantasies is a three in one Mills and Boon which contains three previously published books. These books represent good value as they are normally cheaper than purchasing the book individually and a great introduction to new authors.   I would suggest checking before you buy as I have sometimes purchased books I have already read.

 One Night in Paradise by Maisey Yates involves Claire Davies agreeing to marry Zack Parsons after he is dumped at the Altar as he needs a wife to introduce to a prospective business partner.  

Pirate Tycoon, Forbidden Baby by Janette Kenny consists of the pirate tycoon, Andre Gauthier kidnapping his mistress, Kira and taking her away to his Caribbean hideaway.  He is convinced she is hiding secrets from him and has betrayed him to his enemy whilst she has to tell him that she is pregnant.  

Prince Nadir's Secret Heir by Michelle Conder is the traditional sheikh romance.  Prince Nadir has a brief romance with Moulin Rouge dancer Imogen, resulting in a baby daughter.  He has to persuade her to marry him to legitimise his heir.  

Normally the three in one books are based on a theme: sheikhs, billionaires etc.  This one seems to be thrown together and although I enjoyed reading all three books I would have preferred to have read several books with the same theme.

I received my copy from NetGalley and Mills and Boon as I am a Mills & Boon Insider  but this does not influence my opinions as all opinions are my own.

Available from:
Amazon UK
Mills&Boon

Sticks & Stones: Birds of a Feather

Birds, especially British birds, autumnal forest green, deep plum and other such dark colours all make great autumnal colours and patterns.  I like to switch up my wardrobe around now, moving to warmer jumpers, knee length boots and longer coats.  

The British Bird walking cane that I have previously reviewed has both a robin and a blue tit embossed on it, so I normally use this stick now.  

The Melanie Tomlinson Hokusai or existing bird brooches make eye catching pieces either as brooches or when converted into necklaces.  Hermes do a gorgeous enamelled bird cuff, but if that is ot of your budget, then deCumi Designs on Etsy does a beautiful recycled aluminium bird cuff for £15 to £20.  There is a wide range of bird jewellery to be found, some purse friendly, others not so much! 

Clothes wise I found these items at Marks and Spencer.  The jumpers are £19.50, and although they  are not traditional autumnal colours, they would bring some colour in to your autumn wardrobe,  the leather jacket £240 and boots £49.50.  These items would look great with skinny jeans or a skirt and the jumpers bring some colour into wet autumn days!

All my links are non-affiliated. 

#Win #HarryPotter #Primark #jewellery

                            

                                                   

These Harry Potter jewellery items were sold recently  in Primark, you can still find them on Ebay.  They are gold toned and nicely made. They don't look cheap and they are very detailed.  If you want to enter my rafflecopter competition to win them just enter by filling in; completing as any options ar you want. This competition is open internationally. It opens on 20 September 2017 and closes 4 October 2017.  Good Luck!!!!! 

follow the link >>>>> 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Off The Eaten Path, Crunchy Pea & Pinto Bean Sticks

I found Off The Eaten Path snacks in Sainsburys.  The crunchy pea and pinto bean sticks cost £1 for 23g, and each bag contains 104 KCAL, 4.1g of fat, 0.5g sugar and 0.46g salt.  The sticks are made from pinto, green and white beans  with sea salt.  They provide a source of fibre and they are free from preservatives, do not contain artificial colours and are suitable foe vegetarians.  Nutritional information can be found here.  I think these are tastier and crunchier than your average crisp!  A grown up crunchy snack that isn't overly greasy and artificial in flavour. I enjoy trying snacky food which is easy to eat as sometimes I feel to ill to be bothered making a "proper" meal so instead I will have a packet of these, some cheese and some fruit.

I purchased mine from my Sainsbury Local and they are also available online. A 100g bag is £2.25.