03/12/2013

DAIRY FREE/ VEGAN BREAKFAST IDEA


So, a few years ago when I was at uni I started to eat a bowl of cereal and as I swallowed it my entire throat started to itch, ever since I've had issues with dairy products(milk and butter in particular).
 Before that, I'd eaten dairy in excess and would put cheese on everything. Being away from home I tried to make everything as flavoursome and as tasty as my mum did- and melted cheese always did the trick! 
So, I did my research and when I read the words 'Lactose Intolerant' I thought my life was over. Sounds dramatic but I was the girl known for eating an entire family sized bar of Cadbury's Wholenut Chocolate for dinner, the girl who lived off of Kellog's Crunchy Nut, no matter what time of day it was I could be found crunching and slurping away on that stuff (o.k well obviously I don't slurp... or make any other undesirable sound as I delicately devour my food). There were tears involved, but with time and research I learned how to still have yummy food minus the cow juice. Enjoy.




  1. Fill half the bowl with yoghurt
  2. Fill other half with granola.
  3. Wash and chop up fruit, then toss over yoghurt ...then tada a quick, easy and healthy breakfast.

Now don't get me wrong, I still sometimes eat dairy (like when I went to Italy yuuummm) but I always eat it in moderation and sometimes go weeks without eating it at all, depending on how I feel. I always say 'I love dairy, it just doesn't seem to love me'. Although, I miss being able to eat as much chocolate e.t.c as I like, this intolerance has made me a lot more aware of the food that I put in my mouth and I now read food labels which I never really did before :-)!
Anyway, lots of dairy free love! Darlene xXx

28/11/2013


NATURAL LIP CARE PRODUCTS


So the more I learn about the some of the harsh and frankly dangerous chemicals that companies routinely put in their products, the more I seek out healthier and more environmentally friendly options. It's very difficult to go cold- turkey and throw out anything with 'bad stuff' in it(I should know I've tried) so I've decided to do it gradually. It's like dieting I guess, you can't just remove chunks of your diet to lose weight you have to replace them with something. So here are a few of my tried and tested natural lip care products.




HURRAW! Lip Balm 





(Hurraw! Lip Balm in Lime and Chai Spice)

I love both of these, they're quite unusual scents/flavours as far as lip products are concerned but they both nice and moisturising! Also they're both 100% vegan, raw organic and coldpressed!
I got them from my local Wholefoods but you can also buy them here


Burt's Bee's




(Burts Bee's in Honey flavour)

Obviously, this one's pretty famous and I've been a fan for years basically because it just does the job and smells nice too. Obviously this one isn't vegan as it contains honey and beeswax but I find it more moisturising and lasts longer than the Hurraw! ones. These are sold in loads of pharmacies but you can buy it from Boots here trust me your lips will thank you.

Balance Me:Shine On Tinted Lip Salve




(Shine on Tinted Lip salve in Sheer Raspberry)

.....and finally a lip gloss and a tinted one at that. I like this one, it smells kind of like tangerines and gives a very subtle gloss. It's moderately, moisturising but I like to slick it over the top of one of the balms for extra moisture. I was lucky enough to get this free in a magazine a while ago but you can buy it here 

I'd also love to find some nice natural lipsticks because I love bold lips from time to time!

Lots of love Darlene xXx


24/11/2013


PRIMARK HAUL: CHAPTER TWO


So here's the rest of the things I hauled home from Primark on the crowded bus.....because 'I just had to have them' (sigh)! So grab a cuppa and have a nosey at what I got :-)






I'm in love with the chelsea boots, I've been umming and ahhing about getting some Vagabond ones but they're just SO expensive and knowing me I'll be bored of them in a couple of months!! I think these boots are amazing duplicates for the 'Grace' heeled chelsea boots check them out here! Oh although the bag appears to be small it holds SO much stuff I use it as an overnight bag all the time :-)!!!
Lots of Love Darlene xXx


19/11/2013

PRIMARK HAUL: CHAPTER ONE


PRIMARK HAUL:CHAPTER ONE

So the other day I decided I 'needed' a few winter bits n bobs so I popped into Primark at Tottenham Court Road. I say 'popped in', but I ended up spending approximately 2 hrs of my life in that place, I swear there was just SO much good stuff!! You know how when you get so excited and you're grabbing everything in sight (kinda like Supermarket Sweep sans the trolly) that you forget you're even holding a basket and just throw everything over your arm till the load gets so heavy, you begin to sweat and it hurts to walk.... yeah that. So, I got quite a bit so I thought it'd be better to split this haul into two parts.











My favourite purchase has to be the daisy t-shirt I got it in a size 16 to get extra slouchy oversized tee effect! I think it looks alot more expensive than it was. Also, I had to do a double take at the price of the red tea dress, its so versatile and I can chuck the furry cardi on over it with thick tights and boots during the winter and wear with bare legs and sandals in the summer!

Also if you didn't know already, Primarni have recently launched their website called 'Primania' I don't think you can buy online from it yet, but it has lots of cool styling ideas for their pieces and the 'What's New' section is great for finding out about their newest pieces before they even hit the shop floor.... have a look here  

Stay tuned for CHAPTER 2 of my Primark Haul.......

Lots of love Darlene xXx



06/11/2013



REVIEW: L'OREAL Skin Perfection 3  in 1 Micellar Purifying Solution 


So I love make up, and I take great pride (when I get the chance) in putting it on carefully....However taking it off in the evening when I'm exhausted and just want to fall into bed is a another story. I'm lazy and I usually rely on on my trusty face wipes to remove my makeup in one simple and easy step. However, lately my lazy approach to make up removal has started to show in the form of yucky spots and blemishes. So I decided to invest in something a little different, the L'Oreal Micellar Purifying Solution to be precise. I've just been squirting a bit on a flat cotton pad thingy and swiping off my make up that way easy peasy!





I'm pretty impressed, this product does what it says on the bottle. It dissolves my make up easily but extremely gently, it doesn't sting my eyes and you can even use it as a toner before your moisturiser. Only downside to this type of make-up removal is the amount of cotton pads you need to use (I counted 8 ahhhhhhh). Other than that I really like this product its cleared up my skin a bit and doesn't just move my make up around my face like face wipes tend to do. Lots of Love xXx

......p.s this is on offer at Superdrug at the moment for £3.32, bargain!  x



03/11/2013

REVIEW: Sleek 'Matte Me' 

So, it seems like everyone and their friend is trying out this product and I was feeling a little bit left out....so during a 2 hour (YES 2 hours I kid you not!) visit to Superdrug with my gorgeous pal Charlotte, I bough the Sleek 'Matte Me' in Fandango Purple. I had seen Sian from SianShutterbug wearing it in a video on YouTube and fell in love!

Now, despite the name I definitely wouldn't describe it as a 'purple' I'd say it's more of a magenta. The consistency is like a thick lipgloss but it dries VERY matte and more like a lipstick. I really like this lip cream, its strongly pigmented and very easy to build up if you want a strong block of colour or easy to wear a big more sheer. I will say however that after wearing this for a whole day it did make my lips a bit dry, but I just used my tinted lipbalm (Maybelline Baby Lips, Fruit Punch) to revive it a bit. All in all I'm happy I bought this, I got compliments all day, I'm definitely going to be a bit naughty and go back for the bright red in this range xXx













31/10/2013

Remember me? I'm the girl who used to blog here....


So I could make loads of tired excuses as to why I haven't blogged in about 7 months but in actual fact I guess I've just been .....living. It's funny I find blogging so therapeutic and stressful all at the same time ,therapeutic because it's a way of venting the millions of thoughts that run through my excessively overactive mind, kind of like a really public and colourful diary. Stressful because bloggers are supposed to live really interesting fun lives right? Sometimes I get the opportunity to do really cool things other days I spend in bed wearing discoloured mismatched pjs, whilst watching videos on YouTube munching family sized snacks. Also, if extreme procrastination is a disorder I definitely have it. I've been guilty of procrastinating ENTIRE days away.... ridiculous I know. Anyway,one thing is for sure; I love blogging and reading blogs and vlogs and everything else in between, so I may not be consistent with my posts but I want to promise myself that I'll keep at it and when I do blog, I blog cool stuff( I will warn you in advance that my definition of cool is questionable) ... it's all about quality not quantity right!!
Anyway, enough waffling on and more blogging.... Here's (kinda-sorta) my last 7 months in pictures !! Ooooh and I finally betrayed my Blackberry and got myself a pretty white i-phone, which should make uploading stuff when I'm not at home even easier :-) Lots of Love Darlene xXx



.....and just in case you wondered

From L-R 

1:Filming music video in Manchester  2: On a Pedalo in Greenwich Park 
3:On the way to the studio with the girls 4:Wagamamas with Selina

5: Pretending I know what I'm doing 6:Coming home on the train from the Breaking Out Festival in Wales 
7:Canal street in Manchester 8:Hyde Park

9:Victoria Park 10:Breaking Out Festival 
11:Album launch at the Ritzy, Brixton 12: Yummy fish n chips in Leeds

13: In the studio with the girls 14: Park with my little cousin 15:Holland Park 16: Canterbury

xXx

12/03/2013

"What ?Now? I just can't figure it out....."

I've had a lovely couple of days, yesterday evening I went  to see Tiff, and she treated me to a belated birthday Nando's and I had the yummiest carrot cake for dessert !!





Theeennnn today ,I met Tammy at Itsu by Liverpool Street Station ...... I love this place, the food is sooo tasty and healthy. Also, it steers clear of artifical sweeteners ,additives and all that yucky stuff !!


So nice catching up with ma buddies ... however, I'm now officially addicted to sweet and salt popcorn !!! I'm one of those annoyingly indecisive people ....so now that now that's one less decision for me to make....PHEW !!!

Lots of Love Darlene xXx



06/03/2013

'They drink horse milk....'

So, today my friend Nneka asked me to help her out as she needed an actress for and advert she's doing for her uni course. I played a young woman who's being proposed to by her boyfriend ... awwww. It was soooo much fun and it was really cool hanging out on a uni campus. I went to drama so it was definitely a new experience for me.... For, one there were so many people,plus they even have a shop which is called the "Village Store"... so freaking cute ! Oohh and they even have a ping pong table outside( I'm sooo easily impressed... I know)! I've always dreamed of going to university (or 'College' as theys say in the U.S) in America. I wanna be a cheerleader and date a jock and go to prom ahhhhh! Too many years watching Nickelodeon I guess...!

Anyway, back to the advert my boyfriend/ fiance was played by the marvelous Dimitri and behind the camera was the lovely Marta and Nnekas' friend Caleb played Dimitri's father .

 PERFECT !!!! INneka


 Nneka is one of the prettiest girls I know so it took blacking up one of her perfect teeth (with nail varnish) and VERY good acting to make her look even remotely unappealing hahahahaha !I seriously can't wait to see the final edit of this ,it's gonna be hilarious !!


Oh and look at these ducks ,I like to think that the one behind is chasing the one in front front cos he thinks she's proper fit ...hahahahaha... what can I say I'm a hopeless romantic ;-) ..



Lot's of Love Darlene xXx



05/03/2013

'The sun is shining the weather is sweet..'

Today was one word ....BEAUTIFUL !The sun didn't stop stop shining and there wasn't a cloud in sight! So I thought I'd take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and walk down to the canal. My outfit today is inspired by the Rihanna Collection for River Island that's just launched in shops. Love her or loathe her you have to agree her style is bold and fierce and I for one love it! However, I'm really trying to save money at the moment so I thought I'd use stuff I already had to create the same look!

   





Bobble Hat | H&M
Denim Jacket | eerm had it since I was a kid
Chain | *Ahem* 'borrowed' from my big brother
Crop top | H&M
Skirt | American Apparel
Lumberjack Shirt | Beyond Retro
Wedge Boots | Topshop
Socks | Topshop
Hoop Earrings | Primark
Bracelet | Primark 
Ring | Topshop
Lot's of Love Darlene xXx
and this one was my favourite photo of them all .......



There's me trying to be all serious and Rihanna cool and I get upstaged by this rogue cyclist hahahaha....... love it :-)