Spectrum Collections Marbleous Sculpt Set..💜

Hey beauts😘 It was my birthday recently and one of my best friends bought me these beautiful brushes, and i also got a new camera, so of course - i had to share them with you😉!

These are most definitely the most beautiful brushes i have ever owned - i just can't stop looking at them! I am obsessed with anything rose gold or marble, so these are the perfect combo for me, they compliment each other so well😍

They are by far the softest brushes i have ever had too! The beautiful grey colour fades up into white to give the 'marble' effect in this 5 piece set. 

This set is made up of 5 vegan - cruelty free brushes which are from Spectrum Collections - they will help you to perfect everything from your foundation base to your blush and highlight - or, of course anything else you want to use them for.

From left to right;

A00 - Luxe Powder Brush - largest in the set & perfect for translucent powder or bronzer.

C07 - Luxe Tapered Sculptor - i love using this for highlighter.

A05 - Precision Blush - this is the softest most perfect blush brush I've ever used!

C02 - Flat Top Contour - i use this to buff in my foundation or concealer but would also be great to perfect that contour!

A02 - Angled Foundation - i use this to apply my foundation or concealer as it's tapered, it's perfect for any part of your face.

Before i owned this set, i had no idea that the A, B, C and D on the brushes actually tell you what they're used for;

A is for Application

B is for Buffing & Blending

C is for Contouring

D is for Duo Fibre

They are made from very high quality, extremely soft, synthetic hair which helps your make up go on so well and look perfect! 

I hope you all enjoyed reading about these beautiful brushes! If I've tempted you just click here to go directly to the brush set😊 i just want all the brushes🙈 

Please let me know if you've tried any of their brushes and what are your faves, or what your other fave brushes are, Ashley 💜

December Faves❤

Hiya everyone! Hope everyone had an amazing Christmas & New Year🎄🍾 Here are some things I was loving in December!

The Body Shop Frosted Berries Hand Cream - Limited Edition (£4)

Give the Strawberry a try (it smells like strawberry Hubba Bubba!)🍓

This is my all time fave hand cream! It makes me so upset that it only comes out at Christmas, so it's a good job i love all the scents they do😜 I think hand cream is the number 1 thing I'm always buying loads of different ones to try and i always end up back with a Body Shop one. They are soooo moisturising and you only need a tiny bit at a time, you also don't get that horrible tacky/sticky feeling and they all smell absolutely amazing!

Scentsy Frosted Ginger Cookie - £5.50

I can't even begin to describe how much i love this and how amazing it smells! Just imagine baking some delicious Gingerbread cookies with a little hint of cinnamon and vanilla. I am not even doing it justice when i describe it, it's that amazing! Every time i smell it i want to eat it, one little cube of this lasts for such a long time, and it makes the whole house smell amazing🍪!

Lush Snow Fairy Body Conditioner

I got this in a gift set for Christmas & had never tried it before. I knew I'd love it as i looove the scent of Snow Fairy shower gel. You apply this when you're still in the shower and rinse it off, it leaves you smelling like Pear Drops & Candy Floss all day and your skin feels so soft! I'm dying to get my hands on the Cristingle body conditioner, i forget every year until it's too late - I'll need to have a little snoop on Ebay😜

Nestea Lemon Dolce Gusto pods - £3.99 (16 pods)

Nestea Peach Dolce Gusto pods - £3.99 (16 pods)

I loooove iced tea so when i seen these for my coffee machine i absolutely had to get them then i ran out and never bothered to get more because i am so lazy 🙈 Then i got a box of each at Christmas! They taste that good that I'm halfway down both boxes already! This time when i run out i will order more!

Diesel Loverdose - £39.99 (75ml)

I got this as a little gift a good while ago now, and i have so much perfumes that I've never really gotten round to using it. It's got a vanilla scent to it but with some fruitiness in there too, it's very hard to describe! I also couldn't find this 20ml size to link for you but the full size 75ml is currently on offer at boots so I've linked that one

Spectrum A10 Small Fan Brush - £4.99

This brush is just sooo perfect for applying highlighter! I don't think i could go back to using anything else for highlighting after this! It's so soft & It also looks beautiful, so what's not to love😍

(also pictured - my fave Make Up Revolution Pink Lights highlighter - £3)

Scentsicles Spiced Orange Scented Ornaments 

These little scented sticks are designed to hang on your Christmas tree (or anywhere you like really) but i actually have two hanging in my car so that it can smell like Christmas all year round - since Christmas is my fave! I think these were from B&M

Lush Shoot for the Stars Bath Bomb

This was my fave in December, I love it because it smells like the Golden Egg bath bomb you get at Easter & I absolutely can't wait for it to come back! This has a very sweet caramelly scent & looks so pretty and sparkly in the bath! Who doesn't love a bit of glitter🛀!

Everything that is still available to buy is linked in their individual titles.

I hope you all enjoyed this and get to try some of my faves, let me know what some of your December Favourites were, Ashley 💜

The Melt Crowd - December 2016 ❤

Hey everyone😀 Back again with another Flamingo Candles Melt Crowd box! This one is definitely my most favourite box! Hope you enjoy💙

Sherry Trifle  

This smells just soooo fruity and cakey with a hint of booze, this is a perfect scent for anytime of the year especially for relaxing😍!

Cinnamon Buns

This literally makes your house smell like you're baking cinnamon buns! It's a sweet yet spicy scent that definitely smells good enough to eat😜

Gingerbread

This smells exactly how you'd imagine it - like a freshly baked gingerbread man! It has a slight hint of vanilla too which doesn't make the ginger scent too overpowering. 

Chocolate Orange

Think Terry's Chocolate Orange and you'll know exactly how this smells. I was a bit scared that this would be too sickly and strong but it isn't at all - it smells like you've just melted a chocolate orange when you melt this wax🍫

White Lilac & Rhubarb

This scent is lovely, it has a nice floral base with a hint of rhubarb, I've been obsessed with the Rhubarb & Pear scent melt i got last month and anything else rhubarb scented, so this is a nice change - this would be a perfect spring scent🌸

Christmas Tree Gin

This is probably my most ideal scent combo! I love Gin and absolutely love all things Christmas - especially the smell of a real Christmas tree! This smells like pine with a hint of citrus, amaaaazing for burning on Christmas day🎄

Bah! Humbug

I actually have this burning as i'm writing this, it's my new addiction. It smells exactly like a peppermint humbug sweetie or a peppermint candy cane. Mint is one of my most favourite candle scents so i can see me buying a lot more of these🍬

Mulled Wine & Berries

This makes me want to go to the Christmas markets with cosy scarves and gloves on for some mulled wine💜 It's quite a fruity scent with a hint of spice like cinnamon! Very Christmassy!

In this box i also got the cutest little pink tree decoration, it's the one in the top left of the pictures, i'm actually going to hang it in my car💗! This was honestly my favourite box I've had yet! Get onto flamingocandles.co.uk to give some of them a go, why not even sign up to The Melt Crowd while you're there? It's only £10 a month and you get a free wax burner with your first box!

Hope you enjoyed, Ashley💙

Homemade Pop Tarts ❤

Hey everyone! I'm finally back with another post, this time it's delicious homemade pop tarts! I woke up one day really wanting a pop tart but didn't have any so decided to make some😋!

You will need;

280g Plain Flour

225g Butter

2 tablespoons Caster Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

5 tablespoons Water

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Egg

3 tablespoons Cocoa Powder (leave out when making strawberry pop tarts)

(for the filling)

Jam or Melted Chocolate/Nutella

(for the icing)

230g Icing Sugar

3 Tablespoons milk or water, add more if needed

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

(for chocolate pop tarts use vanilla icing then marble melted chocolate into the icing)

In a bowl add the flour, sugar, salt and cocoa powder (leave out for jam pop tarts) mix together well then add in the butter.

Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs then add in your water. Knead all your ingredients into a dough then roll it into a ball.

Once you have your dough, pop it into the fridge for 1 hour. Once your hour is up, preheat your oven to 180°c (fan assisted oven)/200°c. 

Roll out your dough into a rectangle shape to about 2cm thickness

Cut your dough into 6 smaller equal rectangles, this will give you 3 pop tarts!

Use 1 tablespoon of jam (or whichever filling you chose) for each pop tart, spread it over the middle but don't go too close to the edges.

Add another rectangle on top of each, press down the edges with a fork to create a seal and lightly poke holes down the middle. Beat your egg and give all your pop tarts a light egg wash. Bake them in your preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown😍.

Whilst waiting on your pop tarts to cool, make your icing. Add in your icing sugar, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of milk/water, if needed add more liquid.

Once your pop tarts are cool, it's time to decorate! I used 1 tablespoon of icing for each, then marbled some melted chocolate for the chocolate pop tarts, i then decorated with chocolate covered honeycomb and freeze dried raspberries🍫.

 These taste amazing and are actually quite easy to make! Give them a go and let me see if you do😀! Ashley 💜

The Melt Crowd - November 2016 ❤

Hey everyone😁 back again with The Melt Crowd, this is November's box - the theme was 'Out of this world' 😍

Hot Fudge

This smells good enough to eat! It's not too sickly - and smells just like you've been making fudge or tablet!

Strawberry & Geranium

This one smells just like strawberry laces but it also has a lovely light floral scent! I see it as a nice summery one!

Chai Tea Latte

This is quite hard to explain, it's quite a milky scent with a hint of cinnamon and ginger - just what you'd imagine a Chai Tea Latte to smell like.

Cranberry, Orange & Cinnamon 

If you imagine a smell to describe Christmas, this is definitely it! I can see myself buying more of these - it's the perfect winter scent!

Black Raspberry & Vanilla

I'm not overly keen on vanilla scents so the raspberry in this definitely takes the intensity of the vanilla away. It smells just like a milkshake😛!

Popcorn 

Think buttered popcorn, that is exactly what this smells like! It makes your whole room smell like the cinema!

Banana Pancakes

When i smelled this one it instantly reminded me of 10 pence mixtures from when i was little and those foam bananas you get! I honestly cant wait to burn this (and buy more of these😉)

Rhubarb & Pear 

I can't even describe to you how much i love this, it smells exactly like Rhubarb & Pears. I actually cant stop smelling this and i need to buy like 50000 more of these so i never run out. I love anything that smells like rhubarb💙!

Asian Pear & Plum -

This one has a really fruity scent with a slight hint of floral/musk to it. It's a really good scent for a good cosy night in🙂.

As i always say, i can't recommend Flamingo Candles highly enough! They are the best quality and a huge range of amazing scents. They scent the room almost immediately! Give The Melt Crowd a go - it's only £10 a month!

Ashley💛 

Cinnamon Buns Recipe ❤

Hey everyone! I really enjoyed writing my recipe post for Toffee Apples, so i thought I'd pop up another recipe for one of my faves - Cinnamon Buns💜

You will need; (for the buns)

225ml Milk (i used soya milk to make them dairy free)

75g Softened Butter (i swapped this for soya spread)

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

7g/1 packet of dry yeast

560g Plain Flour

1 tsp of salt

112g Sugar

2 eggs

You will need; (for the filling)

180g Brown Sugar (i used Caster sugar as I'd ran out)

3 tbsp Cinnamon

75g Softened Butter

You will need; (for the icing)

1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (or vanilla extract)

3-5 tbsp milk or water

280g Icing Sugar

Start by heating up your milk until it is warm, make sure not to boil it. Once warm, add in your yeast packet stir it into your milk and set aside. Add all your dry ingredients together and stir, make a well in the middle then stir in the eggs. 

Now is time for your butter, i actually prefer to have my butter melted to make it easier to stir in - but make sure its not too hot i stir my vanilla bean paste into the melted butter and add them together. Lastly add in your yeast/milk mixture and stir everything together until you have formed a dough.

Knead your dough well for 5 minutes, once you have done this pop your dough into a lightly oiled or lightly floured bowl to rise for 1 hour - it will double in size.

After your hour is up, preheat your oven to 200॰C/180॰C fan oven. Roll out your dough on a well floured surface to about 1cm thickness into a rough square shape (don't worry about neatness) Now you can spread your butter over as close to the edge as possible.

Mix together your cinnamon and sugar then sprinkle it over the dough right to the edges just like you did with the butter. From there, start rolling your dough from the closest edge to the furthest away - rolling tight enough so that the sugar mixture doesn't fall out but not too tight.

Once you have done that, cut the cinnamon rolls into slices about two fingers width apart (i managed to get 15 buns from mine) and pop them into a lightly greased cake pan not too close together, as above.

Pop them in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown😍.

Once out the oven, (if you can resist, i normally cant wait and burn my tongue😛) Set aside to cool whilst you make your icing!

Put your icing sugar, vanilla paste and 3 tbsp of water/milk into the bowl and mix - adding more water if you need to, to reach the consistency you like.

Once your icing is smooth drizzle it all over your completely cooled buns.

You can also do the traditional cream cheese frosting but i much prefer this glaze on my cinnamon buns!

I guarantee you will become addicted to these like i am. These are the thing i always get asked to make and enjoy making the most as they are actually surprisingly easy! They taste absolutely amazing, even if i do say so myself😜

Ashley 💚

Current Faves..♥

Hey everyone! I've not done a favourites post for ages, so here's what I've been loving recently😀!

Molton Brown Pink Pepperpod body lotion - £25 300ml

I got this as a present with the rhubarb & rose scent (which is my favourite thing ever) and it smells soooo good, it has nice spicy peppery scent to it with a hint of ginger which sounds a bit odd but i promise its amazing! These body lotions sink into your skin almost immediately not leaving you with any horrible sticky feeling, leaving your skin feeling so moisturised and soft.

Eyeko Black Magic mascara - 8ml £18

I love trying out mascaras, this one i was interested in because of the packaging and i got it with a magazine - its so cute! The brush is amazing, its a thin one with a big curve in the middle. It gives you fantastic volume/curl that lasts all day and is smudge-proof! I will definitely buy the full size!

Nougat London Sparkling Body Lotion - Cherry Blossom 250ml £14

This smells so amazing, and it dries sparkly - what more do you need?! I got this in a Glossybox a while back, a little definitely goes a long way and it works so well on dry skin!

Spectrum CO3 Flawless Finish Brush - £8.99

Make Up Revolution Highlighter - Pink Lights (Left) £3

                                                      - Golden Lights (Right) £3

I am addicted to these highlighters, they last all day and this brush applies them perfectly! I actually bought 3 more of these highlighters when i seen they got reduced to £3 as i was scared they were discontinuing them🙈 i highly recommend them they last for ages, and the Spectrum brush (which is cruelty free - amazing💙!)

Makeup Revolution Matte Liquid Lipstick - Rebel £3

I am addicted to matte liquid lipsticks right now! This is such a beautiful colour, perfect for Autumn/Winter time! It's a lovely creamy formula that dries really quickly but doesn't dry your lips out. It also lasts all day, i only have to top up after i eat! Amazing for £3.

The Body Shop Hand Cream - Mango £4

                                                       - Pink Grapefruit £4

I think I've mentioned The Body Shop's hand cream about 5000 times! It's just the best thing ever i actually love all the different ones! They are so moisturising and sink into your skin straight away without being sticky. I get really dry hands with the cold weather and dealing with money at work everyday - these are the best ones I've ever tried!

Makeup Revolution Pro Fix Oil Control Spray - £5

I always have problems with dry skin then before i know it it's oily! My makeup likes to randomly just disappear off my face and its so frustrating! I decided to give this a go in the hope that my make up might actually last the day! It has definitely helped me as my make up lasts all day at work now instead of the usual couple of hours. I've found that applying it after my moisturiser helps too!

MUA Glitterball Palette - £4

I loveeeeee this palette, its so glittery and beautiful! The formula is sooo good, they're so soft, they last all day and don't crease. The bronze/gold colour is my fave!

Hope you all give something a go from this post as they're all amazing! Let me know if you do.. Ashley 💜

(as always the link to purchase the products are all in their individual titles)