Barry M Sunset Nail Paints

Hi Guys,

Barry M have done it again and come up with something new, in the form of their new Sunset Nail Paints. The idea behind them is that you can have a cured gel like manicure at home, with no need for a LED professional nail lamp. As in fact just natural day light will cure the manicure and last for up to 10 days! 

 The range has been launched with the Daylight Curing Topcoat, which you apply thinly over two thin layers of your chosen colour from the range. Which will then cure it, it does in fact actually feel like a gel manicure once it has cured, which is amazing considering the fact there is no lamp required. You can also use artificial light, as well natural daylight can be pretty hard to come by sometimes in the UK!

I was a bit sceptical of this working because will it actually last like a professional gel manicure? Ive found however you have to make sure that the two thin coats of colour are completely dry before applying the topcoat. I was too eager and didn't wait, resulting in it lasting less than 10 hours before peeling off my nails, instead of those 10 days! 

I did try it again though and it has worked really well and there is no chips in sight after two days, it looks brand new, which is a miracle for me as I chip everything after two minutes! 

The topcoat has been launched alongside a range of seven colours, which all seem to share names or lines from popular songs. The shades vary from classic colours, a red, navy, nude and pink. To a deeper burgandy which would be lovely in the Autumn and a couple of brighter shades for the current Spring/Summer period. 

I only picked up two shades, which are definitely in the spirit of being bright and ready for Spring. Although I did desperately want the nude shade but there wasn't any in stock! The two shades I did get my hands on though were...

Peach for the Stars - A pink toned shocking coral.

The Way You Make Me Teal - A creamy teal with blue undertones.

The actual packaging of the product, comes with the new flat brush Barry M introduced with the Speedy Quick Dry range, which makes applying the product a lot easier as it covers a larger area. The bottles also have rose gold caps, which of course in "no way" swayed my decision of getting them... 

(Swatches: Left to Right - Peach for the Stars and The Way You Make Me Teal)

Overall these polishes are actually pretty awesome considering I was so sceptical that they would actually work. I think the trick to them is to wait and make sure each layer is dry and also apply them thinly! The formulation is a little thicker than usual so its important to get them so thin.

The only downside Ive really found to them is the fact that the topcoat apparently doesn't work without the colours in the range. Which is annoying especially when you already have a lot of the colour range. I haven't had time to test it with normal polishes, but I'll give it a go and report back!

The whole range is £4.99 each and can be found HERE. You can also currently find them in Superdrug on 3 for 2 too!

Eloise x

Homeware Haul

Hi Guys,

I should probably be starting this post with 'Hi Im Eloise and Im an Ikea addict!', seeing as 80% of this Homeware Haul is from Ikea. I cant help it I just love the place! Hence the reason why Ive been ten times in nine months... (Send Help!)

I thought as it was also finally starting to warm up a little and actually finally decide to be Spring time, that I would pastel overload my room. So that of course called for a shopping trip... 

I didnt realise until I came to write this haul that the RIBBA Picture Ledge is actually the ledge that was very popular a few years ago to line your nail polish on. Its safe to say if I had a spare room, Id have these lining the walls with my nail polish collection. But instead I got this small one and the larger one to host a mixture of frames and little trinket and vase like things. They're also fantastic for fairy lights and I actually have mine awkwardly just stuck to the wall.

So to go on the Picture Ledge, I picked up the RIBBA Frame, I just preferred it as its a good size and you can mix and match with which photos and pictures you have inside it, Its great for £5! The pictures inside the frame are actually from fellow blogger Bri's Blog Design Love Fest, who has a fantastic series called Dress Your Tech. It's actually a series for desktop backgrounds, but I printed a few off to use in the frame. 

The ROTERA Lantern was basically one of those Ikea purchases, you know the ones you probably don't need, but you're going to buy it anyway. My mum's version of this is usually a frying pan. Ikea just know even if you're going in for one Billy Bookshelf, you'll be walking out with a bag full of random bits and bobs you've collected on your way round. 

Does anyone else just make piles of paperwork that really should be sorted through. Along with the mountains of receipts, that you just don't want to look at because it proves, yes you really did that much shopping! Or is that just me? So I picked up the KASSETT Storage Boxes, of course carrying on the pastel theme. Just so when I do sort out all those mountains, I can put all of the important paperwork tidily inside!

The bedding in the background of my photos is actually from Primark and I officially love them for it. I got it a couple of months ago and ever since Ive been desperate to change my sheets from my winter ones to these. I had a good discussion before Christmas about how no one ever does mint bedding and Primark must of heard me and answered those homeware prayers!

So when I found out there was a matching cushion, I ended up with that too. Im just a little undecided wether I should go back and get another one so I can put them on my bed, or use it on the chair at my dressing table instead...

Now Im not going to lie, I bought the little yellow cushion because it was £1. I dont have any idea where Im going to put it, as it doesn't really fit in with the whole pastel theme. But it was £1, so how can you argue with that! Why do you do this to me Primark!!!

Finally I was lucky enough to win this picture by Will Barras, which is of Brick Lane for London Fashion Week. It was a contest by COLAB Hair and they very kindly sent me this as my prize. I love the fact that its of one of my favourite cities and that its peach, so it ties in so well with my pastel theme!

Just reading this is making me want to go shopping!

Eloise x

Chocolate Toffee Crunch Bars

Hi Guys,

I love Ikea and you're probably wondering how that has anything to do with recipes. But I actually got the idea to do this after having the Ikea version and deciding I needed it in my life more often, not just when Im at Ikea. So the Chocolate Toffee Crunch Bars were born!!

YOU WILL NEED:

For the base:                                          For the middle:                                    For the top: 

200g Rice Crispy Cereal                        397g Condensed Milk                                 250g Milk Chocolate

200g Milk Chocolate                                     75g Unsalted Butter

1 1/2 tbsp Golden Syrup                                100g Sugar

                                                                       1 tbsp Golden Syrup

The Base:
1. Line a tin with baking paper, I used a tin that was 20cm x 20cm but you can use a shallower and longer one too.

2. In a microwave friendly bowl, pop in your chocolate, broken into roughly equal sized chunks. Then put it in your microwave, in 10 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted. Make sure to keep checking it so not to burn it!

3. Once your chocolate is melted, add in your golden syrup and stir till combined. Then you can add your rice crispies! I found it was best to do it in little batches.

4. Finally pop it in your tin and press down so its compact but not squished. Then chill in the fridge for an hour.

The Middle:

1. Put your condensed milk, syrup, sugar and butter into a pan. Heat on the hob at a low heat, constantly stirring until the sugar is fully dissolved.
2. Turn the heat up slightly so that the mixture is slightly simmering for 5 minutes, still constantly stirring so not to burn it.
3. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then spread evenly on top of your base. Allow to set in the fridge over night.

The Top:

1. Again melt your chocolate in the microwave on 10 second intervals.
2. Once it is fully melted, pour onto of your toffee layer, spreading it evenly.
3. Put back in the fridge for an hour to allow it to set.
4. Once its been chilled you can remove it from the tin and cut it up into slices to devour! 

If these weren't so rich I'd of eaten the entire lot within the hour, I think these will be a new favourite to make. So if I disappear for ages I may be in the kitchen making continual batches of these guys! haha. Plus they're perfect if you have a lot of easter eggs you don't know what to do with, because thats how I got the milk chocolate for them! Hope you enjoy them as much as I am if you do give them a go!

Eloise x

Hillary's Crafternoon

Hi Guys,

Back at the start of March! (Sorry this post is so late by the way!) I was kindly invited to go along to the Hillary's Crafternoon hosted by Joe Blogs and The Crafty Hens. It was held at The Butterfly & The Pig in Glasgow and was a way for Hillary's Blinds to show case their new pattern designs for this year! 

I was so excited to go a long to the event, not only because it was my first event in Glasgow! So I got the chance to meet so many lovely bloggers in my area. But also because crafting and definitely sewing is something I really loved doing, especially in school. I haven't really done it since I left though and the event has really got me inspired! 

We started off by making a fabric cover for a Muji (Oh they know us bloggers so well!) Notebook, does anyone else remember having to do this with wrapping paper for your school textbooks? This is probably my favourite thing I made out of the two things that we did, its also so practical and I just loved the design on the fabric.

The plus side to the fabric being a curtain and blind fabric too meant that its very sturdy and thick, while also very easy to work with. Its perfect for a book cover that you can interchange and know it will last! 

 We then had a cake break, if you're ever in Glasgow, I cannot recommend The Butterfly and The Pig Tea Rooms enough! I had the white chocolate and pear cake and it was just amazing! Im basically going to go back and try every single cake on the menu! Plus the whole decor was very vintage slog with the vintage cups and plates and the most adorable miniature forks!

 After cake we made a fabric bird... which isn't featured in this post because I basically killed mine... Turns out I sewed the entire thing together without realising and had more of a 2D bird than a 3D one. Im determined to try again and actually get it right this time!

One of the best bits of the day was actually getting to meet so many lovely bloggers, its great to have fun at these events and try something new. But its always a pleasure to meet other bloggers. Plus as the nature of the event appealed to so many genres of bloggers, It meant you could meet food bloggers, to lifestyle bloggers and many more. Which you wouldn't usually get at say a beauty event. I got to especially chat to these lovely ladies below, who all have fantastic blogs that you need to check out! 

Bex at Evil Ginger 

(Who I got to meet before the event and put my mind at ease, although Bex is from Edinburgh and me Glasgow, where the event was held. I had absolutely no clue where I was even going!) 

Nicola & Lindsay at Cakehounds

Michelle at Life of a DIY Shopaholic 

Amanda at Love and Other Stuff

Ann at A Quirky Lifestyle

Hillarys also treated us to a lovely little goody bag, including a Yankee Candle and Green & Black's Chocolate! A perfect combination really! As well as a little more information on their brand new lines. Although I don't need new blinds, these designs are really making me want some curtains. I love the bunting design they have done and the tartan (very Scottish!) too.

Thank you again to Hillarys, Joe Blogs, Crafty Hen and The Butterfly & The Pig, for such a fantastic day. Also all the bloggers I met for making it that bit better too! It was amazing to see what you can do with a bit of curtain, I think I need to get crafting now...

Eloise x