Leaving paradise...

Hey guys,

Sorry for the complete lack of posts recently but I have been sunning it up in Turkey! I've had such an amazing time and am looking forward to doing a post on it when I get home. Here are a few pictures to give you a taster...

Where have you been this summer? Xxx

Time to get Naked...

Hey guys,

I arrived home today and found a lovely package awaiting me...my eagerly anticipated Naked Palette from Urban Decay! Considering I only bought this 2 days ago, I was impressed with how quick the shipping was. Because there has been so much hype to this product and it is quite expensive (at least on a student budget - although you do get a lot of shadows) I was worried I would be dissapointed. However, I wasn't in the slightest!! I was happy with everything from the lovely velvet casing and gilt lettering to the gorgeous shades of eyeshadow and the mini eyeshadow primer I recieved. I love that urban decay shadows have really good pigmentation and variety of colour, so will love having a play around with these, as everyone who knows me knows that I like to switch up my eye make up frequently and try out different colours and styles. This palette will be perfect for the day and evenings and therefore I  think it is well worth the money. I just have to make sure I keep it in good condition!

Opening the package!

Eyeshadow primer

The colours in the palette

Has anyone else tried this palette, and what are your thoughts on it? What other Urban Decay eyeshadows/products should I try? xxx

Happy Father's Day!

Hey guys,

Hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day and managed to celebrate in some way, whether it was a big family get together or a little more low key. I'm lucky enough to have an amazing Dad so it was great to be able to show him how grateful I am. We had all the family round for a lovely Sunday roast, with a cream tea for afters! I don't get to see my family very often, so it was a great to see everyone.

What I wore
* Blue lace top with sequins Topshop
* Earrings from Forever 21
* White strap top from New Look
* Pippa Jeans from Topshop

My lovely Dad

What did you do for Father's Day? xxx

Drugstore Haul

For a while now I have been wanting to invest in some Soap and Glory products, ever since seeing Miss Budget Beauty rave about them. As they were 3 for 2 in Boots (like I think they are a lot of the time) I decided I would try out my most urgent lust after products. Instead of the Flake Away scrub I was keen to try the Peaches and Clean cleanser and/or Kick Ass concelar but they didn't have any in stock :( I also got a shampoo and mitt that I needed too as I often forget toiletries I need at Uni when I go home, so prefer to have a spare at home.

Tanning Mitt

I bought this from Superdrug for around £3 rather than from Boots, mainly because I prefer that its pink :) It is just a standard mitt to be honest, but they do last a long time and I way prefer applying fake tan with a mitt to avoid orange hands and streaks. Not a very interesting purchase but I bought it at the same time as the other stuff so thought it should be included.

Elvive Colour Protect Caring Shampoo

I bought this at Superdrug too for such a good price at less than £2, which was cheaper than the smaller bottle... bit strange but I wasn't complaning! I have recently used this up at Uni so I can start using a new Tigi Bed Head shampoo I bought (upcoming review), so this will also be featuring on an upcoming empties post. I bought this for home use though as it was such a great price and also because I really did like it. I get highlights but only about twice a year, maybe 3 times at a push so always look for hair products specifically for coloured/blonde hair that will help maintain the condition and vibrancy of my hair. I used this with the matching conditioner which I am still using up at the moment and I think it keeps my hair in good condition (in conjunction with hair masks and serums), has maintained the 'salon fresh' colour for a longer time than other shampoos I have used in the past and I also really like that it has UV protection in it. If I'm not impressed by the Tigi one I will seriously consider re-purchasing this.

Soap and Glory: Hocus Focus

First of all I have to say, I loooove all the Soap and Glory packaging!! It's pink and girly (obviously a plus point for me) and reminisent of Benefit products by using old style glamour and wording. This was a complete lust must have for me as I feel like my skin can get a bit dull, so thought it would be able to perk me up a bit! To be honest though, for £13 I was a little dissapointed. I'm not sure if that is because I hyped it up too much for myself but it just didn't live up to it's expectations for me. You can mix it into your foundation, with your daily moisuriser or use it on it's own as a highlighter. I was expecting a real 'wow' effect but when used with my foundation you couldn't really see it's full effect. On a day to day basis I use Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse as I've found it's the best wearing for my oily skin and has a really light coverage. Even so, this light coverage still masked the effect of the product, which was annoying as I normally wear foundation rather than just a BB cream as it gives me more confidence, so for £13 I wouldn't get a lot of use out of it. However, when I did try it with a BB cream and as a highlighter for my cheeks, I really liked the dewy finish it gave, even with a light dusting of powder and the smell was really nice too. Therefore, I'd recommend it for holidays and for those who aren't a big fan of the matte finish look or who don't wear foundation regularly.

Soap and Glory: Fab Pore Facial Peel

This was another product that was reviewed highly so was another of my must haves and I must say this did live up to my expectations. It says to use 2-3 times a week, but I have been using it every other day, leaving it on for around 15 minutes, although you can use it for 5 mins for a quick freshen up. The consistency is quite thick and when you rub it in you have to burst all the blue beads in the formula. It is meant to reduce the appearance of pores so I put it on my 'problem' areas where I get most oily - forehead, nose, cheeks and chin. A little goes a long way and for £8 I think it is good value. I think it cleans the pores rather than diminishes them but I am a fan of that because there is no point closing them up if there is a load of gunk in them! I will continue to use this as I do feel like it's doing something. The smell is quite nice and smells of 'clean' although it isn't the best scent I've ever smelt so personally I think other products in the range are better for that.

Soap and Glory: Flake Away Sugar Scrub

I hadn't even thought of buying this product before I picked it up to complete my 3 for 2 as my other 'must haves' weren't in stock.... however, I think this may be my favourite out of the 3!! I have been looking for a sugar scrub which is affordable for a while now as standard exfoliators don't seem to cut it for me at the moment at giving me the clean feeling I want, especially when trying to get off stubborn fake tan! This was £7 and so the one I got free on my 3 for 2 but I would be happy to pay full price for this. The smell is amazing and lingers on your skin after using it, which I really liked. Because it is a sugar scrub it is quite harsh, therefore I only use it once a week at the moment but I do use it all over my body, not just my legs. For those who would like something a bit more gentle I would suggest the Sanctuary's Daily Body Scrub (I have the travel size for holidays etc) which I am a fan of too. Again a little goes a long way with this product and I felt like it was properly exfoliating me. It also left me feeling moisturised afterwards which was nice as I was worried it could dry my skin out a lot as I already get fairly dry legs and need to moisturise them daily. I used this in conjunction with my new Garnier 7 days moisturiser (mango oil for dry skin) and really like them together. I would really recommend this for its scent and price as it should last me a long time.

What other Soap and Glory products would you recommend for me to try? xxx

OOTD: Rosy's Leaving Do

Hey guys,

As you know, it was my friend's leaving party over the weekend and so thought the outfit I wore for that would be a perfect first outfit post. I wanted to be dressed up for the occasion but also have a summery feel to my outfit (and I wanted to wear the new dress I bought for holiday!) Unfortunately, I couldn't wear heels in the end as planned because I sprained my ankle a few weeks ago and it hasn't fully recovered yet! And I didn't have time to paint my nails to match either :( But will be doing a post on NOTD soon!

Ring and Charm bracelet both Tiffany

Forever 21 earrings

What I wore

* Dress by Missguided

* Nude Heels by New Look

* Blueberry nail varnish by Barry M

* Bag from a friend

* Earrings by Forever 21

* Ring and charm bracelet by Tiffany

I would really recommend Forever 21 for affordable jewelry - they have an amazing selection at good prices.

What the outfit looked like on:

Cardigan from Primark

How I did my hair:

Messy dressing table from getting ready!

    The makeup I wore:

L-R: Maybelline Roller Colour in Twiring Taupe, Urban Decay in Midnight Cowboy and Mac in Deep Truth

                                     

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Blush

On crutches after spraining my ankle!

       xxx

White Chocolate Valentine's Gateau

Hey guys,

Today I baked a cake for one of my best friend's leaving party to celebrate her going away to Australia to study abroad for a year :'( Because I knew this was a special occasion, I wanted to make something I hadn't baked before but also something that wasn't too difficult or time consuming, as I had less than a day to make it! I looked through a few of my recipe books and decided on a White Chocolate Valentine's Gateau from a  book I received in my Christmas stocking a few years ago called 1 Mix, 50 Cakes because its more special than a bog standard round vanilla sponge. Of course I had to decorate it with edible glitter as I'm glitter obsessed, which made it even more special! You can buy the book here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/50-Mix-Cakes-Love-Food/dp/1407564374/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339234095&sr=1-1

I made a few changes to the recipe by adding double the amount of white grated chocolate to the mixture to make it extra chocolatey, used stork margarine instead of unsalted butter and substituted the plain white flour and baking powder for the same amount of self-raising. A good tip is also to take your fridge ingredients out an hour or so before i.e. eggs, butter etc so they can warm up to room temperature.

Ingredients
* oil or butter for greasing
* 175g/6 oz plain white flour
* 1 tbsp baking powder
* 175g/ 6oz unsalted butter, softened
* 175g/ 6oz caster sugar
* 3 eggs, beaten
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 55g/2 oz white chocolate, grated
* 2 tbsp white rum (optional) I used:

Frosting
* 200g/7 oz white chocolate, broken into pieces
* 2 tbsp milk
* 200ml/7 fl oz double cream

Method
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees/325 Fahrenheit/Gas Mark 3. I would recommend using the fan setting on the oven to circulate the warm air and ensure the cake is cooked evenly.

The book says to sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl (or just the self-raising) and add the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth, then stir in the grated chocolate. I did this in a different order as my method for this differs. First I cream the margerine (butter) and sugar together until pale.

Then I beat the eggs in one at a time.

Lastly, I stir in the flour a bit at a time with the vanilla extract. This way you will make sure all the ingredients are well combined and have a light, fluffy cake.

The little lumps are pieces of chocolate :)

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface with a palette knife or back of your spoon. I used a silicone mold from John Lewis, which you can buy here.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 mins, or until risen, firm and golden brown. Mine was done in 45 mins, so make sure you check through the oven door (don't open the door too many times as the cake will deflate). You can also put a skewer through the middle - if it comes out clean the cake is ready and it should feel springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin for around 10 mins so that it doesn't lose it's shape and break, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. You can take this time to lick your utensils before washing them up like I did :p

Meanwhile for the frosting, melt the chocolate with the milk in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth, then leave for 10 minutes.

Whip the cream until it holds soft peaks, then fold into the cooled chocolate mixture. It is essential that you let the chocolate cool enough otherwise it will become sloppy and maybe curdle. If your mixture isn't the texture you would like, try adding more whipped cream or leaving it to chill in the fridge to stiffen up.

Sprinkle the cake with the rum, if using then spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake with a palette knife. Leave plain or decorate as you wish.

I got some really good feedback and everyone had seconds - success!!

Me at the party with my (partly squished) cake!

Loving her cake!

Let me know what you think of the recipe and how your cake turns out! xxx

P.S. my friend has just set up her very own fashion website - check it out! www.prettylittlewardrobe.com