Advent Door 17 - Look Beauty Berry Vamp Lipstick & Lip Liner

Evening lovelies, final post from me today!


So at the start of the month, I was searching for a vampy, berry lipstick and was very much in love with 107 from Rimmel, however I was sick of it bleeding so I headed off to find a lip liner to match. 


I didn't find one I liked, however I did pick up the lipstick and lip liner from Look Beauty in Berry Vamp. I loved that the colours were perfect, with both being a deep, purple red, perfect for the winter if a tad dark for my pale skin tone.


The formula is very creamy and pigmented of both the lip liner and lipstick - there was no need to apply a lip balm as it didn't dry my lips out.


You can pick these up from Superdrug or online at Look Beauty for £7 for the lipstick and £4 for the liner, well worth the £11 price tag. I'm still searching for a darker lipstick to suit my skin tone, but for now this has satisfied it!


Have you got a better alternative? xx

Advent Door 16 - Knitwear Ideas for Boyfriends

Dark Red Knitted Skiers Shawl Collar Cardigan, £25

Navy Contrast Fox Print Jumper, £20 

Dark Red Waffle Cable Knit Shawl Collar Cardigan, £20

Navy Contrast Suede Patch Jumper, £15

Afternoon lovelies,

We finished early today so I've popped into town as the boy wants some knitwear for Xmas, and I know that New Look have a great range. 

I've picked out 4 that I would buy him, however I know he wouldn't wear the red one except for at Christmas. 

All of these are under £30 so with the extra, why not treat yourself to something!

What do you think, which one would you pick? xx

Advent Door 15 - Lush Sandy Santa Review

Morning lovelies, today is a happy day - its finally half term! This has been one very long term, but finally I can get home and celebrate with a warm bath - rock and roll I know!

One of my essentials in a bath at the moment is a good body scrub, and I think this could be possibly the best scrub I have found for a while, even rivalling Soap and Glory.

Sandy Santa is a Santa shaped sugar scrub with a citrus scent. The scrub pieces are quite large and rough, so this isn't something I would recommend if you have sensitive skin, however its great for getting off all of that pesky fake tan!

I love this, you only need a little bit to get a deep clean, however it is incredibly messy, and  a lot of its wasted, especially if it gets damp in the shower.

You can pick these up for £2.95 each and I think they make bath time more fun - what do you think? xx

Advent Door 14 - Smashbox Try It Kit

Evening lovelies, 

Hands up if you love a beauty freebie? Well, grab a lovely friend and head over to Smashbox counters in Boots for a make-over session and register your details to pick up this kit.

Each kits contains:

• Photo Finish Foundation Primer 7.lml


• Photo Finish Lid Primer 0.5ml


• Limitless Eye Liner in Onyx 0.8g


• Hyperlash Mascara in Blackout 4ml


• Lip Enhancing Gloss in Illume 4.2ml

Each of these are minis, which are great for trying out something new if you've not tried any of the Smashbox products.

I love the liner and both of the primers as they grip to the skin and don't budge all day or night. I love these and will look at buying the full sizes when I need them!


So head down to Boots before Dec 31st with a bestie and grab one of these :)


Have you tried anything else from Smashbox? xx

Advent Door 13 - Lincoln Christmas Market

Afternoon lovelies,

No Christmas is complete for me without a trip to the Christmas Market at home in Lincoln.Every year 1000's of people descend upon our normally sleepy city to eat, drink and buy lots of random but wonderful Christmas gifts.

The market is set around the Cathedral and the Castle, which is gorgeous as the sun starts to set. The whole market has a traditional feel, with the sellers having to wear Victorian costume which adds to the Dickensian feel of the market.

(Spot my dad in the left hand corner!!)

 (Sun going down)

  

 (Couldn't resist a Bratwurst!)

 (The Big Wheel)

 (The Cathedral from the Big Wheel)

 ( From the wheel)

(Shops around the castle)

I love being at home, even if its just for a few days, but this is one of my favourite times to be at home. I bought some gifts for my family, as well as lots of food, fresh fudge and the boy bought a flagon of cider! 

For me, this is a big part of Christmas traditions, what are your traditions? Have you been up to Lincoln for the Xmas Market? xx

Advent Door 12 - Look Beauty Pro Palete

Morning lovelies,

I will hold my hands up and admit that I didn't jump at the announcement of the Look beauty range, it just didn't grab me, however I went looking for a berry lipstick recently and picked one up from Look and this caught my eye.

The Pro Palette is great for the Xmas season, especially those of us who are spending this year at the in-laws and so have to pack for quite a few days. 

Made up of 3 individual palettes containing eye colours, lip colours and blush as well as a removable case to pop your choice of pallet in.

The colour choices are really good, with a pallet for any occasion to create a range of looks. I love how pigmented I found the colours, and they last quite well, very similar to the MUA.

The three collections are:



Metallic Nude:

Good for an every day subtle eye, this was easy to use with a range of matte colours with a few a bit more glittery. The blush is lovely peachy colour, nice for a subtle flush. The lip colours are a tad odd, not overly pigmented but still quite nice on the lip.

Glitzy:

 The party collection, bright colours with lots of shimmer and glitter. I wouldn't use these as a full eye look but as a liner with a wet brush to really add a pop of definition - the blue is very on trend for next season as well! The blush is a good pinky blush, think running through the snow and you're spot on. A good red lip colour, the silver isn't so wearable though!

60's Trend:

+

What draws me is the blush and lip colour more then anything - I love the pinky nude lips and the very natural blush. I'm not sure what eye looks to create with this collections, any MUA's that want to help me out then let me know! 

All of this will set you back for the princely sum of £15, which I think is very good for 3 pallets, alternatively if you spend £10 on Look Beauty products, you can pick this up for free! If this tickles your fancy then head over to http://www.lookbeauty.co.uk/index.php/ and have a look!

What do you think - ideal for the Xmas season? How would you use that final palette?

Advent Door 11 - VO5 Smoothly Does It

Evening again,

I'm not normally the type to go for super strait hair, I have a long face and so look awful without any texture to my hair! But I was surprised when I reached for this as I wanted strait hair for a day to curl it the next.

I've used products from VO5 before, and when this was Free with last months Cosmo, I knew I would try it at some point.
Smoothly Does It is part of the Gloss Me Smooth range, which is a Shampoo, Conditioner, Creme and Spray. I liked this one as it has heat defence, which I know I really need more of in my life (poor hair!)

I use about 10p sized blob and run this through the mid lengths and ends of my hair before blow drying to help smooth out any kinks and curls that fight back. Using this means I need to use my hair straighteners less, protecting my ombre ends more and helping keep my hair in better condition.

I think I will use this quite a lot over December, it helped to hold my hair straightish so the next day I could curl it really well and left me with semi-messy curls.

I think when this runs out I will pick up another, especially as its less then £4! I'm still on the search for other hair styling products, any other recommendations?
Xx

Advent Door 10 - Barry M Ltd Edition Gold

Afternoon lovelies,

In my world, nail polish makes me happy, and free nail polish makes me really happy, so when I saw that if I spent £6 on Barry M I would get a freebie, then I new I would be treating someone and myself!!


I love the Christmas polishes that Barry M bring out, I really don't own enough of the Barry M range, but I really can't fault it at the moment, the colour range is fab, and the quality are really good, with the core range lasting well over the 4 days I normally scratch off most polishes.

Last year we were given foil effects and this year we have gold - a gorgeous, gold leaf effect polish. I've thought long and hard how to describe this but it really does feel like gold leaf, with the smooth texture that is brushed on.

I used this as my Xmas party colour, linking with the nail studs you can see on my ring finger. It worked well as a base colour, and two coats were perfect.

This didn't last as long on the nail, but I think that's because of the effect as it started to flake around the tips. For a freebie, I really can't fault it, one that I'm tempted to wear for Christmas.

What do you think!? Have you picked up any of the free colours? Xx

Advent Door 9 - Weight Watchers Whitefish Gratin

Evening lovelies, so another door, and a recipe for you today. You might not know but I've been following the Weight Watchers plan for a while now and I often cook from the website so thought I would share my current favourite.

You will need:

500 g Fish, Cod, Raw

2 medium Leek, sliced
450 ml Milk, Skimmed
2 1/2 tablespoons Margarine, Soft, Polyunsaturated
40 g Flour, Wheat, White, Plain
50 g Cheese, Cheddar, grated
1 teaspoons (heaped) Mustard, Wholegrain
50 g Breadcrumbs, Fresh
1 sprig(s) Thyme, Fresh
1 pinch Salt
1/2 teaspoons (ground) Pepper, Black (Whole, Cracked or Ground)

Preheat a medium grill. Put 4 individual gratin dishes or one large shallow baking dish in the grill compartment to warm.

Put the fish and leeks into a large frying pan and cover with water. Heat and simmer gently for 5-6 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked. (The flesh should flake easily when tested with a fork). Drain thoroughly then share the fish and leeks between the warm dishes.

Put the milk, margarine and flour into a non-stick saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly with a small whisk until the sauce boils and thickens. Remove from the heat. Stir in the mustard and half the cheese. Season and pour over the fish. Scatter the breadcrumbs, thyme or rosemary sprigs and remaining cheese over the top. Grill for 3-4 minutes, until browned and bubbling. Serve at once.

I love how easy this is, I made enough for me and the boy, and we had enough left for two more 'ready meals' which I have used.

It's a really warming dish, and for 9pro-points, it's delicious and one that I have made again since :)

If you want more recipes from Weight Watchers or any more posts then let me know xx

Advent Door 8 - Lush Father Christmas - Review

Afternoon lovelies,

So I've got a bit (read a lot!) behind with opening my doors, but. I had to step away and focus on work - especially as we had our OFSTED inspection!


So I'm going to try and catch up, maybe even double post each day, so up today we have my new favourite bath bomb.

After the stress of school, I knew I had to relax with a bath and catch up on sleep. So in I threw this cute, huge bath bomb in the shape of the uber cute Father Christmas.

The smell is what initially drew me to this bath bomb, it's really orangey and fruity. After that, who could resist the little face smiling back, and the sheer size of this.

In I popped this, and suddenly green bubbles came billowing out - I was not expecting it to turn my bath green! The bubbles were a bit shorted lived really, so I chucked in some other, none essential bubble bath to give me the bubbles. I thought the green water was cool, until I got in the bath and realised it was full of orange glitter pieces, I literally sat for ages staring at it in the water ( I was incredibly tired at this point!)

I'm kinda gutted I used all of this bomb in one, but for £3.25, I will be stocking up - I might even cut them in half next time to make them last even longer!!

Overall, a great bath bomb, perfectly in keeping with the season, and one I can't recommend enough!! Have you tired it? X


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Advent Door 7 - The Perfect Christmas

So behind today's door, there is a wonderful post from Fee about the perfect Christmas - this has really made me very homesick and ready for a good, family Christmas.

It’s official: this is the year of Christmas. Every blogger and her reindeer seems more excited this year than any other year, and we've all caught full-on, glitter-bauble, fluffy-trimmed Christmas fever. Our blogs are festive and the days are being counted: but how do we really achieve that perfect Christmas?

Okay, so a perfect Christmas is subjective. To me, perfection lays in my childhood memories: dragging my present-filled pillowcase up the stairs to my Mum’s room, resting it on the end of her bed and surrounding myself with giddy excitement and sparkling wrapping paper as I tore into what treats Santa had left me. Breakfast, dressed, the presents from under the tree and a trip to my Granny’s for the Christmas Dinner of giants. But I’m a grown-up now, and live 700 miles away from my family. Christmas has become an opportunity to create new traditions, to enjoy festivities in new ways with new people and, god help my family, to be responsible for cooking Christmas dinner.

So the first thing my perfect Christmas needs is snow. I want to sing cheesy Christmas songs as I look out of my window at a winter wonderland (see what I did there?), and nothing beats the glimmering sheen of a fresh layer of snow first thing in the morning. After curling up under a duvet to watch The Grinch (1966 version!), I want to swap gifts with my other half while playing the most embarrassingly festive songs. Christmas jumpers should not be optional.

Christmas Dinner is a military operation in my house. It begins on the 22^nd of September, when my turkey leaves the freezer, and has me working on various bits and bobs until dinner is served. Everything is arranged on a neatly scheduled list which, if I’m honest, might be one of my favourite things about Christmas time. Nothing beats a list! Christmas Dinner isn’t finished until you are suffering from a severe case of ‘the meat sweats’, and you feel so full you genuinely don’t know if you can move. And then it’s time for pudding.

Everybody’s Christmas day is different, and perfection is indefinable: what makes Christmas magical to me will probably be at the bottom of the list for most other people. But what we can all agree on is that we’re all excited this year, we’re all looking forward to giving people the gifts we've painstakingly picked for them and we’re all secretly going to be taking a peek when Santa comes in to drop off our gifts. Because Christmas Magic doesn’t fade with age: it only ever gets stronger.

I blog over at VintageFee about life, make-up and becoming a mother. Have a fantastic Christmas!