2014 - The Best Bits

Best Moment - Getting to visit New York City! I've wanted to go for as long as I can remember and this Summer I got to spend a brief three days there. The city was everything and nothing like I thought it would be, and I loved every second.

Best Clothing Discovery - Topshop Black Leigh Jeans. How did I live before these found their way into my wardrobe? These are now a core component of 98% of my outfits and I freaking love them. I'm waiting for the next Topshop 20% student discount day to pick up a back up pair!

Best Food Discovery - Sushi, or more specifically Cucumber Maki Rolls. Before 2014 I'd never tried sushi, because I hate fish and I was under the impression that all sushi was fish. Boy was I wrong. I've spent more time on a Yo Sushi conveyer belt this year than I ever thought possible. It's been great.

Best Purchase - (aside from 4000 cucumber maki rolls) my Erin Condren Life Planner. I don't know what I'd have done without this thing, it keeps my entire life in line.

Best Album - Mallory Knox's Asymmetry. You know when you hear an album and every song gets you? Yeah. That.

Best London Discovery - This is a tie between Honest Burgers and Blink Brow Bar. Both are amazing. Both are firm favourites.

The Best Of Face Masks

At this time of year my face is usually breakout central, too many Quality Street and Celebrations are probably the main contributors, so having a team of face masks on hand to help fix that is almost an essential. I've got a few old favourites that are worth a mention and also some new discoveries!

For a boost of moisture, I love the No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask, which is like a thick gel moisturiser that you can apply thickly and wash off after 10 minutes for a quick boost, or apply like a normal moisturiser overnight to really give your skin a treat. It's very similar to the Origins Make a Difference mask, but much cheaper!

For brightening up the skin, my go to option is the budget friendly Kiko Peeling Mask, a mask that essentially just gets rid of any dead skin cells and brightens up the complexion. This stuff goes a long way, and it smells pretty good too.

Another budget-friendly option, the Simple Kind To Skin Deep Cleansing Mask, which is a good option for an under £5 face fix. It's light and doesn't leave your skin feeling stripped, but it really helps clear out any blocked pores.

I've waxed lyrical on the Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Face Mask, a soothing camomile and blueberry concoction that helps calm skin and rid you of blemishes almost instantly. I can't say enough good things about this stuff, I always have a pot in my fridge!

Two Origins masks that definitely deserve a mention, for angry skin I reach for the Out of Trouble Mask, a ten minute wonder-product that just really helps calm the situation. For clogged pores I go for the Clear Improvement Mask, a deep cleansing charcoal product that helps leave your skin feeling really clean.

What are your favourite face masks?

The Holiday Haul

I'm back in England now (and more importantly, in my own bed), after a chilly week in the Alpes and I thought it only appropriate that I share with you guys what I picked up on my travels! I can't resist a little beauty splurge, especially when it's cheaper than at home!

I passed through duty free at around 5am, which is incredibly dangerous since I was only partially awake and functioning, and I definitely felt a little delirious. Magically, I managed to stick to my list and left with one repurchase and one wishlist item. The repurchase was my beloved MAC Mineralize Concealer in NW20, my favourite concealer for highlighting my under eyes. I'd willingly pay full price over and over for this concealer, it just so happened that it ran out at the perfect time! The other purchase was the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in Bonheur, a product that's been on my wishlist since I met Fleur de Force at the beginning of the month and she looked amazing in it. It's a gorgeous shade and I've fallen head over heels for it.

Before I headed to my gate I realised that I'd forgotten to pack any hairbands, and since the queue in Boots was huge, I popped into Accessorize and picked up a few packs, one of normal bands, one of elastic ties, and one of weird wide bands. They're all in pretty pastel pink and greys and are really cute, and were super reasonable too.

When it came to hitting up the french pharmacies there were only two things on my list. The first was a travel size of my beloved Caudalie Beauty Elixir, for travel and keeping in my handbag for on the go. I picked one up on the first day and it was around three pounds cheaper than in the UK, not a staggering amount, but every little helps! I also wanted to pick up the Caudalie Vinosource Creme Sorbet moisturiser, I had a sample a while back and I loved it. It actually worked out forty cents cheaper to buy the Moisture Essentials gift set with a full size version of the product in than it was to buy the moisturiser alone weirdly enough, so of course I went for that! Inside is the moisturiser, the Hand and Nail cream and Lip Conditioner, and I love all of them! The set was £18, five pounds cheaper than in the UK, and alone all these items would cost £40 to buy here, so it was a total bargain!

Have you tried any of these products?

Where to Shop For Makeup Bags

I think I'm addicted to buying makeup bags, I'm always on the hunt for the perfect one. I've decided that the perfect one doesn't exist, instead what I have is lots of perfect ones for different scenarios.

The Overnighter - Alphabet Bags: because who doesn't want a makeup bag with their name on? This is incredibly durable, it's roomy but still compact enough to fit in a small overnight bag without much hassle.

The Minimalist - Whistles: for the girl who can just chuck a little concealer, powder, mascara & lipgloss on, this is for you. Whilst it can fit a surprising amount in it, I'm always concerned about stretching the leather! Very luxurious, and compact too.

The Weekender - Paul and Joe: This particular makeup bag doesn't actually exist anymore, it was limited edition and a total pain to get my mitts on. Essentially what this is is a makeup filofax, it's a little zip up case with a ring binder mechanism, with different removable pouches, and a built in brush holder at the back. This is fantastic for keeping everything organised, but it doesn't actually hold as much as it looks like it should. Whilst you can't get this particular one anymore, that's not to say something similar might appear in the future, and for now Trish McEvoy and Laura Mercier do similar things.

The Handbag Appropriate - Forever 21: Forever 21 always have the cutest selection of different sized fun makeup bags, mine is definitely appropriate for me (it's the pink one that says 'Day Dreamer'), and they are constantly updating their selection. These ones are perfect for chucking in your bag for on the go, they can easily hold all your essentials, but they're still dinky. They're cheap too, so if they get ruined it's not the end of the world.

For the Beauty Bits - Space NK: I picked this little cube makeup bag up in the post-christmas sales last year, and it's perfect for chucking in all your mini beauty bits for travel. It holds it's shape really well and since it's square, it's so easy to pack. It's got a waterproof lining too so it's spillage-resistant.

The Ultimate Getaway Bag - Muji: This is my go to for travel, I used it for my trips to New York, LA and my Christmas trip too. They do a couple of sizes (I have the biggest of course), and they're just fantastic. You can fit so much in there, it's got some brush holders and little sections that are just handy for keeping things organised. And I believe it was around £12? Perfect!

What are your favourite makeup bags?

2014 Beauty Favourites!

2014 has been a whirlwind year that's for sure, and I'm so excited to finally be able to share my pick of the very best products of the year. There have been some standout, stellar products for me, and I've found some firm favourites! If you want to find out more about any of the products I mentioned, follow these links!

PRODUCTS MENTIONED:
The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter
Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Cleanser
Boots Botanics All Bright Hydrating Day Moisturiser
Herbal Essences Fresh Balance Clarifying Shampoo
CoLab Dry Shampoo
V05 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray
Dove Style and Protect Heat Spray
Lee Stafford Wave and Nourish Argan Oil Wand
Giorgio Armani Si
Real Techniques Contour Brush
Dior Backstage Professional Finish Powder Brush
Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua
Jouer Matte Moisture Tint
The Body Shop Honey Bronzer
Tarte 12 Hour Amazonian Clay Blushes (Captivating and Fearless)
The Balm’s Mary Lou Manizer
Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer
Soap and Glory Archery Brow Pencil
Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade
Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper
NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette
Lorac Pocket Pro Eyeshadow Palette
Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics Palette
Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara in Ultra Black
Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy
Dior Lip Glow
Bite Beauty Lipstick in Fig

What are your 2014 beauty favourites?

Budget Beauty #8 - The Unsung Heroes

Whilst I'm a luxury beauty lover at heart, the drugstore is home to some real gems, some of which are really quite under appreciated. In the depths of my stash there are a few real standout beauty bits that deserve a lot more hype than they get, and this post is dedicated to a handful of them.

Three of the products in this post come from L'Oreal, which is a brand that I wouldn't necessarily always recommend, but I actually have a lot of loved products from. It doesn't necessarily stand out to me as a brand off the top of my head, but there are some gems to be found. I feel like nobody has really spoken about the L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint Foundation since the early press plugs around the release date, but I reach for this foundation a lot. It's definitely a good skin day sorta product, it's not gonna do much for blemishes, but if your skin is looking smoother, or if you just want something to even out the tone, this is fantastic. It's a fantastic foundation, incredibly light on the skin, it applies almost like water, and once it's on, you just can't feel it. It offers good coverage in terms of getting rid of any redness or discolouration, and it's really long lasting.

I recently discovered the L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper, and have used it pretty much every day since, it's by far my favourite of all the brow gels I've tried (in my opinion it even beats Benefit's Gimme Brow). It's got a small little brush the perfect size for brows, it doesn't distribute too much product, and the product isn't too orange either. It's just adds a little more definition to your brows, and helps keep them in place. And the last L'Oreal mention goes to their Super Liner Mat Matic in Ultra Black, a good creamy formula that's incredibly long lasting, even on the waterline.

Moving on from L'Oreal offerings, I've had the Rimmel Glam Eyes Eyeshadow Quad in Smokey Brown for a while now, and it's still one of my most used palettes for day to day. Four incredibly wearable shades that you can really create a whole host of looks with, and the quality is fantastic, especially considering the £5 price tag. A real makeup bag staple.

One of my favourite makeup brushes is the Eco Tools Blush Brush, and yet I rarely hear anyone else talk about it. It's tapered shape makes it great for getting under the cheekbones with a contour powder, but it's still fluffy enough to make a great blush brush too. The natural bristles are great for blending product out well too.

And a last mention to the Boots Botanics All Bright Hydrating Day Moisturiser, which does it all, boosts moisture, sinks in fast and brightens the skin, all for a couple of quid. I actually prefer this to my Origins Ginzing!

What are your unsung drugstore heroes?

The Easy Luxury Holiday Makeup Edit

I always find this period of time between Christmas and New Year a little odd, it's like the world slows down a bit. Everyone has eaten too much, and is drinking too much, they don't have to go to work and they generally don't have very much purpose. I don't know about you but when it comes to makeup, I still want to feel put together, but my laziness is generally heightened. Fear not if you're in the same boat, I've put together a foolproof makeup routine that takes a little over five minutes, but still looks like you've made an effort. Perfect.

The key to it all is the NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser- base perfection in a bottle. A blob of this on the back of your hand, just blended out with your fingers on your skin, and it still looks really bloody good, it's magic I tell you. The perfect partner to this foundation is the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, a good'un for undereyes and blemishes, and again is easy to blend out with your fingers (you'll notice a recoccuring brushless theme here!). This concealer is super high coverage, so it'll keep your skin looking fantastic, whilst being really easy and light on the skin too. To finish off complexion, I love to reach for a neutral peachy pink cream blush that I can just pat onto the apples of my cheeks using my fingers. I love the Jouer Cheek and Lip Tints for just that, particularly this one in Petal, they're really long lasting and just add a good pop of colour to the cheeks.

For eyes, again the idea is just to keep it simple. An easy to apply cream shadow like the Josie Maran Coconut Watercolour Eyeshadows is a fantastic way to add a good dose of shimmer, whilst taking all of about ten seconds. I like to pile these on with the applicator and blend the edges out with, you guessed it, my fingers. Playa Del Pink is a nice shimmery champagne option, whilst Bora Bora Bronze gives a good smokey look to the eyes. Finish the eyes off with lashings of a good lengthening mascara, like Urban Decay's Perversion.

And finally to top it all off, a little lipgloss in a neutral shade with a lil' something something. I love the NARS Orgasm Lipgloss at the moment, a beautiful peach with a hint of gold shimmer. For a more budget-friendly option the Maybelline Coloursensational Shine Glosses are great!

There you have it! I've got the whole routine down to about five minutes, and it definitely makes me feel put together, but it's still easy and simple!

Do you have a go-to easy makeup look?

 

In The Alps

Saturday morning we were up horrifyingly early (3am, urgh) to catch the first flight out to the Alps. This is our first trip to a ski resort (although only my dad and sister are skiing) and it's fair to say we haven't had the best of luck so far! A unseasonably mild start to the Winter means that there's no snow in the village (we are lucky that we have snow on the mountains, a lot of ski resorts here don't!), and in the first three days here I've had altitude sickness and my sister's broken her wrist in a freak accident on a magic carpet. So we haven't had the best of starts! However, other than that it's been pretty relaxed, the village here is absolutely stunning, the mountains are the perfect combination of snowy and sunny, and we lucked out with an amazing chalet and hosts.

So we are spending Christmas here (we fly home Saturday) and we are having our Christmas day on Sunday once we are back home! Our plans for the first Christmas day involve visiting the ice caves on top of the glacier, and maybe a touch of ice skating, whilst everyone else goes skiing. I've got my travel sickness bands so I'm feeling much better now, and my sister has a cast on her wrist but is soldiering on!

How have you spent the run up to Christmas?

The Christmas Eve Edit

As most of you will probably know I'm spending this week (and therefore Christmas) up in the Alps drinking mulled wine and falling over into the snow, so my usual Christmas routine has completely gone to pot. Today I should be wrapping presents by the tree, snuggling up on the sofa with my family watching back to back Jamie Oliver Christmas cookery shows, having a hot bubble bath with festive candles (Space NK Shimmering Spice Candle) and a Lush Bath Treat (Holly Holightly Bubble Bar), before retiring to bed with a stocking outside the door (in case Father Christmas wants to go to sleep before me) and watching Love Actually. Instead, I'm on a freezing cold mountain, fighting altitude sickness and a bad cell service.

It's not all doom and gloom, we've pushed our Christmas back to the 28th where we will be doing the whole Christmas she-bang in full swing, so I'm not missing out, just a little delayed! And it's actually quite nice here, it's chilly and frosty, but also sunny and quite beautiful. I'm not skiing so I'm mostly just vegetating (read: eating), and it's definitely an experience!

I just wanted to check in and say Merry Christmas to you all, I'm signing off the internet tomorrow (I don't want to see all your Christmassy tweets and be jealous!) and there won't be a blog post, but I'll be back on Boxing day! I want to again thank you all for your continued support, you have no idea how much every view and every comment means to me. I love you all so much.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas, and I'll see you all Boxing day, hopefully still feeling very full of mince pies and turkey.

Love Jaye x

Creating The Perfect Base

At this time of year we all want to be a little more camera-ready than usual, so I thought today I'd run you through my high-coverage, base routine. This is the makeup I use if I'm filming, or know I'm going to be taking loads of photos, it just covers everything and makes your skin look good.

The key here is a good primer, you want something that will help smooth out lumps and bumps, fill in pores, and generally create a good canvas for your makeup. Right now I love the Dr. Jart Pore Refine Recover Primer, which is just gorgeous, really smoothing and helps makeup last too. Another good option is the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer!

When picking a foundation, I generally like to steer clear of anything too dewy looking, and go for something more on the matte/velvet side, with a good coverage too. I'm currently loving the Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation, which gives a good buildable coverage, but still looks natural and not too dewy on the skin. For a more budget-friendly option, I like the Rimmel Match Perfection  and Max Factor Facefinity. With any of these I like to just use one pump, and use the Real Techniques Buffing Brush to blend it out beautifully, concentrating the majority of the product on the center of my face (where I tend to be more prone to redness).

Concealer-wise, I like to use two, a long lasting high coverage concealer to pin point conceal blemishes, and a good coverage brightening concealer for under the eyes. The MAC Studio Finish Concealer is a fantastic option for blemishes or redness, I just use a tiny amount on the Eco Tools Concealer Buffing Brush, and apply it directly where I need it. This brush is amazing because it really blends it out and makes it all look natural, but doesn't lessen the coverage. For undereyes I use either the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer or the MAC Mineralize concealer, I apply it in a big V shape under my eyes, and blend it out with the Real Techniques Contour Brush. Easy.

To set the lot, I love the Chanel Les Beiges Powder, just dusted along the face with the Dior Professional Finish Powder Brush, which deposits the powder without disrupting the makeup underneath. If I'm really going for it, I'll also apply a little of the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade to set my undereye concealer, which really helps brighten everything up.

And that's essentially it! I find that this combination of products makes your skin look the best, but still looks natural!

What are your go to products for a perfect base?

The Post Party Edit

Party season is in full swing and that means the morning after is happening even more often. Over the last couple of years I've got my post-party routine down to a tee, so that within an hour I can go from being half human to remotely resembling a human. Which is pretty impressive, no? 

So I usually start off the whole process by pouring myself a giant glass of iced water, and if I have it I'll squeeze half a lemon or lime in too. I can't stress how important this is, not just for getting rid of a headache, but it makes a massive difference to how awake you feel, and how your skin looks too.

As far as hair goes, I tend to just brush it out, spritz a ton of dry shampoo in at the roots, and if it's good enough to leave, I'll just let it do it's thing, if not I'll shove it up in a big bun, and add some kinda glitzy clip to distract!

I then start by getting any remnants of makeup off that may have slipped by the night before. The best thing for this I think is The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter, which is as easy as rubbing it all over your face and washing it off. It really does get every last scrap of makeup off without leaving your face feeling stripped at all. I then like to follow up with the Yes To Grapefruit Exfoliating Face Wipes which really brightens up the skin and leaves it looking fresh and healthy. I like to go in with the Origins Ginzing Eye Cream, which is a peachy iridescent shade that really brightens the under eye area. I like to spritz my skin with the Caudalie Beauty Elixir, which I find really helps add some brightness, before going in with the Boots Botanics Beauty Balm, a peachy balm with a hint of shimmer, that helps add some colour back into your skin.

Also before going in with makeup, I like to use my Optrex Brightening Eye Drops, to stop my eyes feeling dry and itchy, and to brighten them up again! If I've got a headache, this is where I'll add a little 4Head to my temples, which really helps clear your head.

On to makeup! My rule here is usually less is more, you don't want to look like you've caked makeup on to cover stuff up, you just want to improve! Generally my skin is still not looking tip top, so you want to go with a good coverage base, but that still looks natural. As always, my top pick for this is the Jouer Matte Moisture Tint, which is essentially perfect skin that still looks natural. Paired with a good brightening concealer this is a great base option! If my skin still needs a little boost, I like to dust the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade over my skin too give it a little oomph.

As far as the rest of my face is concerned, I try to keep it as simple as possible. Because who can be bothered to spend loads of time on their makeup after a late night? I like to use a little bit of brightening blush (something like the Dior Rosy Glow Blush), a little bit of nude liner on my waterline, a good thickening mascara & a tinted lip balm. Tinted lip balm is great because it's gonna help add moisture in, give you a bit of colour, but it's a really low maintenance lip option!

What do you do to put yourself back together post party?

What's in my Travel Beauty Bag?

I find stripping all my haircare, skincare and body bits back to the bare essentials SO difficult. I'm always paranoid I'll forget something important and be without it for a week! This time around I packed up my beauty bits a few days in advance and then used that on a day to day basis so that I had time to figure out if anything was missing!

Although this looks like a lot of stuff, it all fits into one little bag (the bag was a Fifi Lapin Harvey Nichols Collaboration), and I've got all my bases covered!

Starting with haircare! I have a mini Dove shampoo and conditioner that I picked up in Boots for just under a pound each. They're a hydrating formula which isn't normally what I'd go for but it'll be fine for a week, plus because I reverse wash my hair it shouldn't be too slippy! They're both the perfect size for a week so I should be able to ditch them at the end of the week to save space in my case on the way home! I've also packed a Tresemme 60 sec Deep Conditioning shot, because I like to use something a little heavier on my hair once a week just to keep my ends looking healthy. This is a super tiny one use tube, so again I'll be able to leave this behind! For post shower I've packed the V05 Nourish My Shine Miracle Illuminator which is an amazing multipurpose product. I use this as a post-shower detangler, and as a de-frizzer for styled hair, and it also contains heat protectant, so it kinda does three jobs in one. Also for hair I've packed a mini Colab Rio Dry Shampoo, because I use dry shampoo every day to style my hair (side fringe problems), and a hairspray by L'Oreal.

Moving on to skincare, to take off my makeup I've got a sample size of the Balance Me Cleansing Balm, which is perfect even when you're battling waterproof eye makeup, and then The Body Shop Nutriganics Foaming Cleanser to follow up with. I've also packed the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream to use as a moisturiser, but that's in my hand luggage! I've got a sample of the Benefit It's Potent Eye Cream, and a deluxe sample of the Balance Me Radiance Face Mask, just because my skin has a habit of acting up when I travel! For toner I've chucked in my Lush Tea Tree Toner, and for any pesky spots I've got Lush Grease Lightening, both of which are super travel friendly.

And lastly just two bits for body, Dove's Deeply Nourishing Body Wash, and an adorable travel size of The Body Shop's Gingerbread Body Butter saved from a gift set last year. Dinky and festive!

What are your beauty must haves when you travel?

What's In My Travel Makeup Bag #2

Back again with another peek into my makeup bag, this time there's makeup galore for a trip that essentially involves me laying around in my cozies, drinking mulled wine and watching Love Actually. But you know, you never know when you're gonna need a bold lip?

10 Favourites From the Week

My advent calendar: or even, just feeling festive in general really. There's something inherently Christmassy about eating a chocolate every morning, it's definitely helping with the festive spirit in this house! It's nice to be home too, with a big ol' Christmas tree, the radio in the kitchen permanently playing Christmas songs. I just feel festive.

Christmas wrapping: continuing the festive theme! I've actually really enjoyed doing my wrapping this year, I don't really know why? Either way, I've had some cute ribbon and gift cards and I've tried to make the presents look cute!

My Tangle Teezer: I've always had a compact Tangle Teezer, but last week I finally bought a full size one (after months of searching for the lilac and baby pink one, it's so hard to find!). It makes brushing your hair so so easy, and my hair always feels so much softer and healthier when I use these over a normal brush!

The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies: I finally got to go see the final installment in the Hobbit series this week and it was amazing. It's one of the few movies that I actually think does the book justice, and I definitely got a bit teary at the end (read: I cried like a baby). I'd definitely recommend catching it!

A Christmas card from my best dog friend: some friends of ours have a Boxer called Rio who is literally one of the nicest people I've ever met. Deadly serious. Anyway, every year she sends me a Christmas card and it makes me beyond happy, I've always wanted a Boxer, so at least for now I have a festive picture of Rio to fill the gap!

Starbucks Christmas Mug: last week I picked up this gorgeous mug from Starbucks, which combines a ton of my favourite things, coffee, London, Christmas and anything gold. I'm obsessed with making giant cups of tea in it!

Frosty mornings: We've had a few cold starts this week, and they've just been beautiful. At the weekend I went for breakfast at the golf club, and the view of the frosty grass and blue skies was just beautiful, I just love this time of year!

H&M sequin jumper: the closest thing to a Christmas jumper I will ever own. This sweater is so cosy and soft, sparkly and festive, and I feel like because the design is a perfume bottle, you could probably get away with it in January & February too! It's so cosy and warm! I've been pairing it with my sequined mini skirt a lot for an extra festive feeling!

Kitten cuddles: being home means being surrounded by my favourite furry creatures, from the one eyed dog who loves a cuddle, to the kitten who likes to lick your eyebrows if she gets half a chance. It's a motley crew to say the least but I miss them all so much when I'm gone!

Lazy mornings: the very best thing about being done with uni, lots of cosy late morning lie ins in my brushed cotton duvet! There's something so satisfying about getting to be back home, in my own bed, with no alarm set!

Last Minute Stocking Stuffers

This is a PSA, IT'S ONLY SEVEN DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS GUYS. I did a post on my lifestyle blog on my perfect stocking, which you can read here, but I thought I should give you guys a few suggestions if you've still got any last minute gifts to pick up.

First up, let's talk socks. All stockings should include stockings. All of them. Particularly fuzzy warm and cozy slipper socks. Lot's of them. Buy them in bulk in Primark and give them to everyone you love.

Now that we've got the most important part out of the way, let's talk other options. You can't really go wrong with a good palette, and I've got three that I think would be perfect. First up, the Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics Palette, which I think everyone should own. It's simple, but it's got options, which is what you want in a palette. I can't see anyone not liking this! Another good option is the Soap and Glory Perfect Ten Palette, which houses some seriously beautiful shimmery shades, in a variety of neutral themed colours. The quality of these shades is fantastic, and it's a good budget option. And lastly, I thought I'd mention the Benefit X Matthew Williamson The Rich Is Back Kit, which contains four gorgeous eyeshadows, a beautiful blush, a mascara and lipgloss, so everything you need. It's an amazing kit, and it's little known too!

You also can't go wrong with nail polishes, and Essie just released their Winter Trio drop, which is pretty much stocking perfect. You've got a beautiful red, a pretty glitter and a pearly white, essentially the perfect winter nail polish trio. Another good option are the Ciaté Sequins in Mistletoe Magic, which is essentially just a little jar of gold, green and red sequins for your nails. Pretty, and something a little different.

I found a couple of lip products worth a mention here too, firstly the Trilogy Luscious Rosehip Lips Set, which contains one Rosehip Oil Lip Balm, a super hydrating minty lip balm, and the Holiday Lip Balm, a cinnamon scented lip balm with a sheer red tint. Both are really hydrating and the set comes in at £12.50, which if you ask me, is a bit of a bargain. The other is the Lush Santa Lip Scrub, a cola flavoured lip treatment that not only helps with dry lips, but is also pretty festive.

Lush in general make pretty good gifts, and aside from the obvious gift sets, I can't imagine anyone not liking the Gold FUN! Bar, a beautiful bubble bar scented of honey that fills your bath with shimmery gold bubbles. Does that not sound like heaven to you?

Whilst perfumes can be tricky to get right (and pricey), body sprays make a good alternative. The Body Shop make some good ones, but right now I love the Victoria's Secret Warm Ginger Spray. Because who doesn't want to smell like ginger biscuits?

The beauty market is flooded with festive fragranced hand creams right now, and why not jump on that bandwagon? I'm totally obsessed with The Body Shop's Glazed Apple Hand Cream, which is not only super hydrating, it also smells like heaven.

Outside the beauty world, I also think you can't go wrong with jewelery, notebooks, candles and chocolate. I love Happy Jackson Notebooks, H&M jewelery, and Bath & Bodyworks candles.

What do you want to find in your stocking this year?

10 Things That Can Instantly Help Improve a Bad Day

1. Lighting your favourite candle. Okay so lighting that Diptyque candle is literally like burning money, but sometimes you have to do it. 
2. Adult colouring books. You're never too old. I love this one, the designs are beautiful and intricate, and taking fifteen minutes out to concentrate on this can really help. 
3. Drinking a giant cup of your favourite tea. Tea helps everything.
4.  Getting some Headspace. Download the Headspace app to your iPhone and take ten minutes out to just clear your mind.
5. Making your favourite meal. Or favourite snack. Or hell, just eating your feelings, it's allowed sometimes. 
6. FaceTiming family. Nothing like a pep talk from a take no prisoners mum to perk you up.
7. Getting engaged on Twitter. Sometimes if I'm having a down moment, I'll scroll through my feed and reply to a load of tweets. Just get talking to people. 
8. Have some pamper time. A bubble bath or a hot shower, a fresh manicure or a face mask. Just take some time for you. 
9. Exercise. Whether that means pulling on your trainers for a run around the block, or pulling up  a Blogilates video. Get the blood pumping.
10. Going back to bed. Sometimes, you just need a good old fashioned nap. Preferably accompanied by teddy bears/kittens/Ryan Gosling.

Recovering From A Bad Skin Week

It's the festive season, it happens. You ate one (or four) too many chocolate oranges, you fell asleep in your makeup after a big night out, or you drank your weight in champagne and mulled wine. And now you're paying the price with a festive breakout. It was to be expected! I've experienced this a fair few times myself (it's a pizza addiction problem) so I thought I'd talk you through my top tips for getting rid of it, fast.

• Drink as much water as possible. I know people will always tell you this, but the difference is astounding. When my skin is bad I don't drink anything except water (in particular, cut the fizzy drinks and coffee), and it really does help. I like to drink a pint of water whilst I get ready in the morning, and then I drink water with lemon, lime or berries in throughout the day. A day of drinking water helps give your skin a boost, and nine times out of ten, I find that my skin looks much better the next day.
• Get a good night's sleep. Your skin needs the time whilst you sleep to repair and replenish, so too many late nights in a row and you're gonna see the effects on your face. Where possible, try to balance out late nights with early ones, and give your skin some R&R.
• Strip your skincare routine back to basics. At times like this, it's a good idea just take a step back and not overload your skin. I like to strip my routine back to just a good gentle cleanser (Origins Checks and Balances), a tee tree product (Lush Tea Tree Toner), a good spot treatment (Lush Grease Lightening) and a basic moisturiser (Boots Botanics Brightening Moisturiser).
• Get a facemask on. Particularly something that specifies it's disaster-ready. My absolute favourite is the Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Mask, it's so calming for the skin, but the Origins Out of Trouble Mask is a good'un too.
• Up your Vitamin C intake. Vitamin C does so many untold wonders for the skin, whether it means snacking on citrus or popping a Vitamin C supplement, your skin could use the boost around this time of year!

Hopefully with these tips on hand you can keep your skin looking tip top for your festive activities!

How do you keep your skin looking good?

Date Night & Outfit Details!

Three days of posting in a row, I'm on a roll here people! 

Yesterday the boy and I headed out on our first date in months, it's been a really busy time with Uni work, and we wanted to spend some time together before I leave for my little Christmas vacation on Friday.

I am a massive fan of The Hobbit (the book AND the movie) so it seemed appropriate that we go and catch a showing of the third installment, The Battle of Five Armies. We very very rarely go to the cinema when we are in London, with prices sitting around the £12 a ticket mark, it's just too expensive to make a regular habit! One of our local cinemas in Bournemouth does £5 tickets on Tuesday's, with a free upgrade to premier seats, much easier to stomach (and it leaves more money for snacks!).

The movie was amazing, I love The Hobbit movies so much, I could watch them over and over, and I definitely chowed down on my fill of popcorn (sweet of course), and got my drink in the best novelty cups ever. I love the Madagascar movies (I do a great impression of King Julien), so I obviously had to buy the kids popcorn combo that came with this penguin cup! Too cute to pass up.

As always, our plans went a little wonky, and we had to scrap our plans to get dinner out after the movie (I wanted to head to Giraffe, their edamame is the bomb), but the perks of having a boyfriend whose parents own a restaurant means we got to swing by on our way home and pick up food. I had the filet of beef with mash and pancetta, sauteed spinach and mushrooms and it was like heaven. If you're local to the Bournemouth area, I may be biased but I firmly believe that Breeze do the best steak!

I got The Boy to snap a few pictures of my outfit, unfortunately most of them were blurry (amateur photographer problems!), but a few were salvagable. I've been wanting to show you guys this skirt in action for ages, it's such a beaut! It's from Zara, it's a pleather zip-up bodycon skirt with this rose stitching detail. I like it because it adds a little texture to a plain outfit! I paired it with a super soft grey sweater, from Gap of all places, & Primark Super Cosy Tights (these rarely leave my legs this time of year). 

A lot of my accessories are from Primark too, the necklace is a recent find (I wanted something flashy for Christmas), the boots too, they're super comfy! And the bag is also from Primark! I don't normally go for Primark bags, but this was such a bargain, six pounds, it's little but it fits a whole lot in and I love the rose gold hardware. 

The Zebra bracelet is a favourite of mine from the old Anna Della Russo H&M collaboration, it's definitely an acquired taste but I love it, and I always get so many compliments on it! Sometimes it's nice to wear something a little different!

Not the most exciting outfit, but it's simple, comfy and winter appropriate! I didn't even need a coat!