Bake with Becky! Schwartz rosemary roasted chicken and potatoes kit

Hi everyone, I love to cook but not anything that doesn't come easy!  So when I saw the Schwartz Rosemary roasted chicken and potatoes I thought it sounded tasty and wouldn't test my cooking skills too much!

The kit is basically six spices so once you've brought the kit once the measurements for the spices are on the back you can get the herbs and spices instead if you wish.

This recipe is so simple and easy, if I can do it anyone can!!  You just need a few extra pieces.

Chicken thighs (although next time I am using breast as I much prefer the meat)

A lemon

Some runny honey

A red onion

Baby potatoes

Slice the baby potatoes and scatter them on the bottom of you dish. 

Sprinkle over the rosemary and garlic granules with a bit of olive oil and shake then pop in the oven at 220c for 20 minutes.

While that's cooking combine the lemon pepper, oregano, paprika and thyme in a bowl with the honey and lemon juice (salt is optional at this stage but I didn't and it still was fine!)

Give it a mix, then coat the chicken with it.  Leave it until the potatoes have been in 20 minutes

Then push th chicken down in the potatoes, sprinkle the chopped red onion on top and and pop back in the oven (you must reduce the temerature to 200c at this point) and after 40-45 minutes it should be ready!

I served mine with green veg and it was soooo tasty!

The flavours were fabulous and it was such a nice and easy tea I have done it again since!

What's your favorite easy tea?



Barbara Day eye base

Hi everyone, as usual I caouldn't go to the supermarket without having a good nose at the cosmetics!  I have been after a nice creamy eyebase for a while and had thought of buying an extra paint pot in a neuteral colour when I spotted this and thought why not try it!

The Barbara Day make-up eye base is avaliable in Tesco and is a lovely creamy eye base.

It evens out colour and gives slight coverage to veins and makes your eyelids less translusant.

The consistency of the product is nice and creamy and applies well, however it very quickly creased on my eyelid and became slightly powdery.
My eyeshadow did last ok but was creased and I felt perhaps I should've just brought a paint pot!
I will use this until it's run out as it isn't awful but I won't be repurchasing.

Do you use any cream eyeshadow bases?


Bella Pierre Legally Blonde

Hi everyone, it's so good to be back.  I have had an amazing holiday with my gorgeous girls and started a new job which is exciting so that's why I haven't blogged lately!  Now, it's back to business as usual!

After falling in love all over again with mineral makeup I have been keeping my eyes peeled for any that caught my eye.  This kit jumped out at me in TKMax which is another shop I have recently fallen in love all over again with!

The kit contains products for you face, a mineral foundation (I got the fair set which inculded ivory), their desert rose blush and their shimmer powder in resonance.

It also contained a mascara (which came in a recent beauty box) and a clear lip gloss.

The coverage of this foundation is incredible.  I didn't have any expectations really but it took me by surprise as it was fantastic!  It lasted all day and with it being a mineral powder is very kind on the skin.  My husband passed comment on how well I looked the day I first used this!
The blush has a little shimmer to it but that doesn't transfer much onto the skin unless you really layer it up. 
I'm yet to use the shimmer powder as it's quite a daring colour for me!
The mascara is nice for the daytime, it didn't do much in the way of volumising but did lengthen my lashes slightly and apart from smelling quite nice the lipgloss isn't up to much.

I would highly recomend this kit if you have been thinking of trying a mineral foundation, the kit and products are pricey on the website but amazing value from TK Max and they had lots of the darker shades in my local branch so I will be looking out for the fairer shades in other branches to stock up!

What's your favorite mineral makeup line and have you tried Bella Pierre?

Which beautybox is best for me?

Hi everyone, I received a few emails asking for advice on which box would I recomend for them so I thought I would do a quick overview of a few boxes and hope some of you may find it useful. (Please excuse the photography, I have finally ordered my new camara so higher quality coming soon!)

There are so many boxes out there now and sadly a couple of really good ones have stopped.
I am currently subscribed to three plus an extra optional one (more on that later) but most boxes are a monthly subscribtion so it's a great way to try the boxes and see if they are for you.

The first box I will be looking at is the Amarya box which is a monthly box and not one I see on blogs very often.

This is an organic and natural box every month and so far has been bang on time each month with no hassle.  It comes in the actual delivery box, there is no box inside however it does have lovely pink shredded paper!

Amary beauty box

Cost:  £10pm plus £2.50 p&p

Last months box contents:

AD Nourishing night treatment

Lavera all round cream

Terre de oc lip gloss

Tous H2O Eau de toilette

Pros of the Amarya box

Very reliable

All natural and organic products

The samples are fairly high quality and useable

Cons

They may not send as many samples as some boxes

Is this box for me?

If you like organic and natural products then yes!  This box would best be suited to someone who likes discovering new products and likes a good reliable beauty box service (as Amarya have never delivered late to me yet!).

The next box is the one which started my obsession with beauty boxes and probably the most famous of them all!

Glossybox

Cost: £10p/m + £2.95 p&p

Last months box contents:

Baloon and travel mirror (bonus birthday items)

Collection (2000) liquid eyeliner in gold

Eldora false lashes

Noble Isle summer rising bath and shower gel

2 x Lola Lempicka perfume samples

Neal's Yard daily rose moisturiser

Pros of Glossybox

Sometimes you get a nice full size product

Cons of Glossybox

Different people get different boxes and the value difference can be substantial

Have been known to be a little unreliable with the delivery dates

Samples can be pretty rubbish and my last perfume samples were empty!

Is Glossybox for me?

I feel that Glossybox is great for a younger market who like makeup and more heard of brands.  As mentioned above I have found the box to be unreliable with content and delivery at times and have since cancelled my subscription.  Having said that I feel that if Glossybox pull up their socks and send out some amazing boxes like they have done previously (i.e. Harrods themed box) then they could regain the love and I think they may well do that so maybe worth while keeping your eye on them!

This next box is a really nice box that each month comes with a little bag for the products and I have used them in my handbag, very handy!  Since being renamed and taken over from bourdior prive this box has got better I feel.

Joliebox

Cost:  £10p/m + £2.95 p&p

Last months box contents

Full size China Glaze nail polish

Essential care rose moisturiser

Talika eye serum

RMK Primer

Cons of Joliebox

I'm struggling!

Maybe sometimes they have changed the delivery date!

Pros of Joliebox

Samples are normally reliable

Good customer service

Good for discovering new brands

Is Joliebox for me?

Joliebox for me has been one of the most consistent in terms of sample quality and I have really had some wonderful samples from them.  This maybe isn't for you if you don't like trying new brands, but I feel this brands caters for those who like to mix high end with high street.

The final box I have only ever had twice but it is a really interesting box and one I feel slips under the radar a little at times but is getting a bigger name for itself.

Latest in beauty

Cost:  They have different pricing for different boxes

Last months box contents

Liz Earle cleanse and polish

Percy and reed dry conditioner

Mont Blanc and Elie Saab aftershave and perfume samples

L'Occitane hand cream

Full size nails inc polish

Elemis pro-collagen body cream

Weleda firming day cream

Cons of Latest in beauty box

They can often sell out fast

Pros of Latest in beauty box

You can see the box before you buy so no more getting a box full of useless samples!

Customer service is great

You have so many options for the type of box you want including build your own mini box anytime!

Is Latest in beauty box for me

I feel this box would suit everyone and although the box I showed the contents for was a special box is was priced the same and the quality of samples is usually similar!  You can buy Editors pick boxes, themed boxes and build your own where you choose 3 out of 9 samples anytime and get them delivered (dangerous!).  Although some may say the element of surpirse is gone I would agree but having had some boxes where I have only used one thing from this is a great option to have if you don't have the money for a box a month or don't want to waste it until you're sure you will use them!

Final word!

I tried ranking these boxes but couldn't decide my top one but I hope you have found my guide useful if you are trying to decide.  I have not had any Shesaid beauty boxes so that is why they aren''t included but that's another box that maybe worth looking at too.

What are your favorite boxes and why?