Thursday 29 November 2012

SECRET SANTA IDEAS - FOR HIM

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So today has consisted of attempting some Christmas shopping and ending with buying zero pressies  but coming over all Delia Smith in Sainsbury's - cue some Maple Pork ribs simmering in the slow cooker (a new one on me so wish me luck) and some triple chocolate muffins! Check me out Miss Domesticated, its amazing what a few days off work can do to a woman, let's just hope the other half does not get used to it :-)

Anyhow onto todays post. Yesterday's post focused on girlie gifts, all under a tenner so todays post is going to focus on Secret Santa ideas or stocking fillers for the guys in your life. Again these are all under a tenner! 


Wednesday 28 November 2012

SECRET SANTA GIFT IDEAS - FOR HER

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 

When it comes to buying gifts for friends it can become quite a pricey affair which is why in the past my friends and I have adopted the 'Secret Santa' approach. This year however I shall be embarking on this with work colleagues cue a much harder task! With that said I have put together a bundle of treats, all under £10 which I think any girl would be pleased to receive. This post has focused on the ladies however I will try and put together one for the guys in your life! I personally think these would also make fab stocking fillers for friends and family! 

Are you doing Secret Santa this year?

Tuesday 27 November 2012

NAILS INC - BAKER STREET BLUE


So yesterday I finally got my hands on the infamous Baker Street by Nails Inc. This shade first sent the beauty world into a frenzy when none other than Beyonce was seen sporting this on her talons after the birth of her daughter. I have searched high and low and am yet to find a colour that comes close so I had to bite the bullet and buy the original. It is certainly a step away from my usual muted tones but 'I like'. After one coat I was a bit 'meh' but 2 coats and wham its a completely opaque blue. Finished off with lashings of Seche Vite top coat and I was good to go!

 Have you tried this colour?

Sunday 25 November 2012

LEATHER NAILS? YAY OR NAY?


Images via nailsinc.com

Theres not many nail effects that inspire me these days. The magnetic trend has been done to death and in my personal opinion Caviar nails were a fail speaking from a practical point of view. So when the bloggosphere went into a crazy over Nails Inc's latest offering it drew me in. Inspired by the SS13 texture trend Nails Inc have come up with a gooden' in the form of leather effect nails complete with a set of bling skulls. I am not sure how practical the embellishments would be however the texture is what intrigues me and I cannot wait for these to be released to feed my ever-growing polish addiction. Rumour has it that these will be available for £19 so not the cheapest of nail polishes but the perfect little treat to ones self!

What are your thoughts on this trend? Hit or miss?

SOME AMAZING BLOGGERS

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In case you were not aware I have been offering ad-swaps on my blog. This month I have an array of ah-mazing blogs which I urge you all to check out. Just click on the images above to go directly to the blog! If you are interested in ad-swapping then you can read all about it by clicking here

Thanks to all the bloggers in this post for supporting and introducing me to their blogs!

Sunday 18 November 2012

TOP 5 SEQUIN DRESSES

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Theres something about Christmas and New Year that deems sequins acceptable. All year around I avoid them like the plague bar a sequinned clutch bag but then come the festive season I go all Pat Butcher-esque and dare to don a sequin dress. Sequins have come a long way since the 80's and there are some pretty stunning party dresses out there. So I have put together a few of my favourites on the High Street at the moment! Enjoy!



Wednesday 14 November 2012

PERRICONE MD - NO CONCEALER, CONCEALER


When it comes to concealers it's safe to say that I have tried a fair few so when this latest little bottle of Perricone MD No Concealer Concealer* landed on my door step I was intrigued to say the least. Firstly don't be fooled by the rather lengthy name. Expecting some miraculous serum promising to banish dark circles I was presented with what appears to be a standard concealer in a rather fancy pump action container. Unlike generic concealers though this little albeit pricey (yes it will set you back £37) formula is packed full of age fighting ingredients including 'neuropeptides' (an ingredient promising hydration, elasticity and firm -yes please) and Vitamin C plus a hefty dose of SPF (35 to be precise). Now I am no boffin when it comes to skin care ingredients but anything promising to assist with the signs of ageing is perfect for the skin conscious approaching 30 year old such as myself! So recently I have neglected my usual combo of the body shop concealer and the infamous Touche Éclat in favour of this. And so far so good. Rather than use the pump action which tends to disperse a tad too much product for my liking I have been dipping a cotton bud in and then dabbing under the eye area, using my fingers to gently press into the skin. Rather than sit on the surface this sinks into the skin perfectly and since I have been having to leave the house that little bit earlier lately in the morning this as definitely been my beauty weapon of choice in the mornings for fighting the fatigue look I have been sporting lately. Being a makeup and go kind of girl I rarely touch up my makeup during the day so I am happy to report that this stays put all day without creasing bar the fact that it does fade as the day goes on, by which point my usual caffeine intake has kicked in and I am looking slightly more bright eyed by then. 

Now don't get me wrong the coverage of this is pretty good but if you are looking for a full coverage concealer you might want to step away now. Verging on almost a hybrid of a concealer and an eye cream in one this gives just enough boost to brighten the eye area whilst hydrating at the same time which is perfect for those that don't have time to faff around with eye creams and potions so early in the morning.

I have to say that initially I was shocked by the price however to put it into perspective, being an avid buyer of Touche Éclat suggests that this is a better deal for my money, considering the former costs £25 for a mere 2.5ml and this gives you almost 4 times the amount then it is pretty good value for money in the long run. 

If you fancy trying this for your self then you can buy it by clicking here.

*PR Sample

Monday 12 November 2012

SOAP AND GLORY HAUL

For some time now I have been a fan of Soap and Glory. Affordable, cute and always delivers! So when Boots put their 3 for 2 offer on Soap and Glory products I was quick to snap up a few with a sneaky extra thrown in. Looking for an intensive conditioner 'Glad Hair Day' certainly ticked all the boxes for me and this has a ridiculously gorgeous scent, used a couple of nights a week this is the perfect pampering treat for a Sunday night! Ah my pores, the bane of my life sometimes but having never been let down by the masks before I was keen to try the 'No Clogs Allowed' mask. I am still waiting to try this so will report back with my findings but I like the fact that it comes with a nifty little sponge to help remove it. When Anna raved about this foot cream it went straight onto my shopping list and once I finally got my hands on I was keen to try it out, slather this over your feet after a bath, don some jazzy socks, get some shut eye and et voila feet as soft as a babies bum, I kid you not! Finally let me introduce you to the scrub that conquers all scrubs. This literally slows away all dead skin and leaves my skin feeling ah-mazing! Plus the slight oily residue it leaves behind means I can often skip moisturiser which is a must for nights when I just want to sink into bed after a long day.

Have you picked up any S&G products on offer lately?




Sunday 11 November 2012

NEW LAYOUT, A NEW START


Hey everyone. I know its been a while since I have posted regularly, so where have I been? Well as well as keeping up to date with all the blogs I read day to day (there are a lot :-)) I have been tirelessly working on an updated layout. I know a lot of you will have liked the old one (and thank you) but I guess it just was not really me now and because I was not keen on it I guess I was reluctant to post frequently if you see what I mean. So hopefully with the new layout in place, there are a few tweaks to be made here and there and I am still trying to get my comments migrated over which might take some time.  So, if you have commented previously please do not think I am ignoring it or that it has been deleted. Let me know what you think below and if you have any ideas on how I can make it better for you guys to navigate around etc then let me know! 

So now we have that out of the way, let normal posting resume! 


Sunday 4 November 2012

IN STYLE BENEFIT GIVEAWAY - WINNER

Last Saturday I put up a small giveaway to win a trio of the mini Benefit goodies which came with In Style. I got an overwhelming response from you guys so thank you to everyone that entered and more so for reading and supporting my blog. I really enjoyed reading all of your comments and was surprised to see that freebies are a rarity with our friends across the pond which is a shame but it looks as though a majority of you have received some amazing gifts with mags in the past! 

I ran the giveaway for 1 week only and the time has come to announce the winner...


An email has been sent to Tricia already. She has 48 hours to respond or an alternative winner shall be selected.