Christmas Wishlist

As I've got older, my Christmas lists seem to get shorter and shorter... In all honesty, I actually dread getting lots of presents because it means having to find somewhere to store my new stuff which is a nightmare as I have a tiny room that I share with my boyfriend now. That said, my Perfume Collection takes up a huge part of the room and I'm still lusting after more, oops. I'm realising that my wishlist for Christmas this year is mostly practical; I've spent a lot of this winter feeling less than my best so I want some comfy hoodies and strong shoes, as well as some fluffy slippers to keep me warm inside the house. It's almost a tradition in my family to give me either some Pandora charms, Cath Kidston items or some make up, such as a mascara. My mama always says if she doesn't know what to buy me, she will always buy something from one of those categories. I'm desperate to find a new bag or purse that I like and will last for a while; I have a habit of using literally the same bag all the time so I need something strong. I love Radly purses, so I'm hoping to snap one up in the Boxing Day sales, and hopefully a bag too but they're so pricey I'm not sure if my budget will allow me.

 

If I'm completely honest, I'm not a massive brat for presents and never really have been as I was brought up not to expect too much and be grateful for what I did get; but the whole point of this post was to dream a little so I've picked quite a large array of different things that in another life I've love to receive but will mostly save up for and buy for my myself, haha. The ballet shoes are probably the most surprising choice, but I actually took ballet lessons for 15 years and it's something I would've definitely persued if it wasn't for an injury when I was 7 years old. Ballet was my first love and I was completely obsessed with it. I'm intending to get back into ballet or at least some form of dance as I absolutely loved it and I do miss it a lot. I stopped because of A-Levels and as an adult I want to find that happiness again, for me ballet was a great way to relax. It didn't feel like exercise and it helped clear my mind, so it seems like a good idea to relearn ballet positions and get into pointe shoes again.

 

There's quite a few different kinds of make up that I've been lusting after for a while; I'd like some more lipsticks from MAC as I have Ruby Woo and I love it, I want some pink and nude shades too, as well as a highlighter as I have a basic one that has been used to death, so an upgrade is definitely required... I'm not sure what one I'd like but I guarantee I'll fall in love with a ridiculously expensive one and have to save up for ages. I've been resisting buying a Naked palette for so long, but I think I'll give in soon... I'm quite a nude and pinks person so the Naked 3 is more or less heaven to me, but the price isn't, sadly. I have some make up brushes already, but the zoeva brushes, however expensive they are look so nice and reviews state that they're really soft... I don't need them, but the whole point of a wishlist is to hope, right? I also am desperate to have all 3 of the Marc Jacobs Lush limited edition perfumes as they look and smell divine, hopefully I'll manage to buy all three before the end of January; as well as a new DSLR camera. In an ideal world, I'd love the canon 80D, but in reality the 700D is more in line with my budget.

My Perfume Collection #5

Over the past couple of months, my Perfume Collection has expanded a lot; I've become a bit more careful about where I buy from and the price that I pay for perfume, as if you look around enough you can find online good prices that you won't find in stores. There are several discount websites that offer good brands for good prices, and eBay is another good choice if you don't mind paying for slightly used items. I bought Mademoiselle Ricci L'eau by Nina Ricci for the bargain price of £14.95 for 30ml; because I looked around and researched different sites and prices, similarly with Hidden Fantasy by Britney Spears. I paid £12.50 for the 100ml which was a fantastic price for the size of the perfume. Very fruity, floral and fresh, with notes of stargazer lily, orange, tangerine, grapefruit blossom, jasmine and amber, it lasts for a few hours but smells amazing and feels nice on the skin, too. Like the other Fantasy fragrances, it comes in a round bottle, in the colourtones of red with pink crystals scattered around and looks lovely as a part of the Fantasy set. I now own 5 different Fantasy perfumes and love all of them.

 

I was so excited to finally get my grubby little paws on Daisy Blush by Marc Jacobs after seeing so many bloggers review the limited edition Blush series of perfumes. I bought the 50ml bottle for £45, which was very pricey but the smell is lovely. With notes of pear, water lily, honeysuckle, lily of the valley, mimosa and bergamot the fragrance is very floral with a hint of musk. The bottle itself is very cute, with the fragrance as a pretty pink shade inside the clear bottle and topped off with 3 daisies in different shades of pink with gold centres sitting as a lid over the spritzer. As this is a limited edition fragrance I felt like I couldn't wait any longer as they don't get sold forever. Which is good, as it gave me the push to purchase, but also dangerous as it meant it was a bit of a spur of the moment purchase... Oops. I don't regret it, as it's a lovely smell and looks nice with the recast of my collection.

Another Marc Jacobs fragrance that I decided to buy was Daisy Eau So Fresh, which for £44 and 75ml was a good price as the bottle is much bigger than Daisy Blush. I actually wore this perfume for my graduation from university as I love the smell so much, although I have to say I had to keep reapplying it as it didn't seem to last well, which was a shame. That said, the smell is absolutely divine with notes of raspberry, plum, violet, apple, grapefruit, jasmine, rose and tree blossom. I felt really adult and sophisticated when I was wearing it at graduation, and I felt like I needed it in my life again, but this time in the bottle form and not as a sample. The bottle itself is very pretty, with a clear bottle and pale pink fragrance coming through; there's a burst of flowers that make up the lid in white, pale pink and yellow with gold centres that cap off the spritzer. The Daisy fragrances have a very distinctive feature through the floral lids and as such, they look absolutely lovely when on display.

 

I bought another perfume by Vera Wang, although I didn't buy from her Princess range; I purchased Lovestruck Floral Rush for the excellent price of £19 but the bottle is tiny, even for 30ml which was a bit of a disappointment. It has an interesting smell and I'm not sure if I like it yet; I definitely don't love it and I don't see it becoming a favourite fragrance of mine any time soon. It has notes of champagne, apricot blossom, pink pepper, freesia, Passion flower, marigold and cashmere food. I usually love floral scents but I haven't gelled with this one properly yet; it feels a little too flowery and sweet to the point that it's a little sickly. However the bottle is very pretty, with a small rectangular shape, shaded in purple with Lovestruck written in lime green surrounded by a heart and arrow. The lid of the bottle is what makes this perfume so visually pleasing, with several purple tulips topped off by a purple and lime green patterned bow covering the spritzer. It looks nice paired with the Marc Jacobs Daisy range. 

The latest addition to my Perfume Collection is the Rosa Excelsa by Dolce and Gabbana, having smelt it in duty free at the airport in Poland, I knew that I had to have it... I love the smell instantly and Piotr loved it too, so it was one I knew I would love. However it's an expensive scent and so I decided that I should wait until I have the money. I actually found this scent on eBay for £29, so I snapped it up as the RRP is £55; quite a large difference in the price! I have the 50ml bottle. I don't regret buying this perfume whatsoever, it lasts for ages on my skin and I feel very feminine and pretty whenever I wear it. I adore floral scents and this one consists of papaya blossom, white amaryllis, water lily, daffodil, neroli leaves,  Turkish rose and African dog rose. The bottle itself is beautiful too, heavy pink frosted glass makes up the rounded shape that holds the fragrance and the lid is a sculpted red rose with a black bow around the neck of the gold spritzer. Overall it's look is very high end and classy and goes well with the other perfumes shown in this part of my collection.

 

November Favourites

I always seem to have a lot of similar Favourites every single month; I really love perfume, my iPhone as well as various different kinds of make up. This month I've gotten a bit more into make up again, although I'm still wearing much less than I used to. I've recently purchased a new Britney Spears perfume and I absolutely loved the packaging. I love the designs of perfume bottles in general, actually. Where it's getting colder no I'm thinking about keeping warm so my uggs have literally been a saviour the past month, however ugly they may look.

 

1. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose

2. Nina Ricci Mademoiselle Ricci L'eau

3. Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream in Ivory

4. Britney Spears Island Fantasy

5. NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in London

6. Vera Wang Preppy Princess

7. Maybelline Age Rewind Eye Concealer in Light

8. Britney Spears Hidden Fantasy

9. iPhone 6s 64gb rose gold

10. Ugg Australia Classic II Short Boot

A Mini Haul #2 // POSITIVITY

So, after having a rough year and generally feeling like both my mental health and confidence had hit rock bottom, I surprised myself by somehow getting a push to apply for another job. After saying for months that I want to overhaul my life, I suppose you could say that I was finally taking the steps to do so. In all honesty, it was a shock to even get an interview date as I'd applied for similar posts at the same place on and off for the past seven years. I don't know why I expected this time to be any different. I don't think I've been so nervous in my life, the amount that I wanted to get this job was so fierce that I found confidence from somewhere and I did my absolute best.

I'm completely ecstatic to say that the push that I received from those around me, my family, my boyfriend and friends paid off; I GOT THE JOB. Over the course of the past few months I have finally started to realise that you need to make your own path in life and you can be the master of your own luck. I would never have gotten it a few months ago, finding a more positive vibe has made such a difference to every aspect of my life. No I'm not recovered and I doubt I ever fully will be, but I'm in recovery and I've learnt to accept that there is nothing wrong with that. I just need to adapt to my own needs.

 

As a result of having a good start to the end of this year, I decided that no matter how poor I am, it was high time for a little treat. You'll know from one of my previous posts how much I love perfumes, so I only went and purchased Mademoiselle Ricci L'eau by Nina Ricci; yes, it was the 30ml bottle but for the price it was worth every penny and I love it. Costing £14.50, it was the perfect treat for finally starting to get properly better and get a new job. Smelling of rose, jasmine, peony, litchi, cedar and musk it's a light but very pretty scent and for the price I paid, so worth it. It doesn't last massively long, but the bottle is very pretty with a pale pink base bottle closed off by a pink ribbon around the spritzer.

 

I've also had my eyes on the limited edition Marc Jacobs Daisy Blush and I don't know what better time could be the excuse to have a splurge! I'd been lusting after this perfume ever since I saw the advertisements in the newspapers, magazines and on billboards. It was fairly expensive at £45 for the 50ml bottle but I really do like how the bottle looks with the pink glass topped by three differing shades of pink rubber flowers that lies on top of the spritzer. The gold accents are very cute as well. Smelling of water lily, pear, lily of the valley, mimosa, honeysuckle, musk and wood it's a very floral scent, and quite light on the skin. I love the smell, but I wish the smell would hold for longer. I have to reapply its prettiness if I want it to last more than an hour or so, which I think is a bit disappointing for the price. Regardless of that, it was exciting to treat myself and now I'm looking forward to hai. A good few months. At moment, life is on the up. I'm hoping that it stays there :)

My Perfume Collection #4

The last few bottles in my Perfume Collection (so far, I'm sure that it will keep growing) are by three completely different people, but I've grouped them together because they're scents that I usually wear in the summer months as they feel lighter and more summery, somehow. Ricci Ricci by Nina Ricci is genuinely one of my favourite ever perfumes, in terms of scent and bottle design. Purple is one of my favourite colours and has been since I was a young child, which coupled with the beautifully designed bow closure is more or less the perfect perfume bottle design for me. I love how it looks on my chest of drawers. I haven't worn this scent much recently, but I used it so much during the months of May to September, so it reminds me a lot of summer and nice weather. I have the 50ml version, as this perfume is actually pretty pricey, but I do think that it's worth it. It was around £40, so one of the most expensive perfumes that I own. However, the smell is so lovely with notes of rhubarb, bergamot, rose, sandalwood and patchouli.

 

I had lusted after ME by Lanvin for what felt like years; ever I smelled the scent one day when I was in Selfridges with a friend during university, actually. I had purchased one of those small taster style mini bottles of the scent at the time as that was all I could afford but I never forgot how much I wanted it. You can only imagine my excitement when it was finally mine! The bottle design is super classy, with a black top covering the spritzer and featuring an embossed Lanvin logo. The bottle is is a gold shade in a rectangular shape with ME written in sparkly gold which matches the neck of the bottle. It also features a diamonté with hanging gold chain. I paid roughly £20 and I don't regret it at all, I absolutely love this scent. It's both fruity and floral with tones of blueberry, tangerine, rose, licorice and sandalwood. It's a scent that I wear on days that I need an added confidence boost.

 

The final scent is Amor Amor L'eau by Cacharel, which I'm really glad to have bought when I did as it was a limited edition scent for summer 2014 and as a result is almost impossible to find now. I do like how Cacharel have a set bottle design, the circular, streamlined shape with the signature Amor Amor font on the bottle itself, with a cute spring tucked around the top of the bottle and the spritzer. As this was a summer edition, the shades of blue and green coupled with the pink spritzer have a very girly feel and the smell only adds to this. I have the 100ml bottle and paid around £25, so it was excellent value for money. For me, this scent epitomises the feels of a summers day. The scent is of cola, citrus, vanilla, floral, musk and amber. It sounds like such a random mix of ingredients but the smell is really lovely and I wore it so much during those long summer days.

Top 10 Favourite Perfumes

 

1. Daisy Eau so Fresh - Marc Jacobs

2. Ricci Ricci - Nina Ricci

3. Flower Princess - Vera Wang

4. Daisy Dream - Marc Jacobs

5. Victoria - Victoria's Secret

6. Island Fantasy - Britney Spears

7. Dolce - Dolce and Gabbana

8. Summer For Her - John Paul Gaultier

9. Princess Night - Vera Wang

10. Amor Amor L'eau - Cacharel

I was never a perfume lover until I turned 21 when I was gifted a perfume by a family member... Since then I've literally got so many and I love them so much. I don't wear perfume every day, but whenever I want to feel better about myself or just lift my mood a little I spritz some on and feel amazing. My favourite scents for myself are quite feminine, floral scents with hints of vanilla, fairly summery scents actually. I adore the Marc Jacobs 'Daisy' and the Vera Wang 'Princess' ranges, I like the way the scents are similar but suit different moods and occasions... Plus they're such pretty bottles 😍