Smoothie Recipe #1 - Mango Lassi with Raspberries and Vanilla Ice Cream

Oh Summer! How I have missed thee!

After nearly two months of constant bad weather, we finally had a decent summer's day in East Scotland.

The sun was shining, there was a cool breeze and I actually managed to do a bit of lounging around in my front garden. At least, those are the only memories of summer I have this January.

To make the day just that little bit better, my sister whipped up her refreshing Mango Lassi - because you know why not?

Didn't it look amazing! It tasted even better.

It takes just a few minutes of your time to make but you won't regret it.

What you need:
1/2 tin of Mango Pulp
2 tbsp of Sugar
500ml of Milk
3 cups of Vanilla Ice Cream (and some to garnish)
A handful of Frozen berries (leave some to decorate)
A few ice cubes.
Vanilla extract (optional)
A blender machine.

Method:
1. Measure out your ingredients and calculate them depending on how many people you are serving (i.e. double the ingredients if you are).
2. Add the mango pulp into the blender and pulse until smooth.
3. Add the same amount of ice cream as the pulp ie 3 cups of ice cream so. Now blend again.
3. Put all the ingredients in the blender (milk first) and a handful of berries and pulse until there are no lumps.
4. Pour into tall drinking glasses and add a few spoons of ice cream. Add the berries on top to garnish!

It doesn't get much easier than that to create a cool and refreshing summers drink!

Love, ZAZZLES©

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REVIEW: Louise Young Essential Eye Palette 2

When this gorgeous thing came in the post last week, I may have cried, just a little. World renowned for her brushes and makeup artistry, Louise Young and her brand are growing leaps and bounds. 

My first Louise Young purchase was almost 4 years ago when beauty gurus Pixiwoo first mentioned her on their Youtube channel in a Haifa Wehbe makeup tutorial. I adored the colours used and found out it was all from the one palette. So naturally I had to purchase the palette and the eyeliner brush because you know, it was too pretty not to have. Back then like most 17-year-olds, (or, at least, the ones I knew) I didn't have £45 (for both palette and brush) lying around and so I checked reviews. 

But of course, there were hardly any and at the time, the palette was the first makeup product aside from her brush range that LY sold so I was a little skeptical at spending that kind of money.  But my god I am glad that I did, the palette four years on is with me everywhere I go and so as the name suggests it really is essential with 5 matte shades: neutral browns, a carbon black and a reddish-brown that are all multi-purpose. 

So imagine my reaction when I find out that the legendary makeup artist released a second palette, the Essential Eye Palette 2 - the name simple and easily remembered. 

Isn't it pretty! 

The palette is vastly different from its predecessor; whilst the first contained very wearable neutral shades the latter is much bolder. However, the colours are still very wearable if used with fluffy shadow brush and a light hand.

As you can see from the swatches above, the colours are very pigmented as I barely needed to wipe my finger across the shadows to get major colour payoff however I noticed that the last two shades 'King Bee' and 'Drifted' took slightly more effort to get the same amount of opacity. 

I'm not sure if that's because of the added shimmer (which isn't hugely noticeable and is very wearable) but aside from that the colours are very buttery and smooth. They blend like a dream and a little goes a long way.

The palette also come with a small brush that I prefer to use it with lipsticks instead hence why its not in the picture.

At £30, the palette isn't cheap but for 5 shadows that effectively works out at £6 per shadow. Compared to MAC eyeshadow pans that cost roughly £10 each, the palette is a bargain and from a well-known brand that always exceed expectations.

It is definitely worth investing in and while you're at it check out the first Essential Eye Palette on the Louise Young site!

I promise you won't regret it.

Let me know which palette's are an essential for your makeup bag in the comments below!

Love,  ZAZZLES

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REVIEW: Lime Crime Velvetines | Wicked, Red Velvet, Riot and Cashmere with swatches

Living in the UK means it's a little more difficult buying brands that are near exclusive to the states due to insanely huge price differences and import costs. But lo and behold I finally found a trustworthy beauty website called LoveMakeup.co.uk that shipped from within the UK, not only that but they had a mini sale on for the Christmas weekend! 

Yep, I spent my Christmas morning buying makeup. Pretty productive of me I'd say. 

Before purchasing, I already knew what shades I was interested in trying out thanks to several hours of watching beauty videos. 

I bought Wicked, Red Velvet, Riot and Cashmere (I also bought Pink Velvet and Black Velvet but will review those in a later post!) 

The staying power of these beauties is unreal. I've eaten hot noodles, doughnuts and more yet they still seem to retain their colour and don't smear. Each formula is a little different and so they individually differ when it comes to longevity but the colours are unbelievably opaque and the small doe-foot applicator makes it surprisingly easy to apply. You don't want accidentally overline your lips with these as it just will not come off!

It last roughly 4-6 hours without reapplying, unless you're eating really oily foods then you will see it start to crack in the inside rim of your lips. I've heard stories of how difficult it is to remove the lipsticks at the end of the day, however, I've found it is actually quite easy and not even a little bit painful for your lips if you use some baby oil on a makeup remover pad.

I bought each lipstick for £12.50 each (not sure if the promotion is still running) and while that's a little hefty for a lipstick that is not from a luxury brand, I think its a great product that actually is what its meant to be a: a matte, opaque, non-smudging lipstick.

Let me know what your experiences are with matte lipsticks in the comments below. I would love to hear them!

Love, ZAZZLESx

p.s swatches are on their way!

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Charlotte Tilbury Haul - Magic Cream, Dolce Vita Palette and More!

(I bought other products not featured in this picture, mentioned below)

I couldn't help myself! As soon as I entered the beauty section of Selfridges's Manchester branch,  and saw the shiny new Charlotte Tilbury counter I completely ruined my plans and my savings. 

Living in Scotland, Charlotte Tilbury is not quite easy to see first hand unless you wouldn't mind travelling 5-6 hours to go to the nearest Selfridges & Co store or are happy to buy expensive things online before actually seeing them in person. But by happy coincidence when I was visiting family in Lancashire and I also managed to go on a day trip to Manchester.

I fully intended to visit Selfridges but only to buy the NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Syracuse. I wanted a foundation that was moisturising on my dry skin and didn't feel heavy but with fuller coverage. And so Sheerglow seemed like the best thing try after it was recommended by a relative. 

However as I was coming down the escalator into the beauty department looking for NARS, I spotted the gorgeous Charlotte Tilbury counter just looking rose gold and fabulous.

I instantly steered off into its direction. 

I spent roughly over an hour and a half with the beauty consultant and ended up buying everything I always wanted to try. Even my mum was suggesting I try different blushes, foundations et al from the counter. Needless to say, this sort of encouragement was not particularly healthy especially as I expected her to be the one to stop me from going a little crazy with makeup shopping. 

The consultant definitely knew what she was talking about and didn't mind at all that I was taking up all of her time especially as the counter was so busy. Charlotte Tilbury products aren't cheap and while the price of the foundations are actually on par with other luxury beauty brands several other products are actually more expensive than some well-known, established cosmetic companies. 

I had researched beforehand and watched several reviews on the products themselves so I definitely knew what I was looking for but I didn't expect to fall in love with the rest of the products. I had a really difficult time choosing what to buy and what to leave for another day.

I ended up buying the following:

Wonderglow (£38.50), an instant soft-focus beauty flash which illuminates your face;

Light Wonder Foundation in shade 8 (£32), a medium to full coverage foundation that looks like amazing on dry skin; 

Cheek to Chic blush in Love is the Drug (£30), a beautiful rosy blush that blends beautifully, Mini Miracle Eye Wand (haven't tried this yet!),(£29); 

Luxury Palette in Dolce Vita (£38), an eye palette that is perfect for any night out and of course, finally my favourite moisturiser ever, her famous Magic Cream (£70).

All of the above can be purchased on the Charlotte Tilbury website.

Full reviews of the makeup I've bought will be posted soon!

Have you bought any luxury brands recently you think are actually worth the price tag? Let me know in the comments below.

Love, ZAZZLES

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Did I Mention I Love You (DIMILY #1) by Estelle Maskame | Book Review

First of all, how stunning is the front cover of this novel? 

Pretty gorgeous in my opinion.

It is rare for me to come across a novel that is both inspiring, emotional and likeable. There are a tonne of books that can be categorised in the former but lack youthful exuberance in all the seriousness.

At just 13 years old, from a wee fishing town in Scotland, Estelle Maskame started to write a trilogy that would come to be loved by millions on the online writing platform, Wattpad. 

Perhaps that's why DIMILY (published by Black & White Publishing in Edinburgh) seems to hit all the right notes; its author -  just sixteen herself - clearly understands some of the struggles of a young girl in the West today. 

Synopsis:

It sounds a little cliche at first, a girl who falls for her step-brother? A little too Mortal Instruments but then of course everything seems cliche unless you actually give it a chance. Every story is derived from somewhere, inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes and while the blurb seems as though it gives too much away, prepare to be blown away.

It's not so much what occurs in the novel that is impressive, but the way Maskame has managed to convey the voice of the main character, Eden, that is. The narrative reflects the emotions of Eden perfectly, as the reader you start a rollercoaster ride thinking you know exactly what to expect but end up finishing the journey feeling all emotional and questioning.

The personality of a somewhat average teenager is written to perfection. The language isn't absolutely awe-inspiring but it is a very reminiscent and realistic voice of a 16-year-old girl trying to go through life whilst also being true to herself. 

This novel is not just a love story, I mean it is that but not to the exclusion of everything else. There is Eden's rocky relationship with her father who seems a little too nice, her step-mother who is a little too laid back, the new friends who don't seem like friends at all and then of course there is Tyler, standoffish and reckless, a complete enigma, who seems to utterly loathe her.

Eden isn't the perfect teenager. She makes mistakes just like the rest of us and I think that is what makes this book so enjoyable to read, it is far from predictable.

It's emotional, real and ultimately about a young girl who is trying to find herself amidst the chaos. This series is definitely one to watch out for and I truly think its going to become a bestseller very quickly. If there is one novel you need to have on your summer reading list then this is a must-read!

Verdict: 4/5 stars

Why should you bother? 

It's very different to the normal YA Contemporaries most people are used to.

Grab your copy for only £6.09 (normally £7.99) at Amazon.co.uk

Which YA novels are you all reading at the moment? 

Let me know in the comments below.

Love, ZAZZLES©

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