The Inspiration Post #4

It's time for my 4th inspiration post of the year and this month I've been inspired by lots of new things now that Spring is upon us.

Photo from Burberry Spring/Summer 2015

Photo from Art of the Trench

Burberry Trench Coats / Art of the Trench
I mean, what's not to love?  The trench coat is iconic and so versatile.  It's perfectly British and is perfect for this time of year - a stylish must have for our April showers!  I'd love to own a Burberry trench coat one day, it's a piece of clothing that you would wear forever.

I also love ArtOfTheTrench from Burberry, it's an amazing site where you can upload photos of yourself or view photos of others in their Burberry trench coats from all over the world, I love seeing the ways people style theirs.  It's such a great idea from Burberry to integrate with their customers and  introduce a new social platform for their new and current customer base.  I've always loved Burberry's focus on digital and their approach to real time shows and product purchases at launch.  They keep innovating while making it fun for consumers!

Retro Fun
Although I'm in my mid-twenties, I'm loving some old school fun this month - in particular a Friday night of bowling complete with neon lights, disco tunes and, of course, a strawberry slush puppy!  The air hockey, basketball and 10p machines in the arcade are so much fun!  It was great reminiscing on spending these sorts of nights with friends and reminded me how essential it is to make such great memories with everyone that's important to me.

This month I also celebrated Easter by painting boiled eggs with some fun characters - can you guess who my boyfriend and I were looking to recreate on the eggs above?! This was great fun on a late Sunday afternoon while drinking tea and eating Easter eggs.

I'm definitely going to make an effort to do at least one retro fun activity each month!

Photo from YogaWithAdriene.com

Yoga with Adriene 
Now, I'm by no means a yoga expert or a natural at this, however I've really enjoyed picking up on a new area of fitness and 30 Days of Yoga with Adriene has been great!  I've enjoyed both the strength and fitness and calming aspects of yoga, having a bit of a crazy work month has meant I haven't been spending as much time on myself and taking just 30 minutes each day to practice some new yoga moves has meant I've cleared my mind and let go while focusing on the poses and ideas behind yoga and Adriene makes it so simple and straightforward to follow.

I'm looking forward to completing the 30 days and continuing to spend some time focusing on myself.

Photo from Pinterest

Pastel Nail Shades
I'm so in love with pastel nail shades, I've been sporting peppermint blue nails this week and looking forward to using my Lovie Dovie Essie polish next week.   I love picking out new shades and pairing them with metallic golds and silvers, adding a bit of detail on top of the pastel colours looks amazing!

What have you been inspired by this month?
Have a great weekend everyone!

Classic Spring Nails

Happy Saturday!

The weather has been amazing this week and it has inspired me to start wearing bright coloured nail polish again - this is definitely the time of the year when you change up your lipstick, eyeshadow and nail polish collections!

I decided to opt for the classic mint blue nail, it's such a stand out colour and the go-to colour in Spring.

I start off by filing and buffing my nails while moisturising the cuticles with Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Hand Cream (this stuff is amazing!).  I then apply my Sally Hansen Miracle Cure to strengthen my nails which dries so quickly!

I then apply my Rimmel Pro Lycra nail polish in 600 Peppermint, this is a gorgeous mint green and it's very opaque - one coat and it's good to go.  I also love the brush on the Rimmel Pro Lycra range, it's a large flat brush making it so much easier to apply polish without making a mess.

I then decided to add a bit of detail to my mint blue nails, I added Deborah Lippman Boom Boom Pow to my ring finger on both hands, this is a gorgeous gold glitter polish and the glitter comes in different sizes which really makes the detail stand out compared to other glitter polishes I've tried before.

I then set the nails with my all time favourite Seche Vite top coat - this is amazing.  Gives a gorgeous glossy look to the nails and dries within seconds, this has been a staple in my collection for years!

What colours are you loving on your nails this Spring?

Any new collections I can look out for?

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Palette

Wow.  This is one amazing contouring palette.  I was so excited to open this gift at Christmas as I had always heard so many great things about Charlotte Tilbury and her fabulous make up collection.  

The first thing that made me swoon over the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow was the packaging.  My packaging is starting to look a bit grubby now but...oh my…the packaging is gorgeous.  The Fashion Marketer in me was so excited to unveil each layer which encased the stunning old hollywood style palette.  

The Filmstar Bronze & Glow contouring palette is perfect, it is compact and holds both the sculpt and highlight powders required to create the perfect contour to your face shape, whether that’s sculpting, slimming or highlighting your face.  

The sculpting bronzer is a gorgeous soft brown pigment mixed with pearl to give the skin a lovely sheen and sun-kissed glow.  I apply this to the hollows of my cheeks, then blend up towards my temples and down below my jawline.  This follows the figure of 3 style of contouring but I prefer to start with the hollows of my cheeks to build up colour and blend from there.  While I still have product on the contouring brush (I use my Real Techniques Contouring Brush for this) I also lightly blend a small amount down the sides and bottom of my nose and lightly at the sides of my chin.  

This product blends perfectly because it glides on so smoothly to skin, making it not only a high quality in terms of the colour and pigmentation, but it is so easy to use.  

The highlighter has a beautiful gold base which doesn’t pack in large specks of shimmer (perfect!), again giving a soft light and radiance to the skin.  I apply this to my cheek bone, brow bone, down the centre of my nose and on my cupid’s bow.  

The highlight in the Filmstar Bronze & Glow compliments the sculpting bronzer well and really is the perfect finishing touch to your make up routine giving you a gorgeous healthy glow.  

The only downside is this palette only comes in one shade, it would suit light to medium skin tones more to really see the effects of the product.  

If you are looking for a simple contour kit which is natural looking but can be built up easily - this is for you!  

Have you tried the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Palette?  What do you think of the product?

Happy Easter: Creme Egg Brownie Recipe

Happy Easter weekend blogging bunnies! I hope you all have a great few days whatever you get up to.  

If you're thinking of baking this weekend, I thought I'd share this Creme Egg brownie recipe I found online, I use it to make these yummy, gooey chocolatey treats!

Here's what you'll need for your brownie recipe:

• 150 grams unsalted butter cut into small cubes
• 200 grams chopped dark chocolate 
• 250 grams golden caster sugar
• 100 grams plain flour 
• A few drops of vanilla extract
• 3 medium eggs
• 4 Cadbury Creme Eggs (cut in halves)

Creme Egg Brownie Recipe:

Preheat your oven to 180c, then grease and line your baking tray with grease proof paper.  

Boil the kettle and put the boiling water into a pan, break your chocolate into squares and put in a heat proof bowl.  Then put the bowl over your pan of boiling water and melt the chocolate (make sure the water isn't touching the bowl).  Gradually add the cubes of butter to the melted chocolate and continue to stir.  

When this has melted in together bring your bowl to the side and add in the golden caster sugar and vanilla extract.  

Beat your eggs in a separate bowl, add them to the mixture and stir in to create a smooth mix for your brownies.  Start to add in the plain flour to the mixture and again stir until mixed in and smooth.

Pop your mixture into your lined baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes.  I'd say this depends on how deep your mixture is, I used a smaller tin which meant the mixture needed longer in the oven, if your mixture is relatively flat then go with the 15 minutes here.  

Remove your brownie from the oven and push in the Creme Egg halves, put the mixture back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until the mixture sets but is still a little gooey and sticky.  

Again the timings may vary for you, the recipe I followed suggested 25 minutes baking time in total, however I'd say my total baking time was 40 minutes and they were still set yet nice and gooey in the middle.  

Leave mixture to cool and then ENJOY! 

Are you thinking of baking anything this weekend?
Let me know if you decide to bake some Creme Egg brownies!