Ombré Cupcakes!

At the end of my Rainbow Cupcakes post, I said I was going to try ombré ones, and thought I'd show you how they turned out. I'm not sure if they're as pretty as the rainbow ones, but rainbows are hard to beat! I used the same recipe as before, so if you'd like to have a go at making them, just head over there. I'm baking another batch of birthday cupcakes this weekend, and then I'm going lay off them for a while. Maybe try making a banana cream pie or lemon meringue cheesecake!

Recent Purchases - Primark, Superdrug, Bourjois and More

Just a handful of things this time!

I went to Primark, and bought basics, again. Everything I wear is basic! The pink pyjama top was £3, the white and 'seafoam' stretch vests were £2.50 each (I have about 12 of these now), and the polka dot t-shirt bras were also £2.50 each. I absolutely love Primark's t-shirt bras, so I'm glad they're bringing out a few more colours and patterns! I find that these fit perfectly and give a nice shape. They're also not padded, which I love. So many bras these days are padded out to the extreme, and that's just not something I want.

I picked up a couple more pairs of my Wilkinson exfoliating gloves for just £1 each. Amazing price, they do their job, and the colour is pretty :)

The beauty items you see are all from Superdrug this time. I bought the Superdrug Restoring Skin Care Oil for £3.79 (normally £5.69). This is supposed to be a dupe for Bio Oil, which I've never tried. I have a few stretch marks on my hip/bum area from filling out too fast, so thought I'd give this a go and see if it does anything! You can also use it on scars, blemishes, uneven skin tone, mature skin, and dehydrated skin. I then picked up another Superdrug Colour Effects Conditioning Colour in True Chestnut for £1.29. The Mahogany version of this was in my recent Empties post, which you can read here. Then, on a whim, I bought the new Collection Work The Colour Eyeshadow Pencils in Vanilla Sky and Hot Chocolate for £2.50 each (normally £3.19). I've already photographed and swatched these, so look out for a review soon! First impressions: They're creamy, pigmented, and don't budge once dry. I don't know if they crease or not, though, because I don't wear eyeshadow on my lids. Last, but certainly not least, I bought Bourjois' Rouge Edition Lipstick in Fraise Remix for £7.99. I've also taken photos of this, and that post should be up in a couple of days. Fraise Remix is a bright, very warm and yellow toned pink, which I have nothing like in my collection. My other pinks are a lot cooler in tone, which is odd because warm tones suit me better! At least, I think they do. After buying two Bourjois lip products in recent weeks, I'm craving more, so will see what shades take my fancy tomorrow and Wednesday when I'm in town.

And that's it! I mostly have lip product reviews and swatches scheduled for the rest of this week, but I'll probably have a few nail polish and baking ones thrown in, too! It's my blog's 4th birthday on Saturday, so I'm making cupcakes for the occasion (instead of just finding an image off of the internet like I've done for the past 3 years!).

Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon in Peach on the Beach

These new offerings from Bourjois are getting a lot of hype, aren't they? To be honest, I only picked up this shade because it's different to any shade I've seen on the lip crayon market. The other shades didn't stand out enough for me to justify buying another at the time. Out of the 12 lip crayons I have, Peach on the Beach is definitely the most unique, being a beautiful peachy pink. The formula is light, so it doesn't feel like you're wearing anything, but the crayon still packs a punch in terms of pigmentation. It's slightly different to my others, in the sense that the colour is quite milky. I think this is down to the actual shade, though. And the fact that these are labelled as a lipstick, rather than a balm, tint, gloss etc. As you can see, it's glossy, but not sticky, and is one of the more hydrating lip crayons I own. I'd say the shine lasts for about an hour, and the colour lasts for a further hour or two (without eating or drinking). I've heard people saying that these Colour Boosts last longer than the Revlon Balm Stains, but I don't think so. The Revlon ones stain my lips a lot more (with them being a stain and all!). At £7.99, they're the same price as Revlon's offering, and I have no regrets. I'm not sure if I'd buy the other shades, though, unless there was an irresistible offer! Saying that, Red Sunrise looks pretty...

Do you own any of the Bourjois Colour Boost Glossy Finish Lipsticks?

Empties #002

Why I chose to number these with three digits, I do not know. I'm unlikely to even get to 10! I'm always unsure whether to post about my empties because on one hand: It's useful to see what products I actually use and love, but on the other: I think the products I use are boring, and it's obvious that I like them if I've used them up!

The first product I remembered to save for this post was the TRESemme Naturals Smooth Shampoo. I've bought this countless times because it just works for my hair! Repurchase? Already have!

Superdrug's Raspberry & Macadamia Nut Conditioner - I added this to my online basket on a whim because it was like 99p, and I'm glad I did. It smells so good! It's sweet, almost sherbet-y. I also like that it has a pump. In terms of conditioning, it worked well, too. Very impressed. Repurchase? Yes.

Superdrug's Coconut & Sweet Almond Intensive Conditioner - I bought this the same time as the raspberry one because it was 2 for £1.49. I've used this before and loved it. It smells amazing, and leaves my hair feeling really soft. Repurchase? Yes!

Aussie's Miracle Hair Insurance Leave In Conditioner - Another bottle down! Again, it smells amazing and leaves my hair soft. See? I told you my empties are boring! Repurchase? Already have :)

Liz Earle's Gentle Face Exfoliator - I was sent this some time last year, and actually finished it ages ago, but saved it for this post. It exfoliated quite well, and left my skin feeling soft because it's based in a cream similar to the Hot Cloth Cleanser. I wouldn't repurchase it, though, because it's more expensive than what I'd like to pay for an exfoliator, and I now use exfoliating gloves, sugar, or a flannel to rid me of dry skin (will do a post on this at some point).

Cutex Nourishing Nail Polish Remover - I've talked about this before, and still feel the same! It's my favourite nail polish remover, ever. It removes my polish well, and smells good for a remover. It may make my nails stronger and whiter, but I don't know for certain. Repurchase? Already have.

Lush's Ocean Salt Facial Scrub - I really liked this. Some say it's too rough, but I didn't think it was at all! I just had to close my mouth when rinsing it off because of the salt - Yuk! If I didn't use exfoliating gloves, sugar, and flannels to exfoliate, then I would repurchase this.

Superdrug's Colour Effects Conditioning Colour in Mahogany - I wrote a review on the Rich Red shade of this a few years ago (just search for it in the search bar to your left), and decided to use them again. This time I went for Mahogany, and I think I prefer it. It's still red, but it's much darker. It leaves my auburn locks with more intense red tones, which really come to life in the sun. Even with my long, thick hair, I got 3-4 uses out of this, and each use lasted around a week. Don't leave it on for 5 minutes like the bottle suggests, though. I leave mine on for 30 minutes, or 15 in the shower. Repurchase? Already have, but True Chestnut this time.

I hope that was of any use to you! My next empties post will probably be in a couple of months - I find it so hard to use things up! But a few products are already running out, so maybe I'll be posting sooner than expected. Enjoy your weekend!

Rainbow Cupcakes!

I attempted rainbow cupcakes last night! I just couldn't wait to try out my new Wilton Food Colouring Gels/Pastes.

Here's the recipe for the basic mixture, which makes about 12 (To make 12 muffin sized cupcakes, change the 115g ingredients to 200g):

• 115g of softened butter
• 115g of caster sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 tsp of vanilla paste (1 tsp of vanilla extract will work, too)
• 115g of self raising flour

1. Preheat your oven to 180C and line your bun tray with baking cases.

2. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.

3. Gradually beat in the eggs and vanilla paste/extract.

4. Sift in the flour and fold.

5. Spoon the mixture into your cases and bake for around 20 minutes.

For the colouring, I separated the mixture into 7 bowls, added a food colouring to each one, and then layered each colour into the cases. A small teaspoon of mixture was enough for each layer. This part did take a while, but I had nothing better to do!

I'm quite happy with the results, I must say! I'm going to try ombre ones in a few days, with some going from blue to green, and some going from pink to orange. The teals and corals in the middle of these ombres will be so pretty!

Barry M Limited Edition Yellow

Barry M has recently brought out some Limited Edition shades, with a pink and green exclusive to Superdrug, and a (different) pink and yellow exclusive to Boots. They all have patterned lids and are priced at £3.99. Of course, I just had to get the yellow! On its own, it takes 2-3 coats (some nails only took 3, though, because of my application), and with a white base coat, 1-2 coats. I'm wearing Barry M's Matt White underneath this manicure, and even though it means I'm wearing just as many coats, it made the application of the yellow a lot easier. It should hopefully help with any staining, too! On my ring finger, I used Barry M's Nail Art Pens in Black and White to do an aztec design. No where near perfect, but if you don't look closely, it looks pretty cool! To seal this, I used Barry M's All in One Basecoat, Topcoat & Nail Hardener. It's all about Barry M this week!

Have you picked up any of the Limited Edition Barry M shades?

Peachy!

The Body Shop's Vineyard Peach scent is back for the Summer! By the time I realised they were discontinuing it in the Winter, it was too late to stock up, so I was delighted when I heard that it was returning for the warmer months. I bought these last week when there was a 35% off code floating around, so I paid £8.45 for the body butter, and £2.60 for the shower gel. More than I would normally spend on such products, but honestly, they're worth it! They just smell so juicy.

The 35% off code is no longer valid, but The Body Shop always has a code out! You can currently save £10 when you spend £25, or save £25 when you spend £50, with the code 'JUICY' (this is valid until the 28th July).

What is your favourite range from The Body Shop?