What I Got For Christmas 2015 | Beauty, Fashion and Homey Bits!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas spent with your loved ones, I sure did! For those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you've had a lovely few days nevertheless. Today I'm going to be sharing with you what I got for Christmas. I know how boring it can get with the usual disclaimers at the beginning of these posts and videos but I'd just like to put it out there, I'm super grateful for everything I have received this year. I love reading these posts so I thought I'd do one myself! I'm just going to get straight into it.








 First, I'm going to start with my stocking. We've had stockings in my house for as long as I can remember and over the years Santa(wink wink) has gotten so generous and made them larger each year. I have to say, I love stockings and would be more than happy with just a few stocking presents on Christmas Day. In my stocking, I tend to get the same kind of things every year like beauty essentials including cleansers, cotton wool pads and face masks etc which I love as it means I won't have to go out and make the same repurchases over and over again. I've been trying to take care of my nails this year and I kept loosing the tools so I received this dinky little set which is so handy, hopefully I won't loose them now!



We also tend to get a huge amount of chocolate, like most people I assume? Usually it would be gone within a few days but I'm pacing myself this year, sort of. Haha! I'm sat here wondering where it's all gone, hmm..





I also received some lovely candles including this mini vanilla frosting jar and lots of tea lights which are essential for my tart burner. I'm the worst for burning myself whilst lighting candles so my mum picked up this long lighter to avoid that, what a life saver haha! This was well needed.




Now I'll move on to the presents under the tree. My parents told me as I was getting money, I wouldn't have many presents to open but they were wrong! I was still completely shocked with the amount in my pile. I received lots of homey bits this year. Now, when I say homey bits, I don't mean home ware, I mean lots of bits that I'll use whilst relaxing at home.






First up which is possibly my favourite gift out of the lot was a new dressing gown! I've had the same one for about five years now and it was really on it's lasts legs- it wasn't the most subtle either- it was a hot pink leopard print one. The one I received this year is more subtle, a taupe/dusty pink colour. It's so cosy and I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of it. I also received this white snuggle blanket, we had one of these in our living room and it was held hostage up in my room for a while so my parents decided to get one for myself. It's so cosy, looks cute on my bed and will be perfect for the rest of the season. Oops, I forgot to take a picture of it but it's used as a background in the rest of these pictures.



Pyjamas are mandatory at Christmas, am I right? We always end up with a pair or two and I'm not complaining. I live in my pyjamas when I'm at home! First I received these super cosy Bambi pyjamas. These are similar to a pair I had last year, again from my sister but this time they have cuffed bottoms which I love as it means I won't trip over trouser legs that are too long!

I also had these pretty cloud pyjama bottoms, again they're cuffed. These feel so comfortable and stretchy so will be perfect for lazy days- by the way, these are from Sainsbury's if you're wondering as my mum left the tag on. What is Christmas without socks? I had three pairs of cosy socks which will be ideal to pair with my new pyjamas!

Next from my sister I had a lovely mug which came with a whisk, hot chocolate and mini marshmallows. It was perfect for during the evening on Boxing Day!



I've really loved Yankee Candles since I first discovered them a few years ago. I'm always tempted by the jars however I find the votives and wax tarts are such great value for money that I won't splurge. From my sisters boyfriend, he very kindly got me a load of votives and this rustic star holder. These will last me a good while and I love all the scents he chose so I'm so grateful.






From my other sister I received an adult colouring book. It was a good while since I'd been eyeing these up whilst shopping so I was so surprised that she remembered! She also got me some new colouring pencils and this lovely Cath Kidston pencil case to store them in. It's from the Kids section as she said the prints were nicer in there compared to the adults, haha!





I'm a huge fan of Olly Murs and was gutted when the calendar had sold out last year, therefore I had to go a year without one but this year my sister picked up the unofficial one- it's got some lovely photos in it so I'm not complaining. I also received an Olly Murs poster, my siblings know me too well!



Now I shall move onto the fashion and beauty gifts I received. I was so happy to receive a new watch as my other one had been playing up, this ones from Avon and is black with a rose gold bezel. I love it!



I saw this bag featured in a haul on YouTube and fell in love with it, especially when I found out it was only £20 from Zara. I put it on my wish list and my sister bought it for me, it's such a great size, looks like real leather and has a longer strap to carry on your shoulder or wear across your body. I can't wait to use it!












Last but not least, onto the beauty bits. I hinted to my parents that I'd love the Soap and Glory Whole She-Bang set and bless my mum, she was up at 7am on her day off to head onto the Boots site to order it. So lovely and I'm so thankful as it has some of my favourite products in and new bits I'm yet to try.






My sisters boyfriends mother was also kind enough to gift me with The Body Shop Coconut set. I love Coconut and The Body Shop so this is a win-win!

I received this really lovely eyes, nails and lips set, I swatched the products and was shocked by their pigmentation as these are from Primark! I'll definitely be looking to try more of the Primark Beauty.



My mum knows I love Real Techniques brushes so picked up the Expert Face Brush for me, however she accidentally ordered three somehow. I asked could I exchange one of them for a different brush and she said yes, we requested a return on Amazon and they accepted and told us not to bother returning the brush and refunded the money. I technically got a free brush, somehow!? And I've now ordered the Setting Brush. So lucky!



I've had my eye on the Stila palettes for a while and when my brother asked was there anything I wanted from the ASOS beauty sale for Christmas, I said I'd love this Stila Eyes are the Window Palette in Spirit. I definitely didn't think he'd get it for me and I was so shocked to open this on Christmas Day. Such a surprise and I'm so thankful!

Like I said earlier, my 'main' present from my parents was money. I also received money from my Nan, Grampy and Aunties etc so I shall be putting that money towards a new purse, probably more makeup and hopefully(if all goes to plan) driving lessons. I'm determined 2016 will be the year I start driving, we'll see eh?

There you have it, what I got for Christmas! I was spoilt this year, as I am every year and I couldn't be more thankful. Of course, Christmas isn't about receiving, it's for giving, loving and spending time with your loved ones. Gifts are just a bonus! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that Santa was kind to you!




I'd love to hear what you got for Christmas so feel free to leave a link in the comments to your post/video!




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Autumn Haul | Clothes, Accessories and Makeup!

The transition from Summer to Autumn happened so quickly. I know Summer in the UK is hardly ever the greatest but we had a good few days where it was warm and we even had that mini heatwave. Despite the fact my wardrobe this Summer was definitely not summery, I still found as soon as Autumn came around my wardrobe needed a good refresh. Dare I say it, it's not completely done and its likely inevitable that I will pick up some more clothes- I think I've picked up some nice pieces that I thought i'd share with you today. There's also a few beauty bits at the end too!

First stop was H&M. I went not looking for anything in particular then found the jumper I was after last Autumn/Winter. I believe these are basics so they're probably in store all year round in different colours but I had my eye on the mustard colour, perfect for Autumn with a berry lip. These are slightly cropped and I didn't want them to be so I picked them up in a large. I'm glad I did as the black and white mixed wool one has slightly shrunk in the wash- so bare that in mind if you're thinking of buying one. Also these are £7.99, perfect for pairing with jeans, skirts or over dresses. I may go back and pick up the olive/khaki one too!

As I've started doing supply work as a Teaching Assistant, I was in need of some comfortable, appropriate clothes for school. Dresses with leggings and boots seem to be a popular choice and I must say, this combo is easy to throw on early morning and super comfortable. I browsed boohoo as they always have great deals, I found both these dresses in the sale- the Chambray Gingham Dress was £8 and the Monochrome Aztec Dress was £6.
I love the Gingham one and i'll definitely get a lot of wear in and out of work, however the Aztec one isn't usually something i'd wear but is perfect for work.

I also popped into town earlier this week with my sister. Of course, I must have a browse in Primark as it's not often that i'm in town. I've been looking for a green flannel shirt for a while and had my eye on one in the men's section but every time I looked, they never had a small! I found this in the women's section which i'm glad about as it will fit better. This was only £8 and I think it looks more expensive, i'll wear this buttoned up and undone- I don't think i'm cool enough to wear it around my waist, haha!
I also picked up this long sleeved ribbed top in a rusty brown colour, this goes perfect with the shirt but looks great thrown on with jeans and boots too!

I was in need of another pair of black high waisted jeans(see first picture) as I bust out of my previous pair while in McDonalds, how embarrassing! They were very worn out though, so that's my excuse. They're only £10 in Primark so much cheaper than Topshop Joni Jeans.

I almost always buy a new pair of boots every Autumn. This year I bought these pointed black boots from Dorothy Perkins which you may have already seen on my blog. They were £25 which is a bargain in itself as they seem quite sturdy, however I had a £10 gift voucher and there was 20% off in store on the day, so I got these for only £10! I'm so chuffed as I've already gotten a lot of wear out of these.

I've not owned a watch in years because i'll let you into a secret, I've never been the greatest at telling the time. I know, i'm 18 and I've only just learnt to properly tell the time on an analogue clock- that's awful! But I make myself feel better as I know a few older than me who still can't tell the time. Anyway, I needed this for work as I obviously can't have my phone on me. I love how simple but pretty this is, it's from ASOS and was only £13.

Last but certainly not least I popped into Boots. I again had a £10 gift voucher so I was determined to spend it this time. I saw that Rimmel had a 2 for £10 offer so I thought i'd check it out and re-jog my memory to see if there was anything I wanted to try. The Kate Moss Lipsticks are much loved in the blogosphere, especially 107 so I picked it up to sport in the Autumn with my mustard jumper. I've been wanting to change my foundation for a while as I got a bit bored with it so I got the Rimmel Match Perfection in the shade Ivory to try. I'm yet to try it but i'm sure i'll let you know my thoughts.

Fleur De Force recently announced her new makeup line which I believe came out on Thursday. I've never really wanted to buy other Youtuber's products, however I was really intrigued by these highly pigmented lip glosses. They're like a mix between liquid lipsticks and lip glosses which I've not seen before so I promptly purchased this gorgeous 'your lips but better' shade in Written In The Stars. So far, I really like it- it smells amazing and will be perfect for everyday wear.

And that's all I've bought recently for Autumn. As I said earlier, i'm sure there will be more to come! If I pick up enough worth hauling, then I sure will!

Hope you've had a lovely week!

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN BUYING RECENTLY?

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The Sunday Edit #7 | HOLIDAY 2015

The Friday before last, you may or may not know that I went on a short holiday to South Devon. I used to do Sunday Edits on my blog quite regularly but I haven't in a while because my life was filled up with college, college work and working in the evenings too. Seeing as I had a break from everything, I thought i'd share with you what I got up to whilst on my travels.

On the 14th August, my parents, siblings and myself traveled down to Exeter as that was where we were staying the first night, in a hotel just outside of town. Once we arrived we checked into the hotel and much to my delight I had a double bed to myself which I very much enjoyed, i'd love a double at home but I simply don't have the space for it unfortunately! We threw our bags down and headed out for brunch, we went straight to the vintage cafe we went to before but unfortunately it was closed for refurbishment so we settled for the next one along down the road. 

We did a little bit of exploring in the town centre and I was very good and didn't spend too much- I did however pop into Lush to buy the Mask of Magnaminty and a gift for my sister. We also saw the Cathedral which was lovely then made our way to the local pub, I had hunters chicken which was amazing!

Saturday was my younger brothers birthday, happy birthday to him! We had breakfast at the hotel which was a choice of cereals, fruit and a cooked breakfast which was lovely and then we made our way down to Dawlish where we were staying for the rest of our holiday. Again we explored the town a little, ate ice cream on the beach front- I had cookies and cream which was so delicious! I also bought some duck food, I felt like a child again feeding the ducks and I was also chased by some pigeons for some food. After a short while, we made our way to the holiday park to settle in and explored the beach and shops down the road. I was quite pleased with the pictures I took and my brother had a lovely day- more celebrations to come!

On Sunday we decided to pop down to Torquay sea front as we were planning on getting a boat from there, unfortunately it wasn't running that day. Instead we played some pitch and putt then started a long walk to a nearby village called Cockington which was absolutely beautiful. It had the most gorgeous tea rooms where a man played the piano whilst people ate, it also had a series of independent craft shops which all had some beautiful pieces which I didn't get any pictures of unfortunately. We did so much walking this day so we were pretty much done for the day and spent the evening relaxing.

After the boat trip fail on Sunday, we decided to go on Monday instead. The trip was to Exmouth another nearby seaside town, there were some stunning views from the boat which I've included here. Once we arrived, we walked along the beach then made our way to the fun park which is obviously aimed at the kids but we couldn't help it, ok!? My brother and I could not resist the swan pedal boats on the lake, we had so much fun and if I do say so myself I was a pretty good driver- it was also a good but tiring leg workout too! We also played some mini golf which I must admit i'm not great at, but it was fun nonetheless- haha! The weather was lovely the first half of the holiday so we were pretty hot and tired by this time so stopped for a drink and we also had the most amazing chips I've had from a takeaway in a while! We walked through the park into town and saw some squirrels which came so close, we had a browse around some of the little shops then walked back to catch the boat. We even saw a seal sunbathing on a sand bank on route back, which was cool!

On Tuesday we had a lie in as my other two sisters spontaneously decided to come down and see us. We drove to Teignmouth and spent ages looking for a parking space, it was really busy! Once we finally found one, again we explored the town centre. Do you see a running theme here? All are so different and have a lot of independent stores that you won't find anywhere else so it didn't get boring. Next we made our way down to the pier and I had my palm read(by a machine in the arcade, which I know will be complete waffle but why not!?). We spent a while looking for somewhere to each lunch and settled on a lovely pub which I've forgotten the name of but I had scampi which was a perfect seaside lunch! However, the deserts weren't the best so we made our way back down to the pier for a good ol' 99. Seeing as the weather was still lovely, we took an evening walk down the beach and enjoyed some freshly cooked hot donuts- mmm!

Wednesday was when the weather took a turn for the worse and was unfortunately grey, miserable and rainy. However, we didn't want to stay in all day so I did a quick google search and the House of Marbles was highly suggested for rainy days- it was basically a pottery, marble and toy museum. I know, it doesn't sound the most thrilling but it had good reviews so we thought we'd give it a go. Half an hour later, we were out- it was super busy and quite frankly we personally found it boring.  Instead we went to the nearest retail park and did some shopping, I bought some American candy- a Tootsie Roll and Cookie Dough Bites which I was super excited to try but I didn't particularly like either. I nearly cried in Pets at Home because I can't have a rabbit and I had a Lemon Ice Tea from Costa which was lovely. I also saw a few wild rabbits at our holiday park, which made up for earlier!

Thursday was another rainy day but we decided we would face the rain and get out in it so we drove down to Ottery, St Mary which apparently is the only place in England to spot wild beavers. The wildlife park we visited was lovely, we saw otters being fed and enjoying their enrichment, watched a birds of pray display where I may or may not have got hit by the wings of a Harris Hawk- scary but I wasn't the only one and nobody was injured. We also walked through the enclosure of red squirrels which was cool as I don't think I've seen a red squirrel before. They were so cute and got so close!

We stopped by the cafe where I enjoyed a nice cold lemonade before heading back to town to enjoy fish and chips by the beach, time in the amusements where I won a Harry Styles keying, haha!

Our final day in Dawlish was Friday. We woke up super early to pop down to the bakery and gift shop in the town centre to buy gifts for our family. It was rainy and we were certainly very tired after a busy week so our moods weren't the greatest. We decided to make our way home earlier than expected as we were supposed to be staying til Saturday. I picked up a piece of chocolate cake in the bakery to cheer me up and enjoy at home, I will start to eat healthier now that i'm back but holidays are for treating yourself right?

Overall, it was a lovely week and everyone certainly enjoyed themselves. It's nice to get away and have a break from the norm, relax and spend lots of quality time with your family. I believe I said this last year, as much as I love this part of England i'm hoping to save up and go abroad with my friends next year. Watch this space!

What have you been up to this week or in fact, throughout the Summer?

Let me know in the comments below!

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America Haul | Beauty, Fashion and Homeware

 I mentioned in my last post that today's blog post would be America and shopping related, did you guess it? Of course i'm doing a mini America haul. Unfortunately, I didn't go to America- my sister did. She asked if there was anything i'd like so of course I wasn't going to pass up on this opportunity to try American drugstore brands! I compiled a list of mainly things I couldn't pick up here in the UK or things I knew where cheaper in the US. Although I didn't get as much as i'd of hoped, as she could only find one thing on my list, she did however surprise me with some other gifts instead which I am so grateful for- thanks sis!

Focus on the swatch, not the rest of my hand pls

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Yogurt

Now, I know you can actually get these in the UK but I believe they're a little cheaper in America and i'm all for saving pennies. The Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk has been raved about, however I didn't really feel that I needed a white cream eye shadow so I decided to ask for Yogurt which as you can see is this gorgeous slightly pink toned bronze that will be amazing as a base! I haven't yet tested this but if I do like it, I shall be picking some more up. 

Crystal Point Pendant Necklace

This is something I usually wouldn't pick up for myself but I love it! I'm so pleased my sister picked this up for me as the green is gorgeous and will look amazing with simple monochrome outfits. I'm not too sure where my sister bought this but i'm sure if you search crystal point pendant then you'll be able to find similar!

Bath and Body Works Mini Candles

I knew I couldn't get these anywhere in the UK so I asked if she saw a Bath and Body Works store could she pop in and pick up a couple of their mini candles just so I could try them. I didn't request any particular scents as I couldn't smell them so I asked if she could get ones she thought i'd like and she did very well!

Island Tiare Flower- I definitely can't describe scents but I can tell you this smells very similar to the Yankee Candle in Pink Sands which is my favourite!

Coconut Vanilla- Does this really need explaining? I love the scent of coconuts and vanilla so this is perfect!

Pomelo Paradise- Again this one smells similar to Pink Sands by Yankee Candle but is slightly different from the first but I like it so i'm not complaining!

And last but definitely not least,

Las Vegas Mug

I don't think I've yet mentioned where she went but she visited Las Vegas and San Francisco. She knows how much i'd love to go to Las Vegas or pretty much anywhere in America so this was perfect for me as she also knows that I love a cup of tea. This is huge so I only tend to fill it half way but come winter time, I know this will be the perfect cup to warm me up after a long day at work!

I'm so grateful for her searching high and low for the products I ask for, although they were sold out unfortunately. I'm sure there will be another time i'll be able to ask someone to pick them up for me or they'll be more accessible in the UK. And of course i'm ever so thankful of her being so thoughtful and bringing other things back for me.

Have you been to America?

It's definitely near the top of my bucket list to go!

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