Friday 24 July 2015

Food | Snickerdoodles

Hello everyone! Here's a recipe for some tasty biscuits!
Ingredients:
For the biscuits
300g/1½ caster/granulated sugar
225g/15 tbsp salted butter, softened
2 eggs
345g/ 2  plain/all-purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking powder
For the cinnamon coating
50g/¼  cup caster/granulated sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon

4 baking sheets, lined with baking paper (or you could just reuse the same two)

makes around 60 biscuits

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.
  Cream the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Gradually whisk in the eggs and sift in the flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, and salt. Mix until the mixture starts to come together, then use your hands to form a dough. Put the cookie dough in the fridge for 30 minutes, or the freezer for 15 if you are in a hurry (or just impatient!), to firm up.
 While you are waiting, make the cinnamon coating. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl until they are well combined.
 Dust your hands with flour and roll the dough between your hands into hazelnut sized pieces (I actually made them quite a bit bigger than hazelnuts because who has the willpower to make a million little balls? Not me!). Roll each ball in the coating and place onto the baking sheets and flatten slightly with a palette knife. Make sure they are around 5cm apart as they spread quite a bit.
 Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

These biscuits are so moreish, and are perfect for people who are about the plain biscuit life. I think they're quite the crowd-pleaser! I did think that there were quite a large amount of biscuits made, so if you'd like a small batch then just half the measurements (or alternatively just give some to your neighbours!). Enjoy!
Yasmin x


Sunday 19 July 2015

OOTD | Eid Monochrome

Hi everyone!
So as you might have known, it was Eid over this weekend, which means new clothes! I absolutely adore shopping, but I had to stop myself from buying everything I saw. I wanted clothes that looked quite stylish, but you can dress them down. Plus comfort was a necessity! Without further ado, here's where I got each piece, starting from the top!

Sunglasses: New Look - £5.99
Scarf: The Islamic Establishment - £2.50
Striped Crop Top: Topshop - £10 (on sale)
Vest Cardigan: Primark - £8
Bag: New Look - £15
Jeans: New Look - £22.99
Ankle Boots: New Look - £22 (on sale)
Nails: Primark - £1

You might be able to see that New Look is one of my favourite shops! I find it has a brilliant variety of styles, and a good amount of clothing sizes. Do leave a comment!
Yasmin x

Wednesday 15 July 2015

Favourites | Jewellery



I'm not really a person for wearing a lot of jewellery, so when I do wear any its usually stuff that I really love. I have a few pieces here that are definitely my favourites at the moment.
The bracelet at the top was given to me by my eldest sister when she came to visit a few years back. Its vintage and such a lovely piece. The detailing on it is incredible and I find it really works with more simple outfits.
The adorable owl ring to the left was also a gift, from one of my other sisters. I'm not sure where its from, but it has definitely been well worn! It's quite a big ring, so it doesn't really need other chunky jewellery to go with it.
The paper airplane necklace is definitely my favourite necklace. I saw it in Taylor Swift's Style music video and thought it was such a cool piece, so I decided I had to buy it! Obviously it's just a cheap knock-off version, but it works! I bought it off eBay for £0.99.
The ear cuff is, for me, quite a different choice. Normally I wouldn't have bought it, as I'm much more of a stud person myself, but I thought why not? Looking at it now, I would prefer it if the backing was silver rather than gold, but the leaf shaped gems are really beautiful! I bought this from New Look for £2.99.
What are your jewellery staples?
Yasmin x

Saturday 11 July 2015

Gelato Village Issimo Launch!

Hi everyone!
So last night I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch of Gelato Village's new ice cream flavour range. Its called the Issimo range and it's absolutely glorious. The flavours are so incredibly delicious, I honestly love them so much.
 The first sorbetto we tried was Kiwi, Coconut and Lime. I haven't eaten kiwi in a long because it always makes my mouth swell up, so it was quite nostalgic to taste it again! The combination of kiwi and coconut ice cream is amazing, and I would never have thought they would go together, but oit really works! It's all natural, and you can really tell. There was a lime sauce rippled through it which really cut through the sweetness of the ice cream. SO good!
 The second ice cream we tried was called Cremina.This one had a slightly citrusy flavour, and the texture was really smooth and creamy as it was made with eggs. It had a chocolate hazelnut sauce running through it, and, coming from someone who doesn't like hazelnuts, it was absolutely divine. It was a favourite among the people at my table, which is understandable because it's rather amazing!
 Now this beauty here is the Yin and Yang sorbettos. The pink one is a raspberry sorbet with grated chocolate in it. It's so sharp and.. Well, raspberry-ish? It's made with fresh raspberries, and as it's only available while they're in season, you'd better get your hands on it before it goes forever! The brown one, as you might have guessed, is chocolate. A dark chocolate sorbetto that is. This one was my favourite out of all the flavours. Normally I can be a bit funny about chocolate ice cream, but as this was a sorbet it was nothing like an ice cream. It was much less sickly and sweet. It had a very intense flavour, but it wasn't cloying or anything which was nice for a change. Honestly I can't praise this one enough. We were told that they were meant to be eaten together. Now think how highly I praised them as individuals. Together they were like a party in my mouth. Honestly, the two contrasting flavours married so well it was ridiculous. The sharp raspberry with intense chocolate hit was just a match made in heaven.
After trying all the ice creams on their own, we got to have a sneaky look in the kitchen to see how the most basic ice cream was made. The Stracciatella.
 It was really interesting to see how the machines worked, and how the ice cream was put into the tub (for me anyway. I find it so amazing how precise it all is). The machine that churned and froze the mixture was insane, it had all these different options on it, and the ice cream was finished in around five minutes! It was a bit of a tight fit in the kitchen as it was quite small, and we created an accidental obstacle course for the poor trainee who was making everything!
 These three masterpieces are the new sundaes, or coppas. Looking back on them now makes me want to eat them all over again. To the left is the Coppa Massimo. It was the Cremino ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate hazelnut sauce and chopped nuts sprinkled over the top. Of course it was delicious, I mean how can you go wrong? In the middle is the beauty that is the Yin and Yang Coppa. Pure deliciousness (the Yin and Yang sorbets) with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Obviously it was my favourite sundae. To the right is the Kiwi, Coconut and Lime sorbet, with a scoop of Fruits of the Forest (Frutti De Bosco I think? Correct me if I'm wrong..), served with whipped cream, fresh kiwi and fresh strawberries. I was so happy when I saw the strawberries as they're my favourite fruit, and they worked so well with the kiwi ice cream!
 The last thing we had from the new menu was this insane Yin and Yang waffle. Now if you know me, you'll know I love waffles. I could eat them all day, every day. So when I found out that waffles were on the menu I was overjoyed. I can 100% say I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. The waffles were freshly made and smelt amazing. The ice creams, as I'm sure you know by now, were delicious. I was unsure about the balsamic vinegar drizzled over the top, but I was pleasantly surprised, as it added a tanginess I didnt know it needed. All together it really became the ideal dessert. Mana from heaven indeed! We did get given the option to try the other waffles, which looked insanely good, but by this time I was in an ice cream coma so I had to decline. I kind of wish I hadn't...
 At the end we were offered hot drinks. I was interested to see if the drinks were as up to standard as the ice cream, so I opted for a Latte, which is my general option when I drink coffee (other than sugary frappes...). The coffee was really good, so I finished the night on a high! My sister tried the hot chocolate which was divine (I reccomend it!). Just before we left, we tried that stracciatelli ice cream from earlier in the evening, and yes, it was brilliant. Very creamy. If you prefer plainer ice creams, then I'd definitely suggest that!
 I am honestly so grateful that I was invited by the people of Gelato Village to this event. The service was on point, and everyone was so lovely, always checking if we were happy and enjoying ourselves. Thank you for having us, and for being awesome! I had a great time and I'll definitely be coming back to raid your kitchen! Gelato Village is in St. Martin's Square, Leicester. If you get the chance, check it out! You wont be disappointed!
Yasmin x








Thursday 9 July 2015

Liquid Eyeliner: Maybelline VS Collection

A good drugstore eyeliner is quite a hard thing to come by. I find that a lot of the formulas are far too runny, or the colour isnt nearly opaque enough. To help anyone who is just starting out with makeup, or indeed anyone who is looking for a cheap, reliable eyeliner, I decided to write a review on the differences between two drugstore eyeliners.
So first up we have the Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner. Now I'd heard some pretty good reviews on this, so when I bought it I had quite high hopes. It's a good eyeliner for anyone who doesnt want such a harsh black liner, as it looks quite watered down. The felt tip is also a good shape for easy application, so a good choice for beginners. However, for me this product was a disappointment. Personally I like a very opaque black liner, and this just wasnt up to standard. It takes quite a while to build up the colour which is unfortunate. The eyeliner doesnt last very long at all, and smudges very easily. It was £5.99, which I think is quit a high price for something of below average quality.
This here is the Collection Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner. I tried it for the first time today because it was recommended by a friend. I'm honestly in love with it. The felt tip is, again, a great shape which means it is easy to apply, perfect for beginners (or people with shaky hands). The liner itself leaves a very opaque black colour, no building up required. It also dries quickly and doesnt budge at all. I accidentally rubbed my eyes while wearing it, and got no smudging and no colour transfer on my hand at all. I did notice that when I swatched it on my hand, it bleeds into the surrounding skin ever so slightly, but overall, a brilliant liner and cheap as chips at £2.99!
To the left is the Maybelline Master Precise and to the right is Collection Extreme.
Please leave a comment if this review was helpful in any way, and also tell me what you'd like me to compare next!
Yasmin x




Tuesday 7 July 2015

Desk Organisation!

This is my study area. I've just organised it ready for September because I'm finally starting college. Some of you might think its a bit early, but for the first time in my life I'm doing things ahead of schedule!
I'll go clockwise and explain things as I see them! At the moment I'm reading Girl Online by Zoe Sugg. I've read it before, but I felt like re-reading it because I adore the way she describes everything. I find the settings so lovely, I cant get enough! Underneath that is Glamour UK, which I like to flick through when I'm bored. I've read this edition around ten times, but thats probably something to do with me loving Taylor Swift.. Moving on, I have a really pretty makeup bag from Clinique, which was given to me by my grandma a few years ago. I figured it would be ideal for things like hand cream and lip balm for when I need it (you never know when you'll get dry lips. In my case thats always..). In the corner is an adorable vintage mirror that one of my sisters gave me a while back. I never really found a spot for it, but I think it looks perfect there! I've put a candle next to it because, I mean.. Candles? Plus this one is purple and smells like lavender so it's a win-win for me! I bought it from HomeBase, which actually do really nice candles. Then I have my pink alarm clock, which my mum bought for me from Fenwicks, I think two years ago? But for some reason the batteries don't last very long, which is a bit disappointing because its so cute. Although the alarm is ear piercing... Bang in the middle of my desk is my very large laptop. It's a Toshiba Satellite Pro, which is pretty slow, but it enables me to watch Game of Thrones so I'm not complaining! To the right is a little pack of notebooks for various things. Theres a birthday book, an address book, a diary, a journal, and a notebook. Very handy! I have an old mug from Germany that got chipped, but I couldn't bring myself to throw it away (it was a present from two of my lovely sisters), so I decided to use it as a pen pot! It also has a fake flower in there, but you know, it adds to the character! I also have a letter holder there with some stickers in it (I love stickers so much), but seeing as I dont get any letters it doesn't really have a use except scrap paper. In front of that is a fluffy pencil case which I got six years ago but I'm emotionally attached to it. It has all my colour pencils in it so it's very important. And finally I have my huge pink notebook and my 2015 diary! To be honest, the diary is pretty empty because I write all my events in the calendar on my phone. But I really like the pattern of the cover so I couldnt resist it! It's from a shop called The Works. If you're interested, my plain white desk is from Ikea and I stole my chair from my brother, so I can't tell you where that's from unfortunately!
Anyway! I hope you enjoyed that speedy (har) overview of my desk area. Do leave a comment if you have any questions, and also tell me what your desk necessities are!
Yasmin x


Hello everyone!

Hello everyone!
So I figured that, seeing as it was the summer holidays, I might start up a blog! True that probably no one will read it, but I guess I don't mind! 
I'll be posting things like reviews, hauls, ootds, recipes and DIYs (hopefully) among other things. I really hope you enjoy having a peek at my life!
Yasmin x