This past month i've been trying a fair few new products, of which i've been overwhelmed with how many products that i've enjoyed but i've narrowed it down to just a few products that I would honestly recommend to anyone out there.

With it being halloween this weekend, I headed out with a few of the girls and I chose to dress up as devil which of course meant that I needed a killer pair of lashes. I opted for the Eylure Exaggerate Lashes 141* (£5.45), which are very different to my usual style of lashes but I absolutely loved them! They really accentuated my lashes and they just tied together my halloween makeup look perfectly. I'll definitely be getting more wear out of these and I wish i'd of tried them out sooner. Another product that i've been absolutely loving for my lashes is the Rimmel #ScandalEyesReloaded Mascara* (£6.99). It has currently replaced my trusty Benefit Roller Lash as it works absolute wonders on my lashes and really brings them to life. The curl and volume lasts all day with this mascara, which is great as my weeks seem to be getting busier and more hectic as the weeks go, so it's great to know my lashes will look just as good at the end of the day.

This past month i've been switching up my brow routine and trying out the BPerfect Eyebrow Makeup Kit* (£24.99), which is the first semi permanent brow product that i've tried out that is designed to last for up to 24 hours. This eyebrow kit comes with the brow powder, three eyebrow shaping stencils and also an angled brush that makes applying the brow powder so much easier, and gives my brows a really HD look. What I love about this brow kit is how long lasting it is. With the powder being water resistant, sweat proof and smudge proof it really does stay in place throughout the day as my brows do make or break my makeup look, and i've never had a bad brow day with this brow kit. The only negative to this product is that I could have done with a slightly darker shade, but the colour is quite build-able and workable.

In comparison to last year i'm really into my nude lips whereas this time last year I was very into my berry lips and i've really found some good staples within my lipstick stash. A recent love of mine is the Rimmel Only 1 Matte Lipstick* (£4.99) in the shade 'Trend Setter', which is the perfect nude for me. It's probably the nudest of nudes that i've tried, as most of my favourites have a pink tone to them but this is a proper brown toned nude and I just love it! The formula of this lipstick is very different to a usual matte lipstick as it is quiet creamy but still has that definite matte finish, which I really like as it means that my lips aren't left feeling dry like they would be other some other matte lipsticks. If you're on the hunt for a new matte lipstick, i'd highly recommend checking out these from Rimmel as i'm really impressed so far!

What products have you been loving this month?

With Scandal Eyes being one of Rimmel's best known mascaras, it only seemed right that they stepped it up a gear and i've seen may brands do a similar thing where they relaunch one of their best selling products and make it even better than before. I'm sure you've probably seen many bloggers, adverts and just general social media surrounding the relaunch of the Rimmel #ScandalEyesReloaded Mascara (£4.99) with Cara Delevingne being the main face of this relaunch, of which I just love the theme and whole idea surrounding this relaunch as I used to be a massive fan of Scandal Eyes a few years back.

The main reason behind the relaunch of this mascara is the fact that us makeup lovers are always wanting a high volume intense mascara that lasts throughout the day, but is easy to remove and i'd definitely agree that this is lacking on the market and i'm often left tugging at my lashes in an attempt to remove my mascara at the end of the day. So Rimmel have revamped the formula of this mascara with their unique patent-pending formula that gives an extreme yet clump free volume, with impact that lasts up to 24 hours and removes easily leaving little to no trace of any product!

So onto my actual thoughts on these products, and so far i'm really impressed, and i've kind of fallen back in love with this mascara. The Scandal Eyes Reloaded Mascara* (£4.99) comes in two shades, black (orange tube) and extreme black (black tube) of which i've been using them both and so far i've been liking both shades but I prefer the orange tube for everyday wear and I save the extreme black for nights out or more glammed up makeup look. It took a little adjusting to how big the wand is on these mascara's, which is designed with the tapered tip to perfectly fit the shape of your eye, which it does but it's a pretty hefty wand when you're used to a much thinner wand. Having said that, the wand itself works so well to coat every lash individually, giving them such amazing length and volume! 

When it comes to the longevity of these mascara's, it's definitely true what they say in the sense that they last through everything life can throw at you and i've definitely been putting these through their paces as i've had a fair few long days and late nights recently, and i'm so impressed as they are still very much intact come the end of the day. Also when it comes to removing these mascara's, i'd definitely say they are easier than most mascaras to remove but i've found using an eye makeup remover to be the best option.

With the relaunch of the mascara, Rimmel have also brought out the new Rimmel #ScandalEyes Liners* (£5.49), which have two different nib shape designs. Now i'm not a huge fan of felt tip style eyeliners, and i've definitely had to get to grips using these but the 3D style nibs really allow to create  a flawless flick. You can really play around with these also, depending on which liner you use and the angle that you apply these at and again i'm really impressed. Although I am still definitely a liquid liner girl, these are really good for a day where i'm going for a more subtle liner look. 

So those are my thoughts on the new Rimmel #ScandalEyesReloaded products and a somewhat in depth review into the relaunch of their iconic mascara! If like me you're quite loyal to Rimmel and you haven't tried these products, then i'd definitely recommend checking them out!

Have you tried any of the new #ScandalEyesReloaded products?

GIANT HALLOWEEN COOKIE CAKE

Starting with probably the star of this blog post and the most fun thing i've ever baked, as I had so much fun making this one! I got the idea and I mainly followed the recipe from Lil Luna as I absolutely love the large cookies from Millies and I thought it would be fun to make my own. Just to say, if you have an incredibly sweet tooth then you will love this!

INGREDIENTS

 Ready made cookie dough (I purchased mine from Tesco, in the chilled ready rolled pastry section).

 Ready made frosting.

Orange food colouring.

Reece's pieces/cups.

M&M's.

White chocolate.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven as instructed on your ready made cookie dough and line as a pan with baking paper.
2. Roll out your cookie dough into a large circle until it's around 2cm thick and cook in the oven, as instructed on your ready made cookie dough (I cooked mine for around 15 mins) until it is golden brown. Just to note, the cookie itself should be soft in the middle once it's cooked and not rock hard.
3. Allow the cookie to cool, and whilst it is cooling mix your ready made frosting with your orange food colouring.
4. Once the cookie is cooled apply the frosting to the cookie and spread out accordingly.
5. Then decorate the cookie using reeces pieces, M&M's and any other sweets you want.
6. Melt two bowls of white chocolate and mix one bowl with orange food colouring. Drizzle chocolate over the cookie and allow it to set!


HALLOWEEN SPRINKLE COOKIES 
Whilst researching recipes I came across the idea of creating cookies that you just throw a load of different decorations into the mixture and somewhat hope for the best. I came across a few recipes that were all somewhat similar, but I finally settled on this recipe from Deliciously Sprinkled and mainly followed this for measurements/timings but I did skip on a few of the ingredients, but i'd recommend following the measurements of that recipe.

INGREDIENTS
Plain flour.
Butter (I used butter designed for cakes).
Granulated sugar.
Salt.
Baking soda
Vanilla extract.
Two eggs.
Chocolate chips - diary milk and white chocolate.
Halloween sprinkles - (I got mine from Home Bargains).
Orange food colouring - (Which I used to colour the white chocolate chips)
Oreos.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to around 200 degrees and line baking tray(s) with baking paper.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together, and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl mix the butter, sugar and vanilla extract.
4. Add eggs one at a time, and mix together until combined.
5. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, then add all of the decorations (chocolate chips, crumbled oreos, sprinkles etc) and mix together.
6. Scoop cookie dough into ball shapes and flatten slightly.
7. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes, then turn the tray around and cook for another 5 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.
8. As soon as the cookies have come out of the oven, add some left over chocolate chips/decorations to the top of the cookies and allow them to cool.

..........

So that is how I baked these three different types of Halloween themed cookies and as i've already mentioned, i'm really pleased with how they turned out! I hope that this inspires you to do some Halloween baking, and hopefully you don't spill a whole bottle of orange food colouring all over your kitchen floor like I did!

Have you done any Halloween baking?

When I first started blogging, safe to say I didn't understand lighting at all but once i'd gotten into using natural light and understanding it more it became very apparent that during the autumn/winter months the light was very hard to work with and just often unreliable, in comparison to the summer months. As I now work full time, it's really hard for me to actually shoot my blog pictures as I can't shoot in the evenings, which means i'm limited to a couple of days within the week but last winter really allowed me to learn and get myself into a good routine in order for me to still shoot blog photos that I was really happy with and happy to put out. So here a few tips that I hope will help, as i've definitely learnt from them!

- Sophie's Makeup

- Thirteen Thoughts

- Beauty & The Chic / Blogging Gals

How do you survive taking blog pictures during the winter?