Versatile bloggers award..

I've been given this award by the lovely ladies Emily over at Emily Charlotte and Gem at flutter and sparkle - thankyou! Much appreciated as I'm a new blogger & didn't really think anybody took that much attention to my blog.

Right, on to the rules for the award..

thank and link back to who gave you the award

share 7 things about yourself and answer another 10 questions

give the award to 7 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy

leave your recipient a note telling them about the award

So..seven things about me!

1. I go to East Midlands College of Health & Beauty

2. I would love to be some sort of makeup artist in the future

3. I love my Poppy Puppy more than anything!

4. I live on a farm, 3 dogs, 3 cats, 4 chickens & 2 horses

5. My favourite place to be is London

6. I want to buy my mum & dad a ticket for the Orient Express one day

7. I wish I could dance

& 10 questions..

1. why did you create this blog?

I can't remember why as I made it a couple of years ago and never used it but I started using it properly because I wanted to give my views and opinions on things, I planned it to be more of a beauty blog, hence the name. But now it seems to be more of a lifestyle blog full of everything.

2. what kind of blogs do you follow?

ALL kinds of blogs, mainly fashion but I follow a few blogs like mine, a few beauty, I've just been reccomended a cooking blog by Gem, a couple of jewellery blogs & some budget blogs. I'd like to follow a few more cooking blogs & travel ones, if anybody's got any reccomendations?!

3. favourite makeup brand

Esdee Lauder, MAC, Urban Decay.

4. favourite clothing brand

Topshop, Zara, Jack Wills.

5. indispensable makeup product

Dermalogica Sheer Tint Moisturiser in medium!

6. favourite colour

Blue, cream, beige, rusty orange.

7. favourite perfume

Calvin Klein - Euphoria, Marc Jacobs - Daisy.

8. favourite film

Sex and the City, every time.

9. what country would you like to visit and why?

Spain, because I can't wait for my holiday with my boyfriend later in the year & America to visit LA, NYC, Beverly Hills etc.

10. make the last question yourself and answer - whats your favourite food?

Ben & Jerrys Phish Food! (because it's just been on an advert!)

I give this award to (drum roll please!):

Kate's baking blog at A Girls Guide to Gluten Free Baking 

Lucy's spin off blog at Where Are My Knees?

Zoe at Zoella

Some beautiful jewellery at Sweet & Simple Jewellery Design

Heather at Simply Sunstar

Jazmine at Jazzabelle's Diary

& last but certainly not least!

Beth at Anchor of Roses

SS11

 I know I haven't blogged in a while (since christmas) and I know these lookbooks have been doing their rounds but I've had a couple in mind and need to get them out! So here we go..

Primark SS11

1, 2, 3.

Last year (it feels so weird saying that) I wasn't really too interested in Primark, partly because my local Primark is rubbish and partly because their trends haven't really pulled me in. But this year is looking a little more hopeful. I quite like the Belted Chiffon Shirt Dress £15 (1) the Stripe and Pocket Holdall £6 (2) and the Lace Up Wedges £12 (3) as I'm going on my first holiday with my boyfriend to his mum & dads apartment (aww!) and they would be perfect holiday picks.

I don't usually like buying the bags as within a matter of days everybody has them but as I'll be in a whole other country it will be a fab choice! I absolutely LOVE the Belted Chiffon Shirt Dress £15 (3) I love that colour and already have a couple of items that colour in my wardrobe and I love the length, it will probably be a bit long but I don't mind taking it up.

New Look SS11 

1 - 29.99, 2 - £19.99, 3 - 16.99.

I haven't really shopped in New Look in the last few months either as I never really find anything amazing in there, I prefer it for basics but I'm surprisingly impressed with their SS11 collection, or what I've seen of it. The Scallop Trim Playsuit is right up my street and will probably wear it for going out with a pair of heels and my Topshop kimono but I'm not sure if I love it enough to spend £30 on it as it's a bit plain in the waist for me.

I've always wanted a pair of brogues and I'm finally going to invest in this pair of Black Lace Up Brogues, cute and simple. The Animal Peter Pan Tunic is such a 'blogger' thing to have right now as peter pan collars are bang on trend and you can see why, the dress is cute, simple yet perfectly detailed with the collar without being granny-ish. Again it may need taking up as I'm only little!

Topshop SS11

Topshop's SS11 on their website has really disappointed me to be honest, there's not one thing I would wear, true I will probably love some things when they're in the shop but otherwise not overly excited for the collection. The items on their  blog on the other hand lead to a much more happy Topshopper, the prints are great, they still have over-sized boyfriend blazers and their laddered knits are very 'in'

The models did well to walk in their many-a-fringed sky scraper heels and still keep their balance with their matching hugely crimped and ombre'd hair probably weighing them down and bright red lippy. the  and the swimwear was fantastic - I will definitely be styling various swim suits on my holiday, I especially love the one shown above! You can see the show here.

 So thats the round up of the shops I may or may not be investing in their SS11 collections, I don't usually look for anything so much "on trend" that everybody has because OMGZ YOU HAVE 2 HAVE EVERYTHING THATS 'IN' but things that look nice and suit me. Some items have disappointed and some have induced excitement but overall I'd say it's OK, I'm sure they will be alot better when on the rails!

p.s. I have also just joined Blog Lovin'

aliceandbeauty

Just thought I'd do a quick update!

I hope you've all had a great christmas & are looking forward to new year?! Despite not really being into christmas that much this year I had a lovely day. I spent the morning at my boyfriends watching christmas movies and playing with Oscar (the dog) and had dinner there then came home, opened all my presents, watched Eastenders (OMG!!) then just sat around eating & chatting.

My favourite Present was my Cath Kidson 2011 diary, not the biggest and definitely not the most expensive but I've been wanting a new diary since forever, I love carrying them round with me and being able to pull them out to write down notes or inspiration on the go. What were your favourite presents?

Just before christmas I went to the opticians as I've been getting headaches at college, when reading etc. and yes, I did need glasses! As you can see I'm styling them in the picture, I really couldn't be bothered to go through the many pairs of glasses on offer so I went with the first ones the lady said "oh they look nice". Both my mum & dad wear glasses (or wore - my mum had laser eye surgery) so it was kinda evident I'd end up with them too.

I haven't really got anything planned for new years, been invited to a couple of parties & I'm borrowing someones ID to go to town (I hate only being 17!) so I'll probably just see where the wind blows me. I'm looking forward to get my blog really going in the new year and all the other adjoining sites and I'll be looking forward to seeing all your posts & finding new blogs!

I just wanted to say thanks to all my lovely followers so far and all the lovely people I've met through blogging/twitter. I hope you all have a fab new years & all look wonderful in your party dresses!

Bloggers secret santa..

At the end of November/beginning of December I saw on Twitter that Rhianna was organising a bloggers secret santa, what a fab idea! So I sent her my info, likes, dislikes etc. I was rather stuck on this as I didn't really know what I liked as strange as that sounds.

But to my surprise my secret santa (Jess from Draw The Stars) knew exactly what to get an indecisive, vague blogger like me! & she got it spot on may I add..I received my little parcel a week before christmas & just HAD to open it so I had time to write a blog post ready for it to be posted on time (not because I'm nosey & impatient in the slightest)

Well, the chocolate reindeer got gobbled up about 5 minutes after these photos were taken (R.I.P baby reindeer!)

The BarryM nail polish in Mushroom is on my nails as we speak - or I speak (ramble), you read..It's a gorgeous colour & we simply MUST be telepathical as I saw Gem's comment on twitter about mushroom coloured nail polish earlier in the week and was debating wether to get some myself.

& as for the necklace! It is B-e-a-utiful, I don't usually wear necklaces as I've never bothered to buy one that I'd want to wear and all the necklaces I do have are long ones but this one is absolutely lovely!

So a BIG thank you to Jess! I'm made up with my present, I love it. (You are my new favourite person, hehee)

You can find this lovely girly on Twitter & on her Blog!

I find it so lovely & restores my faith in people when somebody completely random (not saying you're random or anything Jess, hah!) would offer to send a gift to somebody who is a complete stranger to them. I'm so glad I started blogging & have found some lovely people along the way. In my opinion bloggers are the nicest!

I hope everyone's had a wonderful christmas day & have had a brilliant time with all your family and friends.

D.I.Y: handmade tags

After I saw Michelle's post about making her own christmas gift tags (such a clever little bunny!) I just HAD to have a go!

Hers were so gorgeous (and yes I know, minus a few tweaks mine are very similar) I used the same Text, tag shape and the same stamping technique as her. And I know if these tags were an essay I would have been caught out for plagiarism, but, they're not. And I'm sure with a lot of dedication going to Michelle she won't mind 'cause she seems so lovely!

Firstly I went to the local garden centre which has a craft corner in I picked up the following:

Card (It's a cream colour but the lighting was really bad, sorry!)

Ribbon

A stamp (christmas tree shape)

An ink pad

Little self-adhesive gems

A single hole punch

A glue gun (you could just use PVA if I'm honest!)

A pair of scissors

So heres how:

- I designed the shape and text* on Pages on my Macbook.

- Print the design onto the card & cut into shape with some scissors.

- Print your chosen stamp shape using the stamp & ink pad.

- Glue the ribbon around the bottom of the tags (mines all the way round)

- Punch a hole in the top of the card.

- Thread some more ribbon through the hole.
- Stick the little gems to the top of the tree.

*The two texts are called 'Caviar Dreams' and 'Pea Anna Banana'

& Voila! You have your very own hand made tags that you made for minimal costs that you would pay a fortune for anywhere else!
hmm..maybe me & Michelle should go into business?! hah.

aliceandbeauty's itunes top 11..

I've not really seen a lot of music posts from anybody so this is my top 11 (couldn't decide which one not to have for a top 10) favourite songs from 2010 (not necessarily from 2010 but my favourite to listen to throughout the year!)

11. Nu Brand feat. Brags - Runway

- Reminds me of summer & when me & Jam used to go out with Conor.

10. Nero - Electron

- One of my favourite songs of this genre.

9. Cragga - Please Mr. Postman (Dubstep Remix)

- One of the first Dubstep songs I really liked.

8. GIGGS - Look What The Cat Dragged In

- Just like the song.

7. Dizzee Rascal - Stand up Tall

- Reminds me of when I first met my boyfriend.

6. J Majik & Wickaman - Crazy World

- Reminds me of when me & my boyfriend were getting together.

5. Professor Green - Monster

- Used to listen to this at night in Jam's car.

4. Gyptian - Hold you

- I just love Reggae music.

3. Far East Movment - Like A G6

- A favourite song to listen to before I went out.

2. The Script - For The First Time

- One of mine & my boyfriends songs.

& finally (Drum roll please!)

1. Take That - What Do You Want From Me?

- My absolute favourite song this year! I've got it on repeat constantly!

I would love to say that I have a unique taste of music, that I listened to the likes of Joshua Radin or John Mayer on a daily basis (which seems to be the genre of choice by many bloggers). Even though I do like that kind of music I'm more Dirty Dubstep than Alternative & Acoustic, sorry to disappoint!

my wonderful week pt.3

 not extremely huge this week I'm afraid!

Lee Stafford haul..

A few weeks ago I went to Clothes Show Live with my college (East Midlands College of Health & Beauty) and was really in the right place at the right time with my Lee Stafford purchase!

I got 10 products for £10 - no, you're not going mad I did actually say TEN POUNDS. How amazing?! Being a person who brought Lee Stafford products anyway I was in hair product heaven, normally buying As Ruff As You Like Clay for £5 Beach Babe Sea Salt Spray for £7 and Poker Straight Dry Shampoo for £5 in Boots, to get 10 ten things for a tenner was an absolute steal!

So what did I actually get I hear you ask?!

(I'm going to write like Lee writes!)

HoT sHOtS SHiNE HEaD

HoT sHOtS 4 cuRLs

POKeR STRAiGHT night patrol

SHiNE HEaD shampoo

SHiNE HEaD conditioner

SHiNE HEaD SErUM SPRaY

CoLOUR LOvE TREaTMENT

COLOUR XTREME SENSATIONAL SILVER SPARKLE

COLOUR XTREME PASSIONATE PINK

faKe my t@n LiGHT to MEDiUM taNNing lotion

I have no idea why he writes like that but he's so hot that I don't care!

I've only tried out the Shine Head Shampoo & Conditioner, Colour Love Treatment and the Poker Straight Night Patrol so far but they were all fab, I've always thought Lee Stafford's products were brill, all except the Beach Babe Sea Salt Spray with doesn't get on well with my extensions!

It's a dogs life..

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Stuck on what present to get your pooch this christmas?!

Well heres your help-at-hand guide wether you have £30 to spend or £3 theres something for everyone!

The first thing on my list is the Bubba Rose Organic dog biscuit cookbook kit, I've got this myself & have made a few recipes for my Poppy Puppy & I would definitely recommend it! It comes in at £4.85 off Amazon, but, I've heard of the great vine (twitter) that a few people are having some trouble with Amazon at the moment so you might want to check the delivery options before ordering.

This Spray Flowers dog bed comes in at £28 from Cath Kidson and comes in three sizes. It can either be ordered over the internet or by post if you have the catalogue, if you would like a catalogue just visit the website and enter your details!

My favourite of all has to be this Waxed cotton dog coat from Barbour and has a price tag to match at £29.95 I absolutely love this! Not only because it would match my Vintage Barbour but if my Poppy was wearing this she would be the most fashionable pup on the block!

You could get your little friend a bog standard chew-tow but why not get this Ruff & Tuff Puppy Treat Ball?! It's just £3 from Pets at Home and will distract your doggy while you're trying to cook the christmas dinner! (If it doesn't get more enjoyment out of the wrapping paper!)

Haven't got a pup to cuddle up to this christmas?! well these gorgeous dogs at the Dogs Trust haven't got anybody to cuddle up to them either. So a donation to the Dogs trust would be so much appreciated by all the workers and most importantly the thousands of dogs that have been left by their owners to find their own way this christmas. All the details can be found on their website, how ever little your donation.

The next gift is more for the dogs best friend than the dog it's self, This beautiful Vintage Look Dog Silk Scarf from Topshop Is very much in fashion and comes in at £23!

If your dog, like mine has to have a bath every week due to the winter weather then this Happytails Fur Breeze Aromatic Spa Mist for Dogs could be just the trick! On Amazon it costs £7.99 and will stop your smelly doggy leaving its smelly smells around your house (does nothing for mucky paws mind!) you can spray it on their bed to make them smell lovely and clean again!

Finally, this Brown Leather Diamante Collar from Urban Pup will make you as eager as they are to take them on a walk, just so you can show off their glitzy new collar! It costs £12.99 and can be brought online.

I hope your hound has a happy holiday and enjoys their gifts as much as getting under your feet!

All I want for christmas is youuuu! And MAC, and Jack Wills and...

So this is my christmas list to good old Saint Nick..(or my Mum, Dad, Sister & Boyfriend)

My wonderful sister is getting me the Lauren Conrad book, I don't read much but will make an effort if it's something I'm actually interested in.

The only thing I've asked for from my boyfriend is the Beyonce Heat solid perfume ring but we can't find it anywhere! So I think I'll just be getting the perfume as a substitute..

From my Mummy & Daddy I've asked for some MAC products, the Prep & Prime Translucent Finishing Powder, Prep & Prime Lip & Pro Longwear Lustre Lipcolour in Fine Wine, The Jack Wills Greenholme Skinny Sweatpant in Deep Plum, A Dermalogica skin kit (Normal/Oily if you must know!) I will be buying this off beautyflash as it is MUCH cheeper than getting it from Dermalogica its self!

I will also be opening a CD shaped prezzie with Take Thats new album in it..I wasn't a big fan but my college tutor has converted me (still wish Robbie would do one though!) And finally a Silver Safety Chain for my Pandora, as I am dreadfully afraid of losing it or any of my beads! :(

So thats what I'm hoping will be under my tree this christmas. I also wouldn't mind another pair of Jimmy Choo's, a Chanel bag, a trip to Paris & a Vivienne Westwood Jewellery set but I think I'll be nice and save some room in the sleigh for all of your presents too!