Popcorn PJs and Christmas Candle light

I know that it probably would sound much more glamorous to say that I fall asleep between crisp white sheets wearing Victoria's Secret pajamas, but the truth be told my PJs go a little something like this...

They are from Topshop and I got them for Christmas! I think that they are so hilarious and fun, I can't get enough of them, I wore them to sleep over at my Aunties house and she cracked up at the sight of them, they have that effect on people as they just make people smile, what more could I want from PJs??
Plus... I think that they will look even more brilliant when combined with my very over sized unicorn slippers, although those are waiting for me back at my uni house.


I finished off tonight with studying for exams  in January *woohoo*

but also secretly burning my festive candles, I don't think it's too late to be burning candles that smell like Christmas trees but there is a strict -no candle- rule in my mums house, so I convinced her to let me keep these candles for 'decoration', they have been decorating my bed side table for around 10 months in anticipation of Christmas, I secretly smuggle the candle lighter thingy from the kitchen drawer when my mum is around, yes I am older than a teenager and having to sneak around the house and abide by my mums rules.

Christmas kisses as I see in the new year with festive candles and revision!

The joy of Christmas

Tinsel and truffles and turkey 'oh my!'

Now I am totally ex-haaaaaaaaaaausted, my make up is a little worn by this point and my hair is all frazzled, but it sort of doesn't matter at this point.

I know that Christmas can be tricky, you are thrown together with friends and family, even some people that do not like you  and perhaps want to make a point of not liking you, or even enjoy pointing it around other large groups of people, that is always a hoot.

It's just important to realise that your tolerance has new levels that you did not even know existed, and to be as gracious as a person can be, not biting back to rude or snide comments. Just focus on yourself and knowing that you are not hurting or making others feel bad, but are another sparkle in their Christmas Day.

Now onto the more fun and interesting parts-

My outfit of the day looked like this:

Red plaid dungaree shorts from ebay

Black, low back top from Topshop

and a cute little pin of a geisha holding Hello Kitty that I put on my dungarees!
I wore a pair of black leggings and then knitted tights over the top and then my slippers, I get chilly...


My makeup looked like this but a little fresher:

I used half baked from the Naked palette all over the lid, and a matte black in the crease, a little liner and a highlight on the brow bone and inner corner.

I ate a lot of Roses, watched 'The Snowman' and played racing with the wind up toys won from our crackers, and all the other traditional things that people do on Christmas day like napping, eating some more.

I can fall asleep content now, and thumbs up to me for being a dedicated blogger, posting real-life in time snaps from Christmas Day!

Urban Decay Festive Gold Sparkle Makeup Tutorial!

Woohoo,
Getting my Christmas groove on because lets face it, winter makeup is about 100 x more fun than summer makeup which is quite often 'no' makeup makeup looks (I have a few on my channel, just in case you were interested...)
I've created a very very glittery eye, golden glitters for that matter- and added some brown glitter and brown eyeliner accents to keep it all very warm.

On my lips I am wearing Mac lip liners in Cherry and Chestnut, I only ever use these liners together- No exceptions! It creates a velvet lip look with a whole lot of festive POP
There's plenty more where that came from...

My Magical Primark Finds

Primark and I, our relationship isn't good.
It's not that we have had any particularly bad experiences in the past, I just find that a suggestion of visiting a Primark strikes fear into my heart because once I walk through those doors and the flourescent lights I just find a maze of chaos laid out before me, shoes and vest tops and dresses and blouses strewn from left to right with poor over worked staff running around trying to piece the store back together.

Every single branch that I have been to quite frankly always looks as though it is in a state of utter despair and a mini earthquake has made it's way around the store. The whole experience from the moment that I walk through the door is one of urgency to get around quickly, squeezing past obnoxious prams left in the middle of aisles and getting on my hands and knees to rummage for my size.

It has had one or two brand makeovers which have included a paper carrier bag opposed to plastic, and a new brighter blue font.
But the inside is still the same as ever, with the corners of changing rooms crammed with torn off tags from sticky fingered shoppers.
I won't even get into how Primark considers it's 'relaunch' of a brighter blue font to justify the 50% increase in prices for the same quality product...

Anywho, one fine day (today) my friend suggested that we nip into Primark- looking through those oversized glass windows to see the Christmas chaos inside and the queues stretching all the way to the pyjama department at the back of the store.
I took a deep breath and agreed, and I'd just stick to the main aisles, follow around my friend and not look at anything and try not to get involved in any eye contact confrontation with angry mothers.
As we pushed through the doors the warmth, lights and familiar sound of screaming toddlers filled the air.

I traveled around, in Primark you are essentially swept around with the general flow of people, if you miss your turning off into the knitwear or blouses, then you'll have to go up the escalator, come back down and try again. To my surprise, I saw some lovely little gems crammed on wall hooks that I didn't think I'd be able to get to.

I came across some cute designs for the winter collection including a baseball jersey with coca cola on, very seasonal I know.

A distressed tee with roses and little gold detailing

and finally, a Disney princess castle tee!

I did end up getting them all but I am well aware that after one wash, they will never look the same again and with each additional wash slowly fall to pieces.
More fool me, but I probably, hopefully won't make another trip for a year or so.

Post-Christmas navy 'blues!'

It has been such a lovely Christmas at home, we had the most beautiful dinner!

I wish I had taken pcitures of every little thing now to show you but I really just wanted to enjoy everything and dig in.

We always have Christmas dinner pretty late, maybe between 3/4 and so that I enjoy every bite of it I sometimes skip breakfast altogether so that I'm extra hungry.
The presents were alrady opened long before dinner. I actually awoke around 5am because I was so so excited for Christmas morning!

My sister was home and is always really hyperactive in the morning so she reawoke me around 8am because she was so excitedly opening presents (she is the older sister believe it or not)

This was my Christmas morning outfit which was very very navy blue from head to toe!

The jumper I got on Christmas morning from New Look, and on the back woven into the knitting was s star shape (although I think the star is meant to be on the front so technically I'm wearing my top back to front) Then I wore my navy blue jeans, and a very worn out, thin brown belt from Forever21.

For makeup I tried out my new lipstick in Myth and it was sooo pretty (so pretty that I ... just didn't take a picture of my makeup at all...I was in a rush ahh!)

On my eyes I wore gold eyeshadow with navy blue in the crease and curled the ends of my hair to just make it wavy.

I get super sad when Christmas is all over and when the Christmas tree doesnt look like it's throwing up wrapping paper because I love it so much and I wish that Christmas day was longer than all the other days in the year!

But now 2013 has come a-knocking which I don't like so much because it's such a mouthful to say!!!

Okay...NOW it's Christmas

It's a double Christmas surprise, I got to decorate the tree today and did a little time-lapse film for you.

It actually took a lot longer than this video implies as I put the lights on, began to put the baubles on and then it was decided that we di not have enough lights as this tree was bigger than our previous trees that we've had.

So I removed the baubles, removed the lights and started again, then put on two sets of lights this time instead!

I love re finding all the baubles again, there are so many cute ones that I forget we have. The lights also I love, they come in like twinkly beads rather than just being a string of lights.

I hope it makes you feel all Christmassy!

 

It's (pre) CHRISTMAAAAAS

In our flat, we all decided to make a wonderful Christmas dinner, before our Christmas dinners at home.

I was on Turkey and Yorkshire pudding duty and I was pretty nervous abotu the Turkey- I've never cooked a Turkey before and I didn't want it to be dry!

It was a Turkey crown that we put in the oven for 2 hours, but every 30 minutes we took it out to baste it which maybe was the best thing that we did because it was surprisingly moist and delicious!

I made the Yorkshire pudding using my Toad in the Hole recipe that I've posted here before, but just didn't put any sausages in it!

But it all turned out well in the end and we were all equally surprised by how homely it tasted.

After the delicious dinner we exchnaged presents, ate sweets and watched Puss in Boots the movie!

I feel all Christmassy!

Rushing Rushing Rushing

My day was not especially exciting, I ended up running around a lot of shops gathering together last little Christmas bits and pieces and I wish I could stress how cold it was, literally super duper cold... thats as specific and scientific as I can get regarding temperatures.

But even when I'm shopping for everyone else, I will show you what ends up happening to my hand.. I can't help it, it;s like a disease:

 

I get lipgloss smears, and eyeliner testers and lipsticks and all the rest of it all over my hand because I can't resist to have a 'touch and feel' Even though colours look very different on your hand to your face, the textures can be pretty well judged still.. so here is my YSL, Urban Decay, Benefit and all other kinds of brands and products that I wish I could have got for myself today but had to leave them where they were... on the shelf!

So who else ends up with smeary tester-y hands even without meaning to? Raise your mucky-colourful hand in the air!

And...

A final picture to warm your cold self is this cuuute but mostly funny 'alternative' nativity I saw in a shops display

 

 

We all know what is 1 month away today!

"The best way of spreding Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!"

If you're not feeling so cheerful, then take heed of that advice
It really is true!
The other day I sung 'Silent Night' in German the first lines as I remember them are...
Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht....
My german friend was not impressed because I couldn't remember the next lines so just sang:
'Guuuuuuten Taaaag, Hallelujaaaaah'

Anywho, I have not got any decorations up here at university, though we are going to have a big Christmas dinner together which should be very fun and festive I think we will make a whole day of it, like a pre christmas before 'the' Christmas
A german Christmas market has come to town, with little wood log cabins serving cookies, pretzels, mulled wine, gnomes and other trinkets
I took a little picture of the lights above me, it was fuzzy because everywhere was so busy I couldn't stay still enough to take a pretty picture.

I hope you're feeling festive and I am learning this year moreseo than previous years as this year I am on a 'student budget' that it really and truly is not about lavish and expensive presents, the people that you love are overjoyed on Christmas to be with you, or for much simpler gifts
Example from my real life:
I've made my Grandparents a CD of songs that I think they will like (old and new, classical and modern) which cost me £0 because I already own the songs and the blank discs

Harrods Disney Christmas Window London 2012

I am a sucker for Disney and I probably always will be, so I was bubbling over with excitement when I came across the design sketches for the Christmas window display for Harrods.

The theme is 'grown up' Disney princesses which is such a fun concept and interesting to see a more mature version of the Disney princesses as in the films they are all adolescents.

I present to you.. the Disney queens:

Ariel from The little Mermaid by Marchesa"A chic and elegant deep blue silk evening gown has been beautifully crafted to combine luxurious draped fabrics, which perfectly embody modern feminine style – capturing Ariel’s adventurous under-the-sea spirit."

Cinderella by Versace
“‘You shall go to the ball’, in a stunning contemporary interpretation complete with golden layers, a tiara, a bold statement-necklace and of course, glass slippers – emblazoned with the iconic Versace medusa motif.”

Sleeping Beauty by Elie Saab
“Encapsulating the natural grace and innocence of Aurora, this beautiful gown in pale pink is embellished with scattered exquisite beading.”

Repunzal by Jenny Packham
“A magical dress in pale grey adorned with incredible beading that should never be locked away.”

Jasmine from Aladdin by Escada
“An exotic fuchsia silk chiffon gown encompasses the fiery beauty of Jasmine, complete with an extravagant golden flower belt.”

Pocahontas by Roberto Cavalli
“Featuring soft, golden and natural earthy colours, this gown incorporates prints evocative of dream catchers with pearl detailing. The lightness of a feather and the wings of a butterfly, it is perfect for a princess in love with freedom.”

Mulan by Missoni
“A land of silk and jade has inspired this oriental kimono-style dazzling creation, that features bold turquoise shades and red detailing.”

Belle from Beauty and The Beast by Valentino“A fantasy-like dress in silk chiffon with a sheer hooded cape and layers of exquisite pleats, is accessorised with bespoke signature studded flats and a silver flower bag.”

 Tiana from The Princess and the Frog by Ralph & Russo
“A dream come true, this mint evening gown with a sweetheart neckline and mesh overlay, features scattered crystals that cascade into a layered tulle skirt.”

Snow White by Oscar de la Renta
“‘Someday your prince will come…’ This silk gown is divine with intricate embroidery across the bodice and a floor-sweeping cape in signature red.”

My favourite is Repunzels dress, I would serisouly wear it out I think it's just gorgeous and stunning, I want to make it or something, it's so wonderful!
If I can't get to London before christmas, hopefully my mum will so I can ask her to take pictures for me, if I get them, I will of course share!

Sauntering through Selfridges

I am a self confessed Selfridges window shopper, it's the fanciest department store I've ever been to, and I don't think I've ever bought a single thing from there.

I could probably afford a bottle of water from there, but there's no reason to pay that much for a bottle of water in the first place!

Since they had their christmas stock in (yayy!)

I had a little look around, some of the stuff is so darn cute and christmassy!

I came across this amazing advent calendar, it was so thick for an advent calendar and had little chocolate bears in it.

And this stiletto tower, all the shoes were made entirely of chocoalte and then dusted in some coloured powder, I think they were kind of expensive though considering you can't even wear them

then maybe my favourite was this beautiful gingerbread house! It has a little icing family outside and icicles hanging off the roof- I woulnd't want to eat it, partly because it's too precious, and partly because I don't like gingerbread...

And finally, I thought the packaging on this iced coffee was so fun and festive, it has a little iced roof on the carton and I bet it tastes amazing and christmassy if you like gingerbread

I'm a little excited for christmas now, I bought my first gift today!
I hope this made you a little excited about Christmas!