Mediterranean Inspiration at Crabtree & Evelyn

Mediterranean Inspiration at Crabtree & Evelyn

Crabtree & Evelyn introduces their brand new Avocado, Olive and Basil Body and Hand Care Collection*.

Inspired by the revitalising botanicals of the Mediterranean, the new range features nourishing avocado, olive and skin conditioning basil extract and has been carefully blended to keep your body beautifully moisturised.

Feel the need for a touch of pampering this season?

Crabtree & Evelyn’s special launch offer will help smooth the way:

You can purchase 3 Avocado, Olive and Basil products for just £28 (rrp £45):

Bath & Shower Gel

Body Lotion

Hand Therapy

Composed of only the finest quality plant extracts, botanical oils and emollient butters, the new Avocado, Olive and Basil Collection will leave your skin wonderfully soft and smooth.

Revitalising Bath & Shower Gel

£15 for 250ml

This Bath & Shower Gel is formulated with conditioning avocado extract, rejuvenating olive fruit extract, and soothing basil extract for skin that is fresh and gently moisturised.

Skin Revitalising Body Lotion

£16 for 250ml

This Body Lotion is formulated with avocado fruit extract and shea butter to condition dry skin, basil extract to soothe, and avocado butter to moisturise and nourish the skin for a softer and smoother finish.

Skin Nourishing Body Butter

£22 for 225g

The luxurious, deep-conditioning Body Butter will condition even the driest skin. Contains conditioning avocado and shea butters, richly moisturising beeswax, soothing basil extract, and rejuvenating olive fruit extract for exceptionally soft skin.

Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy

£14 for 100g

Crabtree & Evelyn’s award winning Hand Therapy is packed with ultra-moisturising ingredients – nourishing shea butter and avocado fruit extract condition the skin, while avocado butter helps leave it softer. Formulated with a blend of vitamins C and E along with myrrh extract to help condition nails and cuticles, this will leave your hands wonderfully soft and supple.

The beautifully invigorating scent of Crabtree & Evelyn’s new collection completely captures avocado, olive blossoms, basil, sage, and Mediterranean herbs, with a twist of crisp lemon and energising cypress and is suitable for all skin types.

Don’t delay, take a Mediterranean inspired trip today:

Crabtree & Evelyn

The Exchange, 8 High Street, Nottingham

T: 0115 958 64544 W: www.crabtree-evelyn.co.uk

* Available in store from Wednesday, 25^th January

 

A Management View

 You're never too old so they say - and that's what I've been proving these last few months with all this social networking lark. Two years ago I had never heard of Facebook, I didn't know what a 'blog' was, and I don't think Twitter had even been invented. Now, the national body for Shopping Centres (the BCSC) has even released some research into how shopping centres are, and should or shouldn't be, using social networking to help promote their business. We've taken on a guru to pull together all our online activity and are in the throes of redesigning our website (less than four years old and already looking horribly outdated) and I find myself wondering how we can make our online presence seem human, real, interesting, maybe a bit quirky, and not just that cynical proselytising  that the big companies seem to be doing - "visit us on Facebook!" - which seems a total turn-off to me anyway.

So, you're going to find all sorts of stuff from us on the web whether it be on Facebook, on Twitter or our TV channel on youtube or this blog. The Exchange is a wonderful building, Grade II* listed - and probably grade I within the next ten years - a unique place with a great shopping experience and I'm VERY proud of it, and the changes and improvements I have made - and continue to make - to my wonderful centre. I will thus be making the occasional entry on this blog, talking about the things I think are important about the Exchange and its environment, and anything else I feel like ranting (or raving) about.  I hope they prove readable, and you enjoy my input. You can be sure of one thing. I'll mean every word.

Hawes & Curtis Support Local Design Talent

Hawes & Curtis Support Local Design Talent

Six third year fashion students from Nottingham Trent University have been shortlisted as finalists in a design competition set by formal shirt brand Hawes & Curtis.  Given the opportunity to design a men’s or ladies shirt that would sit alongside the Hawes & Curtis premium fashion range, their samples will be displayed in The Exchange Hawes & Curtis store window from Thursday 1^st March, giving customers the chance to help vote for the winner through secret in store ballot cards!

“I was so delighted to win the competition”, enthused last year’s winner, Annabel Leech (pictured). “It means so much to me that my work was recognised by industry professionals and went on to be sold as part of the Hawes & Curtis Spring range. To be able to put in my portfolio the design of a shirt that has been produced and sold in a high street retailer is invaluable.”

Annabel’s winning creation was a classic Audrey Hepburn inspired designed shirt with a string of pearls round the neck, which was translated in to a beautiful white pearl print on black ground in a fitted stretch ladies shirt. 100 shirts from the winning design were then launched as part of Hawes & Curtis’ Spring 2011 collection.

The prize also included the opportunity for Annabel to follow the design and manufacturing process of her shirt in order to make sure she was happy with the finished result, and to understand how designs are processed into production.

The final stage of the prize allowed Annabel to take up a work placement in Hawes & Curtis London’s design studio, where she worked with the designers for Hawes & Curtis, Ghost, and high street customers such as Marks and Spencer and Per Una – all part of the group.

“We’re keen to support up and coming talent and to give fashion students a commercial edge in a very competitive industry”, explains Hawes & Curtis Area Manager and judge, Sarah Meese. “The standard this year has been extremely high and it’s going to be difficult choosing an overall winner. I would encourage local shoppers to come down to the store and check out their amazing designs and to vote!”

The public can view and judge this year’s final designs from 1st March at the Hawes & Curtis store in The Exchange, Nottingham.

Hawes and Curtis

9 The Exchange, Nottingham, NG1 2DD

T: 0115 985 9326

www.hawesandcurtis.com

Daphne Guinness at M•A•C

Daphne Guinness at M•A•C

Take a first glimpse into the winter colour palette imagined and created by Daphne Guinness. An artist and collector of haute couture, Daphne is her art and describes this collaboration with M∙A∙C as "a window into my imagination".

Admired internationally for her unique style and vast collection of stunning designer pieces. The heiress and fashion journalist, was not only a close friend of the late, great Alexander McQueen, but continues to impress, donning the most daring and eye catching designs, creating a look like no other.

Described by designer and film director Tom Ford as “One of the – if not the – most stylish women living,”

Daphne Guinness has now collaborated with M.A.C on a seasonal makeup fix

 and it’s available at Nottingham’s The Exchange.

Eye Shadow X4: Interior Life

Dark, moody, painterly, this limited edition Eye Shadow compact melds Daphne Guinness' choice of muted pink and dusky lavender with charcoal and mid-tone grey, creating a rich, smoky look.

£33.00

Pigment

Pigment is a highly concentrated loose colour powder that contains ingredients to help it adhere to the skin and is available in an excellent range of colours.

£16.50

Eyebrows

Self-propelling, self-sharpening, brow defining and confidently adds shape, colour and density in one streamlined tool. Easy to tote around and no sharpener needed.

£11.50

Powerpoint Eye Pencil

Waterproof. Longwearing. Metallic, shimmer and matte finishes. Smooth to apply. Won't transfer, smudge, or budge... Draws the line: powers your eyes. Makes its point. Lasts.

£13.00

Pro Longwear Lipcrème

Lightweight texture, creamy finish and comfortable longwear combine in this has-it-all pro-class lip colour. Slick in use, applies without need of a top coat and still lasts up to 12 hours, keeping lips soft and hydrated.

£16.50

Cremesheen Glass

A lip finish that fuses the creamy, sheen-filled nature of Cremesheen Lipstick, with the shine of M∙A∙C Lipglass. Soft, comfortable & non-sticky. Use as a top layer to its namesake Lipstick or on its own.

£16.50

Blush Ombre

A powder blush featuring a shade wave of gentle ombre hues. Ultra-fine formula provides the cheeks with flawless, medium-buildable coverage and lightly pearled, natural-looking radiance. Limited edition.

£20.50

Nail Lacquer

Revolutionary new high gloss formula with 3 longwearing finishes - Cream, Sheer and Frosted.

Visibly different, providing no-streak/no-chip finish. Contains conditioners and UV protection.

£9.00

Embrace the art and get the look at……….

M•A•C

14 Cheapside

 The Exchange

 Nottingham

 NG1 2HU

T: 0870 192 5265

 W: www.maccosmetics.co.uk

Rhone & Chateauneuf du Pape 2010 - One of the greatest vintages at Gauntleys

Rhone & Chateauneuf du Pape 2010 - One of the greatest vintages

2010 is without doubt one of the greatest vintages we have ever seen in the Rhone Valley. With a small harvest and the release of Robert Parker's Advocate, these wines are not going to stay on the market long. Please keep watching this site for the latest releases

Gauntleys 2010 Rhone Report

In the 20 or so years we have been visiting and working in the Rhone, it is quite possible that 2010, has the potential to be the finest vintage we have seen. Further, if we take into account the 2009 wines that are now complete and in bottle, the two years together are certainly the best back-to-back vintages since 1989 and 1990 or 2000 and 2001. It goes without saying that with the arrival of the ‘second generation’ of young, talented wine makers the choice of fine wines are greater now than ever before. The one cloud on the horizon is that the harvest in 2010 was extremely small – upwards of 40% less wine has been produced than in 2007 (the crop in 2009 was 30% down on 2007 to compound the shortages).

The crop was naturally small in 2010 owing to the combination of a particularly cold winter, (Chateauneuf had snow for the first time since the mid-seventies) and a particularly ferocious spring mistral that blew a good proportion of the young buds off the vines. Then followed an almost perfect growing season with sufficient rainfall and sunshine to allow an even maturation, (the last seven vintages have all been marked by drought to some degree or another). As a consequence the harvest could be completed quickly and evenly, unlike 2009 where successive tries were required to bring in the correctly matured fruit. By and large the fermentations were simple and quick too, with few problems of heat and excessive sugars. In fact the majority of the wines have been fermented to near complete dryness. The resulting richness in the 2010s, comes from the level of ripeness in the grapes, not residual sugar.

So, what do the wines taste like? For me, there is an extraordinary sense of completeness, the wines appearing to have been ‘gently touched by a kiss of tannin’, to quote one particularly poetic vigneronne! At the same time the majority possess a minerality/acidity, (rarely felt down here), that refreshes the seemingly perfect maturity of fruit, which has not been ‘aided’ by the influence of much residual sugar.

- Gauntleys

Click HERE for more details. 

Souper New Year at Pret

Souper New Year at Pret

It’s hot off the menu!

With a New Year comes a new Pret Selection of scrumptious surprises……naturally!

 And guaranteed to make you feel souper!

The Exchange’s Pret A Manger have lots
of delicious new soups alongside other hot treats for you to
try, all warming and full of natural goodness.

There are 3 flavours of soup available each day, with choices changing daily.

 There’s a different 'hearty soup' on offer every day that’s chunky and full of flavour, and there’s also a daily change of the 'simple soup' that has a more delicate flavour, plus there’s a 'soup of the week' that, well it changes weekly!

Here are a few delicious soups that will be on offer to tickle your tastebuds:

Thai Red Curry, Sweet Potato and Lentil Curry, Cream of Chicken, Beef Ale and Barley, Moroccan Chicken, Malaysian Chicken Curry, Sausage Hotpot, Sweet Potato with Sour Cream and Chilli, Thai Corn, Broccoli and Italian Cheese, Cauliflower Cheese, Smoky Bacon and Corn Chowder, plus Cream of Mushroom……Yum! Yum!

What a souper and tasteful selection to keep you  warm this winter at…..

Pret A Manger

The Exchange

10 High Street
Nottingham
NG1 2ET
T: 020 7932 5290

W: http://www.pret.com/