What Did I get for Christmas?

31 December 2016


Although Christmas isn't as magical as it once was, we still start the day the same as when I believed in Santa Claus. As soon as we're all awake we rush downstairs to open our presents. It's not quite as exciting as it was when I thought an overweight old man in a red suit broke into our house and delivered them but it's still better than any other day!

I've been well and truly spoiled this year. And I don't know about you but I LOVE seeing what others got for Christmas.. mainly because I'm the nosiest person on the planet. So if you're anything like me you'll love these posts too!

Most of what I got was on my list (yes, I still write a list for my Mom). By the time Christmas had come around I'd actually forgotten what I asked for so I was still super surprised when I opened them! I asked my mom several times how she knew I wanted things and she replied "it was on your list..."

Now, onto the good stuff...

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Harry Potter, Tim Burton, and Madonna. So it's only natural for some of my gifts to revolve around them! I've been wanting the Guy Oseary photobooks of Madonna for YEARS now, but they've always been one of those things that have slipped through the radar. Thankfully, this year my sister bought me Madonna Confessions and it's amazing! 

I also got the newest Harry Potter 'Vault' book to complete my collection. I LOVE these books! They're so beautiful and full of facts about the films. This is The Artifact Vault but the others are: The Creatures Vault, The Characters Vault, and Magical Places from the Films. They're all incredible and must haves for any fan! And of course, no Potter fan is complete without a few Pop Vinyls.. I'm in love with Bella & Volds (Bellamort, if you will). 

Monopoly.. it's my favourite board game! Nobody in my house ever wants to play though because 'it takes too long'. This year, however, I was lucky enough to get The Nightmare Before Christmas edition. I haven't played it yet but I'm SO excited. We already have the Disney edition and I wasn't sure anything could top it but this is up there! 


The Cath Kidston x Disney range is amazing, and my mom got me this super cute make up bag from the range. It's so pretty and such good quality, my only disappointment is that there are only two characters. Tigger, where you at? She also got me 4 Kylie Lipkits: Posie K, Koko K, Maliboo, and Kymajesty. I am actually in love with Maliboo, it's the perfect nude shade and I'd 1000% recommend it to anybody. 

The Anastasia Moon Child Glow palette.. there are no words for this! It's incredible. And this Too Faced blush in Sparkling Bellini, I've been eyeing this for the longest time as it's such a pretty colour. The MAC Magic Dust Powder in Yum Yum Yum was a present to me from me (sort of). I bought it from Duty Free with some of the money I was given, I'd been trying to get it in store for the longest time but it was sold out everywhere. And then I find it in Gatwick Airport!


No Christmas would be complete without smellies. Unfortunately we only have a shower so I don't get any Lush bath bombs *cries*. BUT I did get a bottle of Snow Fairy shower gel and Snow Fairy Body Conditioner - which looks absolutely incredible. 

I actually bought the pink Vans in the sale before Christmas, and then asked my mom to put them up for me for Christmas. I don't usually do that but they were in the sale and I couldn't afford them at the time, but they were too good to let go! Also, the perks of having a sister who works at Starbucks.. discounted merch! I honestly think my cup is my favourite present.


I've been after a new purse for a while but haven't been able to find the right one. This Kate Spade one was actually from TK Maxx so it's all the goodness at the fraction of the price! I asked for these Ted Baker ear muffs for my trip to Iceland, and let me tell you; they did the trick! My ears were so toasty!

Is it even Christmas if you don't get a selection of different chocolates? I mean, chocolate is my bae and part of my daily diet anyway. So, anyone who knows me knows that they can't go wrong with chocolate!


I've been totally spoiled this year and I'm so lucky to have received so many amazing presents!
What were your favourite presents this year?



Top 50 Songs of 2016

30 December 2016


Every year I make a playlist of my favourite songs that year. It's basically an easy way for me to listen to all the songs that I'm loving at that moment. It's also a great way to look back over the year in music! Some of these songs weren't necessarily released in 2016 but just songs that I've been loving this year! Listen to my full 2016 playlist here.

1. Sigma ft Take That - Cry 
2. Busted - On What You're On 
3. Ariana Grande - Side to Side
4. DNCE - Cake by the Ocean 
5. Zara Larsson - Lush Life
6. Blossoms - Charlemagne 
7. Snakeships - Cruel 
8. Lady Gaga - Perfect Illusion
9. The Courteeners - No One Will Ever Replace Us
10. The 1975 - The Sound
11. The Ramona Flowers - Dirty World
12. Tom Chaplin - Quicksand 
13. Little Mix - Shoutout to My Ex
14. Nick Jonas - Close
15. Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop the Feeling
16. OneRepublic - Wherever I Go
17. The Weeknd - Starboy 
18. Zayn - Pillowtalk
19. Robbie Williams - Love My Life
20. Calum Scott - Dancing On My Own
21. Shawn Mendes - Statiches 
22. Blossoms - Getaway
23. Tom Odell - Magnetised 
24. Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out 
25. Birdy - Wild Horses
26. Adele - Send My Love
27. P!nk - Just Like Fire 
28. Fifth Harmony - Work from Home
29. Olly Murs - You Don't Know Love
30. Jonas Blue - Fast Cars 
31. Lady Gaga - Diamond Heart 
32. Jamie T - Power Over Man 
33. Fall Out Boy - Uma Thurman 
34. The Chainsmokers ft Halsey - Closer
35. Coldplay - Adventure of a Lifetime
36. Lukas Graham - 7 Years
37. Sia - Cheap Thrills
38. Stereophonics - Mr and Mrs Smith
39. Robbie Williams - Party Like a Russian 
40. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic
41. 99 Souls ft Destiny's Child - The Girl is Mine
42. One Direction - History
43. Little Mix - Secret Love Song
44. Arctic Monkeys - Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High
45. Ariana Grande - Into You
46. DNCE - Toothbrush
47. Blossoms - At Most A Kiss
48. Busted - Coming Home
49. Rihanna - Work
50. Galantis - No Money



Christmas Wrapping

22 December 2016


I really love wrapping presents, it's one of my favourite parts of Christmas. This year, I wrapped half of mine so early that I've pretty much forgotten what I've got everyone! 

I wanted to go a little more neutral and simple with my wrapping this year. I was going to get some brown paper from the post office when I stumbled upon this gold paper from WHSmith. It's amazing because it looks just like brown paper but it has a nice shimmer that gives it something a little extra. I then got a set of string and tags from good ol' Wilkos, and some white sparkly bells from Sainsbury's. Just when you thought my wrapping couldn't get any better I found these funky stickers in TK Maxx. My presents look so good this year, I don't think they've ever looked half this good!

TOP TIP: If the item you have to wrap is a weird shape put it in a cardboard box. This makes everything look 1000 times better and is also so much easier to wrap! Also, if it means people are less likely to guess what you got them! 


Kylie Cosmetics Holiday Collection

19 December 2016


The Kylie Cosmetics Holiday Collection - we all knew it was coming and it did NOT disappoint. As soon as I saw it was being released I knew that I had to get my hands on some of it (or all of it if I could afford to).

There we two shades that I immediately knew I needed: Dancer the new metal, and Angel the new matte. Unfortunately, Angel wasn't available on it's own as a lipkit and only came as part of a set; either the mini mattes or the four piece set. I was so torn! Initially I was going to get the mini mattes as I already have the Birthday set, but, in the end I went for the four piece set. I still wish I'd got the minis too. 

I have one regret: ordering too soon! I know how weird that sounds but I was originally going to wait a few days as I knew she was giving away a free stocking with orders. Also, in the weeks to follow there were more and more freebies available! I'm really kicking myself for not waiting as I'm sure I could have got that products that I wanted, and on top of that I would've got an added bonus of a free stocking/lipkit/keyring etc. Don't be impatient, kids! 

I honestly don't think I've ever had a more stressful time in my life than making this order! I ordered on November 21st and had to wait a whole week for my order to even get shipped. After that it took a further three weeks to reach me! UK Customs kept it there for two weeks and then had the audacity to give me a £25 customs charge! I should be charging them for holding my parcel for so long! Thankfully, after the longest four weeks of my life I WAS FINALLY UNITED WITH MY ORDER!!

In the case of my waiting for my order for so long I don't blame Kylie Cosmetics at ALL. On the webiste it says packages will be shipped in 3-5 working days, which mine was. Although it was the latter end of the scale I can't dispute that it was shipped within that time frame. The main issue with the wait I had was that UK customs had it for SO LONG. I spoke with customs and they actually said that it can take up to 28 days for them to process packages through, so I suppose 2 weeks isn't all that bad! The worst part was that customs can't actually update the tracking - I knew it had left the US but I had no idea where it was. Was it at UK customs? Had it got lost? Had someone stolen it? In the end I obviously got my order and the long wait wasn't that fault of Kylie Cosmetics.


The packaging... do we even need to talk about it? Everybody knows its incredible! I think this is probably my favourite so far, the silver looks so amazing against every colour. I definitely prefer this to the previous gold packaging. Also, the card that comes with the holiday edition is the best yet! It's silver, has the lips logo scattered over it, and black text - so pretty!

Now onto the important stuff, my order...

Dancer $18
A shiney red wine colour. I have to admit that I am slightly disappointed by this colour. I thought it was going to be a bright Christmassy red but it was actually a darker muted red, similar to Reign. It is a really nice colour but isn't at all what I expected. I've had a few metals before and it does seem a lot better quality than what I've had in the past, so I'm glad that Kylie's improving on her products.

Four Piece Set $45
This set contains four full sized products, two mattes and two glosses. I was drawn to these as they are all full sized and come in four amazing shades:
Blitzen - A dark berry purple, a great shade for the winter!
Angel - My favourite of the set! A cute pink shade, slightly darker than Koko K. For me it isn't quite as good as Koko K but it's still a really pretty shade. I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of this one!
Cupid - A beautiful rose gold shade, the perfect gloss! This is probably the nicest colour I've ever seen. I don't think I'll use it as much as it deserves because I'm not a gloss girl but I love it!!! 
Noël - A coppery gold. So on trend! But very similar to the gloss from the Birthday collection; I'm a little disappointed that she didn't steer away from the gold and choose a different colour. From what I remember the Birthday gloss didn't sell too well on it's own so it was a little sneaky making a very similar one and sticking it in a set!

Overall, I am so pleased with my order! All the colours are so pretty and the packing is just to die for. I only wish I could have bought more!



Christmas Jumper Day!

16 December 2016


As today is Christmas Jumper Day I thought it would be the perfect time to post my favourite jumpers of the season. I love Christmas jumpers - the cringeyer the better! I never actually buy any though because, well, what's the point? I'd wear it once or twice a year if that! Although I'm a big fan of the Christmas jumper!

from top left clockwise










What's on my Christmas Playlist?

15 December 2016


Everybody has a Christmas, and if you don't you should have! Whether you celebrate or don't like Christmas we can all agree that there are some absolute tunes out there! And you shouldn't miss out on them. So, what's on my playlist? You can listen to it here

1. The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York
2. Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
3. Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas? (1984 Version)
4. Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody
5. Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone
6. Wham! - Last Christmas
7. Elton John - Step Into Christmas
8. Michael Bublé - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
9. Jona Lewie - Stop the Cavalry
10. Andy Williams - It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
11. Lily Allen - Somewhere Only We Know
12. Gabrielle Aplin - The Power of Love
13. Christina Aguilera - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
14. Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas is You
15. Chris Rea - Driving Home for Christmas
16. Tony Bennett - Winter Wonderland
17. Frank Sinatra - Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
18. Bing Crosby - White Christmas
19. David Essex - A Winter's Tale
20. Chris de Burgh - A Spaceman Came Travelling
21. Coldplay - Christmas Lights
22. Kelly Clarkson - Underneath the Tree
23. Leona Lewis - One More Sleep
24. The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping
25. Boney M - Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord

My all time favourite is Wizzard! What's your favourite Christmas song??


Tanya Burr Cosmetics Advent Calendar

13 December 2016


Every year when the advent calendars come out I lust over all the beauty ones, but they're always SO expensive. Tanya Burr Cosmetics' calendar was reasonably priced however, it retails at £25 but Daniel bought it me for £15 when it was discounted. It was a bargain! Especially when compared to some bigger brands that are charging £100 or more, which is just ridiculous. I mean, yes, they're nice products but Christmas is expensive enough as it is!

So, here's what was inside the Tanya Burr Cosmetics 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar! I'm not sure if these are in 100% the correct order as I kind of lost track, but it's close enough... 

Day 01: Candy Cane Lip Gloss
I was pleasantly surprised with what was behind the first door, I don't generally like lip glosses but I was still happy with this. It's a gorgeous pinky-red shade. Also, it smells AMAZING!

Day 02: Miniature Nail File
I was a little disappointed with this because it's so small. It's cute but nothing special. 

Day 03: Miniature Mirror
Again, this was a little anti-climactic, day 3 and only one make-up product? I wish these two had been spread out a little as the days to follow were so much better!

Day 04: Champagne Sparkle Glitter Pot
This more than made up for days 2 and 3, I've been looking for something like this for our Christmas party and it's such a perfect bronzey-gold colour. I love it!

Day 05: Ice Crystals Glitter Liner
This was probably one of my favourite so far! It looks so good over black eyeliner and I think I'll end up using it quite often. The only issue is that it settles weird so you have to shake well before using. 

Day 06: Glitters and Gold Nail Polish
This is a full sized nail polish which I was really excited about. It's a lovely coppery coloured glitter that would look great over so many colours.

Day 07: Berry Pavlova Lip Gloss
I was a little disappointed that I got another gloss, but that's mainly because I'm not into gloss. But this is a lovely Christmassy red colour and I'm sure that if you're a gloss person you'd love it!

Day 08: Snow Day Glitter Pot 
I absolutely love this! The colour is so nice, it's a white glitter but almost shimmers different colours in the light. So pretty!

Day 09: Christmas Stocking Matte Lip
FINALLY A MATTE LIP! So excited about this one, the formula is nice as it isn't drying but I don't like that it doesn't seem fully dry. But it's such a great shade of orangey-red, I love it!

Day 10: Treasured Glitter Liner
This liner is a lovely copper colour, it's perfect and so on trend with all the copper that's around lately. Also, I don't have the same issue with this as I do the silver glitter settling weirdly. 

Day 11: Sleigh Bells Nail Polish
I think this was one of my favourite products so far. It's a sparkly red nail varnish that would look so amazing over a deep red polish. Super excited to try this out!

Day 12: Glitter Rain Nail Polish
This is very similar to the copper nail polish but it's silver. I've loved all the nail varnishes as they're full sized and so sparkly. Nothing says Christmas like sparkly nails!

Overall I was really pleased with this calendar and everyday I was so excited to see what was behind the door. However, I am a little disappointed that a lot of the products are the same but in alternating colours (glitter pots, eyeliners, and nail varnishes are all in silver and bronze). It would have been nice to maybe have seen some different colours in there or some different products - blush, highlighter, eyeshadow, lipstick, where you at?


Did anyone else get this calendar? If so, what did you think of it?



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