Friday 25 December 2015
Thursday 24 December 2015
My Favourite Christmas Films
I love watching Christmas movies with a mug of hot chocolate and gingerbread. These are my favourite films. I also like Die Hard which is defiantly a Christmas film because of all the Christmas puns. Anyway let me know which are your favourites in the comments
Elf
I first watched this a just a couple of years ago. I'm not a Will Ferrell fan but I absolutely love this film it's hilarious for all ages. Buddy is a human being who has spent his whole life believing himself to be an elf working in Santa's toy shop. When he grows too big for the elf-sized working environment, Santa suggests that Buddy head to New York to find his biological father. Still wearing his elf clothes despite being 6 foot 5, the good-natured Buddy finds himself in all sorts of scrapes as he gets used to his new family and surroundings - and they get used to him.
Amazon £2.99 here
A Christmas Kiss
Wendy leaves theatre set designing to work for Priscilla in her interior design business. While running errands for her demanding boss, Wendy bumps into a handsome stranger in a lift which leads to a spontaneous kiss. However Wendy’s dreams of impressing her boss get complicated when she realises that the mysterious man she kissed is Priscilla’s boyfriend, Adam. While decorating and preparing his home for an Christmas charity fundraiser Adam and Wendy’s friendship grows. Priscilla is forced to take drastic measures to make sure her engagement goes forward as planned. Will Wendy and Adam connect before it’s too late?
Available on Dvd £7.20 here
The Holiday
This film follows two women at Christmas frustrated with their loves lives, impulsively booking a holiday on a home exchange website. Iris (Kate Winslet) moves into Amanda's L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda (Cameron Diaz) arrives in the snow-covered English countryside. After arriving at their destinations, both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris's handsome brother Graham (Jude Law) while Iris mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles (Jack Black.)
Available on dvd £3 here
A Cinderella Christmas
This is a modern take on Cinderella, starring Emma Rigby (Hollyoaks) as Angie. Angie
works hard to run her uncle's event planning business, while her cousin Candace takes all of the credit. In exchange for ownership of the business, Angie helps Candace get an invitation to the famous Christ-masquerade Ball being held by wealthy bachelor Nicholas Carmichael. But when Candace gets sick, Angie puts on the mask and goes in her place. She meets Nicholas and they have an instant connection. When he vows to marry the mysterious woman from the Ball, Angie finds herself torn between either losing the business she's worked so hard for or losing the love of her life. The Christmas masquerade is beautiful and I love the game of having to match the bag full of clues to the right person.
Dvd Amazon here £6
Arthur Christmas
Animation with comedy thrown in that adults and children will enjoy. The film follows the Santa family's meticulous operation to deliver presents to all the children across the world before Christmas Day. Central to the operation is the S-1, which is rather like the Star Trek Enterprise spaceship that houses a toy making factory and distribution warehouse. However despite all this technology a child got missed out and it's up to Santa's son Arthur to save the day.
Available on dvd here £3
It's A Wonderful Life
A Christmas classic, the film is directed by Frank Capra in 1946 so it's in black and white but don't let that put you off! The film begins with Guardian Angel Clarence being summoned to help George Bailey who is close to suicide. All his life George Bailey has wanted to escape his small town to realise his dream of building big buildings and travelling the world. Unfortunately he's had to put his dreams aside for various reasons and a money crisis at his company Building and Loan tips him over the edge as he realises he's worth more dead than alive and wishes he'd never been born. Before he can throw himself off the bridge he spots a man drowning and goes in to save him. This man is Clarence who shows George what life in the small town would be like if he'd never been born. The town is worse off without George's kindness and generosity which previously had changed people's lives. This is a little like Dicken's Scrooge with mean Potter having a negative effect on the town while George learns his value as part of a small community. It's ultimately a feel good film.
Available on dvd here £5.90
Bridget Jones Diary
From catching Mark Darcy's eye across the New Year turkey buffet to kissing on the snowy London street at Christmas (sans trousers/skirt as you do), Rene Zellweger plays Bridget Jones and all her lovable flaws to perfection. Not to mention you have a choice to drool over Colin Firth or Hugh Grant. I can't wait for the next Bridget Jones film which will be released soon!
Available £2.61 here
The Snowman/ The Snowman and Snow Dog
A childhood classic animation of Raymond Brigg's children's book The Snowman. I remember being so excited when I could play this on the recorder in primary school! The original is sweet and the sequel is just as good. It isn't Christmas without hearing Walking On The Air.
£7 Amazon here
Love Actually
This film follows the lives of nine very different couples dealing with their love lives in the run up to Christmas. Their stories are loosely interrelated. Some of the stories include: Billy Mack is a rock and roll singer who is releasing his Christmas single in the hopes that it will become the no.1 single. A man who's in love with his best friends wife and there is another man writing his book in his French holiday home. It also covers the love life of Prime minister at no 10 Downing street. Hugh Grant plays a very dashing Prime minister. The film also stars Colin Firth, Martine McCutcheon, Keira Knightly, Emma Thompson, Martin Freeman, Rowan Atkinson among many others.
£4.57 Amazon here
Elf
I first watched this a just a couple of years ago. I'm not a Will Ferrell fan but I absolutely love this film it's hilarious for all ages. Buddy is a human being who has spent his whole life believing himself to be an elf working in Santa's toy shop. When he grows too big for the elf-sized working environment, Santa suggests that Buddy head to New York to find his biological father. Still wearing his elf clothes despite being 6 foot 5, the good-natured Buddy finds himself in all sorts of scrapes as he gets used to his new family and surroundings - and they get used to him.
Amazon £2.99 here
A Christmas Kiss
Wendy leaves theatre set designing to work for Priscilla in her interior design business. While running errands for her demanding boss, Wendy bumps into a handsome stranger in a lift which leads to a spontaneous kiss. However Wendy’s dreams of impressing her boss get complicated when she realises that the mysterious man she kissed is Priscilla’s boyfriend, Adam. While decorating and preparing his home for an Christmas charity fundraiser Adam and Wendy’s friendship grows. Priscilla is forced to take drastic measures to make sure her engagement goes forward as planned. Will Wendy and Adam connect before it’s too late?
Available on Dvd £7.20 here
The Holiday
This film follows two women at Christmas frustrated with their loves lives, impulsively booking a holiday on a home exchange website. Iris (Kate Winslet) moves into Amanda's L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda (Cameron Diaz) arrives in the snow-covered English countryside. After arriving at their destinations, both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris's handsome brother Graham (Jude Law) while Iris mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles (Jack Black.)
Available on dvd £3 here
A Cinderella Christmas
This is a modern take on Cinderella, starring Emma Rigby (Hollyoaks) as Angie. Angie
works hard to run her uncle's event planning business, while her cousin Candace takes all of the credit. In exchange for ownership of the business, Angie helps Candace get an invitation to the famous Christ-masquerade Ball being held by wealthy bachelor Nicholas Carmichael. But when Candace gets sick, Angie puts on the mask and goes in her place. She meets Nicholas and they have an instant connection. When he vows to marry the mysterious woman from the Ball, Angie finds herself torn between either losing the business she's worked so hard for or losing the love of her life. The Christmas masquerade is beautiful and I love the game of having to match the bag full of clues to the right person.
Dvd Amazon here £6
Arthur Christmas
Animation with comedy thrown in that adults and children will enjoy. The film follows the Santa family's meticulous operation to deliver presents to all the children across the world before Christmas Day. Central to the operation is the S-1, which is rather like the Star Trek Enterprise spaceship that houses a toy making factory and distribution warehouse. However despite all this technology a child got missed out and it's up to Santa's son Arthur to save the day.
Available on dvd here £3
It's A Wonderful Life
A Christmas classic, the film is directed by Frank Capra in 1946 so it's in black and white but don't let that put you off! The film begins with Guardian Angel Clarence being summoned to help George Bailey who is close to suicide. All his life George Bailey has wanted to escape his small town to realise his dream of building big buildings and travelling the world. Unfortunately he's had to put his dreams aside for various reasons and a money crisis at his company Building and Loan tips him over the edge as he realises he's worth more dead than alive and wishes he'd never been born. Before he can throw himself off the bridge he spots a man drowning and goes in to save him. This man is Clarence who shows George what life in the small town would be like if he'd never been born. The town is worse off without George's kindness and generosity which previously had changed people's lives. This is a little like Dicken's Scrooge with mean Potter having a negative effect on the town while George learns his value as part of a small community. It's ultimately a feel good film.
Available on dvd here £5.90
Bridget Jones Diary
From catching Mark Darcy's eye across the New Year turkey buffet to kissing on the snowy London street at Christmas (sans trousers/skirt as you do), Rene Zellweger plays Bridget Jones and all her lovable flaws to perfection. Not to mention you have a choice to drool over Colin Firth or Hugh Grant. I can't wait for the next Bridget Jones film which will be released soon!
Available £2.61 here
The Snowman/ The Snowman and Snow Dog
A childhood classic animation of Raymond Brigg's children's book The Snowman. I remember being so excited when I could play this on the recorder in primary school! The original is sweet and the sequel is just as good. It isn't Christmas without hearing Walking On The Air.
£7 Amazon here
Love Actually
This film follows the lives of nine very different couples dealing with their love lives in the run up to Christmas. Their stories are loosely interrelated. Some of the stories include: Billy Mack is a rock and roll singer who is releasing his Christmas single in the hopes that it will become the no.1 single. A man who's in love with his best friends wife and there is another man writing his book in his French holiday home. It also covers the love life of Prime minister at no 10 Downing street. Hugh Grant plays a very dashing Prime minister. The film also stars Colin Firth, Martine McCutcheon, Keira Knightly, Emma Thompson, Martin Freeman, Rowan Atkinson among many others.
£4.57 Amazon here
Friday 11 December 2015
November Beauty and TV Favourites
These body butters blew me away especially the Mango body butter. I wasn't expecting it to be as moisturising as it is, because I find the Body Shop's products a bit hiss and miss. But the dry skin on my elbows have vanished and now it feels baby soft. Although I knew The Body Shop's body butters were popular, I thought it was just because they smelled so nice, but what impressed me the most was that the Mango moisturiser kept my skin so soft even 48 hours later. It's formulated for very dry skins and although my skin is more on the normal/sensitive side this is perfect as an intensive winter moisturiser. It contains mango seed oil, sweet almond oil and cocoa seed butter. It smells fruity and I often catch myself opening the tub just to smell how gorgeous it is! The Olive body butter doesn't smell of olives, but of something fresh, like a cucumber, which reminds me of my tweens for some reason. It's formulated for dry skin and contains olive fruit oil, shea butter and cocoa seed butter. While it isn't as intensive as the mango one, it's still great to use as a winter body moisturiser.
Rimmel Provocolips in 730 Make Your Move
This is a perfect 90's nude brown that doesn't break the bank! This defied my expectations after trying one of the Kate Moss lipsticks which tasted of very cheap candy, but this liquid lipstick doesn't have a taste or smell and what's more is that it's long lasting!
Max Factor Crème Puff Blush in 30 Gorgeous Berries
These are touted as a dupe for Hourglass's Ambient Lighting Blushes and they share the same marbled/baked powder appearance and both give a soft focused colour and sheen while at the same time remaining pigmented and easy to blend. Gorgeous Berries is a plummy pink berry colour perfect for winter.
Once Upon A Time
Set in a small fictional town of Storybrooke, the inhabitants are characters from various fairy tales who have been transported to the "real world" American town and robbed of their real memories of their fairy tale lives by a powerful curse cast by Regina The Evil Queen who now resides as the town's mayor. Once upon a Time is a fantasy series that plays with timelines, parallel lives and inverts all the traditional fairy tale stories you thought you knew. Season 5 has been a real game changer with Storybrook's former saviour Emma turning dark leaving Regina the Evil Queen to take on the role of Saviour instead. The show still plays with time as the first two episodes showed Emma as dark and evil and all the inhabitants memories have been wiped. Just as the inhabitants are trying to fill the gaps so are we, as we follow Emma's journey into a darkness that threatens their world. Once Upon A Time is available on Netflix with new episodes on Wednesdays.
The Vampire Diaries
Initially I didn't think I'd like this show as I loved Buffy The Vampire Slayer in the 90's/00's and felt the second wave of vampire books/film/TV weren't nearly as good- yep I'm talking about Twilight.
The Vampire Diaries is set in Mystic Falls, a fictional small town which seems to have more than it's fair share of vampires, werewolves and witches. Elena and her brother Jeremy are orphaned when a car crash kills their parents. Elena later finds out that her classmate Stephan actually rescued her from the crash and decides to stay in her life, enrolling at her school. However Stephen is actually 150 year old vampire and Elena is the doppelganger of his ex girlfriend Katherine. I really got caught up in the love triangle between Elena, Stephen and his brother Damon. Things get complicated when Katherine and a family of Original Vampires are out to harm Elena and Mystic Falls. I think this show must be a great show for the actors involved as they each get to play different characters and different side to the characters as they get turned into supernatural beings. Series 1-6 is available on Netflix and the current season is on ITV 2 and iTunes.
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