Ivy & Gold : valentines day

Showing posts with label valentines day. Show all posts

Monday, 11 February 2013

BE MINE? Valentine's- Part Two

Hello Lovelies, it's Jenn (:

So last week I wrote a post about Valentine's gifts/baked goodies and I thought I would continue today into part two- the looks. I've never been out for Feb 14th, and if you read part one you'd see that i'm not a massive fan of it, so it was a be difficult to choose different outfits but I hope i've done well, let me know!

The English Rose- Theatre Trip

White Ruffled Dress- Topshop

Cream & Rose Cardigan- Primark

Floral Bag- Topshop

Make Up

For my make up, I used my trusty MUA Undressed Palette, Clinique Blushing Blush Powder in Sunset Glow, Clinique Chubby Stick in Plushest Punch, Diorshow Mascara by Dior, Body Shop Virgin Mineral Liquid Foundation in Shade 105/Rose Ivory, Benefit POREfessional, Technic High Lights & a eyeliner pencil in plum (non branded).

To prep, I put a pea sized amount of Porefessional all over my face, focusing more on my lids and around my eyes. I brushed blusher onto my checkbones and up towards my temples. You don't have to apply it that high but I advise you to if you have puffy skin around your eyes because it makes it less noticable.

For my eyes, I loaded my eyeshadow brush with Shade 2 from the Undressed Palette and brushed it all across my lid. I then lightly applied Shade 1 just under my brows to widen my eyes and blended heavily. Next, I applied a darker rose shimmer (Shade 9) into the crease and blended as much as I could, I then made a wing shape with the same shade and connected it to the outer corner of my eye. I penciled in a line (you don't have to be too neat) and then blended that into my lash line, top and bottom. I then applied one coat of Diorshow mascara.

For my lips, I wanted a bright pop of rosy colour so I chose Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Plushest Pink. Sophie bought me this after I was lusting after it for ages. I'll do a proper review of this in a later post but I do love it and you should definitely invest in one.

The Retro- Lunch Date

Red Skirt- Vintage

Make Up

Products Used-
MUA Undressed Palette, Clinique Blushing Blush Powder in Sunset Glow, Maxfactor Colour Effect Flipstick in Gispy Red, Diorshow Mascara by Dior, Body Shop Virgin Mineral Liquid Foundation in Shade 105/Rose Ivory, Benefit POREfessional, Technic High Lights & a eyeliner pencil in plum (non branded)

I used the same make up as the look above so have a read there to see how I did it (:

The only thing I changed was my lip colour which was one of Maxfactor's Flipsticks in Gipsy Red. I really love these lipsticks, as you've pretty much got 3 shades in one. Mine comes in with a coral/pink and a gold shimmer. To apply just sweep the pink across your lips and then apply the gold just in the middle for a subtle look. I'll do a proper review in a later post (:

Hair

Now, I apologise for the photo quality, I understand it's the dreaded mirror photo but I couldn't get a decent photo of my hair otherwise (it's still not that decent).

If you look closely then you'll notice the heart shaped rolls at the top of my head, I'll definitely do a proper tutorial post on this later in the week because it's a really lovely style and suprisingly easy.

Basically, all you have to do is section your hair front to back and side to side so you have 4 sections. Kirby grip the back 2 sections just either side of your parting. Roll one back section into a sausage and then grip the ends, do it again on the other side. Repeat with the front two sections so eventually you'll end up with two sausage rolls either side your parting.

The Sultry- Cocktail Bar Date

Two Tone Colour Block Blazer- Primark

Lace Black Bralet- Primark

Black Wet Look Leggings- River Island

Make Up

Products Used-
MUA Undressed Palette, Clinique Blushing Blush Powder in Sunset Glow, Black Liquid Eyeliner (non branded), Diorshow Mascara by Dior, Body Shop Virgin Mineral Liquid Foundation in Shade 105/Rose Ivory, Benefit POREfessional, Technic High Lights & Maxfactor Colour Effect Flipstick in Gipsy Red.

For my eyes, the only product I used was lqiquid eyeliner so a clean and dramatic look. Feline flicks are pretty timeless and go perfectly with that sexy/sultry outfit you've picked out. If you don't have a steady hand, don't try and do it all in one go. Do half the line, starting from the inner corner and stop in the centre. Join the line up from the outer corner and flick it up (I find this easier to do with my eye open, rather than closing it).

I didn't change my lip colour from the previous look but I would definitely pick a bricky red. Sleek do a lovely shade called Dare which you should definitely look out for.

Simple Elegance- The Dinner Date

Thin Black Jumper- Primark

Burgundy Maxi Skirt- Primark

Burgundy Wedges- Matalan

So, there are you go. These are my 4 ideal Valentine's date looks. If you've got any of your own that would you like to share, then get in touch!

XXX

Friday, 8 February 2013

Yes, No, Maybe So? Valentine's- Part One

Evenin' folks (:

As you know all know, it's Valentine's Day next week so I thought I would do a couple of posts for it! Part One, this post, will be a gift/baking and overall knick knack one. Now, i'm not a massive fan of Valentine's, I don't think there should just be one day out of the whole year to celebrate your love for someone, where people make that special effort. Personally, i'd like to be shown this kind of appreciation every day and not just on February 14th, just without all the soppy poems and pink, floaty hearts. Saying this, I also don't get people who are overly bitter about it either, I know many people that would rather rip their faces off then have anything to do with it!

However, just because i'm not it's number one fan, doesn't mean everyone else feels the same, so I thought I'd jump on the love wagon this year and help celebrate with you. I've been pottering away in the kitchen today, making some treats that are super cheap and easy to make.

FOR 12 CUPCAKES

175g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
200g self raising flour
3 tbsp raspberry (or natural, if you like) yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE ICING

Red (or pink) food colouring. Gel is best, I didn't use gel as I only have liquid (which is why it looks runny!)
225g butter
400g icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon milk

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/fan 160C or gas mark 4. Line a muffin tin with 12 large muffin cases.

2. For the cupcakes: put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and beat for several minutes so that it's pale and fluffly. Whisk in the eggs one at a time and make sure they are fully combined with the mixture. Then, gently fold in the flour in 3 parts and remember to scrap down the sides of the bowl! When combined, add in the yogurt and the vanilla extract and mix. Divide equally into the muffin cases and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden! Easy (:

3. For the icing: Whilst your muffins cook, beat the butter and sifted icing sugar into a bowl, with a wooden spoon. When combined, add in the vanilla extract, milk and colouring. Because I had a liquid based food colouring, my mixture became quite wet which is why I drizzled it on rather than pipe, so if you want yours to look more refined then remember the gel!

4. To assemble: After your cakes have cooled, simply pour the icing over haphazardly. However, if you have a thicker and smoother buttercream then scoop the icing into a star nozzled piping bag and pipe on swirls.

FOR THE CUPCAKES
I had some batter left over from the muffins that I made above, so follow those guidelines and you'll probably get about 3/4 mini fairy cakes worth out of it too.

FOR THE ICING AND DECORATION
Option 1:

1 cup hazlenuts
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup butter, unsalted
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pinch of kosher salt
Any type of cake toppers. Mine are little stones of crystalised sugar (from Morrisons)

1. Preheat your oven to 170c/150 fan or gas mark 4. Line a tin with a baking sheet, spread out the hazlenuts and toast between 13-15 minutes or until they turn a dark brown colour. Remember to let them cool completely before you touch them.

2. In a food proccesor, put in the cooled down nuts and sugar and grind until you have a smooth paste.

3. In a heat prood bowl, melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water and keep stirring until completely melted. Remove from heat, place in the butter, stir. Alternatively, place the chocolate and butter in a bowl and heat it in the microwave in short blasts. Be careful and keep your eye on it though. After this, whisk in the cream, salt and the hazlenut paste.

4. When your cakes are cool (read the how-to for the vanilla & raspberry muffins) spoon over the chocolate/hazlenut spread. Mine are ridiculously messy, because after 3 hours to faffing about I got a bit fed up. Arrange your decorations in little heart shapes.

Option 2 for those who are cut for time, or who are just lazy:

Nutella/ any other hazlenut spread.

STUFF YOU NEED

If you followed the proper recipe for the hazlenut spread above then you'll definitely have some left over
Melted dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon of mild chilli powder
Handful of marshmallows
Handful of fresh strawberries
Mini fairy cake cases

1. To melt the chocolate, read the above recipe. Add the chilli powder after you've taken the chocolate off the heat, mix to incorporate. It's a really subtle hit, but if you want a more fiery kick then just add as much as you can handle!

2. As you're melting the chocolate (remember to keep an eye on it), cut the rounded bits of a heart into your marshmallows. I used those coconut covered ones that you can get pretty cheaply from the supermarket.

3. When the chocolate has cooled slightly, dip in your marshmallows and your strawberries (and anything else you want to use) into the mix and then place into mini cases. Sprinkle over some edible decorations if you want.

These are three, really easy recipes that you can follow if you don't have a lot of money to spend on your other half. I'm not the best baker as you can see but they taste good and they're a nice little treat! I especially love the chilli-chocolate dip as you can use most things, from all sorts of fruit to those mini pretzel snacks.

They can easily be wrapped as gifts too. Poundland do a lovely little heart shaped box especially for cakes, and you can buy valentines ribbon and wrap set from TK MAXX for £6.99.

Alternatively, there are plently of cute Valentine's printables online that you can download for free.

GIFTS

When it comes to gifts, whether it be for birthday, christmas and everything in between, you can't beat a good hamper. They're my favourite kind of presents, especially when they come in a sweetly wrapped box that hold all your favourite things. So I suppose you could use these as inspiration for any kind of ocassion, this one just happens to be Valentines.