Christmas Home Haul

Christmas is literally my favourite time of year; I love the cold, dark evenings, being able to burn candles all day long and of course the whole festive feeling of the next couple months. With this, I love decorating my room with Christmas decor and over the past couple of weeks I've picked up a few bits and pieces. It probably seems a bit early buying Christmas decorations already, but I always find that they sell out really quickly so it's good to stock up when you see bits you like!

Little Dears Duvet Set | £12.00 (double) | LINK

Every year I like to treat myself to some new Christmas bedding. I usually go for a set from Primark as they're always so cheap but I've actually found that Asda also do some lovely designs at similar prices! I spotted this cute deer and little girl duvet set on the Asda website and knew straight away I had to get it - it's so sweet! As you only use Christmas bedding for such a short time every year, you don't want to be spending loads of money on a duvet set, but I think £12 for a double is amazing and there are so many designs to choose from.

Red Deer Cushion | £7.00 | LINK

To go with my new bedding I also picked up the matching cushion that goes with it. I bought one of these cushions last year as well so I thought they would make my bed look really nice and Christmasy. This cushion has a lovely velvet finish and of course has the cute fawn print on the front. There's also a smaller one with a similar pattern, but I thought I would restrain myself so that my bedding wasn't "deer overload"!

Fawn Ornament | £4.00

The final Christmas item I picked up from Asda was a little fawn ornament and again, it matches my lovely new bedding! I love the look of this ornament as it's so vintage and retro looking and it's just a nice way to add a bit of character to your room. If you see this little fella I would definitely say pick him up because I had a bit of trouble finding him as he was always sold out!

White Polar Bear Ornament | £4.00 | LINK

Another cheap place to pick up some lovely Christmas decorations is Wilko's. I usually get my wrapping paper and ribbons from there as they're really good value for money and they have some lovely designs to choose from. I picked up this cute polar bear ornament as I loved the simplicity of it and thought it would look lovely sitting by my window. You can also get a range of sizes and positions of these polar bears which would make a lovely statement piece above your fireplace!

Polar Bear Tree Decorations | £1.50 each | LINK

Me and my mum went a bit "polar bear mad" in Wilko's as I also picked up some smaller tree decorations that would look lovely on the tree (obviously) or just hanging around the house. I love white decorations for the Christmas tree and thought these little bears would just look super cute!

 Yankee Candle Christmas Cookie Tea Lights | £6.75 | LINK

I can't seem to go shopping recently without picking up some form of candle - it's becoming a slight obsession! I had a Boots voucher that gave me 25% off a gift item so I decided to pick up some little Yankee Candle tea lights in Christmas Cookie which is one of my favourite Christmas scents! I haven't tried the Yankee tea lights before but I thought they would be nice to give my room a quick burst of fragrance. If you love sweet Christmasy scents then you should definitely try out the Christmas Cookie a try!

Yankee Candle Cranberry Ice Medium Jar | £18.99 | LINK

The final thing I picked up was a medium jar of the Cranberry Ice scent from Yankee Candle. This is a different kind of scent to Christmas Cookie as it's very fresh and fruity but still super Christmasy at the same time. I've wanted to get this lovely scent in a jar form as I go through so many sampler sizes of it. Luckily I spotted that this fragrance was 25% off in the Yankee shop (however this jar is 33% off online!) so I was super happy about that! I find that the medium jars last me ages so they're definitely worth investing into, especially if it's a scent that you love!

That's everything Christmas related that I've bought recently! I can't wait to start decorating my room, it feels such a shame keeping all these lovely things cooped up in bags! I've decided that I'm going to go all out and start decorating at the beginning of November as I'm just too excited! Be sure to give me a follow on Instagram (@amiehaffenden) as I'm bound to be snapping pictures of these Christmas pieces in action.

 Have you bought any Christmas home decor recently?

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Gift Guide For Her | Fragrance Sets

Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a lovely week! I can't believe it's already December and that Christmas is only 22 days away! I'm so excited for Christmas this year as this is the first time I've been able to buy proper presents for my friends and family, so I can't wait to give them out to everyone! I'm actually someone who really loves reading and watching Christmas gift guides (I find them so inspirational!), so when Fragrance Direct asked me to feature some women's fragrance sets on my blog as part of a "Christmas gift guide for her", I couldn't wait to take part!

This will be my very first gift guide post here on my blog so please do let me know in the comments below if you enjoy it!

When it comes to buying a gift for a special girl or woman in your life, I always feel that you can't go wrong with a perfume. It's something every woman loves and us ladies can never have too many fragrances in our collection! I've picked out 3 different scents that I think would suit a range of people's needs for a fragrance. Of course you could buy any of these scents for anyone, but I've categorised them into age ranges to help you if you're looking for a gift for a younger or older woman.

Marc Jacobs Dot 50ml Gift Set* | £44.99 | LINK

The Marc Jacobs Dot gift set was the set that I chose for a younger girl, for example this would be a perfect gift for my little sister who's in her mid-teens! This set comes with a 50ml Eau De Parfum plus a mini shower gel and body lotion. Marc Jacob's Dot fragrance is a sweet floral scent that's a perfect day time perfume. With top notes of: red berries, dragon fruit and honeysuckle give it that sweet element and with the jasmine and orange blossom notes, this is a great fragrance for someone who also likes a floral scent! The wear time of this fragrance is great and I find it's the perfect scent to wear for any occasion.

As you can see the packaging and the bottle of the Marc Jacobs Dot set is absolutely gorgeous and is definitely a perfume that would take pride of place on any girl's dressing table. The box is also really cute and definitely sets this fragrance off as being perfect for a younger girl.

Dolce & Gabbana The One 30ml Gift Set* | £36.95 | LINK

The next perfume I chose was Dolce & Gabbana The One gift set and I would personally give this fragrance set to anyone who's my age or into their late 20's. It is a very warm, glamorous and sophisticated scent but at the same time it has that sweet vanilla element to it which makes it just that little bit younger. For me this is a gorgeous evening scent or an every day Winter scent as it does have a warm smelling side to it. It also contains a 50ml body lotion which will really help maintain the scent as well as keeping the skin moisturised. I find that this perfume wears really well on my skin and sometimes I can still smell it the day after on my clothes too!

The Dolce & Gabbana The One Eau De Parfum comes in a gorgeous golden box with a black velvet interior making it a very glamorous looking gift. The bottle it stunning with the golden lid and clear bottle which makes it look very sophisticated, just like the scent itself.

YSL Manifesto 30ml Gift Set* | £41.99 | LINK

My final fragrance set I chose was the YSL Manifesto gift set. This has a much older feel to it due to the wood and floral notes it contains, so I think this would make a perfect gift for an older woman you may know - this could be someone like your mum or aunt! It still has quite a sweet tone to it as it does contain notes of black current and vanilla, but the wood like tones definitely stand out in this scent to me. This is a very luxurious perfume that I think anyone would enjoy and it makes a perfect evening time scent as it does have those deeper and bolder tones. Like the other sets, this also comes with a body lotion which will help keep the Manifesto scent on your skin all day long. I also find that as it is such a strong, bold scent, this perfume lasts all day or night on my skin even if you only spray a small amount. This is a great perfume that you can get a lot of wear out of - I'm sure any girl would love to have this as a gift!

Like many YSL products, the packaging of this perfume is very luxurious as it comes in a golden box. I also love the bottle that Manifesto comes in and you can feel that it's such good quality!

So these were my top 3 fragrance picks for my gift guide for her this year. Fragrance Direct have a wide range of different sets and single perfumes for him and her, so if you're looking to find that perfect gift for someone this year, you should definitely check out their website!
I hope that you enjoyed this post and do let me know if you would like to see a gift guide for him on my blog!

What is your must have fragrance for Christmas?

Are any of these gift sets on your wish list?

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Review | Lush Bubblebeard Bubble Bar

Lush Bubblebeard Bubble Bar RRP £4.95

As you may have seen in my last haul, I picked up a few things in the Lush Christmas half price sale. This included the Bubblebeard bubble bar which cost me £2.47. This was the first product I have tried by Lush and I was really excited to see how it turned out.

Bubblebeard is in the shape of a white moustache with shimmer on. It is a reusable bubble bar on a stick which you swirl in your bath under a warm running tap to make lots of bubbles. This bubble bar has notes of cedarwood and sandalwood to create a very relaxing smell, so is perfect to use before bed.

When I went to swirl this in my bath, I was a bit worried the stick wasn't very strong, so I actually held the bubble bar in my hand and swirled it (luckily the water wasn't boiling hot!). In seconds I could see bubbles forming, and after gently swirling it in the bath for no more than a minute, I achieved the amount of bubbles in the photo above. The whole bath was covered in fluffy, white bubbles! When I took the bar out, I noticed that not a lot of it had been used and it still had the moustache shape. So I'm hoping this will last me a good amount of time. I did find it a bit hard to find somewhere for this to dry out as I didn't want it sticking to a surface and breaking when I picked it up again.

When I was in the bath, I did feel very relaxed but couldn't really smell any scent from the bubbles. I also found that the shimmer on the bar hadn't made my water glittery at all which I liked! The bubbles lasted until I got out the bath which was around 30-40 minutes later.

One thing that I didn't like about the bubble bar was the amount of time it took it to dry! For about 2 days I had this wet, white blob on a stick just sitting in my room. Maybe next time I won't place the whole bar in the bath!

Overall I did enjoy using this product as I liked the amount of bubbles it produced, however I was hoping for a stronger smell whilst I was in the bath. I'm hoping that the Magic Wand bubble bar will be better with this! Unfortunately, this is a Christmas product so unless you can find it in a Lush store in the sale, you can't buy it anymore! Hopefully they will have them out next Christmas!

Have you tried any Lush bubble bars? Which one is your favourite?

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Haul | Lush & Home Decor

Magic Wand Reusable Bubble Bar £2.47 | Bubblebeard Reusable Bubble Bar £2.47 | Cinders Bath Ballistic £1.12

Bird Trail Cushion £7.19

Small Lace Bird Sculpture £3

Butter London Lips & Tips in Shambolic £5

 I've recently picked up a few things in the Boxing Day/ January sales and thought I would share them with you. As I have plenty of makeup (debatable), I decided I would focus on buying things for my bedroom and other beauty items.

The first things I picked up were some Christmas Lush goodies. Crazily enough, I haven't actually tried any of their bath products before so I decided to treat myself to a few whilst they were in the half price sale. The first thing I was dying to try was the Magic Wand Bubble Bar. Bubble bars are like solid bubble bath which you swirl in your running bath water to make bubbles. It has a very sweet and girly smell to it, which I absolutely love.
The next item I wanted to try was the Bubblebeard Bubble Bar (review HERE) which is the same as the Magic Wand but smells of cedarwood & sandalwood. Personally, to me, this smells of lavender and I think has a very relaxing smell. The final Lush product I picked up was the Cinders Bath Ballistic. This is a giant bath bomb that has a spicy, Christmasy scent. It also has popping candy on the top, which is meant to sound like a crackling fire when used.

The first home decor piece I picked up was the Bird Trail Cushion from Dunelm Mill. This was 20% off and the last one left, so I had to have it! I love anything with birds and floral patterns on and I thought this was so cute. The next piece I got was the Small Bird Lace Sculpture from BHS for just £3. I'm going to decorate my room this year with cream walls and wooden flooring, so I wanted some white, shabby-chic pieces to go with it. I thought this would be perfect to sit on my window sill.

Finally from TK Maxx I picked up a Butter London Lips & Tips set in Shambolic for just £5! The Shambolic Lippy is a sheer, plum colour with glitter in. I'm not too sure what I can wear this with as the colour is darker than what I'm used to. The Nail Lacquer, however, is beautiful and the main reason I bought this set. This polish has different sized pieces of purple and silver glitter in and looks amazing over a dark purple polish.

Have you picked up any bargains in the sales?

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Makeup | Christmas

Christmas day is always such an exciting day to do my makeup, I feel like I have to use every piece of makeup I got that day! I also got the Real Techniques Core Collection brushes which I was so excited about! So far I'm really liking them and I used them to create this look. 

I thought I would make a quick little post showing what makeup I was wearing this Christmas. 

Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro primer (review HERE)

Benefit Stay Don't Stray eye primer

Max Factor Xperience Foundation in Raw Silk 45 (review HERE)

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer in Light 2

Stila Angel Whitening Powder in Shade B
Bloom Cosmetics Mineral Blusher in Rosie

Benefit Sha La Lovely brown eye shadow (for my brows)

Benefit She's So Jet Set Makeup Kit - They're Real mascara and Champagne please, Pretty in mink & Elegant espresso eyeshadows

Eylure Naturalite Lashes - Super Full 100*

2true Effortless Eyeliner in No1 Black

Topshop Lipstick in Oh La La

Barry M Lip gloss in Coral

As you can see I went for neutral eye shadows and nude lip with big lashes. I decided to wear a pair of Eylure Naturalite Lashes in Super Full 100. I only ever wear lashes on special occasions, and of course, this day was! I loved the length of these ones and they made my lashes look so much fuller. These lashes do come with an adhesive, which is okay but obviously not the best. They lasted a good amount of time and I think they really made my makeup look complete.

Hope you had a lovely Christmas!

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Giveaway | Christmas Thank You ♥ CLOSED

Hello everyone!

Oh yes, it's that time again! Time for another giveaway, and this time it's for Christmas! 

This time of year is about giving to those you love and mean something to you. You guys all mean something to me as you have supported me and my blog over the past few months. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, this is a little something I want to give back to you to say thank you.

This giveaway will be running for 1 month from Monday 5th November 2012 12:01am EST to Wednesday 5th December 2012 12:01am EST (this is 5:01am GMT time). This way I will have time to send your prizes to you near Christmas time. 

The Prizes

You may use this photo if you create a blog post about this giveaway. Please link it back to my blog.

 Nails inc. London nail polish in Glamour Glitter
 Revlon Nail Enamel in 120 Hushed Blush
Revlon Nail Enamel in 762 Plum Attraction
Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips in 110 Cry Baby
Makeup Academy Lipstick in Shade 8
Sweet & Snuggles Chocolate Vanilla hand cream
A reindeer shaped shower gel
2 Montagne Jennesse face masques

The Rules

There are 3 simple rules about this giveaway and entering it!

1. This giveaway is for UK residents only.

2. Be a public GFC follower of my blog. Any new followers and entrants are welcome!

3. Leave a comment on this blog telling me what you would like for Christmas! I think it's nice to see what others are hoping to get! 

Please can you also leave either your Twitter or email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win.

Extra Entries

The next options will allow you extra entries to the giveaway!

♥ You can follow me on Twitter @beautybelleamie.

♥ You can tweet "I have just entered @beautybelleamie 's Christmas giveaway! Enter here: *insert link*".

♥ You can like my Facebook page "Belle-amie".

♥ You can follow me on Instagram @amiehaffenden.

♥ You can create a blog post about this giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for entering and good luck!

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