Blogmas Day 18 - Christmas Party Look

Blogmas Day 18

Hey, so this is definitely the season of festive parties so I thought that I would share with you my Christmas party makeup look:

Base:

So I really wanted this to be quite a glowy look because in winter your skin goes quite flat and drier because of the cold weather so for primer I am mixing the Revlon Photoready perfecting primer in 001 and the Body shop Instaglow CC Cream in Bright glow to create a nice glowy base and just apply this all over my face with my clean hands. For foundation I am using the Nars All Day Luminous Weightless foundation in Siberia and I just blend this into my skin using my Real Techniques Beauty Blender and then I just use my Collection Lasting Perfection on my blemishes and under-eye circles and then blend that in with the same beauty blender. I then just set this all with the Revlon Photoready powder in 010 fair/light using the MOB Powder brush again to have quite a glowing face and then the base is done.

Adding dimensions:

So now I look like my usual pale self I want to add some dimension to my face so I start by using the NYX Matte Bronzer in Light with the N07 blusher brush to create a subtle contour, I then just use the Body Shop honey bronzer to bronze up my face a little more because frankly I need the colour and I apply that using the Real Techniques Bold Meals Powder brush in 100, then I use the multi task brush by real techniques to add the Bourjois Blush in 54 Rose Frisson or Frosted Rose and I feel like at this time of the year you can go quite strong with the blusher because it helps you look like you have been out in the cold, also this has such a gorgeous shimmer in it which also helps create a glow on the cheeks. Finally for highlight I use the NYX Born to glow Liquid Illuminator in Sunbeam and just use two drops on each cheekbone and just blend this in using my fingers and this is an amazing very intense highlight which I just love.

Eyes:

For eyes I just use the colour Manhattan from the Sleek all night long palette which is a gorgeous glittery red and I just apply that all over the lid using the body shop smudger brush and blend that out using my base shadow brush from real techniques and then I just add the colour Martini into the inner corner to highlight using a winged eyeliner brush from real techniques and then my eyeshadow is done. For my mascara I just use the soap and glory thick and fast lash extensions effect mascara which I love onto my top and bottom lashes. And finally for eyebrows I just use the Soap and Glory Archery Brow tint and precision shaping pencil in brownie points, and I use the pen side of the pen and I think the reason I love this product so much is that it is so easy to use.

Lips:

So before I apply any lipstick I just apply the YesTo tomatoes combination skin daily balancing moisturiser all over my lips for some deep moisturising and then after that has dried I just apply the Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting finish lipstick in 01 which is such an amazing deep red lipstick and it is definitely my favourite red lipstick.

I hope you enjoyed this let me know what makeup you are wearing to your Christmas parties. Let me know of anything you would like me to talk about in another future post. That’s all for now,

Bella xxx

Message me:

Twitter and Instagram - @BellaDBlog

Email – bellacdurrant@gmail.com

My Other Website – www.bellacd.blogspot.com

Blogmas Day 17 - Winter Essentials

Blogmas Day 17

Hey, so we all know that I love this time of the year and I love changing my makeup and style to fit the season and so today I thought that I would share with you my winter essentials which I have every Christmas and winter:

A thick warm coat – so obviously in winter it does get quite cold and you will definitely need a jacket that you can wrap around you to help you stay warm when you are walking around buying Christmas presents or going for a walk on New Year’s Day morning but I just think that it is so important that you stay warm at Christmas and who doesn’t love a fluffy coat to wear at Christmas and during winter.

Christmas songs – so I just love Christmas songs and I don’t think that I will ever get bored of listening to Christmas songs and to be honest I started listening to Christmas songs in October but basically for me, Christmas songs are what actually get me all excited for Christmas and I also love how when I start to listen to Christmas songs that’s when I start to thinks it’s Christmas and when I start to get a little more excited.

A warm scarf – so I absolutely love to have a warm scarf to snuggle up with in the winter when I am really cold when I’m out and about doing things because I think that one of the worst feelings in the world is when you are really cold and you can’t feel your hands or something like that but I genuinely hate that so I love to get a nice scarf to have to wear while you are cold and I also love it when they are really comfortable to wear.

A nice blanket – so I feel like in the evening when you are watching TV I get really cold really easily because I really feel the cold so I just cannot just be sitting without a blanket so I just have to have a nice soft fluffy blanket to snuggle up to with maybe a few Christmassy cushions and pillows, I just feel like it helps you feel a lot more and it actually helps me feel a lot more at home and who doesn’t love a soft blanket to snuggle up with.

Christmas films – so again I think that there are certain things that I will never get bored of doing at Christmas and watching Christmas films in the evening on my sofa with a candle burning and a nice hot chocolate on the side table waiting for me and I also think that watching Christmas films is the best time to wrap presents because you are in a really good mood and you are feeling so Christmassy and I just love watching Christmas films.

Hot chocolate – whether it’s a coffee, tea or hot chocolate but personally I love to have a nice hot chocolate in the cold of the evening around Christmas, I also think that it’s so Christmassy for me but I also just love making my hot chocolates better with some whipped cream, marshmallows and even some cocoa powder on the top as well and I just think that is a little more luxurious, a lot more calorific and 100% tastier.

Christmas Decorations – so I feel like at Christmas if you don’t have Christmas decorations in your house it’s not really Christmassy and I can never feel very festive if I don’t have any Christmas decorations around me even if it’s just a small bare Christmas tree or just a small set of fairy lights but for me it is just not like Christmas enough but to be honest with you it’s not just about the decorations it’s about the people your with as well.

I hope you enjoyed this and let me know what you winter essentials are. Let me know of anything you would like me to talk about in another future post. That’s all for now,

Bella xxx

Message me:

Twitter and Instagram - @BellaDBlog

Email – izzycdurrant@gmail.com

My Other Website – www.bella180602.blogspot.com

Blogmas Day 16 - Chocolate and Peppermint Brownies

Blogmas Day 16

Hey, so with December moving on with not many sleeps until Christmas left, I love to warm up with a mug of hot chocolate and some Christmas style peppermint brownies, so I thought that I would share with you this recipe and I hope you enjoy making and trying them:

Preparation Time: 20 Minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

6 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

½ cup (4 oz.) unsalted butter

¾ cup (5¼ oz.) granulated sugar

¼ cup (2 oz.) light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

⅔ cup (2¾ oz.) all-purpose flour

½ cup mint chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line with parchment and lightly grease an 8x8” baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.

3. Put the chocolate and butter in a large glass bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, and repeat until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined. The mixture should be room temperature.

4. Add 2 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and peppermint extracts and stir. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible. Fold in the Andes mint chips. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

6. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool brownies completely.

7.  Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before cutting into 16 equal squares with a very sharp knife.

I hope you enjoyed this and let me know if you like them. Let me know of anything you would like me to talk about in another future post. That’s all for now,

Bella xxx

Message me:

Twitter and Instagram - @BellaDBlog

Email – izzycdurrant@gmail.com

My Other Website – www.bella180602.blogspot.com

Blogmas Day 15 - Top 5 Christmas Films

Blogmas Day 15

Hey, so one of my very favourite things about Christmas is all the Christmassy movies you get to watch so today I thought I would share with you my top 5 Christmas films:

Disney’s A Christmas Carol – so this is a new favourite of mine, I think the reason I like it so much is because I absolutely love Disney films and I just love how well done this film is, but what I love about this film is that it is such a fun, amazing, family fun movie and it really does just makes you feel so good and this is defiantly my favourite version of this film even though a muppets Christmas carol is a very close second.

The Grinch – so this is probably one of the most famous and is probably one of the most well-known Christmas films of all time and to be honest this is an absolute classic film for Christmas, I also think that one of the reasons I love this is because I really love the actor Jim Carrey and I feel this movie is just hilarious and adorable and it makes me feel so happy inside but this overall is just such a great family Christmas film.

Arthur Christmas – so I just love how this film puts a nice original spin on the classic stories of the classic Father Christmas but I just love how the character is so warm hearted and just wants everyone to have a wonderful Christmas and I just think that is so sweet and it really embodies what Christmas should be all about and I think that’s why it’s such a perfect movie to watch with people for Christmas.

Elf – so I don’t really know anyone who just isn’t in love with this film because it is just the funniest film ever and I think that what I think is so good about this film is that I just love the plot of the film and I just think with everything about this film is so great like the way it was done and the actors especially Will Ferrell because he is just such a legendary actor and to be honest he just makes a good movie great.

Love Actually – so this is definitely my favourite Christmas film of all time, basically this is just my favourite thing to watch of all time and I would watch it every day of the year because I feel like it is just one of the most feel good movies in the entire world, and when I watch three things will happen I squeal with excitement, I cry and I just want to be in the film but I cannot even explain to you how amazing this film is.

I hope you enjoyed this and let me know what your favourite films for Christmas are. Let me know of anything you would like me to talk about in another future post. That’s all for now,

Bella xxx

Message me:

Twitter and Instagram - @BellaDBlog

Email – izzycdurrant@gmail.com

My Other Website – www.bella180602.blogspot.com

Blogmas Day 14 - Winter Makeup and Beauty Essentials

Blogmas Day 14

Hey, so one of my favourite parts about this season is the fact that you can change your makeup but you also have to deal with a few winter problems beauty-wise, so I thought that I would share with you my beauty essentials for winter:

Red Lipstick – so I feel like this is the one that goes without saying, but on Christmas day when you think your so excited that you might explode then if you are reaching for a purple, a nude, an orange, a dark colour or anything other than red, I’m sorry to say this but you are not 100%, on Christmas day you need to be wearing a nice red lipstick, that is just the way I roll but realistically you can wear any colour you want.

Glittery Eyeshadow – so who doesn’t love a bit of glittery eyeshadow at any time of the year but at Christmas I put the matte shadows away so that I can go full on with the glitters, this year I have been getting a bit more adventurous with the darker colours and brighter colours as well for example I really have been loving wearing a red glitter eyeshadow but I just feel that at Christmas you can be way more adventurous with your makeup which I love.

A popping pink blusher – so in winter you go outside you get really cold and I don’t know about you but I get the pinkest cheeks in the world, and sometimes it even shows through my makeup so I feel like this Christmas I am just going to embrace that about me and I am going to wear a little more blusher than usual to really make those cheeks pop and to be honest I think it also makes you look that little bit more Christmassy.

Highlighter – so again I feel like although this is the season of giving presents, being joyful and kindness but it is also in my opinion, the season of glitter and sparkle and just sparkles and bright lights so I feel this is the time of the year wear you can really go a little more overboard on the highlighter so I can go a bit overboard but you would just not be ready for a Christmas party if you didn’t have a bit of glittery shimmer on those cheekbones.

More mascara – so you will notice this theme of me basically just saying that you need more of everything but at Christmas I feel a lot more tired and I look a lot more run down so I think that as a result of this, it is more important to open your eyes up a bit more so I think applying more mascara will really help with that or even applying fake lashes but I just thinks that it really brightens the face up a lot more and helps you look more awake.

Shimmer in general – so by this I mean that at Christmas you skin just doesn’t look as bright and looks a little less radiant so when I do my makeup at Christmas I try to use products which try to help make your face look more radiant and glowing and healthier in general which I think is harder to achieve in the winter so I tend to go a bit over board with the shimmer but I feel like at this time of year, you can do that.

Moisturising and long lasting lipstick – so we all know at Christmas everyone has dry chapped lips so it makes my lips feel a lot better when my lipstick is more moisturising than usual because you can stand having dry lips at Christmas, I also love wearing a longer lasting lipstick because let’s face it at Christmas you do a lot of eating and drinking so my lipstick usually wears of but having it last longer is just so much better in practice.

I hope you enjoyed this and let me know what your winter beauty essentials are. Let me know of anything you would like me to talk about in another future post. That’s all for now,

Bella xxx

Message me:

Twitter and Instagram - @BellaDBlog

Email – izzycdurrant@gmail.com

My Other Website – www.bella180602.blogspot.com