When I was in Scotland this August I went to Gordon Castle in Fochabers; a very sweet little town near to where I was staying with very good fish and chips, which is known for it's "walled garden". The gardens are absolutely beautiful and were built in 1803, full of different fruit trees and vegetables and greenhouse full of different types of tomatoes and fruits. The garden also has children play areas and houses around the edges that reminded me of the secret garden and would be a dream to live in. Finally in the garden their is a café that was sensational, it has such a huge range of food and such a friendly feeling, serving food fresh from the garden and the local area. When I went it was only lunch time so I couldn't try some of the food that did sound amazing as we had only gone in for something small but I had the Scottish smoked and cured fish board and a Fentimans Victorian Lemonade(my favourite). The platter has a range of fresh fish from different types including oak smoked salmon, smoked trout, smoked peppered markerel, hot smoked salmon, marinated Orkney herring (which were amazing)along with some home made foccia bread and some salad. The platter was incredible, as a seafood lover, there was actually too much fish (a very rare occurrence) and I would definitely recommend paying a visit if your in the area!
After lunch we then went for a walk around the garden it's self and as it was a very hot day (I know very surprising for Scotland)it was lovely! With lots of fruit trees we couldn't help but try a few plumbs which were very nice! The garden had beautiful flowers which smelt amazing and topped off the day perfectly and next time I'm in Scotland I will be going again. Mother even purchased a bottle of their world famous gin!
I hoped you enjoyed todays blog post
Lots of Love
Aimee
xoxo
you can know more about the garden on the website - http://www.gordoncastlescotland.com/
remember to follow me on Instagram @aimarie23
and twitter @storeraimee
This weeks terrific Tuesday is my new favourite makeup item, if you know me you know that medium - dark isn't my concealer shade especially as I use the lightest shades I possibly can to highlight ,but, I don't use it for it's intended purpose but instead to contour. For a really long time I've been looking for a cream contour pallet that doesn't cost a fortune and as all I could find were powder pallets I decided to use a contour pallet instead. The pallet has eight shades in it ranging from reasonably light (almost my foundation shade) to really dark which may too dark for me to use, but 7 are perfect contour shades which help me to create multiple looks from subtle contour to very strong defined contour.
The shades are very creamy and smooth and blend seamlessly into the rest of my makeup creating a very natural looking contour which I wouldn't normally be able achieve with powder contour. In each of the shade's there is a reasonable amount of product which as the pallet was only £6 is defiantly good value for money, I also really like the simplicity of the makeup revolution pallet, I've had pallets from them in the past and the packaging is quiet long wearing and well made. It also is very visually appealing especially when you have quite a few with the black packaging and gold / rose gold writing. The pallets also have very big mirrors making them very practice and perfect for traveling as they give you an opportunity for a variety of looks in a small slim pallet. The product is also reasonably long wearing especially as it's a cream product.
I hope you enjoyed this weeks terrific Tuesday and consider buying the pallet if your looking for a cream contour pallet (I also think this would be perfect for someone with a darker skin tone because of the darker shades)
Lots of Love
Aimee
xoxo
follow me on Instagram @Aimarie23 and twitter
@storeraimee
you can buy the pallet on the makeup revolution pallet on their website
Unlike most terrific Tuesdays this weeks isn't going to be on a beauty product by a bag; the Longchamp Le Pliage medium shopper. I bought this bag when I was in Berlin a little over a month ago when I was in the KaDeWe mall, I had wanted this bag for a really long time and had looked on their website going through all the colours and styles but when I was in Berlin and I saw they had a Longchamp store I could resist buying one. I chose the black medium le Pliage with gold hardware and long straps although the do offer a personalisation option where you can make you bag look how you want, I got this bag firstly for traveling as to me it's the perfect carry on as it's huge on the inside so can fit everything I would need as I can fit me laptop in with there still being space for a lot more, the bag can also be wiped down because of the nylon material it's made out of so if anything was to leak or get spilt on it I could simply wipe it away. But this bag is also great for days out an example of this is when I used it when I went to Thorpe Park or when I went to Winchester Science Centre and or school or work. Next year I'm going to be using this as my school bag, with it being my last year at school I'm going to be carrying around a lot more work and school supplies than I have in the past so having a large bag with over the shoulder handles and a wipe down material is the perfect description of what I want.
The bag is also made of really good quality material so won't rip over the tie that use it, I also think the handles and flap over the top are also really good material so won't break over the time that I use it which has happened to me in the past when I bought cheaper bags, finally the zip on the bag is also really well made and won't break like they have on bags I've used in the past and as I said previously it has enough space for my laptop so if I want to bring it in for anything I can. Finally this bag will also be waterproof and so if it rains while I'm walking around or waiting for the bus all my work won't get wet which has defiantly happened to my friends in the past.
I really recommend buying this bag even if it is a little bit of an investment if you're looking for a really good bag for school, work or day trips in general plus as I bought it in Berlin I got it for cheaper if I had bought it in England because of the exchange rates.
Lots of Love
Aimee
xoxo
don't forget to follow me on instagram @aimarie23 and twitter
@storeraimee to keep up with what I'm doing and when I post new blog posts.
You can buy the bag on the Longchamp website
At the end of May this year I went to Berlin for four days from the 26th to the 30th and I can defiantly say it wasn't long enough, I had been the Germany before and have loved it( you can read about the last time I went to Germany in my Beautiful Places blog post) but I defiantly loved the city lifestyle that little bit more. Berlin was so open and friendly and full of amazing things to do and see which was made even better by the summer sun making the city at least 20'c the whole time I was there, most places in Berlin have at least one English speaking person so there was no language barrier in any of the places I went to.
On the first day after checking into the Hotel we went to check point Charlie the only place foreigners visiting Berlin could cross from East to West and back again when the Berlin wall was built and became the most famous of all the check points. At the check point there were actors dressed as American solders who will take your picture for you and with you so you can remember the experience. After taking pictures at the check point we then went into the Check Point Charlie Museum which was founded by Dr Rainder Hilderbrandt in 1962 which was full of art work to do with the check point and Berlin at that time along with other interesting information which I wouldn't of know otherwise. One thing that really stuck out to me was a book of all the names of people taken to concentration camps during the holocaust which as you can image was very long and split over several books with made it very real as you saw the individual names of the people effected.
After going the museum we walked around Berlin where I got a frankfurter which was amazing (as expected)then we went to a part of the Berlin wall which was very surreal. It was also very interesting because it wasn't just the wall but it had people's stories and other information which gave me a little more incite on how the wall effected normal people, we later went into the topography of terror which was a museum which is located on the former site of Niederkirchnerstrasse, the site of the Nazi Regime building between 1933-1945. The building was very modern and bright white which is the opposite to the Nazi buildings which were there formally which were grey and dark. The building was also surrounded by stones which is the Jewish was to honour the dead which I thought was very sentimental. The museum was very interesting and taught me a lot about how people we're discriminated during the Nazi Regime along with the horror committed by the Gestapo.
Later in day one we went to the Reichtag building which is the parliamentary building in Germany, before we went in we had lunch outside in the sun while we waited for our tour. When we went inside we went up a lift to the very top of the building which has a dome on the top, along with other parts of the building it was made of glass which is designed to make the politics of Germany transparent. On the top of the building you could see a lot of the city, you can also walk around the glass dome which has spiral ramps which go to the top which also has an amazing view of the city and is perfect for photos.
After the Reichtag building we went to the KaDeWe which was full of designer stores and makeup counters with around 6 floors it has a lot to choose from even with a floor completely dedicated to food, as I was in one of the biggest malls in the country I couldn't resist buying something. As they had a Longchamp shop and I had wanted a La Paige for a very long time I decided to buy one which after having the bag for a little over a month now was defiantly a good purchase and will be worth the money. Overall the mall was amazing with very friendly staff who once again had amazing English and made the overall experience great.
After going to the mall we went back to the hotel for dinner and the later heading out to the holocaust memorial which is very famous and a defiant must see when going to Berlin, the memorial is a variety of different height concrete blocks placed in lines. The memorial has a different impact on different people and is interpreted differently but to me it created the impression if a being crowded and confined in a small area which may have been what it was like in the concentration camp but was defiantly an experience that I recommend. The memorial is also a little walk from the site of Hitler's bunker which you can go to place where it used to stand where there is a board telling you about how it was laid out and a little about it.
Finally on day one we went to the Brandengurg gate which again is very famous and is something I defiantly recommend visiting when going to Berlin, I would recommend visiting the gate not only because of the history but because of the atmosphere around, it does defiantly come across as the hot spot of the city with street performers; when I went there was bubble machines where you could pay to make massive bubbles, it was also surrounded by restaurants and hotels. It also had a Duncan donuts which I could help but go into and get a donut and ice coffee which was very nice to say the least. Going here topped of the end of my first day in Berlin especially because of how beautiful the gate looked at night and I would recommend going later in the day to see it in the lights!
I hoped you enjoyed my first day in Berlin
Lots of Love
Aimee
xoxo
don't forget to follow me on Instagram @aimarie23 and twitter
@
storeraimee
If you know me you'll know that mascara is my favourite makeup product which really changes how I look and finishes of my makeup so it's something I'm particularly picky about but one of my favourites is the Beautiful movement cosmetics beautiful lashes mascara. This mascara really lengthen my lashes at first and as you build up the coats it also adds volume to my lashes which in my case is quite important as I wear glasses so it prevents my lashes getting lost behind them. The mascara formula is very black and not too thick which help prevent clumps even when you layer up the mascara, the packaging of the mascara is quite simple as its just black with the no animal cruelty logo on the front with a green band and a plastic wand but I think the basicness of the packaging works with the brands message.
Another reason this mascara and brand is so amazing is because the brand and all the ingredients in the products are completely cruelty free and as a brand they a fighting to stamp out animal cruelty. the brand also has the approval of the BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection) and push the support of the BUAV which you can so on the website www.Buav.org.
Lots of Love
Aimee
xoxo
don't forget to follow me on instagram @aimarie23
and twitter @storeraimee
you can buy the mascara and other products on their website - Beautiful movement cosmetics or in your local Holland and Barrett
On our third and final day in Berlin we unfortunately only stayed for half a day before traveling home, but in the time we did have left we did quite a lot. We left the hotel quite early that morning and headed to a train station where we got a few trains into the city, with us being quite a big group this was quite a stressful thing and needless to say it was a close call for some people be left behind! After the few trains we walked to the Jewish Museum on what was a very hot day so it
wasn't the worst thing I could think of, once we got to the Jewish museum we walked around the gardens while we waited for the tour; the gardens at the museum and the whole building was just incredible! The museum was designed by architect Daniel Libeskind who designed it so that the different exhibits worked with the building so that the building is part of the exhibits which is what makes it so unique and incredible. 
Once we started our tour around the museum we saw all the incredible things inside; it ranged from pictures of real people who lived through the holocaust and their stories to their belongings. When I was in the museum I learnt a lot about how Jewish people were treated during the second world war, how their lives changed and what they did to keep safe. One of the more incredible things I saw was a map with the different hiding places of a family in hiding in Berlin during the war and the different places for the different family members(a family who were successful in hiding too!) although the two most incredible things in the museum in my opinion where the two structures built to represent the fate and ending of the different people. One was outside, with tall concrete blocks with grass and plants on top which to me represented hope and freedom, the other one was much different, the other exhibition was inside a dark room shut off from the other parts of the museum and leading up to this room where all the names of the concentration camps on the walls showing that this was supposed to represent the fate of the people sent to the concentration camps. The room itself was completely black and when the door was shut it was almost pitch black except from a small slit of light coming from a tiny window in the top corner showing that there was still a very small chance of hope and survival be it small and very far away which to me was quite incredible and touching! 
After going to the museum which was insanely amazing and I wholeheartedly recommend going to if you're in Berlin! We then went on a river tour at around 11:30 which we very nearly missed! The tour went past most of the places we had visited in the last three days showing us it from a different point of view along with new things once again showing how beautiful the city is! One of my favourite places we went past on the river tour was the 'Bode-Museum' (or at least that's what I think it was called as we just went past) as this was the last thing we did in Berlin before getting ready to go home I think it was a lovely way to finish the trip and see Berlin for the last time. After the boat trip we got a train to one of the main train stations where we bought food for our trip home before finally going back to our hotel getting our luggage and sadly heading home.
