Operation Christmas Child!

It is coming to that time of year again. CHRISTMAASSS!!

 I am beyond excited. It is my absolute favourite time of the year! To kick things off I have been doing quite a bit of Christmas shopping, not going crazy, just picking up a couple of bits here and there and adding it to the present collection!
I love, love, love giving presents, I know it may sound cliché but it is truly my favourite part!

Speaking of giving, one thing I love to do is give a present/s to someone across the globe through 'Operation Christmas Child'. I did this alot as a kid, and over the past few years I kept wanting to do it but as soon as I thought about it, it was too late, we were already into December and all of the parcels had already been sent off. So this year, I decided to get a jump on things and did my boxes on Thursday 8th October. It is such a good thing to get involved in! All you have to do is grab an old shoe-box, fill it with simple gifts for a child or teen, pop in just £3 for shipping and hand it in! Easy! Read on to find out more...

So first step... Find yourself an old shoe-box (or a new one, if you have one). Wrap the box and the lid separately in festive Christmas paper, maybe the inside too if you fancy (I did, haha). Then decide if you are going to give the box to a girl or a boy and what age (2-4, 5-9, 10-14). You will then need to stick the appropriate sticker on the top indicating who the gift should go to. You can order the stickers for free or download them from the Samaritans Purse website or you can copy the below stickers and print them out.

Next, grab some things to fill the box with. I wrapped 2 boxes, one was for a 5-9 year old boy and the other was for a 10-14 year old girl.

For the Boy I put in: a pair of gloves, a wool hat, toothbrush, toothpaste, a flannel, boxed soap, pencils, a pencil case, pens, sharpener, some football erasers, a notebook, post it notes and a yo-yo. 

For the Girl I put in: a pair of fluffy slippers, a fluffy scarf, toothbrush, toothpaste, a flannel, boxed soap, pencils with colourful fruit erasers, a notebook, coloring pencils, pens, post it notes and a necklace in a gift box.

My Gran also did a box for a boy aged 2-4 and put in similar things but with more toys. We had bought quite a few bits and bobs separately and then swapped things with each other to make the boxes better for who we were giving them to. This may be a good idea for you, if you are thinking of doing a box, you could always go halves with someone and do it together or both buy stuff swap and change stuff in each others boxes depending on what you have found.  

I didn't get a chance to photograph the things that I put in my boxes but here is the finished boxes all wrapped up ...

(Sorry about the bad image quality.)

On the website they include 'gift suggestions' to give you  a good idea of the kind of things you can include and the kind of things that may not be such a good idea...

• TOYS (Cuddly and stuffed toys, dolls, musical toys, jigsaws, etc)
• SCHOOL SUPPLIES (Pens, writing pencils, colouring pencils, rulers, sharpeners, notepads, colouring books, etc.)
• HYGIENE/TOILETRIES (Wrapped soap, wash cloth, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.)
• MISC. (Hat, scarf, gloves, jewelry, hair accessories, sunglasses, windup torch, etc.)
• NOT TO INCLUDE - War related items (toy guns, toy soldiers, knives, etc.), chocolate or any other food items, any liquids or lotions, handmade or knitted stuffed toys, glass, mirrors, any political or racial or religious items, fragile items, etc. 
• You can also include a little note and photo of yourself if you like :)

Click here to take you to the website's 'Gift Suggestion' page for a more ideas on what to include.

Next you need to make your £3 shipping donation per box (either by cash or cheque enclosed in an envelope inside your box), and then drop it off at your nearest collection point. If you make the donation online you can print of a bar code, put that inside your box and follow the box - meaning Samaritans Purse will email you in the new year letting you know the destination of your box! Yey!

Your nearest collection point can be found online too by just entering your postcode! 

If you are unable to find a shoebox or don't have enough time to go and get some things to fill it with, you can make a box online via 'Shoebox World'! 

|Creating your box online|

|Filling the box|

|Finished box|

|Adding a photo and Christmas message|

So that's it really. Hopefully this was helpful! Check out the Samaritans Purse/Operation Christmas Child websites ( https://www.samaritans-purse.org.uk/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/) for more details on creating and sending shoeboxes, etc. along with some great informative and inspirational videos about the recipients of the gifts!
The boxes can be dropped off from 1st - 18th NOVEMBER!!

Thankyou!!! (and dare I say it.. Merry Christmas! Hahah)

P.s - I thought I would leave you with a couple of snaps when myself, Alice and Lily went for a bit of impromptu Christmas shopping...

Hahahaha...

I also managed to find a really gorgeous Christmas ornament.. (Apologies (again) for the awful picture quality.. I took this as soon as I got it out of the box that evening so it looks fuzzy but I will post a better picture of it at Christmas time when all of my Decorations are up, YEY!) 

Looooove!! 

xx

New Products :):):)

So, for a while I have been pretty unhappy with the way my makeup has been sitting and staying on my face. I had been trying several different products to try and make my makeup last longer and look better but nothing ever really worked.
FYI - Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy the Max Factor Facefinity Powder Foundation Compact.
The worst product I have ever used. I was so patchy and cakey and just horrid, so, yeah just a heads up...

...anyway, I talked to a few people and asked opinions from sales staff and came across a couple of products that I am really really happy with. They have been keeping my makeup on ALL DAY!

...

The first product that picked up was the 'Watts Up' Highlighter from Benefit.
I was thinking about getting a highlighter for quite a while but never knew which brand to go with. I was browsing through the different counters and the packaging of this one really caught my eye. The sales assistant the tried this on me and although she really went to town with it, once I had blended it in myself, I really liked it!

|Benefit WATT'S UP! - £24.50 - Boots|

It glides on really smoothly in a gorgeous subtle champagne colour. I apply it to the top of my cheekbones, down the centre of my nose and on my cupids bow. It really brings out these parts of my face! This would certainly be a perfect product to contour with used alongside the 'Hoola' Bronzer. I was tempted to buy this as well but I love the bronzer I am currently using (Bourjous 'Base Lissante Soleil' Bronzing Primer).

...

The second product I found was on the off chance really as I was in there looking for christmas gift ideas. A while back I was told by a girl who works on the No 7 counter in boots about the 'Prep + Prime' finishing powder from MAC. I was asking for something to hold my makeup on better than a pressed powder I was already using and she recommended that, (really nice of her considering she works for a completely different brand!) Anyway, I went into MAC and picked it up in the loose powder form and I LOVE IT!

| Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder - £20.50 - MAC |

The powder is so easy to apply, you just have to make sure that you pat/brush/blend it in well, otherwise it could leave the white residue. It literally keeps my makeup on all day long! It also mattifies your skin so you could wear it over the top of foundation or just over bare skin for a more flawless natural look. It's amazing! It is most definitely worth the investment!

...

The third and final product that I picked up was a primer. This was actually due to me running out of my own primer (Maybeline Baby Skin - It's so so, doesn't really do a great deal). So I went looking around Boots (again) and decided to go back up to the benefit counter. I had heard a lot of really great stuff about 'The POREfessional' pro balm so I thought I would check it out. The assistant let me try it on my hand and I thought on a whim that I would just give it a go. I have heard such good things about it so I thought it was bound to work out okay?! 

| Benefit the POREfessional PRO Balm - £24.50 - Boots |

It, again, applies really smoothly, just using the fingertips. Plus you only need a pea-sized amount, so the bottle would last you approximately up to 6 months (according to the sales assistant, i'm just taking her word for it!). I put this on underneath my foundation (obvi) but you can also pat it on over the top during the day if you become a little oily, especially in the t-zone area. I would also say that I think this product would work well for pretty much any skin type as I mostly have combination skin and it glides over easily, mattifying any oily areas but not sticking to any dry patches. 

So yeah, these are the products that I have literally bought within the last 2-3 days and am already in love with! I would most definitely recommend every single one of these! 

I also did pick up a new perfume as I had run out of my Karl Lagerfeld :(:( - soo, I thought I would include it too..

| Vera Wang - 'Lovestruck' eau de parfum 50ml - £25 - The Fragrance Shop | 

It is a very subtle scent but it is gorgeous! I am not sure how I feel about the packaging thought, hahah, I love the main base bottle but the lid is a little bit gordy, I didn't get to see what the lid was like before I purchased it. Never mind! I still love it! 

Anyway... 

That is everything!