The Londoner's Rock Salt Roast Chicken

There's nothing I like better than a good Sunday Roast and this one from Rosie (The Londoner) is a corker! It was super easy and enjoyable to make and really freaking tasty. As a kid I used to love picking at the crispy skin while my Mum or Dad were carving up the chicken, so this recipe took me back but also reminded me of my love for crackling as the skin turns into a chicken version of crackling, and let me tell you it was such an indulgence! If I had my food processor here I would have stripped all the skin off and whizzed it up to make chicken salt to be used for all sorts! This chicken has lasted one meal on Sunday and 3 lunches for 2 people this week, which is really good for us students! 

Find the recipe and get cooking here!

CROMWELLS, SHREWSBURY.

Dinner. There is nothing I love more than food, whether that is cooking it or going out for meals. This time it was the latter and it was a corker. Charlie and I were in my hometown, Shrewsbury for New Year and his birthday is also on New Year's day, so we decided to have a nice meal out. I haven't been in Shrewsbury much for the past couple of years so didn't really know where was good, but after a few recommendations and popping in for a nosey, Cromwells looked promising. 

REVIEW: SUPERFACIALIST TEA FLOWER DEEP CLEAN PORE PURIFYING MASK

REVIEW: MUA MAKEUP

THE BOOKS: JULY EDIT

REVIEW: MAYBELLINE THE FALSIES MASCARA

Maybelline The Falsies Mascara £7.99

I bought this mascara after I'd seen Tanya Burr loving it in many of her makeup tutorials. While I like the shape of the wand and the pigment of the product, I don't really like anything else about it...

But not because it isn't good! I think it's a very good mascara, it lengthens, it volumizes it gives you big beautiful lashes..

but it gives me far too full-on, almost spidery lashes. This is rather unfortunate, because I like the product in the tube. It might be the brush, it might be the consistency of the product and it might be a combo of the two, but it doesn't get on with my lashes.

The thing about my lashes is that they are naturally VERY long already and I could probably get away with clear mascara everyday if I wanted to. Having lashes like this is nice and not-so-nice, because even if I don't want any more length I still need some assistance in separating my lashes out and giving them a bit of definition, which this mascara just isn't designed for!

Can anyone suggest a mascara for me that will separate, define and perhaps curl my lashes rather than just a lengthening/ volumizing one?

REVIEW: THIS WORKS DEEP SLEEP PILLOW TALK SET

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Talk Set £22

Hello! I originally bought this because I started having terrible trouble sleeping when the warmer weather bumbled in and brought all kinds of hay fever with it, which basically knocked me off me feet as I already suffer most of the year with it, but because our summer was delayed by the cold weather all the different kinds of pollen that would usually be released at different times hit us all at once, lovely! This meant I practically had a cold for about 2 weeks due to hayfever and this kept me up all night as I couldn't breathe properly. I have recently discovered a good tip for long, hard-suffering hay fever sufferers, which I will make a little blog post about!

The pillow spray smells like lavender and is lovely, although I don't know if it helps me to actually sleep any better! For this reason I wouldn't buy the pillow spray on its own to help me sleep. 

On the other hand, the rollerball stress less I have found very helpful! It says to roll it onto your wrists and inhale it when you are lying in bed gong to sleep. I did this at first but to be honest with you I found it a bit annoying having to keep my wrists at nose-level so opted to roller it straight under my nose instead! It just made more sense..

It can be described as a posh version of Vicks vapour rub that I was always given as a child. It smells similar but is much nicer because it isn't at all sticky and it really does the trick to help you breathe easier!

I would consider buying the rollerball again, but I think this was a one-off purchase because usually I'm a pretty deep sleeper by myself! It did come in handy when I was camping recently though and I spoke about it in this video!

Other products I would love to try from the This Works range are the Skin Deep Dry Leg Oil as I get horrendously itchy legs, especially while I'm asleep and wake up with awful scratch marks on my legs, oops! I find oils help this, though. And the In Transit Muscle Therapy as this week I am aching all over from doing a tonne of gardening and cleaning because I'm getting ready to move out of my house! 

What do you think of the brand? What is your favourite product?

REVIEW: CREST WHITESTRIPS.

Hello! I've been quite rubbish lately because I have been bouncing all over the country and going on holiday etc so blogging took a backseat but I am going to try and put that right today with a few posts to get back into the swing of things and start planning some posts to keep content regular!

Today I am reviewing the infamous Crest Whitestrips. I have heard a lot about these and have watched a few video reviews on them quite a while ago now and had always been in two minds about trying them out myself. This was mainly because in some of the reviews people had said they had quite a bit of pain and sensitivity when using these, which really put me off because I already have quite sensitive teeth and I don't want tooth pains for days, because the people said their pain lasted ages!

On the 'pro' list, however, were the actual whitening results, which were apparently amazing and long-lasting. In the end I decided to try it for myself and bought just 3 strips (each with an upper and lower strip, as pictured above) just to try it out, rather than spending a lot on more and either not using them or them not working! 

I bought them from an eBay seller who sells them as separate strips in different amounts, which is really good, especially for me as I can't get them in the shops here in the UK, I will link the seller here.

So, the result. I was actually really pleased with them, they are pretty easy to use, you put them on for just half an hour and after the 2nd time I used them I noticed a difference and definitely after the third time. I will be buying more soon to keep going as at the moment my teeth are less yellow, but not super white. I don't want my teeth to look unnaturally white so I'll stop using them once I have achieved the nice 'pearly' white look, I think 3-6 more uses should do it. 

I would recommend them if you want to whiten your teeth, but perhaps not to use them every day, because the only time I had more sensitivity than normal was when I used them two days in a row. I do think, though, that the experience will be a bit different for everyone and I have been lucky to get on well with this product! 

Have you used these or any other whitening treatments? What do you think?

REVIEW: LOOK BEAUTY MAKEUP: FOUNDATION & PRIMER

Look Beauty Airbrush Base £12

Look Beauty Perk Me Up Primer £12

Hello! Today I'm reviewing a couple of things from the Look Beauty range found in Superdrug. I shall begin with the foundation or 'Airbrush Base' as they have named it. I'm not keen on this one, especially for the £12 price tag, which is at the heftier end of drugstore/highstreet foundations. Luckily for me I made these purchases when they were in a half price sale so only paid £6. I hadn't used this one for a while as I've been loyal to my Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, but this morning I used both the primer and foundation together. The foundation didn't give me a satisfactory coverage for the current state of my skin, I've got a bit of redness on my cheeks and this didn't help to hide it and didn't give the coverage I've gotten used to lately overall for my face. The colour range isn't the best, I think there is only 4/5 shades but for me the light one matches quite well, so that is one redeeming feature! On it's own this foundation is quite matte but teamed with the primer beforehand gives a more dewy effect, although I wasn't too keen as it looked too shiny and felt a bit tacky in places. 

The primer I actually quite like, usually I'm not too fussed by primers and only own one other from MUA as I feel they all do pretty much the same job no matter what you spend. This 'Perk Me Up' while coming in a cheaper plastic packaging as opposed to the glass foundation bottle is rather nice. It gives you a similar effect as Rimmel Wake Me Up but without the shimmery trait. Although slightly scarily pink-looking it blends in really naturally and is nice to apply foundation over the top of. Overall, I wouldn't purchase either again, especially at full price, because I just think my money could be better spent elsewhere. 

Have you tried these, or any other, Look Beauty products? What is your verdict? ...I think the blushers look quite nice...

REVIEW: GOOD THINGS FACE THE DAY MOISTURISER

Good Things Face the Day SPF15 Moisturiser £7.99 

I have been using this moisturiser for a while and have been really loving it. First off, it smells amazing, so fruity but not overpowering, just really delicious! The smell lasts quite well too. The main reason that I love this moisturiser though is because of how well it does its job. I find it really difficult to describe what this moisturiser is like, but I will try my best! My skin, while it doesn't look too dry most of the time, does love to just suck up moisture so that usually I would put a moisturiser on and 10 seconds later my skin would feel as dry as it did before I put moisturiser on. My skin is greedy for moisture! However, when I rub this moisturiser into my skin it goes quite wet, it is a fairly liquid-y solution, but then absorbs really quickly. At this point any other moisturiser would cease to be on my skin and I'd feel dry again but this one sort of retains itself on the skin so that it feels dewy but not greasy and really lovely and soft. When you rub it in, it goes from thin and easy to rub in quickly to feeling thicker and almost glue-like (but not gross!) as it absorbs but retains on the skin. That is the best way I can describe it! Basically, it is a really good one if you have dry skin, it is really nice under my make up and doesn't leave me looking or feeling oily or greasy. I will definitely repurchase this one as it is the best one I have found in years to suit my skin and the price tag isn't too bad at all! I have also been using the Good Things Fresh Start Creamy Cleanser and will be doing a review of that soon. 

Let me know if this is one you have tried and if you liked it and what other moisturisers I should try based on this glowing review (pun intended)!

REVIEW: e.l.f 32pc EYESHADOW PALETTE IN 'BRIGHTS'

e.l.f 32pc Eyeshadow Palette £9 £5

The top strip of browns & golds is my go-to for everyday make up.

These grey & black ones are grey for the top lash line when you don't fancy eyeliner & I use the lighter brown to fill in eyebrows.

3 gorgeous colours on their own or blended together.

The first one to hit pan! My favourite for base all over lid colour, day or night. 

I bought this a while ago, maybe a month and a half ago, because I had a very limited eyeshadow collection that only had brown/gold colours. I wanted something with a variety of colours that wouldn't be for everyday but so that I always had the option of a quirky colour, should I need it. This palette definitely serves that purpose! While it does have a lot of great everyday colours, there are some vibrant ones for more special occasions. A lot of them are shimmery, but there are a few matte ones too, I'm not particularly more into one or the other, I tend to go through stages of loving matte eyeshadow or shimmery, currently I'm loving shimmer. The pigmentation of these shadows are really good, meaning you don't need loads of it, which is good because they are quite small. e.l.f also do this palette in 2 other colour sets, one being 'Natural' which looks really nice but they didn't have in stock when I bought mine. The only one left in stock now is 'Everyday', which isn't surprising when looking at the bargain price of just £5 reduced from £9. I paid £5 for mine and it is totally worth it and great value for money, although I don't know whether I would have bought it for £9. It is a decent size, I chuck it into my Zara Office City Bag when I'm going to stay at my boyfriend's house and it has never broken on the outside or inside. It comes with a double ended sponge applicator, which I haven't used because I just don't like them, even before I had brushes for eyeshadow I used to prefer to use a clean finger to a sponge applicator! I would recommend these palettes, assuming they are all the same quality and would buy other e.l.f eyeshadows in the hope that they are similar to these. Definitely one of the best e.l.f products I have bought and I have bought quite a few, because it is so cheap I tend to buy things from them to try out before buying similar products from more expensive brands to see if I would use it often enough/ if I like it! 

I hope this was helpful and I have been thinking of making a video about my best & worst e.l.f products as I have found that I either really love or hate their products, it can be quite hit and miss! Let me know if you would like to see that sometime in the next few weeks! 

REVIEW: ILUMI VEGETABLE & CHICKPEA JALFREZI

ILUMI vegetable and chickpea jalfrezi £2.25*

It's a foodie one today! I received this as a free sample in the post (weirdest thing I've ever had through the post? I think it might be!) and as a food lover, I was quite excited to try this out. It is microwavable but I don't have one so made it on the hob. The portion was quite small in my opinion, but I might just be greedy? I love jalfrezi but this did not resemble jalfrezi at all, there was no spiciness at all despite having chillies in it and even the flavour was just completely bland. I usually like if not spicy then really tasty curries and this was neither. I actually think the price is quite expensive for such a tasteless, measly portion and wouldn't buy it. Much better to make your own! So if you come across this I recommend it as much as I would recommend throwing your money out of the car window.