Revlon Colour Burst Matte Balm Review

Revlon are a brand which I never use to think of much but now I've realised just how good their products are and they are creeping into my daily makeup routine. From foundation and powder to mascara this is now my first lip product by Revlon and it was definitely a good choice! I purchased the Revlon Color Burst Matte Balm from Boots, here for £7.99, although Boots are currently still doing their 2 for £10 on Revlon products which means you can get some real bargains.

 The shade is 'Elusive' which is a lovely light rose pink colour, a shade I don't usually go for. I have to say I don't own too many pink lip products but this one has definitely made me want to try out more because I was surprised at by how much it suits my pale skin tone. I was also surprised by the minty scent this balm has, I wasn't sure about this at first but I think it's definitely grown on me, I'm much more use to the ordinary lip stick scent.

I like how Revlon have also made the packaging matte to match the formula, and they've done a good job of getting the colour of the packaging to an almost exact match to the product shade which I don't think we get to see too often. It makes it much easier to find amongst a drawer of lip products too rather than the lipsticks which all have the same colour packaging. Another thing I love about this lip product is the twist up part, I prefer this so much more to having to sharpen the end, although this gets you a pointed end I think this is much easier for on the go too. I'm looking forward to trying more from this range, they're so easy to apply and they've got so many colour options some that aren't matte too.

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Autumn Apple Crumble Recipe

One of my favourite desserts to have during the autumn and winter months has to be Apple Crumble! There's something about them, the cinnamon taste and the warmth that are just perfect at this time of year. I decided to use my usual crumble recipe to make this which actually includes a crumble base which I prefer, the more crumble the better right? And I just swapped the fruit I'd used before in the recipe for apples and extra cinnamon instead.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup cold unsalted butter

1 large egg

About 4 medium apples

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to around gas mark 6 and cover a tray in either foil or baking paper.
• Peel and chop the apples and set aside.
• Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, except for the apples and egg.
• Mix these together with your fingers (or whatever you prefer) this will be used as both the crumble base and topping.
• After these look to be mixed together enough, add the egg and mix together in the same way again until you get a much more crumble-looking mixture.
• Then you can use about three-quarters of the crumble mixture for the bottom of the crumble and press down so it sticks together.
• Put the apples in a pan with a little water and heat until softened, I also added some cinnamon too.
• Now you can add your apples as the next layer of the crumble
• And finally add the rest of the crumble mixture on top of the apples, BUT don't press down on it this time, leave it scattered but covered as much as you like for a nice crumble topping.
• And then place in the oven for around 20-25 minutes or until the crumble top is looking golden.

And there you have a lovely warm apple crumble to keep you warm and feeling Christmassy through Autumn and Winter!

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Funfetti Cupcakes Recipe

I've been wanting to make Funfetti cupcakes for a while now and after watching Zoella's Video here, I wanted to even more. So seen as hers worked out so well I decided to use her exact recipe! I usually change something about a recipe slightly each time I bake something but this time it was only accidental. I wanted the brightest coloured sprinkles they had in the supermarket but what I didn't realise until I got home was that they were also sour flavoured! They still turned out okay, well pretty good actually and you could only taste it on the ones on top a little bit and not on the ones inside the cupcakes so panic over they still worked.

This recipe makes 12 Funfetti Cupcakes!

Cupcake Ingredients:

125g caster sugar

125g self raising flour

2 large free range eggs

125g unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

1 ½ tablespoons of milk

¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Sprinkles

Method:

1. Pre-Heat the oven to 170 degrees celsius.

2. Add the sugar, flour, eggs, butter and bicarbonate of soda to a bowl and mix together well with a blender or mixer.

3. Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix together again.

4. Now you can add as many brightly coloured sprinkles as you like, I couldn't make my mind up so I kept adding until it looked like a good amount. Blend these in to the cake mix and add to the cupcake cases in a cake/muffin baking tray.

5. Put them in the oven for around 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Butter Cream Icing Ingredients:

335g icing sugar

150g unsalted butter

1- 2 tablespoons of whole milk

¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Sprinkles on the top

Method:

1. Whilst allowing the cupcakes to completely cool, add the butter to a bowl and mix well until the butter seems lighter.

2. Add the icing sugar in slowly, a bit at a time not all at once and mix well.

3. The icing will be quite thick now so you will need to add the milk and the vanilla extract and mix again.

4. Then add the icing to a piping bag and pipe onto the cooled cakes.

5. Don't forget to decorate with the rest of the sprinkles and you'll have some fabulous looking funfetti cupcakes!

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Revlon Lash Potion Mascara Review

In my recent Boots Haul I re-purchased the Revlon Lash Potion mascara in 'Blackest Black' for £9.99. When it comes to mascaras I always like to try out new ones rather than going back for the same product like I would usually with something like foundation or concealer. This mascara however I absolutely love and haven't seen another as of yet which I can see myself buying instead of this beauty. Not only do I love the mascara itself but the packaging is so bright and sparkly, it stands out in my makeup collection and who doesn't like nice packaging to look at?

When I'm buying mascara I always go for the darkest shade, this 'blackest black' is the darkest amongst the other options Revlon have such as 'blackened brown' and I think it looks so much better as my eyelashes without mascara can look a little dull in colour as well as length. The brush has 'triple bristles' to prevent clumps which I much prefer to the rubber wands and brushes and I've noticed that although there is sometimes a clump of mascara at the tip of the brush that my eyelashes still remain to be clump free!

As you can see from the before and after photos, this mascara has made a big difference to my lashes, and this is with just the one application. I know some people like to wait for it to dry before applying another layer but this is something that I rarely do myself. As well as the dramatic colour difference to my lashes you can also see the length that it adds. If you're looking for a lot of volume to your lashes I maybe wouldn't recommend this mascara but as a very good every day mascara and especially if you want to add length I would completely recommend this one. I've also just noticed it's still 2 for £10 on some Revlon items so that's even more of an excuse, right?

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Covenham Resevoir

Now that September's here and the evenings are getting dark we're all getting excited for the autumn colours, fashion and cosy nights in. But I thought I'd share with you some photos from a local day out I had this summer, before we forget about the short summer we did have. This is Covenham Resevoir, a little place in Lincolnshire which you can read more about here if you want to pay it a visit.

I love how blue the water and sky has come through in these photos, it was a really nice sunny day! And it shows you don't always have to travel too far for a nice view and day out or even holiday.

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