Boxing Day Brunch

I can't believe it's 2015 in less than 12 hours! I swear the years are passing by quicker and quicker, life needs to sloooooow down! Anyway, I'm throwing it back a bit today to post Christmas times. It was my Sister's Birthday the day after and we were all treated with a delightful brunch as part of the celebrations. 

I'll have a croissant with my jar of Nutella please. 

Daisy's cakes - narcissism at it's finest.

What did you get up to that day?

"Enjoy the little things in life...for one day you'll look back and realise they were the big things." - Robert Brault

Lots of love,

Lily

Decorating the House for Christmas

Yes, I know that Christmas has been and gone, (although if we're being technical it's only day 4 of the 12 days of Christmas)and as much as that saddens me, I'm feeling positive about what the new year may bring. I hope you all had a lovely day eating lots of delicious food and spending time with loved ones! We like to keep our Christmas decorations up for as long as possible, usually into the new year, so here's a short post full of Christmassy shots before the decs get taken down!

"Use your smile to change the world but don't let the world change your smile." - Unknown

Lots of love,

Lily

DIYMAS: Rudolph Mallowpops

Not only are these Rudolph marshmallows adorable AND yummy, they are so easy to make as there is no cooking or baking involved! Yay all round!

You will need:

Marshmallows

Milk Chocolate 

Pretzels

Red Smarties

Black & White Icing

Lollipop sticks

Pop the lollipop sticks in the marshmallows whilst the chocolate is melting. Once your chocolate is melted, dip the marshmallows in to coat them. I added a tiny amount of cream to my chocolate for a thicker, more ganache like consistency. You don't want the chocolate   dripping everywhere whist setting!

As the chocolate is setting, (it's best to do this when the chocolate is squidgy to touch) stick on the pretzel antlers and smartie red nose. 

Tip - if you have any leftover chocolate, use it to coat the pretzels with sea salt for a delicious snack!

Once the chocolate is completely set, ice on the eyes to finish!

Have fun if you decide to make these! 

"Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more." - Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Lots of love,

Lily

D.I.Y-MAS: Winter Wonderland Lantern

Long time no speak! First we need to talk about the obvious. Hello new font! I'd been lusting after Courier for a while and decided today was the day to make the slight alteration!

Secondly, I'm so sorry for being the world's worst blogger throughout November. Two posts last month is frankly shocking. I've been so busy with school work lately and we all know that Christmas time calls for blogs so I'm looking forward to bombard you with festive posts as things begin to slow down. New font, new series 'D.I.Y-mas', new me. 

Christmas is the perfect season to get crafty and I wanted to make something that was quick, easy, affordable and a pretty decoration for the house. This Winter Wonderland lantern not only looks lovely in the daytime, but it looks especially beautiful at night as the snowflakes beam in the darkness. 

You will need:

- A mason jar (size is up to you, mine was medium to large)
- Mouldable fairy lights (preferably LED, just check that they are NON-FLAMMABLE)
- Silver glitter spray
- Iridescent snowflakes
- Confetti stars
- Polystyrene snowflakes
- Silver ribbon 
- Silver glitter (not photographed because nobody's perfect and I forgot)
- Any additional decorations such as bells and more ribbons 

(All can be found in your local crafts shop)

Start by evenly spraying the inside of the jar with the glitter spray.

Whilst it is still wet, add the iridescent snowflakes (if you cannot find these, anything sparkly or snow-like will do) and roll the jar until the flakes are stuck and the inside is covered.

Allow the jar to dry for 20-30 minutes and meanwhile sprinkle the polystyrene snowflakes with glitter. This is optional, as are all of the decorations inside of the jar - you can customise it to how you please.

Once the inside of the jar is roughly dry, shape the lights around it. These mouldable ones are great for this. 

When the lights are turned on, it creates this really pretty, almost like shattered glass effect.

Add the remaining decorations to the jar. These stars show up in the dark through any spaces and just add to the wonderland theme. 

 Finish by tieing a bow around the outside of the jar. I also removed these bells from an old Christmas decoration and wrapped them around as a final touch.

You'll be left with a magical, wintery lantern that makes for the perfect Christmas decoration or night lamp! This would also be a lovely, thoughtful gift for somebody. 

"Christmas isn't just a day. It's a frame of mind." - Valentine Davies

Lots of love,

Lily

Hair and Makeup Addiction Luxury Eyes Kit Review

If you're one for endlessly scrolling through and gawping at the beautiful work of makeup accounts on Instagram, then chances are you might have come across the Hair and Makeup Addiction brushes. Word on the street is that Joyce Bonelli uses and raves about them, and from that alone I was pretty much sold. I got the Luxury Eyes Kit and wanted to share a review with you as well as how I use each brush. 

THE QUEEN 

This brush is great for overall blending or as I like to use it, for softening contouring lines.  It's an all round good blending brush that has truly deserved it's title!

THE HIGHLIGHTER 

 I don't really have a fixed job for this brush. I'll usually use this to blend or add some depth to the crease. 

THE CREASE BLENDER

I'll usually follow 'the highlighter' or 'the shader' (see below) with this brush just to soften any harsh lines. Like the name says, this is great for overall blending in the crease. 

THE LINER

This small angled brush is great for adding some depth to the lower lash line. I'd personally like it to be a little more dense for lining, but I suppose it's nice to have some flexibility.

THE SHADER

 I love this brush for adding depth in the crease as I find it is the perfect shape for getting in there. The slightly pointed tip also enables great precision.

THE BLENDER

This is your typical fluffy blending brush. Flexible in movement, soft in texture and a MEAN blender. 

Overall, I am really impressed with these brushes. They are incredibly soft and of a high quality for the affordable price. I would like a few of them to be a bit more dense just to enable precision in areas such as the crease and lower lash line but other than that I am a happy bunny and will definitely be buying more.

You can find them here for the great price of £27.99. 

"Makeup is a way for a woman to look and feel like herself, only prettier and more confident." - Bobbi Brown

Lots of love,

Lily

The Autumn Tag

I wasn't tagged by anyone but I saw this tag on Melissa's blog and fancied writing an Autumnal post today so kick back, light the fire, boil the kettle, grab a snack or two and enjoy. 

Ok we're talking coffees - what's your favourite seasonal drink from Starbucks/Costa/Cafe Nero etc?

I'm not actually a coffee drinker but I do love a hot chocolate when the weather gets colder. I love the orange hot chocolate at Starbucks which I think only comes out at Christmas time, how exciting that I can indulge in one soon! I also really love Galaxy hot chocolate, it's so delicious and easy to make up at home.  

Accessories - what do you opt for, scarf, boots, gloves?

Boots, definitely. I opt for them in all seasons.

Music - what's your favourite music to listen to during Autumn?

I love Christina Perri because her music always manages to strike a chord in me and I feel like everything gets more sentimental in Autumn. Other than that, I'll listen to anything I'm into at the time, I don't really have a favourite genre. 

Perfume - what's your favourite scent for this time of year?

Perfume is the top of my Christmas list this year as I'm currently using Zoella's body mist. The fragrance is so fresh and gorgeous, I love it. 

Candles - what scents will you be burning this season?

My Knayton Hall Cocoa candle as it smells of chocolate and that's necessary for all seasons but especially Autumn, huh? I'm also a big fan of Snowflake Cookie from Yankee Candle, it always puts me in the mood for Christmas!

What do you love most about Autumn?

The jewel toned leaves and the fashion.

Favourite make up look?

I always love a gold eye but for Autumn I like to add a few copper tones, Amber Lights from MAC is one of my favourite to wash all over the lid or in the crease with a shimmery gold. I'll usually combine that with a dark berry lipstick like 380 Dark Night Waterl-oops! from Rimmel. 

What are you looking forward to most in Autumn?

Spending the evenings snuggled up in my onesie with a hot chocolate watching F.r.i.e.n.d.s. Perfect. 

I tag Cristy Jade Lydia, Young Glamour, Swallows and Skylines and all of you to do this tag next! I can't wait to read them! 

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile." - William Cullant Bryant

Lots of love,

Lily

Halloween Cupcakes

Since I have some time off school, I thought there was no better way to spend my Tuesday then to bake. Not just any old bake though, this was the mighty Halloween bake where I attempted to make up some devilish treats that looked and tasted the part.  The substance was without a doubt delicious, as for style though, let's just say it was more about making the best out of a bad situation. *SPOILER ALERT* sometimes icing just doesn't want to stick to the chocolate pumpkin no matter how much you try. 

You will need:

Cakes (however many you want - I made 8)

Buttercream (whatever flavour - I chose white chocolate)

4 Smarties Chocolate Pumpkins

Marshmallows

Galaxy Cookie Crumble Bars

Orange Royal Icing

White Icing/Modelling Paste

Black Icing Pen

1. Dip all four chocolate pumpkins into the orange icing. I'm not going to lie, this was a struggle. If I could give you any advice, it would be to keep the icing cool and thick or just skip step 1 and buy some ready-made sugar craft pumpkins. 

2. Cut out four irregular disc shapes from the white icing. These do not need to be perfect!

3. Spread the buttercream over the cupcakes. You can pipe it if you prefer, but the buttercream isn't going to be seen so it can be as messy as you like!

5. Add a marshmallow on top of half of the cakes and place the white discs on top to create the body of a ghost.

6) Crush the cookie crumble bars into small pieces and sprinkle on top of the remaining cupcakes to look like mud.

7) Ice the faces onto the ghosts and pumpkins. I gave up with the pumpkins in the end as the icing wouldn't stop slippin' and slidin'. If anyone asks, it was intentional, they're melted pumpkins! Oooh how spooky and appropriately festive!

They weren't a complete failure I guess! 

Have a lovely Halloween whatever you're doing, let me know below in the comments! 

"Where there is no imagination, there is no horror." - Arthur Conan Doyle Sr. 

Lots of love, 

Lily