Hello everyone! I haven't done a tag in forever but Katie from katieatkinson22 tagged me to do the British tag. While I don't live in Britain I am partially British in ethnicity and my family continues to uphold quite British traditions. Which is why I am still doing this tag, the best I can. You can read Katie's post here. I would also like to tag:
Becky Isobel
Dear Ms. Leigh
Laura
Paige
Katie
Linda


1. How many cups of tea do you have a day? + How many sugars?
1-3. No sugar. Though I do not live in Britain, by ethnicity I do have a lot of British blood in me. This means that my family enjoys orange pekoe tea with cookies every evening after dinner. You really can't get any more British than that. 

2. Favourite part of your roast?
Mash (Mashed potatoes) and gravy.

3. Favourite dunking biscuit?
Since where I live, biscuits are warm, fluffy buns that you eat with soups and stews, I'm gonna have to go with a warm, peanut butter chocolate chip cookie or macarons.

4. Favourite quintessentially British pastime?
Drinking tea? Though, I must say I have tried playing cricket and I much prefer it over baseball. 

5. Favourite word?
That British people say? Splendid, whilst and witty are all great British-y words. 

6. Favourite sweet?
Sweet tarts and any penny candies.
 
7. What would your pub be called?
Merry Me.

8. Cockney rhyme slang?
Nope. 

9. No.1 British person

Princess Kate. She's so classy and those terrible headlines tabloids always make up about her are always funny.  

10. Favourite shop / restaurant? 
 H&M or Forever 21. And any decent Italian restaurant.
 
11. What British song pops into your head? 
Seaside by the Kooks

12. Marmite? 
Hopefully never.  

I thought this tag was really cute. How British do you think you are? I'd love to hear in the comments below! 

Au revoir!

When I first bought Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer I was quite excited about it as one is when they buy something new. The first time I used it I was really quite impressed with it. The combination of the concealer and Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream really brightened up my skin. And they still do. But I have discovered a few flaws about it since then.

Seeing as it is called "Wake Me Up" and claims to give an anti-fatigue effect and instant glow  one would assume that this would be fabulous to put under your eyes. Wrong. At first it looks fantastic, but give it a few hours and it has seeped into every little wrinkle and crevice under your eye. I'm still teenager and didn't even know I had wrinkles under my eyes until this concealer pointed it out to me. (Thanks a lot!) I blame this on the fact that it is quite a heavy concealer.

The fact that it is heavy means it's pretty good at concealing the rest of my blemishes, but that's really all it is good for.

Really the eye thing is my only complaint except for the packaging. Which isn't terrible but could be a little nicer, I think.

Overall this is an alright concealer. Which is unfortunate as a lot of people raved about this but it's really nothing to write home about. It's on the heavier side which makes it crummy for concealing dark circles but is decent for covering up blemishes, spots, etc. It does brighten my face, which is fine. The packaging is alright and the price is quite reasonable and comes in around $6 or $7. If you want a concealer for blemishes, buy it, it's fine. If you want it to make your eyes look less tired, don't bother.

Have you tried this concealer? If so, how did you find it? I'd love to hear in the comments!

A year ago today I published my first post on Amateur Aglow. In celebration of it I have decided to compare how I feel about products I loved when I first started writing here and when I wrote my first favourites post in September.

 
Hard Candy Baked Eyeshadow Quad in Pink Interlude
I loved this product dearly in the fall. To be fair this is a decent product. They are nice colours for everyday and it was a great starter quad for me. But they have little pigmentation and really aren't the greatest eyeshadows.

Covergirl Professional Mascara
I still like this product a lot. For $5 it's a really decent mascara. But it's nothing special. Covergirl has come out with better mascaras. But for the price it is a really good mascara.

Covergirl Clean Whipped Creme Foundation
I really liked this product in the summer and fall as it was cheap, quick and easy to use. It gave good coverage. My complaints are that you had no choice but to use your hands which made it easy to apply as a concealer but terrible to apply with a sponge or brush to get a full face of coverage. Also I've noticed that my skin has gotten much more oily since about February (I don't know whether it's hormones or the weather getting warmer) but it's too heavy and makes me too greasy after a long day that I really can't wear it much anymore.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder
I discovered this last fall before I knew it was a beauty cult favourite and fell in love with it. I use this everyday. Even when I am at home with no makeup on I put this on to help control the oils on my face throughout the day. I've gone through like three of these since the fall and just absolutely love it. I really can't say enough good things about it.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Certainly Red 
This is such a perfect red lipstick. I love it in the colder months. What I really like is though it's a bright red, it's easy to wear in the daytime if you put just a bit on and rub into my lips which produces a lovely rosy shade.


St. Ives Green Tea Cleanser
I love this stuff. It is by far my favourite cleanser I've ever tried. It cleans really well but is still gentle, it takes off makeup really well and lathers up beautifully. As well, it's like $4.

I would also like to say that I have been so impressed with the blogging community in which I have joined in the last year and have had exceptionally lovely dealings with #2014BloggerChallenge girls. Thank you to all of you for allowing me to have a place to write that is completely my own. I really have enjoyed this first year of blogging and hope to continue blogging and enjoying it.

What beauty products did you used to love and now have different feelings about? I would love to hear in the comments!

I  am a huge fan of pasta, especially my homemade mac and cheese. I love adding different veggies and trying different combinations.

How I Typically Make It:

1. Melt a few tablespoons of butter on medium low in a skillet or saucepan. (Make sure pasta is already cooking in boiling water before this step.)
2. When the butter is melted, add a tablespoon or two of flour. (Make sure it's not too pasty. If it seems pasty, add more butter.) Add a clove or two of grated or finely diced garlic. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of milk, stir and wait for sauce to thicken.
3. When sauce is thickened, add 3/4 to 2 cups of shredded cheddar, or whatever cheese suits your fancy. (I like adding a bit of parmesan as well.) If you like any seasoning, add it now. I like a bit of salt and pepper and sometimes Italian seasoning.
4. Add any veggies or extras. Drain and add pasta and stir everything together.
*Tip: I like using a bigger skillet for the cheese sauce so that I only make a big mess out of only one of the two pots I use. 

Combos I like:
Diced tomato and bacon bits
Broccoli
Red pepper, chicken and bacon bits
Sausage, peppers and tomatoes
Salsa and bacon bits

Bon apetit!

I know I have been doing a lot of these lately, but I love doing them as they are something I love reading as well as writing. That said, I promise I there are some makeup and food posts coming your way soon.

I have had a lovely past week.

I went out for a friend's birthday and there was a gorgeous sunset that evening.

 

I went on vacation with my family where we went to an amusement park and did a bit of shopping. While I really didn't take any pictures of the amusement park. I did take a few around one of the quaint, little towns I explored on this trip.

Yes, Internet, this book exists. 

I also had some amazing food on this trip. I got to try The Olive Garden and Red Lobster. I learned how to make delicious virgin mojitos. I ate focaccia  bread with cranberry reduction balsamic and olive oil. I also tried truffle and garlic infused olive oil as well as raspberry-red wine Italian dressing (in other words a pink-coloured, sweet Italian dressing).

A fabulous virgin blueberry mojito made by moi.

I obviously had a fantastic week, how was yours? I hope you all are enjoying the heat and are having a lovely summer! Cheers!

I have had an insane week and a half which is why these pictures that were taken a week and a half ago are being posted now.

One of my very best friends and I went into the city about a week and a half ago and had an amazing coffee at one of my new favourite cafes. I had a latte and my friend had a london fog. I didn't realize that London Fogs were that good. I think I will definitely order one next time I hit that cafe. 

We also discovered the cutest creperie....

.....Where there were also des beaux fleurs

It was such a lovely day. It was sunny, gorgeous and I discovered many new places and things in a city that I often go to. 

There is another post like this that will be posted in the near future. I hope you have all had a fabulous few weeks. Cheers!

For this #2014BloggerChallenge we were supposed to write a summer bucket list. As I said in this post, I
am planning on living life to the fullest this summer and really living in the moment therefore I don't have many goals or a bucket list. But I do want to cook more so rather, I have a cooking bucket list.


Orzo Greek Salad. I love Greek salad in the summer and orzo tastes delicious with it. I've never tried cooking orzo so I think it will interesting to try.

Tomato Sauce Who doesn't love some spaghetti? I think every chef should know how to make a simple tomato sauce. With tomatoes in season soon, it's the perfect time to be finding my staple tomato sauce. 

Fresh Fruit Frozen Yogurt/Sorbet/Sherbet There are lots of recipes for various types of "almost ice cream" in which you do not need an ice cream maker for. I intend on trying some peach and strawberry ones.

Creme Brulee I have never had creme brulee yet it has always intrigued me and I would love to try making it some time- hopefully in the near future.

 via loveanoliveoil.com

Cappuccino Ice Pops

Green Smoothie

via gagetgirl.hubpages.com

Salsa This is another thing I think every chef should have a staple recipe for. (In other words I think all chefs should know how to make tomato things.) I would particularly like to try one of the simple no-cook ones.

via susannahkitchen.com

Coffee Syrup I saw this on Pinterest and it interested me greatly.

Lemonade I love making lemonade in the summer and I feel like this summer I really need to get the recipe down.

Hummus I love hummus in the summer but I have never tried making it, so it is a major goal of mine this summer to try making some.

via fitsugar.com