Dining in style at Bullring

The Bullring is renowned for its fabulous array of stores, from Selfridges to Topshop and everything in between; but even the most seasoned shopper needs to rest and refuel.

Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, the centre is open from 10am-8pm most days, which means there’s plenty of opportunity to dine in style. Whether you’re craving a breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner, there’s something for every taste at Bullring.

Here's my cut out and keep guide to dining at Bullring.

10am – Breakfast at Bill’s

Since arriving at the centre last year, Bill’s has fast become a popular spot. Famous for Bill’s Breakfast, their version of a full English, there’s also a great pancake stack and even granola and porridge available. I recommend the scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast at £7.95 (gluten-free for me) for a picture-perfect breakfast.

That’s not to say you can’t visit later on of course, as Bill’s serves a regular lunch and dinner menu after 12pm and even cocktails and mocktails in the evening. What’s great about Bill’s is the beautiful terrace outside overlooking St. Martin in the Bullring Church. It doesn’t get more Instagram worthy than this!

Breakfast is served at Bill’s until 12pm Monday-Friday and until 1pm on weekends. Prices start from £3.95.

12.30pm – A pick me up from Boost

Boost juice bars serve healthy smoothies and juices across the UK. We’re lucky enough to have a Boost in Bullring too, which is great for those times when you want a healthy treat. As well as serving juices, low fat smoothies, super smoothies and fruit crushes, you can also grab a booster or wheatgrass shot if you’re feeling extra virtuous.

My favourite is the Wild Berry Juice (£5.10) made from freshly juiced pineapple, apple, raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants plus an extra energiser and booster for a guilt-free and lactose-free treat.

3pm – Afternoon tea at The Balcony

By now you should be suitably weary and in need of a sweet treat or two. Thankfully, The Balcony in Selfridges serves a fashionable Afternoon Tea that comes served in a hatbox! Overlooking the Centre and operated by Searcy’s, the focus is of course on Champagne, cocktails and even skinny cocktails. Just like fashion, the food follows the season and changes regularly, but you can always rely on the afternoon tea.

Served from 3pm, the Afternoon Sweet Shop, as it is known, serves two and includes scones, clotted cream and jam, a selection of mini cakes and a selection of seasonal sandwiches. If you’re feeling indulgent, there is also the option to add a glass of Champagne too. Afternoon Tea starts at £35 for two people or £56 for two, including Champagne. Dietary requirements can be catered to if called in advance.

7pm – Dinner at Chaophraya

After all that eating, any shopper should be satiated until evening; luckily, Chaophraya is open until 10pm, like much of Spiceal Street, the food hub of Bullring.

Chaophraya is a Thai restaurant with style, featuring a contemporary interior, open kitchen and a beautiful terrace for outdoor dining. With all the Thai favourites you’d expect including starters such as Chicken Satay, Spare Ribs, Chicken Spring Rolls and Tom Yum, you’ll be spoiled for choice. I went for the Chicken Satay (£7.95) and Pad Thai (£9.95) but I also especially love the Thai Red Prawn Curry. My companion dined on the Crispy Pork Belly with Thai Basil (£9.95) served with Jasmine Rice. If you’re heading here for lunch instead, don’t forget to take advantage of the set lunch menu, offering two-courses for £11.95.

8pm – Closing cocktails at The Balcony

If you’re visiting the Bullring from Thursday-Saturday, it’s worth popping into The Balcony for a nightcap before closing time. By now, you should have shopped to your heart’s content and refuelled enough times to maintain the stamina required to explore every single store!

Cocktails average £9.95 but include the fabulous Size 0, made with vodka, watermelon, cucumber and cranberry juice.

I was able to enjoy one of the daily specials when I visited, but I’d highly recommend the Selfridges Passion, available exclusively at The Balcony, made of Absolut Blue Vodka and Passoa with fresh passion fruit, grenadine, mint, apple juice and a hint of lime.

Credits:

Hair by Umberto Giannini Selfridges

Make Up by Bobbi Brown Selfridges

Event: Interview with Amy Childs at eBay Shop Live, Bullring Birmingham

Rather than popping into the Bullring for a new outfit, last weekend I was lucky enough to be invited down to interview none other than Amy Childs at Shop Live! with eBay.

The former TOWIE star and entrepreneur was there to promote eBay's Shop Live. A tongue-in-cheek homage to home shopping television programmes, there were two shows, "Ace Your Reality TV Audition" featuring Amy Childs and Harry Derbridge and how to "Survive the Zombie Apocalypse."

Each performance showcased what you'd need in each situation, from hair tools to bluetooth speakers. The audience could then take advantage of deals straight from their mobiles and pick up items immediately from the nearby Argos using Click and Collect.

Hosted by the comedian Shappi Khorsandi and Ting from The Ting Thing, I went down to watch the stars in action.

Amy made her cameo on stage with Ting and Shaapi and gave out some advice on how to ace your reality TV audition.

Ting was a fantastic presenter, she's such a professional!

The Zombie Apocalypse show was hilarious, with Shaapi finding herself with a zombie admirer.

I managed to get up close and personal with this zombie:

I even got the zombies to stay still and pose for a photo!

After the show, I sat down with Amy Childs to talk fashion and style.

You're incredibly busy with your clothing line, sunglasses range and numerous endorsements. What does a typical week look like for you?

I'm in the salon three days a week and in the shop a lot too. I hate to be bored and I love staying busy so I'll often be sending emails at 10.30pm. As well as that, I'm often travelling and meeting people which is what I love to do. I'm also really involved in the Amy Childs collection in designing the clothes and picking the fabrics and colours. When I'm in the boutique, I ask my customers what they're looking for and so often it's a sleeve as people don't want to show their arms. My customers also like a knee length on a skirt or a dress, so I'm always designing with their feedback in mind.

What do you have lined up in the next few months?

I'll be back on TV screens on Celebrity Masterchef where I'll be putting my cooking skills to the test. 

What are you're top 5 style essentials?

For me, it's all about nice jewellery and accessories. Of course, I'd say an Amy Childs dress is an essential, a pair of Louboutin's, a silver hoop earring, my Forever On Trend sunglasses and some classic jewellery. 

What trends have you seen coming through for SS16 and AW16?

There's definitely a lot of lace in Spring Summer 16 carrying right through to Autumn Winter 16 too.

If you had to give just one piece of life advice, what would it be?

I've always lived by the rule, treat other people the way you'd want to be treated.

And if you had to give one piece of style advice what would it be?

Never show your legs and boobs!

The Clothes Show Live comes to Bullring Birmingham - 3rd and 4th October 2015

September is fashion month not just on the streets of Milan and New York, but right here in Birmingham too. Hot on the heels of Style Birmingham last week, this weekend Clothes Show Live is popping up in Bullring.

Offering a sneak peak of the main event on 4-8th December (put the dates in the diary!), the space outside Debenhams will be turned into an autumnal city rooftop garden with a catwalk stage hosted by fashion and celebrity stylist Kalee Hewlett. There will be catwalk shows showcasing key looks including Red Alert, Bohemia, Dark Victorian and Be Bold and SAKS will be doing hair and makeup demos too.

There's also model masterclasses for budding models where you can learn how to walk like a model, boost confidence and improve posture. Liam Lunniss will teach girls how to walk like a pro and there will even be a catwalk battle! How very ANTM!

There's a whole host of prizes being given away in association with ALCATEL ONETOUCH and the chance to sample Lambrini fruit wine.

I'll be heading down on Sunday so let me know if you are too and come say hello! I'll no doubt be in a hat since I can't seem to resist them lately!

All the info on the weekend can be found here.

Food Review: Wrapchic Birmingham Bullring

Ever heard of an Indian Burrito? That's the concept behind Wrapchic, labelled The Indian Burrito Company.

Serving Indian food in Mexican wraps, Wrapchic first opened in Birmingham in 2012, and now has eight outlets across the UK.

I was invited along to try out this entirely different concept at their Bullring location. Just behind Debenhams the Wrapchic outlet is located on the walkway towards the Pallasades. With plenty of seating and a funky bike decorated in Mexican/Indian style, this place is fun and friendly.

We sat down to try out some of their exciting dishes such as the Wraplette, a mix between an omlette and a wrap and the Wraposa, a toasted bread samosa.

The Wraplette and Wraposa

Whilst my fellow bloggers tucked into Wraps, Burritos and Tacos, I opted for the gluten free alternative, the Bowl.

The idea behind Wraphic is that you choose your outer, then choose your filling, extras (hummus, sour cream, cheese, jalapenos), and add a drink and/or side (nachos, chicken wings, wedges).

Chicken Mughlai Rice Bowl - The Gluten Free Alternative

Choose from a Wrap, Burrito, Taco or Bowl first, then fill with Chicken Mughlai, Chicken Chettinad, Chicken Rajasthani, Fish Malabari, Mutton Madrasi, Mutton Panjabi, Paneer Masala and Soya Amritsari.

As I explained that I was after something that wasn't too spicy, I was recommended the Chicken Mughlai, tikka style chicken in tikka sauce.  Served with a hearty porton of white rice, it also came with grated carrot, onion, red cabbage and cucumber. Despite all this, it still tasted fresh and light as well as very tasty!

Sadly, I couldn't try out the unusual desserts but the banana and black pepper muffic and chocolate chilli cookie looked fantastic.

There are also plenty of drinks to choose from, including a whole host of flavoured lassi from mango to blackberry as well as soft drinks.

Wrapchic is a great place to pick up fresh food fast. Everything we tried was tasty and service was fast and friendly too. This is definitely a recommended pitstop on those busy Saturday shopping days! With thanks to Wrapchic for inviting me to the dinner.

Event: Air Optix Colors - Coloured Contact Lenses

I was recently invited along to the Bullring by Air Optix Colors to try out their new range of coloured contact lenses.

Held just outside Debenhams, the Air Optix stand was buzzing with people all intrigued to see what coloured contacts can do.

I have to admit, I'd never considered changing my eye colour as it's something that I consider to be non-changeable. However, coloured contacts make changing your eye colour as easy as changing your lipstick!

I was greeted at the stand by Olivia and the team from Air Optix and met their lovely stylist who talked me through the Colour Studio. The Colour Studio was an interactive TV where you could try out different coloured lenses and make up looks on screen after taking a picture of yourself and loading it up. You can also use the handy colour chart to find your perfect shade by looking at your existing eye and hair colour. There are lots of options and I played around with them until finding my favourite, Gemstone Green.

You can go for either a subtle or striking eye colour. The Subtle Colour choices were Pure Hazel, Blue, Green, Gray and Brown and the Vibrant Colour choices were Honey, Brilliant Blue, Gemstone Green and Sterling Gray.

Ting getting an eye check

Next, we got to try on the contact lenses. Jonathan gave my eyes a quick check and once he was happy that everything was looking healthy we went ahead with the trial. Even though I am a contact lens wearer I let Jonathan put the contacts in as I didn't want to risk dropping them!

The Opticians Chair

They took no time at all to put in and they felt just like normal contact lenses. After everyone had a chance to see the lenses, I went over to the mirror to see for myself. I was surprised to see how natural the Gemstone Green looked with my colouring, as with my dark hair I didn't think they'd blend in so well!

I was then treated to a little eye makeover which was such a treat. I loved the colours the MUA artist used and took a few pictures of the beautiful MAC palettes. 

Eye Makeover

MAC Palette

One of the great things about trying out coloured contacts is that it lets you try out new eye colours to complement your new eye colour.  As I had green contacts in, we used some lovely mauve tones as green eyes work really well with both plum, violet and pink colours and warm earthy colours like brown and beige. Had I gone for brown, soft muted colours such as gold and bronze would have looked lovely, whilst blue looks great with terracotta brown and apricot colours or even lilac for a striking look. 

Gemstone Green

Adding colour to your eyes is just one way to look stylish, and stylist Beth Goodrham has also compiled a trend report for Air Optix to help work in your eye colour with the rest of your outfit. Some of her tips for AW15 were to use bright shoes and bags to introduce colour into your wardrobe and lift your outfit and to use a bright colour on your top or bottom half to draw emphasis to your best bits. Good life advice guys!

I was then offered a trial with a different colour so I went for one that looked really subtle. Honey is a gorgeous amber colour and I thought these looked really natural with my hair and skintone.

Gemstone Green and Honey

It was really interesting trying out new eye colours and it really "opened my eyes' (sorry I had to!) to the way that contact lenses can be used as part of your beauty routine. I would never have thought to try out coloured contacts before but they are so affordable.  Why not try out a new eye colour for a night out when it costs no more than a blow dry for a pair of monthly's? It's a lot less permanent than changing your hair colour and means you can experiment with different make up colours too!

Gemstone Green and Honey

Air Optix coloured contact lenses are available at Specsavers and good news for any prescription wearing ladies and gents, they come in both prescription and non prescription lenses! You can even drop in for a free trial at your local branch.

Thank you so much to the Air Optix team for the trial and for the treats including this beatiful MAC lipstick in Diva Glam 1! 

*I was invited to the Air Optix stand as a guest of Air Optix, although the experience and stand was also open to the public.

Bullring Birmingham #bullringbloggers Event

The Bullring Birmingham is home to so many great shops and brands, so the lovely folk at Bullring invited myself and a host of other Birmingham bloggers along to an event recently to showcase just some of the fabulous beauty and fashion brands on offer.

Hosted in the management suite, I came straight from work and dived into the refeshments table to give me some energy before checking out brands such as Kiehls, RMK, Clarins, Urban Decay and Umberto Giannini.

The drinks were served up in adorable mini milkbottles with pink and white paper straws, and Millie's Cookies even created a special cookie cake for the night emblazoned with #bullringbloggers. Later on in the evening, we were also treated to Nandos and Wagamamas treats (can you tell I'm a foodie?) but I digress!

We were welcomed to the event and then heard a fashion presentation from Karen Millen and had a talk on the new Umberto Giannini Curl Friends range from Umberto's PR manager.

Then, we were left to our own devices! I tried out some products from Giorgio Armani including the Blushing Fabric in two shades, one, a beautiful gold highlighting shade and another that gave a lovely natural flush to cheeks. I also tried out the Luminous Silk Foundation which was super light on skin.

RMK introduced us to their beautiful skincare range, including the Cleansing Balm and we learnt about the brand and its popularity in the Far East.

I also got to try out some beautiful products from Urban Decay and was super impressed with the Strip Palette! I loved how glowing this set made me look and it's definitely on the shopping list.

Next, I had a chat with the lovely Nicki from Kiehls (hope I've spelt that right!) and went through some of their new products as well as classics such as the Creme De Corps, then the girls at Clarins went through their pretty Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector collection of plant therapy infused balms.

We also took a look of some of Shu Uemura's iconic products including the super softening cleansing oils and colour pop make up.

Here's a snap of my fabulous curls courtesy of Umberto Giannini - I just wish I could have my hair done like this every day!

NutellaTasha, The Style Floozie and me!

Last of all, we had a lovely surprise waiting for us in our goody bags - a personalised Tatty Devine necklace! This was such a lovely gesture and I adore my necklace so thank you so much!

Big thanks to everyone at Bullring for organising the event :)