Wedding Cupcake soaps

One of the things that kept me away from blogging last year or two were my new (and not so new) found hobbies. I love crafty things and I am always in the mood for trying out stuff. One of the things that I have really enjoyed doing it making soap from scratch. In fact when I first started I used melt and pour soap which meant melting down a block, colouring and adding your fragrance and then pouring into a mould. It's very easy to use and the results are fab for a novice. I know of some people who make melt and pour soap professionally and it looks amazing. Given even time, even the most simplest of mediums can be made into something extraordinary!

Anyway, I kinda got bored with melt and pour after a while and progressed to making Cold process soap. That's the soap made using fats/oils and Sodium Hydroxide to make soap. If I had known I was going to have to remember a lot of the chemistry I learnt in school, I would have paid a whole lot more attention in class all those years ago! Honestly, I never thought something so simple could turn out to be so complex! It's been educational, exciting, frustrating and fun all at the same time. I just wanted to show you guys my latest batch that is going to a very special bridal client shortly.

Blue Cupcake Soap favours

It's a bit hard to capture the true colour of these soaps (I was using my phone camera) but you get the general idea. They are sprinkled with a crystallina glitter and scented with a fruity mix of bananas, grapefruit, mango, kiwi, mixed berries and coconut. It smells delish!

Blue Cupcake soap

I am hoping that after little man is born I will be able to start an online store selling my soaps. I'm sure I'll blog about them a little more as time goes on but it's always nice to share with you guys!

Happy Friday!

A very Ha-Pea Baby Shower!

So you know I'm about to pop right? Yes Zucherro and I are expecting our first bouncing baby boy in just over 4 weeks. We are quite excited. To be honest I am tired and I am getting to the stage where I want to meet him (ie I want him out!) because I am tired of the cute little toes in my lungs and the fingers playing on my bladder and the random contortions of my belly that seem to wind me every time! It's time y'all!!!!

Anyway on Saturday, hubby and I had a co-ed baby shower. Now I've seen them done before but a few people were surprised that we decided to have one. To be honest I originally hadn't planned on having Zucherro there but he's clocked onto to the fact that we ladies have all the fun plus the food is always good so he wanted in! (He's discovered our secret!). I wanted to share a few pictures from the shower. I realised just how fussy a person I am when I am bothered because I ended up doing the decor for the shower cause I wanted it to be perfect! 

 Baby shower Cupcake Stand

 Our colour scheme was Green and brown. I made some cupcake toppers to go on the cupcakes cause they looked very cute! Chocolate brownies too! All about those yummy desserts.

 Baby shower Banner

 Printed on cream card stock meant the banners were very easy to assemble and put up. 

 Baby shower Bunting

Our theme for the shower was "Sweetpea". I can't remember who came up with the name "Sweetpea" but that is what we have been calling our little boy throughout my pregnancy. Sometimes we call him "Pea" because it sounds more manly but Sweetpea has generally stuck! It will be interesting calling him by this real name when he arrives.

 Baby shower custom water bottles

We got bottles of mineral water and relabelled them "Spring Pea Water" because I guess he'll be a spring baby for our guests. 

 Baby shower soap favours

I found some very cute teddy bear moulds to use to make soap favours for our guests. The green soaps were for the girls and the brown soaps were for the boys. The scents were very grown up but I couldn't help making the actual soaps rather cute!

As new parents, we are completely and utterly open to any advice that other parents might have. It doesn't mean we will take all of it on board but its good to hear what worked for others. Our little advice box worked a treat. We got some funny tips, some sobering ones and some down right strange ones! But all in all we don't regret having the advice box for Mommy and Daddy Pea!

 Green and Cream Baby Shower decorations

A glimpse of what the room looked like. Cream and Green helium balloons decorated the tables and the centre stand had our desserts and favours which you can't see but you have a bit of an idea. 

 Baby bump

And of course this is the money shot! Me in my full prego state! There is only one baby in there. And he is a explorer. He is all front. Nothing in the sides or the back. And you won't believe me when I tell you this but I weigh the same now as I did at the beginning of my pregnancy. I was sick and lost a stack but have gained a bump in the process! I hope the next time you see me I'll have a gorgeous choconilla in my arms to show you all!

Polished Bridal Make-up:- Before and After Shots

 I love Bridal make-up. It is the type of make-up that really pushed me to hone my skills and learn how to use make-up like a pro. Being a lover of all colours bright and beautiful, keeping a bride looking polished without her looking like she's wearing a stack of make-up is not a feat that many accomplish. Some brides look like completely different people on their wedding days and sometimes future hubby's get a shock when the moment comes to "kiss the bride"!. This bride wanted to keep herself looking natural so her hubby could recognize her at the alter. She has beautiful eyes and so we played on those a bit to bring a touch of glamour to her look. 

She wasn't keen on any sort of lip products so we used a clear gloss and to be honest her lips were already pigmented so it worked well for her. Her mom was also having her trial that day. I love working with mature skin. I feel that they are some of the best faces to work with. Why? Just cause some older ladies give up after a while with makeup and are very surprised when they see themselves. Makes me smile when they light up afterwards.

Again we were keeping everything very clean and neutral. She has few pigmentation spots she wanted to tone down and so we sheered down her foundation to make it look natural. A good lashing of mascara brought her eyes out and she was even adventurous with the lipstick. Overall she was very happy with the look. 

I've put myself on maternity leave now. I'm going to see how I recover after little man arrives. But I do have bookings for summer of this year. It's already turning out to be a busy year! Should be fun!

P.s. If you had the privilege of seeing the half done post that went up a few days ago, apologys! Baby brain meant I published it instead of saved it in drafts! It will be up later this week :) 

Review:- Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre

There are hundreds of reviews all over the internet for Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre. But heck I wanted to throw my opinion in there as well. Personally and professionally, I've given this product a good run now. 

I present to you my scraggly, almost finished tube :)

 Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre

Make-up artists all over the world agree that this product is holy grail status in their kits and I agree. I initially bought it for my kit to cater for my really dry clients. If someone sits in your chair with flaky, scaly skin looking like they've been trekking across the Sahara for weeks YOU NEED THIS. Don't hestitate. Just get it. Your client will thank you and your canvas will be easier to work with. 

Don't ask me how and why I ended up using it on myself. I genuinely cannot remember. You see, this moisturiser is VERY rich. (Partly because of the Stearic Acid, Beeswax and Shea Butter in it). If you're an oily girl it will leave you looking extra shiny in the beginning. But that being said, I am an oily girl. And using this has been surprising. It could be a combination of pregnancy hormones and winter but my skin is loving this. When I first started using it, I really felt it on my skin. It took forever to sink in and I almost gave up on it. Slowly but surely my skin adapted. Now it only takes a few minutes to sink in, my skin is left feeling plump and fresh and life is good! (Yeah I love it that much!)

There is nothing special about the ingredients in Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre. You will find a lot of these ingredients in other skincare prodcuts. Check them out...

Aqua, Paraffinum Liquidum, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Triethanolamine, Cera Alba, Cetyl Palmitate, Butyrospermum Parkii, Penoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutyl Paraben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Steareth-10, Polyacrylamide, C13-014 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7, Parfum, Propylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein and Aloe Barbadensis. 

It contains Mineral oil (By product of pretoleum), Beeswax (Can clog up pores), Parabens (Some people have big issues with these) and Proplylene Glycol (found in anti-freeze!)

Personally I have no problem with the ingredients. I know people have serious issues with Mineral oil but if you research into it, it's not as bad as people make out. (Will I get shot for this?) It's the same with parabens.  I know there has been a whole lotta talk about it causing cancer etc but if you read the studies (I've read quite a few...ask me how I know) there is nothing conclusive about it. And you need to understand that the percentage use of parabens in most skin products is less than 1%. There are some products that just do not preserve well without parabens. I would rather use them in less than 1% than potentially harm myself with some nasties because the prodcut has gone off. So you need to take everything that you read with a pinch of salt. Oh and Propylene glycol....excellent humectant even if it is found in anti-freeze! 

On the back of the tube it says "All skin types". I believe them now. I definitely didn't in the beginning. But if you are looking for a fabulous skin moisturiser try this. I think you'll be very happy. 

So...Yeah

I am alive. And it's been almost a year since I posted anything on this blog. I'm sure you're wondering (if you still remember me) what the heck went down. 

I've been thinking about it and I think I simply lost my blogging mojo. I didn't have any sort of crisis in my life I simply lost the motivation to blog for a while and I waited for it to come back. It didn't. For a very long time. And then along the way hubby and I started our first baby and that kinda sealed the deal for a few months more. But here I am again. 

The itch has returned. But I don't wanna do this if I can't give some from of consistency to it. So I've been thinking long and hard and I've decided to give it another go. I guess what makes it different is that I have a plan this time. Previously there were no plans. I was totally flying by the seat of my pants. But being better organized has made blogging a whole lot less daunting. Cause lets face facts it can be daunting. 

I have major respect for those bloggers out there who turn out 5 posts a week. At this present moment I hope to churn out just one a week to start off with. If I can faithfully do that then I will be a happy woman. 

If you've stuck around, thank you and God bless you. Most people would have long quit on a sister. Let's hope that we will have 52 posts by the end of this year. 

Blessings xxx