OOTN | Dressy Casual

Top - River Island | Leggings - Topshop | Shoes - Primark | Blazer - Primark

 Bag - H&M | Ear Cuff - River Island | Bracelet/Rings - Primark

Hi Ladies! I hope you are all well and I'd just quickly like to say thank you very much for all of your comments on my 'What I got for Christmas' post - it's been one of my most viewed posts in a while so I'm glad you enjoyed it. 

Today I want to share an outfit I wore on Saturday to a family party at my Nannas house. Does anyone else ever find it awkward choosing an outfit that isn't too dressed up but isn't too casual at the same time? I'm sure its a fashion all of us girls face at some point but I quite liked this outfit I put together. I got this beautiful charcoal grey top from my boyfriend for Christmas and I absolutely adore it. I chose it myself after spotting it on their website as I thought it was a perfect 'dressy but not too dressy' item of clothing. Its a lovely sheer, chiffon material that drapes in the most flattering shape. I also like how it's a little bit tighter around the waist to cynch me in. It also crosses over at the back which is a nice touch (sorry for no the lack of photo!). I popped my burgandy blazer from Primark over the top too which was such a bargin at £19.00. I want it in every single colour.

I decided to pair it with my trusty wet look leggings from Topshop and plain black heels from Primark. As it was a fairly simple outfit, I decided to jazz it up a little bit with my new ear cuff from River Island (another Christmas present from my boyfriend!). I absolutely love it and I can definitely see myself getting a few more in different styles. A few years ago I had a bit of a fiasco with earrings that were too heavy for my poor little ears to handle and ended up ripping my right ear lobe in half (totally GROSS!), so I can no longer wear earrings in that ear *sob*. That's why ear cuffs are so great as I only need one, yey! I also wore my new fave lipstick MACs 'Lady Danger' to add some colour to an otherwise dark outfit. LOVE!

I've also been using my new studded bag from H&M these past few days and I love, love, love it. I am totally obsessed with the stud trend so this bag is perfect for me to throw all my essentials in. It's a great size and will go with almost all of the items in my wardrobe. I also popped on my new jewellery from Primark and I am obsessed with this charm bracelet. It has peace signs, wings, beads locks and spikes dangling from it, how cool? I'm also really into wearing lots of individual rings at the moment on a few of my fingers and I love these ones from Primark. If you hadn't already guessed, I love a bargain.

I'd also like to quickly say ... HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE! I can't believe it's New Years Eve already, where has this week gone? It only feels like two minutes ago it was Christmas. I hope you all have an amazing night and are celebrating in style. I'm going to the comedy club in Newcastle with my boyfriend, his brother and his parents so that should be a good laugh. I'm sure it will involve lots of champagne and yummy food too!

I'm hoping to post my New Years Resolutions tomorrow as I have SO many this year!

Do you have any exciting plans for tonight?

Lots of Love,

What I Got For Christmas 2012

Hi Ladies! I hope you are all well and have had a few fabulous and festive days. I'm still well and truly in party mode as my boyfriend and I are going to a family party at my Nannas house tonight for a buffet and drinks, yey!

Before I get my party gear on I wanted to write my 'What I Got For Christmas' post. Now as with anyone who writes these posts - I have a little disclaimer for you. Firstly, if you hate these type of posts as you feel they are 'bragging' or 'showing off', please don't read. Its your choice! I'd also like to state that I am in no way 'spolit' and the reason I was bought lots of presents is because my mum loves Christmas and its the one time of year she likes to really treat my sister and I and secondly, I have a huge family. My mum and Dad are seperated and re-married so I essentially receive gifts from four families instead of two. I also have a wonderful boyfriend and his family who buy for me too.

I am so grateful for everything I received and I always think of those less fortunate than myself at this time of year. With this being said, continue reading if you enjoy these kind of posts (I know I do, I'm so nosey!) and if you don't that's fine as well but please don't make a point of leaving any unnecessary comments. 

After that huge intro, here is what I got for Christmas ...

Michael Kors Watch

I loved absolutely everything I was lucky enough to receive this year but this has to be my favourite present of all. My lovely boyfriend and Dad put some money together to get me this as I've been wanting one for as long as I can remember. I could never afford a nice watch like this myself so to be treated to one at Christmas is just amazing. I chose the classic rose gold style and I adore it. It needs a few links removing as its too big for me but as soon as I get them removed, it will be permanently glued to my wrist!

Studded Bag - H&M

I chose this as a gift from my mum and step dad and it was a total bargain at only £29.99 from H&M. I love the whole studded trend at the moment and was after a new black bag. This one is perfect!

Black Ankle Boots - Topshop

I got these as a gift from my mum and step dad too and they are the perfect boots. I already have an almost identical pair in a taupe colour but as I love them so much I wanted a black pair that I could throw on with anything in my wardrobe. I also think boots like this can be worn all year around as I like to pair them with cute little dresses in the Spring/Summer time.

BHS Coat & Topshop Jumper

I also got these two items from my mum and step dad and really love them both. I chose the coast myself when my mum and I went shopping in Newcastle. Its from BHS of all places and was reduced in the sale to £40.00. It fits me like a glove and I really love the fur collar. The jumper was a surprise and my mum and she said she thought it was very 'me' when she spotted it in Topshop. She wasn't wrong - I love it.

Clutch Bags - Primark

Can you sense a studded theme amongst my Christmas gifts?! I got the black studded bag from my auntie along with a stunning MAC eyeshadow and the cream bag was from my mum in my stocking. I love them both and they will go with almost any outfit I wear.

Origins Products - Quick Hide Concealer, Gin Zing Eye Cream, Trio of Face Masks

I have been wanting to try Origins products for as long as I can remember so when Christmas came around it was the perfect time for me to give some of them a go. I chose the Gin Zing eye cream and Quick Hide concealer from my mum and step dad and the trio of face masks are from my Auntie. I've tried them already and have totally fallen in love with them. I will review them all soon.

Perfume - Juicy Couture, Miss Dior, MAC Turquatic

I'd have to say perfume is one of my favourite gifts to receive for my birthday or Christmas. Its just something I can never afford to buy myself so it makes for the perfect gift. I tend to try and make any perfumes I receive as gifts last me throughout the whole year until I can stock up again. The Juicy Couture perfume was from my mum and step dad, Miss Dior was from my Nanna and the MAC Turquatic was from my boyfriends mum. I love them all and if you haven't smelt them - go and give them a whiff! 

Makeup -

Stila in the Light Palette, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil Set, Real Techniques Starter Kit, Topshop 'Wicked' Lipstick, MAC 4 pan palette & eyeshadows, Korres Lip Butter, China Glaze 'Armour' Nail Polish & MAC 'Young Punk' Eyeshadow

As a beauty lover it was obvious I was going to get some new beauty goodies to blog about. I won't talk about these too much as I will be reviewing them all individually but I love them all and am so grateful. It will really help me keep my blog constantly updated with reviews, especially as I'm so poor after buying lots of Christmas pressies this year. These were gifts from my mum and step dad, my boyfriend and my boyfriends mum and dad. Thanks Guys!

Hair Products

Moroccan Oil, Mark Hill Gift Set, Andrew Barton Gift Set, Lee Stafford Gift Set, Big Sexy Hair Gift Set

I'm not going to go through who bought me all of these as I would be here all day but I'm very grateful to everyone who did. I love hair products and I think most of my family and friends know that any kind of haircare gift sets will be a winner for me. I love the fact I can try out little mini products before purchasing the full size. I also got the Moroccan Oil from my Nanna and I'm so excited to own it as I've read so many good reviews from other bloggers. I will definitely be reviewing it after I've used it for a while to let you know my thoughts.

Ted Baker Gift Set

This is a really luxurious gift set and I love it. It contains everything from body scrub to body butter and I can't wait to give myself a pamper using all of the products inside. I also love the packaging and I think I'm going to use it as storage for some of my skincare and body products. Whatever I decided to do with it, it will come in very handy!

St.Moriz Gift Set

My mum knows how much I love this stuff so she picked this set up to pop in my stocking. I was super excited to see that it came with the 'dark' tan and a bronzing gel for the face. I love the original version of the tan so I was intrigued by the dark version and I've been on the look out for a face tanner for ages now. I used both of the products last night and on first impressions, I love them both. I might review them in full soon if you'd be interested?

Bits & Bobs

A set of floral mugs, Jelly Belly lip balms, Refresher Mug, Socks, 'I heart Shopping' Keyring, Diary

Ah, aren't bits and bobs like this just the best? The selection I've photographed here are various things I received in my stocking except for the floral mugs that were a gift from my step dads mum. She thought they would be nice for my flat which they certainly will as I love the design on them, very Cath Kidston. I adore the Jelly Belly lip balms and I thought I could use the tin to store all of my lip balms in which will be cute. I also love the diary as I am constantly making notes and need somewhere I can jot important things down. It will also be great for blog ideas. The Refresher mug is awesome, I love printed mugs like this and the 'I heart Shopping' keyring is very me as I do love a good shop. I also got some new socks which are a winter essential to go under my boots.

Slipper Boots

These are from my boyfriends mum and she buys me a pair every year as she knows how much I love being cosy when I'm lazing around my flat. I love these grey knitted ones with cute bows and pom poms as they are so furry, warm and snuggly inside. I imagine these will be glued to my feet for the foreseeable future.

Undies

Sorry if this is a bit 'TMI' but I think these are so pretty that I just had to share. These were all gifts in my stocking and my mum picked them up from Matalan. They always have a lovely selection of underwear for very reasonable prices. I can't wait to feel lovely and feminine wearing these.

Jewellery

All of this jewellery except the ear cuff from River Island which I picked from my boyfriend, were stocking fillers from my mum. The majority of it is super cheap from Primark or Matalan but you would never know to look at it. They look a lot like pieces you would find at Topshop so I was very pleased with all of them. A girl can never have too much jewellery right?

Chocolates

Need I say more?

As you can see I was exceptionally lucky and as I said at the start of this post I am so grateful for everything I received and I feel truly blessed to have such a generous and wonderful family. I know Christmas isn't about presents but I'm sure you all love to receive them, even if you don't like to admit it. I certainly know I thoroughly enjoy exchanging gifts with my loved ones and I hope the people who I bought presents for loved theirs just as much.

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I got and that you all got everything you wished for.

Lots of Love,

Amazing Advertisers | December

Hi Everyone! So it's that time of the month again where I share with you the amazing blogs that have been over in my sidebar this month. I know I say it every month but there really is some amazing, amazing blogs featured and each and every one of them deserves lots more followers. With that being said, please do click on their names above the photo of their header as it will take you directly to their blog. I'm sure some new followers would be a lovely way to end the year.

So without me chattering on for much longer, here's a little bit more about each of them ...

Tash from Its Simply Beauty

My name is Tash and I'm a beauty blogger over at itssimplybeauty.blogspot.co.uk.

My blog is connected to my youtube channel so everything I can't dedicate one video to, I post about it all on my blog. I began my blogging/youtube journey as 'itssimplybeauty' just over 7 months ago and have loved every single minuet of it.

Beauty is my love, I love make-up, skin care, the whole shebang so you will see all of this over on my blog and youtube. I do do outfit posts every now and then just to add something different  just so it livens it up a bit!

I love blogging, I'm so glad I started my little blog. I have learned so much about beauty and blogging - even youtube I couldn't imagine life with out it
Hopefully you will all come a take a little peek in to my blogging/vlogging life!

Take a look at my blog - itssimplybeauty.blogspot.co.uk
Tweet me at @itsimplybeauty
Watch me on youtube - youtube.com/itssimplybeauty
Like me on Facebook - Facebook.com/itssimplybeauty
And follow my life in pictures on instagram @ itssimplybeauty

Becky from Beauty Becky

My name is Becky and I started my blog, Beauty Becky, in March 2012. I first started watching Youtube beauty videos about five years ago and through them I discovered beauty blogs which became a huge hobby of mine to read. I love finding new brands and products to try, which my bank balance probably doesn’t love so much!

I thought it would be really fun to start my own beauty blog and be a part of the lovely beauty community. My blog mainly consists of reviews on beauty products and I also write monthly favourites, fashion posts and a couple of chatty, rambling posts for good measure!

I am currently in my last year of College and planning to train as a makeup artist in the next couple of years which I am so excited about! Another hobby of mine is photography which I have always enjoyed and constantly taking photos for my blog is making me love and experiment with photos even more!

I absolutely love it when a follower sends me a message if they want a chat so please feel free to contact me!

My blog is www.beautybecky.blogspot.com

Twitter - @beautybeckyblog

Facebook – beautybeckyblog

Instagram - @beautybeckyblog

Rebecca from Serenity Jewels

Serenity Jewels is a fresh, new & on trend jewellery brand that designs gorgeous statement jewellery for both guys & girls. Designed Becky Jacobs, each piece is handcrafted using Semi Precious gemstones, freshwater pearls & Swarovski elements.

From every day bracelet stacks to Saturday night sparkle pieces, Serenity Jewels offers jewellery for every occasion, outfit & mood.

So a little about the designer… I’m basically a fashion crazy, beauty obsessed, lover of anything girly!! Vogue is my bible & Carrie Bradshaw my god ;-) I started hand crafting my own designs because I couldn’t find what I wanted on the high street for a special night out! My other half thought if I made my own pieces I’d stop spending so much on the high street… how wrong was he?! I now love nothing more than sourcing new semi precious beads & charms from all over the world.  I don’t think my postman is quite as enthusiastic about all the deliveries!

Over the past few months i’ve been humbled by the reaction Serenity Jewels has had, I love nothing more than sending out items to guys & gals and seeing people wear my items. It’s such an amazingly surreal feeling!

Emily from The Beauty Cave

I'm a London girl born and raised, trained in hair and make up and working as a freelance make up artist. The beauty cave is my little online home where I share my reviews on my recent product purchases as well as make up look vlogs and the occasional lifestyle blogs - a little sneak peek of what I've been up to!!

My blog is relatively new but I love it! I love reading your comments and hearing all of your thoughts. You can follow me on twitter as well @emily_cave2304 I'm always up for a good natter!

I look forward to meeting some more of you! Em Xoxo

Zoe from Zoebowx

My blog is all about beauty, lifestyle and fashion. I study fashion and textiles at university, so i should really write about fashion the most but i dont. I ramble about products i love and sometimes the ones that i dont love so much. Sometimes i write about my life and give an overview on everything going on. Also, i absolutely love marketing. 

I love interacting with my followers, so be sure to pop over and say hi. I only started my blog last November, but i am so far of how far its come and what i have achieved. I am always on tweeting about something everyday so be sure to pop over. I am always talking to others on here, so if you want to contact me, just tweet me and i will of course tweet you back. Also, instagram is pretty much my life, so head over their to see what i get up to on a day to day basis.

I also have tumblr where i am showing my fitness side and an online food diary. I like to think of it as fitspiration. Have to say, personally its working well for me. 

twitter - https://twitter.com/zoebowx

instagram - zoegrace93

tumblr - zoebowx

Katherine from The Beauty Visual

I’m a 20-year-old Journalism student who loves nothing more than writing and talking about beauty! 

My blog ranges from reviews, collections and favourites covering make-up, skincare and nail varnish. I’m a relatively new blog but deciding after years of reading other people’s why not start my own?

 I try to write my posts similar to the ones I like to read and love hearing from anyone with the same passion as me (aka going on and on about beauty!). I also enjoy any suggestions readers may have for any types of posts you like to be covered so feel free to send any requests my way too.

Blog: www.thebeautyvisual.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebeautyvisual

So there we have it guys, I hope you got to know a bit more about each of these lovely ladies and potentially found some new favourite blogs. I certainly know I'll be continuing to read and enjoy all of them, that's the great thing about offering advertising - I discover so many wonderful new blogs and I hope it helps you to discover some too.

If you're interested in advertising with me next year, you can have a look at the packages I offer here.

Lots of Love,

My Christmas - The Lowdown!

Hi Everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas. My day was fab but I can't believe it's over already. There's always such a huge build up to the big day it and then it's over in what feels like a flash. I've loved reading everyone Christmas blog posts so far so I thought I would share a few of the snaps I've taken over the past couple of days and also the makeup and outfit I wore on Christmas day.

My Christmas day began with my little sister coming to wake me up at 6.30am. She had actually set the alarm on her phone to specifically wake her up at that time - the crazy fool! With much difficulty I managed to drag myself out of bed (I am not a morning person!) and we went into my mum and step-dads bedroom to open our stockings. I think opening my stocking is one of my favourite parts of Christmas day as my mum always fills it to the brim with cute and thoughtful little gifts. After opening our stockings we then made our way to the living room where mum had laid out our main presents from all of our family. As you can see from the photo above, I was well and truly spoilt and I am so grateful for everything I received. I'm going to do a separate 'what I got for Christmas' post as I didn't want to make this one too long. I hope that's something you would all like to see - I personally love having a nosy at everyones gifts.

When we had all finished opening our presents my sister and I watched 'The Vow' in bed which I received as a gift in my stocking. If you haven't already seen it and love a cute romance, it's definitely worth a watch. We then stuffed our face with bacon bagels (yum!) and then started getting ready for our Christmas dinner. I helped my mum to prepare the turkey which was quite funny to say the least and then I got myself spruced up with some of my new makeup and my new sparkly dress. The dress I wore is from River Island and I bought it a few weeks ago after spotting it on their website and thinking it was the perfect party dress. The style is very flattering with black panelling down either side to create an hourglass shape and the gold glitter makes it lovely and festive.

If you read my Christmas Tag post you will know that my favourite makeup look to wear at Christmas is a bold red lip. For me, Christmas and a bright red lip go hand in hand with each other so I popped my beloved 'Lady Danger' from MAC on and paired it with a fairly neutral eye. I used my new Stila in the Light palette to create a soft gold and brown smokey eye and also added some Girls with Attitude false eyelashes for some extra glamour. My hair was pretty standard, big and curly! I used Big Sexy Hair 'Backcomb in a Bottle' for some added volume too and it worked amazingly. Look out for a review of that in the near future.

We sat down for our dinner at around 4pm and it was absolutely delicious. We had prawn cocktail, tukery with all the trimmings and champagne to celebrate. Mum had also made a Pavlova for dessert but we were so full we couldn't eat it (lightweights!). We then chilled for the afternoon having drinks and watching movies. The perfect family day. Later in the evening I went round to my boyfriends so see him and his family where there was more eating and drinking and by the end of the day I was absolutely shattered. I'm the same every Christmas, I think a mixture of eating lots of food and being woken up at the crack of dawn makes me very sleepy but its so worth it. 

All in all I had an amazing day and I'm so sad it's over! However, I do have a night out with my girls and family party to look forward to this weekend so the celebrations aren't over just yet.

I hope you all had an amazing day!

Lots of Love,