What I got for Christmas

I really enjoy reading what other people have been given for Christmas, so I thought I would write my own 'What I got for Christmas' post. I did this last year and a lot of you seemed to like it. I personally love reading them as I always spot a few products that I add to my list of things to buy!

Beauty

I didn't ask for much makeup this year, so my parents only bought me a couple of things. First of all I received the Max Factor Creme Puff powder which I have heard lots of lovely things about. I have only used it a few times so far and it seems lovely. Also, I received the Clarins Graphic Expression face & blush palette. Both of these products I wore on Christmas day, so you can see me wearing them here.

I received some lovely skincare items this year. My Granny very kindly bought me the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish which is my favourite cleanser! I ran out of it earlier this year so was very pleased to receive it. On my Christmas list I asked for the Origins Ginzing moisturiser and Origins Night-A-Mins moisturiser. My mum managed to find a fantastic gift set with both these moistrisers in, plus a mini Ginzing eye cream and Drink-Up Intensive Overnight mask. It's not very often I see a gift set where I love every single product, however this one is perfect.

I love little Christmas gift sets and I was lucky enough to receive a nice Soap & Glory set which I am excited to use!

I received two perfumes this year. A few months ago I was in town with my mum smelling perfumes and I chose Hugo Boss Jour as one I really liked. I also received Avon Little Black Dress. I like using Avon perfumes as they aren't very expensive at all, so perfect for throwing in my handbag and using throughout the day to top up!

Finally for beauty products, I received the Body Shop Hemp hand cream from my Granny which is my favourite hand cream! I mentioned it in my Best beauty products of 2013 post. My boyfriends mum was extremely lovely and made me up a little stocking. Inside was lots of chocolate and also two Avon Frizz Control shampoos.

Other bits and bobs!

Every year from my parents I receive a calender and the one I love having lately is Fred and Ginger! I find it so cute and funny. They also bought me a desk calender for my desk at work. I received a couple of jumpers from them and one of them I wore as part of my Christmas day outfit!

I got a beautiful little charm for my Pandora bracelet. It's a little silver reindeer and 'Merry Christmas' is engraved on the bottom of the charm. My parents let me go into Build-A-Bear the other month to buy a toy for Christmas and I chose a panda!

Very, very kindly my parents bought me a voucher for a day spa near where we live. They offer wonderful treatments so I am very excited to go! My dad bought a voucher for my mum as well, so we will probably go there for the day together!

My boyfriend bought me some lovely things. In November we went to Birmingham for the weekend which was an early present for me. He also bought me some Christmas jumpers, teddy bears, a photo of us on a canvas and a ridiculous amount of chocolate! The whole box in the photo above is stuffed full with chocolate, plus I have three giant Thorntons reindeer, Santa and snowman that wont fit in.

I would love to know what you received for Christmas this year!

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Christmas day makeup

I mentioned in my Christmas day outfit post that I would write about the makeup I wore that day, so here it is!

For my face makeup, I wore Laura Mercier Silk Crème foundation, Collection Lasting Perfection concealer and my Bobbi Brown Corrector. To set all of that I used my new Max Factor Crème Puff powder which I received for Christmas! I am planning to review this once I have used it more. Finally I used another product I received for Christmas - my Clarins Graphic Expression face and blush palette which is currently on sale here!

I kept my makeup pretty natural. My eyes just had some L'Oreal Superliner for definition and my Max Factor Clump Defy mascara. I dusted some Mac Charcoal Brown through my eyebrows and set them with Maybelline Browdrama.

I kept my lips very bare, just popping some of my tinted lip balm on them.

I would love to know what makeup products you received or used on Christmas day!

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Christmas party makeup, hair & nails

I recently posted my Christmas party outfit and mentioned that I was going to post an accompanying makeup, hair and nails post. On a daily basis I tend to keep my makeup very natural, so I like making it a little more special when I go out for events.

Makeup



For foundation I went for my Bobbi Brown Longwear foundation because I knew this one would stay put all night. This is the only foundation that I apply with a traditional foundation brush, as I find it works a lot better than a buffing brush. I then used my Bobbi Brown Corrector underneath my eyes and my Collection Lasting Perfection concealer on any redness and blemishes.

I set this all with my Rimmel Stay Matte powder. I love this powder, especially when my makeup needs to last a while. I then dusted some of the Hourglass Ambient powder all over my skin. I don't like my face to be too matte, however my skin does get very oily so I find the best combination for me is to control the oil with a matte powder, then add some radiance powder to brighten my skin and stop it looking too matte.

To add some colour to my face, I buffed in some Dior Nude Tan Bronzer and applied a little bit of Nars Deep Throat blush on the apples of my cheeks.

Eye shadow is something I don't wear on an everyday basis, but when it comes to parties and meals, I always rely on my Mac eye shadows and an Urban Decay Naked palette. I wore Mac Bare Study paint pot and Mac Naked Lunch all over my lid. I then added some Woodwinked to the outer corner, crease and a little bit on my lower lash line.

To add a little definition to my upper lash line, I used my L'Oreal Superliner. Sometimes I prefer to use a black eye shadow as it's a little softer, however I decided to go for a liquid liner as it adds more definition and I felt it may last longer without smudging.

As there was a disco and it may get warm, I decided to wear a waterproof mascara to prevent any smudging. I only own one which is my Max Factor Clump Defy. I wear this very regularly anyway as it separates, lengthens and thickens my lashes.

I like my eyebrows to be defined, but I didn't want them too dark as my eyes and lips were darker than I usually go for. I used my Mac Charcoal Brown eye shadow through them and then set them with my new Maybelline Browdrama which I really like, as it defines my eyebrows without being too noticeable and full on.

I decided to wear a lip-gloss rather than a lipstick, so I went for Barry M Coral. I like this lip-gloss as it's very glossy and not sticky at all.

Hair

I don't really do a lot with my hair on a daily basis but I like making more of an effort for events. I washed and dried my hair in the morning and then before the meal in the evening, I used my Cloud Nine straighteners to straighten my hair, adding a little curl at the ends.

Nails

For my nails I wore my Deborah Lippmann 'Across the Universe' nail polish. I wore this over the top of Barry M 'Navy' as I don't find it opaque enough on it's own. I like wearing my Deborah Lippmann nail polish at Christmas as I think it looks really festive!

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Christmas day outfit 2013

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas day yesterday! I always spend Christmas day with my family and I thought I would show you what I wore. We all spent the afternoon at my Auntie and Uncle's house for Christmas lunch, so we don't tend to dress up massively.

My parents bought me such an adorable Christmas jumper this year from Topshop, so I decided to wear that. It's so soft and comfy, plus it's covered in cute little gingerbread men!

Underneath this I wore my Urban Outfitters pinafore style dress. I like wearing dresses under jumpers as it's an extra layer to keep me warm, plus it looks pretty. I am planning on writing a Winter Outfits post soon, so you will definitely see more photos of this dress as I wear it a lot!

I just wore black tights with this, plus some little black shoes from Newlook.

For jewellery I had on my everyday bracelets from Pandora, Monica Vinader and some cute ones from little shops. My parents kindly bought me a new Pandora charm for my bracelet which is so sweet! It's a little reindeer and it says Merry Christmas.

I have taken photos of my makeup, so I will post that up soon. I hope you're all having a fun Boxing Day!

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Christmas party outfit 2013

Christmas is my favourite time of year, so I thought I'd do another Christmas party outfit post like last year!

My work decided to go for a meal and disco this year for Christmas which was lovely and my boyfriend came along with me! The meal was delicious and the disco was so fun, it was a great evening.
 

I am planning on posting a separate, more in-depth post on my makeup, hair and nails for the Christmas party, so please let me know if that is something you would like to see!

Discos usually get quite warm, so I decided to go for a top and jacket rather than a jumper, therefore if I got too hot I could take my jacket off! My top is from Monki which I bought about a year ago now. It's really lightweight and floaty which I like.

My jacket is from Primark and I really like it. I think it looks like a casual blazer which was perfect for the meal. The colours went well with my top and it kept me nice and warm.

I decided to pair this all with my velvet skater skirt from Topshop. This is exactly the same skirt I wore to my Christmas party last year! I think velvet is quite festive and the skirt is very comfy to wear.

It was really cold outside so I decided to wear black tights. I was going to wear nude but they were so thin, whereas my black ones are warm and thick!

For shoes I went for my nude patent Kurt Geiger heels. I like wearing these for meals as they are low enough for me to walk in and I think they look smart and nice. I don't think black tights and nude shoes always look that good together but I was too cold for nude tights!

Finally for jewellery I wore my everyday bracelets and my little owl necklace. I don't wear necklaces very often but I think this one is really cute and dainty. I also took a little black clutch bag which I forgot to photograph!

 

I hope you are all having a wonderful day and are looking forward to Christmas tomorrow! I will post my Christmas day outfit soon. Let me know if you went to a Christmas party and what you wore, as I'd love to know.

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Best beauty products of 2013

I just wanted to apologise firstly for not blogging in a while. I haven't stopped, I just took a little break. I have lots of posts written and ready to publish which I am looking forward to sharing with you!

I love writing and reading monthly favourites post, so I thought a yearly favourites post would be a good one to write!

These products are ones which I have been using over and over again, either for years or months, so I'm excited to share them with you.

Makeup

 

My favourite and most worn foundation this year has definitely been my YSL Touche Eclat foundation. I love this for everyday wear because it leaves my skin looking so natural and glowy, whilst also providing decent coverage. It definitely doesn't provide full coverage but it is buildable and concealer blends seamlessly over the top.

I have been wearing my Bobbi Brown Corrector quite frequently and I really like it! I am starting to run out and I'm still undecided on whether or not to repurchase it. I find it by far one of the best under eye concealers I have used, however one product I have been using recently is the Collection Illuminating Touch Concealer, which I find to be a very good and much cheaper alternative. I am planning to review this soon as I really like using it.

My favourite bronzer this year has been my Dior Nude Tan Bronzer. I looked back on when I first reviewed this and it was December 2012! That really shows how much I love it, as it's quite unusual for me to use a product consistently for a year.
 

Skincare

 

I've spoken about my Origins Ginzing moisturiser a couple of times before and this seems to be the perfect moisturiser for my skin. I find it great for hydrating and moisturising, especially as the weather gets colder.

The Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum had been on my wishlist for a very long time, however I was always reluctant to buy it because it is a little pricey. I am so glad I finally bought it though! I use this some evenings either on it's own or followed with my moisturiser and in the morning my skin looks healthy, smooth and feels so soft. The little pipette has unattached itself from the lid, which means I can't travel with it because it will leak everywhere! I've tried to attach it again but I can't seem to.

I visited Buckingham palace with my family in the Summer and bought these adorable little Buckingham Palace lip balms. I honestly didn't think they would be that great, they are just so cute I couldn't resist, however they have turned out to be some of the best lip balms I have used! I have one at home, one at my boyfriends house and one in my handbag, which I use repeatedly everyday. There are 2 pink ones and 1 blue one, but I can assure you it doesn't make your lips blue!

My hands never used to suffer from dryness, however at the beginning of this year and partly throughout the year they started getting very dry, so my mum bought me the Body Shop Hemp Hand Cream. Some hand creams don't make a massive difference to the dryness of my skin, however this one really does. I personally love the smell of this and it feels as though it is properly hydrating and repairing my hands, rather than just making them softer for a little while. I don't have to use this everyday as my hands stay moisturised for ages.

Hair

 

This year my favourite hair care set has definitely been the Tresemme Platinum Strength range. I own the shampoo and deep conditioning treatment, which I've just run out of. My hair is very thick and can get quite dry on the mid-lengths/ends, so I find this range has really helped. I recently bought the L'Oreal Ever Riche range which I find lovely and I'm excited to use that more, however I always find myself coming back to the Tresemme range, especially when I am in need of hair hydration and repair!

Those are all of my favourites from 2013! I really hope you have enjoyed this post and I would love to know what your stand out products from this year have been, so please let me know in the comments!

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