Homemade Focaccia Recipe

Since coming back from our holiday in Italy, I have been in love with Italian food, mainly the fresh breads, seafood and fresh pasta sauce. After shopping for focaccia at M&S a few times, I realised I am spending too much money on something which is quite cheap to make. So I decided to sign up for a one off bread making course for my hubby and I.

The bread making course was a Groupon deal. Held at Open Kitchen in Hoxton. Open Kitchen is a local college which provides cooking course and qualifications for trainee chefs.All proceeds go back to Open Kitchen and their services. This place is open for lunch as well. I have never been to this restaurant but whilst waiting for the course to commence, we sat at the dining area and the decor was very bright, colourful and contemporary. It is worth checking this place out!

Below is the recipe I followed.

350g of Strong White Bread Flour
1 teaspoon of salt
10g of yeast
250ml or tepid water
3 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
some sea salt for the top along with some herbs like rosemary or oregano and cherry tomatoes.

1. Mix yeast in some tepid water and use your fingers to dissolve it.
2. In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, olive oil and the yeast together.
3. Slowly a bit at a time, pour in the tepid water and mix till you get a flaky dough.
4. Use a bit of flour so the dough doesnt stick, start kneading until the dough stretchy.
5. Put into a bowl, cover with cling film. Leave to prove for 30 minutes.
6. When the dough is twice the size, knead the dough a little more.
7. Using your fingers to stretch out the dough flat.
8. Once it is in desired shape and size, brush with olive oil and decorate with sea salt, rosemary and herbs.
9. Preheat oven to 200C and oven bake for 15-25 mins till golden brown or desired coating.

You need to eat the focaccia within 2 days!

Happy baking! Yum!

Aquamoist Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Cleansing Oil review

I have used quite a few different cleansers in the past and some have been alright whilst others had been a bit oversold and I felt pretty much robbed of my money.

I want to talk about Aquamoist Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Cleansing Oil by JuJu cosmetics. This is one of my favourite cleansing oils for makeup removal.

The website of the product says the following

"JUJU Cosmetics AQUAMOIST Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Cleansing Oil goes deep into skin and melts dirt and make-up in a flash. For mascara and eye make-up that is hard to remove, it also removes thoroughly. It can be used even if your hands are wet. It retains skin moisture after cleansing and leaves skin sleek and luminous."

I have used this product for sometime now and it is one of the best cleansers I have come across. It comes in a pump top plastic bottle and contains a full bottle of the oily product. Most of the packaging is in Japanese since it is a Japanese product, however I bought mine from Sasa.com.

After a day of wearing full face of makeup consisting of liqiud foundation, waterproof mascara, eye liner and concealer, I just want to remove all of it without feeling that I have damaged my skin afterwards. I use 2 pumps of product onto my dry hands and spread it all over my face. Using gentle fingertips to massage my eyes and over my eye lashes. I find mascara is the most difficult to remove since I tend to use waterproof mascara like Maybleine Falsies Waterproof.

The product works with my massages and melts the makeup off. I then use cotton pads to remove the melted residue off my face. Finally I rinse my face with warm water.

The oil smells very inviting with a combination of lemon and grapefruit scent. The oil feels light and easy to massage. It is also very easy to rinse off from the face.

After using this product, my face did not feel dry or tight. However I still use toner and moisturiser after.

Overall great product and will buy it again.

First MAC haul and red lipstick

Recently I went on a MAC Technique Masterclass. After the 2.5 hours of fun with applying makeup, we had time afterwards to have a look around the products and make any purchases.

I have never wore a red lipstick before and during our class, I asked for advise from the MAC artist about which kind of red shade which suit me. Apparently I have a warm undertone and would suit reds which do not have a blue undertone. I was more suited to an orange undertone. This is the lipstick I ended up buying.

I also buying a blush powder which has a more peachy tone.

I heard about the paint pot eye creme colours and hear about how good the pigmentation is, so during my class, I tried a very different paint colour. The paint pot is called Let Me Pop. It is a orange and peach tone which will go very well with brown eyes.

Finally this is the what it how it looks on me, though my eye shadow is difficult to see because of my glasses. I am going to try and take a photo of my eye shadow one day.

I felt that the lipstick is too intense red for me, so I lightened it with a tissue. I think the lipstick is more suited for the evening.

Clinique Lower Lash Mascara review

 

Recently, my colleague introduced me to this product, it is the Clinque Lower Lash mascara. I have really short lower lashes and most of the time, I do not put mascara on them because I find the mascara brushes I have are really big and it cannot reach the lashes. I usually just line my lower lashes to try to make them look like I had lashes.

This product is a small pretty patterned tube, around half the size of a normal size mascara. It has a small short brush. The mascara is waterproof and it was intense black. I found is really easy to apply onto my lower lashes and it can coat my lower lashes pretty well. 

I like this mascara because after you have applied it, you don't really need to line your lower eyes as it looks rather full. I wore it throughout the whole day and it did not move or smudge at all.

(This image is from a budgetblog.com, so credit to them)

There are cons about this product though. I wished the brush was a bit longer because it was difficult to reach the inner and outer corners of my eyes. When removing this from my lashes using a waterproof eye remover, it took a while. It flaked off it bits but it did eventually all come off and it still did not smudge off in the process which is interesting.

Overall, this is not a bad product. To those who have short lower lashes, it is a good item to have and you will feel that you have lashes on your lower eye for a change and not look like you over-lined  your eyes. I wished I have a pic of me with eyeliner and just using this product!

MAC Technique Masterclass experience

It's been a while since I last blogged and I feel like I would be blogging a lot more because I have quite a few different topics which I want to write about. I have been busy with work lately and stressed out. I hope blogging on different things other than thinking about work will help me relax.

Recently, friends invited me to a MAC Technique Masterclass. This is some company offer from my friend and the cost of it is £50. That's a lot, you might think however £50 is in the form of a gift card which you can spend on MAC products, so really it is not bad! I don't really know how much the class is if you were to book it individually though. I have seen similar offers on the discount group sites, e.g. Groupon, so it is worth checking those offers out.

The MAC makeup classes are held weekday evenings, twice a month. They last for approximately 2.5 hours and then 30 mins to chat or look around the store and purchasing any items.

Three of us joined the class which was based at Spitalfields, London. The store was pretty big and as soon as we walked it, there were a lot of MAC staff roaming around and helping people. We were shown to our seats and told to chill and enjoy. They served us drinks and snacks throughout the evening.

The masterclass were split into 3 sessions, however before the class started, we were introduced to the MAC artist who looked after us and helped us pick out our foundation shades. We were asked what we wanted in a foundation. I wanted a medium coverage, not too dewy and blended well with my natural skin colour. We were all give a small sample pot of foundation and concealer which matched our own skin tone. These sample pots were needed for the makeup sessions we were about to do.

There were two models and two different makeup artists at the front of the class doing the demonstrations. One model had fair light skin tone and the other had dark skin. The sessions were grouped into base makeup, eyes and then contouring and blush.

We were talked through how to apply the base, by introducing to us some primers, foundations and concealer. They talked about technique on how to apply the base coat on the face. We were given time in between the session demos to apply the same on our own faces.

Here is a pic of my makeup station.

During our hands-on sessions, we were able to consult with our MAC artist on ideas, thoughts and questions. They were very friendly and helpful. If there were products which we did not have infront of us, they will go and find one which we can use and try out.

The atmosphere was fun and friendly and I think some enjoyed it more than others. There were around 10 of us in this class and roughly the same number of MAC artists. They all were very friendly and helpful. We did not feel any pressure with buying their MAC products at all during the evening.

Here is the list of makeup products I used in the my class.

Mineralise Charged Water - this is to prep and moisturise the face, it felt so refreshing.
Studio Fix NW18 liquid foundation
Prolong wear concealer NW20
Eye brow self sharpening crayon in Spiked.
Paint Pot in Let Me Pop - lovely peachy creamy eye shadow.
Eye shadow in Honesty
Fluidline in black track
Extended Play in Gigablack mascara - nice small brush
Blush in Gingerly
Lustre Lipstick in Cockney

What I learnt that evening?! I think most of things that were said, I have heard before either from YouTube MUA videos or read it somewhere. However I have never had much experience with MAC makeup before so it was an eye opener seeing their products and how they vary. I really enjoyed the evening and time just flew by so quickly. I did buy a few products that evening, which I feel that I am no longer a MAC virgin!

Hair Dye Experience and Liese Foam Hair Color review

Last November, I had my hair dyed and choosing a light chestnut hair, I loved it totally. My cousin in Hong Kong knew exactly the colour blend and with no bleaching required, she managed to dye my  hair beautifully.  However my hair is growing fast and I can my dark black roots.

I had always had my hair dyed at a hair salon, never ever done a home kit hair dye before. Anyway I knew I wasn't going to want to go to a hair salon in UK to dye my hair. I had an awful experience where the colour hardly showed and the stylist insisted it was great! I was like, OK, whatever, I am not doing that again!
Anyway I decided to look for a home kit and properly a good Japanese hair dye kit to help me have my colour till I went back to see my cousin again.

I came across Liese Foam Hair Dye through YouTube. Reading about it, its claims to be very easy to use and have a range of colour which is very suitable for those wanting a Korean or Japanese girly look. The range of browns they have are really nice. I decided to give it a go by buying a kit. I went for the Milk Tea Brown.

I was very nervous and excited to use this kit. Opening the kit it came with everything you need:

• Instructions in Chinese, Japanese and English.
• A bottle of oil solition
• A little bottle of dye
• A foam pout for the oil solution
• A packet of hair treatment
• A pair of gloves.

This is what I did. I put on a towel around my shoulder, brushed through my hair and then put on the gloves. Next I opened the oil solution and dipped my finger in and put it on my hair line and around the ears. Then I tie up half of my hair horizontally. I then poured the contents of the dye bottle into the oil solution. The instructions states that you should not shake the bottle. After putting on the bottle top onto the oil solution, I gently tipped this bottle upside down 6 times. Then starting with my bottom half of my hair, I squeezed the contents out. It came out as a foam and there was a strong dye smell. I advise that you open a window or have some ventilation fan on. I did split my hair into two sections and made sure the foam covered the whole lot. It did take a while to build up the foam on the whole of my head. I used the whole bottle and the top of my head was totally white and covered.

One tip which my cousin taught me which is use cling film to wrapped around your head so the heat of your scalp helps the dye work even better. Anyway I ended up using a disposable shower cap which I had from my holidays and I took from hotels. I put this on my head and then used the towel clean my hairline.

The wait was around 30 minutes. Then I rinsed out the foam till the water became clear. Then using my usual colourant shampoo, I lathered my hair like normal and rinsed thoroughly. Then I opened the packet of treatment which was very hard looking cream, a bit like vaseline. Made sure that my hair had the treatment all rubbed through before another rinse. Then towel dry and blow dry. This is the results

Before...                                                                      After...

The colour is fantastic, it was not too light or dark, as you can see, my roots are well dyed and the texture after I blowed dyed my hair felt soft, moisturise and smooth. I am so happy at the results! Love this hair colour, it looks definitely like milk tea! Nice one! I think I will buy more and may venture into other tones.

My first 10K race

So for my new year resolution, I am want to run more and not only that, I have signed up for the British London 10K Run. This event will be taking held on Sunday 14th July 2013.

I have already began training for this since I have never ran such a long distance before. I did the 5K run a few years ago but this distance is a challenge to me.

The weather is cold at the moment but I have already started outdoor running. I was very chuffed with myself as I did run over 7.5k so far in one training session. However I heard that you do not have to do the 10k in your training. What is more important is train yourself on endurance and stamina.

My hubby is already cheering me on by buying the Nike Fuel band as well as an ipad mini! Cool! :X

I have not signed up to raise money for a charity as I am still deciding which charity to sign up for. Any suggestions I appreciate! Wish me luck!

Dolly Wink Black Eye Liner review

I have been into eyeliners for some time and generally only use gel liners. One of my favourites was ELF eye liner. It came in a small pot with a brush and after much practice lining my eyes, I felt ready to try and use pen eye liners.

Many people on YouTube have rated the Dolly Wink eye liners and when I went to Japan in Nov, I ensured that I went makeup shopping and this eye liner was top of my list.

The packaging is very girly and pink. It definitely appeals to the more girly audiences. I read that the Dolly Wink brand was started by some Japanese model and it probably the girl on the packaging, I am not entirely sure. You can buy these liquid liners in other colours, I believe in brown also. So I bought both one in each other.

Having never tried using a pen style eyeliner, I was nervous about using this as the point of the liner is very fine. However I found the pen very easy and comfortable to hold. You can get really close to your lash line with the fine tip.

These eye liners are waterproof and smudge proof. I have very watery eyes because I wear contact lenses but this eye liner did not smudge or move at all. One test I did before I actually wore it outside, was just draw a line on my hand and then immediately rub it to see if it needed time to dry. No, it did not, it set straightaway and it was pretty fixed that line. This definitely helped me lining my eyes, because I usually blink a lot and with liners, its strained top of my eye lids by then.

Removing this liner is fairly simple. I use just gentle eye makeup remover and that usually removes all my eye shadow and mascara. Then I use warm water on cotton pads and wipe over my lids and lashes. It is the water that helps remove the liner totally. Amazing! Great buy! Love it!

Sana Pore Putty Smooth BB Cream review

I have heard so much about this BB cream through people's blogs and online reviews. On my recent visit to Japan, I deliberately went in search of this BB cream and as a top seller BB cream in Japan, it was not difficult to find.

Many drugstores in Japan sell this BB cream, I came across Sundrug, Cosmos and Matsumoto Kiyoshi. I bought mine from Matsumoto Kiyoshi. I paid 1098 yen and I think it was on special offer. I think this BB cream came in different types, from smooth to concealing and sensitive. I bought this blue one which is smooth and help smooth out your pores.

This BB cream states the following:

• Smooths out visible pores
• Shine- free finish
• SPF15
• Long lasting
• Stretch gel texture to blend with your face shape and skin.

Anyway, I have been using this BB cream for a while. My skin is combination oily at the T zone and in the winter, my face can also become very dry. Before applying this BB cream, I always moisturise and wait a little while since my skin has absorbed the moisturiser.

The texture of this BB cream is very shiny, smooth and not too runny, however it is not as thick as some of the other BB creams out there, for example, the Garnier Miracle BB cream. The Putty Smooth BB cream is very easy to spread across the face. It is very sheer and the the coverage is not bad. I have some freckles and it seems to cover them well. However it does not fully hide away spot, but I feel it does a fair job.

Overall I think this is the best BB cream I have used so far. I love it so much that I have bought a couple of these. Brilliant stuff!