Goodbye 2015

Hey Guys, 
so this is the last post I will be posting in 2015 which seems so strange to type because it seems only yesterday that it was the start of 2015 and now it's nearly time to say goodbye to 2015 and hello to 2016 which for most people a new year, means a new you but in order to become a new and better improved version of yourself you have to reflect on what you did in the year just passed both good and bad so before the new year starts just look back on this year at everything that's happened, the things you've done and the people you've met and if you've fallen out with someone this year then talk to them and try and figure out the problem and solve it and if you can't or they don't want to sort it out then maybe they should be a memory that you leave in 2015 because the person you are is defined by the people you surround yourself with. 
Anyway enough of the motivational speech; so I was thinking about everything that happened this year and realised they're are a lot of things and people that I am so grateful for and so I thought that as my final post of 2015 I would share some of my favourite experiences and things from the year with you.

I thought that I would start off my favourites with my favourite people both on and off the internet; but I'm going to start off with people on the internet. Now like most people I've become a bit obsessed with YouTube and a few of my favourite YouTubers from this year are Joe Sugg, Aspyn and Parker, Ingrid Nilsen, and the final two are Pippa Crossland and Alice Buchanan which might be a bit bias because they are two of my best friends but I really do love both of their channels. As well as watching YouTube I also love reading other blogs and my favourites this year are Career Girl Daily, Poppy Deyes, Brunette Wavez, A Girl, Obsessed and A Beautiful Mess.

Now to off the internet I love my family and they are always there for me but I've also had such a good year with 5 of my closest friends, Alice, Becky, Clari, Meg and Pippa, who have been there for me throughout the year through the ups and downs and I can't wait for all the fun we'll have next year and when we all go to Rome together next October.

My second favourites I want to share with you are my fashion ones, My favourite shop would have to be H&M but the shop with my favourite designs has to be Ted Baker I don't think I've seen a single design in any of their collections that I don't like and I especially like all of the rose gold accents. My staple piece of this year though has got to be my black jeggings, I was never really much of a jeans fan but jeggings really changed my opinion on jeans in general but not the ones that are leggings with denim patterns printed onto them but the softer denim jeans which are so much comfier and can make any outfit look more put together.

My next favourites are my favourite beauty related products that I've found this year. I'm gonna start off with my favourite moisturiser that I talked about a little while ago and that's the Benefit B.Right! Triple Performing Moisturiser, I think that my favourite scent of the year has to be the PINK Fresh&Clean Body Mist. My Favourite nail polish has to be Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in Runway Red-y.

I thought I would include my favourite TV shows because I have found a few new ones this year The Late Late Show and The Ellen Show are in them although since I'm in the UK I can't watch them properly but instead on YouTube. I also really love Modern Family and Glee; since we recently got Now TV I've been binge watching both of them over Christmas. I've also always been a huge sucker for soap operas and EastEnders has been my favourite this year.

Now onto a few random favourites my favourite magazine as always has to be; and my final favourite has to be my camera which is Nikon 1 J2. I have used it so much this year and has helped me a lot with my blog.

I hope you all liked this post and I'm wishing you all the best for 2016 and let me know a few of your favourites from this year in the comments, see you again in 2016,

Charlotte x

Merry Christmas | Christmas 2015

Hey Guys,
So I wasn't planning on posting today but yesterday and over December I have taken a lot of photos of my Christmas decorations and presents and other Christmassy things and thought that it would be a shame if they didn't go anywhere and no one saw them so I've just selected some of my favourites to share with you today.

I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and got everything you wanted; see you on Monday everyone, have a great Boxing Day,

Charlotte x

How to Make Your Presents Look Professional | Christmas 2015

Hey Everyone,
So when it gets to Christmas time I obviously get excited for the food and presents and seeing family and friends but another one of my favourite things to do is give presents to others because I love picking something out for them and wrapping it up. And I always try to make my presents look really nice when I'm giving them to others especially at Christmas because it'll be sat under their tree and I don't want mine to stand out for the wrong reasons I want it too stand out for the good; therefore today I thought I would share with you some of my top tips, the best places to get your supplies from and my wrapping process. 

So first my top tips; number one is you need to have the right tools to do the job right and you are going to need plenty of them; you'll obviously need the bog standard things like scissors, wrapping paper and sellotape but then you'll also need things for decorating and organising the presents like gift tags, ribbon, gift bags, candy canes and Christmas tree ornaments. These are what are going to help your presents look more professional and fun as well as helping them to stay together and organised. My second tip is to think, you need to think about who will be receiving the present/s so you probably don't want to wrap your little sisters present in super elegant paper and wrap your Grandmas in Santa Claus paper! Pick the paper that suits there personality and age best and then continue with that theme with the gift tags, ribbons, decorations and gift bag you might choose to use. Also try not to leave it till the last possible moment, we're on Christmas week now so you want to get all of your presents wrapped so you aren't rishon around on Christmas Eve trying to do it, you also might discover that you don't have anything for someone so then you still have time to buy them something. My number one top tip though has to be if you're asked when buying the present if you'd like it gift wrapped free then say YES, this will save you both time and money. 

Now Christmas can be an expensive time of year so try to use your supplies efficiently and I don't mean scrimp on the paper and decorations you buy and get nearly anything g and just shove everything unwrapped in gift bags!! I mean make the most of them so when your cutting out the paper don't cut miles too much and if you have a small piece left at then end of the roll don't throw it away because that could come in later if you have a small present to wrap like a CD or something. Also what can save you money is buying your paper and decorations and cards in January now I know it's a bit late to do that now but that the perfect time because shops are trying to get rid of all their Christmas stock so you can get things that were really expensive for not as much. But seen as Christmas is in like 4 days!!!! (OMG!!!! I'm so excited) you can't do that but you don't need to go to really expensive stores you can get good quality stuff from places you probably wouldn't think to look in like Card Factory, Poundland, PRIMARK, B&M and other discount/cheap stores like that and you'll also be able to pick up decorations there pretty cheap as well because let's face it you've probably spent quite a bit of money on the presents you've got for someone so you don't want to have to pay nearly the same amount to wrap it as well!

So now we've got the supplies sorted we can start wrapping, and this is where it can all go wrong if your not sure how to wrap up a present then just look at some tutorials on YouTube but if you do then you still need to check basic things like before you cut the paper make sure you have enough to cover your presents and don't wrap it too loosely make sure your pulled the paper around the gift quite tightly. Also before you start wrapping asses the shape of the present because it might be quite hard for you to wrap and if it is a bit of an awkward shape then you have two options you can either find a box it will fit in and wrap up the box or you could wrap it in tissue paper because that will go around the shape better and then you can just tie some ribbon around it.
A good way to organise your presents and make them look more put together is too wrap all the presents for the same person (or people of the presents are shared) in the same wrapping paper this makes it really clear if the gift tag falls off one of the presents who it is for because it'll be in the same wrapping as all of their other presents; but obviously don't wrap a brother and sisters presents I'm the same paper because that'll end up defeating the object so you will need a selection of different patterned wrapping paper.

Once all of your presents are wrapped it's time to decorate them which is my favourite part so at this point you want to group presents together so for example if you've got 5 or six presents for your brother then gather them together and then you need decide how your going to present them if they are all soft presents(not very structured or in a box) then you might want to opt for a gift bag because it will keep them together without having the hassle of trying to tie them together with ribbon and then just getting squished! And then you can just scrunch some tissue paper up and put one gift tag on the bag or write in the one already on the bag. If though you have presents in boxes or with a bit more structure then you can arrange them on top of each other and tie them together with your ribbon and you don't have to tie every single present together just go with what looks best and of one present isn't fitting then leave it out and just tie some ribbon on it by itself, also you can use a little bit of double sided sticky tape to hold them in place to help you while you're tie them together. If you have only got one present to give to someone you can still use the ribbon to decorate it you just won't be tying presets together. Once you've tied the ribbon on your presents you can add on your gift tags and you can either stick it on the present with sellotape or Christmassy washi tape or you could thread it through one of the ends of the ribbon and tie that end to the other end to secure it on that way. To decorate your presents further you could also tie on things like candy canes and small decorations with the ribbon which I think add a really lovely touch to your presents.

Now all of your presents are beautifully wrapped all that's left to do is give them to their recipient.
I hope his has helped you out and I wish you all a very merry Christmas,
Charlotte x

Sugar Cookies | Christmas 2015

Hey guys,
I thought that I would share with you another recipe today, and this one if for Christmas Sugar Cookies as I thought that a Christmas cookie is the perfect thing to bake a t this time of year so lets get on to the recipe:

What you'll need:
375g of plain flour
365g of Icing Sugar
250g of butter
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 medium egg

What you need to do:
So start off by combining the flour, butter and 140 grams of the icing sugar (the rest is for the icing). You may want to add the butter in chinks to make it easier to mix; once that's all mixed together add in the vanilla extract and just the yolk of the egg but don't throw away the egg white because you'll need that for the icing. When everything has been mixed together it should form a dough; you want to wrap all of the dough in cling film and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes. while it's in the fridge you can prepare the baking trays by cutting out a piece of parchment paper that's the size of your tray, then add a thin layer of butter around the edge of the tray and place the paper on top (the butter will make it easier for you to place the cookies of the tray), you'll also want to preheat your oven to 180 degrees. After the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes take it out, sprinkle flour on your worktop and place the dough on top of the flour ready to roll it out.you want to roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 a centimetre thick, if there isn't enough room on you worktop to roll out the dough all at once then just break off a smaller piece of the dough to roll out. After you've rolled out the dough you can cut out some shapes. Now you can use whatever shapes you like I used Christmas trees, gingerbread men and stars as I was going with a Christmassy theme but you can use whatever shapes you like. Place the cut out cookies on the tray and then roll back up the rest of the dough into a ball roll it out and cut out some more shapes; repeat this process till all of the dough has been used. After you have placed all of your cookies on your baking trays you want to put them in the oven. They should take around 8-10 minutes to cook but take them out when they are a nice golden brown colour and place them on a cooling rack so they cool down faster. While your cookies are cooling down you can make the icing, so you want to mix together the other 225 grams of icing sugar and the egg white we saved from earlier, if the icing is too thick then add small amounts of cold water until its thin enough, if its too thin then keep adding more icing sugar so that the icing thickens up. Your icing shouldn't be too thick or too thin it should be spreadable but not runny; a quick test you can do when you think its the right consistency is to set it a side for a minute or two and if the mixture has just started to settle a little then it is right. Now once your icing has been made and placed into a piping bag then your cookies should be cool enough to ice; if there not quite cool then try placing them in the fridge for a couple of minutes but don't try to ice onto warm cookies because then the icing will run. You can decorate your cookies however you like I just iced them however I felt like and added on different Christmassy sprinkles. All that's left to do is let the icing set then you can tuck in and enjoy your cookies.

This recipe is perfect to serve at a Christmas party or place a few in a bag or jar and give as a gift to someone for Christmas, let me know if you try out the recipe, see you on Monday,
Charlotte x

My Favourite Christmas Films | Christmas 2015

Hello Everyone,

So today I thought I would share with you my top 10 Christmas movies of all time. There is nothing better than sitting down with a hot chocolate in front of the TV and putting on a Christmas movie.

My number one has to be Elf, I mean it's just the funniest Christmas movie ever and you know Christmas is here when elf comes on TV. If you haven't seen it then you need to go and watch it now!! 

Now my second favourite movie is actually 3 movies; but it's Nativity, these movies make you laugh and cry because there's just so much that happens in them all but if I had to pick then I would have to say that the original film is my absolute favourite.

The next movie I want to talk about is Love Actually; now this movie is just so cute I absolutely love it and I really like how there's all different stories going on and they all come together in the end OMG!! It's just so cute and you all need to go and watch it!

This one is also more than one film as its the Home Alone films. They are just such classic Christmas movies and make me laugh every time I watch them. It just is such a good film to sit down and watch with your friends and family at Christmas time.

The final movie I want to mention is Arthur Christmas this is such a cute Christmas cartoon and is another really nice family movie especially if you have younger siblings or family that you are with around Christmas day.

I hope today's post got you even more in the Christmassy spirit. Also let me know what your all time favourite Christmas movie is in the comment,

Charlotte x

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Recipe

Hey Guys,

So the other weekend I went out for lunch with my mum and surprise, surprise I ordered a hot chocolate with my meal! They actually had a few different flavour hot chocolates for Christmas so they had peppermint, ferrero rocher, after eight and a couple of other flavours but I went for the salted caramel flavoured one and I fell in love! So I looked up loads of recipes when I got home and tried a few different ones out and think I have perfected my recipe so here it is:

What you'll need:

(these amounts fill two average size mugs)

3 cups of milk

1/2 cup of caramel/toffee sauce
1/3 cup Marshmallows

1/4 cup of drinking chocolate/hot chocolate powder

a pinch of salt

Whipped cream

Honeycomb Pieces, Sprinkles or anything else you'd like to decorate it with

What you need to do:

So you want to start off by poring the milk in a pan and placing it on a low heat and then pour the caramel sauce in when the milk has warmed up a bit. Instead of caramel sauce I just used toffee sauce that you put on ice cream! but any sort of toffee or caramel sauce will do just stir the mixture until the two are combined. Once that has got quite warm you want to mix in your dry ingredients (the drinking chocolate and the salt) and continually stir the mixture until it is hot enough. It doesn't need to be boiling just heat it till its a bit too hot for you to drink so that it can cool down a little bit and be perfect to drink. After your mixture is hot enough take it off the heat and pour it into your mug. Then you can pour in some marshmallows, squirt some whipped cream on top and then sprinkle some sprinkle on top of the cream and your done!

You also don't have to add the salt if you don't want to it still tastes really good without it.

I really recommend you guys try out this recipe because it really does taste delicious. More Christmas recipes are on there way but I'll see you on Monday,
Charlotte x

What to buy HER | Christmas 2015

Hey Guys,
so as promised here is my gift guide for women, I'm not going to ramble on this time so lets just get started:

Under £5
Dove Radiance Gift Set-£2.50
Leafy & Lovely Bath Salts-£2.50
Studio London Perfect Finish No. 1-£3.00
Nivea Mini Treats for Her Gift Set-£4.00
Impulse Free Spirit Mini Gift Set-£4.00
Leafy & Lovely Boxed Candle-£4.00
Colour Drip Candle-£5.00
Studio London Nail Collection-£5.00

Under £10
Popcorn Bowl-£6.00
Pink Kilner Glass Jar-£6.00
EOS Lip Balm-£6.50
Zoella Mini Fizz Bar Trio Fragranced Bath Fizzers-£7.00
Nivea Skin Gorgeousness Gift Set-£7.00
Copper Ombre To-Go Jar-£8.00
Wreck This Journal-£8.99
Tropical Wonderland Colouring Book for Grown Ups-£9.95
Initial Bar Necklace-£.00
Tanya Merry Kissmas-£10.00

Under £20
Eco Tools Complexion Collection-£12.00
Skinnydip Ice Lolly Case-£12.00
Nike Water Bottle-£12.00
Geometric Copper Frame-£12.00
Glass Jewellery Box-£18.00
Scratch Map Original World Map Poster-£18.95
Personalised Pick and Mix Sweet Tree-£19.99
Real Techniques Deluxe Holiday Set-£20.00
The Selfy Lens-£20.00

Over £20
Copper Cocktail Set-£25.00
Sleek Make Up Silver Gift Box-£25.00
Hang It Photo Display-£30.00
Dancing Water Speakers-£40.00
Lucky Voice Karaoke Kit-£50.00
Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Camera-£79.00
Urbeats-£79.95
Frends Taylor Headphones in Rose Gold-£180.00
Beats Pill+-£189.00

I hope that this post has helped you if you were stuck for present ideas, I will be posting some DIY treats and decorations very soon. see you on Saturday,
Charlotte x

What to buy HIM | Christmas 2015

Hey guys,
so I thought that as my second gift guide this year I would do 'what to buy for him' whether your looking for a present for your brother, friend, boyfriend, dad, grandad or whoever hopefully you will find some inspiration in todays post. I thought that I would stick with the same price categories as my secret Santa gift guide but add on an over £20 category as well because I wanted to include some more expensive luxury items that you could get if you have a little bit more money to spend, I'm also going to do the same thing with my next post coming which is 'what to buy HER', anyway here we go with todays gift guide:

Under £5
Initial Paper Clips-£2.00
Lynx Duo Dark Temptation-£2.50
Mini Table Tennis-£3.00
50 Fifty Mini Tool Kit-£3.50
David Beckham Beyond Gift Set-£4.00
Christmas Socks-£4.00
Rainbow Nerds-£4.00
Lynx Black Minis Travel Bag-£5.00

Under £10
World's Hottest Chilli Powders in a Match Box-£6.00
Popcorn Bowl-£6.00
Really Really Annoying Sounds-£8.00
Wreck this Journal-£8.99
Boldshaw Speaker-£9.50
Wooden Phone Stand-£9.95
Card Magic Set-£10.00

Under £20
Nike Gym Sack-£11.00
Spin the Shot Game-£12.00
Nike Water Bottle-£12.00
Nivea Men Regime Gift Set-£12.50
Jack Wills Phone Case-£14.50
World's Smallest Walkie Talkies-£15.00
16" Table Football-£16.00
16" Table Air Hockey-£16.00
Mous iPhone Case-£20.00
Smartphone Projector-£20.00

Over £20
Jack Wills iPad Mini Case-£24.50
LED Cube Wooden Alarm Clock-£28.00
Jack Wills Laptop Case-£29.50
Leather Wallet-£34.50
Phone Amplifier-£39.00
Dancing Water Speakers-£40.00
PowerUp 3.0 Smartphone Controlled Paper Aeroplane-£40.00
Case of Christmas Ales-£45.75
Urbeats-£79.95
Frends Layla Gunmetal Headphones-£140.00
Beats Pill+-£189.00
Marshall Action Speaker-£399.00

I hope this has helped you come up with some ideas for Christmas presents, see you on Monday with more present ideas for what to buy the women in your life,
Charlotte x

My Favourite Places to Shop | Christmas 2015

Hello Everyone,
so seen as today is cyber Monday I thought I would share with you my favourite places to shop in-store and online.
Online
Shopping online can be very convenient when you don't have time to go into town or your local shopping centre. Look Fantastic and Feel Unique are both really good for beauty and hair products and often have discounts and you can find vouchers on the internet so you can get the great products you can buy in store delivered straight to your home for less! The next place I'm going to tell you about is actually an app. It's called Mallzee, it's an app which has over 100 different shops on that you can buy from and you can just search for the clothing item you are looking for eg. a woolly jumper and it comes up with results from all the different shops. You can then narrow down your results by price, colour and style. Some of the sites I find the easiest to use are H&M, Superdrug, Yankee Candle UK and Forever 21. Amazon has some good deals on today and I'm sure will do in the run up to Christmas they are also a really reliable place to shop on.
In-Store
I love going into shops near Christmas time because I love looking at all the Christmassy window displays. My best advice for you if you are going shopping near Christmas is to have a good think about what you need to get for who and where you need to go to get them. Places like Debenhams, T.K.Max, House of Fraser and Next you can get multiple items at and have things ranging from clothes to homeware to make up and they stock multiple brands so shops like this help you to get multiple gifts with out having to go in loads of different shops. Sops such as Boots, Lush and Superdrug will have a lot of beauty giftsets and Christmas bargains that would be perfect for any beauty lovers that you know. Zara, Topshop, Jack Wills and any other places like them are really good if your looking for clothes or accessories that aren't necessarily overly Christmassy. Shops like PINK, The Body Shop and The Perfume Shop are all just really nice shops so if you just go in I'm sure you'll find something for one of your friends. If you are in need of stocking fillers or inexpensive presents then PRIMARK is the place to go they have super cheap small Christmas themed things!

I hope this has helped you plan out where you'll be going to do your Christmas shopping; and before I go lets just get excited about the obvious...it's December 1st tomorrow!!! Advent starts so that means a chocolate every morning until Christmas!
see you on Saturday,
Charlotte x

The Best Advent Calenders | Christmas 2015

Hello Everybody,
so seen as advent is just around the corner (I'm so excited to have a chocolate on Tuesday morning!) I thought that I would share with you the advent calenders that I think look really good this year so here we go...

Classic Chocolate Calenders
Every year my auntie buys me, my brother and my cousin a personalised Thorntons advent calender, there isn't much to say about this except it's Thorntons chocolate and Christmas in one so what's not to love!?!? Other really good looking chocolate calenders are the Lindt calender which looks super cute as you get a little chocolate bear and his friends and The Divine advent calender which is Fairtrade so its a win win you get chocolate and help other people who helped to make the calender.
Beauty Calenders
In the way of beauty calenders I've never actually had one myself as to be honest I would much rather wake up to chocolate everyday! but some of my friends and family have and I've read other peoples reviews as well so I thought I'd tell you about the ones that I've heard the best things about. The Benefit advent calender last year and I was really jealous that I didn't get it when I saw what was in it but this year they don't have a full calender they are just doing a 12 day party poppers advent calender that has some of there products such as the they're real! and BADgal mascaras, the total moisture facial cream and the lollitint lip & cheek stain. Another calender I always think looks really good is the Body Shop advent calender; this year there calender includes products like their body butters and facial oils. this years calender theme is all about having beautiful, revitalised skin so contains lots of there moisturisers and oils.
I have also always really wanted a nail polish advent calender as anyone who knows me knows that I love to paint my nails. I have heard really good things about the Ciate Mini Mani Month calender and there nail polish is really good so this one is perfect for you if you have a love for nail polish like me. The final calender I wanted to mention is kind of in the beauty category but it kind of isn't and that's the Yankee Candle Advent Calender; they actually have three different advent calenders this year, a carousel, a house and a normal advent calender and then you can burn a different Christmassy scented candle everyday!

I hope that you liked today's post and let me know in the comments below what advent calender you will be getting this year. See you on Monday,
Charlotte x

What to buy for Secret Santa | Christmas 2015

Hey Guys,
I thought I would start off my gift guide with what to buy for secret Santa. Now don't get me wrong I love secret Santa but sometimes you pull out the name of that one person you don't really know very well and you have absolutely no idea what to get them but I have found some presents for the three main secret Santa price categories that will hopefully help you out. you can mix and match presents to go with your budget and I categorised them but a few of the gifts might be one or two pounds under or over the price bracket they are in. A lot of these gifts are also for girls but there are a few that you could find an equivalent for in a male version and I will be doing a gift guide for men so hang fire for them. All of the gifts mentioned will take you to where you can buy them if you click on them; Anyway on with the post:

£5 Secret Santa
Yankee Candle-Christmas Garland, Small Jar
Lynx Attract for Her-Duo Gift Set
Zoella Wonder-Hand Cream
Ferrero Rocher Box
Dream Big Notebook
Quality Street Chocolate Tub
Nivea Mini Treats Bauble
Nivea Men Mini Treats Bauble
Thorntons Premium Collection
Tanya Burr Lip Gloss-Afternoon Tea
£10 Secret Santa
Lush Secret Santa Gift Box
PINK Hot Crush Body Mist
Happy Holla Days Hot Water Bottle
Real Techniques Mini Must-Haves
Nivea Gorgeous Skin Gift Set
PINK iPhone Case
Lynx Black Washbag
Sound Machine
3D Frog Mug
PINK Holla-Day Water Bottle
£20 Secret Santa
Smartphone Projector
Real Techniques Deluxe Holiday Set
Ted Baker-Silver Heart Stud Earrings
Benefit-Balm Set (Pucker Up & Party!)
Real Techniques Collectors Edition-Sculpting Set
Yankee Candle-Cranberry Ice, Large Jar
Ted Baker-Bow Pencil Case
Eclipse Eau de Toilette and Body Lotion
Benefit-Crescent Row Limited Edition Set
Ted Baker-Lotty Purse Spray Fragrance

I hope that this post has helped you if you were stuck for what to buy for your secret Santa gift or any present for your friends and family; more gift guides will be coming soon so look forward to that, see you on Saturday,
Charlotte x

My Christmas Playlist | Christmas 2015

Hey guys,
There's only 34 days till Christmas!! So obviously I'm in full Christmas mode and one of the things I love the most about Christmas is the music so as soon as we are in November I start listening to my Christmas playlist so I thought that I would share my playlist with you.
Now my Christmas playlist is a real mix of carols, old classics and new Christmas songs, but I love listening to them all the same so here's a list of the songs on my Christmas Playlist:

Underneath the Christmas Tree-Kelly Clarkson

All I Want for Christmas is You-Mariah Carey

Last Christmas-Wham!

Jingle Bells-Frank Sinatra

Mistletoe-Justin Bieber

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

One Night One Moment-From Nativity!

The Twelve Days of Christmas-Bing Crosby

Ding Dong Merrily on High

Mary's Boy Child-Val Doonican

She's the Brightest Star-From Nativity!

Happy Xmas-John Lennon

Hark! The Herald Angles Sing

Silent Night-Nat King Cole

Santa Baby-Madonna

Joy to the World-Nat King Cole

Do They Know it's Christmas?-Band Aid 30

Sparkle and Shine-From Nativity!

Away in a Manger

Santa Claus is Coming to Town-Jackson 5

Winter Wonderland-Dean Martin

Nazareth-From Nativity!

Deck the Hall-Nat King Cole

The Waitresses-Spice Girls

Wonderful Christmas Time-Paul McCartney

Frosty the Snowman-Nat King Cole

Jingle Bell Rock-from Mean Girls

Baby it's Cold Outside-Frankie Vaughn

Counting Down to Christmas-From Nativity 2 Danger in the Manger

White Christmas-Michael Bublé

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer-Michael Bublé

The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot-Nat King Cole

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas-Val Doonican

Mrs Santa Claus-Nat King Cole

Baby Please come Home-U2

Snow Angel-From Nativity 2 Danger in the Manger

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow-Dean Martin

Baby it's Cold Outside- Idina Menzel & Michael Bublé

Hopefully this post will have got you in the Christmas spirit and i'll be posting my guide to the 2015 advent calenders and starting off with my Christmas gift guides so look forward to them. Also be sure to let me know the staples of your Christmas playlist in the comments,

Charlotte x

Pintrest Hacks Tried and Tested | Eyes

Hello Everyone, 
so im sure you'll all have been there scrolling through Pintrest and then you keep coming across different beauty hacks and tips that look really cool and lets be honest we all have 100s of them saved but we never really get round to trying them out or we're a bit sceptical to so I thought that I would start a new series where I test out different beauty hacks I see on Pintrest and let you all know if they work or not. and if you see any that you'd like me to try then leave a comment below letting me know what it was or just leave the link to it.


#1 DIY Gel Eyeliner
So for this one all you have to do is place your pencil eyeliner in a flame for a second and then let it cool for 20 seconds afterwards and then it should look more like a gel eyeliner when you apply it!
This one I'm in two minds with because I don't like how it looked when I just lined my lash line as it seemed a bit like lining my eye with an oil pastel but when I blended it out it looked really nice and would have looked good on a smokey eye so I would definitely use this method if you are trying to create a smoky eye but not if you just want to line you eye or do a winged eyeliner look.
#2 Business Card Eye Shadow Protector
Don't you just hate when you get your mascara on your eyelid right after you've spent ages perfecting your eye shadow well this is meant to help. all you have to do it take an old business card or credit card and place it over your eyelid while you apply your mascara. This way any mascara that would have gone on your eyelid will go on the card instead!
Now this one does work in the most part but you have to be careful not to completely ruin your eye shadow whilst doing it. You need to make sure that you don't press the card on to your eyelid or some of the shadow will be removed when you do it but it is pretty effective otherwise so I would definitely give this one a try.
#3 Lash Curling Technique
Another one to do with you eyelashes but for this one you are meant to curl your eyelashes at the base of your lashes and then gently pull the curler back towards your eyebrow so that the bit where your eyelashes are in between is tracing your eye line and pinch them again (sorry I'm really bad at explaining this and it probably is making no sense to you but just type in 'secret to lash curling' into Pintrest and there are load of diagrams that come up that will hopefully help you) This technique really helps to make your lashes more curled and I think that it lasts longer as well.
#4 Fake Lash Look 
Now I'm all for your eyelashes looking super long and thick but lets be honest does anyone actually enjoy apply fake eyelashes I think not they don't go on right and they just never seem to look even but this hack was meant to make you lashes appear like they were fake without having to go through all the hassle of applying fake lashes so what you have to do is curl your lashes as normal (or using hack #4) and then apply a thin coat of mascara, then use a small brush and apply your powder to both your top and bottom lashes. After that apply two more coats of mascara making sure to cover all the powder. Try applying your mascara going left to right as you draw the brush to the end of your lashes rather than just dragging it straight up.
This hack did work but the effect wasn't really that noticeable for how much time and effort it took so I think that it would be less time consuming and more cost effective to just stick with false lashes or just mascara on its own.
#5 Easy Eyeliner 
So to easily and quickly apply your eyeliner, you are suppose to apply it to the upper rim of you eyelash curler and then curl your eyelashes as normal and the eyeliner is suppose to transfer onto your eyelid. now this one was a complete and utter FAIL!! the eyeliner din't transfer on to my eyelid at all maybe it had something to do with the eyeliner I used or my eyelash curlers but this one just did not work at all!
#6 Mascara Rescuer
All you have to do is place your old, dried up mascara in a mug of hot water for 5 minutes and then it should be as good as new! This is definetly my favourite hack it has rescued my old mascara and has made it as good as new there are no more clumps and it's a lot easier to apply!

I hope you all liked today's post don't forget to let me know any hacks that you would like me to try out next time,
Charlotte x

3 Simple Steps to Silky Smooth Legs

Hello Everyone,
as the festive season is nearly upon us and I'm sure you'll be going to Christmas parties in sequinned party dresses I thought that I would share with you my 3 steps that I follow when I want my legs to look silky smooth.

Step 1: The first step is pretty obvious and I'm sure most of you already do it but it's to shave. Now although most of you probably do this fairly frequently (even though it can be a real pain!) and probably have your own technique and products you use I thought I'd tell you a couple of my shaving tips and what I use; I used to use either shaving foam or shower gel when I was shaving my legs and then I went on to not shaving but using the Veet in shower hair removal cream as my friend Alice recommended it to me, it was a good product but it didn't work ad effectively as I would have liked it too but it is however an alternative if you don't want to use a razor. I now use my conditioner (Alberto balsam) and just a regular shaver and I find that this is the most effective method for me and using conditioner helps the blade to glide easily and moisturises your legs while you shave so it's a 2 in 1 method!
Step 2: The second step is to exfoliate and I think this is the step that most people don't do and it really does make a big difference to the appearance of your legs.
Right after you have shaved and rinsed your legs, exfoliate them this removes any dead skin from your legs which makes them really smooth. I use the Sanctuary spa Covent Garden body scrub which is a really good but you can also make a really cheap and effective exfoliator by mixing coffee and shower gel/soap together and rubbing it on your legs.
Step 3: The final step is to moisturise and again I think this is a step that a lot of people neglect but really it's just as important as shaving. You remove a lot of moisture from your legs when you shave and exfoliate so it's really important that you put it back in.
As soon as I get out of the bath or shower I moisturise because there's no point in you going to all the trouble of shaving and exfoliating and then missing out the final step! I use the Nivea moisturiser which is super hydrating and lasts for a long time or Johnson's Baby Lotion as it doesn't contain any artificial things and isn't perfumed which is good for people with sensitive skin like me.

After you've completed all 3 steps you should be left with silky smooth legs and to make it last longer try to moisturise your legs everyday if you can and shave 1-2 times a week depending on how quick your hair grows and if you've got a special event to go to like a Christmas party.
I hope this posts has been helpful and have a great time whatever you get up too in the run up to Christmas. I will be posting a guide to advent calendars 2015 very soon so look forward to that and leave me a comment telling me what advent calendar you got last year,
See you on Monday,
Charlotte x