Yankee Viva Havana Collection

 
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Yankee Viva Havana Collection

I’m sure just about everyone has a travel bucket list? Topping my countdown of places I’d like to one day visit is Cuba – namely Havana; this has been the case since I was a little girl and first saw glimpses of the brightly coloured buildings on some, long gone, travel programme. I’ve of course yet to book said trip and have no immediate plans but the newly launched Yankee Viva Havana Collection is slowly but surely convincing me that there is no time like the present.

Yankee Viva Havana Collection

I was not at all shocked that the Yankee Viva Havana collection features a Mojito (coincidentally my favourite cocktail) fragrance but was pleasantly surprised that the other three scents seem less typical, and in my opinion fairly well researched. This launch doesn’t appear to be as “themed” as others – by that I mean we don’t have four fruity/floral/whatever fragrances but rather an array of options inspired by the country as a whole. In my opinion this is not just clever but inclusive as not everyone likes one particular fragrance category and by selecting one of each (a fruit scent, a floral scent, one for foodies and one unusual choice) there is something for everyone.

Yankee Viva Havana Collection

Along with the four mini jars from the Yankee Viva Havana launch, I also own a box of the Cuban Mojito Tealights and a large jar of the scent Viva Havana – to say I’m hooked is an understatement. If you are on the lookout for a new fragrance or two for the warmer nights, let me point you in the right direction:

Yankee Viva Havana Collection

Yankee Cuban Mojito – this smells exactly how you’d imagine: fresh, zesty, with just the right amount of lime and mint. Technically yes, this is a fruity scent but the mint prevents it from ever becoming sickly – basically if you enjoy the drink of the same name, this is the candle for you.

Yankee Viva Havana Collection

Yankee Delicious Guava – if a typical fruit based scent is what you crave, I’d imagine this will be more suited to your needs. I don’t personally think Yankee’s incarnation of Guava yields all that true to life but it is pleasant none the less. Weirdly I find this sweet scent to remind me a little of the old school style, pink, Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner, which is weirdly one of my favourite bath and body products ever.

Yankee Viva Havana Collection

Yankee Tobacco Flower – a sweet yet musky, floral concoction that is unlike anything I have ever tried by Yankee. Yes it is a floral based scent but it is refined, unusual and dare I say it, it has an expensive feel…well as far as scent goes, Yankee packaging is fairly run of the mill in my opinion. I can’t comment on how close to the real Tobacco Flower this scent happens to be, as to the best of my knowledge I have not came close to such bloom.

Yankee Viva Havana Collection

Yankee Viva Havana – this is the trickiest scent to place as it has been created to mimic a city I have yet to visit, so I can’t personally vouch for its validity. What I can say is that this is the most “masculine” fragrance of the four: a strong, slightly smoky (go figure) and ever so slightly, spicy nod to one of the most famous locations in Cuba. After a quick Google search, I have found out that the top notes of this scent are: sandalwood and vanilla. If you tend to gravitate towards gentlemen lounge type home fragrance products, this is the one for you.
You can find the entire Yankee Viva Havana Collection via Lova Aroma £1.59 – £23.99 – link.

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Bravura Salicylic Acid 2% Review.

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It was many moons ago now that I mentioned the Bravura London Salicylic Acid Peel, only really in passing because I had just purchased it. The comments I recieved on that post were pretty much all about Bravura, either saying how it was amazing, or they wanted to try it… so here I am 4 months later to let you know my thoughts! You certainly can’t say I don’t put some serious testing time into my reviews 😉

I’m going to point out straight away that this product isn’t natural or green like the products I usually feature, however I’ve copied the ingredients below so you can see that they’re actually quite simple and for a product that is a chemical peel and is washed off, I think it’s a-okay. Bravura products are also cruelty free and

I went for the Bravura Salicylic Acid Peel (£9.59) because I’d been suffering with a tonne of blocked pores thanks to my crazy oily and hormonal imbalanced skin. Salicylic acid is incredibly effective at treating acne, blackheads and oily skin, more so than glycolic and lactic acids which are better for treating texture, hyperpigmentation and wrinkles. The Bravura Peels are designed to be used every other day and the lower concentration of salicylic acid allows for an effective regular treatment for congested skin without any irritation. I only use my peel 1-2 times a week, as I’ve found this is the perfect amount to keep my skin ticking over nicely whilst working on banishing blackheads and blemishes.

I started out by using the peel for only 4 minutes at a time, but have worked up to leaving it on for up to half an hour without any tingling or discomfort. The peel must be applied to clean and dry skin that has had time to return to a balanced PH level, either by waiting 30 minutes after cleansing or by using an PH balancing toner before use, this is a important step so make sure you don’t forget! The peel itself looks and feels exactly like water (as that is the main ingredient) and works best when applied with a brush, I use an old synthetic paint brush but you can also buy brushes from Bravura for about £3.

To neutralise the peel afterwards you simply have to rinse your skin with tepid water and then continue with your skincare routine. I noticed my skin feeling quite dry after longer treatments so like following up with a moisture mask or just making sure I use my most hydrating skincare.

So what about results? I am actually so impressed with this peel, in recent months with the combination of skincare, diet and supplements my skin has shown a steady improvement. The peel has worked wonders on the blackheads I had around my jaw and cheeks and even better it helps blemishes get the hell off of my face that much quicker without leaving deep scars. I now want to work on improving my older acne scars and the texture of my skin so may pick up the glycolic acid peel to help with this as it sounds just as promising, plus they’re so affordable and last really well. I’ve had my peel since December and am only halfway through the bottle.

Have you tried anything from Bravura or using acid peels before?



Ingredients:
Distilled Water, Salicylic acid, Propylene Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hydroxide.

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​KINSTYLE, INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATION

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Presenting KINSTYLE held on 3th and 4th June in the very near environment and identifying KIN Cosmetics although most peculiar to the occasion. The brand brought together national and international platform partners, VIP customers, partners and friends at a popular hotel in the Costa Brava which was the starting point of what was undoubtedly an unforgettable evening.

The first highlight of the presentation was the arrival at KIN Cosmetics central facilities located in the coastal town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols. Behind the doors of the company, beyond the area of R & D, manufacturing, packaging and offices, a wild landscape was hiding framing a walkway of the most original in an oscillating environment between the natural and the industry. And in the center, the finishing touch of the hand of the technical and artistic team Cre • Art with the Catalan designer Jordi Dalmau, our brand ambassador. They were responsible for a creative staging where, with KINSTYLE products, artistic structures, hairstyles high volume combined with brocade and headgear made ​​in a framework of elegance and good taste are formed. A dynamic presentation after the end, we all moved to a new point on the Costa Brava.

In Platja d’Aro on the Costa Bellini space in an environment Chill Out under the stars, we expected a cocktail dinner conjugated to an extensive menu of cocktails based and designed to the active ingredients associated with each one of the products in the new line of styling.

Throughout the night, many surprises happened: A singer with lavish live voice, a curious magician and of course, a creative contest. The brand challenge those daring to show to the public in a collaborative dressing table PAHI brand, best gifts under a clear premise: CREATE ONLY WITH KINSTYLE. Only with their hands, the products and materials that could carry participants let fly their imagination creating the most amazing styles. The jury, made ​​up of a very different choice of attending at the event, was responsible for naming the winners a full set of products KINSTYLE for their business away.

The party continued until the late hours of the morning between laughing and fun, in an environment of friends, in an exciting global event brand and his closest associates.

Sunday Lunch, Weird Breakfasts and Broken Ducks.

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fox and hounds hunsdon

1) I went for an astonishingly good Sunday lunch last weekend. My God, was it good. You may not know this about me, but I’m not a fan of the roast dinner at all; I don’t mind it now and then, but I don’t hanker after it whatsoever. So I do like places that do other things to eat on a Sunday, and not just thrown together stuff to bulk out the menu, but proper, considered dishes. Everyone agreed that the Fox and Hounds in Hunsdon (Hunsdon is a gorgeous little village not too far from me) did an exceptional lunch; my friend Lee, who owns and has owned gastro-pub affairs and is a very good cook himself, declared that it was the best Sunday lunch he could remember. I have been to the Fox and Hounds before, perhaps a year ago, and it was great then, but it was just brilliant this time around.

fox and hounds hunsdon

I had a mackerel and beetroot and horseradish starter that was so good it’s given me dreams about it ever since, and then I had the hand-rolled tagliatelle for my main course.

fox and hounds hunsdon

Lee and Mr AMR shared the chateaubriand and Nicki had (if I remember rightly) cod. All of it was just exemplary, including Sammy’s children’s-portion sausage and mash. The bill with very good wine (not for me!) was around £40 per head.

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They also have a whole wall of cookbooks to browse as you wait for your food, should conversation at the table dry up. (Ha!) It’s actually a very clever way of getting people’s appetites going; I went in thinking that just a main course would be enough, but there’s nothing like some cookbook reading to whet one’s appetite! foxandhounds-hunsdon.co.uk

weird breakfast order card

2) From good lunches to weird breakfasts: just look at this room service order card I found in my Cardiff hotel room. Study it, if you will. Note that the guests required not just orange juice, but an apple juice each. They also ordered meat and hash browns, no eggs! Now I know that not everyone likes eggs, but doesn’t it strike you as odd that neither of them opt for eggs to complete their breakfast? Also odd: they have almost exactly the same thing, apart from the fact that one has a hash brown and sausage and the other has bacon and sausage. Nothing else – no toast or anything! Perhaps they split their pain au chocolat in half and stuffed it with the meat? All of this speculation, of course: I’ve been watching too many detective programmes I think!

dexter and the bear

3) Naughty Dexter and Mr Bear: they were chasing each other about, as they like to do every day in their “mad five minutes”, and they knocked over Mr AMR’s special Daffy statue. He found it somewhere in America many years ago and travelled back with it, carrying it on the plane like a precious vase, and now it’s in pieces. Quack.

retro daffy duck statue

The post Sunday Lunch, Weird Breakfasts and Broken Ducks. appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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