Lemon Daisy Cupcakes

I'm back today with a brand new recipe for you!

These are perfect little Summer cupcakes for any kind of occasion. 

I personally made these cupcakes for my Grandma's Birthday, and everyone loved them, I also posted a shot on Instagram of them and they were a real hit so I wanted to share the recipe.

SERVES 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cakes:

125g softened butter

125g caster sugar

2 medium eggs

100g self raising flour (sifted)

2 tbsp milk

1 and a half lemons (for zest)

1/4 of a lemon (for juice)

For the icing:

100g softened butter

200g icing sugar (sifted)

1/4 of a lemon (for juice)

12 edible wafer daises - you can get the ones I used HERE

Recipe:

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line your cupcake tray with cupcake cases.

Using a freestanding mixer, beat together your butter and sugar until fully combined.

Add the eggs, sifted flour, milk and the zest of 1 and a half lemons and the juice of quarter of a lemon.

Then mix everything until completely smooth.

Spoon your mixture into your 12 cases until they all have an equal amount, I started by adding one and a half teaspoons into each case and then continued on until I had used all of the mixture and the cases where equally full.

Bake for 15 - 20 mins, or until golden brown and when putting a cake tester or knife into the cupcake and pulling it out it is completely clean.

The icing:

(I didn't add a huge amount of icing to the cupcakes because my Grandma isn't a fan of a huge amount of buttercream)

Add you sifted icing sugar, your butter and lemon juice to a free-standing mixer and blend together until the mixture turns a pale primrose colour and looks light and fluffy.

Once the cupcakes are COMPLETELY cool spread the buttercream onto each cupcake and decorate as you please! I added these lovely edible daises to each one.

Let me know how it goes if you ever make these cupcakes!!

Love El
xxx

Summer Shoe High Street Wishlist

After yesterday's blog post of my Summer Clothing Wish List post I thought it was 100% necessary for me to do a shoe version! I mean absolutely no outfit is complete without shoes, that's just a fact.

Therefore, for this blog post I have compiled a few of my favourite Summer shoes from the high street shops (which ps is basically just sandals because I live in sandals and flip flops in the warm months!)

 River Island Tassel Sandals - £35       Topshop Tassel Sandals - £26

Topshop Two Part Sandal - £22   Topshop Leopard Print Sandals - £18

New Look Tan Ankle Sandals - £17.99       Topshop Buckle Detail Sliders £42

Are there any items in the shops that you're lusting after for the Summer?!

Love El

xxx

Summer Clothing High Street Wishlist

It's gets to this time of year, the sun occasionally makes an appearance I for some reason I suddenly decide that my wardrobe needs a complete overhaul!

In the Summer months my outfits definitely become a lot more relaxed, with flowing tops, effortless and beachy. I definitely think this is because I just wish that live by the sea and that is emphasised by the Sun and floaty cami tops that are in the shops!

So today I want to share some of my favourite high street pieces that are in the shops at the moment.

First up is this outfit that has been put together on the Topshop website. Now I didn't think at the age of 22 pink jeans would be something I'd ever be interested in again, BUT I am OBSESSED with this outfit. (Like an unhealthy amount, I do feel like I now need the top and jeans!)

Pink Joni Jeans - £36           Mix Spot Cami Top - £16

I definitely have a recurring theme of cami tops in this post so lets get some more out of the way!

 Vero Moda Stripe Cami - £20                          Topshop Spot Cami - £19

Next up is a pair of good old white jeans, which lets be honest, in Summer, pretty much everyone and their mum is wearing! I think these white jeans would look gorgeous with this *shocker* (another) cami.

 

Leopard Print Peplum Top - £19                                  White Joni Jeans - £36

To finish off we have the perfect square neck swimsuit, beautiful Summer dress and an obligatory denim mini skirt!

 Ribbed Swimsuit - £24

Polka Dot Sundress - £18

 Denim Skirt - £25

What is your style like in the Summer? Does it change from you Spring or Winter style?

Love El

xxx

Looking after eyelash extensions

It's fair to say that I have never been a HUGE fan of my eyes, I managed to inherit my mums dark circles, my dad's straight (but to be fair) long eyelashes, and with my blonde hair they're very fair at the ends! All these factors together means I'm constantly having to use eyelash curlers and can never use anything other than waterproof mascara or else the curl drops out.

Now I am fully aware that this is probably the biggest first world problem.....maybe ever?! But this lead me to getting eyelash extensions and I wanted to let you know how I got on with them.

After umming and ahhing for so long I finally took the plunge and got my eyelashes done at my hairdressers, I ended up having them on for 5 weeks and then a week off and then having them done again with them lasting a further 6 weeks! At £45 they aren't particularly cheap but if you go to the right place and get them done correctly they can last you a whole eyelash cycle, and if it can cure my insecurity of my eyes it's well worth.

Looking After Your Eyelash Extensions

It's a pretty obvious point but I really think that the more you look after your eyelashes the longer they'll last.

In order to keep my eyelash extensions healthy I made sure to never really touch them, not get them wet (although you can as they are waterproof) and to brush them with an eyelash brush once a day, I was given a new eyelash brush every time I went to get them done but I have linked some for you. When brushing the eyelash extensions you want to do so very carefully and brush them from the top of the lash rather than underneath as this tugs on them less.

I have decided to not get any more eyelash extensions over the Summer purely because I spend every holiday in the sea and although they are waterproof I don't think they're made to be pushed around by waves or splashed by the salty sea.

Would I bother again?

Once Autumn arrives again I will definitely get my lashes done.

I absolutely loved getting them done, the look of them and most importantly it took such a small amount of time to get ready in the morning because I found that my face already looked done after waking up and so I wouldn't bother putting on as much makeup.

Are there are side effects?

Now personally I did have a reaction to getting them done, I either had an allergic reaction to the glue or to the pads put under the eyes but this only resulted in bloodshot eyes for a couple of days so it was no big deal.

The person doing your eyelash extension should request you to go for a skin test before getting them done but if they don't I would definitely ask to make sure you have no issues with them.

Do they damage my natural lashes?

I must admit after having them taken off some of my lashes do feel a little bit shorter than before but I think that's probably to be expected.

But there's no doubt in my mind that after a break over the Summer they'll easily get back to how they were before, and it is certainly not something to make me hesitate getting them again.

I do also think they're probably slightly shorter in places because of where they might be in their cycle.

I did tell my friend that I thought they were a little bit shorter than before but she didn't believe me, so it's nothing noticeable!

Please ask if you have anymore questions about eyelash extensions I would love to help you to decide if eyelash extensions are for you!

Love El

xxx

Nike Thea's

Now you're probably wondering why on Earth am I publishing a post specifically about my Nike Air Max Thea's but all will become clear.....

I had initially seen these beauties in a YouTube video and on Instagram (as most of us millennials do) and decided I needed them. I began thinking of outfits and decided they would look insane with a pair of faux leather trousers, or to be fair even with blue jeans.

The UK's weather has been a bit all over the place recently, we had some stunning sunbathing worthy weather in April but then those 4 days were followed by, of course, April showers! So I've been wearing these whenever I can because it's definitely not warm enough for sandals but I'm bored of Winter shoes. I'm currently living in these and my white converse at the moment because at least they are bright colours and are slightly more Summery.

However, my only issue with these is you CANNOT get them wet! Don't let it rain on them, because you will end up with raindrop patterns on the front sections of the trainer.

I'm not exactly sure why this happens or if I just have a faulty pair of Nike Thea's but on the front section of the shoe I now have some very faint, lighter marks where the raindrops have landed. I have been very careful with them since so there is no new damage and the old damage isn't particularly noticeable.

Nike Thea's are generally around £94.99, which even though these beauties are incredibly weightless AND beautiful I have to admit I'm not sure I'd spend that much on them purely because of the water issue but these particular pair were £55 which is A LOT more justifiable for a brilliant pair of shoes!

What are your favourite pair of shoes to wear for when the weather can't make up it's mind?

Love El

xxx

What's In My Bag // Mulberry Lily

I think it's fair to say that I've never really been the girl to constantly take a handbag everywhere I go, I just find they get in the way and can be restricted.

HOWEVER, I am the girl to constantly look at pretty handbags and to lust after them.

I posted about my beautiful Mulberry Lily handbag 2 years ago, but if there is a handbag I will wear without moaning it has to be this beauty.

I've always loved Mulberry, they're so classic and elegant, but if you want to read more about why I bought it then you can do so HERE or if you fancy getting some tips on what to consider when buying designer read THIS POST.

This bag has actually gone up by £100 in the past 2 years up to £795, and I was lucky enough to purchase it for £485 at Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet.

Maybe now I should actually get on with the post and chat about what I keep in my handbag!

I did realise after taking all the photos that I had actually left my phone out of the shots but that is probably fairly accurate because it probably spends 60% of it's time in my hand.

This bag can fit in a surprisingly good amount of bits and pieces so I can keep all essentials and extras in it at all time.

The first thing has to of course be my purse. As I said earlier I've nearly really been one to carry around a bag and that also applies to carrying around a massive purse and therefore this Louis Vuitton Key Purse is PERFECT. I can fit all my cards, coins and notes inside without ruining the shape.

Next I carry around my Olympus E-PL7 because it's just so lovely to have something that can capture such incredible images but doesn't weigh a tonne. I'm also still supporting the iPhone 6 so that doesn't have the best camera.

Next up is just some makeup bits for tops ups.

I carry around my powder which has a handy mirror and also my favourite ever lipstick which is MAC's Hue Lipstick.

Finally, I've taken to chucking a pair of sunglasses in my bag because the British weather has been so temperamental recently it's been going from Sunny to rain in 0.5 seconds!

The ones I've been opting for recently have been the Quay Australia and Desi Perkins collaboration in High Key - Gold which is pretty much a rose gold and conveniently matches the hardware of my Mulberry!

What is one thing you have to have in your handbag?!

Love El
xxx

Spring Makeup Favourites

There's occasionally sun in the sky, some warmth in the air that can only mean that Spring is here in the UK!
I don't know about you but when the warmer months come around I always end up wearing less makeup and also lighter shades. I tend to leave the deeper, darker tones behind along with Winter and find myself gravitating towards pinks, champagne and bronze.

These are the products that I find myself using every-time Spring comes back around! 

This year has got to be the 6th year in a row I have used Barry M's Hi Shine Gelly nail varnish in Rose Hip, although I believe it is no longer available and the closest colour is Pink Lemonade. It is probably my favourite colour of all time and is such a lovely light pink, plus when wearing it with a tan it makes you look even more brown!

I've heard many different opinions on Chanel's Tan de Soleil but I have to admit I LOVE it! I just pop it on my cheek bones and temples straight after foundation and my cheekbones look great and I feel more Summery.

You really can't go wrong with a pretty pink blush and this one is just stunning! It's Estee Lauder's blush in Plush Petal, that I actually found at Bicester Village.

For £1 you can't really go wrong with a white eyeliner, but Mua's eyeliner in Snow White is so creamy and pigmented you look instantly awake after use! Now with this I am careful to not use to much as I don't particularly want a massive white line on my water line, so I use it very lightly and it just makes my eyes look bigger and brighter, having the skin tones slight push through.

As I said earlier I just seem to choose more pink tones throughout the Spring and Summer months and that is exactly what I do with my eyeshadow as well as everything else. For some pink eyeshadow shades, lets be honest you can't go wrong with Urban Decay's Naked 3 eyeshadow palette, pigmented, creamy and easy to blend!

What are your favourite Spring Makeup products?

Love El
xxx