Easy Student Cooking!

Hi Guys!

As I'm moving into my new house up in Liverpool in a few weeks, I thought I'd try out some recipes before hand. For my 19th birthday which was a few months ago now, Libby (Life of Libby) kindly gave me her old student cookbook that she used for first year and wrote some annotations in it for me!

The book itself is called: Nosh for Students a fun student cookbook - Joy May.

The recipe I tried today was the Pasta with Sausages p56.

To make this recipe you will need:

- 90g of penne pasta (per person)
- 1 tablespoon of oil to fry
- 6 spicy sausages
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic chopped (I used two because I particularly like garlic)
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs

First, fry the sausages and then take them out of the pan. Next, cut them into bite size pieces.

Then cut up the onion and garlic:

- Cook the pasta, (once brought to the boil cook for 10-12 minutes) drain and return to the pan.

- Fry the onions and garlic in a pan for 1-2 minutes.

- Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato purée to the pan with the onions and garlic and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes for the flavours to blend.

Finally add the chopped sausages, herbs and the pasta to the pan and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until everything is heated through.

And voilà, we're finished!

 What other easy recipes do you like to make?

♥

Small haul from Boots!

This week I've been staying at my boyfriend's house and he had to get some holiday stuff so we got to go to boots!

There's a few things I knew I wanted to pick up before going:

- Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Ivory. 


I'm currently using MAC's studio fix fluid in NC15 but I thought I'd pick up something not as heavy. Although it is a great foundation I think I'll use it for a night out rather than everyday to give my skin a break. I've noticed from using it everyday my skin has broken out a bit. However, saying that it does give good coverage from using just a pump and a half for the whole face. 

A reason why I love the 'Wake Me Up Foundation' is because it also gives great coverage and lasts quite a long time when set with powder. I really like the packaging, being in a glass bottle I think makes it look more expensive. When applied it gives a bit of a shimmer, giving you a radiant glow. I also like that it has SPF 15 in it, especially with the weather we're having at the minute! Buying it from boots was £8.99 which I think was definitely worth it as it lasts for quite a long time. 

- Collection Lasting Perfection - Ultimate Wear Concealer in Light.

I'd ran out of concealer and had purchased this concealer before, I had got into it after watching Zoella's videos where she raved about it. Check out her videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/zoella280390 The concealer does the job and is priced at: £4.19 in Boots. It covers up any imperfections and gives a great coverage. 

- Maybelline's Colour 24hr Tattoos- Gel/Cream Eyeshadow.

 Recently I've heard a lot about Maybelline's Colour 24hr tattoos so wanted to try them out! For the days I don't have much time to get ready these seem perfect just to quickly apply to give a pop of colour. When I went into boots I only picked up Pink Gold, however when we went to a different drug store shop later in the day I also ended up picking up Permanent Taupe. I haven't decided yet whether I'd use Permanent Taupe on a day to day basis or whether I'd use it for a night out. Both colours I think are really pretty so I'm looking forwards to using them a lot more! I have already tried out Pink Gold and liked how it easy it was to apply and how creamy it was. 

Price - £4.99.

Permanent Taupe.

Pink Gold.

I've been buying quite a few lipsticks over the last few months, but when buying them they've usually been for a day to day look. However I wanted to get a red which I could wear in the day as well as at night time. I ended up picking up a lipstick from the Maybelline stand in Neon Red - 916. I love the shade and have found when applied it has a slight tint of orange. I'm looking forward to wearing this shade for the days when I want to be a bit more daring! 

Price: £7.19.


I've always heard good things about No7 mascaras so I thought I'd try one out. The one I picked up is called 'Extravagant Volume' I got it in black and its the waterproof version. It wasn't intentional to get the waterproof version, it happened it was the only one left. I've used it a few times already and found its easy to apply to the lashes and it coats every lash from root to tip. I've found it also gives the lashes a good amount of volume. I'm still undecided whether I'd repurchase it as it's quite expensive and there are other good mascaras for a cheaper price. 

Price: £12.00.

What's your favourite make up products?

♥

I Heart Summer Tag.

                   

I was tagged by Libby - http://life-of-libby.blogspot.co.uk/ to do this tag and it looked quite fun so I thought I'd give it a go!

1) Favourite bronzer for summer?
Rimmel Bronzing Compact Powder in Light Shimmer.

2) You're relaxing on a hammock on a tropical island, what would you be sipping on?
Cosmopolitan!

3) Favourite summer lipstick?
Max Factor's English Rose.

4) Pool or beach?
Beach if its sand, if its stone then pool!

5) Summer = crazy hair. What's your must have styling product? 
I don't really have one unless it would be some sort of heat spray to get rid of any frizzyness my hair may have. Most of the time my hair is straight and put up but for the days I have it down, I like to use salt spray to give it a bit more texture and make it a bit messy.

6) Sun bathing or fake tanning?
Sun bathing, although because I'm so pale I don't ever go brown. When I have fake tanned it hasn't come out well and it has been orange or patchy!

7) Favourite summer nail polish?
I can't pick just one! I have an obsession of buying nail polishes.. But I really like pastel colours at the moment and their usually Rimmel or Barry M. I really like the gelly shine ones from Barry M. 

8) Any summer traditions? 
See if its possible for me to get a tan!

9) Favourite summer scent?
The yellow bottle from Ralph Lauren.

10) Favourite BBQ food?
Has to be a good burger!

11) Favourite summer proof makeup?
I like to make sure I always have powder on me wherever I go as I hate having a shiny face!

12) Any summer vacations planned?
I'm not going abroad this year, but I'm moving back up to Liverpool in August so that'll be my little holiday.

♥

Gentlemen Of The Road - Lewes 19th-20th July.

At the weekend I was lucky enough to go to a small festival called Gentlemen Of The Road, set up by Mumford & Sons. They themselves organised this tour in which they stop over at 5 different destinations, one in the UK, one in Canada and three in the US. The destination in the UK happened to be a little town called Lewes which happens to be about 15 minutes from where I live.

Warning: This post is going to be very photo heavy!

'The Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers are all about live music. We get to put them on in towns not normally frequented by touring bands in buses or splitter vans. We deliberately look for towns that have something unique, or some vibe of which they are proud,  explore them and enjoy what they have to offer.' - http://www.mumfordandsons.com/news/2013-gentlemen-of-the-road-stopovers-announced

The main headline bands for the weekend were:
Friday - Vampire Weekend

Saturday - Mumford & Sons

My favourite bands across the weekend would have to have been:

Bear's Den

 Edward Sharpe & 
The Magnetic Zeros

Mumford & Sons,

     

Vampire Weekend

                                         

                   

The Vaccines.

                     

I went with my best friend Libby, you can find her blog here, her sister and her friend. Photos were either taken by me, Libby or her sister or her friend Lauren!

Here are a few photos from across the weekend:

Arriving on day one!

Mumford & Sons.

Bear's Den!

The Vaccines!

Overall had a lovely weekend spent out in the sun listening to some great music! Well worth £75 for the whole weekend for sure.

♥

Kate Moss Lip Sticks.

Left #08, Right #01.

These are the two Kate Moss lip sticks that I own. As you can see by the one on the right I've had it for quite a while, thus why its a bit battered. I only recently purchased #08, however I think it's quite similar to Max Factor's English Rose.

Personally I think for me the #01 is too red for my pale skin complexion, so for that reason I wouldn't repurchase it. Although it smells delicious, it is quite hard to apply due to the colour being so bright, you have to apply it precisely for it to look good. It also is very transferable which effects the overall appearance of it. Because of this, it means having to apply it frequently. It smudges very easy so if you're on a night out, I wouldn't recommend using this lipstick. Even after blotting a few times, the colour still bleeds. 

As you can see from the swatches, the finish of both lipsticks are shimmery. Personally I quite like this, especially with #08, I think this is a great day time shade and with the shimmer it gives it a bit of a pop. Although I wouldn't repurchase #01, I would definitely repurchase #08 without a doubt. At £5.49 for each lipstick, they are affordable for even a student such as myself!

Let me know your opinions of the Kate Moss collection!

♥

Max Factor Colour Collections Lipstick - English Rose.

A few weeks ago I went into boots looking for a new lipstick and found this one. I've had quite a few compliments about this lipstick. The collection comes in five different colours, however English Rose was easily my favourite. It's a beautiful soft pink with a silvery shimmer. It's very moisturising and has a long lasting colour. 

Colour in natural light.

 For £6.99 I would definitely buy it again when it runs out. I think for the price it is you get quite a lot of product. It's a very pretty shade which can be worn every day to give a pop of colour. Another thing I like about this product is that its easy to apply and gives a precise application.

Swatched in natural light.

What's your favourite lipstick? Leave me a comment as I'd love to know!

♥

Review on: Alterna's Bamboo Style Boho Waves Tousled Texture Mist.

A few days ago I got my glossybox through the post. It was the summer edition and I was really pleased with it. One of the products inside was the: Alterna Bamboo Style: Boho Waves Tousled Texture Mist. It was a sample size of 25ml. 

You can buy it full sized (125ml) online at: http://shop.alternahaircare.com/product/boho-waves-spray?product_id=16229&category_id=0000041  for £14.50. 

When applying it to wet hair like the instructions said, I didn't really see a difference in my hair so I was sceptical about trying it again. However, after speaking to Libby (check out her blog: http://life-of-libby.blogspot.co.uk/) she suggested that I try it on dry hair as she had found it was very effective. Second time around and I love this product! I sprayed a few pumps into my hand and scrunched it into my hair. By doing this it allows me to control how much product I'm using and stopping my hair from looking 'wet'. I found it gave my hair a lot more texture and gave it a beachy look kind of appearance. It really brought out my layers and defined them well. 

As much as I liked this product, I don't think I'd buy the full sized bottle, mainly because of how expensive it is. In boots there are quite a few different salt sprays for a lot cheaper so I think I'd shop around first and try out different sprays before coming back to this one. However, thank you glossybox for putting this product in my box, its been greatly enjoyed!

♥

10 Facts About Me

1) My name is Evie.
2) I'm 19.
3) I'm studying Psychology at University.
4) My favourite shops would be: New Look, H&M, Topshop, River Island, Urban Outfitters and Boots.
5) My favourite colour has always been purple ever since I was a child.
6) I'm a sucker for all the twilight films and a lover of Harry Potter.
7) I don't read books very often, but the last book I absolutely loved was The Hunger Games, would recommend that to anyone.
8) I paint my nails way too often and own way too many nail varnishes, but regardless continue to buy more.
9) I sleep way too often, it's as if I'm an 19 year old stuck in an 80 year olds body with the amount of naps I take.
10) When I'm hungry I'm really grumpy.

Just a few random facts about me as I'm new to this and have seen other bloggers do it too!

♥

Pilot blog post.

Hi guys!

This first post is to introduce myself. I'm Evie, a second year university student. As I'm interested in hair, make up and beauty products, this blog will review products that I've recently bought or wanting to buy. These reviews will reflect what I honestly think about them as I believe its important to give a true review. The products I tend to buy are majority from the high street as being a student means having to budget. However, occasionally I'll buy something a bit more up market from somewhere like MAC.

As I'm new it'll take me a bit of time to sort out my banner, so be patient :)!

♥