B.R.I.G.H.T.O.N

How beautiful does this look!

I recently went to Brighton for a mini break with my sister as I always wanted to go to have a wander. Walking down different lains and onto the pier was so refreshing and it was really nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of London life.

 I loved walking around looking a little boutique shops and retro shops, so many interesting/beautiful finds in the shops that I wanted to buy! There was also the food market near the pier which had amazing smelling food, was so tempting to buy everything to eat as they all looked amazing!

 There is one shop in particular that I feel everyone need to go into when in Brighton is Snoopers Paradise. There's so many retro things to look at you can spend hours in there! There's also a black and white Photo Booth with props that you can put on to take pictures! Of course me and my sister had to have some pictures done :) 

I'm pleased that the weather wasn't too bad to walk around but it did get quite foggy in the afternoon/early evening. It looked so odd as the fog literally came out of nowhere!

For dinner, went to this lovely little tapas restaurant called Olive Grove, the staff were all lovely and the food was really good. We had a good old chit chat in there and was nice to not feel rushed. 

Brighton is definitely a place to go back again as I felt so relaxed and chilled from only 2 days away, I would highly recommend to go if you've not been :)

Where would everyone recommend to go?

Hope you'll all have a good day :) 

Cindy

X

Chickpeas and Carrot Burger :)

For some reason when I go food shopping, I now tend to skip on buying meat and just stick to getting a lot of vegetables and sometimes fish. Don't get me wrong, I love meat and I'm not turning into a vegetarian any time soon (nothing wrong if you are!) but when I go around the supermarket, generally Lidl, I'm not that fussed in buying meat. I have also recently got into eating more pulses and started experimenting with different recipes which have things like kidney beans, chickpeas, peas etc.

One evening I was looking through my cupboards trying to see what to make for dinner and thought, why don't I make a vegetarian burger like the ones from Mildred's! So I looked up some recipes and created this!

 

I didn't really follow a specific recipe as I only used what was available in the cupboard but it turned out really nice! If anyone is interested to make this here's what I used:

Serves 4
1 canned chickpeas
2 medium carrots, grated coarsely
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic clove, crushed
Salt and pepper
3 heaped tablespoon of plain flour

First I mashed the chickpeas and then added the grated carrots and mixed well. Then I put in the paprika, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper and mixed this all together well before adding the plain flour to bind together. Shape the mixer into 4 equal sized patties and put in the fridge for 30mins to firm up. You don't have to do this step as I couldn't wait to eat (!) so you can put them straight into a medium heated pan with oil and fry for 6-7mins, flipping over in between or until it has a golden, crispy look. Voila you are done!

You can layer your burger however you want; tomatoes, lettuce, onions, gherkins, ketchup....whatever you like! :) I took mine into work for our food day and everyone loved it! You can change this to be gluten free by swapping to gluten free flour, this is also good for vegans :)

If anyone tries this recipe out let me know your thoughts and if you enjoyed this meat free burger :)

Happy cooking! 

Cindy

X

Starting Afresh

Wow, it's been a while since I've been on this! Just been looking back at what I have posted previously and I have to apologize for the picture quality and all the rambling!

Since the last time I posted, alot in my life has happened.....I moved out of my family home with my then boyfriend, broke up with said boyfriend, went a little wild with life and soon moved down to London to pursue my career in fashion.

Not gonna lie it has been a tough time but it has really taught me to be a stronger person. Now I know all this sounds so cliche. You read about people who's been through break ups how they thought it was the end of their lives and they didn't know what to do with themselves but now they are so much happier and better without them...yada yada yada....well that's exactly what happened. Moving to London was the best decision I made, I do feel like it was fate that I managed to get a job so quick after only applying for for jobs in London for 5 months (and that's including Christmas period). Instead of moping about feeling sorry for myself in a quiet village in Lincolnshire, I threw myself into the hustle and bustle of the London life. Looking back, it was probably for the best for the both of us as we both ended up getting the jobs that we really wanted. Maybe in some way, life is telling us we need this change to grow as an individual.

Don't get me wrong I still have had times where I just want to cry but London definitely made it better for my broken heart. After nearly 2 and a half years of being a Londoner, I do feel like I'm a better version of myself. This is also due to the amount of amazing friends I have around me to give me the support I needed, and the amount of friends that I've made since I've been in london. One friend in particular have been the greatest support to me, this is my best friend who I've been friends with since secondary school. There is no words to say how grateful I am to her for being there for me, even at my lowest points. I can't thank her enough and proud to call her my friend. <3

Now that I'm in a better place I thought, why not start my blog again and show you all the exciting life of London! Haha! My plan is to show you all a little bit of everything in my life including food, scenery and travel. I'm going to try and do more food updates as I do love food (you can tell from the amount of food pictures on my Instagram!) but there will be other snippets thrown in too :). 

Hope you will enjoy reading my blog, I promise there will be better blogs to read soon! :) 

Hope you all have a lovely day! I'll leave you with this quote:

Cindy xx 

June Glossybox

I was really looking forward to getting this box as I know it will be waiting for me when I got back from my business trip :) When I got home, even though it was late as night and I was absolutely shattered from my flight and train journey back, I couldn't wait to open it!

Glossybox

Serie Exclusiv Pro Beauty Brush 

I was excited to see a make up brush being included with this month's box but this is a bit disappointing. It's really easy to apply products, also it feels soft on my face, it feels quite clumsy to use (if that makes sense!) It's a good size for the small pot of bronzer included in the box though.

HD Brows

HD Brows Precision Tweezers

I was excited to see this in the box as I need a new pair of tweezers! These are perfect to get the littlest hairs on your brows, absolutely love them! It's retailing at £19.95 which is a bit pricey for a pair of tweezers I would pay so I'm glad this is in my box :)

BM Beauty

Summer Warmth Bronzer

I wasn't too sure on this as I'm not a fan of powder products but when I tried it, it looked really nice! It felt really light on my face and it blends really well. I have also read on the Glossybox blog that it can be used on body and also on your nails :) 

Caudalie 

Eaux Fraiches (Zeste De Vigne)

This fragrance isn't for me! I was looking forward to spraying a refreshing scent to me but I found it quite strong and zesty. I love the packaging though as it's a good size for traveling, just wish I like the smell!

Vichy

Dermablend Ultra-Corrective Foundation Cream Stick

Last but not the least, it's my favourite! I absolutely love this! As I haven't got very clear skin, this is perfect for me. You get 6 samples in different shades in this starter pack so you can pick the best colour that matches you before you buy the full product (retail at £19.00). The coverage is exactly what it says on the package, which covers minor to severe skin flaws, and it does last all day. I'm thinking of buying this in the full size but I've heard that the foundation of this is very good too so I might got for that instead :).

Overall, this is another good box. It's a shame that I didn't like the scent of the Caudalie spray as this would probably be my favourite box. 

What do you all think of yours?

xx

May Glossybox - 1st Birthday!

Wow I haven't blogged for a while!
Now I know this is verrryy late, but I don't want to miss blogging one of the boxes I received! I've been super busy lately so I do apologise for the lateness!

So it was Glossybox's first birthday, this was what I received in my box:

Noble Isle 
Summer Rising Bath and Shower Gel
This shower gel is absolutely gorgeous!! I love the smell of this, definitely a luxury shower gel! This is quite pricey for the full size bottle (£20) so I'm not sure if I'll be willing to pay that.
Lolita Lempicka
L'Eau en Blanc and Si Lolita
Personally I not a huge fan of these perfume, they are too strong and flowery for my liking but if you like that kinda thing then there's are made for you!
Weleda
Face Cream/ Body Milk
When I first got this out the box, I tried to read what it said then realised it was all in German! I tried this a few times but didn't really think much to this. It was nice on the skin but the smell made me not like it as much. To me it smelt a bit medicine-y, not sure if this is just me or not!
Unique
All in One Hair Treatment 
This product claims to have 10 main benefits that the hair needs: repair for dry & damaged hair, shine & frizz control, heat protection, silkiness & smoothness, hair color protection/with UVA & UVB filters, easier brushing & ironing, incredible detangling, long-lasting hairstyle, split ends prevention and adds body. I think this is a brilliant product and I do agree with some of the claims that they made! Full size bottle of this is £13.99 which isn't bad at all, I would definitely buy this.
Let's Go Lashes
I was so pleased to see a pair of lashes in my box! I love a pair of good lashes as mine as so short, even with mascara on. I haven't tried this yet but I'm looking forward to trying it!

Overall, this is another great box, what did you think of your boxes?

xx

Business trip to China

Sorry I've not been as active on my blogs, I've been mega busy!
Recent events includes: finishing off making bridesmaid dresses for my friends wedding, the wedding itself (which was the most amazing day ever and she looked absolutely beautiful, shed a few tears) and straight after I had to jet off to Shanghai for a business trip!!
I've finally got some spare time to catch up on my sleep, go on Facebook and youtube (as they are banned in China!) and just relax before going back to work after the Jubilee bank holidays!

Just thought I'll share with you some snaps I took while I was away :)

This was the sign in the bath, made me laugh! haha!

One of the hotel's that I stayed in, absolutely loved it! 

One of the many bowls of noodles I had while I was there!

Hope everyone's having a good Jubilee bank holiday! :)

xx

April Glossybox

Another month, another exciting Glossybox delivered to my door :)

So this month's edition is all about natural ingredients in products. I was super excited to try all the natural products in this box :)

Caudalie 

Vinosource SOS Thrist-Quenching Serum

I was really excited to try this as, even though my skin can get quite oily, I do get annoying dry patches.  After trying this for a couple of nights though, I noticed that my skin started to get a bit itchy and red. It seemed like I started to have an allergic reaction to it! Darn it! My skin has gone back to normal now so I might give it another try to see if it is this product that's causing the problem!

Inika Costmetics

 Certified Organic Eyeliner 

I've been wanting to get a brown eyeliner for a while now and I'm pleased to receive this in my glossybox. I absolutely love this, it applies so smoothy and lasts all day. The price for this is a bit steep for an eyeliner (£11.75) but I suppose you pay for the quality :)

Ayuuri

Natural Body Wash 

I was amazed to see this big bottle of shower gel in my box! This is actually the full size bottle, priced at £4.95. To be honest, after using it for a week I don't feel like this is any different to the shower gels that I normally use. I do like it though but I was expecting it to be a bit more luxurious. 

Figs & Rouge

Lip Balm

This 100% Pure, 100% Natural and 100% Organic Multipurpose balm is very hydrating and moisturising. I got the fragrance in 'Rambling Rose' which I quite like but I do feel that it's slightly overpowering after a while of it being on my lips. I have tried this on my hands as well and it works a treat! 

Kai

Perfume Oil

I absolutely love this smell!! I've been wearing this since I received the box and it lasts all day as it's oil based. I would definitely buy this in full size! This perfume is infused with hints of Gardenia, white exotic flowers: Jasmine, Tuberose, Lily and Cucumber essential oils which gives a really fresh scent. 

So what did you all get in your box and what are your thoughts? 

Hope you're all having a good weekend :) 

xx