It seems to be something of a reoccurring theme this year, that I have a post either planned out in my head or drafted, and for what ever reason I've never managed to get most of them published x
Well the same thing has happened again - I had this post all planned out in my head, an explanation for where I've been for the last month or so, a little bit on the future of the blog, and of course taking the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
Today has been a little bit busier and crazier than I'd anticipated and even at 8pm at night every thing that needs to be done still isn't done - never mind that's clearly the story of my life lol, so anyone I just thought I'd stick a super quick post up to wish all of you that are celebrating a very Happy Christmas, and even if you aren't celebrating tomorrow I hope you all have a happy, healthy and peaceful holiday weekend.
If life isn't that great at the moment though, don't forget that you are never alone and even over the holiday period there will always be someone out there to listen, I'm still pretty active on twitter so please feel free to message me or tweet me x
So I hope you all have a lovely day tomorrow and I promise I will be back in the next few days with a more detailed post xx
So here we are x There is only one more sleep till the big day, and I have to say for the first time in a really long time I don't feel that festive. If you follow me on Instagram or if you're a fan of my Facebook page, then you'll already know that my Mam was rushed to hospital earlier this week thankfully she was discharged last night but she's still on a lot of medication and she's still feeling exhausted and pretty under the weather. Unfortunately we've made to decision to have a much more low key Christmas Day celebration with just the two of us, and a scaled back vegetarian Christmas dinner cooked by yours truly!
I love tradition and routine at Christmas time, so I'm feeling a little bit emotional and uneasy with all of the changes, and I'm really going to miss spending the day with my godmother, I did see her today though which was nice but It can't be helped these things happen, my Mam's health is more important and I'm going to try and make it as nice as possible for her tomorrow x
I know Christmas is going to be another strange one for a lot of people this year, so please do what I'm doing and try to remember that it's just a day, and a very hyped day at that. Things don't have to be perfect, and you don't have to force yourself to be happy - life doesn't change just because it's Christmas Day - So if you're on your own - head to Twitter where Sarah Millican is doing her annual #JoinIn, I'll probably be floating around on social media for most of the day - probably sharing my culinary stresses, and if you really do need someone to talk to, don't forget there is always someone out there to listen, it's okay not to be okay so reach out if you need to x
So although it won't be the Christmas that so many of us had planned this year, if you're celebrating this year I hope you have the best day possible x I will hopefully see you sometime over the festive season with an overview of this years Glossybox Advent Calendar, and maybe another post or two, so from me to you, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas x
I promised a lot before Christmas, reviews, gift idea and more, but unsurprisingly in 2020, it just didn't happen. Life got in the way again, and the bad news train just kept on rolling on.
So here we are, it's Christmas Eve and whilst it will be pretty much business as usual for me, thanks to Covid it's going to be a strange one for a lot of people, who are unable to spend time with their friends and family over the holiday period, but whatever your plans now are, I hope that you all have the merriest Christmas possible x.
If things do get a little bit too much for you though, or if your alone and you need someone talk too, either get yourself on twitter, and find someone to talk to via Sarah Millican's #joinin event or call one of the numbers below x There is always someone there to listen x
So from my house to yours, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and hopefully I will see you after Christmas x
So this is it, after what seems like a never ending build up, the presents are wrapped, I'm wearing my new Christmas Pyjamas, and drinking mulled wine in front of The Muppets - it's Christmas Eve! So I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of you who are celebrating a very Merry Christmas, and as per usual I also want to take this opportunity to remind you that you are not alone this Christmas and that there is always somebody there to talk to so please keep a note of the numbers and websites below, and pleases share them on your social media channels x
As I say I hope you all have a great day tomorrow, whether you're celebrating or not, and I will see you after Christmas with some long overdue posts x
It's not only posts that have been thin on the ground this year, but hauls and specifically Primark hauls have been too. It's no secret that 2019 has been a bad one health wise for me but as I've already said I've also been trying to cut down on my spending, and I've also been trying to buy less and wear more, so my monthly Primark trips just haven't happened this year.
You know how it goes though, you don't go somewhere for ages and then all of sudden it seems like you live there! Well over the last 4 or so weeks I've managed 3 trips to Primark, including 2 in a week and whilst I've tried to be a little bit more selective about what I bought, I do have a few things to show you
First up the sale rails, now usually I can't do a lot with the sale rails in Primark, plus sizes are rare enough as it is without them being reduced but on two successive trips I picked up up two of the same tops, in two different colours.
Whilst they aren't t-shirts, they aren't quite jumpers either but they do have a soft, ribbed knit, almost jumper like feel. They aren't the thickest of tops for this time of year but they are ideal for layering, so you could either wear them with a vest underneath, or with a thicker cardigan on top, on even both if you're feeling cold. The first one that I picked up was in a lovely neutral beige, oatmeal marl type colour, and whilst the other one is officially described as dark orange, it more of a rusty, orange red marl. Both of these tops had originally been £6 but I got them for £3 each. They aren't that exciting but they're just a nice throw on basic.
Now when I'm at home, writing or just chilling, I'm very much a leggings girl, I love comfort, and I can't stand anything with zips or buttons, but I fancied a change, and I've so many girls looking casual yet effortlessly cool in joggers that I thought I'd give them a go. I tend to get quite overheated at times so I didn't want anything too thick even for the winter months, and whilst Primark do have a lot of chunky, and fleecy joggers in at the moment, these skinny fit ones that I picked up aren't quite as bulky, or weighty. There were a few different colours to choose from but I ended up steering away from my usual black and picking up a pair in a charcoal grey marl. They were only £5 and they definitely feel more expensive than that. I haven't worn them yet so I'll try and stick a pick on Instagram when I do.
One of the most frustrating things with any shop, but particularly with Primark is seeing something you like but they don't have your size, well that's what happened with these pyjamas. On Friday 13th in desperate need of cheering up, I dragged myself out and went Christmas shopping! I popped into Primark for a few bits, and I ended up in the nightwear section. As per usual if your looking for Christmas PJ's Primark is the place to go, they really do have something for everyone this year. I bought my mam a gorgeous floral nightshirt, and even though I'm officially PJ'd out, I couldn't resist picking up another pair.
Officially described as emerald green, in real life these pyjamas are in fact much more of a forest, bottle green. I think the colour way is really unusual, and I love the vintage floral and spot design on the pants. These particular pj's are from their sustainable cotton range, and they were only £6. On my first trip they didn't have my size but I went back on a whim and they been restocked - it was meant to be!
Now it wouldn't be Christmas with out some socks and some slippers, and this cute pair combine those two festive must haves. They are short slipper socks or footsies. With a lovely pink fluffy lining, and a grey velour outer, they are in a super cute mouse design. I love this type of slipper sock, and these were only £3.50
Next up some jewellery, and a couple of sets of earrings. This first pack is a set of 3, gold tone celestial earrings, featuring some crystal star shaped drops, some golden half moons and and some small, plain, gold tone ball studs. The drops are ideal for the party season but you could easily wear the other two pairs every day, no matter what the occasion. This particular set was £1.50.
Other this next set of earrings initially screams Christmas with the candy canes, festive bows, snowflakes and gingerbread characters, this set also contains a few pairs of plain red, faux pearl, and gold tone studs, bows and stars that you could wear all year round. This set was just £3 for 20 pairs of earrings.
Now if you are a regular reader of my blog, you'll more than likely have at least one empties post where I've sang the praises of Primark's PS... Cuticle Oil. I've lost count of how many bottles I've used up over the years, but it's safe to say it was one of my holy grail beauty products. I say was because in their wisdom Primark seem to have discontinued it.
I thought that all I had to do was go into store and pick up another four bottles or so, but it was nowhere to be seen. So instead I ended up buying the two products which I assume have replaced it.
The first one is the PS... Nourishing Cuticle Revive Nourishing Cuticle Oil Pens which £1 each.
Now although the glass bottles are great for home use, these twist up pens are a much better, and safer idea for holidays. All you do is twist the pen and eventually the oil comes out through the brush, all ready for you to brush onto your nails and cuticles.
Containing Vitamin A, and sweet almond oil, this is nice, almost fragrance free oil, that's easy to use and it absorbs quickly into the nails, making dry skin look better in an instant. I ended up buying two and I'm pleased that I did because I don't think that these pens will last that long compared to the old style bottles. As well as being made of plastic instead of glass each pen contains just 1.5ml of oil, compared to 10ml for just a £1 in the old style glass bottle.
If pens, and plastic aren't your thing though, on my second Primark trip, I found another cuticle oil, the PS...Nail & Cuticle Oil Nourishing Treatment which was £2 for an 11ml bottle. This one comes boxed, and it comes in a square glass bottle, with a glass, plastic, and rubber dropper, instead of the old style brush.
Containing very similar ingredients to the original oil such as avocado oil, almond oil, and Vitamin E, it's has a very similar consistency, but with a slightly stronger, sweeter, almost coconut scent. Again it absorbs quickly and it makes an immediate difference to the nails and cuticles.
I can't lie I do like the replacements, but I'm still of the opinion if it isn't broke don't fix it. Whilst both of these products are amazing value when you compare them to something like OPI Avoplex, they still work out a lot more expensive than Primark's original cuticle oil so whilst I'm still happy to be able to get my hands on a budget friendly cuticle oil, I'm still mildly aggrieved that they had to change it!
My final beauty buy was this super useful set of adhesive mirrors. For just £1 you get 10 mini self adhesive mirrors that are specifically designed to be stuck onto lipstick bullets, and make up palettes. So many many palettes now don't include mirrors, and these are a real time, and space saver in your handbag. I first saw these on Hayley Hall's blog and I'm seriously debating on whether to try and get another set.
Finally some Christmas bits - would you believe we still haven't finished putting up our Christmas decorations yet? The thing is we never just decorate one room, we decorate the whole house and as you can imagine that can take a while. Christmas decorations are like an addiction for me and Mummy Lou, and every year we can't resist adding more and more pieces to our already overflowing grotto esq house.
Whilst Primark have some gorgeous Disney bits in, I'm personally obsessed with their reindeer offerings. Every year they same to so similar but slightly different things, and the first thing that I got was this gold ceramic reindeer tree decoration which was £1.50. I have a standing one from a year or so ago, and a similar designed candle holder. I've popped him on the Christmas tree in the living room, and you can just about see him, amongst all of the dwarfs, woodland creatures, baubles, and holiday buys.
Next up another regular Christmas item, in previous years, I've got both a white version, and a rose gold, copper version of this ceramic reindeer tea light holder, and this year I picked up the silver, and silver glitter version. I'll probably be using mine with battery operated tea lights, but it actually comes with a real wax tea light, all for £1.50.
Finally another reindeer, and if you're brave enough or silly enough to be popping into Primark over the next couple then you might be able to get this one and maybe, the other bits in the sale. This was already reduced last week so you might be lucky. It's a decent sized white ceramic reindeer ornament, with gold detailing on the nose, antlers and the star. It's a really nice piece and it looks a lot more expensive than what it is. It was originally £6 but it had been reduced to £3
So that was a very late Primark haul for you x If you have any questions on any of the items that I picked up then please leave me a comment below x and I will see you tomorrow aka Christmas Eve with a little festive post xx
So as per usual this year, things haven't gone quite to plan today so instead of the summary of days 13 - 24 of the Glossybox All I Want Advent Calendar that I promised you, I thought I'd just write a super quick post to wish you all of you that are celebrating tomorrow a very Merry Christmas, I hope you have a good one and that Santa is good to you !
Christmas can be a stressful time though, emotions can come to a head, and of course everyday problems don't go away just because it's Christmas Day so please remember that you are not alone, and there is always someone there to listen x Here is a list of UK telephone numbers and websites if you need some help or just someone to talk to xx
I have a few more bits to do including watching The Muppets Christmas Carol and then I'm going to head to bed, and be nice and warm and cosy under my festive bedding, once I've removed the mountain of cushions that is! So I hope you all have a lovely day tomorrow whether you're celebrating or not, and I will probably see you later in the week with an advent calendar update, and don't forget to follow me on my other social media channels especially Instagram for some pictures of my day xxx
After weeks and weeks of thinking that it's too early I guess we can't hide from it now, Christmas really is on its way. My main tree has been up since last Saturday and believe it or not there are already a few presents underneath it.
I love buying presents almost as much, if not more, than I enjoy receiving them, I don't know what it is but in some people you can almost see a return to that childhood excitement as they tear off the wrapping paper. I love making the people that I love happy, and gifts can do exactly that.
Now I know that a lot of bloggers spend hours and hours producing gift guides, but to be honest I've never been one of them, gifting is a really personal thing, and what is someones stocking filler might be someone else's main present, so although they are often written with the best of intentions and personally I do love reading them, they can be a bit of a minefield, So instead what I like to do is share a few items with you that I think would make a good gift either for someone special in your life or just for that person who you want to say a little thank you to this holiday season.
I've been really good this year, and I've just about finished my Christmas shopping already, I only need a few more little things and then I'm done. As stressful as shopping can be at this time of year I still try to have a little browse and make it enjoyable, I love seeing what's out there and what the present and buying trends are and something that I've noticed a lot this year is the concept of a gift in the form of a Christmas decoration.
Specialised and Christmas packaging is nothing new, and it's something that's been around for as long as I can remember and probably way longer than that, but over the last few years I've noticed a real trend in truly decorative packaging. Look on any high street and you'll see biscuits, sweets and chocolates, packaged in decorative tins that you can reuse and display around the home, Christmas crackers, filled with beauty products, chocolates and candles, and of course lots of things that you can hang on the Christmas tree from make up palettes with built in hanging loops from the like of Maybelline and Laura Geller, (more on some of these to come) to specially designed packaging from say Benefit, Molton Brown or Burts Bees that are filled with your favourite treats. Gifting and decorations are now in some senses one the same, and nowhere is that more evident than with the humble Christmas bauble.
The stores at the moment are full of either metal, solid card or plastic tree decorations containing everything from jewellery, to fudge and chocolates, to candles, alcohol miniatures, and of course beauty products with the likes of Lancome, boohoo, Nails Inc, Baylis & Harding, and L'Occitane, and more, all selling fabulous, decorative and in most cases reusable tree decorations containing all of your favourite products.
I love the idea of a bauble containing a gift, they are brilliant for table gifts, or as stocking fillers and in this age of cutting down on waste, the fact that the majority or them are reusable means that you can either refill them for next year or you can continue using them in years to come to decorate your Christmas tree. We've already bought some of the gorgeous L'Occitane tin star ones this year which contain mini hand creams, and I know for a fact that they'll be well received by their recipients. Seeing as this is predominantly a beauty and fashion blog you might think that's what I'm going to review here, but you'd be wrong, I'm going to talk about a bauble containing one of my other loves -stationery!
I love stationery! Buying stationery is as exciting to me as buying a new lipstick or a new top, I love the stuff, and even though I have more than enough for probably a full classroom, I still can't stop buying it. At the moment NEXT have a lot of stationery bits in, both from Paperchase and from their own brand, and a few months ago now I bought a stationery set, in a plastic case, for £10 containing all sorts of rose gold, copper toned, pencils, paper clips, washi tape and pastel coloured push pins, sticky notes and magnets. £10 sounds a lot but in my opinion it was well worth it and it looks beautiful . It's still available online and in store so if you're into stationery then I would definitely consider it, but if you want something a little bit cheaper then one of my other recent buys, the NEXT Mini Stationery Set Bauble might be right up your street.
This cute bauble comes gift boxed and thanks to the clever design and the hanging loop poking through the box you can hang the whole thing on your tree. Open the box and you're greeted with a good sized clear plastic bauble, with a bright neon coral, orange ribbon hanging loop.
The two halves of the bauble snap easily apart and reseal so you can use it again. Inside the bauble there are 5 different stationery pieces in tonal pinks, corals, and coppery rose golds.
The bauble contains a coral, almost neon peach orange pad of heart shaped sticky notes, a rose gold / copper toned bulldog clip, and 3 rose gold / copper toned heart shaped paper clips, which match the ones in the other set perfectly.
The set also contains a copper / rose gold wrapped pencil eraser, and the cutest mini neon pink highlighter pen, and finally the most exciting thing for me a roll of fabulous silver glitter encrusted washi style sticky tape.
Lets not beat about the bush if you were to split it down item for item I don't think that this set which is priced at £4 probably represents the best value for money, but the products are nice, and decent quality, and I personally will use every single one of them, throw in the fact that the bauble itself is reusable (I intend to fill it with sweeties for Mummy Lou this year) then I don't think this is too bad a gift, either as a secret Santa, or a table gift, or as a stocking filler for the stationery lover in your life. Let me know in the comments and if you have any other stationery inspired stocking filler ideas I'd love to hear them x
Where on earth does time go, it doesn't seem like two minutes since I was craving an Indian summer, and now? well the gritters are out and it's only 5 weeks until Christmas - Argh! This year has flown by but the last few months in particular seem to have passed by in a blur. Despite picking up the odd bit here and there I haven't managed a proper shopping trip in quite a while now. In fact the last time I went into Primark was either at the end of September or at the beginning of October! See, it's been so long I can't even remember when it was!
For me though it was a long time ago, and a good Primark trip is well overdue but before that happens (hopefully next week!) I think I better show you the bits that I picked up way back when, which have been living in a carrier bag for a few months now.
On several of my previous Primark trips, I'd picked up a couple of their crew neck t-shirts and for the price I was really impressed with both the fit and the length, so after a recent, major wardrobe clear out I decided to fill a few gaps in my wardrobe and pick up some more basic, stretch, long sleeve t-shirts.
The first one that I got was in a classic navy blue, and like the previous shirts that I'd picked up, it has a softly rounded, crew style neckline.
I couldn't find too many shirts in the crew neck style this time round so I decided to try a few tops in some their different neckline options. This gorgeous dark, forest green t-shirt comes with a deeper, scoop neck,
and this classic black t-shirt comes with quite a low cut v neckline.
For just £3.50 each I think that these t-shirts are excellent value. They all have a good stretch to them, and the length is excellent. I can't stand short tops, I'm not big on flashing the flesh and my wobbly bits, I'm long in the body and I wear a lot of jeggings and leggings, so long line tops are a must have for me, and despite not been marketed as long line, these tops definitely cover my muffin top. You can probably see if from the pictures but I do think that the black top is at least a couple of centimetres shorter and whilst it's fine, I might try and stick to the crew and scoop necked tops in the future for that bit of extra coverage.
To be honest I went into Primark all of those months ago purely with the aim of picking up some basic tops, and once I'd got them I wasn't too fussed about picking anything else up, so I didn't really examine every single clothes rail like a normally do, and the only other clothing item that I picked up was this Miffy sleep tee.
I do love a bit of Miffy and since I managed to get rid of a few sleepwear bits in my recent clothing clear out, I thought that I could justify adding this oversize sleep tee to my sleepwear wardrobe. It was just £5 which I think is pretty decent. The fabric feels nice against the skin, and it has a printed label inside rather than a tag. It's often the little things that sell something to me, and with my creepy crawly, medication and chronic illness, induced skin, the lack of fabric tags on nightwear is a godsend.
That was it for clothing, and seeing as I'm going through another ebay jewellery love in, nothing really appealed in the jewellery and accessories section so I headed to the ever expanding beauty section and bought something that I'd seen in a lot of both Instagram and blog posts.
Taking inspiration from Too Faced's Sweet Peach collection, Primark have recently introduced their own range of peach inspired make up, and being as obsessed with blusher, highlighter and cheek colours as I am, I couldn't resist picking up the Cheeky Peachy Blush & Highlight Palette.
The solid cardboard palette, comes with a magnetic fastening and contains three heart shaped cheek colours, Peach Twist, a golden, champagne highlighter, Peachin', a matte bright peach, coral blush and Sweet Peach, a light peachy, pink blush.
All of the colours are embossed with cute little faces, and like the Too Faced version they have a nice, sweet peachy, fruity scent. They don't just look good though, as you can hopefully see from my swatches, the pigmentation is pretty decent, and these cheek colours have a nice soft feel, and blend easily. For me this palette is well worth the £4 that I paid for it, I know I keep saying but Primark really have upped their beauty game this year and I hope that we can look forward to even more affordable beauty treats in 2018.
So that was it for beauty but I did pick up a couple of home things including yet another candle. I'm slightly obsessed with candles, and just about every month I seem to pick up some form of scented candle, and the latest addition to my extensive candle collection is this Jewelled Satin Scented Candle which was £2.
I'm not going to lie, I was drawn to this one because of the gorgeous, matte plum coloured mini Kilner style jar that it comes in! I love mini things and I'm quite excited to start filling it up with something, I don't know what yet but we'll see once I've finished burning the candle, maybe paper clips or earrings, who knows? Although it's pretty small, this warm fruity, floral scented candle has an estimated burn time of around 15 hours so I'll have a little while to wait yet to reuse the jar but I'm sure I'll enjoy the almost fine fragrance in the meantime.
The last thing that I got in this haul from long ago, was a Christmas item, and it's another reindeer. Reindeer's are everywhere this year and since I already have a couple of the Primark deer tea light holders (see my most recent addition here) I had to pick up this super cute, and stylish tree decoration.
In a right on trend, gorgeous coppery, rose gold, ceramic, this super sweet chubby reindeer bauble was just £1.50, but I have to say it looks a lot more expensive than that. If you like him, then I would recommend that you have a little watch of one of my latest You Tube videos. It's an exclusive home, home fragrance, Christmas, lifestyle and stationery haul, and it features some very affordable ceramic, chubby reindeer ornaments and tea light holders. You can watch it below of via this link.
So that was it, a small and very late Primark haul. I didn't buy a lot but I was pleased with everything that I bought which I guess is the object of the exercise. If you're interested I've also uploaded an accompanying video to my You Tube channel, so if you want to find out a bit more about the products and why I bought them, then check it out below, or via this link, and don't forget to subscribe to my You Tube channel while you're there, I upload a lot of hauls and unboxing and I'm definitely going to be mixing it up a bit in 2018 so make sure your subscribed so you don't miss a thing.
As I say I'm hoping to go into Newcastle next week, and whilst my major aim will be to do a bit of Christmas shopping, I am thoroughly intending to treat myself to a few bits. If you have any questions on my videos or on any of the items that I've bought then please leave me a comment and I will try and get back to you asap, and don't forget you can also contact me on Twitter, I'm @LouLou699 so make sure your following me if you aren't already x Thanks for reading and I'll see you sometime in the next few days with a long overdue nails of the day post x
