Duke of York Square Market // Chewsday

If you are ever on the Kings Road in Chelsea of a Saturday then this is somewhere you HAVE to visit.  Every week in the Duke of York Square, just down from Sloane Square and right outside the Saatchi Gallery, there is the most amazing food market, selling everything from vegan baked goods to Pad Thai. There's stalls selling frozen cocktails, oysters, handmade chocolates, gourmet popcorn, swiss cheese: EVERYTHING. And the smell. It's almost worth a visit simply for the gorgeous smell alone and is my favourite place to get lunch every Saturday on my break from work. The pictures do NOT do it justice.

The Duke of York Square Food Market is every Saturday

Dark Purple Eyeshadow Look // Make up Your Mondays

This eyeshadow is something I've been wearing a lot lately. I felt inspired one morning after seeing Cheryl with something similar on X Factor. It's almost a kind of cat-eye with eyeshadow, which just accentuated the actual cat-eye I do with my eyeliner. I've also been using a lovely Autumn/Winter-y purple shade from my Sleek palette which can go with either a nude lip a dark red or berry lip for a really vampy (is that a word?). In the photo above I've gone for a dark lip: Rvelon Va Va Violet. Below are the the steps I go through to get the look.

My bare eyes and scraggy eyebrows. (I have already applied my foundationa and concealer)

I use the lightest shade on my Kiko palette (number 100) all over my lids

I then create a cat eye with the colour Regal from ny Sleek 'Au Naturel' palette. This is a beautiful matte purple which I don't take any further in than the halfway point on my lids.

I use a fluffy brush to blend Regal out slightly and then add a cat-eye with my felt tip liquid liner (I use L'oreal Superliner Perfec Slim in Intense Black) and mascara. I use the shape of the eyeshadow as a guide for where to take my eyeliner.

This is the finished look, a dark, smokey cat-eye, less defined than the standard flicky eyeliner. I also used the L'Oreal Brow Artist in Light Brown on my brows.

The light shade that I used all over the lid.

'Regal', the purple shade I used for the cat-eye.

Dance Proms // TGIF

Last Sunday me and my Mum toddled along to the Royal Albert Hall to see the Dance Proms. My absolute FAVOURITE thing is watching shows, it's such an inspiration and just reminds me why I'm training for this: performing is what I love to do.

I wasn't sure what the Dance Proms were going to be but it was a happy surprise, most of the performers were from local dance schools and were great! There was such a variety of performances, from tap to ballet, Tahitian dancing to hip hop. There were also guest dancers from the Royal Ballet were beautiful of course. My and my Mum were lucky enough to get reseated so that we were four rows from the front as well, which was pretty fabulous.  It was just a really enjoyable evening and lovely to be in the Royal Albert Hall; I'd forgotten how stunning that building is.

'The Crisis Of Self Esteem' // Thursday's Thoughts

I posted a link to this YouTube video on twitter a couple of weeks ago. The video is of TV and radio presenter [and all round awesome woman] Jameela Jamil, speaking at the House of Commons on Body Confidence and what she calls 'the crisis of self esteem'.

I have always loved Jameela and this speech is brilliant as I would have expected. Jameela basically talks about how the media, and social media, continuously measure women's 'worth', as she describes it, by their shape and size and, most importantly, challenges this.

I would just beg you to watch this, whether you agree completely with what Jameela says or not. This video might not be HD, it might only be 8 minutes long, but I think this, and the message that it sends out, is one of the most important of this year. As time goes on, more people seem to be recognising the emphasis the media places on appearance and how people "should" look, but things still need to change. Thank you Jameela for having the balls to say what others don't.

Recipe: Cheese Flapjacks // Chewsday

 This is my recipe for cheese flapjacks, it's super easy and quick and I make them whenever my sister and her four kids come over: they gobble them up!  Rather than a normal, sweet flapjack, these are more like cheese straws, but wheat free ones, which is a bonus. Because the ratio of cheese to oats is pretty crazy (these things are very cheesy), you also have to be careful not to cook them for too long and burn the cheese otherwise you'll end up with very hard crispy flapjacks!

Measure out your ingredients

INGREDIENTS
5oz porridge oats
6oz grated cheese (I use either Cheddar or Red InLeicester or a mix of both)
2oz butter
1 egg
Half tsp crushed Rosemary (optional)
Salt and pepper (optional)
[Both the last steps are optional, depending on how lazy I feel]

Mix ingredients together

Preheat oven to 180c/350f/gas 4
Measure out all ingredients then mix together. (I melt the butter in the microwave a little to make it easier).
Press into greasproof paper-lined baking tin and cook for 30-35 mins
Leave to cool then cut into slices and serve

A new winter lipstick // Make Up Your Mondays

I wonder how many Kate Moss lipsticks in 107 Rimmel has sold? Quite a lot, I imagine. 107 is a matte berry colour which I associate strongly with crisp Autumn mornings, chai lattes and of course, CHRISTMAS. (Not long to go now... eeeee)

Kiko Ace of Diamonds Lipstick in 27

However I made a recent, magnificent discovery. Kiko's Ace of Diamond Lipstick in 27. I'm fairly new to the brand Kiko but this lipstick was one of the first things I bought at their Regent Street shop. I'd seen Anna from ViviannaDoesMakeup mention it and I really wanted to try it.  The Kiko lipstick is a semi matte affair and is slightly more purple-y than the red toned Rimmel 107. It is definitely more moisturising than 107 which i think is down to it not being completely matte.

I'm not replacing 107 by any means, but I love my new Kiko lipstick and will definitely be wearing it a lot this Winter!

A Flying Visit // SaturDIARY

So this week has been an odd one... I've been off college for 'reading week' (I've not done much reading...) and have been to visit my parents back in the South West. As lovely as it was to see them, it was nice to get back to London on Wednesday for a training day for work.

However all this travelling up and down the country means lots of trains. Don't get me wrong, I love trains but a 3 hour journey either way is pretty long. My iPod is something I just can't live without on these journeys. I listen to it so much: on trains, walking to college or work, in the gym, even doing my weekly shop and so I'm always on the look out for new music.

Brooke Fraser is an artist that I love: she's from New Zealand and makes such cool music. Her 4th album is on it's way I think (I hope!!) but her new song 'Kings & Queens' is my favourite song of the moment.

Definitely check it out, her voice is just beautiful; it just makes me feel really calm. And her other albums are also fab!