Beauty and food. The ultimate combination.
I’m already a die-hard fan of My Food Bag. So, when their new kid rolled off the block, Bargain Box, I was keen to give it a whirl. I’d already read a fair bit of hype and we were keen to see how it stacked up. What did we think? How does it compare to My Food Bag? Keep reading!
I’ve had to work really hard to cull this list down to ‘just five’ products for Lou’s Faves – August. It’s been months since I did one of these posts (on account of my blogging holiday which was crucial to allow me to ‘defrag’). Subsequently there’s a bunch of stuff I’m itching to share with you – so restraint was required! Here’s what made the cull.
Spoiler alert… This is headed for my Favourite products of 2016 blog post!
This shimmer brick was an impulse purchase back in June, while I was watching the Brexit drama unfold on the telly. After half a bottle of red to drown my sorrows (I’m first generation Kiwi, both my parents are Brits) I realised the value of the pound was falling plummeting against other currencies. This made it an opportune time to go shopping. Bloody ASOS had crashed, so I had a mini spend up (NZ$60) on Makeup Revolution’s website. Little did I know Beauty Bliss, here in En-zed, is a stockist. Opps.
I’ve often eyed up Bobbi Brown’s shimmer brick but the NZ$66 price tag makes my bum pucker, particularly as I don’t really need it. When I spotted Makeup Revolution’s shimmer brick version, I thought it looked like a good dupe and, for $5.40 I was willing to give it a crack.
Oh. I’m so glad I got it. I’ve worn the shimmer brick most days since it arrived and it’s seen my much loved MAC Soft & Gentle highlighter be banished to the back of my cupboard. How do you wear it? There’s a few options. I generally sweep a small blush brush through all five shades on the compact and dust it lightly on my cheekbone, where the light usually hits the face. The result is a gorgeous glow and I look more alive (as opposed to knackered after six hours sleep which is all I get far too often). I also wear it just as a blush and, get this, as an eyeshadow. Yup, I pack the colour (a mix, or sometimes just one shade) all over my eyelids, on top of an eye primer. Next, I sweep a matt brown colour through my crease: Good to go! Sorry, no picture of me wearing it, I can’t get a photo that does it justice. You’ll have to trust me!
Tip: If you have laughter lines/crows feet/wrinkles like me, make sure you pop this just on the cheekbones, not too high up under your eyes. Light sparkly products attract light – and attention… I dunno about you: But I don’t want to be drawing extra attention to ‘dem lines.
I’ve got my eyes on this palette next from Makeup Revolution. (more…)
This winter will go down as the winter of mulled wine for us. I’ve been obsessed – both with the taste and the cooking smell that fills the kitchen. If we get invited over to a mate’s for dinner, I rock up with some. Nowhere to go? No worries, hubby and I will share a batch. Oh yes, I have all the hallmarks of a good p!sshead. I’ve tried to give up alcohol but I’ve decided life is just too short and, frankly, I won’t bother again and will just keep buying wine online!
The thing with mulled wine is that you don’t really need to follow a recipe. I mix it up every time using whatever cheap (but grunty) red plonk I’ve found on sale. I’ve added bay leaves, cardamon powder, substituted mandarins for oranges, used lime instead of lemon. See? You can absolutely play around. On the note of cheap plonk, don’t dip into your bank account for a top shelf red – think cheap. Save that wine subscription bottle for a special occasion, and use something affordable for this. I’ve also been playing around with the abundance of spices I have in my pantry. I’ve even added port (boom – it’s good) and on a different day, cider: I reckon you’d have to try pretty hard to go wrong (for Pete’s sake, touch some wood if you are a kitchen disaster).
The first time I had mulled wine was when I was 19 years old. I spent my first Christmas with four Aussie mates who were house-sitting. We were left in charge of a gorgeous home on the strict understanding that we were “not to break anything”. My mate Kate whipped up a batch of mulled wine and poured the boiling hot delicious concoction into beautiful crystal wine glasses… which instantly shattered. She did this not once, but twice: some would say she’s not a fast learner. That moment it struck us that we should have used wine cans like those you can see when you check here.
What happened? We spent Boxing Day trawling High Street Kensington searching for replacement crystal wine glasses (which turned out to be a wedding present…). As good people, we agreed to split the cost of the replacements between us and, of course, Sod’s bloody law, we couldn’t find exact matches, so we had to buy 12 new ones to replace the whole set. I can’t remember how much we spent, but, on account of earning £4.50 per hour in retail at the time, I ate two minute noodles for about a month afterwards coz I was so skint! Luckily I went on to live in Germany not long after: My sole experience with mulled wine was improved drastically and happier memories were lodged! (more…)
When I got an email from The Best Beauty Box Ever to ask me if I’d like to receive a complementary beauty box to review, I tried to play it cool, I really did…. Fail: I was jumping with excitement and my email reply had a number of OTT exclamation marks. I actually said YES PLEASE!!!! in capital letters. I’m so uncool. I love all things beauty and when my friend recently told me about Beauty Booker I was so excited. It’s sounds amazing. There are so many great products in the beauty industry now, I never know what to try first!
I’ve had my Best Ever Beauty Box for nearly three weeks now and I’ve had the chance to give all of the products a jolly good test drive, Here’s my thoughts which are, as usual, honest and unbiased, albeit a bit too wordy. Sigh.
Ordinarily the concept with beauty boxes is that you sign up and, for a set fee each month, you receive a package of beauty products (which might be samples, or full sized products). Usually you end up getting a bunch of products at a much lower cost than if you buy the products individually which can amount to a significant saving. I’ve been chomping at the bit to to try a beauty box. However I’ve been reluctant to commit on more than a one-off basis. My reluctance also was because, often, you don’t know what products you are going to get. But wait: The Best Beauty Box Ever is different! How so? (more…)
This cheeseball recipe is another one of those recipes that I’ve made on and off over a decade. It’s a recipe I actually got off my Aunty Lois. She’s a great cook and one day I asked her what her best recipe was. She paused and then said ‘my cheeseball’ – naturally I begged for the recipe and lucky she obliged! I can’t help myself, I’ve put my own spin on it over time. It’s become a great ‘go to’ recipe, particularly if we have people call in unexpectedly or at short notice as it’s something you can whip up without too much difficulty for nibbles: I always have cream cheese in the fridge and some salami (that’s a staple in my son’s lunchbox). Note, in these situations I freeze the ball instead of chilling it in the fridge to speed things up.
Well, we’ve been on a reduced income since I started my new job and subsequently now work part-time, so frankly, pulling out an extravagant cheeseboard groaning with a stinky Kikorangi blue, vintage cheddar, double cream brie, cumin gouda, stuffed baby peppers and a selection of gourmet deli meats is no longer in my budget. That’s a bit of a bugger because a cheeseboard, as odd as this probably sounds for someone who loves cooking, is one of my favourite things to make, as well as eat, noting it’s not particularly conducive to being Weight Watchers friendly at the moment! Anyway, since we’ve been on a reduced income I’ve totes ditched the cheeseboard and, instead, pulled out this old school favourite cheeseball recipe a few times as a ‘nibbley dish’. It always lands well with the punters and you can serve it up with any cracker, or even a nice loaf of ciabatta, meats, anything goes. I love it on dried apricots tucked into a slice of salami, but I’m a bit random like that. On that note, there’s a heap of ways you can variate this recipe, be sure to check out the notes at the bottom of the recipe below.
Lastly, as the recipe below makes two balls (snigger… I’m so smutty and immature) I often keep one in the fridge (not rolled in nuts) and then stuff it into chicken breasts a few days later. I wrap the breasts in streaky bacon, pan fry them till they are golden on both sides, then bake them until the chicken is cooked. This is next level stuffed chicken breast – I promise.
Cough. April finished up a wee while ago… Sorry about that! Better late than never with my April faves blog post though, right?
Trilogy’s Age-Proof Nutrient Plus Firming Serum was an impulse purchase during Farmers Beauty Week. Usual story: My self-restraint sucks… The discount was too good to pass up. Standing at the Trilogy stand I vaguely recalled my friend Kellie had been waxing lyrical about a product from Trilogy’s Age-Proof range, only I couldn’t remember which one. So, I got this one. I’d heard nothing about this product, so I truly was flying blind.
I’ve been using this bad boy morning and night (after toning and before moisturising) all over my face, neck and decolletage for about six weeks and I adore it. Packed full of natural ingredients this is a lightweight serum that’s a nourishing pick-me-up for skin. What ingredients? There’s natural skin brighteners like green tea, licorice and mulberry. These extracts help to even skin tone so your complexion appears more radiant. You’ll also find hyaluronic acid, known as nature’s ‘moisture magnet’, which is deeply moisturising and plumps the skin. Trilogy, by the way, uses hyaluronic acid derived from a process involving the fermentation of wheat (that’s all getting a bit beyond me…).
The packaging alleges the serum will soften fine lines and wrinkles and I reckon it does just that. My face definitely looks plumper and softer when I’m wearing this, like it’s had a bit of an energy boost. Usually when I look at my face in the mirror, stripped bare, I think “dear God”. Lately I’ve been looking in the mirror when my face is all nudie thinking that I look a little better. Given I’m not using any new products in my beauty regime, it seems fair that this serum could be the culprit. Importantly for me, as I wear this serum under my makeup during the day, it’s non-greasy and absorbs well. My makeup sits ‘sweet as’ on top of it.
A repeat purchase? You bettcha. If you want a list of ingredients and the full product description, click here.
Price: NZ$48.90 (I got it for less as it was on sale). (more…)
I outed myself on Facebook as having joining Weight Watchers a month ago on account of being a tad too curvy-licious to fit into a lot of clothes in my wardrobe and feeling, frankly, bloody miserable about my expanding waistline. Since then I’ve had a few people message me to see how I’m getting on and to ask: Would I recommend Weight Watchers? This is a blog post answering those questions – and more. For many people, reaching the desired weight can be as simple as using weight loss supplements when you start to pick up some unwanted pounds. On this occasion though, I wanted to try out something different, but that doesn’t mean that you should necessarily follow in my footsteps.
Firstly, I want you to know that I’m paying my own hard-earned cash for Weight Watchers. Therefore this is a (non-sponsored) blog post with my own opinion. Usual story: Some will disagree with me, some will think Weight Watchers is a bunch of nonsense, equally Weight Watchers evangelists may get a bit snippy with me for my constructive criticism. Cool as! We are all entitled to our own opinion: This is mine. (more…)
Since joining Weight Watchers three weeks ago I’ve fallen into the trap of eating more or less the same thing every night (roast chicken with a green salad) and I’m BORED. This is really silly: There’s an abundance of recipes available through Weight Watchers, I’m usually really creative in the kitchen AND I’m working part-time now and I have ample time to cook dinner. There’s no excuse for boring, uninspired and repetitive meals.
I made this Autumn Salad with Spicy Chicken Lentil and Pumpkin recipe this week after a being struck by a bit of inspo following browsing on the Weight Watchers member’s only section. Also, I’d bought a GI-NORMOUS pumpkin from Countdown for $2 and this pumpkin required some serious tucking in. Anyhoo, the result was a warm, hearty, nutritious salad that was packed full of flavour, colour and was ‘viable’ in relation to Weight Watchers SmartPoints. My hubby isn’t on Weight Watchers (skinny, active, healthy bugger) so I’m trying to up the anti on meals that don’t blow the points budget for me and meals that hubby enjoys. Hubby and I both loved this dish, we had it as a main course and, as there was only two people eating it, there was enough the next night for a repeat dinner performance (needless to say the kid didn’t eat this dish. He had ham steaks with potatoes, carrot and pineapple. Sigh).
You can funk the salad up even further by adding fried haloumi, diced feta, also some olives would also be a delicious addition! Or even, for those not on the ‘trying to shrink bandwagon’, chorizo would be a scrummy addition! This recipe, if I do say so myself, is ‘friends-over-for-dinner-worthy’. On that note, I’m taking it sans chicken to my next pot luck dinner as a side salad. (more…)
