Winter Favourites 2014

So I have been meaning to do a favourites post for probably the past couple of months, as there has just been so much I have been loving in June, July and now August too! So instead of choosing one month, I thought I'd pile them all into my winter favs, seeing as it's been winter here for the past couple of months anyway (disclaimer: if you haven't figured, I live in the Southern Hemisphere, so it's winter here from June- August). 

So here it goes:

BEAUTY FAVOURITES:

DAISY EUA SO FRESH- MARC JACOBS
When I put this in my last haul video, I had just gotten it after wanting it for ages, and I have just been loving it for the past couple of months I've had it. I just think its the prettiest scent and is sweet and fresh and I'm just really enjoying it!

LIP HEMP CONDITIONER- THE BODY SHOP

I have mentioned this on my blog before and it is not a new product to me, but this winter I have been specifically loving this lip treatment as my lips have been so dry and chapped, and this is, from what I've found, by far the best stuff for the job!

TRESEMME HEAT DEFENCE STYLING SPRAY
I use heat on my hair quite frequently, and must admit I am quite slack with heat protection, especially cause the one I was previously using was expensive, so I always got my mom to buy it for me (hehe), but I haven't been using one for pretty much this whole year, and thought enough is enough, so decided to buy one. This Tresemme one is not expensive at all (about R70 I think) and is just amazing! Firstly, it smells super delicious (kind of like apples almost), but the way it works, I can already see my hair looking healthier. Also, when I finish straightening my hair after using this all over, my hair feels so much softer! It is also a styling spray, so I have also occasionally used it just to get rid of a bit of frizz or to tease/volumise my hair a bit, so it works in both ways!

ESSIE 
There have been two Essie nail polishes I have been loving! The first is in the shade 10 and is called 'Blanc'. I would definitely say this is my winter favourite overall. I just really have started loving wearing white nail polish, and it goes with everything! So yeah, I wore this a LOT these holidays. 
The second shade I have only just got recently, but wanted to put it in because I have already fallen for it! It's called "Borrowed and Blue' (shade 746). This is literally the prettiest really light baby blue colour and I just think it is so cute!
Not to mention of top of these beautiful colours, the polish is great quality and lasts for a long time! 

MAKE-UP FAVOURITES:
BOURJOIS BRONZER
Bourjois only produce this one type of bronzer (like it comes in one shade, etc.) but I have heard great things about it for song long that I had to get it. Its reasonably priced for what you're getting and is just a really nice golden colour with a tint of shimmer in as well. I just have been loving it a million times more than my old bronzer, and am so happy with it! It is also in a really cute little box that closes magnetically, and the powder is pressed to look like chocolate blocks, and it kind of smells like that too, which is delicious... so yeah, this is a bronzer I've been so happy with, it's super pigmented and so a little goes a long way!

LIPSTICKS BY ESTEE LAUDER
I don't own much Estee Lauder because it is very expensive stuff, but I have come across these two lipsticks in the past few months and am just loving both so much!
The first is
Estee Lauder Crystal Lipstick Pure Colour Creme- in the shade 01, Crystal Baby. This is so beautiful, it is a natural berry pink sort of colour and because it is a "creme lipstick" it is super moisturising and smooth on the lips which makes it  look super natural and just feel a lot nicer, it also means you can still wear it if your lips are chapped, without the lipstick coming out gross and clumpy. I am usually a fan of matte lipsticks, but I actually love the shimmer in this one, maybe because it is so glossy and creamy, but yeah it just looks super pretty on, and I like that it is a similar pink to your lips, so it is a nice everyday type of lipstick and is not too bold. 

The second one I've been really loving is the Estee Lauder Signature Hydar Lustre Lipstick in the shade 'Venetian Rose' (09). This one is actually fairly similar to the previous one, but the colour is a bit more of a coral pink than a berry pink. It is very natural, and when you have it on, it kind of just exentuates your natural lip colour with lots of pigmenting, so it just looks very pretty. It has a few sparkly glints, but is a bit more matte than the other one. 

THE BODY SHOP ALL-IN-ONE BB CREAM: COLOUR ADAPTING TINTED CREAM (SHADE 02)
I really like this BB cream. It comes out of the tube white with little speckles and then you mix it with a brushfor a few seconds and it adapts to your skin colour! I have been wearing my BB cream a lot more than base recently, cause I think it's important to let my skin "breath" a bit and not constantly be covered in a thick layer of base. This leaves my skin feeling so fresh and soft and the actual cream smells delicious.

GENERAL FAVOURITES:
Okay so now onto some non-beauty related favourites. I actually have loads of these, probably because we had such a long holiday in June/July, so there was plenty of time to watch movies, download good music and do exciting new things. 

MUSIC:
I have two artists that I have recently become obsessed with!

1) JULIA CHURCH
This girl is phenomenal and is definitely going far! She is 17 and is from South Africa, so is still in school and doesn't have anything on iTunes or anything yet, but do yourself a favour and go take a listen to her SoundCloud. She does the most beautiful covers of Riptide , Oblivion, Mountain Sound (those are my favs) and just so many more, so go have a listen! You can also download her stuff to iTunes from her SoundCloud if you like her!

2) VAMPIRE WEEKEND
This is not a band that's new to me, I have always loved them, but recently, I have downloaded some of their stuff and have just been really into them. I would say their music is kind of indie rock, electronic and alternative, a little bit like Shortstraw ish. Some of my favourites are Oxford Comma, Kids Don't Stand a Chance, Holiday, Unbelievers and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. 

TV SERIES: 
It will be no surprise to you that I obviously have started watching even more series'! There were two that I really got into this winter!

1) ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
I hadn't heard of this before until a friend swore by it and said it was literally like her favourite show, so I had to give it a try, and of course the bug has bitten me! It has Taylor Shilling as the main character, and I really like her, and the show is just unlike anything I've seen before in a TV series and has such a good plot, definitely check it out! 

2) HOUSE
It has taken me eight full seasons and the actual finishing of the show to start this, but doing medicine and all, I knew I would love it, so have decided to watch it! I finished the first season in about 2 weeks and am now onto the second one already! I just love it, I find it super interesting, and just really really good!

MOVIES:
DIVERGENT
I actually watched this a while ago, but had to include it cause I thought it was incredible. I am obsessed with the two main characters, and I hadn't read the book, so didn't know what to expect, but wow, I thought this was brilliant, can't wait for the next one! I have a new crush on Theo James (oh my goodness) and am very excited that it's a trilogy, I can't wait to see what the others are like. 

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
This was such a stunning movie! I fell in love with the book, and whilst for me, a movie never quite seems to matche up to a brilliant book, this one did a pretty decent job at getting very close. Again, it has Shailene Woodley in it, and wow, it's just so well created, with some amazing acting!

MUSIC VIDEO: 
CHANDELIER- SIA
I know this is a bit odd to put into my favourites, but I cannot even tell you how many times I have watched this music video in the past few months! I love the song (even though it did actually take me a while to get into it), but this video, my goodness #@!&%@$! It is this little girl doing this amazing dance routine to the song! Her name is Maddie Ziegler and she is only 11, but is the most incredible dancer! I just think the choreography is so so cool and really artistic and just so brilliant! Check it out:

Delicious Gluten-Free Brownies

For about the past 5 months or so I've been on a gluten-free diet, not because I am resistant or anything other than I thought I'd just give it a try. I realised that it was so much easier than I imagined, especially with so many shops and restaurants becoming on board with it, and so I have kept it up, because in general my body just feels a lot "happier" now. I often felt quite bloated after large potions of wheat (gluten), and so in general, I just really feel healthier on this, and I think it's helped reduce my hayfever too weirdly enough! 

Okay, so that's why I made these gluten-free brownies. Let me start with a disclaimer: when I read of any form of baked good that is something-free (whether it be gluten, dairy, sugar, anything), I am hesitant. The idea of "healthy brownies" just contradicts the point in my mind, so let me just say, these are not healthy brownies, they are exactly normal except instead of normal wheat (gluten) flour, this uses corn flour! But anyway, I have been hooked on these because 1) I can eat them as much as I want (well not really, but you know what I mean) because they stick in my gluten-free eating plan and 2) they are actually like one of the best brownie recipes I've found!

So here's what you'll need:

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa
• 3 Tablespoons cornflour (maizena)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 130g of dark (or milk) chocolate
• 100g white chocolate
• Pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons of butter

Start by melting the butter and sugar together in a pot, I tend to use a double boiler so when the chocolate is added, it doesn't curdle.

Once the sugar is completely dissolved, add in the dark chocolate (chopped roughly) and stir on low heat until it melts. 

That mixture can be set aside to cool for a little, while you chop up the white chocolate into rough, semi-large pieces. 

So put aside the chocolate for a little while, and go back to the mixture in the pot. Check that it is not boiling hot, it can be luke-warm or so. Add in the 2 eggs and whisk them in until combined.

(note, you could transfer the mixture into a mixing bowl before this step, but I chose to just make the batter in the pot I had used)

So now, sieve in the cornflour, followed by the cocoa and combine thoroughly with a whisk (side note: corn flour is our gluten-free substitute instead of ordinary flour).

Dip your finger in the batter and check that it's barely warm at all now. If it is, let it cool as bit first. Once cool-ish, add the white chocolate chunks and mix in.

Because the mixture is quite wet (due to little dry ingredients), make sure you grease your baking tin very thoroughly! And then pop them in the oven for about 20 mins at 180 degrees Celsius (I think that's 350F), but keep an eye on them, depending on your oven's strength. 

Annd that's literally it! So quick, so easy and so delicious, promise! 

I hope you enjoy this type of baking post, give these ones a try for sure!

This picture doesn't quite do them justice, think we ate them all before I got the chance to take a proper one!

My iTunes Top 25 Most Played Playlist

I have just been getting a whole lot of new music recently (expect a different post on that very soon) but I always like to go back to songs I love but sometimes forget about. I love the Top 25 Most Played Playlist that iTunes makes for you, and in my case, it really has 25 of my most loved songs on my iTunes! So here they are; I have a very broad taste in music so it's a mix of everything, but enjoyy, I love all of these so much!

1) 'EVERYBODY'S GOT SOMEBODY BUT ME' -Hunter Hayes ft. Jason Mraz

I LOVE this song so so much! Nothing more to say than have a listen!

* Country Pop

2) 'FOREVER AND EVER, AMEN' -Randy Travis

This is possibly the cutest song in the history of all cute country songs!

* Country 

3) 'LITTLE DAVID' -James Taylor 

This is a peculiar little 1 minute song, but it's kind of jazzy/blue-sy and I just fell into complete obsession with it! 

* Folk Rock

4) 'EVERYTHING -Michael Buble

Hmm, this song is just SO lovely! I love it so much.

5) 'HEART ATTACK (CELLO COVER)' -Kevin K-O (of Pentatonix)

I am not usually a big fan for classical music/ music without words, but this amazing celloist has taken a beautiful really contemporary, modern song and done it in a classical instrument. But then, to change it up, this guy is also a brilliant beatboxer, and he does that with it, and it is just like one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've heard! I listen to it on repeat while studying!

* Classical pop (if that's a thing, probably not)

6) 'YOU AND YOUR CROWN' -Matthew Mole

I love Matthew Mole! He is a South African singer and he just writes the most beautiful little songs! This one is my ultimate favourite! 

* (Acoustic) folk

7) 'DANIEL IN THE DEN'- Bastille

This is one of Bastille's most beautiful songs ever!

* Alternative/ Folk Rock 

8) 'WIDE AWAKE'- Glee (Katy Perry cover)

Oh my gosh, I just fell in love this is amazing cover by Glee when I watched the episode... this is so pretty!

* Vocals

9) 'VIENNA'- Ariana Grande (Billy Joel cover)

I love the original, but this is a great cover of it! One of my all-time favourite songs. 

* Vocals

10) 'EET'- Regina Spektor

I used to be absolutely obsessed with this song!

* Alternative

11) 'ICARUS'- Bastille

This was one of Bastille's songs that I didn't appreciate that much when I first heard it, but it grew on me and now it's one of my favs.

* Alternative

12) 'HEY JUDE'-The Beatles

A Beatles classic, I'm not surprised that it's in my top 25!

*Rock

13) 'RICH GIRL'- Cole Vosbury (Hall and Oates cover)

I heard this on The Voice Season 5 and just absolutely loved the way this guy did it, I personally prefer it to the original which is quite something, definitely check it out!

* Soft Rock

14) 'I CHOOSE YOU'- Andy Grammer

I LOVE THIS!

* Pop  Rock

15) 'BAD BLOOD'- Bastille

Clearly I have a bit of a Bastille obsession. 

* Alternative

16) 'THROUGH THE DARK'- One Direction

This my favourite song off their new album.

* Pop

17) 'FLAWS- ACOUSTIC'- Bastille

This probably has to be my all time favourite Bastille song, particularly this acoustic version they do! 

* Alternative

18) 'ROAR'- Katy Perry

Still think this is such a great song!

* Pop

19) 'I WANT'- One Direction

This is a relatively old song of theirs that I actually haven't listened to in ages, but I used to love. 

* Pop

20) 'HIGH HOPES'- The Vamps

If you saw my recent 'Boy Bands' post, you'll know that this band are a new little obsession of mine, and this is my favourite song of theirs!

* Pop

21) 'YOU LIE'- The Band Perry

I love this band, especially this song, and I don't think enough people know it! I especially like the bridge. 

* Country

22) 'RATHER BE'- Clean Bandit

Ah, I just feel so happy when I listen to this great song!

* Electronic Pop

23) 'WHAT I WOULDN'T DO'- A Fine Frenzy

This is one of my all time fav songs!

* Indie Folk

24) 'PAPER BAG'- Fiona Apple 

This is such a stunning song, I love it. 

* Jazz(y/ Soft Rock)

25) 'MINE'- Glee (Taylor Swift cover)

This is maybe the most beautiful cover ever, I love it so much, like more than the original too! It's sung by Naya Rivera, and she just has the most stunning voice!

* Vocals

What's In My Bag- Campus Edition

This is my first "what's in my bag" post, probably because I don't tend to carry around big handbags loaded with stuff in like an everyday situation, but I do have a lot in my bag that I take to varsity everyday. I am first year (a freshman) and I tend to find that there is so much I need in my bag cause I am on campus for the whole day. Anyway, these are my favourite type of videos that YouTubers do, and so I thought I'd do a little post. I have really liked the freedom at university compared to school, because it's nice to be able to say wear make-up on campus, or have chewing gum in class, and so on. Basically, varsity loses all the pretty little rules, which is so nice! Here are my everyday campus essentials. 

Starting with my bag. It is from 'Accessorise', and I just love it! It is this dark maroon burgundy colour, with rose gold hardware and then has one long sling strap, and two normal handbag straps, so you can choose. I tend to wear it with the long strap at varsity because it is so heavy with everything in it. Inside, it has one really big separate pocket with a zip, which is super nice to keep small things or valuables, etc. Yeah, I just really like it a lot, I am so happy with the shape and colour and so on. It was expensive (in true Accessorise bags' style), but I think it was worth it because these are really good quality and is strong and big enough to hold all my books and stuff that I need everyday. 

#1= It's definitely important to have notebooks so write down lecture notes and stuff. I have these two, for Biochemistry and Xhosa, because I tend to write my stuff for my other subjects on my laptop or on exam pad and then file them later. But I use notebooks for some subjects.  

#2= My student card. We need to swipe ourselves in and out of campus everyday, so this is really not something you want to forget. We need it to enter the hospital, print, take out library books, etc. so yeah, it's an important one. 

#3= Okay this actually can come out of my bag for now, I only need it for tests, but it's been in there recently cause I just picked it up. It's a stamp with my name, surname and student number on it. This was not something I'd heard of until after school, but it's basically so that when you have tests, you just stamp each page, otherwise you have to write all your details on every single page, which can be a massive mission and takes up time, considering there are usually like 50 pages!

#4= My mac! I don't bring this everyday because it really weighs down my bag! But most days I do need it. I type up notes for my anatomy lectures, where I don't need a notebook (because there are no drawings, or whatever), and I also use it to do work on in off-periods and so on. I need my laptop for most of my work!

#5= My USB. It's always handy to have a flash stick lying around. 

#6= A little notebook/journal just for bits and bobs really. I don't do work in it, it's more for like planning/lists and stuff like that. 

#7= My purse. I actually need to buy a new one, cause mine is old and breaking, but I love it, so hanging onto it for now. I need my purse to pay for parking everyday or to buy snacks/lunch on campus sometimes. Just generally an important thing to have on me I find. 

#8= Tissues. With my killer hayfever, these are definitely a must. 

#9= My iPod. This is an iPod Classic, it is 80 gigs (!!!!) and I am so happy with it, it's trustworthy and has SO much space! It's mainly in my bag cause I plug it into my car's CD player while driving to and from varsity. 

#10= My pencil case. This is literally packed to the brim. I am a bit of a stationary horder, but yeah, for obvious reasons, I need this at varsity. 

#11= My diary. I need this to diarise important due dates, hand ins, homework, events and so on. 

Okay, so then here's what I have in the big zip-up pocket thing in the centre of the bag. 

#1= "Penningtons of Bath- Lily hand and Nail Cream" I absolutely love the smell of this! It's very fresh and soft with a slight sweetness. It's also super good for dry skin, so I like having it in my handbag. 

#2= Panado for headaches/ any other sort of pain really, just a handy thing to have on you I think. 

#3= This is a disinfectant wipe. I think it's useful to have these if you/someone hurts themselves and you want to just give it a clean and disinfect it quickly and then put a plaster over it. 

#4= This is a bit of an odd thing to have in there, but it's a mini combination lock, which I use to lock my totes and this bag when I go to gym straight after my last period. 

#5= Okay this is also a pretty weird thing to have in there, it's a make-up applicator sponge. I used to use these instead of brushes to apply my foundation/BB cream, etc., but now I like to use them to clear up bits where my mascara may have smudged, or that type of thing. The reason I have one in my varsity bag, is because I put my make-up on (if I wear that day), in the morning, but you know sometimes when you look in the mirror and it feels like all your eye make-up has melted down and given you racoon eyes, or if you rub them by mistake (this I do a LOT), I use a sponge like this to just quickly wipe it away and clear it up. 

#6= 'Zam Buk Cherry Lip Balm'... this is super good for really dry chapped lips and it smells SO DELICIOUS! 

#7= Why do I need this as well? I don't, it's just somehow found it's way in there, but it's "The Body Shop- Born Lippy in Raspberry' and it's a bit more of a gloss balm than the Zam Buk which I use to actually help my lips if they are dry. This also smells super nice. 

#8= These are little clear sticky rings to put around paper that you have punched and don't want to tear when you put it in a file. 

#9= Chewing gum. I currently like the Stimerol Mint Infinity because the taste really does last a lot longer than normal gum. 

#10= A whole bunch of hair bits and bobs. 

#11= Hand Sanitizer

#12= I like to have a spare concealer somewhere in there for bad skin days. This is "Estee Lauder double Wear COncealer'.

#13= There are a few pens rummaging in the bottom of my bag.

#14= I also like to have a spare mascara in case, this is Mayelline, The Falsies.