Rocky Road Cookies

Who made Rocky Road cookies? I did! I thought I would just share with you all my recipe and how I did them because they are so super easy to make and they taste amaze! They're just perfect to have in the kitchen around the festive period as little treats.

My first step was to switch up my oven to 200 degreese (Gas Mark 6) and grease my trays I going to cook my cookies on. The ingredience I used were as follows:

• 120g of Butter (unsalted)
• 180g of Plain Flour
• 60g of Cocoa Powder
• half a tsp of Baking Powder
• half a tsp of Salt
• Two medium eggs
• 120g of Caster Sugar
• Two hands full of Marshmallows
• 150g of Chocolate (just pick your fave)

My method I followed was just to firstly blend together the butter and sugar until it was light and fluffy. Then I went ahead and added one egg and some flour, the baking  and repeted this until I had a mixture that was smooth and the flour, salt and baking powder combo was all gone. After that I got out my sieve and added my cocoa powder until I felt as though it was good to go. Finally, I just added my marshmallows and chocolate. When I had my final mixture I split it into twelve equal parts and put six on each tray. I only cooked them for 12 minutes each. They turned out so amazing!

Let me know if you try these out!

An E45 Hand Cream Dream

We all get those annoying dry hands in winter, right? I've never found a hand cream before that I really loved. I've found ones I like, Soap and Glory 'Hand Food' is always a good, safe option. Some hand creams I have tried have not made my hands even feel any different. Some have even made them feel worse. I decided to try next a brand that I know I've trusted previously. E45 are a brand with 60 years of experience that works hard to meet the real demands from our skin. Over the past months of trying the E45 Overnight Repair & Protect hand cream and it's been a life saver. 

This hand cream is stripped right back. It doesn't really smell of much (what it does smell of is pleasant though). It's white in colour and rubs into the hands to leave no greasy palms. I've being enjoying it the most however because of the changes it has made to my winter hands. It really does give long lasting moisture to my chapped hands. It's priced at only £3.99 you can't really go wrong. I apply it every night before I sleep and I wake with softer hands. It contains vitamin B3 and promotes cell regeneration which I don't really know the science of... I'm guessing thats a good thing (I wouldn't do it any justice anyway). I'm definitely going to be trying many for E45 products in the new year.

Do any of you have a favourite hand cream? Leave them below I'm interested!

W7 Cosmetics | Budget Buys

This year has been the year of the budget makeup brands. I'm a lover of an bargin and who isn't now a days?  W7 cosmetics are a brand that can have you looking glam for this christmas with over 100 products for you to choose from! W7 sent me some products to test and trial and I have being nothing but impressed with their quality. I've definitely found some products I will be repurchasing when they run out! 
The first product I discovered In my little package was the mascara 'Asbolute Mascara'*. It's priced at £6.95 and it's an absolute joy.  Now, we cannot all deny it looks like a dupe for 'They're real' from Benefit. There's no denying that it works exactly like it either! However the price difference is outstanding. With Benefit being £12.50 more, I think we know who the real winner is here. With the wands being Identical, it leaves my lashes clump free and long. I'm not going to say too much because I think that the lovely Jordan From Keep Dreaming has summed it up perfectly here.

Next up is the Candy Blush by W7 also. I had never seen these before until recently. I got mine in the shade 'Explosion'*. In the packaging it is a gorgeous coral colour. It applies to the cheeks a soft peachy colour and looks perfect with a bronzed, gold look over this festive period. I do believe I will be getting some good use out of this over summer 2015. Priced at 4.95 you cannot fall off. The little mirror is also handy too.

Matte lips have been all of the rage this year, matte this, matte that. W7 sent over this lovely matte liquid lipstick. It teams up perfectly with their blush 'Explosion'. This one is in the shade 'Rose'* and lasted on me for around 3 hours pretty well before it began to smudge and fade. I must mention, that some matte lipsticks I have owned have made my lips feel dry. This one is more of a matte lip cream if that even makes any sense (they aren't super matte, more semi matte). They glide effortlessy onto the lips and i'm definitely going to try and collect the whole range as they're so handy just to throw in a bag!

Finally on my list it's the lavander corrective concealer*. I've always being curious about these kind of products, green, purple concealers etc. The lilac concealer is the hide away dark circles under the eyes and can be applied to blemishes and also to other dark spots. It works by eliminating the dark tones in your skin and giving you a flawless look. When I first tried this I wasn't expecting them to totally go away, which they dont however it does seem to make a difference. I must admit, adding something lilac to where you wouldn't normally does feel a little weird however it cannot be seen once blended it. I'm really enjoying getting to grips with this product and am going to carry on using it. It's priced at £4.95 and you can check it out on the website here. They also do different colours for different issues such as yellow for evening out your natural skin tone and also green for neutralising blemishes and redness.

Advertising competition

IT'S MY BLOG'S FIRST BIRTHDAY SOON *doing a little dance*. Actually that is not what i'm going to be talking about yet though. My blog recently hit 300 followers. In celebration of that I got my self a new little theme! The lovely Sarah from www.trisarahtopssmiles.co.uk designed it personally for me and I cannot recommend her enough! Months of playing around with my HTML code just was frustrating me. Sarah only charges £15.00 for a fully personal design including all of the features I have right here. She personalised my header and took all of my ideas and made them beautiful. Thank you so much, if you're reading!
Aside from that, I'm also going to celebrate by having a little advertising competiton. If you want to get involved just enter below. I'm giving away five spaces on my blog for a little promoting. The competition ends on the 19th of December just in time for christmas. I'll be leaving the 5 winners up on my blog for a whole month and will be doing a post to tell you a little something about each of them just because I love the little blogging community and i'm feeling the festive spirit. 
As I mentioned earlier in a little outburst at the start of this post it is my blogs birthday soon. I'm going to be hosting a giveaway to celebrate it being one year old on the 2nd of january when I brought it into the world. My only question is though, what would you like to see in my giveaway? Please leave all of your suggestions below because I need your help! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jewel Candle | A Jewel In Every Candle

Christmas is the perfect time of the year to light all of your candles and cosy round the fire. The lovely company Jewel Candle sent me the 'Merry Christmas Classic Edition'*. Do not be fooled for this candle is no ordinary candle. It's my first ever candle where it contains something special inside. I'm like a magpie for anything silver and shiney so this drew me in so many ways. Inside each of Jewel Candles ranges they have different types of jewellery that is all above £10.00 and below £250! Incase you that worries you a little, each of the 925 sterling silver pieces are wrapped in heat proof foil and have no direct contact with the candle wax. I'm so excited for my little ring to float it's little self to the top so I can pinch it out (I almost feel as though it is a game) I'm a huge candle addict and I love everything about candles. This was a huge yes for me because firstly it's christmas themed! Secondly it's the most beautiful shade of green.

Personally, I've never owned a 'fruity' christmas candle however this one is. The fruit is smells of is a secret that Jewel Candle keep from us. I did spend a good while this afternoon giving it a good smelling to and I really cannot tell. Despite all this fruity talk, it does still smell festive and is going to be my candle of choice for the run up to christmas. Just as an added little bonus they're also handmade form eco friendly resources.

The pricing of these candles are more than you're typical Yankee however how can you complain when you have a piece of Jewellery inside? They cost £24.95. Worth every penny. They're said to burn for 120 hours which does seem like a pretty long time to me! The company say that it will take 10 to 15 hours of burning, glowing candle joy until your little foil parcel will pop up. However, if your curious, nosey, impatient (like me) they do say that you can use something like a spoon to scoop it out!

The lovely people from Jewel Candle have also being so kind to give me a little something to share with anyone who cares to read my blog. They have created a 10% off discount code 'antonia10' for anyone who wishes to own a beauty of a candle like this one!

Jewel Candle's details: JewelCandle.co.uk|Facebook|Twitter 

My other top three picks from Jewel Candle are:

1. Cuddle Candle (limited edition)
2. Cinnamon Bun (classic edition)
3. Passion Fruit (classic edition)

Antonia xxx

Purple lips | Revlon

Revlon is just one of those make-up brands that we all know, love and trust, correct? I loved the Colourburst lip butters for so long. Recently in Boots their 'three for the price of two' got me again. Something in me that day must have just wanted purple lipsticks so I went ahead and bought three Revlon purple lipsticks. It was about time really, I couldn't continue wearing MAC's Rebel for the rest of my years (however that one still is one I find myself reaching for more than I should) Since that day, I havent been disapointed. I am definitely loving working the purple lips currently.

First up is the one that I assume has been around the longest and that is the Revlon Super Lusterous lipstick in the shade 663 'Va Va Violet'. This looks the most scary in the bullet as the shade looks super dark however I really like it when its on. I actually think it complements my skin tone. The overall staying power is pretty good however when my lips are sore it really does accentuate the dryness. Love the packaging though, so cute and classic. 

Next, something I have read very mixed reviews about: Revlon's Colour Stay Moisture stains. I purchased mine in the colour 'Parisian passion' 005. I had being looking for this certain colour for a little while but it always seemed to be sold out. When I found it, no questions asked, it had to be mine. I love the formula of this product because it's super glossy like a traditional lip gloss however it is not sticky in the slightest (perfect, huh?) The colour range is pretty good. I'll for sure be going back for more.

Finally on my mini boots splurge list is Revlon's Colourburst matte balm. The colour pay off on this product is my most favourite of the bunch. It leaves the softer edges and is so wearable. I love it for both everyday and in the evenings. Unlike some matte balms, when it fades it isn't in the slightest bit patchy or drying. I got mine in the shade 'shameless' which is number 215. Favourite matte balm ever.

From left to right: Colourburst matte balm, Colourstay moisture stain, Super lusterous lipstick


What's your favourite Revlon product?
Antonia xxx

RUSH SHOP £2000 Competition! #RushShopXmasDrop

Just sharing a little competition with you all today. Online beauty and hair retailer Rush Shop has teamed up with global fashion brand Reiss and the boutique hotel Malmaison in London to give one lucky winner the chance to win £2000 worth of  prices:

• a pamper sesion for two at the award winning Rush salon (complete with a cut and blow dry and also an asthetic service at the Epsom skin clinic)
• a luxury two-night stay in West Smithfield at the London Malmaison Hotel with a delicious three-course dinner included
• a designer shopping experience at Reiss for two (with up to £500 to spend each!)
• (as if all of that wasn't enough) there is also a years suply of hair care chosen by professionals!

I mean, who doesn't want the chance to win all of those goodies?

To be in with a chance to win, they have launched an online treasure hunt to identify which of their salons their virtual sleigh has landed at this Christmas time. Following the clues couldnt be more simple. They post regular clues on their Facebook and their Twitter to help you to work out the location of the sleigh! If you want updates to your email so you can keep up to date on the run, you can just sign up to their news letter or clues direct to you. Once you think you've got the correct salon, it couldn't be any more simple. You just fill in your details here and wait with your fingers crossed until Tuesday the 30th of December!

Don't forget to tweet them  @shoprush   @RushHairBeauty  @Reiss @TheLondonMal @ajcconsultants and use the #RushShopXmasDrop!

Best of luck!

Antonia x