Christmas Time

I can't believe how fast Christmas has come and gone. It feels like yesterday when I was secretly shopping for my fiances Google Nexus and now he's never away from it. Christmas is supposed to be a fun time with friends and family and I can happily report that my Christmas definitely exceeded my expectations. 

Drinking isn't usually on my top list of priorities, but I loved having a little tipple of my favourite Jack Daniels and Coke this Christmas Eve. I spent most of the night snuggled up on the sofa with James and watched Muppets Christmas Carol - Christmas is never the same without it. 

My table.

On Christmas day, I had my future in-laws over and my mother cooked a beautiful vegetarian meal for myself and turkey for the rest of the family. I think it's the first Christmas that she hasn't managed to burn something, she's definitely getting better at cooking each year. Having spent Christmas Eve at James' house and returning to mine in the morning, I loved seeing how much effort my mum had put into dressing the table. We always go overboard at Christmas - out comes the expensive china and the sparkling silver cutlery.

James feeding my dog alcohol - naughty boys.

James drinking alcohol.

I've been so spoilt with Christmas presents this year. I was told when I got older i'd get barely any presents, but each year I've been exceeding my parents expectations. My favourite present has to be my beautiful Pandora bracelet and my vintage newspapers from James. He knows me so well and I love being surprised by him, it's always something I will like. other presents include: surplus bath goodies, chocolates, my two year Marie Claire Subscription, La Vie Est Belle perfume by Lancome, books, teddies and yet another onesie. I was also given money before Christmas, which I spent on a few clothes - outfit posts will be coming in the New Year.

I've had such a wonderful Christmas and I've been such a lucky girl. I hope you had a fabulous Christmas 2012.

What did Santa bring you for Christmas?
♥♥♥

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Crazy Angel: Midnight Tan

Tanning has never been my strong point. I either apply too little in case I turn orange, or apply too much and look like I've been tangoed. This has left me avoiding fake tan altogether and leading a very pale life. Even when I go on holiday, I don't tan. Instead I turn bright red and end up looking worse than I did before I left. Tanning and I will never get along...well that's what I thought. The other day I stumbled across a PR alert regarding a new brand of fake tan called 'Crazy Angel'. I thought to myself, I have nothing to lose trying this out? So I sneakily asked if they would send me a sample. The sample they sent was The Crazy Angel: Midnight Duo Set. This includes the Midnight Kiss Self Tanning Lotion and The Crazy Angel body scrub. 

A few nights ago I decided to take the plunge and experiment. Whilst having a bath, I applied the Crazy Angel Body Scrub and it smells beautiful. The product is infused with Sesame and Bearberry and offers a soft, polished finish to your skin. My skin felt fantastically soft after using this product and I love the bright pink colour. 

The next step was the actual tanning process and I'm happy to report that everything went perfectly. The tan was easy to use and it has given my body a beautiful olive glow. Even my partner, who doesn't really like it when I use fake tan, has said he loves the colour and that it makes me look healthy and glowing. 

The tan glides over the skin with a deep chocolate colour, so that you know you're not going to miss a spot. After gently massaging the product into the skin, it settles to a much lighter, olive shade. The best thing about this fake tan was the fact that I only used a tiny amount and the bottle is still near full. I could easily see this product lasting me for quite a while.

Once you've applied the fake tan, it's recommended that leave the product to dry for 15 minutes before you come into contact with fabric. My tan dried a lot quicker than expected and I was able to be clothed in more like 10 minutes, but it;'s better not to risk it. Apart from a few missed patches on my back ( not being able to reach), my tan looks amazing.

Have you tried the Midnight Tan before?

♥♥♥

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Christmas Frocks

Last night I went out for a meal with my fiance and his family and I had many compliments on my little gold dress. To be fair, it has laid at the bottom of my wardrobe since last Christmas and I was unsure whether to wear it. The dress was bought from Jones&Jones and has the most incredible petticoat, however I only like wearing it for special occasions as I sometimes feel ever so slightly over exposed due to the dress being backless. 

This is definitely one of my favourite festive dresses as it evokes the sense of glamour and looks rather angelic. The gold lace gives a sexy, yet feminine appeal and the petticoat adds volume to the hips, making your waist look tiny. This is perfect whilst indulging over the Christmas period.

All this talk of Christmas dresses made me want to do some online research and here's my favourite dresses currently on the market:

• Jones&Jones Audrey Poppy Dress - £60

I love the festive red colour and big petticoat that most Jones&Jones dresses come with. It's a perfect dress for being twirled around the dance floor and having fun with your family. 

• Topshop Sequinned Maxi Dress - £85

When visiting Liverpool Fashion Week a few months ago, I saw a wonderful young woman in a floor length sequinned maxi dress. Her hair was neatly tied into a bun and her makeup was flawless. She looked like she walked straight from the red carpet and I feel like this dress really encapsulates the feeling of glamour and old Hollywood.  

• River Island Sequinned Prom Dress - On sale at £40

Clinched in at the waist with an elegant little bow, this little black dress will make you look like the perfect little Christmas present when you're wanting to impress someone. It's a very flirtatious dress with a rock'n'roll swing feel and this would be great for any Christmas parties. 

• Lipsy V.I.P Sequinned Bust Dress - £110

I wore this dress to the Reveal magazine photo shoot last year. The dress is very comfortable, flattering for any figure and adds a slight sparkle for those who normally shy away from glitter.  

What is your favourite Christmas dress?

♥♥♥

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Christmas Confidence Boost - Photo Fun

Confidence isn't something that comes naturally to me. Some people have that ability to run up to strangers and talk for hours, I often shy away and quickly develop thoughts about how I look. Am I too fat? Does my face look too round? Okay, I know, I'm dressed like an idiot today aren't I? My ex boyfriend would constantly criticize me and say that 'I make the human race sound very discriminative' as I would always think people are analysing every aspect of my body when we first meet. In reality, all the voices in  my head are just the little insecurities that nag me on a daily basis. Granted, someone will have walked past me one day and thought 'gosh, she's a little weird looking', but not everyone thinks the same. Since starting University and getting engaged to an amazing man who makes me feel like a million dollars on a daily basis, my confidence has dramatically improved.. Some would say I'm a completely changed person, but to be fair, I'm still quite shy and often reserved, I've just learnt that to progress in my life, sometimes we need to adapt a protective shield and embrace who we are. If people don't like who you are as a person, they are not worth knowing. To quote Mr Kurt Cobain, the former lead singer of rock band Nirvana: "I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for someone I'm not."

Christmas is supposed to be the time of fun and laughter, but for women, there's a little added pressure to slim down into that Little Black Dress and look immaculate for party season. Confidence can take a huge hit at Christmas and when you're eating so much, you can suddenly feel like you're the Christmas turkey. This was the Christmas I wanted to feel the best about myself. Last year I was getting used to my slimmer body after losing weight - I was playing around with dresses and trying to discover what suited my new figure. I've now had a year to adapt and finally ready to have fun this festive season. Last week, I was asked to model for a friend who's a photographer. The old me would have probably shuddered and decided it wasn't the best idea, but I decided to embrace it as I thought it would be a lovely way to show you all my new dress, get some professional images for my blog and have a lovely day catching up with my old tutor. I'm definitely not a model, but I had so much fun doing all the modelling malarkey.  

Here's some of the photographs taken on the day. The blue sequinned dress is by my favourite brand French Connection and can be bought for £165. This 'Samantha dress' was purchased as a Christmas treat for myself. I love this outfit, because it covers all my insecurities and leaves me with a slimline silhouette. When I tried it on for the first time at my local House of Fraser, I knew this dress was definitely made for my body. 

I feel like I resemble a chipmunk in this photograph, but I love the colours in my shirt. This blouse was bought from H&M  and was part of the Lana Del Rey range. She is one of my favourite modern singers and I'd definitely consider her as one of my style influences. 

Doing this photo shoot made me realise that although I'm not perfect, I'm not that bad either. I love my hair, my body is quite curvy and my eyes never fail to stand out. To live a happy life, we all need to look at our imperfections and realise that it's what makes us unique, a one of a kind model and perfect in our own little way.

Photo credits: John Coombes - BikeShed Digital Media 

What do you think of the photographs? 

 ♥♥♥

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Front Cover: True Colours

When I walk into my local Boots, I always see a selection of Front Cover makeup palettes and think to myself 'maybe I should buy one of those sometime'. For the last few months, I seem to have forgotten all about it, until I made contact with a lovely woman that offered to give me the 'True Colours' set to review. Obviously, having longed for a palette in the past, I couldn't turn the offer down and I'm so glad I have been able to trial the products. 

For those who are not acquainted with Front Cover cosmetics, the brand is based in the UK and offers a vast selection of catwalk trending makeup in stylish photographic boxes. The packaging resembles a magazine and when you open the cover, you are greeted with an array of pigmented colours to play around with and a style guide to help you achieve those perfect party looks. I definitely give top marks for the packaging as you could get a whole selection of boxes and they would look so pretty on a shelf next to each other. 

The True Colours set includes: Six Baked Power Eyeshadows, Five Satin Pressed Powder Eyeshadows, Five lip glosses  Two nail polish glazes, a double ended mascara, retractable lip brush, eye mini blender brush, eye shadow brush and creamy metallic eye pencil. All this for a bargain price of £25. The set also includes a booklet of makeup tutorials in several different languages, making these products versatile and friendly across all continents.  My favourite colours in the kit has to be the Parma Grey and Sterling, which combined give an amazing smokey eye effect. Another product that really grabbed my attention was the mascara. Admittedly, I didn't really expect much from a mascara included in a kit. I always use higher end products, but this worked better than one of my Chanel eye mascaras. 

At first I had lower expectations for these products, but after wearing them for the last few days, this is fast becoming one of my favourite everyday makeup palettes. The True Colours set literally has everything you need to make your face winter fresh and natural looking this Christmas. I don't want to be the next Barbie and I definitely don't long to look plastic. All I want for Christmas is natural beauty and this set is everything I look for when choosing my cosmetics. 

Have you tried the True Colours Palette?

    ♥♥♥

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Nose Piercing: Round Two

When I was younger, I always wanted my nose pierced. At school, I always used to draw people's faces with nose studs in my spare time and when I started listening to rock music, I wanted it even more. I don't know why I've always liked them - maybe because their commonly associated with my favourite genre of music, or the fact that you can completely change your personality with the likes of one simple piercing. Whatever the reason behind my obsession, I decided last year to get it pierced...and I did. Unfortunately after a drunken night out with my friends, I woke up completely hungover and my nose ring had vanished. I quickly ran to the bathroom and tried my hardest to put in my spare stud, but it had completely healed. 

Time passed, university life took over and in all honesty, I completely forgot about my piercing. It wasn't until the other day that my friend told me how much she wanted hers doing. I kept saying how much I loved mine and how lots of my friends told me: "you have the type of nose that suits a piercing." 

After browsing through Facebook, I saw an offer at my local piercing store, The Bleeding Art Studio in Huddersfield saying 'bring a friend and both get half price piercings'. We both decided to go for it and looking back, I'm so glad I did. 

The first time I had my nose pierced it hurt like a bitch. Mainly because I had 'tough cartilage' and secondly because it wouldn't go through the first time. Second time it barely hurt at all. It always helps when the person doing your piercing makes you feel comfortable and she did exactly that. She told me when to close my eyes and when talked me through the process. I was so happy when it was done. Needless to say, my dad wasn't impressed. He's always hated piercings and the first time I had it done he wasn't too happy. A few days later however, he turned to me and said: "I can barely tell anymore, it looks like you've been born with that thing. Dare I say it? It kinda suits you." Absolute result!

Most of you will probably think why is she so enthusiastic about a nose stud? I just love how a simple piercing can change your look. One day you can look cute and innocent, the next day you can be that little bit edgy. The best thing about it -it's removable. I love tattoo's, but they're definitely not for me. Needles still scare me and I'm always changing my mind. Piercings can really exhibit certain parts of your personality, without looking too crazy. If you're bored, you can move on and get something else done. My nose piercing gives me confidence, I don't know why, but it does.

Do you have any piercings? What's your favourite?

    ♥♥♥

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