Osez-Moi!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

I  have wanted to write about this perfume for a while now, but I recently was given some from my lovely auntie which has encouraged me to tell you about it. It's Osez-Moi! by Chantal Thomass, I never usually go on about perfume as it isn't something I wear often but just more than a month ago my little cousin gave me a tester for this and I have to say... I fell in love with it straight away! However it was only a tiny tester and lasted about a week or so. I was disappointed when it ran out as this is the first perfume that I have really liked plus its not exactly cheap, its not as expensive as many other perfumes but for me its way out of my price range! When I opened it I was a bit in shock as I had no idea I would get it, but I am very grateful.

I absolutely love it as it smells quite fruity and isn't too harsh. I am very fussy about perfumes and the way they smell as most perfumes smell so strong and you end up tasting it as someone walks past! This is quite subtle but it lasts all day and doesn't loose its scent.
So even if you never really like perfumes as some smell too strong, I would recommend this one as it smells gorgeous and isn't harsh!
If you have a favourite perfume I would love to know as I always struggle to find nice ones!

Just another Christmas post!

As you may know already I am a big fan of Christmas and especially decorating! I always look forward to getting all the boxes out of the loft each year to turn the house into a christmasy palace. I decorated last week in between college and work and I think it turned out okay! The fireplaces are the main bits to decorate and I love hanging the stockings up as they always look nice and add a bit more to the room.

My favourite part is choosing the tree, we bit off more than we could chew this year with this tree as it is around 10ft and we needed to trim some branches! But I think decorated, it looks lovely and the smell of pine is the best. Christmas is also a time for eating way too much! As my whole family experienced first hand at this years Christmas Dinner. It looked lovely and cosy with the fire lit and the table set but there was far too much food for us all!

We had some adorable salt and pepper shakers which you can see above (Santa and Mrs Claus) and some lovely hand made Christmas wine glasses. Overall it was a really nice dinner and we all enjoyed our selves a little too much with the after dinner Christmas trivia which my brothers girlfriend brought over from America, it was for kids but at least it was entertaining!
I also took the chance to decorate my room and I found this scented candle which smells amazing, its 'citrus ginger spice' and smells so nice! I have never really had a scented candle which actually makes the room smell, but this one works really well and I love it. (I think I will have to buy some more!) It was from Matalan in the home section and it was only £3 so not expensive at all. It was only a in a plain glass jar (see picture) but I decided to make it look a bit more festive by adding some ivy, pine cones and a few bells.

I hope you all have a really nice Christmas this year and enjoy yourself!

Christmas Cake Pops (Instructions Typed)

As it is was the Christmas meal on the 14th, and I am the baker of the family, I was assigned to make some Christmas cake pops! Last year I made snowmen and Christmas puddings which looked really cute it was a shame to eat them, this year I have made some Christmas trees and presents! Please excuse the quality of the pictures as they were taken on my phone so are not as good.

Last Year                                                  This Year 

They are not perfect, but they are very tasty! Unfortunately the candy melts didn't work as expected this year so they were not dipped and perfectly smooth, but the hard work payed off and they were very popular amongst the family and have almost gone! If you would like to make then read on until the end.
I love making cake pops as they give me something to focus and concentrate on, and once they are done they are worth it! I always make these on special occasions for example this year I made cauldron pops for Halloween which turned out better than expected!

If you would like to make cake pops, the instructions are below! 

Ingredients

8oz Butter

8oz Sugar 

4 medium eggs 

8oz Self raising flour 

1 teaspoon Baking powder

Frosting

Candy Melts 

&

Any other decorative things you want

You will also need cake pop sticks, and something to stand the cake pops up in. Either a Styrofoam block or a cake pop stand.

1. Make a plain sponge cake,

Mix butter and sugar until smooth, whisk in the eggs, sieve the flour and baking powder together (Gradually adding a bit at a time) until smooth. Then pour it into then put it into the oven at Gas mark 6 for 17 minutes, use a cake tester to test the middle, if it comes out clean then your cake is ready.

(If the outer layer may start to burn because the middle isn't done, turn down to gas mark 4 and put in for longer, keep testing.)

2. Allow the cake to cool then cut it into four and rub the cake together over a bowl, do this until it all crumbles in to fine pieces. 

3. Add the frosting a bit at a time until you feel like the cake will stick together with out crumbling. (You may need to mix this in with your hands!)

4. Mould the cake into small-ish bite size balls and then place on grease proof and place them in the fridge to harden or place them in the freezer for approx. 15 minutes and no longer otherwise they will freeze! 

5. Melt some chocolate and dip the end of the stick into it, then push the stick no more than halfway into the cake ball. Place that in the fridge to harden and set.

6. Time to decorate!! Melt your candy melts (If you over heat them and they aren't runny enough to dip, add a tiny bit of milk) Then carefully dip your cake pops. Do not put pressure on the stick or leave it over the heat too long as the chocolate will melt and they will fall off the stick. 

7. Gently hold the cake pop over the chocolate and tap your wrist whilst slowly turning the cake pop as this will get rid of excess candy melt. 

8. Place into your stand, add any more decorations and you're done!!

This may seem like a lot, all you need is patience and free time but they are worth it!

If you try to make some I would love to see the result! So let me know how it goes :)

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Christmas!

I cant help it. I am far too excited for this years festive season! This time of year is like being transformed back into my younger self when I looked forward to Christmas all month. 

But this year one thing has changed...

I am organised! I have bought all my Christmas presents and I have wrapped them. Yes. I may be a little too over excited.. or I just have far too much time on my hands to do something productive! But hey ho, tis' the season to be jolly right? 

The towns tree and decorations are up and soon enough it will be time for another decoration fest for me! I am in charge of decorating the house and I have already picked out the decorations I will be using. I love Christmas as it never fails to revert me back to my childhood, with all the memories and bringing to family together to celebrate another year. I love it! 

However working with the public you do get a few 'Ba humbugs' now and then, but it's nice to see the majority of people buying Christmas presents with a smile on their faces, and to see some Christmas spirit in amongst the chaos. 

I know I haven't posted for a while but I aim to get into the blogger mood over the following few weeks and show you some of the things I do in preparation, like make some awesome (If I say so myself) cake pops for the annual family Christmas meal! And possibly some 'Christmas Crafts', also a Christmas Essentials or something similar! So I hope you look forward to them as much as I am! 

Last Years Decor!

Speak soon! 

Lipstick v Lip Lacquer?

Hello lovelies! 

Today I wanted to do a kind of head to head between two different products. Hopefully this will become a once a month feature amongst different makeup products, but keep in mind that these opinions are my own and will not apply to every one! 

For our first head to head I will be discussing lip products! 

The first product is going bold! (well, with the colour that I chose), its new Rimmel London Apocalips. You may have heard all about how wonderful this product is from everyone and their mothers! There has been a huge hype surrounding this product, and sure the pigmentation is really good! .... Here comes the but, and it's a very big but...
Personally I find Apocalips very sticky when applying, and it tastes very strange.
I know, I know you're not supposed to eat it! But I believe if you are putting something on your lips, it needs to taste nice in order for you to want to use it again! Right?
- However -
It isn't all bad... It is very pigmented... but, it smudges very easily and it transfers onto other things like it cant wait to escape, which leaves you looking like you have just put a huge amount of lip liner on and no lipstick! (And that happens within the first few seconds of doing anything!) Although I have heard people say it is very long lasting and doesn't transfer, I have yet to see that. I have worn it a few times, but it just comes straight off. I do like the look of it though and love the colour range they have. If you can wear it without it going anywhere, please tell me what magic you're using! I would really like to wear it more often and with out thinking about re-applying it loads throughout the day.

Shade 304 Eclipse £5.99

The second lip product is a lovely neutral shade called Barely There by Vivo. This product isn't as hyped up as the Apocalips but personally I find it really good to use. It has a creamy consistency which is nice when you apply it, it also quite a while and offers good pigment (Although I have yet to try stronger colours). It doesn't smudge noticeably and it is fairly moisturizing so it doesn't leave your lips dry. Although I would recommend  using a moisturizer either under or over the lipstick if your lips are dry or chapped, just in case!

Shade 8 Barely There £2.00

These are all my opinions and what I have found out about these products, through my own use. If you have a different opinion on these products I would love to know what you think! As everyone has different opinions and it would be interesting to find out other peoples experiences!

Happy Halloween!

 I love any events during the year in which the family comes together, or I get to attempt to transform the place with decorations, but I am especially keen on the Halloween period as I get to make things as scary as possible, whether that's by stringing cobwebs around or using these very cool blood gel stickers (picture below)

Spoooky

Plus you cant forget the costumes! I am still in the process of making mine, but luckily the party isn't until Saturday, so I have a bit more time to finish, but the dogs have got their cute little costumes ready! I am not the type of person who dresses the dogs up usually, but the novelty costumes are very hard to ignore! As I am proving right now as I type this I cant help but giggle, it makes me look a tad mad but hey ho, you have to enjoy the little things! ...... Such as one of my dogs who has taken very well to her little witches hat!

Even the dog is in the spirit!

Are you busy with spooky celebrations, hanging up decorations, carving pumpkins and handing out sweeties to the eager trick or treaters?

Or are you taking this chance to have a horror movie marathon to get your self truly terrified?

Whatever you are doing I hope you all have a really good time and enjoy yourself! Get dressed up, paint your face, do what ever as long as you have fun! 

...

Don't get too spooked

Winter Pastels

1. Cream Hooded Coat

2. Knitted Cardigan 

3. Oversize Jumper

4. Wedge Ankle Boots

5. Shoulder Bag

6. Polar Bear Mittens

7. Chunky Snood

I never usually relate pastels to winter but I love the way they all look together, plus they will all keep you toasty warm during the colder months! I fell in love with the little polar bear mittens, they are far too adorable I just had to include them! I know this may sound mad to many of you, but I am actually looking forward to winter, I cant wait to snuggle up in a big jumper as they are so easy to wear and keep you warm. So, what do you think of my wish list?

Baby lips?

It is not uncommon for people to get dry, chapped lips during the winter. I am one of those people, my lips start to split and can become quite uncomfortable, the past few winters I have always tried to keep some form of lip balm or moisturizer on me so I can stop that from happening, but I have never seemed to find a product that actually works. So a few weeks ago I purchased two Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms, as they claimed to offer up to 8 hours hydration, plus every one and their mother were raging about it and praising it very highly so I decided to give it a try! I bought 'Pink Punch' and 'Peach Kiss' and honestly?

Pink Punch

I love them! They have lived up to their name as 'Baby Lips', they make your lips really soft, but of course it doesn't last for 8 hours, but what do you expect? If it did that would be some sort of wizardry! Also they give your lips a hint of colour which helps a lot, 'Peach Kiss' is my favourite as it offers a really natural looking colour whilst hydrating your lips and making them feel so much better!

Peach Kiss

So if you are stuck when trying to buy a lip balm that works well, I would recommend these products as they are really good to use and feel really nice!

October events!

I think October may be one of my favourite months of the year, and it seems to be the busiest ones! There are so many different things to look forward to, and I love the general autumn feeling when it just feels snug. I walk to college every day and the view changes each time, leaves change colour from green to yellow then to a lovely red/ burgundy, then they fall off and you can hear the crunches as you step through a blanket of dried leaves. (Its a fairly satisfying sound!) Plus the air is chilled but not cold, its the perfect temperature to go for walks then curl up with a hot drink.
This month brings a wide variety of events in my town but my favourite has to be the annual musical fireworks! They are held every year on three consecutive nights, and this year it is being held now! The first display was on Friday, unfortunately I wasn't able to go but I did catch a glimpse of them from outside the window! I went last night (Saturday) and they were great to watch, there was a wide range of different fireworks which kept variety within the displays. There is another display tonight which I cannot wait for, unfortunately I did get any pictures to show you guys but I wanted a night just to sit and watch the displays!

Rubbish Quality from the fireworks last year

This month has always been full of fond memories, especially from my childhood as we always used to get together with family and friends and throw a huge Halloween party, I always adored the way my mother used to decorate the house as she has a very creative unique style and always made things look really good! And of course you cant forget the pumpkin carving which is incredibly messy but we still do it every year.

Pumpkin last year

But this year I have something extra to look forward to, as I am going to Majorca for 4 days on a spare of the moment holiday! Which brings me to the fact I will be gone next Sunday, I will try and schedule a post to go out. So in case I don't blog, I will speak to you in two weeks, keep safe, until next time!

Autumn inspired wish list

1.  Cable Knit Cardigan -  Next

2. Peter Pan collar dress - Matalan

3. Tan ankle boots - New Look

4. Smashbox Lipstick - Boots

5. Satchel bag - ASOS

As each day passes the air is getting noticeably colder, it makes me realise how close winter really is, its almost October! This year has gone by far too fast, but I would be fibbing if I was to say that I wasn't a tiny bit excited for the autumn months. So much so that I put together a little outfit that I think would look perfect for an autumn day. I love things with Peter Pan collars as they usually look very elegant and stylish, so I chose this simple dress which would go perfectly with the cable knit cardigan just to keep things warm, and I would pair these with some beige ankle boots. I have always wanted to be a bit more daring when it came to makeup as I have always kept my look fairly simple so I choose a bright red lipstick which would spice the outfit up a bit more and add a bit of colour! Finally I would just top off the look with this really simple satchel bag, and of course you can't forget the cup of hot chocolate during the colder season! I am looking forward to curling up with a good book in cosy clothes whilst sipping a hot chocolate.

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High-street foundation: Yay or Nay?

Now, I am not one for going out and spending all of my money on makeup, so it is often hard for me to find brands that work, especially for a price that doesn't part you with all your hard earned cash. I  have spent far too much time walking around stores looking for foundation that is actually worth the money and more often than not, it isn't which is a huge disappointment. So I am here today to give my opinion on which high street foundation I found to be either good (Yay) or ... not so good (Nay)!  

My skin is a combination between normal and oily, my cheeks and my forehead are normal and my nose and my chin are oily. (I also get a tiny bit of dry skin in winter time)

Unfortunately I cannot guarantee that the ones that work best for me will work in the same way for you, but it is good to know what other people think if you want to experiment a little with your routine! 

So, lets get started! 

We are going to start with a positive! This is Maybelline 'Fit me!', it is a liquid foundation and I purchased the lightest shade I could find in Boots which was 115 Ivory. This foundation is really nice and easy to apply, I put it on with a brush but you can use clean hands. I would say this was a medium coverage because it covers well but it isn't perfect and isn't a heavy foundation. It gives a very healthy dewy finish, I wouldn't recommend this to people who have very oily skin but for people that have normal or dry skin this would be a nice fit. It also last very well on the skin which is a bonus because it can last the majority of the day! 

This is available in Boots and Tesco and other high street shops, ranging from £7.00 to £7.99. So it doesn't break the bank! 

I give this 3.5 out of 5, so this is a Yay!

Next we have Rimmel London 'Match perfection', this is another liquid foundation, I purchased this one in Light porcelain 010 which is again the lightest shade. This foundation is very runny and doesn't stay on the skin very well, which makes me believe this wouldn't be a very good makeup for those with oily skin.

I would say this was a very light coverage makeup, which can be good if you already have very nice skin and few blemishes, but for people who are trying to cover up a bit more I wouldn't recommend this as you cant really build it. 

This is available in most high street stores including Boots, Tesco and even Asda. It is priced at £6.99, which isn't bad.

I would give this foundation a 1 out of 5! Sorry but this is definitely a Nay!  

Here we have another Rimmel London 'Stay Matte', this is an oil free mousse/liquid  foundation. I purchased this in 103 True Ivory. This foundation is great for those with oily skin as it adds no extra oil, has cucumber and chamomile extract, is paraben free and fragrance free. However for those with dry skin I wouldn't recommend this as it can cling on to dry patches and make them more visible. This is a tiny bit more harder to put on as (in my experience) you cannot put it on over other makeup products such as primer or other foundation as it bunches up and it can be a bit heavy. I would say this offers a light to medium coverage, so you may still need to apply concealer over the top. 

This is available at Boots, Tesco, Superdrug and Asda for £5.99, which is a very good price for oil free makeup! 

However it doesn't work very well for me so I will have to rate this as 2 out of 5 stars, which is sadly a Nay!

The last one today is one that I have been using for a while now and yet again it is another Rimmel London foundation, 'Wake Me Up', this is a liquid foundation. I purchased this in True Ivory 103 (I also buy it in Ivory, if it's there). This foundation is super easy to put on, it gives great coverage and leaves you with a even skin tone and a healthy dewy finish, which again sorry to say, might not be advisable for those with oily skin!  This has an anti-fatigue effect which makes you look more alert and awake (matches nicely with the name!) It is also fairly moisturising and lasts a while on the skin. I would say this is a medium coverage foundation, if you have a few blemishes left showing you can also use the Wake Me Up concealer which I have talked about in my previous blog 'Late, Late, Late'.

This is available in most high street shops, such as Boots, Superdrug, Tesco etc. Unfortunately this is a tad on the pricey side for me at £8.99, but I think it's worth it!

I would rate this as a solid 4 out of 5 for me! Which is definitely a Yay! 

So that's all for this week, hope you found this helpful!

Talk soon Lovelies,

~ Looella

Late! Late! Late!

Have you ever had one of those days when your alarm goes off and you go to press the snooze button but then accidentally press the power button instead and sleep way past the time you were supposed to get up?

Yesterday I had a lesson at 11 o'clock in the morning, completely forgot about it and guess what time I woke up?
10:55
I was mortified! (I usually get up about an hour before I have to leave to allow myself enough time to get ready), from what I can remember, I did some odd gymnastic move that I could probably never replicate again just to launch myself out of my bed, I threw the closest outfit on, and by this time I had around 3 minutes to do my make-up (which usually takes around 20 minutes or more!). I had no time to prep my face so I had to skip washing and moisturizing and just stick to the make-up. I was convinced I had no chance of ever looking like a normal human being in this amount of time but to my surprise I made it! Plus I managed too look something similar to what I do when I spend 30 minutes in front of the mirror!!  (minus the eyeliner and eyebrows) but I still managed to cover up my blemishes and even put on a bit of mascara, I was impressed, I had never gotten ready that quickly in my entire life!

I think I owe this achievement to my trusty concealer, I have been using the same brand of concealer for a while now and I absolutely love it, it works a treat! It has great coverage and makes you look awake and alert, which matches quite nicely to their name! If you haven't already guessed or don't know the brand, this is Wake Me Up concealer from Rimmel London. I swear by it, its also not pricey which is a major bonus!
I have tried so many different brands of concealer, from the liquid, to the sticks, to the cream concealers and I have never been fully satisfied with the out come, most of them come off instantly when you put powder over them, or they don't cover anything like they're supposed to. But Wake Me Up concealer is quick and easy to use, blends really nicely and a little goes a long way!

My Life Saver

So if you are having a spotty day, have trouble with dark circles or just have redness on the skin I would recommend this product, it gives great coverage! 

~ Looella

Winter is coming!

Time to put away those dresses and swap your bikini top for a jumper! Its getting colder each day but there is no need to be sad about the changes... they bring opportunities!! 

For example, the chance to have a huge wardrobe change, style yourself in a different way, and wear all your comfy clothes, whilst being tucked up nice and warm!

Personally I am a sucker for winter clothes. They are my pitfall, when I am out shopping I cant help rummaging through the coats, feel all the jumpers, and having a cheeky look at all the cosy pajamas! It is a necessity. I love spending my free time in pajamas and snug sweatshirts, if you haven't got any where to go... why not?!

  

Of course winter has its advantages, you can wear snug clothes, sit in front of an open fire and indulge yourself on hot chocolate and sweets!

You can see where I will be spending my time for the next 4 months! 

~ Looella