Pinspiration #4 - Christmas Nail Art

IT'S CHRIIIISSSSTTMAAAASSSSS!! & don't I know it! I've been so busy and stressed out with the babies and getting sorted for Christmas this month that I've just completely neglected my blog. I'm gutted as I had so many exciting Christmassy posts in my head and I just never got round to writing them. Nevermind ey! I'm hoping to get myself more organised after the festivities have calmed down and get back into the swing of things and also get back into the social media side of blogging. 

I really wanted to get my nails done properly by my local nail technician who does the most amazing nail art for Christmas this year, but I left it too late to book in and she became fully booked, so I thought I'd get onto Pinterest and get some ideas and attempt to do my own (if I have any time).

White with Black Detailing | pin

Clear Nails with Snow Scene | pin

Reindeers | pin

Navy with Snowflake Accent Nail | pin

Snow with Snowman Accent Nail | pin

Christmas Lights | pin

Holly | pin

Purple & White Glitter Trees | pin

Gold Sparkles | pin

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& My N a i l s p i r a t i o n Board here

What are your favourite Christmas nail art designs?

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Freedom Brow Pomade

No, this isn't a mirage and you're not going crazy. There's now a dupe for the ABH Dip Brow Pomade available on the high street! Let's just take a moment...

If you didn't already know, Freedom are the 'pro sisters' of the brand Makeup Revolution, and they're now available in Superdrug (online and selected stores across the UK). I recently wrote a Freedom wishlist (here), and one of the products on my list was the Freedom Pro Brow Pomade (£5). The 'Power Brow' is really big at the minute and I think pretty much every brand has jumped on this, but there hasn't been anything remotely similar to the ABH Dip Brow available on the highstreet, until now. Now I feel like a cheat calling this a dupe, as I've never actually tried the ABH offering, but having read so many reviews about how it's almost identical I don't feel too bad letting you guys in on the secret. With a creamy, gel-like formula, I think this product sits bang in the middle of being too creamy and too dry. It's the perfect consistency (using a light hand of course), to create light brush strokes (with an angled brush) without making you look like you've took a felt tip to your brows. As for shades, there's a whopping 10 different shades to choose from, so I'm sure there's one for everyone, I went for the shade Soft Brown and it's a great match. I think £5 for a brow game-changer is pretty fantastic. Can't wait to try more products from Freedom soon.

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The Highlighter Edit

I have to say, one of my favourite beauty products has definitely got to be highlighter. I just love how they provide the skin with a glowy radiance and make even the most zombified look more bright and awake (usually me). I always thought cream highlighters were my fave, but after trying a couple of powder & liquid ones I've now decided that I just love all forms of highlight! I can't discriminate, lol.

Liquid highlights are great as they can be dabbed onto the cheekbones or anywhere else you like to highlight; they can be applied as a primer to add a subtle glow underneath your foundation and they can also be mixed in with your foundation, which is my favourite way of using them. One of my absolute favourites has got the be the SEVENTEEN Skin Wow 3 Way Highlighter*. It's quite scary when it first comes out just because it's so white and shimmery, but when mixed into foundation it turns any foundation into a much smoother, glowier base. Love it! Another one I've really been loving, which is different to the above, is Benefit's Girl Meets Pearl. It's more of a golden pink which leaves a pearlescent sheen to the skin. Mixed with foundation it's a BEAUT, but I do love to dab this on the cheekbones aswell, as it leaves the most beautiful sheen which isn't as obvious as the Skin Wow when used the same way.

Cream highlighters are so great, I think, because of how easy they are to apply. They're usually just require a dab / swipe and a little blend with the finger and you're good to go, making them great for travel or to pop in your clutch on a night out. A firm favourite of mine has to be the Benefit's Watt's Up. I only have the sample size which I got in the Cheeky Sweet Spot Gift Set, but oh wow do I love it! It's the most gorgeous champagne, cream-to-powder highlighter which is soft and subtle but really illuminates. A much more afforable dupe of this I'd say is the Collection Speedy Highlighter in the shade Pearl Sheen. It's a twist-up stick which I love for on the go, as it's literally just swipe, blend and cyaaa. Given that it's only £3.99, it's seriously well pigmented and super creamy, and it dries to a powder finish meaning it won't slip and slide around the skin! Fab product!

Powder highlighters are probably the more fool-proof formulas for beginners, as they can be just patted on with a brush. My first high-end powder highlighter purchase was MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle. It's a highlighter that I'd had on my wishlist for the longest time because pretty much everyone talks about how amazing it is. It's a highly pigmented, metallic champagne highlighter with slight gold/pink running through it. I like to use my Real Techniques Contour Brush to lightly pat this onto my cheekbones. A little goes a long way with this and I'm so glad I have it in my collection. Another, much more affordable powder highlighter is the MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter. At just £3, it obviously doesn't have the best packaging, but the product itself is a good one. It's much less pigmented than Soft & Gentle, but it gives a lovely, subtle glow when popped onto the cheekbones. 

What are your favourite highlighters?

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Christmas Beauty Releases 2015

17 days until Christmas people!! I can hardly contain my excitement! Christmas is my absolute favourite time of year, and this year's beauty releases have got me a little hot under the collar to say the least. I thought I'd put some of my most lusted after releases together in one post, so try and share some of the love. #enabler. Brace yourselves...

The Body Shop Frosted Plum Feel Good Tin | £17 | link

Emma Hardie Merrily Moringa Mini Set | £10 | link

Topshop Christmas Lip Bullet Duo | £10 | link

Jo Malone London Christmas Cracker | £32 | link

NARS One Shocking Moment | £45 | link

YSL Luxurious Mascara Gift Set | £25 | link

Clinique Primer Pink and Plush Gift Set | £40 | link

Origins Glow So Nice Gift Set | £40 | link

Benefit No.1 Selection Box | £25 | link

Soap & Glory Dive In Set | £12 | link

L'Occitane en Provence Best of L'Occitane Collection | £27 | link

Merry Christmas ya filthy animals!

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3 Essie Polishes For Christmas

When it comes to nails at Christmas time, the brand I always turn to is Essie. They never fail to produce such beautiful shades and their formula is 'on point' - #soz. 

The White | Urban Jungle | link | A beige toned, off white. Obviously, everyone needs a white nail polish in their collection, and I love to team one with a splash of glitter during Christmas time. Hello snowflake nails! Essie do a massive range of white polishes, and I recently discovered this little gem hidden away in TK Maxx and grabbed it.

The Berry | Bahama Mama | link | A deep plum. One of Essie's most popular shades, and for good reason. Either worn alone or with glitter, this shade just screams cosy, winter nights.

The Glitter | A Cut Above | link | a clear base with mixed sizes of pink, hexagonal glitter. This looks fab above most polishes, but especially the 2 above for Christmas time. So pretty!

Hope you all have a lovely week. 

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Feeling Festive

Like many people, Christmas is my absolute favourite time of year. Amazing food, a cosy home, winter candles, pretty decorations, classic tunes and best of all.. family time. What's not to love? I'm feeling really organised this year; I've pretty much finished my shopping and so far I've wrapped all of George and Freddie's pressies. GO ME! I thought I'd put together a little post of some of my favourite things to do at this time of year to make me feel festive...

1. Decorate the tree
2. Visit a Christmas Market
3. Wrap some presents
4. Light some Christmas/Winter Candles
5. Make a Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows
6. Read a Christmas Book (currently reading The Christmas Party by Carole Matthews, although I did start it last year, woopsies)
7. Watch some Christmas films (My Top 5 Favourites)
8. Listen to some Christmas Classics (Mariah Carey, The Pogues, Slade... #youcatchmydrift)

What are your favourite things to do to get that festive feeling?

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My Top 5 Christmas Films

Carrying on the Christmas excitement, today I'm sharing my top 5 Christmas films. I'm sure most of you will agree that the 5 I've chosen are absolute classics. I've put them up in date order as I just cannot choose my favourite out of these 5.... 

Home Alone 2 (1992)
Jingle All The Way (1996)
A Christmas Carol (1999)
Elf (2003)
Love Actually (2003)

I feel guilty that I haven't included Home Alone in this, but I find the 2nd one to be way better (hello NYC), and I didn't want to put both, so a quick shoutout to the original Home Alone will have to suffice.

What are your favourite Christmas films?

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Christmas Gift Guide | £10 & Under

It's the most wonderful tiiiime of the yearrr (ding dong ding dong). Eeee I bloody love December! I've pretty much finished my Christmas shopping this year and I've even wrapped the kiddie's presents up, go me! I've just got the task of putting the tree up now but I think it'll have to be a night time effort as I don't fancy trying to do that with Freddie (9months) clambering all over the place. I do wanna let George help decorate the tree this year though so I might let him stay up a bit later one night to help. Anyway, I thought I'd put together some stocking filler/small gift ideas for those who still have gifts to buy! Pretty much need all this now tbf, #dearsanta....

Real Techniques Mini Brush Trio | £9.99 | link

Beauty & The Beast Blu Ray | £8.99 | link

Next Winter Luxury Fragranced Candle | £10 | link

Soap & Glory Once Upon A Lime Gift Set | £10 | link

Sleek Solstice Highlighting Palette | £9.99 | link

Pink Mushroom Mug | £10 | link

Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Eyeshadow Palette | £9.99 | link

Harry Potter Colouring Book | £4.99 | link

Alphabet Bags Initial iPad Case | £10 (was £20) | link

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