EASY COCONUT CUPCAKES RECIPE

With summer is coming to an end, I often find myself sitting indoors with nothing to do. That's when I decided to raid the cupboards in attempt to find something to pass the time - the end result was creating a yummy coconut cupcake recipe, curing my boredom and at the same time giving me and my family a tasty treat to enjoy. What more could you want? So if you'd like to give this a go for yourself, read ahead. 

INGREDIENTS 

(makes 10 cupcakes): 

115g / 4 oz butter or margarine

115g / 4 oz caster sugar

115g / 4oz self-raising flour

85g / 3 oz desiccated coconut

2 medium eggs

2 tbsp milk

BUTTERCREAM / DECORATION:

55g / 2 oz butter

115g / 4 oz icing sugar

1 tbsp milk or double cream

chocolate squares (optional)

EXTRAS: 

10 cupcake cases

wooden spoon

cooling rack

mixing bowl

cupcake tin

sieve

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 . Place the cupcake cases into the tin. 

2. Add the butter and caster sugar into a mixing bowl and beat together using a wooden spoon until it becomes light and fluffy in texture. Now beat the 2 eggs in a separate bowl and then gradually add into the mix. Sift in the flour and fold in gently. Then begin to fold in 2 oz of the desiccated coconut and the milk. 

3.  Spoon in the mixture evenly into the cases. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. You will be able to tell they are done if they are risen and golden.  Put on a wire rack for them to cool.

Buttercream : 

To make the buttercream all you need to do is add together the butter and icing sugar in a bowl and beat together until pale and creamy. You can also add in some milk or cream to make it a more smooth consistency. 

- Once your cupcakes have completely cooled, spread on some buttercream and then use a teaspoon to sprinkle on the remaining desiccated coconut. You can also add chocolate squares for decoration like I did. - 

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you try out the recipe! I'd love to know your opinions. I personally think they taste delicious. You could always leave out the coconut if you don't like it and add some vanilla or something instead. 

What is your favourite cupcake flavour?

Jem x 

BURT'S BEES LIP BALM AND BODY LOTION

I have always suffered from chapped lips, especially once the cold weather starts to kick in. A lot of the lip balms that I have previously tried never quite seem to work, and in some cases even make my lips worse off than they were to start off with. I decided to try out the Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil by Burt's Bees.

Burt's Bees is a brand that offers a range of natural health and beauty care products. Believe it or not, the company started 30 years ago in a beekeeper's backyard. The products are not tested on animals and contain no ingredients that may harm you.

This lip balm is a welcome oasis for you lips. It is a sweet scented lip balm packed with the antioxidant goodness of Pomegranate Oil. I really love this balm as it doesn't leave the greasy sort of texture that a lot of lip products do. It replenishes moisture, making your lips appear healthy again, while also leaving a subtle pink sheen to give an even toned appearance. You can purchase it for around £3.69.

When I purchased the lip balm, it came in a set along with Milk & Honey Body Lotion. This is a really lovely scented lotion made with Milk, Honey, Vitamin E, Coconut and Grape Seed Oils. The milk nourishes whilst honey helps to soften skin. What I find great about this is that it is non-greasy unlike my other moisturisers. It quickly absorbed into my skin and left it feeling soft all day. You can purchase 70ml for £5.99 .

You can purchase Burt's Bees products in a variety of places including Boots, Debenhams and Holland & Barratt .

what are your favourite lip products?

Jem x

LANCASTER SELF TAN BEAUTY

If only we could all achieve the perfectly bronzed summer glow all year round. You may be lucky enough to have gone on holiday this year, or even just naturally tan already, but for those of us left looking pale - I have found the perfect solution.

For a lot of us, self tanning can be seen as something we are afraid of. You don't want to be left with an overly orange, artificial looking colour on your skin. You don't want to end up with streaks, and you most definitely do not want to be left with the slightly off putting odour that comes with it. 

I have been testing out a few different self tanning products recently, to try and create the best effect possible. You may have seen my St.Tropez review, however that did not go down brilliantly as there wasn't really much of an end result. This week I discovered Lancaster Self Tan Beauty. This is a self tanning jelly for a progressive natural looking glow. There are three shade options, and I went for 01. Light. This is described as a gradual, gentle sheen of a weekend in Capri. 

You can apply the product to both face and body, and it features Tan Colour Adapt technology which allows it to mimic your natural tan colour, leaving a radiant and even result without the orange look. I was really impressed with the results, after just one application I had a noticeable difference. It left me with a natural looking light tan within a few hours. 

Another thing I would like to mention about this product is that it does not have the usual scent of fake tan. It is actually rather appealing. Over all I am really happy with this product and would really recommend it to those of you looking to invest in some decent fake tan. You can purchase a 125ml tube for £24 at Debenhams.

What are your favourite self tanning products?

Jem x

A TRIP TO BRIGHTON

Hey guys, I really apologise for the lack of posts recently. I have been rather busy and having fun for once, but I will be getting back on track with blogging from now. I thought I'd let you know a little about what I've been up to with a quick post about my day in Brighton, which I visited on Tuesday.

Brighton is a really lovely place to visit in England, especially during the summer when the weather is nice. There is beautiful beach and pier, where you can sit and relax or get some fish and chips ( which are really good might I add ). There is also a shopping centre which includes Urban Outfitters, Hollister and Zara, a great place to have a shopping spree. Also, there is a place called The Lanes which is outside that are more unusual boutique type shops.

For chocolate lovers, you may have heard of  a programme called ' Choccywoccydoodah '. The original shop is in Brighton, so be sure to take a look at the amazing creations they have. I couldn't resist getting some chocolate for myself, however it is extremely pricey - so if you don't mind spending £10 for an amazing bar of chocolate then this is the place for you. Even if you don't want to buy anything, its a really amazing little shop.

You may even be lucky enough to spot YouTubers Zoella and Pointless blog along the way...

So that's about it for now! I hope you liked this post and I am sorry it wasn't very long, I will be back soon with another post. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below for future posts.

Have you visited Brighton before? What did you think? Where would you recommend I visit next? 


Jem x

VITA COCO SMOOTHIES

Vita Coco is 100% natural coconut water. Not to be mistaken for coconut milk - the water is from the inside of young coconuts (before they turn brown). It's a clear liquid that contains no fat or cholesterol, making it a really healthy alternative to your usual drinks. Of course, another bonus is that coconut water is completely gluten free and suitable for vegans.

There are a variety of flavours of vita coco available, from original to lemonade, there's sure to be one that takes your fancy. My personal favourite is the pineapple flavour. However, some people do not like the flavour of coconut water on its own, but still want to get the benefits from drinking it. Below I have created two iced summer smoothies for you to try using Vita Coco!With summer well and truly here, these are the perfect way to stay cool and hydrated on hot days.

Recipe 1 : Peachy Lime smoothie ( makes approx 2 servings)

What you will need/Ingredients :

Blender/food processor 

sandwich bags (for freezing fruit)

Glass/jug for serving

2 peaches

Half a mango 

Juice of half a lime

ice cubes/crushed ice

330ml of Vita Coco in peach&mango flavour

1. Slice the peaches and cut the mango into chunks. Place the chopped fruit into a sandwich bag and put into the freezer for at least 2 hours to allow it to freeze. 

2. Once your fruit has frozen, add it into a blender and blitz. Then add the lime juice and half of the Vita Coco and blend again. At this point, you can now add some ice cubes if you wish, along with the rest of the Vita Coco and blend one more time until it is the consistency you like. 

3. Pour the smoothie into glasses or a jug. For decoration you could place a slice of peach and lime to the top of your smoothie! Also, if you did not add ice - you can add a couple of ice cubes into your drink to make it extra chilled. 

Recipe 2: Banana Berry smoothie ( makes approx 2 servings )

What you will need/Ingredients :

Blender/food processor

glass/jug for serving

sandwich bags

180g blueberries

2 bananas 

dessicated coconut ( approx. 2-3 tbsp ) 

330ml Vita Coco original 

1. Slice the bananas and add into a sandwich bag with the blueberries. Place in the freezer for at least 3 hours. 

2. Once frozen, add to the blender and blitz. Now add the Vita Coco and the dessicated coconut and blend again. You can also add some ice to make it extra chilled.

3. Now you can pour it into your serving glasses or jug. Sprinkle on some dessicated coconut and a couple of blueberries to the top for decoration. You can also add some ice cubes or crushed ice. 


And there we have it! Two super easy, delicious summer smoothies made using Vita Coco.They look and taste great and are really healthy. My personal favourite is the peach flavour. If you try either of my recipes then let me know what you think in the comments. What's your favourite Vita Coco flavour?


BUY VITA COCO ONLINE HERE!


This post contains products that have been sent to review. 

LIEBSTER AWARD

Thank you so much Fabi ( Halfway to New York ) for nominating me for a Liebster Award. It means a lot to know that people enjoy reading my blog! For those of you who don't know what this means, I'll put the rules at the end of this post.

1. A blog you visit daily : I visit so many blogs on a daily basis, and love discovering new ones. A particular one that comes to mind though is The Sunday Girl . She has lots of beauty posts that help me discover new things.

2. Why did you decide to create a blog?: I have wanted to start writing up my own blog for a long while. I absolutely love to write and beauty, fashion and healthy eating are all huge parts of my life. I really enjoy writing about things that I am passionate about for other people to enjoy and discover. Even if nobody read my blog I would probably still write posts just because I love it so much!

3. Favourite lipstick ever: Hmm, that's a tricky one! I am really loving my MAC Osbourne collection Patentpolish pencil in the shade Patentpink. I did a blog post about it which you can view here!

4. If you could own a designer bag, which one would you choose?: Probably a Chanel backpack.

5. The inspiration your blog comes from: I'd say my inspiration is probably from reading fashion magazines.

6. Do you have a favourite pair of shoes?: If ones that I don't own count, then probably some Louboutin glittery high heels.

7. What is your favourite part about blogging?: Getting to hear feedback from readers! It makes me so happy.

8. A place you would love to visit on a vacation would be: Definitely Bora Bora or Pig Beach! I am obsessed with pigs and beaches and in one that is just heaven! I love hot weather and they both just look like such beautiful places to go on holiday.

9. Describe your perfect outfit: That is a difficult question as my style constantly changes to fit my mood. However, right now I would say a baggy tshirt, Denim shorts, a kimono and some chunky sandals.

10. Favourite T.V. show: I'm gonna be real with you now guys, I really love The Great British Bake off. Mary Berry is the queen of cakes.

11. If you could have a celebrities wardrobe, who would you pick?: There are so many celebrity styles that I love, my top 3 are : Vanessa Hudgens, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande.


My Nominees are:

1. Emme Hurr
2. Beautieboe
3.Yang Loves
4. Stitch It With Style
5.Layla Panam
6. Sequins and Sea Breezes
7.Blogs, vlogs and gurus
8.fleurbelle
9.Easy on the cheeks
10.Francesca Beauty
11.Love Joice

Here are my questions for nominees :

1. What is your must-have item?
2. Why did you start writing a blog?
3. Do you have a favourite quote?
4.  If you could only eat one type of food forever, what would it be?
5. What is your favourite blog?
6. Vintage or high street?
7. How old are you?
8. Do you have any advice to people who want to start a blog?
9. Books or films?
10. What is your favourite magazine?
11. Random fact about you is:


So there we have it! Hope you enjoyed reading this and sorry if I did not nominate you - it was really hard picking just 11.


Jemma x



Rules:
• You must answer all questions that are given to you
• Must link back to the person that nominated you
• Nominate 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers
• Provide nominees with 11 questions of your choice
• Cannot nominate the person who nominated you
• Must inform nominees of your nomination
• Provide nominees with a link to your post for more info

MARC JACOBS DAISY DREAM

So if you are a huge fan of Marc Jacob's fragrances like I am, then you most likely will have heard about the newest edition to the collection of Daisy perfumes - 'Daisy Dream'. It is one of the biggest fragrance launches of the year after all. As you may know from previous posts, I am slightly more than a little perfume-obsessed - so when I heard about this release, I just had to get my hands on it.

For starters, the bottle design itself is in fact a dream. It's one of the most beautiful perfume bottles I've set my eyes on. The perfume itself is a light blue toned liquid, inside a rounded glass bottle enveloped with a splattering of daisies. If you purchase the bottle in 50ml or 100ml, then the spherical silver lid also comes with daisies placed around it, however the 30ml bottle simply displays a mirrored effect silver lid without the daisies. Either way the bottle is something that you can admire when its on your dressing table!

The scent for Daisy Dream is a fresh interpretation of the original Daisy. It's a really breezy, summery scent that still channels the soft floral fragrance that its loved for. Daisy Dream has top notes of blackberries , fresh grapefruit and succulent pear. At the heart of the perfume lies notes of lychee and blue wisteria, and a dreamy medley of jasmine, musk and coconut water create the base. It creates a truly dreamy and luxurious fragrance. 

I would definitely say this is an everyday fragrance as it is so light and fresh for summer days. You can purchase a bottle for yourself from most perfume shops and it is priced at around £39 for 30ml, £52 for 50ml, or £70 for 100ml.  If you would like to purchase it online then simply click here. 

Also I'd just like to quickly mention the gorgeous Daisy Chain Flower Necklace featured in the 3rd photograph, which you can purchase from Punky Pins for just £12! Its so lovely for summer, it looks so realistic and thought it fitted quite well with the daisy theme of this post. 

 What's your favourite summer fragrance? Let me know in the comments below.

Jemma x


This post contains some products that have been sent to review.