Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Soap & Glory - 'The Righteous Butter' ♥

 I'm back with another review and another Soap & Glory product. This time it's on a product which has been one of my favourites now for six years! The Righteous Butter was actually the first ever Soap & Glory product I bought whilst I was on holiday in Jersey when I was sixteen. I instantly fell in love with the smell of this product and was impressed with the smoothing effect it had on my skin. I'm a big fan of Soap & Glory as I love their packaging and also their whole ethos about not testing on animals. 

The Righteous Butter has a lovely thick, cream coloured texture which glides easily onto the skin and absorbs to give skin maximum moisture and gives a great smoothing effect. I use this product on the tops of my arms as I have keratosis pilaris and this body butter really helps to get rid of the unsightly bumps on my skin. Also, I have a strange belief that females should always have smooth elbows so I apply this to my elbows and I never get dry skin there. I have no idea where this idea came from for me but at least my elbows are always silky smooth! When I was younger I used to apply this product to my face and I'm happy to report that I never had a breakout or reaction to it, the product just left my face feeling very soft, especially around my jaw line. 

I keep a travel size tub of this in my handbag and it's great for smoothing on the skin when on the go. I would highly recommend this product if you're a fan of moisturising after a bath or shower. The product really does what it is supposed to and the lovely smell it has is a great bonus too. I predict that The Righteous Butter shall continue to be one of my favourites from the Soap & Glory range for many moons to come.

Have you used this product? Where you as impressed as I am with it?
Stay pretty people!
 

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Monday, July 29, 2013

Mixed Berry Pavlova ♥

One of my favourite desserts ever is pavlova. I love the mix of a soft, chewy meringue with thick fresh cream and tart berries on top. Pavlova really is the perfect dessert for summer as it's light and a great treat to have when you want to cool down after dinner. I love pavlova so much though that I tend to enjoy it all year round. I used to work in a shop and pavlova was the most popular dessert we sold so I really do think it's a popular dessert and I know why!

To make this delicious dessert you will need -
 4 large egg whites
A pinch of salt
225g/8oz of caster sugar 
4 drops of natural vanilla essence
Mixed berries (or fruit of your choice)
A sprinkle of sugar
250ml of double cream


The Method -
  1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/Gas 2/Fan Oven 130°C.
  2. Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment.
  3. To make the meringue whisk the egg whites and salt into stiff peaks. Slowly fold in the sugar, a bit at a time, whisking well between each addition until the mixture is stiffened and shiny.
  4. Add the vanilla essence and fold in gently.
  5. Spoon the meringue onto the paper in peeks creating a circle with a hollow base in the middle to allow for the cream and berries.This doesn't need to be perfect, just do your best, after all you'll probably mix the whole thing together whilst eating to get all the flavours! Put it in the oven and reduce heat to 120°C/Gas ½/Fan Oven 100°C. Cook for  2 hours, until pale brown but a little soft in the centre.
  6. Take out of the oven and leave to cool completely.
  7. Whip the double cream with the icing sugar until thick. Chop up your fruit if you're using fresh, I used a frozen back of berries for convenience.
  8. Peel the paper off the pavlova and transfer to a plate. Pile on the cream mixture to the hollow middle of the pavlova and add berries to the top. Voila! Your pavlova is ready to enjoy!
Stay pretty people!


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Sunday, July 28, 2013

Pretty Post #16 ♥

Dear Readers,

This week has been a week well and truly dedicated to all things postal! I've spent the week catching up on letters I received while on holiday and sent a lot of post, in one day alone I sent seven items of post, crazy but I love it. I received letters this week from some new pals from countries I've never sent a letter to before so it was great to hear from these girls and from their introduction letters I can tell we're going to have a great friendship, or at least I hope so anyway. All in all I heard from seven lovely ladies from four different continents so it really has been a week of post from all corners of the globe, I love that! I now have just three letters to reply to and I am up to date with replies. I love being so organised and punctual, in my eyes the sooner you send your reply the sooner you may get a reply and I love hearing from all my pals so this is a big plus for me.  Let me show you what I received...


1. A letter from a new pal of mine named Katie, or Kate as she prefers from England. I shall be replying to her letter today.

2. A letter from another new pal of mine but who I have known for some time through swapping groups on Facebook, Atsumi from Japan, doesn't she have one of the sweetest names? She sent me some cleanser to remove makeup, always handy for me as I'm always wearing makeup these days it seems. I also love trying out Asian cosmetics and products, they always seem to be fantastic!

3. A letter and some inserts from another new pal, yes there have been many in these recent weeks, named Michele from Boston. I loved her letter and shall also be replying to her today.

4. A letter from my Finnish pal Emmipoodle! She sent me this little letter when she was on holiday in New Jersey, USA, hence the American stamp.

5. A letter from my pal Tanja from Germany. It's always great to hear from this girl, we've been writing for some time now!

6. A letter from another new pal, Isabelle from Mexico! This was my first time writing and receiving a letter from Mexico so it was exciting for me. I'm looking forward to getting to know more about this girl and her country.

7. Finally a letter from Amy from Australia. For me Amy writes and decorates the most beautiful and interesting letters. I love her washi tape and the stamps she uses on my letters, simply amazing. She also sent me some inserts for scrap booking which I shall be putting to good use and some stamps for my stamp box, which is now overflowing, it's so amazing seeing all these stamps from around the world and the beautiful artwork/pictures that are on them. International stamps seem to be much more interesting than the boring, almost always ugly stamps we get here in Ireland.

I shall end here, I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and hope to hear from you soon in a comment perhaps! I'm also hoping that this week brings lots more pretty post to my letterbox. Stay pretty people!




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Saturday, July 27, 2013

Johnson's Baby Shampoo ♥


We all have our own little beauty secrets, things we use which may not be for their stated purpose or even, in the case of this post, for our age range, but we like to stand by these things and keep using them as they work wonders for us and keep us all looking like the gorgeous ladies we want to be. Today my beauty secret is Johnson's Baby Shampoo. As a mama to a five month old baby boy I have been buying baby products for the last few months and have been pampering my little boy with them all. A few weeks ago I thought I should do a test run of the baby shampoo for myself to see if the 'no more tears' statement was true. Okay, I admit it, it was the lovely smell of the shampoo which made me want to try it really! It just smells so pure and fresh! I am happy to report that the 'no more tears' statement lives up to expectations, the shampoo did not irritate my eyes at all.

I apply a large dollop of this to my hair whilst shampooing and I love how foamy it gets. The smell makes me want to keep applying more and more so I have to restrain myself on that one! The formula washes off easily from my hair and doesn't leave any awful residues behind the ears on on the nape of the neck. Of course this product is for babies so it has to be reliable right? What I love about using this shampoo is that it is soap free so my hair is not being tainted by anything it doesn't have to be. The shampoo is also hypoallergenic and dermatological tested so it will not irritate the scalp, something which I am glad of as I find some brands really irritate my scalp and make it so sore that brushing my hair is a chore.

After using this product my hair is silky smooth and smells great. Also, I find that this shampoo makes my wet hair easier to comb which is great as I can't stand tangles. When I let my hair dry naturally after using Johnson's Baby Shampoo I don't get any frizz on my natural wavy hair and I'm left with a lovely shine to my hair.
I shall keep using this product as it has no harsh chemicals or nasty ingredients that I don't want on my scalp. I know this product is meant for babies but us older people want to be pampered too! I love this shampoo!

Have you used this product in your later years? Do you like it as much as I do?




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Friday, July 26, 2013

Urban Decay 'X' ♥

I won this eye shadow as part of my prize from a blog giveaway and have only gotten around to wearing it this past month. I absolutely love the colour, it is a peach tone with flecks of gold and hints of purple running through it, it's just gorgeous. This has become my everyday eye shadow as the shade is quite demure yet very pretty and is an easy shade to wear on a daily basis. In my opinion it goes with every makeup look I create and is such a natural looking shade. I think the peach colour is a fantastic one to wear for summer, it brightens the eye area and the gold flecks running through it make a great glowing effect on the eyes. I love the shimmer effect to the shadow also, it really is so lovely. I'm a fan of Urban Decay in general so I wasn't expecting not to love this eye shadow. The packaging of the shadow is great and very sturdy so no broken shadow if it falls, which it has done, yay! The shadow is long lasting and doesn't crease until a good few hours after wear, this is all without a primer too! Let me show you just why I love it so much...


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Thursday, July 25, 2013

Alberto Balsam Intensive Conditioning Treatment 'Honey & Almond' ♥

Today I wanted to post my review on a bargain product that I am absolutely in love with, Alberto Balsam's Intensive Conditioning Treatment 'Honey and Almond'. I have been using this product for many months now and there is nothing that I don't like about this product, it is an absolute hair miracle and the price definitely does not break the bank! I first bought this product when browsing through the beauty isle of my local 'Dealz' store. I had previously used Alberto Balsam products, namely their shampoos and conditioners and always love the smell. I had been looking for a deep conditioning treatment for my locks as they were in serious need of some tender loving care. When I saw this product and opened the cap for a smell I was instantly enticed to buy it. For €1.49 I couldn't leave it on the shelf. From that first use I was amazed at how great this product was for my hair. Before I began using this product my hair was dry, unruly and not very easy to work with, afterwards it was smooth, shiny, smelt gorgeous and was very manageable.

The product is meant to be used as a deep conditioning treatment but I regularly use it after shampooing my hair. I leave it on for three minutes and then rinse it off and the results are still amazing. I cannot recommend this product enough to anyone, I am always raving about it when people ask me do I know of any great conditioning treatments. For me there is no downside to this product - the price is fantastic, it smells divine and it works wonders on my hair so what is not to like? If you haven't yet tried this product definitely give it a go.

Have you tried this product? Were you as impressed as I am?







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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Butterfly Inspired Makeup ♥

I haven't done a makeup look on my blog now for many weeks and I wanted to show you something I created in the theme of butterfly inspired makeup. I love creating dramatic eye makeup, the brighter and bolder the better! I decided to go with the colours yellow and grey with white shadow on the brow line and inner eye to accentuate the eye and make the look really stand out. The overall look consisted of yellow and grey eye shadow decorated with black eyeliner, I also added yellow and white shadow to my lips to create a cohesive look. This look was all about the eyes, as most of my looks are, I flicked the liner and shadows out from the eye to create a winged look. I love creating looks like this, of course I would never wear a look like this outside of the house but I really love experimenting with new looks, colours and themes, I never know what I'm going to come up with.


Stay pretty people!


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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

PaperShaker ♥

 
I was recently asked if I would like to review some cards from a website named PaperShaker. As you will know if you are a regular reader of my blog I am a big lover of stationary, cards and all things snail mail so I thought that this would be a great thing to review and also would be very fitting with my blog. I was given two codes and was able to order twenty cards of my chosen design and was able to personalise them accordingly to write the information I wanted to be printed on the card. PaperShaker specialise in cards for wedding invitations, birthday party invites, birth announcements and thank you cards. I would have used my codes to print some wedding invitations but we have not confirmed our date with the church yet, nevertheless, the wedding invitation designs are beautiful! As I felt it was too late to order birth announcement cards I choose to print thank you cards from Tyler Lee to all the people who had sent him gifts. I had already sent people cards but I thought these were so adorable and they had pictures of him on them so even better! I choose two designs, one with bunting, I'm a bunting-a-holic, I can't get enough of it and one with a snail mail theme, I don't think I need to explain this one! The baby cards come in a variety of designs for girls and boys, some are unisex but every design is really beautiful and something which is a real keepsake. You can add your own photos to the designs, choose the colours, format and style so you can rest assured that your card shall be personalised to you and be exactly what you wish. You're also able to post a message on the back of the card and write whatever you like, I have not included my message in the photographs below as it is private but you are able to choose font, spacing and colour for this also.

I found the PaperShaker website very easy to use apart from the 'add your address' section. In the 'billing address' section it requires you to look up your address. This would not locate my address in Ireland, just addresses in the United Kingdom, so I had to put in a random address. I was then allowed add my own address to the 'delivery address' section but this problem took me a couple of minutes to figure out. Other than this the website is fantastic and offers some really beautiful designs to mark your special occasion.
The cards arrived in two cases which were great for protecting the cards. The cards I received were of very high quality, the print was fantastic and the cards had a glossy finish. There were also high quality envelopes included for each card. PaperShaker state -
"Your memories are one of a kind, so we provide the means for you to celebrate and keep your happiest moments in a style individual to you", from my experience I think they live up to this statement. I shall be returning to PaperShaker for wedding invites once our wedding date is confirmed and would like to thank PaperShaker for my beautiful cards, fantastic service, wonderful contact and a swift delivery. The designs I ordered were £0.65 per card for the bunting card and £0.75 per card for the postal design. You can find all designs and cards at the PaperShaker website.


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Thursday, July 18, 2013

NOTD - Bling & Bows ♥

While in Crete I was treated to a shellac manicure by my fiance Jacek. Getting a manicure is not something I do often while at home, I think I've only ever had three in my life! Therefore, this was a real treat for me. I choose a pink polish, as everyone knows I'm a pink-a-holic and also a sweet bow detail to add onto one nail on each hand. The nail technician also asked if I would like some silver jewel polish on top of the pink and I of course said yes, nothing beats a bit of bling and I thought it would be a fun look. I loved the overall look but I must say I was absolutely shocked at the way the nail technician butchered the skin at the base of my nail. She ripped it off with a tweezers type instrument and it bled a lot, on more than one hand. She didn't even apologise, something I found very bizarre. She then went on to wipe my nails with nail polish remover, something which stings a lot on a finger, especially if it's cut. I was just shocked by the whole thing and it has kind of put me off getting a manicure in the future. That's now hairdressers and nail technicians who aren't getting any business from me! Let me show you the look which was very pretty but which has also chipped on one nail, I was under the impression that a shellac manicure lasted up to three weeks. I apologise if people see this as a moaning post but I can't be positive all the time, especially when I feel let down by a service which I and most probably other people see as a treat. You can see in the pictures where my nail had bled and these pictures were taken the morning after.


Stay pretty people!



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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Letter Pendant Necklace ♥

 
I wanted to share with you all my new favourite piece of jewellery - my letter pendant necklace. Anyone who is a regular reader of my blog will know that I am a big snail mail lover, so why not show my love of my hobby in my jewellery too? I bought these pendants to sell in my little online shop selling snail mail supplies and little gifts, if you would like to view my shop you can click here - Dolly Dowsie. I added my pendant to a bronze colour necklace I had and I think it looks so pretty and is such an interesting piece to wear around my neck. Everyone I've met seems to love it so far and of course I'm a big fan due to being a snail mailer! The front of the pendant features an address and even has a stamp and a cancellation mark. The back is the closing of the envelope, I think it's so cool! These pendants are just €2.50 plus €0.90 P&P and are available from the Dolly Dowsie online shop.


Stay pretty people!



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