Faded Spring

    Why I Want A Winning Smile Makeover

    From a young age I envisioned a smile christened by pearly white, perfectly straight teeth that glistened in the dark. I wouldn't feel self-conscious when I smiled, and people's comments on my 'winning smile' would seem authentic and genuine. I would laugh without abandon, and feel the world staring at me as I walked, oozing confidence everytime I opened my eyes. Except this wasn't my reality and I would dream of a winning smile makeover, wishing that my teeth weren't crooked, large and yellowish hued. Growing up (as you might know from my 'better smile' post) I would feel uncomfortable when I smiled, worried that I would look goofy when I laughed and that people would poke fun at me - which ... read more

    The Quest For 90’s Nostalgia At Gingerline’s TV Dinners

    The air was fraught with neon lights, splashes of aqua blues and lime green at Gingerline's TV dinners, buzzing gameshow contestants who hankered after a challenge. Part gameshow, part immersive dining experience, Gingerline's TV dinners was laced with 90's nostalgia, plunging you into a world nestled with TV-esque cliches, where contestants would compete against the clock to win extra food, oh how we chortled. Four courses would swim provocatively into our mouths, our tongues salivating with undisguised admiration, eyes wide open. Kedgeree tofu marinated in a swathe of yogurt, battling aleppo pepper spiced pumpkin, climbing aboard drunken stilton. Fennel tartin potato fondant slurping up ... read more

    She Shoots, She Scores: Vegan Food At The Lost Hour

    A Saturday afternoon embraced by golden sun, playing peekaboo with white candy floss clouds. Two friends reunited, heels pitter pattering on the pavement, a Clueless vibe emulating from the lady in blue. Dogs barking, tails yapping playfully, pubs in Greenwich filled with rowdy sport goers. There was a slight chill in the air, but seasonally warm for January, white boots and blue check mini skirt, skipping into The Lost Hour with hungered determination. It was at first glance like any other pub, football shirts lounging in pleather backed chairs, eyes glazed over in sport based rapture, pints poured into thirsty mouths. But that is where we were wrong. For The Lost Hour was no ordinary pub, ... read more

    3 Cool Waterproof Watches That You Need In 2020

    We live in a world where technology conditions our every move, from the moment we wake up to the hour we go to bed, growth, progress and change is our ever-evolving soundtrack. Our eyes are barely open before we blearily sift through our morning texts, our legs are hardly moving as we bumble through tube gates, contactless card at the ready. Our brains are playing catch up from the remnants of sleep, our fingers cramping as we type furiously at our computers, trying to ignore the yawns that threaten to burst through our unlipsticked mouths. And who could forget the little gadgets that help us through the day, headphones to drown out the sound of our boss's relentless moans, smart waterproof ... read more

    4 Ways to Make Your Skin Look Healthy and Radiant

    How To Make Your Skin Look Healthy And Radiant Glowing, healthy and radiant skin is the ultimate goal when it comes to achieving an enviable skincare routine. In fact if you asked most of your friends, family or peers as to what word they would use to achieve their desirable skincare goal, it would be to have 'glowing skin', as they covet the luminosity associated with celebrities such as Rihanna, Lupita Nyong'o, Beyonce and JLO. All famous figureheads who have flawless skin, their tips on how to make your skin look healthy and radiant ranges from drinking 9 cups of water (2.2. liters) to stay hydrated, right through to using products that have natural oils such as avocado oil, which ... read more

    Red Palace: Deliciously Twisted Fairytales at The Vaults

    The autumn leaves were plundered and soiled, the air instead laced with the bitter frost that the winter queen brought, sending collective shivers down our spines. Gone were the tepid autumnal days, where pups and trees danced in seasonal unison and in its place were gnarled, wizened branches, leafless and friendless. For winter seemed but a barren landscape, no blooms, no colours, not even the gaudy (but fun) decorations that the festive season would bring, not now when November’s heart had only just begun beating. So imagine our unbridled delight when a royal invite from the Red Palace arrived, plunging us into a world where the boundaries between reality and fantasy had merged, oh so ... read more

    A Super Trouper Revolution at Mamma Mia The Party

    In the heart of the O2 lay a treasure of Abba delight, choruses of ‘Super Trouper’ cascading through the night. The two girls decked in their finest vintage garms ran into the arena with glee, in search of Mamma Mia The Party, where their wildest dreams would come true. A Greek Taverna awash in stone white and Santorini blue crept into their imaginations, the bold blue entrance woven with shocking pink fuchsias. Mamma Mia The Party was as much a homage to the revelry of Greece as it was a love letter to Abba, trellises woven with braided flowers, fountains pouring with liquids spooling into mouths. The ouzos dripping down dribbling chins, the songs of Greece doing celebratory dances around ... read more

    A Vegetarian Supperclub By Khao at Poster, Hackney

    Wisps of air in a clouded haze, circling wind ruffling tangled hair, a pair of lovers arm in arm interlinked. The clouds were swollen with rain tears, the heavens threatened to open, they had no umbrella between them, but it did not matter. For tonight they would feast upon the jewels of nature, a vegetarian supperclub by Khao at Poster in Hackney, chickpeas dancing on a bed of spiced spinach leaves. At least one of them was salivating at the thought, mouth open wide, drooling, she craved the vegetarian delights that would tease her tongue into dizzying sensation. The other apprehensive, a meat eater lured into a vegetarian world, could he overcome his inhibitions and try something new? ... read more

    How To Enjoy Red Wine: A Beginners Guide

    When it comes to a well rounded alcoholic drink to match our 'social' and 'personal' calendar, for many of us, wine is by far the best type of alcohol there is. Red wine exudes sensuality, confidence, passion and comfort, well suited to the excitement of date nights and the warmth of a night in snuggling your boo on the sofa. Rose conjures up summer nights abroad, decked out in our holiday finest, thirst quenched by the pink wine that sates your lips. And who could forget white wine, a timeless classic, associated with dinner parties, a light and versatile tipple gulped frequently? Made from fermented grapes, the earliest known traces of wine are from Georgia (c. 6000 BC), Iran (c. 5000 BC) ... read more

    5 Ways To Up Your Blogging Game In 2019

    Who would have thought all those years ago, tucked away in the corner of the world wide web, that blogging would become such a cultural, political, sociological and technological phenomenon? With the first recognized blog created by Justin Hall at Links.net in 1994, and the subsequent coining of the term 'weblog' in 1997 attributed to Jorn Barger ( Robot Wisdom), it's clear that blogging has come a long way since it's 90's roots. Yet despite the first blog being over 22 years old, it was the early 2000's that were a period of growth for blogs, increasing from 23 blogs (1999) to 50 million blogs in 2006, with more than 500 million blogs in 2019 and over 1.6 million websites. While the growth ... read more