What I got for Christmas 2014

Hey my lovelies

So I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and you all got lots of nice things, but let's take a moment to remember the real meaning of Christmas, it's not all about the presents and the turkey dinner, it is about spending time with family, friends and loved ones and making memories that last a lot longer than a lipstick will.

Just want to get this out of the way, as I know it’s the done thing on blogs and youtube, this post is not bragging or showing off, I have wonderful friends and family who know me very well indeed, and the gifts from my husband, most I asked for and some he bought himself, but we buy gifts from June onwards and save hard, so we treat ourselves! Why not I say.

On to what you really came here to see! I will split it up into skincare, make up and other bits!

SKINCARE

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish

I was running out of my amazing Liz Earle cleanse and polish, if any of you are looking for a gentle but good cleanser that really gets everything off, I can really recommend this, I can see why it has the cult status it has. Christmas night was great, getting the make up and cleansed with this!!

My skin has become combination now, if you have read my previous posts on any skincare items you will see that most of the time my skin can get very dry, I have been putting this down to medication but for some reason I have reverted back to the crazy oily t zone, so I really had to look for something else. I am a firm believer if you spend your money on keeping your skin good then you can get away with cheaper makeup.

Origins Products

 I have heard a lot about Origins as a brand and I went and talked with the girl in my local store. We decided on the following for my skin:

10 minute rescue mask

She said this would help balance out my skin and I will admit the first time I used it after a thorough cleanse, my skin felt wonderful and soft and I definitely saw a difference

Modern Friction Gentle Exfoliator

She said that I needed something gentle as I had combo skin and redness etc, she suggested this and I used it the other night and it has an oaty texture which I was unsure of, but the results were great

Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask

This was actually a free gift because Scott had spent over a certain amount of money, so that was a bonus, she said this would be good for only my tzone, I haven’t tried this out yet, but I have heard lots of great reports about it, so looking forward to trying it this week

MAKE UP

As you all know I started a MAC palette not that long ago, I want a range of neutrals and smokey eye colours, if any of you have any cult faves let me know!

I already had wedge and all that glitters, and wanted a base shimmery colour, a matte brown and a grey shimmer for a smokey eye. I ended up getting shroom, sable and knight divine. Shroom got battered a bit in the car accident we had, you can check my youtube channel out for updates on that, so I was annoyed it had a little mark on it,

I had been lusting after the MAC Soft and Gentle Skinfinish for ages after it had been used on me after trying foundations in store one day, its very very pretty and when I tried it on I liked it, but it is definitely something that you need a light hand for, I would never think of putting it over my whole face, I just used it for highlighting.

I saw the holiday collection brush sets online in MAC and really wanted one, but at the price I thought would it be worth it, so when we were in Belfast shopping I looked at it and the brushes yes are small but very usable, scott kindly got this for me, and it is so pretty, I got the duo fibre face brushes as it was mainly the 187 I was after, The bag they come in is stunning! I am going to use it as a pencil case for uni next year, as in all honesty all my make up brushes aint gonna fit!

Make Up Revolution has become a favourite with me, and their pallets are fab, great buttery eyeshadows and little or no fallout, and at between £4 and £6 sure you couldn’t beat it! I picked up the acid brights and the iconic 3 which is a dupe for the naked 3 and is a great dupe at that!. The acid brights is amazing and would be great for a pop of colour on a night out

Real Techniques are wonderful and I am sure you all know by now there is a new bold metals collection coming soon so I am sure we will all be lusting after those. Nic brought out a Nics Picks set in a gorgeous chrome and black colour, these were on offer for £20 in superdrug and I think they still are so pop over and buy them while they are cheap. It has 5 brushes 2 face and 3 eyes, they are the duo fibre ones and I haven’t properly used them all yet but they feel fab!

OTHER GIFTS

My daddy got me a new camera, I picked the sony a5000 as I wanted something of a dslr quality but in a compact size, I cant rave about this enough, its sleek enough to look compact but it has great features.

My hubby knows I adore yankee candles and he got me my favourite clean cotton one, this was my mummys favourite so I always burn it and it just gives me a nice feeling. He also bought me a couple of little mini jars to go with my burner.

I love Disney films and Scott got me frozen and malficent, even scott has said frozen is good, I caught him singing let it go in the kitchen last night!!

My faith is very important to me and Scott surprised me with this beautiful frame with the verse “Love Never Fails” It actually made me tear up because of everything we have been through, he has stood by me through all my illness and has been my rock, and literally pulled me out of the car after the accident a couple of weeks ago. Scott isn’t a massive believer but for him to buy me that was very special and priceless to me.

My friends got me some stunning gifts including bobbi brown eye pallete, an owl handbag, vouchers for Debenhams, charm for my bracelet, scarves etc, but I will tease you and say you can see more of these on my youtube video which will go up tomorrow.

So that’s it folks Christmas 2014 is over. I hope you all had an amazing one!!  Cant believe its nearly 2015, my wee blog has been going since August and my channel for just over 2 months, there is a long way to go and I am always learning, but to have amazing support from all you guys is wonderful!!

Lots of love to you all

Next weeks post will be based around New Year and everything in between!! If you have any suggestions for posts or videos just yell and I will add them to the list

Ali xxxx