Lush Bubble Bars: Brightside & Amandopondo

When it comes to Lush, their bubble bars are my absolute favourite. There is nothing better than having a nice, warm bath with a mound full of bubbles and amazing fragrances. Whenever I get chance to go in, I always find myself drifting towards the bubble bar section. What I like about the bubble bars is that you can chop them into smaller pieces without loosing any of their properties: they still smell amazing, produce the same amount of bubbles and make them last so much longer!

When I popped into Lush a few weeks ago I picked up Brightside and Amandopondo to try out as I haven't had them before. Both of them have "citrusy" scents which I love as I find it really refreshing and really wakes you up if you're having a morning bath. Brightside is almost the same as The Comforter however it has a much stronger scent. Huge notes of orange and bergamot break out the moment you crush it amongst your bath water. It also tints the bath water to a bright orange colour which looks amazing! 

Amandopondo on the other hand has a lot more of a relaxed scent. Hints of rose and lemon combine to give you a sweet uplifting fragrance that's relaxing and satisfying. To top it off, it has a cute purple rosebud inserted in the top I'm not really too sure what you supposed to do with it  which I just use in the bath and throw it away! Amandopondo turns your bathwater a slightly milky colour and produces loads of foamy, moisturising bubbles!



Have you tried out any bubble bars from Lush? What do you think of them? 

x

Honey, honey!

For me when it comes to buying bronzer, with my extremely fair skin, it's difficult to find something that doesn't appear orange or dirty when I wear it. A while back there was quite a rave about the Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder by The Body Shop by lots of fellow bloggers. Eventually, I had to cave in and buy it!

What I like about this product is that it has a matte finish. Nothing glitzy just a few specks of shimmer to make your cheekbones look better than ever before! Also, because it has a matte finish, you can use it as an all over bronzer on your face, not just to emphasise your cheekbones. 

Honey Bronze Bronzing powder also comes in 4 different shades which I really like. It comes in: Light Matte, Fair Matte, Medium Matte and Dark Matte which is so useful as there is one to suit everyone! Before I discovered this product I didn't tend to wear bronzer as it can appear orange or just look dirty. However, this bronzer is a god-send for pale girls like me. Priced at £13.00 a pot,  it is a little bit expensive but my goodness is it worth it!

If you have pale skin - this is your new best friend for sure.

xx

PROM 2014

You may have wondered where I had gone for a while as I haven't posted for a few weeks, but I'm back in action now and ready than ever! Last night was my Year 11 Leaver's Prom and I thought you might want to know what I was wearing etc. (I know I love looking at others' prom pictures!)

I was so nervous about the night and was constantly worried that I was going to fall flat on my face in my 4 inch heels (bearing in mind this was the second time I'd actually worn heels in my life) or the wind could catch the chiffon in my dress and flaunt my underwear! Luckily, everything went to plan and I was just left with throbbing feet at the end, but there are no surprises there!

I ordered my dress from Dylan Queen as they offered custom fit dresses and a huge selection to choose from. I know it's not the greatest of ideas to order expensive dresses online without trying them on and I was a little bit skeptical to start with. However, after reading tonnes, and tonnes of reviews I decided to go for it! When it arrived it fitted like a glove and looked absolutely stunning! 

My shoes were from John Lewis, with my dress being such a hard colour to match anything with, I thought silver shoes would be the way forward! Despite the heels constantly sinking into the grass during photos meaning I had to balance myself on the balls of my feet which was actually quite painful! I also had a mirrored silver clutch bag from eBay which isn't shown in this photo, in fact I'm not sure where it got too! 

Finally, I got my hair done by the lovely people at P-Kai in Peterborough, it looked so good when it was finished and backcombed and the curls are still in my hair now! I then topped everything off with a sterling silver circle pendant necklace from Accessorize.

I hope you all had/have lovely proms if you have one this year! 

xx

Wake up it's a Beautiful Morning

Breakfast is obviously the most important meal as it sets you off for your adventures that day. Though to be honest, I'm quite fussy when it comes to breakfast - If it's not a bowl of Lucky Charms it's either pancakes or granola and Greek yogurt that does it for me (yum!). I used to be a huge cereal fan but I don't really know what happened to that as I slowly stopped eating them. Pancakes are so quick and easy to whip up in the morning and take roughly 60 seconds to cook. I like to pour some golden syrup over mine with some chopped banana and blueberries!

Granola is another one of my breakfast favourites I would quite happily munch this for the rest of my life! To prepare this, all I do is dollop 3-4 tablespoons of natural Greek yogurt into a bowl, chop up some strawberries, blueberries and add some dried fruit, which in this case is raisins and cranberries, and sprinkle with granola! Voila! This particular granola is full of oats, fruit, pumpkin seeds, coconut and cranberry juice! It's so yummy and so healthy for you - what more could you ask for? 

I'd love to know what you eat for breakfast as I like trying out new things! Also, I'm looking forward to posting so much more on my blog as I have officially left secondary school! (Whoop, whoop partaaaay!) I also have lots of things lined up that I am excited to share with you! 

x

Benefit's Big Beautiful Eyes...

I must be one of the very few bloggers who have not go there hands on an Urban Decay Naked palette yet. I just feel there is no need to pay for one of them when I have my Big Beautiful Eyes contour kit from Benefit. Last year, I was lucky enough to receive this as a birthday present and it has seen me though since. Inside the palette it contains three neutral shadows and the Bo-ing concealer. It also comes with two brushes - one concealer brush, and a double-ended contour and liner brush which are really good quality.

As you can probably see, the Bo-ing concealer is way to dark for me as I'm as pale as anything! Unfortunately, the shade is 02 when I really need the lightest shade. The base shadow is the lightest shadow that you can see and it's sort of in between a matte and a shimmer shadow and a very similar dupe to All That Glitters from MAC. One up from that is the contour shadow used to define your eyes and use in the corner and the crease of your eyes. The contour shadow is a shimmery, light brown colour. Finally there is a matte, dark brown liner shadow which can also be used in your brows if you have dark eyebrows like mine.

All of these shadows are pretty and neutral enough to be used for everyday and I really recommend it if you don't want to spend too much on a bunch of shadows. You can pick it up from Boots, Selfridges etc. for around £25.50. Benefit, you have done it once again!

x

'Get To Know Me' - 25 Questions Tag

1. Do you have a middle name?
I do indeed, it's Louise but I hate it!

2. What was your favourite subject in school? 
I really, really like English and also Media Studies as I want to be a journalist when I'm older.

3. What's your favourite drink?
Hmmm..I can't help but indulge in a 'Raspberry & Roobios Tea' from M&S every now and again! 

4. What's your favourite song at the moment? 
When I'm not belting out the songs from Frozen, probably 'Extraordinary' by Clean Bandit or 'Tous les mêmes' by Stromae. 

5. What would you name your children?
If I have a girl, I like Fleur, Poppy or Felicity. Errrm..boys names I don't actually know! Probably something traditional.

6. Do you participate in any sports?
Not currently, I used to do gymnastics as a young child but stopped and went on to doing dance instead. I did it for 6 years up until I was 15 and had to stop because I was diagnosed with extreme exhaustion (oops!).

7. What's your favourite book?
Now, this is a difficult one! But it probably has to be 'The Great Gatsby' by Scott Fitzgerald followed by something like 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen. 

8. What's your favourite colour?
I think I have to do with pink or orange? I don't really have an explanation, they're just pretty! 

9. What's your favourite animal?
I'm a dog person, but I really like cute, fluffy rabbits too! 

10. What's your favourite perfume? 
'Daisy - Eau so Fresh' by Marc Jacobs I wear it literally everyday!

11. What's your favourite holiday?
I love Christmas - I mean, who doesn't? 

12. Have you graduated from High School? 
I'm guessing this is an American tag and High School there is a little different to the UK. But yes, I have left Secondary School in the UK and start Sixth Form in September.

13. Have you even been out of the country? 
Yes, I have several times! I've been to France 4 times, Finland, the USA and Dominican Republic! Next year I am off to Borneo, Malaysia for 4 weeks doing project work with Camps International which is so exciting!

14. Do you speak any other languages? 
Well, I speak English (of course), I'm pretty fluent in French now (my grammar is slightly off), I learnt a little bit of Chinese (Mandarin) and I'm currently learning to speak Malay for my expedition next year. I love learning languages! J'adore apprendre des langues! 我喜欢学习语言! Saya suka bahasa pembelajaran!

15. Do you have any siblings?
Yes,  I am the oldest but I have 2 brothers and a half-brother (aged 13, 11 and 3) and a half-sister (aged about 8 months now!).

16. What's your favourite store?
Topshop! Without a doubt!

17. What's your favourite restaurant?
Hmm...Prezzo or Carluccio's! Do I like Italian food?.....Sì!

18. Do you like school?
Yes, I love it! I love learning and I cannot wait to go to University!

19. Who are some of your favourite Youtubers?
I LOVE Zoella - who doesn't? Louise, Alfie, Naiomi, Tanya, Caspar, Joe, Louis....(all of those guys). I also really like Natoo, she's a French youtuber but she is très amusant! 

20. What's your favourite movie?
Haha, well, I don't really watch lots of movies but I like: Mean Girls, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (I also LOVE the book!) and all of the Disney classics (I am yet to still watch the Lion King as I have never watched it! Haha!)

21. What are some of your favourite TV shows?
I love all the American shows: Dance Moms, Toddlers & Tiaras, Say Yes to the Dress - you know what I mean!

22. PC or Mac?
I have a PC but I'm hoping to buy a Mac soon and I do prefer them!

23. What phone do you have?
I have an iPhone! Touch wood, I haven't dropped it yet!

24. How tall are you? 
I am 5'6 so I think that's fairly average? 

25. Any pets?
Not currently, I have had a hamster, 4 guinea pigs and a dog in the past but they all passed away. Except from the dog - we had an Alsatian and she started to get aggressive and attacking people and with me and my brother as very young children it wasn't safe to keep her! :-(   

Hopefully you fell like you know me a little more now! If you have any questions you would personally like to ask me, feel free to leave a comment below and I will send a reply! 

x

Chloe Cooks - Coconut Loaf

When it comes to baking, I like to stick to the basics. The throwing the ingredients together in one large bowl and then bunging it into the oven - 60 minutes later voilá! Anything to cuisine is just too difficult and it completely backfires for me. When I had my French exchange over we tried making macarons and they totally failed (most probably down to moi...)!

Anyway, seeing as I have so much time on my hands now that I have left school, I decided to do some baking. I baked a scrummy coconut loaf cake which tastes so good, plus coconut tastes so good!

You will need:

- 175g butter or margarine

- 175g caster sugar

- 3 eggs

-225g plain flour

- 1tsp baking powder

- 100g desiccated coconut

-2tbsp milk 

Step 1: Grease or line your baking tin with greaseproof paper - for this recipe I used a bread tin (is that what they're called?). Preheat your oven to 170°C/338°F/Gas mark 3-4

Step 2: In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a metal or wooden spoon.

Step 3: Gently beat in your eggs one at a time. If you prefer you can use an electric mixer or whisk - but here I just put my muscles to use!

Step 4: Once you have added all of your eggs to your mixture, using a sieve, sift the flour and the baking powder into the bowl and mix it until thick.

Step 5: Finally add your desiccated coconut into your mixture. If you want to add flavourings to your cake you can also do that now. I've seen several recipes that have included cinnamon into them, but I left that out because my family doesn't like it!

Step 6: Place your baking tray into the oven and cook for about an hour. To check if the cake is cooked place a wooden skewer into the centre; if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. If the cake needs extra time but is browning too much, cover it in tin foil and continue to bake.

Enjoy! Let me know if you try out this recipe as I know several other bloggers have!

Chloe x

MAC Crème Cup

And here I am, yet again, typing my thoughts about my new MAC purchase at a ridiculous time in the evening (live life with no regrets -eh?) Anyway, a couple of days ago I picked up my first lipstick from MAC. I have honestly never been much of a 'lipstick wearer' as I've never had the confidence to parade around with vibrant colours on my lips. However, I have always fantasized over the MAC lipsticks ever since I started buying their products but never brought myself round to purchasing one.

The lady in MAC recommended to me that I tried out Crème Cup as it wasn't too different to my natural lip colour. This way, I can wear it on a day-to-day basis without looking ridiculously OTT (because I've seen some of their shades, and let me tell you, some look a tad scary!) and without making me look paler than I am already. 

Crème Cup is a cremesheen finish so this means that it is really moisturising, and has a creamy texture to it with a gentle shiny finish. It is a dusky pink colour which looks so natural and flattering when worn. My first impressions of this lipstick are great! I love it and ever since I've bought it, I've been using it everyday! 

Crème Cup also smells sooooo good! I don't know whether MAC put scents in their lipsticks - I don't think they do? But, this lipstick smells so good it's unreal! It kind of reminds me of  the shells from Cadbury Mini Eggs as just has that distinctive sugary scent that smells d-e-l-i-g-h-t-f-u-l!

This lipstick retails at £15 the same as the other lipsticks from MAC (apart from another range which I think are £15.50?) so it is quite reasonable but definitely worth the money! Now I've bought one I want so many others!

 I definitely recommend this to you if you want to buy your first MAC lipstick but are unsure of what colour to choose! Let me know what your favourite shade of MAC lipstick is as I'd love to hear your opinions on one's I should try out next!

Chloe x

Mini Topshop and Beauty Haul

The other day, me and my lovely mother spent the day in the city doing a spot of retail therapy in the rain. I picked up only a few things as in all honesty there wasn't that many items that struck my eye that day.

First I picked up this set of beautiful Essie nail polishes in a set called 'bridal bliss', which I'm guessing is picked out for ladies on their special day. Despite this, and no I'm not getting married, I bought it as the colours were to elegant to leave on the self! Essie polishes usually retail at £7.99 each but in this duo set they were £12.99.

'Allure' is the pale, milky colour which I think will look so pretty and 'Eternal Optimist' is a more pastel pink colour which is really flattering. Another reason why I picked up this set is because I recently started a new job as a waitress and have to look keep myself looking natural so I have to stick to natural nail colours. I have no problem with that though as I think natural nail colours (pales, nudes, and pinks) look prettier anyway (but that's just my opinion!)  

Finally I also caved in to purchase my first MAC Lipstick in the colour Créme Cup. In all honesty this is literally the colour of my natural lips, but therefore I know it will definitely use it! It's such a pretty pink colour and I will do a review on it in the near future so keep your eyes peeled!

Then I took a trip into Topshop (as per usual) actually wanting to buy a skort as I don't own one yet and think they look gorgeous. Instead, I came out with this gem. It's a skirt with a tapestry looking design with contrast sides and I love the fusion of colour within it. 

I've also wanted to try and break out of my monochrome habit as black & white is just boring! This skirt has an A-line fit so gradually widens towards the bottom and looks extremely flattering. I have also bought several A-line style skirts from Topshop as I absolutely adore them.

Hopefully I will be doing an outfit post soon styling this skirt because I am head-over-heels in love with it!

Chloé x

Benefit POREfessional

Wow, it's been such a long time since I last posted here! Unfortunately, I've been caught in the midst of my GCSE examinations (eeeww) but luckily I only have 3 more to go and it's A-Levels! Also, I recently bagged myself a job which I love doing (whoooooop!). Anyway, the good thing is that I've returned and hopefully get back into the routine of posting weekly - but thank you for sticking with me!

Today, I'm going to do a little product review on Benefits POREfessional primer because I've recently been able to get a hold of the sample version from ELLE Magazine! 

When I saw that ELLE were giving away free little samples of POREfessional with their magazine I was SO excited (and that may be a little bit of an understatement!) as I've been wanted to try it out so badly; without having to spend £24.50 to find out I don't like it. However, I cannot wait to go and buy the full size version of this product as it is absolutely incredible!   

I was a little bit skeptical about using it at first as I realised it is sort of  orange in colour and with my pale skin thought that it probably wasn't a good idea! Though I was proved completely wrong when I tried it on the back of my hand with it appearing perfectly transparent and leaving it silky smooth with a entirely natural finish.

When I use this, which is everyday, I tend to focus it in my T-zone as that's where my skin can get a little bit oily after a while. After a couple of uses, I noticed that my skin would last a lot longer before appearing oily and the 'benefit' is that you can top it up on top of your make-up. I haven't tried it on top of my make-up as of yet as I tend to apply more of my MAC powder instead.

I literally cannot wait to go out and buy the full size version as I absolutely love it and use it everyday what I wear make-up! If you want to pick it up too, you can get it here.

Let me know if you have tried POREfessional out too and your thoughts on it as I'd love to hear them!

Chloé x

Mini ASOS Haul

 Believe it or not this is the first time I have ever bought something from ASOS before. Purely because I spend most of my money in Topshop. However, after seeing ASOS' range of wildlife smock dresses and dainty sandals - I had to place an order!

I had never really tried a smock dress before as I thought they'd appear frumpy and unflattering. But I thought I'd go for it and see what they look like on - I actually quite like it! I also fell for adorrrrable fox pattern on it and can see me wearing this dress quite a lot throughout the spring/summer months! Plus, for £28 it couldn't be left alone!

The sandals are actually from New Look but ASOS stocks their items, and, at £7.99 I don't think you can really go wrong when buying some shoes! Sandals are actually an uncommon thing in my wardrobe and I actually own very few pairs. So, I was in desperate need of a new pair for the warmer months. This pair have a buckle strap fastening and some elegant gold detailing at the front.

Despite this being a mini haul I am very glad with my purchases! Hopefully these items will eventually feature in some outfit posts (I'm not making any promises but I want them to become more common on here!) Also, sorry for the decline in posting, after next week I'm starting my GCSE's - Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Chloe

xx

April Favourites

I can't believe April is nearly over! However, here are my favourites for this month:

1 - Topshop Blush in Head Over Heels, 2 - Calvin Klein Eternity, 3 - Clarins Instant Lip Perfector, 4 - Benefit They're Real, 5 - L'Oreal Paris Eau De Tient, 6 - Phil Smith Total Treat Argan Oil Cream, 7 - MAC All That Glitters 

Most of these products pretty much speak for themselves from their packaging. Topshop make-up is amazing and it is now my go-to brand. The colour of this blush is so flattering and the colour lasts ages! The formula is also really creamy and moistursing (a common occurrence with Topshop's make-up) which is definitely worth a thumbs up! Calvin Klein's Eternity is also a stunning fragrance. It is more of a fruity and sandalwood fragrance and is definitely suited for spring and summer! Clarins Instant Lip Perfector is one of the nicest lip products I have ever used. For starters, it smells like candyfloss and I just want to eat it (although that wouldn't be normal...) and lasts absolutely ages it's unreal!

Every beauty blogger, fashionista or instgrammer will be aware of Benefit's They're Real and I don't think it needs any explanations other than it is the best mascara I have ever used in the world! Eau de Teint is also another one of my make-up faves this month. It is such a light foundation and is completely weightless as well as being packaged in the cutest bottle EVER! For eyes, I've been loving All That Glitters by MAC. It is a nude, natural shade with a slight shimmer to it and looks stunning!

Lastly, Phil Smith Total Treat Argan Oil Cream is soooooo good! I'm not going to say too much though as I'm planning to do a review on this soon! However, this product works wonders for your hair and not a day goes by where I don't use this!

What have you been loving this month?

Chloe

xx

  

Topshop Lips in Beguiled

I've always been a 'scaredy cat' when it comes to wearing dark colours on my lips. Eventually, I managed to burrow out of my comfort zone, and purchase a deep plum colour and I praise myself for doing so!

Topshop lipsticks are undeniably amazing. At £8 each you can't really go wrong - the formula is creamy, pigmented and long-lasting. Forget reapplying every hour - with this, you have to apply it twice maximum to last a majority of the day. It's so moisturising and nourishing to the lips - it also has a lovely satin finish to it. This colour, Beguiled, is a pulchritudinous (what a word!) plum colour and I am head-over-heels in love with it.

I always thought that deep plum shades would make me look even more pale than I already am, but it really complements both my hair and skin tone! I think the feeling of looking washed out or ill is what put me off of buying more adventurous shades!

Topshop Lips - Beguiled

Have you tried out any of the Topshop lipsticks? If so, what colour? I'd love to hear your thoughts - comment below!

Chloe

x

Chloe Cooks - Simnel Cake

Simnel Cake is a cake filled with mixed fruit, lemon and marzipan and is a perfect Easter recipe. Here's how to make it: 

You will need:

• - 175g/6oz butter or margarine
• - 175g/6oz soft brown sugar
• - 3 free-range eggs, beaten
• - 175g/6oz plain flour
•  - Pinch salt
• - 350g/12oz mixed raisins, currants and sultanas
• - ½ lemon, grated zest only
• - 1-2 tbsp apricot jam
• -500g natural marzipan (ready made is best)

Step 1. Preheat your oven to 140C/275F/Gas mark 1. Then, grease and line a 18cm/7in cake tin using grease-proof paper.

Step 2. Start to make the cake by creaming together both the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy. If you want to speed things up a little you can use a mixer  but, if you're like me just give it some elbow grease! 

 Step 3. Add in each egg one at a time beating between to make sure they are completely mixed into the mixture. Then sift in the flour and salt and mix again.

Step 4. Place your cake mix aside for this step and use a grater to grate 1/2 a lemon zest (or more if you prefer) and add to the mixture. After the zest has been added, get your mixed fruit and place into a separate bowl. Coat the mixed fruit in some plain flour before adding to the mixture. This stops the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the cake as it is cooking.

Step 5. Roll out roughly 1/3 of your marzipan on a hard surface; lightly dusted with icing sugar. Cut out a circle which will comfortably fit in your cake tin.

Step 6. Put half of the mixture into your cake tin. Smooth the top over and cover with the circle of marzipan. Then place the rest of the cake mixture on top and smooth it over leaving a little less mixture in the middle so that the cake can rise. Bake in the oven for 1 3/4 hours. Test the mixture by inserting a wooden skewer, if it comes out clean you cake is ready.

Step 7. Generously spread apricot jam on top of the cooled cake. Roll out another 1/3 or your marzipan and place on top. Then create 11 little balls and using half cut cocktail sticks insert them on top of the cake, making sure they are evenly spaced. 

Step 8. Now, if you're professional (unlike me) and have possession of a cooks blow torch (this would have been fun though) brown the top of the marzipan until it goes a slightly golden brown colour. Alternatively, heat up your grill to the highest setting and brown the marzipan for roughly 1-2 minutes checking every few seconds so that it doesn't burn (you wouldn't want to ruin all of your hardwork now!)     

Phew! Sorry this post was such a long one. This took a while to bake but it was totally worth it - it looks sooooo good and so yummy! 

Chloe

xxx