blogmas #4: A Gift Guide for Guys

Buying gifts for the men in your life, be they boyfriends, dads, friends or brothers, is always a struggle. To help with this issue I've compiled a few ideas for what I'll be buying them this Christmas.

1) Jack Wills Duo (£12 - Boots) - This set includes a body wash and a deodorant, and is great for teenage boys that you don't know what to buy. It is a fairly universal gift so is suitable for people you don't know so well.

2) 'Evil Plans and Stuff' Notebook (£6 - Amazon) - This is the perfect gift for an older men as it is funny but also useful. Any funny notebook is a winner, but this is the best one I could find online. I would suggest looking in the department stores if you're looking for any smaller joke presents.

3) Topman Body Spray Trio (£10 - Boots) - A good value set here as you get three well sized ddeodorants. This is great for younger teenagers who are just getting into using products like this, and the brand makes is more attractive to boys just getting into Topman.

4) Whisky Selection Pack (£12 - Boots) - The perfect present for a dad or grandad here, and a great way for them to try out some new brands of alcohol. This is a very sophisticated gift that is reasonably priced too.

5) Remote Control Range Rover (£30 - Debenhams) - What guy doesn't love a nice new toy to play with at Christmas? No matter what their age, the males in your life will still love to receive a remote control car. It doesn't have to be this one, but the fact that it's a Range Rover makes it even better in my opinion.

6) No7 Hydrating Shave Kit (£18 - Boots) - Another good one for teenage boys here as many of them are just starting to shave regularly. This set includes everything they need to ease into this process and the high end packaging will make them feel very grown up too!

7) Blue Woolen Scarf - I love a scarf on a guy, and if you to do, this is the perfect gift for a partner. This particular one is very pricey at £42 but there are much more affordable versions available on the highstreet. I really like giving people clothing as I find that it's much more personal than other presents.

I hope this post helped if you were stuck for ideas, and I'll see you again tomorrow for blogmas #5.

emma x

My Christmas Beauty Wishlist

So November arrived and with it came the excitement of Christmas! I for one am already super excited for all the beautiful decorations, cosy nights in and Christmas movies, not to mention all the new beauty releases! Today I'm going to be sharing some of the beauty items on my wishlist this year. For some of you it may seem ridiculously early to be doing this, but on the other hand I know that some of you will be starting your Christmas shopping already and therefore are in need of some inspiration.

1) Zoeva Makeup Brushes - I found it very hard to pick which ones I wanted the most, but I decided upon ones that I didn't have anything similar to at the moment. I chose the Brow Line Brush (322), Luxe Soft Crease Brush (221) and Concealer Buffer Brush (142). These are all quite high up on my list as I am in urgent need of makeup brushes; I currently only have one for foundation, one for powders, and one eyeshadow brush.

2) Rimmel Brow This Way Powder - I really want a brow powder as I think they are the best way to achieve really defined brows. I currently use a matte shade from the Naked 2 palette, but it isn't very convenient to take the whole palette away with me just for the brow colour. I thought it would be best to try a brow powder from the drugstore before splurging on a more expensive one, and this is the one that caught my eye due to its compact packaing.

3) Tresemme 32mm Curling Wand - Since my hair has started to get longer, my current wand, which has a much thinner barrel, isn't really suitable as I need a wider one. I don't curl my hair all that often so didn't want a curler that was too expensive so I picked out this one which can be found for £15-20. This will be great for creating big bouncy curls will hopefully help to add volume to my hair too.

4) Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter - As I have mentioned many times before, this is my all time favourite body butter! My current tub is running out so I put it on my Christmas list as I don't tend to buy bath products for myself. 

5) Ciate Nail Polish in Snow Globe - I saw a mini bottle of this as part of a set in TK Maxx and fell in love. It's a beautiful 'holographic flitter' top coat and looks stunning over pale coloured polishes for a wintery look. 

6) Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual - I have wanted this for so long but can never bring myself to actually buy it, so hopefully someone else will be kind enough to buy it for me. For some reason I have never been able to justify it when there is so much advice available for free on the internet, but I think this will be great for reading on winter days, when I don't want to be using technology all day. This has so many great reviews so I can't wait to see what all the hype is about.

7) Next Just Pink Perfume - This was my first ever perfume back when I was about 10 and it still remains my perfume of choice even now. It is the perfect mix of fruity and floral and basically just smells amazing! I'm very proud of myself that my favourite perfume is actually really cheap (£14), rather than a super expensive designer brand haha. My bottle has tragically just run out but I'm hoping I can survive until Christmas without it, although I do have a travel sized bottle stashed away for emergencies.

8) Zoe Sugg Girl Online - Not strictly a beauty item, but let's be honest, it's what Zoella's known for isn't it! I'm sure this will be on many people's wishlists this Christmas, if they haven't already bought it, and I am no different! I absolutely adore Zoe and have watched every single one of her videos so I can't wait to read this. 

9) The Body Shop Instablur Primer - My Benefit Porefessional Primer sample has finally run out after lasting a good 3 months, so before purchasing the full size bottle I wanted to try out a cheaper alternative. This one is quite reasonably priced, especially with The Body Shop's regular 40% off codes, and has some real rave reviews so I thought it would be a good one to try.

And there we have it. Let me know in the comments what's on your wishlist and if you'd like to see another, non-beauty, related wishlist.

emma x

The Body Shop Wishlist

Recently, I feel like The Body Shop have released so many amazing products, and there's a few which I am just desperate to try. When I was looking through my current wishlist, I found that a good few of the products were from The Body Shop, so I picked out a selection to share with you today.

First up is the Raspberry Body Scrub, which is available here for £12.50. I already own the shower gel from this range and am in love with the fresh and fruity scent, so I know that I will love the smell of this product. I have wanted to try a body scrub from The Body Shop for the longest time as I have heard such good things about them, so it seems perfect for me to try one in my current favourite scent from the store.

The Camomile Cleansing Butter has had a lot of hype recently in the blogging world, and it has really caught my attention. I have been wanting to try a cleansing butter for so long, but until now, there weren't really any available at what I deem to be a reasonable price. However, this one costs £12.00 from here and although it's still more than I usually pay for skincare products, it's still a bargain price for all the benefits it offers to your skin, and significantly cheaper than other alternatives.

Along the same line, I am also lusting over the Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil, a similar product, but in liquid form. What I really like about this product is that it is such great value; you get a whole 200ml of product for just £10.00 (available here). It offers the same skin benefits as the cleansing butter, so I am more inclined to purchase this option as I would get so much more product for my money. I am in need of something like this for when my skin is having one of its drier or more sensitive days as it is so soothing, yet gives a really deep cleanse.

Next is the Honeymania Lip Butter, which you can buy here for £4.00. I think I must be the only person in the blogging world who doesn't yet own a Body Shop lip butter, and that is something I need to change! I have been wanting to try something from the Honeymania range ever since it was released, so this is the perfect product for me to try. I'm excited to buy this as no one ever has a bad word to say about these lip butters.

Lastly, another recent and exciting launch by The Body Shop is their Vitamin E Overnight Serum-in-Oil, which you can get here for £12.00. I used to religiously apply vitamin-e oil to a scar I have on my forehead, however I stopped a couple of years ago, and recently my scar has really begun to show again. I am very self conscious about it, so decided I needed to bring vitamin-e oil back into my life. This product seemed like the perfect solution to me because it's easier to apply than the original oil I used to use, and it really cares for your skin as it is so moisturising. Also, its aimed at younger customers which is nice because a lot of serums and oils are aimed at maturer skins. 

And that concludes today's post. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see more wishlists in the future.

emma x