Give your feet a boost with Pedi Pro Deluxe

The Christmas party season is nearly upon us!
With that in mind its imperative we ladies make sure our feet are in great shape and that cracked heels are not on show, when wearing gorgeous peep-toes shoes.

In just minutes, this can be done with the battery operated Pedi Pro Deluxe.
The bullet shaped gadget uses a rotating disc to remove hard skin, corns and calluses from your feet.
It also comes with buffing pads which can be attached to exfoliate and give your feet a smooth finish.
A pretty pink colour, Pedi Pro Deluxe is easier to use on dry skin before bathing.
I won’t lie to you, my hand did ache after working for a couple of minutes on my first foot but it was very worthwhile in the end for the silky smooth result.

The gadget costs £19.99.
Visit www.jmldirect.com for more information.

Spectacle Wearer of the Year 2011 awards - and a bit of bitchiness!

Having attended the Spectacle Wearer of the Year 2011 awards last night, at London's Battersea Power Station, there seems to be three hot topics people are talking about today...

• Kara Tointon's plunging neckline
• Martine McCutcheon's weight gain
• The Wanted's "heart throb" and celebrity winner of the Spectacle Wearer of the Year 2011, Max George 

First of all, when in god's name did Max start wearing glasses?!
Second of all, Martine looked great. She isn't a beast, like some tabloids would have you believe.
Thirdly, what's the point in wearing a plunging neckline with no breasts?!

Here's what I enjoyed on the night...

• The endless supply of champagne
• Seeing TOWIE's Lauren Pope and Lauren Goodger
• Speaking to The Apprentice winner Tom Pellereau about his forthcoming wedding and a 3D Printer (seriously!) 
• My goodie bag
• Meeting some great journalists

Overall, a good night xxx

Becoming Mrs Smith!

The Smith wedding!

SO we meet again :-)

I'm sure everyone in the universe knows by now but I thought i'd share my news anyway...I have become a MRS!!
Yes I married the man of my dreams and have taken on the rather unoriginal surname of Smith.
I have already experienced the 'are you really Mr and Mrs Smith or is she your mistress' looks while checking into a hotel in Paris for our minimoon! I think I am going to love playing the mistress...

Our big day occurred on July 2 at the magnificent venue of Tatton Hall in Cheshire.
The day was the most amazing I have experienced so far in my life (I like to think there are still good times ahead :-)).

Everyone who knows me knows I am ALWAYS late for everything so my wedding day was no exception. I arrived 35 minutes late! Luckily my other half wasn't too worried about me leaving him at the altar as he knows me so well!
The ceremony was beautiful.
Very intimate, romantic, nerve-wracking and overwhelming.
The harpist was superb.

The Ceremony

Afterwards we had our drinks reception in the stunning grounds of Tatton Hall while listening to the sounds of the steel band in the background and sipping on champagne in the sunny picturesque setting.

We then had a three-course wedding breakfast of which I literally ate zero of as my dress was so tight!
Both Andy and I gave a speech.
Mine was off the cuff and very, err, interesting!
Andy's was amazing. He said the nicest things about me, our families, bridesmaids and guests.
A true gentleman and really one of a kind :-)

After our first dance to Al Green's Let's Stay Together, we danced the whole night to our favourite songs (obviously the Jimmy Choos were tossed aside!). The 5ive megamix was one of my favourite parts of the night - brilliant!

Before we knew it it was midnight and time for Andy and I to go back to the hotel, take in the whole day and drink our mega expensive champagne!

Nine days later, I am only just feeling recovered!

Nobody warned me beforehand how hectic your own wedding can be and how every single person would want to spend time with you, leaving you and your husband separated more than you are used too.
I would definitely recommend, to all brides-to-be, to make sure you snatch a few minutes with each other at various intervals throughout the day to take things in.
Andy and I did this and those moments were so precious.

I had an AMAZING wedding day.
Go Team Smith!!
xxxx

The Quadrante by Douwe Egberts - for coffee lovers!

The Quadrante by Douwe Egberts

Now I really like coffee.
I need one every morning to give me the strength to leave the house and battle my way through the commuters in the London Underground.
So, when I was sent The Quadrante - by Douwe Egberts who make the Senseo coffee pod machines in association with Philips - I was delighted.
With its sleek lines and edgy curves, the machine not only looks great in my kitchen but actually makes two coffee specialities in less than a minute.
All you have to do is fill the large eight-cup water tank and then simply pop a Douwe Egberts coffee pod into the tray. Within a minute you will have a quality cup of coffee ready to drink at a good temperature.
There is a wide variety of pods available from the Douwe Egberts Senseo Coffee Pod range.
These include, Moments Morning Americano, Classic Roast, Medium Roast, Dark Roast, Decaffeinated and Brazil.
There are also tea pods and various types of hot chocolate etc available (next on my list to try).
You can buy the pods from Amazon.co.uk
The Quadrante is an ideal gift for busy coffee-loving people.
It is available to buy from Philips.co.uk at a very reasonable price of £99.

The nightmare wedding invite challenge

Now, I never knew making a wedding invite would be so time consuming and so stressful.
After months of researching invites on the internet and being sent dozens of invites from specialist wedding companies, Andy and I decided to go it alone and make our own.
Our reasoning for this was...
a) To save money
b) To make our wedding more personal to us
c) I wasn't 100% happy with ANY of the invites I had researched, most seemed to be plain and dull

So, after much consideration we decided to make scroll invites.
Easy, right?
Er no, it wasn't!
Having an image in my head of what I wanted the invites to look like was a lot easier that actually trying to turn that image into reality.

After buying the scroll postal tubes from a company in Essex we came across our first battle.
We couldn't find the exact paper I wanted to use!
Now most people would think this would've have been easy but by god it wasn't (well to me anyway). We bought loads of different textured paper and I wasn't 100% sure about any of them.
Finally after a good one (or four) months we (Andy) found the paper I was after.

Then came the difficult decision on deciding how the invites would look.
We bought some gold ink for the printer and sat down one evening at the computer and got to work on the design of the invites.

That process can only be described as being a nightmare!

Andy hard at work

The font, the size of the font and the actual information we wanted on the invite was so difficult to decide. We experimented with what seemed like hundreds of different looks (and had quite a few arguments!) until finally I was happy with a design. 

We then had to print each invite out, cut each one into shape and glue ribbon onto them. Again, a nightmare.
Finally we wrapped each invite up, tied ribbon around them and added a few gold heart confetti pieces to each tube.
Then, the real nightmare came.
I decided I DID indeed love one of the sample invites we had made about 10 hours previously on a DIFFERENT textured paper!!

The final design

But by this time it was too late to go and change all the invites and I had to bite the bullet and go with what we had made.


That decision was the best one ever.
I now actually love our invites.
Even though they took so long to make, were more expensive than if we would have bought them, and nearly caused me and Andy to call off the wedding (well that's obviously a joke but at least that gives you some idea of how stressful it all was!!), we have truly unique invites and I wouldn't change them for the world.

So the moral of the story is, go with your heart and not your head and don't bother being practical and making sacrifices. If you have something in your head persist and you will get it.

Goodbye for now! xxx

A pleased and relieved Naiomi

P.S: 11 WEEKS UNTIL THE BIG DAY!!!!!

Marc Jacobs’ summery Daisy Eau So Fresh

Fresh from the Marc Jacobs collection, and the latest take on classic favourite Daisy, is Daisy Eau So Fresh.

This beautifully presented perfume launched at The Perfume Shop on February 27.

It sounds cheesy but when I first opened the box and saw the perfume my first word was wow.

I love the way the bottle has been designed.

It has a very luxurious clear glass shape with a scattering of beautiful pink, yellow and white daisies which appear to bloom from the gold rounded cap.

The scent itself is very alluring, feminine, light, fruity and fresh.

Wearing the perfume makes me feel very girly and it somehow puts me in a good mood as it reminds me of summer!

I would go as far as to say Daisy Eau So Fresh is my second favourite perfume (my first is Chanel No5) and I would definitely recommend this to all my girl mates.

Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh is available to buy at The Perfume Shop.

It is priced from £47.50.

Spoil your partner this Valentine's Day with these great gifts

Stuck for ideas on what to buy the love of your life on February 14? Worry no more as you can’t go wrong with the below fab gifts – all will go perfectly with the Valentine’s Day basics: cool cards, lush flowers and chocolate treats.


VALENTINE’S DAY FOR HER...

You Frame Photos to Canvas
Treat your good lady to a YouFrame DIY box canvas kit. The kit turns your digital photographs into stunning canvas wall art in minutes. Each Photo to Canvas takes less than 3 minutes to assemble and allows you to create stunning original canvas art from your digital photo library. The kit is a great romantic and thoughtful Valentine’s Day present and is priced very well too.
Cost: £10.49.
Purchase from Dealtastic.co.uk


Chloe Love
Now, this is a perfume I love. The scent is a gorgeous feminine and elegant fragrance that lasts for hours after just one spray. It’s not for everyone as the smell is quite sweet and flowery but it would make a great Valentine’s Day gift for a lot of women. The bottle has a lovely design too.
Cost: £22.50
Purchase from The Perfume Shop



Guylian chocolates
Chocolates! No one can celebrate Valentine’s Day without giving or receiving chocolates! My favourite pick is Guylian 'I love you' hearts chocolates. These are the perfect gift for those with a sweet tooth. They come in a gorgeous red heart shaped gift box and feature the Original chocolate Sea Shells or delicious heart-shaped pralines. I loved them.
Purchase from Guylian

Flowers
Roses are red; violets are blue, blah blah blah.
Show how much you care with a bunch of lush flowers for your favourite girl. Like chocolates no Valentine’s Day would be complete without a pretty bunch of flowers. Ladies you can also surprise your man with a bunch of flowers. You never know, they might like them…
Cost: as little or as much as you’d like to spend!
Purchase from all good shops…


Now I know the following two gifts, from Nicky Clarke, wouldn’t normally be classed as romantic and especially not for Valentine’s Day but if my man bought me them I would be VERY happy. I love my hair and if that is looking great then the rest of me is feeling great which means my other half gets great Naiomi and will be rewarded for that! Do you understand me men?!

2000W Frizz Control Dryer
The Nicky Clarke Frizz Control Dryer is perfect for creating lots of volume. My hair was left virtually frizz-free after using the stylish chrome powerful 2000W hairdryer. There are 3 speed settings, 2 heat settings and a turbo button which all help you to get more control and a perfect hairstyle. Whatever look you go for, this hairdryer will help you get great results every time. Accessories include a styling concentrator and diffuser. I have nothing but praise to say about this product. You lady should love it.
Cost: £21.99
Purchase from Nicky Clarke

Professional Flexi Stylers
These flexi stylers allow you to create all different types of curls including tight, spiral, large and bouncy curls. There are 18 of them in total – with my hair I reckon I could do with another 5 or so – and they come housed in a heated storage case with a step-by-step guide on how to create a host of different curls and styles. The curls are fabulous. I love the fact the stylers are hassle-free - you can leave them in your hair while you do your make-up and have a drink, then whip them out and have an instant gorgeous hairstyle. A must-buy for women who like to experiment with hairstyles.
Cost: £19.99
Purchase from Nicky Clarke 

Boutique off Shoulder Sweat 
This cute off-the-shoulder sweatshirt comes in a fetching shade of dusky pink. I understand it isn’t what you’d call a “normal” Valentine’s Day gift but it is pink, snuggly and don’t you men like us women dressed in big jumpers doesn’t it make us look sexy?! Anyway, I really like the jumper so would be happy to receive it as a present (with a lot more besides!).
Cost: £27.95
Purchase from Joe Browns


Melvita Petal Soft Skin Gift Set
Now every lady loves to be pampered and this scented collection, containing three beauty treats, is a great gift.
There is the Rose Shower Cream - leaves your skin feeling soft, silky and smelling divine - Moisturising Body Lotion - absorbed in nourishing Rosehip Seed Oil and Olive Squalane leaving your skin feeling smooth and radiant - and Rose Raspberry Soap Bar - a velvety soap that leaves skin clean and soft and is gentle enough for sensitive skin like mine.
Cost: £25
Purchase from Melvita

Little Messages' Love Message Cards

Surprise your valentine where she least expects it with these Little Messages’ credit card sized Love Message Cards. There are 8 cards in the pack featuring messages such as 'Hey Sexy', ‘I Love You’and We're Great Together'. To be honest the cards are pretty cheesy but if you're a chessy person they will be great for you! I personally like my unique messages left in places around the house by my other half on simple post it notes. ,uch more personal to me. There are lots of gifts available from Little Messages so the website is definitely worth a visit.

Cost: £2.50
Purchase from Carteblanchegreetings.com

LOVEheart pendant
The LOVEheart pendant is the ideal main gift for your Valentine this Monday. The quirky pendant, which is set in silver and diamond, has the word 'love' and heart entwined together and is highlighted by a solitaire 0.10ct diamond.
The large pendant is 37mm in length and is supplied on a 45cm silver chain. The brilliant-cut diamond set in silver is available from £195.
The pendant is also available in a blue or pink sapphire set in silver for £145. If you are loaded and feel like splashing out treat your lady to an 18ct white, yellow or rose gold heart set with 0.10ct diamond for £750.
Purchase from David M Robinson


VALENTINE’S DAY FOR HIM…

BOSS Orange for Men
This scent is both uplifting and energizing. It smells like vanilla but with a masculine blend of crisp apple.
It is apparently “a relaxed and sociable character; just like the BOSS Orange man himself.”
Cost: from £24.50.
Purchase from The Perfume Shop
 

52 Weeks of Naughty Nights
This game is supposed to be full of surprises, sensual thrills, kinky surprises, expressions of love and playful games of seduction.
It contains a year's supply of scratch and win cards with naughty I.O.U.'s, suggestions, coupons, roll plays, gestures and more...
Now I’m yet to test this but it does sound good and I’m sure our guys would quite like it!
Cost: £9.99
Purchase from Treathim.com


Personalised Champagne And Gift Box 
Now as my other half is a wine connoisseur it’s so difficult for me to know exactly what wine/champagne will make a good present for him – so I tend to stay clear from that!
But for men who may lack an extensive knowledge of fine wine and champagne this Veuve Hennerick Brut Champagne could be a brilliant gift for him. Not only will he have something nice to drink he will also get some delicious Belgian chocolates as they come with the alcohol luxuriously presented in a satin-lined box with a pull-out tray. Kills two birds with one stone!
Cost: £45
Purchase from Marks and Spencer

Emporio Armani watch
I bought a watch similar to this for my other half one Christmas and he hardly takes it off!
Lovely design, Amber Dial with Roman Numeral, Stainless Steel Case, Brown Leather Strap and Quartz Movement.
Cost: £179
Purchase from Goldsmiths



So there it is - some perfect gifts for Valentine’s Day.
If you’re like me - a Valentine’s Day cynic who loves her fiancé spoiling her every day apart from February 14 - you’ll be pleased to see most of the above presents are great for any day of the year. Plus most of the gifts are great for singletons so get treating yourself!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! xxx

Happy New Year - finally!

Hi everyone

It has been a while and for that I am sorry. Oh yes and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
I hope you all have had a great start to the year so far.

AS IF I am getting married this year! Haha!
So, Andy and I went home to Manchester for Christmas and New Year to spend with the family. It was a brilliant Christmas, full of presents (woo!), happiness and surrounded by my favourite people. Obviously no Christmas would be the same without an argument and mine had one of those too but that is all just part of the fun!

A small selection of the Madden family!

Armed with my bridesmaids on New Year's Eve I headed into town (Manchester) to find their dresses for the big day. This was at 10am.
By 10.50am I had found my dream wedding dress, tried it on (and a few others to be extra certain) and had paid for it!!!
I obviously can't reveal too much about the dress as we don't want the other half finding out but it is definitely my dream dress. I can't wait to wear it!
Hmm and we never did find the bridesmaid dresses :-)

Anyway, I do love the start of a New Year. I just love getting a new diary (or five this year - don't ask!) and filling it in with exciting plans for the next few months. It makes me feel like I'm important and wanted! Also, I love the start of a New Year because my birthday is in January. And yes that means more PRESENTS!!

I hope you have all got your diaries (or you can have one of mine) and have started making plans for this year. What else is better than planning lots of fun things to do - holidays, weekends away, parties and shopping trips - while you're skint and waiting for your January payslip?
I would say not much!

Have a brilliant New Year!

Love Naiomi xxx

Cheers!

Fun presents for Santa's little helpers - Christmas 2010

Ho ho ho! It's that time of year again - Christmas time!
With just over two weeks to go until the big day, most of us have been busy running around the shops spending money like there is no tomorrow on what seems like, and in some cases is, hundreds of presents for the whole family.
But if you are still trying to decide what to get the little ones, worry no more as I have decided to take a look at some of the toys currently on the market.
Grab some of these stocking fillers now and enjoy the rest of the run up to Christmas Day in relaxation and happiness - until next year...

Sonic Colors - SEGA
Released just in time for Christmas is Sonic Colors, a brand new high speed action adventure - the ideal gift for old school Sonic fans as well as boys and girls.
Whilst I'm not a huge fan of playing on computer consoles, I used to love playing Sonic the Hedgehog, on our old Sega Megadrive, when I was younger. I was an expert (even if I do say so myself!), but if I'm being honest, my seven-year-old nephew is today a lot better on computers than I ever was. So, I gave him Sonic Colors to play on his DS.
He loves it. The game, available on Nintendo DS and Wii, sees Sonic accelerating to adrenaline-pumping super speeds and blasting through obstacles. It features the diabolical Dr. Eggman, who in a bid for world domination, has built an extraordinary amusement park floating in space around Sonic’s home planet - and has abducted an alien race. Before Dr. Eggman completes his evil plans, Sonic discovers his mysterious theme park in space.
Sonic will need all his speed and skill as he faces this test, but it’s a test he’s sure to pass with flying colours, isn't he?
Sonic Colors costs £24.99 on Nintendo DS and £29.99 on the Wii. It is available from game retailers such as Play.com and Amazon

Build it with Bob - Bob the Builder

Popular children's show Bob the Builder first appeared on UK TV in 1999. Since then it has broadcast in 240 countries across the world! Kids just seem to love Bob and his Can-Do Crew - not to mention the vast range of toys. Therefore, my pick for a great present for Christmas this year is Build it with Bob - a 50 brick construction set. 

This set features actual real bricks and cement - amazing! Suitable for children aged three and over, the construction set allows youngsters to use their imagination to build all kinds of structures. As well as the bricks and cement, the set comes with a large wipe clean playmat, bowl and trowel.

The only negative thing I can say about this gift is that it does create a lot of mess from the bricks and cement, but for children, I suppose that is great! 

Build it with Bob, by Maps Toys, is available to buy from stockists such as Amazon, Boots, Toymaster, Play.com

It costs between £9.99 and £14.99.

Castle Pop Up Book (Life in a Castle) and Pirate Fun Masks - British Heart Foundation

Who knew heart charity, British Heat Foundation (BHF), sold children's toys? I didn't until I was contacted by one of their PR team. And to shock you even more, they also sell wedding items, gifts for adults, home and garden equipment and so on. Obviously for this feature I am most interested in their children's toys for Christmas (I will take a look at their wedding items tomorrow!). 

There are far too many children's gifts from the BHF to mention, so I will concentrate on the Castle Pop Up Book and Pirate Fun Masks.

The Castle Pop Up Book is a tie back book which contains a highly detailed two-story, six-room castle, filled with three-dimensional wonders including a moveable drawbridge. There are press-out figures and a story book which should keep children amused for hours - giving you time to cook the Turkey in peace! The book is for children aged five and over - although personally I'm not too sure why as I cannot see any really small parts - and is perfect for travelling with as the castle folds back  into the book without any hassle. The Castle Pop Up Book is available to buy from the British Heart Foundation at a cost of £16.99.

The Pirate Fun Masks is a great way for children to let their imaginations run wild and imagine they are Captain Hook (and whatever other fantasy pirates there are!). The pack features a set of 12 card pirate masks, a treasure map, elastic, crayons and pirate tattoos. Little ones need to be aged three and over to be able to use this set due to the elastic. At a cost of just £6.99, the Pirate Fun Masks should make a great stocking filler for any young boy. It is available to buy from British Heart Foundation

Bloco - construction toy
The next fun present for little one's this Christmas 2010 is the Bloco construction Toy, by Map Toys.
Using high density foam designed in unique colourful shapes, the Bloco toy is formed of foam pieces which children can link together and rotate to any angle using the special connectors. This then enables youngsters to build and create 3D models. The one I tested was of dinosaurs Velociraptor and Pterosaur. Now, i'm no dinosaur expert (although I did used to love The Land Before Time) but the one's pictured to the left are not the one's I recreated, god knows what they are called. As a 27-year-old you would think I would've found these two models easy to assemble, but no, I found it a little tricky. I definitely needed to follow the instructions! My eight-year-old nephew had no trouble whatsoever assembling the creatures, so I can only imagine kids today are smarter than us adults when it comes to toys!
Bloco, which comes with two models per box, is available to buy from places such as Amazon, Boots and Great Little Trading Co
It costs £20. 

Postman Pat - Special Delivery Service DVD box set

I can't believe Postman Pat is still going! The iconic children’s favourite is still as popular as ever - and stars in this new “Head of the Special Delivery Service” DVD box set. The set contains three DVD’s, an interactive game, an interactive tour of Greendale and colouring pages. I think it is great for keeping the kids entertained while us adults get on with clearing the mess from Christmas dinner - woo hoo, not!

The set costs from £9.99 to £14.99 and is available to buy from Postman Pat and Amazon

That's it for my list of fun presents for Santa's little helpers this Christmas - I hope it helps. Obviously there are loads more on the market but I think all the above gifts are great for stocking fillers (not forgetting the traditional oranges and apples!). Whatever you get up to during this year's festive season, I hope you all have a fab time.

Merry Christmas!!

New Baileys Hazelnut Flavour - review

Baileys Hazelnut Flavour

I don't half love an ice cold glass of Baileys Original Irish cream liqueur.

Even though it's available to buy all year round I tend to crave Baileys around Christmas time. I think it must be the richness and smooth luxurious taste which makes the drink a festive must-have for me. It makes me feel all Christmassy! 

Anyway, I was excited to hear about the October launch of Baileys Hazelnut Flavour and even more excited when I was asked to sample a bottle. 

I first tried the new flavour while getting ready to go to my work's first Christmas party. 

The drink was very rich and blended the ingredients of Baileys Original, comprising fresh Irish cream and triple-distilled Irish whiskey, with the hazelnut flavour.

It also tasted a little like chocolate - great for chocolate lovers! 

However, I could only drink two small glasses because of its rich flavour, but that wasn't a problem as it's not the sort of drink you down or drink lots of in any one drinking session.

A spokeswoman for Baileys, which also makes Baileys with a hint of coffee, Baileys with a hint of Mint Chocolate and Baileys with a hint of Caramel, added: "With its velvety smooth and luxuriously rich taste, there is no better way to discover the delights of new Baileys Hazelnut Flavour than by pouring it over ice and sharing it at home with your partner or friends."
The drink is available to buy from all good supermarkets at a cost of £15.50 for a 700ml bottle.