Products I loved in May

May has been a great month for trying out new beauty products and I've come across some different bits and pieces that I really love!  

First up, we have Ginvera Green Tea BB cream (£20).  I adore this BB cream; the formula is light and not at all greasy but provides good coverage that lasts pretty much all day.  It blends effortlessly into the skin and is a great base for the summer - it's not too heavy at all but is good enough to hide blemishes or any other problem areas.  I love it!

Omorovicza thermal cleansing balm (£46).  This amazing cleansing balm arrived in May's Look Fantastic beauty box and in my opinion, it's outstanding.  It's a soft, black mud balm that cleanses the skin beautifully without stripping or drying it out.  It removes all traces of make up and leaves the skin feeling soft and radiant.  I've been using it once a week as a pampering treat and it really calms my moody skin down a lot.  The only downside is the price - £46 would really be stretching my budget.

Autograph twist up cheek blusher (£9.50) I've never bought any Marks and Spencer's beauty products before but I was gifted a voucher and thought it was the perfect opportunity to try it out.  I decided on the Soft Coral shade of their twist up blusher and the colour is so summery.  It's so easy to apply, I swipe a layer of the colour across my cheeks and it blends in to leave a soft orangey/pink shade.  The formula is creamy without being too intense and gives your cheeks a pop of colour.  

Kiehl's Hydro-pumping re-texturizing serum concentrate (£40) I was given a sample of this serum ages ago but didn't think much of it as I didn't want to include yet another product in my skincare routine.  I have since caved and given it a try and now I really want to use it every day!  This snappily named (!) serum is applied after toning and before moisturising and works to balance the skin out, great for problem  combination skin like mine.  The serum is silky smooth that is quickly absorbed into the skin without leaving any greasy residue.  It helps to rehydrate the drier patches on my face and helps to clear up any blemishes too.  Again, the only downside is the price - I'd struggle to justify another £40 when I'm saving for Florida - I'm desperately on the lookout for a good quality dupe!    

Finally, Mac lipstick - Lustering (£15.50).  I love this shade of Mac lipstick - they describe it as an outspoken pink.  For me, there really isn't any comparison when it comes to lipsticks, Mac win for the quality of their product and the price is okay.  This shade is bold without being too in your face and I like wearing it with natural eyes and summery cheeks.  

Which products have you liked using last month? 

London Food | The Disney Café by Harrods

We were in London last weekend and took the opportunity to visit the Disney Café in Harrods.  Naturally, I was filled with so much excitement to be experiencing a bit of Disney in Harrods, and being Harrods, I had extremely high expectations. 

The Disney Café is situated on the fourth floor, just off the children's wear section and a stone's throw from the afternoon tea court.  The café is suitably decked out in Disney memorabilia - from Mickey Mouse outlines on the back of the chair to Tinkerbell over Big Ben, beneath a starry night sky.  We visited on Sunday afternoon at around 3pm with the hope to have a cream tea and when we arrived, the café was quite quite so we were able to choose where we were seated.

Once we sat down, we discovered that afternoon tea didn't start until 4pm but thought since it was quite quiet and we were all used to exemplary Disney service, we thought we would ask if we could have afternoon tea.  The waiter asked the chef if this would be possible and we were told no as it was too busy.  I was quite disappointed but I was equally tempted by some of the desserts, so in the end, we went for a dessert and a drink.

The adults menu was reasonably priced for London (around £10 a main) and offered a fairly extensive and tempting menu.  The drinks, on the other hand, were very expensive (£5 for a coke!) but I suppose that's an easy way to increase their spend per head. 

I had heard the dessert menu offered Mickey waffles but I fancied the chocolate brownie so went for that.  Dena and Kerrie went for the waffles and we all waited with anticipation for our delicious Disney fare.  I was a little perplexed when I saw a waiter bring my chocolate brownie in through the restaurant entrance, but tried to remain open minded.

When our desserts arrived, they were beautifully presented.  Mickey waffles and my portion of brownie had been transformed into Mickeys!  Hurrah!  The Disney food I was expecting!  

However, upon tasting, honestly, we were all very disappointed.  My brownies were okay. They weren't gooey and chocolatey like I like them, they were quite dry and the chocolate taste wasn't as a decadent as normal brownies.  The ice cream was creamy and delicious but I was unsure about the fruit puree served with it.  The much-coveted Mickey waffles didn't fare much better: they were served with a berry compote which  turned out to be half a dozen berries on their own and they weren't sweet waffles, they were pretty tasteless and bland.  I understand waffles not having to be loaded with sugar but if you are ordering dessert, it's usually to satisfy a sweet tooth so in my humble opinion, the waffles needed some kind of sauce, whether it be fruit puree, maple syrup or chocolate sauce. 

I think the problem was we were expecting quality food since it was not only Disney but Disney by Harrods. Of course, I can't speak for the mains but the desserts were distinctly mediocre. Whether they think they can get away with okay food because people come for the experience or it was a bad day, I don't think the experience was really good enough.  It's a real shame.  

All in all, it seemed like it was all style and no substance; beautifully presented but really lacking in taste.

Have you ever visited the Disney Café?  Did you enjoy it more than I did?  

Review | Mousetrapped : A year and a bit in Orlando by Catherine Ryan Howard

I first read about Mousetrapped a while back and naturally, I put it on to my to-read list and I finally got round to it after reading a couple of heavier fiction books.  Mousetrapped follows Catherine as a young, Irish twentysomething who is feeling a bit at a dead-end in her life and decides to chase one of her childhood dreams: to go and work at Walt Disney World.  You can see why I was intrigued by this, right?

However, it is interesting to point out that Catherine isn't actually working for Disney, she's working for another company which operates the Swan and Dolphin (or the Duck and Tuna) hotels within the resort so I was weary about reading her experiences working in Disney.

Understandably, Catherine details her life a little bit pre-Florida and while she was out there.  We learn her motivations and her pixie dusted dreams before she steps onto the flight to Orlando.  While in Orlando, we follow her ups and downs while adjusting to her new life:  awful apartments, loneliness, once in a life time experiences and more.

Catherine is actual quite a likeable writer and her enthusiasm is contagious.  For example, although I have always wanted to go to the Kennedy Space Center, I'd never really felt bothered about seeing a Shuttle launch there and now, after reading her recount of one, I really want to see one!  Even in her lowest points, she clings onto a tiny piece of Disney magic which helps get her through those more challenging times.

However, at times, I wanted to scream at her for being so naive when it came to her lack of planning and her reaction to certain things within the book.  Oh, and also the fact she was happy to drive around illegally pretty much for the duration of her stay.  Like I said, it was just naive.

I would have liked to read about the ins and outs of working in the Disney resorts and its perks; although, working for this hotel didn't even grant her free park access so I guess she only had a limited view of the parks and in some ways was a 'regular' tourist.

Overall, I did enjoy this book although it's definitely not a "warts and all" read about being a cast member.  It's a pleasant retelling of Catherine's eighteen months in Florida, documents her highs and lows.  I like reading about the inner and outer workings of places like hotels and theme parks, so perhaps I would have liked to read a little more about that, rather than just casual overviews of her time working there.  All in all, it has got me even more excited and my year as a cast member!

Disnerds, have you ever heard of or read Mousetrapped?

Life Lately #8

We are in May!  The month of bank holidays and hopefully beautiful Spring-edging-into-Summer sunshine!  April was a bit of a quiet one in the blogosphere for me, partly because I have been super duper busy and partly because I became quite ill with gastroenteritis - which wasn't how I wanted to spend one of my only free weekends over the next few months but never mind.  

I had my birthday in April and I've blogged a little bit what I did to celebrate my 28th.  28 sounds like such a grown up age; I'm not sure if I'm entirely ready for it.  That being said, I did have some wonderful celebrations. Here's what else I have been up to: 


Eating : Chocolate.  It has been Easter and I did my own chocolate making party while away in Kent so it was only natural that I ate lots of chocolate.  Apart from that, I've been focussing on having lots of healthier lunches at school so that counts as a balanced diet, right?  

Drinking : As I was ill with a nasty stomach bug, I had to cave and have full fat Coke - something that I hadn't drunk since July last year.  I lovingly refer to Coca Cola as my own personal crack, I become full on addicted if I allow myself to drink it on a regular basis so it felt like a real treat to be able to treat myself it as I was ill. Hopefully it won't start off a nasty habit again! 

Reading : I've been able to read a little bit more this month and I've read a range of books.  My favourite was definitely The Art Of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson.  It's one of the talked about YA books of deal and it deals with transgender - something that is definitely not dealt with enough in literature (or life, to be honest). I also read Mousetrapped by Catherine Ryan Howard, an Irishwoman who worked for 18 months in a hotel in WDW - think I will do a review of this one.     

Watching : On television,  we've got into Mozart in the Jungle, which is set in the classical music industry in New York and starts Gael Garcia Bernal (my favourite Mexican actor).  It's witty and easy to watch;  sometimes that's all you want from a TV show.  On the big screen, one film I keep thinking about is Still Alice. I finally got round to seeing it a couple of weeks ago and it was definitely worth the hype.  So beautifully sad and inspiring, all at the same time.

Planning : We won a luxury spa break in the Cotswolds when I was going through my mad-comping stage so we are planning all the ins and outs of that trip!  

Anticipating : Another busy and exciting month:  camping, the spa weekend and I'm bridesmaid for one of my oldest friends.  It's going to be a good month!      

Buying : I have been buying a lot of jewellery from Etsy- there are so many seriously talented people out there.  I'm going to write a post about my favourite bits and pieces. 

CRP | 100 days to go

Well, I can't believe that we have just hit 100 days until we fly off to sunnier climes and go to work for the Mouse!  Now more time has passed since we found out we got the job than we have left to go (now THAT'S a confusing sentence...) and it's all been quite quiet on the CRP front recently. 

 

Quite a few people from our interview group have left and already started their programs and seeing all their amazing Facebook posts, Instagrams and Snapchats have made me even more antsy to get out there!  

Anyway, what's been happening on my Cultural Representative journey over the past few months:

My DBS finally came through.  I sent my paperwork off before Christmas but my original paperwork got lost in the Christmas post rush (thanks, Royal Mail).  Luckily, Yummy sent me out another form and this one came through fine and quickly.

We also got an e-mail through from Yummy Jobs saying that we could now access our Visa instructions on our Yummy profiles. We can't actually apply for our Visa until 6-8 weeks before our departure dates but it signals that we are another step closer!

I also got a phone call from Sue, the Head of International Recruiting, asking if I would like to switch job roles from Merchandise and Food and Beverage. This caused quite a lot of inner turmoil on my behalf as when I applied for the CRP, I assumed that if I got the job, I'd be given a role in F&B, having worked in restaurants for around ten years and there's a lot more positions available for that role.  However, when I got offered merchandise, I was so pleased to be given the chance to do something new and work in Kidcot as well!  There's also the promise of more money working in F&B and with an ever growing USA bucket list, it may seem logical to switch to F&B.  After some deliberating, I decided to stay in merch and I'm still very much looking forward to everything that job role offers. 

As I said I am super excited to go, I don't want to wish my time away in the beautiful UK and I have many exciting plans before I go, so I've decided to start my own little mixture of 100 days of happiness and 100 days of (or should that be: until) Disney!  If you want to keep up with me doing that, keep an eye on my Instagram!  

100 days to go... Ahhhhh!  :-)