Jean-Luc Colombo Special Wine Review

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Frostie

Jean-Luc Colombo is a relatively young company by French wine standards. With family origins in Marseille, Jean-Luc moved in 1982, with his wife Anne, to Cornas in the heart of the Rhône Valley, to set up a pharmacy and oenology lab. Four years later he bought his first vineyard – Les Ruchets – and celebrated his first vintage in 1987. His business went from strength-to strength and in 1993 Anne and Jean-Luc sold their pharmacy to focus on the wine business, investing in more vineyards and a house on the Cornas hillsides, as well as working as a negociant in this famous region.

Today, as well as owning vineyards in Cornas, they are pioneering vineyard development in the stunning ‘Blue Coast’ area and have their own winery, offices, bottling line and oenology laboratory in the centre of Cornas. They are renowned for their great wines from the northern & southern Rhône and the Mediterranean region, and export to over fifty countries.

We got sent three bottles from Jean-Luc Colombo to review. Here is our verdict.

Jean-Luc Colombo 2013 Les Abeilles De Colombo Côtes Du Rhône

This is dry and quite smooth. It is fruity and light straw in colour. It is intensely floral with herbal and mineral notes, along with a floral aroma of peach and melon. It is well balanced and complex. It is crisp with flavours of citrus and pear. Delicious.

Enjoy with grilled lamb, pork and assorted cheeses.

RRP £9.99

2013 Les Girelles Picpoul De Pinet

This wine is rich and subtle. Crisp and dry and beautifully lemon scented. It has fresh notes of white flowers. It is very well rounded wine. It is also fresh.

Enjoy With: Grilled and roasted white meats, fish/shelfish, salads and picnics, mild creamy cheeses and oriental food.

RRP £9.99

2012 Les Abeilles De Colombo Côtes Du Rhône

This light straw coloured wine is fruity and floral. Light, crisp and clean: it is well-balanced and complex. Very good wine.

Enjoy with: grilled lamb, pork and assorted cheeses.

RRP £9.99

We were very impressed with Jean-Luc Colombo’s wine. We look forward to trying more. Very impressive.

Available from Oddbins, Trivoli, Bacchus Wines, The Bottleneck, DeFINE Food and Wine, Sunninghill Wine Merchants, The Butlers Cellar, Famous Wines, The Halifax Wine Company and Islington Wines.

NHP Nutri Argan Beautifying Elixir Beauty Review

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

My hair frequently looks like a frizz bomb. Depending on the weather it ranges from tangled to full-out frizzy nightmare. Finding out about Argan oil has been something of a lifesaver. It truly is a wonder ingredient so I was happy to review NHP Nutri Argan Beautifying Elixir. An intensive, multi-tasking, haircare product. This wonder product can be used everyday and it really does work on my hair. It soothe out the dryness and leaves it looking amazing. You only have to use a few drops so even though it cost £16.80 for 100ml it is still completely worth it. It strengthens hair, leaves it less tangled and protects the hair from free radicals, heat and environmental factors. I can give it the thumbs up, and so can my hair.

Based on organic, certified natural oils of Argan and Macadamia, Beautifying Elixir provides extraordinary smoothness, softness and shine. A precious fluid based on a unique blend of fine oils rich in essential fatty acids and natural anti-oxidisers it is instantly absorbed by the hair.

A few drops revitalise the most problem hair, nourishing it from roots to ends with a lightweight, non-greasy feel.
Free from alcohol, parabens, PEG-PPG, mineral oils and artificial colourants it is enriched with anti-ageing Beta-carotene which helps to restore the energy supply to the hair fibre.

A complete hair wellness treatment, Beautifying Elixir:

Infuses deep moisture and regenerates the fibre of dry, brittle and coloured hair
Strengthens weak hair and controls coarse and untameable hair
Improves comb-ability and helps to provide a frizz-free finish to blow-drying
Protects the hair from free radicals and shields it from potentially damaging external effects including chemicals, heat, pollution and atmospheric agents.

Four ways to use…

Pre-shampoo – apply from root to tip and then massage well to deeply moisturise the scalp and hair. Leave for 10 minutes before shampooing (ideally with NHP Nutri Argan Hair Bath). The hair fibre is immediately replenished and loos revitalised.

Before styling – distribute evenly onto towel blotted hair. Helps to reduce drying time, facilitates styling and contols frizz. Hair is smooth, soft and protected.

Finishing Touch – apply a few drops to dry hair. Imparts an extreme shine and protects the hair fibre from daily external aggressors, prolonging colour life. Leaves the hair silky and manageable.

Intensive salon style treatment – mix with 5ml of NHP Nutri Argan Hair Mask, leave on the hair to absorb for at least ten minutes before rinsing.

NHP – Natural Haircare Program – was developed for professional salon use to care for dry, colour treated or brittle hair in need of superior nourishment to restore the internal balance and to condition the external structure of the hair shaft. Inspired by nature, the NHP Nutri Argan nourishing range is rich in a blend of certified organic Argan Oil and Macadamia Oil to replenish moisture in the hair from the roots to the tips to help regain softness, elasticity and shine. The scalp and hair are also protected thanks to the exclusion of potentially irritating or aggressive synthetic ingredients such as SLES, DEA, parabens, paraffin and colourants. NHP is also kind to the environment as all packaging is 100% recyclable and products are created using renewable and ecological sources of energy.

NHP is available from Giannasso Hair & Beauty Covent Garden, selected hair salons nationwide and online at www.beautybyzara.com. £16.80 for 100ml.

American Actors Can Get How To Be a Successful Actor For $1.99: One More Day Only

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

American Actors Can Get How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur For $1.99: One More Day Only

Fresh from a Kindle Countdown Deal for British actors which was very successful, now American actors can get my book for only $1.99 for a limited time only. How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur has been getting rave reviews in America and it has already been selling stateside.

This is what American actor Tom Shafer had to say about my book: “An excellent guide for the entertainment professional

I found this book to be an excellent companion to Bonnie Gillespie’s ‘Self-Management for Actors’, which I am also currently reading. The first half of Catherine’s book does a excellent job of distilling a seminar’s-worth of material into a manageable bit. The second half, the interviews, felt more conversational. What was clear, the recommendations made in the first half came, in part, from these interviews. This is an excellent technique, since it reinforces the validity of the recommendations as having come from entertainment professionals who have achieved a perceived level of success. (I like that the definition of “success” was open for discussion, since it can mean different things to different people.)

As an American reading this book, I did find some UK-centric resources and references. But, in this era of global Internet access, I found just as many that were valid for US readers. I was able to take this in stride and see this as a valuable tool in my self-management as a working actor.

Thanks, Catherine, for writing this excellent guide.”

What are you waiting for? Get your copy now.

Scottish History For Dummies Book Review

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

Scottish History For Dummies is a rather relevant book to review, with the Scottish Independence vote less than a month away. As history goes, Scotland may be a small country on the edge of Northern Europe, but it has always punched above its weight. No, I am not just being biased because I am a Scot myself, although I am very proud of my country.

This book is nothing if not comprehensive. It charts the entire history of Scotland from the Stone Ages up until modern times (the year 2000). William Wallace (clearly not a Mel Gibson lookalike) and Robert The Bruce feature of course, that most often talked about part of history told via the historically inaccurate Braveheart, which is now the bane of all Scots who have to put up with ‘Ye cannae take our freedom’ quotes.

The Stewart Dynasty is well covered and the chapter on the renaissance of Scotland is particularly fascinating. It covers 1460-1542 and in late medieval Scotland, life was short. When someone died all of the windows would be opened to let the spirit out. The clocks would be stopped and not started again until after the burial. Families would drape themselves in white, only the great houses draped themselves in black. Then a wake, known as the Lykewake, would happen and last two or three days. Funeral expenses could impoverish the poor so they used a coffin which had hinges that allowed the body to be dropped straight into the grave so they could reuse it. All very interesting.

I also love the chapters on modern Scotland. 1945-2000 is full of great information. Although it does stop there, this book is still brilliant and a must have for anyone interested in Scotland and its history.

The Parts of Tens are as good as ever: basically lists of tens. The one on Ten Things Scotland Has Given to The World was my favourite. They were: the flushing toilet, The King James Bible, criminal fingerprinting, whisky, colour photography, anaesthetic, raincoats, golf, Dolly the sheep and For Auld Lang Syne. A good list, but just the tip of the iceberg.

Scottish History For Dummies is available here.

Biju Bubble Tea Review

Posted on August 21, 2014 by James Yardley

What is Bubble Tea?

So what is Bubble Tea and how is it different for to your normal tea? Bubble tea has been around since the 1980s and it is already quite big in many Asian countries, but recently it has become a global phenomenon. The tea is shaken to produce bubbles and is served with an edible topping, but as we soon learned, that doesn’t really cover it.

Biju

Biju is a new bubble tea room in Soho. Founder Nick invited us to to try some of his creations. Nick had gone out to Asia and had worked in a bubble tea room before he set up Biju.

Unlike most other bubble tea rooms, ‘who are in it for a quick buck’, Nick’s painstaking research and his passion ensures he has done things properly. Biju uses fresh organic milk in its tea, unlike most of its competitors who use powder. Nick and his team go to incredible effort to make every tea fresh and have made a significant investment in equipment. Many of the ingredients and jellies are made daily.This makes an incredible difference to the taste as we discovered.

Honeydew milk and sweet egg pudding

We start with the Honeydew melon with egg caramel pudding, a fruity milk. The honeydew melon was truly delicious and very refreshing and the sweet egg caramel was a delight.

Next up was a Jasmine Green milk tea with classic tapioca pearls, the original bubble tea ingredient. The classic pearls are balls of starch. Their texture is extremely satisfying to chew as you suck them up through your straw with your tea. The whole thing was delicious and totally different to our first tea.

We then tried a passion fruit iced tea with basil seeds, another unique and satisfying topping. It was the perfect thing for a summer day. It was delicious and I could drink it every day. We also tried a chocolate with tapioca pearls as seen above. In fact we ended up trying all sorts of different teas.

We were extremely impressed with our first experience of Bubble tea at Biju. The variety of the different teas was amazing. The tea was also so fresh and real. You could really taste the high quality ingredients. If there were a Biju next to me I would be in there every day and who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised if there was someday. I don’t think this is a short term trend. If your in the area make sure you try one because it is a new experience and if you don’t you will be missing out. Ask for help if your not sure what to choose, Nick or his staff are always keen to help. Make sure you go to Biju if you want a proper experience.

http://www.bijububbletea.com/

45 Old Compton Street, Soho.

Passion Fruit Iced Tea with basil seeds

The Girls From Corona Del Mar By Rufi Thorpe Book Review

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

The Girls From Corona Del Mar immediately hooks you. Brilliantly written, it draws you into a nostalgic haze. It is a brutally honest and sometimes uncomfortable read about the friendship between two women. This books takes a long, hard look at female friendship and reveals how little we can know someone, how life gets in the way and how fate can deal hands that are unfair and unbalanced. It reminds us that life is brutal and hard, but also beautiful and kind. The story is narrated by Mia as she describes her friendship with Lorrie Ann.

Rufi Thorpe’s true talent is how believable the book is, even with the twists and turns, the slights of fate. She has a beautiful way of writing that is almost poetic. But the book is also haunting and brutal. The story may be of friendship but it is a particularly broken one. It is easy to be best friends when you are a teenager, but life gets in the way later, as does judgement and life choices. It is a friendship of guilt, love and jealousy. Mia defines her entire identity against Lorrie Ann, referring to her as her ‘opposite twin’. She always thought she was the bad one, Lorrie Ann the good one. It is love, but it is messy.

The book can give a brutal look at being a woman. Abortion and the regret of having one plays heavily, childbirth is grisly and awful- actually stomach churning. It charts friendship through different countries, reversal of fortunes and personal faults. It is a wonderful book that stayed with me, if even occasionally for a haunting and brutal story. The Girls From Corona Del Mar is haunting, beautiful and hard to put down.

“Why did Lorrie Ann look graceful in beat-up Keds and shorts a bit too small for her? Why was it charming when she snorted from laughing too hard? Yes, we were jealous of her, and yet we did not hate her. She was never so much as teased by us, we roaming and bratty girls of Corona del Mar, thieves of corn nuts and orange soda, abusers of lip gloss and foul language.”

An astonishing debut about friendships made in youth, The Girls from Corona del Mar is a fiercely beautiful novel about how these bonds, challenged by loss, illness, parenthood, and distance, either break or endure.

Mia and Lorrie Ann are lifelong friends: hard-hearted Mia and untouchably beautiful, kind Lorrie Ann. While Mia struggles with a mother who drinks, a pregnancy at fifteen, and younger brothers she loves but can’t quite be good to, Lorrie Ann is luminous, surrounded by her close-knit family, immune to the mistakes that mar her best friend’s life. Then a sudden loss catapults Lorrie Ann into tragedy: things fall apart, and then fall further—and there is nothing Mia can do to help. And as good, brave, fair Lorrie Ann stops being so good, Mia begins to question just who this woman is, and what that question means about them both.

A staggeringly honest, deeply felt novel of family, motherhood, loyalty, and the myth of the perfect friendship, The Girls from Corona del Mar asks just how well we know those we love, what we owe our children, and who we are without our friends.

The Girls from Corona del Mar is available here.

Soleve Sunburn Relief Review | Health

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Frostie

Summer may feel like a distant memory but there are still a few lucky ones on holiday. In the hope of some future summer days, or future holidays we have reviewed Soleve Sunburn Relief. It is the first licensed product of its type specifically formulated to ease the pain and discomfort of mild to moderate sunburn. Here is what they say:

Soleve Sunburn Relief is a lotion applied to mild to moderately sunburnt skin to relieve the pain of the sunburn and to moisture the skin. It combines two active ingredients to deliver effective relief right where it’s needed: an effective analgesic, ibuprofen, and an emollient, isopropyl myristate.

Ibuprofen is a well-known Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug (NSAID) that is a powerful painkiller and reduces inflammation. Soleve is specially designed to deliver therapeutic levels of ibuprofen directly into sunburnt skin – precisely where it is needed.

Isopropyl myristate, is an emollient which effectively soothes and moisturises the skin by trapping water. Rehydration of sunburnt skin is very important to promote the normal healing process and to make the skin feel more comfortable by reducing both the skin tightness of sunburn and the frictional irritation between sunburnt skin and clothing.

This lotion goes on easily and a little bit goes a long way. It absorbs well and you can use it up to eight times a day. Does it work on sunburn? Yes, it eases and soothes. It is quite pricey at £9.95 but it does work, both moisturising and painkilling. It doesn’t smell bad and is not overpowering either. Recommended as a first-aid kit essential, good stuff.

Available from Boots and Boots.com

Back Nodger Review | Health

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

After an injury on a film set I am now unfortunately one of those people who are in possession of a bad back. The most annoying thing about it is the limitations it places on you. Pain isn’t fun so anything that helps your back is worth the money and the time.

So we agreed to review the Back Nodger. First thing first: the back nodger is easy to use. Using it is very satisfying. Like always having your partner on hand for a good massage. It really does work, easing tension, soothing muscles, helping aches and stiffness. We are very impressed and our backs are grateful.

We love the Back Nodger and can highly recommend it. I will certainly be using it on a regular basis.

The Back Nodger can be used to relax the knots and tension in all the places you can’t reach; tight shoulders, stiff neck and your aching back

Say Goodbye To Half-Hearted Massages……and Hello To Your New 24/7 Masseuse. Back Nodger goes deep, is on-hand whenever you need it and will never miss the spot (or get distracted).

Your essential piece of kit for hours at your desk, after the gym or just to de-stress at home with your feet up.

Designed With Top Physios to Be Simple and Effective

Clinical Physiotherapist Paula Coates recommends using Back Nodger every day: “We all clean our teeth twice a day to keep our mouths healthy, so why not nodge your knots to keep muscles relaxed, de-stressed, and able to keep up with your lifestyle.”

This video shows you how to use the Back Nodger.

Back Nodger – Quick Guide to Nodge Your Knots from R N Ventures Ltd on Vimeo.

STEP 1

2 hands on your Back Nodger
at all times!

The top hand is for control and the bottom hand is to apply pressure

STEP 2

Hook the Back Nodger over your shoulder.

Place the uniquely designed Nodge head onto a knot or an area of pain or tension

STEP 3

Apply deep, precise pressure directly into that knot or area of tension.

Hold each Nodge for upto 10 seconds (or one breath) and then release the pressure.

STEP 4

Keep Nodging! Once you have Nodged one knot, move onto the another knot anywhere on your back.

The Back Nodger is available from Boots.com and eBay.

Frost Magazine

Books and Lifestyle

Jean-Luc Colombo Special Wine Review

NHP Nutri Argan Beautifying Elixir Beauty Review

American Actors Can Get How To Be a Successful Actor For $1.99: One More Day Only

Scottish History For Dummies Book Review

Biju Bubble Tea Review

The Girls From Corona Del Mar By Rufi Thorpe Book Review

Soleve Sunburn Relief Review | Health

Back Nodger Review | Health