DIY // Make A Scrunchie

I don't know about you but I personally love scrunchies and I am super happy that they are back in fashion. I love just throwing one into a high messy ponytail to add some retro 80's vibes to any outfit. They are super easy to make and cost way less than if you went out and bought one. There are also so many different patterns and styles of material to choose from meaning that your scrunch options are endless.

You will need...

- Material of your choice (the size of the material is totally up to you and how you want your scrunchie to look. For mine I used material strips that were 10x50cm).

- Scissors 

- Sewing machine with chosen cotton threaded through

- Elastic (again the size of the elastic is totally up to you, my elastic pieces were about 15cm long).

- Dress making pins if you need them

Lets Begin!

1. If your material isn't already cut into 10x50cm (or what ever measurements your doing) then do that now. 

2. Fold the material strip long ways with the right sides facing each other and pin along the edge. (If you are confident with the sewing machine then you don't have to pin it down.)

3. With the sewing machine, sew along that edge leaving about a 4cm gap at each end and a 1cm seam allowance. 

4. Next turn the material right side out. 

5. This is where is gets a little confusing, with the right sides facing each other sew the open ends together. 

6. After thats done you should have a hollow tube with a gap in it. Thread the elastic piece into the gap using a safety pin at one end to help feed your way through. Tie the end of the elastic into a double knot.

7. Sew up the remaining gap in the scrunchie and voila you are done! 

Have fun scrunchie making!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

After testing and experimenting with many vegan cookie recipes I think I have finally found the perfect one. These cookies are crunchy on the outside, chewy in the middle and I promise that you won't even notice that their vegan. I also made this recipe into a youtube video so if you prefer to watch it in video form you can do so here.

You will need...

1/2 cup of vegan butter (I used Nuttelex)

1 cup of self raising flour

1/2 cup of caster sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar 

1 tsp of vanilla essence

3/4 cup of vegan chocolate chips (I used the nestle dark melts because I had no nestle dark chocolate chips at the time)

Method

1. In an electric mixer you want to mix the room tempreture butter on a low setting.

2. Next you can add in your caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla essence and until well combined.

3. After that you can sift in your flour gradually, stirring in between with a spatula.

4. Next you can pour in the chocolate chips and stir them in.

5. Use your fingers to mould the dough into balls and place them onto baking trays with 6 baking paper. (Remember that they will expand and spread out in the oven so be sure to leave generous gaps between each cookie ball.)

6. Next I use the palm of my hand to flatten out the cookies slightly, this is optional but it makes them look flatter in the end result.

7. You want to cook them in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 10-15 minutes. I cooked mine for 12 minutes and that worked perfectly for me and made them crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle. 

8. Once there done cooking you can remove them from the oven and onto a cooling rack to cool and thats it. So easy and delicious!!

If you do end up trying this recipe, let me know what you think of them.

Autumn Essentials

Autumn is here! Which means the weather is cooling down and the leaves are changing colour. When I think of autumn I imagine myself snuggled up in bed, drinking hot chocolate and watching a film or going for a walk wearing a sweater and feeling the satisfaction of stepping on autumn leaves and hearing them crunch. Anyways, here are my autumn essentials.

I have very dry lips as it is but as the weather begins to cool it gets a lot worse and they need some extra special attention. To fix this I like to treat them to a lip scrub and the Lush Bubblegum Scrub is my favourite. It smells delicious and once your done scrubbing your lips, you can lick it off although it doesn't taste as nice as you would think. I'm pretty sure lush needs to bring out a cinnamon spice flavour lip scrub for this time of here but for now bubblegum will do. After scrubbing my lips and getting all the dead skin off (ew) I like to moisturise them. Lucas Papaw Ointment has been my favourite lip balm for years, so i'll lather on a thick layer of that and dry, chapped lips will no longer be a problem. 

As it gets colder and rain becomes a daily occurrence, you are going to be stuck inside a lot. To stop myself from being bored out of my brain I like to read (and watch films). I am currently reading Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Its a wonderful novel that combines old haunting photographs with a peculiar story that will send chills down your spine. And if you finish that book, there are two more in the series that will keep you occupied for days on end. Whilst reading I recommend lighting a candle and munching on some Red Rock Deli Sweet Potato Chips (yes they are vegan). When I first tried these chips I didn't like them but they grew on me and now i'm obsessed. I bought 3 packets at the super market last week as they were on sale and I couldn't resist. I think the orange chip colours reminds me of the autumn leaves making these the perfect snack for a rainy day inside. 

As much as we would like to stay inside all autumn, we can't and there are days when we have to leave the house. This means we have to rug up in some warmer clothes. I absolutely love sweaters and recently I have purchased a couple of new ones. The cream one in the photos is from Glassons and I love it, the neck line can be left as is or you can roll it down for a different look. Its also cropped so its perfect to wear with a high waisted skirt. Which brings me onto my next essential; TIGHTS! Throughout autumn, tights will become your new best friend. It can be frustrating wanting to wear a skirt or a dress but its too cold to, well chuck some tights on underneath and your good to go. My favourite tights are from Bonds which I have been wearing tons recently. 

My last essential is of course a scarf. I have been on a serious hunt for the perfect plaid scarf and low and behold I found it. Its by the brand Princess Highway and I love it. The material is perfect, the colours are perfect and it will keep your neck nice a toasty when your outside. Plus its so big that if you ever want to have a spontaneous picnic, just throw this on the ground and you have a picnic blanket.

Those are my autumn essentials. What are yours?

My Cruelty Free Skincare Routine

Today I am going to share all the products that I use on my skin for my skincare routine. All the products that I use are natural, cruelty free and vegan so you can be saving the planet as well as cleaning your skin. What's your favourite skincare product?

Botani Purify Facial Cleanser

The first thing I do in my sincare routine is wash my face with a gentle cleanser. I found this one at the health shop and decided to purchase it. It is quite basic and I wouldn't say there is anything special about it but it cleans my skin and that is what cleansers are for. I use this in the morning as soon as I wake up and at night before I go to bed. 

Lush Enzymion Moisturiser

This moisturiser is by far my favourite product in my entire skincare routine. I absolutely love all Lush products and when I purchased this I had very high hopes and in no way did it disappoint. I have pretty oily skin and this feels so light when I apply it. It sinks in so quickly and leaves you feeling fresh and calm. I'd say the only down sides to this product is that it was a little pricey for a Lush product and the pot is very small but the overall moisturiser is amazing so I can't complain. I already know that I will definitely be going to purchase this again and again and again. 

Botani Rescue Acne Cream

This Botani Rescue Acne Cream is absolutely perfect for those little pesky spots that just don't want to leave your face. I like to take a cotton swab or a makeup pad and dip it in and then apply to the affected area. Try not to use your fingers to apply this as you don't want to spread the bacteria from your pimple back into the jar. What I love about this product is that its all natural so you know that your not making your acne worse by applying a bunch of yucky chemicals. 

Frank Body

I tried Frank Body a few years ago after seeing it blow up all over Instagram and can I just say that it is has helped so much with my acne scarring. It is a coffee bean scrub that I personally like to use whilst I'm in the shower around 3-4 times a week. I mainly use it on my face to help with my acne and acne scars but you can use it all over your body. Its 100% natural and only has like 5 ingredients so you know that it isn't harming your skin. Also quick tip; if you don't like the smell of coffee then this product is not for you. 

Whats In My Bag?

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to film a whats in my bag and put it on youtube or do a blog post about it, in the end I decided to do a blog post as you can probably tell while reading this. I personally think what someone keeps in there handbag says a lot about them and who they are. So for all you nosy people out there (including me) who just like to know what others keep in there handbag then this is for you.

Dangerfield Crossbody Satchel

A couple of months ago I spotted this bag in Dangerfield and I immediately fell in love but I knew that I didn't need a new handbag and it just wasn't a priority purchase so I walked away. From that moment forward I could not stop thinking about this bag, I know, I am so dramatic but I seriously could not stop thinking about this one bag so a few days ago I gave in and I purchased the bag. I usually only buy bags in black just because I know that it will match with everything but I wanted to try something a little different and I think the brown colour just makes it look a lot more vintage and old and I love that. From what I can tell the bag is made extremely well made and was a very reasonable price. It has a detachable strap so you can wear it cross body or you can just hold it by the little handle. It is the perfect size to hold everything I need and overall I just love it.

You can shop the bag here.

Wallet

My wallet is probably the oldest thing ever and I should probably invest in a new one soon but for now I am just using a pink Bluebird one. Its nothing special but it does the trick.  

Phone

I usually never leave the house without my phone and I suppose most people don't either. I currently have a silver iPhone 6 which I quite like, the only reason I upgraded was for the better camera quality which is great. Im also currently loving the app Best Fiends which I used to call Best Friends before I noticed that there was no r in the word.

Sunglasses

These sunglasses are by the brand LeSpecs and when I received them as a gift for christmas I really loved them. They were the perfect shape for my face, they were really comfortable and I wore them everywhere. But as a couple of months went by and they broke and I was shattered. I tried to fix them which sort of worked but there really wonky now and don't really sit right.

Hand Sanitiser 

I think hand sanitiser is a 100% necessity for every bag. I use it almost everyday whether I am at a shopping centre or in a public toilet. The one I have is just from the Supermarket and I am not sure whether is is vegan and cruelty free or not so if you know of any good vegan hand sanitisers then please let me know.

Vicks Inhaler 

If you are like me and get hay fever, allergies, etc then you need a Vicks Inhaler. You pretty much just stick it up your nose and then sniff and it just clears your nose. Its a good thing to have in your bag incase you need it one day, plus it is quite small and takes up hardly any room.

Perfume

The Vanillary Perfume from Lush is always lurking around my bag no matter what. I wear it daily and because the bottle is only 10ml, it fits perfectly in your bag. Also vanilla is one of my favourite scents so it is the perfect combination.  

Paw Paw Ointment

There is nothing worse than sticky, gross lip balms that tastes disgusting and Lucas' Pawpaw Ointment is none of those things. I constantly have really dry chapped lips and I am always picking at or biting my lips. I can truly say that this ointment has saved my life. It is extremely versatile and can be used on insect bites, burns, sunburn, cuts and minor open wounds. 

Pen

You never know when your going to need to write something down and having a pen can just save your life sometimes. 

Ear Phones

I always have ear phones in my bag no matter what. They take up no space and always come in handy when I'm bored and want to jam to some tunes.

Portable Phone Charger

I actually got this as a freebee when I purchased my phone. It is a nifty little rectangle box that you basically charge up and then when you are out and your phone runs out you can just plug it into this and it will charge. So handy!

What are your handbag necessities? x