Monthly Favourites | December

Hello good folks, and a Happy New Year to all of you! I hope 2014 is good to you all and brings you the best. I'm not writing a resolutions post because I just have general aspirations for the year to kick start being the best version of me that I can possibly be. I love the idea of starting afresh and really working on improving everything that you can with a clean state and nothing from the past to hold you back. I've set a couple of wheels into motion to tick boxes on what I want to achieve this year, and hopefully the rest will fall into place. 

Sorry to be holding onto the past for just one more day and still banging on about December 2013, but I just wanted to make sure that I stuck with my ritual of a monthly favourites round up - I've not missed a single one yet! Also, at the weekend I'll be putting up a Best of Beauty 2013 post summarising all of my favourites from the past 12 months. 

Oh, and as for a great start for me, I was using some new lights for this post but accidentally knocked one over and smashed one of them before I'd finished, which is why the Benefit pictures look a bit different (one light down!) - Plus, I'm gutted because the lights were brand new and this was the first time I'd used them. I couldn't even finish one little blog post without being a clumsy buffoon and breaking one :( 

Moving on to what I've been loving in December.. Lots of iddy diddy minis, plenty of Benefit and a healthy splash of glitter! 

Benefit The Pore-Fessional Primer

A cult make up item and one of Benefit's bestsellers, the Pore-Fessional Primer is a real face changer. Sometimes it doesn't seem like much because it isn't the kind of 'look at her she's wearing Pore-Fessional' kind of product, it more of a 'look how much less smooth, refined and perfect my skin looks when I'm not wearing Pore-Fessional!'. It has a thick, silicone texture and is flesh coloured too, used on the face before foundation application to help create a silk-like base for foundation to grip to and minimise the appearance of pores. I don't wear this every day, but on the days that I do.. it really is a good  make up day!

Benefit 'That Gal' Primer

Another mini primer from Benefit, but That Gal is more of a softer cream texture than the silicone Pore-Fessional and has the purpose of brightening the complexion, instead of the main aim to smooth out pores and make make-up last longer. I don't see any extra longevity in my make up when I use this, but it does add an extra boost and glow to the skin - especially when things can get a little dull and sallow with winter weather. Think of it as an all over liquid highlight, for underneath foundation. 

Benefit Watt's Up! Highlighter 

Continuing with the highlighting (and Benefit) theme, Watt's Up! is a cream highlighter stick in a gold champagne colour to add a subtle, but gorgeous sheen to the tops of cheekbones. Plus, let's just all take a moment to appreciate how adorable this is in mini size! It's no bigger than my little finger! I definitely would not hesitate to buy this in the full size once this runs out because it's so easy to use and I often just apply straight to my cheek from the bullet, gently blend with my fingers and good to go!

The Body Shop Vanilla Bliss Hand Cream

Being The Body Shop's #1 fan, I had to include one of their limited edition Christmas products - Vanilla hand cream, mmm! This makes your hands smell like cake all day long and it's just so good! It's a cocoa butter based hand cream so it's really rich and creamy, and it's only sticky if you apply too much but it really does help to soothe any chapped or sore skin as well as maintaining the comfort of your hands - nothing worse than having dried out hands when it's cold :( The 30ml travel size is so convenient for slipping into a bag and I'm sure these only cost about £3.00 too! 

Models Own Southern Lights Nail Varnish*

Soo, fifth mini product in a row; I don't have a minis issue I swear! *innocent face*. This glitter nail varnish was sent to me in a trio called 'All That Glitters' and also contains 'Pink Fizz' and 'Blizzard', but Southern Lights was the stand out favourite. Last year, it was all about 'Northern Lights' for me (the same nail varnish but pink toned, whereas this is blue toned), and for 2013 I've been adoring Southern Lights. It's such a magical glitter polish with the irridescent sparkles added on top of the already high intensity glitter particles. It's so eye catching and I always get compliments on my nails when I wear this.

Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm in Cherry Me

Babyyyyy Lippppppps - The hype of the century! I've tried a couple of these but my favourite of the bunch has got to be Cherry Me, mainly for the colour of it's tint. It's a sheer wash of pink red but it has a glossy finish, so for minimal make up days or days when you'll be on the go and need the quickest touch up possible then this tinted lip balm has you covered. Instead of just wearing nothing on the lips, or a clear balm, this one brings the tiniest amount of colour to the face to look just about natural, but still very pretty. Extra bonus is that this one tastes and smells just like Cherry Drops - mmmm!

 

I know that December isn't typically a month for testing and trying out new things so these are just a couple of little bits that have stood out to me as being reached for frequently. Like most people, I was completely swept off my feet last month with having one trip away for my birthday, 3 major uni deadlines, a long weekend in New York and then 'bam' Christmas hits, blink and it's New Year.. then before you know it, here we are in January! I can't believe it flies by just like that..

Anyway, I hope you all had a good 2013 and that 2014 has some good things in store for you!

What were you loving over the past few weeks?

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Little Beauty Blogg

♥

Collective Beauty Haul

The Body Shop
Strawberry Body Butter | £13.00

Mango Body Butter | £13.00

Vitamin E Sink In Moisture Mask | £12.00

All-in-One BB Cream | £12.00

During a big sale at The Body Shop with some crazy deals I ended up getting myself 3 of these products (not the BB Cream) for only £15 instead of £38 - What a saving! I love The Body Shop for their deals and I try to avoid buying anything until they have one of their amazing offers on so that I can stock up on things from my wishlist and take advantage of the savings like I have done here. 

Speaking of sales.. this little bundle right here I bought just yesterday while there was a flash 40% off the whole store! The offer is still on now (online too) so go take advantage! The mango scent is my absolute favourite and I just couldn't resist getting this shower gel and body scrub to wash myself in all of it's zesty fruity-ness. I also plan to do a full post on this whole range sometime soon.

Mango Body Scrub | £7.50
Mango Shower Gel | £4.00
Vitamin E Toner | £8.00

Boots

Lee Stafford Argan Oil Conditioner | £10.99

ArGh. £11 on a drugstore conditioner? Yikes! Someone was feeling flush. Yes it's pricey, but yes it was worth it. This conditioner was part of my 'Happy Healthy Hair' post and I pair it with the Hair Growth shampoo (also from Lee Stafford) - They're the perfect pair for stimulating growth and nourishing dry ends.

Superdrug

MUA Undress Me Too Eyeshadow Palette | £4.00

MUA Power Pouts Lipstick - 'Runway' and 'Broken Hearted' | £3.00 each

VO5 Plump It Up Dry Backcomb Spray | £2.44

A little Superdrug spree while cosmetics are '3 for 2' led me to the MUA stands to pick up some of their relatively recent releases. I adore their 'Undressed' palette and use it almost daily so I thought I'd add some variety to my eye life and get the 'Undress Me Too' - it's a bargain for only £4 too! These 'Power Pouts' are from the same concept as Clinique Chubby Sticks and Revlon Balm Stains, but on a budget. I've not actually tried them out at all yet but I'll review them in full if they're worth it!

Next

Summer Heat EDT 30ml | £6.00

Summer Dreams EDT 10ml | £3.50

These perfumes were my 'treat to myself' after I'd finished my first exam because I'd been revising my little bum off and deserved something to make me smile! Plus, it was a hot sunny day and I was craving a summer fragrance! I'm no professional in scent descriptions but.. 'Summer Heat' is a warm scent as it's citrus based with a strong hint of cinnamon, and 'Summer Dreams' is a lot more fresh and light. What I love about Summer Dreams is that it's a small 10ml bottle but still with a spritzer spray, rather than a rollerball (it's the simple things).

Other: Feel Unique, Look Fantastic and Tesco

The Original Tangle Teezer | £10.20 (10% off - £9.18)

REN ClearCalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser | £16.20

Garnier Summerbody Gradual Tan | £5.00 (half price - £2.50)

I was sucked into the Tangle Teezer hype and LOVE it; the best hair brush I've ever used for taming my mop of thick hair, especially when it's wet - and just look at the colours of it! The REN Clarifying Clay Cleanser is also a firm favourite and an absolute love that I'm sure you'll hear a lot more about from me in the future, and I've already raved indepth about this Garnier tan (it was in my April Favourites and you can read my review on it here).

So, that's what I've been splashing my cash on recently in the beauty world. I think I'm going to chill out a little bit now on the shopping front until it comes to holiday preparation purchases - less than 5 weeks to go until I'm on that beach!

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Monthly Favourites | April

So.. It's the 4th May? (May the Fourth be with you ..haha) But seriously, how the hell did that happen? It felt like literally a week ago I was writing up my March favourites and this month flew around so fast I barely even had time to catch my breath! It's a bit of a mixed bag for this month's favourites, but I hope you all enjoy it and read on to see what I'd been loving in April...

Barry M 'Gelly Hi Shine' Nail Paint - Lychee

Barry M's newly reformulated nail paints to give a 'gel nail' finish are well worth the hype that they're receiving. Having just released a new line of colours for the summer I'm eager to stock up on some more shades! Lychee made the cut as this month's favourite as it's the perfect classic nude shade that you can't go wrong with and I've been wearing it a lot recently. It gives a polished manicured look with a thick, high shine finish and lasts for close to a week without chipping - All for £3.99 too!

Redken Color Extend 'Radiant-10' Treatment Spray

I wrote a full post all about this product, and it was also part of my 'Happy, Healthy Hair' post too because it's been a little bit of a lifesaver (/hairsaver) recently. It comes at quite a high price, but it's well worth it and I'd recommend it to anybody looking for a good quality lightweight detangling spray and leave in conditioner that comes with a whole multitude of additional benefits such as adding shine and prolonging the vibrancy of hair colour.

 

Origins 'Modern Friction' Exfoliator

My first Origins purchase, and I wasn't disappointed! A persuasive saleswoman talked me into buying this one as she said that good exfoliation is one of the key stages in skincare to reducing blemishes (I don't really want to talk about excess dead skin cells clogging pores and causing a build up.. but yeah..) and after she demonstrated this product on me during a 'mini facial' I knew that it was love! I'm going to do a full review on this in the coming weeks, but basically it's a very fine and gentle exfoliator that is a real indulgent treat to use. It contains 'rice starch cushioned in cream' which makes it feel a little bit like you're rubbing rice pudding or porridge on your face, but it gives such a thorough polish to the surface of the skin and makes everything look that little bit more refined and fresh.

 

Clinique 'Even Better' Foundation

I have a full post written up on this amazing foundation, that I dubbed as my 'holy grail' base for my make up. Having problematic skin leaves me with wanting no less than a full coverage and long lasting foundation that will stand the test of oil-prone skin. 'Even Better' ticks all of those boxes! One of the highest coverages I've ever used, smooths over enlarged pores, covers blemishes, flawless application and lasts all day. It's my favourite foundation to date and if what I've listed above is something you're looking for then this is one to try!

The Body Shop Vitamin E 'Sink In Moisture Mask'

The Body Shop and their crazy bargains in the sales left me paying no more than £5.00 for this tub, when it's full retail price is £13.00 - I love bargains like that! A naughty product (suspicions lying with Effaclair Duo) left me with skin that was dry, flakey and very unsightly. Dry skin is not the norm for me and I needed something to sort it out pronto! I looked to the Origins 'Drink Up' Mask, but couldn't justify the price tag at the time, however worth it it might have been.. and I found this potential dupe in The Body Shop. It's a fast working 10 minute 'Moisture Mask' that you apply in a thick layer all over and it seems like a normal moisturiser, but after the time is up it has only partially sunk in and there's a residue left on the surface of the skin that can be gently removed with a cotton pad. It leaves the skin looking instantly plumper, like it's had a good 'drink', hydrated and reduces flakey patches. A few uses of this and my dry skin had returned to normal - this saved the day!

Garnier Summer Body Moisturising Lotion

When I wrote a full post about this gradual tanning lotion it received lots of comments from other people saying that they were huge fans of this tan too! I'd recommend clicking here to read my full review on it as I gush in depth about my love for it. Literally the most perfect gradual tanner I've ever used; there's no tell-tale tan smell, it smells fresh and fruity, it actually comes up gradually and is easy to build upon day by day so that there's no waking up and being overly fake and orange if that's not what you're looking for, and the colour is a nice touch of brown, lovely and natural like you've spent a day sitting out in the sun.

 

Urban Decay Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color - Theodora

Being a lucky little lady, I managed to win one of The Sunday Girl's giveaways and landed myself with one of Urban Decay's limited edition palettes for the release of the film The Great and Powerful Oz. Out of the two versions of the palette (Glinda and Theodora), I won the Theodora palette, represented in the film by the ever so gorgeous Mila Kunis - deserved winner of FHM's Sexiest Women in the World! Enough about my girl crush.. The Theodora Palette came with one of UD's 'Super Saturated' lip colours and the shade is just named 'Theodora' but it's a beautifully bright and glossy red shade that is so simple to apply with the creamy formula and the crayon applicator. I've not been one for red lips much in the past but this one just seems to work for me and the high gloss lasts for hours and hours too. I might have to look into more of these lip pens from Urban Decay because they're such amazing quality! My eye is on 'Love Child' and you can see it here.

So, that's my April favourites! I hope you enjoyed!

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Recent Beauty Buys

Unfortunately for me, my boyfriend happened to turn up whilst I was preparing this post and while I was balancing everything in this nice posed picture ready for the cover photo.. uh oh bad timing! I got a mini lecture about 'why have you been buying so much?' but honestly, it just looks a lot when you've put it all together in one place! I swear.. 

Plus some bits were freebies (read on to find out why), and there have been lots of great deals on, including the amazing Boots 3 for 2 offers and their £5 No7 vouchers - Yay! Also in my defense, what you may or may not know is that I successfully completely a February Spending Ban without one single tiny slip up! I was so proud of myself for managing to do this, and needless to say my first purchase for this haul was made on March 1st! This is 5 weeks of collective shopping all bundled into one place to share with you all and to make things a bit more manageable I've broken it down into sections: hair, nails, make up, skin care, bath & body and just one miscellaneous piece at the end that didn't belong anywhere else!

Hair

Batiste Dry Shampoo (Tropical)
Directions Semi-Permanent Hair Dye - Atlantic Blue
Tresemme Keratin Smooth Hair Mask

Dry shampoo is an essential purchase and in my next empties post I'll do you will see that there is at least 3 empty cans of dry shampoo in there so it was worth getting the jumbo size. If you follow me on Instagram you will be able to see from photo's here, here and here that I dyed the blonde ends of my hair blue with a semi-permanent dye from Directions. Anddd, finally a hair mask because.. I don't have enough already (haha such a joker), but I've been wanting to try this since it came out so I snapped it up while it was on a half price offer for £2-3 and I really love it, it works so well at giving my hair a nourishment boost and making it soft and smooth - it's a new favourite product. 

Nails

Bourjois '1 Second' Nail Varnish Remover

Rimmel Pro Nail Varnishes - Matte Finish and Super Wear Top Coat

Barry M 'Gelly Hi-Shine' Nail Varnishes - Lychee, Dragon and Pomegranate

Essie Nail Varnish - 'Fiji'
Topshop Nail Varnish - 'Marine Scene'

Woah, woah, woah.. nail varnish overload! I absolutely love the Bourjois '1 Second' Remover and I featured it in my March Favourites post, here. It has come in really handy at removing my nail varnish easily so that I can experiment with all of these new shades! I've been loving the matte nails trend at the moment so got myself one of Rimmel's matte top coats which is great quality and works really well. I think they only cost about £4 so it's well worth getting a bottle to have a play around with, and they had a '2 for £6' offer on all Rimmel Pro nail varnishes so I treated myself to an ultra shine top coat too. The new Barry M Gelly nails that everybody is loving: on a '2 for £6' deal in Superdrug I opted for a nude called 'Lychee' and a bright 'Barbie pink' called 'Dragon'. It turns out I should have tried them earlier after all because I am a woman in love so a few weeks later I returned and purchased 'Pomegranate'; a lovely berry red. My first ever Essie nail varnish was 'Fiji', a favourite of many bloggers and nude nail lovers. I like it, but I wasn't too crazy about the £8 pricetag, sorry Essie but I won't be rushing back for more of you! Last but not least, another Topshop nail varnish (my favourites) in the shade 'Marine Scene' which is a dark greeny blue shade and coincidentally matches my hair!

Make Up

Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick 'Shade #17'
Topshop Lipstick 'Firecracker'

Topshop Blush 'Prime Time'
Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Khol Kajal '001 Black'

I'm not too make up crazy really, I'd rather splash my cash on some nice new nail varnishes (evident in the section above), or something to treat my hair too.. with the only exception being that I like a new lipstick every now and again. I got myself one of the new lipsticks from Bourjois in their 'Rouge Edition' line and I aaabsolutely love it, I featured it in my March Favourites because I cannot stop wearing it. I also got a lipstick from Topshop in the shade 'Firecracker' which is an amazing bold red/orange that I did a full post on here. I also thought I'd test the waters with a cream blush from Toppers in the shade 'Prime Time' - these are a 'cream to powder' formulation and I've not actually had chance to try this out yet. I also got one of the Scandaleyes eyeliners from Rimmel because I love my nude one and thought that a black would come in handy if I ever fancied a more dramatic eye make up look. Again, I've not tried this one out yet. 

Skincare

No7 Beautiful Skin Melting Gel Cleanser
Origins 'Modern Friction' Exfoliator
REN Pore Minimising Detox Mask

I've been trying to have a skincare overhaul recently in an attempt to make dramatic improvements to the condition of my skin; I want to be able to feel comfortable wearing no make up in the summer and on holiday! My skin also likes to make things hard for me being being a mixture of two extremes: really dry and really oily. With a £5.00 No7 voucher I got myself the No7 Melting Gel cleanser in an attempt to subdue my lust for the Clarins Melting Gel Cleanser. I've used this a couple of times and I just think that it's okay, I'm not blown away by it. I also received a mini facial from Origins at the beginning of March and was given some really good advice for my skin and what would work well for me. She told me that using my St Ives exfoliater every so often isn't enough for my skin and to prevent further blemishes I need to use a good quality exfoliater twice a week. Her amazing sales techniques left me walking away £31 lighter and with a tube of 'Modern Friction' in my bag. I do love it so a full review will follow soon. Also from my facial I bagged myself samples of: 'Clear Improvements' mask, 'Out of Trouble' mask, 'Perfect World' serum, and 'Gin Zing' eye cream - unfortunately I love them all and want them all. Sorry bank balance! Over the past month I've been trialing the REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal mask and love it to pieces. I've heard equally amazing things about the Pore Minimising mask too so ordered myself one whilst Look Fantastic had 20% off REN. This only arrived yesterday so I've not had chance to use it yet - I will do a review if I like it though.

Bath and Body

Soap and Glory 'Sugar Crush' Body Wash
The Body Shop Body Butter - Raspberry

Okay, okay we're nearly finished. I reviewed the Sugar Crush in full here, and I also featured it in my 'March Favourites' post here, and my Weekend Pamper post here too so it is definitely a no regrets purchase and is well loved. However, I am sick of the sight of it on my blog now after it being in so many posts! Getting a body butter from The Body Shop for £4.50 instead of £13.00 is a crazy bargain! Nobody can turn that down. There was a special offer on a little while ago (I think it's still on now) for certain 'scents' of the body butters to be knocked down to just £5.00, and then with a Love Your Body card a further 10% discounted too. I love the body butters from The Body Shop and I'm building up quite a stash on them. They all smell super yummy, the raspberry one is no exception, and they do an amazing job at moisturising the skin. There's nothing better to complete a perfect pamper than with a layer of one of these!

Lush:

A little trip to Lush happened last week for some bath time treats. (It wasn't last week at all, you can see from the stickers I bought these on the 13th March!). Impressively, even with Lush's prices creeping up and up, all of these only came to £8.50 because the 'Catastrophe Cosmetic' Fresh Face Mask was a freebie after trading in 5 empty black pots. You can see my post on the recycling scheme here. While I was there I also got a 'You've Been Mangoed' Bath Melt and a 'Butter Ball' Bath Ballistic, both of which I haven't had chance to try yet. I have used the 'Fluffy Egg' Bath Ballistic from the Easter stock but I wasn't too impressed with it. Almost £3 and all it did was dye my water pink? It didn't create much of a fragrance (it is supposed to smell like candyfloss/bubblegum/Snow Fairy) but whatever mild fragrance it did create didn't linger for long; just a little bit of a let down!

Miscellaneous

Glamour Magazine | Freebie: Percy and Reed 'No Oil, Oil'

I didn't know where else to put this one, but I bought a Glamour magazine for a measly £2 at the train station the other week, giving myself some quality entertainment to pass the journey (I also feel like an empowered female as Glamour is extremely pro girl power) and I'm a sucker for a little freebie so enjoyed the added bonus of a Percy & Reed hair oil too. It's got a funny smell but it does make my hair lovely and soft, not bad for a freebie!

Phew, I'm definitely all shopped out now!

Have you been taking advantage of the '3 for 2' offers throughout Boots at the moment?

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Review: The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream

Hello boys and girls. Today's post is about a moisturiser that hasn't left my daily routine ever since the day that I bought it (ages and ages ago - it's lasting forever!), and it is an affordable God send product for anyone like me with skin that is slightly on the oily side; either all over or in patches. One of The Body Shop's best sellers, this mattifying day cream is from their seaweed line which has combination skin in mind as it is supposed to find a happy balance for dry and oily areas of skin.

This 50ml pot costs £10.00 full price, but it is also available in a smaller trial size 15ml pot for just £4.00, and The Body Shop constantly has offers running too; whether it's 3 for 2 across all skin care or 20% / 30% off the whole store, it's unlikely you'd ever be splashing out the full £10 for a tub of this, but even if you did, it's more than worth it!

Having skin that tends to increase in oiliness as the day goes on has always been a bit of a pesky situation with my face and I have never been able to find the right kind of moisturiser than would suit me and in particular my oil slick of a forehead (yeah, nice). For a long, long time I always used to skip the step of moisturising and just more or less never bothered about it but have since learnt the importance of proper skin care and now know that even oily skin needs to be well moisturised! If you have this problem, then let me introduce you to your solution..

A cream than can cleverly moisturise all of your dry patches, whilst also balancing and mattifying the oily patches to give a shine free finish on your face, all while being perfectly nourished and hydrated. Fancy little trick that. 

I'm not sure how clear it is from the image above but this moisturiser is a gel formula and is a little bit sticky in texture but is extremely lightweight upon the skin, feeling refreshing and soothing upon application, and sinks in nicely to reveal an appropriately matte finish upon the skin to be able to use as the perfect base for the day's make up. 

I've got funny skin; some days it's really oily, some days it's like the Sahara desert and sometimes it's a mixture of the two like a patchwork quilt which definitely makes for hard work finding a suitable skin care routine! This is the perfect moisturiser and base to use on the days when my skin is oily and is 'combination', but on those days when my skin seems more dry I opt for a more intensely nourishing moisturiser, also from The Body Shop, from the Vitamin E range.

If you have oily skin and struggle to find something to control your shine throughout the day,

or need a balancing moisturiser than won't allow your make-up to slip and slide,

then this is one product that's worth trying out!

If you're considering it, next time you pass The Body Shop be sure to pop in and grab yourself a small £4.00 tub to test out and see how you get along with it.

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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!

♥