Christmas Favourites

Christmas time is always a perfect excuse to go shopping (even if you do end up with the odd cheeky buy for yourself...). So I've had plenty of opportunities to browse around and pick out my favourite buys of the season.

One of the best purchases I've made, has to be these cute panda slippers from Accessorize.

I'd had my eye on these for a few weeks and was super excited when I found them in the sale for £9! I must admit, these were a present from me to um...myself, but they would also make a great gift on a budget for a best mate or sister!

Speaking of sisters, I also found a great bargain when searching for her Christmas present. Seeing as she is obsessed with Benefit make up, I headed straight to department store Beales where they were running a 10% off offer (also on lots of other brands).

In the end, I went for Benefit's California Kissin' lipgloss, which has a blue colour in the bottle, but gives a subtle shimmer on the lips. The blue pigment helps to make teeth look whiter and your smile brighter - bonus! This was used on me during a Benefit make-over and I'd already fallen in love with it then, so I knew my sister would love it.

Having bought and wrapped all my presents by the start of December (not bragging or anything) I decided it was time to have a little peek at what I might like... I've almost used up the last of my Paco Rabanne, Lady Million perfume and thought it was time for a new scent. Even though I did love Lady Million, I found it slightly heavy for daytime.

After testing a few, I immediately fell in love with the new Chloe perfume and put it straight on the top of my wishlist. Its subtle honey notes are gorgeous and perfect for every day wear. Let's hope Santa is feeling generous...

So with all these gorgeous gifts around, Christmas can well and truly come.

Happy Christmas everyone :) x

Travelling light...

I have 11 days off work starting tomorrow, 6 of which I will actually be spending outside of boring old England. To say I'm excited would be an understatement. However, to say I have packed an appropriate suitcase for 6 days away would be a plain lie.

The holiday is neither particularly long (aforementioned grand total of 6 days) nor particularly exotic (Germany to visit my family), yet somehow I have managed to pack pretty much my entire room. God knows what it will be like when I move out, but that's a whole different story...

So my suitcase includes a top I have worn twice and always think I should probably wear again, yet always end up changing out of. It also includes a pair of heels. Pretty ridiculous when you consider my itenary for the holiday is Christmas shopping with my nan and eating my body weight in Milka chocolate.

So the conclusion is, that like pretty much all other girls, I cannot travel light. Even a weekend away requires enough toiletries to deem a suitcase acceptable and on my last holiday away with the girls, I had to cram a pair of heels into my hand luggage, as my suitcase was already over the weight limit.

Whereas I feel pretty prepared for all situations that might face me in the coming 6 days, I am also very aware that I will probably spend most of my month's wages over there and then find I have nowhere to cram my newly acquired things...Oh well, heels in the hand luggage it is then!

Wish me luck...

Contagion: Review

Hi,

I feel like I've been a terrible blogger lately and would like to apologise for the massive lack of posts. I wish I had some exciting reason for this aforementioned rubbishness, bit basically I've just been working none stop! To make up for this, I'm going to share a movie review with you and hope that all is forgiven!

After much anticipation, I finally managed to go and watch 'Contagion'. Ironically, I had an awful cold the week before last and had to cancel my cinema trip. I am now thanking my lucky stars I did, as I would definitely have freaked everyone out by coughing and spreading my germs in the cinema.

So all that aside, 'Contagion' is a pretty intense film. It's horrific and eery, but in a subtle, 'it could actually happen' way. It's definitelt not a horror film in the traditional sense, so if you were expecting that, you would definitely be disappointed (like the chav who, in a chaming fashion, declared 'that was s**t very loudly as the credits rolled).

I don't want to ruin the story, but the basics are, that a deadly virus emerges and starts to spread across the globe (it doesn't take a genius to realise that from the trailer, so don't think I've dropped a spoiler on you there). As the virus spreads, moral panic breaks out and the world goes a little crazy with fear of death and obsessive self prevention.

'Contagion' covers a broad range of aspects of the situation, which is essentially both its best and worst feature. On the one hand, it's great that all bases are covered, including a very real sense of humans becoming destructive animals in the face of fighting for survival, yet also touching upon government conspiracies and the sheer unfairness of who is prioritised with regard to vaccinations.

Unfortunately, this also means there are about five or six stories going on at the same time and many characters are sidelined and have minimal chances to develop their role. Of course the amazing a-list cast (Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet all star in 'Contagion') play their parts fantastically. However, you don't really get a sense of knowing many of the characters or forming an emotional bond with them.

Out of 5 I would have to sit on the fence a little and give 'Contagion' a 3.5. Whereas it is a clever concept and chillingly realistic, it borders almost slightly into documentary territory with very long and weary explanations about the chemical make up of the virus (you don't really pay £7 for a cinema ticket to a biology lesson). However, there are some moments of fantastic acting and some very clever observations made.

If you want some light movie entertainment on a Saturday night, this is not for you. But if you're willing to sit through some slightly boring sciency parts (or if you're a geek for biology) then you'll be rewarded with a pretty intelligent piece of cinema. And Jude Law's beautiful face, which can only be a bonus.

Just be prepared to freak out a little when anyone coughs/sneezes in the cinema, and to leave with a slight touch of OCD...Pretty sure 'Contagion' will boost hand sanitizer sales back up to the level they were at during pig flu panic! ;)

Enjoy!

Anna x

Garnier B.B Cream, tried and tested!

Hi,


After hearing plenty about the latest skincare craze, Garnier's Miracle Skin Perfector cream, I decided to give it a go and try it myself. The cream acts as a tinted moisturiser and promises to instantly 'perfect' the skin by emulating Asian 'Blemish Balms' also known as B.B. creams. With an SPF of 15 it also helps to protect against the damaging effects of the sun.

I used the cream as I would use a moisturiser, applying it straight after cleansing my face in the morning. I was a little alarmed by the colour when I first used it, as it seems fairly dark. I opted for the 'medium' tone as I have olive skin, however even 'medium'is relatively dark for me, so I would recommend going for the 'light' option, even if your skin isn't particularly fair.

Having said that, the cream blended well and I managed to avoid looking orange, thank god! The consistency was good and the cream felt light on my skin, which is a definite plus over most foundations. The overall effect was that my skin looked improved and healthier and the cream gave a 'dewy' look to the skin which appears more natural than matte foundation.

However, the cream isn't quite thick enough to cover larger blemishes and it would be neccessary to use a little foundation or concealer on spots. Redness is trageted well though, so if you're lucky enough to have pretty clear skin, the cream would probably be enough. I ended up using a little foundation on some areas, but far less than I normally would, meaning my make up didn't feel as heavy usual.

Overall, I would recommend the cream as a quick fix for tired looking skin. If you're prone to oily skin I think it could leave skin a little too shiny, but for normal to dry skin it's a great solution to skin looking 'flaky' after applying foundation. It's also great if you don't have much time for make up in the mornings, or as a hangover skin pick-me-up!

 Go B.B beautiful :)!

Anna .x.

Winter + Single = Disaster?

Hi,

I think it's safe to say that summer is definitely over. Despite certain speculations that we may be getting a freak heat wave in these last few days of September I'm going to remain realistic (and maybe somewhat pessimistic) and declare that we can officially welcome winter.

But winter's not all bad; think wooly jumpers, bonfires, Christmas, snuggling up by the fire...And that's where it gets tricky. Because snuggling up by the fire would require some form of boyfriend which, quite frankly, I don't have. Whereas being single in summer was fun (think flirting drunkenly with anyone and everyone at BBQ's and eyeing up potential on the beach) winter doesn't seem to bring quite as many opportunities for us singletons. It's all about seeing couples holding hands in matching his and her's mittens (vom) and hearing about romantic winter getaways.

However, when I relayed this view to a friend who HAS a man in her life to buy matching knitwear for (vom) she looked at me like I was insane. "But winter is a GREAT time to be single!" she declared, genuinely shocked. "Just think of the money you will save on Christmas presents!"

And really, she has a point; boys are notoriously difficult to buy for. Blindly picking out shirts he will probably wear once and asking the irritated woman in Boots to show you about 68 different types of aftershave is NOT fun. Similarly, receiving a gift which was definitely not on your carefully selected list, with your boyfriend eagerly watching you open it and having to thank him as if you mean it, also doesn't do much for your Christmas cheer.

So really, I may re-think my attitude about being single during winter. After all, Christmas also means plenty of opportunities for parties, drinking, getting glammed up and meeting fellow (hopefully hot) single blokes. And let's face it, not knowing who you might be kissing under the mistletoe this year is kind of exciting...

Lots of single love, Anna .x.

Blogging Debut

Hi...(is that how you start a blog post?! Any hints appreciated...)

So here I am, finally losing my blog virginity... No coincidence that this happens on a day when I've stayed off work sick and am confined to bed with a severe case of boredom!

I don't really have a specific idea about the topics my blogs will cover. I'm thinking more along the lines of taking ideas as they come to me and then Anna-lysing them (see what I did there?) on here. I'm moving to London in March to start a course in Journalism, and my dream is to one day write features for a young women's magazine, so my topics will most likely cover female issues...but I know guys secretly love reading that type of thing anyway! So something for everyone really...

So taking inspiration from a day of bed rest is fairly difficult... There's not a huge amount to discuss about Lemsip and the Gossip Girl box set. OK, I lie, I could spend hours discussing Gossip Girl with my friends, but somehow I don't think that swooning over Chace Crawford is quite the point of blogging!

Although I do find it slightly strange how a series such as Gossip Girl, full of rich and arrogant characters, manages to reach out to and capture the interest of so many (usually not particularly rich) young women. I mean, I love programmes such as Gossip Girl and The Hills, despite usually avoiding pretentious designer shops like the plague, whilst frantically saving up for aforementioned move to London and living by the mantra of 'I'm sure Primark sells something similar'.

For me, the appeal lies in getting lost in a fantasy world of beautiful people and gorgeous clothes for approximately 45 minutes at a time. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure to enjoy the drama when real life is getting a little boring. Plus, despite usually getting a little lost in the laps of luxury, there's always the lesson to be learnt that rich people aren't usually any happier than the rest of us. And, on a superficial note, you are guaranteed some serious eye candy ;].

So, to round this pilot episode of blogging off, I think I'm going to go back to my Lemsip and lose myself in a bit of Gossip Girl again...Hey, it can definitely be justified on a sick day!

Any views and comments appreciated!

Anna .x.