The Review: Sensationail Gel Manicure

I have been a long time fan of salon gel manicures, and last week while on holiday and perusing the aisles of Boots (some things never change) I decided to take the plunge and have a go at the "At Home Gel Manicure" from Sensationail. The starter kit, which contains enough for 10 manicures plus the lamp, retails for £69.99 and promises two weeks of perfect polish. I argued that this makes each gel mani cost only £7 and there is nowhere near me that I could get a treatment for that price!

The kit is available in 5 starter colours and I picked Chiffon Pink. I also had a Boots voucher for 500 points on a £50+ spend so really it was only £65. The instructions inside the kit are clear and accompanied by small pictures which is great for impatient bodies like myself who can't be doing with reading the whole shebang before getting stuck in.

The set comes with the gel cleanser which is used as the first and also final step to cleanse the nais. The gel primer which is the first step and is then left to air dry. A gel base and top coat which is cured for 30 seconds at each stage, and then the gel colour polish. The kit recommends two coats of the colour, sandwiched between the base and top coats, each cured for 60 seconds.

The lamp is LED and mains powered. It beeps after 30 seconds and turns off after 60 seconds which is great and avoids having to get the stopwatch on your phone out. In between steps the gel will be 'tacky' and this is completely normal. This should only be wiped with the gel cleanser after the final top coat, doing this before the final step will worsen the life of your gel manicure. 

I applied only a single coat of the Pink Chiffon as I was looking for something very natural for work and I am impressed by how easy the kit is. I tend to work on a " 4 fingers, 4 fingers, both thumbs" rotation of the layers and this bit does take a little more time than in a salon as you cannot be painting the other hand while one is under the lamp. 

The set also tells you to create thin layers, I cannot stress this hard enough. While it may take more layers to build dark colours (I will be ordering some this week and reporting back) it is worth it as the finish is much better. As a traditional polish user, this is a hard habit to break, particularly on my toes where I had a more concentrated colour.

So have you ever tried an at home gel? I would love to know your experiences. I would recommend this, I was totally impressed by how easy the whole process was and also how good quality the products and equipment seemed. Full marks all round.

The Ultimate Jamaica Cake Recipe

Today's post comes courtesy of my parter Jake who made the most incredible Jamaica Ginger Cake this week, and even remembered to take pictures! (He's a keeper!) So this is a version of a Mary Berry Recipe that is available in the British Book of Baking that accompanies GBBO. In anticipation of the series' return this Wednesday on BBC One, this bake should ensure a perfect result every time.

You will need:

• 225g Self-Raising Flour
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground Mixed Spice
• 115g Unsalted Butter, Chilled and Diced
• 115g Black Treacle
• 115g Golden Syrup
• 115g Dark Brown Muscovado Sugar
• 275ml Milk (not Skimmed)
• 1 Medium free-range Egg, beaten
• A 900g loaf tin, about 26 x 13 7cm, greased with butter and lined with greaseproof paper.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan. Mix and sieve the dry ingredients (flour, bicarb, ginger, cinnamon & mixed spice) in a large mixing bowl. The rub in the unsalted butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (see below)

2. Once the mixture has formed breadcrumbs, warm the golden syrup and treacle in a small pan. Do not let the mixture boil and then take off the heat and set to one side and allow to cool.

3. Warm the milk in a jug and dissolve in the sugar. Mix well ensuring that all the sugar has dissolved into the mixture. Leave this to cool also until it is lukewarm.

4. Once the liquid ingredients are cooler, mix the milk and sugar solution into the flour and whisk well preferably with an electric whisk. Then add in the treacle and golden syrup, soloed by the egg and continue to whisk until you have a smooth thick batter.

5. Pour this mixture into two lined and greased loaf tins. If you are using a silicone loaf tin this is less important (see the purple loaf) however for a traditional loaf tine, even a non stick will need lining and greasing well. Ensure you get the mixtures as equal as possible so that they cook at the same pace. Place the loafs side by side in the middle of the pre-heated oven.

6. Bake for approx 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to throughly cool. The cake is very light so may fall apart easily (as seen below) this will not in any way harm the taste so worry not!

7. Once cool transfer to a cake tin where it will keep for about 5 days (ours went mouldy :( after 6 days). The cake becomes stickier as it cools and resembles the McVitties Jamaica Ginger Cake that you can buy in stores. Great with a cup of tea!

Hope you liked this weeks bake, it may not be the prettiest bake but it is tasty beyond doubt and great for guests who have a tendency to rock up unexpected!

Would love to know if you are another Ginger fan and have a go at this one.

Off on Holiday....

So as the title suggests, and as you may have guessed by my many recent travel related posts, I'm off on holiday this week. Fear not, I will be back next Monday with the most amazing Jamaica Cake recipe and there are plenty of other good bits on the way including a Sensationail review and demonstration.

If you are looking for some reading however, there is plenty of posts that you can catchup on...

If you are going on Holiday too, check out:

The Must Have Minitures: http://blondehayes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/the-must-have-miniatures.html

The Best Multitasking Makeup Products, for ultimate light packing: http://blondehayes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/multitask-makeup-must-haves.html

Shoe Packing Dilemma: http://blondehayes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/summer-shoes-showdown.html

Like to Bake:

Eton Mess: http://blondehayes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/the-ultimate-summer-pudeton-mess.html

Summer Cupcakes: http://blondehayes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/summer-fete-cupcakes.html

Classic Scones: http://blondehayes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/wimbledon-starts-todayits-scone-oclock.html

THE Lemon Drizzle Cake: http://blondehayes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/lemon-drizzle-bake.html

NinjaBread Men: http://blondehayes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/ninjabread-men.html

The Healthy Cookie: http://blondehayes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/the-zero-fuss-zero-added-sugar-bake.html

Banana Bread Muffins: http://blondehayes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/tuesday-treats.html

Have a great week.

Chanel Vs Chanel

The motivation for this post is that when I was trying to make this decision myself a couple of weeks ago I would have liked a comparison of both products. There are a few other reviews online however not many that deal with the lighter end of the colour spectrum. For reference i'm B10 in the Perfection Lumiere Velvet (PLV) and B20 in the Vitalumiere Aqua (VA) as there are slightly more shades available in the latter.

A disclaimer: both of these are light coverage foundations and while they can be built up, they will never provide medium/full coverage. Is this is what you are looking for there are other Chanel foundations that will better suit such as the original Perfection Lumiere.

Both foundations are also scented so again these may not be for everyone, particularly anyone with acne prone skin. I *personally* don't find that they irritate my sensitive skin but all sensitivities are different!

I also had a sample of each to go away and try and I highly recommend doing this. If the counter won't provide you with a sample, walk away. They should do willingly, so find another Chanel concession with more helpful sales assistants.

Coverage & Finish? The PLV is a slightly heavier coverage but it is not noticeable. The finish is as the name suggests, like velvet. It is not a dewy finish but it retains the luminosity that so many people love about the Chanel foundations. The VA is a dewy finish and will most likely need a light powder through the t-zone even on drier skin types in order to keep it all in place.

Longevity? I find the PLV has great staying power, particularly when paired with a primer such as the Benefit Stay Flawless 24 Hour Primer (reviewed here) and will last all day, even in the hot sweaty weather we've has of late. The VA is a little less long wearing in my opinion however it seems to breakdown flawlessly without going patchy and can be easily touched up on the go due to the lightweight bottle.

Overall? At the moment I am finding myself reaching for the PLV more often but that is heavily influenced by the hot weather and not needing a dewy finish as that is coming along quite naturally at the moment IYKWIM. I know that I will definitely use the VA towards the end of the summer and autumn when my dry skin returns to it's normal state and look forward to perhaps doing an Autumn update.

Courgetti?

So I had heard about courgetti for a while but always thought it would require yet another kitchen appliance to clutter our counter tops. I recently read on another blog however that the same effect can be gained with a julienne peeler, so off I trudged to Lakeland...my mum's fave store and thought I would give it a go.

The peeler itself is nothing remarkable and is very affordable £3.29 (available here) and cuts the veg into thin even strips. This is much the same effect as a spiralizer but at a fraction of the cost. The rest is then easy, lightly fry the courgette (and I also added carrot) in a dash of oil and some garlic. If you are making a traditional pasta dish it is even easier as you can also blanche the courgetti and simply add it to the sauce as you would traditional spaghetti.

We had our courgetti and carrotgetti(??) with salmon grills and it got a thumbs up all round. I was expecting Jake to start moaning about being hungry 20 minutes after dinner however this kept him full for the evening....result.

Have you tried using veg as a pasta/rice replacement? I would love to know your recipes below.

The Ultimate Summer Pud...Eton Mess

Eton Mess is honestly my fave summer pud. Light enough that there is ALWAYS room even after a hefty BBQ and it's so simple to make.

The meringue is always best home made, the shop bought nests are always powdery and never deliver the satisfyingly chewy centres that a good meringue should have.

Meringues are simple enough to make...you will need:

• 6 Egg Whites
• 300g Caster Sugar
• 1tsp Corn Starch
• 1tsp Vinegar

Meringue Method:

1. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until stiff enough that upturned they do not move. This is the signature move you see Mary Berry pull on Paul Hollywood every year in GBBO.  
2. Gently fold in the sugar a spoonful at a time trying not to knock the air from the mix. The corn starch and vinegar need to be mixed together in a cup then added to the mixture.
3. Spoon the mix onto a baking sheet, this can be in individual nests or as a large pavlova base that you will later crack. Bake the meringue for an hour at 150 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 2.
4. Once baked remove from the baking sheet carefully and leave to cool.

To Assemble the Eton Mess, break a handful of meringue into each serving glass/bowl. Top with strawberries and blueberries and a dash of raspberry liquor such as Chambord. Cover with whipped vanilla double cream and mix. Use fresh mint or a strawberry couli drizzled atop as a garnish.

And there you have it, the ultimate summer desert. The meringue can be kept for upto two weeks in an airtight container...the struggle is knowing this, to not want to make this every night!!

Summer Book Club: Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher

So summer is the only time of year I actually get a chance to do some reading for pleasure. I am currently working my way through the Lee Child 'Jack Reacher' series but when the sun is out I often prefer to switch it up to a chick lit which I can dip in and out of while sweltering by the pool.

Giovanna Fletcher is the wife of Tom and Billy and Me was her debut novel last year. She has since followed it up with her second book 'You're the One that I Want' which I now look forward to reading.

So I may be a little late to this party but for any other book worms looking for some light summer reading, here is a quick review.

What the Publishers (Penguin) Say:

When you've got the dream boyfriend everything should be perfect, right?

So why isn't it? wonders Sophie May.

When Sophie and Billy met and fell in love, she thought she was living in a fairytale.

After all, Billy is an actor, a teen heartthrob adored by girls around the world - and he loves Sophie. She's the only girl for him.

But being on Billy's arm comes at a price. Their relationship has thrown Sophie right in the spotlight after years of shying away from attention.

Can she handle the constant scrutiny that comes with being with Billy? But most of all, is she ready for her secret heartbreak to be found out and shared with the nation?

Charming, heartwarming and utterly romantic, Billy and Me will completely capture your heart.

What I Thought:

Giovanna has a lovely writing style which is easy to follow and builds great levels of detail into the world she has created. Sophie is quiet and like most other girls in their late teens, crippled in self doubt. Personally, I found that while Sophie is instantly likeable it takes a while for the story to develop and you begin to feel that you are rooting for her.

The character of Billy is perhaps more than a little cliché however I think it shows well the idealistic nature of teen heart throbs and that their die hard fans often neglect to remember that they are indeed human.

Molly is perhaps my favourite character and her story, which runs parallel to the main events is perhaps the most touching of all and I think even the stoniest of hearts will struggle not to have their heartstrings tugged.

While Billy and Me is not going to revolutionise the world of chick lit it is a great debut novel which is an easy and interesting holiday read. I will definitely be taking the chance to now read Giovanna's second novel as they make a nice replacement to my usual annual Marion Keys.

Whats on your kindle this summer?

PS: Anyone fancy starting a seasonal book club?