Sparkling Snow

If you haven't got your hands on a Christmas candle yet and you're popping out today to pick up some last minute presents, why not treat yourself and your home to this gorgeous festive themed candle? Sparkling Snow is definitely my favourite offering from Yankee Candle this year and here are the reasons why... 

I find that many Christmas candles can be very overpowering; plus, it seems that choosing a yuletide scent is near on impossible nowadays - unless you love the smell of cinnamon or sugar cookies. To me, super sweet or spicy scents are quite a lot to handle, especially when there will be plenty of other smells occupying your house on the big day (mainly the delectable roast dinner cooking away in the kitchen!) So as you can imagine, when I picked up Sparkling Snow, I was pleasantly surprised by its subtle yet wintery fragrance!  

Yankee Candle simply describe this candle as the 'crisp scent of snow-covered pines' and I couldn't agree more! It is such a wonderful fresh scent which slowly fills the room rather than all at once like some of their more traditional Christmas candles do. I have actually picked up this candle for my boyfriends Mum as she loves Yankee Candles and I thought this would be a welcome addition to her collection. Candles make wonderful gifts and I think this one in particular would go down a storm with most people for two main reasons. Firstly, it is quite subtle and therefore quite a universal scent and secondly, as it is a white coloured candle, it will go with absolutely anybody's home decor! 

So if you're looking for a last minute gift for a relative or if you simply want to buy something for your home before Christmas tomorrow, then be sure to check out this candle if you are out and about in town today. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed! Also, I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas Day tomorrow and be sure to check back soon for even more posts!

My Monthly Favourites - January 2014

Hi guys. Even though we are now a couple of days into February, it's time for me to talk about my monthly favourites throughout the whole of January. It was very hard to choose my favourites this month because I have been trying to use lots of products that I had forgotten about, so I have fallen back in love with quite a few forgotten about items! However, I have managed to whittle it down to these five lovely products. Let's get started!

Peaches & Clean 4-in-1 Deep Cleansing Milk - £8.00
First up is the this amazing cleansing milk from Soap & Glory. I have tried so many cleansers on the market over the past year or so but I can honestly say that this is one of the best! It is a definitely a toss up between this or No 7's Beautiful Skin Foaming Cleanser for me, as I alternate between the two. I love this milk because it leaves my skin feeling really soft and it doesn't dry it out in the slightest. In addition to this, the scent is absolutely gorgeous. As suggested by the title of this product, it smells like peaches. However, it also has a minty/menthol like quality to it which is really refreshing and tingly upon application. I recommend Peaches & Clean to everybody, I cannot get enough!

Boots Extracts Cranberry Body Butter (part of a Christmas set)
Next is this lovely little body butter from the Boots Extracts range (which is part of their fair trade brand.) I received this butter along with three others as part of a set that my friend Sarah got me for Christmas. This product is lovely to use as it is not too thick and sinks into the skin really quickly, which is excellent for me as I am quite impatient and lazy when it comes to moisturising my body. I absolutely the adore the cranberry scent too! It is such a shame that this particular scent is not in the permanent Extracts range as I have feeling that I am going to get through this tiny pot rather quickly!

Soap & Glory's Thick & Fast Super Volume Mascara - £10.00
I bought this mascara all the way back in August and initially, I didn't give it a very good review. Due to the fact that I have very thin and sparse lashes, I often struggle to find a mascara that does what I want it to in terms of giving me length and volume. This mascara used to disappoint me but recently, I have changed my mind! I love to use this product on days where I wear minimal make-up as it gives me just the right amount of length and volume for a natural, everyday look. The only thing that I find with this product is that the brush is a little too big, making it difficult to apply to your bottom lashes neatly.

Yankee Candle Medium Jar in Soft Blanket - £16.49
This is the first Yankee candle that I have ever owned as I have never been that into candles... until now! My best friend Laura bought this candle for me as part of my Christmas present and I love it. 'Soft Blanket' is a relaxing scent which is very comforting when you are stressed out. It also quite subtle, which I love as I am not one for overwhelming scents. I like to use this candle at night time in my bedroom or during pamper sessions in the bath to make them feel more luxurious. I am definitely a Yankee candle convert now and I hope to try more scents in the future - I have my eye on 'Beach Walk' or 'Loves Me, Loves Me Not' next!

Maybelline Color Show Nail Varnish in Brick Shimmer - £2.99
Last but not least is this lovely nail varnish from Maybelline. My preferred nail colours are usually shimmery or glittery, as I prefer the finish of them as opposed to solid, opaque colours. 'Brick Shimmer' is a beautiful bronze colour that looks really sophisticated when applied. This polish is usually chip resistant for about 4-5 days,which is quite good for a product that is just shy of £3. I am definitely going to be trying some other shades of this very affordable, pretty polish!

So, that's it! I hope you enjoyed reading about my five favourite products throughout January. Which products have you been loving over the past month or so? I would love to know what you have been reaching for! Thank you :) 

My Month Via Instagram - October 2013

Hi guys! It's come to the time again for me to write about what I have been up to all throughout October. Granted we are now a whole five days into November (I cannot believe it is Christmas next month) and I am a little late uploading this post but none the less, let's get started!

1. This month I have been making a conscious effort to come up with a few new recipes to try at dinner time. I think that it is very easy to slip into a routine and end up eating the same things on a regular basis. The dish you can see in the picture is a garlic and herb chicken curry-like dish, which is really simple to make. I simply cut up and cooked a chicken breast whilst boiling some rice (and adding peas in a little later to make it more interesting.) Once the chicken was cooked, I poured over a Philadelphia 'Simply Stir' Garlic & Herb Sauce and let it simmer for a few minutes. Hey presto, a relatively healthy dinner in roughly 15-20 minutes!

2. Secondly, now that the cold weather is starting to creep in, I have been opting for a lot more baths as opposed to showers. Recently, I have been trying to have a lot of 'me' time and I love nothing more than having a nice, long soak in a bubble bath. In conjunction with this, I have really enjoyed lighting my cherry & vanilla Yankee candle to set the mood and relax even further. I have also switched from using my passion fruit Body Shop Body Butter to the vanilla scent instead, as I find it to be a much more winter-y smell.

3. As Halloween was creeping ever closer, I invented my friend Lucy to help me experiment with some cat make-up as she is one of the most artistic people I know. Being a cat for Halloween isn't exactly original but my funds are pretty low at the moment, so simplicity was key. For the look we eventually achieved, all that we needed was tonnes of eyeliner and an extremely steady hand! I also used some very feline fake eyelashes to make the end result even more striking.

4. On the same day, Lucy also helped me with some photography for my blog (which is featured in the 'My Favourite Autumn/Winter Outfit' post.) As we finished this rather quickly, I decided to then give Lucy a makeover. As she usually wears minimal make-up (eyeliner and mascara only,) I thought that she would be a great person to experiment on and of course, she looked gorgeous! To read the original blog post, please click here.

5. If any of you read my 'The Next Chapter Of My Life' post, you may know that I recently completed an intensive three day nail course which focused on manicure, pedicure and acrylic nails. Of course, it takes a lot longer than three days to perfect a craft and so I have been practicing on my friends and family a lot. One of the things I really want to learn, however, is how to create some intricate nail art designs. One evening, I gave my friend Sarah this nude and black leopard print design. I was really proud of the outcome seeing as it was my first ever attempt and I am looking forward to trying other designs in the future. 

6. Last but not least is a photo of what I actually looked like before I went clubbing for Halloween. As you can see, I was not able to fully mimic how well Lucy did my make-up for me earlier on in the week, but I still think that in the end it looked quite good! In the end I opted for a dark purple lipstick as I thought it was quite vampy, as opposed to the nude lip that me and Lucy practiced. Also, dressing up as a cat gave me the perfect excuse to wear my new black dress from Missguided that you can see here. I am obsessed with it and am even looking forward to the next time I can wear it (I'm sad like that!)

So, that's it for this month. I hope you all enjoyed reading about what I have gotten up to during October. Now, let's see what November brings!