Blogmas – Page 4 – Clairey Sweetie

Hey Sweeties,

Those that read Blogmas Day 3 (recent beauty purchases) will be aware that I treated myself to the Latest in Beauty Glamour Party Beauty Edit box. Delightfully, it arrived (although I need to have strong words with the Postman who seemed to think leaving it in my back garden without letting me know is ok -idiot!).

Some of you may remember that for a few months I subscribed to Love Me Beauty but that came to an end in July following an unfortunate mix up when I moved house and although I can’t fault their customer service from the quick response perspective, I think they could have done more to rectify the situation and be more sympathetic. As it happens, they lost me as a customer which left me feeling a bit sceptical about other beauty box subscriptions. However, when I saw this advertised on Latest in Beauty I couldn’t resist.

For £16.99 the box arrived stuffed with products -thirteen in all as well as a year’s iPad subscription to Glamour Magazine- worth £88.85!

The box it all arrived in is for me almost a gift in itself. It’s like when you go to shops with fantastic retail bags where you sometimes want to buy something just for the bag it comes in; this box is exactly like that and makes you feel like something really truly special is inside… Which there is of course!

Box Contents:

L’Oreal Paris Elnett Satin hairspray -75ml
Wild About Beauty Powder Eyeshadow -08 Polly
Popband London -2x hair ties
Philip Kingsley Shampoo & Conditioner -20ml
Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer -Watermelon
Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner -Black Amethyst
Vichy Puruete Thermale 3-in-1 & Idealia Life Serum
Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Eye Gels
Lola Nail Polish -Bluebell
Xen-Tan Luminous Gold Gel
Collection Lengthening Mascara

Although I am familiar with most of the included brands and indeed the products except for maybe one or two of them, I haven’t yet tried any of them before so this really is an exciting collection of new products for me to play with over the next few weeks/months. The only product I won’t be trying is from Xen-Tan but one of my besties will absolutely love me as a consequence of this. I have nothing against the brand or the product, I just simply do not use fake tan so I might as well passs it on to someone who does.

The products I am most excited to try are – the Stila eyeliner, the Lola nail polish, Vichy serum and the Wild About Beauty eyeshadow. I will let you all know what I think once I have given them all a good try.

Have you guys tried any of the above or did any of you also buy the same beauty box -thoughts?

Until tomorrow x

Hey Sweeties,

How are we all? Good weekend so far? …and Blogmas, going ok for those participating? To be honest I only just remembered I had to post today!

My Saturday’s throughout the autumn/winter months generally consist of hockey matches and you’ll know from a recent Sunday Chat post that I have joined a new team following moving house. I think so far though I have only been available to play 4 or so matches with Windsor so far this year owing to weekend availability so I am only now in the midst of really getting stuck in with them. As a forward/striker/attacker (aka, one of usually three players that remains up near goal during the game), I really feel the pressure when I don’t actually score and this week I could really feel myself getting stressed about it. More than anything it’s the feeling of wanting to prove yourself in front of a new team. To be honest though, and any person that plays team based sports will know that fundamentally sometimes its of no fault of your own, it’s often the opportunity just doesn’t present itself. It can also be incredibly frustrating when players that play lower down the field get a good run up the pitch and manage to get the ball in the net when you’ve been up there poised for ages, but that’s just how it is sometimes.

So today you’ll be delighted to know that I finally scored my debut goal for Windsor! Absolutely thrilled and just the confidence boost I need!!

This being only my second season back playing hockey, I still have so much to learn and although training teaches you ball and stick techniques and various other skills and methods vital for playing hockey, you don’t actually get taught any of the rules. So although it is incredibly daunting to be involved in matches when you still haven’t quite found your confidence, out on the pitch during play is when you pick up the real core elements of the game. Mistakes can only be expected but like I said, when you’re still finding your confidence with both yourself as a player and as a member of a team of people you don’t know that well, it’s tricky. But the more games you play, the more you learn and pick up and your confidence builds gradually from there.

Hockey really is just something I have found in my life that I just love. I can’t really explain it exactly but I do so enjoy myself and it’s a brilliant stress reliever (as I am sure I have spoken about before) so when I battle insecurity over performing well (even during training), I can get easily upset and doubt myself which really isn’t fun and to be honest, completely unnecessary. If I played professionally and didn’t score then we’d have problems, but right now, although it’s competitive above all it’s fun… exactly how it should be!

Right, I’m off now to have a long hot shower to warm up as I have only just got back from the match (where it was so cold the pitch was still partly frozen) and then I am going to have a large glass of wine and a cosy night in with Ian and Lola.

Delighted at my debut goal!

Until tomorrow x

Hey Sweeties,

I’ll be honest, I haven’t been formally ‘tagged’ to do this post but today I discovered Emma over at All About the Style and she did the Christmas tag on day 2 of Blogmas. She then tagged everyone doing Blogmas and I took that as my cue to join in too!

Before you read the questions, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed writing this post –amazing really for something so simple. I initially didn’t think I had a specific Christmas memory but when I was answering a couple of the other questions I was reminded about old times with my brothers when this time of year was full of innocence and genuine excitement. Although Christmas is still a great time of year for me, it changes and means different things when you grow up out of your childhood.

Enjoy.

1. What is your favourite Christmas film(s)?

Father Christmas, Mickey’s Christmas Carol and The Snowman have been family favourites for as long as I can remember and for me these are hard to beat.

More recently, The Snowman and the Snowdog has become a firm Christmas film staple and I am hoping this year to get properly on board the Elf bandwagon…

Do you open your Christmas presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Christmas morning, always.

Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?

I think for me it would be Christmas morning when my brothers and I were still young enough to get super excited about Christmas and Santa arriving that they would always wake me up at about 4AM to show me something from their stocking. I of course then would not be able to fall back to sleep so would end up opening my stocking too. It all changed when we became teenagers and would lie in instead to a more appropriate hour.

Favourite festive food?

Mice pies… once you allow yourself to buy a pack from the supermarket or have one over a coffee/hot chocolate in Costa/Nero or Starbucks I believe it shows that you have accepted Christmas is on the way and it’s time to get festive!

Favourite gift?

In recent years my family have calmed down with gift buying but to be honest, there is no one thing I have received that tops everything. For me –more so now at this time of life where you don’t really need anything- the best gifts are genuine surprises whereby it was never asked for but maybe something someone secretly noted how much you liked the look of and has thus bought it out of thoughtfulness.

Christmas scent?

Freshly cooked/warmed up mince pies and anything with cinnamon always makes me feel Christmassy.

Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?

When I was younger and living at home we always watched a specific set of films –Mickey’s Christmas Carol, The Snowman and Father Christmas. (A Muppet’s Christmas Carol was added into the mix in later years occasionally). After the films, Dad would read my two brothers and I three stories –The night before Christmas, Frog & Toad Christmas Eve (best to Google it), and Wake Up Bear It’s Christmas. We would then put out a mince pie and a carrot before sleep.

What tops your Christmas tree?

At the moment I have topped my tree with a beautiful blue and green peacock decoration I bought from Liberty of London (see Blogmas Day 4), until I find a star or maybe an angel. My family have always had a star at the top.

As a kid, what was the one (crazy/wild/extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?

A pony… I’m still waiting.

What is the best part about Christmas for you?

Now I have moved away from home, I totally appreciate the importance of family. I don’t see them enough as it is so for me Christmas is not about presents; it’s about the coming together of your loved ones (apologies for the cliché). I am excited for the future when both Ian’s family and mine come together for the occasion and even better when the next generation gets born; Christmas really does come alive with Children around.

So there you go, Christmas Tag. Done!

I will follow Emma’s instruction and I too now tag all those doing Blogmas! Let me know your responses by sharing your links in my comments so I can check them out. Please also feel free to invite me to participate in other tags; whatever they are as they are not only fun but also a great way to get to know each other.

Until tomorrow x

Hey Sweeties,

On Monday I showed you my Christmas tree that had been assembled and decorated merely minutes before the post went up so I thought I would show you in a little more detail the decorations I have so far… or some of them anyway. As I said in the original post, I have been picking up Christmas decorations from here and there for a couple of years now but it is only this year that I have been able to finally put them on a tree which for me has been really exciting. Although my collection is still tiny, together with my tree I think it all looks so pretty and I am excited to pick up more decorations over the years to come.

I also thought I would keep the word content in this post short and let the pictures do the talking as I am conscious I have done some quite lengthy posts lately. If you’re happy to read longer posts that’s great and do let me know in the comments but every now and again I’ll try and remember to keep things short(er).

A reminder of what my tree currently looks like

Liberty of London

The first decorations I bought this year were surprisingly from Liberty of London. I say surprisingly as when I went to look at their Christmas shop I didn’t think I was going to be able to afford anything but actually, they have some very affordable decorations, so much so that the most I paid for one was £4.95! In all I came out of the shop having spent £20; the image above shows what I bought for myself and I also bought a couple of others that will be presents from my besty and parents. Here is how they look on/against the backdrop of the tree…

When I went into Tesco I picked up a few decorations along with the tree itself and again, all very reasonable prices…

Candy Canes -5 for £1

This box of decorations was £2 I think?

You can’t have a Christmas tree without at least one Santa decoration, I have 4!

Left -bought in Las Vegas. Right- Pack of three from Tesco

A few years ago I was lucky enough to visit Vienna during December and Christmas markets in Europe are just beautiful. While I was there I bought a selection of tiny, delicate wooden decorations like the below…

I picked up a box of four of these baubles from Paperchase last year; they always have some really stunning decorations in store so always worth a look in.

I have two polar bears -I love animal decorations! The white one (nearest the bottom) was bought in Las Vegas while I was there last year and the other bear was bought in Tesco last week.

Cute!

And finally, not on my tree but I thought I would quickly show you the gorgeous Advent Calendar my Mum sent me from The Contemporary Home (seen below on the right). I have yet to put little chocolates in the each of the draws but I will do so in the next day or two. It’s so beautiful and will become part of my Christmas traditions for many many years to come. On the left is the calendar from my besty, Paula and I love the little scented tea lights that are behind each new door. The nutcracker stood in front was also bought in Las Vegas.

Until tomorrow x

Hey Sweeties,

I thought I would share with you today a few recent beauty purchases.

*FYI I have now put a ban on buying anything until after Christmas but there were a couple of things I just couldn’t resist…and also needed…

Anyway.

Firstly I ventured into Superdrug. This isn’t really my go to place for cosmetics anymore but from time to time they will have a deal on that’s worth investigating but more so lately, I have been stalking the place to see if I can get my hands on the October/November issue of Superdrug’s Dare magazine with Zoella on the cover. I failed at this. Slough didn’t have it and the staff in Windsor had never heard of it… Wow. Anyway, I picked up a replacement Rimmel Bronzer in 022 Sun Bronze as although I said to myself I can wait to repurchase it… I basically can’t as although I have other bronzers in my collection; this is my favourite and the one I use every day. So a new one was a must! I also picked up another Collection Match Perfection Concealer in no. 3 warm medium (which I forgot to add in the photo, silly me).

For something new I finally have succumbed to the Maybelline Babylips range and plumped for the lip balm in Peach Kiss. On a future date I will also eventually try their primer –anyone else tried this or anything else from Babylips?

Secondly (on a different day) I went to my old haunt, Boots. Man that place is as good as any Santa’s Grotto in my view as it is filled to the brim with temptation and pretty things… minus the dodgy looking geezer in a red suit asking us to sit on his lap!

Two things that went straight into my basket were replacement products I had run out of, the first being Burt’s Bees Lip Balm with pomegranate oil. Since purchasing this last year I have loved it from the word go and I apply it first thing in the morning when I wake up and sometimes last thing at night if my lips feel particularly dry. I have also been enjoying the Burt’s Bees cream cleanser lately, you can read that review here.

Now, my regular readers will be well informed that this year I have tried a few different foundations to prolong the repurchasing of L’Oreal’s True Match foundation and until the weekend I was doing fantastically…Until I saw on my Boots app an offer for £2 off the product so of course I jumped at it. Some of you may frown at my lack of self-control but despite loving this foundation, having now explored the market more this year it’s now not the only one I love so I think I am now perfectly in my right to bring this back into the mix. I bought this product in the shade C2 Vanilla Rose.

For another new purchase, I then bought the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet 09 Happy Nude Year. I was resisting these for as long as I could but then I watched one of Vivianna Does Makeup videos and she had both reviewed and was wearing this one (I think) and that made up my mind for me really, I had to try it for myself! A full review of this product will be posted up here soon.

These next two products are also new and come from TK MAXX of all places which -if you can find a couple of good, well stocked stores- are well worth a rummage around in as there really are some bargain finds to be had. On this particular day I came across Rituals Natural Eyebrow Pencil in shade Brunette, and their Matt Finish Foundation in shade 1. I pondered about these two products for ages to be honest but I am still really keen to be giving new things a go so after a while of picking up and putting down again, I did eventually take them both to the checkout. Again, once I have given these a good test I will also post a review up on here.

I would love to say that is everything and it is… except that yesterday I treated myself to the Glamour Party Beauty Edit box from Latest In Beauty.com so stay tuned on here to see what’s inside once it arrives!

So I will just reiterate -more for myself than anything else- that I am now on a spending ban until after Christmas!

Until tomorrow x

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