Lydia Kay
Spotlight: 6574-6756-9777
  • Home
  • About
  • News
    • Reviews
    • Interviews
    • Awards
  • Blog
    • Discounts & Offers!
  • #TheReelRoad Vlog
  • Gallery
    • Videos >
      • Reels
      • Trailers
      • Short Films
      • Commercials
  • Minute Monologue
  • Contact

Horror Escape - Cabin Fever

19/6/2021

2 Comments

 
Picture
​Ok so it's been a while since I last blogged due to the pandemic bringing everything to a standstill... But I'm back now and oh boy do I have a fun one to share with you all!
Picture

​I was kindly invited by Horror Escape to visit their latest and scariest escape room Cabin Fever, so a big thank you to them for having us.

We were to be trapped and at the mercy of a family of cannibals after our car broke down during a road trip, and we had to find a way out and leave a trap so they wouldn't catch us!        

I am a huge fan of escape rooms and have such a love for horror, having been in horror films and having worked at many horror attractions over the years. So given the chance to try out one that's totally horror themed I naturally jumped at the chance and  went in with high expectations.

The main entrance was surprisingly discreet, just a sign next to a door on the street, but once we got to the internal door of the attraction it was clear that the theming was going to be good because it just screamed classic horror. We then descended a dark and spooky staircase into the lobby area where each of their different escape rooms had a separate themed area. Even the loos had fantastic spooky decoration and entirely black toilets (I don't know why but I was really rather excited about that haha).

​We received a lovely warm welcome and were shown a fun introductory video before it was time to enter the room and try to escape.

​I won't give too much away as I hate spoilers but when we were blindfolded and then taken one by one into the room before starting it was an amazing way to set the atmosphere and made me feel a little nervous. And I'm very used to horror! We all had to start separately, blind, in different places of the room with the timer starting once we were all in place.

Upon removing the blindfold I was immediately impressed at how amazing the room looked! It was super spooky and the attention to detail was fantastic. It just kept getting better. 
Picture
The puzzles were great too, with a varying range of difficulties and different types of puzzle. We definitely had to work as a team and use all of our individual strengths in order to solve them and move on. It was scary too and I was constantly on edge about what was going to happen or make me jump out of my skin! But I actually loved it and the whole thing was very immersive, I had no idea how much time had passed or if we were close to getting out, which added to the fun underlying panic as we scrambled to find clues, items and answers.

But we escaped!!! Hurrah!! And we actually got out in only 40 minutes, with 20 minutes left on the clock, becoming the new room record holders for fastest escape! (We were all very chuffed about this.) That being said, the room and whole experience was absolutely brilliant and although we got out quickly it didn't feel like we had gone through everything too fast. It was fulfilling and is definitely value for money in my opinion. There were only 4 of us in our group and I do feel like the Cabin Fever room may feel a little cramped at it's maximum capacity of 6 people, however this could just add a claustrophobic feel to the already uneasy atmosphere and therefore add to the overall horror experience, so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

Overall I absolutely loved it and would definitely recommend it to any horror fans, or general escape room fans out there. It's not terrifying, but it is scary, I think they've got the balance just right. I fully intend to go back and visit their other Wonderland experience, and also eagerly anticipate their new room which is currently under construction. It was a fab creepy adventure.
Picture
2 Comments

New Plastic Free Face Mask by Beauty Kubes!

12/12/2020

0 Comments

 
What are you doing to pamper yourself this Christmas?

I was lucky to be able to try out the new 100% plastic free natural face mask from Beauty Kubes and so I thought what better than to have a little pamper session with my mum!

It’s easy to use and you really get a lot out of one kube, we used two kubes (one each) and had enough left over that it would probably have done a third person.

It smells lovely and can go on thinly or thickly, we figured the more the better! And it dries comfortably on your face while you wait for it to work it’s magic.

Once you’re done it just washes off with water and then I used a flannel to be sure that it was all gone. Honestly my face felt so smooth and SOOOOO soft! It also stayed feeling soft for a few days after.

We both loved this face mask and I’ll definitely be using it again. Many many times. It would make a fab Christmas gift too.

​Get 10% off with my code: KUBESKAY - Click here!

___________________________________
Ad Affilliate
Gifted PR product by Beauty Kubes
0 Comments

Second UK Lockdown

2/11/2020

0 Comments

 
How is everyone feeling since the announcement of another lockdown here in England?

I’ve been a little down about it myself as the idea of being stuck indoors all day again isn’t a particularly appealing one, but then I tried to look at it from a different perspective as I like to try and find the positives in situations if I can.

I’ll have more free time on my hands again which will allow me to focus on a few projects that have been somewhat neglected. Plus I can use the time to start taking better care of myself, something that also often gets neglected.

I’m hoping to get some writing done and that being cooped up won’t crush my inspiration and motivation as it sometimes does. But if I do have a down day I’m going to allow myself to take care of myself, and then pick things up the next day. All feelings are valid and I find it’s always better to process them than to try to block them out or bottle them up.

Are there any projects of things that you are planning to work on during this lockdown?
0 Comments

Halloween Feels...

22/10/2020

0 Comments

 
What do you love most about Halloween?

I’m going to have to say the atmosphere. With the days growing shorter I enjoy the eerie quiet and stillness of October darkness, as a stark contrast to the lively and warm evenings of summer.

Plus there is just a feeling of fun and all things weird are celebrated around Halloween (and being rather weird myself I very much enjoy this). Not to mention that the comfy clothes and cosy blankets come out, which is perfect to snuggle up under while hiding from a horror movie!

There’s something fun and exciting about being spooked on Halloween, and I think it’s because we get to do it on our own terms, to whatever degree we can handle and can therefore enjoy it! Horror mazes are a good example of this. (Oh and there’s also FrightFest which is one of my favourite UK film festivals.)

It’s a shame that we aren’t going to be able to experience Halloween in the same way this year because of Covid-19 but there are still ways to feel part of it and enjoy the atmosphere. Get involved with my #DuvetGhostChallenge on Instagram and Twitter for some laugh out loud silly fun! You can also get cooking or baking and see what seasonal delights you can whip up. There’s been some really good ideas floating around on how to keep trick-or-treating alive, from putting up spooky posters or pumpkins and parents taking their own sweets to give to kids when they spot one on their socially distanced Halloween walk, right through to having up sweets outside your house as part of the decorations!

So even though we can’t do what we normally would, there are still lots of ways to have fun. Keep an eye on my blog as I’ve got a post coming up where I review a spooky DIY at home escape room...

What are your plans for Halloween this year? I’m going to have a movie marathon with snacks and spoon myself silly!
0 Comments

Ksoni Shampoo & Conditioner

15/10/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
When you feel so luxurious that you turn your towel into a robe! 

Shampoo... In a can..? Absolutely. This fab plastic free offering from Ksoni has shampoo in a can and conditioner in an aluminium pot. This is great because aluminium is infinitely recyclable and it is also one of the most recycled materials.

My hair feels SO smooth using this, and while it’s not the cheapest of plastic free alternatives in the bathroom it does have that luxury feeling. My hair loves it, smells incredible and I would definitely use it again.

The can comes with a nifty little lid (also plastic free and biodegradable) that you can get with your first time purchase. This is really useful to control pouring and to close the can in between uses and works perfectly for sitting on a shower shelf or the side of the bath. That being said it did leak some shampoo when I moved it around too much so if you want to travel with it I’d invest in a reusable silicone bottle.

I think the conditioner was my favourite as it just left my hair so smooth and silky. I like that I can either recycle or reuse the pot and it’s good for travel as it has a screw lid. It’s easy to use in a bath or a shower over the bath as you just scoop out what you need, but I found it a little tricky when trying to use in a standing walk in shower as there wasn’t enough room and I wasted some as I tried to scoop it out, so again here I would probably use a reusable silicone bottle, or even an reuse an old empty travel size plastic bottle.

The shampoo and conditioner is really lovely, especially for that luxury smooth and silky feeling, and I would really recommend it. You may just need to make a couple of little lifestyle adjustments when using it depending on where you wash.

Get 10% off using my code: lydiakay - Click here to shop!

( Ad PR product)

0 Comments

The Escape Game - Online Adventure Review

5/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Escape Game is an online adventure that you play using a digital zip folder full of files and information to help you solve the puzzles and clues to complete your mission. Internet access is required in order to play and the games are recommended for 1-4 players. The great thing about this is that you could easily play this over video message or conference call, just as easily as you could if you were all in the same room because you can share the links to all of the evidence files, and you could screen share the main dashboard.
There are currently two missions available to play. The Heist - Vol. 1: Chasing Hahn, and The Heist - Vol. 2: The Silk Road. I was lucky enough to be given the chance to play both missions so I could review them, so a big thank you to The Escape Game team for that! In volume 1 you work as a secret agent, helping International Police to uncover the true identity of an infamous art thief before another masterpiece goes missing; and then in volume 2 you pick up where you left off to find and capture him after reports of him dealing with artefacts related to the Silk Road.

As the story of the games goes in order it makes sense for me to talk about volume 1 first, but do stick with me right through to the end or my review! The first thing that you will need to do is create an account which is good because the game will store your progress so that any internet issues won't mean having to start over. This also is where I encountered my first issue though, this platform and game is very much designed for people in the USA. For some reason I was asked to provide my zip code, I'm not sure why it was needed for this if I'm honest and I wasn't able to leave it blank. I also couldn't enter mine because being based in the UK I don't have one and my UK one contains letters so wasn't accepted, I just made one up in the end.

Once I was in it was easy to enter my activation codes which allow me to play the games, and then I could get started! It's all really well themed and the dashboard is easy to navigate and looks great. It also flows really well and it's just fun, not taking itself too seriously. There were a couple of minor glitches like the clearing itself when trying to submit to see if you're correct, so we had to remember what answers we'd put to retype the correct ones, and you can't close the suspects ID without refreshing the dashboard, but these really didn't bother me too much.
​
As for the game itself, I found parts of it pretty challenging near the start and had to use the hints once or twice to be sure of what I was meant to be doing. But once we got into the swing of it and used to the style of the game we began to enjoy it more. I do wish there would have been more puzzle style sections to complete though as a lot of it felt like just looking through the files for the right information, or the right clues to put together and find the answers. I won't give anything away but there was one section in the security camera section where we we needed to use an object outside of the game/files provided but we had to use the hints in order to progress because we weren't in the USA so couldn't actually do it, plus even if I was I probably wouldn't have wanted to do this part (even though it was really clever) and I'd have felt happier with an alternative way to solve this bit. Overall
Picture
though we definitely enjoyed it and were looking forward to playing volume 2 next.

​Volume 2 was brilliant. It's like everything that I felt was missing from or didn't quite work in volume 1 was just there! I did have to log out and then log back in again in order to access it as there was no main menu button from the volume 1 dashboard, but that was a minor hiccup. There were a greater variety of different puzzles to solve and we felt a lot more involved with the story line this time. I guess it felt more immersive. It also kept its fun aspect, again not taking itself too seriously but being difficult enough to make you think hard to solve and complete the tasks. I also felt that volume 2 utilised more different skills so it was more fun when playing it with other people as everyone got a chance to show their strengths. There is meant to be a volume 3 coming soon, and after this I would look forward to joining in on that mission too!


I think that this whole thing is a great idea. It works (unlike some poor excuses for escape room board games that I've tried) and it works well! It's also an excellent alternative to the traditional escape rooms that you can play from the comfort of your own home, and during the current lockdown that is fantastic news. But more than that is the fact that it uses the same fun problem solving skills and teamwork that makes escape rooms fun, so this is great for people who can't take part in the traditional rooms, plus those that just don't fancy being locked in somewhere! But it's of the same style and concept that escape room fans like myself will still really enjoy it. I would definitely recommend The Escape Game and I look forward to seeing the other games that they create.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    My Blog

    Hey all and welcome to my blog! Here is where I'll be sharing my musings and talking about things that I love.

    So expect to read about film and TV, theatre, my crazy actor lifestyle,  all things eco-friendly and plastic free, finding food without wheat, shoes, and going on adventures!

    Picture
    Click here to subscribe!
    If you want to watch more then you can also watch my vlog #TheReelRoad by clicking here!

    Categories

    All
    0 - Full List Of Post Titles
    Acting
    Adventuring
    Eco Friendly Living
    Experience Reviews
    Lifestyle
    Product Reviews
    Wheat / Gluten Free Life

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    RSS Feed


    © Lydia Kay 2020. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.