Christmas Part One - Outfit and Look

Can you believe Christmas was nearly a week ago, time goes so fast at this time of the year and most mornings I have no idea what day of the week it is.

I meant to post this a few days ago but all the festive fun has kept me busy and oh so tired, leaving little time to blog.

I thought I'd share with you the look I went for this Christmas in this part and in part two, most importantly what Santa brought me.

Yes, I know I opted for a pretty standard and shall I say boring face look but hey I was spending the day with my over 80 year old grandparents and my three year old who won't even come near me when I attempt a smokey eye or wear red lipstick.

What I used:
- Nars Sheer matte foundation in Sante Fe
- YSL matte and radiant pressed powder
- Bobbi Brown creamy concealer
- Benefit Erase Paste
- Barry M Natural Dazzle bronzer
- Smashbox Flush blush


On my eyes:
- Gosh eyebrow pencil
- Mac clear brow gel
- NYX Champagne and Caviar palette, peachy nude wash and darker brown crease
- Mac's Pearl cremecolour base as highlight
- YSL eyeliner Moire in 6 winged liner
- YSL Singulier mascara

On the lips:
- vaseline as base
- YSL Lingerie Pink
- Laura Mercier After Hours lip glace

I thought I'd play my face safe and let my outfit do the talking, after trying on four potential ensembles I opted for nautical chic with a hint of festive cheer in the end.


What I wore:
- Zara black beret with flower detail
- New Look stripey dress with bow brooch detail
- Zara red cardigan with customised gold buttons I added myself
- New Look black stirrup leggings
- Aldo knee high suede heeled boots (showed in last video)

I rarely wear dresses, usually opting for skinny jeans or 'jeggings' most days with a cute top but as it was Christmas I thought I'd glam it up a bit. I loved this look but I don't think I could wear it on normal days, Christmas was an exception.

Here's my little Lily on the day.

Since Lily turned three and became a 'big girl' in her words she decided to be in control of what she wears every day. Mummy has no say, I was sceptical at first but Lily has great taste and most days she styles herself really well. My little fashionista.

She chose to be ' just like mummy' and also opted for a monochrome dress and leggings.

What did you wear this Christmas?Did you glam it up?

xxx

I'm slowly changing my mind on lipgloss!

I have never really been a fan of lipgloss until now, it's probably the only make-up product that doesn't interest me much. I've had some bad experiences over the years and gave up wearing it long ago because for me there is nothing worse than having a sticky gloop all over my lips. We all know what happens when the wind blows, a gust and my hair is plastered to my face.

But oh how things have changed over the last six or so months I have slightly changed my mind regarding lipgloss, I still don't regard it as a staple in my make-up bag or reapply it constantly throughout the day but I do like to wear it when I remember.

There are some great glosses out there made with great formulations, non sticky, non patchy, long lasting and pigmented enough to wear alone that helped to change my mind. This Laura Mercier lip glace is one of them and my absolute fave.


You may have heard me mention this amazing lipgloss in a few of my recent YT videos, it really is the nicest and most wearable lipgloss I've ever worn.

And guess what it's Limited Edition, why does this always happen? All my favourite products are LE, maybe it's a little case of loving something you can't have.

Anyway, After Hours is the most gorgeous milky pink with a subtle gold shimmer and goes with most lipsticks as well as looking fabulous on it's own.

I've been opting for this on it's own most days as it provides enough colour payoff and makes my lips look plumper and gorgeously glossy.

Here it is alone worn alone!

After Hours is from the recent LM Club Couture collection and won't be around much longer, I have one back-up but I have a feeling I may get another if I can get my hands on one.

Another of my favourite lipglosses are by Clarins, I have been through two tubes of each colour in the last six months! The Eclat Minute (Instant Lip Perfecting) glosses come in three gorgeous shades, a peach, baby pink and nude.

The formulation of these is perfect its a non-lipgloss, lipgloss, it feels like a balm, wonderfully moisturising but with great pigmentation. I love all the shades especially the peach and it tastes delicious, like caramel.

If like me you thought you'd never wear lipgloss again afraid of having a sticky mess on your mouth, I really recommend trying these the best lipglosses I've tried by far.

As I'm just starting to get into lipglosses are there any you think I'd like?Some of your favourites?

xxx

Two gorgeous things for Christmas parties!

Like most women I love shoes, especially ones with 5 inch heels and I just wanted to do a quick post to show you the newest addition to my collection.

These heels are fabulous and as soon as I saw them I had to have them, it doesn't matter that my normal size were too wide for my feet and the size smaller really pinched my feet. I HAD to have them, to hell with practicality.

Close up!

The bows are gorgeous and really remind me of Christmas (gift wrapping on the brain), I can't wait to wear these out this party season! This weekend I'm going up to Leeds for cocktails and dinner parties, I'm so excited to show them off.

I just love the combination of patent leather and velvet. If you were wondering where they are from you can get them from River Island and they were £59.99. They also come in an amazing electric blue which I may just have to buy too!

While shopping yesterday I also spied these amazing hair bobbles in Accessorize, if you've watched my latest YT video you'll know of my love for anything black and gold or studded.

They come in a pack of three, each with a different shade of bauble. I love these and since I've had my hair cut have really been enjoying wearing it up.

These make a nice change from ordinary bobbles and make the pony tail just that little bit prettier and dressed up. Great for looking nice at work or going out.

The pack of three cost £5 which I know sounds a lot for three hair bobbles but they are so worth it, they look gorgeous and are really great quality. The bands are really stretchy and I doubt will snap easily.

I may have a go at trying to make my own over the next week, red ones would be nice and festive!

With the shops full of gorgeous things this Christmas have you found any amazing pieces you can't wait to wear this party season?
xxx

Feeling Festive and a hair change!

Christmas is just over a week away and I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm fully prepared. The tree has been purchased, is up and fully decorated. This year I didn't have a particular theme or colour scheme, I just went with the flow and I have to say I like it.

Last year I was feeling reds, pinks and purples, the year before that it was powder blue and silver, I'm usually into colour co-ordination but not this Christmas.

I love buying Christmas decorations, there are some amazingly pretty and different ones in the shops at the moment. I love all the crystal and jewel like ones, they makes a nice change from the traditional shiny baubles to adorn your tree.

Here are a few of my favourite:
I love this pale yellow/gold crystal, I bought them this year in all different shapes and sizes. The nice thing about decorations like these is you don't just have to use them over the festive period, they look great all year round in your house.

I have some hanging from my wardrobe handles and on lights. Surprisingly I found these in B&Q for 49p while looking for a Christmas tree.

This gold teardrop bauble is so cute, it has a pretty reindeer on it in velvet. I have four of these two with Christmas love birds and two reindeer's. These were also a mere 49p from B&Q, what a bargain.

This decoration is probably my favourite, I love the fuchsia colour, the tassels, gold beads and pretty crystal. It looks so chic, glamorous and non christmassy!

I think this was a few pounds from another home ware store but I bought it a few years ago so can't quite remember.
This was also from the same shop, I just love them both!

I really have got Christmas all wrapped up this year (haha), unusually for me all my presents are bought and ready to go.

I'm usually a leave it to the last minute kind of girl and don't get round to wrapping my presents till Christmas Eve but last night I sat for over 3 hours and finished the lot.

So proud, phew!

On a completely separate note I made a subtle change to my hair last week and I'm loving it. I'm so much happier with this style than the previous one, I can't wait to go for Christmas cocktails now.

I know it sounds silly but when you don't feel right about your hair you don't feel like partying or being confident, well I didn't anyway. So last week I booked a hair appointment at a new salon I'd never been to.

I usually go to a L'Oreal salon but I wanted to try something new and went to a TIGI one instead.

I told them how unhappy I was with my recent cut and that it felt too severe and heavy so this is what the stylist came up with and I love it.

The colour is a little darker with more of a caramel undertone which I think is perfect for Christmas and the cut is so much better. She created a heavier side fringe and added layers all the way round to add shape.

It feels so much thicker and bouncier, I love it. The cut isn't the best bit either the price is, usually I pay over £100 for a colour,cut and finish but this cost just £53 pounds, half the price, wow!

So what did I do with the extra £50 in my pocket, went shopping of course!!

How are your Christmas preparations going? Are you last minute or an early bird?
xx

FOTD using my NYX runway palette!

First blog of December, happy holidays everyone! As usual I am nowhere near prepared for Christmas. I just about bought Lily an advent calender on time, that's how unprepared I am and I would of totally forgotten if they hadn't been on offer near the till.

I haven't done a FOTD post for a while but feeling inspired by some new products I've purchased recently I thought I'd throw one together with a product rave. Please excuse the awful roots in the pics, I am having them done next week.

I had no plans today apart from cleaning up the house and nipping to the post office so I kept it simple.

What I used on the face:

• Nars Sheer Matte foundation

• Givenchy Sari Glow blusher

• Bobbi Brown bronzer

On my eyes I used one of my new NYX Runway palettes which I just love, they are really compact, great quality and have some beautiful colours.

I've wanted some of these for a while but kept forgetting to order then when Laura (Lollipop26) mentioned hers recently I placed an order. They are such great quality for the money, I purchased these for $12 for any two from an EBay seller here.

They came within 10 days and I love them, well worth around£12 including shipping.

On the left is 04 Catwalk and on the right is 03 Champagne and Caviar.

Yes, both of them do include very neutral shades but hey I'm a neutral kind of gal and it's what I wear 9 times out of 10.

I've always loved NYX eyeshadows, I have some trios and think they are fantastic quality for the money, these palettes are just as good. The formulation is lovely, so soft to touch and most are have great colour payoff.

Champagne and Caviar swatch

A really gorgeous set of neutral colours with a few darker shades to create a great smokey eye which I hope to create this weekend.

Today I kept it simple using the pale pink in between the darkest shades all over the lid then the reddy brown from the top row ( far right) in the crease.

Sorry, it is brighter in real life but my camera didn't pick it up very well.

Along my upper eyelid I used my favourite YSL eyeliner Moire in number 6 with Revlon's new Double Twist mascara. Underneath I simply took the crease colour and smudged it along the bottom of my eye to connect both halves.

Catwalk swatch

There are so many different possibilities to creating an amazing combo with these little palettes and I can't wait to find some more.

Does anyone else have a Runway palette, which others are good?I want more...
xx