Last shopping of the year......

After all that time spent shopping for the last presents for other people,I went shopping for myself. With all the family reunions I will have to attend i guess this will be the last shopping spree of this year.......making me very sad as there are lots of great offers and sales around. The last place I visited? Primark. And here is what I bought:

The first item that caught my eye was a grey jumper with a cut-out floral stitched detail collar. It was so warm and soft as it contained 4% angora. This cost £14 - the most expensive thing I bought.

The second item was a lace skater dress in a dark berry shade, with three quarter length transparent sleeves. The material is soft and doesn't itch at all, I'm probably going to wear it on Christmas day! This cost me £10.

 The next thing was a nice A-line leather mini-skirt with zip details. It was love at first sight with this; the quilted detail is so reminiscent of Chanel handbags and I'd been wanting a leather skirt for ages! It was also £10.

 The last section of the store I visited was the accessories, I seriously cannot leave Primark without going there! Every time I need to pick-up something so I bought these pearl earrings, 5 different sizes, for £1. Bargain.

I just love Primark.

All The Small Things

There are so many things we do during the festive season, but maybe because of families and friends, school and/or work, or general procrastination, you never have enough time to add all the little details you would want to add to things.  This year I have tried to try different things for Christmas, here's my list:

Be more creative
I usually wrap things up with the usual wrapping paper every year, so this time I decided to be different. I decided to give one of my friends a memorable Christmas present by wrapping it up in Iron Man comics. Obviously photocopied and not real. Anyway she loved it.

Then I had bought a present for a friend but later walked into another shop and found a scarf I knew she would absolutely love. What did I do? I gave her both presents, using the scarf to wrap the first one up.     2-in-1.

Embellish
I love the festive sparkle. I have tried to embellish dull looking blouses with some sort of beads or lace or pretty material. I like to vary the beads in size,so different focus points can be given to the piece of clothing.

Statement jewellery is so now and can really refresh your wardrobe, so I made my own necklace to wear with my favourite warm winter jumpers. And yes, I do love pearls. 

Tree decorations 

I am really trying hard to get in with the Christmas spirit this year so I made a couple of decorations to put on the tree.........

How d'you like them?

D.I.Y. | Cinnamon And Chocolate Festive Lip Scrub

With the weather turning colder our lips may be becoming chapped and dry, and I know that just using lipbalm won't solve it. The only way I can make my lips nice and soft this season is using lip scrubs.You only need oils and sugar for a home made one and they are so easy to make. Really.

Since it's nearly Christmas one of my favourite festive flavours has to be cinnamon (hmmmmm the smell) I had the great idea to mix it with another a flavour I love-chocolate-and the final result was quite impressive.

Here's how to:

You need 1tsp caster sugar and a little less than 1tsp of whatever oil you want- I chose olive. Then add 1/2tsp cinnamon and 1/2tsp cocoa powder. Mix it all up and voilà.

 And did I mention cinnamon is also good for making lips look plumper? It also smells good and tastes sooo chocolatey I'm sure you'll love it- I know I do!

Inspiration from London

Doing a GCSE in Art I am on the search for constant inspiration to move my project on and to complete my book. Last week I went to visit the Saatchi and National Gallery,walking from one to another (Chelsea-Trafalgar Square!) embracing the cold British winter weather on the way. By the time I got to the National Gallery it was getting dark so I decided to take some touristy photos too :)

The artwork in both places was beautiful. The Saatchi now has the body language exhibition,some of my favourite were:

Makiko Kudo had an obvious anime influence to his artwork which showcased different seasons

Denis Tarasov wanted to remember those died in the war with his photography

This was just creepy. It's by Eddie Martinez and I think he took some inspiration from Ronald McDonald for that clown.

This old lady wasn't part of the exhibition but I loved her. The detail and the way she is portrayed as a wool ball is just so amusing.

The National gallery had paintings by some of the greatest artists in the world, like Michelangelo and Caravaggio and allowed you to see something that you wouldn't be able to see everyday.

I suggest you go and visit both galleries if you have a chance as they have something to suit everyone. 

D.I.Y. | Make-up Remover

This is probably one of the simplest things I have ever done. I love all things that are beauty related-creams, make-up, shampoo and more- but have you ever read what these products contain? I always try to buy the best quality products I can but it can be hard when the products in your budget contain a long list of unpronounceable chemicals. To my horror most of them contain silicones or even paraffin, the reason why your eyes burn when you are using the products. Some ever contain fragrance, which for people with sensitive skin like me, is one of the most horrible things ever.

So, after looking at some sensitive make-up removers in shops I decided to make my own. It cost me pennies and literally only took me a couple of seconds to make- you'll be amazed at how well it works!

shake it up before every use.....

Here goes:
4 tbsp water
1tbsp sunflower oil
(optional; just to make it feel nicer) 1 tsp glycerin

Pour it in a bottle and mix it all up. You're done.

It was that easy!

I have used sunflower oil as it is one of the lightest oils and can be easily washed off, but you could also use vegetable or sunflower oil if you don't have it. There is no need to rub, and I can assure you it removes even the most stubborn waterproof make-up! I follow up with a face wash to clean off the residue of the oil. Only thing is that it should be used up after around a week as the water can make the oil go off easily.

Review | Naked Thirst Aid Moisturiser and Bare Faced Cheek Face Wash

I've been using these products for the last few months and have become a huge fan of them. They are 97% natural and are fragrance free- only the natural smell of the ingredients can be smelt . Also they are not as expensive as other natural skincare brands as most products are priced under £10. I am in love with organic skincare.

My combination skin suffers a lot in the cold weather and this rich moisturiser seems to do the job very well. It contains Shea butter, argan, neroli and starflower oil, and needs to be massaged into your skin. The scent of it was completely new to me- must have been down to the starflower or and neroli oils- but was a very sweet, pleasant one.

Overall, I don't think it lasted as long as the 12 hours mentioned on the packaging, but I think it is very good for dry skin as it gives lasting moisture. It is priced at £7.49, making it an affordable face cream.

"irritation when your computer crashes may still occur"

The face wash I bought for a few pounds at a local store and was instantly intrigued as it contained the beautiful Damask Rose oil. This is known to be kind to sensitive skin, have anti-ageing benefits, and fight free radicals.

The cleanser comes in a thin transparent gel which doesn't lather much. This can be because foaming agents are known to dry out the skin, so are not included in natural skincare. However my skin was left feeling very soft and moisturised, thanks to the damask rose. The smell of it can be quite daunting at first (it has quite a sharp aroma) but it is what makes the product feel like a luxury.

"your face should feel as clear as a brand new credit card"

The only thing these products lack is good looking packaging, however they are made from 50% recycled materials. Naked is also a well-known brand for not testing on animals, and most of its ingredients are vegan friendly. Good luck trying to find some of them on the high street though; my local stores are quite short on variety of this brand!

D.I.Y. | Baroque Chain Ribbon Bracelet

I've been lusting after some chain jewellery lately as I just love the eye-catching shine and the detail they give to every look. I saw a few pieces in the high street which are knew where going to be so easy to DIY so here's my tutorial!

You need:
5 inch chain
10 inch ribbon
A beading needle
Thread same colour as the ribbon

1. Thread your ribbon through the beading needle and weave it through your chain, leaving approximately 2.5 inches ribbon each side. Make sure the ribbon and the chain don't twist on themselves while doing this. To help, you could use sellotape to stick the chain down to the table to keep it still.

2. Once you've done that, sow the ends of the chain to the ribbon to keep it in place. If the ends of the ribbon are fraying, you could put a bit of PVA glue or use a glue stick to seal them.

And its done! See it was so easy and quick I also made a longer white bracelet by doubling all the measurements. You could also embellish them with beads if you want, but I left mine as they were because I like the subtleness of them. I would suggest to tie with a knot, as they come loose easily if ties with a bow.

Hope you liked it :)

Review | Teangi Tea Tree Conditioner

I'm really picky when it comes to hair products as none of them do anything for my thin, frizzy hair. I gave up products containing silicones long ago, as the build-up just made my hair look flat and lifeless, so I thought my search for a perfect conditioner was going to be endless.

 I picked up this product up straight away as the ingredients are all natural. The mixture of tea tree oil, rosemary extract and vitamin E (with other great stuff they put in there) have done wonders for my hair, making it soft and healthy. I can't stop touching it! It's a leave-in so I just spray it all over my hair, and not once has it looked greasy because of this. The only thing is the smell, which can remind you a bit of disinfectant for the tea tree oil, but is not a problem.

It came in a 200ml bottle which I got from Savers at £1-Bonus!  This can save you a lot of money, you won't need to worry about build-up and can actually do some real good to your hair, what's not to love?

Ingredients: aqua, tea tree oil, rosemary extract, PEG-15 Cocopolyamine, PEG-40 Castor Oil, Soluvit Richter, Cetrimonium Chloride, Lauryl Glucoside, Citric Acid

Welcome!

Hello all,
My name is Carolina, and I've finally decided to start a proper blog. I'll blog about things that interest me such as fashion and beauty, but also books,tv, music.....the list goes on! So stick around and enjoy my blog :)      xx