Cooking Blog • Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 325g butter (125g for batter, 200g for icing)
• 125g granulated suger
• 125g self raising flour
• 2 tabelspoons milk
• 2 eggs
• 200g Icing sugar
• Mini marshmallows (or normal marshmallows cut into halves)

Preparation Instructions 
Before you start making your cupcakes, preheat your oven to 170 degrees. Also, take a baking tin and fill each socket with a cupcake case, ready for when you need it. Make sure your butter is melted, so it's easier to stir into the batter and icing, by heating it in the microwave for 30 seconds. To make the process faster, measure all your ingredients correctly before hand so you bake with ease!

Instructions 

To begin we are going to start with the batter, so add 125g of the pre-melted butter to a large bowl. Next add the sugar a little at time. Make sure the butter and sugar and mixed together well so they look fluffy, before moving on. To follow, add the eggs one by one mixing each one in well before adding the next one. After that, add the flour little by little mixing it well using a whisk or if possible an electric mixer. Lastly, add the milk a bit at a time beating it into the batter. Once all the ingredients are together mix the batter until it's smooth and fluffy!

Once your batter is complete, it's time to get your ready organised cupcake cases. Using two spoons, fill each case a third of the way, leaving space for a marshmallow and another layer of batter. Once you have finished, place the marshmallow to the middle batter in the cupcake case. Now all the cases have marshmallows, grab your two spoons and place batter over the top of the marshmallow, so they are hidden.

Put your tray with the cupcakes into the preheated oven for twenty minutes at 170 degrees. After twenty minutes have passed, pierce a cupcake with a toothpick to see if the cupcake is fully cooked. If your toothpick comes out wet, your cupcakes still need a little time, if the toothpick comes out dry, your cupcakes are ready! Note: while your cupcakes are cooking, the marshmallows might rise so they are visible. This is normal, so there is no need to worry!

While your cupcakes are in the oven, you can make your decorative icing! To do so, first place the rest of your pre-melted butter in a bowl. Gradually, while stirring, add your powder sugar to the butter. Mixed these together until you are left with a smooth and delicious smelling icing butter!

When your cupcakes are ready, take them out of the oven with a pair off oven gloves because they will be very hot! Leave them to cool in the baking tin for a minute as they will be to hot to handle. Once they are cool enough to touch take each cupcake case and place them on a cooling rack to cool further.

Once the cupcakes are cool, you can decorate your cupcakes with the icing! You can do this in a number of different ways, one of which is taking a generous amount of icing and smoothing it onto the top of the cupcake using a spoon. If you have an icing tube however, you can make your cupcakes look very professional. When I decorated the cupcakes I made them Valentine's Day styled and added little pink and purple hearts to top of the icing for even more decoration. Decorating is personal so do whatever you think will look great!

Tutorial • Winged Eyeliner Effect

To start creating the winged effect, start by taking an eyeliner pencil and lightly sketching out the shape you wish to have. The shape you want to create is depends on your face shape and how you are feeling. Always follow the shape of your eye and the directions your eyelid is. Also, you might want it to be thicker and further out one day, and thinner the next. It is always best to start of with this light outline, because it acts as a guidline and can also be adjusted a lot easier than a liquid eyeliner. 

Another tip is focus on something else for a minute or so and come back to the mirror later. By taking a break you will be able to see if each eye looks exactly the same. Now that you have an outline that looks symmetrical, it is time to use the liquid eyeliner. Most liquid eyeliners come with a brush provided, usually on the lid of the bottle, however it is much better if you use an actual eyeliner brush. By using this, creating the shape you want is a lot easier. Start thin in the middle of you eyelid and gradually go fatter towards the outer eyelid. Once you have the first line, you can decide whether you want it to be thicker or not. Gradually fill in shape thicker and thicker making sure you go as close to the eyelashes as possible. 

Once you have finished, do not move your head by looking up or down. Stay as still as possible for at least 15 seconds to make sure the eyeliner drys and does not smudge. Again, step away from the mirror and come back a few minutes later too see if the eyeliner looks symmetrical. Voila! You are finished! The more you create this look, the better you will get at it. Lots of love xoxo

Valentines Day - Make Up

I have decided to do a tutorial on what I would wear on valentines day. The whole tutorial on on my YouTube Channel "monicaaliceeShow", so have a look at that! Here are some pictures of the outcome, and some brief steps on how I got the look! 

 Step 1 - Foundation:

I first put a layer of foundation on, making sure it was not too thick, otherwise it would not be very natural. I used a foundation brush to do this. The foundation I used was "Studio Sculp" by MAC, which works very well for me.

Step 2 - Concealing: 

Once you are happy with you foundation, get some thick concealer for you under eye circles. I used the darkest cream from the "Realness of Concealness" kit by Benefit. I gently dabbed it around my eyes and used the foundation brush to blend it in afterwards. 

Step 3 - Eye Brows:

Next it is the eye brows. If you are not happy with your eye brows and want them to be a little darker and more defined, take the "Smokey Eye" pallet by Benefit. If you do not have this, any other eyebrow filler that you are happy with will also do! If you do however, use the darkest shadow, with the brow brush that is given to blend it it. I usually take an old mascara brush to tidy up the eyebrow when I am finished.

Step 4 - Brow Bone:

Again, using the "Smokey Eye" palette by Benefit, take the light pink cream and dab over your brow bone. This will bring out you bone, and make your face look more defined. If you do not have the palette, any other brow bone cream will do!

Step 5 - Eye Shadow:

After that, you need to take a very nude light eye shadow, and make sure it is quite thick. Using a eye shadow brush to spread over your eye lid.

Step 6 - Glitter Pencil:

Take the Topshop eye pencil, and gently go over the eye shadow. Put as much on as you want, because it is your choice how much glitter you want on your eyes. Use the eye shadow brush again to blend it all in. 

Step 7 - Mascara:

For this step I use two different mascaras. The first one is "Bad Gal Lash" by Benefit, which is the first one I apply. Make sure it is quite thick, but do not worry if your eyelashes get clumpy. Then I take my second mascara "False Lash Effect" by Max Factor. I quickly go over my first layer while my lashes are still wet, so I can remove all the clumps. I do exactly the same with my lower lashes.

Step 8 - Bronzer:

Using a powder brush, I take my bronzer, and again any bronzer is fine, and define my face. Make sure you apply the bronzer under you cheek bone, so it makes you face look more defined.

Step 9 - Blush:

After you are happy with your bronze, take you pinkest blush you have. I am using "Pinch O' Peach" by MAC. Lightly apply the blush, using a blush brush, making sure not to put on too much, you do not want to look like a barbie! 

Step 10 - Lipstick:

Once everything else is finished, it is time for your lipstick. Again, take a pink colour. I am using "Please Me" by MAC, which is a light shade of pink. Put it on straight from the stick, but make sure you do not go outside your lip line. If you are not happy with the shape, take a lip shaping brush and tidy it up. 

Step 11 - Lip Gloss: 

If you want your lips to look more shinny, take a pink lipgloss. Make sure the quality is quite thick, otherwise it will wash of the lipstick. I am using a Clinique lip gloss, which I got when I bought an issue of Glamour. Try not to put not much on, just enough to give your lips a nice shinny look! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynoyUYC7XOc&list=UU2QNvRPMGoBzF1BzWrBZ4Bw&index=1&feature=plcp

Festive Nails

As Christmas is on its way and all the trees are going up, and the lights have been turned on, I suddenly got really festive! I decided to make my nails look all Christmasy and glittery and sparkly. 

Moi's easy stps to achieve these festive nails;

♥ Varnish one layer of the undercoat colour of your choose. Please note, the colour you chose does matter   as it will be seen threw the glitter coat. If needed, do this step again if you want the colour to be darker.

♥ Once you are satisfied with your colour and how it looks, varnish your top coat. In this case, I used ''Barry M, Red Glitter'', but you can choose whatever colour you like. Recoat as many times as you like because the more coats, the more glitter!

♥ It is not needed, but if you feel safer putting on a protective layer on top, you can. I did not and it looks fine! And there you have it, your festive and glittery nails!

The nail-varnishes I used were; 

♥ Nail Pain by Barry M, Red Glitter, No. 150.

♥ Splash and Polish by Missguided, Misscheivous.