Alphabet Bags

Alphabet Bags Glitter G £13

Because I find it impossible to pack light, I carry a handbag AND a tote bag to university. I had a really scruffy one and decided that I wanted a cuter one. I hadn't heard much about Alphabet Bags but when I was searching Not On The Highstreet, I came across their bags and decided to check out their website and all the items that they stock. They have some really adorable things, I have a makeup bag on my wish list! I saw this cute glitter letter bag and decided I had to have it! I think it's really adorable and they have so many different designs so if the glitter is not for you then there's a few others to choose from! I love this bag, I think it's so adorable and I would quite happily just carry this around with me!

What do you think of the alphabet bags?

September Favourites

Nars Sheer Glow foundation is one of my all time favourites, I had put it away for a while when I was testing other foundations out. However I recently started using it again and fell in love with it…again! I just love the coverage, it makes my skin look flawless and the shade Mont Blanc is the perfect match for my skin, which is great as I find it so difficult to find perfect shade matches. When I went away to Amsterdam I needed a new liner, I picked up the Collection liquid liner as it was cheap and I remembered hearing good things about it. If you find doing winged liner difficult then I would totally recommend this liner as I find it so simple for creating the perfect wing! I have the waterproof version which lasts really well throughout the day (I haven't fully tested out how waterproof it is) but is also really easy to remove, unlike other waterproof products I've tried! I've been reaching for my By Terry Ombre Blackstar 'shadow stick' in the shade Misty Rock a lot lately, this is perfect for using as a base and I tend to use either Woodwinked or Mulch eyeshadow by Mac over the top. This lasts really well throughout the day and I love the shade! Finally is the Charles Worthington Body Booster Mousse, I find that this makes such a huge difference to my flat and lifeless hair! It gives it more body and makes it look so much more voluminous!

What products have you been loving lately?

Everyday Makeup

I've been wearing my Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation a lot lately, I've been at work pretty much every day and it involves a lot of running around. This is the foundation I tend to pick when I need something that I know is going to last all day as I don't need to powder throughout the day! Under my eyes I use my Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer, I love this for under my eyes as I get quite dry skin there and this is a really creamy product so it doesn't cling to the dry parts. For blemishes and redness I use my Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, I've talked about this so many times, it's one of my absolute favourite concealers and it's so cheap too! I then use my Rimmel Stay Matte powder which is also a really affordable product! For my brows I've been using the Benefit Instant Brow Pencil, this is a lot softer than other brow products I've used so I've found that it runs out quite quickly but the shade is a really great match for my brows. I've been using my Mac eyeshadows a lot lately, I love All That Glitters and Woodwinked! When I went away to Amsterdam I needed a new eyeliner and just picked up the Collection Fast Stroke eyeliner but I absolutely love it! I recently repurchased the Maybelline The Falsies mascara which I really love, the brush is slightly curved which I find works makes it so much easier to coat every single lash.

The Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Cake

6oz Butter

6oz Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

6oz Self-raising Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Cocoa Powder

Frosting

Icing Sugar

Butter

Milk

Cocoa Powder

Here's my recipe on how to make the perfect chocolate cake! You can make this and only put frosting on the top but I really love how it looks when I completely cover it in frosting! 

1) Pre-heat your oven to 180C and grease two cake tins.

2) Cream together the butter and sugar. This is how you get your cake light and fluffy, beat it together until you feel like your arm is going to fall off! If you only mix it a little, you will get a really dense and horrible cake! 

2) Once you've done that, add the eggs and mix well. Once that's all combined, sieve the self raising flour and baking powder and gently fold in, don't stir this too much. Then add the Cocoa Powder, there's no specific amount, I just add it in until it's as chocolatey as I want it!

3) Split the mixture into two and put into the cake tins, pop it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. To test whether it's cooked, grab and skewer and push it into the middle of the cake, if it's clean, it's done! 

4) Leave to cool and begin to prepare the frosting. Mix butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder and a dash of milk together into a bowl. Again, there isn't a specific amount, just try to start with a little bit of butter and more icing sugar and work from there, until it's nice and sweet. Just make sure it doesn't taste of butter. 

5) Once the cakes have cooled, put some of the frosting into the middle and put the other cake on top. Then gently apply it to the rest of the cake, be careful as it will move around a bit! I then piped some extra details onto the top! I also dipped some strawberries in chocolate and used those to decorate!

This tastes amazing and I'm so happy with how it turned out as this was my first time decorating it like this!

Three Days In Amsterdam

If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter, you will know that the week before last, I went to Amsterdam! It's a place I've always wanted to go to, so I was so excited and I had such an amazing time. The hotel we stayed at was the Best Western in Dam Square, the location was in the centre and right by all the great shops and about a three minute walk from the actual square. On the first day we arrived around 2pm so we had the afternoon to have a look around, we spent the afternoon shopping, they have so many great shops, Forever 21, Rag and Bone, Topshop, Brandy Melville, H&M and so many others! On the second day we decided to go to the Anne Frank Museum, the queue was insanely long so we didn't end up going. We had heard about a place called "The Pancake Bakery" which is a really short walk away from the Anne Frank Museum and so we had brunch there, the pancakes were huge and delicious! We then hired a pedalo and went all around the canals, I would be careful if you do this as we only hired them for an hour and we got lost for an hour and a half! It was so lovely to do this as we could see so many things. We then went to the Rijksmuseum, this is where the "I Amsterdam" sign  is so we got a photo with that! On our final day we went to Vondelpark which was somewhere that I was dying to go to, so many people said it was the "Central Park of Amsterdam." It was honestly beautiful, we hired bikes and cycled around it about five times! One of the things I loved about Amsterdam was the food! There were so many lovely patisseries with pancakes, waffles, donuts and macarons!

Have you ever been to Amsterdam?

The Bathory Bath Soak

The Bathory Bath Soak £18*

I was really excited when I was asked by The Bathory if I wanted to try one of their bath soaks, you can pick exactly what you want to put in your soak and personalise it to you! Firstly you pick a salt mix, either "Bask" "Soothe" or "Detox." I chose "soothe" as it contains oatmeal, buttermilk and honey! You then choose three oils, there are so many options to choose from, I chose Chamomile, Eucalyptus and Grapefruit! You then place your order, I was so impressed with how quickly it was delivered. I really love the packaging of the product, it is packaged in a brown paper bag with a label on containing the ingredient list and the details of what oils and salts are in it. I also really love the jar, it's an iridescent   purple colour which I think is really pretty and as the little piece of card says, you can use it afterwards as a makeup brush holder or even a vase!

The actual product is a powder which I wasn't expecting! I actually thought it would be more like a liquid, you simply just pour it into the bath, I use about three teaspoons. You then just 'swoosh' it around the bath to mix it in, it goes a sort of cloudy, milky colour. The smell reminds me of a spa, it was incredible! I preferred it so much to using normal bubble bath as it was so calming! The bottle says you can put the whole jar in the bath or 50 % or 25%, as I wanted to get as many baths out of it as I could, I only used the three teaspoons. I don't have baths frequently, I'm more of a shower girl. I bath about once or twice a month so this will last me a long time but obviously if you bath everyday or more often you will go through it quicker. I really love this product and think that as you can pick which salts and oils you want, it would make a perfect gift for someone!
You can check out their website here!

What do you think of this bath soak?