What I bought today.

I haven't been shopping in a long while so as I had a day off today I spent half the morning in the salon having my roots touched up and some new fresh highlights put in my mum, sister and I went shopping in the town about twenty minutes away. A proper little lady of leisure today eh! 

We went for lunch at The Cosy Club and I had the nicest grilled halloumi, sun dried tomato and red pepper panini. Delish!

I popped into Waterstones as I can't stop reading at the moment which is no bad thing really! I know it's not hard classical literature but I'm loving this series by Sophie Kinsella and this is the new one out. 

I can't wait to read this one! 

I went into Boots after this and picked up a few little bits. There is a three for two offer and triple points so naturally I had to buy everything! 

I picked up this new L'oreal Infallible foundation in the shade 15 Porcelain. I haven't tried this one before and I haven't actually heard any reviews about it either so I'm excited to try this one out. I've used L'oreal foundations before so have some sort of feel about what they may be like! 

I picked up this Collection white eyeshadow which is great as acting as a base for bolder colours as well as blending colours together too. 

I got this Bourjois eyeshadow palette because I'm loving pink and rose shades at the moment. This is in the shade 02 Over Rose. 

I also picked up another Maybelline colour tattoo cream eye shadow. I love these as I've got one already so got it I the shade Pink Gold. 

It's a bit different from a colour I'd usually use but I'm excited to try it out! 

I picked up this Maybelline eyeshadow quad because of the cute pink/purple tones. 

Bit boring but I really like this nail polish remover which seems a bit odd! It smells not as bad as normal polish remover and takes off really tough glitter polish too! 

I got this Soap and Glory concealer on a whim. I've never tried it or heard any reviews on so I have high hopes that it'll be good and cover my dark circles and blemishes!

I was after a really soft, baby pink nail polish and found the perfect colour in this Rimmel one in the shade New Romantic. 

I'm really loving beige and camel shades like this one. This Rimmel nail varnish is called Caramel Cupcake. 

Similar to the shade above I picked up another Rimmel London nail polish in the shade Sand and Deliver (lol love the name) it's a much lighter colour and would look very chic and classy. 

So there is the end to my little mini shopping trip I hope you enjoyed!

Thank you for reading as always all my love, A. X

Prairie Charms

Yesterday evening I got home from a very long day from work and was very pleased to see this delightful little package from Prairie Charms sat waiting for me. Prairie Charms is an online boutique specialising in completely handmade girly and floral accessories. I was very much drawn to this company not only because a good majority of their products caught my eye but because they give 10% of their profit to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and the 'Kiss it Better' campaign which helps to fund pioneering treatment for serious medical conditions in children.

It came in this gorgeous metallic silver parcel which I thought was a lovely touch. It's a bit different and quite eye catching!

Each item was individually wrapped in either the floral wrapping paper or the baby pink. It was like sending presents to myself from myself haha. 

I'll show you the things I got underneath. 

I got two different types of nail vinyls. One is pink hearts that would look really cute in the spring and silver stripes too. There is a thicker stripe and a thinner stripe perfect for two different nail art designs. 

I got this Eliza pink stripe treat bag perfect if you're having a party, a get together or a sleepover and you're sharing out snacks. 

I picked up the Hailey peach stripe paper straw and the floral design seen on the left too. I love making smoothies, juices and cocktails and these would look perfect with them. 

The lovely people at Prairie Charms also popped these in as well which I am very thankful for. The left is a red ribbon which I can use for gift wrapping or even tying in a bow around my hair for a 60s look. They also gave me the super funky great for summer Laila Knot hair ties. I can't wait to use these. 

Like all of these products you've seen in this post keep an eye out for them appearing in posts in the future. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it to you all. All my love, A. x

Kylie Jenner inspired nails!

I love the Jenner and Kardashian girls a lot at the moment everything from Kim's new 'do, Khloes's rock star personality and killer comebacks and Kendall and Kylie's on trend styles.

So I decided to emulate the black stiletto nails Kylie rocked last year. 

As seen here. 

For this I used the Seventeen gel nail colour in the shade Black Cat. 

I bought some false stiletto stick on nails from Superdrug and picked out the sizes for each nail accordingly. 

I then used the nail glue all over my nail and quickly pressed the false nail on it. I held it down so it's set. 

Once all the nails had set and were secure I used some French tip stickers but applied them higher up near the top of the nail. 

Making sure the sticker is really stuck down tight so none of the polish can get underneath and seep through. 

Using the nail polish I then painted the nail and over the sticker. I gave it a total of two coats. 

Once the nails had dried I carefully removed the stickers and painted over with a high gloss top coat. 

Et voila! 

◼️◻️

Just call me Kylizzle eh! 

I really liked this look it was easy to do, it didn't take too long at all and I felt very cool with them. 

Thanks for reading, I really hope you liked this post. Love, A. x

Homemade energy bites!

I have the worlds biggest sweet tooth whether that be cake, chocolates, sweets or even sugary fizzy drinks. The trouble is all I have to do is look at any of these and I put on weight. 

So for the last few months or so I've been trying to be a lot healthier from making smoothies to more regular exercise. I've tried various different snacks like nakd bars or bounce balls and as delicious as they are I fancied making my own energy bites/balls. 

So after searching different webpages and talking to a local nutritionist who occasionally pops into my work too I found two great recipes that really appealed to me. The first one as seen beneath I saw on the package of a Bioglan cacao powder and really wanted to try it.

Cacao date balls. 

For this recipe you will need:

•100g Medjool dates. These are the sticky squidgier ones you see in packets that tend to appear at Christmas. I just used Thoory dates as they were more readily available and I like the sweet nutty flavour.

•25g cranberries. I love the bittersweet tang they give. 

•35g pistachios.

•40g almonds. 

•100g shredded coconut. I accidentally bought flaked coconut so I just blitzed it in my breville active blender until it formed a powdery consistency. 

• two heaped tablespoons of raw organic cacao powder. Cacao is the natural form of chocolate. It is mineral and antioxidant rich and if you like dark chocolate you'll like this.

• the recipe asks for 30g coconut oil to help bind it all together. But I couldn't find mine anywhere so you could use another oil alternative. Mine was quite sticky but not quite enough so I put a spoonful of manuka honey and a splash of water to help it all stick. 

First of soak the dates in water for fifteen minutes. I used cold water but warmer water will help speed up this process. 

After fifteen minutes I poured the water away and got rid of any excess with a bit of kitchen towel then placed them in the mixer. 

I threw in all of the other ingredients and I left it I all to blend together until it formed a ball. 

I scooped that out of the mixer and using a teaspoon I took bits of the mixture and rolled it between my hands until it formed a ball. 

I had two bowls ready and prepared with sesame seeds in one and cocoa nibs so when I made the energy balls I rolled them in either one of the two. 

Sweet, chocolatey and delicious I'd highly recommend these! 

Peanut butter oat bites. 

These ones I kind of just fancied so may have made up as I went a long. These would be great as a quick grab if you're heading out the door early in the morning as they're packed full of slow releasing energy in the oats. 

I used: 

•60g rolled jumbo oats.

•about 40g peanut butter or another nut butter replacement. Add as much as you like or until a sticky paste has formed.

•25g cocoa nibs. 

•20g Californian seedless raisins.

•25g dried cranberries. 

You can mix up this recipe and add any dried fruits or nuts you like. 

Again with this recipe like the first, I just put all of the ingredients in the mixer and let it mix until it formed a ball. 

Once rolled into balls I popped them all in the fridge so they can harden and chill. 

Et voila! 

So yummy! I could snack on these 24/7! 

Thanks for reading I hope you liked this post. Love, A. X

Hair inspiration

When I'll look back at old photos and forgotten social media accounts in twenty years I want to remember the days when I was a colour chameleon if you will. This year I want to a lot more things for me, step out of my comfort zone and make 2015 a year to remember. I want to be able to look back and say 'Oh yeah that photo was taken in April 2015 you can tell because I had that really lopsided bob drama as seen in this photo' (hypothetically speaking of course, let's pray there aren't any actual lopsided bob dramas!). I know probably sounds a little bit lame that I'm thinking about my hair in such magnified detail but it's something I've always taken care of and its also my favourite part about myself. I love trying out new styles and colours with my hair. Over the last three years I've gone from having long hair, a fringe, blonde highlights, blonde, caramel and honey highlights, lighter brown hair, black hair, light brown hair with blonde highlights to a short lob with honey blonde/caramel brown hair. phew!

I have naturally quite thick, wavy hair too and it more often than not it can be quite unruly. So whenever I visit a hair salon I always like to have it thinned out layers cut into it as well so it doesn't look as thick, heavy and lifeless. I want to do something a little different to my hair this time whether that be a new colour, new cut or maybe if I'm feeling like it to do both!  So here's a few styles that I like the look of and would love to know what you all think!

I love the length of Kim's hair here and it's such a lovely glossy shade. 

This one is a very similar shade and length that I really like too.

I really love this style, I love blonde hair a lot at the moment and I think the different shades in this look really cool and natural.

I  am a big fan of Lily Collins' overall style and look anyway but I really love the length and colour of her hair here. I am a big fan of this hairdo at the moment as well she really rocks the classy look. 

I love the natural transition of colours in this style.

Similarly I really like this relaxed blonde/brown cut.

You could put Kendall Jenner in a bin bag with a bowl cut and she'd still look fabulous. At the moment I really wish I had her style, wardrobe and her figure wouldn't go amiss either! I love how sleek and glossy her hair looks here. 

So as you may have seen from the pictures above, ideally I am thinking I either stay with the ombre style I have now or go back to dark brunette again. I love having lighter hair it has given me such a boost of confidence and has made my skin look healthy. Although having dark hair means I don't have to worry about my roots growing through! 

I really hope you liked this post. All my love, A.x 

Big blue review!

As you may have picked up on by now, I absolutely love my baths. The other night I had a relaxing soak using my Big Blue bath ballistic from Lush. 

I've never used the Big Blue before and was enticed by it's pretty and bold colour. 

This bath bomb has a really refreshing fragrance to it like being at the seaside. It also has pieces of seaweed in as well. Which I really liked the look of however afterwards I realised isn't the easiest to clean up either! 

The bath ballistic was very effervescent and those little black bits coming out are the seaweed pieces. 

It fizzed and unleashed a deep,gorgeous blue hue. 

I felt like a mermaid! 

I really enjoyed this bath ballistic. The lemon and lavender oils are uplifting and the seaweed and sea salt in here help to soften skin. 

Thanks for reading I hope you liked this post. Love, A, x. 

My Lush collection

My favourite way to treat myself would be to run myself a hot bath and throw in a few bath products to give myself a pamper. I am a sucker for bath bits whether that be bath bombs, bath oils or soaps I love trying new ones.

Not only as a Dorset girl, as Lush UK HQ is based here in Poole, but also as an avid beauty fan I hugely adore the shop itself. So I've decided to share with you my current collection of Lush products I've got hauled away.

I store all my lush goodies in a box I got a Lush delivery in. One reason behind this is because it has these polystyrene shell things in so they don't break up or knock against each other as much. The second reason I keep them in here is also laziness. When I recieved a delivery I kept them in the box for the time being and never took them out. 

My sister very kindly bought me the Northern Lights bath ballistic and I was really excited to use it as I'd heard so many great things about it. However I've discovered it didn't travel well and the bar broke up! There is a lovely mix of Ylang Ylang and jasmine which is nice and soothing scent. Although it doesn't look as aesthetically pleasing as to when it's one piece but I'm looking forward to popping this in the bath. 

I have two Dragons Egg bath ballistics here. One from my sister for Christmas and one from my Mum for my birthday. This bath ballistic is my all time favourite. I love how it fizzes and foams in the bath and the eclectic mix of colours and scents it gives off too. 

Here is the twilight bath ballistic which is perfect for a relaxing soak. It turns the water a gorgeous deep purple colour which benzoin, tonka and lavender soothing you to utter relaxation. 

Rock Star has been my favourite Lush soap for years. I have the biggest sweet tooth and naturally adore the very sweet fragrance to this. This lasts forever as well and leaves your skin looking, feeling and smelling amazing. 

I bought the Unicorn Horn bubble bar because it honestly looks incredible. It contains uplifting essential oils like lavender, Ylang Ylang and Neroli. I can't wait to use this!!

Another new Lush product is the Floating Flower. This one has a gorgeous floral scent which ties in nicely with the overall look of this bath bomb. 

This is the Think Pink bath ballistic I got from my friend Vicki for Christmas. I love the vibrant colour this leaves the water and has a very sweet calming scent. 

I recieved these two Creamy Candy bubble bars for Christmas and my birthday. It has a lovely sweet scent and leaves my skin feeling lovely and soft. 

This is the Karma bubble bar which has a wonderfully exotic orange tang to it. I find it really refreshing and leaves my skin silky smooth. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post! I really enjoyed writing it. Love, A x.