I want #002

So it's nearly here. Four weeks til Christmas. And yesterday's tag post has got me thinking about my own Christmas list and lovely cosy clothes.

1 Topshop Stud Phone Case-have a new phone and this is the perfect stylish way to keep it safe in the chaos of the inside of my bag.
2 Philosophy Christmas Cookie bath and shower gel-I had this last year and almost wept when it ran out. Gorgeous sweet loveliness.
3 River Island dark purple scarf-looks toasty. 'Nuff said.
4 River Island Chelsea Boots-nice stylist flat winter boots. Would be very happy to unwrap these on Christmas morning.
5 Estee Lauder Michael Kors Gift Set-Estee Lauder gift set always seem to be really good value for money and that blusher looks divine.
6 Asos River Island Christmas Jumper-I love tacky Christmas jumpers. This is actually a men's (you can probably tell by the models massive hands!) but it won't stop me buying it and getting cosy.
7 The Body Shop Christmas Pud Washball-Had these last year. Just a bit of novelty but quite nice sponges. They also have a reindeer and snowman this year too!

Any of these things creeping onto your Christmas list? Have you made a list yet?

vxo

The Christmas Tag

Tag c/o Makeup Pixi3

What's your favourite thing about Christmas?
All of it!! It's my absolute favourite time of year. Love the late night shopping, the Christmas films, parties and nights out, shop window displays, twinkly lights, how happy everyone becomes, mad cosy Christmas jumpers, all of it! Mostly though I love spending time with my family. We all get together on Christmas Eve for a pyjama party, get cosy all twelve of us squashed into someone's lounge drinking and watching Elf. Same every year and it never disappoints.

What's your favourite makeup look for the festive season?
Glitter! As much as a can cram on my face usually. With a matte red lip.

Real tree or fake tree?
Fake every time. It infuriates me putting the damn thing up as it is but to add excessive needle drop to that, no thanks. I'd rather get it done and put my feet up with a hot chocolate.

Giving presents or receiving presents?
Giving! I love shopping for other people and that oh so rare moment when you know they will really appreciate what you've bought. (Always keep the receipts though, just in case.)

Do you open your presents Christmas morning or evening?
Always in the morning. Did it in the evening once and the entire family agreed it was too weird and to never do it again. Love how families have their own specific traditions with Christmas.

Handmade cards or bought?
Bought. Frankly I can't be bothered and I like buying charity ones anyway.

What's your favourite Christmas film?
I simply cannot narrow this down to one. Mr and I watch the same films in the few weekends leading up to Christmas every year. I would have to say top three would be Love Actually, Home Alone 2 (literally has me crying with laughter!) and Muppet's Christmas Carol.  We watched the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special the other day, not a film I know but still brilliant.

What's your favourite Christmas food?
Christmas pud is a huge favourite in our house. Personally I like anything that can be mulled particularly cider. And Baileys! Only time of the year I have it and will put it with anything I can think of.

Thanks to Georgina of Makeup Pixi3 (ace blog here have a look) for the brilliant tag. Feeling
super duper festive now thank you!. Off to eat this with a cup of tea :)

vxo

The Body Shop Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel

Nutriganics is a Body Shop range for first signs of ageing. Now, they deem this to be 30s and 40s. I'm in my early 20s and use a lot of this range. I find that products for mature skin suit me quite well because I have really quite dry skin that gets almost unmanageable in winter months.

This product itself is a white gel cleanser that you apply to dry skin. As you massage it in it becomes a transparent oil which removes every scrap of makeup on your face. You can even take off eye makeup with it which I think is brilliant. When you're finished massaging it in simply wipe away with a muslin cloth

This is a brilliant product for dry skin for two reasons: the oil is extremely hydrating and you also get the benefits of daily exfoliation from the muslin cloth.

This is about my fourth tube of this and I absolutely adore using it sill. It leaves my skin so soft and almost (almost!) glowing. Which as any dry skin sufferer will know is almost an impossibility.

Nutriganics Softening Cleaning Gel is available here for £9.00.

Have you tried any if the Nutriganics range?

vxo

Topshop Panther Nail polish

Hello and happy Monday to you all!

I am a big fan of the glitter top coat. My collection is growing exponentially.  The most recent addition being Panther by Topshop.

I saw this on the website when I was doing a cheeky mid week shop was powerless to resist. Not that it is particularly beautiful by any stretch but I am always in the market for more glitter on my nails :)

The polish itself is made up of same sized tiny pieces of black and silver hexagonal glitter in a clear polish.

I had a play around with the best colours to layer it over and thought it best over something grey/dark.

So from left to right we have 

1)Essie Sand Tropez, a putty colour 

2)Barry M Grey which is a very dark grey/blue 

3)Barry M Black, which is black.

I opted for Sand Tropez and I quite like the effect. Glitter polishes tend to be bright colours so this appeals to my inner goth :) and is perfect for this time of the year I think.

Panther from the Dark Side of Nude collection and is available on the Topshop website for £6.50.

Are you a fan of glitter polishes?

vxo

Weekend ramble and Nails Inc freebies

Afternoon :)

Hope your weekend has been lovely and restful. I hate this time on a Sunday just a few hours left of my own time til the stupid working week begins again. After years of living the student life, this 9-5 working stiff malarkey is really a shock to the system.

Thought I'd do a little post sharing what I've been up to this weekend.
Firstly my nice midweek Topshop order (mostly done to keep me sane  during a very difficult week!) arrived on Saturday. I just got a few bits to cheer myself up so nothing groundbreaking here.

SO we have
1) That Geek t-shirt. Semi hate myself for buying it but it really is as good as the reviews say. The fabric is very thick and feels good quality unlike so much of Topshop's offerings lately. Don't like the neckline however, but the fit is great: baggy but still nips in at the waist somehow. I've enjoyed wearing this with today with leggings, grey cardi and standard old Converse.
2) Panther nail polish-black and silver glitter top coat. What's not to love?
3) ShelterBox charity bracelet. I saw this when I was about to checkout and though why not for £2. I read a bit more about the charity after that and have to say it's a great cause. They provide shelter and essentials including water, tools and cooking equipment, to people who have been hit by disaster around the world. Recently they have been deployed to North America to help out after Hurricane Sandy. You can find out more information on their website here.

I've also been reading the newest issue of Glamour magazine with the Nails Inc freebie.

I normally don't get on with Nails Inc polishes but this one seems to have a slightly different formula. It was very thick and opaque and only needed two coats. The longevity seems to be pretty good too, I'm about two days in and only have slight tip wear. Normally by now it would have chipped so badly I'd have removed it in a huff. I got St James and it's between red and pink with a very glossy finish. For free I would totally recommend this  :)

Have you picked up any of the Nails Inc freebies this month?

I'm off to watch Home Alone 2 in a bid to make myself feel more Christmassey and bin off those Sunday blues!

vxo

OMG ANOTHER GLOSSY BOX POST!

It's that time again...

This months box is based around Stocking Fillers-specifically trying out products yourself that you might want to buy for loved ones when Christmas comes.
And the contents are pretty good this month (though the box looks a bit empty!)

We have

*Dr Jart BB cream-tried this out and it's a nice texture but about a zillion times too dark for me now. Maybe something to revisit in the summer.

*Burberry Body perfume- a good size sample of something I've been curious about for a while. In terms of scent I'm not usually a lover of rose bases but this is really quite gentle I actually think I like it.

*Alison Clare Remarkable mango body butter comes in a squirty tube rather than a pot which a always find odd. It's very thick and hydrating but the smell is really rather unusual, like mango mixed with something a bit floral. 

*Nails Inc Caviar top coat mini-have obviously heard lots about this over the years but never tried it so am curious. Will keep you posted on my thoughts!

*Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant is a cult product apparently loved by models. I am in favour if anything that will brighten my complexion so go into this with high expectations. Again, will keep you posted.

All in all I think it's a pretty good box. Had a love/unimpressed relationship with these boxes in the past (like so many other people) and after resubscribing two boxes ago so far, so impressed.

Hope your week has been enjoyable, but if it hasn't then no dramas because it's the freakin' weekend!!

Friday night so far has included blogging obv, listening to Elbow on Spotify and mourning the loss of my chap to COD. Anyone else a PlayStation widow this week? 

vxo

OPI The Top Ten

Another impromptu BuyaPowa purchase from last week, the OPI Top Ten collection!

*Slightly more massive pictures than usual I grant you, but I want to show off these amazing colours!

Absolutely thrilled to own this. As you will see in the coming 'Nail of the Day' posts on here, basically the only colours I ever wear on my nails are reds, pinks, nudes and darks. And obviously copious amounts of infuriating glitter top coat. Very very rarely will you see me in anything other than this, I'm not much of a fan of bright colours on my nails and frankly I loathe pastels.

When I saw this I thought of it as an opportunity to expand my nail varnish collection (not that it needs it) but when it arrived a few days later I could not believe my luck with the colours. They are all completely gorgeous and so wearable. There is literally a shade to suit every mood/outfit/time of the year, ANYTHING!

Here are some swatches...

How pretty?! :) A full spectrum of beautiful colours from white and pale nudes, through vibrant pinks and reds to dark nudes and vampy autumnal tones.

And with a flash...

They are great quality polishes as you expect from OPI. These swatches are all two coats though I do think some would benefit from three. I aim to wear all of these over the next few weeks and will of course be taking lot of pictures.

Ten miniature bottles of perfection for £17. This set is available from John Lewis for £28.50 and I highly recommend it appears on some Christmas lists!

Hope your week is starting well :)

vxo

Mini MAC haul

I splurged a little bit. I couldn't help it! And actually a little bit cross with myself for getting carried away and buying basically the same three shades in different products. But oh well, they are very pretty :)

So we have MAC Mineralize Blush in Love Thing, eye shadow in Star Violet and lipstick in Please Me.

Top left, Love Thing. Bottom left, Star Violet. Right, Please Me.

*Mineralize Blush in Love Thing: this is not the sort of shade I would usually go for. It is a very strongly pigmented red/pink shade with slight purpleish tone to it. You must apply this with a very light hand or you will end up resembling Great Aunt Sally. 

It does have some sparkle to it but thankfully it turns into a nice shimmer on the cheeks rather than glitter glitter. I'm really enjoying using this at the moment as I feel it brings a winter skin tone to life immediately.

*Star Violet eye shadow is one of the Veluxe Pearl range and is a really interesting colour. In some lights it looks definitely purple, and in some it's more of a bronze. When the light catches it though (see swatch picture above) it shows it's true spectrum. Absolute love this with black eye shadow liner.

*Matte lipstick in Please Me, to be honest I really don't like matte lipstick unless it's red. But I saw this on a blog I think and I couldn't stop thinking about it for a long time. So when I went for a little shop this weekend  I bought it without really testing it. Two things I noticed straight away: a) make sure your lips are freshly moisturised with your lip balm of choice or you will be heading to old lady territory and b) it smells of Milky Bar. This is something I've noticed with MAC lippies (Shy Girl I'm looking at you) and is not a bad thing.

As you can see it is a mid toned pink with a very subtle blue tinge and is very unforgiving in the lips. But I quite like it anyway because I don't own anything like it.

All in all, pretty pleased with my purchases but I need to start behaving myself! It's Christmas soon and I am gifting myself all of the things on my list. Other half is getting quite miffed ha.

Happy Sunday all!

vxo

The Body Shop Christmas collection

It's CHRISTMAS! It is officially here. It's November, the festive adverts are on the tv, the mince pies are on the shelves (and in the cupboard/tummy) the red cups are out and the Body Shop Christmas collection is here!

I went to a special instore event today to have a look at what is on offer this year and it does not disappoint.
There are the two standard limited edition Cranberry and Vanilla and the special super LE flavour which this year is a Ginger Sparkle. The range of products in each scent is actually pretty impressive: shower gel, body polish, body butter, body lotion, bath salts, hand wash, hand cream, hand lotion, soap, lip balm, not to mention the home fragrance oils and reed diffusers. The range is brilliant and I'm confident you will be able to find a product in a flavour that you like. There are also copious gift sets ranging from £5-£30. In addition there are some brilliant gift sets and little Christmassey accessories. And I nearly forgot the makeup which is a bit hit and miss but worth checking out. 

So here is what I bought

*Cranberry hand cream-I had one of these last year and used it up quite quickly, Really thick good quality hand cream for the bargain price of £4
*Christmas print nail file-I really like these Body Shop ones as disposable nail files and with a novelty print? I'm sold
*Ginger Sparkle shower gel, Vanilla Bliss body polish and Cranberry Joy body butter-looking forward to festive bath time now!

*Ginger and Vanilla home fragrance oils-drip them into some water in a ceramic oil burner and they will your room with gorgeous fragrances. I love burning scented candles but these are a really cheap and quite pretty alternative £4 each

I'm especially thrilled with my shopping trip because I got 20% off with my Love Your Body loyalty card (sidebar: quite a decent loyalty card as it goes. Costs £5 to join but you receive 10% off all purchases plus £5 and £10 gifts throughout the year and they often do big discount days for card holders.) and because I spent over twenty quid, I got a free gift...

...worth they reckon about £15.

So all in all lots of lovely goodies which cost me £27. Absolute bargain. 
The entire Christmas collection in available online here, but I do absolutely recommend that you have a look in store for yourself too.

Have you checked out any of The Body Shop Christmas collection yet?

vxo

Moroccan Oil

Hi all! Hope your Monday is going well.

I wanted to share my thoughts on Moroccan Oil with you.  I have been in two minds about whether or not to buy myself a bottle. Whenever I've experienced it in the past at the hairdressers etc I have loved it, the smell, how quickly it seemed to make my hair dry, the way it felt afterwards. And truly I have had to talk myself out of purchasing it on many occasions as I don't actually need it. (If I bought everything I wanted I would almost instantly become a homeless crazy lady hauling around her Glossy Boxes full of pretty stuff.)

So the mental wrestling over need/want has continued ever since. Unfortunately it popped up on BuyaPowa last week. I saw the email, said no. Had a look on the website, said no. The price dropped to £20, still said no. Smugly praised myself for being oh so strong. But the small part of me that desperately wanted this product couldn't leave it alone and checked the website one last time: there was one Moroccan Oil left. And before I knew what happened I had a 'Congratulations on your purchase' email from Buyapowa. Oops.

So onto the review. It does smell incredible, like medicine and herbs. One pump is about enough to cover the entirety of my quite long hair. The effects aren't immediately noticeable but once my hair is dried and brushed through the difference is obvious. My hair is left really soft, honestly it doesn't even feel like my bleached covered in split ends mane.

However, the same can be said for most hair oils. I have used and repurchased VO5 Miracle Oil and am also a big fan of the L'oreal Mythic Oil. So really it's not a giant surprise that I like Moroccan Oil. And it is better, but to quantify it by price? It's not three or four times better than the other products available on the market.

So to conclude, Moroccan Oil is amazing and lovely and if you get on with hair oils it may become your favourite product. But it is not, in my opinion, worth the £30 price tag.

What are your thoughts on Moroccan Oil?

vxo

Birthday Haul

Happy Sunday everyone :)

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I've been dying to share my incredible birthday haul with you!

To say I'm a lucky girl is really somewhat of an understatement! This collective haul is all off the same person too- the long suffering husband of a makeup obsessive. He clearly has no qualms indulging my hobby.


We'll start with the Clinique:
Two Chubby Sticks in the shades Super Strawberry (deep pink) and Whoppin' Watermelon (light natural candy pink)
And apparently it was Bonus Time too so I also received this lovely gift tin containing a host of miniature Clinique favourites.

Then Naked 2! I wasn't actually mad keen on this at first but after using pretty much daily for a few weeks I actually think I prefer it to the original Naked palette.

I also received a humongous bottle of my all time favourite perfume Dolce & Gabbana The One. I am truly horrible at describing perfumes but this is such a classic, strong and quite sexy fragrance (I possibly think this is due to the incredible advertising with Scarlett Johansson-seriously, the woman is perfection).

And then the Chanel...

*Blusher in the shade 'In Love' is a beautiful true pink with the slightest shimmer which does not deposit chunks of glitter but adds a beautiful glow to the cheeks.

*Illusion D'Ombre in Illusoire is a wearable deep purple.

*Rouge Coco Shine in Boy-naturally.

*Soleil Tan De Chanel has been on my lust list for as long as I can remember. When I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase I was horrified to find it had been discontinued. Luckily it has been reintroduced recently and my top bloke somehow memorised my ramblings over it and bought me one.

*Chanel make up bag. I am overcome with happiness whenever I need to retouch my face during the day.

All of this equals a very happy makeup obsessive :)

I love reading haul posts so please link me to any of yours!

Hope you all manage to ignore those Sunday night blues and have a great start to the week,

vxo