prettylittlewriter: 2016

Sunday 18 December 2016

Tanya Burr Cosmetics | prettylittlewriter

The Tanya Burr Cosmetics Instagram page have been running the 12 days of gift giving for the past few weeks to giveaway lots of wonderful prizes from gift vouchers, hair appointments to Tanya's own product range.

I was lucky enough to be one of their winners! I managed to win an ASOS Gift Voucher and Tanya's whole Lipstick range and 3 of her new matte Nail Polishes.

I couldn't believe my luck at winning, and I am so incredibly grateful to Tanya Burr Cosmetics for choosing me for this lovely prize!

I thought I'd share with you the products I have received, and give you a mini review on them :)

The lipsticks all look absolutely incredible! I can see myself using every single one of the different shades, from the vibrant Central Park in the Summer months, to the deep burgundy Big Kiss and vivid Wild Safari in the Autumn/Winter months.

My absolute favourite I have to say is Big Kiss, whether that's just because it's winter and I love a berry shade at this time of year, I'm not sure, I just find the colours absolutely stunning and I am very impressed in the pigmentation of each of them.

The nail polishes I am not quite as excited about, purely because I am so rubbish at painting my nails, I always end up smudging no matter how hard I try not to! However, I am looking forward to trying these gorgeous pastel shades, especially with them being matte effect! I find Matte nails absolutely stunning, they are very classy and sophisticated.

Overall I am incredibly impressed with these new products of Tanya's, and I am so grateful to the Tanya Burr Cosmetics team for supplying me with them.

I cannot wait to try them all out!

If you like what you see and want to purchase these for yourself, pop on over to Superdrug or Feel Unique and why not go check out the Tanya Burr Cosmetics Instagram page whilst your at it? There are still some prizes up for grabs, so if I can win, so can you!

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Tuesday 6 December 2016

Christmas Tree Hunt | prettylittlewriter

One thing I have never been able to do at Christmas is pick my own real Christmas tree. My parents have always had a fake one, which isn't a bad thing, there are some very good things about have a fake tree, including the fact that you can re-use it year on year.

However, this year I am in my own place with my own living room, which means I could finally pick my own tree!

I went to a lovely place called Cotley farm down here in Devon with my niece and her little family. They had lots of animals for my great-nephew to fawn over, including BABY REiNDEERS, and the staff were incredibly helpful when it came to picking my tree.

I literally had no idea what I was doing or how to choose one, so it was great to have someone at hand who knew one or two things about choosing the right tree.

I had the best time spending the day with my family,

and I cannot wait to decorate the tree!

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Friday 2 December 2016

Liz Earle's 'The Winter Icon' | prettylittlewriter

Liz Earle are well known for their incredible Cleanse & Polish, and each year, without fail, they introduce the most amazing Christmas scent as limited edition.

This year they have given us 'Sweet Orange & Clove', which is a deliciously sweet citrus and spice scent.

The scent is soft and subtle, not overpowering, which can sometimes happen with festive fragrances. Fresh and fruity, with just a hint of spice to create the ultimate Christmas scent.

It works just like the original hot cloth cleanser, leaving your skin feeling super soft after removing your make up. The only difference here is that your face is left smelling almost good enough to eat! I worship the Cleanse and Polish, but when they add in a festive fragrance I immediately love it more!

It also comes in this incredibly stunning set with two of their classic muslin cloths, so it would make the perfect gift for any skincare lover.

For £22.75 and free delivery, the 'Winter Icon' is definitely worth the purchase!

What are your thoughts on this year's scent?

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Sunday 13 November 2016

Kylie Cosmetics | Burgundy Palette | prettylittlewriter

Every time Kylie Jenner announces a new product for her brand, Kylie Cosmetics, the world stops and gazes in awe. This announcement was no exception.

When the first Kyshadow was released, the Bronze Palette, there was serious hype about the product and I added it to my wishlist to purchase at some point, however, then she announced, the Burgundy Palette. I mean. Just look at it.

How can you not want this product? The colours are absolutely stunning, and so perfect for the Autumn/Winter months. From warm golden tones, to red hot burgundy and mauves, this palette has everything you need to add some spice to your make up look this season.

Have you managed to get your hands on The Burgundy Palette? What are your thoughts?

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Tuesday 8 November 2016

Charlotte Tilbury Film Noir Nights | prettylittlewriter

With the festive period almost upon us, this is the time of year that many different brands bring out some incredible products just in time for Christmas!

Charlotte Tilbury is one of those brands that I am constantly in awe of. The products are beautifully packaged, and they are always of fabulous quality whatever the item.

My favourite items to purchase from Charlotte Tilbury is always their Matte Lipsticks, they are absolutely incredible! With brilliant staying power and some stunning shades, there is simply nothing not to love!

Film Noir Nights is new and exclusive to Charlotte's official website, it is a gorgeous lip and eye duo; Opium Noir Matte Revolution Lipstick & Rock'N'Kohl Eyeliner in Bedroom Black.

I am so impressed with the packaging for this product, the lovely surprise you get upon opening the box; gorgeous lights encasing a mirror which gives that retro Noir-esque effect.

I also got my hands on the new Matte Revolution Lipstick in The Queen, which is an absolutely stunning pink shade, in homage to her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. A cool undertone gives this shade the ability to look good on any skin tone, which is great for someone like myself with a super pale complexion!

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Sunday 30 October 2016

Spooktacular Halloween Bakes | prettylittlewriter

Baking is something I love dearly, yet I never really get the opportunity to bake things for fun. I'm either super busy at work or I'm just too tired!
So when my favourite time of year comes around, and my work decided to have a Halloween charity fundraiser, I jumped at the chance to get my baking mitts on and create something I've never made before!

Both these recipes were simple ones I found via Google, and but with the cake I added a few ingredients to create a spooky and thrilling effect perfect for Halloween!

Ingredients
125g/4oz butter or margarine, softened

125g/4oz caster sugar
2 medium eggs
125g/4oz self raising flour
Additions;
Green, orange and black food colouring
1 Lime
1 Orange or Orange Extract
125g Cocoa Powder

Ganache;
125g Double Cream
200g Dark Chocolate

The above ingredients aside from the ganache is per sponge cake, as I made five and had one with cocoa powder, one with lime and one with orange.

Method
1. Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Line your 18cm/7in cake tins with baking parchment

3. Cream the butter and the sugar together until pale. Use an electric hand mixer if you have one.

4. Beat in the eggs.

5. Sift over the flour and fold in using a large metal spoon.

6. The mixture should be of a dropping consistency; if it is not, add a little milk. This is where you add your extra ingredients, cocoa powder, lime zest, orange extract etc...until you are happy with how your mixture looks for each cake tin.

7. Divide the mixture between the cake tins and gently spread out with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before turning on to a wire rack to cool.

I found the best method for me was just doing one mixture at a time to allow it to cook and to wash up after each one and reuse the equipment.

Whilst waiting for the cakes to cool, prepare the ganache. This is done by simply melting the 200g of dark chocolate over boiling water on the hob, then mixing with the double cream. I also added some black food colouring to give it more of a Halloween effect.

Then use a little of the ganache to wedge each sponge cake on top of one another so they won't slip.
Applying the ganache to the rest of the cake was a very messy process, I must admit, a lot was probably wasted when it ran down onto the work top. But I was very happy with the overall finish.

For the Brownies;

185g unsalted butter

185g best dark chocolate
85g plain flour
40g cocoa powder
3 large egg
275g golden caster sugar

Method
1.Put the butter into a medium bowl along with the dark chocolate and melt over a saucepan.

2. Whilst waiting for the chocolate to cool, put the flour and cocoa powder into a sieve over a bowl, then, in another bowl, mix the eggs and caster sugar together until creamy and pale. Also, line a baking tin with baking parchment ready for the mixture.

3. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together using a figure of eight.

4. Hold the sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and resift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly. Gently fold in this powder using the same figure of eight action as before.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping every bit out of the bowl with the spatula. Gently ease the mixture into the corners of the tin and put in the oven for 25/30 minutes.

6. I used the extra ganache I had to wedge the Waitrose bought edible Halloween characters on top of the brownies, which I thought completed the spooky look.