Velvet Lashes

Saturday 28 October 2017

Pumpkin picking....

Pumpkins always excite me, telling me Autumn is certainly here, with the darker evenings, sunset leaves and bubbling stews

Pumpkin picking is soon becoming our little family tradition, we go to the Farrington Farm Pumpkin Festival which seems to be more popular each year. This year we struggled to park and it was too busy to decorate the pumpkins but we managed to look at the animals and walk to the pumpkin patch which was packed full of pumpkins, tiny ones, big ones and misshaped ones.

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My eldest, Rafi, loves this tradition and it was lovely to see Fifi understand a bit more this year. You head to the pumpkin patch to pick your pumpkins and stack them high in your wheelbarrow which excites the children so much, next you head off to wash them and then finally you head to the barn where you buy your pumpkins and have the chance to decorate them as you wish with some food, face painting and games to entertain. Unfortunately the barn was far too busy to do this so we purchased our pumpkins and headed home to decorate them ourselves.

That evening I made some scary pumpkin quesadillas which the children loved, they chose the filling and we cut out the shapes to make the pumpkin face.

Halloween Quesadillas

Ingredients

Tortilla wraps

Cheese

Tomato sauce

Veg of your choice

Meat of your choice

Method

Pop some olive oil in a pan and add a tortilla wrap into the pan, fry this for a couple of minutes and add your toppings, my boy chose tomato sauce, sliced ham, sweetcorn and cheddar cheese.

Pop another tortilla wrap on top and press down with a flat utensil, flip it over and press down again for a minute.

Pop the quesadilla onto a plate and taking a sharp knife cut out a pumpkin Halloween face and there we go!

Do you do have a Halloween tradition or recipe to share?

A xx

5 Halloween Outfit ideas!

Halloween, a time to dress up and have fun! I never used to "celebrate" Halloween but since having children I do and now love it!! The best part of it has to be the makeup for me, it's such a good opportunity to be creative, so here are my top 5 Halloween outfit and makeup ideas.

1. Mermaid

The great thing about being a mermaid is it is so cheap and easy to create, don't worry about buying a whole outfit, focus on the makeup and add colour to your hair. My top tips are to buy super cheap fishnet tights pop it on your face and add shades of blue, purple and pink eyeshadow to the area where you have the fishnet on, add glitter which you can buy cheaply on eBay and finally spray your hair with a can of pink or blue spray.

Here are some cheap mermaid inspired must haves I found

Mermaid Glitter

Mermaid Bralet

Here's a fab tutorial on YouTube from Rhiannon Claire, click on the link below.

Mermaid Tutorial

2. Halloween Deer

This is such a great look for Halloween and really easy to create! Get a good base on the face and add liner to shape the eyes and nose. Create loose curls, pop on a crown of flowers and add leaves into the hair....boom!

Here are a couple of crowns I found

Deer Headband

Here is a great tutorial on YouTube from this fab Claudia Sulewski

Deer Tutorial

3. Disney Princess

Think of any Disney Princess you love, so the makeup you do as your everyday makeup then to give it the Halloween twist add some fake blood under the eyes and there we go a quick and easy look. Pop on a wig and always make sure you check out eBay or Amazon for the princess outfits they have a great selection.

Here are some princess must have items i found.

Snow White fright outfit

Evil Queen Outfit

Here's a simple tutorial from Nikki Tutorials

Disney Princess Makeup Idea

4. Halloween Starlet

Have a dress or outfit you love? Well pop that on and do this super easy zombie makeup for a quick Halloween look! What I love about this look is that you only use eyeshadows no need to worry about funky SFX techniques!

Here are a couple of gorgeous dresses

Missguided Dress

ASOS Dress

Here's a tutorial from Frankie Dare

Easy Zombie Makeup

5. Vampire

I know what an obvious choice but what an easy choice too! You can create the makeup so easily and for the outfit all you need is black, so this can be a black dress, or jeans and a black top! Considering black lace is everywhere on the high street you could grab a really gorgeous outfit for this look.

Here are some outfits I found online!

Pretty Little Thing Dress

Boohoo Jumpsuit

Here is a tutorial from Leyla Rose

Halloween Vampire

Which one is your favourite?

A xx

10 things you didn't know about me....

I often wonder who's the person behind a blog or I wonder who the person is who's showing me the latest must have eyeshadow palette on YouTube, so here's 10 facts for you beautiful people all about little old me.

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1. I was born in Italy, and came to England when I was 4. I feel that Italy is my home and love getting off that plane and breathing in the homeland, the food, the mother tongue, the atmosphere and the sun!

2. I have three beautiful children. I have a 5 year old boy, a 2 year old girl and a 7 month old baby boy. My little children make my world go round, they allow me to see things in a beautiful way, to smile and feel love like no other.

3. I have three jobs....yes three jobs!! My main job is working with vulnerable families as an outreach worker, my second is being a makeup artist and my third is being a PA for my brother in law. Something will have to give eventually as I think I will go nuts!

4. I have a dream to travel Asia and South America, particularly Thailand. This obsession started when my friend travelled and the stories she told were incredible, the eruption of happiness that spread across her face made me feel an urge to visit these amazing places.

5. I am scared of dogs! I know every mans best friend is certainly not mine all because I once got chased by a wild Rottweiler in France whilst screaming help in every language I knew! It terrified me and since then I can't be near a dog without feeling on edge, I am definitely a cat lady.

6. I once swam with dolphins, my favourite animal on the planet! I had it as an amazing gift from my beautiful parents for my 21st, the luckiest girl in the world. If you guys want to do one thing on a bucket list you have to swim with dolphins, the feeling of calm and tranquility I felt was like no other.

7. I have lived with and fight mental health issues ever since I was 17. It's been a rollercoaster and certain traumas have triggered these but everyday I try my best to keep fighting it, I have a supportive network that I need to use as I am rubbish at talking about my feelings I tend to sweep it under the carpet. If you feel alone, or you feel you can't talk to anyone please do not hesitate to talk to me. You can do this!!!

8. I sometimes visualise I am in a music video whilst driving, with my sunglasses on and some bad ass music....Beyoncé to be precise, come on we all do it!

9. I could eat sushi everyday! If I see a sushi restaurant I almost feel like it's a pregnancy craving and I need to go in, yet the sad thing is I haven't been to a sushi restaurant in years! Someone take me!!

10. I am 5"1, yes the same height as Kylie Minogue and yes it means I am a short arse! A little borrower who could live in a matchstick box. I struggle to reach the top shelf in the supermarket and need my car seat to be right up to the steering wheel, insert the monkey emoji here!

Tell me a fact about you in the comments below

A xx

MAC Dare You Lipstick Review

I am pretty excited for the month of October, candles, pretty autumnal leaves, hot chocolate and the start of the exciting celebrations that Autumn and Winter bring so I couldn't resist adding these beautiful Halloween pumpkin lights from TKMaxx to my photos to showcase my new MAC lipstick.

I am someone who has to have a dark lip over the autumn winter months otherwise I feel a bit naked! I had my 6 empty products to do Back to MAC and pick my 5th millionth lipstick. I decided I wanted a new deep red and was drawn to a few but in the end I picked Dare You, a Cremesheen finish. The lipstick has blue undertones which suit me the best, the consistency is creamy and my lips feel super soft whilst wearing this lipstick. The lipstick isn't as long wearing as the MAC Matte finishes but the pigmentation is good and the colour is divine, it has an almost shiny sparkly look to it, it has what appears to be tiny little bits of sparkle in it but is not obvious or chunky so that's a bonus. So if you are after a new red lipstick then look no further then MAC Dare You.

Have you tried this or have a favourite red lip?

A x

ASOS Wish List

Hello beautiful readers,

So its been a year, yes I repeat a year! I am sat here thinking wowzer what a break! but boy have I missed you all. Lets see what has happened in a year.....and of course take a look at my current ASOS wish list.

Moved house

Yes that dreaded sentence we moved house! It is so stressful isn't it, we needed to get a bigger house for our growing family and have now moved into a three bed house overlooking gorgeous fields. The house needs doing up and eventually an extension needs to be added onto the property to make it a better living space for us, so expect some home interior posts!

New baby

So I had a 1 year old and 4 year old when I last posted but then had another in March this year, our little beautiful boy. We now have a 5 year old boy, 2 year old girl and a 6 month old so I will look at doing some parenting posts. Having three with 2 and a half jobs isn't easy but I wouldn't change them for the world and am so grateful and so lucky!

New business

I started doing wedding makeup a few years back but only did little bits here and there then in the last year on my matenity leave I decided to build this business up which has become a success, you can honestly put your mind to anything never give up!

So there is my little update for you all, lets hope this means I am back for good! I do want to get back into my Youtube but my confidence isn't great at the moment so not sure how that will go down, bear with me lovely people.

Lets take a look at my every growing ASOS wish list.

First things first a good pair of jeans, these ASOS Mom jeans make me smile! Firstly they are high waisted Mom style which I love and have been wanting a pair for so long so these without doubt were saved in my wish list. I adore the cropped look and the acid wash, perfect for Autumn/Winter.

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£35.00

ASOS Mom Jeans

I adore leopard print be it on a bag, a shirt or dress but even better is a leopard print shoe!! I love this new style shoe where the top of the shoe is pointed with a block heel, it elongates my legs, being short this helps! These are Boohoo but I found them on the ASOS site.

£28.00

Boohoo Leopard shoes

Stop what you are doing and admire this stunning check skirt with bow detail! When I stumbled acros this River Island skirt on ASOS I couldn't stop visualising the possible outfits with this beauty.

£35.00

River Island check bow skirt

These are pricey but I can't help but love them, teamed with heels or boots these would look perfect! I love the way ASOS styled these too. Throw them on with a long sleeved jumper or even a ruffle sleeve shirt.

£155.00

G Star Dungarees

I love mustard at the moment and have found it popular on the highstreet so this scarf is perfect to add that bit of colour to any outfit. This is a brand I had not heard of before I found it one day on ASOS, I have a pair of trousers from them which are such good quality and the brand always have great pieces at affordable prices.

£14.99

Stradivarius Mustard Scarf

Again here is the mustard colour popping up in my wish list. This Missguided flare dress is so pretty, team it with boots, a deep purple lipstick and a leather jacket for the ultimate autumnal look.