When Santa got stuck down the chimney

Wishing you all a very, Merry Christmas!

Have a fabulous day x x x

Naughty naughty

Yesterday I was a little naughty and may have opened a Christmas present a few days early, the BFF came over for a few cheeky Christmas cocktails and we swapped gifts.

Instead of putting hers under the tree along with all of the other parcels, I couldn't resist and had to open it. You see, I don't get many surprises; apparently I'm impossible to buy for so I usually end up with lots of cheques, great for the bank but boring for me.

The only person that ever really takes a risk and buys me a gift I haven't had to physically pick out myself is Helen, she always gets it right and this year is no exception.

Take a look!

I literally squealed with delight as soon as I ripped open the wrapping and saw the Tom Ford embossed boxes. His new line of cosmetics is a make-up lovers dream and just about as luxurious as it gets.

I'm a very lucky girl!

I've been using the lip colour in Nude Vanille and blusher in Frantic Pink over the past few days and it's love already; they even make me want to chuck away the rest of my collection and start over again being faithful only to Mr.Ford!

Intense I know but I'm all heart and no head when it comes to love, I've no doubt a full review will be popping up in your sub box soon.

Have a great Christmas xxxx

Festive fingertips

Monday seemed like an appropriate day to start getting into the festive spirit; I decorated my tree, nicely displayed the Christmas cards, wrapped all of the presents and urghh painted my nails.

Not an essential step for everyone I'm sure, but for me if my talons don't go with the times no season or holiday feels quite so complete.

This year a shot of scarlet and a stripe of obnoxiously sparkly glitter is my Christmas nail of choice.

This look is extremely simple yet effective; I've had so many compliments on my festive fingertips over the last few days, yay!

All you'll need is a red, preferably one reminiscent of Santa's suit, a glitter polish and some french polish guides.

I used Ciate's Paint Pot in the shade Mistress, a true cherry red and applied two coats. Before moving on to the tips it's really important that your base colour is 100% dry otherwise the sticky guides will lift the colour off and smudge.

If you have a steady hand or are more talented at nail art than moi then forget this part but for those of you who aren't so precise then Nailene's Perfect Tips are a great way to get an even finish.

Stick one lightly on the nail in your preferred position then simply slap on the sparkles in the space above the strip.

You can use any glitter polish or loose glitter you like to get this look but I had to use OPI's Rainbow Connection from their recent Christmas collection. It's my favourite polish at the moment, I just can't get enough of it's multicoloured magnificence.

I'm loving my Christmassy creation so much that I can't imagine taking it off anytime soon and swapping it for anything else, it makes me feel very merry!

Do you have a festive nail polish or combination this year? What is it?
xxx

The perfect shoes

If I could design myself the perfect pair of heels then they pretty much would look like this.

• Shoeboot style - tick
• Studded - tick
• Black and gold combo - tick
• 4 1/2 inch heel - tick
• Exposed zip - tick
• Oh and made from leather (some brands have started cutting quality and not prices, Kurt Geiger/Carvela I'm talking to you) - tick.

I spotted them last week while Christmas shopping in Bicester Village Outlet and just had to have them.

An early Christmas gift to myself!

Not only are they beautiful but they are super comfy too; I wore them for the first time to the Clothes Show last week and if you've ever been you'll know how much walking is involved, surprisingly my feet survived.

This may partly be down to the fact they are quite big, I'm a 6 (39) in most shoe shops but these come up big. They had no smaller size and I purchased them anyway, better to be bigger than small I think!

If you've fallen in love at first sight with these studded shoes like I did then you'll be happy to hear they aren't Louboutin's or Choo's but Ted Baker.

They were reduced from £185 to £90 and the style is called Xylia if your interested.

Have you ever found your perfect pair? What would they look like?
xxx

Urban Decay NAKED 2 palette swatches/review!

It's been almost two years since Urban Decay first released their original Naked palette, an instant hit with make-up addicts all around the world and a coveted 'must have' for neutral lovers including myself.

So when I was first told the news about the launch of their sequel palette, NAKED 2, I was ecstatic; had I not signed a waiver (?!) I would have told anyone who'd have listened, you guys first of course!

But at last I can now break my vow of silence after one long month of holding it in and share my thoughts with you about UD's latest addition to their palette family.

Looks wise the sturdy 'greige' tin is a massive improvement on the original velvet casing; cardboard and fur may look plush but over time just aren't practical and tend to wear badly as you can see from my well loved palette above.

Surely if your going to use a palette daily and take it travelling etc then it needs to be strong and hard wearing, Naked 2 is much more robust in design and on the whole better thought out.

Talking of design, inside there is a full sized mirror spanning the whole length and width of the palette which can be fixed to stand alone, handy hey?

The gap just below the shadows houses the double ended brush which comes in the palette, usually I'd chuck away any free brushes but this one is actually pretty good.

One end features their Good Karma Shadow brush (right) which is a synthetic flat precision brush, great for a dense colour application and the other (left) is their Good Karma Crease brush, a fluffier, more rounded brush for creating definition in the socket.

Both do the job well and considering each has the RRP of £14 they are a fab and of course a functional addition to the palette.

Right, I'll stop nattering about all things practical or superficial and move on to the most important feature of NAKED 2, it's eyeshadows.

Top - NAKED 2 Bottom - NAKED

At first glance you'd be right in thinking there isn't a huge difference between the two and yes they are very similar which I presume will disappoint a fair few.

Personally, it doesn't bother me, I love these kind of shades and for me the more shades of neutral in my collection the better; at the end of the day how different can they really be?

Although having said that I do think one palette outshines the other for me but more on that later, let's talk swatches.

Foxy is a pale beige matte shade with a hint of yellow to it that's quickly become my new fave base colours. The yellow evens out any uneven skin tone on my eyelids and gets rid of all redness I may have.

Half Baked, a copper with golden shimmer disappointingly was in the last NAKED palette which in my opinion was a little lazy of UD but nonetheless it's still a gorgeous shade.

Bootycall is another new fave of mine and a gorgeous highlight shade, the frosty off white with peachy tones looks great on the inner eye or brow bone.

Chopper an orangey copper is pretty shimmery and for that reason one I don't use much, glitter fall out is not a good look.

Tease is a gorgeous matte brown with purple undertones to it, although not as pigmented as the others it is great for how I like to do my eyes. I go for more subtle definition in the crease and I really enjoy using and building this shade, less is more.

Snakebite is a really deep bronze packed with tiny golden shimmer which gives a gorgeous sheen.

Suspect, a lovely soft golden bronze is really pretty on the lid and I like to take it under the eyes for a subtle but pretty look.

Pistol, a really unique shade, is a murky grey brown with a slight sheen to it.

Verve is beautiful on and again unique, the silvery champagne with a tinge of pink looks amazing all over the lids.

YDK is frosty deep pink and copper mix that's very well pigmented.

Busted, a deep brown with purple undertones and golden shimmer.

Blackout is a simple black that's very, very intense in colour with a matte finish. I don't wear black so not for me but an essential for most I imagine.

Rather randomly Urban Decay also include a mini lipgloss in the set, in the shade Naked; it's quite cute I guess but a tiny primer potion would have been more fitting, don't you think?

Back to the palette and what I really think of NAKED 2.

Personally, I love it, even more so than the original if that's at all possible. The shades are just more 'me', more wearable and cooler in tone.

I find that they suit my lighter skin tone much more than the darker, warmer and pinkier toned shades that were included in the previous palette.

Don't get me wrong I still wouldn't be without the first version but I think NAKED 2 just slightly out shadows the original for me and I find myself reaching for the sequel over it every time.

Would I recommend you buy it?

Yes, it's a great collection of natural, everyday eyeshadows to have especially if you have a lighter skintone as I think the combinations in this version are more wearable.

Do you need both?

No, I wouldn't say you need both but if you have the original and didn't find the shades were as easy to wear as you'd hoped then it's worth checking out for sure and for those of you that are going to buy it regardless (neutral lovers/addicts) you won't be disappointed.

NAKED 2 is available on Urban Decay for USA readers right now but those in the UK will have to wait a little longer as it won't be out here till January.

It will cost £36 and be exclusively in Debenhams, Jan 2012 and everywhere else Feb 2012.

Ooh and check me out in UD's Naked Around the World FB campaign - HERE :)!

Will you be rushing out to get your new NAKED fix or are you happy with the original?
xxx

Urban Decay NAKED Palette 2 !!!!

I'm not good at keeping secrets but this I have to say has been my best kept secret for the past month.

You have no idea how much restraint it has taken not to tell you all about it; I've wanted to scream about it since I first was sworn to secrecy but today I am officially allowed to share with you possibly the most exciting beauty product launch since, well, ever!!!

Peekaboo!!

Yes, OMG, OMG!! There is a Naked Palette 2!!!!!

And it is beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, amazing; a nude lovers dream!

Encased in a champagne tin, a massive improvement to the velvet exterior of the original in my opinion.

Double ended brush included!

Swoon!

Don't worry swatches and a full review is to come but I just thought I'd give you all a cheeky, sneak peak to kick start your December morning, better than an advent choc, hey?

The Naked Palette 2 has launched today on Urban Decay.com

More info to follow! What do you think? First impressions?
xxx