2012 - The Best Bits

January - April 

Nothing notable happened in these months my life was a blur or journals and trying to make it through to the end of my degree. 

May 14th 

The end happened after four years of living in a very big bubble BAPR bubble my dissertation was handed in I drank lots of cheap bubbles and somehow had finished my degree. 

May/June 

This then left me with a lot of time on my hands - I know longer had to feel guilty for procrastinating and I went on holiday a couple of times to try and get my head back and start being myself again. 

July 

I got myself a grown up job and headed to work with some lovely people in the Omni-Channel Imagery Team for B&Q's website DIY.com. Having a pay cheque pretty much meant July and August could be wrapped up in being able to go out again and not feeling so guilty for my shopping habit. 

August 

THCF officially launched with an amazing party were we raised well over £9,000 to support young people aged 17-25 with cancer in the Southampton area. 

September 

Was basically about this girl, an amazing weekend in London town reuniting with my wife and the girl I have spent most of this year missing being the room next door to me. 

October 

Lodge weekend, one of the best weekend of my year spent relaxing and drinking in a hot tub! 

November 

Was all about graduation so surreal to have finally got there and wear the hat after an amazing four years. 

December

Has just all been about Christmas and preparing to move in with a boy for the very first time. 

I'm spending tonight in a lovely hotel with 11 friends were we're treating ourselves to a fancy dinner and lots and lots of wine. I have a feeling 2013 is going to be a good one (touch wood), spending it living with my love. I'm also so excited to see where we can the charity this year as we have so many exciting idea's I can't wait to get moving with. 

I feel like I'm also working out where I want this blog to be and having so many lovely followers makes me so happy and ridiculously grateful! I love having my own little bit of the web and as long as I keep enjoying doing it I'll be sticking around here. Thank you for reading this year - literally does mean the world that anyone is interested at all in what I have to say.  

I hope everyone has the most amazing New Year's Eve and if you don't - don't fret it's the most over hyped night of the year and it most definitely doesn't set a precedent for the year!

with love, Georgina x

Products of 2012 - Skincare, Nails, Make-up and Hair

Nails

Models Own - Nyla Nude, Slate grey, Champagne, Hedonist (review), Coral Reef, Peaches and Cream 

Skincare

Ren Glycolatic Radiance Renewal Mask (glossybox review), Origins Spot Remover (review), Bioderma Crealine H2o (review), Caudalie Beauty Elixir (review), Simple Regeneration Age Resisting Day Cream (review)

Make-Up 

Vivo Baked Bronze in Healthy Glow (review), Benefit Porefessional (review) Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in shade 120 (review) MAC Viva Glam lipstick in Pink Friday (review), Topshop Sunbeam Highlighter (review)

Hair

Moroccan Oil Hair Treatment (review)

with love, Georgina x

What's in my handbag? - December 2012

I still absolutely love reading these posts - anything remotely nosey and I'm there. Room tours, what's in my handbag, what I got for Christmas the lot - I love them. So as I'm packing away my room I also had a little handbag clear out and realised a lots changed since I did the post in July. Most notably I started my job two days after this post went up so my bag has had to adapt a little bit. My bag itself is now a lovely black spiked thing from H&M. It cost £29.99 it's not on their site at the moment but I only bought it about a few weeks ago and there were stacks of them. 

Contents: 

Keys

Pen

Work Swipe Card 

Polo's 

Mini Moo Business Cards

Purse 

Tissues 

Phone

Diary

Make Up Bag (H&M)

Maybelline Fit me! Powder and Foundation in shade 120 (review)

Amor Amor Perfume by Cacharel (review)

Benefit Bad Gal Eyeliner 

Mac Lipstick in Hue (review)

L'Oreal Caresse in Dating Coral (review)

Benefit Porefessional (review)

Caudalie Beauty Elixir (review)

Spare contact lens'

Cymex

Maybelline Super Stay 24 hour Concealer

Graduated Glitter Christmas Nails

I've been testing out Christmas nails for the last few weeks - some failed miserably (nail transfers I'm talking to you) some annoyed (nail wraps) and some were just more effort than they were worth (miniature Christmas stickers.) I've plumped with this graduated glitter look for the big day this year as it will go with whatever I chose to wear - obviously something red, gold or black and having such heavy glitter on the tips gives the look real durability and means I won't be chipped by boxing day. I used the same graduated glitter method I mentioned here and I used Models Own Gold Digger, Nails Inc Victoria and Albert and these eBay nail art pens. 

Trio of Vivo Pearl Eyeshadows - Smoky Pink, Goddess & Champagne

Vivo Eyeshadow £1 (here)

These little gems were another one of those - I've spent more on make-up than on food Tesco shops. My spending wasn't down to these as each one comes in at a bargainous £1 each. I picked up three pearl shades even though I think I acutally prefer the Matte collection from Vivo as it's much more wearable and I find the pearl collection is a little bit more night out for me. However being the ridiculous person I am I picked up three shimmery shades because I do like things that sparkle.

I bought smoky pink, goddess, and champagne. Goddess (gold) and smoky pink are definitely not shades I'd normally pick up but I was obviously feeling a little adventurous on this day. I like the gold toned Goddess as it goes really well with my usual brown and cream eye looks. However smoky pink just doesn't work for me my boyfriend actually used the term 'are you going for a bit of an 80's vibe today?' I wasn't going for this vibe and I never will be something about it's purple tone just doesn't work on my skin. Champagne is probably my favourite as it's a cute little highlighter cream that I find I can use time and time again. For £1 these are still some of my favourite eye shadow's to play with - as they are so cheap you really don't feel bad about buying a colour that doesn't suit you!

ELF Studio Matt Lip Colour - Coral

ELF Studio Matt Lip Color - Coral £3.75

I've wanted this lipstick for so so long and during each ELF order it's either been out of stock or I've been in a weird 'I have too many lipsticks' mood. However this ELF order it was in stock and I was of sane mind that a girl can never have too many lipsticks. 

This ticks every single box for me - I like coral, I like pencil packaging and I love a matte finish. It looks quite bright in the picture above and it can be in certain lights but it's a lovely pink toned coral that glides on the lip. Even though it's matte I didn't find it drying and I loved wearing it. As my lips are quite pink naturally I find it works best with a touch of Benefit Cha Cha Tint underneath as it just tones down my lips a bit and gives a good even base. 

I love it and I'm so glad I just bit the bullet and bought it. 

Caudalie Grape Water

Caudalie Cleansing Water RRP £9 - feelunique.com £8.10

I picked this up in October when I had a bit of mad Feel Unique splurge. I've read so many good things about Caudalie and as it was just £9 for a huge tube I thought why not give it a go. This is massive, it's an aerosol type dispenser and it is as big as one of those jumbo hairspray cans  I personally find this a little bit annoying for me face sprays are for my desk or my handbag and having a massive one at home means it doesn't get used all that often. 

I am not sure why but I do kind of like this product. It's pretty much fragrance free and very gentle on your face. It's not quite as refreshing as the Beauty Elixir which is my absolute favourite. I can't really tell if this is any better than just a plain old water mist but it does feel nice on your skin. I think this will probably not really get used until next summer when I'm getting all hot in my very own back garden and I need a little refreshing spritz. It's not a product I need or will probably even buy again but it's fun and it is refreshing. For me the Caudalie Beauty Elixir is the winner in Caudalie face mists as it fits in my handbag or on my desk and it smells amazing. 

Glossybox Christmas December Box 2012

It's Christmas Glossybox time again - scared the hell out of me because how was it one entire year ago when the lovely red box was released? I loved last year's December box  and was sure this year's Christmas edition wouldn't disappoint. And it didn't. My Glossybox posts are never usually this photo heavy but for some reason I just wanted to go to town this month. 

Rituals Magic Touch

I was so excited to see rituals in this months box as last years shower gel from them was probably one of my favourite Glossy products ever. This body cream is in scent cherry blossom and rich milk and smells divine. It's fruity enough to be refreshing but also so soothing in it's smell which I think comes from the rice milk. I have smelt a lot of Rituals product and they are never a let down on the scent front. This is super thick and lovely on the skin I'm looking forward to using this. 

Anatomicals Fruity Lip Gloss

I've tried a few anatomicals products so far and I love their packaging. However that's as far as it seems to go for me - the scents always seem a little child like and not that thought through in my opinion. I can't wear lip gloss either as it just doesn't agree with my lips so this probably my least favourite product to no fault of theirs it just doesn't tick my boxes. 

Seche Nail Lacquer - Shade Iconic 

This is ever so Christmassy I've never heart of the brand but it does live up to it's one coat promise. Above is a swatch of just one coat and it's definitely covered my nail completely so I was super impressed with this and will look out for it in future. 

Milk_Shake Conditioning Whipped Cream 

Again have never heard of this brand but I am a huge lover of leave in conditioners so I'm excited to give this a go and will probably give it a full review once giving it a proper test. 

A little bonus blush it's a lovely pink colour that for some reason wouldn't really pick up with my camera even though it's pretty pigmented. A nice little blusher as an extra - I prefer larger blushes as I really like to get brush swirled around but who can complain it's cute and a nice shade. 

I got so excited swatching the Sleek Ultra Matts V2 palette that I didn't end up taking a picture of the palette itself. Oops. As you can see above though it's a lovely matte palette with a mixture of base colours and deep pigmented darks. I really like it - I want to say it's a pretty sleek palette without being overly cheesy. The packaging is really nice and it is a welcome addition to my eye-shadow colours. 

Overall very happy with this box lots of gorgeous things to try out and a few brands I hadn't heard of which I love.

Christmas Gift Guide - Make-Up Obsessions

Spend 
Benefit Turn Up the Heat Lip & Cheek Kit: Tropicoral £24.50
YVES SAINT LAURENT Rouge Pur Couture £23.50
NARS Summer Look blush £21
Real Techniques Core Collection £21.99 

Splurge 
Christian Dior 5 COULEURS Grand Bal Eyeshadow Palette £40
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat and Luxurious Mascara 5-Piece Gift Set £48 

I dropped the save area from this post as it seemed kind of redundant in the make-up world. I think every wish-list for make-up is the unattainable and luxury from the brands we can't necessarily buy day to day so these are the things that make up this post.

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster

I really love the idea of adding a serum into my skin care routine - I've so far had some amazing experiences (Caudalie SOS Thirst Quenching Serum) and some neither here nor there experiences (Boots Skin Blemish Defence Serum) So obviously when this little Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster was featured in my Exclusive Glossybox I was excited to give it a go. It smells gorgeous it has a strong grapefruit and orange scent to it that I thought would immediately break me out but its a really natural scent that has not given me a single blemish. It's quite a thick serum but spreads out really well and just absorbs straight into your skin.

I'm really loving it so I did a little research to find out what it is in this product that is really working for me. Ole Henriksen can be seen here - he's a happy looking man who claims to know a lot about skin. His feature in my glossybox is my first encounter with the brand but I love how thorough all of their descriptions are like the following about Truth Serum Collagen Booster -

"Like a daily vitamin for your face, this high powered vitamin C complex helps smooth out lines and wrinkles and prevents further damage. Loaded with antioxidants to fight off environmental aggressors and moisture-binding ingredients to keep your skin nourished and protected, this aromatic serum is absorbed instantly and penetrates to the deeper layers of the skin to provide long term results. Sensitive skin prone to irritation will benefit immensely from the calming properties of this oil-free serum."

This does sum it up it really does feel like the skin alternative to taking a whole host of vitamin C tablets. My skin is so full of moisture after using it and has remained pretty blemish free too despite the cold air which usually turns my face into a dry flaky mess. I've been trying a few other products so I can't wholly put my happy skin down to this product but it is the only product I've changed that gives moisture and on that front this really is doing the job.

After looking on the brands website lots of amazing things have been added to my wish list - the invigorating night gel, power peel, and sheer transformation are all at the top of the list. Is anyone in love with any other Ole Henriksen products?

Spreading A Little Christmas Cheer

This post is a little different and completly un-beauty related but still very much based in the Christmas spirit.

You may or not remember that in August myself and 7 others officially launched our charity 'The Hannah Chamberlain Foundation' (you can read my post on it here) Well we've been lucky enough to have been nominated as one of 8 Southampton based charities in the LeePeckGroups charity begins at home Christmas campaign.

I'm not asking you for a single penny just a second of your time to vote for us - by clicking 'The Hannah Chamberlain Foundation' and giving us your vote we will hopefully be in with a chance to win a cash prize for the charity and also some free PR from the Lee Peck Group. It's a prize we'd love to win - starting out just this year we'd love the help and support so please vote.

VOTE HERE

I'd be crazy grateful for your time in doing this and also if you could share and post the link http://www.leepeckgroup.com/christmas wherever you can to gain as much support as possible for 'The Hannah Chamberlain Foundation.'

We have so many exciting things planned for the new year and this would just be the perfect way to start 2013 - voting closes December 24th!
If you want to read more about our charity, Hannah's story and to keep up to date with everything we have planned please do go and visit www.thcf.org.uk

All my love, Georgina x

 

Revlon Matte Lipsticks Stormy Pink & Nude Attitude

Revlon Matte Lipstick £7.49 Boots

Revlon Matte Smoked Peach is one of my all time favourite lipsticks. I blogged about it in January here and have been wearing it so much this year. I picked up shades stormy pink and nude attitude as even though my lips are pretty dry I just love the matte finish of these lipsticks. They wear evenly and last pretty well. I like both shades and love that the nude has a slight gold sheen going through it. I don't think I can wear these lipsticks in the winter as my lips are much dryer than normal but I can't wait to get these out more often next spring.