Monday 29 December 2014

NARS 'Virtual Domination' Palette

Ahh, finally I get to post this on my blog! Until very recently NARS and I had never met. Of course, I had lusted over all the populars like 'Sheer Glow' foundation and 'Laguna' bronzer but the nearest counter to where a live is quite a journey. So is MAC actually but thats another issue. I had been thinking for a while that I really need to start wearing blush. I have 100% just been a bronzer and highlight girl for far too long. I just like a contoured cheek bone and a shine on the tops. Enough was enough and I bit the bullet. Christmas is the best time to pick up sets/palettes that have multiple shades of blush in. I knew that I wanted the Benefit 'Cheeky Sweet Spot' already because it is a beauty however when I came across the 'Virtual Domination' palette and I completely fell in love. It is stunning.





Firstly before I go on to mention what beauty the palette holds I have to say that it is amazing value for money. I recieved mine for Christmas which was from Space Nk. It was £45.00 and contains 3 blushers, 1 huge bronzer and 1 highlight. 'Laguna' bronzer is bigger than a full sized bronzer as it is 10g. The bronzers Nars sell are £27.00 pounds alone for a smaller bronzer. With the blushes only being 0.3g less than a full sized blush it means that the total blush in this palette is worth over £67.00 (Wow, I know). Then if you add on the price of the highlight too? All I have left to say is that it is a massive steal and get your hands on one as soon as possible.

Miss Liberty is 4.5g and a super shimmery pearly gold. It's gorgeous for those girls that love a good highlight. I don't really enjoy highlights that have larger chunks of glitter in them usually but I just can't get enough of this one. Sex Fantasy is a blush that NARS have released before. It's described as a lavander pink colour. It shows up beautifully on my skin and so far it is my favourite from the palette. I just think it looks so natural and beautiful. Deep throat must be one of the most talked about, loved and desired NARS blush ever. I have to admit it is beautiful. It is rose gold in colour and I imagine will look so gorgeous on people that have a tanned complexion. Final Cut is a peachy, coral. This in my opinion is the most pigmented of the palette and has the best staying power. I wore it the other day and it stayed on my cheeks from morning to night. I can't deny, I was very impressed. Laguna, how you didn't disapoint me. I've heard people say that you can't use this for contour however I have been and the little flecks on glitter in it are so suptle it doesn't really make a difference. 


The light washed them out, sigh.
 

Let me know your favourite NARS products! I'm keen to buy more!


Sunday 28 December 2014

Kylie Jenner inspired makeup

Just a little post for today. I haven't ever really posted my face on my blog before (scary eek). Today I was really channeling my inner Kylie Jenner. Along with everyone else on this planet, I love the Kardashians and the Jenners. I am not ashamed okay. I love Kylie Jenners makeup so I thoughts I would go ahead and share my re-creation. 




For my base I used NARS Sheer Glow in the colour ' Deauville'. I love the effect this foundation has. I buffed it right into my skin with the buffing brush from Real techniques. While I let my foundation set a little, I went and filled in my brows while aiming for that traditional Kardashian Arch.I then added some Rimmel's 'Brow this way' in the medium shade. I contoured both my cheeks and nose with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit. I adore this kit so much. For under my cheek bones and the sides of my nose I used the shade 'Fawn' and down the bridge of my nose and tops of my cheek bones I used 'Banana'. I went for a little more highlighter at the very tops of my cheek bones with a tiny little brush in the form of MAC's Mineralize skin finish in 'Soft and gentle'. I firstly sprayed my brush a little and the touched the highlighter. This way it picks up the most amazing sheer. Ah I love. And for the eyes now. I firstly went through my crease with a little 'Laguna' bronzer from NARS for some definition and then 'Walk of Shame' from my Naked Basics to highlight my brow bone and inner corner. I finely lined my eye with L'oreal super liner with just a little wing. Finally I added a little mascara and then I applied some dramatic flasies. The ones I chose are Kirei lashes in 'Sassy'. I finally finished off the look with my MAC lipstick in 'Velvet Teddy' and thats it. 

Saturday 27 December 2014

1st Birthday giveaway! | Real Techniques and Lush

On the 2nd of january my blog is one year old and I cannot explain how fast it has gone. As a huge ''Thank You!'' to you all I thought I would host a little international giveaway. I've been so excited to host this and anyone is welcome to get involved. I decided to go out and shop for some of my favourite things to giveaway. I knew from the start I wanted to have some real techniques in my giveaway as I looooove them and they're super amazing quality. I chose the Duo-Fiber collection just because they can be used for everything. They're so soft, it makes me happy.  Then I also went for a couple of my favourite lush products too. Didn't we all just got insane for the christmas range this year? Well I'm giving you a last chance to win my favourite pair of things. Firstly I chose for you all the 'Drummers Drumming' reusable bubble bar so you can fill your baths with strawberry mounds of bubbles. Then I picked up some 'Rose Jam' shower Gel. I hope you like and all you have to do is enter below!


My Rules:
- It's open internationally.
- It closes on the 09/01/2015
- 1 winner will be chosen randomly by the generator and will have 2 days to reply to my email to claim the prize!
- I will be checking through the winners entry to make sure that they did the steps that where mandatory e.g followed me on Bloglovin. The rest of the steps aren't mandatory, but give you a better chance of winning the giveaway as you will gain more points!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Thank you for all of your support over the past year!

 

Tuesday 23 December 2014

Rocky Road Cookies

Who made Rocky Road cookies? I did! I thought I would just share with you all my recipe and how I did them because they are so super easy to make and they taste amaze! They're just perfect to have in the kitchen around the festive period as little treats.




My first step was to switch up my oven to 200 degreese (Gas Mark 6) and grease my trays I going to cook my cookies on. The ingredience I used were as follows:
  • 120g of Butter (unsalted)
  • 180g of Plain Flour
  • 60g of Cocoa Powder
  • half a tsp of Baking Powder
  • half a tsp of Salt
  • Two medium eggs
  • 120g of Caster Sugar
  • Two hands full of Marshmallows
  • 150g of Chocolate (just pick your fave)

My method I followed was just to firstly blend together the butter and sugar until it was light and fluffy. Then I went ahead and added one egg and some flour, the baking  and repeted this until I had a mixture that was smooth and the flour, salt and baking powder combo was all gone. After that I got out my sieve and added my cocoa powder until I felt as though it was good to go. Finally, I just added my marshmallows and chocolate. When I had my final mixture I split it into twelve equal parts and put six on each tray. I only cooked them for 12 minutes each. They turned out so amazing!

Let me know if you try these out!


Thursday 18 December 2014

An E45 Hand Cream Dream

We all get those annoying dry hands in winter, right? I've never found a hand cream before that I really loved. I've found ones I like, Soap and Glory 'Hand Food' is always a good, safe option. Some hand creams I have tried have not made my hands even feel any different. Some have even made them feel worse. I decided to try next a brand that I know I've trusted previously. E45 are a brand with 60 years of experience that works hard to meet the real demands from our skin. Over the past months of trying the E45 Overnight Repair & Protect hand cream and it's been a life saver. 


This hand cream is stripped right back. It doesn't really smell of much (what it does smell of is pleasant though). It's white in colour and rubs into the hands to leave no greasy palms. I've being enjoying it the most however because of the changes it has made to my winter hands. It really does give long lasting moisture to my chapped hands. It's priced at only £3.99 you can't really go wrong. I apply it every night before I sleep and I wake with softer hands. It contains vitamin B3 and promotes cell regeneration which I don't really know the science of... I'm guessing thats a good thing (I wouldn't do it any justice anyway). I'm definitely going to be trying many for E45 products in the new year.


Do any of you have a favourite hand cream? Leave them below I'm interested!

Saturday 13 December 2014

W7 Cosmetics | Budget Buys

This year has been the year of the budget makeup brands. I'm a lover of an bargin and who isn't now a days?  W7 cosmetics are a brand that can have you looking glam for this christmas with over 100 products for you to choose from! W7 sent me some products to test and trial and I have being nothing but impressed with their quality. I've definitely found some products I will be repurchasing when they run out! 

The first product I discovered In my little package was the mascara 'Asbolute Mascara'*. It's priced at £6.95 and it's an absolute joy.  Now, we cannot all deny it looks like a dupe for 'They're real' from Benefit. There's no denying that it works exactly like it either! However the price difference is outstanding. With Benefit being £12.50 more, I think we know who the real winner is here. With the wands being Identical, it leaves my lashes clump free and long. I'm not going to say too much because I think that the lovely Jordan From Keep Dreaming has summed it up perfectly here.


Next up is the Candy Blush by W7 also. I had never seen these before until recently. I got mine in the shade 'Explosion'*. In the packaging it is a gorgeous coral colour. It applies to the cheeks a soft peachy colour and looks perfect with a bronzed, gold look over this festive period. I do believe I will be getting some good use out of this over summer 2015. Priced at 4.95 you cannot fall off. The little mirror is also handy too.



Matte lips have been all of the rage this year, matte this, matte that. W7 sent over this lovely matte liquid lipstick. It teams up perfectly with their blush 'Explosion'. This one is in the shade 'Rose'* and lasted on me for around 3 hours pretty well before it began to smudge and fade. I must mention, that some matte lipsticks I have owned have made my lips feel dry. This one is more of a matte lip cream if that even makes any sense (they aren't super matte, more semi matte). They glide effortlessy onto the lips and i'm definitely going to try and collect the whole range as they're so handy just to throw in a bag!



Finally on my list it's the lavander corrective concealer*. I've always being curious about these kind of products, green, purple concealers etc. The lilac concealer is the hide away dark circles under the eyes and can be applied to blemishes and also to other dark spots. It works by eliminating the dark tones in your skin and giving you a flawless look. When I first tried this I wasn't expecting them to totally go away, which they dont however it does seem to make a difference. I must admit, adding something lilac to where you wouldn't normally does feel a little weird however it cannot be seen once blended it. I'm really enjoying getting to grips with this product and am going to carry on using it. It's priced at £4.95 and you can check it out on the website here. They also do different colours for different issues such as yellow for evening out your natural skin tone and also green for neutralising blemishes and redness.





Friday 12 December 2014

Advertising competition

IT'S MY BLOG'S FIRST BIRTHDAY SOON *doing a little dance*. Actually that is not what i'm going to be talking about yet though. My blog recently hit 300 followers. In celebration of that I got my self a new little theme! The lovely Sarah from www.trisarahtopssmiles.co.uk designed it personally for me and I cannot recommend her enough! Months of playing around with my HTML code just was frustrating me. Sarah only charges £15.00 for a fully personal design including all of the features I have right here. She personalised my header and took all of my ideas and made them beautiful. Thank you so much, if you're reading!

Aside from that, I'm also going to celebrate by having a little advertising competiton. If you want to get involved just enter below. I'm giving away five spaces on my blog for a little promoting. The competition ends on the 19th of December just in time for christmas. I'll be leaving the 5 winners up on my blog for a whole month and will be doing a post to tell you a little something about each of them just because I love the little blogging community and i'm feeling the festive spirit. 

As I mentioned earlier in a little outburst at the start of this post it is my blogs birthday soon. I'm going to be hosting a giveaway to celebrate it being one year old on the 2nd of january when I brought it into the world. My only question is though, what would you like to see in my giveaway? Please leave all of your suggestions below because I need your help! 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday 11 December 2014

Jewel Candle | A Jewel In Every Candle



Christmas is the perfect time of the year to light all of your candles and cosy round the fire. The lovely company Jewel Candle sent me the 'Merry Christmas Classic Edition'*. Do not be fooled for this candle is no ordinary candle. It's my first ever candle where it contains something special inside. I'm like a magpie for anything silver and shiney so this drew me in so many ways. Inside each of Jewel Candles ranges they have different types of jewellery that is all above £10.00 and below £250! Incase you that worries you a little, each of the 925 sterling silver pieces are wrapped in heat proof foil and have no direct contact with the candle wax. I'm so excited for my little ring to float it's little self to the top so I can pinch it out (I almost feel as though it is a game) I'm a huge candle addict and I love everything about candles. This was a huge yes for me because firstly it's christmas themed! Secondly it's the most beautiful shade of green.

Personally, I've never owned a 'fruity' christmas candle however this one is. The fruit is smells of is a secret that Jewel Candle keep from us. I did spend a good while this afternoon giving it a good smelling to and I really cannot tell. Despite all this fruity talk, it does still smell festive and is going to be my candle of choice for the run up to christmas. Just as an added little bonus they're also handmade form eco friendly resources.

The pricing of these candles are more than you're typical Yankee however how can you complain when you have a piece of Jewellery inside? They cost £24.95. Worth every penny. They're said to burn for 120 hours which does seem like a pretty long time to me! The company say that it will take 10 to 15 hours of burning, glowing candle joy until your little foil parcel will pop up. However, if your curious, nosey, impatient (like me) they do say that you can use something like a spoon to scoop it out!

The lovely people from Jewel Candle have also being so kind to give me a little something to share with anyone who cares to read my blog. They have created a 10% off discount code 'antonia10' for anyone who wishes to own a beauty of a candle like this one!

Jewel Candle's details: JewelCandle.co.uk|Facebook|Twitter 






My other top three picks from Jewel Candle are:
  1. Cuddle Candle (limited edition)
  2. Cinnamon Bun (classic edition)
  3. Passion Fruit (classic edition)
Antonia xxx


Tuesday 9 December 2014

Purple lips | Revlon

Revlon is just one of those make-up brands that we all know, love and trust, correct? I loved the Colourburst lip butters for so long. Recently in Boots their 'three for the price of two' got me again. Something in me that day must have just wanted purple lipsticks so I went ahead and bought three Revlon purple lipsticks. It was about time really, I couldn't continue wearing MAC's Rebel for the rest of my years (however that one still is one I find myself reaching for more than I should) Since that day, I havent been disapointed. I am definitely loving working the purple lips currently.


First up is the one that I assume has been around the longest and that is the Revlon Super Lusterous lipstick in the shade 663 'Va Va Violet'. This looks the most scary in the bullet as the shade looks super dark however I really like it when its on. I actually think it complements my skin tone. The overall staying power is pretty good however when my lips are sore it really does accentuate the dryness. Love the packaging though, so cute and classic. 

Next, something I have read very mixed reviews about: Revlon's Colour Stay Moisture stains. I purchased mine in the colour 'Parisian passion' 005. I had being looking for this certain colour for a little while but it always seemed to be sold out. When I found it, no questions asked, it had to be mine. I love the formula of this product because it's super glossy like a traditional lip gloss however it is not sticky in the slightest (perfect, huh?) The colour range is pretty good. I'll for sure be going back for more.


Finally on my mini boots splurge list is Revlon's Colourburst matte balm. The colour pay off on this product is my most favourite of the bunch. It leaves the softer edges and is so wearable. I love it for both everyday and in the evenings. Unlike some matte balms, when it fades it isn't in the slightest bit patchy or drying. I got mine in the shade 'shameless' which is number 215. Favourite matte balm ever.





From left to right: Colourburst matte balm, Colourstay moisture stain, Super lusterous lipstick


What's your favourite Revlon product?
Antonia xxx

Monday 8 December 2014

RUSH SHOP £2000 Competition! #RushShopXmasDrop

Just sharing a little competition with you all today. Online beauty and hair retailer Rush Shop has teamed up with global fashion brand Reiss and the boutique hotel Malmaison in London to give one lucky winner the chance to win £2000 worth of  prices:
  • a pamper sesion for two at the award winning Rush salon (complete with a cut and blow dry and also an asthetic service at the Epsom skin clinic)
  • a luxury two-night stay in West Smithfield at the London Malmaison Hotel with a delicious three-course dinner included
  • a designer shopping experience at Reiss for two (with up to £500 to spend each!)
  • (as if all of that wasn't enough) there is also a years suply of hair care chosen by professionals!
I mean, who doesn't want the chance to win all of those goodies?

To be in with a chance to win, they have launched an online treasure hunt to identify which of their salons their virtual sleigh has landed at this Christmas time. Following the clues couldnt be more simple. They post regular clues on their Facebook and their Twitter to help you to work out the location of the sleigh! If you want updates to your email so you can keep up to date on the run, you can just sign up to their news letter or clues direct to you. Once you think you've got the correct salon, it couldn't be any more simple. You just fill in your details here and wait with your fingers crossed until Tuesday the 30th of December!

Don't forget to tweet them  @shoprush   @RushHairBeauty  @Reiss @TheLondonMal @ajcconsultants and use the #RushShopXmasDrop!

Best of luck!
Antonia x


Sunday 7 December 2014

The Christmas Tag

1. What is your favourite Christmas Movie/s?
Over the festive period, I have to say I do watch and awful lot of christmas themed films. I lov everything from Home alone to The grinch. This is such a hard question so I suppose it will have to come down to two. I don't think this is a popular one but my first favourite christmas film is The christmas bunny. It is the cutest film about the story of a little girl called Julia getting a new family for christmas. It's so sweet that I do have a little cry everytime. My second favourite is Deck the halls, a more well known and light hearted film based around christmas lights. ''I want my house to be seen from space!''. Love it. It's kind of reminiscent of my street at christmas, oh so dramatic.

2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
When we where younger, my parents did let me and my brother each open a present each on chrismas eve however we open all of ours on Christmas morning now. Isn't that all part of the excitement?

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?
In general I am such a Christmas girl and all of chritsmas is always a great memory but one of my most fond is from when I was very little. I can remember being so excited from the fact santa had wrote me a letter to instruct me to go to the down stairs toilet where I found my groovy chick mini fridge and a flashing scooter (BEST CHRISTMAS EVER).

4. Favourite festive food?
This has got to be th easiest question, pigs in blankets. Love them.

5. Favourite Christmas gift?
I remember one year I had a massive obsession with sylvanian families. I had longed for the caravan for months and months. Every time it came on the TV I would sit fixated on how amazing it was and I got it! I played with it for months on end with my Badger and Dalmation Families.

6. Favourite Christmas scent?
After Baking gingerbread men yesterday, I have to say that is my new favourite chritsmas scent. Check out my recipe here! If anyone knows of any gingerbread scented candles please leave them below because I need one!

7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
Christmas Eve in my house is surely the calm before the storm. We usually just spend lots of time as a family. Sometimes if one of us is really late with our christmas shopping we end up heading out for some final bits (Woops).

8. What tops your tree?
For the past few years a wooden star has topped our tree. I quite like it, it's really cute.


9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?
I always asked for the Brats Ski lodgeblew out snow. I was crazy expensive though, definitely in the hundreds. I was so jealous if any of my friends had it.

10. What's the best part about Christmas for you?
I love seeing my family at christmas time, that is always special however it has to be the food. Everything is so amazing. I mean, Chocolate, pigs in blankets, Roasties. It's the dream really.








Antonia x

Saturday 6 December 2014

First christmas baking post | Gingerbread men

For a while how I had been looking for the perfect sized gingerbread man cutter. They where always so small. I found one in a shop we have in the UK called Boyes, they sell all kinds of bits and bobs. It's just a simple shape is made of metal (traditional, I guess). For my recipe I dug out the Be-Ro book. Something I think a lot of peoples households will own. As always when I bake, I either do it a little wrong or dont have some of the ingredience. 

I'll share with you all now the exact ingredience I used:
  • 320g of plain flour (a little extra for dusting your work surface)
  • 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
  • 3 tsp of ground ginger (can be changed depending on how strong you want them to be)
  • 1tsp of cinnamon
  • 180g of light brown sugar
  • 130g of butter
  • 1 egg
  • 6 tbsp of golden syrup 
My method:
  • I first set the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4
  • Then I melted my butter for 150 seconds in the microwave until it was soft and added that to the flour, bicarbonate, cinnamon and ginger and mixed until it looked like bread crums then added the sugar.
  • Then I beat my egg and golden syrup together in a cup.
  •  I then added that to the mixture and mixed until it formed little clumps. 
  • At this stage I tipped it out onto the dusted suface and binded and kneaded the mixture together until it formed a smooth dough.
  • I then decided to chill my dough as it was getting warm so I cling filmed it and left it in the fridge for around 30 minutes (I guess this isn't vital)
  • Finally, I floured my surface again and rolled out my dough and cut the men into their shapes and placed them on a greased tray and left them in the oven for 10-12 minutes and they where nice and golden.
When I came to decorating. I can certainly say that is not my strong point as mine are all a little ugly. However they sure do taste good so that makes up for it. Baking these made me feel super festive and if you choose to make some to, do let me know!

Antonia x





Thursday 4 December 2014

Autumn Candle Loves

Over the course of Autumn, I've had three favourite candles that I thought where well worthy of sharing on my blog. I must admit, they're all very unique and possibly not to some peoples taste (they're much to the disaproval of my Dad and Brother). 

Firstly, a Sweet Roasted Chestnut Candle from the lovely IW Natural Candle Co.* who kindly sent this to me. It's from their 'Soothing and Comforting' range and I cannot express how much I love it. I have the middle size of the candle which is suggested to burn for 36 hours. This candle is so warming and not over powering in the slightest. I can honestly say that the candle really does smell as you would imagine sweet roasted chestnuts to smell. The packaging is adorable and I love, love, love.





Now i'm moving on to my two Yankee favourites. My first Yankee purchase of the season was one that I discovered in Clinton Cards. I smelt it and melted. It's the Salted Caramel Yankee. I bought it in the large jar because I love it so much. I must admit though, it does make me hungry it's so true-to-life (weird). I smells exactly like the sweet treat of caramel. I don't think this is limited edition or part of the christmas range so I suppose you'll be able to get it at any time of the year. Strange point though, my Mum did say that the house smells of curry everytime after I have been burning it. I guess, it must be the spices. You can buy/get it out here: http://www.yankee.co.uk/salted-caramel-medium-jar.


Finally, I was gifted for my birthday the Yankee candle called 'Season of Peace'. If you have ever smelt Clean Cotton by Yankee it's kind of similar however more suptle and a warmer. It's so perfect for an afternoon on the sofa watching christmas films. I could burn it all day but at the same it I don't want to use it all up. It will most probably be limited edition as it is part of the christmas range! A ideal gift if you're stuck on what to get someone. I have the Medium jar in this and you can buy it here for £16.49.






Antonia x