What I Got for Christmas

Firstly, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you ate too much food, drank too much mulled wine, and found some great bargains in the sale! I know that some people don't really like these sort of posts as they think that its a chance to show off. Personally, I like these types of posts, as they give me plenty of ideas about what I can buy and add to my shopping list.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I'll show you what I was lucky enough to receive....

Firstly, this Pandora bracelet was actually a present for my 18th Birthday, but over time, the charms have been added. I was lucky enough to receive three Pandora charms from my lovely boyfriend, Olly. They match all my other charms perfectly. The three that he got me are the far left ones: The silver and purple hearts, The silver stars, and the purple and white hearts. I'm head over heels in love with them :)

I also received clothes, which are always a welcome addition to my ever bulging wardrobe! My mum is amazing at picking clothes as she just knows what I would pick myself. I also got some things for my holidays later on in the year such as dresses and wedges which have been put away ready for Mexico! 

The black heeled boots and Baylis and Harding gift set were from my Grandma. The boots are just the perfect go with everything boots so I already know I'll get plenty of wear out of them. I also received plenty of perfume, which I was so grateful for as it's one of those things I can never really afford. I got the Jimmy Choo perfumed body lotion which is one of my favourites, Intimately Beckham, and the Ghost Deep Night perfume set. 

I was so lucky to receive such wonderful gifts and spend a magical time with my loved ones. 

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, and would love to see what you got as presents, so if you've done a similar post, then please link it below :)

Hope you all had a wonderful day.

Just a quick note to say that I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones, and that you made some amazing memories. I hope that you all got some lovely gifts, ate lots and lots of treats. Merry Christmas to you all, and a very Happy New Year. xxx

Lush Cinders Bath Bomb

If you love everything Christmassy, then you will love this! Despite being smaller than your average bath bomb, it certainly packs a punch! 

The scent of this ballistic is Spicy, warm and soulful. I know those are not particularly scents but its what comes to my mind when describing this. There is quite a strong smell of cinnamon, almost the sort of smell that you get at German Christmas Markets in most city centres. Oh and I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only person who thought of freshly made gingerbread when they smelled this?

When dropped into the bath, it starts to fizz straight away, and due to the size, it does fizz down quite quickly. Lush do claim that this will make popping noises whilst fizzing away. I sat listening to the water and could hear a faint sound of popping, kind of like Rice Crispies, but I was hoping for something similar to an open fire. I know that's a bit expectation.

You can see the popping candy really clearly in this photo, which sort of makes it look slightly alien. I didn't notice any benefits to my skin after this bath, so I did need to apply quite a bit of moisturiser afterwards. It doesn't claim to soften your skin but it would have been nice to have this additional feature.

I did like this bath bomb. I wasn't in love with it, so I probably wouldn't repurchase it again. But overall, it was a fun bath, with a gorgeous scent.

Have you tried this bath bomb? 

Lush Party Popper Bath Bomb

How could I not pick up this amazing looking bath bomb on my recent trip to Lush?! This cone shaped bath bomb of both blue and pink immediately stood out to me as fun and I couldn't wait to try it!

When I first dropped this into the bath, I couldn't believe how much it was fizzing. It was a little bit like "blink and you'll miss it" because it really does fizz so fast. This is down to the popping candy that is stored inside this bath bombs makeup. The popping candy also makes a really fun hissing noise whilst turning your bath bright pink! As this is fizzing out small flakes of Honeydew Melon soap appear in the bath which at first I found kind of weird but they were a lovely addition.

As the party popper I picked up had quite even amounts of both blue and pink, I had a pretty standard lavender coloured water, but I have seen other bloggers who have had bright pink or bright blue baths.

The scent reminded me of Champagne, which was amazing! My bathroom was filled with the gorgeous scent you get when you have cocktails or a champagne reception somewhere. The actual scents that have been included in this are tangerine and bergamont oils, and coconut and rose oils.

 I wasn't so sure about using the honeydew melon to wash with, it just seemed a bit weird , but I gave it a go and it wasn't bad but it wasn't my favourite thing in the world. 

Overall, I think I would repurchase this again, mainly for the scent I think. At £2.95 each, I can see why this has been one of Lush's bestsellers this Christmas.

Have you tried this? What has been your favourite Lush product this festive season?

MAC Strength Collection Spring 2013

This collection is due to be released in the first week of January, and I have to say that I think that it's definitely one of MAC's better collections. The collection is quite large but everything in it is pretty amazing. It also includes two of the most sought after Lipstick from the earlier Iris Apfel Collection. Here are the items included in the full collection...

All Woman Eyeshadow Quad 

Flawless Figure - Pale warm shimmering white (Veluxe Pearl)

Brains & Brawn -  Mid-tone taupe (Matte)

All Woman - Greenish dark grey (Satin)

Black Magique - Black (Veluxe Pearl)

Inner Strength Eyeshadow Quad 

Lithe Spirit - Palest white pink (Satin)

Inner Strength - Light cool mauve taupe (Matte)

Fabulous Fit - Mid-tone cool grey (Matte)

Heatherbelles-  Deep charcoal (Satin)

Lipsticks 

Party Parrot - Bright red pink (Matte)

Pink Pigeon - Bright pink (Matte) 

Strong Woman - Bright violet (Matte)

Absolute Power - Rich red (Matte)

Firm Form - Gilded black with gold pearl (Matte)

Blush (Powder)

Taupe Shape Satiny taupe (Satin)

Poised Muted pinkish brown (Satin)

Misc

Kohl Power -Feline - Rich black

Technakohl Eye Liner - Graphblack - Rich graphic black

Penultimate Eyeliner - Rapidblack - True black 

Lip Pencils

Embrace Me - Vivid fuchsia

Lasting Sensation - Bright coral 

Nail Lacquer 

Muscle Tone - Pale nude

Triumphant -  Mid-tone cool brown

Tools

168 Large Angled Contour 

275 Medium Angled Shading 

I'm really looking forward to this collection and there are quite a few things that I have my eye one including All Woman Eyeshadow Quad, Party Parrot, Pink Pigeon, and Feline.

Is there anything that you want to pick up? Are you looking forward to this collection?

The Best of 2012

2013 is just around the corner and I'm sure every beauty blogger is getting really excited about what new beauty products we will be lusting over for the next 12 months. This year has been an amazing year for everything beauty related, with some amazing products hitting the shelves, and some even better collections being launched. 

There have been many, many products that I have loved this year, some of them were not launched this year but they have been my favourites. so without further ado, here are my favourites of 2012... (Click on each product name to find out more)

Best Foundation:

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation. Full coverage, perfect match, long lasting. What more could you want in a foundation? I've gone through so many tubes of this, and it goes perfectly with the Mineralize Skinfinishes.

Best Lip Product:

This was a really hard category for me because I love lip products. My favourite has to be the Revlon Lip Butters. They're pigmented, creamy and moisturising, perfect for everyday wear. There is a great range of shades which can carry you all through the year.

Best Eyeliner:

Rimmel Glam Eyes liquid liner. I bought this on the way to a friends as I had forgotten my usual one. How pleased am I that this came into my life? Extremely long lasting, super pigmented, and the brush is amazing!

Best Eyelashes:

I love falsies and have so many The ones that Are my favourites are Eylure Hed Kandi: Twisted Disco lashes. They're lovely and full without looking too over the top. Perfect for a smokey eye.

Best Mascara: 

This year I've loved Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara mascara. I've tried tons of mascaras this year but this is the only one that has done what I wanted it too. Thickening, Lengthening, non-drying, just all round beautiful.

Best Eyeshadows:

There was no doubt about this one. It has to be the Urban Decay Naked2 Palette. I've used this everyday since purchase, and although it has seen better days (it's definitely well loved), it's still a staple in my everyday makeup.

Best Hair Products:

I couldn't decide between my Aussie colour protect serum, or the Aussie Heat protection spray so I'm awarding this to Aussie in General as I have so many of their products. My thick, unruly hair takes some serious taming, and Aussie products do this so well.

Best Bath Product:

My bath time would not be complete without a lather of Calm One Calm All from Soap and Glory. I love how soft and luxurious this feels, and how lovely my skin feels after a long soak with this. Oh and it smells divine!

Best Moisturiser:

This has to be Palmer's Cocoa Butter. The smell, the feel, the texture, everything. I have so much love for this product, I've used it all year round, gone through so many bottles but will always return to this. 

So 2012 has been a great year for beauty and all such related products. I just hope 2013 is just as good,but I'm sure it will be just as fabulous. What have been your favourite products?

Lush Twilight Bath Bomb

You might have seen a few weeks ago that I posted my small Lush haul, in which I said that I had returned to an old favourite, and that was Twilight.

This bath bomb is perfect for those who like to have a subtle scent and gentle bath time. The lavender scent makes this the perfect relaxing bath bomb, great for those who have trouble relaxing at night time. For me, I have trouble sleeping and this was one of the remedies that I tried and it worked a treat.

When dropped into the bath, this one doesn't fizz as much as the usual bath bombs that Lush produce, but instead it sort of gives off a thick, creamy foam. Once it starts breaking down it does give off the different coloured bubbles that we are all used to when using something from lush.

This one turned my bath a deep lavender colour mixed with little bits of pink and blue, which was so pretty to look at. It also houses a lot of silver glitter which makes the bath look amazing and mystical. The glitter doesn't stick to the skin either which means I don't look like a disco ball when I get out of the bath.

Another thing that I really like about this is the fact that it contains moisturising ingredients that make my skin feel perfect. It was nice to feel perfectly relaxed after my bath, and only needing a tiny amount of moisturiser was lovely.

I know that I'll keep picking this up again and again because I love it that much! Have your tried it? What did you think of it?

Sleek Blush by 3 Palettes

If you remember a while back, Sleek introduced their "Blush by 3" palettes and they pretty much sold out instantly. I have to say when these arrived in store the first time round, I wasn't all that bothered about purchasing, but now I'm wearing more blush these have become a welcome addition to my collection.

I have three of the palettes available, in Sugar, Pumpkin, and Pink Sprint. All of these palettes come packaged in a simple, black casing, with a full sized mirror housed inside of each. The blushes are full size too which is amazing! The packaging also includes the list of shades that are included on the back of the palette, and none of the colours are available as a single blush in the Sleek line.

The blushes themselves are so super pigmented it's almost unreal! All of the swatches that I've included in this post are just ONE swipe across the blush with my finger, so you can tell just how pigmented they are. The palettes come with a mixture of matte and shimmer blushes, both of which are buttery soft and apply evenly on the skin. Some of the colours in these palettes are not for the faint hearted, but even the colours that petrified me at first, are fast becoming favourites of mine as they look lovely when applied properly.

First palette I have is Sugar. This consists of brown, warm tones shades that do look great on any skin tone. The three shades at Turbinado, Muscavado and Demerara. I would say that these are better suited to those with medium to deep skin tones as these can be a little over whelming on paler tones. Having said that, my skin tone is a MAC NW2o and i find that with light application, these look lovely and natural. Here are the swatches: 

Top to Bottom: Demerara, Muscovado and Turbinado.

This next palette is Pumpkin. Definitely for those who have a love for brighter colours. I would say that is better suited for the summer season due to the brightness of it. Again, this is perfect for all skin tones, however, I do think that the pink can look a little ashen on darker skin tones, but layered over any of the colours in this palette, it turns into a lovely rosy pink. Here are the swatches below:

Top to bottom: P Pie, Squash, Lantern

The final palette of the three that I have is Pink Sprint. I have to say that I think that this is my favourite out of the three that I purchased. It's so different to what I would normally buy. These colours can look really, really vibrant on paler skin tones, so do require a light hand and a lot of blending. But wow the work is worth the beautiful results that you get. Here are the swatches below:

Top to bottom: Pinktini, Pink Ice, and Pink Parfait.

Overall, I love these palettes and think that they are a wonderful idea. I will definitely be picking up the other two palettes in the collection. Have you tried any of these palettes? Did you enjoy them?

The Teenage Me

This year I turned 20. It's a boring age. No longer a teenager meant that I felt as though I had to grow up, and I honestly feel like I have. But I thought I would take a look back at the teenage me and see how and if I've changed through the years.

All the pictures on this post are from when I was 16 and I can remember all of these events happening. I used to think I was really into beauty and fashion back then, little did I know that I actually looked rather stupid with some of the stuff I wore and put on my eyes. 

I can remember getting ready for this 'date'. I was going to meet a boy who I had been friends with for a while, who is actually now my boyfriend and has been since the very day this picture was taken and we now live together. Good going 16 year old self. I used to hate my wavy dark hair so would attack it with heat every single day, sometimes twice a day, to either curl or straighten. I would also spray so much hairspray on it that it would crunch when I touched it. Attractive.

My makeup was terrible back then, but at the time I thought it was pretty amazing. I used a thick, cheap foundation that was way too dark for me, or from one extreme to another I would apply something that was nearly white if I had run out of my usual tango coloured one. I would also layer on the black liner and mascara so that I looked like I had spider lashes. Lovely.

This was my best memory of being a teenager. My High School Prom. I did my makeup myself but had practiced for weeks and weeks before then so that it would look okay on the night. I got my hair done at the hairdressers where I worked, so I knew it would look great. I can honestly say I felt the best I've ever felt about myself on that night.

Finally, apologies for the shocking picture quality, but this was my last day of High School. I would always, without fail, tie my hair up in a pony tail and leave the front bits out. Why? I don't know but looking back it  looked horrendously awful! I was probably sporting spider lashes in this picture too! 

So I can safely say that my makeup, hair and fashion have evolved so much since I was a teenager. I'm definitely more knowledgeable about products I'm using now, and I don't need a trowel to apply it like before. 

Hope you've enjoyed this different post today. Do you think you've changed much as you've got older?

P.S Don' forget to enter my 100 Follower Giveaway which you can do here.

100 Followers Giveaway!

You beautiful people helped my little blog reach 100 followers last week, and as a thankyou I thought it was only fair to host a giveaway!

I was so excited to see that I had made it to my very first milestone, as its always just been a hobby to me. So I'm thrilled that I've got to 100 followers. I wish I could give you all a hug, but here's a virtual hug for each and everyone of you!

Here are the prizes:

Onto the giveaway...

Unfortunately, this isn't an international giveaway so apologies for that but maybe an international giveaway will pop up soon on here :)

Any false entries will be void, as its not fair to others who have entered correctly.

Please dont lie about what you have done in order to gain more entries as I will be checking.

Now that the boring bit is out of the way, you can enter using the rafflecopter form below and GOOD LUCK!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck to all those who enter.

Thankyou :)

Christmas Traditions

My favourite time of year is just around the corner and I couldn't be more excited. I wish at home with my parents and brother to experience the full build up of the christmas season, but I'm really enjoying making my own memories in my home with Olly. 

Image from weheartit

As a child there are lots of things that my parents would do in the run up to christmas, many that are still carried on now. I thought I would share some with you some of my favourite traditions that make this time of year so special for me...

Way back when I was really young, and I still believed in Santa, my mum and dad would always take me to a Grotto where I would queue excitedly with lots of other little boys and girls, waiting to catch a glimpse of the big guy in the red suit. 

I would also always write a letter to Santa. I would try my neatest handwriting and decorate it with pictures, then very neatly write the address on the envelope. Then with my letter in hand I would walk to the postbox with my mum or dad and post my letter. For some reason I always got a letter back, but to this day, I still don't know who wrote back to me. Mum and Dad I'm looking at you!

Ever since I can remember, I would always have new PJ's on Christmas Eve. I'm not sure why. But even now at 20, I'm excited to go buy my pretty new PJ's and not wear them until Christmas Eve. 

Me and my Dad would always go into Leeds one Thursday night, after the christmas lights had been turned on and we do some Christmas Shopping. This was always a highlight for me, I remember feeling extremely grown up being out in town late at night (it wasn't late, we would always be on our way home no later than 9) on a school night.

One thats not overly *Christmassy* is that on Christmas eve, we always, without fail, have a chinese takeaway. I know its not very festive but we all sit as a family round the table, having a good meal and some nice drinks. Now that I don't live with parents so its lovely to sit with them and my younger brother and have a family meal.

Finally, decorating the house is a huge family event for us! From picking the tree to untangling the fairy lights, everything about it makes it worth the hard work to see your house transform into something magical. Every year, me and my brother would take it in turns to put the Christmas fairy on top of the tree. My dad would pick us up whilst my mum took a photo. We're a little old to do this now as I'm 20 and my brother is 14.

Image from weheartit

I hope you've enjoyed the very long post about my families Christmas traditions. What are your traditions? I'd love to hear them :)

Superdrug Hot Cloth Cleanser

I have to say that I had my reservations about trying this, surely it wouldn't live up to the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish? But I do have to say that I really like it.

I was starting to run out my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish so needed something that could replace it until I had a chance to get a new one. As I was in superdrugs, I had a look at their new vitamin E range and was really impressed with the variety of products and the reasonable prices. So this product was placed in my basket ready to take home with me.

First thing I noticed was how big the tube was, so it is real value for money. But the muslin cloth is really really nice quality. Obviously not on par with the Liz Earle ones, but for the price I paid, I really could not moan.

The actual cleanser is rather thick, smells divine and is gentle on skin. What more could you want? It removed my make up effortlessly, and made my skin look brighter. I've been using this for about a week now alongside my regular skin care routine and my skin looks great. Whilst the cleanser is great product for those on a budget, it doesnt match up to the Liz Earle version that is famous on the bloggersphere. 

I would repurchase this, and would probably use it for travel or like in this instance if I had run out of my favourite.

Have you tried this hot cloth cleanser? 

My MAC Must Haves...

If you're new to MAC, then it can be quite daunting knowing where to start. Here is a list of the products that I think are must haves and that I love in my own collection and think you will love too...

What are your MAC must haves? Do you own any of these?

MUA Intense Kisses Lipgloss

The third MUA post in as many days, I'm on a roll! When my package from their website arrived this week, these were the things I was most excited to try.

The two shades that I got were Sealed with a kiss and Kiss and tell, both of which are beautiful colours and extremely wearable

First up is Sealed with a kiss. This is a beautiful nude colour that looks lovely worn alone or over the lipstick "Bare" from MUA. I'e worn this most days for an effortless nude lip, or on a night out when I've had a dark smokey eye.

Next up is Sealed with a kiss. This is a very bright raspberry colour , which doesn't look to overpowering on the lip. I have worn this alone once, but I prefer it layered over a liner or a lipstick of similar colour.

You can tell from both of the swatches above, each of these is extremely glossy with a high reflective shine. The texture is extremely thick, similar to a liquid lipstick. Due to them being slightly thicker than a normal gloss, they do have fantastic staying power, which I was really surprised by. The packaging is also really nice as I think it looks more sophisticated than normal MUA products or other drugstore/high street brands.

Have you tried any of these lip glosses? What's your favourite shade?