25 Days Of Beauty: Day One

Pinch, Punch, First Of The Month! Happy December 1st, it’s time for the festivities to begin. If you’ve been around for a few years now you’ll know that every December I do 25 Day’s of Beauty where I unbox and share with you what I received in my Marks And Spencer Beauty Advent Calender.

And I have to say they’ve started this year off strong. In Day One, I received a full sized tube of the Aveda Damage Repair Daily Hair Repair. This is to be used on damp hair to help protect it from heating styling as well as alleviating and dry or spilt ends you may have. I’m actually looking forward to trying this when I was my hair next and I have to say I’m impressed that M&S went for a straight up full sized product on Day One.

Marks And Spencers Beauty Advent Calendar Day One

It's December 1st! Not only does that mean that Christmas is a mere three and a half weeks away, it means that we can all start opening our advent calendars. I for one am extremely excited to start opening my advent calender as it means I can finally break open this years Marks and Spencers Beauty Advent Calender. This year's calender is beautiful and I can't wait to recieve the plethora of beauty products that it's holding within each indvidual box.

In the first box they started off with a product they feature every year. It would be slightly annoying if it wasn't such a good product. Today's box featured a travel sized bottle of the L'Occitane Verbena Shower Gel. This is the third bottle of this I've recieved from these calendars but it's not boring or repetitive as I love this shower gel. It lathers up well, smells divine and is generously sized for a advent calender. Whilst I'm loving this product, I am extremely excited to see what the future days hold.

Marks And Spencer Beauty Advent Calender Day One

It's that time of the year again. It's time to welcome back my 25 Day's Of Beauty. If you're new here and don't know what I'm talking about, let me explain. Every year for the past three years I've brought the Marks and Spencers Beauty Advent Calender and shared my unboxing of each day with you until Christmas Day. This year is no different and I've been counting down the days until I could open the first door.

And here is Day One! Even before I opened this I knew it was going to be a good sized product just from the weight of the box. And in Day One we have a Rosie For Autograph Amazing Radiance Body Glow.

I absolutely adore the Rosie For Autograph products and this one is no different. This is a tinted body lotion that adds a hint of a glow to your skin. It's going to be the perfect product for the upcoming festive season, the gorgeous glow it leaves behind perfect for any Christmas parties you may have been invited to. I smothered myself in this, this morning because it's the 1st of December and I wanted to. It gave my skin a beautiful glow and smelt absolutely divine. Packed with orange blossom, white flowers and sandalwood, you'll be smelling this on your skin for ages after you've applied it and will definitely grab the attention of anyone around you. A brilliant product for the first day, it's bound to only get better from here. 

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.

Marks And Spencer Beauty Advent Calender Day One

Happy December!!! It's nearly Christmas!!! And if you were around this time last year, you'll know that I did a daily Beauty Advent Calender unboxing. It went down a storm so I thought that I'd do the same this year. Again I have the Marks and Spencer Beauty Advent Calender which this year contains twenty five days, each containing either a full sized product or a deluxe sample size.

Shall we start with what's in box Number One??

And it's a good start as well. In today's box I received a full sized tube of the Neal's Yard Bee Lovely Hand Cream. This was limited edition when it was first released but because of it's popularity and consumer demand it's now back and permanently. Containing organic honey and orange essential oil, this works to not only moisturise the hands but also helps energise the hands and the scent helps lift spirits.

First Impressions: As soon as I opened the box, I instantly had to smell this and boy does it smell good. It smells exactly like orange, nothing fake or plastic about it. It's a thick cream and a little goes a long way. It sinks easily into the skin and hands automatically feel moisturised, nourished and revitalised. As someone who's always using her hands at work I think this is going to quickly become a firm favourite.

Check back everyday at 7:30pm to see what I got in the day's box.

Halloween Baking Ideas

Welcome Halloween Week. From now until Halloween I'll be posting everyday with everything from Halloween GRWM, Decor Ideas and Film Favourites. Today I'm starting with some Baking Ideas. Full recipes of each of these can be found on pinterest.

These Frankenstein Rice Krispie Treats are beyond adorable. They'd make a great treat for parties and will get everyone talking. Plus from reading the recipes they'll be easy and fun to make, a perfect treat to make with the kids. I'll definitely be making these before Halloween has passed. You can find the recipe here.

These melting ghost brownies from Betty Crocker are another fun and easy recipe to make. This is a packet mix recipe but if you prefer to make things from scratch then brownies are quite easy to make. If you're having a Halloween party or get together then these will definitely add a little something else to dessert. You can find the full recipe here.

Cake pops are a brilliant treat to give kids (and adults) at Halloween. And these adorable little ghosts from Bakerella are almost too cute to eat. These are a little bit more difficult to make but under a watchful eye I'm sure kid (and again adults) would enjoy making these. The full recipe can be found here.

For a more savoury snack try these Mummy Pretzel Sticks. The white chocolate and the salt will make an interesting combination. Plus these are quick and easy so if you've forgotten to create something spook worthy these won't keep you in the kitchen all day. And if the idea of pretzels and chocolate doesn't sit right with you, try Chocolate fingers. They'll give you the same look but with the weird sweet/savoury combo. A full recipe can be found here.

And finally another brilliant recipe for kids or us adults. Gingerbread skeletons are brilliant as a bit of fun amongst friends or as a an afternoon for kids. If you don't know how to make gingerbread men then buying these in the shop is more than okay. Piping Icing is pretty easy to come by in most supermarkets or craft shops, but if you're feeling creative you can make your own. The full recipe can be found here.

Full picture credit goes to the original owners. All recipes and pictures were found on Pinterest.

Lip Product Week: Day One- Sleek Matte Lipstick

Last year I did a week in August dedicated to lip products. If you were reading the blog back then, you may have seen it. If you are new and don't know what Lip Product Week is, it's basically a week where I review various lip products all from different brands and with different price ranges. It was such a hit last year I couldn't help but plan another week this year and to kick it off I'll be starting with the budget friendly brand Sleek. 

I'd looked at Sleek lipsticks for a while but never brought one and when I was looking for products to try for this week I thought what a better time to bite the bullet and buy one. I have the shade Russiann Roulette a very deep blue toned red. It reminds me a lot of Russian Red from MAC and when compared the two look very similar. If you've had your eye on Russian Red for a while but can't justify the price tag then definitely have a look at this shade instead. It's a third of the price and practically the same shade.

It's a matte finish lipstick, one of a few in the collection. It feels ever so dry as you apply it to the lips, dragging slightly when you start off. However once that inital swipe is over with it does steadily get creamier as you apply it. It can look patchy on the lips because of the intial dryness but if you blot it off lightly with your finger then reapply then you'll have a highly pigmented opaque colour. It's a stunning shade of lipstick that'll suit a variety of skintones but especially ladies of a fairer tone. The colour has that tone to it that reminds me a lot of pin up girls and ladies from the forties. Definitely a brilliant choice if you're doing a vintage inspired make up look.

When it comes to wear this is ever so slightly drying on the lips but I think a lot of it depends on the condition of your lips beforehand. You can touch this up and reapply without it zapping all the moisture from your lips. It's definitely a lipstick you won't be in a rush to take off when you get home. And when it comes to transfer it's only a little bit that moves, mainly from the centre of the lips. It's bullet is easy to use and I personally like to use the edges to line my lips before using the flat side to fill them in completely.

If you're looking for a good red lipstick on a budget then I'd recommend checkng this one out. It's pigmented, comfortable to wear and that perfect classic red shade that suits everyone. And the best bit, it's only £4.99.

Have you tried this before? Did you like it? Do you have shade recommendations? Let me know in the comments.