My everyday make up routine

Hello you,

Merry Christmas and a happy New year to you.
I hope you ate your body weight in chocolates and mince pies! 

I thought I would share with you my everyday make routine, all the products I use and how. Most of my make up is a reasonable price I only have one or two more expensive (but well worth it) products. I am not a make up artist - and don't claim to be. 

*All of these products I bought myself*

The first thing I do is start by moisturising my dry areas on my face (chin, around my nose and under my eyes) I use Dove cream as I find this is what works best for my skin. Probably not the best but hey ho! I then moisturise my lips with my favourite lip butter by The Body shop - Mango lip butter.

 

I then fill in my eyebrows using Browzings by Benefit. This is the best eyebrow product I have ever used and is well worth paying extra. I then use L'oreal black eyeliner on the top of my eye, it's so easy to use and each pen that I buy always lasts several months.

Next is concealer and primer. I have always used Benefit Boing around my nose and under my eyes. It's in shade 02 light-medium. I then use Rimmel wake me up concealer over any blemishes and on my cheeks - Shade Ivory 10. I then use Dainty Doll eyeshadow base on my eyelid (bit strange I know) I find this stops my eyeliner smudging throughout the day.

I have used this foundation for about 3 years now. It's a favourite with lots of bloggers - Rimmel Wake me up foundation. I love the glow that it gives to your skin even when you might not be feeling brilliant. I switch between Shade Ivory 100 in the winter and Shade True Ivory 103 in the summer.
A make up must have.

I always set my foundation with a very light layer of Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent 1. It doesn't block my pores up and lasts all day.

This is the only part of my everyday make up collection that is slightly more expensive - But I think well worth it. Its the Guerlain Teracotta bronzer. At a pricey £34.50 (pricey for me) I buy this once a year as a treat to myself. The shade I use is Brunettes 03. Although when I re-purchase I will be buying Sun brunettes in 05 as my hair is now lighter. It has beautiful bronzes and oranges that really compliment your skintone. I LOVE this product.

 After I put my bronzer on my cheekbones, forehead and chin. I then put a small amount of Benefit blusher on the apples of my cheeks. I use Benefit Bella Bamba which they no longer sell. So the alternative is CORALista.

I don't have to worry about my eyelashes as I have eyelash extensions every 3 weeks. But I still put a quick coat on my bottom lashes. I tend to grab a cheapy mascara (Rimmel Volume Mascara)  but always finish it with Bare Minerals Locked and Coated (waterproof topcoat) which stops you looking like a panda!

My go to lip products for the past few months have been these two as you need some warmer colours in the winter. Seventeen Stay Pout by Boots Lipstick in Shade Rule Breaker with Rimmel Apocalips Eclipse over the top.

I couldn't be without my Tangle Teezer and dry shampoo. Both absolute life savers.

Body Shop Mango Lip Butter - £4
Dove nourishment cream - £3
Benefit Browzings - £24.50
L'Oreal Black pen eyeliner - £6.99
Benefit Boing - £17.50
Rimmel Wake me up concealer - £5.49
Rimmel Wake me up foundation - £8.99
Rimmel Stay Matte powder - £3.99
Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer - £34.50
Benefit Bella Bamba - £24.50
Rimmel Mascara - £5.99
Bare Minerals Locked and Coated - £10.50
Stay Pout Seventeen - £4.49
Rimmel Apocolips - £6.49

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me. I have hopefully listed everything above. I use these 14 products every single day and love them.

 

I hope you had a good Christmas and have a fabulous new year.

Much love,

 

Nat xoxox

 

The perfect cupcake everytime

Hello you, 

Here I have the simplest vanilla cupcake recipe. It has 4 basic ingredients which all weigh the same. I have made a variety of cupcakes which were all OK but I wanted to master the classic vanilla cupcake. They are so light and fluffy - finished off with a beautiful swirl of vanilla buttercream.

VANILLA CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS

Makes 12 cupcakes

170g Unsalted Butter at room temperature

170g Caster sugar

170g Self raising flour

3 Medium eggs (they also weigh 170g)

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla extract 

RECIPE

1 - Preheat the oven to 170c or gas mark 3. Put 12 cupcake cases in the tins.

2 - Put the butter (at room temperature) and caster sugar into the mixing bowl and whisk on a high speed until creamy and pale. 

3 - Mix each egg in one at a time. Whisk for 3 minutes after adding all 3 eggs until light and fluffy. I always break my eggs into a separate bowl just to make sure the eggs are OK. This way you shouldn't ever get any shell in your cake mix!

4 - Mix one teaspoon of Vanilla extract into the cake mixture.

5 - Place all of the self raising flour into a sieve and put into the cake mix. Whisk the mixture for 4 minutes on high power.

6 - I use an ice cream scoop to put the mixture into the cases. All should be 3/4 full. Put into the preheated oven for 15/16 minutes until golden brown. Don't be afraid that they won't be done, these can be over done quite quickly!

VANILLA BUTTER-CREAM INGREDIENTS 

150g salted butter at room tempurature

150g - 250g icing sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract 

RECIPE 

1 - Whisk the butter on a high speed for 3-5 minutes until it changes from yellow to a pale colour. This will make it easier rather then trying to mix the icing sugar and butter at the same time.

2 - Add half of the 150g icing sugar and whisk on high speed with the butter. After this is all mixed add the other half of icing sugar. Doing this in two stages will stop you being surrounded by a cloud of icing sugar!

3 - Add 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract to the buttercream and mix in.

(The reason I had 150g - 250g icing sugar is that sometimes you need a little extra to thicken up, or if you add other flavourings/syrups it needs less. So adding less means you can always add more.)

4 -  You can either use a palette knife to spread the buttercream on top of the cupcakes but I prefer to use a piping bag. Use whichever nozzle you like - I am using an open star (Not too sure of the actual name) Place the buttercream into the piping bag. If the buttercream seems too slack put it into the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up. 

5 - You can decorate the cupcakes however you wish. There are so many lovely glitters/sprinkles in the shops so decorate how you wish. I did a few different styles - I used pink and gold glitter, purple, pink and blue strands and chopped up chocolate. 

** Temperatures vary on different ovens. I have just written what I find works for me. Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions**

Thank you for taking your time to read this, I hope this helps.

Nat xxx

A day in the life of the Cloudberry girl

On one of my previous posts I mentioned that I had been modelling for the handbag company Cloudberry bags. I thought I would share with you what I did a couple of weeks ago at a photo-shoot in Midhurst, with the photographer Kerry Jordan. All the links of who we worked with will be at the bottom of the posts.

 

** Warning photo heavy **

 

We were having the photos taken outside of Cowdray ruins and in Midhurst town which was a beautiful backdrop for the photos. I started by having my make up and hair done by Debbie. I had never had my make up done professionally before so it was a brilliant experience. I had a gorgeous smoky eye which I absolutely loved. I also had my foundation put on with an airbrush which was so relaxing and stayed on for the whole of the photo-shoot. The red lipstick matched the red bag which we were promoting beautifully. I also had my hair backcombed and pinned to the side.

 

 

 

I was dressed in clothes from Woodie and Morris which is shop in Haslemere owned by Mel. The jeans fitted like a glove and were a lovely colour. I also loved the navy leopard print patterned blazer. The nude peep toe wedges were a classic which I would love in my shoe collection. All of this is available on the website which will be linked at the end.

 

 

The jewellery used in the shoot was by a lovely lady called Kelly who owns two online jewellery shops - My new fave and PS I love you. Both of which you can find details for at the end! My favourite piece was the feather bangle which is so elegant and easy to wear with any outfit.

(I have now got my own!)

 

 

 

Here you can see the beautiful necklace, bracelet and ring. The ring was sweet, it had wings!

 

 

I had a really good day doing this photo-shoot and felt completely at ease, and it wouldn't of been possible without Kerry. The photo's look so good and I was very privileged to have worked with such lovely people. If you haven't ever visited Midhurst I would highly recommend it - It's a beautiful town with cute little shops and gorgeous walks.

The bag used in the shoot is from the company Cloudberry Bags. It is the Knightsbridge in Red which is £35. It also comes in a range of other colours.

 

And finally the star of the show Scout the whippet. Who was so brilliant throughout the whole shoot. I wish my dog was as well behaved when your trying to take a photo!!

I really did feel like a celebrity with my own personal make up artist and entourage! It was a great day with some lovely people that I hope I get to meet all again.

Photographer - Kerry Jordan

Clothes - Woodie and Morris

Jewellery - P.S I love you & My new fave

Make up and Hair - DebbieMac 

Bag - Cloudberry Bags  

 

I hope you all enjoyed having a look behind the scenes at the photo-shoot.

Much love,

Nat xox

 

 

Get to know me tag

 

I figured it had been a while since I had done one of these and I may have new followers.

So here is 21 questions and answers about me!

 

1. Are you named after anyone? No, I don't think so! I was very nearly called Scarlett.

2. When was the last time you cried? I honestly can't remember. Maybe last month, but not over anything inparticular. I sometimes just have a good cry, it makes me a feel a little better. (Is that weird?)

3. Do you have children? No.

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? I think so? I'm not sure! That's a strange concept.

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I'm afraid so. I may be a little insensitive when I am.. Oops.

6. Will you ever bungee-jump? It depends. If I was raising a lot of money for a charity then maybe!

7. What’s your favorite cereal? Now that's a difficult one. It's between Chocolate frosties and cinnamon grahams.

8. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Whether they make eye contact and whether they smile. A smile costs nothing and can make somebody's day!

9. What is your eye colour? Hazel

10. Scary movie or happy endings? Happy endings. If I watch a scary film I can't sleep and always think somebody is watching me (weird) I like going to sleep after watching something happy!

11. Favorite smells? Freshly baked cakes, bleach and red velvet cupcakes Yankee candle.

12. Summer or winter? Winter. My birthday is on November 1st. So I love from the middle of October all the way through to spring. I absolutely love comfy cardigans and boots.

13. Computer or television? Computer. It has to be.

14. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home? Turkey on several holidays.

15. Do you have any special talents? I would like to say my job is my talent. Being a hairdresser I like to experiment and try all new styles.

16. Where were you born? Oxford.

17. What are your hobbies? Blogging, baking, shopping, walking my pup, summer evenings at the beach.

18. Do you have any pets? Yes. I have a 7 month old Jack Russell cross Cavachon puppy called Marnie Moo. I also have a bearded dragon called Dwayne.

19. Favorite movie? The notebook. I cry and cry and cry. But ahhhh Ryan Gosling...

20. Do you have any siblings? Yes. I have two younger sisters. Emily who is 15 and Abigail who is 9.

21. What do you want to be when you grow up? A hairdresser with lots of experience and eventually a mother.

 

I hope you learnt a little bit more about me.

Feel free to do this for your own blog, tag me as I always love to read other peoples.

 

Much love,

 

Nat xox

Casual OOTD - Gold Jelly like shoes

Hi there.

I am trying to put up at least one post a week, so I think I'm doing quite well as this is my third this week. I figured that as I love seeing other peoples OOTD's I would put more up of my own. My days off are Sundays and Tuesdays, so on those days I do like to make a bit more of an effort - But still being comfortable.

My wardrobe pretty much consists of high waisted jeans, crop tops and big batwing cardigans. So I generally chuck on any of these on my days off. My favourite place for high waisted jeans is either Topshop or River Island as they have the choice of leg lengths.

Here is what I am wearing today:

Jelly like shoe's from Asos. I have looked if they still do them but can't seem to find them.

High waisted super skinny jeans from Topshop. They are in the colour Pansy.

Black floaty peplum crop top from Topshop. They also have them in white.

Batwing stone colour cardigan from Boohoo. I have another one of these in black. They are so easy to throw on with any outfit. They are also only £12 and are such good quality.

Accessories:

My necklace I found in a Miss Selfridge sale back at Christmas.

My watch is from Sekonda and all my bracelets are different ones from various shops - New Look, Accessorise and Primark.  

This is a very photo heavy post. But I like to see lots of detail on people's photo's.

Let me know what you think.

Have a lovely day in the sun.

Much love,

Nat xox

Isle of Wight OOTD

Yes - I know this is late.
2 weeks late. 

But I gathered as lots of you will be going to all the festivals coming up you might of wanted to see what I wore a few weeks ago to the Isle of Wight Festival. Which may I just add was INCREDIBLE. 

We only went on the saturday to see the one and only RED HOT CHILLI'S

Here is what I wore.. 

Floral headband from New Look - £6.99

Crop Top from Topshop - Last years *couldn't find the same one but found one simular)

Black Lace Kimono from depop - Originally from Select - £12.99 

(I cut the fringe bits shorter as I didn't like them too long)

Dusty Pink Satchel from River Island - Last years

Denim shorts from River Island - Over 3 years old

Pink Hunters and black over the knee socks

We had our faces painted with air brushes. They were amazing and I wish I could do it!

For anybody that hasn't been to any sort of festival, I would highly recommend it. I had never been to a big festival like this - only guilfest. I loved every minute of it (and even the dreaded toilets weren't even as bad as some people make out)

Have a lovely weekend,

Nat xxx

Hi there stranger.

Apologies again.

I seem to have been away forever! But this time I promise I'l be uploading lots more blogs, and regularly.

Lots of things have been going on recently. I'm currently in the middle of moving into a new house/flat. My little pup that I got back in December is now nearly 7 months old and takes up a lot of my time!

I also have been modelling for my clients new handbag company Cloudberry bags. I would really appreciate if you guys could just go and check it out. They have some beautiful bags and start from as little as £20.

I've decided I will upload once a week. Haven't yet decided what it will involve but I guess it will be a surprise. You may be following me on a photoshoot for the handbag company!!

Hope you are all well.
Have a lovely weekend.

Much love,

Nat xxx

Easy Dinner Party Recipes

Hello there, 

I decided to write a post on recipes I used recently for my dad's birthday dinner. I am not much of a cook myself. So I feel that anybody could use these recipes. Most of these you could prepare the night before, which for those who are very busy will help out!

***Everything in these recipes I tried to use a low fat alternative as my dad has a heart condition and needs to keep to a relatively low fat diet. So you can use full fat things with them***

Starter 

- Baked Camembert with cooked tomatoes, bread and homemade cheese and chive coleslaw.

What you will need -

1-2 Boxed Camembert (depending on how many people you are cooking for)

2-4 Thyme sprigs

5-6 Tomatoes on the vine (depending on how many people you are cooking for)

Bread to serve

(Houmous optional)

 

Heat oven to 180/200. Take the camembert out of the wrapper and place back in box. Slash the cheese a few times and put the sprigs of thyme in the top. Bake on a baking tray for 20mins or until gooey. This is optional with the tomatoes -

2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tsp brown sugar

Salt and Pepper

 

Put the tomatoes on a baking tray, cover with the ingredients above and put them in at the same time as the cheese.

 

Serve with the bread and the homemade coleslaw.

 

Cheese and Chive Coleslaw

What you will need -

 

1 White Cabbage

1 Carrot coarsely grated

1 Red Onion halved and thinly sliced

3 Tbsp low fat mayonnaise

3 Tbsp low fat natural yoghurt

1 Tsp Dijon mustard

20g of chives

100g reduced fat mature cheddar grated

 

Cut the cabbage in half, then into quarters. Remove and discard the core, then thinely shed the cabbage. Put into a large mixing bowl. Then add the carrot, onion, mayo, yoghurt and mustard. Snip in most of the chives.

 

Mix all together. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill. When ready to serve add the cheese and the remaining chives.

Main

- Steak with peppercorn sauce. 

Chips, onion rings and Garden Peas.

Steak 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

125ml beef stock

2 heaped tbsp double cream

 

Oven Chips

Onion Rings

Garden Peas

 

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Season the steak with salt and pepper. Fry for 2-3 mins (RARE) 4-5 (MEDIUM) Rest for 5 mins while you make the sauce.

 

Pour excess oil from the pan and add the red wine vinegar. Let this bubble, then add the stock and boil until it reduces by half. Stir through the cream. Add any extra pepper you think it may need.

Serve with Chips, onion rings and peas.

 

** I had a rump steak and fried it for 1 minute 30 seconds each side**

** This was a perfect medium/rare**

Dessert 

- Black Forest trifle 

You may serve this in a big dish or in large wine glasses. 

I found this dish in Dunelm Mill for £3.99

You will need - 

 

500ml fresh ready made low fat custard

100g plain chocolate, broken into pieces

400g pre made choolate brownies

Jar of cherries or cherry pie filling x2

300g double cream

200ml reduced fat crème fresh

25g icing sugar

grated chocolate and cherries to decorate

*** with the cherries you can choose what is available. Fresh cherries, cherry pie filling or tinned ***

 

First put the fresh custard into a pan with the broken chocolate pieces. Gently heat, stirring until the chocolate has melted. Cover with cling and leave to cool.

 

Arrange the brownies, cherries and custard however you like in your chosen dishes.

 

Lightly whip the cream, icing sugar with the crème fresh until soft peaks form. Then place on top of the custard. Grate chocolate and place a cherry on top if you have it.

Chocolate Mint Marbled 4 Layer Cake

 

Cake

 

250g Unsalted softened butter

250g Caster sugar

4 Large eggs

225g Self Raising Flour

1 Tsp Baking Powder

25g Cocoa Powder

1/2 Tsp Mint Extract

1/2 Tsp Green food colouring

 

** I doubled these quantities to make 4 cakes, you can always just do 2** 

 

Cream Filling

 

150ml Double cream

15g Icing sugar

1/2tsp Green food colouring

 

Mint Cream Frosting

 

600ml Double Cream

50g Icing Sugar

1/2 Tsp Mint Extract

1/2 Green food colouring

 

To decorate

 

250g unsalted softened butter

500g icing sugar

Cocoa powder and Green food colouring to colour

1/2 Tsp mint extract

Small bar of dark chocolate

Bag of mint chocolate aero bubbles

 

Preheat the oven to 180c and grease 4 8" cake tins.

 

Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together.

Crack the eggs in one by one and mix together.

Fold in the flour and baking powder.

 

Separate the mixture into two bowls.

 

In one bowl add the cocoa powder, add as much or as little.

I prefer making it quite a deep rich brown colour.

 

In the other bowl add the green food colouring and mint extract.

I wish I had added a little more colouring, as they looked more yellowy when cooked.

 

Then take a spoonful of each mixture and place in the cake tins.

It doesn't matter where you place them as you swirl them all together when finished.

 

 

 

Place in the middle of the oven and cook for 20mins/or until golden brown.

** cooking times may vary**

 

Take out of the oven and place on cooling racks.

 

 

 

While the cakes are cooling you can make the creams and icing.

** Again depending on how many cakes you make you will need to vary the ingredients you use**

 

Place the cream, icing sugar, mint extract and green food colouring into a mixer.

Blend together until firm.

 

Once the cakes are cool, sandwich them together with the cream.

 

The frosting isn't that much different - but when mixing you want to take it a little bit thicker.

It needs to be quite stiff as you need it to cover the whole cake.

 

 

 

Mix together like before and cover the whole cake with it.

 

 

 

Finish off with buttercream decorations and aero chocolate bubbles.

 

 

 

** Cooking times may vary**

 

 

These recipes worked really well for me, so if I can do it anybody can!

Thank you for reading,

 

Nat xxx