What's In My Handbag - Winter Edition

Dear Readers,

Here's just a couple of essential products that have made it into my handbag this winter. Hover over the image to explore. Stay Sweet,
Alice xx

Victoria's Secret Mini Haul

Dear Readers,

I thought I'd share with you a little sneak peak of what I got from Santa this year. There is nothing more exciting than the two tone stripes of a Victoria's Secret bag under the tree.

Nothing screams Victoria Secret more than festive underwear

'WHAT THE ELF'

'SANTA STOP JUDGING ME'

Yoga Leggings

Who said you can't be stylish in bed - super soft flannel pyjamas

Thank you for reading this mini post. Let me know in the comments what you got this Christmas, I'd love to hear from you. 

I will be uploading lots more soon so stay tuned.

Stay Sweet,

Alice xx 

Gingerbread Biscuits Recipe

Dear Readers,

Today I wanted to share with you my favourite Gingerbread Biscuit recipe in the hope that you'll try it. The recipe is super easy and can be done in little time, and with little thought.

Ingredients:

•  100g/4oz Butter or Margarine
• 100g/4oz dark soft brown sugar
• 225g/8oz Plain Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Golden Syrup
• 1 Tablespoon Treacle
• 1 Teaspoon each of Ginger, Mixed Spice & Cinnamon
• (Optional) Coloured Boiled Sweets 
• (Optional) Icing Sugar 

Oven Temperature:
 190C, 375F, Gas 5

Method:

•  Cut and lay out parchment paper to the size of your baking tray. 
• Cream together the butter or margarine with the brown sugar until light and fluffy. 
• Beat in the syrup and treacle
• Add the spices
• Gradually add in the flour whilst combining the mixture until it forms a dough
• Lightly knead together the mixture on a floured surface- you may need to add a little extra flour here (depending on the consistency of the dough) 
• Using a rolling pin roll out the dough until it is around 5mm thick
• Using cutters of your choice cut out the dough
• To make the stained glass window biscuits, place a boiled sweet in the center of the cut out cookies. This will then melt to fit the cut out. Do consider however, that you may need more than one boiled sweet depending on the size.
• Bake in a moderate oven for around 10 minutes or so - It's completely up to you whether you want chewy biscuits or crunchy ones. 
• Cool on a wire rack or just tuck in straight away!
• Tip: If you want to be more creative combine icing sugar and water to create patterns and shapes on the gingerbread.

Stay Super Sweet,

Alice xx

Last Minute Gift Idea - WishWant

Dear Readers,

Are you feeling deflated and uninspired, trying to come up with an exciting and unique gift for your friend or family member this Christmas? Then look no further - WishWant offers you a catalogue of possibilities. No longer do you have to worry that you may not have bought the right gift. With WishWant, you set your price limit and the gift receiver chooses what they want from an array of products you choose to put in the catalogue. It's really that simple.

~ Step By Step ~

1. You select how much you want to spend first. 
2. Then you can add gifts you think they would like to a gift collection, the minimum number of gifts in a collection is 4 and the maximum is 12.
3. You then personalise the collection, pick a cover and add a personal message. 
4. Finally, you tell us how you want to send it: by post or email. 
5. The recipient receives the collection and redeems one item they liked the most!
 

So if you can't make up your mind, or you can't find the time, then check out WishWant now:

http://wishwant.co.uk/start.php 

Twitter: @wishwantuk

Instagram: @wishwantuk

 

Stay Sweet,

 Alice xx 

Crazy For Copper

Dear Readers,

I thought it would be apt to finally post something festive. Here is a picture of my new Christmas baubles which I cannot wait to use when decorating my tree. These copper baubles are the perfect way to add warm, earthy tones to your Christmas tree. I picked this set up for only £6 at John Lewis - a total festive bargain!

Stay Festive & Stay Sweet,

Alice xx 

Catwalk To High Street - Shopping The Trends For Less

Dear Readers,

Recently I have not been able to steer clear of buying shoes, and well who can say hand on heart that they can keep away from look-alike on trend catwalk couture for a 10th of the price. Being the bargain hunter that I aim to be, I took myself and my limited funds over to my local shopping centre in Kingston to purchase some shoes I just couldn't resist. 

          


      ZARA // £39.99                           VS.                           DIOR // £700    

 























NEW LOOK // £44.99                            VS.                                    DIOR £1,050

 

I guess the moral to this post is that you can rock the trends, regardless of your wealth. It's all about how you bring pieces of clothing to life. 

So if I were you, I'd look at the current catwalk trends and find your high street equivalent now.

Stay Affordable, Stay Sweet,

 Alice xx

Hot Pick : November

Dear Readers,

I just thought I'd share with you my Hot Pick for the month of November.

I love how this dark brown MAC lipstick looks on when I pair it with my favourite Autumn/Winter looks. (Satin Lipstick in 'Film Noir').

Ready, Set, Pout.

 Stay Sweet,

Alice xx
  

Autumn / Winter at Lush - Haul

Dear Readers,

Sorry that it has been a while since my last post. Today I'm going to share with you some of the Lush products that I have picked up, as well as my top choices for the Autumn and Winter season.

If you haven't already guessed it, autumn and winter are my favourite times of year. They invite you to cosy nights in with family and friends, spiced hot drinks that fill your home with wintry warmth. What's more, it gives you the perfect excuse to unwind from those blistery days by taking a relaxing bath. For me, nothing quite beats the Lush experience when it comes to setting myself up for the best pampering evening. 

It doesn't just begin at my bath tub though. The whole process of finding the right bath product for the evening is just as big  an event.  So for me, it has to be done properly - from the bath bomb I choose, to the candle I light.

My Current Picks:

Above: Yog Nog - a creamy smelling cinder toffee flavour with hints of spicy clove and floral ylang ylang (a scent which is known to eliminate stress and anxiety). This bath bomb smells beautiful. I love how it is also available as a soap (see images further down) and the festive indentation makes it even more festive.

I just couldn't resist temptation and so I had to pick up a Sparkly Pumpkin which are infamous to Lush's Halloween collection. I am quite looking forward to taking a bath and immersing myself in golden glitter *squeals with excitement*.

I also picked up another classic by Lush and that is their sizzling Cinders. A sweet fruit punch that crackles due to the fiery red popping candy.

My Wishlist:

This best-selling fragrance combines earthy black pepper and patchouli and is bright green too - perfect for a spooky Halloween bath.

This soap is right at the top of my (early I know) Christmas wishlist. Soft notes of marzipan make this the perfect soothing soap for your bathroom. This product is the perfect stocking filler.

Say hello to yet another gold and glittering bubble bar, 'Sunnyside' - sweet wild orange and tangerine scents mean that this bar is refreshing and revitalising, the perfect uplifting smell for an autumnal bath.

'Brightside' is similar to 'Sunnyside' in that it always looks on the citrus side of life - warm tangerine, mandarin and bergamot. (Can you tell I like the colour orange?).

Going against the grain I found 'Intergalactic' - a multi-coloured galaxy for your bath.

'Holly Golightly' is everything that encompasses Christmas and is almost too cute to use.

Every time I hear or see 'Five Gold Rings' I just want to burst out into song - so let's just appreciate how aesthetically pleasing this product is.

For the more subtle Christmas lovers - 'Reindeer Rock' will sooth away at your skin.

'Peeping Santa' is cute and fun for those long soaks in the tub.

No Christmas wish list could be complete without a heavy dose of 'Snow Fairy', the most infamous Christmas product of them all. If you love sweet cotton candy scents then this will whisk you away and take you to paradise.

Sugar & Spice & all things Nice - I like to think of this 'The Magic of Christmas' as something that would accompany a hot mulled wine so well.

Yog Nog Soap - Another perfect festive stocking filler.

I hope this post has given you an insight into what Lush has to offer this Autumn/Winter. Although, there are still many products I haven't included from the Halloween and Christmas collections so do check them out today!



Stay Sweet,


Alice xx


 With thanks to Lush Kingston for allowing me to try these products and for giving me the opportunity to feature their products in this blog post. 

Thanks also to Olivia Whittle for the photography used throughout this post.