What I got for Christmas 2014 :-)

I’ve been doing this post for a couple of years now. I enjoy sharing and talking to other bloggers to find out what they got and to tell them what I have received.

In our family we write lists and this year I wanted less stuff but more high quality products. This way I don’t have loads of bulky items hanging around all year. My friend got me a Philosophy bath set which I can’t wait to use. I was given an Origins hand cream set, my love for Origins has really grown, and they are gorgeous! I have a few more Origins products in my Christmas sales post coming up soon.

As a surprise my mum got me a jumbo hot chocolate set and a tea hamper both from a lovely brand called Whittard. I can’t wait to try them out!! I got lots more activity based gifts from my parents this year including books, DVDs, CDs, a jigsaw etc.

My Favourite surprise was the Miranda Hart Maracattack DVD and some maracas. I laughed when I opened it, I thought it was hilarious and fab! Can’t wait to have a go ha! :-)

Please get in touch with your ‘What I got for Christmas post’ would love to share ideas :-) Expect a Christmas sales haul very soon! Best wishes for 2015! xxxx

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year. My Christmas In Photos!

Hi and a very Merry Christmas! Hope you had a lovely few days. Please let me know what you’ve been up too in the comments below, maybe spending time with loved ones, eating too much food, braving the Boxing Day sales etc! :-)

Our family spread Christmas activities over the month so we saw family the weekend before Christmas and I saw my friends over December and went to a few festive outings like markets and local fairs.

Christmas day was with my immediate family including Mum, Dad and my Brother. We opened presents in the morning, had Christmas lunch and chilled out the rest of the day. It was fairly relaxed and very nice :-)

I’m planning on doing a ‘What I got for Christmas’ post as well as a ‘What I got in the sales’ post. Let me know if you have or are going to do the same :-) I’m planning on hitting the sales with friends which I’m looking forward to!

Heres a few photo snippets from my Christmas, hope you enjoy them….The last photo is of some vintage baubles I won in a facebook competition for York House :-D

Christmas Gift Wrapping Tips

So ladies yesterday I finished my gift wrapping and felt inspired to write a little post of tips if you are lacking inspiration. Hope you enjoy…..

1.) Choose a theme or colour palette. This year I had chosen metallic and graphic patterns. By sticking to a scheme all the presents under the tree will coordinate. If you super organised you could coordinate the tree with the presents :-)

2.) Buy extras such a ribbon, bows, thread etc to decorate. These items can make all the difference to the finishing touch of your wrapping.

3.) Wrapping neatly can be difficult but taking your time with edges helps and I would recommend making envelope shapes, this makes it look ten times more professional.

4.) Get creative! A few years back I used photographs instead of labels. Another idea is to make handmade gift tags using paper and card scraps. Anything like this makes it personal and a joy to open.

5.) I always forgot to buy gift bags and boxes until the last minute. Poundland and Poundworld do some great gift bag choices and they are great value.

6.) My final tip is to enjoy it! Make yourself some mulled wine and pop on the Christmas tunes. Merry Christmas!!!

 

 



Intro to Polyvore. A cool place online to make fashion/inspiration boards.

All Wrapped Up. by capstick13 featuring a cashmere top

 

You may or may not have heard of Polyvore, it’s a cool place online to make fashion boards or any kind of inspiration boards. You can add items to a board and experiment anyway you wish. These ‘boards’ are called sets. You can also create collections which in other words are folders of individual items.

 

It takes a while to learn tips and tricks. If you are new to Polyvore you can browse other members or communities to gain knowledge and inspiration. Also once you’ve joined online I would recommend adding items. These appear on your profile and you can use them later on in your sets and collections.

 

It took me a while to develop a style on my sets. Some people keep it simple by adding a few items to make an outfit which I do sometimes, example above. If you want to be more adventurous you can create a template but I find this process trickier.

 

Some ideas I’ve seen include picking a colour and sticking to it for one board. Also picking a theme such as minimalist, street fashion, favourite products etc.

 

Feel free to add me on there if you’ve been on there a while or if you are a newbie. Let me know in the comments if you want to be Polyvore friends! :-D Lots of love, Helen Xxx

 

www.polyvore.com
http://capstick13.polyvore.com/

Rituals Ancient Beauty Gift Set £17.50

I received this gift set for my birthday this year and wanted to review it now because I recommend it highly as a gift for someone you love at Christmas. The set contains a body scrub, shower foam, shampoo and body cream and each individual product I thought was really good. 

I think the shampoo was my favourite out the bunch because the Indian rose scent going throughout the products was really unique for a shampoo and I found my hair was really shiny after use. My next fav was the foaming shower gel. Again such a unique product. I think this is the second foaming gel I’ve tried, the first being from Champneys. The Rituals product seemed really long lasting, a lot went along way for a 50ml bottle. It worked nicely on the skin and was interesting to use as appose to a standard shower gel.

I liked the body cream because of the divine scent which stayed on the skin well after using. The cream was lovely to apply and afterwards my skin felt soft. The scub surprised me, after opening it looked a bit dry and not up to much. However after using it in the shower and adding a little water the aroma was so menthol, perfect if you had a blocked nose. Afterwards my skin was extra soft and it also seemed to have moisturised my skin also.

I also want to add the packaging is really luxurious and I felt to good use such special premium products compared to everyday brands. The price is also reasonable for a high end brand and the scent throughout the set I thought was unique and spar like.

If you are looking for a gift for your friend, wife, girlfriend, mum I would think this gift set would go down a storm. If you are a beauty blogger this would be ideal if they are just getting into premium brands like myself! CLICK HERE TO BUY.

Have you tried anything by Rituals? If not what product would you like to try? Xx

Soap & Glory All The Right Smoothes Gift Set

I thought you girls would like a review of one of the Soap&Glory gift sets from boots this year. Although this set is from last Christmas I noticed they have brought out it again for this year. It retails at £8.00. I received this as a gift and was really pleased with the products. Included in the set are three of the well-known body butters in 50ml pots. Sugar Crush, The Righteous Butter and Butter Yourself.

This was the first time I had used Sugar Crush and this was my fav of the three. The scent was so citrusy and refreshing. It lasted long on the skin and was a delight to use. Butter yourself was a lovely pleasant fragrance described as green fig & yuzu fruit. Although a less well known fragrance it was very nice. The third The Righteous Butter is probably the most well-known one the three and in my opinion a classic Soap&Glory product. This beautiful fruity floral is an all-round beauty.

The formula of all the body butters are moisturising and luxurious. They can be doubled up as perfume as the scent is long lasting on the skin. They make fabulous stocking fillers! Click here to buy on the Boots Website.

Have you tried any of these body butters? What bath products are on your Christmas list? Xxx

Part Two of Autumnal/Winter Must Haves & A Haul

Hey all :-)

Here is the second part to the A/W haul.  I picked up a few extra things collectively and thought you may be interested to see. I wanted to get my Christmas shopping done and dusted by Halloween so I could have more time to do other things over the Christmas period.

Previous years I’ve had no time to shop for myself over A/W because I’m so busy buying presents. The shops are just so amazing around the seasonal period and I love to look round without too much stress of finishing my Christmas shopping.

Last year I bought Boots first beauty calendar but was so busy I never even showed you guys! This year I bought the No7 one. I’m so excited to start opening the doors in December. I’m expecting good things from the brand.

I also picked up an awesome bargain. New Look were doing 25% off some of their clothes, mainly coats. I saw a beautiful classic grey coat in a lovely soft material but only realised the bargain when I got to the till, result!

I also bought Soap & Glorys Orangeasm shower gel. There 500ml bottles last me months so hopefully it will see me through until January.

How are you finding the shops at this time of year? Have you picked up a bargain or spotted an advent calendar you want?

Best wishes,
Helen xx

Boots

No7 Advent calendar £35 (buy here)
Soap & Glory orangeasm shower gel £6.50 (buy here)

Primark

Glitter festive bobbles 2pk £1.50

New Look

Grey smart coat with pockets SALE £30 (buy here)

Autumnal/Winter Must Haves & A Haul

Christmas Chick Literature Books 

I’ve got into the habit of reading Christmas Fiction novels over the colder months and it makes me feel festive! I can’t wait to start reading them!

The Boots Christmas Catalogue

I love browsing the boots catalogue, theres so many great gifts this year! The no7 ones looks divine!

A Cosy Onesie

I jumped on the band wagon and picked up a onesie from next. They are so cosy and snug!! Click here to buy this onesie.

A Cosy Winter Parka Coat

I was in desperate need for a warm winter coat. Primark have been so on point this year for coats. This one was £25.00. I love the collar and have been wearing it lots!!

Primark Thermal Socks/Cosy Socks

I purchase these from Primark every year and they are perfect for around the house. Lots of people go for the cosy socks but Primark also stock thermal socks, and these are so comfy also!

A Beauty Advent Calendar

I am yet to buy one but I’ve got my beady eyes on the No7 one!! Which ones are you guys liking?

Things for Planning in 2015...

A Cute Calendar

Clintons were doing a buy one get one free and this shabby chic one just caught my eye.

A Diary

A diary is a must for planning ahead. This one is from paperchase (buy here!). Its such an investment piece for me and I just love the pattern :-)

Notepad 

Not only are these so handy for writing notes at your desk, they maker super cool gifts too!! (buy here from paperchase!)

What are your Autumn/Winter must haves? Did you enjoy this post? :-) Xx

No7 Stay Perfect Lipstick In 'Bare'

I thought it was about time I reviewed this gorgeous lipstick. After receiving it as a gift I decided to tell you all about it. My Mum picked this No7 lipstick product in the colour Bare. It’s a lovely Autumnal nudey brown colour. It kind of reminds me of the Kylie Jenner lipstick colour people have been going mad for.

Now we are coming into A/W I thought it would be a great idea to dig this little gem out. The formula is just perfection. It glides onto the lips even if they are a little dry with the cold weather. As the name suggests is stays perfect for hours.

It retails at £9.95 and the colour range is pretty darn good. I will definitely be investing in one or two more colours. The packaging is sleek and stylish. I find No7 is a very reliable brand for makeup and skincare and this product is no exception. Buy Here.

Do you like No7 products? What lipstick have you been wearing as we come into Autumn/Winter?

Homeware & Beauty Haul. Store Twenty One, Boots.

I went shopping last month and thought I would share my purchases with you. My bedroom was decorated last year and slowly I’ve been adding little bits to complete the look of the room. 

I’m finding Store Twenty One is so on point for homeware at the moment, even it isn’t all that well known as a shop. Our local store, you have to go right to the back for all there homeware but I do find theres so many gorgeous pieces, often on sale too!

The colour scheme of my room is silver, lilac/purple and black. I found some gorgeous candles in the shape of butterflies that I just fell in love with. I also bought a cushion to go on my desk chair. In addition I spotted a shabby chic photo frame, the muted pretty colours work so well with my room colours.

I’m still on the hunt for a few more photo frames, a couple more cushions and ornaments. I want it to be all cosy for Autumn time. Finally I wanted to add I purchased some beauty bits. My holy grail shampoo John Frieda Volume shampoo was a must and I was running out of shower gels. It was 3 for 2 in the Boots Extracts range so I bought three shower gels from that brand. I love, love the Brazil nut (another holy grail!)

Have you been shopping recently? What shops do you recommend for homeware? Xx

Store Twenty One

Butterfly Candles £2.49

Consentina shabby chic photo frame £6.99

Purple cushion £3.99

Boots

Extracts body washes in Vanilla, Strawberry and Brazil Nut £4.50 each (3 for 2 offer) Buy Here.

John Frieda volume shampoo £5.99 Buy Here.