Mother's Day Gift Guide!

Here in the UK, mother's day is just around the corner, so I thought that I would put together a little list of what I think are great gifts around at the moment. 

For mummy's who love to cook; 

Amazon are doing some great deals on at the moment with free UK delivery! 

This stoneware heart dish is so cute, and perfect for mums that love to cook! 

Priced at £45 you can buy it here 

For mum's who are house proud; 

Yankee Candles are my all time favourite candles! and I recently picked up the Yankee Candle in Mandarin Cranberry and it has filled my whole house with the most gorgeous scent and it is lasting forever! 

Yankee Candle offer a huge variety of sizes, scents and designs for every budget, and you can pick up the large jar like I have above for £20 here. 

For mum's who smell nice; 

Perfume always makes a great gift and I know my mum would love a bottle of perfume every year. At the moment Amazon is running a huge 60% off on selected perfume from Vivienne Westwood to Vera Wang to Jimmy Choo. 

There is a perfume for every budget and to view this amazing offer, you can click here . 

For beauty loving mummy's;

YSL has also just come out with a brand new beauty gift set called the 'Babydoll Mascara - Eyes Wide Open' set, which includes; a full size Baby doll mascara and a free travel size Top Secrets Pro Eye Make up remover, and a free mini Forever Youth Liberator eye cream. 

Priced at £24.50 you can find it at any House of Fraser store or online

For mum's who like their tea; 

Next have some great mugs sets and this set of 6 Maisie Stacking Mugs would make an ideal present, as they not only look adorable but they don't take up a lot of space either! 

They cost £14, and you can buy them in store or online here

For the creative mummy's

I've always turned to Vistaprint when I have been feeling creative and unable to think of a good present. Whether that's a calendar, or a custom phone case, I think that they offer a great choice of personalised gifts. 

For the range of different gifts available visit their online store here

For mum's who love pretty things; 

I've always used Moonpig for custom cards, however I stumbled across the flower section of their website when browsing the other day. I had never realised how truly beautiful the flower arrangements on their website are, and they can be delivered right to your mum's door. 

They cater for all different budgets and can be found here. 

If your mum is one of those mums who will say that she doesn't want anything when you ask, so it therefore doesn't help you in the slightest when your stuck and trying to find her the perfect gift, ... then I hope that this gift guide has given you some idea's or at least some inspiration as to what to buy her. 

Steph xoxo

My MAC Palette

Hi guys ... 

This is one of them posts that I LOVE reading on other people's blogs, so I thought I would try it myself! 

I've had a few individual MAC eyeshadows before and always wished I could have a MAC eyeshadow palette .... so when I went to New York last October I jumped at the chance - especially as the make up is slightly cheaper over there!

Each eyeshadow pan is $10, the large/single pro palette is $8 and the pro palette eye shadow insert x15 is $2. 

In the UK each eyeshadow pan is £10, the large/single pro palette is £14 and the pro palette eye shadow insert x15 is £6.50. 

I decided to go for the single palette with 15 eyeshadows over the duo one that has 30 shadows, because I liked the idea of being able to see the eyeshadows without having to open it up, and as the other one is duo it doesn't have the clear plastic at one side (obviously).

Please excuse the mess - I tried to clean it as best I could, but it is used every day and is extremely loved!


So as you can see I have two missing - this irritates my OCD on a daily basis. I just haven't been able to find two other perfect shades that I want . On my way back to the UK when I was in JFK Airport I came across Shroom and Soft Brown in the MAC store there, however they didn't have them in the pan forms. I still bought them and use them everyday I just haven't gotten around to de-potting them yet.

Onto the shadows ...
(left to right, top to bottom)
sketch, espresso, shadowy lady, haux, wedge
retrospeck, all that glitters, satin taupe, malt, omega
mythology, gleam, naked lunch


As you can see, I think I have a good mixture of matte and satin/frost shades and they are obviously neutral colours!
I sat down with a make up artist in MAC in Times Square and I told him the shades I definitely wanted, and he helped me pick out the rest according to my skin tone and eye color!
the only ones that I am not so crazy over and have had difficulty using them would be mythology and gleam on the bottom row - I'm going to continue using them but for now they aren't my favourites.

which are your fav MAC eyeshadows?
any recommendations for the final two shades?
Thanks for reading,
Steph xoxo 

Clinique 3-Step Skin Care ...

Hi guys, 

So last week, I finally caved and went into Boots where I had a consultation for the Clinique 3 step skincare system. 

I sat down with a lovely lady and we discussed my skin in a lot of detail, and we finally came to the conclusion that I have dry combination skin, which is type 2. 

Their skincare is slightly on the pricey side, so I decided to buy the introduction kit to see how my skin reacts to it - after all there would be nothing worse than spending £60+ and then my skin disagreeing with it. 

The type 2 trial size box includes a 50ml liquid facial soap, a 100ml clarifying lotion and a 30ml dramatically different moisturing lotion. 

The whole idea behind the 3 step is simple... 3 steps, 3 items, 3 minutes. 

The consultation at Clinique also included a step by step of how to use the products... 

Every morning and night use the liquid facial soap, then wash off and dry your face. Next, use a small amount of the clarifying lotion on a cotton ball, all over your face in a sweeping upwards motion.  

Finally use a small amount of the moisturiser all over your face and neck. 

The idea of the moisturiser being the smallest product, is that once you have applied the 2 products beforehand, you don't need a lot of the moisturiser as it just soaks into your skin and doesn't sit on top. 

"It's easy with the 3-Step Skin Care Introduction Kit. Just 3 minutes, morning and night, to see clear, smooth, radiant skin in about two weeks. Cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise" - Boots 

It's only been a week so I can't give you a full detailed review yet, however so far so good. My skin has broken out slightly since I started using this - but I was warned this would happen as my skin is 'having a clear out' so to say, so I've been told to keep at it for 2 weeks minimum. 

You can buy the introduction kit from Boots here . However I would recommend going into Boots or anywhere that sells Clinique for a consultation prior to buying, unless you know your skin type perfectly of course!

I'll let you know how I get on in a couple of weeks - but I would love to know if any of you guys use Clinique? 

Steph xoxo