John Lewis Secret Santa goodies

Hello all you lovely people.  It's December tomorrow!!! oooooh

I was really lucky to be asked to take part in the John Lewis Secret Santa. We were chosen a blogger and had to pick an item for them from a selection of gifts on the John Lewis website.  My blogger was Liza from Glam Beautys and I was so pleased she liked her gift.

We were then told our own gift was being sent and I was really excited.  The postman arrived with a big John Lewis parcel so I knew this was my gift!! I pulled open the wrapper and found a beautiful white leather Mango bag*.  It is so pretty, the perfect size and shape for me and I didn't have a plain white bag so yay!

Mango Shopper Handbag £24.49*

Then a day later, again came the delivery man.  I thought it was a mistake but it was another parcel for me!!  This time I tore open the package and it was the Nails Inc Christmas crackers* which are so gorgeous and sparkly.  Now this would make the perfect Christmas gift.  The nail polish colours are fab, there is a great variety from blue to red glitter and they are names after places in London, how cool!!  What I really love is the little girly quote that comes in each cracker.. how cute!!

Nails Inc Christmas Crackers Collection £26.55*

Thank you so much to John Lewis for including me in this years Secret Santa, it was so much fun.  And thank you to Liza from Glam Beauty's for selecting such great gifts for me :-)

Long Hair Don't Care | Hot Hair Fishtail Plait Review*

I have used hair extensions for years and even made my own clip in ones, before you could buy them easily in the shops.  The Halo is one of my favourites which I recently reviewed here.  But recently I have been trying out the Fishtail Plait from Hot Hair (£19.20).

The braid itself comes in 10 colours so the chances are you will find one to match your own hair.   The colour I went for was 'Strawberry' which has quite a few different colours through it. Although the hair is sythetic in my opinion it looks as real as it can do.  By messing up the plait it looks even more realistic because then it doesn't look too 'perfect'.

If you have short hair it is really easy to apply,  just pop your hair in a ponytail, wrap the top of the braid around it and secure with kirby grips.  It did take me a little while to figue out how to actually use the hair piece myself because my hair is past my shoulders and quite thick (I will do a tutorial on this shortly).  Once I had it in I was really impressed, it looked fab.  Filling up my car with petrol at the garage the female attendend commented how great my hair looked and asked how I did it! Did I give away my secret? Of course not!!

I think it will take me a little longer to perfect using this plait and working it in to other styles which I am excited about because it adds a little wow factor to your doo.

For £20 I definitely recommend this especially for those with short hair.

I would love to know if you have tried any products like this and how you style them?

A little gift for me from me

Hi all, can you believe it is nearly December? I am so excited.  Even my mum is getting in the Xmas spirit early, normally she puts up the tree 7 days before Xmas at the earliest this year she is putting up the lights on the 1st of December. Crazy! I am so glad that I will be in Scotland with my family for the run up to Xmas too it makes me so happy.

With all the excitement and gift giving in mind I decided to treat myself to a little something.  I have wanted the iPad mini since it came out last year but have waited and waited and finally I thought, I have worked so hard over the past few months I deserve a treat.  So off I popped to the apple store and picked up my new little beauty!!

I decided on the iPad mini 16gb in black and am so happy with it.  Fortunately I had a £100 gift voucher for the apple store so ended up only paying £149.

Have you treated yourself to anything lovely lately?

Beauty Pageants, Amy Willerton and the I'm a Celeb Jungle.

Amy Willerton on the I'm a celebrity jungle seems to have really sparked up the age old debate about beauty and beauty pagents.  Today I was watching 'Loose Women' (as you do) and was taken back at the negative things some of the ladies had to say about beauty pagents.  Along with watching last nights episode of I'm a Celebrity get me out of here really got me thinking.   Is something wrong with celebrating beauty? and is it the beauty of some causing others to feel insecure partly to blame for this negativity?

I have been a model for 10 years and along with this I co organised the Miss Great Britain Beauty  pageant when Danielle Lloyd was the winner and for a few years after that.  So I feel like I have been on both sides of the fence.


I am also very passionate about empowering young women and hope to one day be a role model for them to feel beautiful no matter what their size, shape or hair colour. 

I ask you, is the problem really with beauty pageants or is it that we are comparing ourselves to the women in the pageants and the pictures we see in magazines and of celebrities?  Is it not that we are failing to be empowered and have self confidence instilled in us from a young age? We see our friends/parents criticing themselves and the way they look but telling us to feel confident and that we are perfect the way we are, surely we should be practicing what we preech and leading by example?

So is focusing on things like beauty pageants  helpful? If pageants were banned would all of our insecurities suddenly melt away? Would the eating disorders in young girls and boys stop? Would plastic surgery fail to exist?

Isn't being able to recognise beauty without it making us feel insecure a better goal than trying in vain to ban beauty pageants and therefore inadvertedly saying you can not celebrate your beauty?


I know from my own experience one day I will feel great about myself go out wearing no makeup and be happy to sit with a group of glammed up gorgeous friends without feeling insecure, another day I would find this prospect attrocious. 

In this particular instance, surely it is not Amy's fault that she is beautiful and therefore causing others like Rebecca Adlington to feel bad about themselves?

Comments from Rebbeca like "she doesn't know what its like on a day to day basis she is stunning" and "she is stick thin, got theses push up bras that make her boobs seem massive , shes absolutely beautiful, its just one of those things that we are promoting that way of being that way and its like why not just be a normal girl"

The thing is we are all normal no matter how we look. Millions adorn their bodies with tattoos just like millions wear push up bras and hair extensions.

There will always be beautiful people in this world with or without beauty pageants.  Don't we need to work on our self confidence and inner beauty to be able to say that dress looks amazing on your tiny waist without it making us feel bad?

I am very intersted to hear all your comments and thoughts on this.

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The Detox wrap at home that works!

Hi all you beauties.  I have been doing some research on detox wraps, and what is suitable for use at home and I have been trying out a few.  I am not in the market to loose weight because I am happy with the size I am but I was happy to find something which reduced bloating for a few days.  Perfect if you want to fit in to a dress for a party this season and have a flat stomach without too much effort.

Welcome Arbonne Seasource Spa detox wrap.  Perfect.  To be honest I wasn't sure how this would work but I had heard and seen pictures of great results. So off I went to see..

This is pretty easy to do and takes about an hour including preparation and leave on time.  Bearing in mind you are not too messy so can safely sit in your dressing gown watch tv or read a book while it works it's magic.

What you need

1. Arbonne Seasource Detox Spa purifying Sea Soak

2. Arbonne Seasource Detox Spa Renewing Body Gelée

3. Arbonne Seasource Detox Spa foaming Sea Salt Scrub

5. Cling film

6. Bandages

The first thing you need to do is put on some shorts or comfy trousers and a sports top or bra. Pop in a 1/3 sachet of the Arbonne Purifying Sea Soak to 4 cups warm water in to a bowl or the sink.  Place the bandages in solution to soak.  While this is soaking use the Arbonne foaming Sea Salt body scrub on the areas you are targeting so around your waist, hips, back and wash off.  Next generously apply the Arbonne Body Gelée to the same areas.  Rinse out the bandages and wrap snugly around the area.  Secure with a safety pin or if your bandages have clips great.  The last step is to wrap yourself up snugly with the cling film.  Don't make it too tight so that you are uncomfortable but tightly enough that it feels like support pants.  Leave for 45 minutes then remove.  Bobs your uncle hello flat tummy!

I lost an inch from the top part of my stomach and an inch from around my hips and belly which was great.  I was so happy with the results so wanted to share it with you all.

Arbonne products are free from parabens, Gluten, animal products or by products, they are Vegan approved and cruelty free.

It works out at £5 per wrap which I think is very reasonable.

Have you ever tried an at home wrap?

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5 best Christmas gifts for your dog

You might be thinking has the girl gone mad, surely she doesn't buy an actual gift for her dog and well yes, yes I do.  It may not quite be along the lines of a dog shower (although not ruling that out for the future) it is more like a cute little jumper which she doesn't wear and a bone.

But for those who like to treat their little prince or princess to something special at Christmas here is a list of the 5 best Christmas gifts for your dog :-)

pop up portable bath & sdog shower | bubble machine for dogs | Dog lips toy | pet peek pet window | interactive dog bowl

Which is your favourite? Will you be buying any of these for your pooch?

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Autumn Favourites | Maybelline Color Tatoo 24HR Eyeshadows

Maybelline Color Tatoo eyeshadows (£4.99 each) were one of those products that was so hyped I thought there is no way they will live up to the hype.  When I first got them back in August I found them quite difficult to apply, did I use a brush? Do I use my fingers? It just seemed that no matter what I did they came out all smudgy. Yuk.  However, with perseverance they have become one of my favourite products to use.  It just takes a little bit of time to get use to them and trying different application methods to work out what works best for you.

I love how quickly you can apply them and how easily they can be layered.  Not to mentioned they don't crease and last all day. Now I want every colour.  My favourite thing to do with them is apply on and on bronze with my finger on the lid dabbing gently, blend a little immortal charcoal on the crease and use the tip of my ring finger to swipe under my bottom lashes.  It is so quick to do, lasts all day and looks really autumnal and pretty.

How do you wear your Maybelline color tatoo eyeshadows?

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John Lewis Secret Santa Blogger Challenge

It's Elf!! one of my favourite Christmas films :-) But this post isn't abouat Elf, it is about the John Lewis Secret Santa Blogger challenge.  I am so excited that they have asked me to take part, it's going to be a hoot.

So what is it all about? John Lewis have selected a group of bloggers who will all give gifts to each other from John Lewis. The challenge is that we have no idea who we are buying for yet! But on Monday the 11th of November we will all be sent the name of the blogger who we are gifting and have 48 hours to research their blog and choose the best gift for them.  Eeep it is going to be so much fun, I wonder who will be picking for me?  

All our gifts will be sent on the 25th November, a month before Christmas.  I was always told not to open my presents before Christmas day but in this instance Christmas will come early!! I am super excited to read about what everyone got in the John Lewis Secret Santa.

Are you taking part in this blogger challenge? 

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REVIEW | Barry M Flawless Matte Foundation with Swatches

Hi beauties!  I am so excited to be doing this review today.  I have been trying the Barry M Flawless Matte Foundation (£5.99) for 3 weeks now and have lots to talk about.

Barry M describes it as "An oil free formulation, containing soothing moisturisers with skin healing properties, for a flawless matte finish"

First of all the packaging is gorgeous, it reminds me of the Benefit Hello Flawless bottle. Lovely bright pink text on a 'matte' look bottle, with blogger friendly font.  You can also see how much product is left due to the opaque nature of the bottle.  

The product dispenses easily with the pump attached to the bottle, thumbs up for that, nobody likes making a mess with their makeup.

The product itself feels really soft and applies very easily.  I use the Real Techniques expert face brush for a flawless finish and I found the coverage to be medium-full and easily buildable.  It has a slight perfumey smell which I would rather it didn't have but I have got use to it now.

My mum even said she thought it looked great and I found it lasts for up to 10 hours.

The only 'flaw' with this 'flawless' foundation is that the colour range is quite limited.  I have been using a mixture of beige and sand to get the perfect colour and my skin is a medium shade at the moment.  I would say those with pale or medium skin would be more likely to find a suitable shade but those with dark skin would struggle.

All in all I really love this foundation, it does exactly what it says on the tin giving me a flawless matte look. I can honestly say it is a great dupe for Estee Lauder Double wear, which I wore all of last winter. Considering the price difference is £23 it is deffinitely one to try.

What do you think lovelies? Will you be giving this a go?

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What a Bargain!! Festive Candle Haul

Well can you believe it is November already? It feels like autumn has just hit us in Scotland, which is strange normally it is snowing by now.  I am starting to feel more and more Christmassy, so I wanted to get some new Festive candles.  I have seen so many people writing about the Yankee Candle offerings but the baragin hunter in me wanted to find something more purse friendly.

So off I popped to TK Maxx.  They had so many, I definitely recommend going there if you are in the market for some cheap candles.  I could have bought 3 or 4 but narrowed it down to these 2 beauties.

Reflections (£5.99)

This is my favourite of the two.  Think of the smell when you go in to a garden centre filled with real Christmas trees and you have this scent.  Totally delightful.

Winter Frost (£5.99)

This one smells like Christmas spices with a touch of creaminess.  Also really lovely

I think £5.99 for an 18oz candle is totally amazing.  Plus the jars will make lovely containers for sweeties or biscuits once the candles are done.

I would love to hear what your favourite Festive candle scents are?

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