KOH Thai Tapas in Southsea, UK

Our friends are coming over to visit soon we were thinking about where to take them out for dinner. As we live in Southsea we noticed Koh Thai Tapas (http://www.koh-thai.co.uk/) opening up recently. After reading great reviews on Trip Adviser (www.tripadvisor.co.uk) we decided to try it out for ourselves.

The restaurant is located in a lovely old building. As we walked in we were welcomed by friendly staff and taken to our table. Walking through the restaurant I could not help myself  from thinking that this place looks really inviting. Immediately I was drowned in by the warmth of colours, amber and reds on the walls, high ceilings, dark woods and leather bound seats.

The interior has lots of character with traditional Thai sculptures it just oozes chic.

Few minutes after taking our orders my Pina Kohlada ;) arrived. I must say that I was impressed by its quality, it tasted and looked amazing.

We ordered five different tapas dishes to share between us two and that was more then enough. They were very tastefull too. The whole concept of having Thai Tapas is new to me but, why would only Spanish cuisine be associated with tapas style? It's new and innovative way to try out classic Thai food and make the dinning experience truly unique.

We loved Koh Thai Tapas so much that it will definitely be our next IT place to take our family and friends out to eat.

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

LET'S SAVE THE NAIL POLISH

Doing free style nail art is one of my favourite past times. Over the past couple of years my nail polish collection has grown bigger and bigger. I therefore now own a little treasure box full of all different kinds of nail lacquer. Some of them I have received as presents and some I bought. Brands vary from cheaper such as Rimmel London to more professional ones from OPI.

I could also say there are some colours I just adore, so when they start to become thick and gloopy I am not a happy bunny :)

So here comes the saviour, the mighty OPI NAIL LACQUER THINNER (www.opi.com).
This is a chemical solution that restores thickened nail polish to its former glory.

OPI NAIL LACQUER THINNER is made from butyl and ethyl acetate which are the same ingredients found in nail polish. That means it will not effect the colour or the quality or shine of the nail polish.

It is very simple to use, just add 2-3 drops into the nail polish. Instructions on the bottle advise to shake it but that can cause air bubbles. So, I prefer to hold the bottle of the nail polish between the palms of my hands and roll from side to side until thinner is thoroughly mixed into the polish.

Then to test the consistency I can apply to my nail. The correct consistency of the nail polish should allow two coats of nail polish before needing to re dip the brush into the nail polish bottle.

Nail polish has a limited lifetime too, usually about 2 years and darker colours tend to clump up faster because they have so much pigment; so having a nail polish thinner is a must in every nail polish collection.

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

SOY CANDLES

A few weeks ago whilst looking around in TK Maxx for a present for a friend I stopped by the candle section in their homeware department. Nothing unusual about that as I love to see what is new in store and I do appreciate a nice candle. But look what I found...

These lovely looking candles by American brand FOR EVERY BODY (www.foreverybody.com) attracted my attention. So, I smelled one and another and the rest of them, spending far too long admiring each scent while my hubby stared at me not understanding what is taking so long.

Finally I choose Citrus & Vanilla Vintage Candle and Spa Therapy Bamboo Leaf (£5.99 each). But, I wanted them all really... :)

Citrus & Vanilla Vintage Candle scent made me think of freshly squeezed tangerines with a large amount of vanilla. The fragrance is so true-to-life, a perfect candle for the kitchen, where I keep mine.

Spa Therapy Bamboo Leaf is amazing too. I have difficulty removing myself or my nose from the jar :) It has a gentle and relaxing scent and makes me think of pandas relaxing. Yes, I do like this brand of candles.

To be honest I did not think too much about what some candles are made of until now. After purchasing these soy based candles I read up about them. Soy candles are made from soybeans making them an easily renewable resource and as they are vegetables soy wax based, the byproducts of the manufacturing processes are biodegradable. Soy wax is non-toxic and burns clean. Candles burn at a slow rate creating long lasting experience (18 oz or around 0.5kg lasts around 90hours). FOR EVERY BODY also uses lead free wick and wax spillage is easy to clean with soapy water.

Therefore there are so many more benefits of using soy candles over perhaps cheaper paraffin candles that leave black soot and some bad chemical vapours.

No doubt I'll be back to top up my supply of these little treats soon.

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

Jewel-light Waterproof Eyeliner from Holika Holika

What a lovely little gem. These Jewel-light Waterproof Eyeliner pencils from Holika Holika are so great. One might even say that they are highly comparable to or as good as Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners, which are really popular but on the expensive side.

They are made by South Korean brand Holika Holika. Packaging is of course adorable carrying on the theme of  ''magic'' and little, cute witch on the packaging throughout the range of products.

I have bought mine online from www.ebay.co.uk for about £3.52 each with free postage. Great bargain!

The colours I picked  are; 01 Black Gem (matte black, great for tight lining the waterline), 02 Black Crystal (multicoloured fine shimmer), 03 Lapis Lazuli (dark blue with fine blue shimmer) and number 11 (light brown with bronze shimmer).


Click to enlarge

All colours are gorgeous, richly pigmented and shimmer has no fallout. Texture is creamy, glides on like gel eyeliner.

Their main selling feature is that they are really waterproof. I tested it by applying them on my hands and washing my hands with soap and water. Colour did not smudge a bit. To remove it you only need eye makeup remover. They need ordinary sharpner to tidy up the tip.

The good tip to remember while using these eyeliners is to apply them on the eyelids (or waterline) and let it dry for few seconds. After the colour dries it just stays on for hours.
They can be used as eye shadows too by smudging the colour on the eyelids before it dries.
Have you tried Jewel-light Waterproof Eyeliner pencils too?
What are you favourite colours?

The Holika Holika Shop

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

Kawaii phone accessories

After struggling for the last six month with my old phone and my dear friends suggesting I ought to move with the times ;) I have finally been upgraded with a new phone. Thanks to my lovely hubby it arrived under the tree in time for Christmas morning - well midnight actually 'cause I couldn't wait!

Of course I had to dress it up. A plain case is not my kind of thing so I bought these cute cases/skins or whatever you want to call it and a couple of phone dust plugs (the thing that protects the headphone socket) too.

As I get a grip on learning how to use my new phone, I can also get excited about how it looks by changing the cover according to how I feel that day. I do not have to use my phone for business so having a not so right and proper looking phone case just cheers me up.

Three of these cases are silicone and one is a hard cover.

The phone dust plugs are also adorable, light cream flower and green shade bow. All of them are easily available and I have bought mine on www.ebay.uk

Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G

L'OCCITANE, Milk Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap

Are you sill looking for a last minute Christmas pressie?
L'Occitane Milk Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap, is a great idea. 100% vegetable based, embossed and elegantly wrapped perfect little gift for everyone.

It is generous in size (250g for £7.50 from www.uk.loccitane.com) it is great value for money albeit at the higher end of the soap market. I have been a big fan for the past couple of years and clearly I am not the only one as it is considered to be a cult favourite by many in the beauty industry(very highly reviewed on www.makeupalley.com) and is a Best Seller on the L'Occitane website.

As the name on the packaging would suggest it is indeed a very gentle and non irritating soap making it very suitable for delicate skin for the whole family. It lathers up beautifully and it is so creamy and rich.

The Shea Butter used in the soap which actually comes from Africa; soothes and protects the skin and is well known for its moisturising properties. L'Occitane are socially responsible company and their Shea Butter is harvested by hand by women in Shea-processing collectives of Burkina Faso, supporting economic recovery and heritage of natural harvesting traditions. From there L'Occitane take the harvested butter to Provence, France where it is used in their creams, lotions, soaps etc.

I really like this product and it will continue to be in my soap dish for years to come. I would recommend you to try it out for yourself too. :)

Till next time...
Christmassy Kiss Kiss Girly-G

Petite Bunny Gloss Bar by Tony Moly

Tony Moly (http://www.etonymoly.com/) is a South Korean cosmetic brand that is incredibly popular for their adorable packaging and reasonable price and I have to say the cute packaging is to blame for why I just had to try out Petite Bunny Gloss Bar. Aren't they just adorable?

Of course I did some research and bought four different bunnies;
No2 Juicy Grape, No4 Juicy Cherry, No5 Juicy Peach and No6 Juicy Orange (there are actually 9 different shades in all)

Looking at them reminds me of crayons you use in school. The cap of each Petite Bunny Gloss Bar has a bunny face with different expressions to easily differentiate the colour and scent better. The faint fruity scent is hardly noticeable after application. The product comes out by twisting from the bottom up, a few milimeters is enough as it does not twist back. I do end up reapplying because they don't have too much staying power but that does not bother me at all!

Although they are called gloss bar, they are actually more like tinted lip balm rather then lip gloss. The colour is sheer but buildable and can be intensified with extra coats. I love that it is not sticky at all. The texture is creamy and glides on easily. It is so much fun trying them out.

I really enjoy Petite Bunny Gloss Bars, they make me smile every time I pick them up from my cosmetics bag. I would recommend them to all those who like non-sticky lip balms and cute faces are just a bonus :)
Have you tried them too?
Till next time...
Kiss Kiss Girly-G