I Was Spoilt This Christmas

I noticed quite a lot of people doing these posts, and also asking for others to do them too. I wasn't sure whether to do one or not as a lot of people see it as showing off, but I decided to go ahead and do it anyway! I love seeing what other people got for Christmas because I'm so nosey, and I'm sure I'm not alone on this.

I'm not too sure how I want to do this, so I'm just going to show an overall photograph of what I got and then point out a few things.

I just want to point out, like everyone else, I'm not trying to show off or brag about what I received. Every year I set out all my gifts like this to admire them, and then I take a photograph, because I like to look back years later at what I got that year. I appreciate everything I got for Christmas and I have an amazing family, friends and boyfriend who know exactly what I like. 

The photo above, and a few others, were ones that I had taken on Christmas day so they weren't set out really for blogging purposes, and are just in any order, so I'll just pick random things out and if you have a question about something in particular, just comment below! The first gift is my Wildfox Couture sweater with the American flag skull on it. I absolutely love these jumpers and I picked this up while I was away as a gift from my mum for me. I then got these lovely Hollister pyjama bottoms from my friend Abbie as she knew I really wanted a pair while we were away but never got a chance to get them. They look so cosy!

 

My boyfriend got me a hot pink electric toothbrush. This may be random, but I've been wanting one for ages so I'm really happy I finally got one! My sisters got me a new curling wand since mine blew up recently, so I'm glad I can finally curl my hair again, and I used it straight away.

 

My mum and step dad also got me the book 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea' as it was one of my favourites when I was younger so it was a nice surprise to get that and I'm actually looking forward to reading it again. They also got me a Christmas bake book, as many of you will know I love to bake. I got two pairs of super cosy slipper socks from my friend Sarah and also my step mums parents which I love because this is what I live in whenever I'm in the house. I also got some slipper socks from Abbie to replace the ones I lost when I was in NYC so I'm so, so happy, as they are made from the rarest of lambs! (not really, but you might understand this joke if you watch MissGlamorazzi's YouTube videos). She also got me the super amazing present of three sachets of Serendipity's Frozen Hot Chocolate mix. If you have ever visit New York you need to go here, and order this drink, so, so good! She then got me two Essie nail polishes I've been wanting for ages, an EOS lip balm, a little donut mirror, and some yummy Hotel Chocolat chocolate which I scoffed today.

My biggest present (possibly after my Wildfox sweater), was a Kindle. This wasn't something I asked for, so was a surprise. I haven't got to use it yet as I'm not actually sure how to use it, but I look forward to putting some good books on it!

My Dad got me these four DVDS for Christmas and I'm excited to watch them all. I've already seen them all apart from I Don't Know How She Does It (although I watched it this afternoon), but I'm the type of person who loves to watch films over and over again. Serendipity has been my favourite film this year I think, so I'm so happy I finally own it on DVD.

My beauty gifts are some of my favourites (obviously) and one of them was a huge surprise. I got the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette from my boyfriend because I'd been wanting it for absolutely ages so I'm so happy that I finally get to use it. I also got the Tarte Lip Surgence from my mum and step dad which I'm excited to try out as I got the same set in different colours last year and loved it. Finally, my biggest surprise, was the Naked Basics palette which I got from my friend Rebekah and I was so shocked when I opened it. I never thought anyone would buy me it, and I'm so super excited to try it out. Obviously I'll have a review up for you all of it very soon! Check out her blog by clicking here.

I realise this is such a long post, and I was completely spoilt this Christmas. I want to say again that I'm so grateful for everything I received this year, and everyone who buys me gifts knows me so well!

You may have noticed that there isn't any mention of Lush in this post, and as it's my favourite, you may be wondering why. This is because I bought quite a lot during their Boxing Day sale and I want to do a separate post on it to show you all everything I got so you can see what reviews I'll be doing in the near future.

To end, I'm going to post my favourite gift...

My Marmie! He wasn't really a gift, but I just love this photograph of him. We got him his own stocking last year and filled it with treats and toys again this year, and he loves to climb inside everything.

What did you receive this Christmas? Either tell me below, or link me to the post on your blog if you've already posted one!

Blogmas Day 25 - Christmas Outfit Of The Day

As I mentioned yesterday (or the day before), here is my Christmas outfit of the day. I couldn't decide between this dress or a skirt and top, but I decided this was most festive so I went with it in the end.

Dress - H&M

Tights - Asda
Wedges - New Look
Bracelets - Pandora (how cute is my new camera charm?) and a Christmas present

Hope you all had a lovely, lovely day and filled up on lots of nice food!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Blogmas Day 24 - Christmas/Holiday Inspired Nails

I debated what to do with my nails for a while. I knew I wanted to have something quite festive, but really couldn't decide what. I also didn't want too much detail in it, and wanted something fairly simple. I had originally thought of doing my nails either red or green doing little holiday bobbles across them, but in the end, I decided upon candy canes.

Very easy to do. I applied just one layer of  Essie's Jag-u-are nail polish, one of my favourites. I then let this dry and took my white Sally Hansen  nail polish that I have from a french manicure set. I started from the bottom of my ring finger nail and very carefully done a thin diagonal stripe. I then repeated this another two times on that nail, and moved to the same finger on the other hand.

I wasn't sure whether to do only the one nail, or do the rest the same, but in a different direction, but I loved how simple and clean this looked so I decided to leave it as it is.

Have you done any holiday inspired nails? If so, link me to your blog and let me see!

Blogmas Day 23 - Outfit Of The Day

Are you getting bored of these posts yet? I thought I would take advantage of the fact that I got to wear actual clothes (other than my work uniform) this week as I've been quite busy, and post about it. This is what I wore yesterday when doing a bit of shopping in town (today was a uniform and pyjamas type of day).

Dress - Exhibit

Cardigan - Local Store

Tights - Asda

Boots - Target

Scarf - Forever 21

You may notice I'm in a changing room in this photo and that's because the sales are so good already! I've bought quite a bit recently because there's been a few good bargains so i'll do a haul for you all soon. I have a parcel coming from ASOS so I thought it would be best to wait until it arrives before I do a post about it.

Ill hopefully have another outfit of the day post up for you all on Christmas Day. I'm trying to decide between two outfits on which one I want to wear.

What do you like to wear whilst shopping? Do you go for style or comfort?

Blogmas Day 22 - Lush Angels On Bare Skin Review

Another review from my favourite brand, Lush. I've been meaning to write this review for a while now but keep forgetting somehow. This is the Angels on Bare Skin cleanser and I absolutely love it. It's perfect for sensitive skin like mine.

I done a bit of research before I choose this cleanser. I have quite red skin and its quite uneven so this seemed to be perfect. I try to use this every night if I can after I've taken my make up off and I've noticed the redness on my skin goes down straight away after using.

To use, I just pinch a small amount out of the tub and place in the palm of my hand. I'd say you only need product the size of your big finger nail and that should be sufficient. I then turn on the tap very slightly so only a small amount comes out and put that over the top. I then mix this around in my hand to form a paste. Next just apply all over your face, using circular motions. It's also quite good if you want to exfoliate as well.

Pros :

• Inexpensive, £6.25 for a 100g tub.
• Long lasting, this has done me a while now.
• Great for sensitive skin.
• Reduces redness (and actually works)
• Helps to even out skin tone.

Cons :

• Honestly, nothing. I can't think of a single thing wrong with this product.

Another great thing about this product is that if you bring back 5 clean tubs like this, you'll get a free fresh face mask.

Have you tried this product before, if so what do you think? If not, have you any other cleansers you would recommend for sensitive skin?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogmas Day 21 - Christmas Party Snack Ideas

Last night I had my annual Christmas party where I had my friends round for some nice food and our Secret Santa gift exchange. Although it wasn't really secret since we all said who we had bought our present for and then opened them. I never usually open any presents until Christmas, apart from one from my nanny which is usually pyjamas for us to wear on Christmas Eve.

I love making snacks so here are a few photographs of the food we had (I love food photographs). I don't know if this is something people in America eat, or if this is just a British thing, but I actually love cheese and pickled onions on cocktail sticks. So good!

Then we had some lovely cranberry and white chocolate cheese with crackers. Also very delicious, and I do love some nice cheese at Christmas time.

Some carrot batons and a dip selection of Asda. There was also bread sticks and Doritos to dip as well.

If you follow Bethany (Macbarbie07) on YouTube then you may recognise these from her videos last year. She got salted pretzels and melted Hershey's Kisses on top of them, and then topped them off with an M&M. The combination of salty and sweet makes them absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, I left them under the grill slightly too long and the chocolate burnt a bit, I was not amused. Apparently they still tasted just as good though. I also couldn't get Hershey's Kisses anywhere so I had to just use some squares of chocolate. I highly recommend trying these if you haven't already, even as just a snack for yourself.

If you know me, then you'll know I love to bake, and no party is complete without me making some cupcakes. To get into the festive spirit I made some candy cane peppermint cupcakes. I'll not go into too much detail about these though as I plan on putting the recipe for how to make them up in the next few days. I also didn't have enough icing to put on the amount I usually do which made me quite sad, but they worked out okay! Apparently I wasn't having such a good baking day.

Some hot food was also made as you can see from the table. We had some mini pepperoni pizzas for the meat eaters, and also some cheese ones. Then there was loaded potato skins with cheese and onion, cheese and tomato, and cheese and jalapeno. Then there was also egg fried rice, and some cheese bites.

Please, please let me know what type of snacks you make if you're having friends over, or just when you feel like making something nice. I love getting new ideas, and snacks are my favourite!

Blogmas Day 20 - Outfit Of The Night

Another outfit of the day (but actually night) for you all as I went out for my GB Christmas dinner last night. It wasn't somewhere overly fancy but I love this dress and I love my wedges so I thought I would wear them.

Dress - H&M

Tank top (underneath) - H&M

Tights - Asda

Wedges - New Look

Necklace - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Belt - H&M

Bracelet - Pandora

Then some little out takes from my sister trying to figure out how to take photographs on my camera. Then a photo bomb from my sister who was going out for dinner too.

Do you like these types of posts? I was thinking that my blog isn't as personal as it could be in that there isn't too many photographs of me and I think I could do with doing some more outfits of the day. Let me know!

Blogmas Day 19 - Maybelline Bit of Berry Lipstick

I am *this close* to missing Blogmas day 19. It's currently 11.32 pm here and I'm only back from going out for my Christmas dinner and I've been freaking out in case I missed this blog post as I haven't missed one yet!

Anyway, I decided to let you all see a lipstick I picked up while I was away. It's by Maybelline and it's in the colour number 175 - Bit of Berry.

If you watch Ingrid (Missglamorazzi)'s videos on YouTube then you may have seen this lipstick before. She wore it in quite a few videos and I loved it so much I made sure to get it. It's a lovely maroon red colour that I think is perfect for the season.

I really love the packaging, it's so simple and I love that you can see right through to the lipstick container. It also is quite a good reflection of the colour inside.

I feel like the photographs don't give a true image of how lovely this colour is. It's more pinky looking than red in my photographs, and I've just realised whilst typing this up that I never swatched it! I promise I'll do that tomorrow and add it in if you'd like to come back and see it. It's quite a strong colour, so I put only a little bit on my lips and then blended the rest in as I didn't want it to be as dramatic as it wanted to be.

Have you tried this lipstick, or do you have a current favourite lipstick that I should try? Let me know in the comments below!

Blogmas Day 18 - Outfit Of The Day

Little outfit of the day since I haven't done one in a while. I just went into town with my friend today to do some Christmas shopping. Quite cold today so I needed a big coat and scarf, but I never seem to be cold on my lower half so tights were fine!

Top - H&M

Skirt - H&M

Tights - Asda

Boots - Target

Coat - H&M

Scarf - Forever 21

Necklace - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Blogmas Day 17 - Christmas Gift Guide For Him

As promised, here's my Christmas gift guide for him. I wrote one for her a few days ago, which you can find here. I struggle to find gifts for boys and men at Christmas time, girls are just so much easier to choose from!

I'll start with this fragrance sampler for him from Sephora. I love these and wish I lived in America to take full advantage of them. This gift set contains 12 miniature fragrances, plus a voucher to receive a full size version of your favourite scent. This is such a good idea and is great to try out new things you wouldn't normally consider. Link : click me! Price : $50

I'm choosing this as everyone loves to get DVDS and boxsets for Christmas so they can watch them during the holidays. This is my boyfriends favourite programme on TV and I know it's been quite popular so I'm putting this down as a suggestion! Link : click me! Price : £30

I thought this was quite a good idea for any men who have an iPhone. This is a wallet and phone cover in one so that you don't have to carry too much about. This is from urban outfitters and they have quite a lot of good gift ideas. Link : click me! Price : £18.00

For anyone that has a gamer boyfriend/brother/dad, these are a good present if they like to play games online. This allows them to interact with their friends and other players. These are the Turtle Beach ones, but there are other brands out there available. Link : click me! Price : £12.99

Another gift I found on the Urban Outfitters website and I think it's such a good idea for anyone who likes to have their coffee or tea in the morning. It's a thermal activated mug, and when you add a hot beverage, the characters appear. Link : click me! Price : £10

These lounge pants are available from George at Asda and come in a variety of styles. These are the Where's Wally ones, but they also have Spongebob Squarepants, Sesame Street, Family Guy and others. With the cold weather coming in these are a great idea to stay warm. Link : click me! Price : £10

Once again, just some cheap gifts, but I can do a higher priced gift guide if you'd like that. These are just some basic gift ideas that I think would suit a variety of people so I hope you all like them!

What kind of gifts have you bought the men in your life this year for the holidays?

Blogmas Day 16 - Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub Review

If you are a fellow lover of Lush then I'm sure you will have tried one of these lip scrubs. If not, you need one of these in your life.

I have went through a few of these, but strangely, only in the one flavour. The bubblegum one just smells so good that I find it hard to try anything nice. I am getting the popcorn one for Christmas though so maybe ill convert.

To use, simply put a small amount on your finger and rub your lips in a circular movement. Continue doing this until you feel as if your lips have been sufficiently scrubbed. Then you can either lick the remaining sugar off, or wipe it off, the decision is up to you. I personally always lick it off as it tastes so good.

This one little pot should last you a good few months, although I'd make sure to store it in a cool, dry place as I noticed one of mine started to evaporate!

Also available in Mint Julips and Popcorn.

Pros :

• Tastes delicious
• Removes dry skin
• Leaves lips feeling super soft
• Inexpensive at £5.25 compared to other lip scrubs
• Long lasting

Cons :

• Possibly tastes too good, and isn't sugar bad for your teeth?! I say this as I literally just tasted it on looking at it for this blog.

Have you used any of the lip scrubs from Lush? If so, what's your favourite flavour?

 

 

 

 

Blogmas Day 15 - Nails of the Day

I decided to finally change my nails from my Essie jag-u-are nail polish that I've been loving so much. I wanted something that was still quite festive so I settled on making them looking frosty.

I used my Barry M polishes for this, the first I've used this brand in quite a while. I applied a base coat first, and then shade 292 which is called Navy.

I had originally thought about doing just my ring finger in glitter, but after applying it, I loved it so much I just put it on them all. I used shade 297 which is simply called Blue Glitter.

I think it looks like sparkling frost or water and I love just looking at how pretty they are.

What do you think? How are you choosing to do your nails for the holidays?

Blogmas Day 14 - Christmas Gift Guide For Her

I thought I'd do a little Christmas gift guide for everyone, for gifts to buy your friend, your girlfriend, your mum, your sister, any of the girls/women in your life. I'll try not to pick things that are too expensive so that there's a range to choose from, no matter what your price range. Since I have a range of followers from the UK and US, I'll also try to choose items from both so that one isn't left out.

The first item I'm going to choose is this jewellery holder that is from Paperchase. It's very cute, and is also available in purple. It has a little tray at the base to store loose jewellery in, such as earrings or rings.

Price : £6.00

Link : click me!

Another item from Paperchase (I love this store), a recipe binder. Perfect for any keen bakers who need somewhere to store all their recipes. It also contains stickers so you can label everything, and a dinner party planner.

Price : £13.75

Link : click me!

Everyone loves slippers, no matter what your age! These ones look super comfy and soft and are from Urban Outfitters. I personally love slipper boots as they look much more cosy than normal slippers. These ones have a fairisle print on them so they look nice and festive.

Price : £14.00 (normally £24.00)

Link : click me!

 

Another gift from Urban Outfitters, these beautiful photo frames. They come in black, white, lilac and blue. My personal favourites are the black and the white, but the other colours are nice too.

Price : £5.00

Link : click me!

A perfect present for any lover of beauty, the brand new Urban Decay Naked Basics palette. A present I would love to receive, or even buy myself as I'm very excited to ry it.

Price : $27.00/£20.00

Link : US or UK

 

This is exclusively from Sephora, so unfortunately none of my UK followers can buy this, and it's a great gift. This is the Lash Stash collection and contains 10 mascaras, eyelash primer, eyelash glue, and a set of false eyelashes. I bought this for myself on my recent trip, and I also bought it last year, and it lasted me all year so it'a a great find.

Price : $45.00

Link : click me!

You had to be expecting it, my Lush gift. I'm choosing only one, because I would happily suggest them all, but this is my favourite. This contains the products shown in the photograph, all which smell delicious. The UK receive the popcorn lip scrub however, and the US get bubblegum. I choose this as a present from my boyfriend for Christmas so I can't wait to get it!

Price : $39.95/£19.95

Link : US or UK

Hope you all liked my gift guide for her. Stay tuned for my christmas gift guide for him!

What did you think of my choice of gifts? Would you have preferred more expensive gifts to choose from? What are you buying the women in your life for the holidays this year? Let me know!