2012 WILL BE THE YEAR THAT...

Lets start with the superficial things shall we? I would like 2012 to be the year that I finally get a Mini Cooper, start my Mulberry collection with this gorgeous Effie Tote and hot fuchsia Continental Wallet and I would like to have long luscious hair.

Now on to the more personal goals; I'd like to become known as the girl who's good with money. I would like to talk to or smile at least one person I don't know a day, whether it be complimenting them on something or just as simple as a smile or even a "good morning", so I become more confident. I hope to be able to meet someone special, whether he be my future husband or lifelong friend. Ban swear words, I'm not awful with this but in the heat of the moment the F word does tend to fly out of my mouth with great abandon, my new word for 2012 is going to be "flip"!

Finally some silly little things. I'd like to be able to use up all of my hair, make-up and beauty products before buying more, which may mean a lot of shopping my stash posts for 2012! I'd like to try and do 100 sit-ups a day, yeah this definitely wont happen but I will try. Be less clumsy and more elegant.

I'd also like to start doing OOTD posts for you all, is this something you'd like?

Let me know what you'll be trying out for the New Year!

DECEMBER FAVOURITES

Organix Fortifying Lavender Soymilk shampoo | Maybelline ColorSensational Lip Stains in Tender Rose and Wink of Pink | Prada Candy perfume | Macadamia Healing Oil | Barry M Natural Dazzle bronzer.

I've been venturing into sulphate-free shampoos (they are sooo much better for your hair) and the Organix one is the nicest I've found so far, it lathers well, smells amazing and leaves my hair squeaky clean without being a stripped tangled mess. The Maybelline lip stains have been a godsend recently, I apply them and load on the lipgloss and the colour stays put for hours without drying out my lips, I'm going to get some more colours. I received the Prada Candy sample when I bought a new perfume the other day, it's one of those scents that I keep sniffing, I can't work out whether I like it or not but it's definitely something I'm enjoying deciding on! I received the Macadamia Healing Oil for Christmas so I've not had it long but I absolutely LOVE it, it smells lovely and leaves my hair so soft and shiny, I'm pretty obsessed with it. Finally something that I've rediscovered is Barry M Natural Dazzle bronzer, overall I'm not a huge fan of their products but I have been loving this bronzer applied with my kabuki brush, I find tapping into the pan works the best, that way you don't end up tangoed!

CHEAP MONDAY

I literally almost fell over myself when I found these gems in TK Maxx this morning. They're black skinny jeans, gorgeously thick fabric with a slight stretch so they fit magically. Best of all they were only £11.00! How amazing was that?! I've never seen Cheap Monday clothes in TK Maxx before but I'll be keeping an eye out in future. So just a heads up ladies, keep your eyes peeled!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 xxx

DIY CLAMPLESS CURLING IRON

I bought myself a Babyliss curling iron a few months or so ago. To cut a long story short, we didn't get along. I much preferred my Babyliss conical wand. It was easier to use because it didn't have a clamp and didn't pull or tug at my hair. So at this point the new curling iron was pretty redundant.

Until I stumbled across this post on one of my favourite websites The Beauty Department. Off I trundled to get my mum's tool box and I unscrewed the clamp from my curling iron and ta-da!! 

I would urge you all to try it if you don't get on with the clamp on a normal curling iron. The curls are bigger than when using my conical wand which I really like. I feel I've not wasted my money too, it just goes to show what you can learn on the wondrous internet!

IN LOVE

It's very rare that I'll repurchase a haircare product so soon after finishing it up. This is an exception. Dove Nourishing Oil Care Express Treatment Conditioner has been my conditioner of choice for almost 2 months now and I can truly say it's amazing. It leaves my hair so soft, shiny and nourished and yet not weighed down. It smells gorgeous too and is very affordable, around the £3.00 mark. I really can't get over how lovely it is! Go and buy it!

CLEANSE TONE AND MOISTURISE

It's essential to have a good basic skincare routine. It not only keeps breakouts at bay, it can help to prevent premature ageing and speeds up cell renewal thus adding to the overall health of your skin.

Start with Liz Earle* Cleanse and Polish which I have done a full review of here and love it so very much! Next is the toner which is Instant Boost Skin Tonic, I have a spritzer bottle which lasts FOREVER, then follow with Skin Repair Moisturiser. All products smell absolutely amazing and in my opinion they are essentials along with toothbrush and toothpaste! I would not be without them.

You can order direct from Liz Earle for Christmas delivery by the 19th December or if you're lucky enough to be going to a John Lewis that stocks Liz's products you can pick them up there. They do amazing gifts for mums and aunties, if you're still stuck for ideas!

* All Liz Earle products were sent to me for consideration, all opinions are my own, I love these products and would not hesitate to repurchase or recommend to friends.

CHRISTMAS JUMPER

Deer Intarsia Jumper | New Look (Kids Section) | £16.99 

I've never really looked at the bits in the kids sections before, but I was on the look out for a festive jumper to wear over Christmas and was not about to drop a bomb on the Topshop ones so went to New Look and found this gem in the kids section. I LOVE it, it's so cosy and fits like a glove. I'm a happy bunny. Excuse my wayward hair and makeup in this photo btw!

Do you ever look in the kids sections for clothes? I'd be interested to know.

VASELINE LIP THERAPY TIN

This has got to be one of the cutest Christmas gifts I've seen of late. I love Vaseline, in particular the Rosy Lips version, which looks gorgeous worn everyday. I'm not entirely sure of the price of this set because I received it as a gift from a lovely client at work but I have seen them to buy in Tesco and Sainsburys, it's probably around the £5 mark. It's a fab idea for a secret santa gift if you've still got to buy yours!

MY FAVOURITE MOUSSE

TRESemmé Volume & Lift Extra Body Mousse. By far my favourite mousse I've tried to date. I used to use a Pantene mousse but this one is far superior. I love that I can apply tons for mega volume or a more sedate amount for day to day wear. It doesn't make my hair feel sticky, greasy or weighed down. It just gives massive volume that lasts! I am in love.

WINTER TANNING ROUTINE

My pasty winter skin really isn't pleasant. I feel so much better about myself when I've got a bit of colour. I've been using Garnier Summerbody in the deep sun-kissed look mixed with Vaseline Cocoa Radiant lotion at night before bed. It's a little tip I picked up from reading Megan's blog and what a clever tip it was! The combination of the 2 products definitely helps lessen the digestive biscuit smell of the fake tan. It's not perfect, but it's better. When I wake up the next morning my skin is super soft and hydrated and gorgeously tanned. I do this trick a few times a week, not everyday, but just enough to maintain the look. 

MAC MATCHMASTER FOUNDATION

MAC's latest foundation is their Matchmaster SPF15 foundation. It incorporates new foundation technology using translucent pigments to enable a fully personalised finish influenced by your own skin's undertone. Moisturising demi-matte finish. Medium buildable coverage with line-reducing soft-focus powders. I was matched to the shade 1.5. You get 35ml for £24.50. The bottle of Matchmaster does have a pump which is handy. This foundation is quite drying on my skin. I am suffering from some dryness anyway at the moment but this stuff seems to make it even worse. I'd say given this, it would be perfect for oily skins. I'm not completely sold on this stuff. It does seem to photograph nicely however and does blend in very well to your skintone as it is supposed to. It smells pretty damn smelly but that does fade. Meh, it's okay. Maybe I'll persevere...

Have any of my lovely readers tried Matchmaster?

PARTY PERFECT LEGS

If you don't fancy wearing tights this Xmas party season then I highly recommend picking yourself up some Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs. It's essentially spray-on foundation for your legs. It's amazing. To apply I spray to a small area and blend with my hand to really meld it into my skin to give the illusion that my legs are perfect (they're not!). I bought the medium glow version. There's also light and deep. I was a bit dubious about my colour selection but it's very forgiving and once blended looks flawless and not at all orangey. It's pretty long lasting too. It doesn't budge and you really have to scrub to remove it which is fab, so you feel secure in the knowledge that it's not going to rub off during the night. I've also used it to touch up a patchy fake tan jobbie and it works perfectly, it doesn't just need to be used on legs, although I'd avoid the face personally. Using this product gives me so much more confidence when I go sans 80 denier, I can't recommend it enough, especially for the party season!

BOOTS BOTANICS CUSHION BRUSH

I'm a huge fan of Aveda hairbrushes, and in particular their paddle brush which I adore! I wanted to pick up a natural bristle brush and while I'd love to be able to drop a bomb on an Aveda one I opted for a budget friendly Boots Botanic jobbie for around £7.

The wooden handle which is very similar to the Aveda brushes, it looks and feels really nice and expensive. It's made with natural boar bristles, which was a quality not many of the brushes had when I was having a mosey in Boots.

I love how this glides through my hair and leaves it so soft and shiny. I also love how it makes my hair feel light and airy when I use it, I'm very pleased! I'm eager to try their paddle brush now too!

Have you tried any hairbrushes by Boots Botanics?

WORK XMAS PARTY

Friday was my works xmas party. I think it was my favourite of the parties we've had, I've worked there 7 years now so I've been to quite a few!

I had a minor (read major!) dress dilemma mid-week. I thought the dress I had would be okay but it wasn't so I made a frantic after work trip to Debenhams on Wednesday and picked myself up this Warehouse number and all was right with the world again.

For hair I washed with my usual Aveda Camomile shampoo followed by Dove Nourishing Oil Care Express Treatment conditioner, then I towel dried and applied Tresemme Volume and Lift mousse (amazing by the way!) and blow dried upside down, then I curled it with my Babyliss Conical Wand and liberally doused my head with Tresemme Extra Hold hairspray. To fluff it up a bit I backcombed the ends a little, to add a bit more interest.

For make-up I used Mac's Prep & Prime Skin, MUFE Face & Body foundation (thank you Lydia!), a smidge of Mac's Matchmaster foundation, powdered with Mac Sheer Pressed powder, Bobbi Brown Aruba bronzer, Mac Mineralise blusher in (I have no idea because I pinched it from my mum!), brows were courtesy of my Bobbi Brown Brow palette, eyes where a mixture of Urban Decay shadows from my Naked pallette, Mac Blacktrack Fluidline, lots of Mac Zoom Lash mascara, some Kiss lashes and lips were YSL lipstick in 148 with Mac Pink Poodle lipglass on top.

When are your xmas parties ladies? What will you be wearing?