Quick Winter Glamour | Makeup Look

It would feel somewhat more ironic to be posting a winter glamour makeup tutorial on a grey, rainy Wednesday morning in January, if we hadn't already had weeks of grey, rainy Wednesday mornings. January, and winter in general, can make you feel blue, Christmas and summer holidays seem distant, fond memories, so why not glam it up with a simple, low-key, quick makeup look (and let's not talk about the terrible picture above, snapped just before going out a week or two ago).

Foundation: Rimmel Wake-me-up 'Sand'

Red lip: Revlon 'Fire and Ice' (the 1950s classic) lipstick and Revlon 'Bordeaux' lip gloss

Eye shadow: Maybelline Mocha Mirage

Mascara: Maybelline Rocket Volume 'Black'

The Body Shop Vitamin E | Skincare Review

Hello....my name is Clare and I'm a moisturiser addict. Okay, all hilarity aside - but seriously I do have 5 in my wash bag - I have dry skin even in summer, so needless to say winter brings a few skincare treasures of its own. Winter brings colds, cracked hands, red faces, and, for those few who possess dry skin, random breakouts and a dull complexion. As I have mentioned before I now have a minimal and more environmentally-friendly makeup regime and choose to focus on moisturisers, so when I saw this Vitamin E gift set on sale in The Body Shop, I jumped at it. The most sensible of impulse purchases. I've been trying it for four weeks now, so you can say this is post was a long time in the making. Details below!

Vitamin E Cream Cleanser - Massage into the skin with your fingertips (but careful not to use too much!). Remove with a clean cotton pad or muslin cloth and feel the skin-softening effects of the wheat-germ oil and shea butter.

Vitamin E Hydrating Toner - Soak the alcohol free toning liquid onto a cotton pad and sweep across your face to remove excess oil, cleanser or makeup. This part really prepares your skin for the moisturiser part later on.

Vitamin E Moisture Cream - For those who vacillate over the qualities of face creams - this is a light one and probably not for the perennially dry skinned.

Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil - WARNING Do not try to use this while drunk! I am clumsy - so when trying to put 3 separate drops of the serum on my cheeks and forehead, I knocked half the bottle down the sink. Beware! The serum, when massaged in, works very effectively though.

Unfortunately I cannot find the Vitamin E gift set on sale any more. This is a link to the small, but complete, Vitamin E Skincare Kit:

http://www.thebodyshop.com/by-line/vitamin-e/vitamin-e-skincare-kit.aspx

Daydreams and Dinner Dates | Photo Vlog

Where are the days in January going? It seems only yesterday that New Year and Hogmanay wound their way round again, so here's a flashback to some of my Yuletide feasting and frivolities...

Check out my fashion, food, film and book posts on my Pinterest page:

https://www.pinterest.com/claremcm/

Terry's Chocolate Orange Christmas Leftover Muffins

The full title of this inventive recipe is 'Terry's-chocolate-orange-New-Year-sweet-Christmas-leftover-muffins'. By the time Boxing Day rolls in, as do Christmas' survivors, leftover turkey is usually seen as the order of the day. But surely too much credence is given to our seasonal savoury companions - turkeys, geese, duck, pork, usually the preserve of stodgy sandwiches - what of leftover sweets? In the spirit of New Year celebratory baking, and clutching some of the remaining Christmas Terry's chocolate orange, I decided to turn my sweet leftovers into a muffin recipe. As the saying goes, adversity is the mother of invention. And so leftover chocolate was the mother of this invention.

Ingredients (Makes 12)

3/4 Terry's Dark Chocolate Orange

2 large eggs

4oz self-raising flour (or baking powder and plain flour)

4oz caster sugar

4oz soft butter

For decoration (see below)

Method

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5 (or equivalent)

Cream together the butter and sugar until soft

Add the beaten eggs to the mixture gradually, a bit at a time

Fold in the flour until combined

Chop the chocolate orange segments into chunks

Stir chocolate chunks into the mixture

Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes

Decoration

For decoration I went (again) with leftovers - in the form of glace cherries, mini meringues, chocolate chunks, chocolate stars - so go wild and dangerously and experiment with whatever you happen to have to hand!

Good luck and comment below or tweet your progress!

Christmas Clippings 2014

How did you celebrate? Cx