Walking In A Winter Wonderland

Most people who live outside of England assume that we all know & have experience the rush of London however that is not the case. I've been to London twice now, the first time I barely remember the nitty gritty detail as I was young at the time and it was a lot to take in. This time round I wasn't been dragged around to specific places and doing activities at set times, this was all what I want to do, when I want to do it.

I spent 3 days & 2 nights in London last weekend and I could of slept for a week when I got back, I did so much fund stuff and had such a good time. 

The main reason I went to London at the time I did was to visit Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park and I highly recommend it to anybody who is visiting. It's certainly more of a fun fair style Christmas market than a food & gifts one but it is certainly a fun experience. However, the above picture is showing you a glimpse of inside their beer tent which was such a surreal but amazing experience. The size, the lights and the atmosphere just made the whole experience incredible and I could of comfortably sat in there all day. We arrive at Winter Wonderland early afternoon and didn't have to queue to get in and the good thing is once you are in, you're in.

Now near where I live the Disney store is very basic, there is Disney songs blasting out and you can buy all sorts of merchandise but the London one has life size characters of all well known Disney Characters and it certainly makes you feel like you're in a magical place.

I just saw this photo opportunity as the weather was so lovely.

I had an absolute blast in the M&M store, I ended up buying an M&M mug just for the sake of buying something. (Yes, I'm a marketers day dream)

One thing I wanted to do while in London was to go ice skating and my original intent was to go do this at Winter Wonderland but it was unfortunately booked up so we had to look elsewhere and I'm so grateful we did as we had the most amazing Christmassy setting at Somerset House. We got straight on the ice without booking, there was Christmas songs playing out loud and with the weather looking out as it was such a nice surrounding.

I did a lot more while in London but these are just some snippets of things I did do and I highly recommend them all to everyone if you go to London around the festive period.

Merry Christmas to you all!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

IT'S DECEMBER!

We all know what that means... Advent Calendars, Christmas Trees, Decorations, Candles & Lush baths.

It's my favourite time of the year and the month has finally arrived, I say finally but in actual fact it only seems two minutes since it was last here.

The decorations in my house are up and I love it so thought I'd give the world a sneak peak at some of them to get everybody in the spirit.

We have the standard decorations which come out of the boxes every year but each year we get some extra little bits & bobs to add to the collection because after all, you can never have too many Christmas decorations.

One little fella which was a new decoration this year is this little reindeer tea light holder. I've been around many Christmas markets and seen many tea light holders that looked so pretty and decided that was a decoration I wanted. He's just so cute and looks so pretty when lit.

The room was quite lit so this picture doesn't show the warmth that these lights bring to the room. Hidden in the leaves are little hearts with messages on and it's such a nice touch.

I think for the past few years now our Christmas tree has changed the corner of the room it sits in, but where it is now is brilliant as it's the first thing you see as you walk through the door. I'm aware that the radiator kills the spirit of the photo but here's our Christmas tree that we have every year. I use to detest it and the way it was decorated but as I've grown older I appreciate it so much more, I think my mum does an amazing job of decorating it.

Earlier in the year we purchased new sofa's and this cushion matches them perfectly. I think cushions are always a nice touch to a room and I certainly don't think you can have too many of them.

I'm aware this picture isn't the greatest but it was difficult to get the lighting right but I HAD to show you all this. This is honestly my favourite decoration. Last year I spent ages looking for a nutcracker to put on our fireplace that was going to be big enough to have a decent effect and when I eventually did fine one, there was one left and it was broken.. Gutted was not the word. I definitely think it was a sign though as this year I stumbled across a bigger and better one. I didn't notice it at first as I stood looking at these huge snowmen in TK Maxx and then I glanced to the left to the about 10 Nutcrackers all staring at me and I've never picked something up so quick in my life. He's honestly amazing and I recommend this for a Christmas decoration as everybody I know who has seen him absolutely loves him!

Happy December Everybody!

Glossy Box - November 2014

I cannot believe it's November already. This time next month I'll be sat with the family getting stupidly excited that Christmas is just a mere few hours away!

Since we've passed the middle of November that means my monthly Glossy Box has arrived.

There was nothing special about the decoration of the box this month, just their standard plain pink box with the logo on the top centre.

I did receive a 'personal invitation' from Best Secret which is a card that holds a value of £20. I'd never heard of Best Secret and I'm currently unaware of how else you would get an invitation or card to sign up for it. As I've only just opened this all up today and not actually got round to looking into this yet, from what I can gather it's an online website that sells thousands of different designer clothes at discount prices. What everyone needs really!

So onto what was inside my November Glossy Box. The first thing I picked out of it was a pencil eyeliner which is perfect as my current one is on the blink of running out and I hadn't got round to purchasing another. That's the one thing I love about Glossy Box, I always seem to get an item of make up I need just as my current one is running out which means I get to give the product a full test instead of using it once and forgetting all about it.

It's from the brand 'Lollipops' who I've not previously heard of before. The concept of it is a simple one - the black area on the end twists to extend the size of the pencil meaning you don't need to have a sharpen. The colour of this eyeliner is 701 - Goodbye Moon.







Personally I prefer eye liners that I can sharpen as I like to create a precise line and I find this a little too blunt once used to do so. My previous eyeliner I used glided on really easily and gave an instant black line, the Lollipop one I find doesn't give the same effect, given the eyeliner is black it takes a few runs over my eye before it actually starts to look black. The good thing about it is that it does stay on and doesn't smear down my face.

The next thing I pulled out my box was this '2True Sparkles Nail Glitters'. Now I've not actually tested this out as you can see from my previous blog post, I'm currently trying out stick on nails as I find them a lot more hassle free. I personally don't think I will use these sparkles, I struggle as it is to take nail varnish off of my nails as I cannot stand cotton wool, I'm not sure what it is but it makes me cringe like crazy. Due to that I tend to just use already soaked pads and take it off that way but when using them to take off glittery nail varnish it just seems to stick and rip the pad in a way that makes me cringe and my teeth go slightly funny. I'm weird I know. But for those who do like glitter on their nails, this seems a nice idea but I can imagine it getting slightly messy.

The next thing I got was something that I will definitely use! I'd just recently been moaning that I don't have any lip gloss to just wear on a daily basis. I've already started using this Burt's Bees Lip Shine and I have to say I love it! It's my favourite thing in my box this month. It feels quite thick on the lips but just gives off a nice shiny glow to everybody else. It's got a tiny of red to it, therefore adding colour to my lips. It stays on for a decent amount of time before needing to re apply and leave my lips feeling healthy and moist.

These next two items I haven't tested yet as I'm currently in the process of trying to find a product that works for my face and I don't want to start mixing and matching products until I can pin point the one that does eventually work. I know doubt will get round to giving these a go but they aren't high in my priority list right now. Also the Hawaii Facial Treatment Oil is for Normal combination skins but I feel my skin can get quite oily recently so I'm not sure how well that will work for me.

I have enjoyed this months Glossy Box due to the fact there has been 3 full size products in there. It was also a nice surprise to receive a gift card from Best Secret. I do recommend Glossy Box's to try as they really open your eyes to all the different brands that are out there and sometimes the brands you have never heard of are the ones that might have your favourite product!

'imPRESS'ed

I find painting my nails such a chore and the end result never ends up being worth it. Within one hour, they're smudged, chipped and sometimes even melted. I've never had proper shellac or gel done on my nails either, my only alternative is adhesive nails. However, this doesn't necessarily mean they're my saviour either, they seem to drop off within one hour too.

'imPress' nails are something I have recently discover and I have to say, they are quite spectacular when it comes to press-on nails. I picked up a pack as they were on offer and though I'd give them a go.

The concept of them is really simple, they have a cover on the back which you peel off and then there is a strong adhesive already on them so all you have to do is press them on to your nail and it's done. They are perfect for people like me who don't have the patience to paint your nails and wait for them to dry. It takes two seconds to do and they don't fall off within minutes, the packaging doesn't lie when it says they last up to a week!

They also come in a cute little plastic shaped bottle, which means that they are convenient for storage purposes.

I highly recommend them to everyone for a quick and easy manicure process ♥

Halloween is Fast Approaching...

I can't believe how far through the year we are already. I always feel that as soon as Halloween arrives, it's pretty much Christmas.

My favourite thing about this time of year is how festive everything is. How easy it is to decorate rooms of the house to fit in with the season. There's so many quick and easy things you can do/buy to complete transform your house and it's totally acceptable to do so. The one thing I love the most is that we can transform ourselves as a person for one night, we can wear a silly costume and paint our faces to an extent we would never dream of on any other day.

Some things I highly recommend doing on Halloween for people over 18 has got to be the Scarefest style events that are put on throughout the country. Last year I went to the Yorkshire Scareground near where I live and it was honestly a very terrifying experience. The whole idea is well thought out and put together, with plenty of things to make you scream and jump from guys jumping out at your with chainsaws to women telling you they want to cut off all your hair.

This year, I'm not actually doing anything spectacular for Halloween and I think it may just be the first year I'm not actually getting dressed up. I'm spending this year visiting a historic city where I will be participating in a ghost walk which I guess will have added spooks due to it being Halloween.

Despite the fact I'm not going to be getting in to character this year I still had a little play around with some make up for the fun of it.

I watched a girl on youtube called 'Pollyanne B' where I copied her latest video on a cat inspired Halloween Make up Tutorial. My picture doesn't do the make up much justice but I have to admit I was very impressed with the finishing look and it's something that's so simple to do, it's just all about the dramatic eyes. If you want a simple go to look for this Halloween I highly recommend her video.

What's everybody else doing for Halloween this year?

Jess ♥