Wednesday 23 September 2015

Lush Haul

I recently went to lush and I am sure you are all aware that they have lots of new products, so I thought it was only right to go and buy some myself. I absolutely love lush, I always find something new to try and the staff are always so lovely, it is probably my favourite shop and I like to buy some new products every now and again to treat myself. If you want to see what I bought this time and a description of each product then carry on scrolling. :)

The first product I picked up was Honey Bee which is made from - yep you guessed it - honey! As well as aloe vera and rhassoul mud, making this bath bomb very soothing on the skin. The aloe vera also helps to cool the skin whilst the rhassoul mud softens and adds moisture. It is also infused with orange oil giving it a very refreshing scent and it turns your bath bright yellow! Although this particular bath bomb isn't new to lush it is one I have never purchased before so I can't wait to try it out. 
Price ~ £3.35


The next one I picked up was Karma which turns your bath deep purple and it's a bubble bar so you can get multiple uses from it, as you break a bit off and crumble it under running water to create lots of bubbles. This is a new formula from lush (it used to be round with a yellow and orange swirl) and is now purple with gold lustre and an orange stripe. The fragrance is the same with orange and patchouli being the main notes which refresh and uplift your spirits. It also has mango butter which is super softening on the skin.
Price ~ £4.25

The next is Yoga which is a big orange bath bomb with a very colourful inside. Yoga has a variety of wood oils including sandalwood oil giving it a very soothing and woody fragrance, perfect for relaxing. This one dissolves slower than most bath bombs so you can sit back, relax and enjoy the scent.
Price ~ £3.95

I also picked up the Yuzu and Cocoa bubbleroon (which you crumble up like a bubble bar) which again turns your bath bright yellow. This one contains coconut and shea butter which really pampers and softens your skin, whilst grapefruit oil helps to brighten your mood. The scent is mainly coconut with a citrus and chocolatey undertone.
Price ~ £3.65

Finally the last one I picked up is Skydancer - Far From The Madding Guns which I believe is a limited edition bath bomb. Profits from these go to fund for much needed equipment to tag endangered hen harrier chicks of which only a handful of breeding pairs remain in the UK. This is a very important cause for me as I want to be a wildlife conservationist and this is a stunning bird which deserves to be saved. I would have bought one even if I didn't like the scent but this bath bomb smells amazing with a mix of floral and liquorice as well as a hint of cinnamon which turns your bath a mixture of blue, green and yellow. The key ingredients of this bath bomb is bergamot, cinnamon and Sicilian lemon oil which warm and cleanse the skin. I would definitely recommend picking one up before they run out! 
Price ~ £3.95



Thanks for reading if you got this far and let me know what your favourite lush products are so I can check them out! ~JustClare :) x 

All photos and opinions are my own

Saturday 5 September 2015

Vintage Style Cupcakes

Welcome back to my blog! I hope you have all had a lovely day. The other day I made these delicious cupcakes with a vintage feel and I thought I would share them on here. They are quite easy to make and would be great for parties or just with a nice cup of tea. If you would like to make these cupcakes then continue scrolling for the ingredients. :)





Ingredients:
  • 110g butter
  • 110g caster sugar
  • 2 medium eggs (lightly beaten)
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 110g self-raising flour 
To Decorate:
  • 250g ready-to-roll white fondant icing
  • Handful of Icing sugar
  • Jam or Glace Icing to stick
Makes roughly 12 cupcakes

To make the Cakes:
  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a cupcake tray with your cases. I used silver cases as I thought this worked particularly well in gaining the vintage feel.
  • Cream the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffly. Beat in the eggs gradually and stir in the vanilla extract.
  • Fold in the flour using a metal spoon. The mixture should be dropping consistency if not, add a tbsp of milk.
  • Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden and springy to touch. Leave to cool. 
To make the Icing:
  • Sprinkle some icing sugar onto your work space to prevent sticking.
  • Roll out the fondant icing until it is about 5mm thin
  • Using any cutters and embossers you like cut out and decorate the icing to fit the size of the cakes. (I used a frilled-edged cutter and floral embossers)
  • Using a jam or glace icing, whichever you prefer carefully stick the icing to the cake. (Jam or glace icing will prevent the icing moving or falling off)
Now your cupcakes are ready to eat. Enjoy! :) ~JustClare x

P.S: If you make these cakes I would love to see them. Send me pictures on Twitter: @JustClare_Alley or on Instagram: JustClare_Alley. (Photos used are my own)

Tuesday 1 September 2015

Welcome to my Blog!

Welcome to my blog!

I love the idea that with a blog you can express your feelings into words that other people can read, people that probably don't even know you and I think that is truly amazing! It allows people from all over the world to connect and have a bit of an insight into someone else's life. I also love reading other peoples blogs which so many have given me more confidence and inspiration so I thought I could give it a go myself and hopefully someone, somewhere will want to read it.

On my blog I will chat to you about all things beauty, fashion and life related (so that's pretty much anything haha) and it will be full of photos as well because photography is one of my biggest passions as I love the fact that they express everything you are trying to say and you can look back on a photograph and all the memories from that moment come flooding back.

Anyway this was just a short post to introduce my blog and to explain why I wanted to start it.Thank you to anyone that has actually read this and don't forget to comment below and follow my blog if you want to know when I have uploaded a new post. Enjoy :) ~ JustClare x

All opinions are my own