Chobani Greek Yogurt - Bloggers Dinner - Glasgow

Last night I had the pleasure of being invited to a gorgeous dinner

courtesy of Chobani Greek Yogurt

Chobani is a brand that hasn't long been released in the UK

but has been a massive success across the pond

When their founder first released the product there was no big marketing budget 

so the majority of the brands success came from people just like us, bloggers and social media lovers! 

Therefore the blogging community is very close to their hearts 

which is why a lovely bunch of us Glasgow bloggers were invited down to The Corinthian to try out some of their products! 

I am currently on a fitness journey and doing a lot of weight and strength training 

So right now it's really important for me to pack plenty of protein into my diet

It really appeals to me that Chobani yogurts actually contain TWICE the amount of protein than in a normal yogurt!

 Chobani worked with the chefs and mixologists at The Corinthian to come up with a unique food and drinks menu where every course contained some of the Greek Yogurt.

I would have never considered adding yogurt to a cocktail but it really worked!

infact it went down a bit too well! 

After a very meaty meal last weekend 

I decided to change things up a bit last night and go for the Vegetarian options on the menu

I had the risotto to start which was lovely 

The yogurt gave it a really thick creamy texture 

and for someone who isn't a pea lover I polished off the lot! 

Now I know I was slating polenta in my last post 

but I decided to give it another chance and I'm glad I did 

It was really lovely and perfectly set off by the Yogurt which acted as a sour cream dip for the polenta cake

The peppery rocket and red pepper salad was a lovely finishing touch

For dessert I went for the Creme Brulee 

which had a gorgeous thick consistency 

and the caramel gave it a lovely sweet flavour

I made a complete mess all over the table with the crumbly shortbread! 

(Can't take me anywhere)

Usually the only time I eat yogurt is with fresh berries for breakfast

but I will definitely be trying to incorporate it into my meals more often 

especially when I'm trying to increase my protein intake.

Here are the two gorgeous ladies that made it happen 

Christine and Amy were such lovely hostesses running around after us all night! 

They both even have their own blogs 

Christine - Little Swallow

Amy - Yummei

 Of course the best part of the whole evening was getting to see some of my lovely blogger friends like:

Melissa Laura & Paula

Have you tried Chobani yet?

Do you have any good recipes using Greek Yogurt?

Jen xx

TGI Friday Instagram Launch Party

So on Thursday night I was invited along to TGI Fridays in Glasgow 

for a little party to celebrate them launching their new instagram @TGIFridaysUK

and also a new range of their delicious cocktails!

Normally I would be thrilled to be invited to an event that involved alcohol! 

(not that im a drunk...) 

This month however my inner philanthropist has came out and I am participating in Sober October for Macmillan. So really this event couldn't have came at a worse time! 

I tweeted TGI beforehand to explain my predicament and they assured me that their lovely bartenders could mix me up some delicious mocktails or smoothies! which was really nice of them! 

I arranged to meet up with the lovely Melissa from Stylish Kids

for dinner before the event 

we went to Zizi's in Royal Exchange Square 

I've not been to this branch before and I was seriously impressed 

image from Zizi website 

It's in such a beautiful building 

and I was greeted with the worlds biggest pizza which was sooo good! 

I also noticed some 'skinny pizzas' on the menu if you are watching the lbs

which clearly I wasnt...

When we arrived at TGIs we were given our pick of some delicious drinks

I had the non alcoholic Strawberry Fields which tasted like a daiquiri 

and Melissa had a drink with Vodka and Amaretto which looked really lovely 

Us bloggers were sectioned off in our own little area to enjoy the fun activities that had been laid on 

There were some amazingly talented artists there, showcasing their talented with some cocktail themed masterpieces 

We could have a go at being artistic ourselves by painting our own shopping bags 

Mine was actually embarrassingly bad so I won't share it with you! 

You could also have your nails painted 

However mine were in such a shocking state that I couldn't bring myself to go over and get them done 

(Bad beauty blogger!!)

I had such a fab night and got to catch up with some lovely bloggy friends that I hadn't seen in such a long time! 

This little collage was on the TGI Facebook

Do you recognise any bloggers you know?

What's your favourite TGI cocktail?

I think mine would have to be the Pornstar Martini!! 

Jen xx

FOTD - Summer Coral Makeup

Hi Guys :) 

Sorry for the lack of posts recently but I've been really unwell and have been in hospital 

Booo :(

I'm still not feeling great but I have my cousins wedding on Sunday and I have a gorgeous coral and nude outfit to wear so I thought I would try out a nice summery coral makeup look and share it with you!

All day weddings can be quite difficult as you want to look natural enough for daytime 

but still look dressed up for the evening reception

I always make sure I take a big enough bag to carry my makeup in for touch ups throughout the day

The most important thing about wedding makeup is that it has to last a LONG time 

So a good primer and setting powders are essential to keep you looking fresh all day and night 

Face Base

Bare Minerals - Prime Time 

Rimmell Wake Me Up Foundation - Soft Beige 

Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer 

MUA Matte Perfect Loose Powder 

Contour/Highlight

Nars Laguna Bronzer

17 Metallic Cream Highlight

MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter 

Blush

Fashionista - Amber Glow 

Eyes

Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes

(Brown shadow used for eyebrows)

Lid Colour - NYX coral shade from Every Color Imaginable Pallete 

Inner Corner - No 7 Baked Eyeshadow

& Pixi Glow Fairy Dust 

Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express Mascara 

Lips

NYC - Peach Fizz Lipstick 

Benefit Sugarbomb Lipgloss 

I will almost definitely add a pair of Eyelure falsies for the evening reception

 as my eyes feel naked without them!

I think this is a really nice summery look for any occasion 

I will do an OOTD post with my full outfit including my beautiful fascinator on Monday!

I really can't decide what to do with my hair though! 

Any suggestions?

Ciao Jen 

xxx

T in the Park 2013 - Festival OOTD

Hello lovelies! 

So I am currently writing this from my bed where I have been lying all day trying to recover from what was an absolutely amazing day yesterday at T in the Park.

I thought I would share my experience with you 

and show you some of the outfits that my friends and I were wearing!

We all have quite different styles so hopefully you can take some inspiration for your own festival looks! 

Now I am speaking from experience when I say that usually at TITP we are up to our eyeballs in mud 

So it was very strange that the sun was shining for us! 

I still wasn't brave enough to go without wellies though! 

Dress - Blonde & Blonde @ BANK

Wellies & Socks - Primark

Bracelets - Internacionale 

Earrings & Sunglasses - Primark 

Flower Hair Clips - New Look 

The nice weather held up all day

and unusually for T there was no mud *yeaah*

so about half way through the day I changed into my pink sneaks and ditched the wellies 

Now for my lovely friends outfits

 (Left to Right)

Kirsty wears:

Skull Dress - H&M

Belt - Aqua by Aqua

Black Flatforms (Unseen) - Primark 

Erin wears:

Lime green dress - Topshop 

Flower headband - Topshop 

White Air Force Ones - Nike 

Jen wears:

Playsuit - River Island 

Headband - Accessorize 

White trainers - Primark 

Here's a few more snaps from our day 

*Getting creative with some neon facepaint from Ebay*

*Two Door Cinema Club*

We had such an amazing day! 

I will definitely be back next year 

My two favourite acts were The Killers who were absolutely outstanding 

Brandon Flowers is so gorgeous <3

and Labrinth who had The King Tuts Tent jumping! 

One of my favourite bloggers Kayleigh from Couture Girl was there and I had my eyes peeled for her all day but didn't see her :( 

Have you been to any festivals this year?

Or are you heading to any soon?

Jen <3 

My Bare Minerals Experience Part 1

Bare Minerals is a brand I was always aware of, but as a full coverage fan, mineral makeup was never something I had really thought about for myself!

I do love experimenting and trying new things with my makeup though so when I was invited to Bare Minerals Glasgow boutique I was really excited to see if they could convert me!

Before I get onto the products let me tell you about the shop.

It was absolutely gorgeous! 

The cosmetics department in Fraser's is literally my favourite place in the world but sometimes it can be a bit cramped sitting in a small section of a department store.

Visiting this boutique was a really different experience. The shop is bright and airy and you and your designated Beauty Ambassador have your own section of the shop where you can sit back, relax and enjoy your experience.

When I went in I was greeted by Paula 

Who was absolutely lovely and obviously has a real passion for the brand

I always feel that it makes such a difference when staff are genuinely passionate and knowledgeable about the brand they are working for and I got that vibe from Paula throughout my visit.

The only Bare Minerals product I had any real awareness of is the original mineral foundation.

As Paula explained to me this is most definitely still their most popular product but they have come a long way since bringing it out and they have tonnes of other products that I didn't have a clue about!

The first part of my makeover was skincare

This Purifying Facial Cleanser (£15) was one of my favourite products of the whole day

The ingredients read like a salad. It contains Avocado, Pineapple & Kiwi! 

It smells absolutely amazing, and left my skin feeling really hydrated.

One of the amazing benefits is that it speeds up cell renewal which can make a real difference as we get older.

Next up was the Nourishing Moisturiser (£27) and the Renew & Hyrdrate Eye Cream (£23)

I don't have a very good relationship with eye creams, I suffer really badly with allergies and my eye area in particular is very sensitive, I quite often get irritation with eye creams but this one didn't cause me any problems at all which was great.

I am a big fan of serums and the Active Cell Renewal Night Serum (£38)  is another promising looking product. The last skincare product to be used was a primer (£21) I am very much a take it or leave it person when it comes to primers but it did feel really nice when being applied.

Then it was time for makeup

Face

I got to try out the new Ready Solid Foundation (£25 also available in starter kit £50)

Although it promises to be a medium to full coverage foundation I have to admit I was a little bit dubious

Like I said, I am a full coverage girl and never stray far from liquid foundations so I never really thought that this would give me a finish I would be happy with.

I was colour matched to R250

Using a Retractable Precision Brush (£19) - which by the way felt AMAZING

Paula applied the foundation to one half of my face then let me do the other half myself so I could see how buildable it was.

I can honestly say I was so impressed with this it gave me a gorgeous natural finish but I still felt extremely comfortable.

The Stroke of Light Concealer (£22) in Number two was then applied to get rid of my under eye circles.

We then used the Original Mineral Veil  finishing powder and the Warmth All Over Face Colour

(both of which come in the starter kit)

Eyes

For some reason I was expecting that mineral eyeshadows would be quite dull and not very pigmented, but the range of colours was absolutely gorgeous. However I had some shopping to do after my visit to the boutique so I didn't want anything too daring so I asked Paula to give me a nice neutral look.

The Epiphany Eye Duo (£19)

and here was the look she came up with

*Please excuse my mismatched eyebrows, we never pencilled one of them back in lol*

These colours are gorgeous and the staying power was amazing 

She finished it off with Flawless Definition Mascara (£16)

Cheeks & Lips

The blush used on me was also part of the Ready range and is called The Secrets Out (£22)

I wish you could buy this as a palette but unfortunately this is just for store use

I really liked the colour range and could definitely see myself using these blushes in the future

 This was definitely one of my favourite products 

and I honestly would never have thought to go to Bare Minerals looking for a lip product

These really remind me of the much raved/blogged about Rimmel Apocolips

They are more of a lip laquer than a gloss

This one is in the shade Confidence which is a Pink Berry colour

Pretty Amazing Lipcolor (£15)

The finished look

Unfortunately I couldn't take a selfie until at least 4 hours after my makeup had been applied so the lip colour had faded (and my eyebrow still looks weird lol) but I was really pleased with the outcome

It has proven to me that I shouldn't automatically rule products/brands out without at least trying them first

and that just because a product is mineral doesn't mean it's not going to give me any coverage.

I got to see so much at the boutique that I have decided to split this post into two

The next post will include some really amazing new products that I got an exclusive look at! 

So be sure to check back for that soon!

Have you tried Bare Minerals?

What do you think of mineral makeup?

Jen <3

Benefit - Sugarlicious

Happy Sunday y'all!

So I've not spoke about a Benefit product on the blog for a while now 

probably since I bought Hervana last Summer!

but I do like Benefit as a brand

They always have really cute and quirky packaging 

and I love these little sets!
I received this one from Santa but am really just getting around to using it!

(So little time..SOOO MUCH MAKEUP!!)

So in this gorgeous little kit we have

1. A sample size of bene tint

2. Sugarbomb blush

& brush 

(I NEVER use these brushes, I have like a pile of them in my room. do you guys?)

3. A sample size of high beam 

4. A Sugarbomb lipgloss 

It also has a really handy little tips and tricks booklet 

for those who need a little helping hand with how to use the products

Apart from the lipgloss these are all products I have used before and know I like!

This would be a great gift for people just being introduced to the brand that want to try out a few different products without having to splurge on a full size right away! 

These boxed sets come in at £24.50

and are available in 3 different types 

Sugarlicious

Feelin Dandy 

& Go Tropicoral

I'd really like to try out the others as I haven't used as many of the products included in them! 

I'll definitely be using this more as the weather gets nicer!
Roll on Spring/Summer! 

What's your favourite Benefit product?

Have you tried this or any of the other boxed beauty kits?

Jen <3 

My MUA Lipstick Collection

So my MUA collection seems to have expanded without me really noticing 

and I now have 6 gorgeous colours from the range! 

MUA lipsticks for those of you that don't know 

(HELLO WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!)

are available at Superdrug and are only £1 

which is amazing because you can treat yourself to a few at a time 

without feeling too bad about spending your hard earned pennies 

There is something soooo satisfying about seeing lots of lipsticks of the same brand lined up like this

or is that just me...

Anyway here they are in all their glory <3

Some are more loved than others as you can see 

but I really do love them all 

*In order as seen in previous photos*

Obviously at a £1 a lippy

MUA couldn't afford to pay someone to come up with witty names for the colours

They all have great pigment

I prefer some shades to others as a few of them can be quite drying 

Shade 4 is probably my favourite its a really glossy light pink and it's so moisturising!

Shade 14 was definitely a staple in my holiday makeup bag last year

while shade 2 has seen me through winter, and I have already purchased my backup 

*Shade 1*

Have you tried any of the MUA Lipsticks?

What's your favourite shade?

Jen <3

The Scottish Wedding Show

On Saturday I attended The Scottish Wedding Show

In the SECC (Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre)

I'm going to be a bridesmaid for my friend Cheryl next year 

and we went to get some ideas for her big day! 

I'm furious with myself for forgetting my camera 

but I did have my trusty iphone

So I managed to get some snaps to share with you 

As soon as I saw this sign I got excited! 

The Beauty zone was full of hair stylists and makeup artists offering beauty treatments to all the brides to be.

I spotted products from MAC, NARS, Fake Bake & Dermalogica 

You were given a £5 off voucher for beauty treatments along with your ticket to the show.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to use mine though! 

Some of the most stunning things at the show were the cakes! 

How perfect would this be for a couple that got engaged in Paris <3 

The attention to detail in these were amazing!

We got to sample so many delicious cakes as well

My favourite was a gorgeous lemon and poppyseed cake YUMM!

I'm not big on traditional weddings and have never really pictured myself as a bride 

but I actually found my perfect cake

If you read my 25 Random Facts About Me TAG

Then you will know that I have a swallow tattoo 

I absolutely love them and when I seen this cake I fell in love

(I even sent a photo to Craig...Think it might have scared him slightly lol)

Probably the only fashion show I'll ever get front row at! 

We actually went to the fashion show to get ideas for bridesmaid dresses because Cheryl already has her wedding dress, but for some reason there was none which was a bit disappointing

but it was worth going to just for the male models! lol 

I got told off for taking photos during the show though so I had to put my phone away

This was a really fun car for a less traditional wedding

very patriotic! 

The blushing bride and her favourite car!

Cheryl channelling Victoria Beckham 

Sherbert Flying Saucer Tree!!

I was so tempted to just buy this for myself

We all had a great day at the show and definitely came away with some great ideas for the wedding! 

Are any of you planning a wedding just now?

I'm not sure what kind of wedding I would like but it certainly got me thinking 

Jen <3