Nobu London; a birthday treat!

Last Wednesday was the birthday of one of my best friends so we decided to celebrate this together in style. London has many excellent and world class restaurants and Michelin starred Nobu had been on my to-go-to list ever since I moved here. It can be quite tricky to secure a booking for these kind of restaurants that are quite the magnet for the rich, famous and beautiful people but we managed to actually get a table for 9pm on her birthday. Ok 9pm is a bit later than my usual dinner time but this meal was worth waiting for!

After a lot of umm-ing and ahh-ing about what to order from their HUGE menu we decided to share some of their famous signature dishes. 

 To start we got the essential glass of champagne to say ‘cheers’ and happy birthday!

My gorgeous friend on her birthday!

First up was the yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno...

Then probably my favourite dish of the night was the Beef Tenderloin Tataki with Ponzu & Garlic Chips...

The beef was seared to perfection and the ponzu sauce with tiny dried garlic chips on top complimented the meat beautifully!

Up next the The Rock Shrimp Tempura with all sauces...

This was like perfect hot prawn popcorn. So crispy, non-greasy and delicious!

The Nobu world famous signature dish; the black cod with miso...

The black cod is marinated for 2-3 days in a sweet miso sauce which makes the fish sweet and caramelised out on the outside with a silky delicious texture on the inside. This one piece of fish will set you back £42 which is definitely not cheap for what you get, but we just couldn’t go to Nobu and not try their speciality delicacy dish and I must say it was very tasty!

To finish off we had the Chocolate Bento Box which contains a flourless chocolate fondant served with green tea ice cream.

Chocolate fondant is my favourite dessert ever…you can wake me up any time of the night for one of these babies! Nobu’s fondant was cooked to perfection with the chocolate oozing out on touch!! Trust me when I say this dessert disappeared within seconds!

I absolutely loved our evening at Nobu! If you ever find yourself at Nobu in London, or any of their restaurants worldwide then do be prepared to spend a bit of money because it is not cheap but I think if you can’t splurge out on birthdays, then when can you right? ;)

Nobu London
www.noburestaurants.com

And on that note.....

Happy Hump Day everyone :) xoxo

123 Perfect Foundation - Face of the Day

As far as drugstore foundations go I have to say Bourjois seem to know their stuff! I love their Healthy Mix Gel Serum foundation (review here) and the Bourjois 10hour sleep effect foundation. Their latest foundation '123 Perfection' is no exemption to their winning foundation formula. 

The new liquid foundation contains 3 colour pigments to give you a beautiful even complexion!

1. A yellow concealing pigment to cover dark circles for a rested complexion

2. A mauve radiance boosting pigment to light up your skin

3 A green anti-redness pigment to eliminate high colour and even the tone

And just like that 1,2,3 Perfect ;)

The foundation is available in 5 shades; 51 (vanilla clair) - 52 (vanille) - 53 (beige clair) - 54 (beige) - 56 (beige rosé). For me 52 is a great match but may need 53 as I get a bit more tanned in summer. 

The formula is very smooth and perfectly blends into my skin providing me with medium coverage.  I apply the product by buffing it in flawlessly with my Stigma stippling brush (link). The foundation has 24-hour hydrating benefits which means it lets the skin breathe and it contains SPF10 to protect you from UV rays. 

Plus I just love it when foundations come with a pump to dispense the product!

But my favourite thing about this foundation is that it has a beautiful soft matte finish which means I have not been using any powder on top which has been a really nice change for me. 

Here is a recent FOTD.....

MAC Studio Finish concealer NC20

Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation in 52

Bourjois' Délice de Poudre bronzing powder (as seen here)

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Sea Star Bronzing Blush (as seen here) 

HD Brows kit (review here)

NARS Silk Road eyeshadow (lid)

NARS Abyssina eyeshadow (browbone & tearduct)

Urban Decay Snakeskin eyeshadow (outer V & lower lash line)

Blink & Go mascara

Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation will be available from mid April 2012 and will retail at Boots for £10.99. Do you think you'll try this new foundation? xoxo

Stripes and sequins >

Out and about in South Kensington on a lovely spring Sunday a few weekends ago....

♥ Red skinny Jeans by ZARA (cropped with gold zips) as seen here

♥ Thigh high flat boots from Oasis

♥ Ginatricot Bag as seen here

♥ Blue Stripe Sequin Top from River Island (link)

♥ Watch by Michael Kors

Me, the 'stripes addict' that I am, spotted this top at River Island and fell in love instantly. Stripes and sequins, now what better combo could a girl wish for?My friend and I met up at one of our regular brunch places in South Kensington; Le Pain Quotidien When we go here we always order a large bowl of honey banana porridge, it's the best!My Ray Ban Aviator Sunglasses (link)

Cor Silver Soap

The lovely people at COR recently sent me a sample of their Silver Soap to try. I’d read bits and pieces about this soap because many celebs like Jessica Biel, Nicole Sherzinger, Sarah Jessica Parker and Reese Witherspoon have raved about it and it sold out in the US when it launched last year.
Until recently it wasn't available in the UK but now it is here for all of us to enjoy!

But what is this soap and what’s so special about it?

“Cor's silver soap is a great multi-taker product because it can be used to transform stressed out skin suffering from acne, eczema, pigmentation and even fine lines and wrinkles to leave you with a glowing, clear and youthful complexion at the same time!”

The star ingredient of this soap is that it contains the patented formula of nano-silver with silica and they are derived from natural sources.

Silver: is one of the best antibacterial agents. It blocks the bactera’s ability to transfer oxygen through its cell walls. Silver also has healing properties and has been used by doctors to speed cell repair.
Silica: prepares the skin to accept the ingredients of Cor. The sponge-like nature of Silica draws the Silver and other active ingredients into its particles so that it can richly nourish the skin.

Other ingredients include:
Glycerin: derived from natural palm oil which is a renewable source of glycerin most often used in high end soaps.
Marine Collagen from Japan: Cor’s collagen can add a more youthful apperance to one’s face.
Sericin: is a natural, soluble protein made from silk. Highly moisture-binding and film-forming.
Chitosan: is a natural fibre that acts to even out skin tone, and helps to balance out the skin’s oil levels.
Pomegranate Extract: helps to reduce the effect of aging and fight free radicals.
The soap is amber coloured and comes in cased in a stylish box to preserve the soap and has a fresh slightly citrusy fragrance.

I have been using this soap for a few weeks now and my skin is certainly not complaining. I have to say I am blessed with pretty good skin so I am not someone that suffers from a lot of breakouts or anything so I can’t really judge that aspect of the soap. The soap lathers and foams with use and leaves my skin ‘squeeky’ clean – I am serious, my skin actually makes that noise with this soap! It removes all my make up without stripping any natural oils and thereore and my skin feels fresh and glowing. I like that Cor Silver Soap contains no parabens or preservatives and that it is suitable for sensitive skin.
Cor Silver Soap’s are available now from Corsilver.co.uk with prices starting from £15.

So are you keen to try this product? Well you can!! I am giving away FIVE Silver Soap starter packs, which include a 15g soap plus samples of the their Anytime Moisturiser, Wrinkle Serum and Eye Cream, worth £24 each.

To enter, simply complete the following steps:
♥ Like my DutchessRoz FaceBook Fanpage (link)
♥ Leave a comment and your email address on the Cor Silver Soap photo as posted on my Facebook FanPage timeline (link)
♥ And for an extra entry RT the following on twitter 'Enter to #win 1 of 5 amazing Cor Silver Soaps with @dutchess_roz here http://t.co/aaOXpLQE'

Also I am able to offer you all a unique 10% discount on any orders via Cor’s Facebook Social Store (link) by entering the unique code ROZ4.

The competition is open until the 30th of April, when I will pick 5x lucky winners. Good luck! xoxo

UPDATE: This competition has now closed. Winners have been notified.