Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

Don't you just adore this time of year when you can snuggle up on the sofa wearing your fluffy PJ's , drinking hot chocolate topped with a mountain of whipped cream a delicate sprinkle of marshmallows, actually more like a blizzard of marshmallows. Well along with these cosy nights in comes the hectic season of Christmas. I've got a head start on my present wrapping which I'd like to share with you. 

For the first present I used plain brown paper tied with string. To make the string look more rustic I split it into three pieces and plaited it, making sure it was long enough to wrap around the present three times. I found these great freshly dried decorations called 'Christmas in a Bottle.' When I was out shopping the other day. I stuck a leaf and a shrunken looking pumpkin thingy on the top along with a plain card gift tag. Voila!

The second present is for my brother Leo.  Needless to say it had to be kinda masculine. Again I started with the brown paper and trimmed with hessian. I then threaded a couple of dried apple slices onto the raffia and finished it with the brown card gift tag.  To make the gift tag a little more special I stuck a small button above a slightly larger button, drew on a tilted hat and a snowman magically appeard.

I hope this has given you a bit of inspiration for an alternative to all that glitter and sparkle. Happy Wrapping!

Quinoa, Halloumi and Pomegranate salad

This week, instead of picking up the phone and ordering a take-away, why not make this quinoa, halloumi and pomegranate salad for a healthy, light alternative? 

  Quinoa is a wheat-free seed that you can eat instead of starchy grains. It has twice the protein content of rice or barley and has lots of vitamin B, E and fibre. Another benefit of quinoa is that it's a good source of calcium. It will fill you up for an active day. When quinoa seeds are cooked they become soft and creamy but still maintain a but of a crunch. They are slightly bitter with a nuttiesh taste. 

   Omega 3 seeds contain a great amount of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. They help heart, eye and brain health and you can sprinkle them on your cereal, yoghurt or salads. 

  Pomegranate is the most powerful anti-oxidant fruit and improves brain, heart and eye health. 

    Ingredients:

1 Pomegranate 

170g Quinoa

250g Halloumi 

1/2 a Red Onion

7 Prunes

50g of Omega 3 Seeds

A Small Bunch of Chopped Parsley

2 tablespoons of Lime Juice

1 tablespoon of Demerera sugar

2 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar

A Pinch of Salt

2 tablespoons of Olive Oil

First pop the quinoa in a sieve and rinse under the tap. Then put it in a pan of boiling water with the salt and cook for 15 minutes. 

Whilst the quinoa is boiling slice the halloumi and place onto a baking tray lined with tin foil along with the finely sliced onion. Grill the halloumi and onion on both sides until golden brown. 

 

Then start preparing the dressing. Put the balsamic vinegar, demerara sugar, lime juice and olive oil in a jar and shake.

Slice the prunes,

seed the pomegranate 

and gather the onion. 

Put the quinoa in a bowl and pour 1/2 the dressing over the top. 

Then add the onion, omega 3 seeds, parsley and prunes. 

Lastly, put the salad on a serving plate and sprinkle on the pomegranate, halloumi and the other half of the dressing. 

This salad is amazing because the halloumi adds a beautiful, salty taste whilst the pomegranate sweetens the whole thing up. 

PS: A great way to eat this salad, if your a cave man and don't like to use a knife and fork, is plopping it onto an lettuce leaf and shoveling it into your mouth. 

Luxury Lush Pud

Help I'm a lush addict! When I'm innocently walking down the street the smell of lush will always find me, whether I like it or not. On entering the shop you are struck by the most wonderful fragrance in the universe. It's as if a good witch has taken every person in the worlds favourite scent and added it to her cauldron, creating a potion of heavenly magic and sprinkling it all around the shop.  So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself over to your local high street Lush and fill your basket with all the sweet treats, from bright bath bombs to moisturizing shimmer bars which are all handmade. Lush don't test their products on animals and use all natural ingredients which is an added bonus. I'm going to be talking about one of their bath bombs. 

This bath bomb is the Luxury Lush Pud. As you can see it is bright pink with colored spots topped with a candy Holly piece. The scent of this bath bomb is a sweet and aromatic. It is made with lavender oil which will sooth and calm you ready for a good night rest. 

When you put this in your bath the spots will burst open, fizzing out their rockets of color, and the pink bomb will fizz away. It will leave your bath water hot pink, with a hint of festive glitter. Lay back and relax.... When you step out of your luxury bath you will feel as smooth as a babies bottom, hydrated and smelling like an angel. 

Lancôme: Gel Éclat

Hello.

Welcome to my new blog: Immerse Imperfection. Here you will see a range of different blogs including makeup, skincare and travel.

For my first blog I'm going to talk about a cleanser that I've recently discovered called Gel Éclate. I know what your thinking, "I speak English, how do I know what Gel Éclate means." Well don't get your knickers in a twist because that's what I'm going tell you. Wel not exactly, I don't actually know what It means but to be honest no one does. 

This is what it looks like. It's just a simple white bottle with the signature Lancôme flower on. It has wonderful fresh sent with a hint of rose splashed in there. 

To use this cleanser you first have to put a pea sized plop onto your wet fingers and start to lather that up. 

Once you've lathered that up just start to massage it into your wet face. Massaging it into your face will increase your blood circulation, incouraging blood flow to the surface of your skin and getting rid of toxins. After you've massaged all of the cleanser into your face grab a hot, damp flannel and wash it off. The warm water will open up your pores and dig deep to take away any impurities. Then fetch a cold, damp flannel and do the same. Using cold water will close your pores making sure no further dirt can get in. 

I love this cleanser because it's got a foamy, luxurious consistency and moisturizers my skin making it feel like silk.