Well the big day is nearly here, it's Christmas Eve, the presents are all wrapped, I'm watching Muppets Christmas Carol and the mulled wine is going down a treat.
No epic post from me tonight I'm afraid, I just want to take this opportunity to wish all of my followers that celebrate it, a very Merry Christmas x
As much as I love Christmas, this year it will tinged with sadness, as we remember those that we've lost this year. Just because it's a special day it doesn't mean that life's troubles and problems miraculously disappear. Christmas can be very hard for some people but myself and numerous other bloggers are here to remind you that you are not alone. If you need help, advice or even if you just want to some to talk to, there will always be someone there to listen x
Hi Guys x Happy Friday x I hope you've all had a lovely week x It's been a hectic one here in LouLouLand culminating in a trip to the hairdressers to get my shetland pony like locks trimmed and today. I've been so busy this week that blogging has definitely taken a back seat so I'm only going to manage to squeeze in a couple of posts before Christmas including this one, an overdue home and fragrance haul.
If you're a new reader, then you'll soon learn that I'm slightly obsessed with candles and home fragrancing. I love wearing fragrance and smelling nice so I guess it's only natural that I want my home to smell as good as I do, and when your a pet owner sometimes a bit of room spray isn't a luxury, it's a necessity!
Whilst I have my favourite all year round scents at Christmas time, if it's even the slightest bit festive then bring it on. One of my favourite places to buy Christmas home fragrancing products is NEXT. I'm absolutely in love with their Fesitive Spice fragrance, it's full of fruit and Christmas spices, and it makes the house smell fabulous. As soon as the Christmas catalohue comes out - I stock up and this year I may have gone gone slightly daft.
Something that I always buy are the Festive Spice Reed Diffusers. We usually have one in the landing, one in my room, one in the dinning room, and one in the lounge, so I've bought quite a few. They are available in a couple of sizes this year including the absolutely huge, Christmas Tree shaped one that you can see above which is £16, and the smaller one below which is £6.50.
I know not everybody likes candles, so diffusers are a great alternative, and their great for continuous home fragrancing. Another good alternative to candles, and something that is a real essential in my house is room spray. There are room sprays though and their are room sprays. Some are pretty horrid and synthetic but NEXT's Festive Spice Room Spray is a good one and you can really smell all of the fruity and spicy notes. Sorry I don't have a picture but it was just £5. It comes in a pump action, glass bottle, and a little goes a long way, a couple of squirts are more than enough to fragrance a large room in an instant.
I still a little bit of last years Festive Spice candle left but I couldn't resist picking this one up.
Based on previous experience NEXT candles are pretty decent and this is a soy based, 3 wick candle that has the same beautiful Festive Spice fragrance which I love. What really sold this candle to me though was the packagaing. Packaged in a beautiful red glass holder, the holder iteself comes with a gorgeous cut out, Rob Ryan style, silver tone metal design overlay.
I do love my Festive Spice, but this year NEXT have really spoilt us when it comes to holiday home fragrancing. One of their newest scents is Mulled Wine. In one of my previous home hauls (read it here) I got one of the Mulled Wine candles in a mini set and I loved it so I had to buy the full size.
Packaged in beautiful and so on trend, red mercury glass jar, this candle has a fruity, spicy, sweet scent that reminds you of Christmas with just one sniff. As I said previously this was very similar to Yankee Candles Mulled Wine scent and at just £7 it was a bargain to boot.
I must admit I automatically lean towards more foodie, spicy and fruity scents at Christmas but some people I know love fresher and greener scents. Well if that is more to your taste then Next definitely have something for you.
This small diffuser which was just £5 comes in their Festive Spruce scent. If you prefer these greener, pine scents, this is definitely the one to try/ We have a fake Christmas tree so I'm planning to put this diffuser behind the tree so you get that real tree scent without the mess and the hassle.
As well as home fragrancing bits I've also a couple of other home things from NEXT recently including this super cute graphic alphabet cushion x
I love alphabet and text related things and I love cushions so this is a great combo, the letter L is printed on to a white cotton / canvas feel fabric, and the reverse of the cushion is in plain, short pile, black velvet. It was just £12 and it also includes the cushion pad.
As well as the cushion I also couldn't resist getting one of these little cute, wooden Monogram LED lights. Unfortunately these don't appear in the video towards the end of this post but I couldn't resist showing you them anyway. These letters are just £6 and they come with batteries and a hanging loop, in case you want to hang it on the wall or on the Christmas tree. I think these are really cute and I may have got a couple for some friends from Santa ;)
Although I keep trying to branch out, one candle brand that I just keep coming back to is Yankee Candles, and I've got yet another Yankee Candles haul to show you know.
First up is the festive addition of the Yankee Candle Seasonal Hamper that I got from QVC UK. This was my third auto delivery of four and this was the one that i was really looking forward to.
The hamper itself has almost a creamy, cable knit type of finish and it comes complete with a little pom pom key ring or bag charm.
The hamper contains 12 Yankee Candle votives, in 6 different fragranced In this particular set you get 2 in Red Apple Wreath, 2 in Macaron Treats, 2 In Winter Glow, 2 in Festive Cocktail, 2 in Star Anise and Orange and 2 in All Is Bright.
You also get two boxes of 12 tea lights, in both the Festive Cocktail and the All Is Bright Fragrances as well as 2 red glass bucket holders to burn your candles in.
I've loved receiving these hampers over the last few months, and I've really enjoyed trying all of the new fragrances, and I'm already looking forward to the last shipment in January. I'm really hoping that QVC and Yankee Candles do something similar next year. In the meantime though I think that this particular hamper is still available on the QVC UK website if your interested in trying it out for yourself x
As you might, if you've read my Royal Quays beauty haul post (see it here) then you'll know that I also visited Boundary Mill in nearby Shiremoor. Boundary Mill stocks pretty much everything from clothes and kitchen wear, to dried fruit and candles, and since they have an amazing Yankee Candle selection, I ended up buying a few bits including a rare double wick tumbler in Australian Eucalyptus and a couple of wax melts in Mango Peach Salas and in Vanilla Chai.
Melts or tarts are a really quick way of giving the room a real fragrance hit. In a small room like my bedroom, I normally only leave them on for about 5 minutes but you can melt them for as long as you like. You just need either a specific melt warmer or oil burner and a unscented tea light, and now if you aren't a fan of naked flames you can even get electric melt warmers which are probably a little bit safer.
Speaking of electric I'd wanted the next item that I'm going to show you for the longest time. They make look like a normal plug in air freshener but these are Yankee Candle plug ins. You basically buy the plug in unit and then you can buy a whole range of refills which come in some of your favourite Yankee scents. I went for this lilac, blue plug in and I also bought a duo pack of refills in my favourite Lemon Lavender scent. Basically you just plug, them in switch them on and leave them to gradually fragrance your home, while your at work, or even sound asleep. There are 3 different setting strengths to choose from so you can have as much or as little fragrance as you like.
If you're a fan of the fragrance of Yankee Candles but again you don't like the idea of a naked flame, then you could try one of their latest innovations, Fragrance Spheres.
I picked these up in both the Lemon Lavender, Red Raspberry which you can see here and in the Cranberry Pear fragrances.
What they are, are little plastic pots which are filled with fragranced gel like spheres, all do is unscrew the lid, peel back the foil and screw the lid back on and voila up to a month or so of fragrance, wherever and whenever you want it. They are basically just posh gel air fresheners that come in all of your favourite Yankee scents, and if you have a cat little tray, or a shoe cupboard or a cloakroom, then these are a must.
I know this has been a pretty long post but hopefully you're still with me, anyways I only have a couple more things to show you including this lovely, mercury and frosted glass candle.
I picked this up from a local garden centre, and although it was in with their Christmas bits, this is something that I will be keeping out all year round. The silvers and lilacs go perfectly with my room, and I love the star detail. I think it's too pretty to use it with real candles so I'll probably be using it with battery operated tea lights. The final thing that I got was this metal hanging plaque from Boohoo.
I know a lot of people find inspirational quotes quite cheesy but personally I'm a huge fan, what can i say sometimes I just need a bit of positive reinforcement. This is one favourite quotes and I really helps me to remind myself that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and there is always something to be positive about x
I've made a little (okay a very long!) video to accompany this haul which you can either see below or via this link.
If you have any questions on anything in this haul then please leave me a comment and let me know.
I'm late, I'm late for a very important date! Well I'm not really I'm just so far behind with life that it's untrue. I still haven't wrapped all of my Christmas presents, I still haven't sent any cards and my festive blogging plans of gone completely out of the window!
I have a pretty busy week ahead but I'm still going to try and squeeze in as many posts and videos as I can, and unlike a lot of bloggers I probably won't be taking any time off social media throughout the holidays, so if you fed up of all those repeats on the TV, you'll probably find some new content from me to amuse you x
Today though I've got another haul for you, and today it's a teeny, tiny very belated Primark haul. In fact that one is so late I already have another one in the pipeline. I've been trying to be good and buy for other people over the last month or so, and whilst I've definitely done that I've also picked up a few bits for myself! What can I say? I love shopping whether it's for family and friends or for myself.
First up something super festive, this ridiculously cute reindeer t- shirt! I do love a Christmas jumper but when your cooking and wrapping presents it can get a little bit toasty, so I also have a few Christmas themed t-shirts in my collection. This believe it or not is the size 20 and it's still a little on the snug side, the sizing is definitely a bit off with these so if you can, go up a size or two. They only had a couple of these when I was in the Intu Metrocentre store yesterday, but they did have a few other designs including the ever popular "Mince Pies Before Guys" which like this one was just £2.50.
In keeping with the reindeer theme I couldn't resist picking up yet another pair of Christmas earrings. I've bought so many pairs over the years but by the time the festive season comes round I can never find them x These are just chunky reindeer head studs and they were just £1. If you're still after some festive earrings take my advice and get a move on. Primark had virtually nothing Christmas related left yesterday and a few other stores were pretty much out of festive jewellery as well. I'm still after some snowmen to go with my Christmas day outfit and some Christmas puddings, so if you seen any around while you've been perusing the UK high street then leave me a comment and let me know x
I said this was a small haul and I only bought one other thing that was vaguely fashion related, a blanket wrap. I love all of the browns, tans and autumnal shades in this one and I can't wait to team it up with some skinny jeans and some brown or tan boots. I already have a grey checked one but I don't actually wear it that often because it keeps falling off my shoulders! That one has sleeves where as this one is more of a true wrap. I'm hoping that it will be a bit more flexible, and I'll be able to just wrap and go, we'll see though! This was just £10 and it has a good weight to it, they have a couple of more different patterns and colours though if this one isn't too your taste x
The final two items that I bought were both beauty related x I've been experimenting with my lip colour a little bit lately and whilst I think I'll always stay fairly true to my nudes and pale pinks, I've been playing with wines, reds and even purples and I've actually been enjoying the experience. The only trouble is with darker and more dramatic shades is the application. With a more neutral colour it's pretty easy just to apply it straight from the bullet, and whilst I know plenty of people who can do that with a more standout shade I'm not one of them. My lips aren't that even so I always tend to look as though I've been eating a jam doughnut! My only options therefore are to stock up on lip pencils and to dig out a lip brush or two.
I'm a huge fan of the Primark PS brushes, and this set of 3 Lip Brushes, was just £3, or if you want to look at it another way, just £1 per brush!
The set contains three different shaped lip brushes, with the signature rose gold tone, ferrule, and the matte black handles.
You get an angled precision brush, and an angled cupids bow brush to create that perfect outline and you also get a more domed tip brush to fill in your lips.
The final thing that I got was something that I've been debating whether or not to try for a long time, a make up cleansing cloth.
This type of product has been on the market for a little while now at a lot of rapidly differing, price points. The concept is simple it's a cloth usually made from a micro fibre or a velour, that you can use to remove your make up. Where these cloths differ though from a bog standard muslin or micro fibre cloth is that with these you supposedly don't need any form of facial cleanser, you just need warm water.
This cloth was just £1.50 and for that you get a pretty pink, super soft, edged micro fibre cloth. I haven't tried it yet but even if it doesn't work with just water, I can still use it alongside a cleansing cream or a balm. I'll probably stick something up on either my Instagram (I'm @LouLou699) or on my Snapchat ( I'm durhamloulou) to let you know my thoughts when I've had a chance to try it x
So that was it, short and very sweet, the complete opposite of me lol. I've managed to upload a little video to my You Tube channel to accompany this haul, which you can see here or below x
Don't forget to subscribe to my You Tube channel for lots of bits and pieces that don't always appear on my blog, including my most most recent exclusive, a Festive Body Shop Haul x Don't forget to get my know if you've spied any Christmas earrings on your travels, and of course if you have any questions leave me your musings below xx
Hi Guys x I've got another long overdue haul for you today and this one is all about bargain beauty bits. A few weeks ago now me, my godmother and some of her friends went on a coach trip. Call me old and boring if you like but personally I'm all for coach trips, even if I was the youngest person on the coach by about 20 years.
Our destination was not one but two of the North East premier outlet shopping areas - Royal Quays, which is an outdoor outlet centre with all kinds of unusual and high street stores, and Boundary Mill, which is a huge store that sells everything from Jaegar, to Evans, to Yankee Candles, and Kitchenware. I mainly went to make a dent in my Christmas shopping but I did buy myself a few home bits in Boundary Mills (blog post to come), and a few beauty bits in Royal Quays.
It was a freezing cold day, and being so close to both the coast and the River Tyne, only the hardiest shoppers were braving the icy blasts of Royal Quays. Nothing warms my heart though then spotting a Beauty Outlet store. Unfortunately this wasn't one of the CCO (Cosmetic Company Outlets) that are owned by Estee Lauder, but after visiting their Dalton Park store earlier in the year, I knew that something would be sure to catch me eye.
If you like nail polishes these stores are well worth a look, one wall in this particular branch was covered in nail polishes for brands including, W7, Essie, OPI, Revlon and Nails Inc. It really was like a polish rainbow and although I saw several polishes that I really liked, I was good and just picked the one shade from Nails Inc.
This is the shade Edwards Mews and I think it's one of their polka dot colours, that you can either wear on it's own or over the top of other colours. It's a clear polish that contains lots of semi matte, small pieces of round glitter in black, pale blue, pale peachy, lemon and an orange. I love polishes like this and I regularly use them to revive a tired manicure or add a bit of interest of a ring finger. I can't seem to find this polish online more so it's obviously a discontinued shade but it was only £2.99 so I'm not complaining.
To be honest I could have spent a lot longer in their looking around, it really is an Aladdin's cave for beauty junkies, but because was some slightly less beauty obsessed people I tried to be as I could. A couple of display stands catch me eye though including one, with a whole load of Clarins boxes on it.
I couldn't resist a little peek and I came up trumps..
I don't own a lot of Clarins items but something that I have always using is the lipsticks. A little while ago now their Joli Rouge Long - Wearing Moisturising Lipstick range was given a bit of a makeover, the packaging changed and a lot of the shades were discontinued. The Royal Quays Beauty Outlet store had such a huge selection of colours to choose from on the old style, silver packaging that there really was a colour to suit everyone.
The colour I ended up going for is one of the shades that has been completely discontinued, 709 Parisian Pink.
This is one of those beautiful blue based pinks that suits most skin tones and ages. In fact my godmother who is in her mid 80's even bought the same colour.
This lipstick has a subtle fruity, rose scent and taste, and whilst it isn't the most hydrating lipstick I've ever worn, unlike a lot of long wear lip colours it doesn't leave your lips feeling like the Sahara Desert. The pigmentation is excellent and I've already worn this lipstick an awful lot, it's just the perfect Louise colour! Apologies that I haven't managed to snap a picture of this one on my lips but the winter light is definitely working against me. Hopefully the swatch below will give you some idea, and if you want to see it on my lips, then have a watch of most recent unboxing videos here and here x
The final thing that I bought in the Beauty Outlet store was a product that literally made my heart skip a beat, when i saw it.
I've been lucky enough over the years to pick up quite a few Wet 'n' Wild items from both swaps and from friends and family travelling to the states, and I've picked up the odd bit on eBay but for whatever reason this is one of the brands that's yet to make it's way across the Atlantic. I already have one of the 8 pan Color Icon Eyeshadow Palettes in the neutral toned Comfort Zone which I love but i always wanted the plum toned Petal Pusher.
With eBay and Amazon prices pushing £17 for what in essence is a drugstore palette, I'd just about given up hope of ever owning this one, but nestling at the end of one of the larger display stands was a small selection of US brands including Covergirl and Wet 'n' Wild.
I literally snatched it off the shelf and took it straight to the till and boy am I glad I did, and I was even happier still when I found out if was reduced to just £2. It contains a lovely mix of matte, shimmer, and out and out sparkly shades in some beautiful pink, purple, plum and grey shades. The pigmentation is pretty decent for the price and I can honestly say that there is only one shade, a matte warm, white that didn't live up to my expectations.
If you have a Beauty Outlet store near you I would definitely recommend that check them out if you haven't already. They do have a website (find it here) which seems to be under construction at the moment but you can sign up to their newsletter to find out when they go live. I have my fingers crossed for an online store but in the meantime, I can definitely see myself visiting my local stores again in 2017.
Other than the Beauty Outlet store, Royal Quays is a touch lacking if beauty is your thing but they do have one other store that I couldn't resist going into, The Body Shop Outlet.
I love The Body Shop at the best times but you know me if I can save a bit of money bring it on. They had a lot of bits and pieces including past season Christmas items, and some current lines but I headed straight towards the Cocoa Butter. I love The Body Shop Cocoa Butter range but as I mentioned in a previous post, it is becoming harder and harder to find! I looked on The Body Shop website today and they only have one product from the Cocoa Butter range in stock! I've been told by a couple of staff members that as far as they are aware the range is not being discontinued but unless they're having some supplier or packaging issues, it isn't looking good.
Thankfully the outlet had a few bits in stock so I but a few bits to keep me going, including this duo pack which contained a 250ml Shower Cream, and a 250ml Body Lotion, which was just £8.40 instead of £12. Not a huge saving I know but these are two of my holy grail products.
I also managed to pick a full size of one of the Cocoa Butter Body Butters - Apologies I can't remember how much this was but it was slightly less than retail. I really hope that the range isn't been discontinued and I'm going to keep asking until I get a firm answer. You can read why The Body Shop Cocoa Butter range is my Holy Grail in this post from way back in 2011 x
I've made a little video to accompany this haul which you can see below or via this link. Don't forget to subscribe to my You Tube channel, for lots of beauty and lifestyle videos, and some exclusive content including some unboxings, and coming soon an exclusive festive haul from The Body Shop.
I'm a bit of a bargain hunter so I do love a bit of outlet shopping when I get the chance. It's very much a case of you pays your money you makes your choice, sometimes you can get a real bargain and you could buy everything, and sometimes you'll come home empty handed it really is the luck of the drawer. Are you a fan of outlet shopping? Let me know your thoughts x
