Nail Colours I've been loving

I have always loved having painted nails. I love that you can change the colours and make them fit any occasion or season. I will admit I don't always have the longest nails and I am no pro nail artist! But I I thought I would share with you some nail colours I have been loving recently. 

I buy most of my nail  polish from Barry M however recently I have branched out to Essie and am loving their polishes! They are both easy to apply and depending on the colour, only need 1-2 coats. 

My all time favourite colour is white. I think it is one of those colours you can wear all year round and it looks good. It works well with the pale skin I have now and when I have more of a tan in summer so I LOVE it! 

Another colour I am loving right now is Essie cocktail bling. It is a pale blue with grey tones to it and to me it looks very soft and cosy - perfect for this colder weather we are having! 

This next colour is one of my favourites when I have a tan and I am trying to still make it work despite having paler skin now. Let me know whether you think it still works as I am not so sure... might have to fake tan when I wear this one! I also want to note the different background as the colour didn't really show in the lighting I used for the rest of the colours. Annoying I know, but hey ho. 

I am trying to be braver with my colour choices and step out of my comfort zone. So, I decided to try this forest green and have fallen in love. The more I wear it, the more I like it! I think this works well for the autumn/ winter months with the changes of the seasonal colours and the lead into christmas tree season (yes, I am already mentioning christmas!). 

These next two colours are very similar, however one is slightly more darker than the other. Both are very in keeping with the autumnal season at the moment, however I also love this deep purple/red for smart events. This first one is the slightly darker of the two, Essie soul mate: 

This is the lighter of the two, Barry M Crush. I would say this one has more pink undertones whereas the Essie colour above has more purple which makes it slightly darker. But both look stunning! 

I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know what nail colours you are loving right now! 

Ready....Set....BAKE!!

This past week was international baking week (15^th October – 21^st October) so I felt the need to do some baking! I have also loved watching The Great British Bake Off (if you haven’t seen it before I would defiantly recommend it as a great feel good tv series) and felt inspired to make my own creations. With Halloween coming up soon too, I thought I would give them a spooky twist.

BAKE No.1

For my first bake, I decided to make cupcakes as they are quick, easy and I haven’t baked in a long time so thought I would start myself off easy! They are also cheap to make with few ingredients and as much decoration as you would like to add. 

Before I begin I like to set up my baking space, so I cleaned down the work tops, washed my hands and get out a mixing bowl, scales and electric mixer. I then lined my cake tin with cases (I just used plain white as sadly I couldn’t find any Halloween ones) and pre-heated the oven to 180°.

I then measured out 125g of caster sugar and softened butter then mixed it together using the electric mixer until light and soft. Little tip, measure the sugar first because if you do the butter first, the sugar will stick to any bits left in the scales.

Next, I added two eggs (one at a time) and mixed it together until smooth

Then it was time to measure out raising flour and start adding it into the mix a little bit at a time using a sieve. I also added two table spoons of coco powder to make them chocolate cupcakes but you don’t have to do this step if you don’t want to. I then folded the mix to insure I don’t lose all the air which I would do if I used the electric mixer.

Once all mixed together and smooth, it’s time to load them up into the cake cases using a table spoon.  You can fill these up as much as you like, I got a bit excited and may have filled them a little too much! But you can always trim them down if need.

Then it’s time to pop them in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes!

After the time is up, just put a tooth pick or knife into the centre of each cupcake to ensure they are cooked all the way through. If so, take them out of the oven and place on a cooling tray.

Once cooled, you can begin decorating! I must admit, I did cheat and used a pre-made Betty Crocker’s chocolate icing as I LOVE it so much! I must also admit that I am not a baking or decorating expert and am not the best at icing to say the least haha but I gave it a good go and had lots of fun attempting to decorate cakes in a Halloween style with my mum and sister!

BAKE No. 2

My second bake isn’t really a bake, more a decoration! I wanted to do this for a while but with timing not being my friend with uni deadlines, work etc. I did just buy some gingerbread men and decorated them. But if you have the time and are up for it, why not bake your own! 

I used many different things to decorate these little gingerbread men including royal icing, icing pens and the classic white sugar icing where you just add water and food colouring if you need. 

I find baking brings people together and it sounds cheesy but its true! It is great fun to do with family or even to bond within uni halls and student housing. Plus you get a yummy result you can all enjoy!

Let me know if you have been inspired by The Great British Bake off this week and share some of you creations!