Christmas Week: How To Take Your Make Up From Desk To Dancefloor

It's that time where Christmas Parties are the main social event of the month. But what if you don't have enough time to redo your entire make up ready for the night. Well no worries because today I'm sharing with you my Top 5 tips to help refresh your make up and take you from day job to night out.

Keep a hydrating facial spritz nearby
Seriously, a facial spritz will be your saviour this festive period. Most facial spritzs can be used over the top of make up and help to revive and hydrate the skin whilst simultaneously taking away any signs of creasing or cake face. My personal favourite is the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer. It contains Lavender, Aloe Vera and Vitamin E so it not only hydrates the skin but soothes and stops any causes of irritation. Another good one to try comes from B Beauty and contains Hyaluronic Acid to give skin a moisture boost without disrupting make up.

Top Up Concealer, Not Foundation
When it comes to touching up your base don't add another layer of foundation of the top of your exsiting make up. It has the chance of going cakey and nobody wants that. Instead go in with your concealer of choice and a damp beauty blender. Concealer is a lot easier to work with because you can pin point and choose exactly where you place it. And bop it in with a beauty blender than a brush because it will make it look more natural and shouldn't disrupt the rest of your make up. I like the Collection Lasting Finish Concealer as it has the coverage but doesn't look cakey or layered when freshly applied over exsisting make up.

 Powder To Set In Place But Don't Go Overboard
Now it may be tempting to just go wild with powder in hopes that it will keep everything from moving but too much powder can actually make things look powdery and essentially cakey. So the best way to set everything in place is to take a big fluffy brush and lightly dust your pressed/loose powder of choice into the places you've touched up. It'll set them in place without adding extra powder to the areas you set when you first did your make up. I really like the Collection Pressed Powder in Ivory. It's lightweight, barely has any colour to it and doesn't leave skin feeling clogged up or looking cakey. To apply I love my B Beauty Powder Brush. It's fluffy and big enough to apply powder without going overboard.

Give Your Lips A Festive Twist 
If a bold lip is too much for you day to day but you want to give your look that pop for the evening then start with a nude lip. A nude lip will be appropriate for the daytime, easy to wear with any look and most of the time they're easy to remove. Before you begin touching up your make up take off your lip of choice, you can always touch up anywhere that gets smudged. Once you're make up is touched take your red lip or bold lip of choice and apply. A lip liner may be required but if the applicator of your lip product is good enough then you may be able to go without. My go to red this time of the year comes from Stila and is their Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso. It's a true matte finish that can be drying but a bit of lip balm underneath and it lasts hours without feeling uncomfortable.

Setting Spray Is Your Best Friend
Once that's all done you want your make up to stay in place and that's where setting spray comes in. Not only does it help prolong the life of your make up but it helps combat any signs of oil and can even give skin that flawless, almost airbrushed look. That means it removes any signs of cakey-ness or excess powder and overall makes things look more natural. My favourite is the Maybelline Super Stay Setting Spray. It's a fine mist that doesn't leave the face feeling like it's been drenched and dries down quickly to lock make up in place.

Christmas Week: Top 5 Christmas Films

At this time of year nothing beats snuggling down in cosy pyjamas with a hot drink of choice and of course a Christmas film. There are so many good Christmas films out there so today I thought I'd share with you my favourite five of this year.

Every year without fail I have to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol. It reminds me so much of growing up and is something me and my mum share at Christmas. It's the one film we make a point of watching together even when our schedules get busy. If you like corny Christmas films that have catchy songs you'll be humming all day then this is for you. I know I'll be watching this a lot this festive period.

Another film I have to watch every year without fail is The Grinch. It's like an integral part of Christmas for me and I don't feel festive until I've watched this at least once. It's another of those films I grew up with and to me is another important part of Christmas. It may sound silly to some but now as a grown up I think some of the magic of Christmas has worn away, especially because I work in retail. So anything that puts that festive feeling in to me and my house is a winner in my books.

A film that I don't watch every year but do enjoy thoroughly when I get a chance to watch it. The Santa Clause is another film I remember watching a lot when I was a kid. There's just something about the nostolgic films that I love at Christmas time. It also has two sequels and they're just as good as the original. I'm definitely going to be watching this, this upcoming weekend.

A film that I wasn't a fan of until recently is Polar Express. It isn't what I would consider your standard Christmas film but it has a brilliant storyline and characters. There's no musical numbers or catchy tunes but it does have a brilliant script and pace that will keep you enthralled. Tom Hanks portrays one of the characters and it adds a little something to the film that would otherwise be missing.

And finally there is Arthur Christmas. What isn't to love about Arthur Christmas. It's set in the North Pole, has a brilliant storyline and a great range of characters. Arthur Christmas is one of those Christmas films I can put on and instantly feel better, great for those days when work is a little bit overwhelming. If you haven't seen this then I suggest you hunt it down on Netflix and give it a watch. You'll be in a Christmas mood instantly.

Christmas Week: Decorating Tips

Welcome to Christmas Week. For the next five days I will be posting Christmas content to help get everyone in the festive mood. So today what a better way to start the week then to talk all things decorative. Christmas decorations are probably one of my favourite parts of Christmas and it doesn't feel like Christmas until the tree and everything else is up.

A great way to add a little something extra to a room is lights. You can get some uber cute lights when you look around. I got these adorable Reindeer lights from The Range and I think they cost no more than £3.50. I've not got a lot of hanging space in my room so I hung them from my bookcase shelf. There is enough wire on these to get a good drape wherever you hang them and the battery pack they come with isn't too heavy it's going to pull them down. I also brought the Santa design as well and they're just as adorable as the Reindeer.

Another fun way to light up a room or a section of a room is with these adorable Christmas light up heads. These were only £2 from The Range and just adorable. There were only three in the range and I picked up all three. They change colour as they go and make a really nice addition to any room. These would be good to add to a child's room, they don't have sharp bits on them so they aren't harmful and because they're so colourful they'll keep them entertained for hours. I've put them under my Reindeer string lights and between them I've put my recently purchased snowglobes.

Another way to add a bit of something more to a shelf be it a mantel piece or a bookcase is to add a bit of tinsel and some baubles. The tinsel I picked up from Wilko's was only a £1 and was long enough to wind around my figurines once and then back again. The baubles are small glittery numbers that we've had for years and I 'borrowed' some from our stash to decorate the shelf. A little bit of sellotape held them in place nicely and they add something more to a normally plain shelf.

Some more cute hanging decorations I picked up this year are these gorgeous copper cutout Christmas Trees and Stars. They didn't cost more than a £1 and feel much more luxurious than they actually should. And in inbetween those I stuck some cute gold bells that were also only a £1. Sure they might not last long but as they're only in my room I'm not that bothered.

And finally if you have a canvas or a picture that you want to add some festive spirit to then just pop a bit of tinsel over the top of it. This is another piece of tinsel from Wilko's and was so easy to just drape over and between my Marilyn Monroe canvases. We have some canvases downstairs as well and when we decorated we threw a bit of tinsel over them to addo some festive cheer. It also adds something to what can be a bland looking wall.