Christmas Wishlist 2013

1. Burberry Body Perfume
2. The Great Gatsby
3.  Lush Christmas Friends Gift Set
4. The Wagamama Cookbook
5. Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish
6. Salted Caramel Yankee Candle
7. Naked 3 Palette
8. Pyjamas

9. Gossip Girl Boxset

The Christmas season is most definitely upon us, I know because I've already had my first mince pie this year! I thought I would share with you the list I gave to my friends/family; maybe this wish list will give you an idea of what you want this Christmas. 

I think Christmas is a time to ask the presents you wouldn't buy yourself and my favourite present is probably perfume as I'm a complete fragrance whore and although my collection probably stands at around 10 bottles there's always room for one more. I had a sample of Burberry Body earlier this year & everyone commented on how nice I smelt. Winner. DVD's and books always make great presents especially when it gets to the 28th, the family are driving you mad and you can escape to your room for a few hours. We all love Yankee Candles and the salted caramel one is the best I've ever smelt.

Being a beauty addict, smellies are lovely to receive and I'm loving LUSH's festive products this year especially the Penguin Bubble Bar - I may have sneakily bought a few already! I think the one product on every beauty bloggers list will be the much anticipated Naked 3 Palette by Urban Decay. It's not available yet but I'm pretty sure it will be WW3 when our mums/sisters/boyfriends hit the counter to get their mitts on us for us. All's fair in love & make up!

I may have an amazing idea of what I want this year as I'm always lusting after something but I'm struggling to think of ideas for my loved ones. I love to scour the shops and websites for really meaningful presents as I love seeing people's face when they open my present. I have a few homemade present ideas up my sleeve that I'm going to share with you pretty soon.

If anyone has any ideas what to get my family please help.

Trip to Oxford.

Me and my friend Luci both had the week of work and thought it would be nice to go somewhere for the day and treat ourselves a little bit. Oxford is about an hours drive from us so we booked into a hotel a few days before and set off on Thursday morning. We headed down into the town centre and had a little stroll through all the streets. We stumbled across a little market and filled up on samples including some lovely nuts and bought a cup of hot spiced apple juice which was just what we needed as we walked along the river.

Knowing we weren't having dinner until 8:30pm I persuaded Luci to try one of my favourite restaurants, Las Iguanas. We both opted for nachos and enchiladas, Luci was spicy chicken and I went for Butternut Squash and Spinach which wasn't my best choice ever.

We checked into our hotel, The Oxford Belfry which is just outside of Oxford for a bit of down time. We collected our fluffy dressing gowns from the spa, sweated it out in the sauna and had a bit of a splash around in the pool. We had pre booked a spa treatment each for 5pm so we headed to the relaxation room which smelt like heaven before we were called in.

Luci went for an Indian Head Massage and she said it was really lovely; they worked on her face, neck and shoulders and used oils to really help her face and scalp. The spa uses ESPA products which are amazing and we both nearly walked out buying some! I opted for a spearmint body polish to get my skin ready for my birthday night out this weekend and loved smelling of toothpaste! They brushed my body really hard and scrubbed me head to toe before I rinsed off. I then had neck, back & shoulder massage which even the therapist said I needed. I felt my shoulders snap, crackle & pop in all the right places and really felt most of my tension go away. It's something I think I might make a more regular thing as I carry all my tension in my shoulders and it gets ridiculous sometimes.

At 8:30pm on the dot we sat down to our three course dinner. We both went for a yummy light hot smoked salmon salad to start, the most amazing sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce and then I had a trifle while Luci went for triple chocolate torte. YUM!

Yesterday morning after a night in our super comfy beds and fuelling ourselves with coffee, juice and full English breakfasts we headed over to Bicester. Luci had never been! I love going to Bicester Shopping Village although I wish I earned like a million pounds more than I do so I can buy all the pretty things. Especially the gorgeous Michael Kors bag I just cried at because I knew it wouldn't be very grown up of me to buy. I did get a birthday present for my friend Aaron and a half price MAC foundation so left happy. Oh and I had my first candy cane. 

I really enjoyed my little trip away and I have definitely spoilt myself lately so am on a strict no shopping and no eating out rule for the rest of this month but it has been my birthday (week) so I'm allowed right?

High Street Jewellery Haul

 I'm trying to take a little break from buying clothes as I have a lot I don't wear. I get bored with my style easily and I go through phases of buying a load of jewellery. I find it's the quickest way to update my wardrobe and bring some of my old favourite outfits come back to life.

Primark are absolutely killing it with statement necklaces at the moment. Of course the quality can be doubted but I put a coat of clear nail varnish over some of the fake gems and so far none have fallen out or broken! I think they look brilliant with big chunky jumpers!

I lose rings really easily (don't ask me how) and love some of the chunky ones I found in Primark especially the plain silver bands which I can stack up or wear alone. 

Forever 21 is one of my favourite shops for high street jewellery; I always have so much fun with the ickle baskets and browsing for way to long. I love the chunky bracelets which I wear with my watch for some good lookin' arm candy. The little heart necklace is so dainty and perfect for everyday wear.

So I definitely feel I have a lot of accessories to add some glam to my dreary winter outfits!

Britney Spears Fantasy Perfume

Britney Spears Fantasy is my ultimate teenage perfume. It's also still one that regularly makes it onto my perfume shelf time and time again. My Grandparents gave me a bottle for my birthday and Nan said "So you don't feel too old!" I'm only 23. Boo.

Packaging wise this is aimed at teenage girls and I loved it back then. Nowadays it's not my favourite but I don't dislike it as it reminds me of being young! It really stands out against all my other perfumes though which are all black, gold and clear! The packaging of course reflects the price as it's a very inexpensive perfume at around £20 or under for 30ml.

The scent is floral with top notes of Jasmine (my favourite) and Orchid with base notes of musk and red lychee. I think it's really sweet but still quite grown up at the same time and is perfect for day or night. The staying power in the Eau de Toilette is actually better than some of the much more expensive EDP's I've used; it lasts easily for 6 hours. This perfume is actually made by Elizabeth Arden which produces some really long lasting fragrances so you are may not pay for the price of one but you are getting high end quality.

I think the best thing about the perfume is that you don't feel guilty about laying this on. Sometimes I have to savour my perfumes as I can't afford to splurge £60 on a new bottle; if I use this one up I can always afford another. 

What's your favourite celebrity perfume?