Viva la Vivo: Beauty Haul

Hello cotton candies, how are you all today? Sunday has flown by but the extra hour in bed this morning was much appreciated! I am back to work tomorrow but I feel quite ready for it, as much as I enjoy half term, I do miss my job and the kids I teach when I am away! And now I am returning, I feel like I am on the proper countdown to my birthday and Christmas, and all the fun things I have coming up soon! : )

Today was a nice relaxing day for me, I had a lie in and then got ready for something that I was quite excited about... after some intense research with my bezzie yesterday, I finally found a list of stockists for the new Vivo make up range and knew where to head to get my fix! As blogged about previously, I have been dying to try this new range of cosmetics after reading some excellent reviews from other bloggers, and in magazines. I had already tried my two local Tesco's but had no luck, so imagine my delight when I found a list of Tesco's nationwide that stock the range! There were only four in Kent, and the nearest to me was Dover, so I convinced hubby to come with me (pretending we needed some essential items for the upcoming week) and set off on the 30 minute car journey. I purchased a few items, and have tried them out already, very pleased to say they are all as fab as has been previously claimed...

Baked shimmer palette in chocolate box, £6: I was immediately drawn to the aesthetics of this product, I love the swirly eyeshadows and blush, I think they look a bit like planets! I love the baked mineralised texture of the shadows, and the rich shades. The fact that a colour complimentary blusher is included is an added bonus.

The range of colours in the palette: I went for chocolate metallic shades as I get most wear out of these, I love the metallic silver and gold undertones and the high pigmentation is excellent.

Lipstick in Spiced Cinnamon, £1.99: The colour and creamy texture of this lipstick are perfect for everyday wear, I love the metallic case too as it looks ultra glam. This lipstick feels moisturising and comfortable to wear and lasts a good while, particularly impressive for the price!

Baked mineralised blush in Cinnamon glow, £3: A gorgeous shade and texture, giving a beautiful glow to the skin.  The gold undertones highlight and shimmer but not in an overpowering way, meaning this blusher is excellent for everyday wear. This product really reminds me of a MAC mineralised blusher I have, but for a fraction of the price.

Ultimate base concealer kit £6: I absolutely love this product, and it is a real stand-out item for me. The kit consists of 2 blendable concealers that allow you to create the perfect shade for your skin, a pressed powder to set the concealer, an illuminator pen to add luminosity and glow to the cheekbone and brow bone and a brush. The coverage of the concealers is excellent, and the creamy texture makes them super easy to blend. The illuminator pen is a gorgeous shade that reminds me of my MAC strobe cream, and the handy pen formula is brilliant when you're on the run. Love it all!

Well that's everything I got today dolls, I can't believe I only spent £16.99 and got 4 amazing products for that price! I have always been a bit of a beauty snob in the past, only purchasing high end brands and names, but I am happy to say that the emergence of new brands such as Vivo has changed my mind about cut price beauty products! I will continue to mix such pieces in with my tried and trusted brands to create different looks and styles. I completely recommend Vivo and if you happen to spy it in your local Tesco, I would definitely recommend investing in a few bits and pieces. Brightens up the weekly shop a treat! ; ) XOXO

Christmas Cookies : )

Hello lemon bon bons how are you all today? I have had the most ridiculously lazy day ever. I didn't wake up until 11 (no alarm clock in half term!) and then allowed myself to stay in bed til half 12. It was so nice not having to rush around for anything, I am going to enjoy it while it lasts! I decided to have a practice run making some Christmas biscuits today so set off later in the afternoon for a couple of ingredients from Tesco. Here's how I got on...

1) Get all of your ingredients ready, you will need 2 tsp of vanilla extract, 250g butter, 140g caster sugar, 1 yolk of  an egg and 300g plain flour. The cookie cutters to the right were a Christmas present from my mother in law and were perfect for creating festive shapes.

2) After weighing out the ingredients, mix the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon until light and creamy.

3) Stir in the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat in quickly. Then sift the flour and continue to stir in. Towards the end, you will have to get your hands in in order to turn the mixture into a firm dough.

4) Flour the kitchen surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin. Use the cookie cutters to cut out shapes., and evenly space them out on a greased non-stick baking sheet. Cook in the oven for 12 minutes at 180 degrees, and then place them on a wire rack to cool.

5) Decorate! I used an icing sugar mix to create the white icing, and a sprinkling of icing sugar on a few as hubby is not such a big fan of icing as I am! You could experiment with different colours and toppings too as I intended to (but ran out of time!) Still, I like the white, I think it looks like snow, simple and effective : )

So there you have it, I think they turned out quite well for my first attempt, however, I have learnt some lessons for next time:

1) The icing sugar mix was quite messy and tricky to apply so next time I may try some ready to roll icing stuck down on top of the biscuit with apricot jam.
2) I am going to buy some tubes of different coloured writing icing as it will be quick and easy to create designs then without having to use my piping bag.
3) Make sure I only using my baking sheets (I used a regular cooking tray with one load of biscuits, and despite being greased it was not non-stick at all, so all the biscuits on that tray broke up).
4) Remove my wedding rings beforehand - when kneading the dough, it all got stuck between my diamonds, meaning I had to use an old toothbrush and washing up liquid to scrub it all out afterwards!)

Love to you all, more soon xoxo

Supermarket Sweep

Hello dolls, hope you are all having a relaxing Sunday! The weather has been a lot greyer here in the UK today, however this is a fact that please me! I have decided now it's September, summer is officially over. I am not massively sad about this as I love Autumn and Winter, and am looking forward to the cosy nights in, comforting food and of course, Christmas!

Over the past couple of days I have turned my attention to my work wardrobe. A new school year and a new season requires a whole new working wardrobe in my opinion! I quite enjoy shopping for work clothes (although not as much as clothes for my weekend wardrobe), although I refuse to spend a fortune on this type of clothing. I am not sure why, as of course, I spend the majority of time at work. I have always been happy to spend as I see fit on my weekend wardrobe, but never much more than £20 on a dress for work. Luckily for me, the supermarkets now have extremely comprehensive and very good value ranges, so I can pretty much pick up everything I need while completing the weekly shop!

I have recently purchased 3 dresses from Tesco, one full price at £16 and two in the sale at £7 and £8 each. Yesterday my best friend Clare and I went for a browse in Asda Living and both purchased some more dresses for work. This time both full price at £16 and £10 respectively. I tend to gravitate towards dresses for work as I find them easy to just throw on in the morning, with a pair of tights, heels or pumps and a statement necklace or bracelet. On chilly days a cardi or blazer work a treat as well, layered over the top. 

Black ponte formal dress £10 Asda

Mono print dress £16 Asda

F & F jersey wrap dress £16 (mine is a different style, navy blue with a print)

Just a selection of the dresses I have bought, I couldn't get pictures of the other two. Now I have new stationery for work and new clothes, I just need to stock up on tights and buy a new pair of winter heels (M & S most likely, I will only wear leather to work as I am on my feet all day and need to be comfortable!)

Well that's all for today, I am making the most of the last bit of weekend by catching up on some reading in between making my to-do list for the week, and a chilli con carne for dinner! : ) xoxo