So we've made it to the end of another year, hurrah! Although I usually prefer to peruse other bloggers' favourite product roundups, this year I feel as though I've discovered so many excellent staples, I just have to collate them here for you. I've primarily focused on beauty with a slight diversion into clothing - enjoy!

Stand out product: Bobbi Brown Corrector for under eyes
I'd never really used Bobbi Brown products before this year, although it is definitely a brand I was interested in. One afternoon in Bluewater I found myself drawn to their counter and before long I was in the chair having this beauty applied to my eyebags. Needless to say, my credit card was out within seconds of seeing the effects. It's taken me more than 6 months to hit pan, with daily usage, and I cannot even contemplate not repurchasing. It doesn't obscure my dark circles completely due to my face structure, but it really helps brighten everything up and prolongs the wear of my concealer. Love love love! I can't believe I haven't done a full review for this yet - I intend to rectify this issue as soon as possible!

Budget buy: Rimmel Volume Flash x 10 mascara
This is the year I rediscovered my love for high street mascaras, in particular this excellent mascara by Rimmel. It's on a par with any luxury mascara I've used in the past, for under £6! I've waxed lyrical about this mascara on many occasions, so to cut this short, feel free to read my review here.

New in: Revlon Colorstay liquid liner
This was borne from a long running wish to rediscover a favourite from my school days. On a class trip to Madrid, I picked up a Bourjois liquid liner in brown and loved it so much more than the usual black! As is frequently the case when I discover a product I love (Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara, I'm looking at you...), Bourjois later discontinued the liner and I went back to using black. For years. Until my lovely friend Geo tracked this down for me and bought it for my Christmas present! I think I've used the black version of this eyeliner before, many moons ago, and still really enjoy it. It's long lasting and super simple to apply, plus the brown shade makes my daily cat eye look so much softer! Win!

Hello my lovelies, happy holidays!

I do apologise for the silence on the blog over the last 2 weeks, I have been sans laptop and have only just managed to commandeer my sister's machine while she is out of the house...

How exactly are we halfway through December already? I cannot quite grasp how quickly this year has rushed by - the new year is rapidly approaching and I'm just not ready! It's been a bit tricky getting myself in the Christmas mood this year, the festive season has crept up on me without adequate preparation. It doesn't help that we decided to forgo a tree this year, partly to save money and partly because we aren't going to be in the flat for Christmas so felt it wouldn't be appreciated. In order to combat the growing stress at work and to get myself feeling really festive, I felt a day out in London was in order!

I gathered up my companions and off we trundled to Covent Garden in search of bright lights and Christmas trees. Some gift shopping took place... And I may have treated myself to this adorably fluffy faux fur headband! I'm going skiing with my family over the festive period and thought this would keep my ears nice and toasty (when I'm not wearing my helmet of course - safety first, people!). Teamed with my red coat and over knee boots I did feel a bit like I was channelling Santa Claus style... But it only added to our general festive mood.

Covent Garden is one of my favourite places in London, but if you are irritable and of an impatient nature it's also one of the worst. I can usually manage around half an hour of browsing before I need to dash down a quiet side street and take a moment to breathe, away from the hordes of shoppers and tourists. What a perfect opportunity for blog photos, taken by my lovely cousin Naomi! We milled about by the river for some time, enjoying the sunshine, until we got too chilled (and hungry) and darted into a nearby Byron burger bar for some sustenance. Delish!

Only ten days to go now... what are you doing to feel festive? I'm planning an evening of wrapping presents and watching Michael Bublé's Christmas Special!

Love Dani
xoxo

Hello lovelies,

Not my usual outfit post today I'm afraid... Although I have been dressing with the best of intentions, it's just too cold for me to throw off my coat and pose for outfit photos without risking frostbite. Instead I thought I would share some of my snaps from a recent visit to Canterbury (with a sneaky shot of me adjusting the settings on my friend's camera!).

I love Canterbury at Christmas. The cobblestone medieval charm is magnified in the run up to the festive season, with trees draped in lights and storefronts glowing in the early dusk. One of my favourite memories of Canterbury was rushing around the high street one December, picking up the last remaining gifts on my list. My priority was to source a gypsy tart for my mum's birthday, and eventually stumbled across one of the tiny bakeries down the Westgate end of the town. I paid for the cake, they wrapped it up in a little parcel for me, and as I stepped out the shop it began to snow.

Meandering back down the cobbled high street, with the smell of roast chestnuts filling the air, paper parcels clasped in my gloved hands, I felt as though I'd walked into a Charles Dickens story! Simply beautiful.

Tiny Tim's tea room, pictured at the top, perfectly represents the olde world charm of Canterbury at Christmas - doesn't it look like a little Christmas card?

Where is your favourite place to visit at Christmas? Another of my favourites is the Christmas market at home in Luxembourg - my sister has just done a post on it and I can't stop craving potato cakes and churros!

Love Dani
xoxo

I have to be completely honest here. The whole point of this post, the whole driving force behind its creation, is that I found a bunch of pretty photos on Pinterest, and liked them enough to write about them. But it's December. It is officially that time of year when it's perfectly acceptable to slather yourself in glitter and sequins, and, should the mood strike you, write about how you wish to slather yourself in glitter and sequins. So here we are.

If I were some utter glamourpuss with a a social calendar groaning under the weight of engagements and parties to attend, then I would at some point be rocking this first look. And the second look. The more sequins, the better! Liberally apply some sort of glue to your face and just dip your entire head in sequins! Alas, the sort of parties I attend will for the majority be frequented by people who will doubt my professional integrity, should I rock up with sequins on my cheeks. So I'll restrict the glitter to my eyes, where any sparkle will for the most part be cleverly concealed by my fringe.

Saying that, I do love this tutorial by Bloomin Rouge, I'm definitely going to try and recreate it for our office Christmas party! The gold liner is subtle but super effective, and looks great paired with a statement red lip. I do need a gold liner from somewhere, let me know if you have any recommendations! I may cave and purchase the Maybelline Colour Tattoo gold pot if all else fails.

Another one of my favourite looks this time of year is the burgundy shadow with a deep berry lip - perfect when paired with a big snuggly cream jumper and windswept curls. My favourite product for this look is the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre cream shadow in Ebloui - I reviewed it some time ago but it's still going strong. My sister Minnie actually posted a similar look recently with smoky browns and a deep red lip, I love it! This will probably be my look for Christmas Day as it makes a change from my usual liner and bright lip - not that there is anything wrong with that of course, just look how fabulously Mila Kunis rocks that cat eye!

What's inspiring you at the moment? Or have you done any Christmas party make up looks? Link below if you have!

Love Dani
xoxo

One of my biggest frustrations in life is my skin. I dream of having blemish-free skin. That's all - it doesn't have to be radiant or even-toned, just clear. I think the last time I had clear skin was 2008, for about a week when we went skiing in the French Alps. That, right there, is a testament to how long I have been struggling with my skin. It eased off a little bit two years ago after the introduction of Vichy to my skincare routine, but soon developed resistance and has been absolutely out of control ever since.

I've tried increasing my water intake, changing my diet, reducing dairy, stripping back the products I use, going foundation-free... all without success. At the end of November I found myself wandering into the Body Shop in search of tea tree lotion, but my eye was soon drawn by the promises of clearer skin in 3 days, as assured by the tagline on this Tea Tree kit.

The kit contains:
Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion (RRP £9.00)
Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner (RRP £5.00)
Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser (RRP £5.00)
Tea Tree Squeaky Clean Scrub (RRP £6.50)
Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion (RRP £9.00)

With a saving over £10, I found this was pretty good value for money. I also like having matching products in my bathroom, so if you're slightly concerned with things being the same then you too will appreciate this. I'm no stranger to tea tree so the smell doesn't put me off, but if you're sensitive to scent and don't like smelling like a plant, then it's probably not for you. The big pull for me was the idea of having a whole skincare routine in a bag for £23 - it's rare for me to use products from the same line or brand as I'm usually mixing and matching my skincare, but I thought it was worth a try!

I decided the only way to properly test this out was to use no other skincare product for the duration of the trial period, although I did continue to apply primer and make up as usual. I began the test on Sunday 30th November, so according to the claims on the kit, my skin should be seeing results by Wednesday 3rd December.

In the mornings, I used the foam cleanser in the shower, followed by a sweep of the toner, then the moisturising lotion. In the evenings I used the foaming cleanser (with a dab of oil on my eyes as I didn't find the foam properly removed my mascara), followed by the toner, the blemish fade lotion, and some nights I also dabbed a bit of moisturiser on as I found my skin felt a bit drier than usual. I used the face scrub a couple of times a week as my skin doesn't like too much exfoliation - however, the scrub is certainly gentle enough to use daily on non-sensitive skin and I actually found it to be the gentlest product of the bunch.


Was my skin clearer after 3 days? Not quite, although I noticed some fading on older spots. I did get a few new ones throughout, but they seem to dry out pretty quickly and didn't cause me as much grief as they usually do. I experienced a little stinging after applying the toner and both lotions, although it soon faded and didn't leave me with any redness. If you have hyper-sensitive skin then I would probably recommend seeking advice before using these items.

My favourites are the toner and the night lotion, as I feel like they could be really beneficial to my skin - the toner is a lot gentler than I imagined. I also like the scrub a lot because it's not as abrasive as I was expecting it to be, and does leave my skin feeling nice and soft. I can take or leave the cleanser as I'm a fan of gel cleansers over foaming ones, and the daily moisturiser is nice but perhaps not as deeply moisturising as I would like for winter skin. I can see it working a treat over the summer months though!

Overall I would say my feelings are fairly positive towards the products, although the 3 day claim is a bit over-enthusiastic! I'm definitely going to keep using the routine and see if there are any substantial improvements - if so then I will update this post. I would recommend the products but definitely take the 3 day claim with a pinch of salt! Nothing works overnight of course but I'm hoping in the long run my skin will start to behave.

Have you tried the Body Shop's tea tree skincare? Did it work for you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love Dani
xoxo