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KIKO Milano Launches in Aberdeen


The Makeup gods have answered my prayers for an affordable makeup brand to open a store in Aberdeen, KIKO Milano is officially open for business in Union Square! (Whoop Whoop)

'Be what you want to be', this is how KIKO sums up their vision of beauty. It's very refreshing, instead of saying, "you should aspire to look like this" or "use this product to look like this", instead they want you to use their products in any way you want to be what you want to be - nice one KIKO!

They are an exceptionally innovative brand, investing time in their ranges, textures and they don't test on animals, always a plus!


I was invited along to preview the brand new store in Aberdeen but I missed it because I sadly had to work (was going to try and say I had a doctors appointment, but I'm sure my boss would have had something to say if I went in with a bag full of makeup) so the lovely people at Wizard Publicity, London sent me up some of KIKO's hero products to try.


This is one of the two Water Eyeshadows that I received, this is the shade 207 and its a lovely metallic bronze with flecks of gold. I love that you can use this as a normal eyeshadow or apply water to make it more rich in colour. I have actually been using this with some water to do my wing - works a treat with the 204 eye brush! I also received the shade 201 which is a lovely rose taupe.

Christmas Gift Guide featuring The Treasured | Gift Guide 2016

Ho! Ho! Hello!

It's nearing the end of November and I'm finally feeling festive! I am normally the person irritatingly jingling my bells at the sign of the last Trick or Treater in October but not so much this year, well up until some lovely parcels arrived on my doorstep. 


Today's post is a Gift Guide exclusively from The Treasured. The Treasured is an independent online shop run by the amazing Laura, which sell lots of things such as homewares, hand crafted cards to jewellery all from British designers. Along with the focus on promoting the talent of British makers and designers they also aim to provide affordable products that are less than £50 with the majority of products being less than £20 - this is a great plus for this time of year - especially when you have a large family like I do. I also think that your friends and family would much prefer something unique and with a personalised touch over the standard 'smelly' set that does the rounds every year.

Take a look at what I chose from the shop, it's a perfect selection for a special woman in your life, whether that's your sister, girlfriend, mum or even yourself! 


Merry Christmas Gold Lettered Press Card by Sarah and Maude £3.00

When it comes to Christmas cards I like to stick with a simplistic yet elegant design and this is just that! The photo doesn't show this very well but the card is actually dimpled to create a snow effect.



I bloody love this mug! You can choose from four adorable winter animals, a Cat, Pug, Fox or a Pug - each one out in the snow - so cute! You can also personalise the other side of the mug with anything you would like. I stuck with the quote that is on the website as it was perfectly festive.

'May the miracle of Christmas fill your heart with warmth and love'


She Believed she could Print by Old English Company £14.00

I have seen this quote everywhere and it's a fab little mantra. This would look great hanging in someones office (mine) just as a little reminder that if you strongly believe that you can do something, you more than likely can - great quality card too!


Origami Planes Medium Cotton Pouch by Sparrow and Wolf £17.00

This would make a great makeup bag - definitely more aesthetically pleasing that half of the ones I've had. The fabric is of great quality and the pom pom is just the cherry on the 'cake'.

So if you're looking for a fantastic present to really put a smile on someones face then take a look on The Treasured, there really is something on there for everyone. If you do and would like a cheeky 15% discount then just enter BLOGSVLOGSETC at the checkout and voila!



This post includes a gifted product but I am not blowing smoke up anywhere - these products are beautiful and I may not even give them to anyone this Christmas - I may just keep them!

Filthy Gorgeous Blogger Brunch | Foodie Review

'Oh because you're filthy, mmm and your nasty' this is the song that was going through my mind when I was on my way to a Blogger's Brunch at the new Burger Joint in town - only this isn't like your regular burger joint - this is something special, it's Filthy Gorgeous!


Filthy Gorgeous is the brain child of Darren Blackburn who lives his life commuting from Edinburgh to Glasgow to Aberdeen. He has previous experience in all walks of restaurant life, from pizza hut, to Rosette achieved restaurants. He wanted to bring the dirty burger to Aberdeen but he wanted to put his own spin on it and you really can tell this by looking at the menu, the little touches of marshmallows with fries (yes, you read that right) or the addition of cereal in with the burgers! But the interior is not that of a dive bar, it's indie, kitch and very unique with the addition of a photo booth!


I really liked the wood against the stone wall, it made it very homely. I also really liked the addition of the little games that you can play while you're diving into a monster burger - cards against humanity, it's one of my favourite card games, not for the uptight!


It's almost time for what you all want to see and read about - the food! But first, lets talk drinks. At Filthy Gorgeous you have a selection of craft beers, draught beer (pabet blue ribbon schooner a good old red neck beer). Batch cocktails which are pre-mixed but shaken upon order, shots (because who doesn't like the sound of their 'coco the pineapple whisperer' - grilled pineapple with coconut tequila) a decent wine list and ding ding ding - my winner, the Milkshakes! 

There are four milkshakes to choose from:

Blueberry Bluffin' - blueberry jam, ice cream and blueberries
Moopocalypse - Chocolate fudge, milk, chocolate ice cream, topped with crumbled brownies
Bacon my maple - candied bacon, maple syrup, milk, vanilla ice cream
Strawberry street walker - Strawberries, milk, strawberry ice cream, candy sprinkles

... of course I went for the Moopocalypse and just look at it (insert drool emoji face).


Now for the food. They have a vast range of burgers which even the description of them, make my mouth water! Let me tell you a few of my favourites then I'll tell you all about what I had. (bt-dubs, there's a reason there's kitchen roll on the tables instead of napkins - jus' sayin').

Beer Belly - beer cheese sauce, maple glazed pork belly, pickled onion monster munch, gorgeous sauce & a sparklers (yes a sparkler).
Tupork Shakur - bacon, swiss cheese, baconaisse sprinkled with frazzles.
Cheat Day - double filthy burger, filthy fried chicken, gorgeous sauce, bacon shrapnel, pretzels, franks buffalo sauce.

Hungry yet? I chose the 'dirty south' which is buttermilk fried chicken, chipotle mayo, honey nut cherries and BBQ sauce. OH MY GOODNESS - this was incredible. The chicken was some of the best chicken I've ever had, that topped with the chipotle (which does have a bit of a kick) and the honey nut cheerios - incredible! Hats off to the person who chose that combo!


Obviously I couldn't just have a burger, especially when they have fries served with marshmallow and bacon shrapnel! This is a very strange sounding combination, but here they are! It was sweet potato fries served with the sugary goodness but as I'm not a fan of sweet potato I just put some on my regular fries and it was a sugar and crisp meaty fusion - Incredible. I need to recreate this in my house - stat!


Here's some more shots of the fries along with fellow blogger Hannah's (granite city girl) choice, 'I dream of weenie'. Wait for this, frostie (yes as in the breakfast cereal) crusted Chicago style smoked beef frank, cheese fondue with maple onions! It looked so great and Hannah had no complaints!


Now you're probably thinking 'Sarah, surely after all of that you must not have any room for desert' Err Wrong! They just have too many great options, it would of been rude not to give one of them a try. One stood right out to me but it was a close call between what I had and the Bacon Glazed donuts, served with cinnamon ice cream sprinkled with lucky charms! But I went for the Dead Unicorn Sundae! (ready for the run down?!)

Dead Unicorn Sundae - Jack and chocolate ice cream, a scoop of bitter cherry sorbet, Parisian fairy floss, marshmallows, banana, magic sprinkles and a sugar cone.


Voila! This was truly incredible. A cone filled with fairy floss surrounded by cream, marshmallows and sprinkles. A whole banana hidden underneath, then a tasty scoop of cherry sorbet and then a hit of jack and chocolate - this was the best ending to what was an epic brunch!

I cannot wait to go back and I will be, because I have one jealous fiancé. Thank you so much to Darren for inviting me along and for telling us the story behind Filthy Gorgeous, also to the very attentive staff - you have something really special on your hands!

You can find Filthy Gorgeous at Netherkirkgate, Aberdeen

Instagram Round Up!

Hello Again,

It has been sort of quiet on the blog for a while so I thought I'd let you know what I've been up to over the past few weeks. They sure have been jam packed!

left to right, top to bottom

1. Leaves - check! Autumnal colours - check! Just your basic photo of Autumn
2. My little girl turned 4. I can't believe it, we spent a few days having family round at the house and this one ate cake, played with her toys and laughed.
3. Sam and I went on a photoshoot for a blog post but it was an absolute dud - bar this photo. It's so natural and he looks like he's literally away to tell me to bugger off. Possibly my favourite photo of us.
4. The past few weeks have been filled with cheesy goodness and cocktails galore. This one was taken when I went to Revolution with a huge group of bloggers to try their new pizza menu - it was a good day!
5. #ABERSCREAM. I had the delight in co hosting the very first abzchat event and it went down a treat! So many fantastic bloggers came to support us - roll on the next event!
6. What a Tart! I did a little bit of baking over the past few weeks and this lemon tart was hands down the best thing I made. I think I may make it again this weekend ...
7. My toot all wrapped up at Dunnotter Castle. She loved being so close to the castle, it made her feel like a princess. 
8. Make that champagne POP! Myself and Julia went to the Fairmont in St. Andrews to experience their new Savoy London Afternoon Tea and oh it was decadent. We so want to go back!
9. Again, myself and Julia spent a few days in Fife for the 48hour Feast of Fife conference. Just like it's name we sampled some of what Fife had to offer and boy do they have a lot to offer. It was a great chance to get to meet some great foodie bloggers from around Scotland and even Ireland.

Let me know what you've been up to and if you've done a round up post leave your links down below as I'd love to read them!