Competition | Debenhams Womenwear Winter Challenge Win £500

Debenhams have launched an exciting competition for bloggers who have a natural talent for fashion. All you have to do to enter is to create a mood board which presents two stylish winter outfits. One should showcase a daytime look, which will keep you warm and cosy but looking good through the colder months; and the other outfit should be your ultimate party look. One lucky winner will receive £500 of Debenhams vouchers and two runners up will win a £50 voucher each.

I am a huge fan of Debenhams, it is my favourite department store and one of the places I turn to when I need an outfit for a dinner, wedding and any occasion that requires a little more effort than a trip to the highstreet.

I decided to enter this competition and have created my two outfits which are showing below and I would love to know what you think:

Look One

Meeting up with the girls often requires a little more than jeans and a top and I like to make the effort and go somewhere between casual and comfortable but smart as well.

Coffee with the girls by beautyqueenuk featuring black leggings

Look Two
Party season is still on-going and again the look for me has to be right and I have to be comfortable.  This is my outfit

Party Time... by beautyqueenuk featuring a crystal tennis bracelet

How to Enter

The winter style challenge will be judged by Natasha from girlinthelens.comand Victoria vipxo.co.uk.

To enter, create your blog post and then add the link to your entry in the comments section under either Natasha or Victoria’s posts about the competition.  You will have to be quick though because it closes on Monday 13 January 2014

Requirements

Your entry must include the product name and price for each item you choose.

Together, Victoria and Natasha will choose the overall winner based on how stylish and imaginative the outfits are. They will also each choose a runner up from their own comments section – so if you think you share the same tastes as either Victoria or Natasha, choose wisely when posting your entry! We’ll announce the winners on this page and on Victoria and Natasha’s blogs soon after the closing date.

You can find Victoria’s post here and Natasha’s post here.
If you do enter I would love to see your entries, so please do tweet me and link me to your post or post the link in the comment section below.

Terms and conditions for this competition can also be found HERE

Good Luck

Valentines Ideas for Him

If you have been in any Supermarket, Card Shop or are signed up to any beauty and fragrance websites, you will be more than aware that Valentines Day is just around the corner.

So I have put together a rather creative list of the kind of things I know my beloved would like and want.


Adopting an animal is something I chose because he did it for me a few years back and it was so lovely and unique.  We are both animal lovers anyway and have three cats of our own not to mention an aquarium full of fish and love going to the zoo.

If you have a stressed out and tired hubby/partner a bit of TLC goes a long way and sending them off for a massage and some pampering is something I have always looked at doing.  My beloved has a stressful job and I think it would be nice to send him off for a few hours of me time.

If you don't take Valentines Day too seriously then something jokey like I.O.U vouchers are brilliant inside a card, some are much more naughty than others and require some imagination and others are simply "I.O.U a cup of tea every morning for x amount of time" and so on.

If money was no option, luxury Rolex watches are something I would want to invest in.  I know a few people who are lucky enough to have them and not only are they stunning they actually keep their value, many increasing at time goes on.

The final option is a meal for two.  For me, one of the best things is going out for a meal, just the two of us and there being no shopping, food preparation, cooking, washing up and so on.  A nice relaxing dinner, with wine is for me a perfect ending to a day and something I want to do more of.

What have you got planned for Valentines Day? Does the Man/Lady in your life get special treatment?

Wherefore Art thou?

One question a lot of people ask me is "what is there to do in London"  the answer which offers endless possibilities, even for those on a budget.  Living in London there are no end to things that you can do, visit and see and most of them are free.  One thing I love to do is to visit art galleries, a simple search on Google will tell you that there are over 1000 art galleries in London, some more well known than others and some specialising in certain collections and not as well known.

I am by no means an art expert and I don’t have a particular something that I like, though my favourite painting is Sunflowers by Van Gogh.  My own walls at home are a mish-mash of things I have liked, for example:

I have the bright coloured paint splatter which is actually an original painting done by The Blueman Group when I went to see them at the Theatre and I loved it so much my Husband bought it for me and it sits in my hallway on a white wall.  The next one, is a set of three photos of Manchester, my Husbands home and the final one is in my bedroom and is from Habitat and I simply liked the design.  The big space below represents a bare wall in my lounge, for which I am yet to find something to fill it and wondering around art galleries, always gives me ideas.  If there was one talent I wish I could have, it would be to be able to draw, I struggle when it comes to stickmen and at school art was never my strong point.

One of my favourite places to visit is The Saatchi Gallery on one of my favourite roads in London – The Kings Road and I have visited it many times and best of all admission is free.  Whether you love still life, abstract, surrealism or photography to name but a few different types, for me the Saatchi gallery has it all. I have spent many hours simply wandering around just looking and it is such a great way to escape the reality of life for a few hours and sit and wonder at some of the pieces on display. 

Source - A6 Wandering Line 1 by Tom Hendo

Source - painting by Paola Bazz titled Faces 5

Source - Find Out by Claire Desjardins

Source - Meridians by Lori Dell

Even if you cannot get to the actual gallery, all is not lost because you can also checkout new artists at saatchionline.com, see what events are on, have a preview of some of the artwork on show, and there is also a shop which enables you to buy paintings and prints online.

Do you have a lot of art, photographs and pictures on your walls at home? 

 My aim has always been to fill the big empty space on my wall in the lounge, something I am yet to do.

My Favourite Products 2013 - Part 4

Having brought to you my favourite products for my lips, body and hair and then face, today I am bringing to you my favourite Make-up products of 2013, these are products that I have gone back to time and time again and absolutely love.

Make-Up

Make-up is one of those 'terms' and some of those 'products' that I love to use.  I am by no means an expert and nor I am overly confident in what I am doing which is why you will rarely see a FOTD post from me.  I tend to stick with what I know and like and experimenting isn't something I am good at, but here are my favourite products of 2013.

Seche Vite - Whilst I need to look after my nails a little bit more than I do to ensure they are not as weak and brittle as they are now, Seche Vite is by far one of the best products I have used on my nails.  I always use it as a top coat whenever I polish my nails and it dries so quickly and gives me a few extra days of no chipping with my nail polish.

Rough Dior 649 - I reviewed this lipstick HERE and it is to date my most favourite lipstick.  I was introduced to it at a Debenhams Beauty event that I was lucky to attend and have my make-up done by Dior and I was so impressed with the lip colour, I now own two for myself.

Porefessional - The first product I am to feature from Benefit and one of my favourites.  As a balm that minimises the pores I love that it does exactly that for me and I have gone through quite a few tubes of it to date and I am now using up my mini samples before deciding whether or not to re-purchase or try something else.

Fine One One - Another product from Benefit and one that I won from a Blogger Competition.  I wanted this product as soon as it came out, but I held off for ages reading review after review of it, some great and some not so great.  I love it and use it more as a highlighter on my cheek bones and it gives this really lovely shimmer and sheen once it is applied.

They-re Real - My current favourite mascara, the first time I used it, I knew it would be one of those products that would stay in my make-up bag.  I love how it makes my lashes look and appear longer, how it doesnt clump or flake once it is applied and it lasts a really long time once it is on my lashes.

Dream Weave & Co. Original Lash Extension Magnet Mascara - I was introduced to this product in October when I was kindly sent one to try out and review which you can see HERE.  I am so impressed with it that it is always in my bag.

Hoola - Again from Benefit, Hoola is my all time favourite Bronzer and when I was first given this I thought it would be far too dark for my very light skin-tone, however, I was mildly surprised that it actually looks really good on my skin and as long as I don't apply too much of it, it can look really natural.

Suede by Sleek - This product was my first introduction to the world that is Sleek make-up and it is currently my favourite product from Sleek.  I reviewed it back in October which you can see HERE and I pretty much wear it everyday because it is quite subtle and gives a lovely colour to my cheeks.

Hello Flawless - My all time favourite powder from Benefit and I wear it everyday, usually over a BB Cream as I am yet to find my Holy Grail foundation, they always seem too dark for my skintone, so I stick with a BB cream and this to give me a look I am comfortable with and it has an SPF15 which impresses me.

That Gal - Yep another Benefit product from me and I use That Gal quite a lot because I like it a Primer, it definitely does make my make-up last much longer and I dont get the feeling of clogged pores from using it, which is something I disliked from a similar product from another brand.

Collection Eyeshadow Pencils - I bought two of them on a whim a few months ago and Vintage Blush which is shown above is the shade I use more often than not.  As well as an eyeshadow, which is really easy to apply, I have also used it as a highlighter and it works really well.  I reviewed the two crayons  which you can read HERE

Max Factor Colour Elixir - I was introduced to these products when I took part in my very first beauty box swap and I instantly liked them.  My favourite colour of the two was Subtle Coral which is featured in the photograph above and reviewed HERE and I like the shade they give me when I wear them.

There you have my favourite make-up products.  

Do you think I am missing out on using anything or is there a product you think I should try?