My Personal Goals for 2016

I can't believe that 2015 is coming to an end, and I'm going to sound like every other person right now but this year has gone so quickly! I've almost (sort of) finished my final year at uni which is a scary thought and I'm almost 21?! How all these things have come around so quickly, I'm not quite sure how.

So today I'm sharing with you my personal goals for 2016 which will be followed by a beauty edition very soon.

1. Graduate | I can't believe that I'll (hopefully) graduate in 2016 with a degree in Psychology. I seems like forever ago that I was starting to think about going to uni yet since I've started it's gone so quickly. I really can't get over the fact it's my last year as a student and I really don't like the uncertainty of next year, but I'm also excited. 

2. Become healthier | This may seem like one everyone does, but some of you may remember in summer I joined Slimming World and I've fallen off the band wagon since going back to uni. I really want to start eating healthily again and I'm going to try and stick to it this time as when I was following SW it really worked for me.

3. Become more confident | This links with my goal above as I'm really not a confident person and I hate it. So hopefully, one day I'll be more comfortable and confident within myself. 

4. Be more organised | I've been really trying these past few weeks to be more organised as it's something I struggle with. I'm not a naturally organised person, so a diary is a must for me but hopefully in 2016 I'll stop leaving things until last minute!

5. Read more | When I went on holiday in summer I read 5 books in two weeks which is an achievement for me as I struggle with reading. I always have the intention to read, but sadly end up watching Netflix or makeup videos instead - not that there's anything wrong with that, I just want to spend less time watching Netflix haha!

What are your goals for 2016? Have you decided yet?

December Empties

I've been meaning to write another empties post for a while but I just keep forgetting and throwing finished products out, but not this month! 

The Body Shop Body Butters - £12 

I love TBS Body Butters and this month I've finished off two of my favourite scents. Jolly Orange was a limited edition Christmas scent from a year or two ago I believe and Raspberry is no longer available it appears which is a shame. I would repurchase both of these, if they were still available!!

Dove Summer Glow - £5.25 // Hask Argan Oil - £1 

I had a little bit of the Dove Summer Glow left so I thought I may as well use it up and give myself a little colour! I've always been a huge fan of Dove's Summer Glow and I already have a backup in my collection.

This Argan Oil is something I picked up a little while ago and I use it on the ends of wet hair and it's made quite a difference. I have finally run out of it and although I haven't seen it in Primark recently I'm sure there are other affordable products similar to this one.

What are your empties for this month?

Happy Christmas!

 I just wanted to write a little post to say Happy Christmas to all of you lovely readers! I hope you have the most magical and wonderful day tomorrow with your loved ones and eat plenty of tasty food! If you don't celebrate Christmas, then Happy Holidays and I hope you're enjoying your day too!

I'm spending my day doing last minute gift wrapping and writing cards before heading to the pub with my friends later for a drink or two. I can't believe it's almost Christmas Day again, but I'm so excited to eat a lot of delicious food tomorrow!!

A Weekend In Verona

A few weekends ago the boyfriend and I spent the weekend in Verona, Italy. I'll start out by saying it was an incredible weekend but it was absolutely freezing (-2 degrees to be exact) and when we had checked the weather it was meant to be 8-10. Nonetheless, we both had a great time and it was my first time to Italy and I loved every minute. I wanted to share some photos with you today as I took my 'real' (DSLR as opposed to iPhone) camera with me and I'm so glad I did.

We stayed in Hotel Songo di Giulietta which is located in the courtyard of where Romeo and Juliet was set (well, Juliet's balcony). It was an amazing hotel, very luxurious and even had a jacuzzi bath! In the courtyard many people have attached padlocks to the doors and it was really cool to see, there must have been hundreds.

Verona's Christmas market was also incredible, and we also had mulled wine just to be extra festive ha!

The coffee in Italy is delicious, and I really want this cappuccino again (and the mug).

 A pizza covered in chips - what more could I want in my life?!

We walked up what felt like 1000 steps but the view was 100% worth it as Verona is so beautiful.

I also went into Sephora for the first time ever which I was probably a little too excited about haha! I didn't buy anything, but instead I bought a few things from Kiko which I've blogged about here incase you're interested. 

Have you ever been to Italy?

Current 3 Favourite Youtubers

Alongside reading blogs I also love watching Youtube videos and that's how I first became interested in beauty. So today I thought I'd share with my current 5 favourite youtubers, so if you aren't familiar with them you can find new channels to watch.

1. The Michalak's | I remember finding this channel in summer and binge watching Hannah and Stef's videos as I fell in love with their channel instantly. The editing is beautiful and constantly leaves me speechless and they have an adorable son Grayson. This is a channel that I cannot just watch in the background, I have to pay full attention to as the videos are always so beautiful. Hannah also has a blog which you can here.

2. Meg Says | I've only fairly recently found Meg's channel, but I love it. She seems lovely and kind and her videos are great too and I'm also super jealous of her amazing hair! Meg also has a great blog which you can read here. 

3. Tati | Tati's videos are ones that I've been watching for a few years. She's so knowledgeable and her videos always make me laugh. I love her honesty about products and really trust her opinion on them, especially her higher end reviews.

Who are your favourite Youtubers?

NOTD 06 | Festive Edition

Kiko Nail Lacquer 493 Vino Perlato - £3.90

The other day I posted a small Kiko haul (which you can read here) in which I featured a new nail polish that's perfect for the festive season. I thought this colour was perfect for the festive season as it's a glittery red and I'm loving it. I find my nail varnish always chips no matter what I do but after wearing this for 3 days I only have a few tiny chips so I'm pretty impressed. I definitely need to buy more of these as they're great and there's over 150 shades to choose from!

Kiko Makeup | Haul

Last weekend the boyfriend and I went to Verona for a couple of nights as a little Christmas break and it was amazing (I'll have a post up with photos soon). Whilst we were there I couldn't resist popping into Kiko as it was the first time I'd seen an actual Kiko shop, and I've never bought anything from the brand before. One thing that I really liked about the shop was that you can test nail polishes! This isn't something that's done in England, so even though it's trivial I really liked it.

Dazzling Highlighter £6.90 // Smart Liptick £3.90 // Nail Polishes £2.50

I knew I wanted to try the Dazzling Highlighter 04 Bright Rose as I'd seen it online and thought it looked similar to Clinique's Highlighting Chubby Stick, but a lot more affordable. I chose 04 Bright Rose because I thought it would suit my skin tone more than 03 Pure Gold. 

I couldn't resist picking up a lipstick but I was overwhelmed by the variety available so in the end I chose one of Kiko's Smart Lipsticks in 909 which is a beautiful deep red shade. The formulation of this lipstick is amazing as it's matte, but isn't drying whatsoever and feels velvet-like on the lips.

Finally, I picked up a couple of nail polishes as they were actually reduced in store so I couldn't leave without a couple. I chose 266 Ultramarine Blue which is a gorgeous blue with shimmer running through it and 493 Vino Perlato which is the perfect red for the festive season. 

I'm definitely going to be buying more products from Kiko. Do you have any recommendations?

Coming Home For Christmas

I am finally home to celebrate Christmas with my family and home friends. I technically came home on Thursday but I spent the weekend in Verona with my boyfriend which was amazing (I will post about that soon). I've had a stressful last few weeks at uni recently as I've had deadlines after deadlines after deadlines. Now I can take a break for a few days before preparing for January!!

Anyway, here are some of my favourite things about coming home for Christmas...

- Nothing will beat coming home to a warm house and a Christmas tree in the living room
- Being surrounded by friends and family
- The heating is almost always on
- Eating chocolate all day is acceptable because it's Christmas
- Watching Harry Potter on TV (even though i have all the DVD's there's something special about watching them on TV at Christmas)
- SO much food!!!
- Being able to cuddle my cats (and not ask my Mum to send me photos daily)

I'm excited to share more Christmas themed posts with you all and now I have access to my DSLR the photos will be better quality thank goodness. 

What are your plans for this week?

December Makeup Mixup | 001

Every month I try and mix up a few items in my makeup bag so I get use out of everything in my collection. I decided to start sharing with you the makeup I'll be wearing throughout the month.

MAC MSF Semi Precious Crystal Pink // ELF Blushing Rose // Maybelline The Rocket Mascara

I have had this MAC MSF (review here) for ages but I only rediscovered it recently and I'm so glad I did. I just swipe my brush in the outer colour as the middle section is a little too bronze for me to use as a highlighter.

I am an absolute sucker for blushes and Blushing Rose by ELF is perfect for A/W as it's a deep rose colour with a bit of shimmer. In the pan it looks like there's tonnes of shimmer, but once applied there's only a little bit so you don't end up looking like a glitter ball. ELF is also back up and running online for us in the UK again which is a bonus - however they've upped their prices quite a bit?! 

Finally I've switched up my mascara as my other favourite (Maybelline Lash Sensational) has dried out and I remembered I had Maybelline's The Rocket Mascara in my collection to try. I've been really loving this so far. It gives my lashes so much volume and doesn't flake half way through the day so I can see why there was so much hype about this a while ago.

Are you switching your makeup up this month? Let me know in the comments below!

10 Things To Do This Christmas

I hope you're all enjoying my Christmas posts so far because I've loved planning and writing them. Today I'm sharing with you 10 things to do this Christmas.

1. Watch Christmas films. My favourite Christmas films are here
2. Festive baking
3. Make and Build a gingerbread house
4. Visit Winter Wonderland if you're in the UK
5. Spend time with loved ones
6. Visit Christmas markets 
7. Buy yourself some new winter pyjamas 
8. Or buy yourself a new Christmas jumper
9. Decorate your room with festive decorations
10. Have a cosy night in with your favourite Christmas films, festive cookies and cupcakes and wearing your new Christmas pyjamas!

What do you plan to do this Christmas?

My Favourite Christmas Films

I adore Christmas as it's my favourite time of the year, so today I'm sharing my favourite films with you. Some of them aren't typically Christmas films, but I feel they're still fitting.

1. The Holiday
2. Love Actually
3. Harry Potter
4. ELF
5. Santa Claus: The Movie
6. A Christmas Carol
7. Christmas With The Kranks 

I'm sure some of you will be wondering why I missed off Home Alone, well that's because I've never seen it! I'm sure there's a couple of oth

What are your favourite Christmas films?

My Favourite Dark Lip Combo

This time of year calls for a dark lip and I love it. Previously my favourite dark lip was Topshop's Called Up but since that's not available anymore I have a new favourite combination.  

Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencil Berry Much £4.99 // Essence Lip Liner Honey Berry £1

Technically both of these are lip pencils, but Maybelline's Color Drama pencils are more of a lipstick due to the long lasting wear and I've always used them that way. If you want a full review of these lip pencils, you can read it here. I simple apply Essence's £1 lip liner first, and although the colours don't look like they'd match they work well together when applied on the lips. 

Top - Essence lip liner // Bottom - Maybelline Color Drama

I'm really loving this combination at the moment and it's so long lasting and neither of the products are drying which is always a bonus in this super cold weather!

What's your favourite lip look for these colder months?

Hello December

It's coming up to my favourite time of year...Christmas! I love all of the lights and the cosy evenings in with blankets and candles and all of the Christmas themed drinks and food. 

I'm quite stressed with uni work at the moment as it's my final year (you're probably bored of hearing that by now) and I can't wait to go home to my parents and boyfriend and friends for a while. 

I'm also excited to see my cats and be in a house with heating - a luxury I can't really afford as a student! 

I have already planned my blog posts for this month so look out for those as I'm quite excited about those. 

What are you looking forward to in December?

Christmas Jumpers | Wishlist

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

I'm feeling really festive already and so I've been browsing online for Christmas jumpers, I mean who doesn't love a good Christmas jumper?! I love them all from the garish and out-there to the subtle but festive. So I've compiled a wishlist of all my favourites.

Are you buying a new Christmas jumper this year?

Soap and Glory The Ultimelt Hot Cloth Cleanser | Review

S&G Ultimelt Hot Cloth Cleanser - £10 

A few weeks ago Soap and Glory had 1/3 off selected skincare products so I decided to try Ultimelt Hot Cloth Cleanser as I had heard great things about it and wanted to try a hot cloth cleanser. I love S&G products anyway so I thought this would be a great place for me to start regarding hot cloth cleansers.

The cleanser itself has a slight typical S&G smell, you all know the one, but I find it quite pleasant as it's not overbearing. Since I've bought this cleanser I've really enjoyed using it as it makes my skin so smooth and therefore it gives me a better base for my makeup.

I massage it into my skin for a good few minutes (around 4-5) before using the damp muslin cloth to wipe it off. When I first used this I was shocked at how much makeup was on the cloth, it was quite gross in a way haha! 

Overall, I am really pleased with this cleanser and I'd definitely be happy to repurchase it as my skin feels a lot smoother and I've had less breakouts too which is great.

The only downside to this cleanser is that after a few uses the packaging ends up looking quite battered and squashed, but that's my only gripe with this product.

Have you tried this hot cloth cleanser?