Travel Essentials

My bags are all packed and I am so ready to trade in this miserably cold and snowy weather for some sunshine in the Bahamas. Before I leave on Tuesday (I'm counting down the hours) I thought that I would write a post about some of the new things I've picked up just for my holiday. 

I have never invested in a quality pair of sunglasses. Each summer I would always pick up a pair for no more than five dollars from Forever 21, I just couldn't justify spending so much money on an accessory that could so easily be broken or misplaced. I have finally decided it was time to spend a little more money and grabbed these super pretty sunglasses from Giorgio Armani. Sunglass Hut had a buy one get one sale going on so I managed to get them for half price and also pick up a second pair (I chose a pair of Oakley aviators)! The second thing I picked up is the La-Roche Posay Anthelios Ultra-Fluid Lotion. My cousin, who works in cosmetics, told me about this face sunscreen. It's non-greasy, has a matte finish and can even be used as a makeup base! I have only tried using a tiny bit on my face and it absorbed so quickly and it didn't even feel like I had put anything on. This is also my first ever product from La-Roche Posay and I'm kind of excited to try out more things!

The next product that I grabbed for my holiday is to be used more before my trip than during and it is the St. Tropez Gradual Tan Everyday Body Moisturiser. I've used this every morning for the last three days and I'm happy to report that I have a nice healthy glow (and a few streaks down my arms... oops!). I have very fair skin - almost alarmingly white and when I'm out in the sun I either burn or stay pale. While I normally embrace my alabaster skin I thought it would nice to give myself a pre-holiday tan. Last is the Bumble and bumble Prêt-à-Powder dry shampoo. I previously used Batiste but I have found that it leaves my hair feeling pretty gross after using so I went looking for a replacement. Lots of people have been blogging about the Bb. Prêt-à-Powder so I thought I would give it a try and so far I really do like it. It leaves my hair looking and feeling clean.

Let me know what some of your favourite products to travel with are (I still have some room in my suitcase!) in the comments. Thank you for reading! xx

Baking | Valentine's Day Donuts ♡

I think Valentine's Day is one of my favourite days of the year. I am such a sucker for anything pink, heart-shaped or chocolatey. I also love to bake for Valentine's day, so as the big day quickly approaches I got into the kitchen and started baking. I found the recipe for these baked donuts in the February issue of Chatelaine magazine. You can find the recipe online here. Strangely, I don't own any plain round cookie cutters (note to self: buy some asap!) so I went down the untraditional route of square donuts.  

This recipe is great because they are baked, no deep-fryer needed. The taste was pretty good, though a bit bland. I think they would have been better if I had made the donuts (or the glaze) a different flavour. Though, they were still quite nice! After the donuts were completely cooled, I dipped the tops in the glaze and let that dry and then dipped them again. You don't need to do this, but I wanted a more opaque look for the glaze. Then I topped them with some festive sprinkles and voila!! Adorable Valentine's day donuts!

♡