Author Archives: Catherine Balavage

Frost’s Top 10 Brands to Trust for a Stress Free Christmas

Posted on by

Christmas is a stressful time of year. We’ve all had a Christmas where it ended in tears because the food wasn’t right or a present broke right out of the box. Unfortunately most companies can’t be relied upon. Revenues and profits are the main consideration. After the sale has been made most brands will consider the relationship with the customer over. But there is a small minority of companies who buck this trend and put the customer experience above all else. Brands which can be relied upon at this important time of year. So here is Frosts independent guide to the brands we believe can be trusted for a stress free Christmas

ipadmini

Top Electronic Brand – Apple

No one was ever disappointed to get any Apple product for a present. You can also almost guarantee it will work right out of the box with minimal stress and frustration and provide an amazing Christmas experience. If on the off chance something does go wrong, Apple is excellent at sorting out any problems you have. The company prides itself on the ‘user experience’ and this definitely comes across. The company’s products are always a joy to use. Of course the downside is the cost which can be exorbitant. However this year you can get an iPad mini for £219 from John Lewis (another one of our top ten brands) http://www.johnlewis.com/electricals/ipad-tablet-pcs/apple-ipad-mini/ipad-mini/c8000030510

It’s an incredible product and experience but the mini is still by no means cheap. For a cheaper alternative why not try these amazing Bluetooth headphones we reviewed earlier this year. https://www.frostmagazine.com/2013/10/groovez-bths800-bluetooth-headphones-by-stk/

photo 2 (2)

Available from Amazon for £36.71

Top Online Shopping Brand – Amazon

The online shopping giant has always been reliable and easy to use. Although its not as relatively cheap to the highstreet and other online competitors as it was a few years ago, it’s still unbeaten for choice and reliability.Amazon has always prided its users and has always put there experience before profits. In fact the company still barely makes a profit despite turning over hundreds of billions of dollars every year. If you buy from Amazon you can be fairly sure your items will arrive quickly and as described. And if by any chance anything does go wrong in our experience Amazon has always issued a refund. This is definitely a company which takes some of the stress out of Christmas. In second place is notonthehighstreet.com which offers products from small boutique companies. There’s a really nice feel to the website and it can be a great place to find a personal gift at a reasonable price.

Also check out shuffle hub a great new way to shop online. Shuffle Hub scans major websites and randomly shows you a small selection of products. If you don’t like what you see you can just hit the shuffle button. You can filter it by gender, cost, item type etc Definitely worth a look. We love it.

sainsburys

Top Supermarket – Sainsbury’s

Of the major supermarkets Sainsbury’s is the one we are trusting with our Christmas this year. The supermarket has been getting better and better recently. The produce and suppliers can be trusted and the food in our experience is of better quality than most peers.

The experience in the stores is warm and even the infernal self scanners are better than in most competitors. The staff are all friendly and seem to be enjoying their jobs. By contrast I think Tesco has really taken its eye off the ball recently. Both price and quality are not as good as they once were and shopping in the store is stressful. A close second in the top supermarket department is Morrisons who offer some great Christmas produce. https://www.frostmagazine.com/2012/11/morrisons-christmas-showcase-event-what-food-to-buy-for-christmas/

Top Highstreet Retailer – John Lewis

John Lewis is as reliable as they come. The company has always put a tremendous focus on looking after customers. Shopping in the stores has always been easy and there are loads of good ideas for Christmas presents. On some items you will pay more but if your clever you can often avoid this. Remember John Lewis has a policy of never knowingly being undersold. It’s worth using for the same items you might have bought from another store anyway (like the iPad mini above) because of the great customer after care.

pandora2Top Jeweler – Pandora

We’ve visited Pandora’s new flag ship store on Oxford Street and it was a great experience. The company is best known for its charm bracelets. You buy a bracelet and then add to it throughout the year on memorable occasions. It’s a great present to give wives and girlfriends. It’s personal, its jewelry and its fun. Better still it takes the stress out of buying presents in the future since you can just keep adding more charms. The company has a great range of products which it is constantly updating and prices vary. The products are well made and in our experience can be trusted.

Top Chocolate – Divine

Chocolate is an important indulgence at Christmas. Ditch the multi national brands and go for Divine chocolate. In our opinion there chocolate is more intense and simply better than the majority of their rivals. They offer a big range of products from hot chocolate to mini thins. All tastes great.

winahamper

Top Drink – Disaronno

We at Frost can’t get enough of this delicious Amaretto. We love it and in our experience there aren’t many who don’t. Definitely worth having some around for Christmas. Here’s our Disaronno cocktail guide.

https://www.frostmagazine.com/2013/04/disaronno-cocktail-recipes-and-drink-review/

Top Whiskey – Chivas Regal

We have been given our fair share of Chivas over the years, their 21 Year Old Royal Salute being a particular favourite.

Top Clothing Brand – Burberry

They are as far way from the tarnishing of their image when their unique and patented (though possibly not for long) plaid became synonymous with chavs  and every market stall was selling a knocked-off version than it is possible to be. In the past few years they have had the best of Britain fronting their ad campaigns and their clothes have left all negative stereotypes behind. Like a phoenix from the ashes, Burberry rises again and become our top clothing brand of the year, Sienna Miller fronts their ‘kisses’ marketing activity for Autumn/Winter with fiancee/baby daddy Tom Sturridge.

Top TV Shopping – QVC

QVC has to win for this. They have grown enormously in the past few years and now everyone has got in on the act. They even have top designers and personalities designing for them. Giles Deacon recently did a jewelery range for them and they sell the most beautiful Lulu Guinness bags. You can also buy everything you want from QVC on their excellent website. From beauty products, home decor and fashion: QVC has it all.

 

A-Z of Wink! Premieres on i-D with Cara Delevingne, Miranda Kerr and Joan Smalls

Posted on by

We love i-D magazine at Frost and they are celebrating 33 years of iconic covers, i-D has brought together fashion’s hottest models, designers and personalities to create a celebratory WINK! video, exclusively for newly launched site i-d.co

Part of i-D’s fashion alphabets series, 26+ stellar superstars of fashion run down an A-Z of the best cover slogans from 1980 to 2013, all while giving the inimitable i-D wink; the pose struck by every cover star of the magazine and i-D’s own cheeky logo.

i-d magazine wink

id

Cara Delevingne, Lara Stone, Natalia Vodianova, Rick Owens, Lily McMenamy, Miranda Kerr, Joan Smalls, J.W. Anderson and Lindsey Wixson turned in their best looks for director Jérémie Rozan and fashion director Charlotte Stockdale over the two day shoot in Paris.

“i-D has been collaborating with the best talent in the industry for over 30 years. We couldn’t be happier to bring such an inspirational group of supermodels and designers together in one fantastic video to celebrate the iconic i-D wink!” – Holly Shackleton, i-D Editor

Happy 33rd from all of us here at Frost i-D.

Martin Scorsese To Retire?

Posted on by

Martin Scorsese to retireMartin Scorsese has said he wants to retire from film-making after a ‘few more films’. The legendary Oscar-winning director was speaking last weekend at the Marrakech film festival, where he was acting as jury president. He went on:

“I have the desire to make many films, but as of now, I’m 71 and there’s only a couple more left if I get to make them, I miss the time when I had the desire to experiment and try different kinds of films, I miss that time, but that’s done, it’s over. There is obligation as you get older, you have family. I’ve been very lucky in the last 10 years or so to have found projects that combine the desire, the obligation to my family and the financiers.”

Scorsese said that when he started working with Leonardo DiCaprio it was “tricky”  because the actor was so well known for Titanic. “When I did Gangs of New York and The Aviator, people kept asking me, ‘Is he an actor?'”

“I said yes. I saw What’s Eating Gilbert’s Grape, he film he did with [Robert] de Niro, This Boy’s Life before Titanic. So there’s a stigma there which people still refer to.

“But we found that he regenerated my enthusiasm for making films. Mainly because, as you get older, it gets physically difficult and also the business especially – the financial issues. You’re responsible for a lot of money, if you get it. It’s all pressure, but can you do it? His enthusiasm and excitement really kept me going, for another five pictures now.”

I had the pleasure of working on Scorsese’s Hugo and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I still feel honored. I am glad that Scorsese will at least make a few more films, his contribution to cinema is outstanding. The day he retires will be a sad one but we will still have his legacy.

 

Douvall’s Argan Oil Gift Set | Christmas Gift Ideas

Posted on by

Gifts from Harrods are the ultimate decadence, and this gorgeous and stylish Douvall’s Argan Oil Gift Set from Urban Retreat at Harrods is affordable luxury for someone you really love. And I mean really love. Don’t be scared of keeping for yourself, it is that type of present.

argan gift set, christmas

Upon trying the Douvall’s Limited Edition Christmas Gift-Set I was impressed at how my skin looked after. I am a fan of face oil anyway, massaging it in and using the muslim cloth to take if off after really leaves the skin exfoliated and clean. Something about the massage and the face oil really has an effect on wrinkles and skin tone. The organic argan oil moisturiser is not only light enough to use on the face but can also be used on the body, on split ends, cuticles and in the bath. I love both of them, they are products that really work.

unnamed

The limited edition set includes 50ml of Douvall’s best-selling Organic Argan Oil Moisturiser, which protects the face, body, hair and cuticles whilst minimising the appearance of fine lines, and 150ml of Douvall’s All-in-One Argan Oil Cleanser, enriched with natural almond, safflower seed and grape seed oil which leaves the skin smooth, dry and moisture balanced.

Douvall’s Christmas Gift-Set – £48. Available from Urban Retreat at Harrods www.urbanretreat.co.uk/beautique and www.douvalls.com

Hunger Games: Catching Fire Film Review

Posted on by

I was very excited to see Hunger Games: Catching Fire because I loved the first one so much. However, I was also worried that it would not be as good because it had so much to live up to.

Catching-Fire-catching-fire-movie-33836550-1280-673

One of the highlights of The Hunger Games was, of course, Jennifer Lawrence. An epic heroine, the new Ripley. A survivor with a heart, sacrificing herself for her sister. Straight-talking and brave; Katniss might be one of the best female characters in a film ever. She is certainly one of the most inspirational. A role model even for real women.

Whilst watching Hunger Games: Catching Fire one thing struck me: that there may be people watching it thinking our society is not like this at all, but the Hunger Games does reflect our society, and more countries more than others. The gaps between the haves and the have nots, social injustice, oppression; the Hunger Games is more than thrilling entertainment, it is also a statement on the world we live in. An intelligent action film, well written with brilliant acting and something to say.

It is hard to not get caught up in the story, in the characters and their plight. It is hard to not keep going on about Lawrence as Katniss. The audience love her, the people love her: she is the girl whos purity and bravery sparks a revolution. I have to confess that I have not read the books, but I really want to. Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) and Liam Hemsworth (Gale) are both excellent as the men Katniss is caught between: her real love and her media love. Who will she end up with in the end?

Peeta and Katniss are celebrities but also icons. They empower the people and pay the price. Peeta, Katniss and Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) make an excellent team, bonded together through what can only be described post-traumatic-stress-disorder. Katniss wakes Peeta up by screaming as she wakes up from a nightmare, he comes into her room: ‘It’s okay’, he says, ‘I get them too.’ Even Effie (Elizabeth Banks), that vacuous idiot, can barely take the injustice, finds her conscious and her feelings.

Donald Sutherland is excellent as President Snow and Machiavellian media chief Philip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant and full of depth. I was also pleased with myself as I saw the twist before it happened. The film is relevant, gripping and worthy. In fact the only bad thing I have to say is that it ended far too quickly and I have no idea how I am going to wait an entire year for the next installment.

Five stars.

Points Of You Web Series | What To Watch

Posted on by

Point of you We have come across a very different, and very brilliant,  web series: Points Of You is about 4 friends from 4 countries with 4 very different personalities – all living a very chaotic life in Berlin:

RYAN (UK) – An actor, hobby chef & part-time womaniser

ELODIE (France) – An environmentally friendly seductress on bad terms with Cupid

BASTIAN (Germany) – A highly neurotic computer expert with a penchant for pot plants and French girls

SOFIA (Italy) – A rather individual science student who might or might not be working for the US government

Points of You will have you being confronted with cross dressing actors, spy gadgets, international conspiracy theories, love inducing plants and an amateur medical team saving a tree.

pointsofyou

Here are some cool facts about the series:

  • The series has to date involved over 115 people from 14 different countries
  • Shot on location in Berlin
  • Produced by: Ryan Wichert, Kathrin Benoehr, Sebastian Hasse
  • Written by: Ryan Wichert, Nikolaus Buchholz
  • Idea: Sebastian Hasse, Ryan Wichert
  • Cast: Ryan Wichert, Sebastian Hasse, Sara Manni-Malas, Kim Zarah Langner
  • 18.5 shooting days at 10 locations.
  • 4 main cast and 20 supporting cast so far
  • Subtitles in 8 languages: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Russian, Polish

They have also been selected for the finals of The Giant Web Series Competition which is hosted by Alex Zane. A new episode airs every Sunday.

The Springheel Saga – Series 2: The Legend of Springheel’d Jack Review

Posted on by

After the huge success of award-winning The Springheel Saga: The Strange Case Of Springheel’d Jack starring Julian Glover there will be many people waiting for The Springheel Saga – Series 2: The Legend of Springheel’d Jack. In fact The Wireless Theatre Company have built up quite a following, winning awards and working with stars like Julian and Stephen Fry. The Springheel Saga Series 2 is another triumph and if you want to catch up on series one it can be found here.

springheel jack

The Legend of Springheel’d Jack is a three part series which picks up seven years after series One ended. From talented writers Robert Valentine and Jack Bowman, this radio play has high production value, excellent acting and a brilliant and thrilling storyline.

It starts with the murder of thirteen-year-old pickpocket Maria Davis. But was it at the hand of Springheel’d Jack?

Detective Inspector Jonah Smith is still obsessed with Springheel’d Jack. The one he hasn’t caught. Set in Victorian London, it catches the spirit and hard times of Victorian London well; The Legend of Springheel’d Jack is thrilling and it really draws you in. The characters are strong and the storyline is fun, grisly and exciting. It leaves you wanting more. I often find that radio plays are underrated and do not get the audience they deserve and I hope The Legend of Springheel’d Jack finds a very large audience as it certainly deserves it: thoroughly entertaining.

The Legend of Springheel’d Jack : The Terror of London will be released on 9th December 2013.

 

www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk/
www.facebook.com/TheSpringheelSaga
www.twitter.com/SpringheelWTC 

 

Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Serum Review

Posted on by

Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Serum ReviewIn the years I have been a lifestyle writer I have rarely come across something that actually changes the texture of my skin, and rarer still to see a visible difference in just two days. Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Serum is this wonder product. My skin had been going through a rough patch when I started using it. I had had a breakout, was ill, red and blotchy. I am in my late twenties and noticed a faint line. I had never been unhappy with my skin so much. The night after I noticed a difference in my skin, by day two I was amazed at the difference, I have been using this for a few weeks now and there is a difference in the texture of my skin. My pores look like their are 16-years-old and my spots have completely cleared up, the line that was developing has been stopped in its tracks. I have sensitive skin and cannot normally use products that promise anti-aging or smaller pores but this serum did not irritate my skin.

This lightweight and refreshing overnight serum doesn’t just do what it says on the bottle, it does much more: product of the year. A must buy and for a product that works so well, and makes such a difference, it is a bargain £14.99.

They also don’t test on animals.

This is what Nib + Fab say:

Introducing Glycolic Fix Serum, an innovative overnight serum with 4% glycolic acid to retexture the skin’s appearance.

This highly effective formua contains powerful glycolic acid to smooth the appearance of fine lines + wrinkles while improving skin texture.

Designed with pore refining ingredient PoreAway, the size of pores are visibly reduced for a more refined, even looking complexion.

Glycolic Fix Serum contains:

  • 4% glycolic acid smoothes the appearance of fine lines + wrinkles
  • PoreAway minimises the appearance of enlarged pores
  • aloe vera soothes + calms

Glycolic Fix Serum can be bought here and from Boots and Selfridges.