Baking Brookies!

Today's my mums birthday so I decided to make Lily's brookie recipe as a treat! 

The recipe is so easy and the cookie brownie hybrid is delicious!

 Here's everything you'll need to make the brookies and Lily has the recipe here on her blog.

Let me know if you try making the brookies! 

Happy baking! 

My Travel Make-Up Bag

Last weekend I flew to Ireland with my boyfriend and his family so I thought I'd show you what I packed in my travel make-up bag!
I got this vanity bag for christmas after seeing Amelia talk about it and I love it! The compartments are so handy and keeps things so organised.

Zoeva brushes and real techniques are my all time favourite, I took with me the real techniques buffing brush and the zoeva rose gold set.

Favourite Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet foundation, Lance Mascara, Bourjois Paris Bronze Duo and Healthy Balance Powder, Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer, Water Proof Eyeliner and Brow Pencil.  

EOS Lip Balm, Simple Moisturiser, Korrs Moisturiser, Cleanser and Body Wash and Jo Malone Blackberry and Bay Perfume. 

Skin Care Routine

These are all my favourite affordable skin care savours! 

Morning:

My skin loves this stuff. I use this every morning to wash my face, rub it in to damp skin and then wash off with a face cloth. It is a life saver for those half asleep mornings. The exfoliating beads leave my skin feeling soft and my make up applies so much better. The lemon wakes my skin up and leaves it looking bright and awake, I could not live without this! 

I am super lazy when it comes to skin care (might be seeing a trend from my lazy moisturising post) and have found it really hard in the past to get into a routine. So when I discovered these Simple products it was a life saver. The cleanser is the easiest product in the world! I just simply squeeze some on a cotton pad and wipe over clean skin and you're done! Its amazing. Leaves skin feeling amazingly clean and takes off any left behind make-up. Once I've used the cleanser I use the toner from the same range. Just putting some on a cotton wool pad and wiping over skin too. It smells amazing and leaves the skin feeling refreshed and clean. These products are amazing for lazy girl skin care and are perfect for both morning and night. Since using these I've really noticed a difference in my skin, it feels brighter and smoother.

The Nivea Express Hydration Primer has been the day cream I've been using over the last few months. Its so light weight but gives the right amount of moister. It sinks into the skin quickly and gives an excellent base for make-up. 

 Evening:

The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil is my favourite cleansing oil! I simply rub the oil into my make-up face and the oil dissolves off all the make-up, even water proof mascara and eye liner. I then wash off the oil using a damp muslin cloth. My skin feels so clean after using this and It doesn't leave an oily texture over the skin. I love the smell and I love how quick and easy it is!

As I said Above I also use the  Simple Cleanser and Toner in the evening! - I love them!

After cleansing and toning I've been using the Simple Replenishing Rich Moisturiser but I'm not 100% sold. I haven't noticed much of a change in the hydration of my skin. I'd love to know if you have any recommendation to drug store moisturisers or night creams! 

My 2014 Favourites

Sorry I've been MIA for the last few months, with uni, work and attempting a social life its been next to impossible to find a spare moment to sit down and write on here. I'm back now and with one of my new years resolutions to become more organised I'm hoping to stay on top of everything and deliver a post a week.
Anyway on the the exciting stuff, I know I'm a bit late for a 2014 favourites but I'm hoping better late than never...

My favourite foundation of 2014 won't come as a surprises as I mentioned it in my favourite foundations post a few months back. The Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet is good skin in a bottle. It leaves the skin looking bright and flawless. I love having this beauty in my make-up bag and I'm sure it will continue to be a favourite!

Over the last few months I have been loving wearing liquid eye liner. I've tried a few and I love the Benefit they're real push up liner, but this Rimmel liquid liner has been a firm favourite since the summer. I grabbed it in boots before I went on holiday because its waterproof and really inexpensive and have loved it ever since. It lasts all day and is very black, doesn't fade and go grey. I'd always been put off liners that weren't pens but this is super easy to apply and gives a really nice point to a flick. Defiantly one to grab if you're into liner! 

I couldn't choose between these two mascaras for my favourites. The Dior Blackout mascara was one of my first high end make-up purchases when I was in school and after rediscovering it a few years back its been a staple in the make-up bag. It is amazing for thick, long, black lashes. I love it for night time make-up and one coat can transform day make-up into night. The Lancome Grandiose mascara is more of a day to day mascara, gives long thick lashes but not as dramatic and the Dior. I love both of these and know they'll have a firm place in my make-up collection. 

I've had two favourite perfumes this year and this Tommy Girl perfume has been in my handbag constantly. This perfume smells amazing and is only £16.99! The smell lasts ages and I am always getting complements when I wear it. This is the second bottle I've brought and feel like I'll be buying many more, I love this for an everyday perfume. 

I brought See By Chloe in the airport in the summer after hearing Estée and Fleur talking about it. It smells amazing and I had to include it in my favourites because the smell is so distinctive and as soon as I smell it it takes me back to the summer and that is exactly what you need in January!

I love this skin care duo! I am so lazy when it comes to skin care so the easiness of these products was a huge selling point for me. My skin feels so clean and fresh when I use them and my skin would be lost without them now. I have a skin care routine coming next week so they'll be a lot more about these in that. 

Oh my, these candles smell amazing! Yankee Candle do the most amazing smelling Christmas Candles and I love them all year round! The sent fills up the room and lingers for ages and I will be so sad when this candle finishes because I'll have to wait for Christmas to get another! I have a back stock of tea lights so they'll have to satisfy my snowflake cookie need for until next Christmas!

I have loved so many products this year and It was so hard to choose just a few. The ones I've chosen have been firm staples in my make-up bag and skin care over the last year and know they will continue to be.

Have any recommendations for products to try this year? I'd love to know! 

What's In My University Bag...

This week I've started my first week at uni! I've seen quite a lot of posts and videos on other peoples university experience which has been helpful to some extent, but most talk about their experience of moving away from home which is something I'm not doing. Since I didn't have the excitement of buying pots and pans and what not for moving into halls, buying a new bag and stationary was as exciting as it got. I thought I'd give a little look inside my bag.

I have a mild Michael Kors obsession, and I was very kindly brought this bag (Jets Set Travel medium saffiano leather tote) by my boyfriend as a gift for getting into uni. I love it! I am normally much more of a arm bag kinda gal but I thought that for carrying around books it would be much easier to opt for a shoulder bag, (and I wanted something different from my Selma bag). In Hindsight the bigger size might have been better, everything fits in but its a bit of a squeeze and takes some careful arranging. 

I really wanted a Jack Wills pencil case, they're so pretty and I wanted one I'd use for the year rather than get sick of and change. I don't live anywhere near a Jack Wills and I wasn't prepared for the £4 postage so I opted for this one by Caroline Gardner. It's so pretty, fits loads in and is excellent quality!

When buying a planner I normally take a trip to Paperchase and buy the prettiest one, but this year there just wasn't any that I was really drawn to. I don't know if it was because I was looking later in the year or whether their selection just wasn't as good this year, but I didn't get one from there. When in the que to buy my pencil case I saw this planner. At first I thought I'd just get this one for the moment and when shops bring more out in January, I'll get a better one, but it's AMAZING. It has everything in it you'd need. Obviously it has the diary section with space for writing in assignments ect. but it literally contains everything a student would need! From check lists to recipes and tips on revision and managing stress! This planner is a life saver for a student and I highly recommend it!

Other things I have in my bag are my car keys, little snacks for the day, the Oxford note books (love the thick pages!), purse for cheeky trips into town (been there for three days and already done some damage in Topshop! Oops!) and of course a mini make-up bag for touch ups.

Hope you've found this useful! - What's everyone else taking to uni? 

LUSH: King Of Skin and Ro's Argan Body Conditioner

When it comes to moisturising after bathing I am so lazy. It's just one of those beauty chores that is just a faf, applying body moisturisers and waiting for them to soak in, no body has time for that! So when I heard about these in shower body butters I was instantly sold. At the end of my shower I apply then take a quick dip back under the water to rinse and my skin feels instantly so soft. 

Ro's Argan Body Conditioner - £15.95

I first tried this product when I got it as part of the Rose Lush box. I'm not really into baths so hadn't really tried much from Lush before, and when I saw this in the box I was intrigued because I never thought of Lush for having products like this. As soon as I tried it I was instantly impressed, it is so moisturising and contains lots of lovely naturally ingredients that my skin loves! This product is also amazing as a substitute for shaving cream, leaves my legs hairless and moisturised, what more could you want? Only down side is that £15.95 is quite expensive for how long it lasts. I would say the full size would last about 14 uses depending on how generously you applied it (I am quite generous). No where near as long as a pot of soap and glory body butter, but then again I use it more since its easier. It smells amazing and the sent lingers all day, I'm not normally that fond of the rose sent but oh my this smells divine! 

King Of Skin - £5.50 

I tried the King of Skin after hearing Tanya Burr rave about it. It is really moisturising and so easy to use since its just like a bar of soap and in some ways a lot easier than scooping out of the tub. When I first saw it I thought it would be quite harsh on the skin but once wet it melts and glides across the skin without tugging. Like the Body Conditioner it is full of lots of lovely ingredients leaves the skin instantly softer and I end up stroking my arms all day! It has a really unique smell which smells deliciously and it may sound weird but it just smells nourishing! It is a little cheaper than the Body Conditioner but doesn't last as long.

I love both products but if I HAD to choose one over all I would purchase the Ro's Argan Body Conditioner above the King of Skin (sorry King of Skin, I still love you). It is just as moisturising and they both smell amazing, but the added bonus of using the Body Conditioner as a shaving cream (skipping another boring step) and the extra luxury you get from applying a cream rather than a bar just out weighs the lower price from the King of Skin. However the skin of skin is easier and it will stay in my shower for days I am feeling extra lazy! 

Have you tried either of these products? What are your thoughts?

#1 Inside My Make-Up Bag- Favourite Foundations

I love having a nose through other peoples make-up bags, to see their most loved products and the products that get used everyday. I thought I'd give you a look through my make-up bag and show you all my favourite products. 

Firstly I love a good make-up bag and when I saw Anna's 'you look lovely today' pouch in her photos I knew I had to have it. I went straight to notonthehighstreet.com and had a look through the make-up bags on their site. There was so many lovely ones but in the end I went for this one from Alphabet bags, which is the same as Anna's but a 'wash bag' rather than a pouch. It is huge, and as I do a lot of travelling is perfect because it holds everything! I has one big compartment which I like since I'm not the neatest person and normally in a rush I love that I can just chuck it all in one place. I would defiantly buy from Alphabet bags again, have my eye on a pouch for my handbag. My order came very quickly and was packaged lovely with the cutest postcard saying thank-you. They have the most lovely products that would make lovely gifts! 

Now on to the make-up, I thought I'd start this series with a look at my favourite foundations. Now to some people foundation might be the most boring part of make-up, its not all exciting like eyes or lips, but foundation is my favourite part. Finding the perfect foundation has always difficult because I am so pale, so trying lots has always been a must (sorry bank balance). I have though found three foundations I will always repurchase.  

  Clarins Ever Matte foundation- £27

I think Clarins as a make-up brand is always over looked in the beauty community, I rarely hear it talked about (apart from the natural lip perfector) and its such a shame. I love Clarins and not just for foundations, I also love their blushes and eye shadows, but that's all for another day. The Ever Matte foundation, leaves the skin with a lovely velvet finish and covers everything without being too heavy on the skin, its oil free so perfect for girls like me with skin slightly on the oily side. It has amazing staying power and doesn't melt off the skin or cake up over time. It has quite thick consistency so you have to work it into the skin well but it blends flawlessly. I love this foundation for days where my skin needs a little extra coverage or I have a busy day where I wont be able to touch up throughout the day. Only down side to this foundation is that it runs out so quickly and at £27 a go you'd expect it to last a little longer. The bottle is made out of quite hard plastic so once the majority of the product has gone its difficult to squeeze out anything left behind, a little trick though to leave it standing upright for a while and a good shake gets a tiny bit more out. 

Rimmel Match Perfection- £6.99

Rimmel is my favourite drugstore brand, and they do amazing foundations. Everyone raves about the 'wake me up' foundation and even though I do like that foundation I find it a bit too shimmering when my skin is at its oiliest. The match perfection foundation is amazing. It has a very thin consistency which has surprisingly good coverage. It has amazing staying power and will last all day long and at the end of the day it still look like you've just done your make-up. Because the consistency is very thin it is easy to go a bit over board so you have to be careful with that, but if applied sparingly it looks fantastic. This foundation is perfect for everyday and is good for anyone on a budget or just looking for a great drugstore foundation.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere- £33

Finally the Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet is probably my favourite of the three, it's good skin in a bottle. It does exactly what it says on the bottle it creates a perfect velvet finish and makes the skin feel so soft. Even though it has a matte finish it doesn't leave skin looking dull. It smooth over any imperfections and give the skin a smooth air brushed look. It is in no means a high coverage foundation, one coat is very sheer but it is buildable. It doesn't cake and looks just like your skin but better. The problem I normally find with Chanel make-up products is the limited range of shades, I've tried the  Mat Lumiere compact and found the lightest shade far too dark, but in this foundation I have shade 10 and its perfect. It is long lasting but I do find I need a few little touch ups throughout the day to keep it looking perfect. It is expensive but so worth it, it feels very luxurious to apply and the packaging is very sleek. I love this foundation.

What are you're favourite foundations?