What I Got For Christmas 2016

I write this post every year, with the usual disclaimer of course. I thought I would pick out my favourite bits that I received this Christmas and why I love them. Of course most of my presents were beauty based and I have left the homeware and stocking fillers out otherwise I wouldn't have the table space nor the patience to stop myself from eating chocolate before taking the photos. You may notice that my backdrop is a bit different to usual, and that's because I brought my marble board 2 hours away to Derbyshire where I'm staying with my boyfriend's mum because I wanted to get this post up before new year. Dedication!

As I mentioned, the majority of my present were beauty based so I'll start with the makeup. I received two palettes this year, one was the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette, and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Ultimate Glow Kit. I really wanted the Modern Renaissance palette when it came out earlier in the year but didn't have the money to pick it up, so when it finally came back in stock on Cult Beauty, Andy picked it up for me along with some Morphe Rose Gold Brushes which I just realised I forgot to photograph. I had asked my family to repurchase some items I was running out of, as they were asking for ideas and I couldn't think of much! They bought me the Benefit Gimmie Brow and Stay Don't Stray which are two items I couldn't live without, as they keep my brows strong and my lids perfect so my makeup doesn't come off during the day. As I'd tried the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara in mini form but it didn't stay on too well, I now have the waterproof version so hopefully it will last all day.

Every special event I always receive some Mac items since it's an easy gift for people to pick up and I'll never stop loving Mac. I received the Diva lipstick and the Cherry lip pencil which are both red shades that I know I'll love when I wear them. I received a Mac voucher too so I've ordered two more single eyeshadows to go into my Mac palette which I've not touched in a while so it needed some love. Another item I forgot to photograph (but brought all the way to Derbyshire regardless) is the Sigma Beauty Dry'n Shape Spa which is multi-purpose item to help with washing and drying your makeup brushes that can hold up to 18 brushes and has a detachable middle to aid with washing them. I have about 40-50 brushes right now and getting them all cleaned and dried has been a tough task, so this is going to help so much.

Of course it wouldn't be a haul without a bit of Colourpop. This as a gift from me to me, and also a gift to my best friend. I bought two of the value kits, the Persuede Me and Staycation and knew that e both wouldn't like all the colours, so took three out of one kit and swapped it with the other and we both adore the lippie stix we have now. From the two kits, I've got LBB, Goldie, Cookie, Le Freak, Hotline and Grunge. They're a mix of nudes and warm tones and since I have so many bright shades in my entire lipstick collection, it was time I tried some shades I wasn't to familiar with. Colourpop Lippie Stix are hands down one of my favourite lipstick products.

I received a few home and style items but I'll start with these beautiful silver heels from New Look, bought for me by my boyfriend's brother. He asked what I wanted and I sent him images of two pairs and told him to surprise me, and these were my favourite pair out of the two. They're more of a classic shape and style, with glitzy silver finish to make them perfect for this time of year. I was asked quite a lot what I wanted for Christmas this year and two items that I thought of was camera bags. I've had my Olympus Pen for quite a while and love being able to take my blog and Instagram photos with it, but I hated the bag it came with. I was looking for something that didn't look like a camera bag, and this one from Asos was exactly what I was after. It fits my camera in, phone and plenty of other things in without causing damage to the camera itself due to the soft lining. I've also had my Instax camera for most of the year but hadn't found a good bag for it yet. My best friend bought me this matching white Instax bag to carry it in and I'm in love.

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Colourpop Haul and UK Shipping Information

If you've already seen my birthday haul you may have seen that my boyfriend bought me some Colourpop goodies as part of my birthday present. He went totally overboard bless him, so it's only fair that I make the most out of the products I received, and what better way than to review them. The products I'm review are two Lippie Stix, one Ultra Satin Lip, the Zingara shadows and pigments set, the Where The Light Is shadows and pigments set, some individual Super Shock Shadows and a highlighter.

The two Lippie Stix ($5/£4) that I received were in the shades Lumiere and Poppin'. Lumiere is described as a dusty pink mauve in a matte finish, created by Kathleen Lights, who said that she wanted a colour that both shy and bold people could wear. For me, it's almost my perfect nude and I'm so glad I picked this shade out. It's such a wearable shade and is constantly in my handbag along with my Mac Hot Gossip lipstick. I didn't pick the shade out because of Kathleen Lights as I didn't know who she was until I went on Colourpop (and now I like her videos).

The second shade I have is Poppin', which is a bright pink which looked more fuschia on the website but is a bit more on the hot pink side of things instead of a mix of purple and pink. Regardless, it's a pretty colour and I'll be wearing this with more neutral makeup. The Ultra Satin Lip ($6/£4.80) shade that I picked up was November which is suited given that we're midway through the month. It's a mid-tone warm peachy pink and I expected it to be more glossy but I was pleasantly surprised that it's a bit like a matte liquid lipstick but more creamy. Totally impressed with this and will pick some more up after Christmas.

The two value sets I picked up where the Zingara and the Where The Light Is sets. Zingara ($18/£14.50) is part of the Fall 2016 line and consists of four eyeshadows in the shades Paradox (a cool-toned burgandy red in a satin finish), Elixir (a mid-tone true terracotta in a matte finish), Seeker (a warm reddish brown in a matte finish) and Jinxie (a soft gold in a pearlized finish). Worn together they make the perfect Autumn eye look. Jinxie is the perfect shade to be worn on the lid, Elixir as a transition colour in the crease, Seeker in the crease and then Paradox in the outer-v.

Where The Light Is is again another collab with Kathleen Lights which I didn't really know until I was researching for information after I received the set. I must say the colours chosen for this quad are absolutely beautiful, and they are Glow (a creamy vanilla in a matte finish), Kathleen Lights (a bright golden copper in a pearlized finish), Blaze (a coco bronze sprinkled with multi-dimensional glitter in a metallic finish) and Cornelious (a mid-tone warm caramel in a matte finish). In the same way as using Zingara, I use Glow as a base, Cornelious as a transition shade, Kathleen Lights on the lid, blended all over into the outer-v with Blaze in the very outer corner. I think this quad is more suited to every skin tone.

I have four Super Shock shadows ($5/£4) in the shades Nillionare, Rex, Tea Party and Shop. Nillionare is a warm bronzed metallic finished shadow with 'tons' of gold and multi-coloured glitter. It's a beautiful colour to be worn in the center of the lid and underneath your lower lashes. Rex is the most bold shadow I have from this whole Colourpop haul, and is described as a black drenched with multiple shades of blue glitter throughout. Blue is my favourite colour and although I don't wear bold shades everyday, I think this would look perfect with the Naked 3 palette from Urban Decay. Tea Party is a versatile soft peachy pink with a multitude of silver glitters with subtle hints of pale pink glitter and can honestly be worn with nearly any eyeshadow, worn quite naturally or worn to contrast a bold smokey look. Finally, Shop is a rusty coral shade in a matte finish which is more of a summer shade but could be worn with brown toned eyeshadows for an autumnal look.

The last item from the haul is the Highlighter ($8/£6.50) in Candyman which is a pearlized finished powder in a metallic rich gold which can honestly be worn as a highlighter or an eyeshadow but is so perfect for the colder months where brown shades come out to play.

UK Shipping Information
Now I managed to get in with Colourpop's free international shipping day which seems to appear once every few months. However, you can use a third party forwarding service to ship to the UK. I'll first talk about my experience with the international shipping, then I'll talk about how you can buy Colourpop products through a third party. 
With the free international shipping I think you had to spend a certain amount to qualify and since I didn't place the order myself, but I'm sure it was around $75. When it was shipped over and arrived in England, I had a grey Royal Mail card that said I had to pay customs fees from my local depot to pick up the order. When I arrived it was £21 in fees which is annoying but I was told some charges were much higher, and although my boyfriend paid for the products, I paid the fees as he couldn't add it into his budget as the items only arrived a few days before my birthday. The fees were paid and I was handed the order, and it only took about a week to arrive over from the USA.
With shipping charges being annoying, you may choose to opt to use a third party service, such as Go Send or Shipito. I'm currently using Go Send for a Bath & Body Works order, and with them they provide you with a locker address to order products from American websites in order to gain domestic shipping which is free on some websites. The orders are delivered to your locker and they calculate the shipping fees. Whenever you choose to release your locker you pay the delivery fees etc and pick which courier you want it shipped with, which is DHL for me. The good thing about the locker service is that you can keep items in your locker for 60 days, so my B&BW order is sitting in it right now, the second Colourpop order I've made is en route and later on I'm making an Anastasia Beverly Hills order to send there. Once it's all arrived I'll pay the fees and have it shipped over. They have a live chat if you get stuck and Colourpop is actually one of their advertised stores that definitely works with them (Sephora and Ulta will not ship to Go Send unfortunately). If you have any questions about the service feel free to write it in the comments below (I'm not collaborating with Go Send btw).

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