Decorating Time....

Hello everyone!

One of my favorite things about Christmas is putting up my Christmas tree, and I was extra excited this year as it the first year me and the other half have our own house! We were living in a little studio flat last Christmas so there wasn't much room for decorations, but now I have a whole house to fill its going to look like Santa's grotto by the time I'm finished! All I've done so far is my tree and fireplace in the living room, but I just wanted to share what it looks like. Any excuse for a Christmas post!!

Love to you all x

Christmas Wishlist

Hello :)

I've been meaning to get back into blogging for ages now (yes, I know I keep saying that) and I've been getting so excited reading everyone's Christmas posts that I've decided to get back into things with a good old fashioned Christmas wishlist post!

There are so many amazing products out there that I'm lusting after, so I should have no problem putting this list together. I do just want to point out that I'm not greedy, and Christmas isn't all about the presents for me. But come on, who doesn't love thinking of all the lovely things they'd like to unwrap on Christmas morning.

1. Sleek Solstice Highlighting Kit: I'm sorry, but is this sleek highlighting kit not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? Plus, at just £10 you don't have to feel guilty asking for it! View this here.

2. Brown Structured Tote Bag - New Look: I have a slight bag addiction at the moment. I don't always like to spend too much on bags because I'm clumsy and heavy handed so tend to mark, scratch or stain them. This beautiful day bag from New Look is perfect with any day outfit, and I do love neutral colours. All for £29.99. View this here.

3. NARS foundation: This is one of my all time favorite foundations. I don't like to splash out on expensive make up all the time, so foundations like this one at £32 is one that I like to keep for a special occasion. Because of that, I can make one bottle last almost a year, and that makes it worth every penny in my book. I believe its nice to have a special occasion foundation for nights out. I'd love another bottle of this for Christmas :) Find it here.

4. Dune Black Suede Ankle Boots from ASOS: Now I know that at £79 these are a tad on the pricey side. However I have always been a lover of heels. The higher the better. But a recent diagnosis of early onset rheumatoid arthritis means my ankles can no longer handle the pressure of heels. I've found it so hard to find a collection of flat shoes that I like, however these would go with so many things, and are the first flat shoes in a long time to get me excited. Find them here.

5. Paisley Print Shirt Dress from Boohoo: I am having a massive love affair with shirt dresses at the moment. My new need for flat shoes has found me teaming shirt dresses with black tights and boots and it is a look that I feel comfortable with. This paisley print dress from Boohoo is a bargain at £20, and manages to bring a splash of colour into a classic style. Love it! Find it here.



So that is my Christmas list for this year. What do you all think?

I'd love to know what you all are wishing for this year :) Feel free to leave your comments and links below!

Love to you all x

Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual Review

Hello everyone!

I know I have only just done my Christmas post, but I said on twitter that I was going to do a review of the Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual that I got for Christmas, and here it is! This is the first book review I've done, but it is a book on makeup, so not too outside the comfort zone!!

I got this book for Christmas from my other half, and started reading it that night! It's split in to 12 chapters, that range from the basics of makeup application, right through to professional equipment and advanced looks (such as bridal makeup). It includes an introduction to every chapter, step by step guides with pictures, and helpful little tips that are relevant to everyone who loves makeup. It is useful for those who already know quite a lot about makeup application and have been a makeup lover for years, to those just starting to use makeup who want to know how to get a good everyday look. 

It is a book that is easy to refer back to, and I know I will be going back to mine for quick tips and ideas for a long time. It is not the most in depth makeup book out there, and I've read some reviews from people who say it was not at all what they were looking for, but for those who want a simple and easy to use reference book on makeup application and ideas, it is a must have. I love mine, and am very happy with it. 

It includes tips for all kinds of skin types, and even has a little section at the back on the history of makeup which I found interesting! 

The only downside is that some of the tips are things that anyone who uses makeup a lot will already know... For example how to apply foundation, and ways to wear eyeliner. However, there are still a lot of tips in there that are interesting, especially in the advanced makeup chapters. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves makeup, or for anyone thinking about wearing makeup for the first time. Mine is the hardback version, and cost around £16 from amazon, so it's not too expensive either. 

(reading this back, I've just realised how often I use the word makeup, but can't really replace with anything, so sorry!!) 

Have any of you read it, and what were your opinions?  

Love to you all x

Christmas 2013

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, filled with food, family and presents :)

Sorry for the lack of posts recently... it's been majorly hectic over the holidays and I haven't had a moment to myself to get on the laptop and write. I now have a free night before New Years Eve to sit and catch up with all things blog related!

Firstly tonight, I wanted to do a quick Christmas post. I have been so lucky this year, and feel so privileged to have the most amazing family and friends. Here are a few pics of our day...

Sorry about the quality of the pics, I may have had a bit too much wine with dinner and the pics I took got progressively more blurry as the day went on! But over all I had a lovely day, and am planning to do a few review posts over the next couple of weeks of a few of the things I got (book/outfit/make up posts), so I promise the pics in them posts will be a lot better! 

Thank you for reading, hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and I would love to know how all of you spent your day? 

Comments always appreciated! 

Love to you all x

Christmas Outfit

Hello everyone!!

Aahhhh Christmas is almost here! Are you all as excited as I am?

I know the last post for #TheWnterProject is an OOTD post, but I don't think I'm going to be able to do the post on Christmas eve, and I've had a load of issues with scheduling posts, so I thought I would show you all now the outfit I'm going to wear on Christmas day. It's a new dress that I chose and my parents ordered for me from asos.com. I will show both the picture and the link below.

I'm planning to wear it with heeled black ankle boots and a statement bracelet. I will post pics if I can get them after Christmas, but at the min I don't have a camera and am hoping to get one from the other half as my Christmas present. Hope you like, and I'm sorry I won't be able to do the final post for the winter project. Have loved doing every moment of it, and will post a round up post after Christmas!

(Link here)

Merry Christmas!! 

Love to you all x

A Little Christmas Treat....

Hello again!

Just to rub it in a little bit (sorry) I now have nothing but free time up until Christmas! I can actually feel the jealousy from here! No work to do, no Christmas shopping left to buy, I'm finished. Nothing but wrapping (which I actually love), seeing family, and Christmas baking left for me to do.

This year, I actually shocked myself in finishing my Christmas shopping under budget! So, as a treat for doing so, I've decided to buy myself a little present. A well done for being good this year :P But what to choose! There a lot of stuff I really want but I kinda know I'm getting it for Christmas, so I want something I cant treat myself with to accompany them... and join my ever growing make up hoard! I officially can't decide what though.... So I need your help. Should it be:

1. The Urban Decay Fun Palette 

I LOVE Urban Decay palettes. I have asked for the Naked 3 palette as I know I need it in my life, but I think the shades in this little palette are just so... well.... fun! The brighter colours would make a nice change to the large collection of nudes and browns that I have. 

2. MAC Lipstick in Candy Yum Yum 

I am a self confessed lipstick hoarder. I have way too many already, but I lack a bright girly pink colour, so I think that this would actually fill a gap in my make up collection. I think MAC lipsticks are really good, and they don't dry out my lips too much in the colder weather either. This is a shade that I could see becoming a firm favorite as the weather warms up and it turns to spring... so its kind of like a investment. Right?? 

3. NARS Multiple Bronzer 

I think NARS do lovely blusher/bronzer palettes, and I love their eyeshadows, but this is something that a few people have said is really good, but I've never really paid much attention to. The idea is that its a bronzing stick that you can use on your cheeks, eyes and body. I like the idea of it being versatile, but I honestly can't believe that it would look right on anywhere but your cheeks... I want to try it for its uses as a bronzer alone, as I love their powder ones, and at the same time could investigate whether it does actually work elsewhere or not. 

So come on then people.... help me?! Which one should I buy myself for Christmas...? Lets put it to the vote :) 

Love to you all x

The Winter Project Week #6: Christmas Make Up

Hello everyone! Wow, I can't believe that #TheWinterProject only has a couple of posts left! Must mean it's nearly Christmas though, yay!! This week, we are posting about our favorite make up looks for Christmas. 

To be honest, when it comes to Christmas day, I don't tend to do much with my make up. I'm more excited about opening presents and eating way too much food to spend too long looking in the mirror, so to me, Christmas make up should be simple but still bold and festive. That's why I always turn to a statement lipstick, and bold festive nails (which I can do the night before)! That's why, instead of posting a whole make up look, I'm going to show you my favorite lipsticks and nail polishes for this time of year :) 

As you can see, I love my pinks and reds. I think reds are more festive, but pink tones tend to suit my skin tone more. As you can see from the top picture, all of these lipsticks look well worn. That is because I love them all, and have had 2 or 3 of them for a couple of years now (only tend to bring them out in winter)! In order from left to right, we have: MUA - Shade 3, Shiseido - Perfect Rouge, Astor - Rouge Couture and Avon - Smitten Red. 

Not only do all of these lipsticks give you a big bold sweep of colour, but they are all very moisturising too, which makes them especially perfect for this time of year. I find that the one by Shiseido looks especially bold and glamorous if worn with a layer of clear high shine lip gloss over the top. But as I tend to eat my own weight in turkey and pigs in blankets on the day, I think lip gloss would wear off pretty quickly! As lipsticks on their own, they are very long wearing (after doing the swatches earlier I have actually stained my arm a pinky red colour... Oops)!

When it comes to my nails, I normally tend to go for a metallic colour at Christmas. The Barry M Gold Foil Effect nail polish is a firm favorite of mine, and I have blogged about it already. Its like it was meant to be worn on Christmas day. You only need one coat, its quick and simple to apply, hard wearing, and instantly glamorous. Then we have the polish by Astor in Tonic Orange. I'd never heard of the brand Astor until recently, when a friend of mine received some Astor products as an unwanted present, and so gave them to me to try. I will be doing a full post about what I got when I have finished trying everything, but this orange nail polish and the lipstick mentioned above have both been brilliant. It's branded as being long wearing, and it really is. I put it on to try about 5 days ago, and its only just starting to chip at the ends. That's amazing for me as I have my hands into everything all the time and usually need to re-paint after around 3 days. It's bright, bold, and is a twist to the usual red nails of this season. 

So there we have it, some of my favorite make up for Christmas. Thank you for reading, and all comments are appreciated. MERRY CHRISTMAS! :) 

Love to you all x

The Winter Project #5: Christmas Accessories

Hello everyone! Firstly I would like to start by saying sorry for my lack of posts recently, and I am gutted that I missed last weeks post for #thewinterproject! Was down in Berkshire for my friends wedding and forgot my laptop, then was really ill when I came home and just looking at the computer screen was making me feel dizzy! Am getting better now though, so am happy to be back!!

This weeks post for the winter project is all about favorite Christmas accessories. This should be a fun one, as I LOVE accessories in winter. Christmas is also a good time to wear novelty things that look really cute but that you couldn't get away with at any other time of year. People are in a good mood and everyone is all for having a bit of fun. Here are the accessories I'm loving at the moment for the festive season. The bolder the print and the more glitter the better I say! So bring on festive hats, gold and glittery clutch bags, and socks that would make you cringe at any other time of year :) ......

So there we go, a lot of red patterns and gold accessories for the festive season. Thank you for reading and cant wait to read everyone's posts!! All comments are, as always, appreciated! 

Love to you all x

Christmas Wishlist...

Hello my lovelies :) 

I've been in a very Christmassy mood today, probably because of the freezing weather, so I thought I'd do a Christmas wishlist post. I love reading people's wishlists, so if anyone wants to link me any in the comments I'd love to read them! 

Firstly we have a Magic Wand Bubble Bar from Lush. I think Lush do lovely products, especially at Christmas, and this wand looks so pretty! I really like the idea of being able to wave it around in the bath to create lots of lovely smelling bubbles. 

Secondly, we have the Nars Up To The Moon Palette. Love the nudes and wintery shades of this, and it has been a long time since I last had a Nars palette. My old one ran out about 6 months ago, and I've been tempted to replace it ever since. Though I've been a good girl and waited for Santa to bring me one.

The Third item on my list is the one I'm most excited to try. If I don't get it for Christmas then I may have to buy it for my self in the new year. Its a Nails Inc polish diary, and it comes with 12 shades which are supposed to be perfect for the 12 months in the year. I wouldn't be disciplined enough to wait a month before trying the next shade, but it does look like it has a good mix of colours, including nudes, brights and glitters, so I feel its a good investment (it's around £50 but that's for 12 nail polishes!). 

We then have the Woodland Splodge Scarf from Topshop. I know I featured a Topshop scarf in my post for the winter project, but yesterday I spotted this one, and it got added to the list. I told you I have a scarf addiction! 

I had to add Chanel Chance, which I have already said is my favorite perfume. It smells amazing, really light and fresh, and its the only perfume I wear on a regular basis. I still have some of mine left, but Christmas seems to be the best time to stock up on your favorite perfumes as a lot of shops seem to do special deals and gift sets. 

The shoes are from ASOS, and although they aren't the most practical thing for winter, I just can't resist a nice pair of heels! Plus, it's kind of become a tradition for me to ask for a pair of shoes for Christmas that I want to wear out on new years eve. These classic black and gold ones are perfect for the party season and would go well with pretty much any outfit. 

Another one I'm excited about on this list is the Oasis tote bag. I honestly don't have many bags, and only 2 decent sized ones (most are little clutches). I love the complimentary cream and brown together with the bold blocks of red at the sides. Would be great for me to hoard hand creams and lipsticks in too........

Lastly, we have another treat from Lush.... The Christmas Penguins! I saw these online and just thought they were unbelievably cute! Haven't seen them in the store yet, although I'm sure they will smell amazing... most things from Lush tend to! 

Well there we go, that is my finished and final Christmas Wishlist! What do you all have on your Christmas list? Comments always welcomed, and thank you for reading :)

Love to you all x