Showing posts with label student. Show all posts
Showing posts with label student. Show all posts

Thursday, 23 October 2014

Maybe its because I'm a Londoner.

Hey everyone,

A lot of exciting things have been happening with me lately, mainly due to the fact that Iv recently moved to London! I must have gotten too in tune to the "£2 a pint" north because I cant help but scoff at every product/bus fair/tube fair/ticket price/service tip.....basically anything that costs anything and being a student on top of all this isn't really fair on my bank balance. Being in the busy city has kept me on my feet and being the cheapskate I am Iv devised a list of the best apps to save you bucks and help you get around in London!


1. Timeout London:


Timeout London is a great app that let you know what's going on in and around your area and central London, It gives recommendations for everything from Art Galleries and events to cafĂ©'s and restaurants and on top of that it shows you how to get tickets to events cheaper than the door price. If you're really stuck on places to go then you can just hit the "most popular" button and it will show you what everyone else liked. This is a good app for Planning


2. City Mapper:


Citymapper is an app which uses your current location (Location button on for this app) to help you find any destination you need to get to whether it be a pub, shop or tube station. You just type where you want to go and hit "Get Route" and the app takes you to a page of travel options (see second image). It gives you options for walking, bus, bike, taxi, tube, what's safest for rain and it will calculate how much it will cost and how long it will take you to get there. Once you've chosen your transport method it takes you to a map which has the instructions laid out beneath an aerial view map of where you are. It even has a working compass on the map so if you're walking in the wrong direction it will tell you! This app is great for Travel.


3.Runtastic:


If, like me, you don't want to pay for the gym but still fancy staying in shape then Runtastic is perfect. It uses your location to map out your running journey and works similarly to the Nike+ app in the sense that it shows you how long you've been running, how many calories you have burned and lets you choose what music you'd like to listen to while you run. It also has a feature for speciality training such as 10k training, weight-loss and marathon runners. It also gives the option of "story running" in which the app uses your earphones to deliver a live-story that is affected by your running. For example, you may be running from zombies and the earphones will reflect that as you hear them getting closer behind you. You have the option of one free story "run for those who cant" and the rest are around the 99p mark. This app is perfect for Fitness.

4. Farm Hero Saga. 


I'm recommending Farm Hero Saga because its my go-to when im on the Tube. 1. You don't need internet to use it, AWESOME 2. You don't need signal to use it, AWESOME 3. Its really fun and occupying for when you have long distances to travel, AWESOME. Just try and not play this while walking anywhere because you WILL get too involved in the game and end up shouting "oh crap" in public and/or walking into a small child. Lesson Learned. This app is good for Killing Time.


xoxo

Fashion-Fox.


PS. Apologies if this is becoming confusing, since beginning my degree in Fashion Journalism I have decided to revert back to my original alter-ego "Fashion Fox" and I am happily back into the swing of blogging regularly and have some great posts and videos scheduled for you guys.





















Monday, 27 January 2014

Student Cooking Series #1: 100 Calorie Pancakes + Homemade Blueberry plumb compote.


Hey guys, I'm back!

Its been an absolute whirlwind of university applications, exam preparations and YouTube videos but iv finally made a comeback to this blog and I promise ill be on here alot more now that iv sorted out my schedule.

I made these pancakes today for myself and Dan and they were absolutely amazing and they're only 100 calories per pancake! I don't know if you know this about me but im super into recipes that are free of all the nasties like fats, sugars, gluten etc and although these arent completely angelic they're at least halfway there. Whilst making them I also knocked up a decent quick blueberry and plumb compote so i thought id share that info too. If you try these id love to see your own versions so tag me on Instagram/ Tumblr (@Celestialmoonrock) or Twitter (@Kaycia_) and let me know what you think!


I made six pancakes for myself and Dan and the portions are 100ml of batter per pancake and 3 pancakes each. If you want any less or more just half or double the quantities and it works just the same.

Ingredients for Pancake Batter(6 Pancakes):
  • Two Bananas (the softer the better, theyre going to be mashed)
  • 4 Tablespoons of any kind of flour
  • Four medium eggs (Dont bypass the yolk, its packed with protein!)
  • 120 ml of milk (1/2 an American cup measurement)
  • Cooking spray or oil, Im using Frylight spray.
  • Optional extras: Small or chopped fruits, Raisins, Oats, Chocolate chips.

Ingredients for Blueberry Plumb Compote:

  • Blueberries
  • Plumb(s)
  • a sprinkle of sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon water

Equiptment Needed:
  • Frying pan, griddle or hotplate
  • Mixing bowl
  • Measuring jug
  • Spatula, Spoons + Measuring spoons, fork or rolling pin for mashing.
Start by chopping the bananas in a bowl, it doesn't matter how you chop them you could chop them into tiny pentagrams for all it matters, they're about to get smashed into oblivion anyways so don't worry about it! 

As you do this next step remember "Beauty is only skin deep" and chant it as a mantra as you smash the bananas into looking like some weird devil baby food/sick type lumpy concoction which makes you question how reliable this recipe is. (Very reliable I swear, as reliable as a person on the internet can be to another person on the internet while making pancakes)

Add the flour in to the alien banana mush. Don't bother sifting unless it really bothers you because lets face it, who has time to sift. Oooo just had a thought, if you wanna vamp up the health-nut vibe on these pancakes use coconut flour or whole-wheat flour, or any other kind of flour that sounds impressive when you tell your friends about your knew lifestyle choices as they groan into their Mcdonalds. Mix the flour in well until it starts to go abit dough-like but still pretty much spawn of Satan at this point.
It says "Tip: for fluffier pancakes beat the eggs before adding them". This is my way of telling you all that i forgot to beat the eggs before adding them and that you should probably do that, although they came out more or less the same so if you can be bothered do it, if not don't, its all comin up pancakes.
So now it should look less terrorising and more child-friendly, it should be a bit frothy from where you tried to salvage the fact you didn't beat the eggs by whipping the whole mixture, it will still have lumps in it from the banana mush but that doesn't matter cause it will make the pancakes nicer in the end.
Now add the milk (Health-nuts its time to get the soy/almond milk out) and whatever else ingredients you want in your pancakes. I went for blueberries cause im super into blueberry muffins and I figured pancakes and muffins arent all too dissimilar so what the hell. If you're going for chocolate chips then im wholly jealous of you, we never have chocolate in the house, booo!
TURN FRYING PAN HANDLES IN! The amount of times iv jumped back from an almost deep fat fried foot incident has been too many for a 17 year old so don't even take the risk (I'm not liable if you scald yourself, I warned you). I also once made a really nice pasta sauce then knocked the handle and tipped the entire contents onto the floor, the dog apparently enjoyed it very much. Dont cry over spilt milk but spilt pasta sauce is different, there's more ingredients wasted.
Saying that Dan doesn't like healthy food is like saying that Kim Jong Un was kinda mean, an understatement. He was only just allowing the fact there was blueberries in it (he likes some fruits) so I halved the batter and put cherries in my half, yay more for me.
Turn the pan on a low heat and spray it with cooking spray until its mostly covered. Then measure out 100ml of batter and pour it in the middle of the pan. These pancakes are quite thick and fluffy but if you want proper american style ones then put a pancake ring in the pan (if you're fancy enough to have one evidently im not)to make a perfect deep pancake circle. Cook it between 2-3 minutes, check it at two though because I didn't and you don't even want to see a picture of that hot(cake) mess.
Now we separate the chefs from the "ill give it a go"-ers. If you can flip pancakes then you deserve a medal and a certificate that says "i can flip flipping pancakes me" because in real life who can actually flip pancakes, really, honestly, actually though, without help. If like me you're flippedly challenged use a spatula instead to save splattering the walls with half cooked blueberries. 
A compote is abit like a jam only less painstaking at you don't have to add loads of sugar or sieve it. Mash up some blueberries and put them in a small pan. I cant judge how long it took me to make this part cause i spent a good ten minutes getting my head around the fact that blueberries are green inside.
I only needed a handful of blueberries and one plumb because like I said earlier Dan didnt want anything he didnt like so he piled strawberries and honey on his pancakes. If youre using plumbs be super careful when cutting the stone out because i litterally nearly took my fingertip off. Sprinkle a bit of sugar over the top to sweeten it up abit and to make it abit syrupy so you can pretend its unhealthy when its not.
Cook it on a low heat and keep stirring it till the juice from the blueberries starts to stick to the pan a little bit, if its not syrupy enough add 1/4 teaspoon of water, if its too syrupy you're lying to yourself. Never too syrupy.
Now you can go all "child let loose with the decorations" and make it look all fancy. I put the compote on top then honey and milk cause im lying to myself that its cream and a spoon of fat free Greek yogurt on top.

Yaaaaay, you should have made pancakes by now and if you followed this it should look like Gordon Ramsey bobbed over for breakfast, if not you've obviously done it wrong or you've attempted a pancake flip when i warned you not to and its on the ceiling/walls/floor/your brother/your dog, in either case you're missing out.


PS. Dont be offended by any of this by the way, im not targeting you personally im litterally targetting whoever is reading this so its not personal, okay?, we okay?, we good? good.

Thanks for reading, comment with questions, experiences, any old rubbish really I like reading comments.
Ciao xx

Sunday, 21 April 2013

Student Take-Over Haul.

Thursday evening i went to my local shopping centre, Meadowhall for its student event, i was hoping for amazing discounts and free stuff and its exactly what I got!                       
                       
Iv wanted some cowboy-style boots for ages and was hoping to save toward my dream pair by Kurt Geiger at £65 but instead got these gorgeous fringed tan boots for £18 from Primarni,I find it really hard to buy shoes in regular shops because my feet are a tiny size 2 and the shoes usually start at a three so i have to get boots or shoes with laces or straps.  I don't usually shop in primark often unless its for something I'm not going to wear often and I originally went in for a pair of party shoes but came out empty handed in the party-shoe area.
I got this for super cheap in TKMAXX in the reduced section for £5.99, its an argon oil hair mask for restoring your hair which I super need since my hair is dead from all the peroxide powder i used on it during the transformation from brown to bright purple. I already had a Paul Smith argon oil cream I got in a Cosmo magazine that is so lush, you just apply it when your hair is damp then dry it out and it makes your hair all shiny and nice so I'm hoping this hair mask will rescue my poor bleached ends, it smells so fantastic like really warm and comforting but also exotic, its also kind of coconut-y which is my favourite smell in the whole world.
                           

From Boots (UK cosmetics store) I got these Katy perry eyelashes in cool Kitty £5.95 for a party I'm going to Friday, I'm good at putting fake eyelashes on other people but iv never really tried doing them on myself so I'm abit worried but the instructions on the back seem quite fair, I don't want to end up looking like a spider has crawled on my face and made a nice home on my eyes. Katy Perrys eyes are huge so how am I meant to judge if these are a medium size compared to her eyes or to regular peoples eyes, they could be 5 inches long and seem tiny on her and look ridiculous on my tiny eyes.
                             

I got some more hair dye because my hair was turning a strange white-ish blue (you'll see that in  my other pictures). When I first dyed my hair purple I used Crazy Colour in Hot purple and it wasn't very good (it did last quite long though which is something for a bright dye), the second time (Profile picture is this colour) I used Manic Panic Ultra Violet and the colour was so nice but it only lasted a week so now I'm trying this Violet by Directions, they cost me £8 for two.
                 
For a really long time iv only been using a blusher brush for all my make-up like bronzer, blusher and powders and iv always lusted after this set, EcoTools is basically a variety of make-up brushes all of which have bamboo handles because bamboo is a resourceful material, recycled aluminium ferrules and cruelty-free bristles, it all comes in a hemp and cotton make-up case . Iv wanted these for a long time because as a vegetarian id like to think that the things I'm buying have less of a cruel effect on animals (I know its unrealistic because make-up and clothes etc but I always try to buy animal friendly and 98% natural face washes). They cost me £15 for a blusher brush, eye shading brush,angled eyeliner brush, concealer brush, lash&brow groomer and the Hemp and cotton case.I used these today and oh my gosh the bristles are the softest iv ever encountered!
                                                  The Fashion Fox with a Fashion Fox!
                     
                           
There I am saying "I don't buy alot from primark" and here I am again with something else from primark, I honestly think that the HOME section of primark is wonderful especially for teenagers, alot of my bedsheets are from Primark HOME section such as a lovely grey New York bedspread, plus I absolutely adore the cute pillows of foxes and moustaches, i always check it out for candles and such and stumbled upon these pillow-cases, they're kind of a china pattern (which I love I have a shirt of it from Topshop) and I just think these would be super cute as a back pillow and really kitsch to have in my room.

One of my all time favourite shops is Urban Outfitters so when I heard they had a discount on i flocked to it like a mad woman, with my friends party in mind I bought this silver sparkly crop top (£20) and leather skirt (£32) as-well as the cutest elephant necklace (£12). I don't usually wear crop-tops because I don't have the worlds best figure but I'm totally fine with having the upper stomach out so I thought for her party id just go for it.

             


The Body Shop were giving away little empty pots which you could go in to the store and fill up with anything that had a tester, I spent such a long time choosing seeing as they have so many fabulous products but I finally settled on the Nutriganics 98% Natural smoothing night cream, it smells fabulous and I used it a few nights ago and the next day my skin was so smooth and luscious  honestly it was so silky and soft. I think it was so wonderful that Body Shop gave this give-away as it allows free choice of what you want for free and how much of it you want.

Cath Kidson held a little 1940's tea-party in collaboration with Fancie Cake company. They gave us little CK fake tattoos then when you showed the tattoo in Cath Kidson you got a cute little free cupcake.
In Exchange for walking around clucking and shouting I love Nandos I won a free meal at Nandos and Dan won a free soft drink.



This last part is the most exciting of them all, I went for my make-up doing for free using the new collection by Elizabeth Arden and I mentioned my blog and they gave me some awesome samples to review, I'm going to do a video this week on the whole thing but here's some pictures of the new collection and a little thing on what works for me.
     

              
                            
                  

I'm going to start by saying what make-up was used on me personally, so the darker brown and the darker purple eye-shadows (from the two palettes were used to create a smoky eye and bring out the purple in my hair, a bronzer was used to contour my face, a light pink blusher was used to enlighten my face and open up the colours in my eyes and a nude lip gloss was used on my lips.

I was gifted the Elizabeth Arden Skin Correcter (SPF15) which I haven't used just yet, the infamous Eight-Hour Cream ( which I used on my face and lips and it was amazing! it nourishes  the skin so much!), the visible difference optimizing skin serum (which I used and oh my god its brilliant its so amazing, it balances out your skin perfectly),the new Juicy Couture fragrance: Viva La Juicy and Viva La Juicy - La Fleur.

Viva La Juicy La Fleur is very much a light and uplifting scent and is very aquatic and based around the daytime. It smells a little like Davidoff Cool Water mixed with a light fresh flowery undertone whereas the Viva La Juicy is much more for the night time and has much more deep and musky tones.

I'm gonna do a whole video on these gifts so look out for it this week!


Ciao,
 FashionFox xoxo