Lovely Gifts I Got for my Birthday

As you probably know last Friday was my birthday, I was the big 23. It was such a lovely day from start to finish, it couldn't of been better. I thought I'd share with you the presents I received this year. I really wasn't expecting so much as I didn't celebrate a milestone birthday or anything but I'm really grateful for everything I got.

My lovely boyfriend Paddy bought me a new camera which I'm in love with. It's a Fujifilm Finepix S4300 and I absolutely adore it. It's a bridge camera so in simple terms it's half way between a standard digital and SLR. It is just perfect for me and I've already started using it so much. He got me the carry case to go with it too, so I'm basically sorted. I'm still trying to figure out how it works and such but expect to see a lot of pictures in upcoming blog posts. I've wanted a new camera for ages but saying that I'm still going to hold on to my old school pink digital. It did me well for the past couple of years and I know I won't be bringing my new one on nights out. Paddy also picked me up some beauty related bits, a Philosophy and This Works gift set. I haven't tried too many products from the latter so I'm looking forward to giving them a go as I've heard very good things. On the other hand I absolutely love Philosophy, their shower gels are amazing and smell incredible. This set contains four minis so it will definitely keep me going for a while.

My Nanna picked me up a new pair of runners and some workout clothes. I'm started jogging and going to the Gym more so I was really happy with this present. She did well picking out the runners  as purple is my favourite colour. I've been wearing these runners pretty much everyday since I bought them. There just really handy for walking to work, I definitely have a spring in my step when I wear these. Nanna also bought me three gorgeous notebooks which are so pretty. She knows all about my blog so I think this was a really special touch. I'll get a lot of use out of these, I'm forever jotting down notes. My Aunty picked me up a Philosophy gift set too. This one contains a shower gel and body lotion. Needless to say they both smell heavenly. 

My little brother Gerard bought me two books, I'm sure a lot of you have heard of Blog INC already. I'm delighted he picked both of these up for me as I love a good read. I have a feeling my Mom helped him pick out The Wah Nails Book of Nail Art as its probably not something he'd pick up himself. Some of the nail looks in the book are amazing so hopefully I'll be able to recreate some. I'll show some on the blog if I can, fingers crossed.

My lovely friend Sinead was on holidays in Florida recently and she brought me back some lovely makeup goodies. I LOVE Wet n'Wild so I was delighted to see two of their eyeshadow trios as a part of my gift. Both are so pigmented and make lovely eye looks. I just wish we could get this brand over here. She also got me one of their lipsticks which I haven't tried before so I'm intrigued to see what there like. I've heard so much about CoverGirl's new mascara Clump Crusher on numerous blogs so I can't wait to see what it's like. I heard their mascaras are similar to Maxfactor, I'll let you know my thoughts on this. Lastly she picked me up a gorgeous Essie polish in the shade Big Spender which I'm wearing on my nails at this very minute. It's so pretty, this will definitely be getting a lot of love in the coming months.

My Mom picked me up this cute Minnie Mouse makeup bag and filled it with these lovely goodies. I adore Nivea lip butters so I'm glad I have the full collection of them. They smell amazing and are so moisturising on the lips. I did get another present which I'm beyond excited about. I'm going to New York with my family at the end of the year!! I've never been before so this is going to be a trip of a lifetime. I'm going to start saving for it now as I have a feeling a lot of shopping will be done. There's so many different touristy bits I want to visit, like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building etc. I also want to go to see a show on Broadway. I really can't wait it's going to be such an amazing trip! If you have any recommendations on places I should visit definitely let me know, I'll be making lists.

Until the next post,

Laura<3