Peaches and Cream Cupcakes

 Peaches are one of my favourite fruits, and peaches and cream are an ultimate treat. These cupcakes are really refreshing and fruity. They're not to sweet as there is cream instead of icing. 

For the cupakes you will need...

400g of canned peach slices in fruit juice

115g of softened butter 

115g or caster sugar

2 eggs

115g of self raising flour

150ml of double cream

Preheat oven to 180oc and line a 12-hole cupcake tin with 12 cupcake cases. Drain the peaches and reserve the juice. Keep 12 peach slices and leave to one side as you need these for decoration. Finely chop the remaining slices. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream together with an electric whisk until light and fluffy, then gradually add the eggs one at a time and beat after. Sift in the flour and fold into the mixture. Then fold in the chopped peaches and 1 tablespoon of the remaining juice. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. When the cupcakes are done, leave them to cool on a wire rack. Then when they are ready to decorate, place the cream into a bowl and whisk with an electric wisk until very thick, you have to over wisk the cream. Then spread the cream on top of the cupcakes using a knife and then place a peach slice on each cupcake. 

And that's it. I hope you liked this recipe.

xoxo 

Connie 

Style Saturday: Room Tour!

I recently have had my bedroom redecorated and I did promise that I would do a room tour when it was finished. It was finished almost a month ago but I was AWOL, so I never did a blog post on it then. But finally I am and here it is...

I didn't really have any sort of theme in mind when I was decorating it. I knew that I wanted it to be painted cream, and then I was going to go for baby pink accessories. However it ended up sort of floral as I chose a patchwork quilt and then I chose some floral bunting. Overtime I started to collected more and more things that were the colours I wanted and I have also ended up with cupcake theme stuff too. So I guess I could say that my bedroom theme is just really girly... haha, which I think just sums up me!

Back wall- other side of the bed!

View from window! 

Opposite the back wall, next to the window- dressing table area/ where I get ready in the morning!

Back wall- further along!

View from ensuite bathroom door!

View from bedroom door!

Window opposite the back wall! 

Overview of my bedroom! 

Other window opposite my bed!

I hope you liked my room tour! If you have any questions about where I got anything from, then leave them down below and I will get back to you! 

xoxo 

Connie 

Beauty Tuesday: Summer Skin Care Favourites!

As the weather has been so hot lately and felt like it really is the Summer (wonder how long this weather will last) I thought that I would share with you my Summer Skin Care Favourites! 

My moisturiser of choice for the Summer is always the Garnier Intensive 7 Days, this stuff smells like Summer and is really moisturising, especially when skin feels tight after being in the sun! I have the Cocoa Butter version which is for dry, rough skin and this is by far the richest moisturiser I have found! 

In the Summer I also like to use a gradual tanner and my favourites are the Palmers Cocoa Butter and the Dove one as these give a very subtle hint of colour after one application and doesn't look fake. 

After my shower I like to use a body spary to spritz over my body as this is really refreshing! My favourite is the Soap and Glory Mist You Madly body spray. It has the original Soap and Glory pink scent and is really revitalizing in the morning time.

That's it, see you all soon!

xoxo 

Connie 

Style Saturday: Summer Cupcakes #2

I'm back with another Summer cupcake recipe again this Style Saturday as promised. This weeks recipe is the '99' Cupcakes as I think that '99' icecream just sums up the Summer and this sounded like a perfect recipe. These cupcakes are pretty much just plain vanilla sponge with vanilla frosting with a few added extras, so they really quick and simply to make but look really impressive. These cupcakes will be perfect for Summer parties, BBQ's and picnic's. 

There are several ways in which you can decorate these cupcakes as it's up to you and you can base it on how you like your '99' icecream... plain, with a flake, stawberry sauce or sprinkles.  I made a few with a flake and a few with strawberry sauce so there is a little selection.

These cupcakes have a delicious bake there golden brown and crunchy on the outside and the inside is light, fluffy and very moist too. There is a lot of buttercream icing on these cupcakes so there very sweet, and if your not the biggest fan of icing then there probably not for you.

For the cupcakes you will need...

175g of unsalted butter

175g of caster sugar

1tsp of vanilla extract

3 eggs

55g of ground almonds

150g of self raising flour

For the icing you will need...

150g of softend butter

1tbsp of milk

150g of icing sugar

To decorated the cupcakes you will need...

(These are all optional) 

8 mini chocolate flakes

sugar sprinkles 

raspberry or strawberry jam 

To make these cupcakes...

Firstly you need to cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy with an electric whisk in a large bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Then add the flour and whisk for a couple of minutes, then add in the vanilla. After gently fold in the almonds. Line a cupcake baking tray with the cases- this recipe bakes 8-10 cupcakes. Then spoon in the mixture until the cases are about 2/3 full. Bake in the oven until golden brown and are springy to touch, then allow to cool on a wire rack. 

To make the butter cream icing...

Place the butter, milk and icing sugar into a medium sized bowl and whisk until smooth with and electric whisk. 

To decorate the cupcakes...

Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a large star nozzle and pipe the icing over the cakes to a peak like an ice-cream cone. Press a flake into each cake and then if you like you can scatter a few sprinkles on top. If you want to add strawberry sauce you need to warm the jam and then drizzle a little over the cakes. 

I hope you like this recipe -If you bake these cupcakes be sure to send me your pictures on Instagram with the hashtag #connielovesbeauty

xoxo

Connie

Beauty Tuesday: My Hygiene Routine!

Hey guys, today I thought I would share with you my hygiene routine as these videos seem pretty popular on youtube and are actually kind of interesting. When you think about it is actually pretty bizarre... I mean why do we want to hear about other women's hygiene routines?  I don't why I find them interesting, its probably because I'm incredibly nosy and quite curious about what everyone else uses to keep themselves clean, sounds weird I know, but I can't be the only one as they are popular videos and your reading this post about my hygiene routine.

In The Shower

Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo (every other day)

Aussie Reconstructor Deep Conditioner (every other day)

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash (everyday)

St Ives Apricot Scrub (twice a week)

L'Oreal Skin Perfection Miracle Cleansing Oil (every night- to take my makeup off/ cleanse my face)

Venus Razor (every other day)

After Showering  

Garnier Intensive 7 Days Lotion (every other day)

Colgate Total Advanced Whitening (twice a day)

Oral B Sensitive Mouthwash (after I brush my teeth)

Dove Nourishing Oil Spray (After I wash my hair, when it is still damp)

Macadamia Oil (everyday)

In The Morning

Tangle Teezer (everyday to brush my hair)

Dove Pure Deodorant (everyday)

Perfume (everyday)

Extra Skincare

Clearasil Daily Clear Refreshing Wash (every morning) 

Garnier Moisture Match (morning and night after I wash my face)

Argan Oil Night Repair Serum (once a day at night time after cleansing face, before moisturizer)

Peaches and Clean deep purifying cleanser (I use this as a face mask once a week)

That's it.

xoxo 

Connie 

Makeup Monday: Updated Everyday Makeup

Not much has changed since I last did an everyday makeup post but I have swapped a few things around from my collection to my makeup bag. The items that are the same are normally my favourite products that I couldn't live with out and are always in my makeup bag. 

The foundation that is in my makeup bag at the moment is the MaX Factor Face Finity All Day Flawless, I really like this foundation as it has really good coverage. The concealers are the same as always the Collection Lasting Perfection in Fair and the Garnier Tinted Eye Roll On. I have gone back to using the Seventeen Miracle Matte Pressed Powder and I forgot how amazing it is, it really does keep me matte all day and the combination of this powder and the Face Finity foundation is amazing. As an oily skin girl I always struggle to find a foundation and powder that last all day and keep me from looking shiny but these too are amazing and really affordable too. I have gone back to using the Sleek Face Form palette. I really do love the combination of the blush, highlight and contour powder together as they are just beautiful. It's the same ol' same ol' for my eyebrows the Rimmel eyebrow pencil in hazel. I use nothing else as this is just perfect for me, it has everything I want in a eyebrow pencil and it's so cheap too. For my eyes I use the eyeshadow base as always, 001 by Dainty Doll. I have gone back to using the Naked Basics palette, as I just love it. I've been using Venus as a highlight under my brow bone and in the corner of my eye and then I have been using Naked 2 on my lid. Then in my crease I have been using the MaX Factor Earth Spirits single eyeshadow on 105 Terra Firma. Lastly on my eyes I have been using my regular and favourite mascara and eyeliner which are the L'Oreal Volume million lashes and the Soap and Glory smoulder and kohl. That's pretty much it, apart from my lipsticks which change everyday as it just depends what kind of day it is.

xoxo

Connie 

Surprise Sunday: Lush Brightside Bubble Bar Review

A few weeks ago I picked up a couple of products from Lush that I have been dying to try for ages. One of the products was the Brightside Bubble Bar. I've always loved the bubble bars from Lush and I would choose them over the bath bombs. I picked up this one purely because of the smell, it smells amazing. It smells really strong of oranges and reminds me of orange starbursts and fanta. 

It contains tangerine oil, bergamot oil and garenia extract and altogether it creates a beautiful summer time scent. After my bath the whole bathroom smelt amazing and I could still smell it on my skin and my skin felt really silky soft and smooth and I didn't feel like I need to moisturize after.

I put off buying this bubble bar for ages because of the price as it was quite expensive for what it is. However I figured that I could section it off and get a few baths out of it, so therefor it works out to be quite good value. It says that you can get 2 baths out of it but I think I could maybe get 3 or 4.

I crumbled it under the running taps and almost instantly the water was changing colour. The water turned a amazing bright orange colour. 

Like all Lush bath products it left the water feeling really silky and soft which is what I love about Lush products and I didn't want to get out of the bath after. 

There was lots of bubbles in my bath which I was really impressed about and considering I only used a small amount of the bubble bar too, that's pretty good. 

Overall I really liked this bubble bar and it may be one of my favourites and the best thing is I still have more than half of the bubble bar left so I can enjoy plenty more bubble baths.

xoxo 

Connie 

Style Saturday: Cupcake Decoration Haul

Hey guys, the other day I went food shopping with my mum and I brought some ingredients and decorations for some cupcakes that I'm planning on making. I saw a recipe for these Watermelon Slice cupcakes from the Betty Crocker "The Big Book of Cupcakes" and I thought they would be perfect to make for the summer time.

I needed some food colouring for the icing so I picked up red and green. I also picked up some vanilla flavouring.

I needed some chocolate chips for the in the cupcakes mixture and to decorate as they are supposed to be the seeds of the watermelon. I picked up the Dr.Oetker dark and milk chocolate chips.

For the recipe I needed powdered strawberry flavour jelly and I saw these jellly crystals so I hope they're same thing. 

To decorate I picked up some piping bags and piping nozzles and to decorate the cupcakes I need a few different piping nozzles.

These ones by Waitrose have 4 differnt piping nozzles; petal, flute, ribbon and a round shaped one. So I thought that they would be good.

And lastly I got some more icing sugar as otherwise I can't decorate the cupcakes.

That's it!

xoxo 

Connie 

Fashion Friday: Bright Summer Nails

Hey guys, last week I picked up 2 new nail polishes, not like I needed any but I haven't got these colours or anything like them and I think there gorgeous for summer as I love bright nails. Both of the polishes that I brought have a gel formula. I didn't mean to do this but thinking about this now I don't think I have any like that and I'm looking forward to trying a new formula out. I'm not really that bothered by them being high-shine as I always wear a top coat anyway but its worth a try to see what there like. I picked up a Collection Lasting Gel Colour Polish in the colour Think Pink. It's a really bright barbie pink. I own loads of pink polishes but nothing similar to this and I have been looking for one like this for ages.I also picked up another Barry M polish. I'm not the biggest fan of Barry M but I have never tried the Gelly High shine and I really love the colour. Green Berry is supposed to be a dupe for China Glaze's Too Yacht To Handle which I really wanted to try. It's almost a kind of neon blue/green which will look gorgeous in the Summer.

xoxo

Connie

Surprise Sunday: Baking Cupcakes

Hey guys, I did a little bit of baking yesterday and I made some marshmallow fluff cupcakes. The recipe wasn't my own it was this one- bbcgoodfood-link. It was my first time making them and the actual cakes turned out really well but the icing ended up being a bit too runny. 

Here's are all the ingredients... 

Here's what they looked like before they went in the oven...

And here they are out of the oven and before they have been decorated... 

I decorated them with a marshmallow fluff butter cream icing and I made my own icing bag. But because the icing was a little bit too runny I found that it didn't work that well. I then used some sweets to decorate them as I didn't have any sprinkles.

That's it.

xoxo

Connie 

Surprise Sunday: Afternoon Tea Anyone?

Coming from a family of tea lovers, I never really liked tea all that much for along time. But recently I have been really getting into it and I'm even starting to crave the stuff, I swear it's some kind of drug. We went out for afternoon tea to this local Vineyard as it was my grandparents anniversary. And I had what the place called a 'Tadpole' which consists of tea with 1 scone with jam and clotted cream. 

The tea didn't come in it's normal form, the tea bag, it came loose. I'd never really had loose tea before and I didn't even know that tea came loose. So there was no hope in me knowing what a tea strainer was, but thankfully I do know now. We had a little cup and saucer which we were to drink our tea from and the tea strainer was really cute, it was in a little tea pot shape. I've always thought tea tastes nicer in a cup than a mug, is that just me? And also, now I've tried loose tea, it tastes 10x better than tea from a bag. I know, I'm sounding old.

What I love about the place is that it is so quirky and nothing matches. Everyone has a different cup and saucer, everyone has a different plate and everyone even has a different chair. It has their personal touch that everyone will remember. 

Of course I was going to have a scone, who wouldn't. I just had a plain scone but I could of had a cheese or a fruit scone. It came with jam and clotted cream which is an absoloute treat as I never normally have that. It was absoloutely to die for as the scones were homemade, and you could even see in the kitchen where they made them. The clotted cream and jam were also local produce from the area. It was proberly one of the best scones I have had for a long time and I'm craving one now as I'm typing this. Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Connie