Mother's Day Alternative Gift Ideas

Just thought I'd share some more gift ideas and even though it does state that this is Mother's Day related, you can use any of these links for other gift buying occasions as they all offer a really diverse range of gifts. I often feel like I am constantly buying my parents the same type of gift year after year and this is where lovely little websites such as Etsy and Not On The High Street come into play. In a nutshell, these websites are all about providing a marketplace for small, creative businesses and essentially making it easy for us, the consumer, to browse through the plethora of wonderful and sometimes weird items...I once saw a pair of gold painted chicken feet, I'm pretty sure that's as quirky as they come. In terms of gifts, there's something for everyone on both websites but I think Not On The High Street slightly edges it for gifts specifically for Mama's Day. I've thrown together a  selection of gifts I found above but I would definitely encourage you to spare a minute and have a browse on either site if your in need of some unique gift inspiration.

I'm sure the majority of you reading will be aware of the types of website that offer daily deals and co-buying, such as Groupon, Wowcher and LivingSocial...if not, do a quick Google search to get you up to scratch. There is a lot of info about these kinds of sites so I'm not gonna bore you with the deets. Again, these sites are great for some alternative gift ideas and there is literally something for everyone. You can find anything from spa days to go-karting sessions and tangible gifts such as jewellery. There's also a really diverse range of sites for example Groupon is your typical daily deals on a variety of things, often at a significantly reduced price whereas Achica which I am also signed up to, offers a more luxurious spectrum of goods. Other good deal websites that I regularly browse are BrandAlley which mainly consists of lots of different branded goods from Yankee Candles to Louis Vuitton Bags. A good one for any parents who want to spoil little one is Zulily, literally full to the brim with cute clothing and toys for kids.

What do you think of these kind of deal websites? Do you have any favourite websites that I haven't spoke about?

Mother's Day Gifts: Under £20

Just thought I would post a few last minute Mother's Day gift ideas, as I've spotted quite a few good things over the past few days. If you like what anything you see, you'll have to be quick though as there are only a few days now until Mother's Day.

Clarins Radiant Skin Gift Set - £20

Includes: Gentle Foaming Cleanser 50ml, HydraQuench Cream 30ml, Tonic Bath & Shower Concentrate 100ml and Moisture Rich Body Lotion 100ml.

I loooove a bit of Clarins, every product I've tried from the brand has been awesome and my mum likes their stuff too. Apparently the kit contains everything you need to achieve radiant and soft skin from head to toe. According to Debenhams website, you also get a free gift thrown in...what's not to love? 

this works Pillow Talk & Stress Less Duo - £22

Includes: Deep Sleep Pillow Spray 75ml and Deep Sleep Stress Less 5ml.

Okay, so I know this just creeps over £20 but the other this works bundle I had planned to include in this post has sadly now sold out. Regardless of that, this a great little present and I've heard so many rave reviews of the pillow spray that is included in this set. A great gift to turn your favourite hardworking lady into a sleeping beauty.

bareMinerals Shine On Pallette - £19.99

Includes: Prime Time Brightening Eyelid Primer 1.5ml, Round The Clock Waterproof Eyeliner in 4pm 0.6g, READY Eyeshadow Duo in Glitterati & Center Stage 3g, READY Blush in The Big Break 3g and  Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in A-Lister 2.25ml.

Aside from your base, this contains pretty much everything you need to do a full make-up and with a value £39 this is a bargain hunter's dream. The glam gold packaging doesn't do any harm either.

L'Occitane Hand Cream Trio Collection - £17.60

Includes: Shea Butter Hand Cream 30ml, Pivoine Flora Hand Cream 30ml and Cherry Blossom Hand Cream 30ml.

A great value gift set containing L'Occitane's best selling shea butter hand cream, alongside two floral fragrance creams, so if you know someone who already loves the original star product of this set, I'm sure they would love a trio of these luxurious quality gems.

Jimmy Choo Eau De Toilette - £20.95
A floral fruity fragrance with woody undertones, dedicated to strong women full of confidence, who are also fun and playful...whatever that implies. I just think the bottle looks lovely and I wouldn't be disappointed seeing this sat amongst the rest of my perfume collection.
balance Me Radiant Skin Collection - £18
Includes: Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm 15ml, Radiance Face Oil 5ml, Moisture-Rich Face Cream 10ml, Radiance Face Mask 15ml and Stellar Face Balm 7ml.
I have always wanted to try something from the balance Me range but I wouldn't really know where to start as they have so many fab looking products. This is a super duper gift for a lady with more mature, dry or sensitive skin as it has everything she would need to treat her skin to a full blown facial. This gift collection alleges to contain "radiance-enhancing, plumping and firming natural skincare" so again perfect for the aforementioned skin types.

Nuxe Mother's Day Set - £20
Includes: Huile Prodigieuse Multi Purpose Oil, Reve de Miel Hand and Nail Cream and Reve de Miel Lip Balm.
I just had to include this last find I came across on my gift hunt. It contains some of Nuxe's most loved products and I'm sure your mama will really appreciate treating herself to some uber nourishing, french pharmacy gems.

The First Birchbox Reveal

I am a big fan of beauty boxes and previously subscribed to Glossybox. Long story short, I fell out of love with my beloved Glossybox, the selection of samples I was being sent just wasn't up to scratch anymore and I cancelled my subscription after around a year of receiving them. Whilst I don't miss my postie delivering those fancy looking pink boxes anymore, I have been longing to subscribe to another beauty box provider as there's so many more companies offering beauty boxes nowadays. I was sooo tempted to try the Latest In Beauty box, literally every product I WANT but I went for the cheaper option in the form of Birchbox, as pretty much every previous box contained goodies that I would of loved to of tried. As I ordered on the last day of February, I only received this a few weeks ago hence why I am only blogging about it now and I also received the Lulu Guinness edition shortly afterwards so I will do a quick post about that little stripy wonder very soon!

Nail Rock Nail Glitter 

So I tried this out at the weekend and I was quite excited to see how this fared, I'm a sucker for some sparkle on my nails. However, now I have tried it out it seemingly feels a bit gimmicky. Don't get me wrong, it does make your nails super glittery and it's not difficult to apply. It can get messy though and you can pretty much get the same effect with a fuss-free, highly concentrated, glitter nail polish. I remember seeing something about it being easy to remove as well...honestly, it's just as annoying as taking off any other glitter nail polish. Overall verdict, nice to try but you might as well buy a good quality glitter nail polish.

Urban Veda Daily Radiance Face Wash

I hadn't ever tried any products from this brand and with me being so desperately in need of a new face wash, I was very happy to see this included in my box. In a nutshell, it smells awesome, lathers up easily and it leaves my skin feeling beautifully clean. I suppose it does what it claims as well to an extent, as my skin does appear slightly more brighter and radiant. I don't know if I would purchase a full size at the moment though as it doesn't really target my specific skin needs but I would consider snapping this up in future if I wanted a refreshing cleanser that I know won't do any harm to my skin.

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner

I was one happy lady when I saw this in my box as I have been wanting to try out a pen eyeliner forever. This would be a great addition to your make-up routine, if your not the most confident at using a liquid eyeliner as it is just so easy to apply. The slight negatives I have experienced is that it does pick up a lot of my eyeshadow and that affects how black it applies which means I have to go over it again. I'm also really worried that it will dry out if I don't use it all the time so it will be interesting to see how it fares over time.

Beauty Protector Protect + Oil

The first time I used this I honestly felt a bit, meh like what the hell did it even do! However now I have finally got to grips with it and realised how much my poor dry, split ends needed a suped up dosage of this stuff, I absolutely loooove it. Without going as far to say that it's changed my life, it has transformed my straight hair routine. As I haven't had a cut for ages and I have naturally curly hair that is blow dried often, the ends of my hair are stupidly dry and basically battered. A small amount of this smoothed through my ends before drying, makes my dry ends virtually disappear and my hair looks so much healthier. Weirdly, my hair also gets greasy really quickly when I've straightened it but this has not made my hair greasy in the slightest and it smells A-mazing.

Beautitude Joy Body Oil

It wouldn't be fair of me to review this fully now as I've only used it once but first impressions are that I'm not really too keen on it. It just felt too thick and sticky for my liking, I tend to use the thin consistency dry oil sprays so this was quite a drastic difference in terms of how it felt applying. I will give it a chance though and try it out a few more times before it gets relegated to the unloved, samples stash.

Mother's Day Beauty Gifts: Under £30

As Mother's Day is fast approaching us, I've been having a good gander at the plethora of beauty goodies on offer for those lovely ladies in our lives. It's also my indiscreet way of hinting to the mister, what I would love to receive as a present from my little lady. There are loads of really good deals around at the moment so now is definitely a good time to get ahead of yourself, make your mum smile and avoid a last minute dash to the petrol station, admit it...we've all done it!

Gucci Flora Eau De Toilette 50ml - £29.55
This is universally loved by a few people I know and I think the bottle is so pretty, in terms of the smell...I'd probably describe it as delicately floral, very feminine and fresh. As I've only ever sniffed the eau de parfum version, I'm guessing this will probably be lighter and not as long lasting as it's more concentrated counterpart but still a lovely perfume for the spring/summer season.
Nails Inc Nude Collection - £25

The formula of Nails Inc. polishes are consistently fab for me personally and I'd say this is a great, fail safe gift for someone who loves a good mani. The colours are all beautiful and I think you'd be really pushed to find someone who didn't like a single shade in the collection.
this works Cleanse & Moisturise - £22
A nice little starter kit  for someone who may never have otherwise tried out this works products. I've seen pretty consistently, rave reviews of the range notably by Anna from ViviannaDoesMakeup and she knows her stuff. Also a great budget buy, as the moisturiser included in this set retails at around the £20 mark by itself!

Benefit How To Look The Best At Everything: Flawless Complexion Makeup Kit - Medium - £25.50
Available in light, medium (shown above) and dark.
I'm sure a lot of you have noticed these Benefit sets have been floating around for quite a while but I have only just discovered them...where have I been?! From a personal point of view, I would be so happy to be the recipient of one of these magical little kits as I don't own many benefit products and I'm so eager to try every single product in the kit. The products are luxury miniature sizes so would double up as convenient travel sizes. I'm pretty much in love with the packaging as well and it makes the products seem that bit more awesome. If your not sold on this kit in particular, there are other varieties of the kit such as the Bronze of Champions Kit, guaranteed to please those who appreciate a bit of bronze goddess going on.

Rituals Sakura Gift Set - £27.50
includes: shower foam 200ml, gentle scrub 150ml, scrub, 100g and body cream 70ml.
I discovered Rituals through one of my favourite Glossyboxes a while ago, the products feel so luxurious and this body care set will be a lovely, pampering treat for your mama to indulge in.
Elemis Skin and Body Wonders Gift Set - £21.50
includes: Melting Cleansing Gel 20ml, Maximum Moisture Day Cream 20ml, Maximum Replenish Night Cream 20ml, Tranquil Touch Indulgent Bath Elixir 50ml, Tranquil Touch Creamy Body Wash 50ml.
Another awesome little gift set from Debenhams, jam packed with skin and body saviours. At roundabouts the £20 mark, I think this is great value for a more high end spa brand.

Micellar Water...Save or Splurge?

Micellar water is a cleansing product that is pretty widely available from lots of different brands but I thought I'd compare and review the two that I use, as I have enjoyed using up both and they have made a difference to the way I have always took my make-up off.

I have always been pretty lazy with cleansing, I make to take my make-up off every night but often end up using any sort of wipe, face wipe, baby wipe...whatever wipe I could find. Wipes are not great for your face though as they tend to have chemicals in that irritate your skin and they don't entirely remove excess dirt or grime on the skin. Cleansing with this kind of solution is much more gentle on the skin and it dissolves make up quite easily, just make sure you have a good stash of cotton pads.

Bioderma Sensibio H2O Michelle Solution - £9.99
Hugely raved about and rightly so. The pro's? It easily removes all of my make-up, it's mild and it leaves my skin feeling fairly clean. I always try and wash my face afterwards because I never feel fully cleansed unless I've done the full whack. Although, I suspect I may have more luck with the Sebium H2O which is more specifically targeted towards oily skin types.

L'oreal Skin Perfection - £3.32
I also think this is a really effective at cleansing make-up off your skin and it's so cheap in comparison to the other cleansing waters out there. It does an equally as good job removing make-up as the Bioderma, although you may need to wipe your face a few more times to fully remove everything. If your looking for a bargain beauty buy, then you will probably love this.

My preference would still be Bioderma, I just feel a tad more clean after using it but I would repurchase both depending on how the pennies are that month.

March Beauty Wishlist

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Mini Haulin'

Just thought I would share a little haul of goodies I've bought over the past month or so. As I've just started a new job, I'm going through a bit of a transitional period so it's a small but, in my opinion, perfectly formed haul.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum #52
I'm a big fan of the healthy mix foundations and I'd read around a bit on the serum but kept getting the impression it might not be great for my combi to oily skin. I don't want to blab on about it too much as I'd love to do a more detailed review but in a nutshell it's a nice, light feeling foundation although perhaps not suitable for oilier skin types or those who want something with good coverage over imperfections.
Maybelline The Collossal Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara
If you read my review of the normal i.e. non waterproof version of this mascara then you should realise how much I like this however I don't think I ever specifically needed a waterproof mascara. I suppose I wanted to see the difference and now I know...it's basically a pain in the arse to get off. I get it, it's waterproof, it's meant to be long lasting but I can't be bothered with the faff.
Bourjois Liner Pinceau Eyeliner
I've only used this a couple of times as I don't have much time to do full make-up nowadays but I absolutely love this. This was free as there was a promo on Bourjois and initially I thought it like a pen tip liner which I've always wanted to try. When I discovered it was just a normal flicky kinda brush, I thought all hope was lost but it was literally so easy to use as the brush is quite thin and precise, as the name suggests.
Carmex Lip Balm
My lips have been disgustingly dry recently, to the point where I had to start using this cream every day and that is some seeeeriously heavy duty stuff. As the dryness situation improved, I reverted to an old favourite, my good old Carmex.
Revlon Lip Butters - Strawberry Shortcake, Creme Brulee, Juicy Papaya
These are so widely raved about so I decided to finally snap some up when I spotted a 3 for 2 in Boots. It's obvious to see why they are so loved...creamy, awesome pigmentation and soooo many colours, I want them all.
No7 Total Renewal Microdermabrasion Exfoliator
My skincare regime is pretty dire at the moment, I've been in urgent need of a good exfoliating sesh so I googled my options. This popped up a few times so I snapped it up with the help of £5 off voucher, I love those things. I've only used this twice so far but initial thoughts...my skin literally feels baby soft after using it and not too iritated. Definitely give this a whirl if you have a voucher as it works out pretty cheap for what is marketed as a more high end product.
Paperchase 2014 Diary
A bit of a random purchase and considering I'm normally super organised, I have no idea why I have only just bought a diary for the year! This was half price, I can't remember how much exactly but I think it was £6 in the sale and there was only one left! When I was going through school, college etc, Paperchase was like one of my favourite shops ever and they always have such cool diaries with so many useful bits so I was very happy to have spotted this. It has a little slot in the back for a disc and a little pencil case built in, I am so impressed...sad I know. Here's few more pictures of the internals anyways, if anyone wants to see how the weekly planner looks and all that shebang.

Fashion Picks: Spring In Your Step

From top left going clockwise: Pounce Peep Toe, Limited Buckle Boots, Grey Strap Detail Boots, All Yours Ankle Boots.

We have the most unpredictable weather in the UK, particularly where I live in Manchester which is known as the rainy city. This is where ankle boots become your best friend. You can pair them with jeans on a colder day and they also look great with floaty, daytime dresses meaning you can wear them all year round. What's not to love? 

Here's my pick of ankle boots currently available on the high street.

Pounce Peep Toe Boots - £95 - Topshop

I'm not one for having my toes out to be honest but for some reason I really love these boots. They would look good with so many different outfits, I think you could even dress these up for a sophisticated evening look.

Limited Black Leather Buckle Boots - £69.99 - New Look

I used to work in New Look once upon a time and I've always been really impressed with the shoes in particular...there's always a good choice of styles, lots of on-trend stuff and the prices are really good. I'm a sucker for patent boots so my eyes lit up when I spotted these.

Grey Strap Detail Ankle Boots - £75 (Now £45) - River Island

A bit of a different choice and there is a pretty good selection of alternative coloured boots if black or brown ain't floating your boat. I particularly like these ones though as they are a lovely, grey tone and they also have added blingy gold which I always love.

All Yours Ankle Boots - £80 - Topshop

These beauties have been on my wishlist for donkeys now and I feel quite sad that they still don't exist in my wardrobe! I have so many little outfit ideas in my head about how I would wear these as they are such a gorgeous style.

Review: Vertbaudet Play Kitchen

I thought I would review something a bit different today and that something just happens to be my little girls play kitchen from Vertbaudet that we purchased quite a long time ago now. It's  We bought it for her 2nd Christmas in 2012 and to be honest at the time, I think she probably was a little bit too young for it as she wasn't really in that whole role play stage of childhood. Nowadays, it's definitely one of her more loved toys and she loves having little pretend dinner parties.



So I'll start off with the good points about it and the reasons why I opted for this one over other kitchens. First of all, it looked beautiful and fitted perfectly into the owl/bird theme in her room which is what initially attracted me. Secondly, it was cheap, like really cheap considering it's not plastic and a lot of the wooden effect toy kitchens from toy places such as Early Learning Centre and Little Tikes are over £100. I paid around £40 from someone on eBay selling damaged goods and returns and you can see on the photo above, if you look carefully that it has the slightest bit of damage on the right corner of the door but this has never affected the functionality so I'd still say I got quite a bargain. My final hurrah about the kitchen has to be the added bonus of storage space within the unit which was a biiiiiiiig selling point for someone like me who hates clutter and seeks out any method of hiding messy looking toys. I'm sure I'm not the only anal person who is like this....if you throw out the majority of McDonald's, magazine, lucky bag etc toys by the end of the day, your not alone. One last tiny pro, there are wheels underneath the kitchen so it is also super easy to move if need be.

Now for the not so good points about it, the main thing being that it's not really got much to fiddle with in comparison to the other toy kitchen's out there such as IKEA's Duktig Mini-Kitchen which comes with a snazzy light up hob and realistic sink area or the Kidkraft Pink Vintage Kitchen which is just brilliant in general and has knobs that click...call me sadly nostalgic but I loved the satisfaction of a clicky button or knob as a kid! Another final thing, is that it is quite wide so if you have a petite toddler then they might struggle to reach all the interesting bits like the taps and sink.

I honestly really struggled to come up with negatives to say about the kitchen although I'd say the lack of features that other kitchens have compared, may heavily sway which type you go for. If you have a little one that loves role play they will still have hours of fun with this provided you throw some accessories in such as toy kitchen utensils and dinnerware. This particular kitchen isn't available from Vertbdaudet anymore as far as I'm aware but I did spot a few on eBay whilst writing this post. If you want a similar style though, Vertbaudet tend to always have the wooden style play kitchens on their website but to my knowledge, they change the designs every year...consequently the old ones normally go into sale so keep an eye out for when their sales go live.

From Top Left: Pan Set from Spotty Green Frog, Duktig Dinnerware from IKEA, Wooden Toaster Set from AliExpress, Wooden Lolly Set from Great Little Trading Co.

The accessories featured inside the kitchen are also from Vertbaudet but I'm not sure if they stock them anymore, you can get similar sets online from a broad range of retailers as I've pictured above. By the way, the Duktig range by IKEA is pretty awesome...me and the other half were pretty curious as to how the plates haven't broke yet so we tested this notion on our laminate floor, living life on the edge I hear you say...anyways the flipping plate did not break, crack, nothing, nada...they certainly are child proof. The tea set on top of her kitchen is from a mail order company called 24Studio, again I don't think they stock this anymore as it was a long time ago when I purchased everything. All is not lost though, you can get the same set online from here: Spotty Green Frog.

I really hope this has helped anyone considering purchasing a play kitchen or given you an idea of a good present idea for a toddler girl or boy.

My Top 5 Nail Polishes...At This Moment In Time

Since starting up my blog, my addiction to switching up my nails every other day has definitely waned, to the point where I've finally succumbed to the reality that I need to get rid of some polishes. In a vain attempt at condensing my little collection down, it ultimately ended with me getting slightly overexcited at all the pretty but sadly unloved colours and swatching everything to my little hearts content. Despite this serious setback, I eventually whittled down my stash and came to the conclusion that really, I could probably survive with just a few polishes, maybe 6 or 7...okay at least 25, JUST in case.

Image Source: Like a Candy Shop

Nowadays, I do tend to play it safe with my nails by sticking to shades I love and that I know suit me but the babies pictured are the ones that are without a doubt, my most loved and used colours.

L-R: Models Own Beth's Blue, Models Own Pastel Pink, Barry M Peach Melba, Barry M Gelly Lychee and Models Own Nude Beige.

I know there isn't a huge variety of brands in there and that's not to say I don't like other brands. I just happen to own a lot of Models Own and Barry M polishes but admittedly, I do absolutely love Models Own...there kinda bang on for price and formula whereas Barry M can sometimes be a bit more inconsistent. I just find that with SOME of the Barry M colours, I have to paint 3 coats and to be completely honest, I simply cannot be bothered with that kind of faff considering I often have a limited window of time to do my nails, between putting a toddler in bed and doing housewifely stuff. Overall though I really like the Barry M range and the shades featured here usually do the trick in 2 coats.

Remember, it's good to share so comment away with your favourites.