Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Cocoa
Overnight Oats
2
7 years
by Naomi in Food
A few weeks ago I spotted a breakfast craze on Instagram of something called overnight oats. I’d never heard of them before, but they looked delicious and I couldn’t wait to give them a go. Overnight oats is basically just cold porridge, made overnight in the fridge. All you do is mix one part rolled oats, with one part liquid, sweeten it with whatever you choose, then leave it in the fridge overnight to do its thing. The oats absorb the liquid, and in the morning you’re left with plump, moist oats that are ready to eat without any cooking. You can then top it with whatever you want, and enjoy. My basic recipe for one person is half a cup of oats mixed with half a cup of semi-skimmed milk, but I’ve seen people use juice and nut milks too. Also, if you prefer your oats wetter or drier, you can add more or less liquid accordingly.
My favourite thing about overnight oats is how experimental you can get with them. I’ve had oats almost every day this week, but each bowl has had a different topping, which has stopped me getting bored of my breakfasts. They’re also really filling, and where I’d usually be feeling hungry by about 10:30am, I’ve been full until lunch, which for me is a big thing!
Here are a few of my favourite toppings so far…
Caramel Banana Crunch
Sweetened with: 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Topped with: Half a large banana, Lotus Caramel Biscuit spread, and granola.
Fruity Yoghurt and Blueberries
Sweetened with: 1 tablespoon of raspberry, cranberry, and blueberry yoghurt.
Topped with: Raspberry, cranberry, and blueberry yoghurt, and a handful of blueberries.
Choco Banana
Sweetened with: 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder.
Topped with: Half a large banana, and milk and white chocolate spread.
Strawberry Coconut Crunch
Sweetened with: Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Topped with: Chopped strawberries, granola, and desiccated coconut.
I have quite a few toppings planned for future overnight oats too, including maple syrup and chopped pecan nuts, apple and cinnamon, and even Oreo biscuits and peanut butter. Definitely more interesting than Cornflakes!
Have you ever tried overnight oats? If so, I’d love to hear your recipe ideas!
Naomi x
Chocolate Treat Week: Fashion and Accessories
8
9 years
Welcome to my final Chocolate Treat Week post! It’s been a busy week but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, and I hope you have too. Today’s post will focus on chocolate themed fashion and accessories, including a rather nifty T Shirt, a couple of stunning items of jewellery and a cuter than cute pocket mirror. So, let’s begin…
Cadbury’s Chicken or Creme Egg T Shirt from TruffleShuffle
I was recently sent this amazingly quirky T Shirt by a fab clothing company called TruffleShuffle, and I absolutely love it. Creme Eggs have to be one of my favourite chocolate treats (why oh why do they only sell them at Easter??) and, as my regular readers will know, purple is my favourite colour. As such, this T Shirt really was made for me, especially when you consider my penchant for philosophy! After all, the fun, clever design takes on one of life’s most pressing questions.
The T Shirt itself is extremely comfortable as it is cut well to fit womanly curves, and you can tell that the fabric is fantastic quality. It is very soft and quite thick, and has a good stretch to it, and it’s also a nice length… I’m 5’10” so very often I will get T Shirts which are irritatingly too short for me, but this one is just right due to its slightly longer length.
I love how bold the purple shade of the fabric is, and the logo is equally as bright. The logo is also really well printed, and neither the fabric or the logo have faded since I received the T Shirt. The fading you can see in the photograph is part of the retro design, and the rest of it isn’t going anywhere in a hurry! This T Shirt has already become a treasured part of my wardrobe and, just like the logo, it’s here to stay.
TruffleShuffle’s Cadbury Chicken or Creme Egg T Shirt retails for £14.99, which is incredible value for money for such a high quality product, but you’ll be pleased to know that you can get an even better deal at the minute as it is on sale for £11.99! They have a few other Creme Egg designs in various colours too, for men as well as women. TruffleShuffle specialise in 80s and Retro T Shirts but they also sell jewellery, accessories and gifts. Their customer service is outstanding as if you order before 4pm your items will be posted the same day. I actually received my T Shirt the day after it was sent, and it even contained some sweeties which was a nice extra touch! TruffleShuffe really are ‘Officially Awesome’ and I’ll be going to them from now on for all of my T Shirt needs!
Milk Chocolate Ring from Purple Magpie
This gorgeous statement ring was made by Lynda, an independent jewellery maker who runs a lovely little jewellery company called Purple Magpie. Lynda is a self-employed artist and has been creating jewellery for the past two years, which she sells at Newcastle’s Quayside every Sunday, as well as on Etsy and Folksy. Most of Lynda’s jewellery features food and sweets, and her Milk Chocolate Ring is no exception!
The chocolate fudge-looking ring is handmade using polymer clay and it is very neat. The detail on it is absolutely incredible too… From the teeth marks in the ‘bite’ to the piped chocolate heart on top, it all looks so real! If I didn’t know better I’d want to eat it, but obviously I wouldn’t, that’s just silly. The ring itself measures 18mm in diameter at its smallest, but it is adjustable so it is suitable for just about anyone. It might be chunky and a decent size, but don’t let that fool you. Polymer clay is very light so it doesn’t weigh your hand down at all when wearing it which is a massive bonus.
Purple Magpie’s Milk Chocolate Ring is available on Etsy for just £4, and there are a few other chocolatey items in Lynda’s jewellery range too. It is clear that all of Lynda’s jewellery is carefully made with love, and considering the high quality of her products you are getting an absolute bargain. If you decide to buy, I’m sure you’ll love your chocolate ring as much as I love mine!
Miniature Chocolate Necklace from Sweet n Neat Jewellery
Necklaces are perhaps my most worn accessory, and out of the many that I own this Miniature Chocolate Necklace is one of my favourites. The necklace is handmade by Laura of Sweet n Neat Jewellery, who started making jewellery last November, and has since started making accessories as well. All of Laura’s jewellery is made from Fimo, and she tells me that she likes using Fimo as it is easy to mould and comes in any colour under the sun! She also takes pride in making her jewellery as ‘sweet’ and ‘neat’ as possible, hence the name.
The chocolate pendant is very dainty and cute, but despite its small size it is still detailed and looks wonderfully realistic! It is coated with a glaze which makes the chocolate look shiny and yummy, but unfortunately it isn’t edible (although the missing corner makes it look like someone’s had a nibble!) The pendant also hangs perfectly as it lies flat and at a slight angle, and since it is on an 18″ chain it sits nicely in the centre of my chest. I do believe the chain is sterling silver too, so it doesn’t leave any green marks on the skin.
Laura’s Miniature Chocolate Necklace comes delivered in a gift box and is currently selling on Etsy for only £6. You can even buy matching Miniature Chocolate Hair Grips! If you’d like to follow Laura, her Twitter name is @SweetnNeatJwlry, and she also has a Facebook page.
Cocoa Cookie Pocket Mirror and Comb from eBay
My final chocolate themed accessory is this cute pocket mirror which I picked up on eBay for 99p. The mirror says ‘Cocoa Cookies I Like’, which isn’t fantastic English but that doesn’t really matter I suppose. The mirror is made to look like an Oreo cookie, and is quite a decent size. It might have been cheap, but the quality is pretty good and I think it looks absolutely adorable! Probably the most exciting thing about this mirror, however, is what’s inside…
That’s right – the cream inside the cookie is actually a little comb! How innovative is that?
If you’d like one for yourself, you can order your Cocoa Pocket Mirror here.
The Last Rolo…
The Last Rolo is where I hand over the last few words of each Chocolate Treat Week blog post to another blogger. In the run up to Chocolate Treat Week I asked five of my favourite bloggers a couple of questions about their favourite chocolate treats, and today’s answers come from Nonfashionista.
Can you recommend any chocolate scented, flavoured or themed beauty/fashion products?
Well I like the chocomania products from body shop. I’ve tried the lip butter and it’s nice!!!
I’m a fan of their body butters but I haven’t tried the chocomania one..i’m sure it’s as nice as their coconut one!
One of my friends really likes the chocolate shampoo from carol’s daughter.. I think they talked about it at Oprah’s.
What is your favourite chocolate treat to eat, and why?
My favorite chocolate treat..that’s a thought one..I love chocolate!!! I love anything chocolate..I would probably have to say a good slice of my mother’s chocolate cake, that’s really moist and creamy inside! Also I make a mean chocolate mousse 
and.. ben’s cookies: any chocolate or other 😛
So, that’s it! The end of my first ever themed blog week – Chocolate Treat Week. I really hope you’ve enjoyed all of my posts, and if you have then please share them with your friends and fellow bloggers! If you haven’t already seen my other chocolate posts, you can do so here:
Skin, Bath and Body
Hair
Makeup
Nails
Thank you so much for reading, and a big thank you to all of those who took part in The Last Rolo!
Naomi x
*The Chicken or Creme Egg T Shirt, Milk Chocolate Ring and Miniature Chocolate Necklace featured in this post were kindly gifted to me by their respective companies, for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and my own*
Chocolate Treat Week: Skin, Bath and Body
24
9 years
In my first Chocolate Treat Week post I will be sharing with you the very best chocolate scented skin care, bath and body products that I have been using lately. Whenever I have the house to myself of an evening I like nothing better than to run myself a relaxing bath and treat myself with an indulgent beauty regime, and the following four items are the perfect products for a chocolate themed pamper session.
Bathe with… Handmade Soaps Chocolate Bath Treats
I recently discovered a fab little company called Handmade Soaps, who stock and sell a large range of soaps, bath bombs, bath melts and gift sets, all of which are very appealing to the eye as well as the nose. Among their range they have quite a few wonderful chocolate scented bombs, melts and sets. The chocolate products pictured above are (clockwise from the top): Chocoholics Gift Set, Fruity Creamy Bath Bar, Chocolate Bath Meltz, Sink the Pink Bath Bomb, Very Berry Bath Creamer, Love Cloud Bath Creamer and Chocolate Ballotin Gift Set.
I have a lot of bath products from Handmade Soaps so I haven’t tried all of them yet, but my favourite so far has to be the Chocolate Bath Meltz, which costs £2 for one melt. As you can see, it looks absolutely lovely – almost like a fancy chocolate truffle, especially with the cute little chocolate heart sitting on top! The melt combines Cocoa and Arabica Coffee to give it its rich chocolatey aroma and colour, and also contains Lavender and Ylang Ylang essential oils for added relaxation. I used this melt over the weekend and it really is glorious. I popped it into the water just before the bath was full and then got straight in. I recommend doing this as it’s when the melt fizzes that you are met with its beautiful scent. Unlike some bath products that I’ve tried, this one doesn’t fizz too violently so you don’t get bombarded by the bomb whilst you’re trying to relax. In fact, I actually found it quite therapeutic watching it spin in the water! My favourite thing about the Chocolate Bath Meltz is how intensely moisturising it is. I really wasn’t expecting such a dainty melt to have much effect on my skin, but it made my skin feel creamy and smooth even when I was still in the water, which resulted in long-lasting softness – impressive!
Handmade Soaps pride themselves on their customer service so if you decide to order anything from them you won’t be disappointed! They deliver their items quickly and they even have a ‘remarkable wrapping’ policy so everything you receive will be as beautifully wrapped as possible. Everything they sell is already reasonably priced, but Handmade Soaps have been kind enough to give me a special discount code to share with you so that you can get 10% off everything you order! The code is ‘bewitchery10‘ – just enter it at the checkout to get your 10% discount.
Exfoliate with… Betty Buff ‘Scrummy Choco’ Sugar Scrub
As I’ve mentioned in several of my previous posts, Betty Buff‘s Sugar Scrubs are my absolute favourite go-to exfoliators. All of Betty Buff’s scrubs are high-quality and handmade to vintage recipes. They contain no parabens or artificial colours and fragrances either, so are excellent for use on sensitive skin like mine.
As well as containing granulated sugar, Evening Primrose Oil, honey and glycerine, ‘Scrummy Choco‘ is made with 100% cocoa which gives it an incredible scent. As Betty Buff says, it really does smell ‘good enough to eat’ (but please don’t!), almost like a chocolate brownie or uncooked cake mix… It honestly made my mouth water when I first smelt it!
I have been using this for a while now and the effects are very noticeable. The cocoa makes the scrub delicately moisturising, and always leaves my skin feeling silky smooth, and my dry patches caused by the drying summer weather have all vanished! Due to the rich colour of the scrub it also leaves a light brown sheen on the skin, which sounds odd but actually looks great, especially if you already have a tan you want to accentuate.
Betty Buff ‘Scrummy Choco’ Sugar Scrub comes in three different sizes. The size pictured is the 150ml version, which costs £6.50, but there’s also a 250ml tub available for £8.00 and a 100ml sampler for £4.00. A little goes a long way with Betty’s scrubs so each size is fantastic value for money. If you’d like to try it for yourself, which I highly recommend you do, you can purchase it here.
Moisturise with… Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Rich Feeling Lotion
Vaseline’s Cocoa Radiant Rich Feeling Lotion is ideal for those who aren’t too keen on beauty products with a strong chocolatey aroma or appearance. The lotion is pale in colour and delicately scented with cocoa beans so it isn’t overpowering, and it also has a very delicate formula.
Cocoa Radiant is rich like a body butter, but also lovely and light so it doesn’t feel heavy on the skin. It absorbs quickly without being greasy, rather, it leaves behind a soft creaminess which makes skin feel healthy and supple. I like to use this after exfoliating and also after shaving as it is protective so prevents any drying or soreness. What I love most about this lotion is how long the scent lingers… After a day of wear I can always still smell a sweet tinge of cocoa on my skin which is nicely comforting.
Vaseline’s Cocoa Radiant is currently on offer for £2.63 in Superdrug for a 400ml bottle, which is a massive bargain for such a quality product so grab it cheap while you still can!
Cleanse with… Montagne Jeunesse Hot Chocolate Self Heating Face Mask
After a relaxing bath and moisturising session, a face mask is the perfect way to finish an evening of pampering. Now that Autumn is here and the weather is getting colder, it’s time to step away from the cooling masks and use something a bit more seasonal… So, what’s better than a self heating mask? Montagne Jeunesse’s Hot Chocolate Self Heating Face Mask is currently top of my face mask list as everything about it is luscious and screams ‘me time’!
I used this mask last night and couldn’t get enough of it. The formula is fairly thick, basically like melted chocolate, so it is a little bit difficult to apply but it is well worth the effort. As soon as it touches your skin it heats up to a comfortable temperature which feels incredible and helps to soothe tired skin and muscles.
The mask is scented with cocoa and orange – a winning combination in my eyes (and nose). The orange cuts through the sweetness of the chocolate to give a decadent scent which makes for a delicious fifteen minutes of wear, and a good few hours of gorgeous smelling skin.
The mask stays wet and doesn’t dry like a conventional clay mask so it is quite easy to wash off, but its deep colour can make a mess so make sure you use an old towel! Like all of Montagne Jeunesse’s products, their Hot Chocolate mask is vegetarian and natural, and it contains orange oil which is refreshingly moisturising. As such, the mask is extremely nourishing to the point that you don’t need to use any moisturiser after wearing it.
Montagne Jeunesse’s Hot Chocolate Self Heating Mask is available on their website for £1.09 per sachet, but I’ve also seen it in Wilkinson, Asda, Superdrug and Boots. I only used half a sachet for one application so you could get two uses out of it if you’re lucky, which is always a bonus.
The Last Rolo…
The Last Rolo is where I hand over the last few words of each Chocolate Treat Week blog post to another blogger. In the run up to Chocolate Treat Week I asked five of my favourite bloggers a couple of questions about their favourite chocolate treats, and today’s answers come from Donah of Sweetjellybean.
Can you recommend any chocolate scented, flavoured or themed beauty/fashion products?
Although I try to not use any products that are chocolate scented (as I’ve had enough of Palmer’s Cocoa Butter when I was pregnant!), these days, I’ve been indulging myself with Leor’s Chocolate Truffle Body Lotion. Surprisingly, this doesn’t smell as strong as Palmer’s but still has that lovely chocolate aroma that isn’t distracting. so yes, I definitely would recommend this to anyone, who can’t stand Palmers’ but still love to indulge themselves in a chocolate-flavoured product.
What is your favourite chocolate treat to eat, and why?
Toffee Crisp! Can’t get enough of this when I was pregnant (a hush-hush since I was not supposed to eat this, so this is my guilty pleasure haha) But I definitely don’t mind having one bar or two every week.
Thanks for reading my first Chocolate Treat Week post – I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please come back tomorrow to read all about chocolate hair products.
Naomi x
*I was kindly gifted the Handmade Soap Bath products and the Betty Buff ‘Scrummy Choco’ Sugar Scrub by their respective companies for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
