Coffee and Walnut Cake

When it comes to baking something a little outside my comfort zone – I’m gonna be honest, I kind of freak out a little.

I think with baking, it can be super easy to stick with your strengths and signature bakes, baking is a science – and there’s nothing worse than getting in a flurry of flour and icing sugar, only to find out your batch of almond slices have gone flatter than Elle Macpherson’s abs.

How to: Clean your brushes like a Pro

Okay, so just when you've mastered knowing which make-up brush is for contouring and which one creates the perfect smokey eye - you find out you gotta keep them clean!?

Okay, this shouldn't really come as a big shock, but yes - your brushes should be kept clean, and giving them a good wash every 2 weeks (at least) or anytime you switch a product will keep them in best possible condition and make them last twice as long!

PB and Chip Cookies

So I was feeling a little spontaneous the other day, and after prepping a Sunday Dinner for my fam, I decided to go the whole hog and bake them some cookies too (I know, crazy spontaneous right?)

What I really like about baking cookies is that, you can't really do much wrong - everything just seems to work when it's in cookie form, with very few exceptions - like broccoli, tarragon etc - let’s not get silly here.

So I checked what we had in the cupboard, which was stocked full of chunky peanut butter (my sister's having a thing with it at the mo) – and whilst I have experimented with this in cakes, I had never actually tried it in cookies so heck! Why not give it a go?

My Night-time Skin Routine

If you had asked me 3 years ago what my Night-time Routine was, I would have simply replied with; "4 bourbon biscuits and a glass of milk".  Because frankly, that's all it was for quite a while.

It took a harsh dose of acne-related troubles and research for me to start appreciating my skin a lot more and to treat it with the respect and love it deserves, because we do put it through a hell of a lot. Drinking, sunbathing, waxing (never again). So what changes have I made in the evenings to make sure I don't look like a leather handbag by the time I'm 35? Well, let me tell you;

USA Cake Confessions

So if you've read any of my previous blog posts, you'll be fully aware that I recently went away to the sunshine state of Florida in the USA.

To say I had a fabulous time would be an understatement, I got more than acquainted with the Sephora stores (but that's for another post!) And of course ate my way around all the incredibly decadent and indulgent cakes and sweet treats that Orlando had to offer.

As a self-confessed cake, cookie and dessert lover - I felt it was my duty to try as many of these indulgences as possible to create not only a food memory I can revisit time and time again, but also to help me recreate some of the delights I sampled in the hope of bringing home a little slice of USA with me.

Skincare Spotlight : Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Clensing Masque

Despite being in a post-flight, jet-lagged state - I literally couldn't wait to write this review of the Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Clensing Masque (phew, bit of a mouthful eh?) So with about a gallon of water and 300g Milka bar by my side, I'm beating the dreaded US-jet lag with a skincare spotlight of my latest beauty discovery!

Kiehls Sample Review

I really hope I'm not the only one in the world that goes cer-azy over sample sachets or sample-sized products, it's like a little party in an unsuspecting minimalist mask (or masque - geddit?) So you can imagine my excitement when my brother, Matthew returns home from New York loaded with the latest must-have products from Kiehls in handy, delightfully sized packages.

Now, I'm a fully-paid member of the Kiehls appreciation society (this isn't really a thing, but if it was, I'd be all over it), their SPF moisturiser is my absolute favourite and their eye treatments really do work miracles - so being able to give these samples a test drive was a task I was more than happy to complete over the Easter weekend.