Fat Cats! (Take Four)

I know, we're here again but can you blame me with such a good student discount?! This visit to the beloved Fat Cats was slightly different as this time I had a starter! I know right, what a turn around for the books. So without further ado let's jump in.

Because we were feeling adventurous on this visit we decided to sample one of their sharing starters and we went for the Mediterranean platter. I'm so glad that we did because this ended up being the star of the meal! It came with an olive salad, deep fried aubergines, goats cheese bruschetta, flatbreads, hummus, falafels and tzatziki. Everything was delicious, except maybe the salad but I'm not a salad person, and also the bruschetta because I don't like goats cheese. The tzatziki was cleansing and tasty and the hummus was out of this world! Everything went well with everything, like the aubergines tasted good with the hummus, etc. I've never had a falafel before and I really enjoyed them. They reminded me of onion bargiis as they had a curry as a flavour. My favourite thing out of everything was the hummus, it was creamy, tasty and the best I've ever had.

This is the smokey belly pork which I've had before and if you want to hear my thoughts on this you can read it here.

This cheesecake...is something else. It has to be the creamiest cheesecake I've ever had! It was white chocolate and raspberry flavour, although the raspberry flavour wasn't really prominent, which is one of my favourite flavour combinations when it comes to cheesecake. The cream that it came with was squirt cream from a can which didn't really add much and when I've had cheesecake here before, it came with pouring cream which was much better. The piece was huge but it was so delicious that I just want to eat it over and over again!

New Lip Products

Over the past few weeks I've been expanding my lip collection and branching out so I thought I'd share my new additions with you and give my thoughts. First up is the Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudist. I'd heard a lot about this and I was in need of a lip product that put a little something on but did't require too much effort and upkeep throughout the day. This colour is literally exactly the same colour as my lips. I love it. It smells amazing, like vanilla, and is perfect to just shove in your bag and take on the go. I have heard that they can melt easily so I'm a little weary about it but so far mine hasn't shown signs of melting. Next is The Body Shop Lip and Cheek Tint in 03. For me this is such a nostalgic product. About seven years ago I had this after going to a Body Shop party at someones house and used to wear it all the time. The smell and the taste take me back but I have to say it's a little disappointing. When I put it on the lips it clung to the dry patches so was a nice colour but redder in some areas than in others. It's also not great on the cheeks as it dries too quickly to blend out properly and it ends up looking like you've got a skin infection. It has to be said though, the staying power is insane (The swatch is still on my hand when I'm writing this and no amount of makeup remover can get it off). Last but not least it's one of my new favourite lip combos. For my birthday my friends got me a Mac Lipstick in Kinda Sexy. Every time I go into Mac and look at the lipsticks I have no idea which one to go for so I've come to the conclusion that from now on I'm just going to let other people choose them for me. It's a matte nude that is insanely moisturising and long lasting on the lips. I'm in love with this lipstick but when I pare it with my new lip liner the love grows stronger. Instead of folking out £10-£15 on a Mac lip liner I searched through Boots to try and find one that matched at a cheaper price. Enter the Rimmel Lasting Finish Lip Liner in Spice. It's pretty much an exact match and was half the price of a mac liner. These too together make such a long-lasting combo that doesn't take much up keep and I love it.

L-R: Nudist, Kinda Sexy, Spice, 03

Army!

Don't get too sad but it's the last instalment of 'mad march' or my fancy dress series. I've really enjoyed doing this so you never know, it might pop up in the future! For our final attire I went with the Trent university classic, army. If you go to Trent you'll know how important it is and it's good to have the outfit in because we do it a lot. A lot a lot. Let's get to it!

I started with my L'Oreal True Match Foundation (click here to see my thoughts on this little gem) and then went in with my Mac Pro Longwear Concealer as I want my base to be as long lasting as possible. Then the standard Rimmel Stay Matte Powder and this is when things get interesting with the brows. I cracked out the Sleek Brow Kit in Dark which I haven't used in absolutely ages. Recently I've been opting for the more natural brow but I want to bring the bold brows back! On this occasion I just used an angled brush and the powder instead of going in with the wax then the powder. I set them with my Maybelline Brow Drama in Medium Brown. Now onto the eyes; I primed them with the Mac Painterly Paint Pot and went in with my new Collection Eyes Uncovered Palette in Nude Grey. It's such a lightweight, compact palette that I've been loving lately. I basically used all of the colours, slowly working my way from the lid to the crease going dark to light and finished by lining the lash line with the matte black. I lined my waterline and tightline with the Rimmel Black Kohl Kajal and finished off the eyes with my Benefit Roller Lash Mascara. Standard Soap and Glory Solar Powder Bronzer, Benefit Dandelion Blush and my Maybelline Golden Beige Eyeshadow as a highlight. As a final flourish I used my under loved Maybelline Colour Elixir in Caramel Infused which is really really great!

Outfit wise I just wear shorts, a black vest top, a camouflage gilet and a camouflage headband. As long as maybe one thing's camo and you wear dark clothes it should look good. As a final touch I always put two big black stripes on my cheeks just to make it a little army-fied. 

Please let me know if you've like this little series and as I said I think it may have to return sometime in the not too distant future!

Favourite Friday: Real Techniques Bold Metals

There's something about makeup brushes that gets me really excited and, although some people think I have too many, I think that there are plenty of gaps in my collection for me. Enter the new Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection. Hotly anticipated, these brushes are more expensive that the standard collection but look so much cooler. With the long handle, weighted for optimal usage and gorgeous colours, I was sold. As my bank balance isn't brilliant at the minute I picked up one of the slightly cheaper brushes, that being one of the eye ones. The big fluffy Mac 217 caught my eye at the beginning but after a lot of thought I settled on the 201 Pointed Crease Brush. This brush is insane. I use it through the crease, as the name suggest, and to smudge shadow underneath the eye. The way that this brush is made means that doing a smokey eye has never been easier. It's as if all you need to do is put the shadow on the brush and let it get to work. I can't rave about this enough and when I have a few more pennies I have my eye on the tapered blush brush.

Who Was On Top!?

Bronzer- Soap and Glory Solar Powder

Concealer- Mac Pro Longwear Concealer

Blusher- Benefit Dandelion Blush

Foundation- Max Factor Face Finity

Palette- Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette

Lipstick- Kiko 902/Mac Shy Girl

Brows- Soap and Glory Brow Archery

Mascara- Clinique High Volume Mascara

Mask- Simple Deep Cleansing Mask

Brush- Mac 217

Betty's!

Betty's is one of my favourite places to eat ever so whenever I know we're going somewhere where one will be close, I pray that we might be giving it a visit. If you don't know what Betty's is, it's an old fashioned tea room in the north of England that sells things from afternoon tea to a full english breakfast. I've had a fair few things on the menu so this time, on our York trip, I branched out and went for the haddock, salmon and prawn gratin. It was smoked haddock, salmon and prawns in a hollandaise type sauce with a potato rosti with breadcrumbs on top. This was one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. The fish was soft and tasty, especially the smoked haddock, and the sauce was to die for, so much flavour. The rosti was crispy on the outside and soft in the middle and just incredibly good. Everything was seasoned to perfection and the portion size was perfect. I can't rave about this place and the food enough, it's just insane. There are four destinations where Betty's resides, York, Harrogate, Northallerton and Ilkley. Other than the Northallerton one, I've been to the all of them and even had a baking course. I just love it so much, can you tell?!?

L'Oreal True Match Foundation

I've found my new saviour. After my Max Factor Face Finity ran out last month I didn't think that there would be anything that could live up to it but after hearing the raving reviews on this foundation I thought I'd branch out and give it a go. I'm so glad I did because this has quickly become my new favourite foundation. I have the shade N1 which is a perfect match and I like the way that there are so many different shades with varying undertones. It has a satin finish (I say that but I don't know if it's actually correct) and gives a natural skin like finish. I usually go for matte foundations so this one, for me, is more on the dewy side and I'm completely okay with that. It doesn't make my skin greasy or oily and actually helps to control the oil. It lasts all day without the need for concealer touch ups and when I apply it I only use one pump and it covers my entire face, and the coverage is amazing, full to medium. I can't rave about this foundation enough and if you have a space in your collection for a new product, give this a try because you won't regret it.

Fairies!

Time for another fancy dress theme and this week it's fairies! I went as a fairy in refreshers week and I enjoyed getting ready for it so much that I thought I'd bring it back. I like the fact that you can go really colourful and step outside of the 'norm', e.g the purple contour. Let's get cracking with the face!

I did my standard face routine and then got started on the crazy contour. Using a fluffy eyeshadow brush and an Electric Purple MUA Eyeshadow I followed the line of my cheekbone and began to build up the colour. I went further down than I normally would and made of sort of triangle shape. I carried on the purple all round my hairline and blended it out to make it look soft. Moving onto eyes and I used my Sleek Bright Palette. I covered my lids with the white and used a light blue in the crease, but really blended out so that only a slight tinge can be seen. I then went in with the purple I used to contour with in the crease and slightly winged it out, blending again to make it soft. Now, this is where the glitter comes in. Any kind of glitter will do, mine was from a fancy dress shop. This is where you literally just go mad. Using pink, blue and white I covered my entire face practically in glitter, focusing mostly on the lids and as a highlight. In terms of brows I used an orange-y brown eyeshadow because I thought that it'd look different and 'other worldly'. Finally let's finish off with lips. I used the Tanya Burr Lip Gloss in First Date as a base and pressed the pink glitter on top. Super sparkly!

In terms of outfit I wore a simple vest top and a lime green skater skirt. The best part of the outfit was the wand and wings which I got from a fancy dress shop for £2.99, that's it! So cheap! I also wore a tiara, because I'm a princess fairy, and clipped my hair out of my face. This fancy dress is all about the face so as long as that's right the outfit doesn't really matter.

Favourite Friday: Yoga

I'm lazy. To the point where walking up to my bedroom from the lounge is too much of a struggle (I do live on the third floor which is very high). I decided to build up my fitness in a low level way I'd start yoga. After hearing that the 30 days of yoga with Adrianne on YouTube was a good place to start, thank you Vivianna does makeup, I decided to give it a go! So far I'm loving it! I did it everyday for the first 10 days and then I let it slip a little but don't worry I'm back on track. I like it because 1. I don't need to leave the house, 2. She doesn't shout at me, and 3. It's strenuous without being 'strenuous'. I can already feel the flexibility returning to my legs and the ambition of doing the splits again isn't too far off. If anyone's thinking about it I'd definitely give it a go, exercise that isn't really exercise, yes please.

Battle of the Brushes

The final face fight, I know shed a tear, is all about the brushes! I love brushes to the point where I've had to stop myself from buying more because it will just be an unnecessary purchase. I've picked my most used brushes, one from each 'application category' and I'll be putting them against each other to see which is my favourite. Let's begin!

First up is foundation and let's start with the Expert Face Brush from Real Techniques. I'm very fond of this brush. It's the brush that I never adore but it's always there when I want my foundation to look a bit more natural. It's soft but dense so it buffs in really well but sometimes it can be a little bit too small when I'm in a rush. Then there's the Sephora 49 Brush. I love this brush. Some people find that these types of brushes 'paint' the foundation on instead of buffing it into the skin but I like the flawless finish that this brush gives me and paired with the L'Oreal True Match foundation it's like perfect skin in a bottle.

Eyes eyes eyes! The first eyeshadow brush I ever got was the Mac 242. I love this for packing shadow onto the lid and it's especially great with pigments. The Mac 217 is infamous in the beauty world for being amazing and it's definitely worth the hype! It perfectly puts product in the crease and blends out edges beautifully. I don't know what I ever did before this brush. Another similar blending brush is a little fluffy brush I got in an Avon kit about eight years ago and it's a nice, soft and reliable little brush.

To finish with the rest of the face brushes is the Real Techniques Blush Brush which I use for bronzer.  As with all of these brushes it's really soft and fits well into the hollows of my cheeks to contour and is also big enough to give an all round bronze. Last but not least is the Real Techniques Stippling Brush. I used to use this for foundation, and I really liked it as it made everything look really natural, but now I use it for highlight as it doesn't apply too much product and make the face look too shiny.

Who's come out on top? I think that the Mac 217 has literally changed my life so much that it has to be my favourite brush.

La Cachette! (Take Two)

Another La Cachette post coming at you today, can you tell it's one of my favourite places for food. Let's get straight into the starter and I had smoked salmon with a crab risotto ball and an orange sauce. This is one of the best starters I've ever had, and I know that's a bold statement but it was simply delicious. The salmon was soft and melted in the mouth and was full of flavour. The orange sauce complemented everything beautifully and was sweet but had a little bit of tang. The star of the dish however was the crab risotto ball. Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, it was full of crab flavour and melted in the mouth. One was just enough but I could've eaten a bowl of just these. The portion size was perfect and I'd have to say it was an all round perfect starter!

Being the boring so and so that I am, I went for exactly the same main that I had last time. I can't help it, beef wellington just sucks me in! If you want to see my thoughts on this dish then I wrote about it in my last La Cachette post here.

I've always wanted to have a proper tarte tatin so I jumped at the chance when I saw it on the menu. The extra 15 minutes cooking time was definitely worth the wait and it was super delicious. The apples were soft and sweet and the pastry was thin and crispy yet soft and sticky. The creme freche sorbet went well with the rest of the dish, sweet but light. So my dream was fulfilled and an overall success!

5 Minute Makeup (Sort Of)

I failed miserably. Before this attempt I tried to do my entire face of makeup in five minutes and as you can probably tell, it didn't work. So this time I decided the only way I was going to be able to do this was to time myself doing my makeup as fast as I could and then report back the results. As expected I didn't come anywhere near the time and did it in just under seven minutes. For me I don't think that it was too bad considering that normally that's how long it takes to do my base makeup but it's still not very quick.

I started with my Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream in the shade 00 and used the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to blend it all in. I like the finish that] this product gives as it blurs over the skin but doesn't make my face too greasy. For concealer I used the high coverage Revlon Colorstay in Light for any blemishes, redness and under eye circles and my powder of choice was the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 02 Rose Blush. I filled in my brows with a Chocolate Brown Eyeshadow from my Virgin Vie Palette and set them with the Maybelline Brow Drama in Medium Brown. I kept it simple on the eyes and used the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold, my Rimmel Kohl Kajal in Saddle Brown and the Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black. Standard Soap and Glory Solar Powder Bronzer to give a glow to the face, Benefit Dandelion Blush and a Maybelline Eyeshadow in Golden Beige to highlight. For the lips I used my Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudist which I'm really liking at the minute as it's my exact lip colour and gives a nice shine to the lips.

So although this was a bit of a fail it gives me the spark to give it another go and actually succeed in the five minute time limit.

Wolf!

It's time for another fancy dress post. This week it's an animal theme or this could easily be use for Halloween too (this is what I went as this year). From the amount of 'stuff' on my face you'd think that it would have taken me quite a while to do, when in fact it probably only took me about 15 minutes. Minimal products were used but I'd definitely recommend getting your hands on an angled brush as this is what I used for 80% of the look.

I did my normal base routine and then went straight in with the brows. Using my Sleek Brow Kit in Dark and a large angled brush I just went at my brows in any old fashion, filling them in with their normal shape but also going about in a 'hair like' motion. I then did the same thing with the grey eyeshadows from the Urban Decay Vice 3 palette, defy in particular. Then I took my Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Immortal Charcoal to prime the lid and used angel over the top. I darkened the crease with defy and took it underneath as well. It was all quite messy because you don't want it to look too polished, you are a wolf after all! I lined my waterline with the Rimmel Kohl Kajal in Black and used my Seventeen Back Lash Mascara. This is the best part. Using my colour tattoo again and an angled brush I went around the contour areas of my face and brushed on the product to look like hair. I also did this in a triangle on my forehead. I also used the defy eyeshadow and my L'Oreal Gel Eyeliner in Black. To finish off I took defy down the sides of my nose and used the Revlon Colour Burst Matte Balm in Complex and patted the angel eyeshadow on top to make it more grey and dirty. I think it turned out pretty well!

In terms of outfit this is what I wore on Halloween. The ears were from a fancy dress shop (I think they also came with a tail) and the top was from Primark that someone ripped up, I did steal the outfit, oops! If you were just going for an animal theme then no blood is needed but Halloween needs it so just slap it on.

Favourite Friday: Pink Lip Combo

When the money starts rolling in there's only one place to go (other than Costa which is a given), Boots. After hearing so much about the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk I decided to go for the poor mans option and buy the Rimmel Lip Liner in East End Snob. With some claiming it's a pretty exact dupe of Pillow Talk I felt it was only time that I gave it a go, and am I glad I did! The consistency is creamy but it 'dries' (it doesn't really dry but I can't think of another word to describe it) and it doesn't budge on the lips. For me it's not so much 'your lips but better' but more of a nice, bright pink. My favourite lip combo at the minute is wearing this all over the lips and then topped off with my trusty Kiko Lipstick in 902. It lasts for most of the day without much topping up and brightens up the face. I'm sold on this whole lip liner business now!

Mash of the Masks

Next up in the 'face fights' series are face masks. Over the past year I've tried out a fair few face masks to try and combat my oily skin and I've narrowed it down to three, so let's put them to the test. First up is the No Clogs Allowed Mask by Soap and Glory for oily/combination skin. This is a warming mask so you put it on, then wet your hands and rub over the mask which warms it up. The warming effect is nice and soothing but in some areas where the mask is a little thicker it can be a little too hot. The consistency is very odd, quite watery but a little gritty. It does say shake before use but even then there's still a lot of thin liquid.Unlike some of the other masks it doesn't seem to have much of an effect on my skin other than getting rid of some of the oil. Next is another Soap and Glory Mask, The Fab Pore. This is a thick mask with some 'beads' in it which burst when rubbed into the skin. You leave it on for 15 minutes before washing up and it's for all skin types. When on the skin this mask is very relaxing and cooling and leaves my skin feeling fresh and seems to keep spots at bay for a few days. The problem is it doesn't seem to have any long term effects on the skin. Finally it's the Simple Deep Cleansing Face Mask. I really like using this mask as it's quick (you only leave it on for three minutes) and isn't too messy to use as it's in a tube, unlike the second Soap and Glory one. It keeps the spots at bay and feels like it draws all of the badness from my skin. This has to be my favourite mask because it suits my skin perfectly and so far we've had no problems (fingers crossed this continues).

The Pudding Pantry!

I've literally been waiting for this day forever! The Pudding Pantry in Nottingham opened last summer and I've been dying to go for ages! It's like a coffee shop but they also sell what I'd class as 'proper puddings' such as cheesecakes and tarts. My dream.

To drink I went for a hot chocolate as I really wanted something with cream. It was very nice but there was a lot of chocolate powder in it and after a while it became a bit too sickly. Looking back I should have sipped it through the cream as then it might have made it a bit more milky. They had all sorts on the menu and next time I might try a milkshake (with cream...I like cream).

This was insane. It's a banana butterscotch pudding and although the portion size doesn't look overly big, it was so rich that this was the perfect amount. The bananas were sliced on the bottom of the pudding and covered in caramel. The sauce was sticky and sweet and went really well with the custard. I'd recommend to anyone in the Nottingham area to take a trip to the Pudding Pantry, you won't regret it!

Take Care of your Lips!

My lips hate me. No that's not an exaggeration, they just really don't want to be on my face. When I put nothing on them then we get on fine but if I'm feeling a little bit more glam and want a bit of lipstick action they want none of it. So as I've been getting more adventurous in this department I've had to find products that keep my lips happy and give a nice canvas in which to apply my product of choice.

As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, the Mint Julips Lip Scrub has literally saved my lips. I put this on morning and night and it gets rid of all the dead skin (TMI I know) and means that my lips are no longer bumpy and disgusting. I think that the Maybelline Baby Lips are great and really moisturise my lips. When I first tried them I have to say I wasn't a big fan but now I really lather them up (if you can lather a lip balm) and they lock in the moisture. This time last year I was having major lip problems and nothing could sort them out. That was until my friend let me try her Lanolips. I was straight into Boots to to get one of the these and I went for the lemonade one, which is really good. It is a little bit pricey, but if your lips are literally dead this will bring them back to life. For my birthday I got a Satsuma Lip Balm from The Body Shop and this is so creamy and nice on the lips that I like to use this at night. It also smells amazing, and you can't go wrong with that!

Bollywood!

So for the start of "Mad March" I decided to go Bollywood! This is what we all dressed up as when I went out for my birthday and I think it's one of those themes that it's really easy to do and everybody always looks amazing. The outfit is really simple and cheap to do and accessories and makeup are the thing that make it look 'bollywood-y'.

Let's start with the face. Just a disclaimer, I used purple on the eyes but in the pictures below it just looks brown, annoying I know but that's just life. It did look purple in real life (and very good I might add!). I started off with the eyes and primed them with the Mac Painterly Paint Pot, which is my favourite eye primer, and used a white shade all over the lid, specifically Heaven from the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette. I used post it notes to make sure I got a sharp line and I'm really liking that at present. The next part is just a case of putting on the colours, blending, putting the next on, blend and just repeat. I used the Mac Pigment in the shade Femininity, which is a pink that shines blue in some lights, in the crease. I then used another Mac Pigment in Dusty Desire which is a deep matte purple. I just kept going over each of these to build the intensity. Once that was at the colour I wanted I went in with my Barry M Dazzle Dust in Gold, which I've literally had for eight years, oh dear! I packed this onto the centre of my eye to make it sparkly and I like the contrast between the purple and the gold, so cool. I then took all of these colours underneath the eye in order of darkness. I did a really intense flick with my L'Oreal Black Gel Eyeliner with an angled brush and just did a really thick line and this is where the post its help out by giving an amazing flick (the cheats guide to eyeliner!). I lined my tightline and waterline with the Rimmel Kohl Eyeliner in Black and then used lashings of the Benefit Roller Lash Mascara which I'm loving for lengthening and then the Clinique High Volume Mascara to give a little more volume. I then just did my standard foundation/face thing but made sure I went heavy on the contour with my Soap and Glory Solar Powder. For lips I went nude with my new Rimmel Lip Liner in East End Snob and Kiko Lipstick in 902. Finished face alert!

My outfit is just some leggings, a black strappy top and a scarf that I bought from Primark that I just wrapped around myself. Super cheap and I think it looks pretty damn good! I bought the head thing you can see above from River Island and I think it finishes everything off.

This is literally the easiest fancy dress and really fun too because you can still move (you know sometimes you just go all out that for the night you think "shouldn't have worn that"? No just me?). The best thing is that when you do a theme once you then have all the stuff to do it again!

Favourite Friday: Mug Cakes

This favourite Friday is possibly one of the best yet. It's all about the cake! For my birthday I was lucky enough to receive a book that contains lots of different (and dare I say complex) recipes to make a large variety of mug cakes. I am a huge mug cake fan, I mean who wouldn't like a delicious warm dessert that takes no time at all to make and doesn't skimp on flavour. Some of the recipes require ingredients that probably won't be ready to go in your cupboard but the ones that I've been whipping up are made with ingredients you will have. I've made a chocolate melt in the middle cake and a chocolate fondant cake (definitely my favourite) and a chocolate chip mug cookie. I can't wait to get some more of the adventurous ingredients so I can make some of the different kinds and who knows, you might be seeing more mug cakes in the future! 

Match of the Mascaras

I'm a big mascara junkie. I don't buy many or have lots at any one time but I rarely ever stick to one. I just like to test the waters and see what I'm missing out on. Let's crack on! First up is the Seventeen Back Lash Mascara. I got this free when I spent over I think it was £10 and it isn't that bad. When I say that, I mean it's not bad layered underneath other mascaras. On it's own it doesn't give the volume that it promises and it doesn't do anything for my bottom lashes but for a freebie you can't really complain. Next is the l'Oreal Telescopic Mascara which I was given by a friend who wasn't really getting on with it. I really like this mascara. It's super lengthening and is perfect for applying a more volumising one on top. It's clump free but I don't put it on my bottom lashes as it makes them look like creepy spiders, urgh. Last, but certainly not least, is the Clinque High Impact Mascara which I got free in Glamour magazine ages ago. This. Is. Incredible. When it says volume, it means volume. It makes my lashes look the best they've ever looked and I am in love. The only downside is that when this runs out I don't think that I can afford to get a new one *cry face*. This is definitely my favourite out of all three but what I do if I'm going on a night out is put them all on and they make my lashes look insane. I am such a rule breaker.

Fat Cats! (Take Three)

You really can't go wrong with 50% off now can you. That's what I love about Nottingham, they give really good food discount to students (and when you're short on cash but still want to eat out it's great!). I've been to Fat Cats a few times and I try to vary what I have so it doesn't start to get same-y. The herb crusted cod caught my eye on this visit and it was such a good choice! The crust on the cod was garlicy with some crunch and there was just the right amount, because sometimes on things like that they don't give enough crust. The celeriac sauce was delicious and for me made the dish. It was such a good accompaniment and full of flavour. There were a few too many pea shoots but I can live with that and it said that it came with spinach but it wasn't to be seen. Potato wise it was a gratin and the potatoes were soft on the bottom, crispy on the top and deliciously seasoned. Portion size was perfect so all in all a winner of a dish, and at £7.50 for this and a drink you really can't go wrong!

New Ins and Repurchases

Following on from last weeks Empties post I thought I'd let you in to see what was so good that I bought again and what I decided to try out instead. Let's start with shampoo and conditioner. I had been using the Lee Stafford Big Fat Healthy Hair range for a number of years but it had gotten to the point where it wasn't really washing my hair properly (which would help seeing as though that's its purpose). As Aussie was on 3 for £10 I thought why not take advantage so I bought the Miracle Moist Shampoo and Conditioner and the 3 Minute Miracle Hair Treatment . So far I've been loving these so much. My hair seems to be in a really nice condition and I can go longer in between washes. The smell is just incredible and they make me look forward to having a good deep clean. Moving onto the Seaweed Toner from The Body Shop which I will repurchase forever and ever until the end of time. It works perfectly on my skin and helps keep the oil at bay! In terms of highlighter I've been using the Maybelline Eyeshadow in Golden Beige after my L'Oreal one came to an end. It works exactly the same. Same colour, pigmentation, shimmery-ness, the lot. I've never used a 'proper highlighter' before so this works just fine for me. I got this mini Frozen Cranberries Body Butter from The Body Shop for my birthday and it smells so good. It's a little less thick than the coconut one but it moisturises just the same which is fine by me. Although it was a Christmas scent, it isn't overly festive so I can use it now and not feel like I'm trying to cling on to December. Finally, I've replaced my Vitamin E Night Cream with a mini Vichy Night Cream. So far I've been really enjoying it. It's thick and sinks well into he skin without making it too greasy. I've not priced up a full size but after the mini runs out I may have to purchase.