With chapped lips and hands being the bane of so many peoples lives this winter Burt's Bees is probably one of the most helpful and useful gifts out there, so team that with smelling and tasting super good and you've got the ultimate stocking filler or Secret Santa gift. Here's a round up of my favourites from their winter range.

A Bit of Burt's Bees in Coconut & Pear, £5.99

This little beauty is a double-whammy, not only do you get one of Burt's gorgeous Coconut & Pear (omg yum) lip balm but you also get a mini tin of Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream to keep your fingers and nails looking tip top in the harsh weather. I've never been one for looking after my hands which is kind of silly of me I suppose as I also never wear gloves when I'm out in the cold, so my fingernails are going to be grateful for some much needed TLC this winter.

Beeswax Bounty, £12.99

If you're undecisive, like moi or perhaps you're not sure which flavour your mum or best mate will like the most then you can go no wrong with the Beeswax Bounty collection. This adorable looking gift set contains four scrummy flavours; classic Beeswax, Pomegranate, Mango & my personal fave Vanilla Bean. These are my go-to when it comes to lip products, I'm super lazy with my makeup when I go to work or the gym and most of the time I just use some CC cream and then one of these bad boys for some light coverage and most importantly some much needed moisture.

Endless Shine Trio, £9.99

As I just mentioned, I love Burt's classic lip balms for work or the gym but when it comes to a slightly more fancy occasion like dinner or drinks with friends then I opt for one of these beauties. Not only do they come in 3 gorgeous, natural shades but they also contain Apricot Wax and Sunflower Seed Oil to keep your lips moisturized and silky smooth which you know, is kind of what Burt does best!

Nature's Kiss, £9.99

This product is probably my absolute fave out of them all. This duo has you covered from all angles as it contains a gorgeous lip crayon in shade 'Sedona Sands' which gives the most gorgeous full-coverage matte colour plus a Lip Shimmer stick in 'Peony'. The lip crayons, of course, have their fair share of goodness, containing Shea butter and jojoba oil to add moisture without being too heavy. I love to mix and match this product with the Endless Shine Trio, using the lip crayon as a base and then pairing a Shine Trio gloss over it for the perfect finish.

*This post contains PR samples.

24 HOURS IN PARIS

If you were reading my blog just over a year ago you'd remember that I travelled to Paris with my best friend for a girly weekend away in the city. I also mentioned in my post that unfortunately we happened to be in the centre of Paris on the night of the awful terror attacks on the Bataclan theatre, the Stade de France and nearby cafe's and restaurants.

Despite it being a rather tense, worrying day/night holed up in our hotel room watching everything unfold on the telly and then having to leave first thing the next day, Paris was one of the most beautiful places I'd visited and still remains top of my list of cities to visit (again) and I wanted to share with you the things I would love to see and do this time round if I was given just 24 hours in the city of luurrve,

NOTRE DAME

This was top of my list of things to see when in Paris, even above the good old Eiffel Tower and the main reason I want to visit is yep, you guessed it, the Disney movie. We crossed a bridge on our first day in the city last year  - the old padlock bridge to be precise - when we were just exploring, making a list of things to do during the weekend and I saw Notre Dame towering over the Paris skyline and just felt so excited and giddy. I'm all about that gothic architecture and seeing the Gargoyles in real life is definitely on my bucket list, even if they don't sing or dance much to my disappointment.

THE CATACOMBS

I'm a sucker when it comes to all thing eerie and creepy and I don't think it can get much creepier than ancient tunnels which run underneath the streets of Paris and holds the remains of more than six million people, can it? The endless rumours of weird goings on and ghostly sightings down in the tunnels makes it one of the most interesting and fascinating locations on my Paris to-do list.

THE LOUVRE

This was another spot that we wandered along to and mentally added it to our sightseeing list in Paris. I've never been a massive art gallery fan despite having a love for all things design, weird I know, but the Louvre is just a must-see mainly due to a few of these classics: Mona Lisa, Liberty Leading the People and Nymph and Satyr just to name a few. I also don't know if you've seen Passport to Paris with Mary-Kate and Ashley but that's also another reason for wanting to see a gallery.

FOOD

Of course, there's only 24 hours in the day and along with wanting to see classics such as the Eiffel Tower and my faves above there's only one other thing to do on a city break and that is to eat and drink until you can't eat or drink any more. One of my favourite things about the city was the amount of quiet, narrow alleyways which contained some of the cutest looking cafe's and restaurants. I'd make it my mission next time round to stop at multiple for a different course, finishing up with a Nutella crepe of course because I am one classy mademoiselle. 

Which city would you love to visit if you had only 24 hours?!

HOW TO GET BACK ON THE WORKOUT WAGON

Now this is a story all about how...I fell off the wagon and stopped eating healthy or going to the gym. You know that classic tale? Well it happened, the last few months were stressful as heck, I went to America and ate my body-weight in mac and cheese for fourteen days straight (no regrets though my friends, no regrets) and now it is nearly December and I am not yet ready to let myself go entirely for the festive season.

It's time to get back on the wagon and get my arse into gear (and a size or two smaller hopefully) and there are a few ways I've discovered - because yes I've fallen off the wagon before, it happens because life gets in the way ands ometimes when you're not feeling too good dragging yourself to the gym or slicing up an avocado does not appeal and the thought alone drives you into the arms of a bargain bucket .Speaking from experience here.

MAKE YOUR WORKOUTS/GYM TIME ENJOYABLE

So recently I moved out of home, into my own flat in a nearby town and had to quit the gym I loved (yes I just put gym and love in the same sentence, i know, who am i) and join a gym down the road from my new flat. Now the gym I joined was tiny, there were hardly any staff around and to put it plainly, I despised it so obviously ultimately I stopped going. Now I am moving back home (because rent sucks, rent sucks oh and rent sucks) and I am rejoining my fave gym again. 

Long story short, you won't work out if you don't enjoy the space you're working out in or the workouts you're doing. I am obsessed right now with the instagram account for the New York gym DOGPOUND - it's where Taylor Swift and the Victoria Secret girls work out and it's full of inspiration as far as workouts are concerned. I've made a note of them all and I'll be adding them into my workout routine for sure. 

INSPIRE YOURSELF WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD

I have Pinterested (hello Oxford Dictionary, please make that a verb) the crappola out of recipes and meal ideas lately, it's been the holy grail for making me excited to eat better. After pinning a thousand and one recipes to my board I'll make a shopping list & meal plan for a week with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas. I did even not realise until I looked into it how many exciting things could be done with a sweet potato and of course it instantly dispelled the myth about eating healthy meaning all you could do was knaw on salads day in day out. 

DITCH THE 'DIET'

I used to be a sucker for this one, even recently I tried out Slimming World which did help me lose some weight but after I fell off the wagon and was ready to hop back on I decided that SW wasn't the path I was going to take. I understand how it works for a lot of people but personally for me it was limiting in the sense that it stopped me from having food that I knew wasn't bad for me like avocado (sorry, this post is not sponsored by the great gods of avocado it's just cropped up a lot) and I didn't want to feel like I couldn't eat something, I never want to feel like that. 

Diets like Slimming World do provide you with tools and keys to help when it comes to ditching their plan and going it on your own though which I will give them full credit for. However, diets that include cutting our carbs and such are just not great in the long-term, you need to think of the way you eat as a lifestyle choice and not a diet. 

Getting back on the wagon can be hard, especially if you've been off a while but there's never a bad time to get back on. What are your tips for getting back on track after a break?

4 THRILLERS ON MY READING LIST THIS WINTER

When it's freezing and dark outside, all I want to do is make myself a cup of tea and curl up on the sofa with a good book (yes I am intact an 80-year-old woman). Of course, me being me it has to be a thriller, something grizzly, creepy and exciting is a must cos you know, six years of watching The Walking Dead has really upped my standards when it comes to gore and horror so it takes a lot to creep me out.

Luckily, this perfect little foursome of novels fits the bill. My weird, worryingly morbid bill. Over the next week or so I'm going to be working my way through these beauties and of course sharing my thoughts with you about each one individually. I've just finished The Widow in a 24-hour sesh as it was SO good I couldn't put it down, literally, I was stirring pasta sauce over the hob with one hand and had the book in the other! 

Here's a little blurb about each one to get you interested and stay tuned for more on these as I work my way through them!

WHAT WORKING FOR A MAGAZINE IS REALLY LIKE

I don't want to mislead you lovely folk so I should probably start this post by saying no, sadly I did not work for Vogue or Cosmopolitan so if you're looking for some Devil Wears Prada goss then you won't find it here. However, I did work for a UK gossip/entertainment/beauty/fashion magazine, you know the kind that usually featured a TOWIE celeb or Kimmy K on the cover.

I worked at this magazine for a year as a junior designer and was taken on before that as an Art Intern for approx 6 months and it was such a crazy experience. I've always wanted to work for a magazine ever since I fell in love with Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port from The Hills. Get me a cute headband, sit me in front of an iMac and I am all yours! Of course now my life is super different and I wouldn't change that for anything but let me share with you just what working in publishing was like...

A LESSON IN SELF-LOVE

I'm my own worst enemy 99.9% of the time, if not 100% of the time. I think I've learnt more about myself and changed in more ways during the course of 2016 than I have any other year.

Now let me stop being so vague and mysterious, what I'm talking about is learning to love yourself. We all want to stop judging ourselves when we look in the mirror and to not care about things we can't change but hello, those things make us the perfectly deranged, crazy, wonderful people that we are and it's not about eradicating those qualities but about learning to have full control over them.

THE PERFECT WINTER WALK: KEW GARDENS

It may sound as though I'm 25 going on 85 but I am a sucker for a Sunday morning stroll. I'm lucky enough to live close to some incredible lakes, gardens and country houses and when I woke up this morning to blue-skies and sunshine it was a majority decision in our household to bundle up and head out for a nice winter walk.

We opted for Kew Gardens which is home to Royal Botanic Gardens (a fancy word for lots of gorgeous trees, plants and greenhouses) just outside of London. During the winter which is classed as Nov 1st onwards entry is £10 including a donation to Gift Aid and you definitely get fantastic value for money here, it makes such a great day out.

There's plenty to do here (as well as of course just wandering aimlessly around and just taking in the gorgeous scenery) including a Treetop Walkway which gives an awesome birds-eye-view of the park a giant badger sett and amazing indoor greenhouses and buildings to explore.

It was the perfect opportunity to take some photos and if you live nearby then I would 100% recommend taking a trip here as it makes for a perfect backdrop for blog photos.

NOVEMBER WISHLIST

IT'S NOVEMBER. FINALLY. That means cosy coats, oversized everything (to cover up the aftermath of all the roast dinners and steak pies that will be eaten) and BOOTS. Most importantly boots. This is a collection of things I have my eye on this month, (already checked those knee-high boots off the list today) especially the entire Sydney Sierota collection for Hollister which is insanely perfect for the holiday season! Let me know what you've got your eye on this month.

Topshop CUPID Velvet Over The Knee Boots

Hollister + Sydney Sierota Embellished Tank Dress

New Look Dark Grey Arizona Acid Wash Cut Out Front T-shirt

New Look Burgundy Velvet Layered Skater Dress

Topshop MERLOT Sequin Boots

River Island Black velvet embroidered bomber jacket

River Island Black Metallica print boyfriend T-shirt

New Look Grey Leather-Look Backpack

H&M Satin Dress in Petrol

H&M Glittery Playsuit

WHY I STOPPED BLOGGING AND WHY I'M STARTING AGAIN

Well hi blog. It's been almost a year and it's easy to figure that out because the last post I wrote was my 2015 highlights, oops!

2016 has been a bit of a bugger if I'm honest, I haven't really liked it one bit and I'll be rather glad to see the back of it in a couple of month's time that's for sure! I know often these posts can be apologetic but this one isn't. Life has simply got in the way and to say that I put this blog on the back burner is an understatement, it wasn't on the burner at all, heck it wasn't even in the kitchen.

Whenever life has settled down a little I thought about coming back to post and then I was always hit with a realisation that there wasn't much I wanted to blog about. I felt as though my content wasn't 'me' enough and that I'd rather not post at all than post a half-arsed beauty product review that I didn't really care about one bit.

I want to write about things that I love, like my obsession for The Walking Dead, my passion for books and reading, city breaks and days out. Of course I still love clothes and I still love beauty products and make-up and all of that malarky and when I find something I genuinely love then I will feature it but I don't want those things to be the sole focus of my ramblings anymore as that's just not who I am.

So this is my comeback to my blog and I hope you all can forgive me for the amount I'm going to talk about zombies.