Christmas Stocking Filler Guide

Image Credit

Beauty Christmas Gifts – perfect for the beauty lover in your life. You can get individual items, like nail varnish, nourishing hand moisturiser, and a face mask, or a gift set. Gift sets take out the sometimes stressful present selection process. They come in a variety of themed bundles – from relaxation to glamour, so you will certainly find something that suits. Prices vary too, depending on how many goodies you want to go for. Prices start from £18, so it’s up to you how all out you go!

Source: Temple Spa

Magazines – these are always great little extras and they’re totally affordable too. Popular ones like Marie Claire cover a range of topics, so it’s generally a safe bet. A brilliant free one is Boots’ Health & Beauty magazine, which is full of recommended products, offers and competitions. So you may end up giving them the extra gift of a competition win too. 

Hot Chocolate Set with Mug – what relaxing magazine read isn’t complete without a hot chocolate. These are the kinds of gifts you can whisk together yourself. All you need is a cute mug, cocoa powder, sugar, and marshmallows. 

You can wrap it all up in some cellophane to keep it neat and prettily presented. £5 mug from your local supermarket, cocoa £2, sugar (some from the baking cupboard), and marshmallows £2. All for under £10 – bargain.

Christmas Biscuits – everyone loves a yummy biscuit and at Christmas you can get away with eating as many as you like. Savoury or sweet will be a scrummy touch to your stocking. For something extra special try some Christmas-themed biscuits; you can go for traditional iced seasonal figures or have one personalised with your loved one’s name. Prices to suit all budgets (or all biscuit eaters), starting at £6.

Source:Biscuiteers

Handy Notepad – they’ll probably need to make note of all the things they’ve spotted in their magazine and are desperate to buy so a cute little notebook would be a great stocking addition. Even if they won’t be making notes, having a handy book around for shopping lists or beauty lust lists will definitely be a useful present. They don’t have to boring – they can be as elegant or fun as you fancy. You’ll be able to pick one up for under £5 from most high street and online stores.

Bath Gift Sets – nothing is better at relieving stress than a hot bath, but not everyone realises how great these can be. Bath treats can give someone a reason to take time out of their day to unwind. Whether it’s a natural soap collection, bath salts, or a creamy body butter for afterwards, they all help you unwind. As wonderful as Christmas is, it can be a bit hectic, so there isn’t a better time to treat someone to one of these chill-out beauties. Prices vary, starting at a fabulous £4.50.

Source: Bloodwise

Mini Candle – be inspired by the Yankee candle advent calendar, which you can feast your eyes on here, and pop a lovely-scented candle in the stocking. You could get one of a scent they particularly love, or go for an all-round-pleaser with a Christmas scented one, like spiced orange or cinnamon. Prices vary depending on where you go, but usually start at under £5.

Christmas Pyjamas – relaxing, seasonal, comfy, and adorable. Pyjamas are a lovely touch for those days around Christmas when you get to stay in, watch Christmas films and eat turkey sandwiches. Lots of stores are selling them now, so you’ll have plenty to choose from. Just head to their favourite shop and choose away.

Peppermint Candy Sticks – the finishing touch! They’re lovely as decorations on presents and in stockings. Plus they’re something to nibble on if your loved one is a mint fan. They add just that extra bit of Christmas charm. What’s not to love?!

Source

A very Christmasy thank you to Beauty Queen UK for the opportunity to work with her on this piece. Please follow her on Twitter and be sure to subscribe to the blog for more Christmas and beauty posts. Happy holidays!

Guestpost

Relax and unwind with Kneipp

When you have a monumental cold like I have right now, the one where you literally ache from head to foot, can't stop sneezing, go through more tissues in a week than you have done all year and have a cough that makes people not want to sit next to you on public transport and generally just feel rotten to the core, then for me having a hot bath is an absolute must.

Kneipp are fast becoming one of my favourite brands when it comes to bath products. Kneipp was founded back in 1891 by Priest, Sebastian Kneipp. Sebastian, cured himself from tuberculosis using the very nature around him and devoted the rest of his life to studying the healing power of water, plants and herbs. The Kneipp range is quite extensive and consists of plant based Herbal Baths with only the purest natural herbs, soothing and effective Herbal Body Washes, exfoliating and toning Thermal Spring Bath Salts, which are sourced from an ancient underground salt water sea, the best-known medical plant, Arnica Body Care and the natural skincare range New Energy. All of the bath and body products are made in Germany with caring and holistic methods, and contain no paraffin, silicone or mineral oils.

Kneipp Eucalyptus Sparkling Bath Tablet is just brilliant and describes itself as being an energising formula which will pep you up and revive you after a long day. It contains Eucalyptus to relieve sinuses making it an ideal bath accompaniment to have during cold and flu season. As it contains Eucalyptus Oil, it really packs a punch and as soon as you put it into the bath, it dissolves, similar to a bath bomb, and as soon as the oils are released and comes into contact with the steam from the hot water, it becomes instantly soothing and relaxing and magically your sinuses are unblocked and you can breathe. It also leaves your skin feeling silky smooth and moisturised too.

Kneipp Joint and Muscle Anica Bath Tablet has been designed to soothe aching joints and muscles making it perfect for those people who exercise rather regularly. I have used it whilst having this heavy cold, the constant back ache making it uncomfortable to sleep means anything I can use to soothe my aches and pains is a bonus. Again placing it the bath after a few inches of water, the yellow coloured tablet turns your bath water a lovely shade of Berocca and given the second ingredient is Pine Oil which also has known properties for soothing aching muscles and joints, it smells quite earthy but it does the job and does bring some comfort.

Kniepp Pure Bliss Mineral Bath Salt: Red Poppy & Hemp. I make no secret of the fact I love bath salts, they might sound old fashioned and it might be something you only ever hear your Nan mention, but trust me, they are amazing! 

These Red Poppy and Hemp salts are made with pure and natural thermal spring salt and the oils of Red Poppy and Hemp. Once in the water, your bath turns into a blissful bath treatment which helps to relax the body and and provide an overwhelming sense of peace and serenity helping you to forget the stresses of everyday life. Hemp oil moisturizses the skin and leaves it silky smooth to the touch.

Having a bath is something I particularly enjoy and Kneipp products have always done as they have promised to do.  Have you ever tried them?

Look Good Feel Better Make Up Brushes

I was introduced to Look Good Feel Better make up brushes in this post and if you have never comes across them before, Look Good Feel Better is the only international cancer support charity providing practical support for women and teenagers struggling with the visible side effects of cancer treatment. I am sure we all have experience of Cancer in one form or another and I am sure we are all agreed on how awful a disease it is. 

What I love about this charity is that they take into account how traumatic and daunting it is to find out you have the disease and think about the affects and stress it has on self-esteem and confidence and offer free skincare and make-up Workshops and Masterclasses are held all over the UK for people undergoing treatment for any type of cancer. The two-hour sessions are led by trained beauty volunteers, who share tips and techniques to help with eyebrow and eyelash loss and changes to the skin.

If that isn't enough, a 12% donation will be made to Look Good Feel Better from the sale of each brush and set. This will enable Look Good Feel Better to expand their confidence-boosting Workshops and Masterclasses, which teach skincare and make-up tips to women and teenagers undergoing cancer treatment.

The Look Good Feel Better Foundation Brush is handmade.  The bristles are hand cut, and they are made from super soft taklon which makes them cruelty free, allergy free, environmentally friendly plus they’re suitable for sensitive skin. The brush is really well made and is really great quality.  

The handle is quite a weighty wooden handle and it has a slightly rose gold toned metal ferrule which features the Charity's logo. The bristles on this brush are amazingly soft and tapered into a slight point making it really easy to use for your liquid foundations, BB/CC cream and it really does help give that even coverage.

The Angled Blending Brush also has bristles which are hand cut and again made from the same super soft taklon as the foundation brush and they are angled to help with sculpting the eye socket.  

The handle is again made of wood and whilst it isn't as weighted as the foundation brush, it does have a really long handle and for using with eyeshadows, I like brushes which have long handles because I just find them easier to work with.  Priced at just £6.99 this is one of the best priced angled blending brushes I have come across.  

The Concealer Brush is the one I was most looking forward to trying as it is one brush I really need.  Again he same hand cut super soft talon bristles are featured and the same wooden long handle.  

What I really love about this brush is the shape of the bristles, they are quite short and dense making it perfect for a cream product and the tip is also tapered to help get right into the corners of the eyes and around the socket of your nose.  For the bargain price of £7.99 this is well worthy of its price tag and is my favourite brush of the three.

These brushes can be found in some Boots stores and also online at Feel Unique, LookFantastic and Beauty Expert where you will find the full range of brushes, plus the make up brush kit and sponge.

For a company like this to do something so worth while and promoting an issue which will have in one way or another affected us all gets a massive thumbs up from me.  These brushes are really good, affordable and well worth looking into to top up your stash.

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Look Fantastic Beauty Box - November 2015

The Lookfantastic second limited edition Beauty Box collection has arrived and just like the first one it is adorned with a stunning hexagonal gold print to give you a gentle nudge that Christmas is fast approaching!

Each Look Fantastic box will always include a minimum of six products and there is a great mixture of skincare, hair care, make up, hand and body products to be had, so there should be something for everyone. What I like about this is box is the mixture of brands, some I will have heard f and some I won't have done and equally some that I have been wanting to try for ages. This month’s box is really really good, much better than the one I got last month and I quite liked that too. Inside there are products from Dr. PawPaw, Bellapierre, Korres, Ole Henrikson, REN and Kebelo.

Korres Guava Shower Gel – Travel Size 40ml - I am a huge fan of Korres as a brand and have tried quite a lot from the product range. Guava is one of my favourite scents and this is one of my favourite shower gels, so I am really hapy to have a travel sized version which will come in handy in a few weeks time. Guava Showergel has active aloe juice, rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc and antioxidant enzymes, which enhance the immune system of your skin. Furthermore, due to its ability to stimulate collagen and elastin synthesis, this aloe vera gel retards skin ageing.

Ole Henrikson Empower Foaming Milk Foam – Travel Size 30ml - I am also a fan of Ole Henrikson too, every product I have tried from the range, I have loved. The empower Foaming Milk Foam is a rich, foaming cleanser dedicated to lifting away dirt, makeup and impurities. What I really like about this is how it transforms from a lightweight milk formula into a creamy lather and it uses a blend of Arctic cloudberry, Nordic cotton and willow bark work in synergy to benefit the skin; fighting free radical damage, intensely hydrating and gently resurfacing to reveal a smooth, supple complexion, all without over-stripping the skin.

REN V-Cense Youth Vitality Day Cream – Sample size 15ml. - I am yet to find a REN product that I really dislike and I am a big fan of the V-Cense range and am looking forward to giving this a try. Described as being a product that works to boost your skin's energy and elasticity, the REN V-Cense Youth Vitality Day Cream is an intensely hydrating cream that will protect against free radical damage and smooth out any fine lines and wrinkles. Also designed to prevent and minimise the signs of premature ageing, this revitalising day cream will leave your skin feeling nourished, protected and glowing.

Dr PawPaw Tinted Ultimate Red Balm – Travel Size 10ml - You can never have too many lip balms right now and Dr PawPaw is a brand well worth looking into. The limited edition Tinted Red Ultimate Lipbalm provides a lovely wash of colour without being too OTT for those of us who shy away from red lips and also works as a balm. Dr.PAWPAW products are 100% British made and their collection of balms are made from a variety of natural ingredients including Pawpaw (Papaya), Olive Oil and Aloe Vera Oil. The balm has a plethora of uses; it’s perfect as a skin protector, moisturiser, nappy cream, lip finisher, for sun burn, skin irritations, as a hair conditioner and for any other skin related purpose you can think of.

Kebelo Enriching Masque – Travel size 30ml - I find that my hair, which is combination (greasy roots, dry ends) needs a lot of TLC, especially if I am using a lot of heat to keep it under control. Once a fortnight, I like to use a hair mask to give my hair some TLC and having used a few Kebelo products, I am looking forward to trying the Enriching Masque which uses a blend of Argan and Grape oil to deep condition the hair and scalp without causing it to look greasy. Restoring lost moisture and a healthy scalp, the masque leaves hair smooth, soft and manageable.

Bellapierre Lipstick in Ruby – Full Size RRP £11.99 - If I felt I could wear a red lipstick and pull it off, then this is the shade I would want to wear. Sadly I know it doesn't suit me so I will need to find a home for it. Mineral Lipsticks from Bellapierre Cosmetics are designed to give your lips a flash of irresistible colour whilst working to keep them hydrated and nourished throughout the day. Containing natural waxes and rich mineral pigments, this lipstick does nothing but good things for your lips.Formulated with iron oxides and antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E, this silky lipstick also provides SPF protection from the sun.

This for me is a fantastic box, it has such a good range of products in here and from well known brands that everything will be used. I love that each product is of a decent size which gives you a good enough opportunity to try them out before deciding whether or not you want to buy a fill size version and all for just £15 which I actually think is a bargain price to pay and one that has given me the chance to find some new found products I absolutely adore.

If this sounds like the beauty box for you, then the November edition is available now right here.

Balmi Metallic Lip Balms

I absolutely love Balmi lipbalms and am lucky to have quite a few in my collection, which I have mentioned here.

Getting ready for the festive season, Balmi have launched three new lip balms to add to their collection but with an added bit of pizzazz, they have gone metallic with the design and they do look pretty good!  Within the collection there is a brand new scent Roseberry which you will find inside this Metallic Copper cube and it smells absolutely delightful.  The two other scents are Cherry which is metallic red and Blackcurrant which is Metallic Purple.

The lip balm maintains its conical shape and is really easy to apply.  Not only are they all SPF15, which gets a huge thumbs up from me, they also contain antioxidant-rich Vitamin E, soothing Shea Butter and Jojoba Oil to help leave your lips moisturised, soft and super smooth.

To purchase they are priced at £4.99 each and can be found in Boots, Urban Outfitters and Superdrug.

Do you own a Balmi?

Birchbox x Skinny Dip

This month Birchbox have teamed up with Skinny Dip to create two fantastically designed limited edition boxes which are pastel coloured, shell printed, foil boxes that are just brilliant. If you are a Birchbox subscribers then you can add the Birchbox x Skinny Dip phone case to your box for an additional £4 (rrp £12) and I just love it, slightly see-through, it protects all of the main compenents of your phone, it includes a screen protector and features the shell print to mirror that of the Birchboxes - fab!

Inside the boxes you will find five amazing products and one beauty treat and they are:

Living Proof Restore Instant Repair Cream - This is a brand I have never come across but I like the sound of this product. If you haven't been to the hairdressers in ages (looks sheepish) and your hair is in need of some TLC this lightweight formula smooths and coats the hair shaft, sealing frayed ends while helping prevent new ones. It is also said to make hair up to 15 times stronger, without leaving it greasy or weighed-down. The result? Soft, shiny hair that looks freshly cut - even if your last trim was months ago. You can find it here.

Cowshed Cow Pat Hand Cream - If ever there is a brand to make me snort with laughter it is Cowshed with their product names and who wouldn't want to use a hand cream called cow pat?  Described as being a rich and luxurious, non-greasy yet deeply hydrating hand cream that is packed with nourishing Shea and Cocoa butters with a sprinkling of lavender, grapefruit, and cinnamon, the rich formula quickly absorbs into the skin for never-greasy hydration. This is a full sized 50ml tube and can be found here.

Lord and Berry Silhouette Neutral Lip Liner - If like me you are one of those people who doesn't tend to bother with a lipliner then this might be for you. It is a waxy and completely transparent lip liner and you simply line the lips as you would with any lip liner to prevent your lipstick from smudging, feathering or bleeding and best of all it is totally invisible so you don't have to worry about it matching or being a close match to your favourite lipstick. You can find it here.

REN Wake Wonderful Night-Time Facial - I am a huge fan of REN skincare products and so is my skin, so having this product in the box excites me because I have been wanting to try it for ages.  Described as being a complex of glycolic and lactic acids help to refine and brighten skin tone by triggering cell renewal while omega 3 and sodium lactate, it will repair, soothe and moisturise your skin whilst you sleep and right now, overnight masks are one of my favourite products to use, especially with this horrid weather, so I am looking forward to giving this a go. You can find it here if you want to know more.

Trilogy Make Up Be Gone Cleansing Balm - This is a product I have also been wanting to try for months and I have to admit, I have already used this one and it is as good as I had hoped it would me.  The balm is formulated with a rich blend of pure plant oils and it melts on contact with warm skin and is capable of removing and dissolving every last scrap of make-up to leave your complexion perfectly cleansed, soft, and silky-smooth.

The final item in the box is a perfume sample by English Laundry and it is the Notting Hill Femme Eau de Parfum. I am probably one of the very few that loves a perfume sample in a box, I subscribe to one because I think it is brilliant. The scent of this I absolutely love and it is my favourite scent from English Laundry to date, iand is described as "This fresh, classic scent opens with notes of bergamot, mandarin, and cassis. The heart of the fragrance is pure walk-in-the-garden bliss, blending jasmine, rose, and cyclamen with herbal and green notes. Warm wood, vanilla, and amber round out the scent". It is definitely citrusy from the first spritz but once it settles on the skin, it dies down slightly, the floral notes comes through and it is just divine and has a great longevity about it, pretty much lasting all day long. It costs just £60 for an you can find it here.

One the back of the enclosed booklet you will also find a A £10 giftvoucher to spend at Skinny Dip which is a nice little extra, especially when ive had eye on three different phone cases for months.

I think this is an absolutely brilliant box and one of the best from Birchbox that I have been lucy enough to receive. You can purchase your own here via Birchbox for £10 (+£2.95 p&p).

The Libbie Box - November Edition

The Libbie Club Box for November has landed on my lap and once again there is an amazing array of products which should suit everyone. The Libbie Club – part of Latest in Beauty (LIB) is described as being a community of influential beauty fans who are rewarded for reviewing, sharing and referring beauty products.
In this months box there is again three products - La Montana Candle, A Crabtree and Evelyn Christmas Cracke and Evelyn and Hairy Jayne Floral Hair Perfume.

La Montaña candles have featured on Beautyqueenuk before (here) and I was really impressed by the quality of the scents. The candles are inspired by Cass and Jonathan Hall’s new life in a mountain village in Valencia. Each fragrance evokes a real experience, and is recreated using only the finest perfume oils. This scent is Winter Oranges which is described as being a warm, spicy blend of Valencia orange, cinnamon, red apple, and clove. This is a scent you can smell long before you open any outer packaging and it smells exactly as it is described and is just lovely and very Christmassy.

As always with the Libbie Club there is an offer for you my reader. If you like the sound of these La Montana Candles, then you can treat yourself with £10 off right here.

Crabtree and Evelyn hand cream is presented in a beautiful Christmas cracker shaper box. The scent is Apple Snow which is just stunning, the fragrance of the hand cream encompasses that Christmas fruit smell with frosted lemon, bergamot and orange sprinkles over fluffy blossoms and dewy apple leaves. It is also ultra-hydrating with extracts of shea butter goodness and will leave hands moisturised and noticeably smoother.

The offer I have for you on this cracker is not just one, but three for £10 which is an absolute bargain and some nice little stocking fillers and you have to be quick to get them here.

The final item in the box is the Hairy Jayne Floral Hair perfume and it is the only product within the box that I have never come across and it is one which I was really looking forward to trying. Hair Perfume with Heat Protection is said to freshen up your hair up between shampoos as well as adding shine, calming frizz and fly-aways as well as protecting your hair from damaging heated styling – all in one spritz.  The bright floral fragrance is made from essential oils (aroma compounds extracted directly from plants) of Geranium, Bergamot and Vanilla, a scent which is said to evoke a nostalgic feeling of sitting in a sunny English garden.

The offer for readers on Hairy Jane is huge this month and you can get this for yourself with 45% off right here.

If you still need a Stocking Filler Present then this one is also amazing and it will save you £5 - Three Latest In Beauty Crackers for just £12.95 right here making them perfect for your friends, Teens, sisters and more.

So there you have this months November Libbie Club box and I love the different range in products this month, not all beauty but all very useful and all currently being used.  What do you think?

My Biologique Recherche Facial

Hidden away in the midst of a busy street in Kensington was my destination for a Biologique Recherche facial, something I was really looking forward too and something I was in desperate need of. There is something deeply relaxing about a facial that allows you to wander off into the depths of your own mind whilst someone does all the hard work for you. The treatment was to last two hours and thankfully the treatment bed was exceptionally comfortable otherwise I would have been as stiff as anything afterwards.

I didn't have much knowledge of Biologique Recherche before my arrival at the spa but thankfully Amy was on hand to explain more about it and it was decided that I was to have the Treatment, Soin Lissant with Re-modelling face. Biologique Recherche is a luxury, unique brand using innovative techniques alongside their products to lift, tone, re-sculpt and balance the skins epidermis. This treatment was simply incredible, much more so than I could ever put in to words, but here is how it works.

I was told that it is important to understand that the skin is always changing and the correct products used at home and both in the treatment room must accommodate these changes, changes that can be the result of both internal and external factors. Correct use of products will result in a more healthier balanced skin which in turn will assist in regeneration without the need for a direct focus on ‘anti-aging’ skincare.

The protocols of your professional treatment will always start with a thorough diagnosis of the skin through analysing to ensure we are treating your specific ‘skin instant’. The treatment begins with Initialisation which involves cleansing, balancing and gently exfoliating the epidermis. Biologique Recherche products contain active ingredients that will prepare the skin to receive highly concentrated, active formulas within our final treatment stage to moisturise, stimulate , revitalise, balance and protect. There is no fruity or floral scent that you might usually associate with having a facial, these products are incredibly soothing and gentle on the skin.

The key products which were used during my facial was Lotion P50W which is a gentle continuous exfoliation containing hydroxy acids to exfoliate, hydrate and balance as well as Arnica to sooth a sensitive skin. Masque Biosensible is a highly complex masque working to detox, moisturise and protect. packed full of anti-oxidants as well as soothing milk proteins. Your ultimate masque to balance a skin that is feeling a little sensitised or sensitive. Serum Amniotique E soothes an irritated skin whilst intensely hydrating the layers of the epidermis to repair, regenerate and protect.

The specific professional treatment is designed especially for a more sensitive, stressed skin that is need of strengthening and repairing. Packed full of omega 3 and 6 as well as hydrating hyaluronic acid and natural amino acids to hydrate, renew and protect. Along with this reconditioning booster treatment the use of a re-modelling face machine which combines the power and synergies of electrical and high frequency current to improve the quality of the epidermis, promote product penetration of Biologique Recherche products as well as having an immediate and lasting lifting effect. The electrical charge part of the facial wasn't in anyway uncomfortable, I was warned that I might have a metallic taste in my mouth for a few minutes, which I did, but this soon went and as the charge is being used, the sensation, though quite an odd feeling, I find to be a nice sensation and not at all painful.

The facial ends with a specifically tailored cocktail of serums followed by a cream and finishing serum to end this bespoke treatment treating your individual ‘Skin Instant’.

I could have quite happily laid there all day and let Amy work her magic, my skin was really dry and in need of hydration in places before the treatment started and afterwards my skin was just glowing and felt incredible. A facial of this nature doesn't come cheap and as it was very much tailored for my needs at the time, there is no price that I can give for it, but you can find out more about each facial here along with details of your nearest spa for treatments.

Lush The Twelve Days of Christmas Advent Calendar

My most popular post is currently about Advent Calendars for this year, but with the Lush Advent Calendar from 2014 (here) just a few page-views behind.  With that in mind, once again, Lush have done an amazing advent calendar for the 2015 and it is just as amazing. 

Called The Twelve Days of Christmas, Lush have created a wonderful book with a festive design and each page has a one of twelve amazing products and they include:

Snow Angel Bath Melt - Dissolving into a flurry of snow, blanket your bath in white foam before revealing a shimmering golden glow. Rich in moisturising Fair Trade cocoa butter, with a delicate marzipan scent, and oodles of rose, benzoin and cassie absolute to treat winter skin to a softening, floral soak. £3.95

Five Gold Rings Bubble Bar - Forget a partridge in a pear tree, you'll want to skip ahead to the fifth day of Christmas to get your hands on these sparkling bubble bar rings! Crumble under running water for a creamy Fair Trade vanilla-filled bath, infused with skin-softening illipe butter and uplifting moringa oil. If you're hoping for a ring come Christmas day, this might just be the next best thing. £4.95

The Comforter Shower Cream - One of the best shower creams ever which I have reviewed right here and all I can say is that if you like the bath melt, you'll love this. £4.95

Avobath Bath Bomb - Avobath in the morning to help you face the day: its lemongrass and bergamot oils will pick you up while also tackling dryness with avocado and olive oil. It contains lustre, which gives a shimmering green effect to the water, but will leave your skin feeling dazzling without the dazzle. It also contains lots of mashed avocado and olive oil to tackle dehydration, making this an excellent choice for dry skin sufferers. £3.50

Celebrate Body Lotion - Give your skin cause for celebration by smoothing on this intoxicatingly citrusy body lotion with a splash of cognac. Lime oil and Brazilian orange oil lift the spirits, while Fair Trade cocoa butter and almond oil hydrate the skin - it's the perfect lotion to wear for a festive night out. £12.95

Butterbear Bath Bomb - Snuggle up in a vanilla-scented bear hug with softening Fair Trade cocoa butter from the Colombian Peace Community of San José de Apartadó. Creamy and pampering, this polar pal will melt hearts young and old £1.95

Yog Nog Soap - A creamy Christmas tipple of a soap made with moisturising soya yoghurt and a dash of spicy clove bud. Indulge your senses in a fudgy lather with ylang ylang, moisturising Fair Trade cocoa butter and stimulating nutmeg. Dusted with a generous amount of aromatic fair trade cocoa powder, after one wash you’ll be ready to don your best Christmas knitwear. £3.50

Golden Wonder Bath Bomb - Fancy a tipple? Cognac and zesty lime oils start a party of mood-brightening scents whilst sweet orange oil refreshes the senses. In the water, this present-shaped fizzer unwraps itself to reveal glittering golden lustre and a sparkling turquoise explosion. Don't wait until Christmas day to bathe yourself in festive luxury! £3.95

Holly GoLightly Bubble Bar - Come on in out of the cold and wrap yourself up in this comforting Christmas bubble bar. Break the generously-sized pudding of a bubble bar into two and crumble under running water. With spicy cinammon leaf and patchouli essential oils it's like bathing in a hot toddy, perfect for getting you in the Christmas spirit. Organic illipe butter softens the skin while warming clove leaf oil is sure to get you feeling steamy. A tonic to mind and body! £4.95

Yuzu and Coco shower cream - Enough cocoa and tonka to make Mr Wonka wish he'd invented something half as sweet. Citrusy fresh yuzu juice is blended with reassuring cocoa and tonka absolutes for a shower that smells like chocolate oranges. You might not be able to lick it, but with a scent this sumptuous your comfort eating cravings are sure to be satiated. £4.95

Cinders Bath Bomb - With stimulating cinnamon leaf oil, the warmth of the hearth and the scents of hot fruit punch are a bath away. Skip the open fire and curl up with a fireside gathering of coarse sea salt and popping candy instead. £2.95

Dashing Santa Bath Bomb - Santa's golden boots fizz away first, sending him dashing around delivering lustrous waters of cheery mandarin oil. Bright, fruity bergamot and orange flower absolutes scent the air like fresh satsumas, making him a perfect treat for the bottom of stockings. £2.95

Now I think this is absolutely amazing and all for £49.95 which is an absolute bargain and it is a beauty!  

You Beauty Discovery Box - November 2015

The November You Beauty Discovery Box has arrived and this month's edit was specifically chosen to give us as subscribers a helping hand with the celebration of Autumn and in doing so, the chance to select products which would help to enhance our hair, skin and regular beauty regime.

There is two treats within this box, a little extra which I really like to get and this month we have the Alpha-Arbutin White Mask by DHC. Fight dullness and discolouration with DHC Alpha-Arburtin White Mask, a sheet mask formulated with moisture-binding ingredients. The deeply conditioning formula helps target the signs of ageing and sun exposure. The revamped sheet mask contains 43% more serum than before, uniting scientifically advanced brightener, alpha-arbutin, with mulberry, serine and peony. The sheet mask’s radiance enhancing formula delivers a continuous dose of hydration to the skin, and the addition of fold-over flaps allow the option of also using the mask to treat the eye area. I Love Perfectly Peachy Bath and Shower Creme sachet. I Love… is the first cosmetics company to commit to adding breast cancer awareness signs and symptoms labels to their limited edition Perfectly Peachy Bath & Shower Crème as part of CoppaFeel!’s new #showerhijack campaign and I wrote about it HERE.

Then as a subscriber there is a list of products to choose from to make up your box and you can see them all here and this is what I chose:

Bubble T – Bath & Shower Jelly - As a brand Bubble T is one I have seen written about quite a few times and as I had never tried any of the products, I thought this would be a great opportunity.  More than a shower gel, the Bath and Shower Jelly has a great malleable texture to cleanse and refresh. Ideal for the bath as the jelly won’t slip or slide off your hands. Scoop and lather! This one is the Summer Fruits Tea scent and it smells really fruity.

Fillerina – Hyaluronic Acid Gel Filler (grade 2). Okay so this really caught my attention with the words 'Revolutionary No Needle Filler' and it is a dermo-cosmetic filler for at-home use that containts the first ever blend of six hyaluronic acids with different weights and structures to facilitate in the plumping of tissues without puncturing the skin and I am really looking forward to giving it a try!

So there you have my box of treats for this month and all for the bargain price of £6.95 and some really intriguing products to try this month.  What do you think?

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