Weekly Highlights. #4

L-R: Homemade Victoria Sponge, Breakfast Burritos with the boys, Winter Wonderland funfair rides, 100 followers milestone, Meeting the Bear and Hare, Hummingbird Bakery treat, SprinkleofGlitter's words about my blog, Churros!, Winter Wonderland, the best friend in a Santa Hat, Homemade Anzac Biscuits. 

Another week, another Weekly Highlights! :) With the opening of Winter Wonderland and the one month countdown to Christmas officially begun I've been getting increasingly festive this week. I also hit a blog milestone and had some very lovely words written about me in Sprinkle of Glitters Amazing Advertisers post which warmed my heart. Here's my three highlights:

1. Hitting 100 followers last weekend was ridiculously exciting for me!! I probably annoyed my boyfriend with my constant follower count updates. But, I'd like to say a massive thank you to all my old and new subscribers! It honestly means a lot that you've all stuck with me. :)

2. On Thursday I had one of the best job interviews I've had in a long while, and its filled me with hope that the new year will bring good things for me career wise. Since graduating Uni I've struggled with finding permanent roles so I'm really hopeful for the year to come.

3. Finally, I met up with my best friend on Friday for a fun festive day! She lives in Southampton now so I don't get to see her as much as I'd like, so I was really excited for our day together! We did a spot of Christmas shopping, had Christmas panini's and even met the Bear and the Hare in John Lewis. Highlight right there alone!! :)

I hope you've all had a wonderful week too! :)

Aimée
Xxxx

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My (Never Gonna Happen!) Christmas Wishlist.

I quite literally am always lusting over something and the thought of Christmas sends my brain into overdrive. My brain also seems to have ratherrr expensive taste, which sadly doesn't correspond with the reality of my bank account. So, instead of showing you the delightful things I've bought, I am instead showing you a wishlist of items that I can only hope to have in my dreams! And what a wonderful dream it would be!

My ultimate Designer handbag lust is the Micheal Kors Selma Satchel. However this above is quite literally the cutest thing ever as it is essentially a mini version! Entitled the Selma Studded Messenger Bag (1), it is firmly placed in my dream accessories drawer. I'm definitely a 'big' bag lover, so when it comes to evening bags I pretty much always use the same boring satchel so I'd absolutely loveeee to have this for the evenings! With such a neutral colour it'd look lovely with so many outfits and the studs give it a really good edge.

My laptop has been dead for a while and the past few months I've been borrowing stealing my Mum's. I so want my own laptop back, and I'd absolutely love a Macbook (2) to take its place! They are just the best in my eyes, and Windows just doesn't quite cut it anymore!

Any Made In Chelsea fans reading?? If so you might recognise the beautiful outfit as one of Sophie Hermann's creations. She's not a regular on MIC, but a firm friend of proper poshies Mark Francis and Victoria. She wore this outfit in a recent episode and I literally fell in love!! Its actually a bodysuit and skirt (3) together, but I think its beautiful. The structured neckline and padded statement shoulders pairs so well with the skater style skirt. The burgundy colour is so festive too!

One of my favourite designers ever ever is Rob Ryan. All his creations are so beautiful and whimsical, so when I saw that'd he collaborated with Tatty Devine I was seriously excited. I couldn't choose between these two rings as my favourite piece so I included them both. They're both 18-carot rose gold plated rings (4) with beautifully intricate designs. The Forever Love ring is such a lovely message and the Crown of Hearts ring reminds me of a fairytale crown. I absolutely adore them!!

Oh Laura Mercier. Be still my beating heart! What I would give to buy all of the things from the brand, but suffice to say its all a tadge too expensive at the moment! I've heard so much about the Body Souffles (5) that I couldn't not include them on my list! Just the word Souffle sounds invigorating and moisturising. I'd love to try the Créme de Pistache scent.

Lastly, the Nars At First Sight palette. One day I will own a Nars palette, but for now I shall just lust after them! The combination of shades in this palette is just so lovely, I know I'd get so much use out of it. Its also just so great for travelling, which is really handy as I spend a few nights a week at my boyfriends.

What 's on your 'never gonna happen' wishlist?? :)

Aimée
Xxxx

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Review: Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Apocoliptic

The Rimmel Apocalips have been around for quite a while now, and although I have had two in my lip collection I've always struggled to wear them. The formula is like a lip gloss on application but dries matte giving it a lipstick-style finish. They are so so pigmented, which is part of the reason I struggled to wear it initially. Its definitely an 'out there' shade and one that I'd only wear on a night out.

Because of the formula the lacquer has seriously great staying power and sits really comfortably on the lips throughout the day. The shade is a beautiful bright magenta shade which is literally opaque with one swipe. The applicator has a small well in the tip which helps the product to collect making it so much easier to apply. Although, I do find that I prefer to blot it slightly so I don't have a crazy amount of product to spread. Though the texture of the lacquer is really creamy making it so easy to apply.

Although this is a pretty out there shade for me, I do think it looks great on a night out for a really statement lip. Rimmel really do have some great lip products out at the moment don't you thnink? I definitely want to try out Big Bang from the Apocalips collection! Have any of you tried it?

Aimée
Xxxx

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DIY Christmas: Personalised Map Artwork

Firstly, I do apologise for the awful quality of this photo!! I actually made this present last Christmas and this was the only photo I could find of it. That aside, I really wanted to share this idea with you as I think its a really easy but thoughtful gift.

I originally saw this idea on the treasure trove of a website 'Not on the High Street' which is full of personalised gits. You can look at the original idea here, which while lovely and professional looking is a whopping £85. Aside from the fact that I didn't have £85 to spend on the artwork, I also thought making it myself would be easier and a lot more thoughtful.

As I already had a piece of plain card all I needed to buy was a photo frame. I bought mine from Urban Outfitters as they always do really lovely frames and they're never too pricey either! They don't do this frame any longer, but realistically any frame you like will do. A bigger frame is an advantage however as the map hearts will look better. You could even buy a frame that has three different sections, its up to you, which is the beauty of this DIY.

Next you'll need to decide on three locations to use that are personal to whoever you're gifting. As I made this frame for my best friend, I chose London, Lancaster and Wollongong in Australia. I made London the biggest heart as that is where she was born, Lancaster was where she went to University and Wollongong was where she spent a year studying. I did want to have vintage looking maps for this but it was really hard to find maps that were clear enough to print. You can find the maps however you like, though obviously google is the easiest option.

Finally you are ready to assemble! You want to draw a heart on the map around the area that you want, then cut them out. Then stick these onto your backing card in any pattern you like, and voila! You're done!

This DIY really is so simple, but I think its a really sweet idea and will definitely show that you've put a lot of thought into the gift. I hope you liked it! I'll be back next Sunday with another Christmas DIY.

Aimée
Xxxx

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Weekly Highlights. #3

L-R: Costa Snowman Coffee, Homemade Chocolate Tart for a dinner party, Homemade Advent Calenders, Happy with Mulled Wine, Crafting fun with my sister Katie, Christmas Tree crumpets, Katie and a handmade Robin bauble, Bens Cookies treat, Covent Garden looking festive, Crafting with Katie, Lunch at Le Pain. 

To sum up the last week in one word? Festive! I spent a Christmas crafting weekend with my sister, had my first mulled wine and ate a Christmas tree shaped crumpet. Christmas is officially here and I couldn't be happier! But here are my three highlights:

1. My sister may only live around a 25minute drive away but spending quality time together can sometimes be few and far between. So last weekend I packed up a bag and spent a long weekend crafting for Christmas, eating far too many mince pies and watching copious Christmas films with her. Christmas jumpers were well and truly on and it was lovely. :)

2. On Thursday I met up with one of my best friends from University, Hannah. We hadn't seen each other since we went to Bestival together back in September so it was really great to catch up. We had Christmas Coffee and bought amazingly cosy scarfs. An evening well spent I say!

3. Finally, my last highlight is coming home from my sisters to find that my mum had been doing some Christmas 'crafting' of her own. She had made me and my sister giant advent calenders and filled it ready with different treats. It was such a lovely gesture and I've since found out that she began it back in September! Me and my sister are lucky daughters! :)

So that's been my week, how've your weeks been?

Aimée
Xxxx

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Review: TIGI S-Factor Smoothing Shampoo & Conditioner (BEST set ever.)

This is my favourite shampoo and conditioner set EVER. Seriously. My only wish is that I'd found it sooner! I'd never heard of TIGI's S-Factor range until I started reading a few blogs last year, since then I've begun a minor (read as: major) obsession with the range.

The bottles pictured above are actually my second purchase, as I quite literally couldn't live without them. I buy the 750ml salon size as I find that to be the best value. They are on the pricier side, but you can buy them cheaper on websites like All Beauty and Amazon. My first bottles lasted me 4 months too, so even though they are more expensive in the initial pay out it's definitely worth it. I hate constantly feeling like I need to buy shampoo/conditioner so this is perfect for me.

The pump applicator makes it so easy to dispense in the shower and you never waste any product. Both the products smell deliciously of strawberries and the scent stays in your hair all day. The Shampoo is pink and glittery in color and really feels like it gives your hair a deep clean. The Conditioner is white and thick, giving the effect of using a hair mask. I concentrate the conditioner on the ends of my hair which gives my hair a lovely smooth finish.

Since using this set my hair feels so much healthier and stronger and is so much more manageable. I really can't say enough good things about them! My only tiny bug bear is that it's tricky to get the last dregs of product out of the bottles. Nothing that will effect my love for the product though!

Have you tried anything from the S-Factor range?

Aimée
Xxxxx

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Review: Topshop Blush in Primetime

After 3-4 hours of wearing Primetime 

Considering Topshop is primarily a highstreet clothes shop I really think they excel in their make-up collection. Their lipsticks and nail polishes are such great quality and now I've delved into the world of their blushes I can safely say that it'll be a permanent fixture in my make-up bag.

I picked up Primetime which is a cream to powder blush in a gorgeous bright pink shade. The blending ability of this is insane. It blends out so flawlessly and gives you a lovely rosy glow. I struggled to take a picture that showed the blush to its best ability, so the above photo is from a recent day out with my boyfriend. I'd been wearing the blush for at least 3 or 4 hours by the time we took the picture and I think it still gives a lovely radiant glow.

The blush is really pigmented so a little goes a long way. When applying I use my fingers to dab a little on the apples of my cheeks before blending it out. I'm sure a Stippling Brush would give the blush a gorgeous look after applying, but for the moment my fingers work just as well.

I'm definitely going to invest in more Topshop blushes in the future. Are there any shades you'd recommend?

Aimée
Xxxx

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