My Advent Calendars 2015! :-D

I wasn’t expecting to have an advent calendar this year. My previous post (here) described about how I decided to save my pennies and just buy a few pamper goodies for the month of December. However I had been window shopping online at all the beautiful ones and last minute I purchased one for £5.00 from Wilko. I think the one I picked up was a nice budget option including some nail goodies.

I had entered Lauren Wanders Bomb Cosmetics advent calendar giveaway just recently, and to my joy I won the competition. It arrived this morning and I am thrilled with it. It includes mini bath bombs and soaps. Lauren is lovely too, her YouTube channel is fab, she does vlogs, hauls, beauty related content and much more! (here). I’m looking forward to December when I can open my windows now! The scent from the bomb cosmetics one smells lush!

So have you treated yourself to an advent calendar? Which ones have caught your eye? :-) Xxx

My Homemade Pre-Christmas Festive Hamper Idea

This idea came about when I was searching online for a good value beauty advent calendar, some were in the £50s so I wanted to treat myself to something which would be more value for money and still make me feel festive over the month of December. I did actually nab an advent calendar bargain for £5 in the end but this won’t be my main treat.

In my hamper I wanted things that would really make me feel good and to include fun ways of passing the time. Firstly I bought a Lush gift set, I just love the packaging and I look forward to doing a little review blog post on the products. The set included a shower gel, a body scrub and a body lotion which is perfect for a shower girl like me.

I chose two Christmassy books to read over December although I did cheat and I’m half way through the first book. Reading Christmas novels is my favourite pass time and thought these two choices would be perfect. Lastly I treated myself to some hot cocoa by Clipper, a perfect edition to the hamper and a great accompaniment while reading.

I would really recommend putting together a December hamper, you can put as much or little items inside and customize it to your wishes. It’s a nice alternative to a beauty advent calendar I think and it makes a great pamper night in. My hamper came to just over £30 and I know I will get a lot of use out of each item.

So have I inspired you to create your own hamper? What would you put in yours? :-) xxx

Merry and Bright gift set by Lush £14.95 (buy here)

A Christmas to Remember novel by Jenny Hale £7.99 (buy here)

When I Fall In Love novel by Miranda Dickinson £6.99 (buy here)

Clippers natural velvety hot chocolate £2.88 £2.30 (buy here)

Beginning your Christmas Shopping & what's on the shelves at the mo.

I loooove seeing all the gift sets in the shops and online. I popped into both Boots and Superdrug recently and snapped a few photos of what was on the shelves. Christmas shopping can be exciting but also a tiring experience so I thought this post would be a chatty and hopefully inspirational one to start thinking about your own gift buying.

The way I get started is browse websites and go into shops in town to see what’s out. I found with beginning early I could take advantage of some of the sales. I started picking up little bits around summer time. I did a lot of my in town shopping in September and finished off with a few online orders.

Superdrug are excellent for bringing out Christmas stock super early and often with initial discounts. Boots are always amazing for beauty and bath sets and I think their high end beauty sets are just so on point this year. I shopped around to get the best prices on some more expensive items and found Poundland, Primark etc. excellent for stocking fillers.

What are your top Christmas shopping tips? Have you bought any Christmas gifts yet? :-) Xx

Boots......

Superdrug......

Christmas Gift Wrap, Diary, Calendar & Stationery Shopping Haul

I placed an order on Paperchase back in mid-September for a couple of bits I needed for Christmas and the New Year. I decided to be super organised this year with buying a diary and so on. For the past couple of years I’ve been ordering a diary and Christmas wrap from Paperchase. The diaries are such good quality and I love the designs on the gift wrap.

Anyway I thought I would blog it today as Christmas is looming and thought you would like to see what xmas wrap designs I picked. I loved these three designs and thought the illustrations were modern and classy. I picked a pink 2016 diary, this particular style I thought looked so chic.

I had a little nosy in the stationery section, they seem to have different collections and I was really attracted to the Mystic Rose section. Everything looked so pretty and I thought the items I picked out would blend perfectly into my bedroom décor. I imagine they could make really cool gifts too.

So have you been Christmas gift wrap/2016 diary shopping? Which items I bought do you like? :-) xxx

Paperchase

Noto large pink day to view 2016 diary £15 (Buy Here)
Kraft stars 3m roll wrapping paper £3.75 (Buy Here)
Mounted stags 3m roll wrapping paper £3.75 (Buy Here)
Etched animals 3m roll wrapping paper £3.50 Free with offer! (Buy Here)
Antler woodland tissue paper - 3 sheets £2.00 (Buy Here)
Woodland antler gift stickers £1.25 (Buy Here)
White 40mmx87mm rectangular labels £2.00 (Buy Here)
Mystic Rose A6 exercise books - set of 3 £5.00 (Buy Here)
Mystic Rose multi list book £8.00 (Buy Here)
Mystic Rose foldaway bag £4.50 (Buy Here)
Mystic Rose glasses case £8.00 (Buy Here)

Newsagent

Tatty Teddy Calendar £5.99

Autumn Leaves Photo Series

Hi there! Today’s post is a photo series which I have slowly been incorporating more into my blog especially as they have been some of my most popular posts. I have noticed tons of autumn related content on other people’s blogs and there has been some really lovely ideas. I pondered over what I would like to feature on my blog related to this and decided to include some of my photography work.

There are so many autumnal gorgeous scenes out and about plus the leaves are such pretty colours. I didn’t have to go far though, in fact some of these are just taken in my garden. I’m loving macro photography at the mo and I find going right up close to a subject really interesting. Hope you enjoy this post, feel free to link your own autumn posts I would love to check those out!

What have you been up to over the weekend? Hope you are having a fabulous week so far!!
Love Helen xxx

Galaxy Hot Chocolate

I’ve mentioned my love for hot chocolate a couple of times now and you all seem to enjoy it too so todays post is a review of a variety I love… Galaxy! This brand are definitely known for their silky, indulgent chocolate bars but actually I think the hot cocoa range is also pretty on point and great if you are on a budget. I picked this box up in a discount store for only 99p which to me is a great deal.

It tastes like Galaxy chocolate, its rich, creamy and with lots of bubbles. Just add hot water and milk, a perfect way to warm up after a crisp Autumn walk. This was not the first time I’ve tried their hot chocolate, it’s actually probably one of the best you can find in supermarkets although I do have special place in my heart for the Whittard’s brand.

So are you about to boil the kettle and make yourself a hot chocolate? 

Do you enjoy trying different varieties? :-) xx

The Origins Ginger Range

So at the beginning of this year in the January sales I purchased an Origins Ginger gift set. I’d tried the Gloomaway range previously and has been my holy grail ever since. The ginger range was actually really amazing too, the scent is just incredible, I was literally blown away, almost on par with the Gloomaway range and that’s saying a lot as its one of my all time favourites.

So in this set I purchased it included three products firstly the Ginger Burst Savoury Body Wash, Incredible Spreadable Smoothing Ginger Body Scrub and the Ginger Soufflé Whipped Body Cream. Each being amazing in their own right, I was not left feeling disappointed. As follows a quick summary of what I thought…

Ginger Burst Savoury Body Wash
Such a treat to use, the scent was very prominent even after stepping out the shower. Such a luxurious product that wakes you up.

Incredible Spreadable Smoothing Ginger Body Scrub
I was impressed with the scrub, the ginger scent was just as good here as with the other products. It was a gritty scrub that left my skin feeling smooth after using.

Ginger Soufflé Whipped Body Cream
Really loved this, the body cream was just perfection and a great way to let the scent linger after you have showered/bathed. The cream sank in reasonably quickly too.

This gift set was originally £22 and reduced to £14. Unfortunately this particular set may not be available now. There is a new gift set that’s come out, it’s a little pricier but includes similar products, link here. If you are after trying the ginger range or want to get more info visit the Origins website here.

Have you heard of this product range before? Are you intrigued to try any the items mentioned? :-) Xx