My Favourite Foodies

I would definitely not say I'm healthy at all. I love love love food - good and bad! However I have a weird obsession with health books and blogs, purely because I find them so so interesting. If there's a new book then there's no doubt that I have pre-ordered it! Anything that will make me eat slightly healthier without feeling like I'm missing out I'm game for. I thought I’d share my favourites  foodies with you…

5. 

Her recipes are really delicious moreish foods that make me feel like I’m still eating junk food. Her Bacon, Butternutsquash and Almond Butter Salad is as incredible as it sounds! My other two faves of hers are:

- Fully Loaded Mexican Salad Bowl

- Thai Green Chickpea, Squash and Roasted Cauliflower Curry

4.

Her recipes are so simple and easy – as well as delicious. I feel like there is no faff in there that is hard to source, and as a student – will never buy. Some I make regularly are:

- Asian Chicken Salad
- Turkey Bolognese & Courgetti
- Light Shepard's Pie 

3.

I love these two because their food is just so luxurious and seems so naughty when it really isn’t. There philosophy of just eating really good, natural, wholesome food I think is a really good approach and their recipes are just epic! I feel like their food is great for those who are‘anti-diet’! My top ones are:

- Oven Baked Asparagus & Eggs 

- The Ultimate Chicken Tamarind Salad

- Squash, Red Lentil & Coconut Curry

2.

If you know anything about Sam Smith then you'll know this woman. I have all of her books, and absolutely adore her! I really like her firm attitude, no fannying around. She just tells you the truth – what you should and shouldn’t be doing. I feel like you NEED to buy her books to really understand why she is so amazing, and because a lot of her recipes aren’t online. Some that I love are:

- Green Breakfast Smoothie

- Superfood Soup

1.

Any one who Millie Mackintosh loves, I know I'll love! I adore Madeleine Shaw so much. I am so excited for her next book! I tell everyone I know to buy it and read it because it is just so crystal clear, and I just get it. It’s real understandable, non-patronising knowledge. And the most important thing is it makes you realise why you should change. Her website is full of great recipes though if you don’t want to part with your $$$! A few of my faves are:

- Green Avocado and Mango Smoothie

- Thai Courgetti Salad

- Carrot and Turmeric Superfood Soup

- Black Bean Bolognese with Courgetti

- Prawn and Pepper Courgette Stir Fry

Hopefully that would give some cooking inspo to any one stuck in a rut of what to make for tea! Alongside these guys, if I ever get the sudden (rare) urge to be healthy I also love recipes from BBC Good Food, Jamie Oliver and Deliciously Ella!

Who are your favourite foodies?

New Obsession: Illamasqua Gleam Highlighter in 'Aurora'

I am so obsessed with this highlighyer.

Well, I am obsessed with all highlighters, and I’ve honestly tried so so so many to find the perfect one. I always felt like I had really high expectations that would never be fulfilled…

One day I was shopping in Selfridges with my friend, and we both spotted this highlighter from a mile off! I would have never gave this a second look online, it looks so much nicer in real life. It is the Illamasqua Gleam Highlighter in ‘Aurora’.

Firstly, I love Illamasqua packaging. I think it’s really sleek and classy. I love the glass window in this little compact!

Okay.. the picture below is gross! BUT when I first opened it, it had a weird, wet oily film on top - like it had separated!? And when I was swatching it, it looked nothing like in the store and I was getting so annoyed! So I mixed it all together.. and voila! It looks like crap but works perfectly!

It is a really soft creamy highlighter, that is the perfect cool champagne colour for my pale skin. It really isn’t glittery at all, it is very much a ‘glowy’ highlighter. I just dab it on my cheeks with my fingers and blend it out with a beauty blender – and it’s perfect!

I’ve had so many compliments, and so many people asking me what highlighter I’m wearing! Because it’s so creamy, it’s amaaazing if you put a powder highlighter on top too – then it really pops. Also, it’s really easy to mix into foundation – and when I did that recently for a night out loads of my friends asked what my new dewy foundation was!

They also do the same highlighter in a deep bronze colour, perfect for darker skin tones. I love how on their site, they put the colours on different skin tones so you can actually see how it will look on you!

I can’t rave about this highlighter enough, I love it! I will definitely be picking up many many more (unless something new steals my heart!)

What’s your favourite highlighter of all time??

Trainer Lust List

I’ve been lusting over trainers so much lately. I used to spend hundreds and hundreds of pounds on trainers before university, but now as a poor student I rarely buy any. I picked up a few pairs recently from ASOS and Zara, but here are some of the other ones I’ve had by eye on…

ANIMAL PRINT

I don’t know why I’m loving all trainers that have animal vibes these days. Whether it’s crocodile or leopard. It’s something that I’d usually hate but I’m really feeling it at the moment!

Reebok Classics Nylon Wild (£47)

Ash Fool White Nappa Aligator (£75 - down from 149!)

Adidas Superstar 2 Black Mono Snake (£69.99)

Reebok Exotic Skin in Mauve (£62)

Zara Leather Platform Sneakers in White/Leopard Print (£39.99)

RETRO

I loooove ugly retro trainers, I always have and always will. I remember back when I scoured the internet because I wanted a pair of blue New Balance trainers so desperately and they didn’t sell them anywhere (it’s crazy to think how much they’ve expanded now!) I always love Reebok because they do so many cool colours.

Reebok Classic Nylon in Black/White (£55)

Reebok X Face Stockholm Classic Leather Spirit (£62)

Reebok Classic Nylon in White/Grey (£55)

Le Coq Sportif Omega in Beige (£70)

Le Coq Sportif Eclat Silver Metallic (£70)

Pimkie Black Spotted Sole Trainers (£29.99)

!DUPE!

I see these Puma trainers all over Instagram and I love them so much! But they come with a hefty price tag, and I definitely can’t afford to be splashing out on them. However I did see these ones in Zara, that I think have the same kind of pastelly vibe – I love them too!

Puma Blaze Trinomic in Beige (£70)

Zara Multicolour Contrast (£35.99)

What trainers have you been loving at the moment??

NEW! MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lip Colour Review

As soon as I saw MAC bring these liquid lipsticks out, I was so so so excited! I knew they’d soon jump on the bandwagon. When I got down to the store, all the nudes had sold out, which sucked. So I picked up this standard red shade ‘Feels So Grand’. It was a bit pricey £22, but I think I had rose tinted glasses on at the time, so let it slide. You can see below though, they are a lot larger than standard lipsticks – so maybe it is worth it!

I’m always really sceptical about liquid lipsticks, because 99% of them are awful. I’m not saying these ones aren’t hard to use, because that just comes with the matte territory. But, they are a lot lot nicer than most liquid lipsticks.

It is really thick and creamy, so it is so easy to apply and not clingy at all. It is quite tricky to get a sharp line, I guess as it is essentially painting your lips – but it’s nothing a bit of concealer cant help. It doesn’t set straight away, so it is quite easy to clean up.

I love how It is so so so pigmented and rich! Here is a shot of it next to the driest matte lipstick on earth: Ruby Woo. You can see from a mile how much it outshone the original cult classic. It is so much more vibrant, easy to apply, and a lot less drying. And as you can see, pretty much an identical shade.

As it sets, it does get a lot dryer – but that is to be expected. You definitely cannot rub your lips together after a touch up, as it just flakes horrendously. However, the staying power of this liquid lipstick is incredible. One weekend, I woke up with the colour still perfectly in place – and that is something when it comes to red lipstick!

I love wearing this shade with the MAC lip liner ‘Redd’ (pictured below), I think it’s a pretty good match!

All in all, I absolutely adore these liquid lipsticks, they are the best I’ve tried so far. Even though they are so much more expensive than standard lipsticks I definitely want to pick more up. No rush though – as they’ve just been made permanent! Yay!