Hello beautiful people,

This will historically be my very first post! I'm so exciting to start blogging regularly and sharing my views and ideas with you the lovely readers.

This blog is very much a 'work in progress' and will be changing bit by bit. So please don't mind me, it will start making sense shortly.

I thought that I'd share a few things about myself...so here goes:

1) I live on the outskirts of London with my husband. He is a lovely chap and a whiz at DIY. SCORE!

2) Travelling is one of the things we love doing, and regularly plan fun trips. Our most recent few trips included Disney World in Florida and Majorca.

3) I've had the pleasure of hanging out on a luxurious yacht. It was spectacular, but unfortunately I have a tendency towards sea-sickness.

4)  After many practices, I'm still not very good at applying liquid eyeliner. I'll always get one eye perfect, and the other wonky. It is as tragic as the 'eyebrow' situation that is very similar.

5) I've only recently started enjoying wearing lipsticks. Now I can't get enough of those little tubes of colour.

6) My favourite beauty brands include: Liz Earle, Urban Decay, Benefit, Bare Minerals, Marc Jacobs, Lime Crime ... to name but a few.

7) My day job has a scientific twist, and I'm currently studying towards an MSc in Medicinal Chemistry.

8) I love my family and would love nothing better than to add a 'fluffy baby' to my brood. I'm talking about a dog or cat. I'm a huge animal lover and can't wait to get one.

9) I'm a lover of books. Reading is sensationally relaxing in my opinion and a great escape from the mundane. I'm not too fussy about what I read, but recently I read Helen Fieldings latest Bridget Jones book. You can have a look at that here: Mad about a boy
I have to admit that I caught myself laughing out loud on more than one occassion.

10) I work as a freelance editor in my spare time and have currently got one book that was released that I've edited. My friend Yolandie Horak wrote a series about an exiled princess that turns into a fully-fledged queen. The series (The Evangellion Trilogy)  is amazing and I'm so thankful for the opportunity of working with her. Please support her by checking out her books (this is available in kindle form and can also be ordered in paperback). The two books are 'The Rise of the Exile Queen' and 'The Song of War'. The final installment of the books will be released shortly.

Keep on sparkling.
xoxo

Fashion Favourites

Hello and welcome to Friday!

Gosh, it feels like this week wouldn't end.  I've been majorly excited for all the beauty and cute fashion ideas that have been floating around on the web, and I decided to make a collage of my absolute favourite ideas into one place...

If I talk you through my collage from left to right:

Firstly I am in love with mint/turquoise nails especially when paired up with silver chuncky glitter (as per this photo that I found on Pinterest) - BTW please go and follow me on Pinterest if you get a moment! 

I also found this photo of a Fashion Blogger (sorry that I don't know who it is - boo) but the look is so inspiring.  I love the chunky heels in black with the bold print of the trousers and a simple silk black blouse.  The picture is so gorgeous and I'm going to hunt high and low for those trousers! 

Colour-wise I've also loved coral hues so much.  I found this picture of a Michael Kors handbag from his core collection in the exact hue that I love.  I'm so obsessed with Michael Kors handbags and watches for the longest time, and will be getting in on the action this summer!

And finally I've fancied changing my hair for the longest time now, but am not sure what I want to do. My favourite idea is a longer bob with a gorgeous brown hue over the entire head of hair.  I've noticed that my style-crush Olivia Palermo has a pretty great looking 'do' and it close to what I like. 

These are just a few firm favs in beauty and fashion.  What do you like?

Official Fashion Colour of the Spring: Radiant Orchid

Good evening lovelies!

Tonight brings a slightly later post then normal, but it has been a busy few days. I'm officially over January and all the blues it brings. Actually, stuff it, I'm over Winter!

I'm incredibly excited for the Spring/Summer season 2014 and can't wait for an updated wardrobe! It is my favourite time of year with the warmer weather and fun times to be had.

A new season means new 'it' colours, and this year the spring/summer season means that Radiant Orchid is that cool colour that everyone is going to want to be seen in.  This past Winter season it was 'Ox Blood'.

From left to right: READY eye shadow in The Dream Sequence, £29, bareMinerals;  Krista dress, £139, Hobbs London;  Stila lip balm in Gemma, £16, Space NK;  Nails Inc nail polish in Devonshire Row, £11, ASOS;  Aspinal leather iPad case, £125, Selfridges;  Low heels, £35, ASOS

 

 

This colour is basically a fuschia purple colour, but hot damn I love it!  It is about time that purple made big a splash on the catwalks and beauty counters!  I'll certainly be getting myself the nail polish and lippy!

I think it is a universally flattering colour on various skin tones, but would look especially amazing against African-American skin tones!  It is like a deeply coloured gem almost. Just stunning.

Will you be wearing this colour?

Orlando, Florida - amazing trip

Hi everyone,

It's been ages since I visited America and thought I still hadn't shared any of the pictures. For those that haven't heard about it, I went to Orlando, Florida in September 2013 and it truly was a trip of a lifetime.

For anyone with kids or who loves anything to do with Disney, I'd really recommend this type of trip.  It was magical!

We literally visited every single park, but The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was the one I looked forward to the most.  There wasn't a single part that I didn't like and there was SO MUCH merchandise that was 'Harry Potter' related. I bought a Butter Beer - which was absolutely amazing and refreshing. I'm gutted that I didn't try the Pumpkin Juice though. I also bought a Chocolate Frog and a Griffindor Scarf.

The rides were so much fun and I can't wait to go back. We hired a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro, which was really fun to drive in. We also had so much fun on the huge rollercoasters and with all the characters - like Spongebob, The Minions from Despicable Me and Pluto.

Hope you enjoy the photo's.

My weekend in pictures

Good morning lovelies!

This past weekend was so much fun!  Saturday I managed to spend the whole day with my gorgeous husband in Solihull and we loved having yummy food and doing loads of shopping! My husband and me have been enjoying every single second together over the weekends, because we've felt that it should be time that we can cherish and enjoy and be silly in.

So here is my little picture collage:

1) Firstly I took a silly little picture of my husband at Druckers Cafe in Touchwood, Solihull.  He is so cute!  I'm not sure what was happening to his hair, straight after I took this picture, I decided to "comb" it - he was less than pleased! >hehe<

2) I sneaked into John Lewis and managed to drool over some of the gorgeous Kitchenaid Mixers that they had in their.  My favourite colour for the mixer is cool blue and Pistachio!  These mixers are seriously my biggest dream...

3) I snapped a quick picture of the gorgeous blue sky just outside of Touchwood (the mall) in Solihull.  It was quite a chilly day, but I think it was the most beautiful day.

4) Yummy delicious cheese and ham panini with a great side salad.  This wasn't exactly Slimming World approved food, but hot damn it was delicious! These have become my recent guilty pleasure whenever I go out for lunch!

5) Cheeky latte, such a nice little treat whenever it is very cold outside.  It warmed me up quicker than any bodies business. I've recently become partial to tea, however the odd coffee (especially latte) is top notch.

6) I snapped this picture of all the delicious-looking desserts that Druckers had in their display. OMW, I would have loved to try a few of them, but decided to behave!

 My Sunday was then spent at home with my husband and we decided to slob out.  Such a great time just watching "car-crash" TV and planning our future!  Some exciting new projects coming up...

I hope your weekend was just as great as mine! Have a wonderful monday...

Benefit Birthday Treat

Good morning,

Last August I celebrated my birthday.  You're probably wondering why I'm sharing this information with you at such a late stage, but bear with me!

Sephora - the beauty store mecca (which is unfortunately only located in America, Canada and certain European countries), offers their customers a free beauty treat on their birthday.  I happened to visit America about two weeks after my birthday and was lucky enough to visit a Sephora store to get myself a lovely little present by Benefit.

There are two Benefit mini sample sizes of the Watts Up! Highlighter and They're Real Mascara.  The Watts Up! Highlighter is a soft focus highlighter with a soft golden colouring compared to the Moon Beam Highlighter which is more silver toned.

My favourite mascara at the moment has to be They're Real by Benefit, it is awesome and really gives wonderfully lengthened and volumized eye lashes.
 
I'm so happy to have received these two little gems, because I haven't stopped using them during the past 6 months! Have you received anything free for your birthday from Sephora?  If so, what was it?

Beauty hugs,

The Body Shop For Men Skin Care

Alloha!

It seems that men are forever forgetting to look after themselves, and it has only recently become more of a priority for the gents in our lives to start looking after themselves. Some call this being 'metro-sexual' but I just say: "Good on you lads!"

There are certainly some things that I don't think is necessary for gents, like the orange fake tanning or make-up, but I'm very happy if they moisturise, look after their eyebrows and just make themselves presentable.  There will never be anything wrong with that.

But most guys find it difficult to know which products to use for their skin, and often fall short at the leap of choosing a moisturiser.  So with that being so, I thought I'd step in and discuss The Body Shop's Skincare Range for men.

This range contains Maca Root  from Peru; it's a tuber, like a potato, and offers an amazing energy boost for those with low energy. So clearly great for the skin. The range includes everything from face wash, shaving gel, face protectors and eye gel, to name but a few.

The products start from £4.00 and goes up to approximately £10.00 for each product, or you could buy the skincare set for £14.00.

I managed to buy my husband the Maca Root Balancing Face Protector and the Maca Root Eyeserum. The Face Protector is said to hydrate skin whilst controlling oil (reducing shine in the T-zone, especially good for combination skin). Whilst the Eyeserum hydrates the sensitive area around the eyes.

My husband does suffer from an oily T-zone, however since using the Balancing Face Protector in combination with the Eyeserum (after washing his face), has meant that his skin is much more balanced. There is less oil sitting around the pores of his nose and on his forehead, whilst the drier patches on his cheeks and chin has been hydrated well.

He also occassionally suffers from the odd break-out of spots due to greasy skin, despite washing his face well, and I've noticed since using these products that the breakouts have reduced significantly. It is definitely worth looking into getting a good moisturiser and serum duo.

I've always been fond of The Body Shop's products and they've definitely not dissapointed with these beauties.

Great skincare wishes (on this blue monday),

Tal Peleg's Awesome Eyeshadow looks

Hello sexy people,

I've searched high and low for some awesome make-up looks on the internet and came across something spectacular.  The answer came in the form of a super talented make-up artist born in Israel called Tal Peleg.

She creates stunning pieces of mini art with make-up and each piece tells a story.

Check out her work and contact her via her website. I'll let her pieces of art do the talking from now onwards...

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Have a great time

FalseEyelashes.co.uk

Good morning lash-lovers!

With Christmas over and the New Year celebrations complete, it almost feels like a very empty January is about to stretch ahead of us all.  But that is why we need a bit of excitement and fun in our lives.

So my idea?  False Lashes to make your eyes pop!  With lashings of great make-up and falsies on, there is no doubt that you'll feel great about yourself and enjoy January so much more.

I was recently sent a great pair of lashes by the friendly staff at FalseEyelashes.co.uk to try out, and I certainly wasn't dissapointed.  I chose the Katy Perry Lashes created by Eylure in Oh, Honey!

These lashes are truly beautiful and yes, quite dramatic! But that was the idea. I wanted a pair of lashes to really pop and make me feel like a doll.  They retail on the site for £5.99 including first class postage and can be found here.

FalseEyelashes.co.uk has an amazing selection of high quality brands that they stock like Eylure, Ardell, DUO, Eye Candy and Red Cherry.  The lashes that they stock include everything from your standard demi lash, to individuals and the most crazily fun 50's lashes.  It is certainly worth having a look on the site and they are very reasonably priced.

My favourite pack of lashes on the site has to be the Eylure Katy Perry Lashes Mini Kit which includes the lashes called Sweetie Pie, Oh, Honey!, Cool Kitty and Oh, my! It retails on the site for £21.99, which again includes First Class Delivery. 

They've also got a great blog that has some amazing tips and tricks to make popping those false lashes on a breeze.  Check it out here. They have a very friendly and efficient customer service team to help assist with your order and it is well worth having a look at their site.

I can't wait to get myself some Ardell lashes from the site.

Have a peaceful monday,

Nip + Fab Laser in a Box Kit

Gutten morgen! (Or in plain ole English...good morning),

I've got a beauty pack to talk to you about. So recently I visited my local Tesco and noticed that they had some discounted skincare packs.  Then I spotted the Nip + Fab skin kit called the 'Laser Fix in a Box' and it was priced at an uber reasonable £5.65.  These normally retail at £15.99!  I promptly stuffed it into my basket and dashed to purchase it as soon as possible.

I love the pink and dark blue packaging and the value for money.  This would be an awesome kit to take on your travels with the small sizes.

In the kit you get from left to right: The Overnight Wrinkle Fix, Glycolic Fix Cleanser, Instant Radiance Wrinkle Fix, Glycolic Scrub Fix and a headband.

Just a closer look

Great instructions can be found on the back of the box

Unfortunately I haven't had an opportunity to try this kit out as yet, but I'll try to talk you through it quickly.

Step 1 of the kit is the Glycolic Fix Cleanser which should be used to obviously cleanse the skin. It is a foaming formula so should certainly make the face feel clean and great. It comes in a handy 120mL bottle and just requires dampening the skin whilst massaging the cleanser in and then rinsing it off.

Step 2 of the kit is the Glycolic Scrub Fix which is just your usual facial polish. It comes in a 30mL size and can be gently massaged into the face and rinsed off. It is a micro-exfoliant with 3 in 1 properties of refining, brightening and sloughing off dead skin cells with the glycolic acid. This sounds awesome!

Step 3 of the kit is the Instant Radiance Wrinkle Fix as well as the Overnight Wrinkle Fix.  Firstly both come in a 30mL size and can be applied to freshly cleansed skin of the face and neck. The Instant Radiance Wrinkle Fix is a miracle day moisturiser to boost radiance and improve skin's elasticity, whereas the Overnight Wrinkle Fix being an intense anti-ageing night gel to help hydrate, smooth and revitalise skin.

And finally you receive the Headband with 'Nip + Fab' embroidered onto a towelling-effect headband.  It is of a fairly decent quality and would be great to use whilst working on your skin care routine either day or night.

I'd say that I'm plesantly surprised by a great-value pack put together by the Nip + Fab team.  This brand has gone through many cult beauty statusses from various celebs over the past few years and I for one can't wait to try all these amazing little products. This was the first time that I've managed to get a kit by Nip + Fab. You can visit the Nip + Fab website here.

If you've tried this kit or any products from this brand, please let me know how you got on.

Skincare excitement,

New Years Resolutions 2014

Good morning beautiful!

Sooo time for the inevitable New Years Resolution post.  Yup, you might be sick of reading these bad boys BUT guess what? I'm still posting mine! Hahaha.

So last year I wrote some down...
Lets have a look at how many I actually achieved to complete before bridging the gap to my NEW new year's resolutions.

New Years Resolutions for 2013
1) Keep moving on my journey of weightloss.  I've finally found a system that works and my local Slimming World Group never fails to reinvigorate and inspire me towards weighing less.  I'm also thinking of joining a dancing or martial arts class to help with slimming down and getting fit.

Yes, for the post part I've managed to keep the weight off and am currently still at Slimming World and eating very healthily (except over Christmas cough cough). However, I haven't visited the gym recently, it is definitely on my list. So yup achieved this one!

2)  Learn to be happy no matter what happens.  I found myself getting angry at the smallest things in 2012 and I'm determined that nothing will steal my peace this year.  I'm going to weed out those things that make me feel discomforted.
I didn't achieve a happy medium at all times, SO this will have to be ongoing. I did manage to work out some kinks and found peace with certain things that wound me up before, however driving is still my major gripe and I'll have to keep working on this one.

3)  Build up an even deeper, more meaningful relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ.  God is always there to love and support each and every one of us, and it is time that I made loads more time for Him. I love you Jesus!
I've certainly worked on this but feel that it needs A LOT more work!  Each day is definitely a step in the right direction.

4)  Learn a new language or two....German first then French :-D
HA! Okay, I may have been a bit enthusiastic on this one...however I've certainly started learning German and am continuing in my lessons. It is going well, however french will have to wait. Hehehe.

5)  Learn to ski....I really want to go in to Austria and ski down the slopes.
Crud, I didn't achieve this at all.  It is still on my list for 2014 and I'll endeavour to achieve atleast learning how to ski, even if it is just at the Tamworth Snow Dome.

6)  Laugh more, apparently this keeps you young so certainly it's the best remedy for beauty?
Yep, mission accomplished! With a husband like mine, you can't help but laugh half the time.  He is funny and full of silly jokes. More of this though me thinks!

7)  Drink more yummy cocktails.  I'm not a big drinker, but I LOVE cocktails, especially mojito's!  So I'd like to make more 'me' time to have a cocktail or two once in a while with friends.
Ahh, I certainly have gone for cocktails on numerous occassions over 2013 and enjoyed every moment. So yup, this is a thumbs up.

8) Make more true friends.  It feels that often friends come and go....really I'd like to make friends and keep 'em.  I'd also like to spend much more time with friends that I don't see often and make loads more time for them.
Hmm, I'd say half and half with this one.  I've certainly made some long lasting friends especially at work, however feel that I'd still like to meet more good friends.  I'd also like to keep in touch with old friends that live further away.

9)  I'd like to further my career and really work on 'learning' new skills.  That can only be a good thing right?
Aha, mission accomplished.  I'm certainly learning new skills all the time at work and am currently working towards management. I'm also currently studing towards an MSc in Medicinal Chemistry which will certainly help towards a better career later in live. So this is great.

10)  Love my husband more dearly with every passing day.
This is a thumbs up.  I love the dude more than ever and can't imagine not having him in my life. He is my best friend and confidant. Also frustrating hehe but absolutely adorable.

Image courtesay of Gemma Correll (https://www.facebook.com/gemmacorrell?fref=ts)

So moving on...

New Years Resolutions for 2014

1)  Travel more and enjoy the delights of different cultures.  I got a small taste of travelling whilst going to Mallorca and Florida this year and it has only inspired me to continue the travelling trend.  

2) Continue learning...whether that be the German language or lessons in life. I love the feeling you get from learning new skills.

3) Be more confident in my own skin then ever before!  Love myself, my body and the package of 'Angie'.

4) Continue working on my health and fitness...and keeping up with being healthy whatever that may entail.

5) Love every moment in life and life to the full.  

6) Smile more!  Smiles opens up many doors and makes others around you happier.  I might add here that I'd like to tell more jokes (even if they aren't that funny!).

7) Rejuvenate my wardrobe.  I've not bought many clothes over the past few years because I haven't felt very confident but things are going to change and I'm going to buy myself some new stuff to make me feel as great and I want to feel!

8) Get laser hair removal on my under arms.  This sounds crazy, I KNOW! BUT I hate shaving and this would truly make my life easier. My husband didn't like the idea of this being one of my resolutions but I'm determined to keep it on my list. Kapeesh!

9) Buy more amazing beauty, skin and hair products to share with my blogging friends.

10) Blog more and take more photographs! 

And with that, it is the end of my list.  Apologies for the long post, but I just wanted to share.  Please also share your stuff with me :-)

Lots of huggles from my house to yours