WHAT I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS: BEAUTY EDITION

Before I get into writing this post I just want to make it 100% clear that I am in no way bragging or showing off. I know a lot of people hate it when others share their Christmas presents on social media, however I on the other hand love seeing what everyone else has received from the big red man. I did get other presents, you know: chocolates, clothes and bath smellies. And I did get a few other makeup bits (which I am extremely grateful for) however, I decided to share these certain items on my blog as they are actually the items I asked for, so obviously I love them.

In terms of makeup brushes I absolutely love the Real Techniques brushes. Over the past year I have really got into contouring and highlighting is my favourite makeup step in the morning! Because of this I decided I wanted to give the Sculpting set a go. All I'm going to say for now is that they're probably my favourite makeup brushes of all time. In the new year I am sure I'll get round to writing a review and maybe even a demo. Also, I know they're on offer for around £13 in Superdrug at the moment (even though the website says they're £21 and out of stock...)

After loving the Naked 3 palette which I got for Christmas last year I decided to get another Naked Palette. Because I'm not a massive fan of eye-shadow and don't wear it on an everyday basis I wanted a more neutral, smaller palette and so I decided to got the Basics 2 palette.

Since I am such a huge fan of highlighting, contouring, bronzing and blushing at the moment, I also got...

Benefit Hoola Bronzer:

Anastasia Beverly Hills Pro Series Contour Kit:

Mac Mineralize Skin Finish (Lighscapade):

Sleek Contour Kit (Light):

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, make sure you keep an eye out for upcoming reviews and demos using these products in the next few months. Thank you!

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CHRISTMAS JEWELRY WISHLIST

I recently stumbled across a Scottish brand who specialise in dainty, vintage-looking jewelry and go by the name 'I Love a Lassie'. Since I completely fell in love with all of their items and Christmas is less than a week away I came up with my very own wishlist. Don't let the title of this blog post fool you though, of course you can buy these items any time of the year and they will look as beautiful in the summer as they do now!

I Love a Lassie have been lovely enough to share a Christmas discount code which you'll be able to use on their website over the Christmas period, so make sure you don't miss out - LASSIE15

I hope you enjoyed this post as jewelry isn't something I often talk about on my blog, but deep down I really do think that a piece of jewelry can pull any look together. Thank you for reading!

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DIY XMAS TREATS

I'd feel guilty if I didn't tell you... I didn't actually make these cute little things, however my mum brought them from somebody who did hand make them. As soon as I received them I fell in love with the idea, so I though, why not share them on my blog?

So, just because I didn't make them I'm sure you can see as well as I can just how easy they would be to make. You'd basically just need a piping-bag shaped bag, hot chocolate, marshmallows, red sweets, googly-eyes and a red pom-pom. Easy-peasy

I'm definitely going to make a few of these before the Christmas period is over because they're just so cute! They'd be the perfect treat on Christmas Eve or to give to your friends. You could even sell them to make money for charity.

Sorry this was a short post, I just couldn't resist posting about these little beauties. I hope you enjoyed it anyway and perhaps you're even inspired by them.

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CHRISTMAS PARTY OOTN

When it comes to dressing up for parties I prefer to keep it quite simple and classy. So even wearing red is pushing the boat out for me.But of course since it is Christmas I had to make some sort of effort to fit into the festivity.

I understand that this dress will in no way be for everybody and there's no way in the world I would tell anybody to wear this if they didn't feel comfortable. However, on myself I do feel it is flattering. I feel the low v-cut and thin straps suit me as I can easily get away without wearing a bra. I also love the fact the dress is longer and comes just below the knee after ruffling the skirt up a little bit. Being a 'thicker' girl I prefer to hide the very tops of my legs but I tend to opt out of wearing tights to any parties, so a longer skirt is perfect. I also feel that a longer skirt keeps the look much 'classier', especially when the top half is quite revealing. However, I also love a shorter skirt as much as the next girl and I am in no way saying that a short skirt isn't 'classy', of course a shorter skirt can look equally as nice.

Although you can't see in the photos, I paired this dress with a pair or (low-ish) red, chunky heels. In terms of makeup I would probably go for a gold smokey eye (because it's Christmas) with a cat-flick and some crazy lashes. I would also definitely wear a red lip. To stop myself from going overboard on the red I would paint my nails a pail pink colour, basically the same as my nails look in the photos.

I hope you enjoyed this post and if you're planning on going to any Christmas/New Years parties I hope you have the most amazing time.

Dress - Boohoo.com

Nails - Ciaté

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GIFT IDEAS FOR £15 (ISH)

Being a student is difficult when it comes to Christmas. You desperately want to spoil your loved ones, but at the same time you have to limit yourself so you don't go overboard and spend all of your money. Obviously, there are a million things out there in the shops that you can pick up for a few pounds: a new nail polish, body spray or pair of slippers from Primark. However, I have been looking for gifts I can give that are cheap but work well as a gift. So, I wanted to find a couple of things that if I gave to people they would be really happy to receive and think it was a really nice gift as a whole.

Since this is primarily a beauty blog, of course, one out of the two gifts featured had to be beauty related. Boots have loads of amazing deals at the moment, including a massive range of Christmas gift ideas. One gift I particularly fell in love with was this Soap & Glory Time to Pink set. I liked this set as it was based around makeup and I thought the blush was beautiful! However, if you much prefer the moisturisers and body sprays from Soap & Glory Boots also stocked a huge bauble which contained all that lovely stuff inside. The makeup set comes with a beautiful, sheer, pink nail polish, a roll on perfume, a stunning blusher and a lip-gloss that smells like chocolate - amazing! Although is actually cost £16 I decided to include it as the next item I loved was only £12, so actually if you brought both of them it would cost £28 instead of £30 if they did both cost £15.

The second item is for those who aren't really into all the makeup, beauty and pampering side of things. Having said that, I would still be over the moon to receive this as a gift it's so, so cute! If you couldn't tell from the photos above, I am in fact talking about the mason baking jar. As mentioned, it cost £12 and I purchased it from Newlook, but I did have a look online I found some, so if you can't find it in your local Newlook store I'm sure you'll be able to find one from elsewhere with a quick Google search. In Newlook they had the option between a peanut butter mix and a Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix which is the one I chose. I feel like you could buy this for anybody as you're basically handed everything on a plate: the ingredients and recipe. And of course, it goes without saying that the packaging is beautiful.

I hope you found this at least a little bit helpful. Also, I still haven't finished all of my Christmas shopping yet so if you have written a gift-idea post or just have some ideas in general I would love to know! Thank you!

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MY FAUX FUR COAT

There's nothing that I love more than winter fashion. It's so much better than any other season when it comes to colour, texture and style. I love everything from chunky boots to hoodies to beanies to faux fur everything - in particular, fur coats!

I've had my well-loved faux fur coat a couple of year now; I believe I got it for Christmas 2 years ago. But of course, I'm still IN LOVE with it! It was from Topshop but unfortunately I don't believe they stock it at the moment. The good news is, pretty much any shop with a website will sell a selection of faux-fur coats so you're bound to find one you love. This coat has definitely had its wear and I can't see myself replacing it any time soon. It is 100% a winter favourite!

What I'm wearing: Jumper/Top: Boohoo, Skirt: Newlook.

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LINCOLN CHRISTMAS MARKET

Every year Lincoln holds their Christmas market. I was a little skeptical before going as I had never been before and didn't really know what to expect. But actually, I was pleasantly surprised. It's much larger than I first thought and there is plenty to be getting on with. The only thing I would say is that it was absolutely packed! So if you're thinking of getting some serious shopping done there then you should think again. I feel like the yearly market is nice to go to for a few hours to get into the Christmas spirit as it can be quite expensive too if you don't watch what you're buying. I wanted to share a few photos that I took there, to give you the bigger picture. Enjoy!

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DECKING THE HALLS

Like the majority of the families I know, my family and I decided to put our Christmas decorations up this weekend. I'm an absolute sucker for having a 'traditional' Christmas, so although some of the decorations (the Winnie the Pooh tree house) are looking a little worse for wear it's just nice to still put them out, because of all the memories they hold. Every year we primarily decorate our living room, however we also put a tree up in our dining room with a few other decorations (which I didn't include in this post). Also, my sister and I have matching, pink trees which we decorate and keep in our bedroom. If are yet to put up your decorations this could perhaps inspire, unless you're just being nosy - that's fine too! 

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