Massive Winter Beauty Haul - Beauty and Skin Care

Yayy, I have done some shopping! 

I kind of went a liiitle overboard- but in my defence, these were not all bought in one day. I was in great need of a lot of beauty and make-up items and so over the past 2 weeks or so, I seem to have accumulated a pretty big stash! Seeing that I have had quite a few of these for a couple of weeks now, I have tried most of them, so I will give you a little run-down on how I'm finding them and so on... :)

So here it goes!

I am splitting this haul into 2 posts, one for beauty and skin care products, and the other for make-up, because I don't want one extremely long post, I would rather have two shorter ones. 

BEAUTY: 

THE BODY SHOP- HONEYMANIA BODY BUTTER
If you read my blog regularly, you'll know how much I LOVE this scent from the Body Shop! It is quite new, and is my ultimate favourite! I had recently finished my shower gel and exfoliator that I got for Christmas in this same Honeymania range, and so I knew it was about time I went back for more! I have been absolutely loving this! It is just a run-of-the-mill Body Shop body butter, but the smell is just so so amazing!! Definitely worth a sniff next time you're there! 

TRES EMME- INSTANT REFRESH: RADIANCE DRY SHAMPOO
I am a big dry shampoo fan- particularly because I straighten my hair a lot! This one is my favourite of all brands because it is the only one, I've found, that actually stops my hair from feeling and looking greasy- which is essentially what you want from a dry shampoo, right!? It smells like apples and with a quick comb through after, it doesn't leave behind any white specs or anything! I'm onto my fourth or fifth can of this since I started using it last year sometime, and I've stuck with it because it really is the best one I've found. 

NIVEA: DAILY ESSENTIALS- REFRESHING TONER (NORMAL & COMBINATION SKIN)
I have been so impressed in general with the Nivea Daily Essentials range! Nivea isn't specifically renowned for amazing skin products.... what I mean by that is that when someone talks about amazing face washes/exfoliators/toners/make-up removers/moisturisers, and so on, Nivea isn't a brand that comes up often. But currently, I would highly recommend this Nivea range to anyone looking for quality skin care products that are affordable. I love this toner- it's light and gentle on my skin, and always leaves my skin feeling refreshed! I have used one bottle of the same type before this, but by mistake bought the toner for dry skin, and when I went back to buy more, I saw that this (normal/combination) one is the one I should be using. I really like this, so definitely give it a try if you're looking for a new, fairly cheap toner!

CLICKS: SKIN ESSENTIALS- 3-IN-1 FACIAL WIPES
(Sorry my picture is a bit blurry) 
These are nothing too special, but I just feel like everyone needs these in their bathroom to wipe off  a night of make-up quickly... I often use these if I'm having a super lazy night and can't be bothered to do anymore than just wipe off my make-up with one of these and then use a moisturiser. They have a toner, cleanser and make-up remover all in one, and so they do a good job at just clearing my face quickly. Clicks is a South African drug store type shop, so I don't think you could get these anywhere else but here, but like I said, they are nothing too amazing, just a staple I think everyone should have :) 

DERMALOGICA- CLEAR START BREAKOUT CLEARING: DAYTIME TREATMENT
For such a long name, this is essentially just a good moisturiser. I don't know if Dermalogica is an available or well-known brand overseas, so depending, you may not be able to get your hands on this brand, but I do know that it is Australian (I think). I wasn't enjoying my Yardley London moisturiser that I had, and so made a transition to this, and in fact, have pretty much decided to use this brand for all my face products because it is so good. I think what I like the most is that all the products are very gentle on one's skin- and my skin needs products like that because it tends to get irritated by products quite easily and is very sensitive. There is also SPF in this, and it always leaves me feeling fresh-faced. It is a bit on the pricey side (my mom bought it for me :P ) but worth it if you can!

I also bought the 'Dermalogica Clear Start Cleaning Face Wash' (which is also very good) but didn't take a picture because it I have been using it for a while now and it was wet in my shower and a bit empty and so on....

My mom also bought me little sample sachets of other Dermalogica skin products that I have been using (sparingly, but still). 

DERMALOGICA- CLEAR START BREAKOUT CLEARING: PORE CONTROL SCRUB

(the green sachets)

This is their exfoliator in the range, and I have really liked it. Obviously these are small little samples, so could only get about 4 uses from the sachets I have, but I did enjoy it, and might well go back (when I make some moola) and buy a proper sized tube of it. 

DERMALOGICA- CLEAR START BREAKOUT CLEARING: EMERGENCY SPOT TREATMENT
(the red sachets)
I highly highly recommend this to any one whose skin can occasionally just stop co-operating completely. I, generally speaking, have never had really really problematic skin, but of course, like all of us, my skin has its good and bad days. About 2 weeks ago, my skin seemed to have a bit of a meltdown and I was doing everything I could to kind of just treat it kindly and get it back to normal. So I got some of these sachets of this spot-fix serum type stuff. It is SO good! It is alcohol based, so really kills any bacteria you may have around little blemishes and within about 4 days of using it, my skin was pretty much completely clear. I definitely want to go buy the large version of this!

TIP TOP NAIL VARNISH- SHADE 974: "IN THE NAVY"

Tip Top is a South African brand of nail polish, and it is one of the two brands I actually like buying. I really hate using polishes that chip within a few days, or require loads of layers just to get the colour properly but Tip Top is super good, in that 2 layers will do, and generally I can go a week or so until I need to redo it or take it off. It is winter here and so I have been wanting a dark colour, and decided I wanted a navy blue colour. I found this one and it is exactly what I wanted. It is pretty dark, but you can see it is blue not black, and it is just very nice, I have been liking it a lot. 

ESSIE NAIL POLISH: SHADE 10- BLANC
ESSIE NAIL POLISH: SHADE 686- CUTE AS A BUTTON
I ordered these two online, and am so happy I did, because I am such an Essie fan! Let me start with Cute as a Button- the pinky-corally one: I ordered this wanting a coral colour and so was quite disappointed when I saw it, because it is a lot more pink than the sample shade looked (never trust the Essie thumbnail samples- I say this with experience haha). Buut it has since grown on me a bit- when you paint it, is does look a bit more coral than it does in the bottle, and I've decided that it will look really nice on my toes in summer, not too sure about my hands yet, but we'll see. 

The second one, Blanc, is one that I am loving!! I have wanted to try white polish for a long time because I have seen a lot of girls do it recently, and I really like the way it looks, not to mention that it goes with everything you wear :) Blanc was one of their very very first colours they ever made and even thought they have since made quite a few other whites, I wanted this one because it is the original one and is very crisp and clear, and doesn't have shades of anything else in it! 

Both of these don't chip for at least a week, usually more, and I only need 2 layers to have the colour perfectly pigmented. Also, they don't come out streaky and yeah, they are really good quality. 

LUSH- MELTING MARSHMALLOW BATH MELT
I have used this one once before, and so thought it was about time I tried it again because it just smells too delicious. Its a Lush classic I'd say, because it's always there, and not part of any special range or anything, but sometimes simple is best. As you could guess, it smells like marshmallow, but not so hectically that it is overwhelmingly sweet. Being a bath melt, you just pop the whole thing is your bath and it melts into the water, with all its delicious smelling goodness and I promise you, my skin felt so soft afterwards! I love this one, and I think sometimes a bath melt is best if you just want something plain and simple that smells delicious and is good for your skin too. 

LUSH- SAKURA BATH BALLISTIC
This is one of the new products for the Spring/Summer range (at least it's new here in SA, it may not be elsewhere). It smells like cherry blossom, which is a scent of theirs I hadn't smelt before. I've not yet used it, but from the look of the colours and the popping candy stuff on the outside, it looks pretty exciting! 

MARC JACOBS PERFUME- DAISY (EAU SO FRESH) 
I have been wanting this Marc Jacobs fragrance for a long time now, but it is so bloody expensive that I haven't been able to. So of course, it was the first thing I asked for when my mom asked me what I'd like from her trip to Ireland. I am so happy with this! I love the scent, is is floral (say what, a perfume called Daisy smells floral haha) and quite sweet, but not so much so that is smells childish or anything, so yeah, I'm super happy with the scent. So far, it also doesn't give me allergies, which is my main priority when buying perfumes because my nose is very sensitive to smells and fragrances and stuff. I also love the bottle, and there is a lot of perfume in there, so I think it will last a long time! 

So that's it for beauty and skin care stuff, if you want, go check out the second part of this haul which is some of the make-up I picked up :) 

Blog Revamp

You may (or may not) have noticed that a few weeks ago I kind of did a bit of a blog revamp. The reason why was because when I made this blog last year, I actually knew very little about how it all works and the different formats and all that, and in my year of blogging I have learnt so much in terms of formatting, layout, editing and just a whole lot more about this sort of stuff in general! I thoroughly enjoy my blog and in general, even if not a single person read it, it is really something that I like doing :) 

In redoing bits and bobs on this blog and changing the look slightly, I feel like I have finally got it to look that way I have pretty much wanted it to from the start- obviously there are a few other things (as there always are), but I kind of feel like it now represents me and who I am. The last thing I have been thinking of changing is quite a big one- the name. I read somewhere that you should never change your blog's name, as you may lose followers who no longer recognise it, and that in general, it's not the best of ideas.

Buuut, I'm planning on doing it anyway, I think... I may change my mind, but for now I feel like I do want to. I called my blog Fairydust on my Fingertips because I liked the idea of it being a space where I could discuss and chat about the best that life has to offer. Things like travel and beauty and baking and lifestyle- and my thoughts behind the name were that those things are like fairydust in the grasp of my hands- hence, 'on my fingertips'. 

Now, even though I do still like the name, I feel like it sounds slightly childish and maybe doesn't represent enough of 'me' in the name, so I think that in the near future, you may get another post with my new blog name- nothing else will change though!

I also realise that in changing it- I won't be having detrimental damage on this 'following' because I don't know if there is one, but I don't necessarily think so... and who knows- maybe a name change may be what I need to get more people to read and enjoy my blog... I think that even thought this blog is a hobby for myself, obviously, it is very exciting to be able to share it with other people and see others enjoying the things you write about, or copying a recipe, or even just buying a mascara I recommend, or whatever it is...

I have not shared this blog with more than about 3 people I know- I don't know why, seems a bit silly- I do realise- but I kind of feel like it is fairly personal, and so basically I haven't quite got the guts yet to post my posts on facebook or tweet about them or anything because I guess I am just a bit scared of judgement and whatever else sharing this with everyone I know might do... but then again, who knows, maybe I will share it soon? If you are a blogger, I am always looking for new blogs to read, so please, leave me a comment on any post and I would love to check out any of your blogs and follow them!

I have also just signed up to this site called Bloglovin which allows you to read blogs on there, so you can sign up and read this one up there, or just read loads of others from around the world. 

You can check mine out here- if you'd like: 
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https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12515931

Lots of love

Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies

The holidays bring on endless baking opportunities, and I kind of took it a bit overboard considering I literally hadn't baked in about 4 months! So among some of the thing I baked were these Snickerdoodle cookies, which were so delicious and easy that I had to share them with you (side note: I'm do realise how long it's been since I last posted! I did a bit of a blog revamp and changed the look a bit- but haven't posted for ages- so apologies haha)


Okay back to baking- so yeah, I didn't know this before (I think it's an American thing??), but snickerdoodles are pretty much like cinnamon biscuits/cookies. I am such a cinnamon fan, so I had to make these- and I sandwiched them with vanilla buttercream in the middle because it makes them even more delicious and without it, I found them a bit too crunchy and hard, the icing softens them a little. 


So yeah, here they are- I take no credit for the recipe- I got it off Fine Cooking's website- but here are my renditions.


INGREDIENTS:

You will need:

For cookies: 

         1 tsp. Bicarb (baking soda)

         Pinch table salt

         2 tsp. cream of tartar

         2-2/3 cups ordinary flour

         1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

         2 cups sugar

         2 large eggs

         3 Tbs. ground cinnamon

       For butter cream:

      1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar

      125g softened butter

      2 teaspoons vanilla essence

      1 vanilla pod

WHAT TO DO: 

Start by setting the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 Fahrenheit

In a large mixing bowl, put in your softened (not melted) butter and 1 and 1/2 cups of the sugar. Beat them on high with an electric whisk until the mixture looks quite bitty. 


Now add the 2 eggs and whisk again on medium speed until the batter is creamy and smooth looking. 


Next, we mix the dry ingredients. So into a separate bowl/mixing jug type thing sieve in the flour, bicarb, cream of tartar, salt and 1T of the cinnamon. 

To make the cookie dough, you must now gradually add in the flour mixture, a couple of tablespoons at a time, into the sugar/butter/egg mixture. So start by adding a little and then using the electric beater to combine it.

Continue doing this, gradually adding the flour mix, and a thick dough will start to form. 

Once pretty much all the flour has been added, you'll find that the dough is too thick to continue using the beater. So just switch to using your hands to combine the last of the flour and form a ball of your cookie dough. 


Now, in a separate, small bowl, mix the remaining 2T of the cinnamon and the the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar- to basically form cinnamon sugar (the measurements aren't important here, just make cinnamon sugar like you would for pancakes and you can add more or less cinnamon depending on what you like). Form little round balls of cookie dough and dunk them in the cinnamon sugar, ensuring they are very thoroughly covered in it. 


Continue this until all the dough is used. Place your cookies on a greased (or use a Silpad) baking tray. No need to press down the biscuits with a fork- they flatten themselves. Don't make the balls too big cause they grow a lot. Also, don't put them too close to each other on the tray. 


Cook them for 12-20 mins (depending on your oven), but start checking from 12 mins because they turn and burn quite suddenly. They will be golden but not dark dark yet when they are done. 


To make the vanilla butter cream to sandwich them, sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl and cream in 125g of softened butter. Add the vanilla essence and the seeds from a vanilla pod too (optional). Now sandwich the cookies. Take 2 evenly sized biscuits and sandwich them using the icing so that they look like this:

And tahdah, that's it! They are so easy, and super good, so I hope your enjoy them! 




Boy Bands

So recently I have just found so many great boy bands that are all new and upcoming and are doing great stuff! I just wanted to share a few of them with you guys because they are all so great, and have barely started their careers, so I know great things are still to come! Have a listen!

THE VAMPS

So I have just just discovered this group, and have already downloaded their entire album and am completely obsessed. They are one of those groups where every song just makes me feel happy and like joining in, and practically every track on the album is amazing! They are also super young, I think they range between 17 and 20 or something like that, which is crazy! They are British and quite newly formed. Do yourself a favour and listen, they are amazing! You may know 'Can We Dance' as it is like their most well-known one I think, but these are a few of my favs (although I kinda love them all)....

1) LAST NIGHT

I think this is my like ultimate absolute favourite of theirs, just so great, have a listen. I feel like their style is a mash up of 1D and mcfly type style!

2) OH CECELIA

I love this, such a catchy little tune. Very easy listening and very chilled and like weird cool sort of thing... BUT I have discovered that they kind of covered/remade this song which was originally by Simon and Garfunkel and the original is much better and kind of put a damped on this one for me. 

3) HIGH HOPES

Another cute little one...my personal favourite!

4) WILD HEART

5) SOMEBODY TO YOU

(ft. Demi Lovato)

This is so so great! I really like Demi with them as well!

I am so in love with these guys, so if you like them, do check out their other stuff!

EMBLEM3

They are a group of 3 (say what) American guys, ages 17-21 type range I think, and I knew about them because I watched them place fourth in the second season of American X-Factor (which can we quickly acknowledge was not renewed for a fourth season which make me VERY sad). So, they released their first single, 'Chloe' ages ago, which was great, but they have just released some new stuff and I think the rest of their album is on the way!

1) 3000 MILES

This is their second single and I really like it! Quite different to their usual style but super nice and very chilled.

2) ONE DAY (COVER)

This is actually a cover but is very much their style, kinda reggae, and I love this version (even more than the original actually), so yeah, great stuff!

5 SECONDS OF SUMMER

Very similar profile to the others, same age group, young and upcoming. They are Australian, and slightly more well-known cause they have been touring with 1D as their opening act on their current tour!

1) SHE LOOKS SO PERFECT

This is definitely my favourite of theirs! Kind of reminds me of a mash of 1D and imagine dragons? Super good song and very catchy!

2) HEARTBREAK GIRL

Also another good one of theirs!

3) DON'T STOP

Another of my favs.... so upbeat and cheerful, I can't help but pick up a hair brush and sing along!

HOT CHELLE RAE

Wasn't sure if I should include these guys cause they aren't quite as new and have been hot on the charts for a while, but they are so good that I couldn't leave them off, and they are recently releasing some new, cool stuff!

1) HONESTLY

Like I said, not new, but still pretty good! I only know "Tonight Tonight" and "I Like it Like That" by them, which are both great, but these ones I'm posted are ones I only discovered quite recently...

2) HUNG UP

This is one of my favourites!!

3) RECKLESSLY

I love this too! They are all just so good, and in true style of pop, very happy and upbeat!

Hope you enjoy, I certainly am!!