October Morning Walks

If there's one thing that Sundays are made for, it's this - fresh air, nature and photography. Behind the constant lust of a new makeup product and the bright lights of the latest clothing store, I'm a country girl at heart and love nothing better than fresh-faced October morning walks. I've always felt more at home in wellies and a rain coat as opposed to dresses & high heels and I whole-heartedly put that down to the sheer amount of times my brother & I mithered my gran to take us for walks (if you're reading this, sorry grandma!).

I couldn't even begin to describe the amount of photos that I've taken when we're on these walks, especially now that we're making an effort to explore at least once a week! This week's excursion was to Etherow park and we're attempting to go there ever Autumn. Last year we visited here for the first time towards the end of November when the leaves were falling and I blogged about it here. This year was much busier than the last - probably because last year we were the only ones brave enough to attempt walking around in the freezing cold! We also came across this dreamy house, in the middle of nowhere & promised my mum that I'd live there one day. Who wouldn't love a gorgeous house surrounded by only hills and lakes? I would!

The MAC Palette

I still remember the first time I bought a MAC palette, and the satisfaction of splurging the £90 that I'd saved up for months to give it a decent start. That was only the end of last year and my love affair with MAC shadows still continues. I try to pick up a shadow every time I go shopping - they're only £10 after all - and so I'm slowly but surely building up a nice little collection. We're still not at the level of makeup collecting that Shan is, but a girl can wish... And collect more! The beauty of eyeshadows is that they're so versatile, from using them to contour & highlight, to combing them and getting an amazingly unexpected smokey eye.

Nylon is one of my favourite eye shadows that I own because it's so versatile. I use this as a highlight for my inner corner, brow bone and even my cheeks because it gives a subtle glow. I tend to find MAC's Soft and Gentle MSF a bit glittery as the particles in it are too big/champagne-like so this is a great alternative.

Naked Lunch is a shadow that I barely use and is very similar to Sin from the original Naked palette. I usually use Sin over Naked Lunch because the quality of UD eyeshadows are impeccable and so pigmented. I find Naked Lunch a little hard to blend.

Omega is another of my all-time favourite eyeshadows as it's so versatile. I use this to contour my face on a fluffy brush and also use as a transition shade in my crease. If you're pale skinned and struggle with contouring, try this! It's a genius!

I don't tend to get a lot of use from Sumptuous Olive because I don't see it as an everyday colour when I look at my palette. I do, however, like using this to do a lovely olive smokey eye (which looks amazing on blue eyes!) but don't use it near enough as I should do.

Woodwinked is a shade that I bought when I heard so many bloggers rave about it in one of the #bbloggers Twitter chats. I really never use this shadow either because it's not pigmented enough for me but it does look stunning in the pan!

Cranberry is a beautiful burgundy shade that makes my green eyes pop when I use it in a smokey eye look with the Kate Moss 107 lipstick. A gorgeous Autumnal shade!

Another of my all-time favourites is Espresso. If you're beginning a MAC palette or already have one, this is the one I'd recommend to everyone. The simple, mid-toned brown that's also incredible for filling in brows & adding definition to the crease.

I bought Silver Ring on a whim for my mum after she was looking for a silver-grey shade and typical mum, she's never used it. I've not even attempted to use this yet because it's one of the newest in my collection but I think this would look lovely with a nude lip.

Smut is an eyeshadow that I thought I'd love, but haven't used nearly enough of it as I expected. Again, I find this one quite hard to blend and doesn't really pick up much product when I put the brush into it. It is a lovely shade though!

Shadow Lady is another of my newest in the collection and one that I enjoy using. I'm a lover of smokey eyes and again, the purple tones in it really bring out green eyes. This one is quite similar to Smut but slightly purpler.

Personally, I think Carbon should be a staple in everybody's MAC palette or just makeup collection in general. The typical matte black that I use time and time again for an intense makeup look and it never fails to impress.

And they are all of my MAC shadows! I currently have Call Me Bubbles, Soft Brown and Swiss Chocolate on my wishlist. What's your favourite MAC eye shadow?

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes

One thing that I'm always wanting to brush up on is my baking skills. The odds of me being the only one in my family that's terrible in the kitchen are pretty high - my brother is an aspiring chef, my gran's a professional cook & my dad makes a mean egg & chips. Me? I can just about make cupcakes! Whilst my mum & I were in ASDA the other day I came across a book with 1,000 cupcake, brownie and dessert recipies. Is it just me that thinks cooking sweet things is sooooo much more enjoyable than savory? The end tasting part is always the best!

So, to make 12 gorgeous cinnamon cupcakes, you will need:

- 110g self-raising flower
- 110 caster sugar
- 110g unsalted butter
- 30g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

For the topping you will need:
- 110g unsalted butter
- 225g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder



Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (fan) or gas mark 5 & combine all of the cake ingredients in a bowl. I actually made this without scales and just guessed by looking at it. When I was making this, the mixture was so thick that I had to add a bit of water to to it to thinnen it slightly before putting it into cases. I used quite small cupcake cases that I bought in a set of three and so the mixture actually made enough for about 14 small cakes! Once they've been in the oven for 15-20 minutes, they should be done! Now it's time to make the icing.



Butter cream is one of my favourite things to make and to do so, you will need to soften the butter and slowly sieve the icing sugar into it. I originally tried to pipe the icing through a food bag because I don't have piping bags but it failed miserably, so I spread it out over the cake using the back of a spoon. Then I broke up a small block of dark chocolate and put it on the top. Done! The recipe originally said to sprinkle it with white chocolate and to add cinnamon into the icing but I thought that'd be way too much. I'll be the first to admit that they don't look the best but practice makes perfect, hey?

If you make these cakes, make sure to show them to me on Twitter - I'd love to know what you think of them!

In The Shopping Basket

Being a beauty-obsessed blogger comes with a permanent, never ending wishlist. The wishlist has become even worse now that Sephora have opened their gates to the UK and we can finally get our little mitts on all of the products we've longed for so long. I'm still yet to make my first Sephora order - the pressure is too much & I don't want to forget anything & regret it later! - but here's what's on my shopping list for when I do decided to take the leap.

The first product on my Sephora wishlist is the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Always Red. I've heard so many people rave about this (mainly Amelia!) and as big a fan of a red lip I am, I'm surprised I haven't gotten my hands on it yet. Apparently, these have the perfect matte formula - an amazing pay-off for the price. The fall collection of OCC's Lip Tars are new to the ever-growing list, within Lament and Manhunter looking like perfect Autumnal lip shades. What would a beauty blogger be without a tonne of lipsticks coming out of her ears? I have no idea!

Brows are also a feature that require a lot of time, energy and work. Therefore we need to try a lot of products to see what works best; brows make or break a face, after all! The first thing on the list is the Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow. One of my favourite beauty vloggers, Chloe Morello, mentioned that she used this a few months back and they made her brows look incredible. A product that's been on my wishlist ever since I bought the Brow Wiz is Anastasia's Dip Brow Pomade. I'm new to the whole gel liner-like consistency for a brow product so am so intrigued to see how it fairs out. I told you, brows are an important thing!

For the face, I've been itching to try the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. Who doesn't have skin-envy of Lauren Curtis? (And figure, teeth and fashion envy, but that's beside the point). This has become one of her staple makeup items and every time I see her apply it, I love the results. The perfect amount of coverage, highlight and non-creaseness, I need to have it!

What's currently on your wishlist?