valentines day Archives

VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT GUIDE 2020

Wahoo, Spring is on the horizon and to me that signifies Valentine’s Day, Pancake Day, Easter, romance and lighter evenings. I have compiled a lovely edited selection of Valentine’s Day gift options for him and her. If you are stuck for date night ideas and maybe a bit low on funds make sure you check out my 5 Cheap Date Ideas over here. Also, a quick note to say, if you think of Valentine’s Day as a commercial holiday that should be ignored then why are you here…? I love any excuse to celebrate romance and shower my other half with gifts x Check out my old Valentine’s gift guides as well for further inspo.

SELF CARE

Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to treat yourself and/or your special someone. Here are some lovely goodies you are going to adore. SANCTUARY SPA are always a great gifting option. This stunning chocolate box inspired gift called Lost In The Moment is the perfect gift for the girlies in your life. Hosting a Galentine’s Day party? Definitely get the girlies a box of this each. No need to wrap it when it looks like this. If you are tight on budget or just want some cute little token presents for the girls (or yourself…) then ONLY CURLS Scrunchies and Hair Clips are the ones for you. After spending an hour curling or straightening your hair the last thing you want is a kink in your hair from having to tie your hair up. The ‘Only Curls’ silk scrunchies are fabulous because they don’t leave you with any marks at all. Valentine’s Day is all about romance and treating yourself right?

VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT GUIDE 2020 | MEGAN TAYLOR

Well, HOLISTIC SILK is your one stop shop for items to treat you and your partner. I was first introduced to Holistic Silk about 2 years ago in a press event goodie bag where I was given a pretty green lavender eye pillow and I have used it ever since! Why not get a his and hers Velvet Scented Eye Mask. This stunning pink velvet tie back eye mask is what I have been looking for for years. Liam and I are huge advocates of wearing an eye mask to bed. Shut out any light, shut out the day and effectively force your eyes to close. This eye mask has the added bonus of being filled with lavender which helps aids relaxation and sleep. Another of my favourite gems from Holistic Silk is this cute pink Gemstone Face Roller which is cooling and rejuvenating for your face. Get your partner to give you a gorgeous face massage using the roller. You can use a face oil or moisturiser but you can also just use it bare. RABOT 1745 is a new product line to me and I am super excited about it. The owners of Hotel Chocolat (yep, if you follow me on Instagram you will know how addicted I am to HC…literally can’t get enough of their goodies) have a beauty brand. The reason for the name Rabot 1745 is from the name of their cocoa plantation in St Lucia (take me there now please). Check out their full range here where they have 15% off all products in their Valentine’s edit. Make sure you take a closer look at their ‘Spread The Love‘ gift set here for some guilt free chocolate. The gift set comes with a pecan and salted caramel spread and a liquid chocolate body mask. A treat for your body and your tastebuds. Another reason to use a chocolate based beauty product is that the properties of cacao are incredibly beneficial to us. Cacao can help protect the skin from harmful UV rays, it is also an incredible at being anti-inflammatory.

NEW MAKE UP

I am a sucker for new make up, especially when it is packaged beautifully, originally or the actual feel of the product is lovely. Here are three items that I had never used until 2020 but now adore. CULT CANDY are completely vegan and that is the first thing that drew me into finding out more about them. Then I saw a photograph and the packaging sung to my heart. Playful, bright and across between a pop princess and a gothic emo. My favourite pick for you is the Play House palette filled with the cutest colours. Baby and Plushie are my favourites in this palette. I have been using DIEGO DALLA PALMA for about five years ago now as a staple. Their super fine eyebrow pencil is the best out there! This Go Crazy Palette is absolutely divine. Filled with colours that you can use everyday for the perfect earthy smokey eye, with a few metallic options to jazz up your look for the evening. DEAR DAHLIA is new to me and I am already in love. The packaging and the weighty feel of the product makes you realise you are holding a luxe item. This Ruby lipstick is creamy, non-drying and the perfect elegant red for Valentine’s Day.

FOR HIM

Ok, so, not all of these products are JUST for him but there are more items than I would normally add. There are even some lovely his & hers ideas I think you’ll love and will last you a life time. Liam and I have owned a CORKCICLE bottle for about two years now. We have a large white bottle which we immediately fell in love with one Summer because the neck of the bottle is wide enough to pop some ice cubes in and the sheer quantity of water you can add makes it the perfect bottle to take with you for a picnic. I hadn’t realised the amount of colour-ways Corkcicle had until I was finding links for this blog post. Why not treat you and him to His & hers canteens… The classic black bottle I have featured can be found here and the seriously cute pink floral number can be found here. With this amazing era of being more sustainable and carrying a water bottle with us wherever we go I thought I would share another water bottle idea with you. Stand out from the crowd with this stunner from BEWATER. You can buy these bottles in glass or a durable Tritan plastic (this means BPA free plastic which is great!). Each bottle has a crystal insert in different colours which all signify something different. I chose the rose quartz mainly for the beautiful rosy colour but it happens to also be associated with a strong heart and circulation. Also worth mentioning that this bottle is dishwasher friendly which makes life so much easier 🙂 .
A more specific men option that I adore is this ESPA Mens gift set. I love that it comes presented in this gorgeous reusable tin and has a lovely gift tag inside for you to write your personalised message in. This gift set has a grooming oil, face wash, face hydrator and shower gel. It’s basically a one-stop gift set filled with everything a man would need but filled with amazing active ingredients rather than him using the 10-in-1 soap at the gym.

What’s your favourite gift option from above? Is there something you may want to buy yourself? 😉

EASY VALENTINE’S HAIR & MAKE UP

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I am personally super excited. I adore getting all loved up and making a little bit more effort to look cute. This year I am channel the super tight curls that make you look a bit like an adorable lion. I actually had curls like this naturally when I was younger, that was until I found out about hair straighteners and I killed every strand of hair…eek. For my make up this Valentine’s Day I am going for long black lashes and shimmery eyelids with cat inspired white accented inner eyes. Let me know what you think of my curls and pale eyeshadow in the comments. Oh, if you need any Valentine’s present ideas check out last weeks gift ideas post x

MAKE UP

I went for a very tame make up look which can take you from work to the bar. Valentine’s Day falls on a weekend so I am guessing most people will be at work, but with this look you can just top up your shadow and lips and be ready to go. I used the Sleek palette (as seen in the feature image at the top) in All Night Long…perfect name for my look. The palette is only £7.99!! I adore Sleek palettes. The shadows are always super pigment and very natural colours. The also last a really long time. I have an old Sleek palette which I have had for 5 years (ssssh) still going strong. The shadows don’t individually have names in the palette so I am going to number the colours from 1-12 from top left across and the from bottom left across…does that make sense hehe? Anyway…I used number 7 as my base for my lids by itself, then number 6 along the lash line smudged into my eyeliner. To add a romantic Blake Lively-esque look i painted number 3, the pale shimmer in the corners of my eyes. I love this look, it immediately gives a youthful wake-me-up/look-at-my-eyes vibe, don’t you think?

(Mascara • Eyeliner)

I then used Sleek’s Dip It eyeliner over my normal kohl liner to give a more rich black line. For my lips I used the lip liner in Pink Rose which by itself is stunning but I wanted a creamy lip so I applied the VIP Sleek lipstick in Catwalk over the top which comes out like a rich nude berry colour, I love it and have been wearing it constantly. As you can see in the images at the top it gives your lips a natural dewy consistency….perfectly kissable 💋 .

(Lipstick {Catwalk} • Lip liner {Pink Rose})

HAIR

I have tried out a new hair style and I so excited because I feel it is my new look of Spring. I used the Cloud Nine Original Wand and I fell in love. It is a tapered wand which creates a romantic tight curl. If I had time every day I would always make my hair look like this. What I love about this wand is that the way it creates the waves means that your hair almost triples in volume because of the curls. After I shot this look I ran my fingers through the curls and really messed up my hair and created a big night time look which would be amazing for a cool party. The next day my hair looked almost beachy. When I went into work the next day so many people complimented me on my hair which felt rather lovely hehe.

What do you think of these curls? Would you recreate this look?

VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT GUIDE FOR HER

Yes, I know Valentine’s Day is a bit of a commercialised holiday that some people hate. Yet, I am baffled as to why anyone should hate on a day that is designed to be nice to each other, personally I think any excuse to declare how much you love your partner, family, friends should be pushed and celebrated. So without further ado I am here with my Valentine’s Day gift guide predominately geared towards presents for the girlies…because we deserve to be treated right!? So, show this to your loved one or maybe you should treat yourself, there is bound to be something you want in here. I have some gorgeous undies, yummy chocolates and must have beauty buys which range from the affordable to the luxe treats. Although I haven’t done a male gift guide this year, I thought the same concept applies to the gifts I suggested for last year 😉

UNDIES

Gorgeous underwear is definitely strongly linked with Valentines Day. I can tell you that currently my absolute favourite brand for stunning and immaculately made undies are from Fleur Of England. With stunning lace and super soft sheer fabric you will forget you are wearing anything. I can’t bear wearing underwear with underwire that is misshaped and digs into your bones and skin, you won’t get that with Fleur Of England lingerie. I have two sets and feel like I am wearing absolute luxury, I just wish I had known the brand existed when I had got married. The set which I am currently loving and which is featured in my image is the Margaux collection. You will want to find a way to have the bra on show in some way, the straps are so delicate and soft over the collar bones. Oh, make sure you check out the sublime detailing of the buttons on the bra and knickers. They look like the sort of detail you would get on a wedding dress.

VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT GUIDE FOR HER | Megan Taylor

BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Next week I happen to have a Valentine’s Day make up and hair look coming out but in the mean time I wanted to share with you some of my must have romantic beauty products. Joan Collins and Charlotte Tilbury have some wonderful pink and red colours and to top it off they both have stunning packaging in gold and rose gold which can really turn a nice product into a fab-u-lust product. Other great beauty products which are perfect for Valentine’s Day are body oils, bath oils and body creams…all of which can be shared with your partner. Some of my current faves are iMantara’s Jasmine body oil and Ren’s Rose Otto bath oil which is filled with 10,000 rose petals!!

FASHION

Even if you’re not in a relationship, why not get in the lovey-dovey vibe and dress romantically. I know I will be wearing pink to celebrate the occasion. I am wearing the gorgeous bow back jumper from Jigsaw in the featured image, it’s absolutely adorable in an adult girly way. I am a huge lover of pleated skirts, I find them incredible feminine and make me feel like I am floating on air like a fairy (yes my inner child is definitely trying to escape). My current lust item is a long floaty dusty pink pleated skirt like those below.

EASY EXTRAS

A few extra ideas for those that are pushed for time would be the traditional bunch of flowers or box of chocolates. A very easy and fun way to send flowers is through Bloom & Wild‘s letterbox flowers. My favourite chocolates of the moment would be Booja Booja‘s raspberry truffles. They are healthy, sugar free and dairy free but taste like absolute heaven (I have talked about these a lot in the past hehe)…they also come in a pink box, bonus. A super romantic present which I would love to receive would be a modern day “mixed tape”. Pre-fill the iPod shuffle with a romantic playlist or songs that mean something to you and your partner.

Which product is your favourite or gifting idea?

Tiny Valentines Biscuits

I am aware this Valentine’s Day biscuit recipe is coming at quite a late date but as it is half term my mummy readers may wish to make these biscuits today with their children. My non-mummy readers may wish to make these yummy biscuits tonight as they only take 20 minutes from to make from start to finish.
This biscuit recipe is a family hand me down from my auntie and is incredibly quick and easy biscuit recipe to use with children because it is quick and easy and they can do everything themselves, with a little supervision. Best of all they taste delicious.
I have added a a teaspoon of cinnamon because I adore the flavour (Christmas throwback). Other ideas would be to add the zest of an orange to the recipe. One of my favourite icing tips are to add the juice of a lemon to your icing sugar instead of water to give each bite a zesty tang.

RECIPE

1 oz soft dark brown sugar
2 oz butter
3 oz flour
1 tsp cinnamon
Icing sugar and food colouring.

METHOD

•Preheat your oven to 160º and grease a baking tray
•In a bowl, mix together all of your ingredients with your hands
•Your mixture will look as if it isn’t going to bind but give it some time and it will turn into the softest dough
•Lightly dust your surface with flour and roll out your dough roughly £1 coin thick
•Cut out your desired shapes and place on your prepared baking sheet
•Cook for 10-15 minutes or until golden
•Once your cookies have cooled down you can start decorating them however you like

SHOP ☆ BAKING GOODS

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Valentines Gift Ideas For Him

Valentine’s Day is creeping up and even though some people believe it is simple a commercial farce, I personally adore the day. Even when I was younger and didn’t have a boyfriend I still loved the day. My mum would always buy everyone in my family heart shaped chocolates and everything just seemed rosier. What can I say, I just love love! Liam and I don’t always spend loads on each other every Valentine’s Day yet some years we will buy each other a proper present like we would at Christmas and each others birthdays. It kind of depends on how we are feeling financially that year. We sometimes plan to spend our money on a trip instead of a tangible present but we always give each other a card. I have drawn up a big Valentines gift guide full of ideas for him.

BOOKS

A book is a great present idea for the man in your life, however long you have been together. There are loads of funny Ladybird books around at the moment which are easy to buy for even the shortest of relationships. There are lots of coffee table books for every hobby out there. I love the latest Mr Porter book as an idea for the more fashion conscious gents.

ELECTRICS

All the men I know get very excited by a new bit of gadgetry (honestly, so do I). The best picks for mens gadgets actually cost quite a lot but I have picked some affordable and slightly less affordable but wonderful products.

FASHION

Not all men are into fashion. In fact, unless my mum buys clothes for my brother and dad I am pretty sure they wouldn’t even own a pair of boxers! Yet, some men are really into fashion and I love this as you can easily buy a posh white tee or something that any guy would want and need.

BEAUTY

Not many men buy beauty products for themselves but as the love of their lives it is your duty to make them smell fresh, mostly for yourself. Scents are the hardest thing to buy because this is so personal. I, myself have a perfume that I would say is my signature scent and I know a lot of other people that feel this way so it would be a waste of money for someone to buy me perfume.

LETS HAVE FUN

There are so many ways to have fun for Valentine’s day. I love to spend a day/evening at home and make an at home champagne fuelled tea party. Check out these cheap date ideas. If you fancy venturing out then a cinema date at an Everyman cinema with dinner and cocktails is a lovely treat. Liam and I love to go to new cocktail bars around London. I planned out a lovely date night in Soho, London. here.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries are every inch of decadence.
They can be incredibly expensive to buy at events such as Wimbledon or foodie festivals.
I feel that I have finally cracked the best and most simple way to make them look absolutely immaculate.
Check out the method for the chocolate dipped strawberries below.

{Plate – Maxwell & Williams}

You Will Need
☆ Refrigerated Strawberries
☆ Baking Parchment
☆ Dark Chocolate

Method
1. Line a baking tray, chopping board or any flat surface with baking parchment.
2. Keep your strawberries stored in the fridge as soon as you buy them.
3. Melt a bar of dark chocolate.
Break up the chocolate into a non-stick pan over a very low heat, constantly stirring.
4. Once the chocolate is completely melted take your strawberries out of the fridge and lay on your tray.
5. Dip your strawberries, one by one, into the piping hot chocolate and lay them back on the paper.
6. Within a couple of minutes you will notice that the chocolate will have hardened.
This happens because the strawberries are so cold.
7. Once the chocolate has set on all of the strawberries you can peel them off the paper and place them on a pretty plate to serve.
They peel off in an incredibly satisfying way.

♡ Romantic dining – not just for Valentine’s Day ♡

Valentine’s Day Mr & Mrs Special

My gorgeous hubby Liam kindly agreed to co-star in one of my You Tube videos.
We decided to film a Mr & Mrs inspired paddle game.
We answered questions like Who Is The Messiest? and Who Is The Best Driver?
I thought we would be a lot better at the quiz than we were.
We know each other so well but I think we both just wanted to be the best.
Click on the video at the bottom to take a look at how we got on.
Make sure you subscribe as well.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone
xXx

Speedy Valentine’s Day Biscuits

Valentine’s Day is in a couple of hours time and some us may have forgotten to get our loved ones a gift.
These biscuits only take 10 minutes to bake and can be decorated personally for many of your Valentine’s.
I adapted the recipe from one of my favourite cookbooks. My mum bought me this book when I was 18 and it has every recipe you could possibly need. You can buy it here. (Good Housekeeping Step By Step Cook Book).
The recipe makes the most amazing soft dough which is very easy to cut into your desired shapes.

Bakes: 26 medium hearts
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Baking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
175g Softened butter
200g golden caster sugar
350g plain flour
1 medium egg
2tsp vanilla essence
decorations for your cookies (I used melted dark chocolate)

Method:
1. Mix all your ingredients into a food processor and mix until the ingredients are almost combined into a ball.
2. Roll into a ball to combine the ingredients fully.
3. Roll out the dough about 3mm deep.
4. Lay on baking parchment, on your baking tray.
5. Cook for ten minutes, alternating your trays at half time.
6. Leave your biscuits to cool whilst you sort out your decorating equipment.

Have fun & Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.

Make sure you stop by tomorrow for my Mr & Mrs YouTube video going live at 18:00.

Valentine’s Gift Ideas

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.
What better time to buy yourself something cute, lovely, heart inspired, or simply some alcohol to celebrate with?
…or you could show this to your other half as inspiration for what to buy you.
I have compiled some gorgeous and affordable Valentine’s inspired gifts from jewellery to biscuits.
Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

♡

NECKLACES

Accessorize XO necklace £4
Topshop heart necklace £12

I adore these necklaces because I am lovine gold accessories at the moment.
They are super cheap yet cute and sparkly and can be worn with anything.
You can buy so many gorgeous expensive necklaces which look very similar to these cheap ones so why not buy both and wear them together?

♡

HOMEY

Silent Pool Gin £35.00
Love mugs £20.00
Cookie Art London cookies £12.50

I have put these mugs up on my website before on my
‘What I Got For Christmas’ blog post and noticed a fair few of you bought them.
Why not buy these yummy biscuits to pop on the side of your mug and
fill the mug with a gin cocktail a la Prohibition styley in the mug?
Perfect Valentine’s Day nosh.

♡

ACCESSORISE

Topshop Heart umbrella £12
Ban.do Make up bag £12
Skinny Dip heart phone case £12

With these affordable gifts you could treat yourself to some lovely heart accessories to get in the romantic mood.
I adore Skinny Dip phone cases because they are really cute and eye catching.

♡

RED HOT

Topshop lipstick £8.00
Heart clutch £8.00

For your Valentines date night why not match your lips to your handbag?
A red lipstick is always hard to find. This Topshop one is striking and matches the clutch perfectly.

♡

Have you got any Valentine’s present ideas I have missed? Maybe a new car?

{Featured Image-Miss Dior-Pinterest}

5 Cheap Dates

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching and coinciding with the horrible tax bill, money has been on my mind a lot.
I adore Valentine’s Day. Even when I was younger and didn’t have a boyfriend I just loved the day.
There is always a much stronger sense of happiness everywhere you look (maybe that’s just me and my rose tinted glasses?).
To be honest I just love any excuse to celebrate.
Below I have listed 5 cheap date ideas that you can do with your boyfriend/girlfriend, family, friends or even have a solo romantic date…in fact a little me time can be the best remedy.

1. High Tea
You don’t need to pay a fortune for high tea at a posh hotel (although it is a lovely experience).
You can recreate the experience in the comfort of your own home.
Buy a bottle of Prosecco, make some cupcakes and sandwiches with their crusts cut off.
Put on a tea dress dress and you’re all set.
Best of all, when you finish and are full to the brim you can get into your tracksuit and have a post food slumber.

2. Movie Night
Fill a large bowl with homemade popcorn. (Here is my yummy recipe).
Fill your living room with pillows and duvets and find your favourite movies on Netflix.
Snuggle up and watch endless movies.
Romantic Movie Recommendations: Elizabethtown . A Lot Like Love . Love & Sex

3. Home Spa Evening
It can be very expensive to go to a spa but you can recreate one at home for a fraction of the price.
Buy a cheap face mask and some body oil.
You and your partner could give each other massages or you and your friends could have a face mask.
If there are a big group of you having face masks buy this one from Balm Balm as it is in a powder form and goes a long way.
You just add a little water and mix it in a bowl and won’t go off if you don’t happen to use it all.

4. Cocktail Evening
This is one of my favourite date nights to have at home.
It can be very expensive to go out for cocktails, costing anywhere between £5-£30!
A bottle of rum from the supermarket could cost you around £20-30 but make you loads of cocktails.
Have a cocktail night with friends and get everyone to bring one spirit and one mixer.
Take it in turns to create a cocktail for everyone with all the ingredients.
*drink sensibly*

5. Games and Art Evening
If you are on your first few dates and are still getting to know each other, playing games and creating something arty can be very relaxing.
You will find yourselves chatting away for hours on end with ease because you are occupied doing something fun and creative.
At Christmas we used dry clay to create our own bowls, plates and decorations.
This was a lot of fun. For your next date you can have fun painting your pottery.

If you have a date inspired by my blog post please do let me know and share pictures with me on Instagram
@itsmegantaylor

I hope you all have a lovely Valentine’s Day
…19 days to go ❤︎

SELF CARE

NEW MAKE UP

FOR HIM

1. VALENTINE’S DAY

2. FIFTY SHADES DARKER

3. HOW TO BE SINGLE

4. DEFINITELY MAYBE

5. BRIDGET JONES’S BABY

6. HOME AGAIN

7. CRAZY STUPID LOVE

8. ELIZABETHTOWN

9. THE NOTEBOOK

10. P.S. I LOVE YOU

MAKE UP

HAIR

UNDIES

BEAUTY PRODUCTS

FASHION

EASY EXTRAS

RECIPE

METHOD

SHOP ☆ BAKING GOODS

BOOKS

ELECTRICS

FASHION

BEAUTY

LETS HAVE FUN

NECKLACES

HOMEY

ACCESSORISE

RED HOT