Happy Valentine's Day with GlossyBox!

It was a lovely surprise to find this month’s Glossy Box was a hot pink colour, instead of their usual dusty pink and black, all in the name of Valentine’s Day! Who needs a secret admirer when you have GlossyBox right? ;) 

My special 2012 Valentine’s Day Edition contained:

♥ Clarins extra-firming day cream

♥ Clarins extra-firming night cream

♥ Murad Skin Perfecting Primer

♥ Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner

♥ First Aid Beauty Body MoisturiserA great line up of products once again this month!

One of my favourites in the box was definitely the Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner (RRP £9.50 Link!)
I was excited to see that Eyeko has re-branded their makeup range to more ‘elegant’ and ‘grown up’ packaging. I really like the new look!

The eyeliner was the only full sized product in this month’s box and comes with a long metal holder so that even when you get to the last bit of eyeliner, you can still hold it easily. Clever thinking Eyeko! The eyeliner comes in 6 shades and I received the colour ‘Emerald Green’ which makes a lovely addition to my makeup collection. The eyeliner is highly pigmented, has a lovely soft and creamy texture and is long lasting. Think this will look great as a POP of colour to my waterline, or smudged in my lash-line with a golden or bronzed lid. For some ideas on how to wear a pop of colour on your lids, check out some of my previous looks here, here, here and here. 

I have been using the First Aid Beauty Body Moisturiser on my dry and flaky winter legs since I got it and they are definitely not complaining about some extra moisture :)

It’s light weight, oil free and non-comedogenic which is supposed to be perfect for oily, combination, or acne-prone skin.

I was also one of the lucky ones to receive the Clarins Day & Night creams in my GlossyBox this month. I did hear some people were a little disappointed when they opened their box to realise they didn’t get them; this is because not every Box comes with the exact same products!

I haven’t used Clarins that much in my lifetime up until now but have to say I am enjoying using the extra-firming day cream. It’s quite rich but leaves my face feeling super soft without feeling greasy.

What did you get in your Valentines GlossyBox and did you like your pamper treats?

Glossybox is a subscription package that sends you a box of five luxury beauty samples beautifully wrapped to your door to try out every month for the price of £10 per month + postage & packaging then if you like them you are able to buy the full size product discounted. You can read my reviews on previous boxes here and here.

Have you got any plans for Valentine’s Day? I loved a recent post by Gwyneth Palthrow on her website GOOP which was full of great (and simple) ideas for your other half; you can check it out here. 

I hope you all have a fabulous Valentine’s Day and have something lovely planned- be it with that someone special in your life or just with friends or a nice treat for yourself!! Tonight me and some friends are cooking up an Ottolenghi feast for dinner and then we'll be sitting down for a romantic session of watching the Notebook which is one of my all-time favourite movies!

Happy V-Day ♥ xoxo

A little bit of brightness #

In preparation for spring I decided to get myself a new brightly coloured iPhone4 cover. In these dark cold winter days I can always do with a little brightness here and there :) Tiffany Blue or Turquoise is one of my favourite colours so this cover looked right up my alley....

I got this on eBay and because it was such a bargain so decided to get two!!

A blue one and a hot pink one (which actually turned out to be a bit more red than pink but I still like it!)

I bought them here for only £2 each plus free UK shipping :)

My current screen saver is picture of some beautiful pink flowers. 

Peonies are definitely my all time favourite flowers!!

As much as I love my new covers, I do like to switch it up occasionally...where do you get your covers from -  any recommendations? I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend! xoxo

Estee Lauder - Pure Color Cyber Eyes

Estée Lauder kicked off 2012 with the launch of a new collection called 'Pure Color Cyber Eyes'.
The collection introduces a new dynamic trend in colour make-up that boldly paints the eyes in graphic pigments. The powerfully modern collection, by Tom Percheaux, features six hyper-metallic finish gelée eyeshadows, four vibrant mascaras and six chic kohl eye pencils.

Let's have a look at some of the products shall we...

I love the packaging of Estée Lauder products, don't these eyeshadows look super pretty?

The, limited edition, Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadows include a first-to-market, “tribrid” system that changes the way makeup can be worn, wet or dry. The “tribrid” formula is an all-in-one liquid, powder and gel that creates a texture that is futuristically bouncy and ensures the eyeshadow applies smoothly and providing an extreme sheen. 

The collection includes six vibrantly decadent shades: 

Cyber Copper, Cyber Pink, Cyber Lilac, Cyber Silver, Cyber Green and Cyber Teal.

These are the three lovely Cyber Eyes Shades I have been playing with....

Clockwise: Cyber Green, Cyber Silver, Cyber Lilac

The exclusive formula can be worn in two finish options: apply wet for a hyper-metallic charged flash of colour or dry for a subtle shine finish.  But no matter how you apply it the shadows will be long-lasting, non-flaking and non-creasing. What's not to love?!

Cyber green (L) Cyber Silver (M) and Cyber Lilac (R) swatched dry on the left and wet on the right.

I personally prefer applying them with a wet brush. They go on so smoothly and give your lids a layer of gorgeous colour and shine! I love the silver shade and only was a bit surprised that the cyber green comes out more black/green rather jade/green. 

Next are the smoldering new Pure Color Intense Kajal Eyeliners. Inspired by the kajal used in India these liners are perfect to create a daring smokey look. The liners comes in six new shades; Blackened Black, Blackened Cocoa, Blackened Plum, Blackened Sapphire, Blackened Olive and Electric Teal. 

From left to right; Blackened Cocoa, Blackened Black and Blackened Plum

These liners are really creamy that provide rich pigmented colour. Apply on the inner rim of the yes for a smouldering effect or use as liner along lashline and softly smudge over lids to intensify your smoky look! I am loving the Blackened Cocoa at the moment because I usually wear black liner and think the brown is a softer look and a nice change.

Here is a recent simple look I created with some products of the new Pure Color Cyber Eyes collection.

Estée Lauder Cyber Silver applied all over the lid.

Estée Lauder Blackened Plum Eyeliner on my waterline and smudged along the top lash line.

L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic mascara (review to follow!)

Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow RRP £19.00

Pure Color Intense Kajal EyeLiner RRP £16.00

What do you think of this collection, does anything tickle your fancy? The Pure Color Cyber Eyes Collection is available now at Estée Lauder counters worldwide or online at www.esteelauder.co.uk.

Baking success: The Best Banana Bread recipe!

Recently my flat-mate bragged to a friend of hers about my apparent baking skills, which all of a sudden culminated in some kind of banana bread bake-off! I am a huge fan of banana bread; it's the perfect mix between cake and bread which basically means it becomes excusable to have cake for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or dessert ;) So being involved in this funny bake-off meant my Banana Bread just had to impress. The other weekend when I was at Granger & Co in Notting Hill (review here) I had the most delicious Chocolate Banana Bread so my mission was to recreate this recipe! 

Lucky me I found the actual recipe by Bill Granger, from his cookbook 'Bills Food' online. 

Banana bread on it's own is already pretty yummy so when it's teamed up with chocolate,  you know it's going to be pretty special.

So this weekend I got my bake on and produced this b.e.a.u.t.y. of a loaf....

Sweet but not too sweet, bread-like but lovely and moist on the inside!!

Banana bread is the perfect accompaniment to that afternoon coffee or cuppa, and they're also brilliant to have ready-sliced in the freezer, so they can be taken out the night before to take to work or even lightly toasted straight from frozen when you need a quick pick-me-up :)

Check out all the little chocolate chips...they really made this Banana Bread super indulgent!

Game over!!! Because there is no doubt that this is one of the best banana breads out there ;)

Bill Granger's Choc Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS 
♥ 250g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
♥ 2 teaspoons baking powder
♥ 125g unsalted butter, softened
♥ 250g (1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
♥ 4 ripe bananas, mashed
♥ 2 eggs, lightly beaten
♥ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
♥ 175g (1 cup) good-quality dark or milk chocolate chips

METHOD
Serves: 8
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
3. Mix the butter, sugar, banana, eggs, vanilla extract and chocolate chips in a separate bowl.
4. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine, being careful not to over mix.
5. Pour the batter into a non-stick, or lightly greased and floured, loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the bread is cooked when tested with a skewer.
6. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Best served in thick slices, toasted with a slab of butter!!
For an easy printable version of the recipe click here!

When baking banana bread you can also just follow your tastebuds and experiment by adding a little bit of whatever you fancy, be that a few roughly chopped walnuts (or any other nut) here or some slivers of dried apricot or raisins there. As long as the loaves are baked until they're still a little moist in the middle, you can't go wrong. I promise you this, you won't regret baking this Banana Bread and the (lucky) people you feed it to are bound to be impressed. Just a little tip; you might as well make two loafs while you are at it because the first one is bound to disappear in seconds....ENJOY :)

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zuchini bread, and pumpkin pie!!"
Happy Hump Day :) xoxo