La Cachette! (Take Six)

I know, I know, back here again but there is a reason! La Cachette recently relaunched with a whole new look in the restaurant and a brand new menu. I was really excited to try some things out and because I work there it meant that I had a long time to decide what to have. The menu is the same sort of thing but there are lots of new additions so I was in my element choosing what to have! So without further ado, let's go!

For starter I went for the scallops in a clam chowder. It was very tasty. The scallops were perfectly cooked and there was just the right amount of it. The clam chowder was very tasty, it had a creamy texture but wasn't too thick so was a nice sauce to go with the scallops. Everything was well seasoned and I don't know what else to say about this dish other than I wouldn't hesitate to have it again.

This is the best main course I've had here, period. So good! It was chicken with gnocchi and a fricassee of peas, which is peas in a creamy sauce. I don't know what it was that made this dish so incredible but the combination of flavours and the way everything was cooked was amazing and I lapped it all up. The chicken was so moist and perfectly cooked and the skin was really crispy which was great for me because I'm a huge fan of chicken skin. Although I'm not the biggest fan of peas, they really worked in this setting and the creamy sauce was a dream. I wasn't expecting the gnocchi to be as good as it was but I think it could have been the star of the show. It was soft and creamy with a lot of herby flavour. Loved it all!

Tarte au citron for dessert and it was very good. Nothing that special but the pastry was delicious and the filling was nice and creamy. Not too much of a lemon-y flavour but that didn't matter too much because it was still coming through. The cassis sorbet was very strong and for me in was a little bit much. The flavours would have been nice together but the cassis just overwhelmed everything on the plate. Still a nice dessert though.

September Favourites!

September seems to have been a pretty busy month! A lot has been packed into a short space of time, nothing too exciting but things that have made it into my favourites. This was my last month at home before I moved back to uni (currently sat at my new desk and so far I'm loving it!). I've watched quite a few new programmes and this seems to be the month of buying new beauty products, but if those are a success they'll end up being in next months faves.

Beauty

Quite a bit in the beauty department this month so I'll just get cracking! This month has been the month I got into wearing braver and darker colours on the lips. I talked about my love for the Clinique Pop Lipsticks and the red one has been something that I'm just obsessed with. In the nude department I rediscovered my Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Heather Shimmer. I bought this at the end of my first year of uni thinking that it would be a 'your lips but better colour'. What I failed to realise was that my lips are not that dark. At all. So it's been gathering a bit of dust in my drawer until now when I'm a bit more confident in my lip colour choices. I love how autumnal this looks and it's moisturising but still stays on my lips like it's nobody's business. The L'Oreal Superstar Super Liner has been a love of mine for a fair few months but has really come into it's own this month. I feel like a look a bit strange if I'm not rocking a bit of eyeliner these days which proves how much I'm in love. I'm loving wearing Poppy Pop on the lips with really light eye shadow and winged liner. I think it looks amazing and I'm a little obsessed! Something that's a little more skincare related is the Origins Overnight Facial Mask. I bought this in a set a few months ago and thought it was going to be the one that I used the least. It took me a while to get into it but my when my skin went through bit of an oily dry spell at the beginning of the summer (which really confused me because I never thought that could happen) and this was my literal saviour. Now I try to use it at least once a week to plump up my skin and make it smooth and full of a good kind of moisture as apposed to just oil.

Film and TV

What a month for this category! I discovered a lot of things this month but there were two films and two TV shows that have just captured my heart. The first thing is The Amazing Race. I hadn't heard of this before but I found it on Sky Go and thought I'd give it a go. It's an american show where ten pairs of people, anything from couples to family teams, race around the world to win one million dollars. I'd seriously recommend giving it a watch because it is just so incredibly good that me and my mum and dad flew through the four series that were available. Next, Lewis. Why I've never watched this programme before I don't know. If you've never heard of it, it's a ITV murder mystery programme that is just so amazing on so many levels. I have a never ending love for these types of shows so I'm glad that there are nine series' for me to get my teeth into. Now onto films. I watched Up recently which is a film that I try and avoid because I just think that the beginning is so sad. But I plucked up the courage and it's definitely up there with the great Pixar films (but let's not lie, they're all good!). I sobbed throughout so if you give this a watch, be warned. Finally Pitch Perfect 2. I'm not going to say much except go and watch it and listen to the soundtrack.

University Week: Fancy Dress

The biggest thing at uni, besides work of course; fancy dress. This is especially true if you're part of a society and are prepared to of all with the theme every week. As I said in Tuesday's post, if you're prepared and come armed with a hoard of clothes then you'll be set, if not a trip to your local fancy dress shop is in order. As you can see from the collage above, my second year was filled with a variety of themes and different costumes, but in first year I was completely clueless. I used to find out the theme and spend around £10 on each outfit. My advice would be to buy things that could be used for a variety of different outfits, like a white t-shirt which could be used for so many things. My most used thing is a stripy black and white top which I've used to be a burglar, robber (same thing but I was a robber and then had to go as something that began with a B) and a mime. Here are a few of my favourite fancy dress themes:

Army // You can't go to Trent and not like being army. It's also one of the easiest themes to do, get something camouflage and paint your face. Done!

Robber // My fave theme of all time. I don't know what I love it so much, it might be the top, the mask but I just really like it. Anything which involves a head piece and I'm in.

Wolf // I love doing the makeup for this one. You can literally just put any grey product on your face and you'll look like a wolf. I also really liked the t-shirt as it was ripped to high heaven and I'm a sucker for some fluffy ears.

University Week: Things to Cook

The uni jitters would not be complete without the fear of possibly not eating until your next trip home, but fear not! I have a few meals that are tasty but easy to make and also some of my must have ingredients that make everything taste amazing!

Lasagne // Absolute staple. So easy to make and so incredibly tasty. Soften an onion, brown off the meat, put in veg of your choice (I use carrots and celery), stir in some chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and then make the creamy sauce. Butter, flour, milk and then assemble. I know some people that put lasagne on the bottom but I go bolognese, sauce, pasta, bolognese, sauce, pasta, cheese and my favourite ingredient in all meals; mixed herbs. I think it gives so much flavour to lots of meals and it's one of my most used things in my cupboard. Back to the lasagne, just put it in the oven for half an hour and then you have a delicious meal. I like it with garlic bread but then again I jump at any excuse to have garlic bread.

Pizza // Put down your Domino's menu and crack out your flour to make THE best pizza in the world (or at least one of...it's pretty good). I think that you should always have pizza ingredients in your stash because you never know when you may get the pizza urge and also they are pretty staple ingredients. Most pizza dough recipes contain yeast but because one day I was lazy and wanted to use things that I had in my cupboard, I found a yeast's recipe that it amazing, click here to see that. I'm pretty boring with my toppings and just go for cheese and tomato puree but pretty much anything that's in your fridge can go on your pizza. Go wild and enjoy!

Pasta // Here we go, typical student food, but there's a reason for that. You can have so many different toppings, for example my friend is all about the pesto pasta which is a deliciously cheap meal (and I'm all about the cheap). One of my fave things to do is soften an onion, staple cupboard food as I always have onions, and add any more veggies you have in. Then top it off with something I always have in, a tin of chopped tomatoes. They add a lot of flavour but all you need to do is open a tin (they're also only 35p for a small tin from Tesco, my supermarket of choice).

University Week: Freshers Week

Well, well, well. Freshers week. Depending on who you ask it's one of the the best/disappointing weeks of your life. I loved freshers week. It feels weird to look back on it now seeing as though we were a group of people who barely knew each other that were dressing up and partying on down. It felt so easy at the time to just go into my new flat and be like let's go make potential friends but I don't think I'd ever be able to do it again! I was very lucky because everyone I met seemed to bond together really quickly and we all threw ourselves into the weeks activities so we all had a great time. Here are a few things that I learnt during my freshers that may be helpful for you!

Take plenty of fancy dress

I definitely wasn't prepared in this department. Trent's organisation of freshers was not the best. No one really knew what was going on each night and we were only told to have beach wear and army fancy dress. But when we got there we needed to produce various other outfits like a greek outfit. In the end I had to cobble something together with a white T-shirt and a belt. So my advice would be to investigate and see if there is a proper schedule of what you're going to need when and also to just take loads of fancy dress because trust me, you'll need it when freshers ends anyway!

Go in all guns blazing

This applies to everything. Meet everyone, go out every night to socialise and try a little bit of everything. I was told to keep my door open so that when people walk past they're more likely to stop for a chat and it makes you look friendlier (even if you're not!).

Be yourself!

It may be the most obvious and cringe-worthy thing to ever say but it's so true! Why would you not be yourself! If you go in and pretend to be something you're not then people will see right through you and they'll probably think it's weird when halfway through you year you have a sudden personality change!

If you find yourself really not enjoying freshers week don't worry, it gets so much better in your second year (and hopefully EVEN better in the third!).

University Week: Applying

The first post in my university week series is for all you people out there who are ready to move on to the bright lights of the uni life. I applied to my uni's of choice when I was in my final year of Sixth Form so that's the angle I'll be going from but no matter when in your life you apply the process is pretty much the same. It's that time of year (or at least it it at my old school) when the pressure is on to decide what you're doing with the rest of your life. It can be a scary thought but in the beginning I just trawled through the prospectuses and hoped that something would pop up that I liked the look of, and luckily it did! Here are a few things that I did when I applied to uni, hope it helps!

Browsing Around

Looking for the right university can be hard but fear not, you will eventually find your way! As I said before, if you don't already know what you want to do, something will come up that you have an interest in. My advice is to order so many prospectuses, even if you don't have an interest in going to that uni order one anyway because it may give you some course inspo or you might have a change of heart. The same for open days. I wasn't that bothered about Nottingham Trent and was never going to go and have a look around but my dad said that we needed to go to more than one open day so we went and I instantly fell in love! I'd also say go to a fair few open days. I only went to two but I really should have gone to more to get a broader spectrum of what different places had to offer.

Personal Statement

You will be told that you need to do SO much extra curricular activities and volunteer work to bulk up your personal statement that an entire year of your life must be dedicated to these things. It's not that true. When I had just started Sixth Form they told us that all of year 12 should be focused on doing things to enhance our  statements. Although I do think that it's important I found that most of my personal statement was taken up with hobbies so if anything hobbies should be the thing that you are focusing on. Universities want to see that you're a well rounded person and not just someone that can help small children to read or feed orphaned puppies but someone that has a passion for something. Now if you have a passion for orphaned puppies then go right ahead and focus all your efforts on that but I think that most of us are more passionate about something that we enjoy, which for me is (or was, I've not played it in a while) piano. If you can show that you're a committed and interesting person then that's all that matters.

Picking your fave

This is pretty self explanatory, just choose your favourite. The way I did it was I wrote down with what I liked and what I disliked about the place and the course. This way when I looked back it was easy to compare each place. However I did have a special little feeling that Notts was the place to me so I think that when you know you know.

So, don't stress, pick something you enjoy and good luck (this is the easy part, getting there is a whole lot harder!).

Round Up #11

It's been a quiet week this week so there's not much to report about. I'm thinking about changing my set up on a Friday because my life is so boring that week to week nothing much really happens. I'd appreciate any suggestions! Looking forward, next week is a very exciting week because I'm turning it into University Week. "But what's university week" I hear you cry. Well, I'll be doing four posts, each with a different topic of university from applying to what to do when you actually get there. Hopefully it'll be useful and a nice little change from the normal scheduling on this blog.

A spot of shopping

The other day I found a double points Boots coupon in my purse that was close to expiring. Oh no what a shame, it means that I'm going to have to use it! To be fair I was in desperate need of the things I bought. There should be a mini haul coming in a few weeks which will feature my thoughts on what I bought. On this trip I just picked up two things the first being another Soap and Glory Solar Powder IN THE NEW PACKAGING! I was never overly bothered about the cardboard packaging but as soon as I held that plastic in my hand my old one seems scratty and wrong. The mirror inside the new compact is also amazing! Unfortunately a few weeks ago my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder smashed into teeny tiny pieces *wipes away tears*. I've been repurchasing it for around two years now but fancied a bit of a change. I've heard many good things about the Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder so I thought I'd give it a go. I shall report back on my thoughts!

A spot of baking

This week I had a go at making some jam biscuits and although they taste very nice they 1.were really awkward to make and 2. they are so hard they could break your teeth. The dough was so sticky that it would roll or cut out and I couldn't tell when they were done so if you want to make these biscuits don't use the recipe on the Good Food website. Normally that's where I go for all of my cooking and baking needs but this time it just didn't work out. Sad times! They still taste nice if you nibble them though so it's all good!

How to: Beginners Red Lip

Wow, isn't that a bit bright. If you've been reading my blog for a while then you'll know that bright lips are never really my thing and nudes are my little safety circle. I have been trying to be more adventurous but they have been many failed attempts. This time, however, I think I've cracked it. On Monday I did a post all about the Clinique Colour Pop Lipsticks (click here to read it) and how in just a few short weeks, they've made a big impression. Today I'll be focusing on just one of those beauties, Poppy Pop. A much raved about bright red that is a world away from anything that I normally wear. This look goes quite simple on the eye so that it all doesn't look overdone. I'm having such a winged eyeliner moment so that's included and I am just totally in love with this look. If you want to know how I did it then all you have to do is sit back, relax and watch the video below! Here's a list of the products I used on my entire face:

Makeup Forever Mattifying Primer

L'oread True Match Foundation // N1

L'Oreal True Match Concealer // 02 Vanilla

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder // 002 Pink Blossom

Sleek Brow Kit // Dark

Maybelline Brow Drama // Medium Brown

Mac Paint Pot // Painterly

Naked Smoky Palette

L'Oreal Superstar Super Liner // Black

Rimmel Kohl Kajal // Jet Black

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara

Soap and Glory Solar Powder Bronzer

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush // Tipsy

Benefit Shy Beam Highlighter

Clinique Colour Pop Lipstick // Poppy Pop

Applebee's!

Here we are. We've finally come to the end of my American food journey. A sad moment but it'll be nice to get to things other than chicken and chips! Last on the agenda for the food was Applebee's. It reminded me of Texas Roadhouse in terms of decor and food with there more on offer than just steak and burgers and there was a lot of wood and TV's playing sport on the walls. Nice atmosphere and a good way to round off a fantastic holiday!

No starters this time so straight into the main. I went for the chicken tenders with fries, coleslaw and ranch. Now if you've been following these america food posts you'll know that I've developed a serious obsession with ranch so when they asked me what dip I'd like I jumped at the ranch chance. I have to say I was very disappointed. It just tasted weird and a little bit off, not creamy and delicious like the other ranches I've had. The chicken was delicious. Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Tasty coating and there was just the right amount. Fries were good too, crispy and had lots of flavour just how I like them. All in all, a great meal to end my little food tour.

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Clinique Pop Lipsticks

I've been eyeing up the Clinique Pop Lipsticks ever since they came out. The packaging is stunning, the shade range is incredible and the reviews online could not fault them. With barely any money in my bank account and last minute shopping trip I took the plunge. I've wanted Melon Pop ever since I first saw them. It's the perfect nude-y peach that I didn't have in my collection. I'm totally in love with it. The picture below (that I posted on Instagram) is more true to colour whereas above it looks darker and pinker. This is my new Shy Girl, smokey eye lipstick favourite. I love the way it applies, it lasts a really long time and doesn't separate in a strange way on the lips. An all round, everyday winner! I did pole around the other 3 members of my family to see which other lipstick I should buy and it was a clean sweep, Poppy Pop. I don't have anything close to this colour or shade in my collection already and wearing it the first time was really stepping out of my comfort zone. I have to say it is now my favourite lipstick to wear, I'm obsessed. I love wearing it with a simple winged liner eye and I'm going to be posting that this Thursday so look out for it! I cannot recommend these enough and I'm tempted to just keep getting more and more shades. On a side note, the photo below has the highest amount of like by far of any of my photos, insane!

Round Up #10

Scarecrow Festival

Every year at around this time a village close to where I live holds a scarecrow festival. So, as the cool people we are we spent last Sunday morning wandering around, walking up and down hills to look at some very well made and creative scarecrows. The theme this year was songs and there were some good efforts but my favourite was Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball hanging off a telegraph pole. There were some naughty donkey's who stole the show and one especially loved having his picture taken. So cute!

Winter Times

Winter is coming and I can seriously feel it (that wasn't a Game of Thrones reference by the way just a giant coincidence). There's a little chill in the air the coats are coming out and I'm loving it. I bought this year's pair of winter boats, some new cuddly pyjamas and me snuggling up in a blanket at night has become socially acceptable again! Back to the pyjamas, they are amazing. IT'S SO FLUFFY! They're from Primark (as are most of my pyjamas) and I have my eye on a fox onesie which is the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Bread

I've seriously been getting into bread making over the past few weeks (as you'll know if you read yesterday's post). On Wednesday of this week I made really tasty tear and share loaf with stilton and bacon. I'm not that big of a cheese fan but this was so delicious! We had it with soup and it was a great combo. The recipe was good old Paul Hollywood and I find his bread book explains how to make things so simply that even a newbie like me can turn out a decent loaf!

How to: Milk Buns

This week's 'how to' is slightly different as we're going down the baking route, yay food! This last weekend me and my dad decided to have a go at making a Tom Kerridge recipe from his Best Ever Dishes book. Although I helped with most of the elements I was put in charge of the bread. We don't normally make bread but it was part of the recipe and I wanted to go for the full effect instead of just buying some bread buns for the supermarket. It was quite a bit of work but so so so worth it! They're sweet but not overwhelming and super duper soft. I've never been so impressed with myself. it's definitely made it to my list of things I'm proud of (which includes the speed I watched PLL in so not a hard list to join). So without further ado, here is the recipe, which things that I discovered while making it thrown in along the way.

Ingredients//

• 600g plain flour (little extra for dusting)
• 15g fresh yeast (go to the bread counter at a supermarket and they'll have some, we tried Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda and the latter gave us plenty for free)
• 20g salt
• 40g caster sugar
• 375ml milk (I went for whole for ultimate creaminess)
• 30g butter
• Vegetable oil (for greasing the tray)
• 1 beaten egg (for egg wash)
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt (I just used normal salt and it was fine)

Baking//

Place the flour, yeast, salt and sugar into a bowl, making sure that the salt and the yeast are on separate sides on the bowl not touching. Warm the milk and butter in a pan on a low heat, just enough so that the butter just melts. Add the warm mixture to the dry mixture, I did it a little at a time, and bring it together, I used a fork. Once it comes together knead for 5-8 minutes until the dough is shiny. This is where I'd say it takes a lot longer. When the dough first comes together it is very sticky and takes around 15 minutes to get it to the point where you can properly knead it. When you think it's done do it for a bit longer and just persevere because it will be worth it in the end. Then place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with cling film and put in a warm place until it has doubled in size. My house was very cold on that day and because our microwave is above our oven I put it in there because it was pretty warm but by a radiator would be great. It should take about an hour.

Once it has doubled in size knock the air out and knead it again, I did it for about ten minutes. Lightly dust a surface with flour and begin to tear off pieces of dough and roll them into balls. The recipe (which makes 12 rolls) says they should each weigh around 80g however I found that it was more like 90g each. Grease a baking sheet with the oil and place the rolls on a sheet, slightly spaced apart. Leave them to prove on the tray for about an hour, until the rolls nudge into each other slightly. I put mine somewhere out of the sun in case they proved to quickly but I'd recommend putting them in a very warm place.

Once proved, preheat the oven to 220C and brush the top of the rolls with the egg to make them nice and shiny, it definitely makes all the difference. Sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds and salt before baking for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Finally cool on a wire rack.

I'm definitely going to making these again. Although with the proving time it takes quite a while but it is worth it. I love them so much and it's made me want to venture out more into the world of bread.

Uno!

Continuing on our Florida food trip we go to Uno, a place I'd never heard of before going. I didn't have a clue what kind of thing they offered so I had no expectations going into it and I have to say I was very impressed, it was one of my favourite eateries from the trip and I think that could be said for the rest of the family. So without further ado let's take a foodie trip down memory lane! The restaurant itself was very similar to the other ones that we'd been to, wooden inside, sports on in the background, that kind of thing. From what I gathered from the menu it was Chicago based and focused on pizzas, but it also did burgers, steaks and everything else that they offer in American restaurants.

For starter we went for another combo, the uno sampler, which is great when the portion sizes are so big. This one had onion rings, tortilla chips, guacamole, eggplant fritters and buffalo chicken quesadillas along with a mayonnaise, a salsa and a tomato sauce. Th onion rings were what I call proper onion rings (meaning you could tell that it was a whole slice of onion) but it had flavour on the inside and was sweet and tasty. The eggplant fritters were nice but made me really thirsty and I couldn't have more than one. I really liked the quesadillas, they had a barbecue flavour and were packed full of chicken and vegetables, really tasty. The star of the show was the guacamole. I've never been the biggest fan of it before now but this was so tasty! It was seasoned so nicely that I could just not get enough. That with the tortilla chips was a winning combination!

Seeing as though the place boasted about its amazing pizzas I thought that I might as well give it a try. I went for the Chicago classic which had crumbled sausages, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. It was deep dish, the classic Chicago way and also my favourite because I'm all about the base. This pizza was a bit backwards. The cheese was on the bottom with the tomatoes on top, whether that's the right way to do it or not I'm not sure. This was out of this world. The base was crispy on the bottom but doughy in the middle and it was filled with flavour. I couldn't eat it all but was very grateful when I took it home to eat it the next day. Yum!

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Testing Out Tarte

A few weeks ago I posted a Sephora Haul (read it here if you haven't already) where I had delved into the world of Tarte for the first time. After over a month of trialling the products I'm ready to share my thoughts, and spoiler alert, they're good!

I knew that I had to pick up one of the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes and I decided to go for the shade Tipsy, a wearable pink. I'm so glad that I went for this one as it goes with pretty much every look, day and night so I can tell that this is going to be the blush I will be using until the end of time. You do have to be a little careful when applying it because it can be easy to overdo it but I've got the technique down. I swirl my brush around in the blush and then do a couple of dabs on the back of my hand before lightly sweeping it on my face. I really want to try another shade of these because I just all round love this blush and need more! The second product that I wanted to try was the Lights Camera Splashes Mascara. This is the waterproof version of the Lights Camera Lashes Mascara and I went for this one because I've never tried a waterproof formula before. At first I wasn't a fan of this, I thought that it was too watery and thin and took forever to get off at the end of the day which I couldn't deal with. However, I used it before a night out to make my mascara last longer and it was amazing! I don't know if it's because it dried out a little but it was insane. It went on like a normal mascara, stayed all night and wasn't too bad to get off in the morning (I know the morning is bad but I'm sorry, I was tired). I need to give this a few more tries but so far I am loving it. So far love Tarte and these two tasters have made me want more and I think that the Amazonian Clay Foundation might be next on my list!

Round Up #9: Oxford Trip!

This week has been a little boring so I'm going to dedicate this entire post to my Oxford Trip that I took last weekend. From Friday to Monday, this mini holiday reunited me with my university pals after what seemed like a long few months. Here are some of my highlights from the trip and what things I think you absolutely must do if you visit Oxford (coming from someone that's only been twice and for a few days so I wouldn't take it as gospel!).

Visiting the sights

If I ever visit Oxford again on a little mini break I'm definitely going to go on one of the open top buses. I think it would be the best way to see all of the beautiful buildings that the city has to offer. We wandered around some pretty streets whilst we were there and there is some gorgeous scenery so I'd really like to see it all if I could. One day I also want to go on an 'Endeavour tour' (they don't exist but hey ho) to see the filming locations they used in one of my favourite ever programmes, Endeavour.

Punting

Yes yes yes! This is definitely something that I highly recommend doing if you visit the city. It's basically like a gondola but instead of an oar type thing, it's a stick which you dig into the ground to steer and push yourself along. You can DIY it or get someone to do it for you but because we are a group of girls who like to live life on the edge (ha!) we did it ourselves. Not to toot my own horn but I was pretty damn good at it. It was quite hard at first but once you got the hang of steering it got a little easier.

Party Time

Quick mention to the night out we went on. Really good! We went to Bridge and it was a good night out. The problem is that I think that my clubbing days are over. The past two nights out I've had have resulted in me prematurely falling asleep in the club. One thing that this club did though was let me sleep, whereas if you ever go to Windsor they will try and kick you out, believe me! Oxford loves a snoozer!

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How to: Empties

This is less of a 'how to' and more of just a normal post. It's an empties of all the products I have finished in the past few months and for me I've finished a fair few. Most of it is body and skincare but there are a few makeup items that I've come to the end of.

Skincare

I've been through two different micellar waters this month. The first was a new try and was the Soap and Glory Total Drama Clean Micellar Water. It was slightly pricier than my usual Garnier one but I thought that I'd give it a go. It was a lot different to any micellar waters that I've tried as it was heavily scented with cucumber and stung a little bit on the eyes. It removed makeup easily but I didn't like the fact that all I could smell was cucumber. Also there was less in the bottle for a little more money so I think I'll be sticking to my old faithful right now. My ultimate favourite makeup remover is the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. I've repurchased it so many times and I love the fact that it doesn't smell and doesn't sting when I use it. It lasts me a couple of months, and that's using a lot on each cotton pad, and it's just so quick and easy. I also finished my Nivea Refreshing Toner which was a new toner I'd been trying out. I didn't repurchase it after I finished it and I'm gutted because it was such a good affordable toner! It smelt a little but just of what I'd class as a 'standard Nivea smell' but that was quite nice when applying it. I could feel it cleaning my skin but without stripping it completely. One of the best toners I've tried.

Bodycare

Two minis in the body care category and I bought them both in Summer last year but haven't used until recently. The first one was the Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter. Standard Body Shop Body Butter. Smooth, not too thick like some of the body butters, great smell and made my legs silky smooth. Next up is the Soap and Glory Flake Away Body Scrub. First off, I don't like the smell. I can't really describe it but I love the smell of other Soap and Glory products (Sugar Crush and Smoothie Star) and this was just boring and floral. The scrub however was great. It did the job but I didn't feel like I was sandpapering my legs.

Haircare

The first hair item is a mini of the Batiste Dry Shampoo. I used to use Batiste a lot but when Collab came along I moved to that instead because I loved the smell and the way it gave texture to my hair. But when I was going on a trip to Spain in Easter, mini Batiste's were on offer so I thought it would be a nice addition. It did the job and was good but I think I'll be sticking to Collab. Next up is the Lee Stafford For Hair That Never Grows Past A Certain Length. I've had a couple of these before over the years and I have to say that it does make a difference to the speed that my hair grows. Although you use a lot in one use there is still a lot in the pot and you can get a fair few uses from it. I seriously need to repurchase this one.

Makeup

Three products in this category, the first being the L'Oreal Super Liner. I got this free with a purchase about 12 months ago but I only started really using it just before Christmas. I love the thin, flexible tip and the fact that it went along the lash line so smoothly. I love this eyeliner which is why I repurchased it in the Superstar version. Two mascaras that I got free in magazines to finish off the empties. First is the Benefit Roller Lash Mascara which became one of my favourites when I used it. I liked the way it hooked around my lashes and curled them whilst lengthening and voluminising. I do however think that there are mascaras that are just as good for the price because it is rather expensive and it really drags the lashes when it dries out a bit. Finally I finished the Clinique High Volume Mascara. I had two tubes of these and it still remains to be one of my favourite mascaras, but I am loathed to pay full price. I loved the way it volumised my lashes and they didn't smudge all day, I was just obsessed. It lasted so long as well so if I did buy it it would be worth the money, so watch this space!

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IHOP!

Well, what a bizarre experience this was. This has to be one of the weirdest but greatest culinary experiences I've ever had. I had heard of IHOP before I went to America but I had always thought that it strictly pancakes. Boy I could not have been more wrong. This menu was literally so extensive that it was hard to narrow it down. We had to wait for about 15 minutes for a table, it was literally so busy, there must have been about thirty people waiting for a table. It was totally worth it though!

I went for the steak, eggs, hash brown and pancakes. I know, steak for breakfast is a bit weird especially when it's deep fried but it was literally amazing! It tasted more like a sausage than a steak but that didn't matter, it was still delicious! The hash brown was the star of the show! It was what I'd call a rosti as apposed to a hash brown which is totally more up my street than a 'normal one'. So nice, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle yum! The whole thing came with a cream gravy which was very bizarre but I'm not complaining! Super tasty. The eggs were nice but just like normal eggs. I was in pancake heaven! Fluffy and delicious. The only problem was there was butter on them and because I ate them last the butter had melted a whole in the middle of the pancakes and they went soggy and salty. Next time I'd take it off before I started tucking into my meal. Overall it was a great meal and one of my first breakfast out experiences which has made me want more.