31 Dec 2013

Favourites From The Year 2013

Today is the last day of December and also the last day of the year! I can't believe how fast this year has gone by, and that I am already writing up my favourites for 2013! 
I have collected together my favourite beauty products and a few non beauty favourites as well, and here they are. (I have linked to posts that the products are featured in as well as a link to where you can get it.)





Nails: Essie 'we're in it together'    I post post I link

Hair care: Batiste dry shampoo 'floral blush'    I post I link

Eyes: Maybelline gel eyeliner 'brown'    I post post I link
         Naked palette    I post I link
         Benefit brow pencil    I link

Lips: Vaseline lip therapy    I post post I link 

Face: Maybelline BB cream    I post post I link

Skin care: Simple eye makeup remover    I post I link
                Vaseline essential moisture    I post I link
                Norwegian formula hand cream    I post I link

Fragrance: L'Occitane citrus verbena summer fragrance   I post post I link

Tools: Real Techniques expert face brush I post I link



Favourite book: Sophie Kinsella 'I've got your number'    I post I link

Favourite hair accessory: Scunci hair grips    I link

Favourite sale buy: Nails inc ' the Editors'    I link

Favourite magazine gift: Company makeup purse

Favourite sweet treat: Cadbury fudge

So there are my favourite products from the year 2013. What are your favourites from this year? Love Bella x 


30 Dec 2013

Top 10 Posts Of 2013


As it has come to the end of the year I have been looking at my blogging experience so far. I have been looking at all the blog posts that I have written and have decided to share with you my top ten posts from 2013! I have separated these into two groups, the first are the most popular with all you lovely readers, and the second are my favourite posts. Now enough of my rambling and onto the posts! 

Readers Top 5 Favourite Posts 


1. Liebster Award


2. My Favourite Fragrance


3. My Summer Beauty Essentials


4. Bourjois 1 Second Nail Polish Remover


5. Homemade Hampers and Gifts


My Top 5 Favourite posts


1. My first ever Friday Five 




2. Eye shadow colours


3. Fruit Picking




4. Winter Wonder Products




5. Festive Nail Designs 



Is your favourite post included these? What is your favourite type of posts to read?
Love Bella x 


28 Dec 2013

Thank You Notes

Thank you notes may seen like a boring task after Christmas, which many people don't bother with that much anymore. Personally I think that it is a lovely thing to do, to thank people that weren't with you as you opened your gifts. It wouldn't go unnoticed and they will really appropriate the thought. (It also means that you get to go shopping for some pretty thank you notes!) Above I have some of my favourites. 
If you are unsure on what to write, I tend to say thank you for the gift and how I will use it, and then talk a little about what you have been up to. 

Will you be writing any thank you notes this year? Love Bella x 


25 Dec 2013

Merry Christmas



Merry Christmas, seasons greetings and Happy Holidays everyone! I hope that  have an a wonderful day with whatever you are doing! 

Love Bella x 


24 Dec 2013

Christmas Eve




It is Christmas eve! As you can see from above I opened the last door on my advent calendar today and got a chocolate santa. I cannot believe how fast the month has gone by already, December has really flown by when I wasn't looking! 
Anyway I have a busy day of finishing little jobs ready for tomorrow, and of course trying to fit in a little pamper session! I hope that you all have a lovely day with whatever you are doing.
Love Bella x 


22 Dec 2013

Christmas Cooking

For today's post I am talking about Christmas cooking. I was going to put up pictures of things that I have made but the quality of the photographs were not very good, (as many other bloggers know lighting is not the best at this time of year, so it is difficult to get a good picture). But never mind I am still going to do a cooking post and use some recipes that I like from the BBC Food website. There are so many great recipes there so if you love cooking I would really recommend going over and having a look.

Ok so now onto the recipes! I have chosen my four favourites to share with you and here they are:


I love these reindeer cupcakes! They are so cute and would be a great sweet treat on Christmas day, or if you are going to visit anyone these would be a great little treat to take with you. 


Peppermint creams are so quick and easy to make. They are also wonderful for making with children as you can have fun cutting out lots of different shapes and decorating. 


Gingerbread men are a definite must for Christmas time. What I love about making gingerbread men is that you can decorate them however you want, you can just do simple decoration or go all out and have a really detailed design. 


Lastly mince pies, probably the most famous of Christmas treats. I love the idea of decorating with icing sugar to create snowflake patterns! 

So there you have it, four lovely Christmassy recipes. 
Which one of these is your favourite? What is your favourite thing to cook at this time of year? 
Love Bella x 


21 Dec 2013

Guest post


Today my guest post went up on the lovely Shona's blog freshbeautyxox. The post is on this snowflake nail design, so make sure to go over to her blog to check it out, and let me know what you think! 

Love Bella x 


20 Dec 2013

Friday Five

For today's Friday five post I am doing a life lately theme. So I am sharing five things that I have been loving throughout the month.


I love these Christmas socks! At this time of year almost everyone has a Christmas jumper, but I think that Christmas socks are also a must have. I mean look how cute the little reindeer and Christmas puddings are! 


Another thing about Christmas is all the novelty food and treats. I think that these chocolate orange minis are so great, and I love the Christmas themed characters on the biscuits!


One of my absolute favourite things about the festive season is buying and wrapping up gifts. I love going shopping for gifts for everyone, and wrapping them up all pretty! If you want some gift wrapping inspiration have a look over at my gift wrapping post.


Painting my nails with fun winter themes always makes me feel more festive. One of my favourites is this snowman design. It is so easy to do and a great fun design to wear at this time of year. If you also like painting your nails with fun festive design I have a post with lots more.


Lastly Christmas and winter themed books. For me these are a must read at this time of year. What better time to read all your festive books, or even an excuse to buy yourself something new to read. I have done a post on my winter reads if you want to find out more about the above books.

Do you also like any of these things? What are some of your favourite things for this time of year?  Love Bella x 


18 Dec 2013

Gift Wrapping

Today's post is all about gift wrapping! Buying and wrapping gifts is one of my favourite things. So I am sharing with you some of my favourite wrapping papers and accessories as well as some ways that I wrap up my gifts, and some helpful tips! 

To start with, the wrapping paper and accessories.




Gingerbread men wrapping paper and tag


Santa and reindeer wrapping paper and tag

These embellishments would look lovely on a parcel wrapped with brown paper and tied with string or raffia. 

This confetti would be great for putting into a gift bag. 
Tape 
Not forgetting the most important thing, tape! I like using invisible tape as it looks so much neater.


For some inspiration and ideas for wrapping up your presents here are a few that I have done. 


I have left this wrapping quite simple. I have wrapped the gift in brown paper and used a red ribbon to tie around. I have also added a small tree decoration.


I have also wrapped this gift with brown paper, but this time I have used raffia instead of ribbon and glued on some orange slices. (Depending on the gift inside you could use a cool melt glue gun to stick on, but it is best if you use a cool glue, PVA or sticky pads- which I have used.) 


Again the gift has been wrapped in brown paper and this time I have used two different christmas themed washi tapes and stuck these along the edge. I have then tied on a couple strings of raffia and the tree decoration. 

I think that the brown paper gives it a more homemade look, but you can also use decorated wrapping paper, and decorate with matching coloured ribbon and bows. 

Some gift wrapping tips: 
  • Make things easier for yourself by placing awkward to wrap gifts into a box. Alternatively wrap with tissue paper and place in a gift bag.
  • When wrapping the edges of a gift, cut down the wrapping paper so there is less to fold down. This will make it a lot easier to fold, and will make it look a lot neater. 
  • Instead of using one long piece of tape, use smaller pieces of tape and only place where they are need to hold down the paper. This looks neater and also means that the person unwrapping the gift isn't fighting to get into it!
  • Label the gift - who it is for and who it is from as you wrap them. There is nothing worse than wrapping up all your gifts and then forgetting who each one if for!
  • Don't worry if you aren't very good at cutting a straight line, just fold over the cut edge and wallah you have a perfect neat edge!
Don't be ashamed of what your gift looks like! (This is for all those people that dislike wrapping presents and think that they don't look their best.) It does take practice to be able to wrap up gifts neatly, just think that by next year you could be amazing! If you really can't stand wrapping gifts you can always find someone to wrap them up for you! If you do get someone else to wrap them make sure to find someone else to wrap up theirs, so that they don't see what they are getting! 

Many people may feel that wrapping up gifts and decorating them is a waste, but I personally think that it shows that the person giving you the gift has spent time, and effort on making sure that you have something beautiful to unwrap. It also looks so wonderful when you have beautifully wrapped gifts under the tree. 

I hope this post has helped and given you some inspiration. What is you favourite way to wrap up presents? Do you like receiving beautifully decorated gifts?

Love Bella x