Three Blondes!

Hi everybody,

We have some very exciting news; we have writer, Tally.

Tally loves reading and fashion so you can look forward to some new posts written by her!

Hope you're all having a good holiday!

Millie, Gabi & Tally

Bourjois Healthy Skin Range Review

I am probably one of the biggest fans of drugstore makeup; I see absolutely no appeal of spending a lot of money when there are plenty of jupes available for half the price.

I am a Bourjois virgin, so while it was on 3 for 2 at Boots I decided now was the time to try, as I had heard good things about this particular range.

I picked up the concealer, the matte powder and the serum. All of these are packed with fruit goodness, namely pomegranate.

First up, the concealer.

I found that overall this was too thick. it caked onto my skin and drew more attention to blemishes rather than concealing. The one thing that intrigued me to buy this was it is meant to help dry up spots. I can't say it worked a charm, but it certainly didn't make my skin any worse. There is an incredibly small range of colours and even if you can find one to match your skin tone, I wouldn't buy it. It retails at £7.49 in Boots, which isn't as cheap as my trusty collection 2000 concealer and isn't as good!

The powder,

This I really love. I usually stick to transparent powders, but the colour in this one gives you a glow which I love. It sets my makeup so it stays put all day. Also, it smells so wonderful, as does the serum. This retails at £8.49 and I feel this is completely reasonable pricing. This is now my go to powder, and I would recommend to all, although again, there is a very small range in colour. 

Finally, the serum

This is stuff of wonders. I find foundation to be too thick, but this being a serum is just perfect. It is very similar to Revlon's Nearly Naked, but I prefer this. I apply a thin layer to my face with a brush and it looks natural, you don't end up looking cakey and fake. For only £9.99 in Boots this is such a steal!

Hope this was helpful to you all.

Gabi xo

Summer candles

So summer isn't the most obvious time to be burning candles, but recently I have been loving burning more summery scented candles especially when winding down in the evening.

My go to summer scent has been the ortigia fico d'india square candle. Ortigia is an Italian luxury brand which can be found in department stores such as Selfridges. The candle has a fig and cedar wood scent that is heavenly and fills the whole room once lit.This is on the more pricey side however, retailing at £23. 

My budget pick is this orchid and sweet coconut candle from sainsburys of all places! I love this super summery scent with hints of bamboo and citrus. This candle comes in at just £4 but I managed to grab mine for £2 during a half pice deal at the time! You really can't go wrong with this candle (unless you don't like coconut scented products!) 

Thanks for reading! Hope this helps to inspire you to start burning summer scents before its too late!

Millie xx

Baking in a mug!

Recently I've been craving all sorts of baked goods. However, I find tidying up after baking the biggest chore ever. But, I've discovered that you can bake in a mug.

Firstly, it's one/two servings so perfect snacks. And secondly you mix everything in the mug so minimal mess.

I've tried only cookie in a mug and brownie in a mug so far but you can get recipes for 18 other recipes here.

Brownie in a mug

I'm actually not a huge fan of this recipe as I find it comes out a bit like rubber. But lots of people love it.

Cookie in a mug
Now this recipe I love. It's obviously not as good as the cookies myself and Millie made but still delicious!

I hope you all enjoy baking in a mug. Feel free to drop us an email at twoblondes90@gmail.com with your recipes.

Gabi xo

Palmers Natural Bronze Review

So the other day in boots I was searching  for a gradual tanning lotion, as my Holiday to Cyprus is fast approaching and I wanted to get a pre-sun bathing glow (and a head start on my competitive mum!) 

I ended up going for this bad boy:

At first I was skeptical, as I pumped it out the lotion itself was white and the inviting smell of cocoa butter in no way resembled the smell of fake tan. 

I decided to give it a go (expecting no change) and the next morning - to my surprise - my legs were a beautiful, non patchy, natural golden brown. (Admittedly my hands were deep orange and my feet were white , but that was soon sorted out with some extra appliance and some intense scrubbing with a pumice stone!)

I would strongly recommend this product as it is perfect for any fake tan newbies, I just urge you to apply all over and wash your hands after appliance. 

This product retails at around a fiver but I managed to snap mine up for half price at £2.40 from boots, not only is this a fantastic product, but also a bargain!

Speculoos Spread

I have been meaning to write about this for so long! I thought nothing could take over from nutella but this does! I am a long time lover of the lotus biscuits and thought this would be amazing, and it certainly didn't let me down!

I'm a bit weird in that I never put nutella on anything, I prefer to just eat it from the jar with a spoon, and I do the same with this. Perfect snack, although I will warn you it is unbelievably high in calories!

Also I do not know why it says PASTA on the jar...

AND at the moment you can get a free one when you buy one. They come with a sticker on the top and you can send it in the post and get sent one - AMAZING

Waitrose is now a permanent stocker.

Enjoy everyone!

Gabi xo

Apologies

Hello Everyone,

If you actually follow this blog; firstly thank you! and secondly sorry. It's been quite a while since we have posted, and we have no excuse.
We will be back on track very soon!

Thanks for all your support!

Millie & Gabi xx

Gilly Hicks Sale!!

Twice a year Gilly Hicks has quite a large sale. Everything is reduced. It may not still be cheap but its so much cheaper. The reason I love it so much is it smells amazing and its always such good quality. And did I mention everything is so pretty?!

This was the damage of the sale. Yep. I spent £80 on yoga wear and bras. But in my defense I plan to start excising soon and I though I needed some cute kit to get me motivated. 

As for recommending, I highly recommend all the yoga stuff, especially as it is in the sale. However, I don't think I would spend quite this much on two bras again even though they are so pretty and wonderful.

Gabi xo

Brandy Melville

So on my recent visit to New York, I came across Brandy Melville on Broadway and after finding out that they had just opened a shop here in London, I couldn't wait to pop to Kings road to have a browse.

The shop has two floors and really helpful shop assistants as well as a wide product range, as good if not better than the New York store. The clothes come in 'one size fits all' which applied perfectly for me.
I ended up buying a black and white pin striped relaxed dress and a black thin knit sweater, both of which i have been wearing regularly and love.

The on line store doesn't ship to the UK unfortunately, but its great if you want to check out the collection before heading to the store, (bear in mind that the prices are slightly more expensive here in London.)

If you haven't already, I would definitely recommend visiting the shop on Kings road, Chelsea,
hope this helps!

Millie
xx

Book Review - How to Walk in High Heels

Camilla Morton's How to Walk in High Heels is my favorite thing in the world.

It is described as The Girl's Guide to Everything and it most certainly lives up to the title! This book is great for by the pool as it doesn't need much focus but more importantly it is literally a bible. Everything you would ever want to know is in here. I feel like a different person with all this girly knowledge in me now.

I'm in love with this book and the great news... THERE IS ANOTHER ONE!

I've already ordered this from amazon and cannot wait!

One more thing to add to this unbelievably small post, is buy the hard copies. I bought the first book on kindle and it really isn't the same experience, I wanted to be able to flick to particular sections so had to buy it again this time on paperback, which obviously wasn't ideal.

Get the first here and the second book here. 

Thanks!

Gabi xo

High Street vs High End - Volumising Mascara

Hey guys,

So I thought that I would start up a new theme for some of our makeup posts called ''High Street vs High End''. Where we will be picking and comparing our favourite products, of which one is from the high street/drugstore and the other from a high end brand.

For the first post in 'high street vs high end', i thought i would compare two volumising mascaras.

Maybeline Rocket Volume Express

Although there has been mixed reviews with this mascara, I personally really like it. It has a plastic wand rather than bristles which I really like, but others may not, it delivers brilliant volume as well as length. The only thing I would say against this mascara is that it does leave your lashes fairly solid and almost 'crispy' when on the lashes but other than that I love it and think it's a great bargain at only £7.99!

Buy it here

Benefit They're Real!

I am in love with this mascara, (as are the rest of the world as it emerged the number one best selling mascara this year). It not only delivers volume but also length and curl. It has a plastic wand, as does rocket. The thing i love the most about this mascara is that it has bristles on the top of the wand, which is perfect for covering every lash. I would say this was better that maybe line rocket, however this retails at £20 for a full size tube, so its definitely not cheap.

Buy it here

Hope this helps!

Millie xx

Laura Mercier Free Spirit Baked Eye Palette Review

With my trusty Space NK card I have been getting points for quite a while, without realizing I have earned almost £30! So I decided it was time to spend, but i wanted something worth the money and so decided to go for a palette.

I'm a long time lover of Laura Mercier, religiously using their liners . I asked a worker in the shop (these girls are always so helpful) and told me about this new-ish palette. The thing that drew me to it was that it claimed the shadows could be used with water for a more intense colour, which is most defiantly true!

From Left to Right, Blue Zen, Soft Cloud, Satin Ribbon, Bare Yoga and Pink Tutu

These seeming plain colours come out beautifully, especially when used with water. They are also very easy to wear.

Having said that, the two pastille colours, Soft Clod and Pink Tutu are common and pretty uninspiring colours. You can almost certainly find jupes in the drugstore.

However, the remaining three colours are what makes the palette special. If you apply the brown tones with water they come out very vibrantly which I was not expecting from a pastille palette. Bare Yoga works really well in the crease with Satin Ribbon on the eye.

Onto the brush. This guy is double ended and works a charm. The one side works perfectly for blending and the other works well for contouring. 

I didn't think these colours would suit warm skin tones (like myself) and yet some how they do! I recommend this if you want to spend the money. This sells for £30 in Space NK, so not cheap. I think your money could be spent more wisely elsewhere, i.e. the Naked Palette is only £6 more and contains similar shades. But, I do think the wet and dry aspect is quite interesting and I look forward to some more experiments. 

Hope this helps!

Gabi xo

Hair Care

Following on from Millie's post on Bow's I thought now would be a perfect time to write about my hair care. Unfortunately I no longer have naturally blonde hair, and so tend to get it highlighted and dyed. This results in dry and unhealthy hair if not carefully cared for. I have a reasonably small routine for my hair.

This is all of the products I use in a week.

Weekday Routine

Dove Everyday Shampoo & Conditioner

I use this weekdays, as I find it keeps my hair healthy without breaking the bank. The cost varies from shop to shop, but in boots they are £2.49 for the shampoo and £2.49 for the conditioner too. I use the ones designed to keep colour lasting. After using my hair feels healthy and soft. But the moisture doesn't really last through the day.

Aussie Leave in Conditioner

This is amazing! I literally have not one criticism. It smells incredible and does incredible things for my hair! After washing and towel drying I come through my hair, concentrating on the ends. It de-tangles the hair and helps to keep my hair's moisture through the day. For only £4.49 in boots you can't go wrong! It also lasts forever, I've been using this twice a day for about 3 months and its still got a lot left!

L'oreal protective spray

This is a real life saver in summer. With dyed blonde hair, in the sun my hair can turn to a ginger shade. This protects the hair from any discolouring. Just spray into hair before going to the sun. It also smells lovely. I buy it at feel unique, but boots have it sometimes depending on stock.

Weekend treatments

I continue using the leave in conditioner without fail, but change to a more high end shampoo with added benefits.

Redken Clear Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner

These are my saviors! My hair is healthy throughout the week, but after using these my hair is literally silk. At the higher price of £10.20 from amazon I only use these on the weekend. If your bank can take it, use these everyday. They are literally the best thing. I only use a penny size amount and it's enough. The shampoo is wonderful and the conditioner, is just, life changing.

Herbal Essences Mask

Recently, my hair has been suffering from poor split ends. Having said that, since using this once a week they are almost gone. I put this is my hair on Sunday night for about 30 minutes (though the longer the better) and it really brings strength to my hair. This is always in stock at superdrug for only £3.99. It's so cheap and really is wonderful. However, I find that this only lasts about 5 uses or less, so I have constantly repurchasing, but at such a low price it's not a problem. 

Hope this helps with your hair care!

Gabi xo

Bow addiction!

hey guys,
So recently bows (especially worn in the hair) have been a bit of trend, so I thought I'd jump on the band wagon when I was in american apparel the other day, so picked up a pastel green bow for under a tenner and have been wearing it everyday since.

The hair bows  in American Apparel range from £9 to £16 and come in a variation of colours, materials and sizes.

Here are some ideas of how to style the bow:

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and will be wearing it all through the summer, hope this inspired you to get your hands on one!

Thanks for reading!

Millie xx

Pick of the Perfumes - Fruits

With literally thousands of perfumes available it can be hard to chose one to suit you. I find that I buy all of my perfumes on the plane or in the airport. Simple because they are so much cheaper than elsewhere. In this post, I have narrowed down my three favourite fruity perfumes.

These are my top three fruity perfumes; Ralph Lauren 2, Jo Malone Earl Grey and Cucumber & Jack Wills English Velvet.

Ralph Lauren 2

This is part of the Pony Collection. Honestly, I am not a fan of the other 3 smells. This is the fruity one from the collection, and I am such a lover of this that it is my second bottle! It retails at £35 but I think in the airport it was £26. It is my go to perfume, I cannot get enough! I buy the smaller bottle, simply because I think I soon will go off it, but it is 55ml so perfect for your handbag and also can be taken in hand baggage on the plane/.

Jo Malone Earl Grey & Cucumber

On the Jo Malone site it is described as:

A British tradition...afternoon tea. A fragrance with a burst of bergamot, distinct to Earl Grey, and the cool succulence of crunchy cucumber. Counterpoised with a sweet base of beeswax, vanilla and musk. Reviving and refined.

This perfume has been perfect for spring, and maybe for summer. It has the lightness of cucumber, and a light hint of tea. Although I have used it a fair bit, I find that the steep price of £38 for only 30ml I wouldn't buy it again. Jo Malone is not in the airport either, so no bargain to find! Having said that, this little guy doesn't ever leave my bag!

Jack Wills English Velvet

At first, I was very apprehensive of getting this, but not being a fan of the shop and a £40 voucher, I decided perfume was the way to go! I love this perfume, and the packaging. Unfortunately they no longer sell it in this bottle, but the new one has a simple modern look. The perfume has a smell of figs, grapefruit and roses. It's again, a fruity fragrance. But I feel that this is more mature, even though it is from Jack Wills. At the moment it in the sale for £37, but usually is £49.50 for a 100ml bottle. Mine is £50ml and cost £41.99. Even if you aren't the biggest Jack Wills fan I highly recommend it, especially now in the sale! Get one here before they are all gone.

Gabi xo

Topshop Nails Review

Being a long time lover of Topshop and nail polish, when Topshop finally released polishes I was very excited, and wasn't let down! Two years later I still buy the same four colours, as I think they are perfect all year round and I do love the quality of the polishes.

The shades are the following; Celestial, Gone Fishing, Amethyst and Milkshake.

Nails in Celestial (my favourite)



Nails in Gone Fishing

Nails in Amethyst

Nails in Milkshake (perfect colour for school)



First off, how cute are the names?

Topshop has such a wide variety, and whenever I walk into the shop and see them so beautifully lined up, I can't help but thinking of expanding my small collection.

The basic colours cost only £5, and the more exciting ones (crackle, sparkly etc) are £6. Although not as cheap as some drug store polishes they are very good quality. They last as long as high end polishes, so about 5 - 6 day, completely chip free.

Overall, I think the polishes are great value for money and Topshop now also stock quiet a range of nail rocks as well as specialist brushes for nail art. If you want to try these out visit the Topshop nail collection here.

Gabi xo

Pick of the Palettes - Neutrals

No makeup collection is complete without a neutral palette.

So I thought I would narrow it down to my 3 top picks perfect for every budget, skin tone and occasion to help you choose or be inspired by the perfect neutral toned palette.

My first pick, which i am sure will come as no surprise to you, is one that (exuse the pun!) your collection would be 'naked' without. Yes, you guessed it - the Urban Decay 'Naked' palette.

This palette comprises of 12 wearable, neutral shades in both shimmery and matte finishes that are perfect for creating a number of looks for both daytime and evening wear.

Youtube has literally thousands of tutorials and makeup looks inspired by the palette, my favourites include,

Tanya Burr's Winged Out Smokey Eye look

And Sami's from Beauty Crush, Mary Kate Olsen inspired makeup look, using the palette. 

The palette retails at £36.00 in the UK and comes with an urban decay shadow brush (perfect for packing on colour but not so great for blending) as well as a sample size primer potion (ideal  to insure your look stays put though out the day) 

You can get the palette here.

My second pick, is one of those products that in my mind, doesn't get enough credit or mention from beauty bloggers and youtubers and that is the Stila 'It Girl' palette. 

The palette contains 3 shades including stila's popular 'kitten' - a pale pink shimmer as well as 'lame' - a yellowy gold shimmer, and 'chloe' - a bronze\brown shimmery shade.

The palette is perfect for traveling (although it doesn't have a mirror) and contains shades to compliment every skin tone.

'It girl' is the cheapest of the three picks, retailing at just £15 in the UK - bargain! - especially considering that individually these shadows would cost £35!

You can get it here.

My third and final pick is Benefit's 'Big Beautiful Eyes' palette. Which is my overall favourite of the three. (as you can see from my well loved version in the picture below!)

The palette holds three shadows - a pink shimmer, light brown shimmer and dark brown matte shade, as well as a compact under eye concealer, large mirror and mini brushes for blending, lining and concealing the eye.

The shadows are extremely pigmented and the brushes are not only the cutest things ever but also really effective and PERFECT for traveling!

The only problem that I have with this palette is that the concealer is slightly too dark for my unusually pale complexion. However, I know realize you can chose the concealer colour, either in light, medium or dark.

The palette also comes with a step by step instruction manual for creating the perfect smokey eye look and the video tutorial on the website (see link below) is perfect for beginners (or people like me who have lost the instruction manual!).

'Big beautiful eyes' retails at £24.50 in the UK which is a really good price considering the addition of the brushes and concealer.

You can get it here.

I really hope this helps for fellow neutral eye shadow lovers! 

Feel free to comment below with any other neutral palettes or shades that you recommend

Thanks for reading!

Millie xx 

Millie Style Cookies

Is there anything better than chocolate chip cookies? I absolutely love them soft and chewy, and so with this is mind Millie and I were set to find the best cookie recipe out there.

If any of you don't know Millie's cookies is a cookie chain across England. They make the absolute best cookies, like, ever.

We started by looking through the all wonderful Martha Stewart Cookie book and I cannot recommend this enough! It divides the recipes into sections; light and delicate, chunky and nutty, crisp and crunchy, soft and chewy, cakey and tender, rich and dense, crumbly and sandy.

Having looked through 175 recipes we decided we would create our own, loosely based on Martha's Choc Chip Cookies. 

Not blowing my own horn here, but I actually think they are some of the best I have ever had, so here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

125g softened butter

100g light brown sugar

125g caster sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

225 self - raising flour

1/2 tsp salt

200g chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C

2. Cream the butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla.

3. Add the flour and salt.

4. Mix in the chocolate chips.

That is a photo of the dough before it was cooked. We cooked them for about 12 minutes, but it is up to you. Ours come out quite doughy but we were aiming for this as we wanted them to be like Millie's cookies.

Here are the finished cookies, and I hope you enjoy making and eating them as much as we did!

Enjoy! 

Gabi xo