FANTASTIC FASHION GIFTS / BLOGGER CHALLENGE

I love this time of year when bloggers start posting their individual gift ideas and so when I came across this blogger challenge bought to us by giftvouchers.co.uk I figured I'd give it my best shot. Blogging five or more gift ideas under £35 for the chance of winning some really exciting vouchers, what have you got to loose?

Buying gifts can prove a real struggle at times, especially as there's always that one individual who you never know what to buy for. I always try and make my gifts as personal as possible and so I tried to consider this when creating my list of gift ideas to suit a range of different people, ages and tastes.

If you'd like to get involved and enter your own gift ideas then visit here for all the information regarding how. Good luck!

The Calm Gallery Prints- £14 each

I've mentioned the work of Calm Gallery Prints on various occasions throughout my time on blogger and actually wrote a brief post on some of my favourite pieces, here. I can only vouch that these would make perfect gifts as an individual who would love to receive them herself. There are prints of all types and meanings ranging in prices. The two I have chosen are not merely expensive yet I feel quite honestly, priceless in thought. 

LUSH Hello Gorgeous Gift Set- £20.95 

LUSH, another brand I haven't stopped singing praises about. Any of my girl friends reading this will know why I've added this to my gift ideas as they have most definitely received a few presents including similar products. I think they work great both as a gift set like this one or as individual items e.g bath bombs. The best thing about receiving a gift set is the fact that the receiver will get a variation of things to try as opposed to one or two. As the most expensive gift in my collection, I definitely think it's worth the money. Anyway, what girl doesn't love treating themselves to a good pamper? 

Photo Mobile Frame- £12

Nothing says personal better than this photo mobile frame, at £12 it gives you the budget and the creativity to print off and add your own respective photographs to it. Simple and inexpensive ideas such as this one can often be a lot more appreciated as you can really see the thought that has gone into it. It puts a different aspect to your generic photo frame present and there's a bit of fun to be had with it as well! Perhaps not to everybody's taste in terms of hanging in it their house but it was worth taking the chance to include it anyhow. 

MAC Lipsticks- £14 each

I know I personally would be more than happy to receive anything MAC related as a gift, especially in lipstick form. Without a doubt there will be a lipstick to suit everybody within their collection. I will definitely be putting a few of their lippy's on my Christmas list this year, I think they make the best stocking fillers. 

Aromatherapy Pillar Cinnamon and Frankincense- £7.75

Whilst thinking about ideal gifts for this post, I thought what not a better present than a Yankee candle, right? Well, that's what I thought until I came across their aromatherapy range. Honestly, I think I might be buying this as a gift for myself at this rate. Probably the most 'Christmasy' related gift I've chosen but absolutely perfect nevertheless. I'm actually pleasantly surprised at the price tag as I usually find Yankee products to be quite over-priced. I don't think you could go wrong with buying this as a gift but then perhaps I'm biased of the fact it includes my two favourite scents. 

14,000 Things To Be Happy About- £5.99

Speaking of buying gifts for yourself, here's one I bought for myself sometime last year. After seeing relentless pictures of it all over tumblr, I cracked and ordered. I won't go into too much detail of my love for this book but this post borderlines it if you are interested. Without a doubt it would make the loveliest gift and again at the most loveliest price (I'm full of these, aren't I?) it leaves budget over to buy some more. In fact with how inexpensive my gift choices have been, you could probably afford to buy them all, or maybe justify buying them for yourself at some point. Who knows?

So, that concludes my gift ideas! If you do decide to take part, I'd love it if you'd link me so I can take a look. Hurry though, the closing date for entries is the 9th November 2012! 

WEEKEND WISHLIST

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So it's my last weekend wishlist of September! This month has literally flown by, as has this year and I can't quite believe we're steering towards the end of 2012 already. I know quite a few Westfield's have been holding a "student lockdown" recently and it just so happens that the one local to me is happening this upcoming Friday. I've been saving a few items, some being the ones I've chosen above especially for this event as many big retail stores will be offering any individual with a valid student card, 20% off.

As both a MAC lipstick and a Marilyn fan, you can probably tell how excited I am about this upcoming collection! Now I say upcoming, the full collection is currently available on the US website but not the UK, as of yet. I've had a peek anyway and I'm literally on edge to get my hands on some products, especially the"Scarlet Ibis" lippy. You can see a picture of the full collection here!

My Recent Skin Care Makeup Products

All reviews my personal opinion and on the basis of my own skin type.

    Skin Wisdom 24hr Moisturiser £2.66

    Benefit Pore Professional Primer £23.50

    Clinique Moisture Sheet Tint- Blond

    Rimmel Stay Matte Powder- 001 Transparent £3.99

    No7 Bronzing Powder- Sun Kissed

Everything else:

    No7 Brow Pencil- 15 

    No7 Intense Volume Mascara- Black 

    Essence Get Big Mascara- Black

    MAC Matt Lipstick- Pink Plaid

For me, moisturiser is the most important product I use on my face and find it really makes a difference on the finished result of my makeup as well as keeping my skin hydrated during the day. As my skin is temperamental, to most things in fact I tend to go for beauty products that are hypoallergenic and fragrance free, often I find that this reduces the quality and texture in relation to how well moisturisers in particular work on my skin. Although I usually go for a thicker based mosituriser such as The Body Shop's Carrot Cream (review here) which was unfortunately discontinued, I've been on the hunt for a similar product that suits my skin as well. So far, I've found no problems with Skin Wisdom however I wouldn't rave on about it, I guess it's just OK. 

Before applying my foundation, I apply Benefit's Pore Professional Primer to the areas of my skin most prone to blemishes and also under my cheek bones, I find this is the area of my skin that is more likely to turn blotchy as the day goes on. As far as my opinion goes on this product, I'm still undecided. I find using this product definitely helps to sustain my foundation on for longer, however in terms of diminishing the appearance of pores I'd say it does very little, if not nothing. As I was lucky enough to grab hold of this 7.5ml sample in Glamour magazine a few additions back, I didn't have to pay the price of £23.50 in order to give this product ago, especially after reading so many positive reviews on it. As to whether or not I will purchase a full sized tube after I run out, who knows. 

Next is a product I've only been using since the start of summer. After a disastrous relationship with the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation and my skin, (review here) I've become so wary about trying new skin products, especially foundations. After talking about it with my boyfriend's mom, she suggested I try Clinique's Moisture Sheer Tint Foundation and kindly gave me a tube. At first, I was apprehensive about using a tinted moisturiser as my daily foundation, purely because I like my foundations to have at least a medium coverage. I admit, I was pleasantly surprised. As this product is allergy tested and 100% fragrance free it's been perfect this summer for the days when I don't want to be using a heavier product on my face due to the fact that my skin tends to get more sensitive/greasy making me more prone to break outs. Unfortunately, after doing some research I've found out that they've actually discontinued the product (always happens to me). As I won't be able to get my hands on it anymore, I think I'll go back to using Maybelline Super Stay 24hr until I pick up the courage to try something different.  

For the final touches to my face, I use Rimmel's Stay Matte Powder in the shade Transparent. I just find this helps to smooth out any uneven tones found mainly around my jaw and chin area and also helps to set my foundation. It's the only makeup I've used religiously for years and is something I always re-purchase. At a price of £3.99, this product is a total steel. 

As being pale is one of my most biggest personal flaws, it's always necessary to finish my makeup off using a bronzer. No7's Bronzing Powder in "Sun Kissed" is one of the loveliest product's I've used in terms of face powders/blushers. The contrast of browns and creams is so easily blended into your foundation and really helps to lift my skin tone. 

Although I'm satisfied with all items featured in this post as of recently, I'm yet to find a range of products that have no disappointing factors to them. I'd love if if you guys had any recommendations for fair skin that I could have a look out for or even possibly try! 

I've also found that my posts have been quite word-heavy recently, I hope you guys don't mind! Let me know of any other posts you'd like to see, I'd be happy for suggestions! 

DESIRE

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