Turning 18 | What to Wear*

  

Just last week I turned 18, leading up to it I was stuck on what to wear to a party with my friends or even for a meal for my family.  I then decided that I would share a blog post with some outfit ideas that I have loved and so you might be able to get some inspiration. I am fully aware I'm not your normal fashion blogger. I don't look as fabulous as they do and being a student means I can't pay professional photographers and so I pay my best friend with our friendship to do it for me.

I tried my best to show you how much I loved these outfits and I hope you can see that!

This first outfit was my most 'civilised' outfit if you will because it wasn't short or low cut. I paired the  Madelyn Taupe Jumpsuit Set* from an online website called Tobi with the most gorgeous shoes from Ego Official* to add a different colour into the Nude mix. I added a fur jacket with my outfit too because with this temperamental British weather you can never tell if its going to be cold, hot or rain! I cut the label out of this jacket a long time ago but I have found a similar one from New Look here.

My second outfit was more of a party outfit for me because it was a little short and the slope in the dress is different to what I've seen in bodycon dresses before. This dress came from Tobi and even has the special bit of plastic in the top of the dress to hold it up which I can never find inside dresses these days, find this dress Here.  Like before I paired the dress with the Perspex heels from Ego Official because they broke up the gap between the floor and the dress with a little more black. Finally I partnered the outfit with a Coat from H&M.

My final outfit was my most 'girly' outfit of the three because it was a floral dress without being a floral print. The Skater Dress is the most beautiful lace pattern that I want this dress in every single colour now. Duck egg blue is a colour that I would never normally wear but in this dress I will happily wear it. The shoes are partnered this dress with are from Newlook and are a similar pattern. I decided to wear floral patterned shoes with the floral patterned dress because why not go from one extreme to another.  Unfortunately I cannot find these shoes anywhere but here are some similar.






- Abigail x

My Top Three Travelling Essentials*

Now that I have been on quite a few holidays where I have been responsible for sorting out my own things and then packing my own bag, I have come to learn there are a few things in life that are necessities when going away.... and others that really need to stay at home.

1. To kick start my list I am going to begin with Ziplock Bags. These sound crazy but trust me, they are so handy. I have small, medium and large sized bags all with cute patterns on of course but they are perfect for travelling. The small ziplock bags can be used for your carry on toiletries because you can sort them all out at home and have them in the bag ready. The medium sized ziplock bags are perfect for your shampoo and conditioner, your sun lotion and even your moisturiser because you can zip them all up and not have to worry about them getting on your clothes if they leak. Finally the large ziplock bags are perfect for your dirty laundry when coming home. If you separate your laundry out of the clean clothes then unpacking will be so much easier! If you are on a sunny holiday and are using a swimming pool or going to the beach on your last day you can then easily rinse your swimwear and pop it in a medium bag as to not get your other clothes wet. Who knew ziplock bags where such a life saver!


2. The second item I completely recommend you take on holiday with you whether it is somewhere hot or cold, is a small waterproof makeup bag/wash bag. You might be thinking why on earth would I need this.. let me tell you. The bag is perfect for popping inside of your beach bag with your phone and car keys in, not only are they easy to find they are also easily protected from getting sandy or wet. If you're on a cold holiday then it is just as perfect because  you're out all day in the cold, pop your keys and your phone in a sock or too to keep them warm and insulated, then into the bag and voila. Your keys and phone won't be wet from rain or snow and are also kept warm so they don't stop working!


3. Lastly I am going to mention something that stays at home... but is a travelling essential in my eyes. The Smarthome Panasonic* is a home security system that can do many things including: track if any windows or doors have been opened, it also has an indoor camera as well as an outdoor camera (which is weatherproof of course!), you can turn appliances on and off... the list is endless! Everything I have mentioned you can simply track on your phone or tablet anywhere in the world, even while you're sunbathing on the beach or hiking up a mountain. This is a travel essential to me especially with how our current world is and the ever changing weather conditions it would be great if while you were away you could have peace of mind knowing everything was going to be okay.

If you want to find out more information about the Smarthome Panasonic* then you can click HERE!



-Abigail x

Penclic, Does it really work?*

Can you imagine a mouse... thats a pen? Well neither could I until i tried it, and now I'm OBSESSED.

Whenever I edit my Instagram photos I use my MacBook because I have multiple softwares on there that I much prefer using and I can do quite a few images in one go. To sum up how it goes, my hand gets very tired because of the angle that I am sitting at and how the trackpad is positioned on MacBooks.

A couple of months ago now I was ever so lucky as to receive the Penclic R3 which is a wireless pen mouse if you like. It simply is a pen on a computer mouse. I struggled before when using a computer mouse because my fingers are double jointed they didn't sit properly over the shape. Due to the Penclic being the shape and size of a pen it is incredibly easy to use as I do write a lot of notes in class and so am used to holding a pen! As you can see in the image above you even use it just like a pen, except it is on a little square block which helps to move it around easily.

I have even been using the Penclic R3 for completing some of my college work which usually takes me a long time, especially doing all my annotations and labelling, but being able to use something that is just like a pen has literally halved the time! I used to spend hours on homework but now I don't because it is so much easier and comfier to hold the Penclic R3 I whizz straight through it all!

So the mouse itself has a battery inside of it which you charge up using a cable which plugs into the mouse. I have only charged mine up once and it has lasted such a long time while I have been editing away into the night so I am rather impressed.

If you struggle with holding a mouse or find yourself in pain using a normal mouse then I recommend you try out a Penclic because once you have you will never want to go back! Well... I don't want to anyway. For a wireless mouse that is like no other on the market it is a lot more affordable than I ever anticipated it would be, you can check them out HERE!



- Abigail x

Summer Travelling... Gone Wrong?*

If you follow me on social media then you would've seen that back in May I passed my driving test! I am now on the roads in my little car driving around... sensibly I might hope. I am partnering with Point S for this blog post (which is a website in which you can purchase car tyres from) to tell you some dangers of driving around in the summer!

Exploding Tyres
Can you imagine you are just driving along enjoying the views of the ocean over the edge of a cliff,  when you suddenly hear a loud bang. You're losing control of your car and unsure on what to do. This is what it is like when your tyre has exploded. When the wheels are constantly turning they are creating a lot more heat (hot air takes up more space than cold air causing your tyres to expand), add in the warm weather on the tarmac your tyres are going to be very hot. All the mix of friction and heat will cause them to explode! Now don't worry, this isn't going to happen to you whenever you drive but just make sure you are checking your tyres regularly when the air is cold.

Engine Failure
There are many different ways that engine failure can occur, trust me - I've done my research. The one way that I think is most likely to happen while travelling is flooding your engine. If you're driving around and drive through a deep puddle or even a couple can really damage your engine. The water can find its way to the spark plug and suddenly, you're pulled over on the side of the road with an engine that no longer works. Another side note... Don't avoid any leaks, always get them checked out!

Laws about Tyres
Do you know the legal tyre depth for the tyres on your car? Well if not you're in the right place because I know. Having recently passed my test one of the questions I had to be able to answer was the legal minimum tyre depth, which is 1.6mm all the way around in different places! If you find your tires are not 1.6mm then head on over to Point S Website and you can get yourself some new car tyres or just the one!

Sleep
With the nights being lighter everyone is out later, meaning less time to sleep. Now I know that if I am not in bed by 11, I will be grouchy and spacey the next day. Getting in your car tired can cause the same effects as driving under the influence of alcohol. Your concentration and reaction rates are incredibly reduced causing not only you but also everyone else on the road in danger. Make sure you have had enough rest before you next get into your car and drive because you are putting everyone else you in danger too.


Make sure you go and check out Point S because you may be able to find some good deals on tyres for your car!


-Abigail x

The Prettiest Pinks*

The blush and the lipstick are definitely the prettiest pinks I've ever seen... however maybe the eyebrow pencil is a bit more of a brown. A couple of posts back I tried out W7 makeup for the first time and completely fell in love with it, since then I've ran out of the primer and not found one I love even nearly as much. 

Shade - Hot Gossip

Talk about being sparkly, shimmery and spectacular. This blusher comes in a brick form of a powder, contains 6 gorgeous shades that all work as one or as sextuplets separately (I googled what 6 twins is called and apparently its sextuplets and I felt like it just sat right). My favourite shade is the bottom left hand corner which comes out very similarly to Nars-Orgasm. The paler whites and pinks can even work as a soft highlighter if you were to dip a small enough brush into the colour, then it would work perfectly. The blushers are very pigmented and the glitter  transfers nicely from the brush to the cheek with minimal fallout.

Imagine if you could apply pink glitter to your lips, without the actual glitter the harsh scratchy feel or the dry texture. Oh wait... The shade Negligee by W7 is a gorgeous light/medium pink full of sparkle. The pink colour has a slight opacity to it however this isn't noticeable until up close. The glitter hides the fact the pink isn't a bold colour, however this is what I love about the lipstick. I've never found a lipstick that is full of glitter yet isn't dulled out by a bold, bright toned colour. It's a bonus that Negligee doesn't dry out your lips like any other glitter lipstick would have. For the price of this lipstick it is so affordable!

I am not yet mastered in the skill of getting my eyebrows to look good, no matter how hard I try or the amount of products I use, I cannot get eyebrows that look how I want them too! I used the W7 Super brows, when testing out makeup products late at night (who doesn't lets be honest) and so many people commented on my brows and I was amazed because I thought I'd done a job of a 5 year old. I followed my natural brow shape and added in 'fake hairs' or little lines in simple terms before brushing through with the spoolie so my brows were back in shape. The brush clearly is magical because it blended all these harsh lines that I had created together to create an eyebrow that didn't even look like mine. 

I hope you enjoyed exploring a few more W7 products with me, my favourite from this trio has to be the blusher brick,  I love the shimmery colours and high pigmentation!

- Abigail x

Cleaning Your Makeup Brush's Just Got Easier*

Everyday I like to change up my eye makeup because it allows you to be creative. However it is such a hassle, having to keep cleaning your brushes in-between each creation. Well beautyessentials have saved my butt here, all because of their Shadow Switch. The Shadow Switch not only cleans your brushes but it is also eco-friendly, hygienic and reliable! For only £5.99 you can clean your brushes so easily without having to use any water or solution! I tried out two of my brushes below so you can see the comparison.

I use this makeup brush way too often for a brown crease. This week I decided right before college I wanted to have a pink/red crease but all my brushes are brown/black from the previous couple of days. Out I whipped my shadow switch to give my brushes a swirl around. Within seconds of swirling the dry brush, on the dry sponge, it was clean. When I then put the brush into a pink tone there wasn't a single trace of brown so I was rather impressed!

One of my most used brushes has to be there for applying glitter to my eyelid. I wasn't expecting the shadow switch to take out any of the glitter as I struggle when cleaning my brushes with a solution to clear all the glitter but this did a much better job than I anticipated! The brush has no trace of the golden/copper glitter so I can dip straight in to a different crazy colour.

Beautyessentials have recently changed their packaging (this being the old packaging) to have something a lot more simple, that can also have more added to it. Make sure you head over to the amazon page so you can see what new exciting things they will be releasing!

The Shadow Switch would also be really handy if you are going away on holiday for at least two weeks. You could easily keep up with the cleaning of your brushes, without having to worry about a liquid solution running all over you clothes in a suitcase.

-Abigail x

More Than Just A Bracelet.*

When looking at a piece of jewellery how do you decide whether you are going to buy it or not? Do you decide based on the price? Appearance? Packaging? Slogan? I do all but not all.

What first attracted me towards Sailbrace.co.uk was their slogan 'Anchor yourself to something special' I fell in love with the words and to me it had such a beautiful meaning. The slogan itself had made me want...need one of these bracelets but with such a large range of colours how was I supposed to choose?

I based my decision on the anchor itself as I owned a lot of Gold and Silver Jewellery but not yet Rose Gold. Being a typical blogger I obviously was  drawn into this. I then had the hard decision of the strap/rope however I went with something slightly neutral compared to that of the Rose Gold, so that the anchor was the main feature.

I have been wearing my Sail Brace bracelet for about a week now and I have to say it is the comfiest thing I've ever worn, half the time I forget I'm wearing it! Obviously the bracelet isn't waterproof because the 'strap' would get ruined but because it can easily be tied and re-tyed it is easy to remove for a shower!

The bracelet would be a perfect present for a best-friend or loved one at christmas as it is suggesting to them, that you don't want to lose them and fell like you need to hold them close. Guess my friends already know what they're getting for christmas,

Sail Brace have only recently launched in the UK, so if like me you have completely fallen in love with the whole website then feel free to head over and purchase one yourself. I have a 10% discount code available to you which is 'abigailjessicax' so make sure you go over to sailbrace.co.uk to make sure you get a fabulous saving! If you are interested in the Rose Gold and Grey Bracelet then you better hurry as they are limited addition!

-Abigail x

A brand I've never used before... But Now I love !!

 

The lovely Molly over at W7, sent me a few makeup items to try out. W7 is a brand that I always see when I'm scrolling through Amazon or on social media yet I've never ordered any because I don't like the idea of having to do it all online as I can't go into the shops to swatch and try everything out!  

I was rather intrigued by the idea of a waterproof foundation and had always wanted a product that would last. I wore the foundation on my GCSE results day and lets leave it as a cried multiple times. There wasn't a single streak in my face and not a single bit of the makeup had moved. I was so impressed that it had lasted through my salty tears. The coverage is very high for the foundation and I think this helps in making it waterproof and long-lasting. The colour I wore is Sand-Beige and although it is slightly too pinky for me I just blended it down my neck and managed to get away with it! The packaging is similar to many of my high end foundations being that it has a pump and is a glass bottle. I feel although the bottle being glass helps keep the product looking clean because its easier to wipe away fingerprints of foundation! If you are going to be crying like me, or if you just want a high coverage foundation without the cost then I am definitely recommending the W7 Waterproof foundation as it was incredible.

Obviously to go with a foundation you need a good primer and that is exactly what the W7 Prime magic, camera ready prier does. The consistency of the primer is similar to the photo ready Smashbox primer. It is obviously clear and doesn’t have a slight tint or colour like other primers I have tried previously. I use quite a bit of primer as I’d rather have slightly too much and my pores are protected than not enough. I’m not sure if the primer helps with the foundation but it does definitely hide majority of my pores and makes my skin look photoshopped without the photoshop.

The eyebrow pencil (shade brown) was in a 'style' I'm going to call it that I have never used before. I'm normally a gel kind of girl with powder over the top as I love the finish it gives on your brows. However… When using the W7 product it was so creamy yet dried like a powder I was amazed and couldn’t believe that all this times I had been using a gel with powder over the top when there was a product available that could do both. The nib is in the shape of the bristles on an eyebrow brush if you know what I mean! It is triangular and slanted so that you can get those on fleek brows!

I also tried out the lipstick in the shade Damson. The red colour is my go to shade for going out in the evenings, as it is more glam and bold which is the look I always like to go for. The colour pay of is a lot higher than I first anticipated because it is such an affordable price. The lipstick isn’t as long lasting as a more high end product and it will last for around 3 hours and thats with drinks and food too. The lipstick has a matte finish which means it isn’t shiny or glossy. A lot of matte lipsticks have a rather drying formula but I found this one didn’t and it still moisturised my lips while wearing it. 

The final W7 product that I tried was the ‘Eye want it’ eyeshadow collection. The colours in the palette are all my normal go to options and I really liked the pigmentation. It did take slightly longer to blend the colours out but I didn’t mind because it does give me the option of more of a prominent look if that is what I wanted. My favourite colour had to be the pinky shimmer as it was such a gorgeous colour. It looks lovely either as a lid colour or even as a light dusting on the top of the cheekbones as a highlight. The tin works as really good storage for the colours however I do think it is rather bulky and it sticks out in my draw. You could easily de-pot them and pop them into a z-palette but I am unsure if they are magnetic or not!

I hope you have enjoyed this review of a few W7 products. My favourite has to be the foundation I have fallen in love with it and now wear it everyday!!

-Abigail x

WHEN facemasks review!*

I love to do facemasks especially at the end of a long week full of stressing out from everything anything or if I’ve been into London. I have fallen in love with the facemasks by WHEN recently because of how incredibly moisturising they are for your skin. My face goes through stages of being very dry to combination so when I was having a dry moment I used the WHEN ‘The last choice’ mask.

When the mask first came out of the packet it felt like a bit of plastic covered in face cream, it wasn’t until I unwrapped it that I realised it wasn’t! The facemask itself was sandwiched between two different bits of plastic to keep the moisture locked in. After applying the mask I looked like something out of a horror film that had its face peeling off! The mask had to stay on for 30 minutes so I went about re-painting my nails, having a full pamper session. After removing the mask there was still a bit of the moisturising product on my skin and according to the instructions you can just massage this into the face and neck… so I did just that. The product didn’t leave my skin looking oily at all and I was really worried that would happen. It also smelt really good!

I also tried the WHEN ‘Travelmate’ which I used after going into the city for the day. I felt like it did practically the same to my skin as ‘The Last Choice’ but was a lot more moisturising meaning it left me feeling quite a bit oily. It definitely left me feeling a lot more refreshed after being stuck in the city for the day.

Between the two I preferred ‘The Last Choice’ because it wasn’t as moisturising in the fact that I felt really oily afterwards! WHEN facemasks have quickly become one of my top 5 to use when I need a pick me up.

WHEN facemasks can be bought for £7 each from the places below depending on your country:

United Kingdom
Birchbox Uk
Selfridges & Co. (London)
Topshop

France
Birchbox France
Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche (Paris)

Italy
Ovs

Spain
Birchbox Spain

Switzerland
Manor

-Abigail x

Beautiful Summer Bouquet!*

England’s weather is pretty awful. Today especially, it is supposed to be sunny yet it is peeing it down with rain and has been since I woke up however many hours ago! One thing that can make any room seem a lot more like summer is flowers. I love the smell of flowers *sneezes* even if the pollen count is high, effecting my hay fever but it’s okay right... because flowers are pretty! 

I got sent the most gorgeous bouquet from Prestige Flowers called the Grandeur and also added in was a pink vase and some incredible mini praline chocolates. When you order flowers from them they also send a care guide telling you how to look after the flowers which for someone like me who managed to kill a cactus was really helpful! There is also a card telling you a little bit about all the flowers which also was helpful as I know about four.

The flowers arrived really quickly which shocked me because I thought it would be at least a week but really it arrived the next day! One thing that makes me nervous about ordering flowers online is that they will arrive damaged and id has to throw them out but my order from Prestige Flowers came secured in a tall box and wasn't damaged at all! There was also the quote above attached inside and it made me chuckle so I thought I would share it with you as well!

My bouquet has lasted over two weeks and is still going strong. The guide that it came with definitely helped because otherwise they would be dead the next day! If you want to order this bouquet then it is currently reduce from £49.99 to £34.99 so get it while you can at the lower price! The bouquet would be a lovely gift for a birthday or an anniversary! 

Thank you Prestige Flowers for such a beautiful bouquet I love it to pieces!

-Abigail x