Merry Christmas!

Christmas is my favourite time of year. Everything is so magical and I'm transported back to when I was a child and the excitement of Christmas Eve when myself and my 3 brothers were allowed to sleep in the same room and begged my parents to let us get up at the earliest time possible (I think 5am was the limit!) I remember how enthralling it was to walk bleary eyed into the lounge to see a glorious illuminated tree surrounded by a mountain of presents and then having a dig around to see which ones had our name on.

As soon as I arrived back at my parents home yesterday I felt so Christmassy and all my childhood memories came flooding back. Mum decorates the house so beautifully, it's so warm and welcoming and creates an enchanting atmosphere.

 

 

Here are the things which make my Christmas complete...
1) Listening to Boney M's Christmas songs, especially Little Drummer Boy

2) The smell of dates cooking as my mum makes brandy tart

3) Having a bowl of satsumas and Quality Street in the lounge

4) The smell of pine needles

5) Watching my favourite Christmas films; The Muppets Christmas Carol, Home Alone, Love Actually, Jingle All The Way, Santa Claus The Movie and Miracle on 34th Street

6) Playing Scrabble

7) Hearing the crackle of the fire

8) Being surrounded by family

I won't be updating my blog until the new year so I wish everybody a lovely Christmas and an amazing New Year!

ELF Eyebrow Kit

For me, defining my eyebrows is one of the most important steps in my makeup routine. I think they can really bring a look together and complete the face. For years I've been using Rimmel's Eyebrow Pencil, but I fancied a change so I ordered ELF's Eyebrow Kit in the shade Medium from their Studio Line.

This kit offers everything that Benefit's Brow Zings offers (minus the dinky tweezers) but at a purse-friendly £3.50 instead of £21.50. The left side of the kit contains pigmented wax to define and shape the brows whilst the right side contains setting powder to keep your brows looking perfect all day. The double-ended brush is angled on one side to give precise application whilst the blending brush can be used to apply the setting powder and fill the brows in.

This is now my go-to kit for eyebrows, it's so quick and easy. The angled brush made it a breeze creating perfect arched eyebrows, the wax was creamy and easy to apply and adding the setting powder meant my brows were kept in place throughout the day. Overall I love the finish this kit gives my brows, they're left looking fuller, thicker and more defined. I also think this gives a much more natural look than Rimmels' eyebrow pencil.

The ELF Eyebrow Kit is available to buy here

Click here to see the kit used in a FOTD

Lush Big Shampoo Review

I recently read a review about Lush's Big Shampoo and was intrigued. How could a shampoo be made of salt?! Would it really lather up? I’d heard it was good for giving volume to the hair so I made my way to Lush pronto. I’d planned on buying it straight off, but as it’s fairly pricey at £9.60 for 330g, I asked for a sample so I could check I liked it first. I was given a very generous portion in a little pot (and got to avoid the enormous queues) and hurried back home to try it.

Made of 50% salt, it also contains lemon and lime juice, a seaweed infusion and coconut oil to soften the hair. All these ingredients meant it smelled yummy! It felt odd scooping up a dollop of salt from a tub and massaging it into my hair, but it dissolved quickly and lathered up better than any other shampoo I've ever used. Only a small amount was needed so I can see the full sized tub lasting a long time.

I think this is amazing as a clarifying shampoo. I was beginning to find my hair felt weighed down and greasy shortly after washing so I was in need of a shampoo that got rid of all the gunky residue in my hair. This removed all traces of product build-up and left my hair squeaky clean after rinsing, something I've not experienced in a long time.

To really test this product out, I didn't apply any of my usual volumising products after washing and left my hair to dry naturally, usually a formula for incredibly flat, limp hair. However I was impressed to find my hair had body, thickness and shine. Everything I've ever wanted!

Lush's Big gives softness, shine and volume. What more could a girl want from a shampoo?!

Lush Big Shampoo can be found in store or online here

NOTD: Claire's Accessories Nude

I was passing time browsing in Claire's Accessories when I came upon this gorgeous nail polish. It reminded me of Benefit's Moon Beam, only for the nails.

I was a little concerned it might be too sheer when applied as lighter (and cheaper) colours sometimes can be, but at only £2 I thought I'd give it a go. However, I was pleasantly surprised as two coats gave me this finish:

I searched the bottle for a name or number but couldn't find one unfortunately so here's a closer look at the bottle if you want to find it...

I love it, a lovely soft champagne nude colour with hints of pink that I think looks very elegant. I can imagine wearing this shade to work.

Has anybody else tried Claire's nail varnishes?

Sleek Face Contour Kit

Whilst browsing the Sleek stand recently, I came across this Face Contour Kit. The dinky little packaging appealed to me, and as I'd never purchased a Sleek product before, I was excited to try this out.

I like the packaging, very compact and...well, sleek!

Available in Light, Medium and Dark to cater for a variety of skin tones (I purchased the Light one), the kit is priced at £5.99, amazing value for 14g of product. The little leaflet included instructs on how to contour three different areas; cheeks, nose and eyes, which is handy for girls who are new to contouring.

I'd been wanting a powder highlighter to replace my liquid one for the winter months so this was a perfect find. With just the right amount of shimmer this gives a beautiful glow to the skin and a luminous finish. The contour shade is completely matte and easy to blend, leaving defined cheekbones. This has now become a staple part of my everyday makeup routine and replaced my Barry M Natural Dazzle bronzer as a favourite.

Has anybody else tried this kit?

Face Of The Day

Do excuse my wild hair!

Face:
- Revlon Colourstay in Fresh Beige
- ELF All Over Cover Stick
- Sleek Contour Kit
- Barry M blusher in 01

- ELF Eyebrow Kit

Eyes:

- The Body Shop's eyeshadow trio in 02
- Rimmel Line Definer liquid eyeliner
- Maybelline Colossal mascara
- Maybelline Great Lash mascara
- Barry M kohl eyeliner
- The Body Shop's Shimmering Steel eyeliner on inner waterline

Lips:

- MAC Angel

- NYX Tea Rose

Outfit of the Day

The t-shirt has rope detail which you can see a bit here

Excuse the pose, I look like I'm about to do the Haka. Taking photo's is awkward.

I decided to brighten up the dreary cold weather with this electric blue skirt. For a bit of warmth I wore them with them with black opaque tights, socks and boots.

I also tried out red nails for the first time, although I'm not sure I like them.

Skirt: Miss Selfridge

Top: Mango from ASOS

Bracelets: Primark

Necklace: New Look

I'll post the FOTD from here tomorrow morning.

Bumpits Review

I’d been intrigued by Bumpits since I saw them advertised about six months ago. As I’m always on the lookout for ways to give my hair volume, these seemed to promise just that. Bumpits claim to transform your hair from flat to fabulous by giving instant volume via the self gripping leave-in hair inserts.

After reading mixed reviews, I was keen to try these out for myself. I recently found a seller on eBay who was offering Bumpits for £3.50. With such a low price, I didn't mind if I later discovered I disliked them.

I love the packaging, very girly and boudoir-esque.The pack contains 5 inserts in varying sizes (although the picture only shows four, I misplaced one, oopsie!) with the smallest inserts meant for creating a little quiff. I was little alarmed at first sight, these things didn’t seem to be very inconspicuous and I wondered whether I would be able to disguise them in my hair. They also looked rather uncomfortable being made of hard plastic, not the most pleasant material to stick in your hair!

The instructions advise to part hair at the crown, tease a little and then firmly place the Bumpit at the parting. I did as instructed and had mixed feelings. Although the insert created a nice amount of volume at the crown, I simply didn't have enough hair to cover the little prongs so these would be more suited to thicker hair.

They were also a little precarious once placed, so I wouldn't feel safe wearing them in public or on a night out, I think they would need constant re-adjusting to prevent them slipping or showing.

Overall a disappointment, although I never expected amazing things from them. Next I want to try Foxy Lock's Instant Beehive. These look a lot more wearable and hair-friendly. My quest for big hair continues...