Hello 2013

How is it even possible that we have less than 24 hours left of 2012? It seems insane and this year has flown by, and it's definitely been an interesting one! I'm planning a seperate post on what 2012 means to me but for now I'd like to focus on all the things I would like to achieve in 2013

I never fail to amaze myself with how I can be completely OCD about some things and so chaotic with others! In 2013 I'd like to become more organised, especially on my blog and with all my University work. Hopefully this will mean more frequent posts and make things a lot easier and less stressful for me!

2013 needs to be the year I learn to drive and pass my test! I always say I'm going to get round to starting lessons but I never do, but it's becoming desperate times now! I'm promising myself to start saving up for a car and making time to get some driving lessons! 

When it comes to skin care I am so lazy it's actually shocking. This year I need to be more strict with my skincare regime, which definitely means no more sleeping in my make up after a night out! I'm also going to remove my make up wipes from beside my bed, which will force me to take my make up off properly instead of just wiping my face while I'm in bed watching TV! 

This year my mum and dad very generously decorated my bedroom for me, and they put so much time and energy into making it exactly what I wanted but in the past few months I've been abusing it a bit and it's been so messy! I've given it a quick post-christmas present tidy up but I really need to sort through all my things and get rid of the things I never use and KEEP IT TIDY! 

The past month or so I've been really down at University and I'm really not enjoying it much, which is ridiculous seeing as how hard I worked to get to where I am now. So in 2013 I'm going to try and focus on it a lot more and keep going with it! 

Have you got any New Years resolutions? Let me know! X 

*all images taken from weheartit.com 

Christmas Gifts 2012

Hi guys! First of all I'd like to wish everyone a very belated Merry Christmas! How quickly has this week flown by? This time seven days ago I was laying in my bed too hungover to move feeling sorry for myself and dreaming of turkey and presents! The past few weeks have been a complete whirlwind of working (damn you retail!) getting my last minute Christmas presents, eating, lazing around and sleeping! 

I thought I'd share with you some of the presents I received over the Christmas period, I've been so incredibly spoilt this year and I'm so lucky to have such amazing loved ones! 

For Christmas my mum and dad gave me the money to finally be able to buy the Ted Baker bag I've been lusting after for pretty much forever! It took me forever to decide on which colour to pick, I was quite taken by the baby pink but I thought that might be a bit too in your face, and black was too boring so I settled for half way with purple! This bag is one of the best gifts I've ever received and it hasn't left my side since I've got it! 

My phone was due for an upgrade from the 1st of January but after some top class bargaining from my mum (the woman is a genius when it comes to getting things from companies!) I was able to get it a few days early (and half price!) so I decided to treat myself and class it as a delayed Christmas present! I wasn't too excited about the iPhone 5 as I've had a 4 for the past two years and I didn't think there will be much difference but I was so wrong and basically I'm in love all over again!

My eldest brother gifted me the Nails Inc Runway Collection gift set and if I didn't know better I'd think he was reading my blog! My nails have been in appalling condition recently so this has given me the kick up the bum needed to sort them out! I'm currently wearing Porchester Square with Technic's Carnival over the top for a New Years inspired nails! 

My brother also gifted me the Benefit 'Passport to Posh' gift set. Bad Gal mascara is one of my favourites but I cant bring myself to spend money on the full sized so this was very eagerly received! I'm looking forward to playing with this set! 

I'm a massive sucker for Yankee Candles and this Christmas gift set has a lot of my favourites in it! Despite Christmas quickly becoming a fond memory I will be using these for months to come just because I adore the scents. 

I also treated myself to the Naked Basics palette just before Christmas, but I'm still not 100% sold on it, and have been using my MUA palettes over this recently. Admittedly I'm a little put off by the vast array of matte shades as I'm usually a shimmer girl but I'm determined to try to make friends with this palette! 

How were your Christmases? And have you got any plans for New Years Eve? I'm going out to dinner with my mum and dad (and my TB bag!) and then I'm gonna crack on with the million assignments that are due in soon that I've been neglecting! X 

Soap and Glory 'Best of All' Christmas Hamper

I'm sure one of the most talked about products on the blogosphere this weekend is definitely Soap and Glory's 'Best of All' and in particular the great value it has been, due to it being Boots' Gift of The Week, meaning its RRP of £60 has been slashed to only £27.This is great value and I definitely didn't want to miss out, so I traveled down to my local Boots first thing on Friday morning to pick one up! I was the first one through the door at 9am and I was a little apprehensive to see that they were still advertising the previous weeks GOTW! Luckily a lovely sales assistant explained the promo was in the middle of being changed, but she went out the back to fetch me what I was so desperate for!
I was really looking forward to seeing this years offerings from Soap and Glory after being really impressed with last years Big Splendour set, yet I'm still undecided if this years live up to my high expectations!

One of my main worries about Best of All was the packaging. After stalking Soap and Glory's Facebook Page last year I saw many ladies left disappointed after the products being damaged in the box, and having to go back to Boots to replace them. As I was heading straight to Uni after picking this up I was worried that I was going to damage something but luckily I didn't! S&G have chosen to use the same method as last year and place the products inside the bag in a cardboard box. This allows the products to move around which could potentially lead to bumps and leaking products, although I have seen no complaints as of yet! 

Im pleased to see that Best of All has included some newer products as well as some old favourites. Most of these products I have not used before so I was more than happy to receive them!

Smoothie Star Body Lotion - RRP £10 

This is one of Soap and Glory's offerings that I have yet to try, but it smells lovely! On the packaging it recommends using this with The Breakfast Scrub, which is my favourite scrub of all time so I look forward to trying this! 

Clean on Me Shower Gel - RRP £5.50 

I first tried this after getting it in last year's gift set, which I still haven't finished using! I would have preferred to see a newer product such as Foam Call in it's place but I was still more than happy to receive more of this staple S&G shower gel!

Sugar Crush Body Scrub - RRP £8.00

Admittedly this was not a product I was originally drawn to when it first popped up on my local Boots shelves! I personally think the scent of Lime is too overpowering for me so I'm in no rush to swap my beloved Breakfast Scrub for this, but I'm still willing to try this when my other runs out! 

The Righteous Butter - RRP £10.50

I'm already a massive fan of this moisturiser, and you can read my full review of it here. I always have a tub of this close by to my bed! Unfortunately for me I brought a litre tub of this not too long ago so it will be a while before this baby gets used! 

Hand Food Hand Cream - RRP £5.00 

I have honestly lost count of how many of these I have hidden around! It seems this appears in most Soap and Glory gift sets so I must have at least 10 tubes of these! I'm really terrible with using hand creams so this will probably just get thrown in my bag and forgotten about! 

Peaches and Clean Deep Cleansing Milk - RRP £7.00

This is another Soap and Glory product I have yet to try but I know my lovely friend Sophie featured it in her  October Favourites and I trust her judgements! I really liked the Face Soap and Clarity that was featured in last years gift set so I'm looking forward to trying this out! 

Heel Genius Foot Cream - RRP £5.50

This is another product I always tend to neglect and I really don't know why as I really shouldn't! I have a nearly full tube of this beside my bed to remind me to use it more often so again this will be another spare for me! 

Thick and Fast Mascara - RRP £10 

I'm glad to see some of Soap and Glory's cosmetics range in the gift set but I was a bit gutted to receive this particular mascara as it was free in a magazine (Company?) earlier this year! Despite that it is a lovely mascara and I have no problems with it! I suppose this was an easy choice for the manufacturers as mascara is a pretty simple product everyone uses, without worrying about different shades and such! Would have personally preferred one of their eye-shadow palettes or eyeliners but that is just my personal opinion! 

Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss in Punch Bowl - RRP £9.00

This is another product that appeared in last years gift set, although in a different shade. I went through a phase of wearing these lip glosses all the time but grew out of them pretty quickly. The Lip Plumping effect is incredibly usual and I'm still not 100% sure I like it! However I have been sticking to my lipsticks (no pun intended) recently but I might switch back to this as it is a gorgeous pink colour! 

Soap and Glory also included a booklet full of saving vouchers which I think is a brilliant touch! There are nine offers to use between boxing day and March so plenty of opportunities to save money of earn extra Boots advantage points! Each voucher has a different time span of about 4 weeks to use so there is always something different of offer! 

Overall I am incredibly impressed with this years offerings and I will use most of the products in it. However if I remember correctly Big Splendour had 10 items in and was slightly cheaper? Can anyone confirm this? Despite that it is definitely amazing value for money! 

Unfortunately Boots have sold out of these beauties online, but they are still available in store for £27 until this Friday - the 21st! 

Have you brought this gift set for yourself or as a gift? X 

NOTD: Christmas Nails!

I've been really struggling with getting into the Christmas spirit recently and I have tried everything on the list, my Christmas shopping is done and wrapped, the tree is up and I've been forcing myself to listen to the Christmas songs that are playing constantly at work but I am just not feeling it! 

In an attempt to get some Christmas cheer I busted out my nail polishes and got to work on this Christmas print. Admittedly it's not my best work as I haven't used my nail art pens in forever so my hand was a little shakey, and it looks terrible because my nails are in horrendous condition, but doing this definitely got me in the mood for Christmas! 

Unfortunately though due to the amount of hard work I've been doing at H&M recently this design lasted a grand total of a day before going all chipped and horrible, but I definitely will be redoing this again soon and making the most of the festive season on my nails! 

Have you created any Christmas inspired nail art? Let me know! X