The Liebster Award!

Yay! My small blog has been nominated for a Liebster award :) This made me super happy because I had quite a slow start with my blog and it's only started building up recently. I've been putting in a lot more effort with my posts and it's starting to pay off! Thank you Emma from www.peacelovevintage.com for nominating me :)

So, how this works is I have to answer the questions that Emma has given me, so that you can get to know a bit more about me and my blog. This award is aimed at blogs with under 300 followers and is a really great way of introducing people to new blogs and helping each other get new readers! So let's start!

1. Tell me your biggest inspiration! What inspires you daily and keeps you positive?
This is a tough one! I love looking at sites such as Pintrest daily and make boards of things I want to do - this helps me keep inspired and get lots of ideas, plus always gets me motivated to be trying new things. Another thing that helps me with this is my university course because it's so creative; it's always giving me ideas! I think I'm a pretty positive person anyway as well, but I suppose just being around people that make you happy, keeps you happy :)

2. Recommend one dupe that you love! Makeup, beauty or haircare - just whatever you love most!
Oooh I posted one of my favourite dupes not too long ago here, but it's one of the Revlon lip crayons which is exactly like one of my MAC lipsticks!

3. What is your favourite Winter 2014 trend? Fashion or Otherwise.
My favourite Fashion Trend is definitely Tartan! I love getting out my scarf and trousers every year. On the beauty side I'm always a fan of berry lips!

4. New year is coming up! What is something you would love to do or see in 2015?
I'm hoping that 2015 is going to be a good year for me! I'm taking my first trip to America, something I've always wanted to do, I hoping to pass my driving test in January, and I'd also love to move out of home for the first time! Oh and a new job!

5. Name something you want to achieve in your lifetime. Big or small, what is your dream?
The problem with being a creative person is that your dreams are always changing. At the moment my dream is to move to America and do something with my degree, whether it be a personal stylist, visual merchandiser or otherwise. I'd also love to be a social media manager for a Fashion company!
 
6. Do you prefer to give a gift or receive it?! (Be honest!)
Haha! I have to admit as nice as it is to receive a gift, I think I prefer giving them. I love seeing peoples faces when they see what you've got them. I normally take a lot of time choosing gifts and I love wrapping and gifting everything, so really I just enjoy the whole lot!

7. Would you rather live a year without your phone or your computer/laptop?
Without my computer definitely, I can get pretty much everything on my phone anyway!

8. Are you dreaming of a summer holiday to a beach or a city?
Tough one!As much as I love beaches I can get a bit bored of them after a few days if there's nothing to do except sit and tan, and cities always have lots of things to do. So at the moment, I'd probably go with a city!

9. What inspired you to chose your blog name? Do you still like it now?
When I first started my blog I thought I would only be writing about fashion and nothing else. However when I got more into it, I found that I really love photographing beauty products and writing about them, so I'm not really a huge fan of my blog name any more but it's also not too bad :)

10. What did you think of the 2014 Victoria Secret show?
 I loved it! Super jealous of all the models as usual, and now wishing I was a lot richer to go on a little shopping trip! Haha!

11. If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would you say?
Don't always leave all your work to the last minute! But also, grades aren't everything. If you enjoy what you're doing, then don't feel like you're not as good as everyone else. 

So those are all of the questions! Thank you for nominating me Emma I have enjoyed answering them :D

Lauren x

Subtle ways to be more Christmassy

So, sometimes this time of the year can be a little daunting for those who aren't comfortable to don an out-there ugly Christmas jumper, headband antlers and the like, but that doesn't mean we don't like Christmas! I love Christmas and I have to say I do enjoy wearing the ugly jumpers, but that doesn't mean everyone does. I've seen a lot of 'Christmas Jumper Hauls' recently and thought I would do something for people who aren't quite as in to them! Here's some simple ways to jazz up an ordinary outfit so you feel like part of the Christmas crew! Enjoy! 

1) Wear some Christmassy socks!

It might seem a bit simple, but anything to get in the spirit! Plus it can look super cute like this peaking over the top of some fur trimmed boots. My ones are from Primark and have little trees and a fairisle print on them, and my boots are from New Look.

2) Get a Christmas coloured Jumper!

Just because you don't like jumpers with pugs in Santa costumes and jingle bells floating about everywhere, doesn't mean you have to completely miss out. Here I have just a plain Icy Blue coloured jumper which looks great and quite Christmassy especially when paired with silver jewellery, or if you're feeling a little more daring, I have a Cherry red jumper with white dots, not technically Christmas themed but it's getting there! The blue jumper is from H&M and the Red from TX Maxx :)

3) How about some Christmas Themed earrings?!

There's hundreds of different styles of Christmas themed earrings available, and you can get them cheap from a lot of places around Christmas time! I got mine from Claire's last year but I'm pretty sure they do something similar in store this year. I got some small stud Christmas trees and Penguins! They're a nice subtle nod to add just a touch of Christmas to your outfit.

4) It might seem cliché, but a tartan scarf does the trick!

Sometimes you just need to add a bit of colour to your outfit to make you feel more festive. Firstly, you might need a scarf anyway for practical reasons, and also, tartan never goes out of style and is always a staple every winter. If you want to feel Christmassy, try a bit of Tartan! Whether it be the scarf, a skirt or a shirt all of the above would be good! I've put mine with a crisp white shirt to make it really stand out. This one's from Urban Outiftters :)

So there are just a few ideas to start getting you feeling festive! I hope you enjoyed and let me know if you have any other ideas! 

Lauren x

The Christmas Tag!

Hey guys! I came across this tag today and couldn't not join in! So here are my answers and feel free to do them yourself, I'm not going to tag anyone specific! :)

Photo:http://uk.pinterest.com/pin/465630048948117487/

1. What is your favourite Christmas movie?
Ohh this is a hard one for me - I absolutely love Christmas movies! I really love The Polar Express and have done for quite a few years, but my classic favourite is probably Jingle all the Way :)

2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
Always always Christmas Morning! I've never opened a present on Christmas Eve, I don't understand it myself! I would feel strange opening them early.

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?
I have a funny one that I just about remember but my family never fail to remind me of it every year! One year when I was really young, I couldn't get to sleep on Christmas Eve and I was crying so much, mum asked me what the matter was and I started sobbing ' I can't get to sleep so Santa isn't going to come and I'll have no presents!' And wouldn't stop crying for ages!

4. Favourite Festive food?
Definitely pigs in blankets! I think most of my Christmas dinner is always made up of them! Also my Gran makes us all this amazing tub of cookies every Christmas which I absolutely love *drool*

5. Favourite Christmas Gift?
One year when I was little mum and dad gave me and my sister an envelope and inside was a silver bit of card that had 'YOU'RE GOING TO SEE BUSTED!!' written on it! I was so so happy! haha, other than that, one year I got a camera that I really loved and didn't stop using for ages!

6. Favourite Christmas scent?
I love any 'Christmas Spiced' scented candles, however I also love the smell of a big ham joint cooking on Christmas morning that my dad does every year and it's my favourite!

7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
Normally we just sit around, eat a lot and we will normally watch The Snowman (and now The Snowman and the Snowdog, too!) however the last few years I have had to work Christmas Eve, this year I don't and I'm super excited about it!

8. What tops your tree?
We don't have anything on the top of our tree! The tree is just a bit too tall to hold anything, but when I was little we used to have a big white and gold angel, and we also had a gold star at one point!

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?
I don't think I ever asked for anything too wild! I probably asked for a pet at one point as most kids do, but other than that I can't really think of anything.

10. What's the best part about Christmas for you?
Probably just seeing all my family! This year will be a little different for me but I still love getting a delicious fancy dinner and everyone sitting around, I like seeing peoples faces as you give them their present, and just watching a few Christmas films and playing all the classic board games!

BODY SHOP GLAZED APPLE RANGE

I've always been intrigued by the Body Shops' Christmas ranges. Normally I only notice the gingerbread scented products which to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of; even though the smell is nice it just seems weird having a shower and then smelling of ginger! But anyway this year they seem to have a much bigger range of Christmas products available. I particularly loved the Glazed Apple scent so I thought I would pick up a couple of products seems as they were buy one get one half price! I chose the shower gel and the lip balm, both priced at £4 so nice and affordable too!

The scent itself is nice and fresh so it makes a great shower gel, however it also has some sweet and spiced undertones as well so it is christmassy! As for the lip balm it is nice and moisturising, it really helped when I had a bit of a chapped lip and it tastes really nice too! Overall I would say that this is a great range, and I may be tempted back to get some of the other things they had on offer! Have you tried any of the range? :)

Lauren x