NOVEMBER'S BERRY FAVOURITES

November's frosty cold days were spent dunking homemade gingerbread men in cinnamon hot chocolates, watching with awe as the shops filled with christmassy, festive things and indulging in far too many Lush baths. One of my style favourites this month is this Jersey Lace Triangle Bralette, which is so comfy for lounge/duvet days. For the home, I've been scattering flowers around to brighten things up until I can finally hang my decorations up on Dec 1st!

Beauty:

On my lips I've been reaching for autumnal hues like MAC Rebel, a long lasting rich vampy berry and MAC Plumful, a creamy mauve pink and great everyday shade. Paired with a coppery eye and a shimmery champagne highlighter they help to create the perfect autumnal look.

For my complexion, I've been dusting a little of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blusher in Mood Exposure over my cheeks for a radiant, flawless finish. The dusky mauve/pink powder sculpts the cheeks whilst the swirls of mood exposure brings light and radiance to the skin.

Lush's The Comforter Shower Cream has been a permanent fixture in my shower, the bright yet comforting blackcurrant and vanilla scent fills the whole bathroom with an uplifting and warming fragrance. This moisturising shower cream envelops you in a soft, comforting lather and is the perfect fix to perk you up if you're feeling a little under the weather.

I've been using my Real Techniques Shading Brush this month to blend my concealer for an effortless, flawless finish. The soft, synthetic bristles make blending a dream and it even blends my high coverage Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer with ease.

Lastly, on my nails I've been switching between Essie Sole Mate, a deep glossy berry, Essie Bahama Mama, a rich plum and Essie It's Genius, a shimmering violet until I can go to full on glitter nail polish mode in December!

What were your favourite products in November?

PREPARING FOR WINTER

With this year set to be one of the coldest and with temperatures plummeting and even scatterings of snow appearing last week, I thought I list down a few ways that I'm preparing to keep warm and healthy this winter. Eating well, investing in warm knits and keeping active are all important factors in my winter prep this year! Here are my plans:

1. Treat yourself to a lot of Lush baths, then climb into a warm pair of pj's to cosy up in afterwards!

2. Find the perfect winter jumper - I've fallen in love with this cosy grey knit from Asos!

3. Invest in a new hot water bottle. Hot water bottles in winter are game changers, slipped under the sheets  or tucked into your Pj's (the best!) they keep you nice and toasty for ages. I have an adorable little faux fur one with a bow, similar to this one and it's just perfect for icy winter days.

4. Spritz a mist of this Vitamin D spray (available here too) in your mouth for a daily dose of vitamin D to keep your immune system in check and winter blues at bay, plus it's peppermint flavoured, which tastes pretty festive!

5. Keep warm with these adorable Unicorn Slippers. With a soft, fluffy lining and the cutest unicorn detailing on the front, these are perfect to keep feet snug and warm.

6. Speaking of Topshop, this fluffy, cloud like Dressing Gown Teddy Robe is a must for me. It's the warmest, cosiest thing to wear, whenever i'm feeling a little under the weather, I bundle myself up in this and it always makes me feel better!

7. Make soup. Homemade soups are an ingenious way to introduce lot's of vegetables into your routine. I like to make a huge batch and then freeze individual portions for weekly lunches. Some of my favourites include Immune boosting butternut squash, red chilli and ginger soup, Comforting leek and potato soup and Antioxidant rich minestrone soup.

8. Stock up on Tea's. Warming cinnamon tea, festive peppermint tea and calming chamomile tea are all staples for me in the winter months to keep me warm. Boil a little extra water to use to fill up your hot water bottle too!

9. Pick up a Lumie light. This is next on my list to buy. The dark, icy winter mornings leave me feeling so tired and lethargic, the Lumie light is supposed to help you to wake up feeling refreshed and energised whilst also helping to banish winter blues. It doesn't give you that awful jolt that standard alarms give you too, it seems like the perfect early morning accompaniment.

10. Keep snug in warm blankets. I recently picked up a soft, cosy one from H&M home but Primark and Zara Home have some great offerings too!

GIFT GUIDE: FOR HIM

Whether you're buying for a tech savvy, gaming enthusiast or a DIY fan, there are so many great gift options in stores at the moment. I've pulled together a list of potential gift ideas for you to browse through, along with a few tried and tested picks!

This little stick on macro phone lens would make a great addition to any stocking, they also do a fisheye version too, perfect for keen photographers! Of course you can't really go wrong with a Terry's dark chocolate orange too, tucked in a stocking, it makes for the perfect little festive treat.

This little drone is another great affordable gift and is one of my brother's current favourites, something to waste hours zooming around the house with on Christmas day.
This tool bag is high on Alex's wishlist for Christmas this year (it's organisation heaven for me too, no more scattered tools laying around!) although I'm tempted to splash out and sneak an Xbox One or a PS4 for him under the tree!

Here's a few more of my picks and ideas below, I love that Nessie ladle!

A LUSH CHRISTMAS HAUL

Things have gotten a little Lush crazy around here recently, with Christmas fast approaching and hot baths welcoming on these cold autumn nights, I've been practically living in Lush, snapping up their festive goodies to use over the next few months.

Lush Father Christmas Bath Bomb: As Snow Fairy is one of my all time favourite products from Lush, It seemed only fitting for me to pick up some more treats from the Snow Fairy scented range. This sweet, candyfloss fragranced Bath Bomb creates swirls of festive red and green in the bath and the sweet scent lingers on your skin for hours after.

Lush Yog Nog Bath Bomb: This cinder toffee/caramel scent is divine. Full of moisturising shea butter, skin softening soya milk, sweet ylang ylang and spicy clove bud oil this incredible Bath Bomb is perfect for winter. I absolutely love this luxurious Bath Bomb and am tempted to pick up another to stock up on, It creates clouds of gold in your bath and is warming, nourishing and comforting. I've heard that you can also chop this into four to make it last longer too!

Lush Magic Wand: Swirling this reusable bubble bar through your bath water transforms it into a dreamy pink lagoon with soft white bubbles. I've had this product before and it lasted me absolutely ages, simply pop it on the side to completely dry and then it's easy to re-use again and again!

Lush The Magic Of Christmas Bubble Bar: This is one of my favourite's from the range. With cinnamon, clove, orange and almond Lush have successfully captured the scent of Christmas in a Bubble Bar. I can't wait to melt into a festive bath full of almond bubbles with gold and tangerine lustre, it seems like the perfect Christmas treat!

Lush Five Gold Rings Bubble Bar: Thanks to this bubble bar I've had The Twelve Days of Christmas in my head for far too long now, I'm not sure how much more Alex (or my neighbours) can take of me belting 'Five Goooold Rings!' each time I spot this laying in my Lush stash, I'm sure they'll be glad when I've finally used it up! This is great value for money, it consists of five gold lustre rings and so will last me at least five festive baths. They have a warming, sweet scent of vanilla and moringa, produce a flurry of soft bubbles and turn the bath a radiant gold.

Lush Fairy Dust: The ultimate 'princess product' this Snow Fairy scented dusting powder leaves skin beautifully scented with a shimmery sheen. I've read that you can sprinkle a little on your bedding too for heavenly scented sheets!

Have you bought anything from Lush's Christmas collection?

A WINTRY ASOS WISHLIST

With far too many saved items just waiting to be added to my Asos basket, I thought I would do a little round up of my latest picks for winter. As the days have been getting colder I've been coveting scarves, coats and Christmas Jumpers to keep me warm! Here are my picks:

What's on your Asos Wishlist?

FESTIVE EYESHADOWS

It's around that time of the year when I start to pull out all of my glittery, shimmery shades ready for the upcoming festive season and Christmas parties ahead. I've been wearing these gorgeous, iridescent shades either swept across the lids or patted on lightly for a hint of sparkle to enhance and brighten the eyes.

The Nars Outer Limits eyeshadow and it's more affordable dupe Topshop Shuffle The Cards are dreamy, iridescent rose gold shades that consist of flecks of pink and gold glitter. The peach base means that you can simply wash these over your lids to give you an effortless shimmery eye with a gorgeous rose gold sheen. For a more wearable and little less glittery option, I like to pat a small amount on with my ring finger over MAC All That Glitters.

L'Oreal Color Riche L'Ombre Pure eyeshadow in Sable Lamé is an incredible, gilded eyeshadow that gives a touch of festiveness to any make up look. The formula of these gel infused shadows is unreal, they're soft, buttery, pigmented and last for ages on the eyes. Sable Lame is a soft, light gold with flecks of glitter running through it. It blends like a dream and when washed over the lids and paired with a classic red lipstick gives the ultimate festive look, perfect for parties.

I'm pretty smitten with Illamasqua's Pure Pigments, these mesmerising pots of pigmented hues give an intense colour payoff. Over the festive period I like to opt for Static, an ethereal, opalescent pearl with violet and pink micro glitter and Furore, a metallic peach champagne. 

After finally taking the plunge and investing in By Terry Misty Rock, I saw why this creamy eyeshadow stick has it's cult status. It glides over the eyes with ease, blends like a dream, the colour payoff is incredible and once set, is completely budge proof. The shade is divine, a taupe with lavender tones and fine silver glitter running through it, perfect for a sophisticated take on festive eyes.

Lastly I always pull out my Naked 3 palette around this time of the year and with the Urban Decay x  Gwen Stefani high on my Christmas wishlist this year I've rekindled my love with Urban Decay shadows, in particular this dreamy rose gold palette. With matte shades, shimmery rose golds and coppery bronzes, this is the perfect palette for the party season.

What's your favourite festive eyeshadow?

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NEW IN: FESTIVE ESSIE POLISHES

Each year, I eagerly await Essie's festive collection. With dreamy hues and mesmerising glitters Essie polishes are usually snapped up as soon as they hit the stores.

As soon as I spotted Essie's 2015 Luxe collection I rushed to boots with the intention of picking up just one shade but ended walking out with 3 (3 for 2 at boots, how could I not?!) I'm even tempted to go back for the last shade too!

The initial shade I that picked up and the one I originally went in for is Tassel Shaker, a beautiful copper and bronze glitter. Worn as an accent nail and paired with a deep berry like Essie Sole Mate it makes the perfect autumn mani. I only needed one coat to give me a good distribution of glitter and it translated on the nails to a beautiful burnished shade.

Essie's Fashion Flares drew my eye in store and lead me onto opting for 3 polishes instead of just the one. A stunning deep magenta glitter with a slight raspberry hint to it and black glitter particles running through it, this looks like it will be well suited for the Christmas period. I'm not sure what to pair this with yet but I can imagine it will look super festive beautiful built up as an accent nail or over a white shade like Essie Blanc.

Lastly, I picked up Frillin' Me Softly, an icy silver with frosty blue specks of glitter which looks perfect for winter. Swept over dusky pinks or dark hues or worn as an accent nail I can imagine this luxe silvery/platinum hue will see me right through Christmas to New Years. There's something about this glistening polish that I feel completely embodies winter, it reminds me of snowflakes, Frozen and frosty mornings, it's such an appealing shade!

Which is your favourite shade?