Blogmas Day 8 | Black Friday Puchases

Black Friday is a new phenomenon here in the UK and has only really taken off in the last couple of years.  You'd be fooled, by the title of this post, to think that it's something I look forward to, but it's not.  I can't help but feel that it's all a bit of a front, 50% off (but look closely for the teeny tiny "up to" which prefixes it), or a couple of brilliant deals to dangle the carrot and get you through the door/on the site and then only marginal discounts on the majority of stuff.

But, this isn't a post about how much I dislike Black Friday.  It's a post about what I bought from the Black Friday deals.  I know, I know..I'm a hypocrite!

I placed an order with Beauty Bay, who were offering 20% off.  The package only arrived a few days ago, so I thought I would share my first impressions.

Sachajuan Hair Repair

I first heard about this product when Kate La Vie raved about it.  Deep conditioners are 10 a penny and finding a decent one is really hard, I've found.  I have now used this a couple of times and must say that so far, I'm impressed.  First of all the packaging is so simple, and I love the fact it has a pump.  There is nothing worse that trying to get the cap back on a bottle with a hand full of conditioner!  I have been using 3-4 pumps and this is ample for my shoulder length hair.  I have noticed that my hair has more of a shine and feels incredibly soft, and not weighed down at all.

Voluspa Spruce Cuttings Candle

I am in the midst of a full-blown candle obsession.  I have heard good things about Voluspa candles and when I saw the discount it was a no-brainer.  The scent is Spruce Cuttings, which is like Christmas tree in a candle; it's woody and 'green' and oh so festive.  The metal tin is also gorgeous..I'm such a sucker for packaging!

Colleen Rothschild Clarifying Detox Mask
I lay the blame for this product squarely with MsGoldGirl.  She raves about this brand on her daily vlogs, so when I spied that this was discounted, it went right in my basket.  I love using masks in the Winter; home from work, into my PJ's, mask on, feet up...bliss!  I tried this for the first time last night and it is essentially a clay-based mask which gradually hardens as it dries.  It is packed with charcoal and kaolin clay to help draw out impurities, and micronised silver which keeps bacteria at bay.  It also contains glycolic acid so has exfoliating properties.  After I rinsed it off my skin feels very smooth and not at all irritated.  I think this is the type of mask which needs used on a fairly regular basis (the packing suggests 2-3 times per week) to really reap the benefits so in the run up to Christmas I plan to make a concerted effort to get my skin in tip top shape.

Did you pick anything up during Black Friday?

Blogmas Day 7 | Gingerbread Muffins

 Today I thought I would share these muffins which I am crazy about.  They are lightly spiced with ginger and cinnamon, and have a really familiar flavour which I think is due to the addition of black treacle.  I have topped them off with a brown sugar cinnamon buttercream and let me tell you, it's the perfect combination!  Oh, and they make your whole house smells amazing too.

This recipe makes 8-10 muffins

You'll need:

50g light brown sugar

80g vegetable oil

80g milk

100g black treacle

1 egg

220g plain flour

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsb ground cinnamon

pinch salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

And for the buttercream:

250g softened butter

500g icing sugar

60g soft brown sugar

2-3 drops vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celcius.  In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil, milk, treacle and egg.  I used a whisk which worked well to combine the treacle with the rest of the mixture.  Add in the spices, salt, and then the baking powder, bicarb and flour.  Mix until just combined.  Lumps are your friend where muffins as concerned, as you wan to keep the light texture and over-mixing can result in a chewy muffin.  I used an ice cream scoop to fill some muffin cases which I had placed in a muffin pan.  Pop them in the oven for around 20 minutes, but as all ovens vary, keep a toothpick on hand to test your muffins.  As soon as the pick comes out clean, whip them out of the oven.  

You'll need to cool them completely before staring on the buttercream.  I used my stand mixer to combine all the buttercream ingredients and whisked until light and fluffy.  You could be all fancy and pipe the frosting onto the muffins, but I simply used a palette knife and smoothed the icing on in a semi-haphazard fashion.

I used perhaps the cutest little gingerbread men toppers that I got in Hobbycraft, I mean, just look at them!  I love their little smiley faces..

These muffins are perfect with a cuppa or, if you like living on the edge, serve warm with custard or ice-cream.  You won't regret giving these a try!

Blogmas Day 6 | Jingle All The Way Frame

 

Pinterest, my friends, is a wonderful thing.  Need to know how to tie the perfect bow?  It's on there.  Need a recipe for creme brule? Yup, take your pick.  My Christmas board is growing by the minute right now, with meal ideas, wrapping, wreaths, cocktails...the list is literally never ending.  I came across this pin some time ago, and just loved everything about it from the style of the font, to that fact it's a shadow box frame which means you can trap little objects between the backing board and the glass.  The Range opened up a new store nearby s while I was in I decided to have a go at making my own interpretation and I thought I would share it with you, since it's Christmas n'all that!

All you'll need to create this little piece of festive art is:

• A shadow box frame of your desired size.  I picked up this one from The Range at a bargainous £2.99 - Ikea also have a good selection.
• Something to fill the void in your shadow box.  I picked bells since my wording was "Jingle all the way", also from The Range and £1.00 per pack
• Printable acetate from Hobbycraft, £2.69 for 5 sheets
• A printer
• Scissors
• Double-sided tape
• Paper

I love the style of writing so much from this pin that I purchased the .png images as I couldn't find another font which worked as well as this.  Once I downloaded it I printed it onto the printable acetate and trimmed it to the size of the window of my frame.  I used a really thin line of double-sided tape at the four corners of my acetate before securing it against the inside of the glass of the frame.  Next I asked my husband Darren to create a candy-cane striped background on Photoshop for me, before printing it out and trimming it to the size of the apeture of the frame.  This was slightly larger than the acetate.  I emptied the bells into the cavity of the frame, positioned the background and replaced the back board of the frame,

Then I sat back and admired my handiwork for a good 10 minutes.  I may even have sipped a hot chocolate during said admiration.  Hey, I worked hard doing all that cutting and printing!

Blogmas Day 5 | A Typical Winter FOTD

I have recently rediscovered the Lorac Pro Palette which was laying unloved under my more often used pile of Naked palettes.  It's a real 'staple' make-up item and has the kinds of colours I'm sure most of us reach for on a day-to-day basis; neutrals, a few shimmers shades and some darker crease colours.  The pigmentation and texture of the shadows is spot on, needing only one swipe of the brush and very easy to blend.  

Today I started with the colour Light Pink on the lid and then used Mauve, an earthy mid-tone cool brown as a transition shade.  I then used a smidge of Sable, a warm brown in the outer and inner corners of the eyes in an attempt to create a more deep-set eye look.  I finished off with some Maybelline gel liner and my go-to mascara, Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Ultra Black.  

For my base I used the Too Faced Born This Way foundation in Light Beige.  I'm completely on the fence about this foundation - it has great coverage but has quite a shiny finish that I'm not sure I'm a fan of.  I then used Kevin Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer as my concealer under my eyes and to cover any additional redness.  I haven't used this in a while as it's one of those 'I don't really know what to do with it' products.  It's a thick cream, and I mean thick!  I haven't quite got to grips with this product, but today I warmed a teeny bit on the back of my hand and I was really pleased with how it applied.  Blush was MAC Warm Soul, a great, goes with anything type shade.  I used Maybelline's Tantalising Taupe on my lips then added a bit of shine with Maybelline Petal Plush lipgloss on top.

As i'm say writing this, the rain is hammering on the window and the wind is howling.  Be safe out there guys!

Blogmas Day 4 | Glasgow Botanic Gardens

Earlier this week Darren and I bundled up in many, many layers and headed into Glasgow for the Electric Gardens event at Glasgow Botanic Gardens.  The gardens were brought alive with light and sound, with the plants and trees bathed in various hues.  It was surreal to be strolling around such a place at night at this time of year, but there was a nice buzz about it and nice to see the park, which would normally be deserted, alive with people, light and music.  There was also a performance by fire artists which was a lovely touch.  We stood clutching onto our hot coffee vups while we watched - did I mention how cold it was?

Of course I took my camera along.  I am trying to improve my photography skills and have even moved the dial on my camera away from the Auto setting!  I thought I would share with you some pictures from the evening.

Blogmas Day 3 | November Favourites

The confusion of me writing a November Favourites post on Day 3 of Blogmas has not escaped me, I've just been liking a lot of stuff this month and thought it deserved its own post before we got too far into the month.  Okay, disclosure done, let's crack on with the good stuff shall we?

First up is Handy Gurugu hand cream from Lush.  I'm not normally a hand cream user, but the sudden dip in temperature has left my hands dry and flaky...lovely eh?  So during a recent visit to Lush with my husband Darren in tow, he mentioned how dry his hands also were and that we should buy some Lush hand cream.  I knew there was a good reason I married this man, I tells ya!  We settled on Handy Gurugu as it had a rich, buttery texture but sank in relatively quickly.  We now both use it as part of our bedtime routine and I must admit it does seem to be making a difference to both of our hands (both sets of hands? All of our hands? Why doesn't that sound right?!)

Next I have been using Schwarzkopf got2b Mind Blowing Fast Dry Hairspray after seeing Kate La Vie rave about it on her blog.  That girl has shamazing hair so I'm more than willing to buy up everything she uses in an attempt to emulate her tresses quite frankly!  I had seen this product when it first launched but to be honest, I wasn't all that sure what it actually did.  The packaging doesn't really shed much light on how to use and the instructions are minimal. I've been using it on freshly washed hair and working in sections using short blasts all over my head.  It claims to speed up drying time which I haven't really noticed, but I tend to let my hair air dry til it's about 50% dry anyway and I haven't noticed much of a difference in that respect.  However, where this product excels is adding bounce and 'life' to my fine hair. I struggle to find products that don't weigh down my hair or make it greasy-looking but this, when used sparingly, really seems to make my hair look better.  I have also noticed that my hair keeps its style better for longer - I even had a day-three good hair day last week!

I've had the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation for some time, but have found that if I wear it in the warmer months it gives me way too much shine.  I tried it early in November and found that the colder weather means that instead of descending into a oily mess, it imparts a healthy glow which, let's face it, is what we all need at this time of year.  It also gives a decent amount of coverage - it's on the fuller side of medium, blends really easy and is generally low maintenance which is what I need in the half light rush of a weekday morning!  The only down side of this foundation - and it's a biggie - is that it isn't, to my knowledge, available to buy in the UK.  I got this while on honeymoon in the States.  This is such a shame, because it is somethin' special indeed.  

What have you been enjoying this past month?

Blogmas Day 2 | Sass and Belle

I recently came across this gem of a website called Sass and Belle which sells the most adorable things and it's a great place to pick up unusual wee gifts or stocking fillers - its not the 'normal' stuff you see in the high street stores. Here are my top picks. 

*Oh, and I haven't been paid/asked to talk about this site, I just genuinely love their stuff!

1. Glass Pyramid Terrarium I have always wanted one of these, I am terrible with actual plants but you can't really go wrong with succulents.  2. Scottie Dog Paper-clips Everyone loves stationery, no?  3. Forest Fox Snack Box This super cute snack box would be handy for snacks for work/school.  4. Go Your Own Way Banner  5. You To The Moon And Back Cushion Such a simple design that would look great with any colour scheme.  6. Bark Tealight Holder There is too much cuteness - the little heart window...I can't.  7. Letter H Mug  8. Copper Measuring Spoons These are so handy for the kitchen, and they are copper which means everyone needs them, obv.  9. Heart Wall Decoration This just screams blog background to me!  10. Pink Biscuit Cushion  11. Picnic Box Set My niece would love this, can you imagine the cute tea parties?  12. Cream Calendar Blocks  13. Square Photo Frame  14. Set of 4 Coffee Cups This would be a fab gift with some good quality coffee and some homemade biscotti.  15. Retro Measuring Cups These adorable pastel measuring cups make me want to put on a frilly apron and bake cookies.  16.  Around The World Map Cushion

Has anything caught your eye?