April Favourites

Sooooo, it's that time of the month, my first ever April Favourites post!

I've been wondering for a while whether or not to do one of these, I've watched many youtube videos on monthly favourites and for a while I thought they really do work best when it's more interactive, so you can get a better view of the product itself and so forth, but I've decided to bite the bullet and make a post dedicated to my favourite products in April.. let me know what you think!

Beauty Products

Benefit Porefessional Facial Primer // £24.50 // Available stores - Debenhams, Selfridges, Boots -
So originally I bought this primer back in.. October, I think? (after being sucked in by one of those over enthused sales women.. kudos to her though, I'm now fully invested in this product!) However, I don't think I fully appreciated it until recently when I started noticing how oily my skin gets after wearing foundation for around 6 hours. I saw this lying around untouched and decided, hm why not? I wore it underneath my foundation, in my oily t-zone areas, and just under my eyes and cheeks, and then waited a second until it had set in before putting on my foundation, and lo and behold, for the next 6 hours of that day my face looked so fresh I could have cried with happiness! This is literally one of the best primers I have used and I have even tried a MAC Prep and Prime primer, which worked just as well, so I'd say they're both on par. The primer itself is light and creamy when being applied, and sets in the skin really quickly and doesn't feel cakey once you've applied your foundation which is always a bonus!

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion // £8.00 // Available stores - Debenhams, Selfridges, House of Fraser, Boots
This is the first eye primer I've used, and I must say it is the dream! I apply this right before my eyeshadow (trick is in the name, right?) and although it's a little heavy application wise, (I don't know if it's just me, but for a few minutes it feels a little sticky?) after it had set in, it allowed my eyeshadow to be applied not only really smoothly, but the staying power maximised, and…. no creases!!!! Yes, for once in my life my eyeshadow did not sink into the deep, dark depths of my hooded eyelids. Gah. Love it.

MAC Velvet Teddy - Matte Finish // £15.00 // Available stores - MAC, Selfridges
Okay, so you lot all know I owned MAC's Taupe a while back right? Yeah well, it kinda felt the wrath of the washing machine… I know, I may have shed some tears too. So I went back and decided to buy a new one, because it really is the nicest 'nude' shade that I own, and guess what? THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY LEFT IN STOCK. I almost cried again, I really did. But then I saw mum making a few swatches, and one colour really stood out to me as the loveliest warm brown nude, and it happened to be Velvet Teddy! And to top it all off, it was in my favourite finish range, matte! I recommend this colour to all the lovely ladies with slightly darker complexions, as it really does just add a certain glow to the face!

The Body Shop Seaweed Purifying Facial Cleanser // £8.00 // Available stores - The Body Shop
I have included this in my April favourites even though this is literally a daily routine for me since about 2 years ago, because I thought I needed to let you guys know, that if you have oily/combination skin, then this facial cleanser simply lifts the purities out of your face, and leaves you with the most freshest feeling! When I first tried this, I bought the toner and make up remover cream with it also, and upon using it, I felt a tingling sensation in my skin.. I wasn't sure if that was normal, but the next time I went in, the lady told me that it was absolutely normal and the tingling sensation is the cleanser and toner letting you know that it's working! I use it twice a day, I use the cleanser whilst I'm in the shower, and the toner right after (and then moisturise, of course.) That is how I use this life saving cleanser! 

The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter // £13.00 // Available stores - The Body Shop
The smell of this is divine. Oh, that and it actually leaves a shimmer behind after you've massaged this blessed moisturiser into your skin. That is all. Really. If you love unicorns and rainbows and Lady Gaga, buy this. 

Shoes Shoes Shoes

Nike Roshe Runs - Palm print edition // £69.99 // Available stores - Office, Nike? 
Okay so I don't usually style trainers, because I've never really valued them as part of my personal style, I only ever used to just wear them to the gym, and that'd be it. Until, Nike came along with 'Roshe Runs'. I was originally going to buy free runs, but I kind of always procrastinated and thought, 'oh, I'll buy it whenever, I still have these perfectly good running shoes to wear at the gym, and besides.. makeup!' But oh my, did that all change when I discovered these pairs of marshmallows. Because that is literally how they feel when you're walking in them!! That, and not to mention the palm print design.. I love palm trees, and I love monochrome.. these shoes were made to be loved by me, honestly! 

Topshop SUNNY Sling Back Platform shoes - Nude // £58.00 // Available stores - Topshop
Do you ever get that feeling where you're emotionally invested in a pair of heels? I think this is one of those moments. I'm a small size 4, and when I laid eyes on these beauties, I knew these were just my cup of tea! I've been looking for the perfect nude pair of heels for what seemed like forever, and to be honest what even is nude nowadays? There are so many different types of nude! Coral nude, browny mushroomy nude, cream nude, urgh.. so many nudes but never the perfect type for my skin.. until now. So, as these were the last in my size, I decided to snap them up as soon as! I haven't really tried to walk in them as they're 5" and I kind of need to check I actually fit into them first, as I have a knack for coming up smaller in heels, so an update or an outfit post will probably be due soon! (Also Topshop shoes can actually be quite painful to walk in.. so wish me luck please guys!!)

FOOD.

Yeo Valley Mango and Vanilla Yogurt // £1.60 // Available stores - They need to sell these everywhere. 
I can't actually describe how beautiful this yogurt is because every kind of adjective is understating the deliciousness of this absolute treat, so I highly recommend that every yogurt lover tries this! And to be honest even if you're not a big yogurt eater, you will probably end up falling in love with this because it's divine and you'd be crazy not to love it. I literally eat this with everything. E v e r y t h i n g. 


I hope you enjoyed this very speedy April favourites, and please please do let me know if this is something you'd like to see regularly! 

Love, 

Jazz xox

Vegan Alternative to Pancakes Served Alongside an Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Hey guys! I thought I'd start of with a HAPPY EASTER! I hope that you have all spent your day eating eggs and being unable to move, I know I haven't.. the rents forgot to buy us easter eggs :(

So today I've tried something new, a vegan recipe!
Recently I've been trying to cut out most carbs and most dairy products out of my diet, mostly because it doesn't really suit my body and basically I feel fat and bloated all of the time haha. 
So for example, instead of eating bread and pasta, I'll most likely opt for brown rice or quinoa. And instead of drinking milk and eating cheese, I've opted for drinking almond milk and eating goats cheese (it's got half the fat and isn't too harsh on the stomach.) Doing this has actually improved the state of my mind and body so much! I used to feel so tired and bloated all the time, and after going through with this for only a week, sure it's quite difficult to follow along with a vegetarian diet, but I feel a lot lighter. 

So the first recipe I've experimented with is an 'Avocado Chocolate Mousse.' Usually I love a bit of Nutella on my pancakes, however it can get quite heavy and a little too much to start the day with. So I've found an alternative.

Ingredients:

2 large, ripe avocados

2-3 tablespoons of almond milk

2-3 tablespoons of cocoa powder/drinking chocolate

Optional add ins - hazelnuts provide that amazing taste that nutella has, and although I didn't have any to hand, I would definitely recommend adding this in for a richer taste!

(for a richer taste, you can always melt chocolate and add that into the mix as well, alternatively if you'd like to make this extra healthy, you can add in raw cocoa powder and to sweeten, add in 2-3 dates.)

Just pop it all into a blender, blend until smooth and there you have it! All you need to do now is either refrigerate it for later and add a sprinkling of granola over the top and a few raspberries, or eat it as it is!

This next recipe is the perfect accompaniment to the mousse. Its an all vegan, banana pancake! I'm yet to perfect this recipe, as its reaaaally difficult to flip once its in the pan, because I haven't added any egg to it as a binding agent, I've only really used banana and baking powder so it's a little flimsy. I then added a teaspoon of self raising flour on a whim that maybe it would hold the remaining batter together once in the pan, and it worked! 

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
1 cup of oats - you could use gluten free oats if you'd like
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of bi-carbonate of soda
1 and a 1/4 cup of almond milk
2 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon of self raising flour - or however much you'd want to use depending on how difficult the pancake is to flip

Optional add ins - nuts of your choice, chopped berries, chocolate chips

Now all you do is blend the whole mixture together, until completely smooth. If you find that the mixture is slightly too thick, add in some more milk and mix together. I then added in raspberries once I had blended everything together.

Once I had added the berries, I heated a pan up and spread some rapeseed oil over it so that the pancakes don't stick to the pan and create the worst mess imaginable. As soon as the pan has been heated, lower the heat down and then begin to pour the batter onto the pan. The lower the heat (but obviously not ridiculously low) the softer and lighter the pancakes.

Give each side 2-3 minutes to cook, and then flip. Be careful though - it can be a messy job and don't worry if the first one comes out as a total shambles, it took me almost 2 or 3 tries to actually get it right, and like I said, the recipe hasn't been perfected, so if you lot come up with any ways to create a more stable pancake, feel free to message me and let me know!

And there you have it - the pancake may look burnt, but thats just because you've added in banana so its 'caramelised', the inside of the pancake is beautifully light and fluffy, so the exterior is nothing to worry about!

Serve with all of your favourite pancake toppings (mine happens to be peanut butter, avocado mousse and raspberries), and enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post, my next one shall be an April favourites, which is a whole host of products and general stuffs I have been enjoying throughout this month, both beauty and non beauty!

Jazz x 

Trio of Healthy Smoothies/Juices

So this week I've decided to dedicate this post all to my love of smoothies and juices! I love making these largely for breakfast to use as a base for my cereal instead of milk (cue the groans and confused looks on faces) or just to take with me on my bus journey to college as I can sometimes have no time for a proper breakfast, so this fills me up and keeps me going until lunch.

Triple Berry Smoothie

This first recipe is really simple and only uses 6 ingredients. I love this smoothie because although the fruit that I am using are pretty much fruit bowl staples (in my house hold anyway!) I think that they are easily adaptable, as is the fruit I'm using in the other two recipes, and you can take things out and add things in as you please!

I make it using: 

1 Cup of Raspberries

1 Cup of Blueberries

(Approx) 1 Cup of Strawberries

(Approx) 3 Tablespoons of Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Cup of Water (cold is preferable) // Or you can use ice if you want a colder, more refreshing smoothie.

Honey to taste

I use the Vitamix blender which is DEFINITELY worth investing in if you make juices regularly, because unlike regular blenders which can leave juices and smoothies tasting.. not very smooth? This blends fruit and vegetable to a literal pulp, which I love! However I have also used it to make my own homemade hummus (if you would like a post on that, let me know!) and other such blend able foods. 

Right, so as I use that blender, I don't want to blunt the blades (this is if you are using ice, if not then don't worry,) so this is how I put in my ingredients - yogurt - raspberries - blueberries - strawberries - ice (this is what can blunt the blades so quickly if put in first apparently) - honey.  And then blend it all together! It produces the most sweet, yet slightly tart smoothie which is a perfect wake me up drink.

Unfortunately I haven't got a photo of the finished product because my brother decided to drink it all up before I could haha! 

Green Juice

Okay so does anybody else have this problem where they try and make green juices and they literally turn out looking like you've regurgitated the ingredients? THIS IS ONE OF THOSE JUICES. But believe me when I say that this tastes soooo good, I didn't even put the honey in it in the end!

I make it using:

1 Green apple 

A handful of grapes (green would probably be better for the aesthetics ha)

A handful of blueberries

1 Kiwi 

A handful of spinach

Honey to taste - although I don't really think it's needed.

Water // Ice

…. and blend! It's as simple as that. I would probably make alternative versions of this where I'd swap the blueberries and grapes for oranges and carrots, that would produce a sweeter juice, whereas if you then swapped the blueberries and grapes for a hint of lemon and cucumber then you'd end up with a more refreshing drink. There are endless flavour combinations with juices, and I think it's really fun to let loose with your creative side haha! 

Mango-Berry Smoothie

This last one was requested by my brother who is a massive fan of mango, but let's face it.. who isn't? So this is another adaptable recipe,

I make it using:

1 Banana

1 Cup of raspberries

1 Whole mango

1 Cup of yogurt or a splash of milk. 

Honey to taste … again I didn't use any, but featured it just incase your raspberries are tart or you have a slight sweet tooth ha.

And again, just blend! This smoothie is actually thicker than the rest of them, and thats largely because mango is quite thick once liquified and so is the banana, so if you want a thinner smoothie then I would substitute the yogurt for milk or almond/soya milk. 

I feel as if a banana and avocado smoothie would taste really good with a hint of cocoa power as well? Hm. Might just have to try that.

So there you have it, they are my three smoothies/juices that I like to make regularly, but usually it just depends on what I have lying about in the fruit bowl or fridge, and when there's fruit left over from the week that nobody's used, I try and challenge myself and see what I can do with it.. waste not want not right? I hope you've enjoyed reading this post, it's a little different from what I usually do, but I'm hoping to continue these kinds of posts, let me know what you think!

Jazz xox