With this months favourites I wasn't too sure about posting as i'm also going to be doing a 'Best of 2013' series, where I show you guys my favourite products from different categories during 2013. Having said that, I thought it would be odd not having a favourites for this month so I decided to go ahead.

This week has been a bit of an odd week, i've been so busy yet it feels like I haven't accomplished anything.. but it has been a fun filled week!

Had a lovely catch up and lunch date with the college girls - It's been a long time since we all met up, so we all met up for a cute little lunch before Christmas and to have a catch up. I opted for a baked carbonara pasta dish, which was bloody lovely!

Painted my nails all festive - After not having my nails painted for a good month now because of work, it only felt right to give my nails that glittery christmasy feel. I used Essie Toggle on Top and Shearling Darling.

Had a lovely Christmas day - As you are all aware on Wednesday the majority of us celebrated Christmas and I had a lovely chilled out day with my family. I'm super appreciative of all the gifts I received. You can see a little more about my Christmas day here.

Headed down to Plymouth - As my Dad lives in Plymouth I always visit around Christmas time. So on Friday I packed my bags and drove down to Plymouth, where I got stuck in every bit of traffic that I possibly could!

Had my first ever Wagamama's - Where I live we don't have a Wagamama's so I was pretty excited when we went for lunch down here in Plymouth. Of course I had the common Katsu Curry, which was bloody tasty and very filling.

Purchased my third MAC lipstick - I decided to treat myself with my Christmas money as i'd had my eye on 'Girl About Town' for quite some time. It's weird how much a lipstick can brighten your mood.

What have you been up to this week?

Lastly is skincare, now I thought that I had packed a cleanser but it turned out that I haven't, so i'm just going to have to persevere with what i've got. First up is my trusty Nivea Gentle Facial Cleansing Wipes, which I use to get the majority of my face makeup off. Next is the L'oreal Gentle Eye Makeup Remover, which I use on my eyes and then all over to remove anything the wipe didn't. Ever since purchasing the Hydraluron my skin has never thanked me so much so of course I was going to pack that. Lastly for moisturiser i've opted for my trusty Origins Ginzing, which I love!!

So those are my makeup and skincare travelling picks. I hope this post has been somewhat helpful and has given you a few tips of what to pack when you're travelling.

P.s - Sorry if the photos are a little crap compared to my usual, the lighting wouldn't play ball.

What are your travelling necessities?

As promised, today i'm blogging some of the details from Christmas day! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas (if you celebrate it) and that you all had a lovely chilled out day, eating far too much food!

Just a quick post today, as I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

This months Birchbox arrived quite late this month compared to normal, but I was super excited about this months box as it is Christmas I was expecting quite a good box filled with some Christmas goodies.

Now it's safe to say my expectations for this box were way too high as I wasn't overly excited by this months box, reminded me a little bit of the disappointment I would feel with every GlossyBox I received but i'm going to stop with the negativity and try to enjoy using the products in this months box.

This months box is of course based all around Christmas, getting us through the hectic days and prepping us for the fun filled parties. So let's get into the products I received in this months box.

First up is the Number 4 Non Aerosol Hairspray, described to be great for your hair and the environment, leaving your hair with a crunch free hold. Now, even though I didn't have a clue what this product was when I first looked at it, in hindsight it's not that bad sounding and I can't wait to give this a test run. The next product is another that looked rather odd and that is the Jane Irelade Cheek & Lip Stain. This has got to be the tiniest lip product i've ever laid eyes on, but it will come in so handy on nights out to just throw in my bag. Keeping with makeup, the next product is the Alima Pure Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow which if you can't see is in this lovely bronzey gold shade. I think i'll probably get quite some use out of this, unless it's like the BarryM Dazzle Dust's that literally go everywhere! 

Moving on, the next product is the BeeKind Body Lotion, which i'm not that excited about. To me a body lotion is such an obvious option and I think Birchbox could have come up with something a little more exciting. Next up is the Nail Rock Nail Velvet, which i've seen lurking in many Topshop stores but i've always wondered what a velvet manicure would look like so i'm keen to give this a go. The next product is another that I didn't have a clue about, but it is the Twistband which are those hairbands that don't leave your hair with any kinks/creases. I've actually used this a few times and so far i'm quite impressed. The last product is a lovely little perfume sample of the Lipsy London Glam Fragrance which smells really nice! I love perfume samples as you can throw them in your bag for quick refreshes.

So that is this months Birchbox, even though I said I wasn't that impressed I think I was just expecting a little more.. but i'm excited to see what the new year brings!

What did you think of this months box?

Celebrated my blog's belated 1st birthday - Yes, I forgot my blog's first birthday on the 13th. I feel like such a bad blogger, but I had a little chocolate to celebrate and I want to thank every single one of you for a great first year in blogging.

Played around with my new Canon 1100D - I've recently got a new camera and i'm getting to grips with how it works, messing around with it's settings and modes but I took this really cute picture of my cat Annie, which I just had to share with you guys.

Attempted to start my dissertation - Let's just say my dissertation isn't quite where I wanted it to be as I wanted half of it done by Christmas, when I haven't actually started it.. oops. 

What have you been up to this week?

I just love this time of year, seeing all the pretty Christmas decorations and drinking unlimited amounts of hot chocolate's next to the Christmas tree! I thought i'd share with you guys how i'm getting in the festive spirit and all of the Christmasy details around my house.

As this is the first year in this house I was super excited to decorate our Christmas tree, especially as this year will be the first year that we host Christmas at our house, so I wanted to make it look that little extra Christmasy! I opted for a silver and gold theme for the tree, with the majority of the decorations sticking to this but I love the little touches my mum added to the tree with the cute trinket style decorations and candy canes. I think Christmas is the only time of year that I really get into!

Just keeping this post short and sweet today, but i'll probably share some more details once Christmas day has come.

How have you decorated your house this year?

If you saw my recent beauty purchases post, then you will have seen that I got my hands on the mini Essie Winter 2013 Collection. As it was the last one in my local Boots, I couldn't resist especially as I felt that these three shades would make the perfect Christmas nails this season.

This adorable mini set from Essie contains three out the six shades from the Winter 2013 Collection, with a mix of deep reds and pastels to truly compliment the nails this season.

The first in this mini set is Shearling Darling, a beautiful deep wine red shade and what I would describe as the perfect winter red shade. I will for sure be rocking this as much as I can during the colder months. The second shade is Parka Perfect, which is this lovely pastel grey toned blue with a slight added shimmer that makes the perfect winter pastel shade. The last shade in this set is Toggle on Top, which is the prettiest shade in this whole set. The deep red glitter shade just gets me so excited for Christmas and I think i'll definitely be wearing this on Christmas day, so so cute! 

This little set cost £12.99, and from what I can tell this is only available in store so if you're looking to get your hands on this, i'd get down to your local Boots sooner rather than later.

I just think this little set is so cute for this time of year and it's the perfect set when it comes to creating Christmasy looking nails without the nail art.

What do you think of this set?

After seeing so many people raving about the recent Latest in Beauty collab with Glamour I couldn't hold back, so I went ahead and ordered myself a box and waited eagerly for it's arrival.

For those of you who aren't aware or haven't heard about Latest in Beauty they are basically another beauty box based website, who provide some truly amazing boxes through collaboration with brands or companies as well as allowing you to create your own beauty boxes from what I can gather. Make sure you check out there website for more details. Anyway, onto the box!

For this box's collab with Glamour, they have joined forces to bring us the ultimate party beauty must haves for the festive season! With products from some truly amazing hyped up brands, all of these products are worth over £60 I believe and this box is priced at £14.95, bargain! Now onto the products in this box.

First up is the Toni & Guy Glamour Firm Hold Hairspray. Now i've never tried a Toni & Guy hairspray but i've heard some really good things about a lot of their products so i'm really excited to try this and it's the perfect size to throw into your clutch bag on a night out. Sticking with hair, the next product in the Phillip Kingsley One More Day Dry Shampoo. Even though a dry shampoo isn't all that exciting, it is a product that I rely on a lot and i've never tried anything from Philip Kingsley so i'm hoping this will impress me. Moving onto makeup now and the next product is a little sample of the Benefit They're Real Mascara, which I love! I've had a few samples of this and i'll always happily welcome more as it means I can prolong splashing out nearly £20 for this mascara, but it is worth it and it works so well to lengthen and lift your lashes. Next up is another product i've never tried but one i've heard great things about and that is the HD Brows Kit. I received the Foxy palette which is the perfect set for me. Every shade is matte, but I could see myself being able to create some really nice eyeshadow looks as well. Now onto skincare and the next product is the Balance Me Radiance Face Oil. Now I have never used a face oil as I fear it will irritate my oily skin, making it worse but i've since found out that oils can actually help to control the amount of oil your skin produces.. I don't know, but i'm intrigued to try this out as I really like Balance Me as a brand. Finally, the last product is the Eyeko Lash Curler. Ever since signing up to beauty boxes by eyelash curler supply has become insane, I must have about five eyelash curlers! Anyway, i've heard some really good things about these and I do have to admit my eyelashes look so much better with some added curl.

After doing a little research it seems that my box is actually missing a product, the Maybelline Baby Lips but i'm not too bothered about that as this box is still pretty amazing without that.

So that is the Latest in Beauty Glamour Beauty Edit Box and what a truly spectacular box it is! If you're looking to get your hands on it, i'd suggest ordering it sooner rather than later!

So i'm back today with the next instalment of my recent purchases series. Recently i've been purchasing quite a few beauty bits, especially as there are so many great offers on at the minute and I thought it would be rude to pass up on these offers!

I'm just going to crack on with the products i've picked up recently, otherwise this will take a while! 

Starting off with some skincare bits, which I got my hands during the Selfridges 10% off beauty offer a couple of weekends a go. The first product being the Origins Drink Up 10-Minute Mask, i'd wanted this for ages and with my skin really suffering at the minute it seemed like a good time to purchase it. Next is the Caudalie Gentle Cleansing Milk, again another product i'd been eyeing up and I thought it would be a great gentle cleanser to add in my cleanser rotation.

Moving onto haircare now and these products were on a buy 3for2 offer in Tesco. The first two I picked up were the John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Shampoo & Conditioner, which i'd wanted for a while as I felt my hair was in need of something to tone the colour in between re-dying and so far i'm pretty impressed with these. I also picked up the L'oreal Ever Riche Nourishing & Taming Shampoo, which i'd heard some great things about and as it was on offer I thought i'd give it a whirl.

This next lot of products is kind of a mis mash of everything, I was trying to group products areas together within this post but it just hasn't really worked. First up I finally ordered myself the Real Techniques Starter Set, which contains five eye brushes. This set is currently on offer for like £15 on Amazon, which is a total bargain so if you're wanting it, i'd order it sooner or later. Next up, I finally got myself a bottle of the Bioderma Micelle Solution after trying a mini sample and falling in love with this. I picked this up with 20% from a little website called John Bell & Croyden, which stock some amazing skincare bits so make sure you check them out. Next is another product i've been wanting for ages and that is the Macadamia Healing Oil Spray, which I found reduced in TkMaxx, good old TkMaxx! I just couldn't pass on that. Another product I ordered from John Bell & Croyden when they had their 20% off day and that is the Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm. A product i've heard so much about, apparently it being the saviour for dry lips and with such an amazing offer on I just had to add it to my basket.

Onto the last few bits, which I picked up today in Boots. I was having a little scan at the Essie stand trying to see if they had 'After School Boy Blazer', which they didn't but I noticed they had one of the Essie Winter 2013 Collection Mini Sets left, which is perfect for this time of year and I couldn't leave it on the shelf all on it's own. Also, I noticed that Hydraluron was reduced again which of course made me purchase it, but I have been wanting this for ages now! Annoyingly this morning I ran out of dry shampoo and instead of opting for my usual Batiste, I thought i'd give the new Dove Dry Shampoo a go after reading some pretty good reviews. Lastly I picked up some more Nivea Dry Skin Cleansing Wipes as I ran out during the week and I find these so handy to remove my makeup quickly after a long day when I just want to go to bed.

So that is all of my recent beauty purchases. I know there is a lot of products there, but the majority were on offer and i've worked so hard this month I felt the need to treat myself and my skin!

What have you been purchasing recently?