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Wednesday 28 December 2016

What I Got For Christmas - 2016 Edition


Honestly, I get more and more shocked each passing year at the kind natured people that surround my life and how they go above and beyond to truly make Christmas special and also by spoiling me with the most thoughtful gifts. This year was no different and I was shocked at the amount I received and also very grateful. For me, personally, Christmas isn't about giving and receiving, it's about spending time with my loved ones and making sure it's an extra special day filled with food, laughter, and pure joy. I do love to spoil those close to me with gifts and make sure my children have the most magical day. Come Christmas time I'm waiting in anticipation for the 'What I got for Christmas' posts making an appearance on my blogger dashboard. I know these aren't to everyone's tastes but there among my favourite Christmas posts and I love seeing what everyone received. I hope you had the most magical Christmas and are waiting in anticipation for New Year and the start of 2016 going out with a bang.

Monday 26 December 2016

Merry Christmas - My Last Beauty Advent Openings & Recap


 Merry Christmas guys. I know, I can hardly believe it either. Christmas passed in a huge blur and far too quickly and although it's now boxing day I can't help but feel slightly disappointed at the time, effort and money that goes into Christmas and the fact it's over and done for another year before we all know it. I didn't have the most spectacular Christmas, but I did make the most of it and made sure my children and family thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I'm now approaching my third trimester and this baby is a little wiggler. Yesterday consisted of me being unable to move due to back ache and left me struggling to breathe due to the intense pain - and paracetamol didn't work either! I hope you all had a smashing Christmas and enjoy the upcoming festivities and sales of boxing day.

Wednesday 21 December 2016

Collective Haul - Part 1


 It's been quite a while since I posted a haul on here and I've bought quite a few treats for myself over the last few months and I thought I'd share with you a couple of bits and pieces, and maybe just maybe give you somelast minute Christmas inspiration too. I've split this haul into two posts because I've bought quite a few bits in the last few weeks, so the first haul will consist of the stuff I bought the longest time ago.

Tuesday 20 December 2016

Christmas Beauty Advent Calendar Opening - Day 16 - 20


 5 days to go!!!! I'm now back with day's 16 to 20 of my beauty advent calendar openings. If you haven't already seen my fellow advent openings then the links will be at the bottom of this post. I chose the Bomb Cosmetics and Tanya Burr Cosmetics beauty advent this year and I've loved getting a mix of bath and makeup products every day or every other day of December.

Saturday 17 December 2016

Homeware - Litecraft Crystal Lamp


 I was very fortunate to be sent a gorgeous floor lamp from the lovely people over at Litecraft. It couldn't have come at a better time. My daughter's been having trouble sleeping at night and that's largely been due to her being scared of the dark and although I've tried various methods none of them have seemed to work. When Litecraft emailed me I was absolutely thrilled, it meant I no longer needed to go out and spend money on a new lamp and my little one could have the one already in my bedroom - She's been sleeping fine since I put a lamp in. 

Thursday 15 December 2016

Christmas Beauty Advent Calendar Opening - Day 11 - 15


It really susprises me just how quickly 5 days fly by before I'm back with another beauty advent opening. Tomorrow we are down to single digits in our Christmas countdown and although I'm finished with my Christmas shopping and it's all wrapped up but it really doesn't feel like Christmas is only 10 days away. On my last advent opening post I mentioned that I'd be returning to my blog with a homeware post but unfortunately after a tough week and a missing url link I've not been able to post that just yet, so hopefully you'll see that sometime this weekend.

Sunday 11 December 2016

Christmas Beauty Advent Calendar Opening - Day 6-10


 How have 5 days even gone by already? It seems like Christmas is approaching quicker than I imagined and with only 2 weeks left until the big day itself, it's easy to get caught up in those festive moments. Apart from my daughter being ill on Friday, I've spent most of the week finishing off my Christmas shopping and helping others do there's. Saturday consisted of more shopping and I found myself enjoying the Manchester Christmas markets. Being pregnant tires me out so quickly, but that alongside a huge headache and getting in after 10pm saw me not having a chance to get this post wrote and going live. Sorry about that. Without further ado here is the last 5 days of my Christmas advent.

Monday 5 December 2016

Christmas Beauty Avent Calendar Opening - Day 1-5


If you follow me on Instagram you'll of already seen a sneak peak of days 1-5, but I also know many of you don't follow me over there so I thought I'd write a post giving you a glipse of the offerings in the beauty advents I decided to pick up this year. Last year I got the 12 days of feelunqiue and although it was an exceptional calendar at an exceptional price I decided to switch it up this year and go for something slightly different. It seems like every beauty brand out there are offering some sort of beauty advent now a days and each year it gets bigger, better and even more pricier, so I decided to show two beauty advent offerings that are more suited to those wanting something on a slightly lower budget or for those, like myself, who feel guilty for getting an expensive one when you could buy someone an extra special gift. I got my hands on the Bomb Cosmetics and Tanya Burr beauty advents, plus a mars chocolate one - What's a Christmas countdown without a small chocolate to eat each day?

Friday 2 December 2016

My Staycation: Jaybelle Lodge, Little Hampton & More


This post is very much overdue. I was away during Halloween and I can imagine by the time you're reading this it's early December or nearing the end of November at the very least. If you read my October posts you'll of seen the fabulous lodge me and my family stayed in and if you missed it or are new to A British Sparkle you can check that out here. We stayed in Little Hampton on the Jaybelle lodge site, which is a little out of the way and I feel a car is necessary for journeys in and out of the area if you aren't from around those parts.

Saturday 26 November 2016

I Heart Makeup - Chocolate And Peaches Eyeshadow Palette Review


 The Chocolate and Peaches eyeshadow palette from I Heart Makeup is only one of a few new releases to come in the last week or so from Tam Beauty overall. There's many new items that will have a lot of people excited and I for sure am one of them.

Tuesday 15 November 2016

Pregnancy Update... & Gender Reveal


 Wow, what a whirlwind. It doesn't feel like two minutes since I did my surprise announcement post and here I am with a gender reveal one. This pregnancy has flown by, it's surreal how quickly time has passed and here I am, over halfway and my baby officially has an identity.

Sunday 30 October 2016

Settling In - Jaybella Lodges | Staycation


We've come away for half term, which is 29th to 5th of November before we pack and leave again. We arrived just yesterday and today will mark our first full day in Little hampton - a beautiful, yet rather quiet village and only an hours drive away from Brighton. Having not done much but drive to the local Tesco and fill the fridge up on essentials, I thought I'd give you a grand tour of the lodge we're staying in.

Thursday 27 October 2016

Where I Have Been & An Exciting Annoucement...

Me and My Stepdad.

Sometimes it's hard to find the balance between life and the thing's you are passionate about, the thing's you wish you had the time for but seem to have taken a huge back seat from, aka blogging. I've explained before why I've taken such a drastic step back from blogging and although I'm still finding myself waiting to take that huge step forward and come back to it, I thought it was time I also explained what's been going on and let you know the in's and out's of why I'm still not around with my exciting announcement. 

Sunday 16 October 2016

Dr. Organic Dead Sea Mineral Mud Mask - Review


 I've tried a few face masks in my time and found not many really worked for my skin. It seems my skin just doesn't seem to agree with the more popular, affordable face masks on the high street and I tend to reach for the likes of Sanctuary Spa, Amie and now this one, Dr Organic mud mask

Monday 29 August 2016

Dotty about House of Fraser - Duvet Cover Review


I really love homeware. I'm a true believer that the interior of a home is what gives each home your own, individual touch. That can be anywhere in the home, but one room that I like to spruce up and make it my own is my own personal space - my bedroom. My bedroom is my sactuary, my own personal place where I can chill out, relax and have some me time. I don't have tons of bedding though, so I was rather excited when I got an email about a collaberation with House of Fraser with the chance of choosing some bedding to review.

Thursday 21 July 2016

Cushion Covers & Bedding with Yorkshire Linen


 My bedroom has always been my place to go for relaxation and peace and quiet - my little sanctuary. It's a welcome escape from the chaoticness that is a standard day and being a mother of two, quite boisterous children. My personal taste is something quite tranquil, clean and airy, but in reality, it's a mix of clutter, clutter and more clutter - although it is a nice place to escape too.

It's been a couple of years since I moved into this bedroom, I swapped with my son, and the only change it's seen is the new bed I got back in April, apart from that the stripey wallpaper and the walls that make this room remain the same.

There's the need to remove the clutter and decorate, and that means accessorising with lots of new fittings, including cushion's, bedding and homeware pieces. Cushion covers online on yorkshirelinen Co. can prove to be an ideal match for any room.

Saturday 25 June 2016

Me Before You - Movie Review


I've owned Me Before You for such a long time now, not since the release date but it was last year when I decided to pick it up. Everyone seemed to rave about this beautiful love story, and I'm a sucker for any love story and knew this would be straight up my street. Despite the vast amount of books I've collected over the last year or so, I've really not committed myself to any reading - minus my driving theory book. I'm bad I know!! But enough of that. I've mentioned that on many occasions, my book collection that's piling high, unread, unloved, and I need to find some reading motivation. So without further ado, I haven't read the book or it's sequel, but I did find time to go on a date with my other half and watch this at the cinema.

Sunday 19 June 2016

Zoella Beauty Bath Latte - Sweet Inspirations Collection


 I'm quite a fan of the Zoella Beauty range and although I don't own everything she's brought out in the last three collections I have picked up bits and pieces from each one. The Sweet Inspirations collection is her newest and I picked up two products - The bath latte being one of them.

Saturday 11 June 2016

Nokia Lumia 930 Trial


 Recently I was given a wonderful opportunity off Microsoft to trial one of their phones. They gave me a selection of phones to choose from and I decided to go for the Nokia Lumia 930 Smartphone, I found this to have the best camera and for myself a keen photographer, and blogger, this was perfect.

Tuesday 7 June 2016

Makeup Revolution - Solid Brush Cleaner Review


 Honestly, I didn't know what to expect when the solid brush cleaner came through my door. It was quite the novelty - a solid brush cleaner is certainly something I've never come across before, but I was both intrigued as well as wary and wondered if it would live up it's job.

Wednesday 1 June 2016

Collective Haul Favourites

Over the last 4 months or so I've managed to collect quite the haul up, so much that I've decided to break this down into a collective haul favourites rather than the entire contents.


I'm not one to purchase much stuff for myself, but it's clear over quite sometime I've treated myself to some bits and pieces, and it seems shoes have been my weakness. Majority of the things I've picked up are from sales in various stores or having been heavily discounted. Due to my parent status, I tend to pick things up in the sale for myself rather than full-price.

Friday 27 May 2016

Makeup Revolution - Unicorns Are Real

First and forth most I want to apologise to my readers for my lack of posts this month. My life's changed so much and adjusting to the change and everything new happening whilst trying to blog is sometimes a bit of a struggle. I also want to apologise to Makeup Revolution. They're so generous to me and send me the most amazing products to review and I feel like a let down having not posted much, but now I'm going to be having a bit of spare time on my hands and will hopefully be getting back into the swing of things.


Wednesday 11 May 2016

Story of My Life


 I'm currently sat here, Wednesday afternoon (11.05.16), trying to think how to word this entire post and how exactly I start it off and this is the only way I can, pure honesty, straight from my head and heart. Some of you may question where I have been for the last several months and honestly, I kinda ask myself the same thing! It's like life is going past in a huge blur of hecticness and my blog is sat there waiting and waiting for some love and attention and I'm not giving as much as I could or should - so here is the low down.

Thursday 28 April 2016

A Weekend Away - Brighton Edition


 It's been a while since I went to Brighton, but I thought it was about time I took a trip down memory lane as well as finally get round to writing this post. Brighton is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. It's so quirky and picturesque, the shops are amazing and the lanes are right up my street.

Thursday 14 April 2016

#GetGlamorous with Quiz Clothing

Quiz goes above and beyond in terms of style, quality and price, and one of the reasons why they've fast become one of my favourite fashion brands. Recently, Quiz have launched an exciting new range of clothing called Get Glamorous that features model Chloe Lloyd. 

 

Monday 4 April 2016

Latest In Beauty - Build Your Own Box #1


 I'm a huge fan of the Latest In Beauty boxes and always get the beauty boxes that capture my attention. I find that Latest In Beauty have the best contents, are the best value and you really get decent sized products that allow you to properly sample each one. I've heard about the 'build your own' boxes before, but never looked to much into it until a couple of months ago when a few boxes appeared on instagram and quickly caught my attention. 

Thursday 31 March 2016

Easter Weekend - Little Mix, Birthday Celebrations, Spa Trip & Food.


 HAPPY 'BELATED' EASTER!!!

I thought I'd do a huge post on my Easter weekend; from Thursday straight through to Sunday night I had quite the eventful, long weekend - which involved lots of eating, drinking, and celebrating. So much went on that I thought it would be nice to put in a rather big post and share it with you, so prepare yourself for lots of photo's.

Sunday 27 March 2016

Bride to Be to Bride - #1


 Since getting engaged on the 14th of February it's been complete wedding galore. Wedding talks have been non-stop, venues have been spoken about and booked, and little purchases have now been made. The wedding is quite a while off yet, but each wedding type chat is filled with a pure buzz and excitement, and I alone can't wait to marry my best friend.

Sunday 20 March 2016

Makeup Revolution Flawless 2 Palette - Review


 Following the popularity of the original Flawless palette, Makeup Revolution decided to add flawless 2 to it's ever-extending eyeshadow collection.

Friday 18 March 2016

Shoredirch Vape Kit - Review


When I was first contacted by Shoreditch about reviewing a vape kit I was unsure how it would fit into the contents of my blog, but thinking about it and the beneficial health benefits ditching smoking can do, I thought it would fit somewhere within the contents of lifestyle and health, plus well-being. I'm not a smoker myself, but my sister who is was more than happy to contribute towards reviewing the vape kit. 

Thursday 18 February 2016

I Said YES!!!!!


 I've been stuck in wedding bliss since I said yes. That's right, I'm newly engaged and can hardly believe it myself. I feel like someone's going to pinch me and I'll wake up and it not be real, but 4 days have now gone by since Valentine's day and that ring is still firmly on my finger so it must be true. 

Sunday 7 February 2016

Makeup Revolution I Heart Chocolate Pink Fizz Eyeshadow Palette - Review


 At the end of last year, Makeup Revolution released another chocolate palette to add to their ever extending chocolate palette line, and what a beauty it is. The Pink Fizz palette is an impressive 16 shades eye-shadow palette of matte and shimmer (mainly shimmer), it's quite compact and travel friendly, with a good sized full-sized mirror.


 The shades are highly pigmented, although a few of the lighter, matte shades lack a good pigmentation but will make good bases. They are soft, easy to use and easy to blend, with great lasting power.


L-R: Champers, Drink, Flute, Sparkling and Toast. Bubbles, Girl, Party, Elegant, Celebrate and Truffle.
 

 Rosy, Cork, Pop, France and Pink Fizz.

 This is such an impressive palette and for only £7.99 a real bargain. What I love about the Makeup Revolution I Heart Makeup line is the novelty of the packaging. This is a really great piece and comes highly recommend by me.

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PR Sample* 

Saturday 23 January 2016

After Christmas Haul


After receiving money in my cards at Christmas I couldn't wait to turn on my laptop and start spending it in the Christmas sales. I love sales shopping and couldn't wait to see what bargains I'd be able to find in Boots, etc.

Tuesday 19 January 2016

DGJ Organics Hair Juice Shampoo and Everyday Conditioner - Review


I tend to stick to my trusty Garnier shampoo and conditioner, but when I was sent the DGJ Organics Hair Juice Shampoo and Everyday Conditioner, I thought why not spruce it up a bit.

Wednesday 13 January 2016

Big Book Haul & Christmas Book Buys

2015 is definitely the year I didn't manage to do as much reading as I'd like. Doesn't mean I didn't indulge in buying numerous books and leaving them on my book shelf, collecting dust, ready to read at another time - the 'another time' still hasn't come yet. I'm hoping 2016 is a better year in regards to reading, and I'm able to read way more. I've managed to bag some real bargains and introduce some new authors to myself, people I've not heard of before.


Sunday 10 January 2016

Super Savvy Christmas 2016 - Why Starting Your Christmas Shopping After Christmas Is A Good Idea.

 I'm well known for saving where I can. I look around for the best deals on everything and never settle for first price unless it's the cheapest, therefore I find myself doing everything I can with a budget in mind, this doesn't mean I don't get the higher end, branded toys, etc, because I do, it just means I do at a good price. Starting my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve or the Boxing day sales isn't something I've ever done before, but something I have thought about doing and decided to proceed with this year - and here is why it's worth starting your Christmas shopping after Christmas. 

Friday 8 January 2016

Wickedly Welsh Diabetic Chocolate - Review


Back in late October my step-dad was diagnosed with diabetes. Although it hasn't changed his life dramatically, it did mean his love of sweets, chocolate, and numerous doughnuts in one sitting did go out the window. Myself, and other family members didn't want to wave goodbye to his sweet tooth completely and went on the hunt to find something of a similar taste to cure his sweet cravings and also be good for him. Whilst hunting down some sweet indulgence on Twitter I heard from a company called Wickedly Welsh who specialise in chocolate for the diabetic and was instantly intrigued, especially when they offered to send us some free samples to try out - after all I'm from the Musgrove clan and that only means a family full of Chocoholics.

Sunday 3 January 2016

12 Days of Unique Beauty - Beauty Advent


 Bit late on the Christmas beauty advent bandwagon but '12 days of unique beauty' from Feel Unique was my beauty advent of choice, not only for it's mix of high end and high street beauty but also it's reasonable price. The Feel Unique advent calendar isn't one I've seen much of, if at all, and it's a shame cause it was a really good beauty advent and only £30 with £85 worth of products inside.

What I Got For Christmas - 2015 Edition

 Hello beauts, 
 Wow, it's the new year and I'm back with my first post. The end of last year was really lame, exciting, disappointing, rewarding, and all sorts of crazy, it was a mix of emotions and lots of independence and my head kinda went away from blogging, for a little while, which allowed me to concentrate on a few more life type happenings and overcome various things - but new year new start right? I'm back, and hopefully will get into the swing of this again - I've missed all this so much and have tons built up to write about, so, without further rambles, I hope you had the most amazing Christmas and a great start to 2016. I'm back in the new year to share with you what I got for Christmas, and boy was I spoilt rotton.