Merry Christmas!!!

Hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and a very happy New Year!

See you in 2014!

xoxo

Last minute Christmas gift guide!

I looked at the calendar in the kitchen today whilst making myself breakfast, and all of a sudden was hit with a wave of, OMGGGGGG THERE IS ONLY 9 DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHRISTMAS!

Like a lot of people, i did a handful of my Christmas shopping during the Black Friday sales, but there are a few people who always leave it until the last minute, or just totally didn't realize that Christmas was so close!

So, for those people i have created this last minute Christmas gift guide!

If you are short on funds this year, avoiding the shopping centres or just feeling crafty, then channel your inner Jasmine Blu, and make yourself a gorgeous DIY hot chocolate set! On her blog, Jasmine shows you how to create these totally cute sets, with step by step instructions and pictures!

Jasmine has even decorated some of the jars with lace and pretty bows. Totally kitsch!

If you have a fan of makeup in your life, be it your wife, girlfriend, mum or work buddy, i'm sure you will have already heard about the long awaited, newly released, Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette. If you can bare to brace the crowds in the next few days, i strongly recommend heading to your nearest Debenhams, House of Fraiser or other makeup counter to get your hands on the next big thing in makeup! 

Boasting 12 new, never before seen shades, the makeup lover in your life will adore this new palette!

We all have that one person who has everything, or wants nothing, every Christmas. Yet, every year you find yourself running around trying to find them something they might like, and usually resorting to a box of choccies and a bottle of bubbly. But how about this year, donating that money you would usually spend, on a more worthwhile cause?

Cows 'n' Things, is an ethical gift scheme run by Age International, that works to support people in over 40 of the worlds poorest countries. On the website, you can buy gifts such as a fruit tree, school books, a chicken for eggs or even a two room house. You buy these gifts on behalf of someone, and they receive either an e-card or card via the post that explains you have bought the gift in their name.

The gifts start from as little as £5, and could provide someone with food, shelter and a better life. That's better than getting someone a box of chocolates that they wont eat half of!

Everyone loves a trip to the cinema, but nowadays it can be quite expensive! That's why i think gift cards for days out are a fantastic idea, and this one from Cineworld is really great!
For £20 you get two adult tickets for a 2D or 3D film, a voucher for two drinks, and a regular popcorn.
Although the actual boxes have now sold out online, you can head to your nearest cineworld to pick one up, or if you don't have one near you, you can order the e-voucher version, that you can then put in a card for your intended recipient!

Everyone loves a movie!

If you really want to be super dad, uncle, grandad or just superman to any kid in your life, then a Furby is the way to go this Christmas. The crazy talking owl beasts have been revived from the 90's and brought back in super neon colours and crazy designs, and they are hot property right now! 

What's that i hear you cry? Furbys are nowhere to be found? Well, stores are getting deliveries in every day! Checking on websites such as Argos show that there are no furbys available for delivery! Oh no! BUT, if you click on the little 'check store locally' button and input your postcode, it will show you where there is a furby available close to your address! I checked mine and a few other postcodes, and i was able to find one in stock every time! So go get that weird neon Furby creature!

u-nye-boh-doo?

Then i have a couple of tips for you,

• Get there just before the shops open in the morning.

People don't like getting up early on their days off, and who can blame them? But, if you can bare to face the cold morning light, get to your intended shopping mall just before the shops even open. New stock will be out from the night before, there will be very small ques and over all, much less hustle and bustle!

• Don't over dress!

This may sound like an odd one, but when you are shopping with a reason, you gotta get your game face on! Put those trainers on, and leave the pretty shoes at home, you are in a war for that Furby! It's freezing outside, but inside they will be blasting those heaters, and you don't want to get weighed down by a coat and scarf along with all your shopping, so leave the coat in the car!

• Go alone

For the love of humanity, leave the kids at home. They will slow you down, want McDonalds and probably cry because it's so busy. Same goes with husbands and partners. If you shop alone, you shop with the intention of getting what you want, in and out of there as quickly as possible!

Last of all.... Good Luck you brave Christmas soldier!

I hope this guide has helped you get some ideas for that last minute rush, and how to go about getting them!

Evil Furby bids you farewell,

xoxo

DIY Nails review!

Recently, i have been branching out on Instagram, and following small companies and new, like minded people. When clicking through links, as you do, i came across a pair of very beautifully painted nails with little pictures on them, with a link to the DIY Nails Instagram account, and was immediately in love!

The basics of the fantastic items they offer, is much the same as those fake tattoos you used to get when you were a kid. You dip them in water, apply, and you can show off to your friends that you got a super cool and totally real tattoo. But of course with the nail transfers, you paint your nails in your desired colour, apply the decal, and finish off with a top coat to seal it all in!
Intrigued, i placed my first order with them there and then. The website is totally easy to use, and both iphone and ipad friendly! All their decals are £6, and you get more than enough to do a good few sets of nails.
For my first set, i chose the 'Sweet Hearts' design, which is lots of little ice creams, donuts and hearts, and paired this with Barry M's Mint Green. I totally loved this design and colour combo. The decals are really easy to apply, and i had no trouble at all sitting them where i wanted them. Though if you do get stuck, DIY Nails have a great tutorial page! I applied a top coat, and these nails lasted for a good two weeks with no chipping, or smudges to the design at all.
When it came to removing the nail polish, the design came off extremely easily, with the rest of the nail polish.

Second time round i decided to go for a sugar plum princess look, and paired the Sweet Hearts nail decals with Barry M's Dragon, with some silver glitter at the tips.

Again the decals lasted a good couple of weeks, and there was no smudging or chipping of the design, and i got plenty of compliments on them! Plus i still have enough decals left to do another three or four sets of nails!

After falling in love with DIY Nails i decided to place another order, this time going for a larger one! So i got, The Drippy, Alphabet, Betty the Frenchie, Bowie and Kitch-mas sets!

Here i paired the Kitch-mas decals with Barry M's Copper, for a festive feel! (after chopping all my nails off! boohoo!)

I was worried the decals wouldn't look as nice on a darker background, but this just goes to show that they sit nicely on any colour base!

DIY  Nails offer a fantastic product, that's easy to use and really versatile. For any girl, (or guy!) that loves their nail polish, and nail art, these are a must have. With fantastic customer service, and constantly interacting with their followers on Twitter and Instagram, DIY Nails are a small business doing it right!

Big love to the DIY Nails team!

Adios amigos,

xoxo

Alternative and AMAZING Christmas jumpers!

Hello lovelies!

The time is upon us, to don the most hideous of Christmas jumpers possible, in a bid to out-do our friends to cries of ...

Now, of course you could ask you Nan to knit you some monstrosity, but of course that would mean you had to pretend you actually liked it, and possibly have to wear it when she comes to visit, but instead i offer you an alternative. What if i told you, that instead of going for that mighty title of "most awful jumper ever created by man", that this year you could, instead, wear a jumper that leaves your friends in awe, and wondering how they ever plucked up enough courage to grace their body with this beauty.

So have no fear my friends, i have gathered together a collection of the....

Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal Jumper

     Available from boohoo.com

    A lovely quote from an ever favorite Christmas movie!

Christmas Jumper 

Available from Abandon Ship

Because who doesn't need a jumper depicting mini devils on skis?

 The Slayer Christmas Jumper

Though this was once available from Slayer themselves, it can now be found on eBay for various prices.

But come on..... it's a Slayer Christmas Jumper!

Merry Krampus Sweater

Available from McPhee.com

Krampus is the anti-Santa Claus from Europe who punishes the naughty girls and boys on Christmas Eve. If you're bad, instead of bringing you presents, Krampus stuffs you into a sack so that he can eat you for dinner!  

And no list of alternative and amazing Christmas jumpers would be complete without mentioning the incredible Shredders Knit Apparel. 

With gems such as The Baphmet

Church Burner Snowman

And Hip Hop Santa

Whats not to love?

So throw away those vile Christmas jumpers from years gone by, the time has come to rock the most awesome and out there knit that you can find, and wear it with pride!

Laters taters!

xoxo