On Sunday 9th April I turned 22 (sob, swear I was 18 a week ago?!) and had the best weekend I could have wished for. The Saturday was spent sunning myself with my closest friends at #CarnLIVal, and my birthday itself was a more relaxed day to the seaside with my family. As well as their wonderful presence, my family also treated me to some brilliant presents!

Beauty

I have wanted to try something from Pixi for ages, and this set seemed the perfect place to start. I love fresh, glowy looks, so the illuminating cream and powders are right up my street, and I'm interested to give the plumping gloss a go. In keeping with natural, healthy-looking looks, I was thrilled to receive a palette of my favourite Stila convertible colour formula. This is the warm shade and there's also a more cool toned curation. 

I asked for a tube of the infamous Collection concealer after not using it for years, and I'm completely converted again! It is definitely one of my essentials.

On the more colourful side, I first opened the Topshop pressed glitter in Shuffle The Cards. It's like a sunset has been poured into the most intensely foiled powder. It shifts between pink, gold, and copper, and I cannot wait to wear this high shine beauty on my eyes, although Topshop say that you can apply it on the face and body, too. I also unwrapped the Barry M Speedy Quick Dry set and spent about an hour just staring at the polishes! There are some lovely springtime shades, as well as some muted tones that look sneakily similar to Smith & Cult's luxe offerings.

Skin and Hair Care

The birthday fairies delivered quite a few skincare products, and just at the right time! I had run out of my favourite cleaner, the Dual Hydration one from Boots Botanics, so I was especially grateful to see a tube of it. I also received some Superdrug glycolic acid pads, which feel much more high end thanks to the super soft pads. My skin loves acid and these are such a handy way to apply it. It also loves floral mists, and I asked for the Boots Rosewater Spritz as it seems like a perfect dupe for the eyewateringly expensive Jurlique mist. 

My skin is super dry so the Superdrug Vitamin E moisture mask was a very welcome surprise! It's packed with lots of gentle, nourishing ingredients and leaves my skin really plump. The fairies also spared a thought for my hair, and brought me this Aussie deep conditioning mask. I've never tried the brand but I've heard great things, and this is the perfect tester.

Lifestyle

Don't hate me, but I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan! I forgot that when I saw this jumper though, as I just find the quote quite funny, and it reminds me of my Nana's nickname for me- her little bundle of trouble. It came from Primark, as did this flecked sweatshirt. I got both of them in a bigger size for extra slouchy comfort. 

My mum knows I love French bulldogs, and one of my mottos in life is to always have a new pair of socks, so this present was perfect! These are fancy pants bamboo socks from Joules, which are supposed to be super comfy and breathable.

Keswick is one of my favourite places, and I've gazed at Ye Olde Friar's chocolates many times, but I can't remember ever sampling them before! I can remedy that with this delicious little set, and if I need a real chocolate boost I might enjoy them with a hot chocolate, too. My sister brought these fancy stirrers back from Belgium, so I know the chocolate will be incredible, and the salted fudge flavour sounds heavenly. 

I love burning big old candles, and you don't get much bigger than these Matalan bad boys! They have really strong, true scents, and the jars will match my room decor and make lovely storage when the wax is gone. 

I'm saving my goodies for a bad day, when I'll run a bath, light my candles, slather on my masks, and chow down on my choccies!