Tag: christmas

Autumn Winter Activities

I really like the awesome winter activities available in London. In addition to Christmas lights, there are so many other activities to enjoy. Wrap up warm and head out to experience something new

  • Backyard cinema– the Winter Garden and Snow Kingdom are back this winter! I’ve always missed out on them due to conflicting schedules but this year I am determined to go!
  • Winter wonderland– Winter wonderland is back! The cold weather favourite is the perfect meeting place for a catch up! This year though, you have to prebook tickets (£5). I’ve already booked mine- have you?
  • Syon Park Enchanted Woodland– I went to this 3 years ago and had a good time. It’s a walk in the dark past illuminated trees and illustrations. Highly recommended
  • Christmas at Kew – Christmas at Kew is back! I went to this previously and the light show at the end is awesome. I have a feeling the prices have increased but I definitely recommend it
  • Lightopia Crystal Palace Park– this one is quite local to me so I will make an effort to visit. I think its similar to Syon Park Enchanted Woodland.
  • Winterland at Neverland – open food and drink destination complete with igloos! Pre booking is essential. I’ve never been here but definitely hoping to visit this year!

In addition to these activities, there will be food markets, Christmas lights and markets! The return of igloos comes with the cold weather too (I have never been successful in booking one lol) and most of them have a ridiculous minimum spend

You can also check out Virgin Experience Days for new experiences to try out!

Catch you later

Budget Friendly Christmas Gift Guide: Makeup sets

Are you last minute gift shopping? Last week I posted on skincare gift sets for the skincare lover in your life, be sure to check that out here.

For the makeup obsessed, aspiring MUA’s or just treating yourself to some new makeup, my budget-friendly Christmas gift guide for makeup sets will definitely help you decide what to get. I couldn’t narrow it now so I have 7 excellent value for money sets from well-known brands!

KISS Nails and Eyelashes from £6.49

Technically not a set but why not have fun curating a set for someone? (ask anyone I know and they will tell you how happy I get when I am curating a set for someone! Esp. beauty related!) With a huge range of press on nails (something I am back on!) and lashes, you can personalise a gift with what you know they will love! KISS sent me this beautiful package and I am in love with those lashes! I received Bustier from the Triple Push Up collection and Opulence from the 5th Avenue Collection. I also received the Gel Fantasy ready to wear gel press on nails. These have adhesive tabs so you may not even need glue (however one is included in the pack!)- Never tried press on nails with adhesive tabs so watch out for a review! I love the style of these. I also got impress One Step Gel press on nails – these feature the adhesive tabs as well but doesn’t have glue! Have fun curating! Find KISS products in Superdrug.

Too Faced The Sweet Smell of Christmas, £22 Cult Beauty

I saw the swatches of these liquid lipsticks and I knew I had to include them in my gift guide. I actually purchased this because I loved the shades and it would my 1st lipsticks from too faced. The shades look so nice on dark skin.

Becca Opal On the Go, £20 Cult Beauty

If Becca’s Opal highlighter is not in your arsenal of highlighters then you are truly missing out! If you don’t want to spend the full £32 on the full-size item then this set with a cute mini and its matching liquid highlighter is perfect. I actually have the mini opal and it’s a good enough size plus it will last ages because you know its highlighter and you only need a small amount. Also available in the Rose Gold shade.

Makeup Forever Essential Wonders £22 Debenhams

This is the 1st time I have seen MUFE do this so I had to include. You get 4 travel/mini sizes to play with including their popular step 1 primers.

Sleek Makeup Hella Good Eyes, £15, FeelUnique

Its known that Sleek Makeup have some of the best eyeshadow palettes in the drugstore. In this set you get two of eyeshadow palettes a neutral and a smokey palette to re-create all those looks from YT

ELF X FeelUnique, £17, FeelUnique

An exclusive to Feelunique this ELF box features 5 products and essentials for every makeup look. I reckon it won’t last long so snap it up before it’s too late.

NARS Mini Blush & Bronzer Gift Set, £20, FeelUnique

If you love NARS then this cute mini set is for you! The ionic bronzer (depending on your skin tone this could be a bronzer or a blush), Laguna is one of their best selling product plus a champagne gold highlighter (I may just get this too!)

That’s all folks! I hope you find these helpful! There are so many more gifts online and in store.

If you haven’t signed up for TopCashback then this is the best time to do so. If you shop through the link on the website, you get a % back everytime you shop! It may take a while to give a nice pot but this time of year is the best time to sign up because you are Christmas shopping anyway!

More money-saving tips & tricks here

Catch you later!

Top 5 Beauty Advent Calendars under £70

Beauty Advent calendars keep getting better and this year’s selection are no different! I have searched through a few and I have come up with my top 5 beauty advent calendars under £70! Beauty Advent Calendars are the best way to treat yourself in the lead up to Christmas, discover new products and stock up on travel-sized beauty! If you get a product that doesn’t work for you, they double as great gifts or can be sold on online!

Let’s begin

Birchbox £65

Featuring popular brands like Benefit, the Birchbox advent calendar costs £65 but it’s valued for more than double its price at £179. You will get 24 beauty treats to count you down to Christmas in style

 

Marks & Spencer £70 (£35 with a £35 spend)

If this is your 1st M&S advent calendar then you will really enjoy this! The only reason why I am not excited about this calendar is that it’s full of repeats of the one I got in 2016 ( at least 5-6 products). It’s an excellent choice though so don’t be put off and since you’re Christmas shopping, just do your shop to get it for £35!. It’s sold out online so check in stores!

 

Debenhams £70

Another calendar I really want, the Debenhams beauty advent calendar would be their very 1st calendar they have released. Featuring a £5 gift card and high-end brands they stock, I have already spotted 5 products I would love to try!

Asos Face & Body £55

This is the one I have been very interested in since I saw it! It features a lot of popular brands I love: MAC, Clinique, GlamGlow. I think it’s an excellent choice

 

The BodyShop £59

 With 3 different beauty calendars this year, this calendar featured is the ‘middle’ man of them. It features more body care products than the others mentioned above but it would be perfect for anyone who loves the body lotions and creams from the BodyShop

That’s all folks! These are my top 5 beauty advent calendars of 2018! There are quite a few out there and some very expensive ones but I think these 5 are excellent value for money and will give you enough products to play with in the New Year

I am personally looking at the ASOS and Debenhams calendars and hopefully, I will purchase soon!

Which ones did you pick up?

Sarah

 

Niederegger Marzipan Review

When it comes to Marzipan there is only one authority every marzipan lover knows: Niederegger! The luxury marzipan brand has been making marzipan since 1806 and they are very well known for their high-quality great tasting marzipan! I never knew I was a marzipan lover until I tasted Niederegger marzipans!

Niederegger also has the biggest range of marzipan flavours I have ever seen! Everything from Espresso to Pistachios (so yummy!) and even Apple Strudel (a fav of mine).

What is marzipan?

If you have never had or even heard of marzipan it’s easy to be confused about what I’m talking about. It’s basically ground almond, sugar and egg whites. It can be used for covering cakes but it’s mostly used as sweets dipped in chocolate. Niederegger contains 65% almonds and 35% sugar with no extra sugar added and come with a variety of different covering chocolates e.g. dark or milk chocolate.

I received the Christmas box, full of different flavours Niederegger offers. This has

Marzipan classic variations box (mini sizes: 2 orange, 2 pineapples, 2 expresso, 2 pistachios)

Marzipan flavour of the year 2018 Apple Strudel

Marzipan Santa Claus

Marzipan Stick n Go in Walnut & Rum and Amarena Cherry

Marzipan Tafel- chocolate Classic

Experience

I knew I liked marzipan but after tasting so many different flavours of it, I now LOVE marzipan. Niederegger’s marzipans aren’t overly sweet, I still get the almond taste with the chocolate. My favourite is definitely the pistachio marzipan, who knew almonds and pistachios would go together? I also love the Apple strudel marzipan! This one is covered in whole milk chocolate so was noticeably sweeter than the rest but I also got hints of apple in it. It’s also a big ‘loaf’ definitely couldn’t finish it all in one go. If you love rum then the stick n Go in Rum would be your pick. It’s a strongly flavoured rum covered in milk chocolate. The Amarena Cherry is nice too, the cherry flavour pairs well with the dark chocolate coverage. Marzipan Santa Claus was delicious too, covered in dark chocolate! The mini variations box is an excellent gift on its own too. The Espresso marzipan isn’t too shabby (not a huge fan of coffee) but the orange marzipan, I mean its chocolate and orange and you can never go wrong with that!

Verdict

I think you either like or don’t like marzipan. I love it my brothers don’t lol. If you are a marzipan lover and you haven’t tried Niederegger marzipan you are missing out! I love the gift boxes they have and it will definitely be a great (and yummy) gift for foodies!

Niederegger marzipan and gifts including the Christmas box (will make an excellent Christmas gift) can be purchased in the UK via ChocolateDirects