Caudalie UK Polyphenol C15 Review

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

Above is the video of my life. It is not all work and no play: nothing beats a cosy weekend lie-in expect maybe a catch up with your friends. Live 1,000 lives in one, moving from one turbo-charged day to the next. You can create your own personalised movie of your life with the awesome Caudalie app here and then share it with your friends. You will also have the chance to enter a competition to win an Anti-Ox Box, which include deluxe sizes of the entire Polyphenol C15 range. So what are you waiting for? I tag my friend Paola Berta to do her own video.

Caudalie launched a new anti-oxidant, anti-wrinkle, skincare range called Polyphenol C15 in 2014. Developed for busy, urban women with fast paced life. Pollution, stress and an unhealthy lifestyle are the daily factors which cause free radical damage and lead to skin ageing. I reviewed their Broad Spectrum SPF20 Anti-Wrinkle Protect Fluid, Anti-Wrinkle Protect Cream Broad Spectrum SPF20, Anti-Wrinkle Defense Serum and Anti-Wrinkle Eye & Lip Cream.

The active ingredients in this skincare range are a combination of the two most effective antioxidants on the market, Grape-seed Polyphenols (a Caudalie patent) and stabilised Vitamin C. Starting from 30 the skin begins to age. The skin weakens, draw from its reserves and takes longer to recover completely. In short, it oxidises. Great. So far so depressing. The good news though is that with Polyphenol C15 the skin cells are completely repaired and protected. Can the products help? Let’s find out.

Broad Spectrum SPF20 Anti-Wrinkle Protect Fluid

I am obsessed with SPF. I wear it everyday. Even in winter. I think this has helped as many people think I am younger than I am. This awesome multi-purpose product is an anti-oxidant shield and keeps skin protected all day long. It works on existing wrinkles and stops new ones forming over time. It is also a broad spectrum sunscreen. What more could you want?

Anti-Wrinkle Protect Cream Broad Spectrum SPF20

Uses Grape-seed, Polyphenols and stabilised Vitamin C to give a plump, hydrated skin. It neutralises day-to-day attacks, plumps skin and restores lipid balance. This is a great cream that smells great and protects against dehydration lines and skin tightness. It treats dry skin, as well as protecting skin against daily aggressors. I love it.

Anti-Wrinkle Defense Serum

This is the product with the highest concentrate of Polyphenol C15 in the entire range. It is deep and intense to correct wrinkles and reinforce the skin’s natural defence system. This wonderful serum leaves skin smoother and brighter. It also smells great and leaves skin soft. Sigh.

Anti-Wrinkle Eye & Lip Cream

This gel cream fights oxidation, wrinkles, dark circles and puffiness. Phew. In fact, this awesome gel-cream addresses every issue to do with the eye and lip contours. Its formula also incorporates an instantly tightening fern extract, Matrixyl 3000 (a combination of peptides) to boost collagen synthesis, Horse Chestnut extract to smooth, and Licorice extract to decongest. Finally, soothing Calendula and Witch Hazel add even more softness. It instantly works on dark circles (my main skin nemesis) and the eye contour is smoothed. Leaves you with brighter eyes day after day. Good stuff.

These products are great because they keep up with our demanding lifestyle. Up early and to bed late. Being the successful career women, wife and mother. It all takes its toll and our skincare has to keep up. Thankfully, this amazing new range from Caudalie does. I love it and will be using it again.

The Polyphenol C15 is available from April at caudalie.com in Caudalie stores.

Sponsored Post

Mayfair Pizza Co Restaurant Review

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

The Mayfair Pizza Co is in a truly beautiful part of Mayfair, Lancashire Court. One of those little hidden gems of London. I arrived on a sunny day with a friend to review. The restaurant is beautiful, refined and classy. It is a happy and relaxing setting. I order a coke and my friend has some water and we order some olives to get us going. The olives are delicious and fresh and come with salted almonds.

To start I have the Dorset Crab Salad with Apple, Avocado and my friend has the Salt & Pepper Squid with Saffron Aioli. My crab salad is very unique and comes in a crab shell. It has lots of different textures and ingredients that go together wonderfully. It is unique and tastes great. My friend, Lynn, is a fan of her squid and says it is good. She would have liked a plate however. Overall presentation is great and the service is first-class.

What we don’t have for our mains is the hottest pizza in town. The Mayfair Pizza Co have the spiciest pizza going at the moment. I didn’t try it as I am heavily pregnant and didn’t want to go into labour but it sure looked good. Read all about it via the above link. Executive Chef Michael Lecouter’s latest creation is must-try for any discerning pizza connoisseur.

For our mains I have the Chicken Milanese with Rosemary Potatoes, Red Onion Jam & Tender Stem Broccoli. Lynn has the

Fiorentina pizza which comes with Mascarpone, Spinach, Soft Boiled Egg, Parmesan, Ex Virgin Olive Oil. My chicken is good, the rosemary potatoes are perfect and so yummy, the red onion jam goes well with everything and is delicious, as is the tender stem broccoli which is perfectly cooked. Lynn loves her pizza. The soft boiled egg, rather than the traditional fried egg on top throws us initially, especially as it is cold. The pizza is good however and the soft boiled egg gives a different touch.

For dessert I have a Trio of Gelato. The ice cream is delicious. It tastes home made and if I wasn’t so full I could have had seconds and thirds. Lynn wimps out and doesn’t have dessert. In her defence she is going swimming later and I have eaten so much I would sink.

The Mayfair Co is a wonderful place to eat. Beautiful, classy and relaxing. Even the loos are beautiful. The food is top-notch and the service is impeccable. Go and see for yourself.

Mayfair Pizza Co.

4 Lancashire Court, New Bond Street,

London W1S 1EY

www.mayfairpizzaco.com

@mayfairpizzaco

Three Errazuriz Wines For The Three P’s – People, Place & Product

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Frostie

Viña Errazuriz, one of Chile’s premier family wine estates, is the proud sponsor of the Wine Photographer of the Year competition – a category within the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition, which has grown from strength to strength since its inception.

The judging of the Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year 2015 has begun, so we have chosen three wines to represent each sub-category of the competition: People, Place and Product.

The winners will be announced at the Mall Galleries, London on Wednesday 6 May 2015

People – Errazuriz The Blend White 2011

RRP £22

Waitrose.com, The Wine Reserve

Errazuriz The Blend White 2011 is a fresh and complex wine. A superior white with aromas of liquorice, almonds, pear and honey. Delicious.

The Blend White 2011 has been chosen for the man behind the wine: chief winemaker, Francisco Baettig. Each year, Francisco is given free rein to select from the best and most interesting parcels from the Errazuriz vineyards to put together an unconventional blend. The philosophy behind the wine is to create a wine that is greater than the sum of its parts. The Blend White is a Rhone inspired wine made up of 55% Roussanne, 30% Marsanne and 15% Viognier.

Place – Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Pinot Noir 2011

RRP £17.99

Harrods.com, Stone Vine & Sun, Cheers Wine Merchants, The Oxford Wine Company, The Wine Reserve, Wimbledon Wine Cellars

Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Pinot Noir 2011 is a deep ruby-red colour with subtle notes of red fruits and wild strawberries. This is a wonderful, elegant wine.

This wine is all about the place or terroir, namely the rolling hills of the Manzanar vineyard just 12km from the Pacific Ocean. This Pinot Noir benefits from the morning mists and cooling coastal breezes of that site, and vinified with wild yeasts for added complexity, the result is an elegantly fruit dominant wine with great balance and structure.

Product – Errazuriz Estate Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

RRP £9.99

Waitrose.com, Morrisons.com, Asda.com, Booths, Bargain Booze, buywholefoodsonline.co.uk

Errazuriz Estate Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is an intense and full bodied wine with flavours of soft vanilla and fresh blackcurrant. Aromas of cranberries, cherries, spice and tobacco add to the complexity. Superb.

This red is the best-selling red wine in the Errazuriz range and therefore very fitting for the Product category. Chile originally made its reputation with great Cabernet Sauvignon and this wine will show you exactly how good it can be; a full bodied dry red wine with ripe, soft blackcurrant fruit, silky tannins and a long elegant finish.

Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year, the world’s leading awards recognising the art and diversity of food photography, is open to all, professional and amateur, old and young.

www.pinkladyfoodphotographeroftheyear.com

www.errazuriz.com

The Drift Restaurant Review

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

The Drift is located in the rather trendy Heron Tower. The place is bustling with city workers and has a great vibe about it. The decor is great and has a cool, quirky and up-market feel.

Heron Tower on Bishopsgate is a rather beautiful building in the heart of the city. The Drift is brimming with quirky collectibles, hidden alcoves, a mixology table and fine dining nooks. Add in Drake & Morgan’s renowned creative cocktails and seasonal food to the mix and this is a great place to have brunch or let your hair down after a long day and enjoy some food and drinks.

We start off with some mocktails, the Zero- Raspberry and Mango Fizz. My colleague has the Juiceology- fresh orange and cranberry. Both the mocktail and juice are delicious, fresh and different.

I have the Chicken Satay with peanut sauce and prawn crackers and my colleague has the Peking Duck Flatbread with hoisin sauce and cucumber ribbons. The chicken is well cooked and succulent, the sauce is good and I like the brown prawn crackers. They add to the dish rather than feeling like a filler. The duck is an amazing, unique dish. All of the ingredients really work together and the sauce is great too.

For our mains I have the Wagyu Beef Burger. It comes with blue cheese, tomato chutney and chipped potatoes. I change the blue cheese for cheddar which the restaurant are nice about. My colleague has the Suffolk Farm Lamb Shank with Sweet Potatoe mash, rosemary jus and harissa. My burger is great and cooked well. They ask you how you like it done, this isn’t McDonalds. The tomato chutney is fresh and tastes homemade, yum. The chips are perfect and the tomato sauce and mayonnaise that comes with also tastes fresh and homemade. This is a running theme of The Drift. Things taste homemade and like they have just been cooked. My colleagues lamb is well cooked. The portion is good and the sauce is a great mix that really works.

For dessert I have the Chocolate brownie with vanilla bean ice cream and my colleague has the Wagon Wheel: toasted meringue, raspberry sorbet and shortbread. My brownie is delicious and warm. Just yummy and the ice cream goes perfectly with it. My colleagues dessert is sublime and original. So much so that I end up eating half of it. Don’t judge, I share my brownie in return.

We liked the food at The Drift. The service is excellent, the food is fresh and tasty and there is a great atmosphere. Highly recommended.

http://www.thedriftbar.co.uk/
10 Bishopsgate
EC2N 4AY
0845 468 0103
info@thedriftbar.co.uk

The Baby Show Review | 2015 Highlights

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

You may have noticed by now that Frost Magazine has a new(ish) parenting section. To find great articles for it, and have a bit of fun, I headed to The Baby Show at the Excel Centre. The Baby Show is the UK’s leading event for bump, baby and beyond. This year it also incorporated The Work & Family Show. a section sponsored by My Family Care and dedicated to helping new parents return to work after having a family – giving them access to a range of ideas for starting up their own business and advice on how to make the successful transition to the role of a working mum or dad. The Baby Show itself is sponsored by Made for Mums.

There is a lot to do at The Baby Show and you really get your money’s worth. There are a lot of great exhibitors and you can buy pretty much anything you could ever want for your offspring as well as getting plenty of advice. In fact there was over 200 brands exhibiting including Mothercare.com, iCandy, Chicco, Emma’s Diary, mamas & papas, Maxi-Cosi, Quinny, Stokke and Tommee Tippee. There was plenty of talks on The Baby Show stage and the Work & Family Show stage. On The Baby Show stage nutritionist and author, Annabel Karmel MBE gave a great talk on weening, leaving the audience feeling inspired. Other experts who gave great talks included breast-feeding gurus Clare Byam-Cook and Geraldine Miskin, sleep experts Jo Tantum and Lisa Clegg, fitness guru, Michelle Heaton and child safety expert, Tracey Taylor from the British Red Cross. Tracey was great and showed the audience how to save their baby’s life. It was fascinating stuff and I can recommend taking a Red Cross class on first aid for your baby.

Treading the boards of The Work & Family Show stage experts include Daily Telegraph journalist and author, Bryony Gordon, Stylist Editor, Lisa Smosarski, business coach and founder of CEO Mums, Nicola Huelin, Chief Executive of Working Families, Sarah Jackson and prize-winning journalist and former editor of Psychologies and Good Housekeeping, Louise Chunn.

Louise Chunn gave a great talk on being a working mother. Louise also talked about the fact that her own mother was always starting businesses and that her most read article was one about her regrets about being a working mother.

This year’s charity partner was Theodora’s Children’s Charity which works hard to fund laughter in children’s hospitals, hospices and specialist care centres across the UK. They train ‘Giggle Doctors’ who are professional performers such as magicians, singers, actors and musicians, to bring magical moments and laughter to brave children in difficult times. It is a worthy cause so donate if you can.

Highlights on The Work & Family Show included:

A CV Master Class – how to make your CV stand out from the crowd after a career break

Building your Network – building relationships

Balancing work and family

Building your personal brand – gaining confidence and believing in yourself

Visitors will listen to industry experts and inspirational working mums give their advice on how to balance work and family and choose the career path best for them. The Baby Show stage will also host a dedicated session on Shared Parental Leave and what it will mean.

Other highlights of The Baby Show include:

Catwalk shows with all the latest fashions in maternity, baby and toddler wear

Exclusive show offers and competitions from top parenting brands

A complimentary crèche where parents can drop off their little ones

The Baby Show Stars’ themed competition held by Bumpkins Photography where the Show’s cutest baby will be awarded a high end, exclusive photo shoot

Dedicated baby facilities including the Tommee Tippee feeding area where parents can take advantage of heating and sterilising equipment, complimentary baby food and a comfortable space for breast feeding.

www.thebabyshow.co.uk / www.theworkandfamilyshow.co.uk

The Baby show was a brilliant event. I learned a lot and there is a lot to do. It takes a full day to go around all of the stands and listen to the talks. There is also an option for networking and a complimentary crèche so you can take a look around without your little ones. The Baby Show will be in Birmingham in May next, then Olympia in London in October, followed by ExCel again next February. Catch it if you can.

Taittinger Brut Réserve NV & Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV Champagne Review

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Frostie

Champagne Taittinger Brut Réserve NV is one of the best bottles of champagne on the market. Made with fruit from only the prime vineyards throughout Champagne, this is the signature cuvée of Champagne Taittinger. A blend of Chardonnay wines (40%) and Pinot wines (60%) from 30 to 50 different vineyards and matured to perfection. Elegant and delicately golden with sweet biscuit and brioche notes, this Champagne has peach and acacia notes on the nose. It is beautiful and well-balanced. It is aged for three to four years in the cellars. Crisp and perfectly matured.
This champagne can be drunk as an aperitif or with food. Enjoy with white meat, canapés, oysters or smoked salmon.

TAITTINGER Brut Reserve Champagne 75cl Bottle is available here or from Majestics.com, Sainsburys.co.uk, tesco.com or waitrose.com

Champagne Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV was always going to get a good review as we love rosé at Frost. Throw in the fact that this is champagne and win-win. This is a gorgeous, delicate wine that has aromas of wild strawberries and spice. Flavours of crushed raspberry, cherry and blackcurrant. This is a delicious, vibrant wine. Highly recommended, just amazing. Enjoy with fruit based desserts, red fruit, delicate sorbet, summer pudding and selected cheeses.

Taittinger Prestige Rose NV Champagne is available here and harrods.com, Majestics.com, Sainsburys.co.uk, tesco.com or waitrose.com

William Hardy Chardonnay 2013 Wine Review

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Frostie

Five generations of Hardys have made wine their business, making them one of Australia’s iconic winemaking families. Impressive indeed.

Their William Hardy Chardonnay 2013 is an understated medium dry chardonnay. It is a pale straw colour and is restrained. Crisp and refreshing with notes of lemon zest and pear. It is flowery with overtones of vanilla. This Chardonnay is made from Padthaway and Riverland region grapes and is ripe and zesty, with peach and lemon flavours. There is a touch of oak but it is delicate. A very good chardonnay. Recommended.

Pair it with fish pie or chicken dishes.

This wine can be drunk now but will further improve if carefully stored for up to 1 year

Available from tesco.com

Echo Falls Alcohol Free Sparkling Infusion Review

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

People, I haven’t had an alcoholic drink since last July. JULY. I have to admit, it has been hard. I don’t actually drink a lot but I review a lot of restaurants, go to events with free bars and we also review a lot of alcohol (Thanks Matt!). I miss the ceremony, the bit of fizz that means celebration. Which means I got quite excited about the prospect of reviewing alcohol-free wine. Send it over I told the PR, hoping that ‘ alcohol-free wine’ was not an oxymoron. And the result….

We loved it. It really does hit the spot. I also noticed that they were handing it out at The Baby Show at Excel last weekend. The sparkling mixture of Tisane, grape juice and premium green tea really does hit the spot. Drink it cold out of a champagne flute and it is actually nicer than a lot of proper, alcoholic wine. It tastes great and is very moreish. Which is fine because it is alcohol free and you can drink as much as you want! Yeah.

Echo Falls Alcohol Free Sparkling Infusion is refreshing and medium dry. It has wonderful crisp fruit flavours and bubbles that last. It also opens the exact way champagne does. Which is very satisfying. I am now addicted. My fridge will soon be filled with this superb drink. Love it.