Irish Bbloggers Secret Santa - THE BIG REVEAL! #IrishBbloggersSS

Hi everyone!

Well the time has come for the BIG reveal as part of the #IrishBbloggersSS 2013!

First of all though - I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to the wonderful Aisling of Total Makeup Addict for organising this and making it all possible. I know a lot of time and effort went into making this a success so a big thank you from everyone Aisling!

My Secret Santa was Alex from Pink Elephant Bloggin'

I didn't know Alex at all, so I had great fun catching up on lots of her posts I missed, trying to see what sort of things she'd like - after which I (hope I got this right anyhow!) that she was a lover of nail polish and berry stained lips (Well she likes MAC Rebel anyhow so the girl has good taste! hehe) and I tried to match skincare products to suit her skin type also - hope I did OK!

I hope she won't mind me posting a photo of what I sent her here - I have to 'fess up - I almost forgot about deadline for posting out the presents. Now I had all the stuff bought and set aside, however I got in a bit of a fluster to get the items wrapped and packed up when I sent them last Friday to get to the Post Office before closing time, so in all my rush I didn't get a chance to get everything wrapped as nice and neat and pretty as I would have :(

Image courtesy of: Pink Elephant Bloggin

Which now leaves me to the lovely lady who gifted me with my wonderful Secret Santa pressie.

Take a step and a bow please, Miss Nora from Too Many Muffins

I got a delightful surprise on Wednesday when my package arrive from Nora which was beautifully wrapped with red paper - unfortunately, in my eagerness to see what surprises lay in store I forgot to take photos before digging in!

I got two gorgeous sets from Nora along with a beautiful handmade card - thank you SO much! I'm delighted with them! :D

Mavala Cracking Duo set and a Pixi Beauty Ice Eye palette

The packaging is so cute - it's like a mini Christmas cracker - love it! 

The included polishes are Miami and Mexico. A really nice combo of a muted pink and a dark, vampy purple!

Next up was the Icy Eye palette by Pixi Beauty. I never actually heard of this brand before, so I'm really looking forward to trying this out.

There's a really nice selection of shimmery chocolate tones in this - not too unlike one of the Naked palettes at all! 

Thanks so much Nora - I love the presents! Would you believe it, I've never used Mavala either so I'm relishing the chance to try them out also - think I'm gonna go with the purple first! :D

I'm so glad I signed up to partake in this, what I hope will be the first of many more #IrishBbloggersSS to come! Again, big thanks and credit where credit is due to Aisling for organising all of this for all of us. It really was a fantastic idea.

I can't wait to have a good ol' snoop at everyone elses goodies now. I hope everyone is delighted with their presents and glad they took part.

Merry Christmas guys, wishing you all a lovely holiday - I hope Santa spoils you rotten! ;)

Thanks for reading, as always x

Seaons Greetings

Hi all! Ho ho ho!

Sorry I've been very slack with the aul bloggin' lately - I think I had a dose of "Blogging Fatigue" (Thanks for posting about that Makeup Monster - good to know I'm not the only one!) what with getting ready for Christmas, shopping, getting the house organised and decorated, wrapping presents and having my phone die on me meant I haven't been blogging as often as I'd have liked lately but I'm hoping to get back on track from tomorrow onwards.

In other news, the wonderful Aisling of Total Makeup Addict organised a fantastic #IrishBbloggers Secret Santa so hopefully by now, everyone has received their yuletide goodies. I got into a bit of a flap on Friday to have mine posted out on time, so unfortunately I didn't get to wrap up and prettify my package as much as I would have liked, but a little birdie tells my that my Secret Santa received the package on Saturday (Wow, that was quick!!) so all is well! I was also delighted to receive my SS gift today from a lovely blogger - I'm absolutely thrilled with my present and can't wait to share it during the big reveal on Sunday the 22nd - along with having a good ol' nosey to see what everyone got in the post! Thanks once again for organising this Aisling - such a brilliant idea! We must definitely continue this for 2014 too! :D

I've spent FAR too much over these past few weeks - I'm dreading getting my credit card bill in January - eeek! On the plus side however, this also means that I'll have some new beauty booty to share with you all over the coming weeks. I'm hoping I won't get hit with anymore unexpected customs fees though - just got stung for €50 on a Sigma brush order today, ouch!

I came across some lovely photos of Galway this month and wanted to share a few on here. If any of you get a chance to visit the Christmas Market, GO! I've been trying to sample all the tasty treats on offer and the beer tent is all kinds of awesome!

Fantastic shot of the Christmas Market by Declan Colohan Photography

Fabulous mural beside O Connells pub in Eyre Square by Ruairi O Byrne

Galway Christmas Market by Alex Zarodov Photography

Kirwans Lane

Unfortunately, I couldn't find all of the original sources / photographers who took these amazing photos, so if they're one of yours, please let me know so I can credit you appropriately :)

I hope each and everyone of you are keeping well and aren't too frazzled by all the last minute Christmas shopping and battling the crowds whilst trying to snap up those last pressies.

I plan on taking it very leisurely this weekend whilst (over?) indulging in lots of mince pies and mulled wine. Can't wait to catch up on blogging also and share my latest purchases with you all!

A big special thank you to my Secret Santa - you know who you are! ;) All to be revealed on Sunday, so watch this space! x