El Willmer

Monday, 22 August 2016

Sunset

Aren't sunsets just absolutely beautiful!

Mother Nature really does create incredible colours in the sky, they don't last long and you can miss them all together but they really are something to marvel at!

Love El

xxx

Sidmouth

After my last post I thought I would show you somewhere else I went whilst in Devon, and that was the beautiful Sidmouth. (In one image you can literally see the rain coming in!)

I thought Sidmouth was a beautiful place, and just like with a lot of Devon it is highly photogenic!

There is just something about this picture I find very special!

Think I might have to get it printed and framed.

The cliffs around Sidmouth are something to marvel at!

See what I meant when I said you can see the rain coming?!

Clock Tower Cafe view.

Love El

xxx

Portland Bill Lighthouse

Everywhere in Dorset is so photogenic it pleases my photographer heart so so much!

At the very bottom of Dorset when looking at a map is Portland and at the very end of Portland is this lighthouse, your very stereotypically perfect lighthouse!

Surrounded, of course, by beautiful ocean you could spend hours and hours appreciating the view (20 going on 50), I would expect some seriously amazing sunrises and sunsets here.

Sometimes you just have to appreciate places you might not think to!

Love El
xxx

My Favourite Instagram Editing Apps

Instagram has been making a lot of changes to itself recently, but I will always love it as I will always adore photography.

Therefore I thought I would share my current favourite apps to edit my images on.

Snapseed

This app is absolutely brilliant for editing certain sections of an image.

I specifically use this to brighten certain areas of an image.

But there are honestly so many different things you can do on it, you need to get it and you will not regret it!!

Facetune

Just like a lot of other people who edit their images on their phone I love Facetune.

I love Facetune for it's whiten and detail tools, whiten is brilliant for perhaps whitening a background, clothing, the whites of your eyes or maybe even your teeth!

The details tool is one I use over the iris of the eye to make them stand out more!

iPhone Photos

If you aren't into more detailed editing of your images then look no further then the iPhone Photos app!

It has an array of filters, you can change the brightness, saturation and has a black and white feature!

Instagram

Finally, I really like Instagram itself for editing my pictures.

It's very easy to use, with some brilliant filters and the lux feature which I always add to my photos.

And when clicking on the "Edit" feature, again there's an array of options to choose from; I love using brightness, contrast, structure and sharpen on my Instagram's.

What are your favourite Instagram editing apps?

Love El

xxx

You know when you just find those online shopping websites that you just want everything off, no need everything from as every inch and every product is perfection; well that is what I have found with Coconut Lane.

Now if there's anything you fancy purchasing from this list or the Coconut Lane website then you can get 20% using the code elliewillmer20

LUXE Pink Marble Block Case

LUXE Geometric Marble Case

LUXE Marble Blush Case

Fairy Spirit Wall Art

LUXE Miami Rose Gold Sunglasses

The Classy Case

Marble Block Macbook Skin

I cannot get enough of the products from Coconut Lane!

Just look at them, I need them all!

Would you/will you purchase any of these?

Love El

xxx

5 Dream Holiday Destinations

Now I'm sure we all have some (or a lot) of our own dream holiday destinations but thought I may as well share some of mine with you in case they're not on your list of places to visit!
Some of these are places I have visited before, but when you visit a place and love it so much I think it's essential to re-visit.

1) Bora Bora

The colour of that sea just means I HAVE to visit!

2) The Maldives

Victoria from In The Frow's blog post and video sealed the deal for me on this one!

3) Santorini

Who doesn't want to visit Santorini?!

4) Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove and Lyme Regis

Visited these 3 this Summer and I loved them! (picture is Durdle Door)

5) Venice

My cousin actually wants to live here when he is older so fingers crossed I can visit!!

What are some of your dream holiday destinations?!

Love El

xxx

(all images from google)

Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake by Cath Kidston

If you've been reading my blog for a little while now you will know I am a massive baking fan, I just can't get enough of it! In fact I would just constantly bake if I could. Recently I picked up Cath Kidston's Teatime recipe book, had to be done as I am a huge fan of her brand, and decided I needed to make something from it! Well the first thing to be made is this recipe you are reading today - lemon and poppy seed cake.

This recipe is extremely easy and doesn't involve a lot of recipes at all!

The Ingredients:

For the cake:

125 ml of warm milk

2 tbsp of poppy seeds

Zest of 3 lemons, and the juice of 1

200g of unsalted butter

200g of caster sugar

3 beaten eggs

200g of self-raising flour

For the icing:

150g of icing sugar

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

The Recipe:

Preheat your oven to 180° and line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper

In a small bowl mix together the warm milk and poppy seeds, then set aside.

In a large bowl cream together your butter and sugar, using a standing mixture or a lot of elbow grease! Gradually add in your egg, beating the mixture well after each addition.

Sift over the flour and carefully fold into your previous mixture until just incorporated. Then fold in your milk and poppy seeds, and your lemon juice and zest.

Pour the mixture into your tray and place into the oven to bake for 40-45 mins, until a skewer comes out completely clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a wire rack for a few minutes and then turn out onto the wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing mix together you icing sugar and zest and juice from one lemon. You may need to add more juice or some water to get the right consistency.

I seriously think you all need to go out right now or order this cookbook online because it is one of the most beautiful and brilliant recipe books I've come across.

Love El

xxx

Natural Makeup Look

When the warmer weather comes around I always love to wear less makeup and to make my skin look more bronzed and glowy!

In this post I have a few products I adore to achieve this look.

First I apply the smallest amount of foundation about a quarter of a pump (or I don't use any at all) and today I'm using the L'Oreal Infallible foundation.

I then like to bronze my skin up using the Chanel Tan de Soliel which I would HIGHLY recommend and even though it is expensive it'll last so so long. I like to apply this to my cheeks and forehead using the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. To then set this I use the Nars Laguna bronzer.

To hide my dark circles I use the Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer under my eyes.

To highlight my cheekbones the Benefit's Watts Up Highlighter is gorgeous, to then set that I use the MUA eyeshadow in Pearl 1 (looks like Champagne on their website), which is a gorgeous light gold shade, this is also added to the inner corner of my eye.

To add some colour to my lips I've been using Benefit's Posie Balm to keep my lips moisturised.

Then just filling in my brows with Benefit's Browzings in Light, and adding some layers of mascara, I use the Rocket mascara in Waterproof by Maybelline. I use a waterproof mascara to keep the curl in my lashes!

And finally I use the tiniest amount of a white eyeliner to open up my eyes. I don't use for an intense look, but I do like a little to make me look more awake!