Fluffy

Fluffy by francesca008tagle featuring brown boots

River island
$24 - riverisland.com

The Row skinny pants
net-a-porter.com

Gucci brown boots
$1,710 - profilefashion.com

METEO BY YVES SALOMON Rabbit fur gilet
$1,105 - farfetch.com

Hair Extension - Long & Wavy
yesstyle.com

L'Oréal products

Recently I went shopping for new facial products to supplement my new skincare routine that I'm doing during these cold months, while I wait for my sister to arrive with some Asian products from Philippines.

My skin type is combination to dry, during summer it's oily and during winter it's dry, and because of that my skin appears dull. So right now I'm interested in hydrating and brightening products with a thicker formula, but with a light-weight feel.

I went to Superdrug and bought a selection of L'Oréal products:

• L'Oréal Paris Triple Active Fresh Ultra-hydrating Gel-cream for dry and sensitive skin (Day cream)
• L'Oréal Paris Youth Code - youth boosting night cream
• L'Oréal Paris Dermo-Expertise Collagen Filler Eye (Eye cream)
• L'Oréal Paris Dermo-Expertise Youth Code Luminize (Serum)

I've been using these products for over a week now and I can't state any significant differences yet, but every time I do my skincare routine, my skin does feel much more supple and hydrated.

I'll be doing an upcoming post on these products to tell you how I found them and what the results were for my skin.

Till next time =)

Life Hacks:Part 1

"Life Hacks": The term life hack refers to any productivity trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to increase productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life.

If there are ways to make life simplified and less time consuming, then I'm all for it. Here a few Life Hacks that I consider useful and interesting to use in everyday situations.

You Snooze, You Loose

To wake yourself up and stay awake you need to stimulate your mind and get those cogs in motion.

• Getting straight out of bed and do 10 jumping jacks
• Play a game either on your computer or mobile phone like an arcade or action game (Angry Birds or Diamond Dash come to mind)
• Turn on your radio and wake up with the morning show

"I'm late, I'm late, For a very important date"...

This is one that I should practice more often =D

• Make a playlist on your phone or computer that is just as long as you need to get ready. You can track how well you're doing with time by the song you are listening to. I find 4 songs or less are sufficient for a shower, longer than that and you're a fish. =p
• Make a habit to be at school, work or an appointment 10 minute before the actual time you have to be there. Practice doing this and you'll hardly be late.
• If you live close to school or work, you are more likely to be late, true story. So allow yourself a deadline of half an hour, before the time you are suppose to be there, to be ready.
• If you live near a bus stop or train station and it's the route you will be taking, find out the time intervals between each one so you won't miss your ride. You can check the times for buses on mobile : http://m.countdown.tfl.gov.uk/

Cooking Help

Not too great in the kitchen? Here are some tips and tricks

• How to tell if an egg is fresh? Immerse the egg in water. If it floats it's fresh. If it sinks, best to throw it away.
• Is it cooked or not? 

1. For eggs - Spin it around. If it spins fast it is cooked. Uncooked eggs don't spin well due to the yolks weight moving around inside.
2. For roast chicken - Poke a knife into the thickest part of the thigh, if the juices run clear the bird is done.

• Onion tears:

1. Try chewing gum while chopping them
2. Put them in the freezer 15 minutes before you need them
3. Try not to cut the bottom end of the onion till last
4. Cut the ends of the onion then wash in running water before slicing

• Put a wooden spoon across a pot to prevent it from over-boiling

Drinks anyone?

• Make frozen cubes of the drinks you want iced, like coffee and juices to avoid having watery beverages
• Fill a water bottle half way and freeze it on it's side. When you need it, fill with water and you'll have a refreshing cold bottle
• Warm beer? Wrap a wet kitchen paper towel around the bottle and leave in the freezer for 15 minutes OR in a bucket of beers fill it half way with ice, a good measure of salt and top up with water. It should be ice cold in no time

Watch out for my part two of Life Hacks

Till next time =)

Images from: http://past1978.deviantart.com/

                     http://www2.macleans.ca/

Steamed Chicken in Oyster Mushroom Broth

I love cooking and I love to share it with people. This week I have been spoiling my family with Asian dishes and for dinner I cooked a dish similar to Hainese Chicken. Here is my recipe for Steamed chicken in Oyster Mushroom Sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken thighs or legs
• 1 knob of ginger, the size of your thumb
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 white onion roughly chopped
• 6 Large button mushrooms sliced thickly
• 1 Chinese napa cabbage, hard end chopped off, washed and sliced down the middle
• 3 tbsps oyster sauce
• 2 tsps cornstrach dissolved in a little warm water
• Spring onions for garnish
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

For the broth/stock:

• 1 star anise
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1- 2 cups hot water
• A pinch of red chili flakes
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 red onion roughly chopped
• 1 clove of garlic crushed
• 1 knob of ginger sliced

Equipment:

• Bamboo steamer
• A Wok, that will allow the steamer to rest on it with out touching the bottom and had a good seal
• Oven mittens for safely moving steamer
• Mesh sieve

Procedure

1. Put all ingredients for the broth into the wok, with 1 cup of water. Turn the heat up high until it starts to boil
2. Make a bed of napa cabbage for the chicken in the steamer (This will prevent the chicken from sticking and is great for the person who has to wash up later =D). Place chicken skin side up
3. When broth starts to boil, turn down to medium high heat and place the steamer on top (with the kilo of chicken you may have to stack another steamer on top of the first one just as I did). Cover and let the chicken steam for 1 hour. Top up the broth with the remaining water every 20 mins or when necessary, if needed
4. Half way through the cooking time you should alternate the steamers to cook the chicken evenly. CAREFUL! use the oven mitts to do this safely. You may also want to brush the chicken with some soy sauce to give it a little colour
5. Set the bamboo steamer aside and sieve the stock into a bowl
6. With a clean wok on high heat put in the oil, ginger, onion and garlic
7. When the onions have become translucent add the mushrooms
8. Add a ladle of the stock into the wok ( be prepared for it it sizzle)
9. When the mushrooms are soft and browned add the oyster sauce and half of the broth
10. Add the rest of the napa cabbage
11. When the cabbage has softened add the cornstarch and stir in till the sauce has reached desired consistency
12. Place vegetable and broth in a serving dish with the chicken on top and garnish with spring onion and more red chilli flakes if you wish. Serve with steamed white rice.

Serves 4-6

It's not as complicated as my step by step guide makes it out to be LOL.. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Till next time =)

Garnier Ultimate Beauty Oil : Skin Perfector

Recently being back in London, having spent many years in the Philippines, my skin has gone through many changes due to the weather. My skin is far from perfect and I have eczema on my hands and around my eyes, Epp! I know, not a pretty thing. So during these cold months, moisturised and nourished skin is a must, and you need very good body lotions and even oils to help you maintain great skin.

For a couple of years now, I have been using St. Ives Oatmeal and Shea Butter as a hand lotion to combat the itching and flare ups along with a topical steroid from my doctor. It just works wonders to soothe my skin, but having only brought four 750ml bottles of this product with me from the Philippines (£3.75 per 750ml bottle in Philippines), I'm rationing it to be exclusively for my hands ( My sister will bring me another 6 bottles in April, it's cheaper than buying it here online).

Garnier Body Intensive 7 days gel cream

During the summer months I don't like heavy creamy lotions on my skin, cause I just hate that sticky, greasy feeling, so I was using a Garnier product. The gel like texture just left my skin feeling fresh and cool, with no sticky feeling, it absorbed really well into my skin. Due to the weather change I started to use a baby oil to moisturise my skin. Straight after a shower I would apply it to my wet skin then pat down with a towel, I always left the bathroom warm and my skin was supple. I was running out of the oil, so I popped down to my nearest Superdrug to get some, when I came across Garnier's 'Ultimate Beauty Oil : Skin Perfector'.

 

At Superdrug I bought it for £5.49, other bloggers I have seen review this product bought it from Boots for £7.99, so this was a total bargain with a £2.50 difference. It's a 150ml bottle of body oil enriched with Argan, Macadamia, Almond and Rose oil. The packaging is a beautiful sleek, tear-drop shaped bottle with a golden tint making the product resemble a liquid gold potion. The scent is light and very soothing, a warm slightly musky sweet smell, the scent tends to linger on the skin because of body heat. If you were to apply any perfumes, I recommend sticking to something similar like a vanilla or musky type of undertone, or wear no perfume at all to not overwhelm yourself with different scents.

The bottle has a spray nozzle, which allows you to apply the product to the desired areas directly or into your hands. I love that it comes with a spray nozzle because it allows you to control the amount of product that you dispense. The oil formula is light and thin, that is easily spread and absorbed into the skin, leaving skin soft and glowing. 

I really like this product so far, no cons about it except maybe when I put my St. Ives lotion on my hands, the two products mix and make my hands super slippery, which can easily be corrected by washing my hands after application before putting the lotion on. 

I'd give this product a 9 out of 10, that 10% being my margin of error.

I'll be doing an up coming post on the eye cream I use on my eyes

Till next time =)

Designer Bags on a Budget

BAGS, BAGS BAGS! An ultimate indulgence if you can get the real thing, but if not, don't stress, there is always a high street alternative =)

Hermes Birkin Bag: $10,000.00

Debenhams Dune Black 'Birkin' detail bag: £65.00

Alexander McQueen Novak Bag: around $1000

New Look Black Snake Print: £24.99

Ralph Lauren The Crocodile Ricky Bag: $22,500.00

Lipsy Croc Stud Dome Bag: £24.00 on own website; £38.40 @ Debenhams (original price £48.00)

Yves Saint Laurent Muse Bag: £1,300-1,600

Topshop The Daisy Bag by Marc B: £35.00

Hermes Kelly Bag: £6,000-8,000

Topshop Maisy Dogtooth Bag by Paul's Boutique: £61.00 

Longchamp Le Pliage Handbag: $100.00

Debenhams Principles by Ben de Lisi's: £25.00

The Chanel quilted 2.55 bag is my favorite bag style because it's sleek, sophisticated and strong. I personally don't have this bag, but I have one similar to it at a budget price and I've had it for 3 years now and it's still in good condition. The chain woven with the strap is beautiful and protects the strap from fraying.

Chanel Quilted 2.55 Bag: £1000-2000

New Look Quilted Silver Chain Across Body Bag: £9.99

Or

New Look Quilted Gold Chain Purse: £12.99

Note: This post is long overdue, I hope to keep this blog up and continue to post as many entries as I can in my busy schedule.

Till next time =)