My Favourite Christmas Films

I so wish that it was socially acceptable for people over the age of 5 to watch Christmas films all year round. Sadly it is not, so I try to make the very most of the few weeks in December when I'm allowed to watch them. After having a look through some old blog posts (read them here and here), it seems that my taste in Christmas films has stayed exactly the same, so I'll try not to bore you too much with the details. 

Dear Santa...

I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need... well actually there are a few things. In a controversial twist, that neither I nor Mariah Carey saw coming, I actually do care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree. Sidenote: I'm gonna have that song stuck in my head until April now.

December Goals 2016

I've gotten into the bad habit over the last couple of months of posting my Monthly Goals when we're already a couple of  weeks into the month. Which then means I have less time to achieve the things I want to. So it's a habit I desperately need to get out of. Now I didn't set any goals for last month because my motivation to do anything, including things I like, was so low that there wouldn't have been any point. But this month has seen my motivation increase, and I still have 20 days to make some positive progress before we start a whole new year. Let's do this!

October & November Non-Beauty Favourites 2016

I had way more lifestyle and non-beauty favourites in the last two months, so much so that they necessitated their own post rather than just being chucked in with the rest of my favourites (read that post here). But when it came to actually writing it I found that I couldn't remember half of them. So here, for your reading pleasure, are the favourites that I could remember.

October & November Beauty Favourites 2016

The last couple of weeks have seen me completely lose all motivation for anything other than snuggling up under a duvet and watching I'm a Celebrity. It's the time of year, November always makes me want to take to my bed and stay there until April, only briefly emerging for Christmas. So it's safe to say blogging has definitely not been a priority, anything that hasn't been finding food/tea and wearing my comfies hasn't been a priority. But I have managed to get some motivation to share my Favourites for the last couple of months with you. Now I didn't have a lot of favourites back in October and I didn't have a lot of beauty favourites in November either, so it just made sense to combine them.

Christmas Gift Guide: Stocking Fillers

When I was little stockings were one of my favourite things about Christmas. Going to sleep with an empty stocking and waking up to find it full of little presents, chocolate coins and the ubiquitous clementine, was undeniable proof that Father Christmas is real - I know I said is, I stand by it - and that made them so very magical. Even now little stocking fillers are my favourite presents to buy, and I love nothing more than waking up at silly o'clock on Christmas morning to open my stocking. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. I've put together a little gift guide of little gifts, just for you lovely people. No thanks necessary!

Christmas Gift Guide: For Her

Welcome to Part 2 of my Christmas Gift Guides, this time I'm talking about the best presents for her. So if you've got a mum, sister, nan, aunty or friend you're struggling to buy for then look no further. 

DW Home Red Currant Scented Candle - £7.99 from T.K. Maxx

Candles are a fairly fail safe present, one could even go so far as to say they're a bit boring. But not if they're actually good candles. That's where I've got you covered because DW Home candles are amazing. DW Home is an American brand that can usually be found in the aisles of T.K.Maxx. The candles are hand poured, burn really well and have amazing scent pay off even when they're not lit. The Red Currant candle smells amazing and is so beautifully packaged. It would make a really nice gift for an aunt or a Secret Santa present for a work buddy. 

Oliver Bonas Copper Pineapple Storage Pot - £24 from Oliver Bonas

Copper and pineapples have been kind of a big deal this past year, and they're going nowhere anytime soon. This cute little copper pineapple from Oliver Bonas is the perfect nod to the trend.  It's really cute and quirky and oh so instagramable. This would be perfect for any girl who loves interiors, or pineapples, or copper... so basically all of us. Not gonna lie I want this. 

Oliver Bonas Gold Nina Ball & Stick Double Row Necklace - £19 from Oliver Bonas

So you may have noticed that I've got a little bit of a thing for Oliver Bonas at the moment. I might be doing a lot, if not all, of my Christmas shopping there. And I might also definitely be treating myself while I'm in there. This layered necklace was one of the first things to catch my eye. It's so nice and manages to be pretty and elegant and effortlessly cool all at the same time. I wish I was this necklace because I am the complete opposite of all those things. Anyway it's a really pretty necklace that looks way more expensive than it is, and would be sure to score bonus points with any fashion conscious friends or family members.

Frozen Olaf Pyjamas - £11 from Primark

Pyjamas at Christmas are pretty much a given, and these fluffy Olaf pjs are ideal for curling up on the sofa with a christmas film, my favourite is The Grinch, and a Terry's Chocolate Orange. Cute, cosy and super snuggly! Does it get any better than that? No, no it doesn't. 

New Look Pink Dinosaur Slippers - £9.74 from New Look


If you have seen my unicorn slippers from last Christmas then you will know that I have a bit of a thing for ridiculous slippers. And I can't be the only one. These dinosaur slippers are amazing and guaranteed to raise a smile. I really, really want them, but I think I'm only allowed one ridiculous pair of slippers at any given time. 

Sanctuary Spa Just Because Gift Set - £10.50 from Boots

Sanctuary Spa is a lovely and seriously underrated brand. I've loved everything I've tried from them, and I am a big fan of their self-heating clay mask. The Just Because Gift Set is a lovely little set, that contains decent sizes of some of the brand's best sellers. The set is made up of the Cleansing Body Wash, the Gentle Polish Body Scrub (which I hear is amazing), the Luxurious Body Butter and the Velvety Hand Cream. This set would be a lovely gift for anyone who loves a good old pampering session, again all of us!, and at £10.50 it's an absolute bargain!

Let me know if you find this useful either on twitter, by commenting below or dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check out my instagram, facebook, bloglovin', snapchat - search lolarocknroses - & pinterest for regular updates.

Love love love xxx

Christmas Gift Guide: For Him

The Christmas shopping panic is well under way folks. But fear not! I am here to take the stress out of it with my Christmas Gift Guides. I asked on twitter and the general consensus was that you wanted to see them, so here they are. Now let me first start with a quick disclaimer I am single, possibly the most single person ever, and have been for some time. It's not for lack of options, more that I am terrible with other humans. I don't people very well. With that said I'm probably not the best person to be doling out advice about what gifts you should be buying your S.O. But when it comes to dads, step-dads, brothers, uncles, male cousins, friends etc. I've got you covered.

Photo Diary: Tilly's Winter Wonderland High Tea

It's my niece's birthday this week, so to celebrate, me, my sister, my mum and her other nan took her out for afternoon tea for a lot of cake and some girly bonding time. We went to The Sugar Boutique in Knebworth, we've been there before and had a really nice time (read more about that here).

My High End Skincare Wish List

Skincare is one of my favourite things. I could, and frequently do, wax lyrical about my favourite skincare items, so that's exactly what I'm going to do today. Last week I shared my Budget Skincare faves (read it here), so this week I thought I would share my ultimate high end skincare lust haves. The products that are dying to make their way into my collection and become part of my skincare routine.

October Goals 2016 Update

October has sped by in a mad blur. I ended up setting my goals halfway through the month, but even though it's only been two weeks I'm very pleased to say that there has been some positive progress. I don't actually think that I have any negatives to report this month. #winning.

Budget Everyday Skincare Picks

Once upon a time I wasn't that bothered about skincare, back then I was young and stupid and had no problems sleeping with a full face of make up on. Ironically I had amazing skin. Nowadays it's a different story, my skin is a temperamental beast that will breakout at the slightest provocation and going to sleep with winged liner, lipstick and foundation on makes me feel vaguely sick. I really try to take good care of my skin, but this can get a bit pricey. I think skin care is so important and personally I like to invest in my skin care, but there are definitely some gems to be found on the high street, if you know what you're looking for.

Now before we get into this I have to tell you that I have the strangest skin type ever. It's actually bizarre. My skin is prone to blemishes and breakouts, but the thing I suffer with most is blackheads, but I don't have oily skin. My skin is very sensitive and incredibly dry, with no oiliness whatsoever. See I told you it's weird. So just a quick disclaimer these things work really well for me and my very specific skin type but may not work as well on different skin types.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Eye Cream - £5.99 from Superdrug

Superdrug's own brand skincare is seriously underrated. It's so good, it's so cheap but I rarely hear about it. One of the hero products in the range is this eye cream, I've been using it for a really long time and I've even got my mum and sister using it too. The skin around my eyes is really sensitive and it doesn't take much to get irritated and inflamed. I can't actually use a lot of eye creams for this reason, so this is the only eye cream I use because I don't react to it and it's really good. Formulated with Mulberry, Kiwi and Sugar Beet extracts to smooth, brighten and moisturise the under eye area, it also reduces puffiness and the appearance of tired eyes. It has a really light weight consistency and absorbs into the skin quickly, I tend to use it mostly at night but you could use it in the mornings before make up and it would work just as well. Love. It.

Simple Spotless Skin Anti-Blemish Moisturiser - £4.59 from Superdrug

Simple is my favourite affordable skin care brand, their Micellar Water is my favourite on the high street and I love their Micellar Cleansing Wipes too. But in the interest of keeping this post relatively short and sweet, I thought I would focus on the Spotless Skin Anti-Blemish Moisturiser, because I've been using it so much recently. It's designed specifically for acne prone/problem skin, which I have, and works to clear and prevent breakouts, promising results from the first day of use. Formulated with Chamomile, Aloe Vera, Tapioca Starch and Zinc to soothe, soften and mattify the skin and Phytosphingosine, a natural anti-bacterial, to clear the skin, this moisturiser is light weight but leaves the skin clear and comfortably hydrated. I like it a lot.

Nivea Men Sensitive Cooling Post Shave Balm - £2.50 from Tesco

I wrote a whole blog post (read it here) raving about Nivea Men's Sensitive Cooling Post Shave Balm as a primer, so I won't bang on about it too much here. It's amazing. It feels really cooling and soothing on the skin and it really does make my make up last longer. There's a noticeable difference in wear time on days that I use this to  the days that I don't. It's also a good little multi-tasker, I really like using it after shaving my legs, I cut my legs shaving every damn time without fail and it stops the sting. It's awesome.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant 2in1 Moisturiser & Serum - £5.99 from Superdrug

Since the weather has turned colder, and my skin has got duller and greyer, I've been using two pumps of this serum before my moisturiser to give my skin an extra boost of hydration, which it has desperately needed. It's formulated with fruit extracts to energise, brighten and nourish the skin. It has a soft, smooth texture and a thick, gel like consistency that applies beautifully. I really like it. It feels so nice, it smells lovely and it really does brighten up my sallow and pasty complexion.

What are your favourite budget skin care picks? Let me know by commenting below - I always reply so check back -, on twitter, or dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check out my instagram, facebook, bloglovin', snapchat -search lolarocknroses - & pinterest for regular updates.

Love love love xxx

Photo Diary: A Day at Standalone Farm

This week the kids, not mine my sisters, have been off school, so yesterday we packed them into the car and drove all of 20 minutes to Standalone Farm in Letchworth. I'll be honest I totally gatecrashed this beautiful family day out, cause you know any excuse to go and look at baby animals #sorrynotsorry. I had a great time, so my gatecrashing was totally worth it but more importantly the kids did too. 

Because it's half term week they had loads of fun stuff going on for kids that Harry and Tilly loved. The first thing we did was watch the pigs being fed and we saw the cutest piglets, they were a week old and so tiny! We wanted to steal one. Then the kids made trick or treat bags and got covered in bright blue fabric paint, which wasn't ideal but they had a lot of fun doing it. Then they got to brush down a shetland pony, who we think was called Tot, before we saw two giant shire horses.  I think the kids favourite bit was when we went on a tractor ride around the farm. After that they played in the adventure playground and fed some chickens, while me and my sister had a cup of tea. Before we went on a long walk around the farm and saw three Alpacas playing with each other like puppies. We had a really nice day. 

What have you been up to lately? Let me know by commenting below - I always reply so check back -, on twitter, or dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check out my instagram, facebook, bloglovin', snapchat -search lolarocknroses - & pinterest for regular updates.

Love love love xxx