Dinner Night

Hey guys!

This post is going to contain lots of lazy pictures with lazy editing - lets call it an authentic post.  We went out for my boyfriends mums birthday dinner to an italian called Zizzi's.  It was a lovely evening with lots of happy people all round.  I'm feeling really ill so i'll let the pictures do the talking - I hope you all enjoy this post, leave me a wee comment down below if you did!

Live music!

Massive pizza!

This quote does not make sense at all!

Guess who didn't wait long enough for me to get a picture?  My lovely boy of course!

Yep, that baby is acutally peeing...

robynisabella x

Follow me!

Hey guys!

So the past couple days I've just been trying to relax and have a little me time hence the lack of yesterdays post.  It's important sometimes to just take a little time out and rejuvenate.  Alas the pull of my blog has drawn me in and I decided I wanted to share with you guys anyway.  I've not really got anything prepared for this post so I thought I'd just shamelessly plug all my other social media outlets.  I don't really post on some of them but I'm working on it - twitter being a prime example.  I just don't have followers so I don't really post, but if I share with all of you lovelies hopefully that will change.

So here we go guys - if you didn't know already here is a list of all my social media:

Twitter: @robynisabella_x

Vine: robynisabella

YouNow: robynisabella (I haven't used this yet but I think I might start broadcasting tomorrow - so far it looks like mostly younger kids but hey ho why not!?)

So I thinkkk that is everything!  I'll probably put a few of them into my description bar for a later date but yeah you should all go follow me!

Sorry for the sucky post and lack of time keeping so far this week.  Back to normal tomorrow and I'll try have more organised for next week!  Love you all!

robynisabella x

Clean Brushes!

Hey guys!

I have a confession to make - before today - I had never cleaned my makeup brushes!  I know, disgusting - I just didn't realise that it was something you were supposed to do.  I've seen a couple of posts on brushes cleaning so I decided to give it a bash myself.  At first I just filled a jug with warm water and a little dish soap because my face is sensitive to soaps but that didn't work so I had to do it properly.  I just squeezed a little soap onto my hand then swirled the brush onto the soap and the make up came straight off!  For my dirtier brushes it took a couple of tries but I think if I did it regularly that wouldn't be an issue.  The foundation brush smells pretty strongly of soap now so I'm hoping it doesn't irritate my face - if it does I'll just rinse it out again.

Again I had work today (getting in the way of picture taking!) so the after pictures are still ever so slightly damp but you can definitely see the difference.    I hope you guys enjoy the before and after pictures - I couldn't believe how different they looked - like brand new brushes!  I haven't altered the colour in the before or after pictures so they really are a true indicator.  I knew they were bad but I didn't think they were that bad - the after brushes look a completely different colour all together!!!

Before:

After:

I hope you enjoyed this post - I know there is not much in the way of content - but I just had to share this with you all.  Cleaning is important and it makes your brushes look all clean and spanking new!  What is your favourite way to clean your brushes?

robynisabella x

Oh no!

Hey guys!

It appears I've lost the lighting today!  Had to work this bank holiday where I would have normally had the day off.  Don't worry though I'll be posting up a shiny post for you all tomorrow!

robynisabella x

Healthy Smoothie!

Hey guys!

I made myself a nice healthy smoothie and I decided to share it with you all!  I went for a mango and passion fruit combination with a little bit of orange and lime juice added just to make it a nice consistency.  Making this smoothie is so super easy - anyone can do it!  

I scooped the seeds from two passion fruits and pushed them around in a sieve (this is an added step really, I just don't like the seeds so push the juice through and bin the seeds) then left them to sit over a bowl to drip as I chopped up half a mango.  Then I popped the mango, passion fruit juice and some ice into a blender cup with a splash of orange and lime juice (if you really wanted to you could squeeze your own orange and lime) and whizzed it all up.  That's it!  Super easy and really tasty!

Let me know if you make your own!  What's your favourite flavour of smoothie?

robynisabella x

Pets at Home Haul!

Hey guys!

So it occurred to me recently that I haven't really mentioned a huge part of my life here on my blog.  My pets!  I loveeee my pets and they honestly do mean the world to me so it's about time you guys were introduced and what better a way than through a haul post!

Now this post is going to be lacking pictures because stupidly I forgot to individually photograph everything!!!  Couldn't believe it when I went to edit and unfortunately all of these goodies pictured above have already been handed over to their new owners (ie my pets) and are now partly destroyed!  I'll through in some pet snaps for good measure.

I think I'll start with my dog first - My dog is called Betty and she is a little mixed breed dog.  She looks a bit like a Jack Russell at first glance but when you get to know her you realise she actually looks totally different.  She's actually my mum's dog - as in her loyalties totally lie with my mum - but I love her and she deserves a wee mention!  In the picture above there is only one thing for her and it is the little treat at the very front.  It's a little dental stick type thing that is shaped like a little toothbrush and is super cute.  Apparently they are all natural and they do a couple different sizes for different sized dogs.  My pets at home has Tiny, Small and Regular.  Betty is really a small dog but I buy her the regular size because she doesn't get them very often and the small ones just look sooo tiny!

Next up is my baby boy, my cat.  My cat is an all black short hair (though going greyer on the chest with age) called Button.  He's my little love and I don't think I love anything as much as I love my cat.  He's a pretty old boy now at 14 and he's just so special.  He also has three legs but I'm so used to it now I don't even notice and he hops around quite the thing.  He's slowing down a bit in his old age but I'm usually around to help him out.  From pets at home I just picked him up a little cat grass pack.  He has a stash of treats already so I resisted the urge to buy more. 

Last up and the owner of pretty much all the treats up there is my little bunny Belle.  Belle is a house rabbit that lives in my room in a massive cage I made her out of NIC cubes.  She's super cute and really rabbits are such underrated pets.  They train easily, can be litter trained and are generally very affectionate if you listen to them and understand their limits.  I would say they are pretty hard work though and if you ever think about getting a rabbit make sure you are in it for the long haul because they can live for longer than ten years!  

From pets at home I got Belle a large collection of hay, straw, willow and other edible type balls to play with.  She really enjoys the willow ones but really she likes them all.  I also picked up that super cute little bowl with the carrots on it!  Really I totally did not need to get the bowl because she already has a perfectly good bowl but I just couldn't resist.  Lastly (and the sole thing I went into pets at home to buy) I picked up a small animal furminator.  Seriously those pet brushes are amazing!  They are quite pricey (over £20) but I would honestly recommend them if you have an animal that sheds a lot.  We have one that the cat and dog use and it is absolutely amazing on my dog which is what made me go in to get a rabbit one.  I like the rabbit one but it's not quite as good - I think it's because rabbit fur is just so fluffy and fine.  While I say it's not as good, it is effective for removing the hair - it just doesn't hold onto it as well as the dog one does.

Belle investigating her new toys while I was taking pictures!

So that's it for my introduction to my pets and my pets at home haul.  I know most of this was for my rabbit - but my cat is old and doesn't like toys and my dog already has far too many it's not that I left them out don't worry!  What pets do you have?  If you've not got any, is there a particular pet you wish you did have?  Thanks for reading!

robynisabella x

Primark Haul!

Hey guys!

So today I bring you a little Primark haul but not of the usual sort.  It's a makeup haul!  I know, I was sceptical when I first heard Primark had a makeup range too.  I have nothing against Primark - in fact I love it but I never thought their makeup range would be any good.  I was wrong.  It's actually pretty great - especially for the prices!  I didn't get much because I was just testing it all out but I'm planning to get more on Wednesday so next Monday should have a few extra bits included!  

Also I checked and Primark don't test on animals which is a pretty big thing for me!  I recently went through all my makeup and checked if they test on animals (I was really scared I'd have to throw it all away) and it turns out I only had one Maybelline eye liner.  I'm going to pick up a Primark liquid when I'm in town to replace it.  Obviously I will no longer be purchasing from Maybelline or L'Oreal who own them.  There is absolutely no excuse for animal abuse.

 I picked up this 8 Shade Metallic Eyeshadow Palette for £2.50.  They had another one there but I prefered the colours in this one.  I'm not really sure how I feel about this palette if I'm really honest.  The pigment is good on your finger but on a brush it's not as good.  The consistency is a bit powdery for my liking but that's just me being picky.  I'm used to just using my Urban Decay palette so it might be that I'm just super used to high quality now.  The peachy colour second in is really pretty as a highlight so it wins in that department!

I also picked up this single Baked Wet and Dry Shadow in the colour 14 Dark Brown for £2.50.  This is such a pretty colour!  I haven't used it all over the lid but sparingly and it seems nice.  The consistency of this one is much nicer and not as powdery.  This contains quite a lot of product too so I was happy about that.  I think I'm going to look out for some lighter colours on Wednesday because this one was a little dark.

I've not got a price tag on this SUNKISSED Metalic Bronzed Blush but it was definitely under £3.00.   I love this!  It's now a regular in my makeup routine.  It's nice and shimmery and just adds a really pretty glow to my face without looking orange which I find a lot of bronzers do on my face.   My only complaint is that it was detached from the base - it is still stuck to a base but the whole base has come loose from the container which is a bit annoying.  I just picked up a broken one though - so no fault of the product!

I decided I wanted to try just one of their brushes because brushes can be really hit and miss I find.  I got this kabuki brush to try for £2.50 and I am so in love with it.  I use it for all my powdered products and it really does a lovely job.  It's superrrrr soft and so far I have had no shedding.  It is actually a fantastic (super cheap) brush.  I' definitely going to be picking up some more from them.  I love that it has this nice black to purpley pink fade too.  Super cute.

I never normally wear eyeliner - never mind white or pink but I decided to pick it up anyway.  Can't go wrong for £1.00 can we?  I like that it comes with a sharpener too - I haven't tried the sharpener so can't vouch for its usefulness but I can say the white liner is fab!  I've used it a couple times on my water line and it's been nice.  I like putting it under my eyebrow to accentuate the arch too and it looks great that way.  The pigment is really there too which I find lacking with a lot of pencil liners.   I haven't tried the pink yet but I'm sure it will be good too.

My last makeup product is this pretty lipstick that I picked up for £1.50!  I can't believe it was so cheap and it is actually so nice!  It smells amazing too!  It's a really nice creamy consistency and it isn't tacky at all and it doesn't dry out my lips either which is a huge plus!  I haven't really been wearing this because when I brought it home my mum asked to have it - and me being fab - let her so I'll need to get another one when I'm in town on Wednesday along with probably a billion other colours.  The few times I have wore it though it's lasted a good time on my lips.

The last thing I'm going to share with you is this little candle that only cost me 80p!  I know it's not makeup but it's just a little added bonus that I bought at the same time haha!  I really like the Red Berry and Jasmine scent.  It's really over powering in the jar but when you light it it's a nice subtle smell.  I feel really calm when I have it on as well - I don't know if that's just the affect of the candle or the scent but it works anyway!  My mum says it smells like calpol in the jar haha but I think it just smells nice and floral.  Who doesn't love calpol anyway?

That's it for today guys!  Don't forget to follow me if you'd like to see more next week!  Have you tried any of the Primark PS Love range, what do you think?  If not do you think you'll try some after reading this post?

robynisabella x

Real Ale Festival

Hey guys!

Super late I know, I'm sorry!  I find it pretty hard to blog when I'm not at home so I've made the decision to try my best to have my posts ready to go a week in advance.  That way there will be no excuses!  

Last night I went to a real ale festival with my boyfriend and his family.  It was a really good event and actually much better than I was expecting.  Every year my neighbouring town holds this event but yesterday was my first time actually attending.  Basically it is just a good event to show case all the local ales on offer.  Personally I hate ale or beer or lager or anything of that beery nature haha so I wasn't expecting much going into this thing.  

This year they had a gin stall too - but me being incredibly difficult I don't like gin either (but in this instance it was better that beer so it won).  I was actually pleasantly surprised by the gin I got but I really wasn't going in there with high expectations.  For a start it had gin in it - then it had tonic which I also hate - and to top it all off it had mint in it which is my least favourite herb ever.  Together though - it was the perfect combination.  I actually really liked it!  The gin was a fancy rose/earthy flavour and the tonic was flavoured with elderflower.  The mint really complimented too and I didn't think I would ever hear myself say that!  I don't know why I liked it so much - perhaps it was because I had just suffered through half a pint of gross ale before hand and in comparison it was a heavenly combo but who knows!

There was also live music, a magician (who I didn't see but heard much about), and plenty of amazing smelling food.  My main complaint would be that there wasn't any vegetarian options - but I was starving and grumpy and had I eaten before hand it wouldn't have been so much of an issue.  Of course it was freezing - but that's Scotland for you.  All in all it was actually a really nice event with a great busy atmosphere.

Did you guys get up to anything cool yesterday?

robynisabella x

Day Trip to the Cinema

Hey guys!

Today my friend Laura came and picked me up and we went on a little road trip to Braehead shopping centre.  We had planned a couple of weeks ago to go up today because we both had a day off at the same time and we both wanted to see Cinderella in the cinema (neither of our boyfriends were keen to accompany us)  and she had a discount voucher.  

Before we went to the cinema we decided to run into Braehead and get some food.  My friend is super discount and offer savvy so she suggested we go to Prezzo because she had an app that gave us 30% mains in there.  Prezzo is a nice little Italian and it's in a really nice spot of the food court.  In terms of the options they weren't that great for vegetarians but really lovely options for everyone else.  I say that but it is a little unfair - I am one of those awkward vegetarians that doesn't like mushrooms - so really they did have a good choice, it just seemed that all the vegetarian dishes heavily featured mushroom or were so plain and boring and I just wanted something a little more adventurous for some reason - alas I went for a margarita pizza.  I know, super adventurous but honestly nothing else appealed to me.  My friend went for bolognese and it looked delicious.

Once we finished our food we ran over to Xscape (now called something else but it always has been and always will be Xscape to me and honestly I can't remember what it's called now) to catch Cinderella in the cinema.  We actually had plenty of time once we got there which I loved because that meant we had plenty of time to get popcorn and drinks and we would catch all the trailers which I really enjoy.  I went for a tango ice blast (both flavours mixed of course) because it is my all time favourite and I don't think I could go to the cinema without getting one.  Laura went for a coke I think.  

The film starts with the new Frozen short which I was so excited about because I didn't realise it would show before Cinderella.  It's really cute and if you haven't seen it I would suggest you look it up.  Cinderella was pretty good but I think I would have liked it to follow the Disney animation a little more closely -  I did like that the mice didn't talk though it made it more realistic, but they should have been featured more in my opinion.  If you like cheesy films, you'll like this and you should go and see it.

Afterwards we went and did a little shopping.  I didn't get much but what I did get I'll show you all on Monday so stay tuned for that!  Have you seen Cinderella?  What did you think of it?

robynisabella x

Mascara Review

Hey guys!

Today I decided I was going to do a review for you all!  I have briefly mentioned this product in posts before but it's about time it got a nice shiny post all to itself.  This is my first proper review on my blog so if there is anything I miss out or that you want to know don't hesitate to tell/ask in the comments!  Your feedback is more than welcomed it literally puts a smile on my face every time I see a new comment down there.

So lets get down to it.  My lovely boyfriend picked this product up for me a couple of months ago while we were up in the city.  I had gone into Boots with no brands in mind and in all honesty I wasn't really sure what I was looking for.  My previous mascaras had all began doing real damage to my eyelashes and to combat this (warning: do not try this at home) I decided to start wearing individual false eye-lashes.  Yes they look gorgeous and yes they are nice for a night out but please do not wear them every day like I did.  I thought wearing false eyelashes would give my lashes a break from mascara but they literally halved in length - they were so short and stubby and I hated the way my eyes looked.  False eye lashes turned out to be way worse than mascara.  So when we went into Boots I didn't know what to go for - my old mascaras had damaged my eyelashes in the first place and there I was about a month of falsies later with the shortest stubbiest horrible little eye lashes.  I didn't know where to turn!  I'm the kind of girl that likes to stick to what works when it comes to my makeup and for my eyelashes nothing was working so I was lost.  It was actually my boyfriend who spotted the Rimmel Wonder'Full Mascara with Argan Oil and I think he was probably drawn to it because it is so shiny but I was sold at Argan Oil.

The packaging is really pretty in a lovely coppery rose gold type colour.  I think it looks quite luxurious both by the colour but also by the sleek shape.  I have to say I do judge my products by their packaging quite a lot.  If I don't like the packaging it is a lot less likely that I'l pick it up.  I'm really glad this had nice packaging otherwise my boyfriend would have never picked it up.

When I first got this product I was soooo disappointed in it.  I was used to thick formulas that applied quickly but this product applies quite thin and takes a couple of coats.  I got used to the product after a couple of days though and decided I actually liked it.  I think because my eye lashes were so short at the time I was looking for super volume instantly which admittedly this product does not give with the first application but it does redeem itself in other areas.  In terms of the applicator I'm really not bothered what type my mascara comes with - as long as it works!  I like that this one is quite thin as it makes lower lashes easier to get without that horrible smudge under your eye!

The finish of this mascara is really pretty and natural looking.  It does take about three coats but I just alternate between each eye three times and it does the trick.  I just tested it now (I've been wearing it all day) and I can say that it doesn't break very easily.  I used to have real issues with my mascara breaking and crumbling off but even with a bit of pull the crumbling on this one is very minimal and it doesn't clump up like a lot of other mascaras do.

But of all the things I love about this mascara there is one single point that will make me go back to it again and again.  It makes my lashes grow.  I mean serious growth.  As I said, my lashes were so short and stumpy and now they are at least double the length and I would say longer than they were before I started to notice any damage!  You might be thinking that my lashes would have naturally grown over this period of time but I noticed growth after just one week of using this product.  

In all I would seriously recommend this mascara to anyone.  I think the argan oil is the magic factor.  I used to wear argan oil on my face and it did wonders for my skin and it's also really good for your hair so it makes sense that it would help with eye lashes.  This mascara is pretty affordable too - it's under £10 which I think is pretty acceptable for a mascara as magical as this one.

I hope you guys liked this review and if you did let me know if you'd like to see more from me.  What is your favourite mascara?

robynisabella x

Lunch with Friends

Hey guys!

This week I met up with my lovely friends and so far the encounter has dominated my blog posts.  That fact is not going to change today because it's 'Food Friday' and what better to talk about than the lovely lunch we had!  We met up and the first thing on all of our minds was 'where do we go for food?'.  Now that might seem like an easy question to answer but in the city with so much choice it was actually a little overwhelming!  Eventually we settled on a little Italian that sits just on the edge of George Square called La Vita.  It's a gorgeous little place that I have frequented a few times now and the food is really good.  The building itself is also pretty cool because it has a small downstairs with an over hanging balcony and then another level above that.  I've never sat on the balcony but I've always wanted to!  As soon as we were seated on the top floor the endless chatter began - luckily we managed to squeeze in some food between all the catching up we had to do.

All three of us started things off with my absolute favourite starter ever.  Mozzarella Balls.  Oh holy goodness I love those things!  I've tried my hand at making them from scratch at home and it failed pretty horribly.  Any of you got any handy tips 'cause I could certainly use them?

For our mains my gals went for a vegetable risotto and a pizza.  I've never been a huge risotto fan but my friends looked and smelled amazing and she gave it high recommendations.  My other friend gave me a slice of her pizza and it was sooo nice!  I love pizza though so... it couldn't do wrong really!

I played it safe and went for a cheesy pasta.  It was especially cheesy which I really liked and I thought it was interesting that they went for that funny shaped pasta instead of macaroni.  I would definitely order it again but probably with a little bit of garlic bread to break it up a little.

All in all we had a great meal to set us up for our day of catching up!  If you are ever in or near George Square in Glasgow and stuck for something to eat I would definitely recommend you try La Vita or if you are short on time their street food take away - sit in restaurant Via Italia is so amazing!  It sits just beside Central Station and is a great pit stop.  You get to choose your pasta, sauce, toppings - it's so good and they do a nice variety of options.

I hope you guys liked this post!  Don't forget to follow for more from me next week!  Out of the three dishes, which one would you pick?

robynisabella x

Friend Time!

Hey guys!

The other day I had a fabulous day with my friends.  They are the best friends I could ask for but unfortunately we don't get to see each other very much because we all have busy work schedules and live miles away from one another.  Thankfully everything managed to fall into place the other day and we were able to meet up for dinner and some drinks.  Tune in on Friday for the dinner scoop.  

The day started off with us all meeting up in Glasgow because it is the best place for us to meet and there is lots to do in the city.  First off we went for dinner then moved straight onto a little shooter bar called Tingle.  Tingle is great because the drinks are £1 and shots are only £1.50 but it does get really busy and it's usually pretty hard to find a seat.  We stayed there for a couple of hours but before we left we asked the bar girl to give us her recommended shot.  She gave us a 'mint areo' which is a mix of some mint liqueur and irish creme but oh my goodness this thing is so delicious it tastes exactly like a mint areo - I would hihgly recommend it!  

We decided to move onto a place called Walkabout just for old times sake.  We all met at college studying Travel and Tourism and every Thursday our class would go on a night out to Walkabout together.  We called it 'College Thursdays' haha!  It was actually really great and I think it was the reason our class bonded so well.  We only had the one fishbowl there because the prices seemed high after £1 drinks so we retreated back to tingle.  

We also spent some time in House of Fraser looking at all the makeup and drooling over the expensive brands which you will have seen on Monday.  We were particularly impressed with how smooth and soft the NARS blush was.  I totally forgot to try out some of the testers of the NARS foundation which I'm really annoyed about because that means I'll have to go up again haha!

Overall we had a great wee day out and it was amazing catching up with my gals.  What did you get up to this Wednesday?  

robynisabella x

Temptation

Hey guys!

Today I was up in the city and as always I decided to head into House of Frasers to drool over all the makeup that I just can't afford.  I was with two of my best girlfriends and we had an all round great wee day together.  I didn't actually buy anything but I took a couple of snaps and I thought I would let you guys drool over it all too!

I know I didn't take too many but if you want to see more from me head on over to vine!  I took quite a few today - my username is robynisabella .  What was your favourite from above?

robynisabella x