DIY Christmas details!

Want to make your present wrapping a bit more personal? your tree decorations truly one of a kind? Then here are just a few tips for some DIY Christmas details, that will truly add a magical touch to the festivities. Share the love and leave your ideas in the comments, I would love some more inspiration!

Recycled card tags

Do the abundance of Christmas cards you receive every year end up getting piled into the recycling bin? Why not save the best ones, then next year you can use  them to make lovely gift tags! Not only will there be a huge array of colours and designs to choose from, you also have complete freedom as to what shape you want the tag to be. Forget the normal square or circle shop-bought tags, why not try your hands at a Christmas tree, or a reindeer! This adds a lovely touch to a present and you do not need to spend a penny. 

DIY Baubles

This one takes a bit of time, but the results can be truly stunning. Get yourself some plain bog-standard baubles, then use ribbons, beads, gems or whatever you can find in the haberdashery store to make them truly unique and special! You could probably even use bits and bobs you have lying around at home, broken jewellery, material from that dress that is now too small, the list is endless. Just let your creativity run wild and get sticking!

Festive drinks

So, your house is going to be filled with every friend, well wisher and far flung relative for the Christmas festivities. It seems doing anything other than filling your trolley tesco's with an array of alcoholic beverages is going to be to much. However, there are 2 festive drinks that are so easy and simple to do, mulled wine and cider! There are so many recipes on the internet for both, the main crux of it is basically adding fruit, spices and sugar and then warming up! It does not take long and can used as a centre piece in a large serving bowl, it looks fantastic with all the fruit slices and cinnamon sticks in.

Natural decorations

Why not make decorations and centre pieces out of what you can find in your garden? One year we sprayed pine cones with gold and silver paint, they looked lovely as a centre piece with other natural items or on the tree. You can spray twigs, holly, leaves, what ever you want. Oranges decorated with cloves also look lovely and have a nice festive scent too!

Christmas makeovers

Being a beauty blog I just had to chuck this one in there! Why don't your nearest and dearest get together for some Christmas makeovers before heading to your celebrations. It is Christmas so you can go wild with a red lip and glitter-galore, maybe challenge yourself by swapping looks with a friend. Everyone can bring their make up bag which also adds so much fun as you discover new wonder products.

Nail Rock blue glitter

When I opened this months Birchbox I saw this lovely Nail rock blue glitter! I had heard of this before and been very intrigued, but never got around to buying it myself, so it was lovely to see. The colour is a stunning midnight blue, I feel like a red or gold would have been more festive but this is still a gorgeous shade. The formula of the actual nail varnish seemed a little thin, but 2 coats gave a nice opaque finish. I then dipped my ring finger into the glitter provided and, voila! A gorgeous party-season nail look, it's as simple as that! I was terrified that the glitter was just going to fall off, but it held fast. I did seal it in with some topcoat about an hour after putting it on to ensure longevity. I really do absolutely love the look that the glitter gives, and so do all my house mates! I will definitely be checking out some more colours. 

What's caught my eye...

 All pictures sourced from tumblr

Maybelline 10 hour stain gloss; Timeless Plum

The latest addition to my dark winter-lip collection was this Maybellline 10 houir stain gloss in Timeless plum. I have never really seen these spoken about before, and when I tried it I was really surprised! It very much reminded me of the Rimmel Apocolips, but with a more gloss and stain-like finish as opposed to the liquid lipstick type. The applicator makes it really easy to fill in your lips, I flip it on it's side and use the edge to line my lips first. This product works best if you build it up in light layers, this also ensures maximum wear time. When the gloss wears off you are left with a lovely stain, this is slightly drying on the lips, but I just slick some balm on the top and I am good to go again. This colour is perfect for the winter months, but I will definitely be building up my collection full of other colours too! Have you tried this product? What do you think?

The brush that does everything!

My new wonder brush is actually part of the day to night set from Eco tools. I don't think the set is readily available in the U.K (I got mine for £12ish from TKMAXX) but it is avalable from Amazon for £17.99. To give just a brief description, the set includes a Pointed Concealer Brush, Detailed Lip/Liner Brush, Stay-there Shadow Brush, Smudge Brush, and the brush I am going to rave about, the Rounded Powder Brush! The brushes are synthetic, have sustainable bamboo handles, and they all come packaged in a super handy travel case. Now, the round powder brush is literally so bloomin' soft! I just want to stroke my face with it forever, and that is probably why I love to use it for all my powder products! Seriously, this baby applies my finishing powder, bronzer/contour, blush and highlighter perfectly and gives such a flawless finish. I would definitely pop down to your local TK MAXX and snap this up if you can, even if it is just for the powder brush. Though I will say that all the brushes are amazing so I think this is amazing value for money.