Film Review // Chef

One of the perks of my job is that I get to see as many films as I want for free so last weekend I decided to go with my boyfriend to see Chef.

The film pretty much died a horrid death at my cinema chain so I thought I'd take this opportunity to write a little review about it and hopefully convince more people to see it before it disappears.

What first attracted me to the film was the phenomenal cast: directed by and starring Jon Favreau, best known for the Iron Man franchise, is a pretty good starting point but then add Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jnr, Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara and John Leguizamo into the mix with a dash of some incredible food porn and you've got the recipe for a film that dreams are made of.

Fair enough, the main A-Listers aren't a huge part of the movie and only feature in the first half but it's just enough to lure you in and keep you there for the rest of the ride.

The film centres around chef Carl Casper and his struggle to be as creative as he wants to be in the restaurant he currently works in - as well as his struggle to be a good father to the son he has with his ex-wife. His wife Inez, played by Sofia Vergara, has repeatedly attempted to convince Carl to leave his repressive work place and take to the roads in a food truck but he only shuns the idea. However, after a bad review from food critic Ramsey Michel, played by Oliver Platt, hits the internet Carl's life and career rapidly begins to deteriorate. His son Percy introduces him to the world of social networking via Twitter and upon becoming aware of the review, he takes to Twitter to hit back at the critic in what he believes in a private message. Percy wakes up in the morning to discover 1000s on notifications on his Twitter app and realises his dad's reply to Ramsey Michel has gone viral. Carl has arranged to cook his own menu for the critic at the restaurant but a confrontation with back-seat driver (and owner of the restaurant) Riva - Dustin Hoffman's character - leads to him quitting. A hilarious rant to the critic about chocolate lava cake - IT'S FUCKING MOLTEN!!! - takes place somewhere after all of this which only adds to Carl's viral online persona. After a trip away with his son and ex-wife, Carl is eventually convinced to take the food truck offered to him by Inez's other ex-husband - Robert Downey Jnr - and so cue a road trip with Percy and Martin, Carl's friend and colleague from the restaurant played by John Leguizamo. The trip is full of discoveries and enlightenment in both emotional and culinary fields and makes for a film full of just plain feel-goodness.

What I like about this film is that it doesn't deviate away from the main plot line - it knows what it's about and it sticks to it without any unnecessary subplots. Any romantic affiliations within the plot are glossed over but the audience still understands what is going on between characters. The inclusion - and dependence - of social media in the film is an interesting element, it highlights the power of social media and what people are able to achieve if used correctly. It also keeps the youthful, modern air that surrounds the film already through the concept of food trucks and street food, an ever-growing trend in the food industry.

If you're sitting around with nothing to do or want something new to see but not sure what, I'd definitely recommend going to see Chef, but make sure you take plenty of food with you as it'll definitely leave you feeling hungry!

Review // Dove Summer Glow

Being as pale as I am, and prone to hayfever, I can find it difficult to tan in the summer time.

I've never fancied the idea of 'fake baking' - whether in the form of a self-tan lotion or a spray tan - or using a sun bed in order to achieve golden skin. Seeing girls with streaky, blotchy orange skin made me laugh rather than evoke any sense of jealousy. But after spending an afternoon out in the sunshine and developing a slight tan, I noticed it made me look a little better - definitely more alive anyway - so I thought I'd look into the world of self-tan.

Being a newbie, I didn't want anything too drastic so automatically ruled out conventional self-tan mousses and lotions and instead opted for a moisturiser with a hint of self-tan.

Dove Summer Glow Fair to Medium Nourishing Lotion 250ml

Dove's Summer Glow Nourishing Lotion - Britain's No.1 for this type of product - is a daily lotion which acts as a deep moisturiser as well as a tanning agent. The moisturising element was something that appealed to me as I often find myself having dry skin.

The product is nothing like other tanning products. It comes out looking just like a normal moisturiser and smells lovely and sweet unlike the horrid biscuit smell you usually associate with self-tanners. The downside to it's appearance is that it makes it difficult to know where you've put the lotion and how much you've used so you could end up with sections of your skin looking darker than other parts.

Even after the first use, I instantly saw a difference in my skin. It was incredibly soft! I don't think I've ever used a moisturiser that's been as effective as this one. As well as that, my skin had already began developing a slight summery glow.

Top: left, before; right, day 2 - Bottom: left, day 3; right, day 4

As you can see even after four days, I had developed a nice tan. I was only using the Fair to Medium lotion so the tan was never going to be that substantial but there is a clear difference between what my skin was like before using it and what it looks like now.

However, as I've already pointed out, applying the lotion is made difficult by the colour of it and I have been left with a few white patches.

This photo probably shows up the difference between my before and after skin a lot better but as you can also see I have quite a significant white patch on my wrist! It's obviously easily fixed as you can apply more lotion onto the wrist whilst avoiding the areas already tanned but it's something to keep in mind if you are using this product.

I was all ready to just write a fantastic review raving about this product until I had a bath this morning...

I'd had no problems with the tan when showering, obviously it lessens slightly but my skin was still looking good. However, once I had come out of my bath, I noticed that I had been left looking incredible patchy and streaky. As well as that, whatever of my tan hadn't been rinsed down the plughole had left a lovely ring around the bathtub. 

As you can see, my leg has been left looking rather patchy. Although I still have a nice tan, it is disappointing that this is the result of having a bath. I suppose it's easily fixed but it has left me feeling slightly lukewarm towards the product when I had loved it so much.

Overall, this product is great for a newbie to self-tanning and if you avoid baths then it's perfect! 

The lotion also comes in Medium to Dark as well as the Fair to Medium and is currently on sale at Superdrug: £2.48, down from £4.99!