Christmas Countdown - Mens Gift Guide

Now obviously this is all subjective to the exact person you are buying for but these are a few gifts I have eye balled for the men in my life this year. The prices range dramatically so it should suit most budgets.

Laptop Case, Tequila Mockingbird book, Giant Toblerone, Motorbike Pizza cutter, Remote control helicopter ,Under water disco, Harris Tweed long jacket

Laptop Case 

I saw this an automatically knew my boyfriend would love it, perfect for any Mac lovers this beautiful tweed sleeve is the great for any commuter to carry their prized laptop in. 

Tequila Mockingbird 

Perfect for anyone who loves a drink and a good book, Tequila Mockingbird, combines the two with recipes for cocktails with a literacy twist.

Giant Toblerone

This was the best picture I could find to show the scale of this. At 4.5kg it really is for someone with more than one sweet tooth.

Motorbike pizza cutter

I don't know many men who haven't at some point or another dreamed of having a motor bike, so now they can live that dream over and over again every time they enjoy a delicious pizza, win win.

Remote control helicopter 

No matter how old they are, your onto a winner with this feisty little toy. 

Underwater Disco

You can see the big kid theme continues here, but I have to say I don't think this is purely for men, I want one!

Harris Tweed long jacket 

Back to a sensible age here, this jacket is beautiful and I know a few men in my life that would adore this in their stocking, (well maybe next to their stocking) this year.

Christmas Countdown - My Christmas Wishlist

I'm back in the festive mood and thought what better time than now to post my Christmas wish list for this year. I'm always the person who says I don't know what I want so this has accumulated over time and I'm sure there is loads more I've seen but forgotten, so let me know what your asking for this year.

Body Shop Glazed Apple Bath Jelly - 
This won't be a surprise to anyone who read my latest post about the Body Shop Christmas collection, but this glazed apple scent is amazing. Plus the bath jelly is like flubber and I'm such a bath fiend I could not resist.

Hugo Boss Femme Perfume-
I bought this perfume for the first time about 2 years ago when it was on offer in Boots and I have to say it has become one of my favorite scents. I'm also lucky because it's not ridiculously expensive, especially on all beauty.com. I'm awful at describing scents so I won't try but if your looking for a new affordable smell when your in Boots next have a whiff.

Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream 
Again if you've read any of my other Body Shop posts you will not be surprised to see this one appearing. I ran out of this about a month ago and I'm lucky that the cold weather has kicked in so I don't need any mattifying at the moment, but I can't not have this is in my arsenal for any warmer days.

Dolly Bow Bow Grace Necklace - 
It's a beautiful statement necklace and it's called Grace, need I say more!

Topshop Unicorn Hottie
I'm a sucker for anything unicorn and when I saw Topshop brought out a unicorn hottie this year, I had to force myself not to rush out and buy it. These make perfect Christmas pressies and come in lots of different characters, but who doesn't love unicorns!

Name Necklace
Clearly my name isn't Carrie, but sadly they didn't have Grace as a picture, so we will all just have to imagine. I do already have a name necklace but I love them and would love a new one to add to my collection.

Sali Hughes, Pretty Honest 
I have only heard amazing things about this book on the bloggersphere so I had to add it to the list. Plus if I don't, for some reason love it, it's so pretty It will be a perfect accompaniment to my dresser.

Boohoo Alyson Panelled Trousers
I have been looking for some leather look trousers for a while, and I have to be honest these were not my first choice, but sadly I missed the boat on the Topshop leather look jeans, but I think these are gorgeous and will be perfect staple for any wardrobe.

Real Techniques Mini Brush Collection
I tend to lug a lot of stuff back and forth between my house and my boyfriends and I always try and compress my make up to make the load a little easier. However, no matter how compact I make my picks my brushes always mean I need a bigger make up bag, so these are amazing.

Are relationships costing you ?

Now we all know I love a good infographic, so I couldn't resist posting this one. Created for Total Money.com , it highlights the amount of money people spend in a relationships compared to being single. I was more than shocked to see that on average singletons are £2,500 a year better off than those in relationships!
To be honest I'm not fully sure I agree, but it definitely makes for an interesting  read. What do you think?

( Pete Campbell for Total Money.com)

Lifestyle loves

So I thought I'd try something different this post and hit you with some of my lifestyle faves of the month. Granted most are food, but hey that says a a lot about my lifestyle!
I think there is something for everyone, from hot dogs to pugs and X Factor !

Beanies Amaretto flavoured coffee 
With starting a new job last month, I have been needing my caffeine fix to get me through the commute. I've always been a sucker for a Starbucks sweet treat, but also hate breaking the bank so this amaretto coffee has it all for me, especially at only 2 calories a cup!

Soap & Glory Hand Food 

I have mentioned in the past my ridiculously dry skin during the winter months and my hands tend to get it the worse. This soap and glory hand food is an oldy but a goody, and is a life saviour during the chilly weather, plus the smell is amazing! 

Microwave porridge 

Again on the cold weather theme,  I have been cracking out the porridge lately, more specifically  the micro porridge . Quick, easy and the perfect morning pick me up! 

Hot Dogs 

Now this is an odd one, as it's normally something you have during the summer BBQ weather , but me and Dan have been obsessed with hot dogs lately. Not the healthiest option , but if I miss out the bun I don't  feel quite as bad. 

Muller Light Fruitopolis 

This is a much more specific food item here, but I have discovered these new muller light fruitopolis yogurts this month. I love any form of dessert and I find this is just sweet enough to cure my sweet tooth after lunch. 

Kellogg's Square  Bars 

Wow I wasn't joking when I said that there was a lot of food. Next up is Kellogg's square bars, hands up who remembers these from their primary school packed lunch. 

Christmas Shopping 

This picture is the best I could find to symbolise shopping, more specifically Christmas shopping! It's getting dangerously close to the festive season and I'm so excited!

Pugs 
Anyone that knows me knows that I have a strong affiliation to pugs, they are my favourite dog ever and in the last month I've done far to much googling of pug puppies for my own good! 

X Factor 

Let's finish on a high with everyone's fave...  X Factor ! Need I say more! 

Body Shop Christmas Product Launch

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Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the Liverpool One Body Shop launch of their Christmas collection. Being a combination of two of my favorite things, Christmas and The Body Shop I could not say no.

I'm a sucker for sweet sugary smells so when I saw the collection included scents like, Glazed Apple, Vanilla Brulee and Frosted Cranberry I couldn't wait to get a good whiff.

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I have to be honest here and say although they are all lovely, my ultimate favorite was the Glazed Apple. It's the best of fresh and sweet and the scent literally smells like  an old school sweet shop. During the event one of the girls layered me up with the , body butter, perfume and glitter spray and I have to say even hours later I could still smell it.

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It wasn't only the amazing smells I was excited for, as this year sees the launch of the innovative , bath jelly. Now you can act cool all you want, but we all know that anything that looks and feels like flubber is going to be a winner. This amazing jelly like consistency is perfect to have a play about with in the bath and then lather up and relax. Available in all the new scents, but of course I opted for glazed apple, this amazing jelly is the perfect gift for any long time bath lover.

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The Body Shop make up range was also on full display and I was won over by the amazing range of products and all the brilliant skin care ingredients they contain. I will defo be trying out the primers and foundations soon, as my skin is freaking out with the change of weather at the moment, so maybe this will help.

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All in all this event just reignited my love for the Body Shop and added a few new things to my Christmas list. If you are not already make sure you sign up to their online store as they always send out amazing discount codes, which are even better for picking up pressies.

* All photography was taken by the very talented Dolly Williams.

Christmas Countdown - Review of the Clinque Great Skin for Him Christmas gift set

There is no doubt christmas is my favourite time of year, and one of the main reasons for that is... the shopping. I absolutely adore making a list of people I need to buy for and then heading out on a hunt for that perfect gift.
I hate to blow my own trumpet here, but I am rather good at buying gifts, normally finding that perfect pressie within a few trips. However, my main downfall when it comes to shopping is, men. Whether it be, my boyfriend, brother or dad, unless they explicitly state what they want, they normally end up with a voucher or some form of socks. Now don't get me wrong I'm a strong advocate of getting your christmas socks, but I do think I need to up my game this year.
That's why when I was given the chance to have a look at some of House of Frasers  mens gift set from their christmas range, I jumped at the chance.

This Clinque set includes four products, a face scrub, shave gel, post shave soother and moisturiser and comes in a lovely grey wash bag. I have to say when I opened up the box, I was surprised at the size of the products. Although travel size they are definitely still generous and would last more than one trip away.

Now I know what your thinking, how are you going to review a mens gift set? Well I'm glad you picked up on that and are not under and illusions I can grow as much facial hair as my male counterparts. I can of course stare at the pretty packaging, decipher all the scents and ponder the price but review it from a male perspective , I can not! That is where my glamorous assistant aka boyfriend Dan comes in.... he has his uses.

I asked Dan to try the set out for a week and review it, just as a side note, Dan has dry skin which can be very sensitive.

Face Scrub 

Having sensitive skin Dan normally steers clear of exfoliates that may make his skin sore, however, having said that dry skin does need a exfoliant to remove dead skin cells. He commented that the thick clay like consistency was good at scrubbing off any stubborn flakey skin, one complaint though was that it was very abrasive and wasn't the best for sensitive skin. However, for anyone with oil or combination skin, this scrub will be perfect. 

Shave Gel 

The aloe shave gel was perfect for Dan , being unscented it didn't irritate his skin and the gel consistency kept his skin hydrated throughout shaving. From my opinion I commented from the start about how large this product was, it's perfect for more than a weekend away. If like me you split time between your house and your partners, it's perfect for us girls too, if your in a pinch and need to shave your legs . 

Post shave soother

Again on the dry sensitive skin kick, this soother worked well to keep Dans skin hydrated and save it from going red after his shave. He commented that it didn't sting at all when he applied it, which is very rare for him. 

Anti-age Moisturizer 

The finally piece of the set, and any male grooming routine, this moisturizer is a nice thin consistency, which means it sinks in quickly and with no scent again prevents irritation.  Sadly neither me or Dan can comments on the anti- age qualities of this product, but having usually dry skin and even drier during these cold months, Dan commented that he enjoyed using this product and it did help keep his skin hydrated and moisturised all day.

To sum up, we both agreed for any male in your life who enjoys taking care of their skin it would make a great gift. However, maybe for someone with oily or combination skin, as the scrub does tend to dry your skin out. 

If you fancy having a look at this or any other of House of Fraser's mens gifts this Christmas then have a look here. 

* This post was created in collaboration with House of Fraser, but all opinions expressed are my own, or in this case my boyfriends. *

Maxfactor Skin Luminizer foundation review

Maxfactor is usually one of those brands that I breeze past in Boots, maybe as it's slightly higher on the price scale, maybe it's simply because I've never really tried many products, but I have to say after this foundation, I am converted. 

The skin luminizer is not really a new foundation it's been around for a while and is somewhat of a standout on the highstreet, due to its swirls of colour and moisturiser. These pretty swirls are not purely visual either, the hydrator within the products helps to give your skin a great moisturised dewy finish, avoiding the oil slick look. I would however, say I still need to use a moisturiser underneath my make up, but that may just be habit on my part, however, I wouldn't recommended avoiding that step unless you normally do. 

I found it relatively easy to find my shade, but that's cause I'm either the lightest or second lightest in any foundation. However, I would definitely recommend swatching beforehand as the colours are a little warm. 

As you can see here, the product is a nice thick consistency and glides into the skin beautifully. I use my real techniques buffer brush for mine but I would say it would work just as well with a sponge or your fingers. 

All in all, I really enjoyed the product and it has definitely converted me to Maxfactor. Any recommendations let me know, as I will be adding a few items to my Christmas list this year.