Monday 19 May 2014

Breakfast Granola | Recipe

Hello,
It's exam season at the moment, which means everyone I know and I are completely snowed under with revision. There aren't many things more depressing than cutting a lovely pub trip short because you know you've got to be up at 7 if you have any hope of getting a space in the library!

So because of this I've become a little bit obsessed with breakfast recently. It started with an unnatural addiction to cereal and then quickly progressed into a need to make my own granola. I looked up loads of recipes online but loads included honey (yuck), weird nectar substances or a thousand different types of nuts.



 I decided this was all too much. I made up my own granola recipe and it was so delicious that I've since worked my way through two big batches of it. Thought I'd share the recipe because it was just too good to keep to myself.

So first, I put 125g of butter and 100g of brown sugar in a pan. I melted them together until I had a nice caramel-y syrup.
Then I took that off the heat and stirred in about 250g of porridge oats, give or take a few handfuls
Once all the porridge oats were coated in the syrup mixture I added a few decent handfuls of raisins. You can add as many or few as you liked but I added quite a lot because I love them!
I also stirred in a few mixed, dried fruits and nuts. I bought them in a pack that said "breakfast mix" on it but really you can add whatever you like (I bet dried apricots would be really nice!)
Then I smushed all the porridge mix into a oven dish, I pressed it down quite hard so that the oats would bind together.
I put the dish in the oven at 200 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, every 5 minutes or so I stirred the mix around in the dish so that the oats at the bottom would get the same amount of bake as the ones at the top.
And there you go, wait for it to cool, pour some milk over and enjoy!

Cup of tea is mandatory.

This granola is so, so delicious! It fills you up for the whole morning because of the porridge oats and the dried fruit makes it super tasty. As well as this I think it's really cheap, much cheaper than buying boxed granola. I really don't think this cost me more than £3 to make and it lasted ages.

Give it a go, tell me if you like it. Or do you have a different recipe? Let me know and I can add it to my cereal obsession!
See you soon, Maisie x

Friday 2 May 2014

MUA Lipsticks | Review

Hello there,
I recently indulged in a little bit of retail therapy. I'd read one or two reviews of these lipsticks and so decided to head into Superdrug and pick them up for myself.

I love the MUA brand. It's so affordable and is surprisingly good quality. These lipsticks came in at around £1 I think, which I was more than happy to spend. Usually I'd consider three lipsticks on one day a bit extravagant (I'm a bit of a scrimper) but when they're so cheap it seems rude to only pick up one!

I chose three colours. I'd been on the hunt for a nice orange lipstick for a while so I got Shade 16 Nectar in the original formula. I'm a big fan of matte lipsticks too so decided to pick up a couple of those. I bought 'Pouty Pink' (a sweet, bright pink colour) and 'Totally Nude' which was pretty much exactly what it said on the tin, a totally nude colour. I always just stick to red lipstick to I wanted to branch out and get some different colours that I usually wouldn't consider.
Oil slick orange - not my best look (MUA Lipstick Shade 16 Nectar)
I really have to say I'm not impressed with these lipsticks. I know they were only £1 but I've bought lipstick from Poundland before (yes really) and it was much, much better than this!

The orange colour is far too greasy. It looks like an orange oil slick right across my mouth. I would never wear it outside the house I'd be far too worried about spreading it all over my face and looking like a clown!

(MUA Lipstick in Pouty Pink)
The matter lipsticks are completely different. I really like them on first application. However, after time they stick to weird bits of my lips and end up giving me a really "bitty" look. I love the colour of the nude lipstick which surprised me as I usually hate that 'foundation lipstick' look so I was really disappointed. The only way I've been able to get it to work is by applying really thin coats really regularly - I mean like every fifteen minutes regularly.
My favourite of a bad bunch (MUA Lipstick in "Totally Nude"
I'll put a little disclaimer on the end of this post...I do struggle with lipsticks generally. I have kinda big lips. I never know how to explain it but quite a bit of my bottom lip is actually like "inside mouth" lips. So it's really difficult for me to ever find a lipstick that will stick to my lips and not give me a weird pink stripe across the top of my mouth. That means, if you've got smaller, less pronounced lips then maybe these would work a treat for you. Unfortunately they're not for me.

Love, Maisie

Wednesday 30 April 2014

Where have you been?

Heya
I've been gone in forever. Recently I've just been feeling a little overwhelmed by university work and life. I've basically just been finding everything really tough. My solution so far has been hiding under my duvet until it's dark and then emerging to eat food. I've realised this isn't really a great way to deal with anything and so have decided to take this blog, my blog, a lot more seriously. I hope it'll act as a good, creative outlet!

I'm going to start making posts at least weekly. I really want to do more outfits of the days, more reviews and more insights into my actual life rather than just an online life.
If you've ever read my posts before I hope you notice the change. If you've never read a post before then you're tuning in just at the right time woo!

In new news I have just been made Editor in Chief of The Tab Norwich. I'm really excited about this. I think I posted aaaages ago about being made Features Editor but, obviously, Editor in Chief is a huge step up from this. Initially I've been shocked by the amount of work truly involved in running a student newspaper but I'm really enjoying it and excited about getting to work properly.

Oh I've also cut the majority of my hair off. I know after what I've just said this must sound like a mid life crisis but it really wasn't. Much as I loved my luscious, curly locks they were in disgusting condition and needed lopping off. I dunno whether I'm going to grow it all back yet but for the moment I am enjoying the "short hurr don't curr" lifestyle.

Yeah so there we go. Let's hope this works.
I gotta go look for my camera!
Love, Maisie

Friday 14 February 2014

Three From Collection | Review

Hello,
Sorry I've been a bit missing in action recently. I'm just going to stick with my usual excuse of "eugh degree, eugh reading, eugh essays, eugh too drunk all the time". I think that should suffice really.



Anyway, between drowning in referencing and bibliographies I did manage a sneaky trip into town. Do you ever just run out of all your make up at once? It happens to me all the time! So I popped into dearly beloved Boots to stock up little essentials.

My plan was to buy higher end high street but after swatching every foundation ever and realising that I need to STOP BEING SO DAMN PALE. I settled for some bits and bobs from Collection. I find that Collection suits my colour so much better than a lot of the high end products so why would I waste money on something that's going to turn me fluorescent?

I picked up the 'Collection Cover & Go Foundation & Concealer Duo', the 'Collection Primed & Ready Smoothing Make Up Primer' and 'Collection Volumnising Mascara'.


I'd never really been into primer before and I actually when I went into Boots I was intending to by the new Baby Skin thing. I was really skeptical because of all the dodgy reviews I'd read and when I swatched it on my skin it felt so greasy that I opted against it and went for the Collection one instead. I'm really impressed by this product. I'm pretty sure it's a silicon based formula (although I can't actually get the labels off to have a look at the ingredients). It leaves my skin incredibly smooth even after I've put my foundation on top. I really recommend this, it makes my make up look 100x better!



When I bought this I didn't even realise it had concealer in the lid. Top notch job on that packaging Boots it's brilliant. You can put it in your handbag and voila two in one! The concealer coverage is really good, I really rate this product (as you can tell by how used it looks). I'm still humming and harring about the foundation. It's ok but the consistency is a bit odd and it looks really streaky if you apply it with a brush rather than a sponge.

Whenever I buy anything new I instantly don't like it - it takes a while to convince me it's actually good. This was no different, when I first opened it I didn't love it. The brush is quite brittle and not the big fluffy mascara brush I usually like. However, after using this for a week I am converted and I admit the error of my ways. This mascara is really great, it gives a really volumnised look, kind of fake lash effect. The only thing I don't get is why it says '10x volumnising' on it. Can you imagine if a mascara made you lashes TEN TIMES BIGGER? You'd look like a maniac!

Overall I'm well chuffed with the Collection things I picked up. I think they're all fairly new products to the line and they all work fantastically. Collection is definitely starting to give some of the other high street brands a run for their money.

Primed, concealed, volumnised and ready to hit the rain
So have you tried any of these products? Did you like 'em? Lemme know 

Thursday 30 January 2014

Make It Highstreet | Screen Actor's Guild Awards 2014

Hellllo,

Blimey so behind schedule with the award season it is actually ridiculous! Many, many moons ago it was the Screen Actor's Guild Awards which saw Hollywood's finest get out there and strut their stuff down the red carpet. For some reason I always really like the SAG awards, I just think people always dress really well for them and this year was no different really. 

There were some truly lovely pieces on show and I felt like there was a bit of a tie for best dressed. Lupita Nyongo'o carried on her dress success in a gorgeous turquoise Gucci piece. The colour looked absolutely amazing on her and I really loved the statement neckline. My gal J-Law was also back to her rightful place on the best dressed look. I haven't been loving her choices this award season but this Christian Dior gown made her look like sequinned perfection. 

I love a good sequin and there were plenty on show. Claire Danes looked shimmied in big Vionnet sequins and Sofia Vegara looked hot hot hot in Donna Karan. She does hollywood sexy so well - I love her style! 

Also worth a mention is Isla Fischer who looked so sexy and classic in Bulgari. She rocked her Jessica Rabbit hair and looked like proper timeless hollywood. 

And then there were the others. Oops. Worst dressed of the night for me was Jennifer Garner. She usually keeps things so simple and classy and it looks great but I felt like her MAX MARA gown was totally underwhelming. Also Mariah Carey did what Mariah Carey does and wore a minuscule mini-dress. Classic mimi but me no likey.
Red Halter, ShopBop, £62.60 // Holly Hunter // Keyhole Wrap Dress, ASOS, £28
Pink Split-leg jumpsuit, In Love With Fashion, £23 // Julia Roberts wears Valentino // Pink Jumpsuit, Miss Selfridges, £42
High Neck Crop Top, Boohoo, £8 // Kerry Washington pairs Prada and Harry Winston // Full Midi Skirt, Boohoo, £12
Mindy Kaling wears David Meister // Blue Crossover with Gold Belt, Isme, £39

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Make it highstreet | The Golden Globes 2014

Hey, remember many thousands of years ago there was that thing called the 'Golden Globes 2014'? Yes, I know this post is horrendously late, I've been shoved full throttle back into uni work. Why oh why do they give you essays in January? Don't they know I've got award ceremonies to watch and pretty dresses to look at?!

Anyway, moving swiftly back to the Golden Globes. Hurray, I love the Golden Globes, they feel very shiny don't you think? So let's hop straight in at the deep end with my favourite dress of the night which belonged to the beautiful Emma Watson. Emma paired her backless Dior dress with a pair of cigarette trousers. I absolutely love it when ladies get away from the predictable dresses and this choice did it for me. Just like the People's Choice Awards there were loads of bright colours on show; Lupita Nyong'o looked gorgeous in Ralph Lauren, it was a potentially tricky colour but it just looked beautiful against her skin. I didn't even have that much of a problem with Lena Dunham's custard yellow dress - it takes bravery to rock custard.

The award organisers must have been giving a lot of 'plus ones' because the red carpet was chock full of expecting mums. They were all styled so well, I'm so glad pregnancy clothes are more fitted now, like Olivia Wilde's Gucci sequinned dress, rather than those horrible baggy sacks stylists used to make pregnant actresses walk around in a few years ago. Drew Barrymore looked bloomin' lovely in a floral number from Monique Lhuillier. I also really loved the unusual cut of Kerry Washington's dress, the add-on cape not only made her look well-proportioned but also nicely highlighted her baby bump - good combination.

As always there's some bad dresses. I was so disappointed in my favourite lady J-Law, her Dior dress wasn't awful by any stretch of the imagination but she normally dresses so well that it just didn't seem very her. I wasn't a fan of Julia Roberts shirt/dress/thing looked like she was attending the '97 Golden Globes rather than the 2014. My least favourite dress of the night belonged to Zoe Saldana, which I really couldn't believe. She looked beautiful as always but the dress looked like a wardrobe had thrown up on her. Just pick one style!!

What dresses did you like? Which did you hate? Let me know 

L-R One-shoulder Maxi, Missguided, £14.99 // Amber Heard wears Versace // Chiffon One-Shoulder, House of Fraser, £34.50

L-R Lace Plunge Dress, Missguided, £34.99 // Amy Adams in Valentino // Red Halterneck, New Look, £28

Sequinned Midi Dress, Missguided, £44.99 // Olivia Wilde in Gucci

L-R Plunge bodycon midi, Boohoo.com, £12 // Reese Witherspoon in Calvin Klein

Sunday 12 January 2014

Make it highstreet | People's Choice Awards 2014

Helllo!

So it's award's season hurrrah!! Award's season is my third favourite season of the year - following Christmas season and birthday season and way above exam season! It all kicked off to a leisurely start with the People's Choice Awards. I'll be honest the People's Choice are never my favourite award season...mainly because I don't really understand the point of them. But any excuse to lust over pretty shoes and men in tuxs is a winner with me.

I wasn't blown away by the dresses on show but there were definitely some that caught my eye. My winner of the night had to be Naya Rivera. Every morning I wake up a little sadder that I do not look like her - the woman is a goddess and she looked beyond goddess in a gorgeous Michael Kors block mullet dress. Honourable mention has to go to Anna Faris for breaking the red carpet mould and going for a chic Naeem Khan trouser suit. I love it when leading ladies get away from the stereotypical dresses.

There were some lovely pops of colour on the red carpet too, a lovely counteraction to the miserable grey skies we've been seeing at the moment. Jillian Rose stood out in her lovely coral dress and Lucy Hale really brought that summer vibe in a Gabriela Cadena floral piece. Jennifer Hudson, who pretty much always looks awesome, shone in a form fitting and gathered white dress by Kaufman Franco.

Of course there's always some dresses you're not going to love. Heidi Klum was way way overdressed in Armani for what I always think of as one of the more 'casual' award ceremonies. For me, Kat Denning's rose patterned dress by David Meister Signature was just a little too old fashioned especially when compared to her co-host Beth Behrs who was looking really great in Guilietta monochrome. There's something about Kat Denning's style that just doesn't suit my palette...I honestly think it might be because I went to school with a really annoying girl who looked just like her. Fickle I know!

So if you wanna create your own little red carpet at home I've found a few dupe-like things on the highstreet. I know it's January and we all got no place to go...but we can still get all dressed up!

Hope you like these! What was your favourite red carpet dress? Are you excited about award season?


L-R: Naya Rivera looking hot to trot in Michael Kors // Block Dress, Asos, £82.50
L-R: Bandeau Midi Dress, Missguided, £29.99 // Jessica Alba in Jason Wu // Zip Front Skater, Asos, £55
L-R: Crochet Collar Dress, USC, £26 // Sara Bareilles looking preppy in Jill Stuart // Lace Collar Dress, Littlewoods, £29
Pu Leather Dress, Nelly.com, £39.95 // Shaun Robinson rocks texture mix // Leather Skater Dress, Dorothy Perkins, £32.99


Friday 10 January 2014

Not so knot? | Review - Tangle Teezer

Hello,


If you've ever caught a glimpse of my hair (perhaps in my hair dye post or in an OOTD) you may have noticed it's a tad on the curly side. By that I mean it's pretty much out of control. My mum calls it my "dog hair" because it grows in thick, knotted layers like a dog's waterproof coat does.

Well, with bad hair comes great responsibility. A responsibility I am extremely reluctant to take on and I will admit I am the worst curly haired owner in the world. I really neglect it, I don't use the right kind of products or even bother to brush it because whenever I try it turns into a massive task and I end up hating it.

This Christmas I think my mum got fed up of it looking a scraggly mess, so she gave my step-dad strict orders to buy me a Tangle Teezer for Christmas - The Original one in an alarming traffic cone orange shade. I remember when these first emerged on the highstreet years and years ago and I've been meaning to try one for a while. In case you're not familiar with the Tangle Teezer it's a kind of revolutionary hairbrush. It promises to detangle and glossy hair without any tugging, pulling or yanking.


I was so excited about using the Tangle Teezer, especially after all the great reviews I'd heard, but to be honest it left me a little bit meh. The first time I used it it tugged on my hair a lot, admittedly not as bad as a normal comb would but still enough. My hair is less knotted than it used to be however I still can't run my hands through it without getting stuck on knots. I understood that with hair as mental as mine it might take a little while to get used to but considering I've used it everyday since Christmas I expected slightly more progress.

Another slight problem I've had with the brush is when to use it. This may be very specific to us curly haired lasses but I for one cannot brush my hair when it's dry without ending up looking like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family (not the look I'm going for). This means I have to use the brush as soon as I get out of the shower when my hair is still very wet. Then as my hair dries...it gets knotted again. Has anyone else had this problem or is it just my bizarre locks?


Overall I wouldn't say the Tangle Teezer is a bad brush at all and I bet if you have straight or wavy hair it'd work a treat. The amount of gleeful reviews I've read means it must work for some people. But, like most hair products it seems, it doesn't work nearly as well for thick or curly hair.

I'm definitely going to keep using it and hopefully one day I'll have flippy hair like one of those ladies in the shampoo adverts. If I suddenly have a eureka moment with it I'll definitely write another post.

Have you used the Tangle Teezer? Did you like it or did you have a few teething (geddit?...comb...teeth...just me?) problems with it too? 

Saturday 4 January 2014

2013 Ear Worms

Hello,
So 2013 has drawn to a close. How did that even happen? I don't know if I'm just getting older but the years seem to actually fly by these days. Anyway, for me 2013 was a year of change and one thing that definitely changed was the music blasting on my headphones. So I thought I'd share my fave albums of 2013. I'm not a music know-all but I does knows what I likes.

I don't really read loads or watch many films but music is something I tend to keep on trend with a bit more and I thought there were some really standout albums this year so here were my top 5 and little taste of each.

5. Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die - Panic! At The Disco
Panic are my leftover guilty pleasure from my greasy haired scene kid days. As much as I try to let go of them (I don't try very hard to be honest) I can't seem to get over how catchy their songs are. This album definitely wasn't their best and I don't think they'll ever get back to their emo glory days but it's got songs that'll make you want to dance and that's most important really...


4. Save Rock And Roll - Fall Out Boy
Ok maybe Panic aren't the only leftover from my scene kid days but really how many people can honestly say they weren't excited when Fall Out Boy announced they were releasing new stuff? I ran through my flat screaming about it...only to find none of my flatmates cared. Humph. Whatever! This album was good. Different enough for new fans, samey enough for die hards and it had Elton John on it. Literally nothing not to love!



3. Magna Carta Holy Grail - Jay-Z
Since this album was released in July I have listened to at least one song from it everyday. My friend recently moaned that "it's not as good as The Black Album". Well duh but you can't always compare someone as long-lasting as Jay-Z to their finest album. To get all pretensh up in here I feel like this album has so many different aspects to it, it's got pop-rap like Holy Grail to catchy club tracks like Tom Ford stopping off at a bit of social commentary (Somewhere In America) along the way. My fave Jay-Z release for a long while.




2. Matangi - M.I.A
This album is da bomb. Literally. I can't even explain how much I love it! I heard Bad Girls ages ago and then when I found out the whole album was being released I was so excited. M.I.A is just amazing, her rhymes are sharp and she just sounds so sassy all the way through the album. Some of the songs (especially Exodus) are just ridiculously sexy whereas others like Bring The Noize make you wanna party and start a fight all at the same time! I love this and I can't recommend it highly enough. Even if you've never been into M.I.A or rap or anything before you should give this one a go.


1. Beyoncé - Beyoncé
Up until the beginning of December, Matangi was without a question my favourite album. M.I.A had it sewn up. Then Beyoncé got all Beyoncé up in here and released a secret visual album. Only a queen can get away with that. Mrs Carter's secretive offering is my favourite from her for years - especially after the slight disappointment of 4. This album is too sexy for it's own good, it makes me want to dance and cry and get married and eugh. To me, Beyoncé is just incredible, she makes me proud to be a woman and this album reflects that. After years of making unquestionable hits this album feels way more honest and powerful. LOVE IT!



So those were my favourites of 2013...how about yours? Got any recommendations for me? Swear to God if anyone else says 'Yeezus' is the album of the year I will kick off! 

Wednesday 1 January 2014

This Blogpost Will Save Your Year

Ok so that's a bold statement...and it probably won't. But maybe it will save mine.

2013 was rubbish wasn't it? It started off really great and full of clichéd promises that this year would "be different" and this year would "be your year". None of them came true, the year is over and everything is just as pitifully rubbish as it was before. Just me?


For me January started off really awesome. University was great, there were super exciting new people in my life, everything was perfect. But I don't really think life ever works out like that and cracks always begin to show no matter how pretty you paint over them. I struggled a lot during the summer. I had been told to make friends and get along with my classmates and fall in love and then it was suddenly whisked away from me for a very long 5 month summer. I know that seems like such a tiny problem but I noticed that life away from home probably wasn't as pretty as my rose tinted glasses had told me they were.

When I moved back to Uni in September I was miserable. Miserable like I'd never felt before. People who I had valued the most in the previous months were now the one's who were nowhere to be found. Look through my drafted (but thankfully never published) blogposts and there are many a whiney ramble. I sat there and I thought 2013 has taught me things. It has taught me:

1. There is no such thing as being in love
2. You can't trust anyone
3. Everyone will leave at some point
4. Even your best is never good enough

For at least a month, I was ridiculous. I cried. A lot. I thank my flatmates a million times for not slapping me when I was so downright rude and ungrateful and full of my own wallowing sadness. 

I don't really know what snapped me out of my miserableness. I think one day I was trudging somewhere in the rain and I just thought "God, this is boring. All this being miserable, all this being angry at people and refusing to move on in my life is so incredibly boring". I carried on trudging through the rain (my walk home from uni is particularly grim) and thought about the things I thought 2013 had taught me and I thought about all the brilliant things that had happened whilst the rubbish stuff was distracting me. All the times I laughed until I thought I was going to die, all the interesting conversations I'd had, all the essay marks that had made me proud, all the nice food I'd eaten, all the songs I'd sung along to, all the books I'd read, all the friends who had picked me up when I'd drunkenly fallen over in the street. I started to rewrite my 2013 lessons:

1. There's no such thing as being in love (I kinda stand by this) but that doesn't mean you can't show someone kindness and friendship and caring when they need to see it. That's way more important than being in love with them. 
2. You can't trust...everyone. Yeah some people are arses who will break all their promises but trusting someone isn't a conscious decision and before you know it you'll be sharing your secrets with someone you least expected. Roll with it. The quiet bit of my brain always knows best.
3. Everyone will leave at some point...but that just makes room for super fun new people. And hopefully they'll stick around a bit longer. 
4. Even your best is never good enough for some people. But from now I'm going to measure my best by what's good enough for me not what's good enough for everyone else. It's MY best...not theirs. 

So Facebook keeps nudging me to look at my "Review of 2013". Well I don't want to. I don't care about it anymore I just want to look forward. I've got new places to go and new people to make laugh and the places I felt I didn't belong last year or the people who made me cry last year...they're just blips on my map of brilliance. I was always too good for them anyway!  

Maybe none of these words will make any sense to anyone else, really this is just a note to future me. Please future me, remember to be happy in yourself because you're alright sometimes - you've never needed anyone else to tell you that.


2014's gonna be fucking awesome mate.