Posts tagged Present

Valentine’s Gift Ideas: Chroma Stationery

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If you have a creative loved one in your life who loves to write or draw, or you yourself like to doodle, scribble down your thoughts, or even plan out your blog posts, then this Valentine’s gift idea is for you.

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Chroma Stationery specialises in high quality, 50 page notebooks, which are made extra special by being fully personalised.  My notebook is from the Nebraska perfect bound range, but they also offer a range of Ryton spiral bound notebooks.  Once you’ve chosen your binding type, you also get to pick your cover colour, whether you want plain or lined pages, and your embossing.

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Embossing adds a touch of luxury, can be done in either silver or gold, and it’s completely up to you what you have put on the notebook.  As standard this is usually a name, initials, or message, but if you get in touch with Chroma they’re more than happy to emboss an image – such as this pretty Valentine’s Day love heart!

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My notebook, which I plan on using as a journal, is in shade ‘Annie’ – a lovely grape purple – and the cover has a luxuriously soft feel to it.  The embossing is gold in a handwritten font, and I chose lined pages, which are 80gsm and lovely to write on.

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The notebooks also come beautifully wrapped in a sleeve, and tissue paper, with a little card about Chroma’s history.

At £7.50 each, with personalisation included in the price, Chroma notebooks are an affordable gift idea for a loved one.

Naomi x

*This Chroma Notebook was sent to me by Chroma Stationery for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*  

Valentine’s Gift Ideas: Love Hearts Tea Lights

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Valentine’s Day is also my birthday, so happens to be one of my favourite days of the year. As soon as January comes around I start looking forward to that special day in the middle of February, as not only do I get to enjoy it, but it adds a bit of brightness to the gloomy winter for people everywhere! I’m also a firm believer that Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be miserable for those who aren’t in a relationship, as it gives you the perfect excuse to treat yourself, or spend time with family or friends.

So, in celebration of Valentine’s Day, over the next week or so I’ll be bringing you my pick of the best, affordable Valentine’s gifts – perfect for your loved one or even for yourself!  Today’s pick is this adorable little set of Love Hearts Tea Lights, available from It’s A Wot.

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Since I moved out of my mum’s house and in with my fiancé, I’ve become more and more interested in interior design, and making my home look pretty, and these tea lights help me do just that.  They come beautifully wrapped in a Love Hearts wrapper, so they look like a super-sized tube of sweets, and inside you get six tea lights, each of which comes in a sturdy plastic holder.

The tea lights come in three colours – pink, purple and blue – with two of each in the pack, and they all have an iconic Love Hearts message printed on top.  The pink ones say “Kiss Me”, the purple ones say “Love Me”, and the blue ones say “Hug Me”.

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Despite their small size, the tea lights burn really well.  I had them on for several hours the other evening and the flame hardly made a dent in the wax, and they don’t produce much smoke, just a steady flame.  My only issue with the candles is that they aren’t scented, but it’s not a deal breaker and I still think they’re lovely.

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At just £1.84 for a set of six, these tea lights would make an ideal Valentine ’s Day ‘stocking filler’ for someone who loves cute and quirky little house gifts.  They’d also be great for adding a touch of romance to your Valentine’s evening, or even just to help you unwind and relax after a busy day.  Want some?  Get them here.

Naomi x

*These Love Hearts Tea Lights were sent to me by It’s A Wot for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*

Christmas Gift Guide: The Book of Everyone

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Over the next couple of weeks I will be writing a series of posts as part of my annual Christmas Gift Guide, and today’s post will be the first in the series.

I always put a lot of thought into finding the right gift for everyone that I buy for, and I try to find something that’s a bit different to your bog standard gift set.  There are several book lovers in my family, and this year on my hunt for unusual book-related gifts, I found something that is perfect for book lovers of any age.  Though to be honest, this gift is so nostalgic and personal it’d be suitable for just about any of your loved ones…

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The Book of Everyone is a 50 page book full of beautiful artwork, interesting statistics, and fun facts, that can be personalised to be about anyone and everyone!  I was kindly sent a copy personalised to be about me, and every single page is gorgeous to look at, but also exciting and fascinating to read, as it all relates to my life.  I feel like I learnt so much about my own history when reading the book, for example, in May 1989 I spent 30 minutes as a single cell, and in ‘my day’ a litre of petrol only cost 40p!  I was also the 5,414,171,296th person alive on the planet when I was born.  Amazing.

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Creating the book is simple.  It’s all done on The Book of Everyone website, and all you have to know about the person you’re creating for is their name, gender, and date of birth.  The rest is done for you!  Although you can change the text on some of the pages, add photos, and change the colour of the cover, just to make it that little bit more special and unique.

The book also suits any budget, as it’s available in four different formats.  A digital PDF version costs £7.50, a softcover edition is £19.50, a standard hardback is £29.50, and a deluxe edition costs £49.50.

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One of my favourite things about this gift is the fact that The Book of Everyone is collaborating with the charity Age UK, and every purchase from their site will go towards gifting a book to an elderly person this Christmas, who may not otherwise receive a gift.  A lovely idea that I’m happy to get behind.

Books take just a few minutes to create, and are dispatched within 5 working days, so there’s still time to order before Christmas.  Who would you buy The Book of Everyone for?

Naomi x

*The Book of Naomi was sent to me for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are honest and my own.* 

 

Beauty Stocking Fillers for £5 and Under

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This year seems to have gone incredibly fast, and Christmas is almost upon us.  I’m sure by now we are all well into our Christmas shopping (I’ve been extremely organised this year and only have a couple of bits left to get!), but I thought I’d put together a few festive themed posts over the next week or two to help with that last-minute rush.  I have spent a while lately trawling the shops and internet for stocking filler ideas, so today’s post features my pick of the best beauty stocking fillers for £5 and under.

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Clockwise from Top Left:

Orly Nail Polish £3.99 from Fragrance Direct / Lacura Aqua Moisture Cream £1.99 from ALDI / SuperDrama Mascara £5.00 (was £10.00) from Avon / Halo Futuristic Nail Glitter £4.50 from ASOS / Denman Small Styling Brush £4.99 from Fragrance Direct / Ginger Sparkle Hand Cream £4.00 from The Body Shop / Momiji Mini Gift Set £5.00 from M&S / 3 in 1 Nail Art Pearl Gem Pen £4.50 from Claire’s / MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer £3.00 from MUA / MUA Luxe Glitter Palette £4.00 from MUA / Montagne Jeunesse Strawberry Souffle Face Mask £0.99 from New Look / Snow Fairy Shower Gel £3.50 for 100g from LUSH / Metal Eyelash Curler £3.25 from John Lewis

I hope you all find this edit helpful!  If you have any £5 or under stocking filler ideas to add, please comment below as I’d love to see what you’ve come across.

Check back soon for my next Christmas post, featuring Spend and Save Christmas Gift ideas.

Happy Shopping!

Naomi x

Jurlique Rose Essentials

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With only a week left to go until Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d share a gift idea with you which puts a luxurious twist on the traditional bunch of red roses – Jurlique’s Rose Essentials.  If you have a beauty-obsessed loved one to buy for this year, or even if you want to treat yourself to a pampering session, then Jurlique’s rose scented skin care products are ideal.

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The Jurlique Rose Essentials set contains three luxe rose scented products, and they come packaged in a beautiful gift box, which definitely makes this set a pleasure to receive!  Once you remove the red and gold cardboard wrap, the box you are met with looks like a gorgeous gold treasure chest, patterned with delicate roses and leaves, which fits the Jurlique tagline perfectly – ‘Your gift of beauty to treasure’.  It is even sealed with a sticker that looks like a lock, which makes the set feel that little bit more special, and builds the anticipation as to what you will find inside.

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The three products inside the box are wrapped with red tissue paper, and the gold ribbon and embossed brand logo all add an extra touch of luxury.  The products are a 100ml bottle of Rosewater Balancing Mist, a 300ml bottle of Rose Shower Gel, and a 150ml tube of Rose Body Cream.

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Here is a brief review of each product to give you an idea of what they are like…

Rosewater Balancing Mist

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Jurlique’s Rosewater Balancing Mist contains Rose Essential Oil, Marshmallow and Aloe, which combine to form a hydrating mist which improves and balances skin tone.  I like to spray this on to my face after a long day, as it refreshes tired skin and, unlike some mists, is delicately moisturising so it doesn’t dry your skin out or leave it feeling greasy.  The packaging the mist comes in is very plain in contrast to the gift box, which is slightly disappointing as I like a bit of colour, but the glass bottle makes it look and feel a bit more impressive than if it were plastic.

Rose Shower Gel

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This pinky orange coloured shower gel contains a mix of natural essential oils, and like the mist leaves your skin feeling fresh, and extremely clean.  I usually use shower creams as normal gels sometimes dehydrate my skin, but Jurlique’s Rose Shower Gel is actually quite moisturising, which is lovely, and can be used all over the body.  The lather that one pump of this gel gives is impressive, and a little goes a long way.

Rose Body Cream

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The Rose Body Cream is my favourite product in the set.  It is enriched with Jojoba Oil, Shea and Cocoa Butter, so as you can imagine it is intensely moisturising, but it is also a lot lighter than some body butters.  The cream doesn’t sit on the skin making a greasy mess either, rather, it is easily and quickly absorbed and is very kind to the skin.  I suffer from dry hands so have been using this as a hand cream, and so far the results are good, and my hands feel a lot softer!

All three products have a very sweet but authentic scent of roses, which is reminiscent of an English garden on a summer’s day (how corny and romantic!)  It’s a very feminine scent, and isn’t at all overpowering, so the products can be layered for a long-lasting, gentle aroma.

This whole set just oozes quality.  The products are all generously sized and feel amazing on the skin, and the packaging is incredible.  The Jurlique range is a bit of a splurge (products start at £10 each, ranging up to around £30), but sometimes these things are worth it, right?  You can view Jurlique’s range of skin care products here, at LookFantastic.com.  Or, if Jurlique isn’t for you or your loved one, LookFantastic also stock a wide selection of other Valentine’s Gifts, including Nails Inc Bling It On Leather & Skulls, which I reviewed here.

Naomi x

*This Jurlique Rose Essentials set was sent to me by LookFantastic.com/The Hut Group for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*

My Week: Bats, Baking, Birthdays and Bouncing!

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Hi all,

You may have noticed that I haven’t been around a lot this week, and there are several reasons for my absence!  I have had a lot to do over the last few days, all rather unrelated to beauty, but all quite fun so I thought I would share :)

On Friday I went to a Bat and Moth Night at my university.  I have been fascinated by bats since I was very small and I love to see them whenever I can, so I dragged my fiancé along for the bat night!  After cheese, wine and hot chocolate, a large group of us went for an (almost) midnight walk around the local cemetery to look for bats and we managed to spot quite a few!  I was even put in charge of a bat detector so I got to listen to the bats as well, so cute!

I also spent a good deal of Thursday and Friday baking.  Last week my Grandma celebrated her 80th Birthday, and this weekend she had a big party at her house for family and friends.  I had already baked her a cake for her birthday, but I decided to make an even bigger and better one for the party.  On Thursday I spent hours making butterflies and lettering for decoration, and on Friday I did the actual baking, making and decorating.  This was the finished result… What do you think?  I’m quite proud of how well it turned out!

Yesterday was the actual party.  We were a little worried that the weather wasn’t going to be very good, but though it wasn’t amazingly sunny, it didn’t rain, which meant only one thing…  BOUNCY CASTLE!  My cousins, sister, fiancé and I spent most of the day bouncing away, which was a lot of fun.  I was knackered by the end of it though!  The party was really nice and it was lovely to see my Grandma surrounded by everyone she cares about :)

And of course, today was Father’s Day, so my sister and I spent the whole day with my brilliant Dad.  We went to one of our favourite natural parks, taking photos and enjoying the sun.  I loved it and so did he.

So, that’s what I’ve been doing lately instead of blogging, but I’ll be back as of tomorrow with some fun posts!  What have you been up to this week?

Naomi xx

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