Best of Summer Lips

 I seem to be sticking to a Summer Lipstick theme this week. I have had a root through my make up bag and pulled out my favourite summer shades, ready for the coming months. I hope I did okay with the pictures for this post, I tried my best!

Lovesick - Apocaliptic - 110

Revlon ColorBurst Balm in Lovesick - Such a gorgeous bright pink shade. It's easy to apply, definitely the easiest of the three in terms of application. It also lasts the longest. It does have a very distinct peppermint smell though, so just be wary of that.

Rimmel Apocalips in Apocaliptic - This might just be my favourite lip colour that I own. I usually wear this when I have a very nude eye look. It can be quite hard to apply but the doe foot applicator makes it a bit easier. I do find this quite long lasting and it definitely leaves a stain on the lips.

Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in 110 - I wore this pretty much exclusively all last summer. It is a lot brighter than the photo above shows but I am absolutely in love with it. It's not the most moisturising lipstick out there but I don't think that would be expected with a matte lipstick. It does tend to pick up any dry parts of your lips so make sure to prep them before you wear this!

Be sure to check out my Summer Lipstick Wishlist and let me know what your favourite summer lip shades are! 

Mint Chocolate Cookies

I was having a particularly off day last Sunday and I decided the only thing that would make it better was a batch of homemade cookies. I love After Eights, I think that's the best way to explain the chocolates I put in these cookies, I picked up a  packet of "Mint Cremes" in Aldi to use in this recipe, you can use any variation you like. I think some plain chocolate chips would also be great in these cookies. I managed to get 12 large cookies from this recipe and I ate the majority of them myself. When I make them again I think I'll hide the chocolates inside the dough as some of the chocolate on the top slightly burnt. Also, don't forget to chill the dough in the fridge for at least an hour, the colder the dough, the bigger the cookie. Happy baking!

Ingredients:

125g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla extract
125g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
1tsp bicarbonate of/baking soda
3tsp milk
200g After Eight/Mint Cremes

1. Mix together the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes.

2. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda and begin mixing with the wet ingredients. 

3. Add the milk in a tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to form. 

4. Leave to chill in the fridge for at least an hour. 

5. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease well with butter. 

6. Take about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Press in your chocolates (I packed as many chocolates as I could into these cookies) and place on your baking sheet.

7.  Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool! 

Summer Lipstick Wishlist

I've decided to do something a little different for this week's Monday post and share with you my lipstick wishlist for summer. I don't think I included enough coral colours in this post..

1. Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm // Audacious 

2. Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter // Juicy Papaya 

3.  Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick // In Love With Ginger 

4. Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon // Orange Punch

5.  MAC // Lady Danger 

6. Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick // Hot Pepper

What lip products will be finding their way into your make up bags this summer?

Seven Happy Things #2

So, we've made to the end of another week. Nothing huge has happened, still the same ol' same ol'. It hasn't been the best of weeks for me, I've spent a lot of it worrying about things that I don't have the power to change, (which I can tell you now has done me no good) and being messed around by the people that can change them. However, I have had some good moments this week and it's only 19 days until Paris, so I've got to keep keeping on!

• Monday was a pretty chill day. I got lots of blog posts written up and had cuddles with the pup.
  
• Brian finished his exams on Monday so Tuesday was a fun filled day! We had lunch at his favourite place, Jam then we went to Rumleys Farm (I took lots of pictures, a post shall be up next week) and we finished our day by going to the Drive-In Cinema to see Bad Neighbours.
  
• Wednesday came to an end on a high note as we got 99s with flakes, my favourite.
  
• Last week, I commented on a Totally Sacha video in which he made a rainbow cake, I asked him a question about eggs. On Thursday, I got an email from him telling me that he was unable to reply to my Youtube comment so he tracked down my email address. I just thought this was the nicest thing ever and I got the answer to my question about eggs.
  
• Friday evening I had the boy's apartment to myself, so I made myself something yum for dinner, (salmon and couscous) had a major pamper sesh and snuggled up on the couch to watch the Graham Norton Show (which if you follow me on Twitter, you will know I enjoyed immensely)
  
• Yesterday morning, I had tea and toast in bed with the boy while watching Gilmore Girls.
  
• Aaaand, it's Sunday again. More food and Gilmore Girls. (Sunday will never be exciting, I'm sorry.)

What have been your highlights of this week?

My Hair Care Routine

I love trying out new hair products, I'm still searching for the perfect combination of things. I'm very fickle when it comes to shampoo, hence why there's not one mentioned in this post. I find my hair gets used to shampoo so I have to change what I use quite frequently. I would recommend the L'Oreal Elvive Re-Nutrition Shampoo, I used it in conjunction with the matching conditioner (which I have mentioned below) and it worked a treat for about a month, always leaving my hair soft and shiny. 

L'Oreal Elvive Re-Nutrition Nourishing Conditioner - I've been faithful to this conditioner for about six months now, it leaves my hair super soft and smelling like I've just come out of the hairdressers. 

Dove Hair Nourishing Oil Care Leave-In Spray - I mentioned this in my April Favourites so I won't blabber on about it for too long. I spray this in the ends of my hair when its wet, it has worked wonders on my dry ends. 

Boots Ingredients Coconut & Almond Leave-In Conditioner - This is my holy grail hair product. After I shower, this is the first thing that I spray on my hair as it makes it much easier to brush through  It's cheap and cheerful, coming in at just under €2 but I find it better than any other products that have claimed to leave your hair "tangle free".

Argan Oil Hair Treatment - I use a drop of this oil on the ends of my hair when I come out of the shower. Again, it really helps with my damaged ends and eliminates a lot of unwanted frizz! I avoid using too much of this stuff because it can leave my hair feeling greasy when I overuse it. I picked this little bottle up in EuroGiant for €1, this made me ridiculously happy as argan oil treatments can be quite pricey. So if you're from Ireland, I suggest you go pick some up! 

What are your holy grail hair products?