Recipe: Healthy Natural ‘Ferrero Rocher’

I have one month until I am off to Thailand (woo!) which also means I have one month until I bare my bikini body (eek)! In a bid to trim and tone for the trip I am trying my hardest to eat as ‘clean and lean’ as possible, which is something I have been trying to do generally since finding out that my body can’t really process dairy/wheat/gluten (aka anything yummy). My sweet tooth has always been my undoing, which is why I was so happy when I inadvertently created a completely natural and healthy concoction that really reminded me of the inside of a Rerrero Rocher!

*I have popped the recipe below – sorry about the poor quality pics but I only had my mobile to hand*

Ingredients

Mixed fruits/nuts/dates

Agave syrup (or honey)

Almond butter or hazelnut butter (I sometimes also add in a dash of tahini paste to smoothen the mixture a little)

Cocoa powder (I often use the milled flax seed/cocoa powder/berries pouch from Linwoods for extra health benefits)

 

(From left to right) – Hazelnut butter, cocoa powder, tahini paste, milled flaxseeds/cocoa/berries, agave syrup, mixed nuts/seeds/berries/dates

Recipe – Serves 1-2

Add in 2 handfuls of mixed fruits/nuts into a blender, along with a tbsp of cocoa powder. Add in 2-3 tbsp of almond or hazelnut butter and a generous squirt of agave syrup before blending it all up until it resembles a sticky, nutty, sweet paste. Either roll into balls in dessicated coconut or simply grab a spoon and tuck in!

This is a very slapdash recipe that can be tweaked to suit individual tastes, so feel free to add in more/less of certain ingredients. My picture below doesn’t really do it justice but believe me, it tastes so good!

Finished appearance (tastes much better than it might look!!)

Bank Holiday Weekend Pics

My little old woofie!

Me and my mum

Birthday celebrations

Well, another bank holiday is coming to an end! I hope you’ve all had wonderful sunny breaks? I spent it having casual drinks in Balham with Uni friends on Friday night, shopping and sunbathing with my family in the countryside on Saturday and celebrating my boyfriend’s mum’s birthday party on Sunday! Now it is time for a face mask and bank holiday telly – night all!

Review: ARK Skincare

I was recently sent a couple of products from London-based skincare brand ARK, created by ARK Health & Beauty salon founder Shula Starkey whose new range apparently took over 5 years to create. 

 

ARK is a little different to many skincare brands as its products focus around age foremost, rather than skintype. It is ARK’s belief that women’s skin goes through two key transitional stages where there is both a dramatic change in hormones and the way in which the body functions, which they identified as late 20s to early 30s and late 50s to early 60s. They therefore established three key product lines appropriate for different ages:  

 

Age Prepare (late teens to early 30s)

Age Maintain (mid 30s – 50s)

Age Repair (50 and Beyond)

 

Each line has four core products of a cleanser, exfoliator, moisturiser and mask which ARK believe are the essentials of a good regular skincare routine. (In order to tackle extra issues, such as redness or dryness, there are also 8 SkinResponse Serums available which you can add into your routine and which are designed to work over a 6-8 week period).

 

I was sent the Skin Clear Cleanser and the Skin Purifying Masque, both from the Age Prepare range and which both arrived looking fabulously stylish in the sleek (almost Jo Malone-esque) monochrome boxes.

I am always a big fan of face masks so I was keen to try the Skin Purifying Masque first. In my eagerness I did get some near my eyes which stung quite a bit, so take care when applying! The mask is designed to purify, refresh and revitalise the skin whilst also smoothing its texture. It is supposed to temporarily tighten pores and absorb any excess oils from the skin’s surface (thanks to the mineral clays Bentonite and Kaolin). The directions instruct you to leave a thin layer to cleansed skin, leave for ten minutes and rinse off.  For me, this applied really easily (though you do need to be liberal with the amount you apply) and when it began to dry on the skin I could really feel it working on my pores without aggravating my sensitive skin. Once I washed it off my face looked brighter and much cleaner so I was very happy with the results! I can definitely see this becoming my Sunday night face mask and would especially recommend it to those with combination/oily skin.

The Skin Clear Cleanser is a lovely foaming cleanser which is soap-free and is designed to wash away impurities without stripping or drying the skin. It is meant to cleanse the skin from a build up of sebum/grease and keep moisture levels in check, whilst also containing anti-oxidants. This was lovely and gentle to use and the big bottle should last quite a while as not much product is needed each time – bonus! I would still recommend using another cleanser or micellar water in conjunction with this as I feel that way you are really cleansing your skin properly.

Prices seem to start from £20 upwards and you can visit the website here: http://www.arkskincare.info/.

Have you tried any ARK skincare products before? Have you got any recommendations? 

Launch: Caudalie Divine Legs

Summer might not have arrived in England yet but skincare brand Caudalie tried to recreate the holiday vibe on Wednesday night with the launch of their new Divine Legs tinted body lotion at Mayfair’s tropical club Mahiki. 

Guests were invited to sip on custom cocktails in the hawaiian club as we learnt about the new Divine Legs product, a tinted body lotion that comes out a dark chocolate brown before melting into the skin to leave a golden glow. Enriched with the same holiday scent as their popular Divine Oil, this is a quick drying tinted fluid which lasts until you wash it off in the shower.

We were also told that it includes ingredients that activate your skin’s natural tanning process (the production of melanin), so that if you use it for a couple of weeks before you go on holiday, your skin will be readily prepared to tan. What I will say here is that it is still incredibly important to take care in the sun and treat your skin responsibly, so always wear a sunscreen! Even if you don’t burn (from the UVB rays), the sun also emits UVA rays which are responsible for premature ageing and that leathery skin look as these are long-wave rays that get right down into your skin and affect all levels of the dermis. 

Overall, this seems a lovely tinted fluid that would be perfect to slather on for a golden glow before heading out for summer drinks and a BBQ. If we ever get the weather, that is… 

Trend: Strappy Sandals

Strappy-barely-there sandals are everywhere right now and if they are good enough for our girl Rihanna, then they are definitely good enough for us! Here is my high street strappy sandal hot list:

Chockers ‘Kim’ £25

Chockers ‘Carven’ £25

Zara Two Tone £29.99

Zara basic sandal £39.99

River Island light pink £65

River Island limited edition £65

 

Nelly ‘Lillie’ £39.95

 

Nelly blue £39.95

Launch: Lauren Goodger Lauren’s Way Lashes Launch

On Wednesday evening I popped along to the Lauren Goodger Lauren’s Way lash launch at Jewel Piccadilly. It was a very glam occassion, complete with red carpet, cocktail bar and ‘Essex Angels’ doing makeovers (from what I could see). There were some of the new lashes dotted around the room, though I couldn’t seem to find much info about them I’m afraid! I did, however, manage to snap Rylan Clark on his way in to the venue…

Rylan Clark

 

TOWIE’s Lauren Goodger

The Essex Angels doing their thang

New lashes collection

 

 

Launch: L’Occitane Collection de Grasse

Yesterday I popped along to the L’Occitane Collection de Grasse launch held at their beautiful flagship store in the heart of Covent Garden. With fresh flowers lining the room and the spring sun (finally!) shining in, it was the perfect time to hear all about L’Occitane’s four new fragrances inspired by the French riviera.

The collection takes its name from the Grasse town lying on the south of France which has been active in creating fragrances since the 1600s and has apparently even been dubbed ‘the world capital of perfumery’. The range was created by prolific perfumer Karine Dubreuil who studied at the Roure perfumery school in the region and wanted to continue the tradition of creating creative, far-flung fragrances. The notes are taken from far and wide, including magnolia from the Far East, blackberry from the South of France, green tea from Japan, bitter orange from Tunisia, jasmine from Grasse, bergamot from Italy, vanilla from Madagascar, narcissus from France.

The four combinations are: Jasmin & Bergamote, Magnolia & Mure, Vanille & Narcisse and The Vert & Bigarade.

My favourite is the Jasmin & Bergamote as it is so light, fresh, and ideal for the daytime, containing notes of mandarin, jasmin, lemon with base notes of sandalwood and cedar. 

Magnolia & Mure [blackberry to you and me] is a lot more velvety, with the mixture of flower and fruit giving it both a musky and a juicy fragrance.

Vanille & Narcisse is a slightly spicy mixture of white flowers and rich vanilla which would probably suit older ladies.

Finally, The Vert & Bigarade is a tangy and aromatic green tea and orange citrus combination which can be worn by both men and women. It is a traditional sort of fragrance which is refreshing but probably an acquired taste.

Food at launch – Body Lotions – L’Occitane store – Goody Bag

All of these  fragrances also come in different formulas, including a body milk, shower gel and perfumed soap.

Fragrance 75ml – £49

Body Milk 175ml – £16

Shower Gel 175ml – £11

Perfumed Soap 125g – £7

For more information, you can visit the special micro-site: collectiondegrasse.co.uk as well as the new YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/loccitaneUK

What do you think?