Thursday 29 August 2013

Body Shop Cocoa Body Butter

Sorry that I aren't posted in a while, I've been a bit busy getting ready for going back to school and trying to make the most of my summer holidays while it lasts- I go back tomorrow and I really don't want to! 


I picked this up about for weeks ago, when I was passing by the body shop and noticed that they had a 50% sale. I had really wanted a body butter, but as they are normally £13 they were a little out of my prince range for someone who has there fair share of body moisturisers. However when I saw that it was in the sale for £6.50 I bought the cocoa butter one and I love it! I will definitely repurchase even at full price. 
They have loads of different scents which are all lovely but this one is definitely my favourite. It smells aaah-mazing. I hate using something that smells really strong, because I'm often then using perfume of body spray without realising I already smell like something. This body butter is subtle enough, so that I can still use my favourite perfume without smelling like a strange mix of cocoa butter and flowers, but strong enough for me to not use any other scent and to smell really good al day!
The body butter is really good for my skin too, you get a lot in the pot, but only need to use a small amount. It is super great for my sensitive skin, so gentle, yet really nourishing and moisturising. I have noticed a significant difference in the way my skin looks and feels, usually I get very dry legs which are torture to fix, but not anymore! It is so soft and looks so much better and healthier.
The one bad thing about this product is that it takes quite a while for it to sink into your skin, which can be annoying when you are in a rush, I tend to use it only when I have time, otherwise I get really annoyed by it. However it is so effective that you don't need to use it everyday.
Overall it is a really great Body Butter, the best I have ever used. I know lots if people rave about this product and I am glad that I have tried it as well.
I hope you found this little review useful. If you have been in need of a body butter or have always wondered what the body shop one is like and like what you have read, then I definitely recommend it. But, if you want a fast to-sink-in moisturiser, or are often in a rush but don't want miss out on moisturising after a shower/bath then don't buy this one.
<3 Ellen x

Friday 23 August 2013

Liebster Award!


Amazing news! I have been nominated for the Liebster award by the gorgeous Katie from www.spotsandstripes99.blogspot.co.uk. She writes a great blog called Tickety Boo, please go and check her out of you haven't already! 
For those of you who don't know, the Liebster Award is a nomination award for up and coming bloggers with under 200 followers. It is so that they can get more recognition and gain more followers and readers. If nominated, you must put up a post on your blog with the Liebster Award logo on it. You most also nominate 11 other bloggers, answer 11 questions given to you by the blogger who nominated you, write 11 facts about yourself and give your nominees 11 questions of your own for them to answer. 
You must nominate bloggers with under 200 followers (on places such as GFC, google plus, or Bloglovin') and tell them personally via a blog comment, or through another form of contact, bit cannot nominate the person who nominated you.
I was so happy to be nominated this award as not only will it help me and my blog, but it gives me a chance to help others as well. Things like this portrays the amazing blogging community, and the beauty of the internet. Some think that the Internet is full of dodgy people waiting to scam, cheat and lie, but this shows that it is the minority and so many people are really, really sweet which is what I love about blogging. 

So here are the 11 questions set by Katie:
1. If you could have a magical power for one day only, what would it be?
I think that it would be to fly. It would be such an amazing experience to see the world in a different way and to feel weightless. To me, it would be as if you couldn't have a care in the world, and for that one day everything would be perfect, no stress, no worries or responsibilities just the brilliance of being able to do that for one day.
2. Favourite colour?
Definitely mint green!
3. If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?
Answering this was hard, but I came to the conclusion that it could not be my favourite food (pasta) as it would become boring and would not be substantial and balanced enough. Pizza is my choice as it has a bit of every food group on/in it and would not become as boring.
4. Favourite makeup brand?
My favourite makeup brand is benefit. Ideally I would buy most of my makeup from there, but unfortunate it is quite pricey and high end resulting in me only having the mascara (and that was a present). I probably buy most of my makeup from Rimmel and L'oreal, which I also love.
5.Number one reason you started a blog?
I think that I started it because I wanted to see what it would be like, I wanted to enjoy doing something just for me and I wanted to see if I could do it. But, I suppose I also started it to find myself and to improve my confidence.( I know it's not a one reason but I couldn't decide..)
6. If you could start your blog over what would you change?
I have no idea, I don't think I would know until I did it. However I think the design of my blog would be changed now that I know more about how it all works.
7. A makeup item you could not live without?
This was between mascara and concealer, but I chose concealer as I have dark eyelashes so I could mimic it with eyelash curlers. Concealer, for me is essential -especially my collection concealer- I feel the main thing that makes me look nicer is covering up blemishes and dark circles, it makes a grea difference.
8. Favourite season?
 My favourite season is spring as you get the best of both winter and summer. Additionally I love spring clothing!
9. What is your favourite type of blog post?
My favourite type of blog post to read are ones that have a bit of humour and I can relate to-mainly lifestyle and chatty posts, I like product posts too! My favourite blog posts to write are either favourites or chatty/lifestyle ones. However I really enjoy baking ones and the look book I did.  
10. Favourite accessory?
This is a hard question because I wear earrings the most, but I don't think they are my favourite as I could go without them, whereas a pretty necklace or bracelet often really brings an outfit together.
11. Where do you see your blog on 2 years?
Ooooh..hard question, I honestly have absolutely no idea! I like to think that it would of had a makeover, the content would be better and I would have some more readers, but I don't know ipf that will be the case.

11 facts about me~
1. I have 2 cats, Shadow and Tammy
2. I have a hamster named after Ron Weasley
3. My favourite sport is Netball
4. I love France, and would love to live there, but not forever
5. My favourite high street shop is New Look
6. I cry at a lot of things~ sad charity adverts, books, films, many things Harry Potter related, the news and even particularly cute kittens
7. When I was little I was afraid of Father Christmas 
8. I feel most peaceful when baking
9. My favourite subject is History
10. I would much rather spend a night in with my friends, watching tv in my pyjamas than at a big party
11. My favourite wild animal is a giraffe, they are so cute and cool!

My 11 nominees~
www.rarareid.wordpress.com
www.FloresYModa.blogspot.co.uk
www.antiquesncoffee.blogspot.com
www.ditsysprinkles.blogspot.com
www.lollylou97.blogspot.ca
www.knotsandruffles.blogspot.com
www.braidingit.blogspot.com
www.alzgalz.blogspot.co.uk
www.itsalljustrosie.blogspot.co.uk
www.thebelleaventure.blogspot.com
www.sophiaspocket.blogspot.co.uk

I have chosen blogs that I love, ones that I have discovered both since i was nominated and from a while back. They are some of my absolute favourites, ones that are as good as those with 100s and 100s of followers. They deserve a lot more recognition then they receive. More people should read their blogs as they will enjoy them as much as I do.

My 11 questions for them~
1. Why did you start a blog?
2. What is your favourite thing about being a blogger?
3. What is your favourite highstreet store?
4. Do you have an ambition in life, what is it?
5. Do you have a favourite blogger/youtuber?
6. What is your favourite book?
7. If you could spend £1000 on only one type of thing (e.g makeup, clothes, books, music) what would you choose to spend it on?
8. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
9. Who is your inspiration/role model?
10. What is your favourite type of blog post?
11. If you had one wish only, what would you wish for?

And one for luck... (couldn't leave it out, but doesn't have to be answered)
12. If your home was on fire, and you had 60 seconds to grab the one thing most special to you, what would it be?

 So that is it, I hope you enjoyed this post and feel you know a bit more about me. I hope you also follow everyone (including the blogger who nominated me) I have mentioned, or at least check their blogs out. Please follow my blog if you haven't already and you like what you see. Thanks to Katie for nominating me and to all those who are following me and have made blogging even more fun!
<3 Ellen x

Monday 19 August 2013

Giant Cupcake Fun

Hi guys!
So I made a crazy giant cupcake, and since I enjoyed baking it so much I thought I would share it with you.
To make it I used a giant silicone cupcake case from Lakeland which you can find here. It is very simple, fun and tasty!


Ingredients:
For the cake~
100g self-raising flour (sifted)
100g caster sugar
100g unsalted butter (softened) or baking margarine
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
For the icing and decoration~
250g icing sugar
80g unsalted butter (softened) 
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Food colouring (optional)
Sprinkles of your choice (optional)

Method 
Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F / gas mark 4
Cream the butter or margarine and sugar together using either an electric mixer or a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. 
Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl along with the vanilla extract. 
To you butter and sugar mixture add a some of the egg and mix, then add a little flour and mix.
Repeat this until all the egg has been added.
Fold in the remaining flour.
Once all the flour has been thoroughly folded in, pour/ spoon the mixture in to the silicone case.
Using the end if a spoon (or something) swirl and smooth the top of the mixture so it looks neat, and place in the preheated oven.
Bake for around 35 minutes or until golden brown and leave to cool completely.
It is now time to make the icing!
Beat the icing sugar and butter together with a wooden spoon or electric mixer on a medium speed until it comes together
Then mix for just under a minute longer on a slow speed. 
Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl 
Add it to the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing in-between.
Once the milk mixture has been fully incorporated beat the mixture for around five minutes until the icing is light and fluffy.
Mix in any food colouring required
Spoon I to a piping bag with a large star-shaped nozzle and pipe on to the cupcake in a rising swirled pattern.
Add sprinkles of all sorts and shapes. I personally went a little crazy, opting for popping candy, sugar strands, white chocolate curls and all sorts of other amazing sprinkles that I found in my trusty baking cupboard.
Your giant cupcake creation is complete. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed this post. I have never done a recipe before so I am glad to have finally done my first one of many. I love baking, and whether you are a baking master or a baking novice, this recipe is equally as enjoyable.
<3 Ellen




 




A Little Chit-Chat

Hi guys!
Do you ever have those days when you just can't be bothered to make an effort with anything, you can't be bothered to go out and only want to make bare minimum interactions with people you know?
Well that's how I felt today. I left any previous plans I had behind and decided to dedicate myself purely  to my addiction to the internet, my pets and Adele. I am being very lazy, and to be honest I am thoroughly enjoying myself. I've been watching tv, knitting, reading endless blogs and brainstorming blogposts to do soon, it's been great!
I have also been watching my cats. This is because about two weeks ago (I think anyway, I get very confused when I'm not at school) I got another cat and we have been trying to make them see eye to eye and get on. It hasn't been to bad, a little bit of hissing but that's all. They have mostly kept themselves to themselves. I have to say it feels a little bit like I'm having a cat affair, which quite possibly proves my obsession with cats...
I hope you are all having a good summer. I definitely am, I don't know abut you but it is so nice to have a whole six weeks with few responsibilities and nothing I have to do. I can do what I want when I want. These things usually are: watching countless youtube videos, blogging and reading people's blogs, watching tv, baking, seeing my all my friends, and of course reading Harry Potter (yet again). I'm pretty sure that I will get bored of it soon enough (I do like to plan and organise) but I know I haven't yet.
I hope you enjoyed this chatty post. I was going to do something else but did not have quite what i needed to do it but I'm sure that that post is co ing soon.
What have you been doing all summer? 
<3 Ellen

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Summer Look Book

Me and my friend Katie ( spotsandstripes99.blogspot.co.uk) did a summer look book together a while back. I'm sorry this is being uploaded so late into the summer, but there was a lot of camera and uploading mishaps etc. I almost didn't write this because its basically the middle of August, but I thought that since we had already taken the pictures it would be a waste not to. Also it might be nice for you to see what clothes I like to wear.


              Green jeans - TopShop
              Aztec top - New Look
              Necklace - Accessorize
              Sandals - New Look  (still in store)
              Bracelets - mixture of DIY, travelling and gifts.



              Blue and cream striped dress - TopShop
              Cream socks with bows - Primark (still in store)
              Brown brogues - New Look



              Beatles t-shirt - h&m 
              Denim shorts with belt - Primark (still in store)
              Brown aztec pumps - New Look (still in store)



              Cream and lace skirt - h&m
              Aztec crop-top - New Look (still in store)
              Brown flip flops - New Look (still in store)
              Beaded Anklet - holiday gift from friend



              Rainbow pony top - h&m 
              Aztec skirt - River Island
              Mint green baseball boots - Converse (still being sold)

These are all my favourite outfits this summer. They are all very summery, quite girly and colourful. That is the type of thing that I love to wear, especially in summer because I think they are so pretty and the colours make me happy :). 
The final look I am going to show is my friend, Katie's look. She also has a blog where she is also going to do a look book. Please go look at her blog and follow, she is great and you will love her! http://spotsandstripes99.blogspot.co.uk/



I hope you enjoyed this Look Book and found it interesting and inspiring, I'm sorry I haven't blogged for a while, bit I had a bit of a creative block. Look forward to seeing more blogposts soon.
<3 Ellen




 
                     
       



Monday 5 August 2013

My Holiday: North Yorkshire and Norfolk

As you may know, I have been on holiday for around 10 days, and it was an absolutely great week and a bit. I enjoyed myself so much and it was so nice to have some time away from home, relax and spend time with my family. 
First of all my parents, my sister and I went to this lovely hotel in North Yorkshire for two nights. It was such great couple of days with lovely weather, lovely food and beautiful scenery. It couldn't have been more relaxing or peaceful.

After going to North Yorkshire we headed straight to Norfolk where we stayed in a beautiful house with my Gran, 2 of my Aunties, 2 of my Uncles and 3 of my cousins. Norfolk is a lovely place and we went on so many great days out. We went to the beach, to a windmill, a lovely town called Holt and many more places that were great! The weather was slightly varied but it was beautiful most of the time.


Over all I had such a nice holiday. It showed me just how lucky I am to be so close with my family and to be able to do lovely things like this while living in Britain. There is beautiful countryside and fantastic cities - the best of both worlds. It was so nice to get away from a city for a little while and go to the countryside and just relax. 

<3 Ellen


Sunday 4 August 2013

July favourites

Sorry I haven't  posted in a while, I have been on holiday to Norfolk and have been super busy, so haven't been able to blog while I was away, but as a back at home, back to blogging post I have decided to do a July favourites.
 July is over, and it seems like it had gone so quickly, yet there has been a lot of things that I have really enjoyed. Summer months are such a nice time to have fun and and think about how lucky so many of us are.

1. Amazing days...
In July I have loved those beautiful days when it has been sunny and every thing seems so much more enjoyable. You have the chance to be with friends and family and everything seems so much more relaxed. These days are so simple, but perfect.


2.Candy Crush Saga
Another thing that became a favourite in July is an app called Candy Crush. No I'm not going to lie, I have become a little obsessed with this game, and have even started to dream about it. It is very addictive but amazing. If you don't know what candy crush is, it is a game where you get a number of moves and haves make three's of matching candy to get points, remove jelly etc. It sounds a bit mad and crazy but I love it!


3. Homemaker magazine...
This is an amazing magazine full to the brim with crafts, interior design, textiles and baking. It is an absolute treasure trove that I am so thrilled to have found. It makes a really good read, filled with so many interesting things and is great for days at the beach. It also has some great crafts that I am really excited to try, not to mention a brilliant freebie too.


4. Despicable me 2...
 I went to see this film with my friends and instantly fell in love. The first Despicable me was great, Despicable me 2 was brilliant. It was funnier, madder, more dramatic and had loads more minions in. What more could you ask for. This film is definitely worth seeing, if you like even half as much as I do, you will love it.


5. The fault in our stars by John Green...
This book is amazing and definitely on my favourites book list. It is all about a girl with cancer called Hazel who meets a boy called Gus at a cancer support group where her life starts to change. This book, is not about a girls struggle with cancer, but about about a girl who just happens to have cancer.  Although the book is sad in parts, the illness does not dictate the story in anyway, but adds another layer to it. It is such a great book and if you see it in a book shop, pick it up!


6.  Dream pure BB cream (for oily skin), Maybelline...
I absolutely love this product! It does everything it says it should do (8 things in total) and is great for my skin. I have noticed an amazing improvement since I switched from my foundation to this. It is really light on my skin, has really good coverage and it perfect for summer when you don't want to be laden down with makeup in warmer weather. 


So that is everything that I have really been loving in July. I could have gone on for ages, but had to cut my list short otherwise we would have been here forever. 

<3 Ellen