Get Your Glitter On | NYE Beauty

It's New Years Eve and for beauty junkies that can only mean one thing; the last chance to really get your glitter on! The start of a new year tends to bring with it more toned down pastel hues, so to ensure we all go out in a big glittery bang tonight I've put together a pick of super sparkly products so no area of the face/body is left unshimmered:

EYES // Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Liner in 'Amp'. Don't be scared of the slightly 'out there' blue, layering this on top of your normal black liner will really make the eyes pop and your makeup will match the fireworks!

FACE & BODY // Topshop Glow Dust. A great one for adding a more subtle shimmer; simply dust this metallic copper onto the cheeks and collar bones for a gorgeous glow and some bonus definition. 

NAILS // Essie 'Summit Of Style'/Nails inc 'Crushed Diamonds'. You can't go wrong with a gold and silver combo on the nails to see in the New Year. Both of these polishes are completely gorgeous and give amazing pay off in one coat.

LIPS // Givenchy Glitter Gloss. If you thought adding sparkle to the lips would be a tad tricky, think again. A dabble of this glittery gloss on top of a red lipstick will instantly take your look from now to wow. Think 'primary school disco' chic.

This post not only marks the end of 2014, but also the end of Blogmas. I have somehow successfully managed to blog every day of December and I've very much loved doing it, despite photo editing and post drafting having to take place pretty much anywhere and everywhere! I really hope you've enjoyed reading my five minutes of festive ramble each day and that you're looking forward to all the new posts I have planned next year, even if they won't be quite in daily dosages (breathes a slight sigh of relief and grabs a glass of bubbly). 

Have a wonderful New Years Eve whatever you're up to! 

Midnight Meg

Sooo due to too much sales shopping and World's Strongest Man watching (is it just my family who follow that every year?) I very nearly missed my second to last day of blogmas. Ooops. Instead of admitting an extremely close to the end defeat I thought I'd show you a real time version of what goes on in the world of Midnight Meg. This is actually what half 10 looks like on work nights but as I'm on holiday at the moment I can be up as late as I fancy. Wild. Anyway, here is my rather enjoyable before bed to do list: Catch up on YouTube videos (hello Anna's 2014 Favourites!), burn a nice smelling candle, paint those nails, pop on a face mask and smothering of Nuxe 'Reve de Miel', dip into Cosmo and jot down any last minute bright ideas. I actually have quite a few ideas written down that need to be put into  action tomorrow as I'm finally filming my Christmas Haul/2014 Favourites and planning out my hello 2015 posts as it'll be New Years Eve when you read this. With that in mind here's hoping our next midnight also involves a big bottle of bubbly and mistletoe kisses... 

Sorry for the late night ramble, big love for anyone sticking with me through blogmas!

The 2014 Lookbook

Apologies in advance for the seriously photo/Meg heavy post you are about to see, but it's quite tricky to do this kind of round up any other way! I did a year in outfits for 2012/2013 too and it is fun to see how your style changes over the year and remember those key pieces you couldn't get enough of. As 2014 was my first 'big girl' full time job year I had to get a bit more dressed up overall and also had to get my fashion week feathers out for the first time. My absolute favourite pieces are the Zara pleather skort, BooHoo boots, Topshop Jamie jeans and Motel co-ord along with all the playsuits/jumpsuits. If you want to find out where any of the items are from simply click the outfit you want and it'll take you through to the full post. If you don't mind seeing even more of my face that is...

What's your favourite outfit from this year's little (aka rather long) lookbook?

Meg's Boutique Most Read | 2014

Good morning lovelies! I feel like today is the first day everything has slowed down a little bit from the madness of Christmas. I had the most wonderful few days spent with family, eating my body weight in turkey and being treated to lovely presents (What I Got For Christmas is coming tomorrow) and I really hope you had the best time too. Seeing as we're in that lovely Christmas to New Year reflection phase now, today I thought I'd look back over the most popular blog posts on Meg's Boutique throughout 2014. It's so interesting to see what got you lovely lot reading in 2014 and I'll hopefully create content you love just as much next year!

Number One: Primark Homeware Haul | Spring Updates (Read now) 

Number Two: Chop & Change | My New (Year) Hair (Read now)

Number Three: The New Wow | Benefit Gimme Brow (Read now)

Number Four: LFW14 | Day Three (Read Now)

Number Five: Zoella Beauty Launch Party & Interview (Read now)

What kind of blog posts do you most enjoy reading?

Casual Christmas | OOTD

gap jumper // new look leggings // boohoo boots // topshop stole // michael kors watch // mac lady danger 

I don't think my Christmas outfits or makeup looks could ever truly be 'casual' unless you're counting the reindeer print pyjamas I wore on Christmas Eve, however this Boxing Day I thought I'd swap out the sequin dresses for something a little more on the cosy, comfy, and I'd like to think chic, side. It all revolved around the new jumper love in my life which is a navy, silver speckled creation courtesy of GAP's crazy 50% off sale. It fits me like a glove, is a really good quality knit and gives a good nod to the festive season without being all singing all dancing. To give the outfit a bit more of an edge I paired the jumper with my leather look leggings from New Look. The texture dresses things up a bit whilst the fit allows for additional portions of trifle and bubble and squeak. A real bargain at around £15! When I nipped out for the evening my trusty MAC 'lady danger', Michael Kors, chunky boots and fur stole were thrown on and I felt like I was channelling something a little 'vivianna-esque'. We can but dream. 

What have you been wearing over the past few days? I hope you've had a truly brilliant time :)

Boxing Day Beauty

After all the build up, excitement and wine of Christmas Day it can be a little hard to get going on Boxing Day, particularly in the beauty department (cba springs to mind). So this morning I thought I'd put together a little beauty bundle that will give you a boost and make you boxing day beautiful in no time! 

When you're in the shower ditch Snow Fairy for a second (sorry lushies) and opt for a fresh citrus based scent instead like l'occitane verbena. It'll get your whole body going in seconds with lemony goodness. Oo la la. Next, wake up your face with a brightening moisturiser. I love Origins GinZing because it visibly brightens dull, sleepy skin and smells of delicious oranges. Let's be honest, not many people can be bothered to hair wash on boxing day when there are presents to play with and leftovers to eat. That's why the Garnier Ultimate Blends Silky Dry Shampoo is such a life saver- it leaves your hair feeling clean, smooth and smelling of vanilla. Can you tell I'm big on scent today? Make up wise, whilst the red lip will still undoubtedly be brought out, it's nice to go for a more pared back all in one base and the Darphin CC Cream does an amazing job at evening out skintone, covering imperfections and leaving you with a super satin base that will see you through till sleep time. Of course I still need to put a more festive offering in the mix and that comes in the form of Essie 'set in stones' glitter top coat. Placing this on the tips of your chipped Christmas mani will give it a new lease of life and keep you sparkling through the rest of party season.

What's your boxing day beauty routine? 

Merry Christmas

The Christmas Eve 'To Do' List

I cannot believe that it's my most favourite day of the year- Christmas Eve! Even though we're just one short sleep away from the big day there is still a lot to be done, especially if you're a blogger, so here's a little 'to do' list to make sure you're all ready for Santa to come down the chimney (you'll see that I've only included the really vital stuff)-

1. Wake up & spend at least half an hour confirming with fellow tweeters that it is indeed Christmas Eve. Use of all four festive emojis (you know the ones) is a must.

2. Open the last door of your advent calendar. Full size malteaser reindeer here I come... 

3. Decide on your trio of Christmas outfits for the next few days- always a tough 'cosy and Christmas jumper' or 'glam and glitter' decision.

4. As you get ready try desperately to finish watching everyone's Vlogmas videos. You've come this far so you certainly won't be missing out on everyone's day 23/24 exploits!

5. Make sure all those presents are wrapped to a suitably pinteresty level. Cheeky Instagram.

6. Now for the toughest decision of the day- the Christmas mani of 2014. Essie 'after school boy blazer' or 'sole mate'?! One things for sure, they'll be a glitter top coat in there somewhere. 

7. At quiet points try to watch the Christmas films you've not quite fitted in yet. I get genuinely upset if I've not watched The Holiday, Love Actually, Muppets Christmas Carol, Elf, The Grinch and a Christmas Simpsons.

8. Trawl through bloglovin making sure you've read, liked and commented everyone's Chrsitmas posts, don't forget to make sure your last Christmas posts are done and dusted. 

9. You're about to head out for mince pies and mulled wine- time to pick your Christmas lip of choice which essentially boils down to 5 shades of red that look the same, but are in fact all very different... 

10. Spend time with family and friends and have a wonderful Christmas Eve dreaming of tomorrow still with as much excitement as you had 10 years ago! Oh and lay out the milk and cookies of course...

Vlogmas Part Three

The third and final installment of Vlogmas is here! It's full of baby bumps, delicious food, Topshop hauls & cats (for a change). I hope you've enjoyed my little vlogmas series and aren't too bored of my daily blogmas posts yet- 23 down, 8 to go! And on that note I'm heading out in Landan town to celebrate finishing work for a whole week and a half, Merry Christmas Eve Eve folks x

Five Step Festive Face

For the ultimate fast and festive face: 1. Apply Benefit Big Easy as a base that will act as foundation and powder in one. 2. Use Benefit Rockateur on the apples of your cheeks. The dusky rose gold will work to add blush colour and contour your cheek bones. 3. Take the Topshop Glow Pot in 'Gleam' and use this as a golden highlight as well as a pretty taupe cream shadow on the eyelids. 4. Finish the eye look with lashings of YSL Faux Cils Mascara. This holds a curl beautifully so no need for tongs. 5. Tie the look together with a swipe of MAC 'Lady Danger'. Some (including myself) would say this is the perfect Christmas red. Voila- who said gorgeous Christmas makeup should take time away from turkey eating/present opening?

What products make up your festive face?

Maybelline Brow Satin

It may not be the most festive post for blogmas, but how long could I really own a brand new brow product without talking about it?!  The brow product in question is Maybelline's Brow Satin- a first of it's kind dual ended wax pencil and filling powder device designed to give you smooth, full and natural looking brows. First off, I think having both wax and powder in a pen form is brilliant. I do my makeup on the go a lot these days so any products that are two in one and don't need extra brushes are fine by me! The formula of the pencil end is pretty special as well- a waxy gel that glides onto the brows and builds them up without looking drawn on. I usually steer clear from classic kohl brow pencils available in the drugstore for this very reason, so it's good to see brands are upping their brow game. Once you've got your shape sorted you take the other end and fill in your brows with powder, which is handily concealed and automatically dispensed from the lid (genius and so much less messy). It's a very quick and easy way of popping on brow powder, although I did find it harder to be precise and also found it left little clumps of powder throughout my brows that needed further blending out. All in all though I think Brow Satin is a unique product at a brilliant £5.99 price point, with a nice range of shades as well. It's certainly a very quick and fuss free way of adding volume and definition, however as I like my brows quite precise and sculpted, I'll most likely be sticking to my Benefit Brow Zings and angled brush for everyday then keeping this for on the move touch ups and those days when I just need to run something through my brows. 

Have you got your mitts on brow satin yet? 

Christmas Nights In

As much as I love a good night out at Christmas time, I'm also rather partial to a cosy night in. Tonight is mostly about the Strictly final for me but there are a few festive additions that make the whole night in thing even better. First up as a little change from mulled wine I'm loving the teapigs spiced winter red tea. I actually got sent this as part of my Christmas present from Benefit and it really is delicious, as well as being caffeine free so great for evening tipples. The candle will be no surprise given the amount that popped up in my birthday haul and tonight's Saturday scent of choice is Yankee 'Christmas Rose'- a lovely smell to unwind to. Activity wise once Strictly is over I'll be painting my nails with Nails inc 'snowflakes' and dipping into my favourite Christmas book, 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens. Oh yes, being a Saturday night sofa sloth in December is pretty darn delectable.

What features in your Christmas night in? 

Party Hacks

So today has been named 'Mad Friday' in honour of everyone going out and getting a tad too merry tonight. I for one am all for getting merry, but no matter how many glasses of prosecco I'm drinking I still want makeup that's going to take me through till morning. Cue looking below at the very beauty hacks that may help with such a party season predicament: 

PRIME TIME // This is the time to crack out every kind of primer going- mattifying, then smoothing, then eye lid, then lips. You can never be too primed for a long night out folks and a good base can add hours to your face!

DIRTY LOCKS // If you want your big party hair to last as long as you do then try to wash it at least the day before you're going out. Failing that give freshly washed hair a good upside down shot of dry shampoo/volumising spray before styling to add some much needed texture.

GLITTER ON // We all love a bit of glitter this time of year, but really it is much more effective confined to the eye area... To prevent glitter ball effect fall out, wet your brush before applying and give it a good press down onto the lid.

HOT BLOT // Even the most matte foundation can get all the wrong kinds of dewy on the dance floor, so if you find yourself becoming a sweaty betty with no powder in sight nip to the loos and blot gently and evenly at your forehead with tissue.

BISCUIT BANISH // If you've applied any sort of fake tan before heading out, make sure you also pat a gorgeous smelling body butter on top. Not only will it banish biscuit smell, it'll also make your tan last longer.

Do you have any party hacks?

Birthday Haulin'

A 'what I got for Christmas' video may only be a week away, but I still have some birthday haulin' to do with all the gorgeous goodies I was lucky enough to get at the start of December when I turned the grand old age of 23. I'm not going to give you too many teasers so let's just say there are some serious names in there like Mr Michael Korsand Miss Jo Malone. I must say those are two people you always want at your birthday party... Enjoy! 

Current Winter Woollies

With Christmas Eve only a week away and those chilly winter nights drawing in, I've been adorning some new and super cosy winter woollies to keep me toasty in the mornings and evenings and daytime too for that matter. I've already raved about this Missguided cacoon coat, but it really is just a camel coloured, oversized, fluffy bundle of wearable deliciousness. I was then lucky enough to unwrap this big fur stole from Topshop on my birthday (birthday haul coming to my YouTube channel tomorrow fingers crossed!) and have been layering it on top of my coat ever since. I love the foxy colour and way it adds a touch of luxe to any outfit. Plus my neck has never been so warm... Finally we have a cheeky new GAP jumper peeking out here. It's a cream cable knit number that I picked up at a bargainous 40% off last week. It's such a winter wardrobe staple and really good quality so I'd highly recommend picking one up yourself whilst the discount is still on. #enabler  

What winter woollies are you wrapping up in at the moment?

Get Your Snow Glow

In these cold, harsh winter months it can be hard to keep your skin fresh and bright, rather than dull and a wee bit too pasty. Obviously radiance peels and bottle tan are brilliant helpers, but on days when you need a quick fix simply follow these steps and you'll be faking a snow glow in no time-

PRIME: Before popping on any other makeup make sure to use a primer that gives your skin a bit of a glow before you even get going. I'm loving the Laura Geller Spackle in 'Champagne' because it warms up the complexion and adds a touch of sparkle as well as doing the whole standard smoothing out thing.

POP: The main way snow works to beautify the complexion is by giving you those rosy, pinched 'just got in from building a snowman' cheeks. But you won't need no snowman if you add a pop of peachy pink cream blush to your apples instead. I haven't left Benefit 'Majorette' alone for over a month now...

GLIMMER: To really amp up the glimmer and glow, you need to get highlighting. Rather than going for something strong and obvious, go for a softer powder like theBalm 'Mary Lou Manizer' that you can dust over the forehead, brow bones, cheeks and nose to really wake up the face on winter mornings.

LINE: The hardest area to fake a wake up has to be the eyes, but you can help to eradicate redness and give the illusion of widening by putting a nude coloured pencil in the waterline. Both your eyes and purse will thank you if you purchase the brightening dual ended bargain that is Maybelline 'Big Eyes'.

How do you get your snow glow?

The Winter Weekend

As much as I love vlogging my weekends, you can't beat getting proper snaps of those special weekends away, especially at Christmas time. So last weekend when me and the boy went to stay with my sister and her fiancé, who are expecting a baby in March, I made sure to bring the beasty camera along. Nathalie lives in Portsmouth which is actually one of my favourite places in the UK- with a pier/seaside, lots of history and quaint little pubs and shops, it's a real good one for stay at home breaks. We spent lots of time having wintry walks, stopping for coffee, cake and Christmas shopping along the way. Rather exceptional roasts from the Kings Street Tavern also made an appearance, as did a certain adorable bump that I couldn't stop talking to and my sister's moggy, Snickers. All in all it was a really lovely weekend and I'm now feeling even more festive than I did already if that's at all possible!

What's your idea of a perfect winter weekend?

   

Vlogmas Part Two

In this Vlogmas Part Two instalment you meet my grandad dressed in his new Christmas jumper, receive a delightful Christmas decorations tour and hear my friends having a sing song. What more could you want on a sleepy Sunday?

  

The Christmas Movie Marathon

If you're having a Saturday night in and don't fancy anything X Factor related then you may want to give the below a whirl. They're a sure-fire way to fill you with merriment (and gingerbread milkshakes) this time of year-

1. Muppets Christmas Carol | Not only my all time favourite Christmas film, but pretty much my all time favourite film ever, this is pure musical muppet joy that I aim to watch at least several times a year. Trust me on this one.

2. The Holiday | Who doesn't love a bit of The Holiday? With Jack Black and Jude Law working their magic, this is a Christmas chick flick at it's best. This will also make you want to house swap.

3. Love Actually | Talking of chick flicks, 'Love Actually' is the ultimate in feel good festive fun. It pretty much has everyone in it from Keira to Hugh and the Christmas octopus still makes me chuckle. 

4. The Grinch | This kooky, comic tale used to actually scare me (it doesn't take much), but now it's a must watch each year with those quirky costumes and catchy songs. You're a mean one Mr Grinch... 

5. Miracle on 34th Street | One from the childhood, this santas tale is seriously heart warming and makes me believe in father christmas all over again. On a side note, whatever did happen to Matilda? 

What will make it into your Christmas movie marathon this year? 

Happy Christmas Jumper Day!

What winter woolly did you sport today?

Girls Night Glitter Nails

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If there's one thing I love about going to Christmas parties, it's getting ready with girls beforehand! So when I had all the girls to stay before my birthday shindig, we naturally got stuck straight into the nail varnishes. Judging by our choices it's a crime not to sport a glitter topcoat at this time of year, but then again with stunners like Essie 'set in stones' and Nails inc 'whitechapel snowflake' why would you want to avoid them! We were also loving the new nails inc bottles and formulas/finishes like the burgundy nailkale and Alexa Chung 'black velvet'. So if you're looking to add some magic to your mani you may want to check out my pick 'n' mix of pretty polishes below:

Clockwise from my watched hand on the left... MEG: Nails inc nailkale 'victoria' & Essie 'summit of style' // ALEX: Nails inc Alexa Chung 'leather' & Essie all-in-one topcoat // CATH: Nails inc gel effect 'kensington passage' & Nails inc 'whitechapel snowflake' // LAURA: Nails inc nailkale 'victoria' & Essie 'summit of style' // ROSIE: Essie 'sand tropez' & Nails inc 'whitechapel snowflake'

Will you be getting your glitter on this party season?