30 Christmas Blog Post Ideas!

Hey beaut's!

Last year I completed blogmas were I put a festive blog post up everyday in December until Christmas Day and I gave myself a very big pat on the back for doing so, it wasn't easy to keep up with as I have a retail job, a house to run and general Christmas chaos to deal with but I did it and I LOVED it! Anyway today I thought I'd share some ideas of festive blog posts you could do in case you are wanting to do blogmas this year! 

1. Your Favourite Festive Films.

2. Christmas Nail Polish Picks.

3.Gift Guides.

4. Red Lip Picks.

5. What's In Your December Makeup Bag.

6. Sharing Your Perfect Christmas Night In. 

7. Christmas Wishlist.

8. Festive Treats Recipes.

9. Festive Drinks Recipes.

10. Your Christmas Day Makeup Routine.

11. Christmas TV Specials You'll Be Watching.

12. Share Your Party Season Must Haves.

13. Christmas Jumper Top Picks.

14. The Christmas Tag.

15. Your Favourite Beauty Products Of The Year.

16. Share How Your Decorated Your House For Christmas.

17. Favourite Winter Fragrances.

18. Share A Festive DIY or Two.

19. Christmas Candle Reviews.

20. Share Your Christmas Traditions.

21. Post About Anything Fun or Christmassy That You've Been Doing ( Festivals, Markets, Ice Skating etc).

22. Your Christmas Outfit.

23. Christmas Tree Reveal.

24. Favourite Christmas Songs.

25. Share Your Favourite Christmas Adverts.

26. What You Got For Christmas.

27. Share Any Christmas Hacks You May Have.

28. Last Minute Gift Ideas.

29. How To Create The Perfect Festive Flatlay For Your Instagram Pics.

30. Your Favourite Glitter Makeup.

I hope this gave you a few ideas if your planning on doing Blogmas this year beaut's!

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!

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.

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!

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!

 

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!

Blogmas Day 10 - Super Easy Mince Pies

Hey beaut's!

Yesterday my mum popped over to my house to see me for a few hours and we decided to get all festive and make some mince pies together, I will only ever eat homemade mince pies, for some reason I hate shop bought ones and my boyfriend loves my mince pies so I popped my pinny on and got to work. I was so happy with how they turned out this year that I just had to share them with you all.

What You Will Need

225g of cold butter, diced/cubed

350g plain flour

100g caster sugar

280g mincemeat

1 small egg

pinch of salt if your using unsalted butter

icing sugar, to dust

pastry cutters/shapes

Muffin/Cupcake Trays

How To

1. Pre heat your oven to gas mark 6 or 200c and get two non-stick cupcake/muffin tins at the ready.

2. To make the pastry, rub together the 225 grams of cold, diced butter into the 350 grams of plain flour, then mix the 100 grams of caster sugar and add a pinch of salt if your butter is unsalted. Once everything has been completely rubbed together you should be able to combine everything into a pastry dough ball and you can then knead it briefly. 

3. Once your dough is completely smooth you can use it straight away (theres no need to chill it), I sprinkled a little more plain flour on my work surface and rolled out half of my dough to make the base's of my mince pies, I then used a circle pastry cutter and ended up getting 18 mince pie bases and popped these into the cupcake/muffin tins.

4. I then popped a teaspoon of jarred mincemeat into each mince pie base, I find a teaspoon is the perfect amount as it doesn't leak or bubble out of the mince pies whilst they bake.

5. I then rolled out my remaining dough to make my mince pie lids, I used different sized star cookie cutters but you could use a smaller circular pastry cutter or any other cookie cutter shape, it's totally up to you.

6. Finally before they go in the oven, beat one egg to use as an egg wash and brush the top of each mince pie, then bake them for around 20 minutes or until the mince pies are golden on top.

7. Leave your mince pies to completely cool before dusting them with icing sugar as a finishing touch and voila.... You can now demolish the lot ha ha.

These where so quick and easy to make and looked so nice once I plated them up, I love how the little star shapes turned out too, and they where seriously scrummy even if I do say so myself.

What will you be baking any mince pies over the festive season beaut's? I'd love to know!

Blogmas Day 9 - My Winter Fragrances

Hey beaut's!

It's blogmas day nine.... And today I thought I would share a couple of my winter fragrances with you that I'm seriously loving at the moment! During the winter months I love to dig out my more musky, warm scents, theres just something so nice about wearing a more musky scent when it's cold and frosty isn't there. 

My first pick is Ghost Deep Night, this has actually been a favourite of mine for years, I've literally gone through bottles of the stuff, it's a warm, dark, and woody scent that contains notes of Musk, Amber and Vanilla as well as a couple of fruity notes but the musk and vanilla are definitely most prominent in this scent. I like to wear Deep Night throughout winter either in the day or night and its lasting power is phenomenal too. 

My second pick is YSL's Black Opium, I actually got this back in the Summer and knew straight away I would get so much use out of it during the winter months, it's a dark, musky, sexy, warm scent best used for nights out I think because it's so glamorous, so it would be perfect for any Christmas and New Years parties. I have actually been wearing this through the day just with one spritz alone because it is quite a powerful fragrance but I love it so much. Also can we appreciate how stunning the bottle is, it's gorgeous!

Finally I have Twilight Mist from Body Fantasies, I find this is actually the best way to wear a more musky scent throughout the day during winter time because Body Fantasies are actually a perfume body spray which means they are formulated with high concentrations of perfume quality fragrance which is super long lasting but never overpowering and are worn in the same way as a body spray, their brilliant! Twilight Mist contains notes of pure mandarin, magnolia and sandalwood creating a pretty musky scent with hints of fruitiness, it actually remind me a lot of Ghost's Deep Night, it's gorgeous!

What's your favourite winter fragrance beaut's? I'd love to know! 

Blogmas Day 7 - Elie Saab Le Parfum Rose Couture Gift Set Review

Hey beaut's!

And welcome to blogmas day seven... It just wouldn't be Christmas if you didn't buy a fragrance for someone would it...  Sometimes Christmas shopping can be difficult especially when your trying to buy for someone who seems to have everything but the one thing that's sure to be a winner every time is a fragrance, I mean everyone loves to smell nice, right??? So today I've got the most gorgeous perfume gift set by Elie Saab which is sure to be a hit whether your buying for a family member, a loved one or even a friend.

The Elie Saab Le Parfum Rose Couture Gift Set* (£44.20) contains a 50ml bottle of the Elie Saab Le Parfum Rose Couture Eau de Toilette and two 75ml bottles of the Elie Saab Le Parfum Rose Couture Body Lotion which all sit beautifully inside a pretty pink and gold gift box. The fragrance itself is gorgeously floral with a hint of sweetness, this comes from it's top notes of orange blossom, silky rose petals and peony. At the heart of the fragrance is rose nectar, fruity nuances, jasmine and vanilla so your still getting that floral, sweet scent half way through the wear time, then the fragrance finishes off with base notes of patchouli and sandalwood which give it an ever so slight woody edge, which I think really helps balance the fragrance out so it isn't sickly sweet. As for lasting power... I get a good 4-5 hours wear out of this one until I feel I could use a refresh but that's pretty impressive I think considering this is an eau de toilette, it's quite a noticeable scent too without being overpowering and people always ask me what perfume I have on when I wear this which is always nice, I love it when that happens he he.

As I said before this gift set also comes with two bottles of the Elie Saab Le Parfum Rose Couture Body Lotion, this works just like any other body lotion really leaving the skin soft and smooth however...wearing the perfume and the body lotion together really intensifies the scent and adds extra lasting power, I'd probably use the two together if I was going out in the evening for a more full on scent. 

Overall I absolutely adore the Elie Saab Le Parfum Rose Couture scent and think it would be the prefect 'under the tree gift' for any lady/s in your life of all ages, it looks pretty, smells amazing - I just adore floral peony scents and I love the it's so versatile for day or nighttime wear.

You can find the Elie Saab Le Parfum Rose Couture Gift Set £44.20 on the Escentual website HERE.

Blogmas Day 6 - Festive Reds Christmas Gift Guide

Hey beaut's!

It's blogmas day 6 and since Christmas is only 19 days away I thought I would do another cheeky Christmas gift guide and carry on my 'Festive Reds' tradition that I've done for the past couple of years. I've gone for a mixture of cute smaller bits you can pop in for stocking fillers and then some bigger bits for under the tree with a range of affordable to a couple of more luxury prices. I hope you enjoy!!!

Zoella Beauty Ginger Bread Fizz Trio £8.00 / The Body Shop Strawberry Soft Hands, Warm Kisses £8.00 / MAKE UP FOR EVER 'Artistic Essentials' make up kit £30.00 / Lancôme 'Grandiôse' Christmas gift set £25.00 / Elegant Touch Glitter Nails Red £7.10 / Rimmel Only 1 Matte Lipstick £6.99 / Lounge Sleep Red Knitted Sherpa Trim Mule Slippers £13.00 / Lush Ruby Red Slipper Bath Bomb £3.95 / Yankee Candle Large Jar Candy Cane Lane £22.00 / Cath Kidston Robins Stanley Mug £6.50 / George Home Reindeer Cushion £5.00 / Lounge Sleep Red snowflake patterned hot water bottle and socks set £11.00 / Starbucks Festive Mug £8.50 / Burgundy Pom Pom Sock £1.50 / Ho Ho Ho Novelty Red Knit Legging £10.00

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet beaut's or do you still have lots to get? I'd love to know!

Blogmas Day 3 - £3 B&M Christmas Candles Reviewed

Hey beaut's!

Its Blogmas day three and today I have a candle review for you all. Its no surprise that I like a candle or 50 at this time of the year ha ha, however being in the UK I feel like we sometimes miss out on some of the amazing candle scents that you can get from places such as Bath and Body Works, however recently B&M's £2.99 candles have been taking over the blogasphere and have been named the ultimate Bath and Body Works candle dupes, so I decided to take myself off to B&M and check those bad boys out. I ended up buying two of their Christmas candles quite some time ago and I have been patiently waiting until I put my Christmas decorations up to burn them and since we put our decorations up last week I've finally had them lit and have been loving them.

The B&M Christmas candle collection consists of quite a few different scents but I decided on Vanilla Snowflake and Iced Candy. The candles come in large, heavy glass jars which you can definitely reuse once the candles have burnt down, I always keep mine for makeup brushes or cotton buds, and they both come with lightweight metal lids with a snowflake embossed into it which certainly gives them even more of a Bath and Body works vibe. The candles have two wicks which is so good because they burn evenly and don't leave any wasted wax around the sides of the jars.

The first candle out of the two that I lit straight away was Vanilla Snowflake, now I love my vanilla, sugary foodie scents and this one smells divine just like a sugar cookie with icing on, oh my god it's gorgeous, it has a medium scent throw which isn't overpowering or sickly despite being sweet and lingers in the house for a good while even after blowing it out. Then we have Iced Candy, this one was a lot different to what I was expecting, with the name Iced Candy I was thinking it would be really sweet but actually it reminds me a lot of Yankee Candles Winter Glow as it's quite fresh and frost bitten with the ever so slight hint of sweetness, it really is nice and more Christmassy than Vanilla Snowflake. For £2.99 each you really cant fault these candles, they look cute, smell great without being too overpowering, their festive and have up to 25 hours burn time, their such good value for money.

Have you picked up any of the B&M Bath and Body Works candle dupes beaut's? Which would you recommend? I'd love to know.