THE INSTA DIARY #11 - CHRISTMAS EDITION | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Saturday Everyone ... we've made it! It's the final day of Blogmas, but it's also the last day of the year! I hope everyone is having a fabulous day so far ... I'm currently sat on my sofa with a cup of  lemsip watching Beauty and the Beast! I seem to have got the Man Flu ... I hate being ill on a normal day but to be poorly on New Years Eve just isn't right! I should be out with a glass of champagne in my hand and busting a move! Enough of the self pity haha! For my last post this year I thought I would re-visit The Insta-Diary! I've really got back into Instagram this month ... although I'm still very much loving Snapchat haha! ... Enjoy!

And there we have it! Thank you so much for all of your love and support for this years 'Twelve Days of Blogmas! I know not all of my posts went up when they should have done but I still had so much fun writing each and every post! I hope you guys have an amazing New Years Eve! And I shall see you in the new year!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six | Day Seven | Day Eight | Day Nine | Day Ten | Day Eleven | Day Twelve

THE SCENT - PACO RABANNE INVICTUS | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Thursday Everyone! And welcome to Day 11 of The Twelve Days of Blogmas! Eeek, we are so close to the end! I know there were a few scheduling issues ... well a lot considering this series should have finished on Christmas Eve! But it's okay! We're just going to power through and forget that ever happened haha! For today's post I thought I would show you guys one of the gifts I got for Christmas! I'm always looking to expand on my scent portfolio and I'm doing pretty well! I always love it when people buy me fragrances because it's not always something that I would go for but I know I'll love an use ... if that makes sense? Anyway, for Christmas my lovely mum bought me a fragrance by Paco Rabanne! I already have the scent 'Million' which has become a cult classic! But I also now have 'Invictus'!

I generally tend to go for a more citrus based scent or something a little sweet, but this fragrance definitely has more of a woody feel to it. It's definitely a masculine scent! I think the notes that get me and have made me fall in love with the scent is how fresh it is! Sometimes wood based scents can be a bit dull and lifeless however this has some energy kicked back in with the help of some good old grapefruit top notes! If you've read my blog for a while you'll know how much I love grapefruit ... not to eat, but the smell! Once the fragrance has settled in the base notes start to seep through and with the help of some guaiac wood and patchouli amber gris accord, this is really where the magic happens. I would describe this scent as an oxymoron, there's a real clash between the two notes which makes the scent even more exciting! I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Let me know if you've tried this scent or if you have any recommendations! Hope you guys have a lovely day or evening and I shall see you very soon for the final post of The Twelve Days of Blogmas!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six | Day Seven | Day Eight | Day Nine | Day Ten

THE CHRISTMAS PARTY | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Tuesday Everyone! And welcome back to The Twelve Days of Blogmas! I hope everyone has had a magical Christmas! Mine was full of food, drink and so much love ... it was amazing! Now that I have recouperated I thought it was best to pick up where we left off! We're now on Day Ten and I really wanted to finish the posts before the New Year! For today's post I thought I would tell you all about this years Christmas Party! I did the same last year and it got a lot of love! This year the party had a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' theme! It wasn't as magical as last years Harry Potter theme but it was a bloody good night!

Myself and Tara set off to Birmingham around half two-ish after a quick stop-off at Fosse Park to get some alcohol, food and eyelash glue ... #essentials! The drive down was like an episode of Carpool Karaoke! We had some amazing tunes on including what has basically become our driving tune, Sam Sparro - Black and Gold and Justin Timberlake - What Comes Around ... but only the rap bit! Haha! We got to the Hilton where the party was being held quite quickly, it probably helped that we didn't get lost this time round! As we drove in to the car park we found an amazing space only a few steps away from the entrance ... turns out this was a special spot and I'm pretty sure we weren't supposed to park there! We did try and get out of the spot to move, but Tara couldn't get her car out of the spot haha! So we decided to leave it where it was and swiftly move on to checking in! Now for some reason me and T seem to be really lucky with Hotels ... we got upgraded to one of the executive suites! We didn't even realise until we were making our way to the room ... I'm not gonna lie, I was so excited! The room was HUGE! We had so much space to get ready, which we need! I am so messy when I'm getting ready ... it only takes five minuted and it looks like a tornado has dragged the entire contents of my suitcase across the room! Seeing as we got there around three we had a lot of time to get ready, but for whatever reason even four hours wasn't enough for me! I was due down for a champagne reception at seven ... you should have seen me at about half six. I was an absolute mess haha! I was running around deciding whether to finish my face, complete my outfit or down the vodka and lemonade we paid a ridiculous amount of money for! Thankfully T kept me cool and calm and stopped me from having a breakdown haha! I got to the reception just in time to give an impromptu speech about two of the most amazing women on my team! I babbled a bit but saved myself with a few laughs and hopefully I did them proud! Once I had drank a few glasses of Champagne I snuck out of the room with another glass for T and headed back to the room for an outfit change! That's right guys! I had an outfit change ... they don't call me a diva for anything! Once I was party ready and highlighted to the gods both myself and Tara went down to the party!

We walked through the entrance into the room where dinner was being served... well I walked whilst Tara practically ran! Haha! There were live parrots around and she has a thing about birds! There was a fab stage act where some pirates did some sword fighting before they started bringing out the food! The food had a tropical caribbean theme ... it was so nice! Although I'm pretty sure I drank more than I ate! Once food was over we all made our way into the party hall! As you can see from the few pictures above the whole place was decked out in an amazing pirate theme! There was even half an electronic octopus moving its way out a ship ... creepy but so cool! Now each year we have someone amazing perform at our parties and this year we had Fleur East! I absolutely love her, her voice, her moves but most importantly her sass! She performed a few songs from her album, some of which I knew but others I didn't and then to close she performed Uptown Funk and Sax! If you were there at the party you would have seen that Fleurs sass possessed mine and Tara's inner divas! We were on fire! After a thousand selfies and snapchats we had a good old boogie! This part of my night was fave ... Tara knows why #HushHush! Me and Tara became friends at my very first Christmas Party and it has become a tradition to sing our hearts out to 'All I Want For Christmas' ... and before I knew it the night was drawing to a close and the DJ played Mariah! Tara and I ran for some empty bottles left at the side of the stage for some makeshift mics and sang ... or whaled and screeched our very own rendition of what has become PAra's Christmas Jam!

We then decided to head to the bar once the party had finished but my feet were hurting so much and there was a massive queue and so we decided to head back to our room and ordered some room service! I think our eyes may have been bigger than our bellies because I managed to eat about 3 slices of my pizza before I gave up and crawled into my bed haha! The next morning we decided to sleep in and managed to check out a minute or two before our time was up ... I was so tired and achey the next morning, I needed a while to sleep in haha! Once we had checked out we went on our way to fulfil what has become another PAra Christmas Party tradition and drove to the nearest McDonalds! #AllTheCarbs! The Christmas Party is always such an amazing night and I just feel so happy being surrounded by so many people that I love! I hope you guys have enjoyed this post, like a lot of the things I write about on my blog I'm so excited to read back on this post! I hope you guys have a lovely day and I shall see you soon for Day Eleven of The Twelve Days of Blogmas!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six | Day Seven | Day Eight | Day Nine 

THE CHRISTMAS TAG 2016 | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Monday Everyone! And welcome to Day Nine of The Twelve Days of Blogmas! For today's post I thought I would do a little Christmas tag! I did something similar a few years ago and I really wanted to do one again, but everywhere I looked had the same questions that I had already answered! After about 20 odd minutes of searching a finally found one I hadn't done before! So ... there's not really a lot more to say! Lets do this!

What is your favourite Christmas film?

Does Harry Potter count ... no? Okay then! I think my favourite Christmas movie, well one of many, is Jingle All The Way! I love this classic flick! It takes me right back to my childhood, I remember many Christmases where this would be on my telly! Of course I have way more ... Home Alone, Elf, Arthur Christmas, Santa Clause ... I could  go on forever!

What are you favourite Christmas colours?

My tree for the past few years has had a black, silver and white theme and really apart from a touch of copper those really are my favourite Christmas colours! Gone are the days of colour from my Christmas world haha!

Do you stay in your PJ’s or get dressed  up for Christmas?

It really depends on what we're doing for Christmas but I mean of course PJ's! Who doesn't love spending the entire day in Christmas PJ's! 

If you could only buy one person a present this year who would it be?

Ooh, this is hard! And so not fair! But probably my mum ... #Awww #MummysBoy

Do you open your presents Christmas eve or Christmas morning?

Christmas Morning!

Have you ever built a gingerbread house?

No! Although I've always wanted to! It just looks like it would take a lot of time and I am really impatient ... especially when it comes to something I can eat haha!

What do you like to do on your Christmas break?

Netflix and Chill ... but in the non sexual way haha! Cosy days, all wrapped up with lots of food and movies!

Any Christmas wishes?

I can't tell you guys ... What!? Everyone knows you don't tell people what you wish for, If I said they wouldn't come true!

Favourite Christmas smell?

This year it's definitely the Vanilla Chai scent from The Body Shop ... it is super delicious!

Okay! Well those are all the questions for this tag! I hope you guys enjoyed this post, feel free to do your own version! Just pop a link to your post in the comments or tweet me! Hope you guys have a lovely day or evening! And I shall see you on Wednesday for Day Ten!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six | Day Seven | Day Eight

THE FOOD DIARY - BILL'S | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Sunday Everyone! And welcome back to 'The Twelve Days of Blogmas' ... we're on Day Eight, although we really should be on Day Nine! But don't worry, day nine will be going up tomorrow! Quickly followed by day ten on Tuesday! Back to Day Eight ... for the past two years me and my mamacomes #InsideJoke, go for an annual Christmas meal! This year we decided to stay in town and thought it would be nice to go to Bill's! 

I've been to Bill's a few times and I love every aspect of the experience that you have when you're dining there and so I had no objections when we decided this was where we were going to have our Christmas meal this year! The table was booked for 7.45 and so obviously I got there just after 8, If you know me at all, you know that I am always late! Although this time I had good reason ... I left to go pick Arti up with plenty of time, but I forgot my Secret Santa present at home! So I had to drive back to pick it up for the meal, haha! By the time we had got into town I was well and truly hungry! So we got to our seats and ordered some beautiful food! Whilst we were waiting for our food and drinks to arrive we decided to do our Secret Santa gifting! This year I had Suki, which was weird because the last time we did Secret Santa, I had her then too! I got her some Soap and Glory bits, along with a Burt's Bees lip balm and a set of candles! My Secret Santa was Jairaj who bought me an amazing Rituals gift set! I love it, it's beautifully packaged and smells amazing! You did well J!

The first thing I ordered was some of their infamous Pink Lemonade! I love lemonade as it is anyway ... and no, that's not down to Beyonce! Haha! I just think it tastes so fresh! Add a whole load of sugar and make it pink ... you have my dream beverage people! For starters I ordered the Crumbled Halloumi Sticks, I think the best part of Bill's menu is their starters! I've been there before and have had a meal out of just their starters, it was amazing! For mains I ordered the Buttermilk Chicken Burger, it was massive! I had to cut in four to be able to eat it haha! But oh my was it tasty! For dessert I ordered the Lemon Meringue Cheesecake in a Glass! It was so rich! The meringue itself was a tiny bit sickly but along with a the lemon and the biscuit base my mouth was in sweet heaven! Although it was only for a few hours, each minute was filled with so much love and laughter! We don't get to all see each other very often but that never makes a difference! I had such a great night and I couldn't wish for a set of better friends, I love you mamacomes! 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Sorry again for not having a post up on Friday but we'll catch up with Blogmas in the next few days, don't you worry! I hope you guys are having a lovely day or evening! And I shall see you again on Monday for Day Nine!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six | Day Seven

THE JO MALONE REVIEW - LIME BASIL AND MANDARIN | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Wednesday Everyone! And welcome to Day Seven of The Twelve Days of Blogmas! If you read 'Day Three' of Blogmas you'll know that I was recently in London! Now, I've been to London a  number of times, which of course means I've also been down Oxford Street a number of times! What I haven't done though is been into Selfridges! I've wanted to go for a very long time ... and each time I go to London I always try to fit it in. But if I'm completely honest with you, by the time I've worked myself down Oxford Street towards Selfridges ... I'm knackered! I just never have the energy to go on! However this time round it was definitely going to happen! Tara needed to go to Balenciaga within Selfridges and I was more than happy to go with her! Selfridges is massive, and really that is a whole blog post within itself! This post isn't about Selfridges but more about what I bought when I was there ... my very first Jo Malone fragrance!

The price point on the Cologne is expectedly quite high, but you're not just buying a fragrance with a purchase like this one ... you're buying the brand too. It was £43 for the smaller bottle which is 30ml, in all honesty it's more cost effective to buy the bigger bottle but as you can imagine the price tag is also higher! And so, I thought for my first fragrance I would test the waters with a smaller bottle to see how I get on. In terms of my personal taste I much prefer a citrus based scent and after sampling a few options I decided on the Lime Basil and Mandarin Cologne. The fragrance has a top, heart and base note, all which work together to create an immense scent. The Mandarin is the most prominent in the scent and really sets the tone for the fragrance. At first you are hit with a very fresh and tart scent, this comes from Mandarin blended with Lime to give you the main notes of citrus. Once the scent settles the top notes also begin to settle allowing the heart of the scent to take centre stage. The basil within the fragrance works so beautifully against the citrus notes. It adds warmth and depth to the scent with a peppery edge. Speaking of warmth, the base note of amber wood adds additional depth with an amber-like scent! I am in love with this scent, it has so many dimensions and lingers on the skin beautifully ... my bank account may be feeling sorry for itself but my sense of smell could not be happier! I think this is the beginning of a beautiful new relationship, I really can't wait to explore the other fragrances Jo Malone has to offer! Have you guys tried any fragrances from Jo Malone? If so let me know what you thought of them! I would love to hear your thoughts! I hope you guys enjoyed this post and I shall see you again on Wednesday for another edition of The Twelve Days of Blogmas!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six

THE HELLO HANDOME SHAVING KIT - PREZZYBOX | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Monday Everyone ... I can't quite believe it, but we are officially halfway through The Twelve Days of Blogmas! Christmas is so close that I can almost smell Christmas Dinner! If you guys have been following my Blogmas from the beginning this year, you would have seen that my first post was a collaboration with PrezzyBox! Like I mentioned in the post I had one more product to review, The Hello Handsome Shaving Kit!

This kit is perfect as a Secret Santa or a Stocking filler, the kit comes with a bar of shaving soap, a soothing balm and also a moisturiser ... so it really is the perfect shaving kit! Having used the kit for a week or two, it's definitely a great gateway for someone who's maybe just started out shaving or is branching away from the usual shaving foam style shave! The soap comes in wrapped packaging but I definitely think you need a good place to store it to stop it from drying out, I actually have min resting in a small Lush face mask pot! Scent wise I really think they have hit the mark with this one! Sandalwood is all the rage for Men's skincare at the moment, at first I was a little hesitant because I thought it was going to smell too musky? But it actually a lot of undertones which allows the scent to have a lovely clean and fresh note! The soothing balm works really well, it's not one of the best ones that I've tried but it has a really thick consistency, so you can really work the balm into the skin! The moisturiser has a really thin consistency which for me was a little too thin. However if you apply the moisturiser after the balm your skin will have just the right amount of moisture if you have oily or combination skin. I tend to be a little dry, more so than usual once I have had a shave and so I really need a high amount of moisturiser! Overall I think this is a fab kit and for a really great price too! Let me know if you've tried this before, I'd love to hear what you thought of the kit! Make sure you head over to PrezzyBox to see more about this product and check out some of the other fantastic gift ideas they have! Hope you guys have enjoyed this post and I shall see you again for Day Seven on Wednesday!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five

THE BODY SHOP REVIEW - CHRISTMAS HAND CREAMS | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Saturday Everyone! And welcome to Day Five of The Twelve Days of Blogmas! Over the past few weeks I have spent a lot of money, treating myself to a lot of goodies from The Body Shop! One of my lovely team members mum works with The Body Shop ... Hello Carol! And so I take a look at the things I would like and order them through her and Emily brings them into work for me! Although one of my last orders was so big that her arm nearly fell off bringing it down from the car park ... Sorry! You may remember that I did a post very similar to this one last year, feel free to check it out *here* and I really wanted to get my hands on this years collection because I was so happy with them! #SpoilerAlert ... I think I may just love this years collection even more!

All of the hand creams have a beautiful consistency and they have just the right amount of moisture and thickness. Hand creams tend to be on either end of the spectrum, you either get hand creams which are way too thick or they're too thin and be quite watery! These are somewhere in between, they still give an amazing amount of moisture but doesn't take a lot of time to work it into the skin and also doesn't leave your hands feeling wet or sticky! It sinks in beautifully! So, there are three hand creams which all link to the three collections they have for Christmas this year. The first is the 'Frosted Berries', this collection has a strong cranberry top note which are mixed with fresh tones of berries, white flowers, praline and vanilla! This is definitely a vibrant scent and if you're someone who prefers a fruity scent, you're gonna love this one! The next scent, and I think my favourite of them all, is the 'Vanilla Chai'! Whenever I need to pick a flavour of ice-cream, nine times out of ten I'll go for Vanilla! I know that sounds boring but I just love vanilla so much! This collection consists of creamy milk and Madagascan vanilla and although that maybe sounds a bit sickly there are also undertones of warm spices and brown sugar! I would describe the scent to be sweet but really warming, a real evening scent! And like I've said, although I love each of the collections this one is definitely my favourite! The final scent in the collection is 'Spiced Apple', when I smell this one it instantly reminds me of a bathroom scent? I have the candle in this collection and the aroma just fits so well in the bathroom because of how fresh it is. In terms of the scent as a hand cream this is probably my least favourite ... I still love it, and will reach for it every now and again but I tend to grab the other two more often! The freshness of this scent root from the apples, orange and fresh flowers but like the 'Vanilla Chai' this scent also has a warm undertone from probably the most Christmassy scent ever, cinnamon! I think this one is definitely more of a clean / fresh scent, if that makes sense! And actually quite a mix of the other two in the scent. It has a fruity side from the apples and warmth from the cinnamon!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four

THE L'OREAL REVIEW - PURE CLAY PURITY MASK | THE TWELVE DAY OF BLOGMAS

Happy Thursday Everyone and welcome to Day Four of The Twelve Day of Blogmas! For today's post I thought I would do a review on one of the newly released masks from L'Oréal! I believe there are three in the range at the moment but I could only get my hands on one of them a while back! I had heard some amazing things about the masks and so I thought I would give them a try. If you know me or have read my blog you'll know that I am an absolute sucker for a face mask and so when something new is released in the beauty world I need it in my life!

The mask is specifically formulate to help mattify the skin, something that I really need from time to time. Rich in minerals, the formula consists of three pure clays along with eucalyptus extracts, eucalyptus is known for its anti-bacterial properties and so this is a great mask if you struggle with acne. Like all of my masks I like to apply a layer using a brush, I prefer to use a brush so that I can control the amount of product I apply. When I'm using my hands to apply a mask it can sometimes be uneven resulting in clumps of product rather than a light and even layer. It's also so much easier time wise as it will all dry evenly too! The mask is super creamy and has a botanical / herbal scent to it. It seems to sink into the pores to really clean them out. I tend to leave the mask on for around five minutes, which compared to other face masks I use, like Lush, is quite minimal. I think that's mainly down to the ingredients, the only negative I have in terms of the mask is the chemical side to it. You can really feel it on your skin if that makes sense. However I still really love it, the mask promises instant results and I have to say my skin looked so much cleaner and brighter. I don't think this is one of the best face masks I have ever tried but if you're looking for a quick mask to help liven up your skin, this is the one you need, especially if you have oily skin! I would love to try the other two masks in the range, let me know if any of you have tried them out! Hope you guys enjoyed this post and I shall see you on the next one!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One | Day Two | Day Three

THE JINGLE BELL BALL 2016 | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Tuesday Everyone! And welcome back to The Twelve Days of Blogmas, for Day Three I'm going to tell you all about my super amazing experience at the Jingle Bell Ball! I love my blog for all the beauty reviews, fashion posts and food diaries, but one of the main reasons I love my blog is because of the 'Diary' type posts that I can write! I love looking back at my blog to see all of the amazing experiences I've had, and this one is no different! This is going to be a long one so grab yourself a drink and make yourself comfy!

Myself and Tara spoke about going to the ball when they first announced the line-up on Capital, we knew it was something we would enjoy and so when the day came around to buying tickets we were glued to our phones! Turned out the screen I waited about an hour to load resulted in the tickets we wanted being sold out! Looking at websites like ticket master we noticed that the prices had completely shot up! And so we decided to sleep on it before we made a decision on what tickets to go for ... that night I did a bit of research and noticed that the O2 offers a more deluxe service in the form of 'The Deck'. I know it seems a bit odd but these tickets were cheaper than those being sold on any other website and so we decided to book these straight away! We also decided to book a hotel not too far away from the O2 so that we could make a weekend of it ... now without going into too much detail there was a bit of drama surrounding the initial hotel we had booked ... #ThankYouBookingDotCom! Anyway we ended up staying at the Holiday Inn express and I have to say it was perfect for the short stay we had! Tara drove us up on the Saturday morning and it was a drive of pure Car-Aoke! We listened to a lot of playlists and went back in time through the years! All the way back to Holly Valance ... Kiss Kiss! It's safe to say Tara did not enjoy those few minutes haha! But we did both rekindle our love for Sam Sparro, Black and Gold! #Tune! Once we got to the hotel we quickly had a bite to eat and started to get ready! The doors were opening at 4.30 and so we decided to leave at 3.30 to make sure we had enough time to get down and find our way!

The journey down to the O2 was nice and quick ... although Tara might disagree with that statement, haha! She did not like the tube ... I thought it would be quite busy but I think we may have missed the rush, thankfully! Once we got North Greenwich we walked down to the O2, now this year Coca-Cola sponsored the Jingle Bell Ball ... and right outside the venue was the Coca-Cola truck! I felt so Christmassy, I've never seen the truck before but it was amazing ... I thought it might have been a bit bigger but even so! To see it in real life was such a fab experience! After a few selfies and snapchats we made our way into the O2. As soon as we entered we got into a queue to sing Lady Gaga's Bad Romance before Tara made a bee line for the merchandise stand where she picked the both of us up some flashing Minnie mouse ears ... of course! I then realised the queue I was in was full of children and decided to leave the queue ... I mean I didn't want to show the kids up with my amazing Gaga impression, so it was definitely for the best haha! Instead we decided to join the queue for the ball!

Once we got through the doors we headed up towards our seats, we did however make a cheeky detour to the O2 Blueroom! We were there a little early so we decided to have a few cocktails and a little seat boogie to get ourselves pumped up for the show! Before we knew it, it was time to head to our seats ... as I said earlier we had seats on 'The Deck' and I have to say if I was ever to go back to the O2 for a show I would definitely get tickets for 'The Deck' again. It's set up like a bar with a glass ledge and some comfy seats ... although it's a nightmare to get out of them, because according to the O2 we're all the size of a cotton bud! Okay, I may be slightly exaggerating but still it was a small gap, haha! Once we were seated we were greeted by our very own waitress, Mariah! She was fantastic, she was so much fun and tolerant haha ... well she did have the drunk versions of myself and Tara to deal with haha! We were sat next to two lovely girls, Maisie and Logan! Together the four of us spent the whole night 'singing' and snap chatting away ... p.s. if any of you follow me on Snapchat I would like to offer a small apology for all of the shout singing haha!

The show started off with a little DJ set by Marvin Humes before Sigala made an appearance to really get things going! They had a really good set with a snippet of 'All I want for Christmas' to get us all in the Christmas spirit ... although it got a little awkward later on in their slot when Imani Williams asked how 'Wembley' was doing #Awks! Next came Olly Murs, who was bloody amazing! I've always wanted to see Olly live and I have to say he really went for it, I loved every second of his set! His voice sounded on point and his dance moves did not let me down! We then had Callum Scott who performed 'Dancing On My Own' ... not one of my favourite songs but he does have a beautiful voice! Someone who I was really excited to see perform was Dua Lipa ... and she did not disappoint! I think this was one of the first performances where we decided to get out of our seats ... or maybe that was Olly? Anyway, she got me dancing which was my point haha! As well as her own singles she also did a cover version of One Dance ... her voice, omg! She was then joined on stage by Sean Paul for their new song together, Don't lie ... and I wont lie, this was definitely one of the highlights of my night! Sean Paul then had a slot ... I can't believe I'm about to say this but I was a bit disappointed? He performed 'Cheap Thrills but really he could have done so much more in my opinion. However things quickly got back on track when Clean Bandit got on stage ... I love Clean Bandit, they're such an amazing group. They performed all of their hits including Rather Be, Real Love, So Good with Louisa gracing the stage and then the big one ... Rockabye! One of the main reasons I love that song so much is down to Anne-Marie! Much like Dua Lipa her voice has such a beautiful raspy tone, I'm so excited that she's making her mark and I was even more excited when she performed Alarm! Next up was Nathan Sykes, who really impressed me! The boy can SING! At the end of his set he did a little fist pump in celebration, which honestly is one of the cutest things I have ever seen!

Louisa Johnson was next, she performed So Good and it was ... pardon the pun, SO GOOD! She also did an acoustic cover of Love Yourself which got everyone lighting up the room with their torches! It was amazing! The next performer completely blew it out of the water for me, a massive highlight of the night ... Craig David! He was so good that Mariah decided to take a break from serving us vodka's to getting down with a good old dance with us! It was absolutely fantastic! Another one with an amazing voice, he had so much stage presence and really got the entire Arena singing and dancing! Once Craig had left the stage it was time to bring on all of the sass, in the form of Little Mix! I mean they were carried through the crowd onto the stage! The reaction they got was insane and their harmonies ... oh my god! #YAAS! The final act of the night was Calvin Harris! He turned the entire arena into one big rave ... even the granny next to us was feeling it! And this is someone who kept giving me evils when I was screaming with excitement ... and yes, I did scream louder because of it haha! His set was absolutely mental and one of the things that I loved the most was the lights! I know that sounds a bit silly but I love it when a performer thinks about all of the aspects when they're on stage! Before we knew it, it was the end of the night ... where the time went I had no idea! But like they say time flies when you're having fun and oh, did we have an amazing night!

I am so glad that we managed to go in the end and even more so that I got to spend it with Tara! I really hope that we can make it a little tradition of ours! Did any of you guys go to the ball? If so which day? Who was your fave! I'd love to hear all about it! Leave a comment below or get in touch via twitter or Instagram ... cheeky links are in the top bar under the banner! Hope you guys have a lovely day or evening depending on when you're reading this! And I'll see you on Thursday for another very exciting post for Blogmas, Day Four!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One | Day Two

THE NIP AND FAB REVIEW - DRAGON'S BLOOD FIX PLUMPING SERUM | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Sunday Everyone! And welcome to day two of The Twelve Days of Blogmas! Whilst you're reading this I'll probably be on the drive back from London, because last night ... I was at Capital's Jingle Bell Ball! I'm obviously writing this a few days before I've actually been but I am so sure it's going to be a fab night! Make sure you check back on Tuesday for a post all about it! Anyway back to today's post and probably one of my favourite skincare items this year! Everyone goes through a bit of a change with their skin during Winter, for me my skin tends to go super dry in certain areas and so I really need to take care of my skin. I'm still a massive fan of The M.A.C Volcanic Ash Exfoliator and I use it every other day to make sure I'm removing any dead skin, but I'm finding that a normal moisturiser just isn't doing the trick anymore. One of my best friends and also my very own Beauty Guru has been using Nip and Fab for a while now and she raves about their Dragon's Blood Fix Plumping Serum ... long name but oh my, this stuff works absolute miracles!

The serum has a really gel like texture, something that you would naturally expect from a serum. I don't really know If I've just had bad luck with the serums I've tried but most of them are quite rough on the skin and tend to be too thick to be able to get a really nice even layer? This stuff however is amazingly smooth, I tend to use around two pumps if I really want to give my skin a bit of a treat! It melts into the skin like butter without feeling heavy, and leaves your skin feeling instantly smoother and hydrated. It's recommended that you use a regular moisturiser over the top if you need further hydrations, this isn't something I do on a daily basis. Usually it's an either or kind of job? But If I'm using the serum at night I will pop on a light layer of The Body Shop Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturiser! Together they make my skin feel amazing! If you're looking for something to help give you a boost of hydration I would definitely recommend this serum, it really has helped my skin and I tend to notice a massive difference when I've not used it for a few days! If you guys have tried any of the other goodies from Nip and Fab make sure you leave a comment below! I'd love to see if there's anything out there that I need to pop onto my list for Santa! Hope you guys have a fab day and I shall see you again on Tuesday for day three of Blogmas!

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

Day One

THE GIN AND TONIC BATHING GEL - PREZZYBOX | THE TWELVE DAYS OF BLOGMAS

Happy Friday Everyone! And welcome back to The Twelve Days of Blogmas! Last year I did exactly the same and it was honestly so much fin and so I thought why not carry it on and turn it into a little tradition of ours! To start things off I'm going to tell you all about something new I've been using in the shower ... a Gin and Tonic Bathing Gel! Sounds amazing right? Well I'll tell you know it smells and is more amazing than it sounds! The lovely people at Prezzybox got in touch with me a while ago and sent over two amazing goodies from their website, so make sure you don't miss out on the second product that I'll be featuring during Blogmas!

So first impressions and probably the only negative I have for this is the packaging, part of me absolutely loves the packaging it is glass and therefore feels super expensive! But another part of me thinks of all of those times I have dropped any one of my products in the shower ... yeah, you see what I mean! But luckily no such thing has happened! Yay! Moving onto the product ... it smells bloody amazing! If I'm completely honest I didn't completely know what to expect, I didn't know how it was going to work ... was I going to end up smelling like an alcoholic! The answer to that is no, I actually smelt like a fresh citrus garden! I don't know if that exists or even makes sense haha but it smells so good! I don't know if it's quite lemony or lime but it's definitely from the citrus family! Another thing I love about this stuff is how little you need to create a super fab lather, which means you also get a lot for your money! Once lathered you can really tell how beautiful this stuff smells, it's also super soft and quite moisturising on the skin! Like a lot of things on Prezzybox, this would make a really nice gift! Especially if you love a G+T! You can head over to Prezzybox by clicking *here* and see what other goodies they have! Hope you guys enjoyed my first post for The Twelve Days of Blogmas! I can't wait for you guys to see what I have planned! It's going to be so super exciting ... and like anything I blog about I'm gonna love looking back on it to reminisce! Have a lovely day and I shall see you on Day Two! 

| The Twelve Days Of Blogmas |

THE LUSH REVIEW - PRINCE SHAVE CREAM

Happy Sunday Everyone and Happy Diwali to anyone who is celebrating today! This week I thought I would do a little review on a shaving cream that I picked up from Lush a few weeks ago. I know things seem a little Lush heavy on my blog lately but it's autumn! And this is just one of those seasons where I really get into Lush and so I've been going a bit crazy for Lush products recently!

I've been using The Body Sop - Maca Root Shaving Cream for a few months now and I have no problems with it at all and I'm sure it will always be a staple for me! But when you're like me and you have an obsession with beauty and grooming products you need variety ... well I do anyway! And so I thought I would have a look at what else was on the market! hen I went into Lush there were actually quite a few options when it came to shaving creams but this one was highly recommended by the member of staff who was showing me around. The cream was available in two sizes, I went for the smaller one ... a decision I totally regret making now! I love this stuff, it was really weird at first because I'm so use to a foam / cream to foam formula whereas Prince is simply a cream formula. I still use a shaving brush to apply the cream to my face however I use it to smooth cream on rather than buff the cream on to create a lather. Now in all honesty I do think you have to use a fair amount on each shave and I pretty much shave every day so the small tub has lasted me just under a month. So I'm definitely going to have to get the larger tub next time! Whilst using this I noticed that I achieved a super close shave, something that I really like ... stubble looks great on some guys but sadly not on me! Prince does have a scent but it is super subtle, nothing that lingers on the skin which is nice and because it's a cream it's really gentle on the skin. You could probably get away with not moisturising but I do it anyway ... you have to take care of your skin guys!

All in all I think this is a fab product! I ran out of it this week and I have to say I was actually quite upset haha! I get really attached to my beauty products ... #SorryNotSorry! If you're wanting to switch up your shaving routine I would definitely give this cream a go! I know there were a few more options at Lush so if you've tried any of them out make sure you leave me a comment and let me know how you got on! Hope you guys have a lovely week and I shall be back again next Sunday!

THE WEDDING DIARIES - NIKHIL AND SHALINEE

Happy Sunday Everyone! Today I bring you a new diary style blog post, I don't go to many weddings and so I don't think you'll see very many of these but like always whenever something happens that I know I'll want to read back on I blog about it ... and this time it just so happens to be a wedding! Now normally I don't have much involvement in family events but I will always be there for those who show me, my mum and brothers love! My cousin Nikhil and his family are one of those families that very much do and so when the invitation arrived ... a very beautiful invitation I have to say, I knew this would be one those family events that I would want to be at!

The wedding was taking place in London and so we all booked a hotel within short distance from all of the events that were taking place. The first event to take place was the Mehndi Party which we sadly missed due to myself and brothers being ridden with a cold! There was definitely something going around! But we heard all about it the very next day from my mum who did go and it sounded like so much fun! That morning there was a few ceremonies taking place at the Raja residence which we weren't planning to go to but we had got to London by the time the ceremony was supposed to start so we decided to head down! Although we were seriously underdressed haha ... I had ripped jeans on, enough said! I'm really glad we went though as we had a good chance to meet everyone ... I hadn't seen some of these people in ages and so it was nice to catch up with a few of them. A little while into the ceremony me and two of my brothers were asked to take part in one of the sections within the ceremony ... the third brother was the designated photographer haha! Now this may seem silly but it really meant a lot to be asked to take part in something that had such meaning to the wedding, we're not awfully close to our family, but my Mami and Mama have always shown us such love and that really came through with this lovely gesture. Once this part of the ceremony over next came something called the Pithi, now I don't know much about this ceremony but Nikhil ended up covered in a lot of turmeric paste ... it's supposed to make his skin glow! After some food we all headed back to our hotel to get glam for the Sanji! The Sanji is a bit like a party on the eve of the wedding where we all play garba and dandya! We'd decided to go in shirts and waistcoats etc ... but everyone else went for the indian vibe! I felt a little anxious because I really stood out but once the music started and the dandyas were out I had arrived! It was so much fun, a really fun night! After about an hour and a half I was officially shattered! We headed back to our rooms to get some beauty sleep ... boy did we need it! The morning came aound SO fast for us! I can only imagine what it was like for Nikhil and Shalinee, bless them! It was panic stations all around on our floor ... there were so many ladies running from room to room in their sarees, it was hilarious! We ended up just fashioning a little door stop because I had simply had enough with closing and opening my door! Mum had somehow caught our cold, she was not in a good place but she managed to get glam and ready just in time for some photos! Impromptu photoshoot done we quickly headed down to my Mama and Mami's for some more photos before driving down to the wedding venue! It was about a 40 minute drive before we reached this beautiful hotel where the wedding was in full swing! Think music, dancing, drums and LOTS of people! The wedding was absolutely beautiful, both the Bride and Groom looked amazing and they had a room full of love! What more could you want! Shortly after the wedding ceremony came to an end there was another quick photo opportunity before we all headed outside for some canapés and champagne ... yum! About an hour later we all headed back into the hall, which had been transformed for the reception party! The room was filled with these huge round tables for everyone to sit down and have some amazing food! Now this may sound sad but you know when you're on a large table and you want something from the other end, it's just so much drama! But! The tables all had Lazy Susan's so you just turned it to get the food from the other side ... okay, yeah, I just realised how sad that was! Haha!! Once we had eaten some lovely food it was time for the first dance ... it was beautiful, I actually really got emotional! But don't worry because the dance floor opened up to everyone and the dance moves were on fire! We even had a dance off between the grooms and the brides side ... it was a tie, but we definitely had it in the bag! We left at around 7ish, we were pretty tired and just wanted to get a breather before the celebrations continued back at the house! The first thing I did when I got back was take off my suit jacket and put on a comfy cardi! It was like heaven! At around 8ish we headed back to the house for the bride's arrival and some games! I don't really know how to explain the traditional games that they played but they basically had to find a ring in some red water and untie a piece of string on each others hands as quickly as possible ... probably doesn't sound fun but it was!! It was time for some gift giving and another round of photo's before we called it a night! I've probably rambled along in this post a LOT, so I think it's time to wrap things up with some random photos I took on the day of the wedding!

I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone in the family that made us feel so welcome and loved. I had such an amazing time and it meant a lot to be involved in something that is filled with so much love and joy! I wish Nikhil and Shalinee all the best for this amazing journey that they have embarked on! I hope you guys enjoyed this post, sorry again if I rambled on but I really wanted to add to the collection of all the lovely memories I have shared on my blog!

THE LUSH HAUL - HALLOWEEN EDITION

Happy Sunday Everyone! There's a chill in the air ... and as everyone knows, once it gets to this time of year I love having a good old bath! I haven't been able to go into Lush in so long, like I said in my last post my life has basically been work, work and more work! But the other week me and Arti were in town and she needed to go into Lush to pick up a present for someone, as I walked in I spotted the display they had out for all the Halloween goodies! I picked up a few bits from the range and also some other bits that I'll do a review on in a few weeks ... I did however refrain from picking up anything Christmassy! I want to do a big shop for all the Christmas things after pay day!

The first thing I picked up is my all time favourite shower cream ... I like it even more than Snow Fair, I know! Lord Of Misrule has an unforgettable scent, its musky but sweet at the same time. It's a very warm scent if that makes sense, like kind of spicy? Which probably comes from the peppercorn! I honestly can't say enough about how much I love this stuff! This is definitely one that I would recommend you try! Along with the Shower Cream I obviously had to get the matching Bath Bomb! This has a very similar scent but is a lot more subtle, so if the shower cream is a bit much for you this would be better suited! The green bath bomb slowly fizzes away in the bath revealing a gorgeous wine coloured inner! Not only does it look and smell amazing it also tingles with your sense of hearing once the popping candy comes in to play! The next two things I picked up were new to me and I'm pretty sure they were new to the range this year as well. Lets start with Boo the Bath Melt ... isn't he just the cutest! I love some of the melts Lush do and I cannot wait to try this one out! Packed with a bunch of oils and cocoa butter this is going to do some serious work on your skin! I'm hoping its going to be a bit like the golden egg Lush do at Easter time! Last but definitely not least is Pumpkin! I opted for this Bath Bomb over the Sparkly Pumpkin Bubble Bar, mainly because the glitter gets everywhere! No one wants to spend an age cleaning they're bath when they've just had a super relaxing bath right? This has a tasty sweet scent with an almost baked goods vibe? The main ingredients listed are Vanilla and Cinnamon ... YAAS!

Well, that's the end of what was a super rambly post I'm sure! But I do hope you guys have enjoyed this post! Let me know if you have tried anything from the range! Or if there's any Christmas bits that you've picked up that I need to add to my list! Have a lovely week and I shall be back again next Sunday! See you lovely people then!

THE BODY SHOP REVIEW - CHINESE GINSENG AND RICE MASK

Happy Sunday Everyone! ... Okay let's have a quick catch up, I know I've been absent for a loooong time, I know. And I'm so sorry, but I just let adult life take over! All I've done for the past few months is work! I've had a change in role at work and I've just spent a bit of time finding my feet and I can honestly say I'm in such a good place right now with work! I've got some time off and I started reading through my blog ... it made me realise that I enjoy blogging so much and I need to start making time for our little community! So here I am! Today I'm going to do a little review for you on one of the masks that The Body Shop have recently released. If you've ready my blog before you'll know I love face masks and some pamper time ... I also love The Body Shop! So when I heard that they were releasing some brand new masks I knew I had to get my hands on them!

The actual mask comes in a beautiful dark glass jar which for makes it look and feel so much more expensive. It's not the most travel friendly but I always have an empty lush tub so if I need to take it on the road with me I just decant a little! As you guys know I love an exfoliating mask and the rice in this mask is such a lovely soft exfoliator, if you have more of a sensitive skin type this would be a good one for you because it is not an abrasive exfoliant at all its super gentle. Along with the rice the mask is packed with sesame seed oil and ginseng extract, all three ingredients combined will reveal brighter-looking, even and supple feeling skin according to The Body Shops website! I've used this mask a few times over the last few weeks and I have to say it has won me over. I typically enjoy a more abrasive scrub because I feel like it's doing something. But as I was washing the mask off under the shower I could really feel the mask working, I tend to work the mask in whilst washing it off to really exfoliate and cleanse the skin. The creamy formula meant that my skin didn't feel overly dried or have that tugging feeling some of us get when we have used a face mask. There was no lingering scent and my skin did look and feel much cleaner and brighter! Hope you guys enjoyed this review and let me know if you have tried one the masks from the new range at The Body Shop! I would love to hear your thought and recommendations! Have a lovely week and I shall be back again on Sunday with another post ... see you then!

THE BODY SHOP MACA ROOT SHAVING KIT

Happy Sunday Everyone! There's been a lot going on in the past week and I really needed some retail therapy to help me feel better and so I went into town and visited my local Body Shop! It's been a while since I last had a massive splurge and I really wanted to treat myself ... let's just say there will be a few Body Shop reviews popping up over the next few weeks! The first thing I'm going to share with you guys is a few bits I picked up to change up my shaving routine!

The kit was actually a super last minute purchase, I was waiting in the queue to pay and spotted the display in the corner. I walked over and had a gander before a lovely assistant came over to tell me a little bit more about the range. I took little to no convincing, honestly ... I basically just said I'll take it! I've been reading a lot about shaving and the best way to shave and I had read a lot about the benefits of using a shaving cream with a brush over a basic shaving foam. There was an offer in store and it worked out cheaper to buy the three pieces individually, I didn't get a fancy tin but let's be honest I'd probably just lose it anyway! I picked up the Maca Root Shave Cream, a Wooden Shaving Brush and also the Maca Root Razor Relief! My regular shaving routine usually takes place in the morning after a shower, I find that a hot shower opens the pores up nicely in the face and also softens the hair to allow for a smoother shave. I also tend to use a mild face wash or 'The MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator' to cleanse my skin and to remove any dirt. I've been using a Gillette razor ever since I started shaving and I've always found that it gets the job done. In terms of prepping my skin for shaving I've used gels and foams before and again it gets the job done and really that's all I can ask for ... until now!

So last night before bed I decided I was going to give the kit a go and I have to say I am super impressed! I didn't have a shower last night and so I was a little uncertain but I thought I would power through anyway. I gave my face a quick wash using a face wash before reaching for the Maca Root Shave Cream. Now, I have never used a cream before to shave with and there wasn't really any directions to follow so I just got on with it! Using the lid of the tub as a palette, I dabbed the shaving brush into the cream quite lightly - the brush at this point had already been ran under the tap. I then swirled the product in the lid to build up a lather. Because I normally use foam it wasn't really what I expected. The cream did lather but it only very slightly, I used the brush to distribute the cream evenly onto the face in circular motions, another tip I have read about recently! I used my regular razor to shave with and I have to say it gave me the closes shave I have ever had! The cream had enough slip to let the blades glide with ease over the skin but enough give to allow for a super close shave. It was a comfortable and easy shave and I didn't have to go over any areas, before I would always go back over my face as I was never really happy with what I was left with, there would always be little patches that I couldn't quite reach. Another thing I noticed was how clean my razor was after I had finished! This might sound gross but the foam would tend to clump up between the razor and I would have to spend a few minutes giving it a good clean to make sure it was clean and ready for next time! This time however there was nothing, all I had to do was run it under the tap and I was done! The overall finish was really amazing, there were no patches and my skin was left feeling clean and refreshed. I did find that my skin felt a little bit dry and stripped of it's oils almost however I normally experience this after shaving anyway and I always apply something after shaving to rehydrate my skin. This is where the Maca Root Razor Relief comes in! The formula is super light and the cream is quite watery, I usually like quite a thick shaving balm but this works just as well as any other balms I have used in the past. My skin tends to get irritated after shaving and I normally give in and start scratching, this of course just makes the itch worse and then the redness begins! However after applying some of the razor relief my skin felt instantly cooled and there was no itching whatsoever! I would always apply moisturiser once it has sunk into the skin but honestly I have to say this did leave my skin feeling super soft and did have a certain element of hydration! Overall this kit is definitely a winner for me and I can honestly say this has changed the way I will be shaving from now on!

Hope you guys enjoyed this post, I know it's slightly different from the usually beauty posts you would see on here but I am honestly so happy with the kit I had to share how much I loved it all with you lot! Let me know if any of you guys have tried any of the grooming products from The Body Shop before or anything else that you might think I'll take a fancy too! I picked up the new Pinta Colada shower gel and it smells like holiday! But I'd love to know if there is anything else I should be grabbing on my next trip into town! Hope you guys have a lovely week and I shall see you on the next one!