October Favourites!

Hey beaut's!

I cant believe how fast October has gone, I generally feel like it's been the quickest month of the year so far, it's crazy! This month has been pretty good really, it's been filled with plenty of Autumnal things like pumpkin picking and carving and just general Autumn fun! Me and Mike (the Mr in my life) went on a mini break for a few days to London and managed to some how get Harry Potter Studio Tour tickets very last minute and I would say that was my ultimate favourite this month, I mean I knew visiting the studio's would be epic but it was everything I thought it would be plus more, any it was the Dark Arts tour meaning everything had been decorated for Halloween which was even more epic!
Next up is a book favourite which is quite different for me because I'm not really a book worm I must admit but I've generally been loving the Zoe Sugg 'Zoella' Cordially Invited book! If you have no idea what the book is about it's basically a seasonal guide to celebrations and hosting, as you will all know if your a Zoe fan she always goes above and beyond for any celebration so the book gives us all of her hints, tips, recipes, do's, donts about any occasion and season and obviously I've skipped ahead and already read the Autumn and Winter chapters and bloody I loved them! Another slightly different favourite for me is a movie - Hocus Pocus! I mean who doesn't love Hocus Pocus at this time of the year, I've watched it loads already!

Makeup wise I've been totally obsessed with my Too Faced Gingerbread Spice Palette, the quality of Too Faced eyeshadows has always worked amazingly for me but the whole style and shade range within this palette is literally to die for, it's absolutely stunning and it's been on my eyeballs everyday since I got it! Something else I've been using every single day since I got it is the Revolution Conceal & Define Foundation, the formula is just absolutely gorgeous and so easy to work with and wear, it is more on the matte side so if your slightly dryer it might not be for you but it just makes my skin look so polished and perfect, it's a bloody good drugstore foundation that's for sure and it has an epic 24 shades to choose from!
For nails I've been all about that Barry M's Berry Cosmos life, it's the perfect autumn/winter shade and as soon as it's chipped I have to re-paint my nails with it because I'm totally addicted! My final favourite this month is a bit of a shocker for me because it's actually and lip gloss, yup I've been loving the Too Faced Melted Latex Liquefied High Shine Lipstick in the shade Hopeless Romantic (woah that was a mouthful). My lips have been dryer that usual because of the colder weather so wearing a gloss has been perfect for me and these by Too Faced have the same pigment as a lipstick but in gloss form, I love it!

What's in your favourites this month beaut's? I'd love to know!

nopin

Spooky Chocolate Skeleton Biscuits From Zoella's Cordially Invited Book!

 Hey beaut's!

When I heard that Zoella was releasing a new book all about celebrations and hosting throughout the seasons I just knew I had to buy it, as we all know Zoe always goes above and beyond for any celebration so I knew the book would be pretty epic! The book gives us all of Zoe's hints, tips, recipes, do's, donts about any occasion/season and obviously being the keen baker than I am the recipe pages called out to me first, I just had to get into the kitchen and whip up a batch of Zoe's Chocolate Skeleton Biscuits. The biscuits where really easy to make and if you don't have the book yourself but would like to make these Halloween inspired biscuits just in time for that spooky day then fear not because I've got you covered! FYI - I halved the recipe because I only wanted a small batch of the biccies but the full recipe is below!
What You Will Need 
*250g butter, softened
*140 icing sugar
*1 egg yolk
*2 tsp vanilla extract
*300g plain flour
*50g cocoa powder
*1 tube of white writing icing (I actually made a batch of my own with icing sugar and water)

How To 
* In a bowl, beat the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and egg yolk until creamy and well combined then sift in the cocoa powder and the flour and mix again. I did find the mixture was quite dry and crumbly for a while but stick with it because it does come together after a while and then you can bring the dough together into a ball.
* Once your mixture is formed into a ball wrap it up in some cling film and pop it into the fridge for around 30 minutes to chill. Whilst the dough is chilling it's the perfect time to get a couple of baking trays at the ready and pre heat the oven to 190/170 fan/gas mark 5.
*After 30 minutes roll out the dough between two pieces of greaseproof paper, I never usually do this when making biscuits, I usually just roll on my floured kitchen worktops but I followed the books steps and it actually made it extremely easy to roll without any dough sticking to the rolling pin or tearing.
*Once the dough is rolled out use cookie cutters to cut out your little skeleton people, I just used a gingerbread man cookie cutter for mine! Then bake for around 10 minutes!
* When your biscuits are completely cool use some white writing icing to create the bones and skeletons on the biscuits, I used a batch of my own icing I made with icing sugar and water but I did find this was a little runny and not very precise so I would recommend getting the thicker writing icing! I finished mine off with two little black ball sprinkles for the eyes and voila!

I found these biscuits so easy to make and they where so yummy and super chocolaty! Mine aren't decorated half as good as Zoe's are in the book but their rustic and I'm happy with rustic ha ha!

Have you bought Cordially Invited beaut's? Have you made or baked anything from the book yet? I'd love to know!

nopin

October Degustabox Review + £5 off Discount Code!

Hey beaut's!

I have a subscription box review for you all today but it's a subscription box with a difference.... it contains yummy food and drink, so say hello to Degustabox*. Degustabox works very much like how beauty subscription boxes work, for £12.99 a month (postage included within the £12.99 price) you will receive 10 to 15 surprise food/drink products, many that are completely new to the market! So if your a bit of a foodie like myself and you love subscription boxes your going to love this beaut's!
Firstly this month we have a yummy chocolate-y treat which I was super happy to see in my box as I'm such a chocoholic! KITKAT have brought out a new Chunky Salted Caramel Fudge bar (65p) and wow it's incredible, I'm partial to a standard KITKAT chunky anyway but when salted caramel and fudge get thrown into the mix too, wow mind blown!
Next up is a Get Fruity Bar in Moist Mixed Berry flavour (70p), this bar is made from real fruit and gluten free wholegrain oats making it the perfect snack for when your on the go or when your just generally feeling peckish! Morrison's also have the multi-pack of these bars on offer right now so if you fancy trying them out for yourself now's the time to get them a bit cheaper!


We have a little breakfast selection within this months box which personally I,m loving! Firstly theres a big box of Clipper Fair trade Everyday Tea (£2.89), I literally cant start my day properly until I've had a couple of cups of tea and I'm really enjoying these tea bags by Clipper, their was also a free tea towel in the box too which was a nice little bonus! For cereal we have a Shreddies Breakfast To Go pack (£1.99), this is such an epic idea for people who want that extra 10-15 minuets in bed because the Shreddies come in a one portion cup and theres also a carton a long-life milk so you can just pour it over the Shreddies and eat your breakfast at your desk or on the bus or train - genius! If that wasn't enough we also have a big box of SPOON Cherry Bomb Granola, I love having granola with yogurt and fresh fruit, it's such a lovely filling breakfast which never makes me feel bloated but keeps me going until lunch!
This months product of the month is the Lift Instant Lemon Tea (£1.49), what I love about this is that you can enjoy it hot or cold and my personal favourite way to drink it is to have it cold in a juice bottle at work, it's so refreshing and tasty!
Next up is a pouch of Heinz Creationz Mexican Beanz (£1.75), these are new little microwavable pouches that you can take to work with you and have for lunch by itself or in wraps but I've found the Mexican Beanz flavour works so well on top of a jacket potato, oh my gosh it's divine!
Then we have a sachet of Santa Maria Mexican Spiced Tomato Sauce (£1.89), this is a vegetarian and vegan cooking sauce that you can use over your veggies to add some more yummy flavour or if you aren't vegetarian or vegan you can also pour this sauce over meat like chicken and serve with rice and it makes a yummy meal that way too!
Next up we have two bottles of Upbeat Drinks Spring Water (£1.59), I love flavoured water so I knew I'd love these but these little beauties are actually enriched with protein and vitamins too to give you more strength and energy as well as hydration throughout that day, I really enjoyed both flavours of these!
Theres also two cans of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey and Lemonade (£2.00) within this months box if you fancy a bit of a tipple, I do find because these are in cans their very easy to drink quickly so just bare that in mind he he! 
Lastly this month we have a bottle of Ginger Beer by Supermalt (£1.19), this is actually made by using real ginger extract and a hint of lemongrass to give it a refreshing yet fiery kick! I haven't tried this one yet but I love ginger beer so I'm saving it for when I have a real craving for it!

If you like the look and sound of Degustabox you can grab your first box for just £7.99 with the code 039DB HERE

nopin

My 2019 Holiday Wishlist!

Hey beaut's!

After a seriously crappy year this year it's definitely made me realise that you have to live life to the fullest and do all those things you really want to do in life! This got me thinking of places I've always wanted to travel to and holiday's I've always wanted to take but never gone, well those day's are over for me now and I'm going to take life by my lady balls and I'm already planning out things I want to do in 2019 and places I want to visit!

I've been having a peek on www.markwarner.co.uk to get some inspiration and ideas and theres so much choice from ski holidays to your sunny beach holiday! Greece is somewhere I've always wanted to visit for as long as I can remember, theres actually so many places in Greece I'd like to visit but I think the first place on my Greek list would be Kos! My best friend Kate has gone to Kos over the last couple of years now and loves it so I'd love to go there, as well as Mykonos which is actually on my 'lifetime' bucket list so finally going there would be insane!


Paris is definitely somewhere I'd like to visit next year, again its somewhere I've always wanted to visit because of how beautiful it looks and how much there actually is to see there, and of course I'd love to visit some french bakery's. It would be pretty epic to combine the trip of exploring Paris and go to Disney Land Paris too, the Disney lover inside me has always want to go here and Paris seems much more of a realistic option for me, unlike pricey Florida! Sticking with France I've always wanted to go on a snowy ski trip there or to Austria during the autumn/winter time, everything from learning to ski or snowboard to the epic cosy lodges, wood fires, the snow and the endless hot chocolates, it all lures me in, I mean whats not to love!


Next on the destination wish list would have to be Amsterdamknown for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses it's definitely a place I want to explore for a few days next year! I would love to go to the Anne Frank House whilst I was there too, and I 100% want to add a padlock on the Love Locks bridge! 


What's places are on your 2019 holiday wish list beaut's! I'd love to know!


nopin

* This is a collaborative post.

Nail Of The Day - My Favourite Autumnal Shade!

 Hey beaut's!

It's been absolutely ages since I popped a nail of the day post up and since I've fallen head over heels in love with a particular Barry M nail paint shade recently I thought it was about time I jumped back on the nail of the day bandwagon!
It's no secret I love a Barry M nail paint, to be honest I'd go and far as saying their my all time favourite brand for nail polishes and their shade Berry Cosmos has been my absolute go to on my hands and feet just recently, in fact as soon as it's chipped I remove it a re-apply it straight away - I've been loving it that much! Berry Cosmo is a stunning rich, deep plummy purple which just screams autumn/winter to me and because it's quite a dark shade it's perfect for Halloween too! 
I find two thin coats is enough to achieve full opacity and I never experience any bubbling or streaking during the application process which is a bonus, in terms of lasting power I'd say I get a good 3 days wear out of Berry Cosmos until I notice some chipping, I think that's pretty good for a £2.99 polish on someone who's really heavy handed like I am at work and at home! If your looking for a pretty autumnal nail polish shade that wont break the bank I cant recommend Berry Cosmos enough, it's definitely one to have in your nail polish stash that's for sure!

Whats your favourite nail polish at the moment beaut's? I'd love to know!

nopin

Too Faced Gingerbread Spice Palette First Impressions!

Hey beaut's!

I had been lusting after the Too Faced Gingerbread Spice Palette ever since I saw glimpses of it on Twitter a few months ago, so as soon as Debenhams added the Too Faced Christmas collection to their website I snapped that little palette up quicker than you can even say gingerbread (lol)! Unfortunately for me when my palette arrived (very quickly might I add) it was completely smashed and the Debenhams customer service was terrible so I ended up having to send the palette back and wait nearly 3 weeks to get my money back! Long story short - when I was in London I popped into the Too Faced store on Carnaby Street and managed to buy the palette again and I'm absolutely loving it so far!
The Too Faced Gingerbread Spice Eyeshadow Palette (£39.00) comes packaged in a warm brown tin with a cute little gingerbread man on the front and a mirror on the inside of the lid, personally I love packaging, I know some might find it young or tacky but I absolutely love it and I think Too Faced always get packaging so right! Within the palette are 18 eye shadows in a good mix of winter warmer shades and autumnal hues perfect for creating lots of different looks for day and night, theres also a mix of mattes, metallics and glitters, their honestly so drool worthy! Just like all of Too Faced products this palette does indeed have a scent, although not the gingerbread scent they are claiming and that I was hoping for, mine smells just like Yankee  Candles Christmas Cookie candle which is divine but my nose definitely doesn't get the gingerbread, please tell me I'm not alone in this!
The formula of the shades I've used so far has been brilliant, I haven't experienced any fallout and they blend and last on my eyes beautifully, to be honest I have a couple of other Too Faced eyeshadow palettes and the quality always comes up trumps for me so I have high hopes for this palette! The shades I've used so far are Powdered Sugar - a matte cream great for a base shade, Gingerbread and Gingerbread Latte - both perfect mattes for the crease and transitioning, Spiked Eggnog - a gorgeous metallic champagne perfect for highlighting the brow bone and inner corners, Reindeer Paws - a deep matte brown perfect for getting things smokey and finally Warm & Toasty - a bright metallic gold, the rest of the shades I'm yet to try but so far all the shades I've used have worked like a dream! Also can we just appreciate how god damn cute all of the shade names are, I mean Reindeer Paw.... come on, cutest overload!
(From left to right - Frostbite Me!, Spiked Eggnog, Figgy Pudding, Hot Toddy, Gingerbread, Warm & Toasty, Bake It 'Til You Make It)
So far, so good with the Gingerbread Spice Palette and if your thinking of getting it yourself I'd definitely say go for it because I'm loving it so far, although you might want to dodge getting it from Debenhams lol! I will do an updated post after I've used all of the shades within the palette and given them a good test as I can see myself getting so much use out of most shades within this little gingerbread beauty!

You can find the Too Faced Gingerbread Spice Palette for £39.00 HERE.

nopin

20 Things To Watch This Halloween

Hey beaut's!

Halloween is fast approaching so it's time to carve yourself a pumpkin or two, stuff your face with spooky sweets, get your blankets at the ready and get cosy with some Halloween movies or TV shows! I must admit I like more light-hearted Halloween movies/TV shows than scary and bloody ones, like many Hocus Pocus is my absolute favourite and I end up watching this loads during October, the Harry Potter series also really gets me into the magical wizard mood and TV shows like Stranger Things and Sleepy Hollow are perfect to watch during Halloween and the autumnal months! Below I have shared a few other movies and TV shows I absolutely love to watch at this time of the year, do let me know your favourites!

Movies
Hocus Pocus
The Harry Potter Series
The Craft
Casper
The Nightmare Before Christmas 
Coraline
Monster House
The Adams Family
Corpse Bride
The Twilight Series
Edward Scissorhands
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Ghostbusters
The Haunted Mansion
Beetlejuice

TV Shows
Stranger Things
Sleepy Hollow 
The Vampire Diaries
Pretty Little Liar's 
Grimm

Have I featured any of your favourites beaut's! I'd love to know!

nopin

5 Eye Products I Love In Autumn!

Hey beaut's!

Now that we are well into Autumn I love switching things up in my makeup stash and recently I've done just that! Gone are the days of those peachy tones (sorry sweet peach palette), it's time those deeper, darker hues have a comeback! Whilst routing through my makeup drawers there where five eye products in particular I just knew I wanted back out!
Firstly I had to whack out my Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette again, this little beauty is crammed full of burnt oranges, copper tones and rich sienna's, arhhh isn't she just so pretty. Theres so many autumnal looks you can create with this palette, whether you want something for day or night your covered which is why I love this palette so much, it's so versatile! As always the Urban Decay quality never fails me and my ole eyeballs. 
If there was a single eyeshadow I couldn't live without in Autumn it would have to be my trusty MAC Cranberry. Cranberry is a red-burgundy shade with some ever so slight shimmers running through it and on me and my brown eyes the red-plum metallic tones really come through, I love wearing it just blended across my entire lid with a bit of winged liner, its such an easy autumnal look to create!
If I'm in a rush like I was last week when I overslept and had 10 minutes to get ready for work (what a nightmare) then the Maybelline Color Tattoo's are a must! These beauties can literally be blended across your lid with you finger in like 10 seconds, and my autumnal favourite is the shade Metallic Pomegranate, she's so gorgeous!
Another quick fix is the Technic Metalix Eyeshadow Creams, my favourite at the moment is Plum Pudding which I've actually nearly used up so I'm going to need to re-purchase! Plum Pudding is a deep plum/purple shade which applies like a cream and can be blended really quickly with your fingers or a brush, again this looks beautiful just by itself and has a gorgeous metallic sheen to it! I cant recommend these enough and their only a couple of pounds, bargain!
Lastly autumn is all about adding a little bit of sparkle before we can go glitter crazy in December, let's just use it as an excuse to break us in shall we he he! I decided to get my Stila Liquid Eyeshadow in Kitten Karma back out and sometimes when I'm feeling a bit extra I add some on the centre of my lids and wow the sparkle is real! Kitten Karma looks great with all the plums and cranberry's too!

What eye products do you love to wear during autumn beaut's? I'd love to know!

nopin

Reasons Why I Love Visiting A Pumpkin Patch!

 Hey beaut's!

I bloody love autumn, theres something about the cosy vibes, the colours, the scents, the hearty meals and the all important pumpkin that just gets me all fuzzy inside. This year I'm visiting two pumpkin patches, one of which I have already been too with my girlie Kate - that particular patch was quite small and quite chilled and relaxed and then I'm actually off to a much larger pumpkin patch today (Saturday), I actually visit this one every year, it's a little tradition me and the boyfriend have now. So today I thought I'd share the reasons why I much prefer going pumpkin picking than buying your standard ole pumpkin from Tesco! 
* The Variety - Yes you can get Pumpkins in the supermarket but 1 - wheres the fun in that and 2 - the variety just isn't the same. Visiting a pumpkin patch means you can get your classic pumpkins in all shapes and sizes, theres also white pumpkins, spooky pumpkins with warts all over them which are a personal favourite of mine, theres loads of different squashes and munchkin pumpkins to choose from and one of the patches I go too also do glow in the dark pumpkins, it's fab!

* The Photo Op's - Come on, we are always thinking about the gram opportunities and theres nothing more autumnal than getting some cute shots in a field full of pumpkins, their actually some of my personal favourite pictures to browse through on Instagram at this time of the year. 

* The Food - The larger pumpkin patch I visit every year has quite a few food and drink stalls which are so nice, I got some amazing Halloween cupcakes last year and the best pumpkin soup I've ever tasted, aswell as the hot chocolates which are divine and warm you right up if it's a cold day! 

* The Experience - The whole vibe of going to the pumpkin patch makes me feel so much more autumnal (if that was even possible) and really gets me excited for Halloween and pumpkin carving! Theres always a corn maze to try out, hay stacks to climb and the best pumpkin carvers ever carving the most amazing things I've ever seen into a pumpkin, I love it!

Will you be going pumpkin picking this year beaut's? I'd love to know!

nopin

My Current Netflix Favourites!

Hey beaut's!

I'm such a TV and movie addict so Netflix is well loved by me, it's also getting to that time of the year again where getting cosy and watching Netflix  happens a whole lot more and I for one am happy about that, so today I thought I'd share my current favourites with you!

Power - I think Power has to be my current favourite TV show, I'm totally and utterly addicted to it! If you haven't watched Power before it's basically a super intense drug, crime, drama that's based around a guy called James St Patrick or 'Ghost' as he's known in the drug world. Ghost is a pretty big deal in the drug world but is trying to get his life back on track but certain things drag him back down to that bad lifestyle all the time, it also surrounds his family, children and best friend Tommy who all play a part! Season 5 has just finished and it's left me chomping at the bit for more I tell ya, roll on season 6. 

To All The Boys I've Loved Before - This Netflix original film was hugely hyped up online but actually it took me a while to finally sit down and watch it, but once I had watched it I totally saw what all the hype was about because I loved it! The film is focused on Lara Jean a sixteen year old student who has written letters to all of her crushes whilst she was growing up, the letters then accidentally get sent out and she has to deal with the aftermath. I found it a really lovely film with plenty of sweet moments and it really gets you wanting certain relationships to form (you'll know what I mean if you've watched it), I love that when a film has that effect on me! It also has the gorgeous Noah Centineo in it, I mean he's a bit of a dream boat isn't he!

Gavin & Stacey - If your after something a bit light-hearted that will have you lol'ing then Gavin and Stacey will really hit the spot. Me and my boyfriend never actually watched Gavin and Stacey when it was on TV years ago so when we saw it was on Netflix we gave it a whirl and managed to finish it all within a week. We are currently watching it again every night whilst we eat dinner because we love it that much, and it's still just as funny the second time round!

Sierra Burgess Is A Loser - Another Netflix original rom/com which I totally love, in fact I love it more than To All The Boys I've Loved Before which is really saying something because I love that! The plot here is quite confusing to explain but.... it's all about Sierra Burgess, a student who isn’t part of the cool crowd and only has her best friend Dan, Sierra ends up texting Jamey played by the lush Noah Centineo from To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Jamey goes to a different school nearby and has a crush on the most popular girl in Sierra's school - Veronica! Veronica pretends to then give her number to Jamey (who thinks all of his Christmas' have come at once) but actually she's given him Sierra's number, Jamey starts texting who he thinks is Veronica when in fact it's Sierra, it's basically a cute catfish if that's ever a thing lol! I have actually watched this film a few times now and still love it each and every time I watch it!

Jessica Jones Seasons 1 & 2 - If your lover of all things Marvel and superhero then I think you'd really enjoy Jessica Jones! Despite it being super hero based it's not a 'kiddy super hero' watch its definitely for the adults and sees some really gripping stories and cliff hangers going on, plus Jessica is such a bad ass, I love a bit of girl power! It also goes hand in hand with all the other Marvel TV shows of Netflix such as Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Defenders and The Punisher, I've watched all of these too and I really recommend them, especially The Punisher!

Let me know if you’ve watched any of these TV shows or films beaut's and if you enjoyed them, also I'd love some more Netflix recommendations too!

nopin

My 'Updated' Gingerbread Cupcake Recipe

Hey beaut's!

I've been back in the kitchen again... On Sunday I had a real craving for some gingerbread cupcakes so I went through my baking cupboard and decided to whip up a quick batch and wow they hit the spot let me tell ya... I did share a gingerbread cupcake recipe on my blog before but I've tweaked the recipe ever so slightly, and I've also switched up the buttercream to my super scrumptious brown sugar buttercream so I thought I'd share my updated version with you all today!
What You Will Need For The Cupcakes
150g Unsalted Butter 
150g Light Muscovado Sugar 
150g Self-Raising Flour
1 tsp Ground Ginger
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 pinch Nutmeg 
3 Free Range Large Egg
1=2 tbsp Milk

What You Will Need For The Buttercream
125g Unsalted Butter
55g Soft Brown Sugar
200g Icing Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Splash Of Milk

How To - Cupcakes
* Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 4 /180 and line a muffin tin with your cupcake cases.
* In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and the light muscovado sugar with an electric whizzer until well combined, then start adding in the eggs one at a time, mixing between each one.
3. Then add in your flour, ginger, cinnamon and the nutmeg and mix until you get a smooth batter, I had to add in some milk just to loosen things up.
4. Pop a tablespoon of the cupcake batter into each cupcake case and bake in the oven for around 15 minutes or until the top of the cupcakes are springy to the touch, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool.

How To - Buttercream
* In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until it becomes super whippy, then start adding the icing sugar slowly to avoid the dreaded icing sugar cloud and mix again until combined. As usual if the buttercream is too stiff then pop in some milk until you get your desired constancy.
* Pipe or spoon the icing on top of the cupcakes and decorate with some sprinkles if you wish, I got the little gingerbread men sprinkles from Home Bargains, and voila!
These cupcakes where so incredibly easy to make and they taste and look so good, the cupcake itself is super light and has just enough spice within it without being too spicy and the brown sugar buttercream is such a game changer. If your a lover of gingerbread then you HAVE to make these cupcakes over autumn/winter, .

nopin