What I got for Christmas

Well that’s it, it’s over for another and this Christmas I was so lucky and got spoiled rotten! I thought I’d share with you a few snaps of what I was treated to.

First up we have my beauty products.

I now have enough Soap & Glory to last me a life time. I’n not sure about you, but I was a bit disappointed that the majority of gift bags this year from Soap & Glory didn’t have full sizes of the Clean On Me shower gel. I’m a massive fan of the traditional Soap & Glory scent, but most of the products this year are more fruity, not that I’m complaining!

I also got Mac lipstick in Cyber. I’d caught this shade on a photo of my boyfriend’s friend, and begged him for weeks and weeks to find out what shade it was. He refused to tell me and the little gem bought me it as a surprise Christmas gift.

And I can’t wait to try the Origin’s face masks I got from my Mum and Dad. I’ve read so many good things about them so can’t wait to give them a try, especially the Overnight Mask.

I’d been lusting after the Real Techniques brushes as my brush collection is very, very basic and I was treated to the starter packs from my boyfriends parents. And I finally got hold of the Naked 3 pallet!! I’d sent my mum out for it the day it was released and had begged her to let me have it as soon as she got it, but she made me wait! And finally I have it! I haven’t actually used it yet but I’ve had a quick swatch of the shades and they are truly gorgeous.

I also got a gorgeous pair of sheepskin slippers off my aunty from a brand I’d never heard of: Snowpaw. They are so comfortable and cute. I’m debating whether to put them away to save for my holiday to Florida in April along with the many pyjamas I received.

My boyfriend’s parents also bought me a scented candle set from Lily Flame which smell amazing.

And how gorgeous is my book! Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite books and I’d spotted this leather bound copy in Waterstone’s a few months ago and fell in love. My boyfriend surprised me with this and the King Charles Spaniel Calendar (He says that’s the closest I’m getting to having a real one).

So there’s my presents! I plan on blogging a lot more in the new year so have a perfect head start on products I can review!

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and I wish you all the best for 2014!

xoxo

Tis the Season…

I’m not sure about you but one of my most favourite things about Christmas is wrapping presents. When I was younger, it was tradition that on Christmas Eve I’d get a bath, get in my new PJ’s and sit wrapping presents with my Mum whilst watching a Christmas Film. Now that I’m older, as much as I love wrapping presents, I prefer to go get drunk with my mates on Christmas Eve. This just makes it better though, because it means I can pick my own wrapping paper for my own presents. And I love picking wrapping paper. Last year it was all about M&S for me but this year, even though in the end M&S has won the battle of the gift wraps, I have been tempted by, and ended up picking bits up in, both Next and Paperchase. Before I show you my gift wrapping, here are a few of my favourites: 

3m Kraft Hand Drawn Roll Wrapping Paper, £3.50 Paperchase

3m Scand Knit Stag Roll, £3.50, Paperchase

Gold Robin & Holly, 4m, £3.50 Marks & Spencer

Marcel Wanders Red and White, 4m, £4.50 Marks & Spencers

City Christmas, 4m, £3.50 Marks & Spencers

Pink Wrap, 2 x 3m with tags, £4.50 Next

Winter Scene, 6m, £3.50 Next

I love the look of brown paper with red accessories, so that’s what I’ve gone for this year, with a more colourful option for the bambinos of the family. All my paper and ribbon was from M&S, my gift tags from Next, and my gift bags from Paperchase. I’ve spent a small fortune on it all really, especially considering it’ll all be ripped off in a few seconds. But it’s once a year and I absolutely love it! 

 

Here’s my gifts from this year: 

I hope you all have as great a time wrapping your presents as I do wrapping mine! Merry Christmas everyone! 

A Body Shop Christmas

The Body Shop isn’t a shop I regularly venture to. I’m much more likely to run to Boots when I’m in need of a moisturizer or shower gel but, every now and again, I do like to treat myself to a few Body Shop items and, with all the gift buying for other people, surely Christmas is the perfect time to treat yourself to a couple of things. I won’t lie, this year I have treated myself to A LOT of things when I’ve been out shopping for gifts for my family and I just so happened to pick up a few things from the Body Shop.

After seeing so many posts about their Christmas products on blogs and browsing through the items on the website, I went into the shop to have a nice sniff of the Ginger Sparkle range. I don’t know why, I hate the smell of gingerbread,and I hated the smell of that range. But I did end up buying this cute Gingerbread Man sponge. I haven’t used it yet as I want to save it for Christmas Eve, but I imagine its going to do exactly what it needs to and lather up my body wash well.

I also ended up buying the Cranberry Joy Body Butter, which I have been loving using in the countdown to Christmas (which seemed to have started far too early this year). The scent is beautiful. Its Christmassy without using any spiced/cinammon-esque scents (which I unfortunately hate), it’s fruity and it’s fresh.

As a body butter, it’s just what you’d expect from a Body Shop Body Butter, its moisturizing and leaves my skin feeling lovely all day. The cream itself is quite thick so it’s not at all greasy.

The Body Shop have some gorgeous gift sets this time of year and would be great stocking fillers, so go take a look if you’re struggling for ideas. I know I’m always happy to receive one! It’s such a shame that I really don’t like the scent of the Ginger Sparkle range as the majority of the sets are stunning and so perfect for Christmas!

Christmas Gift Ideas: For Her

Today, I got a bottle of Coca Cola and there was Father Christmas smiling at me from the label. The holidays are well and truly coming and I’m so excited to get my Christmas shopping done.

Last year all my present had been bought and wrapped by the end of November, so all I had to do during December was get carried away in the excitement of the festive season. This year, I’m half done and hoping to get the rest of my presents bought next weekend. Having worked in retail for the last 7 years, this being my first year that I’m not actually working in a shop over Christmas, shopping in the middle of December trying to get last minute bits would be my idea of hell. Too many angry and stressful people running round the place, and who would want to stand in a queue for a million years! But I digress….

I was browsing Next last weekend for a pair of slippers and ended up walking out the proud owner of an item I had promised myself I would never have…. A onesie. A beautiful, snuggly, cute onesie. As soon as I saw it I fell in love and I knew it had to be mine and I am so so glad that I bought it. I posted a photo up of it on Instagram and already 4 different people have now bought it as a gift to give to someone this Christmas, so it’s safe to say that this would definitely be a popular choice!

Its a bit pricey at £38, but it’s definitely worth it. Its really good quality and the material feels amazing. The faux fur hood, complete with bear ears, was what sold it to me and I’ve taken to calling it my bear costume. It also comes with a fur bear tail on the back!

It would be the perfect Christmas gift for any girl!