Pinspiration - Vegan Halloween Treats

The only thing I'm more obsessed with than Pinterest is Halloween. As soon as October rolls around every year I'm all about ghosts, horror movies, and pumpkin in everything and I've always been a sucker for sweet treats. So, for today's post I thought I'd attempt to combine the two and present you with my top 5 Pinterest recipe picks, just in time for Halloween 2016. I really rely on Pinterest when it comes to finding great vegan recipes. A quick keyword search on Pinterest usually turns up all the recipes you will ever need. It's also cheaper than buying expensive cookbooks and brilliant for discovering fabulous new food blogs. It's a vegan's dream! So here are my top 5 picks for vegan Halloween treats...

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Healthy Pumpkin PopTarts from Recipe Girl:

PopTarts are so easy to make at home. Even though the regular kind (unfrosted) are usually vegan friendly, they are loaded with refined sugars and additives so this spooky homemade version should please both parents and kids alike. Simply sub for vegan butter and this recipe is perfect!

Chocolate Pumpkin Candies by Veggie Staples:

All you need for a batch of these pumpkin-based chocolate bites is a chocolate mould. Sub the honey for agave or maple syrup and you've got an entirely vegan sweet treat.

Healthier Halloween Bark by House of Vegan:

Doesn't this look fantastic! I'm definitely going to attempt to make a big slab of something like this this year (even though the only halloween party I'm having this year is by myself, on the sofa, watching bad horror flicks on Netflix, so this should do nicely). This is a sweet and salty combination using crushed pretzels, seeds and homemade nut-butter candy corn.

Sugar-Free Chocolate Pumpkin Fudge by My Darling Vegan:

You gotta love fudge, regardless of the time of year but what a great idea to add pumpkin as an ingredient! Although we don't celebrate it here in the UK, recipes like this would be perfect for Thanksgiving as well as Halloween.

Monster Rice Cereal Treats by Fork & Beans: 

Definitely saved the most impressive for last here! Cara at Fork & Beans is one of the most creative cooks I've come across. All of her recipes are also dairy, egg and gluten-free. What's more, she's produced an eBook showcasing all of her Halloween creations. Perfect if you're planning a party this Halloween!

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Tough to pick out just 5 from the many thousands of great pins I've come across lately! If you want more fang-tastic vegan food inspiration you can follow my Halloween-themed Pinterest board. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 

Hello October | 5 reasons to love Autumn/Fall

I'm a September baby, therefore, I am genetically pre-programmed to look forward to Autumn each year. As much as I hate to wish away the summer - although, let's face it, we never get much of one around these parts anyway - sweating just isn't my thing, and the thought of all my cosy cardis and lace-up boots being stashed away in the back of the wardrobe for months is just too depressing. Now that we're into October, however, I'm officially getting all bouncy and excited again so I thought I'd scribble down a few of the things that make Autumn/Fall the winning season, in my eyes...

1. The Colours

Reds, browns, oranges, greens and (my personal favourite) mustard yellows... Autumn is undoubtedly a beautiful season. And what's more, the weather is - usually - still fair enough to appreciate these colours during long walks. One upside of having moved back to Derbyshire for a while is that the scenery is stunning at this time of year. Keep an eye on my Instagram profile for the inevitable proof. Shades like these tend to inspire my Autumn/Winter wardrobe as well. I love browns, burgundies and earthy greens at any time of the year but I go bonkers for them as soon as the leaves start to fall.

2. Hot Beverages

Now is the time that the coffee shop seasonal specials start to creep in. Pumpkin Spice lattes and toffee nut hot chocolates aplenty! I'm not a big consumer of hot, caffeinated beverages unless I'm freezing or on my way to an early morning lecture but I really enjoy a Starbucks/Costa stop at this time of the year. It gets me feeling all festive. Annoyingly, being vegan now rules the Pumpkin Spice latte out for me (why the spice powder has to contain dairy is beyond me) but this year I've pre-prepared a little pumpkin spice mix of my own as per this Pinterest post to pop in my handbag to satisfy any cravings. It also means I can indulge at home. 

3. Cosy Knits and Boots

As if we hadn't already established here that I'm infatuated with Autumn/Winter fashion, I will further confirm it by professing my undying love for knitwear. I just love being able to wrap up warm when it starts to get nippy out. My go-to look as the days get shorter is usually lots of layers, boyfriend jeans and work boots, topped off with an oversized sweater or cardi. Top of my Autumn wardrobe wishlist this year are these stunning aviator boots by Wills of London. They will be mine! 

4. Berry and Neutral Nails

The darker the evenings, the darker my nails. In truth, I will always prefer deep, rich nail colours like these over brights. I do dabble in brights and pastels during the summer months but, as soon as September kicks in, I really indulge myself. Old-school favourites of mine include Nails Inc St Martins Lane and Victoria, Barry M Chilli and Essie Shearling Darling and I also love chocolate, caramel, taupe and grey shades. This year I've got a few newbies in my collection, but I'm keeping quiet for now, as I'll be sharing those with you all next week in a new post.

5. It's Festival Season!

October marks the beginning of festival season. It's the time where everyone starts dreaming of pumpkin carving, fireworks, bonfire toffee and (if you're over in the States) prepping for Thanksgiving. I refuse to mention the C-word at this stage as I still think it's a little too early, but the countdown starts here, folks! I'm currently narrowing down the shortlist for my annual Halloween horror movie marathon and the Facebook bonfire event invites have already started creeping in. Exciting times ahead...

So, if you need me, I'll be snuggled up in a massive cardi, sipping my pumpkin spice latte and binge-watching horror movies on Netflix while painting my nails berry red and listening to the fireworks outside...

Do you adore Autumn as much as I do? What are your favourite things to do once the weather starts getting colder? 

NEW: Bourjois Halloween Nail Effects

Good afternoon beauty lovers!

I make no secret of the fact that I love Halloween. It's my perfect excuse to watch every gory movie I own and eat lots of sweets. It's also a very well known fact that I ADORE Bourjois nail colours and, when I was told that they had come up with three new shades in honour of this ghoulish holiday, I almost burst with joy! They have indeed come up with a haunting gel-effect 1 Seconde polish as well as two devilishly glam topcoats which work over almost any other shade. 

The Shades Are...

Ghost Lovers - A Devilishly Delightful Metallic Silver Topcoat

Dangerous Wish - A Ghoulishly Gorgeous jet black polish with holographic gold/yellow glitters running through it

and

Enchanting Potion - A Spine-tinglingly Sparkly Gold Glitter Topcoat

I was lucky enough to receive Dangerous Wish* at a recent event and gave it it's first test run last week! Sadly I do not have swatches for the two topcoats but they are easily Google-able or you can pop into your nearest stockist. 

If I'm honest, I don't think these photos do this polish any justice at all. The sheer SPARKLE of it really is so pretty and hard to capture on camera. The glitters vary in size and are predominently a slightly yellow/green shade of gold but has a brilliant holographic, multicoloured sparkle to it. 

In  this photo I'm wearing two coats of Dangerous Wish with a layer of Seche Vite topcoat. The polish was much easier to apply than some other glitter shades that I own, the brush is a really great shape and the glitter is very evenly distributed through the black. I didn't have to keep going back and filling in gaps. The other thing I would like to say is that this polish lasts for AGES! I've had it on for an entire week and it honestly hasn't budged or chipped. The 1-Seconde Gel formula really is fantastic and so durable, expecially when teamed with the mighty Seche Vite. This polish is sure to endure through whatever horrors you run into this Halloween. 

As I'm still wearing it I can't really comment as yet on whether it's a nightmare to remove or not but, to be honest, it's kind of a given with glitter polishes isn't it. The upside with this polish is that you get a good long run of it before undertaking such a task. 

These polishes launched this month and are available from all Bourjois stockists as well as online.

RRP £5.99 for 9ml

What murderous shades will you be painting your nails this Halloween?? Do you love Bourjois Polishes?? Will you be picking up these colours??