21 Questions

I have seen similar tags on lots of different blogs, but I liked the questions that Courtney--xo had done in her tag so I am going to do that one :)

Why did you start blogging?

I have been watching Youtubers and reading blogs for years like Kandee Johnson and Anna Saccone (my two favourites) and I have always wanted to myself. So I thought I would just go for it and see what happens and hope that people will like what I have to say :).

What made you choose the name of your blog?

I know everyone has a cool, clever name for their blog but if I am completely honest I couldn't think of one! ha ha .. So I decided just to use my name, and because it's a weird one (thanks mum) I thought it might be interesting enough.

What 5 words describe you?

Blonde, Makeup Obesessed, Broody and Happy.

What is your favourite band?

This is impossible! .. Gun to my head I would have to choose Kings Of Leon, Only By The Night has to be the perfect album, I honestly love every song on it.

If you could be a character in a book, who would you be?

This is going to sound so cliched but I'd have to be Bella from the Twilight Saga, I have an unhealthy obsession with everything Twilight, I am so jealous of the whole Edward-Bella thing going on there.

What is your favourite accessory?

If it counts, my engagement ring :) If it doesn't then earrings. My favourites are a cross earring and a peace sign earring, I lost one from each pair and now I wear them together, and also a pair of gold studs that were a gift from my brother on my 18th birthday, I wear them allll the time.

What is the beauty item you cannot live without?

Foundation. My skin is awful so it is a necessity I would say concealer too if I could pick two.

What is your favourite country?

England, although if I could take everything and everyone I know with me, I would emigrate in a minute to somewhere warm and sunny.

What is your favourite shop?

Realistically, Primark because that is where I tend to shop if I don't want to spend too much (which is all the time) but I love Selfridges too, I could spend all day at beauty counters if I could.

What are your favourite foods?

Sour cream - my guilty pleasure that I eat with everything, try it with bangers and mash, it's to die for! Any cheese going, i'll eat it, I like to put grated cheese on top of soup :P Wotsits! Salmon appetisers for some strange reason, I love them. I also have a HUGE sweet tooth, so if any cake, biscuit, or chocolate is in front of me i'll eat that bad boy.

Who is your role model and why?

My mum. She means the world to me and the fact that she is a single mum and brought my brother and I up alone and did an amazing job of it makes me want to do her proud when I have kiddywinks.

What is your favourite perfume?

I do love Vera Wang Princess, I tend to wear it a lot, but my favourite one is a cheapie ha ha, Avon's Secret Fantasy, it smells wonderful, like black cherries and makes my mouth water!

What product do you regret buying?

Before my educated make-up days I used to wear Maybeline's Dream Matte Mousse in Sun Beige for foundation .. just thinking about it now makes me cringe! It is a good 5 shades darker than my skin at least and it would only ever match when I had put on lashings of false tan, I remember kissing an old boyfriend and having a massive round mark around my lips where it had come off afterwards it was sooo embarrasing! The shame! :(

Do you do any sports?

I used to be really good at long distance and cross country running at school but since then I am ashamed to admit I do zero exercise. Apart from walking, since I don't drive I walk everywhere.

What food could you not live without?

Pasta or Cheese

What clothes would you not be caught dead in?

Ill-fitting clothing or clothes (if you can call scraps of fabric clothes) that girls wear on Snog, Marry or Avoid. I just want to gauge my eyes out after watching it sometimes.

What do you prefer, roast beef or chicken? (unless you're vegetarian)

Chicken! Not a roast beef fan. But gammon? Now you're talking! :P

What is your favourite thing to do in the summer?

Swimming, BBQ's, cocktails, wearing summer dresses and getting a safe, natural and real tan :)

What is your favourite shade of lipstick?

Bright Coral

Do you have any weird habits?

It's not THAT weird but I'm really messy and untidy and my fiance is really neat and tidy, I am always getting told off for leaving a mess ha ha. I love squeezing spots and digging ingrown hairs from fiance's face with tweezers too. I know, YUCK, but it's sooo satisfying!

If you had £1000 what charity what you give it to and why?

A cervical cancer charity because my mum had pre-cancerous cells found twice and because of the research, they managed to remove them before it progressed to cancer, it's such a good cause.

My favourite earrings :)

I tag anyone who wants to do it too!

Love

Star x

Alpha-H 4 Piece Daily Skin Care Essentials Review

I was recommended the Alpha-H Skincare range by my mum, who has the same skin type as me. She’d been using it for a long time but I’d been put off by the price tag of the full sized products, but when I saw this trial size set I thought it would be a great opportunity to try a few of the products. I purchased the kit from QVC uk here and I have been using the products for about 2 months now . . . and I love them! The kit is for every skin type, and I thought it would be a good place to start with the range, as they also have products for more problematic skin, but I thought i'd see if the products for all skin types would sort it out first.

           It includes:

Balancing Cleanser 50ml

       Gentle Daily Exfoliant 12g

 Micro Cleanse 50ml

       Rejuvenating Cream 50ml

The instructions say that every morning I should use the balancing cleanser mixed with the gentle daily exfoliator on wet hands to make a paste and cleanse on a wet face, and then wipe off with a damp cloth. BUT twice a week I should use the micro cleanse instead (I use it on wednesdays and sundays). After cleansing, the instructions say to use the rejuvinating cream to moisturise.

This cleanser is so creamy and gentle on the skin, especially on the eye area. When cleansers say that they remove all make-up AND cleanse the skin, I am always a bit sceptical, but the first time I used it on a full face of make-up, it removed it all (without stinging my eyes at all) and thoroughly cleaned my face, although I did have to use quite a bit to remove all mascara, eyeliner etc. So because I wanted it to last more than a couple of weeks I made sure I had wiped most of the make-up off of my face first so I didn't have to use as much. When I first used it I really noticed a difference in how much less oily my skin seemed to get during the day, but now I think my skin has desensitised to it because I have been using it every day. My skin has improved but I do still have the dreaded 3pm shine :( But a massive plus is that my skin tone has improved and I have less redness than I used to, due to the gentle non-irritant formula.

 

This powder exfoliant is amazing, even if a bit fiddly if you're in a rush in the morning, is something I have never seen before. But now I have, this will be a permanent fixture in my skincare routine. This type of exfoliant is new to me, and because you can vary the amount of the finely milled powder used, you can customise it to have a different amount of exfoliation depending on what your skin needs. Because I mixed the the exfoliant with the balancing cleanser it made a paste that really cleared my pores and my skin feels a lot smoother. I would say the only negative is that you are supposed to scoop a teaspoon amount into wet hands, so I don't know if it's just me but I always manage to get some in the pot (it supposed to stay dry) and now I'm near the bottom of the pot, the powder has started to turn cement looking the more I accidently get water in it. :/ That is the one and only teenie tiny criticism.

This bi-weekly scrub has larger granules than the gentle daily exfoliant and gives a deep clean. It has a mild peppermint fragrance that isn't overpowering so it smells lovely and fresh. The content of Glycolic acid is 12% and as far as I am aware it is one of the higher percentages that products can contain over the counter. (The rejuvinating cream also contains 10%) It is supposed to refine skin cells and leave new, fresh skin underneath. I found that the micro cleanse did leave my skin feeling clean and fresh, personally I prefer a higher amount of granules to really scrub away any dead skin cells and leave my skin smooth, but it did do a great job on my awkward, sometimes bumpy skin.

Even though this cream is for mature skin and contains anti-aging properties, (which I'm sure it does very well) I can't really give an opinion on the effects because I dont have any wrinkles, and I should think not, I'm nearly 21! ha ha . . but what I can say that it made my skin feel very smooth and is a good base for make-up but I still like to put on a primer to make sure it stays put. It is a very rich moisturiser so I only use a small amount if I do use it in the morning, but I would rather use it as a night cream so I don't have to worry about putting make-up on top and clogging my pores. I am going to start using it as a night cream and I will let you know how it goes.


For a newcomer to Alpha-H skincare I would really recommend this set. Or if you have a normal, combination or dry skin type I would recommend all of these products. I will definately be repurchasing the Gentle Daily Exfoliator and Micro Cleanse (and if the rejuvinating cream makes a good night cream that too). It is a great set for improving the texture of my skin and maintaining it but it isn't (for want of a better word) aggresive enough to prevent and get rid of spots/blemishes. So I have just bought another 4 piece set from Alpha-H called Poreless Skin Perfectors. This set is for over-active, oily and acne prone skin and I'm hoping that it will tackle the problems that I have with my skin, rather than maintaining it as it is at the moment. Watch out for a review in a couple months :)

Love,
Star x

Double Chocolate Oatie Surprise Cookies

I was watching Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard the other day and I was drooling at the TV, and I now have the baking bug! I have always loved baking, especially because of my sweet tooth :P I had bought a cookery book duo recently including this book by Catherine Atkinson:

I saw a recipe for Chunky Double Chocolate Cookies that looked delicious but I decided to adapt it with these ingredients (partly because that's what I had in the house, partly because I was curious to see what would happen :) ):

Well I’m happy to report they turned out really well and even if I say so myself they are yummy! They have a soft centre and the strawberry in the white chocolate adds a fruity tangy flavour. J They aren’t too complicated to make and I thought I’d share my version of the recipe with you.

                                                                Ingredients:                          

60g unsalted softened butter

55g Philadelphia Light Cadbury

115g caster sugar or light brown sugar

1 egg

5ml/1tsp vanilla extract

150g self-raising flour

75g rolled or porridge oats (not sure if they’re the same thing lol I used porridge oats)

115g chopped milk or plain chocolate (I used a milk chocolate)

115g chopped white chocolate with strawberry pieces

1.       I pre-heated the oven (fan assisted) at 190oC/375oF/Gas Mark 5 and greased two baking trays with butter.

2.      Beat the butter, chocolate philly and sugar together in a mixing bowl until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well.

3.      Sift the flour over the mixture and fold in lightly with a metal spoon, then add the oats and chopped milk and white chocolate with strawberry pieces and stir until evenly mixed.

4.      Place small spoonfuls of the mixture in around 20 rocky heaps on the two baking trays leaving space for spreading.

5.      Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the cookies are turning pale golden. Cool for 2-3 minutes on the baking sheets, then, using a metal spatula lift onto a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will be soft when freshly baked but will harden to a soft chewy texture on cooling.

So if anybody decides to have a go of the recipe and let me know how it goes, I would love to hear what anyone else thinks. J But if the reaction they got from my greedy piggy of a fiancé is anything to go by, be prepared to ration them out because the vultures will descend otherwise, ha ha . . .

Baking up a storm!

Love,

Star x

Random little things that amuse me & Glittery Turquoise Nails

I am officially loving strawberries (or banana) and activia pouring yoghurt for breakfast lately. It's soo yummy and a great way to wake me up. I hardly ever eat breakfast (I know its naughty not to) so recently I have been making an effort to try to have some every morning. It's really light but tasty and all I have to do is chuck some strawberries in a bowl and pour some yoghurt on it! Perfect for lazy bums like me :D

Disney Muppets Kitchen Roll! I am one of those people who gets excited about silly things so when I saw this I had to have it! I hope it doesn't get discontinued because I love it! It makes cleaning up spills less annoying and it brightens up the kitchen :)

Above picture is with flash, the glitter was reflecting soo much trying to take a picture.

I thought I'd share what I've been doing with my nails recently with you :) As you can tell by my other post I love Turquoise and what can improve it more than adding glitter too?

Without flash

Sorry about the blurry-ness, this glittery polish is so hard to photgraph! These photos don't do the finished effect any justice at all, theyre so shimmery and even though its gold glitter it reflects all different colours.

I used:

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails with Nylon (used as base and top coat)

Avon Nailwear Pro Nail Enamel in Aqua Fantasy (2 coats)

BYS Nail Varnish in Gold Finger (clear polish with different sized gold glitter, 1 coat)

Leighton Denny Miracle Mist

So those are all of the little things that I have been loving recently, a bit of a random post but I hope you likey :D I have a few reviews in the pipeline too, Alpha A skincare and some new hair care products that I need to use a bit more first to form a proper opinion on, so watch out for those soon.

Love,

Star x 

FOTD and my new obession!

Hello everyone! I just thought I’d do a face of the day post with a day-to-day look that I wear a lot. I am a HUGE lover of bold lips so I usually have a neutral eye with a bold lip in . . . well any bright lip colour you can think of :)

Face

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC20

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NC20 (for blemishes and redness)

Avon MagiX Illuminator in Light (for under eyes)

G-Spot Translucent Loose Powder in LP 01

Rimmel London Renew & Lift Brightening Powder in 100 Ivory

Cheeks

Avon colortrend summerblush in Cheeky (a surprisingly great find!)

Eyes

Urban Decay Eye shadow Primer Potion

Coastal Scents Warm 88 Palette (I used a pale peach for the lid, a warm brown blended in the crease and a creamy white for inner corners and highlight)

Avon Glimmerstick Liqui-Glide Eyeliner in Black

Bare Minerals Round the Clock Waterproof Eyeliner in Midnight

Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Curl & Lengthen Mascara

Sleek Storm Palette (the brown shade used for eyebrows)

Lips

Body Shop Wild Cherry Lip Butter

Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm in Flame (used as lip liner and filled in the lips)

Avon Moisture Seduction Lipstick in Fiery Red

The whole fire theme on the lips was a happy accident! Haha!

(sorry about my very messy bedroom!)

So my new obsession is . . . (drumroll) . . .

I was in ASDA the other week and had to do a double take when I was walking past the cheese aisle when I saw this! I so intrigued to what it would even taste like that I threw one in the trolley.

I have to say I was sceptical at first because I thought it would just be like chocolate spread with the Philadelphia name on it, but its sooooo yummy! It tastes so good and although it is a bit like chocolate spread, its light and has a really creamy taste to it, I can’t quite put my finger on it but there’s something very moreish about it. :P Another little perk is that it smells just like chocolate buttons!

I can’t wait to experiment with it – I’m thinking chocolate cheesecake or on profiteroles!

But for now I am very happy with choccie-philly sandwiches.

Has anyone else tried it? What do you think?

Love,

Star x