#TheWinterProject : Favourite Winter Make Up

After a bit of catching up I am now up to date with #TheWinterProject topics! So for this weeks post I will be showing you my favourite winter makeup, we all know everyone loves to get dolled up at Christmas time with all the parties and events, and these following products are what I like to use most to create that festively glamorous look...

Firstly, when applying a full face of makeup I always like to apply highlighter to my cupids bow, cheekbones and brow bone. In particular I have grown very fond of seventeens newest WOW highlighter, it adds a really nice shimmery effect to the areas you apply it to, particularly when the light shines on it.

Over the top of this I apply my favourite foundation, Skin Illusion by Clarins. I especially love this product as it has such a lightweight consistency so I never feel caked even when wearing a full face of makeup! And perfectly for the winter season, this foundation has the benefit of not drying out my skin! For best results and a smooth finish, apply with a foundation brush.

In these winter months I always suffer from getting increasingly pale, so this natural bronzer by Rimmel London is one I have used for years to hide that. It has the slightest shimmer but not enough for it to look unnatural. I apply it lightly, dusting my whole face with a large bronzer brush, then once again to my cheeks, brushing from the cheekbone inwards.

At Christmas time I always like to make a bit more effort for parties and events, this shimmery eyeshadow does the job very nicely, adding a nice Christmasy shine to the eyelids. I apply the powder right up to the brow bone so it catches the light really nicely. This shade from The Body Shop is a nice natural bronze like colour with purple pigments, it is quite natural so is also suitable for everyday wear. Visit The Body Shop website for more gorgeous shades.

Now for the final touches, these eyelashes by Ardell from Boots are a lovely natural lash that add that extra pop to your makeup, they have extra length and a slight curl at the edges which is great for enhancing your natural lashes fullness. I love wearing them when dressing up at Christmas! To apply them I use Shu Uemura eyelash glue which is hands down the best I have ever used, it also last ages as I have had it for about a year and its still as good as the first time I used it!

It's rare that I leave the house without a bit of lippy on even if its just a neutral shade. But recently I have not been able to take off this lipstick I purchased from MAC earlier in the season, this shade 'Prepare for Pleasure' is from the limited edition Divine Night collection. I found that everything from this collection had a real Christmasy feel to it and I couldn't leave without buying this gorgeous lipstick which really brings some excitement to winter makeup.

Is there any makeup that you particularly like to wear at winter or Christmas?

Are any of you taking part in #TheWinterProject?
Ellie

                                                                                        

#TheWinterProject : Christmas Present Ideas

With uni work I have unfortunately been a tad behind on #TheWinterProject so over the next few days I will be doing a couple of posts on this. So to start with, Christmas shopping! With all uni work out of the way I can finally get excited about Christmas and begin the festivities. I'm sure many bloggers will agree that shopping has to be one of the best bits, and for me my favourite thing to shop for has to be stocking fillers! I love buying lots of little personal gifts for friends and family that I know will make them smile. Take a look my stocking filler gift ideas...

1. Online shop notonthehighstreet.com has some really great gift ideas,

 including this 'You're just my cup of tea mug' 

a lovely personal gift costing £17.50

2. The Body Shop has a fab range of Christmas related bath & beauty gifts,

the lip balms and body butters come in the most adorable packaging

& range from £7 - £10.

3. Another notonthehighstreet.com find is this handmade heart

personalised Christmas decoration, available for £14, a lovely girly gift!

4.I have always loved Cath Kidston phone cases and this seasonal

Santa phone case would make a great gift and can be bought online for £14.95

5. Who doesn't love a silly stocking filler?! This Santa egg cup accompanied with an eggs Santa hat AND Christmas tree toast cutters really cracked me up when I saw it (honestly no pun intended!)

you can buy on various places online or I bought it at Primark for £4.

6. These gloves are genius invention! I hate it when I'm trying to text but my hands are too

 bloomin cold to do without gloves! These touch screen gloves are great, 

I've already bought two pairs as presents for people! From proporta.com they are £14.95

7. Finally, I cant remember a Christmas without candles for presents and Yankee candle

do the best range of festive scents in a variety of sizes, starting from as

little as £1.35 for tea lights and £19.49 for the biggest jars.

So if youre like me and love buying stocking fillers, I hope you find my selection useful,

Happy shopping!

                                                                                       

#TheWinterProject : Favourite Winter Scent

This weeks topic for #TheWinterProject is favourite winter scents. For those of you who know me will know that I am obsessed with candles, I cannot have a bath without them! There is something in particular about candles that makes you feel all nice and relaxed; and at this time of year a lovely scented candle help puts you right into that Christmasy mood. My personal favourite brand of candle is Yankee candle, they have such a HUGE range of scents from florals to foods, and they also have a brilliant selection of festive limited edition candles you are spoilt for choice. They come in a range of sizes and with cute festive images and lovely looking jars and tumblers, I find that they make some great stocking fillers and presents. If you need some help chosing a scent, I recommend 'Christmas Cookie', 'Apple and Pine Needle', 'Merry Marshmallow' but the winner for me has to be 'Christmas Eve'. This candle is jam packed will all the traditional Christmas scents just one whiff makes me feel all warm and Christmasy! Ranging from as little as £1.35 for some sampler candles up to £19.49 for a jar that will last you weeks, I guarantee that you will be able to find your favourite winter scent too!

Some of the Christmas range, image taken from Yankee.co.uk

I would love to hear from you...

Do you have any of the Yankee Christmas candles?

What is your favourite winter scent?

Ellie

                                                                                       

#TheWinterProject : My Favourite Winter Accessory

This week the topic for #TheWinterProject is favourite winter accessories. For years I have always had a weakness when it comes to buying scarves, it seems that no matter how big my collection is already I am always tempted to add to it. I love a scarf that is practical and warm, but also stands out as a fashion piece; and I believe that this little beauty (in fact it's far from little, lets say bordering on blanket) is by far my favourite fashion scarf to date. To those of you who read my blog may recognise this scarf from my 'Tartan overload' post recently where I showed you things I had recently bought that followed that the tartan trend, and as pretty much the whole of the population know by now, tartan is back with a bang, so this scarf is most definitely on trend. If this hasn't sold it to you already I must boast that it is also cleverly double sided so it is basically 2 scarves for the price of one! Therefore depending on your mood or outfit you can chose which tartan to wear, the red and green tartan really helps to liven up an outfit and the black and white side compliments so many other garments, or you can twist it showing both sides it's really up to you. You can find this scarf in Zara for just shy of £20, a bargain! I know this scarf in particular has been super popular, however Zara have a lovely range of patterns available in the same size so you are no doubt spoilt for choice. If you ask me, this is the ultimate winter accessory. 

What is your favourite winter accessory?

Ellie

                                                                                       

#TheWinterProject : Favourite Winter Nails

I read about this project on one of my favourite blogs that is Beleza by Ems, and although I may be a day behind I loved the sound of the project so much that I couldn't wait to jump on the band wagon. The idea of #TheWinterProject is to write a series of winter related posts over the weeks leading up to Christmas with a different festive theme each week. So, to start things off, let me introduce to my favourite winter nail polishes!

I have a thing for combining nail polishes, you will rarely see me with just one nail colour on. This gorgeous icy blue and creamy colour remind me of cold winter days and they go really great together. The blue 'Where's my Chauffeur?' by Essie (which I nicked from my flat mate on this occasion) is a stunning great quality colour that I highly recommend, I also own a similar colour by Barry M which is a cheaper option but bare in mind you have to apply a few coats to get a solid colour, but it is worth it. See this polish in one of my previous posts HERE. The creamy shade 'Lychee' is one of the gelly polishes by Barry M, the brand I can always rely on for a cheap but decent nail polish.
for a more night time, occasion appropriate look, these two polishes look SOO good together it would be a crime to separate them. For the base colour I apply two coats of 'Raspberry' a lush shade by Barry M which I feel is a really festive red, so I always like to wear it at this time. Another colour by Essie, 'Leading Lady' is what I like to apply over the top. For me a glittery nail polish just yells Christmas so combined with the Barry M paint you are fit for the season!

Are any of you taking part in #TheWinterProject? If so, send me your links in the comments box below!

Ellie