Instagram Diary | December ♥

I've been a little bit instagram obsessed in the past 4-5 weeks and have gone into picture upload overload! I usually put up about 20-25 pictures in a month, but for December however, my picture upload was well over 100. The combination of a daily upload from my Ciate advent calendar, being surrounded by pretty festive things to take pictures of, plenty of time off, lots of nights out and lots and lots of shopping, i.e. hauls and new products, has led to me being super snap happy!
 

I sifted through my 142 uploaded pictures this month to try and find the ones I thought would best summarise my month / be interesting and have compiled them into a collage below. Like last month, I have linked the caption to a relevant blog post if there is one so you can read more if you want to, and for more pictures my Instagram username is: Hannahripley1 ♥

♥ Lady Million EDP | Matching Lipstick & Nails | Lush Christmas Shower Gels ♥

♥ My Mum's Christmas Present | Rimmel 'Diamond Dust' | Lush Order ♥

♥ Lush Order | Benefit 'How To Look The Best At Everything' Set | Hair Care Christmas Presents ♥

♥ Navy Glamorous Disco Pants | Ciate Advent Calendar | Lush 'Christmas Eve' Bubble Bar ♥

♥ Giveaway Prize from Chloe's Way | Topshop 'Green Room' | Las Iguanas ♥

♥ Topshop Socks | Topshop Hot Water Bottle | Shopping in Liverpool ♥

♥ December Favourites | Soap and Glory 'Best of All' Set | Collective Beauty Haul ♥

♥ Avon Nail Wear Pro+ 'Cosmic Blue' | Lush 'Melting Snowman' Bath Melt | Benefit 'She's So Jetset' Set ♥

♥ Feel Unique Order | Primark Jewellery | Hot Chocolate ♥

♥ Birthday Cupcake | Mac 'Costa Chic' | Bioderma ♥

♥ Huuuge Collective Haul | Ciate 'Bumble Bee' Caviar Pearls | Birthday Pandora Charms ♥

♥ Models Own 'Jack Frost' and 'Utopia' | Models Own 'Ibiza Mix' | Models Own 'Northern Lights' ♥

♥ 'Black Eye Friday' Night Out | Me & Jeri | Boxing Day Night Out ♥

♥ John in Las Iguanas in Liverpool | Cocktail Party OOTN - Primark Midi Dress | John in Bowness ♥

♥ Wrapping Christmas Presents | Family Picture on Christmas Day | Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve ♥

♥ Jamie Oliver's Italian in Liverpool | Birthday Text from John | Tapas at Bodega in Bowness ♥

♥ The Hobbit in 3D | Birthday Breakfast Fry Up | Jacuzzi Bath with TV at Aphrodites ♥

♥ Michael McIntyre in Liverpool | Birthday Cake | Christmas Decorations in Liverpool ♥

 

♥



Aphrodites Boutique Lodge | Two Years of Love ♥

 

Hello, I'm going to try and keep this pretty short and sweet and not get too carried away in a super soppy ramble, no one wants to be feeling queasy while reading a blog post, do they!

 

Yesterday was the 'official date' marking the two year anniversary of being the luckiest girlfriend in the world. With this being so close to Christmas it seems a little bit silly to buy each other a gift so instead we made the decision to have a night away last week in a luxury, local(ish) hotel as celebration and a pre-Christmas treat. I say 'local-ish' because it's only around 20 minutes drive from where I live but people come from miles to stay here; the couple infront of us at reception had come from Essex to stay until Boxing Day. It's in Windermere, in the Lake District, and the hotel is called Aphrodites Boutique Lodge - You can find their website here: link. It's pretty pricey for just one overnight stay but everybody needs to have a splurge and indulge themselves every once in a while. We halved the cost and called it our 'gift to each other'.

 

Each of the rooms are 'themed', which some people might find tacky, but we just thought that it was a bit of a novelty and something different to your standard hotel room. There's themes such as The Flintstones, James Bond, Cleopatra, Robin Hood, Pine Cabin, etc, and even the ever so cringe 'Love Shack Suite'. Try telling your family you're staying in there ;) !! Our choice of room was the Tarzan and Jane Suite (when I say 'our'.. it was my choice really), and it included themed decor as you can see from the pictures above and had a sauna in the room (picture on the top right), along with a jacuzzi bath tub complete with a TV. I now have my heart set on my own TV in the bath! Oh and I also took pleasure in pinching the complimentary Molton Brown toiletries provided.

 

We arrived on Sunday night, relaxed, made use of the sauna and the bath and the giant TV but decided against going for a dip in the swimming pool. It was Christmas Eve Eve and we wanted to get in the Christmas spirit so watched 'Christmas With The Kranks' sprawled out on the humongous bed with a Rekorderlig in hand totally loving life! We went for our evening meal at a place called Bodgea in Bowness and went a little overboard on the tapas - they were a quite a lot bigger than we anticipated so our 7 'mini meals' was probably enough to feed four people, not two! No point in wasting it of course so we stuffed our faces and practically had to roll ourselves back to the hotel. I don't want to chatter on for too much longer, but it was absolute heaven to be able to wake up on Christmas Eve and be all cosied up in this gorgeous hotel room lying next to the person I love most the most (hehe).

 

 

 

We wanted to do something nice yesterday but both of us have come down with symptoms of the flu and I didn't feel up to doing much unfortunately :( John snuck up early and nipped out before I woke up to go and buy bacon and sausages and cooked up an absolute feast for breakfast! Hashbrowns, fried egg, bacon, beans, toast, sausage, and whatever else is part of an fry up was sitting there on a plate ready for me - I feel so bad that I was too ill to eat much more than a few mouthfuls! He also bought me a lovely bunch of flowers that you can see in the picture above. We'd had a table booked for an evening meal but gave it a miss to be able to stay warm on the sofa looking like death! It is a shame, but it's not that it matters much anyway because of course it's not about spending lots of money or going out anywhere fancy, I just think it's nice to do something special every once in a while to break the mould and what better excuse than the anniversary of two years of being together and happy?

 

We literally have no photos of us together except from hideous joking around ones, or the ones taken when we were on holiday in Marbella, so I just put together a little collage of Marbella photos to show you our happy, smiling faces! Can you tell I've just found a new collage making site that I really love? I'm not gonna be soppy, I promise, but I just want to say that it's been the best two years of my life, I've never been happier than I am right now, and I'm very loved up. :)

 

♥

Christmas 2012 & Gifts

 

Hello!

I hope you've all had a really wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the overload of festivity over the past couple of days - I know I have! I have definitely consumed enough alcohol, chocolate, turkey and pigs in blankets to be able to last me until Christmas 2013. I've been carrying a little food baby around with me all day today and had a total of 4 outfit changes last night in order to find something that hid my super bloated tummy! Damn all those Christmas puddings and fruit ciders.

 

I've been totally in two minds about the 'What I Got For Christmas' posts and was originally really keen to write one up myself . I have read every single one that I've seen so far and had a huge nosy on Instagram on Christmas afternoon of all the uploaded opened present pictures; I just find them really interesting to look at! But when I heard people saying it's bragging and nothing more than showing off how spoilt you are and that put me right off doing one! I don't want to be a braggy show off :( I doubt anybody intends it that way at all, and that's not the way I see it either, it's just any other haul post really isn't it? But little old me worries about judgement from others (even though I shouldn't) and thought that maybe instead I should just not mention anything at all and individually review each of the beauty items over time. In the end I settled on a compromise and I've just combined a quick Christmas recap and a really brief mention of the presents because most are beauty related and girly but I'll still be doing full reviews of all of them so keep your eyes peeled because there'll be exciting stuff coming up in future posts!

 

Christmas was a little different for our family this year and I was apprehensive in the run up to it all, fearing that as we weren't sticking to our usual traditions that it wouldn't feel like Christmas at all - but all my worrying was for nothing and Christmas Day and all of the surrounding days were just as lovely as usual! Christmas Eve was spent cosy infront of the fire watching The Grinch and Prince Caspian and eating chinese takeaway after I had pampered myself to the absolute extreme, before lying in bed for hours and hours being too excited to sleep (seriously, how old?!) and it felt like I'd only had my eyes closed for a second before my sister came bounding in dragging me up to open our presents at quarter past 7! After all presents had been opened and 'thank you's had been exchanged then the preparation for Christmas dinner began and this year we were hosting the family dinner at our house - it is usually at my grandparent's house and they have 14 of us round for dinner but they just didn't feel up to the stress of it this year!

 

It's rubbish quality but here's a picture of my mum's idea of funny.. dressing the four of us in matching Christmas jumpers from Primark! I kept mine on all day but nobody else did :(

 

..And my mum clearly gets her sense of humour from her own mother because here is the family Christmas present from our Gran.. make of it what you will!

 

I don't want to ramble on too much about my Christmas Day but after our yummy three course meal we wound down with cups of tea and plenty of family laughs and a couple more present exchanges and a dip in the hot tub! My boyfriend and my sister's boyfriend both came around in the evening and we had a buffet style tea and then even more present exchanges! Followed by more stuffing our faces with sweets and cider before lying in bed watching The Dark Knight Rises feeling 3 stone heavier!! Boxing Day.. same again! Huuge family meal but this time followed by a girls night out in town and I really enjoyed myself - today is recovery day though.

 

My 'main present' from my parents was a laptop that I got early because my old one died a slow and painful death back in October, and mostly from my relatives I received money and cheques which I've used for just one treat in the sales and that's a new YSL Touche Eclat, and all of the rest of the money will be put towards a 2013 summer holiday! The pictures below are my 'stocking fillers' and the presents I received from my sister, boyfriend and boyfriend's mum - Of course I'm a very lucky girl to have received all of these really lovely things and I'm very grateful and appreciate them all!

 

Zip Hoodie (Topshop) from John, Christmas Jumper (Primark) from my mum, Embellished Jumper (Dorothy Perkins) from John's family, Studded lace body (Primark) from my mum, Dress (Republic) from my sister.

Nail Varnishes - High Voltage and Razmatazz (Topshop) and Studded Phone Clutch (Urban Outfitters) from John, Lock and Key Charm (Pandora) from John, Desperate Housewives Season 8 from John, Lady Million EDP from John, Perfume Set from Grandma, Pandora Mirror from my mum, Next Jewellery from a friend of the family. 

Lee Stafford Argan Oil Gift Set from my mum, Ojon Rare Blend Oil from my mum, Moroccanoil from John, Philip Kingsley Conditioner and Elasticizer from my Nanna.
How exciting!! Beauty lovers dream!!

More stocking fillers; some from my mum and some from my sister. Chocolate and sweets, beauty bits; deodrant, moisturiser, eyelashes, candles, socks and PJs!

 Every year it seems the build up to Christmas is so huge and the day can sometimes not live up to it's enormous hype, but this year I didn't feel too excited in the countdown to the big day but I enjoyed myself 10x more - or atleast that's what it felt like but I'm sure I say that it was my 'best Christmas ever' every single year!

 

I've well and truly indulged myself in an excessive amount of food and drink, spent quality time with all of my family and had lots of fun nights out with my friends, and been spoilt with beautiful gifts!

I hope that Christmas was as good for all of you as it was for me!

♥ ♥ ♥

Monthly Favourites | December

 

Hello lovely ladies.

I always feel like I'm jumping in early when I do 'monthly favourites' but if I don't get it done now then I never will, and I like to highlight which products have stood out to me over the past few weeks and give them the praise that they deserve. This month contains 7 items and there appears to be a bit of a theme of 'mini' products or just generally small things (with the exception of the Clynol conditioning spray). It's a bit of mixed bag this one, varying from lips balms and hair oils, to an advent calendar! Read on to find out what I've been loving and why...

 

 

Ciate Mini Mani Month Advent Calendar

This advent calendar by Ciate was a birthday gift from my mum and has been one of the most exciting gifts I have ever received (it's the little things). This advent calendar has one mini bottle of Ciate nail varnish behind each of its 24 doors and has brightened up each of my mornings ever since the first day of December! If you follow me on Instagram (hannahripley1) you will see that I've posted a daily picture of the nail varnish which is behind each door, and it ranges from bright pinks to muted nudes, to bottles of caviar pearls, all the way to exclusive glitter shades. A nail varnish lovers dream!

 

 

Clynol Moisture Dream Conditioning Spray

Again, a present from my mum (she buys me great things!), but this one was a Christmas present last year and was unfortunately lost and forgotten about amongst the vast collection of hair products that I own and was sadly neglected. I came across this again when I was packing up for uni in September and it has been my go-to product while I'm away there ever since! It does basically what it says on the bottle and infuses a penetrative moisturising and nourishing solution into the hair in a handy 'spray-in' application to bring back a healthy bounce and shine. I apply this to wet hair and leave to dry naturally and I am left with soft, tangle free and frizz free locks.

 

 

L'Occitance Hand Cream

This was a freebie from Marie Claire magazine back in October and although I thought that the scent 'date bouquet' wouldn't be to my preference (it was the last one available), I actually really love it. The product is shea butter based and I already know that I will buy a bigger tube of this soon because it is not just 'one of the best', it is 'the best' hand cream that I have ever used. I can't get enough of it. It normally only needs to be applied once a day because it's just so intense and leaves not even a trace of residue on the skin after application. I know it's pricey, but it's worth every penny and I love it.

 

 

Weleda Wild Rose Smoothing Night Cream

A sample sized product that I received in a She Said Beauty Box and has not left my bedside table ever since! I put this on every night before I go to sleep; it absorbs quick and the faint scent of rose is very calming. The cream is quite thick but it is very nourishing and I am starting to notice an overall improvement to the quality of my skin and this will be one of the products to thank for that! When I wake up my skin is a lot fresher, less dull and looks smooth and hydrated so I would highly consider purchasing the full size of this product once my sample has run out.

 

 

Clinique 'All About Eyes' Eye Cream

 I received this small pot of eye cream as part of the Clinique Bonus Time offer back in October, and although it's only a 7ml pot a little goes a long way and this is going to last me forever! It's really thick and nourishing and I apply this both night and day to help reduce puffiness and dark circles and it is one of the best eye creams that I have ever used. It instantly hydrates my under eye area and calms any puffiness of the skin and helps to fade away the purple tinge of the dark circles. It absorbs into the skin pretty quickly which makes it easy to apply concealor to the area soon after.

 

 

Macadamia Natural Healing Oil Treatment 

Being only a tiny 10ml bottle I expected this to disappear pretty quick, but it's still going strong and I'm only about 1/4 of the way through the bottle after 5 weeks of regular use. This is a lovely hair oil to use, it's quite light so I have to use a generous amount of my thick and frizz-prone hair, but it doesn't weigh it down or leave any residue, it just makes it smooth, sleek and shiny. I use it in all sorts of ways; pre-washing as a treatment, when damp and leaving to air dry, before blow drying, and a finishing product to smooth the hair after styling and it always leaves my hair in amazing condition with minimal flyaways and high shine without the grease.

 

 

Blistex Lip Massage Balm

This is something that is totally unique to me and I've never seen anything like it, and to be honest I didn't mean to pick it up, I just wanted the cheapest lip balm that was in Asda and this was only £1.19. I've not had it for long but I really enjoy using it as an alternative to regular lip balm that you just apply onto your lips, this you instead rub over your lips and the ridges on the rubber applicator massage it into your lips for extra absorption instead of it just sitting on the surface of the skin. As with all Blistex products it is really nourishing and moisturising, I just especially like this because it's something a little bit different.

 

 

So, that's what little old me has been loving this December.

 

Busy few days coming up, as is expected with the festive season, and I have a night out with the girls planned for tonight and also for tomorrow night, and then I have an anniversary night away with the boyfriend booked for the night after that, and then before we know what's hit us, it's Christmas Eve!

 

I've got one more post that I'd like to slip in before Christmas but if I end up being too busy to squeeze it in then I'll take this chance to wish you all the happiest of Christmases and hope you all enjoy yourselves and spend time with your loved ones!

 

Merry Christmas!

♥ 



NOTD: Christmas Nails #3 | Models Own Jack Frost and Utopia

 Christmas Nails #3

Models Own - Jack Frost (Wonderland Collection) and Utopia

RRP: £5.00 each

Ahhhh, 5 days until Christmas! Hands up if you're excited!

 

This nail combination is the second one from a pair of Models Own varnishes involving Utopia that I have loved to pieces; the first being Utopia and Ibiza Mix that you can see here: link. I find Utopia a little bit too bland to wear alone but it works really well as a base to a glitter top coat. Jack Frost is one of five nail varnishes in a new collection from Models Own - their Wonderland Collection. It is a very thick consistency, a little bit like a gel and contains translucent iridescent glitter particles that appear different colours in different lights, and also a different colour depending on your base colour, for example if you applied it over a blue base colour then the glitter would be blue, the same with red or pink, etc.

 

I spent a long time deciding on my base colour and swatched many different shades on a nail wheel, almost leaning towards an light blue for an icy look, but eventually settled on the neutral nude shade of Utopia for a very frosted shade. I feel that this looks very 'Snow Queen/ice palace'-esque and is so suited for these chilly December days. It's very seasonally appropriate making the tips of my fingers twinkle away in different colours like Christmas lights! There's hints of blue, green, yellow and pink, and it's very pretty.

 

♥

See also:

Christmas Nails #1

Christmas Nails #2

Pre-Christmas Collective Haul

Post-Birthday & Pre-Christmas Collective Haul | Featuring. Lush, The Body Shop, Soap & Glory, Clarins, Clinique, Avon, Superdrug, Primark, New Look, ASDA, and a couple of gifts. 

 

..That is what I wanted to call this post, but that's just crazy long, so I decided to shorten it down to just Pre-Christmas Collective Haul. Mannn, I have done a lot of shopping in these past 2-3 weeks. I can just hear my poor bank account crying out for me to leave it alone now!




I've had multiple shopping bags sitting in the corner of my room for the past two and a half weeks which was ideally supposed to be full of Christmas presents but when it came to sorting through it all and wrapping up presents last night I discovered that 'gifts for others' vs 'gifts for myself' was quite disproportionate: 22 things for friends, family and boyfriend ..57 for myself. Season for giving?! Slap on the wrist for me this month!

I didn't realise that it had gotten that extreme, but I do love a good shop! It's so difficult to resist things when there's so many good offers on at this time of year and going out shopping for others is something that cannot be avoided. I'll hold my hand up and say that I don't at all enjoy the experience of Christmas shopping; I find it stressful and unpleasant as I hate shopping in busy and crowded environments with cheesy Christmas songs blasting down my ears with chavvy mums ramming their prams into me trying to get past down aisles that are too small, with the added pressure of wanting to find something really special that will truely spoil someone that you care about and will put a big smile on their face Christmas morning! So, to soften the hard task that is shopping for others I pick little treats up for myself along the way :) Everything here obviously wasn't bought all in one go.. I wouldn't have the biceps capable of carrying it all back home again! It was a gradual and accumulative process.

I also had my birthday at the end of November so received lots of birthday spends that were to be used to treat myself, and treat myself I have done!! I'm sure I'll be finding a way to justify everything that I picked up for myself.. read on to find out what I've spoilt myself with and what my excuses are!

Lush
I've already done a whole separate post dedicated to this box of goodies that I ordered online a couple of weeks ago using some of my birthday money. I went all out and ordered 9 little treats and received 1 free sample of 'Fun'. My box includes 4 Christmas limited edition items including Snow Fairy shower gel, Bubblebeard bubble bar, Christmas Eve bubble bar and The Melting Snowman bath melt. I also ordered a hair mask (H'suan Wen Hua), a fresh face mask (Love Lettuce), a massage bar (Soft Coeur), a spot treatment (Grease Lightning), and a solid shampoo bar (New). Safe to say this box smells amaaazing and you can read a little bit more about it here: LINK.


 

The Body Shop
If you didn't already know, this month's issue of Glamour magazine includes a Joy Card inside it which entitles the reader to either a £3, £10, or £100 voucher for The Body Shop but you won't know how much is on it until you take it instore. This months Glamour mag was a special price of £1.50 so I knew that even if I got a £3 voucher it would still be a saving and I'd put it to good use - I looove The Body Shop! Yes, I got a £3.00 voucher and it can only be used on full price items and not in conjunction with any other promotions so I spent it on something that has been on my 'lust list' for a while and even featured on my 'Christmas Wish List' (link) and it was the Almond Hand and Nail Cream (RRP £5.00 for 30ml), so that ended up being a little £2 treat to slip in my bag.

Soap & Glory
I'm quite new to the Soap & Glory fan club and have only tried a couple of bits, but Scrub Your Nose In It is now a staple in my skin care routine and Hand Food has a firm place on my bedside table, along with Mist You Madly being my perfect on-the-go refresher. I wanted to branch out a little bit more and try the Glad Hair Day Shampoo after hearing Corrie (Dizzybrunette3 - link) talk about this in her hair care routine video and she has amazing hair so it can't be bad! Soap & Glory is almost permanently on a 3 for 2 offer in Boots so I thought I may as well throw in the Glad Hair Day Conditioner and Intensive Conditioner too and try out the whole range together.

 

The day that I had nipped to town for a few more Christmas presents happened to be the same day that Boots reduced their price of the Soap and Glory BEST OF ALL Giftset to better than half price. The previous day, lots of bloggers had been hyping this offer up on Twitter, saying how they couldn't wait to get down to Boots early and snap one up before they all sold out, and I wasn't really that fazed or tempted by this hype.. until I was actually in Boots and saw that there was tower piled high with these giftsets and thought, 'oh it's right here infront of me, everyone keeps banging on about it, might as well get one while I can!'. So I did. Happy Christmas Hannah! The set cost £27.00, originally costing £60.00 and contains 9 full size products which individually total over £70.00 - Talk about a bargain! The set includes: The Righteous Butter body butter, Hand Food hand cream, Sugar Crush body scrub, Clean On Me shower gel, Smoothie Star body milk, Heel Genius foot mask, Peaches and Clean cleanser (been on my wishlist for ages!), Sexy Mother Pucker lip plumper, Thick and Fast mascara, plus the great big pink bag that they come in too!

 

Clarins and Clinique
It's pretty rare for me to ever buy myself high end products; I can't ever seem to justify such a large amount of money for just one product, so these two items were a real indulgence for me that I splurged on whilst Debenhams had a 15% sale on beauty and fragrance. I got the Clarins Beauty Flash Balm and the Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in 05 Plushest Punch, a vibrant hot pink. I am cherishing these two very dearly and would easily say they're my favourite things in this entire haul, they just feel so luxurious and I wish that everything I own could be from Clarins and Clinique!

 

Avon
I ordered more than this from my Avon representative but returned most of them and was left with just these three products, which were part of a '3 for £10' deal which is a pretty great bargain. All I really wanted was the Supershock Mascara (this one has limited edition Christmas packaging), and the incredibly vibrant blue Nailwear Pro+ Nail Varnish in 'Cosmic Blue', but when the mascara costs £8 and the nail varnish is £6 is seemed crazy not to get a third product and only pay £10 for all three! I wasn't sure what to get and just gambled with a mineral powder foundation as I've never tried one before.

Superdrug and Body Care
MUA clear mascara - £1. Technic highlighter - 99p. Who's a bargain shopper? Me, but only sometimes. I've been wanting a little something to fix my eyebrows in place better and have been lusting after a Mac Brow Set but I didn't want to part with £12.50 for something that is a reported 'love/hate' product so played it safe with a £1 clear mascara that I actually paid for using my Superdrug points! I've heard fantastic things about this super cheap highlighter from Body Care and it is an apparent dupe for Benefit's ..Highbeam? (I think?) so I wanted to give it a little try out for myself.



Primark
Just a few cheap and simple bits from Primark; it's been too busy to have a decent rummage recently. I am absolutely loving their bargainous mega cheap but on trend jewellery that can be found in other high street shops for up to five times the price!! My friend got these Primark earrings for her birthday and when I saw that they were only £1 I just said 'Sorry, I'm going to have to copy and get some for myself'! Then I found this shirt reduced from £12 to £5 but I don't know why it's reduced? It isn't damaged and there was a whole rail full of them reduced too, in all sizes from 6-20 (or whatever it goes up to), so perhaps it's 'past season' or something? But anyway, it's pretty and thought it would be something nice to wear out to an evening meal somewhere. And then I got some tights, because who doesn't need super cosy warm thick tights in December??

New Look
My excuse for this one is that I had a credit note from last December when I returned something after Christmas but didn't have the receipt, and these credit notes expire after 12 months so I desperately didn't want almost £40.00 to go to waste by it expiring! I'm not so much a huge fan of New Look clothes, there's the odd good thing but I never have the energy to search through the tacky stuff but I was very happy with this quilted jacket that I found for £34.99. It's pretty casual, easy to wear, fitted style, light but really warm too - better than a wasted credit note anyway!

 
 

ASDA
These are what you could regard as 'essentials', except Glamour.. but it was cheaper than usual and I wanted the Joy Card for The Body Shop! I was shopping for presents in ASDA as it's great for stocking fillers and the likes of alcohol, chocolate, DVDs etc so I couldn't resist stocking up on some everyday bits while I was there; cleanser, mini deodrant, face wipes and lip balm!

 

Gifts

These were all gifts that I was extremely lucky to receive these past few weeks! Firstly is my 'International Beauty Bloggers Secret Santa' gift that was organised by the lovely Sandra at The Puzzle of Sandra's Life (link) and my gift was from the host herself - Thank you Sandra! All the way from Slovenia I was sent a Christmas hand cream from the brand Essence as well as three nail varnishes, a L'Oreal Caresse Lipstick and some chocolate - yummy! Secondly, I've been a moody/hormonal little bitch the last week and in an attempt to put a smile back on my grumpy little face my boyfriend bought me a present.. Topshop Green Room! It definitely made me smile; the boy knows the way to my heart that's for sure. And then, as if I didn't already have enough nail varnish my Nanna rolled up with a little bag and said that she'd cleared out her collection and was donating some nail varnishes to me that she no longer wants. None of the colours struck me as too exciting, but when someone is offering to give you the likes of OPI and Leighton Denny it isn't something you turn your nose up at!

 

Aaaand that's it! Finally! Well done if you made it to the end - haha!

 

I'm not sure why some of the picture quality is really clear on some pictures and a bit crummy and fuzzy on others but I'm still trying to learn my way around the settings on my new camera; one day I'll learn when the 'close up' option is appropriate and when it isn't. I would love some kind of photography training course one day, just to get me up to speed with the basics, I feel a little useless with my snaps.

 

But anyway, thank you for reading, hope you've enjoyed!

♥