Winter Break In The Forest

 

This morning I returned home from a short midweek break with some of my family. We stayed in a big log cabin that sleeps up to eleven people so as you can imagine it was nice and cosy. For England, this December has been exceptionally mild so we were lucky to enjoy some warmer temperatures for our stay in the forest. It was dry all the week and the sun even made a few appearances while we were there. I've never been on one of these forest break type holidays before but I knew that I would enjoy it a lot. It was lovely waking up each day in the midst of all the trees and nature - the peace and quiet was unbeatable. It was so nice to relax and not have to do very much but enjoy ourselves, we explored the woods getting some well deserved fresh country air, ate yummy food, sat in front of the fire one evening in Christmas jumpers, built dens (I watched!) and there was also a hot tub to relax in, which one little family member particularly loved! I'm now feeling nicely refreshed and thankful to have had the chance to go along with my family and enjoy a special winter's break.

QOTD: Have you ever done a forest break?

Christmas With Jo Malone

In the lead up to Christmas I really enjoy taking a nose at everyone's gift idea posts and videos on YouTube, however rather than adding another one to the mix I thought I would do something a little different. With just a few shopping weekends left I thought I'd sneak in my own little selection of gift ideas, now if you've been reading my blog for a while now you will probably know that I'm a bit of a Jo Malone lover so these are a selection of little luxuries that any beauty lover would enjoy receiving. 

Pomegranate Noir Bath Oil | £17 | Link

With all of the ideas there is the theme of travel sized items however if you really wanted to push the boat out you could always opt for the full sized option to make a really special main gift idea for someone. However the travel sized Pomegranate Noir Bath Oil would make a lovely luxurious stocking filler, it comes in its very own little Jo Malone box with the festive red ribbon, as do all the items mentioned below so you wouldn't even need to do any wrapping. I recently reviewed the fragrance of Pomegranate Noir, and for any Jo Malone lover I think the bath oil would be a beautiful gift for an added element of pampering. The addition of the bath oil will also layer the fragrance making it last even longer.

Travel Candle Collection | £62 | Link

As part of the Christmas gift sets there is a travel candle collection with three delicious winter inspired scents. I think that this set would be ideal for anyone who loves their luxury candles or it would even be ideal for someone who maybe hasn't tried any of the Jo Malone candles, like myself as you can sample a nice little selection of the scents this way. The three scents are the famous Pomegranate Noir, Incense and Embers and also the gorgeous Christmas scent which is released each year Pine & Eucalyptus.

Also new in and for a limited time only are the collection of 9ml fragrances, which again are a perfect idea for maybe those who are new to Jo Malone as this way you can experiment around with the different selection of scents. Equally these sets are just as gorgeous to any Jo Malone lover as the idea of them is to encourage fragrance combining so you can really have a play around with the exquisite scents to find your own unique combination. These sets come in two different ways you can opt for the selection of five 9ml of the normal colognes or you can go for the set of five cologne intense bottles which I have to show you here.

Cologne Intense Collection | £82 | Link

I believe that this is the first time that the Cologne Intense range have been released in travel size editions, and there is a lovely selection of the line to enjoy. This set includes: Tuberose Angelica, Saffron, Dark Amber and Ginger Lily, Oud & Bergamot, and Velvet Rose & Oud which I have also reviewed before. Either of these sets would make such a beautiful gift to any luxury beauty lover/ perfume addict. I think that the way they come presented is just stunning too, inside the box there is like the red snowy effect, so beautiful.

QOTD: Have any of these gifts tempted you? 

Favourite Festive Lip Products

Swatches taken in natural daylight

Its no secret that red lipstick is my thing. I love a good red lip and there really is no better time to support this look than during the festive season. The holidays are almost upon us and weather you're looking for that perfect party lipstick or just something bright and festive to get in the mood I've got a few considerations worth a mention. Now minus Rebel, colour wise I'd say all these reds come in at the same family of like a 'cherry red' which are by far the most flattering shade as they sit nicely on most skintones. This is also like your traditional Christmasy red so it's very apt for the season, whenever I'm wearing one of these lipsticks I always feel so much more confident I love the way they transform your look. However what is different about these lipsticks is their finish and how they feel and last on the lips.

I know that from the swatches these look very similar but on the lips they all look quite a bit different, for example the Estee Lauder 340 lipstick gives a beautiful sheen to it that gives an almost gloss like quality to it. The finish of this lipstick reminds me a little bit of an amplified cream from MAC as its very opaque without being too drying. Russian Red from Mac on the other hand is very matte and has no shine what so ever to it so its extremely long wearing, although a bit of careful preparation before hand would be useful before wearing this lipstick.

Chanel 104 Passion, an all time favourite of mine - sits somewhere between both the Estee Lauder and Mac lipsticks. It has an ever so subtle shine to it while still remaining quite a matte lipstick. This is a really comfortable to wear red. I don't often go for gloss but the Dior Addict Ultra Gloss is beautiful to layer over a red lipstick for that ultimate festive party look as its slightly glittery - if you can't wear glitter in the run up to Christmas when can you? Lastly Rebel from Mac isn't what you would call a conventional festive lip look as its definitely more of a purply red but its such a stunning lipstick, and I wore it on Christmas Day last year and its again one of those instant confidence boosting colours.

QOTD: What are your festive favourite lip products?

Sunday Shower With The Snow Fairy

 

 

What else is there to do on a gloomy November Sunday morning? Its a no brainer that these sorts of mornings are the perfect opportunity for a pamper session. Sundays have to be the best time to have a nice pamper to wind down at the end of the week and set you up feeling refreshed and revitalised for a new one. Yesterday when out shopping I went into Lush - its got to be done at this time of the year hasn't it? Lush was as you would expect bustling with an overhwelming concotion of busy smells and excited shoppers that's all enough to give you a headache if you linger there too long and leaves you walking out smelling like an overflowing bubble bath.

I didn't go mad but did stock up on a couple of bits and clearly I was in a bit of a Snow Fairy mood. Yeah you know the one. Bright pink. Girly girl. Sickly sweet. Candy in shower gel form. I only got the small bottle of the Snow Fairy Shower Gel because it is so sweet and not something that I am going to want a great stock of. Snow fairy has got that convention smell that I always associate with Lush - its squeaky clean and really brings home the fact that winter is on the way! Woo!

Surprisingly I didn't end up with any bath bombs yesterday - however I did pick up something new to me and that was a massage bar. I can't say that I had even heard of a massage bar before yesterday but the lady in the shop showed me the Snow Fairy one and I really liked the idea of it - for anyone who like me hadn't heard of these they are basically a moisturiser in a bar form - you massage it into your skin and its really luxurious feeling. As this is a massage bar it is more oily than a conventional body moisturiser however I think that its quite a nice addition when you're pampering and especially in winter I know my skin gets super dry and its going to love this.

 

QOTD: Will you be lured in by the Snow Fairy this winter?

 

A Girl's Holiday

Yesterday I arrived home from my first ever girl's holiday in Majorca, it was an eventful but fun-filled week of eratic sunshine and showers, sickness, shopping, sight-seeing and cocktails! Here are a few of my favourite pictures from the week.

 

Stay tuned for a few cheeky holiday hauls on the way...

Autumn Ready Beauty Products

 

There are a handful of beauty products that are leaving me super excited for autumn at the minute. Now don't get me wrong, I love summer and will enjoy one final week of my bronze, bright makeup while on my holiday this Sunday, but I know that the minute I get home I will be diving straight into this lot of goodies!

As soon as I caught a peak of the new BarryM autumn selection of gelly nail paints a few weeks ago I knew a couple would have to end up in my never ending stash of nail varnishes. The colours are all really autumnal and I don't really own any colours similar. What is probably going to be one of those love or hate shades is the dull yellow in Mustard though personally I like it especially if you put it with the grey Chai. But my favourite one out of the three I picked up is definitely the maroony brown in Cocoa I can definitely see this being a staple item throughout the autumn and winter months.

Now I know that a bronzer may be a bit of an unusual one to throw in to an autumn makeup post, but I've wanted The Body Shop Honey Bronzer for so long now and I thought that this would be the perfect time to pick it up. This bronzer is going to be ideal for when I'm a little paler as it really does give you the most natural warm colour, its matte with absolutely no shimmer so it isn't going to look super bronzed on my face during the colder periods. Another matte cheek product that I'm obsessing over is Nars Douceur Blusher - I can see a bit of a theme occuring here - ordinary looking in the pan but stunning when applied. Its a rosy pink with a bit of brown in there and because its matte I find it sculpts the face really beautifully - I'm beyond in love with this.

 Next we have two Mac products that pop up time and time again during autumn. Firstly the eyeshadow Cranberry, a shimmery berry colour that I find to be super flattering with my blue eyes. You wouldn't think it but its quite a versatile shade, it blends out well so it can be less intense or you can build it up if you really want that autumnal berry look. Another popular one from Mac is the lipstick Syrup: hands up if this is an Essie Button inspired purchase in your lipstick collection *raises hand* but the girl just doesn't let us down seriously... I bloody love this lipstick. Its a gorgeous pinky purple that is just so easy to wear and despite its lustre finish it has a good wear time too.

Lastly an indulgently delicious autumnal fragrance from my latest love, Jo Malone it has to be the Velvet Rose & Oud Cologne Intense. A scent that is both elegant yet sultry at the same time. This is rich and warm and perfect for those winter nights. I won't say too much more as I'm going to do a full review on this in the next few weeks.

 

QOTD: Are you ready for the change of seasons?

Mini Beauty Bits

If you caught my recent review on my latest Real Techniques purchase, you may already know that I have a bit of a thing for anything miniature. My upcoming holiday at the end of the month was the perfect opportunity to allow me to indulge in my love for miniature beauty products. When you're only going away for a week or so its far more practical to take these smaller size products plus who can resist their cuteness?! So I thought I'd share with you a handful of mini picks that I'm taking away with me on my holiday.

I'm going to keep things pretty simple when it comes to skincare. I picked up this mini Aloe set from The Body Shop which features a 60ml Aloe Calming Facial Cleanser and Toner, plus 15ml tubs of Aloe Soothing Day and Night Cream. I thought I would try this range from TBS for my holiday as Aloe Vera is widely known for its soothing properties which I'm hoping will be nice and calming on my skin as I will be in the sun a bit more than I would normally. This set should have me covered for the week skincare wise. I've also decanted the last bit of my Bioderma into a travel container to remove stubborn makeup.

For toiletries I'm also trying to keep things quite simple, I've opted for two Soap & Glory products one is the Clean On Me body wash which is the 75ml version. Clean On Me is one of my favourite body washes so there was no doubt in my mind that it would be in my holiday wash bag. I also picked up a tube of Scrub Of Your Life, this is 50ml version, an exfoliating product is a must have when getting your tan on. Surprise, surprise I've gone for my trusty John Frieda Sheer Blonde shampoos and conditioner in the diddy 50ml tubes. And it wouldn't be a holiday without a tropical scented body butter, so I chose the 50ml pot of The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter which is one of my all time favourites. Lastly a bit of an essential I got a 75ml Sure Anti-Perspirant which is my go-to deodrant.

Writing this post has definitely got me feeling excited for my holiday now! I'm going to be doing some more holiday inspired posts over the next few weeks so stay tuned for those if you like these types of posts :)

QOTD: Do you love mini products?

A Beauty Blogger's Spring Essentials

Daffodils, Easter eggs, longer days and hopefully some nicer weather. Yes Spring has officially sprung in the UK and now that it has arrived I have decided to do a post focusing on some of the must-have beauty essentials of the moment plus I've thrown in a few miscellaneous ones for good measures. I hope that you will enjoy the post :)



Its not called Spring Cleaning for nothing! Get freshened up in the mornings with something that is lightly fragrant while still leaving you feeling squeaky clean for the rest of the day, something like this Cath Kidston Rose soap is perfect for this time of the year. Opt for a moisturiser that is going to
revitalise your skin without being too heavy or 'sticky' such as the Vaseline Aloe Fresh moisturiser.
This does wonders for all skin types and is also super affordable and accessible - you'll find this everywhere from your nearest chemist to local supermarket.

With the weather gradually becoming nicer the sandals at the back of your wardrobe will be making an appearance in the not too distant future, which means its time to get those tootsies looking in tip top condition. I've been using Soap & Glory's Heel Genius after showering, I apply a small amount to the heel of my foot and any other areas that the skin is a little harder and stick some socks straight on once I'm done. You can be more generous with this in the evenings but you don't want to be too moisturised during the day when you're going to be on the go as you could end up with feet that become rather hot and sweaty. Then depending on how much time you've got in the morning, a great nail varnish for Spring is the Barry M Gelly Paint in Lychee that looks lovely as either a DIY pedicure or maincure. I saw my friend Camilla review this on her blog and it reminded me that I had this hidden away from last year.

Back to skincare once again, as before you will want to pick a moisturiser for your face that is lightweight and going to make your skin look fresh and springy. A good option is the Origins GinZing moisturiser, it is very gel like and will awaken you early on in the day. Hopefully if you've looked after your lips during the winter months they shouldn't need too much TLC now its Spring, just a nice balm that will keep them soft and desirable. My favourite go-to lip balm is from Burt's Bees but I couldn't find it at the time, so Chapstick does exactly the same job and the apple one smells pleasant too.



From day to day its obviously nice to change your makeup looks up, but I thought I would include a couple of definite Spring must have makeup items. The first is a cream eyeshadow, the Bourjois Colour Edition 24H was a recommendation from Vivianna Does Makeup its extremely easy to apply you don't even need a brush and it still creates a very subtle seamless eye look. As for a flush of colour I don't think that you can go wrong with a pinky/peachy blush at this time of the year for a healthy, vibrant glow. A great one for spring is this from Dior in Passion Fruit, which comes with two tones in the pan a lighter and darker peach which can either be swirled on the brush together or used seperately to create slightly different looks.




Finish off with a spritz of something fresh to keep you smelling sweet all day. A recent discovery for me is Vera Wang Princess a girly perfume that sort of reminds me of vanilla - this is surprisingly long wearing too as it seems to last on the skin for hours. For the more adventurous, Gucci Envy Me is a very floral and energetic scent, you don't need to put a lot of this in as it can initially come across quite powerful but once the day goes on this also lingers on the skin for a pretty feminie aroma. Another scent that is perfect for spring is the Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction body mist as its very fruity and sweet, due to it being a mist it isn't at all over powering which is ideal for those who like a light fragrance for on the go bursts of freshness.

If you're feeling particularly spring-like, why not add a pretty hair accessory to your 'do to brighten things up? I love this flowery bun crown from Primark. And lastly, if you can't enjoy a chocolate lollipop with Easter round the corner well I don't know when you can!

Now, let Spring commence!