Selfridges Luxury Christmas Gift Ideas

We all love a little bit of luxury every now and then and I love browsing Selfridges' website online, looking through and lusting over all of the high-end beauty brands that they stock! As you can imagine, now that we are in the run up to Christmas, I have been doing this quite a lot lately and so I thought why not make a mini Christmas gift guide showing you some of the best festive gift sets on offer right now! Of course, these products do not come cheap, so they would perfect to add to your Christmas list or to buy for a loved one if your budget can allow it! Within this little gift guide, there a few slightly more affordable options as well as some extravagant ones thrown in there for good measure too. So, here are the six gift sets featured in today's post;

Tom Ford Lip Colour Set / Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette / Charlotte Tilbury K.i.s.s.i.n.g Mini Lipstick Trio / Jo Malone Cologne Intense Collection / Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Gift Set / Yves Saint Laurent Volume Effect Mascara Gift Set

As I'm sure you would agree, all of these sets look absolutely amazing - everything from the packaging to the products themselves scream all things luxurious and fancy! I, for one, would loooove to find any of these beauties underneath my tree on Christmas morning! Please let me know which of these gifts you would love to receive the most by leaving a comment below and remember to come back soon to check out more festive themed posts all throughout December!

The Big Bang Bubble Bar!

If you love zesty and fresh scents, then this new bubble bar from Lush is just the thing for you! Personally, the fruity scents from Lush are my absolute favourite alongside the sweeter, candy-like ones such as the 'Creamy Candy Bubble Bar.' Although I do love a good old-fashioned bath bomb every once in a while, I have a serious love for bubble bars because they are much more moisturising and nourishing on your skin! Sure, they might not be all fizzy and exciting but they still smell delicious and leave your bath water a pretty colour too.

Big Bang (£3.75) is one of the newer bubble bars Lush have added to their permanent collection and I have been loving it so far. It has the most uplifting grapefruit, tangerine and lemon scent - which is a perfect combination for me. One of the other main ingredient featured in 'Big Bang' is avocado butter, which of course will leave your skin feeling super soft and hydrated. As for the colour of the bath water once you have crumbled it under a running tap to produce the bubbles, it goes a wonderful shade of blue!

I can quickly see this bubble bar becoming one of my new favourites (my current favourites are Brightside, The Comforter and Candy Mountain!) Fruity fragrances are my ultimate weakness and I will definitely be buying 'Big Bang' again once I get through my current stash of Lush goodies! I would love to know what your favourite Lush products are and if you have any recommendation for me; so please feel free to leave a comment down below!

My Latest MAC Purchases

Hey guys! Sorry that I've been a little quiet on the blogging front recently but I have really been struggling both motivation and inspiration-wise lately. However, not to worry because I'm now back and ready to show you all the latest additions to my MAC Cosmetics collection. In the past, I was a lover of bright and bold lip colours but throughout the course of this year, I have been opting for nude shades over colourful ones almost every time! I'm not quite sure whats gotten into me but I am just really into more natural, understated hues right now. So, because I was using 'Velvet Teddy' to death, I thought that I would pick up another new nude shade to add to my ever-growing lipstick collection.

After a lot of swatching and trying on with an assistant in the store, I stumbled upon 'Faux' and instantly fell in love with it! Think of it as a much pinky and slightly paler version of 'Velvet Teddy.' What I love about this lipstick in particular is how well it compliments my eyes and my cool-toned complexion. This is also my first satin finish lipstick from MAC and it feels really creamy and moisturising compared to the matte finish of 'Velvet Teddy.' Of course, a creamier consistency is a much better choice to go with during winter too because it doesn't accentuate any dry patches or flakiness on your lips.

To go with the lipstick, the assistant also suggested purchasing a Pro Longwear lip pencil in the shade 'Cultured' to go with it. She applied both products on my lips to show me what the finished result would look like and I thought that it looked even more amazing than before. Even though in the swatch below the two products look quite different in colour, they go so well together and make my lips look plumper and thicker! As it is a pro product, the lip liner is super soft and glides on perfectly without any dragging or tugging at my lip line.

(Left: Faux Satin Lipstick - Right: Cultured Pro Longwear Lip Pencil)

Overall, I am really pleased with these new purchases and I have been wearing this lip combination almost every day because I just love it so much. I get so excited every time that I get to add another MAC product to my make-up collection and these two items were no exception! After testing them out for a few weeks now, I would highly recommend these shades as they are very wearable and comfortable on the lips. So, next time you are passing by a MAC store, why not pop in and give these products a go? You definitely won't regret it!

Life Lately #2

Hi guys and welcome back to the second installment my 'Life Lately' series. If any of you read my first one all the way back in July, you would know that I used to do a lot of Instagram updates but too often I found that I never had enough photos to share. So, instead, I have decided to just do the occasional update when I feel that I have some fun things to share with all of you. Of course, if you would like to keep updated between these posts, feel free to give me a follow on Instagram here! Anyway, here's what I have been up to lately...

1. This photo is with my friend Yasmin when we were out for a friends birthday. Unfortunately, I didn't get any clear photos of my make-up after I got ready but I went for a classic grey shimmery eye with plenty of lashes and glowy skin!

2. Me and the girls have been making a concious effort to get together on a more regular basis. At this age, I've found that we are all so busy that sometimes it's hard to get everybody together on the same day. However, we have been going to our favourite breakfast cafe a lot lately in order to catch up and enjoy some yummy food whilst we're at it!

3. One lazy Saturday afternoon, Kieran (my boyfriend) and I decided to make some brownies as a treat. We wanted to make them even more exciting and decadent, so we added Rolos into the mixture. As you can imagine, they were deliciously gooey and the caramel from the Rolos made them soooo good!

4. This photo is before another night out with my fellow blondies, Yasmin and Sarah. We went to our local indie/alternative club and had the best night, followed by a sleepover at my house.

5. Obviously I am a huge Lush fan all year round but of course, now that winter is upon us I'm having even more baths than usual. This time, I used the Intergalactic bath bomb which is full of the most crazy colours and glitter. I loved it so much that I had to take a photo!

6. This is a photo of Kieran's family's new kitten called Esmée. She is an adorable grey tabby cat! I manged to get this cute photograph of her whilst she was napping just in time, before she woke up and started playing with all of her toys again!

7. If you have been reading my blog for a long time, you will know that I have suffered with anxiety since I was about 10 years old. After being in counselling for the last few years, I have conquered one of my biggest fears which is eating out in restaurants. I always knew that this fear was irrational and I am so glad that I am getting better at it. This was actually mine and Kieran's first sit down lunch in public and I'm so glad that I could share my accomplishment with him!

8. Me and my friend Lucy went out for Halloween and it was a really lovely night. I had so much fun experimenting with my makeup look for this and I opted for a super dark MAC lipstick and a smokey cat eye. I went as a stereotypical black cat and Lucy went as a skeleton.

9. This week I got my first Christmas Costa drink of the festive season! I opted for a Caramel Fudge hot chocolate and it was so tasty. I love the themed cups at this time of year, so I just had to take a snap of my first one of the year!

So, that's it for the second of my 'Life Lately' posts. I hope you enjoyed seeing what I have gotten up to since the last post. Be sure to check back soon for another new installment!

Christmas Gifts For Beauty Lovers

Today's post is for the hardcore beauty lovers out there! As we are in November now, I can finally start creating some Christmas gift guides without looking far too eager because truth be told, I have been excited about the festive season for at least a month already! I absolutely love buying gifts for my friends & family and I get so much satisfaction out of picking out the perfect present for each of my loved ones. I have a few super girly-girls in my life and so they were the main inspiration for my first post! I love some of the products featured in this post so much that they are even on my own wishlist (aka the Zoeva palette and the Stila liquid lip set.) Furthermore, without any further ado, here are some quick links to the items from my first Christmas gift guide of the year!

Zoeva En Taupe Eyeshadow Palette / Cowshed Christmas Cracker / Clinique Get The Skinny Eye Set / Soap & Glory Three Times Butter / MAC Enchanted Eve Brush Bag / Victoria Secret VS Stripe Make-Up Bag / Stila Eternally Yours Liquid Lipstick Set

So guys, those are the gifts I have chosen to feature in my first guide of the year! The prices for these gift range from a super affordable £8 to a more luxurious £45, therefore, hopefully there is something here to suit your budget! What do you think? Which products stand out to you and what is on your Christmas wishlist this year? Please let me know by leaving a comment down below!

A Mini Christmas Lush Haul

Lush products are a regular feature here on my blog nowadays and so it was pretty obvious that a Christmas haul was coming at some point! So, with my first pay packet from my new job, I decided to treat myself to a few bits and bobs. Of course, I could have gone absolutely crazy in store and put soooo many things in my basket but alas, I refrained. Although, I will definitely going back to pick up some more products in the near future as I have a lot of baths during the winter months. Clearly I was unintentionally going for some kind of pink & white theme during my latest visit too - oops! Anyhow, here are the few products that I chose to get my winter stash started...

Magic Wand Reusable Bubble Bar - £5.25
Even though the Magic Wand is a really popular item at Christmas time, I have never tried it before! However, I love anything that has a 'Snow Fairy' or candy-like scent, so this reusable bubble bar is right up my alley. The bell and ribbon make this product super cute and exciting to use as well. I cannot wait to have a sweet smelling bubble bath with this one!

So White Bath Bomb - £3.65
This is another bath bomb released in previous years that I am yet to try! The main reason why I was so attracted to 'So White' is because of it's unusual apple scent. It is so fresh and makes a nice change to the sweeter smells that I tend to lean towards at this time of year! It may not be the most colourful or exciting looking product of the bunch but I cannot wait to try it out nonetheless!

Razzle Dazzle Bath Oil - £2.00
I have used one of Lush's bath oils before in one of their Oxford Street exclusive gift sets that a friend bought me for my birthday and I loved it. So, I wanted to pick up 'Razzle Dazzle' to see if it made my skin feel just as smooth as the previous one did! It has a gorgeous fruity scent made up of raspberries, bergamot and lime. Plus, it has plenty of different oils to nourish and moisturise your skin!

Candy Mountain Bubble Bar - £2.95
'Candy Mountain' is one of my all time favourite bubble bars, right behind my number one Lush product 'The Comforter.' It has the most gorgeous vanilla and candyfloss scent which I adore, it's almost good enough to eat! It turns your water a pretty pastel pink colour and the silver, sparkly lustre leaves your skin with a subtle shimmer too!

Star Dust Bath Bomb - £2.95
Last but certainly not least is this super cute and festive bath bomb. 'Star Dust' predominantly has a vanilla scent to it with a hint of both bergamot and rosewood oils. To me, its shape and dusting of silver glitter just screams Christmas! After having a look on the website too (which now shows videos of the products being used,) it seems to have lots of little multi-coloured star confetti inside it, which is released as your bath bomb fizzes away in the water. How amazing and festive is that?!

Overall, I am so excited to have gotten my hands on a couple of Christmas products and I cannot wait until I can go back and pick up some more! I am really looking forward to bath time now, knowing that I have plenty of new items to try out. Have you picked up any of Lush's Christmas range yet? If not, will any of it be on your Christmas list? Let me know by leaving a comment down below!