February Favourites

Nivea Lip Butter Blueberry Blush - I am such a huge fan of Nivea's lip care, especially the lip butters. The scents are incredible and true to their individual names. I have been using this lip butter every day since I got it as it keeps my lips perfectly moisturised and hydrated.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation - A rediscovered love of mine that I have been enjoying wearing during this cold month. My skin is fairly dry and this foundation gives my skin coverage, and a dewy finish without sticking to any dry patches or exposing any imperfections. Whilst it is light coverage it can be easily built up but one application does enough to even out my skin tone. I also love the scent of this foundation but it is not overpowering at all or even noticeable once on the skin. 

Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powder 'Precious Petals'  - A product I didn't think I was ever going to get my hands on unless I took a trip across the pond, but amazingly, I came across a UK website that sells a number of different American beauty products such as Milani, Color Pop and Wet n Wild. I first heard about this highlighter on Kathleen Lights channel, she was raving about how amazing this was for a drugstore highlighter. I found this on Makeupmart.co.uk and highly recommend you check it out! 

L'action Lip Enhancer - A great lip enhancer product that I was kindly sent by L'Action Paris. After a number of uses my lips appeared only slightly plumper, but I love wearing this as a gloss on its own or over other lip products. It is not sticky or drying at all and doesn't make my lips sting or tingle too much. 

Great British Bake Off Vanilla Traybake

Taken from the 2017 Great British Bake Off calendar is this sweet but easy recipe that I can take absolutely no credit for, but something I baked myself recently and wanted to share on my blog. Having only ever shared one other baking recipe on my blog before, which went down really well, I thought it would be a good idea to do another, and perhaps make recurring content. It may not look like anything special, or as presentable as the image on the calendar, but it is really tasty and fun to make and decorate, with a short bake time. 

Recipe

As stated, a tray bake tin of the above measurements in the image, is ideal for this recipe however I didn't have quite the right size but even though my tray bake was slightly smaller than the one in the recipe above, the bake still turned out fine. 

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees/ 160 fan/ 350F/ Gas 4, and grease and line your tin with butter and baking paper. 

To make the sponge, mix the butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, milk and flour into a bowl and beat together, or alternatively use a food mixer. Beat until it looks smooth and light and all the butter is soft and well whisked into the mixture. Transfer the mixture into your tin, spreading it out to the sides and make sure it is even. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is a golden brown and check your cake is cooked by gently pressing the centre with your fingertips to see if it springs back. 

Leave your bake to cool and firm up in the tin and when cooled, remove the paper. Whilst it is cooling make the frosting by sifting icing sugar into a mixing bowl and add the butter, milk and vanilla extract. Beat or whisk until the frosting is smooth and light. 

Put your icing onto your bake and then it's time to decorate! the It is best to do this straight away before the icing firms up, I used these multi coloured stars from Tesco and some white piping icing. I then cut the bake into pieces before serving! 

How cute are the Joie Oink Oink utensils I got for Christmas from Wilkinsons?!

This really didn't last long in my household, which is a good sign! It was tasty and so easy and fun to make. If you give this a go please send me your pictures and let me know how you got on! 

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Primark Precious Metals Metallic Lip Crayons

I have not used any Primark make up before and to be honest it is because I really did not have any high hopes towards it. However, when I saw these Metallic Lip Crayons I did not hesitate to pay closer attention to them. There were three to choose from and when I swatched them all I was so impressed with how easily they glided onto the skin and how pigmented and metallic they actually were. For only £2 I quickly decided that I was going to purchase a couple and I chose a gorgeous rose gold, pinky shade and the gold shade. They also had a deepish brown shade that looked a bit too dark for me but was equally as gorgeous.

They were easy to apply and needed about two coats to get a good colour pay off. They lasted for a couple of hours as I was eating and drinking and did not dry out my lips at all. They actually felt like a gloss when on my lips as they were so moisturising and hydrating. 

Overall I am really impressed with these and it has made me want to try more Primark make up! 

Gifts for her

1) Soap and Glory Hand Food Trio - A cute package of mini hand creams in three different scents.

2) Pandora Sparkling Open Work Heart Charm - This one is perfect for Valentine's Day, but any Pandora item is a winner for this occasion.  

3) Morris & Co Strawberry Thief Bodycare Set - Another cute trio perfect for bath time. 

4) Too Faced Love flush blusher - Perfect and cute packaging with a number of shades to choose from. 

5) Pandora Linked Love Ring - Again, another fitting purchase for Valentine's Day. 

6) I Heart Makeup Blushing Hearts Blush - This has such cute packaging, is pretty cheap for what it is, and is still an amazing product. 

7) Nars Satin Lip Pencil - Easy and precise application and an amazing range of colours.

8) Michael Kors Sunglasses - An expensive gift, but gorgeous none the less, and with Spring and Summer on the way, a lovely pair of sunglasses will definitely be a winner. 

9) Diptyque Eau de Toilette - A perfume is a gift that in my opinion, you can not go wrong with, particularly for a perfume obsessed girl like myself. 

10) House of Hackney Pineapple Candle Holder - An expensive example, but cute home decor is also a good idea, and anything candle related is a winner I believe. 

11) Skinnydip Hip Flask - Useful and very cute. 

12) Chokers may have been all the go last year, but I still enjoy wearing them and this one is a gorgeous statement piece. 

13) Tom Ford Perfume - Pricey, but gorgeous and even in a gorgeous bottle. 

14) Rip Curl Chile Hat - There are loads of these hats about at the moment, and are a real statement piece, that is a great addition to any wardrobe. 

15) Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick - There are so many different shades to choose from and this range leaves your lips smooth and protected. 

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day everyone! 

January Favourites

I am so happy that it is the end of January, but as always, I can not fathom where the month has gone, or how it has flown by so quickly, but because it is January, I suppose this time I don't mind!

I have had a busy month so have not really tried out too many new products but I have been testing some I got for Christmas and I have been loving using them on a daily basis, thus why they have made it onto my list of January favourites. 

Alien - Thierry Mugler: This is a perfume that lasts throughout the day, not really changing in scent too much, and one that I can even smell on myself, which I find quite rare in perfumes! Made up of a blend of mandarin, moroccan jasmine and white amber, I think this perfume is unlike many others and maybe not suited to every age group but it is my current favourite and I highly recommend it. The bottle is pretty and elegant, as well as iconic, expected from the lovely range of perfumes from Thierry Mugler. Also, full marks to Thierry Mugler for creating refillable bottles!

Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss -  Soap and Glory: Even though the shade of this looks like a soft pink in the tube it applies to the lips as a clear, slightly shimmery gloss, that you can feel working to add volume to your lips very quickly once applied. It has a micro circulation boosting extract to make your lips look and feel fuller. I have loved adding this on top of a lipstick and it has really made me enjoy wearing lip gloss again. 

Huge extreme lash mascara - Stila: Mascara is a difficult one for me, many of the popular mascaras loved by so many rarely work for me as I have such difficult lashes that just won't get on with so many mascaras. However, after using this, I immediately knew that it complimented and worked with my lashes so well due to it's amazing ability of doing exactly what it is advertised. It is non clumping, but gives my lashes lots of length and volume, and I really love how black the product is. I wear two coats because I love extreme lashes, but really, I do not actually need the extra coat as this does exactly what it says it does after only one application to my lashes. Slightly pricier than drug store brands, but for me, definitely worth it!

Radiance Reveal Concealer - Bourjois: I went out and bought this pretty soon after watching Zoella rave about it in one of her latest Youtube videos. She stated that it works so well for concealing under the eyes, a problem that I have a major issue with, and so anything that is recommend as working well to brighten this area, I am always more than happy to give it a go, and I am very glad I did. It blends out nicely under the eyes and it doesn't get eaten up by my skin like so many concealers do. Although it doesn't quite cover up the blue, dark circles under my eyes as well as my trusty Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless concealer, it does brighten considerably and makes a difference to the overall look of the base of my makeup. 

These products have helped to make me fabulous throughout the month of January, for which I am completely grateful! What products have you been loving this month?