Raspberry & White Chocolate Valentines Cupcakes!

 Hey beaut's!

Valentines Day is fast approaching -  so obviously that gave me the perfect excuse to get back into the kitchen and do what I love....and that's to get my bake on! Today I have a yummy raspberry and white chocolate cupcake recipe for you which is not only quick and easy to make but they contains one of your five a day too (lol)! These are the perfect Valentines treat for you and your partner to share or you can make them for you and your best girls to enjoy if you like!

What You Will Need For The Cupcakes
165g unsalted butter

         115g caster sugar         

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

165g self raising flour

2 tbsps milk

120g raspberries + extra to decorate

60g grated white chocolate

What You Will Need For The Icing
150g unsalted butter
300 icing sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons of milk
Pink food colouring
Sprinkles & raspberries to decorate (optional)

How To - Cupcakes
1. Firstly pre-heat your oven to gas mark 4 /180 and line a muffin tin with your cupcake cases.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whack in your butter and caster sugar and mix until smooth with a hand whizzer. Once the butter and sugar mixture is smooth whack in all the remaining ingredients apart from the raspberries and beat again! Finally fold in the raspberries carefully as you don't want them to break apart, you want to keep them as whole as possible within the batter.
3. Pop a heaped tablespoon of the cupcake batter into each cupcake case and bake in the oven for around 18 minutes or until the top of the cupcakes are springy to the touch, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool.

How To - Icing
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric whizzer for around 5 minutes or until  smooth and whippy, then start adding the icing sugar slowly to avoid the dreaded icing sugar cloud and again mix until smooth. Then pop in the vanilla extract and a couple of tablespoons of milk if you feel your buttercream is a bit stiff. Once the icing is at the perfect consistency pop in the food colouring a tiny bit at a time until you get to your desired shade of pink.
2. Pipe or spoon the icing on top of the cupcakes and top with some sprinkles if you like, I found these cute little princess sprinkles in Tesco which I thought looked perfect for Valentines Day, I also popped some remaining chunks of white chocolate and raspberries on mine too!

Will you be baking any treats for Valentines Day beaut's? I'd love to know what your thinking of doing!

Skincare Valentines Gifts for Him and Her! ♥

Hey beaut's!

Valentines Day is fast approaching so today I thought I would share couple of gift idea's with you all, I tried to think a little more outside the box with these, they aren't your typical perfumes/aftershaves, box of chocolates or flowers but luxury skincare from Cosme.De.com to suit him and her! I know skincare can be quite a personal thing but I think its always nice to try something new that you wouldnt usally pick out yourslef and because its luxury it's seems that little but more special and thought out.

Estée Lauder Resilience Lift 3-Piece Skincare Travel Set* £19.00

Firstly I have this gorgeous little travel set by Estee Lauder! Personally I think travel sets make amazing presents because you get a few goodies to try that you normally wouldn't pick up, so its a great way to discover new products, and as they are the smaller travel sizes I find you get just enough product to cast an opinion as to whether you really like it or not. The Resilience Lift 3-Piece Skincare Travel Set includes...

♥ Perfectionist [CP+R] Wrinkle Lifting/Firming Serum 15ml

This is a powerful wrinkle lifting/firming serum that claims to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles with exceptional speed, gotta love the sound of that ha ha. The Serum contains breakthrough CPR-75 technology that is proven to double your skin's natural collagen building power, which plumps up and smooths the skin. This does sound more for a mature woman but I've been using it loads and I'm in my 20's and I've found that it makes my skin feel and look fresher and radiant and works beautifully under foundation.

♥ Resilience Lift Firming/Sculpting Face and Neck Crème SPF 15 7ml

If you have dry skin like myself your going to love this! The Resilience Lift Firming/Sculpting Face and Neck Crème has a whip cream texture that super moisturising, after testing it out I've noticed that it does take a while to absorb into the skin so its best used at night as more of a night crème, when you wake up in the morning you'll be left with super moisturised, nourished skin .

.

♥ Resilience Lift Firming/Sculpting Eye Crème 5ml

I do love a good eye cream because my eye area get dark a dry so I was so excited to try this and my goodness its a good'un! The Resilience Lift Firming/Sculpting Eye Crème contains an intensely nourishing formula which instantly hydrates the eye area, it also contains luminizing optics which blur the look of fine lines and helps reduce to look of darkness around the eye area. All in all this little beauty makes my entire eye area look firmer, brighter, smoother than ever, love this stuff.

All of the Estée Lauder goodies come in a cute Geometric Patterned Blue and Purple Cosmetic Bag that comes in so handy when travelling.

Clarins Men Grooming Collection* £30.00 

Next we have something for the man in your life... This Clarins Men Grooming set ranges from shaving foam to moisture balm and is simple enough for men to use on a daily basis whether their a beginner or pro in skincare. The set includes...

♥ Men Super Moisture Balm 50ml - Great for reviving the skins texture after shaving, the soothing, non-oily texture of the balm is best for normal to dry skin and will leave your man with exceptionally supple and smooth skin.

♥ Men Exfoliation Cleanser 2 in 1 125ml - This dual function cleanser and exfoliator regulates the complexion gently but effectively while making impurities disappear, it's great for that deep clean and banishing any flaky skin area's.

♥ Men Smooth Shave Foaming Gel 50ml - This Smooth Shave Foaming Gel is a must for any man, it physically and biologically reduces razor burn by creating a protective film over the skin, and prevents the development of bacteria and redness. For a close shave for all men, whatever their skin type.

♥ Men Anti-Fatigue Eye Serum 10ml - This effective Anti-Fatigue Eye Serum works to soothe and reduces dark circles, puffiness and wrinkles. The non-oily and lightweight formulation leaves his eyes feeling comfortable and moisturised.

The goodies all come in a masculine Navy Blue Travel Bag.

You can find these gifts sets along with lots of other Valentines gift ideas on the Cosme.De website, they have upto 60% off too, gotta love a bargain! 

What are you buying your loved one this Valentines?? I'd Love to know beaut's!

NEW 007 For Women | Valentines Gift Idea! ♥

Hey beaut's!

Valentines Day is sneaking up on us all very quickly this year and today I have a review of lovely perfume that would be suitable as a gift for the special day or if your just looking to treat yourself to a new scent this new release would be a great pick, so say hello to 007 For Woman*.

007 for Women is a fragrance inspired by the iconic women found in Bond's seductive and daring world. The fragrance is described as 'dangerously seductive', with a unique mix of ingredients that blend signature femininity with intangible mystery into a modern interpretation of an oriental fragrance, sounds pretty amazing right??

The scent itself is very oriental with top notes of black pepper and rose milk, heart notes of  blackberry and white floral jasmine and base notes of vanilla, white musk and cedarwood. It really is a beautifully scent that I've been enjoying wearing over the last couple of weeks, all of the fragrant notes just go hand in hand together and the vanilla and white musk really do come through as it settles. It's also a very light, delicate scent to wear and is in no way overpowering at all which is a huge bonus for me, theres nothing worse than a strong overpowering perfume is there. As for the packaging.... Its so nice, I love the mix of the black and rose gold and the diamond-cut pattern all around the bottle adds that little bit of texture.

Overall I think 007 for Women is an absolute hit! It's in no way gimmicky and is a very neutral scent meaning I think most women would enjoy it, it's definitely one to put on your wish list beaut's! 007 Woman is available from 1st February 2015 nationwide and comes in 30ml RRP £25 and 50ml RRP £30.

Will you be giving 007 for Women a whiff beaut's?? I'd love to know he he!

Easy Valentines Nails ♥

Hey girlie's!!!

As Valentines Day is fast approaching I thought I'd share with you all a really easy nail look that I came up with that I think is super cute. Potentially there are 3 nail looks here that you could use on your nails or you could do what I did and just put them all together!!

What you will need...

 *A nail file.
*A piece of scrap paper or card.
*A bobby pin or manicure/cocktail stick.
*Nail polishes of your choice. I opted for Headline Colors 'Twisted Silk', Collections Hot Looks 60 Seconds 'Starlet' and Revlon's 'Popular'.

How to...

1, Firstly after filing all my nails I painted my ring finger and thumb nail a plain baby pink shade (As you can see I did paint my thumb nail the red shade to begin with but decided on the pink in the end), I used my Headline Colors polish in Twisted Silk that I got in a Glossybox ages ago as it's completely opaque after one coat.
2, Whilst my baby pink polish was drying I then took my Collection Hot Looks 60 Seconds polish in Starlet and painted the rest of my nails with 2 coats.
3, After all my nails where completely dry then took a blob of the baby pink nail polish on a piece of paper and used a bobby pin to dip into the polish to create the pink polka dots and the love heart that's on my little finger, if you don't have a spare bobby pin you can always use a manicure/cocktail stick.
4, To finish off I used my Revlon nail polish in Popular as a top coat over the baby pink on my ring finger and thumb just to add some sparkle.

And there you have it, simple but cute Valentines Day inspired nails. 

I hope you like what I came up with girlie's, I'm in no way any good at nail art or even painting my nails to be honest but I do try my best he he!!! 

Don't forget you can enter my 500 follower GIVEAWAY here to be in with a chance of winning a MAC lipstick and a MAC eyeshadow of your choice!!!