mistletoe and wine

Cardigan - Topshop

Shirt - H&M

Leggings - Topshop

Earrings - gift

Happy Christmas Eve girls! I just managed to squeeze in a quick outfit post in between visiting some family bearing gifts, and braving the supermarket for some last minute essentials. I now plan to watch some festive films and scour the Radio Times, highlighting the unmissable tv programmes this Christmas. To be fair, Christmas television is often quite naff, but providing they show Love Actually at some point, I will be happy.

I truly hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Christmas tomorrow. I hope it is filled with much joy, happiness and plenty of mince pies, and you just have a really lovely time with family and friends. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

x

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Real Techniques

I am pretty positive that many of you will have heard of Real Techniques brushes. If not, then most definitely you will be familiar with Samantha Chapman, the sister who puts the woo in Pixiwoo and is quite a big deal on YouTube! I am not really one to gush over YouTube gurus as such, but Sam and Nic are by far one of my favourite people to watch on YouTube. I admire them as makeup artists and avidly watch their tutorials and reviews because of their professional, yet lovely, friendly nature. I just think they are brilliant and their foundation reviews are absolute gospel in my eyes and have helped me many a time when seeking out a new foundation.

Real Techniques are a collection of hi-tech makeup brushes designed and used by Sam; neatly colour coded and offering a concise range for all aspects of your makeup application. Real Techniques have a blog which Sam actively writes for and keeps updated with tips, tricks, trends and tutorials. I was really honoured when asked if I would like to write a guest post and contribute to the Real Techniques blog, given the freedom to write about whatever I fancied, based around the brushes of course.

I was sent the complete range of Real Techniques brushes to have a little play with and to help inspire my guest post. I was instantly drawn to the Travel Essentials kit, a perfectly portable brush case housing three essential brushes; a foundation brush, a shadow brush and a powder brush. I decided to create a simple, natural look solely using these three brushes, proving that makeup on the go can be as easy as 1, 2, 3.




And this was my finished look!. If you want to see how I achieved it and what products I used, then my guest post is now live on the Real Techniques blog. I am no makeup artist by any stretch of the imagination but really enjoyed writing this post so I hope you like it.

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Carmine: the December box

Apparently 'tis the season to be jolly and all, but I am feeling anything but as I am snuggled up at home nursing the dreaded lurgy. One benefit however of being bed-bound, with only some balsam tissues for company, is that I was actually able to receive my post today as it arrived rather than impatiently waiting until I get home from work. In between drinking gallons of orange juice and blowing my ridiculously red nose, I managed to muster up some strength to open up Carmine's December box and share with you its Christmas offerings. This month we have been treated to not five, but six, products. This will just be a quick overview in case you wanted a sneak peak inside the Christmas box; obviously I haven't had a chance to try any of the products so can't comment too much on how great (or not) they are.

Weleda Pomegranate Creamy Body Wash

 I have been using Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil recently which I absolutely love, so I was very happy to see a (full sized) Weleda product in this box. This body wash smells heavenly, a fruity and herbal combination, and is packed full of nutrients and organic pomegranate oil.

KMS California Freeshape Quick Blow Dry

A small sample of KMS California's Quick blow dry spray. It apparently can reduce your blowdrying time by up to 50% and leaves your hair soft and smooth. Blowdrying my mane is a mammoth task so anything that might help make the task a little less arduous is a winner with me.

Institut Esthederm Time Technology Cream

This is described as a miracle, light reflecting cream for all ages. It gives your face an instant glow whilst providing deep moisturisation to your skin. It is nice to receive a cream that is suitable for all ages, rather than an anti-aging product like last month which would not have suited everybody.

MyFace Cosmetics Blingtone (Silver Screen)

This Grazia awarding winning pot of colour will definitely add some bling to your eyes during this festive time. I received Silver Screen, a fierce metallic shimmer with a pretty pewter finish, but there are two other colours in the boxes. I really like this shadow, just perfect for creating a sparkly eye look. These retail at £9.99 so I think this was a fabulous addition to the box and will definitely appease those who like to make sure they get their money's worth.

Japonesque Smudger Brush

I recently reviewed some Japonesque brushes and was highly impressed with them, so it was great to see one of their brushes in this month's box. The smudger brush gives you control for creating a variety of looks and blending eyeliner or shadows. I think it is a nice touch that they have included two products that can be used together, ie: the blingtone and the brush. 

Benito Brow Bar Eyebrow Threading voucher

This card entitles you to a free brow threading at any Benito Brow Bar, as well as offering you 20% off a wow lash treatment. There are quite a few Benito Brow Bars nationwide, a full list is available here, and I had a great experience there last week when I went and had some eyelash extensions done. I have wanted to get my brows threaded for a while now so I am looking forward to using this.

So there we have it. What are your thoughts on this month's Carmine box?

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sweet peacock

Orly Sweet Peacock* from the Birds of a Feather AW11 Collection

I love this shade, such a stunning peacock foil blue with a very fine, silver iridescent shimmer. It is wonderfully vibrant and would actually suffice just after one coat, but I played it safe and applied two. Like a strutting peacock, this polish is extremely majestic and certainly isn't a shy colour to wear on your nails. I am usually quite wary of blue nail varnishes, finding them a little too garish, but there is something very wearable about this shade and I find the electric blue hue really enchanting. It does dry a little bit gritty, but nothing that a swift addition of a top coat didn't sort out!

Would you flock towards this polish?

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Vichy LiftActiv Serum 10

So apparently once you reach your mid-twenties it is the perfect time to start introducing anti-aging products into your beauty regime, which means I had better sit up and take note!

Back in Spring 2011, the Vichy laboratories were busy concocting a new anti-aging skincare range, Vichy LiftActiv Derm Source, which is a now a breakthrough range that helps reactivate youthful skin. By targeting the Derm Source, which is the uppermost layers of your skin, it can help make your skin look re-plumped and feel velvety soft. The essential, and some may say, secret ingredient to making this range so effective is Rhamnose: a sugar derivative and active ingredient of plant origin which is capable of reactivating the youthful activity in the Derm Source.

The LiftActiv Serum 10 is a powerful anti-aging serum from this range which contains this much heralded ingredient Rhamnose, along with Vichy Thermal Spa Water and soothing, regenerating minerals. It also contains Hyaluronic Acid, an ingredient that helps plump and hydrate the skin. Vichy say that the result is an effective re-plumping, anti-aging serum which is specially formulated for sensitive skin. It is light and soft in texture, hypoallergenic and paraben-free. A few drops can be used every day and/or night leaving skin smooth, supple and with improved elasticity.

This serum is available exclusively from Boots and retails at £29.50.

It all sounds very fancy but I just don't know if I am ready to commit to anti-aging products just yet. Give me five more years and I am sure I will have an entirely different perspective!
What anti-aging products do you use, if any?

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please please please

Jumper - H&M

Skirt - H&M

Can you believe it is only six days until Christmas?! With all my shopping done, bar a few cheeky last minute online orders today, I feel I can now start getting properly excited. I have been so busy recently, I haven't felt Christmassy at all and even discovered today that I had five, yes five, advent calendar windows to catch up on! I braved Oxford Street with sharpened elbows on Saturday which was quite an experience - children and slow moving people everywhere! However I really wanted to see the lights and the wintery windows of Selfridges and I definitely left feeling suitably festive. Whilst I was there I went and had some eyelash extensions done which you can see in the photos above. Laying back with my eyes closed for 45 minutes was such a welcome relief from all the hustle and bustle going on outside. I feel really happy with the results; very natural with some lovely added length and volume. I will be writing all about my experience at Benito Brow Bar over on the Carmine blog, which is the column I freelance write for, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

I hope you are all well and counting down the days until Christmas! Whenever I see the John Lewis advent, I get a little bit more excited and my heart melts all over again. It's just so sweet.

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Serengeti

Cargo Cosmetics lipgloss (Serengeti) from the December Glossybox*

I had high hopes for this product - it looked so impressive in the tube, a gorgeous peachy hue with a thread of iridescent blue and pink shimmer running through it. On the website it is described as 'tropical melon' so I thought it would be a wonderfully punchy colour on the lips. However, I was left a little bit disheartened. 

A very pretty colour nonetheless, but decidedly less bright and colourful than I had imagined. The consistency is very nice though, not too sticky and it does give the lips a really glossy sparkle with a subtle blue/pink duochrome shimmer. For maximum impact I plan to layer this gloss over a bright lipstick such as Barry M 147 (Peachy Pink). I think this combination would be gorgeous together!

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