Christmas 2012 in Pictures :)

Hello!

So recently a little pre-New Years resolution has been to photograph everything that has made me smile over the Christmas period. I thought I'd quickly share some of the simple things that have put a smile on my face during the last few weeks :) You should know, I've received a few strange looks photographing some of these.

Winter Wonderland in Meltham:

These are just a few snaps of the lights going up in my village, the festive Victorian window in our village flower shop and a few Christmas decorations starting to pop up in the gardens on my road. This has been getting me ready for the festive season.

 Out and About Randomness:

These are some of the things that aren't particularly strange to see buy just made me feel wonderfully nostalgic :) So here's the old style gypsy caravan in the local orchard and a lovely man just playing his accordion. He was very friendly!

Childhood Memories:

The festive period always makes me feel at home and nothing does that better than taking a look through some old photoes. Recently my sister and I have taken to swapping old photoes of ourselves over Facebook, much to the embarrassment of both parties. However, these two aren't so bad and are a good reminder of family love.
So that little blond thing is me, on the left with my lovely Grandad and on the right with my beautiful sister.

 Student Life:

Last but not least a bit of student life. And clearly being at college is all about coffee as these are pictures of some truly cute ones I've enjoyed between classes. That heart is all natural by the way? Talented people at Coffee Evolution. And lastly a quick look at the Clockwork Orange poster up in the English department, just because it's awesome and my college is clearly cool enough to know.

 Have a wonderful Christmas everybody. Next post will be in a few days and I'll be talking all about how to beat those winter blues!

Bye.                

Party Pins

Merry Christmas!

Tis the party season and although shaving (whisper it) is often a bit of a taboo subject we've all looked at that dress that's more air than material and thought 'That's beautiful, I wish I had the legs to pull it off." Well the truth is, you do. A good close shave can turn those everyday things you walk around on to your best accessory and below I'm going to share a few tips on how to get perfect party pins.


1: Good Skin.

If you have a good skin care routine for your face, you're makeup is always going to wear better. Well it's the same for your legs. Good, healthy skin is always a good starting point. No, you don't need to start face masking your legs but there are a few things that you can use long term to keep those legs in ship shape condition. The first is moisturiser. Moisturising regularly improved skin by preventing flaking skin, especially around the knees and ankles that can become quite awkward, and often painful when you start taking a razor over it. Make those skin cells last longer and treat them to a body butter. It's a bit of a cliche but if you like results with a good scent to keep you fresh all day then Bodyshop have nailed it.  The next is toning. So you may not have cellulite just yet, but it's okay to take preventative actions, especially if you're lucky and are sporting a Marilyn Munroe figure. (Most just an excuse to insert a picture of the beautiful lady in question.) There are a lot of firming creams and gels out there but Nip + Fab's Cellulite Fix does exactly what it says on the tin. Apparently.

2: The Razor.

A quick tip is to take your time, don't just pick up the ones being thrust in your face by that sales woman who says, 'This is what I use' when you just know she probably doesn't and it's the most expensive blade on the shelf. Below are three examples. I prefer a mid priced razor. Cheap razors like example 1 rust easily, and usually have a single or double, poor quality blade that cuts you to ribbons. Expensive razors, the Venus Breeze (Example 3) springs to mind, are so overloaded with shave gel bars and other oddities that we don't really need prevent the blades from even getting near the skin. They claim that it's a comfortable shave, and that it may be, but you're still be left with stubble later. Example 2 however won't cost the earth but has the lovely handle, like a Venus, but with three blades that will actually do the job.

3: Scrub.

Skin cells are renewing all the time and it's likely that there are always dead skin cells just waiting to flake off. Gross, I know. However a body scrub, and this doesn't have to be anything special - although I am loving the Clinique Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliator - will leave your skin smooth and prepare for that ultra close shave. Here's the science. Imagine your skin as many layers with hair follicles buried deep below the layers. You shave away any hair above the top layer of skin, but then when you exfoliate and remove that top layer, there's just going to be a layer of stubble left. Moral of the story, always exfoliate your skin before you shave.

4: Tan.
The colour of our skin can often vary over our entire body. Our legs can often differ from our arms, or our neck and if you've found that having your legs covered during the winter months has led to a bit of a pale hue that doesn't quite match up, then you may be reaching for the fake tan bottle. However, an easier way to give legs a non-streaky radiance boost in gradually tanning lotions. These can be found in many different brands with varying degrees of sparkle to give legs that Jennifer Lopez glow, especially under party lights. However, if you are going for an all over fake take then don't forget to moisturise! Without moisturiser your skin will produce excess oils, which oxidises with fake tan and help create that not-so-delicious biscuity smell.


And there you go, four simple tips to getting party pins ready for the festive season. By the way, all of the above work much better with a bubble bath along side.

Happy Holidays.

Christmas Tag.

Merry Christmas!

It’s December! Yeah, believe it or not, it’s here. Christmas is a pretty busy time for the blogger, what with Christmas hauls, Party Season Tutorials, even some yummy Christmas decorations, just to name a few. However I can’t let Christmas go by without a Christmas tag so to save time I’m getting mine in quick so I can keep up to date with all of the festive events as they happen. So, you may notice that this isn’t the big 2012 tag, it’s not the winterlicious either – I’m a sucker for tradition so I thought I’d go for a tag that circulated a few years ago, just to give you all a bit of variety. 

Onwards and upwards we go:

What is your favourite holiday movie? 

The cool part of me – if there is one - wants to say The Nightmare Before Christmas because it’s just magical, and a little bit crazy. But, as is unfortunately true, I am no such ultimately cool person so the truth is it’s the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34^th Street because let’s face it, Mara Wilson was soooo cute when she was little and it’s just such a ridiculously festive film.

What’s your favourite Christmas colour? 

Red. Just red. Red everything. Oh, and some green, Christmas tree green…. And a bit of gold. Christmas is just a very colourful time of year for me but I can’t pick just one colour. Red, green and gold – that’s a combo that makes me feel traditional and festive.

Do you like to stay in your PJ’s or dress up for Christmas? 

PJ’s. I’ve been known to have a shower, and then put my pyjamas back on. If there’s one day of the year I’m allowed to be lazy its Christmas. Sometimes we go for a walk after lunch; I’ll get changed if we go out, but mostly its pyjamas, hot chocolate and maybe even a hot water bottle.

If you could only buy one person a present this year who would it be? 

Me! Only kidding.  A toughie! Seeing as I’ve already bought half my presents I’m going to act like I was asked this back in January or something. Seeing as I’m signed up for the Secret Santa, I guess to be fair to my friends and family, because I love them all equally I would probably just buy for my blogger, whoever they may be.

Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? 

Well I don’t know about you but Christmas is just way to exciting to open presents and then go to bed! We’ve always opened our presents on Christmas morning… well except when I was little and I just couldn’t wait until the next day so my Mom would let me open a little one early. Or there was the year that my Mom thought I wouldn’t find my Christmas presents if she hid them... wait for it... UNDER MY BED! Needless to say, Christmas definitely came early that year.

Have you ever built a gingerbread house? 

No! I want to though, every year I say I’m going to make one, but then the Christmas chocolate kicks in and we all know how lazy that makes us. I am however making gingerbread Christmas tree decorations, which of course you will be making with me. Recipe and some baking pictures hitting TopKatTV on December 23^rd. Don’t miss those!

What do you like to do on your Christmas break? 

Walk. A lot. I usually have a lot of work to do over Christmas (Santa’s little elf, you see.) revision for exams tends to keep my indoors so anything to get outside when the weathers at that really crisp but sunny stage is a huge treat. I also love attending the big light switch on and the Christmas fairs. Unfortunately work has meant I had to forgo most of the festivities this year. 

Any Christmas wishes? 

Well I’ll be boxing up my mistletoe that’s for sure! I prefer wishes that actually will come true so I usually just hope for a good Christmas day, because it’s the one day you can just be happy without thinking about how much the whole holiday is costing and whether you’ll get snowed in.

Favourite Christmas smell?

Cinnamon and that mulled wine spice smell. I also love those dried oranges with cloves stuck in them. We’ve just bought a mulled wine fruit tea and it smells divine. Anyone wanting to join in with that should head over to Whittards... to make Christmas truly special.

Favourite Christmas meal or treat?

Well, the meal is clearly Christmas dinner! Treat wise I think Christmas pudding because you don’t really have it any other time of year so that makes it really special and indulgent. Plus you end up eating it with cheese for months to come.

Which holiday do you celebrate? 

Erm, Christmas?

What are you doing for the holiday this year? 

Same as per really. Christmas with the family, my grandparents are spending Christmas with us as they have been for the last few years. I really like a big family Christmas, although I do feel sorry for poor old Mom who, despite our attempts to help, still somehow ends up running around after us all.

What’s your favourite holiday drink?

That has to be Baileys. It’s just so warm and makes you want to snuggle up in front of a fire, even if it is served on the rocks. If you’re not a liqueur person then try adding a splash of Baileys to your festive hot chocolate.

Candy cane or gingerbread men? 

I haven’t actually noticed if we have more gingerbread around at this time of year in England. We tend to have candy canes in the house because my Mom doesn’t like ginger but I would prefer gingerbread. Hence why I’m making some. I’m also going to be making an orange version of the decoration for Mom, I will include that recipe with my gingerbread one.

What’s your favourite Christmas song? 

If I’m feeling a vintage Christmas then it’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I can’t deny though that I grew up with All I Want For Christmas so I can’t ignore that either. I don’t usually like Christmas songs that are released now but I did really like Train’s Christmas Time last year. Dare I say it as well, I wasn’t completely horrified by Justin Beiber’s offering to the Christmas scene either, but don’t hold it against me!

What’s the weirdest gift you’ve ever received? 

Hmm, for Christmas I don’t actually know. I’ve received things that seem weird now, like a wizard cookery book, but at the time I was really into Harry Potter- not that I don’t still hold a love for it – and cooking. My Mom bought me a mixing bowl I really wanted once, which she broke! And I have also noticed since it is the same bowl used in Downton Abbey (It’s from Sainsbury’s. Yup, all that vintage magic ruined.) She wasn’t very happy when she asked me what my favourite present was, looking at the pile of CD’s and a new pair of curlers and I said my mixing bowl. Moral of the story, never become a chef.

Have you ever made a snowman? 

Of course. It wasn’t a very artistic snowman and I usually get too cold to finish it by the time I’ve done the body. It’s about then that I realise the carrots are all being used for Christmas dinner, the stones are buries under the snow, and in the modern age, not many people have lumps of coal lying around that are just perfect eye size.

What is your favourite winter fragrance? 

I don’t really have one. I usually get a bottle of Christina Aguilera for my birthday and Christmas but the most festive scents I have are Ed Hardy’s Hard Candy and La Perla. I have recently added my Roberto Cavalli perfume, which I will be reviewing soon, along with many other scents in my perfume collections.

What is top of your Christmas list? 

Curlers! When mine broke I brought some new Remington ones but they’ve never compared to my beautiful Mark Hill ones. They’re also on sale in Boots, hint hint to Santa.

What is the most important thing to you about the holidays? 

Time off? No, in seriousness it’s what I said before; it’s just that one day a year where you can put everything aside and enjoy the day. No fuss. Just family.

I’ve just noticed that this tag is over a thousand words. If only it were so easy to write my thousand word English essays… oh well.

Happy holidays everyone. Wherever you are I hope you’re enjoying whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year. Have fun.

Merry Christmas!

Feliz Navidad!

Joyeux Noel!

Frohe Weihnachten!

Buon Natale!

P.S. Yeah, I may have run out of ones I can do on an English keyboard.

Boots Points Treats: Mini Reviews.

Hello! 

The recent points event at Boots really got me in the mood for Christmas and spurred me on to start getting my Christmas shopping done stat. The event meant that for every fifty pounds you spent, you got twelve pounds worth of Boots point on your card. I also had a voucher to boost the total. May have been slightly helped by the obscene amount of money I spent as well but that's besides the point. 

At the end of buying all my lovely Christmas presents for everyone else I decided to use my points and buy myself some treats. I jumped headfirst into Boots' three for two offer (okay, so it's not the first time this season) and bought myself two items I've been eyeing for awhile and my free item, but more on that one later.

The first products that I've been lusting after for a long time now is  Soap and Glory's concealer. Kick Ass Concealer is a three step concealer compact that has an eye brightening corrector, a facial blemish concealer and a translucent setting powder. My views on this product are a little mixed. I love the idea of this compact, it's super cute and great for travelling and touch ups, perfectly handbag sized. The consistency of the product is good too. The only thing I don't like is the colours. I have very very pale skin but the light concealer just wasn't a match for me at all. I got the medium. I can only assume that they will bring a darker one out at some point as it seems to be strange that they have light and medium. Why not just light and dark if there are just two? A mystery. The translucent powder is just white, it's way to light so I've been using it as a matt highlighter, which is always great to have, but still not what I brought the product for. As for the concealer, the brightening corrector is just too light for me, it makes my under eye area look very strange and mismatched to the rest of my face, the blemish concealer is far to dark. On the plus, whilst it is a hassle, I have found very good results in combining the two shades so for that reason it wasn't a total loss. It's also a lot more matt than my Collection 2000 one, which I love, but it's not as multi purpose as I can't really use the concealer on large areas. Overall, with the £10 price tag I'll give this product a 7/10.

The Revlon sections sits right next to Soap and Glory in my Boots store. In seeing it I was reminded of the frantic conversation I had with my best friend over whether I wanted to buy  the Passion or Frenzy shade in their Just Bitten Lipstain. I originally bought Passion and loved it and couldn't help going back for the red/plum colour that is Frenzy (think the mental image of when Rob Pattinson talks about his vampire frenzies in Twilight, yikes!) but yes, it does have that blood red, I've just vamped up my look impact. I won't ramble on about this lip stain as you can read exactly what I thought of it in my Kiss Proof Colour post along with several other lip stains out there.

Last but not least was my free product and let me just say this was a chance find. Due to the lack of time I challenge my friend Luke to choose me a product to get free. Don't worry, I chose some backup myself just in case. However, like a true shopper at heart he headed straight for the Maybelline ColorSensational lipstick. With a little bit of careful guidance I eventually walked away with the shade Cherry Candy. This lipstick is just sheer enough to look strangely natural and yet still give you a full colour pout. This shade comes the 'The Shine' collection so it's ultra moisturising and well... as you'd expect, shiny. These lipsticks are a bit similar to the Revlon Lip Butters in their consistency so they aren't particularly long wearing but do build well when reapplying so it's not a problem for me as I always have a mirror handy. 

So have you treated yourself to anything nice lately? Let me know! 

Bye x

International Secret Santa

Is it too soon for a Merry Christmas?

The lovely Sandra from The Puzzle of Sandra's Life has organised an international Secret Santa that sounds just about too lovely to be true. Personally this is a great fuss free way for all of us bloggies to discover other blogs and connect whilst getting a hand picked gift under our tree to boot. Everybody loves receiving a secret gift but I personally love shopping for them too. So if you're like me and want to get involved, all you have to do is have a blog. I think I'll leave all of the rules and details to Sandra so go click this nice link right here: Secret Santa! to get involved!

Bye Bye!

I ♥ Fall Tag!

Hello Beauty Addicts!

As you can see in my Seven Shades of Autumn post I'm feeling very Autumnal and let's face it, it's been a while since I did a tag. A quick reminder that Fall is just Autumn in America although, quick fact, 'Fall' was originally English and taken over to America during the colonisation. As the English language evolved Fall became Autumn but was kept in it's original form in the US to keep American English 'pure'. Geek moment for you there.

Anyway, the 'I ♥ Fall Tag' has become almost an obligation for any beauty addict this year so therefore, here it is.


Okay, so here we go:

1. Favourite Fall lip product?

    My favourite fall lip product was a chance find in my local Sainsbury's in the sale. It's a typical autumn shade, a deep purple and smells like palma violets. Again this is another discontinued shade so I can only get it on Amazon now, which is a shame, but I love it. The Loreal Paris Color Riche in shade 712.


2. Favourite Fall Nail Polish?
    During fall I actually tend to rock some summer nail polishes. Some corals and mint greens all year round for me usually. However, I do love a good deep blue and Wet n Wild Wild Shine nail polish has that sheen that makes it look so deep and pool-like it's just beautiful. intense colour in one coat, especially with my favourite blue - shade Denim Chrome. 
   

3. Favourite Starbucks Fall Drink?
    My Starbucks coffee doesn't really change throughout the year, I'm actually more of a Costa girl anyway. Although, I am more likely to order an ice tea in summer I guess but my coffee of choice is always a Mocha whether I'm at Starbucks or not.


4. Favourite Fall Candle?

    Surprisingly my favourite fall candle is actually a summer scent. I brought it during the summer clear out and I talked about this in my Fallen of the Waggon post. It's the Yankee Candle Bahama Breeze scent. The smell of this candle makes me reminiscent of summer as it's so refreshing but always makes me pleased for the change in scenery. Even in the rain and mist I can come home and go back to my summer scents for a little while to recover.

5. Favourite Fall Scarf or Accessory?
    My scarf! Definitely, it's just a plain cream wool from Republic but I really really want a deep purple one from Monsoon :)


6. Haunted house, haunted hay ride, or haunted corn maze?

    Well here in England we only really have haunted houses and those are at theme parks, but I'm a pretty easy scare so I would say I'm not a massive fan of those either. The Blackpool Pleasure Beach  I think I'd like a hay ride if I'd ever been on one.

7. Favourite Halloween movie?

    I'm always up for a good scary movie on Halloween but I do prefer the classics. The original Halloween is good for me!


8. Favourite candy to eat on Halloween?

    Toffee Apples! Okay, so it's not something you get when trick or treating but it's the bit that I love about Halloween.


9. What are you dressing up as for Halloween?
    Whilst I'm not dressing up this year I got a bit creative last year and went as a walking version of the cult classic A Clockwork Orange. When I was little I was always a witch, however I think I was Death for a few years... 

10. What is your Favourite thing about Fall?
       Fallen leaves and bonfires. Can anyone say smores? 


 What are your Fall Favourites? I tag everyone.

Bye Addicts.

Seven Shades of Autumn

Welcome to Autumn ;)

Hello Beauty Addicts, time to hunker down with some hot chocolate because Autumn has officially arrived :)

I'm starting to feel a bit festive and although the cold weather may be a killer there are some beautiful and inspiring colours around at this time of year. So here are my autumn makeup must haves... by shade... and some autumnal images to get guide you into the festive season :)

Pumpkin - Orange. 

We've all seen the advert and yes, we've also all skipped it on YouTube after the first go, but if you have any bag to brighten up you look this autumn make it a stunner by The Cambridge Satchel Company. Grab it here: Batchel Please!




Mulled Wine - Deep Red.

Autumn just wouldn't be autumn without a deep red lip. It's time to get vampy for the Halloween season and I don't think there's a better way of doing that than with the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Rich Raisin Frost.




Icicles - Transparent Shine.

So this may not be a shade, but a good clear can protect and hydrate you're lips whilst still allowing you to rock the dark smoky eyes for a frosty evening. The No.7 High Shine Lip Gloss in shade Ice is perfect for a winter wet look without that sticky gloss getting into windswept hair. (Whilst discontinued from No.7 relaunch products, Ice is still available from Amazon retailers, for a much cheaper price.)




Holly Bush - Green.

Go green with the L'oreal Paris Star Secrets Quad Pro in Evangeline Lilly. These shimmering beauties will add subtle colour to any look.





Cinnamon - Brown.

Nothing makes me feel more festive than a trip to my local Christmas shop which always smells so strongly of cinnamon and oranges. Who doesn't love a good warm brown eyeshadow to subtly smoke up any day time eye. You can get Urban Decay Eyeshadow Pots in Busted in the Naked2 palette or separately from Debenhams or House of Fraser.





 Wind bitten - Pink. 

The cold winds are rising! (Geek moment, over it) Pink lips and rosy cheeks are the key to covering up the cold, frostbitten face and getting that post snowball fight, wind bitten flush that only ever appears in the movies. Duel use products are always a big yes for the budget and the make up bag and this autumn I'm loving the Soap & Glory Cheekmate. It's a rosy cheek and lip tint that just keeps on giving, super staying power.

Snowman - White.

Last but not least a shimmery white eye can keep a winter look clean and icy plus it makes a good red lip pop. Bobbi Brown Metallic Long Wear Cream Shadow in Opal is the perfect mix of pigment and sparkle. This product is the most buildable and versatile cream shadow I've used and sits tight so a perfect winter eye.





And there we have it. Autumn has made it's entry and it's already time to go and grab the big scarfs and ditch those new sunnies.


Cheerio!