La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo Corrective and Unclogging Anti-imperfectioncare.

Since giving birth to my little boy 13 months ago my skin has never been the same. It is prone to more blemishes sore spots and clogged pores have become a lot more common. I don't know if its to do with a shift in hormones, but being a person who was used to having clear skin it can really get me down.

Perfect Christmas roast potatoes.

I am definitely more a veg and potato type of girl than meat. On my Christmas dinner I have a little bit of Turkey well because you have to don't you? I then pile on the veg and potatoes with gravy. So I thought I would share with you my Christmas roast potato recipe. First off I peel and cut the potatoes all a similar size and par boil for 10 minutes. When they are a similar size they will all cook evenly. I then make a couple of bouquet garnis. I use woody herbs like sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme and wrap them up together using some string. Alternatively all the major supermarkets do them already made up this time of year.

I then pour a pot of goose fat in a roasting tray and heat that up on high in the oven.

When the potatoes are par boiled I sieve the water out bash them and sprinkle a tablespoon of flour over them so when they roast they get all crunchy and crispy.

I then add potatoes to the hot roasting tray, the bouquet garnis, around 10 bashed up garlic cloves with some rock salt and black pepper. Then I roast for an hour and a half, the last half hour I add some whole baby carrots and chunky parsnips. It completely depends on your oven but they will be all golden and crispy, then you will know them beauty's are done. 

Crispy on the outside and all fluffy in the middle is my idea of the perfect roastie. What's your trick to making the perfect roasties? What's your favourite part of your Christmas dinner? Do you think you will try this recipe?

Jamie Oliver`s Christmas Gravy!

Every Christmas Eve I always prep as much as I can of the Christmas dinner so Christmas can be spent with my family. I am in charge of the potatoes, veg and gravy leaving the joints of meats to my Mum and Dad. Past couple of years I have made Jamie Oliver's get ahead gravy recipe. It consists of roasting wings of chicken with veg and herbs. (I also use some legs and thighs as I always have some in.)

When chicken is roasted a whole lot of mashing and sieving all the ingredients together goes on resulting in a gorgeous stock to add to the juices from the roasted meat`s on Christmas Day ,making the most special gravy ever!

What I like about it is it's kind of tradition now I would feel odd not doing it on Christmas eve. Secondly it makes the house smell so gorgeous and all festive and three it does up the amp on your gravy making it extra special, just what you want on Christmas day.

I think gravy is so important it can make or break the whole meal. As I said before it just wouldn't feel right not doing it now and ever since my mother poured the stock from the turkey down the sink one Christmas Day,well I will always have a back up! Always! 

Miss Makeup Magpie Guest Post! Revlon ColourBurst- Peony

Hello how are you all, long time no post hey?

Well with lots of Uni work and my phone and camera breaking.  I have been really struggling to get any blog posts up. Plus in mourning, how was we ever without mobile phones? I will never know.

I've mentioned before on my blog that the Revlon ColorBurst Lip Glosses are my favourite type of glosses. I last reviewed the 'Papaya' shade, which is gorgeously bright coral which doesn't leave my lips during the Summer months. Papaya is Tanya Burr's favourite lipgloss, and sure enough I fell in love with it too, although it's a little bit too bright for everyday wear, so enter Peony.

 I love the ColorBurst glosses from Revlon as they're not at all sticky, and they're reasonably long lasting.

 I also find that they're really quite pigmented for a gloss too, although Peony is a little bit more sheer than Papaya and that's why Peony is my absolute favourite gloss. On the lips Peony translates as a pinky peach shade with sparkly micro glitter, without being gritty.

The tiny glitter makes this gloss incredibly pretty, and as it's pink based, can be layered over any pink lipstick. Whenever I wear this gloss, albeit alone or layered over a lipstick. I'm always asked what I'm wearing, and complimented on how pretty it is.. which is always a good measure of how good a product looks.

This is honestly the most perfect lip gloss, as it's so comfortable to wear and versatile. I would definitely repurchase this shade and I'd love to buy some other shades from the range, especially the shades Bellini and Sunset Peach.

What's your favourite lip gloss?