FOOD || SPICED ORANGE HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPE (AD)

*This post is sponsored and includes a gifted product.

I'm probably the biggest fan of chocolate and spice at the same time haha. I can't go a day without having something sweet as a treat, but I also have to have some sort of spice in my meals too so I thought why not combine the two? So I came up with my own little twist on a regular orange hot chocolate which I hope you will love as much as I do.

You will need:
Hot chocolate powder
Orange zest or essence
Ground cinnamon (I use Schwartz)
Milk of your choice

Method:

1. Measure out a mug (or two if you are treating someone else) of milk and pour it into a pan. Heat up the milk on slow heat and gently bring to boil.

2. While the milk is heating up, grate a tablespoon worth of orange zest (around half an orange) and add into the pan. You can add half a teaspoon of orange essence into the milk instead if you don't have any fresh oranges available.

3. Add 3 heaped teaspoons of the hot chocolate powder and half a teaspoon of cinnamon into the boiling milk and turn down the heat.

4. Stir the mixture constantly until it is fully heated. I like my hot chocolate very hot to warm up in winter so I usually keep it on the heat for 5 minutes after boiling.

5. Pour half the drink into your favourite mug and add any extras you desire. I usually add a generous helping of whipped cream and marshmallows with orange zest and cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Tip: If you are using fresh orange zest and don't like pulp-like texture then make sure you strain the mixture through a sieve before serving to ensure your hot drink is smooth.

This is my favourite hot drink to have during Winter. I find that it warms me up from the very first sip I take, but it's also quite filling so makes a great dessert or breakfast for all chocolate lovers.

As this post is a collaboration with Schwartz, I wanted to clarify that I buy all of my seasonings from this brand anyway. I believe that Schwartz offers the best quality and variety of herbs and spices on the market. You can purchase the Schwartz Ground Cinnamon spice that I have used in my recipe here.

*This post is sponsored and includes a gifted product, however, all my opinions are genuine and my own. This post does not include affiliate links.

What is your favourite Wintery drink? Have you ever made a spiced orange hot chocolate? Let me know if you're going to try my recipe!

Lots of love,

Maya xo

NETFLIX & CHILL - MY PREFERRED NIGHT IN AND FAVOURITE SHOWS

Who doesn't love a bit of Netflix and Chill? If it's on your own, with your friends or other half, Netflix = best night in.

My perfect night in consists of favourite TV shows/movies, snacks and a hot drink! Recently I've been loving different TV shows as movies don't entice me much anymore... I need a show to leave me guessing and wanting to watch on to find out what happens, yet I do love reading books before the shows too.

1) Sherlock - I've been obsessed with Martin Freeman ever since I watched The Hobbit (one of my all-time favourites I must say). I think that him and Benedict Cumberbatch make the perfect duo in this modern twist of Sherlock Holmes. 10/10 would recommend.

2) Orange is the new Black - Yassss! This show literally took over my life during my last year at college. I was hooked from the first episode and absolutely love the whole plot. I know that it's based on true events which tbh makes it even more exciting to watch.

3) The Big Bang Theory - If you're an open minded person then I'd definitely recommend this. I absolutely adore Sheldon Cooper and think all characters are fascinating. It definitely makes you look at things from a different perspective and learn about all types of personalities.

4) Black Mirror - A political satire which will make you think about everything that's gone off in 5 different ways (I'm not even joking). Kieran introduced me to this show a while ago, and I recently found out that it'll be returning to Netflix UK soon!!

5) Pretty Little Liars - Got a secret? Can you keep it? Ahhh! This show drives me insane! If you're up to date with it, you'll know who A is - rubbish, right? But, OMG when I first started watching this show (good few years ago now) I was so infuriated with wanting to find out who A was! And now I've got to wait until April for the last season to be released :(

6) Stranger Things - Oh my daysssss, have any of you watched this yet?! I've watched it the week it was released and I couldn't stop. I watched the whole season in a day and then rewatched it a couple of times (sorry, not sorry). This show is amazing, the acting is incredible and the setting is so realistic - I almost feel like I'm a part of the 80's!

What shows have you been loving recently? What's your perfect night in like? 

Lots of love,

Maya xo

Recent Buys

Hey Guys!

I know how much you love my 'Recent Buys' posts and I haven't done one in a while so thought I'd share what I got with you recently! The list is quite long so you will have to bear with me!

Hair clips - New Look £3.99 for 6.

Candles - 33p each or 3 for £1 from Tiger.

Overnight clearing serum by Witch - Superdrug £4.

Heeled loafers - primark £3 in the sale.

Party dress - H&M £7.99.

Sequin co-ord - H&M £3.99 and £5.99.

How gorgeous are those bikinis? All from Topshop and cost me £5.40 for all in the sale including student discount - that means only 90p per piece!

3 pairs of bikinis - Topshop £1 per piece in the sale.

Melting Marshmallow bath oil - Lush £2.

Derma V10 anti wrinkle cream - Poundworld £1.

Have you tried any of these products? If so, did you like them?

Lots of love,

Maya xo

Review || BlanX White Shock Toothpaste

Hey guys!

Happy New Year everybody! I have recently got this product sent to me to review for you guys so I thought now would be the best time as I've been using it for just under one months time and have seen good results! I have been battling with all types of whitening toothpastes for quite some time now and this one has actually worked the most and I am very happy with the result.

So this is what the toothpaste looks like.

It has an LED light in the cap to make the toothpaste look brighter when it comes out so you feel like you're actually using a professional product at the dentist. It tastes like bonjela and gives a very minty and cold feeling on your teeth. I personally like the feeling and tend to keep the toothpaste on my teeth for a while before rinsing my mouth out.

This is the latest picture of my teeth and how brighter they look after a month. My teeth aren't yellow nor snow white however they have improved a lot since I've been using this product. I highly recommend their series of products to anyone who's longing for beautiful white teeth. I will definitely purchase the whole collection soon to get the ultimate effect.

For more info enter:

www.twitter.com/blanxuk,www.facebook.com/blanxuk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLzp4lak0dU

Lots of love,

Maya xo

Lazy glam day

Hey guys!

I feel so happy lately, probably because my birthday is coming up!! I'm already excited about Crimbo, but my birthday is much more exciting as I will be turning 18!!!!

Here I am wearing my favourite jeans from H&M, I rolled them up so my frilly socks would be more visible as they are gorgeous. The socks are from Primark and only cost me £1.50 per pair!! Such an amazing bargain!

I can definitely say that I'm the happiest I've been in those past few months which is such a lovely feeling! I almost have forgotten what it's like to be happy and enjoy life. I'm already stressing about my A-level exams even though they start in May! I've been revising so much already, hence why I don't post too often, but that will change as soon as all my college work is out of the way!

Anyway, have a lovely day my darlings! :) ♡

Lots of love, Maya xo

HOME || MINI YANKEE CANDLE HAUL

Left-right
Soft Cotton
Vanilla Frosting
Snowflake Cookie
Merry Marshmallow

Just like every other girl, I love scented candles. My current favourites are Yankee Candles, as they will burn for many hours and the smell is never-ending as I don't have to light them up for them to give a nice smell. I had to buy a couple of the new festive candles: Snowflake Cookie, and Merry Marshmallow. Snowflake Cookie is by far my favourite as it is very sweet and you can actually smell the biscuit which is amazing! Merry Marshmallow is a fluffy bunny's favourite haha. It smells just like mini vanilla marshmallows. It's fantastic. 

Vanilla Frosting smells very buttery-like cake frosting should, and the hint of vanilla is very strong which fills the room up with lovely fresh-baked cake smell. 

I recently purchased Soft Cotton as I wanted a change form all the heavy and sweet scents. This candle smells like fresh laundry which makes me want to smell it all the time! I might just have to buy about 4 of these and spread them round in my bedroom or even in my wardrobe!

Lots of love,

Maya xo

Winter Wishlist

I'm finally back at college yay! I was looking forward to seeing everyone again, but the worst news is that I have an end of unit controlled assessment for psychology boohoo :(
Winter is finally arriving :D I love all the seasonal decorations in shops, and have put some up in my house already! We can't forget about Halloween though and the spookiness last Thursday brought ;)
My Winter Wishlist only includes clothes and accessories from Topshop, as the items are quite pricey.
Those items will definitely take place on my letter to Santa!!

All of these items are just so beautiful. I would say my favourite item is the pink boyfriend coat. Look ho gorgeous it is!!

As everyone knows that I have a little brother and sister, I had to take them out Trick or Treating. I decided I was going to dress up so I don't feel left out haha. My sister was a zombie, and my brother was a skeleton, so I thought 'I'm going to be a sugar skull!'. I felt like a little kid again, doing my makeup took me about 20 minutes so it wasn't that bad for my first try! The second time I did my make up was when I was going to an Ice Skating Halloween foam party, (which unfortunately I couldn't go to any more due to a really bad cold) turned out better than my first attempt (yay). Here's a picture of me and my siblings before leaving the house to go Trick or Treating:

To achieve this look I have used face paints, and found a picture on Google Images of a sugar skull. My sister has also used some of my face paints to create the 'hungry zombie' look, and my brother is wearing a mask as he always rubs his face!

And here's a picture my make up the day after Halloween:

I have changed things up a bit and didn't use any face paints. For my eyes I used black gel eye liner, and gold glitter eye shadow. The flowers and stitches on my face are drawn with a black pencil liner. My nose is also drawn with gel eye liner, and my lips are contoured and filled in with red lipstick.

 I don't like the feeling of face paints on my face as they feel very heavy and oily, which is a big no-no for me. it's always good to experiment with different materials.

Hope you had an eventful Halloween this year!

Maya xo