Maybelline colour show nail vanish in "mauve kiss": review

I love painted nails, quite frankly when I don't have my finger or toe nails painted, I feel a little naked almost and can't help that think my toes look weird without a pop of colour. It's like have a roast dinner without gravy or going on holiday and not having an ice-cream. It's acceptable but just not right. 

Anyway, I have had this colour quite a while now but have recently started wearing it again after a little break from it. 

an understated colour for nails 

Oil absorbing sheets - be gone shine!

Generally I have good skin but every now and then I'll break out in spots around my mouth and chin (but hey, but who doesn't like a spot beard?!) and I'll have "greasy" patches around my face. Obviously this is a look that I am after really but I have a secret weapon! These oil absorbing sheets from Skin Clear. 

oil absorbing sheets 

These are a simple, genius idea - each sheet absorbs all the excess oil on the surface of the skin, eliminates shine and helps mattes skin. 

Chocolate chip mocha and peanut butter swirl cake

This week I engaged in a spot of baking for a charity bake sale at work. One of the recipes I made was a chocolate chip mocha and peanut butter swirl cake. It got a few compliments so I thought I best share the recipe with you!

enjoy with a cuppa!

Bit of a mouthful by name and by nature! This is quite a dense cake thanks to the peanut butter, but with the added mocha icing moistens it back again. I am bit of an icing fanatic so made quite a lot for this recipe but feel free to make less if you want, or just do one layer.

It is a sweet, cake but not overly sickly sweet, like a chocolate fudge cake.

Enjoy with an afternoon tea and a well deserved rest!

Here is what you need:

Chanel "healthy glow sheer powder" bronzer: review

I have made no attempt to hide the fact that I am a little bit obsessed with bronzers and had my fair share over the year, but hey, there are worst things to be addicted to like chocolate, alcohol or crack I argue.

When I was at the airport coming back from Dubrovnik, I saw a great offer for a bronzer I had been drooling over for some time… Chanel’s Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder.

my new "investment" 

healthy glow sheer powder

My latest "investment" is this one from Chanel. 

Beautifully packaged in an ivory compact slipped into a velvet sleeve, it’s what you’d expect from a fashion house such as Chanel.

With it being summer and being slightly tanned, I have gone for shade #70, but they have a whole host of colours to suit including lighter shades.

love the classic packaging 

48 hours in Dubrovnik city, Croatia

It’s not every day that we have a good idea, but when we were booking out tickets to Hideout festival we decided that it would be worth us stopping off in Dubrovnik on the way back for a few days...great idea as we loved it there!

the entrance to Dubrovnik, through the walls 

view from the walls

Dubrovnik is in the very southernmost tip of Croatia, a good 5-6 hours drive from where we were in Pag for the festival so arriving in the pretty city was a warm welcome. Plus the drive along the coast from Pag, through Split and Bosnia (it is no longer a war-torn country as we all worried) is stunning. A back drop of mountains and lush blue sea below. Gorgeous. 

view from the car window of the drive 

our coastal drive

The most amazing hair brush - the tangle teezer

A hairbrush isn’t something I would normally blog about I love this bad boy so much, I have to!

I love my new tnagle teezer! 

When we were in Croatia last week, the combination of the sea  + sand + me forgetting to take out my hair piece before sleeping, resulted in a tangled mess than resembled a wrecked birds nest. Luckily, the gorgeous Brooke came to the rescue with her tangleteezer! 

I had read reviews about these things before but thought they were all hype and a bit pricey for £12. However a quick sweep of this and my birds nest was transformed into hair again!

soft plastic bristles 

Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition 2014: guest blogger

The English summer has arrived, and Wimbledon has already come and gone. However, the other bigger event of the summer has just opened it's doors...

The Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition 2014 is is the world’s largest open entry exhibition. Held without interruption since 1769, the Summer Exhibition is open to all artists. The works are selected and hung by Royal Academicians, and in 2014, nearly 70% of the exhibits were by emerging artists.  

Most of the paintings and other art work on display are available for sale and some can be purchased for as little as £100.

Inside this years Summer Exhibition 
(Royal Academy of Arts)

The Summer Exhibition always has something for everybody. As well as an eclectic collection of paintings there are also a wide-range of sculptures, architectural models and other art work.

The Architecture Room  (BBC)

Bioré deep cleansing nose pore strips: review

Hands up, who likes blackheads?!

Yea, thought not.

no I haven't busted my nose...I am busting the blackheads! 

Generally my skin is quite clear but my skin bug bear is large pores and in particular blackheads around the nose. Not surprising, did you know you have about 200,000 pores on your face?!  I know you shouldn’t but sometimes I try to give them a squeeze but this doesn’t work. It could also make the issue worse as it can damage skin and further block pores so I try to refrain.

What does work though is this stuff… Bioré’s Deep CleansingPore Strips!  

rid blackheads with this! 

chocolate and mint oaty snack slice - raw and vegan! (makes a tasty dessert too!)

One of my resolutions for 2014 was to cut down on naughty sugary snacks such as chocolate bars, biscuits and cakes. But as hard as I try, sometimes there are times where I am craving something SWEET! And sometimes that sweet HAS to be chocolate!!!

mint and chocolate is a great combo 

To curb this I have been trying to make my own homemade sweet recipes, such as protein balls. However a few weeks ago I bought a packet of raw cocoa powder and have since had a little hallelujah moment as I have now been experimenting and making delicious dessert recipes using this little wonder product. The result – satisfying my chocolate sweet tooth without damaging myself with sugar.

So today I am sharing with you my delicious recipe for chocolate and mint oaty bars!

And as they are raw and no bake, it means that they are super healthy (we have all heard that a raw diet is good for you) and so easy to make.

Make Yourself Youthful” in SPF 50, Soap and Glory: review

Today I am off to Croatia and it is my first time visiting. Actually, there are 9 of us and it is all of our first time. I don’t really know what to expect but do now that the weather is going to be great, with temperatures up to 28*c so that means plenty of sun cream for us!

With your body, sun cream is pretty difficult to get wrong, but when it comes to your face, it becomes a little more tricky – different skin types means that skin on your face might react differently to that of your body.

SPF for the face 

For me, I often find that sun cream leaves my skin oily, greasy and spotty. Not usually the look I am going for on holiday.

Luckily I have recently discovered “Make Yourself Youthful SunshieldSuperfluid” in SPF 50, from Soap and Glory (which has always been one of my absolute favourite beauty brands). The sun cream is lightweight but offers good coverage, and even in Dubai in May, I only needed one application to stop me burning.

velvety soft texture 

Even if you aren’t on holiday though, it pays to use sun cream on your face as it is one of the main causes of wrinkles and aging!!!

It has a lovely velvety texture to it, which means you aren’t left with a sticky residue like most sun creams for the face, and therefore leaves a nice even smoothness if you want to put make up on top.

don't forget to use SPF for the face even in England! 

This has to be the best sun cream for you face that I have used so far!

X x X

Ps, don’t forget the tops of your ears when applying your Make yourself Youthful Sunshield Superfluid