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.

Weight Loss Progress: changing my relationship with food

This is a very different one for me today, but I recently hit a milestone I am pretty proud of, and I wanted to share my story. Hope you don't mind that it's not as beauty based as normal. 

Saving Pennies: Glamour Magazine Clinique Freebies

In case you hadn't already heard Glamour magazine are giving away some amazing Clinique freebies this month and it's definitely worth trying to hunt them down! There are four to chose from: Lip Pops in Cherry Pop and Nude Pop, a High Impact mascara and a dramatically different moisturising lotion. Naturally I picked up the two lipsticks, as well as two for my sister and two for my best friend, because who doesn't want to share the freebie love! So I thought I would give you a mini review and a shout out that they are in shops now.

First Impressions: Narsissist Matte/Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette

I have had my eye on the Narsissist Matte/Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette (catchy name, I know) since it's release, and given it LE status I have always been concerned it would just go out of stock and never come back. So I caved. And it is so beautiful. As I am writing this I have yet to even touch the shadows, so you are getting a complete first impression. 

Top 5: Beauty Advent Calendars 2015

With only a few weeks until the beginning of December, I thought I would compile my favourite beauty advent calendars of the year. With more and more people opting to ditch the traditional chocolate one, brands are really pulling out all the stops when it comes to creating a beauty lovers dream.

1. The One for the Bath Lover: The 12 Days of Christmas, Lush, £49.95

Lush are well known for making amazingly innovative bath products and very cute Christmas gifts. Put the two of the together and you get The 12 Days of Christmas advent calendar containing 12 of their most popular products, including bath bombs, bubble bars and shower creams. It doesn't have the biggest saving compared to the others, but for Lush lovers it's an incredible gift.

The Review: GlamGlow BrightMud Eye Treatment

I know I am so late on the bandwagon with this one, but at around the £40 mark, it varies from store to store, for only 12 uses, I couldn't justify buying the GlamGlow BrightMud Eye Treatment. However, I was in Homesense a few weekends ago and found a box for only £14.99, so I thought I would give it a go and see if it's worth the hefty price tag.

Having a Beauty Clear-Out

It's time for a big beauty clear out, so I thought I'd take you through the steps I usually follow. I started with bodycare, and then went through my makeup and skincare, but each time I checked for the same few things.

Taking an Autumn Stroll...

I seriously love Autumn, and having been dragged out on a family walk a couple of weekends ago I thought I would bring my camera and see what happened. These are my first photos of this kind (as in without people/animals or staged at home) so please be nice! But I thought I would share a few with you as something a little different. 

How To: Plan For Christmas

Now I know this post may seem very premature, but the beginning of November is the very latest I begin to think about all these things and get planning. Christmas is my favourite time of year, not that I am overly religious, but I love my family's traditions, having an excuse to catch up with relatives you rarely see and spending time just enjoying each others company. It's always magical. I am sure at some point I will write a very rambley post on all of our seemingly bizarre traditions that mean such a great deal to me as it's my favourite thing to talk about throughout December. But first I thought I would share some of my hints and tips about planning for Christmas.

October Favourites

It's that time of the month again, and seriously where has October gone! So many exciting things have happened this month I haven't had a great deal of time to try out new products, but some oldies have definitely become firm favourites.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Metallic Pomegranate (£4.99):

Anyone who has ever read my blog before must know how much I love these cream shadows. They last for ages on the lid, come it a great range of shades and are so affordable! I wear berry shades all year round, but at this time of year there is nothing better than a red-toned eye with lashings of liquid liner. Metallic Pomegranate is such a pigmented yet wearable shade which really compliments my green eyes.

Payday Wishlist

It's pay day this week! I am so excited! As it's my first paycheck from my new job I feel a spend coming on! So I've complied a wishlist and hopefully at least a few of these will be making their way into my stash throughout the month.

1. This Zara Scarf (£19.99) is just stunningly simplistic and would go with my entire monochrome wardrobe. Zara always do amazing scarves this time of year, from traditional checks to full on blanket scarves there is always some good ones in stock. But if you see one you like, get it, it won't still be there by the time you go back (talking from experience I'm afraid). 

Seasonal Skincare Switchup

During the summer I settled into a pretty consistent skincare routine and my skin seemed fairly normal. As soon as the cold weather hits, which has come out of nowhere this past week, my skin gets dry and tight and becomes a general nuisance. Here's a few things I like to switch up to keep my skin happy during the season change.

As much as I like balmy cleansers normally, when the cold weather comes they are basically all I use to cleanse my skin, as they are so nourishing and never leave my skin feeling stripped. I love the Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter and Sarah Chapman's Ultimate Cleanse. Both hydrate my skin and provide a clean fresh base ready for the next layers of my routine.

MAC Lipstick Collection

I haven't done a MAC lipstick collection before, because well, I am not sure you could call four a collection. But there are a couple of shades that don't get talked about much online, and I have just bought a fifth, so I thought I would compile a mini collection post.

The Seven Day Manicure

Last week I chatted about my favourite manicure essentials, the tools to make regular nail polish look on point, but when it comes to a fuss-free manicure that lasts all week, there is only one thing I reach for.

The CND Vinylux Weekly Polishes are the at-home sister of Shellac, which can be taken off with regular nail polish remover. There is no need to use a base coat with these ones as the colour coat is 'self-adhering'. I am not entirely sure what that means as it does adhere to the nails too, but it doesn't stain or damage the nails at all so a base coat is unnecessary. When used with the Weekly Top Coat these dry so quickly! Most topcoats claim 'touch dry in seconds', and touch dry is never really touch dry, where as this one is genuinely dry within a matter of minutes, creating a perfect manicure even if you are short on time.