I had recently been invited along to The Ivy for afternoon tea in collaboration with the skincare brand; Liz Earle. The two brands had teamed up within Victoria Quarter in Leeds to bring together a package that allowed you to get pampered with a treatment by the team at Liz Earle, followed by afternoon tea at The Ivy!

Despite having never tried anything from Liz Earle before, or ever having visited one of their boutiques, I still knew quite a bit with regards to the brand and I knew that Liz Earle was one of the first skincare brands to really champion and hone in on ‘active ingredients’. I also knew that Liz Earle had become a wellbeing, lifestyle guru so when the chance came up for me to be able to experience a luxury treatment, naturally I was intrigued and keen to find out more…

I arrived at the Liz Earle boutique and was taken upstairs to the very top where they had several treatment rooms. I filled out a consultation form which covered the basic questions such as any skincare problems you may have, what treatment you feel best suits you and ultimately, what you’re wanting to see results from! I was then greeted by a lovely beauty therapist and we went to a private treatment room. The treatment room itself was incredibly peaceful, the lights were low which instantly created a tranquil environment and I had been told to undress and get into the treatment bed. I am fully aware how that sounds, but it was all innocent!

I explained to the beauty therapist a few of my skincare issues and the main one for me was how dry my skin was. I had been going through a bit of stress at the time and for me, the biggest problem is forgetting to hydrate both my body and skin! The treatment that was gifted to me was the ‘Speedy Lift Facial’.

SPEEDY LIFT FACIAL - 30 minutes / £45

Designed for those who are short on time but want an instant complexion boost, this facial workout features deep-tissue sculpting techniques to visibly lift, refresh and tone.

The treatment began with a gentle cleanse, followed by toning of the skin then finishing off with a moisturiser. As the treatment progressed, the movements of the facial became more vigorous which I enjoyed, but prior to the treatment you do get asked if you would like the movements to be gentle, medium or hard so don’t panic. The treatment is catered to your skincare needs after all!

After the treatment, I could immediately see that my skin had a glow, it looked radiant and healthy. My skin felt soft to touch, well moisturised and nourished! I liked that my skin didn’t feel to gloopy or sticky despite the amount of products that had gone into it. The treatment was over as quickly as it started and despite the movements being fast paced, I felt incredibly relaxed and almost nodded off at one point…

Once the treatment had finished, I had then been given some skincare tips and hints on how to look after my skin and not let the stress get to it too much! I had been advised to cleanse, tone and moisturise twice daily, exfoliate twice weekly and use a night oil instead of a moisturiser 3 times a week, and perhaps the most important advice? Drink more water!

After my treatment, I then popped across from the Liz Earle boutique to The Ivy where I opted for

Smoked salmon on dark rye style bread with cream cheese and chives
Raspberry cheesecake
Latté

all of which were utterly delicious! When going along for Afternoon Tea at The Ivy, please note that the timing for this menu is between 3pm-5pm.

I had a wonderful afternoon, the perfect way to unwind and relax! I had also very kindly been gifted some products from Liz Earle and have been implementing my new tips and advice into a skincare routine which I will be reviewing very shortly so do check back for that soon!

Have you used any products by Liz Earle before? If so, what have you used? Have you had any treatments by Liz Earle before? Which one? Will you be treating yourself to a luxury pampering session? Have you visited The Ivy for Afternoon Tea yet? Let me know below as I would love to hear from you and don’t forget to click the ‘like’ button!

I had been invited along to The Ivy in Leeds which is a fairly new addition to the ever-expanding Victoria Quarter having just opened up in late September! Having already visited The Ivy before in Harrogate, I was excited to take a look at the restaurant in Leeds to see the layout and to get my hands on their delicious food.

*Please note, this image was taken a week or so after my visit!

I invited my blogger friend with me, Jessica, who I had met at the Northern Blog Awards where we had both just clicked! Upon arrival, the lovely hosts had taken our coats and walked us over to the bar where we had a glass of Prosecco waiting for us. We then got seated at a table just by the entrance, and as I was looking around at the surroundings, the restaurant was rather busy yet had a chilled atmosphere and it wasn’t too loud for me to be able to hear which is something I always take into consideration as I am deaf so restaurants and bars can prove rather tricky sometimes!

The interior and decor of The Ivy was very glamorous with an Art Deco theme running throughout and had that luxurious feel that The Ivy is well known for. We were treated to a three course meal where for starters I had the Prawn Cocktail which came with baby gem, avocado, cherry tomatoes and Marie Rose sauce. The starter was delicious although the sauce was a little sweet for me.

For my main I chose the Chicken Bourguignon which was a flat-iron chicken with crispy skin with creamed potato, chestnut mushrooms and bacon lardons. This was very tasty, however, a rather large portion! There was just a little too much on the plate for me but I gave a good go at trying to finish it all!

To complete the meal, for my dessert I chose the Chocolate Bombe which I had previously seen on Instagram being ‘Boomeranged’ countless of times which entails of a melting Chocolate Bombe with a vanilla ice cream and honeycomb centre with hot salted caramel sauce poured over it… Okay I think I’m going to head back especially just for this ASAP! It tasted just as good as it sounds!

Throughout the meal the staff were very attentive, kind and friendly, even to the point where they had recommended which food we should try out and what their personal favourites were. We also had a bottle of Provence Rosé which went down a treat! By the end of the night it was safe to say both Jessica and I were stuffed and were equally impressed with both the quality of service and food/drink throughout. Thank you to The Ivy for inviting us along!

To view more details and to take a look at their menu, click here! To book book a table, click here.

Have you visited any of The Ivy restaurants before? Where did you go? Have you visited the Leeds restaurant yet? If so, what did you order? What is your favourite part of The Ivy if you have visited? What do you recommend I should try next? Let me know your thoughts below, and don’t forget to click the ‘like’ button!

LIZ EARLE AND THE IVY: VICTORIA QUARTER LEEDS

THE IVY: LEEDS VICTORIA QUARTER