Tag Archives: lifestyle

Mellow Yellow Roses

Posted in At home, Family, Health & Wellness, inspiration, lifestyle, Uncategorized by

I have a feeling that the blizzard that has besieged the U.S. is headed for the U.K and we are going to get a lot of snow. Not as bad as New York, but bad enough to want to stay home with a warm cuppa instead of venturing out.

These bright sunny roses were in the supermarket on Sunday and I could not resist. I’ve filled a vase with them, long stems with their dark green leaves and yellow petals, lighting up the room. They’re bringing an instant cheer making the room feel cosy with their warm glow.

Not much else to say except, just enjoy the cheerful brightness that they’re bringing.

 

Lemony Ginger Nuts

Posted in At home, baking, Food, Uncategorized by

 

These lemony ginger nuts are the perfect way to counter gloomy weather. When the weather gets cold, our oven gets busy with lots of baking to fill the air with the delicious scent of home-baked biscuits.

This recipe is adapted from Delia Online and has been a favourite, since my eldest made them for one of her homework assignments for school.

As we had plenty of Golden Syrup, ginger and lemons, I decided that the lemons would bring a lovely citrusy tang to the ginger nuts.

Ingredients:

Zest of one lemon and about a dessert spoon  of lemon juice

110grams of Self Raising Flour

1 slightly rounded teaspoon of ground ginger

1 level teaspoon of biocarb of soda

40g soft brown sugar

50g butter

2 tablespoon of golden syrup

Preheat oven to 190degree c or Gas mark 5

 

To make:

Sieve the flour, biocarbonate, ground ginger into a bowl, add the lemon zest and combine. With your hands, rub the softened butter into the mixture until it resembles rubble.

Add the lemon juice, and the golden syrup, combine this into a dough. (You may need to add a little flour at this stage if the dough feels too wet or sticky. The consistency you are aiming for is something resembling short crust pastry. Form the dough into a ball and divide in half, then half again and cut into four. This should make 16 small pieces of dough.Lemon and ginger nuts - dough

Rub plenty of butter onto a non stick baking tray. Next place the small pieces of dough on to the baking tray and flatten them slightly. Leave plenty of room between each and put into the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.

When they come out of the oven they will be soft. Leave them to cool a little before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

All that remains is to enjoy with a lovely cup of tea. They took all of half an hour to make and bake. Even better was that the lingering scent of ginger and lemons was in our house for the rest of the afternoon.

 

Sunday Spa Feature – Anti Aging Eye Serum

Posted in beauty, eye care, Skin Care, Skincare, Sunday Spa Feature, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

It started to snow today, little fluffy flakes which made the air feel very cold. While I love snow, my face, particularly my eyes don’t.

This homemade Anti-aging eye serum is more like a gel than a serum. That’s because it’s full of the goodness of Rosehip oil.

Rosehip Oil is packed full of antioxidants, is super moisturising and is considered a “dry oil” meaning that it’s quickly absorbed by the skin. It heals scars, is great for pigmented skin and is a great all-round moisturiser for your skin.

Combine this with the calming benefits of Chamomile and the delicate scent of Jasmine, with the antioxidants from Green Tea to prevent dark circles, this nightly eye serum has kept my delicate under eye area nourished, and in spite of the cold weather, the area under my eyes feel soft and replenished.

To make this eye gel is very simple.

In a pan, put a jug in simmering hot water.

(makes 30ml)

Add your ingredients:

3 ml of Bees Wax

20ml of Rosehip Oil

7ml of Shea Butter

Wait until melted.

Now add some Green Tea (I’ve used a Green Tea bag and simply sprinkled this into the mixture to infuse the green tea into the oil.

Add one drop of Chamomile and Jasmine to the mixture

Leave to simmer for 5 minutes and then strain the mixture  through a fine sieve into a small container or jar.

Leave to cool.

The beeswax should emulsify and hold the Rosehip and Shea butter together in a gel-like consistency.

I tend to use this at night just before bed so that all the goodness of the rich serum works overnight. Just tap a very small amount onto the skin under your eye, being careful not to get any into your eyes.

Molton Brown – Japanese Orange Body Wash

Posted in Bathroom, beauty, Health & Wellness, Scent, Skin Care, Skincare, Uncategorized by

 

I’ve been using Molton Brown’s Japenese body wash all this week, as a way to get the zing and wake up to the start of the day.

Getting back into the commute and a full day at work has been hard, especially after the long Festive break.

So this indulgent body wash, which is packed full of the delicious scent of the Japanese Yuzu fruit, is a wonderful way to chase away the darkness outside when I wake-up and reluctantly make my way to the bathroom.

If you are in need of something that will wake you up and lift your senses, this is a great way to begin the day. It contains a blend of Yuzu, Patchouli, caraway and smells wonderful.

The fruit of the Yuzu, a citrus fruit is used in Japanese bath houses as a part of a deep cleansing ritual. I’ve never been to Japan, but one of my earliest memories is visiting a bath house with my mother when I was little in Taiwan. I remember being in a deep hot pool of water bathing with other women along with my mother, a faded memory from childhood.

As this scent is so bright and zesty, I am using it to bring a little sunshine to my mood.

Welcome 2016

Posted in Blogging, Family, Home, inspiration, Uncategorized by

#winterwonderland Hyde Park. #enjoynewyearsday

A photo posted by @birdonthehill on

A very happy new year to everyone.

It has been a lovely long break which has been filled with lots of good food, drinks and a lot of time spent with family.

On Monday, it will feel as if normal life will resume, with getting the kids ready for school, the daily commute and preparations for the working week ahead, there’s  just some time to reflect on 2015 and hope what will come to be in the year ahead.

In 2015, I started this blog, filling it with posts about scent, food, skin care and anything else that came to mind. It gave me a space to be creative, I discovered new ways to explore scent, not just in perfume, food and drink but through the creative outlet of making and creating scented skin care, hair treatments and fragranced room scents. I also blog met a lot of new friends, discovered interesting perspectives from blogs that I’m following, all of which have been immensely enjoyable.

On New Year’s Day, our little family of four went to Hyde Park to visit the Winter Wonderland. We usually do something on New Year’s Day to get some fresh air, last year we went to Battersea park, the year before,the New Year Parade. I think by doing this we’re building a collection of memories that we can look back and remember, when the kids are grown up we can say “Remember that time we…

I don’t know what 2016 will bring and since I’ve never been good at keeping resolutions, it’s better not to make any that I won’t keep. What I will resolve to do is keep going with this blog and hope to make it a creative space filled with more interesting things about everyday life through scent.

There’s  just one last thing I have to say.

May 2016 be filled with happiness and contentment!

Christmas Gift making – Sweet Orange, Cinnamon and Ginger Beeswax Candles

Posted in Christmas, Health & Wellness, inspiration, lifestyle, Projects, Scent, spa treatment, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

 

Last weekend, I decided to make some lovely Christmas gifts to give to friends and family. After a Sunday spent making these lovely gifts, I found myself succumbing to a cold which I have only just shaken off. It meant that I didn’t get round to writing this post until now.

If like me, you like scented candles, receiving one as a Christmas gift would be lovely. I love the gentle glow of candle light, it seems to calm and soothe the senses. I have a small collection of candles from L’Occitane in little metal tins, which gave me the inspiration for this little hand made version.

Making your own filled candles is so easy that I’m now addicted to making them, all you need is to find some containers, flame proof of course and some candle wicks for lighting the candles.

The wicks can be simple pieces of string tied to a stick so that it can dangle down to the bottom of the container (I’ve tried this using chopsticks and a metal Skewer) but it turned out that the cotton string I used didn’t stay alight.

After a bit of research, I found a company that makes ready-made wicks (already inserted into stablisers). They are actually called sustainers. Choose the ones that are pre-waxed and are labeled with the diameter (You need to make sure that the pool of the melted wax goes to the edge of your container) that matches the diameter of your container.

To keep the sustainers from moving, place a small amount of melted wax on the bottom, or if this is a bit fiddly, use Glue Dots – these won’t show as they are transparent.

Once the beeswax has melted in a jug over simmering hot water, add your choice of fragrance to the wax just before you are going to pour them into the containers. Personally, I prefer using essential oils.

I’ve chosen Cinnamon Bark, Sweet Orange and Ginger to fragrance these little candles.  Just add 10 drops of each essential oil into the wax which is based on the dilution amounts in aromatherapy – 30 drops for every 100ml of carrier oil (The quantity I’ve put into the tins is approx 100ml in each tin. I’ve made two tins with cotton wicks and two with Cotton Wicks.)

If you’d like to make the candles as gifts, there’s just enough time to order the materials from Amazon in time to make up a batch.

Heres what you need:

You can get the beeswax from Amazon *in the UK here:  or if you are in the US you can find it here.*

I also tried them with these wooden wicks* from Amazon, they crackle and sound like the crackling of an open fire. Perfect to sit and enjoy with a hot cup of coco at night. If your in the US, you can get these here:*

Metal Tins* can be found here in the UK.

You can get them also from Amazon in the US here*.

As these are little, they will make perfect little stocking filler treats.

*Contains affiliate links

Jasmine and Citrus, Hand blended Perfume for Christmas

Posted in Christmas, Health & Wellness, Perfume, Projects, Scent, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

 

 

Making your own perfume is relatively straightforward.

This year, I’m making a few Christmas Gifts, as a way of making Christmas feel just a little bit more home spun and personal.

Having looked on several sites and researched the types of ingredients that goes into perfume making, there are just a few ingredients most of which you will find easily either in your cupboard or online.

To make the Perfume all you need to do is the following:

  1. Decide on the strength of the perfume:

    This is determined by the amount of scent to alcohol. An Eau de toilette is around 10 percent. An Eau de parfum is around 15-20 percent and the strongest called Parfum is around 30 percent.

  2. Decide on how you want to use the perfume:

    Solid (such as in a oil based waxy balm) or Rollerball (oil based) or in a Spray. The main ingredient in the perfume is the carrier, which can be alcohol or oil based. With Alcohol, the oils in the fragrance can be dispersed from a spray and is how most of the famous brands market their perfumes. Very high quality fragrance houses such as Chanel will offer the perfume in stronger variants, for instance Chanel No5 is available as a Parfum in a very tiny but exquisite bottle. The higher the alcohol content (proof) you can find the better in terms of dispersing the scent. You can of course go for perfumers alcohol, but since there’s likely to be chemicals, which is sometimes called Alcohol Denat – this means it’s been treated so you can’t drink it. Personally, I think it’s better if you can drink it, as it means, if it’s ok to drink, it’s going to be suitable to put onto your skin. I’m choosing Vodka as this has no scent and is as pure a form of alcohol as you can get easily. Smirnoff or Grey Goose will do.

  3. Decide on the fragrance or Scent:

    Perfumes tend to be made up of top notes, the scent you can smell immediately. The middle note, the heart of the fragrance and the base note which is the final scent that lingers long after the others have dissipated, all three notes combine give the perfume the harmonics that make defines it’s unique character which when mixed with the chemicals that make up your skin, makes the experience of the perfume unique.

I love experimenting and mixing scents together. It makes the process so much fun and it also means it’s one of a kind, unique as no one else will have the scent that you’ve made.

Since Jasmine is my favourite scent of all time, I’m going to use this as the “middle note” for the heart and distinctive character of the perfume. And as I prefer things to be as natural as possible, all the oils I have chosen to make this perfume are essential oils.

Jasmine Officinale or Jasmine Absolute is known as the King of flowers. It has a very sweet floral scent. The scent has been central in perfumes for centuries, in China it represents the sweetness of women, in Persia it was known as the perfume of love.

It is also amongst the most expensive pure fragrances, the version I am using is 10% diluted in Jojoba oil. Since the fragrance is very strong, a little goes a long way.

I’m combining this with citrus notes of Sweet Orange and Bergamot essential oils.

Finally, for the base note, just a hint of Cedar wood essential oil, which not only has therapeutic benefits, is also a “fixative” which will slow down the evaporation of the perfume and slows down the overall scent of the perfume from fading. It is sweet and woody at the same time and combines well with both the citrus notes as well as the floral scent of Jasmine.

To make the perfume couldn’t be easier. In a small bottle which should be as opaque as possible to prevent sunlight from affecting the oils, I have combined the following:

Ingredients for hand blended Perfume:

50ml Vodka

20 drops of the Jasmine Absolute in Jojoba oil

10 drops of Sweet Orange

10 drops of Bergamot

2 drops of Cedar Wood essential oils.

With the spray stopper in place, shake the bottle until all the essential oils have been mixed together into the Vodka.

It will take about a week for the oils to come together to form the perfume. You can of course mix the oils first in a small mixing jar until you get the desired scent you prefer.

You can find more information about the different types of scents at Aromaweb’s section on Aromatic blending.

All that’s left is to find a pretty box and gift wrap to make this little personalised gift ready to give for Christmas.

Chocolate Magic Cake

Posted in At home, baking, Food, Uncategorized by

Magic Chocolate CakeA few weeks ago, I came across an article in a newspaper about a new cake recipe that was fast becoming the next big thing, after cupcakes, macaroons and pop cakes.

Magic cakes apparently are cakes that have three different layers of textures, a crumbly cake layer beneath which sits a custard textured layer which sits on top of another layer of cake.

It is the chemistry or is it alchemy, that creates the layers out of a single mix.

The article and recipe idea described was so tempting, that I had to give it a try, aside from the fact that I love anything with Chocolate.

Before making the cake, it’s helpful to check out this feature on YouTube, as I had no idea what kind of consistency the final batter should be, my first attempt at this cake didn’t quite achieve the three layers.

I got a very thin layer the first time I tried, it was still a very tasty cake and filled my house with the beautiful scent of vanilla and chocolate. I don’t think there is a more heavenly scent than a hot oven with chocolate cake baking inside.

So for ingredients, as the recipe called for a lot of milk, I’ve substituted this for Almond Milk, as my hubby reacts badly to cow’s milk.

He gets what I can only describe as a man headache, like man flu and has to lie down in a darkened room until it goes away.

So, to avoid a headache, it’s Almond milk that I’m using in this recipe, but you can, of course, use cows milk as normal.White Vinegar in Magic Chocolate Cake recipe

The second time, I tried this bake, I added a small amount of white vinegar to the egg whites. I omitted this the first time, as I wasn’t sure about the idea of using vinegar, in case it wouldn’t taste very good. You can’t taste anything but sweetness and chocolate in the final cake.

You will also need a whisk and 3 mixing bowls. One for the egg whites, one for sifting flour and cocoa and one to mix it all together.

Now for the ingredients:

113g Butter

600ml Warm Milk (I used Almond milk)

115g Plain Flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

43g Cocoa powder

30ml Dark Espresso (I used powdered decaff)

4 eggs

4 drops white vinegar

210g soft brown sugar

1-2 drops Vanilla essence

8″x8″ dish

 

To make:

Preheat the oven at 165c

Soften/melt the butter

Whisk the flour and cocoa powder together

Separate and whip the egg whites until it becomes stiff as if making a meringue.

Beat egg yolks and sugar, beat in melted butter and the espresso mixture and the vanilla essence, then mix the flour and cocoa with the baking powder into the batter. Gently mix in the warm milk and gently fold in the stiff egg whites a third at a time.

It will look like a lumpy thick batter, not like a cake mix but a very thick milkshake kind of consistency.

Pour this into the prepared pan (I lined my square cake tin with greaseproof paper.

Bake at 325f/165c for 50-60 minutes.

When you get it out of the oven, the mixture may wobble a little, this is normal for this type of cake. The first time I made this cake, I wasn’t convinced and put it back in several times, but after about three times in the oven I was convinced that the wobble was expected and the cake was in fact cooked.

The second time around, it looked perfect.

Leave to cool completely.

Dust with Icing Sugar and add some fresh fruit to serve.

Hmmm, I think I’ll go and have another slice!

 

Clinique – Gifts with purchase at Harrods

Posted in beauty, Make-up, makeup, Skin Care, Skincare, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

Clinique GWP

Whilst Harrods caters mainly for tourists and the super wealthy, there are a few things which if you are a beauty addict like me, then Harrods is a destination for the sheer experience of exploring the Beauty and Perfume Emporiums.

About twice a year Harrods and nearby Harvey Nichols also promotes the Clinique Gift With Purchase offer.

What’s special about both Harrods and Harvey Nichols Clinique Gift with Purchase promotions is that there are usually extra items. For other department stores, Clinique Bonus Time usually contains around 5 products plus make-up bag.

For Harrods and HN, there are usually 7-8 items in the Clinique’s Gift with Purchase promotions, so well worth the effort of visiting the stores if you want to bag more with the Clinique offers.

Having seen the posters for the promotion, I knew it was time to stock-up.

The two products I purchased to get the gift were:

  1. Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector. Does what it says on the tin. I find this works to even out skin tone and lightening the dark spots that I now have. The texture is light and non-perfumed.
  2. Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream with SPF 30. This is not only a great moisturiser, it gives just enough coverage without the need for any foundation. For work, I use this with a little concealer under the eyes and set with powder to give a natural and even finish to the skin on my face.

The Harrods offer was conditional on spending a minimum of £65. Yikes, but since I hadn’t bought any makeup for a long while, and I’d just about finished the CC cream, it was worth it because of the additional products in the Bonus offer. It included the following products:

  1. All about Eyes. I like this one as the texture is so light and under make-up, it seems to hold eyeshadow in place for the whole day.
  2. Moisture Surge Intense Fortifying Hydrator. Great moisturiser for the winter.
  3. Smart Custom Serum. I’ve not tried this one yet, it promises to adapt to your skin and works to reduce wrinkles, uneven skin tone, firmness and radiance.
  4. Rinse off Foaming Cleanser. This feels creamy and light. A great Travel size to keep for overnight stays away from home.
  5. Blusher in Precious Posey. A delicate pink colour with a just a tiny amount of shimmer.
  6. Chubby Stick Lip Balm in Mightest Maraschino – Lovely plummy shade with a lovely texture.
  7. High Impact Mascara in Black – the travel size mascaras are great to keep in the make-up bag for emergency touch-ups. Once I completely forgot to put any mascara on before going to work and was thankful that I had included a small tube of this in my bag.
  8. Aromatics in White Perfume Spray.  I’ve never been too keen on the original Aromatics. This version is lighter and less overpowering though it’s unlikely that it will become a regular perfume as I prefer making my own or Chanel and L’Occitane scents.
  9. Large make-up bag.

Not a bad haul, considering that most of these products are ones that I would choose to buy anyway. The promotion has ended now as they are gearing up for Christmas. There will be another in Spring early next year. You can sign-up online at the Clinique website here in the UK to receive their text alerts for their Bonus Time offers.

Lastly, Harrods at night just looks so pretty. Lit up, it is so over the top that there is nothing else to do but stare at it.

A blatant homage to commercialism. I think, though, every once-in-a-while, a little bit of decadence is just a bit naughty but nice.

Sunday Spa Feature – Argan Oil, Aloe Vera, Sweet Orange and Sea Salt hair styling spray

Posted in beauty, hair treatment, spa treatment, Wellbeing by

Hair Styling spray with Argan oil, Sweet Orange and Aloe Vera I debated about whether to post this, given the sombre mood this weekend. I’ve decided to keep with the British Bull Dog Spirit and to keep calm and carry on.

This Post is the regular Sunday Spa Feature for an Argan Oil, Aloe Vera with Sweet Orange and Sea Salt hair styling spray.

It is a very simple to create a styling spray that give you plenty of volume and hold for your hair.

The spray consists of  Dead Sea Salt which will provide the volume and hold. If you don’t have Dead Sea Salt, you can substitute this for Sea Salt, or Sugar, though I am not keen on the idea of using Sugar in my hair in case, well, it might attract bugs!

For moisture, since I have some Argan Oil this will protect hair from heat styling and keep your hair smooth and shiny. I’ve also included some Aloe Vera gel, also known for its mosturising properties.Hair Styling spray with Argan oil and Aloe Vera (6)

To scent the spray, I’ve added a few drops of Sweet Orange Essential Oil, you can of course choose something else. I like the scent of Oranges and since using the spray, I’ve found that the Essential Oil gives my hair added shine, it’s great to combine it with the Argan Oil.

That’s basically, it. Just spray into your hair and style as usual, you can use it for adding volume or texture (spray and leave to dry, as this will add natural definition and texture to your hair).

Not bad for a few ingredients found around the home and best of all, not a single man-made chemical or preservative went into this spray, which means better, healthier hair.

All you need are the following ingredients:

100ml spray bottle

65 ml hot water

35 ml Dead Sea Salt or Sea Salt (about 2 level tablespoons)

1 teaspoon aloe vera gel

1 teaspoon vodka

1 teaspoon argan oil

Sweet Orange Essential Oil

Simply combine all the ingredients into the Spray Bottle. It’s easier if you have a small funnel. To make sure the oil mixes in with the other ingredients, I have added a small amount of vodka (you can substitute this for Surgical Spirit or rubbing alcohol but I find that this has a strong scent and I just prefer vodka because it’s scent free).

Just shake to combine the ingredients before each use.

Enjoy!