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Live In The Light

I have tried quite a few things from Live in the light before. They are a great for gifts, hair and body products as well as aromatherapy oils and a lot more. They have so many different products they supply and these are from the Pure Anada range.

Victorian facial mist

This lavender and rose facial mist is perfect to use to hydrate your skin or to set your make up. It sprays very lightly on your skin and it’s something that you can reapply throughout the day if needed and it can be used over make up which is great. I love facial lists to use throughout the day. In winter they are ideal as my skin gets very dry and in summer they are great to cool and soothe your skin if you are hot! I love the subtle scent and this bottle will last for ages!

Lip and cheek tint

Shade Maud

This lip and cheek tint is such a beautiful colour. It comes in a variety of colours and the consistency is really nice. It is easy to get a small amount out of the pot and easy to apply to the skin and can be blended if you are using it on your cheeks. I don’t often use a blusher so will just be using this on my lips. It feels soft and more like a lip balm than a lipstick once applied.

I am always impressed by pure anada products and live in the light have a great selection!

Sarah x

*This post contains gifted items*

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Skin Shop : Concealing blemishes

Recently, I was concentrating so much on trying to heal my acne scars and keeping any active acne under control and being strict with my skincare that I actually forgot how important it was to think about what makeup you are using on your face. I was using a concealer that had been open for ages and was very thick and more than likely making my skin worse by clogging my pores. The last couple of weeks I have moved on to using these two products and have been getting on really well.

Both of these products are vegan and cruelty free.

Skin Shop – Kalme chameleon concealer

This concealer contains SPF20 which is great as it is important to use sun protection on your face. When you first pump it out it is a green colour but as you apply it to your face and blend it in then it magically covers any redness on your face and matches your skin tone. I always like trying out different things like this and I am really impressed with the coverage and it is pretty cool being green 🙂

Skin Shop – Clarol conceal and shield

This concealer comes in a range of colors, I went for the light shade. I like that it has the pen tip so you can just pump out whatever amount you need. Whilst covering your blemishes it also protects them from any bacteria and provides the skin with prebiotics. Usually with make up, you can be in a constant circle as you try to hide a spot and end up making it worse but by using make up specific to help with the blemishes you can actually help repair the skin whilst wearing make up.

I have been really impressed with both of these!

Sarah x

*This post contains gifted items*

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Beauty Expert Collection: Icons Edition

I love trying out beauty boxes or bags as it is always a great way to either buy your favourite products for a fraction of the cost or to try new things you wouldn’t usually buy.

I wanted to share my thoughts on the Beauty Expert Collection: Icons Edition

The bag contains 6 iconic products worth £170:

Within the bag you receive the following products as well as a leaflet explaining more about each product:

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour® All-Over Miracle Oil (100ml)

I have been using this oil for about a year now as it is a great multi purpose lightweight oil. I usually use it on my face every few evenings if I need an extra bit of moisture as some of my acne creams can be very drying. It is also ideal to use on your body, especially dry ankles or elbows! You can even put it on the ends of your hair. It smells fab and a little goes a long way. It was great to get one in this set as I had nearly run out!

Molton Brown Bath & Shower Gel (100ml) in one of the following: Heavenly Gingerlily/Brown Jasmine & Sun Rose/Suma Ginseng/Rhubarb & Rose

Molton Brown have always been a favourite of mine for luxury bath and home products. They can often be expensive but I usually treat myself to a body wash in the sales. This is a great way to try the brand if you haven’t before and you will receive one of the above scents. The bottle is a good size too.

NIOD Photography Fluid, Opacity 12% (30ml)

I hadn’t heard of this brand or tried this before so was quite excited to give it a go. It claims to basically become a photography filter for your skin in real life. It helps to smooth your skin out and hide any imperfections and give you a natural radiance. You can wear it on its own if you are going for a natural look or you can put it on under your make up. I have used it a couple of times now and have been impressed with the finish.

Eve Lom Cleanser (100ml)

This is something I had wanted to try for a very long time but couldn’t justify buying it as it’s usually about £50-60 for a pot this size! It comes with a muslin cloth for you to try too and has been compared a lot to Liz Earle cleanse and polish. I have been using it for a week now and you only need a small amount to cleanse your face. It smells really nice and has left my skin feeling very clean and soft and I would love to buy it again when I run out so will probably look into getting a set where it’s included again!

Babor Skinovage Reactivating Eye Cream (15ml)

Not a brand I had tried before but now I am in my 30s it’s about time I started using an eye cream and more anti aging products. I am happy that this is a lightweight eye cream as I always worry about putting anything too thick near my eyes! It soaked in well and can be applied thinly at night or even in the morning if you need a bit of a boost when you have tired eyes.

NUXE Reve de Miel Ultra Comforting Face Balm (50ml)

Nuxe has always been a favourite brand of mine for skincare, I love their oil and was excited to try this face balm. It is a luxurious honey infused face cream that can be applied day or night and it smells so good! I was impressed how well it soaked in and by using it before bed the nights I don’t use my oil it helped to keep my face hydrated. I also put a small amount on in the morning too and it soaks in well and doesnt leave my face greasy.

I think this is amazing value for £79 and for a limited time if you use code SARAH_20 you can get an additional 20% off making it only £63.20!

Something else I love about Beauty Expert is that if you spend over £35 you get to pick a free gift too!

Have you tried anything from this set?

Sarah x

*This post contains gifted items*

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Note Beauty : Must Have Gift Set

Note Beauty are an amazing beauty brand and they have some really lovely gift sets available for Christmas. They are a cruelty free brand that care a lot about what ingredients are used in their products and they are free of parabens and other dangerous chemicals and additives so you feel happy using their products on your face 🙂

The must have gift set is an ideal starter set if you want to try the brand or even if you have already used some of their products but want to try more! It is £25.85 which is really good value for what you get.

The set includes:

Lash Master Mascara: a volume-creating and curl-sculpting mascara containing vitamin E to nourish and moisturise the eyelash roots.

Mineral Semi Matte Lipstick: a rich red shade with long-lasting coverage and a semi-matte finish.

Shade: 03

Precision Eyeliner: a felt-tip liner that delivers flawless application.

These three products are some of their most popular, so it is great to be able to buy them in a set like this. They also do a face to face gift set which is a great starter set.

This set is ideal for this time of year as I always find myself wanting to wear a bit more make up over the festive period and red lips are ideal for Christmas!

The eye liner is so easy to use as it is like a felt tip, I find eyeliners like this a lot better than pencils! I was also very impressed with the mascara as I was able to layer it without it going clumpy so a big thumbs up from me 🙂

It is packaged really nicely in a presentation box and the packaging of the make up is very simple and luxurious being the black and silver with red.

Have you tried anything from this brand?

Sarah x

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Christmas Gift Guide 2019

Welcome to my 2019 Christmas gift guide. I have split my gift ideas into sections and tried to include a wide variety of products to hopefully help you out if you are struggling for ideas!

Puzzles

Outer Space Jigsaw

£13.49

Jigsaw puzzles are a great gift and are suitable for most ages. You can get a variety of jigsaws, some can be really easy and simple for younger children, and others can be a bit more challenging for older children or adults. This particular one is of outer space and is a 1000pc puzzle. My mum and step dad love doing a jigsaw puzzle and so does my grandma, so I am always keeping my eye out for different ones to get them. This would also be a good family activity to do over Christmas!

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Jacob’s Ladder

£5.49

I had one of these about 15 years ago and I remember how fun it was! They are suitable for anyone over the age of 5 and it is one of those things you could have next to you if you like to hold things or like to have a distraction. I find these to be a much more exciting version of a stress ball and think it is pretty cool.

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Gifts For Little Hands – Pyramids 3 In 1

£25

This is ideal for children and is aimed at children aged 0-2 but to be honest I think slightly older children would have fun with this too! It is made up of 26 coloured wooden shapes and the aim is for the child to put it together depending on the shape and the size. It can be very fun and stimulating and will help to keep the child entertained for a long time! I really like the bright colours too as I think children are attracted more to colours than plain looking toys.

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At My Best – Good Questions Cards

£20

These aren’t really a game or puzzle as such but they are a pack of question cards. They are a great way to get to know others and also to grow yourself. They would be great to use in a working environment as an icebreaker or if you are struggling with motivation, some of the questions can really make you think about stuff and appreciate yourself more. The aim is to make you more positive and to really appreciate life and yourself.

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Top Trumps – Mischievous cats

£4.99

There are so many variations on Top Trumps, I think this mischievous cats set is perfect! It is a great way to learn interesting facts about all kinds of cats and it is a great game to play. You can get a set with dogs too!

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Harry Potter Lex-Go

£14.99

A great word game for any HP fan! It is a fast paced tiled word game which comes in this cool travel bag. You can create crosswords and anagrams and try to use up all of your tiles to beat your opponent. It is aimed for age 8+ so would be great to play with older children to increase their vocabulary.

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Homeware

Silk Flower House – Jug Of Sunflowers

£40

I think flowers make a great gift, but the problem is they don’t last very long which is why I prefer artificial flowers. Silk flower house create amazing arrangements of flowers and I just love this jug of sunflowers. I think sunflowers can bring so much happiness especially at this time of year when it is so dark and rainy! I love the cute jug they come in and this would make a beautiful gift.

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Rocket Jack – Tiger Print

From £19 depending on size

I went for an A3 grey background tiger print. I really like tigers as I compare them to my tabby cat Gizmo and I call him my little tiger so I thought this print would bring a bit of colour to our living room. I think art prints make great gifts and Rocket Jack have such a great range available and are really great quality.

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Durrant & Dove

You’ve been poisoned tea cup

£23.76

Durrant & Dove are a new artisanal business based in rural France. They scour the French countryside for beautiful unloved vintage porcelain and viciously deface it. Unique Christmas gifts, insult your loved ones in the most beautiful way.

I think some of the phrases they are using are brilliant and these are such unique gifts! Who wouldn’t want a cup that says you smell like wee, haha!

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Coulson Macleod – Christmas Card

£4.99

This beautiful concertina card has the word “Christmas” in rose gold foil and I just have visions of giving this to someone and it being the centerpiece on their mantle all throughout the festive period. I think it is beautifully made and would look lovely in someones living room!

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Paracise DVD

£12.99

This is a bit of a different gift, it is a DVD aimed to introduce people into a low impact exercise regime. It is ideal for someone new to exercise or for someone with bad joints that needs some guidance. I think a lot of people don’t exercise as they struggle knowing what is best for their joints but this guides you and is something you can do in front of your TV!

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Rebecca Yates – Notebook

£25

Rebecca creates an amazing range of personalised notebooks, you can pick the phrase as well as the colour scheme and font colour and she will then add a name to it too! My aim for next year is to try and make more notes to help me with day to day chores as well as my blog so this is going to be ideal and will look super cute left on my desk. This is an ideal gift for anyone that loves being organised.

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House Of Wonderland

Cat – Vinyl Sticker

£1.75

Cat Paws Washi Tape

£3

House Of Wonderland have an amazing range of cat related products, from pins, stickers, mugs to jewellery.

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Bodycare & Make Up

Shea Moisture – Fruit Fusion Bath & Body Massage Oil

£11.99

I love bath oils and this is great as you can also use it on your body after the bath too or as a massage oil. For anyone that love pampering this would be a great gift. Bath oils can often be really expensive but this one is 237ml and I think you get so much for the price!

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Shea Moisture – African Water Mint & Ginger Detox Body Wash

£10.99

This is a great detox body wash, so for anyone that has skin exposed to the elements a lot or suffers with body acne then this is great. I like the simple bottle design and how it is not gender specific like a lot of skin/body products are so it is aimed at anyone. It is 384ml so quite a large bottle too.

I usually pick up this brand in Superdrug but you can also buy it online if you search 🙂

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Rubis Gold Star Tweezers

£37

You can buy these at a variety of online beauty stockists and they are honestly the best tweezers I have ever used. They are so precise and ideal as a gift for any beauty addict. They have the perfect slant and are so easy to use to pluck my eyebrows.

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Live In The Light – Pure Anada Christmas Spirit Range

Pure Anada Hand & Body Lotion

Pure Anada Hand & Body Wash

£9.50 each

I love checking out Live In The Light for skincare and I am always impressed with the Pure Anada products. These are cruelty free and vegan so ideal as a gift if you are stuck on what to get for a vegan friend or family member. This range smells delicious and really does make you think of Christmas. I love it when you can get lotion to match body wash too 🙂

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Bubu Skincare

Pollution Busting Sheet Mask

This is ideal for any skin type that needs a good clean. Pollution can really take its toll on your skin, so this will help to give it a good deep clean and rid your face of impurities.

Hydrating Sheet Mask

This mask contains hyaluronic acid and liquorice root to help the moisture penetrate deep into your skin and leave your face really soft and moisturised.

£7 each

Both masks are vegan and cruelty free. I think sheet masks can make a great gift if you want to get skincare for someone but to get them something a bit different.

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Klean Skin – Zen’d Out Mood Elixir

$18

Suffering with migraines, I am always on the hunt for anything that can help, so I wanted to include this mood elixir in my gift guide. If you know anyone with anxiety or that regularly gets stressed and gets headaches or migraines you might want to get this for them. It came from the USA but didn’t take long at all to arrive. It is called Zen’d out and its aim is to calm you and boost your mood. You rub it over your wrists, neck and temples and I find using this if I have a headache coming on really helps.

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Eye Majic – Instant Eyeshadow

£19.99

I was so intrigued by this! I hate doing eyeshadow, I can never get it right and I am terrible and blending so something like this is ideal. The eyeshadow presses on to your eyes in seconds and it looks like you have spent ages doing your eyes! You get 20 applications in a pack which I think is pretty good value. This would be an ideal gift for a make up lover!

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Blue Rock – Bamboo Toothbrushes

£3.95 each

You could always get someone a bamboo toothbrush if you know they are trying to have less plastic waste and want to be more eco friendly. Blue rock create toothbrushes for adults and children as well as offering subscription services.

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Friction Free Shaving

Lily Shaving Set

£18

This shaving set includes:

Lily handle
Free engraving of your choice (worth £6)
Shave Cream
Four German-engineered razor refills, each with 6 diamond-coated steel blades and a styling bikini blade
Teal Clamshell Protector
Shower hook
Teal Travel pouch

This makes a great gift and you can also subscribe to get new blades however often they are needed. I love this razor and the shave cream helps to combat razor bumps. You can go for a rose gold option too and there are other sets they do. I think it is important to get a good razor.

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MINT 3 in 1 cleansing bars

£9.50 each

These cleansing bars come in 3 different fragrances: Tea Tree + Lime + Mint, Coconut + Argan, Sea Minerals. They can be used to cleanse your face body and hair so are ideal if you just want to use one product for everything or when travelling. They are vegan and cruelty free and last up to 5 times longer than regular shampoo and bodywash. They are easy to use and smell great! Ideal gift for someone that uses vegan products and is trying to help the environment with limited waste and packaging.

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Food & Drink

Il Gusto

Cherry Bakewell Gin – Star

Salted Caramel Liqueur – Gingerbread Man

Sour Cherry Vodka – Christmas Tree

£10 each

These super cute bottles come in a variety of shapes as well as a wide choice of flavours. How good does sour cherry vodka sound?! They are ideal for someone that is partial to a little tipple but you want to get something special, not just gin or vodka you can buy anywhere. The flavours are unique and I love how cute the bottles are!

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Sous Chef – Cocktail making

Monin Cocktail Syrup Set

£6.95

Giant Sphere Ice Mold

£4.50

Copper Plated French Shaker

£14.95

Sous Chef have a great range of cocktail making products that would make ideal gifts. I think the syrup set is a great idea and it contains 5 different flavours:

Passion fruit syrup 50ml
Mojito Mint syrup 50ml
Strawberry syrup 50ml
Coconut syrup 50ml
Blue curaçao syrup 50ml

You can also get ice molds to create giant ice spherical which would look super cool in a cocktail. You can also get a really beautiful cocktail shaker, so together all three of these would be a great gift.

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Hot Elephant Tea

From £3.50

Hot Elephant create a wide variety of tea blends. You can buy an individual flavour or you can buy a gift box with a variety of teas in. This would be great for anyone that appreciates teas as you can get such a variety of flavours. The exceptional earl grey is really tasty. They are easy to use and are high quality leaves and spices.

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Yeti & The Fox – Good Night, Great Day

£6

These handy tablets can help you prevent a hangover. Specially formulated with immune boosting vitamins to help your body recover from drinking. These would be a great stocking filler if you know someone that drinks a bit too much over Christmas!

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Steenbergs

Botanicals For Cocktails – Gin

Red Wine – Four Spice Bundle

Sugar & Spice For Mulled Wine

£4 each

These are something different as they are used to help create your own drinks. Each pack contains instructions on how to use them. I think they would be fun to use over Christmas to make your own festive drinks with family or friends.

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Pets

Leo Charley & Me – Candy Cane Collection

Dog Collar

£12

Bandana

£5.50

Bow Tie

£5.50

Leo, Charley & Me create beautiful collars and accessories for dogs. The bandana and the bow tie can be attached on to the collar to secure them in place and I think they are all super cute. All of the products are really good quality and well made. The collars come in various sizes and there are lots of designs to pick from, not just Christmas ones 🙂

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Cheeky Little Prints

Paw Print Ornament

£19

This ornament is so precious, you can personalise them with a message and a picture as well as your pets paw prints, so cute. You use an inkless kit(no mess!) to obtain your pets paw prints and you can then send them or email back to the company who will then neaten them up and create the one of a kind ornament. They also keep the paw prints on file in case you want to create something else at a later date. They do a great range of jewellery too!

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Webbox Treats

From £1 each.

Of course I would always suggest getting a present for your pets too! Webbox always have a good range of treats all year round but have brought out a Christmas range.

My Tabby cat Gizmo goes mad for the tasty sticks so I wonder what he will think of these special turkey and cranberry ones?! The lick-e-lix cream looks like a great treat too. Maybe as a pudding if they eat all of their dinner haha.

They also have a festive bauble with cat treats in, I will probably hang this near the bottom of the tree or my cats will climb it to try and get to them! They also have toys, not just food, so the teaser wand will be fun to play with.

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Dr Zigs – Cat Bubbles

£28.99

These bubbles are designed specifically for cats to play with, you can also get them for dogs (as well as humans!). The cat ones are catnip scented and are really fun to play with. You mix it with water and use the rope wand to create massive bubbles for your pets or children to play with. they have so many different ones for children too!

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Funky Pigeon – Personalised Snow Globes

£9.99 each

These snow globes are so lovely. You can have them with your cat,dog, child, parents, anyone in them and the cat ones have their name in the shape of a fish, I think they are so cute! I have one each for Gizmo and Archie and can’t wait to put them out on display! They are double sided and you can open the bottom to change the picture so I may switch them so I have two the same with one side Archie and one side Gizmo. I think snow globes are a really nice gift and it is great you can create personalised ones.

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Clothes & Jewellery 

Knicker Locker – Men’s Boxer Cosmos

£20

New boxers are a classic Christmas gift and Knicker Locker have a really great range of Waxx boxers with some really funky designs on! These are like a crazy in space, Christmas penguin theme and they feel great quality and are really soft. Nick will love them!

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Soul Analyse – I Am Loved Bracelet

£25

I think this range of “I AM” bracelets is really beautiful and sends such a positive message. This I am loved rope bracelet is so delicate with the message engraved on the silver bar. There are lots of different phrases to pick from and I think if you know someone is struggling then a small simple affirmation gift like this could really make a difference to them.

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Mother Knows Best – T Shirt

£19.99

Mother Knows Best have created a great range of slogan t shirts based around motherhood. I think naptime negotiator is absolutely brilliant! This would be an ideal gift for a new mother or someone with a young child as I am sure they will be able to relate!

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I hope you enjoyed reading this gift guide and get some inspiration of either things to buy for others or things to ask for for yourself!

What is on your Christmas wish list this year?

Sarah x

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Want to try the Maybelline Colossal Mascara for free?

I love checking out free stuff uk to see what free samples they are offering and if there are any competitions.

Quite often you see offers online for free things but they always want you to sign up and enter so many details and you worry they may sell these on and they aren’t legitimate but with this site you don’t have to worry about anything like that as they are a proper website and only offer legitimate offers and samples.

At the moment there is a competition to win 1 of 100 Maybelline Colossal mascaras

I love entering contests like this and applying for samples as it is a great way to try out new products.

It is easy to enter and they only ask for your name and email and to like their Facebook page.

Full terms and conditions can be found on the competition page.

Do you enter many competitions online?

Sarah x