Christmas Wish List 2016

With Christmas right around the corner it’s time to start thinking about gifts (or wrapping them if you’re organised). When it comes to receiving gifts I like surprises and I truly believe it is the thought that counts! I love to give gifts and love the feeling you get when you find something perfect for the person you’re buying for. I am not normally one to give or drop hints about the gifts I’d like but here’s what’s at the top of my list this year!

1. Canon EOS 700D

This DSLR camera has been on my radar for the past six months. Back in August when I did the Behind the Scenes Tag I mentioned I was thinking of buying a proper DSLR and this was the one I was leaning towards. I do want to improve my photography and have a nice camera to capture beautiful images with but part of me thinks, do I really need it? I don’t expect anyone would be generous enough to buy me this but I’d love to think I’m brave enough to take the plunge and splurge on it one day. I’m of the belief that photos = memories but I don’t want to part with several hundred dollars on a piece of equipment unless I’m sure it’s a worthy investment.

2. Britney Spears Private Show Perfume

I don’t claim to be the biggest Britney fan but I do listen to her music and I’ve grown up with her. She’s a popstar that has been around ever since I was a child and her songs are iconic. I’ve tried two of Britney’s perfumes in the past (one I’ve had for years) and I enjoy wearing her scents. Whenever a new scent of Britney’s comes out I always make sure I pop in store and give it a try. I’ve already done this with Private Show and it smells absolutely amazing! The scent is inspired by Britney’s favourites, including whipped crème coffee, clementine, juicy nectarine, dulche de leche, orange flower, jasmine sambac, luminous amber, and sensual musks.

3. IKEA MALM Drawers

I’m cheating a little as I ordered a set of 2 drawers a couple of weekends ago so I know I’m definitely getting them. I’ve been on the hunt for a new bedside table for ages and this is the only thing that has come close to fitting my criteria; I wanted something with a drawer and a gloss white finish. Currently, I just have a table with a glass top which has a clock sitting on it. I’m also looking forward to putting this together, I strangely enjoy putting furniture together and feel a sense of achievement once it’s done.

4. Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 – Pink

Two cameras in one post – what?! These Polaroid cameras have become pretty popular over the past couple of years and it’s funny how trends come back around. The colours of these cameras are so bright and fun (of course I want the pink one – pink is my favourite colour) and the photos from these types of cameras look candid which gives them a retro feel. You’ve got to be careful with each shot you take, you can’t go back and edit if the lighting isn’t quite right or something’s out of focus – the imperfections become the beauty. I love the idea of being able to write a small caption on each photo and keeping these photos in a box or putting them on a pinboard.

Edit: I purchased this camera for myself and I can’t wait to start snapping!

5. Mermaid Blanket

I’ve cheated again, I’ve ordered one of these blankets online and it should be here in the next couple of weeks. I first saw these in either one of Zoella or Pointless Blog’s videos and I’ve been obsessed ever since! You can move your legs with the blanket instead of moving your legs and having to readjust the blanket, so convenient. I chose a beautiful purple and I’m looking forward to curling up on the couch with this!

6. External Hard Drive

This kind of ties in with the Canon 700D camera. I figured if I’m going to invest in a proper camera, I want to have somewhere to store all my images, videos etc. One of these would also be handy for storing my music and backing up my iTunes library because I’ve had the whole thing delete on me and have to be re-imported before, not fun.

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What’s on your Christmas list this year?

Project Pan Week 4: Britney Spears Curious – In Control

Happy Monday and welcome to week four of Project Pan! Project Pan follows Stash Matters, A Brash Attitude, Curly Spring Blossom and I as we pick 12 products to try and hit pan on/empty over 12 weeks (11 in my case).

This week’s product is the Curious – In Control perfume by Britney Spears.

About

I received this perfume as a gift for my birthday in 2010. Six years later and there’s still perfume left! When I first got this perfume I would wear it all the time but as I began to purchase others this one took a bit of a back seat. I’m not sure why because this perfume has such a nice fragrance and makes a lovely everyday perfume.

Earlier bottles of In Control (like mine) included the more old fashioned atomiser and charms to decorate the bottle. Later bottles didn’t include the charms and featured a standard metal atomiser.

On the name, Spears said: “As I get older, the names go with my age. It’s more demanding, it’s more sensual, it’s black, it’s about being in control. That’s cool and inspirational … girls need that.”

Sadly, I think this fragrance has now been discontinued.

From the website:

The new limited edition of Curious is sweet and sexy, romantically pink and dangerously black. The composition is a sensual mixture of vanilla and musky notes, crème brûlée and night orchid. It opens with juicy notes of loquat fruit. The heart harmonizes midnight orchid, crème brûlée, black vanilla bean and tonka crystals. The base notes are sugared sandalwood and musk.

pros

• Suitable scent for everyday wear
• Striking black and pink packaging
• The old fashioned atomiser adds a luxurious feel

Cons

• Not suitable for travelling due to the bulkiness of the bottle
• The scent doesn’t last as long as some of my other perfumes

Chanelle’s rating: 9/10 – I don’t travel a lot so the fact this perfume is bulkier than some of my others doesn’t bother me. While the scent doesn’t last all day, I still get a decent amount of time out of it and in all the years I’ve owned this perfume the scent hasn’t changed. I like the mix of vanilla and musk and when it comes to perfume, I’m drawn to vanilla scents.

The Remaining products – Progress

1. Nivea Pearly Shine Lip Balm – Used 1x. This week has either been a full face of makeup day or no makeup at all.
2. The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Hand Cream – Used 3x. A small patch of skin on my right hand has been super dry and irritated so I haven’t used the hand cream as much as I normally would. I have been using a moisturisng cream instead to help it heal.
3. Max Factor Lasting Performance Foundation in 101 Ivory Beige – Used 3x.
4. Fudge Urban Miracle Ends Tropical Cocktail – Used 2x. I don’t use this product as regularly as I did when I first purchased it. It seems to have fallen by the wayside.
5. The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist – Used 1x.
6. Natio Clay and Plant Face Mask Purifier – Used 1x.
7. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer – 1 Fair – Used 6x.
8. Rimmel Match Perfection Translucent Setting Powder – Used 2x.
9. The Body Shop Strawberry Lip Butter – Used daily.
10. Cutex Strengthening Nail Polish Remover – Used 1x.

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Don’t forget to check out this week’s posts from my collaboration partners:

• Stash Matters
• A Brash Attitude
• Curly Spring Blossom

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Project Pan: Spring Collab

Happy Wednesday! Hope your week is going well so far! I’m very excited to share that I will be joining Stashy, Jodi and Ingrid as part of a Project Pan collaboration. While these three lovelies will be doing an Autumn project pan, mine will be a Spring project pan as I live on the other side of the world. The aim of this collab is to choose 12 items (I’m cheating slightly, I will only be choosing 11) that you want to pan/empty. The first reviews went up on Monday (links at the end of the post) but I didn’t decide to take part in the collab until late last week so my first post will be up NEXT Monday, September 19th.

What Is Project Pan?

Panning usually means setting yourself a goal to finish products by a certain date. I was interested in taking part because I wanted to make a significant dent in certain products in my collection and try and finally finish a few that I’ve had sticking around for a while. I didn’t set myself a crazy task to finish unopened products and I’d be happy if I could finish 50% of these products by the end of this project. I wanted to take the opportunity today to introduce you to what I’ll be trying to use up this season.

The Schedule:

• September 19th – Nivea Pearly Shine Lip Balm
• September 26th – The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Hand Cream
• October 3rd – Max Factor Lasting Performance Foundation in 101 Ivory Beige
• October 10th – Britney Spears Curious – In Control Fragrance
• October 17th – Fudge Urban Miracle Ends Tropical Cocktail
• October 24th – The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist
• October 31st – Natio Clay and Plant Face Mask Purifier
• November 7th – Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer – 1 Fair
• November 14th – Rimmel Match Perfection Translucent Setting Powder
• November 21st – The Body Shop Strawberry Lip Butter
  
• November 28th – Cutex Strengthening Nail Polish Remover

How It Works

Each Monday for the next 11 weeks I will be reviewing one of the products listed above. After all products have been reviewed, there will be a post to recap and gather my thoughts and final findings. I will keep a weekly tally of how often the products are used and post it along with each review.

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Don’t forget to check out this week’s posts from my collaboration partners:

• Stashy – Stash Matters
• Jodi – A Brash Attitude
• Ingrid – Curly Spring Blossom

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I’m really looking forward to this project and seeing how much progress I make with my chosen products! Have you ever done something similar before?

July Favourites

Well hello there! I can’t believe it’s been two weeks already! As promised I’m returning with my July Favourites. Most of these products were mentioned in my Weekend Haulin’ post so go and check that out if you haven’t already. July has been a month full of highs and lows (which you will hear about in future posts) and all about lip products. Lips are my favourite part of my makeup routine so I’ve included some new products I purchased as well as an old faithful. I also may or may not have purchased four of the Revlon lip butters on eBay last week… but more about those when they arrive!

Onto this month’s favourites:

1. Lili Price White Geometry Chaos Phone Case – I found this phone case after seeing Lily Pebbles post an image to Instagram of hers. I was really intrigued by the design and immediately fell in love with it! I liked the case more than any of the others I’d seen and because it’s black and white it goes with anything. The case itself is made of plastic but feels protective and sturdy. The great thing about Lili’s cases is that they’re available for a range of phones so even if you have an older model you might still be able to buy one of her cases. I was really impressed with the service I received, I didn’t pay much for postage at all and I received the case within a week! A+

2. Nivea Pearly Shine Lip Balm – I have used this product for over two years and it is one of my holy grail makeup items. If I want something that goes with everything or need a bit more moisture this is what I turn to. As the name suggests it leaves a lovely light pink shimmer on the lips and is really moisturising. It doesn’t cling to dry patches and wears well throughout the day. If I wear this to work I don’t need to reapply, which for a balm, is good going.

3. Britney Spears – Radiance – This perfume is definitely my favourite out of the ones I own and I have been reaching for it just about every day this month. The smell is just incredible and something about it seems to exude warmth. Radiance contains top notes of wild berries and soft, dewy petals, mixed with tuberose, jasmine, orange blossom and iris. Also, let’s take a moment to appreciate how beautiful the bottle is!

4. The Body Shop Strawberry Lip Butter – While I’ve only used this gem a handful of times, I have been impressed when I’ve worn it. The strawberry smell from this little pot is delicious and I’m pleased to report it sticks around when on the lips. I can see this being one of those ‘chuck it in your handbag’ type products, perfect if you’re on the go and your lips need a pick me up.

5. MAC Patisserie – I think it was pretty obvious this was going to make it into my July Favourites. I did tell you this month was all about lip products! Patisserie is such a flattering shade for me and my skin tone and is a little different to what I’d normally go for but I like it. The hint of terracotta/brown is lovely and adds warmth while still looking natural. The lipstick has little flecks of glitter in the bullet but they’re very subtle once on the lips. If you’re a fan of nude lips I’m sure you’d love Patisserie! Let me know if you’d like a full review of this lipstick!

6. kikki.K A5 Journal – I bought this journal with the intention of writing in it every day even if it’s a sentence or a few lines. I’m proud to say I have kept to this promise and I feel like expressing my feelings has been beneficial. I haven’t had as many worries on my mind before bed and I feel like I can let go if something’s been building up throughout the day. I love the freedom this journal brings with it, I can use it for whatever I like and in a few years I’ll be able to look back and reflect. The leather and elastic binding help keep everything together so if you insert notes or pictures they won’t get lost.

That’s all for this month, be sure to let me know what you’ve been loving! ❤

Day 12 – The last song you heard

I literally heard this song about 15 minutes ago. I was singing in my room as I quite often do and this came on shuffle. I really look up to Britney and love her music.

Fun Fact: Britney follows me on Twitter!