A Little Treat!

Tonight I just want to wish you a little early Happy New Year and to say thank you very much for all your lovely support over the year. I recently surpassed the thousand subscriber mark, which I must admit both excites and scares the shit out of me equally, I have received so many lovely comments, tweets and emails over the year, I wanted to give you something in return.. So out I whipped my iPhone and recorded a very shaky make-up collection video - hurrah! I pray you don't suffer any motion sickness from the awkward filming, and in turn it will hopefully shame me to follow through my 2013 New Years resolution of not buying any more make-up!

Click the little wheel and change the display to 720p for HD viewing.

My other NY resolutions are rather a weird mix but here goes: actually make use of my Nike dunk trainers, wear seatbelts in taxis, quit peeling off nail varnish, moisturise my hands every night, use my library more, start a new 'Chanel Fund', buy new glasses, stop turning down job offers, avoid wine at all costs and learn to cook - well maybe.

A few other bloggers I also seriously recommend giving a read, they are all simply lovely and have supported me throughly this year: Sarah, Aisling, Hannah, Sophie, Michelle, Laura, Elodie, Lily, Leanne, Charli, Stephanie, Corrie, Emily, Yinka, Charlotte, Hannah, Emma, Gem, Lucy, Amy, Lucy, Katie, Marta, Joanna, Sinead, Milly, Laura, Gem.. and breathe! Just go have a nose please.

All in all I my Christmas went a little too quickly, lovely, but speedily so naturally I've spent the rest of the week stuffing my face, gazing at my lovely gifts, drinking copious amounts of baileys coffee, watching LOTR and spending time with the family. What are your plans for NYE?

Run run reindeer!

A gift from myself to myself - and what a flipping bargain at that! I popped into Topshop on my Saturday lunch break to see what accessories and shoes had been reduced (it started super early online that very morn') and came across these beaut's. Having spied them originally a month or so ago, presuming they had sold out, I was delighted to see they have been only bloody reduced to twenty pounds, coupled with a gift card I had saved from my birthday, it bought these badboys down to a whopping £10! I cannot wait to pair these with my trusty worn in denim jeans and leather jacket - score!

I thought I would post a little run down of the sales dates - as some of you will know, I'm on it like a car bonnet (did I seriously just type that?).

THE NEED TO KNOW!

Mulberry - Christmas Eve online

Topshop - Christmas Eve online/in-store (get your alarm clocks set!)

Boots - Christmas Eve online/ in-store Boxing Day

Space N.K - Christmas Day

Selfridges - Christmas Day

John Lewis - 5pm Online Christmas Eve

LIVE ALREADY!

River Island - Online 

ASOS - bit crap but worth a look?

Harrods Sale - Online

Debenhams - Online

House of Fraser - Online

If you have any sales alerts, then be sure to say in the comments below - for sharing is caring! Are you out for anything in the sales this year?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..

Sometimes working and studying in London, the city somehow begins to fade and becomes one big commute from a to b. Taking the time to be tourists in our very own city, Hannah and I nipped into town for some last minute Christmas shopping and general London adventures. Working our way around Knightsbridge we had a quick feast of Wagamamas in Harvey Nicks (chicken katsu curry for the win), got completely lost in the Men's designer department then trotted off to Harrods to check out their very disappointing and lets me be honest seriously pants Christmas department. Their pet department however, is a completely different story, containing serious cute overload. A Harrods puppy may set you back a seriously cool two k, but I want one - who even knew Harrod's sold puppies?

I then hot-footed it to Daniel Galvin Junior's salon where I was kindly invited to have my very first blow-dry, working my best K-Middleton curls, I was completely smitten. Feeling seriously glamourous, tousled and polished, I picked up a few tips on how to blow dry my fringe at a certain angle to create bundles of ummph. I'm also currently loving the effects of the Organic treatment that was provided, it has restored hydration, certainly locked in shine and given it a good old detox from pesky product build-up - all slathered on whilst I watched an old episode of Ab Fab! The best way to start the new year with fresh, healthy hair, hopefully to stay that way. And now I've finally bitten the bullet, I wouldn't think twice about booking an appointment with my local salon for a blow-dry should a fancy occasion arises, oh la la. 

Hopping on over to Oxford Street, we made a dash for Burberry store on Regent Street to check out their rather glam cosmetic concession in the store. Fighting against the rain, my blowdry did manage to power through - mainly thanks to half a can of old school Elnet spritzed on! Slightly soaked we hopped on in where we were met with amazing customer service. High-end make up counters are reknown for their notorious shitty sales assistants, completely unhelpful in every way and entirely caked in most of the product range. Burberry however was a fresh of air, whisked in and seated at their fabulous make-up stations with a freshly brewed cup of tea, Hannah and I were left to swatch till our hearts were content..

Swoon.. if only I could take one of these counters home! Alas, all was well as I managed to clasp my hands on the infamous Pale Barley eyeshadow, after searching for weeks and stalking out many a department store - who knew an eyeshadow was such in demand?

Sadly I have to wait till Christmas before I can finally give it a whirl, but the ever so lovely sales assistant kindly gave us this dinky little sample pack. Four key lipstick shades (Beige Nude is singing to me), the tiniest lip brush and two shade samples of their sheer foundation, I cannot wait to bust these out. I would seriously recommend popping in for a good look at what the range has to offer, even for a good old cup of tea! The assistants are very down to earth, offer great advice and bonus points for offering make over consultations.. NYE anyone?

Where's your favourite place to visit in London? I'm torn by the V&A and Kew Gardens, though no department store can beat Selfridges. Also, go follow Hannah's YT channel - I rave about her constantly for a reason ladies!

Keeping the faith

Why hello there, long time no speak. This past week has been rather busy with work, not so Christmassy but Pizza Express dates with the girls, a gruesome cold, stocking up on last minute Christmas presents, card writing (how expensive are stamps??), more snot face and taking my Gran shopping at our local farm shop for Christmas food goodies (more on that to come!). Here is my week in photos..

Anyone else jumping on the extreme Christmas wrapping bandwagon? If it's shiny, red or gold I've gotta have it. Ribbons, bows, gift tags and even a good ol' metallic gel pen, I'm stashing it. This year I've decidedly gone all out on a wrapping frenzy and have picked up some mightily pretty festive finishing touches. Come next Sunday I plan to sit down to my yearly tradition of Mary Poppins surrounded by sea of gifts and presents, waiting to be wrapped.

I seem to be a stickler for catching every cold going this winter, but with my trusty companions I powering through the snot (too much?). Popping the Sudafed religiously every four hours and becoming dangerously close to OD'ing, the Mucus Relief tablets (how lovely) are an absolute godsend. Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour cream is currently working its magic on my dry nozzel whilst the free sample of Dr Jart's BB Cream (link here!) bought my lack lustre skin back to life. Having been slightly dubious of the hype surrounding these infamous BB creams, I was pleasantly surprised at Dr. Jart, especially for transforming me from Dawn of the Dead extra to all glowing, healthy and most importantly alive. Lauren Conrad's new beauty book offering is a must-read for some handy tips and major fan-girling. 

Oh how cliche. I normally bypass the Soap and Glory deals at Boots this time of year, as some of their scents are far too sickening. But armed with a gift card kindly given to me for my birthday, It bought this pampering bundle down to a barginous £17! I cannot wait to give Heel Genius and Sugar Crush a whirl, but whoever wants to take the Righterous Butter off my hands, feel free (bleurgh!). When I popped into my local branch they sold 90 in the first hour and one crazed fan bought 15.. mental I tell you. Did you snap one up?

I'm now off to watch The Hobbit and gaze lovingly over Martin Freeman (hot geek alert), I have some cracking posts (if I do say so myself) lined up this week in between nipping out for last minute stocking fillers, meeting up with Hannah for blow-drys and Burberry make-up swooning in their new shop on Regent Street as well as hitting up Bluewater after my eight hour shift on Saturday for more shopping- am I MAD?? 

Have you been throwing yourself into the Christmas spirit?

LET'S GET NAKED!

One of my absolute favourite body-care brand Naked is having a fabulous offer on their website today, with an almighty 50% off everything with the code 'ITSCHRISTMAS' - spotting the offer blery-eyed this morning on their Facebook site, I skipped, hopped and a jump to place my order. Some of my must-have products include...

Discounted prices: Getaway Cleanser (£2.25) / Cotton Flannel (.50p) / Thirst Aid Moisturiser (£3.75) / Looking Good Eye-cream (£1.49) / Coco De Mer Body Butter (£2.49) / Get Fresh Shower Gel (.50p) / Fix it Fast Hairspray (.50p) / Shine Hair Mask (£1.99) / Leave-in Conditioner (£2.49) / Rescue Hair Mask (.64p) / Coco De Mer Bath Foam (£1.99) / Be Soft Hand Cream (£1.00)

Get your skates on quick, because best-selling products sell out in record time. I stock piled on my favourite Coco De Mer shower gel which I recently posted about (here!), to last me all year around. Naked products are extremely gentle, perfect for sensitive skins their paraben free formulas are perfect  for smelling beautiful and scrubbing up clean. Their haircare range is hailed as one of the best SLS free ranges on the high-street market if you fancy giving it a whirl. I also cheekily made my order up to full-price items over £20, added the discount code and made sure to check the box for free delivery - bingo! The actual bundles aren't included in the discount, but it works out at the same price separately anyhow with the discount.

Let me know what you manage to snap up, I purchased seven bits for £11.80 - all for myself naturally, but it's a great time to stock up for Christmas presents. They also do some fabulous 'Kids' and 'Mama' products, which would make great gifts too. 

Thought of the Day

Sitting pampered and preened wrapped up warm, I have throughly thrown myself into the festive season. Whipping out my dinky Deborah Lippmann sparkly red varnish and indulging in my Philosophy 'Joy' shower goodness*, it's fair to say Christmas has officially arrived. In fact I may already have thrown myself a few days forward, in a moment of weakness I did scoff day 5, maybe day 6 and definitely day 7 from my Cadbury's advent calendar, quite tragic really. I feel quite chatty, so lets chat.

Firstly a new love, let me introduce you to Fashion Industry Confession's blog (link), dishing the uttermost dirt and goss on the fabulous happenings in fashion industry, lets say a few feathers are sure being ruffled. Turns out I'm not the only one a little sick of seeing Cara Delevingne's face adorning every ad/runway/editorial everywhere? She's cute but meh... meow.

Listen up Topshop, your cool, I mean seriously British cool. You're what makes the UK high-street complete, we flock to your on-trend overpriced pieces season after season. Then just like that you employ KATE BOSWORTH to lead your Christmas campaign (link), who let's not forget found fame in a SURFING movie. Mind blown. Just.. why? Out of everyone in fashion land? I'm so confused. Dig out Alexa Chung for christ's sake, the all-praised English fashion 'icon', or Georgia Jagger, Olivia Parlermo (not British, but still effortlessly cool), Aggy Deyn or even Cara what'sit? Sort it out Phillip.

Having finished half of my Christmas shopping (amen for internet shopping & feeling terrible guilt for the postman who can now juggle three ASOS parcels whilst jogging SAS style up the steep driveway) I'm now finding the tedious task of finding the right Christmas cards. Who knew it could be so hard? Maybe my expectations are far to high, all I ask for is a) a little glitter b) fairly cute design c) not to break the bank d) a reasonable amount included - who ever buys a pack of 5?! Last year I resorted to making my own, roughly meaning I stuck bits together from a M&S craft box and smugly wrote in silver pen 'made by Sarah.' Fun, but way too much faff. Anyone have any good recommendations for cards?

A few things I certainly must mention: make sure you watch Claridges on BBC iPlayer (amazing), isn't it super awkward when old uni 'friends' stalk your profile on Linked In? Make sure you snap up an Origins bauble filled with lots of samples for a bargainous £6, how cute? I've started my tally on how many cans of Pringles I will digest this holiday season. Nail Growing Gate 2 is also taking place, in part of a bet whereby if I bite them Matthew won't get me any Christmas presents - how evil - any tips for growing nails? Tomorrow I'm off to Selfridges to play with Burberry make-up with Aisling, how heavenly.

Right well I'm going to retire (posh word alert) with a cup of peppermint tea and pin my life away on Pinterest (link!) - I literally cannot wait till Christmas. Or The Hobbit for that matter, Martin Freeman is my ultimate geek crush, yes sir re.

*(in fact it's fucking rancid - trust me to pick up the Liquorice one, but hell I've waited all year to use this baby!)