Dear my lovely readers

Dear my lovely readers,

As you have probably seen I've not blogged on here for a while...

I've moved! You will now find me on
www.cocktailstocouture.com

Please head over there and continue to be amazing as you have been

Charlie xxxxx

131.____My take on the Liberty gift recommendations

Firstly may I apologise for the length of this post, as you can tell, there's a lot that I liked on the Liberty website, and this is just from looking through their 'gifts for her' and 'gifts for him' sections. From that, I'm reluctant to go through their website for a while, I know I'll be broke before I've even opened it! So here it is, the epic list of lovely gifts from Liberty.

Some gifts for the men in your life.

This is the Cool Coast Liberty Print World Atlas, £36.00. It's a great present for anyone (not only men - I know it was featured in the recommended mens section) that you know who love travelling, and I think it's adorable, I really want one!

I love this Vivienne Westwood Grey Striped Orb Scarf, it would look dapper on any man, plus is a really reasonable £65.00. 

I love this scarf too, and grey is a brilliant colour as it goes with a multitude of things, colours and patterns, not that many of the men I know do wear a lot of pattern. This is a beautiful Mid Edge Grey Striped Scarf from Lanvin, which is also really reasonable at £70.00.

This Malin + Goetz Mojito gift set was also in the mens section, although, I'm sure that I, like most ladies would use it too. The great thing about this label is that all of their ingredients are natural so you really know what you are getting. This set is a brilliant £22.00. (Space NK also stock Malin + Goetz)

I think that these are amazing, but unfortunately I can't see many of the men that I know actually wearing them, they are the Paul Smith Mini Striped Car Cufflinks, £60.00.

These two mugs are part of a the River Series by Snowden Flood, the top is the Tower Bridge Mug, whilst the bottom is the London Eye Mug, both are £13.50, and would make a brilliant gift for any men who drink hot drinks and have ever been to London.

This is the best gift I've seen, although it's highly unpractical and I can't afford it, I think it's wonderful. This is the Medium Leather Hippo Footstool, £495.00.

I love this, it's so personal, I could be tempted to buy this for The Boyfriend for our anniversary instead of Christmas, it's wooden, which has been laser cut, with the beautiful inscription. The 'One day will be used but only by you' Wooden Key by Rob Ryan £29.00.

These are the perfect gift for my dad, a complaint a couple of years ago about receiving no socks resorted in the following year receiving over 100 pairs from various people. These are stylish but still work compliant, Paul Smith Brown Multi Stripe Socks £15.00.

Gifts for the women in your life

Know anyone who loves writing? Or just likes pretty things to stick on their bedroom wall? This set of 20 Liberty postcards are the perfect stocking filler at £5.95.

Know any lovely ladies who like to travel or are away from home a lot through work? This Malin + Goetz set is a brilliant gift, it's an introduction for those who haven't used the brand before, and a set of their favourites for those who have, Essential Travel Kit £18.00.

These are the perfect gift for the ladies who love a bit of pampering, Liberty Lavender and Eucalyptus soap & body lotion are a little bit of luxury for £4.95 and £11.00 respectively.

I love this letter tray, it's so cute! The Things I Like letter tray by John Derian is unfortunately £85.00, if it was cheaper I would definitely buy one!

This Cream Waterloo Bridge Rectangular Cushion by Charlene Mullen is amazing, although I imagine it could be hard to place in a pre decorated room. It is lovely though, although the price tag isn't £175.00.

I think that this is my favourite thing that I've seen on the lists, it's a Love Crystal Dome Paperweight by John Derian, it'd be a perfect addition at any desk, and reminds the recipient that they are loved. £55.00.

This is great, Love is a Killer card holder by Paris House, in an ultra slim design holding 6 cards, this is a Liberty exclusive £70.00. 

I love this Comme des Garçons Black and White Polka Dot Leather Purse, it's very chic and the perfect gift for a friend who has everything, £100.00.

Know someone who's always late? Who never knows when your birthday is? Or a meticulous diary keeper? This Miu Miu Purple Leather Organiser is beautiful, they will feel very sophisticated when taking this out to take down a lunch date. Make someone feel special, £215.00.

I love this Marc by Marc Jacobs Burgundy Classic Percy Cross-Body Bag, it's gorgeous plus a very practical size, stopping sore shoulders! It's really reasonably priced at £175.00.  

I love this Liberty Shopper Tote, which features the iconic store front, a perfect gift for any lady in your life at £14.95.

This is a gorgeous Marc by Marc Jacobs Green Leather Sophie Satchell which is lovely but expensive at £495.00, regardless of the hefty price tag I love it, although I have to say that this is only a gift to buy a girlfriend/fiancee/wife, the price tag can't really justify anything else.

As you can probably tell, I love shoes, and the various Manolo Blahnik collaborations are wonderful and have made me very excited and very willing to spend my money! The Manolo Blahnik New Shoes by Thames and Hudson £24.50, the gorgeous tote bag is Manolo Blahnik for Liberty £25.00, the Pocket Shoe Repeat Address Book is also Manolo Blahnik for Liberty & is £32.00. The Winter Shoes Fabric Covered Notebook is £32.00 and the Thames & Hudson book of Manolo Blahnik drawings is £9.95. Take your pick of these for any shoe lovers that you know.

This Marc Jacobs Gingham Make Up Pouch, is brilliant, it's affordable designer, allowing everyone to have a little piece of that world. It's very versatile, it could be used as a pouch or pencil case instead, although £50.00 is a lot for a pencil case!

All images from Liberty, happy shopping!

130.___My pick of the Vogue Christmas List

Once again, Vogue have released their Christmas list of incredibly fashionable gifts, and, as always they have picked some incredible things, here's my pick of the list.

I'm a huge fan of 'coffee table' books, and the more that I see, the more I think I'm going to have to invest in a coffee table in my bedroom! I don't have one, nor do I have room to put one but that's not the point! I'll have fun window shopping at least! This book is brilliant, effectively the covers of all the back issues of Vogue magazine in one place, sells for £45.00.

I love Jo Malone, there's a gorgeous boutique in Leeds where I spend a lot of time, I'm just waiting until I can afford to mix my own perfume, they have some amazing sets. This is the festive Pine & Eucalyptus set available here starting at £38.00.

This is the oh so gorgeous Miller Harris Bouton de Rose Scented Candle, in a collaboration with Manolo Blahnik, I'd love one of these, the design is just beautiful! Available here for £36.00.

When it rains, it rains shoes! This is the Manolo Blahnik for London Undercover umbrella, which is amazing, especially as the shoes are on the lining, so The Boyfriend doesn't think I'm obsessed, although as he's reading this he'll know. Available at London Undercover for £95.00.

I love these cute Moschino ballet pumps, they are £74.00 and from Moschino

This tee is great, it's gorgeous, plus when you buy it, you do your bit for charity, it's sold by the E J Foundation, to raise awareness for their campaign to end child labour. The design on this particular tee is by Richard Nicoll.

These are the perfect gift for the sophisticated man in your life, or The Boyfriend's dad, this gorgeous handkerchief set is £25.00 from Selfridges.

These are the cutest keyrings I have ever seen!  They are from Prada & are £100.00.

These are the NARS limited collection film inspired nail varnishes they are £13.00 and available from all NARS stockists.

This is the gorgeous and incredibly useful Trish McEvoy make up brush set, which I'm lucky enough to already own, I got these for my 18th birthday when I was in New York last year, I can definitely recommend them, although they do come with a hefty price tag of £175.00, from Harvey Nichols. The thing to remember with brushes is that they are an investment so the price is well worth it!

This is the Felix Rey The Lovebirds clutch, I'm not sure if it's practical or not but it's very cute, from Urban Outfitters, at £110.00.

I love Laduree macaroons & these are the John Galliano for Laduree, the boxes are beautiful, 6 macaroons for £11.00, 8 for £13.40 and 18 for £29.70, from Laduree.

 This is the history of the Boot by Bradley Quinn, £26.00 from Laurence King.

I really want this, it's an advent calendar made by L'Oreal, which includes miniatures of it's top beauty brands, which is perfect for me, as I can't have chocolate so this is the best alternative. Available from Selfridges for £60.00.

I really want this book, it is a window into the lives of some major designers, including moodboards and interviews. Available from Laurence King for £28.00.

This is the perfect gift for The Boyfriend or any guy in your life from Bally, although the price tag is slightly large at £695.00.

This is the Burberry lip charm, which I love, I'm a huge fan of their make up & I will be blogging about that at a later date, it's very slick and chic although at £60.00 not sure I can justify it.

This is another of the amazing coffee table books, another from Laurence King, praising the modern designers, I can't wait to read it! £30.00

Images from Vogue

129.____Marks & Spencer

Marks and Spencer are bang on trend this season, there's a lot of pieces within the following that I love, and that are completely different to the 'M&S' stereotype that they are desperately trying to move away from. Keeping up to date with the catwalk trends, there are so many pieces that are so right, although there are some pieces I wouldn't touch, that's just my taste. I'd love to know what you think and which pieces will make it on to your wishlist. 

Images from M&S