Beauty Lovers Advent Calendars

 Liz Earle Advent Calendar £100* (free delivery until 4th December)

 You Beauty Advent Calendar £59.95 + £2.95 P&P*

Every year, I will be given a chocolate advent calendar from my grandparents (yes, i'm 22 years old) and each year, I still find it just as exciting opening the little door and having a cheeky piece of chocolate for 24 days of the month (even though we all eat chocolate all year round, but it's in the shape of Snowmen and holly...thus making it 100% DIFFERENT...okay?) . However, being a complete beauty junky, when these got delivered to my door, I suddenly lost all enthusiasm for my chocolate advent calendars. 

The first one is a Liz Earle advent calendar. As most of you know, I am a huge fan of Liz Earle. I've used their cleanse and polish for well over a year now, and although I dip my toe into the realm of other cleansers, nothing ever comes close. This is the perfect pre-christmas, skincare lovers treat. I appreciate that not everyone will have £100 to splash out on a lavish advent calendar, but look how amazing it is! The perfect early Christmas present for your best friend, Mrs or your Mum. It houses samples of all their best selling skincare, eye care, haircare and body care. I can't express to you how excited to am to start opening this. The end of December can't come quick enough..

The second beauty advent calendar has been created by Latest in Beauty to celebrate their 1 year partnership with You magazine. If you aren't really much of a skincare enthusiast, then this would be much more "up your street". The calendar is made up of 24 different branded beauty samples including Benefit, St Tropez, Espa, L'Occitane, Eve Lom and Dermalogica (a few of my favourites from the long list). There is much more of a variation of products in this one, from mascara and lip balm, to hair masks and hand cream. The calendar is worth over £210, so you are getting yourself an absolute bargain. It's like one giant beauty box! :) You can click here to go the site and take a peek at the products included (or if you want it to be surprise i'd advise you don't scroll down on the website and go straight to the "add to basket"). I, myself have looked at the products included (as I wanted to see if the advent calendar was worth the price tag), and I can confirm that it is! I'd probably use almost all of them. 

Have these interested you? Are you contemplating spoiling yourself or someone else during the exciting Christmas run up? I personally think these are a brilliant concept, I just wish they'd been around sooner. 

♥

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Donning My Pinny.

I'm not the biggest cook. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that. I like to keep everything pretty basic, that is unless I am following a recipe step by step. I do however, enjoy the occasional cooking programme. More recently I got hooked on "The Great British Bake Off". People baking cakes and various other treats. There is nothing more satisying and girly, than baking deserts or puddings. Being a creative person and not having much of an outlet for my creativity (besides putting makeup on my face), I will get really into anything that involves a tiny bit of artistry. I am also a perfectionist, so decorating the cake, as well as making it, results in an enormous amount of satisfaction, as well as eating it of course.


Recently, my friend had new boobies installed (this sounds nicer than "boob job"..or does it?) and so myself and another friend took it upon ourselves to make her a "get better soon/congrats on your new boobies" cake. (For those of you who are nosey/may be interested, she didn't have a boob job for materialistically larger boobs, she has waited 4 years on the NHS and had them done as a correction from an injury earlier in life - So I am chuffed to bits for her) We didn't want to opt for a standard victoria sponge with jam and icing, so instead, we decided to create a pair of eadible cake boobs, as you do.
I'm not going to list in detail all the stages of creating this bad boy, but I will outline the basic's. We followed a simple victoria sponge recipe, and cooked the mixture in two identical glass bowl's (make sure they are oven safe). I'd also like to point out that they take about twice the normal amount of time to cook, as there is a larger volume to cook inside. We ended up cooking our boobs (!) for about 40 minutes overall. I'd also like to stress how important it is to grease the bowls, luckily, our boobies slipped right out (!) but if you didn't, you could end up with lumpy, out of shape ones..and nobody enjoys those. The best part was icing them. We used butter icing, as you can get a nice smooth finish with that, it's also less messy than standard icing, and a bit more precise than if we were to use roll out icing as that would have been incredibly fiddly. We added a smidgen of pink colouring to make the skin colour and smoothed it over the cake. We then made some more icing, and added more colouring this time to create the bra. This was piped on, using a piping bag from poundland. Yes, that's right. ONE POUND. To finish, we added chocolate buttons to create the nipples..just to make it clear that they were in fact boobs, incase it wasn't already obvious....
It's fair to say the cake went down very well, and our friend was chuffed, as were we, that it had turned out so brilliantly. What a nice pair!

I also decided to make profiteroles. Being one of my favourite desert treats ever, and having made them before, and realising that in fact, they weren't at all difficult to make, they seemed the perfect pudding for our family/friend roast dinner gathering.
I followed this recipe by Nigella Lawson, and they turned out really well. The only differences I made were that I piped the pastry onto the baking tray rather than spooned and instead of making a chocolate "sauce" I just melted Cadburys chocolate over them before serving. They were delicious if I may say so. Don't be affraid to try making these, they really are SO easy. I'd also strongly urge you bakers out there to get a piping bag. I have two, and more expensive one, and a cheapy one from poundland (although don't expect to get too many uses out of this one). You can find plenty on eBay, along with the different shaped nozzles.

So there we go, a few of my baking creations of late. I think now that the weather has turned so grim, and darkness is creeping upon us earlier, there is more time for baking, so get your pinnys on, and let me know what you're making!

♥

Black XS Frangrances & "Be A Rock Star"

Pacco Rabanne frangrances have always been one of my favourites. I have even been prone to spritzing the mens "Million" before a night out (it smells nice okay). I'd seen the "Black XS" frangrance range in the shops, but hadn't ever given it a whiff. I don't tend to splash out on perfume's for myself. I think it's a mans job to provide a woman with a perfume... ;) (hint hint, men out there). I was recently sent the male and female version to go alongside their "Be A Rockstar" promotion.

Be A Rockstar is offering internet users exclusive musical content and the oppertunity to enjoy a unique experience and step into the shoes of a Rock Star. They will also be opening the doors to a catalogue of artists across the globe. Universal Music France will even be giving access to special backstage moments with its artists, including Cold War Kids, Two Door Cinema Club and Kaiser Chiefs. These bands will be taking part in special Black XS OFF Shows, where we can see behind the scenes in nine special mini episodes. The series will be shown by the end of the year on
the site and on the Black XS YouTube channel. Click HERE to take you the website so you can see for yourself & get lot's more information if this is something you are interested in. I for one, am a massive fan of Two Door Cinema Club, so I will be tuning in to watch them.

I can't say I'm much of a Rockstar but the perfume is DELICIOUS. Pacco Rabanne describes the female version as "an elixir of seduction wreathed in mystery. A scent of contrasts, with an exciting ambiguity" - Written and described so much better than I ever could. I also really like the bottle. It's a bit more on the Gothic/Rock side and may not be as delicate or quaint as others on my dressing table but I really like the scent. I would wear this more at night, as I feel it's not light enough for the daytime.

In true "boyfriend of a blogger" style, the mens version was swpied up (very quickly) by my boyfriend. He has used it ALOT, and that's really all I have to go by. I really like the mens version, and he does smell EXTREMELY nice when he's wearing this. In fact, I'd even go as far as to say I prefer the mens frangrance to the womens one...and that's the same with the "Million" range. If you're stuck for what to get your fella for Christmas, I'd strongly advise this scent if you like your man to smell delicious. Although, I do appreciate something like aftershave is down to personal taste, but I don't think you can go wrong here.

♥

London Eye with GlossyBox

Me, Kate, Gemma, Louise, Kate, Lily

Most of you will be aware of Glossybox by now, one of the (now many) brands who offer a monthly beauty box subscription. I was very kindly asked if I wanted to become a GlossyBox Ambassador alongside many other amazing bloggers and vloggers, and of course I took up the offer having met and spoken to the gorgeous girls behind the brand at the previous GlossyBox event. I'm really looking forward to getting a bit more of an insiders view on the thoughts and process' of the items that go into the boxes each month and of course that means keeping you lovely lot updated.

So on Wednesday of last week, Louise & I took the tube over to Waterloo to join the GlossyBox team and the rest of the Ambassadors for a spin on the London Eye. I've never been on the London Eye, so I was excited, but also a little apprehensive (panic attack sufferer locked in a pod is not the best combination) I was fine though, and really enjoyed mingling with the rest of the girls up in the sky overlooking the City at night. It all looked so pretty. We also took a stroll along to the Christmas Market (literally a 2 minute walk from the eye). It made me feel so christmassy with the smells of mulled wine and various sweet treats floating about.

One of the highlights of the evening was finally getting to meet Sammi & Gracie, they were a hoot. It was also lovely to catch up with everyone and a few gorgeous girlies I hadn't seen in a while. And it goes without saying that spending time with Louise was amazing, as always.

♥

Agent Provocateur L'Agent Bath & Body Collection

Now, when someone mentions Agent Provocatuer, I instantly think of the sexy window displays featuring mannequins wearing heart shaped nipple tassles & extremely gorgeous underwear that I know I could personally never afford to indulge in, draped over luxurious materials and glamourous furniture. They certainly get their window displays spot on.
If like me, you don't very often set foot inside an Agent Provocatuer, as you may not be able to afford it, or you have your boyfriend in tow, who may leave rather red faced, then the new bath & body range may give you reason to step inside.

This year, Agent Provocateur released their L'Agent range just after the success of the new Frangrance. They have selected the finest ingredients for this self indulgent collection. If you like the scent, you will love these products. I didn't really know what to expect, as the scent itself is very powerful, and albeit a little too overpowering, so for me, the things in this collection were much less harsh in comparison, and left my skin smelling absolutely amazing without too much of a "perfume" kick.

Soap on a Rope - £20

First thing in the range, is the "soap on a rope". Now, when someone mentions soap on a rope, you automatically think of old school soap, or unwanted cheapy christmas/birthday presents. Typically the sort of thing you shove to the back of your lotions and potions draw. This however, is on a whole other "soap on a rope" level. It comes in a swish box which has a little ribbon pully. Once pulled, the draw containing your soap pulls out. It really is gorgeous, and smells amazing. It's enriched with vitamin e and shea butter which leaves your skin feeling fabulously fragranced and seductively smooth. It also has a cute little black tassle. Very Suave.

Titillation Decollete & Derriere Balm 2x80ml - £45

Next are two creams, "Titillation Derriere Balm" and "Decollete Balm". The teasingly sensual Derriere Balm is especially formulated to help tone, shape and define buttocks & the decollete balm is for the chest and neck. Both have the same gorgeous scent and the balms themselves are extremely velvety and hydrating. They contain moisturising avocado oils, skin conditioning Coleus Forskohlii (an ancient plant) and caffeine which all help to lift and revitalize. Being a mere 21 years old, I don't feel as though I need much help in the way of "lifting" as of yet, but this could be the perfect gift for an older relative or a friend who moans about a wobbly bottom (we all have one...a friend that moans about her wobbly bottom I mean..) ;) The packaging on these is so cute. Little sphere's which you twist to open, with the delicate agent provocateur font running around it.

Above: Bathing Cream Wash 425ml - £28
Below: Silk Body Elixir 225ml - £28

The "Bathing Cream Wash", is probably one of my favourites from the collection. Containing Babassu, Macadamia and Avacado oils, it delicately softens, moisturises and cleanses the skin. This is one of those products you could wash with before a night out, and you'd smell amazing all through the night, without the need for any perfume, or moisturiser for that matter. It also claims to include Epimedium (an aphrodisiac, apparently better known as horny goat weed (!)) All I know is that after using this, I smell super nice, and my skin feels really soft. I also love the bottle, it oozes sophistication.
Last up, is the "Silk Body Elixir", better known as a body moisturiser. As far as moisturisers go, I want something that smells nice, sinks in quickly, but leaves my skin feeling like silk. This ticks every box. It's especially amazing on freshly shaven/waxed legs. This too contains the aphrodisiac Epimedium, along with nutmug and Babassu oil. It works like an absolute dream.

This range is certainly not for those of you who like to shower in the mornings with something fresh and revitalising to wake you up. It's more for the evenings, before a date, a night out or a cheeky night in with your fella. It leaves your skin feeling amazing and smelling even more amazing. It's a very deep, sensual frangrance, not light or floral, and it's main purpose is to make the user feel sexy, which is exactly what you'd expect from Agent Provocateur. They certainly know how to put the "sex" in "sexy" (did I just say that...yes I did). Overall, I would certainly reccommend these products to those of you who like a little self indulgence, something a bit more
luxurious. They may be slightly more pricey than your average Boots or Superdrug bath or body product, but perfect gifts or for when you feel like splashing out and treating yourself.

♥

Review: Lush Christmas - Cinders

This Bath Ballistic is also alot smaller than your average bath bomb, around the same size as the So White.
This one looks really pretty & i picked this up because 2 of the girls in there (who by the way, all get a massive box full to the brim of all the new stock to try and out...lucky) had said it was their favourite.
When you smell this, is does smell really christmassy, unlike So White which, lets face it, is more of a summery scent. Lush describes it as a Spicy, Soda scented Ballistic.
Lush also claim that when you pop this in your bath, it fizzes and crackles as it has popping candy in it.
Unfortunately, and very dissapointingly, nothing was popping or crackling.
I was listening to my bath water like a child listening to their rice krispies...
No snap, crackle or pop for me though.
Mine may well have been a dud, has anybody purchased this bath ballistic and heard crackling and popping?

I can live without the noises if im honest, that wasn't why i bought it, i really do love the autumny smell, and it really was a very powerful scent even after the Ballistic had fizzed away.
I didn't notice any benefits to my skin after this bath, which, it doesnt claim to do, but, it would have been nice :)

This retails for £1.95 (i like this price)

Overall, i think if you're after a genuinely nice, christmassy smelling bath product, this would be perfect. It did get me a little bit excited for christmas, just like apple and cinnamon candles do!

♥

FOTD & OOTD

Haha, i hate those abbreviations..they look ugly.

Happy Monday dolls.
Hope you all had a good day?

Thought i'd show you what i looked like today, even though, i got rained on big time on my way to work, and my hair went all curly and frizzy, but do you know what? I went with it, and i improvised.
That's all you can do in these situations i think you'd agree?
I would have used my normal camera but it ran out of battery as soon as i turned it on..what a fail.

Hair
Frizzed and wavy from the rain, so i pinned it up with a teeny bit of volume on the top.
I don't think it looks too bad, lets face it, it could have been worse, especially if i didnt have my fringe pinned back. As my hair is naturally curly...

FaceOn my face i kept it pretty simple, dewy and natural & on the eyelids i wore woodwinked & embark in the crease.
The last picture is just a stupid one, because i felt like a posey idiot, so i thought i'd throw in a mega ugly, goofy one. :)

OutfitI mentioned on twitter that i had purchased some high waisted leggings..
well these are those. :)
They were £19 from Zara and i LOVE them.
They had black buttons on them around the waist and fit perfectly. (it's very rare i find something that fits my long skinny pins & tiny waist..let alone all at once)
I teamed them with a plain white vest top, grey cardigan and cropped black blazer & some grey plimsolls.
Eh Voilaaa.
♥

Review: Lush Christmas - So White

I'm going to kick off this review by saying this is by far, my favourite lush scent & something i think they should play around with more..soap, bubble bars etc..

The size of this Bath Ballistic is smaller than your average Sex Bomb.
But it has a very powerful scent of apples & leaves a frothy "snowy" layer on the top of the water.
Sadly, i was expecting alot more.."froth", but really, there were just a few clusters of bubbles, but still, that was alot more than a normal bath ballistic would create..i.e..nada.
The smell also lingered in the bathroom for a good while, although not on my skin, sadly.
This Bath Ballistic retails for £1.75, which in my opinion is really good.

By far one of my favourite Bath Ballistics & definitely my favourite lush scent..it's just alot different than the scents they have already created..i guess it's just a generic apple smell, which i suppose Lush aren't really all about.
I can safetly say that i will be stocking up on these, along with my star melts to get me through the rest of the year. :)

Please Lush, if you're reading this, make more products using this scent.
I will love you forever.
Thanks.
♥

My Winter Skin Essentials.

So as the winter months have crept up on us (alot more rapidly than i had wished) it's time to crack out the products that save our skin. (well, mine anyway)

Hands

One of the first & most vital for me is a good quality hand cream, I tend to get extremely dry hands, mainly around the thumb and forefinger (i inherit this from my dad, who's hands actually split during the winter..yowch) luckily, mine aren't that bad, because i take care of them. :)
My favourite hand cream is Handy Gurugu by Lush. I have tried plenty, nivea, neutrogina, palmers, e45 cream...almost all the "boots & superdrug" brands, but this is by far my favourite.
It's got a really thick creamy consistency, yet soaks into the skin really quickly. The smell is gorgeous too & it's not a bad price.

The other thing i think you need for your hands, is an oil or butter cuticle cream.
I use Lemony Flutter by Lush, which i also like to put on very very dry patches on my hands for a quick fix. I also love this product & use it religiously & you don't need that much. I was also told by the girl in Lush that you can use it on very dry, chapped lips..something i hadn't thought about. It's a great item, and i would definitely say it's a winter essential if you suffer dry hands/cuticles like me.

There is also the "Deep Treatment" method. Before bed, slather your hands in a rich, moisturising cream, pop on some cotton gloves and when you wake up it's like your hands are re-juvinated. :) I would suggest doing this once a week, or if you have MEGA dry hands, as much as needed, it wouldn't hurt to do it more often.

Feet

I'm really fussy about my feet being soft. I feel like it suffocates me if i have dry feet.
I use a pummice stone on the bottom's of my feet in the bath at least 3 times a week to get rid of any dry skin. I then like to use a foot treatment before bed (avec cotton socks).
My favourite is one by Soap & Glory called "Foot Mask". I have done a review of this product HERE.

You can also invest in something like a ped egg for easy foot exfoliation..i don't own one, but i own something similar.

Body

There's a few items i always bring out in the winter.
The first is the Body Shop's Body Butter's. I find that these are very rich in shea butter and cocoa butter and do a fab job of moisturising the skin. Review can be found HERE

The second, which i used alot last winter, were the Lush Massage Bars. My favourite being "Heavanilli". These can be rubbed straight onto the skin, or rubbed between the hands then rubbed into the skin, just like a normal moisturiser.

[From Top Left Clockwise: Each Peach & two's a pair, Sexy Boy (Xmas LE), Strawberry Feels Forever & Heavenilli]

Another thing my mum swears by, are oils, rubbed directly onto the skin, she always nags me to oil my skin, and in winter espescially.

I also think it's really important to exfoliate a bit more in the winter, i know i have to.
So i'd get yourself some exfoliating gloves & a good body scrub.
My favourite scrub is "Sugar Crush" by Soap & Glory.


Lips

My lips have been really bad recently, and so i've been applying lip balm religiously.
My favourites are Burts Bee's, Nivea Intense repair lip cream & carmex. I am never anywhere without either of these with me.

I know that alot of people also like to use vaseline, but i tend not to, as it doesn't actually hydrate the skin, it just makes a geasy barrier, keeping moisture in, not injecting any, great for those who don't really suffer that bad with chapped lips, but i don't find it does anything for me.

Other

I also suggest a good night cream, which is alot more moisturising than normal, even if you suffer from oily skin, it's still really important to stay hydrated.

Drink Lots -This is probabaly just standard, but in winter it's a little more important to get your 8 pints in the day because your skin needs to be alot more hydrated to prevent you looking so pale and gaunt :) It's also Good if you suffer dark circles or find it harder waking up in the morning. Drink a pint before bed, and a pint when you when you wake up.

Hot water bottles - It's not really a skin essential..just a winter essential because they are cute. :)

Moisturising Baths - You can buy so many bath bombs and bath melts that moisturise your skin as you bathe. My favourite at the moment is Lush's Star Melts (review here) & the butterball bath ballistic is also very moisturising.

I will be doing a seperate blog post on my current winter skincare regime, but i hope you enjoyed a little insight into the things im currently using everywhere else.

What are your winter essentials? Anything i'm missing out on?

♥

Crown and Glory

Crown & Glory is a gorgeous website full of crafty, handmade hair accessories. If, like me, you feel a bit naked without something pretty in your hair, I would seriously urge you to take a look at all the amazing pieces that the lovely Sophie has designed and created.

She very kindly sent me a headband covered in flowers, leaves and a sprinkling of glitter. Basically everything i love to pop in my hair. It's called "The Josephene headband". All flowers are handpainted & made of silk & it's only £10! A bargain if you ask me, especially when so much effort has been put into it.
A lot of you always ask me about my daisy headband, and the truth is i made that, so i can't tell you where to get one. But if you want to add a floral, feminine touch to your barnet, take a look at all the things Sophie has to offer. It's not just flowers either.

Sorry for the crappy webcam quality. I was ill, and so these are about as detailed as you are allowed.

If you want to buy anything from Crown and Glory, you can get a discount of 15% off until November 30th by entering "ZOELLA" at checkout.

Click here for Crown and Glory Website

Click here for Crown and Glory Twitter

Response To Your Response

When I filmed my video on "Dealing with Panic Attacks & Anxiety", I didn't think for one minute that I would have had such an overwhelming response from so many of you. It took quite a lot of courage for me to sit down and speak out loud about my experiences and difficult aspects of my life on camera. I know that all it involved was me sitting in my bedroom and talking to a piece of photographic equipment but I knew that there would be an awful lot of you watching, so at the time, the pressure was on a heap more than if I were to be showing you the products I'd enjoyed using that month. The video also made it onto YouTube's homepage, which made the experience all the more nail-biting. Not only were my loyal viewers and subscribers hearing about my struggles with panic attacks, but now anyone that landed on the youtube homepage was also watching. Although scary, it meant that it was helping a lot more people, and this made it all the more worthwhile. I wasn't really too sure what the feedback from the video would be, I only wanted it to be seen, and for it to have helped at least one person. After attempting to try and read through all (5,300 currently) comments, hundreds of tweets and a brimming email inbox, it became apparent that I had in fact helped an awful lot of people. I can't even express how happy this makes me. I wish I could sit and reply to each and every one of you, but I think it would take me a lifetime, so instead I just want to say thank you for all your kind words of support and love. I have shed many a tear hearing about how some of you have changed your lives around because of my gentle push. From 12 year old girls to 40 something men, the spectrum is so wide and so many of you have been affected by my rambly video. Whether it has helped you to realise what you are experiencing is panic and anxiety, helped you to help someone close to you, given you the reassurance you aren't alone or given you a virtual cuddle, I am so pleased that it has affected you positively in some way. If you are reading this and you are one of those people, please remember to stay strong, stay happy and keep positive. I wish you all the luck in the world with whatever it is you are battling, you can do it, and you aren't alone.

*group hug*

♥

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GIVEAWAY CLOSED: La Sardina Lomography Camera

Most of you that read my blog, will probably be aware, that I am quite the camera and photography enthusiast. I have plenty of cameras dotted about my bedroom, old and new. Recently, I was contacted by Lomography and they offered me a "La Sardina" camera to review & also one to giveaway. AMAZING.
Now, as much as I love modern cameras, and the ability to get that "vintagey/retro" effect by editing through different computer programs, there is nothing like capturing that very effect in raw form. Do you remember the days of winding film on and developing it down your local pharmacy? Well that's exactly what you do with this. Wind, shoot, capture, develop. OLD SCHOOL STYLE.

There is NOTHING I don't love about this camera. For a start, look at it. It's amazing, even if you never took one photo with it (which would quite frankly be stupid) then it would look fabulous just sat on a shelf in your room. It's also exceptionally easy to use, and you get that excitement waiting to see what your photo's have turned out like. Besides looking very cute, the effect that lomography cameras create is what many strive to make their digital prints look like. I know I do anyway.

Lomography are giving one away to one very lucky Zoella reader. It will obviously come box fresh & ready for you to get your creative little mitts around it. There is also a Lomography booklet included which I found to be very helpful but also really lovely to look at. Some of the images that have been captured on these cameras are amazing. You can view them online HERE.
Unfortunately, I haven't finished a film up yet, so I've not had any developed, therefore I can't show you any of my own snaps, but once I've filled a film, I'll be sure to scan some images in and show you.

Rules:
1. Must be a follower of Zoella
2. Leave ONE comment simply saying "Enter Me".
(One entry per person)
3. Include your email address in your comment*
4. The Giveaway is open for 2 weeks only, and will close on 24.11.11 at 12pm GMT
5. This Giveaway is International
6. Winner will be picked at random

*By including your email address you agree that Lomography can send you promotional emails. However, they are super cool and never boring, and you can unsunscribe at any time :)

They are also giving you lovely lot, a chance to sign up and earn 10 piggy points to spend online.
"Piggy points" is a points system (a bit like Boots points if you will) which can be earned through community activities, competitions and giveaways. Each piggy point is equivalent to 1 GBP/USD/EUR. So that's essentially £10 (for the brits like myself).

Click HERE to sign up and earn yourself 10 piggy points

THE WINNER OF THE GIVEAWAY IS...

BeccasBeautySpot

CONGRATULATIONS Becca!
I will email you shortly asking for your details so Lomography can send out your camera. Thanks to everyone who entered.

♥

General Update & Chit Chat

Howdy Doody you lovely lot. It's been a while, and for that, I do apologise. You know when life get's manic, and you feel like you only have time to eat and sleep & your creative juices have run dry and you have a serious lack of motivation? Yeh, that's exactly what happened. You know it's time to sit down and write a blog post when your mum says "Zoe, you've not blogged in ages..."

I know that some people can still bosh out blogposts even when they are lacking in blogging enthusiasm, but I just can't do that. I like to sit down, and enjoy what I write about, and feel a sense of satisfaction once I hit that "publish" button, and although that sometimes means I don't post in a while, I hope that sort of makes up for it. *batters eye lashes*

So where have I been & what have I been up to?

Well, first and foremost, the summer has well and truly scarpered. We had a lovely late summery burst a few weeks ago (see photos), but now the cold and drizzle has arrived. *depressed sigh*. I do love autumn though, I love the crispy golden leaves and the build up to Christmas (yes, I love Christmas, A LOT), but I hate grey, drizzly days. Even if it's chilly, everything is so much better when the sun is out.

Now, I would like to say ANOTHER massive thank you to those of you who voted for Zoella in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards, and I'm absolutely over the moon that I won "Best Established Beauty Blog". Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the awards ceremony but it looked like everyone had a fantastic evening & I'd also like to congratulate everyone else that was nominated and who won awards themselves. All very well deserved :) Makes me proud to be part of such a supportive community.

I have also been working on mine and Louise's (Sprinkle of Glitter) new venture. Which I'm hoping will be out in the open in the next few weeks and certainly in time for Christmas. All I'm saying is keep some money aside whilst buying everyone else's Christmas presents because I'm fairly sure you will want in on it. ;)

I have thoroughly been enjoying searching eBay for cake decorations and nail art decorations, not for any particular reason other than both are super cheap and pretty. I have also been scouring eBay & the local charity shops for winter knits. I did this last year, and I'm fairly positive I didn't spend anything over £6 for any of my winter cardigans or jumpers. You can honestly save so much money doing it this way, and nobody else will be wearing the same thing as you. I'm thinking of doing a post about charity shopping, a bit like my "Shopping in Primark" post, so let me know if this is something you'd be interested in reading. I know that charity shops aren't everyone's idea of fun, but once you find something you love for really cheap, it almost becomes addictive.

I have a lot of things I want to blog about in the up and coming weeks, so expect to see a lot more of me in your dashboard.

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This Makes Me Maaad!

So, i notice on facebook that a friend of mine has bought a 19 piece mac brush set for £36.

Alarm bells instantly started ringing in my head.
My first thought was she'd fallen victim to the fakes all over ebay...
but no, it was a website.

I'm not saying this is the only one, but i am shocked that they can run such a thing. On ebay, you can be banned for selling fakes, so how is this company getting away with scamming unknowing girls like my friend everyday?

I inspected the website for her after she gave me the link, and straight away, i knew everything they were selling was fake.
But there is nowhere on the homepage to suggest that these items aren't the real thing.


[Click to enlarge images]Seriously..look at this "mac lip palette"...
This is bloody ridiculous.

Its not only Mac items they are fobbing off, but Tiffany & Co, Christian Louboutin, Bobbi Brown, Benefit..

On closer inspection however, i came across this...

"BeingSale is dedicated to providing the best and newest designer products at a fraction of the cost. We start by purchasing original designer products, and shipping them to our factories in China . We then inspect every nook and cranny and purchase the same materials to ensure that the products we manufacture are virtually indistinguishable from the designer originals in every way.

We have our own factory and experienced quality control team which makes sure of every detail on the quality of the products.We can serve you with safe and fast transportation services, especially exporting from China to USA & Europe, including door to door and drop-shipping service. From organizing orders to sending goods to final destinations we can ensure that you are satisfied with our services.Our main buyers are from USA, Europe, Australia and Canada, and we can say frankly & surely they are very satisfied with our products due to the quality and promptness of our service.Now we have many worldwide customers who prefer to have mutual contracts with us and place regular orders with us. We guarantee 100% satisfaction on our products, service and replacement guarantee as well. You can order some of our sample products to check if the quality meets your standards which we are sure will."

Im sorry..but QUALITY? Are you kidding me.

At least here, in small print under "About us" at the very bottom of the homepage, they have stated that in actual fact these are "virtually indistinguishable" from the real thing.

Do you know, they have perfected that mac lip palette down to a tea..so well infact, its almost 100% better than the real thing because IT DOESNT EVEN EXSIST!

I don't know if this winds you girls up as much as it does me, but my unknowing friend just spent £36 of her own money, of which she has no way of actually calling the company to try and get back. (Yeh, they have no telephone number..surprise surprise)

I have infact sent them an email, stating exactly what i thought of their hidious website.

&, if you feel about it as passionately as me, i'd urge you to do the same thing.

If they are going to sell blatent fakes, i think they should have it in bold letters on the homepage, not in the small print where they know nobody will see it.

Why are they describing the items as "Mac Lip Palette" - Why not "Fake mac lip palette" or screw the mac part all together seeing as it looks like something you'd pick up for your 4 year old to "mess around with" from a pound shop.

Please go and check out this website, see for yourself how awful these fakes are, and drop them an email if you like...

Click Here to go to their scuzzy website

And this is the email address...

sales@uusell.com

Do you think this site is in the wrong? Even though they have "not so clearly" stated they arent the real thing, i still think its ridiculously misleading, and if that stuff was on ebay, it wouldnt be allowed be branding as the real company names at all.
Opinions?

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