Winter Boots || 2015

One of my most popular posts on my blog is my winter boots post that I did last year and because I'm a total shoeaholic its something I really enjoy writing about. So this year I thought I would do a repeat and share with you the boots that I've choosen for the Winter weather this year.

The first pair are 'Caddy Belles' from Clarks and they are these gorgeous riding boots with a leather front and an elastic panel at the back which makes the boot super easy to slip on. I love how elegant these look and the fact that the front of the boot comes higher than the back is super flattering. These come in a gorgeous tan colour as well which I'm definitely going to be picking up soon and I'll  post pictures of them when I get them and they come in a navy suede also. The one thing I would say about these boots are they're extremely difficult to fit so its definitely worth popping in to Clarks to try them on rather than ordering your size online because a five in the black 'Caddy Belle' fits me perfectly but in the tan even a four and a half is slightly big on me. They have a tendency to rub really badly at the heels as well but top tip -  if you flex the back of the heels with your hand before you wear them it should break them in enough to stop any blisters forming (works for all shoes)! However, they are a really good one for any ladies who struggle to get boots to fit their calfs or ankles because of the elasticated back. These retail at £140 but because they're black leather you can be sure they'll last you for many Winters to come.

The second pair of boots I have for Winter are these gorgeous suede, thigh high boots by Ted & Muffy*. These beauties are going to have an entire post of their own very soon to tell you about the amazing experience I had at their store but I couldn't miss them out in this post too. They're slightly less practical than my Clarks one with being suede but wow are they gorgeous! These ones retail at £400 so are definitely a luxury purchase but every girl needs their own pair of fairytale boots!

These 'Busby Fresh' ankle boots I've shown in a haul post previously, they were more my Autumn boots because of the cut outs but on dry days I've still been wearing them in Winter and I think they'll carry me straight through to Spring too. They're fab because you can wear them with frilly socks to keep warm and when it gets warmer again they can be worn bare foot and because they're taupe they add something different to an outfit. These were £75 but are now in the sale down to £55 and also come in a black colour too.

The last new pair of boots that I got were also ankle boots and again these are in a black suede finish. I love the chunky cleated soles of these and they're surprisingly comfy too and the inside is made of the softest material which makes these really comfy to wear with or without socks. They're super versatile as well, I've worn these on a night out to a club because they're still dressy but not a full on heel and they're great for going out for meals but are still casual enough that you could dress them down and wear them to the shops. I choose the black suede because they're dressier however it does mean that they aren't as good in the rain and my dogs fur attaches to it constantly (as you can probably see).

I still have my black Clarks chelsea boots from last year that I love to death and wear on rainy days where I want an ankle boot rather than a knee high boot and theres still some left in store this year if you like those. They're called 'Mariella Busby' and retail for £80. The second pair from last year that I still have are my tan chelsea boots from Clarks, these are slightly more battered as they're not the type of leather that you can polish up but I do still wear them occasionally if I want a tan boot. These aren't in stock any more but they do have other tan chelsea boots fairly similar.

What Winter boots do you have this year?

Lots of Love,

A

♥

Lipstick Haulin' || MAC Mondays

If there's one thing I love, it's lipstick, especially MAC lipsticks. The formula, pigmentation, wear time and scent of them are all incredible and although they're on the pricier side for lipstick, they're worth it because you don't have to re-apply them as much. I actually won one of these in the lovely Kizzy Hearts giveaway as well so check out her blog! 

The first shade that I picked was Sin because it'll be absolutely perfect for this time of year. It's a gorgeous deep burgundy almost brown toned reddy purple and I've already worn it so many times, I actually wore it on Halloween as well so I'll insert a few pictures of me wearing it below. 

Close up, this was actually at the end of the night so it's worn off a bit but you get the idea!

Another A/W inspired shade that I picked up is Rebel because every single year, around this time, I always say to myself that I need to buy it so this year I've eventually done it. The colour is a berry toned purple, it does show up a lot lighter and brighter than it looks in the bullet but on me it still looks quite purple.

Slightly different from the other two I bought is the third shade that I choose which is the nude shade Patisserie. It's just another shade that has been on my wish list for ages because so many bloggers and YouTubers rave about it. It's a lustre finish which isn't my favourite finish but it's a typical nude shade that just adds a nice nude sheen to the lips. It reminds me of a browner version of Pure Zen which we all know is a massive favourite of mine.

The last one that I ordered was another nude favourite which is the classic Kylie Jenner lip 'Velvet Teddy'. I put off buying this one for ageeeeees because I didn't think it would suit me and I'm not that interested in the Kardashians (I know, I'm the only girl out there who isn't, pls don't hate me) so didn't really feel a need for me to own it. However, when I tried it on in Mac, I really liked it as an everyday nude shade so picked it up. It's a matte formula so will be really long lasting and it's a brown toned nude, definitely one to pick up if you like the nineties lip trend.

The final lipstick is the one that I won and I picked Kinda Sexy because it's another nude shade and at the moment if I don't want a dark, Wintery lip then I just want a nice nude shade. Kinda Sexy is also a matte lipstick and it's very similar to Velvet Teddy but lighter and more peachy/orange toned.

Swatches R-L- Rebel, Patisserie, Sin, Kinda Sexy, Velvet Teddy

P.S apologies the lighting in these pictures isn't fab, I had to work with the best light that Winter would give me!

Have you got any of these shades? What ones do I need to pick up next?

Lots of Love,

A

♥

September/October || Instagram

♥ Costa chocolate creamy cooler

♥ Love driving at golden hour

 ♥ Woo Woo pitcher

♥ Me & Kat

 ♥ Mac haul on all these lippies will be up on my blog on Monday so keep your eyes peeled

♥ Doing 110 on leg press now at the gym 

♥ Embracing my inner Blair Waldorf

♥ I made homemade Nandos!

♥ Fashion Prescription bralette

 ♥ Dream boots from Ted & Muffy, blog post coming soon!

♥ Dead cat after Halloween but at least you can have a good look at my make-up!

If you'd like to see all my Instagram posts then give me a follow at @whatabbyloves

Lots of Love,

A 

♥

Pretty Little Thing, River Island, Elegant Touch, Clarks & More || Haul

Firstly I'd like to quickly say... massive apologies for my unexplained disappearance from my blog, suddenly life got very busy and I have been under massive pressures in my final year of my law degree so that's had to take a fore front. However, I have not lost my love for blogging at all and have got plenty of content to share as soon as I get time so thank you so much for those who have stuck with me!!

I had my 21st birthday in September so I bought a lot of dresses for that because I had several nights out for it. These three are all from Pretty Little Thing which if you don't know about you should because they do amazing dresses for so cheap. They aren't the best quality in that I don't think they'll last as long as say a Topshop dress would but definitely still good value for money. These ones cost me £15 each but the mint one is now discounted to £10 and you get 15% student discount on top of this, sometimes it's 20% and their delivery is like a pound and quite often they have a free next day offer on. This site is literally my new go to for dresses and they have a similar thing to Asos premier too which I've also paid for because I use the site so much now. I done my usual trick of buying one dress that I like in just about every single colour it was available in and when they're so cheap it would be crazy not too. The style of the dress is a skater style with cross over straps at the back, it is really low cut and because of the style of the back of the dress you can't wear a bra with it. I usually never go out without wearing a bra because it isn't comfy and my boobs just don't feel supported without one however these ones it's absolutely fine so the dress must have good support in it. It's super flattering because of the skater style it nips you in at the waist and I got it in a mint green, a coral and a pastel blue shade. 

From River Island I also picked up these leggings which I am in love with, they're more like a riding pant than a legging because they're super thick (nobody will be seeing my pants) and they have the elastic panels at the side. My friend recommended these to me and I am a convert, they're so comfy and just look that little bit more dressy than regular leggings. The only problem Ive had with them is that they are a total bitch for hairs sticking to them, I constantly have to roller ball myself as I'm running out the door but they're worth the extra effort. These were more expensive than your average pair of leggings (£22) but they fit more like a pair of trousers so will last much longer too and they fit really true to size as well.

Everybody knows I'm a shoe girl and I've gone quite crazy on shoes lately. The first pair I got as my uniform for my work, I work part time in Clarks so one of the perks of that is I get lots of shoes. The first pair I got is called Griffin Monty in black leather which is just a plain black buckled shoe, it's quite different for me but I thought I could make it work. I love these, they're so old school and look really cute with frilly socks. I think they'd go with a variety of different fashion styles, they're really versatile and hard wearing, mines haven't scuffed at all despite using them for work. They do take a while to break in though especially if you plan on wearing them bare foot so definitely one to wear blister plasters with at first. They also come in a black patent and a burgundy patent which is gorgeous but I wasn't brave enough to pull them off haha!

The second pair of shoes I got from my work are actually for out of work but I get quite good discount on that too. These ones have gone into the sale now from £70 to £50 so if you are interested in picking them up in this taupe colour or the black then head over to Clarks website before they go out of stock. These are super comfy, perfect for those days where it's not too cold but not that warm either, these were amazing in the Autumn but will be ideal for Winter and Spring too. They look fab with bare feet or frilly socks again, these are really comfy and are an easy pair to dress up or down. I've had so much wear out of them already and I like the taupe shade of them, it's just a bit different to the usual black or brown boot. 

The last pair of shoes I picked up are actually a pair of high heels. I only had one nude pair of heels and they were extremely hard to walk in because the straps at the ankle were far too lose so I decided to get a new pair. I picked these ones from River Island because they're absolutely stunning and although they're expensive for heels (£58), they'll go with so many outfits because they're nude and hopefully last a long time. They have a gorgeous gold plated toe but I did find that this made them fit up a bit smaller, I have size 4 and a half/5 feet and I had to go up to a 6 so that's something to watch out for. 

I also got two sets of Elegant Touch fake nails because I've been hearing so much about these and I love having my nails done but stopped a while ago because it was completely ruining my natural nails. I picked up the black 'Twinkle' set which is pretty and sparkly for my birthday and a set of natural ovals so I could paint them whatever colour I wanted. I have actually tried the Twinkle ones now so can give a mini review on them, if I'm honest I wasn't really a fan. They looked amazing once I'd done them, really professional and a gorgeous shape but they kept pinging off after only 24 hours and they felt really unnatural so I was totally aware of them being on my nails. The twinkle ones are pre-glued so it could be that the oval ones will work better with me manually applying the glue myself. 

I also got sent this hip flask from SWIG London which I thought I would share with you because it came in very handy on my 21st birthday as I'm sure you can imagine!! I love that it comes in a pretty case and isn't just a boring metal hip flask and you can get a variety of different coloured cases for the hip flasks. There's now a gorgeous pink one out that I wish I had chosen! I think they'd make a really good Christmas gift especially if you have an awkward person that's really hard to buy for. It is a luxury hip flask so slightly more expensive (around £89) but they do have a sale on at the moment with £20 off most flasks and the flasks are high quality so it's worth it if you're in the market for one.

I also picked up more frilly socks because as everybody knows I'm the frilly sock queen and they're basically the only socks I wear so not much more needs to be said about them! I actually got a mint green pair and another grey pair as well but they're in the wash because I wore them already, sorrrrry.

I picked up two clutch bags too because I only had one nude one and it has a strap attached which I used to prefer but now I'm preferring ones that don't have straps because I think they look better. I got this nude one from River Island because it's an exact match for my shoes and I also picked up a mint green one from New Look. The mint one does have a strap but it's a detachable one at least if I do decide I want a strap I can clip it back on. 

I hope you enjoyed this haul and I've already done a lot more shopping so keep your eyes peeled for another one soon.

Lots of Love,

A 

♥