DECEMBER GLOSSYBOX REVIEW!

Hi lovelies,
After a very busy time at uni lately, the December GLOSSYBOX which contained five items was definitely a welcome treat. 

The first item in the box was a full-sized Luminzer palette from essence which contained a pearly highlight, a rose highlight and a golden highlight (this retails for £3.00). The palette is a generous size and the colours of the highlights are very pretty - my personal favourite is the rose shade. However, they have quite a bit of glitter in them rather than just being shimmery which isn't my favourite but I'm sure this wouldn't bother everyone!

The second item in the box was a REVLON nail polish in the shade "Gray Suede" which usually retails for £6.49. This is definitely my favourite item in the box! I love REVLON nail polishes and this colour is absolutely gorgeous. Although its described as a "gray suede" I definitely think this is more of a pink-nude colour with hints of grey tones. Very very happy with this item!

The third item in the box was a GOSH Mono Eyeshadow in the shade "dark green" which usually retails for £8.99. This shade is a very deep, forest green with a lovely shimmer - for someone more confident with their eyeshadow, I'd apply this with your finger rather than a brush to get a more intense colour and this would look absolutely gorgeous for the current season over Christmas time!

The fourth full-sized item in the box was a semi-matte lipstick from MDMFLOW in the shade "Bossy" which usually retails for £18.00. Glossybox subscribers got to choose between two shades of this lipstick for their box which was a nice idea to get the shade which you preferred. The lipstick is packaged as a gold bullet which is really cute and the shade is a cool-toned brown-pink shade (they describe it as taupe on the information sheet) which is a really unique colour I haven't really seen before. Although this looks mostly matte on the lips, it doesn't feel as drying as other matte lipsticks and you can still rub your lips together as you wear it. 

And finally, the last item in the box was a "Browcote" from the brand Lipcote - an eyebrow setting gel. This waterproof, transparent gel claims to hold your brow hairs and eyebrow products for hours with a weightless finish. I have tried this and the gel was really nice, the little brush went through my eyebrows well and the gel didn't feel uncomfortable when it dried. However, I'm not sure how long this would last as it doesn't feel like your brows are completely set in place indefinitely. But apart from that, I'm happy since I needed a brow gel anyway!

Overall I'm extremely happy with this months GLOSSYBOX and there's still a chance for you to receive it too if you subscribe soon - if you do so through THIS LINK it will also get your 20% off your first box! 
Thank you for reading as always, 

Holly Amber X

UNDER £20 GIFT GUIDE (HOME AND LIFESTYLE)!

Hi lovelies! Welcome back to another gift guide - this time centred around home & lifestyle!

NEXT Customisable Light Box

So this first section is mainly concerning "homeware". There are plenty of Christmas pieces I could talk about here but by the time these gifts are given, Christmas will only be for a day more so that's a shame! However, there are still other lovely piece I can share with you!
NEXT have some beautiful homeware pieces in all year round - one lovely present that can be personalised is a "Customisable Light Box" which comes with lots of letter pieces, punctuation and one heart and star.
This comes in either small (£12) or large (£25) but would make a lovely present which can be used in many different rooms and be changed around throughout the year!

Gold Mirrored Glass Tray from Oliver Bonas

Christmas is also a time to buy gifts for people that they probably wouldn't buy themselves. This beautiful Small Marble Jewellery Box from Oliver Bonas is a lovely example of this - for £19 I don't think I'd buy this for myself but it would make a gorgeous present or, for someone who likes to display their jewellery, this gold mirrored glass tray for £12 from Oliver Bonas would be another gorgeous present !

Desinio Prints (including the World Map Poster in Gold)

A more personalised present is always nice too! Desenio is a company who do some lovely prints so you can have a look at their website here. There are so many prints you can choose from on there so there really is something that you can tailor for everyone! My personal favourites are the World Map Poster in Gold, the Pink Elephant Poster, the Watercolour Cactus Poster and the Your Mind Poster, to name very very few! (If I'm being honest I love them all).

Other home accessories gift ideas I have listed below:

• Copper Finish Alarm Clock (since it seems everyone is obsessed with copper lately!) -£8.00
• The Zoella "Naps Fix Everything" Cushion - £12.00
• Oliver Bonas Set of 4 Gold "Geo Teaspoons" or Set of 4 gold "Tropical Teaspoons" - £19.00 
• TKMAXX Copper Geometric Lantern - £12.99
• Set of two Cookie Jar Mixes (with cookie cutter and cookie stamper) - £12.00

Starbucks Festive Mug and Chocolate Coin

And now onto food and drink! As always, Starbucks do not disappoint with their mugs! BOOTS are selling a Festive Starbucks Mug and chocolate coin for £8.50, a set of two Starbucks Glitter Espresso Mugs with Almond Biscotti for £10.00, and a Starbucks Sprinkler and Mug for £12.50 - to name a few!

For those who like a spicier taste - the Nando's Fiery Trio Rack would be an excellent present. This includes the hot, extra hot and extra extra hot sauces from Nando's for £12.50! Another spicy Nando's present is the Hot Pack which includes the hot sauce, hot marinade and a silicone marinading brush for £10.00 and would be good for  someone who likes cooking with their spices!
Or for those with a sweeter taste - the Starbucks dusting set would be perfect for the cold season! This includes a chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg flavoured dusting for £10.00!

Other food and drink gifts I have listed below:

• The Nando's Sizzler Set (medium sauce and sizzler pan) - £18.50
• The Green & Blacks Testing Collection (24 miniature chocolate bars) - £12.00
• "Fizz Selection" (Peach fizz, bucks fizz, peach bellini & kir royale) - £12.00
• Malibu Kilner Jar Gift Set (Malibu Rum, Sugar Stars and Kilner Jar with Straw) - £10.00

Thank you very much for reading lovelies! 

Holly Amber X

£20 AND UNDER GIFT GUIDE (BEAUTY AND PAMPER)!

Hello lovelies!
So here is the first of three gift guides for this December based around beauty and pamper treats! 

NO7 Winter Nudes Collection

There are so many lovely pamper and beauty gifts each year! I especially love +Boots UK 3 for 2 offer they have each year on their gifts - one gift on this offer is the NO7 "Winter Nudes" nail polish collection which is £12.00 and contains 5 shades of nail polish from a metallic gold to a dark plum. 
Another gift on this offer is the Soap&Glory "She's the Gloss" set of 4 Mother Pucker lipglosses for £14.00. Considering just one of these lipglosses is usually £9.00, these four handbag-sized versions are a great deal! You could even split these 4 up for four friends as a stocking filler! 
+Soap And Glory do lovely sets each year and there's so many to choose from right now!

Below I've linked some other lovely beauty treats from boots:

• Ted Baker "Double the Dazzle" set (tinted lip balm and nail polish) - £8.00
• SLEEK Mini "Matte Me" Collection (4 mini matte lipsticks) - £5.00
• NO7 "Glamourous Nudes" eyeshadow palette (8 shades) - £10.00 or the NO7 "Ultimate Eyeshadow palette" (20 shades) - £20.00
• Soap&Glory "Glamorama" Set (Mascara, Eyeliner, Lipgloss, Face Powder, 3 Eyeshadows and Brush) - £20.00
• Ted Baker "Sparkle and Shade" set (Mascara, 2 Eyeshadow Crayons, Eyeshadow Trio, Eyeliner, Eyebrow Pencil) - £18.00
• SOAP & GLORY "Tricks of the Shade" set (2 blushes, 3 eyeshadows and lipgloss) - £14.00

Soap & Glory Soaper Spa Set

In terms of pamper treats, there are so many of these at BOOTS too! You can trust Soap&Glory to supply a brilliant pamper set each year - One of this is the "Soaper Spa" which is £20.00 and includes a shower gel, body buffer, body butter, hand cream, foot cream, headband and shower puff. A good pamper set is always welcome - there's nothing better on Christmas day than having a shower/bath with all your new products and then pampering yourself afterwards! They also do smaller pamper sets such as the "Simply the Zest" set and the "Take your Pink" set, both for £10.00.
For a more mature present-receiver, the NO7 Youthful Skincare Collection includes all the things you need to look after your skin - a hot cloth cleanser, facial oil, day cream, night cream, eye cream and muslin cloth - all for £20.00!
And of course, no pamper session would be complete without a candle! My personal Christmas favourite is the "Christmas Cookie" scented candle from Yankee which is extremely sweet to smell at first but burns a lot milder and smells absolutely yummy!

Other pamper gifts I think would make lovely presents I have listed below:

• Cath Kidston "Blossom Hand Treats" set (Hand Wash and Cream) - £9.00
• Sanctuary Spa "Pick a Treat" set (face wash, exfoliator, salt scrub, body scrub, bath soak, body wash, hand cream and body puff all in a little jar!) - £13.50
• Champney's Manicure Moments Kit (Mini Hand and Nail Cream, Hand Scrub, Nail Polish, Nail Polish Base & Top Coat & Glass Nail File) - £14.00
• St. Tropez Instant Cracker (Instant Tanning Lotion) - £5.00

I hope you enjoyed this first gift guide! Keep your eyes peeled for more to come!

Happy Christmas shopping!

Holly Amber X