Love Hair, Love your eyebrows!

Yet again I am paying Love Hair another visit. Meg found this fabulous hair and beauty salon in Broadway and raved about it, see the blog here.  Since then I have booked my wedding hair and played model for their make-up photo shoot with the wonderful Stefanie from Photography By Stefanie. Today I was booked in with Natalie to have my eyebrows tinted. I have only recently, perhaps 4-5monrhs or so, started doing anything with my eyebrows bar waxing! I love playing around with pencils, powders and brushes to change the shape of my brows. But they take time and can easily go wrong leaving you with a smudgy mess and 2 minutes to wipe it off before leaving for work. Nightmare!

So Natalie suggested having them tinted saying a shape and colour would last 2-3 weeks, save you time and prevent any smudgey stress! 

 

 

I love going in to see Natalie. She's a very calm and gentle character but a true professional. She's also super talented at what she does. Aside from that I've felt part of the Love Hair culture since visit number 1 and love spending time and having treatments with any of the girls. 

 

 

Natalie used RefectoCil products to tint my eyebrows along with techniques to ensure they were perfectly even and complimentary to my face shape. She lined the brush up from my nose to the edgeof my eyes to measure exactly where my eyebrows should end. Once she had popped on and then removed the tinting solution she shaped my eyebrows. This was done afterwards to give the solution as much hair as possible to cling to.

 

 

Et voila! Before and after. A really big difference, at the same time as a subtle change in colour... Is that even possible?! I'm not sure, but I know that they look good. I also find they are taking far less time to look after when applying make-up and any time savers are a must in my book!  

 

 

I wrote this blog 4 days ago and had my eyebrows done a week ago now. They are still looking good and I'm totally sold. I've decided having them tinted is as essential as plucking my unruly brows. So I'm booking in for regular monthly top ups next year ( by the way it's only £10!!!) making it the easiest New Years resolution of all time! Also just to make life that little bit kinder on the purse, Love Hair also have a loyalty card for money off treatments (see first pic). What more could you want?!

Prego

"Don't mention it, you're welcome"

It's the meaning of the name and coveys the total ethos of today's fabulous new find, Prego.

'Prego' was opened 2 years ago by new owners, retail entrepreneur George Davies and restauranter Barry Hancox, who spotted the potential in what was once a run down, deli/ice cream shop/cafe/sandwich bar. It has now be transformed into a little slice of modern Italy and is a strong contender on the Broadway restaurant scene. 

Coffee with Lynda #2

Coffee with Lynda #2

Very Verity, very lovely, very happy!

 

 

Back in Broadway this week, we decided to do something a little different with our coffee time and so made our way to a new venture in The Cotswold Court, Very Verity is a home, gift and interiors shop with a difference, while browsing the loveliness of the stock; you can book yourself in for a manicure or pedicure, with coffee and a scrummy biscuit thrown in. Verity Murphy opened this lovely little treasure trove just two weeks ago, we feel very lucky to have been some of the first customers through the door. 

 

This tastefully decorated little gem, offers lovely gifts, gorgeous scarves, beautiful finishing touches for the home, a chance to giggle at a selection of very funny cards or buy a bespoke and exquisitely comfortable chair or sofa. Upstairs you can beautify yourself, sip a coffee and chat to lovely Debbie, the nail beautician.

 

 

As I said in my last post, our venues have to be friendly, we tend to have lively conversations, Very Verity did not disappoint, much more sophisticated than a nail bar, not as intimidating as a spa, we felt totally at home. The whole experience was wonderfully relaxing and the lovely Debbie (who bears a certain similarity to Miranda Hart, although, as she said, she’s funnier) made a superb job of tackling our gardening-damaged nails! They were perfect!

 

 

We shall definitely go back very soon!

Very Verity – Website Coming Soon

01386 852629

 

Coffee With Lynda

"Coffee with Lynda"  is a new feature for The Millie and Meg Blog found in #theguestlist. Emily's Mum, Jill, is a coffee lover, retired English teacher and naturally a beautiful writer and so we couldn't think of a better person to write for us regularly!

Coffee with Lynda

The Broadway Hotel, Broadway

Thursday the 4^th of September

Lynda and I meet for coffee and a catch up a couple of times a month and so when asked to write down our views on local haunts, we were very happy to oblige. It means we now have an extra excuse, more coffee, more setting the world to rights and laughing about our respective families’ latest escapades, and as we have eight children between us we always have plenty to chat about. We are always very animated and prone to fits of giggles and so our chosen coffee shops have to be tolerant!!

This week we went to The Broadway Hotel, which is a favourite of ours. Neither of us had had time for breakfast, so we had bacon sandwiches, tea and a lovely shortbread and, as we hadn’t finished chatting, a coffee accompanied by another lovely shortbread!  

We usually sit in the sitting room, which is a cosy place to sit and chat and, in the winter months, there’s a log fire. The staff are always friendly and the coffee, with a shortbread, is always good.

Russell's Fish and Chips

Well, well, well! Who would have thought Fish and Chips could match, if not better our favourite chip shop in The Cotswolds, Simpsons. But here lies Russell's Fish and Chip Restaurant and Take Away attached to the outstanding and award winning Russell's Restaurant in Broadway.

This little gem is tucked away down a little side street and really feels like a genius find when you're walking down the topiary pathway lit up by fairy light parasols, right up to the front door.

It was only a 5 min waiting time and the restaurant was packed! Obviously a popular abode. Despite being super busy the staff were friendly and helpful and obviously love work together creating a fun atmosphere.

The decor is spot on with a pirate ship and seaside theme and this continues through to their brilliant website which is well worth a look for the background stories of the staff, (sorry, crew!) and news of up and coming events. Great news Mums', you can even book a kids pirate themed Birthday Party! Or alternatively they cater for events for 10-100 people of any age.

I was impressed with the prices, thinking it would be much more, being a sister to such a prestigious restaurant and we were slap bang in the centre of Broadway. For £14 exactly I ordered 2 large portions of Cod and Chips which came in a lovely little brown box sealed with a Russell's logo sticker and came accompanied with homemade tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon. 

The verdict... Delicious!

Love the décor, love the packaging, love the food!

Millie and Meg x

Finally... Love Hair

The 3 years I have lived in lovely Cheltenham I have really struggled to find my hairdressers. I've yearned for a regular hairdresser who I trust, who knows what I like but helps push me out of my comfort zone sometimes to try something new. I just haven't found him or her or a salon which I have really loved. That's not to say it doesn't exist. Emily goes to a salon in Cheltenham, Anon Hair and Beauty and LOVES it, all my other friends go to hairdressers they would highly recommend and it would be impossible to try every salon on every corner of Cheltenham so its unfair to suggest my hairdresser isn't out there. Maybe, I'm a fussy customer or just been very unlucky. I won't name the salons I haven't liked because that' not what Millie and Meg is about but it has left me feeling a little nervous about the whole experience... an experience, let me remind you, which is still a luxury!

So, when Millie and Meg was lucky enough to win a prize via a Twitter competition with Love Hair, I thought it the best excuse to try this new salon in a beautiful Cotswold town of Broadway, the town I used to get my hair cut as a child in fact. My horrible hair experiences have brought me back full circle. See our very first blog post about Broadway here. 

The Shopping List

After a gorgeous Sunday strolling down the high street in Broadway and browsing the selection of quirky and alternatively traditional shops, we found ourselves spending the evening browsing Cotswold Trading website to find our next purchases.

Here are just a few of our favourite items from the beautiful gift and housewares destination store Cotswold Trading in Broadway, where you can buy something for everyone and lots for yourself.  

(From top left, clockwise) 

Kitchen Aid Artisan Food Mixer in Almond Cream £389.00

Well a girl can dream! Emily spent some time swooning over this gorgeous Kitchen Aid, being a fantastic baker herself, this is the ultimate kitchen gadget.

Parlane Glass Drinking Jar with Straw £3.99

We loved this cute glass drinking jar! Perfect for picnics and parties and are just screaming out to be used to sip on summery pink lemonade.

The Middle Class ABC £14.99

A witty loo book with colourful, fun illustrations and a very british sense of humour. A great gift book! 

Magpie Abode Set of 4 Egg Cups £9.59 on SALE

We love the Magpie collection! Both having espresso cups already, these egg cups with four different geometric animal designs would make the perfect breakfast accompaniment.

Estella Bartlett You Me Oui Gold Linked Heart Necklace £10.50 on SALE

Estella Bartlett designs and makes beautifully delicate jewellery including, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. In gold or silver and in many designs, they come on a little gift card with kinds words which make them a welcomed gift for a loved one. 

Meri Mero Fancy Flowers Garland Kit £9.00

This garland kit is a fun and cheerful way of adding colour to a party, in the garden, to a child's bedroom... wherever you choose to hang this flower garland, it will put a smile on your face. 

Millie and Meg x