Christmas Haul

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas! I was so lucky this year and I got some amazing presents from all my family and friends. I won't show all my presents, not in a spoilt way, in a 'I don't want to bore you with 100 pairs of socks and pyjamas' way haha :P

I have spent all morning reading and watching other people's Christmas hauls, I just love seeing what people have got!

I feel so fortunate this year and I got some amazing makeup products I've been wanting for ages. Here are some of the MAC and Smashbox things I got.

MAC Mineralize skin finish soft and gentle// satin lipstick rebel// eyeshadow duo double feature 1// eyeshaow duo double feature 6// eyeshadow quad woodwinked and all that glitters// 

Smashbox jet set waterproof gel eyeliner deep purple

I got 2 Babyliss hair irons, the Wave Envy crimping wand and the Babyliss Boutique Soft Waves curling iron. I used the soft waves curler on Christmas Day and I really love it! I did my whole hair in about 7-8 minutes, which is pretty impressive because I have quite long, thick hair :) it's a really thick

barrel so the curls are loose and soft looking- really effortless! I haven't tried out the wave envy iron yet, but I might do a tutorial with some of the new hair products I got in the new year!

As some of you may know, I am a HUGE One Direction fan and my family know this, as you might be able to see from my lovely collection of 1D merchandise haha! I also got tickets to see them in May with my friend Alice from T4intedbeauty.blogspot.co.uk

I ran out of all my perfumes this year, so I was so pleased when I got a large selection of perfumes for Christmas! My favourite perfume range is the Fantasy line by Britney Spears, I got a large bottle of the original and a bottle of her Midnight Fantasy too! I also got this lovely set from Estée Lauder of 4 of their best selling perfumes, it includes Modern Muse, Sensuous Nude, Pleasure and Beautiful. They all smell completely different, so I will always have a choice of scent when I go out! My personal favourite is sensuous nude which is a lovely every day scent. 

 

My grandma bought be the Estée Lauder set last year, and all I can say is that it's just as good this year! The whole set comes in a classy navy pebbled bag with a matching gold purse. The whole set has a gold themed packaging. The 2 palettes contain eyeshadows and blushes. My favourite product from the set is probably the Sumptous Extreme mascara, my one from last year has just about dried up so I was so happy I got a new one this year! The brush is so thick and bristly so gives a lengthened and voluminous look.

Here are a few more cosmetic bits and bobs I got! My friend got me 6 Benefit ultra plush lip glosses which I adore! All the shades are so wearable and they last so long. I got yet another Body Shop body butter in Honeymania and it smells so sweet and rich. This moiterizer is unbeatable for the price of £13 as there are so many scents to choose from and they keep your skin soft for days on end! I got some Urban Fudge hair products; my favourite hair styling brand! My mum got me the Iced Coconut Cocktail Hairspray which keeps any hair style in place all day without making it crunchy, which is the worst! Plus it smells all fruity and coconutty :) I got another bottle of my favourite Sea Salt Texturizing Spray too, as per reccomendation of my role model, Lou Teasdale. My favourite range from Body Shop is Chocomania and I got a body wash which smells like melted chocolate mm!

2 of my favourite presents were some high end skin care products. I love my Origins zero oil cleanser so I was thrilled when I got the Origins Out of Trouble mask which I'm so excited to try out because my skin really starts playing up when I'm eating so many chocolates :P I finally got the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo that I saw on Tanya Burr's blog months ago and I'm so pleased I have finally got my hands on it. I tried it out last night and my skin feels so soft and nourished.

When it comes to scented products, I love anything sweet and rich smelling, so I was so lucky to get all of these body shop products. I am going to be smelling like a walking talking chocolate bar haha! I love my box sets and this year I got the complete collection of Gossip Girl. I know what I will be doing this holiday ;)

What did you guys get for Christmas this year?

Jess x

On the 12th Day of Christmas

Hi everyone! It's officially the end of blogmas now and I'm actually so surprised I managed to blog everyday for 25 days haha! I've had such a great time coming up with different post ideas, but don't worry, this doesn't mean the end of my non-stop blogging :P

I have some topics I want to chat to you about and keep you informed in some of my exciting announcements! :D

Merry Christmas

So it's Christmas Eve right now in England so merry Christmas to all my readers and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you're enjoying a bit of time off school or work :) after the almost compulsory Christmas haul, I will be doing my regular beauty posts as normal.

Pageviews Milestone

I am still in shock that I've had over 5,000 in 2 and a half months, it's so crazy but I'm so happy! The feedback I get from you guys always brightens up my day and I am so appreciative of everything you do for me- so thank you!

New Years Giveaway

So this might be THE most exciting thing I have to announce; towards the end of January, I will be holding my own giveaway! I have received lots of free products from various companies (which I am so, so grateful for!) and will be picking up some goodies in the January sales too ;) I'm starting to get a big hamper put together and the giveaway will be hosted on my Instagram jessgray7 so keep a lookout for that! It will be UK entries only I'm afraid, but hopefully, later on in the year I will be hosting a world-wide giveaway for anyone to enter :)

Guest Posts

I have collaborated with Casey from a Topsy Turvy Blog in doing some amazing posts on each other's blogs and I have more to come from her so I hope you are enjoying them! :) I also am working with my lovely friend Zoe from Undeneath the Cherry Blossom to get some guest posts done for the New Years so get excited for them! :D

I would LOVE to work with some of you guys doing guest posts or interviews so check out my Contact Me page for more details on where to find me if you're interested :)

TAG Beauty Talk

About 3 weeks ago, I set up my own tag called 'TAG Beauty Talk' and my friends Alice from t4inted beauty and Jamie and Abbie from Schosh Girls where the first to answer it! I also have some of my favourite responses posted on the TAG Beauty Talk page (you can find it at the top of my blog!) I have been overwhelmed with people getting in contact with me to answer the tag over twitter, instagram and my blog and I appreciate it so much! So what I'm trying to say is.. THANK YOU to anyone who has taken the time to answer the questions in my tag.

I tag you all to give it a go and send me your responses! :) 

(all the details are listed on the tag page)

Making Makeup Friends

Finally, I just want to talk about the amazing opportunities writing this blog has given me. For starters, I have made so many friends who have the same interests as me that I just don't have in school. It really means so much to me when you give me praise for my work as I am an aspiring journalist, so literally every time I receive feedback, or someone views my blog or compliments me, it means the world!

So, sorry for being so soppy haha! I hope you all enjoy the holidays and you can look forward to some exciting stuff in the New Years!

So much love for all of you guys!

Jess x

Last minute present ideas

If you're like me and tend to leave all your Christmas shopping until the last minute to avoid the jam-packed shopping centres and angry shoppers, then I have 4 brilliant present ideas that you can order from the comfort of your own home.

For the beauty enthusiast

When your friend/sister/girlfriend or whoever is a massive cosmetics hoarder, it can be harder than you think to buy them a gift than you think. You can go for the obvious choice, makeup! But you then have to think; do they already have this product? What shade shall I buy it in? Will this break them out? And it becomes more hassle than it's worth. I have found an alternative present however, that I guarantee anyone who likes makeup will appreciate. The Bobbi Brown Makeup Guide £18.99. This book contains everything you need to know and is a lovely gift within most peoples price range.

http://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/bobbi-brown-makeup-manual-for-everyone-from-beginner-to-pro/product/9780755318476

Non-Beauty Winter Essentials

I had the day off school because I was 'ill' today so I got to take loads of photos for some great blog posts coming up in the next few weeks! :D I thought today I would talk about all the things I can't live without when the weather changes that aren't beauty related.

Black cut out ankle boots Schuh £45

These babies are actually my pride and joy- I love them so much!! I wear them pretty much every day and they're so comfortable. Normally with new shoes, especially leather ones, I need to wear them a few times before they bed in and are comfy, but I have never had a problem with these. I wore them on the first day I bought them and I didn't get any blisters or rubbing or pinching of baby toes so I was very impressed. I searched high and low for some cut out boots I actually liked the look of and I fell in love with these at first sight. They are black and slightly worn looking with a 2inch heel and a grippy sole. They have a cut out section and a wrap around strap with buckles so they have that 'edgy' look to them. I think they look great with a tartan dress or black skinnies and a leather jacket!

Weekly Favourites 21/11/13

It's been 3 for 2 week at Boots AND Superdrug this week so I've been trying out loads of new products and there's been a few things that I've been reaching for over and over again. I prefer to wear more makeup in the autumn/winter time so my Boots points card has been getting a lot of love :P

Essie Bahama Mama a deep reddish purple maroon colour. Sorry for being so bad at describing colours and scents by the way haha! It applies with a gel/glossy finish and dries so quick, especially for such a thick consistency. This has been on my nails every day for the whole week and I've only reapplied once so I was very impressed with the long lasting too :)

Barry M Fine Glitter Dust 08 this isn't the dazzle dust, it's much finer and lasts longer in the eyes. It's relatively cheap which is good because I only really use this at Christmas time. I put it in the inner corners of my eye using my Real Techniques Accent Brush or sprinkle on tacky nail polish to add a bit of sparkle.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain 005 Crush these are maybe my new favourite lip product ever! They are so moisterising and give all day nourishment but they also leave a stain too. You can apply a lot of product and build up the colour or just dap a little on for a flush of colour. I have been wearing the shade 'Crush' which is the perfect winter berry colour and it matches Bahama Mama perfectly. Plus it smells like mints and is retractable!

The Body Shop Body Butter Chocomania this is the perfect festive scent. It makes you smell like you've rubbed chocolate all over your body (in a good way). I get so many compliments every time I wear this because the scent is so long lasting.

So they were my 'must-haves' for this week! Hope you enjoyed it

Jess x

Easy Peasy Christmas Cookies

I know, I know; it's still November so I can't start celebrating Christmas yet, but I just had a sudden surge of festivity over the weekend and I decided to bake some holiday biscuits! And this recipe is easy peasy and perfect for lazy people (aka- me) who don't want to bother with fancy ingredients or methods :P this recipe really can't go wrong and the cookie dough can be stored for up to a week or frozen :)

Ingredients:

(For the biscuits)

-250g softened butter

-160g caster sugar

-1 egg (whisked)

-300g plain flour

-5 drops vanilla extract

(For the icing)

-350g icing sugar

-6 tablespoons boiling water

1) Preheat the oven to about 220 degrees Celsius. 

2) Whisk together the butter and sugar together.

3) Then when it's fluffy, add the vanilla and egg. 

4) By hand, mix in the flour a bit (no specific amount) at a time until the mixture is a dough like texture.

5) Leave the dough in the fridge for up to half an hour (10 minutes will do).

6) Roll out on to a floured board until about 1/4 inch thick.

7) Cut in to preferenced shape and fill a lined baking tray.

8) Cook for aproximately 14 minutes (or until corners begin to brown).

9) Leave to cool for about an hour.

10) Add the water to the icing sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until at the right consistency and ice your biscuits and decorate (if you are anything like me, they will end up looking like a 5 year old has made them because you have no creativity). 

Here's a step-by-step recipe in pictures!

 

Now don't worry if your dough isn't evenly rolled out and your biscuits are different thicknesses! Unless your grandma is Mary Berry, then it really doesn't matter!:P

Happy baking!!

Jess x