Ranchos Southampron

I went into this Steak and Burger restaurant with some friends, fresh from seeing ‘The Artist’ and we were 100% hungry – Time to really give into the temptation of the 100% all you can eat ribs.

This was the first visit for me to Ranchos and stepping in both J & I were really impressed with the feel. Nicely lit, decent furniture and while the bar is small, it’s decently stocked. Although some really good cocktails and some boutique beers wouldn’t have gone admiss. I’m pretty sure all the rib wall building Fred Flintstone types could cope.

The key thing to note is that it was busy – boy was it busy. And the staff had their hands full. I’m going to guess that someone was ill or they aren’t normally so full up but the staffing was an issue. We arrived early and were asked to wait by the bar. A same size group arrived 15 minutes after us for the same timeslot and were seated before us. We were asked if we were ready to order before we’d got menus. We asked repeatedly for the rest of the cutlery (someone decided only half the table needed forks laid out) and then we were asked again if we were ready to order 10 minutes after we’d already ordered.

Now I’d rather be asked twice to order then not at all – but it added to the general sloppy impression.

The menu covers a lot of ground, apart from Ribs there are a couple of south American influences with Empanadas and fajitas, you’ve got Burgers and a couple of different steak types to pick from. Oh and any place that has Bread and Butter as a side gets an extra point for me. I find very few foods can’t be improved by making an impromptu sandwich. Weirdly, you have to ask for the all you can eat Ribs as we couldn’t see any information about it anywhere.

Now I’m not a huge Rib fan, but when done properly I dive in to the sauce pools along with everyone else. Ribs for me should cover you, your table and anyone unfortunate enough to be sat near you with layers of sauce. I want to dip my chips into it and suck the juices from my finger. What ended up on my plate were ribs…but not as I know them.

            These were huge meaty ribs…with a little itty bitty brushing of sauce on maybe 3 ribs. They just had no taste. They didn’t appear to have been marinated, slow cooked or seasoned. Now I know that a kitchen churning out hundreds of one product might not bother with marinading hundreds of Ribs but com’n guys at least cover the shortcomings with BBQ sauce! Instead it was left to us to order extra sauce and drizzle it on to our food. The salad actually had the least taste of any food I’ve eaten (that’s including rice cakes) and we stopped after the first plate of Ribs. Not cause we were full…but just because we didn’t want to eat any more…Which for a group of self professed gluttons is a little sad.

Of course you’d think that on a Rib night we’d all order the obvious but J was seriously craving a burger. I stole a bite and it was alright, but I couldn’t help agree with her that as burgers go, it could do with some work. The meat was tough and tasteless and just like the ribs, it needed more sauce.

The chips? Now the chips were good. But I don’t think I’ll be going back to get a second portion.

1.5/5 Not completely awful, and good enough if all you want is to eat your own body weight in protein. 

Those of you that have read my Geleration review will be aware at my disappointment about the long lasting claims. I love the gel nails – I just don’t like the costs (and fibs) involved. But this Christmas I got a Gel nail set. And just like a kid at Christmas I barely paused for breath before playing. And all I can say is – get one!

I no longer care that it’s only going to last me two weeks as I can just do my own manicure when I need it redone. (Although I do still love having someone else do a hand tidy first).

The main set was a Gelish Brand (a brand that does have super reviews) all the various layers of polish and a couple of neutral colours along with some ‘fun’ colours bought from China a brand called Laquee Reth (that are much cheaper). So far the longest they’ve stayed has been 8 days – but that’s more due to my impatience to try another colour more than anything else.

And here are my tips for at home gel nails.

Keep some baby wipes nearby – and some Q-tips.

Before starting – rub on some sun cream on your hands, before using a nail scrub to remove any reside.

Try to keep a thin border around the outside when applying the colour on the nail. I’m not sure how true this is but I was told it helps bond the colour.

If your UV Lamp doesn’t have a timer – then use one on your phone. I ruined some nails thinking ‘that will do’

You can use any colour nail varnish (or even glitter) –  it won’t last as long but you’re still looking at at least a week. (just make sure to let it air dry before putting on the top coat.)

After the top coat has cured, wipe over with a drop of oil for extra shine

Don’t just peel them off when you want rid – remove them properly. I have these funky looking things from Amazon to let my nails soak.

Oh if you do by some – I find the Laquee Reth varnish not only cheap and cheerful, but easier to use then the Gelish.

I’ll pop up a ‘How to’ this month if anyone is interested.

OK, I seem to have a lot of visitors to the site looking at my Geleration review so I thought I’d write a slightly more detailed/useful review.

I’ve tried quite a couple of different Gel style manicures and they are my nails of choice for when I want something that looks grown up. My nails look shiny, well kempt and well…expensive. I do a lot of random stuff with my hands which means that the normal manicures (no matter where or what polish) don’t seem to last longer than two days tops. By the third day they look battered, scratched just not pretty any more.

The Good…

For a couple of pounds more I can have the gel layers built up (or the Glitter) in around the same time and have ‘good’ nails for a week – week and a half. They are great for holidays or busy weeks where you know you’ll be photographed and want less time to worry about any unkempt hands. I’m even at the point where I’m debating getting my own set of varnishes and little UV machine.

The Bad….

But – they are a pain to take off. You have to soak the nails in Acetone nail varnish before painstakingly removing the gel and I’ve found if I have them more often than once a month my nails get very weak (hopefully that’s not due to my method of removal). It’s obviously no good as well if you’re wanting to change your varnish quickly to suit your mood (or if you work in an area that bans varnish) and the range of colours tends to be very limited.

The Summery….

Go for it. Don’t believe the places that tell you it’ll last for weeks and weeks. If you’re going away for two weeks then bring along a matching colour for touch ups. I haven’t noticed any difference in longevity between places that charge a fortune and those that don’t so don’t feel you need to pay a fortune.

I love love love having my nails done. It's one of those areas
where if I had the resources I'd have them done every other day. There
is always that inevitable disappointment however when I chip, scratch or
break a nail, and with my millinery work it happens on a depressingly
regular basis. So I decided to try 'Geleration'. Each layer is covered
with a special gel that is then hardened under a special lamp before the
next layer is applied. The result should last 'up to three weeks.' And
then needs to be removed at the salon. 

I figured I may as well try a pedicure and manicure (hell, why
not?) so went in to K:SPA ( http://www.mykspa.co.uk/) to try it with
 an open mind. It's currently only available in Jessica's most popular 
colours and I did see a gorgeous bright red that I loved but bearing in 
mind the first rule of experimentation (no 1: Thou shalt test, knowing you
 can disguise the results if it all goes pasties up) I went with a very 
natural nude shade that looked beautiful when on. The beautician was 
wonderful and did a fantastic job. The gel gives a wonderfully deep 
gloss that doesn't diminish over the week and a half I had them. (Also
 happened  to be the week of my wedding so trust me, it was fully tested 
with the amount of jobs I had on my list)

After 10 days the gels was beginning to curl up away from the
base of the nail where the new nail was pushing up and 12 days in I had
to make an appointment to have the gels removed as they were starting to
catch in hair & stockings etc. I was disappointed that they didn't last
for the full three weeks, but the only fault lay in my nails having a
growth spurt.  After the gel was removed my nails didn't feel as healthy
as normal but they didn't break of split when I had a manicure later
that week.

It is only a choice between a full nail colour or a french
manicure - none of my half moon manicures (but very few local places
will do that anyway), and as mentioned before the colour choice is very
limited. It's not something I think I But next time I know I've a number
of gigs on one weekend I'll be back as they do look fabulous and stay
looking fabulous for a week. Now if only they did half moons.......

http://www.jessicacosmetics.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=GELERATION

T LeClerc 

Have you ever had a second date where you're not too sure about the guy,
but hey, you had nothing better planned and the first date wasn't that
bad? Then you find yourself having an amazing night and one of the best
dates of your life. Or you find you yourself staring at him across the
table, wondering how come you remembered him being cuter, taller,
smarter and funny. 

My previous pot of powder weighed in at 100g and I assumed that the new
pot would be a similar size. Of course assumptions lead  to
disappointment when the 35g arrived. Completely my fault as it states
the size on the website, but it did mean readjusting my expectations.
The previous powder had been used all over the body, giving a beautiful
feel & shimmer, but this pot seems destined for the face & cleavage at
the most. No powder puff which was disappointing but for the face I do
prefer to use a brush, and no shimmer which made it much more suitable
for trying during the daytime.

Made with cornstarch (the same ingredient that make's Benefit's Dr
Feelgood so good to combat shiny skin), the powder really does help give
a silky smooth finish. My skin felt gorgeous after a light dusting and
it lasted a decent amount of time (a relief as it's not the type of
packaging you can just pop in to your portable make up bag).

The shade of powder  I tried (Parme) is meant to give a white glow to
the skin and while it works as an anti-bronzer I wasn't convinced that
it made that much of a difference normally. But it does solve the
problem for those very fair skinned who find the lightest shades
normally too orange. 

Overall I liked it once I'd gotten past my initial disappointment. It
won't oust my favourite everyday powder but it runs a close second and
I'm looking forward to trying the other shades over time. But For now
I've mixed it with glitter and marked it for my Christmas act to give a
sparkled snow white effect.