Get Wrapping | Lifestyle

It's drawing ever closer to Christmas and if like me, you have done your shopping you know it's time for the best bit, so whack on your Christmas jumper and get wrapping!

I love wrapping presents, I mean I literally love it, I have a bag that is full of ribbon and bows and tissue paper and all sorts. All my ribbons are different sizes and colours, some with glitter some without, I can't get enough of it. Normally I go with themed colours, but this year I thought I would just use up the wrapping paper I already have from previous years, it saves on me buying more stuff. 

One year I did a bulk buy of ribbon, I think BHS do the best ranges of thick ribbon, always have a massive range of colours and various different styles with tonnes and tonnes of glitter. If you don't like your whole room covered in glitter then do not buy this ribbon, however if you're like me and don't really care then it's great. 

I know it's what's on the inside that counts but when you see a gift that is so lovingly wrapped it does make you feel special, which is what I always want to do with my friend and family and that's make them feel special. 

Here are just some of the ones I have wrapped this year...

 Do you love wrapping presents as much as me?

Fortnum & Mason Biscuit Tin Gift | Lifestyle

For today's post I thought I would share with you a gift I have picked up for my grandparents from Fortnum & Mason. Personally I don't really like gift guides or things like that but I thought that this tin is just so beautiful it would actually make a lovely gift for many people. 

   

I just love the look of this tin, a traditional merry-go-round.

Anyone who knows me knows my love for Fortnum & Mason, it's such a gorgeous store with so much history and heritage behind it that I would just go on for days about but I won't today, maybe another time. 

I walked in to the store knowing that they would have something perfect for my grandparents, they have the most amazing hampers but as soon as I walked in I saw this tin and just thought it was so cute. But the real selling point of this item is that you can wind it up and it turns into a little musical tin which spins like a real carousel.It just makes it so magical and pretty and my grandparents love a biscuit with a cup of tea (who doesn't?) plus you actually get a really lovely range of different types of biscuits.

The tin was on £25 which I don't actually think is a bad price at all, 

Have you been into Fortnum & Mason this year?  

December Birchbox | Beauty

Oh I have heard amazing things about this box and when I heard it was a colab with Sophie Webster I couldn't wait when I received the email to "it's on it's way". However 10 days later I was starting to get a little concerned because it hadn't arrived, I sent an email to the support team at Birchbox and can I just say how amazing their customer service is. 

Anyway when it did arrive practically squealed, oh it's a beauty. 

Loving the bejeweled festive theme

So let's start with the goregous little pouch

I absolutely love the design of this Sophie Webster pouch, really like the mint green colour. It's pretty handy for me because I have a very slim bag at the moment and I can't actually fit my purse in it so I'm carrying my change and cards just in random pockets in the bag so this is definitely going to get some use.

One tiny thing I do have to mention is that the pouch stinks, I mean really badly, I don't know whether it's moth balls or just the ink they have used to put the print on but it's pretty bad, hopefully it'll air out.

I always love to see a Models Own nail polish in my Birchbox, they are always full sized. I really like the velvet touch in the lid, definitely makes this nail polish stand out. It's part of a matte (velvet) range and I received the colour Amethyst  which I really love. 

I quickly tried it on one nail and it's really nice, it's very glittery in the bottle but when it dries it's matt so I thought that the sparkles wouldn't show up but I find they do, they're just not as in your face as you standard sparkly nails. It kinda reminds me of the Liquid Sands range by OPI only more sparkly and less bumpy.

I think I'm going to paint my nails this colour for my christmas party on Thursday.  

Who doesn't love a bit of Benefit? I've received my fair share of  benefit samples from Birchbox this year and each time I'm happy apart from when I recieved the They're Real Mascara (I don't understand the hype) so I was really hoping this little cracker would have something different in it and to my surprise it did. It has a lovely little sample of Benefit's High Beam. 

I currently use a powder highlighter from Sleek in their face form palette, so I'm quite excited to try out a highlighter in liquid form. I did a quick swatch and it blends nicely and I think the sample will last a little while because you don't actually need to use a lot. Looking forward to properly using High Beam.

This is the Eslor Firming Collagen day cream, although my little Birchbox leaflet says I can use it day and night. I'll be honest, I've never heard of this brand, but I kinda love the packaging and the colour of the pot. 

I always am happy to see a face cream and this one definitely looks thick and creamy, plus I suppose as I'm getting older a firming cream would actually be quite useful. When I opened the pot I found that the scent really reminded me of my Nan. She probably doesn't use this cream but I just mean there is something about it that reminds me of old ladies, not in a bad way just in a specific scent kinda way. Do you get what I mean? I think if I was to use this during the day the scent would grate on my a little bit but other than that I'm quite happy to try it out, it's a great sample size. 

This Trilogy Organic Rosehip oil is such a cute little sample size at 2.5mls, but to be honest with most oils you don't actually need a massive amount to make the product work. It doesn't really have a scent  that I could notice and I like the little pipette in the lid because it means you can use a more accurate amount of this oil. It's to be used on any dry patches you may have, I don't really get dry skin on my face so I'm not entirely sure of where I will just this little sample, but I do get quite dry legs in the winter so I might just some of it there.  

When I saw this Eyeko Fat Eye Stick I must admit I wasn't really that thrilled. I've never really been a fan of these types of eye products, I like to be precise with my eye make up and find that these types of pencils don't do the job. 

However I'm going to have to give myself a slap on the wrist for judging before I've even tried it,. I did a couple of swatches and found that this product is incredibly blend-able, it smudges really nicely so actually this should work well as an easy smokey eye. I recieved the eye stick in the shade Smoke, it has a very small amount of shimmer in it too so actually I am looking forward to trying this one out properly. 

This is probably the one I am least excited about, Electric Hair shampoo. I mean, it's always hard to tell how good a hair product is when you only receive one half, such as shampoo OR conditioner and not both. But on the plus side this is for dry hair to help nourish it, I will definitely use this shampoo but my hopes are particularly high. However it does smell really nice so that's a bonus. 

What is your favourite item in this months Birchbox?

Christmas Jumper | Fashion

So Christmas Jumper day was on Friday 12th December this year and I actually took part this year. Never really worn a "chritsmas jumper" before not even a slightly festive one. The company I work for made a pretty big deal out of it this year so I must admit I was on a bit of a hunt for the right jumper. 

I didn't want something that was going to be fashionably festive I wanted something in your face Christmassy and I knew the best place to find one was Primark. They literally have the biggest range of jumper even ones with flashing lights however I couldn't find one in my size. I like em big and baggy.  

So check out my oh so festive Christmas in your face jumper...

It's cute isn't it?

You know I got so many compliments on it and everyone couldn't believe it was actually from Primark. The thing is the quality is actually really impressive, personally i don't like primark that much because their stuff just doesn't last, however  this jumper is so thick and cosy I think i'll last a long while. It really good quality, I'm very impressed. 

The bells became a little annoying as the day went on, most people just laughed at me because they could hear be coming before i arrived. It was like a little kitten following me around all day, but it adds a bit of festive cheer so it's not too bad.

Have you got a Christmas jumper?

Favourite Christmas Baubles | Lifestyle

I'm going to try and make sure all of my posts from now until Christmas are Christmas related.So today I thought I would share with you some of my favourite baubles on my tree. The pictures are a little smaller than what we are used to but this is because I used my phone unfortunately. 

Let's start with...

A lovely little star. This is wooden and is covered in glitter of course. We always get our baubles from Van Hage which is a garden centre near to where I live. It's not that they do anything particularly different or special but it's just so beautiful walking around there at Christmas you can't help but have a look at all the different baubles. I love the fact the colour code all the baubles.

Ah, a little robin red breast. Love this one because whenever I see a robin it always makes me think of Christmas, its that traditional scene where you see one so colourful sitting in a pile of snow. So cute.

Another star, I know are we sensing a theme? But what I really like about this one is that the colour is a blue/silver colour so not your normal gold, red, green or sliver. It's like a pale blue and it's completely covered in glitter, you know I love a bit of sparkle. 

And you must have something with a reindeer on, I really like this one because it's quite traditional with the colours and shape. 

What are your favourite baubles?

The Christmas Tag | Lifestyle

So I saw this on HannahPacha's blog and I was tagged to do this by Johnsonshouseoflove so I just had to get involved really didn't I? I tag anyone who is reading this, c'mon it's Christmas, you've got to. 

1. What is your favourite Christmas Movie/s?

Elf! All day long, it's absolutely my favourite film ever. I hardly watch movies but this is one I have to watch every year. I also love The Grinch. 

2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

We have always been allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve, only a small one though and then the rest on Christmas morning. Though as we became older my mum often has to work Christmas Day so sometimes we open presents on Boxing Day, which is what we'll be doing this year.

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?

One year I received a Barbie car, it was beautiful. It was red and shiny and a convertible. To be honest it's hard to just pick one, but every year it's always just so nice to sit down with your family and eat and drink until your heart is content. 

4. Favourite festive food?

Pigs in Blankets, advent calendar chocolate, mince pies, the actual dinner it's self, anythings and everything homemade. I'm a real fatty at Christmas.

5. Favourite Christmas gift?

I remember when me and my brother were younger, my parents bought us both tv's for our own rooms, it was amazing we literally had no idea. Though I'm a master of guessing presents just by touching them and one year I ruined my Christmas Day because I guessed everything correct, mobile phone, hair straighteners, bubble bath set etc. So I'm not allowed to touch my presents anymore! 

6. Favourite Christmas scent?

Cinnamon or spiced apple. When it comes to Christmas I can never have too many scented candles and they always have to be these scents. 

7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
Me and my brother always get to open one small present and that's it really. 

8. What tops your tree?

An angel, same one every year, it's wings are a little damaged and tattered but it's still right at the top.

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?)

You know, I don't think I've ever asked for anything too extravagant for Christmas. Unless it was something silly like a pony, but let's face it, that was never going to be a realistic request. 

10. What’s the best part about Christmas for you?

Lights, glitter, food, family, friends and booze.

What do you love most about Christmas?

Amsterdam | Lifestyle

Last weekend I went to the lovely Amsterdam. It's a city I've never been to, so I was super excited when my friend asked me to go. I will admit I was a bit of a bad photographer so I didn't actually take that many pictures, however check out some of the ones I did take. 

Enjoy!

Have you been to Amsterdam before?