Goodbye 2011....hello 2012....

What a year! I've had so many highlights of 2011....here's my top 5:

1) Landing a job in PR. This time last year I was working in an (bloody amazing) shop with no real prospects in life. 12 months on and I’ve got 10 months experience as a PR Assistant and think I know what I want to do with the rest of my life. Wow that sounds a bit grown up!

2) Sun, sea and pyramids. My holiday to Cyprus with mum and dad was bloody amazing, it’s the first time I’ve ever got holiday blues after a trip away. To top it all off I saw the pyramids, which was an experience I’ll never forget.

3) Remaining single. This sounds an odd one, but apart from a brief ‘relationship’ in February/March of this year, I’ve been young free and single, and enjoying all of the non complicated, alcohol consuming, friend filled fun that comes with it. This time last year I’d have thought not having a boyfriend was the end of the world. Oh how wrong I was!

4) General banter-filled nights out with the girls. I started and ended the year partying with Sian , and all the time in between I was practically joined at the wine drinking hip with Steph. Throw in lots of birthday festivities, a few Easter bank holidays to remember, trips back to Lincoln to see the Uni girls, and I have some seriously amazing memories (of what I can remember!).

5) You lot. This time last year I didn’t even know what a blog meant. 174 followers and a WHOLE load of blog posts later and I’ve got an amazing network of beauty and fashion loving friends on here and over on Twitter. I bloody love you all, and sharing my finds and experiences on here over the past 10 months has (cheesy as it sounds) been amazing, and I can’t wait to carry it on in 2012!

Here's a collection of some of the best moments of 2011, and I'll see you all in 2012 for more of the same!

Happy New Year everyone, have a good one!!

Loves

xxx

Top products of 2011....

Well as my blog is still a baby and less than a year old, I've spent a lot of the past 10 months discovering lots of new things so here's what I recon come top of the 2011 class (warning: it's a biggie!)


Haircare: KMS California came in one of this years Glossybox's and has turned into my go-to product for putting through the ends of my (towel dried) hair to not only help protect it from heated appliances but to help lock in colour. Batiste XXL Volume needs no other introduction other than to say I LOVE this and were I to (painstakingly) put the entire contents of this blog into some sort of order, it would probably come out top! And lastly my good old tangle teezer: not just a normal hair brush!

Skincare: This moisturiser has been one of my products of the last few years but I'm still in a long term relationship with it therefore I though I'd better include it. No other moisturiser has touched my skin for the past 12 months. The Body Shop night cream has been a revelation after switching from an all purpose moisturiser to a separate one for day and night. Oh and as for a little extra in my skin care - Soap and Glory Scrub Your Nose In It. I challenge you to find a better drug store exfoliater! 

Makeup: I'll try and keep this simple as there are SO many. For face it has to be the Benefit Porefessional along with the Revlon Photo Ready foundation, my bobby brown corrector and the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer. I've loved Topshops bronzer in global for most of the year, and been blushing with the aid of Vivo blush (not sure on the colour) and MeMeMe in coral throughout the summer months. My favourite eye products of the year have to be HD brows thanks (again) to GlossyBox, Bourjois Volumizer mascara and the Maybelline gel eyeliner pot. Lips is a tough one but it has to be the Lush lip scrub which has been a life saver, along with my Mac lipstick in Saint Germain and Topshop lipstick in Brighton Rock. I've only just started getting into brushes, but my favourite are the stippling brush and powder brush from the Samantha Chapman Real Techniques range, and my Mac 217. 

Perfume: My signature scent has continued to be Burberry, but I'd say my ultimate perfume of the year has to be D&G 10. 

What has everyone else loved in the year of 2011? Have any of these products made your top lists?

Loves

xxx

Christmas Day....

I now there will be lots of these posts floating around over the next few days, but I thought I'd pop one up anyway....and it's very picture heavy!

I wore this on Christmas Eve when I went out with the girls, just my Lipsy playsuit with some socks and my Topshop Allegras. 

I wore this on Christmas Day, and you know it's a special occasion when I get the sparkles out!

My lip of the day was my Lip Rock that came free with a magazine a few months ago, it's a deep red with some serious glitter in it!

My Christmas nails were (predictably) Razzle Dazzle by Debra Lipman with a H&M gold on my ring finger. 

Our Christmas table

Mum doing the dinner

Santa's been!

This was my main present this year, and I was NOT expecting it at all! I start my photography course in January so I've got a camera to take with me and I'll hopefully be able to practice a lot over the next few days as I'm off work until the 3rd of January so expect lots of photo heavy blog posts!

The rest of my presents

And of course Christmas dinner!

All rounded off nicely with mince pies and tea in the Starbucks Christmas mugs!

Hope you all had lovely Christmases, what Santa bring everyone?

Loves

xxx

Ootd...Girl with the Dragon Tattoo jacket and denim shorts....

There seems to be a lot of ootd’s at the moment doesn’t there?! I’ve literally had no free time while it’s been daylight so not had time to take pictures for reviews and fotd’s but hopefully over Christmas I’ll get lots done!

This week has been so busy, but with it being the week before Christmas you’d guess it would be! I met up with the girls this week for out annual present swapping tradition. We went to Frankie and Bennies and gossiped about everyone being back from university, our jobs, and all the other usual stuff.

I clearly didn’t fancy embracing the Christmassy vibe at all, and wore a bit of a dark combo. This is the jacket I got in H&M from the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo collection and I love it!

Jacket: H&M

Jumper & long necklace: Miss Selfridge

Shorts: Forever 21

Tights & headband: Primark

Boots: Step in style

Short necklace: Topshop

I look a tiny bit orange here but it was probably a case of slapping some makeup on over what I was already wearing, and my odd lighting in my bedroom. My lipstick is one of the Double Hit Lips from the new Look Beaty range and I love it, it’s the exact shade I’ve been searching for high and low for ages!

Hope everyone’s excited for Santa coming!

Loves

xxx

Pie, cocktails and H&M collections....

Hey lovelies, sorry it's been a while since I've posted....I don't really have an excuse I guess I've just been 'busy'. If you follow me on twitter you'll have seen I went to visit Matt in Birmingham to cook him pie, go out and see his new flat. While I was there, I thought I might as well pop into the H&M to take a look at the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo collection, after I saw it was ALL SOLD OUT online! I wanted pretty much everything from the entire collection, but I ended up with just the grey hoody and their denim jacket with leather sleeves....

Then came pie....

Then we got all ready and headed out in Birmingham for cocktails and dancing....

I wore my H&M dress I got last year (rarely wear a dress out of work so that was weird for me!) with black tights and my black Allegra's and my Mark B clutch from TK Maxx. 

I fell in love with this from Topshop and thought it was a real statement piece! 

Me and Matt enjoying our cocktails :)

Hope you've all had a fab weekend!

Loves

xxx

Top five highlighters....

I recently had a bit of a sort out of my makeup and discovered a LOT of products I didn't realise I had, and decided to sort out the good from the bad, so here comes a series of 'Top 5' products in my collection, this time it's going to be highlighters. 

(l -r  Sleek Contour Kit, Me Me Me Beat the Blues, Body Shop Baked Bronzer in light)

(l-r Famous by Sue Moxley in pale pink, Vivo highlighter)

I tend to swap and change between these five at the moment, my current favourite is the Famous by Sue Moxley one, I think this was originally supposed to be a blush but as you can see from the swatches underneath, it's far too light for that on my skin tone. 

The Sleek contour kit is quite a harsh highlight, but it's my favourite for a night out. 

Me Me Me Beat the Blues is an amazing dupe of Benefit High Beam and I love it under my brow bone to really highlight my eyes. 

Again, the Body Shop bronzer was initially supposed to be a bronzer but I bought the light version by accident and discovered it made a gorgeous highlight, although maybe more of a summery bronze highlight than one for the winter months. 

Finally, my latest discovery is the Vivo highlight, which for the price (I think it was around £6) and the size of the tube, is amazing value for money and such a gorgeous shimmery cream highlight with a subtle gold/pink shimmer.

(l -r Sleek Contour Kit, Me Me Me Beat the Blues, Body Shop Baked Bronzer in light)

(l r Famous by Sue Moxley in pale pink, Vivo highlighter)

What are your favourite highlighters?

Loves

xxx