Have Yourself A Merry Little Irish Christmas #BuyIrish

I bet your all sick to the feckin teeth of me banging on about buying locally and buying Irish. But when I find a company thats passionate about what they do, its hard to pass them by. Quality stuff that has some serious lovin' going on behind the scenes and shockingly enough, a lot of the time a single handily run business, Irish is the way to go. Sure why wouldn't you buy something gorgeous thats made almost right on your door step!?

With all the festive cheer thats happening this time of year I headed to the RDS National Crafts And Design Fair. I armed myself with 4 tinfoil sambos, 3 sets of warm tops, 2 sparkly sets of fingernails and 1 granny. I was set for the day to roam about and see what amazing things the good folk of Ireland had to offer me. Heres a little list of some quality things I found on the day and others I discovered online. Perfect pressies for all!

Avokado&Co: I just happened to stumble upon this site on the Twitters a while ago and my god I'm in love with everything on it. All 100% Irish, they make signs and other bits that have Irish saying on them. I think these would be a great gift for a loved one who might be over seas, as they are flat and easy to wrap and post. A little bit of home right on your wall. I want one of everything. Seriously, mammy!!

Chic Treat Box: Do you know a lady that has everything? Then a subscription to the Irish Chic Treat Club is just what you need for her! Each month she'll get something new to try, delivered right to her door. The gift that keeps giving! You'll be in the good books for ages after.

The Purple Pantry: I know lots of foodies, or even the odd friend who just really loves different jams. This company has everything a food lover could ask for, all bundled into gorgeous packaged boxes with purple ribbons! Yes, I'll take one of everything thank you very much. *grumbling tummy starts*

Daisy Chain Crafts: This lovely lady hails from Wicklow and is an utter delight to talk to. She makes the most beautiful soaps, candles, bath and body treats for next to nothing. Just mind blowing considering the time and effort thats put into everything! Make sure and give her a call or an email to see what lovely new sets she has especially for Christmas. You wont be sorry!

The Irish Fairy Door Company: I saw this on the LateLate Toy Show, but I was aware that they were taking little people of Ireland by storm. These are cute fairy doors that you apply to the skirting board in your house. Your little people can leave or receive gifts, letters and anything you would like. Their imagination runs wild - I've seen it happen lots with my little nieces and nephews. Big winner to get this Christmas for little ones.

Emmas So Naturals: Someone asked if this company pays me to talk about them and I promise you they don't! I just love them that much, that I talk about them all the time. I think these are some of the best Irish candles on the market and theres not one scent I don't love. I could talk about their limited edition Christmas scents for hours.

Holos: Niamh is the lady behind Holo Skincare. Its a recent discovery for me, but oh mammy I can't get over how beautiful her products are. There are the most lovely gift sets for daughters to grannies and even the men of your life! I can safely say, I'll be asking for a set or two from Santy this year. The facial oil I currently have is being got asap when it runs out!

Ambri Boards: This is the perfect thing to impress the in-laws with or the chef in your life. Irish crafted Irish wood chopping boards all the way from Kerry, one of my favourite places in Ireland. You can personalise them and there are gift sets too.

 Secrets Ireland: I bang on about Secrets like theres no tomorrow, but really how could you not love a good old Irish sex toy shop run single handedly by one lovely lady! Naturally not all these toys will be Irish, but supporting small Irish businesses instead of big companies is important. And the man or woman in your life will be thanking you too if they receive something sexy under the Christmas tree.

Blank Canvas Cosmetics: If you've not heard of this Irish company then you must be living under a rock. All the beautiful brushes and make up palettes you could ever dream of and all only a stone throw away from any part of Ireland. I personally have an eye shadow palette on my santy list this year! 

EmerMcLysaght Jewellery: Its not often I come by hand made jewllery that makes me stop and do a double take. Everything on this site is handmade by Emer who hails from Dublin. From leaf necklaces to top hat cufflinks, theres something for that very special man or woman in your life. I am in love with the lot. 

Nima Brushes: Some of the most gorgeous brushes that you'll ever come across are the Nima brushes. Owned by Irish gal Niamh Martin, you needn't look further then one of her beautiful sets. With so many to choose from, theres something for everyones pocket.

Paw Pals: These are a new Irish pet company. I always buy my pets a special something at Christmas and give friends pets a little present too - please tell me other do this too and I'm not totally mad! I thought the idea of different hampers was a brilliant idea! I'd love to get the cat one for my two.

Bia Beauty: A brand I regularly use and love, this lady is from Cork. She makes the most beautiful natural products you could want, all in beautifully presented gift boxes. Theres nothing I love more then the cleansing face scrub. Top quality and all Irish. 

Don't be afraid to ask when your in a shop or send a quick email online when you see something you like thats marked as Irish. How Irish is it really? Is everything that can be, from the little emerald isle? From the sticker to the lavender in the ingredients list sourced in Ireland. If your happy to just go by the sign or site information, then happy days. But if your into really supporting your local, then don't be afraid to question it. Most of the time people are delighted you've the interest in their products and are happy to tell you.

You can see my 20 stocking fillers under €20 over here. Theres lots of Irish brands there that haven't been mentioned in this gift guide, so have a gander!

November Favourites

November has been the month of getting everything done before the madness of the Christmas rush. Its mostly worked quite well and now I can sit back and watch as everyone else panic buys socks and boxes of biscuits for loved ones. If your one of these people, do keep an eye out over the next week or so for different gift guides that I'll be posting up. There might be something for that one difficult aunt or brother that you can never get the right thing for.

I think its clear by now to see that I am a massive fan of candles, especially Irish ones that are made of only the good stuff. So you might be shocked to see that I have both Yankee candles and Emma So Naturals side by side this month. I'll tell you now, I used to be Yankees biggest fan and still buy them on occasion, but I've mostly used Christmas Cookie because it was a present and himself was giving out I wasn't using it. But also because I broke my beloved Emmas one - drink and candles do not go hand in hand, just let me say that now. Surprisingly enough, it lit for the photos and then died on me altogether not long after I went to pick out the pictures of this post. Little fecker, such a poser that Masala Chai. Luckily enough though, I picked up the largest candle size of this scent yesterday, so I am one happy camper. Have a read of the Emmas candles collection over here.

I know last month I featured this Christian Breton lipstick in the shade speak easy, but holy god its that good I had to include it again. I have never before got so many compliments as I do when wearing this. Its such a gorgeous purple colour and is something that I can't seem to find in any other collections. It lasts all day with the help of a lip pencil and adds serious attitude to any look. I'd put money on me finishing this lipstick before Spring - and I've never finished a lip product before. You can get this from The Cosmetic Outlet on Meath Street for €10. Just in time for the Christmas stocking, or a treat for yourself.

The Body Shops White Musk was every girls fragrance at some stage in her teens, but they brought out the more mature smoky rose scent last year. This month it has been my go to scent thats perfect for a little something heavier in the winter months. Again, I've had loads of people sniffing me and asking what it is. My bottle has been well loved and I can see myself getting it again once it runs out. Its not breaking the bank either considering its perfume and from the sometimes over pricey Body Shop. One for the wish list!

Glitter. All of the magical glitter that is allowed at this time of year. And because I don't do things halfheartedly, every single nail had to have Models Own top glitter coat, that doesn't actually have a name or number on it oddly! I am such a big fan of glitter and would wear it all year round if it wasn't so hard to take off my nails. This one is under Barry M Chai. 

Next is a bit of a surprise one for me. My Sleek vintage romance palette that I got back in October. I've been using all the colours in this, which I never thought I'd do. The pinks and purples are well out of my comfort zone but I decided to throw caution to the wind and slap it all over my eye balls for a lot of this month. I feckin love how pigmented these palettes are and the gorgeous selection you get in each one. Theres both shimmers and mattes in this, but the glitter has to always be caked on when I do it! How can you not have glitter when its acceptable to? This was €9.99 in Boots for 12 shades, a brush and a massive mirror. Bargain if I ever saw one.

Next is my lovely *Paese bamboo powder that I have become very attached to. I was so surprised when I started using this, a little on when first doing my make up to set the lot and that was it for the day. Normally I'm having to touch up my setting powder through out the day, but I hardly ever need to with this one. Its total magic I'm telling you! The one downside is that its loose so if your not careful it can go everywhere. (Or if your me, you'll accidentally inhale some and ruin your eye make up coughing and making your eyes stream. Sexy, right?) You can see my full review and more of the Paese range here. 

Lastly two of my most used things to date. I've had a long affair with Soap&Glory, but when their Orangeasm collection was launched I considered marriage. I've been using this body wash since I got it back in October and I've not fallen out of love with it yet. Using it every single day with 2 or 3 pumps and its only now hit the half way mark. Theres some gorgeous S&G sets out for Christmas that I have been begging for. I need them all in my life - and I'm just out of their body scrubs too. Perfect timing to stock up again! (Are you listening santy?)

My sister introduced me to a bundle of French brands after she went jet setting to France with her other half for a week. She came home weighted down with skin care and goodies for me to try. I'll tell you now, the sisterly bond was strong that day. This Bioderma cleansing milk is one she passed to me when she found it wasn't working for her skin. After trying it out for the entire month I'm almost booking her tickets back to France to buy more. This takes off the most caked make up, mascara (- but not Benefits They're Real. Feckin nothing gets that cray stuff off.) and all the most pigmented lipsticks going. I really love it and its not once irritated my skin. I've not looked this up as I really don't want to ruin the dream and find out how expensive it is, or how difficult it is to get in Ireland. But as its now two thirds gone, I'll have to burst my bubble soon. 

Thats it for me now. I'm sorry about the crappy blogging I've been doing in the last few weeks. If its not the awful light, its the lack of time! Speaking of light, apologises for the utterly horrendous light in this post. I've had nothing but weeks of poor lighting and said feck it yesterday. Downsides of the winter season! 

Emma's Candles

This isn't the first time I've blogged about Emma's candles, nor I doubt will it be the last. The first time I banged on about it was back in June and my love for these hasn't dwindled. Have a look at my first thoughts over here. In case your new to this brand, Emma and her husband are the two lovelies behind these beauts of candles. They are an Irish company to be proud of - as the loving Irish brands have been a little lacking in my last few posts, so it makes a really good change! 

I've been slowly but surely making my way through all of the scents they have on offer. A month or two ago I ordered a gorgeous candle of theirs in lemongrass that was made in a tea cup with a saucer. These are hard to come by and only pop up every so often. I was really delighted to get one but I haven't been able to bring myself to burn it yet. However every time I pass this I get the lovely scent of lemongrass so I guess I'm not really wasting the candle too much. I think this in particular would make an amazing Christmas present for a mammy or granny. I know both of mine are always commenting about how nice my room smells or how beautiful the cup candle is. Make sure to follow them on Twitter for updates on the next batch, you might get lucky!

Recently for my birthday I asked for one of their Christmas scents that they have just come out with, a candle in Masala Chia and also a regular wax melt in Neroli Fusion. They kindly gave me another Christmas scent wax melt in Mint Crisp as well. I've been using all of them, I can never decide which one I'm going to use! Each tin candle is €9.95 while the bigger glass candle is €18.50 and a wax melt is €4.95. They also do great multi buy special offers that all come packaged up with ribbons. Not that they need it really, as the packaging is all designed by Emma herself. Each design is suited to the candle can be really detailed, its a lovely touch.

The tin candle in Masala Chia is proper scent that reminds me of Christmas and one of my favourite drinks, chai lattes. This has ginger, cinnamon, clove and cardamon spices blends to make you feel warm and excited for the cold season thats starting to appear.

The Neroli Fusion wax melt is something totally different then I've ever had. I think any wax melts give off a much stronger scent that fills more of a room then most candles. It has orange oil, lavender and neroli oil. I think this would be an either love it or hate it scent, but so far everyone whose had a sniff loves it. I also really like the little white flowers that are on the packaging for this. 

Lastly is the *mint crisp that has to be my favourite out of the lot. This is another Christmas scent thats only out for the season. I had a dreadful head cold when I first used this, and at the time nothing was properly clearing up my head at night so breathing was hard and sleeping half upright wasn't ideal. I started to melt this as a little pick me up while sulking away in bed and found that my head started to clear up! Its like Vicks but one that you can melt and feel Christmasy while you sniff it. I really recommend stocking up on this if you have a cold. I can't use Vicks so this is the perfect substitute. Total love at first.. Sniff!

Emma's has recently updated their site to include a brand new look and easier to navigate. Make sure and have a goo at it over here.

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

June Favourites

I've been crappy at posting in June, tis' a woeful situation altogether lads. I'll try and be better this month. I've lots of lovely things I want to post about, I promise I'll kick myself up the arse and get to it! Right now though, lets talk favourites. I've been a little fish this month heading into the pool a lot and as a result the hair is about three days short of a full on strike. Also I have been stocking up on the books which I'll have a post about soon, love me some reading!

First off I am going mad overboard fancy here - well for me! I recently ran out of my Benefit They're Real and decided to go rooting for a new mascara. Boom! I found this in my draw, a long lost Christmas present. Lancome Hypnose in black. Its a lot wetter then what I was used to with Benefit and when it drys theres no hard layer of can't-open-your-eyes-for-the-weight. In short, I feel classy wearing this. Bit of a bitch if you like fast drying mascaras, but the end result is gorgeous lashes. Not worth almost €30 though. 

On the other end of the money scale (and back to my normal kind of thing!) is a bargain grabbin' €1.50 argan oil hair treatment from the pound shop. As I said, the hair is in dreadful condition so I picked this up in hopes that it will do something. Your instructed to use 3-4 drops and distribute throughout the hair, but I just lash it on and hope for the best washing it out a few hours later. Its worth picking up as I can feel the softy soft results after using it.

As I am an absolute tool I forgot to take a photo of the pink exfoliate gloves from the top picture, but I still need to tell you about them. Penneys best, €1.50 and everyone needs a pair. I have gotten big into my body scrubs lately and what better way to maximize the scrubby goodness then with a pair of gloves to help remove sandpaper skin? These ones replaced my much loved WaxPerts gloves, which I will talk about soon. (Me blogging a lot sounds great in theory!)

If your new to the party, I wrote about the book Guilty Pleasures a little while ago, and after about 14 of them (theres something like 20 in total) I gave up and ranted to anyone who would listen about the awful story line. And after a few months of not reading the books, I'm beginning to miss it again, so when I found some graphic novels of the books I pounced on them. They are everything and nothing like I had imagined in my head, but thats always the way! I'm so tempted to go back and read a few more awful, sex filled, vampire books... Actually it doesn't sound all that bad!

The most exciting thing about my showers recently has been Garnier Ultimate Blends shampoo and conditioner. Man these bottles smell so damn good! (Hey, its the little things in life) I'm slowly making my way through their entire range and this is my favourtite so far. I smell my hair all day and look like a loon because of this stuff. Softy soft hair is also a major bonus from using this too. There all on offer for under €3 in Boots at the moment if you fancy grabbing a few.

Lastly my Emma's soy candles. I'm still in love with these and I did a post about them here. When I get sad I light these and they make me happy. My asthma has seriously been getting worse the past while and they don't effect it at all. Little jar of happiness that you can enjoy being around and still being able to breath? Yeah, we like that kind of stuff! They are Irish, hand made and come in so many different scents. You need at least one.

Emmas Soy Candles

Twitter is alive with the rave reviews of Emmas Soy Candles at the minute. Loads of bloggers have been getting on board the shop local and support Irish businesses band wagon - and what a fine thing it is to see! Not only am I a massive lover of candles, but of good home grown businesses that you can be proud of too. It just so happens that both of these boxes are ticked in todays post.

To start with, I have to mention the packaging. I'm a lover of shiny, pretty floral designs and these candle tins send the aul heart a fluttering. I was lucky enough to meet Emma's husband who not only was a mind of information but also gushed over his lovely creative wife Emma! He told me that she thought up and designed all the packaging herself, how cool is this lady?! The hardest thing was choosing a candle after smelling how good they were and the enthusiasm for the brand caught me like wildfire. 

Emma's candles have no artificial dyes, synthetic fragrances, paraffin or parabens in them, so what your burning is really some good quality stuff that wont upset those of us that might be sensitive to overpowering chemical smells. Also I'm a big fan of burning these candles as they don't effect my asthma the way some candles can. (The all fearing moment when you light a new candle and hope you don't keel over before you can get your inhaler 10 minutes later.) To top it all off these tin candles (€9.95)  have a burning time of about 20 hours while the bigger glass tumbler (€19.95)  has a massive 50 hours. You can also get lovely wax tart melts (€4.95), it doesn't say how long their burning time is for on the site but I'm sure its enough time to help you unwind with the gorgeous scents.

The first tin I had my eye on was the lavender scented one. I really like sweet scents but never try out the more relaxing ones so this was nabbed pretty quickly! When its lit it has the most gorgeous light scent of real lavender up close, but it doesn't fill the whole room for about 40 minutes which means your not overpowered and need to blow it out quickly. The thing that really stumped me was the day after burning it, I could still get the lavender scent when I walked into my room! It lingers so much longer then any other candle I've ever used and anyone who walked into my room that day asked if I had sprayed something or put fresh sheets on the bed. I think this candle (no doubt a repurchase by then) will be great for the winter months when windows aren't opened and you need a little freshening up in stuffy, warm rooms. Speaking of which, will I be shot if I mention that these are on my Christmas shopping list? Both my mom and sister really liked them so... I'll just be quiet now.

The second candle was the *lemon grass scent which I would have normally never tried out. I'm really surprised at how much I'm enjoying burning it and like the lavender one, it isn't overpowering and doesn't hit you with a strong scent once its lit. I think this is the perfect scent for the summer and on my next internet shopping trip I'm going to try lemongrass out in their wax melts!

Have a look at the whole range on emmas.ie.

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

Birthday Haul

This is purely for those of you who like having a nosy at different blogger hauls just because. So if your not one of those people feel free to ignore this one! I am in no way boasting or 'showing off'. All items below were gifted to me by family and friends. 

As some of you will know I turned 21 last Wednesday (the 18th for anyone who cares to know!) and my family and friends all went a bit mad with gifts. I got some really lovely things and am very grateful for each thought that was put into the day. So I just thought I'd show you a few bits now. There is nothing from Stephen here for the simple reason that he lost his marbles completely and bought half of Lush for me along with lots of other things and if I was to talk about that it would turn into a Lush haul!  

My mother got me three beautiful pieces from Newbridge Silverware. A flower shaped key chain, a little cat (sparkly cat for the win!) keyring and a set of gorgeous, dried, pink flower filled mirror and trinket box. I also got a lovely Argento necklace called Hope that has the cutest little pearl on the top and also a sparkly (Sparkly!) blue French Connection necklace from two of my friends.  

Everyone knows how much I love cards and I got the biggest bundle! Theres quite a few cat inspired ones too, which I just want to giggle at while jumping about in an overexcited fashion pointing. Two of my other passions, books and candles were clearly carefully noted as I received a sky high stack of both and I'm very excited about the lot. Cook books, owls, comedy books, yankee and even two cheeky dvds? Expect me to emerge from my room by say, Christmas? Ok, good!

Last but not least, I got a really thoughtful hand made scarf from a friends mother. She knitted and crocheted it in a fab dark blue with - the best part - loads of sparkles through it! To say I am excite is an understatement. I feel really fancy, movie star like when I have it on, hence the ridiculous face/pose and crazy hair flicking fashion show going on in the picture/my room right now.

Anyway thats the show and tell over with, now excuse me while I cat walk to the nearest chair to read my book! Have a fab day x

Things I've Loved This Month

As I haven't been around these parts much to do a weekly Friday Favourites, I thought I would just tell you all about what I have been loving for the whole month! Please let me know if you would rather I stick to my Friday Favourites or if you would all just like a monthly post. Oh, and Happy Easter!

This month it has been cold, super rainy some days and even some crazy amounts of snow for Ireland. As I'm sure you can imagine weather like that makes your hair dry and your skin sore, so I have kept my magic carmex original lip balm in my pocket at all times. Everyone will tell you I get slightly overly upset when I leave it at home or can't find it. It has become a staple in my hand bag and I will be picking up another one soon, I think I might even try other flavours in the range too. The tube has lasted for ages and you only need a little to cover and fully protect your lips with its formula of menthol and camphor that helps to sooth and calm irritated chapped lips. 

A cold tired body loves a hot warm bath and thats just what I've been doing. I wanted to get a cheap and cheerful big bottle of bath soak so I could enjoy more bubble baths without having to ration out my Lush bath bombs like a crazy girl. And hey presto, Boots sleep well bath foam 750ml in a lovely lavender scent for €1.19. I'm not sure if it was the relaxing smell, the huge bottle or the next to nothing price that did it, but I ran to the check out and couldn't wait to get home for a bath!

A blog that I love and follow is Tattoologist. People send in pictures of their tattoos with translations and explanations of why they got them and what meanings they have. Its kind of like pinterest for tattoos only! Go check it out over here . You can follow the blog on bloglovin' too, makes it easier to keep an eye on! I personally love to see other peoples tattoos to be nosy, for inspiration and then just to give out about. - The feather and star tattoos that are far over done and the pain in the ass for artists.

I love Ted and the Ted Talks on YouTube are a must watch for me. There are so many different topics and after listening any of the stories I always come away with something new to research or think about. This story made me laugh and feel inspired. If this boy, thousands of miles away at the age of 13 with limited education can do this and help animals and aid his community, what can I do? Have a watch:

I love my candles and the Yankee candles have to be one of my favourites, purely because 1, they smell good and 2, they last ages in the cute large jars. A limited edition Easter candle 'Chocolate bunnies in a jar' is just the thing to get then and Stephen surprised me with one the other night (the little pet!) I thought it would smell over powering but it has a lovely soft sweet scent that doesn't make you feel sick if you have been lighting it too long. I however can't find them in the Irish Yankee candle shop or online in the American shop either. Heres a link to the place Stephen got this one for €9.99. Otherwise if you need to ship it you can find it all over Amazon.

So I may have a sneaky order coming to me from Fragrance Direct, expect a haul blog once the post man comes! I have only recently become familiar with this site and oh my god, lads go check it out right now over here! Theres loads of well known brands for a fraction of the cost. The products say if the box is damaged but other then that everything seems to be in perfect condition. The shipping cost to Ireland wasn't expensive either which was great.


I'm not sure if I should admit this willingly but my series of the month that I have watched every single episode of is um, Rugrats All Grown Up! on Netflix. Stephen and me were hunting for something to watch one night and this popped up, oh the childhood memories! ''Every birthday my mom and dad would say, your another year older, another year wiser but I still go to school...'' Who needs nights out on the town when you can stay in bed and watch childrens programmes instead? I may have also watched one or two shows of Little Bear. Fingers crossed Netfilx release The Animals Of Farthing Wood soon! The child in me is clearly still very much alive.

Something that I have been wearing loads of this month is my many coloured scarf. I love scarves and if I could use a room just for them I so would. My most warn one has to be the Top Shop multi coloured one that I bought about 4 years ago. It goes with so much, brightens up any outfit and is lovely and warm for those snow filled days! Scarves.net has a gorgeous one here for $9.71 that is as similar to mine as I could find. If your looking to splash out on a colourful statement piece for your wardrobe House of Fraser has a drool worthy one over here.

I am nearly certain I have mentioned the fab HelloGiggles.com more then once here, but I need to tell you about them again! HelloGiggles was set up by three lovely girls Zooey Dechanel, Molly McAleer and Sophia Rossi which now has a wide and really interesting range of reads being updated daily for your fashion, beauty, life, ect needs! This particular article caught my eye and made me laugh as I'm sure everyone can relate to it, moving back in or not. Go check it out and see if you have anything you could add to it.

Thats all from me for now, hope your all having great long weekend! 

Valentines Day Gifts For Her

It doesn't matter if its a first date or the 20th year you have been together, all girls love to be pampered and given something special. This could be a dinner out for the two of you or a romantic night in. So here are a few things and ideas for your lovely girl with a price range to suit everyone!

Find her favourite sent: I think it is safe to say all women love perfume and have at least 5 favourites! To help you out, why not ask a friend or family member which she likes the most? There a loads of gift sets you can get from perfume shops or in Boots.  YSL Parisienne Gift Set is about €32. Kylie Minogue's Darling Gift Set is a steal of just €12 according to there site and DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom is about €42.

Be cheeky and have fun: Has she read the famous Fifty Shades of Grey book? Why not get her some joke toilet roll? I would laugh! Or if she is a reader then a little funny Don'ts For Wives Book will be sure to get you a bit of a sore head! And to go with a good book I always love a cuppa, this is too cheesy not to add in! The No Sugar Needed Cup! Ugh, I want one ha!

Its all about romance: How about a stay at home dinner cooked by you for the lovely lady? Find a few helpful things on the bbc food/recipes site as it has a great big A to Z and has measurements that I understand! You can make her favourite dishes, pick up some fancy deserts (or make them too!) and light some candles. That is sure to impress her! Dotcom gift shop do some beautiful little candles like these rose ones to set the mood or some lovely glass jars here and here. 

Careful how you go: A helpful hint for all out there, unless you know your girls tastes and sizes do not go and get her jewellery or clothes. You could end up spending money on something she wont wear or worse yet - you could get her dress size wrong. And depending on if its too big or too small, it might be your last valentines together! So ask one of her friends for help if you are set on getting her a special necklace or those earrings you think she would love. 

Do the cliche: Girls and guys make your lady happy with some chocolates, a teddy or even the classic rose. Its so overdone and bad its good. Go that extra mile and embarrass her (in a nice way!) with a heart or 'be my valentine' balloon.

Always remember: This a one day thing, don't have hang ups if its not perfect or your not buying your girl things that are overly priced anyway! If your spending the day together, lucky you. Watch a film online and make some popcorn. Write her a cheesy but personal love letter or poem. Send her a sweet text and tell her your thinking of her. Its always the thought that counts the most.