First Blogmas Post - My Wishlist

My 12 days of Blogmas posts has finally began! I can't believe it. The month is already flying by; not surprising as the year has \zoomed past. So much things have happened - good and bad. However, spreading a lot of positivity, here is a list of things I want for Christmas:

1. Foundations

I'm still to find the perfect foundation for my skin. Truthfully my skin is really difficult to deal with. Recently I've discovered I'm allergic to an ingredient called which is nearly every item (in fact, I dare you to grab your household items and see how many have it in? It's often in toothpaste, washing powder, washing-up liquid, makeup and beauty/toiletry items). Being very pale and with no pink undertones, I really struggle to find a foundation that suits me and doesn't make me look bad. However I have recently started to blend my neck with bronzer which looks a lot better!

If I'm not struggling with that, I also have acne scarring which only covers with high-coverage foundations, which don't seem to be as popular. Every girl wants to look natural. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the girl to top-up during the day, or to paste it on but I wouldn't like to be seen without it! I find because I'm prone to acne, I try to avoid some oil-based products however, oil-free items can totally dry out my skin. It often feels like I can't win!

However I've heard good things about a few different brands so here are a few I'd love to try:

• Urban Decay "Naked Skin" Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Foundation, £27 - I have heard so many good things about this one.I love that it is vegan (as I'm looking to use more natural and vegan friendly products). Although it is a lightweight foundation, I adore their concealer (I can almost use it without foundation); I love that it says it goes on like moisturiser as I hate the almost "caked-effect" you get with a lot of foundations.
• Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick, £29.50 - Looking online it has really light shades, I might even be the second along for once! I like that it is meant to last a long time and provide full coverage. Most of all, I've been wanting to try Bobbi Brown for a very long time!
• Tarte Rainforest for the Sea Foundation, £28 - This is another vegan brand that I've used. They do amazing eyeshadow palettes and I have tried one of their foundations before. I tried the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour full coverage foundation and loved it in many ways. It provided great coverage and lasted the full day. The colour seems a bit lighter too
• Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation, £29.50 - Again this is a brand I've wanted to try for a long while. I also like that it's meant to provide full coverage, but is lightweight for the skin.
• Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation, £27.90 - I always hear such good things about this foundation, and really want to try it!
• Too Faced - Born This Way Undetectable Foundation, £28 - Again this is a brand I really want to try. The name reminds me of a Lady Gaga though! 

Who knew I could write a post mostly on foundation there!

2. Money for driving lessons 

I'll be upset if a koala can sit behind a wheel!

My main goal for next year is to pass my driving test, and before the 26th November (when theory test runs out). I really struggled with my theory, so will be gutted if I need to do it again.I knew driving was a long process, but having started over two years ago, I just want to get to it!

3. Films

I'm a big lover of films, so always love to see a new film added to Netflix, getting a fun second-hand DVD or a film I've not seen (especially if it's off my film list).

4. Books

There are a few books I want to get, as I hope to start reading more again. I did start to but haven't found anything I've been really into for a while. Here are a few I like the sound of though:

• Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit: written by Sean Hepburn Ferrer - I love Audrey Hepburn as she is beautiful, talented and admire all her charity work. I could waffle on for days about her, but won't. I already did a little during a recent blogtober post.
• A Street Cat Named Bob: written by James Bowen- I love unique stories like this. I don't want to say too much as I feel I won't do it justice, but I heard about it on the news recently and was instantly drawn to the tale.

5. Gift Cards

I always ask family members for this. I love to get specific gift cards because I find January to be such a long month, and feel you can't treat yourself to nice things as you're saving from spending so much. I'm also really bad for not having warm clothes this time of year, so desperately need to buy myself new things this time of year. I am loving stuff in New Look, H&M and Next at the moment.

6. Organiser

I bought a diary from Urban Outfitters the start of last year, where I could fill out entries for every day for five years. I liked the idea of seeing how things had changed. However I'm known to forget appointments so love a little book to jot these in. Having recently visited Paperchase, I saw fab organisers where you can fill a to-do list, budget plan, meal-planner and much more. I think all these will help me a lot to keep me focused, help me save more for driving and help my healthy eating. Shopping with my mother, I know I got this one!

7. Clip-on Earrings

My ear piercings have totally sealed up. The last time I got them done, the woman said I couldn't get them done again. Therefore when I stupidly left them out for maybe a week and it hurt to put them in, it's safe to say I gave up. I have not seen any nice clip-on earrings and miss them as jewellery. I am like a magpie attracted to all glitter and sparkle so would love ones like this!

8. Flat Shoes

I love to wear flats most of the year, and at the moment only have two pairs. One is quite formal and the other is very bright and I don't wear often. I hate shoe shopping (I know - I must be the woman exception), so love it when I get them for presents.

9. Chocolate

I love getting a Terry's Chocolate Orange every year at Christmas. I also just love Giant Chocolate buttons at the moment, so would be grateful of a bag of them!

10. Something personal

I feel the best presents are lots of little things that show how much you care and have thought about the person. It could be a treasured memory, an "in" joke or merchandise related to an interest, hobby or a favourite film/TV programme. These are the presents you don't know you want!

Anyway, that's me - my list is longer than I thought! Hope you enjoyed reading.

What do you want from Santa? I would love to hear it.

Festive Gift Ideas - for her *

How exciting! This is my first festive post. Working in retail for approximately 4 years; listening to christmas songs on repeat for two months and listening to moody shoppers in the festive period slowly sucked the christmas spirit out of me. That being said, I feel like it might be coming back! This year I look forward to drinking a snowball, eating, opening presents, more eating, dressing up, more eating and obviously giving something.

This year, I've realised I don't have too many to buy for - my mum, dad, a few friends and my grandparents. I can't complain at that! That is not to say that I find christmas shopping to be plain sailing. This year, I plan on getting most things online. So far, I've bought a small personalised gift for my friends from a local seller on the island, who I might discuss in a future post.

Discovering Ezebee was a fun one, it has unique things that you don't find often around with lots of handmade gifts similar to things you might find on sites like Etsy. It's not something you find in your usual shops or typical to marketplaces like Amazon. It's so lovely to find gifts with that personal, handmade touch. This posts show 10 gift ideas for her (whether that is a friend, family member or even girlfriend/fiancée/wife):

1. Personalised Cushion, £35

This is a wonderful present for an older relative who you struggle to buy for, and feel has everything. Get personal family pictures on and it will mean the world to them!

2. Flirty Berry Soap Gift Set, £5.36

I sometimes find it so hard to find something decent for under £10, sometimes even under £20. It might even serve as a fab secret santa gift at work! This amazing gift set includes: bath salt, a strawberry cupcake soap, oats & honey cupcake soap, 2 strawberry hearts and a loofah. Perfect for those friends who loves beauty products or a nice bath!

3. Liberty Make-up Bag, £12

Crafted Chic design a few lovely print designed makeup bags. This was one of my favourite ones! Lovely for friends, mums and any woman in your life!

4. Personalised Hanging Heart Duo, £8

Similar to gift number 1, it is a lovely personalised gift for older family members. It would also be lovely for mums to have with cute pictures of their little ones, engaged or newly married couples.

5. Ring Made Con Austrian Crystal, £6.08

I find it so rare to find beautiful jewellery at reasonable prices. I noticed a lot of lovely Austrian crystal jewellery items to choose from. This was one of them! Only problem is this one I'd rather have for myself...

6. Contentment Jars (Spa day in a jar), £9.57

Similar to number 2, I believe this would make a great secret santa gift. It is perfect for those that love beauty items.

7. Elegant Tree Pendant, £17.36

This gorgeous pendant comes in many different colours; this was just one of my favourite. The tree connotation reminds me of family, and the family tree.

8. Silver Leaf Filigree Statement Necklace, £12.72

Again, this might be more of one that I'd like to receive. That being said, no girl can be without a statement necklace to brighten up an all-black outfit or make a day outfit into night! I firmly believe that jewellery makes an outfit so much better and more fun.

9. Trinket Heart Box, £5.21

Another low-cost gift that can have many uses. You can pop other gifts in, and it would make a lovely ornament, keepsake or trinket box. I also love that it reminds me of asian art. I've always loved items from China and something about it has that vibe.

10. Be your own hero frames, £7.14

I love this picture frame and with so many friends moving into a new home recently, I love it as a gift. I don't think you can go wrong with a home-related gift. This is so quirky too!

This concludes my list. In summary, I think the best gifts are those that are personal and make the person feel like you've really shopped for them. Buy them something they asked for, talked about or something that shows you take interest in the things they care about. If that fails, get those women close to you, some lovely jewellery, something personalised or something beauty-related.

What do you like to buy for gifts? I'm keen to get started properly buying for christmas once November starts! This year I've already got started for my friends. How are you doing with your purchases? Are you more last minute?

*For full disclosure this is my first sponsored post, which I hope will increase my visibility online. I was asked to pick out gift ideas for Ezebee.com. However I hope you can tell that I found this fun to write, and helped me find another great online marketplace, which I can honestly say I will buy from this christmas!