30/08/2015

Brand focus: The Body Shop







The Body Shop is a global skincare and beauty company, started in 1976 by Anita Roddick. The brand promises that none of their products (or the ingredients in them) have ever been tested on animals. Their skincare and makeup ranges boast many natural ingredients from moringa to satsuma, and was created after Roddick became inspired by a small California company which sold handmade, natural soaps.

Personally I'm very against any form of animal imprisonment, be it Seaworld, farming (I'm vegetarian, don't even get me started on animal rights!!) or animal testing. Whilst I do use products such as MAC which unfortunately have been tested on animals I do it with great sadness. What sort of life is living in a cage and being forced to try ingredients which may have potentially detrimental effects? This is one reason I adore The Body Shop. It's guilt free skincare - nothing suffered creating my body butter. I also think their products are exceptional quality. I've only featured makeup products in the photos above but I have tried multiple body butters, shower gels and lotions.

I wanted to talk a little about the products I've photographed above.


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27/08/2015

Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman



If I Stay is a 2009 contemporary novel by American author Gayle Forman. It tells the story of 16 year old Mia who, after a terrible car crash that killed both her parents and younger brother, is left in a coma. However whilst in said coma, Mia experiences a constant out of body experience, flitting in between memories of her life before, and watching the scene at the hospital unfold.

She knows that if she wakes up, she'll be an orphan, but if she dies, she's leaving her doting boyfriend, and her chances at a normal, happy life.

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If I stay has been made into a movie starring Chloe Moretz in the title character. I haven't actually seen it, but I've heard its fantastic and after reading the book I think the story would probably translate better visually. Also I absolutely adore the movie version of the cover. (pictured above) It reminds me of some cool Instagram montage from an account with an actual theme. 

Okay so onto the actual review. This will contain spoilers but honestly I don't really think there are a huge amount of gasp-worthy plot twists anyway. So feel free to read on for my opinions or go away, read the book and come back! 

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My thoughts generally are kind of meh. I have to say I was disappointed. I'd expected something super sad yet kind of cutesy at the same time with the really interesting aspect of being stuck in limbo thrown in. What I actually got was a fairly repetitive storyline with little character progression. 

I'm a huge fan of contemporary novels like 'To all the boys I've loved before' and 'Lola and the boy next door' and whilst obviously the tone of this was darker I just didn't connect to the characters. Don't get me wrong it was a fast paced read (being only 210 pages!) but the main protagonist Mia, seemed flat. Not so much in the flashback scenes but whilst at the hospital her reactions to seeing her family crying by her dying body or hearing that her little brother had died were virtually nonexistent. She was like a nonchalant passer by. And unfortunately I just didn't connect with her.

Adam on the other hand was fab. He seemed pretty cool and sassy, he played in a band, he was fun, and most importantly: he wasn't a self righteous dick like so many of the main male characters in YA. Adam (and her parents) were the best things about this story. 

Usually this is where I'd talk about the plot twists, the drama... but there literally wasn't any? Aside from the crash at the beginning nothing really happened. I hear that there's a book 2 (Where She Went) which is told from Adam's POV so I may give it a shot.

Overall I wouldn't really recommend it. For sure I'm going to see the movie, which I am excited for. I just feel that the ideas for the story were good but the plot lacked a certain something.

All in all I would rate the book 2.5 stars and 55%.

Let me know what you guys thought if you've read the book or watched the movie!




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26/08/2015

Am I going to university?! + general blog chitchat!


Okay, so if you've read my about me page, then you'll probably be aware that having just finished my A levels it was always my intention to go straight to uni - no questions asked. However life always has a way of throwing a spanner in the works.

Lets take us back to the morning of August 13th - or doomsday as some people like to call it. If you're not from the UK or have been living in an ideological bubble then this is whats known as A level results day. For my foreign friends A levels are the UK version of SATs or the IB. Commonly you take either 3 or 4 subjects, are examined on them in June and then have a painful two months of waiting to find out how you did. Then the whole country gather on August 13th to revive the dreaded brown paper envelope of doom.

Anyway. So it's August 13th, 8AM. My mum's just come running into my room begging me to login to the UCAS website to find out whether or not my place at university has been confirmed. I ignore her, pretending instead to be asleep. Better delay than face up to the fact I could have failed.

However when I do eventually bring myself to login I'm delighted to find out that I've been offered a place at my insurance university (in other words my second choice, should I fail to get the grades for the 1st.) which in all honesty I was expecting. My firm choice grades were very high and frankly unachievable.

Elated, the idea of going to pick up my results is a lot less daunting. Because frankly who cares? I only needed good grades to get into uni, which I've done, so why worry?

After trotting off to school to pick them up I find that I got an A* and two Bs. (A* was in art and the Bs: psychology and english language.) Naturally I was super happy with these grades as I wasn't expecting the A* at all!! However my mother kindly then points out how mean it was that my firm choice (Exeter) didn't let me as the grades they had wanted was AAB.

So I literally just missed out.


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25/08/2015

Review: Real Techniques Bold Metals collection - Contour Brush







The Product: Real Techniques Bold Metals collection flat contour brush
The Price: £16.50 was £22

Quick Picks:

The packaging: 5 stars
The product: 4 stars
Value for money: 4 stars


If you've seen my mini beauty haul then you'll know that other day I did a small amount of retail therapy. Amongst other things I picked up this stunningly beautiful contour brush from the new Bold Metals collection at Real Techniques. I've used many brushes from RT before so I wasn't too worried about the quality or feel of the actual bristles, but what drew me to this was, of course, the ostentatious rose gold packaging. Naturally it reminds me a little of the Zoeva brushes but of course less expensive! 

I did spend a little while dabbling over which brush to get, but settled on this one as I don't actually own a flat contour brush - I know, shock horror!! It was also on offer and for some deluded reason £16.50 sounded much more reasonable than £22! 

I also wanted to say thank you to the lovely Lauren for asking me to do this review!


The Packaging 

5 stars for sure! It's beautiful, metallic rose gold handle is frankly one of the most delectable things I've seen in the world of beauty. The actual brush is good quality and very dense, great for picking up a lot of product!


The Product

So I tried this today for the first time with some of my The Body Shop's Honey Bronzer. Naturally this is an orange toned bronzer which personally I think works better when you're dusting it over your face to achieve a warm glow. However for some reason I decided to have a go at contouring with it. Overall I wasn't that impressed but I think that was more down to the product than the actual brush. With my Hoola bronzer I imagine the contour would look a lot better because the brush did pick up a fair amount of product and was easy to use. 


Value for Money

Makeup brushes are expensive. I think that's one fact I've become obliged to recognise. However £16.50 for a beautiful brush isn't that bad! Sure, it's not cheap, but unlike a makeup product it's never going to run out and need replacing... I like to think of it as an investment! I would definitely recommend trying these brushes and can't wait to pick up another soon! 



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24/08/2015

I've been nominated for the Liebster Awards?!


So for some crazy reason people are enjoying reading my blog?! I have been nominated not only once, but twice for the Liebster Awards!! As I'm sure you're aware, the Liebster Awards were created to bring light on new bloggers and to increase traffic to their sites. 
I was nominated by the lovely Becky and the equally delightful Lauren - thanks girls!! 

Liebster Award Rules
  • Once nominated, make a post thanking and linking your nominator's blog.
  • Include the Liebster Award's sticker in the post as well (you can copy it from above).
  • Nominate 10 other new bloggers that have 200 or less followers who you think are worthy of this award and include their links in your post. Also, make sure that you let them know they've been nominated by commenting on one of their posts. You can nominate the person who nominated you.
  • Answer the 10 questions asked to you by your nominator (these questions should be on their post). And make 10 questions of your own for your nominees to answer.
  • Finally, copy these rules onto your post.

My nominations

Amy Louise of amy-louise-ann.blogspot.co.uk
Elle of elleandherbeautyblog.blogspot.co.uk
Eve of www.eveiswright.co.uk
Ellicia of shakespeareandsushi.blogspot.co.uk
vintagefleurx.blogspot.co.uk

I know you're supposed to pick ten but I wanted each of the people I chose to be genuine favourites of mine and I don't read a huge amount of smaller bloggers xo


Becky's questions

1) Top 3 TV shows?

Okay I had to think long and hard about this one!! A couple of years ago I would have said The Vampire Diaries for sure, but honestly I really feel since like, season 3 that it's gone seriously downhill! So for now I'm obsessed with Pretty Little Liars, (Read my review of the season 6 summer finale here!) Sherlock and Humans. 

2) What's on your beauty wishlist?

Anything by Charlotte Tilbury!! I'm currently lusting over the beautiful packaging of her products! 

3) Do you prefer hair care or skin care products?

Skincare for sure! I'm super lazy with my hair, apart from washing and conditioning I rarely do anything fancy... I don't even blow dry unless I've got to leave in a hurry!

4) Favourite book?

Ahhh this is a horrible question! I'm such a nerd that asking me this is like telling me to choose a favourite child. (or lipstick, whatever floats you boat!) I'm obsessed with anything by Cassandra Clare or Sarah J Maas. But if I had to choose I would say the Harry Potter series... and if I needed to choose a favourite book?! Ahh maybe The Philosopher's Stone... Or the Half Blood Prince!! If you haven't read Harry Potter... I don't care how old you are, or that you 'don't like witches' I swear you'll adore Harry Potter. 

5) Which celebrities makeup are you inspired by?

Honestly I don't really look at celebrities makeup that much but I do think Kim K kills it as does Zoella!!

6) Favourite YouTubers?

Too many to list!! Ummm Aspyn Ovard, Zoella, Alisha Marie, mylifeasEva, Claudia, Velvetgh0st, Tyler Oakley, Connor Franta, and the Fowler sisters!!

7) Which brand of makeup is your favourite?

If given an unlimited budget... Chanel for sure!! But from the drugstore I think Maybelline is fab quality!

8) How would you describe your fashion style?

                                             Bohemian with a bit of Topshop thrown in!!

9) Go-to accessories?

Small delicate necklaces, my Pandora rings and a statement Kate Spade bracelet!

10) What are your favourite phone apps?

Bloglovin', Instagram, Snapchat, Wattpad, Twitter... All the social medias really!



Lauren's questions

1. Where is your favourite place to visit?

Ever since I was little my family has always holidayed in The Lake District at least once a year. We have a time share on a property up there so it's super easy access. It's truly a beautiful place, incredibly calming and serene especially because I come from a fairly built up area. Next time I go I'll be sure to take the old DSLR and get some photos for you guys!!

2. If you could have any magic power, what would it be?

I would like the ability to heal people. I know it may sound soppy, but I wouldn't want to waste a power on being able to turn invisible etc when their are amazing people dying of terminal illness who have families and lives that could be destroyed by their passing. The ability to heal people would do so much more good in the world than being able to read minds!!

3. Which 3 people would you love to be your dinner guests?

Martin Freeman, J K Rowling and Emma Watson!!

4. Favourite drugstore beauty product?

The Rimmel London 6 in 1 BB Cream. You can read my review on it, here.

5. What is your favourite thing about yourself?

Okay this may sound a little weird but one thing I like about myself (or at least I'm grateful for!) is that I'm a very good actress. Naturally I'm an incredibly shy person so walking into a room of people I don't know is a horrendous thought however no matter how sick-to-the-stomach I'm feeling; on the outside I look bubbly and confident. Because confidence is cute?! And unfortunately it's something I lack.

6. What makes you happy?

Seeing new comments on my blog posts, (hint hint!) my friends and family, achieving things, and dancing!!

7. Top three films?

Les Miserables, seriously I know all the words and I'm not even joking! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and a quirky 90s film called My Cousin Vinny. 

8. Favourite quote?

'We're all just stories in the end' 

9. What is one of your best memories with your friends or family?

My best memory with my friends would have to be our leavers prom at school this summer. I've got a post about it, however I look so strained in the photos because the sunlight was so bright!! It was just such a fun evening and everyone looked so glamorous and gorgeous!

10. What was the reason you started blogging?

A combination of reasons really. For a long time I'd wanted to start YouTube because I truly admire so many people who've kick started careers online however I could just imagine I'd be super awkward on camera! This, coupled with a love of words (writing is my first love) made me consider blogging. My internal debate of whether or not to create a blog went on for about six months before after finishing my A levels this June I decided to bite the bullet - What was the worst that could happen!!


My Questions to you

1. Where do you see yourself in ten years time?
2. What's your current relationship status?
3. Any piercings / tattoos?
4. Can you drive a car?
5. What are your top three makeup products ever?
6. What would you tell your younger self not to do? 
7. Last place you travelled to? 
8. Last book you read?
9. Tell me something about yourself that I wouldn't know
10. What would your dream job be?


And that's it my lovelies! This has been such a fun post to write! 
Major thanks to Lauren and Becky for tagging me, and don't forget if I've tagged you, make sure you leave a comment on this post with the link to your answers! I'd love to know more about y'all!





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23/08/2015

Mini beauty haul - Summer to Fall 2015






Last Friday myself and my family headed to the mall for some much needed retail therapy. Amongst other things I indulged a little at my favourite place - Boots. 

Firstly I zoned in on the beautiful Bold Metals collection by Real Techniques. Seriously it was difficult not purchasing the entire collection especially because they're currently on offer! In the end I picked up this stunning rose gold contour brush, which I'm so excited to try. These brushes aren't cheap but they're not quite bank-breakers either. Part of me even wishes I'd gone a little more crazy and picked up some others!

Ahhh Essie. It's rare that I manage to make it into Boots and not come out with a new nail polish. I have a small large obsession with fall nail polishes - think greys, autumnal reds and oranges. So this beauty in the shade Shearling Darling just had to come home with me. Whilst I haven't yet tried it, I have no doubts that I'll love it - it's Essie after all!! (I'm really sorry I couldn't find this colour to link on the website!!)

And last but not least I picked up this No7 eye cream. I had a £5 off No7 skincare voucher which was one of the main reasons why I chose this one. Ever since I'd come back from my holiday my under eyes had been super dry and sore. I'd tried just doubling up on moisturiser but it wasn't helping at all. It was then I thought it may be time to invest in an eye cream. And since No7 has a very good reputation for making brilliant skincare I decided to try this one. 

Please leave a comment if you'd like a review on any of these products!


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20/08/2015

Top 5 Holy Grail beauty products

Please ignore dusty mirror!!

1 - The Body Shop all in 1 Face Base

If there's one product that I couldn't live without it's this one. I discovered this back in 2012 amongst the days of lilac eyeshadow and horrendous eyebrows. It was honestly one of the first face products my 15 year old self bought (for a school dance I kid you not) and to this day I'm not sure I could live without it.
The product itself is a creamy pressed powder which can be worn as a setting powder or as a powder foundation. Depending on how dandy my skin is feeling, i've tried and loved both. Across the past few years there have been brief periods in which my soul mate and I have separated and I've tried other powders... Rimmel Stay Matte, Natural Collection etc, but I always go back to this. I've probably owned about 10 - 15 of these so far and have definitely not seen my last.
If there was one downside it would be that due to the soft and creamy texture, when you hit pan it can be prone to shattering particularly if you're travelling in a bumpy vehicle (thick aeroplanes...). Which in turn may cause the product to leak a little, so to avoid this pack it in a sandwich bag just to be on the safe side.

Quick stats:

Price: £14
Brand: The Body Shop
Star rating: 4.99 stars
Coverage: Medium to full


2 - Rimmel London 9 in 1 BB cream

Ahh another face product! When it comes down to my skin I'm very picky. I think this stems from trying several products which broke me out terribly, causing my confidence to drop dramatically. I discovered this product after falling in love with the idea of BB creams... I mean picture the scene: It's November, my skin is dry and verging on flaky (ew, gross I know right?!) but I still want to wear something to cover it up. My Body Shop foundation just highlighted the dry patches, so what's a girl to do?! I picked this on a whim, and fell in love. As a BB cream, naturally it's more creamy and moisturising than your average foundation which suited my dehydrated skin perfecting. However unlike most BBs the coverage was thicker and more similar to that of a foundation.

Price: £6.99 (current offer at Boots: £4.99)
Brand: Rimmel London
Star rating: 4 stars
Coverage: medium


3 - Rimmel London fix and perfect pro primer

Prior to discovering clear primers like this one, I'd never really seen the point. Naturally I'd dabbled with the Benefit Porefessional but frankly it just highlighted dry patches on my skin and was another layer to blend in. However the idea of using a primer to make my makeup stay on longer was a brilliant one... in theory. Finding one I actually liked was a different matter.
I don't actually remember when or what possessed me to pick this one up, only that I adored it. Now not a day goes by without me wearing this underneath my skin makeup. It's clear in texture so you can just haphazardly rub it into your more oily areas without having to worry about blending and matching to skin tone. It helps my makeup stay on for longer whilst aiding smoother application. A definite drugstore diamond!

Price: £6.99
Brand: Rimmel London
Star rating: 4 stars
Coverage: N/A

Sorry, couldn't find this online!

4 - The Body Shop eyeshadow quad in 01 - Smoky Brown

If there's one eyeshadow palette I could not live without it's this one. I know... I hear your calls of: 'What about the Naked palettes?!' and yes, I agree that those are fabulous, but this little gem is arguably one of my best purchase decisions. 
I got this about 18 months ago from sale section in The Body Shop. I'd been 'um'ing and 'ah'ing for a little while because it was £10 (reduced from £25) and let's be real, I didn't need another smoky brown eyeshadow palette. But thank god I listened to my sister and bought this because every shade is truly magnificent. 
The palette consists of four shades - three shimmery and one matte. For my everyday makeup I use the bronze shimmer as an allover colour, with the champagne as a highlight and the chocolate for the creases. I can honestly say I've had many, many compliments from both strangers and friends. 
As for the matte shade... say hello to my holy grail eyebrow powder. Seriously It's so perfect. 
Also let's just spare a moment to consider that we also get two travel sized, good quality brushes as well! 

Price: £10 (potentially £25)
Brand: The Body Shop
Star rating: 5 stars
Coverage: good


5 - Chanel: la volume de Chanel mascara

I was given this beauty as a birthday gift back in May and upon inspecting the brush I was left quite unimpressed. Without actually trying the product, I failed to see how the small, barely-there bristles would do anything other than clump my lashes together. 
Oh how wrong I was.
I'm the first to admit that this brush did take a little technique refining before it could be used to its full potential however when this was accomplished it was truly amazing. My lashes have never looked so long and full. Just yesterday I got told I should be a mascara model because my lashes are so good. I put it down to this baby, it's incredible. 

Price: £25
Brand: Chanel
Star rating: 5 stars
Coverage: N/A


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14/08/2015

Beauty review: Chanel Eclat Lumiere Highlighter Face Pen






The Product: Chanel Eclat Lumber face highlighter
The Price: £27

Quick Picks:

The packaging: 5 stars
The product: 4 stars
Value for money: 4 stars

*

As my holiday came to a close I had to admit to myself that my beloved Maybelline Age Rewind concealer was also coming to the end of its life. So of course my brain is already whirring about what replacement product to buy... I mean, already owning about 10 spare concealers at home doesn't mean you shouldn't have another now does it?! So as I ambled along to Boots I was drawn in by the lure of having £30 worth of points on my Boots card to spend.

(Side note: If you live in the UK and you don't have a Boots card, I seriously question what you're doing with your life. It's entirely free and every time you spend money in store you get points which equal money which equals the ability to buy stupidly overpriced items we wouldn't consider getting if we were spending real money. You can get one online or in store so do it now!!)

I'd actually thought stupidly, that I had a plan: I was going to get the YSL Touche Eclat because my mum uses it and lets be real I've definitely borrowed (and loved) that baby. But typically I got distracted by the Chanel counter whilst my mother tried on different eyeliners. And after the lovely lady had tried this on me I decided 'what the hell' and made a cheeky purchase.

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The packaging

It's Chanel: the packaging is beautiful end of! Like all their makeup: modern meets infinitely sublime and minimalist. It's beautiful, I don't even want to take it out of the shiny box! 

The Product 

If you're looking for a full coverage concealer then this isn't for you. I'd say it's probably lingering around the medium zone and it definitely hydrates and brightens. I believe the lady at the counter told me it has vitamin E in it, which is super good for maintaining your complexion. Colour wise, I do think they are limited though luckily one shade matched my skin almost perfectly. 

Overall

I would recommend this product: the style is stunning and the concealer has good lasting powers. However at £27 a tube I don't think I'll be repurchasing any time soon.





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12/08/2015

Pretty Little Liars - 6x10 - Big A Reveal!



First of all if you don't watch PLL why are you here? Seriously you do not want to spoil yourself though considering it's all over twitter I wouldn't be surprised if you already knew. Either way, if you've ambled onto this post having either not watched the season finale or never having seen PLL remove yourself from my page and go watch now! Its on Netflix. Enough said. 

*

Okay, presuming you, my lovely reader has watched the episode, let us discuss!

So pretty early on in the episode we get the Big A reveal - Cece Drake is Charles?! What?! I'd read many theories that basically said that Cece being Charles was a pretty big likelihood but to be honest I'd dismissed them as being unlikely - so props to ABC family for doing the transgender storyline. However for me, I'd been convinced that Lucas was going to be Charles because if we cast our memories back to the episode from the end of last season when the girls attended the fake prom in the dollhouse and Spencer 'saw' Charles (well, he was behind her, but we, as the audience saw him/her) he/she was definitely a guy: 


I mean, let's just take a moment to look at the body type. In the picture above Charles has wide-set manly shoulders and is clearly flat-chested. Compare this with Cece who even though she was originally a he, 100% has boobs lol you can tell from her body shape (also because the actress is a woman haha). For some reason I'm not convinced that Cece is the only one who stole the game from Mona. Which means that Cece must be protecting someone! 

Another thing that convinces me of this is because right at the end of 6x10 during the flash forward 5 years section, Aria clearly says that 'he's after you'. He, not she. Therefore she can't be talking about Cece. In my opinion there are two possible likelihoods: either Mr Dilaurentis - because he is one shady fellow or more likely - another A! Because even though Cece said that its was 'game over' she didn't necessarily speculate that it was game over full stop. Therefore there must be a male who is in on it too... Maybe Lucas?! Okay probably not but I was so set on him being Charles! 

*

The other big reveal we got was that Sarah Harvey was Red Coat and The Black Widow. To be fair I loved this plot twist. She was super sketchy from the beginning and I did not ship her and Emily at all. When she told Emily at the end of 6x10 that she was trying to protect her I was shocked but super stoked to see Em punch her! 

But do we really think Sarah is on Cece's side... Or is she on the Liars team? If there was one thing this episode was missing it was explanation vis a vis Sarah. Who is she really? Was she really kidnapped or was that a lie? Has she actually been in the dollhouse for all that time? I really think we could have a whole episode just regarding Sarah's backstory and why she pretended to care for Emily when in reality she was psycho? 

*

Okay so let's talk a little more about Charles / Cece. We already knew from mr D that the reason why Charles was sent to Radley was because he tried to kill Alison by drowning her. However Cece told us a different story... So who do we believe? Either way I'm angry that he was so unaccepting when it came to Charles being transgender. If mr D had just taken a moment to realise that being trans wasn't her fault and that sending her to a mental hospital is not going to force her to remain a 'he' then we probably wouldn't be in this situation. Because if we take Cece's word for it that she doesn't have mental health issues then it can only be Radley which created this obsessive and malicious behavioural traits. 

Another thing I was vaguely confused about was whether or not Cece had undergone sex reassignment surgery. By the sounds of things she hadn't but just by looking at her figure and face shape it's very feminine. Also surely Jason would have noticed when they were dating even if they didn't have sex that she... well, had a mans body? I don't know, I just feel as though one 40 minute episode was not long enough to answer all the questions.


Oh god... And then there was the Bethany Young / Mrs Cavanough scenario. I was so shocked when the bitch blamed Charles! I mean... they were supposed to be friends right?! 

*

Let me know what you guys thought of the finale + who did you think Charles was going to be?!




* none of the photos used belong to me *
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09/08/2015

Summer Pavlova Recipe!




The 7th August brought some beautiful summer weather and with it my dad's birthday. Because it was such a glorious day we didn't do a huge amount aside from sit in the garden and eat pavlova. Of course you can buy the meringue and construct it yourself but shop bought is never as good as homemade. My mother's been making this for years and it's the perfect summer afternoon treat.

Below I'm going to show you how to go about recreating this sumptuous desert!

You will need:

- 5 egg whites
- 275 grams / 10oz caster sugar
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp cornflower

For the filling...

- 250ml / 8fl oz double cream
- 1 tbs caster sugar
- 350g / 8fl oz greek yogurt
- 100 - 175g strawberries
- 100 - 175g rasberries
- 50 -1 00g blueberries

Step 1

- Start by preheating the oven to 150C / 300F / Gas mark 2.
- Lightly grease and line two oven safe baking trays using non-stick baking parchment. 

Step 2

- Place the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl and whisk using an electric hand whisk until the egg whites are holding stiff peaks. In other words they should be solid enough that you wouldn't fear holding them upside down, over your head!

Step 3

 - Gradually whisk in the sugar two tablespoons at a time. This is the key part: if you don't have the patience necessary, your meringue won't rise and will be dense. 
- Ensure that the mixture is stiff again after each new edition of sugar.
- When all the sugar is mixed in and the mix has a glossy texture add the wine vinegar and cornflower, folding in gently. 

Step 4

- Your mixture is now complete. Spoon out around two thirds of the mix onto the first baking tray and the rest onto the second. The mix should now be around one inch thick and vaguely round in shape. 
- Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 120C / 250F / gas mark 1/2 
- Bake for 50-55 minutes until crisp on the outside.

Step 5

- Transfer the meringues onto a wire rack to cool down and carefully pull away the grease proof paper. 
- Leave to cool completely.

Step 6

- Make the filling:
- Whip the cream with the sugar until it holds its shape, then fold in the yogurt.

Step 7

- Your meringue is now ready to construct!
- Take the largest meringue circle and place it onto a large desert plate. Add a generous layer of the cream mix and sprinkle with summer fruits.
- Place the second layer of meringue down over the top and repeat adding the cream and fruits.


Voila! 



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