Mini Boots haul

Hello lovelies! I hope you're all well. I went into Boots at the weekend and picked up a few bits I want to share with you all. I feel so lucky that I have this platform and have a blog to share all the things I'm passionate about with you all. I love beauty and all things make up so I really enjoy sharing things like this with you all! 

First off I picked up a few essentials that were on offer like same razors and razor blades. It's not very interesting so I didn't take a photo but when they are on offer they are worth getting as they can sometimes be the best part of £10.

I also picked up two packs of Simple face wipes. They were on offer at 2 for £5. They are so handy to have to freshen up or even if I'm feeling lazy and to quickly take my make up off. 

All the above are things I bought that I haven't actually tried before. I either bought them because I've heard good things or because it looked nice and the packaging was aesthetically pleasing. 

This is the brow kit I got it's a Barry M product and it cost £5.99. First off I was a bit annoyed because I thought it was £3.99 and didn't realise until I got out the store and looked at my receipt. Nonetheless I was excited to try this, eyebrows are very much the in thing at the moment and I have quite thick brows anyway but they could have done with shaping. I'm looking forward to trying this. It comes with an eyebrow wax, which is the lighter brown at the left. The middle is the dark brown colour and the colour to the right is a creamy shade with a yellow tone to it. It is used to apply directly around the eyebrows to really highlight and define the shape. It could also be used as a normal highlighter too! 

This is the Seventeen Define and Contour kit which I am very excited to try! Just from looking at it you can see that the overall look of it and the packaging is very similar to NARS because of the simple, sleek black case and even the clasp is very similar. 

This set comes with a matte brown powder to contour and a cream powder for highlighting. I like that these shades are matte and don't contain any glitter or shimmer. This set also contains handy instructions on how to use these shades to highlight and contour. I'd find that very helpful as I can find contouring quite tricky at times. 

I picked up this Rimmel lipstick in the shade 077 called Asia. 

I'm really getting into using lipsticks at the moment especially these neutral shades like this. 

I've used the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation many times before in the past so decided to give this one ago. I find the colour match really good. It gives a medium coverage which you can build on and so far I really like this one! I got it in the shade Light Porcelain so it's perfect for when I'm without a tan. I'm pale anyway so it can be quite difficult to find a foundation shade to suit my skin tone. 

I've never tried this and only ever heard excellent things about this from friends, bloggers and youtubers alike. I got this in the shade Ivory and I'm really looking forward to trying it out. I don't sleep well and often have eye bags so I'm hoping that this will help cover it up along with any unwanted blemishes and spots. 

I'm trying to curb my spending at the moment but it's not really working! As always I'll keep you all updated on how that's going. I hope you enjoyed reading this post. All my love, A. X

Lush Karma Bubble Bar review.

To paraphrase S Club 7; "there ain't no party like a Lush Bathtime party" ahem.. Sorry my inner 90s gal came out to play there but I have tried the very popular Karma Bubble bar from Lush. I've always seen this in Lush stores and it's the type of thing I'd pick up. Similar to magpies I am bright colours and shiny objects (making myself out to sound a touch simple minded) but this product looks gorgeous. 

This round bar has beautiful swirls of a vibrant orange colour entwined with a lush coral shade too. The scent of this matches it perfectly too with exotic orange and patchouli fragrances which is so citrusy, tangy and refreshing. Lemongrass oil and lavandin are added too. lemongrass is similar to the orangey notes as it is citrusy and uplifting. The lavandin is part of the lavender family and helps to sooth. 

Over the last couple of months I have used bath melts and bubble bars a lot more than bath bombs, I like the subtlety to them and also they can last a lot longer. With a bubble bar you just break a bit off, crumble it in your hands under the running water and it creates a haven of luscious big bubbles, to die for scents and also leaves the bath water a funky colour too. 

Karma left the bath water this wonderful deep orange colour and considering that this bar is a lot smaller compared to some others I was very impressed.

I really liked using this bubble bar. It left my skin feeling so soft and smelling amazing. I'd definitely repurchase.

Have you ever used this bubble bar before? What's your favourite Lush product too? I LOVE the bath bomb Dragon's Egg. 

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. All my love, A. X

The Creative Blogger Award!

HELLO EVERYONE! sorry for shouting it just feels like so long since I've been here I just want to say one big, fat hi to you all. I've been pretty busy recently with things going on at work I feel a bit bad that my little blog has been neglected somewhat but alas I am back and bursting with ideas and abbie-isms to share with you all.

The very lovely Justine from Girl Gone Dreamer has nominated me to take part in the Creative Blogger Award which I am so touched by, thank you so much Justine. If you haven't checked out her blog by now (I totally recommend having a look!) you can click the link on her blog name above. Not only is Justine a lovely lady whom I've got to know over the last few months on Twitter but her blog is fast becoming one of my favourite reads.

So the rules of The Creative Blogger Award are to state five fun facts about yourself and then nominate fifteen other bloggers to take part as well. So here goes!

1) My favourite mealtime of the day would be breakfast. I never used to be that crazy about it but I don't know whether its because my tastes have changed and maybe matured slightly in the last few years but I love all kinds of breakfasts foods from maple bacon pancakes, poached eggs on avocado toast, breakfast smoothies, french toast the list could go on and on.

2) I am obsessed with my dog Charlie. He is the first pet I have ever had and I cannot imagine what we did before this little bundle of fun came into our lives. 

3) I hope to travel a lot as I get older. I'm only twenty years old and as cliche as it may sound the world is my oyster. The thought of spending the rest of my life in this little, sheltered town I come from fills me with thick dread. There isn't one place on earth I wouldn't like to leave my footprint. 

4) I am very family orientated. I get on very well with my Mum, Dad and my sister Bronya and feel very blessed to call them my family. 

5) I couldn't decide what fact to put here so I'll just tell you a few little quirks about myself to finish off. My favourite colour is burgundy, my favourite animal is the Elephant, my favourite type of food is Mexican, I have a natural blonde streak of hair at the back of my head and I have the biggest sweet tooth. 

The lovely bloggers I want to nominate are as followed. 

1) Jessie

2) Florence

3) Katy

4) Hayley

5) Daisy

6) Harley

7) Jessica

8) Claire

9) Kayleigh 

10) Tania

11) Claire

12) Lauren

13) Dee

14) Rebekka

15) Carla

Each and every one of the bloggers I picked are people I specifically chose as I am a huge, huge fan of all of their blogs. I love reading their different content and to top this off they are all people I have grown to love through the power of Twitter. So please check out their fabulous blogs, it would mean a lot to me! 

Thank you so much for reading this post I hope you enjoyed it. All my love, Abbie x.  

My favourite nude nail shades.

I've become a big fan of nude colours at the moment. They look very on trend either day or night and look very cool and very classy too. What's not to love! I used to love painting my nails all these bold colours and nail art designs but working where I do it's not really appropriate and because of this I don't really have the time unless I have a few days off. 

ANYWAY so I picked some of my favourite nude and light shades to share with you. They are all high street brands and could all be picked up in your local Boots. 

These are my favourite shades. This glossy, bold sheen was achieved after two- three coats on each. Most of them only required two coats however I find No7 nail polishes are always quite light so need quite a few coats to get desired glossy coat. 

So starting with the top image above, I'll work my way around the wheel in a downward fashion as if going clockwise on a clock. 

The top shade is Rimmel 60 second super shine called Sand and Deliver (love the pun) I like the colour of this

The middle shade is by Collection and it's called Antique Rose. I really like the terracotta type colour to this and it's quite a simple yet different colour too. I really like this one. 

The bottom colour is by Rimmel in their Rita Ora collection. Its called Let's Get Nude. I think this shade will suit most people as it's quite a warm colour with subtle hues within it. It does take a few layers to get to the boldest look. It also looks great with a matte top coat too! 

In this above picture the top colour is the Collection shade that I spoke about above, the middle shade is the Rimmel London in Let's Get Nude. The bottom shade is a Seventeen gel colour in the shade mochatini. I like this colour as it has a darker colour to it compared to the others. The gel effect makes it look really glossy after 1-2 coats too. 

Going from the bottom upwards.

The bottom, nearest to the left, shade is by No7 called Practically Perfect. I'm not a big fan of No7 polishes as they take so long to dry and I find they need a lot of coats too. But I like this colour, it's lighter in colour compared to some others and compliments my skin tone well too. 

The middle shade is by Rimmel 60 second super shine in the shade 500 Caramel Cupcake. This one is very similar to the Seventeen colour in the sense they both are almost nude brown shades. I really like this one however I wouldn't say it dries in 60 seconds maybe two minutes though. 

The top shade nearest the right is a Barry M gelly hi shine shade in the colour Lychee. This is probably the lightest of them all. The coverage is great and requires 1 coat maybe 2 sometimes. The Barry M gelly polishes always impress me and this one certainly did too. It dries quickly too! 

Thanks for reading this post I hope you liked it. What's your favourite nail polish colours at the moment? 

Lots of love, A. X

Spring time pastel blue nails

Pastel colours are always such a hit during the Spring. After a recent Boots shop a few weeks ago I picked up a few new nail varnish shades, because well a girl can never have too many! So I picked up this gorgeous Rita Ora for Rimmel London shade called 860 Bestival Blue. 

It's such a lovely hue as it's still light enough to look pastelly but also has a wonderful glossy, bold sheen to it so they really stand out. 

This is my nails after two coats. The colour is really bold but I wanted that little bit extra. Plus it didn't take very long at all to dry! 

Generic painted nail claw picture! 

What do you think of this shade? I hope you like it as much as I do. What other colours do you like wearing on your nails during Spring? 

I hope you enjoyed this post. All my love, A. X

The 'This and That' Tag

Hello my gorgeous little raspberry glazed krispy kreme doughnuts I hope you're all well and are having a great day! I love doing tags on my blog, almost quite as much as I enjoy reading them. They give you that extra little chance to get to know the person behind the blog, their thoughts, opinions and funny quirks too.

So after spotting this particular tag floating about on I decided to give it a go! It's called the This and That tag and I hope you enjoy it!

Drugstore or high end?
Drugstore! Even if I had the money and I could afford to splash out I think I'd still stick to my favourite high street brands. I am a big fan of Rimmel, Maybelline, L'oreal and Barry M.

Curly or straight?
I have naturally very thick wavy hair but straighten it religiously so it doesn't look as wild. However I do also really love the look of curly hair and wish I was blessed enough to have it!

Tea or coffee?
AHH this is so difficult! I love both. If I'm having tea it'd be either sweet tea with two sugars and lots of milk or herbal tea like lemon and ginger or mint. Although I love the taste of coffee and the smell of it too. If I'm in a coffee shop I'd usually opt for a vanilla latte. Today, I think tea just wins the fight though. I LOVE TEA.

Summer or winter?
Overall I'd have to say I prefer Summer. Although there is something rather luxurious thinking cold nights in by a log fire with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and whipped cream. But I love summer so much more. The warm weather, holidays, late nights what's not to love!

Early mornings or late nights?
Years ago I would have said I was a morning person (one of the very few I imagine!) I could wake up early and start my day and go to bed early at night too. Whereas now, whether because I've gotten older I do not know, I love late nights. Going out all night and having fun and making memories and fun stories to tell on Monday morning when you are less bleary eyed. And also let's be honest no memorable story starts with 'I woke up one morning at half past six and went for a jog' haha.

Baths or showers?
Baths. 100%. They are just so relaxing. You can add bath bombs, bath oils, bubbles, bath salts, the list could go on and on. I love popping a face mask on, grabbing a good book and having a long, hot soak.

North or south?
I am a southern girl at heart. I grew up and still live in deepest, darkest Dorset which is in the South West of England. But if we're talking about Kardashians it'd be North every single time.

Sweet or savoury?
I have the worlds biggest sweet tooth. If its unhealthy I'll most likely want to eat it.

Cats or dogs?
Dogs. Ever since I got my puppy at Christmas 2013 I can't imagine my life without him. Such a bundle of joy and brings so much happiness.

Lipstick or lipgloss?
It used to be lipgloss for years and years but up until recently I have been favouring lipsticks. They add a certain edge to an outfit and you can wear them day or night. Plus if it's windy you don't have to worry about your hair getting stuck to it!

Night in or night out?
Night out.

Kindle or actual book?
I don't own a kindle but I don't think I ever will. I love the feel of a book in my hand and my ultimate dream if I'm rich enough one day would be to have a library in my house filled with all my favourite reads, a comfy sofa and a cosy fire, bliss!

Facebook or Twitter?
Twitter just because I don't have a Facebook and love Twitter too anyway.

Silver or gold?
Rose gold. But if that's not available silver can look sleek, edgy and cool.

TV or YouTube?
I could happily spend all day watching YouTube. Whether that be beauty how to videos, hauls, vlogs or cookery shows you name it I'll be watching it!

Frozen yogurt or Ice Cream?
To be honest I'm not fussy either way but if push came to shove a great big scoop of Ben & Jerry's ice cream would definitely go down a treat!

Comedy or Horror movies?
Horror.

Frozen or Tangled?
Even though Frozen was and still is hugely popular I really love Tangled!

Books or Magazines?
Books every single time.

City or countryside?
City.

Coke or lemonade?
Lemonade. I'm really not a coke fan, I don't like the taste and it leaves my teeth feeling weird.

Indoors or outdoors?
Outdoors. I love going out and exploring somewhere new.

Skirts and dresses or trousers and jeans?
Skirts and dresses. I wear them all the time and I don't find jeans very flattering on me.

Statement eyes or statement lips?
I much prefer making my eyes stand out.

Heels or flats?
Flat shoes. I'm quite tall anyway so would feel massively self conscious at the height of a large tree.

Thank you so much for reading this post. I really hoped you enjoyed it. Love, A. x

Creme egg brownies!

Happy Easter everyone and nothing says Happy Easter quite like a decadent day of non stop chocolate eating (and celebrating the rise of Jesus Christ too of course!)

So today being Easter Sunday we had a lazy day at home which was really nice as I'd been working a lot recently so haven't had time to do things that I'd been putting off and hadn't had time to do.

As an Easter treat I decided to make creme egg brownies! I love brownies and I love creme eggs I've never tried the two together but I've seen it everywhere and wanted to give it a go! 

Ingredients you will need: 

250g unsalted butter

200g dark chocolate 

80g cocoa powder

65g plain flour 

1tsp baking powder 

360g caster sugar 

4 large eggs 

Creme eggs. 

Before starting the cooking, I put the creme eggs I'm going to use in the freezer. It sounds a bit weird but it makes them really hard so they're easier to cut in half when placing them on the brownie mix. 

Step one- fill a saucepan half full of water and place a bowl over the top of it making sure the water and the bowl don't come into contact too. This is called a Bahn Marie. This technique can be used to apply a gentle, residual heat to food also without breaking or curdling them. 

Step two- Put the butter and chocolate into the bowl. I find it helpful to cube the butter and break the chocolate up into chunks. This just helps it'll melt quicker. 

Step three- Whilst the butter and chocolate are melting together I combine all the dry ingredients into the stand mixer. 

Step four- Once all the chocolate had melted I poured it into the dry mixture and mixed it all together. 

Step five- I add one egg at a time to the mixture until smooth and glossy. 

Step six- I pour the mixture into the lined baking tray and grab my creme eggs from the freezer. They aren't frozen they're just quite cold and hard. I cut them down the middle and place them in the batter. 

I only used three creme eggs and only used half the brownie batter mix too. 

Here they are after 20 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees. 

YUM! I can't wait to dig in! 

Thank you for reading this post, I really hope you liked it! Happy Easter all my love A, x. 

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