#OOTD : Winter wool

Jumper - New look.   Denim shirt - River island .   Collar pins - Top man. 

Looking pale as usual

Hi everyone !  :D Winter has stuck it's stubborn heels into the ground and doesn't seem to be budging for miss spring any time soon. As I choose to wrap up in my wool clothes and heavy knitted jumpers, I decided to share with you one of my more smart casual looks I would wear in the colder months.

I've taken one of my favourite cosy cream knitted jumpers and added a more preppy look to it by wearing a bleached shirt underneath. The shirt collar has given more structure to the neck area and I've emphasised this area with collar pins. Collar pins are a great way to dress up a plain coloured shirt and they can be removed effortlessly making them more versatile to outfits and  yet making clothes still easy to wash. Hurrah!  

( You may just want to be cautious before stabbing the pins in your favourite shirt as they may leave a tiny hole in the collar).

I bought my collar pins in the Topman sale for around £3 , ( originally £8), and they've been a source of conversation on a night out more than once. I've chosen to wear Navy chino's , which again add to more of a preppy and smarter element.

I finished the outfit with a trusty pair of brown boots , and a brown leather satchel bag from Ted baker. My Ted baker bag is sentimental to me as it was a combined birthday present from my friends, not that you needed to know but I thought I would share.   I've mentioned before but I believe brown accessories and shoes to be so versatile to a variety of looks so I often gravitate towards them.  :)

Outfit Menu

Cream knitted jumper - new look

Bleached buttoned shirt - river island

Navy chinos - New look 

Brown messenger bag - Ted baker

Collar pins - Top Man 

A closer look at the collar pins

Navy Chinos- New look

Brown Messenger bag - Ted baker

I hope you enjoy the post, The mint apple :)

Acqua di Gio : Fragrance review

I love the world of fragrance, I just can't get enough. Once one foot has entered a large store, then i'm off to find the fragrance section and I plan to be there for some time. I'm like a fragrance mad scientist dashing between scents looks for the perfect elixir. Fragrance and scents can be linked with memories, good and bad, and that's the beauty of them. Just a small whiff can remind you of places, family, friends or food even! Fragrance to me is another way to express yourself like fashion or makeup. I personally don't believe in male and female fragrances, that your gender should define what scents to wear. Sure there are scents more feminine or masculine and targeted to these genders but at the end of the day you wear whatever fragrance you feel comfortable in, whatever you want to express. Anyhoodle, rant over.  let's get into the review!

My first fragrance review is Acqua di gio by Giorgio Armani. The sleek frosted glass bottle is simple, with silver text displayed to the front and a silver cap on top. That's it,  simple. No fancy packaging, No coloured fluid or decorative plastic pieces thrown here and there. The frosted glass is very similar to what you would see on the Issey miyake fragrances. The simple packaging makes it great for travelling, as long as you don't drop it!

The fragrance notes consist of : 

Top - Jasmine, hespiradic notes, rosemary

Middle - Marine notes, persimmon fruits

Base- Patchouli, white musk, rock rose, cedar

The scent is fresh, clean and crisp. Ideal for everyday daytime wear and those summer days at the beach. I can imagine a gentleman ( or lady)  wearing this light scent on a hot summer day. There aren't any heavy wood notes in this so i could imagine a lot of ladies that might like to wear this scent. In my opinion there is something almost salty about it that just increases my imagination of skin that's been washed by the sea and then beaten on by the sun.

As soon as you spray it you get this fresh scent , a light citrus almost with the rosemary adding a further botanical, green , fresh aspect. I can also get a slight fruity note, adding a very soft sweetness but not sickly sweet. The sweetness is delicate unlike a heavy gourmand fragrance.

If you are looking for fragrance that projects and gets you noticed immediately when you enter a room then this isn't for you. The fragrance stays close to the skin which is a plus and negative as i often feel  that it wears off quickly. The projection on me lasts about an hour but it then continues to whisper on the skin between 4-6 hours before disappearing altogether. When you buy an expensive fragrance than you at least want it to last, right ? If you purchase the gift set then using the scented moisturizer before spraying the fragrance layers and locks the scent for longer. I am complemented by this fragrance but only when i'm in close contact with people  (I'm talking about hugging, be clean people). 

If you're a fan of light scents then definitely try this out. I would advise testing it out in the shops first before buying it and avoid blind buying a fragrance to prevent any disappointment. If you like Issey miyake , L'eau d'issey or Jo Malone lime basil and mandarin then I recommend giving this a sniff. It has to be said this is one of my favourite fragrances but i would like a scent with more projection.

Have you tried this ? What do you think ? I would love to hear your opinions or fragrance recommendations.

Themintapple :)

Favourite Apps : January

So you took a photo you love, but it lacks something ? Perhaps to be sharpened , filtered or mirrored even. The quickest way to edit photos is just an App away.  I love watching videos and reading blogs about apps, especially when they are photo editing apps. I thought this time I will show you some of my favourite apps that I'm loving at the moment. I have an Iphone 4s but it only has an 8GB memory capacity so I like to keep my apps to a minimum if possible.Every now and and then I'll have a phone clear out and delete apps or photos that are calling to be erased.

~ Diptic ~

So my first photography App is Diptic. Diptic allows you to sew photos together to create your own little collages. The reason I love Diptic is that you have control over the frame added to any collages made. You can change the width, colour, edges, add textures or remove the border completely. Diptic also gives you the ability to edit photos with filters, adjustments and adding text. The app is just more flexible than most free collage apps I have used and is now my go to app for photo editing ( even before instagram!).  Diptic does cost to download I'm afraid though I believe it to be a little investment for those who love to get creative with Instagram photos.

For those who wish to create collage photos on a free app then I recommend Picstitch. It doesn't have as many photo editing options as Diptic and it isn't as flexible on the front of editing borders around photos either. However it is a great alternative for those who wish to try a photo collaging app.

~ PS express ~

A quick and easy photo editing app. This app allows you to edit photo's through filters, adjustments and enhancements. The reason why I like this app is the choice of options and frames available as well as a red eye detection to remove any red eye from your snaps. It's user friendly and makes editing photos a doddle. The only thing this app doesn't offer is the ability to create collages of photos.

Of course there is always Instagram itself which gives you the option to filter you photos last minute before you upload them. I recommend trying a different photo editing app as well just to give you more options and diversity for your photos. It's easy to get stuck using the same Instagram filter for every photo.

~ Wallpapers ~

As far as I can tell, the app itself is just called "wallpapers". Can you guess what it does yet? It's a wallpaper app. You guessed correctly. This app allows you to scroll through some of the latest photos and images to find a wallpaper that matches your mood. There's a wide choice of wallpaper selection from animals wallpapers to landscape,  to ones created with IOS 7 in mind. It's easy to use , you find the image you like, save it to your picture reel and then set image as wallpaper. EASY! The only down side is that you do get the odd advert pop up now and again.

~ Pixiwoo magazine - TWO ~

This is an app that downloads into your newsstand. 'Two' magazine is a free magazine created by the Pixiwoo sisters, Sam and Nic. Pixiwoo is a popular and well known Youtube channel offering make-up tutorials and other beauty related videos to their audience. They are creative and constantly on the ball with the latest make-up trends. Their magazine is full of glamorous photo's , advice, tips and interviews with other skilled make-up artists. This magazine just catches your eye instantly and best of all it's free! Sam Chapman even has her own make-up brush range that is found in most drug stores and some supermarkets.

So that is all folks. Just a small round-up on some of my favourite current apps at the moment. feel free to share yours with me or add me on instagram.  

The mint apple :)

#Haul : Skincare and Mens fashion

Who's still keeping up with their new years resolution? If you are, then keep going and bravo!  Nothing better to knock away any January blue's than a bit of retail therapy. I have to admit I haven't been so eager for the January sales this year. It makes me sad to see all lovely things I had bought a week prior to Christmas at 70% off , so I only snatched a couple of items from the sales. The skincare items included in this blog are mostly Christmas presents though they are things I have wanted to try for a while. 

~ floral hoodie , River island ~

So the first thing I have here to show you is this floral hoodie from River island. No surprise with the run up to spring, floral prints have burst onto the shop floors and I'm loving them. I chose this hoodie as not only did it have a dark floral design but it contrasted well against the light grey in the centre. It allows me to wear a bold floral print without it being like having a bouquet thrown at your face. I'm still on the hunt for a floral back pack but I hope to grab one soon.

~ Beanie and gym T-shirt, New look ~

The next items I bought were from new look. There's a lot of baseball, sports and gym style shirts out in stores at the moment with a vast majority made in mesh. Though I have't got one of those yet, I did pick up this red sleeved sports top which is easy to throw on on days were I just want to chill and lounge around the house. The black beanie also pictured above was £3 so if the price didn't sell itself to me, the accent hash-tag defiantly did. I can't resist a hash-tag!  I love seeing people out in about in town wearing black beanies and white shirts, the contrast of the two colours draws my eye.

~ Skincare~

With a new year and a new start ahead of me , I also got some new skincare.  Majority of the skincare is from superdrug's optimum range. The great thing about when I got these products is that they were on 3 for 2! I have tried the apple skin renewal moisturiser from Iuperdrug and really enjoyed using it so I have now ventured into their overnight skin renewal serum. As well as their apple skin renewal range I received two products from the super grape antioxidant line. The sturdy plastic packaging for both of these looks more expensive than it actually is ( see picture below) . The day cream has an SPF 15, they are both 50ml and both paraben free. I look forward to testing and reviewing these for you.

~ Badger balm , Lip balm set ~ 

 (excuse the chunky thumb). I have something to rival my trusted and beloved Burt's bees lip balms. I'm yet to try this lip balm set but the flavours include tangerine breeze, pink grapefruit, lavender & orange and vanilla Madagascar. errrm yum! With ingredients including beeswax, virgin olive oil and rosehip , I can't wait to tuck into these and smother my smacker with them. Has Burt's bees met it's match ?

~ Clarins , Liquid bronze self tanning ~ 

Clarins liquid bronze self tanner is a product I see and hear continuously in the youtube community. After a small debate with myself, I decided to give it a go. I hear great things about this product and look forward to writing a review about it in the future.You just add a small amount to a cotton pad , wipe it over your face and your done. Simple.Though this retails for around £18 , you do get 125mls of product making it great value in comparison to so many other face self tanners. 

~ Bodyshop, camomile silky cleansing oil ~

The last product I have is a face cleansing oil. It's the fourth bottle pictured above. unfortunately I didn't take a snap of it on it's own. With more and more people becoming more conscious of their skincare and what's in the products they use to clean their faces, cleansing oils have hit the town hard. I've noticed in the youtube community and stores a lot more beauty oils and balms are being favoured so I've decided to try them also. This is the body shop camomile silky cleanse off oil that has a light , clean and slightly sweet scent. I can't wait to slap this on my face and discover the results.

So that is the end of my haul. A little long winded perhaps but I wanted to show you all the things to expect reviews for in the future. Have you tried any of the products mentioned above? I'd love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment or add me on Instagram.

The mint apple :)

#OOTD : Winters day

Hello! January is now in full swing and winter is stomping Britain with it's chilly nights. Here is my first outfit of the day post for something I would wear in the winter. The first photo is very awkward as I posed in front of my camera being propped up on a storage box on top of an old wooden chair. No fancy tripods or cameras for me just yet! The first photo is unedited , ( besides the fact it's mirrored) , so you can see what the outfit would appear like in daylight.The photo's below are also unedited. 

Whether you love it or hate it, I have to admit I love a buttoned up shirt. I feel that they make me look a little bit more broader as they are more fitted around the collar and shoulders , compared to a baggy T-shirt that drapes of the shoulders. The clothes are all available from the high-street , with the most expensive garment being my coat at under £45!

One my staples of winter has to be brown boots. I find them very versatile for a variety of outfits and look great with chinos or jeans. The ones I wear have a Brogue design which just adds a little more detail to a simple boot shape.

I hope you like my first #OOTD and I look forward to posting more in the future. 

Outfit breakdown

Grey 'Teenie Beanie' -  Asos

Grey Wool Coat -  Tesco F&F

Buttoned checked shirt -  Topman

Silver necklace - W.R.Bulllen Limited jewellers

Jeans -  Peacocks

Brown Boots -   Lee cooper at Sportsworld