Abdominal and Oblique work out

Hi,

Recently I've been trying really hard to keep up with physical activity and go to the gym, one of the main things I enjoy doing is ab work outs. 

I find doing ab work outs very satisfying and it gives me so much more confidence knowing that I do actually have a little bit of muscle around my abdominal area.

This ab work out takes around 10 minutes and can be done at home or in a gym.

1) Flutter kicks for 1 minute 

2) Reaching oblique crunches for 1 minute

3) Pilates side hip raises for 45 seconds each side

4) Russian twists for 1 minute (doesn't need to be with weights)

5) Toe touch crunches for 45 seconds (I find these the most challenging)

6) Pilates leg pulls for 2 minutes, 1 minute each way

7) Toe taps for 1 minute 

8) Knee tuck crunches for 45 seconds

This ab work out is really great if are limited on time or just want a daily ab work out. You can adapt the times I've put depending on your fitness, age, strength etc.

Sophie 

XOX

Birthday Haul

Hello,

So Back in June, the 15th to be precise, it was my birthday and I was very spoilt by my parents, my boyfriend and my amazing friends. I thought I would share with you some of the great things I got. (I am in no way trying to show off, I am very grateful for everything I got).

From my Parents
First up, Probably my most favorite present was the Mini Instax Polaroid Camera!
I was so excited when I opened this because it's just great to capture one good photo from different days and adventures I go on and it's nice to have some hard copy photos which aren't hidden in a phone or computer photo gallery! The films for them are quite expensive though, for a packet of 10 I think it is about £15. **I apologize for the quality of images**
Here are some of the photos I've captured so far:

I got a lot of clothing for my birthday so first up of the clothing is the bright orange top I am wearing in the above picture, It's from Topshop, I love it!

Next I got a Shade London Jumper which is really cosy and will be good when winter comes back around!

Again, from Shade London I got a crop top, I originally wanted a Calvin Klein version of this but I could not find it anywhere :(

Next up I got a crop top from American Apparel which I have been wanting for ages and so I was very happy when I finally got it!!

A while back when I was shopping in London I tried to purchase a sheer Black, Oversized tee from Urban Outfitters but it seemed I had just spent too much that day, so my lovely family got it for me instead!:)

Next I got two lovely casual tops from an American shop called Brandy Melville. I am obsessed with the store and so was chuffed when I opened these gifts.

I got this next item a little bit before my Birthday but I thought i'd incorporate them anyway, these are white Joni jeans from Topshop.

Next we have another item which I really wanted and they are silk pajama bottoms from Victoria Secret, they are literally the softest things going, I love love love them!!

Finally from my Parents I got a lovely cropped shirt with an almost tropical pattern on it. This again is so soft and I love it.

I couldn't be more thankful to my Parents for all my lovely presents!

From my group of friends at college I got the most amazing pair or Jordans (trainers if you were unsure), they all got together to get me these as they're quite pricey and I absolutely love them!

A separate blog post on what my Boyfriend got me will follow! 

I hope you enjoyed looking through some of the stuff I got for my birthday and maybe it would have given some of you some inspirations on what you might want to buy! 

Sophie 

XOX

EOS lipbalm review

Hellooo!:)

Earlier this year I caught on to the American craze of EOS lip balms and decided to order one straight away. I ordered the Summer fruit one which is the pink one.

When my EOS one arrived I unscrewed it and the top fell straight off, I was very disappointed as they're quite pricey for a lip balm and when you're really excited to get something in the post it's very annoying when its faulty. I put this down to the fact it had to be shipped from America. (I managed to stick the top back on, I just have to be very gentle now).


The lip balm itself
The actual lip balm is very nice, it has a lovely scent to it and is very moisturizing, I normally have to reapply about 3-4 times a day depending on how dry my lips are. The balm is also great to put as a base layer for a lipstick, it helps to prevent your lipstick from flaking off (however, this can probably be done with most lip balms). The only real problem with the lipbalm is that after having used it during the day I tend to wake up with quite dry lips and so have to put it on straight away in the morning. The lip balm is also great in the sense that it uses all natural ingredients, some being organic and it doesn't contain petrolatum. It has vitamin E in it which is an antioxidant and it also contains Shea butter and jojoba.

The packaging of the lip balm is very pretty. As with a lot of things in America I would say the packaging is probably one of it's main selling points that provoked the interest.

Since having the summer fruit one I picked up another one, this time in Blueberry from selfridges in London (I was amazed when I saw it, because I didn't realize you could buy them in England).  And this time the top was still in tact, the balm itself is pretty much identical to the summer fruit one but I much prefer the smell of the blueberry!

If you have the chance to pick up an EOS lip balm I would definitely recommend it. They are quite pricey for a lip balm at about £5.00 but a one off buy can't hurt!

Sophie

XOX