What I Got For Christmas 2016

 Hey beaut's!!!

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas, I'm so sad its all over for another year but today I thought I'd join in on the 'What I Got For Christmas' bandwagon, personally I love reading these type of posts and seeing what lovely gifts everyone receives. I must have been a very good girl this year as I received lots of lovely gifts from my family, boyfriend and friends and I really am grateful and truly thankful for everything I got! Anywho lets get going...

The only thing I had put on my Christmas list this year was a new pair of GHD's, my original ones which I've had for about 6 years or so broke back in October and I had been longing for a new pair, and on Christmas morning my wishes came true when I opened some of the Copper Luxe ones from my boyfriend bless him. I also received quite a few makeup bits and pieces from my boyfriend as he knows what a makeup addict I am, he got me the Real Techniques Bold Metals Eye Set, Too Faced Merry Macaroons Eyeshadow palette, the Charlotte Tilbury Bauble and the Smashbox Primer Set, he's such a good egg isn't he.


 From my Mum and Dad this year I received the Benefit Dolly Darling Set and the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, I always eye up the Naked 2 palette when me and Mum are out shopping because I've needed it to complete my Naked set for ages and bless my Mum, she remembered and got it for me. They also got me the cutest PJ's and a new dressing gown, I mean Christmas isn't Christmas without new PJ's is it! My bestie treated me to a HUGE Soap and Glory Set and the cutest 'Little Miss Blogger' mug which I absolutely adore, she knows me so well he he!
 My boyfriends parents spoilt me this year with some new little booties, some Lush goodies and some of my favourite Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish but in the Orange and Clove Christmas edition, which I have to say is the best scent ever!!!
Finally I was in total shock when I opened up my very last present from my boyfriend, it was the Canon Selphy CP1200. He knows how much I love my photography and that I'm really sentimental and love having photo's of all my memories up and around my house and in scrapbooks, and this printer not only prints photos from your camera but it connects to your phone via wifi so you can print all your memories from your phone. I absolutely love this and it was such a thoughtful thing for him to get me, I never even knew such a cool thing existed he he.

So that's all of my gorgeous gifts, my goodness I'm a lucky girl!!! I also received a tonne of chocolate and biscuits that I think will last me a lifetime ha ha and this year me and Michael received some money too so I think a shopping trip will be in order very soon I'm sure!!!

What did you get for Christmas beaut's?? Leave me your links below as I'd love to see.

nopin

December Beauty Favourites

Hey beaut's!

It's December beauty favourites time.....I still cant quite believe that December and Christmas is nearly over, it went far to quickly for my liking and I'm super sad about it, I think I'm going to cling on to the gold smokey eyes, red lips and glittery nails for a bit longer though he he. Anywhoo onto what I've been loving this month beauty wise!

For nails I've pretty much worn and re-painted my nails with the same two polishes all month long starting with Barry M's Glitter Gelly in Sparkling Ruby, its a gorgeous red glitter shade that has a subtle golden shimmer effect to it, and for my accent nails I've been obsessed with my Barry M Molten Metal Nail Paint in Copper Mine, these two have just gone so well together and have been so festive.

For lips this month I've been loving Rimmels The Only 1 Matte Lipstick in 610 High Flyer for everyday wear and for more of a dramatic festive red lip I've been wearing MAC's Viva Glam I. Speaking of MAC, their Extended Play Giga Black Lash Mascara crept back into my makeup bag this month and I've been obsessed again, it's amazing for precise application and grabs every lash even the tiny hard to reach lashes, I love it!

I know I've featured this in a lot of favourites but Zoella's Hungry Hands is still my favourite hand cream that I've been using daily, I've even got my boyfriend into it too he he, it's just so nourishing and the gingerbread scent is divine.

Skincare wise theres been one stand out product that I've been using a lot that I've actually been buying in bulk because I love it that much and that's Garniers Moisture Bomb Tissue Mask. These masks are super scary but super amazing, their just so good for my dry skin at this time of the year because they are drenched in serum which puts the moisture back in that this cold weather takes out, I love my skin after using one of these bad boys.

Finally for beauty, I've been obsessed with my YSL's Black Opium perfume during December, it's a dark, musky, sexy, warm scent that wears beautifully in the colder months, I love it so much!

I do have one fashion favourite that has snuck into my beauty favourites this month and that's my cute rose gold snowflake necklace from Jewellerybox.co.UK. I have been wearing it so much over the festive season, I just love how delicate it is any anything rose gold gets a huge thumbs up from me he he.  

What have you been loving this month beaut's?? I'd love to know.

nopin

December Degustabox Review + £7 off Discount Code

Hi beaut's...

I have a subscription box review for you all today but it's a subscription box with a difference.... it contains yummy food and drink, so say hello to Degustabox*. Degustabox works very much like how beauty subscription boxes work, for £12.99 a month (postage included within the £12.99 price) you will receive 10 to 15 surprise food/drink products, many that are completely new to the market! So if your a bit of a foodie like myself and you love subscription boxes your going to love this beaut's! This months box is a Winter themed box containing lots of foodie treats to see us over the season, theres some yummy drinks too.
This month we have 14 yummy food and drink items to sink our teeth into and I'm going to kick things off with some drinks... Firstly we have some a2 Milk £1.39, this is an easy to digest long life semi skimmed milk that will go hand in hand with something else featured in this months box shortly. Then we have What A Melon £2.00, this is a watermelon water that hydrates just like coconut water, I adore watermelon so I know I'm going to LOVE this. Next up is a bottle of Newton's Appl Fizzics £1.29, this is a blend of apple juice and sparkling water and is completely natural and has so added nastiness, yum. The final drink inside this months box is a bottle of Eisberg £1.39, this is the UK's number one best selling alcohol free wine brand, it's made in the exact same was as your favourite wine but the alcohol has been gentle removed, perfect if your not a big drinker like myself.


Next up is a few of the sweeter things in this months box starting with Bahlsen Lebkuchen Mischung £1.99, these are little gingerbread pieces that have been decorated and glazed with chocolate, these are gorgeous and where perfect for my Boxing Day buffet. I also got a bag of Bahlsen Akora £1.99, these are a traditional German heart shaped lebkuchen that are filled with spicy jam which goes hand in hand with it's gingerbread base, oh my goodness these where lush! Lastly I got a lovely box of Oh Fudge £4.99, these are delicious apple and cinnamon flavoured fudge that went down a treat over Christmas.
Lastly I have the savoury items featured inside the winter Degustabox starting with a couple of things from Gallo, I got the Four Cheese Risotto £2.29 which is so quick and easy to use, you just whack it in the microwave for 2 minutes and voila, I also got the Three Cheese and Vegetable Risotto Box £2.00 which again is so quick and easy to prepare, both are perfect for lunch at work. Something else which makes the perfect quick snack or lunch is the Maggi 3 minute Noodles 75p, I got the chicken flavour to try which I'm pretty sure I'll love! I then got two bags of the Hoots Multigrain Snacks 69p each, these are a fab alternative to crisps. Finally this month I got some Nutri-Brex £3.79 in Coconut and Crispy Rice flavour, these are similar to weetabix although these are gluten free, fortified with vitamins and high in fibre, these go hand in hand with the a2 milk mentioned before.

Degustabox have kindly given me a discount code for all of my beautiful readers, all you have to do is pop 039DB into the promotional code box and you'll receive a whopping £7.00 discount when registering making your first box just £5.99. And don't worry beaut's, theres no commitments with Degustabox meaning you can cancel your subscription free of charge before the 10th of any month, but I mean why would you cancel monthly surprise food treats ha ha!

What do you think of the Degustabox concept beaut's?? I'd love to know your thoughts.

nopin

Top Sale Picks 2016 | Beauty Edition

Hey beaut's!

I cant believe Christmas is all over and done with for another year (sad face) but with that comes the Boxing Day sales (happy face), so I thought I'd trawl the inter-webs and put a little blog post together of some of the offers that caught my eye because of their amazing savings. I've found some great deals so far, the Zoella Beauty Christmas Collection and the Tanya Burr Christmas Collection have both got some huge savings in Superdrug with items going for £1.99 and £2.99 so get yourself online or in store quick as these will sell rapidly. Boots have their amazing 50% off sale like usual so their are some great items to pick up there, they even have some get discounts on luxury beauty items like the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish set with is just over £10.00 which is amazing considering it's £15.oo-ish a bottle usually. The Benefit Christmas Sets have also gone down on multiple websites, look out for them on Boots, John Lewis and Debenhams. Real Techniques also have some amazing brush set deals in Boots but also Superdrug have the fab limited edition five piece set for just £9.99, it's such a steal and I hope my local store has some stock left tomorrow! As well as those I've found some other great savings of 40% and 30% off which you really can't grumble at, I hope this post has come in handy for your beaut's! Happy sale shopping he he! 
Top Sale Picks!

Blogmas Day 24 - Yankee Candle 'Christmas Eve' Review

Hey beaut's!

It's blogmas day twenty four which can only mean one thing, it's finally CHRISTMAS EVEEEEEEEE! I'm soooo exiting that it's finally Christmas Day tomorrow but first I have ANOTHER Christmassy candle review for you all, I know, I know I'm a total candle addict at this time of the year, I just love how cosy and warm it makes the house feel and the festive scents are the best. Today's review is pretty fitting really because it's all about Yankee Candles Christmas Eve scent, we buy this one every year in our house, its become a tradition really.


Christmas Eve is described as 'traditional holiday scents of a warm hearth, sugared plums, and candied fruits' and I have to say it does smell subtly of all things Christmas, think vanilla, berries, cinnamon and nutmeg it's so lovely. The scent throw of Christmas Eve I would say is quite light and subtle and not overpowering in the slightest, great for someone who likes candles but doesn't like a strong scent throw. This one does fill the entire house but in a light way giving bursts of all things festive as it burns, also can we just appreciate how Christmassy the wax and jar looks, I love it! All of the Yankee Candle medium jarred candles claim to provide 65 to 90 hours of true fragrance enjoyment and Christmas Eve certainly does just that!


Finally I just want to wish all of 'you'my gorgeous followers and blog readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! Thank you so much for all the blog support over 2016, I cant explain how happy it makes me.

Have a sparkling Christmas beaut's, enjoy every second of it!!!

nopin

Blogmas Day 23 - TV Christmas Specials I'll Be Watching

Hey beaut's!

Welcome to blogmas day twenty three... At Christmas I always look forward to buying my TV Times magazine and highlighting all the TV shows that I want to watch this Christmas, so today I thought I'd share with you all the ones I'm most looking forward to seeing.

The Great Christmas Bake Off - Christmas Day 4.45pm and Boxing Day 7.00pm
I adore the Great British Bake Off so I'm seriously looking forward to seeing this Christmas addition, we not only see past bakers return to the tent to create some festive treats but it also sees Mary Berry, Mel and Sue's last time on the bake off, it will be great and sad at the same time! 

Eastenders - Christmas Day 9.25pm
The soaps at Christmas are always incredible, something always goes drastically wrong on a soap on Christmas Day doesn't it and I think it's fair to say we all love it. 

Mrs Brown's Boys - Christmas Day 10.30pm
Mrs Brown's Boys never fails to get me in ball on the floor laughing my head off, this year we have a Christmas Day and a New Years Day special to keep us entertained, I cant wait.

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special - Christmas Day 6.45pm
I'm missing strictly so much already so the Christmas special on Christmas Day cant come quick enough for me.

The Only Way Is Essexmas - Sunday 18th 10.00pm and Wednesday 21st 10.00pm
I adore reality TV but hardly any of them actually do Christmas specials apart from TOWIE, I cant wait to see what else has happened with Megan and Pete since the last season.

As well as all those above I cant wait for the Birds of a Feather special, Call The Midwife, Outnumbered and of course loads of Christmas movies!

What Christmas Specials will you be watching this year beaut's? I'd love to know!

nopin

Blogmas Day 22 - Gingerbread Caramel Dodgers Recipe

Hey beaut's!

It's blogmas day twenty two and guess what? I've been baking AGAIN!!! This time around I've made some Gingerbread Caramel Dodgers, so basically it's a festive spin on the normal jammy dodger but with these ones the biscuit is gingerbread and the centre is caramel instead of jam, yum!!!
What You Will Need
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp treacle
1 large egg yolk
100g unsalted butter
75g light brown soft sugar
225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
salted caramel sauce or tinned caramel
icing sugar, for dusting
A round cookie cutter
A small star shape cookie cutter
Baking sheets

How To
1. In a small bowl, combine the golden syrup, treacle and egg yolk and then set aside.
2. In a larger separate bowl, whisk the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add in the treacle mixture from the smaller bowl and mix until well combined. Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and all of the spices and mix again until you get a dough start to form. 
3. Tip the dough onto a large piece of clingfilm, flatten into a disc shape and the wrap up well and chill in the fridge for an hour or freezer for 30 minutes if your inpatient like me he he.
4. Once you dough has chilled completely preheat the oven to gas 4/180°C and line a couple of large baking trays with baking paper. 
5. On a lightly dusted surface, roll out the dough as thick or as thin as you like and use your round cookie cutter to cut out lots of gingerbread rounds, once you have all of your gingerbread rounds your going to want to use a small star shape cookie cutter to stamp out star shapes from the middle to half of your rounds. Then pop in the oven until golden, I made my cookies quite thin so they only took around 6 minutes but the thicker you go the longer they will take.
6. Once your gingerbread biscuits are cool it's time to assemble them, spread each whole biscuit with some caramel sauce and sandwich with a star-shaped biscuit and finally dust with a little icing sugar and voilaaaaa!
How amazing do these look beaut's, they taste so yummy and are such a fun, cute and different take on your typical gingerbread men or jammie dodgers, I think they would work amazing boxed up as little edible festive gifts too.

Will you be giving these yummy  Gingerbread Caramel Dodgers a whirl beaut's? I'd love to know.

nopin

Blogmas Day 21 - Affordable Christmas Red Lip

Hey beaut's!

It's blogmas day twenty one and today I'm talking all things 'the Christmas red lip'! I did my festive Lip of the Day post last week sharing the duo I'll be rocking on Christmas Day (HERE) however that featured a MAC lippie, so I wanted to do a post all about a cheaper alternative and after trying the Collection Velvet Kiss Moisturising Lip Cream in Rosie I feel like I've found just the beauty!

The Collection Velvet Kiss Moisturising Lip Cream in Rosie is a bright red shade with pink undertones, it's a lot brighter than it appears in the packaging but is definitely the perfect show stopping shade for the festive season. The formula of this Velvet Kiss Moisturising Lip Cream is actually a lot nicer than I expected, I feel like Collection have really upped their game with these. Rosie is super pigmented and the texture is gorgeous, it's so lightweight on the lips, it doesn't cake up or crack, its easy to apply and stays comfortably matte without feeling super drying. I find with most liquid lipsticks their quite sticky or tacky until their completely dry but Collections offering isn't like that at all, instead it's super smooth and creamy until it's set which feels so nice on the lips. Wear time is good, the only thing I would say is when I eat it does wear off from the centre of my lips but stays intact around the shape of my lips so when eating a meal this will need topping up but for £2.99 I really cant complain.
Overall if your looking for a bright red lipstick that wont break the bank this festive season then I definitely think Collection's Velvet Kiss Moisturising Lip Cream in Rosie is worth a buy, they also have some other super pretty shades in the collection too that I NEED to buy after loving the formula of this one so much!
nopin

Blogmas Day 20 - Terry's Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate Recipe

Hey beaut's!

And welcome to blogmas day twenty! Today I have a super quick, easy and very yummy hot chocolate recipe for you all that features the extremely delicous Terry's Chocolate Orange!

What You Will Need For Two Hot Chocolates
Milk of your choice
4-5 Teaspoons of Coco Powder
1 Terry's Chocolate Orange
Squirty Cream and Sprinkles of choice to decorate

How To
1. Pour your milk into the two mugs/cups that you plan on having your hot chocolates in too measure out how much milk you will need, then pour into a saucepan.
2. Add in your 4-5 teaspoons of coco powder to your milk and turn on your hob very low to create a very low simmer, stir the milk and coco continuously until the two have completely combined.
3. Add in 5-6 pieces of your Terry's Chocolate Orange and again keep stirring on a very low heat until your chocolate pieces have completely melted.
4. Pour your hot chocolate in your mugs and top with some whipped or squirty cream and add some sprinkles of choice, if your feeling generous you can add a couple more Terry's Chocolate Orange segments on top of the cream too like I did and voila!! 

This hot chocolate was so easy to make and only took around 5 minutes or so and it was oh so yummy. These would make great little hot chocolate treats before bed on Christmas Eve or all over the festive season if your addicted to them like I am he he.

Will you be making any hot chocolates over the festive season beaut's? Whats your flavour of choice? I'd love to know!

 nopin

Blogmas Day 19 - Party Season Must Haves!

Hey beaut's!

It's blogmas day nineteen and today I thought I'd talk about all things partyyyyyy! Yup... it's the festive season so it's time to get all glammed up for those Christmas parties. There's something so nice about going to Christmas/New Year's parties isn't there, I just love the fact that everything is all sparkly and covered in sequins, it literally takes glitz and glam to whole other level which I absolutely love, so today Ive picked out a few of my favourite things fashion and beauty related for the party season!
Party Season Must Haves!

Blogmas Day 18 - My Christmas Day Makeup Routine

Hey beaut's!

It's blogmas day eighteen! I cant believe how close we are to Christmas now, it's only 7  sleeps eaakk! Today I thought I'd just do a quick post and share with you all what makeup look I'm going to be rocking this Christmas Day!

Base Makeup

For my base makeup I like to go for something dewy and highlighted with great coverage that will last the entire Christmas Day, and these four products above really help me to achieve that. Firstly I'll be popping on some of my MAC Strobe Cream to moisturise my skin and it leaves me with th most beautiful illuminated base to build upon. For foundation I'll be reaching for the Too Faced Born This Way Foundation, this has great coverage but is also lightweight and long lasting. To contour my skin I love using my NYX Sculpt and Highlight Face Duo, this is literally the quickest cream contour to use, I love it. Finally I go to town on highlighter using my Mary Lou-Manizer by the balm.

Eye Makeup

For the eyes it's got to be all about festive golds, coppers and bronze and of course a bit of glitz so I'll be reaching for my trusty Charlotte Tibury Dolce Vita Eyeshadow Palette and pairing it with my Collection Glam Crystals in Funk for some more added sparkle. I'll then finish my eyes with some dramatic winged liner using my Kat Von D Tattoo Liner and my Crazy Sexy Kohl by Soap and Glory to darken up my waterline, both last amazingly well. Then of course I'll add lashings of MAC's Extended Play Gigablack Lash Mascara, again this is super long lasting and catches every single lash for a full, fluttery look.

Lips

Lastly for the lips it's got to be a red lip hasn't it, I don't think I've ever not worn a red lipstick on Christmas Day and this year I'll be going for my trust MAC Viva Glam I and MUA's Red Drama Lip Liner, together these create the perfect, long lasting red lip.

What makeup look will you be rocking on Christmas Day beaut's! I'd love to know!

nopin

Blogmas Day 17 - Gingerbread Cupcakes Recipe

Hey beaut's!

It's blogmas day seventeen and today I've been in the kitchen baking again...Today I had a craving for some gingerbread but I thought I would mix it up a bit and instead of making gingerbread men I went for gingerbread cupcakes. I was thrilled at how these cupcakes turned out, not only did they turn out looking cute but they taste incredible even if I do say so myself.
What You Will Need For The Cupcakes
Half a cup of granulated sugar
Half a cup of butter or margarine, softened
Half a cup of black treacle
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 and a half teaspoons of ground ginger
Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Half a teaspoon of ground allspice
Three quarters of a cup of water

What You Will Need For The Icing
240g butter, softened
400g icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
4 tablespoons of milk
Sprinkles/Mini Gingerbread Men to decorate

How To - Cupcakes
1. Firstly pre-heat your oven to gas mark 4 /180 and line a muffin tin with your cupcake cases.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the granulated sugar, butter, black treacle and eggs together with an electric whizzer until well combined.
3. Then add in your flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon and the allspice, the mixture will become super thick and that the time you then add in your water, this loosens everything up and makes such a smooth batter.
4. Pop a tablespoon of the cupcake batter into each cupcake case and bake in the oven for around 20 minutes or until the top of the cupcakes are springy to the touch, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool

How To - Icing
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric whizzer for around 5 minutes or until the butter has turned super pale and smooth, then start adding the icing sugar slowly to avoid the dreaded icing sugar cloud and again mix for another 5 or so minutes until smooth. Then pop in the vanilla extract and a couple of tablespoons o milk if you feel your butter cream is a bit stiff.
2. Pipe or spoon the icing on top of the cupcakes and top with some festive sprinkles and a mini gingerbread man and voila!!!

These cupcakes where so incredibly easy to make and they taste and look so good, the cupcake itself is super light and moist and the butter cream really levels out the amount of spice within the cupcake. If your a lover of gingerbread then you HAVE to make these cupcakes over the festive season.

nopin

Blogmas Day 16 - Festive Lip of the Day

Hey beaut's!

It's blogmas day sixteen, wowza these days are flying aren't they... Today I thought I'd do a cheeky little lip of the day post as I haven't done one of these for a while and this one has a Christmassy twist, yup this lip of the day is actually going to be my lip combo of choice for Christmas day!
For lipstick I've gone for MAC's Viva Glam I. Viva Glam I is a deep but bright vampy red shade and has a lovely matte finish. This is the red lip that I always crack out for the party season because it just looks so dramatic on me and is such a statement lip. It's such a beautiful shade though and definitely one to have stored away in your MAC lipstick collection for sure!

To line my lips I'm going for MUA's Lip Liner in Red Drama! Can you believe this lip liner is just a teeny tiny £1.00, I know what a beauty bargain! Red Drama is actually quite a bright red lip liner, definitely brighter than 'MAC's Viva Glam I' but somehow they work amazingly well together, I line and fill in my lips with Red Drama first then pop over MAC's Viva Glam I and blend the two with a lip brush, this creates such a long lasting, beautifully bold red lip, I love it! 
Whats your favourite lippie to rock over the festive season beaut's? I'd love to know!

nopin

Blogmas Day 15 - My Christmas Jumper Wishlist

Hey beaut's!

It's blogmas day fifteen...Today I just couldn't resist sharing my love for some cute Christmas Jumpers that I've had my eye on recently! I mean, whats not to love about a Christmas Jumper, their cute, snugly, warm and they are great at concealing the massive food babies that we all might have over the festivities ha ha. I must admit I haven't been blown away by many Christmas jumpers this year, last year there where loads I loved but this year theres just a mere few so heres my top picks that are on my wish list this Christmas....
My Christmas Jumper Wishlist
Topshop Mistletoe Kisses Jumper £36.00 / Boohoo Niamh Reindeer Christmas Jumper £15.00 / Mela Black Candy Print Christmas Jumper £25.00 / New Look Cream Reindeer Heart Print Jumper £14.99 / Christmas Holly Jolly Bauble Jumper £14.00 / Snowflake Christmas Jumper £12.99

And there you have it, my Christmas Jumper wish list! I hope you liked this quick festive post beaut's and don't forget it's not too late to join in and embrace the Christmas Jumper trend ha ha.