Christmas Present Ideas For Girls

Christmas is just around the corner *eep* and you can feel that festive buzz around the shops. This year my plan is to start searching and purchasing now so that I can focus on cute wrapping and cards nearer to christmas. To get some ideas flowing I've compiled a list of present ideas and places to look, perfect for sisters, friends and even mums.

(ALSO the photo above reminds me of winter, its not really relevant but it's pretty)

Books

A little selection of books that you'd be proud to keep on your bookshelf.

Sali Hughs : Pretty Honest . a beauty book for someone just testing the waters with makeup or a total expert. it's pretty much a makeup bible. 

Alexa Chung : it . for any fashion lover this is a staple. the pages are made out of lovely thick matte paper, and the photographs make it look like a work of art. 

Lena Dunham : Not That Kind Of Girl . a feminine and hilarious book, I was totally hooked.

Marine Keegan : The Opposite Of Loneliness : a collection of poems, essays and short stories. beautifully written and completely absorbing. 

Nail Polish 

Who can go wrong with a set of unique colours to jazz up any collection

Essie : All I Want For Christmas Gift Box . why not make it easy and buy a pre-chosen selection of christmas shades 

Topshop : Mini Nail Pyramids . cute little polishes in shimmery shades, fit with a ribbon for hanging on the christmas tree 

Cozy Scarf 

Everyone needs one scarf, or two, or five... I couldn't pick particular ones, instead I've listed some shops that sell my favourites

Topshop . not too expensive and they sell the basics like a big grey scarf .

Zara . look here for thick, soft and patterned ones you can't find anywhere else .

Asos . you're guaranteed to find what you want here with so much choice.

Face Mask 

They're something I always look at adoringly but never take the time (or the money) to purchase. 

Origins : Ginzing . to wake up tired and grey looking skin .

Superfacialist by Una Brennan : Pore Purifying Clay Mask . intense but great I've found for troublesome skin.

'Splurgy' Gifts 

Fujifilm instax mini 8 .  a great little polaroid camera that produces cute credit card sized photos, to get you snapping away on christmas day 

Ion pure lp record player .  a great present for a lover of old music. since getting mine I've loved going into record shops and flicking through loads of albums in search of something tempting . what's great about this one is it comes with cables to plug into your laptop, to convert records into music for your iTunes library. 

Shops You Can't Go Wrong With 

Sometimes it's best to just cruise around in search of the perfect gift, if so here are some starting points

Waterstones . for the corner they always have filled with lovely bits and bobs that perhaps aren't needed, but definitely wanted 

Happy Jackson Company . any stationary hoarder would love something from here. i personally lurve their notebooks. 

Topshop . perhaps it's me but I'm sure their knick-knack section has grown over the past few christmas'. They have an array of pretty phone cases, purses, accessories and ready made makeup bags that would make a lovely secret santa gift. 

Phew, a lot to get through there. That's certainly got my present-buying ideas going, hopefully it did the same for you. 

Georgina 

Autumn / Winter Palette

  A little bit of beauty, fashion and other things pulled together to form a little round up of what I'm reaching for at this time of the year. I did one of these for Spring, and liked the whole format. This time I've used the whole "holding-the-items-delicately-to-make-it-all-look-casual" type thang, enjoy. 

This first pick is of the lippy Rebel by MAC. A pretty bold and daring affair. I must admit I had to psych myself up to wear this out in all its dark and dramatic glory. It's gorgeous buffed into the lips for a soft and smudged look, but it looks equally good generously applied. It's quite blue toned, I find on my paler days layering it up with an orangey-red shade helps. However it's an overall staple that I think brightens up any lipstick collection.

                      

This gorgeous shadow is another item from MAC called Mythology. It looks pretty ordinary in the pot, but once smudged onto the eyelid it becomes a to-die-for deep red, shimmery gold colour. I love to wear it packed all over the lid, sometimes with a cream eye-shadow underneath if I'm going all out. It's such an eye-catching colour I've found all it needs is a quick blend with a brown or neutral shade and your set to go. I have brown eyes and it works nicely to create a dusty, slightly smokey look. But it would also look lovely with blue eyes, to make them pop.

The last week or so here in England the weather has suddenly turned colder and dryer and my skin has definitely been feeling the effects. My skin is oily to combination and I've found that the harsh weather has caused it to look duller and dryer than usual. Using this Origins GinZing face mask once a week as well as a nourishing moisturiser is helping my skin to adjust and look healthier.

I picked up this red Corduroy Pinafore Dress from Toyshop only a week or two back and have fallen in love. The plush red colour and boxy shape just reminds me of Christmas, I think I'm going to be wearing this often. I had slight issues with sizing however, I found I had to go a size up so that it would fit loosely and keep that lovely shapeless look, but this meant it was slightly too long and so I had to take it up a little. Nevertheless this is a lovely wintery piece that can be dressed up or down, I think a pair of cozy knee high socks would fit perfectly.

                              

I seemed to have picked items in pairs for this post - a second item from Topshop bought in June this year. Not an item I expected to be bringing with me into the colder months, however this snug little jacket has surprised me by being warmer than I expected. I love to pair it with some black skinny jeans and a comfy tee for a grungy and casual look. Or I'll throw on a pastel pink maxi-midi skirt, embracing the 50s edge, a band t-shirt and put my hair in space-buns for a slightly crazy and contrasting outfit I can't resist.

I won't talk for too long about this Molecules 01 perfume. All I'm going to say is that it's lasting power is truly amazing and the scent, well I can't get enough. For links and more chitchat about this item click to see the post here.

And finally, an item that I also spoke about recently; my white Moleskine journal (click here to see how I added the black label). In the colder and darker months where I'm inside sadly a lot of the time, I find myself reaching for this to write random thoughts down about nothing in particular. Sometimes I find getting all thoughts down on paper can clear your mind and help me to feel a little calmer. 

Any items you've been reaching for a lot lately? I'd love to hear.

Georgina 

Staple Autumn Scent

I’ve never been one for fancy perfumes I’ll admit, I always gravitated towards the cheaper ones that can be broken, lost and replaced without a fuss. The Eccentric Molecules, Molecule 01 perfume however is different, and I have been converted. 

One great thing about this perfume is that it smells completely different on everyone. It seems to have a woody undertone that is unmistakable on most people - perfect for autumn / winter. However on me this perfume smells spicy and musky when it’ll smell much sweeter and more floral on a friend. The lasting power is also amazing, I do one spritz in the morning and it lasts the whole day - no top ups needed. 

The thing that drew me to this scent was the description it has when you view it online, it says on Cult Beauty that the perfume has a 'basenote that adds allure to a scent, which works as more of an effect than a fragrance.' This whole idea that a perfume will affect the people around you is something that sounds pretty necessary  if you ask me! And the raving reviews it has seemed to back up the claim.

I have to say I agree with the description, I’ve never had so many comments and questions as to what I’m wearing. For the time being I’ve just got the little bottle and I don’t think it’s going to run out anytime soon, but I’m sure when it eventually empties, the large bottle will have to purchased!

Georgina

Small Things \\ Food Landscapes

These last few weeks I've been chopping up fruit and veg to create mini little forests scenes. They were a little tricky to set up at times, but so fun to do!
The first shoot I did was using broccoli as trees and chopping up the stalks to create a little path that leads the eye through the image. I couldn't resist doing some little doodles on the last two images, using this awesome app called Paper 53 ( best one I've found for drawing on an iPad ).

I wasn't really sure what the plan was with this set of photos. I just knew I wanted to use some carrots with the fancy leaves still on. I ended up making these two weird and wacky scenes that I kinda ended up liking.

This last shoot was probably the most technical, I wanted to be a bit more ambitious so I decided to use loaves of bread as rolling hills instead of a plain studio floor. I liked the idea of doing a winter wonderland scene with lovely candy floss trees. I added the wall in, made out of Liquorice Allsorts, I like how it disappears off the first hill and reappears on the second.

One thing I didn't think through was that the candy floss sort of loses its fluffiness after a while and so by the time I'd built the wall and but all the icing sugar on, the candy floss had crystalised! Still, no biggy though, a bit of Photoshop came in handy.

There are still a heap more from this last shoot that I haven't edited yet - reshaping candy floss trees takes longer than expected! Maybe I'll do another post with the finished images? (can't miss out the nougat snowman!) 

I'll link the artists I used as inspiration here and here so you can see how the pros do it!

Georgina