Zesty Iced Lemon Cupcakes

 

 

Hi guys!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the photography to go with this post, but I still have the recipe for you!

 

Ingredients

For cupcakes:

125g soft butter

125g self-raising flour

125g caster sugar

2 tbsp of milk

2 large eggs

Zest of 1 small lemon

 

For icing;

125g soft unsalted butter

250g sifted icing sugar

Juice of 1 small lemon

Decorations (Edible silver balls, sprinkles, glitter etc)

12 hole muffin tin

12 paper cases

 

 

Step 1) Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4.

 

Step 2) Put all the cake ingredients into a bowl and mix with an electric whisk until evenly combined and smooth.

 

Step 3)Line the muffin tin with paper cases and spread the mixture evenly amongst them.

 

Step 4) Bake in the oven for 20-15 minutes then leave to cool.

 

Step 5)To make the icing, put the butter and half of the icing sugar into a bowl and mix this with an electric whisk until evenly combined and smooth.

 

Step 6) Add the lemon juice and the remaining icing sugar, and mix again.

 

Step 7) Spread the icing over the cupcakes, and decorate.

 

These are super easy and are delicious, I would really recommend trying them out, they are perfect for spring too!

 

The minute you think of giving up, think of the reason why you held on so long.

  

My Spring Wishlist

 

 

Hi guys!

As promised, here is the first of my daily Easter posts! I have lots of exciting posts to come that I hope you will enjoy.

 

As I do not own much makeup and skincare from high end brands, most of this is high end and I hope 2014 is the year my high end collection starts to blossom!

 

1)Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush

 

Hourglass products are beyond gorgeous, and these blushes have been raved about quite a lot. You don't even have to think twice about why, just look at them! They come in very bright, fresh colours in a marbleised pattern and have a slight shimmer.

As you can see they come in a gorgeous sleek, gold packaging and in a variety of colours. I particularly have my eye on 'Dim Infusion' and 'Luminous Flush' ;).

 

2)Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury Set

 

I love Zoeva, mainly because the brushes and products are so high quality, at so little price. They are very similar to Mac brushes, but I think look much nicer. In particular, this Rose Golden set is absolutely stunning and as I love love love rose gold it is a perfect match. It is ONLY £58.00 for 8 brushes, both for eyes and face.

These are very popular, and have been in a lot of blog posts. The 227 would be ideal to use in the crease of the eye, just the thought excites me!

 

 

3)Kiehls Midnight Recovery

 

My first skincare item, this serum/concentrate is meant to be a miracle worker. You apply this before bed and your skin is meant to be rejuvenated and freshened overnight. I have had my eye on this for a while, but it is just so expensive!

 

 

The navy packaging is gorgeous too! It's basically a dream product to have in your skincare routine and I don't know anyone who wouldn't even want to try this beauty!

 

 

4) Nars Laguna Bronzer

 

This product was launched a few years ago now and has been purchased by pretty much everyone, except me. It is a beautiful light bronze colour, to give your face a bit of colour and define those cheekbones (as all bronzers do, aha).

 

I love the Nars packaging, even though it is very simple, it is unique all the same. This bronzer adds a lot of definition to your face and I want it!!

 

 

5) Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush

 

I know this is the second blush on my list, but it's spring, blushes are an essential, right? I was introduced to this product by Essiebutton (Estee) and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. It is basically a gel like consistency that is applied to your cheekbones like any other blush, to add a splash of colour.

 

 

The packaging is so cute and pretty, and it is made to be squeezed out of the bottle I believe. It claims to be 'water-resistant' and from what I've heard it is very long wearing, so it could be true!

 

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed my first post of the fortnight.

 

Be who you are, not who someone wants you to be.

  

 

 

March Favourites & Catchup

 

Hey guys,

 

I have been really bad with this blog lately and have not been posting hardly at all. I am going to make a big commitment to this blog and from Monday 7th April until Monday 21st April, I am going to try my best to post everyday. This is my Easter school holiday and I thought it would be a good opportunity to freshen up my blog and make the posts a lot more interesting, being a newbie to blogging. These will be decent sized posts and I may even try and include some of my own photography.

 

This March, I haven't really brought many beauty products or tried many new things, so out of my five favourites, only two are beauty based.

 

1. Soap & Glory Original Pink Eau De Parfum. I was given this at Christmas by my parents and I hadn't really used it much until a few weeks ago. I absolutely love the scent of this. It is the original Soap & Glory scent, which is very light, fresh and perfect for spring. I get compliments when wearing it as it's the kind of scent that almost everyone loves. Not to strong, yet the scent lingers around throughout the day.

It is around £16.50 and you can pick it up from any boots store.

 

2. My second and final beauty favourite is Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Paint. These have been round for a while and have been raved about quite a lot. I picked one up at the beginning of the month in the shade Rich Russet. This is a very pretty shimmery bronze. What I love about these eye paints is that you can apply it quite heavily and smoke it out at the corners, or apply it lightly as a base or by itself. It is very quick to apply, does not crease and is very long lasting. I use my Real Techniques Detailer Brush to transfer it onto my lid as I find it more effective that way. It is perfect for school and is only £4.99.

 

3) My third favourite is actually an item of clothing. Around 2 weeks ago I purchased the Maisie Red Tartan Leggings from Boohoo.com. I had wanted some tartan leggings for a while and was very excited about these as I really liked them. I was worried because they were only available in a 10 and although I have very long legs, they are also very slim and there was the chance of the leggings being baggy or too large at the waist. The waste band was in fact elasticated as well as the fabric containing elastane to help them fit around the shape of your legs. I love the way that they look on and can be worn with all sorts of tops and they contain quite a few different colours.

 

I love the style of them, I had never seen any like them and they were at an amazing price of £8.00.

 

4) I have been absolutely loving Green Tea this month. I have liked Green Tea for quite a while now but lately even more so. I feel like it is a spring drink as it's hot but also very fresh tasting and I find it gives you a boost in the morning. I am not going to insert a picture of Green Tea, haha but I love Tetley's.

 

5) I love Lindsey Kelk's books. The I Heart series is amazing and I cannot stop reading it. I had read the I Heart Christmas book this month, which is the last in the series. It is an easy read and takes you into the world of Angela Clark. I now feel like I want to move to New York and live her life that's how drawn in I am. I know this is a Christmas based book but I just wanted to complete the series and this was a Christmas present, I could not wait until next year to read it. The books give be a boost and are so bright and cheerful. I would really recommend the books and Lindsey Kelk does have a blog so I would recommend checking out lindseykelk.com.

 

Thankyou so much for reading! I don't know about you guys but I am so happy that spring is here and so glad the horrible weather is just about over! I will see you on Monday for the first post of the 14 day series.

 

When life gives you a million reasons to cry, show life you have a million reasons to smile.

  

 

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint

 

Hi guys!

I know a lot of people have done blog posts on this nail polish, but I only picked it up at the beginning of this year and I knew I had to review it myself.

I got in in the colour 'Papaya' which is a gorgeous vibrant coral. It looks really nice on the nails and is perfect for spring, it really brightens up an outfit.

It lasts really long on the nails and does not chip easily, it's quite a thick, jelly like nail polish, hence the name.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for reading, and if you do decide to buy this nail polish, it is really good and I know that you will love it as much as I do.

 

Stop worrying about what you have to loose and start focusing on what you have to gain.

  

Advice

 

 

Hi guys, I felt that I needed to do a more serious blog post, so here you are. I beg you, if you are having a bad day, read this and it might help.

 

I know there are a lot of you out there that are dealing with bad circumstances. Whether that is money issues, family issues, insecurity, being bullied, anxiety, or just being over shy. Life can be tough and sometimes we just can't help that. I can't tell you I know exactly how you're feeling but I have been through very painful circumstances as I think we all have. I first lost my self confidence a few years ago, and at the time I almost gave up entirely, I was moody all the time, didn't see the point in life and treated some of the people I love very badly. But that was wrong, life may seem bad but that is no reason to take it out on others and please, don't give up.

 

Life can seem at it's worst at times, but it is full of endless amazing opportunities and you only live once. I know that seems cringy but it is true and you just have to make the most of it. If you're being bullied then you have to do something about it, please. Someone that tells you 'to die' or that you're 'ugly' or even something small like 'you're stupid' is a bully. They should not be acknowledged for the horrible things they say or do and you are a better person than them. Please tell an adult or at least a friend if you're being bullied as it can only get better. I am in no way saying that it is okay for them to be doing what they are doing but please remember that the bullies may be the ones with the biggest problems or insecurities and they are just too scared to talk to someone about it. If they need a shoulder to cry on, please offer it. If your life seems bad please do not try and ruin others lives as well, bullying can drive people to do so many horrible things, in some cases end life altogether.

 

It would be hard for me to give you advice on how to gain more self confidence or become less shy as I haven't figured that one out myself. All I can say is to take chances, even if things might seem scary they may turn out to be amazing. Talk to others, what is the worst that can happen? Most importantly if someone is trying to make you feel worse about yourself, stand up to them. Don't let them win, be the better person. Don't insult them back because then you're just lowering yourself to their level but don't just sit there and let them make you feel like that.

 

I promise you that if your life seems pretty bad, that it will get better. Please don't do anything drastic and just keep telling yourself that happiness is just around the corner. If there is one thing that I have learned so far it is to capture the good moments. Whether that's by photo, drawing, writing or even a mental image. Because if there is a day that is particularly bad or you're just feeling the worst of the worst you can look back at those moments. I write a diary to keep them in and looking back at what I have written always makes me smile and makes me forget about all the bad things for a moment or two.

 

Promise yourself that you will;

• Keeping smiling

• Always tell everyone you love how much you really do love them.

• Stand up for yourself.

• Never let the bad aspects of life overpower the good.

• Live every minute like it's your last.

• Capture the good moments and keep looking back at them.

 

 

I know my blog isn't very big, but if this just helps one person, it would make me so happy. So please just have a read.

 

I love all of you.

 

Life is what you make it, try and make it your best.

 

The Beauty Scenario Tag

 

 

 

Hi Guys,

 

I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long, I keep telling myself to get off YouTube and post haha. I have to give credit to the beautiful Lily Pebbles for this post as I'm going to be doing The Beauty Scenario Tag, which she created. I watched her video on it a couple of days back and I loved it so much I knew I had to do the same tag on my blog, so here it is!

 

 

1. You have to get rid of all your foundations and you can only keep one high end and one drugstore, which do you keep?

I don't actually own any high end foundations, but as for drugstore, I love the Rimmel Match Perfection foundation, it has medium coverage, is not cakey and the colour True Ivory matches my skin tone perfectly.

2. You go for an interview and the lady interviewing you has lipstick on her teeth. Do you approach the subject or ignore it completely?

I would probably not tell her, as I am quite shy, or I would mention it after the interview when I'm not under so much pressure.

3. You're not feeling yourself and need a pick me up. Which lipstick do you put on to make yourself feel beautiful?

This isn't exactly a lipstick but more of a tinted balm. I have absolutely been loving the MUA Power Pouts lately. They are just like the Clinique Chubby Sticks and the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. I have the colour Justify which is a beautiful coral that really brightens up your face.

4. You go back in time for a day to your teenage years, how would you do your hair and makeup differently?

 

I am now 14, so let's just say I go back a year or two. I have changed so much and knew absolutely nothing about makeup and hair. I would have not worn so much eye shadow, when on holiday or on a special occasion I used to wear this neon turquoise eye shadow and looking back now, I looked a state. Also, I wouldn't have done my hair is such tight ponytails and kept it looser so my hair didn't look glued to my head.

5. You ask your hairdresser for a shoulder length Pixie Lott hair cut, but they hear wrong and give you a pixi cut. Do you a) Smile, say thank you, leave and call your mum hysterical b) Cry in the chair and things get awkward or c) Complain to the manager and demand a refund.

 

Being quite shy (as I mentioned before), I would probably pick a), but instead of calling my mum hysterical, I would probably call her out of my mind with worry and start to cry.

6. Your friend surprises you with a 4 day city break and you have 1 hour to pack. Which 'do it all' palette do you pack in your makeup bag?

 

I would probably pack a Rimmel quad, even though they are not palettes, they have some gorgeous colours.

7. Your house has been robbed, don't worry everyone is safe, but your beauty stash has been raided. What's the product you really hope is safe?

All of my Soap & Glory products, body and makeup as they are probably the most expensive items in my stash. Particularly, The Scrub Of Your Life and my Archery Brow Tint and Pencil.

8. Your friend borrows your makeup and returns it in awful condition. Do you a) Just pretend you haven't noticed b) Ask them to repurchase it or c) Secretly do the same to something of theirs

 

If it was an expensive or hard to get item, I would choose B and ask them nicely to repurchase it or at least apologise, but if it was a cheaper or easier item to get hold of, I would choose A and let it go.

 

Remember, you're all beautiful and never think that you need makeup to cover that.

 

Gabby x

Rimmel Stay Glossy 3D Lip Gloss

 

 

Hi guys!

 

 

I picked up this lip gloss the other day and have worn it a few times. I have to say, this is stunning. I have it in the colour 'Lights Camera Action' which is a very pretty coral with shimmer. I  love this lip gloss, and for £6.99 you can't go wrong.

 

It stays on your lips for a reasonable amount of time and I have to say I was given multiple compliments whilst wearing it. The one fault it has it that it could have more pigmentation, so that it shows up a bit more on the lips. Although it does still give a beautiful glistening effect and really catches the eye.

 

I also absolutely adore the packaging, it really does look high end. It does claim that the lip gloss gives a three dimensional effect and that the shimmer in it changes colour, I do not agree with this although I do still really like the effect it gives.

 

I was really happy with this lip gloss as I think coral really suits my skin tone. I hope to buy more from this range as they are so gorgeous.

 

 

When life gives you one hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have one thousand reasons to smile.