March favorites 2016

Hey guys! A little while ago, I went shopping in Stratford and brought a few different things, so thought id share them with you all. ( Just a side note, I did a massive shop in superdrug there, so may upload that as a part 2 next Tuesday. We’d be here for a good half an hour if I go through everything I got on the same blog post 😂)

So lets get started…

First, I always make a point of looking in Lush as they sometimes have a lot of the seasonal things in when I visit – and id heard a lot of good things about the Bunch Of Carrots bubble bar. The thing I love the most about these are that they smell so fresh and citresy – a little bit like a homemade, chilled fruit salad . Also, they can be used either individually or together, making the bath a beautiful colour every time. However, it does have a tiny amount of glitter in so if you hate glitter, then this one may not be for you.

Although this product is not seasonal – its definetly an oldy but goody. The Comforter makes the bath such a pretty purply/pinky colour and smells, to me, like black current sweets from my childhood. Also, this would be perfect to put in the bath when youve had a long, hard day as the scent can help you wind down and relax. ( as implied by the name.)

In superdrug, as well as going a big one branded splurge, I picked up one thing which I find so useful as spring is here and summer isnt far off.
This was the Rimmel BB cream in the shade Light. Although this product states that it does a large amount of things, it definetly does not dissapoint. It easily blends into this skin leaving a flawless effect, while also moisturising the skin. This also is really light on the skin, which is useful as the weather gets warmer, because some foundation can feel heavy and gross on your skin if you’re all sweaty.

Honestly, its become no secret that I have a slight obsession with flower crowns, so picked up this stretchy buttercup one. I feel like this adds a nice little touch to cute dresses and tops in the summer, while also helping to keep your hair out of your face as it can be used as either a head band, or simply be placed ontop of your head like an actual flower crown.

Onto books, I have been loving “The Enchanted  Forrest” adult colouring book by Johanna Basford. As im one of those people who get very stressed out and worry a lot, I love to just take 20 minutes or more out to block out the world and colour in all these intrecet designs – allowing me to calm down as I focus on the picture. Also, all the pictures are so beautifully hand drawn, so is unlike anything else I’ve seen before.

So thats all for now guys, let me know in the comments what youve been loving this march – id love to know.

-littleharto ♡

Birthday Baking

Hey guys.

So the other day, I had a go at baking my mum a birthday cake using Raphael Gomes’, Epic Kitchen Adventures, ” My mums chocolate cake.” Recipe.

It was a bit different to cakes I usually make and was an…. interesting experience, so decided to tell you how it went, and give you useful tips so hopefully you dont make the same mistakes as me!

As I like to lay everything out infront of me before I start, I measured all the ingredients out and put them in seperate bowls. However, when it came to seperating the eggs yolks and whites – id advice you to tap the egg with the side of a spoon if youre heavy handed. Usually tapping it on the side of the bowl is fine, but i needed to be more delecate when breaking the shell in half this time, to minimise the mess of this part.

Also dont whisk the egg whites at the start, because the recipe takes a while to do – meaning the air will slowly make the egg runny and less mirange-like. I tried to whisk it back up and make it thick again but it just doesnt happen second time around, so dont whisk the eggs until you actually need them.

Another point is be careful when melting the chocolate, so it doesnt burn. I was trying to multitask and ended up putting the chocolate on for longer than needed – meaning my brother had to run to tesco and get more so i could start again. The 2nd batch was better, so i definetly learnt my lesson. Its definetly better to not attempt doing too much at once.

Once the cake mix was finally coming together, I thought it was going to be easy – talk about speaking too soon. As the flour makes the mixture quite thick, my hand held electric mixer broke, as one of the whisks came completely off the stick and got stuck in the mixture. To be honest, it was an old mixer but I wish it had worked for 5 minutes more – you need to be quite strong to mix this mixture by hand as its so thick!

Once it was in the oven, I could finally relax and clean up. The recipy said that it takes 45 minutes to 1 hour, however after an hour some of the cake aas done, but other sections were undercooked. So after a phone call with the wisest woman I know ( aka, my grandma ) she suggested putting tin foil over the top of the cake so it doesnt get any darker, but the middle still cooks. It sounds crazy but really does work, meaning you hopefully never have the worry of burning your cake again.

Once cooled, I iced the cake using Betty Crocker Icing ( yes I cheated, but after everything that happened before, can you blame me? 😂) and put white chocolate buttons on top.

Over all, it definetly wasn’t my finest bake, but it did end up tasting delicious in the end – so its an A* for effort!

Thats all for now guys! In the comments, tell me what youve baked from Epic Kitchen Adventures, and how it went.

-littleharto ♡

10 Youtubers you should be watching

Hey guys.

As you all should know by now, I really do love youtubers a lot – however I do watch a quite a lot. ( Well, I class 25+ as a lot any way
😂). So if you’re into youtube as much as me, I thought id give you a few suggestions of youtubers you should be watching. So in no particular order, lets get started….

My first youtuber is Sophie Foster. She’s a 17 year old girl who is a tad obsessed with Ashton Irwin and Halsey, and does some amazing makeup looks. Although I doubt i’d be able to pull of the looks as well as she does, its safe to say I’ve definetly picked up a few tips along the way.

Another youtuber I love is Melanie Murphy. She’s an Irish vlogger who talks about subjects others may think of as taboo (e.g safe sex and her experience with eating disorders). Melanie also has a video on how to come out, which has changed many peoples lives – including mine. Plus she’s just so lovely and has the most amazing irish accent – whats not to love.

I also love to watch The SacconeJoly’s. Theyre an irish family who have vlogged every day for the past 5 or 6 years of their life, allowing us to see Anna’s pregnancy with her two children, and the birth of their puppies. Id recomend watching this family after a hard days work, with a hot drink and being all cosy, as  their videos are so light hearted and a perfect end to the day.

Mae Lonsdale is another youtuber who I personally find amazing. Shes 17, and gives such great advice about struggles people her age go through like the uni process. Mae also has such a lovely way with words when she explains and describes complex subjects, so she can put a good message across every time.

Onto more of a beauty youtuber, I love Danufes. I’ve been watching Dani for as long as I can remember, as I remember seeing her upload links to her videos on tumblr. ( I was once very addicted to it 🙈). She does makeup and routine videos, and her tutorials are always very easy to follow.

If you’ve been wanting to get fit but dont have time for it, then Lucy Wydham-Read is the girl for you! She used to train in the army but now does quick, easy HIIT ( high intensity interval training) and toning videos, with an easier option so there are no excuses! You dont need anything other than yourself, water and wifi to do them, plus they have been proven by lots of people that they give amazing results. If youre a person who hates running, sports or long sessions, id highly recommend lucy!

Another youtuber I love is Theodora Lee. She’s basically the big sister of youtube as she gives her honest opinion and advice on things we all go through, like love, exams and common worries. I also love how understanding and realistic she tries to be – remembering that there is no such thing as an “easy fix” in life.

If you love baking but don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen, then I would definetly recommend Raphael Gomes’ channel. He has recipies for mug cakes and quick easy pizzas, so you get to be creative plus have almost instant treats with minimal faffing around.

Lately, ive been loving Dodie Clark! ( doddleoddle ) She writes her own songs with her ukelele, and is insanely tallented. Plus, I dont think ive ever known someone who loves tea just as much as I do – which is a first.

Last but not least, Tom Fletcher. Hes one fourth of Mcfly, and makes the most adorable little videos with his two sons, Buddy and Buz, and his stunning wife Giovanna. I dont know if its just me being incredibly soppy, but his videos are definetly the kind that make your heart ache in the best way.

So thats all for now, let me know in the comments which youtubers are your favorite and I’ll see you next time.

-littleharto ♡

Revision Tips.

Hi guys.

As you may ( or may not ) know exam season is just around the corner. Whether youre in school doing your GCSE’s, doing A Levels or any other exams you may have, I feel like this could be quite benifitial to you as they always work for me. Plus by posting this   now it gives you time to put the tips into practise (because lets be real, whats the point of posting this in 4 months time when exam season is gone?). So thats enough rambling, and lets het straight into it…

1. At the start of revision, test yourself on scribbling down everything you can remember in 3 minutes. I feel like this is useful, because if you have lots to remember, then it can help you identify what you’re familiar with and what you’re clueless on – so you have more of an idea of which sections you should be revising. Also, if you know exactly what needs remembering from the start, then you’ll save yourself a lot of time in the long run.

2. Colour code things. I’m the type of person who’s notes often look like a rainbow threw up all over it. However, it does help me keep organised as I can section things off by using different colours. For example, when I had to learn 15 theorists off by heart and how they linked to practice for a childcare exam, I wrote all the behavioural theorists in different shades of blue, and cognitive development theorists in different shades of pink. This just helped give me a clear layout so I could easily find a main area amongst a ton of writing, plus it gave me an excuse to get all my fancy coloured pens out!

3. Condense the information. If you have lots to remember, its best to start of writing everthing you remember onto A4 paper. Then once you think you’ve learnt it, try halfing the size of that paper, and only using phrases or notes that help remind you of your points. After that, try writing only key words down that trigger all this information you’ve remembered onto sticky notes.  At this point, you should be able to recite everything you’ve learnt by only using your key words. It sounds difficult, but it really helped me.

4. Little and often is key! One thing I found very useful when doing my revision is making myself a time table, so I had 1 or 2 desegnated hour long sessions to do revision. In this time, id revise 1 theory every half an hour, so I didnt get bored and restless halfway through – plus I struggle to sit and work for long periods of time so it wasnt too overwhelming.
By doing little and often everyday, it allows you to remember more as its not as stressful and tiring as sitting there for 6 hours, plus you still get to have a social life do its a win win situation!

So that’s all for now, I hope you all have a lovely day and pass all your exams!

( Also, little life update. I wrote this post  on thursday the 3rd of march – before getting my exam results back. I got my exam result back on the Friday, and I passed! So to get to the point, these tips turned out to be very useful to me, and I hope they’re benifitial to you all too!)

-littleharto♡

February 2016 Favorites

Hi guys!

This month ive tried out a few different products and items, so thought this would be a fun first blog post idea to write up. So lets just get straight into it, here are my favorites of february 2016….

The first thing Ive been loving this month is this bag I got in a little store at my local shopping centre. The main reason I picked this up was because I have had one of these before ( but with a different pattern on) and is definetly the best ive ever had. My old one lasted me nearly 2 academic years, and didnt break due to all the heavy books I have to carry every day and survived 1 or 2 leaks. As all the books and folders are compulsary, other bags havent coped so broke in 6 months – so for £15 you definetly get your money’s worth from this bag. Plus its quite big, so fits everything I need in – plus extra! Another thing is that  I love how it sits on your back, preventing it from feeling too heavy and weighing you down – also proving it to be useful for day trips. As for the pattern, i know its not everyones taste but I love it, as I love floral patterns and it makes me feel more than ready for spring and summer!

Another thing ive loved this month is coloured sharpies. I just find them useful to have around, as i regularly find myself scribbling new things onto my callendar. Also, I often like to keep revision notes colour coded as it helps me keep them organised more efficiently.

During this month, I have been trying to make more of an effort with my makeup, so started collecting the Real Techniques brushes. I love using them as they help to give my makeup a flawless finish, plus the fibres dont fall out and are easy to clean. Although they’re a tiny bit more expensive than other makeup brushes, I dont mind paying that little bit extra as I can tell that as long as i look after them, theyll be lasting me a lifetime.

Moving onto skin care, I have been loving the Zoella hand cream “Wonder Hand.” This is because in the winter I find that my hands get very dried out, but this hand cream helps to keep my hands moisturised and feeling great! Also it smells like the origional range ( If you havent smelt it I highly suggest you do!) which is my favorite one, making it perfection.

Remaining on the topic of skin care, I have been keen to try more Soap And Glory products this year, so picked up a body wash called “Clean Girls.” I have been alternating it between all my other body washes as i have quite a few, but its definetly my favorite at the minute, because its so moisturizing and smells amazing. Also, its in quite a big bottle so if I keep alternating between body washes, then it shall last me a very long time.

Onto books, Raphael Gomes’ Epic Kitchen Adventures is still going strong. Ive had it since August 2015 but am finding myelf trying more and more recipies from this book. Some days theyre great, other days theyre a disaster but no matter what – its always fun to do and the end result still tastes so good. Also it doesn’t take too long to make this recipies, which is handy if youre craving cake but dont have hours to start from scratch.

Finally, my favorite youtuber this February has to be Hannah Hart ( surprise surprise ). I just love how she always seems so willing to try new things and makes a lot of cheesy puns which always have me laughing. Plus shes so positive and truly a beautiful person inside and out. Whats not to love?

So thats all for today, I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you have a lovely day. Also what are your favorites this month? Let me know in the comments.

– littleharto ♡