Nivea #DareToKiss Lips & Giveaway

Tomorrow on New Years Eve, Nivea are attempting to to break a lip-locking record for the longest kissing chain on Twitter and to get involved I thought I would share with you my #DareToKiss lipstick of the day that I will be wearing throughout my new years celebrations.

Of course, a long night is always ahead when it comes to seeing the new year in and in every aspect of getting ready, preparation is always key! I've decided to wear a Dark Red vampy lip and have chosen MAC Diva as my shade of the night, but as it's a matte lipstick and therefore prone to drying I have been using the Nivea Original Lip Butter to make sure my lips are beautifully soft and moisturised ready for that midnight kiss! 

The Nivea Lip Butters come in three variations; Raspberry Rosé, Caramel Cream and Original and leave your lips feeling super smooth both on their own and with a lipstick. This evening, I have gently run my toothbrush over my lips to give them a slight exfoliation and applied a generous layer of the Nivea Butter to ensure that when I wake up tomorrow, I've have lipstick ready lips to see in the new year with a smile.

I'm all about Lipsticks and would absolutely love to know what shade you're going for on New Years Eve, so I would love for you to tweet me photos of your LOTD, of course using the #DareToKiss hashtag too! 

If like me, you want to be part of Niveas attempt at a record-breaking chain kiss, then simply follow @niveauk on Twitter to see what happens on the day itself.

Nivea have very kindly given the opportunity to give a set of the Lip Butters away to one of my readers. Simply comment below and tell me what your favourite party lipstick is along with your email address and I'll pick a winner at random. 

Added entries will be made if you tweet me photos of your LOTD with the #DareToKiss hashtag, just be sure to let me know you've also entered on Belles Boutique!

This giveaway will end on the 6th January 11:59pm! Good Luck!

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*This is a sponsored post

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Daniel Sandler Lipstick- Hush

Before I ever dreamt of applying a Red or a Coral lipstick, Nude was my colour of choice and to be honest, it probably still is. I go for a Nude lip when in doubt of what shade to wear or if I just want to keep my make up a little more natural and pretty. Though it is my favourite kind of shade, I hadn't really added any new Nudes into my collection for a while, purely because I already have quite a selection to get through, but when I got talking to Daniel Sandler himself about Hush, of course I made room for it.

This Daniel Sandler lipstick in Hush* is the perfect Nude shade with ever such the slightest hint of a Peach tone with adds a really pretty, fresh touch. I'm so thankful to have this in my collection as it is the perfect shade to wear when I want to keep my lips low key but still add a perfect touch to my make up. 

It's super creamy and with a very subtle shimmer that runs through the lipstick to create a lovely sheen on the lips, it feels really lovely and moisturising which is especially perfect for this cold season. A great feature of the lipstick is that is also has SPF15 in it, which is great as if you continue to reapply throughout the day, you're protecting your lips fantastically well. Though it is just important now, this is an even greater feature for the Summer months.

The shiny tube is quite weighty which is something I love in most products, it feels really good quality and the mirrored finish is definitely a winner for me.  

I've fortunately had the opportunity to meet the very lovely make up artist Daniel Sandler, but this is actually the first product from his line that I have tried. He is so passionate about cosmetics and I constantly hear raves of his Watercolour Fluid Blushers so I think I'll be looking into adding some more of his products into my make up bag, especially the blushers and the Sculpt and Slim Contour Powder which looks like a dream and seems to be just to my taste, and so is most definitely top of my wish list. If any of you have tried it I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts! 

This lipstick costs £13.25 which is pretty reasonable and is available on the Daniel Sandler online store here, Feel Unique, and Look Fantastic

Have you tried any Daniel Sandler products? I would love to know what your favourites are.

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Estée Lauder Pure Colour Stay-On Shadow Paints

Recently I seem to have found myself swatching more eye products than ever and more so, actually applying in my day to day make up routine. This rings alarms in my head as really I have never been a fan of a fancy eye, but with so many gorgeous products about at the moment I have been really enjoying adding a little flick or a base of colour to my lids.

Though I am quite happy to have a bit of colour, I am still not brave enough to go too adventurous on the colour wheel and tend to stick to my easy to use neutral shades to create a barely there, somewhat smokey look. 

These three products are new to Estée Lauder and are the Pure Colour Stay-On Shadow Paints in Neon Fushia, Pink Zinc and Sinister*. Whilst Neon Fushia may not be my pick of the bunch, Pink Zinc and Sinister are both incredible shades and have definitely made way to the front of my eye products drawer. 

They are miles apart in terms of shades, sitting opposite ends of the shade list which is made up of eight colours in total, but something they have in common is that they are both shimmery pigmented delights. I'm shocking myself entirely in this post, first declaring my feelings for eyeshadows and now calling shimmery products a delight but in all honesty they really are and I'm not sure they would be as eye catching and beautiful had they been matte which normally I would prefer. 

These weighty glass pots are full of mousse-cream formula eyeshadows that are incredibly soft and velvety. I find them so easy to use and apply, like most cream based eye products and just the smallest amount of product goes an incredibly long way. I remember one of my first ever make up purchases was actually a cream formula eyeshadow which I loved and Pink Zinc strangely very much reminds me of it (though much better quality, I can assure you!) 

Whether you're after a block of super pigmented colour or a blended out look, both can be achieved very easily. 

Ideally, these would be applied with a brush but the shade I have been reaching for most, Pink Zinc, applies perfectly easily dapped on lightly with my ring finger and doesn't need much work at all.

With such ease of application I'm definitely considering adding Cosmic, Chained and Halo into my collection which are all on the more neutral spectrum with Pink Zinc.

These Estée Lauder Pure Colour Stay-On Shadow Paints are available now, as of yesterday, on Estée Lauder counters and cost £19 each.

Do you enjoy to use Cream or Mousse formulas on your eyes? Would these fit in with your collection perfectly?

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Philosophy Christmas Cookie

I have only had this Philosophy Christmas Cookie Shampoo, Shower Gel and Bubble Bath a few days,  but I had to share it with you whilst there is hopefully an opportunity for you to still get your hands on one. I know I'm going to be hunting through the sales to try and pick another up because it really is such a delicious treat.

This is definitely my kind of Christmas scent and anything similar, throughout the whole year, I just love. It's the sweetest scent and there really isn't any need to find a fancy way to describe it, it purely just smells of the most delicious cookie you can imagine and it's incredible.

It's a 3 in 1 product that can be used as a Shampoo, Shower Gel and Bubble Bath but as much as I love it, I don't think I would personally use this in my hair. I like to use it to create a million bubbles in my bath, as I find it most luxurious that way and love how it fills my house with cookie scented wonders. 

I'm really into bathing products at the moment and my bathroom basket is currently full of sweet scented products, but this is definitely my favourite. I'm trying not to go too overboard with it, as I want to hold onto it for as long as possible and with being a Christmas edition, I worry I'll have to wait a whole year for it to come around again!

This 480ml bottle costs £14 from Philosophy, although I'm sure it is now half price in the sales.

Philosophy is stocked in Boots, Selfridges and John Lewis so it's definitely worth keeping your eye out.  

What's your favourite festive scent? Have you been treated to any bath time treats this Christmas?

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Benefit Away We Glow

Passion Pearl, Peachy Sheen, Terracotta Satin, Steamy Copper, Deep Bronze

Over the past few months I have blogged about quite a few Benefit sets but I think that this one, Benefits Away We Glow* is my overall favourite. This one definitely has more products inside and it is the range and the shades that it includes that makes it a winner in my opinion. I also love the Air Stewardess theme which of course is very fitting for me!

This mirrored box set includes

Coralista 3g

High Beam 2.5ml

Sun Beam 2.5ml

Eyeshadow Palette 5g

Bad Gal Lash Mascara 4g

Ultra Shines Life On The A List Lip Shine 5ml

Double ended Fluff Shadow & Hard Angle Brush

Mini Powder Brush

The product range is lovely but I think it's the eyeshadows, the mascara and the lipgloss that steal the show with it. Most of Benefits box sets seem to contain a blush and a variation of their popular multi use products, which in this case are High Beam and Sun Beam, so it is nice to see a more varied range. 

The eye shadows are really nice shades and are pretty pigmented, which is great being that they are quite small and in turn will last that little bit longer. In saying that, there is still no fear that these products are going to run out super quickly. They are decent sizes and perfect for travel options or quite simply if you just want to try a small sample size before going for the full size. I personally find them perfect for me as I don't reach for them every day and don't need the full sizes, but find them great to have within my collection- especially Coralista which since using these sets has become a favourite of mine.

This set was introduced into the collection with a price tag of £29.50, but with it being the season of Christmas sales, I have noticed that there are quite a few offers and it is currently available for £19.66 in Boots which is fab.

Benefit sets are available at Benefit counters, stores and online.

Do you have any Benefit sets? What's your stand out product in this set?

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Mulberry Oversized Taylor Satchel

The sales have been a little hit and miss for me this Christmas and although I picked up a few beauty related bits online, this is my stand out purchase that I am so excited about and incredibly pleased with. 

I've never really been much of a designer girl and am normally happy to stick to high street fashion, but this Christmas whilst having a little daydream browse through the sales online, I came across this Mulberry bag and just had to have it.

I normally have to justify big purchases and ponder on the decision for a while before taking the plunge, but with only two of these babies left when I saw it in store today, I grabbed it off the shelf and pretty much screeched "I'll have it!" at the sales assistant. 

This soft Black leather bag is the Mulberry Oversized Taylor Satchel and quite frankly it is a dream. It's very me in that it isn't too formal of a bag and I can pop it on my arm, fill it up with lots of stuff and carry it around day to day. 

The hardware is lovely and the size is absolutely perfect, I'm so over the moon with this bag and I really can't wait to take it out on its first outing. 

Mulberry have quite an amazing sale on at the moment and if you wanted a Mulberry in your life, it's probably the perfect time to pick one up. I got this Oversized Taylor in the Mulberry in House of Fraser, but they are also available online and in store in Mulberry, Selfridges and Harrods.

Have you made any naughty sale purchases this festive period?

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Christmas Day Photos & Gifts

Bunny Lamp, Cotton Wool Jar, Starbucks Toffee Nut Syrup, Cath Kidston Travel Card Holder, Moleskin Weekly Notebook Planner, No7 Mirror, Primark Christmas Socks, Topshop Fox Socks, Kiehl's Grapefruit Body Scrub, Kiehl's Grapefruit Body Cleanser, Kiehl's Pink Grapefruit & Blossom Body Lotion, Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturiser, Philosophy Christmas Cookie Shower Gel & Bubble Bath, Lulu Guinness Cosmetics Bag, Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Liberty Gift Coin, Selfridges Gift Card, TU Floral Pyjamas, Topshop Jumper, Aladdin, Asics 2170 Running Trainers, Home Made Sweet Jar (a gift I made for my mum)  

I wasn't sure whether or not to do a Christmas haul, so I decided to simply share some snaps of my Christmas day along with some snaps of my gifts with you. I'm so grateful for all of my cards and gifts that I have received, I really have been so very spoilt and I feel like a very lucky girl. 

 A "main" gift of mine was actually a new lens for my Canon 600D, so I spent the majority of my day snapping away and pretty much annoying my family with constant photos and filming. Though I wasn't feeling my best, I really did had such an incredible day full of family time, movies and pigging out and I loved it very much.

I would absolutely love to know how your Christmases were and what gifts you were lucky enough to receive. Feel free to link any of your Christmas posts in the comments below to keep the spirit going, I know I would certainly love to have a peek!

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Merry Christmas!

Christmas is a very loved holiday in my family and although we tend to go all out on festivities, Christmas Eve has been beautifully relaxed and lovely. Though I have the beginnings of what seems like a horrible case of flu, I have throughly enjoyed today and have spent the best part in my cosy living room eating home-baked Mince Pies, drinking Mulled Cider and watching the very best of Christmas movies with loved ones. 

Though it is getting quite late and now just a few moments away from Christmas day, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and of course, a fabulous new year. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then I quite simply hope that you have a fabulous relaxing break with your loved ones.

Lots of love, fun and celebrations,

Laura x

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Topshop Lipstick- Macaroon

It's been a while since I spoke of a Pink lipstick, but what an amazing shade to make a come back to.

This very lovely Pink lipstick is Macaroon by Topshop* and it's a super pigmented blue toned Pink which is my favourite kind.
The swatch above has been built up with a couple of coats, but even just one sweep or dabbed on, this shade is beautiful and looks really pretty either way.

Pink lips aren't really a colour I usually go for at this time of the year, but they can look pretty with a more fancy look and so I'm considering wearing it for a few Christmas/New Year parties I have planned.
I actually took part in a celebrity inspired make up look video recently, which I will be sure to share with you when it's live and this is the lipstick I chose to use. It is a little bright but in real life I don't find it too out there and so it's pretty wearable day to day.

I really like the soft, creamy formula of Topshop lipsticks and really recommend them. They have a really great colour range which I think is great for a brand that's not cosmetic based. At £8, the price is possibly a little high being slightly pricier than a standard "drug store" lipstick, but I don't think it's too unreasonable. There are a few shades on my list that I'm desperate to try but I'm trying to hold off buying any new lipsticks for a while as my collection has become quite huge.

Topshop lipsticks cost £8 and are available both online and in stores, what is your favourite?


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