Second five days of the YouBeauty advent calendar (Blogmas day 10)

Jess here,

This year for christmas I have got the YouBeauty advent calendar, this is an advent calendar filled with skincare products, makeup and general beauty products and I thought I would share what I get in my calendar every five days. So here is the second five days of the YouBeauty advent calendar 2014:

Day six) An aromatherapy candle, since I have got this I have burnt it each day when I'm either in the shower or bath and it fills my whole bathroom with the nicest relaxing scent, I definitely think that when I finish burning this one I will be purchasing another!

Day seven) A Sisley radiant glow express mask, I used this the day I got it and although I did not see any results of my skin glowing it definitely made my skin feel as smooth as a baby's bottom and along with the aromatherapy candle was the perfect combination for a relaxing night.

Day eight) A Philip Kingsley hair elasticizer this product is to be used on you hair as a mask before you shampoo and condition, I am yet to use this as it is a 10-20 minute treatment and I have not had the time, however I am really looking forward to see if it makes a difference to my hair.

Day nine) A Teeez desert metal mascara, I am in love with the wand for this mascara!!! The actual mascara formula is great too, and at one point when I was wearing it I even rubbed my eye and it didn't smudge, however the applicator is what makes this product, because it is so thin at the top it makes getting my inner eye and bottom lashes so much easier than using a normal mascara wand does, so I would highly recommend this product. A smudge proof easy to apply black mascara! 

Day ten) And finally I got a Burt's bees almond and milk hand cream, it smells delicious and exactly like marzipan, I can imagine the smell getting quite sickly if I used it all the time however I am going to make sure I only use it when I really need to.

-J xox 

Jess's top three winter time skin care products (Blogmas day 9)

Jess here,

For today's Blogmas I will be counting down my top 3 winter skin/body products:

3) Number three is my Soap and Glory Butter yourself moisturiser, I love to use this throughout the winter time because during this period my skin gets dry so using this once every two days (because I'm too lazy to do it everyday) really helps keep my skins moisture up.

 

2) Number Two is my Clinque facial soap and toner, this two step process makes my skin feel clean and it feels like it really cleans out all the impurities, I do this routine once a day.

1) And finally my Number One product for the wintertime is my evening moisturiser, this is a really intense moisturiser so because I have an oily complexion I only use this once every couple of days, but when I do it works wonders on my skin.

Thanks for reading,

-J xox

Hannah's top three winter time skin care products (Blogmas day 11)

Hannah here!

For today's blogmas post it was my turn to do my favourite winter skincare products! During These cold months I find that my skin really suffers so I try extra hard to maintain a good scincare routine. Here are my top three winter scincare products!

3) St Ives Face Scrub (apricot) 

This face scrub has been a real life saver this winter as I tend to get dry patches on both my face and arms. This scrub can be used anywhere on your body to gently exfoliate the skin, removing dull surface cells. I use this product in the shower once or twice a week and find that it leaves my skin feeling so much healthier. 

2) Garner Micellar Cleanser

This is a product that Jess introduced to me a few months ago and I am obsessed! After reading Jess' blogpost on the clenser I had to try it. This is a miracle product that not only cleanses your face, but can remove all makup quickly. It is the most efficient and gentle skin product I have ever tried. 

1) The Body Shop Tea Tree Toner

My favourite winter skin care product has to be The Body Shop's tea tree toner. I have a very oily t-zone making me prone to breakouts. Since using this product I have noticed a dramatic difference in my skin and would never dream of going back! 

Thank you for reading! I hope you are enjoying blogmas, and found this post both enjoyable and useful! -H xox

Gingerbread Recipe (Blogmas Day 8)

Hannah here!

Gingerbread is my favourite Christmas treat, so here is my simple and foolproof recipe for gingerbread cookies!

Ingredients:

90g clear honey

175g soft dark brown sugar

60g soft unsalted butter

350g plain flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon mixed spice (I always add a touch of ground cinnamon)

1 medium egg beaten

(Its difficult to say how many gingerbread cookies this recipe makes as it depends on the cutters you use, but it definitely makes a decent batch)

Method

1. Over a low heat, melt together the honey, sugar and butter. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile sift the flour, baking powder and spices in a bowl and add the egg.

3. Pour the sugar mixture and mix well to form a soft dough. Cover the dough with cling film or a plastic bag when its not being.

4. Roll out the dough on a floured surface an cut it into whatever shapes take your fancy.

A festive idea is to make a hole in your biscuits with a straw, then a ribbon can be placed through the hole and they can be hung from your christmas tree as a decoration.

5. Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with a sheet of baking paper and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 180C/ 350F/ Gas 4.

6. Leave to cool and then decorate with icing and any sweets or treats you have to hand.


I had a lovely time making these gingerbread cookies at the weekend with my 4 year old godson. Here is a picture of our marvellous creations, its safe to say I had a helping hand!

Hope you enjoyed reading, let me know if you try out this recipe!
-H xox

Christmas decorations (Blogmas day 7)

Jess and Hannah here,

We both love Christmas (as you can tell) and one thing that gets us into the Christmassy mood is decorating our house so in this blog post we thought we would share our top three Christmas decorations with you!! 

Hannah's top three: 

I absolutely adore Christmas, and coming from Denmark we have lots of wonderful decorations all over our house. Here are my top three:

3) This Christmas house is one of my favourite decorations as it fascinates me as a child, a tea light can be placed inside to make it look extra cosy.

2) As most people know Cinderella holds a very special place in my heart.

1) In Denmark it's tradition to make these paper hearts to decorate your Christmas tree with, so making these with my mum and hanging them on our tree is one of my favourite parts of Christmas.

Jess's top three:

It was so so so hard to choose my top three Christmas decorations because as soon as December 1st rolls in our house is filled top to bottom with all different kinds of decorations from stockings to buntin to nativity scenes, however I have managed to whittle it down to my top three: 

3) Number three is our display nativity scene, we have two nativity scenes, this one which is my favourite mainly because of the intricacy on each figure, and then we have a wooden (unbreakable) set which can be played with by the children in the family.

2) At number two I have chosen this Disney Noel sign, my mum bought this one year in Disneyland Paris and it has been on the shelf throughout Christmas time ever since.

1) And finally at number one I have chose our indoor Christmas tree as my favourite Christmas decoration, mainly because of the soft toys underneath which I have many memories of playing with as a child. 

   

Thank you for reading all about our favourite Christmas decorations, we hope you enjoyed reading it.

-J&H xox 

❄️ Book review: 'Let it snow' ❄️ (Blogmas Day 6)

Hannah here!

Recently I read the rather festive book 'Let it snow' and thought it would make the perfect book review for day 6 of blogmas!

 It is a winter themed book of three holiday romances, written by three different authors. The authors are Maureen Johnson, Lauren Miracle, and John Green. Each author has written their own "winter romance" themed short story that all intertwine slightly. I loved the variety it offered in both characters and writing styles. I was also very impressed by the consideration the three authors had given for the other stories to create a well-written, and festive collection. This is a book I would thoroughly recommend to anyone who enjoys a light read and wants to get into the Christmas spirit! 

Thank you for reading, and lt me know if you, read 'let it snow'! I hope you are all enjoying December and all its wintery fun!

-H xox 

First five days of the YouBeauty advent calendar (Blogmas day 5)

Jess here,
This year for christmas I have got the YouBeauty advent calendar, this is an advent calendar filled with skincare products, makeup and general beauty products and I thought I would share what I get in my calendar every five days. So here is the first five days of the YouBeauty advent calendar 2014:

Day 1) A Liz Earle cleanse and polish mini set, I am so happy to have received this as I have been wondering whether to buy this skin care product for months and now I can test it out, when I tried this I loved it, this product made my face feel so nice and the idea of having the muslin cloth to wipe your face is very clever.

Day 2) A Laura Mercier foundation primer, I had not heard of this product before so I am very excited to try this out, when I tested it on my hand it felt very light and smooth so hopefully it will be the same when using it on my face (which I have not done yet as I do not wear facial makeup on weekdays as I am just going to school) 

Day 3) A Molton brown orange and bergamot body wash, this smells delicious and I'm so disappointed its so small as I am in love with the smell! 

Day 4) An Essie nail polish, this is he colour peak of chic, I think this nail polish an be used by itself or as an over coat, however I personally think it would look nicer over another colour nail polish! I really like this as it is sparkley and Christmassy!!! 

Day 5) A caudalìe nourishing body lotion, this is an anti oxidant moisturising body cream (however I think I will put it in my bag as a hand cream as it is the perfect size), I am not sure how to describe the smell, and at first I was not sure if I liked it however it is definitely growing on me each time I use it! 

Thanks for Reading,
-J xox