Gift Guide 2012 - Foodie

This is part of a series of gift guides I am putting together and posting up until Christmas. Please be sure to check out the others Here! 

Shopping for foodies is probably one of my favourite things to do, there's always a new gadget, or book to look at and in my opinion food styles and hot items can change just as quickly as fashion! Cupcakes, Whoopie pies, Macarons, etc they've all had their moments recently and opened up the idea of cooking and baking being a worthwhile skill to have to a younger generation who otherwise may never have learnt!

Cookies are a great way to open up the kitchen to novices and the results are great for spreading the love, I found these cute cookie stamps, hopefully there's something for all kinds of bakers! Cookie stamps in a variety of cute, hipster, indie and creepy.

A - Baked with Love Stamp available from Portmans

B & C - Munchstaches and Gingerdead Men Stamps available from Mighty Ape

D - Home Made stamp available from Lark

An idea for someone who likes to play with cocktails and liquid concoctions would have to be this nifty Zoku quick pop maker. It has the ability to create icy poles in minutes! Imagine the possibilities, you could use it to make a nice cooling after workout healthy treat that freezes while you exercise, or you could turn all those favourite summer cocktails into frozen treats. Not only do you have treats in minutes but you know exactly what went into them. It comes in various types that can make anywhere from one to three Zoku pops at once (I think the three would be great for someone who has people over a lot!) and come in a range of colours to match various kitchen decors.

Zoku Pop makers in single, two or three

Unfortunately the official website only ships to the USA, but you can also buy them in Australia here or here.

Rimmel BB 9 in 1 Cream Review

BB Cream by Rimmel

So I picked this up in store the other day, because the one thing I really need in my bathroom is another BB cream (Ha!) but for the price, I couldn't bring myself to say no.
What stood out for me most in the advertising would have to be that it has the highest SPF out of all the BB creams that I've seen on the market, at SPF 25 you get a level of protection that is usually reserved for products that are designed only to protect you from the sun, and not improve your appearance instantly.
Another point that I like about this product from Rimmel over others is the shade range. Yes it's only three but that's still more then other ranges, and the light is actually light! It works on my pale porcelain skintone and may even work in Winter when my skin goes completely void of colour.
The claims are that this product is 9 in 1 which is a very impressive number of tasks to roll into just one product. The list is that this product Primes, Moisturises, Minimises Pores, Conceals, Covers, Smooths  Mattifies, Brightens and helps Protect. for me, I could say that it does most of these, but I'd say it has more of a dewy finish then a mattifying one, but that's good for those who want that finish. Also conceal and cover are kind of the same thing to me...
Texture wise I found it a lot like zinc sunblock, it took a bit of work to spread, and you had to work quickly with the product before it began to set, but once you had waited a few minutes afterwards it was quite immovable.
My ultimate test with BB creams is whether the coverage is good enough to not need foundation afterwards, and I'm glad to say that this did the job nicely, I still put some powder on afterwards as the dewy finish doesn't work for long with my oily skin.

Of course I accidentally deleted the picture I took of the close up swatch spread on the back of my hand ...

Lets go shopping!

Well I'm taking the night of from blogging to go shopping. You'd have to be living under an internet-free rock not to know about the epic sales going on in many Australian retailers today. Some are even starting before the 7 PM EST official start so go get clicking!
Also worth noting is that it's not just the retailer listed at Click Frenzy, lots of others are getting in on the action so be sure to check out your regular favourites!
Personally I'll be hanging around Priceline, Myer, Target, Review, Glassons, Dotti, Diva, Lipstick Shoes, and Bardot (Phew!) I'll be tweeting anything phenomenal I find through my feed here.

Go score yourselves some bargains and let me know what you found!

Link Love - Web design help

Going to go in a different direction for link love this time around. It's not a topic I'd usually cover but web design is something that helps when you are putting together stuff like blogs, websites and even Twitter and Facebook pages, it's never a bad thing to learn in this technology based society called the internet! So here are four cute resources I thought I'd share. They're user friendly and at least partially free too, nothing to sign up to, just click and go! Just make sure you have a read of the terms and conditions.

1001fonts This is a really good resource to check out for fonts, as they've been created by a bunch of different people, it's worth checking each once you have downloaded them to make sure you can use them for commercial  use.

Call me Victorian You'll find heaps of great clipart shapes and labels for use on this site, great for labelling pictures, creating banners and all sorts of nifty graphics. they all have a nice classic edge to them, with a splash of detail to keep away the boring!

Pugly Pixel Is a Blog style resource site and contains a wealth of knowledge and tools for modern web design, I really like her flag labels and graphics, and that the site caters to not just those who just want the graphic and be off, but also those who want to learn a thing or two with tutorials. She also has a fantastic marketplace,and a very generous commercial use license, this is most definitely my favourite. <3

Subtle Patterns Lastly this is a really extensive textures site, again with a very nice commercial use license. Here you will find stacks of textures and patterns that are easily manipulatable into whatever layouts and colours you like. sometime you just need a little something!

I hope you have found something you like and can use here? Do you have any graphic resource sites that you love? Please reply with a link because I would love to check them out!

Bourjois Bonus!

Yay! It's freebie time for Bourjois at Priceline! When you spend over $25 in one transaction on Bourjois you get a free makeup case with goodies.

There are some pretty damn good items in this kit,vand they all coordinate beautifully for Summer. I didn't realize it at the time but the eyeshadow palette I selected to claim the bonus goes perfectly with this colour scheme too. Rose and Tan are a match made in heaven for illuminating your skin and adding some healthy looking colour to your complexion over the warmer months.

Smoky Eyes Palette in RoseVintage

Smoky eyes are a universally flattering technique for applying eye makeup and premade kits make it a cinch to coordinate colours, but you shouldn't just stick to basic black and brown. Trying it with different colours like this selection called Rose Vintage can help make your eyes pop and are also a great and subtle alternative for daytime wear. Build up the colour to your desired intensity.

Delice De Soliel Bronzing Powder

Shimmery bronzers like this one are better for using to add colour where you would naturally tan, instead of sculpting, though the brush included lends itself fantastically for shading gorgeous cheekbones! What sets this bronzer apart to me is the awesome and nifty swivelling mirror, you can spy on what's happening behind you with ease! (Lol!) Seriously though, the mirror is a great size for a travelling makeup kit.

Nouveau Gloss Effet 3D in Brun Rose Academic

This gloss is lovely, not too sticky,with a gorgeous amount of colour and a brush style applicator, and the shimmer is perfect for lighting up lips. More then happy to give this one pride of place in my makeup kit for Summer!