Crabtree & Evelyn || Event

Hellooo lovelies,

Recently something very exciting happened and I was invited along by the lovely people at Crabtree & Evelyn to a handy tips bloggers event at their Hanover store in Edinburgh. At the moment Crabtree & Evelyn have a handy tips campaign where you can share your beauty tips handed down by your family e.g. mother, sister, granny and stick them onto a big tree in their store where everyone can see them and learn about your tip! I think this is a fab idea and I was so excited to be invited to take part in this especially as it was my first blogging event.

 I was actually quite nervous about going because I was going alone and literally knew nobody but everyone was so super friendly, I actually arrived first so was greeted by the beautiful, friendly Jamie who is actually the PR manager for Crabtree & Evelyn and the store manager Lisa who was also very friendly. This instantly relaxed me and put me at ease and when the other bloggers arrived we all soon got chatting whilst having a pretty cupcake and some mango bellini mmmm! If any of you do get invited to events but are nervous about going alone - don't be! It is so nerve wracking to step out of your comfort zone and turn up to somewhere with a bunch of people you've never met but so many people are in the same boat and everyone is into the same things as you and are friendly and nice. So don't let yourself miss out on things because of nerves.

Crabtree & Evelyn's rebranded mens range! It looks very manly doesn't it!

One thing I absolutely adore about Crabtree & Evelyn is their gorgeous packaging, everything looks so pretty and British!

They even sell the cutest mint packets I think I have eveeer seen!

 Something I learnt from the event about Crabtree & Evelyn that I did not know before was that they actually sell food products (obviously in equally beautiful packaging). Some of these foods included jam, marmalade, biscuits, tea and hot chocolate.. yummy!

I think Crabtree definitely win when it comes to most beautiful perfume bottle! I can't think of many girls who wouldn't want a bottle that looks like this sat on their dressing table!

Ignore my shaky handwriting but this is my beauty tip inspired by my beautiful granny for soft lips, soft hands and soft feet!

Handy Tips tree

Me and the lovely Ashleigh, Maisy and Kayleigh

 One of my favourite parts of the event was getting polaroid pictures taken by Jamie and it has definitely made me want a polaroid camera so much more! They would be so fabulous for parties!

  I got a lovely hand massage off Fatimah an employee at Crabtree who actually happens to study law at my university too, what a coincidence! She used the pomegranate range on me and I now have baby soft hands so thank you very much for that, I can't get over how soft they are still!!

Me and Emily, Alexandra and Sultana

 Then we were very lucky ladies and treated to a goody bag, yayy! It included their pomegranate hand cream which made me so happy because now I can maintain my lovely soft skin and as you saw from my tip..I love my hand creams! Then we also received two gorgeous nail varnishes from their range and mines are in 'Apple' and 'Wisteria'.

 I hope you enjoyed coming on my little trip with me! Thank you so much to Crabtree & Evelyn for an amazing event and also to all the amazing bloggers who I met and made my experience so enjoyable.

Previous Posts:-
Victoria Secret Body Sprays Anywhere In The UK?! || Discovery & Review
Spring Tag
Morange || MAC Monday's
Camera Obscura || Lifestyle

Lots of Love,

A x x x

Victoria's Secret Body Sprays anywhere in the UK?! || Discovery & Review

Hellooo my lovelies,

 I was procrastinating the other day which is so unlike me....jokes I always do that and I ended up looking at Victoria's Secret Body Sprays which I'd heard amazing things about. Now if you're like me and love Victoria's Secret but don't live in America or anywhere near London then you'll know it's super expensive to do an online order. The online orders appear to come from America and it's like 22 dollars for one thing and it goes up the more you order or something crazy ridiculous like that! So obviously I was not gonna do that but I came across these on Amazon for around £6-£8 which is so good and I think they were free delivery aswell! Obviously they don't have as much choice as Victoria's Secret does but still very good!

  The first scent I chose was Secret Charm which is honeysuckle and jasmine and I must admit is my least favourite of the three scents but considering I was picking blind it's really good as I do still like it. The bottles are beautiful aswell and have a lovely pattern on the back of the bottle and I love that the liquid inside them is coloured too. Secret Charm is a very fresh smell and it's nice and subtle if you just want to smell like you're not wearing anything and just have nice smelling washing powder/shampoo/shower gel etc. This one actually reminds me of Cath Kidston's honeysuckle scent if you have given that a sniff before you'll know what I mean!

 The second one I got which has featured in my January favourites so I'm sure you all know I love this one by now is the Mango Temptation Spray. This smells super fruity, exactly like mango's and it's just an instant feel good spray. I love spraying this on after I've had a bath or in my hair and then my hair smells nice all day and quite often people will tell me 'aw your shampoo smells so good' and really it's not my shampoo it's this...shhh! If you love Mango or fruity smells though you will love this one and it's pink so you really need no more reason to buy it!

 The last one I put in my virtual shopping basket was Coconut Passion which smells like Vanilla and Coconut and holidays. To me this one just reminds me of when you're on the beach, by the sea and there's just that holiday smell with sun cream mixed in etc. Gary actually thinks this smells like the Bon-Bon sweets?? I've never tried them though so I can't vouch for that one but this is his favourite one and it's my very close second favourite. It's also featured in a favourites post of mine before which shows how nice this smells. It smells a little like the drink Malibu aswell so that's always a good thing unless you've had a pretty bad hangover after drinking Malibu then maybe not so much...

 Another thing I love about these bottles is that they look incredibly pretty on your dressing table because of the lovely colours and the nice bottles. The smells aren't extremely long lasting but they are only a spray not a perfume so it's pretty much what you'd expect from them. If you wanted to wear it as a perfume, you'd definitely need to spritz it on quite a few times throughout the day!

Have you tried Victoria's Secret Body Spray's? Which scents would you recommend?

Previous Posts:-
The Spring Tag
Morange || MAC Mondays
Camera Obscura || Lifestyle

Lots of Love, 

A x x x 

The Spring Tag

Helloo my lovelies,

 Since we'll soon be going into Summer I thought it was about time that I did the Spring tag!

1.  What's your favourite nail colours for Spring?

I love pastel shades but I also like brighter shades as I get really over excited when the sun comes out! My favourites are 'Essie- Fiji', 'Barry M- Mint Green' and 'Tanya Burr- Be Bright, Be Happy, Be You'.

2.  Best drink for Spring?

I looove fruit juice- apple. mango or tropical. My favourite alcoholic drink in Spring is cocktails.

3.  What goes on your lips in Spring?

I turn to more peach, coral and pink shades in Spring! I also prefer more of a glossy lip so often opt for a lipgloss! My favourites so far have been 'YSL rouge volupte- Peach Passion', 'Tanya Burr- Picnic in the Park' and 'MAC- pink pearl pop'. I've also been loving a bit of a nude lip this Spring and for that I've been loving 'MAC- Pure Zen' and 'Tanya Burr- Afternoon Tea'. Obviously with the Orange lip trend I've been loving a bit of MAC's 'Morange' too!

4.  What's your favourite thing about Spring?

My favourite thing about Spring is that the days get longer so it's still light in the evenings and it starts to get warmer and sunnier so everyone's more happy. I really like all the baby animals being born too though!

5.  Best perfume for Spring?

My ultimate favourite perfume for Spring is 'Marc Jacobs-Lola' it's the perfect fresh floral scent without being too 'florally'.

6.  What TV series are you watching the most at the moment?

The tv series I'm currently watching is Coronation Street, Ex on the Beach and Happy Valley.

7.  Do you wear a different colour eye shadow in Spring?

Not especially, I have noticed that I'm reaching for more goldy/brown shades than my beloved Naked 3 though!

8.  Do you change your hair for the changing season?

I have never dyed my hair before but I'm really tempted to dye it blonde - more for Summer than Spring though!

9.  What kind of music do you listen do in Spring?

I have a really varied music taste and I don't really change the type of music I listen to from season to season.

10.  What kind of fashion items/accessories do you opt for in Spring?

I usually wear a lot more denim for instance I've switched my big fluffy Winter jacket for my lighter denim one and my pink wool look one. I also ditch the Uggs for Converse, Vans and Blazers. I usually inject more colour into my wardrobe during Spring/Summer and I opt for more crop tops, shorts, skirts and dresses.

I tag:- Charlotte

     Jessica

         Ann-Kathrin

    Gemma

     Efia

       Beth 

Lots of Love,

A x x x 

MAC Monday's || Morange

Helllooo my lovelies,

 For this weeks MAC Monday I thought I would pick a lipstick that follows the current Spring/Summer trend and that is MAC's morange lipstick. It's an amplified formula so it's one of MAC's long lasting and very pigmented colours and as you all know I'm a massive fan of MAC's amplified lipsticks. I put off getting Morange for a long time and I think alot of people do because it is a bright colour and orange is a colour a lot of people don't think will suit them. However, I think it's not a case of it not suiting people, it's a case of getting comfortable with it yourself so you can wear it with confidence- beauty is confidence.

 There are a few drugstore orange lippies that I have tried but Morange is definitely my favourite out of them all. It's just the most true orange colour compared to 'In love with Ginger' by Rimmel which is more of a red toned orange and Revlon's 'Mischievous' which is a paler orange. Both are beautiful in their own right but the most orange lipstick is without a doubt Morange. It glides on and it probably lasts around 3 hours if you're eating and drinking a lot which isn't as long as an amplified lipstick normally does but it's not enough to put me off it.

 I always thought this would be a struggle with me being such a pale girl and there's no denying this looks better with a tan but I still like it whilst I'm pale. If you have olive skin and dark hair then this would be THE perfect colour for you as I think that's the skin tone that this really looks stunning on! It looks best with very simple make-up too, let the lipstick do the talking!

Have you tried MAC Morange?

Previous Posts:-
Camera Obscura || Lifestyle
Boohoo Haul
Health & Fitness || Haul

Lots of Love,

A x x x

Camera Obscura || Lifestyle

 Hellooo lovelies,

 I hope you're all having an amazing weekend so far! This weekend me and Gary decided to become tourists in our own city and take the day to explore starting with Camera Obscura. Camera Obscura is an optical illusions place at the top of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh which I guess you could call it an interactive museum? It has lots of illusions and fun things to do and it also has an open roof which gives spectacular views across Edinburgh. It's the main place that if you're visiting Edinburgh that you definitely need to give a visit because I've been twice now and I still love it! I think it would be a fabulous place to go on a first date because it would definitely get rid of any of that first date awkwardness and obviously it's a great place to go just to have a good time with your partner, friends or family!

 If you're wondering what these weird gloves are on our hands it's because they make you wear latex gloves before going in the mirror maze because it's so confusing and you do end up feeling the walls to try and get your way out!

Body Heat Map

The light tunnel proposes as the perfect venue for selfies ofcourseee

The view from the roof is breathtaking but obviously it would be a lot nicer on a sunny, clear day. You can see right across the city and even over the sea to Fife. Also on the roof is a little room where you go in in groups and get a talk from the tour guide who shows you around Edinburgh using mirrors and zooms in on people walking up the streets. You can actually watch everyone going about their business and you can even pick them up using sheets of paper and build bridges for the cars to go over. It's pretty clever!

Magic Mirrors

They have lots of these scary 3D pictures.

Coloured shadows picture

Double Trouble

Shrink and Grow!

 This tunnel is a new addition (since I was last there) to Camera Obscura and the actual platform stands still but the outside surroundings is colours spinning round in circles and it's quite funny because you end up being so dizzy and falling all over the place. The feeling can only be described like 'spinny room' (as I call it) after you've been drinking a little too much and you've gone to bed before it's worn off and the room sways and spins. So it was like spinny room x5!

 Okay so Camera Obscura may just have the cutest gift shop ever, it took great restraint not to buy all these adorable chocolate bars. Also the fact that I'm meant to be eating healthily may have helped me. My personal favourites have to be the love heart bar, Oreo one, Magic Stars and the Terry's chocolate orange one..they'd make a fabulous gift wouldn't they?! They also have a cute Autowed machine (if a little tacky) which there's apparently only two of and the other's in Las Vegas?? I'm sure I read that somewhere! So you get married on a machine and it gives you a little certificate and two rings except we never got a certificate but we did get our rings! Obviously its just a gimmick but we couldn't resist giving it a try!

My 'wedding' ring

Already a lot of street performers are out in preparation for the Edinburgh fringe festival. If you do want to visit Edinburgh then August is definitely the prime time to visit as the capital is at it's busiest with numerous shows each night and performers lining the Royal Mile all day.

St Giles Cathedral

  I love St Giles cathedral not only because its a beautiful building inside and out but because ever since my grandad died it's been tradition for my family to go and light a candle there in his memory. So whenever I'm passing I like to pop in and take a minute to light a candle, it's quite touching looking at all the candles that people have lit for the ones they love. There was also a wedding finishing as we arrived and they had a double decker bus for their wedding car which I thought was such a cute, quirky idea! P.S. how amazing would this place be as a wedding venue?! I couldn't take many pictures inside because you have to have a photography permit to take pictures but I did manage to take a snap of the candles.

 Before we stopped for our lunch we popped into the Fudge Kitchen to get some fudge for later because the Fudge Kitchen makes THE best fudge I have ever tasted. It was also a bit of a tradition for me, my mum and my little sister to pop in here every Summer holiday to get some 'Vanilla fudge'. I love how you get to see the people making them and they also give you tasty testers to try before you buy! They have all flavours from Strawberry Cream Cake fudge to Terry's Chocolate Orange fudge but my personal recommendations would be 'Toffee fudge' and 'Vanilla fudge'. Again if you're visiting Edinburgh make sure you give the Fudge Kitchen on the Royal Mile a visit!

 We then stopped off in a little cafe for lunch because we were staaaarving! I had a jacket potato with cheese and Gary had a cheeseburger and obviously since we were being stereotypical tourists for the day we had to have Irn Bru with it.

  We then stopped off at Patesserie Valerie to get Gary a cake for later. We have a few of these scattered about Edinburgh so I don't know if they're exclusive to Edinburgh or if they have them elsewhere but they do the nicest cakes. The atmosphere in their shop is lovely and if you take away your cake it's gift wrapped really prettily- typical beauty blogger, all about the presentation!

Then we came home and had homemade nachos!

  Definitely not the most healthy of days but it was so nice just to look around our home town from a tourists point of view because often we don't realise how nice the cities we live in are because we take it for granted. So I'd definitely recommend ALL of you to take the time to be a tourist in your own towns and cities and see what hidden treasures you can discover.

Previous Posts:-
Pure Zen || MAC Mondays
Health & Fitness Haul
Boohoo Haul

Lots of Love,

A x x x