When I was in Superdrug the other day I decided to pick up one of Tanya's nail polishes so I thought I would show you my nails for New Years Eve and how I did it. It is extremely easy and simple, since my nail art skills are basically nothing.
Nail polish I used:
Barry M clear top and base coat
Tanya Burr New York City Night
Barry M Rose Quartz Glitter
also used a couple of ear buds
I hope everyone had a great 2015 and will have an even better 2016. So much has happened in the past year and it is crazy how fast it went! I will be posting something tomorrow which sums up my 2015, but I hope everyone has a great time celebrating New Years this evening.
So I am only doing my music and beauty favourites of 2015 otherwise the post will literally be too long if I included TV shows, movies, random things and fashion. Anyway I hope you enjoy reading what I have been loving this year, and let me know what you have been loving too in the comments. Music
Troye
So Troye bought out his début album this year in early December and I have been addicted. I was hooked since the Blue Neighbourhood Trilogy Videos came out and when he released the Wild EP in the Summer. I am also so happy to say, that I have got tickets to see him next year in April! My favourite songs from his album are Youth (especially live versions), Talk me Down, Cool, for him and Suburbia.
5 Seconds of Summer
I have been a fan of 5SOS for nearly 4 years now! It is crazy to have been apart of their journey from YouTube and to see them release their second album as well as getting to finally see one of their shows! It has been an amazing year for them, can't wait to see what 2016 has installed for them.
One Direction
Now, what a year for 1D?! Zayn, the hiatus, Made in the A.M. album and a massive world tour. I have got to admit that I did not see this coming when starting 2015. But to say the least 1D's new album Made in the A.M. is extremely amazing. My favourites have got to be Olivia, If I Could Fly and History. I also got to see them live for the third time, which I am so grateful for. I hope they have a well deserved hiatus.
Good Charlotte
I have been listening to a lot of Good Charlotte this year for some reason, I am not entirely sure why that is. Nevertheless, my favourite songs I have been listening of theirs are Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous, Last Night and Girls & Boys. They are definitely nothing live One Direction as they are more of the rock genre.
All Time Low
Their new album which they released in April has been amazing! I have been making my friends listen to it when they get a lift of me, and some of them (who don't particularly like that genre of music) said they liked it! Anyway, I am getting to see them finally in February next year which I am probably more excited about then my 18th birthday!!
Roll Up Hills
I have been listening to the Roll Up Hill's (aka Matt) covers for nearly 2 years now which just seems crazy to think about now I have said that! At the start of the year he announced he was in a band called Cahoots who have done so much this year and I am insanely proud of them all.
The Beatles
I have been a fan of the Beatles since I was about 8 years old and when I heard that we could stream their music now made me so happy. Before we could stream them I could find bad quality videos of them on YouTube or get the album out so it is extremely useful to be able to listen to them on Spotify. A couple of my favourite songs of theirs are Help, Penny Lane, Hard Day's Night and Let it Go.
Lower Than Atlantis
I bloomin' love this band! They are a punk/rock genre band and oh my life they are amazing. I have got to hold Spotify responsible for my obsession of them, as it was Spotify who suggested a song of theirs to me and since then I haven't stopped listening to them. I have been jamming to Emily, Words Don't Come So Easily and Live Slow Die Old a lot this year!
This has been my holy grail concealer for a good 2-3 years now and here it is again! It is so well used the label/writing has rubbed off! This is my favourite concealer, to be honest I have only tried this one and the wake me up concealer. But this is so good I don't want to venture out to test any more! It has good coverage as it covers my dark circles around my eyes which is the main thing I am looking for when I buy concealers as well as coverage for spots.
I love this palette! For the price of just £4 I wasn't expecting much at all, however the eye shadow stays on all day and is very pigmented. You can tell which ones are my favourites!
I bought my first one of these back in September 2014 and I have repurchased them ever since. They are affordable and do their job pretty well. I get the transparent one because I just want a natural eyebrow look and if I need a bit of colour I use my soap and glory eyebrow pencil. It is so quick and easy to use so therefore has became apart of my everyday make up routine for 2015.
I have been loving the nude lipstick this year. I just love this colour, brand and formula of the lipstick. It is a beige-y pink nude which just looks amazing and stays on for ages. It isn't completely matte as it is quite moisturising but it is definitely not a glossy shine lipstick.
I seriousy cannot believe tomorrow is the last day of 2015. I just think this year has flew by, especially the last half! I just want to say a massive thank you for all your kind comments and for reading my blog posts. Hopefully I get to post something tomorrow, but if not I want to wish you all a Happy New Year!
So today is the last day of Blogmas and for the last post of Blogmas I will share with you some of my most favourite things to do on Christmas Eve, let me know what you love to do too.
1. Be with family
I always spend Christmas Eve with my Mum's side of the family so I don't think I would do it any other way really. It is just a great time to catch up, get into the festive spirit and just have a fun time.
2. Pub Lunch
Again, we always go out for lunch in my cousin's local pub. We do this every year so I don't know what I would do as the main part of Christmas Eve day, I just don't think it would be the same if I didn't got to the pub for Christmas Eve lunch!
3. Christmas Eve Walk
I feel like going for a family walk on Christmas Eve is one of my favourite things about Christmas. Unfortunately we didn't get chance this year because of people being too busy and other circumstances. But Mum, my grandparents and I did the 'route' yesterday haha!
4. Christmas TV Special's
I love Christmas TV shows specials. This year we have The Middle's Christmas special saved especially to watch as a family. We will also probably watch an Outnumbered, Trollied and Miranda one. Comedy show Christmas specials are always brilliant!
5. Bath
I think this is one of the best ways to relax on Christmas Eve. Light some Christmas scented candles, have a Christmas edition bath bomb and you are set! I do a face mask to make myself feel a bit more fresh when I come out.
6. Christmas Movies
I think everyone watches Christmas movies on the evening and/or afternoon of Christmas Eve. We tend to watch The Snowman and Father Christmas, but this year I think my Mum has found an old Christmas-y film from when my brother and I were younger, which we watched on CBBC called 'The First Snow of Winter' which we will be watching tonight.
So I cannot believe that's the end of Blogmas and tomorrow is Christmas Day! I will post again shortly after Christmas, but I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas, enjoy the day that we have been counting down to!
I am not going to lie, I know it is Christmas Eve tomorrow, but I am not feeling as Christmas-y and festive as I want to be. If you are in the same boat as I am here are a few ideas which help me feel more festive;
1. Watch Christmas Movies
This is a really go way to get you into the spirit of Christmas. I especially like to have a marathon of them with some of my friends or watch some with my Mum. Yesterday Mum and I both watched Arthur Christmas as we heard it was meant to be really good, and it definitely doesn't disappoint! It has probably got to be in my top five Christmas must-sees.
2. Wear Christmas Jumpers
I love wearing Christmas, as well as seeing other people wearing them. It does make me feel that extra bit more festive. You can get ones for about £10 in Primark, which is where I get mine.
3. Bake Christmas Food
I always bake a chocolate roulade around this time of year to eat on Christmas Eve, so when I make it (which is what I did today), it makes me feel like Christmas is just around the corner.
4. Listen to Christmas Songs
This is possibly, the most effective way to feel Christmas-y. Just hearing the classic Christmas songs makes me sing and dance along to it. I think Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody and Cliff Richard's Mistletoe and Wine make me the most festive.
5. Watch some Vlogmas Videos
I think this makes me feel more Christmas-y then watching Christmas movies because you can actually see what people are doing to get in the Christmas spirit. I always, always watch Tanya and Zoe's vlogmas' as they make me feel the most festive whilst watching them.
Hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for reading it, let me know what you do to get into the Christmas spirit :)
Cannot believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve, this month (and year) has gone so fast!
So here is my second Christmas/festive recipe which I wanted to post! It is cranberry, cinnamon and walnut flapjacks, so I hope you enjoy the post.
Ingredients
150g Oats
120g Agave nectar or honey
50g dried cranberries
1tsp cinnamon
1 tsp flexseed
30g chopped walnuts
1. Pre-heat the oven at 180C.
2. Put the oats, flexseed, cinnamon and agave nectar into a large mixing bowl and mix together. If you feel you need a little more agave nectar to bind the mixture together better, add some extra gradually as you keep mixing.
3. Add in the dried cranberries and walnuts, mixing it together making sure they are evenly distributed.
4. Using greaseproof paper line a baking tray, I used a 20 cm by 30 cm one.
5. Put the flapjack mixture into the tray, making it evenly spread out. Don't pat down the mixture too hard otherwise it will come out too hard to bite into.
6. Place into the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Once baked, take out the oven and let it cool.
8. Cut the flapjack into 12 even pieces, it maybe a bit crumbly but it will still taste great!
I've just got to say, when I finished baking these flapjacks, the kitchen smelt so Christmas-y from the cinnamon it was amazing!
I'm sorry the quality of the photos aren't great because of the lighting and they were taken on my phone camera, not my actual camera.
Anyway I hope you liked this post and I will be back tomorrow for Day 23, it is crazy how fast this month has gone!
So for today's Blogmas post I will share with you something I have made, which I was inspired from something similar online but I didn't have half the things around the house to be able to make it. Therefore I decided I would make my own version of it; a Reindeer Glass Jar filled with Chocolate!
You will need
Empty clean glass jar
Black marker pen
Red pompom/cardboard
Plain cardboard
Brown felt-tip
Red ribbion
Bell
Sticky fillers or PVA glue
Scissors
Chocolate or something to fill the jar with
1. On the piece of cardboard draw some antlers, you can draw them like mine or as my Dad said, you can draw them going outwards like hands if you get what I mean?
2. Carefully, using the scissors, cut out the antlers
3. Using a brown felt-tip, colour them in on both sides as you are going to be able to see both sides of them.
4. Now moving to the actual glass jar, which is going to end up as the face of the reindeer. Using the black marker pen draw some eyes on the top third. I went for the cartoon looking eyes as I cannot draw to save my life. You could also use bobbly eyes, but we didn't have any lying around our house.
5. Use a round/oval red piece of cardboard or pompom for the reindeers nose, stick it on with some sticky fillers which are spongy squares that are sticky on both sides (or PVA glue).
6. Below the nose tie a piece of red ribbon around it acting as the collor. Then if you have one, use another piece of string/ribbon to tie a small bell onto it. I think this just adds a cute detail to the end product.
7. Get the coloured in antlers and fold the bottom ends to act as a stand. Use the sticky fillers or PVA glue to stick it onto the lid of the glass jar.
8. Fill the Jar with sweets, chocolates, some motivational quotes or kind words and close the lid and you have yourself a Reindeer Christmas Gift to give to a friend or family member!
Hope you liked this idea, it doesn't take that long to make and I think it looks adorable!
So for today's Blogmas post I wil share with you how I make a 'healthier' cinnamon mocha. If you don't like cinnamon, you can take it out or swap it with ground ginger.
Ingredients
Cacao Powder
Coffee Grains
Milk // whatever you like best, I use Skimmed
Ground Cinnamon
Water
1. Add 1 level teaspoon of coffee grains into your chosen Christmas mug
2. Add 1/2 teapoon of cacao powder, don't add too much as it is much stronger than cocoa powder
3. Add just under a 1/4 of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, or any Christmas-y spice you prefer
4. Boil some water in the kettle, once it has boiled, pour it into your mug leaving room for your milk
5. Add your chosen milk to your cinnamon mocha, filling it to the top and make sure you stir it well
Now relax in front of the fire listening to Christmas songs or watching a Christmas movie or vlog whilst drinking your healthier Christmas mocha!
I hope you enjoyed this post, I will hopefully post at least one more Christmas-y recipe. I was hoping to have posted at least one already but due to time and sixth form commitments I haven't gotten round to baking anything Christmas-y yet!
