Twas The Night Before Christmas...

I promised a lot before Christmas, reviews, gift idea and more, but unsurprisingly in 2020, it just didn't happen. Life got in the way again, and the bad news train just kept on rolling on. 

So here we are, it's Christmas Eve and whilst it will be pretty much business as usual for me, thanks to Covid it's going to be a strange one for a lot of people, who are unable to spend time with their friends and family over the holiday period, but whatever your plans now are, I hope that you all have the merriest Christmas possible x. 

If things do get a little bit too much for you though, or if your alone and you need someone talk too, either get yourself on twitter, and find someone to talk to via Sarah Millican's #joinin event or call one of the numbers below x There is always someone there to listen x 

So from my house to yours, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and hopefully I will see you after Christmas x 

Post Contains Press Sample* - Christmas Gifts Under £25 For The Cat Lover In Your Life **

So, there are less than two weeks to go to the big day - so you have less than two weeks to tick off everybody on your list and to get all of your shopping done. There is always somebody though that you struggle with, so what I tend to do is look at the hobbies and interests, what do they do for fun, and what do they like. Me? well I love cats, so cat based gifts are always appreciated, and if you know a cat lover I've curated a little list of some of the best pressies out there for those cat people in your life, and even better still everything that I've chosen is under £25

1. Cat & Dog Slogan Mugs - £1.99 Each - B&M / 2. Set Of 2 Disney Glasses - £6 - B&M / 3. Metal Flask - Cats - £4 - B&M / 4. Cat Mug & Cosy Socks Set - £14 - Paperchase / 5. Orla Kiely Cat Mug - Pink - 300ml - £10.50 - John Lewis

1. Vintage Floral Cat Doorstep By Riva Home - £14 - NEXT / 2. Set Of 4 Ceramic Cat Coasters By Hannah Turner - £21.99 - Paper Tiger / 3. Pack Of 8 Wooden Cat Magnets - £3 - Paperchase / 4. Mini Cat's Whiskers Planter - £4.50 - Sass & Belle / 5. Cat Doormat - £8.00 - Matalan / 6. Multicolour Magnets Shaped Like Cat Butts - £18.98 - Trouva

Kikkerland Cat Yoga Magnets - £12.50 - Paper Tiger*

I know I'm not alone in this one, but I love useful presents, and something that I can always find a use for is a magnet. We use them on the fridge and on the freezer, and I've even got a magnet board, in my craft room / office, both to cheer the place up a bit and to hold notes, pictures and to do lists. I've some pretty boring ones on there and I've got some super cute ones including these more recent additions from Kikkerland.

I was kindly sent these by a PR company and I have to say I absolutely love them. Back in the day I used to be a bit of a yoga bunny, I went to a class every week, I practised at home, and I think I was pretty decent. Alas my body isn't anywhere near as flexible as it was but at least I my yoga dreams can live on through these Cat Yoga Magnets.

In each pack you get 5 different coloured cats, partaking in 5 different yoga positions. They are made of a solid resin / plastic, and are beautifully detailed with clear faces, facial expressions and paws. 

They aren't the biggest magnets, and the small circular magnet on the back of each cat isn't that big either but it is pretty strong, so they will hold all of you photos and notes securely in place.

I think that these magnets would make a great fun but useful gift for either a yoga fan or a cat lover. Kikkerland products are available from a wider variety of retailers but these particular magnets retail at £12.50 from Paper Tiger.

1. Mog The Forgetful Cat Plush Soft Tea - £12.99 - John Lewis / 2. Wild & Woofy Mug & Pet Bowl Set - £18 - John Lewis / 3. White Cat String LED Lights - £4.99 - New Look / 4. Cardboard Whack-A-Mouse For Cats - £5 - Home Essentials / Simply Be / 5. Kids Kitten Unicorn Donut Money Box - £5 - Matalan

1. Cream Coffee Cuddles & Cats Socks - £2.49 - New Look / 2. Cotton Cat Short Sleeve Pyjama Set - £15 - Marks & Spencer / 3. Brakeburn Cats Classic Scarf - £19 - NEXT / 4. White Cat And Dog Christmas Tote Bag - £4 - George At Asda / 5. Pretty Animalz Cat Sheet Mask - £4 ASOS / 6. Tangle Teezer X Skinny Dip Compact Styler Detangling Brush - Relaxed Cat - £14 - NEXT / ASOS

Woof And Whiskers Collection Cat Shopper - £3 - B&M

Now look carefully at some of the gifts that I've shared and you'll notice that there are quite a few from B&M. B&M is probably one of my favourite shops at the moment, they literally sell everything, and they have a really good range of Christmas gifts, including a whole range of Woof And Whiskers pet themed pressies ranging from mugs to cushions, to tote bags.

I'd been on the look out for a foldable shopping bag, that I could stick in my handbag and this one was only £3.  It looks just like a purse with a 100% polyurethane, leather feeling grey cat design outer, but undo the zip, and fold it out and you have a fabulous pink and white stripe 100% polyester shopping bag. Foldable bags can often be pretty small but this one isn't a bad size, and it despite feeling fairly lightweight, it seems pretty strong.

Again it's something that is super useful, only this time at a really affordable price. I think that this bag would make a great stocking filler, or little pressie, and at just £3 you definitely wouldn't feel guilty for buying one for yourself as well.

If you know somebody that's crazy about cats I hope that you've seen something here that they might like x Don't forget of course that there are also a lot of both national and local animal charities out there that are desperately seeking help at this time of year, so don't forget to check them out for gift ideas and of course to make a donation x Have you seen any good cat gift ideas out there this year? Let me know in the comments x

*Press Sample

** This Post Contains Added Non Affiliate, And Automatic Affiliate Links

Trimming My Stash - October 2020 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews*

So, i'm playing super duper catch again, not just with Glossybox but also now with empties posts. I honestly don't know what I've been doing over the last month or so two to fall so behind on my posting (well actually I do) but I'm going to try and get as many posts as I can up before the end of 2020. So as the first snow of the seasons hits for a lot of us in the UK, let's take a look back to October.
 

Naobay Orange Juice Hand Cream - 100ml
MineTan Body. Skin Exfoliating Coffee Scrub - 30g
Beauty Pro Pumpkin Infused Sheet Mask - 1 x 22ml Sheet Mask
Superdrug Nourishing Nail Polish Remover Acetone Free - 200ml
Beuti Skincare Anti-Inflammatory Skincare Beauty Sleep Elixir - 30ml**
Sunday Rain Scrub Away Exfoliating Cubes Charcoal - 8 Cubes - 150g

Total - 6 Items

I didn't quite manage to read September's total of 8 beauty products, but I still managed to finish a fairly respectable 6 items. This post as you will see is a tiny bit of a cop out because I have talked about all of the items in it in the post, but that's just the way it goes sometimes, and as per usual I'm just happy to have finished a good amount of items and created a little bit of space.

1. Naobay Orange Juice Hand Cream - 100ml

First up something that I reviewed back in September. This lovely citrus hand cream from Spanish natural beauty and skincare brand Naobay, came in the July 2020 edition of Glossybox UK and you can read a full review of it here x 

I really love my hand creams and this was a nice one, it was really hydrating without being too greasy or sticky, and I love the slightly bitter orange scent. 

I would definitely consider repurchasing this one again, especially if it was a little bit easier to find x 

2. MineTan Body. Skin Exfoliating Coffee Scrub - 30g

Next up another Glossybox item and something that came in the September 2020 edition, which scarily I only talked about on the blog about a week ago!

From an Australian owned self-tanning brand, this was a coffee ground based body scrub that also contained salt and sugar grains, and loads of other nourishing and moisturising ingredients.

You can read a full review here, but I actually really like, it was scrubby enough without being scratchy, it left the skin feeling really smooth, and looking more even in tone, and the strong coffee aroma was perfect for creating that get up and go feeling first thing in the morning.

3. Beauty Pro Pumpkin Infused Sheet Mask - 1 x 22ml Sheet Mask

After a couple of Glossybox items, the next couple of items are actually things that I've actually chosen to buy. First up something that I bought to try and get myself into the Halloween spirit, whilst treating my skin at the same time to an infusion of pumpkin, ivy, bergamot, and chia extracts.

Again you can read my full review here but as far as Beauty Pro are concerned it was another winner, and vegan friendly to boot.

4. Superdrug Nourishing Nail Polish Remover Acetone Free - 200ml

From a little treat, to something that I buy and use on a regular basis, the Superdrug Nourishing Nail Polish Remover. 

I've used a lot of nail polish removers over the years but I keep coming back to this one. Despite being acetone free, it removes everything that you can throw at it, it smell okay (to my nose at least, Mummy Lou isn't keen though), and it's really affordable.

Although the packaging (and the price) has changed since I wrote this product rave post, the product inside is pretty much the same. Alas after a few months of decent nails, they all started to break, and I now have my little shorty nails again, and whilst I still have a few nails of the day posts to share with you, I will mainly be using this product to remove strengthener rather than pretty polish - ho hum :(

The Superdrug Nourishing Nail Polish Remover now retails at around £1.49 for a 200ml bottle, but you can usually get it on a buy one, get one half price offer, so I usually end up buying a couple at a time.

5. Beuti Skincare Anti-Inflammatory Skincare Beauty Sleep Elixir - 30ml**

Next up something that I rediscovered the dregs of back in September, and it's something that I fell in love with all over again.

This was a press sample and it was something that I talked about way back in 2016. This product made me fall in love with facial oils, and it made me realise that it isn't just dry skin that can benefit from the application a good quality facial oil.

It smells amazing and whilst you can use it during the day, it's has a perfect aromatherapy scent, that just screams bedtime. You also such a tiny amount it lasts for ages and it leaves the skin no matter what your skin type feeling super soft. You can read my full review here. 

Again the packaging has changed, as unfortunately has the price but it still seem to be the same product. A 30ml bottle of Beuti Skincare Beauty Sleep Elixir retails at £47 and is available direct from Beuti Skincare and also from selected Harvey Nichols stores.

6. Sunday Rain Scrub Away Exfoliating Cubes Charcoal - 8 Cubes - 150g

The final item in this post is the only one that I haven't actually written a full review of but I have mentioned it in depth here if that still counts.

I don't think that sugary, salty, charcoal based cubes are the most economical way to buy a body exfoliator, but they are fun to use, again they are nice and scrubby without feeling scratchy, and they leave the skin feeling super soft.

I think I will probably buy these again, but I want to try the normal charcoal scrub and the watermelon cubes first. The Sunday Rain Scrub Away Exfoliating Cubes - Charcoal retail at around £6 - £7 from various retailers including NEXT Beauty, Beauty Bay and ASOS. 

So there we have it a solid amount of empties with a slightly cop out ridden blog post - never mind! My aim with these countdowns is always to do better the following month, and if you take a little look in my sidebar then you'll know that November was a pretty decent month. Obviously I'll talk about that more in the next week or so but my focus has now shifted to December's total, and finishing the year with a bang rather than a whimper ;) Thanks for reading as always and don't forget to let me know if you have any questions, and I will see you in a day or so with another post xx

*This Post Contains Added Automatic Affiliate, Added Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links 

**Press Sample