THE OLD POST ROOMS VINTAGE TEA ROOM, ALTRINCHAM

Sometimes getting lost can lead to exciting findings.

I was wondering around Altrincham, looking for a hair salon I had never been before, when I found the cutest tea room.

Situated in Railway Street, where the post office used to be, a newly renovated shopping floor opened few weeks ago and, surprise surprise, hides a vintage style tea room.

The Old Post Rooms is basically an open space where different retails have their own corner. There is jewellery, furniture, homeward, clothes and right at the back, the tea room.

I must admit, I was enchanted.

Crystal chandeliers, old style chairs and crockery, provençale style terrace are what made me fell in love with it.

I tried the pavlova, the meringue was delicious and I will definitely come back to try more.

If you are looking for a relaxing place for your afternoon tea, you may have found it; I spotted a long selection of different teas on the menu and of cours, food is served aswell.

The Old Post Rooms is few minutes walking distance from the Metrolink station of Altrincham.
I cannot find any website or social media account, but I found this article that can give you a better idea of how gorgeous this place is and all the retailers you'll find there.

Let me know if you visit it and what do you think!

AVON IDEAL FLAWLESS CREAM CONCEALER IN MEDIUM, SWATCHES AND REVIEW

Hi Babes!

Don't we all love a product that just does well what is it supposed to do without faffing around?

Nowadays, a concealer, has to mask, cover, hydrate, illuminate, prime, strobe, plump, make you coffee and take the dog out.

I found there are some good products out there, but sometimes, the main reason why you want a damn concealer is only one: cover imperfections and be able to blend the treated area with the rest of the complex in the most natural and less noticeable way.

Well, it looks like this time I have been lucky.

The Avon Ideal Flawless Cream Concealer is a bloody good one.

It comes in a simple sleek black pot and there are two shades available, fair and medium.

The cream is extremely thick and I only need a tiny amount to do the job, especially for the undereye area, where too much would probably end up creasing all over.

It blends beautifully, I apply it with the Make Up Revolution Pro CFH01, not only to conceal my dark eye bags but to do a bit of contouring too, so on the bridge of the nose and on the cheeks.

It lasts all day when set with a powder and as I said before, it doesn't crease unless you don't put too much.

I picked the shade medium and it's perfect (for reference, I am Mac NC30).

Here we go with some before.....

Before

.... and after pictures, looks good doesn't it?

The price isn't really an issue, it's only 7 quids, a total bargain.

The only low score I would give to the Flawless Cream Concealer is due to the small selection of shades, c'mon avon you can do better.

Here is the link  despite I always buy my Avon products from the Avon Reps, I like to share a chat and a cup of tea in front of my little packet.

Any other concealer you want to bring to my attention?

PRO BLO CURL ME MAKE OVER IN SELFRIDGES TRAFFORD CENTRE

Hi!

After 3 long and well deserved weeks of holiday, I am back in a cloudy Manchester and let me tell you, after the most terrible heatwave I have ever experienced, I am quite glad to be back.

So how do you like you hair?
Do you go for a quick blow dry or do you like to play with curls, styles and colours?

I am quite boring me, terribly obsessed by my GHD and that's it, a plain straight blow dry will do for me.

If I want to try something different I normally go for some waves or bouncy curls, done at the hairdresser, thanks to my hopeless lack of ability with wands or rollers.

This explain why I was quite enthusiast when I was offer a complimentary blow dry to try the Curl Me Pro Blo system, now stocked in Selfridges.

I went to Selfridges Trafford centre where the expert Pro Blo team was offering free demonstrations to costumers.

First of all let me tell you the team was incredibly nice and friendly, everybody was treated as a very special guest and was leaving with a smile...and great hair!

Basically, the Pro Blo Curl Me system consists in a set of ceramic brushes and a detachable barrel.

Once you have washed your hair, you blow dry it until a good 75% is dry.

At this point, once you have section it, you start to blow dry every section, finishing by wrapping it around the brush, detaching the barrel and blowing air from the airdryer to the brush.

This process has to be repeat for all your hair or just some section, it's really how do you want it to be.

After 30 mins you can remove the barrels and style the soft bouncy curls you will be left with.

Styling products can be used at any stage, as volumising foams or anti-fizzy serums to finish.

You can find a very detailed tutorial on the Pro Blo website, here is my final result, what do you think?

I really enjoyed it!

The Pro Blo can be purchased online or in Selfridges for £35, where the kit includes 6x brush barrels, 6x hairclips, one handle and a travel bag.

CHARLOTTE TILBURY MASTERCLASS FEAT. NORMAN PARKINSON COLLECTION

Hi!
I hope you enjoyed my previous post regarding Charlotte Tilbury new collection and new counter in Trafford Centre, because today's post is all about the same subject.

To celebrate the launch of the Norman Parkinson collection, Selfridges organized a proper make up masterclass and luckly enough, I was invited, yayyyyy!!!!

Let me start saying it wasn't just a masterclass, it was a proper introduction to the philosophy beyond the brand and the concepts beyond every single product.

Charlotte is not only one of the most famous make up artist in the world but a big name in products development and research, so listening to her team and seeing them in action was a wonderful experience, especially for a make up obsessed like me.

When we got to the event, hosted in Selfridges Trafford Centre, we were saluted by a perfecty set make up table, with all the skincare, make up, a full set of brushes and a face chart, ready for the masterclass.

If you are a Charlotte Tilbury fan, probably this is what dreams are made of.

We started by removing our make up (no photos of this stage of course) using the provided  Genius Eye Make Up Remover and the Multi Miracle Glow, which can be used as a cleanser, a mask and a balm.

We had a go with the Goddess Skin Clay Mask, one of the most gentle clay mask I have ever tried, probably thanks to the sweet almond oil and french peony extract, I did not experience any itching or burning sensation afterwards and skin did not feel extra dry as sometimes happens with clay masks.

After the cleansing stage, we moved to prep our skin and we used, what a question, the hyper famous Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream, a face cream formulated by Charlotte in person, that hydrates and prepares the skin, applied with a special deep massage.

It's a very thick and rich formula (a bit too much for my combination skin, I must admit) that adsorbs very well.

We then applied the Wonder Glow, a primer specifically formulated to cancel dull complexion, smooth imperfections and give that signature glowing look.

The following step was extremely interesting for me; we were working with foundations, concealers and powder to achieve a perfectly flawless look.

I bought a Charlotte Tilbury foundation months ago and the color match was completely wrong, so I took advantage of all the MUA there to find the right shade, which turned out to be a mix in between the Light Wonder Foundation 7 and 4.

After pattig it all over with the foundation brush, I added a bit of concealer, The Retoucher number 3 and set it all with the Air Brush Flawless Finish in medium, insisting on the t zone.

Once I applied a tiny bit of Lip Magic (rich in propolis) I followed the MUA tip to do my brows: I used the "Cara D" Brow Lift, a 3 in one product with a brush end to comb, a creamy pencil to draw and a highlither powder to lift. I must admit this was easy and the result was very natural and defined. Good!

At this point, I was ready for contouring (the other bit I was looking forward!) and of course, we used the Film Star Bronze and Glow  from the Norman Parkinson Collection.

The dark shades was blended on the jaw line, the hollows of the cheeks, top of the forehead and side of the nose, whilst the highlither went on the bridge of the nose, centre of forehead, temples and cheeks, following the holy rule of contouring that wants the darker shades where you want depth, the lighter ones on the areas you want to stand out.

The Norman Parkinson collection sees two signature looks: the Miss 1975 and the Miss Kensington.

The lead MUA, Nelson Catarino, demonstrate on a model the Miss 1975, here some pictures. Gorgeous isn't she?

I went for Miss Kensington, with a little variation.

Here are the steps:

* Colour of Youth, a peachy pink gel, was patted with my fingertips on the apple of the cheeks.

* I blended Dreamy Glow Highlither where the creamy highlighter was applied in contouring stage.

* I used Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk to define lips and Matte Revolution Lipstick in Miss Kensington.  

* Eyes were done using Eyes to Mesmerize creamy eyeshadows in Jean (inner corner)  and Marie Antoniette (all over).

* That iconic flick was done with Rock 'n' Kohl in Barbarella Brown, drawing a dot where I wanted my flick to endend and connecting it to the lines previously done (top and bottom) lifting the brows instead of doing the usual pulling of the eyes on the side. 

* Full Fat Lashes is Charlotte's choice for length, drama, curl, definition and volume (maybe a bit too pretentious? It's a nice black mascara, I can agree with that).

As I told you before, I added my personal twist. I was very attracted by the Miss 1975 red lips so after trying the nude option, I went for Kiss and Tell as liner and the Matte Revolution Miss 1975 Red on the lips. Bingo!

Overall I was happy with my results and I indulged in some purchases...but this, once again, is another blog post!