♡ What I Got For Christmas ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

It's halfway through January and I'm going to fuck everyone's timeline up with a belated Christmas post after requests from my best friend and a few other people... *cough* you know who you are *cough cough* here is what I received for Christmas, minus a few pieces as stated in my last post but I'll just put stock photos up instead! First things first, I wasn't expecting as much as I received in all honesty! As soon as I found out that I was getting the tablet, I only asked for a book as another present as I felt bad asking for more... but come Christmas and Boxing day, I was certainly surprised!

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite

My ppprrreeeccciiiooouuusss. After HJ last November and not using my laptop for a whole weekend (seriously, my whole life is on my laptop, it's sad I know) I certainly felt a little cut off so I decided to look into getting a tablet for myself come New Year but, my parents beat me to it! I honestly spent the whole of Christmas day setting it all up and making it perfect to my needs... hello Molang theme and Hiroko Nariyima lock screen!

Taiwanese Home Cooking Cookbook & Leatherbound Classic

I always, always, ALWAYS ask for books for Christmas but this year I really was stumped until I saw these particular ones. I cannot wait to start using the cookbook, I've already planned out which ones I want to try first! And is it sad that I've already read the leatherbound ones?! They are, seriously, super pretty in person and will look STUNNING on my new shelving! I'm excited about getting the entire collection!

Disney DVD's

It's not an event without being given something Disney! Another collection I'm trying to build up and it's definitely working! I think everyone dreams of owning all the titles of the animated side that Disney has ever produced, I know mine certainly is! I also want to collect the ones that weren't as popular... I don't think there is a title I don't want.

Too Faced, Clinque, Etude House, MAC, L'Oreal & Dirty Works

Of course there was make-up involved!! I think hell would have frozen over if I didn't get any make-up!! The Too Faced palette was a serious surprise from my brother and I am super excited about trying out different looks using it... I also love the smell of the coco powder every time I open the palette *O*

VIXX 2015 Seasons Greetings

Needed a calender... noticed that one of my favourite k-pop groups had a seasons greetings box... bang tidy, how could I say no?! I'm super paranoid about taking it out of the box in all honesty but I will use the calendar... honest! Also, I'm screaming internally that Leo is on my birthday month... score for sharing the same birthday month as him!!

Giveaway Prizes from Chloe

May not particularly seem like a Christmas present in some peoples eyes but in mine... it was! I was super surprised, followed by the overwhelming sensation of happiness, when I had found out that I had won Chloe's Christmas giveaway! Even after all of the postcode mix ups from the delivery company, it still managed to arrive on my doorstep pretty darn quickly! I've already been using the mint compact as it helps cover up my red cheeks so much!! Expect reviews on some of the products coming up soon!

Monsters Inc. Mugs

An extra surprise present from my penpal in Japan! She had sent these ones separately from the main box as she wanted something for me to open on Christmas morning, how sweet of her right?! Luckily my parcel to her arrived just in time for Christmas and yet, the cheeky mare hasn't had a chance to send mine out!! I'm not fussed about this detail in reality omg don't take that line seriously please!

Selection of K-Pop CD's

A present to myself for being.... myself *lame* When I saw the signed DGNA cd, I knew that I had to have that as well as continuing the tradition of getting signed AlphaBAT singles whenever they pop up - seriously, I have all signed AlphaBAT stuff without realising it at first. VIXX... obviously I have had my eyes on forever but never got around to purchasing these two singles so getting these particular cd's for Christmas was a must do!!

Still to come;

An unbranded eyeshadow palette (it was on this wishlist) and MAC's A Passionate Quest Eyeshadow as well as a parcel from Renn as our intended swap dates were just before Christmas, I sent mine out extra early and she sent hers out extra late!! I'm still super excited about getting these other gifts, heck I get excited whenever I even purchase something as a special treat!

Ahhh I'm still reeling over all of these goodies! I honestly love each and every piece and I still am super grateful for getting them all! I definitely feel like a spoilt princess! I'd love to see what everyone else got for Christmas so if any of you lot have a post, please comment the link down below for me! *super lazy as per usual*

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ A Little Catch Up w/ A Cup of Tea ♡

새해 복 많이 받으세요!!!

I am still slightly reeling at the fact that it is now 2015... I think my body/mind has somehow been left in 2014 a little bit (；¬д¬) Anyway, I've been a bit lacking in the whole blogging department so I will make up for it a little bit today with a chatty post.

Since HJ back in November, I haven't exactly done a lot in the whole "being sociable" section, just trying to keep up my hours at work whilst watching dramas and sleeping during the bits in between... mentally I went through a grey patch so instead of burdening my friends with my moans / groans, I kind of kept quiet and to myself. Now, the grey patch is subsiding and I seem to be getting on track with feeling like myself once again! The drama watching hasn't subsided though... d'oh! I've been watching dramas based on my favourite actors/actresses, so I watched all of Hiroki Nariyima's dramas followed by Renn Kiriyama's dramas and then all of Karina's dramas... oh and all of Jiro Wang's dramas too! That's my pattern and next on my list is all of Matsuda Shota dramas... and oh yes, this list does include all the dramas I've watched previously |ω・）But I have been trying to improve my make-up ever so slightly... I'm definitely going through the "neutral eyes, bold lips" phase at the moment more than the "bold everything" look!

Next; did everyone enjoy their Christmas / New Year? I did for the first time in... I can't remember when! Normally, I'm not a big Christmas fan and don't get into it like my mam does, I just sort of joined to make her happy but this time around I wanted to do all the cooking and extras for Boxing Day as well as hang extra decorations up - paper chains and paper pompom ball things. On Christmas Day it was just myself and my parents so we just had a relaxing day preparing for Boxing Day followed by a roast beef dinner... simples right? Boxing Day was when the whole family came over (on my mam's side) so trying to fit 12 people (plus a baby bump!) into our living room was... interesting to say the least! After Boxing Day, I had a week off work as it was closed over the holiday so.... more drama watching from me! Oh; and playing with my new toy!

I'm finally in the modern, technological world! I had actually been saving up for a new phone but my parents had been thinking about getting me a tablet and well... yeah it happened! I'm in love with it so much because now when I travel around, I don't have to lug my laptop with me everywhere and I can even blog on it! Also, Sapphire said that I should download the 'Love Live! School Idol Festival' as I'm on android and well.................. biggest mistake ever because I am hooked hfdjahfjlsa! Also, I haven't got any other pictures of what else I had received yet as I'm still waiting for a couple of items in the post! The reason why they're taking so long is because a) ordered them a bit too late b) that long holiday period where post takes a million times longer to get to you! Once everything has arrived, I might /possibly/ do a "What I Got For Christmas" post and follow some other bloggers footsteps! What do you think of that?

Now 2014 was definitely an up and down year for myself, would some of you agree the same for yourselves? There were definitely a few highlights; celebrating my parents 30th wedding anniversary, finding out that I'm going to be a big cousin (again) and starting to learn to drive - that part /was/ a secret but oops I couldn't think of another good highlight off the top of my head! But of course, the highlights were met with some seriously downfalls; losing my nan last August was the biggest downfall in my eyes. But you've got to take the bad with the good, like a pinch of salt, and sometimes it can either break you or make you... 2014 was a breaking year for me personally but I want to certainly make 2015 a 'making' year this time around. I'm not going to make 'resolutions' because I know that I will never stick to them... but there are a couple of things I do want to do before the year ends. One thing is a travel a little more, I already have plans to go to Sweden in May and some other plans in the making to go up to Birmingham/Telford to see Sapphire! I'd like to go to Disneyland Paris sometime this year (maybe around my birthday?) but I'm not sure... I'd have to see who would want to be dragged to Disneyland with me! Another thing I'm going to do is write in my (physical) journal every day as well as stick little things in there whenever it just appears, I used to do this during my university days but stopped doing it for about a year... time to re-start it again! Another thing I'm looking up to do in my area... archery! No, not because of 'Hunger Games' or whatever it's called but it's something I did when I was younger and I kind of miss it?! There is one final thing I want to get done before the year is over but I'm going to keep super quiet about it as I don't really want to get my hopes up too much just in case it all falls through so... fingers crossed!!

So anyway... I have no real clue on how to end this post so have a cluster of photographs from my instagram!!!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ December Wishlist ♡

1. SHO-BI Decorative Eyelashes in Play Sexy #6

2. SHO-BI Decorative Eyelashes in Play Cute #2

3. Dollywink False Eyelashes in no. 10 Sweet Girl

4. Dollywink False Eyelashes in no. 13 Baby Girl

5. K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner Pencil in Deep Brown

6. Canmake Brown Liquid Eyeliner

7. Etude House Princess Happy Ending Blusher in Rose Pink

8. Canmake Stay On Balm Rouge in #07

9. Canmake Just For Me Essence Rouge in #01

10. Canmake Perfect Brown Eyes in Sweet Brown

11. Canmake Perfect Stylish Eyes in Pinky Chocolat 

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ MEMEbox Princess Edition #6 Cinderella // Unboxing ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

The second of my three day MEMEbox un-boxings is the Princess Edition #6 Cinderella! I was going to get all three boxes released (Tinkerbell was the other one) but I decided against it at the last minute for a reason I honestly cannot remember for... aish my memory ;n;

My favourite thing about this particular box is that that it's a face / hair focus box... I'm not really a body cream / lotion / wash enthusiast as I know what my body is able to have and I just stick with it - Radox bubble bath, Original Source Lemon and Tea Tree Shower Gel, Garnier body lotion... end of. So, to have a box with make-up in makes me a very happy person!

#1 ECLAIRE Color-Blast Lip Cream in #06 Santorini

Product description; sophisticated and vivid in colour, completely waterproof and long-lasting, and leaving a silky matte finish, the Color-Blast Lip Cream is a must-have for lovers of all lip products! Its vegetable oil based formula is gentle and moisturising, and it prevents dehydraion of your lips by creating a moisture lock-in layer. Plus, it's free of paraben, benzophenone, alcohol, mineral oil and phenoxyethanol. 

First impression; I would have preferred the red colour than the pink......... but it seems like a nice pink colour all in all. It's interesting to see that this is made with vegetable oil and have no parabens or benzophenone or alcohol in it like a couple of other products from the previous box... recurring theme happening? 

#2 Color World Setting Powder in Orange

Product description; An extremely lightweight, sheer setting powder which is silky and fine in texture and leaves skin with a flawless finish. Smooth away fine lines and imperfections as it sets your makeup in place for the whole day. Add a velvety finish to any makeup or for that extra colour and coverage when applied alone.

First impressions; oooooh setting powder! I've heard of setting sprays and certain setting powders like MAC and Kryolan so this should be interesting for me to use as I go through powder like you'd never believe....... bye bye shine! Also... I was a little bit unsure about the orange colour at first but it turns out that it's more like a translucent powder and changes to appeal to your skin colour and tone... double boom!

#3 ECLAIRE Color-Blast Blusher #Santorini Coral

Product description; a soft and sheer coral, pressed powder blush. Designed to be worn alone or layered together for more depth, it'll bring out the healthy, peachy glow from any skin tone.
First impressions; there's a lot of ECLAIRE products in this parcel but I like the theme... and I love peachy / coral blushers to create that "healthy" glow... I prefer it any day to the OTT pinks or reds even though that style is starting to grow on me these days. It will be intriguing to see if this is a colour build up type of blusher or a "oops too much in one go" kind of blusher.

#4 Tonymoly BCDation All Master SPF30

Product description; this multi-functional BCDation from Tonymoly is a makeup base, a BB cream, a CC cream, and a foundation all in one. It not only correct, blur, and balance out the skin tone but also moisturises, lifts, and adds extra volume for a silky smooth 3D complexion.
First impressions; I am honestly glad that this is the only product that wasn't full sized as I have purchased BB creams in the beginning (of my cosmetic downfall) and have been bitten badly by the wrong shade so I'm happy with the fact that I can test this out, check it against my tone and complexion etc and see if this actually WORKS before I go and get a full sized product!

#5 Anis Double Act Curling Essence

Product description; enriched with grape seed oil and various natural moisturisers, this Double Act Curling Essence not only delivers moisture surge, nourishments, and firmness to hair but also works as a hair styler for the strengthening your curls and holding them in place all day long.
First impressions; oh a hair product... I don't normally go to hair products in an instance unless they are shoved right under my face and as this is here I will try this one. I also never curl my hair... always straighten as my natural hair is some weird frizzy... lion mane... fuzzball

#6 Macqueen Concealer Dual Veil 

Product description; this dual concealer consists of a cover stick on one end for erasing red spots and blemish scars and a liquid concealer on the other end for evening out unbalanced skin tones or highlighting T-zone and under eye area.
First impressions; awesome! I won't really use the liquid concealer as a brightener though as I tend to use liquid concealer more than stick concealer but I'll be using this one that is for sure. Kind of bummed that I got the darker #23 shade of this though and not the lighter #21 shade but hey, you win some and you lose some.

#7 LadyKin At The Party Long & Perm Mascara 

Product description; a smart dual brush mascara with two different types of brush attached for 24 hour long, voluminous lashes. The round ball-like brush works as a 2nd step volumizer which allows you to create varieties of look by adding extra curl and volume to different parts of your lashes.
First impressions; needed a new mascara and boom... got one. How awesome is that?! I've heard things about ball shaped mascaras so it'll be interesting to try this out and see how it works (and trust me it does work as I have been using this since I got it) the ball shape at the end also helps split your lashes apart so you don't have that spider leg look.... perfection! An amazing addition to the make-up collection.

All in all... I like this box. I've seen a few bloggers not happy with this particular box and I can understand their points that they made but for a $139 value for $25.99 (plus the p&p) isn't that bad. Maybe in future if there is another Princess Edition box they need to consider other options so instead of throwing in a random hair care product into a whole make-up box is take away a make-up product and add a skin care product or just throw away the hair care product altogether and have just kept this as a make-up box like the Snow White box was skin care all in all... get it? I am happy with this box and I will certainly be using all of these products... guarantee that.

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ MEMEbox Princess Edition #4 The Little Mermaid // Unboxing ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

Aish! I am a little behind on what I originally had planned but I wanted to get these unboxings done and out of the way more than anything! I'm not going to lie, I hate waiting for things. Especially for things that I have purchased and you don't know what will be in them. At the MEMEboxes HQ, I think that they have some twisted fetish about seeing people squirm and wait for their products... ugh so mean!

Anyway, after months of waiting... three boxes turned up on my doorstep all within the space of a week huzzah!! The first one I had unboxed was the Princess Edition #4 - The Little Mermaid.

#1 Pureplus+ Bentonite Cleansing Soap

Product description; this cleansing soap brings together Bentonite clay from France and cocoon silk for optimizing its skin perfecting results as a deep cleanser. The Bentonite clay is packed with over 66 different kinds of natural minerals such as calcium, magnesium, germanium, and selenium which effectively yet gently removes unnecessary dirt, oil, and dead skin cells from the skin. Together with the cocoon silk - known to be the most similar ingredient to our skin's innate protein - this clay soap leaves skin soft and moist without causing dehydration.
First impressions; I'm actually allergic to most soap bars (and many soap products) over here in UK - I can't remember the ingredient but my searches are limited - and so I'm a little cautious about trying this product, especially as it is meant to be a face cleanser, as I don't really want to have a burning red rash all over my face... we'll see, I'll have to do a skin test first and hope for the best!

#2 DD'ell Extra Vitalizing Serum

Product description; This extra vitalizing serum is formulated with algae extract and galactomyces ferments both rich in  various minerals, vitamins and amino acids. Algae is also known as a miracle natural ingredient from the ocean because it boosts great life force and power growth, for it grows over a meter each day. Nutrition-rich extracts from the algae act as strong antioxidant, anti-allergic, and moisturising agent. Its formula is also free of 12 chemical ingredients such as paraben, artificial colouring, benzophenone, formaldehyde, paraffin, BHT, and triethanolamide.
First impression; this does seem interesting. At first when you look at the product, you will think that it's some highly chemical produced product from the top end of the market but the fact that, yes it is a little high in price ($42) but it's got the main known chemicals out of it. It's hard to keep looking around for a product without paraben in it and even though I'm not as aware of it as I should be.... I do try my best. It'll be interesting to see how this particular product turns out after a few weeks of using in my daily routine.

#3 Grinif Collagen Aqua Peeling Gel

Product description; Multi-action enzymes along with cellulose effectively peel and help uncover a smooth, fresh, new complexion without drying, irritating, or causing undue stress to skin. It removes impurities and de-congests clogged pores for a youthful, radiant look.
First impressions; This is one weird container for a peeling gel... but there must a reason behind it to use such a design? I'm always interested in products to try that don't dry out my skin and it says in the description that it doesn't do that so this one shall certainly be put through the test to check out that theory.

#4 dearberry Pure & Popular White Clay Pack

Product description; Amazon white clay deeply cleanses sebum and skin impurities piled up in the pores and tightens up enlarged pores while organic aloe vera extracts soothe and moisturise the skin. This gentle wash-off clay pack will leave your skin feeling silky, soft and flawless.
First impressions; YAY CLAY PACK!!! Clay packs are my life savers and after running out of my recent one (Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Clay Pack) this is a godsend to me! I suffer from very large pores around / on my nose and in certain areas around my chin so clay packs honestly work for me and I'm excited to see if this one will do the job like my previous one!

#5 Mizon Hyaluronic Ultra Suboon Cream

Product description; moisturises, nourish, relieve, and firm up dry, dulled complexion with Hyaluronic Ultra Suboon Cream. This facial cream consists over 30% hyaluronic acid otherwise known as 'moisture magnet', effectively pulling and locking in moisture and nutrition. Various natural ingredients, oil and ceramide also work to hold in the moisture and to soothe sensitive, stimulated skin. Its gentle formula is free of paraben, artificial colouring, and artificial fragrance.
First impressions; I have heard of Mizon products and have only dipped my toe in with a couple of things but I'm excited to test out this one as it is, again, paraben free as well as low in artificial products. I just hope this definitely lives up to what it's saying and will help keep my skin balanced in the moisturised section as well as not irritating my sensitive skin!

#6 Pure Smile Original Mask Sheet in Seaweed

Product description; pamper your skin with an essential mask sheet enriched with a blend of hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, collagen, and seaweed or pearl extracts straight from the ocean.
First impressions; a Japanese mask product amongst Korea products? Uhhh ok? But, I did just find out today though that Pure Smile may be a Japanese product but it is made in Korea, hence the linking of these products... interesting right? I love Pure Smile anyway and it definitely does what it says on the packaging and I have never had a bad product from them before so I'll be enjoying this mask one day that is for sure!

Now interestingly again, all products were full sized which was quite a nice surprise... I just wish I'd felt the same way about a couple of the actual products given though. First off, I am happy with about 90% of the facial products involved in this box but it's just the bar of soap... super random to me and it just feels a little... I don't know thrown in there? I like the theme of having products from the ocean and ingredients that help keep your skin soft and moisturised but I was expecting a little more pizazz from this box? Princess..... Mermaid.... hints there?

Thanks for reading!
xoxo