I hate to be one of those cliché people who say 'can you believe how soon Christmas is?', but I genuinely am shocked at how soon it is. Amongst getting ill and taking a few weeks to recover, as well as going on a short holiday at the start of December, it's crazy how quickly the festive period has crept up on me. 

A few weeks back I was lucky enough to receive the Bourjois Holiday box* courtesy of Influenster for reviewing purposes. Initially I wasn't going to do a post on this box and just feature it on my social media channels, but I found myself loving so many of these products, that I just had to share them all with you. If you're in need of some new products for the festive period or simply just want to know more, then get yourself comfy and let's find out more about this box...

Now December is here I can truly embrace all things Christmas and really get into the festive spirit. For once I actually have a busy Christmas to look forward to and I couldn't be more excited. Therefore I thought I would put a little list together of some of the festive things I am going to be getting up to over the next few weeks.

Go to Centre Parcs - I feel really lucky and grateful that I'm going to Centre Parcs for a second time this year. From when you're reading this, I'm literally going in only a matter of couple of days which I am super excited for. I loved it when I went the first time in the summer and know it's going to be even more magical going this close to Christmas. They hold a Winter Wonderland where everything turns wintery and festive. It will be sure to get me into the festive mood. I can't wait to have a relaxing yet fun break away with Matt and his family. It's going to be super cute and will be a great challenge for my anxiety. Bring it on!

Put up the Christmas decorations - How much fun is putting up the Christmas tree and all the decorations around the house? So much fun! I love helping my Mum out and doing it together. It's such a lovely thing to do together and makes you feel all kinds of festive. I can't wait to live in my own house one day and decorate it whatever I want it and also share the experience with my kids. It will be such a lovely tradition to keep at.

Do some Christmas baking - I love baking all year round, but there's just something about doing it at Christmas that makes it feel so much better. I can't wait to have a browse through Pinterest to check out some recipe ideas. I'm thinking some delicious gingerbread men and some snowman cupcakes. Mmm I bet they'll be delicious!

Get a Christmas jumper - I feel like this one has been on my Christmas to do list for like four years now, but never seems to work out. When you're a short girl under 5ft and have small arms, it is impossible to find a jumper that doesn't drown you in length or ends up being a fortune in price for a few weeks wear. I'm definitely going to make it my aim this Christmas to find the perfect one to avoid this being on my Christmas to do list again next year. Send me your recommendations for places to shop for cute ones please!!!!!

Take lots of pictures - Christmas is the perfect time to whip out the camera and take lots of pictures. I love looking back on pictures and seeing how much you've changed or reflecting on memories. It's a great way to pick yourself up when you're feeling sad or just to enjoy looking back on with your loved ones. I want to take so many pictures so I can cherish them forever #soppygit.

Look at all the festive lights - Ever since I was young, I've enjoyed driving or walking around my local area and taking in all the festive lights people have put up outside their homes. Some people put in so much effort so it's always nice to admire their dedication to the festive period. It's always a great mood booster too!

Play all the Christmas music - I'm very fond of a Spotify playlist or two, so you can imagine how excited I am to be listening to all the Christmas music and singing so much I annoy Matt all the damn time. But hey ho, if there is no other way to get into the Christmas spirit, then it's listening to some festive tunes and singing your heart out every hour of the day until the big day is over!

Buy and wrap presents - I never seem to really do my Christmas shopping until December. I'm never organised enough to do it before then. But I love buying presents for people and wrapping up presents. I love making them look so cute and put together. It brings me such joy and I get so excited when I think about people opening them.

Do lots of festive things - Whilst I haven't got many festive plans yet, I know that I will aim to do more festive things this year. I know we have some plans to go ice skating and go to church on Christmas Eve, two things I have never done, but I'm looking forward to. I'm just excited to see what we do get up to and the memories we do make. This is a Christmas I am actually looking forward to for the first time in years and it makes me feel so happy.

I absolutely love wrapping presents, even if I'm not particularly good at it and it results in looking like a three year old has wrapped up. I just love being creative with it and knowing the excitement that will come with handing out the gifts to my loved ones. There's so many wonderful ways to get really creative with your gift wrapping, even for those of us who struggle with just simply wrapping the gifts in paper. Pinterest is my number one place for all things inspiration all the time, but there are also so many fantastic wrapping ideas for you to recreate yourself.  I've gathered together some of my favourite ones to share with you all today, because no doubt if you haven't already, then you will be making an effort to wrap your present sometime over the next week!

1. DIY Christmas Light Wrapping Paper - How cute is this one? I love the crafted lights on the plain brown paper wrapping. It just adds an extra detail to something so simple and brings that Christmas vibe to the wrap.
2. An assortment - Instead of just sticking to one wrapping paper for all your presents, why not do an assortment of different wrapping paper that goes well together to spice things up a little? These colours all go fit perfectly!
3. Add a quote - Back on that brown paper theme again, but this time throwing on a quote inspired by the festive magic and some string with baubles attached for lots more details. This one looks super personalised and Christmassy.

You know Christmas has well and truly arrived when the Christmas tree and decorations get put up around your house and neighbourhood. Last week, the tree got put up in my family home and it always feel so much more Christmassy. I usually help my Mum put it up and decorate it, but this year I was busy, so I didn't have the chance to. I can't wait till I'm older and have my own house, so I can decorate my own tree and my home myself. I've already got it all planned out, but it will probably change again knowing my ever changing tastes (haha) and how long it will probably take me to even get my own house. 

I love having a little nosey at everyone else's decorations and what they've got on their tree, as it's always nice to see what kind of colour scheme they've gone for, whether they have a fake or real tree, what theme they've decided on and the colour of the lights. So I thought I would it would be fun to share with you all what's on my family Christmas tree. You can probably tell that its a fake tree. I'd love to buy a real tree one year and do it all up. I've never experienced a real one at Christmas in my home, so that would be a different and I'd love to go pick it out and everything. I think it would be a great tradition to take with you for many years to come.

In terms of colour scheme and style, we usually tend to go for a silver and white theme, which we have gone for the past couple of years. I think it's very Christmassy with the different baubles and wintery with the snowflakes, icicles and snowman. There's also other small decoration features like the glittery shoe, which my Mum puts on the tree as a little tribute to my auntie who passed away over a decade ago. We also have two sets of lights around our tree. One set is more of a bright golden colour circle, which I absolutely love and think they look so good on the tree. They stay on throughout the time the lights are on for. The second set is more smaller and thinner, a more tear drop like shape and they flash every so often, instead of staying on the whole time like the other set of lights. Then on the top of the tree, we have the most adorable little angel that we've had since I was really small, so that's always really sweet to see her standing bright on top of it.

2. Picking the Christmas tree and decorating it - If you prefer a real tree, then bring all the family along and go pick the perfect one. It can be a lot of fun deciding which one to go for. You can then bring it home and all together decorate it. This is sure to take up plenty of time one afternoon and create lots of memories.

3. Bake cookies or a gingerbread house -  Christmas is the perfect time to indulge yourself in treats. Bake some festive inspired cookies or get creative with baking and making your own gingerbread house. You could even have a competition with other members of your family of who can make the best one and get someone to judge them for you.

4. Christmas eve tradition - Start your very own Christmas eve tradition. This could be watching a particular movie or heading to the cinema to see a new one, eating a particular food for dinner the night before, going on a walk around your local area or if you have little children in your family, reading them a festive themed bedtime story before they go to sleep.

5. Go to the theatre - Every year the theatre holds production of their latest pantomime. So gather a group of you together and go watch the latest theatre production. This can be fun for all different ages and you can continue it on every single year.

6. Put food out for Santa and his reindeers - This is a great one for kids to get them feeling the full effects of a magical Christmas. But who says it has to stop when you stop being small? Pop some mince pies or biscuits out for Santa to enjoy, along with some carrots for rudolph and the gang to enjoy too.

7. Drive around to look at your local lights - Hop in the car and have a look around at the Christmas lights in your area. This can be a lot of fun and get you feeling so festive. You can also admire people's time and effort they have put into their displays or even gather inspiration for next year.

8. Crafts - Making festive themed crafts can be a great way to spend the holidays. You can also get the kids involved or spend it as a me time activity. You could make your own Christmas cards, decorations for the house like garlands or reefs, ornaments for the Christmas tree that you can continue to use for years to come. Be really creative with it. Pinterest is a fab place to look for DIY ideas.

9. Write letters to Santa - Another one for the children in your life. Help them to write letters to Santa on all the things they would like to receive this year and also wishing him and the gang a very merry Christmas. 

10. Go visit Santa - You could bring your letter along to meet Santa at a local event held in your area. This is fun for children to get the opportunity to meet Santa and also receive a special gift. This will be sure to put a smile on their face!

11. Christmas games - Whether this is the classic board games or actual Christmas themed games, gather the family together and have lots of fun by playing a series of different games. This is great for all ages since everyone can get involved. You can have hours of fun by doing this.

12. Hot chocolates - Make a Christmas themed hot chocolate for you and your loved ones, whether you're cosying up on the sofa to watch a movie or just got in from a cold walk out in the countryside. 

13. Have a special breakfast - Cook up a special breakfast on Christmas day and make it your tradition. This could be a classic British fry up, pancakes or waffles, a wide selection of fruit or any other of your favourite breakfast meals. 

14. Host a secret santa - Pop everyone's names into a hat that want to be involved whether this is at work, school, in your friendship circle or in your family, get everyone to pull someone out and set a budget for present buying. Then once everyone has bought their person a present, exchange the gifts and surprise the person you've bought for by being their secret santa. This can be good if you have a large group of you and can't afford to buy for everyone.

15. Give to someone in need - Donate some money, time or even a gift bundle to someone in need. This could be through a charity or perhaps even someone you know who might be less fortunate than you. This will not only make you feel good for making someones day, but also make the person feel grateful and special that you thought about them and treated them to something this Christmas. 

What Christmas traditions do you have? What were your favourite from when you were a kid?

Lauren x

Can you believe that Christmas is only two weeks away today? I'm so shocked how quickly it has come around this year. Today I thought it would be a great idea to share with you all what's on my Christmas list. I love reading other peoples and seeing what they're wishing for because it helps to give me ideas for future Christmas' and because well I'm just bloody nosey!

As you can probably tell, I just want lots of little bits and bobs. I've always been like that though. Nothing too fancy or grand. I just like the small things in life. You can also probably see that most of it is beauty related, but when you're beauty obsessed there isn't much else you want. I've had my eye on the Makeup Revolution Ultra Pro Glow palette for the longest time. The shades are so gorgeous and it's super affordable too at only £10. I've also had my eye on some of Spectrum makeup brush sets. Their brush sets are absolutely stunning and look such great quality. The Marbelous set look so luxurious and would look so pretty amongst my other brushes and makeup storage.  

More beauty related things I'd love are the NYX brow pomade and some more soft matte lip creams in the shades Transylvania, Cannes and Abu Dhabi, there's also a couple of Lush goodies I'm after such as the Snow Fairy gift set and the Rose Jam shower gel, a beautifully packaged hand cream by the Body Shop in Frosted Berries, one of my favourite body sprays from Body Fantasies (these are amazing, you need to try these asap!!!) and finally the Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Lashes mascara. 

Other random pieces I'm hoping for include the Capture Your Style - Transform Your Instagram Images book by Aimee Song. I think this book will be very helpful for when it comes to Instagram and of course it's written by a fellow blogger too. I also want some slippers this year for the first time ever. I've been finding my feet have been so cold this year and want something to keep them extra snug. These grey memory foam suede slippers look so perfect. Finally, one gift that I know would be an absolute luxury present and would probably never happen, but a girl can dream, right? Yes, it's this adorable pink Kitchen Aid mixer. I love baking and this would be such a handy tool to have to make lots of delicious treats. 

Of course, I'd be happy with absolutely anything. I'm quite easy to please and people find buying for me so easy so I'd welcome anything. I just love spending time with the family at Christmas and gifting for other people. Seeing other peoples reactions and happiness makes me feel so good!

What's on your Christmas list? 

Lauren x

When I think of festive eyes I think lots of glitz and glamour! You're also going to want something that lasts you all night long and this is where an eye primer is going to come in handy. The Urban Decay Primer Potion is a great shout. This will help to keep your eye makeup on for as long as possible, it also helps to prevent creasing and gives much more of a smoother application. Or a more affordable alternative, but what works in the same way are the NYX eyeshadow bases. These are primer pots which help to prevent fall out and make application easier all whilst keeping your eye makeup on as long as possible.

Now you're base is ready to go, my usual go to everyday shadow is typically a shimmery golden shadow, but I think this colour choice is also perfect for this period. Gold is a shade we do associate more with Christmas. It's also one that is very flattering on all skin tones and goes with many different eye colours. Using this as the main colour within your look, you can add other shades to create a smokey eye or more definition to your look.

The Mac Amber Times Nine palette is one that can be used to achieve this type of look. This palette is perfect for this time of the year and because of the shade range, you have the option of creating whatever kind of look you want to for a series of occasions over the festive period. But of course, it does come with the gold shimmer option also known as Creative Copper. You can then use Cork the matte light brown shade as your contour through the crease of your lid to add definition. The shade Kitties can be added for a pop of colour in the inner corner of your eye. You can also use more of the other shades within the palette depending on how creative or glamorous you want to be with your look.

Another colour choice you could go for on your eyes is the on trend and another Christmas associated shade more known as copper. My top pick for this is the NYX Hot Singles Eye Shadow in Show Girl. Not only are these very affordable and highly pigmented, but they're also long lasting too. Like the previous gold look, put a brown shade through the crease to define your lid and a pop of a brighter colour for highlight.

To add the finishing touches to your shadow looks, you might want to add a liquid liner like the L'oreal Super Liner or pencil liner like those from Urban Decay 24/7 range to your eyes. If you're going for the liquid liner option, go for a cat flick for extra drama or for a more relaxed look run it along the top of your lashes for a more fuller and defined lash line. If you plan on going for pencil liners, then run them along the lower lashline or water line and smudge them out to enhance your smokey eye. Finally to add more glamour to your look, go for a mascara or a set of false lashes, that create volume, drama and curl to your lashes. My number one pick is the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara. It's honestly one of the best mascaras out there right now and perfect for long lasting occasions.

Lips:

The final lip option is one for the nude lip lovers! My choice is swaying more away from the matte finishes, so if you're someone who hates them or finds them too drying for you, then keep on reading. Rimmel's Kate Moss Lasting Finishing lipstick in 03 is a beige toned nude. It feels very creamy yet light on the lips. These also last a good amount of time too. This is perfect for anyone who wants more of a natural relaxed lip if they want to keep their eye look the star of the show or prefer natural simple looks. You could also pair this with a lip gloss if you fancied something a little extra, like the Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Puckers. Even though these claim to pump up the lips a little (although I can't notice much difference) the colour pay off of these are quite good and they don't feel sticky on the lips like most lip glosses do. Nude Star in particular would look great with the Rimmel lipstick.

I feel like when it comes to the Christmas celebration period, you're either one of two people throughout this time of the year. You might be someone who gets into the festive spirit early, counting down the days until the season to be jolly hits, putting up your decorations as soon as December 1st comes around and spend your commute in the morning listening to your favourite Christmas playlist, trying not to sing out loud from your seat on a packed bus. Or you might be the opposite end of the scale, finding it hard to be excited about the season approaching, knowing it causes you more stress with things like presenting buying and hosting the family, you may fail to be full of Christmas joy. 

Well today's post is hopefully going to help you get excited for Christmas. Whether you're a bit of a scrooge, a Christmas fanatic or somewhere in the middle, here's how to be excited for Christmas!

Decorate - For some it's a tedious job that takes a lot of effort. If this is you, then try do it as early as possible to 'get it out of the way' and use it as a way to admire all the festive decor around your home. It might help enlight some spirit and get you feeling all festive. Gather your loved ones around you to help decorate to make it more of an enjoyable experience for you and have it as a memory to look back on or make it a tradition for years to come.

Visit the Christmas market(s) - Visiting Christmas markets can be a great way to get excited for Christmas time. It's also a good opportunity to spend a day or two over the weekend with your family or friends and explore what's on offer. Most markets have a delicious range of food and drinks, arts and crafts, gifts and home accessories, fashion accessories and pieces. They'll be something there for everyone!

Christmas shopping - Some either love or hate this part of Christmas! But doing it early can help keep you prepared and won't have to worry about doing it because you'll be finished whilst everyone else is still rushing around. If you don't fancy braving your local town or city, then you can easily do it all from the comfort of your home and shop online.

Plan fun days - Of course, we already touched on going to Christmas markets for the day. But there's also other fun days out you could plan with your loved ones to get you feeling all festive. You could head to the local ice rink and go ice skating, go on a winter walk, go the theatre to see the Christmas pantomime, head to Winter Wonderland in London, take the kids to go see Santa, have a Christmas movie day in or bake lots of yummy festive treats.

Reminisce about old Christmas memories - Whether this is with other people you're close to or even just by yourself, think back to all the previous Christmas' where you've had great days and made lots of memories. It will be sure to put a smile on your face and get you looking forward to what this year has instore.

Watch Christmas movies - There's going to be lots of festive films on over the next few weeks, so what better time to snuggle under a blanket and sink your teeth into lots of Christmassy movies. Elf, Home Alone and Muppets Christmas Carol are some of my favourites. 

Read Christmas themed books - If you're a book lover, then this ones certainly for you! Whether you fancy reading a classic Christmas book like 'The Night Before Christmas' and 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' or more of a genre style book with a Christmas theme to it, then there's always something out there for you to escape into throughout this period. This is especially good for when you're off work or school for the holidays and can spend lots of time reading.

Send out cards - In modern times, most of us communicate with our loved ones by picking up our phones and sending a text message or giving them a quick ring. But Christmas is the perfect time to put down that phone and write out a few Christmas cards to send out to everyone you love from family and friends, to neighbours and coworkers. Spread the celebrations and wish people a merry time!

Have a countdown - The most famous way of doing this is a Chocolate Advent. But there are hundreds of different themed countdowns within the market right now. Beauty, toys, candles, jewellery are just some of the types of calendars out there. This is a great way to help you feel more festive as the days go by.

Write a Christmas list - This list should include all the presents you are hoping for this Christmas. Not only will it help your family and friends have a good idea what to get you, but also make you feel super excited for the day!

Make and consume lots of yummy Christmas food - We've touched on doing some Christmas baking, in which you can be really creative with and bake lots of delicious naughty treats. But you can also make some tasty festive inspired foods, like mince pies, pigs in blankets, a traditional turkey roast dinner etc. Plus you can consume it too!!!

Listen to festive music - Whack out that radio and listen along to the festive radio stations, turn on the TV and flick through the music channels to sing along to the Christmassy music videos, create your own festive inspired playlist and listen to it wherever you are. There's nothing like getting excited for Christmas than singing your heart out to the well known classic Christmas songs!

Give to charity/gifts - Of course, Christmas is all about giving. Treat your loved ones to something special. But also remember to donate your money or time to those in need, through charity or volunteer work can be a great way to do something for someone else less fortunate this Christmas. Even just doing a small deed, like helping someone load their shopping into their car or posting their Christmas cards for them can be a massive help and make you feel good for doing something nice.

*photo credit: pni Decorated via photopin (license)