Fiery Red

Hello there,
Hope you are doing great. My blog has taken a backseat, and it's not because I'm busy or anything (I'm still in my holidays). No, not busy at all...

Pokémon Go has entered my life.

I recently bought a smart phone and Pokémon Go got available in Sweden just a week ago. So I am spending my time catching Pokémons. I started out with a Charmander, which for those who may not know is a lizardy/dinosaury creature with a fiery tail. It's really cute.

Are you playing Pokémon Go? Are you also stuck in that world? And which Pokémon did you start with?

When playing Pokémon Go you walk a lot, so you need wear comfortable clothes and shoes, but this outfit that I'm sharing today, even though it may not be the optimal outfit for Pokémon Go represented the Charmander quite a bit in my opinion. The vivid red skirt reminds me of Charmander's blazing tail.

Beret: ModCloth (old)

Top: Vivien of Holloway (here)

Skirt: Vivien of Holloway (here)

Petticoat: ModCloth (here)

Flats: Asos (here)

Have a lovely day!
Much love,

Lips as red as blood

Konnichiwa!

Lately my blog has become popular in Japan, which I think is amazing! I love Japan, but it makes me think... Lindsey - is it you?

I am feeling poorly, with an infection and fever, but it's only a cold, so it'll be over soon. I was lucky to escape colds all spring, so it's only fair that summer brings one. I hope you are all doing well though!

I rarely write about makeup even though I love makeup! I especially love lipstick, and mostly red lipstick. Well let me tell you something exciting - I think I've found the best red lipstick out there!

It's from Bésame Cosmetics, and the colour is 1920 Bésame Red. It is a blueish bright red that is a replica on a true colour from 1920. It's very pigmented but still feels creamy on the lips - I love the texture! I can't believe I've gone so long without this magnificent lipstick.

Another thing that I really love about this lipstick is that it leaves a lovely stain on the lips after wearing it. It makes me think that it would look lovely to tint the lips with.

For people in Sweden and probably the rest of Europe, it's unfortunately not possible to order cosmetics from Bésame's own page (really, needs to be fixed imo), but I managed to get the lipstick from Beauty Bay.

This is not a sponsored post, I just really like this lipstick and wanted to share that with you!

Do you have any favourite lipsticks? Any favourite red lipsticks? I'm always looking for different shades of red lipstick. I just love the Snow White look it gives.

Much love,

Burgundy velvet

Hello all you lovely people!
I apologise once again for being absent from the blog in this past week. I've been busy and life has repeatedly gotten in the way of blogging. I do however regularly update my Instagram, so follow me there if you do not already. Find me @curlsncakes.

Moving on to the cake, because that why we're all really here, right?
I finally made Red Velvet Cake - or cupcakes really. And no, they weren't red because I didn't have any red food colouring, so instead it became Burgundy Velvet Cupcakes. Their colour makes them great for the festive season, and sweet is always a bit better in winter, don't you think?

It's an easy recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf. It contains a little bit of cocoa powder giving it a sort of hybrid taste - not quite chocolate, not quite vanilla. Still very sweet and tasty though. Especially with the cream cheese frosting on top.

Burgundy Velvet Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf

INGREDIENTS

• 60 grams butter, room temperature
• 150 grams sugar
• 1 egg
• 20 grams of cocoa powder
• Red or burgundy food colouring, preferably in gel or paste form
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
• 120 ml buttermilk (kärnmjöl in Swedish, can be substituted with filmjölk)
• 150 grams flour
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1,5 teaspoons white vinegar

• 150 grams icing sugar
• 50 grams butter, room temperature
• 125 grams cream cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the egg.
In a separate bowl mix together the cocoa powder the food colouring and the vanilla. Add this to the egg mixture. Add half the buttermilk, then half of the flour and repeat until it is all well mixed. Lastly add the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Pour the batter into paper cups and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

For the cream cheese frosting, mix the icing sugar and butter until well mixed. Then add the cream cheese. Beat until smooth. Do not over beat, stop as soon as everything is incorporated or the frosting will become loose and runny.

Standing out

Red is one of my favourite colours to wear. I think it flatters me and looks good with my dark hair, however up until a year ago I had no red dresses in my wardrobe. Red is an eye-catching colour, it draws attention and makes you stand out. Which were all things that I did not want for myself until a year or so ago.

I think many people can relate in that I wanted nothing more than to blend in, not stick out and go by as unnoticeable as possible. Some life events had made me not want to catch the attention of other people, especially men. But as time went by I noticed that the dark-clad version of me, that would blend into the background, was in fact not really me. I love to wear bright colours. I love to wear dresses with bows and cute prints. So I am glad to say that I have once again found myself style-wise and this dress from La Redoute is a testament of that. It is a bright orangey red colour and it has big bows. It's got a bit of a 60's feel to it, so I paired it with a polka dotted head scarf. And I felt magnificent in it!

Can you relate to not wanting to stand out? Or do you want to stand out with your style? Have you always wanted to stand out, or did it take time/effort to get to that point? I would love to hear what you lovely people think about this matter.

Dress: Mademoiselle R by La Redoute (here)

Headscarf: Old, can't remember where I got it

Much love to all of you!