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 

♥

July/August || Instagram

♥ Yellow Topshop rain jacket that I showed in a haul recently

 ♥ The dream team

♥ Nandos Peri Peri chips

♥ New work shoes

♥ Les Mis phone case

♥ New Boots

♥ Night out nails

 ♥ Poorly snuggles 

♥ Feet up in the Audi

♥ Frankie & Benny's chilli garlic bread 

 ♥ Adult colouring in books 

 ♥ New Asos bikini

♥ Minions in work

♥ Fresh eyebrow kit

♥ Luca's 'I'm feeling naughty' face 

Decided to combine both July and August's pictures together because I hadn't posted very many pictures in July to give it its own post! All these pictures are from my instagram @whatabbyloves and Luca's @lucathespringer. Please come say hello!

Lots of Love,

A

♥

Windle & Moodie || Brand Introduction & Review

Windle and Moodie is a company that has been created by hair experts and Vogue stylists Paul Windle and Neil Moodie who have worked with celebrities and models at their award winning Covent Garden salon. I recently got an email asking me if I wanted to try out some of their products and I jumped at the chance because I love the story of the brand and that their products are all healthy for your hair.

All ingredients in the products are unique and chosen specifically to have benefits on the hair and scalp. All their products have been trialled and tested in their own salon and on magazine shoots, the brand is eco-friendy and the products contain no parabens in them. It's also worth noting that all their products are made within the United Kingdom.

The products I picked to try were some of the more interesting ones but they do have a range of 22 hair care products including the usual things such as shampoo and conditioner. I picked a salt spray, a foundation spray, a day and night cream, a smoothing oil and an essential oils treatment. They also do a volcanic ash treatment which I really wanted to try but it's for styling short hair so obviously it would be no use on me. It sounds really good though and contains real volcanic ash so if you have short hair you like to style then I'd definitely say it's one to try out.

Essential Oils Elixir* - £26

The essential oils elixir contains apricot, coconut, camellia and oat oils and it's a pre shampoo treatment that you leave on for 15 minutes before you wash your hair. The idea is that it pre-cleanses, nourishes and leaves hair shiny. I do like this product although I wish it had a nice smell. The smell to me smells like a herbal spa scent which I'm not the biggest fan of but I'm sure some people would love it. It's quite messy to apply and to sit about with it on for 15 minutes given that it's an oil but I still like using it now and again to give my hair a nice treatment.

Intense Treatment Masque* - £29

Containing green tea and cocoa butter it's a moisturising blend to help repair damaged hair and to replace the keratin in the hair that has been lost/weakened. It's meant to nourish, detangle and boost shine which I think it does do. A little of this goes a long way because of the texture of the product, again it doesn't smell the best but my hair feels better once I've used this. It's another one that you have to put on 15 minutes before your shower so I don't do this as often as I would like just because I never have the spare 15 minutes.

Invisible Day and Night Cream* - £18.50

This was the product that really excited me because I've never heard of a day and night cream for hair by any other brand before. I love the packaging for it, it's in a foil tube so really easy to store and the product doesn't spill out or leak. This contains UV protection which is so handy to have in a hair product because your hair also needs sun protection, monoi oil for shine, sugar beet for moisture and aloe vera to soothe. It's also created to protect hair from day and night abrasion especially during the sleeping when hair rubs against pillows and each other causing friction. I actually really like the smell of this one and I get dry ends so I love this for applying throughout the day when I feel my ends need some TLC. This can also be used on your roots but something doesn't sit right for me about applying hair product there and not washing it out!! (Just me??)

Foundation Spray* - £13.50

This is to be used before styling to de-tangle and moisturise so it doubles up as a de-tangler spray and a serum. It's nice and easy because it's in the spray bottle and comes with the little lock to stop it being accidentally sprayed in handbags or in luggage. It has honey added to it as well to leave your hair shiny and glossy.

Oceanic Spray* - £20

This is Windle and Moodie's answer to a salt spray. It's to give your hair that beachy texture and waves whilst moisturising and strengthening the hair. I find that this works much better on wet or damp hair that's left to dry naturally rather than on already dry hair. This also comes in the same bottle as the foundation spray with the lock cap.

Shine & Smoothing Oil* - £21

This oil is similar to the oil elixir but you don't have to wash this one out which I definitely prefer. It contains three nourishing oils- argan, apricot and camellia and it also has a blow drying agent to help stop fly-away's. It contains a UV filter which pleases me greatly and leaves hair silky and shiny. My favourite thing about this one is that it can be used on wet/dry hair so it's the most efficient of the products I have tried.

These products are sold exclusively at Liberty in London and Brown's hair salon in Dumfries. Don't worry if you don't live near these places and want to purchase as they do have a website you can purchase from! They definitely are a premium hair care brand so won't be for everyone but if you like to invest in your hair care then Windle & Moodie have some fabulous products well worth trying out!

http://www.windleandmoodie.com

Have any of these Windle & Moodie products caught your eye?

Lots of Love,

♥

* This post contains samples sent to me for PR purposes