The 'Sunkissed Summer' Tag!

The weather here in England has been amazing (although slightly muggy) lately, so I am most definitely in the mood for summer! Therefore, I thought that doing the Sunkissed Summer tag would be a great way of sharing everything that I love about this beautiful season with all of you. I recently saw Miss Glamorazzi's video and her responses inspired me to try this tag out for myself. I have really been enjoying doing more tags on my blog lately, as I feel that they enable my followers to get to know me a little bit better. Plus, they are really fun to type up, so let's get started!

1. What is your go-to product for a sun kissed summer glow? 
I am not big fan of fully-fledged fake tanning products because I do not think that they look very natural on me. However, I have been loving Garnier's Summer Body Moisturising Lotion. I can build it up gradually to my desired colour, it glides on seamlessly and just gives me an all round healthy glow!

2. What book would you recommend for a summer read?
I have recently read two books in a series of three called 'Losing It' and 'Faking It' by Cora Carmack, which was a really great read. I need to buy the last book pronto! I also love anything by John Green too, especially Looking For Alaska.

3. What's your signature summer scent this year?
This is definitely a toss up between Vera Wang's Lovestruck Floral Rush or Marc Jacobs' Honey perfume. Both of these scents are very appropriate for summer as they are sweet, light and fresh!

4. The sun is shining and it's time to get outside! What's your favorite thing to do?
To be quite honest, I just like to sunbathe and relax in my garden with a good book. I love topping up my tan and that is my main aim when I'm outdoors during the summer. I also really enjoy having barbecues with my friends and family.

5. You're on the boardwalk and your stomach is grumbling. What's your go-to summer beach food?
Without a doubt, the first thing I would go for is an ice-cream or an ice lolly. I especially love Cornetto's, Maxibons or Fruit Pastille Ice Lollies.

6. Sunscreen is always important, but it's a MUST in summer! What's your favorite? 
The two bottles I have on the go at the moment are Garnier's Ambre Solaire Light & Silky SPF20 and Piz Buin's Ultra Light Hydrating Sun Spray SPF30. I like both of these formulas because they are lightweight, not overly sticky and leave a nice sheen on my skin.

7. After a day in the summer sun and heat, what do you do to cool off?
I like to take a cold shower to remove any suntan lotion I have on and to cool myself down. I also like to take the time to look after my skin and thoroughly cleanse it etc, as it can get very clogged up throughout the day.

8. How do you wear your hair in the summer? 
I either have my usual style, which is loose beachy waves, or I have it up in a high ponytail if it is particularly hot outside.

9. Must-have nail polish for summer 2014?
There are two shades in particular that I have been wearing lately; China Glaze 'In A Lily Bit' and OPI 'Cajun Shrimp.' The China Glaze polish is a really milky lilac colour which looks great with a tan and Cajun Shrimp is a bright orange-y red shade that is very striking!

10. Sometimes it just feels good to chill out and watch Netflix. What shows/movies do you recommend for summer?
I am into a lot of programmes at the moment, so here are a few of them; Pretty Little Liars, Hart Of Dixie, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and How I Met Your Mother.

11. Do you wear liquid foundation, BB cream, or tinted moisturizer in the summer?
I still tend to wear my liquid foundation during the summer but if I do want to opt for a lighter base, I use Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB Cream - which has an SPF of 30 too!

12. It's super bright outside! Do you reach for sunglasses or a hat?
Definitely sunglasses. I know that wearing a hat in the sun is very beneficial and it protects you but they just do not suit me at all!

13. What is your summer jam this year?
Over the past two weeks, I have been non-stop listening to Ariana Grande's new single called Break Free. It's so catchy and it always puts me in a good mood when I listen to it!

14. Do you have a summer bucket list? If so, share some things on the list.
I do not have a bucket list, in fact I do not think I have ever made one! My only aim is to spend lots of time with my friends, family and my boyfriend.

15. Bikini, tankini, or one piece? Show us your fave bathing suit this year!
I am definitely a bikini girl and I recently bought a gorgeous one from Forever 21 (see here.) I just love the blue and white tie-dye pattern! Plus, I love all of the little cut-outs which make me feel more sexy and womanly!

16. Summer means heat... and sweat! What's your favorite sweat proof product this year? 
I have two main products that help me stay sweat free throughout summer. The first one is Sure's Maximum Protection Deodorant which is a cream formula that you oddly apply at night time but it works wonders, I highly recommend it. I may even do an in-depth blog post on it soon! The second product that I like to use is Urban Decay's All Nighter Make-Up Setting Spray. It makes sure that my make-up does not slide or melt off all day, it's seriously amazing!

17. Summer wouldn't be complete without a scoop (or two) of ice cream! If you could create your own ice cream flavor, what would it be?
I really like chocolate orange flavoured things like Jaffa Cakes or Terry's Chocolate Orange. So, I would really enjoy some kind of vanilla ice-cream with chocolate and orange running through it. Yum!

And those are all of my answers for the Sunkissed Summer tag, I hope you enjoyed reading my answers and got to know me a little better. As always, I would like to tag everybody who would like to give this tag a go for themselves. However, I would also like to tag the following blogs; Sailor Jennie, The Imperfect Beauty Queen & Efflorescent Dream. Thank you for reading and please link your responses below if you complete the tag yourselves :)

The 'I Heart Summer ' Tag

Hi guys. Today, I thought that I would do the 'I Heart Summer' tag. Seeing as the weather in the UK is improving now, I am getting into the summer spirit more and more each day. I found this tag on Miss Glamorazzi's YouTube channel, however, this tag has been completed by tons of other well-known YouTubers and bloggers alike. I have not done a tag in quite a long time but I absolutely love doing them, plus it allows my followers to learn a little bit more about me in the process too! Also, summer is my favourite season of the year so I though that I should ultimately share some of my favourite things about it with you all.  I hope you enjoy reading my answers, let's get started!

1. Favourite bronzer for summer?
At the moment, I am using Rimmel's Sun Shimmer Bronzer in Light Matte as it suits my skin tone perfectly. However, I have heard a lot of great things about The Body Shop's Honey Bronzer, so I definitely want to try that next.

2. You're relaxing in a hammock on a tropical island. What are you sipping on? (Favourite summer drink)
I always seem to get slightly addicted to cloudy lemonade during the summer months as it's so refreshing and tasty. However, if I was going for an alcoholic drink I would definitely choose Pimm's or a glass of Malibu & Coke.

3. Favourite summer lip product?
I love any brand of chubby stick as they are nice and pigmented, as well as moisturising. I have also been loving Bourjois' Rouge Edition Velvet Lipsticks too. They have a great range of bright matte colours that do not budge, which is handy during the summer as they will not melt off or fade during the day! Although if I am sunbathing or spending a long time in the sun, I usually stick to a lip balm with an SPF in it such as Carmex.

4. Pool or beach?
I tend to prefer the pool because I hate how sand gets absolutely everywhere but I do really enjoy the beach for its pretty scenery!

5. Summer = crazy hair! What's your must have styling product?
I am very lucky in that my hair is straight and quite fine, so it is not ever really affected by the heat or different weather conditions. However, I think using a heat protectant before blow-drying or styling your hair is an absolute must ally ear round, not just during summer!

6. Sunbathing or fake tan?
I much prefer sunbathing as I love being outside during the summer and making the most of the occasional good weather that we get in England! I know that sunbathing can be dangerous but I am extremely cautious when it comes to applying sun cream and I re-apply it a lot throughout the day. I only use fake tan from time to time as no matter what I do, it does go patchy in places and I am not always keen on the finish it gives. I much prefer a natural tan as you get a lovely glow and a more even colour.

7. Favourite summer nail polish?
I absolutely love bright nail varnishes, so summer polishes are great for me. At the moment, I am loving Bourjois' 1 Seconde Nail Polish in Rose Cupcake and Essie's Splash Of Grenadine, both of which are pretty chip resistant. Some colours that I also enjoy wearing during the warmer months are coral and aqua shades.

8. Any summer traditions?
I do not have any specific summer traditions but I do like to spend a lot of time in the summer outdoors with my friends and family. We also tend to have a lot of barbecues too.

9. Favourite summer scent?
Although I do not have this scent in my perfume collection at the moment, I love Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue. It is a very light fruity/floral scent which is perfect to wear during the day time, as it is not too heavy or over-powering.

10. Favourite BBQ food?
I love barbecues and so this question is pretty hard for me to answer. My Mum makes really nice garlic new potatoes and sweet chilli chicken skewers. We also get these amazing pork and chorizo burgers sometimes which are super yummy as well!

11. What's your favourite summer-proof make-up?
I recently bought the travel size of Urban Decay's All Nighter Make-Up Setting Spray and it is great at locking make-up into place, so I can imagine that is going to be a major staple of mine this season. I also enjoy wearing Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light for some light coverage with SPF30 built in too.

12. Any summer vacation plans this year? No plans? Tell us about your dream summer trip.
Unfortunately, I do not have a holiday booked this year. So, my dream summer trip is between two places. Firstly, I would love to go to LA as there is so much to do there and to me it just seems so glamorous! I would go on a huge shopping trip to lots of American stores that we do not get over here, as well as visit all of the typical tourist spots too. My second dream holiday would be to some kind of exotic island, like the Maldives, where the water is crystal clear and I could stay in one of those really luxurious beach huts.

So guys, I hope you all enjoyed reading about some of my favourite things about summer and getting to know me more. I tag everybody who is reading this post! If you do complete the tag, make sure to leave a link to it below so that I can check out your answers and get to know you a little more too! Thank you :)

My Top 5 Fashion & Beauty YouTubers

Hi guys! Today, I thought that I would do something a little different and talk about my top five favourite fashion and beauty bloggers. I really got into YouTube around this time last year after somehow coming across one of Zoella's videos, (I cannot for the life of me remember how that happened,) and ever since then I have been hooked! I have always been a girly-girl who loves make-up and shopping but over the past year or so, my passion for this has really developed. Even though I am just a regular girl with quite a small budget, there is nothing I love more than going into Boots or Superdrug and trying all of the newest products on the market. I am definitely a make-up hoarder! So, without any further ado, here are my favourite YouTubers that I always enjoy watching and who have really influenced me since I have started watching these types of videos. Enjoy!

1. Zoella

First up is the first fashion and beauty based YouTuber that I ever watched, Zoella (Zoe Sugg.) She is by far my favourite YouTuber for several reasons, however, I think that the main reason is because Zoe also suffers with anxiety like me. When I came across her infamous 'Dealing With Panic Attacks & Anxiety' video, I really connected with it as Zoe spoke about a number of topics that all applied to me and my current situation. Not only this, I absolutely love her style! I often look at Zoe's clothes for inspiration as she is petite, like myself, and so I know that her fashion will also suit my small frame. I also love to watch Zoe's vlogs on her second channel, where we get to see more of her day-to-day life. Overall, I think that Zoe is a very inspirational girl and her videos always interest me - especially her HUGE hauls that show which fashion and beauty items she has bought!

2. Tanya Burr

Next up is the gorgeous Tanya Burr (formerly known as Pixi2Woo.) Tanya is renowned on YouTube as being a trained make-up artist who posts a tonnes of excellent tutorials showing her viewers an array of different looks. The main reason that I love watching Tanya's videos is because I have picked up so many beauty tips from her that have completely changed the way I apply my own make-up. As well as this, I love Tanya's whole outlook on life - she is always smiling and is such a bubbly person. I love watching her vlogs because of this reason and in particular I loved watching 'Vlogmas,' where Tanya filmed every day up until Christmas. Plus, I think that her and her fiancé Jim Chapman, who is also a YouTuber, are the most adorable couple ever! 

3. Glam Life Guru

Glam Life Guru, otherwise known as Tati Westbrook, is a YouTuber who I have really grown to love over the past couple of months. I think that the reason behind this is because Tati posts such a great variety of videos AND posts several videos a week. One of my favourite things about her channel is 'Madness Monday,' where she goes to various American drugstores and does huge hauls. She then often reviews all of the new products she has bought in a separate video. The only downside to watching Tati is that because she lives across the pond, sometimes she reviews amazing looking products that I cannot find easily in the UK (which makes me a little sad at times!) 

4. Fleur De Force

Fleur is another one of my favourites because she seems like a really kind, down to earth person which is really refreshing. I find that I get a lot of good product recommendations from Fleur's channel because I am also blonde and fair skinned, so I know that what she uses will also suit myself. Plus, I love her timeless style and clothing - it is very classic and sophisticated. I love watching her main channel videos but not as much as I love watching her vlogs, mainly because I love being nosey and she always seems to have exciting projects that she is a a part of!

5. Essiebutton 

Last but not least is the lovely Essiebutton, who I have only recently subscribed to despite knowing about her channel for ages. I have become instantly hooked to Estée's channel and every time I have some free time or I am bored, I watch her videos. I love Estée because she, again, is a very bubbly and down to earth character. Her reviews of products are really helpful and honest, which often influences me to take a trip to my local Boots and make some naughty purchases (oops!) I really enjoy her Body Shop hauls in particular as I am not really familiar with the brand apart from their body butters, so it is nice to learn about what other nice products are out there.

So, those are my top 5 fashion and beauty gurus on YouTube. I found it very hard to whittle my favourites down to just a mere five, so I would also like to give a quick nod to Sprinkle Of Glitter (Lousie Pentland) and Miss Glamorazzi (Ingrid Nilsen) as both of them just narrowly missed out on spots in my top 5!

Who are your favourite YouTubers to watch? I would love to know, so please leave a comment below - I love recommendations to new channels! I am also thinking about doing another post about my favourite non-beauty related channels, so let me know if that is something that you would like to see in the near future. Thank you :)

DIY December: Chocolate Orange Cookies

Hi guys. Today I thought I would do something that I have never done before...a food-related blog post! Over the past few weeks, I have been heavily influenced by Miss Glamorazzi's (Ingrid Nilson's) DIY December videos on YouTube. She has been making lots of yummy Christmas themed treats, as well as cute homemade presents and decorations, so I thought it would give it a whirl myself. I have been meaning to do something like this on my blog for some time now and I've finally gotten around to it. Normally, I tend to stick to baking cakes or cupcakes but sometimes is nice to branch out and try something new. With that in mind, I decided to bake some Chocolate Orange Cookies. 

Although these cookies are not technically Christmas themed, I think they are a lovely little treat for this time of year and would be great accompanied with a cup of tea or coffee whilst sheltering from the cold, winter weather too. I originally got this recipe off of the BBC Good Food website which you can view here, however, I altered the recipe slightly as I did not have any white chocolate at hand. 

To make 15-18 small cookies or 10 larger cookies, you will need:

125g dark chocolate

150g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2tsp salt
75g light brown sugar
125g softened butter
Zest of one large orange
200g milk chocolate chips
1 egg

At this stage, you will need to pre-heat your oven to 170°C (Gas Mark 6) and line a baking tray so that your cookies do not stick.

Step 1
Break up the 125g of dark chocolate into a microwave-proof bowl and melt it in the microwave in 30 second intervals, checking and stirring it as you go, until it is completely smooth. Alternatively, you could do the same over a pan of simmering water until fully molten. Then, leave the chocolate on the side to cool.

Step 2
Measure out the plain flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl and set aside for later. Cream the 125g of butter and 75g of light brown sugar and beat it in a bowl until it's light and fluffy (using an electric whisk for this step makes it a lot easier!) Then, add the melted dark chocolate into the mixture and whisk once again.

Step 3
Add in the orange zest and egg and whisk until the mixture is combined. Then, fold in your flour mixture which will eventually create a sticky dough. Throw in the chocolate chips and give the mixture a final stir to ensure that the chips are evenly distributed. 

Step 4
Now for the messy bit! Roll the dough into small or large balls (depending on your preference) and place them onto the lined baking tray. Bake for roughly 15-18 minutes or until a skewer or knife inserted into the middle of a cookies comes out clean with no mixture on it. 

Step 5
Once the cookies are done, take them out of the oven and allow them to cool on the tray for up to 10 minutes. Then, you can transfer them to a cooling rack or a plate. At this stage, the cookies may seem quite soft and may appear un-cooked but I can assure that they are. As they cool, the cookies will harden. Do not try and cook them for any longer otherwise they will either burn or become dry.

And viola, that is how you make delicious chocolate orange cookies! I hope that you enjoyed this post and please let me know if you give this recipe a go yourself, I would love to see the outcomes! Hopefully I will be able to start incorporating some more food-related posts into my blog on a more regular basis as and when I can :)