Review: Rimmel Space Dust

As I have said before, I am a Rimmel girl through and through. From foundation to nail varnish, Rimmel has always been one of my favourite, go-to brands, and that is why I was so excited when they bought out Space Dust just before Christmas.

Until Rimmel Space Dust was introduced, I must admit that I wasn't all that sure how I felt about glittery nail polishes.

You see, what I always found, was that I didn't particularly like the look of regular nail polish finished with a glittery top coat, for some reason it never looked quite right, not to mention the fact that the glitter always seemed to refuse to spread evenly out... I also found, that when I applied the glittery varnish to my naked nails, bare of a colourful under coat, my hands felt just that little bit too plain - perhaps I am just a bit too fussy when it comes to my nails!

When I saw Space Dust advertised online last November, I wasn't too sure what to make of it. It looked perfect, thick and full of glitter, exactly what I has been waiting for - a glitter polish that was made to be worn solo!

Luckily for me, 'Santa', aka my lovely fiancé, brought me a pot of this pretty polish for Christmas, and since trying it out, whilst munching a festive breakfast of smoked salmon and poached eggs, I can honestly say I haven't looked back.

For me, the best thing about this polish is the thickness of it, along with the clever textured formula of glitter used as a base, instead of the usual clear affair.  I also, absolutely love the way it is quick and easy to use, how it dries nearly instantly, and amazingly, how without any sort of top coat, it seems to be pretty chip resistant!

Rimmel Space Dust is, most definitely, the answer to my glitter polish prays, as it can be applied straight to naked nails, giving a major, professional looking, wow factor, with just two quick-drying coats!

PANCAKE TIME - Yes, I know I am nearly a week late!

I may be a few days late with the Pancake Day post, but that's just because I ended up going out for dinner on the day itself, and by the time I got home I was sadly just too full to even consider a late night snack.

However, this meant that last night I was able to treat myself to a stack of pancakes - a perfect weekend treat!

I must admit that although I can cook, pancakes have always been my weakness; the batter is either to thick or too thin, and regardless of the amount of oil I use, they just always seem to stick.

But, this year there was one mighty difference, my new non-stick, Tefal frying pan - all I can say is...total lifesaver!

For once, almost perfect pancakes!

Pancake cooking aside, for me one of the best parts of pancake day is the toppings. The problem is, I literally love everything, from sweet to savoury, from simple lemon and sugar, to dill, smoked salmon and cream cheese. I am a total foodaholic.

This year however, due to a combination of a lack of funds, and me being in a totally sugar craving mood, I stuck to topping my pancakes with sweet treats.

If I am making pancakes myself, as a pose to popping to a pancake house, I tend to stick to the old classic of lemon and sugar, as I love the balance of the sour, fruity lemon juice and sweet sugar. However, this year after watching my partner make a delicious looking nutella and banana pancake, I just could not resist a taste.

Yummy nutella and banana pancakes!

Although a lot sweeter than my all time favourite, lemon and sugar, this yummy topping of nutella and banana makes for a great treat for anyone, who like me, has an incredibly sweet tooth.

The Recipe Read - Gluten Free Chocolate Mousse Cake

Welcome to the first ever post from my new series, The Recipe Read.

After noticing that a few other fashion and beauty bloggers have recently embraced their inner foodie, I decided that I too, would start my own mini cooking series.

I decided to start with this yummy mousse cake recipe, one, because it's full of chocolate and I am a self confessed chocoholic, and two, because it's gluten free!

This cake is just so good!

I must admit that when my fiance first made me this delicious chocolate mousse cake as a Saturday night treat, it didn't even cross my mind that it was gluten free, and so people like my mum who suffers from gluten intolerance and often struggles to find new gluten free foods to try, could also enjoy it.

To make this tasty treat you will need:

300g of dark chocolate
150g unsalted butter
55g caster sugar
6 eggs
extra butter to grease the tin

You will also need:

A cake tin with a removable bottom
Greaseproof paper
A hand held or preferably, an electric whisk
A mixing bowl
Heat proof bowl
A set of scales

The method:

First, pre-heat over to 150 degrees, and grease and line cake tin with grease proof paper.

Then, bring a pan of water to the boil, place heat proof bowl on top of saucepan and add butter and chocolate, stir continuously until completely melted. Remove from heat and leave to cool slightly.

Then crack eggs into a separate mixing bowl, add sugar and whisk until the mixture becomes thick and mousse like. (If done by hand, this takes about half and hour and a lot of elbow grease!)

Once a thick mousse mixture is formed, slowly fold the melted butter and chocolate into the mixing bowl and stir gently until the chocolate is completely mixed in.

Slowly pour the mixture into the greased cake tin and place in the middle of the over for about 20 minutes, or until it appears part-cooked.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and let it cool for around 40 minutes before serving.

Happy Baking!

Apologies!

For anyone who regularly reads my blog, I do apologise for my recent absence from the blogsphere! I've been struggling to balance my life - it turns out that writing a dissertation is much more time consuming than I first thought!

However, I promise to manage my time more efficiently from now with more regular posts coming up in the next few weeks!

So, remember to pop back and have a read!

REVIEW: Barbara Daly foundation

Finding the right foundation is, for many of like attempting to climb Mount Kilimanjaro - a lifelong ambition. (But not quite as extreme, obviously.) 

I myself have always struggled with foundations as I have somewhat oily, shiny skin that tends to dry out incredibly quickly, meaning that for my skin to look its best I need a foundation that is moisturizing, not too oily and that gives a matte look finish - fussy, I know. 

As I have said before Rimmel is my go to brand, from eyeliner to powder, it is most definitely a brand I trust and so it makes sense that for the past few years Rimmel is the only foundation I have really used, that is until a couple of days ago when I invested in a little bottle of Barbara Daly make-up. 

To be totally honest, when I walked into the beauty section I was always going to buy yet another tube of Rimmel's Matte Look foundation, however,the slightly lower price of the on sale Barbara Daly collection caught my eye. 

Priced at just *£4 this oil-free foundation seemed like a real bargain, and so with my bank account in mind, I decided to throw caution to the wind, scrap the Rimmel foundation and invest in something new, and dare I say it, something a little cheaper. 

I must admit that I love the frosted look of the little glass bottle that the foundation comes in, it really adds a touch of class to the product.

The first thing I noticed about the foundation itself was the gentle floral scent it seemed to be infused with, not overly strong or heavy but perfect for taking away that 'foundation-smell' that you get with many high-street branded products. 

The texture of the foundation feels light and silky and can easily by applied using just your finger tips with a little help from the built in bottle lid spatula, as I call it. 

The thinner consistency of the foundation allows it to give only a light covering, perfect for creating a natural look, however this thinner consistency makes it almost impossible to cover blemishes without the use of concealer or powder.

In my new BD foundation, perhaps in need of a little blush?

Despite the lack of spot and blemish cover this foundation provides, it's light texture, matte look finish and of course low price makes it a great buy and one which I would most definitely recommend.

*disclaimer: £4 sale price, usually priced at £8, available to buy here. 

NAILS NAILS NAILS - My Modelsown sale haul!

As you might have guessed from my sales post the other day (here), I have in fact been making the most of the online sales, making the odd 'necessary' purchase here and there, despite the fact that with the current state of my finances I probably shouldn't be - after all, student loans only stretch so far.

However, there are some things that a girl, especially a fashion and beauty loving girl just cannot live without, modelsown half price nail varnish for example, is one of them.

Plus, when you actually think about it, in the long run buying beauty essentials in bulk in the sale is, technically, a way of saving money. So I guess I am off the hook then!

My student money problems a side, I decided that whilst on sale I would order five modelsown nail varnishes, the minimum amount to qualify for their half price discount. I went for four bottles from the new hyper gel collection (here) and also a bottle of Gold Finger (here). 

After some umming and arring, for my four hyper gel colours I finally decided on White Light, Red Lustre, Naked Glow and Pink Veneer, and boy am I glad I did, the colours are just perfect.

*Photo taken from my own Instagram. Follow me here. 

I especially love Naked Glow and Pink Veneer, both of which fit perfectly with one of this spring's biggest trends - pastel colours. Which according to pretty much every style guru on the planet, are once again set to be big this coming season - everything from sugar shades, to subtle tones.

At this point I should probably admit that I am normally a Rimmel girl through and through, from nail varnishes to eye liner, Rimmel has always been my go to brand. This is mainly due to their slightly lower prices than other mainstream beauty brands, such as modelsown. However, with the modelsown 50% sale I had absolutely no excuse and was more than happy to try something new.

So far I have only had a chance to try out my favourites, Naked Glow and Pink Veneer and I must say I am more than impressed. I just love the thicker consistency of these hyper-gel nail varnishes compared to your average nail varnish, and can honestly say that despite the fact that drying times, especially of Pink Veneer seem to be rather long I am more than pleased with the results of these two.

*Quick tip: If like me you struggle to sit still long enough for your nails to dry, why not invest in a quick drying topcoat, available from modelsown here.

Just like the bottle says, these hyper-gels give you the glossy gel nail look without the need for an expensive UV light - ideal for us girlies watching the pennies. 

I would however say, that the only thing missing from these varnishes is the slightly thicker look and stronger coat that can be achieved with UV gel and shellac nails.

But overall, I would most definitely recommend modelsown hyper-gels for anyone wanting to achieve a shiny, glossier look. 

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