Flossy Plimsolls :)

Hi Ladies,

Although it's getting very cold now and these are about to head to the back of my shoe cupboard for the winter, I wanted to share with you my favourite shoe discovery of the past year! 

I bought a pair of flossy plimsolls at the beginning of the summer, to wear instead of my TOM's which were starting to look pretty scruffy. I went for a navy pair so that they would go with pretty much everything and from what I can remember they were around £20 from office.

These are literally the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned! They have a really padded/cushioned inside its almost like wearing a pair of slippers out and about. I have been so pleased with them, they have quite a study sole and have lasted really well, I will definitely be bringing them out again next summer.

I think these would make a lovely Christmas present. Although I opted for navy, they do a variety of colours and styles. They also do them for men as well as ladies!

Hope you're having a great week,

Primark Haul :)

Hi Ladies,

I went shopping last weekend and picked up quite a few bits and bobs from primark which I thought I would share with you :) I think they have some great autumn/winter stock in at the moment, and I even picked up a couple of sale bargains too!

These rose gold ballerina style flats were reduced to £2 in the sale!

When the weather starts to get colder Primark is always the place I go for a new pair of fluffy slippers. I love the pearl detail on these and they are super cosy. They only cost £2 too :)

I spotted this ditsy flower print duvet cover set reduced to £6, so I picked it up as a spare. It looks lovely on and I love the pattern.

I much prefer wearing these fur style headbands once it gets cold rather than hats, I picked this animal print one up for £4.

I already have a pair of these nude ballet style flats but I have worn them so much that they have got really scruffy and I decided to treat myself to a new pair. These are great to have in your shoe cupboard as they literally go with anything!

and finally, a little boring but I always like to stock up on hair bits and bobs when I go to primark. I particularly like the thin bobbles in this set as they are super stretchy and don't have any metal bits which can catch in your hair :)

I hope you enjoyed the haul! have you found any bargains in Primark recently?

Boots Haul :)

Hi Ladies,

I thought I would share with you some things I have picked up from boots lately. I am terrible when I go into boots, I go in for one thing and always come out with at least a couple of extras! I've started making more use of my boots card, checking for any vouchers on the machine in store and remembering to use the coupons I get sent in the post and as a result I have collected quite a few points which I am hoping to use for some stocking fillers, so maybe picking up a few extra bits every now and again isn't so bad! (hmmmm...!)

Anyway, here are the bits and bobs I have picked up lately.

I love the dove hair therapy range, and I always repurchase the nourishing oil care express treatment conditioner. When I saw that the entire range was on offer in boots I thought I would try a few of the other products. I haven't used the head protector yet as I still have plenty of my tresemme keratin smooth to use up but I have used the intensive repair conditioner and leave in treatment both of which I really like!

Cetaphil was also on offer (£3 off if I remember rightly) so I thought I would stock up on the cleanser and moisturiser. I only started using the cleanser a couple of months ago but I really like it, it leaves my skin feeling clean and fresh without making it feel dry or tight. I have never used the moisturiser but I as like the cleanser so much I thought I would give it a go when I run out of my beloved dermalogica active moist.

17 falsifeye mascara has been my go to mascara for well over a year now, I love it! You can see my review of it here :)

and finally boots own brand extra firm hold hairspray which is around £1.00. I tend to buy boots own hairspray and hair mousse as I try not to use them too frequently, and they do the job perfectly fine when I do need them :)

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Gluten free halloween cupcakes! :)

Hi Ladies,

With halloween just round the corner, I decided to bake some spooky cupcakes for my friends and family. I decided to go for chocolate orange cupcakes, I like to experiment with my baking and try out my own flavour combinations so I basically adapted my basic gluten free cupcake recipe by adding the juice of one large orange and 100g of milk chocolate (to a mix for 12 cupcakes). The weren't quite as orangey as I would have liked and next time I will probably look at either using orange essence or a bit more juice, but they got lots of compliments and tasted delicious!

I piped the orange buttercream onto the buns with my piping bag which is from lakeland, and for the green buttercream I used a super easy technique which my friend taught me which is great if you don't have a piping back or are in a rush. You basically pop a spoonful of buttercream onto your cupcake and spread it into a cone like shape, then use a fork to mark the lines into the buttercream and swirl the fork up the cone creating a flick at the top. I will definitely be recreating this for some Christmas tree style cupcakes in december I think they will look fab!

I bought some spooky haribo jelly sweets for decorating, used some blue sherbet to decorate the green cupcakes et voila!

These were quickly eaten up by family and friends and no one seemed to be able to tell that they were gluten free :) For any other gluten free bakers out there, my top tip would be to make your mixture a little bit runnier. Gluten free flour seems to need a bit more liquid, and I always put 3-4 tablespoons of milk into my mixture which seems to work a treat. My favourite gluten free flour to use is doves farm self raising :)

Are you doing anything for halloween?

have a lovely weekend,

All About Batiste! :)

Hi Ladies,

Batiste has long been a firm favourite of mine. I can still remember the day one of my house mates in university halls introduced me to dry shampoo, and I don't think I have ever been without it since! Its great for when you're in a rush and need to give your hair a quick refresh. Batiste has definitely made many bad hair days a little more bearable for me!

I've really enjoyed seeing all the new scents batiste have been releasing over the past few years, and I thought I would share with you a few new ones which I have really been enjoying recently. There is such a wide range of scents now that there really is something for everyone. Personally, I have never been keen on the original scent, the blush scent or the tropical scent which I find a bit overpowering. I prefer the ones which I would describe as smelling more like ''a body spray for your hair!'' such as diva, fresh, lace and the three lovelies pictured here :)

L-R Brit, Cherry and Graffiti*

I really like all three of these scents. Brit is one which I have repurchased quite a few times, It is a really fresh lovely scent. I picked up the cherry version recently in boots, I wasn't sure about this one initially and didn't rush out to buy it when it first came out as I don't really like sickly sweet scents which I suspected this might be. But I was drawn in by the pretty packaging and I actually really love this scent, it is subtle and fruity, it actually reminds me a little of how my little ponies used to smell! (any one else love these!?). I was lucky enough to be sent the recently launched batiste graffiti scent to try. This is definitely up there with my favourites. It is more of a musky scent, and I can definitely detect a hint of coconut in it which I really like.

Which is your favourite batiste?

REVIEW: L'oreal elvive extraordinary oil

Hi Ladies,

A couple of weeks ago my dad treated me to the L'oreal elvive extraordinary oil whilst we were out shopping (thanks Dad!). I was browsing the haircare isle in boots moaning about how dry my poor blonde locks were when he picked this up from a promotional display and basically said how about this? I then preceded to moan that at £9.99 it was far too much for a stuggling student like me and before I knew it he was marching me to the till, getting out his debit card and telling me to stop whining (it worked!)

I have had this hair oil for a couple of months now, and as a self confessed haircare fanatic I thought I would give you my thoughts on it :)

Firstly, this is a product I would probably never have purchased myself. At £9.99, although I am known to splash out on haircare, this is a little too pricey for me. I also rarely go for hair oils, I much prefer cream based treatments to oils and serums. That said I was really looking forward to giving this a go.

I have been using this as the final product when I have blow dried and styled my hair, and occasionally on an evening if the ends of my hair are feeling particularly dry. I have been really surprised by how smooth and sleek this leaves my hair. I was really worried about it making my hair look greasy (and I still would not use this product anywhere near the root) but it does nothing of the sort. It smooths down fly away's and leaves my hair feeling and looking noticeably softer on the ends. I really like to use this if I am going out and have straightened my hair I feel like it gives my hair that healthy blunt look you always have when you have just been to the hairdressers!

So, Does this makes a lasting difference to the condition of my hair? I'm not convinced. I wouldn't say I have noticed a difference in the overall condition of my hair whilst I have been using this product, however I am suitably impressed with the finish it gives my hair in the short term which is unlike anything I have used before.

A little goes a long way with this product, I find that half a pump is easily enough to run through the middle-to ends of my hair (I have long hair and quite a lot of it). So although I still feel its rather expensive for what it is, I can see this lasting a really long time.

7.5/10 from me! Would I repurchase? Probably in the boots 3 for 2!

Have you used the extraordinary oil?

My Picture Diary #1

Hi Ladies,

I have never actually actually done one of these my life in pictures type posts, but I really enjoy reading them so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon. Here are a few recent photo's from my iphone (incase anyone is interested the picture apps I use are instragram and PicFx) :)

1. A super yummy hot chocolate my lovely mum made me, looks like it came straight out of a Parisian cafe!

2. My lovely new light fitting, in my newly decorated bedroom

3. Berol Fineliners! Did anyone else use these at primary school? The best felt tips ever!

4. Blushing snapple apple - delicious

5. My gluten free pizza from pizza hut! I was really impressed, and will definitely be going again.

6. The Hummingbird bakery - A gluten free red velvet cupcake was waiting inside for me, it didn't last long enough for me to take a photo!

Let me know if you would like to see more of these posts :)