Thursday, July 26, 2018

Day at the Safari Park



Last week my friend Amber and I decided to visit the West Midland's Safari Park. It was a lovely day out and we both had a great time!


The first part of the safari park is the drive through area. This is where you can view animals only from your car, but often from up closer than you would in a zoo! Some species such as this very friendly giraffe can even be fed with food purchased at the entrance. There are also areas where you must keep your car shut for your safety, like the tiger enclosure, but you can still get a close look at the animals.


The camels were very nosey! But we didn't feed them because we were warned they might bite.


Next we wandered through the on foot area. We decided not to go on any rides so we had plenty or time to look at things like penguins, meerkats and the aquarium. We also had a lovely picnic in the sun.


One of my favourite parts of the day was the lemur enclosure! You can walk straight through the middle and they're very friendly. They like to say hello and take selfies like this one.


Finally, we went to see the sea lion show. This was fascinating. So much fun and very informative too. I really enjoyed the whole day, it was exciting and reasonably priced and I can return in my car for free any time this summer! Really lovely day.






Saturday, July 21, 2018

Review: No.7 Beauty Vault


My grandma very kindly bought me a No.7 Beauty Vault so that I could try it and then talk about it on my blog. For a more detailed description of each product, keep reading or for a shorter review watch my youtube video here.


Before I begin I should note that this is not an ad, I have not been paid in goods or services to write this. This vault is currently for sale at Boots for £30, and they say that there are £99 worth of products in there. The box says this is calculated by price of individual items or price per ml/g on non full size products.


The box includes mascara, cleansing wipes, foaming cleanser, cleansing water, primer, two nail polishes, tinted lip balm, bronzer and eyeliner. As far as I can tell, all of the products are full size which is fantastic and they are all things I will use which is unusual in this sort of thing.


The first product I want to talk about it the Radiant Results Revitalising Cleansing Wipes. I found that these were very effective at removing makeup but they were a little harsh on my face considering that they are labelled as being suitable for sensitive skin. I also liked that they had a proper lid rather than a sticker so it can be closed properly and the wipes don't dry out. I do also think these are very expensive for what they are. 8/10. RRP - £7.50.


Next I tried the Instant Illusions Airbrush Away Primer. I already have the original Airbrush Away Primer and I actually prefer it because it is slightly lighter weight than this one. They are both a great base for foundation though. It hydrates and protects your skin. This one is also anti-ageing, which is not necessary at my age but when I'm older perhaps I will start to favour this. 7/10. RRP - £16.50.


The Radiant Results Revitalising Micellar Cleansing Water was one of the best products in the vault. It was a very effective make up remover, very gentle on your skin and very easy to get as much out as you need with the pump. Very happy with this product, but it has to be said I think it is second best to the Beautiful Skin Micellar Cleansing Water. 9/10. RRP - £8.50.


I was very excited to try the Radiant Results Revitalising Foaming Cleanser and I was not disappointed. While it was not quite as effective for makeup removal, it was lovely and gentle and made my skin feel really refreshed. It also smells INCREDIBLE. Love this. 9/10. RRP - £9.50.


I absolutely love the Match Made Bronzer, so I had high hopes for the Perfectly Bronzed Mosaic Bronzer. Again, I was not let down! This made me look bronzed and summery without being caked in brown. It was easy to blend effectively and looked beautiful. I still prefer the Match Made Bronzer for contouring but I prefer this for an all over bronze. 9/10. RRP - £12.00.


This is the third time I've been given this eye pencil in this shade in a No.7 beauty box, and although I love it that is too many. This bronze colour is lovely for summer but it's very pale so I couldn't get a good picture of it on. I want to get this pencil in a different colour as well as it's very smooth and easy to apply. 8/10. RRP - £7.50.


I have used No.7's Gel Finish Nail Colours for years. They're easy to apply, give a good, bold colour, don't chip easily and look fab. My favourite nail polishes ever. I adore this shade called Bluebell. It's so pretty and summery and goes with all of my summer clothes. Perfect. 10/10. RRP - £7.00. (Please note, I think it is random which colours you get sent with the beauty vault so yours may be different to mine).


I also got this nail polish in shade Moon Shimmer, which is gorgeously sparkly and very wearable. Goes with everything. Glitter makes it difficult to remove though. 9/10.


Next we have the Dramatic Lift Mascara. I normally don't like No.7 mascaras as they don't give enough length, so I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It was a little caky at first, but after the second coat it got a lot better and gave me long, natural looking lashes. It also has a great curved brush for making sure all of your lashes are coated. Definitely recommend. 9/10. RRP - £13.50.


Here is a closer view of my lashes after using the Dramatic Lift Mascara. As you can see, it can also be used in smaller amounts for lower lashes, which I always like.


The last product in the vault was the Lovely Lips Lip Balm. I was so impressed with this! It is the first tinted lip balm I have found which works both as a lip balm and as a lip stick! It is fantastic.


This shade is called Parisian Pink and I think it is so so beautiful and flattering! Not too full on but not so subtle that you can't see it either. I was so so happy with this.


I was so impressed that I am going to try the other 3 shades of this, it's honestly beautiful. If you try anything from this vault, try this. 10/10. RRP - £9.00.


Overall I was so so happy with this beauty vault. All of the products were great, it was fantastic value for money and all of the items complimented each other nicely. This is a look I created using all of this vault (plus the No.7 Match Made Concealer and Perfect Brows Pencil). 10/10, would buy again.






















Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Why I Decided to Transfer Unis


I have recently received the amazing news that I have a confirmed place at Oxford Brookes University next year. I loved Bath Spa but for a few reasons I decided that it just was not the right place for me, so I wanted to take some time to talk about them.

  • My boyfriend. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that he was a huge reason for making this decision. I was so unhappy being away from him, and keeping my weekends available for seeing him caused a lot of the other problems I had at uni. Being in the same city as him will make it easy to see him during the week, as well as on weekends without the same time commitment.


  • I wanted more time for my friends. I visited my friend Midge in Southampton a couple of times, but I would ideally like to see more of her and make new friends too.
  • I wanted more time to get a part time job! I'm a student! I'm poor! I need to buy things like books and food and train tickets and and and... the list goes on.
  • As well as hopefully making some more money, I'll be able to save more. I have been quite good at putting money aside this year but I would like to be able to do it more! You never know when you'll need it.

Mostly though, I realised that the only thing holding me back from changing was that I was worried about what everyone would think. Who has time for that? My happiness is more important than people's opinions. I'm so so so excited for this next chapter in my life and can't wait to start!









Monday, July 2, 2018

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe


I absolutely love cupcakes, they're fun, they're sweet and they're easy to make. I often whisk up a batch when I'm feeling peckish, and they always go down a treat with my family. Here's the recipe which I use:

Ingredients for the cakes:
  • 90g self raising flour
  • 90g caster sugar
  • 90g butter (softened)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients for the butter icing:
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 225g icing sugar
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
  1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius, and line a muffin tray with cupcake cases.
  2. Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add the butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon until creamy.
  3. Spoon the mixture into the cake cases, then bake for around 15 minutes until golden.
  4. Leave to cool while you make the butter icing.
  5. Beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy, then add the icing sugar (around a third at a time).
  6. Add the milk and vanilla and beat until it's really smooth.
  7. If you want to, you can add food colouring at this point.
  8. Once the cupcakes are cool, spoon or pipe the butter icing on top.
  9. Add other decorations to taste.
These cakes are really simple and taste amazing! If you'd like to make chocolate ones, simply add 100g of melted chocolate to the mixture before before spooning it into the cases. You can also replace the milk in the butter cream for 1tbsp of cocoa mixed with hot water. Enjoy!