NOTD - Bourjois and Models Own

Todays NOTD is Bourjois So Laque! in shade 31, Blue Violet, with Models Own silver smash-up over the top. Both are available from Boots.

My fish pedicure experience

A while ago I had my first fish pedicure experience and thought I'd share it with you. I visited Appy Feet in York with my mum and my our friend who I call my second mummy. First of all it was mega busy but it was half term and luckily we didn't have to wait long before we got our turn!

First off you have to fill in a form to declare if you have any health problems and to state if you're on any medication. Then you take your shoes off, get given a lovely attractive pair of crocs to pop on and you head over to the foot wash area to obviously wash your feet! You then get led over to a tank to pop your feet in!

It felt weird, very, very weird and it took ages to get used it. I can only describe the feeling as vibrations in your feet and legs.

I haven't a photo of my feet but apparently there were loads of fish on them. I found that I couldn't look at my own feet, it freaked me out, but I could look at others.

After my experience I would go back again but I would have the longer 35 minute treatment as I just got used to the sensation when the 15 minutes was up.

Prices are £10 for 15 minutes and £20 for 35 minutes and their are Spas around the country, to find your local one check out Appy Feet's website.

Review - Organic Surge part 2

This is part two of my Organic Surge review. This post is going to concentrate on skincare.

L-R: First Class Mask, Refreshing Toner, Eye Gel and Cleansing Wipes

First Class Face Mask - £6.99 for 50ml
This had a very light consistency and it was see through so different to other face masks. It also didn't harden so it was easy to wash off. You leave it on for 5 minutes and after my face felt lovely and soft. I used three pumps for my face so I'd imagine this would last quite a long time if using once or twice a week as recommended.

Pure Extracts Refreshing Toner - £4.99 for 200ml
The toner is fragranced with lemon and as a result it smells amazing! Other toners can smell chemically or really harsh but this one smelt lovely. It left my skin feeling soft and smooth. I think even my mum who never used toners as they're too harsh and drying on her skin would be able to use this one as it's so gentle.

Eye Gel - £7.99 for 15ml

As it's name suggests this is a gel so it is light weight and is absorbed quickly. It is quite cooling which is nice when you're felling tired as it does help to rejuvenate your eyes. Normally I only use eye creams/gels at night but I've been using this in the mornings too as it does absorb quickly. It leaves my skin feeling moisturised and since using it I haven't suffered from sore eczema around my eyes. It is one of the more expensive products by Organic Surge but as far as eye products go it is actually quite reasonable and as it has a pump dispenser there is no wastage as you get a measured amount.

Kiss and Make-Up Wipes - £3.49 for 25 wipes
Firstly these are biodegradable so they are good for the environment! These are thicker than other face wipes I've tried and are more of a cloth than a wipe. They are also very moist and removed all traces of foundation on my skin. My skin was left soft and as they're suitable for sensitive skin it also wasn't left irritated.

L-R: Hand Wash, Daily Care Face Wash and Overnight Sensation Night Cream

Hand Wash - £3.99 for 250ml

There are two different hand wash fragrances: gentle meadow (lavender and geranium) and tropical bergamot (sweet orange and bergamot), I bought both but so far have only used the gentle meadow. At first I wasn't sure if I'd like the floral scent but it's really subtle and it's quite a refreshing change to the normal synthetic overpowering lavender. I use one pump and it gentle lathers, not too much, but my hands get a good clean. It isn't drying like other hand washes and my hands are left feeling soft afterwards.

Daily Care Face Wash - £4.99 for 200ml

This is gentle fragranced with rose and geranium as even thought I'm really not a floral person I love the fragrance! Even after I've got out of the shower I can smell it on my skin and it smells gorgeous! This has a pump dispenser and I use two pumps but I could get away with one as it does gently foam. It removes all trace of make-up (excluding mascara) and my face is left squeaky clean and soft. Currently I'm on my second bottle of this and it last absolutely ages!

Overnight Sensation Night Cream - £7.99 for 50ml

This is quite thick, and I think it's too thick for my normal/combination skin. It did take a little while to sink in but it left my skin lovely and soft when it did. Out of all the Organic Surge products I've tried I think this is the only one I wouldn't repurchase because of it's thick consistency.

So that's my Organic Surge mini series done! So tell me your thoughts; what do you like the sound of? What have you used? Which other Organic Surge products do you recommend? Comment away!

Review - Organic Surge part 1

Organic Surge, a brand which says no to parabens, SLS (sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate), synthetic perfumes, artifical colours, chemical antioxidants, artificial foaming agents and many more nasty things. To find out what parabens and SLS are click here.

I've bought quite a few Organic Surge products over the last few months so instead of reviewing them all individually I'm going to do a big brand review but it's going to be split into two parts. Part one is going to review their shower gels and haircare and part two, which will be up tomorrow, is going to review their skincare.

Shower gels - £3.99 for 250ml

There shower gels come in six fragrances and I have three of them: citrus mint, sugared almond and fresh ocean.

Yes the price is slightly more expensive than other brands but they are on par with brands with the same values. The consistency is runnier than other shower gels but this also means you need less as a little goes a long way! They are also colourless but this is because they don't have artificial colours in them.

After using them my skin feels soft, cleansed and slightly fragranced. My favourites are citrus mint and fresh ocean!

Other fragrances: Tropical bergamot, Peach Passion and Gentle Meadow. 

Haircare - £4.99 each (250ml shampoo and 200ml conditioner)
Or buy in a bundle for £8.99 each

The shampoos and conditioners come in five different varieties depending on your hair type. I have the moisture boost and shine boost ones. Like the shower gels, the shampoos are slightly runnier than other brands but not by much and again this means a little goes a long way especially as they foam up really well. Once washed my hair felt cleansed but unlike another brand which also doesn't contain nasty things my hair wasn't left a tangled, knotty mess before conditioning. The conditioner is the same consistency as you'd expect and my hair was left soft and manageable. My hair didn't go limp or greasy when it needed washing like it normally does so overall I'm very impressed!

The moisture boost products contains organic almond and palmarosa, I believe this is a grass, essential oils and it is softly scented, not overpowering like some fragrances can be. The shine boost products have organic grapefruit and citrus essential oils and to me it smells abit weird. It doesn't scream citrus but it's not unpleasant at all.

Other varieties: colour protect, blonde boost, and volume boost.

Part two coming up tomorrow!

Save vs Spurge - Mineral foundations

Mineral foundations, they're popping up everywhere nowadays. For me a mineral foundation shouldn't contain any nasties like parabens but more often than not they do. I've managed to find four which fit this category which also vary in price. These are:

L-R:

Collection 2000 Perfecting Minerals - £4.99 (15g)

Une 100% Mineral Foundation - £9.99 (4.5g)

Avon Smooth Minerals - £10.50 (6g)

Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation - £12.49 (10g)

Swatches and shades L-R:

Une (M08)

Avon (Shell)

Lily Lolo (Barely Buff)

Sorry no swatch of Collection 2000's as I finished this months ago, luckily kept the pot for product dregs!

Collection 2000's was the first mineral foundation I tried. For the money you can't go wrong and you get alot of product. It covered well, looked natural and but didn't last all day.

I bought the Une foundation more recently and I was shocked at how little product you got compared to others, you get a teeny 4.5g for a tenner. Despite this it gave the best coverage and lasted all day.

Avon ran a promotion a while ago where you gave then an old bottle of foundation and you got a brand new one for £4 so I got their Smooth Minerals powder foundation. This has a slight simmer to it which people always comment on and say how nice it looks. The coverage is really good and lasts all day. The only bad thing is the silly hole the product comes out of. Sort it out Avon!

Lily Lolo only makes mineral make-up products and I love their blushers. Their foundation is the most expensive I've tried but you do get a 10g pot. This is the lightest shade I've got which is probably a tad too light for me after trying darker shades from the other brands. It also gives quite a light coverage but it does last.

Collection 2000, Une and Lily Lolo all have a normal sifter top for getting the product out.

So my final thought....

This is taking into consideration price, amount of product and coverage:

1st place - Avon Smooth Minerals (mid priced product)

2nd place - Collection 2000 Perfecting Minerals (cheapest)

3rd place - Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation (most expensive)

4th place - Une (mid priced product)

Avon won because of the coverage and Une lost because of the whole 4.5g of product. I'll be interest to see how long this lasts compared to the other ones.

Have you tried any mineral foundations, what did you think to them? 

Favourite products - Skincare

This is the second of my favourite products post and today I'm focusing on skincare: bodycare and facial skincare.

Sure Crystal Deodorant - £2.89 (250ml)

Simply the best deodorant I've used. Lasts all day and doesn't leave those nasty white marks on dark clothing.

Veet in shower hair removal cream - £6.42 (150ml) or £11.02 (300ml)

It's the only hair removal cream I've found to work. A little goes along way so one of these tubes lasts a long time.

No 7 Cleanse and Care Eye Make-up Remover - £7.75 (100ml)

I always seem to go back to this product. I like that it's a pump dispenser, it shifts even waterproof mascara and it's not a greasy formulation which some others are which leave my eyes sore.

L'Occitane handcreams - £7.50 (75ml)

These have all the good point from the other three items: a little goes a long way, non greasy, they last a long time and they're simply the best handcreams ever!

Do you love any of these products as much as me? Or are there any others which you love? Let me know in the comments below!


Stockists
Sure - Boots, Superdrug, supermarkets
Veet - Boots and Superdrug
No 7 - Boots
L'Occitane - L'Occitane

My first day in my new job!

On Monday I started my new job so I thought I'd show you what was in my, my make-up bag, what make up I wore and what outfit I decided on!

What's in my handbag?

I'm using the same Kipling handbag that I showed in my previous what's in my bag post. This is the Cerys bag and is available from QVC (item number: 150719) and Kipling online. This colour doesn't seem to be available though.

Tissues

Good luck angel

Carex anti-bacterial hand gel

Hairbrush

Hair elastic

Pens

Diary

Glasses and case

Umbrella

What else?

Sure deodorant

Hairspray

Make-up bag (L'Occitane free gift)

Tablets: anti-histamines, aspirin and Nurofen migrane pain

What's in my make-up bag?

My make-up bag is the little L'Occitane one which was a free gift a couple of years back. What's in it?

Fresh breath spray

Cherry Coke lipbalm

Chilli Pepper mirror

Lipsticks - Mac, No7 and 17

L'Oreal face powder

Little pot with mineral concealer in

No7 eyeshadow blend and contour brush

No7 nail file and case

L'Occitane Fleur Cherie hand cream

What make-up did I wear?

Back row:

Witch primer

Everyday Minerals sunlight colour corrector

Une mineral foundation

Wet n Wild mineral foundation

Middle row:

Benefit Thrrrob blusher

L'Oreal holographic Real Silver eyeshadow

Front row:

L'Oreal Lash Architect waterproof mascara

Sorry the photo's of the make-up are really quite bad

What did I wear?

To go with the black trousers I'm wearing I decided on this cute peter pan collar top from Next. This was £14 which I thought was great value.

I also invested in a pair of comfy shoes from Clarks.

So after my first week on monday I hated it but I was just training all day and reading loads of information so it was really boring but now I'm the hang of everything so I'm quite liking it!

Review - Ren Micro Polish Cleanser

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a sample of Ren's new Micro Polish Cleanser before it was released for sale.

I got a mini 15ml sample but boy did it go a long way.

This is a 2-in-1 cleanser and exfoliator which is recommended for use 2-3 times a week to reveal purified, smoothed and softer skin, a brighter, more radiant complexion and reduces the look of pores and fine lines.

As I have finished this I have no photo of the actual product, Im rubbish I know! But it was a light orange colour with very fine exfoliating granules and it had a gorgeous orange fragrance.

So what did I think? Basically I loved it! I loved that it's a 2-in-1 product, anything that saves time, and it really did leave my skin feeling clean, smoother and brighter. I love a product that does what it says one the.....tube!

The full sized 150ml product is £20 and I am planning on buying one! For use 2-3 times a week it should last a long time so I'm not too bothered about paying a little more than usual for it.

This is available from Ren online.

She's got her lipstick on...da da dum

First of all I apologise for the use of Jedward's lyrics for this post's title, yes I am slightly ashamed of myself!

So as the title suggests this post is about lipstick. Other than nail polish lipstick is my vice. I probably don't have anywhere near as many as some of you but I think 10 is quite enough for me! And as you'll see many of the shades are practically the same!

L-R:

No 7 Limited Edition: Grace - £10.00

No 7 Sheer Temptation: Attract - £10.00

17 Mirror Shine: Belle - £4.59

17 Mirror Shine: Sugar Daddy - £4.59

17 Mirror Shine: Flirtini - £4.59

Swatches in the same order as above

L-R:

Mac: Midimauve - £13.50

L'Oreal Color Riche Naturals: Nude 235 - £8.19

Benefit: La La Land - Discontinued, can't find a price

Avon Sheer Minerals: Smooth Berry - can't find a price, around £8

Avon Sheer Minerals: Smooth Nude - can't find a price, around £8

Swatches in the same order as above

A quick low down for them:

My favourites: No 7 Grace and 17 Belle

Natural look: L'Oreal Color Riche Naturals

Glossy finish: No 7 Sheer Temptation and 17 Sugar Daddy

Block colour: Benefit La La Land and 17 Flirtini

Sheer finish: Avon smooth minerals

Have you got any of these? What's your favourite lipstick?

Wednesday Wishlist - 1

ASOS

Curve Rich Indigo Skinny Jeans - £24 (was £30)

Curve Mist Indigo Skinny Jeans - £30

Curve Feather Print Tunic - £28 (was £35) 

Cath Kidston Wash Vanity Case - £28

 Debenhams

Star by Julian MacDonald Black Quilted Shopper Bag - £50

Star by Julian MacDonald Purple large Fifi purse - £22

PTD - Challenge 53

This weeks challenge at PTD is fathers day! I created this for my dad:

As an avid fisherman I'm sure he'll love it!

As a present I've got him an iTunes giftcard, 2 handmade bookmarks and I'm going to make him some of my famous fudge as I'm a little short on cash at the moment.

Entries are to be submitted by 4pm on Sunday, good luck!

Haul - Primark & a competition win!

Just a super quick haul post to show what I bought when I went shopping last week. I only had £20 as until I start my new job & get some decent wages I'm currently poor, poor, poor!

Primark

Floral skirt - £5

I was drawn to this like a moth to a flame! Just love the pattern. I've worn this with a navy vest top and it looked fab. It has an elasticated waist so is good if you've over indulged at lunch time!

Close up, perfect summer print!

Black skirt - £5 (rubbish photo, sorry!)

I saw this hung up on a rail, it looked like a rail of stuff to go back out but it turns out it was a reduced rail. This was meant to be £12 but was reduced to a fiver! Bargain! 

Stripy top - £4

My mum bought me this and it's a sort of hanky hem top. Nice and airy for summer.

Plaited hairband - £1.50

I've been after one of these for ages and found them in Primark in Meadowhall, Sheffield, but the queue was so long and I wasn't waiting in it just to buy a hairband so I put it back. Then I had trouble finding another one but I managed to track one down! But when trying it on at home it's a tad too light for my hair :-( 

Competition win!

Ages ago Fabulous magazine from the News of the the World offered you the chance to win one of 3,000 Maybelline One by One mascaras to the first 3,000 people who voted in their beauty awards. I completely forgot about this so entered quite late on the first day it was up not expecting to win anything. Then low and behold a couple of weeks ago I came home to find this baby on my door mat!

I haven't tried it yet as I have about 5 mascaras open so I'm using those up. Needless to say I'm excited to give it a try as I've heard good stuff about it.

So there we have it, Im sure I had some other stuff to put on but I can't think what. Anyway hope you enjoying reading and looking!

A new breed of reality TV

It's becoming apparent that reality TV as we once knew it is officially over. The days of Big Brother, Survivor (remember that, was a I'm a Celeb type thing) and Shipwrecked are gone. Instead we have a mass of programmes dedicated to the talented people of the UK such as X Factor, Britain's got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance and then there are the fly on the wall reality programmes.

These started to infiltrate their way into our lives quite a long time ago with TV imports from the USA including Laguna Beach which started in 2004, The Hills which started in 2006 and then Jersey Shore which began in 2009.

So off the back of their success the UK followed suite in 2010 with The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE). I remember when the first episode was due to air on ITV2 and thought I'd watch it as I had half an hour to kill before my other programme started. I have to admit I was glued as were many others!

(L-R: Mark, Jess, Sam, Amy, Kirk and Lauren)

The programme made Nanny Pat's sausage plaits and Vajazzling an overnight sensation let alone popularising the phrases "Reem", "Jel", "No carbs before Marbs", and "Shuuuutuuup". Oh and there is the little matter of a certain Mr Darcey!

TOWIE has just finished it's second series and a third is planned for later this year. I literally can't wait!

In May 2011 E4 began showing their reality series called 'Made In Chelsea'. This was quite the antithesis to TOWIE as, well, not meaning to sound snobby, but these people seem to have two brain cells to rub together. On watching it, I don't think they're worlds apart from the Essex lot. They just pronounce their "P's" and "Q's" better.

(L-R: Amber, Francis, Millie, Caggie, Hugo, Spencer, Fredrik, Rosie, Binky, Ollie, Gabriella and Cheska) 

We have a group of 12 guys and gals who live around Belgravia, Knightsbridge and The Kings Road in London who spend their time running their diamond enterprise, buying jewellery, writing their blog and bidding for eligible bachelors in charity auctions which then causes a love triangle between you, your best friend and the 'eligible bachelor'. Oh to be born with a silver spoon, aye.

To be honest though they all seem to need get a grip, Ollie (third from the right on the above photo) doesn't crack a smile and did ever so well in hiding his sexuality (I thought he was a rival for Harry off TOWIE from the first episode), Hugo (fifth from the left) imagines he's god's gift to women, and well Binky, what is with that name?! It reminds me of something off a kids TV programme.

And finally onto MTV's Geordie Shore. This is unlike the other two programmes as this is based on Jersey Shore from the USA, as all the 'cast' members live in the same house. As you've probably guessed this is based in Newcastle in the North East and I couldn't wait to watch it!

(Clockwise from top right: Sophie, Jay, Vicky, James, Holly, Gaz, Charlotte and Greg) 

In the promo adverts the main thing that grabbed me was the pure shamelessness of them. "I'm not one of those people who has more faces than a game of guess who, if I don't like you I'll tell you" (Vicky), "I've never kissed anyone without a six-pack" (Charlotte), "I should have a degree in pulling women" (Gary), "I find the highest place in the club and get on it like a car bonnet"(Sophie), and Charlotte, what on earth is this about: "I'll open a tin of hot dogs and pour brine all over me body." Err ok then.

At the end of May 2011 the first episode premiered and it received a backlash from the people of the North East who felt badly portrayed as man eating, drunken, sex addicts. After watching the first couple of episodes I can understand why, after the first three episodes Holly 'spooned' with Gaz even though she has a boyfriend, Charlotte and Sophie got so drunk on the first night they had passed out by about 10pm, they all were involved in a huge fight in a club, Greg has taught the other guys how to wine and dine women, Charlotte and Gaz have been in the 'guest room' and Jay and Vicky are on and then off and then on and then off. Phew, it's hard to keep up with this lot.

So after watching all three programmes I have to admit Made in Chelsea just doesn't cut it for me but I will continue to watch, maybe not religiously but if I can catch it I will. As for Geordie Shore, I luuurve it! At the end of every episode I can't wait for more and Vicky, I love her! But lets face it you can't beat an original and TOWIE will always be the one to beat.

So what do you think of these programmes? Let me know in the comments below!


(Images borrow from Google Images)

Braces: Geek Chic or Ugly Betty?

When I started secondary school, which was 12 years ago now, yikes that makes me feel super old, braces were seen as uncool, geeky and basically were a big no, no, but when I was about 12-13 I had to have them myself. They didn't suit me and I was very self conscious about them. Most people had funky coloured rubber bands to hold the wire onto the brace but I opted for the more inconspicuous clear ones, to the shock of my orthodontist who only had them as they had been ordered in for a private patient and were left over. My friend who had them at the same time looked fine with them on but me, no, they just didn't work. I only had mine for a year, usually you have them for 18-24 months, as my teeth moved into position easily but I didn't wear my retainer afterwards so they have moved back slightly, but only one tooth on the bottom is quite noticeable.

When I got braces they were becoming slightly more acceptable.  I remember quite a few kids at school who had one, including several people who got them whilst in sixth form which is quite late in the world of dentistry considering the idea age to start treatment is age 12 to 13, like me.

Yet recently teeth have become big business. Whether it's whitening, straightening, veneering or implants, it's all about the smile.

I predominately remember one celebrity which publicised braces and that was Gwen Stefani.

Gwen was 30 when she got braces in 1999. 1999 was the year I started secondary school, and like many other young people, I was a massive No Doubt fan and Gwen helped with making braces more acceptable. With pink hair no one would dare to call her uncool!

Another celebrity who had braces is Tom Cruise. He got his braces when he was 39.

I remember this really clearly as there was a big media scrum about this story. I believe Tom did his bit for the boys because after all who would say Tom Cruise is a geek?!?

And so I come to arguably the most well known brace wearer, Ugly Betty!

Ugly Betty personifies everything I thought of brace wearers when I was 11 years of age. If anything I believe this programme perhaps brought back some of the preconceptions of wearing braces, with a title like 'Ugly Betty' it doesn't give out a good image does it?

But in 2009, 10 years on from Gwen Stefani and her braces, over a million people began orthodontic treatment and braces were in high demand! Nowadays some orthodontic treatment is classed as cosmetic surgery so on the NHS only children are offered the treatment free of charge. Despite this there is also an increase in adults wanting treatment even though, on average, it costs between £2,000 to £6,000 to be treated. Starting treatment can be because you want a straighter smile or for more serious medical reasons such as sleep apnea where you actually stop breathing in your sleep.

The most recent celebrity to undergo orthodontic treatment is TV presenter Holly Willoughby. The 30 year old posted a photo of herself on her Twitter page with her new braces with the caption: "Brace yourself, I've got braces...eek! X"

(Image borrowed from Holly's Twitter)

Holly's teeth look pretty perfect to me and as she tweeted saying she would only have to wear hers for a couple of months it's probably just to adjust a minor problem but even though I just wish when I was at school there was someone like her who all us brace wearers could have looked to for support. I'm sure that the way she came out openly and honestly to say that she has got them will give many people confidence in wearing theirs or to begin much needed treatment.

But moving away from braces and onto general teeth. When The Only Way is Essex was on our screens a few months ago I remember an episode where Maria Fowler told the rest of the gang that big teeth were in and that everyone was after the 'race horse' look.

Personally I'm not going to follow the 'race horse' teeth trend but it is true that big teeth aren't the focus of mockery anymore.

I also just remembered another trend which I believe originated from Madonna and her infamous gap.

People were that obsessed with Madonna's gap in her front teeth they actually wanted to create one in their own teeth! I'm not entirely sure if this can be done but surely Madonna has done a lot for people who do have a gap which they dislike by not getting her's 'fixed'.

So to coin a few phrases whether you can 'eat an apple through a tennis racket' (have big teeth), 'can slot a pound coin through you teeth' (have a gap) or are a 'metal mouth' (have braces), embrace (no pun intended there) your teeth and for goodness sake look after them! After all you only get one set and no one likes this look:

(All images borrowed from Google Images, unless stated)

Review - Nip + Fab Tummy and Bust Fix

I think you'll all remember the ASOS Groupon that everyone was buying a few months ago, well I bought one too! Actually I bought two, yes I was greedy!

So I had £40 to spend and I headed straight to the beauty section where I picked up these, Nip + Fabs Bust Fix and Tummy Fix.

I used these solidly for a month so have road tested them enough to give you an honest opinion of them. I did take before and after photo's but obviously I'm not going to post those!

Bust Fix - £16.29 for 100ml

I was sceptical about what this would do but I embraced the challenge. Nip + Fab do recommend you use this twice a day but I only used it once a day just before I went to bed. I have to admit I am really impressed with the results. My 'bust area' does seem firmer and more 'perkier' (!) I would definitely repurchase this and recommend it to others.

Tummy Fix - £19.35 (100ml)

This was more expensive than the Bust Fix but I had such high expectations for this. Again it was recommended for use twice a day and again I only used it once before bed. Now I've used it I've discovered that the only thing that will fix my flab is a strict sit up regime! Yes my stomach area felt more moisturised but let's face it, it's not a miracle in a tube. It didn't work for me, when I loose some more weight I'll definitely give it another go to firm up my stomach but I would recommend it to others.

I was that impressed with Nip + Fab I have added more of their products to my product wishlist which can be found under my blog header.

Are you a fan of Nip + Fab? Which products would you recommend? Oh and they can be bought at Boots, ASOS, Nip + Fab and Harvey Nichols.

Day Zero Project - New recipe: Fruit loaf

One of the goals I set myself on my Day Zero Project was to try 20 new recipes and the first one I've tried is a fruit loaf.

Recipe

337g (12oz) Self raising flour

Pinch of salt

150g (6oz) margarine

150g (6oz) caster sugar

262g (9oz) mixed dried fruit

3 medium eggs

3 x 15ml tablespoon of milk

Heat oven to 180˚c, 350˚F, Gas Mark 4. Grease 2 medium loaf tins or line with greaseproof paper (this is easier)

Mix flour and salt, rub in margarine

Stir in sugar and fruit. Beat together eggs and milk

Mix together to a soft consistency

Place in tin and bake in the middle of the oven for about 50 minutes

And finally....enjoy!