Selfridges Beauty Advent Calendar 2014 | Enchanted Spells

Yesterday we took a look at The Body Shops Advent Calendar 2014 which sure is a beauty.  Today we're taking a peek inside the Selfridges Advent Calendar 2014, beautifully named Enchanted Spells and is full of some wonderful lotions and potions.

 

 

Last years sold out in a flash and I didn't get my hands on one but this year I was more prepared and have one on order! If you'd like to get your hands on one head over to the Selfridges website quick as, at the time of writing, it's still available.

 

 

The design features a spell book and contains a selection of fragrances, make-up and skin care from some of the heavy weights in beauty including Lancôme, Kiehls and Yves Saint Laurent. 

 

 

 

It costs £85.50 and is available online here..  What are you waiting for?  Quick, go get it before it's gone!

 

 

 

 

Body Shop Advent Calendar 2014 | 24 Days of Joy

All this week I'm going to be taking a look at this years beauty advent calendar offerings.  We all know that beauty advent calendars are so much better than their chocolate counterparts and October is the time when all the calendars start coming out  You have to really quick to get your hands on one of them as most of them tend to be a sell out.

The first calendar I want to look at is The Body Shop Advent Calendar 2014 called 24 Days of Joy.  I really like the design as it's so festive looking and think it would look beautiful on my sideboard sitting there waiting to be opened each morning.

Body Shop Advent Calendar 2014 | 24 Days of Joy

There's a great selection of products behind the windows including a selection from their latest range including

• Wild Argan Oil
• Colour Crush Nail Colour
• Special Edition Glazed Apple

and also some of their best sellers

• Vitamin E Moisture Cream
• Shea Body Butter
• White Musk Fragrance

The really amazing thing about this calendar is that for every calendar bought, The Body Shop will donate to their charity partner, War Child.  Pretty amazing and great to know that our little indulgences will be helping out in a small way. 

The Body Shop Advent Calendar 2014 costs £50 and the products have a value of £83 so it's great value for money.  It launches this Wednesday, on 8th October 2014.

 

 

Is The Body Shop Advent Calendar going to be in your house come Christmas?

High 5 4 Friday

Happy Friday peeps!

Isn't Friday just the best day. It's got the anticipation of the weekend and a whole 48 hours ahead for us to do whatever we like.  If the weeks been particularly busy I know that come Friday I can relax with friends, do something fun with Mini Greenoid, get away for a few nights or just mooch about in my onesie catching up on TV or reading my favourite blogs.

Let's take a look at some of my favourite moments from last week.

1. Last week I mentioned I was going out on Friday night with a friend for MacMillan Coffee Morning (wine & evening dos are more my thing than morning coffee!) and I had such a fantastic time.  I hadn't been out and had a good gossip with her for a long, long time and it was lovely catching up.  It reminded me how much I need to take time out from things more often and just have fun.  I always feel like I need to be putting more hours in to my day job, or this blog, or my YouTube, or spending more time with Mini Greenoid.  Sometimes I need to do things just for me.

 

Excuse the grainy, dark, iPhone pics

2. My iPhone 6 plus arriving was definitely one of my highlights of last week. I was slightly nervous about how big it was gonna be and it is certainly big.  But I love it.

3. I booked tickets to London for New Year.  I adore London and try and get down there as often as possible.  My sister lives there which makes it a hell of a lot easier. I've wanted to be down there for New Year for a long time and this year I finally got tickets.  Eeek.  Just a little bit excited.

 

4. The cats are making me smile a lot recently.  If you follow me on Instagram you'll have probably seen a few of my recent cat snaps.  They're just crazy, mad and super fluffy.

 

5. The sunshine.  Oh my goodness, the sunshine.  Yesterday, as in yesterday the 2nd of October I actually sat in the garden in a strappy dress in the glorious sunshine and I applied sun cream to the kiddies.  Sun cream in the UK in October is practically unheard of!

 

 

 

 

 

 



An InLinkz Link-up

September Favourites

I'm British, so in typical British fashion I'm gonna start off by saying how flipping warm has September been?  Apparently, it's been the driest September on record and I've been loving it! I'm still walking around in short sleeves and occasional bear legs and I've been warm.  It's amazing!

But on to my beauty favs...

I've been trying out the new limited edition Herbal Essence Luscious Lime shampoo and conditioner and they're scrummy.  I absolutely adore the fresh, citrusy smell in the shower.  It's been a long time since I used a Herbal Essence hair product and I'd forgotten how much I love them.  The packaging looks really great in my bathroom and adds a vibrant colour.

I talked here about my love of Revlon LipButter.  These are new to me this month - yeah, I know, I'm not sure why or how I haven't tried them before. I don't tend to wear a very heavy lip so these lipbutters are perfect for me - they give a subtle colour or I can build it up with an extra coat if I'm feeling brave.  They also feel fantastic on the lips and very moisturising.  My favourite colour has been Raspberry Pie.

Oh Barry M Gelly Hi Shine how I've been enjoying you this month.  For £3.99 I think these polishes are such good value.  I bought the whole of the Fall range this month and have been enjoying trying out all the colours. 

I received in Origins Plantscription my Glossybox in September.  I've been applying morning and evening and my skin definitely seems to be thanking me for it.  It's really lightweight and not greasy at all.  I really felt like their was an instant difference in my skin.  I've just about finished my little sample so I might be tempted to buy the full size.

I've been using Soap & Glory Breakfast Scrub in my showers this month.  I love using a scrub a few times a week especially when I've just come back from a holiday in the sun.  I find the scent really odd... in a good way. I have quite dry elbows and knees and I find this really helps.

WAH London Nail Art Pens launched in Boots in September (or was it August?) and I had to get myself a few to try.  I've been loving the black one the most.  I'm no nail art expert but I enjoy playing around with different designs and patterns.  These pens are fab as they have a pen nib and a long brush which I love.  They're really easy to use and I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who wants to give nail art a go.

What products have you been loving in September?

What I Ate Wednesday | Discovering New Eats

Last week I talked about how I needed inspiration for new eats and over the past few days I've made a real effort to eat new and different things and I have to say I've really been enjoying it...

Cooking is one of my many hobbies but between everything else going on I really struggle to devote as much time to it as I'd like.  I'm glad I've made the effort this week to try new things and I've really enjoyed experimenting. 

It's all about being organised.  I spent part of Sunday preparing a few bits that I could throw in the freezer and grab for a quick, easy and healthy tea. These are my eats from a busy Tuesday.
  

Breakfast

Breakfast was a few slices of pineapple and a mango.  I absolutely adore mangoes.  If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would be toss up between mangoes and pizza.  Mmmmm they're just delicious.  My favourite part...? Sucking on the stone.

Lunch

In my attempt to mix up my eats I delved into my recipe book shelf and found this Veggie Burgers Every Which Way book. It has some fantastic veggie burger recipes including Thai Carrot and Baked Falafel.  I'd definitely recommend this to any vegetarians or even meat eaters.  I've tested some of the recipes on my meat loving friends and they've really enjoyed them.  I tend to make a few batches of different ones and keep them in the freezer. 

The one I decided to make this time was the Quinoa and Kidney Bean Burger.  It was so quick and easy to make and equally as delicious.  I served it in 3 big romaine lettuce leaves, which are such a good alternative to a carb heavy bun.  I filled it with some spinach leaves, a few cucumber slices, red onion slices and a sprinkling of grated cheese.

Tea  

Another new one for me - a quesadilla.  I adore Mexican food but I've never tried a quesadilla for some reason.  I found this recipe here if you'd like to make it yourself.  I didn't completely follow the recipe which includes cucumber relish.

My quesadilla filling was mashed sweet potato, crushed haricot beans, spinach, spring onions and cheese. I used a wholemeal tortilla and as usual, I also added a drizzle of my chilli oil to add a little heat.  I'm not sure on this to be honest.  I think I put too much sweet potato in and would have preferred more spinach.  Quesadillas are definitely something I'm going to try again though.  Although not known for being particularly healthy I don't think these are too bad.  

Do you prepare meals in advance?

Do you use an alternative to a burger bun?