What's in May's Glossy Box?

Wow I haven't really posted in awhile, sorry! (Edit: Just realised it's only been like three days! Ha! Feels much longer!) I know I've left longer gaps before but I'm trying to blog consistently now and I've been busy working (late closes this week) or enjoying the Sun! While it lasted anyway, its back to being cloudy Swansea now :(. So! I thought it was about time to review May's Glossy Box! While it was still May, and today is the last day to do it! I actually took these photos when I got my box, but waited till I tried everything first. So here we go!

Since Glossy Box were celebrating their first birthday, they included a few extra things with the box, in it's normal box (pale pink) but decorated the paper with make up and cupcakes, which is cute. They've also been doing competitions on their facebook page every day, which I didn't really take advantage of, oh well. 

This is what the inside of the box looked, I didn't include the info card that always comes with it though. I was really excited when I saw what was inside, they'd given me eight! (or nine even) items instead of five!

They'd given me two perfume samples, two face masks, a mirror, balloon, false eyelashes, hair oil and body wash! All in one box, I love birthday boxes! <3 I think its safe to say I loved this box more than Aprils!

Lolita Lempricka, Eau de Parfum & Si Lolita - The Eau de Parfume was a fresh floral scent while the Si Lolita was more spicy. I liked both of them, and loved the packaging, it was cute, but I think I'll be asking for the Eau de Parfum for Christmas!

Osmo, Berber Oil Hair Treatment - I tried this on both wet and dry hair and have liked both results. It comes in a thick tinted red oil, and you barely need anything for your hair. I made the mistake of putting to much in but you only need a little. It makes your hair feel soft, and it doesn't look greasy or wet or anything like you think it would. When I put it on dry hair it also helped smooth it down and it had a lovely scent to it. 

Nobel Isle, Summer Rising Bath & Shower Gel - This reminded me of previous bath products, like the Molton Brown shower gel from March's Harrods Box with the quality and the packaging. It was thick and luxurious, and really did smell like Summer!

Apivta, Express Beauty Masks - Hmm not so sure on these. I'm not sure if I did it correctly, but it was interesting. I had it in Honey and the mask was thick and creamy. I put it on my face and it didn't really do anything except maybe heat up (but I had just come out of a shower on a warm day, so might have just been me!) It just stayed a sticky mess on my face, and didn't really feel like a face mask to me. But it did make my skin feel nice afterwards.

Eldora, False Eyelashes - These are the only things I haven't tried yet, as I am rubbish with false eyelashes. I have about three pairs but I've never worn them out! They look really nice though, I know they come in different styles and I had thick lashes with black diamante's on the lash line, but they're subtle. It does come with glue, and I am going to try these on Saturday which is my boyfriends birthday/Uni Society awards event, so fingers crossed they'll stay on! 

And as I mentioned above I had a Balloon which I blew up sometime after these photos and a mirror which now lives in my bag! Oh and before I forget, they also give us a free Parisian shopper bag if you buy any Lolita Lempicka purchase of 50ml+ while stocks last if you pop into House or Fraser online or in store. I don't have any money to buy perfume atm so I'll have to give that one a miss sadly. Though I really am tempted since the bag looks lovely. 

Instagrammed

Here's another 'Week in Instagram' type posts, but it's a bit longer than a week so I just titled it 'Instagrammed' today. I was going to do a 31 day challenge catch up but I'll do that tomorrow as its half one now (but I'll change the time manually tomorrow so this is still Sunday) and I should be sleeping. 

Top L-R: Glittery Nails, A view of Mumbles, Eddies Rocket for a catch up and malt shakes, Watching my boyfriend in 'Scary Play'

Roller Skating on the Promenade, Brooches from a Vintage Fair, I did a 'What's in my bag?' post, Finally read Magic Knight Rayearth (yes, I'm an anime/manga geek ^_^)

May's Glossy Box <3, Purple Dye and water, I'm in a Hammock!, A cute puppy who was still for once and not biting!

I saw an Olympic Torch bearer when I left work early, I watched Eurovision - they were last years winners, Had a BBQ, and spent some time in a giant paddling pool.

So that was roughly my week in pictures, but add in some work and sunburn, fun! Oh I also spent a lot of time in my garden but forgot to add those pictures too. I finally went roller skating which was so much fun, but it was a boiling day and I went to my first Vintage Clothes Fair. I also did a 'What's in my Bag?' post. 

I've spent the weekend down my boyfriends family's, they have a huge garden, paddling pool, hammock, BBQ, rabbits, a puppy and a cute two year old, it was a blast! 

I had the shortest shift ever in work on Saturday since I felt ill, and as I left I saw an Olympic torch bearer waiting to have her torch lighted. It was funny, everyone kept giving her their kids to take photos with and she said "If I had know it'd be like this, I would have done my hair!" bless, but she was very nice and smiley, I just didn't get a good shot! I didn't stick around to watch it though as I was dying and just wanted to curl up somewhere. I then watched the Eurovision, poor Hump, he deserved better! I liked Sweden, who won, but also liked Germany who came somewhere in the middle, and also Denmark who did just a little bit better than us, so near the end, and was kinda shocked, what's going on? They both should have done better. I think next year I want to go or host a Eurovision party, it'll be fun! Who did you like in the Eurovision? And I hope you all had lovely weekends :)

Summer Stroll

Summer Stroll by lisamello featuring shopper handbags

       

Lately I've been looking at a lot of lacy white dresses since its so hot right now, and they would be perfect for walking around on a hot sunny day. The dress and hat would keep you cool, whilst also catching a tan, and the accessories are simple, floral sunglasses and a bag to keep everything you'd need, and a coral belt and sandals to tie in the look. And then the gold bangles just always remind me of summer from when I was younger, I used to wear them all the time. I am going to be on the hunt for the perfect white dress over the weekend between working and hopefully I'll find it before the lovely weather disappears again!




Edit: I've only just noticed the sunglasses and belt messy edit, oops sorry! It's only my second time at using polyvore, pretend you didn't see it :P

Vintage clothes shopping

Firstly I'd like to say sorry for the quality of these photos, but the lighting wasn't that great and it was hard to look through the clothes let alone take pictures as there were so many people! So I tried to 'embrace' the feel to it with these photos when I edited them. I went to my first ever Vintage Clothes Fair on Sunday and I was quite excited since I'd missed the last one held in Swansea (that I knew off). I saw it being advertised on Facebook when a few of my friends joined the group, so keep a look out on Facebook for fairs like this in your area! I don't really have a lot of money at the moment so I was only going to buy things I loved and that fit me. In the end I bought two pairs of denim shorts, and seriously debated over buying a rucksack and some shoes. However I have enough bags, and didn't love it, it was just the best there and I'm still 50/50 about buying previously owned shoes. I'm sure they're clean and all, and they're so pretty but still I'm not sure. 

There were loads of rails but in this one I found one pair of shorts, and I dress which was super pretty but a size too small and it puffed out weirdly by my stomach so that was a no no. There were a few dresses I liked, but were out of my price range, since I was on a budget. Not necessarily the best idea when you go to one of these places. 

Look at all these pretties! Lots and lots of brooches and earrings which were really fun to look through, but again I didn't see anything that I loved, a few that I liked but I don't wear brooches that often. I'm trying to more, and wear my Mocking Jay pin a lot but maybe next time I'll see something I love. 

Now these weren't the shoes I was talking about above (they were actually lace up boots, so cute!) but I liked the different colours and the gems on the bottom left one. One day I'd love to dress head to toe in Vintage with a pretty dress and shoes like above to match :) 

So sorry again for the quality of the photos but that's what I did on the weekend, I dragged my poor boyfriend with me bless him, but we had spent the earlier part of the day roller skating or cycling in his case so it was a fun day all around (for me anyway!). While I didn't go away with much, there were lots of nice dresses, jackets, shoes, bags and jewellery, the shop owners were lovely and I'm hoping next time it's on I'll have more money! Have you been to any Vintage Fairs recently? Did you find anything amazing?

What's in my bag?

Well, I think its about time I did another 'What's in my bag?' post! Ella and Jess have just done some recently which gave me the urge to do one again. I last did them in January and October so there's a good few months between each one. In the October one I also included a picture from a 2008 'What's in my bag' which is fun to see how things change. Anywho I've been using this peachy/coral primark rucksack for the past few weeks and have been meaning to do a post like this for a bit anyway. I did take some pictures in Instagram and really wanted to use them, but I'm trying not to have constant Instagram pictures on here, despite my love for the app! If you do or have done a 'What's in my bag?' post, let me know in the comments, since I do love having a look (I'm very nosey!).

So as I mentioned above the bag is from Primark, they have a few different colours but I spotted the cream version afterwards and was a bit gutted, I really want it but can't justify having two of them!

On the first step I have a few magazines to read in work or down the boys. I bought Mollie Makes for the first time which came with a Wedding guide, both are beautiful and I want to subscribe! I also have a Glamour magazine which has been in my bag for weeks now.

I also have my new paperchase notebook which I've been drawing and writing in today, Impulse spray (99p in Tesco atm!) and some dry shampoo. These are usually left in my bag for work, I tend to leave most things in it and take out a few things, i.e my work badge this time. I have an old mint humbug sweet, I can go through a pack of them really quickly so I'm surprised that's still there, and a nutri grain bar in case I get the munchies.

Next to my bag are anti bacterial hand gel, an array of lipbalms (H&M, Figs & Rouge and Nivea) and my new favourite hand cream, Burt's Bees, Beeswax and Banana. It smells divine! Like I can't get enough of it and want to live in that pot forever and ever!

On the second step, I have my tan purse from Accessorize, my polka dot sunglasses from H&M, my car keys, pink hair brush, a kirby grip, two pens and an Owl umbrella from Primark. I also have two make up powders as my Benefit one is running out, so I'm mixing that and a Tesco one together until I get paid and can buy another Benefit one. Hello Flawless is the best powder make up I've ever used and I get really sad when it runs out, darn you costing over £20! But I don't mind paying that so much now, since I did used to drop it ALL the time after a week of getting a new one, so £20 is a bit steep for one week of usage. 

So I hope you enjoyed reading that, and don't forget if you've done one let me know in the comments and I'll check it out. Also hello and thanks for following me to my new followers, it makes me happy ^_^ I'm still undecided to whether I should do a 50 follower giveaway or a blogoversary giveaway in July. I was going to do whichever came first, and the blogoversary is in July, so that will probably come first at this rate! lol.

Pretty colours catch up

It's time for another 31 day fashion challenge catch up, where I'm doing day 14-20 which is seven days, but I've included an extra picture above of the nail varnishes. I didn't realise that all of the colours went together so well until now, I like it and think its pretty. I'm doing this on Instagram, and my usernames Lisamello.

001 - Item hardest to hunt down/buy - Now this was from New Look and I didn't get in when I originally saw it, and then when I went back to get it a few weeks later they were all sold out/changing the stock, I checked another shop and they didn't have it either. Then when I was visiting my boyfriends grandmother in a different town, we went shopping and I popped into New Look and this was in the sale, yay! I love wearing it with jeans for casual or dressy days. 

002 & 003 -  My nail varnish collection - Um... this is only half of it, or even less actually. I keep my most recent nail varnishes in an old glossy box but I'm actually missing about ten polishes, I have no clue where they are, and there's a few glitter ones, and Models Own which should be there too. I need to hunt them down. I laid them all out since it's fun to look through them all, and my favourites are the peachy or turquoise ones. 

004 - Customised item -  Now this isn't a properly customised item, yet! Well its half done, or a third done rather. This halter red polka dot dress was given to me by a friend and the halter neck of it looked horrible, so I've already cut half of that away, and plan on changing it to two straps. It's also quite long with ruffles on the bottom so I'll be cutting that off too and hemming. I can't wait to wear this in the Summer.

005 - Something you wear when sunny - Would be my sunglasses! I tend to think sunglasses don't suit my shape of face, so it's hard for me to find a pair I love. I bought these polka dot ones from H&M two summers ago I think and they were like £3 and have lasted me well. I'll be very sad if these break or get lost :(

006 - Brightest lipstick - I don't own many lipsticks and actually couldn't find my brightest shade (which is red) but this is a close second. A shimmery pink MUA lipstick given to me in my blog swap. It's so pretty!

007 - Clothing/Jewellery that makes me feel great - I found this one to be hard as I don't want to repeat the same items in this challenge, so I went for my Katniss Pin since I LOVE it and I feel really happy when wearing it, yes I'm a geek!

008 - Shoes I love but hardly wear - I have a few shoes that I could have picked but I went for these pale brown (the Instagram filtre changed the colour oops) buckle brogues. I have no clue what they're called, sorry. They are much more delicate than my other brogues so I like wearing these with dresses and tights. However, I hardly wear them since the back hurts my heels if I wear them too long, sad times. 

That's it from me, I'm now off to bed whilst watching some Deathly Hallows and I have a live fire evacuation in work tomorrow morning, with real people! It should be er...fun?

Summer Look Doodle

This is a little drawing I did of one of the looks I want to have for summer, long red hair and a farm child type of look. I'm not going to dye my hair till I cut it, so I probably won't have long red hair this summer, and I would love to get some dungarees (I used to wear them all summer long when I was younger) and walk around barefooted. I don't like wearing socks so the warmer the weather, the better for my poor feet really as I walk around the house barefooted. I'd never do that out though, unless it was the beach or something but I used to work with a guy who never wore shoes unless he was working which is commitment! I couldn't do that lol. Anyway this is a scheduled short post since I'm busy all weekend, but I want to keep on posting regularly otherwise I tend to leave it for awhile!

23 before 23

I am finally getting round to posting about 23 things I'd like to do before i'm 23! I mentioned in this post a list of upcoming blog posts, and three weeks later I've finally written them all! But I had written other posts in between, so that's why it took me a bit longer. 

I turned 22 at the end of April and have made a list of things I'd like to do within the next year, and I've seen a few of these lists around for the past year or so. I like the age you'll be turning as the amount of things to do, and thought I'd do one too! As if I haven't made enough lists as it is already. But I'm going to take some of my goals from my day zero list and include them here too. Anyway onto the list of things I'd like to achieve this year! Some of them have to wait till certain things are done like dying my hair after I donate it, or get a tattoo after donating blood etc and some I have done already but I did them after my birthday so it still counts, like seeing a Musical, Blood Brothers. I know what I'm like with changing my mind over things and not wanting to do them anymore so I can swap some of these goals up until March 23rd so in the last month I have to cross them all off, rather than changing them to something easier. Most of these might seem a bit boring but they're things I've been meaning to do for awhile but just haven't got round to do them yet.

Before I'm 23 I would like to...

Get a new job (preferably in a school)

Volunteer (in a school or forest school)

Loose a stone

Donate my hair

Ombre my hair

Dye my hair blonde

Dye my hair red

Open an etsy shop

Host a giveaway on my blog (50 followers or blogiversary which would be July) 

Huge clean out of my room

Sell unwanted clothes on ebay

Sew/alter a dress

Go on Holiday

See a Musical   (12/05/12)

Donate blood

Get a tattoo

Go on a road trip

Get a DSLR camera

Develop a film camera (I have a Holga I haven't played with yet)

Send a secret to Postsecret

Go camping

Fill my photo album up

Create a family history photo album/scrap book

As I complete them I'll cross them off and put the date they've been done next to them.

I'm actually in the process of making things for a future shop, I'm just waiting for most of the things to arrive before I can start and want to build up some stock before I open, the only problem is I can't think of a good shop name! I'm not sure I want to go with lisamello for a shop name, so if anyone has any suggestions, please help me! I'll be selling summery things, including clothes, bracelets and headbands and more in the future so I want a general name that anything can fit, thanks!

The London Haul

I have very imaginative headings I know, I know (sarcasm) and I use Instagram a lot (I'd say sorry, but I LOVE it, usernames lisamello) and this will only be a short post. I'm trying to get into the habit of blogging more so there may be more shorter posts. So this is a 'What I bought in London' post. I didn't have that much money to spend, and used vouchers and bought presents for others, and only went to shops that Swansea doesn't have (like Paperchase! *sob* we used to...). Where was I? Oh yes the London Haul.

I went to Paperchase and bought a cute owl tin, since I loved my birthday wrapping paper so much and I love owls, they're so cute. I also bought some paper tape in pink, red, and turquoise with cute faces on it so my collection is growing. I always buy postcards when I'm there, and bought a thank you one since I liked the design, and a cute  elephant one that I'm going to frame and give to my friend in her baby shower (along with other presents, and also, I'm organising it! Eeek). I bought a bunny rabbit pen from there, because I've actually been doodling little bunnys in outfits for a long time, and then I went to Paperchase and they were SO similiar I was heartbroken. They were going to be a shop idea, oh well, but I bought the pen as a reference if I do want to draw bunnys to make them not look like those ones! Not pictred was a notebook as I always buy one from there too but they didn't have the one I usually get, boo. 

I went to the Moomin shop too and wanted to buy everything there, but again, I'm poor so I only bought a cookie cutter since I actually bake and will use it. In Covent Garden there's a shop called Sass and Belle (I think) that I always go to which is filled with cute things. I bought the two polka dot buckets, one to keep and the blue one for the baby shower but I'm not sure what to do with it. I also went to the David and Goliath shop to add to my collection of t-shirts and spent a birthday voucher there, getting those two cute t-shirts above. I already have a Pug one (You're so Pugly) but another one won't hurt right? And the other one, well I am a 'Dork' and play videogames and I'm wearing it right now!

So just a little short post of nothing too exciting, one day I'll win the lottery and have loads of money to shop! But I should probably buy a ticket first :P

P.S In other actual exciting relating to London news, my boyfriend has got the job! In September he'll be teaching in Portugal which is very exciting! I love Portugal, I went there two years ago, and I'll either be living there or visiting lots depending on my job situation!

I am a Cosmetic Warrior!

Or something.... So I've been meaning to blog about this for the past month, and I actually took these photos about two weeks ago, but at least I'm finally doing it, if you're interested. 'Doing what' you may ask, well reviewing a lush face mask of course! (Yeah maybe I shouldn't blog late at night, even though I usually do, and then change the time the next day to make it the right day, or at least before midnight! Anyway where was I?) My skin is a little bit crazy right now, or a lot crazy, which annoys me so much as I thought I was finally getting past all those teenage skin problems, but no, nature wasn't letting me off that easy. It's gotten to the point that I hate leaving the house on a bad skin day since even with make up on as my skin doesn't look right. I know everyone tells you its not that bad etc, but if you suffer from bad skin you know that people saying that doesn't help any. So this is where the Cosmetic Warrior comes in!

I popped into Lush to get some birthday presents awhile ago and they handed me a newspaper with all their products in and I eventually browsed through it a few weeks later and came across their face masks. The Cosmetic Warrior is specifically made for bad skin as it 'combats spots and soothes troubled skins' (sorry for the mega blurry photo above). It contains garlic, tea tree, kaolin and honey and we all know tea tree oil is good for the skin so I though why not. It didn't even cost that much at £5.75 for a decent sized pot. I've already used half of it up and tend to use it every two or three days but did use it every day for the first week. So if you think about it, cheap face masks in pouches are £1 and you use them once, and I've used this well over ten times already which is good value for money. 

That's what it looks like inside, its a thick paste that reminds me of wet clay, with chunks of I don't know what in, and doesn't look that appealing on (hence no photo!) but it does the job. Some say it smells foul, but I don't mind it, its a bit unusual and garlicky so if you hate garlic don't go for it! You keep it in the fridge and then apply a generous amount onto your clean skin and leave for 10-15 minutes. It goes all crumbly afterwards and I find it easier to brush the crumbs off first then wash it off, but I think I'm a bit weird like that? I don't know. It definitely made my skin smoother so I like to put it on in the morning or during the day rather than in the night, as it helps when I'm applying my makeup. It also makes my skin feel incredibly soft and reduces the redness of my skin and tightens up my face, which does a lot I reckon compared to other face masks I've used in the past. When I eventually run out of it I think I might try other face masks just to test them out, but I'll be buying this again in the future (or hopefully not if my skin clears up but it'd be good for bad days). And you know what else is pretty awesome? If you take back five clean and empty tubs (or tubes), you get a free face mask! I was given a lot of Lush products for my birthday so I have a few more tubs and only need to buy a few more and then I get a free face mask! I like things like that, so well done Lush!

London, Instagrammed

I went to London on the weekend as my boyfriend had an interview there (for a job abroad) and we thought we may as well make a trip of it! Sadly we only had one day there because of work for him, boo but it was still fun! :) Since we only had one day we didn't want to cram everything in and be rushing around everywhere and we went sight seeing and to museums last time, and I went to Platform 9 and 3/4s last Summer with my friends so it was just going to be a more relaxed affair this time. 

The first photo is of my reflection on the train, that had broken down. It was something to do with the pipes and lasted about 20-30 minutes. We weren't too annoyed and played some paper games and we got to London about midnight. We grabbed some food and then went on the underground from Paddington to Tower Hill where the train stopped for over 5 minutes, we were just having train problems all weekend. I was just glad it wasn't packed and we eventually got into our hotel room after 1am! We'd been travelling since 7:30 so were really glad to get to bed, it looked lovely and cosy. I wish I snapped a picture of the Tower Bride and London Tower all lit up in the night  as we went past them (they were about 3 minutes away from the Hotel) but I never did as both nights we were there we were tired and had to wake up early. 

The next day my boyfriend woke up really early to go to his interview and woke me up by being loud, and I couldn't get back to sleep but couldn't go anywhere till he came back (I had no clue where he was going!). I just tidied the room and watched some TV and saw that we were directly opposite a train station meaning people could see me! So glad I hadn't got changed yet lol, and the cleaners knocked on the door about five times while I was waiting, and when we left I guess they'd given up since we came back to the room the same state we'd left it in, oops. When my boyfriend came back we then headed to Leicester Square to get some cheap musical show tickets (Blood Brothers) and food and headed over to Covent Garden. I always have to go there, its amazing I love the shops and atmosphere so much! Also my boyfriend got me a David and Goliath voucher for my birthday so I had to go there really. We also popped into the Moomin shop and I bought a cookie cutter, can't wait to use it! I never really watched TV as a child, until I was about ten so I don't really remember shows but I remember the Mommins, and wanted to buy everything in that shop but I hardly spent anything whilst in London except on food and tickets, I need to save sadly. We went to a few other shops and on the way to Forbidden Planet we came across Bob the Busking Street Cat! My boyfriend pointed him out to me and then regretted it as I had to take a picture, I would have taken more pictures of the trip but he would be like "Taking another picture?".

Anyway we then headed back to the TravelLodge and I really liked the spiral staircase and the weather! It was SO sunny, I can't believe it. We then got ready and headed over to the Phoenix Hotel to watch The Blood Brothers. I've never seen it or read it, but heard it was very good. I didn't know much about it, but other shows we wanted to see had limited viewing or were over the budget we set ourselves or one of us had seen it so we thought 'why not?' and I'm glad we did. When we got there they upgraded our seats from the top circle to the stalls, and we had a really good view. Even though you know what will happen from the start, it still shocked and saddened me at the end, and most of the audience jumped, including me!  Some of the songs are still playing in my head, and I thought the cast was amazing since they were a small cast and brought on all their props. Afterwards we headed back onto the tube, which was packed! I felt like a sardine but luckily no problems that night and we sat in the bar for a while sharing a pizza, nom nom!

The next day we woke up early again, which was so painful, I am definitely not a morning person! The two bottom middle photos are the wrong way around as we went to Paddington train station first (I love the roof of it), but we were late for our train. We waited ten mintues for the line we needed to get there and plenty of the other lines came and we missed our train and had to wait around an hour and a half for the next one. We chanced it on the next one and luckily they didn't make us buy another ticket since we'd missed the first one, phew! Again it was another sunny day and I spent most of the trip asleep since we'd barely had any sleep for the past few nights and took a photo of my owl hand cream and included it since I liked how it turned out. 

So that was my weekend, and I meant to keep it brief and about the photos but explained a little bit more, oh well. It was a fun weekend and I hope everyone enjoyed theirs too! 

Yummy vanilla Cupcakes Recipe

I made these cupcakes for my brothers 18th birthday party, and they were my favourite out of the ones I've been making from my little recipe book. Maybe that's because I'm getting better, or because I'm paying more attention to things, like leaving the butter out to soften, adding eggs in one at a time and actually sieving the flour! Okay so I do those things sometimes, but not always and while they do taste nice, the taste better when done properly, who would have thought eh? They were sweet, springy and were inhaled by all the party guests! Here's how to make them with a few modifications from me and it takes about half an hour for prep and cooking. It says it makes 18 but I filled a baking tray with 12 cupcakes, but they were bigger than what they were meant to be I guess.

Ingredients

140 g/5 oz  softened butter

140 g/5 oz caster sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

200 g/7 oz self-raising flour

Topping

(note, this makes a LOT of icing cream so you can half it if you want)

225 g/8 oz softened butter

1 tbsp cream or milk

350 g/12 oz caster sugar

Cake decorations of your choice (I used blue crystals that look purple)

Method

001 - Line the muffin pans with the paper cases and turn on the oven to 190 degrees/375 F/Gas mark 5 to preheat the oven.

002 - Place the butter and the sugar in a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy, then beat in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the eggs one by one, then sift in the flour and fold into the mixture. I put half of the flour in, then folded it in, then did the other half. Then spoon the batter into the paper cases. (The batter wasn't runny for me like with other mixtures, but more of a gloopy paste).

003 - Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch. (Mine took about 15-18 minutes but my ovens a bit weird, I kept checking on them though from 12 minutes onwards). Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely or just take them out of the muffin pan and let them cool on your countertops like I did.

004 - While they're cooling you can then make the topping. Place the butter and milk in a bowl and beat together. Gradually sift in the sugar and beat until smooth. It should be thick and taste sweet. If its too buttery add in more sugar, I did but I'm not sure how much more I added, I just kept adding a bit and tasted it till it was how I wanted. 

005 - You can use a pastry bag with a nozzle to pipe the cream on top of the cupcakes when they're cooled, or just spread it on using a knife/spoon like I did. Then add your decorations of choice. I placed my cupcakes in a tin I was keeping them in till later on and sprinkled the blue crystals carefully over the tops and voila! They were done.

I hoped you liked that and the cupcakes if you decide to make them, they were gorgeous! I also made chocolate versions where I added in one spoon full of cocoa (so then you take away one spoon full of flour) and 25 grams of melted chocolate to the batter, then used ready made chocolate icing for the topping and white chocolate sprinkles to add. I can make chocolate topping but its annoys me as it never gets how I want it, and it's a bit easier when you're preparing for a party!

31 day challenge catch up!

I've been a bit busy and haven't had a chance to do the 31 day fashion challenge for the past week, but I said from the start I would be doing it using Instagram and probably doing a few days at a time so here are the last seven days challenges. I found some of these hard to photograph so they're not the best pictures and I may as well do a grid since its a catch up after all. 

007 A special occasion outfit - This is a three quarter length black chiffon dress. I feel all grown up wearing it, and have worn it at my friends engagement party, and will be wearing it to my boyfriends uni society awards do. The dress is from Matalan.

008 Something you forget you have but love - This Kimono style dress is from Dorothy Perkins and I love it! I love the colours and how silky it feels. However I don't wear it a lot since I think people will remember it more and think I always wear it? Eh I don't know, but I put it in my wardrobe and forget I have it. 

009 The item at the top of your wishlist - I really really want a pair of creepers! I want them in black suede please and can't wait to wear them with pretty dresses. I might buy them if I have enough money at the end of the month!

010 Cute tights - They're sparkly, what more can I say? 

011 Your spring essential - Headbands in general but I can't wait to wear this feather headband or the flowers with wavy hair. My hair is really long atm and I'm going to chop it off and donate to charity soon so I want to make the most of my hair over the summer and actually style it!

012 The outfit you've had the best times in - This one was hard to pick, um, this is my go to black dress. I know everyone and their mother has it (hmm that might be a challenge later on this would have worked for, oh well) but I love lace. I waited awhile after the trend for this died down and got it from Tesco. I've worn it for lots of nights out, too many to count. 

013 Your lazy day at home with style (In front of your housemates/bf/visitors) outfit - This one was also hard to pick as people don't often come over my house, I usally go out or over my boyfriends. My lazy outfits when its cold are usually whatever I find that's warm with my monkey onesie on top, but if people came round I would never wear that in front of them lol (well except for the family and bf). I think this jumper is cute, who doesn't love bunnies with moustaches? It's from River Island and super comfy, the inside of it is so soft, and then I'd wear it with black jeggings or green jeans.

So there you go that's been my week in challenges. Also this week my baby brother turned 18 even though I told him he wasn't allowed to grow up (how rude!) so I was preparing for a party for him and working, and I also went to London over the weekend! 

Aprils Natural Beauty Box

Okay so lets pretend its not the middle of May and I was doing this in April yes? But it did come at the end of the month so its not like I've left it weeks and weeks and... oh wait I sort of did but never mind. There's loads of these reviews anyways, but I still like posting them :) Aprils came a few days after my birthday so I liked opening things all week, including presents and my blog swap package :D This month we had another limited edition type box, and the theme this time was for everything to be Natural. I liked the idea, and the box came in a plain brown box instead of the usual black with pink, and to be honest I think they could stick with the brown box rather than printing if they really want to make a difference. Then the glossy box itself was a biodegradable one but still cute. It's not pink like in my above picture (Instagram filter) but a creamy beige colour and it reminds me of wedding stationary type of things, do you know what I mean?

Inside came a Figs and Rouge lipbalm in Rambling Rose. Figs and Rouge are everywhere at the moment, and I can see why! I didn't particularly like the smell (Rose isn't my favourite scents) but I love the consistency and texture. It's so soft and a bit rough but smooth at the same time. I know that doesn't make sense but it feels lovely and I'm scared it'll all be gone soon the amount I use lipbalm. Plus, its multipurpose to meaning you can use it on dry skin, cuticals etc and I love multipurpose things!

I also had a small Kai perfume oil sample. You dab onto your pulse points instead of spraying and again not a huge fan of the scent but its not that strong. It reminds me of something my nana wears so I feel a bit like a granny wearing it tbh. 

The Caudalie Thirst Quenching Serum was okay but I've not used it enough to see if it works. I am going to try it every day to see if I see any improvements on my dry skin. Its easy to use, but the consistency is a bit runny, doesn't aggravate or sting my skin and unlike the other two products I don't mind the scent! There is a faint scent but I can't really pick it up.

I had Body wash by Ayuuri in Coconut. I love the smell of coconut so loved this one! However I had like a MILLION bath and body products for my birthday and still have some left over from Christmas so haven't got round to using it yet, but it smells nice so I can't wait. 

And last but not least I got the Inika Cosmetics eyeliner in purple. Its a really nice colour and very good staying quality for a natural product, I don't know why but I expected it to not be that great. I've started branching out into wearing different eye coloured make up so its a bit fun since my other eyeliners are black, brown and teal. 

Overall its not been the best box but still some lovely things. As I always say to people even if you only love one or two things it's still worth it. If you're interested in getting a Glossy Box it's £10 a month not including delivery which is just under £3 I think. It's fun to get every month and is a present from me to me!

Foxes & Sparkles

Just a quick post, as I've not been feeling well all day. I've got a horrible headache just looking at the screen but I won't have a chance to do this tomorrow so now will have to do. I seem to work on every bank holiday Monday and I'm not looking forward to the early start. Anyways for the 5th day of this challenge it was 'Your best bargain'. I'm sure I've had better bargains, in fact I probably have, but I can't think of any so I went for the most recent even though it wasn't that much of a bargain. I bought this little guy for like £6 offa ebay rather than pay about £20 instead, I've wanted a Mr Fox Satchel for a few weeks now. I love him to bits, but I need to sort out his ears, they're rather floppy. 

For day 6 it was 'Something out of your comfort zone but you love it' and I picked my high heeled sparkly red Dorothy shoes, but I mean high heels in general. I do own a fair few but I'm not the best walker in them, but they're always so pretty and I always want to buy more! I don't really wear heels that much anymore since my boyfriends the same height as me, its weird being taller than him on a night out, and then if I wear flats my feet don't ache as much! So its sort of a win.... and now I'm off to bed!

Week in Instagram

I meant to post this sometime last week but today will have to do. This was my week in Instagram for last week. Some of the photos aren't in order because the frames annoyed me and I wanted it to look prettier.

// Pub quiz // Bunny sitting (and baby sitting) // Getting into Pottermore (I'm a Slytherin what?) //

// Package swap I got // Birthday dinner in Cosmo with my boyfriend // Friends leaving do outfit reflection //

// Package swap I sent // Birthday nails matching my dress // Roller skates I've been wearing constantly (around the house, boo weather!) //

Of shoes and prints

So I'm still doing the 31 day challenge and I decided to do two days clumped together again, mainly since I don't have that much time to do the other posts I want to do, and  then do the weekly round up with this like I had planned. This is easier. Work is busy, I'm working in the nights, and I finish late, by the time I get home its very late, then I need food and to get ready and wind down so I wake up late the next day and then have to go to work. It's a horrible circle! Last night I finished at 1:30 am and was driving some people home and the police actually pulled me over! I was terrified! But, they were just bored, and said there was hardly anyone on the roads and asking us why we were out so late and had a little chat with us, but they were basically saying we were out past our bedtime, might have even used that phrase! After that it looked like a police van was following us but they turned off and I drove past a hidden police car looking for people speeding, which I wasn't. Anyway, it was funny afterwards but I was seriously thinking 'what the hell is wrong with my car now?!' it likes to torment me, but luckily not this time!

So back to the challenge, it was 'Something you're wearing for the first time' which was hard to pick as I love wearing new things straight away or I save them for a special occasion which I can't just wear daily. I bought these shoes from H&M, as I needed new summer shoes. They're £10 but I got them for £5 with a voucher and they are SO comfy! The weather was lovely, then rainy again so I haven't worn them properly out yet since they're white, but I wore them all day yesterday (before work) mainly around the house. I love them and want to wear them in the sunshine now though. 

For the fourth day of this challenge, which is today, it was 'Your favourite print'. Now I have a lot of favourite prints, mainly animal prints but I couldn't pick from all them, so I decided to pick my favourite non animal print which is the top above. It's from Matalan, and I know its not a great picture of the top but I wanted the details. It reminds me a bit of the 70's and I love the colours. I wear it loads, out for meals, parties, or just wandering round the shops. It's silky and quite loose with long sleeves and it has buttons all down the back which I just love! I'm trying to use the same filters on Instagram for this challenge (Earlybird) but the colours are actually more vivid than this. Anyway I'm off to go get ready for work, but hopefully on Sunday I'll take a look at everyone else who is doing this challenge and catch up on all my other blog reading!

31 day challenge!

I saw this really cool idea for a 31 day challenge on Selina's blog The Flying Saucer. Okay well technically it's a fashion blogger challenge, and I'm not one of those, (I'm not sure what kind of blogger I am but we'll go with personal blogger for the time being yes?), but I still want to do it, or at least attempt. I love things like this but never really follow through.

Anyways my goal is to do as many of them as I can, and it might just be a photo a day on Instagram (username is lisamello) and I'll round them up here maybe every week, rather than post every day since that doesn't seem that likely to be honest. 

So here is the list of challenges.

1st. Your wardrobe
2nd. You have the most...
3rd. Something you're wearing for the first time
4th. Your favourite print
5th. Your best bargain

6th. Something out of your comfort zone but you love it

7th. A special occassion outfit

8th. Something you forget you have but love

9th. The item at the top of your wishlist

10th. Cute tights

11th. Your spring essential

12th. The outfit you've had the best times in

13th. Your lazy day at home with style (in front of your housemates/bf/visitor) outfit

14th. The item that was hardest to hunt down/buy

15th. Nail art/your favourite polish and your nail varnish collection 

16th. A customised item

17th. Something you wear when it's sunny

18th. Your brightest lipstick

19th. An article of clothing/jewellery that instantly makes you feel great

20th. Shoes you love but hardly wear

21st. Something that is your favourite brand

22nd. A piece of clothing or jewelry that was a gift

23rd. Something from your favourite store

24th. The item that brings all the boys to the yard

25th. A totally YOU outfit

26th. What's in your bag

27th. Inspired by your style icon

28th. Something everyone has now

29th. Face of the day

30th. Pretty hair

31st. The thing you're obsessed with at the moment!


I didn't manage to do it yesterday since I was going to do it after work, but then I stayed on till just after midnight and by the time I came home I was too tired so I've done the first two today. The photo at the top is of my wardrobe, which was the first day. It's got drawers on the bottom which are broken and empty, and only fits about a third of my clothes into it. I have an out of date Chinese calender I got for free on one door since its pretty and its easy to find out someones Chinese sign if I so wish. But I should probably change it soon. I also have some china ballerina slippers which you can barely see that I've had since I was about 8, which were given to me by my nana.

Above is a picture of inside my wardrobe, and I've already mentioned it holds about a third of my clothes, maybe even less! I need a bigger wardrobe or less clothes. It's mainly dresses hanging up, and I got that fabric compartment hanger thing from Ikea, it has mainly tops or jumpers in it which I hardly ever wear. At the bottom of the wardrobe I have a tesco bag full of shoes, and its really hard to take a picture of my wardrobe as there's a wall right behind me. I store the rest of my clothes in those mutli draw storage things, my mums wardrobe, suitcases, back of my door, a chair and of course on my floordrobe.  Looking at the above picture I really need to sort my clothes out, since I haven't worn half of those in over a year!

For day two, which is today, it was 'You have the most...' and I decided I have the most tights! This is a full drawer full of tights and I have more in various places too. I hardly wear these tights, I usually stick to black tights or leggings and I can't resist buying pretty tights! I used to keep them all neat but then I don't know what happened, I'm messy!! This is also something that needs to be sorted out. I should have tidied up beforehand but then I might never do this challenge, my bedrooms a crazy tiny room full of stuff!
Anyway I won't be doing this every day but I'll do a few days in one go or weekly roundups, but I will be taking pictures every day on my Instagram. If you feel like doing it too, join in, better late than never :)