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