Happy Halloween!

Just wanted to say... "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!"

This week I've been soooo busy (it was half term and I pretty much did something everyday) so I'm sorry that I haven't written a long post lately, I've only just got back to my 'normal' regime. Off to college later and then I'll post my Weekly GROW post.
I went to Tulley's Farm on Thursday with my boyfriend, and enjoyed it so much.. It was pretty scary and all the 'haunts' were definitely worth the £30 I spent on a ticket. It's basically a farm out in the country side somewhere in Sussex and every year they open it at night to the public and have 5 - 6 different attractions. This year they were; Haunted Hayride, Field of Screams, Mirrors Maze 3, Creepy Cottage, The Haunted Cellar? and the NEW attraction, Hell-ements. All-in-all it was a great night, and I definitely got my kicks when Az absolutely wet himself on the first ride (not literally).

Then for you girls that follow me on Twitter or read my last post, will know that I got a job at Debenhams in the Fragrance Section, so I had my induction training yesterday - which was so tedious. We watched a 2 and a half hour DVD on Health and Safety haaha... I tried to fall asleep, but couldn't because the volume was on full. GAH.
I hope you all have a fab week. I'll be Tweeting more frequently now and writing more posts...

HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEN!

MAC Face and Body Foundation RANT

MAC Face and Body Foundation in C4

Ok, I don't normally hate products at all.. I sometimes dislike them, but never hate them. I think it's time to make an exception. This Foundation has to be the worst purchase of my entire Foundation-using life. No over-statement.. Some people may really love this Foundation, and I'm not against that at all... But I was wrongly advised by one of the MAC shop assistants and I'm just cross that I didn't go with my gut instinct not to buy it. First off, I found there's hardly any coverage, only if you apply and apply and apply - and I asked for a Medium Coverage Foundation. GRRR! Secondly, this Foundation seems to be for very dry skin, as I found after applying about 3 coats (and still not having GREAT coverage) my skin would be like oil on a plate. It was horrendous!
My mum actually commented on my skin, telling me whatever foundation I was using, was definitely too oily for my skin (which I already knew)...
I like to have a Medium Coverage light foundation for my base, and then a darker foundation on top (that's how I roll).. But with this foundation, it would get oiler throughout the day, and my other foundation would pretty much smudge off using any force (or even start melting off in high temperatures - Luckily I was in cold Wales at the time)..

I am in no means trying to make you not buy this product, but perhaps question whethere it is right for your skin. I'm heading back to MAC whenever I'm next in town to get my money back, or buy anothe (better) foundation.
This foundation may actually be your staple and one that you rave about.. That's great. But if you're oily - normal combination skin, this is definitely NOT for you - unless you lervvvvee that oily look..

On another note, these are some of the pictures I took in Cardiff, Wales. I haven't got round to editing the others just yet.. But I've got too many posts lined up to do individual ones. So here's a sneak peak.

Hope your week's been good! Speak soon!

Bloggers Secret Santa! CLOSED

So the beautiful Rani (from Cupcake Couture) has organised a Secret Santa 2011 for Bloggers! I, personally, am so excited because I love everything about Christmas and the occasional Secret Santa..
There are more details on how you can get involved on Rani's Cupcake Couture site by clicking HERE but the closing dates are TOMORROW, so better do it quickly!
I've already got some good ideas for my role as Secret Santa to someone and can't wait to go out and shop for it! Christmas is in 67 days, and it's not long AT ALL! I'm SO excited. Can you tell?

Anyway, hope you get involved! And hope to read some posts about what other Bloggers got for SS! ♥

MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Review

A few of you may have already read my post on buying my first ever MAC product and since then I've had a few of you also comment on how good/healthy my skin is looking. And it's down to this beauty. Because I'm reasonably fair skinned, I use a lighter foundation to make the base when I put my makeup on, and then over that, I put Studio Sculpt in NC40 on my cheeks, under my eyes and slightly on my forehead. This helps me look slightly more tanned and healthier rather than plastering on just one colour so your face looks more 2D than 3D.
Recently I've found this cold weather makes my blusher or bronzer look too blotchy, so I've resorted to using foundation as a colour for my cheeks.
Although, throughout the day, my face may get a bit greasy, I'd prefer to just dab a tissue on it and re-apply, than to have to deal with blotchy bronzed cheeks. Not nice...

This product has also been SO moisturizing but not so that it makes my face breakout. I've removed makeup at night and thanked the lord for this miracle of a foundation. It's been SUCH a savior and I plan to buy this in a lighter shade tomorrow.

From a previous picture of me, my skin looks so much more dewy than when I used bronzer/blushers. The way I edit my photos, make my skin look slightly pixelated but I can reassure you that it really is smooth and a good coverage. I would be tempted to say it's a full coverage, but it does blend in nicely with my lighter foundations, so (as it says on the packaging) I'll agree that it's a medium coverage.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I LOVE this product. It covers well, stays on my face pretty much all day, and is a natural looking colour, however dark it is in the tube. If it wasn't such a great product, I wouldn't be going back for more.

What foundation do you love? And why?






Due to the editing of my photos, the colours of the foundation, may not necessarally be identicle to the real product.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Nothing ever goes right for me really... I normally have average weeks, lazy days, no job and hardly any money (not cool)... But enough of the depressive talk! This week (so far) has gone SO well..
As a new blog (this was started in July, I think) I'm used to getting the occasional follower, maybe 1 every two weeks or something.. But last night, was like a revelation. I obtained 11 new followers on Blogger and 14 on Twitter.
This isn't a post to make others feel worse about themselves, nor is it to cringe the more follower-heavy blogs out haha.. I just.. Never believed I'd even get this many - and in such little time.
I wanted to thank you. Hence the big love heart haha..
Well anyway, hope you're all good!

Why my week's been super good!
P.S. 1) Got a new job in Debenham's
2) Got all my work done (this is extra-ordinary for me)
3) Got you lovely people following my blog
4) The realisation that Christmas isn't THAT far away!

Vanilla and Lemon Icing Cupcakes



Vanilla Cupcakes - This recipe makes 12

5oz (150g) lightly salted butter, softened
5oz (150g) caster sugar
6oz (175g) self raising flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of (hot or cold) water

Pre-heat oven 180 degrees (350 F), Gas Mark 4.

- Line the bun tray with paper or cake cases
- Mix the unsalted butter until white and fluffy
- Add the sugar
- And eggs
- Sieve the flour into the cake mix
- With a spoon, mix the flour in with the cake mix so far. If you use an electric mixer, the flour will fly into the air and create a mess..
- Add Vanilla Extract and Water
- Make sure the contents are all mixed together well
- Devide the cake mix between the paper/cases
- Place in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes

For Lemon Icing

5oz (150g) unsalted butter, softened
8oz (250g) icing sugar
1 and a half tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest (not compulsory)

- Mix unsalted butter until light and fluffy
- Sieve icing sugar into the bowl
- Mix icing sugar with spoon
- Add lemon juice and zest
- If you find the contents to be too liquidy, add more icing sugar
- If you find contents too solid, add more juice/water

Then decorate to your hearts desire!

 They really did taste as good as they looked! And I found that using Muffin trays instead of the ordinary baking trays, made the cupcakes more shapely and light to eat.

Give it a go, and tell me what you think...

ABC

Just thought I'd post one of my creations. I know it's not much, but it took me SO long - roughly 3 hours - so I thought it would be a good idea to share them with the blogging world. I'm doing a project on Typography at the moment, in Graphics and this was one of my first ideas. Nearly finished it now, and I can definitely say I won't be doing them for my final piece. EFFORT.

My First MAC Product

This is my very first MAC product ever. How is it that I haven't ever used MAC but have a beauty blog? Perhaps because I'm not entirely with it. But what better time to start than now? After buying a True Match Loreal Foundation in W7, I very clumsily dropped it in my Bathroom and it went.. EVERYWHERE. Quite literally. All up the walls, all over the floor and carpet and in my shower. Grr. After the short outburst of tantrums, I decided it was a sign that I needed better foundation. So... MAC it was. Me and the Boyfriend went on a search in the Old Lanes and finally found it. The woman was really lovely, and made me look fab for my interview later that day (which went very well, and I'm hoping to hear from them tomorrow..)

Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation in NC40 - MAC

 I'll be wearing the new foundation tomorrow when I take my weekly GROW photo. And Christmas has come early for me. A new set of PJ's just in time for the cold autumn/winter months.

Hope you have a lovely start to the week!