25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 25 | DECEMBER 25TH- THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

IT'S CHRIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAS!

After waiting since September (I stupidly watched Love Actually in September and I have been excited ever since) it's finally here! I can't believe I've actually managed to finish this (I never thought I would), it is very hard to blog every single day and I have much respect for people who blog for a living or every-day bloggers, thank God this only happens once a year...

Now I'm not going to bore everybody with a long account of my Christmas day but here are my two top Christmas outfits and face of the day...

The Cheesy Christmas:
Because everyone needs a cheesy Christmas jumper.

Sadly not as cheesy as I would have liked

Jumper: Last Christmas Marks and Spencer (price unknown- actually belongs to my mother)
Wearing with:
Eyeliner: Body Shop (£9)
Lips: Body Shop Born Lippy in 'Passion Berry' (£2)
Nails: Barry M Gelly in 'Lychee' (£3.99)

The Christmas Party:

Skirt*: Topshop (£28)
Top: Beatles top (£15- Beatles store in Liverpool)
Leather Jacket: All Saints (Unknown- Christmas present)
Hat: Topshop (Unknown- from the summer but still available to buy)
Wearing with:
Socks: Topshop (£3.50)
Shoes: Dr Martens (Around £50)

*Please take note that this skirt has pockets which is immensely exciting for me

My brother is wearing a Topman shirt

Festive Face (and Nails which are not strictly face):

Eyeliner: Body Shop (£9)
Eye shadow: MUA palette 'Heaven and Earth' (£4)
Lipstick: Accessorize in 'Infatuated' (Around £5.49 I believe)
Nails: Barry M Gelly in 'Plum' (£3.99)

 

I wanted to show a picture of what the lipstick looks like on but the lighting was not very good

Merry Christmas everyone, may your day be jolly and bright!

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 24 | DECEMBER 24TH- CHRISTINGLE

I'd never been to a Christingle service before today but as my brother was playing in the Church orchestra we thought we'd go along to see what it was (please note religion is not a thing I ever want to delve deeply into here as people are often very judgemental about it and it is a complicated topic- some of my family is religious and some is not, I used to be religious but am now agnostic verging on atheist, I do go to church for Christmas carol services, though). Christingle is predominantly aimed at children as it is a children's story and it always takes place on Christmas eve.

A Christingle consists of:
-An orange to symbolise the world
-A red ribbon wrapped around the orange to symbolise the blood of Christ
-A candle stuck in the top to symbolise Jesus being the light of the world
-Four cocktail sticks with sweets or dried fruit to symbolise the four seasons

The story is told and then the Christingles are lit as Christmas carols are sung. It is a very lovely service to go to, especially with children and it is a nice start to Christmas.

Father Christmas is coming!

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 23 | DECEMBER 23RD- THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS TAG

I am a sucker for a good 'tag' post, I find them really fun and I can't help myself when I come across one. I found this one on Sprinkleofglitter's Youtube and it was actually quite a hard one but here I goooooo... (Cheese alert)

1) GREED- What is your most expensive and inexpensive beauty products?
Expensive is anything from the Body Shop or No7 mascara and cheapest is anything MUA or Natural Collection.

2) WRATH- What beauty product/s do you have a love/ hate relationship with and what has been the hardest to find?
I have a definite love/ hate relationship with the Body Shop Born Lippy's, I love them and they smell amazing but they are unbelievably drying to your lips and I can only wear them with a lip balm underneath; I appear to be one of the only people who has no problem with sticking your finger in a lip product tub because it's 'unhygenic' (where are you lot putting your fingers that would give you cause for this view may I ask?) but the Born Lippy's are so sticky and I hate that.
The hardest to find is probably any American product like the EOS lip balms and tings like dat.

3) GLUTTONY- What are your most delicious beauty product/s?
Born Lippy's by Body Shop all taste and smell amazing and Montagne Jeunesse's face pack in chocolate (which I have a stash of) smells like the nicest chocolate in the world and I genuinely checked to see if it was edible.

4) SLOTH- What beauty product/s do you neglect due to laziness?
This was an easy one- foundation. I literally only ever wear foundation on special occasions because, simply, I can't be bothered to put it on. I am a bad person. Also liquid eyeliner as I am hopeless at it and cannot be bothered to try harder.

5) PRIDE- What beauty product/s gives you the most confidence?
Concealer, does what it says on the packet.

6) LUST- What product/s do you love the most?
Now I actually changed this question a bit because the original one didn't fit with the rest of them and it upset me.
My post favourite beauty product in the world is not, in fact, lip balm (shock horror) but eyeliner, I love love love eyeliner pencil more than anything ever. My current one is the Body Shop Carbon Eye Definer and it's the best.

7) ENVY-  What item would you most like to receive as a gift?
Any lipbalm or lipgloss or nail varnish is the best gift but I am assuming that this is asking a bit more fancy than that so any beauty product that comes in a gift box really because they're exciting (what an awful answer).

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 22 | DECEMBER 22ND- THE ONLY WAY IS OWLS

It really doesn't feel like three days till Christmas.
I get given a fair amount of owl themed jewellery- good thing I like owls- and they're just such lovely pieces of jewellery that I have decided January will be the month of owls.

Bracelet- River Island, the old favourite necklace- Accessorize

So throughout January I am going to try and wear an owl related piece of jewellery every day as I just don't feel I give enough love to my owls anymore; I used to wear one owl necklace all the time but it got overlooked as more necklaces were bought. I also want to give my owl earrings some loving as I can never be bothered to changed from plain studs.

Earrings- River Island

And here I, Rosie, declare January to be the month of owls, let us embrace them and wear them with pride, let us love them and make sure we are never without one.

Front of the current favourite

And the back- from an independent jewellery maker, Christmas present from the best friend so name of maker unknown

 

And you don't just have to stop at jewellery, there are many an adorable owl themed or shaped beauty products that make the perfect gift. I just really love owl things.

Boots palette

This is all the owl themed products I own so far (that I can find, there are probably more) but without a doubt I will be given more for Christmas- what is it with people and owls?

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 21 | DECEMBER 21ST- YULE LOG

See I said there would be more cooking posts...
Now we're going to cheat a bit here and buy a premade yule log from Tesco but that's probably a safer idea than me making one myself.

 

Icing (makes 8, you will probably need two batches):
-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (we used Cadbury's Bourneville)
-1 tablespoon of butter
-6oz/ 175g of icing sugar
-2 tablespoons of hot water

To make:
-Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl
-Make a well in the icing sugar and cocoa powder and put in the butter and the hot water
-Beat together using a wooden spoon until spreadable
-Using a knife, spread the butter icing on the log, a messier style gives the impression of an actual log but you can also use a fork to make lines down the log
-Leave to set on a flat surface (not the fridge)

To make the base:
-Simply cover a coping board in foil and then dust lightly with icing sugar to give a snowy effect

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 20 | DECEMBER 20TH- BE PERFECT, BE THE HOST

The key to the Christmas party is to put up your paper chains and all your Christmas cards the day before so as to look organised and popular. You should also make sure all your Christmas lights are on and the advent candle is lit before your guests arrive to look much more calm and ready than your house normal seems. Cheerful Christmas music should be playing quietly in the background and a cookie-scented candle should be lit to give the impression of recently baked food, even though you baked it two days ago and the cake has sunk a little bit in the middle.

Now that that is over here are the basic ways to make your house look lovely for a Christmas party (in this case it's George's birthday party but as his birthday is on the 27th they're basically the same thing...)

1. Music. Simples.

2. Paper chains. We have our fancy M&S ones up in the living room and then the childish cartoon Christmas characters ones up in the back.

 

3. Food, a given. We got busy baking the brownies and rocky road (yummy) and Mr Kipling do Christmas versions of their French Fancies which are so pretty. There is also the yule log (but there is also more to come on that one...)

4. Christmas lights- on the tree, obviously, and in the hall for a nice welcome.

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 19 | DECEMBER 19TH- INSTAGRAMABLE

2013 was a big year for mainly, mainly because I discovered the joys of Instagram. I feel that it's only fair that I share my 2013 in (a small few) outfits with you in which I shall debut my favourites and you shall get to see the joys of the background of my bedroom (which I am 1000000% repainting in 2014)...

1. Prom (July I believe)- prom was awful and I look quite frumpy but I loved my dress.

Dress (and accessorises)- Camden Market

2. My absolute most favourite trousers in the world

Trousers- Made by my mother (and how beautiful are they we are currently making more)
Cropped top- Topshop

3. This is the lace top I mentioned in the autumn tag

Top- Topshop
Shorts- Johnnie B by Boden
Shoes- Clarks

4. Probably my favourite one

Top- American Apparel
Skirt- Mango in Pearsons

5. Please ignore my mouth

Top- Topshop (same as number 3)
Jumper- New Look (but years and years ago)
Neckace- Daisy Mae Jewellery (probably my favourite online jewellery shop and my favourite necklace)

6. This is my DIY jumper in that I removed all the tacky fake diamonds off the shoulders, I do believe, however, that I am allergic to it

Top- Topshop
Jumper- Topshop
Skirt- Miss Selfridge

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 18 | DECEMBER 18TH- SECRET SANTA

IT'S ONLY ONE WEEK TO GO!

Being a teenager means, most of the time, you are relatively short on funds, especially around Christmas time; therefore Secret Santa is the perfect idea.
Luckily I got my best friend for Secret Santa so buying her present was super easy, with a £10 limit this is what I got her:

*If you add this up then it doesn't come to £10 but if you factor in all the offers (Topshop and Superdrug 3-for-2 and the Body Shop 60% off then it works out to be just over £10

1. Socks (£3.50 each or 3 for £8- Topshop):
Socks are great, novelty socks are even better. My best friend's three favourite things are probably monkeys, elephants and moustaches so these were perfect for her. The moustaches are made of a different, fluffier material to make them even more exciting.

2. Cranberry Joy lip balm (£4- Body Shop):
This caught my eye as it is an unusual shape but it is a pretty colour, a great scent, and just a generally nice product (this is on my Christmas list please Santa).

3. Barry M Gelly in Watermelon (£3.99- Superdrug):
As it has been noted before, I am a great fan of the Barry M Gelly range and this is an usual colour that you don't normally get but green is very good for the winter so I thought it was quite a nice idea; (my best friend is also Italian so she has lovely tanned skin all year round and dark nail varnish colours suit her a lot).

4. Yankee Candle Sampler Votive scent(£1.80- Clinton Cards):
These Yankee Candle Samplers are a great idea as they are super cheap and it is a great way to test out candle flavours before you buy a bigger one.

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 17- DECEMBER 17TH- CHRISTMAS SMELLS 2

So today I hit 500 page views which is absolutely crazy and yes, 499 of them are probably me checking that my post has uploaded or finding a hyperlink, but it's still nuts. So thank you to everyone who sits here and genuinely reads me ramble on about crap and things that I know nothing about. I love you all.

I was so excited when I wandered into Clinton Cards in September and found the Yankee Candle Christmas range but I'm actually very disappointed by it. I would have to say that the only slightly decent ones are:
-Pine and Apple which is nice in very small doses
-Christmas Cookie which is quite sickly but has this really nice slight hint of fresh cookies
-Christmas Eve which is nice at first but then gets more horrible the more you smell it, despite this it is probably the nicest one in the range
-Orange and Clove which is nice but is very strong and I could never endure for longer periods of time then one sniff

My most favourite candle ever from a company called Partylite (though this candle is very old and is probably not still available). I can't describe the smell but it's kind of vanillary-mixed-with-something-else and it's just perfect.

My choices for this years Christmas from Yankee Candle are going to have to be:
-Fluffy Towels which is my all time favourite and can be used all year round
-Clean Cotton which can also be used all year round and smells a bit like Fluffy Towels but slightly different if you understand what I mean but you probably don't

My go-to candle for Christmas though is vanilla, you can never go wrong with vanilla and it's one smell that will always smell good.
Another Christmas must-have is an advent candle because it's just fun to see them going down everyday and how close Christmas is.
Mine is from Oxfam but they can be found almost everywhere.

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 16- DECEMBER 16TH- DIFFER FROM THE NORM

Now I am a big fan of your normal fruit cake, but there is something I really can't stand about Christmas cake or Christmas pudding. A great way to do Christmas cake that is something everyone will like and is still relatively seasonal is a chocolate orange cake.

When I was having early Christmas dinner with my family friends this weekend, my friend had made the nicest chocolate orange cake. I don't know the full recipe but she says the basics of it is:

-Normal chocolate cake
-But put orange zest in the mix as well
-Normal chocolate sauce icing for on top
-Whip some cream for the icing in the middle
-Decorate with Chocolate Orange segments (yummy)
-Refrigerate up until eaten

This is a really great cake to wow people with as it looks and tastes just like normal chocolate cake but it also has an orangey kick to it as well which tastes amazing. Simple really.

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 15 | DECEMBER 15TH- THE ULTIMATE ONE

The one food that you cannot avoid having at Christmas is mince pies. They are the greatest creation ever and the idea of them warm with cream is making me drool on my laptop (mmm sexy). This is hopefully the first of a couple of Christmas cooking things but we will see if I get the time. I am annoyingly hanging over my mother with a camera while she makes these but she makes the best ones, we never eat shop brought ones because they just don't compare with homemade.
Homemade mince pies are great because you can basically customise them, for example with pastry stars on the top instead of the normal disk lids. Plus when people compliment them you can take full credit and it's a great feeling.

Christmas is scarily soon when you come to think of it, only a week on Wednesday...

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 14 | DECEMBER 14TH- O CHRISTMAS TREE 2

It's only 11 days till Christmas and that is not long at all. On Friday we got our Christmas tree, apparently later than everyone else, and it smells amazing. Our Christmas tree is not like everyone else's in that it's not colour themed and is a collection of things we have got over the years from places that we have been. We are also a very musical family so there are a LOT of musical themed decorations on our tree. Sorry a lot of these pictures are blurred but it's hard to get pictures with lights and also when you've just walked into the tree so everything is moving around- plus the tree is a lot taller than I am so I had to reach up for a few.


 The Christmas tree itself in all its glory

 Can't go wrong with Lindt bears on your tree plus more Lindor decorations around

 

This is the decoration we got from Florida this summer

 

My father works in transport... I'm a bit cocky about this photo

 

William Shakespeare in his element, a clear favourite of all the family

 

Here's the pine cone decoration from Day 9

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 13 | DECEMBER 13TH- THEME IT

A really cute and lovely thing you can do if you're struggling on what to get somebody for Christmas is to theme it. My tip is to start off with one item and then work around it (lots of small things are so
much more fun and personal than to get one big thing). The key for themes is to stick to the same scent, pattern/ design or colour, they make very cute presents in a variety of choice.
Here are some of my top Christmas themes for presents:

Gingerbread:
- Gingerbread man socks- £3.50 each or 3-for-£8 in Topshop
- Ginger Sparkle shower gel- £4 in Body Shop
- Gingerbread man- around £2
Total- £9.50

Father Christmas:
- Socks- £3.50 each or 3-for-£8 in Topshop
- Santa's Lip Scrub- £5.50 in Lush
- Barry M  nail varnish in Red Glitter- £2.99 in Superdrug
Total- £11.99

Cranberry:
- Yankee Candle Sampler Votive in Cranberry Ice- £1.80 in Clinton Cards
- Cranberry Joy hand cream- £4 in Body Shop
- Cranberry Joy lip balm- £4 in Body Shop
Total- £9.80

 

If you are still struggling:
-Socks
-Candles
-Shower gel
-Jewellery
-Nail varnish
-Lip products
-Bath bombs
-Stationary
-DVDs
-Food
All make great presents

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 12 | DECEMBER 12TH- A CHEEKY CHEAT

If like me you are prone to getting awfully chapped lips in the winter then you too will also have explored all the many many many ways to trying to get rid of them. Now I have been deliberating for ages about whether or not to get one of the Lush Lip Scrubs as everyone says that they work wonders but I wasn't sure if they were worth it at £5.50 a pop. However when I was in Lush recently I was looking at the ingredients and I realised I could basically make this exact same product at home for a fraction of the price. Apart from some colourings and flavourings that are added to the product, the only ingredients of the Lush Lip Scrub are jojoba oil and caster sugar.

Now I don't actually own any jojoba oil but I do have a plentiful supply of caster sugar. All you need to do is rub some caster sugar on your lips until you are satisfied that you have done enough and then lick the sugar off. All the jojoba oil does is to make your lips feel even softer afterwards but most lip balms already contain jojba oil so if you whack on a bit of lip balm afterwards then you are good to go.

This realisation is quite bad of me as Lush are losing out on a sale that they normally do fantastically on despite their cheap and easy ingredients but, as I always say, there is no point in spending money on something that you can make at home using things that you already own.

25 DAYS OF BLOGGING CHRISTMAS- DAY 11 | DECEMBER 11TH- OH CHRISTMAS TREE 1

As we have a very random main Christmas tree, George and I have our mini trees which are more colour coordinated. As a general rule I am not a fan of colour coordinated and matching Christmas trees but if it's mini then it doesn't really count...

(Fun Fact For You: Blue Christmas tree lights are my favourite, but only the blue ones that you get on a tree and not the big ones in shopping centres.)

George's Tree:
The classic green tree with red decorations, can't get more traditional than that really. I'm not going to go into George's tree here because most of the decorations are childhood nostalgia that no one else would understand.

My Tree:
The simple blue, silver and white theme. Take note of the mass amount of penguins- I went through a bit of a penguin obsessed stage at the age of about 10 which sadly coincided with my SpongeBob Squarepants obsessed days...

Are these not the most beautiful beads you have ever seen?



Favourite of my decorations