Magazine Freebies

There are some months when Magazine Freebies are brilliant, awful, non-existent, repetitive or down right gotta have them all. This month is one of those 'gotta have them all' months because there are some serious products to be trying out there.

Elle Magazine is perhaps the one most people will be grabbing for and hunting down because it has a world exclusive with Benefit for their new product They're Real Tinted Primer. This is a lash primer that can be worn alone for a more natural look or under mascara for those lashes which are just seriously wow. As soon as I heard this was to be released, I wanted to try it and the sample in Elle is a really decent sized 3g tube. Alongside the Tinted Primer there is also an introductory leaflet for 'Easy on the eyes' by the fabulous Lisa Potter-Dixon plus special price offer for the full version.

Glamour Magazine have teamed up with Clinique to give readers the chance to try four different products - Pop Lip Colour and Primer in two shades: Cherry Pop and Nude Pop or there is a choice of High Impact Mascara in Black or the Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion+. If you manage to get all four freebies, they are said to have a value of £29!

InStyle have teamed with with Eyeko to bring you the Black Magic Mascara. There have been a few Eyeko freebies this year, usually an eye liner which I never use, so it will be interesting to see how the mascara works and it is said to be worth £12.

Red Magazine is being a little bit different this time and is offering you a free drink from Starbucks with a funky little Starbucks designed mug card.

Harpers Bazaar is another magazine to grab as soon as you see it because it has a sample of Estee Lauders Advanced Night Repair worth £11.

How good are the freebies this month? I am quite impressed.  Have you managed to collect any?

What I am watching!

Sitting down and relaxing is not something that comes naturally to me, my Gran always referred to my constant fidgeting as having 'ants in my pants' because I am so naturally restless.  So whilst I am ironing, cooking, cleaning, just have a face mask on or even having a bath, if there isn't a book I am currently hooked on, then I always have something to watch on TV.  Now I am not your average soap addict, I grew out of those many years ago after the storylines became totally depressing and a bit samey from Walford to Emmerdale, so instead I find myself obsessing over American TV dramas which I much prefer.

At home we have more than one TV, so the mister and I can watch our own thing, unless there is a show we both like. Now our lounge television is getting on a bit and needs replacing and everytime we see an advert for the new 4K TV from Panasonic we both immediately want it, the picture is just stunning and so much better than either TV.  However, it is on a wishlist and will have to wait.

I am not one of those people who can re-watch a TV show having watched it once, so I am signed up to Amazon Prime which gives me a great opportunity to watch whatever I want when I want and some of my favourite shows of late have been:

Castle - This is one of those TV shows I can just keep on watching.  It is about the mystery novelist Richard Castle who is friends with the Mayor and manages to get himself a job as a consultant to work with New York police to find a killer (or killers) who is modelling his crimes after scenes from Castle's novels.  I am now onto season 8 and just love the show.  It is easy to watch, requires no thought process and is easy to follow.

Sons of Anarchy - I have finally finished this show and wow what an ending.  I am not going to spoil it for anyone but if you love bad boy bikers then this is the show for you. The show is centered around SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original) and features characters such as Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam for whom it is worth watching just for him)and it is essentially about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in California's Central Valley.  You can read more about it on the Wiki page if you like the sound of it.

Criminal Minds - I started watching this show years ago and have recently got back into the swing of things.  The show is set primarily at the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) and is based in Quantico, Virginia, and the main focal part of the show lies with the rather talented group of FBI Profilers who set out to catch various criminals that local police forces seem unable to catch thanks to their analysis and behavioural profiling. If you like shows like CSI or Graceland then this is one to watch.

The Blacklist - This is my latest 'must watch' show and it began a few days ago thanks to an advert during the football. Raymond "Red" Reddington who is a former United States Navy officer turned high-profile criminal, voluntarily surrenders to the FBI after eluding capture for what I can gather is decades. He tells the FBI that he has a list of the most dangerous criminals in the world that he has compiled over the years and is willing to guide their operations in exchange for immunity from prosecution, there is however one caveat and that is his insistance to work with rookie FBI Profier Elizabeth Keen. I am only a few episodes into this show and am already hooked.

I would love to know what it is you are watching right now and whether you have a TV series you would recommend my watching.

*Collaboration with Share It Quick

MakeUp Revolution I Heart Chocolate Pink Fizz Palette

This little beauty from Makeup Revolution costs just £7.99 here and it is an absolute bargain to be had, especially if like me there is no such thing as too many palettes. It is chunky, it is pink and it looks like a pink bar of chocolate, what more could you need in your collection?

Inside the palette there is a super handy mirror which stretches the entire length of the top of the palette and you will also find 16 delectable shades. These shades are split into shimmers and mattes across three rows and you also get a handy applicator tool, now I usually ignore the applicator tools because they tend to be pretty small and a little bit pants to use, this one is double ended and really long, making it easy to hold and easy to use!

The shades you will find in this palette are - Champers, Drink, Flute, Sparkling and Toast along the top line and each one is as stunning as the next. As you can see they are pretty pigmented with Champers and Drink being the matte shades.

The second row has shades called Bubbles, Girl, Party, Elegant, Celebrate and Truffle. The two which really stand out being Celebrate which is a light blue shade and Truffle which is a stunning deep brown shade.  I absolutely love this entire row, they are all stunning shades.  Bubble is brilliant for using in the inner corner of your eye to brighten the area up and making you look more awake.

The third and final row has Rosy, Cork, Pop, France and Pink Fizz and once again there is a fantastic mix of shades with France being a stand out deep blue almost purple shade which is just stunning.  As you can see the shimmers on this row are Rosy, Cork and Pink Fizz with Pop and France being matte shades.

For me this is a palette for those of us who love our neutrals but have the temptation to try a bit of colour too. How could you not love Girl and Rosy and not want to try France and Truffle?  All of these shades work really well on their own or you can pair them off together and the matte shades work just as well on their own or with a bit of added shimmer too.  I have been wearing Cork and Truffle over the last few days and with a primer they last a whole day which is pretty impressive.

What do you think to this palette? Is it already on your wishlist?

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Christmas Traditions - Pyjamas

Christmas is coming and one thing I love about Christmas is a childhood tradition that I have kept, even though I have no children and that is - New Pyjamas for Christmas Eve and some new slippers. Not possibly the most exciting thing to look forward to for some, but growing up, this was always something we loved as it meant we would probably watch Santa Claus the Movie, a family favourite, then leave the mince pie/carrot and a glass of milk out ready.

I spend a lot of time in my pyjamas, so they have to be comfortable.  I feel most at home at a weekend when it is cold outside not getting dressed all day and sitting around in my pyjamas, I just find it so much more comfortable to do and of course it saves my washing load.

This year there is a whole lot of choice when it comes to Christmas pajamas and every store I have been in so far has a huge selection to choose from.  So far, from those I have seen, I have managed to narrow it down to just a small selection and this is my current list to choose from:

I like Pyjamas which have comfy bottoms and usually opt for lounge pant style ones which usually come from New Look or Primark.  This year there are just so many cute pairs, that I might just have to try something new, especially the Pug Christmas in the pink or the Polar Bear stating it is cold outside.  Whatever happens, I will have new pyjamas for Christmas Eve when I settle down to watch a Christmas Movie before Father Christmas hopefully pays me a visit!

Do you have any Christmas Traditions that you have carried on since your childhood?