DAILY DECEMBER #18 // 15 things you don't know about me

I thought this would be quite a fun post to put together, letting you guys find out a bit more about the girl behind the blog! I tag literally everyone to do this, not that it's really a tag but ya get me *sassy girl emoji*

1. I am obsessed with Hello Kitty
2. My dream career is to be a successful poet and novelist
3. I'm thoroughly addicted to Pepsi
4. My favourite flower is a Lily
5. When I was younger I wanted to study Forensic Anthropology 
6. I'm scared of pigeons
7. I absolutely adore bees - so much so I have a tattoo of one 
8. I have a secret passion for classic rap/'hip hop' such as Tupac and Eazy-E
9. Puns are my favourite form of humour
10. I have absolutely no artistic talent
11. Looking at pictures of dogs in pyjamas never fails to make me happy
12. I'm a qualified SCUBA diver
13. I don't like bacon and I'm actually ex-veggie
14. I have never used a Lush bath bomb ... please don't hurt me
15. I love to cook but I'm useless at it

Those were my completely uninteresting 15 facts that you probably didn't know about me, I'd love to know what your's are - tweet me if you do this 'tag'! 7 sleeps til Christmaaaaaaasssss! Ps, if you'd like to read any of my poetry, I have a tumblr page where I occasionally post it: katyspoems.tumblr.com - enjoy... 

DAILY DECEMBER #17 // My Christmas pamper essentials

I am a totally horrible blogger and there are no proper photos for this blog post, because I have two uni deadlines this week and I've been spending most of my time in the library, so daylight has been severely amiss in my life. But I've been sooo stressed that I thought now would be the perfect time to talk about my favourite pastime - pampering!

an actual photo of me right now

I find pampering myself while at uni can be pretty difficult - our bath is tiny and the house is always busy, plus the walls are thin so even if I stayed in my room there would be music pounding or people's voices distracting me. I don't mind though, because you never feel alone ... But I digress!

Any Christmas time pampering session needs a candle - I've been loving the Coconut and Vanilla Cream scented candle from Primark which comes in a frosted glass cube. Aesthetically pleasing or what? It's not massively Christmassy but it smells soooo lush. A face mask is a big part of any pamper night, and I love the Superdrug ones which are always 3 for 2.

Tonight I decided to push the boat out, and made myself a make shift foot spa. At home my mum does have an actual foot spa which you plug into the wall and it massages your feet, but at uni I'm not blessed with such luxuries. I did see them in B&M today though, if you fancy snapping one up. I cleaned out the washing up bowl and filled with with hot water, Soap And Glory bubble bath, and some baby oil. You could use bath salts or proper oils like Lavender too. I let my feet soak for a while before smothering them in the Righteous Butter and popping on some fluffy socks.

I painted my nails using a Barry M shade that I featured in my favourite Christmas nails post, and watched loads of Vlogmas videos while eating jam donuts. Because you've got to treat yourself, right?

I've been super busy lately with uni and hospital appointments, so I really hope my Daily December posts aren't too dull; I thought today's post fitted in well with yesterday's #thelilacscrapbook December photo challenge over on Instagram - do feel free to check out the hashtag and get involved!

Want to see some fancy hand soap and body wash? 'course you do

DAILY DECEMBER #11 // My favourite Christmas nails

Christmas is one of those times that I think you can go all out with nail varnishes - the more glitter the better in my opinion! Today I'm talking through ten of my favourites...

Maybelline Colour Show in 180 Shock Wave // Blue is a staple nail colour for me in the Winter months, and especially navy as dark colours actually suit me! I love the formula and lasting power of the Colour Show polishes too.

Rimmel 60 Seconds by Rita Ora in 703 White Hot Love // White nail varnish is one of my favourite looks ever (as a kid I used to paint my nails with Tipp-ex...) and I think it's a shade that can work year round. Rimmel are such a good brand when it comes to nails too!

Barry M Nail Paint in 417 Mediterranean // I've thrown this one in there as it will go perfectly with the dress I've bought for New Year's Eve - the pink and rose gold shades look stunning together. Barry M aren't the best in terms of lasting power, but with a good top coat I'm hoping this will be okay.

Rimmel 60 Seconds in 310 Red Carpet // Everyone needs a pillar box red for Christmas - what more can I say?!

Orly Lacquer in Hair Band // I've blogged about this before which I hope proves how much I love it! For me it's the perfect gold glitter top coat, and I've never found one that works for me as well as this one does.

Nails Inc in Basil Street // Nude shades like this are perfect for the run up to Christmas or for a chilled out Boxing Day. I find that this needs a few coats, but it does look lovely!

Rimmel 'Precious Stones' in 002 Ruby Crush // This is described as a "high coverage glitter nail polish" and bloody hell, it is! It's soooo thick and it's a killer to get off, but if you want something striking on your fingers then this is the one for you.

Revlon matte suede collection in 933 Emerald City // Green is another perfect Christmassy colour, and I love the way these nail polishes look when they dry. The coverage is really good too!

Rimmel 60 Seconds in 830 Camouflage // Another green - slightly different to the last one but you can never have too many nail varnishes can you?

Barry M Nail Paint in 343 'Limited Edition' // This is a top coat which looks gorgeous over pale colours and even a good old French manicure - the strands are pink, green and blue but they honestly look like tinsel. Super Christmassy!

So that's what's gonna be on my nails throughout the month of December - if I had to pick a favourite of these I think it would be the Mediterranean shade by Barry M, it's to die for.

Want to know my fave Wintery make up? 'course you do

DAILY DECEMBER #9 // Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish - review

Even though it's December I still want to do usual blog stuff here on The Lilac Scrapbook, so today is a review of one of those staple items in every beauty-lover's bathroom cupboard: the Hot Cloth Cleanse and Polish by Liz Earle.

The packaging of the product is a winner; I think it looks classy and you can tell it's high end, plus it matches the colour scheme of our bathroom which is always a winner! The products itself actually feels really nice on my skin, but other than that I don't really like it. Unpopular opinion I know...

I tried this product solely because my gran got a sample of it, and after seeing the ongoing hype around it I decided not to let it go to waste! On first impressions I thought it as okay; it didn't do an amazing job of getting all my make up off in one - it left patches of foundation between my eyebrows and around my nose, so I had to scrub quite a bit. I also didn't like the feeling of the muslin cloth, which is why there's a flannel in the picture, as that's what I always use with cleansers now!

The worst part of this product was that it completely broke me out, which was so annoying because I wanted to love it like everyone else did. Bear in mind I do suffer from acne so it might be alright for you, but I'd suggest trying a sample before spending all that money. It has prompted me to try various other cleansers like The Body Shop camomile cleansing butter, which I love and will be posting about shortly!

I hope you're still enjoying Daily December! Let me know if you have any post-requests for next year so I can get one step ahead of myself which it comes to being organised. 

Want to see my Salcura Skincare review? 'course you do

DAILY DECEMBER #5 // My December Playlist

I posted a playlist for November of the songs I was loving at the time, and hopefully it will be a monthly occurrence! Please note there are no Christmas songs on this list because a) I'm a bit of a Scrooge and it's only the 5th, and b) I might do a post dedicated to my favourite Christmas songs & films later on in the month... maybe.

December2014 < click here for the Spotify playlist.

1. Let It Go / Idina Menzel / Frozen OST
2. Amsterdam / Daughter / If You Leave
3. Moon River / Frank Sinatra / Days Of ...
4. Don't Look Back Into The Sun / The Libertines / Single only
5. Ghost In The Mirror / Mallory Knox / Asymmetry
6. Steal My Girl / One Direction / Four
7. Fair / Remy Zero / Villa Elaine
8. Wherever You Will Go / Charlene Soraia / Cover
9. No.1 Party Anthem / Arctic Monkeys / AM
10. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa / Vampire Weekend / Vampire Weekend

I hope you get some musical inspiration from this list; if you have any recommendations then feel free to let me know! Are you involved in #thelilacscrapbook December photo challenge on Instagram? I'm loving keeping up with the hashtag and seeing everyone's photos.

DAILY DECEMBER #4 // Winter beauty essentials

Winter is that time of year when my skin and hair just seem to deteriorate faster than a snowball rolling downhill - so today I'm showing you my favourite products for keeping them in tip top condition (as much as possible, anyway)...

sorry for the hideous lighting

The Righteous Butter from Soap & Glory is a lifesaver for me; I find it to be so rich and nourishing without being greasy. Most of the products I use for my eczema leave me feeling like a slime ball, so I like to pop some of this on the areas that aren't too raw, so I smell delicious and feel completely pampered.

The lighting is a bit rubbish so I don't know if you can see what the middle product is - but it's the Vanilla Bliss Hand Cream (last year's Christmas scent) from The Body Shop. Hand creams are a joy for the winter time, because you can pop them in your handbag and keep your hands from drying out during the day when you're out & about. This smells divine, but the Glazed Apple scent this year is even nicer. hint hint, mum...

Last but not least is the Argan Oil hair mask - this is part of the super cheap range that I blogged about here. Everything in the range is fantastic but this is probably my favourite product. With my hair being bleached, it needs all the help it can get so hair masks are a big thing for me in Winter. This one smells lovely and leaves my hair feeling like actual silk. What more could you need?

Those are my winter essentials, what are your's? Let me know on Twitter @katygilroyblog! Head over to Instagram to take part in #thelilacscrapbook December photo challenge too! It's not too late to join in even if you missed the first few days.

Want to see a review of the Konjac Bamboo Charcoal Sponge? 'course you do

DAILY DECEMBER #3 // The party dresses!

December is the month of getting glammed up for parties on multiple occasions, so I thought I'd scour the web and find some gorgeous party dresses!

1 - Navy floral print fit & flare dress, River Island, £38 // People tend to say that florals are strictly for Spring/Summer but I think they can work for the Winter too, especially on a dark background colour. This is the most casual of the dresses and I think this would be a gorgeous dress for a family party! click here

2 - Sequin oversized silver dress, Missguided, £34.99 // Oh I'm in love. Sequins actually really irritate my skin but I think I'd genuinely put up with it for a dress this stunning! This shape of dress is one of my favourites too. This would be perfect for New Years Eve. click here

3 - Navy lace pleated dress, Topshop, £55 // I didn't even mean to put two navy dresses in this post but I love this dress, and lace is one of my favourite materials to wear. This doesn't look particularly dressy but I think you could make it work for an office party, with killer heels and some gorgeous jewellery. click here

4 - Black embellished mini dress, ASOS, £75 // Anything with embellishments is right up my street so I loooooove this dress; plus I think it has a 20s-vibe to it. This is perfect for a glam night out with your best gal pals. click here

I hope you're enjoying my Daily December posts and everyone else's - if you're blogging every day this month feel free to let me know in the comments down below! And don't forget to head over to Instagram and post your #thelilacscrapbook December photo challenge for day 3... x

Want to see a wintery beauty essentials list? 'course you do

DAILY DECEMBER #2 // Make your own lip scrub

My lips suffer so much in the winter months, with the wind making them dry, cracked and chapped. I'm always tempted to buy one of the Lush lip scrubs, but I thought I'd have a go at making my own! It was really easy to make and much more purse-friendly...

It only requires two ingredients: petroleum jelly and sugar. You can also add some sort of natural flavouring, like vanilla essence - I didn't have any so I went without!

I took a tea spoon of the petroleum jelly and about two teaspoons of sugar, mixed them together and bam! You're done. Find a little pot to keep it in and bob's your uncle. Don't overuse it, about once or twice a week is enough to leave you with soft and lush lips. My housemate described this as "the shit", so it comes well recommended...

Thanks for reading day two of my Daily December posts - and don't forget to check out #thelilacscrapbook December photo challenge over on my Instagram, @katygilroyblog