What I Got For My Birthday & Christmas | 2016

Today's post is a really exciting post because I'm going to share with you what I got for my birthday and Christmas. Last year and this year I combined the two posts together because my birthday and Christmas are quite close (my birthday is 8th December btw) and I thought it would be easier to combine them together so I hope you don't mind for the long wait.

Birthday

Clean Shopper Bag from Topshop- I love handbags as you probably know and for my birthday I got this lovely black bag from Topshop which is so nice and it goes with everything and it's amazing quailty- I've also never had a bag from Topshop so this is amazing.

Oatmeal Cozy Lace Snood- Another thing I love are snoods and I got this really cozy one for my birthday. I didn't have any in this colour and I've worn it a lot since my birthday as it's gone with lots of different outfits and looked really cute.

Metallic Gold Zip Around Purse- Recently I've really been loving purses and for my birthday I got this new one which I really like. It's the perfect way I love my purses and it goes really well with my bag so I love them two together.

Lilac & Pink Original Tangle Teezer- My Tangle Teezer is coming up for 2 years old so I thought it would be good to get a fresh one, especially as my old one was a Christmas present. I love the colours of this one as they're really cute and now I have two tangle teezers- one for my bag and one to keep at home.

Rose Gold Statement Necklace- Slowly rose gold has become a favourite of mine (I used to hate it when YouTubers would always bang on about it) and this necklace is so gorgeous and looks amazing with plain tops.

Indigo Jeggings- Another present I got was some dark blue jeggings from Primark because I love the Primark Comfort Stretch Jeggings fit and I only had black ones so it was time to get blue ones and I have worn these so much since.

Lush Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb- Next up I got a lot of Lush products and the first one was this Shoot For The Stars bath bomb which smelt really nice and turned the water into a gorgeous blue colour and the actual bath bomb looked really nice.

Lush Father Christmas Bath Bomb- This is a classic Lush Christmas bath bomb that I hadn't tried but after using it I did really like it so I'm really happy I received this.

Lush Candy Mountain Bubble Bar- My favourite! I love this scent (which is the Snow Fairy scent) and I love that it creates so many bubbles and turns the water pink and I always use this when I'm having a bad day so I was glad to get another.

Lush The Christmas Penguin Bubble Bar and Lush Golden Wonder Bath Bomb- The last two bubble bars/bath bombs I recieved were these two and these are again classics that I hadn't used but I wished I had used them sooner as I really liked them both. 

Lush Santa Baby & Bubblegum Lip Scrub- I also got two lip scrubs from Lush; one from the Christmas collection and one from the normal collection. They both smell really nice and I do find they do help chapped lips, especially in the cold season that we're currently in.

Soap & Glory Foam & Fortune Gift Set- Soap & Glory isn't a brand I buy from much so that's why I was really excited about this gift set as I can try out two different shower gels, body scrubs and body butters and there's two scents, the normal and the sugar crush, both smell great!

eos Pomegranate Raspberry Lip Balm- Last year I got a set of five different eos flavours (which I'm still using and loving) but I got a new scent this year and it's pomegranate raspberry which smells amazing and like the others it's really moisturising. 

Malteasers and Fox's Fabulously Biscuit Selection- I love food. So buying me food is an amazing present and that's why my friends Cerys and Nicha did. The malteasers are all gone but I still have some of the biscuits from Nicha as there were a lot in there!

365 Day Fashionable Diary- My friend Cerys also got me an undated diary which is great as I love stationery and the quote reflects us both as we judge everyone's outfits (especially our teachers). She also wrote a cute message in the front that no one would understand because we're mental.

Girl Online On Tour by Zoe Sugg- The Girl Online books always come out near my birthday/Christmas so I always ask for them and again my sister got it and I'm really excited to read it as I've been waiting for it for ages.

Victoria's Secret Pink Campus Backpack- I wanted one of these for ages and I fianlly got it and I love it! It's my school bag and there's so many pockets which means it's heaven for me because my old school bag had one.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in 604 Milk- Again something else I wanted for ages and to be honest I don't know why I hadn't bought it. I've used it a lot since my birthday and it's perfect for the inner eye to make you look more awake.

Mac Powder Blush in Fleur Power- My first ever Mac product! I love blush so that's why I chose a blush to be my first ever Mac product and omg it's better than I thought and honestly I haven't used another blush since my birthday because this is my baby. 

Christmas-

Flower Pharm Wild Rose Bath Bombs- My friend Nicha got me this set of 3 rose scented bath bombs for  Christmas and they're really good and they do make the bath smell really nice and I still have two left so I cant wait to use them. 

Light Up L Tree Ornament- This is one of the two presents that Cerys got me and I really like this cute little ornament but you could use it anytime of the year which is what I'm going to do as I've got it on my desk and it looks really cute.

Baylis & Harding Midnight Fig & Pomegranate Gift Set- Cerys also got me this Baylis and Harding gift set which included a 50ml shower gel and a 30ml body lotion and they were both really lovely to use but I have sadly used them both up now. 

Joe & Caspar Hit The Road USA DVD- Last year for Christmas I got the first Hit The Road DVD and this year I got the second one where they travel around America. I haven't watched it yet but I am really excited to watch it.

Joe & Caspar Hit The Road USA Calendar- Every year I get a calendar and like last year I decided to get the Joe and Caspar one because I really liked having it in 2016 and I didn't really know what calendar to get for 2017.

Superdry Beauty Gym Edit Spritz & Fix Trio- Okay so I am not someone who goes to the gym but this is a handy little set as it has a really nice smelling body mist, a lip balm and a mirror in a handy clear bag which is perfect for your handbag or school bag. 

Pink Peppermint Candy Swirl Beauticology Cracker- This is a cute little gift that includes a body lotion and a shower gel that both smell amazing and you can never have enough shower gels and body lotions as I use them everyday.

Lush Products- I did go to the Lush boxing day sales and I bought a lot of Lush stuff as I had run out a couple of days before so I wanted to be stocked up, especially as Lush had 50% off their Christmas range so I only bought Christmas bath bombs and bubble bars which are: 
-Candy Mountain Bubble Bar
-Never Mind The Ballistic Bath Bomb
-Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb
-Magic Wand Bubble Bar Wand
-So White bath bomb
-Ruby Red Slippers Bubble Bar
-Northern Lights bath bomb
-Little Snow Fairy Gift Set (includes 100g Snow Fairy shower gel and 100g Snow Fairy Fun)

Victoria's Secret Pink Mint Logo Jumper- In the Pink boxing day sale I got this jumper which I really like as it's really cosy and I got it in a medium so it's perfect for lazy days as it's baggy and cosy.

Real Techniques Base Core Collection Set- I've wanted Real Techniques brushes for ages as everyone uses them and loves them and I got the base set which is what I wanted as I use the most brushes on my base and I've used them and they're really good.

Mint Carmen Jumper from River Island- I got a River Island gift card and this is what I spent it on. I got this jumper in a size 8 but it's big (which I like) and it's so fluffy and cosy and perfect for home, which is where I've been wearing it. 

Victoria's Secret Pink Wild & Brezzy 2 in 1 Wash & Scrub- In the Victoria's Secret sales they had some bodycare on offer and I decided to pink up this wash and scrub because I've used other scents before and they're really good and I do really like this scent as I have it as a body mist.

Paperchase Vintage Floral Organiser- For the new year I wanted to get a new planner as a new year new start kind of thing and this was my favourite that Paperchase had. The inserts aren't what I like so I'm just going to stick to my current planning system.

Benefit They're Real Beyond Mascara- A lot of people rave about this mascara so I decided to get it with Christmas money; I haven't tried it yet as I only bought it today but I'm really excited to try it.

So that's everything that I got for my birthday and Christmas and I'm very grateful for everything I received and I'm not boasting but I thought it would be nice to do this post. Let me know in the comments what you got because I would love to know.

2016 Favourites

At the end of 2015 I did do a 2015 Favourites and because I did one for last year and it's only fair, I thought I would do an end of year favourites post to round up everything thing I have been loving this past year. 2016 for me personally was an alright year but for everything else it's been a year to forget with the UK leaving the EU and all those celebrities who sadly past away in the first couple of months of the year.

The first category is Fashion 

Jumpers from H&M- This year has seen my jumper collection grown in size that I now have a whole dedicated to them but I've found my favourite jumpers are from H&M. They have some really nice designs and lots are only £5.99 which is a bargain and actually cheaper than Primark and are better quailty.

Leggings from Primark- I first discovered these leggings towards the end of last year and this year I've lived in them. They're £2.50 (they used to be £3) and they're really comfy and thick, which is great. I haven't really tried out any other shops' leggings because I'm going to stick to these.

Handbag from H&M- You guys know how I love my handbags (I will be doing a Handbag Collection this year) but my favourite one has been this one from H&M. It's probably one of the best quailty bags I have and I've used it for school and as my handbag and I love it as you can fit so much in it.

Boots from Primark- I only really buy my shoes in Primark because they fit the best and this autumn/winter they've really upgraded their boots and they're incredible. At the time of writing I have three pairs of ankle boots and I wear them so much and I really want to get more because they're incredible.

Leather Jacket from Primark- I featured this in my 2015 Favourites but I have still been wearing it loads and loving it. This particular one is from 2015 but they probably do similar. I've really been getting into jackets and coats recently and I actually care and put thought into what jacket/coat goes with my outfit.

Beauty

Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation- I've mentioned this foundation loads because I love it and I wanted to include it in this favourites to remind everyone how much I love it. You can build up this foundation to whatever coverage you want so it's perfect for school, everyday or for a long day out.

Essence All Eyes On Me Waterproof Mascara- Mascara is one of my favourite makeup products and this has been my favourite mascara of the year. It makes my lashes really long and it is a waterproof mascara because some claim to be waterproof but when you use them they're not. This is only £2 in Wilko which is a bargain! 

Makeup Revolution Blush Palettes- This year I've really been getting into blushes and too increase my colour range I picked up these blush palettes in Superdrug for £6 each and OMG they are incredible. They are so pigmented and there are some gorgeous shades that I love experimenting with.

Collection Lasting Colour Lipsticks- I have mentioned these lipsticks a lot this year because they have become my favourite lipsticks so I wanted to include them in this favourites post. I have 5 shades at the moment in nudes, pinks and a red and I wear them a lot because the formula is amazing (especially the matte formula).

Victoria's Secret Makeup Bag- Obviously this isn't a makeup product but I have been loving my Victoria's Secret Makeup Bag because it's big enough to keep all of my everyday makeup in and it's really good quality but I would expect that for something that was £22. 

Music

The last post I did was My 2016 Playlist and in my 2015 Favourites last year I included a music category so I thought I would choose five favourite songs from the year and include them in this music category.

-7 Years by Lukas Graham

-Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey

-Tears by Clean Bandit featuring Louisa Johnson

-Secret Love Song Part I.I by Little Mix

-Perfect Strangers by Jonas Blue featuring J.P. Cooper

YouTube

A lot of this year I haven't really been watching many of my subscriptions and only the videos I'm interested in but I still have some YouTube favourites although they're not your typical Zoella or Tanya Burr.

-Eve Bennett

-Floral Princess (Anastasia)

-Gabriella/velvetgh0st

-My Green Cow (Daisy)

-Tammy Hembrow (I also love her Instagram)

Food and Drink

Food (and drink) is a huge part of my life and I have so many foods I love (like my all time favourite Chocolate M&Ms) so it was hard to choose three foods but I'm very happy with my choice and I feel like they represent what I've been eating a lot in 2016.

Food

-Smarties

-Spaghetti Carbonara 

-Cookies and bakery products

Drink

-Diet Coke

-Apple Tango

Random

(Sorry for the yellow lighting)

HP Laptop-This year I got a new laptop because my old Toshiba one kept shutting down and it made a lot of noise so I got a new one and I love it. It's so quick and I love it. I use my laptop a lot and I definitely use it a lot more now I have a good one that is reliable.

Billy And Me- This year I tried to get back into reading and I would say I've done alright actually. My favourite book has been Billy And Me by Giovanna Fletcher and I mentioned it in a monthly favourites in the summer and it's really good. I read it really quickly and that says something. It is quite cliche but I don't mind.

Samsung Galaxy A3- In late October I got a new phone and I am in love with it so much that I had to mention it. I had a Windows before and that was terrible so I'm never going back but Samsung is incredible and I also love the rose gold colour.

Victoria's Secret Body Mists- You guys know how much I love these so obviously I had to give them a cheeky shoutout in my yearly favourites. I think my favourite one is Pure Seduction and I know that's my sister's favourite one. I also really like the Victoria's Secret Pink ones too.

Organising and Paperchase A5 Organisers- I've always been quite an organised person but this year I trialled out planning and for the first 6 months I had a Tesco planner and then I moved into a ring and never looked back. I love how you can customise the inserts to whatever you want so it means I can have school and general life all in one.

That was everything I have been loving in 2016. Can you believe that tomorrow is 2017 because I find it mind blowing as it feels like yesterday we were welcoming 2016. I will be doing a post mentioning all of my 2017 goals (I don't like to call them resolutions) and that will probably be coming tomorrow.

Happy New Year! xxx

My 2016 Playlist

Today I'm going to be sharing with you my 2016 playlist because I made one at the end of last year and I wanted to share with you my favourite songs from the year. I also haven't done a playlist post in a while so if you want more let me know!

My 2016 Playlist

-Closer by The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey

-Tears by Clean Bandit feat. Louisa Johnson

-Secret Love Song by Little Mix feat. Jason Derulo

-Secret Love Song Part 2 by Little Mix

-Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes

-Perfect Strangers by Jonas Blue feat. JP Cooper

-Like I Would by Zayn

-7 Years by Lukas Graham

-No by Meghan Trainor 

-Say You Won't Let Go by James Aurther

-Shoutout To My Ex by Little Mix

-Sexual by Neiked & Dyo

So them songs have been the ones that I have listened to the most in the year of 2016. I will be doing more posts in 2016 but if you don't read them then Happy New Year!

Makeup Collection

Todays post is a post I'm so excited about because today I'm finally going to be showing you my makeup collection. I know I have more makeup than I need but I love buying makeup and I do have a weakness for a lot of makeup products (mascaras, lipsticks and palettes are my biggest).

Most of my makeup is stored in these acrylic drawers which are from Tiger (the top 2 and thing on top) and Primark (the bottom four) but in this wooden crate, from Primark, I have two more acrylic storage that stores lip products and they're both from Tiger. I really like my makeup storage and it was really cheap.

This is what I keep on top of the drawers and it's four of my mini Victoria's Secret body mists (from L-R Exotic, Love Spell, Aqua Kiss and Temptation) and also a Victoria's Secret rollerball in the Crush scent. I also have a brush cleanser from Studio London and a sharpener, also from Studio London.

The first drawer contains face products so the three extra foundations I have are the Collection Naturally Matt Foundation, Miss Sporty Insta Glow Foundation and the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation. I also have the Fit Me concealer and two blushes- one from Technic and a MUA blush in Bubble Gum.

The second drawer is also face products and I keep my Makeup Revolution Blush Palette in Hot Spice, the Rimmel London Wake Me Up Concealer, the MUA Mosaic Bronzer, a Technic Powder and finally a Miss Sporty Insta Glow Foundation.

Now the next three drawers are all about eye products so I have the Barry M Natural Glow Eyeshadow and Primer Palette 2 and also a PS... 8 Shade Day Eyeshadow Palette, which wouldn't open when I tried to take a picture of it. The rest of the products are from Technic and there's some eyeshadow applicators, two eyeliners (a brown and black) and three cream eyeshadows in white, orange and blue.

The fourth drawer down is another drawer dedicated to eyes but I also have a Zoella Beauty Blissful Mistful Solid Fragrance because I didn't know where to put it. I also have a Collection Eyes Uncovered Palette because it didn't fit in the third drawer, three little Technic eyeshadows quads and two Collection mascaras- the Super Size and Longer Lash.

The last drawer is mainly about mascaras but there's also my only brow product but that should probably go into my everyday makeup bag. The mascaras I have are the Miss Sporty Pump Up 24 Booster Waterproof Mascara, Technic Get Lashed Mascara, PS... Volumising Mascara, Technic Monster Lash Mascara and my favourite Essence All Eyes On Me Waterproof Mascara. The brow product I have is the Rimmel London Brow This Way Clear Brow Gel.

The last drawer is my lip drawer and inside I have a Collection Lasting Colour Lipstick in a nude shade (can't remember the name), a PS... Matte lip crayon in Nude Beach, a red PS... lip crayon, a Collection Work The Colour Lip Crayon, two of the PS... Liquid Lipsticks, two lip liners from Technic and a Zoella Kissy Missy Lip Balm.

The rest of my lip products are in acrylic storage from Tiger and this particular one was £3. The first row I have some of my Baby Lips, the second row has two Collection Lasting Colour Lipsticks and a lipstick from Technic and the last row has two more Collection Lasting Colour Lipsticks and a Technic Lip Gloss.

This is the other acrylic storage from Tiger and this one was £4 because it's a little bigger. Firstly on the left I have three body sprays and a L'Oreal hairspray. Then on the first row I have a Barry M lipstick, a Clinque lipstick and a Technic lipgloss. The second row has two nude Technic lipsticks and a Givency Nude Lipstick and lastly the last row has Technic lip crayons and Technic lip glosses (one in nude, one in pink and the other is red).

Just thought I would quickly show you where I store my makeup brushes are stored and they're not very clean and I hate the storage but I want to get a new mug or cup for it. Most of my brushes are from Studio London and they're really good quailty.

That was my long awaited collection and I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry I didn't go into too much detail about every single product but if you would like some more information let me know in the comments below. Also follow me on Twitter (@louisecarterr) and Instagram (@thelipstickinsider)

Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation Review

Recently I decided to buy the Wake Me Up Foundation from Rimmel because I've heard so many people talk about it so I wanted to test it for myself. If you like me doing reviews let me know because I like writing them and if you like them I'll do more.

I love this foundation and I'm so glad I decided to buy it. Firstly it lasts all day, which is great because obviously I don't want to reapply it. It also has SPF 15 in, which is really handy because most people forget to apply SPF in the cooler months (I know I don't wear it) and you need it because you can still get burnt. The foundation is very buildable and I like to do two pumps because I want a lot of coverage and one pump is not enough; I would say that the coverage is medium which is great because I do wear this to school. Something people may not like about this foundation is that there is glitter in it but I personally don't mind it because I do like the dewy, glittery look.

I apply this foundation by firstly squeezing it onto a beauty blender and dab it around my face and then I propaerly go in with a foundation brush and smooth it out. Overall I really like this foundation and I would give it five out of five stars. You can buy this foundation from Boots and Superdrug for £8.99

Primark Haul!

Today I'm back with another Primark Haul and this is the biggest Primark Haul I've ever done so I'm really excited. Just a note to add I didn't buy all of this in one go because then I would've had about a million bags to take home with me. I went to a few different Primarks because they all have some different stuff in.

Basic White T-Shirt £2 | Basic Grey Sweatshirt £5 | Cobalt Blue Super soft Jumper £4.50 | Wool Star Jumper £10

In the winter I wear a lot of jumpers (seriously I need to do a jumper collection) so I picked up another three. I got this really soft basic grey sweatshirt because I have no grey clothing. Then I got a cobalt blue jumper because I love this shade of blue and I think it really stands out in a black outfit (I also got a black one but that's in the wash). I want to start building up my basics so I got a plain white t-shirt because that can go with so many outfits.

Velvet Opaque Black Tights £3.50 | Black Jeggings £6 | PU Leather Skirt £8 | Bengaline Trousers £9

I finally bought some Jeggings that actually fit and I like wearing; I've had a nightmare trying to find the perfect jeans/jeggings but I couldn't find any but these are like a dream and I really want to get some more in blue. The other pair of trousers I got were these black and white ones and I wanted a pair like these for ages but I decided to get them and I love them. In the Autumn I love wearing skirts so I got this fake leather one and I think it's really nice. I also picked up a pack of tights because they come in so handy, especially as I love wearing skirts.

Fake Plant £2 | Copper Mirror £1.50 | PS... Kabuki Brush £2 | PS... Foundation & Concealer Brush £2 | Coral Lace Trim Socks £1.50 | PS... Deep Cleansing Facial Wipes £1 | Black & White Knit Snood £4 | Blue & White Knitted Kimono £7 (was £14) | Hershey's Flavoured Lip Balm £1.50 | PS... Matte Lip Crayon in Nude Beach £2 | Tan Ankle Boots £12 | Ugg Style Boots £5 | Black Fedora Hat £3 (was £8)

Wow that's a lot of stuff in one photo and it was meant to be like that but I was in a rush to take it. Primark is my favourite place to buy shoes because they fit so well (I have awkward size feet)and they have really nice shoes and that's why I got two new pairs of boots. I also got a hat and I've wanted a hat like this for ages but I was so scared to get one; I haven't actually worn it out yet but one day I will. The other stuff is quite random and explains itself like what can I really say about a mirror.

I hope you enjoyed this Primark Haul and I really want to do some more hauls for some other shops because I haven't really been buying that much other stuff, only clothes and makeup. I also want to do a Makeup Collection so if you want to see that let me know. 

Follow Me!

Twitter @louisecarterr

Instagram- @thelipstickinsider