I WON

Hello everyone and merry Christmas!

I hope you all are having a wonderful day, I'm sat here taking a break from board games (I don't have the patience for cluedo with the grandparents) to write this little post telling you about some lovely beauty products I won a few months back and the trouble I had to go through to get them.

So it all started when I entered a competition on Twitter through FeelUnique.com to win the Yes To skincare range. I didn't think anything would come of it as I had entered competitions like this before and never won anything, but this time I did! When I got the notification on my phone I was so excited I called my mum to tell her about the goodies I had won. They DMed me to ask for my address and I sent it to them right away. A week passed and still nothing had arrived, I felt a little disheartened but told myself these things take time and they were probably sorting it. Another week went by and I decided to email them to check what was  going on and they said they were shocked that Yes To had not sent the products yet and would chase it up for me.

I started to feel hopeful again, but then another week ended and I thought that's it they are not going to sent it. I was pretty fed up at this point and took to Twitter to ask other people if they had received their prizes and surprise  surprise they said no! We mentioned  feel unique in our tweeting session and they decided to do something about it and explained they had a lot of prizes to send so that was why it was taking so long. That's fair enough but it shouldn't take over a month!

So a month and a week later I came home to a white box with snowflakes on it placed on my bed, I could not wait to rip that thing open after all of the fuss I'd had! Inside was everything shown in the photo above: yes to carrots day cream, yes to coconut shampoo and conditioner, yes to blueberries body wash, yes to cucumber facial wipes and yes to tomato face mask. I have tried out all of the products now and they all smelt lovely but for some reason my skin didn't like the wipes and day cream and they made it go all red whenever I used them. My favourite was the face mask it was a clay one which I find to be the best when it comes to masks and after washing it off my face felt so clean and refreshed. I think it was a nice range to try but choose carefully before splashing out on their products and be sure to get the right one for your skin type. If you don't know what type you are I have a post that explains them HERE.
That's all from me for today I'm going back to being festive, please leave a comment letting me know what you did for Christmas or if you have tried any of the yes to skincare range as I would love to hear about it! Thank you for reading!

Love from Lily xxxx

Life Update #2

Hey everyone!

Hope you are all well, just thought I would do a little post to let you know what I've been up to lately. Firstly I have recently started a new job at Starbucks, I used to work there but I decided to come back when I saw that there was a new store opening close to me. I'm currently doing my training and it's so weird to be a new-old person if that makes any sense? I remembered quite a bit but of course there's plenty to catch up on and things that have completely changed that I didn't know about, but I'll get there! I'm so excited to meet the new team I will be working with but it will be a few weeks until that happens. I will keep you updated about how it goes when I start at my store.

The second thing I have been focusing on is trying to get sorted for Christmas. There is so much to do and I know if I don't make an effort to get on with it then it will creep up on me and everything will be done in a panic, which is not what I want as this will be the first Christmas I stay home and spend  with Jack. We have decided on a black Christmas tree with silver decorations, I have even got silver wrapping paper and tags to match the theme. I like that it's something a little different, I have never been into traditional style. So far present-wise I have two for Jack, my mum's and my nan's so I still have a few to get before I've finished! Plus I don't know if I am seeing my family in person to give them their presents after Christmas or if they want them posted, that part is all a bit up in the air at the moment. It should be good though, I have an image in my mind of our perfect day together, opening presents, having a lovely dinner and watching a film with a nice cozy blanket. Let's hope it goes to plan! I will be looking to Pinterest for my decor and foodie ideas, but more on that later.

Another thing I have been seriously considering for a while now is becoming vegan, after watching many videos about it on YouTube from people such as Freelee the Banana Girl and Kalel it made me realise how disgusting the dairy industry really is. The way they use and abuse those animals is heart-breaking and we basically choose to ignore it because the reality of it all is so unpleasant and people don't want to recognize they are supporting this. I admit I am one of those people right now, I still eat cheese, chocolate and yogurt. I no longer drink cow's milk and am trying to gradually stop eating one product at a time. I understand they are hard to give up, I really do. However there are alternatives for eeeeeverything so I am going to get those instead and see how it goes. Not preaching at you guys, I just feel people should be aware of what happens to the animals before they make their choice of whether to eat them/their products or not, a little bit of education never hurt anyone.

Anyway I think that's all for today I'm going to make some dinner and enjoy the rest of my evening, I hope you do the same. See you in the next post!

Love from Lily xxxx

WHAT TO GET YOUR MAN FOR CHRISTMAS ❤

Hi guys!

Whether you have only been with your man a few months or have been with him a couple of years like myself, it's a well known fact that people of the male variety are SO much harder to buy for than ladies. There's just less out there to choose from and there's only so many pairs of jokey socks and shower gel sets they can handle! So if you are looking for something original and heartfelt to get your partner for Christmas I have created this post to give you a bit of inspiration.

1. A Personalised Destination Print

A personalised gift is always the best kind of gift because it is one of a kind and this one will remind your man of all the fond memories of holidays and events from the past whilst making a stylish piece that you can both agree will look lovely. £54 from www.notonthehighstreet.com (exact item link: http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/betsybenn/product/framed-personalised-destination-blind)

2. Wood Watch Made From Sandlewood With Military Canvas Strap

I have seen a few one these around recently but this one I particularly like because it is handmade by an American company called tmbrwood and looks really well put together. They have loads of different designs so if this one isn't quite your cup of tea check out the other ones, I believe they also do handmade wooden phone cases as well. £52.50 plus shipping from www.esty.com (exact item link: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/198444573/wood-watch-made-from-sandalwood-and?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=gifts%20for%20him&ref=sc_gallery_6&plkey=3be515ee9963249c6b07ec6920fbdf288c7c8649:198444573 )

3. Bullshirt's Men's Value Christmas T-Shirt

I have to admit this did make me laugh when I saw it, purely because I'm always being told by the BF that I'm stingy with my money (I'm not I'm just sensible, someone has to be obvs) and I'm sure he would get a giggle out of it too. It makes a change from the obligatory rudolf/santa/snowman jumper anyway! £14.99 from www.amazon.co.uk (exact item link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00P6JL3FG?keywords=christmas%20gifts&psc=1&qid=1445200011&ref_=sr_1_18&sr=8-18-spons)

4. Merci Maman Stirling Silver Personalised Men's Infinity Bracelet

I think this is super thoughtful and I love the fact you can get it engraved, it's a cute present but still very manly of course! It comes in all standard man colours (black, blue, brown and grey) so you can take your pick and you can have up to 20 characters on each side. It's really easy to get your message on there you just send them an email with the details or someone will call you within 3 days of ordering. £39.00 from www.johnlewis.com (exact item link: http://www.johnlewis.com/merci-maman-sterling-silver-personalised-men's-infinity-bracelet/p2009461?colour=Black )

I would recommend having a look at the websites I have featured on here in general as well as the items shown in the post because you will be pleasantly surprised! There's lots to look at not just for couples but for brothers, friends, fathers, uncles... you name it! And if all else fails just get them a gift card from GAME and you'll be sorted!

Hope you are all having a lovely day, and that you now have a few Christmas present ideas for the men in your life. Let me know in the comments what you thought of the post and if there's any really good present ideas I have missed. See you next time.

Love from Lily xxxx