Nivea Men Post Shave Balm || Primer

Before anyone thinks I've gone mad and bought a mens shaving gel thinking it's a primer, I've not, I did intentionally pick this up as I had heard it made a really good primer. The product contains a lot of glycerin which is perfect as a primer because it locks in the skins moisture and provides a smooth, non-greasy base for make-up application.

The packaging of the product is quite simple like most Nivea products, although it does feel more luxurious than most as its in a glass bottle. Which is fab because it makes the product look nicer but a bit of an inconvenience for travelling with.

I don't usually bother with primers because I've never found one that doesn't leave my face feeling like it has some kind of film on it and I personally have never really noticed much of a difference. However, this one was entirely different - potentially because it hasn't been designed for use as a primer, it just sinks into the skin like a cream. You also only need a teeny tiny bit because it is extremely runny which is something to bare in mind when pouring it out to use. 

I apply it after my moisturiser has sunk in but before my foundation/base make up which tends to be the way this product works best. That being said, one time before a night out I forgot to put it on but wanted it on so I applied it on after and just blended it over my foundation with my foundation brush and it still worked and didn't affect the way my foundation sat on my skin. My make-up usually lasts really well anyway but it was still perfectly in place after nights out and I also wore it to work and went to the gym straight after and my makeup still looked as if I had just done it. So I am really impressed with this products ability to prolong the longevity of makeup.

The best part about this product is that it cost me £4 in Tesco which is cheaper than most drug store primers let alone high end ones like Benefit's porefessional, wh

ich I have tried and didn't think it made the slightest bit of difference. You can also pick this up in Boots or Superdrug as well. 

The only potential downside to this product (apart from it being easy to spill with it's runny consistency) is that it smells like a mans product which might irritate some people but after a few minutes the smell fades away so I personally don't think it's a problem.

Lots of Love,

A

♥

Girls Christmas Dinner || Frankie & Benny's

A few weeks back Frankie & Benny's got in touch with me and asked if I would like to have a girls Christmas meal where we could try out their Christmas menu. We all love Frankies & Benny's so were delighted to get to try out their Christmas menu. On their Christmas menu you can get a three course Christmas meal for just under £20 or a two course meal for just under £17. They also have cute Christmas crackers on the table which was a nice touch.

All us girls are massive macaroni cheese fans and we did get super excited over the fact that as an option for a starter was a macaroni cheese cake. It comes with salad on top of it and drizzled barbecue sauce and it was amazing, in fact two of us have already went back to have it again haha! The only criticism of this is that I'd prefer the salad on the side because it looks much nicer than having it dumped on top. 

Aimee was the only one who didn't go for the mac and cheese cake and she went for buttermilk chicken tenders which she said tasted really good!

For mains none of us actually went for the traditional turkey, me and Aimee went for the Festive pizza which has mozzarella, chicken pieces, salsa rossa and salsa verde. I went for mine without the chicken pieces and Aimee had hers with, we both thought these were really good although couldn't finish them because we were so full! Aimee wasn't so keen on the salsa verde, I actually liked it but I think there was maybe a little too much of it. 

Gillian and Erin both got the bacon and cheese burgers, they thought they were tasty but the chips they came with were slightly congealed in parts. 

For dessert we all got the chocolate yule log, this was delicious although I don't think any of us could finish it all because we were so full. The only way this could be better is if the yule log was served a little hotter but other than that it was really nice. 

I will definitely be making a few more trips back to Frankie & Benny's before their Christmas menu ends! Have you tried it yet?

Lots of Love,

A

♥

*This post is sponsored but as always all opinions are honest and entirely my friends and my own

Honeymania Bubble Bath Melt || Review

 When it comes to bath products I'm not very adventurous because I love Lush products so I always have a stash of them on the go. However I recently got sent this as a free gift from The Body Shop for spending over a certain amount of money - I'll be honest I actually spent more to get the free gift because it was a pretty good free gift set. Isn't that always how it works?

I have never tried Laura Mercier Honey Bath that comes with the swizzle stick but I imagine this to be the closest version you can get of it without the price tag. It unfortunately does not come with a swizzle stick but most people have plenty of things in their house that they can use as an alternative. It has a very sweet mixture of vanilla, floral and honey and it smells even more incredible when you mix it into the bath.

 I love how dreamy the texture and colour of this is, it mixes into the water nicely and doesn't just lie in gloops at the bottom like lots of bubble baths do. It doesn't create masses amount of bubbles which I really wish it did, it just gives a small amount but the smell is heavenly. It leaves your skin feeling lovely and soft too so definitely makes up for the lack of bubbles.

It's a massive tub and you barely need to use any of it, maybe if you use more you would get more bubbles though but I think this will last a long time. Especially considering with Lush I'm willing to pay £3 for something I'll only use once but this only costs £8 and will obviously give many more uses.

What's your favourite bath treats?

Lots of Love,

♥

Nail Box || Review

A while back I reviewed a nail polish subscription box from Coloristiq and I absolutely loved their box and thought it was such a good idea however I stated that I thought it could be improved by being allowed to keep the nail polishes. Then I discovered this brand Nail Box which you guessed it, does exactly that! Sends you four brand new nail polishes to keep every month and to top it off they also send you a nail tool as well. I love that a nail tool is added because that is something I really lack in my collection and never think to pick up. 

The April box was the perfect Spring coloured shades:- a gorgeous baby pink by Essie called 'muchi, muchi', a bright coral from China Glaze called 'Peachy Keen', a pastel yellow from Revlon called 'Buttercup' and a bright pink from OPI called 'Kiss Me On My Tulips'. It also contained an Essie nail file which is already in my hand bag for those nail emergencies.

All four of these colours are colours that I love and I've already used all four. They're of amazing quality which doesn't surprise me considering they're all from good brands which is one of Nailboxes policies. I love the yellow shade Buttercup because I've been on the hunt for a good thick pastel yellow polish for so long and this is 100x better than Topshop's the 'Bees Knees'. Muchi Muchi is great at making your tan look even better and the colour reminds me of strawberry milkshake.

There are several different payment options for the box, you can pay £15 to buy a one off box or as little as £13.50 if you subscribe for an entire year. The box is carefully put together to try and include the very best nail trends. The value of the box is definitely worth it because even two of these nail polishes would be more expensive than the entire box.

The colours are all stunning so there's a high chance you'll like them all but if you don't you could always give them to someone as gift or use it as part of someones birthday present etc. Nailbox also promise to never send you the same colour twice and I think it would make a pretty cool gift to buy someone a years subscription for their birthday or Christmas etc. 

The boxes are limited edition so you do have to be quick in signing up for one because once they're gone they're gone for good. It is now too late to get your hands on this box but May's box is now available to buy and by the sounds of things it's gonna be a good one!

What do you think of nail polish subscription boxes?

Lots of Love,

♥

* This post contains PR samples

April || Favourites

I am so, so excited writing this because it is now May which means that university is over for the Summer!! Three cheers for being able to have my life back!! I don't have very many favourites this month, again.. but I have been loving these five products so had to share them with you. I've also thrown in a few non-beauty favourites this month too because I love finding new lifestyle things to try!

My first favourite will be no surprise to anyone if you read my How Now Fake Tanning post. It's a gradual tanner but not like the usual streaky gradual tanners no, this one actually gives you the colour a spray tan would! Except you can do it at home, use it on your face, it's so natural you could actually eat it and it doesn't dry your skin out because it's a moisturiser with tanning ingredients added. Impressed? You should be!

I'm not a big dry shampoo fan, I used to use Batiste but only because there was nothing better that I had found to do the job. Now I reach for Ruth Crilly's Collab dry shampoo, I don't watch her channel or read her blog so there's no bias because of who she is. It just really is a good dry shampoo, it smells good, it's cheap, it doesn't leave as much of a white cast as Batiste and it adds volume to my hair.

My favourite lipstick this month was definitely Blake's red. It's such a classic, pretty shade that would suit anyone and it makes your teeth look whiter! Obviously, anything that makes me any closer to looking like Serena Van Der Woodsen I am going to be up for. It's really long lasting, it smells delicious and I personally think it's the most 'Hollywood' red out of all the L'oreal red collection. If you want a matte red lipstick and want one that's comparable to Mac then I'd try this one out.

Aussie hair care has always been a favourite of mine because their products smell delicious and this one is no different. As I have really long hair, it tangles and matts really easily so I need to use a leave in conditioner to keep it soft and try to stop it becoming a big mess. This one also contains a heat protectant so it's a good product for multi-tasking with and I've had the bottle forever and it's still only half way down.

The face cream that I've been using this month is the gel Garnier moisture match one. I had heard it was a dupe for the Origins Gin Zing moisturiser which I've never tried so I don't know how good a dupe it is. It does feel really soothing and cooling on the face though and although the tube is tiny, it's still going strong.

My non-beauty favourites this month are tv programmes because I have had a lot of time to watch tv during exam procrastination. The first is Ordinary Lies which was on BBC One and was based around people who worked in a garage. Each week was based on a different person and a lie they told and how it escalated to something out of control. I thought this was brilliant, it was clever, sad, funny and just a good watch so definitely try catch up with it on iplayer. My Netflix favourite was actually 'Mr Selfridge' which is about the start up of Selfridges in London but I found it most interesting learning about life in that time. It features a lot on Suffragettes, the war and attitudes to woman in the early 20th century. It has two seasons and I watched both in the space of a week so it's a really easy watch (if you happen to have a lot of spare time).

What products did you love last month?

Lots of Love,

♥

Origins Drink Up-Intensive Mask || Review

I'm not usually someone who suffers from dry skin but when it comes to Winter, the cold and the harsh wind definitely takes a toll on my skin and it hasn't completely recovered yet. I've been noticing dry patches around my mouth, nose and across my forehead so I've been using the Origins drink up intensive overnight mask that I got in my Origins set.

I love that this is an overnight mask because there's no fuss of timing, when you need to remove it or removing it at all for that matter. A little of this goes a long way and you can rub it all over your face or just on your dry bits whichever you prefer. When you wake up in the morning it's all completly sank in and your skin feels so smooth and soft.

It also has a really nice smell, like peaches which is ideal since you have to keep it on your face for a long time. It hasn't caused any problems with break outs but has instead left me with a fresh, healthy looking face. 

You literally only need a tiny bit of this and it can be spread across the whole face very easily. I only have the 75ml bottle and still have loads left in it so I can imagine the 100ml bottle would most definitely be worth the money especially for those dry skin sufferers. This isn't actually what it's designed for but when I've not had a lip balm handy I've rubbed this into my lips and it has actually left them lovely and soft aswell.

This stuff is expensive (£23) but for those suffering with dry skin I think it's definitely a product worth investing in.

Have you tried this mask?

Lots of Love,

♥

Charlotte Tillbury Glastonberry || Review

Probably one of the most hyped up lipsticks in the blogging world last year was Glastonberry by Charlotte Tillbury. Ever since Zoe put it in a favourites video, everybody wanted their hands on this and I have read a lot of rave reviews about it. Luckily I won this in a giveaway and I was so excited to try it because I've never tried anything from Charlotte Tillbury yet since it's still a relatively new brand. I obviously picked Glastonberry because it has such a hype around it and it's a colour that is right up my street. 

The packaging is amazing, if I was a lipstick this is how I'd want to be packaged! The bullet is a stunning ridged rose gold with the Charlotte Tilbury logo embossed on the top and the inside bullet also has Charlotte Tillbury engraved on it. The lipstick itself is a squared bullet shape and everything about it screams luxury.

The colour is a beautiful shade, it reminds me of red wine, a deep reddy purple and it also has a really nice smell to it. Glastonberry applied beautifully, was super creamy and buttery which I didn't expect since it has a matte finish and the shape of the bullet made it easy to apply neatly, quickly. The pigmentation on the lips was incredible, it gave exactly what I was looking for but the problem was it didn't give me it for long....

When you hear matte revolution you think long lasting, not having to top up your lipstick, being able to eat and drink without worrying about whether your lipstick has half worn off but nuh uh you'd be wrong. Everytime I've worn Glastonberry it's only lasted a few hours and if you plan on eating or drinking it wears off much quicker than that. I haven't been wearing it with a lip liner but you can wear a Mac matte lipstick without a lip liner and still keep it on your lips for a good 6 hours so I was quite disappointed. I guess the thought of a matte lipstick being buttery and still retaining it's long lasting powers was too good to be true. 

I do love this lipstick, it's beautiful, the packaging is beautiful and I'm so glad that I won it because it is stunning but I don't think I would buy another one. At £23 each, Charlotte Tillbury lipsticks do not come cheap so not something that you want to have to be reapplying multiple times per day! 

Have you tried any Charlotte Tillbury lipsticks? What did you think of them? Are they worth the splurge?

Lots of Love,

♥

Chiquito's || Review

Recently I headed along to another of the new restaurant's that has opened at Fort Kinnaird, Chiquito's! Yet another one that I have never been to before and because it is a Mexican restaurant I wasn't sure that I'd like it however I was very surprised!

The restaurant inside is laid out beautifully with a stained glass window, a pretty patterned mirror and is very spacious with comfy seats. Our waitress 'Sam C' according to the receipt was amazing, she was so friendly, helpful and full of recommendations. She also brought us a little complimentary popcorn bowl which I think is a nice touch. 

I did think that the choice of drinks was quite limited for a big company though- for soft drinks there was only Tango, Lemonade, Pepsi and Diet Pepsi. However, for £2.55 on the lunch menu you can get free refills as many as you want which I think is really good value for money. I'm not sure if the same offer stands for dinner time though!

For starters I was spoilt for choice, I found it so hard to decide between loaded potato skins, the garlic bread or the chilli poppers but in the end I got chilli poppers and Gary got garlic bread with cheese. The garlic bread with cheese was incredible, I hold my hands up to stealing a few slices and the dip it came with was like Domino's garlic and herb but improved...who knew that was possible!! My chilli poppers were breaded jalopenos filled with cream cheese, they came slightly hotter (temperature wise) than I expected so I did burn my tongue but apart from that they were delicious. They also came with a jalpeno jelly that was delicious. 

As I'm not overly keen on Mexican food, there was nothing really on the menu that appealed to me other than the Halloumi salad so I got that and Gary got a pulled pork wrap. He loved his wrap although he was very full and couldn't finish it because the portion sizes are big. My halloumi salad was really nice, I liked the tortilla chips on the side, the sweet potato and the skewer idea. My only criticism would be that it would be much nicer if the peppers, cucumber and red onion weren't cooked because I find those nicer cold. I just find it quite hard to eat warm salads but maybe thats just me!

For dessert which was what I was most excited about they had churro's so naturally I had to get them because I've wanted to try them for years. Our waitress also recommended them to us and the golden nugget cheesecake so that's what we went with. Gary said his cheesecake was delicious which it definitely looked and my churro's were amazing. I loved the chocolate dip and strawberries too although I think they need a little extra dip because of how much churro's you get and they taste better with chocolate.

As we went at lunchtime our meal was very reasonably priced for all of this it cost us around £31.50 including the two drinks which I don't think is too bad. 

Have you been to Chiquito's? Do you like it?

Lots of Love,

♥

* I was sent a £20 voucher to contribute to the cost of this meal

March || Instagram

♥ I've been trying to add a little more protein to my diet with 2 eggs for breakfast most days.

 ♥ Strawberries with Nutella 

♥ Chocolate Fudge Brownie sundae from Lucas

♥ How's it possible to work with this cute bundle of fluff there to cuddle?

 ♥ Looking like Macklemore in the Thrift Shop video

♥ Disney Jumper 

 ♥ Sweet Potato Salad

♥ Granny and Grandad's wedding photo

♥ Healthy Smoothie Prep

♥ Mums leaving flowers

♥ My first own set of car keys 

 

 ♥ Chiquito's 

My instagram is @whatabbyloves and if you want to see more pictures of Luca then you can follow him @lucathespringer. Leave your instagram links below!

Lots of Love,

♥