The Body Shop Vanilla Chai Christmas Range

The Body Shop is one of the brands that I get most excited for when it comes to the release of limited edition collections, especially at Christmas time and this year they did not disappoint! They have actually released products in 3 different limited edition festive scents - "Spiced Apple", "Frosted Berries" and Vanilla Chai, which is the one I am going to be sharing my thoughts on today.

The products in the Vanilla Chai range are scented with, vanilla, cardamon and star anise, which just invokes the smell of Christmas entirely. It really reminds me of the smells you get when you're baking at Christmas so it has a lovely warm and homely spicy scent with some sweetness to it.

They have a whole aray of different products available in this gorgeous scent, but I decided to limit myself to just picking up my favourite body products that they do, because in all honesty all the products look amazing!

Firstly I picked up the Shower gel as it's always an item that I'm guarenteed to buy when I love the smell of it as it means I get the enjoyment of the scent every single day! I really like The Body Shop shower gels as all though they're are slightly more pricey at £5.00 in comparison to your regular drugstore one I find that they are much better quallity and go a hell of a lot further which means one bottle lasts a pretty long time!

When I saw that they did a Body Scrub in this scent I HAD to pick it up! I tried the one from there Pinita Colada collection in the summer and loved it! It's deffinately on the pricer side at £15.00, but I really like the texture of them as they are slightly thinner than other scrubs I have tried so you dont need to use as much as it's easier to spred across the skin. The particles are also finer, so they are gentler on the skin but still does at great job at exfoliating.

And of course, what would a Body Shop collection be without there much loved Body Butter. They are amazing and one of the best body moistriser I have tried - especially this one as it smells delicious! You also get a decent size tub for £14.00 as well!

I'd deffinately pick up some of these products before they disapear after Christmas. They'd also make some pretty amazing christmas gifts if you're still stuck what to but for someone (or as a little pre-christmas treat for yourself!) The Body Shop also has 40% off instore and online  until the 21st so now is deffinately a good time to get your hands on a few bits.

Have you tried any bits from The Body Shop Christmas Ranges? Let me know what you thought of them!

Zoella Beauty Christmas Collection - Gingerbread and Vanilla Fragrance Set & Hungry Hands Hand Cream Review

I love Christmas and I love Christmas scents, there honestly my favourite! So, I think like most beauty blog followers I was very excited when Zoe announced her Christmas range and that it was GINGERBREAD scented. I love gingerbread (so much so that almost the entirety of the decorations on my tree in my bedroom are gingerbread themed!) so this pleased me immensely!

The First product I knew I had to get my hands on was the "Hungry Hands" hand cream as like most people my hands suddenly resemble those of a reptile when winter hits and are in need some serious TLC. I usually opt for The Body Shop hand creams as I find that they do a really good job at leaving my hands feeling nourished but not greasy whilst still being pretty affordable, however after trying this one out its safe to say that I have found a new favourite. Like The Body Shop hand creams, they are super moisturising without leaving your hands greasy afterward, but I also find that "Hungry Hands" leaves my hands feeling nourished for longer and really absorbs into the skin, so  the cream is actually improving the dryness of my hands as opposed to just masking it with a layer of moisture that sits on the skin -it's also better value for money as you get 3 times the amount of product in comparison to The Body Shop hand cream for the same price (£5), so I will definitely be stocking up before it disappears after Christmas. The Scent is also lovely! Zoe did a very good job in choosing a gingerbread scent that isn't overpoweringly spicy, as although I love really strong and spicy gingerbread  I know some people can find them too overpowering, so with the addition of the vanilla it has created a scent that is still very festive but won't blow your nostrils off! So it would be perfect for anyone!

The packing has a lovely traditional feel to it with the red and gold on the brown paper background which I don't think you could make more festive if you tried!

The other item in the Christmas collection I knew I had to pick up is the "GingerBread and Vanilla Fragrance Set" which is a beautiful gift set containing a body mist and body cream. Again like the majority of the products in the Christmas range, they again share the same gorgeous gingerbread scent. I was surprised just how strong the scent actually is with the body spray  and how long it lasts once spayed, I'd say it definitely has a payoff that is closer to an Eau De Toilette than a standard body mist.

The Bottle of the Body Mist feels and looks much more luxurious than it actually is, with metal gold and raised foil writing on the bottle, and of course the super cute little gingerbread men on the reverse of the bottle,which is probably my favourite thing about the packing as I just think it a genius idea as you can see them through the bottle at the front. 

The other item in the gift set is a body cream. I have tried a couple of Zoe's body creams before and I really love them, so much so when I found out that the tutti frutti range was being discontinued I stocked up on the body cream from the range. I find them to leave my skin feeling very soft and they don't take an eternity to sink into the skin, so you can get dressed pretty much straight away after applying, and the ginger cream is no different. I also like that the fragrance of the cream is strong enough for the scent to linger on the skin but is not soo strong that it overpowers any perfume that you're wearing.

The products also come beautifully packaged in the brown box with red detailing which I think really complements the styling of the products and ties it all together nicely, which makes it a lovely gift to give someone (or just a wonderful treat for yourself!), especially as it is only £10 which is a pretty good deal as the body mists retail for £8 on their own! I honestly think any of the products from Zoella's Christmas range would make a lovely gift as they all come wonderfully packaged so they look beautiful so any beauty lover would not be disappointed!

Is there anything that you've picked up from the Zoella Beauty Christmas range that I should check out before it's gone?


The Zoella Beauty Christmas Range is available in store and online in Superdrug and online at Feel Unique until Christmas.

MAC Nutcracker Sweet - Magic Dust Powder in "Yum Yum Yum" Review

MAC is one of my favorite makeup brands and every year I get very excited to see what they have dreamt up for their holiday collection and this year they did not disappoint! This year's theme is Nutcracker Sweet which runs throughout both their colour collection and gift sets, and I for one am in love with it! I don't think that I have ever seen such beautiful and detailed packing for one of their collection and everything within it is beautiful and fills me with the urge that I "NEED" everything in it! However, I have (for the time being anyway!) managed to contain some self-restraint by only purchasing a few items from the collection, which of course I will be sharing my thoughts will you all!

One of the items I knew I had to pick up when it launched was one of their "Nutcracker Sweet Magic Dust Powder"'s as they simply looked beautiful. The powder comes in two shades "Sweet Vision" which is described as a "Pinky peach with gold pearl" and "Yum Yum Yum" - a "Soft pink with gold pearl". I ended up picking up the shade "Yum Yum Yum", however, I do have to say that "Sweet Vision" was my preferred shade of choice but it sold out so quickly on the MAC website that I missed out, but n reflection "Yum Yum Yum" is probably better suited to my  snowy complexion and I was thrilled to get either shade as they both looked stunning.

The magic powders themselves are described as "A translucent ultra-fine, light-catching pearlescent powder, for face, neck and decollete" which I don't completely agree with, I think that MAC has perfectly described both the texture and the finish it gives when applied as it is both ultra-fine in texture and gives a lovely glowy, pearlescent sheen to the face, but it is the description of the pigmentation and use of the powder that I disagree with. This powder is not translucent -as you can see from the swatch it is actually pretty pigmented and is far closer to being a light blush than a powder to dust all over the face, so unless you want to look like you have done a lot of exercise and are puffed out, I'd stick to using it on the cheeks!

It looks gorgeous when applied on the cheeks, and gives a lovely natural, rosy glow and although there is gold shimmer  running throughout it, it's very fine so when it is blended on the cheeks it looks more like a light glowy shimmer as opposed to a bunch a glitter on the cheeks, which looks far more flattering on the face as it doesn't emphasise any pores or uneven texture on the skin which is something that no one wants to show up! I also found that it wore pretty well on the skin and was still practically all in place when I came to remove my makeup at the end of the day which is a feat for any face product as I have quite oily skin, so product tends to move or wear off my face, especially on my cheeks!

I definitely recommend picking up one of the magic dust powders up as I think they are great value for money at £24, especially as the pans are quite a bit larger than a regular blush and are a similar size to their face powder compacts, not to mention that they are also of amazing quality! But I would recommend that if you want them to be quick as they are now sold out online, so I'd suggest popping into your local MAC store or counter or giving them a ring to see if it is still available because it really is stunning.

Is there is anything that you've got from MAC's holiday collection this year or anything that's gone onto your Christmas wishlist? Let me Know!