What I got for Christmas + my Christmas cupcakes !

First of all, I want to wish you a happy new year ! May 2014 bring you joy, health and happiness :)

And I know it's a bit late, but I thought it would be nice to show you the things I got for Christmas. And at the end of this post, I'll feature some pictures of the Christmas cupcakes I made for my family gathering on Christmas Eve - everybody liked them and I'm quite proud so I wanted to share that too.

Let's start with the presents ! I really love them all, as I chose them myself - yep there was no surprise of any kind with those, but I was asked to choose and so I did. I'm so excited about all this, I always feel like a

child when I open my Christmas presents !

The first one I want to talk about is the one I coveted the most and for the longest time. My own Deathly Hallows necklace ! All Harry Potter fans will know what this is, and understand why I am so excited about it. This symbol represents the three objects that, when you possess them all, make you the Master of Death : the Cloak of Invisibility (the triangle), the Resurrection Stone (the circle), and the Elder Wand (the line in the middle).

I won't go in details about the whole story, but to me this symbol is one of the strongest signs we have in the Harry Potter fandom and universe, and I'm so so happy I now have this amazing necklace. 

I'm a little afraid to wear it honestly, I don't want to damage it - but I'll definitely do it anyway, it looks so cool !

Next is a perfume. I'm almost running out of the Flower by Kenzo I've been using for months (this is my signature scent I guess, one of my favourite perfumes ever), and my mother kindly suggested to buy me a new one for Christmas. I wanted to change and not buy the Kenzo again, and I went for the Dalhia Noir by Givenchy.

I remember smelling it when it first came on stores, and I immediately loved it. It is very different from the scents I go for usually. I couldn't describe it, but I feel like it is a more "mature" feminine scent, a bit stronger too than what I'm used to. So I decided to go for it ! It came in a little set with a nice box to keep it in.

To stay in the beauty theme, I got the Sugarlicious kit by Benefit. I've always wanted to try Benefit products, since everybody likes them and says the quality is really good. This kit is composed of the Sugarbomb blush, the High Beam highlighter, the Benetint for lips and cheeks and the Ultra Plush Sugarbomb gloss, all in sample size. I'm not going to talk too much about this since I want to do a complete review, but I can safely say that this kit is amazing and that I love every product in it !

That's all for the actual presents ! I mainly got money from my family, which is greatly appreciated because sales are starting tomorrow in France :P

And now, my Christmas cupcakes !

I really wanted to cook something for my family this year, because I always eat a lot but I don't really help to cook at all, which is a bit unfair to my nice aunties who spend their afternoon in the kitchen.

I found this wonderful cupcakes decoration kit in New Look, it is sooo cute ! 

It is composed of 24 little cases with cute Christmas patterns on it (I looove the reindeer !), and 24 toppers of four different styles : Santas, glittery stars, penguins and reindeer.

So I made vanilla-coconut cupcakes and used these items to make them look Christmassy. 

And here is what they looked like in the end :

And here is a close-up look :

I'm really glad with how they turned out, especially on the top. I wanted the topping to look like snow, and I just added the little gold sugar because it was nice haha. I don't think I need to write the recipe here, I basically just took one from the Internet and changed it a bit eventually. 

This part of my post doesn't have any relevance at all haha, but I just wanted to show this to you :)

And as this post is long enough already, I'm just gonna wish you a happy new year again, and I'll see you next time !

Lots of love,

Julia xx

The Christmas tag !

Hello everybody !

I really really wanted to make the Christmas tag, because I love this time of year so much I thought it would be fun to answer those questions.

So without further rambling, here it is !

1/ What is your favourite Christmas film ?

My favourite Christmas film has to be Love Actually ! not very original I know, but I absolutely love it. A bunch of great actors, funny characters, cool music... I always end up watching it ten times during this time of year, and I almost know the words by heart !

*I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes* - *feel it in my toeeees*...

2/ What is your favourite festive colour ?

I really love gold and silver shades at Christmas, especially when it features loads of glitter. It just gives everything a festive look, and this is exactly what we need at Christmas - a happy atmosphere, lights, glitter !

3/ Do you open your gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning ?

Well, I do both ! We have this tradition in the family, as we all spend Christmas Eve at my grandma's, we open some presents at midnight on the 24th - or 25th, depending on how you see it haha. Then after a good night of sleep when we're back home, we open the last bits in the morning !

4/ What is your favourite Christmas fragrance ?

I don't have a particular fragrance for winter - to speak the truth, I've been wearing Flower by Kenzo during all autumn-winter time, which is slightly inappropriate as this perfume basically smells like sweet spring flowers haha !

But this week and probably for the rest of winter, I'll be using the J'adore by Dior, it has a very nice scent and looks perfect for fancy end-of-year evenings to me !

5/ What is your favourite Christmas scent ?

I love spicy Christmas scents, like cinnamon and berries together - this is a quite popular scent for winter candles.

Also, I'm using a very nice candle at the moment, it's called "Frosted Snow" - it is quite fresh and smells of Christmas tree... Perfect !

6/ What is your favourite holiday drink ?

Well, as many people I guess, my favourite Christmas drink is... hot chocolate ! I could have some at any time : in the morning, in the afternoon while procrastinating on the Internet, in the evening while watching a Christmas film... To be honest, hot chocolate is the ultimate drink for me all year round haha !

7/ Candy canes or gingerbread men ?

I'm not fond of either... But I'll go with candy canes, because they are really pretty and practical at the same time : when you no longer need them for decoration, you can just eat them and lose no space in storing them somewhere !

But I must say gingerbread men are also really cute... tough question !

8/ What is your favourite Christmas song ?

It's so difficult to choose just one ! But I would say "all I want for Christmas is you", by Mariah Carey. The Love Actually version is also quite good though. And I love "baby it's cold outside", "White Christmas"... sooo many good Christmas songs !

But here is "all I want for Christmas is you", yay !

9/ Have you ever made a snowman ?

I have of course ! but I'm so bad at this, and I've only made small ones because I can't gather snow to make huge balls - I don't even know how people do that !

But a tiny snowman is a cute snowman anyway isn't it ?

10/ What is the most important thing to you about Christmas ?

The most important thing for me is to be happy. So not particularly being with your family - I know for most people Christmas means family time, and that's what it is for me, but not everybody feels the same -, but the main thing is to enjoy yourself, eat what you like (don't think about gaining weight, who cares !), laugh and have a great time, that's all !

And of course put lights everywhere : candles, garland lights, anything. To me Christmas is also a celebration of light - it's winter, it's dark, we want to light this up a bit and make it more festive and warm ! :)

***

I wish you all a merry Christmas - and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I wish you a good day anyway, cheers ! ;)

Julia xx

Christmas outfit inspiration #2

I'm back with a new outfit inspiration !

This time I went less cosy and more dressy. I decided to stick to a light colours and glitter theme, because all you need for Christmas is softness and sparkles. Isn't it ?

I first found this gorgeous Topshop dress, and then found some accessories to go with it. This outfit is very different from the first one, and would probably suit in a more dressed up Christmas party.

Or if you just want to be all fancy waiting for Santa, that's good too !

1. Rhinestone headwrap, Forever 21 (£5.65). Perfect to match the stones of the dress, and add a little bit of cuteness to your outfit ! You can click on this link to find more about it.

2. Clutch bag with front lock and bar, Asos (£18.00). The gold detailing is really pretty, and the size of this bag is the best to carry your stuff around. For the link to the website, click here !

3. Cross embellished skater dress, Topshop (£55.00). I know this dress is a bit expensive, but considering it was originally £85.00, it can be interesting nonetheless. And it was too beautiful for me not to mention it ! Here it the webpage of the dress.

4. Short cream blazer, H&M (£16.00). This blazer is so cheap and looks perfect with the dress ! You can find it right there !

5. Black embellished shoes, New Look (£29.99). These shoes complete the outfit very nicely, I particularly love the embellishments on the front, just like on the dress ! You can find them on the New Look website.

That's it for the second Christmas outfit !

It is really classic when you think about it, but pale pink and cream are so lovely at all times, even for Christmas - it changes from the usual red and gold shades we can find everywhere ! I hope you like this selection, and that it can maybe inspire you in choosing your outfit.

Julia xx

Christmas outfit inspiration #1

Hello there !

Oops, I'm only starting to get Christmassy on here, although I've been in the Christmas mood for a while already. But exams are messing up my entire schedule, and I have little time to hang on Blogger.

But anyway, I'm here today to share a bit of Christmas outfit inspiration with you. The D-day is in less than two weeks, so it's about time to think about what to wear !

I've decided to do a few different outfits, with different styles ; and I'm starting with a very cosy one today.

You'll find all the links above if there is one item that you fancy - it's still time for a bit of Christmas shopping !

1. Knitted black hat, H&M (9.95 €). The pompom is so cute ! However, I couldn't find the UK link on the H&M website.

2. Black reindeer Light Up Christmas Jumper, New Look (£29.99). It is so cool, the reindeer's nose lights up when you move or when you touch it ! My mother bought it for herself, and I'm probably going to steal it someday ! You can find it here.

3. Red and White Snowflake Leggings, New Look (£9.99). These leggings are so cheap, and totally suitable for the season ! They have loads of tiny white reindeer on them, and I think it matches the jumper perfectly. Here is the link to the website !

4. Black Lace Up Boots, New Look (£29.99). These ones are perfect to complete the look, and the detail of the knit is what makes it interesting I think. You can have a closer look at it by clicking right here !

So you see, this is a very comfy outfit, all knitted and casual, for a family Christmas spent in eating loads of chocolate and yummy food !

I'll see you soon for a different type of outfit !

Julia xx