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Tuesday 31 July 2012

July Favourite's

These are the products I have been loving this month!
Missguided Nail Polish in Missmatch | balance Me. Wonder Eye Cream
Revlon Nail Growth Treatment | Benefit's The Porefessional
Rimmel London Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in 12 | Makeup Academy Pencil Eyeliner in Gold Nugget
Missguided Nail Polish in Missmatch - I have been loving orange this Summer and when this was free in Cosmo's magazine I had to have it. It's a gorgeous bright orange with no shimmer in. It's been my favourite this month because the staying power is amazing! With just one top coat this nail polish stayed on my nails for 4 days with absolutely no chipping!

balance Me. Wonder Eye Cream - people may think I'm weird using eye cream at such a young age, in fact I started wearing it when I was 14/ 15! This isn't because I'm scared of wrinkles, but because I get very dry eye lids. I've been swapping between this eye cream I got free in Glamour this month and my Simple Eye Balm (which is the one I started using when I was 14/ 15), and I prefer this one! I love the fresh smell and it has a much thicker consistency so feels very moisturising on my eye area.

Revlon Nail Growth Treatment - I suffer with very dry and brittle nails that never grow properly. I've been using this growth treatment to put some extra nutrients back into my nails to help them grow stronger. I really like this product, it has a lovely lemon smell and since starting using it my nails seem to grow longer and are less prone to breaking. I've already bought a back up just in case I run out!

Benefit's The Porefessional - this was featured in my Glamour Magazine Benefit Freebies post where I stated I didn't have a need of this product and I probably wouldn't use it. I was wrong! This product is one of the best selling primers in the UK at the moment and I can tell why! I've loved using primers in this hot weather as my makeup just doesn't apply properly or stay throughout the day if I don't use one. The Porefessional feels very luxurious and smooths out your skin's surface to provide a base for your face makeup. I focus it on my nose, chin and forehead as these are the places my makeup seems to come off the quickest. This product has helped my makeup stay on for much longer and I really like it!

Rimmel London Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in 12 - this is one of my favourite coral lipsticks  (featured in my Top 6 Lipsticks post) because the colour is so pigmented and lasts a long time on your lips! It is also one of my 'go-to' lipsticks as I find the colour suits me really well.

Makeup Academy Pencil Eyeliner in Gold Nugget - this colour is such a nice alternative to the brown eyeliner I use in my everyday makeup. It's a gorgeous, pigmented shimmery gold colour that applies smoothly. I love using this above my upper lash line. As it's gold, it goes with my brown eyes really well which is another thing I like. Full review HERE.

What are your July favourite's?

Amie

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Monday 30 July 2012

Review | Makeup Academy (M.U.A) Pencil Eye Liners

This is my second post reviewing products by Makeup Academy/ M.U.A. This one is about their pencil eye liners. I only own a couple as I am not someone who wears bright colours on my eyes. I prefer a bright, bold lip colour over colourful eyes. So the two I own are quite natural looking. I did also own a silver glitter eye liner by M.U.A but the quality was poor so I have thrown that one away. Both eye liners cost just £1 each!
Top: Gold Nugget | Bottom: Rich Brown
Left to right: Gold Nugget | Rich Brown
Both of these eye liners are amazingly pigmented and glide on really easily. I like to use these liners on my upper lash line, the Rich Brown one is great at making your lashes appear fuller without being a harsh black line. Gold Nugget is a great Summer alternative which I am using on a regular basis. It doesn't make my lashes fuller like the Rich Brown but gives a lovely golden shimmer to my lash line. Also because my eyes are brown, the gold really compliments my eye colour!

The eye liners also have great staying power. I used to use Rich Brown everyday for school and used to still be on my eyes before bed when I would remove my makeup! Gold Nugget doesn't stay as long as Rich Brown and I do have to top it up in the day but it's definitely not as bad as other liners I have used.

Another thing I like is that there is a built in sharpener on the lid! And the great thing is it actually works really well. Some eye liner sharpers make my pencils go all funny and break the product but this one sharpens smoothly and doesn't damage the pencil.

You can find these eye liners in most Superdrug stores and their website as well as Makeup Academy's website. There is a great selection of colours including orange, blue, purple and just ordinary blacks and browns. For only a few pounds you can have a selection of colours for different eye looks! These eye liners are definitely worth checking out, they are a staple in my everyday makeup!

Have you tried Makeup Academy's eye liners?

Amie

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Saturday 28 July 2012

New Twitter Page For Belle-amie!

Hello everyone! 

So as you may know I've recently made a blogger button for my blog which you can read about HERE which is one of my firsts steps to actually giving my blog a little logo! Well, my next step was thinking about making a Twitter for my blog as I wasn't too happy about using my personal one for Belle-amie. I didn't like clogging up my friend's Twitter feeds with my blog post tweets! So here it is, my new Twitter for my blog Belle-amie:


If you are already following my other Twitter account, I would be very grateful if you could switch to following this one if you are interested in keeping up to date with my blog posts! Any new followers are more than welcome and I am happy to follow you back!

Amie

Empties | Products I Have Used Up #1

I've been enjoying reading this new type of blog post and YouTube video as it gives you a real review of the products the person has used. Because the whole product has been used up, the opinion will be more detailed and genuine, not just 'oh yes, this is a nice product'. In this post I have 8 empties to give my honest opinion on.
Back row:
Palmolive Soft & Gentle Extra Fresh Anti-Perspirant Deodorant in Lotus & Watermelon - I really like the smell of this deodorant and definitely leaves you smelling fresh. The scent's staying power is just like a body spray so it stays on your skin for a long time. My one issue is that this isn't a very strong deodorant (i.e. you may have to reapply during the day) and if you do need a strong deodorant I wouldn't recommend this. However this works well for me and I'm already using my backup of this product!

Sure Long Lasting Protection Nutritive Anti-Perspirant Deodorant - this was the deodorant I used before my Palmolive one and I didn't fully run out of it until recently. To be honest I just used it up so I could throw it out. I'm not keen on the smell as it smells too much like an anti-perspirant for me and I prefer a nice smelling deodorant. However this product does work and keeps you dry because it's an active 48 hour deodorant. I'm not going to repurchase this as I like the Palmolive one too much!

Superdrug Dry Shampoo in Chocolate Brownie - I bought this when Superdrug's dry shampoos were 3 for £1.99, a bargain not to have been missed! I bought 2 Chocolate Brownie versions and 1 Away With The Fairies, which is an orange scented dry shampoo. I used up the orange scented one months ago because it smelt so nice. I find that the Chocolate Brownie one is far too sweet smelling and once I've used up my second one of this I am going to purchase the Away With the Fairies one instead. Also I felt that this product didn't do much for my hair. I don't have greasy hair so maybe I'm not a great person for dry shampoo but it didn't feel like it freshened my hair much. It only seemed to scent it which is why I prefer the orange version. One good thing about this product is that it's for brunettes so comes out as a brown spray, this means it leaves no white residue in your hair.

Sensodyne Gentle Whitening Toothpaste - I bought this toothpaste for when my braces came off in May because I knew my teeth would be stained. To my surprise they weren't too bad but I wanted to make my teeth whiter to boost my self confidence. Because I have really sensitive teeth as well, Sensodyne Gentle Whitening is a great product as it deals with two problems in one product. The sensitivity of my teeth has definitely been reduced since using this product and I don't think my teeth are as stained/ yellow. So overall this is a great toothpaste and I'm already using my backup!

Middle row:
Buff Your Stuff Body Scrub - this product was featured in my June Favourite's post where I talked about how good this exfoliator was. I really like this product, even though it's quite rough on your skin, it does leave your skin feeling soft afterwards. This is also a great product to use before tanning as it scrubs away all the dry skin. I will definitely be repurchasing this product in the future!

Sally Hansen Moisturising Nail Polish Remover with Vitamin E and Aloe Vera - I like this nail polish remover as it's for dry, brittle nails it gives more nutrients to help them be healthier. Plus if I use nail polish remover a lot on my nails they get extremely weak so I use ones like this with vitamins/ nutrients to reduce this affect. I've repurchased this a few times so I think it is a good, cheap nail polish remover.

Treacle Moon The Raspberry Kiss Bath and Shower Gel - I love the raspberry smell of this shower gel, it's quite sweet and fruity. It also lathers up really nicely when you use a shower puff. The label also says this is great poured into a bath for a 10 minute soak and I agree! I'm not a girl who can lay in the bath for hours, probably 20 minutes max, so a product like this that gives me a quick bubble bath is great. The bubbles even maintain the lovely raspberry scent. I already have a backup of this product and I am still loving it!

Front row:
Lolita Lempicka Si Lolita Eau da Parfum 30ml: this perfume was featured in my Favourite Perfumes post because this is my everyday perfume. I love the spicy scent to this and is great for everyday wear. This has been my go-to scent since Christmas and I've really been enjoying it. I'm already on to my next bottle and still loving it! Definitely a great product.

Hope you found this useful!

Amie

Friday 27 July 2012

Review | Makeup Academy (M.U.A) Lipsticks

Makeup Academy or M.U.A are well known for their amazing makeup products that retail for just £1! They also sell a pro range which means their prices are between £1 and £4. M.U.A's lipticks fall into this £1 section which means it's a great chance to try out a load of lipsticks for the price that one high end lipstick would cost! The Superdrugs in my town aren't large stores, so I can only find M.U.A's £1 line, which to be honest are never fully stocked so there's only a limited amount of products I have easy access to!
Left to right: Shade 3 | Shade 4 | Shade 7 | Shade 8 | Shade 12
As you can see I have 5 of the M.U.A lipsticks, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 12. In my local Superdrug they only stock up to Shade 12, but I've read online that there's up to 16 shades available.
The packaging is quite cheap, but I wouldn't expect anything fancy because they are only £1. They're made of plastic which is prone to breaking but it does mean they are easy to clean. M.U.A also have the little pot at the bottom of the tube which is a bit like the NYX lipsticks where you can use the lipstick in the bottom for touch-ups. I don't think these were designed for this purpose (maybe just to help show you the colour without taking the lid off?) as some of mine are hard to remove, but it is a nifty extra which helps make this lipstick amazing.

Swatches
Left to right: Shade 3 | Shade 4 | Shade 7 | Shade 8 | Shade 12

Swatches on the lip
 Bare lips

Shade 3
Shade 3 is a very bold hot pink colour. As you can see from the swatch it's very pigmented and a little goes a long way. I think this colour is great for a really sunny day or a night out. It has a creamy and soft consistency which means it applies really well and moisturises the lips whilst it is on.

Shade 4
Shade 4 is a sheer baby pink colour. At the time of buying this there wasn't a tester so I was hoping that the colour in the tube was what would come out on the lips, but I was wrong. However this is a very pretty and natural lipstick that tints your lips a pretty, shiny pink. As you can see the lipstick has actually broke, numerous times so it's quite difficult to apply. I need to repurchase this lipstick as it puts me off wearing it.

Shade 7
Shade 7 is a neutral coral/ pink colour. I bought this colour for when I was doing work experience last year so is a great colour for work or college.  Again this has a creamy formula and is well pigmented.

Shade 8
Shade 8 is a glittery red/ pink colour. In this tube it's much darker than what it applies to the lips and is a little sheer (not like Shade 4) so it gives more of a pink tone than red. This is my newest M.U.A lipstick and as I don't own many reddy pinks this is one of my new favourites! As it's quite bright it's great for spring but I also think it can be worn all year round!

Shade 12
Shade 12 is a glittery pink colour. It's great for everyday wear and can definitely be used for a night time look. It's sheerer than it looks in the tube and I think this is the case for M.U.A's glittery lipsticks, seeing as Shade 8 is also sheerer. Also, even though there is glitter in the lipstick it is still very smooth and easy to apply.

M.U.A's lipsticks are incredible for the price they are! They offer sheer and pigmented colours with a good selection of reds, pinks, corals and nudes to choose from. I think that if you're starting out in makeup these are the lipsticks to start with! They're cheap and accessable at most Superdrug stores or online or through M.U.A's webiste. Even if you do have lots of makeup, these are also great products just to collect so that you have more variety of lip colours in your collection.

Have you tried any of Makeup Academy's lipsticks?

Amie

Thursday 26 July 2012

My Blogger Button

Hi everyone! I've just made a blogger button so if you want to 'grab my button' as people say, then please feel free to do so!
The link to my button is on the right hand side of my blog!

If you have grabbed my button I will be more than happy to exchange the favour! Just leave me a comment to let me know so I can put your button on my blog too.
 
Amie

My Week In Pictures

19.07.12 - 26.07.12
My makeup for the wedding | Wedding tea cup candle decorations | Pink rose in the garden | My dog paddy at our family BBQ | Little bunch of flowers I used in a blog post's pictures | My 2 baby geese standing on the wall | My cat Lily having a 'hard day' | Flip-flops and shorts in the sun | Glass of rosé on a Summer's evening
Follow me on Instagram @amiehaffenden if you enjoyed this post and want to see more pictures!

Amie

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Review | St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mist

Like every girl I enjoy having an even, streak-free tan and as I am quite prone to sunburn, I usually have to resort to the fake kind. For years I have been using gradual tanners by Johnsons, Garnier and Dove but I hated waiting a week or so for the results. So about a year ago I was in my local Savers and spotted the brand St Moriz. I heard about this brand before on YouTube being comparable to other self tanners such as St Tropez which is worth around £20, so for £2.99 I thought I would give it a go! Ever since then this has been my go-to fake tanner. I love it so much, I'm on about my 4th or 5th bottle!
St Moriz Instant Self Tanner Mist £2.99 - £4.99 (depending on which store)
Product line
I use the spray/ mist version of this product but there is also a mousse (medium and dark) and lotion which, like the spray, develop your tan. There is also a souffle which is designed to boost your tan and give your body a shimmery glow. Finally there is also a shimmery dark bronzing powder.

Features
Now, I've only ever used the spray/ mist version of this line so I cannot speak on behalf of the other products. The mist has a tint of green to the tanning product which means when it has developed, it will not be a horrible shade of orange but a natural tan colour. I wasn't expecting this from a product that's so cheap but it really does make this feel like a high end tanner! This is also one way it can be comparable to the St Tropez line as their products (as well as looking similar) also have this green tint.
The tanner is also fragranced, so when you spray it onto your skin it smells quite fresh but at the same time has an undertone smell of the good old biscuit. I'm not fussed about the fake-tan-biscuit smell so I am quite happy with the smell of this self tanner.

Application
Also, St Moriz spray tanner is so easy to apply. The spray device is designed so that you can hold the product upside down and it will still disperse the product. This means hard to reach places like your back and legs are easier to tan. Also, as the product comes out really dark it provides you with a guide line colour so you can see where you have applied the tan which allows you to create a more even outcome. I apply the fake tan directly onto my skin and buff it in with my tanning mitt (sorry I can't remember the brand but I also got this from Savers for £1 and it also comes with 2 black latex gloves - bargain!). This is then washed off about 6-8 hours later to reveal your actual tan!

How long it lasts
I usually apply 2 or 3 coats of the tanner over a 3 to 5 day period. This allows me to build up a good tan which can last up to a week at the most if I moisturise regularly.

Because I went to a wedding on Friday 20th this gives me a great opportunity to actually show you the product at work!
When I am in the shower I use my Dirty Works Buff Your Stuff body exfoliator (featured in my June Favourite's post) to get rid of any dry skin which will allow my tan to last longer. If I need to I will also use the white exfoliating side to the tanning mitt on my elbows and knees. Then i will moisturise using my Garnier Intensive 7 Days Replenishing Lotion (featured in my June Favourite's post) where ever I am putting the tanner and focusing on my elbows, hands, knees and feet.

I then apply my tan. I work on one part of my body at a time, first my arms and then my legs in this case. I spray the tan in long lines so that it covers the front, back and side sections to my arm or leg. Don't forget to tan the tops of your hand and feet! Make sure you spray it about 6 inches away from your body and spray it at an even pace. Don't worry about the fact it comes out extremely dark as you will be buffing this in and washing it off later on. I then buff this in with the brown soft side to the tanning mitt. The whole process takes around 15 to 20 minutes. I then leave my tan for about 8 hours then wash it off in the shower before bed.
 * Topside of my arm before tan | Underside of my arm before tan
  * Topside of my arm around 5 minutes after application | Underside of my arm around 5 minutes after application
Because I applied this tanner about 3PM it meant that there was no daylight when I was washing it off. Because of this I haven't taken a photo of what it looks like at this stage as the lighting will not give you a true indication of what it looks like before you wash it off. All that happens is that the tan will go darker and again, don't worry about this as you will be washing this off.
  * Topside of my arm the morning after washing the tan off | Underside of my arm the morning after washing the tan off
 *There is no editing in these photos

As you can see the first layer is quite natural looking so if this is what you wanted you could leave it at this stage.

And there you have an even tan which looks like you used a more expensive product than it actually is! To maintain the tan longer I moisturise twice a day. So overall I think this fake tanner is amazing! It's definitely worth more than £2.99, but I don't mind if it's kept at that price haha! If you are getting bored of gradual tanner then give this product a try and even if this is your first time using an instant tanner it's a great beginner's product as the first layer of tan will not be very dark (unless you use a lot of product).

I hope you found this review/ application process useful! Which fake tanner do you use?

Amie  

Monday 23 July 2012

Cosmopolitan's Missguided Nail Polish Freebie

I am loving magazine freebies at the moment and next on my list was the Missguided nail polish from Cosmopolitan's magazine. there were 3 shades to choose from worth £5 each: Missmatch - a neon orange, Misstify - a neon pink and Misslead - a neon yellow. As I have plenty of pink nail polishes and am not a fan of yellow ones, I went for the orange colour as I love orange/ coral this Summer!
August 2012 issue
Each polish comes in its own cute box packaging.
Missmatch
I wore this nail polish on the 22nd for a BBQ (2 coats)
The magazine is worth £3.50 so you save £1.50 off of this nail varnish, which isn't a huge amount but it's still saving some money. I've been on the hunt for some bright orange nail polishes recently so when I saw this I thought I may as well give it a go. I've never tried anything by Missguided before but I do love their online website, there are so many pretty clothes (especially dresses) that I want! I'm not planning on getting the other two colours but the pink does look very pretty!

Have you been able to try the Missguided nail polishes?

Amie

Saturday 21 July 2012

OOTD & NOTD #3

Yesterday I went to my mum's friend's wedding. It was quite a casual wedding so I thought would wear a summer dress and a pair of wedges. The colour theme of my outfit was coral, black and gold.

 Dress - Miss Selfridge
Wedges - New Look
Bag - Primark
Earings - New Look
Bracelet - Accessorize
Rings - Vintage & Accessorize
Anklet/ bracelet - Topshop
Makeup - Everyday makeup & Rimmel London Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in 12


Left to right: Revlon Step 3 Nail Growth Treatment | Ciate Paint Pot in My Fair Lady | Models Own in Champagne | Natural Collection in Crystal Clear
I used the Revlon nail treatment just to prep my nails to make them feel smoother and healthier. I then applied a coat of My Fair Lady as a base coat. I then applied 2 coats of Models Own in Champagne. This is one of my all time favourite nail polishes because it so opaque and such a gorgeous, shiny gold colour. I then applied a top coat of Crystal Clear.
Revlon Nail Lace in 840 Sweet Romance
I used the curved white flowers/ leaves on my thumb nails.
Models Own in Champagne
Here's a few pictures from the wedding!
Tea cup candles!


Hope you enjoyed the post!

Amie

Friday 20 July 2012

Revlon Nail Polish Collection

Here is another nail polish collection by Revlon that I wanted to share with you! Again, I don't have a lot of Revlon nail polishes because I usually buy them from Poundland and I haven't been there enough to build up a proper collection. Also they do not always have a great colour selection and I do only buy colours that I think I will wear like pinks and coral. If you want to see past nail polish collections by Barry M click HERE and Rimmel London click HERE!


099 Effervescent Opal


229 Demure


914 Tropical Temptation


570 Vixen


762 Plum Attraction


038 Ruby Ribbon


Star

As you can see I really love plum and wine coloured nail polish, especially for Winter! The colour Demure didn't look massively appealing in the bottle but I thought I may as well try it out and I'm glad I did. It's a very pretty orange toned pink that I thought wouldn't suit my nails, but it does! All of Revlon's nail polishes are a great consistency and you can get a great opaque nail look with 2-3 coats.

Amie

Thursday 19 July 2012

My Week In Pictures

This is my week in pictures which are taken from the app Instagram. I am planning to do these regularly but I am not sure if this will turn into a weekly thing. Also these pictures are either taken on my phone or iPod, so they may not be great quality!

12.07.12 - 19.07.12
  Knotted Accessorize ring | Ed Sheeran wrist band! | My cat Lily | My present from my sister who went to Germany | Barry M Strawberry Icecream and Pink Silver Glitter accent nail | Tea in my favourite squirrel mug | Got my hair cut | Bought yet another Accessorize ring | My outfit to go and see Spiderman with my boyfriend

Follow me on Instagram @amiehaffenden to see my picture posts if you enjoyed this!

Amie  

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Nail Polish Of The Day #2

The other day I read a post on Laura's All Made Up's blog and was really inspired by her Copper and Mushroom by Barry M nail polish look. So I did my own interpretation in pink!

Left to right: Ciate Paint Pot in My Fair Lady | Barry M Nail paint in Strawberry Icecream | Barry M Nail Paint in Pink Silver Glitter | Natural Collection top coat in Crystal Clear
I used my Ciate paint pot in My Fair Lady as my base coat which I use every time I paint my nails. On all my nails apart from my ring fingers I applied 2 costs of Barry M's Strawberry Icrecream. On my ring finger I applied 3 coats of Barry M's Pink Silver Glitter as my accent nail. To finish the look and to keep my nails from chipping I used a coat of Natural Collection's Crystal Clear nail polish.


Ring is from Accessorize
And here's the final look! I never really bother doing an accent nail on my everyday nail polish but I'm really happy about how this one turned out! These Barry M nail paints are £2.99 each and can be bought from Boots, Superdrug and Barry M's website!

Amie

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Review | Radox Shower Smoothies Island Indulgence

Now I don't normally blog twice in one day, but after using this body wash today I really wanted to share it with you! I love fruity body washes, especially ones that smell good enough to eat and this is exactly what this Radox Shower Smoothie is!

Radox Shower Smoothie in Island Indulgence £2.95


The reason I am wiritng this post is that this product smells absolutely divine! It contains passion fruit, papaya, aronia berries and real fruit seeds so has a really nice tropical smell. Once washed off the skin, the smell doesn't stay as strong but you can definitely smell it on your skin throughout the day.

It's a thick and creamy consistency that lathers up really nicely when rubbed into your skin. I find it works best if you use a puffy sponge (luffa, loofa, shower puff - whatever they're called!). Also I find that this shower gel doesn't just smell lovely, it does actually feel like it's cleaning your skin and not just smothering you in tropical lovliness! Afterwards my skin feels so soft which is probably from the use of natural ingredients and the fruit seeds that can gently exfoliate your skin!

So overall this is such a lovely product and at £2.95 it's not exactly breaking the bank! I've also used the Roadox Shower Smoothie in Soul Soother, but I think the Island Indulgence one comes out on top!

Have you tried any Radox Shower Smoothies before?

Amie

What's In My Bag?

I love reading this type of post and having a good nose into what is in other girl's bags, so I thought I would do this post myself!

The bag...
From Accessorize approx. £16
This is the bag I mainly use because it's a big bag and I love coral and has been featured in both of my OOTDs (cinema & coffee). If this bag doesn't go with my outfit I usually go for my Cath Kidston bag which is blue and has a floral print. Neither of these bags are still online as the Accessorize one was in the sale a while ago and the Cath Kidston one is a past season pattern.

So what's in my bag..


Topshop tan leather purse (love the clasp on this purse!)
iPod 4G 8GB (case from eBay)
My phone - HTC Wildfire S (phone case from eBay)
Philips earphones LINK
Notepad from The Works (featured in THIS haul)
Radox Clean & Moisturise hand sanitiser in chamomile & jojoba oil
Kleenex tissues (I have a cold at the moment :(!)
Soap and Glory Hand Food cream LINK
balance Me. rose otto intensive lip salve LINK (featured in THIS Glamour magazine post & if you use the discount code GLAM05 you get £5 off your order!)
Some pennies!
My mirror from Superdrug years ago
My keys with charms from Cath Kidston, Accessorize, Clintons and Primark
A biro
A hair grip my friend made for me
Optima 4GB USB
And a little Kinder Egg hippo toy haha!

Hope you enjoyed this post and I would love to see if any of you guys have made a 'What's In My Bag' post!

Amie
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