New Year's Eve Nails

Last year I wrote a post featuring some nail polishes for New Year's Eve and it went down really well, so I thought I'd give it another go this year. Of course I just had to include an Essie polish as it always releases such fab polishes in time for the party season, I picked up the new 'Fringe Factor,' which has been calling out to me for the past few weeks from its shelf in Boots. It is the perfect polish for NYE and features gunmetal and pink confetti-like pieces, perfect for partying!

Rimmel's new range of Love Glitter polishes have also been catching my eye recently. The colourful shards of glitter look great on their own or used as a top coat over a white or silver base. I love the blue/green 'A Crush on You'.

Barry M's 'Sparkling Amethyst' polish featured in my traditional Christmas nails post, but I thought it would work equally well as a NYE nail as it's super sparkly.

As per last year I'm spending NYE at Vince's parents house, stuffing myself silly with delicious food - how are you spending your NYE? Let me know in the comments. See you on the other side!

Sleek looking hair with the GHD Arctic Gold Drying Giftset

Finally I think I've found a hairdryer to suit me. Myself and my boyfriend were previously using one I won in a competition and while it is a super duper top of the range one, it's incredibly heavy, not good when it takes a while for my hair to dry completely. It also had that weird 'new' smell, which we thought would pass, but it never did and my boyfriend wouldn't stop going on and on and on about it. Now I can finally shut him up because we have the very lovely ghd Air Arctic Gold hairdryer to use...not that he has that much hair to dry anyway!

I actually received the ghd Arctic Gold Drying Giftset, which makes a gorgeous gift at anytime of year and comes with not only the very lightweight 2,100w hairdryer, but also with a styling nozzle and handy sectioning clips. The set is currently on sale so you could buy it now ready for next Christmas or give yourself a post-Christmas treat.

The hairdryer itself is really gorgeous with an almost rose gold finish and what's most important to me is that it's particularly kind on the hair. It's designed to be delicate on the hair too as we all know too much heat can damage your hair. Helpfully, the hairdryer has a removable air filter, which allows a high pressue air flow, therefore reducing drying time. Like any other hairdryer it also has power and temperature controls. I like to set these pretty low so as not to blast my hair with seriously hot air and you would think using a lower temperature and power setting would mean a longer drying time but that isn't the case at all. It dries in no time and thanks to ionic technology, my flyaway hair is much more sleek looking and soft once it's dry.

The hairdryer is compatible with the ghd Air Diffuser too, which you can use to create curls and waves, perfect for the party season. Or, like me, you can opt for something sleek and sophisticated. The giftset is currently £79, down from £99. I'd definitely recommend picking it up if you're in the market for a new hairdryer.

Have you tried a ghd hairdryer before? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

*This post contains a PR sample

My favourite beauty products of 2015

What a year 2015 has been for beauty. There have been some amazing releases so I thought I'd have a look back and talk about some of my favourites. One of my most recent favourites, and a brand I've only recently discovered, is Zoeva. In particular the Cocoa Blend palette, which I absolutely adore. I have been using the palette on a daily basis and I particularly liked this rose gold eye make-up look I created with it, what do you think? I was a very lucky girl and received the En Taupe palette for Christmas from my boyfriend, which I can't wait to use!

Barry M always knock it out of the park and I particularly loved its new Gelly Hi-Shine range, which made really lovely alternative Christmas nails, and its release of new glitter polishes, which were perfect for a more traditional Christmas nail look. I was also really impressed with its autumn offerings in its Speedy Quick Dry range. The shades on offer were just perfect for the autumnal time of year and I can't wait to see what the brand has up its sleeve for 2016.

Much like 2014, 2015 was a great year for Makeup Revolution. This year I particularly enjoyed its eyeshadow palette offerings, especially the New-trals vs Neutrals palette, which contains some gorgeous autumnal shades. The brand's sub-company I Heart Makeup also released the Pink Fizz palette, which contains the perfect pink champagne-esque eyeshadow colours. It was a great discovery for me as I don't usually go for pink eye looks but this has definitely changed my mind. The Unicorns Unite lipsticks were also a popular product this year and one of my most liked photos on Instagram. The colours are super magical looking and they have great pigmentation and staying power.

Seventeen Cosmetics was another brand that did great things this year. I particularly loved its Endless Effects Nail Kit, which I stumbled across in Boots one Sunday afternoon. I was super impressed with the price and it brought the fun back into nail painting with its fab effects and colours. I would totally recommend picking up the kit if you come across it. It's one of my absolute favourites! I also gave Seventeen's Cheek Stamp Blush and Define & Conquer palette a try, but one of my absolute faves of the year was its Easy on the Eye Palette. It has become a palette I use regularly and the blue/purple/green make a nice alternative to the usual browns/greys I wear.

Another palette I really loved and a brand I only discovered recently was Eye of Horus' Sheba Mystical Goddess Palette. I have to admit when it arrived I was surprised by how tiny it was but the shades are absolutely lovely and helped me create such a lovely purple eye look, something I wouldn't usually wear.

Aside from makeup there was a skincare brand that I discovered and have really enjoyed this year and that is Vichy. It has become a brand that now features heavily in my daily skincare routine. The Aqualia Thermal Range has really helped my skin moisture wise this year and Purete Thermale range has cleared it of any imperfections, which I'm super happy about!

This has turned into quite a list of products - it's amazing how many you get through in just a year and this is only a small handful of my favourites. Let me know in the comments what your favourite products of the year have been, beauty or otherwise.

Top five posts of 2015

This week is the perfect time to look back on the year. Through the power of Google Analytics I was able to see what my most read posts of the year are so thought I'd share them with you today.

Clarins Garden Escape Spring Collection Instant Light Lipbalm Perfectors
I'm really not surprised that this post is one of the most read of the year as these lipbalms are definitely one of my favourite products of the year. I have been using the Coral shade all year long and it keeps my lips lovely and hydrated - have you tried them before? Let me know in the comments.

Barry M Sunset Daylight Curing Nail Polish
I'm quite surprised this post made my top five posts of the year as I didn't give them a very glowing review, but that's what beauty blogging is all about! I was really impressed with the shade selection but not so impressed with the staying power as they chipped in under 24 hours. Did you give these polishes a try? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

Makeup Revolution Pro Go Brush Set
I knew Makeup Revolution would make an appearance in this list - they are one of my top brands of 2014 and 2015. They have just gone from strength to strength and its Pro Go Brush Set was super popular this year as well as being super cute and handy for travelling.

Clarins Garden Escape Spring Collection Joli Rouge Brilliant Sheer Shine Lipsticks
Another appearance from Clarins and I'm not surprised it's these super lovely lipsticks. These really changed lipstick wearing for me as I was previously someone who wouldn't even consider wearing let alone buying a lipstick but these shades were really natural looking and gorgeous once applied, so much so that they've taken pride of place in my make-up bag this year.

Makeup Revolution Naked Chocolate Palette
A second appearance from Makeup Revolution and I have to say this is one of my absolute favourite products of the year. I received it very early on in the year and I absolutely love the selection of shades, they are very me! I've been using the palette on a daily basis but unfortunately left it behind in a hotel room back in May. I just had to re-buy it and am very glad it's back in my collection.

Let me know in the comments what your favourite posts have been to read this year.

Merry Christmas

The scent of Christmas with Yankee Candle

Looking around my lounge right now, I can count 11 Yankee Candles and most of those are Christmas ones. I posted recently about how to make the home feel festive, featuring a couple of new candles.

My go-to Christmas Yankee Candle has always been White Christmas, which is such a soft and subtle scent, but I was recently sent some new candles from the brand's new festive range, which have taken Christmas candles to another level!

Winter Glow is the most subtle scents of the four I was sent. It's very similar to Soft Blanket, but probably not as strong. It just has a hint of winter about it and that lovely frosty smell you get on a traditional winter day.

From here on in it's scent, scent, scent. I'm not used to having really strong scented candles (my boyfriend complains an awful lot but what does he know?) but Berry Trifle, Cosy by the Fire and Bundle Up are just all Christmas combined in little jars!

Because they're so strong they really engulf the whole house with delicious smells. Bundle Up in particular is the most Christmassy of the lot, with a strong citrus hint running throughout it. Berry Trifle is classic Yankee Candle in my opinion, it has an amazing berry aroma that's super strong and tangy - it literally makes me want to eat some sort of berry pudding!

Cosy by the Fire is a great little candle as it just screams cosy Christmas infront of the crackling fire. It's full of more classic Christmas scents such as ginger, cloves and orange and really makes me feel warm and cosy.

Without a real tree and without any Christmas cooking or baking going on in my house it's pretty difficult to capture that proper scent of Christmas, unless I stick my nose in a Quality Street tin, so these candles really help make the place feel much warmer and more festive!

What's your favourite festive scent?

*This post contains PR samples.

Traditional Christmas Nails from Barry M

How gorgeous is this red and purple colour combination? I just realised it actually matches my Christmas tree...

In contrast to my Alternative Christmas Nails posts last week, I thought this week I'd go for something a bit more traditional in time for the big day.

I finally picked up these two new, sparkly shades from Barry M, which I discovered are actually Superdrug exclusives. I discovered that after spending day after day checking my locals Boots store, oops!

There are just two glitter polishes in the range, Sparkling Ruby and Sparkling Amethyst. It's actually the first time we've seen glitter in the brand's Gelly range, but I'm sure we will be seeing a lot more shades coming in the future though.

I thought these polishes might be similar to the ones you can get where you can actually feel the glitter after you've applied it, but as these are part of the Gelly Hi-Shine range, the glitter is actually smooth to the touch once it's on the nail, meaning you get a really gorgeous, sparkly finish and it won't take you until next Christmas to remove it.

You can probably already tell that I'm super impressed with these polishes. Barry M's gelly polishes are some of my favourite just because they have really wide brushes, which really helps application, they dry quickly, have great staying power and a super shiny finish, even in the case of these glitter versions, which shine and sparkle in the light.

They're super tough and strong too. After applying and letting the polish dry I went ahead and did all of my housework and there was not a chip in sight!

What are your go to traditional Christmas nails? Let me know in the comments.

Look Fantastic Christmas Beauty Box

It has been SO long since I got myself a beauty box! I recently saw Look Fantastic's new Christmas box and thought I'd give it a go, mainly because I spotted a Molton Brown product and a Wet Brush in the mix and definitely wanted to get my hands on them. I actually opted for a three month subscription, which works out as £13.33 for each box and I was really impressed with this Christmas box so have high hopes for future boxes.

I was initially mostly intrigued about the Wet Brush as I have seen reviews over many blogs recently and wanted to give it a try myself. I do have a Tangle Teezer, but I've kind of fallen out of love with it. The Wet Brush is much smaller, perfect for your handbag, and has much softer bristles. I will try and dedicate a full post to it soon!

The box also contains a Molton Brown body wash, which I can never have too many of - Water Mint is such a gorgeous scented wash too, very refreshing and zingy and as if that wasn't enough the box also contains an Eve Lom cleanser, which I've been trialling over the course of a week or two. So far I'm enjoying how my skin is feeling but am not really enjoying the scent of it, it's not pleasant at all, however I will soldier on and it leaves my skin feeling lovely and soft afterwards!

The box also includes a sample of Codage serum, some Eyelure eyelashes and a Lord & Berry glittery eyeliner. As you can probably tell I'm mostly impressed by the Molton Brown body wash and Wet Brush but the eyeliner, cleanser and serum are all working out really well for me so far.

I remember when beauty boxes first came out and they were so much fun to unbox and discover all these new products, but then the market got overly saturated and I kind of went off them. It was really nice to receive this box and discover new brands I've never used before such as Eve Lom and Codage as well as find some more familiar brands in there too. I'd definitely recommend signing up if you fancy treating yourself!

Did you receive the Look Fantastic Christmas Beauty Box? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

Seventeen Long Lash Mascara

I'm always looking for new mascaras and I'm usually pretty unsuccessful. Most mascaras are all about volume and 'pumping up' and those mascaras often have very big brushes, which aren't ideal for my short, camel lashes, which literally point outwards instead of upwards. In my search for mascaras I'm often looking for ones that make lashes longer instead of fuller and give them a bit of curvature. Long thin brushes are definitely the best for me so when I was introduced to Seventeen's new Long Lash mascara I knew it would be the perfect mascara for me!

The brush is a specially designed 'mini' brush, which makes it so much easier to coat the lower lashes and really get into the corners of the eye, which is something I usually struggle with. They definitely give my lashes a good amount of length, without being becoming too spidery or clumpy and it stays put all day long too.

From December 31 you'll be able to buy this beauty for £6.99 - will you be picking one up? Let me know in the comments.

*This post contains a PR sample

Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Eau De Parfum

I'm a sucker for a floral perfume. Seriously, you should see my 'perfume' shelf in my bathroom. I'm a little ashamed actually but when the offer of adding another perfume to the collection arises, I can't turn it down, especially when it's a perfume I've wanted to try for absolutely ages!

The lovely folks at House of Fraser sent me a bottle of the popular Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Eau De Parfum, which I have been picking up pretty much every day since receiving it.

This is a perfume that's been around for years so I'm surprised I didn't already have it. Upon first spritz I was expecting it to be pretty girly and sweet but its top notes of tea and bergamot, middle notes of sambac jasmine, orchid, freesia and rose and base note of patchouli give it a richer, more opulent floral feel, with a hint of fizziness. It's a nice change to the rest of my collection.

The diamond-esque bottle means it makes a pretty display piece on your shelf or dressing table and with Christmas coming up this would make the ideal present for a friend or family member...or even yourself!

Have you tried the Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Eau De Parfum? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Alternative Christmas Nails from Barry M

Most years I dedicate a blog post to Christmas/festive nails and this year is no different, but I also thought I'd include a post for 'alternative' Christmas nails for those who want dark and moody nails to match their soul at this time of year. I'm joking obviously, it's for those that don't fancy going down the traditional red/green/glitter route and want something a bit different.

Sitting among the usual festive shades were a couple of Gelly polishes from my good 'ol faves Barry M, that I thought would be perfect for this alternative look. I picked up Black Grape, which is a deep, dark blue, Black Pistachio, which is actually a green, but not your traditional Christmas tree green, it's much darker and Plum, which is pretty much what its namesake says.

These shades are perfect if you're not feeling particularly festive. They're very dark shades and it's pretty tricky to tell the green and blue apart from a distance but they all work really well together or even used individually.

Black Grape and Black Pistachio are newer shades to the range as they had much wider brushes than the Plum shade. I much prefer the wide brush versions as you can coat the whole nail in one go. They all apply really nicely though and dry super quick, leaving a really glossy, shiney finish.

Overall I'm loving the alternative option when it comes to festive nails, it's a nice change from glitters, but for those who do like something mroe traditional, I'm hoping to have something to suit you nail-wise coming soon!

What are your go-to alternative Christmas nails?

How to make your home feel festive

If you saw my post about decorating the Christmas tree earlier this week, you'll know how much I love it and now that I live in my own place I also get to make the house a little more festive as well.

To help spread the festive cheer a little further it's a nice idea to use ornaments. I was recently sent some Christmas decorations by the lovely people at Debenhams, including this woodland reindeer and Christmas tree and they're currently sitting pride of place on top of a couple of bookshelves. You can dress them up with candles and other winter-themed pieces and Christmas cards.

So, what could possibly be better than seeing Christmas in front of your very eyes in your own home? How about smelling it...Christmas candles are my absolute favourite and looking around my living room, I can see I might have a bit of a Yankee Candle problem, a Christmas-themed Yankee Candle problem to be more specific. Christmassy candles are perfect if you don't have a real Christmas tree that's giving off that lovely pine smell.

As well as ornaments and candles you can also go all out with wreaths, garlands and even Christmas-themed bedding - you know the Primark set I mean!

What do you do to make your home feel more festive?

*This post contains PR samples

Decorating the Christmas tree

One of my favourite things about Christmas is, of course, decorating the Christmas tree. Something about it takes me right back to being a kid, but now that I don't live at home I no longer have to submit to my mum's strict yearly theme and can go all out with anything I want. Cue the tinsel!

It's always fun getting the decorations out each year but sometimes it's nice to mix things up with something new so I was thrilled to have some Christmas decorations sent to me by the lovely people from Debenhams. I went for a mix of its traditional, wonderland and more glamorous collections for my tree this year and have put together a couple of tips for decorating the Christmas tree, from what i've learnt over the years.

Light's, camera, action!
Always put the lights on the tree first, starting from the bottom and working your way to the top. Plug them in and switch them on while you add the rest of the decorations, as it will help light the way for you and enable you to easily see where things look best.

Compromise
Compromise with your other half when they want to add decorations you aren't keen on...if they're allowed to add that ugly blue bauble, then you should be allowed to add one you like too!



Add personality
Personalise your decorations if you can. The easiest way to do this is through the use of baubles, there are so many in many different shapes so if you can find one in the shape of something you love then go for it, it's nice to have a little reflection of yourself on the tree. For example, if you're a ballet dancer, Debenham's do some fab ballerina baubles.

Alternatively, you could make decorations yourself but my tips for that would be a completely other blog post entirely!





Just hanging around!
Hang baubles or other hanging decs such as bows and ribbons in a zig-zag pattern, which helps your eye and anyone else's to be taken through the tree from left to right.

Survey your work
Throughout the decorating process, keep standing back from the tree so you can make sure everything's looking good.



Present temptation
You can place presents under the tree ready for the big day but a top tip of mine is to make sure you don't leave any chocolate or anything else edible under the tree or hanging from the tree if you have pets around!

What are your top tips for decorating the Christmas tree?

*This post contains PR samples.