Creme brulee...for lips?

If like me you have a bit of a sweet tooth, even when it comes to your beauty products (hello Mac lipstick and your amazing vanilla scent) this may just excite you...


Selfridges have exclusively launched a special edition of the famed Vaseline Lip Therapy in none other than a creme brulee flavour...yum.  

To go alongside the launch, Vaseline has set up a pop up stand in the London and Manchester stores where you can try out the new flavour balm and get snapped in a photo booth.  Oh and apparently there are some male models too....not a bad deal for something almost everyone sees as an essential eh?

You can buy the new lip therapy here...just try not to lick it all off!

It's a rocky rocky road...

Continuing from my last baking post....what I did with the rest (well most) of the chocolate sent to me by Sainsburys.

It's getting to the time of year when I start thinking about my Christmas baking plans - every year I make a hamper of homemade goodies for my in-laws and distribute treats amongst my friends - well, what's Christmas without a little indulgence?

Rocky roads are one of those great treats to pop into a hamper (cellophane bags are a Godsend for foodie gifts) - and are pretty much failsafe...as well as totally healthy *cough*

So here is my recipe for rocky road....take it as you will, add what you like and take out what you don't - except for the basics, of course...

Rocky Road 

You will need...

350g dark chocolate (I used a mixture of dark and dark fruit & nut)
125g butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
200g rich tea biscuits
100g marshmallows
Handful sultanas
Chopped glace cherries (to your taste)

Place biscuits in a sealed food bag and smash with rolling pin

Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup over a gentle heat. Put aside half of the chocolate mix.

Add the biscuits, marshmallows, sultanas and cherries to the rest of the chocolate, mix well.

Spread the mix out in a deep baking dish (I used a silicone brownie tray) and even out

Pour the rest of the chocolate mix on top, transfer to the fridge and leave to cool for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight) - before dusting generously with icing sugar and cutting into generous chunks.

Finally....enjoy.  And try not to get chocolate everywhere :)

Wish List Wednesday

This week I am very much about bold knits and velvet dresses...can you tell?



Mustard cable knit, £46, Warehouse




Star print sequin detail sweater, £46, Topshop




Slouchy spot jumper, £39, Miss Selfridge

 

Velvet sheer sleeve dress, £50, Oasis




Burgundy velvet halter dress, £95, Topshop


What's on your wishlist this week?

When life gives you chocolate...

...you bake!

When I was sent a box of chocolate bars by Sainsburys last week, my first thoughts were -

1. Wipe the drool off my mouth
2. What can I bake?

Normally I would instantly turn to my beloved chocolate fudge cake recipe (find it here) but I decided to listen to the boyfriend and see what he wanted.  The verdict? Cookies.

So here you go - my favourite chocolate chip (well chunk) cookie recipe - failsafe and delicious!

You will need:

Oh, and...

125g butter
100g golden caster sugar
75g soft brown sugar (mix this with demerara if you like a bit of crunch)
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
100g chocolate (milk, plain or white - or a mixture) - chopped into chunks

Heat your oven to 190C and get a couple of baking sheets ready - I like to make these nice and big, and the recipe produces about 12 cookies.

Melt the butter over a low heat and add to the sugar.  Mix until smooth.

Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.

Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix well.

Add the chocolate, mix well and drop onto the baking sheets in large blobs (I tend to do a dessert spoon full).  Make sure they are spread fairly far apart.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Transfer to a cooling tray and enjoy whilst warm....and try not to eat them all at once!

Next up? I'm thinking rocky road...yes yes? Let me know if you have any baking requests :)

Oh, and if you have a failsafe chocolate recipe, please share!!

Wish List Wednesday - Gay Paree

Next Friday I am off to Paris for a long weekend - excited much?!

I haven't been there for absolute years and I cannot wait to stroll around the Parisian streets, gorge myself on patisserie and swoon over the designer stores.  Oh and maybe fit in a sneaky trip to Disneyland too...well it would be rude not to right?

I'm on a strict budget so rather than a pre-trip shop I will be raiding the wardrobe, but this is what I would love to be wearing next weekend...



Sequin poodle sweater, £290, Marcus Lupfer at Glassworks Studios

Black pleated leather skirt, £95, Topshop

Cream jewel neckline dress, £60, Topshop

Black quilted leather jacket, £150, Warehouse

Black strap detail boots, £65, River Island

 

Croc embossed leather clutch, £60, ASOS



Black studded gloves, £25.99, Zara


   
Oh that's a lot of black! What's on your wishlist this week? Do you have any Paris tips for me? Let me know!

Buy It Now - Glitter Heels

Black 'Gorgeous' court shoes, £60, Topshop

 



Black 'Charlotte' court, £45, Oasis



Turquoise 'Hysteric' platforms, £40, ASOS

 

Silver 'Amelia' courts, £120, Kurt Geiger



Silver 'Whirl' platforms, £90, Dune



Silver low heel court, £29.99, Zara

 

Gold 'Sassy' Court, £40, Miss Selfridge

Grey 'Printers' platforms, £65, Aldo



Black 'Astrid' ankle boots, £80, Topshop

 

Wish List Wednesday

What's this? A wishlist? On a Wednesday? Say it isn't so!

Yes yes I know I have been more than a little slack recently, life has a funny way of getting in the way of things.  But I finally have spare time and I'm getting back into the swing of blogging...hurrah!

So here is what I am lusting after this week....and by lusting, I mean not buying.  I bought a car last week which means goodbye savings and hello sensible spending.  The agony!

So everything on here this week is decidedly not 'sensible'.  I hope you approve :)

Polka dot frill neck dress, £65, Topshop

Everything about this dress screams 'crazy lady' which makes me want it even more.




Sweater dress, £102, Wildfox Couture


How could I not want this sweater dress?! I am a huge Wildfox fan and this screams out to me for obvious reasons *peers at URL*.  No wait.  Not want.  NEED.

Pink suede 'Heath' wedges, £80, ASOS



Ok, so who actually needs pink suede and glitter wedges? Who cares.  They are bloody amazing.

Teardrop earrings, £20, River Island

And these earrings are just what I've been looking for recently.  Statement drop shape in a vintage rather than girly style.  Whether I could go a whole night without wanting to tear them out? Well that's another matter entirely.

What's on your wishlist this week?

How to look good, er, dressed - Gok for TU

Now I don't know about you but over recent years I have started to find I no longer warm to Gok Wan the way I used to.  Sure he knows his stuff, but there are only so many times I can watch him add £30 worth of haberdashery to a 20 quid top....because really, who has the time and inclination to do that?

So when I was contacted by Sainsburys with images of his new collection for Tu (launching on Thursday) I was a little apprehensive to say the least.  But you know what?  I'm actually rather impressed!  No naff corsages or random ribbons - just well cut, simple pieces designed to flatter your figure and that give a nod to recent trends without going overboard.

Here are a few of my favourite looks from the collection, that I could see fitting in perfectly with my work wardrobe....and maybe play as well.

Stretch jodphurs, £20

Swing tux, £35
Perfect fit trousers, £25

Reversible kimono, £30
Palazzo pants, £30

What do you think? Will you be picking anything from the collection?

Gok for TU launches at Sainsburys on Thursday 6th October