5 ways to cheer me up

Sometimes you need a bit of cheering up to make you feel better and a lot more positive. So the following are things that instantly cheers me up and ways that might cheer you up to!

1. Bath treats

Nothing can beat having a lovely hot bath, surrounded by candles glowing in the dark. I love using a cocktail of products including a bath bomb, bubble bar, bath salts, face wash, facial scrub, body scrub, shower gel and shower cream. This makes me feel so relaxed and pampered. My skin all smooth and my face all soft and blemish free. I usually do this once or twice a week to be relaxed and happier.

2. Seeing friends and family

This is probably really cheesy but I don’t know where I would be without my family. I am instantly cheered up especially with my little cousins who are so caring and actually understand the pain better than my first idiot of a doctor! But yeah they are always laughing and happy which is actually very admirable! Also seeing my friends, every week we have been going to a Jacuzzi and having a good catch up you also get a yummy slush that you can take in the pool!

3. Watching youtube

I’m obsessed with youtube I love it so much! It’s actually what inspired Leah and I to make this blog! I love getting all cosy and just relax and watch some youtube videos some of my favourite channels at the moment are Emily Caham, Zoella and Meg Says. There are so many people and videos out there for all moods. I watch Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee when I’m sad and to relax I watch Niomi Smart and Anna Saccone for some reason their voices are so calming! Is it just me who thinks that?!

4. Hydrotherapy

I love hydrotherapy, I have a really nice group and I love how warm it is as my body is always like ice! If you didn’t know what hydrotherapy is; it’s part of physio therapy but instead of doing exercises on a mat you do them in a very warm small swimming pool. I’m in charge of the music and it’s like a little party every week! After we do our exercises we get to play games or just float and relax. For my birthday they got a cake and they sung happy birthday to me! I know a lot of people don’t like physio and I am so blessed to have the best team (after waiting ages and being ignored).

5. Shopping

Nothing like retail therapy! I recently went shopping with my mum to a massive shopping centre and spent all of my birthday money and I had quite a lot!! It was so fun, if I saw something I saw something I liked I got it!! I got loads of stuff and I can’t wait to spend (hopefully Christmas money!)

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and comment below if you want more of these posts xx – em <3

Primark Haul

A few weeks ago I went into a massive Primark and spent a bit of my birthday money. I picked up quite a lot for my money and I am looking forward to use everything, as I’ve saved most of them for this haul! Also I would like to apologise because there is no photos of things my room is a mess so I couldn’t take nice ones, I will try my best to describe everything.

The first thing I got is a copper/rose gold hair brush, this is absolutely stunning! It’s a big paddle brush and it has little pearl details. This would look gorgeous on a dressing table and honestly is one of my favourite purchases. This was £3.00 which I think is brilliant for the money, considering how much you would pay for this in urban outfitters, Topshop etc.

The next purchase was this pack of 2 tweezers. These match the hairbrush and are also so pretty! However I tried them out and they were okay but not as good as my original ones, but I think its such a lovely novelty, or it would be perfect as part of a present.

The first clothing purchase is a white textured top rimmed with lace. I love this top I think it’s so versatile and so pretty. I will be wearing this all seasons and would look amazing with a statement necklace. I have worn it with a scarf and it looks really nice. This wasn’t expensive at all I can’t remember the exact price but it was under £10.

The following piece is my most worn it’s a grey collared top. It’s kind of textured and is so nice, it’s a little clingy so I got a bigger size but apart from that it’s great! This was only £6! Such a bargain, it’s well worth the money.

I made a very festive purchase….. A CHRISTMAS JUMPER! This is my first ever Christmas jumper and I think it’s so cuteee. It’s a grey jumper with a reindeer on it and it has a red pom pom on it. I will definitely be wearing this a lot.

I got these very cosy fluffy socks they were a bit more expensive than the normal ones but it was worth it! They are so soft omg, I’m wearing them right now and I’m so cosy :))

I then got some Christmassy fake nails which I love. Primark fake nails I find stay on quite well and are such good value for the money! I got 2 packs; snowflake ones and reindeer/snowflake ones. I’m very excited to use them.

To complete outfits I got a wide tartan scarf. I’ve seen loads of people wearing these and really wanted one, I saw one in Topshop but it was really expensive for what it is. However I found one nearly identical in Primark but it was £4!

I also picked up a pair of black Chelsea boots. They are suede which isn’t too good for British weather but I still love them. These were really inexpensive and I have worn these to bits I absolute love them!!

The last thing I picked up was some hair bows attached to a bobble. I just got these in black and white and they were £1.50 I think. I love these as they are really soft in the hair and look super cute!

Hope you have enjoyed this post it’s quite different to our other ones so leave a comment if you want more hauls! - em

Mini Lush Haul + First Impressions

Recently I went to Lush and picked up a few things. These are all bath products which are always my favourite to pick up. Where I live there isn’t a lush shop, so I always look forward to going and having a good look around. Also I only pick up stuff that I like the smell of so I couldn’t get some really cool coloured products, but I’m really happy with my purchases!

 

The first product I got is the marshmallow moment bath oil. This is so pretty and bright and smells so nice. I’m rubbish with describing scents but I think it’s quite sweet. This is really oily (surprise surprise) but it literally melts in your hand! I’m looking forward to using this as I think it will be really moisturising and I have never tried a bath oil before,

Probably my favourite product I got was the magic wand! This is basically a reusable bubble bar on a stick but instead of crumbling it under water you just wave it around in the water. This just looks stunning it’s such a girly product. The smell is just heaven ugh I love it! Lush is always good about making everything pretty but this has just taken it to the next level! It’s so sparkly and I’m very curious to see if it looks like that in the bath. I think this is meant to last up to 10 baths, which is amazing as it works out so inexpensive!!

The next product is a bubbleroon, this is the definition of cute! I got the yuzu and cocoa one as I preferred the smell. This is a gorgeous lemon yellow colour. I’m very excited to use this as I have never tried a bubbleroon before but it’s my friends favourite so I have high hopes! However they don’t really look like a macaroon it’s not that neat and a bit messy but overall it should be really good.

This product is really similar to the magic wand but I am just obsessed with this smell! It’s called Candy Mountain and smells of sweets! It’s a beautiful pastel pink and white, which has a bit of sparkle through it. This has made my room smell so nice and I think this will be really good. If you were wondering how you use this product you take quite a big chunk and crumble it under running water, I usually do it when the bath is about 1/3 full as even if you have crumbled it all it still adds bubbles!

The last product I bought is a classic and is always raved about, it’s……. Granny takes a dip! I have actually never tried it even though it’s so popular. I’m hoping this will make my bath the same colours as the product has. The colours are so vibrant and the colours go together perfectly! It smells different to the others but I still love it! I think this will be a nice change and I think it will be a really nice bath.

I hope you have all enjoyed reading this post, I really excited to use all of these products and there will be reviews up next month so stay tuned!

- em 

Too faced dupes

Recently I came across 2 too faced dupes in superdrug. They are from the brand 1 heart makeup. Personally I can't compare it to the real product but I do think these are really good. The packaging is almost identical and they are very pigmented. The first product is the white chocolate palette. It doesn't really smell of chocolate but there is a hint of really artificial chocolate. However this palette is honestly so stunning it has such beautiful colours with a combination of matte and shimmer! This is especially perfect for brown eyes. These colours are really well pigmented and they are easy to blend. This is such great quality for £7.99 from the brand ' I ♡ makeup'. I think it's quite a new brand and is available on the makeup revolution website. The other product is called 'blushing hearts' this is a triple baked blusher in a gorgeous pink colour. The pink is quite bright in the packaging but it isn't really bright on the skin. This is my new go to blush and is gives such a nice glow. This isn't a matte blush at all it's very shimmer but still gorgeous all the same! But can we talk about the packaging it's so photogenic, it looks so nice on my dressing table.

Chocolate bar palette
I ♡ makeup price ~ £8.99
too faced price ~ £39.00 (they don't sell it in white chocolate but that's the price of the other ones)
Heart blush I ♡ makeup price ~ £4.99
too faced price ~ £24.00 ~ em

Warm me up for winter tag

What's your favourite hot chocolate?
I love galaxy hot chocolate with whipped cream and mini marshmallows.

What's your favourite pj's?
I love my cosy coral pj's from primark. In general primark has the best pj's <3 x

What's your favourite thing about winter?
CHRISTMAS!! I love Christmas just the atmosphere is a lot happier and I just love everything about it!

What's your favourite winter lip product?
Em... I really love the Dr rescue baby lips which are great for this time of year as I get really bad chapped lips :( It also smells like vix which can be a bit strong but I love it so much! ♡xx

What's your favourite cosy jumper?
I have quite a few probably one of my favourites is from river island and it's a blush pink knit jumper. It's so cosy and keeps me so warm, it was a bit pricey but definitely worth it!

What's your favourite cosy scarf?
I love my hollister scarf that my auntie got me from America. It's grey wooly with white pom poms on the end of it. This is probably my favourite scarf ever!!

What's your favourite bath bomb?
Ooo I can't choose one. I love all things lush, I also like the bomb cosmetics products but they are a bit pricey for a small product x

I'm getting really excited for winter! I tag everyone who is reading this xxx

Stage makeup

Hi everyone, this post is going to be about my stage makeup! I wore this to my dance show in June and I loved it. I don't wear a lot of makeup every day so I loved experimenting with it. For my stage makeup I didn't wear tons but this was just enough to look good on stage.

Base :
I started off with a cleansed and moisturised face. Then applied the 17 stay time concealer under my eyes, nose and chin. This concealer is okay it's not the best but works well enough, it's really cheap so I suppose you get what you payed for.  Then I applied the dream matte mouse from Maybeline this is perfect for a long day so you are shine free! This is in a shade darker as it looks good on stage and is so good but could be a but drying on dry skin types? Then I applied the Rimmel stay matte powder in translucent. This is my favourite go to powder it's so good and lasts a really long time! For blush I applied the mua blush in bon bon. This is only a pound and is a great blush for the money the only thing is I dropped it recently and the product cracked so I need to pick up a new one and that's why it isn't in the picture!

Eyes :
I first used my finger and swept powder over my eyelid. *all eyeshadows are from the makeup revelution essential shimmers pallete* Then put a white eyeshadow in the tearduct. I used the  champagne colour and swept it over my eyelid with my finger. I put number 5 from the left in crease then the one at the end on the right through the crease aswell. To smoke it out a bit I put the one 7 from the left in the outer corner. I didn't put eyeliner on as I don't suit it. I went on to curl my eyelashes and applied two mascaras. This first mascara I used was Maybeline the falsies then the superdry mascara for a bit more length. For brows I just brushed them through with a eyebrow comb then filled then in.

Lips :
To line my lips I used the no 7 red lip liner in the shade 07 red and the Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick in the shade 37 rosetto

That is the completed show look!! I really like it it's not too in your face but still enough to look good on stage
~ em
Sorry I don't have a completed look picture but the lighting was rubbish and my whole house is in the middle of getting redone!

It's almost Christmas!

Hellooo! Leah's on for once, and I will be posting every Tuesday and Saturday, Em will be posting on Thursday and Sunday, so now you know when to check back for blog posts. I would usually post around 5:30pm (UK TIME) But I'm not too sure about Em's times. 

So, as you can tell from the title, it's almost Christmas for most people, and I'm obvisously so excited for the wait to be over! And surprisingly, it isn't because of the presents (even though my wishlist is over £100) but because of a few things actually...

One is that I love the smell and feeling of cold fresh air - it's just so calming, even if the weather is always cold in Britain, but it isn't as fresh as winter weather.

Another thing is giving presents - I'm not just saying that to sound really nice and kond, it's actually because I love seeing people's reactions when they get a good gift and that's basically the main reason I give gifts and cards. 

And, also, the holidays when you finally get a break from school. I don't think I need to explain that too much. ;p

So that's why I like Christmas, why do you like it? Telll us in the comments below!

By the way, it's Emma's birthday this Thursday so make sure to say happy birthday to her! 

-Leah xxx

Nutella cupcake recipe

Recently I made nutella cupcakes and they were so nice got loads of compliments. Warning, they are very sweet :)) xx

Makes : 24 cupcakes

Equipment :
For the cupcakes ~
♡ Bowl
♡ Electric mixer
♡ Scales
♡ Knife
♡ Measuring spoons
♡ Spatula
♡ Cupcake cases
♡ 2x 12 hole cupcake tins
♡ Skewer
♡ Cupcake corer
♡ Siringe
♡ Piping bag + tip

Ingredients :
For the cupcakes ~
♡ 100g roasted chopped hazelnuts
♡ 200g self raising flour
♡ 50g cocoa powder
♡ 250g caster sugar
♡ 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
♡ 2 pinches of salt
♡ 280g softened unsalted butter
♡ 4 large free range eggs
♡ 3 tablespoons of milk
♡ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the buttercream ~
♡ 200g softened unsalted butter
♡ 300g nutella
♡ 500g icing sugar
♡ 8 tablespoons of milk
*extra nutella for filling for the whole recipe I used 1 big jar of nutella but still had some left over*

Method :
♡ Preheat the oven to 170*C.
♡ Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer.
♡ Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until the mixture is smooth.
♡ Fold in the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt until everything is combined.
♡ Mix in the milk so the mixture has a dropping consistency.
♡ Then add the hazelnuts and fold them in until they are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
♡ Scoop the mixture into cupcake cases and pop them into a preheated oven for 20 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
♡ For the buttercream cream the softened butter until it's smooth.
♡ Using an electric mixer stir in the icing sugar until it's combined.
♡ Then add half the milk so it's not as stiff.
♡ Time for the nutella! Stir in the gooey nutella until there is no white bits showing.
♡ Then add the other half of the milk, you may need more to losen it up to your desired consistency.
♡ Core the cupcakes and using a siringe insert nutella into the middle.
♡ Using a piping bag, pipe your icing onto your cooled cupcakes and decorate with some hazelnuts on top!

Now you can go make yourself a cup of tea and enjoy one! Please comment if you would like more baking posts!