First of all can we just take a moment, how on earth is it New years eve??? Where on earth did 2013 go to! It does not seem like 5 minutes since I sat here last year talking of excitement for theatre trips and holidays to Florida and it seems to have all gone so fast!
Secondly can I just wave a big hello to all the new followers that have appeared over the last couple of weeks! I know most of you are probably from the Blogger challenge I am part of but leave me a comment and say Hey! I am a bit overwhelmed with the whole following everyone at the moment so leave me your links down below!
I know that last new year I posted a photo saying 2013 was going to be my year - you can take a look back at that post here although I will probably mention it a bit - and I think 2013 has been a pretty awesome year! 2013 is the year I really feel like I found myself and gained my stride. I lost 3 and a half stone, joined the gym (and actually went). I feel like 2013 has also been the year when I found my confidence and myself a bit more. Obviously a lot of that has probably come from the confidence associated with losing weight but also I realised that I didnt need to be friends with people who took my friendship for granted and this year was the year I finally stood up for myself and did something about it! I feel like for so long I was quite willing to go along with the flow and just accept things where as now I know what I want and I know how to go about getting it! Does that all make sense? I hope so (I do have a tendency to ramble!)
Looking back at the resolutions or goals I made in the blog I linked above I dont think I have done too bad! I really feel I have hit a stride with weight loss now and when I dont follow the slimming world plans - is it sad to say I miss them? And I have certainly missed not being able to go to the gym and cant wait to get back!
I feel like I have got into blogging more this year, I have found myself taking the time to sit down and blog rather than knocking out half hearted posts and have actually taken pictures (and played about to make them look good). In terms of Youtube, I did give it a go again this year but one thing that I quickly came to realise is how long it takes! I certainly have a lot of appreciation for all the Youtubers that I watch now I know what is involved in the whole process! I would like to give it another go but I am not going to promise that I will. Maybe in the future but at the moment I cant commit to the time factor and again I don't want it to be something half hearted if I am going to do it!
Now in true unlovedbutton style! Here I shall share with you some pictures for this year! I have tried once again to find one from every month - something which was certainly made a lot easier with the amount of instagramming I appear to have done this year!
In January I finally got to see the Lion King and Matilda in the west end, something which I was EXTREMELY excited about! In February after years of promising myself I was going to I FINALLY went and gave blood!
In May after 6 whole years not seeing each other, me and a friend who I met back in 1999 at a Haven holiday camp met up again! We have kept in touch over the years but the last time I saw him was when he came to the party I had for my 18th Birthday! It was so lovely to meet up after all this time as we talk most days via text so it was nice to get together again!
In June I had an amazing experience while on holiday in Florida and stroked a baby penguin on a behind the scene tour at Sea World! Such a fantastic experience!!!
November brought something which I certainly didnt expect when I was rushed in to have my appendix removed! Its still weird to think how quickly it all happened! And in December I brought a size 16 dress for our christmas party! Not a massive thing for some people but when you consider last christmas I was in a 22 (probably at the top end) I certainly feel much better. I am excited to see where I will be next Christmas!
Also on a little side line note - way back in January I started a project I saw on Pinterest.
Basically the idea of this was to write a little note for every memory throughout the year that you wanted to remember! I am so glad that I chose to do this - to be honest a lot of things in this jar related to weight loss or things I have already mentioned above but there were also some nice ones in there that you probably wouldn't remember about come December! Heres a couple from my jar:
Secondly can I just wave a big hello to all the new followers that have appeared over the last couple of weeks! I know most of you are probably from the Blogger challenge I am part of but leave me a comment and say Hey! I am a bit overwhelmed with the whole following everyone at the moment so leave me your links down below!
I know that last new year I posted a photo saying 2013 was going to be my year - you can take a look back at that post here although I will probably mention it a bit - and I think 2013 has been a pretty awesome year! 2013 is the year I really feel like I found myself and gained my stride. I lost 3 and a half stone, joined the gym (and actually went). I feel like 2013 has also been the year when I found my confidence and myself a bit more. Obviously a lot of that has probably come from the confidence associated with losing weight but also I realised that I didnt need to be friends with people who took my friendship for granted and this year was the year I finally stood up for myself and did something about it! I feel like for so long I was quite willing to go along with the flow and just accept things where as now I know what I want and I know how to go about getting it! Does that all make sense? I hope so (I do have a tendency to ramble!)
Looking back at the resolutions or goals I made in the blog I linked above I dont think I have done too bad! I really feel I have hit a stride with weight loss now and when I dont follow the slimming world plans - is it sad to say I miss them? And I have certainly missed not being able to go to the gym and cant wait to get back!
I feel like I have got into blogging more this year, I have found myself taking the time to sit down and blog rather than knocking out half hearted posts and have actually taken pictures (and played about to make them look good). In terms of Youtube, I did give it a go again this year but one thing that I quickly came to realise is how long it takes! I certainly have a lot of appreciation for all the Youtubers that I watch now I know what is involved in the whole process! I would like to give it another go but I am not going to promise that I will. Maybe in the future but at the moment I cant commit to the time factor and again I don't want it to be something half hearted if I am going to do it!
Now in true unlovedbutton style! Here I shall share with you some pictures for this year! I have tried once again to find one from every month - something which was certainly made a lot easier with the amount of instagramming I appear to have done this year!
January and February
March and April
In March I was extremely happy to finally have found a hairdresser I was happy with and got my hair properly coloured - getting rid of the mess the last hairdresser I had left my hair in! In April I took a massive leap (for someone who didnt like messing with eyes) and trialled contact lenses! Best thing ever!
May and June
In June I had an amazing experience while on holiday in Florida and stroked a baby penguin on a behind the scene tour at Sea World! Such a fantastic experience!!!
July and August
In July I bit the bullet and joined the gym! Again another fab decision I made as I love going now! In August I was absolutely astounded to be named Woman of the Year in my slimming group which was voted by the other ladies in my class! I think what made winning it even better was I never expected it!
September and October
In September me, mum and dad booked up to go here - A gorgeous part of Ibiza called Cala Llonga! Only 18 weeks and I will be sunning myself on that beautiful beach! In October me and my BFF went on a little girly weekend to Birmingham!
November and December
Also on a little side line note - way back in January I started a project I saw on Pinterest.
- After waiting for what felt like forever - me mum and nanna had a girly day at the pictures to see Les Miserables! I cried so much my Tshirt was soaking wet!
- Did a Boxercise class at the Gym - and didnt die!
- Sang the messiah
- Kept Lent
- Brought a pair of purple jeans (which I have lusted after for ages) to slim into and when I tried them to see how close I was they already fit!!!
And that sums up my 2013! I cant wait for 2014 and the things it has to offer! I cant wait to share all my journeys with you!
I hope that you all have a wonderful new year and a happy and healthy 2014! I cant thank you enough for sitting and reading my rambles and I just hope you stick around to see what this wonderful new year has in store!!!
xxx
Hello my lovelies! How are we all! I actually quite enjoyed the last time I did this - I sort of stole the idea from Gemma at Gemsmaquillage who does something called tea talk on one of her channels. If I ever get myself sorted out and get back into doing youtube videos then it is something I will consider too but in the mean time I thought it would be something fun I could share with you here.
So go on, go and grab yourself a cuppa!
So I am here again with my cup of tea! Today I have (finally) decided to crack open a tea set I brought back with me from Florida in May. It has sat looking pretty in the kitchen since we got back and I figured it was about time it got opened. You can take a look at this tea set here on Amazon US - I think you can pick it up on Ebay too - Its a great set - I picked it up from one of the stores on Main street in Magic Kingdom for $21.95 which is £13 - not bad when you consider you get 12 flavours and there are 8 in each making 96 in total.... Anyway, Im getting side lined! Today I went to for the blueberry one!
So how are you all?? Did you all have a lovely christmas?
I have had rather a lovely christmas! I love christmas - my family are close anyway but it is especially lovely at christmas when we all get together and celebrate, play board games, you know how it is! We had lots of giggles as usual! I also took lots of pictures this year which was something I didn't seem to do last year!
What with the end of the year fast approaching I have been reflecting on the last year and yesterday I was looking back collecting pictures for some posts which are coming up this week! It got me thinking how much a lot of things have changed this year - how I have changed this year! I honestly believe going into 2014 I am a new person - I certainly feel a lot stronger and ready to take on a lot more - both mentally and physically!
I went to slimming world yesterday and weighted in post christmas and when I came home, I logged into the website and logged my weight like I always do. There is an awesome part which shows your weight loss in like a little graph which is great to look at! When I looked at it yesterday, I noticed that my weight has gradually crept back up over the last couple of weeks and I have taken a big step back! I mean dont get me wrong when I look back to where I was this time last year I am still a massive step forward and I am SO thankful and proud of that because no one can take that from me! Over the last few weeks since I had surgery, my body still hasn't been feeling right but hopefully the new year and getting back to the gym will give it the kick up the ass it needs! I am on a total mission now for 2014! I want to be looking back again this time next year again and going wow look what I did again! Also it is 19 weeks yesterday till we go to Ibiza so I want to kick butt before then!
I was going to do a separate post on sharing a few things I got for christmas with you bit since we are all comfy and chatting... Obviously this is just to share a few things with you! I am in NO way bragging about what I got for christmas I just wanted to share a few things with you!
This is an AWESOME present that my mum found online - shes all technical now bless her - and holds 20 bottles of nail polish in a handy little travel zip case (or probably for normal people a great way to store your collection). I have managed to find this on Amazon here
I am totally in love with this little purse which has a keyring with mini lip glosses on from Clinique! It is perfect!!! I always like to have a lip gloss just in case and this will fit into my handbag plus my mini handbag that I take on a night out or on a shopping day.
I have also done a bit of sale shopping yesterday as well. To be honest it seemed like a lot of places had started their sales on Christmas eve (including Boots whose sale I love) however I absolutely refuse to sale shop on Christmas eve because I would hate the thought of buying something that was wrapped up under the tree for me already - I find it pointless when you dont know what your having for christmas - unless of course you know your having money in which case I suppose thats ok!
Anyway I made a beeline for Boots today when I was in town today and managed to pick up a couple of bits amid the already emptying shelves!
First of all sorry for the crappy soap and glory photo - I dont know what happened there and I have now thrown the package away. I was sensible this year in the sales and didnt go mental with things I didnt want/need. I loved the little shopping bag and the practical part of me picked this up to keep in my handbag because I seem to have increasingly been after a carrier bag when out and about and the cover of this one turns into quite a sturdy base for the bag!
I had my eye on the Soap and Glory Sugar Crush set since the Boots christmas book came out wayyyyy back in October - I love sugar crush it smells AMAZING (seriously if you havent smelt it have a whiff next time your in boots!) - I picked this up and at half price this is a total bargain considering it has a full sized body butter in which retails for £10.50 - a winner when your only paying £9 for the set!
I also loved this beauticology set! I picked up the mini versions of this set for a couple of friends and I admit I was drawn in by the Spiced gingerbread body wash which I have to say smells divine!
I can not wait to start using these purchases!
So I think that is all the gossip that I have to update you on! Let me know how your christmases were and what you have been purchasing in the sales!!!
So go on, go and grab yourself a cuppa!
So I am here again with my cup of tea! Today I have (finally) decided to crack open a tea set I brought back with me from Florida in May. It has sat looking pretty in the kitchen since we got back and I figured it was about time it got opened. You can take a look at this tea set here on Amazon US - I think you can pick it up on Ebay too - Its a great set - I picked it up from one of the stores on Main street in Magic Kingdom for $21.95 which is £13 - not bad when you consider you get 12 flavours and there are 8 in each making 96 in total.... Anyway, Im getting side lined! Today I went to for the blueberry one!
So how are you all?? Did you all have a lovely christmas?
I have had rather a lovely christmas! I love christmas - my family are close anyway but it is especially lovely at christmas when we all get together and celebrate, play board games, you know how it is! We had lots of giggles as usual! I also took lots of pictures this year which was something I didn't seem to do last year!
What with the end of the year fast approaching I have been reflecting on the last year and yesterday I was looking back collecting pictures for some posts which are coming up this week! It got me thinking how much a lot of things have changed this year - how I have changed this year! I honestly believe going into 2014 I am a new person - I certainly feel a lot stronger and ready to take on a lot more - both mentally and physically!
I went to slimming world yesterday and weighted in post christmas and when I came home, I logged into the website and logged my weight like I always do. There is an awesome part which shows your weight loss in like a little graph which is great to look at! When I looked at it yesterday, I noticed that my weight has gradually crept back up over the last couple of weeks and I have taken a big step back! I mean dont get me wrong when I look back to where I was this time last year I am still a massive step forward and I am SO thankful and proud of that because no one can take that from me! Over the last few weeks since I had surgery, my body still hasn't been feeling right but hopefully the new year and getting back to the gym will give it the kick up the ass it needs! I am on a total mission now for 2014! I want to be looking back again this time next year again and going wow look what I did again! Also it is 19 weeks yesterday till we go to Ibiza so I want to kick butt before then!
I was going to do a separate post on sharing a few things I got for christmas with you bit since we are all comfy and chatting... Obviously this is just to share a few things with you! I am in NO way bragging about what I got for christmas I just wanted to share a few things with you!
My mum knows how much I love Mary Berry so I was extremely excited to find her her autobiography in my present pile!
Again I am a massive fan of Soap and Glory as you probably already know and my aunty and uncle gave me this bubbly and bright set from their range. Filled with minis that will be perfect for my holiday
I have loved touch of pink for a long time now (It was the first big girl perfume I owned)
I have also done a bit of sale shopping yesterday as well. To be honest it seemed like a lot of places had started their sales on Christmas eve (including Boots whose sale I love) however I absolutely refuse to sale shop on Christmas eve because I would hate the thought of buying something that was wrapped up under the tree for me already - I find it pointless when you dont know what your having for christmas - unless of course you know your having money in which case I suppose thats ok!
Anyway I made a beeline for Boots today when I was in town today and managed to pick up a couple of bits amid the already emptying shelves!
- Betty and Walter fold up shopping bag - £3 (reduced from £6)
- Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Set - £9 (reduced from £18)
- Beauticology set - £6 (reduced from £12)
First of all sorry for the crappy soap and glory photo - I dont know what happened there and I have now thrown the package away. I was sensible this year in the sales and didnt go mental with things I didnt want/need. I loved the little shopping bag and the practical part of me picked this up to keep in my handbag because I seem to have increasingly been after a carrier bag when out and about and the cover of this one turns into quite a sturdy base for the bag!
I had my eye on the Soap and Glory Sugar Crush set since the Boots christmas book came out wayyyyy back in October - I love sugar crush it smells AMAZING (seriously if you havent smelt it have a whiff next time your in boots!) - I picked this up and at half price this is a total bargain considering it has a full sized body butter in which retails for £10.50 - a winner when your only paying £9 for the set!
I also loved this beauticology set! I picked up the mini versions of this set for a couple of friends and I admit I was drawn in by the Spiced gingerbread body wash which I have to say smells divine!
I can not wait to start using these purchases!
So I think that is all the gossip that I have to update you on! Let me know how your christmases were and what you have been purchasing in the sales!!!
Hey Everyone!
I have scheduled this post for today because the lead up to Christmas is rather hectic! I have been at work right up until christmas eve and I always go to church at 4.30pm on Christmas eve for the Christmas Eve service and then back for midnight mass and then obviously christmas is for family...
I just wanted to do this post to wish you all a VERY happy christmas! Thank you to each and everyone of you who take the time to listen to my ramblings! I love my little blog and I hope to show it even more love and attention in 2014!
I am off work on Friday so I shall probably spend the day with lots of bloggyness and possibly sharing some of my christmas presents!
If you want to keep up to date I will probably update my twitter (@laura8289) and instagram (@unlovedbutton) so head over there and check them out if you want to see what I am up to!
Hope you all have an amazing time over the christmas period!
I have scheduled this post for today because the lead up to Christmas is rather hectic! I have been at work right up until christmas eve and I always go to church at 4.30pm on Christmas eve for the Christmas Eve service and then back for midnight mass and then obviously christmas is for family...
I just wanted to do this post to wish you all a VERY happy christmas! Thank you to each and everyone of you who take the time to listen to my ramblings! I love my little blog and I hope to show it even more love and attention in 2014!
I am off work on Friday so I shall probably spend the day with lots of bloggyness and possibly sharing some of my christmas presents!
If you want to keep up to date I will probably update my twitter (@laura8289) and instagram (@unlovedbutton) so head over there and check them out if you want to see what I am up to!
Hope you all have an amazing time over the christmas period!
Ive just been going through and sorting out my bloggy stuff and I have just realised that I have missed one of my gift guides out that I had done!!! I didnt want to forget about it so I thought I would post it as a guide for those last minute stocking fillers!!!
- Create a race car - £5 - Paperchase
- I love lots of bubbles mini - £3.50 - Superdrugs
- Sweetheart rose pocket mirror - £3 - Cath Kidston
- The chase card game - £5 - Marks and Spencer
- Heinz Beans Jigsaw in a tin - £4.79 - Argos
- Baylis and Harding Beauticology gift set - £4 - Boots
- Bathroom Hoopla - £5 - John Lewis
- Landmark - Make your own - £3.95 - Dotcomgiftshop
Unfortunatly the last posting date has been missed for ordering from Dot Com gift shop but these are a great little gift - not just for christmas and they have lots of variety of different land marks. There are some awesome other stocking fillers here. I love the little cath kidston mirror and love mine, it is so handy to tuck into my bag. I picked up some of the Baylis and harding gift sets and they are so cute! Lovely little stocking present or something for someone your not quite sure what to get.
Hope you have enjoyed my gift guides this year. I really enjoyed doing these this year and hope you enjoyed reading them! Let me know and I will know for next year!
Hello lovely people! How is it Sunday night already! Wow time just seems to be flying at the moment! I suppose that is what happens when you pack yourself busy!
If you follow me on Twitter you will know I spent the day yesterday rehearsing for a concert that I took part in last night. I am pretty sure I have mentioned before that I sing in my church choir which I absolutely love! Anyway a couple of months ago one of the other ladies at my church who sings in a local group called the ceramic city choir asked if I would interested in singing in a concert they were doing (which they were letting people join in with) which was to be held a local concert venue, The Victoria Hall. I jumped at the opportunity because the Victoria is a fantastic venue.
It was such a fantastic day, we did Handels messiah which at first I was a little daunted about - if you havent heard it before seriously go and google it! its amazing but when you first look at it WOW! It was so nice singing with a large choir too - I think there were about 190 of us last night singing in the concert - 50 or 60 of which were Altos which is the part i sing - a bit different to to 3 of us which sing Alto in our church choir!
Ive been back to work this week! It felt strange going back after 3 weeks off but I felt like I had never been away! I love the girls I work with and I genuinely missed them while I was off! I am starting to feel much better and almost back to normal now! Especially since Friday when mum pulled a stitch out of one of my wounds (which wasnt healing properly) - ever likely if the stitch hadn't dissolved! Anyway I wont go into detail but it was HUGE and since Friday I cant tell you the difference!!!
I have another jam packed week ahead! Tomorrow we are going round to my friend Jeans house (you may have heard me talking about her before on Instagram or Twitter) - basically Jean used to be a fellow Alto in our choir but she is 82 and just after christmas she fell ill and basically her leg went all funny.. I dont really know what happened to it but the doctors told her she wouldnt walk again! Not to let anyone get her down Jean is up and about now, yes she can't run a marathon but she sure proved the doctors wrong. Anyway she can lift her leg properly to get up steps as it still a bit dodgy - recovering from things like that does take time when your 82 - and she cant lift her foot to get up to the choir stalls. Anyway tomorrow we are going around to her house to sing some christmas carols.
On Tuesday me and some of the others from my church are going around to one of the local retirement homes which our church is connected with to 'carol sing'. Then next Sunday is our Carol Concert at church which we have been rehearsing for (what feels like September) ages!
And then it is Christmas weeeeeeek!!! I am looking forward to Christmas week! I love a lot of the services at church - especially the christmas eve ones!
Elsewhere this weeks British Blogger Selection is to talk about Hair! I did a post here talking about my hair care routine not too long ago (ok so now I look it was September - wow this year has flown by) - To be honest when it comes to haircare I am a bit of a floater - I dont ever tend to stick to one brand and very often I dont repurchase anything as I like to try lots of different things. As there is always something new popping up on the market I tend to like to try new products a lot.
Up until about 6 or so months ago I was that girl who had about 3 different bottles of shampoo open on the side of the bath. When I had my hair coloured at the hairdressers, the recommended a shampoo which would lock in colour for long. Now at £12 a bottle I was a little dubious but I LOVE this shampoo! It is part of the Wella SP range and is the colour save and on closer inspection I have found that you can get it on Feel Unique here - I have been using this shampoo and have repurchased it a couple of times since I first picked it up!
In terms of styling I am currently using Wella SP Luxe oil - and at the minute the shampoo that goes with this as it was part of a deal that my hairdresser was doing - again this is available on Feel Unique here
In terms of styling I am pretty much the same as the post I linked above. I have the beauty of styling my hair either curly or straight quite easily. My GHDs are a saviour and more recently I have been in love with my Babyliss Curl Secret!
Anyway I hope you are all well! Obviously it is a busy busy time at the minute so over the next few weeks I will try my very best to keep you updated and post as much as I can!
xxx
If you follow me on Twitter you will know I spent the day yesterday rehearsing for a concert that I took part in last night. I am pretty sure I have mentioned before that I sing in my church choir which I absolutely love! Anyway a couple of months ago one of the other ladies at my church who sings in a local group called the ceramic city choir asked if I would interested in singing in a concert they were doing (which they were letting people join in with) which was to be held a local concert venue, The Victoria Hall. I jumped at the opportunity because the Victoria is a fantastic venue.
It was such a fantastic day, we did Handels messiah which at first I was a little daunted about - if you havent heard it before seriously go and google it! its amazing but when you first look at it WOW! It was so nice singing with a large choir too - I think there were about 190 of us last night singing in the concert - 50 or 60 of which were Altos which is the part i sing - a bit different to to 3 of us which sing Alto in our church choir!
Ive been back to work this week! It felt strange going back after 3 weeks off but I felt like I had never been away! I love the girls I work with and I genuinely missed them while I was off! I am starting to feel much better and almost back to normal now! Especially since Friday when mum pulled a stitch out of one of my wounds (which wasnt healing properly) - ever likely if the stitch hadn't dissolved! Anyway I wont go into detail but it was HUGE and since Friday I cant tell you the difference!!!
I have another jam packed week ahead! Tomorrow we are going round to my friend Jeans house (you may have heard me talking about her before on Instagram or Twitter) - basically Jean used to be a fellow Alto in our choir but she is 82 and just after christmas she fell ill and basically her leg went all funny.. I dont really know what happened to it but the doctors told her she wouldnt walk again! Not to let anyone get her down Jean is up and about now, yes she can't run a marathon but she sure proved the doctors wrong. Anyway she can lift her leg properly to get up steps as it still a bit dodgy - recovering from things like that does take time when your 82 - and she cant lift her foot to get up to the choir stalls. Anyway tomorrow we are going around to her house to sing some christmas carols.
On Tuesday me and some of the others from my church are going around to one of the local retirement homes which our church is connected with to 'carol sing'. Then next Sunday is our Carol Concert at church which we have been rehearsing for (what feels like September) ages!
And then it is Christmas weeeeeeek!!! I am looking forward to Christmas week! I love a lot of the services at church - especially the christmas eve ones!
Elsewhere this weeks British Blogger Selection is to talk about Hair! I did a post here talking about my hair care routine not too long ago (ok so now I look it was September - wow this year has flown by) - To be honest when it comes to haircare I am a bit of a floater - I dont ever tend to stick to one brand and very often I dont repurchase anything as I like to try lots of different things. As there is always something new popping up on the market I tend to like to try new products a lot.
Up until about 6 or so months ago I was that girl who had about 3 different bottles of shampoo open on the side of the bath. When I had my hair coloured at the hairdressers, the recommended a shampoo which would lock in colour for long. Now at £12 a bottle I was a little dubious but I LOVE this shampoo! It is part of the Wella SP range and is the colour save and on closer inspection I have found that you can get it on Feel Unique here - I have been using this shampoo and have repurchased it a couple of times since I first picked it up!
In terms of styling I am currently using Wella SP Luxe oil - and at the minute the shampoo that goes with this as it was part of a deal that my hairdresser was doing - again this is available on Feel Unique here
In terms of styling I am pretty much the same as the post I linked above. I have the beauty of styling my hair either curly or straight quite easily. My GHDs are a saviour and more recently I have been in love with my Babyliss Curl Secret!
Anyway I hope you are all well! Obviously it is a busy busy time at the minute so over the next few weeks I will try my very best to keep you updated and post as much as I can!
xxx
We all have our own little traditions as family's! It's been quite nice reading a few bloggers posts this year who have their own new families and I can't wait for the day when I can carry on traditions and start new ones with my own family some day...
Anyway I thought I would share with you a few christmas traditions or things we always get up to at the christmas period...
For me the lead up to christmas often starts around the end of October at Christmas cake making time. My nanna has always made a christmas cake at christmas and especially over the last 5 or so years I have enjoyed helping her make it.
It think like most family's we have our favourite christmas films that it is NOT christmas until we have watched! For a long time 2 firm favorites in our house hold have been Miricle on 34th street and Muppets christmas carol (which we all sat down and watched last night :D ). Over more recent years we have added to this list with the nativity! which I think is an absolutely awesome film and Elf which always makes me giggle! I always love to watch Love Actually as well and I quite like to watch the Santa Clause movies with Tim Allen but these are a give or take - the others however are MUST watch!!
Our christmas tree traditionally always goes up around the 6th/7th (at some point around the weekend of this date!) the tradition is that it has to be up before my mums (and now my) work christmas party so we can have a photo in front of the tree all dressed up! We have an Angel on the top of our tree aptly called Mary - she is a knitted angel which is about 20 years old and my mum picked up at a christmas fayre when me and my brother were at playgroup. Every year since we got Mary me and my brother have taken it in turns to put Mary on the top of our tree!
On Christmas Eve, we have always had for as long as I can remember we have had meat and potato pie for tea complete with proper (homemade) pastry which I usually make. At our local church they have a service at 4.30 called the crib service which is a family orientated service. We have gone to this service as long as I can remember and I always love this service. It always feels so Christmassy with christmas carols and present giving - we always donate a present to one of the local charity's for people not lucky enough - recently a women's hospice in my local area! There is so much giving at christmas it is easy to forget that there are people out there who are not as lucky as us.
More recently ( well last year) I also added midnight mass to my christmas church going tradition. I have wanted to go to midnight mass for a long time and I am so glad I actually went and intend to go again this year and for years to come. I was actually surprised by how many people went to midnight mass and it was lovely to welcome christmas in properly in church surrounded by all my church friends.
On Christmas Day we open presents as a family (usually after being woken up by my dad who no matter how many years he says have a lie in - is always the first one up!) and then we get dressed (in a new top or something new we have had for christmas and then have bagels for breakfast. We then go down to my nanna and granddad house (who live right down the street from us) and exchange presents with them. Then we come home and have christmas lunch which my mum and me make together (and in more recent years aided with an ever so small glass of baileys). Then on Boxing Day my nanna and grandad come up for lunch and then stay usually til bed time having lots of party games and fun times!!
Most of those are traditions which have been long standing... Over more recent years a couple more have been added. Over the last 4 or so years me and my mum have made an annual trip to Manchester to the christmas market which is a trip organised through the hospital we both work at for the staff! Over the past couple of years I have also added carol singing at one of the "old people homes" around the corner from my house where I got with the people from church. I have really enjoyed this over the last couple of years and again is something I would like to carry on doing for many years.
And those are my christmas traditions! What traditions do you and your family enjoy at christmas???
I decided to combine these to posts today because I seem to have too many posts left and not enough weeks as I wanted to get these done at least a couple of weeks before Christmas so that if you spotted anything you would still have chance to get it!
Today I want to talk both ends of the scale - gifts for the young en's and gifts for the oldies. First up lets do the young ones.
Today I want to talk both ends of the scale - gifts for the young en's and gifts for the oldies. First up lets do the young ones.
- Personalised Disney Princess Book - £9.99 - Buy a gift - Buy a gift have a load of different types of books which can be personalised for your little prince or princess. Perfect for those little ones who love to read.
- 50 things to do before your 11 3/4 - £9.99 - Hawkins Bazaar - I love the idea of this book! It would be a really fun book to try and get all of the things done!
- Make your own lip balm kit - £15 - Not on the high Street - Not just a good ones for teens I would be quite happy to find this in my christmas pile but I thought this would be a good one for those teens who love to get a bit creative!
- Puppies and Kittens Nursery Set - £12 - Cath Kidston - I think this is so cute and a perfect little present for those younger ones.
- Toy Story Aqua Blaster - £4 - Superdrugs - I know this would be a popular one with boys! Its a game of blaster you play in the bath.
- The bear who had never seen christmas - £7.99 - John Lewis - This book is the book version of the John Lewis advert (which I can not watch without crying - come on it can not just be me)
- Make your own pencil case - £12.99 - Selfridges - Again another good one for those creative little people. I would love the idea of being able to design my own pencil case when I was younger! This set is awesome!
- One Direction personalised mug - £12.99 - Gone digging - For all those directioners out there - a 1D mug that can be personalised
- Minnie must have fashion nail art set - £10 - Boots - For your little lady who loves to paint her nails.
- Make your own Monster - £8 - Next - Because who doesnt want to make their own monster! I love this awesome gift from Next.
- Glass Photo Coasters - £4 each - Next - Cute coasters that you can add your own photos too! Because everyone needs somewhere stylish to stick their cup of tea!
- Family Tree Photograph Print - £28 - Not on the high street - I really love this photo frame! Not on the high street have some fantastic gifts and even have a gifts for grandparents section.
- All butter shortbread - £9 - Marks and Spencer - What is it with Christmas and biscuits?? Marks and Spencer do some fantastic biscuits. They quite often have a half price offer on them too so if you want some keep your peepers peeled!
- Grow you own tea and coffee - £13 - Buy a gift - I really like this gift! Perfect for those who love a cup of tea or coffee.. even better if your grandparents like a cup of tea in the garden! Combine 2 loves!
- Build your own hamper - £15 - John Lewis - If you really cant think of anything to get then building your own hamper is a great idea because it means you can make it more personal to whoever your giving it to and put their exact favourites.
- Walkers Slab Toffee - £6 - BHS - This just reminds me of a really vintage toffee and is SO cute!
- Seed Packet Organiser - £19.99 - Strawberry Fool - This is the perfect gift for organising packets of seeds if they love to Garden! Heads up though - Thrifty Mrs posted a picture of practically the same one as this from Home Bargains for £2.99
- Lavendon Manor Preserve Collection - £8 - Boots - A little mix of Jams which come in perfect little pots!
And those are my top gifts for Kids and Teens and the Oldies! Hope you have some good ideas there!
Ok ladies! Week 5 of British Blogger Selection - lets talk Skincare...
Now I am not going to lie. Over the years I have dabbled in and out of a LOT of different skin care products! I can not tell you the amount of scrubs and washes I have brought on a whim that have sat on the shelf in the bathroom for months before eventually making their way to the bin..
Nowadays I try to stick to brands I know and love... I know what my skin likes and what likes my skin and I go with it! That said however I love to also try new products but i try to be a bit more restrained with them now!
Recently I have become a MASSIVE fan of Clinique's 3 step routine - well I say a massive fan - I love Steps 1 and 2 but I cant say I am a fan of the moisturiser (the smell reminds me of play do) and I have been using this religiously that since I picked it up when I was in Birmingham and I can defiantly see me using this for a long time coming - I have already purchased a big one of the Liquid Soap and am saving the little one to take away with me.
My eye cream of choice at the moment comes from Clinique too. I also love the Benefit eye cream too! I like the applicator on this one which is cooling when you put it on your eyes.
Now when it comes to moisturiser this is where I waver. I wouldnt say that I am ever loyal to a brand when it comes to moisturise. Over recent months I have been using the Botanics ones - Day and Night Cream which I picked up when they were on offer in Boots. I also love the No7 Beautiful Skin moisturiser which I tend to pick up when they have the £5 offer on No7 skincare.
My current make up remover of choice is the Lush 9 - 5 cleansing lotion which I have been using over the past couple of months. I really love this cleansing lotion - I would defiantly say it is up there with the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish.
Over the past couple of days too I have recently started using the Hydraluron serum and I have to say so far so good - this is one I will defiantly keep you posted on as I give it a longer test.
Now I am not going to lie. Over the years I have dabbled in and out of a LOT of different skin care products! I can not tell you the amount of scrubs and washes I have brought on a whim that have sat on the shelf in the bathroom for months before eventually making their way to the bin..
Nowadays I try to stick to brands I know and love... I know what my skin likes and what likes my skin and I go with it! That said however I love to also try new products but i try to be a bit more restrained with them now!
Recently I have become a MASSIVE fan of Clinique's 3 step routine - well I say a massive fan - I love Steps 1 and 2 but I cant say I am a fan of the moisturiser (the smell reminds me of play do) and I have been using this religiously that since I picked it up when I was in Birmingham and I can defiantly see me using this for a long time coming - I have already purchased a big one of the Liquid Soap and am saving the little one to take away with me.
My eye cream of choice at the moment comes from Clinique too. I also love the Benefit eye cream too! I like the applicator on this one which is cooling when you put it on your eyes.
Now when it comes to moisturiser this is where I waver. I wouldnt say that I am ever loyal to a brand when it comes to moisturise. Over recent months I have been using the Botanics ones - Day and Night Cream which I picked up when they were on offer in Boots. I also love the No7 Beautiful Skin moisturiser which I tend to pick up when they have the £5 offer on No7 skincare.
My current make up remover of choice is the Lush 9 - 5 cleansing lotion which I have been using over the past couple of months. I really love this cleansing lotion - I would defiantly say it is up there with the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish.
Over the past couple of days too I have recently started using the Hydraluron serum and I have to say so far so good - this is one I will defiantly keep you posted on as I give it a longer test.
Right ladies! Today I want to have a chat to you about Beauty counters. You know the ones, clad in shiny lights with all the gorgeous beautiful products just waiting for you to swatch? Now I know this may sound like a bit of a weird topic to discuss here but I have come to realise that actually there can be some kind of stigma or dare I say discrimination when it comes to some of these counters out there.
Now I come from a small town where we have 1 Debenhams which has a selection of smallish counters such as Benefit, Urban Decay, Bare Minerals and a few of the high end ones like YSL, Clarins, Estee Lauder. Now you know I love Benefit and I genuinely can not knock the girls on my local Benefit counter who are always and have always been lovely whenever I go to browse.
I think this stigma comes more from larger counters in larger stores, allow me to provide you with 2 examples.
Last Christmas I went on a shopping trip by myself up to Manchester town centre to do some Christmas shopping. While there I decided to nip to the Mac counter to have a look at the Mac Soft and Gentle Skin Finish which I had seen so many beauty bloggers raving around. I wanted to look at the product and swatch it to see for myself what it was like. Now picture the scene. It was the start of December, it was cold, I made the 2 mile journey by bus from my house to the train station and caught the train and got to Manchester where I walked up from Manchester Picadilly into the town. By the time I came to going to Mac I had a few bags with me. I had just had my hair done which my then hair dresser at the time had made a right mess of (I wanted a subtle caramel highlight in my hair and they came out blonde) and I was 3 and a half stone heavier and squeezed into a winter coat which I basically brought because it fit and was more practical than stylish. Anyway you get the picture - I'll admit I probably didnt look my best.
When I got to the counter I browsed a little. I hadn't been to a Mac counter before but I had read lots online through the various blogs I read. I mooched around a bit trying to find what it was that I was looking for while waiting as you do to be pounced upon by a member of the Mac staff. Now if you have been to a Mac counter before you will know that they have tons of staff and usually they are very busy. However when I went, they had the ton of staff but it wasnt that busy so a lot of the staff were just standing milling around. I carried on mooching before eventually I went over to one of the girls who was standing talking to another assistant and when I asked if they had Soft and Gentle you could I sworn I had just punched her across the face the way she looked at me. She went off and got it and handed the box to me with it in and then I had to ask her again if she had a tester that I could have a look as I had never had it before. She pointed me over to where they were and left me to swatch it for myself - never once asking me if I would like to try it on my skin. Had it not been for the fact I really wanted to get it once I swatched it on my hand I would have left there and then. Not a good first Mac experience.
Fast forward 12 months, 3 and a half stone lighter. Yesterday we went to the Trafford Centre. I decided I wanted to have a look at the Mac counter to have a look at the eye shadows, because you know how much I love the Mac Pro Palette I picked up when I was in Birmingham. I wanted to have a look for some eye shadows that I could wear to my Christmas Party and wanted an idea of what kind of thing to wear as my dress is black and nude and I wasn't sure what kind of thing to go for with it being so neutral. Me and my parents decided to split up as they both wanted to head off to get a few bits - including things for me and i needed to pick up some things - including something else for my mum I had seen. We had lunch and I decided to head straight to Mac first as I was by Selfridges anyway.
When I picked up my last Mac Palette I had got it from the Mac shop in Birmingham not a counter and knew exactly what I wanted when I went in so I hadn't really spend much time mooching.
This time I was again pretty nervous. What is it about mooching on a high end beauty counter that makes you nervous like you shouldn't be there? The Mac counter in Trafford is situated right by the door as you go in and is absolutely massive. I wandered over to the eye shadows to have a look and within a minute of standing looking a young bubbly girl came over to me and asked if I was ok and if she could help with anything. I explained what I was looking for and she asked me what my dress was like. I had taken a picture of it on my phone and she looked at it. Now she didn't just glance at it she had a really good look at it - all the time chatting away to me. She then showed me some of the ready made Pro Palettes that they had. She asked me about what kind of colours I would usually wear in the day and night and I explained I tended to keep it quite neutral for work. She showed me one of the palettes which contained 3 purply shades and explained that these would look nice with my dress because it was neutral and also with my green eyes. Now she hadn't looked me straight in the eye so she had clearly been paying attention when I was talking to her. She swatched a couple of the back of her hand showing me and then asked if I would like for her to try them on me. I was quite taken aback as I didn't think Mac did this kind of thing without you booking an appointment. She sat me down on a chair and gave me a mirror and told me to hold it up so I could see what she was doing. Now this is the first time at any counter this had happened. This is one thing I always hate when you go to a counter or make up stall for advice, they offer to do your make up for you and only give you a mirror when they have done, great if they are just trying stuff on you but I don't know about you, I like to watch as they stick it on so I can pick up tips! I watched intently as she did one of my eyes and she asked what I thought. Before she did my other eye she asked me if I wanted the other eye doing as she knew it was quite a night time look for walking around the Trafford Centre - not to turn down the opportunity to see the completed look she did the other eye and then finished it off with some mascara.
Out of curiosity I asked her about what colour lipstick she would pair with this look and she went off coming back with a lovely pink one. She explained that she would go for something like this one and tried it saying she could pick something different if I didn't like it! When she was done she asked me if there was anything I wanted to take away with me, but funnily enough I didn't feel pressured into buying anything. I decided to take the palette and lipstick with me and as she run them I paid she carried on chatting to me.
Overall I came away feeling amazing! What a difference in experience!
Now obviously I cant cast judgement that there is a stigma with make up counters and I am not going to sit here and say 'they ignore me because I am fat' or 'they ignore me because my hair does look perfect or I am not dressed up to the nines' but lets face it, I know for a fact I had been in large department stores where the Make up assistant has ignored me when I have been standing mooching for ages and spoken to someone slightly thinner or slightly better dressed or they ignore you because they think your just looking with no intention of buying. We all know this stigma heck it could even be called discrimination exists but no one ever challenges it! Some of these counter assistants look at you as if you shouldn't be shopping on their counter and in fact I have had some who completely ignore you until you strike up a conversation and it actually sounds like you know what your talking about. Yes I am not a make up artist or a professional but I read a lot of blogs and I have become to get a grasp what I am talking about when it comes to certain things but what about beginners? it is no wonder that some people get put off??
What do you think? Have you ever experienced bad counter experience which has put you off and do you think this Counter Stigma exists??
Now I come from a small town where we have 1 Debenhams which has a selection of smallish counters such as Benefit, Urban Decay, Bare Minerals and a few of the high end ones like YSL, Clarins, Estee Lauder. Now you know I love Benefit and I genuinely can not knock the girls on my local Benefit counter who are always and have always been lovely whenever I go to browse.
I think this stigma comes more from larger counters in larger stores, allow me to provide you with 2 examples.
Last Christmas I went on a shopping trip by myself up to Manchester town centre to do some Christmas shopping. While there I decided to nip to the Mac counter to have a look at the Mac Soft and Gentle Skin Finish which I had seen so many beauty bloggers raving around. I wanted to look at the product and swatch it to see for myself what it was like. Now picture the scene. It was the start of December, it was cold, I made the 2 mile journey by bus from my house to the train station and caught the train and got to Manchester where I walked up from Manchester Picadilly into the town. By the time I came to going to Mac I had a few bags with me. I had just had my hair done which my then hair dresser at the time had made a right mess of (I wanted a subtle caramel highlight in my hair and they came out blonde) and I was 3 and a half stone heavier and squeezed into a winter coat which I basically brought because it fit and was more practical than stylish. Anyway you get the picture - I'll admit I probably didnt look my best.
When I got to the counter I browsed a little. I hadn't been to a Mac counter before but I had read lots online through the various blogs I read. I mooched around a bit trying to find what it was that I was looking for while waiting as you do to be pounced upon by a member of the Mac staff. Now if you have been to a Mac counter before you will know that they have tons of staff and usually they are very busy. However when I went, they had the ton of staff but it wasnt that busy so a lot of the staff were just standing milling around. I carried on mooching before eventually I went over to one of the girls who was standing talking to another assistant and when I asked if they had Soft and Gentle you could I sworn I had just punched her across the face the way she looked at me. She went off and got it and handed the box to me with it in and then I had to ask her again if she had a tester that I could have a look as I had never had it before. She pointed me over to where they were and left me to swatch it for myself - never once asking me if I would like to try it on my skin. Had it not been for the fact I really wanted to get it once I swatched it on my hand I would have left there and then. Not a good first Mac experience.
Fast forward 12 months, 3 and a half stone lighter. Yesterday we went to the Trafford Centre. I decided I wanted to have a look at the Mac counter to have a look at the eye shadows, because you know how much I love the Mac Pro Palette I picked up when I was in Birmingham. I wanted to have a look for some eye shadows that I could wear to my Christmas Party and wanted an idea of what kind of thing to wear as my dress is black and nude and I wasn't sure what kind of thing to go for with it being so neutral. Me and my parents decided to split up as they both wanted to head off to get a few bits - including things for me and i needed to pick up some things - including something else for my mum I had seen. We had lunch and I decided to head straight to Mac first as I was by Selfridges anyway.
When I picked up my last Mac Palette I had got it from the Mac shop in Birmingham not a counter and knew exactly what I wanted when I went in so I hadn't really spend much time mooching.
This time I was again pretty nervous. What is it about mooching on a high end beauty counter that makes you nervous like you shouldn't be there? The Mac counter in Trafford is situated right by the door as you go in and is absolutely massive. I wandered over to the eye shadows to have a look and within a minute of standing looking a young bubbly girl came over to me and asked if I was ok and if she could help with anything. I explained what I was looking for and she asked me what my dress was like. I had taken a picture of it on my phone and she looked at it. Now she didn't just glance at it she had a really good look at it - all the time chatting away to me. She then showed me some of the ready made Pro Palettes that they had. She asked me about what kind of colours I would usually wear in the day and night and I explained I tended to keep it quite neutral for work. She showed me one of the palettes which contained 3 purply shades and explained that these would look nice with my dress because it was neutral and also with my green eyes. Now she hadn't looked me straight in the eye so she had clearly been paying attention when I was talking to her. She swatched a couple of the back of her hand showing me and then asked if I would like for her to try them on me. I was quite taken aback as I didn't think Mac did this kind of thing without you booking an appointment. She sat me down on a chair and gave me a mirror and told me to hold it up so I could see what she was doing. Now this is the first time at any counter this had happened. This is one thing I always hate when you go to a counter or make up stall for advice, they offer to do your make up for you and only give you a mirror when they have done, great if they are just trying stuff on you but I don't know about you, I like to watch as they stick it on so I can pick up tips! I watched intently as she did one of my eyes and she asked what I thought. Before she did my other eye she asked me if I wanted the other eye doing as she knew it was quite a night time look for walking around the Trafford Centre - not to turn down the opportunity to see the completed look she did the other eye and then finished it off with some mascara.
Out of curiosity I asked her about what colour lipstick she would pair with this look and she went off coming back with a lovely pink one. She explained that she would go for something like this one and tried it saying she could pick something different if I didn't like it! When she was done she asked me if there was anything I wanted to take away with me, but funnily enough I didn't feel pressured into buying anything. I decided to take the palette and lipstick with me and as she run them I paid she carried on chatting to me.
Overall I came away feeling amazing! What a difference in experience!
Now obviously I cant cast judgement that there is a stigma with make up counters and I am not going to sit here and say 'they ignore me because I am fat' or 'they ignore me because my hair does look perfect or I am not dressed up to the nines' but lets face it, I know for a fact I had been in large department stores where the Make up assistant has ignored me when I have been standing mooching for ages and spoken to someone slightly thinner or slightly better dressed or they ignore you because they think your just looking with no intention of buying. We all know this stigma heck it could even be called discrimination exists but no one ever challenges it! Some of these counter assistants look at you as if you shouldn't be shopping on their counter and in fact I have had some who completely ignore you until you strike up a conversation and it actually sounds like you know what your talking about. Yes I am not a make up artist or a professional but I read a lot of blogs and I have become to get a grasp what I am talking about when it comes to certain things but what about beginners? it is no wonder that some people get put off??
What do you think? Have you ever experienced bad counter experience which has put you off and do you think this Counter Stigma exists??
Well I have been well and truly in the festive spirit this week and have managed to buy and wrap most of my presents now with the exception of a couple of bits. So here today is another one of my gift guides - this time with gifts for the guys!
- Sandel Socks - Prezzybox - £4.95 - We all know that one person who is not adverse to going out in socks and sandels despite the fact it makes us cringe - I love these for a little stocking filler!
- Clinique great skin for him gift set - Clinique (Boots, Selfridges) - £30 - I love Clinique skincare and this is a great set for the boys - It contains a moisturiser, face scrub, post shaving balm and an eye gel.
- A butlers guide to gentlemans grooming - £7.99 - John Lewis - Again another stocking filler present for the guy who always likes to look good.
- Single handel detachable shoulder strap briefcase - £59 - M&S - Us girls have a bag to carry around all our stuff but we never think about the boys needing one do we??
- Drivers glove kit box - £8 - Boots - I suppose this would be handy for girls too - This handy little kit contains a handwarmer, ice scraper, plastic gloves, a snap light, travel sweets, mini pen and paper, wipes, plasters and a sewing kit! Handy to have to reach if you get stuck in your car!
- iWallet for iPhone 4/5 - £18 - Hawkins Bazaar - Handy for keeping your phone, money and cards all together
- Cufflink Box - £12 - Next - If the men in your life are anything like the men in mine they seem to collect cufflinks like I collect nail polish and they all seem to hang around in little jewellery boxes! I love this little box from next to keep them all together!
- Jack Daniels Bar Set - £20 - BHS - BHS in my opinion always do some fab gifts for friends and family who like a bit of a tipple! I really like this Jack Daniels set they have on offer this year.
- Pickmaster Plectrum Set - £14.99 - Totally Funky - I dont know anyone who plays the guitar but I liked the idea of this gift which allows you to make a plectrums yourself
- Not all who wonder cufflinks - £12 - Not on the high street - Not on the hight street have some really cool cufflinks with different quotes or sayings on! I loved the quote on these ones.
First of all Happy December!!! Can you believe it is only 24 days until Christmas! Woooo!
This weeks British Blogger Selection is all about make up and the topic is what is you favourite make up brand and why?
Now you now me, I love to try different things and different brands and if you have followed this blog a while, you will know that I dont tend to stay loyal to any particular make up brand. To be honest I think it would be quite hard to pinpoint 1 brand that I was completely in love with 100% of their products. There are some brands out there, I love their foundations or blushes but their mascaras or eyeshadows are not as good or others that do amazing lip products. Thats why I tend to use quite a few different brands. Heres my pick of my favourites.
Ive blogged about the mineral perfection powder foundation a couple of times this year. It seems to have been a staple in my make up bag during the hot summer we had and used it in the hope it was a bit of a dupe for Bare Minerals foundations. The Essentially natural foundation is one I brought and was colour matched too. I like No 7 foundations because they offer the colour match service as I always struggle to match a foundation to myself. The bronzer has been one of my make up bag staples for a long time. I used to love it when it was in the previous style/packaging and is great for sweeping across for a simple look.
I know for a fact I have mentioned both of these product. I love love love the 24H colour tattoo's. I have extended my collection since I took this photo. I love the formula of them, the colours are great and they really do last all day. They look fab on their own or teamed up with other eye shadows. I love the Master drama pencils too - the colour give off on them is fantastic and again they last all day! I love to team these up with just a neutral eye shadow.
I absolutely love this concealer and is my go to concealer which I always grab but I have so many Rimmel which I love. I am a massive fan (as I know many other beauty bloggers are) of the Stay Matte powder which is the best powder I have ever used and no matter which other ones I try, this is always the one I go back to. I also love their lip products! I have gone through a massive love affair with the Acropalips and have recently brought one of their Kate Moss lipsticks to try.
Any those are some of my favourite make up brands. There are a lot of brands which I like 1 or 2 products of but these 4 brands are ones which I love a lot of their products!
What is your favourite make up brand??
This weeks British Blogger Selection is all about make up and the topic is what is you favourite make up brand and why?
Now you now me, I love to try different things and different brands and if you have followed this blog a while, you will know that I dont tend to stay loyal to any particular make up brand. To be honest I think it would be quite hard to pinpoint 1 brand that I was completely in love with 100% of their products. There are some brands out there, I love their foundations or blushes but their mascaras or eyeshadows are not as good or others that do amazing lip products. Thats why I tend to use quite a few different brands. Heres my pick of my favourites.
Benefit
If you have read my blog, you will know how much I love Benefit. It all started with 1 product and I was hooked. I have tried quite a few of their products including their foundations, blush/bronzers, mascaras, primers. I really like their products. Heres some of my favourites:
Top to Bottom: Stay Flawless 15hr Primer, Hello Flawless Oxygen Foundation, Bad Gal lash mascara and liner, They are real mascara, Fine One one Blush.
I really loved the feel of the Hello Flawless foundation and it is probably one of my favourite ever foundations! The they are real mascara I know has had a lot of publicity and certainly for good reason! This again is one of my favourite mascaras to use - especially if I am going on a night out! I think Benefit is a great brand. I haven't really tried any of their eye shadow products but I know my mum loves the greatest ever neutrals set I got her for mothers day this year. With their constant new products I know that Benefit is a brand which will be around in my make up bag for a long while!
No 7
No 7 is one of the first make up brands I think I started using, mainly because it is the brand my mum used. I have always found it to be a brand which suits my skin type and is probably one of the brands I could say I have tried most of the things from over the years and if there was 1 brand that I could only use then it would probably be this one as I find all their products are good to use, The bases, blushes, eye shadows, mascaras.
Top to Bottom: Mineral Perfection Powder foundation, Essentially Natural Foundation, Beauty Skin BB, Mineral Perfection Blusher and Mosaic Bronzer.
Ive blogged about the mineral perfection powder foundation a couple of times this year. It seems to have been a staple in my make up bag during the hot summer we had and used it in the hope it was a bit of a dupe for Bare Minerals foundations. The Essentially natural foundation is one I brought and was colour matched too. I like No 7 foundations because they offer the colour match service as I always struggle to match a foundation to myself. The bronzer has been one of my make up bag staples for a long time. I used to love it when it was in the previous style/packaging and is great for sweeping across for a simple look.
Maybelline
I have had a bit of a love affair with some of Maybelline's products this year and at present some of their products are taking up probably 20% of my make up bag.
Colour 24H Tattoo shadow and the master drama pencils.
Rimmel
Rimmel is another brand I have a great love of and have been a fan for many years. I find that it is a great high street brand which has a lot of fantastic products in their range. I have a lot of love for many Rimmel products but apparently this is the only I have ever taken a picture of.
Any those are some of my favourite make up brands. There are a lot of brands which I like 1 or 2 products of but these 4 brands are ones which I love a lot of their products!
What is your favourite make up brand??
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons