Baking Adventures: Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes!

Well, fall is absolutely here. It's undeniable. I put away my summer dresses and shorts and bought some cute sweaters and lace-up combat boots. Tis' the season.

And inevitably, as it happens every year, everything is now available in "pumpkin spice" flavour. Your Starbucks coffee, your muffin, you candles. Yes, everything can be delightfully orange, this time of year.

So I thought now would be a good time to share an amazing recipe for pumpkin spice cupcakes!

All credit here goes to Juicystar07 or Blair Fowler on Youtube. Let's be real, if you read my blog but don't know who she is (she has over 1 million subscribers!) you are insane. 

Anyway she posted a video about how to make these amazing, delicious cupcakes along with a great cream cheese icing that I use for everything now. I've suggest a few tweaks along the way, but mostly the recipe is the best cupcake recipe I've ever tried. I suggest watching the video because she explains everything and demonstrates making them. 

**Warning: If you have never used/smelled uncooked pumpkin puree before (which I had not before tasting these) do not expect it to smell like pumpkin pie. It does not. It smells gross. It makes the batter smell gross. But it tastes amazing once cooked- so don't be frightened. 

So on to the recipe!

Ingredients for pumpkin cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (75 grams) solid packed, canned pumpkin puree

Garnish & decorations (optional) :
chopped nuts, cinnamon, and/or candy pumpkins

 The batter is a little thick which is normal. I remade these recently and I used almost double the amount of pumpkin puree that the recipe calls for. That just makes them double the delicious- so I would suggest that. Plus it keeps them really soft and moist. Aaaaand, pumpkin is a vegetable so you can totally (kinda) claim these are healthy. Except they're not. 

I also HIGHLY suggest the addition of some nuts or cranberries into this recipe! Nuts give it a great crunch that compliments the softness of the cupcake. I think almonds or walnuts would be best. And cranberries can provide a tart contrast to the sweetness of the icing.

Lastly I suggest increasing the amount of cinnamon suggested and adding nutmeg! When I bake, I never measure spices, I always eyeball them. Nutmeg is really good in these and I usually just add as much as I think I need. Smelling the batter is a good way to tell if you need more. 

Please attempt to ignore the ghetto mess that is this picture. I figured out too late that I didn't have muffin liners and had to butter the pan so... don't hate.

Instructions for pumpkin cupcakes: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Place rack in the middle of the oven. 
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ground spices, and salt. 
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and pumpkin puree, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. 
Fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. 
Place in the oven and bake for about 18 - 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. 
Place on a wire rack to cool.

And voila! 

Again, they're kind of stumpy and wonky because of the whole liner situation but they taste so so good!

And the icing... *drooooool*

This is the best cream cheese icing EVER and I use it for almost everything I bake! I featured it on my first baking post- Santa Hat Cupcakes! 

Ingredients for cream cheese frosting:
4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons (25 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (175 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

Instructions for cream cheese frosting: 
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. 
Add the butter and beat until incorporated and smooth. 
Add the vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar and beat until fluffy (2-3 minutes). 
Pipe or spread the frosting on the cupcakes.
Garnish and decorate using nuts, cinnamon, or pumpkin candies (optional).

I used a plain old sandwich bag with a corner cut off to make a piping back and just piped the icing right on top! I added a little candy pumpkin for decoration but sprinkling cinnamon or some nuts on top would be great too!

These are a really great, seasonal treat! If you take the time to ice and decorate them, they make a really great impressions at holiday parties! 

Please try out the recipe and let my know if you liked it!

As always, thanks for readin!

-Tash<3 

New *Limited Edition* Colour Tattoos!

Hey again!
I'm being productive today but in all the wrong places. And I like it.
For example, my lovely boyfriend got me a new camera for my birthday (Canon Powershot A2300). And I figured I'd see how it worked by photographing a blog post. It cut my time in half because the focus alone is 10x better on this camera and it finally actually focuses on the product and not the stupid thing behind it.

Maybelline put out eight new shades of the Colour Tattoo cream eyeshadows that are limited edition with their fall collection and I thought I'd review them for you!

That's the view out of my new window! I recently switched rooms and I'm loving the extra space.

*Side note: I didn't write a post on the Colour Tattoos when they first came out for two reasons.
1). They were so widely loved and talked about, I didn't see the point
2). I was REALLY lazy to photograph all those cream eyeshadows, there are a lot of them,

Anyway, long story short, they are cream eyeshadows and I love them! They are pigmented, smooth and they do not crease at all! I need makeup removed to get them off, they are extremely long wearing.

I was dying for the jewel tones that were coming out with this fall collection (a deep purple, blue, etc.) but I haven't seen them anywhere so they might not be coming to Canada which totally sucks monkey balls. However, I did pick up the four more neutral ones that have popped in Shopper Drug Mart recently.

They are truly gorgeous fall shades that will be great for the season.

Above: #100: Barely Beige

The complaint I had when the Colour Tattoos first came out was that there wasn't really a nude/champagne colour. They had "Too Cool" which was a really stark white so I found it difficult to wear. 

\

 I guess Maybelline realized that too and here we have "Barely Beige" which oddly enough comes of much more pink than it actually is in these pictures. It's a great cream/champagne colour with pink undertones. It's really easy and makes a great base or quick eyeshadow for those days you just need to get out the door quickly. It's shimmery but that doesn't bother me personally.

Above: #200: Mossy Green

I was so excited for this one! It's such a great fall colour and really wearable too.

It's dark, yes but it would make the great beginning for an olive smokey eye. It has a beautiful gold shimmer running through which can lighten it a little, so don't be afraid to try this one!

Above: #300: Gold Shimmer

A lot of people say this is very close the "Bold Gold" colour that they have in the permanent collection but I can't make the comparison because I didn't pick that one up. It looked to much like MAC's "Indianwood" paint pot which I do own for me to justify buying it. 

This however is much darker than "Indianwood" and it has an amazing multi-faceted shimmer which makes so beautiful when worn alone. I love using this day to day for a really beautiful shimmery eye look. This might be my favourite of the new four.

 Above: #400: Rich Mahogany

The other colour I wished had come out with the permanent collection was a really rich dark brown and apparently Maybelline agreed with me again.

 This colour is a really great deep brown with shimmer with a sort of purple/burgandy shimmer running through it, which is why it looks kind of purple in the pictures. It's gorgrous! It would make a great smokey eye for fall or used lightly in the crease it could provide definition.

Overall:

All four of these limited edition shades have shimmer in them, in case you haven't noticed so if you're not a fan of that- steer clear of these.

They have the same great pigmented, long lasting formula as the regular Colour Tattoos and the same great creamy texture. 

I love all four of these new shades and if you like what you see here- go get some soon! They won't be around for long and they're going fast. I had to go to four different Shopper Drug Marts to find all four shades (a sad example of how I spend my spare time). All for you, blog readers. All for you.  

Just a Few Things...

• This new camera makes photographing for blog posts so easy! Too bad with my reading week ending this won't increase my blog post output. Sorry :(
• I think when I do have the time, my next post will be a round-up of some great palettes for the fall seaason, including some old favourites and some new palettes from Urban Decay and Lorac.
• I had an amazing birthday celebration (shopping and dinner) with some of my best friends (Sarah and Steffy!) yesterday and got some really cute clothes! 
• I'm already so excited for Christmas! I don't know what it is! The baking, the decorations, spending time with my family, Christmas music, being on break from school- there's just so much to love about the holidays :) 
• I'm kind of sad all the time lately (I'm not depressed, relax) and I can't figure out why. Maybe the weather change? 

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!

-Tash<3

Purple and Gold: "Triaccent" Glitter Nails!

Shit. School starts and I always drop the ball here.
Well here's a quick nail post that I knew I wanted to do when I saw the tutorial for it.
Leighannsays is one of my favourite Youtubers, she is hilarious.
Check out her video that shows you exactly how to do this nail look.
Btw, that's why I'm only going to briefly explain how I did the design here because a) it wasn't my idea and b) the video shows it way better than I could ever describe it.

Left to right: Essie "Bahama Mama" China Glaze "I'm not Lion" and Revlon "Facets of Fuchsia"

Leighann calls these "triaccent" nails and they are so easy to do and make your nails look amazing!

I used two coats of Essie's "Bahama Mama" which I love for this fall season by the way. 

The China Glaze glitter polish obviously for the triangles and I have to say I am really impressed with China Glaze glitter polishes. This is the second one I have and I have really fallen in love with both.

 I used the Revlon polish just over my thumb. Revlon's "Facets of Fuchsia was limited edition but I'm so, so glad I got it. Best glitter polish ever created, it works seamlessly on top of any dark colour. You can see that because the purple glitter is in a dark base that it makes my thumbnail look darker than the rest of my nails. I'm considering doing a whole post for it this polish, that's how much I love it. If you can get your hands on it, buy it!

Candle: "Pumpkin Cupcake" from Bath and Body Works. 

Smells so amazing!

The glitter accent was really easy to do but it looks like it would take time and effort, which is why I love this look. It only requires two pieces of scotch tape placed along your nail to create a triangle. 

Anyway, I know this post is short and to the point but school is killing me right now.

Hope everyone enjoyed the post and try it out for yourself!

Thanks for reading!

-Tash<3 

Bronze and Teal Summer Makeup!

Hello lovely blog readers!
I hope you have been enjoying my posts this summer because I can promise you that it won't last once school starts again.
This will most likely be my last post before I leave for my vacation, so maybe I'll post some pictures here when I get back.

This post won't be super long as I've actually filmed a tutorial to go along with it!
Crazy right.
WARNING: I am super quiet and nervous throughout the whole video. My editing and filming skills leave something to be desired. It's kind of terrible. But I worked hard on it, so it's going up anyway.

Anyhoo, this is my go-to summer eye look and it takes me seriously less than five minutes to do which is plus because I'm always running late. To everything.

The look only requires 4 products and one brush! 

Above: MAC "Robin's Egg"

Maybelline Color Tattoo "Bad the the Bronze"

Physicians' Formula brown liner from the "Nude Eyes" trio

Sephora Smudge Brush

Urban Decay 24/7 Liner "Radium"

Bracelet from The Gap, goes great with this look

Use the bronze cream shadow as a base and line the lashline with a dark brown liner.

Line the outer corners of your upper and lower lashlines with the blue pencil and smudge it with a shadow similar in colour. 

Use a short, flat brush for smudging the shadow over the liner. 

Creates an effortless summer look with a nice bright pop of teal! 

Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading! 

-Tash <3 

PS. This is what happens when you try to take pictures with your unruly dog. 

Sniffing my lip balm... 

Finally! 

Skincare Review: Clean Start!

Hello lovely readers!
I've been promising you a skincare post for some time now. It's taken me a while because I don't like recommending something right away especially skincare products. It takes time to know if you like something and whether or not it has actually made a difference in your skin's appearance.

Fair warning- I do not have problem skin so I may not be the best person to review skincare. I don't get have acne or red spots. For the most part my skin doesn't give me trouble aside from the odd pimple every now and then (usually a stress pimple around finals). I also don't have a problem with oily skin or need to blot. My skin type is very specific, I have very dry skin which tends to look very dull and washed out. I tend to get really dry on my nose and forehead and I have some blackheads on my nose, behind my nostrils which I really hate.

I got the Starter Kit from a skin care brand called Clean Start from Dermalogica which basically has trial-sized bottles of five of their products and I thought I'd review it for you guys!

These are one-month supplies of five products from Clean Start. Including a spray toner, a morning moisturizer, night moisturizer, scrub/mask and a foaming face wash. You can buy this kit on their website, or in stores at Sephora. It retails for about $45. (It's not on the Sephora website for some reason). 

Hate to start on a negative but I did not like their day time moisturizer. However I can't blame them because the "Welcome Matte SPF15" was not formulated for dry skin. Obviously since it's a mattifying product, it says right on the bottle it's made for oily skin. It didn't work for me, but if you had oily skin you'd probably like it. 

I love "Wash Off" the foaming face wash! It's amazing. I usually hate foaming face washes because they somehow always end up in my eyes and it burns. Eugh. But I don't have that problem with this one. It foams but not as much as some others I have used. I really love the sharp citrus/lemon smell in this, it just smells so refreshing and clean. This product has lemongrass and orange peel oil in it, so I'm assuming that's where the smell is coming from. My face feel really soft and clean when I used this and it's made a dramatic difference to the dry spots around my nose and it got rid of the blackheads I had on my nose as well. 

"All Over Clear" is the toner in the set and it is just as amazing as the cleanser! It's new to me because I'm used to using toner by pouring it on a cotton pad and then rubbing it on my face but the Clean Start toner comes in a spray bottle which you obviously spray on your face.

*Toner in case you're wondering is a cleanser that you do not wash off your face. You apply it on the skin and let it sink in. It's used to cleanse the skin of any sweat or dirt that may have built up in pores and shrink their appearance. 

 It has the same smell as the toner as it also contains lemongrass. A lot of toners are filled with alcohol and they can really dry out your skin. This one has no alcohol and it's really refreshing and light. It also has extracts of Argan in it so it's not drying at all like some drugstore toners I've used. 

 Sorry to say I really did not like "Bedtime for Breakouts" which is the nighttime moisturizer. It's very runny and not at all creamy which is not good for my dry skin. This left my face still feeling really dry after using it. I get that I could use this only in spots with acne but it says right on the bottle it's made for use over the entire face at night. And for me, it just doesn't perform. I also really hate the smell of this. It's also a citrus smell like the others, but somehow more intense and sour. It kind of smells like a lemon that's gone bad. 

This might just be my favourite product of the bunch because it's effects are immediate and clearly noticeable. At first I was confused by "Ready, Set, Scrub" because it's described as a face mask and also a scrub. And I was like... ummm.... what? 

But stay with me. This product squeezes out like a clay mask and you apply it in the shower and let it sit on your face for five minutes or so. This has lemongrass in it like the face wash and toner, so it has the same light, refreshing lemon scent. The menthol in this product creates an awesome, refreshing tingling sensation on your face where your trouble spots are. So for example, I felt the tingling around my nose and behind my nostrils specifically. It's so weird/awesome, you can actually feel this mask opening and cleaning your pores. 

Then you rub it around with your fingers and there are tiny granules of silica that scrub dead skin off your face. As someone with dry skin, I was always drawn to really abrasive, chunky face scrubs because  I thought they'd be more effective at getting rid of dry, flaky skin. But this is definitely the most effective scrub and maybe even skincare product I've ever used. 

Overall:

3 out of 5 ain't bad in my opinion and here's why in a neat little pros and cons list. 

• Con: The two moisturizers didn't work for me.
• Pro:  I absolutely fell in love with the three other products and have in fact already repurchased the full sizes. Pro: They made a marked improvement in the appearance of my skin and  I didn't even have bad skin to begin with. 
• Pro: Even my boyfriend noted that skin looked better without me asking him. 
• Pro: Got a super cute, reusable water bottle with my purchase (this one doesn't really count, I know).
• Pro: I use this skin care more regularly than I have ever used any other skin care from the drugstore because it's a routine at night to use all three products so there's less chance of forgetting to do it. 
• Pro: I also really like that all the products in the Clean Start line are made without using artificial colours. fragrances or alcohol. 
• Con- The full sizes are pricey. Very pricey. The full sizes of these products range from $20-$25 each which kinda sucks. 
• Pro- the trial-sized bottles were supposed to be a month's supply. I have had the set for two months now and I still have haven't finished anything from the set. So these full sizes are going to last me forever. 

Is it worth the hefty price tag to me? Definitely. 

But if you're still unsure I would suggest buying the trial kit at Sephora and trying all five products out. If you don't like any of it, return it and get your money back. You've got nothing to lose right?

So I hope you liked this review and as always, thanks for reading!

-Tash <3

Barbie Pink Glitter Nails!

Hello lovely readers,
I'm back again with a really cute nail post!
I personally love how this turned out and will most likely do my nails like this again really soon.
It's a cute take on Barbie pink, glitter nails!

I love this! So girly and pink, definitely a look I wear a lot. I used a darker pink on three nails and accented my two middle nails with a milky, lighter pink polish. I also covered my accent nails with a chunky silver glitter to really make them pop and finish off the look. 

From left to right: Wet'n'Wild "Sugar Coat" and "Candylicious"

Essie "Set in Stones" 

I love the way this Essie polish applies, very smooth despite being a chunky glitter polish. I definitely finished this nail look and gave my accent nails a really cute sparkle. Bonus: most chunky glitters are super hard to get off which means I don't wear as often as I'd like to. But when I was ready I just peeled my accent nails off in one go and it was effortless! I think that the thick, clear base of the glitter polish causes your nail polish to peel off as one piece. 

I set everything with a clear top coat which is especially important when using glitter because it can make your nails can feel rough. Overall, a very cute, girly look for summer with a touch of sparkle! I will be wearing this again for sure!

Just a Few Things..

• Speaking of, should I do a post when I get back with some pictures from my vacation? Maybe one before I go of what my travel makeup bag looks like? Let me know if you'd like to see that!
• Working on a really quick, and easy summer eye look post that I've been wearing non-stop lately. 
• I think it's official. I just put How I Met Your Mother on even if I don't really want to watch. It's comforting. Such a great show, definitely my favourite!
• Recently took Wet'n'Wild's "Club Havana" nail polish off my toenails which looked amazing. I am considering painting them with the "Candylicious" colour from above. 
• I've already got a big floppy, beachy sun hat. I'm going to wear it to the airport. Yea, I'm gonna be that girl at the airport - the one who's clearly on her way to a tropical vacation and doesn't care if anyone knows it.
• Now I'm rethinking wearing that- it might be a pain at security checks...
• Can you tell I'm excited? Geez, shut up already about it, Tash.
• I love anyone and everyone who actually reads my blog. lol

Anyway, as always thanks for reading!

-Tash<3 

Nail Post: Summer Sunshine!

Hello all,
I have a nail post for you lovely readers.
I love nothing more than wearing bright nail polish in the summer, I think it's always a great way to compliment an outfit and really make a statement about your style.
So without further ado, my brightest nail colour yet...

Readers, meet Essence Colour and Go nail polish in "Wanna be your Sunshine"-

aptly named I would say. Essence is a bargain drugstore brand that just recently came to Canada (was only in the US before) and can be found in Shopper Drug Mart now! This polish was only $1.49! Crazy right?

I also used Essie's "Shine of the Times" over my fourth nail for an accent. It's a really beautiful holographic glitter polish that sparkles gold, pink, orange, green, yellow and is to date the most unique nail polish that I own. It's just so hard to describe. 

The Essie polish reflects light gorgeously. Not that this yellow polish needs it.  

All in all, I am liking the nail polishes I have tried from Essence so far! It's not often that a company puts out a yellow that's not too mustard or too green, but can also be opaque in just two coats. Essence made one that does both, which is impressive in my opinion. I have a yellow from OPI that doesn't even do that. Score one for Shoppers Drug Mart and welcome to Canada, Essence!

Thanks for reading!

-Tash<3