Homemade : Soap

If you saw the homemade bath bomb post I did on Tuesday, you'll know I'm making my mum some bits and bobs for mother's day on sunday and today I made the next thing for her little basket of goodies I'm constructing!

Homemade Soap!

Here's what you'll need this time:

1. Soap base - Hobbycraft £5.39 for 1kg

(I wanted a white base but got a clear one because that's all they had)

2. Surgical Spirit - £1.80 From the local pharmacy

3. Spray Bottle 

4. Fragrance/essential oils of your choice 

(I'm using the same ones that I used for my Bath bombs)

5. Decoration - Blue Malva Flowers £3.29 

(and the rose buds I used for the Bath Bombs) 

6. A Soap Mould - I'm just using some ramekins I had in the kitchen.

7. Coloured dye (optional, I'm not using any)

Here's what you do:

• Depending on the size of your moulds you're using, cut out some of your soap base with a kitchen knife. Don't worry if you don't cut enough to begin with, you can always add more.

• Melt the soap base in the microwave, I do quick 15 seconds bursts and then check on it. Keep doing 15 seconds until the soap has become fully liquid. If you over heat it, it may discolour, so be careful!

• Once melted add your fragrance and essential oils. I didn't measure mine, I just added each until I thought it smelled how I wanted it to. Mix thoroughly to spread evenly. This is when you'd add your colour if you wanted to.

• Next, I poured a thin layer of soap in the bottom of my mould, I then stuck the rose buds in facing down.

Once you've fully covered the bottom of the mould with the rose buds, fill the rest of the mould with your soap solution.

• Now using the spray bottle filled with the surgical spirit, spray the top of the soap. It's to remove any bubbles.

• Leave until fully set.

• Once done carefully remove from the mould.

If you're not planning on using the soap pretty much immediately I would suggest wrapping it up in cling film or in tupperware so it doesn't get wet.

 And you're done! 

I also did the same thing again but instead of the rose buds used the Malva flowers, these flowers actually dyed the soap blue so I'm not sure whether they will dye your hands slightly if you use it. I'll just have to warn my mum before using this one!

That's it, simple!

These make really nice, quick, easy and quite cheap gifts! Perfect for the likes of Mother's day!

What do you think? Will you be giving this a go?

Do you ever make your own soap?

As always, Thank you for Reading!

Birds in Blossom x

Homemade : Bath Bombs

One of the things I'll be giving my Mum this mothers day is some homemade bath items, well some bath bombs and soaps at least.

Today I'm making the bath bombs!

So, here's what you'll need to make a Bath Bomb!

(Oh! before I begin, you can probably get these items cheaper elsewhere but I was pressed for time and wentfor I went for convenience, though I didn't think most of these things were poorly priced at all!)

1. Bicarbonate of Soda - Wilkinson's, £1 for 500g

2. Citric Acid - Wilkinson's, £1 for 50g

3. Fragrance - Hobby Craft, Rose Fragrance £3.86 for 25ml

4. Essential oil - Wilkinson's, Lavender Oil  £1.25 10ml

5. Decoration (optional) - Hobby Craft, Rose Buds £2.96 per pack

6. 1 or 2 mixing bowls

7. Measuring scales

8. Spoon for mixing (optional)

9. Water, preferably in a spray bottle

10. Colouring (optional) - eBay, Rosebud Pink mineral pigment powder 

£2.50 for 5g

11. Bath bomb mould - eBay  £3.99 for a 6cm round mould

The mineral colouring powder hasn't arrived yet so today I'm just making white rose scented bath bombs with lavender oil.

• So first, measure out about 75g of the bicarbonate of soda and sift into a bowl, then add about 35g of citric acid and mix using your fingers or a spoon until fully combined.

• Next,you can either split the mixture in half and add about 2g of colourant to one half, OR you could colour the whole mixture, OR like me leave it white.

• Then, add about 2ml of your rose fragrance, I just squirted a little bit into the mixture until I thought the fragrance was a nice 'strength'. Also add a similar amount of your essential oil, in my case I used lavender to make a really floral scented bath bomb, which relaxing tones.

• Here's the tricky bit, you use your spray bottle to add water, little at a time until the mix becomes damp. If you make it too wet the mixture will start to fizz and effervesce, I did this on my first attempt, it was super messy and didn't work. So you want the mix to start to stick together, it will sort of look and feel like fake snow.

• Now fill one half of your mould with your mixture. You can alternate your coloured mixes to make a stripey pattern if you want, but as mine is all white I just filled the half fully pressing in down so there are no air spaces. Leave a little mound of mix at the top of the half so when you press the two halves together they'll merge. 

• I then did pretty much the same to the other half of the mould but before putting the mix in, at the bottom I put about 5 rose buds, so they'll poke out of the bath bomb once complete. Then I joined the two halves together with a little force so they'd set together.

• I left the filled mould for about 10 minutes so the mix would set (but I leave them overnight before properly handling them). To remove carefully take one half of the mould away, your bath bomb should have formed so only the mould is removed. Then cup the non-mould half of the bath bomb in your hand and carefully lift of the other side of the mould. Your bath bomb is complete!

I really enjoyed making these, they were super quick and easy to make. I know my Mum will love them!

On Thursday I'll make a homemade soap post!

What do you think? Will you give these a try?

Have you ever made your own bath bombs before?

Thanks for Reading!

Birds in Blossom x

Hair Growth Products I'm Using

If you saw my Hair ideas post, you'll know  I want to grow my hair out, and though it is the healthiest it's been in a long time, there's no harm in giving it some extra help!

The things photographed are the products I'm using right now. Most of these I found by just browsing shops but the Sea Kelp food supplement I bought due to 'boxes of foxes' youtube video, she also bought many of the products I have here as well which boosted my confidence in them!

I didn't buy all these at once, otherwise I would have cried for my money, or more the lack of money.

They aren't all that expensive individually, but together... yowza.

So my routine goes like this:

When I have breakfast I take Cod liver oil (£1.45), Sea Kelp (£5.99) and Biotin (£5.99) supplements.

Then I brush my hair with a wide paddle brush (I've had mine for years you can find them for cheap everywhere!), but with tough knots I use my Tangle Teezer(£10.99) as I find this causes less breakages.

When I wash my hair I use the Lush 'New' Shampoo bar (£5.75, it lasts a lot longer than my normal liquid shampoo), then I use the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment (£8.49) as instructed on the packaging.

To condition I use the Salon Science ProAccelerant 2: Conditioner (£17.00) this is the priciest thing I bought and I will not be buying it again because of the price (I don't actually remember paying that much I swear it was closer to £11 but that's what it says on the website!), instead I think I'll buy the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Conditioner (£6.99), the only reason I didn't buy this is because I couldn't find it in Boots in store anywhere. 

I may even buy the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Bundle (£25.00) as you get a lot for your money and I really like the products so far! Lastly once I'm out of the bath I towel dry my hair and use the Lee Stafford Hair Growth leave in treatment (£11.99) and let my hair naturally dry.

For quick morning washes I use the 

OGX Anti-Breakage Keratin Oil Shampoo and Conditioner (£6.99 each or 2 for £10) not shown in the photo as I left them in the shower whoops!, and try to let it naturally dry as much as possible before using a hair dryer on a low heat. 

Other than the products, I'm eating much healthier and drinking more water, which I can tell is really improving my hair health. Also, I only very rarely use heat on my hair so that is a big help too in reducing damage and breakages!

I'll be posting a before and after results in a few months hopefully! Keep watch!

Have you used any of these products? What do you think?

Had any positive results?

Thanks for reading!

Birds in Blossom x

Grow hair, GROW!

Models Own : Colour Chrome Nail Polishes

Models Own released a new line of nail polishes which I think are exclusive to their site and Superdrug on Wednesday (don't quote me). The collection is called Colour Chrome.

These are super metallic almost mirror like colours and they look stunning. I rarely get excited by nail polish but I can't wait to get hold of these.

I did go into Manchester city center yesterday to try to get hold of some of these but they had yet to get stock. Talk about super dissapointed!

I was lusting after the Rose one the most and also the Silver one. I'll just have to wait a little while.

Just look at them! Mmmm!

You can get them HERE they retail for £4.99 which I think is a fair enough price for nail polish, I can't recommend them yet though as I have yet to try them, but I have used Models Own products in the past and been pleased, so fingers crossed!

What do you think of these?

Have you bought them yet? Any good?

Thank you for reading, my lovely!

Birds in Blossom x

Favourites | Mascara & Liquid Liner

Today, I thought I'd share with you my favourite mascara and liquid liner, they are both Rimmel products and both are black in colour. I use them every single day, practically without fail, and they never let me down, so yeah, I've decided to do a quick post on them!

Oh, by the way, I bought them both from Boots, but obviously that isn't the only place to find them and as there may not even be a Boots near you, so I've put links to the actual product page on the Rimmel website as they tell you all places where is available for you to buy them, hope that helps for anyone who is interested!

I have only just started using this particular mascara, the Rimmel ScandalEyes Lycra Flex Mascara (RRP £6.99), but I have instantly fallen in love. I do have naturally long lashes (though you couldn't tell from the photos!) so mascara does tend to work really well for me, but this product is on another level in comparison to mascaras I have used in the past. It truly lengthens my lashes and adds volume to them, just what you want from a mascara, and as a person who actually never wears false lashes but has considered wearing them, ScandalEyes makes me think that I really don't need them!

The applicator brush is large and thick (and a conventional shape, I don't really understand the benefit of all these strange shaped mascara brushes) just what I want, as it means good coverage of mascara on your lashes in just a few quick strokes of the brush.

However, I do find if you're not careful with application, it can start to clump a little if you apply more than one coat (like mine did today a bit). The best way to avoid this is by making sure the mascara isn't too thick at the end of the lashes and to 'wiggle' your brush as you are applying it, so make quick short side to side movements as you go up and along your lashes. Also let it dry after the first coat and use a clean eyelash comb (which I didn't have on me today) to separate the lashes, then carefully apply another coat if necessary. But just look at the difference it makes to my lashes!

Note that mascara does go 'off' and won't work like it should so it will probably clump a lot more that you'd expect and it'll be thick, so it won't spread nicely over your lashes.

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Now this product is now an good old friend of mine, I've been using Rimmel Glam'Eyes Professional Liquid Liner (RRP £.5.29) for years and it's by far the best liquid liner I've come across for two reasons; Firstly, the liner itself, it's matte dark colour and lasts all day, very rarely do I have to do touch ups. Secondly, the applicator, which is actually a brush, you know with individual hairs like a paint brush, rather than a felt-tip nib type thing you often get which is good as I tend to find the nib ones to be too solid and stiff to get the smooth lines you can achieve with a brush style applicator. 

My eyeliner isn't perfect today and is a little messy (as you can see from the photo below, I had still to do the clean up on the smudged mascara below the water line and on my top lid), but like eyebrows, the eyeliner on each lid, doesn't have to be identical, just a similar style (otherwise it would just look odd). So I just go with what works from day to day, which tends to be a pretty simple cat eye look with a not too drastic flick.

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Anyway, that's that for now, I would highly recommend these products if you don't mind very obvious and dark make-up. It's probably a little to heavy for most people, but it's what I do everyday and it is pretty quick and easy to do. Though, obviously if you did a thinner eye-liner line, and just one coat of mascara it would be more subtle look. They aren't too expensive compared to other products around, they do last a while and definitely have the quality. Thanks for reading! (and sorry for all the gross, high quality, up close pictures of my eyes!)

Here's a little start to finish comparison photo set!

         

Keep smiling,

BirdsinBlossom x

Little shopping trip to the Trafford centre!

So today my boyfriend had a ski lesson booked at the chill factore, (the lucky boy is off to France tomorrow with uni mates on a skiing holiday for a week! I was invited but uni assignments take priority, sigh) since he was going there I thought I'd drive him and then have a toot around the Trafford centre, which is right next door.

Well I dropped him off at half eight as his lesson started at nine and went straight over to the Trafford centre, little did I know it only opened at 10 (though i did get a cracking parking spot). I literally sat in my car for 20 minutes doing nothing, until boredom truly set in and I decided to go inside incase the cafes were open. If you've ever been to the Trafford centre you'll know how hectic and crowded it is but for about 2 hours it was just this...

Utter bliss!

(And Starbucks was open so I just sat down and relaxed with a frappucino waiting for the stores to open.)

Right, let me set something straight, I had gift cards and Christmas money to spend, so if you read my last post and saw that one of my New Years resolutions was to not spend frivolously, I'm going to say this trip didn't count as it is totally part of my Christmas presents!! (Blatant denial, the money saving starts tomorrow, I promise!)

Anyway I thought I'd show you all some of my january sales purchases...

First up is some Make up.

These were a bargain at £3.99 each, especially the eye-shadow mini palette, recently I've been coveting the Urban decay naked palette collection but it's a tad out of my budget but these are just what I was looking for in a replacement. There's not just this one, there's a whole collection and loads of gorgeous shades, but I tend to only use pinks and nudes so this was the one for me!

H&M - £3.99 each

 Next up... Nail polishes!

The red ones on the left were bought together in a set, and I got these as a... sort-of impulse buy as they were at the till but I have been looking for a replacement red glitter nail polish since my topshop one ran out and they don't sell it currently. The ones on the right are topshop and I saw them from the shop entrance and I had to have them, and since it's the sales there was a little deal which made me feel a little less guilty when purchasing them (that and the god-send of student discount!). They are a little pricey compared to some more budget nail polishes but they are worth it in my opinion not only because the colours are always lovely but they're really great quality.

Red ones are from H&M- £2.99

Blue ones are from Topshop- £6 each or 2 for £9

Now for some Accessories...

This is a really cute elastic headband which will go perfectly with a skirt I have and several other items, it's fake leather from what I can tell and feels really good quality, perfect for the spring.

Topshop - £6

I couldn't not buy these, they are so darn cute! Not exactly for everyday but cosy and have kittens on them so what's not to like?

River Island- £3 each or 3 for £7

Point of notice, as I've said these are 3 for £7 and I did have another pair of socks that were black with koalas on them (and just as cute) but the woman at the till was too busy chatting with co-workers so didn't scan them, I'm a little disappointed with that. Oh well.

Here are my favourite things to buy, the Clothes!

I have a little obsession with velvet at the minute, though admittedly I do have a red velvet skirt and I don't usually purchase things of which I own similar items, but it was in the sales and I tried it on and it's so soft and looks amazing. It's knee-length, which is another thing I'm loving right now, and there was also a lovely royal blue version (I would have bought that as well but I have recently bought a royal blue 3/4 sleeve velvet dress that's not so different).

Miss Selfridges- £20 (£18 with my student discount)

I have completely adored this coat since I first saw it and when ever I saw someone in town wearing it I would turn green with envy! However I could not justify paying £98 for it, then I saw one in the (actual) topshop store today in the sales and got all excited, but it was size 14 and £65, too large and still a little too pricey, so sadly I put it down. But later on I was looking in the small topshop section they have in Debenhams and there was one more in my size no less, and I checked the price tag again and found it was £45, that I could justify! So obviously I snapped it up (and with student discount it saved me even more moolah).

Topshop (Debenhams) - £45 (£40.50 with student discount)

Now I do have white/cream jumpers but this is a lot more fitted and lighter (as in thickness/weight) than my others, and it's got a nicer design so I thought it would be great for spring when it's starting to warm up but not quite vest top weather. It's a size or two larger than I actually am, but that's usually okay with regards to jumpers (in my opinion) and this one, like I said, is more fitted so it's just right for what I wanted. A good find, I reckon.

River Island- £10

I wasn't to sure about this skirt at first as it has a crinkly texture (which you can see in the photos) and it feels like it looks but I liked the pattern (shown in more detail underneath), but it's not uncomfortable to wear or anything it just rustles a bit when you walk. Yet when I tried it on (with the jumper above) it was just so lovely and looked really pretty and for the price I couldn't say no!

River Island- £5

This scarf was in the sales section, but didn't have a sales price tag like everything else, so I thought maybe someone had just left it there, but it was so soft, thick and with such lovely colours that I decided to take it to the till with me just in case it was on sale, as the normal price was £22 which wasn't shocking, because it's huge and really good quality but I wouldn't pay that much for this kind of thing. Lo and behold, it was on sale, and £7! Bargain!

River Island- £7


Lastly, little bath time treats!

I don't know if you can tell but I do love my LUSH bath bombs and bubble bars (even the little snowman is from LUSH) so I got quite a few. I think I'm going to make a post entirely on this 'haul within this haul' as I bought a variety of things and I think I'll review them individually, so keep an eye out for that in the very near future (I've got to use them first though!).

LUSH- Variety of prices, total around £30

I'll be more specific on prices etc. in the post I'm going to write solely for these, I just don't have the info. at hand at the minute.

I don't often go into The Body Shop, but I'm not sure why because they do so much gorgeous stuff. I need to get more things from here, most definitely! But I did wander in today as I had time to kill and there were so many amazing offers, but this caught my eye, well more my nose, as it smells AMAZING, it's passion fruit scented body butter and shower gel and I am in love with it, great price as well!

The Body Shop- £8 Bought together as a set (originally £15)

That's all folks!
Well not really, I did buy a ton of pretty Christmas wrapping paper as well since it was all dirt cheap and so I thought I'd stock up now, why not?

I had a really nice chill shopping day today, just by myself, it's sometimes nice to have change. I do love going shopping with friends and family but there are times you just want a little day on your own to browse at your own pace, on your own timescale, and for such a hectic shopping center I left surprisingly relaxed!

Hope I didn't blather on too much...

Keep smiling!
BirdsinBlossom x

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A Fresh Start (Again)

Here we go, I have decided to start a blog... obviously. Well, let me just say I have absolutely no idea where I'm going with this, but at the minute it's going to be irregular posts about things on my mind or what I'm up to.

I suppose I'd better introduce myself.

Okay so, my name's Becky, I'm 20 years old and I'm a full time student studying in Manchester. There isn't much else of interest to tell you right now but I'm sure more will be said in the near future.

My main interests and what will be filling out this space are fashion & beauty, a bit of baking, my puppies (though both are far from being pups!) and maybe day to day outings... you know, all that jazz.

Any-hoo, that's a rap for now, not sure when or what the next post will be but hopefully I'll stick to this (this isn't the first time I've tried to set up a blog, not by a long shot) so thanks for reading!

Keep smiling,

BirdsInBlossom x