Staying Mindful: Have a Stress Free Christmas

I don't know about you but as much as I find this time of year really exciting, it is also overly stressful and manic. Everywhere is busier and nosier, and there is the stress of getting everything chosen, bought and wrapped on time; it all gets a bit much. So below are my tops tips for staying as stress free as possible this season.

Plan Plan Plan

I wrote a whole Planning for Christmas Post here, so I won't ramble on too much about it, but planning is definitely the key to having everything ready on time. From food to presents, a good list and starting early will help to take some of the pressure off.

Cut Down The To-Do-List

Ask 'what happens if this doesn't get done?'. Not essential? Cross it off. Then when you have your pruned list, don't be afraid to delegate. There are usually other members of the family or friends who would love help take the pressure off. 

Shop Smart

Shops get horrendously busy around this time of year, and it's just not fun for anyone. Shopping online can be hassle free and a great way to avoid the rush. Or avoid peak times and weekends. Taking a day off work and shopping midweek is often quieter, but if you can only go at weekends, try being there as the shops open. They will get busier during the day, but you'll get a few hours of peaceful(ish) shopping time. 

Take Some Time Out

A relaxing bath, a long pamper night, an hour with a colouring book or however you like to relax. Taking some regular time out will help to ease the pressure and give you a much needed break. Although it's not long until Christmas, it's not the be all and end all, so remember you have take some time off for yourself too.

I'd love to know if you have any other tips for a stress free holiday season!

Beauty Gift Guide: £15 and under

As my last couple of gift guides were fairly bulky (if you missed them catch up with luxe beauty and mid-range gifts here), I thought I would whittle through these ones a little quicker.

Makeup:
Ted Baker Sparkle And Shine (£8) - lip/cheek stain & nail varnish in bauble
Ciate Paint Pot Pair (£10) - 2 mini nail varnishes in bauble
Topshop Christmas Lip Bullet Duo (£10) - 2 festive shades of the Topshop Lip Bullets
Ciate Oh Christmas Tree (£15) - 2 mini nail varnishes

Skincare:
Liz Earle Sweet Orange & Mint Cleanse & Polish (£9.75) - 50ml Cleanse & Polish + cloth
Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm Decoration (£10) - 15ml cleansing balm + cloth
Caudalie Beauty Elixir Bauble (£11.50) - the Beauty Elixir in a bauble
Decleor Instant Glow Mask Collection (£12) - 2 mini face masks (1 use each)

Clinique Little Holiday Helpers (£15) - 3 mini skincare items (15-30ml) & a mini chubby stick

Hair:
Philip Kingsley Geranium & Neroli Elasticizer Duo (£12) - 2 40ml Elasticizers
Toni & Guy Create The Tousled Waves Look (£15) - 250ml shampoo & conditioner + salt spray

Bath/Body:
Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter Drum (£5) - 200ml body butter bauble
Bayliss & Harding Midnight Fig & Pomegranate Cracker (£8) - 500ml shower gel
Sanctuary Little Tin Of Treats (£8) - 3 mini shower gels + body polisher
Soap & Glory Three Times Butter (£8) - 3 50ml body butters
Soap & Glory Winter Wonderhand (£8) - 3 50ml hand creams
Molton Brown Eucalyptus Festive Bauble (£10) - 75ml shower gel bauble
Soap & Glory Once Upon A Lime (£10) - collection of Sugar Crush minis
Aromatherapy Associates The Star (£10) - 9ml Revive bath oil in bauble

Other:
This Works Dream Team (£10) - Stress Less rollerball & mini Deep Sleep spray
Seventeen Makeup Brush Explosion (£12) - 3 eye brushes, 1 lip brush & a cheek brush.

Beauty Gift Guide: £15 - £35

It's time for part 2 of my beauty gift guide! Catch up on Part 1: Luxury Beauty here if you haven't already, and lets get started.

Starting with body care, Soap and Glory always do amazing gift sets in this price range. I think my favourite this year has to be the Poptastic (£18) as the box it comes in as so cute, and is a gift in it's own right. I love it when packaging is good enough to be used once the products have been finished up. So this set contains 6 of their best-selling products: Clean On Me shower gel, Hand Food hand cream, The Scrub Of Your Life body scrub, The Righteous Butter body butter, Heel Genius foot cream and the original pink body spray. Amazing value for money, and would be a great gift for people of any age, plus it's included in the Boots 3 for 2 so you can save even more.

Luxe Beauty Gift Guide: Over £35

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, meaning it's beauty gift guide season! Advent is here so it's less than 4 weeks until the big day, and I am surprisingly organised. We are giving all our wider family gifts out this weekend, as it's the last time we'll see some of them before Christmas, so everything is bought, wrapped and ready to go. Because of this I have been in present shopping mode for quite so time so, big congrats to me for holding out and not posting this at the beginning of November, but I thought that was a little excessive. Anyway, less rambling and lets get into the over £35 gift guide for her. 

The Review: Pixi Skintreats Glow Collection

Ever since buying the Glow Tonic I have wanted to try so much more from Pixi, so when their Skintreats range seriously expanded earlier this year I knew I had to get my hands on some. I chose the Glow Mist, Overnight Glow Serum and Glow Mud Mask to pump some much needed radiance back into my skin, so I thought I would show you what I think so far.

Tips For A Gluten-Free Christmas

Good food has got to be one of the best things about Christmas time, from the huge roast to Christmas puddings and Boxing Day left-overs it's always brilliant. But so many 'traditional' Christmas foods contain gluten and, until recently, decent alternatives are few and far between. So I thought I would compile my top tips and recommendations for surviving a gluten-free Christmas.

Saving Pennies: Space NK Freebies, Samples & Voucher Code Haul

There is little I like more than finding voucher codes for discounts off something I was already going to buy, or getting to the checkout and being offered free samples. So when I received my latest Space NK order (for the Narsissist palette, full review here) I was ecstatic with how many 'freebies' there were in it, costing no more than I would have spent on just the palette! I thought I would combine them into a haul and mini reviews as there are some pretty good products in there.