Monthly Favourites: March

March is finally coming to an end and that can only mean one thing. It's monthly favourites time. This month I have just three things to share with you and none of them are beauty related. I haven't found any new beauty loves this month and I haven't rediscovered any either, this month it's been all about the things I've seen and the hoodie I haven't been able to stop wearing.

My first and most important favourite of this month has to be my Missguided/Playboy Hoodie. I have literally lived in this hoodie all month. It's super oversized, I literally can't find my hands half the time when I wear this but it's also super cosy and warm. It's been the perfect thing to throw on when I'm nipping down the shops or when I'm not feeling like making a huge effort. And I've already more occasions to wear this (Avenger's Endgame I'm looking at you).

One of two amazing things I saw this month was Captain Marvel. When the trailers started to appear for this film, I wasn't too sure, I didn't think it would be my thing. But boy how wrong was I. I absolutely adored everything about it. Brie Larson was amazing as Carol/Captain Marvel and it was nice to see a bit of backstory on Fury, including the humourous way he actually lost his eye. It's one of the best films I've seen so far this year and I'm already looking forward to Captain Marvel joining the remaining Avengers' in Endgame (I'm totally not ready for Endgame).

And my last favourite this month is one I booked back in January after me and Jasmin decided to say fuck it and make 2019 our bitch. 2019 is the year we go to see more theatre, more concerts and actually do more with our lifes than drinking copious amounts of Starbucks and spending way too much money in Primark. So whilst I was enjoying a week off of work, me and Jasmin went up to London to finally see Aladdin at the Prince Edward Theatre. And oh god it was amazing, I've never loved a theatre show so much. The genie played by the amazing Trevor Dion Nicohlas was my absolute favourite and gave the whole show a similar vibe to the original Disney Animation without trying to hard to be like the original. I literally came out of the theatre humming Friend Like Me and I'd happily give my right arm to go back and see it again before it comes to the end of it's run in June.

Review: Loreal Infallible Magic Essence Drops

Primer drops are becoming quite a trend in high street beauty but they can be very hit or miss. MUA's Oil Primer Drops are brilliant and worked wonders for me whereas Barry M's Unicorn Drops didn't quite hit the mark. So when Loreal released their Infallible Magic Essence Drops, I was unsure where they were going to fall on the scale.

Now I thought I had a good idea of what these drops did but when I checked on Boots to make sure I had my facts correct, I actually learnt more about them. Where I thought these drops were just blue for the sake of catching a consumers eye, they're also blue as they contain blue toned light diffusing technology which helps to reduce sallowness and give skin a radiance boost. And whilst I already knew that the texture was ultra lightweight and felt like a splash of water to the skin, I didn't realise that it was actually a hardcore cocktail of ingredients aimed to love your skin even whilst you're wearing make up. Packed Acai, Kiwi, Goji and Hyaluronic Acid, this works to brighten, revitalise and hydrate skin without weighing down your skin or disrupting your make up.

As I said I was quite wary about these when I first brought them but it only took one use to have me hooked. I did add these to my Maybelline Master Prime Anti-Redness Primer but that didn't take away from the results. Instantly my skin felt cooled and hydrated and as I rubbed it in, my skin looked more and more radiant and felt silky soft to the touch. It didn't leave skin feeling tacky or greasy in anyway but it did adhere my make up really well and helped greatly with it's longevity. Usually around my nose and chin my make up disappears after a few hours but with these drops, my make up stays in place all day, doesn't break up or go powdery or cakey and my skin feels soft and hydrated, even after my make up has been on for a few hours. And they're suitable for all skin types as well, my friend Lauren brought them on my advice and she loves them even though she had an oily skin type. So I highly recommend trying these out if you want to try some primer drops or if you're in the market for a lightweight primer that's not going to weigh your skin down or leave it feeling greasy, Loreal Primer Drops are the way to go.

Recipe: American Style Pancakes

I've never been a big fan of pancakes and never really understood the hype of Shrove Tuesday. I think it's because here in the UK the pancakes are always really thin, plastic looking pancakes that never taste right no matter how much Nutella you douse them in. And online all I've been seeing lately is thick American style pancakes and it got me thinking that maybe they're the answer to my prayers. Now you may think that these are hard but they're actually surprisingly easy and don't take that long to prepare. So heat up that frying pan and get ready to make yourselves some delicious. fluffy pancakes that taste delicious with maple syrup, nutella or anything you want on top.

Ingredients
- 135g Plain Flour
- 1Tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Caster Sugar
- 130ml Milk
- 1 Egg, lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp Melted Butter
- Knob Of Butter or Butter Frying Spray

Method 
1- Pre heat your frying pan on a medium heat. I tend to get this started before I make the batter as my hob takes forever to heat up.
2- Into a bowl sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar. Lightly mix together with a fork.
3- In a seperate jug, lightly beat your egg. Add your milk and melted butter to the jug and mix together.
4- Pour your milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together with a fork. There will initally be lumps but they'll soon disappear as you batter comes together.
5- Add some butter to your now warmed pan. You can use normal butter or a lighter butter spray like I did. It's just to help cook the pancakes and stop them from sticking when you flip them.
6- When your butter has melted, add a ladle of batter to the pan. The pancakes may not be round and look rather thick but that's the exact look you want them to have.
7- Wait until the top of the pancake starts to bubble and then flip. It may seem tempting to flip them before they're ready but that'll just cause a mess in your frying pan and be a waste of batter. I did that with my first one and it sadly had to go in the bin.
8- Once your pancake is cooked through, place in a bowl and store in a low temperature oven to keep warm. Then repeat step 7 until you've used up all your batter, with each new pancake being added to the bowl.
9- Once you have all your pancakes, douse them in your topping of choice and enjoy. I actually made this for me, my mum and nan for breakfast the other day. We added a dollop of Nutella to them and they were absolutely delicious.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Chip And Lavender Shortbread

Pinch, punch first of the month. Today I am back with the first of five recipes I have planned to share with you this month. Some of them center around upcoming day's such as Shrove Tuesday and St Patrick's Day but the rest of them are centered around Mother's Day which is rapidly approaching for us in the UK. And today is the first of those. Today I'm sharing with you my simple yet tasty recipe for dark chocolate chip and lavender shortbread. Now I know lavender is a slightly more acquired taste but when paired with the dark chocolate chip, it's got a kick to it that isn't too overpowering when you get that mixture of sweet as well.

Ingredients 
- 115g Butter
- 55g Caster Sugar
- A Pinch Of Salt
- 175g Plain Flour
- 100g Dark Chocolate Chips
- 1Tsp Lavender Extract

Method 
1- Pre heat oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2- In a bowl sieve your flour, salt and sugar.
3- Add your butter and rub together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. This is the grim bit but it's worth it as you get better results using your hands rather than a food processor. Sure you'll get a cramp after a few minutes but it's well worth it.
4- Add your dark chocolate chips and lavender and continue to rub together until it starts to form a dough. This doesn't take long and you don't want to overwork the dough otherwise it'll end up being too crumbly too roll out or cut.
5- Once you have your dough, roll out onto a lightly floured surface until it's about 1/2 an inch thick. Make sure to cover your rolling pin in flour as well so your dough doesn't stick and rip as you roll it.
6- Taking a cutter of any size and shape cut out as many shapes as you can, rerolling your dough when necessary so you get the most out of it.
7- Place your shortbread shapes onto your prepared baking trays and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. You'll know when they're ready to come out as the edges will be firm whilst the insides will still be a little soft.
8- Once cooked, leave too cool on the tray until they've firmed up and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Then all's that left is to enjoy them.