My New Youtube Channel!

Click here to check out Loulubelle's Youtube channel!

Hi guys! So as per yesterdays post, i'm linking my very new, and tiny Youtube channel! There isn't a lot of content on there at the moment though, I'm still trying to keep up with planning on my blog posts for each day in 2015!

 But there are a few videos if you want to get stuck in! Not great quality, I'm still learning but I hope you find them enjoyable.

I got a new camcorder for Christmas, so I'll be having a play around soon and uploading plenty more videos. I have a lot of plans for that channel!

What do you guys like to watch on Youtube? Any suggestions, comments, advice? Let me know!

Have a brilliant New Years Eve everyone! I'll be back tomorrow with a LUSH HAUL!

Until then!

Loulubelle
XOXO

Blog Plans for 2015 and New Years Resolutions!

2015 is going to be an amazing year, and I am determined to make it one to remember! I've been plodding along throughout 2013 and 2014 with life in general and with my Blog and Youtube channel. I've been a slackers dream!

But it's time to give myself a huge kick in the butt and kick my self into shape! (Physically and Metaphorically ;)   )

So, my first resolution is in terms of this blog. You may see that I have been posting every now and then, not regularly at all. But that is all changing! I'll be posting so much more in 2015. This will be a challenge but I'm excited and I've made a head start, starting from yesterday, and I'm already enjoying it! I have so many exciting plans in 2015. Gigs, festivals, trips etc ( Don't want to spoil it all!) that I'm going to love blogging about.

2015 will also be a big year for me in terms of weight loss. I've been incredibly bad for the past three years since I was involved in a bad road traffic accident and have just comfort ate throughout three years. It also didn't help that I have been a uni student for the majority of it either! But uni is over, and I need to get my life in control, and weight plays a big part ( no pun intended!) So i'll be blogging and vlogging my progress throughout the year...

That brings me onto my next resolution which is to start and keep up a Youtube channel! Over the years I've watched, commented, liked, shared blah blah, but I haven't made my own channel! I've always thought "Oh, I'd love to do that" But never had the courage. I have that courage and motivation to finally do it.

My fourth resolution is to do more with music! I've just graduated from a degree in Popular Music Performance and I really want to throw myself into music as much as I possibly can. Do more singing, more teaching, more gigs, more festivals and just more music in general!

Finally, the biggest resolution is to become more positive and confident within myself. All of my resolutions will allow me to make this happen and it's going to be a loooong journey, but I'm excited!


Until tomorrow!

Loulubelle
XOXO

Haul! - Makeup Revolution

So I went on a bit of a makeup rampage the other day and popped into my local Superdrug who have only just started stocking Makeup Revolution! After pouring over every single piece in the collection for a long time, I came away with some little beauties!

After looking at the stand for what seemed like hours to some people but not enough for me ;) I found some promising products and tese were the products that caught my eye. And they photograph so beautifully Too!

First off is the Sugar and Spice ultra blush palette. There are 8 blushes in this palette, 6 matte shades and 2 shimmer blush. Now, the two shimmer blush (furthest away in the picture below) are beautiful but I would only usee the pink as an actual blush colour for the cheeks, and the purple blush, I would use as a cheekbone highlighter, basically because mauve coloured cheeks don't seem to be in fashion, yet! Out of the 6 matte blush, the two browns are perfect contours for the face. One light brown (second pan left row) for the coming up winter months, and one a darker brown (first pan, left row) which would prove very handy in the summer when the face is glowing with sun kissed tan.The other 4 matte blushes range from peach to dark pink, perfect for different makeup looks. Why not wear the peach for a healthy natural daytime glow, and then revert to the dark pink for a romantic evening meal? The combinations are endless. The perfect palette for travelling as well! The casing is lovely as well, it doesn't feel as cheap as some brands of makeup palettes do, and it comes with a decent sized, useable mirror on the case. The shades are wearable, not too out there but some just dare you to be creative and different. They have staying power and last the whole day. I'm in love with this palette, and at only £6 what's not to love about it!

The next palette I bought is the best dupe palette that I have seen. It's the Redemption palette Iconic 3 which as every beauty blogger knows is the dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette. Now this palette is something else. It has all the colours and colour pay off that you would expect to see in the Naked 3 palette but for a fraction of the cost! In Superdrug, this palette cost me £4! How?! It's some sort of makeup trickery. But seriously, because this palette works so well, why would I want to spend £30 on something so similar? No brainer if you ask me!

Finally, I purchased their eyebrow kit which really is a good kit. With my red hair I find that a dark brown colour usually suits my brows, the dark brown in this four shade kit is a bit dark for my liking but the mid brown shade is a nice suitable colour for daytime brows, and if I want to vamp it up a bit i'll go for the darker brown. For this kit, I paid a modest £2.50! Bargain!

So if you want a cheaper alternative to an expensive makeup brand, or a quick wau to change your look from day to night in one palette I recommend you take a look at what Makeup Revolution has to offer you.

XOXO

A Winters Face: Matte Gothic Make Up Look

I don't know about anybody else out there but I am fond of a dark, Gothic look during the winter months, featuring a full face of make up to enhance the beauty and glamour of winter! So today, I thought i'd bring you my go-to make up look I've been using throughout this winter season!  

Products used:

Primer - Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro
Foundation - Revlon Colourstay - 110 Ivory
Concealer - Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - 01 Fair
Powder - Maybelline Matte Maker - 20 Nude Beige
Blush - Makeup Revolution - Sugar and Spice Blush Palette - Light Pink
Eyebrows - MUA Ever After Matte Palette - Truffle
Eyeshadow Base - MUA Ever After Matte Palette - Butter
Eueshadow Crease - MUA Ever After Matte Palette - Truffle
                               - MUA Ever After Matte Palette - Smoke
Eyeliner - Top Lid - Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Liner - Black
              -  Waterline - Soap and Glory - Smoulder Kohl - Grapevine
Mascara - L'Oreal False Lash Flutter - Black
Lipstick - Revlon ColourBurst Matte Balm - Shameless

I'm in love with this look, and having new orange hair works unusually well with the purple lipstick! Being a lover of the gothic/alternative side of fashion and beauty, I can't get enough of this look. What are your favourite wintery looks? I love to know how everyone else likes to style themselves during the winter months!

Until next time!

Loulubelle
XOXO

Snowy Winter Pine Cone Centerpiece

Today, I thought we'd take an autumnal centerpiece that I created for the fall season and bring it up to speed and create a wintery centerpiece!

 You Will Need:- Pine cones 3 different height white pillar candles Large decorative bowl/plate silver spray paint white snow spray First off, I took a bowl, and a lot of baby pine cones that I picked up a few months ago on an autumn walk, and three white pillar candles. These alone made up my autumnal centerpiece as the natural autumn colours with the white candles made it stand out on a table. But to change these up to a winter style, I took some silver spray paint, and some snow spray to the little pine cones.

First, I laid out a black bin bag in a well ventilated area. (This meant going outdoors all cosied up in as many layers as I could find!) and spread the pine cones out evenly so I could spray them from all directions. First, I started with the silver spray and sprayed across all the pine cones, then turned them over to cover the other side. Then I left them to dry. I made sure to keep a little bit of the natural pine cone showing through. You don't want the pine cones looking artificial and fake... more snowy and magical ;)

After about half an hour, when the paint was still a bit tacky, i went over the pine cones with a light spraying of snow spray,

left that to dry then arranged the pine cones and the candles like so! I hope this gives you an idea for a christmas dinner centerpiece, or just a centerpiece for a coffee table, console or anything else requiring something just a bit special! See you soon!

Loulubelle

XOXO 

About Me

Hi there!

My name is Lousie and I am a music graduate! Whilst doing my degree I fell into the whirlpool that is the world of blogging. And I loved it. So much so, here's my own blog!

I love to blog about anything close to my heart, shopping, beauty, baking, crafts, you name it, I will pretty much blog about it!

I also have a youtube channel where I take blogging into the realy world and film hauls, makeup videos, etc etc, the list goes on!

Have a look through my blog and get lose in my world!

XOXO
Loulubelle

Cheesy Straws!

So one of my favorite treats is a chewy, warm and yummy cheese twist. So I decided on a whim today, to bake some and obviously blog it! So here's how I made these scrummy savory treats.

Ingredients

100g sifted plain flour
1.5tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
2tbsp softened butter
100g grated cheddar cheese
80ml cold water

Method

• Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and stir together to combine. 

• Add the butter and cheese to the mix and combine together until you get a crumbly mixture.

•  Add the water bit by bit and mix with a fork to break up any large chunks and do this until your dough reaches a stage where it doesn't stick to the bowl. 

•   Roll up the dough into a ball and roll this ball out into a rectangular sort of shape... my shape was a bit 'rustic' ;) and cut a line horizontally across the dough, then some vertical lines, like so...

• Then, give the cheese straws a couple of signature twists and place on a baking sheet and put in the preheated oven for 10 minutes on 220 degrees / gas mark 7.

 And then you magically have, warm, chewy, cheesy straws! I made another two batches after this one... as the first batch dissappreared magically! (intomybelly)

So have a go at these and leave a comment below and tell me what you thought of them!

Summer means days like these...

 

So this summer for the UK has been an amazing hot one! Luckily, one has had a good amount of holidays from work over the past month so I've had a lot of time to be able to do a lot of fun stuff across the South Coast! So last week, me and the boyfriend had a day to ourselves and had a full day of fun.

We went to Portsmouth and had a look around the amazing shops in Gunwharf Quays, and a peek at the Historical Waterfront, but alas at £28 it wasn't something we could afford after our morning of shopping! (I'd rather waste my money shopping unfortunately!)

After we left Portsmouth, we headed back home to Dorset and had margarita cocktails in the garden with the neighbours, then we headed to Poole Quay to catch the fireworks! If you'll see a few posts back, I love the fireworks here! Luckily, they're on every week through the summer. Bliss! 

XOXO

Tuesday Bakesday!

So today I thought I would share with you a birthday cake that I made for one of my best friends birthday! We are fans of the enchanted, mythical and faerie world so I took inspiration from this. This has to be the most intricate cake that I have made to date and to complete... it took roughly 6 hours!

The cake itself is a madeira cake (i won't bore you with a recipe, I just took a simple one from a google search) and in the center is vanilla buttercream. I covered the cake in green fondant icing and used decoration tools to make the swirls across the cake.. looking like climbing ivy across a forest floor. Then I added sugar flowers across the cake and freeze-dried strawberries to look like tiny flowers. 

On top of that, I made three mushrooms with fondant icing and gave them cute faces. The baby .ushrrom was so small i painted on the face with food colouring. Then if you loom more into the cake you can see a catterpillar on top of a mushroom and a tiny ladybug on the forest floor. 

Finally i added three butterflies flying suspended from wire to add more illusion and depth to the cake.Oh and not to forget the edible glitter! For a bit of a magical touch :)

I loved decorating this cake, its full of things to look at any way you turn it and its like you can reach out and touch the fantasy.

I hope you enjoyed taking time looking at the cake. I can tell you... it went down a storm! Let me know if you'd love to see more baking adventures!

XOXO

I've Been Gone For So Long!

Slap on my hand for being such a bad blogger! University deadlines and a new job have halted any of my blogging opportunities.Nothing much has changed whilst I've been AWOL, just stress! But now I'm back and i thought I'd bring with me an old school blogging tag. So here is the 20 questions tag :) 

1. Thing you cannot leave the house without?

My phone, my purse, my keys and i can't leave the house without saying goodbye to my beautiful kitty cats! 

 

2. Favourite brand of make-up?

I think it has to be Bourjois at the moment. I'm in love with their glitter nail varnish, their 1 2 3 perfect liquid foundation and their Little Round Pot Blusher in Rose D'or!

3. Favourite flower?

My all time favourite flower is a red Amaryllis. I received one for Christmas and it has just bloomed! A beautiful sight in this dreary English weather I can tell you!

 

4. Favourite clothing store?

This is hard. I like to shop everywhere and don't usually shop in specific stores... I'd have to say it's a mix between New Look and Topshop at the moment, but this may change in a month or two... it tends to fluctuate! 

5. Favourite perfume?
At the moment, it's Taylor Swift... by Taylor Swift.

6. Heels or Flats?

Flats! I feel too tall and awkward if I wear heels. Just not right! Also It's hard for me to wear heels as i have a metal rod in my left leg which doesn't make walking in heels all that comfortable!

7. Do/Did you get good grades?

At university I'm at a steady grade of 2:1-2:2 which is good! I finish in four months so just need to keep the work up to a good standard i suppose!

8. Favourite colours

Black, red, pink and grey

9. Do you drink energy drinks?

I used to, but they just make me hyper and then fall asleep! No point drinking them really!

10. Do you drink juice?

Again I used to, but not anymore. Fruit juice is very bad for your teeth and I'm cutting bad foods from my diet, including fruit juice.

11. Do you eat fries/chips with a fork?

Ones from the chip shop - no. Ones at home, yes. Depends if i have a fork near me! 

12. Favourite moisturiser?

Nivea Daily Essentials Day Cream. So soft and smells great.

13. Do you want to get married? 

One day! I've been with my boyfriend for nearly 3 years now, and hopefully we will...

14.Do you get mad easily?

Not really. Sometimes I do, but what woman can say that she never gets mad?

15.Are you into ghost hunting?

I believe in ghosts, but not ghost hunting, I get scared too easily!

 

16. Any phobias?
Wool on teeth! bleeeeurgh! Hate it!
 
17. Do you bite your nails?
Nope!
 
18. have you had a near death experience?
I've had a major accident before, broke a few bones in the process but it wasn't a near death experience by a long shot.
 
19. Do you drink coffee?
EEEEEWWWWWWW no haha.
 
20. Do you like swimming?
I don't mind it but i'd rather sunbathe!

Hope you enjoyed reading guys! 

XOXO