ELF Makeup – Touched down in NZ! Hit or miss?

imageI’ve heard glowing reviews about ELF’s makeup and cosmetics range via beauty bloggers and fellow makeup geeks.  ELF (short for Eyes, Lips, Face) is a well known makeup brand from the USA with a cheap price point, e.g. Under US$5 (in the USA).   Being a bit of a beauty cheapskate, it’s been a real frustration to me that, up until last week, ELF has only been available to Kiwis via online shopping.

A few months ago I heard an exciting rumor that ELF was coming to Kmart in New Zealand. That rumour turned out to be 100% true and, fast forward to now, ELF is established in most Kmart stores nationwide (albeit most stores have reportedly sold out already!).

To show my dedication to  you, lovely readers, I decided to do some research.  So, for the hefty sum of NZ$18 I purchased three items:  An ‘Eyebrow Kit’, an eyelash curler and a tube of cream highlighter/shimmer.  After all that hype, were these hit, or miss? (more…)

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Super Fluffy Pancakes

super fluffy pancakesIt was Shrove Tuesday this week and, for the first time ever, I remembered. My boys were jumping for joy at the thought of having my super fluffy pancakes for dinner as a special treat!  

I’ve made a lot of pancakes in my time – these are the best. No contest. These got demolished this week with our favourite accompaniments:  Bacon, banana and maple syrup.  Although I’ve been known to have these with cheese, bacon, jalapenos and hot sauce, as, apparently, I’m a bit odd.   No matter what the topping, these super fluffy pancakes are seriously light and fluffy as a result of egg whites folded into the batter.    We reckon these are the ultimate weekend breakfast and, according to my Hubby, my pancakes are better than those he pays $16 for from our local cafe. He’s not a man prone to compliments, so I’ll take that, thank you.    The kid reckons these are as good as McDonald’s Hot Cakes.  Sigh.

Oh – These are also the perfect treat for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. Or just on Saturday or Sunday.  Yeah, just try ’em. (more…)

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Foolproof Pick Me Up: Pixi Wide Awake Crayon

Pixi-Crayon-Combo-Wide-AwakeI rarely wake up feeling like I’ve had a cracking night’s sleep. My norm is staggering out of bed each morning, bitching about my unfortunate lack of willpower on social media/cleaning/tidying/reading/mindless internet surfing (the usual culprits that result in me hitting the sack far too late). This is why I’m a really big fan of ‘faking awake’ with makeup most mornings. I love applying a dab of light coloured shimmery eyeshadow to the inner corner of my eye and applying a matt nude eyeliner to my waterline (like this Rimmel one I waxed lyrical about in my January favourites blog post).  These two tricks alone and I can look like I’m firing on all cylinders, when, actually, I’m not. (more…)

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Mexican Eggplant Salad

SAMSUNG CSCI went to the gorgeous Mamacita Mexican restaurant in Havelock North.  I can’t decide what I like best… Their food, their service, or their decor:  All top notch, go check it out if you are in the area!

Anyhow, we ordered the most fantastic eggplant salad. It was so good I took a photo, made mental notes and tried recreating it the next night at home. The result? I was chuffed with how it turned out (just quietly, I reckon my freestyle version with the addition of mint and feta took it to a whole new level!).

So, here’s what I did (the photo is my version, by the way, not Mamacita’s!)

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Lemon, Honey and Garlic Chicken Wings

Lemon, honey, garlic chicken wings recipeAsk Hot Hubby what his favourite meal is to come out of my kitchen… It’s quite likely he’ll tell you it’s Lemon, Honey and Garlic Chicken Wings. I can’t take any credit whatsover for this recipe, this comes from Cathie Hamilton, of Cathie’s Cuisine.  I nabbed this recipe when I went on Cathie’s Spanish Tapas cooking class 18 months ago (don’t get me started on what else we made or how good they were, we’ll all be here all day).  I mentioned to Cathie how much we love this recipe and Cathie generously said I could put it on my blog to share with all you lot!  Thanks Cathie! This is a fabulous entree/nibble dish when you’ve got visitors and it never fails to impress.  I’m pleased this recipe is now here on the blog, as I can refer my dinner guests to this – everyone asks for the recipe!

By the way, if you are in Hawke’s Bay and looking to WOW your friends or family with your cooking skills, or even just looking to hone your cooking schools or even expand your recipe collection, definitely consider one of Cathie’s Cooking courses. I did the Spanish Tapas class with Mum (on a Mum and Daughter day out) as well as a Thai Cooking course with a group of colleagues. Both courses were so much fun and I’ve successfully recreated all the dishes many times since.  Cathie runs the courses from her own home in Hastings. You spend the afternoon cooking (and giggling) and then at the end of the class you get to sit down and enjoy the meal you’ve lovingly prepared along with a wine.  On that  note, I really must sign up for her Mexican cooking class. Hmmmm.

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Caroline Hirons: Cutting through the skincare crap

Caroline-Hirons
Caroline (aka The Beautymouth)

During a mindless You Tube surf last winter, I chanced upon a video that I’ve now watched countless times. Caroline Hirons, UK beauty and skincare expert was interviewed by Pixiwoo, who are, incidentally, my all-time favourite makeup artists. That interview with Caroline, followed by hours and hours of research on her blog (and a bit of shopping at places like KollectionK) has had a profound effect on my beauty regime. Lots of people out there give beauty advice… I swear by Caroline’s and I now ignore everyone else’s views! So, here’s a post dedicated to Caroline’s frank and cut-through-the-crap words of wisdom on skincare which completely changed my thinking. I share this in the hope that you’ll stumble on a golden nugget in here that will help your skin too!
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Zoodles

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Zoodles with meatballs and tomato and vegetable sauce (with a dollop of basil pesto on top). Tastes better than it looks…!

I feel like every time I surf the internet or pick up a magazine at the moment I’m reading about the Paleo Diet and, more specifically, Zoodles, aka Zucchini Noodles. You’ve gotta love the name ‘Zoodles’ – I can’t stop saying it. Anyhow Zoodles are simply ribbons or fine strips of zucchini, used in place of pasta. Zoodles are, I’m guessing, soaring in popularity due to being Weight Watchers, Paleo and Gluten friendly.

Seeing as Zoodles are ‘everywhere’, I figured it was a sign I should give them a bash. Convieniently I muttered these musings out loud on my Facebook page and some lovely people kindly came back with some cooking tips, which I duly adhered to (coupled with a quick poke around on Google). My thoughts on Zoodles? AH-MAZING! I’m a convert. Even Hubby gave them the thumbs up. Here’s what I did.

 

 

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