Smoked salmon, King prawn pasta in creamy white wine & garlic sauce

This is what I cooked last night! Under 500 kcal too! Enjoy!

Ingredients;
100g of smoked salmon - 117Kcals
100g of pasta spirals - 158Kcals
2 table spoons of philly light - 60Kcals
1/2 glass of white wine - 30kcals (reduced)
30ml of fresh single cream - 58Kcals
70ml of water
Half a chopped onion - 25Kcals
= 448kcals

Seasoning;
A few drops of lemon juice, salt, pepper, fresh chopped Dill & half a clove of garlic.

1.Cook the pasta till Al Dente, drain and leave to one side.

2.Reduce half a glass of white wine in the pan on a high heat till it smells sweet and there is no alcohol left in the reduction, throw in the chopped garlic & onion then season with salt and pepper.

3. Pour in cream, water, a squeeze of lemon and mix the ingredients. Then add two spoon fulls of reduced fat soft cheese. Let it melt on a medium-low heat and that is pretty much the sauce done. If it becomes to thick add a table spoon of milk or water.

4. Pour the pasta into the sauce, cook for a further minute in the sauce and add King Prawns. Remove from heat and dish it up!

5. Place the smoked salmon on top and sprinkle chopped dill over the top. Season to taste. Enjoy!

Katie X

Lee Stafford For hair that doesn't grow past a certain length

I've read a lot of good things about this product and I can now say I'm an addict! I've been using for almost 2 weeks and I must say my hair condition is improving with every use.

Lee Claims this product is:
"gorgeous, thick intensive treatment with Pro-Growth™ complex gives your hair strength from within by fertilising your follicles, creating a healthy environment on your scalp to help hair grow faster and reach its maximum potential length. Its soothing formulation reduces irritation and moisturises the scalp, helping to keep it healthy and improving the volume and feel of your hair".


As I've only been using for this short amount of time I haven't noticed colossal amounts of hair spouting from my head but the length of my hair and especially the end inches feel a lot stronger & maybe even a bit thicker? My hair isn't in bad condition but it is naturally thin and fine, this product seemed to make it feel a bit more luscious and conditioned then usual, with out adding any weighty-ness or oil to my hair. AND THE SCENT - I cant even begin. It smells like most of the other Lee Stafford products but because this is a masque it lingers in your hair. Smells heavenly. I will add an update after another week or so. A lot of the reviews I've read say you really need to use it 3-4 times a week to begin with to see any real growth but then after you've achieved a good length you just use it weekly so at the moment I'm using every other time I wash my hair. The result is what you'd expect from a decent hair mask, shiny, smooth (with out using any product or styling) and an improved state and this never fails to do those things. Even when I've let it dry naturally it seems all it needs is a brush before and after being left to dry and it turns out a dream.


At £7-£8 a pot its not cheap, and they advise you to use an 'egg sized amount' each time - I use maybe half that and its lasting well, looking like I'll get just over 3 weeks use out of 1 tub which I think is good enough. I'm eager to hear other peoples views and how it works on other hair types or if you know of any home hair conditioning recipes for me to try! I've heard tea rinse can be beneficial for hair growth because of the caffeine but I'm going to research it a little more before testing I think!!


Katie X

30 Min work out for people always on the go!

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas! I have so many goodies to show you all! but first....

When people give up their new years resolution of going to the gym, staying fit or trying to loose weight they often blame everything but them selves- including not having the time. So if you're thinking about quitting already, suck it up! This 30 min circuit work out will kick your butt into better shape and improve your stamina after only 3 days. Depending on your weight height etc you could burn between 400-500 Kcals in just half an hour. Which is an episode of friends basically, so get up lazy bones!


Jump rope/skipping for 60 sec.

Crunches in reps of 12

Push ups in reps of 12

Box Jump with lightweight dumbbells for 60 sec.

Squat thrusts in reps of 12

Walking lunges with lightweight dumbbells reps of 12

Excluding rests you should aim to get through the circuit in 4-4.5 minutes, rest for up to 12 seconds after each exercise but try to push through to the next with out a break.

Repeat 5 times resting only in between repetitions and not in between circuit repeats. Make the circuit harder by jumping up from each squat thrust before getting back down. Also to tone your tummy try using a medicine ball in the crunches. Come half way up through a sit up and twist using the weight of the medicine ball to rock you right to left right to left then lower your self before coming up for another sit up. This will tone the sides of your abs as well as the front pack of muscles. If you don't have a med ball try touching your right elbow to your left knee and your left elbow to your right knee whilst doing the crunches.

Sweat it out!

Katie X

Question Time!

Hello. I love that you're reading it and thanks for the support, it was really nice to read your message :) as for your skin I would suggest mixing 2 table spoons of body moisturise with one table spoon of baking soda/ bicarbonate of soda and using it as a facial scrub. Try to do this in the morning and especially after your shift when you get home. Finish with an oil free facial moisturiser or a matt finish one. 2 moisturisers I would recommend for you are nivea daily essentials oil free day cream and skin system young skin matt finish moisturiser from asda, both great if you're on a budget! The matt finish one also makes a great make up base and the nivea one has SPF 8 which is always good (smells amazingly fresh too!) - And as for the body moisturiser you need for the scrub you could buy a huge bottle from boots for £1-2. The bicarb of soda you can probably pick up for a pound also! Its a really good deep cleaner and will cut through dirt and oil, make sure you work it into your pours for a really deep clean, when rinsing you'll notice you're skin is almost squeaking clean. I could recommend a home made face mask if I knew more about your skin type but for now I hope this helps :) TIP- Times the measurements by 5 and make enough to last the month & simply keep in a pot in the bathroom!

Basic Brush Care - Deep Clean

 Makeup brushes can harbor lots of dirt and bacteria, which can result in breakouts - but frequent washing of your makeup brushes can keep them - and your face - clean and healthy.Cleaning your makeup brushes will also make them last longer, but there is no need to be forking out ££ for a harsh brush cleaner that contains hard abrasive chemicals that can damage skin. Below I'll take you through step by step what I think is a really effective brush cleaner that you can make using house hold products.

You should be looking to deeply cleanse your brushes every month, and I lighting clean mine every other day. This below is a deep clean and you could do this twice monthly if you have the time or keep this mixture in the fridge and use weekly to save time.

You Will Need:

Tall Glass or Cup

Tea Towel

Washing up Liquid

Sunflower or Vegetable Oil

1/4 of a Lemon

Bicarbonate of Soda

1 Plate

Clean running water

 I've used a range of brushes to show this method isnt just for newer brushs. The kabuki brush is from no.7 I've had it around 4 years and its made from natural fibres/hair. The thin brush is 2 weeks old from ELF and its a non synthetic crease/blending brush. The blusher brush, 2nd from the left is from The body shop also natural fibres/hair and I've had this for 2 years and lastly my favorite brush I featured in my last post - ELF complxion brush made from synthetic anti bacterial materials. None have been washed in over 2 weeks (dont hate!) So here what you do!

Step 1 - Making the cleanser -

Pour equal parts washing up liquid and vegetable oil, 1 tea spoon of Bicarb and squeeze quarter of a lemon onto the plate. If you can buy anti bacterial washing liquid you wont need the lemon. The reason I'm using lemon in this cleanser is because its a natural disinfectant, you could use tea tree oil or vinegar if you don't have lemon juice. The bicarbonate of soda is great for dissolving dirt and oil, this is really vital for foundation brushes as most foundations are oil based, but its good to use it on all make up brushes as the natural facial oils will also harbor on the brushes which will cause break outs and 'grayer' looking skin, so its great for tackling oil & dirt build up. And finally the sunflower/veg oil is to re condition the brushes, using soap on its own will strip synthetic brushes of their anti bacterial coat and will cause natural hair brushes to dry out - so the oil combats this, conditioning the brushes so they will remain in top condition.

Brush your make up brushes forward and back through this mixture, careful not to 'swirl' to much as this will loosen the bristles.

Step 2 - Rinse

Rinse in warm water, trying not to tug at the bristles. Brush them forward and back like before in your palm for a good 2 minutes or until the water runs clear.

Gently squeeze of excess water once rinsed. Then use the tea towel and gently squeeze again. (You could use a normal towel but I wouldn't recommend tissue or kitchen towel as it can flake of into the bristles.)

Step 3 - Re-shape

This is the result, shiny, new looking brushes! There is no horrible scent or icky residue left they are simply clean and soft. To reshape place brush in palm of hand and squeeze, then with out tugging pull hand down the length of the bristles till they're all laying flat and straight.

Step 4 - Drying

To dry your brushes, place up right in a glass or cup. Do not lay them flat as any excess water will run to the root of the bristle and loosen the glue eventually making the bristles fall out. So always store upright, bristles downward facing, when wet. You may find a plastic brush protector will keep them in better shape but I find if you rest them gently in the glass with out ruining the reshape they'll look just as good!

So that's it! I will post a picture of them once they are dry in the morning or later tonight- I recommend doing this over night so they're ready to use the next morning. To dry them a little quicker leave the glass near a radiator but never on top/directly underneath as it'll make the bristles dry out and brittle.

I hope you've enjoyed this! Please do try this brush cleaner and let me know how you get on! I've used this method since I can remember and its worked wonders every time! I will eventually get round to doing a light cleaner for every day use but for now I hope this has helped.

Merry Christmas!

Katie x

My first ever post!

This is my new blog - Beaticles - The Beauty Articles. I'll try keep it as up to date as possible with cosmetic reviews, any new purchases, possibly some recipes here and there and an attempt to refrain from moaning about work, the weather or London traffic. So to kick things of here is a little look at my top 5 beauty buys over the last few months, Enjoy!

You will be able to tell with the more images I upload I am an INSTAGRAM fiend! You can find me Katie_gurr, Im also on twitter with the same name and I'll post my tumblr link some where also! 

This shade is called Gold Coin by Revlon and it is really pretty. I'm usually attracted to nude nails, pink/peach shades and warm tones so when I received this as a free gift from revlon for purchasing over £15 worth of make up, I didn't think much of it at the time. But it is now my no.1 Nail Polish! It is incredible. Carelessly, I swiped it on my nails after getting back from the shops (at work) and ran round the office exclaiming id only put the one coat on! its so pigmented and so easy. I'm also typically always on the go so when this chipped I just swiped over begging for no icky looking under cracks and it looked brand new again. I was on the tube as well ,surely that's proof of how easy and quick this is to use. This really is a fool proof nail polish it drys really quick, there's no rough texture which many glitter particle polish's dry to and in my opinion looks extremely classy! Price: £5-7 depending on where you buy from.

The Elf complexion Brush is THE best powder brush in my eyes. The density is just right, its super soft & made from anti bacterial synthetic materials. My worry when ordering this was that it would be TOO fluffy to pick up enough powder as I don't use loose powders but pressed ones. But like I said they've got the density down to a T so it picks up the right amount of product and it deposits so evenly on the skin. (Obviously its down to the product you're using too..but) Ive used High end compacts and £5 high street ones and the result has always been flawless when using this Brush. I've had a similar brush from the body Shop which has been put to shame after using this brush. Not to mention the price, the Body shop brush was well over quadruple the price of this one from elf!! The elf brush is £3.50! So I can't fault this Brush at all. 

The only things that I will have to look out for is the durability as I've only had a month but the way things are going I think I'll have it for just as long as any other brush if not longer. No bristles have fallen out bar the one or two during first use. And the other variable is that it is listed as a complexion brush for both wet and dry products and I cant say I've tried it with any of my liquid foundations but I've never used a brush for liquid application anyway. So for anyone that has this brush & used for liquid applications I'd be interested to know how it compares! 

My 3rd is actually one of my all time favorite perfumes that my boyfriend restocked for me in October (birthday pressie!) along with Gucci by Gucci and Armani Diamonds. I've chose this one to feature because I love using it in winter. I think it's probably the boldness of it. Top notes composed of jasmine, sweet orange, calabrian bergamot and   base notes of  sandalwood and amber, and ceda. I think its sophisticated but not old lady smell. Its confident and a little bit sweet smelling once its dry. Not to mention the bottle is so pretty, I'm not sure the picture does it justice but if you look hard enough at the bottle its like a reflective colour changing glass! I think this retails between £65-85 depending on which size you buy. But a tiny bit goes a long way!

I've still yet to find my all time favorite foundation but I think this is pretty close! Maxfactor Miracle Touch Foundation. The formula its self is really impressive I remember buying this right before a deadline, barely getting any sleep, looking haggard and just wasn't my self at the time so it was up against a great battle from the start but this completely became my best friend....for all of about 2 weeks. That was my only fault with this foundation - it lasted me 2 weeks! I'm not a packer-on-er, I dont encase my skin in an inch of foundation but I top up my make up maybe once in the day and again if I'm going out in the evening and I felt the formula wasn't particularly staying. I think with the right powder maybe I wouldn't of had to top up in the day or something but for me it just went to quickly. I've heard so much ranting & raving about MAC foundation and also a particular one by Chanel so watch this space as I'll definitely be reviewing one or the other in the new year.

 Any way the shade was spot on the coverage was amazing and the sponge applicator actually gave a really nice matte finish once the product has set but also felt satiny smooth to touch. But for the price ranging between £12-15, which only lasted me 2 weeks, I'd have to buy 2 just to get me through the month SO I thought its worth investing in the £20-30 Mac & Chanel ones I wanted to try which will hopefully last me 4-5 weeks. Some other foundations I really enjoy are Dream matte mouse, Clinique Even Better and Rimel 25 hour wear. (There was also a foundation released around 4 years ago which was my first ever real make up, Launched by YSL and had a built in foundation brush with a gold lid - quite similar to the Touche Eclat formula/packaging I reckon, which had been discontinued but I dearly loved the effects of that foundation and it seemed to last for a good while.)

And last but not least!

 

I really wanted to mention my favorite lipstick & mascara in here but I'm sure I'll get to rave about it in another post! So unexpectedly this 99p sachet has been in my head for a while I first bought it on a whim 5-6 months ago. My hair is natural fair thin and wavy, I get highlights or use L'Oreal home kits when I'm in a rush. I use a lot of heat styling blow dryers hot irons etc so it's fair to say its not in the best condition but I'd say its pretty healthy and soft. I bought this in hope it would look a little less dry and limp - the results where fantastic I've actually just picked one up on my lunch break now. I went out the same night I'd used this as a conditioner almost and the thing that surprised me was you can actually tell from the pictures my hair had been treated with something. It looked shiny thicker and radiant. I find recovery masques can be a little heavy and leave hair feeling weighed down and eventually greasy but I didn't feel this was at all.

So that's my top 5! I've got lots more to tell everyone about including 2 Rimmel products you'll never find me with out, a few reviews on my favorite Benefit bits I've picked up this season, the MAC products I picked up during my consultation and a big discussion about winter skin care! Oh I also forgot I'll be posting lots of tips & tricks on application, making your products last longer & how to keep your brush's clean & in great condition! 

Merry Christmas!

Katie x