Strawberry and Banana, Dairy Free Smoothie

 Smoothies are great! I have recently been obsessed with them after I perfected my recipie.

 I am going to share with you my way to make smoothies which includes absolutely no dairy. I am not intolerant to dairy products but after realising the negative impact on health that dairy can have I decided to avoid it. One of the main issues with dairy, especially full fat milk is all the fat! This obviously isn't a good thing. Secondly is the hormones present, again especially in milk.  None of this sounds very appealing and I know that when I trialled a month of drinking goats milk my face was breakout mad. This is possibly due to increased hormone levels in my body causing spots from having the milk (although this hasn't been proven scientifically).

 

You will need a banana, a handful of strawberries, Alpro yoghurt (its dairy free) and Alpro almond milk (its dairy free) and honey or sugar as optional. Also its crucial you have a blender although it doesn't matter what type.

 

 1.) Anyway here it goes! To start with chop up fresh Strawberries or you can use frozen. You could also use a selection of other fresh or frozen berries to your taste.

2.) Then chop up a banana, one should be ample. Put both the strawberries and banana pieces into the blender.

 

3.) Spoon in four or five spoons of Alpro yogurt. Here I used Plain but I prefer to use Vanilla for a better taste. All of the Alpro range are made without dairy and come straight from almonds or plant based products. It tastes just as good as dairy, looks like dairy and works just as good. Do be aware that it is made out of nuts (the almond version anyway!) and so if you are allergic to nuts it may not be suitable (check the labels!).

4.) Next pour in some Alpro almond milk, mines unsweetened. Use about enough to cover the ingredients in the blender. It is all approximate measures so if you want a large cup, fill it up more!

5.) Lastly put in either a spoonful of honey or a spoonful of sugar if you like yours sweet, or you can just leave it like it is. I personally don't add any as the banana gives it a nice, natural, healthy sweetness.

6.) And that's it, mix it in the blender and its good to go. Simple!
Its such an easy recipe it hardly needed instructions but I wanted to share possibly my favourite drink with you so you can make it too!
You can put it in a fancy cup with a strawberry garnish as seen above or put it into
 a sweet vintage dairy bottle and take it with you. Then no-one at all will tell its not dairy!
The only bad part is when your bottles empty!


Jasmine X
(All images are mine and I am in no way associated with brands mentioned. You should check all ingredients before making the recipe to make sure it is suitable for you)

Garden Party Outfit Idea

Its the time of year of hot afternoons and parties outside including the very popular garden party. I have to say I have never been to one but if I were to (and for all of you who are) I would possibly wear an outfit similar to this one! Often women choose which dress to wear and don't consider wearing cropped trousers, its a shame because there are some really nice options that can look as good - if not better, than a dress! The outfit I have put together here is a smart-casual outfit. It isn't at all dressy which makes it wearable for many occasions which are that 'inbetween' stage (not quite smart but not casual).

The best part about this outfit is that two of the items were very cheap!

 

 

 

My nail varnish is the Nails Inc Gel varnish which I received in my Glamour Summer Edit box which I posted about in a previous post. I think it looks really summery, its a shame my nails aren't very long at the moment though.

 

 

 The shoes were very cheap from Primark (as were the crop trousers) and are one of those statement trended pieces that just adds so much for so little.

My Clutch bag was from River Island and is faux fur dyed with black and lime which just coordinates with my printed crop trousers so well.

Finally my sunglasses are by Michael Kors and my bracelet is by Tiffany & Co. 

 

 

 So there you have it my outfit idea for a warm summer evening on the lawn!

 

Jasmine X

 

(All images are mine)

Glamour Summer Edit

 

So the past two weeks I have been impatiently waiting for a parcel which was the latest Glamour Summer Edit box. I couldn't wait for it to come as ive never bought one of these boxes before. I saw it in the Glamour magazine and thought it looked amazing. So

unfortunately the original parcel which was despatched got lost in the post so I had to wait again for a second one, but its here! Its as good as I'd hoped it would be. I just love that I can try all the items which I had never tried before in the little sizes. The box is really pretty also.

There are two cards in the box, one explains each item and how to use it/what it is for and the other has some further offers for if you decide to buy any of the products in future.

I am not going to detail every item that is in the box as I am not a selling you the item obviously but you can see all the items I received in mine below in the images.

 

I think the two products I anticipated the most were the Boujois Colourboost Lip Crayon and the Nails Inc Gel Nail Varnish. I had never tried either of the products but since using the lip crayon I have fallen in love with it, it stays on so well! Im really glad of the colours too which I got (they are a random selection in each box) especially as both of the products match!

I think that the Seekers of the Sun metallic tattoos are also really fun, I love temporary tattoos so I cannot wait to try them. I think that the small ones would look great above the belly button.

The final piece which I anticipate using in future is the Vita Liberata powder self tanner. I think it will be interesting to see how well it works being a powder. The brush supplied for applying it feels so soft and is the full size which is a great bonus.

I would recommend this product for sure, especially as it is only £17.99. I gave one away as a present also, so I believe it would be a great present idea for anyone who really likes to try new things and is into their beauty products.

 

Jasmine X

 

(All images are mine)

  

 

Avene Skincare

 

So this week I was invited to a skin event at my local pharmacy where an Avene Skincare expert helped me find items for my skin. I thought I would document the items I got and to review (in time) if they help my skin and work well for me or not.

I love the little bag I got with my items in (little things...as they say). I have only tried one Avene product before which is shown above, it is possibly Avene's  most renowned product, the Thermal Spring Water which comes in a small or large aerosol spray bottle. You can spray it on quickly or apply to cotton pads to put on your eyes or to use as a toner. I personally prefer to  spray it on after I have applied make-up as it stops my face feeling so dry after applying powders and it doesn't smudge my makeup at all.

The other items I bought were a full bottle of Clearance Expert moisturiser and TriAcneal a treatment for spots and blackheads. With the moisturiser I was instructed to use it in the morning and then the TriAcneal at night. I also got the Clearance Expert facial wash which I unexpectedly got for free! (its always good to get a freebie!) I will try all the products together soon and see if they do make a significant difference in the appearance of my skin or not. I will then also write a review after I have used them for long enough to let you all know. For now I have shown each of the products beside my French-esque mirror (Avene is French it seemed suited ...).
 

Jasmine X

(All images are mine and I am in no way associated with Avene)

Even my cat loves the bag!

On the left you can see the cream texture of the TriAcneal

On the right is the cream texture of the Clearance Expert moisturiser and on the left is me in my favourite mirror!