Tuesday 20 December 2016

DIY: Peppermint Body Scrub

So this year I decided to get a bit craftier and DIY a couple gifts, so when I found this DIY I knew that I needed to share this recipe with you guys!  This is a DIY Peppermint Sugar scrub!

So before we get into the ingredients of this Sugar scrub lets talk equipment. So you will need a big bowl, a measuring cup, a teaspoon, a table spoon, a small bowl and a storage jar. I found my glass jars in Asda, they were a pack of 3 for £3.50, so bargain!



So the Ingredients you need to make this scrub are:

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
1 1/2-2 Cups of Sugar (I ended up using a mix of granulated and caster)
Peppermint Oil
Red Food Colouring (Optional)

So the first thing you need to do to make this scrub is mix your coconut oil and sugar together in your large bowl using a tablespoon. Now you can add more or less coconut oil depending on the consistency that you want your scrub to have. I simply used the amount in the recipe.

Once you have the desired consistency you need to add your peppermint oil. Now you can use as much or as little of the oil as you want, it is all down to personal preference and how strong you want your scrub scent to be. Once you have added the amount of oil that works for you, it's time to separate your mixture. Obviously if you don't want to add food dye to your scrub you can go ahead and skip this step. Now when adding the food colouring again it depends on the colour you would like.



My scrub turned out to be pink but it worked. Once you have the colour you like you need to scoop the scrub into your glass jar but you want to alternate between the two colours. This way you end up with this layered look.



So that's it! You now have a homemade peppermint scrub to use yourself or give as a gift.

Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe out and how it turned out!

Until Next Time
Emma
xx



DIY: Gingerbred Body Scrub

 So this year I decided to get a bit craftier and DIY a couple gifts, so when I found this DIY I knew that I needed to share this recipe with you guys!  This is a DIY Gingerbread Sugar scrub! Now I ended up making two of these and they smelt amazing!!


So before we get into the ingredients of this Sugar scrub lets talk equipment. So you will need a big bowl, a measuring cup, a teaspoon, a table spoon and a storage jar. I found my glass jars in Asda, they were a pack of 3 for £3.50, so bargain!



So the ingredients that you will need are as follows:

1 Cup of Sugar (I used granulated, caster works as well)
1 Cup of Brown Sugar ( I used light brown, but dark brown would work)
1/2 Cup of Coconut Oil
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2tsp Cinnamon
1/2tsp All Spice
1/2tsp Ginger
1/2tsp Nutmeg

This recipe also stated that you needed 1/4 cup of almond oil, but I couldn't find this, so I didn't use it.




So the first thing you will want to do is put all the dry ingredients, everything except the Vanilla extract and coconut oil, in a bowl and mix using your tablespoon.

Then you want to add the vanilla extract. Once that is mixed in you want to gradually add the coconut oil, until your body scrub has reached your desired consistency. So you may use more or you may use less of that stated amount. I just used all the coconut oil.

Once your scrub has reached the consistency that you like, all you have to do is scoop it into the container that you have chosen.




That's it!! You now have a homemade Gingerbread body scrub. This makes the perfect gift or a little home made treat for your next pamper evening. I decided to give mine DIY as a gift and decorated by putting a gold bow on top and a bit of ribbon around it.

Let me know if you would like to see more DIY posts and what you think I should make next!

Until Next Time
Emma
xx



Review: Bella Bear 'Serval' Eyeliner Brush*

As you all know I have previously teamed up with Bella & Bear to bring you a review of there Pluckers tweezer set and there Make up Bag. So I was stoked to team up with their brand again and review one of their make up brushes.  As usual all opinions are my own and not influenced at all. I want to give you guys an honest review about the product.

They sent me their 'Serval' Eyeliner brush, now I will admit I was a bit skeptical because I have never been able to use Gel eyeliner, felt tip type eyeliners were my comfort zone. I tried using gel once and failed miserably!









The brush itself is about the thickness of a pen, which is brilliant as it means they are not too thin which I do not like. I find that a pen size brush or thicker gives more control of what you are doing, which you want when you are trying to do a spectacular cat eye! The bent end means you can get even closer and a better angle without your hand getting in the way of your mirror!! This eyeliner brush came in a cute box with Bella & Bear's Signature mint green/ bluish colour and the roses, which always remind me of vintage.

Now I will admit I failed at this before I even started, as when I went to try this brush out I realised I do not own any gel eyeliner! So I used the product from a mascara wand. It worked well, so bonus life hack!! Now like I said a felt tip eyeliner is where I am comfortable to use when doing my cat eye but I am a changed girl! This brush was so easy to use! I got close to my lash line and I think the resulting cat eye came out pretty good! Now I did find that I was having to go over the line but have a feeling that was more to do with using mascara instead of a gel eyeliner. Check out the results below!!






So I have fallen in love with this brush and its performance. My only question is how quick can I go buy some gel eyeliner! This brush made me feel like I could do something decent with my makeup. Now you know I am by no means a make up artist, a beginner is the best way to describe my experience. So if you are looking for a gift or a new eyeliner brush I would definitely recommend this one. Even for those who maybe are not that experienced with make up, this brush will help so much when it comes to the trouble of Gel eyeliner.

Let me know in the comments if you have this brush and what you think? Also let me know what Gel Eyeliners work best for you?

Until Next Time
Emma
xx



Tuesday 27 September 2016

Review: Soft & Gentle Hair Minimise Deodrant


So a few months back I got a new Deodrant within a Glossybox. It was the Soft & Gentle Hair Minimise one, a full size product. The first thought that came to mind when I got this was 'I wonder if it works?' So here is the results when I decided to put this deodorant to the test with an ordinary one.





 So the way I decided to carry out this experiment was to use this deodorant on one underarm and a normal sure deodorant on the other. Now this deodorant says you will have visibly underarms in just 8 weeks.  It uses an ingredient called Kelisoft, which is proven to reduce thickness and the speed of growth of your hair.

Now this experiment lasted about a month before the sure deodorant ran out, which is the main reason it wasn't tested as long as I wanted to but still it came out with some good results.

Within this month I still shaved my underarms as often as I usually did. But on day 20 I noticed that on the soft & gentle underarm the hair was thinner and softer to the touch compared to my other one.

I wanted to put this product to the ultimate test so on day 24 of the experiment I showed both underarms to two separate people. Now before I say what they said I want you to know that neither person knew the other and they were asked separately and not told what the other one said. It had been about 4 days since I had last shaved my underarms.

Both people agreed and said they could visibly see the hair on the underarm that was using the sure deodorant and could not see hair on the other arm. Now you may be thinking how close where they to me when I asked them to see if they could see any hair growth. The first person I asked was turned round facing me on a bus as I sat behind her. The second was sat diagonally to me on a balcony. Neither person was too close, because let's face it no one wants to be too close to an armpit after the end of a long day at work.

So the conclusion of my experiment was that within a month you can visibly see the difference in the underarms. Now a month later than when I did this experiment I am still seeing a difference in the two underarms.

Now you are probably reading this thinking, yeah get to the catch, is this thing going to cost me an arm and a leg to buy? I would be lying if I said I didn't think the same thing but we would be wrong. A 250ml bottle of this from Superdrug will set you back £2.99. So as you can tell it is hideously expensive product and is such a splurge.  Ok sarcasm aside it's probably not the cheapest out there but it certainly is not the most expensive deodorant.

I would highly recommend this product especially if you consider yourself a Lazy Girl, because this will reduce the amount of times you need to shave those underarms.

Let me know if you have this product and what you thought.

Until Next Time

Emma xx




Tuesday 2 August 2016

Review - Star Trek Beyond






Star Trek Beyond is the latest movie to come from the Star Trek Franchise. It's the third movie to join the latest Star Trek releases. After seeing the first two in this series there were some high hopes from the fans. This movie is a new release to the cinema and only came out on Friday 22nd July 2016.


So before we go into the details regarding what the film is about lets talk statistics. This film has a running time of 2 hours and 2 minutes, which is the shortest length for the newest Star Trek films. This film was directed by Justin Lin, who has also directed 4 of those Fast & Furious movies. Some of the stars in this picture include Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin and Idris Elba.

So lets look at the story, again set in outer space. Star Trek into the Darkness finished with the crew of the Enterprise going off on a five year mission in outer space. This movie picks up just over half way through that mission. It find the crew of the USS Enterprise  in uncharted territory meeting a new enemy that threatens both the Enterprise and the Federation. This movie also brings along some tough decisions for the crew of the Enterprise.



After looking at the reviews it seems this film has had some very mixed opinions following it's release. Some people are stating its covering up the story with action and explosion. I will admit the main reason I watch these films was Chris Pine. But I will admit a cute guy will not be enough incentive to sit through a boring film. I loved the story telling of this film, there was enough action to keep me intrigued. At some points in this film I had no idea how Kirk and the rest of the USS Enterprise were going to get out of their situation.  

All in all I say this film is definitely worth seeing.

Emma

Friday 25 March 2016

Review - The Good Dinosaur





The Good Dinosaur is the latest movie from Disney Pixar. Now Disney Pixar have brought us films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc and the Incredibles. So this movie has come from a pairing that has brought us great movies and left us wanting more. So yes this movie had some high standards to live up to and that it did. 

Before I get into what the movie was like let's look at the details, the film has a running time of 1hrs 33 minutes. It came to our screens in 2015 but has recently hit the shelves. Some stars that gave their voices to this animation are Jeffrey Wright, Steve Zahn, Anna Paquin, Sam Elliott and Frances McDormand. 

So let's talk about the story, it centres round an Apatosarous named Arlo. Of course this is all about a time that says what if the asteroid that was suppose to make the dinosaurs extinct missed? What if a dinosaur and human could be friends, family even? Now don't go thinking this movie is an animation so it's only for kids. You would be wrong some of the scenes have a true meaning. Some scenes dealt with a serious theme but still has the funny bits that make you laugh out loud. This blogger even had watering eyes by the time the credits started rolling! 

Now when I looked at the reviews afterwards they weren't exactly glowing with praise quite the opposite. Everyone has the right to their own opinion and in my opinion those bad reviews were dead wrong.  

I think this film is definitely worth a watch. Let me know what you thought of this film in the comments. 

Emma