Wednesday 27 August 2014

Skin Care Series | Part 1 | My Morning Routine




Hello!

I've finally found the time to film, which I am really excited about because it is one of my favourite hobbies. Filming videos is way more time consuming than I first thought but its great to have another outlet to talk to the beauty community and I think some topics and ideas work better in video format than a long rambled post. 

Today's video is my morning skin care routine from start to finish, so hopefully you will pick up some new product suggestions. There will be two other parts to this series; my evening routine and skin care extras which will have their own separate videos.

I hope you enjoy watching it as I love these kinds of videos! Please subscribe to my channel if you like watching me xxx

Friday 15 August 2014

Scent of the Summer: Estee Lauder | Bronze Goddess Skinscent |


Normally perfumes don't feature over on my little slice of the internet, purely because I am pretty awful at describing scents. When I picked this baby up though I knew I had to spread the word because it is just amazing and you need it in your life for the summer months!!

You might have seen this mentioned in my May favourites video but I thought Bronze Goddess deserved a post of its own. With a heart of golden amber and notes of coconut milk, vanilla, lemon, sicilian bergamot, jasmine and magnolia petals to name a few, this scent evokes all those dreamy summer memories: sun cream, the seaside, palm trees, cocktails on holidays, a soft summer breeze... I think you get the gist. It also comes in a shimmering version too which looks beaut!

It is actually the first perfume that I have bought myself as I normally receive them as gifts, which says a lot in itself, and although it is expensive I think the amount you get and the design of the bottle is well worth the money. The gold translucent packaging and the fine spray really upholds the luxury of the Lauder name and reflects the fact it is a summer scent. I think the only downside is that it doesn't have the best staying power so you do have to reapply regularly throughout the day. The fact it is a limited edition fragrance which is only available from April until stocks last also makes it a must have for me - is anyone else like that? When I hear limited edition I seem to hand over my bank card a little too easily!

Other products in the Bronze Goddess range that I have my eye on are the large bronzer and the self tanning lotion for the face. The essence of this post is: you need this in your life!

Apologies for the terrible pictures but the nature of the bottle makes it very hard to photograph, plus it has been knocking about in my handbag...!

Have you tried anything from the Bronze Goddess range? Do you have a favourite summer scent? xxx

Saturday 2 August 2014

Recipe: Homemade Summer Berry Ice Pops


For ages I have stashed away lots of recipes for ice lollies on pinterest, waiting for the moment that we get a tiny bit of sun to not only try out the recipes but also use my Laura Ashley moulds that I got in the sale a year ago! The last couple of weeks have been amazing so I have been making these refreshing and super tasty ice lollies quite regularly. You can find the original recipe here but I have tweaked it a little bit to suit our tastes and also to fit around what we had in our fridge at the time, which of course you are free to do as well. I know ice pops are really easy to make but these take a little more effort and the taste and look of them are definitely worth it.

Ingredients (makes around 8 lollies)
* 1/2 cup of raspberries
* 1/2 cup of blueberries
* 1 cup of sliced strawberries
* 1 cup of frozen summer berries
* 1/3 cup of sugar
* 1/3 cup of water
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped mint


Method
1. Combine all the fruit in a bowl and mash them up with the back of a wooden spoon to release the juices.

2. Add the lemon juice and mint, then stir will to combine everything.

3. Leave to rest in the fridge for about an hour to let the flavours infuse, I sometimes leave mine for longer.

4. After the fruit has rested for the right amount of time, put your sugar and water into a small saucepan and heat gently until all the sugar is dissolved. Do not allow to boil. It is useful to use a saucepan with a lip so you can pour the sugar solution more easily.

5. Leave the syrup to cool for a few minutes and then pour into the fruit mixture. Combine well with the wooden spoon.

5. Using a jug with a lip or spoon, carefully administer equal parts of fruit and syrup into the moulds, making sure not to fill all the way to the top as it will expand when frozen and you need to fit the sticks on top.

6. Put your sticks into the lolly mixture and leave to freeze for at least 6 hours.

And that is all you need to do for a very simple but delicious recipe which should see you through the summer! 

I hope you enjoy it and please let me know if you try this recipe xxx

 

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