Mini Pataks Ready Meal Review

Hey!

A week or so ago, Pataks sent me one of their new frozen ready meals to try out and review so I thought that today I would tell you guys what I thought of the product.

Pataks is a curry business that started in England in 1957. Pataks have won awards for their chutnies, pickles and pastes. 9000 of Britains Indian restaurants. They have been successful with their brand globally and their brand is sold in most countries. Their HQ is within Manchester and most/all of their products are sold in most big supermarkets.

I had the choice of choosing between four different flavours but due to not being the biggest fan of curries I decided to choose Chicken Tikka Masala. Chicken Tikka Masala is a classic Curry dish within England so I automatically knew that I was going to love it!

The description of the ready meal is Marinated Chicken, Fenugreek Leaf, Cumin, Tomato & Cream. Served with Pilau Rice which is exactly how a Chicken Tikka Masala should sound like!

The meal contained good chunks of Chicken. When you get a meat based ready meal you normally get very small pieces whereas this meal had lovely massive pieces of the Poultry which I absolutely loved. It meant that I could definitely tell that it was a Chicken ready meal.

The Fenugreek Leaf and Cumin gave the dish a herbal hit which made it fabulous against the sweetness of the Pilau Rice. It just made it one of those dishes that you could definitely enjoy at this time of the year. You know when its getting colder and its getting darker earlier? Then.

The instructions said to add water halfway through to the rice which sounded weird but it made the rice soft, fluffy and wasn't dry at all and meant that I could eat more and more of this. I might have to start doing this whenever I cooked rice as it made such a difference!

I would give this a 9.5/10. It would be definitely a 10 if I could a lot more of it because it was quite delicious! If you want to grab one of these ready meals to try for yourself then head over to your local Tesco's as they are stocked there!

Have you ever tried anything from Pataks before? What did you think of it?

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post! I hope that you come back next time for another blog post!

Thanks!
Jamie x

This post was in collaboration with Patak's. All views, opinions and ramblings are definitely mine. 

What Is Drinking With Anxiety Like?

Hi!

I thought that today I would do a post about anxiety and drinking because I always get quite a few questions/enquiries on it and I think that it will just be easier if I explain everything via this post then I can just point to the post when I get asked a question about it.

Credit to Michelle for taking this photo! 

If you have been reading the blog for a while then you will know that I suffer from depression and anxiety and I openly talk about it on social media and on the blog and I have also mentioned quite a lot that I can't get drunk due to anxiety and it seems weird to anyone that I mention that to. The simple thing is that alcohol releases endorphines and slowly makes you see things a certain way which causes adrenaline which for most is a good thing but isn't for anyone with anxiety as it then causes a panic attack. My mind notices this and instead of going panic panic panic, you don't know whats happening, it decides to ride it out and just goes stay with it so I don't get drunk but I just notice where I am and whats going on around me a bit more. This normally means I'm the friend who shouldn't be looking after people but who ends up looking after people.

I know that this seems weird and that you're thinking that I must get drunk at some point but I don't and its weird. I realise where I am, get kind of tipsy for ten minutes and then I realise where I am and then I'm like, 'I know where I am, I know what's going on. It's alright.'

Honestly, being like this puts you off wanting to go out/drinking as you realise what the world turns into when the night sky is about but its also interesting at the same time.


Anyways, I thought that I would just kind of explain that a bit. I hope that you have found this post interesting and I hope that you come back for the next blog post!

Thanks!
Jamie x

Top Five Lush Shaving Creams

Hi,ty

The title to this post is a little misleading. There is only five shaving creams at lush all together so I'll be talking about all of the shaving creams within this post!

D'Fluff

D'Fluff is a shaving soap that is packed with Strawberries and Cocoa Butter so it's nourishing. The shaving product also has egg whites in so it has a whipped texture. There's lots of other great ingredients in it which help you shave! The scent is similar to Strawberry Feels Forever which is a sort of Strawberry Milkshake scent. I liked this product quite a bit due to the whipped texture. This one is a great product for shaving legs with!

Dirty

If you're an avid Lushie then you will know the infamous Dirty range based off the Gorilla Perfume Dirty that is sold within Lush stores. This range consists of many things such as versions of the perfume, massage bar, shaving and hair styling. The shaving cream contains Oatmilk which is quite soothing on irritated skin. It also contains a good few oils which moisturise the skin. Dirty also contains honey which takes the sting out of shaving but it also does mean that this product isn't vegan. I honestly love this product. It's quite lavendery for some reason but the things that it does to your skin are quite something else!

Five O Clock Whistle

This one starts off with Jojoba Oil and freshly squeezed Lime juice to keep skin soft, smooth and clean. It has Kaolin in to cleanse the skin and Extra Virgin Olive Oil to moisturise the skin. Five O'Clock Whistle also has a Coffee and Lavender infusion which I think is different for a shaving cream. I quite like this one. The scent of the Lime wakes you up quite a bit as well which is great!

Prince

This one contains Witch Hazel to help pores so you can get a closer shave and calms the skin down with rose water. The scent of this product is a mix of Neroli and Orange Blossom, Sweet Orange and Mandarin Oils. The scent of this product is amazing and I love it! It's uplifting but has a little bit of depth to it and I would wear it a lot if I could! I love how this product works as I've always had great results after using this!

Ambrosia

Ambrosia has Honey, Oils and Butters in which makes it super moisturising and helps the razor glide across without dragging. and is the only one that is in a bottle so if you prefer that over a black tub then you might like Ambrosia. Honestly, this didn't work for me whatsoever. I'm not sure why but it cut my skin quite easily and that was a problem for me. Everywhere else, it seemed like it worked for my sensitive skin but it rebelled in one certain place. The smell isn't like the aboves and is quite bland but that's my opinion. It might just be a case of me having to try it again.

So there we go, my opinions of the shaving creams at Lush/my top five shaving creams! I hope that you have enjoyed this post. I am tempted to start my DOAML series again but I'm not sure yet. Have you tried any of these? If so then leave your opinions down below!

Thanks!
Jamie x

The photographs were provided by Lush PR and I tried all of these via big sample pots given to me at the Lush Leeds Spa store. 

My Top 5 Lush Face Care Products

Hey!

I haven't done a Lush post and I know that Halloween is nearly upon us which means that new ranges will be out which means new Lush posts so I thought that I would get back into the spirit by writing about my five favourite lush face-care products! (Blame Jen for this as I've been watching her videos! I also thought that I would do this in a sort of list way.)

Ocean Salt

This product is a face and body scrub which is based off the main concept of vodka lime and salt which may make you shiver or rejoice of good memories. This is recreated via the product having Vodka infused Limes and Salt. The salt makes the product a scrub but its great for buffing away dead skin. Ocean Salt also has Coconut and Avocado Butter which means that the salt might strip a bit of the skin but the oils mean that it stops it from making your skin harsh. I love this product to the above reasons and because you can get in many ways like Alcohol Free and Self Preserving!

Mask Of Magnaminty

Mask of Magnaminty is a multipurpose mask which sorts skin out instantly which is the main reason why I love it as it has things in such as Kaolin which helps skin. I also love the smell as its minty which means that its quite uplifting. Again, this comes in either SP or original.

Cosmetic Warrior

I love this mask for several reasons! It sorts out spots, cleanses the skin and cools the skin which is good for many different types of skin. I also love the texture of the mask, its so creamy but its light at the same time! I was a bit hesitant of the scent but I love it now. Garlic and Tea Tree work well weirdly! I would definitely try this mask out!

Tea Tree Water

I love Tea Tree Water just by the smell which you have probably realised if you have read up to this part. I also love how tea tree is antibacterial/fungal and other things so it sorts your skin out and just helps you feeling beautiful. The scent mixed with juniperberries gives a refreshing scent which helps you feel like you can get on with your day.

Mint Julips

I tried this when I got my lip piercing done and I fell in love with it instantly! Its just refreshing and makes your lips tingle a bit in a good way! Peppermint and Vanilla mix together to give you that sort of mint choc chip flavour which I love whilst sugar gives you scrub and the best thing is that it is edible!

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post! Is there any face care products from Lush that you love?

Thanks!
Jamie x

Pictures were provided from Lush PR. All views are my own! 

For When You Need Money | Glo

Hey!

I know that everyone is going back to education and things like that and the one thing that gets left out of the conversation is finance so I thought that today I would kind of talk about that.

When you start further education, you instantly kind of sort finance out but finance only lasts so long and then you have to find other ways to feed yourself and do other things unless you work in your spare time after lectures and things like that. It's hard being a student sometimes!

If you have ever been a student then you will know the struggle of living on 15p cans of beans and other things such like trying to afford a night out on one drink or living via discounts and offers and when you need some money it can be hard but there is ways of coping such as loans. I know loans sound like a dirty word but they don't have to be!

Glo is a website that offers loans in a different way than usual. Glo talk to someone who is close to you and is happy to support you and then if they are sure that you can afford the repayments then they will give you the loan which is a lot easier than some of the other ways that you can acquire a loan and this helps people who might be new to this whole loan thing or stuff like that. I think that this is quite a nifty idea and takes a lot of the scare and paperwork out of the occasion.

Glo will also make you feel a bit safer when it comes to loans as there is no set up fee and there is a fixed interest rate so you won't have any nasty surprises which I think is a great thing. If you want to know more about the guarantor loans at Glo

I hope that you have found this post informative and interesting and I hope to see you next time for another blog post!

Thanks!
Jamie x

This post was obviously in collaboration with Glo. All ramblings, views and opinions are my own,

Is It Love? | Lady Gaga Perfect Illusion Review

Hey!

I know a post has already gone up today but I thought that I would write a quick review of Lady Gaga's new song 'Perfect Illusion' as I am quite an avid fan of hers and have talked about her a couple of times on here. It's going to be honest so go get a drink, read this and then go listen to it! 

With a couple of years break from releasing her last solo album ARTPOP and dabbling into things such as jazz music and American Horror Story, it was time that Gaga finally made a great pop comeback. Gaga (real name Stefani Germanotta), 30 stated after an awards ceremony earlier this year that her next solo album would be released this year. This instantly made fans buzz and prod when Gaga slowly went off the radar from talking about anything that was about new music until photos and press statements were released saying that she was working on new music with Mark Ronson and a few others. 

Gaga's last solo album ARTPOP flopped on an industrial level after things such as an iTunes Festival slot and many other things such as an app was shown to the public. I think that the public didn't realise that ARTPOP wasn't a general 'Lady Gaga does her Pop style' thing but was more of a 'Gaga is trying to show you whats underneath the Gaga' album which made people not interested in listening to it. Things such as only a few of the songs going to a single may have influenced this as well. 

Lady Gaga then released via Twitter that her single was going to be Perfect Illusion and with Gaga doing things such as 'Cheek To Cheek'. the Sound Of Music medley, the National Anthem and Till It Happens To You (which was for The Hunting Ground) no one knew what Gaga was going to drop until today when she finally released it to the world. 

With starts of a mixture of electronic and rock, no one knows whats happening but it instantly sends shivers down your back and reminds me of the intro to 'The Edge Of Glory'. Theres some echoing of oh which reminds me of Bad Romance. The beat then kicks in which instantly makes you want to tap or stomp your feet along to the song. The chorus kicks in and this is when everyone realises that Gaga isn't just a weirdo in the music industry but someone who can sing and can create a deep track just with the voice. This carries on all the way through the song and it makes you want to dance quite a bit along to and maybe even sing along to it in your hairbrush or something along the lines. The Haus Of Gaga stated that this was going to be a dance floor anthem and that is very true but its not what you expect from a dance floor anthem. 

The lyrics are quite repetitive but honestly what song isn't repetitive nowadays? (Remember the amount of times Rihanna said Umbrella or Gaga with Bad Romance and they were both massive hits!) The lyrics repeat 'It wasn't love' and 'it was a perfect illusion' quite a few times and I am wondering if this was in regards to her relationship with actor Taylor Kinney, the whole ARTPOP album as that had several references to Aphrodite and love or something completely different? 

The only big flaw within this song is kind of the track/melody. It's very Papa Don't Preach-esque with a bit of twist which might land Gaga in a bit of hot water. Mark Ronson, Tame Impala, Bloodpop and all of the other people that have worked on this track have done a great job creating a good comeback song thougb and with other people such as Diane Warren (Till It Happens To You), Elton John and RedOne who basically helped Gaga make her signature stamp in the music world stated on her new album, who knows what to expect? 

I would give this a good 9.7/10 just because the repetition is a love or loathe thing and the Papa Don't Preach similarities are a bit skewed for my liking and the fact that this is a great comeback song but is all a great Summer song and it has been released when Summer is basically over. 

Come and click below to listen to the song! 

I hope that you have enjoyed my little review and that you are having a great day. Leave your opinions of the song in the comments section! 

Thanks!

Jamie 

What You Need For University | 5 Essentials For Uni

Hey!

I know that a good few people will be setting up shop in an unknown territory for the next three or so years very soon so I thought that from one student to another that you could do with some tips on what your top five essentials should be for uni!

Change

This may sound like a weird suggestion but you will thank me in the long run. If you ever get any change then I would suggest putting into a clean jar (the jar could be a recycled jar of jam or something) as you can store the change in this and then when it comes to needing change for cleaning your clothes you know that you won'be too poor to even have change or have to awkwardly break into a note by going to the nearest place with a cash machine.

Dry Shampoo

If you haven't been using dry shampoo then where have you been for the last few years? Under a rock? Dry shampoo will come in extra handy when at uni for when you either want a touch up volume wise or for when you've slept through your alarms and you have to rush to get to your lecture just on time and it's only a couple of pounds when on offer so it will help you out a lot!

Chargers

Chargers will instantly save you from having a meltdown when your devices die during lectures/adventures during the day/nights out so be prepared! Get back ups as wires do break easily, get power bars and so forth. Do everything you can to avoid that meltdown happening!

Stationery/Technology

You're probably wondering why I have grouped these two things together. I have done this because laptops and such can be classed as stationery as you do need them to type stuff down, to voice record lectures and so on. You do also need stationery though as you might actually need to write things down just in case or if your laptop dies then its a good back up and students and stationery collecting go hand in hand as they are cute and cheap sometimes!

Cheap Sources For Caffeine

This sounds bad but you will need cheap sources of caffeine for after a hangover or for the night before a deadline... Cheap sources might include getting energy drinks in bulk or buying a big jar of espresso powder and living off that for those moments. It's great when they're all on offer as well!

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post! If you are going to University then I hope that your moving in goes well and that you don't die from Freshers.

Have you used any of these essentials? Let me know down below!

Thanks!
Jamie x

Going To Some Of The Best Bars In Leeds With Michelle

Hey! I'm in Leeds a lot and being a blogger means that you go to quite a few bars and restaurants so I thought that I would drag Michelle along to a few of the best bars within Leeds (as you always need a friend to have a good natter to when it comes to bars) and write about it as I want to share the best bars with you just in case you haven't been to them so get some food, get a drink and be prepared to learn about Leeds' finest bars!

The first bar that I think is one of the best bars in Leeds is Turtle Bay. Why? I love the Caribbean vibe of the whole restaurant which is shown in ways such as the paintings on the walls, the music that is played within the restaurant, the food and drinks that are on offer and much more. The Caribbean vibe means that you feel like you can be relaxed instead of feeling stuffy and awkward like you would in a quite expensive eating establishment. I also love how they have a two for one offer which is 12-7 and 10pm until close which means that you can go in any day and get two drinks for the price of one during the day for a casual lunch or a good evening out.

 

We arrived and perused the menu which included things such as Run Down (v), Street Burger, Jamacian Browned Chicken and Rum Cake for several minutes until we both decided on what we wanted. Myself and Michelle decided to just stick to cocktails. We decided to take part in the 2 for 1 offer and ordered Beachcombers Zombie (4 Rums, Absinthe, Bitters and Tropical Fruits) and Vanilla and Passion Fruit Mojito (Cockspur Gold Rum, Vanilla, Fresh Passion Fruit, Lime and Mint.) The Zombie was fresh, fruity and naughty due to not being able to taste the alcohol so you could definitely have more than one and the Mojito tasted like the epitome of Summer due to all of the freshness thar was within the glass.

 

 

 

 

The next stop on the best bar train after Turtle Bay was Cabana. I honestly think Cabana is one of the best bars/restaurants ever for several reasons. There's the friendly staff who make you feel welcome in the establishment, the great street food inspired cuisine thats on offer, the crisp drinks that they serve, the quirky furniture... I could go on! Just like Turtle Bay, they offer 2 for one on certain drinks but they also have many other offers such as a lunch deal where you can get your own Latin inspired lunchbox for £6.95, a 2 course set meal on weekdays for £9.95 which is on until 5pm and theres an early bird special meal which involves a main course, two sides and a drink for £9.95 which is on everyday from 5-6:30pm.

 

 

We arrived at Cabana, sat down and ordered two drinks just like before as they were on 2 for one. We decided to get an original Caipirihna and a Blueberry & Acai Caipirihna. Myself and Michelle also decided to get some Cheesy Baked Dough Balls and Chocolate Rainbow Doughnuts to share between ourselves. I love a good Caipirihna and I instantly think of warm nights in tropical Brazil when I sip one. The Blueberry and Acai one was really nice. Sweet but slightly tart. It reminded me of Blueberry Jam somehow! Myself and Michelle were somewhat hesitant of getting it as we both thought that it would flush us out but it didnt. The dough balls were so nice. Golden on the outside but melting and gooey on the inside but slightly salty. The Nutella Doughnuts were great. Bitesized but chocolatey. The crispy sugary exterior worked so well with the dark gooey interior and there was more Nutella on the side so great for Nutella lovers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last stop on the best bar adventure was Be At One. Be At One is a cocktail bar that is based within Millenium Square with the likes of Epernay and Revolution that are within Electric Press. BAO also have a Happy Hour on that is on every night which is around 4:30/5-8pm. We went on a Tuesday and the hours for Happy Hour were 4:30-8 which means Be At One is a great place for a student date! We started off by having a Reese's Pieces cocktail but sadly it's not on the site so I can't remember the name but it had Bourbon, Reese's Pieces and Vanilla ice cream in. We got it because I like Bourbon and Michelle loves Peanut Butter. I liked it but the Bourbon was quite strong and when mixed with ice cream it made it quite rich. I was expecting it to be heavily peanut butter but it wasn't. We then had a Maple Margarita and oh my god it was so good. I had never had a Margarita before but this was a good one to represent the whole Margarita clan with. Sweet but slightly tart. Myself and Michelle then finished off the best bar train by drinking our last drink at Be At One. This cocktail was called Stormier Seas and the salty seas never tasted any better. This contained Kraken Rum, Lime and Ginger Beer. It tasted like something that you would want to warm you up when youre on a cold English beach. (The only problem that we had here was that Michelle did see a bartender put a phone number into someone who looked like a customers phone but I was guessing that he was on his break or something?) I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post. Don't forget to check out Michelle's photography! I have also linked the restaurants in case you actually want to go and check them out as I really think that they are some of the best bars within Leeds. I hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog post. Have you ever been to any of these bars? Have you tried any of these drinks? Let me know down below! Thanks! Jamie x This post was in collaboration with Cabana and Be At One. I chose the bars that I wanted to feature within this post therefore all views and ramblings are my own. Myself and Michelle got 14 drinks for £14 in total due to 2 for one etc but do check the places out if you want to know more details of them. 

Celebrate Being 3 With Cake | Pastille Leeds

Hey!

A few weeks ago, I was invited to come and celebrate Pastille's third birthday by going to their stores to have a good old knees up so I went! I also dragged along Michelle and Luke because it's always fun to invite more people to the party!

We met Michelle at the train station and headed on an adventure to find Pastille and after 20 minutes of not realising that it was basically in front of us we ended up at Pastille. Pastille had invited a few other bloggers and businesses to help them celebrate their third birthday. The businesses that were at the event were Borrowed Couture who specialises in amazing dresses, Handmade Sweet Designs who make handmade jewellery and Sugar Crush who had brought some cakes with them to get us all in the party mood!

Myself, Michelle and Luke instantly saw Katie when we entered the beautiful store so we spent sometime just chatting about anything and everything such as blogging, photos and Lush. We kept talking for a while and then decided to wander around. We all checked out the wonderful jewellery from Handmade Sweet Designs and then myself and Michelle clocked eyes onto Lizi and had a good old blogger based natter. It's great when you catch up with bloggers at events.

Items from Handmade Sweet Designs

Michelle then decided to get her nails done a beautiful purpleish colour which screamed her whilst I had another wander around and grabbed a Mint Chocolate Brownie. They were fabulous. Dense with a bit of goo and deep with chocolate flavour. There was also a bit of cream on top of brownie which gave a tad bit of lightness compared to rich chocolate and then there was a crisp bit of chocolate coated mint which gave a bit of texture and flavour. Gorgeous. Michelle finished getting her nails done and we then decided to fully check out the beautiful bakes that Sugar Crush had brought to the event which included a gorgeous Rocky Road with Popcorn in, a quintessentially British Eton Mess with a nice glittery Cherry on top! Sugar Crush also create bakes for baby showers, weddings, tea parties and more!

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Myself and Luke both decided to get manicures. I got a mix of matte turquoise and sparkly turquoise nail polish which I absolutely loved! I always love a bit of sparkle. Luke got a more muted white/pastel pink colour. We chatted a bit more and just had a wonderful time. We decided that it was time to make the adventure back to the train station so we grabbed our bags, grabbed some wonderful food from Sugar Crush which included their marvellous brownies. I love brownies, got handed a goodie bag which included rainbow highlighter and headed back to Leeds Train Station.

I had a wonderful time at Pastille's birthday event and hope that they have more fabulous years within Leeds! I hope that you have enjoyed this little post.

Have you been to Pastille before? Let me know down below!

Thanks!
Jamie x