The Fashion Edit: New Year's Eve Celebrations

Merry Christmas lovelies!  I hope you were all on Santa's nice list and received some beautiful gifts, and most of all had a wonderfully festive day yesterday with your friends and family!  I honestly love nothing more than celebrating with the people closest to me.

Now that Santa Claus has been, I know a lot of you will be looking for that perfectly sparkly New Year's Eve outfit to bring in 2016, so I've pulled together a similar post to last year with my top picks for gorgeous (and some cosy!) New Year's Eve outfits you'll love.
I researched a lot of these looks before Christmas Day to make sure I had the time to look for lots of sequin-y goodness for you all - which means some of these prices may now be reduced in the Boxing Day sales!  So if you like any of my picks below, hopefully you'll get a nice surprise and see there is a discount when you go to purchase - fingers crossed!

Red Scallop Sequin Bardot Dress £59

WOW! This is a gorgeous dress from Rare London, the cut of the dress and sequin scalloped detail makes this look super festive and totally feminine.  The colour is perfect for this time of year too, I love it!

Limited Edition Rose Gold Sequin & Fringe Mini Dress £40

Now this is a party dress!  Another Rare London dress which is perfect for a New Year's Eve party night - sequins, fringe and a plunge neckline screams party glam, I especially love the rose gold colour of this dress.  The capped sleeves with fringe detailing makes this dress a little different and the direction of the sequinned detail make this a flattering mini dress for your celebrations.

Brushed Sequin Dress £35

A simple yet sparkly dress from Topshop would be a great choice to bring in 2016, the bronzed dress has a lovely brushed sequin effect which I love every year, and with delicate straps it keeps the look classic - perfect for the no fuss party girl!  Just add statement heels and you're good to go.

Levana Embroidered Mesh Full Skirt Dress £299

Looking for a sophisticated dress that still stands out from the crowd this New Year?  Ted Baker have the beautiful Levana dress in their new collection, a flattering V-neck style with n embroidered midi length full skirt.  The contrasting embroidery is really what makes this dress, the detailing is stunning and will be sure to turn heads - this would be beautiful at a black tie New Year's Eve party.

Red Carpet Sculpt Premium Bandage Ultra Plunge Maxi Dress £110

This maxi dress from ASOS is stunning, you'll definitely pull off the sexy, sophisticated look wearing this.  A plunge neckline, thigh split and bandage style bodice all make this a stand out pick for your party night, since it's a maxi dress it adds sophistication to your look.  I'd suggest wearing a gorgeous hair brooch with this and putting your hair in an up-do or pull over to one side.  

Curly Faux Fur Double Breasted Coat £55

If you're out and about this New Year's Eve like I am (Edinburgh Street Party here I come!!), then you'll need this gorgeous faux fur coat from Topshop.  It's a curly textured faux fur jacket in statement black and white - it's just stunning!  This would also be a great option to wear over your sparkly mini dress on your way to your party, sequins and faux fur always look great pieced together (statement heels always help too).  

Chain Hand-Knitted Beanie £16

Another option if you're heading outside to bring in the New Year is a cute woolly hat to keep cosy yet stylish when you're celebrating.  I love this bright magenta hat from Topshop and the gorgeous chain knit style, it's such a simple way to dress up your look when you're out and about and is a great pop of colour.  Especially if like me you tend to stick to black, on black, on black..!

LED Reindeer Fair Isle Bobble Hat £10

There is another option if you refuse to let people tell you Christmas is over, make a statement with this totally amazing hat from Urban Outfitters.  Fairy lights and Christmassy goodness - what's not to love?!

Rosie for Autograph Silk Camisole Set £32

Finally, if you're staying in this New Year, I say you bring in 2016 looking gorgeous in this M&S Rosie for Autograph camisole set.  Her range for M&S is absolutely beautiful, I love the silk camisole set in this colour - so pretty!  

Whatever you get up to, I hope you have a wonderful time bringing in the New Year and have a happy and healthy 2016!  

♥︎

Last Minute Christmas Gift: Reindeer Beer!

Just before Christmas, panic can usually set in if you still have some last minute presents to buy for friends and family - I'm here to help with that!

A few years ago I wanted to get a little extra for my boyfriends Christmas gift and I decided on bottles of beer, with a twist!  I decided to made some rein-beers to make the gift super festive and they were so easy to make.

You'll need:

• Beer bottles (or any bottles you'd like to use)
• Brown pipe cleaners
• Googly eyes
• Red pom poms or circular stickers
• Glue or sticky dots (or something similar to stick down your red nose and eyes with)
• Bows, ribbon or anything else you'd like to use to dress up your rein-beer  

We'll start by creating the antlers for the rein-beers, take a full length pipe cleaner and wrap this around the bottle, just below the bottle cap, and twist to hold in place leaving the lengths of the pipe cleaner pointing upwards.

Take another pipe cleaner and cut this in half (or shorter if you'd prefer) and bend into a U shape, attach this to one side of the pipe cleaner and twist to secure.  Do the same for the other side of the pipe cleaner - and now you have reindeer antlers!

Next we can secure Rudolph's nose, add some glue to one side of your pom pom and then attach this to the neck of the bottle (leaving enough room to add your googly eyes above), if you're using a red circular sticker you can easily just stick this onto the bottle neck.

To finish off your rein-beer, stick 2 googly eyes to the bottle neck above Rudolph's nose and if you have any ribbon or bows, add them to your rein-beer and that's it!  

It's so simple to create and can be done on any bottle you'd like to use.  It's such a great way to dress up a small gift for someone; I'm using these to add as extras to a few Christmas presents I have already bought.

Are you planning on creating this as a last minute Christmas idea?  

Tweet me @Saturdays_Girl with your rein-beer creation! 

♥︎

Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup Recipe

When Winter comes around I love nothing more than a warm bowl of homemade soup, it warms you up from the inside out and is sooo tasty!

This post is a bit of a change from beauty and fashion, but thought I'd share one of my favourite homemade soup recipes, it's super easy and you will love this over the festive period.

This spiced carrot and lentil soup recipe is a spicy twist on a classic soup, it's low fat too so you can indulge in more of your chocolates over Christmas!

I originally found a recipe here, although I've made some changes as I've started to make it more and more.

This recipe serves 4 and you'll need:

• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp crushed chillies
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 large carrots, washed and chopped (or grated - it's up to you)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 140g split red lentils
• 1 litre hot vegetable stock

You'll also need a hand blender or food processor to blend your soup together at the end.  

To make this hearty soup, heat a large pan and dry-fry your cumin seeds and crushed chillies until they begin to jump around, then take half of them out and set to the side.  In the pan, add in the rest of your ingredients - olive oil, carrots, onion, split red lentils, vegetable stock and chilli powder.  

Bring to the boil and then let this simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, until your carrots are soft and your lentils are soft and swollen.  

Now use your hand blender or food processor to blend your ingredients together until smooth or as smooth as you like your soup.  Season with salt and pepper and your spices which were left to the side earlier, and that's it!  It's super healthy and super tasty, you could also serve this with yogurt since it is a spicy soup or with some warm bread (yum!).  

Do you have a go-to homemade soup recipe?  Let me know if you try this one out!  

♥︎

L'Oreal Infallible 24H Foundation Review

Since Christmas is nearly here, I'm under strict orders from Santa not to buy lots of beauty products this month! Which I'm finding difficult since there are so many gorgeous palettes and gift sets out at the moment.

The only beauty purchase I've made (so far...) is a new everyday drugstore foundation, the L'Oreal Infallible 24H Stay Fresh foundation.  I previously raved about the Bourjois foundations which I still think are great, however I was in the mood to try something new and L'Oreal really stood out for me as I've heard great reviews about their foundations so thought I'd give it a go!

L'Oreal Infallible 24H foundation definitely has high coverage, more than my current Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation with light to medium coverage, so you really don't need a lot of the product when applying to your face.  When first applied it looked as though the foundation was highlighting my pores and sticking to dry areas of my face, yet 5 - 10 minutes later once I had applied all of my make up it definitely had much more of a flawless finish and settled well onto the skin.

This foundation provides more of a matte finish than I'm used to, it's not completely matte but it 'fights make up meltdown' and does last longer than other drugstore foundations I've tried which is great!  This foundation also has a lovely, fresh scent to it and it's fast becoming one of my top drugstore foundations.  I think I'll need to start trying out more of the L'Oreal range!

Have you tried this foundation and what did you think?  Let me know if you have other drugstore foundation suggestions!

♥︎

Skin Saviour: Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

For years I've played around with different skincare products, trying to find a product that would suit my dry to combination skin regardless of what it was like that day (hormones playing their part in this every few weeks!).  I used to swear by toners and cleansers, making my skin feel fresh and awake both morning and night, and always put any breakouts or issues with my skin purely down to my diet, lifestyle and basically, just the way my body was working.

I had seen a few reviews of Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and decided I wanted to try something completely different on my skin and give it a go.  It's a concentrated cream cleanser which you massage onto dry skin across the face and neck, massaging it across your face helps to break down make up and grime.  You then rinse the muslin cloth under warm water, wring it out and then gently polish your face to wash the cleanse off.

I first tried this product around 9 months to a year ago and I've never looked back.  The cleanser is packed with naturally active ingredients such as eucalyptus and cocoa butter which really work into the skin, making it perfect for removing make up (even eye make up!) and being gentle to your skin at the same time.

After my very first use, I noticed a difference to my skin.  My skin felt really soothed and calm, it didn't feel aggravated or sensitive.  I had a lot of sore blemishes along my jaw line and, honestly, after a few uses they disappeared and my skin didn't feel sore or tender anymore.  My skin isn't as dry as it used to be and fells fresh and clean after each use - can you tell I'm a total Liz Earle convert?!

If you're struggling with your skin at the moment and feel like nothing is really soothing or improving your skin, I'd suggest trying this great cleanser.

Have you tried Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser before?  Or any other products from the range?

♥︎

The Inspiration Post #10

Happy Halloween!

This month I have a spook-tacular inspiration post, I LOVE Halloween, it's one of my favourite times of year and I love seeing the effort everyone puts into costumes, parties and pumpkins!  I've pulled together some of my favourite things about Halloween to hopefully give you some inspiration for today...

Simply yet effective Halloween decorating!

I mean...the BEST fashion crew there is!! Love this! 

Amazing pop art cartoon make up, I can't wait to try this one year. 

Heidi Klum always goes all out for Halloween...

...an inside out body..!

Impressive skull make up skills and I love the wig.  

Very creepy nail art! 

Lovely idea for trick or treaters to visit. 

I'd love to do this if I had a fire place, great Halloween decoration!!

Halloween treats - googly, gooey eyes. 

Some Disney inspiration, with added pixie dust. 

And finally, the cutest little costume everrrr. 

I hope you found some inspiration from these images, have a very happy (and spooky) Halloween! 

♥︎

Happy 1st Birthday to Me! Enter my Giveaway to Celebrate!

Happy Sunday lovelies!

Sunday isn't usually my upload day (my blog name gives it away a bit..!) however it's a very special day which required a very special blog post...today is my 1 year blog anniversary! 

Photo credit from Pinterest

I can't believe I've been blogging for one year already, and that a little idea I had just over a year ago is happening and I still absolutely love it!  I've mostly blogged about fashion, beauty and a bit of lifestyle in there too which I hope you've all enjoyed.  Over the next year I'd love to expand my blog, getting more involved in chatting with you all much more regularly.  

I really wanted to write this post to say THANK YOU to those of you that read my blog!

I appreciate every follow, comment and view I get and love that the community are so open and approving of newbies like me entering the crazy blogging arena.  

To say a big, big thanks I am running a giveaway, giving you the chance to win some H&M beauty products.  There is a nude eyeshadow and eyebrow palette, blusher, lipstick in Darling Pink and a brush and sponge set (the sponge looks amazing!).

The giveaway will run from 12am Sunday 25th October 2015 until 12am Sunday 1st November 2015, to be in with a chance to win this prize all you have to do is complete one or all of the options in rafflecopter below.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone! 

♥︎

My Guide to Las Vegas

The final stop on our travels was Las Vegas!  It is such a great place to visit and totally out of this world.

One of the best shows we saw there is the Cirque du Soleil show 'O', an amazing aquatic performance which left me in awe from start to finish, it really is unbelievable some of the things they can do!

A great way to spend your time in Vegas is going from hotel to hotel, they are HUGE and look spectacular inside and out (so big that in one hotel alone I came across 3 Starbucks!).  New York New York looked amazing and I loved the roller coaster, the Coyote Ugly bar in the hotel is really fun too.
Another great hotel is The Venetian, Italian themed with a Gondola ride going through the hotel with blue skies (indoors!) was one of the craziest things I've seen.

The Grand Canyon is absolutely incredible, it is a trip of a lifetime and I feel so lucky to have been able to see it.  We flew with Sundance Helicopters who I'd highly recommend, our pilot was amazing! We got to fly over the Las Vegas strip and over the Grand Canyon before stopping off at the side and going on the Skywalk - a glass floored walkway over the Canyon, it was incredible!  We then got a few photos from the cliff side, the vastness of the Gran Canyon is unbelievable and totally breathtaking.

Of course you can't go to Las Vegas without a bit of gambling, there is no shortage of opportunities to do this - even sitting at a bar..! Between this and the Britney Spears slot machines I was amazed by Las Vegas!

We had a great night at the Stratosphere near the end of our trip, the bar at the top gives you amazing views of the strip and surrounding area, you also get free entry to the viewing deck from here so it was incredible to go outside and see the views and the crazy rides at the top of the Stratosphere (I didn't have the guts to try them out this time!).  It was a lovely way to spend time reflecting on the holiday with a few cocktails.

Another must see in Vegas is the Bellagio Fountains.  We saw the fountains on the first and last night of our holiday so it brings back great memories of the trip, the dance of the fountains is always different so there is always a great display on.  With the backdrop of the gorgeous Bellagio hotel it really is amazing.

Have you been to Las Vegas before?  What did you think?

I hope you've enjoyed the posts on my recent travels - back to fashion and beauty next week!

♥︎