#blogmas. Day Sixteen.

It's a Sunday so it's all about Sunday Lunch and cleaning the house. I'm wearing my most beloved tshirt today. It's a support tshirt for Druids MC - a motorcycle club, the Sheffield leg. I know a lot of people think that MC clubs are like gangs and are all violence and stuff, but they are really nice guys and they have held some of the best family days ever. And Isaac loves the bikes!

Isaac's new drawers that we bought from the Christmas Market last weekend. They're from a shabby chic warehouse not too far away. He had plastic drawers but he's getting a big boy now so he could pull them over. He can't move these so he is sorted. Note the atlas next to his bed, he loves it! He's obsessed with maps and atlases but I still haven't figured out why yet.

We also finally got round to putting up the Christmas tree this afternoon. It's been a tough one this year with Isaac being as cheeky as he is but it's finally up! 

The Perfect Lipstick for £2!

Yes, you read that right - £2! I used to wear this lipstick as a teenager when I didn't spend much money on make up. When I found it I remember thinking it was really pretty but I don't think I ever really appreciated it as well as I should have. It's the most gorgeous nudey pink, somewhere in between MAC Myth and Hue. Myth for me is a little too beige, Hue is my all time favourite.

















The lipstick is from the Natural Collection - you know that really cheap brand from Boots where everything is under £2. Don't be put off, go and try this lipstick. It's called Apple Blossom and is a Moisture Shine lipstick. As you can hopefully see, it's really pretty and I think it would work with most skin tones - obviously I'm pretty pale.
















Here you can see the lipstick in between Myth and Hue. It's very much in the same group. I have found it to be a pinky version of Myth but it has the finish of Hue - a Satin lipstick.

It's swatched here on the bottom, then above it Myth on the left, Hue on the right. Two £13 lipsticks next to one that's only £2, is half a shade that much of a difference? I didn't think so either. The wear isn't quite as good but it still lasts for a really long time and it's pretty moisturising too. I have stocked up on a few of these lipsticks now and can see it quickly becoming a new favourite.

#blogmas. Day Fifteen.

Started today off in the oh-so healthiest of ways. This is my all time favourite yogurt and I couldn't help myself after my food shop yesterday. Isaac and the dog got a share too - you never get anything for yourself as a parent!

It's been another freezing day today but Betty managed to find a little bit of sunshine to have a little sleep in. Isn't she just the cutest?

We went out this afternoon to Argos to pick up this new chest. As you can see its about 4 times the size of a standard toy box so it will become storage for all of Isaac's toys. As it's nearing Christmas, he's going to be getting a lot more very soon. It's really padded so he won't hurt himself on it and it will double up as a seat so all in all, it was a pretty good buy!

Painted my nails in this gold polish again. It's the NYC Full Metal Jacket. It's so pretty but you have to keep the maintenance up pretty good as it can look cheap really easily. I love it though, it's going to be my Christmas polish I think.

The Winterlicious/Christmas Tag!

I'm not a huge one for Tag posts, I think they work better as videos than blog posts but hey, ho. I really wanted to get a little bit Christmas-y on here so I thought the Winterlicious Tag and the Christmas Tag would be the perfect way to do it! But then I read the questions are realised that they're pretty much the same thing. So here you have it, my Winter-y Christmas Tag! 

Favorite Winter Nail Polish? 
If you know me at all, you know my nail polish changes daily. I use a lot of darker colours in the winter but I love a gorgeous red for Christmas day - for me it's a must. I bought the Essie - Lacquered Up rrecently and it's perfect for me. I love wearing it with a gold glitter over the top of an accent nail. 
Favorite Winter lip product?
As much as I love a deep purple lip for fall and winter, that would be pretty crap without super-soft lips. For the last few days, when the weather has really took a turn for the worse, I haven't really been wearing any colour on my lips, only my Balmi lip balm. I did a review on it here. It makes your lips super soft and does add a little sheen to the lips. I'm still wearing it everyday and I have collected a few of the others since I wrote that post. And honestly, I still find them adorable. All little and ball-y!
Most worn Winter clothing piece?
I think my most worn Christmas piece would have to be my PU Leggings. I  know they aren't super Winter-y but I have been wearing them a lot at the moment. Teaming them with oversized jumpers is a favourite look of mine. I have loads of OOTD posts to look through if you want some PU-spiration.
Most worn Winter accessory? 
Again, I keep the same accessories but are they really winter-y? I've been wearing my cream scarf and my studded gold bracelet a lot at the minute so I guess that's my most worn. I do like gold in the Winter, it's so much warmer.
Favorite winter scent/candle?
I am a huge lover of mint scents so my Christmas scent tends to be a Candy Cane scent like the Philosophy scent. As for candles, if anyone knows where I can get a Candy Cane scent please let me know!
Favorite Winter beverage?
My favourite Christmas drink is a non-alcoholic one. I only really drink white wine and that isn't Christmas-y at all! I do however love one of the Starbucks Limited Edition drinks. It's actually not running this year which I almost cried about. It was the Dark Cherry Mocha and yum, yum it was! It was only a simple mocha but with a dark cherry flavour syrup. Luckily, I stocked up on a few bottles of it as it's only sugar syrup it lasts for like, years. My homemade version is no where near as good at the Starbucks version though. Damn you, Starbucks. 
All time favorite Christmas/Holiday movie?
Home Alone 1&2 hands down. After 2, they get a little crappy but Home Alone are my favourite movies at all time, never mind Christmas. I do like Elf too but Home Alone just doesn't get touched. 
Favorite Christmas/Holiday song?
I really don't do Christmas songs, they annoy the crap out of me. But I guess it would have to be Band Aid just because of the cause. The original one though, not the recent re-do.
Favorite Holiday food/treat?
It has to be mince pies for me! I love them. Only last year did I realise I actually liked them but I've definitely made up for it. The iced top ones are my favourite but I'm really not fussy. Me, my sister and my Dad used to make Christmas biscuits when we were little, they were so good. I think I'm going to make some very soon too. While we made biscuits my sister and Mum used to make mince pies. And for treats, I do like a good candy cane!
What is your favorite Christmas Decoration this year?
My favourite decoration has to be a cute little Reindeer jumping out a present with my little one's name on it. It's only little but it's adorable. And seeing as though it's his second Christmas I couldn't put up all the First Christmas ones we had out last year.
What's at the top of your Christmas list?
I have no idea.I really don't know what I want for Christmas this year. I've concentrated a lot more on Isaac this year and having a really nice family Christmas. The one thing I do know I'm getting is a 'Mum' ring off Isaac, bought by me obviously. I really wanted one for quite a while, I  know they're a little tacky to some people but I do really like them. It's all wrapped, ready under the tree.
What are your plans for the holidays this year?
We're having a really cute family Christmas this year. It'll be me and Isaac, my Dad and Step-Mom, all her side of the family. We'll take Isaac to see my sisters on Christmas Eve and then seeing my Dad's side of the family on the Saturday before Christmas. Nothing too over the top. I think Isaac will understand it a lot more next year so we'll be seeing Santa and reindeer and leaving the cookies out for Santa then.

Happy Christmas Everyone! 
x

#blogmas. Day Thirteen and Fourteen.

I am so sorry that my posts haven't been going live but we had a powercut on Thursday evening for over 18 hours and then our phonelines (and therefore internet) went down too. But the engineers have been here all morning and we now have internet and power. The only problem about living in a tiny village!

Day Thirteen.

First thing this morning, we did an ASDA run to get stocked up for Christmas. My little man is getting big now so we've decided to stay potty training just after Christmas so I got a few packets of these pull ups. I think it's going to be a bit of a stressful time. I can't wait...

These Rolo biscuits are seriously yummy! My Step-Mom bought a packet round for me. They're soo nice. They're a giant rolo with biscuit pieces in them. Even my little man likes them!

This is my pooch, Betty. She's a Labrador - Rottweiler cross. I've had her since a puppy but she was rescued. She's my baby (number 2) but she's a handful. I always take her for a really long walk in the afternoons for about two hours. This weather is really shit for country dog walking. You can see here how snowy and frosty it was. She's got her eye on something here. 

Day Fourteen.

It's another freezing day today. This beanie was a Topman purchase from A/W 2010 but I love it, I love knit! It's a little bright but with a dark outfit it can really work. The dog's hating the cold but I am having no peeing in my house! The rain is terrible today too. It's so icey!

Going out to buy the final items for the shoe boxes that will be getting sent to Romania for the orphans. It's being run through the church that houses Foodbank. On the shopping list today are toy cars, socks and gloves and colouring books. We put loads of chocolate in there, toothbrushes and toothpaste, colouring pencils, a teddy each and some biscuits! I hope it makes them happy opening them on Christmas morning!

These are my little man's stocking fillers than I'm going to wrap tonight. I did all his bigger presents last night so it's just all his little bits to do now. Until I realised I had loads in next door's attic. I totally forgot about them, so he now has loads of presents. This is what I get for starting shopping in September!

Colgate 360 Actiflex Review!

When I decided to write this post, I couldn't decide if I was going a little crazy or not. A toothbrush review, really? These days toothbrushes claim to do everything exception your dog and as a person who has huge dental hygiene OCD, I feel it's important to know what you need from a good toothbrush and what's just added a few pounds to the price. I use an electronic toothbrush as my usual brush, changing the heads every two months or so, but I do feel it's important to still have a manual brush as well.

The Colgate 360 Actiflex stood out to me as it has a soft head. I always use soft bristles as my gums took a hammering a few years ago from using the whole toothbrushes. It also has a tongue and cheek cleaner (the rubbery bit on the back of the head) which is very important. Note that these pictures were all taken before being used and it won't stay looking this good. I do love a good toothbrush!

The actiflex part of this brush is that the head isn't set into the handle, it's on flexible plastic so it twists from side to side to get around your teeth better, a really good feature that does actually work.

It does claim to clean in between teeth too but I'd still recommend flossing as I didn't think it did that job too great. But I give this toothbrush huge praise, it did 90% of what it stated and my mouth did feel incredibly clean.

My Fashion Idols: Ellie Goulding.

I love seeing someone in the public eye that has the same fashion mantra as I do. Ellis Goulding, known worldwide for her amazing voice, is one of my fashion idols. Beanie hats and PU leggings, what can I say? She's a girl after my own heart.

In a recent issue of Glamour Magazine she said, "If I'm stuck for what to wear, I put on the tightest latex trousers I can find, the biggest heels and then a white or black t shirt." Ellie, I couldn't have said it better myself. You see so many pictures of Goulding looking fabulous in a casual way, hats and make up free still without flaw.

Her versatility goes beyond when it comes to outfits. She could master any look on the red carpet, her famous masculine dresses are a favourite of mine. Quoted on saying she wears a lot of black, she wears colour so well too. Recently pictured in a red floor length gown, she looked stunning.

Her eye for high end is very much there too. She is often spotted with a Burberry trench coat and yes, I am a little bit jealous.

#blogmas. Day Twelve.

Look at this super cute winter Hello Kitty! My Papa gave me it after he bought it at work. It's adorable. It was one of those in a foil packet where you don't know which you get. Thanks Papa, you're the best!

Two McDonalds in two days. I am such a fatty! I don't usually eat at McDonalds but hey, ho. I was hungry and there was no other option. I also found out the salads have more calories than the burgers! Though, I did have a diet coke, hehe!

I bought a lot of toiletries today to go in the 'extras' cupboard at Foodbank. I don't usually work on Wednesdays but I was covering for someone. I should have said no. Today is a tired day.

Settling down for the night with a red velvet cupcake and Son's of Anarchy. Goodnight, world.

Date Night OOTD.

Yankees was calling me and my other half today, so we decided to go out to dinner. I haven't been 'dressed up' in a while recently so I called it an official date. I teamed my trusty PU leggings and Jeffrey Campbell 'Lita' boots with a wine coloured blazer and cream accessories. It was actually a really cute outfit and dinner was so yummy! 

This is the blazer (Primark, £17) that I wore over a simple cream cami. I wore it with the cream scarf from my last Primark Haul. The necklace is also a new Primark purchase, only £2!

Without the scarf, it looks pretty dressy. This is a perfect smart-casual look for me.

I wore my PU leggings (surprise, surprise!) with this look. You can see in this picture I added a studded gold belt (Primark, £2) and the studded bracelet (Primark, £3) which I seem to be wearing everyday at the minute! It's so cute yet adds a real edge.

I wore my Jeffrey Campbell Lita boots tonight. I love them. They're so comfy and easy to walk in. And when you're only 5ft 5" and you other half is over 6 foot, it comes in handy to have big heels! I forgot to take a picture but I wore a cream handbag that I got in Topshop last year with it. 

#blogmas. Day Eleven.

This is how today started. Me and my Stepmom were up at 7am to do some Christmas shopping. We went through the drive-thru so that no one saw us. It was pretty yummy actually!

My new favourite polish! This was one I bought the other day, its the NYC Polish in Full Metal Jacket. It's a great colour that dried and applied with ease. Super cute for the Christmas period!

I had to grab my coffee on the run today - this week has been so busy! This is my first 'red cup' of the season from Starbucks. I usually get a flat white but I went for a latte today - what a rebel!

Me and the other half went out for dinner tonight and though I didn't take my camera I did snap this quick pic of my outfit (look out for the OOTD post tomorrow) before I went out. PU leggings, could you have guessed?

# blogmas. Day Ten.

I started off today with a little bit of nail art. I wanted to try out the Nail Art Pens I bought last week. My God, they are messy. I expected them to be so easy but the polish doesn't hold, it just splurts out everywhere - sigh. I do like the colour of the rhinestones though, so that's something!

I went on a mooch around Superdrug at lunchtime. I was  looking for a purple polish  that was dark but not black. As much as I love my Essie Luxedo, it just looks dark on the nails and I want to be able to see my purple pretties. I found  these two purple polishes by NYC Cosmetics and fell in love. I haven't tried them yet but I am already pleased with them. The gold was an added extras they were on 3 for 2!

I met my sister in the city after I'd been to Foodbank this afternoon. I had to take a quick snap of the lights outside John Lewis. I have never seen a Christmas tree like that before!

And now I'm getting in bed with my favourite man to watch Sons of Anarchy and eat this gorgeous red velvet cupcake from Fancie.

The Body Shop Facial Brush.

I have to admit, I'm not a huge Body Shop fan. I don't use cocoa butters and I prefer Lush for bath products. But they do have a good skin care range and one I can actually use with my hypersensitive skin. The Aloe Vera range is fabulous - the night cream and the lip treatment would be my to  picks. I also like the Body Shop for its accessories.

This is the Body Shop Facial Brush. It's on  item I always have. I would recommend changing them every few months but at only £4 a go, you can afford to. The Facial Brush is a super soft little thing that you use with face washes or cleansers and it gently exfoliates your skin. It also claims to stimulate circulation and in turn, improves skin tone and texture.

I use the Facial Brush once every two or three days. I like to use mine with a cleanser and  I have to admit, I couldn't live without it. I have very dry and flaky and I can see and feel a huge difference in my skin. As for improving the tone of your skin, I don't really kno

My Everyday Make Up.

I wanted to do a quick post for you guys about the make up I've been wearing everyday for about a week. I know that isn't long but it's a real neutral look for me and is done in minutes. 

A neutral look isn't something I usually go for. I've been using the MAC Wonder Woman lipstick in Marquis D' and the Collection (2000) eyeshadow trio in Naughty n Nude and I think they work fabulously together. I sometimes find with a neutral look you spend hours and it looks like you haven't done a think. This look gives you a finished  look, like you do actually have make up on! I spend about 5 minutes on my make up in the morning and its also really easy to touch up during  the day if I need to.

It's a simple look so you can get away with very few brushes. The powder brush is a Sigma SS 150 from the travel sets so I tend to keep this one in my hand bag. We then have an SS194, a MAC 224, a 1/8 angled liner brush and a MAC 190. 

I'm still using the Nivea Express Hydration Primer everyday and loving it. I've got  back to using the MAC Studio Fix Fluid as it just works the best for me. I'm so into my brows right now too, I'm still using the Fig. 1 on top of my usual dark brown pencil. The Naughty n Nude eyeshadow trio is great. I've used it everyday since I got it and I'm finding it lasts forever. I'm so into no eyeliner and lashings of mascara at the minute too, can you tell?

My everyday eye look.

# blogmas. Day Nine.

I need to apologise to you all as my SD card slot isn't working so there will be no pictures on today's # blogmas. Hopefully we will be back up and running  tomorrow. 

Today seemed to drag so much. I hate Sundays as there is never anything to do. I went over to my Grandmother's, who lives in a care home because she has Alzheimer's, to put her Christmas tree up. It looked pretty cute my the time I had finished.

It was also the day the Christmas lights got turned on on our village tree. There's a little carol service every year with the Salvation Army Brass Band and mince pies. Not bad for no more than 200 people.


I rediscovered Buenos today too, those Kinder chocolate bars. I love Kinder anyway but I forgot how creamy and gorgeous these were. My stepmum had bought them because they're only 123 calories for both bars! How amazing is that. I think they'd  going to be on my shopping  list a lot more from now on!

#blogmas. Day Eight.

I had such a lazy Saturday today!

I' m wearing my Where's Wally tee today. I wasn't doing anything special so it was the perfect time to wear it.

Obviously it got paired with a pair of PU leggings and I wore my hidden heel high tops with it. Accessorised with a gold studded belt and my spikes bracelet from my recent Primark haul. I wore my parka with it too. It was the perfect outfit for a day like today.

We went down to the  Christmas Market at the country estate we live on. It was freezing but actually really good. I have an Angus cheese burger and a massive piece of brownie for my lunch.

I also found this! It's a print from one of the designers I love. I have a few of their prints now, all together on a shelf. I love this one and I guess it is a life Christmas yy. This one is Malcolm and his bird.

Last night was pretty bad so I need some me time.  I'm thinking a nice bath,some chocolate and an early night. 

Collection Eyeshadow Trios.

I don't know about you, but I still call Collection, Collection 2000. It's been nearly a year since  It's rebrand, yet my newly purchased concealer is still Collection 2000. I am confused. I picked up two of their eyeshadow trios today as a) I wanted something little for travelling and b) I've never used one of their eyeshadow before.

Naughty n Nude.

Thunder Storm.

As you can see, the pay off isn't great on the swatches so I was a little big bummed out but gave them the benefit of the doubt as those swatches were without using the cream as a base. The cream base that doubles as a highlight is really nice, smooth with just enough colour pay off. The shadows are all really soft and creamy, the glitter doesn't chunk out of them either which is nice. There is a little bit fallout from the shadows but nothing major. I tried them on my eyes exactly how is says to  on the back of the packaging.

Naughty n Nude.

 Thunder Storm.

Wow, is all I can say. The pictures do not do these shadows justice. The colours are super bright, the base works amazing well. The shadows blended with ease and were a real pleasure  to work with. The stayed on my eyes all day and obligated a tiny bit. When it came to removing them I found they stuck really well and took a little bit of work. I get a super runny eye in the wind and found they didn't smudge even when I rubbed my eye. For £3.19 these trios are an absolute bargain. There were 8 different colours to choose from and I will definitely be going back to get some more!