recommendations

La Crème Beautè Review

by Lani

I bought luxury skin care from La Creme Beaute! I purchased the Bee Venom face cream and Glow. I also ordered Bee Venom face cream for my mother as a surprise gift. Both of our orders came with five samples. I was blown away by this because the samples are very sizable, especially the eye cream. I think I have enough product to use for a month or so. I also loved that they included a handwritten thank you note.

I think personal touches and attention to detail add to a feeling of luxury. I’ve found that expensive products can be just as hit or miss as less pricey items, sometimes the customer service and professionalism is lacking even though there’s a high sticker price. But this shopping experience was different. It only took about a week to deliver to both Ireland and the USA.

I’ve used my products and samples for five days now and I’ll need to continue to use them before I rave about results. But so far, I love the botanical scent of the rose face cream. I like mixing products like using Glow with L’occitane Aqua face cream. My skin looks very hydrated. I’ll keep using and post an update. I recommend this brand.

February is a month for self-love and self-care. ❤

Box Braids – Third Time’s the Charm

by Lani

I’ve gotten box braids with extensions done three times now. The first time I got the style installed was in North Carolina. The stylist made the braids skinnier than I anticipated and used *gasp* 20 packets of hair!

I loved the results of this first experience. The hair was not too itchy and the quality of it was nice. The braiding process hurt because of the weight of the style. Plus, it made falling asleep comfortably an impossibility. I took a bunch of Advil to push through during the styling and afterward.

I probably will only do such an extravagant style again for a special occasion. It took about 6 hours for the stylist to finish my hair. She charged $350+ for the style and did not provide the hair. The hair totaled to around $80-$100. (I can try and search for her contact info if anyone is interested)


I disliked how frizzy the front of my hair became when I first got box braids. I think the thick parting made my hair frizziness more noticeable. I took the braids out a few days short of a month later on.

The second time around I flew to London to get box braids. I went to Natural Gloe Hair & Beauty. Address: 14 Northfield AvenueW13 9RJ
www.Naturalgloe.com

I highly recommend the salon, the owner was incredibly professional. Two stylists — the owner and her assistant worked on my hair at once and finished in 4 hours. The salon provided the hair. At my request, they washed it pre-styling for me because my scalp is sensitive to the chemicals put on synthetic hair.

I had a nightmare braiding experience in 2017 that taught me this, I had to take out my $300+ braids the night after getting them done because my scalp burned and itched horribly. 😦

The style only amounted to around 120-150 euros. I was super happy with how much lighter the hair was but I preferred the softer quality of the hair I used in my first box braiding experience.

I just recently got box braids done again a third time in a thinner style. The stylist only used three packets of the high-quality hair that I purchased called “RastAfri – Freed’m-Triple-Braid”. Though I was unhappy about my stylist’s professionalism, I am pleased with the results. I hope that this time once the braids get frizzier it will look less obvious and more purposeful, akin to Zoe Kravitz’s skinny box braids look. ❤

Fish and Chips Review Series: Part One

by Lani

This fish and chips series will include reviews of fish and chips restaurants at various price points and locations.

I love fish and chips when its done well, and Leo Burdocks at 4 Crown Alley, Temple Bar, Dublin do just that. True, Temple Bar is a tourist area, but the building is so picture-ready! That location’s restaurant is well maintained and fairly priced. I bought a full cod fish and chips with a water and it only ran up to around 11 euros. Its a very large piece of fish and they jam pack the container with fresh hot chips as well. When I went there with a friend on a Sunday afternoon it was mostly empty and quiet during the beginning of our meal. I give the exterior of this restaurant and interior cleanliness 5/5, and customer service 5/5.

As for the food, I loved that the fish was not oily, yet still had a flaky batter. I give the fish and chip quality 4.5/5 and flavour 3.5/5. The dish is very simply flavoured, but despite its simplicity, just like a nicely done lightly seasoned Udon soup, the overall eating experience was deliciously satisfying. It’s best to eat it hot and immediately in house, there’s plenty of seating at this location as well. I recommend Leo Burdocks and I’m happy to kick off this series with this restaurant chain.

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Iceland = Price-land?

by Lani

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Iceland was a bucket list travel destination I’ve longed to visit for about 6 years. I finally was able to go with my mother as a college graduation trip May 2018. Did it live up to my expectations? Yes! Was it expensive? Very! The nickname the locals joke about rings true, Iceland is “Price-land$$$”, but there are plenty of inexpensive things to do. Actually, I found a few pricer tourist-trap restaurants and excursions a let down, while cheaper foods and places geared towards locals more enjoyable.

Not everything lives up to the hype in Iceland like visiting Harpa and grabbing a coffee inside. Harpa is an architecturally beautiful place to stop by and walk around for a bit, but the coffee inside the music hall is not special (TripAdvisor suggested otherwise). Its the same coffee that’s sold everywhere else in Iceland ––– just regular stuff in a small cup. Also, its important that if you visit Harpa and take the shuttle bus that you stand right in front of the bus stop rather than near it because its easy to miss the small shuttle when large two-story tour busses block it. I actually missed the bus twice and had to learn this the hard way. 😦

I enjoyed visiting the blue lagoon, and the in-water massages my mother and I had were wonderful. I recommend it to anyone who is able. We went really early and beat the crowds, by the mid-afternoon when we packed up to leave the entrance had long lines that almost reached the front door!

Things to eat:

  • Sea Baron – langoustine soup and bread (The soup is very flavorful, and the bread and butter is delicious. Iceland does bread and butter well.)
  • Café Loki – bread ice-cream (I recommend sitting upstairs by the window to get a view of Hallgrimskirkja, a famous Lutheran parish church)
  • *Also, check out traditional Icelandic hot dogs made of lamb, bread baked in the ground, lamb soup, and dried fish with butter

Things to do:

  • Visit black sand beach
  • At least one major waterfall
  • Walk around Reykjavik, see Hallgrimskirkja in person
  • Visit Perlan museum for a view of the famously colorful building roofs
  • Browse vintage clothing stores

I do not recommend eating dinner at the pricy Kol, or in spending too much at corner stores. Kol is a famous and highly rated restaurant that’s known for whimsical seafood presentations. See our food from that restaurant below. I personally thought the food was so-so, I enjoyed the presentation but the flavors and seafood freshness could have been better. I liked the local lamb soup in Reykjavik way more. See bread bowl lamb soup pictured below from Svarta Kaffid.

Stay far away from Noodle Station, the soup made us sick! That restaurant is hyped up because its cheap, but to save your stomach the agony, I think its better to just eat fast food or an Icelandic hotdog to save money.

I think corner stores are super overpriced in Iceland. When I planned for my trip, I noticed many people recommended saving money by eating simple things from corner stores. Its true that some foods are much cheaper than a full meal at a restaurant but its still very pricey. I think its better to just eat a pastry from a bakery because there are many delicious affordable bakeries in Reykjavik! Then to eat things like chips and cookies from the corner store because they end up costing about the same. For example, like two bags of chips, one pack of gum, and a soft drink, can amount to $30 at the corner store.

My recommendation if you travel to Iceland is to be well prepared for the cold and changeable weather.  Even through I traveled in May it was extremely cold. It rained, hailed, and then became sunny again at least four times a day. So expect the unexpected! I also recommend sticking to restaurants the locals like because they’re cheaper and heartier. Some places are hyped up either because its cheap or expensive, so its important to scout places out.

I definitely will travel to Iceland again! Next time I plan on doing more adventurous things in nature. Have you ever been to Iceland? What’s your top three bucket list travel destinations? ❤

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