Christmas cooking the fun way

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are easy to make, bake, baking powder, baking trays, caster sugar, cheese, cheese stars, cherry tomatoes, Christmas tree cookies, Christmas tree cuter, cling film, cook, cookies, cream, cucumber, decorate, dough, drinks, eat, eggs, escaping, family and friends, festive fun, fridge, friends, goodness, grated cheese, herbs, homemade biscuits and snacks, icing sugar, jolly, look good, love, messy, mild cheddar, milk, mix, mozzarella, mug, parchment, pens, plain flour, pre-made puff pastry, pretty boxes, recipes, salt, school party, scrubbing, sift, silver balls, silver foil platter, star cutter, stars, super healthy, table salt, tissue paper, tree, tree trunk, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, veggie, winning treats, wrap, yellow pepper

This year, why not impress family and friends with homemade biscuits and snacks, and as well as saving yourself some money, you can have festive fun too? We have several tried and tested recipes we love, and hope you will too!

Christmas tree cookies
These cute cookies look good, taste great, are easy to make and even the youngest members of the family can get involved and help you to decorate them!

For these winning treats, you will need:

470g of plain flour
1 level teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of table salt
225g of unsalted butter
300g of caster sugar
Two medium eggs
Two teaspoons of vanilla extract
A Christmas tree cuter
Colouring icing sugar pens
Silver balls

Sift together the baking powder, flour and salt. Cream together the butter and sugar until you have a light and fluffy mix, then beat in the eggs (one at a time) and finally stir in the vanilla. At this point you can then slowly add the flour mix, and when you have a ball of dough, wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for around an hour.

When you get the dough from the fridge, pre-heat your oven to 200 C / gas mark 6 /180C fan and line two baking trays with parchment paper – this means the cookies will slide off once cool and you won’t have any nasty pan scrubbing to do.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut out your cookies.

Bake for about eight minutes or until the edges are just turning light brown, and transfer from the baking trays to cooling racks.

Decorate with the icing pens when the cookies are completely cool and put on the little silver balls for an added touch, then either eat them (fast) or put them in pretty boxes with tissue paper and give them out as presents!

Cheese Stars

For the school party, or drinks with friends, these easy to make cheese stars are winners.

You will need:

A pack of pre-made puff pastry
One mug of grated cheese – a mild cheddar / mozzarella mix works well
Flour for dusting
2 table spoons of whole milk
A star cutter

It is best to make these on the day of eating, so when you are ready, preheat the oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease them with a little butter.

Next roll out the sheet of pastry and put your grated cheese on half of it, fold it over and then on a floured surface, gently roll to around double the size. At this point just make sure no cheese is escaping from the sides as this can get messy in the oven! Next, cut out star shapes from the folded sheet and place on the baking sheets, brush with milk and cook for around ten minutes. You can add some herbs or salt to the tops of the stars if you like! They will last for a couple of days in a tin, but we don’t think they will be around that long!

Veggie Tree

For something super healthy for the party table, you can’t go wrong with savoury festive tree made with goodness and love.

For this you will need:

Lots of cherry tomatoes – cut in half
Green grapes – cut in half
A yellow pepper with a piece of the flesh cut into a star shape
Half a cucumber
Salsa
A large silver foil platter

Chop a 5cm piece of cucumber and place it at the bottom of the foil platter to make the tree trunk. Then you need to make a row of tomatoes and grapes to make the first part of the tree, and then add more layers, each one shorter than the last so you end up with a cute Christmas tree shape. At the top you can add your yellow pepper star, then serve with the salsa and the rest of the cucumber cut into sticks! This looks fun and jolly and also help to keep up your five a day!

Got a recipe you love, let us know about!

Team Pure Beauty

Catwalk fashion you can actually wear

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affordable styles, agenda, Ashish, beautiful blouses, block brights, budget, Burberry, chic, chunky roll neck, Clashing tartans, cowboy boots, Daks, designer, dresses, embrace colour, Erdem, fashion, floral, glittered, haute couture, heels, High Street, House of Holland, Joseph, London Fashion Week, pencil skirt, Preen, Prince of Wales checks, red lippy, rock, Roksand Ilincic, simply styles, slogan tee, stars, Temperley, Topshop, town, trainers, Victorian style dresses, wardrobe staple

Fashion royalty took their seats for London Fashion Week in February and there were some stunning sites.

Whilst the stage was packed with lithe models who strutted their stuff and wore some amazing outfits, for many of us, haute couture simply isn’t ever going to be in our budget.

Fear not.

As well as spotting stars galore lining the catwalk, we picked out some easy to wear styles that will make you feel a million dollars and put you at the forefront of fashion but won’t break the bank.

Let’s start with block brights. Many people like to keep things safe when it comes to colour with black and navy being a wardrobe staple. Well, it’s time to step away from the shadows and embrace colour in a big way. Go for bold blues, glittering golds and rusty reds paired with denim and sunglasses and you will be as rainbow ready as Roksand Ilincic.

It has to be said that when it comes to feminine dressing with a twist, Temperley wins time and again. London 2017 was no exception as the designer signalled that folklore is back. Victorian style dresses, beautiful blouses and amazing jumpsuits will be big in the coming months, mark our words. Chains will soon be stocking simply styles that are super easy to wear with denim, pumps and flash of red lippy will add a little drama.

When it comes to dresses, it seems that flowers are the way to go. With Erdem and Preen putting floral on the fashion agenda once again it is only a matter of time until the High Street is awash in buds of colour. One shoulder numbers are still top of the list, but the maxi isn’t far behind. Heels, trainers and cowboy boots are perfect with dress and a satchel will complete your look.

Checks are never far from the fashion agenda, and Burberry and Daks made sure this isn’t going to change for the coming season. Clashing tartans, Prince of Wales checks and classic tweeds were out in full force on the catwalk and we can’t wait to embrace this iconic trend, come autumn.

We love a slogan tee at Pure Beauty, and it seems that political unrest on both sides of the Atlantic has created fashion waves! Ashish and House of Holland models were plastered in slogans and we don’t think it will be long before this trend will be seen in a shop near you.

There is something safe about oversized knits as they hide a multitude of sins but with Joseph and Topshop taking them to London Fashion Week, keeping them for Sunday slobbing is over. Go for a chunky roll neck and pencil skirt or add a slouchy sweater to a silky slip and you will be ready to rock with the chicest set in town.

Last but not least, accessories were big, like really big. Super-sized totes, enormous earrings and miles and miles of scarves were scattered across town like never before. Matchy matych or a clash of colours, it doesn’t matter but size does.

Let us know what look you love and what you are planning to take form the catwalk to create you 2017 style.

Team Pure Beauty

 

 

 

 

The Loving Way to Do Valentine’s Day

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14 February, bake a cake, Barcelona, beach, bike ride, boat trip, book, brave, cocktail, dancing, date, dermalogica, diamond, dolphin, drive, first edition, fish and chips, framed, gorgeous complexion, hold hands, love, loved one, lungs, Lupercalia., manor house, monkey, mountain, opera, pampered, Paris, promote sleep, river, roaring fire, rock concert, Roman holiday, say I love you, Serenade, share, single, song, Spa, stars, train, Valentine’s Day, zoo

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.

The history of Valentine’s Day is somewhat shrouded in mystery but we believe it is named after a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century, with origins in the Roman holiday, Lupercalia.

Regarded by some as a commercial exploitation exercise and an excuse to spend money, 14th February is the traditional day of love around the world.

While it is love that counts, we have come up with a few ideas to make sure the person you love, really knows it.

Organise a picnic in the park complete with blanket, champagne and cake.

Book a table at the restaurant where you had your first date.

Send flowers to the office, but not roses, everyone will have those on their desks!

Surprise the one you love with a weekend away to a city you have never been to.

Have a photo album of your most treasured pictures created.

Buy them a star – a real declaration of love.

Propose.

Take a helicopter ride.

Go to a matinee at the cinema and hold hands in the back row.

Find a first edition copy of their first book.

Adopt a monkey, dolphin or elephant and share your love.

Go dancing.

Bake them a cake.

Buy silk pillowcases – they promote sleep and a gorgeous complexion.

Cook dinner at home and enjoy some quiet time together.

Take afternoon tea at a manor house.

Go on an open top bus tour and watch the buzz of the city under the stars.

Eat fish and chips on the beach.

Go to a cocktail making class.

Find the record of your song and have it framed.

Buy a diamond.

Go on a date if you are single.

Get on a train and see where it takes you.

Buy chocolates and give them to a stranger.

Renew your vows.

Go on a long bike ride and feel the air in your lungs.

Take an exotic holiday and get away form the cold and wet winter.

Go to the zoo.

Book tickets to the theatre.

Explore the woods.

Drive out to the countryside and have a pint by a roaring fire.

Take a boat trip along the river.

Sit in the stalls at the opera.

Book a personal shopper and add in some spending money for a fancy frock.

Climb a mountain together.

Serenade your loved one, if you have the voice for it or are feeling brave.

Go to Barcelona for lunch and Paris for dinner.

Spend the day at a spa being pampered.

Take to the skies in a hot air balloon.

Go to a rock concert.

Hold hands and walk along the beach.

Put photos of the two of you in a locket.

Buy them some beautiful Dermalogica products.

Take the day off work and do nothing at all.

Whatever you do and whomever you do it with, say I love you and mean it.

Team Pure-Beauty