BLOGMAS DAY 23: Sparkly Eye

 In my last post I showed you lots of different variations on the traditional 'red lip'. I feel like a sparkly eye does very well to accompany this and I ma going to show you my two favourite eye shadow palettes for this. These palettes are pretty much the only thing that I use! The first, Naked 2, contains many taupe-hued neutrals and the shade are mostly shimmery but there are a few matte ones in there, perfect for highlighting and the crease. The second palette Too Faced's 'Natural Eyes' palette has less variation of shades but contains all of the colours you could ever want for day to day makeup. I would suggest some gold shades with a warm brown in the crease to accompany your red lip!

SoElla X

BLOGMAS DAY 22: The Christmas Red Lip

I think that the type of makeup most suited to Christmas is a red lip. The colour red has long been associated with Christmas and lots of people like to make themselves look festive by rocking one. Above I have three red lips that would be great on Christmas Day!

Rimmel Kate Moss '107': This would probably be my favourite from the selection as I feel like mattes are the most practical and suit me more than something a little more glossy. Unfortunately, this is not the most Christmassy colour as it is more berry than red and has quite purple tones running through it. Still you can still class it as a red lipstick just not in the most classic way. The pigmentation on this lipstick is great and has great lasting power without being a nightmare to take off.



Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in 'Fatal Red': I feel like this lipstick is more of your traditional Christmas red colour. This means that it is much brighter and more orange toned. If you want to be super Christmassy then this is the one to go to town with!







Bourjois Effect 3D Lipgloss in 09 'Rouge democratic': I think that this one would have to be my least favourite option, only because I find that Christmas Day involves a lot of eating and this has to be one of the most messy lip-glosses available. But apart from that it seems very bright and pigmented. A similar colour to the Maybelline lipstick.



SoElla X

BLOGMAS DAY 21: Coookies and Comfort Food

If the picture above isn't making you salivate then I really do not know what is wrong with you! In todays post I wanted to talk to you about all of the food that I love at Christmas. Yes, the cookies are a bit irrelevant but I feel like they are great for this time of the year if you maybe add some spices or dried fruit.
So, lets start with Christmas dinner. Actually, on Christmas day in my house we have a Christmas lunch which comprises of potato and leek soap and warm baguette, and then our actual Christmas dinner in the evening. Probably my favourite part of Christmas dinner is the gravy! I cannot express my love for gravy in words, it is that bad but it is great how you can add it to any food that you don't like and then suddenly you will love it. I also love the roast potatoes nice and crispy, however, I also feel like these go hand in hand with the gravy. Sausages in blankets and stuffing would be the other two foods that come to mind. Sausages in blankets I can't really explain how I love because I don't particularly like bacon but there is something about them that tastes so Christmassy! Stuffing is lovely with turkey as it just adds that extra bit of flavour.
Then after dinner, being me, I don't like Christmas cake or pudding or mince pies. Every year I have toffee and pecan roulade instead which is gorgeous!
Over the Christmas season we tend to buy a lot of sweet and nice food for watching Christmas T.V. in the evenings and on cold days (we aren't getting much of that this year : ( ) My favourite food like this would have to be Lebkuchen. As you can see it is German so lots of people haven't heard of it but German Christmas food is the best! Lots of chocolate and gingerbread goodness. Stollen is also another German cake filled with fruit and marzipan. Of course, I don't actually like it but most of my family do.
Comment down below your favourite Christmas Foods!

SoElla X

BLOGMAS DAY 20: White Christmas

So, I feel like we probably don't have a chance at a white Christmas this year. In England a white Christmas is almost fantasy since every year, Christmas day tends to be quite sunny and generally warm. However, we can dream and so I have included some snowy pictures so that, like me, you cam wish for snow on Christmas day. It would be so special and exciting!! These photos were not taken in the U.K. as you can most likely tell : )

 

 

 

SoElla X

BLOGMAS DAY 19: Gift Guide!

In today's post I will be sharing with you some ideas that I have had or used this year for peoples main presents. These are usually something a little more expensive and thoughtful than regular presents. Something to buy for someone close and special to you who you are a bit more prepared to spend money on. So, here are the ideas:

1. A Mug- You will always have those one (or two) people that drink a lot of tea and/or coffee so a mug is a perfect gift. Cath Kidston do a large range of huge ones that retail at around £6.50 each.

2. Books- With a book you are always guaranteed that someone will get at least a few hours of pleasure from reading it. Notebooks and non-fiction books are also great as well as the traditional novels.

3. Candles- Of course everyone loves a nicely scented candle! Christmas is the time to spend a bit more on a luxury candle for somebody.

4. Scents- Perfumes and body mists will never fail to impress! If you know the person you can choose a scent that they will love.

5. Hand Creams and Moisturisers- Anything to give yourself a pamper and luxury!

SoElla X

BLOGMAS DAY 15: What I love about Christmas

Here are some things that I love about Christmas!

1. Food- I am the biggest fan of a roast dinner and I feel like Christmas dinner is the king of them all! I love sausages in blankets, gravy, potatoes, turkey and stuffing.

2. Clothes- This is basically a time for all things tacky which mostly includes jumpers but can sometimes extend to pyjamas : )

3. Festive cheer- To me, everyone just seems so much happier and there is much excitement in the air!

4. Makeup- 'Tis the season of gold eyes and red lips.

5. Advent Calendars- It is so exciting opening the door every morning to find a chocolate!

6. Family and friends- This time gives everyone a good excuse to visit their family and friends who maybe live a bit further away and you can meet all of those relatives that you really didn't know you had : )

SoElla X

BLOGMAS DAY 14: Christmas Tree Ideas

I feel like when it comes to Christmas tree decoration, there are two types, there is the 'higgledy collected over many years' type or the 'themed with a colour scheme' type. I would definitely say that I am sort of in the middle because my tree is themed red and white but the decorations have been collected in small amounts. Today I thought I would share with you a cool decoration idea that looks great and could go on both types of tree. It is a candy cane. Cute and edible these hang easily on the tree and look great because of the colours. Traditional red and white ones look great but if that is not your colour scheme there are many other flavours. I just think they look so nice and probably have about 50 of these on my tree!
What is your fave decoration?

SoElla X

BLOGMAS DAY 10: December Favourites so far

It is currently the 9th of December for me now, you will probably be reading this on the 10th. I feel like an acceptable amount of time has gone by this month that I can start to talk about what I have been loving. So, here go's another list:

1. Vlogmas (Especially Zoella, sunbeamsjess, Gabriella Lindley, Hannah Renee)

2. Hot Chocolate- With all the cream and marshmallows on top

3. Costa's Gingerbread and Cream Latte

4. My Frozen Chocolate Advent Calendar- How can cheap chocolate taste so good?!!

5. Benefit They're Real Tinted Eyelash Primer- Perfect by itself for a feathery natural look or underneath mascara for more exaggerated lashes

6. Victoria Secret's Amber Romance Body mist (As mentioned in a previous blog post)

7. Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish (A limited edition version, it has chamomile in it)

8. Carex Hand Sanitizer Bubblegum

9. Elle Magazine December 2015 Edition

10. Pinterest in general, you can follow me : )

SoElla X

BLOGMAS DAY 9: Quick Present Idea

Recently, given that it is currently the Christmas season, I have had to think a lot about presents that I will be giving and also receiving. For today's post I just wanted to give you a few quick last minute present ideas. Not everyone has the time to plan out presents carefully so I thought I would help you out a little bit!

1. Pyjamas (Like the ones above)

 

2. Candles (Christmas Ones!)

 

3. Chocolates

 

4. Hand Cream

 

5. Stationery

 

6. CDs

 

7. DVDs

 

8. Jumpers & Knitwear

 

9. Books

 

10. Perfume

 

11. Socks

 

12. Marzipan Fruits (Kinda random but always a fave!)

 

13. Luxury Lip Balm

 

14. Cushions

 

15. Prints & Posters

 

 

Top Five Favourite Drugstore Lipsticks

 

 

Left to Right: Mac Patisserie, Revlon Peach Parfait, Maybelline Colour Sensational Fatal Red, Mac See Sheer, L'Oreal Collection Exclusive in Eva's Nude

The photo's above show my 'Top Five Favourite Drugstore Lipsticks' As you can see I am not the most adventurous with my lipsticks apart from the odd red and pink one in there! I am much more likely to pick up a pinky nude in the morning so you can see that three of the shades above are very much nude with a touch of pink. The first, Mac Patisserie, is probably my favourite mac lipstick! It is a very brown toned pink and it is a lustre finish and so has a slight shimmer and is very glossy on the lips. The next one is actually a tinted lip balm rather than a lipstick but it is so so pigmented and moisturizing at the same time that you could easily forget! It is a peachy toned pink with gold reflex running through it which just adds to its appeal for me. Then, the last nude colour is the L'Oreal lipstick. As you can most likely tell this lipstick is actually almost finished and very much loved. I wear this lipstick all the time and with everything, it is just the perfect blend of peaches and pinks and oranges and browns. Hard to describe but quite perfect. If I were to put this in to a mac formula category I would call it a satin, not quite matte but not at all glossy or shiny. That being said, the formula of these lipsticks is amazing and totally not drying! Now, onto the pink, Mac See Sheer is described as a grapefruit colour on the mac website and when I saw it I was totally in love. It is also a lustre but soooo pigmented and the colour is like a bright pink with very red undertones. Definitely one for the summer but also one of my favourites,  however I do find it hard sometimes to find an eye look that compliments the lipstick. So, finally onto the red. Probably my least worn out of the five but definitely still a firm favourite. I've found that the colour suits my skin tone a lot and is really moisturizing and glossy. It might be surprising that I have put more of a glossy red on here instead of a matte red but I feel like when you find the perfect glossy red that doesn't bleed or smudge, you will understand!

Ella xx

Top Nail Trio

 

 Left to Right: O.P.I Nail Lacquer in 'OPI on Collins Ave', Models Own HyperGel Topcoat, Essence Nail Art express dry drops

 

 O.P.I Nail Lacquer in 'OPI on Collins Ave': If you are looking for the perfect Coral which enhances your tan, look no further!! This beautiful colour is bright enough to stand out but not enough to make it look neon! The colour is gorgeous and no I'm not actually currently wearing this colour on my fingernails but I am on my toenails and I'm lovin' it!!

 

Models Own HyperGel Topcoat: This is without a doubt the best topcoat I have ever used. It gives your nails a freakishly perfect manicure finish that before seemed only possible after a trip to the salon. It is relatively quick to dry and is easy to apply. A definite must for any nail fanatic!!

 

essence nail art express dry drops: Despite the name of this product being in English I actually do not think this product is available in England unfortunately. However, if you are able to get hold of this then I definitely recommend you do! If you are like me and can't ever wait for your nails to dry then this is definitely for you and will make things a lot easier!


SoElla xxx

Lancôme Bi-Facil Cleanser

This is just a quick post review to praise the Lancôme Bi-Facil Cleanser. It is an oily eye makeup cleanser with cleanses your eyes and leaves no traces of makeup! There is nothing worse than finishing cleansing your makeup off and still having mascara under your eyes or eyeliner down your face! There is never any danger of this problem with this cleanser. If anything it is harder to clean off the cleanser at the end than the makeup. As we are coming closer to Autumn it is important to have a cleanser that will clean away those gold eyes, heavy eye makeup and we must also remember that it is Halloween in November and so if you are planning to go all out on Halloween makeup then you might want to give this a try. To use, you have to shake it and then use the way you would use any other cleanser! Being by Lancôme, it is slightly more expensive than your average eye makeup cleanser but if you are prepared to pay a bit more, I definitely urge you to get it!!!

Ella xxx

My Lush Faves!

 

Today I thought I would review two bath products that I purchased recently for a birthday. Although not having used them personally except for Sakura the very kind lady working in lush kindly demo'd them for me. The first one, a bath bomb named Sakura is white coloured and has lots of specks of colours. Having used this along with the other product, a bubble bar named Brightside, the colour of the bath bomb was not really showcased but it was obvious that the bubble bar was colouring the bath tub bright orange! The smells of these products are kinda hard to describe if you have never been into lush before (if you haven't then you SERIOUSLY should : ) But if you have then all I need to say about Sakura is that it smells of LUSH!!! Brightside is very similar except slightly more citrusy and orangey. Lush bath bombs are completely fine for sensitive skin and also have lots of skincare benefits to make your skin feel great. I definitely regret not picking them up for myself as well but there is always next time! I hope this post has inspired you to go and take a look.

SoElla xxx