August favourites

Another month of 2015 has flown by, which means it is time for another monthly favourites post. Here are a few bits that I have been loving throughout the month of August.

The first Items are two Real Techniques brushes; Expert Face Brush and the Powder brush. I have always been a bit sceptical about how good these brushes are and how much better they can make your skin look. However, I thought I'd give them a try after so many recommendations. I can truthfully say that these brushes are one of my best purchases! I chose the expert face brush over a foundation brush as I have owned a foundation brush in the past and have found them too harsh on my skin, which this brush definitely is not. Using these brushes gives any make up look a more 'air brushed' finish to your skin, making your skin seem 'flawless'.

Carrying on along the theme of make up brushes is my next favourite which is the Real Techniques eye brush set. This includes a base shadow brush, crease brush, accent brush, eye liner brush and a brow brush. At the moment I have only used the base shadow and crease brushes, and they have worked so well in making my eye make up look neater and more professional. 

My third favourite is the Topshop 'Innocent' lip stick. I have mentioned this lip stick before in a post however, the colour and pigment of this lip stick is so good I thought it was worth another mention. It is suitable for all occasions whether that is wearing out in the day, or pairing it with an outfit for going out at night!

Another reoccurring favourite of mine from a couple of years ago are these black suede shoe boots, which I have purchased many a times from ASOS, because of their reasonable price, good quality and how comfortable they are! If you're like me and struggle to find shoes that are comfortable when you're wearing them for long periods of time, then I highly recommend these shoes. They were great for me having a summer job where I was on my feet all day, and they were still comfortable even when I was walking home from 8 hours on my feet. 

As its getting colder and Autumn is in full swing I thought it was about time to bring out the beanie hats....now I know what you're thinking, this is an august favourites post....however, these hats were just too cute and comfy at the beginning of September that I couldn't not mention them! They are all from ASOS and come in a variety of colours. 

Finally, I have been loving these cute frilly socks again from ASOS, which I bought for only £4 (Bargain!). I love to wear these with boots and having the frills poking out the top to add a more girly touch to my outfit or, they can be worn with shoes such as converse. 

Thanks for reading! 

A trip to Ireland

Last week my parents and I took a trip to Ireland, and while we were there we visited Belfast, Cushendall and Dublin. 

We started the week in Belfast where we went on a fascinating black taxi tour, and learnt about the history of Belfast in terms of  the conflict that occurred in the the late 20th century. For me this was the first time I'd really learnt about the troubles that happened in Northern Ireland, which I found extremely interesting. I would definitely recommend taking one of the tours or finding out about the history of Belfast if you ever visit. While in Belfast we also visited the Titanic museum, where we took far too many pictures outside by the Titanic sign! 

On the next part of our trip we ventured up the coastal road, and stopped in many picturesque villages along the way including Cranny falls, Ballymena and Ballycastle. We stayed in a village called Cushendall where we stayed in a small B &B. From there we visited the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge, the Giants Causeway and the Glenariff waterfalls. 

Finally, we travelled back to Belfast to catch the train down to Dublin. We stayed in Dublin for three days and travelled round all the tourist spots on a sight seeing bus....where we encountered many humorous bus drivers which made the journeys more fun. First we visited the Guinness Storehouse, where I had my first pint of Guinness, where I found out that I don't really like it! We also visited Temple Bar, Dublin Castle, the Wall Of Fame, the Little Museum of Dublin, the Natural History Museum and Trinity College. Most of our trip to Dublin revolved around me dragging my parents to places that had something to do with The Script....which they kindly obliged! 

I had an amazing time visiting a few of the places in Ireland, and cannot wait till I can go back and explore the many more beautiful landscapes. I felt really at home there and  feel like for some reason I had a real connection with some of the places I visited, which may be due to Dublin having a similar atmosphere as London. One thing I do know is that I will definitely be back! 

Here are a few pictures from my trip, I hope you enjoyed this post & thank you for reading!

Dublin- Wall Of Fame

Belfast Mural

Belfast Mural

Belfast- Old Court House

Belfast- Titanic museum

It was raining but we were still smiling

Fishcake starter in 'The Potted Hen'- Highly recommend, their food is delicious

My Battered cod, Asian vegetables and chips- 'The Potted Hen'

My dad's Duck, broccoli and potato main course- 'The Potted Hen'

Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge

Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge

The Dark Hedges

Temple Bar

Guinness Storehouse

Guinness Storehouse

Dublin- Liffey River

An afternoon with a view

On the 4th August my mum and I went and had afternoon tea at the Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard in London as a special treat. Now as you know I am an avid home baker, and of course I love going and seeing what new baked treats are out there, and where better to find new and unusual flavour pairings than a fancy hotel in London!

At the Shangri-La hotel you are given two options for afternoon tea, one being a Traditional English tea with earl grey scones with jam and cream, egg & cress sandwich, crab sandwich, cucumber sandwich, smoked salmon sandwich, chicken sandwich, egg & mayo sandwich, chocolate and caramel mousse, cheesecake, strawberry & basil cake, Apricot and white chocolate compote and a blackcurrant and violet macaroon.

The second option was the Asian tea which included spiced scones, spiced crab sandwiches, vegetable gyoza, prawn dumpling, duck sandwich, wasabi and ginger cured salmon tartlet, cheesecake, raspberry lychee and rose macaroon, tea and ginger roulade, peanut caramel and chocolate tart and a white chocolate and apricot compote.

It was such a lovely day, with a beautiful view across London, and it gave me many more ideas for new bakes that I need to try out at home. 

Asian Afternoon tea

Traditional English Afternoon Tea

Thanks for reading!

Exam Results!

On the 13th of August I received my A-Level exam results, and to say the least I was more nervous than ever as these grades decided whether I would get into my chosen university. The excitement of finding out I had got into The University of Reading to do Food Marketing and Business Economics before I had received my results was great and made opening that horrible envelope a little less painful.....I'm not going to lie I did cry a little when I found out I got in! 

I'm not going to post what results I got on here as I feel like that's a little inappropriate or boastful and at the end of the day all that matters is that I'm happy with them & I know that I tried my hardest. Getting the results you want, although not the biggest thing in the world, is such a great feeling and it shows that all your endless hard work has finally paid off. 

It made me so happy to see that most of my friends were so pleased with their results and all of them achieved what they needed to take the next step in their lives, whether that be going to university, taking a gap year, getting a job or an apprenticeship. 

If you received your exam results this year whether their GCSE's, AS Levels or A-Levels I hope you received the results you hoped for, If not its not the end of the world! Letters on a piece of paper do not define who you are or what you are capable of. 

I am so excited to be starting University in mid September and hope that these four years will be as good as my school years. 

Thanks for reading! 

A summer holiday to remember

Last week four friends and I visited the Greek Island of Crete, where we stayed in a small town called Stalis. We had an amazing week away with a few trips into  the well known town of Malia, as well as relaxing by the pool, and taking a boat trip. As it was our first holiday away on our own there were some ups and downs but I don't think we could have had a better time.

A view of Santorini island from the plane

Our hotel was a 5 minute walk to the beach and had three pools, as well as a spa and other activities.....although, we only really used the pool. Most of our trips out to the local town included a drink at our favourite restaurant/bar called 'Akti', which for the record sold THE best waffles.....and the free WiFi tempted us in too.

A view from the hotel of Stalis beach 

Stalis Beach

Akti waffles

Activities pool

Main pool

My best friend Grace and I on Stalis beach

Malia was a 45 minute walk along a coastal road, lined with many shops, restaurants and bars which made it quite a nice walk of an evening. The buzzing atmosphere of Malia did not disappoint however, I did think that the 'strip' would be much larger than it was but none the less we had a great few nights, despite clubbing not really being my kind of thing. We met so many funny and nice people while there, which gave us quite a few things to joke about during the holiday.

Grace, Amy and I on our balcony

Grace and I 

On our final day we visited the beautiful Chrissi Island just off southern Crete. The pure white sands and clear turquoise sea made us feel like we were on a dessert island or in the Bahamas. The island has two beaches one which has more pebbles and 'the Golden Beach' which has white sand. There are no inhabitants of the island, with only two bars for the tourists.

Chrissi Island

Chrissi Island

Chrissi Island

Thanks for reading! :)