Winter Look Book

Abigail wears...

Left: Blue Quilted Jacket - Matalan. Mustard Jumper - Falmer. Brown Corduroy Trousers - Matalan. Beige Boots - Mustang.

Middle: Quilted Jacket as above. Grren Collared Dress - TU for Sainsbury's. Cream Tights - Primark. Boots as above. 

Right: Quilted Jacket as above. Grey Jumper - Zara. Washing Line Tights - Thigh's the Limit/ASOS.

Paris wears...

Left: Pleather Jacket- New Look, Maxi Dress- Top Shop, Burgundy Converse.

Middle: Pleather Jacket- New Look, White Long Sleeve Tee- H&M, Neppy Joggers- Top Shop, Black and White New Balance 410's.

Right: Two Tone Sweatshirt- Zara, Super Skinny Jeans- Miss Selfridges, Burgundy Converse.

Space Leggings OOTD

I don't think I have ever done a style related post on the blog, as lets face it, I spend most of my time in my comfy snuggle clothes or if I am getting dressed, I usually just throw on whatever is closest to me so I can get the pup out and walked.


I love easy comfy clothing! And this is an outfit that I have been going back to so much recently I had to share it with you. For me it's practical because you can layer lots under the jumper to keep you nice and warm on these cold winter days and because I feel that the space leggings amp it up enough for me to look like I have made the effort when really I am just going to be spending all my day running errands.

I kept my top and trainers more neutral so that the outfit isn't to out there for day to day wear.

I am wearing:

Sweatshirt- Zara

Leggings- Etsy- Green Galaxy Leggings

Trainers- New Balance 410

For a fun little touch I used similar colours in my eye makeup to the leggings. I have used my new LUSH liquid liner in motivation layered over the cream eyeshadow in intuitive.

Don't forget you can now follow us on Bloglovin', just find the button in the sidebar to the right!

Full Review- The Body Shop All in One Face Base

Hi all!

So for the first time that we started A Life Compendium, I failed to get a blog post up on Sunday! I have to admit it was just one of those things that I had completely forgotten to think about it that week, with it being my last and possibly busyness week at uni before Christmas.

But I plan to make it up to you with a review and then on this Sunday coming I will hopefully be getting up a post about getting the Christmas tree for myself, Jacob and RED's flat! That's right your going to get two posts this week to make up for my lack of blogging last week.

First of all lets talk about the product. It's by the Body Shop, which is fantastic because you know that  it has not been tested on animals and you also know that it is going to be a very nice looking product, which this definitely is. On the website it is sold for £14 which for me, someone who is always on a budget, is a bit much for me. In general for my everyday foundation I spend between £6- 8.

The Body Shop All In One Face Base

They also state on the website that you can 'Use dry for a light matte finish, or wet for high coverage.'

The Body Shop All In One Face Base

When I first applied it, I used it on a big brush on bare moisturised skin to see how it would handle taking away some shine. I have to say at first it felt very dry on my skin, but as I wore it, this did disappear somewhat. It did take away the shine however didn't leave me with much if any coverage.

The Body Shop All In One Face Base

After this I then tried applying it dry with the sponge inside of the compact. I did achieve some coverage with the sponge however I would still describe it as light. On the site next to the product they have a video showing you how you can apply this with a damp sponge to get the high coverage. I ran the sponge under the tap and then rang it out so the it was barely damp. I then took the product from the compact and applied it to my face. 

It caked up on my face, on the sponge and in the pan almost immediately. Whilst the coverage on my skin was much higher it looked cakey and chalky. And oh my life did it feel dry. I had noticed how drying it was when I was just dusting it on my face but with so much on I could feel it sucking every once of moisture out of my skin. I was not a fan! 

So here is my overall run down of the product. I tried to colour match online and this is always tricky however I do feel that when it arrived it was much lighter than the swatch on the website. I purchased shade 06 and it was much too light for my complexion. The price was a little bit of a spend for me and I would not be likely to spend that much again on an everyday foundation. I think it works well as a mattifying powder and does take away shine nicely, so if I were to purchase it again it would be to use as a powder over the top of a liquid foundation. If you are looking for a high coverage matte powder foundation, I would not recommend. I could not get it to apply nicely to my skin, you would have to use ALOT of product to do your whole face. I think it would be very drying if you were to use it like this every day. Lastly I would like to point out that I have been using this product 4/7 days a week for maybe about 3 months, never in a very heavy application,  and I have already HIT PAN! That really does not impress me. My go to liquid foundation that I will probably go back to last twice this amount of time easily.

For me this product is a no go. I will definitely be checking out some other products from the Body Shop as I am relatively new to their products but for me this one is definitely not going to be repurchased.

Hope some of you found this helpful, if you have any recommendations for product for me to try please leave them on our Facebook page, Google + or leave us a comment below.

Love as always! 

Winter Handbag Essentials!

Autumn/Winter is my absolute favourite time of year all the crisp mornings, twinkly lights and most importantly Christmas! So having finally caved and purchased my first Christmas present yesterday I thought it was time to do my winter handbag essentials.

I don't know about anyone else but in the winter I always get really dry, chapped hands. So, I always carry a pair of gloves in the bottom of my bag, the ones in the picture above are a purple leather pair I got for Christmas a few years ago. They are from Suzy Smith but I'm not sure how expensive they are.

I try to always carry a hand cream in my bag be it winter or summer, but this one from Hand Therapy is great for the winter as it is aimed towards dry and chapped hands. You only need a small amount to make your hands feel super soft but really any hand cream at this time of year is a handbag essential. 

This one is less of a winter essential and more of an Abigail-loves-winged-liner essential. My go-to winter look is a winged liner and strong lip combo, and when the sharp winds are constantly making my eyes water here on the South coast I feel it essential to have my liquid liner close at hand. This is my all time favourite liquid liner, it works like a pen and I just find it so easy to use!

Again, an indulgence rather than an essential. But this is my go to lipstick for winter and carry it with me almost everywhere, it actually took me a while to find it for this post because it was in the bottom of my handbag! I always have a lip brush close at hand too to make sure my lipstick stays perfect all day.

This is also the lipstick from my review a few weeks back.

This is my ultimate essential for winter, no one likes dry lips and especially when trying to put on lipstick, dry lips are a nightmare! I've been using this chap stick for a while now and it really is a great product. It is not sticky at all and is great as a base for lipstick without making the colour slide off.

So there are my winter handbag essentials. What are yours? 

Sugar Skull Halloween Tutorial

Hello lovelies !

Today I have another video tutorial for you, this time it is something a little different because it's a Halloween look.

I have always loved sugar skulls so much so that I actually have one tattooed on my back, so I thought that there would be no better Halloween tutorial for me to do than a sugar skull.

You can pretty much do what ever you like when designing what you want your makeup to look like. For mine I just looked at a bunch of images and took little bits of what I liked from each and put them together in my look.

I used a face chart to plan my look before I filmed it for you.

Day of the Dead Sugar Skull Face Chart.

You can find free blank face charts just like this one by doing an easy google search. Then you can either print off or use software like Photoshop to fill it in.

Here is a list of the products I ended up using in the video:

Snazaroo face paint in the colours Black, Bright Red and White for £3.99 each.

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation £7.99

Sleek Makeup Contour Kit £6.49

Body Shop All In One Face Base £14

Matte Black Eyeshadow from a 17 palette that has been discontinued ( any black shadow will work for this however.)

Barry M Single Pressed Eyeshadow in E12 Bronze £2.99

Body Shop Liquid Liner in Black  £9

W7 Big Lash Mascara in Black £2.29

It was just one of those filming sessions where so much went wrong and kept going wrong, so unfortunately the quality of this video is not as high as my last one. I promise I am going to work on that. I really wanted to get this up before Halloween which is why I have decided to go ahead and post the video anyway as there was just no other time I could have re-shot.



Really hope you enjoyed this look for Halloween.

As always if you have any questions about this look then feel free to leave a comment via Youtube, Blogger or our Facebook page ( links all in the bar to the right) and we will do our best to answer them for you.

What will you be this Halloween?

Review - Rimmel - Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick

Autumn is my favourite time of year, and as the season changes I like to update my makeup look a little bit. I love Rimmel makeup and this lipstick is no exception, I wanted a darker berry shade to suite the darker nights that are coming and this colour is perfect.

This lipstick is a lovely purple-red colour and could be worn during the day or at night, during the day it looks lovely with a simple winged liner and at night looks perfect with a bold smoky eye for a more intense look.

I love the simple design of the packaging for this product, it looks classy and I know for most of the way the product looks from the outside can be a major draw when looking at new makeup.

I chose shade 30 as I didn't want to go too dark but still be able to see difference between the more summery shades that I wear normally. This shade is amazing versatile and I t have worn it both in the day and at night. 

This lipstick is really lovely to wear and lasts a long time, I wore this on a night out and didn't have to reapply it at all. I hate lipsticks that feel a little bit sticky the whole time you have them on but this was the exact opposite, it goes on really smoothly and you can barely feel it's there once you have it on. 

I can't rave enough about this product and will definitely be buying more shades from this range in the future and at a price of £5.49, can you blame me? It is an amzing product and I can't wait to wear it all through autumn.

Do any of you have a favourite autumnal shade?

First Impressions- The Body Shop Liquid Liner

Winged liner is one of those looks that just seems to work on everyone. It can really dress up a look and make it statement or a well applied winged liner can really help you look like you have put more effort in with your makeup than you actually did that morning. No doubt its a hard one to master but I think it's something that everyone should try out and have fun with!

I used to wear a winged liner almost daily and was able to get a  beautiful winged eyeliner in no time at all. Recently though, it is rare liner even makes an appearance in my makeup looks. But when I was browsing The Body Shop's online store something kept drawing me back to the liquid eyeliner. I ended up ordering it in shade 01Black for £9.

The Body Shop Liquid Liner, Shade 01 Black

As with the majority of Body Shop make-up, the packaging is simple and sleek. Silly as it seems packaging definitely does influence the way I choose and use products and this eyeliner is a definite win.

The Body Shop Liquid Liner, Shade 01 Black

When I applied this product for the first time I noticed that it wasn't going on completely opaque. It has a felt tip brush that is quite stiff and doesn't have much flex in it. I think this is why the line wasn't applying opaque all the way across the lid, the tip was almost scraping it off as it was going on. After a second touch up coat though the product did look very dark and it dried matte unlike if you were to use a gel liner.

The Body Shop Liquid Liner, Applicator

The Body Shop Liquid Liner,  Swatches (top line is still wet but you can see in the second and the third how matte it dries).

I wore the product all day and it did not budge, not one single bit. There was no smudging or flaking of any kind. When it came to removing the product, my all over face wash didn't quite get it all so I would suggest using a eye make-up remover for this one to prevent you having to rub at your eyes and pull at that delicate skin.

For me the thing I like the most about this product is the way it lasts so well all day, I have had liquid liners in the past that would flake very easily but with this one when you put it on it stays on. Downsides, the applicator could do with having a little bit more give in it so that the product goes on more evenly.

The last product that I will be reviewing from my little Body Shop haul will be the All In One Face Base.

What's your favourite way to wear a winged liner?

First Impressions- The Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick

It's not often that I treat myself to new make-up. Being on a budget I am the type of girl who likes to use a product until there is nothing left before going out and purchasing something new.

Recently nearly everything ran out at once, which gave me the chance to go out and try some new things. I picked up three products from The Body Shop, a brand that I have never tried before. Since we don't have one in my town I decided to order online and as a bonus was able to get 25% off my order using a coupon code!

The first product I want to share with you is the Colour Crush Lipstick. I chose the shade 120 Raspberry In Love. From the image online I could see it was a rich purply- red shade which I thought would be a perfect colour for Autumn/ Winter.

 The Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick, Shade 120 Raspberry In Love

It's a creamy texture and feels like it's not going to dry your lips out if you are wearing it all day. I really like the colour pay off you get with this product. If you apply it with one swipe its slightly sheer and with a second,  you get a more opaque colour like shown in the swatch below. Another thing I am really liking is the slight shimmer in it which I think lifts the colour and stops it being quite as intense as a matte lipstick might be in this shade.

 The Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick, Shade 120 Raspberry In Love Swatch

I have worn this lipstick on a couple of occasions now and you can see it on in my last post Everyday Autumn Make-Up as part of my new everyday make-up routine.

This lipstick wears surprisingly well throughout the day for a creamy lipstick. 2 hours and a cup of tea after applying, I found that some of the colour had transferred of but it was still looking great.  

When I first tried this product out, I wore it for about 6 hours, ate and drank numerous cups of tea and only had to touch up twice! 

 The Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick, Shade 120 Raspberry In Love

Overall I am really impressed with this product. I love the colour, formula and packaging. Theres a really good selection of colours to choose from and all retail at £10. Normally I wouldn't spend this much on a lipstick however if you can get yourself a discount then I would highly recommend trying this lipstick.

What's your favourite lipstick shade for Autumn?

I have two more products from The Body Shop that I will be sharing my thoughts on so stay tuned for those!  

Every Day Autumn Make-Up

Hi everyone!

Today I have a video for you! It's my everyday make-up look for autumn. 

The products I have used in this video are:

Foundation- The Body Shop, All in One Face Base £14

Bronzer and Highlight- Sleek Make-Up, Contour Kit £6.49

Brows- Sleek Make-Up, Brow Kit £8.49

Eye Shadow- 17, I don't have the name of the shade that I used I think it may be discontinued but it's a slightly shimmery taupe shade.

Lips- The Body Shop, Colour Crush in Raspberry in Love £10

Mascara- Rimmel London, Scandaleyes £6.99

Hope you all enjoy this make-up tutorial. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below and I'll try my best to answer them for you.

Make sure to thumbs up, like, subscribe and share if you liked todays tutorial.

Much love x

'Getting to Know Us' TAG

Hi lovelies,

Today we have decided to do the ' Getting to Know Us' TAG as our first ever blog post! We thought it would be a nice way of introducing ourselves to everyone and letting you know a little bit more about us and our personalities.

We grabbed the TAG questions from +Ysis Lorenna and would like to TAG +Cass Wong

So without further ado...

1. Are you named after anyone?

Paris: Not that I know of, I recall my mum telling me that she named me Paris because she had always wanted to go and see the city but that was so long ago I don't know if I have remembered that right or not.
Abigail: Not named after really, but my mom had a friend whose daughter was named Abigail and she really loved it and named me the same.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Paris: Last night, whilst watching the last episode of Houdini, right at the end... I won't say to much because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched it yet, but if you're as soft as I am have a couple of tissues at the ready.
Abigail: Sunday, when my parents dropped me off at uni. You would have thought after three years I'd be used to it.

3. Do you have kids?

Paris: No.
Abigail: Nope.

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?

Paris: Probably not, I am notoriously bad for keeping in touch with people so as much as I would probably like to be my friend I doubt it would last very long because I'm just so rubbish at keeping in touch!
Abigail: I would hope so but I don't know, I'm also awful at keeping in touch with people and I tend to get wrapped up in what I'm doing a lot of the time.

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Paris: Erm... No not really.
Abigail: Yes, all the time.

6. Will you ever bungee jump?

Paris: I like to think I would do it, but as much as I hate to admit it I actually get a little bit of vertigo when I'm up high so it would be a big deal if I could actually go through with it.
Abigail: I would really like to one day, but the reality of it scares me.

7.Whats your favourite cereal?

Paris: Almond Oats and More... NOM NOM NOM 
Abigail: Gingerbread granola. Yummy!

8. Whats the first thing you notice about people?

Paris: Confidence, it's the first thing I notice every single time.
Abigail: How they treat the people around them.

9. What is your eye colour?

Paris: Dark brown.
Abigail: Blue-green.

10. Scary movie or happy endings?

Paris: Scary movie, but no one likes to watch them with me so I always have to get my fill on a day when Jacob (Boyfriend) is out for the day haha.
Abigail: Happy ending every time. I cannot watch scary movies they absolutely terrify me.

11. Favourite smells?

Paris: Cinnamon.
Abigail: Fresh cut grass, my moms cooking and anything to do with Christmas.

12. Summer or winter?

Paris: Winter, it has all the best things... Christmas... My Birthday. Plus I just prefer winter clothes, I feel like my style is better suited for winter.
Abigail: Winter. I love being able to cuddle up on the sofa with a hot chocolate.

13. computer or television?

Paris: Computer... you don't need to pay a TV license to watch Youtube!
Abigail: Computer although I do miss having a TV when I'm away at uni.

14. What's the furthest you've ever been from home?

Paris: USA Visiting family many years ago.
Abigail: India, on holiday with my family when I was a kid.

15. Do you have any special talents?

Paris: Hmm I wouldn't say I'm the most talented person at any of these things but I can draw and paint and sew, most things a bit arty I can turn my hand to and end up with something a bit above mediocre!
Abigail: Nothing really special but a strange talent I have is I can lick my elbow.

16. Where were you born?

Paris: South Carolina, USA
Abigail: Derbyshire, England.

17. What are your hobbies?

Paris: I love hiking and yoga.
Abigail: Pilates and reading.

18. Do you have any pets?

Paris: Yes, In my second year at University myself and Jacob decided that we were going to adopt a dog. So we did! He is called Red and is a 2 year old Staffy - Ridgeback mix... He is my fur-baby.
Abigail: I have a ginger cat back home called Jasper.

19. Favourite movie?

Paris: Changes all the time, most recently I really enjoyed Captain America: Winter Soldier.
Abigail: The Breakfast Club.

20. Do you have any siblings?

Paris: Yes. I have a older sister, two older brothers and a younger brother. They all live in the states so I don't get to see much of them.
Abigail: Yes, an older brother called Tom.

21. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Paris: I don't think i'll ever know what I want to be when I grow  up.
Abigail: I have no idea yet, I finish university next year and want to go travelling for a while but I have no idea beyond that.

And thats the last question!

Really hope you enjoyed this little Q&A and watch this space for more blog posts coming soon!