What I got for Christmas 2011

Monday 26 December 2011

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas. I certainly did. I spent a lovely day at home with my boyfriend and dad, we ate lots of food and had a great laugh.


I wasn't sure whether to do this type of post of not. I'm an only child, I'm even my grandparents only grand kid. My boyfriend is an only child too and we really do over board at Christmas and we both get very spoilt. I know I am very lucky and do sometimes get embarrassed as I know there is a lot of people who aren't as fortunate as us.


So if you are interested here is what I got:


I love this dress. The bf does have a good taste.

Mistletoe's - Christmas Pedicure

Sunday 11 December 2011

I thought I would try something different this afternoon and jazz up my feet a little. I wanted a christmasy feel, so I had a rummage around and found some glitter that I bought from ebay a few months ago..and this was the final result (please excuse my feet, I wasn't destained to be a foot model! lol)


Nails Inc Couture

Monday 5 December 2011

Today Nails Inc have launched a very exciting new feature called "Couture". 

Elf mystery box

Sunday 4 December 2011

As it's gets closer and closer to Christmas the purse strings are tightening but there's just some things we can't do without.

Last month Elf cosmetics has a deal on, spend £10 and receive a mystery box worth a minimum of £10. I needed some new foundation anyway so I was in luck.

I ordered my usual foundation and a new blusher to bring it up to the min £10 spend to qualify for the offer:

New name

Hi everyone and a big warm welcome to my new followers!

As you've probably seen I've changed the name of my blog and bought myself a fancy domain name!

So Beauty Abroad will now be "Beauty she wrote". I wanted to change it to something more generic as I might not always be abroad, but I am for now! Nothing else has changed, same old me just thought i'd give you a little update.

Speak soon,
Elle x

Outfit Finder Friday - Mulled wine dresses

Friday 2 December 2011

I saw a feature in The Sun newspaper today on wine coloured dresses for the holiday season, and I think such a lovely colour , makes a big change from just wearing black. But personally I'm guilty as charged!

So if your looking for something for your Christmas party or New Year...Look no further.

Look 1


All from Asos.com

Outfit finder Friday

Friday 25 November 2011


Hi, I hope you're all have a great week and thank Prada it's Friday! (ok i've been watching too much ugly betty). Yesterday I saw this amazing picture of Nicola from Girls aloud:

I searched high an low for a similar outfit, so if you're after Nicola's look here's my suggestions: (unfortunately her legs aren't available so I'll need to keep going to the gym!)

Designer Shoes - without breaking the bank

Saturday 19 November 2011

I thought i'd do a little bit of a different post today. "Hi, my name is Elle and I'm a shoe-a-holic."


I love shoes, all kind of shoes, but my soft spot is a perfectly made pair of high heels, the higher the better! Which is a little bit strange, because day to day I normally wear pumps - I find it faster to get round, and if you're in Malta you'll know these streets are made for walking in heels.


Every girl dreams of owning a pair of designer shoes, and it doesn't always have to cost hundreds and thousands of pounds.

Mudd Original Mask - Review

Saturday 12 November 2011

When I was in London las month I picked "Mudd Original Mask" from Boots, I love sitting in the bath reading a magazine with a face mask so i'm always picking up sachets when I go to the supermarket. But I'd been looking for tube with more than one application so I picked this up when I seen it.

My Brow Routine

Sunday 6 November 2011

We all have our obsessions and mine are my eyebrows. A few years ago I was looking at photos from a night out and I kept looking at myself and thinking "something isn't quite right" and I realised it was my eyebrows, they were out of shape and pale looking.  So I grew out what was there and let the professionals take over to give me some shape I could work with.

I thought it would share my brow routine with you:

HD Brow Pallet, Benefit High beam, Elf eyebrow lifter & filler


NOTD - Reverse French Manicure

Thursday 3 November 2011

So I'm starting to experiment more and more with different colours and try some designs with nail polish now. I saw this amazing idea "Reverse French Manicure in Matte Black" on Ciao Bella's Blog and had to try it for myself. I couldn't find the Black Matte O.P.I she uses but I sound some Avon's 'Black as Night' on Amazon for £6.00, and I used Rimmel's 'Black cab' for the tip:



I think it turned out well and I was please with the result. Have you tried matte polish before?

Buy Avon's "Black as night" here : Matt Nail Enamel (Black as Night)

London Trip

Saturday 29 October 2011

So it's been an exciting couple of days as I went to London on Wednesday for a work trip and got back late last night. I had a great time, and we stayed in the most amazing hotel at Westminster Bridge. I could see Big Ben from from room! Here's some photos:
And I even had a separate living room!
Although I wasn't quite sure what to do in here, because even when I'm at home I prefer to lay on my bed to watch tv/internet/read etc.

I was lucky enough to have a few hours spare on Wednesday afternoon and we went to the London Aquarium, it wasn't anything amazing, i've been to Sea Life centres before. But I did love the penguins!
We then grabbed a quick bite to eat and went back to the hotel for a drink. I tried my first French Martini and I can see why everyone raves about them, they are delicious! 

Thursday and Friday were spent doing work, although on Friday lunchtime I managed to go to Covent Gardens and raid Lush and Boots.

To feed my nail polish addition, I ended up buying some...more than I imagined! Oops! But I did need more wintery/Christmas colours. 
(L-R)
Barry M : Coral, Barry M: Dusky Mauve, Rimmel: Black Cab, 17: Fury, 17: Forever, 17: Peacock
17: Ruby Gem, No7: Totally Teal, No7: Betty Blues

The lighting here is quite bad, but the 17 "red" polish is actually a lovely deep red wine colour. The best part was; 17 had an offer on, buy two 17 products and get this free:

I seen some other people talking about Umberto Giannini "Back comb in a can", so I got some to try it out...but it was on offer 2 for £7.50, so I picked up some "Glamour Puss Crystal Mist" to try it too.

Free gifts, special offers and £5 vouchers...I can never resist. It's one of the things I miss about the UK.



I found a Lush and had to pick up some "Snow Fairy" as I hear all the UK bloggers raving about it, and right enough it smells heavenly .I picked up some "Rock Star" soap and a bath bomb wand as well. All of them smell so fruity and fresh..almost good enough to eat!

NOTD

Tuesday 18 October 2011

My latest obsession is nail varnish. I know I know, i'm about a million years behind everyone else but I'm a pretty plain kinda of person and for the last 3 years i've only every had French acrylics. But since i've started blogging and finding more blogs i'm becoming more obsessed with finding and trying new colours and brands. So here's my first of many NOTD



I picked this polish up today at the chemist on my way home from work. It's Maybelline New York shade 249 (€3.59) .It's pearly white with a tiny hint of pink. It didn't give a full coverage as i expected (note the french tips), but it def gives a nice finish. This is with 3 coats.

What's your favourite colour? x

Fortina Spa

Monday 10 October 2011

Hi Everyone,

Hope you all had a great weekend, I certainly did. I had some friends visiting from the UK and I was lucky enough to take Friday off work to go to the Fortina Spa.

I wanted to write a review as I had a great time and would recommend anyone taking a day off and going there to de-stress.

As we all know Spa days can be expensive, but Fortina have a great package call "Relaxing Day (A)" for €60. Which sounds a little pricey but let me explain..

So we arrived at Fortina Spa Resort at 11.45am (15 Minutes early - as advised), and we were greeted by the friendly staff at the reception Spa, where were then lead to our treatment rooms. You have a choice of either a Relaxing facial or a Relaxing Massage (25 mins). I opted for the facial.

The treatment rooms are spacious yet cosy, with soft playing music and dimmed lights.The therapist kindly explained what she would be doing - cleanse, gently exfoliating, massaging and apply a mask.

Once the masks were on, she left the room for 10 mins to allow me to relax. My eyes were covered so i found myself day dreaming. Usually I have 101 things on my mind and would be looking around the room, but it was nice to lie there just thinking of nothing. Also they placed a cotton hair net/shower cap over my hair when they were massaging my head! No greasy hair after - amazing!

Once I was all cleaned up, we went for Lunch (included in the package) up stairs at the pizzeria in the Hotel - Il Giardino. It's situated just off the pool area so there was lots of over hanging trees and a little bit of sun while we sat outside! It felt very tropical.

Now I was expecting a set menu as part of the Spa package, but we were told we could pick any 1 x Starter, 1 x Main and 1 x Dessert!! I opted for Garlic Bread,Marghertia Pizza, and Strawberry Gateaux. Yum! There were specials of the day such as Duck or Chicken but as a Veggie, I was more than happy with my choice. Starters are €4-9 and Mains up to €9-16, so I'd say we ate around €20-€25 worth of food each (Drinks not included). 

Next we went down to Spa Sante. I'd never been to a "proper" spa before so I can't compare, but I loved this place. We were given fluffy white robes and changed into our bikini's. It's recommend to spend 2-3hrs here and now I see why, there is just so much to do. Here's some photos from their facebook page.


There is everything you need to relax :
  • Sauna
  • Steam Room
  • Meditation Room
  • Jacuzzi
  • Ice Room
  • Fun Shower
  • Foot Spa
  • Relaxing Area
  • Kneipp Walk
  • And more..
I checked on their website and to use to Spa Sante alone is €30, so the package is well worth the money if you ever feel like treating yourself .






UK Mini Haul - Part 2

Saturday 1 October 2011

Hi,

Sorry I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks, I didn't arrive back in Malta until late Sunday night, and went back to work Monday morning, and I've been trying to catch up on everything since.

So after my last haul I didn't actually end up buying too much more. Instead I started my Christmas shopping (I know, I know) but Boot's had just put out their Christmas 3 for 2's and I couldn't resist starting early. Plus I'll be spending Christmas in the Uk this year for the first time in 4 years, so I was almost too excited about the "cool" christmas things you could get.

Anyway....I headed to Primark to pick up a few pieces.


When I was in Boots doing my Christmas shopping, they had an offer on for a £5 No7 Voucher when you spend £5! Bargain. I was lucky enough to be with my Mum who works in Boots, so I got discount too. So we put all our shopping through at £5 a time and ended up with about 6 vouchers. So I stocked up on some nail varnish.
(Barry I got delivered, No7 from vouchers)

I also bought some fake tan and a lipstick from No7 but I left them in the UK for when I go back next time.

I was definitely on the bargain hunt last week, and I took advantage of Back to Mac. You simply take 6 empty products back and you get a lipstick of your choice for free! I choose "Brave Red".

I looks quite bold, however when it's on it's softer. It's def my new fav colour at the moment. Perfect for Autumn/Winter. I've even been wearing during the day.

In my last post, I'd just received my E.L.F cosmetics and hadn't had the chance to try them out yet and I have to say..I LOVE this brand. I bought enough to have a full face with only e.l.f products and I haven't worn anything else since. Here are some swatches of the lip gloss I got.

UK Mini Haul - Part 1

Monday 19 September 2011

Hi All,

That's me arrived safely back in the UK and I was greeted by a nice pile of packages when I arrived home. Today I've been watching daytime tv, and had Tesco deliver some shopping. It's been nice, these are the days I missed when I'm in Malta.

Thought I'd quickly share some of the items I pre-ordered, but I'll be going into the City during the week so there will be more shopping. I'm back normally 2-4 times a year, so I normally save up for a splurge when I'm back.Enjoy...


You will have heard me already talk about StylistPick, and I finally got my shoes. They arrived boxed up, and came in a "posh" bag, and were beautifully presented.


The best part was that they even gave you a sticker of your shoe to put on your box, so you can identify what's inside. It thought this was a great little touch and would love to do this with all my shoes!



Find your style profile at Stylist pick (link)
Now shipping to Malta

E.L.F

I took advantage of the 50% off at Elf (twice), and here what I got. Swatchs to follow soon.

Nails Inc

A month or so ago, Nails Inc ran a Lucky Dip for £15 for 5 Nail Polishes, and I also joined their membership program for £5. For that you get 1 free Nail Polish when joining then an additional 10% off further purchases and a Birthday gift. My birthday isn't till next year so I'm not sure what the gift is yet.






Accessories
I bought few pieces from blog owners and Asos.

 




OOTD

Sunday 11 September 2011

I hope you all had a great weekend. I decided to try an Outfit Of The Day post. Enjoy...


Top: New look
Skirt: Zara
Shoes: Dorothy Perkins
Belt: River Island
Necklace: Next
Bracelet: Craft Market

What's in my box? #tag

Thursday 8 September 2011

I've seen a lot of bloggers and vloggers doing "what's in my makeup bag?" style posts, and today i thought I'd share mine...

I don't actually have a "bag", it started over flowing, so last year the bf bought me a train case for Christmas so i could keep all my things neat and tidy.

So here's my box...

And this is what I keep in it..
There is a lot of "stuff" there, and to be honest this isn't ALL my makeup...I put some in another box becuase at the time i figured "i didn't use it as much", but I now just keep buying more and putting it here. 

I didn't realise there was actually so much of it until I laid it all out Oops..

What's in your bag/box? 

x