Christmas Tag

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So I wasn't actually tagged but I think it's a fun tag so I don't care, I'm going to do it. 

What's your favourite holiday movie?
I have too many I like Santa Claus, The Grinch, Elf, Muppet Christmas Carol, Love Actually...

What's your favourite Christmas colour?
It typical but yes it is red green and gold, I cannot help it but I just love the traditional Christmas colours. I hate the pink Christmas trees.

Do you open your presents Christmas Eve or morning?
On Christmas eve we open our pyjamas and a teddy, we have our stockings in the morning, then we go downstairs and open the rest of our present

What's your favourite winter fragrance?
This year it's been either Britney Spears - Midnight fantasy or Body Shops Brazil Nut Body Spray, they're both sweet but warm

Favourite Christmas smell?
The Christmas dinner cooking, it has to be. No smell can beat that!

What's your favourite holiday drink?
This year I have been loving Ovaltine as well as the Honeycomb and Cream Hot Chocolate from Costa. So tasty! 

Candy cane or gingerbread men?

Candy Cane. Everytime.I dont like ginger bread or any spices like that.

Favourite Christmas song?
Just one? I cant do that. My top 3 are Mariah Carey - All I want for Christmas is you. The Pogues - Fairytale of New York, Elton John - Step into Christmas. 

Have you ever made a snowman?
I make a snowman every time it snows. Even if he is only 3 cm tall. I will make a snowman.

What is most important to you about the holidays?
Being happy and spending time to appreciate and enjoy time with your family. I think people over stress about Christmas and forget the real point is about spending time with each other, not spending a lot on each other. 

If anyone has done this tag, link it down below, I would love to read others answers.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2013 Favourites | Miscellaneuos

L to R- Garnier PureActive Anti Imperfection Cleansing Gel, Vaseline Spray & Go | Cocoa Radiant, Original Source | Mint and Tea Tree, Re-Gen Cream, Loreal Skin Perfection Micellar Water , Soap and Glory | Sugar Crush Body Wash and Body Buttercream

L to R- Aldi Miracle Oil, Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy Perfume, Body Shop | Brazil Nut Body Mist and Shower Creme

The final post of my 2013 favourites is a bunch of miscellaneous products that I've been loving but instead of putting them all in separate posts I have stuck them all in one big post.

Garnier PureActive | Anti Imperfection Gel Cleanser - This year my skin went from dehydrated and dry, to rather oily so I have been trying to revamp my skin care routine and this is the product I have felt that has helped the most. I take off all my make up and massage this into my skin, I then add some water to foam it up and remove, it leaves my skin feeling so soft and matte and clean, its amazing. I use this twice a day and I definately notice the difference when I use it and when I don't. The best part? It is under £2 in Superdrug!

Vaseline Spray & Go | Cocoa Radiant - This is a new product to me I believe I got it in November but it is a complete winter winner in my books. There is nothing worse than stepping out of a hot shower or bath into the freezing cold, applying moisturiser and having to wait for it to be absorbed. But this cuts all the waiting out, it absorbs in so quickly and is really deeply moisturising. I get eczema every winter, but this has actually helped combat that and kept my skin hydrated and not itchy! I would love to try the Aloe Vera one in the summer.

Original Source | Mint and Tea Tree - I am the worst person for waking up in the mornings, especially in the summer, I just wake up and feel sweaty and sticky, TMI? Oh well.. This completely perks me up, makes me feel really clean and happy. Its so nice and I also know James is a fan of this as well. So its perfect for you and your boyfriend.

Re-Gen Cream - Moisturisers are something I have never really been bothered with, I usually stick to Simple as I know they work for me. But when I saw this in B&Ms for £3 I picked it up as it says it helps with blemishes and scarring, it's pretty much Bio-oil in a cream form. I cant say I have noticed any difference in my spots but I haven't had any scarring and the acne scarring I did have was becoming less visible.

L'Oreal Paris Skin Perfection | Micellar Water - This is what I have been using to remove my eye and face make up, I have never tried Bioderma so I cannot compare them, but this is the best make up remover I have tried, it doesn't sting my eyes or make me scrub them to remove my mascara. I feel like I do run out of this quickly but its pretty cheap so I'm happy to repurchase it.

Soap and Glory | Sugar Crush - I have both the body wash and the body buttercream, I could not live without these in summer. They are so amazing and the smell is heavenly. I find the body wash is really creamy and moisturising so you could use it alone but if you want more hydration the body buttercream sinks in quickly, its a weird texture as its just like a body butter but it feels slightly whipped.

Aldi | Miracle Oil - My hair and I have a love hate relationship. Sometimes it goes exactly how I want and other times it just wants to be a frizzy ball of god knows what. When I got my hair cut in the summer my hair dresser used Moroccan Oil and I found it really made my hair soft and manageable and I fell in love, but I wasn't willing to spend £30 on a big bottle, my hair dresser kindly told me that this product is the exact same thing as Moroccan Oil and recommends it just as much as the real deal. So I went out to get it, at £3 I am so surprised how good of a job it does. My hair has never felt so good and it has a lot less frizz and it is a lot easier to control.

Britney Spears | Midnight Fantasy - I feel like this is kind of a cheat putting it in here as this is actually a life time favourite rather than 2013, but I finished off my smaller bottle that I brought in 2011 and found the bigger size for £15 on Fragrance Direct and ordered it and I fell back in love. It's my perfect winter everyday perfume. Its so sweet and girly, it reminds me of winter berries.

Body Shop | Brazil Nut - This year the Body shop brought back there Brazil Nut scent and James kindly brought me the body cream and body spray. Its so good! I wish it was a permanent scent or that I stocked up as I am almost out. I have gotten so many compliments when I wear this to work, it's smells like a blend of chocolate, coffee and nuts. Its heavenly!

What's some of your favourite random bits of 2013?

2013 Favourites | Lips

L to R- Loreal Glam Shine Stain Splash | Lolita, ELF | Runway Pink, Rimmel London Kate Moss Matte | 107, Rimmel London Moisture Renew | Rose Passion 

Bottom- Revlon Lip Balm Stain | Honey

This year I have really gotten into lip products, before this year I only ever wore tinted lip balm, but I have really enjoyed trying new products and seeing how much a lip product changes an entire look. These have been the products I have been reaching for the most.

Carmex | Cherry - For about 2 years this has been my go to lip balm, it is amazing. It fixes my chapped lips, stops any sore pains I have, I like to apply this thickly at night so it can soak into my lips, it does tingle quite a lot but I don't mind that as I feel like it's actually being taken into the skin rather than laying over top it, so its repairing and giving moisture under the skin rather than just on top. They sell different scents, like the original one and a strawberry one, but I don't think anything can beat the cherry one.

Lush Lip Scrub | Mint Julips - I already have a review which can be found here, so if you want to know more click there, but in a short. I love this, it removes all dead skin leaving your lips soft and its tasty. 

Loreal Glam Shine Stain Splash | Lolita - This is probably the biggest shock product of the year, I had a coupon for this so I paid around £3 for this, I hate lip glosses, but I heard so much about these I tried it hoping it might change my mind and it did. This is amazing! It goes on feeling like water, its quite cooling, as it settles it gets slightly thicker, it's not sticky or too slippy. the colour shocked me as in the tube it looks pink, but on the lips it's more of a mauvey brown shade. What I liked the most about this is the lasting power, I went 6 hours, with drinking and eating and it was still perfect, not a single touch up needed!

ELF | Runway Pink - For a while I hated light pink lips, they always reminded me of Nicki Minaj or 12 year old concealer lips, but this one is actually really wearable. It compliments my skin tone really well. This applies really creamy but goes to an almost velvet finish, it hasn't got the best lasting power, but I'm not fussed about reapplying.

Rimmel London Kate Moss Matte | 107 - This is an obvious choice as it is everyone's favourite, but it is just a beautiful dark red lipstick, it looks good on every skin tone, it has a velvet matte finish so it isn't drying. It lasts around 5 hours before it begins to fade, and when it fades, it fades badly, it stays around the edge and goes into the cracks, not a nice look! You can easily fix this by using a lip liner though

Rimmel London Moisture Renew | Rose Passion - I think everyone should have a darker red and a bright red, and this is my go to bright red. This red is so creamy and moisturising, it doesn't last a long time, only around 4 hours but it feels so nice to apply that I don't mind topping up. I love the moisture renew range, but Rimmel have recently reformulated this line so I'm interested in trying them. 

Revlon Lip Balm Stain | Honey - This is my most recent favourite, I love the Revlon Lip Balms Stains but I never tried this shade before. Its quite a dark mauvey pink, which is a really nice everyday shade, it applies smoothly, it adds a bit of moisture to your lips but it feels just like a lip balm, when the balmy feel has gone away it feels like nothing on your lips but you are left with a lovely pink stain.

What lip products do you recommend?

2013 Favourites | Nails

L to R | Models Own-Utopia, Nails Inc-Piccadily Circus, Rimmel London-Rose Libertine, Barry M-Pink Silver Glitter, Essie-Mint Candy Apple, Models Own-Luis Lemon

L to R | Barry M Gelly Hi Shine - Greenberry, Prickly Pear, Blueberry

Oh nail varnish, my weakness. I have loved nail varnish for years, which is probably why I have a collection of at least 70. This was probably the hardest to narrow down as I change up my nail polish at least every 3 days. So I picked the colours that I went for the most.

Models Own | Utopia - This is my go to neutral shade, I find true nudes look horrible on me, but Utopia is a gorgeous light pinky purple off white shade. It looks good all through the year and is a perfect shade for any glitter top coat. 

Nails Inc | Piccadily Circus - This has been my go to winter colour, its almost the exact same as Barry M's 'Raspberry' but ever so slightly darker, I find red shades hard to wear as they make my hands look dead, but dark berry reds are amazing and perfect for autumn/winter.

Rimmel London | Rose Libertine - This was my go to spring shade, its a gorgeous pink, it does come out slightly orange in some lights. I love Rimmel nail polishes, I think they're amazing quality for the price, they dry fast and have a lovely shine that lasts around 2-3 days without a top coat.

Barry M | Pink Silver Glittler - Every year I have stayed away from opaque glitters as I have hated the look of them, but I picked this up on a whim and I fell in love, its opaque in 2 coats, it doesn't feel incredibly gritty like others. I like wearing this on my ring finger as an accent nail, I found depending on what you wear it with it brings out different undertones. For example, when i applied this with Piccadily Circus it looked more pinky, but with a dark blue shade it looks more gold.

Essie | Mint Candy Apple - In the summer this almost never left my nails, its the perfect mint shade, its not too blue, or too green and its a lovely vibrant shade. I love the formulation, its opaque in 2 coats, it lasts 3-4 days with no chips, the brush is wide enough to cover the nail in one swipe. If you haven't already, get this shade!

Models Own | Luis Lemon - When I first got this, I was disappointed as it was really sheer and not as bright as I thought it would be, so I tried putting a white base underneath and it made a huge difference. It is a super bright neon yellow, that glows in the sun light. I think this would look gorgeous with a tan. But this isnt only great for summer, I like wearing it when the weather is dull as it really brightens up my mood.

Barry M Hi Shine | Greenberry, Prickley Pear, Blueberry -I thought I would end on my favourite nail polish range this year, quite is the Barry M Gelly Hi Shine range, I think Barry M are always on point with the latest nail trends and they always make them at good affordable prices. But I fell in love with this collection, all the colours are gorgeous and unique, they dry quickly, they take about 2-3 coats depending on the colour, they are ridiculously shiny and last a long time without chipping, they usually last around a week on me! These are the 3 most worn in my collection, the first is Greenberry, I loved this in summer, this is a bright turquoise shade, I don't usually go for this kind of colour but its a great pop of colour. The next is Prickley Pear, I love this shade as it is a pastel purple but its still quite bright. This does need 3 coats but its so shiny and long lasting, as you can see, I have used it a lot. And the last is Blueberry, I didn't originally like this shade as I was expecting more of a light blue, but this is a bright sky blue, it is a really bold colour that stands out in the summer sunshine.

What has your favourite shades of the year been?

2013 Favourites | Eyes

This is part 2 of my 2013 favourites and were talking about Eyes, Eye products were something I didn't really experiment with in 2013, but I did find some holy grail products that I cannot live with out in my day to day life.

L'Oreal Super Liner Eyeliner | Black Crystals - I will admit I am rubbish with applying eyeliners, but this product makes it so easy, the applicator is a fine sponge tip, so its not hard or scratchy, it applies flawlessly and quickly, its really easy to create a thin line and you can create a dramatic cat eye in seconds. I accidentley picked up this shade but its actually quite nice, its an opaque black but has a slight shimmer in it, it isnt like a huge glittery shimmer, but it makes the liner look unique, not matte but not shiny. It is also the most long lasting waterproof eye liner I have tried.

MUA Eye Palette | Undressed - Whilst everyone is fussing over the Urban Decay Naked palettes, I'm still loving this cheap ass dupe. It's £3 and amazing quality. I have never been into using bright colours on my eyes, as much as I love it on other people, I feel stupid so I stick to my neutrals, this has a great selection of day time colours and darker shades to mix it up at the night time. The only issue I have found is that if you have oily eyelids like me, you need a primer as it can crease, but that is no different to any eye shadow I have tried

Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Eyeliner | Nude - Last year I always wore white liner in my waterline as I thought it opened up my eyes, but I soon realised it actually looked weird and my eyes looked red. Luckily that was around the time this got realised, and I heard so many reviews I had to buy it. I like using this in the morning as it cancels out any redness on the waterline with out looking so fake, it only lasts a few hours but that is expected in the waterline.

Maybelline Rocket Mascara - I have never found a holy grail mascara but this came close. It has short rubber bristles that coats the lashes really well, it needs 2 coats to get voluminous lashes, I would like it to be a bit more lengthening but I still like the results it gives.  It holds a curl really well and is so easy to apply. I think Maybelline is the best drugstore brand for mascaras.

Have you found any holy grail eye products this year?

2013 Favourites | Face

As everyone is saying, 2013 just flew by and I cant believe Christmas has come so quickly. So I thought I would end the year by writing about my favourite products from this year. After gathering everything together, I realised how many things I had been loving this year and couldn't go without, so I'm going to separate them into different posts starting with my favourite face product..

Foundation | Bourjois Healthy Mix - This is the only foundation I have tried this year that didn't break me out, which is a huge thing! This foundation has a really good coverage, Id say medium but buildable without going cakey, it matched my skin perfectly so I don't have to spend ages trying to blend it. I've found in the past that dewy foundations don't work well with my combination/oil skin but this lasts really well. I highly recommend this foundation, if you have drier skin I believe the Bourjois healthy mix serum is more hydrating.

Powder | Rimmel London Stay Matte - I apologise for the lack of label in the photo but the packaging for this product isn't the best, but the powder is. Im not usually a fan of powders as they usually go on really bad on me and usually doesn't make a difference in the wear time of my make up, but this helps take away any unwanted shine and helps with the lasting time. You do have to be careful about how much apply as it can go on cakey, but I actually apply this with a stippling brush, so it goes on lightly.

Bronzer | NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer 'Sunny' - Before this year I had never tried a bronzer, I never thought that it would look so good on my skin, as I'm so pale. But I saw this on sale in B&Ms for £3 and I had heard people saying this was a dupe of Benefits 'Hoola' Bronzer, so I thought I would give it a go. It is a really nice light contour shade, its not too orange or look muddy. Its very hard to go to OTT with this, but if you do it blends really easily.

Blush | Sleek 'Lifes a Peach' & ELF 'Tickled Pink' - I honestly could not pick one blush, these 2 have been my go to blushes the first blush is from Sleek, its a gorgeous peach shade that leans more to the orange side, it looks quite bright and scary in the pan but its quite sheer, you can pack it onto the skin to get a brighter shade but when worn lightly it creates a really nice natural glow, its a great shade for spring and summer. The next blush is ELFs Tickled Pink, it is the most gorgeous natural pink, it has a slight shimmer but its barely noticeable on the skin. I go for this everyday in winter as it creates a lovely 'been out in the snow' glow to your face.

What face products did you fall in love with in 2013?

Lush Lip Scrub | Mint Julips

During the winter my lips get horrible dry and start to flake and crack, so when I heard about this little gem, I was very curious. I was very lucky that James brought me this, and how grateful I am as this is a life saver!
Lush have a few different flavours Bubblegum, Popcorn and a Christmas special Santa. I picked Mint Julips as it smells just like mint chocolate and ohhh it is heavenly!
This product is very easy to use, just scoop the tiniest amount out with your finger and buff into your lips, then you can either wipe it off with a tissue or you can do what I do and lick it off. Not only does it taste amazing but it leaves your lips so smooth and soft, it contains Organic Jojoba oil which adds moisture to your lips, so its not a rough scrub, however I do recommend using a lip balm after to lock in the moisture in your lips, I find that Palmers lip butter is the perfect match for this. Since using this product I have noticed a huge different in the condition of my lips, I'm using a lot less lip balm and I'm finding that my lipstick looks better, applies more evenly and lasts longer!

The only down side to this product is it doesn't have the most hygienic packaging as you have to dip your fingers in tube, but I'm not bother about that. I know some people think the £5.50 price is too much but its made with all natural ingredients and it lasts a very long time, I've been using mine twice a day for the past month and I have barely dented it. I think this is a product everyone should try, its absolutely amazing and I couldn't recommend it enough.

What do you think about lip scrubs?

Are they an essential for you?

Lush - £5.50