Friday 30 September 2016

September Favourites - Paperchase, Clipper Tea & The Purge...

There were quite a few things I wanted to include this month but I've wittled it down to a few films and some beauty, homeware and food bits. I could talk about some of these for days!
Brief Encounters - We recorded this when it was on ITV last month and but only got round to watching it a few weeks ago, meaning we had all 6 episodes to catch up on. It's about 4 women in the 1980s who become Ann Summers saleswomen and we find out about all the different things going on in their personal lives. I loved every episode, I think one night we got through 3 and then a few days later we watched the rest, there was just so much drama but it was also really funny and I was so hoping that things would work out for everyone. I really hope they do another series of this but it did seem like everything sort of tied together at the end so i'm not sure where they would take it.

Clipper Tea Lime and Ginger - This came in our August Degustabox, which is a monthly food subscription box, and as a big fan of Clipper Teas anyway we were really excited to try this. It did not disappoint, we both love it! This would be a good one to drink if you're a bit under the weather or have a cold, the ginger really helps and the lime just adds something extra. Definitely one i'll go out and buy when we've ran out.

The Purge Election Year - I feel like I have been waiting to see this for so long! I love the first and second Purge films and I had hoped that this one was going to be just as good, and it really was! There was just as much going on in this one as there was in previous films and it was so tense all the way through. The thing about the Purge films is that they feel so real, it is possible that something as mental as this could happen one day so I think that makes it even scarier when you're watching.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates - We like to get the most out of our unlimited cards so we went to see this about 15 minutes after The Purge. It did look funny from the trailer but we weren't expecting too much, but I was so wrong, I absolutely loved it! I was laughing all the way through and it's not often a film is that funny for it to just keep flowing for the full duration, but I thought it was so good. Adam DeVine is hilarious in it as he is in most things, I love him in Pitch Perfect and Modern Family so I thought he would be funny in this too.

Paperchase Prints - I mentioned in my last favourites I had bought some prints for a wall in the bedroom so I could make a proper photo wall and this month I picked up a few postcards from Paperchase to go on it aswell. They're only small so only about 70p each and I think they look great on the wall with photos and other prints, if you want to see how the photo wall turned out, I have post all about it here. I had to get the bear one just because I love bears and the map of London because its one of my favourite places and I had a few other London postcards to put up aswell. I think i'm going to go back and get a few more as they had so many to choose from.

Essie Winter Nail Set - I have a soap and glory case full of nail polishes but I never feel like I have enough, so when I got paid I had a quick look on Amazon and found some great Essie deals. They had the Christmas Quad set for around £5.95 which is an amazing deal as you wouldn't even get one bottle that cheap, let alone 4, and the whole thing is worth £24.99, and that's its price at Boots at the moment. The colours are gorgeous and all of them are so perfect for the run up to christmas, which I am literally counting down the days for! It has Mademoiselle, Chinchilly, Toggle To The Top and Belugaria. The price has gone up now to £14.29 but to be honest that's still a pretty good deal and it arrived in perfect condition too. It could be a great present for someone for Christmas!

Did you see last months favourites? August - Game of Thrones, Etsy Prints and Diet Doodle Diary.

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Wednesday 28 September 2016

ITSY Nails London Swatches and Review*

I was very excited to receive a lovely package from the people at Itsy Nails London a few weeks ago as I am such a huge lover of all things nail polish! I have a huge collection of nail polishes but that never stops me buying more and the ones I was sent, are perfect for me! 
L-R Drop Red Gorgeous, City Girl, Cosmic Dust. 
I was sent 3 of the DuraPRO Gel Effect Nail Polishes, in the shades City Girl, Drop Red Gorgeous and Cosmic Dust. These are the exact sort of colours I go for and especially with Autumn and Winter on the way, these are going to be used so much as they are just the perfect colours for the colder months of the year. 

DuraPRO polishes are an extra glossy gel effect nail polish that doesn't require all the hard work of normal gel polish which needs curing and soaking off. I personally love gel polish just because of it's lasting power, normal polishes unless they're really good or have a top coat, just chip within a few days so I think gel polish is worth investing in. DuraPRO is formulated to maximise coverage and performance and level out any imperfections on your nails. These make for easy application due to the flat and wide brush which adapt to the shape of your nail meaning it glides on easily and takes very little time. 

CITY GIRL

The first one I tried was City Girl which is a lovely soft grey. It looks great on the nails and is the perfect pastel shade for spring and summer, though this is one I would wear all year round. The wide brush made it very easy to apply and it only took 2 coats for it to look good to go and it didn't require a top coat either. It left a glossy finish and I got great lasting power from it, I think this would be a great one if you have a holiday coming up! 

DROP RED GORGEOUS

This is the one i'll be reaching for at christmas! It's the perfect deep red for the colder months and I can tell it's going to become a real favourite of mine. This has a slight orange tone so one that would also look great during the summer months and so eye catching! The same as with City Girl. it didn't require a top coat and I used 2 coats which was perfect for a smooth, glossy finish. I am really impressed with the brush on these polishes, as it adapt to the nail it really doesn't require much time and there are no streaks!

COSMIC DUST

I think this one might be my favourite... I always go for colours like this one so I knew I was going to love it. It's a really deep blue which I always prefer and just looks lovely on. Again, a great glossy finish after 2 coats and lasts well, I put this on over a week ago and it's still going strong! I have a few glitter polishes which I think would go great with this one.

Overall I am so impressed with Itsy Nails and these polishes! I have my firm favourite brands when it comes to nails but this has proved to me that their are other brands out there whose products are just as good, if not better and are definitely worth a try! These are all £5.99 which I think is pretty good for a gel effect polish that required very little time and effort. These are great to use if you're in a rush as they dry so quickly and the wide brush covers your nails so no need to keep reapplying until the full nail is covered. As I mentioned at the beginning, these polishes don't require any soaking when you want to remove it, just a normal nail polish remover does the job, it honestly took seconds to remove which is amazing as some of my others just take forever!

If you would like to try any Itsy polishes, you can buy from their website where there are also many others to choose from, delivery is free over £10! 
Have you tried any Itsy Nail Polishes?

*I was sent these products to review, as always I only work with brands I feel are relevant to me and my blog

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Wednesday 21 September 2016

My Salted Caramel Brownies Recipe

Brownies have become one of my favourite things to bake and as salted caramel seems to be in or on everything at the moment, I had to try adding some to one of my recipes. Like with most of my recipes I've tried to make these as easy as possible so I really hope you give these a go!
salted caramel brownies cut up next to salted caramel spread
Ingredients:
100g butter
200g golden caster sugar
200g dark chocolate, broken into chunks
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
100g plain flour
Salted caramel spread (I used a Bonne Maman one from Asda)

Method:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees (160 fan) and grease and line a large square baking tin
2. Put your butter and sugar into a large saucepan and warm over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has completely melted
3. Take the saucepan off the heat and add in 200g of broken up dark chocolate, stirring until it's completely melted
4. Add in your vanilla extract and mix
5. Add in your 2 eggs then using an electric whisk if possible, whisk until you have a thick velvety mixture
6. Sift in your flour then fold in gently until fully combined
7. Pour your brownie batter in your prepared tin and then add your salted caramel spread. I used quite a few teaspoons of the spread just dotted around and then I swirled with a skewer. You can add as much or as little as you want
8. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes
9. When a skewer inserted comes out clean, the brownies are done. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then remove and cut into squares
jar of bonne maman salted caramel spread
caramel swirled on top of brownies
salted caramel brownies next to caramel spread
These were just absolutely amazing and I can't wait to make them again!


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Wednesday 7 September 2016

Why I Love London...

I've been to London twice now and every time I just fall more and more in love with the place. 

We first went in February 2015 as a late valentines trip, we only went for 2 nights and our hotel was right next to the London Eye and Big Ben so a great location and it was easy to get around. When we went back in for a weekend in March 2016 we stayed for 3 nights and managed to do loads! I already want to book another trip. Because I've had such an amazing time both occassions I thought I would do a post all about the reasons London has my heart and why I think I'll always love it.
One of the things I love the most about London is that nobody knows who you are, its such a huge place and I love it when we go as we know it's just us two and we don't know anybody there, and I can fully relax. A lot of people probably don't find London that relaxing but I do, it's a bit of an escape. There are so many places to go and visit, as I said the hotel we stay at is right next to the London Eye so even though we haven't been on it yet, it is literally right there for us when we do, and just across from that is Big Ben which leads to Westminster Abbey, we went for a walk to it when it was just going dark last time and it looked beautiful at night. Last time we were there we also went for a walk down the Southbank and found the This Morning Studio which was totally out of the blue, but something else which is great to see, it's weird now to watch it knowing we've walked past it. One of my favourite moments from the last trip is when we went down the Southbank and just outside the Tate Modern we sat on a bench and just had 5 minutes to take it all in. It was so, so lovely and makes me smile just thinking about it. We then headed onto Borough Market, which leads me onto another thing I love, the food! The market was amazing, there was so much choice, we only ended up getting a few things but if we'd had more time we'd have definitely tried more, they had special breads, paella, homemade cakes, chocolates, spices, wine, just everything you could imagine and it's one of the first places I want to go next time. We had some great food in London, we tried Shake Shack for the first time which we don't have here and Crosstown Donuts from Whole Foods, we had a cinnamon swirl type one and it was incredible, next time i'm definitely having more than one because it was just insane how good it was. Whole Foods in itself is such a great shop and I wish we had one closer to us, every time we go we pick a few things up just because they have so many things we wouldn't be able to find here and the fresh food is great aswell, the first time we went we had these chocolate truffles all made of healthy ingredients and they were one of the best things I've ever tasted.
Something else I really love about London is the Tube, the first time I wasn't sure but it's such an easy way to get around and we usually just get day tickets and then it saves so much time trying to get from one place to another. I think both times we've been to London, I've ended up crying just because it involves so much walking and no matter what shoes I wear, my feet just can't handle it! I am so unlucky with shoes so in London, its a nightmare, last time we went on the second night we got back to the hotel and I remember just sitting on the bed and sobbing because they hurt so much! so the next day we got day tickets and it helped so much and made it much more enjoyable. The last thing I love is the people, everyone we spoke to was lovely and we were always lucky to get the nicest taxi drivers, they were so chatty and really wanted to find out about our day. 

I can't imagine a year where we won't go, I just love everything about it and hope we carry on having weekends there for years and years! I'd live there if I could.

Have you been to London? What do you love about it?

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Monday 5 September 2016

Top Makeup Products under £10!

I love having a good look round Superdrug and Boots every so often but I always seem to stick to the same brands and my usual favourites. There are some things in my makeup bag which I always repurchase because I haven't found any better! I wanted to do the 5 products under £5 challenge but I really wanted to include my Rimmel Mascaras so I have made it the 5 under £10 so I could show you some of my favourite for a great price!

1. Barry M - Plum Gelly Nail Polish

 I always go back to Barry M for nail polish, I have tried so many others but Barry M just don't let you down do they. I love their Gelly Nail Polish Range and I am always looking for new colours! One of my favourites is the colour Plum, its a really nice, dark purple and its one I wear a lot in autumn and winter. It lasts so long and its only £3.99. 


2. Rimmel Mascaras 

I couldn't really choose one as I love a few of theirs. I tried the Wonder'full Mascara and I actually repurchased this a few weeks ago, it just makes my lashes look even longer and the brush separates them really well so there are no clumps! I have also tried the Lash Accelerator Mascara by Rimmel and that is just as good! I could rave about Rimmel mascaras all day as they never let me down. 

3. Maybelline Fit Me Concealer 

I never used to be one for concealer but now I really notice the difference when im wearing this over my foundation compared to when im not. It's great for under your eyes in the early mornings and its great for covering any spots which I do suffer with quite a lot. It's a really creamy consistency but blends really well and I just love it. £5.99 at Superdrug at the moment. 

4. Superdrug Eyebrow Brush and Lash Comb

 I've had this for a while now and it's really helped tame my brows! I have dark hair so I've been blessed with dark eyebrows which can be a bit unruly sometimes, I cant go a few days without having to pluck them, seriously its a joke. I use this everyday to comb through and I don't know what I did without it. 

5. Seventeen Contour Kit 

I picked this up a while ago as I really needed a new bronzer but I wanted something that was actually going to give my face some sort of definition. I found this kit from Seventeen and honestly its now one of my favourite ever makeup products. It does take a bit of blending when you first put the darker shade on but it really does work and I can really notice a difference compared to my old bronzer. I also love the highlight too and I've never used a highlighter before! Well worth £4.99!

What are your favourite products under £10?

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