Clutch Bag Essentials & Giveaway

It's coming to that time of year again. Christmas parties, family gatherings and that all important New Years Eve.
Most of these occassions will include a cute little dress, a nice pair of heels and of course.... a clutch bag!

Now I have a list of things I ALWAYS carry in my clutch - no matter what time of year or where I'm going - if I'm on a night out... these things will always be in my bag.

1. Tissues
I have to carry tissues wherever I go..... I think it's just the dreaded thought of having to go for a wee without them haha, believe me they have come in handy many a time on a night out!
2. Anti-Bac
Yeah.... I'm not leaving the house without this stuff! My favourite at the moment has to be the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush hand sanitizer, it smells amazing.
3. Eyelash Glue
I'm such an eyelash fan on a night out - I don't feel complete without them! I HAVE to take glue with me though, the thought of one flapping around and having no glue to fix it really scares me, so I always have one packed. 
4.Small Purse
How cute is this little Minnie Mouse coin purse! I don't like to take my huge wallet out with me (and normally it doesn't fit along with everything else in my bag) so a small purse it always a must. 
5. Lip colour of choice
Whatever shade I've picked - I've gotta take it with me! All those drinks sometimes rub it off so re-applying because a regular occurrence this time of year.

(Obviously my phone and keys are in there without question)
Last but not least.... 6. my Travalo! I can't even think how many times I've talked about these since I started blogging - it was even a blogger that made me buy one in the first place back in 2011, they looked so handy and I was about to go travlling so it was a must-have. Your favourite perfume with you anywhere and everywhere 24/7 - perfect for us girly girls!

This is where the exciting part of the post comes in.

Yes! I've teamed up with Travalo to give FOUR of you the chance of winning one of their can't-live-without atomizers!

There are 2 original Travalo's and two Milano Travalo's up for grabs (the colour of your choice... subject to availability) and all you have to do is fill in the Rafflecopter below - the perfect little treat just in time for Christmas!

Good Luck you beauties!

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Addressing Giveaway Controversy

I don't know how long this post will be live for. Maybe I'll just keep it on here forever I dunno!

Well, this certainly isn't a post I thought I would be writing less than 24 hours after uploading my latest giveaway and I've been sat here umming and arring whether this post is even necessary. But with my anxiety ridden brain, seeing some of the things being written and struggling to get my point across in 140 characters on Twitter I thought doing a quick post would be the easiest way for me to EXPLAIN.

Right.... lets start at the beginning. I started a giveaway to celebrate my blog turning 2. In the post I wrote that I would rather "spam"/"competition only" type accounts did not enter as I wanted the prize to go to a real blog supporter and reader (not just a AYBB supporter but a supporter of the blog community) - I was then told that this was illegal. 
Total new news to me - I was totally unaware that my little tiny thing on the internet could "break the law" , so I asked on Twitter to check and as soon as I found out that it was indeed apparently the truth, I removed that segment of the post leaving the giveaway open to all.

From this, a HUGE ridiculous backlash has formed - and it's gone from making me want to cry, to making me want to roll my eyes, to wanting to just end the giveaway all together.

Let me tell you WHY I wrote what I did. 

My blog is a hobby. It is not my job (its the dream of course!). I do not live of the pay. It is a just something I like to do in my spare time. 
You may even be shocked to know that I have actually only ever been paid money for TWO posts so far. Yes 2 out of over 600. 
Blogging is a HUGE part of my life and I spend at least 1 of my days off dedicated to creating new content for it and really do pour my heart and soul into what I do on here.
I have a regular minimum wage job that I work full time in and just scrape through month to month with what I earn. (That is not a sob story lol it's just the truth!)

I wanted to buy a prize from my own money as a 'thank you' for the amazing love and support I've had over the last 2 years and I picked 2 prizes that I thought beauty lovers would love.
The reason I wrote those rules were because I wanted to prize to go to someone who is a fan of beauty, of beauty blogs and someone who would seriously love it. Not just someone who has just stumbled across it online and made an account so they could enter.
(I am in noway saying you can't be a beauty fan if you are a 'comper' - obviously you can like more than one thing- duh!)

This is my website that I write from my sofa in my little 2 bedroom flat on the Isle Of Wight.
  I am not a huge company with thousands to spare, I am a tiny, teeny speck in the grand scheme of things and that fact people have taken this so seriously has baffled me.
It's just a harmless giveaway of a cleanser and an eyeshadow palette that I wanted to treat someone too - not a trip to the moon or lunch with Harry Styles!

What I said was totally taken out of proportion and blown up in a matter of minutes, I was never out to offend ANYONE. Not anyone at all. At the end of the day I was literally just asking a question about rules and regulations as I wanted to comply to the law - I didn't know what I had written would be taken so badly. I'm very much an open, happy, friendly person and would never want to upset anyone, ever. 

 Lots of current readers have contacted me saying they were 'compers' too and they thought they couldn't enter - this as not the case AT ALL! 
I can see that you follow this blog and I appreciate every single one of you, just because you like to enter competitions aswell as reading blogs would never have an affect on your entry, that is just ridiculous. 

I really hope this can now have a line drawn under it. Alot of nasty things have been flung about and not only about me. I HATE any form of confrontation and have been totally shocked by some of the things I've read today (and I know there's alot I haven't seen aswell), half me of felt like I need to apologise to everyone but the other half of me just thought I must have been going crazy - surely all this drama couldn't have been caused by a tiny blog?!

Anyway - I love you all and thank you to all you of you who have tweeted me nice things today, you've reminded how strong and how incredible the blogging community is.

My giveaway is now open to ALL.

Peace & Love 

Kirstie x

A Yellow Brick Blog's 2nd Blog Birthday : Liz Earle & Smashbox Giveaway

As I promised.... here it is!
I'm so excited to be holding this giveaway for you guys to celebrate A Yellow Brick Blog's 2nd birthday here on the interweb. 
Both prizes I have bought myself with my own money as a way of saying thank you for all the supporting, love and kindness I've been shown in the blogosphere these past couple of years.

I've picked two prizes which I hope guys will like as much as I do.

The first is a Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Starter Kit.
You all know by now Cleanse & Polish is my holy grail cleanser, I swear by it and I always urge everyone to give it a go! So I thought this was a fab way of giving one of you the chance to try it out, maybe for the first time? Maybe to enjoy all over again? I know it's not always in people's price ranges for a make-up remover/cleanser so again I thought, hopefully, it was a good idea. This kit comes with a 100ml pump bottle and 2 muslin cloths.

The second prize is the gorgeous Smashbox Double Exposure Eyeshadow Palette.
 I thought a high-end treat was a must for a special giveaway and this palette caught my eye for a number of reasons.
These shades have state-of-the-art coated pigments which actually makes the 14 shadows into 28 different shades. Magic right? The technology basically means that when the shadows are made wet they change colour, so just wet your brush and see the colours transform! 
Smashbox products are always amazing quality and can you ever have enough palettes? Nope!

All you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter below :) 

There will be ONE winner.

Winner announced on 19th June 2015.

(This giveaway is UK Only)

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3000 Followers : Thank You & Giveaway

Wow! I cannot believe I am actually writing this post.

I've hit 3000 followers on bloglovin - three thousand. 
That is insaneeee, I literally cannot believe it! I am grinning from ear to ear and feeling a little bit proud I tell ya! 

It has been less than a year since I reached 1000 followers, so to be at 3000 already is overwhelming!
When I started this little hobby of mine up I could have never imagined how much fun it would be and how much I would learn and achieve, it's been an amazing 20 months so far! Blogging has transformed into a major passion of mine and I have loved watching this random little website grow and involve into something that people actually want to follow!

So.... I thought it was only right of me to hold a cheeky little giveaway for you lovely lot!

I am giving away a Marc Jacobs Dot 50ml Gift Set. A gorgeous perfume in a gorgeous bottle ... I kind of wish I was keeping it for myself to be totally honest!
This set includes the 50ml Eau de Parfum, a body lotion and a shower gel.
(You may remember when I hit 1000 followers last January I gave away a Marc Jacobs Honey gift set so I thought it would be fun to stick to the same theme!)

This is an amazing start to 2015 for me and I can't wait to put even more hard work and love into my blog this year!

NOTE : I really, really would love for this prize to go to one of my readers/a fellow blogger/a beauty lover - so if you have just stumbled across this site and are just going to enter for the sake of it then I please urge you not - as at the end of the day whoever wins is out of my hands and I would love to be able to give back to someone who has supported me!

All you need to do to enter is fill in the snazzy Rafflecopter below!

Love, hugs & THANK YOU xoxo

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This giveaway is UK only.

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A Yellow Brick Blog's Christmas Beauty Giveaway 2014

I can't believe this is my second Christmas being a 'blogger' already! A Yellow Brick Blog is over 18months old and as I said the other day I have loved every second!

I wanted to hold a giveaway this Christmas to say a little 'Thank You' really, everyone has been so lovely and supportive and I still can't believe how far this little thing of mine has come in such a short space of time! 

So to add a bit of festive cheer to A Yellow Brick Blog I've purchased some beauty goodies for you guys so here's a chance for you to some fab presents for yourself :)

Here's what you can win....

Benefit's Best Of Benefit Kit
A kit full of Benefit's best sellers including the brand new they're real push up liner and my personal favourite Porefessional primer!

Smashbox Mini Bestsellers Kit
A trio of smashbox favourites including the full exposure mascara!

Fearne's Made You Look Eye Collection
A gorgeous eye shadow kit perfect for the festive season - I always love Fearne's Christmas gifts.

Soap & Glory Merry Kiss Much
A pretty bauble with S&G's 'A Great Kisser' lip balm inside!

Soap & Glory Santa...Gloss
The famous Sexy Mother Pucker lipgloss in the shade Charm Offensive.

All you have to do to enter is fill in the Rafflecopter below -

Good luck & Merry Christmas you fabulous lot

xxx

This giveaway is UK only.

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My Wayfair Homeware Wishlist & WIN a £150 Gift Card

Since moving out (and even before then really) I have become obsessed with homeware and home accessories. Even if I don't buy loads you'll catch me staring at them and internet window hopping a hell of a lot!

An online company introduced to me recently is Wayfair. "A zillion things home" is their tagline and I have to say they do not dissapoint, there really seems to be a zillion things!!
 So many products, so many designs there is 100% something for everyone, no matter what decor you desire or have!
I have spent hours looking through this site, honestly I think it's time I re-thought my non-exsitent career and went into interior design - it would be so fun!
I've pulled a few of my favourite picks from the site and made a snazzy little wishlist for you all! Look how cute their stuff is!
 Keep reading to find out how to win an amazing £150 giftcard to spend yourself at Wayfair UK!

VIP Lounge Doormat 

After over a year of living together my boyfriend & I still have the crappy doormat which came with our flat! Everytime I come home nd stare at it and think ewww boring! Now this is cool - I love it!

Morley Tub Chair 

This chair would look so cute in my bedroom, the perfect chair to cosy up on with a good book, a blanket and a cup of tea this winter! I love the green accents, would love a matching duvet set too!

Gingham Doorstop 

This just reminded me of Dorothy from the Wizard Of Oz and as you all know it is one of my favourite movies ever, tote fits in with my blog theme aswell so couldn't leave it out! I seriously need more doorstops in my flat I'm fed up of keeping things open with random items! 
Fresh Linen Candle
I'm a candle addict, I hate horrible smells I swear my nose is so sensitive so I love having candle and diffusers to keep everything smelling nice! Fresh Linen sounds lovely, like clean sheets on the bed - one of my favourite things! 
Matilda Cushion 
I just found this so so cute! If like me you were brought up around the genius work of Rohld Dahl like me you will appricate this! There's not just Matilda either there's a whole range of the cushions! These would look so cute in a child's (or my) bedroom! 
Altruna Dressing Table 
So the inner blogger came out in my when I saw this! With a big mirror places on top an all the storage space either side, this would be the perfect make-up application dresser! I love the one I have at the moment but there just isn't enough room for all my stuff - I need to look at upgrading to something larger!
Sophie Heart Mirror 
You can't have a home without mirrors! (and no I'm not vain!) I love this simple wooden heart mirror, so pretty for any room!
Wooden Photo Filing Box 
This is a lovely idea, my photos are all shoved n boxes somewhere, this is such a cute box and a great way of organising! You could have each section as a different year or maybe a different holiday of event! I love organisational things like this, I'd happily spend hours sorting through photos and memories!
Heart Bookcase Ends 
I'm a big book lover and even though I have a kindle now so tend to get them on there for convenience I still have so so many books cluttering up my life. (Although there's noway I'll be getting rid of any!) I love the way they look and these book ends would really complete a book shelf!


(I'm so sorry for the weird spacing with this post.... I've tried everything and it just won't go right :( )

And now your chance to win win win! Wayfair have been kind enough to give me a £150 giftcard to give away to one of you lovely dedicated A Yellow Brick Blog babies! This is open to the UK and Ireland only and the winner must be able to provide their name, email   address and postal address upon winning.

Just fill out the Rafflecopter below and good luck guys :)
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My 2000 Followers Worldwide Giveaway!

I promised it so here it is!
 After doing a UK Only giveaway for hitting 2000 followers it's time to share the love with the rest of the world! 
Enter now my pretties <3

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2000 Followers Big Beauty Bundle Giveaway

Hello you cheeky lot! If you follow me on twitter then you may have known this was coming....can't keep anything to mysef can I?! 
Yes! I have managed to hit 2000 followers on bloglovin which means --- Happy giveaway time!

I am still astonded that I have managed to convince over 2000 of you to hit that follow button on bloglovin.... I must be very persuasive?!  It literally feels like yesterday that I was writing the same sort of thing for my 1000 followers giveaway and I am so happy and over joyed to have double that number - totes cray cray guys!!

I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who has been so lovely and supportive to me and this giveaway is for YOU!

NOTE : I really, really would love for this prize to go to one of my readers/a fellow blogger/a make-up lover - so if you have just stumbled across this site and are just going to enter for the sake of it without any interest and no intention of trying out the products yourself then I please urge you not to enter so that someone who really deserves to win does - as at the end of the day whoever wins is out of my hands!

So here's what you beauts can win....

1 x Soap & Glory No Clogs Allowed Detox Mask

1 x Soap & Glory The Scrub Of Your Life

1 x Soap & Glory Hand Food

1 x Soap & Glory Heel Genius

1 x Soap & Glory Hand Maid

1 x  Montagne Jeunesse Creamy Coconut Face Mask

1 x Superdrug White Chocolate Mousse Mask

1 x Eylure 107 False Lashes

1 x St. Ives Apricot Scrub 30ml

1 x Collection Work The Colour Smokey Eye Palette

1 x Impress Press-On Manicure 

1 x Natural Collection Lipstick - Rose Bud

1 x Cocoa Butter Formula Lip Balm

1 x Seventeen Skin WOW! 3 Way Highlighter

1 x Brit Rocks Perfect Girl False Eyelashes

1 x Lee Stafford Flat Iron Protection Shine Mist 50ml

1 x Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick - Gold Bronze

1 x Collection Little Mix Perrie Lipstick

1 x Seventeen Limited Edition Lip Crayon

This giveaway is UK only - but no fear you worldwide lovelies, there will be a special twitter giveaway soon which will be for everyone too enter!!! ( I hope that is okay, trying to make it as fair as possible!)

Enter below via the rafflecopter!

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1000 Followers Giveaway *CLOSED*

First of all, I cannot actually believe I am writing this post. 1000 followers?! Seriously where did all you little critters come from?
I am so overwhemed to hit that milestone after just 8 months back on the blogging scene - thank you so so much everyone!
When I started doing this, having 1000 followers was just something of a dream and I still can't quite believe it - High Five!
I thought I would host a giveaway over here on A Yellow Brick Blog to show how thankful I am for everyone who has taken the time to click, tweet, comment, follow over the past few months - you guys rock and you've made 2014 so exciting for me already!

There is just 1 prize and 1 winner and unfortunately due to the nature of the prize this giveaway has to be a UK ONLY giveaway (Sorry my world babes!)

So here's the prize...... 

1 x Marc Jacobs Honey 50ml Gift Set which includes :

1 x Marc Jacobs Honey Eau De Parfum 50ml

1 x Marc Jacobs Honey 75ml Shower Gel

1 x Marc Jacobs Honey 75ml Body Lotion

.... because everyone deserves to smell beautiful!

To enter just fill out the Rafflecopter below and cross your fingers.

Good Luck Everyone xxx

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Wonderland Wigs International Giveaway

It's time for a very exciting post today, something I have been so so excited to share with you all, readers old and new!  As you may or may not remember back in October I was lucky enough to be able to work with the fabulous ladies at Wonderland Wigs!

Wonderland Wigs is a heaven of hair extensions, hair pieces and wigs and as soon as I had checked out their website I was itching to try out a new look!
I managed to get my hands on one of the Layered Flicked 3/4 Wig Half Wig Hairpiece's and even though I was apprehensive at first (the word "wig" being why), once I had tried it on that all melted away and I was obsessed! 

Here is my original post - Fabulous Hair In Seconds With Wonderland Wigs.

My hair went from thin shoulder length average looking hair to gorgeous long, thick and fabulous in a matter of seconds - it is a god send!

So myself and Wonderland Wigs are giving one of YOU the chance to win ANY one product of your choice from their huge range online! (Excluding human hair extensions... Obviously!) 
Not only do I and so many other bloggers love this brand but even celebrities having been seen rocking new do's from Wonderland Wigs - amazing! 

All you have to do is fill in the Rafflecopter below.



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Good Luck everyone! I cannot wait to see the winner rocking some new fab locks! 

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500 Bloglovin' Followers Giveaway!!! *CLOSED*

WOW! 500 followers on Bloglovin - I cannot believe it!

As the numbers have been slowly creeping up recently I knew I wanted to do something when and if I hit this milestone as I am totally overwhelmed by the love and support I have been getting from everyone both on here and on twitter!
SO I thought - why not a few of my favourites things! Things that I have gone on about so much, things that I love and use daily - I want you to try them too! So here is it.....

So there are FIVE prizes and there will be just ONE winner!

The prizes are..... 

Taylor Swift Wonderstruck 30ml perfume

One of my favourite perfumes ever - you all know I love Taylor Swift so the fact it smells incredible and is by her just makes me love it even more!

Lee Stafford's Hair Growth Treatment

The amount of times I've mentioned this on here and twitter is countless! This stuff has saved my hair and helped it grow from a short bob to hair that is slowly going past my collar bones in just a matter of months - it makes your hair stronger and so soft, not to mention the amazing Lee Stafford scent!

The Original Tangle Teezer (Pink)

A total lifesaver in my opinion, I have been using Tangle Teezer's for years now and could never go back to a normal hair brush!

Seventeen's Skin WOW 3-way Highlighter 

I did a whole post on this not long ago, a gorgeous highlighter with multiple uses - an amazing High Beam dupe too!

Rimmel's Kate Moss Lipstick - Shade 20

My go-to pink lipstick, I have been using this for so long I cannot imagine life without it! An amazing bright fuschia shade - a must-have for ever girl! Mentioned in my 'Pink & Pouty - Lipstick Favourites'.

There are a number of ways to be in with a chance of winning (just fill in the widget below!) :

• Follow A Yellow Brick Blog via GFC
• Follow me on Twitter - @KirstieLouiseS
• Like A Yellow Brick Blog on Facebook
• Tweet about this giveaway
• Follow via Bloglovin
• Leave a comment below leaving your blog/twitter.

The more you do the more chances you have of winning - simple!

Make sure you do a comment below and share your blog - would love for everyone to get to know each other and it is such a great way for all of us to find some new blogs to read :)

This giveaway will run until 12am November 30th 2013.

This giveaway IS international.

Good Luck you gorgeous lot and Thank You Thank You Thank You!!!!!!!!

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Win a Soap & Glory Conditioner and Facial Scrub

*** GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED ***

Congratulations Shannon @raspberrykiss11 :-)

I saw some right bargains yesterday and thought to myself why not pick some up for my lovely follows/subscribers (as well as for myself and my mum) so I'm running a super small competition over on Twitter and on here for the next 6 days!
 I was going to do my first giveaway if/when I hit 400 subscribers on here but I saw these and thought why not just do a tiny one now!
I am aware these are just little prizes compared to other peoples giveaways but if you follow and keep an eye out on A Yellow Brick Blog there will hopefully be lots more to come.

The prizes are a Soap & Glory Glad Hair Day Intensive Conditioner & a Soap & Glory Scrub Your Nose In It Scrub & Mask Marvel and the competition will last until 6pm (UK Time) on Wednesday 10th July 2013.  *Rules Below*

RULES

For 1 entry RT any of the competition tweets I tweet ( via @KirstieLouiseS ) between now and the closing time. (you can do this with as many of the tweets as you want)
For 1 entry be a follower of me on Twitter ( @KirstieLouiseS )
For 1 entry be a follower of this blog via GFC
For 1 entry be a follower of this blog via Bloglovin'
For 1 entry leave a comment below telling me what post you would like to see next.
For 1 entry be a fan on Facebook.

You can do as many or as little of these as you want (the more times the more chance you will have), if you are already followers then you are already in with a chance - because you rock! (but I would love to know what posts you'd like to see in the near future because you are the ones who will hopefully be reading them!)

This competition is open internationally.
If you are under 16 then please get your guardians permission before giving out your address to me. (Don't want you to get in trouble!) 
The winner will be announced on twitter the evening on Wednesday 10th July 2013.