Bows,Braids & Cakes

Monday, 29 December 2014

Liz Earle Signature Lip Colour Review!

Hey!

I have been looking for a lipstick shade that I can wear everyday for quite some time now until I've found not only one, but two!

I have been using Liz Earle's skincare products for over a year now and I really like them, especially the Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, but I have totally fallen in love with these lipsticks.

They are so moisturising,creamy and easy to apply, almost like a balm.,very natural, they have a great consistency and are long-lasting too.

The two shades I bought are 'Tea Rose' and 'Damask Rose'. They are both timeless colours and are are also a little bit sheer, which I love.

'Tea Rose' is a very similar colour to my own lip and it looks great no matter what make-up I have on or what clothes I am wearing. However, I think that this shade is very flattering on pale cool-toned skin, my mum tried it on and it doesn't look so good on her (her skin tone is a bit darker than mine).

'Damask Rose' is also a very natural shade, but a bit brighter. It's a beautiful soft rose which really pops when I apply some lip-gloss over it! It's great for evening make-up.

Tea Rose 07

Damask Rose 03

Tea Rose 07
Damask Rose 03

Liz Earle's Signature Lipstick's come in 19 beautiful natural shades, from nude to deep red.

http://uk.lizearle.com/lips/signature-lip-colour.html

I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!

Have a great day!

Lots of Love

Nathalia
xxx

Sunday, 28 December 2014

Sleek MakeUp Highlighting Palette - Precious Metals Review!

Hey!

I hope you had an amazing Christmas!

I love highlighting and I am sure you all do too.

I really like Sleek MakeUp, I've always been pleased with their products and they are affordable too. So I decided to try their new highlighting palette and it's even better then I expected.

The packaging is beautiful, it comes with a mirror and a small brush, but only one of the highlighter is a powdery one, the rest are creamy.

On the back of the packaging there are instructions for applying each highlighter.

"Create subtle or dramatic effects by blending the colours using fingertips to the inner corners of the eyes, cross the brow bone and along the tops of cheekbones. Use an eyeshadow brush for precision and increased intensity."

There are four beautiful colours, each one for a different use, my favourite one is no1 the lightest named 'Platinum', which I use across and over my browbone and on the inner ornery of my eyes. The second one is the 'Antique Bronze', which I use to highlight along the tops of my cheekbones. The third one is the 'Royal Gold, perfect for highlighting down the bridge of my nose. The last one is the 'Renaissance Gold', which I also use for highlighting the tops of my cheekbones and my cupid's bow (top of the lip).

1-Platinum(left) 2-Royal Gold
3-Renaissance Gold

3-Renaissance Gold (top) 4-Antique Bronze

Overall, I really liked this palette, I have all the different highlighters in one box, they're beautiful colours and long-lasting!

Thank you for reading!

I hope you have an amazing week!

Lots of Love

Nathalia
xxx

Wednesday, 24 December 2014

The best pumpkin-pie cheesecake!

Hey!

I know it's a little bit late for Thanksgiving pies but I have to share this amazing recipe with you. It is seriously the best pumpkin pie I have ever tried, my colleague brought it to work and I fell in love with it. And who says that pumpkin pies are only for Thanksgiving?!

I love anything with pumpkin in it, but this one is so creamy, you can definitely taste the spices but they are not overpowering and the cream cheese take it to another level. If you don't like a lot of spices in your pie, just like me, you will love this recipe.

Here is what you will need:

- a 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom (If using a smaller tart pan, bake for a little bit longer)

Crust

- 115 grams gingersnap cookies
- 85 grams digestive cookies
- 55 grams salted butter melted

Cheesecake batter

- 115 grams cream cheese, softened
- 40 grams granulated or caster sugar
- 1 large egg yolk (keep the egg white you will need it for the pumpkin batter)

Pumpkin batter

- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 300 grams pumpkin puree
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 50 grams brown sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp groung cloves
- a few fresh gratings of nutmeg
- 235 ml double cream

Method:

- Preheat your oven to 220 C degrees.

- Use a food processor to finely grind all the cookies and add the melted butter, until the mixture is moistened. I have a tiny food processor, so I had to do it a couple of times, but if you don't have food processor at all, just put the cookies in a clean towel or plastic bag them smash them with a rolling pin!

- Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and up to the sides of your tart pan, them place the pan on a baking sheet.

- Make the cheesecake batter by mixing together the ingredients in a small bowl, until everything's smooth.

- Make the pumpkin batter by beating the egg and egg white lightly in a large bowl. Then whisk in the pumpkin puree, sugars, slat and spices. Gradually whisk in the double cream until everything is smooth and well incorporated.

- Pour the pumpkin batter into the cookie crust and then dollop the cheesecake batter over it. Using a knife, marble the two mixtures, but try not to overdo it otherwise you will over mix it and loose the marble effect. Also, try not to pierce the bottom crust as you do it.

- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to around 170 C degrees and bake for another 30-40 minutes, depending on you oven. To check if my pie is baked, I always use the classic method of the toothpick.. insert it into the centre and if it comes out clean your pie is ready!

- Let your pie cool completely. I place my pie in the fridge, as I prefer it when it is cold.

- Keep the pie in the fridge, it will last for about 3-4 days. However the bottom crust will get a bit soft after day 2.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and thank you for reading!

Lots of love and Merry Christmas!!

Nathalia
XXX

Sunday, 21 December 2014

Blogging again after a long break..

Hey!

It's been more than a year since my last post and I' ve missed my blog so much I decided to start blogging again! I had so many ideas and posts I wanted to share, but there were so many things and changes happening in my life during this last year that I had literally no time to post anything. They're all positive and happy changes though!

So the first change was that I moved to a new flat. I've been living with my brothers since I first moved to London 8 years ago, but now I live on my own. I absolutely love my flat, it is tiny but very bright, new and adorable. I knew it wouldn't be easy to move from a quite big flat to a much smaller one but I didn't expect it to be so hard..I realised that within these 8 years I had accumulated so many things I didn't really need, so I ended up with 4 luggages with clothes, shoes, bags etc. all for donation. It felt so good.

My little kitchen

My living room

My bedroom

The second and even more exciting thing that happened to my life is that I got a job at the Science Museum! After 6 months of desperately looking for a job in the museum sector I finally got one! I had volunteered in so many different places and really enjoyed it, but after a few months I was feeling a bit upset, I had the experience, skills, will and passion to work, all I needed was one opportunity to get my foot in the door and then move up.

My first position was in the Front-of-House Department as a Visitor Experience Assistant and two months ago I got a new job and moved to the Museum's Learning Department and work now as an Explainer..no really, it's a position I am not making this up! I am so happy and excited, it's the best job ever! Basically what we do is we work in the interactive galleries of the museum with children, families and schools and also deliver educational science science shows and demonstrations.
I will do a separate post about my museum working experience and interviews, how I got the job and some extra tips.

London Science Museum

The last exciting change in my life was that my boyfriend moved to London to do his MA in Sports Management. We've been together for a little over two years and we are having an amazing time here.

I love him so much!

I will end this post with a photo of an early Christmas present my boyfriend gave me.. a huge Lush Gift Box!It' s the greatest gift ever and I can't wait to try, review and share all the new products!!

Happy Face

Lush WOW Xmas Gift Box

Thank you for reading!

Hope you have an amazing week!

Lots of love

Nathalia
xxx

Wednesday, 29 May 2013

What's in my JustFab Bag?!

Hey!

After I realised my bag is too heavy I decided to re-organize and clean it. I usually keep the same bag for a week or more, as I know that when I change bags I always end up forgetting something and it is so annoying!

The 'whats in my bag' post is one of the most popular posts in beauty blogging..I love reading them and I am sure many people love it too, but I don't know exactly why, maybe because a handbag is so personal and private...

I hope you enjoy what's in my JustFab bag! : )

What's in my bag

For the last 3 weeks now I have been using my Icon bag from JustFab in green, the size is perfect as I can fit everything I need during the day and at work. Also I love the interior separators which keep everything tidy! So here is what I carry with me during the day..

First of all my basic things like my wallet (Prada), mobile phone (iPhone), sunglasses (RayBan) and my keys. I always carry with me my phone charger, iPhone's battery runs out very quickly (I am addicted and check my Instagram all the time)! I bought this cool Muji mini notepad key ring for my keys and I am in love with it, I am super organised and I am always writing things down so I don't forget anything. I also carry my Swarovski butterfly USB, which has a chain and can be used a a necklace.

Another thing I always carry with me in my day bag is my calendar (Cath Kidston), I think this is the thing I use the most in my life, I write everything down, payments, work notes, events, deadlines..I also have another notepad, a pink Moleskin, which I use only to keep my blog notes and ideas. Other things in my bag are some cute pocket tissues, a furry pen (gift from my friend) and some pink and white M&S which were a gift from JustFab (I like to have snacks in my bag)!

I think it is very important to keep wet tissues and antibacterial lotion in our bags, I always use it after I take the tube or bus. I also carry with me a Botanics rosewater spray from Boots, which is great to refresh your skin.
I must have around 10 different lip balms and lipsticks in my bag and my boyfriend makes fun of me! I put all my makeup products in a small leopard makeup bag I bought from Primark, I have some hair clips, brush, some lipbalms, a small They're Real Benefit mascara, Bourjois Healthy Balance powder with mirror, a Garnier Eye Roll-On, a small size Porefessional Benefit primer, a concealer by PIXI and a Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush. Always ask for sample products, they are great for your makeup bag and can even fit in a clutch!

So what's in your JustFab bag?!

I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!

Lots of Love

Nathalia
xxx

Monday, 20 May 2013

Nails Of The Week! Model's Own Scented Nail Polish!

Hey!

Good Morning!

I hope you had a nice weekend!

I love Mondays..It's the start of a new week!

This week I decided to do a pastel look for my nails. I bought the new Model's Own scented polishes and wanted to dry then like crazy! Not only the colors are super sweet, but they also smell like desserts..strawberry tart, blueberry muffin and banana!

I couldn't decide on the color so I did a mix of purple and blue! I didn't do them on my own, because the polishes are very thick and quite hard for me to paint them nicely..but I guess someone who is more used to it can do it easily. Their brushes are not very thick, I would say a medium size, the smell lasts for about 2 days, but if you use a top coat it does mask the smell.