Belated Blogmas - the final countdown..

haul of the last week of blogmas..

Today's post is going to be a super short one. At least that's the plan, we all know how much I like to go off on a tangent...but anyway. During December, as many of you will already know, I began a series of 'daily' posts cataloging what products I received in my ridiculously extravagant advent calendar. If this is the first you're hearing of it, feel free to take a browse back over my blog to catch up - that is until you reach the post about the 17th of December when all suddenly went quiet and I went MIA for just shy of a month. I know, worst blogger ever. In my defence, in the lead up to Christmas I was working an awful lot more than initially expected, and thus my blogging schedule (if you can call a post-it note covered in semi-illegible scribble that) had to be abandoned. However, given that I loathe to leave anything unfinished I thought I'd take the time today to just fill you all in of the last 7 days of 'Blogmas'. Better late than never.

Blogmas #17 - exciting stuff.

day seventeen...

Blogmas #16 - eye stuff.

door sixteen...

Blogmas #14&15 - extortionate stuff.

another day, another door to open..

Blogmas #11, 12 &13 - I have a social life?

what's behind door 11 (and 12&13..)

Blogmas #9 &10 - things get sparkly.

door nine. 

Blogmas #8 - THE BEST DAY EVER.

door eight.

Blogmas #7 - simple, but nice.

another day, another festive blog post.

Blogmas #5 & 6 - an apology.

what's behind door 5? (and also 6, because i'm a fail..)

Due to the fact that I got a little bit preoccupied with some hobby craft purchases yesterday (hand stamped & embossed gift tags anyone?), today's post is going to be a double product one. Next time I'll think about my blogging commitments before I get the glitter out. Anyway, I digress.

blogmas #4 - the lady is a vamp.

 door number four.

Blogmas #3 - an excuse to go shopping.

door three.

Blogmas #2 - Caudalie makes a welcome appearance...

what's behind door 2?

Advent Calendar Unboxing - aka Blogmas #1

the You Beauty advent calendar.

So, I promised you all a series of daily posts in the run up to Christmas - something I've very imaginatively decided to call 'Blogmas' - but I never actually elaborated as to what they might contain. Let me fill you in right now (in case the title hasn't already sufficiently tipped you off...)

back to basics.

a serious downsizing of my make-up bag.

I feel it's probably no secret that I really like make-up. Boots is essentially my second home and I spent a large proportion of my teenage years making various product related faux pas that I probably shouldn't mention this side of the grave (read: metallic gold lips, pink shimmery cream eyeshadow, and Nivea young tinted moisturiser that definitely did not adapt to your skin tone no matter what the box said.) But then, thankfully, I discovered Urban Decay and things started to look up. In short, I've always been a bit of a product junkie, but recently I've discovered that it's often better to just strip it back to the essentials.

BIG names on the blog.

sorry i'm not sorry.

Today's post is essentially a high-end haul, so I'm sorry if those offend you. In my defence, it was my birthday...* Also, this is quite a long one, so you might want to get a cup of tea before you start reading. Just a heads up.

I've discovered in more recent years, that I've become increasingly careful with what I spend my birthday and Christmas money on. Clearly, one of the true perks of being a poor and lowly student for the vast majority of the year (as if being reduced to eating dry ryvita weren't enough of one on its own), is that I've started to give a lot more thought as to where I should drop the sizeable amounts of money that such happy occasions tend to amass. This time, I chose Boots.

There's something very special about Boots, and I'm not sure I could ever really pinpoint what that is. But something about it makes me keep wanting to return. I've tread it's hallowed halls many a time, most frequently with my shopping partner in crime, Alice, or with my (very reluctant/unfortunately beady eyed) mother who has a tendency to ask all the wrong questions: 'Do you really need another mascara?' and 'Didn't you buy a lip gloss just the other day?'. The worst thing I've probably ever done is introduce her to Origins, namely because she now knows just how much something has cost when it appears in the bathroom. But that's a whole different story.

a tale about the ‘holy grail'.

It seems only fitting that my foray back into the blogging sphere should be induced by something really quite special. That something in this case, is a nail polish. Pause for reaction. Honestly, up until a couple of years ago I was never all that bothered about nail polish. In first year of university I would basically rotate from red, to coral, and back to red again. A glitter top coat at christmas was about as exciting as it got (and even this was layered over that trademark tomato shade...) But then I saw the light. This epiphany was most probably encouraged by my friends Alice and Gemma - they too have a penchant for all things nail related. It's clear we were meant to be. After 3 years of friendship, I now hold them both personally responsible for the sizable dip my bank balance takes every time I aimlessly wander past a Barry M stand. But we're moving slightly off topic here..