⋆ Blogmas, Day 21 & 22 ~ Two in one!

This is the third two days in one Blogmas I've done now. Oops!

I hope you're all good. It's still dreary and cold and wet here at my Mum's! Pfft.

I went Christmas shopping with my Mum yesterday, that was fun. We walked, shopped, shopped and walked loads more. I got what I needed though, I just need to do some wrapping later on this evening!

Other than that I have just been spending quality time with my Mum and Sister, which is always lovely to do!

Here are a few pics from the past couple of days. I seem to be doing the pic thing lots, but I do take lots on my phone.

Milo & Alfie - The adorable doggies! // My birthday cake again, it was so yum! // My nails. Pretty! // Liz Earle face mask, skin saviour!

Blogmas - December 19/20th ~ Bad Blogger!

Hey people's!

Two days in one again. Apologies for being a bad blogger but yesterday was spent traveling to my Mum's house, which took 8.5 hours, then today I've just been relaxing and spending time with my family and the dogs!

The wether is cold, wet, miserable and very unfestive! Sigh. I hope it cheers up a bit, or snows!

I've included some phone pics from the past few days. My Mum's cute tree. A bit of Buble. Love! - Milo the dog! And my amazing birthday cake, baked by my amazing sister. Yay! She's the best!

I hope you're all ready for Christmas me feeling good. I'm going present shopping tomorrow. I also have a little birthday gift post planned.

Thanks for reading!

⋆ Blogmas, Day 17 & 18 ~ Pics and Birthdays!

 - My Little Christmas Tree // Rissuan Santa Doll Ornaments // Red Spangly Nails -

- Cee Lo Green Christmas Album // Pretty Sky // New Polishes -

Hey everyone.

So I had another fail and missed yesterday's Blogmas! Oh well, I'll catch up now.  So above are some recent phone pictures from Instagram, a little bit more festive than I have been.

Last night my boyfriend and I went to see The Hobbit.. He is a massive Lord of The Ring's fan and was excited about this... Me, not so much! It was long and I was fidgety and a little sleepy during it, but overall I didn't mind it, not sure I'd watch it again either. It's just not my bag! 

Today is my birthday.. Thirtieth! Eeek.  The less said about that the better, I'm not sure how I feel about it at the moment.

Tomorrow I am traveling to Plymouth, two weeks with my Mum, Sister and the Dogs! I am looking forward to that.

Just one more week until Christmas!

⋆ Blogmas, Day 16 ~ Sunday, Sunday!

I hope everyone is having a lovely relaxed festive Sunday!

Today is just a few festive pics to get you in the mood. I think I am starting to feel a little more fesitve than I have been feeling. I normally cannot wait for Christmas (and my Birthday, which is on Tuesday) but this year I haven't been feeling it as much.. But it's setting in a little, we put our tree up the other day and I am going to my Mum's on Wednesday for Christmas and New Year, and I will celebrate my birthday there too. I can't wait to see everyone!

What are you most excited for about Christmas this year? Are you in the mood yet?

Anyway, I better get packing! I am unprepared!

⋆ Blogmas, Day 15 ~ Bargain Blusher!

Today I just had to tell you all about this amazing blusher that I discovered a while back!

This blusher is by Stargazer and costs just £3.50! Very reasonable for a blusher, right? Even more reasonable for a well pigmented, long lasting, gorgeous blusher! 

The packaging isn't the flashest, but things like that don't bother me, I'm all about the product and this is really nice. You can see from my swatch how intense it is. It was a satin finish and it blends really well.

This is the only colour I have for now, but I definitely plan on getting some of the other shades. They are such a bargain!

Check them out here.

⋆ Blogmas, Day 14 ~ Makeup Removal!

Today I wanted to share with you the best cleanser I have ever used. EVER.

I won this in a blog competition a while ago with a Shu mousse base for the face (which I haven't really used much yet) .. I had high hopes for this before I got it because I had heard good things from others before, but I didn't know how great it would be.

What They Say:

For ageing concerns. Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium a⁄o is the Nº1 selling Shu Cleansing Oil in the world. A premium anti–oxidant skin purifier that thoroughly cleanses the skin while protecting it against the internal and external aggressions associated with skin ageing. The new advanced, anti–aging formula is infused with Green Tea and specially selected Gingko Leaf extract containing flavonoids, recognized in Japan for strong antioxidant and micro circulation properties that help to promote transparency and radiance to fatigued skin. Finally, the innovative Natural Origin HPO system has a superb cleansing ability which removes sebum and dramatically increases the removability of waterproof mascara and long–lasting makeup. For a soft, refined and youthful appearance.

My Thoughts:

I just adore it, mainly because of how amazingly quickly it removes my makeup and layers of mascara that I would otherwise spend much longer removing. It has a light green tea scent to it and it just melts everything away and it glides off leaveing my skin feeling so clean and soft when I'm done. It emulsifies with water and then rinses away without leaving any greasy residue. I have the huge bottle and the downside is the price of this stuff, it costs a A LOT. The 450ml I have is £56.50! God, I hate falling in love with products that cost so much, but it really is that good! I only use a couple of pumps to get rid of everything though, so it will last quite a long time..  Maybe it's one for the Christmas list!

⋆ Blogmas, Day 13 ~ Meet The InStyler!

I have annoying hair, some of you may know this already. It's thick, there is lots of it and it's naturally curly. I have lots of tools to use to style it, flat irons and conical wands, but to be honest I mostly just tie it out of the way because blowdying takes about an hour, then straightening on top of that too!

I think I've found something that makes it exciting for me to start doing my hair again though. Meet the InStyler*. This thing is awesome! I had heard a few things here and there about this tool, but I never really knew what it did. When I got it I did some research and was excited to try it.

This tool really does make it easy to get salon hair at home! Even for my thick, curly hair. It's great for adding root volume, curls and straightening, even adding flicks or curling your hair under.

The barrel rotates and the brush smoothes as your run the InStyler through your hair, leaving you with sleek, shiny locks! It's so easy to use as well, to look at it's a bit scary, and it makes a bit of a loud grinding sound as the barrel rotates, but it's fine!

Here are some of the features:

-3 Temperature settings: Allows you to use a low, medium or high heat setting
-Visual Heat Alert: The InStyler® will flash until it has reached your chosen temperature
-Ceramic Tourmaline Floating Plates –Even heat distribution across any thickness of hair
-Thermal Shield: Fits easily onto the side of the product, protecting you from burn
-Rotating barrel that will curl and polish the hair
-Includes Stylish travel bag
-An InStyler®comb to divide hair into section
-An instructional DVD to introduce you to a revolutionary way of styling
-3 meter professional swivel cord.
-LED indicators for temperature and rotation setting
-Hot Rotating Barrel (90 to 140 RPM)
-Matching heated brush for fast, even heat distribution
-Auto shut off – The InStyler® Rotating Iron will automatically shut off after 30 minutes of inactivity.

This tool has really changed how I style my hair. If I want volume, this gives it. Defined waves and curls, this also gives it. Sleek, straight hair, you guessed it, the InStyler does it all!

In the box you get a travel bag/mat, a special wide tooth comb which it handy to make sure you have no tangles before you start, and for sectioning. There is a DVD included (which I didn't watch, I just watched their you tube videos) and it has a thermal shield that you can put over the head of the tool.

They sell these with larger or smaller rotating barrels, I chose larger because of my long, thick hair, but I'd quite like the smaller one too, for small waves. The one I have is a Boots exclusive and is available here.

This really would be a great gift for people who love salon styled hair at home, or yourself!

⋆ Blogmas, Day 12 ~ You Tube Video!

I thought I would share a recent makeup tutorial I made on my you tube. I have been out of the video habit for so long now. It's been a tough year and I just never found the time to sit down, record, edit and then upload - but hopefully things are getting better now.

I've had my camcorder since last December and it records in HD, but I have never been able to use it to it's full potential because my video editor couldn't process the files, it just kept crashing, so I carried on recording in not great quality.. not even widescreen! Anyway, I got a new video editor and thought I'd try a better quality, just a widescreen filesize, and it works and I could edit it much easier! I am yet to try and edit a HD file to see if that works, but I plan on trying soon.

The quality with the widescreen is already much, much better though and I am more than happy with it. Yay! :)

So here's the video. Enjoy!

⋆ Blogmas, Day 11 ~ Festive Questions Tag.

Images from weheartit.

⋆ What’s your favourite Christmas colour?
I think I have to go for the obvious! Red, I love red anyway but it's definitely a really festive colour, and green too! I love green eye makeup with bold red lips at Christmas!

⋆ Do you like to stay in your PJs’ or dress up for Christmas?
I've done both. I don't really have one or the other that I do specifically but I normally make an effort, try out new things that I may have recieved as a gift.

⋆ If you could only buy one person a present this year who would it be?
My Mum, because she is amazing and I love and appreciate her so much.

⋆ Do you open your presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Christmas morning, always.

⋆ Have you ever built a ginger bread house?
No, never! I'd like to though, sounds like fun.

⋆ What do you like to do on your Christmas break?
Shop for gifts, wrap them up, relax with my family.

⋆ Any Christmas wishes?
Yes.

⋆ Favourite Christmas smell?
The smell of my Mum's Christmas dinner!

⋆ Favourite Christmas meal or treat?
It would be Christmas dinner. Yum!

⋆ What are you doing for the holidays this year?
I am going to stay with my Mum, her partner and my little sister and the dogs!

⋆ Candy cane or Gingerbread men?
Hmm. That's a hard one! Candy cane.

⋆ What's your favourite Christmas song?
I love, love, love Christmas songs! I am specifically loving Buble's Christmas album and Cee Lo Green's at the moment, check them out. My all time fave has to be All I want for Christmas is you by Mariah Carey. I've always loved it. It makes me happy!

⋆ Have you ever made a snowman?
Actually, no! :(  Not a proper, full on, big snowman.  I'd like to though!

⋆ What is your favourite winter fragrance?
I have tons! I am loving the new Liz Earle fragrance at the moment because it's so warm and wintery, but my bigger love right now is Illamasqua 'Freak' perfume. I have a sample and I am hoping santa may bring me a bottle! 

⋆ What is at the top of your list this Christmas?
An i Phone. I'd be happy with a 4, 4S or a 5. I don't think I'm going to get one though! *Sigh*

⋆ What is most important to you about the holidays?
Just spending time with the people I love and being happy together.

⋆ Blogmas, Day 10 ~ Orly Angel Eyes.

How gorgeous is that shade?

Orly are actually one of my fave polish brands. They do the cute minis for £5 and a full size (massive 18ml) is really reasonably priced too. There are a ton of shades and they last well for me which is why I love them.

This is a mini in the shade Angel Eyes* and it's from their latest festive ;Naughty or Nice' collection. It's a blue glitter with larger holographic silver chunks in it, I'm sorry my picture doesn't do it too much justice, but it does show how pretty it is. There are other glitters in the collection and this makes me want them all.

I layered it over a blue polish, it's pretty opaque for a glitter, so I used just one coat to achieve this sparkly goodness!

The full size bottle is a bargain on Beauty Bay right now. Check it out!

⋆ Blogmas, Day 8 + 9. Pics and Stuff!

I'm already a failure at Blogmas. Yesterday I didn't post.. But I don't think it matters too much, as long as I make up for it. So today I thought I would post some instagram pics from recently and also my makeup from today and yesterday.

First off, here are the latest products from my Liz Earle Calendar. These are small vial samples, I don't think they are as comparable in value to the other products so far, but they're cute to have.

Yesterday I did a purple and silver party mkeup look.. I hadn't worn a pink lip for so long and it felt weird. Sorry for the quality, it's a phone pic. I liked how it came out though..

Today I wanted something more festive so I went for green eyes and a red lip. I just love red lips so much! The red here is my current fave, Military Red from Burberry, it is stunning.

Thanks for reading!

⋆ Blogmas, Day 7 ~ Festive Nails.

Hey Everyone!

I've had a productive day today. I wanted to wash my makeup brushes - always a major chore! And I wanted to give myself a manicure and pedicure.

So I slapped on a face mask and set about painting my toes and then decided I'd do my finger nails in the same colour. This is a shade from Sleek Makeup called 'Royalty' that I've had for ages and never really used I don't think.

I thought it was a perfect deep, rich burgundy that was great for the festive season! It's super opaque and could be a one coater, but this is two. It dries really quickly too which is always a bonus in my opinion. I cannot stand waiting for polish to dry.

My toes look lovely too, all festive and matching. No pic of that though, I don't do feet!

⋆ Blogmas, Day 6 ~ Lulu's Time Bomb Youth Juice.

This, my friends, is an awesome winter skin saviour. Youth Juice* is a facial skin care oil product that is full of lovely ingredients that give the skin lots of goodness.

They Say:

Young skin is full of natural oils that are lost with age. Lulu’s Time Bomb Youth Juice Secret Oil contains a special blend of oils that give the skin a plump, glowing appearance, leaving you looking at your very best.

The unique combination of oils in this Lulu’s Time Bomb Youth Juice Secret Oil mimics the natural sebum lost during the ageing process. Rich in vitamins E and C, this concentrate protects against free radical damage while absorbing into skin without leaving a greasy residue.

My Thoughts:

I was scared of oils for the face for so long because I have oily skin already and the last thing I want is a greasy looking face. This doesn't leave a residue atall, it sinks in to my skin super quickly and leaves it feeling so hydrated. I get quite dry on parts of my face in the colder months and this just evens everything out and refreshes my skin so nicely.

My favourite way to use it is in my evening skincare routine because the oil has all night to just work on my skin and I wake with lovely, plump, smooth moisturised skin. You just need the tiniest amount, massaged into cleansed skin and you're good to go. If I had one small complaint it would be the packaging, it is a bottle with a stopper, which is difficult to remove without spilling oil and the bottle opening is quite big so sometimes too much product can spill out - I'd much prefer a pump bottle like some of the other oils I have, but I can forgive the packaging because the product is so good.

Available here.

Oh, and it wouldn't be blogmas without a Christmassy pic! (Courtesy of google images)

⋆ Blogmas, Day 5 ~ Things.

Happy Blogmas, Day 5! If any of you have anything you'd like to see in these Blogmas posts, leave me a comment.

The picture above is just a gorgeous snow pic.  Parts of the UK have woken to snow today, but not me. I do like snow and I think it looks so beautiful, but I hate it when it causes havoc and ruins plans. So I'd like some, maybe Christmas eve, day and boxing day. Haha!

I've been loving wearing the Snow Fairy solid perfume from LUSH. Apparently this was dicontinued, mine is old but surprisingly still perfect, it smells so good. I can still smell it right now and I put it on last night after my lush bath. Oh, I love Lush baths in winter!

Our cat, Little'un (Yes, that is his name) has been spending lots of time in the house, snoozing and keeping warm. It's rare for him because he's a proper outsider. I took this cute pic the other day. N'aww!

⋆ Blogmas, Day 4 ~ Gift Giving.

_________________________________

The Body Shop Lollipop Body Butter. £15 - (I can't find this anymore. Try in store!)

The Body Shop Fruit and Nut Lip Trio. £8 -

Shamballa Bracelets. £18.99 -

Liz Earle Botanical Essence 15. £45 - 

Anna Sui Fairy Dance Secret Wish. £24.99 -

Enrapture Waver. £37.49 Half price in Boots! -

Liz Earle Advent Calendar. £100 -

Burberry Lip Velvet Lipstick. £23 -

Stila In The Light Palette. £25 -

Fresh Citron De Vigne. (I can't find this, sorry!) See here though -

Revlon The Party Diva Nail Collection. (Can't find this either.) - Similar here.

Glossybox Subscription. Price varies -

The Body Shop White Musk Libertine Gift Set £25 -

Frontcover Cosmetics True Colours Set. £25 -

⋆ Blogmas, Day 3 ~ Tag!

I saw this cute little tag on the She Said blog and thought I would do that today. I love Christmas and everything lovely about it! I tag anyone reading this to do the tag themselves if they wish. :)

⋆ What’s your favorite thing about Christmas?
Without a doubt it has to just be spending time with my family. I love the togetherness, snuggling in the warm, being festive, watching Christmas shows on TV. I love it!

⋆ What’s your favorite makeup look for the festive season?
It depends. For evenings I would say glitter to the max and red lips. For the day I would go for more fall colours, copper, browns and gold, with a red lip too!

⋆ Real tree or fake tree?
I only recall my Mum having a real tree once when I was a child and I remember that it was messy.. I know people go on about the smell and stuff, but I don't really remember that so I'm gonna go with fake. Much less hassle.

⋆ Giving presents or receiving presents?
Both for sure! I absolutely love the going out and buying gifts for those you love aspect though. But of course it's always lovely to recieve a special gift.

⋆ Do you open your presents Christmas morning or evening?
In the morning. :)

⋆ Handmade Christmas cards or bought?
I think handmade are lovely if you have the time to put into them. They are much more meaningful.  I usually end up buying them though!

⋆ What’s your favourite Christmas film?
Home Alone. I don't know why, it just makes me feel festive, reminds me of my childhood and it doesn't get old!

⋆ What’s your favourite Christmas food and drink?
Christmas dinner is obviously lovely, my Mum cooks a lovely one which we all look forward to. For drinks I'm a little awkward, I don't drink hot drinks or alcohol much. I might have a cheeky vodka or Jack Daniels at Christmas though.

Leighton Denny: Diamond Skin Like Silk.

I love doing at home manicures and looking after my nails, keeping them in good condition.  When I was a teenager I used to bite them and had terrible nails.  I don't remember when I stopped, it just happened and I now have nails that are decent enough and look like the nails I wanted when I was younger.

I've recently been trying this hand and nail scrub* from Leighton Denny which is like a moisturising exfoliator for the hands and nails and I have been really enjoying it. It's cutely packaged, it smells really good and it really does leave my nails looking brighter and feeling nourished.. AND, get this - it has real diamond particles in it.  Nice! So it's like exfoliating your nails with diamonds (and other lovely ingredients).

What They Say:

DIAMOND SKIN LIKE SILK contains real diamond particles, famed for their polishing qualities, combined with anti-oxidant rich hibiscus and natural loofah.The addition of rich Avocado and Grape Seed Oils help to exfoliate, polish and revive the skin. Your hands will feel invigorated and smoothed with a youthful softness and suppleness.

You just take a tiny amount, rub it over your nails and cuticles gently for about a minute, then dip your hands into warm water and quickly remove them and rub more, it turns into a more moisturising product then. Then just rinse and admire your lovely, shiny, glossy looking nails.  This can be used all over the hands too, but I have other things I use for that so I prefer to keep this for my nails.

If you love looking after your nails and want to nourish and care for them with diamonds, definitely check this product out. It really works and a little goes a long way. Available here.

⋆ Blogmas, Day 2 ~ Fotd and advent!

Blogmas day two! Yay!

Today is a lazy Sunday. I booked my tickets to go to my Mum's last night. I'm going on the 19th for Christmas and New Year, I am very excited to see everyone.

I've been loving my Liz Earle Advent Calendar* so far. Yesterday I got a mini Cleanse and Polish and today I got a toner. These will be so perfect for travel. Love them!

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This is my FOTD today. I used yellow, copper and some dark brown, it's very fall looking but I love how these colours make my blue eyes pop.

Have a great Sunday everyone!