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

Birthday Bonanza!!

Hellllo there, see I promised I'd be back again soon and for once I actually delivered.
On bank holiday Monday it was my birthday (chocolate cake in bed please!) so I was obviously given a few bits and bobs by my ever-so-generous family and friends. Thought I'd share them on here because I'm seriously chuffed with what I got.

I'm a major Soap and Glory addict and spend the vast majority of my time boring my friends and mum about how much I love it and how good it smells so it wasn't really a surprise to me when I got given a load of it. Some of the things I was given were old favourites like Hand Food which I am never without a bottle of. I was really excited to get some products I'd never tried before - especially the Glad Hair Day Shampoo and Conditioner so I'll probs be sticking a review up of those soon.

My mum also added fuel to my growing nail polish addiction by adding two colours from the Bourjois Paris So Laque Glossy range to my collection. She picked 05 Taupe Modéle and 06 Adora-bleu (as modelled on my very chipped nails - "lasts up to 10 days" pah!) Love these colours and they're not ones I would normally pick which makes them even better! She also got me the Bourjois Paris Magic Nail Polish Remover. I'd seen this all over blogs and vlogs so I was totally overexcited when I unwrapped it! It's fantastic and works brilliantly (not so great on glittery nail varnish but hey what is?!). I don't know why Bourjois are trying to claim it's "red berry and vanilla scented" it's not, it absolutely stinks of nail varnish remover - but I still like it!

From friends I also got One Day on DVD. I went to see this in the cinema went it came out and loved it (well it is starring my best-friend-to-be Anne Hathaway) so my lovely friend Anna gave it to me. Another friend also gave me a copy of the boom The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid because it's his favourite book and he thought I needed to read it. I got this a few days before my birthday and I've finished it already. Can't recommend it highly enough!!

Again from my dear mother, a few items of clothing! I'm pretty sure these are all from TK Maxx but I'm not absolutely sure. I'm loving monochrome at the moment so I really liked the colours she picked. The collared shirt is absolutely amazing: contrasting patterns, button up collar it's like someone read my mind. The t shirt on the far right is adorable and pretty similar to a t shirt I
saw on Asos a while ago so I'm a fan of that too and the t shirt on the far left looks like a big lovey-dovey heart! N'awww

The pièce de résistance this year was this beautiful, leather satchel from my dad. I picked mine in a beautiful teal colour but there are loooooads of different colours available - it was a complete nightmare trying to decide! I am so utterly in love with it and cannot WAIT for uni to start again so I can show it off in all my lectures!! 

So anyway, that was my nineteenth...a pretty unimportant birthday but some wonderful gifts even so! 

Anyone else had a birthday recently? What d'ya get? I love having a snoop!

Just in case there's anyone out there gagging for a fight - this is obviously not a showing off post, if anything I'm showing off how wonderful my family  and friends are rather than my presents. I'm more than grateful for everything I was given and I just like to share things...

17 days to go | Gadget Cases

Imagine the clumsiest person you have ever met. Then double it. Now you are picturing me! I drop absolutely everything. Last year alone I broke 2 cameras, a phone and an iPod. So this year, I did what every notorious clumsy person does and bought and iPhone and a MacBook Pro. As I was signing my new phone contract my mum said to me "I give you a month til you break it". This was when I realised the importance of gadget cases! They protect all your treasured possessions and with the amount of variety you can get them in there's literally no reason not to get one!

Below I've given a little selection of cases. I really love the Marc Jacob's case, I think it's really chic and sleak at £33 it's not totally extravagant but it's a little pricey. I also really love the studded iPad case from Accesorize, nearly enough to make me go out and buy an iPad! If you're planning on buying someone a gadget case as a present why not go personal? VistaPrint have got some great offers on personalised iPhone cases (as illustrated by the creepy photo of the couple). For your mum you could get her favourite family photo or for a mate you could get a little joke or quote printed on it. I love personal presents so I think it's a super cute idea.

L-R: Radley Blackberry Case, John Lewis, Studded iPad Case, Accessorize,  Laptop Case,  Marc by Marc Jacobs, Owl iPad Case, Zazzle, Personalised iPhone Case, VistaPrint, Fox iPhone Case, Accessorize

18 days to go | Stocking Fillers

Sorry I've got a bit behind on my advent calendar blog posts. It's coming the end of the semester which meant I had approx. 1000 deadlines in the space of 2 days. Some things have to get pushed to the side and unfortunately it was my blogging...but I'm done now and I'm back *party party party*

So, like a lot of you out there, I have an extremely complicated family. This means that somehow even though I technically don't have any  full brothers or sisters I have gained 3 nieces and a nephew! I love having them around at Christmas because they still see the joy in absolutely every aspect of it. Let's be honest; shiny lights, presents, chocolate and fancy clothes are like crack to a 3 year old! No wonder they love it! So at Christmas I always want to really spoil them but I'm not made of money. This year I'm opting for several, small presents. More to unwrap and it often works out a bit cheaper.
But stockings aren't just for the kids. I think everyone love opening little presents. If they're anything like me they spend the rest of the year collecting bric-a-brac so why not gain an abundance of it at Christmas?

L-R: Faun Hot Water Bottle, Dotcomgiftshop. SpaceBoy Lunchbox, Dotcomgiftshop, Baby Bunny Night Light, Dotcomgiftshop. Alphabet Candle, NotOnTheHighStreet, Hangover Rescue Balm, NotOnTheHighStreet, I Love Me Mug, Stocking-Fillers

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

24 days to go | Perfumes

Perfume is an ever present on my Christmas list, if you're going to look gorgeous you want to smell it as well. For years I wore ShowTime by Kylie Minogue, I know wearing celebrity perfumes is not the most sophisticated thing in the world but it the ideal scent for me! Unfortunately, for some absolutely unknown reason they've stopped making it so since then I've been trying to find a perfume that I like as much (I am as of yet unsuccessful..)

The perfumes I've put below are a mixture of big perfumes of the year, new Christmas releases and classic good scents. Lady Million by Paco Rabbane isn't a new one but it's a staple perfume that a lot of people wear simply because it's so good. If you're looking for a sure thing that might be the best one for you. Although I personally found the Lady Gaga perfume a bit disappointing, I had to put that in there simply because of all the attention surrounding it (be warned I have heard from my secret sources that the black liquid can actually stain your clothes). Also, I've added Beyoncé's newest perfume, Midnight Heat, just because they always smell good and I don't think her newest one got much attention. 

The 007 fragrance is really one for the boys, but I smelt it the other day and it smells lovely. Really classy which surprised me considering it's a movie tie-in. 

And finally, the Biebs. I know I'll be judged horrendously for this but I think Justin Bieber's perfumes smell really, really nice. I actually own and wear Someday quite a lot (*cringe*) and it's a genuinely nice scent. I went to try this one the other day and whilst the packaging looks like it was designed by a toddler on a sugar high, the scent it surprisingly mellow, floral and tasty.

L-R Midnight Heat by Beyoncé, Fame by Lady Gaga, Lady Million by Paco Rabanne, Boss Nuit pour Femme by Hugo Boss, Manifesto by Yves Saint Laurent, James Bond 007 by 007 Fragrances