Handmade Gifts

I adore most things that are handmade but it's been a while since I've made anything to give away as a gift. Handmade gifts are cute and unique but I appreciate that it's not for everyone. There are some people who would much prefer to just be bought something and that's fine, there is only so much you can make by hand! 

In the past few months I've been having so much fun getting crafty with sewing, cross-stitching etc, so I thought it would be nice to set aside some time to make something as a Christmas gift. 

After much deliberation, I decided to make some bunting! I initially wanted to make bunting with little Christmas trees and snowmen on them but then I figured that I wanted to make something that was more suitable all year round. I won't start naming people but this bunting has the initials of all four members of the family that this gift is for. I think it adds a nice personal touch to it. None of them read my blog so they won't see this until they open their little parcel on Christmas Day!

Gifts aren't complete without wrapping them up and making them look presentable. I even added a little post-it note to the bubble wrap! 

I am usually a perfectionist when it comes to wrapping but I had to just admit defeat with this one. I didn't want to risk squashing or creasing the felt too much so I had to just tape it up as lightly and as quickly as I could. I also used an A4 sheet of coloured paper rather than actual wrapping paper. I love the colour of this! The tag is super cute too and was an absolute bargain at 99p for a whole pack. Card Factory is the best. I actually got these last year so I'm sure they probably have different ones this year.

I couldn't resist making a few more things for them though! Some of you may recognise the Christmas Pudding decoration from my Getting Crafty For Christmas post the other week. I made two so I'm giving one to them. Since last week, I also made some snowmen. I made one with a green scarf to keep myself, and I'm giving them this one with the red scarf. 

I'm not too sure if I'm going to wrap these up yet, I might just give these to them on Christmas Eve as an early gift so they can hang these on their tree. 

Did you make any gifts this year?

Review: Jurlique - Herbal Recovery Gel

Jurlique is a skincare brand, priding themselves on combining nature and science in order to develop the best products in the most natural way possible. I love natural skincare as I find that it's a lot gentler on my skin that other products are. 

I was kindly sent this Jurlique Herbal Recovery Gel* which is one of their many popular products and it is an antioxidant serum designed to tone and restore the skin, minimising the signs of ageing. 

This is a luxury product, retailing at around £45 for a 30ml bottle. The bottle itself is a little heavy and appears to be matte glass. The nozzle sticks out a little and that's why the cap has a cut out for it. I love the smell of this product, it smells like a spa! It's so fresh and it reminds me of posh hotel toiletries. 

To use this, you shake it, apply one or two pumps onto your fingertips, and then gently pat this all over your face. This is quite watery so a little definitely goes a long way.

I really wanted to love this product but I just didn't. Jurlique is quite a popular luxury brand so I'm assuming it might just be that it hasn't worked well with my skin, and it may work for you. The first time that I tested this out, I applied it all over my face and it made my face feel really dry and tight. I continued testing it out because I thought that maybe something else had affected my skin but the results were the same.

I probably won't risk trying out any of their other products because I don't really want to splash out on a product that I won't be able to use. I have sensitive skin though so, unfortunately, lots of products don't work for me.

Have you tried anything from Jurlique?

New Things #1

Today I am starting a new series of posts all about new things! I'll be doing a post everytime I have a sufficient amount of new things to share with you all. I hope you'll like my new things as much as I do. 

Penguin Hand Warmers - I love these. I've never used hand warmers before and I've never quite understood how they work. Science is a fascinating thing. All you have to do is snap the little silver plate inside, and the entire thing crystallizes and heats up. It's amazing!

Fruitbroo - This is essentialy hot flavoured water but you make them like you would make squash. I'm loving these two flavours. It's caffeine free as well which is a bonus because I've been trying to stay away from caffeine lately. If you like flavoured water, you'll probably really like these. 

Tweed Bag - I saw this on someone else's blog a while back and I knew I had to have it straight away. It was only £12.50 from Tesco. I deliberated for a few days but when the stock levels said "less than 10", I made the purchase. I think it has been restocked now though. 

Vintage Photo Album - I'd like to say that I specifically chose this album but I did not. Luckily, it's really pretty. It also happened to be the only 6x4.5 photo album I could find. My camera takes 6x4.5 photos at its optimum quality as opposed to 6x4. You'd be amazed at how difficult it is to find photo suitable photo albums. You can get 7x5 photo albums but you'd risk all of your photos just falling out of the pockets.  Does anyone else have this problem? Or maybe no one prints photos anymore....

This was a short post but my next "New Things" post will be after Christmas where I'll be sharing more things with you all!

Do you like my "New Things"?

Review: Elizabeth Arden - Eight Hour Cream Intensive Lip Repair Balm

If you regularly read my blog, you'll know that I love anything skincare or lip related. So.......

Let me introduce you to the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Lip Repair Balm* which was kindly sent to me. Phew, that was a mouthful! This is supposedly "The all-day, all-night, all-in-one beauty secret". Sounds very mysterious and alluring. 

Although this is an Intensive Lip Repair Balm, there are actually eight ways to use this product: remedying chapped skin, shaping eyebrows, calming sun-exposed skin, adding shine to cheeks,  smoothing legs after waxing, refreshing jet-lagged skin, softening rough hands, and smoothing cracked heels. 

Before I even used this product, I loved how cute the little pot was. I absolutely love the whole matte glass effect that it has because I associate it with luxury products. I also love the lid because, aside from the Elizabeth Arden logo, you have lots of 8's in various sizes to represent the fact that this is an Eight Hour Cream. Quite a cute touch, I think! I haven't used anything from Elizabeth Arden before so I'd be interested to see the packaging of their other products. 

The balm itself is a peachy orange colour, which I didn't expect at all. For a moment, I actually thought that it was a tinted balm. It definitely comes out clear though.

I've actually spent a lot of time sniffing this product just for you guys! I've concluded that it kind of smells like sour fruits (in a good way) and it also smells faintly like medicine (perhaps not so good). Make of that what you will but I think it's a nice subtle smell. It's quite light and not at all overpowering. 

When I opened this, I assumed that the texture would be exactly like a tough balm. Turns out that was just the way they'd smoothed it all out. This texture is very much like a cream.

As soon as I applied this for the first time, I loved how smoothly it glided on my lips. Before I'd even finished applying, I was smiling at myself in the mirror because I saw how glossy my lips looked. I'm obsessed with lip glosses so any balm that makes my lips shine is a bonus! 

This Eight Hour Lip Balm is designed to be used at bedtime and I can totally see why. It's kind of like having a lovely face mask on but for your lips. This product is incredibly luxurious and it strikes the right balance between keeping my lips moisturised and forming a protective barrier. This is a non-sticky and can easily be built up because of its soft texture. 

If you suffer from dry, chapped lips then this could easily be your new best friend! I don't have that problem in general, but autumn/winter is when they do begin to dry out a little! Luckily, after the first night, my lips started to feel a little better. There was also no residue left over which surprised me, considering how thick the balm was. It soaked in nicely.

This is not an overnight miracle but I've started to see changes and my lips are looking much better. It's been particularly useful during the colder days and it's a lot more intensive than a regular lip balm.

At £16.80 for a 10g pot from HQ Hair, this is a worthy investment for those of you who are prone to dry lips and chapped skin. I love this product but, taking into account the price tag, I'd have to think twice before making a purchase. 

Have you tried anything from Elizabeth Arden?