A few xmas items & NYE plans

First I wanted to share a few gifts I got for xmas. I'm very grateful to my family and friends as I realise I am very difficult to buy for as I never want anything!

First up is this aztec cardigan from Miso at Republic that my best friend got me. It was a real surprise actually as I didn't expect her to get me anything like that at all but its really lovely and very warm!

My mum also got me this underwear set with reindeers on from Matalan. I wanted it when I first saw it and couldn't find my size. Eventually I did get it and it fits perfectly but my mum got me one too as she didn't realise I already had one. Its a very comfortable and well fitting bra but as its on;y cheap it probably wont last long in the wash so glad I have a back-up!

My boyfriend got me this Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet. Its fantastic and will be really good for my design work. So far though I have only messed about putting a moustache on photos of myself and that kind of thing!

This may not seem like a very exciting gift but I love it. My dad gave me a Colurworks melamine mixing bowl with some silicone baking tools. I really enjoy baking but I didn't have a proper mixing bowl so I'm really please I have my own now. I also treated myself to some funky digital scale so I can be a bit more accurate when mixing my ingredients now!

Finally, wanted to share my outfit for NYE. I am going to a Black and White ball in a local restaurant. It's not very ballgown-y but I think I would feel too self-conscious in something over the top so I went for this dress from New Look. The picture doesn't look that good but I can assure you it is far better in real life. Maybe I will get a picture before I go out!

What are your NYE plans?

Alyssa xx

Black and White Ball

For the first time in many years I actually have somewhere to go on NYE! We decided to go a black and white ball at a local fancy indian resaurant, there will be cocktails, buffet and dancing. The idea is that the whole place is decorated in black and white and everyone wears black and white so it was the perfect opportunity to go online window for a new dress and here is what I came up with:

I'm not really a fan of one shoulder dresses but I think this is very elegant and is glamorous enough for a ball. Its from the Lipsy VIP collection so is a bit out of my budget at £130.

I found a couple of suitable ones on River Island's website and this one I particularly liked as I really like lace bodycons but this is more glamorous as it is a midi length.

This is another midi dress from River Island and its more white than black and even though I like it, it reminds me of a summer holiday dress a bit too much.

I'm not sure if this dress would suit me, as I think it would be too pale on me but I think it is quite classy and would look good with black tights and some patent shoes.

This dress is very similar to the whiet one above but I like the cape detail at the back, I think it is really unusual. I think it may be too short for me though.

This is taking the blacka nd white theme very simplistically. I quite like the pleated skirt effect but the neckline is a bit too high and it isn't really suitable for a ball I don't think!

I think this is probably my favourite, as it is a bit more modest than a mini dress but wouldn't swamp me like a maxi dress could. Its also more reasonably priced from Miss selfridge at under £40. I like the gold detailed belt even though it doesn''t fit with the theme, but I don't think anyone would notice!

Which is your favourite? Or can you find anything else more suitable?

Alyssa xx

Blog Sale: Handmade Gifts

Got a few bits and bobs left over after the craft fairs I have done this month. All pictures can be found on my facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/ClariseCosmetics

P&P is a flat rate of £1.99 no matter how much you buy so you might as well stock up as its a one day only offer! Anything bought today will be posted tomorrow so you will have in plenty of time of xmas!

Here are a few things I have for sale:

Flannel xmas bunny with handmade soap £2

Children's sock cupcakes various sizes £3.50

Flannel Chocolate log £2.50

Natural handmade citrus soap £2 per bar comes gift wrapped as shown below

Let me know if you see anything you like, you can comment here or in my facebook album,

Alyssa xx

NOTD (or should I say week!)

As I've mentioned before I'm not really a lover of painted nails mainly because it usually lasts an hour on me before I find a way to chip it! But I took the plunge and went for Shellac at my local salon as they had an offer on it. It was all a bit of a disaster as it started coming off after a day (its supposed to last 2-3 weeks without chips) so I went back and she completely re-did them thankfully!
I went for black with multi-coloured glitter dusting, think it looks rather festive don't you!

Just trying to decide what colour to go for next, assuming this lasts as long as it should!

Alyssa xx

The Giveaway

 Just to let everyone know who is on Facebook that I will be hosting my giveaway on there. But....only when I reach 100 fans so get over and like my page and whilst you are there have a nosy through my album of new products!

https://www.facebook.com/ClariseCosmetics

Alyssa xx

P.S Told you I hadn't forgotten about it!

The start of xmas shopping...

Yesterday I went to the local shopping centre with the boyfriend as it was a miserable and I wanted to be out the house. I though with it being a Friday it would be quiet and I could get some xmas shopping done nice and early. However after a couple of hours I had seen or bought nothing and neither had my boyfriend so we decided to give up and go home. I did manage to buy something for myself in Republic though as I had a gift voucher which was about to expire so I bought something in desperation as I vowed never to come back to the shopping centre again as it depressed me!

Anyway, here is the jumper I bought, it is the fluffiest thing ever. Can't wait for it to get properly cold so I can wear it now. haha!

Anyway today I went for a wander round my local village and ended up buying about half my xmas presents in about an hour so it was much more productive, I even picked up a cute River Island shirt from one of the many charity shops which I will show you in an outfit.

So the moral of the story is SHOP LOCAL!

Alyssa xx

Clarise Cosmetics re-launch!

If you have read my past two posts you will realise I have been busy making lots of lovely things. Trying out new recipes for luxury bath products. I always hated buying these things from shops and not really knowing what was in them so last year I started making my own, now I know exactly what I am using on my precious skin!

I have really upped my game this time and going for looks as well as content and being a bit naughty I used Lush as a sort of inspiration. Everything I have made is entirely my own creation, I havn't copied from anyone else and I think you will like what I have come up with so far.

Shower Scrubs

These are lovely moisturizing shower bars with lots of exfoliating bits such as fairtrade sugar and lemon peel powder in for giving yourself a really good scrub! Look out for 2 extra products: Volcano (which has peppermint, pumice & volcanic ash) and Hippy Hands (hemp and nag champa with hemp seeds)

Bath Creamers

I didn't want to call these just bath bombs because they are much more than that. For a start they are a whopping 200g! and they contain a centre of creamy foaming bath butter. They made you bath look and smell incredible. Licorice love contains cocoa powder for a really indulgent treat and shining star (which is frankinscence and myrrh scented) contains gold glitter and is helping me get into the festive spirit already! Look out for Aphrodite, rose & ylang ylang with dried rose petals. 

Body Butters

I made the decision that a solid body butter was much more practical than in a jar, it also works really well as massage bar. These ones I designed to use in a bath or shower as they work by melting onto the skin, they also have a bit of gentle exfoliation.

Lip Scrubs

Lip Scrubs were always one of my best sellers, I have no idea why? Anyway I have refined them and made them much more sophisticated now and narrowed it down to these flavours. No doubt I will add more flavours in the future though.

Lip Balms

Final catagory is lipbalms, I have made Cherry & Vanilla to match the lip scrubs plus a honey lipbalm which is great for those who don't like heavily fragranced things on their lips, just something natural. Cherry contains added shea butter and Vanilla contains cocoa butter to make them extra rich.

So if you like what you see here go over to my website www.clarise-cosmetics.com and have a proper look as I have some gift sets perfect for little stocking fillers and will be adding more over the next couple of days!

Alyssa xx