Personally I love having a good nose at what other people got for Christmas and you guys seem to have enjoyed my posts like this in the past so I thought I would show you some of the lovely things I was lucky enough to get this year! If you saw my Christmas Wish List that I put up before the big day you will notice I received some of the items on it, yay! All these gifts are from a mixture of my parents, family members & my closest friends and a massive thank you to all!
I feel like I should have got this post up ages ago as it seems a little late compared to others but hey, life happens! I've been very busy with post Christmas organising, decluttering and planning for the New Year. There are a few pieces not pictured (mainly because I couldn't fit them on the table!) because I want to feature them separately for a particular blog post coming up soon. As you will have seen from my previous post I blogged about my Christmas Day and all the fun & games I got up to with my family as well as the vast quantities of food we consumed! For me that's what Christmas is all about, who you spend it with, taking time to relax with your loved ones and enjoying yourself. As much as I do love the gift aspect, particularly choosing presents for others, I realise I'm incredibly lucky to receive all these lovely things and am very grateful.
Every year, I think maybe the past 9, I get a Art Deco Calendar from Clintons which has illustrations of the most amazing 1920's glamorous flapper women each month and I just love it.
I have loved the Liz Earle Eyebright product for a while now and as I was running out I put this on my wish list. It's perfect for tired, dry & irritated eyes and I find it really cooling and relaxing.
For so long I have been lusting after a set of Make Up Brushes from Spectrum Collections! I've never actually owned a full set of brushes before, it always been odd ones I've collected here and there. As soon as I spied this particular pink and rose gold 12 piece set however I instantly fell in love, they just had my name written all over them! They're so dreamily soft & luxurious to use and look stunning on my dressing table. Spectrum collections have such a fabulous variety of brushes including individuals as well as sets but they are all reminiscent of unicorns and two tone mermaid tails!
This Sleepy Body Conditioner came from Lush's Christmas collection so unfortunately it's not available anymore but I'm so glad I received it to try as it's the most relaxing lavender and sandalwood fragrance, perfume to use before bedtime.
My friend Abi bought me this magical selection of gifts from the Fairytale Market in Brighton (I think that should just be a thing all the time!) including a little gingerbread house, luxury chocolate truffle selection & a badge from a local Etsy seller saying Cat Mama (nothing could be more true!). She also bought me a candle making kit there which is made in a tea cup, looking forward to trying that out.
Recently The Body Shop have released a whole new range of Face Masks, five in total, all for different skin issues and they have been on my wish list to try! These two as you can see came in a lovely gift set and it includes the Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask & the British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask. I also got their face mask application brush to go with it. I'm really excited to try applying my masks with a brush as I've never done that before and it sounds fun! I will review the face masks on the blog for you as soon as I have tried them so keep a look out.
I'm a big fan of Laura Geller Make Up and have amassed a huge collection of her products over the years but I hadn't tried this Filter Finish Radiance Powder yet. As you can see it's colour correcting, and I'm planning reviewing it on the blog for those of you who are interested.
I'm so delighted to have this epic palette by Urban Decay! It's called the Full Spectrum Palette and has literally every bright colour you could ever need. I saw it appear on beauty blogs I follow and was really keen to try it as I've never been adventurous enough to try so many different colours before. I feel more confident with doing my make up now though, since I've been blogging and experimenting more. As Urban Decay shadows are always exceptional quality I think these will be really blendable. Look out for some looks and swatches of this palette coming soon.
The Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash (previously called Tri Enzyme) by Elemis is my staple everyday face wash, it's my favourite. It's best used in the mornings as it doesn't remove make up but it's so good if, like me, you have acne scars or any kind of uneven skin tone or texture. If I get the supersize 400ml I've worked out I only need to buy it once a year as it literally lasts me exactly 12 months! I ran out on the 28th of December and I had it bought for me last Christmas as well.
Rainbow's End is a much hyped, rare candle by Yankee Candle that is never been fortunate even to get my hands on. However it's recently been given a limited release in the UK and my lovely friend Hayley gave me one for Christmas! I'm so excited to finally have it, look how beautiful the image and wax colour is and the fragrance is so fresh and clean! "The peaceful calm after the storm... a wonderfully balmy, refreshing scent of clear country air." She also bought me some Bath & Bodyworks bits from her recent trip to he States including the Black Tie 3 Wick Candle.
My friend Lucy is so creative and has made me some beautiful things in the past. This year she made me this black & silver trinket box decorated with Doe silhouette and inside is written 'always' - very meaningful for Harry Potter fans! She also gave me a gold K sign by Oliver Bonas and a Sleek Makeup Colour Correcting Palette which is going to be included in a separate blog post (as mentioned above).
My cousin Becky bought me this awesome Newt Scamander Scarf that's new out to accompany the Fantastic Beasts series! It's in retro Hufflepuff colours too which I really appreciate being a Hufflepuff through and through. She also got me a soap making kit which looks like a lot of fun!
I have never tried the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara before but I've heard great things about it so I'm looking forward to trying it in this kit alongside the eyeliner.
I'm SO excited to finally have these new illustrated editions of the Harry Potter books! The illustrations are incredible and are on almost every single page. I think one is being released every year. They're pretty heavy and I can only imagine how massive the books are going to be by he time it gets to Order of the Phoenix! I highly recommend collecting them, I've already spent hours pawing I've the stunning images.
I had this Elemis Candle on my list so I'm looking forward to trying this out, I've never had one of their candles before but it looks so chic.
The Rub Rub Rub Body Scrub by Lush I know, is a much loved product amongst Lushies but I've never actually tried it myself! So I was very happy to receive this as part of my family secret gift, thank you Uncle Phil!
I got given the Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them screenplay book which is the perfect accompaniment to the film and all written by JK Rowling.
Last but by no means least possibly my favourite present, a Mermaid Blanket! I've been wanting one of these for so long. I know they look a bit gimmicky but I personally think they are so cool. This one is from ASOS but I think they're available on a lot of websites (similar available at New Look) and in a gorgeous aquamarine colour. I love all things mermaid and unicorn so it's necessary to have one in my life, so very happy!
I also got a few DVD's Finding Dory, Absolutely Fabulous & Tarzan all 3 I had been to see in the cinema last year as well as some gift vouchers for a couple of my favourite shops, Oasis and Accessorize!
What did you get for Christmas? Let me know in the comments below!
