Merry Christmas

In the words of Noddy Holder...
It's Christmas!

I've inserted an image of last year's turkey as A) It was Scott and I's first turkey that we ever cooked together and we managed so without murdering each other and B) Because, well... look at it! 
As is tradition in my household, I'll be chewing down on a bacon sandwich, toasting the festive period with a shot of clear spirit and eating an inordinate amount of chocolate before the sun reaches its peak in the sky.
In fact, I've probably done all of those things by the time this post is live and I'm now more than likely sitting somewhere, slowly expanding into my festive pjs. 
Merry Christmas everyone! 

NYX Continued

Can we all just take a minute to let the fact that it's Christmas Eve sink in a little? 
There's a very strong chance that I'm pyjama-ed up at home with my family, watching crappy Christmas TV and drinking down some holiday spirits... because it's 5 o' clock somewhere, right?
Several weeks ago, I dipped my toes into the NYX pond for the first time. You can read about the purchases I made here but it wasn't long before I found myself in the 'drugstore' again, throwing more NYX items into my shopping basket. 
And that's where I discovered a new life partner!

Winter Warmer Chilli

I have a, 'throw it all in' policy when it comes to cooking. Unlike my husband, I haven't always been a confident cook. Whilst he has a knack for coming up with new and exciting dishes, I always worried about whether I was using ingredients that would, 'work' together, and as a result, my dishes were often uninspiring.
I wouldn't say I was ever a bad cook, I've always loved whipping up a tasty meal. I just feel that over the last three or four years, I've approached meal-making with a different attitude and my stomach has thanked me for it - although my waistline may not always agree!
Daily dinners tend to rely heavily on what I can scrape together from the cupboards and this Winter Warmer Chilli is the result of that. I have been trying to do a better job of tracking my food intake lately and so I have the exact measurements of everything I used; although I absolutely suggest you tailor this recipe to whatever you have to hand. It's pretty hard to go wrong with Chilli.

Shit My Husband Says #5

It's that time again folks... That time whereby I lovingly mock my husband in a public manner and he spends the next week pestering me to read out all of the comments from his, 'fans' (That would be you guys!) 
Once again, there have been some crackers over the last month. If you missed the previous Shit My Husband Says post, you can check it out here. 
Now that the formalities out of the way, let's get on to the good stuff!

Exercising And Gaining Weight

For anyone that loosely follows my Snapchat ramblings, you may be aware that I've been working out with a personal trainer for the last month. 
As soon as a move back to the Middle East was on the cards, I knew I wanted to throw myself into a proper workout routine, and for someone who seriously lacks motivation when it comes to exercise, hiring a personal trainer was the right move for me.

A Life-Changing Foundation?

I hate shopping for foundation. It doesn't matter how many reviews you read, or swatches you ponder over, when it comes to foundation, the proof is in the pudding. Only when you've smeared it all over your face, will you know if it works for you and whilst you can be pretty confident when purchasing a foundation that has been praised over and over, there's still the off chance that it just won't work out.

The Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation was a product that had been on my radar for quite some time. My ears prick up whenever I hear of a dewy-finish foundation that has good amounts of coverage and I knew that this was going to be one for me to try.

The Great Home Furnishing Struggle

I bought an orchid. I'm not sure if that means I'm now a fully-fledged adult or not, but buy it I did and here's the proof:

I've been living under the false notion that I enjoy decorating - well, specifically furnishing. I haven't fully figured out my way around a paint roller sponge yet but that's a story for another day.
No, I'm talking about filling the empty shell that was our apartment; with new things. I have to admit, the planning was the most fun. Things got really, Pinteresting, (yes, I went there) in the run up to our move in date and armed with my room-specific boards full of ideas, I felt prepared for the task ahead.
That was until I started shopping.

Holiday Make Up Look: Red & Gold

I always feel ridiculously self-conscious when it comes to these posts. There's something unnerving about publishing a high-definition, close up image of your face on the internet - unruly brows and all!
However, I have been trying to mix up my make up routine lately, shelving my neutral shadows and busting out something a little bolder now and again. 
After listening to Mariah Carey on repeat, I couldn't resist indulging in a little holiday cheer - all over my face. I whipped out a sparkly gold eye shadow and set about creating this shimmery, red and gold holiday eye make up look. 
Let me know what you think!

Digging Out An Old Faithful

If I was anything in a former life, I'd have to guess that I was some sort of lizard. My blood runs cold and as much as I'm led to believe that the Middle Eastern Winter is a good thing, I'm just not sharing in the sentiment. 
I'm cold.

Five Beauty Brands To Try

There was once a time in which a trip to the MAC counter was all I ever needed. Before that it was Rimmel and before Rimmel it was lip gloss roller balls from the latest issue of Sugar magazine. 
These days, I'm all about discovering new brands. With more and more online retailers starting to stock previously inaccessible cosmetics, the desire to branch out and expand my make up collection has become too big to ignore. 
First it was a sizeable Makeup Geek order and then I hopped onto the Dose Of Colors website to bag myself some of their matte, liquid lipsticks. My list of brands to try has since spiralled and so I thought I would share with you the top five that I've set my sights on.

Black Is The New Black

I bought new things, all of which are black. There's not a hint of a sequin or jewel-hued party wear to be found here so you'd be forgiven for checking out early.
Always seasonally appropriate, or at least in my view, black is pretty much a staple in my wardrobe. You can insert a joke about the colour of my soul if you wish but you're never going to tear me away from my black skinny jeans. The love runs deep. 

Cheap Fizz

Do you want to know what my biggest regret of 2015 has been?
Fake snow. Fake snow on my Christmas tree. Which means fake snow on my floor, behind my television, on my sofa and in my bra. 
That shit gets everywhere!
I decided to stage a photo shoot with my tree, pre snow-shed, in the hope that I can post a pretentious, look at my marvellous creation, style blog post when I'm running thin on ideas. It's okay, I did the same thing last year. If you're really desperate you can check it out here, but if truth be told, our 2014 tree wasn't much of a looker; although I do admit it has a certain amount of charm, in a weird, spindly kind of way. 
We did, however, have much better snow last year, which is really about as interesting as watching Richard Madeley comb his hair so shall we move on?
I'm just going to put it out there... I'm a cheap date.

When You Don't Love Your Wedding Photos

What happens when you put your all into planning the perfect wedding and then the photographs land on your desk a few weeks later, only for you to break down in tears and confess that you hate them?
This is what happened to me. 
Technically speaking, the pictures are beautifully shot and well edited, and I'm not saying that there isn't a single shot I'm happy with, but I had high expectations and well, I guess you could say they fell short.
My biggest issue?
Myself.
I hated the way I looked. 

Bath & Body Works Christmas Candles

Hands up, who had advent calendar chocolate for breakfast this morning?
If you follow me at all on Twitter or Snapchat, (effortlesslyexc) you may have seen me bleating about the Bath & Body Works Christmas candles that I purchased over the weekend. I went in for a 'browse' and walked away with six, three-wick candles... as you do!