The Khardashian's Stocking Fillers

I have loved reading everyone's Christmas Gift Guides although I'm slightly shocked at what some people refer to as a stocking filler. My stocking used to be filled with small gifts and sweets so I decided to have some fun and do an indulgent stocking filler guide that is only likely to appeal to those with the Khardashian sized Christmas budget. 

1. Laura Mercier Les Petits Bonbons Eye Palette link

When I worked out the individual cost (£4.50) of each of the thirty baked eye shadows in Laura Mercier's Les Petitis Bonbons palette I actually found myself thinking this was quite a bargain but at £135 for the palette itself I don't think Santa will be dropping this down my chimney Christmas Eve.

2. Show Beauty Limited Edition Pure Treatment Oil link

Skilled artisans hand applied over 800 Swarovski crystals to the lid of Show Beauty's Limited Edition Pure Treatment Oil which at six hours per piece goes some way to explaining the £155 price tag, as does its being referred to as 'liquid gold' by those in the know. This may be a multi use treatment oil but I'd want it to wash and blow dry my hair for the price.
 

3. Yves Saint Laurent La Laque Couture Colour Collection link

Despite a £395 price tag this stunning entire collection of La Laque Couture YSL nail polishes has sold out on the Selfridges website. 24 shades all stashed neatly in a beautiful black acrylic box - no Muji here - it works out approx £16 per polish. Again reasonable price individually but that is some expense at Christmas. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative Barry M have put together their own collection across their ranges at a still pricely sum but more 'budget friendly ' at £89.99 which you can find here.
 

4. Bobbi Brown Basic Brush Collection link

I daren't add up the cost of my make up brushes in my handbag today let alone those sitting on my dressing table but it always seems less scary when purchased individually. Bobbi Brown has put together their basic collection for a snip at £144.

 

 

5. Creme De La Mer Asprey Ultimate Collection Gift Set link

Creme De La Mer is pricey. Asprey is pricey. Put the two together and you have a Christmas gift that costs more than 3 months rent. Only 111 cases created with a plaque etched with it's number you'll have to be quick to grab yours. Containing moisturising creams, eye concentrate, serums and much more for £2750 I think I'd rather have a Chanel bag if that's the price limit for my gifts.

6. La Prairie Lifting Luxuries Gift Set link
Compared to Creme De La Mer this La Prairie gift set is cheap at a quarter of the price. £632 transforms your skins appearance with their range of caviar products. I don't know about transforming my skins appearance, I'd want to look at least 5 years younger if I were to spend £632 on skincare.

I hope you enjoyed my fun Christmas gift guide and leave me a comment about some of the gifts you've seen for sale lately with extortionate price tags.



The Skincare Tag

 



Describe your skincare routine in 5 words:
As described by Caroline Hirons

If you've read any of my posts featuring skincare you'll know I bow at the alter of Caroline Hirons and am one of the lucky few to have had a consultation with her which you can read about in this post. Luckily everyone can ready her blog here and find out so much about skincare products and regimes.

What's your skin type?
Combination

I'm lucky considering years with lack of a skincare regime and a smoking habit that my skin has faired quite well. I experience the old oily t-zone in warmer times or when unwell particularly but otherwise I can pretty much throw anything at my skin and it'll hold up well. Lighter products and a simple routine suit me best otherwise I find the oil ups it's appearance.

Top Blemish Zapper
I actually don't use any specific products to tackle blemishes. I only experience the odd spot for hormonal reasons or if I've been slack with the skincare regime so haven't found the need but do recommend anything you think I should have on hand.

Face Wipes, yay or nay?
I've always stayed away from skincare wipes and whilst I don't think they'll ever replace the routine I have in place now I do love Heaven Skincare wipes which you can read my review of here and they are perfect for late nights and lazy days.

Toner, yay or nay?
Yay for toner and I'm in the group that uses both an exfoliating and hydrating toner.

High-end skincare or high-end makeup?
High-end skincare when budget permits. The drugstores are really excelling in the make up stakes these days but for now I think high-end is the right place for skincare if your purse allows it. That said I've been enjoying testing Vichy products and recently discovered Palmers have a skincare range which I've been dipping in to.

What's the most unusual skincare product you've tried?
I don't think I've used any particularly unusual products although the most unusual treatment was the oxygen facial at one of House of Rush's beauty blogger events..

Tell us your top skincare tip
Don't smoke, drink lots of water and always remove your make up - I can't promise they're rules I always live by but they're the obvious ones.

Don't forget to leave me your skincare tips and any product recommendations.

Make Up Brush Storage from IKEA

A few weeks ago I took a trip to IKEA and I decided to throw a vase and some crushed glass into my basket with a view to using as make up storage and it worked surprisingly well. The crushed glass is rather thick so depending on brush size will decide how many brushes you can store but it works so much easier for now than an emptier glass and far easier to find the brush I'm looking for.

I'm still not convinced this is the final storage method for my brushes and would prefer a different colour of the crushed glass and maybe a different style of vase but it's a great starting point and proving useful for now.

How do you store your make up brushes?

Christmas Saving Tip | Look after the pennies

This tip is a little late for this year but definitely something you can think of and plan ahead for next - I know I know we haven't even got this Christmas out of the way!

I have a cute vintage piggy bank which sits in my hall keeping watching over my front door and every evening I go through my purse and any 1, 2 and 5ps are thrown into the pot. I also take any 10 or 20ps that don't add up to 50p and throw them in too and then just leave it to gather throughout the year.

At the beginning of December I took a heavy bag of change to my local change machine and cashed it all in. I was impressed to find I had nearly £70 in change which I promptly used towards presents and cards. I was good last year and actually brought a lot of cards in the sale but those for parents and best friends I like to buy at the time and this extra cash makes things a little easier on my bank balance.

Having seen this cash mount up and spent wisely I'm definitely encouraged to keep it up in 2014.

Does this sound a good idea to you? Don't forget to comment and let me know your thrifty tips for making Christmas expenses easier.

Breakfast at The Wolseley and more

Last Friday I took another day off of work for some festive fun with my friend and her little prince Charlie. First order of the day was breakfast at The Wolseley. I've walked past The Wolseley so many times but never ventured inside so I was really excited and dived straight into my french toast with bacon - it was as delicious as it looks. 

The Wolseley is like walking onto a Downton Abbey set and is lively and buzzing with atmosphere and I'd highly recommend a visit (don't forget to book in advance). The staff were fantastic and I was particularly impressed that they brought Charlie's food up immediately after ordering to ensure that he didn't have to wait too long and get restless.

We decided to walk off our breakfast in Fortnum and Mason Christmas department where Charlie made friends with the reindeer. My mum and I are planning our annual Christmas trip the weekend before Christmas so I'll try and get some photos for everyone and do a more in-depth post then.

Next item on our agenda was Hamley's where Charlie admired the Christmas windows. I don't know if anyone else has been to Hamley's lately but I found it rather disappointing. Compared to Toys R Us and the like its quite small and extremely expensive. We saw toys we'd brought previously for in excess of £20 so we decided to save our pennies for elsewhere.

Last stop was Santa's Grotto - a good place to stop if you ask me. We decided to book the Grotto at Westfield Stratford after comparing prices at other venues and it made sense for us to park there in the morning. Despite not having children myself I've spent a number of years accompanying friends children on their visits to see Santa and this is by far the best I've ever seen. 

On arriving you are taken into playroom where photos are taken of the children and they can run around climbing on a sleigh and putting together a soft Christmas tree. Then you are led into a small theatre where a Christmas story is shown, featuring the faces of all the children present (hence the earlier photos). Once the short movie has finished 3 families are taken in to meet Santa. You are all invited to sit round at Santa's feet whilst he has a chat to all the children about how busy he is etc and then it's photo time. I was thoroughly impressed and at a cost of £4pp it was one of the cheapest on offer.

It was time for Charlie to head home after a long exhausting day so I decided to do some more shopping at Westfield and then relax in the cinema to watch The Hunger Games, Catching Fire. I'm not an uber fan of the films, I didn't mind the first but wasn't particularly impressed and thought the second was worse, quite slow and boring - it was nice to sit and take the weight off my feet for a couple of hours though.

I'll leave you with the photo of me and Santa and don't forget to comment and tell me about the festive fun you've been having.