When Two Bloggers Do A Not So Secret Santa

Where do I even start? Firstly, Merry Christmas Everyone! Can we believe that the big day is just around the corner, if you're relaxed then I'm jealous - if you're stressed then I feel you. 

This time of year is such a busy one, its my brothers birthday today. He's a Christmas baby so life gets really hectic, then I have a list of people i need to meet up with before going back to university and still have food to cook tomorrow and presents to wrap. Someone pass me the non-alcoholic wine! But forgetting about all of that, this time of year really is lovely. Giving gifts is my favourite part, to see the reaction on peoples faces when they get given something they have always wanted. Wrapping is also my favourite past time, picking the paper, the ribbon and the bags!! Its all so special and festive. 

A few weeks back, I sent the lovely Nishi from NishiV a message asking if she'd like to do a secret Santa with me. But its not really a secret Santa because we knew who we were getting gifts from, however it was a surprise in terms of what we were going to get from one another. Then a few weeks passed and the parcels arrived - eeeep! I'd never been so excited in my life. Even though neither of us have never met (which has to happen in 2017) we are so similar and stalk one another like crazy. She's definitely a friend that I have made through blogging and its amazing that the Internet does these crazy things. She has absolutely spoilt me and I feel very, very lucky! 

If you'd like to see what she picked out for me then keep reading and if you'd like to see what I got her then head on over to her blog and have a read. If you have Nishi on snapchat, you may have already seen the gifts because she's a snapchat queen! 

The Prettiest Festive Nails

For me, its an essential to have cute and festive nails at this time of year. This year, I wanted to go down the feminine, pretty yet Christmas themed nails. Before going to the nail salon, I browse Pinterest for hours trying to find something. Forgetting, that it is impossible to recreate something exactly the same! By the time I get to the salon, everything changes and I see a colour or glitter that is stunning. 

For example this time, instead of a classic red and gold nail combination I went with lilac! My nail lady had this colour on her nails and it was love at first sight, its a shellac colour so unfortunately I couldn't tell you the name even if I had it in me but the glitter is separate. 

She applied the lilac first, followed by the thin silver glitter. To create a stunning combination! They're slightly longer than I usually go for and a little more on the pointy side, but they have been easy to manage and keep a hold of. Shellac on top of acrylics also lasts a lot longer and when they grow out it doesn't look as bad. It costs more to apply shellac, but it lasts longer, looks better and the shine - oh my! 

Then for the festive part, keeping it simple and subtle we opted for a few delicate snowflakes on the fourth finger. How people manage to keep a steady hand when drawing things on like this I have no idea, every single one on both hands is so neat and perfect. 

Reload Perfume

As I've grown up, my love for perfume has grown with me. From loving and wearing impluse body sprays to gorgeous, high end perfumes. You start to find your own scent, the more that you try and I am a big love of sweet and spicy scents. When I was asked recently to try out Reload*, a new fragrance company that has just hit the scene - I couldn't resist. 

Reload is all about the mini perfume, so small that you can refill and keep it with you wherever you go. There is also the option to add a skin to make a plain black bottle, pretty and unique! 

The £5 Drugstore Highlighter

My name is Parie and I am a highlighting addict. Every brand that brings out a highlighting product, gets added to my ever growing wish list. There are so many different formula's out there and so many I love, but this one from a 'drugstore' brand has fast become my favourite. The best part is that it only £5 and is worth every penny, if you are on the hunt for a new highlighter - then you've come to the right place.