Emie Devil Horn Earphones*

I can’t live without some form of headphones and they’re an essential for the gym and for work when I want to catch up with Netflix at lunch time. When I was given the chance to review some interesting earphones from Emie, I couldn’t wait to try them and check out their unique design.

The Emie Devil Horn Earphones are available on their website for $39.99 and for that you get the devil horn shaped earphones, a wire container, user manual and extra earbud tips. I received the earphones in the colour blue but they are also available in red.

When I first saw the unique devil horn shape I did wonder if they would stay in my ears seeing as the external design seemed heavier than the ear bud section. I can however confirm that this was not a problem, I have used these on the treadmill and had no problems with them falling out. What surprised me most was how good they were at reducing background noise. As soon as I put them in they seemed to block out any sounds from the outside world which is exactly what I look for in a set of headphones. The sound was actually fantastic quality with a deep and powerful bass sound. I listened to all sorts of music and everything sounded great.

I received these earphones in a lovely tin package which is great to store them in. They also came with an exclusive plastic devil head to store the earphones safely and this also keeps them from getting tangled up. I think it’s such a great design and like nothing I have ever seen before. The earphones have a cord zipper design which can be moved up and down to achieve your desirable length. They feel of a really good quality and the attention to detail is outstanding. They are branded with the logo and also with a little devil which you would only notice if you looked closely. You can really see that so much care and attention has been put into designing and producing these earphones.

I love how these look too, I almost want to show them off. At least you know that you’re going to stand out from the crowd with this fashionable, unique design. Overall I was really impressed with the quality and design of these earphones and will definitely be looking into what else the brand has to offer. 

What do you think of these earphones? Is this something you’d love to wear too?

*I received these earphones free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way. Please see my disclaimer for more information.

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Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

I recently made my mum a cheesecake for her birthday after deciding that the usual sponge cake or cupcakes I make were getting a bit boring. I debated between making a mini egg cheesecake or a chocolate orange one so in the end I settled for the chocolate orange knowing my mum is a big fan! Keep reading for the delicious recipe.

Ingredients:

15 Plain Digestives
120g Stork Margarine
200g Philadelphia Cream Cheese
180ml Double Cream
100g Icing Sugar
2 Terry's Chocolate Orange's

Method:
Start off by crushing your digestive biscuits until they resemble a fine powder. If you've got a food processor it may be easier to put them in there but I just put mine into a sandwich bag and crushed them with a rolling pin. Melt your Stork Margarine and add this to the biscuits. Press your mixture into a cheesecake pan and set aside in the fridge whilst you prepare the rest of the cheesecake.

Mix the Philadelphia and icing sugar together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk your double cream until it becomes whipped and has stiff peaks.

Open your chocolate oranges and set aside around 10-12 segments for decoration and melt the rest. Mix the melted chocolate with the double cream and then fold into your Philadelphia mix and whisk until light and fluffy.

Place your mixture on top of your biscuit base and decorate with the remaining segments. Pop in the fridge to set for around 4 hours and enjoy!

I thought this cheesecake was going to be sickly with how much chocolate I put in there, but it was actually really refreshing with the orange. One slice wasn't quite enough! Let me know if you try this recipe - or if you have any other great ideas for future cheesecakes!

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Top 6 MAC Neutral Eyeshadows

My favourite eyeshadows are MAC ones and I often buy pan refills for my palette. I was recently stuck for blog ideas so thought I would share with you some of my favourite MAC Neutral shades and I hope to follow this blog post with my favourite grey and shimmer colours if this one goes down well. I couldn’t pick at top 5, so here are my top 6 neutral matte shades, perfect for simple and smoky eyes!

(L-R Brule, Omega, Wedge, Charcoal Brown, Brun, Corduroy)

Each eyeshadow for me has its purpose. A lot of them look very similar from the offset but they are all different in their own ways. As you can see I am a big fan of Brulé, this is the second refill I have purchased as I absolutely love using this as a neutral base every day. Although it is the lightest colour I don’t tend to use it as a highlight. Omega is the next eyeshadow I recommend and the colour is a soft light brown with a matte finish. I use this in my crease or under the eye. It is also a great eyebrow colour for people with fair hair. Wedge is again slightly darker than Omega and I also use this in my crease to create the illusion of a natural shadow. It’s a great natural brown colour and a great transitional shade.

Charcoal Brown and Brun are very similar shades but both different in their own right. I love using both of these colours on my brows but also as crease colours to really deepen the shadow. Charcoal Brown is a natural colour and stays put all day and looks great in the outer-V of the eye. Brun is a slightly deeper brown but is a little bit harder to work into the crease. It doesn’t seem to blend as nicely as Charcoal Brown but it does the job on my brows. Corduroy is the deepest brown shade that I own and is great blended out into the crease if you want a smoky eye but don’t want to go dramatic with a dark black colour. 

What are your favourite neutral eyeshadow colours?

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The Crime Museum Uncovered - London

Last week I attended The Crime Museum Exhibit in the Museum of London. Becky Bedbug kindly bought me a ticket for the exhibit as I won her secret giveaway! I never win anything so I was over the moon. Thank you so much Becky!

 The items in this museum were originally only available for Metropolitan Police (I was considering asking for a transfer to London just to see this museum hah.) The exhibition gives a fascinating insight into the history of London's crimes and how they were solved.

One of the reasons I couldn't wait to see the exhibit is that I love anything crime related. I have 100's of magazines under my bed called 'The Crime Files' and I used to love researching different crimes. The morbid side of me couldn't wait to see real life  objects and seized evidence that were used in crimes including terrorism and murder.Some of the items in the museum are just everyday items, for example a pair of tights. There's usually nothing out of the ordinary with a pair of tights but this pair had been used by murderer Gordan Cummings to strangle 2 female victims. Quite eerie when you think about it.

The exhibits ranged from weapons that had been used in crimes to diary entries and newspaper clippings. The museum has death masks and nooses and it's outlined who these belonged to. When I was looking at one of the exhibits , a policeman's pocket notebook, the man next to me actually said it was his old notebook! Fascinating. He didn't even know it was in the museum as he was long retired. I loved reading about The Kray's and seeing some of the items used in their crimes. I recently reviewed The Town House restaurant where Reggie Kray died.

There was so much to see in the museum and it was so busy I found it hard to look and read every single exhibit so I bought the book at the end which details all of the items held within the museum. I definitely recommend this book, it was £10 and packed with photos and interesting stories. I definitely advise visiting the exhibit if you can before it goes. I'll be keeping an eye out for anything similar and hopefully one day it will return so I can get a second look.

The Crime Museum Uncovered is open until 10th April 2016. I suggest booking tickets online to avoid disappointment.

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March 2016 Glossybox

This month’s Glossybox was a bit if a disappointment if I’m honest. I felt a bit cheated as if the items could have been picked up for free on beauty counters. I’ve been a member of Glossybox for over 4 years and have loved it but I haven’t had a box like this for a while. As usual I will persevere and await next month’s box with great anticipation!

Hey Honey – Good Morning Honey Silk Facial Serum – Full Size £28.81
This travel sized serum from Hey Honey is a brand I have never come across before. It is worth noting that you need to cut the end off of the nib on the tube before you can use it. I saw many people on Instagram and Twitter complaining that theirs was broken but that’s not the case – you just need to open it! This serum was nice to use and I love wearing it underneath makeup. It makes the application of my makeup go on really well and has a nice fresh scent to it.

Olay Regenerist – Luminous Skin Tone Perfecting Cream – Full Size £29.99
This tiny sample of the Olay perfecting cream is a good trial size and is suggested by Glossybox that it is a mini travel item. This cream aims to fade the look of discolouration and dark spots and evens out your skin tone. There isn’t enough cream to really see the effects so I don’t really know if it works or not. It made my skin feel soft as any other moisturiser would but the tube ran out before I noticed real results. For £29.99 I don’t think this is an item I will be repurchasing without really having the chance to trial it properly.

Luxie - Rose Gold Large Angled Face Brush – Full Size £10.42
This Luxie Brush was probably my favourite item from the whole box and I know I will get good use out of this. This angled brush is the perfect shape for getting right into the contours of your face and great for bronzer and highlighter. This brush is very similar to my real techniques brushes which I swear by. I would love to see if there are other sized brushes available, this one is the 504 so I assume there is a whole range. At just over £10 I think this is quite reasonable too and I love the rose gold and baby pink design.

Collection – Speedy Highlighter – Full Size £3.99
I have highlighters coming out of my ears but I have never tried one from Collection despite being a brand I regularly use. The application of this is so simple as essentially it is a giant crayon so you can draw on the areas you want to highlight. The colour I received has a subtle glow, not too much that it’s overpowering. I’ve been wearing it on the tops of my cheekbones and blending it into my blusher with the Luxie Brush.

-417 – Catharsis Vitamin Mineral Shampoo and Conditioner – Full Size £16.89
These -417 Shampoo and Conditioner samples are a good size for travelling and weekend breaks. It does feel like these aren’t really worth too much but I do like this sized item for my gym bag. The dead sea minerals in these shampoos allow for a really hydrating wash and left my hair feeling soft and shiny. This is something I would consider buying if there was an offer on, however generally I tend to spend no more than £5 on my shampoo and conditioners.

Overall, I wasn’t overly impressed by the box but I think I will get use out of it. I just didn’t get that excited buzz I usually get when I open a good box, it felt a bit empty. Next month’s box contains an item from The Body Shop so I am actually looking forward to that, I think it will be a good one!

If you’d like to sign up for Glossybox, click here.

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My Tattoos

I love watching videos on YouTube where people show their tattoos and the meanings, and as a blogger not a YouTuber I thought why not make this into a blog post instead of a video? Firstly I'd like to apologise for the photo quality, it's really hard to take photos of various body parts without help!

The first tattoo I got was these stars on my hip. I think I was 16 when I got this, I won't say where as obviously they shouldn't have been tattooing minors. It was a time when all of my friends were getting them and I just wanted something simple. I sometimes forget I have this tattoo, and if people ask why I got it, I always say the same thing "because I give a 5*service".. LOL.

The second tattoo I got was even more adventurous, I kid. I got these stars on my foot. I was a big scene kid, if you didn't have a star tattoo you weren't cool. I designed this myself on Photoshop using various star shaped brushes, printed it off and got it inked a few weeks later. I was 18 when I had this one, it was probably the most painful one I've had. I also forget about this one because I rarely have my feet out, I'm a sock-a-holic.

The third tattoo I got was genuinely more adventurous on my left thigh. I got this when I was 21, shortly after Ryan Dunn died and the skull and crutches are to represent the Jackass logo. I love the design, it's a much better portrayal of the Jackass logo than just sticking the logo on my leg. It reminds me to be carefree.  It reminds me of my childhood when we used to play ‘Jack’s Ass’ and when we used to mess around without a care in the world. And of course it reminds me of Dunn. The writing 'Tosac Cata As Deire'Air' was something I found on my family crest - It means (roughly translated) "The first one in the battle is the last one standing". I thought that was pretty cool.

I got my next tattoo on my lower inner ankle when I was 22 in 2012. This was the year of partying. I had 3 holidays this year, I went skiing, went to Florida and Ibiza. I was out every weekend, taking every opportunity for a night out that I could get, so I got this tattoo 'Carpe Noctem' meaning Seize the night to remind me of this period of my life. I like the placement of this tattoo but feel like it looks a bit lonely and would eventually like to have more around it in the distant future.

The final and most recent tattoo I got was when I was 23 on my right thigh on my birthday. The guy who did this also did my left thigh and I was following him on Instagram when I noticed him post this design up for grabs. I was currently going through training for a new job and this fit the space perfectly, and I loved everything about it. I had been thinking of what I could have next and when I saw this I knew I had to have it. I never asked what the writing "I'm trying to believe in you" comes from, but I am 95% certain it comes from an Ataris song.

So that's all for my tattoos, I don't currently have plans for any more but I would like more in the future. My larger tattoos have been ones that I knew were just right and I think if I were to get any more I want to have that feeling again that I know they're 100% right for me. They may not be to everyone's taste but I like them all.

Do you have any tattoos? What are the meanings behind them?

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Lunch and Free Cake at John Lewis - Norwich

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend James and I popped for lunch at John Lewis... Twice! I have some free hot drink and cake vouchers so each time we shared a cake and then bought something savoury to go with it.

The first time we went, I had a tuna mayo and sweetcorn sub, it was delicious and really packed with filling.

We shared a slice of chocolate cake, which was very rich but really tasty. 

James had a prawn mayo sub which he said was really nice and filling.

The second time we visited we had two cake vouchers to use! So that meant one each. I went for the Carrot Cake and James had a cheese scone. I have another 2 vouchers to use for free cake so I can't wait to try something different next time.

What flavour cake would you go for?

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Easy Easter Treats - Rice Crispie Nests

Last year I showed you how to create some delicious simple Easter treats so I thought this year I would bring the tradition back and think of something new to do! Last year’s recipes included Crème Egg Cookies, Chocolate Nests and Marshmallow Bark.

Ingredients:
Few handfuls of Rice Crispies
300g White Chocolate
100g Milk Chocolate
1 cup All Bran
1 x Bag of Mini Eggs

These rice crispie nests are really easy to make and don’t cost the earth in ingredients. They are a great change to your standard nests and an alternative version of my Chocolate Nests from last year.

Start off by melting 300g white chocolate. I chose to break mine up and put it in the microwave and heat through, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. When your chocolate has melted, stir in some rice crispies. There are no exact quantities for this, just add enough that they get coated with the chocolate. Place your rice crispie mixture into cupcake cases with a spoon.

Next, melt 100g of milk chocolate and using the same method as you did with the rise crispies, add the all-bran and coat well with the chocolate. Add a teaspoon of the chocolatey all bran to the tops of your rice crispie treats and finish off with a couple of mini eggs on top.

Simple, delicious and very budget friendly! Will you be giving these a go?

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