Blogmas Day 7 - Feature: What to wear at Christmas

Christmas is a time for giving but it’s also a time to get all dressed up and look your best so we’ve put together a little guide to help you navigate Christmas with greater ease, to help you out with what to wear for Christmas with the folks, the perfect looks for the office Christmas party and a gift guide to make sure that you’re in everybody’s good books this festive season.

What to wear

So; the notorious Christmas party - you’ve probably been talking about it since November and planning your outfit since the beginning of December, it’s going to be bigger than Elton John’s Oscar party and Puff Daddy’s White party all rolled into one. It’s important to gage the tone of the occasion; you don’t want to turn up in a backless, floor-length rhinestone embellished gown to a casual affair, meanwhile you don’t want to rock up in chucks and skinny jeans to a sit-down three course meal! So here are a couple of dos and don’ts for nailing your ideal Christmas look.

Going for a dress? Choose a festive colour such as red or green to stay in the festive mood, dark wintery colours are always a good choice and look fantastic teamed with bright accessories such as a statement necklace and some drop earrings. Choose something ladylike, especially for a work do, nothing says unprofessional like a hemline that’s five inches too short!

image credit: weheartit

For something a little more casual why not dress up a pencil skirt with a pair of killer chunky heels and a metallic jumper, gold and silver are brilliant Christmas colours and will make any outfit pop. Whether you wear a dress or bold patterned trousers your Christmas party go-to item which you should never forget is the statement clutch; perfect for carrying all of your party essentials like your lipstick, mobile and your cash. The statement clutch is more than just practical; it can tie together an outfit; match your clutch to your dress or add a touch off sparkle with an embellished clutch or alternatively why not add a bit of an edge to a dressed up look with a cool studded clutch.

To make sure your face looks as good as your outfit make sure you have your Yule tide beauty regime all planned out. Don’t forget to use a decent primer to make sure your make up stays put into the wee hours, or for as long as you do! A matching foundation is key and is really creates a perfect base for the rest of your make up.

For a Christmas date why not opt for a wintery rosy cheek and natural eye makeup? For the office party be more adventurous and try a dramatic smoky eye or match your eye-shadow to your outfit, alternatively if you don’t fancy going all out with your eye make up a Christmas crimson red lip is a fantastic substitute although if you’re planning on getting any wear near the mistletoe then make sure it doesn’t smudge, use a lip coat to seal your lipstick and avoid any embarrassing red faces!

image credit: weheartit

Christmas day; the day we’ve been waiting for all year long, what’s your tradition? Up at the crack of dawn with your hands already fumbling for your stocking, a lie in after a late night, bucks fizz for breakfast with the family? Whatever it is you do on Christmas day make sure you’re looking fantastic in the perfect Yule tide outfit. You can’t go wrong in a fantastically festive Christmas jumper, after all that’s what they’re made for.  Find a brilliant selection of Christmassy themed jumpers online at ASOS or for something a little more special then look to brands such as 3.1 Philip Lim, Marc Jacobs and Maison Martin Margiela for a designer Christmas jumper to die for. Make sure you don’t forget to wrap up warm too if you’re planning on going on a Christmas day walk; scarf, hat and gloves will be an essential, why not go for a matching set to really tie your outfit together?

What to buy

If you’re already thinking about Christmas shopping or you’re already half way through this gift guide should help you find that perfect present, even for that person who has everything.

1. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle perfume 35ml - £45.50 – theperfumeshop.com
2. Hanky Panky Chai Boyfriend Short - £27 – farfetch.com
3. Love Actually - £7.75 – amazon.com
4. Swallow Pattern Collar by Cleo Ferin - £30 – farfetch.com
5. Moschino iPhone case - £35 – farfetch.com
6. Lancôme Lipstick in Rouge Hypnotique - £21 – Selfridges.com
7. Diptyque Roses perfume scented candle - £35 – farfetch.com
8. Esmie – Blue Blossom Notebook - £19.95 – Liberty.co.uk
9. Marc By Marc Jacobs leopard print beauty bag - £50 – farfetch.com
10. We Had Everything cushion by Rob Ryan - £46.53 – Etsy.com

So there you have it a comprehensive guide to what to wear and a couple of helpful ideas of Christmas gifts for this year to make the festive period more special than ever! Hopefully everything this Christmas will go to plan and if we’re really lucky maybe we’ll even have a white Christmas!

This blog post was written free of charge by Lucinda Bounsall, fashion writer at farfetch.com.

This months big pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Anastasia from Fashion Ramble - be sure to head over to check out her beautiful blog <3

Blogmas Day 6 - Mince Pie Recipe

Hey guys!  So I have another juicy recipe for you today, and it's for homemade mince pies :D  Much like the mulled wine recipe, I can't take credit for this, nor have I tried it out (my oven died about 6 months ago and .... well, we haven't gotten it fixed yet, I know, bad Pixi3).  But these had very good reviews, seems like a very popular recipe, and I love the simple ingredients, what I can add to the mix (see what I did there?) is a family recipe tip at the end :)

image credit we heart it

Ingredients

225g cold butter , diced
350g plain flour
100g golden caster sugar
280g mincemeat
1 small egg
icing sugar , to dust

Method

1) To make the pastry, rub 225g cold, diced butter into 350g plain flour, then mix in 100g golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt. Combine the pastry into a ball - don't add liquid - and knead it briefly. The dough will be fairly firm, like shortbread dough. You can use the dough immediately, or chill for later.

2) Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Line 18 holes of two 12-hole patty tins, by pressing small walnut-sized balls of pastry into each hole. Spoon 280g mincemeat into the pies.

3) Take slightly smaller balls of pastry than before and pat them out between your hands to make round lids, big enough to cover the pies. Top the pies with their lids, pressing the edges gently together to seal - you don't need to seal them with milk or egg as they will stick on their own. (The pies may now be frozen for up to 1 month).

4) Beat 1 small egg and brush the tops of the pies. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. To serve, lightly dust with icing sugar. They will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.

Irish Family recipe tip

Now, here's the family recipe tip - I have an auntie (Linda is her name), and she's a fantastic cook.  I go to Ireland most years to spend with my family, and this one year, must have been... 4-5 years ago, she'd made homemade mince pies, and they were the best I'd ever tasted.  The secret, she'd grated the zest of oranges into the pastry, it gave such a delicious edge to the mince pies, it was perfect :)  So, that's my family tip for you <3  If you try adding the orange zest, let me know how you like them :)

This months big pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Anastasia from Fashion Ramble - be sure to head over to check out her beautiful blog <3

Neve Cosmetics

Hello lovelies!  How are you all on this fine day?  Have you ever heard of Neve cosmetics?  They're a brand I've seen bouncing around people's blogs for a few weeks now, bloggers reviewing eye shadow palette's mostly - they're a brand that focusses on cruelty free and suitable for vegans, as well as a whole other host of claims (like non-comedogenic and formulated to reduce the risk of allergies and fragrance free).  I have in my paws, 2 blushers of theirs and 4 eye shadows all of which you can find a full review of below :)

The Blushers

Neve French Royalty Mineral Blushers* £10.50 for 4g (the pots above are sample size)

Left is Boudoir, Right is Noblesse

My Thoughts

I love the stark difference between the two of these shades - that's one thing that always gets me about some blush lines, how similar each blush is.  The blushers last very well throughout the day, without the need to reapply at all.  The pigmentation is fantastic, you really don't need to pick up much of the product to have a nice level of coverage.  What I'm not keen on with both of these, is the blue/purple shimmer that's in them.  You can just about make out a little bit of it on the bottom of the swatch, but it's really quite obvious when you see it in real life, especially when it's applied to the cheeks.  I don't mind blush with shimmer, but I prefer the shimmer to be gold if anything.  I think these would particularly suit someone much younger than me, due to the shimmer, but really speaking it's all about preference.  There's nothing wrong with these, I'm just not keen on purply shimmer on my cheeks :)

The Eye Shadows

Neve eyeshadows available on cutECOsmetics £6.50 each for 2g (the pots above are sample size)

L-R Versailles, Chateau, Collier, Sang Bleu.

My Thoughts

Personally I much prefer these to the blushers.  The blushers were great, I just couldn't get on with the blue/purple shimmer, but the eyeshadows are stunning.  Every one of these colours I have worn lots, they last really well and there's a really nice range of colours, it's not exactly a neutral set :)  Versailles is probably my favourite, it's so highly pigmented and shimmery, but not with glitter, it almost looked foiled.  Chateau is lovely too - but it is another one with a duo-chrome colour, this time it's a greeny shimmer, but on the eyes that's fine.  Then Collier - a beautiful shimmery sky blue, and then Sang Bleu, which in my opinion is more of a purple, but just as lovely.  All in all, beautiful colours, they're super pretty and look even better on your eyelids :)

Have you ever tried Neve products?

This months big pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Anastasia from Fashion Ramble - be sure to head over to check out her beautiful blog <3