Christmas Gift-spiration for her | Under £10

Hello,
Hope you're well. Been turned into a big festivity-induced stress ball yet? My plan this year is to ignore that I have my own body weight in shopping yet to do and just enjoy the Christmas lights and the mulled wine!

I've put together another little gift guide for the "her"s in your life. Being a massive cheapskate £10 is usually my starting price for everyone at Christmas time, unless they've been extra good that year! I've got a lot of step/half relatives in my family who I don't actually know that well so I don't really like to be an extravagant spender. I'd rather save some of my pennies to spend on my mumma and papa!

£10 is a good starting price, you can often get a lot for your money and end up looking super generous. I think this "Be Mine Boxset" from The Gobstopper is a perfect example of that! You're getting a good deal for your money and give this to one of the kids in your family and you'll be popular all year round (although maybe not with their parents).

I thought this Owl purse/bag from Accesorize was a great steal for £10 too. Defnitely looks more important and really versatile so whoever you buy it for would definitely be able to find a use for it.

Again, I've had a little hunt for some independent creatives this Christmas. I absolutely love this camera lens necklace from The Pendant Garden. It's got a totally cute vintage feel to it which would go down well with your "too cool for their own good" friends!

Hope you find this useful. How are you getting on with your Xmas shopping? 

Be Mine Box, The Gob Stopper, £9.49 // "Shhh..." Coffee Mug, ChantillyStay, £6.27 // "I Like Big Books" Tote Bag, ExLibrisJournals, £9.39 // Camera Pendant, The Pendant Garden, £9.05 // Tartan Scarf, £10, Boohoo.com // Glitter Mini Set, Models Own, £8 // Owl Purse, Accesorize, £9

Christmas Gift-spiration for her | Under £20

Heyaaa,

Tis the season to be jolly falalalalala...la. It's nearly Christmas, I've got my christmas jumper on, my Bieber Christmas album blasting, my house covered in tinsel...and absolutely no Christmas shopping done! Woohoo big cheer for lack of organisation.

This happens to me every year. I spend hours and hours as soon as November starts looking at possible Christmas presents online. I never actually buy any of it and by the time I get round to it...it's too late and it doesn't arrive in time! Well this year no more. I'm going to get it done in time and everyone will be super happy and I shall be the star of my family!

This year will be an extremely budget Christmas for me because I am a sad, cash-strapped student (cue violins and emosh close ups). No really, I always like to do Christmas on a budget. I'd much rather buy someone something small and nice and know I haven't broken the bank than splash out on something gratuitous and have no food for the coming year. Maybe it's my selfish side coming out...but I like to think of it as thrifty!

Anyway, I've decided to do a couple of little gift guides this crimbooo. First of is my "for her under £20" guide. I think "for her" can be a struggle sometimes, there's a big difference between what you'd buy your best friend and what you'd buy your grandma. Hope I've covered most bases here.

Lemme know if you like this, find it helpful, have seen something similar. Need all the help I can get with my shopping this year, I am a disaster.

Dotty Pug Purse, Poppy Treffry, £12 // Burgundy Backpack, New Look, £19.99 // Snowglobe Necklace, Punky Pins, £15 // Truffes Rose au Marc de Champagne, Rococco, £14.95 // Mary Berry's Christmas Collection, Waterstones, £14 // Love at First Shine Lip Gloss Set, Benefit, £19.50 // Elrin Crystal Quartz Earrings, Regal Rose, £14

Review | Planet Spa Indulgence Mini Kit

Hiyaaaa,

So a little package arrived through my door a few days ago. It was a birthday present from my Auntie over in Portugal. Presents from her are often from Avon because she's one of their representatives. I'm more than happy about this because I lurrrrve Avon products - especially their make up range. I hadn't used many of their bath products or moisturisers before but I was pretty sure I was going to like it...

The kit included; Dead Sea Mineral & Caviar Refining Facial Treatment, African Shea Butter & Chocolate Truffle Silky Body Soufflé, Thailand Lotus Flower & Champagne Velvety Smooth Bath Elixir and Mediterranean Olive Oil Reviving Facial Gold Glow Gel. Very la di dah!

So by far my favourite product in the kit is the Refining Facial Treatment. It's a really thick and creamy moisturiser. I've been using it at night just before I go to bed because it's a bit to heavy to use as a day cream. I've been using it for about a week now and when I wake up my skin does feel really soft.

The next product in the box definitely fulfils my chocolate addiction. It smells just so amazing I can't even! I have to actually stop myself from eating it. I'm not 100% sure what a 'Body Soufflé' is but I've put some on my arms and legs and it made my skin really silky. Also the smell stays really well so you smell like chocolatey goodness all day.

When I first opened the kit I wasn't so sure about this 'Bath Elixir'. I'm not really a bath kind of person so I didn't think I'd really use it. But recently I've been a bit under the weather so suddenly a bath sounded like a lovely idea...Anyway ramble over, I poured a load of this in it and it smelled delicious! I thought this was going to be like a bubble bath but it only made a few bubbles which didn't last very long so I think it's more of an in-bath moisturiser. I used it with a SexBomb Bath Bomb from Lush for a lovely bathey combination!

The final little bottle in the box had 'Reviving Facial Gold Glow Gel'. I'm always soooo skeptical of facial glowing things because I always find they're just glittery and I end up looking like a fairy. This stuff is basically the same and is really glittery. It's nice and moisturising again but I don't really like the glittery-ness of it. Also, I'm not sure if it's meant to go on top of my make up or under it which confuses me too.

Overall, I really like the kit! It smells lovely (especially the chocolate one) and each of the products leaves your skin so soft and so refreshed. Really nice and definitely a good gift set idea!

22 days to go | Chocolates

In winter it gets cold (that's an actual fact that is). So I have taken a leaf out of the seal's and walrus' book and decide to invest in an extra layer of blubber - no need to buy a winter coat yay! 

Maybe not a diet plan that's going to catch on? Ok but we all need a little indulgence around Christmas time be it splashing out on a big, fancy selection box or rootling your hand around in the last of the Quality Street (*please not Strawberry Cream, please not Strawberry Cream*)

I've gone for a mix of chocolate styles today ranging from the all together fabulous but a little pricier Hotel Chocolat chocolate wreath (probably not advised to hang this on your front door - although it might make your carol singers very happy) to the cheap and cheerful Cadbury's Santa! Christmas is just not Christmas without an abundance of cheap chocolate you shove in your gob! As an all round mince pie hater (I know, shock horror) I absolutely love the idea of Hotel Chocolat's alternative mince pie and it's at the cheaper end of their price range which is great! And who doesn't love a classic Lindt golden reindeer perching on their mantlepiece!?

So what are your favourite Christmas time snacks? Sweet or Savoury? 

L-R: The Festive Wreath, Hotel Chocolat. Ronnie Reindeer, Thorntons. Chocolate Coins, Divine. Alternative Mince Pies, Hotel Chocolat. Gold Reindeer, Lindt. Angel Lolly, Chocolate Trading Company. Chocolate House, Betty's. Chocolate Santa, Cadburys

Blog Post Advent Calendar

At Christmas I am like a small child! I run round excited throwing tinsel at people, hastily wrapping presents and demanding more fairy lights. One of the most exciting things about the build up to christmas is peeling open each door on your advent calendar, staring at the chocolate and trying to work out what the hell it's meant to be...

So I wanted to transfer that excitement onto my blog by writing a post for everyday of advent - like opening a flimsy cardboard door but with less cheap chocolate and more countdowns of all things Christmassy. From jewellery to cakes I'm going to try and cover all aspects of the Christmas party season. I've currently got enough ideas for 16 days so any suggestions would be really appreciated.

To-die-for Chocolate Cake

So here's the deal; I may be slightly addicted to chocolate. Ok that's an understatement. I absolutely love chocolate in any way, shape or form! From cake to body scrub, if it even smells chocolatey I will ADORE it! So yesterday I decided to make the ultimate chocolate cake...and here's the recipe I used (be warned you need A LOT of different mixing bowls...)

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