the Elle next door: GET READY WITH ME: THE PARTY EDITION

It's very, very rare that I actually "full on" dress up. You know, having a long lush bath followed by putting on that playlist that's going to get you in the mood to go raving with a glass of wine in hand. Maybe it's because I never ever go out and would much prefer Dominoes nights in with a Harry Potter marathon - which probably explains my use of the term "go raving" #TheGrannyNextDoor - but there's just something about Christmas and the festive season that gives me that little push to make a bit more of an effort. So with my ridiculously excessive Youtube subscription feed - vlogmas problems - ready to roll and a glass of red in hand, I started the - long and hard - mission of getting "Party ready".

And decided to photograph it/bribe (with Mince Pies and a Star Wars Cinema trip) my fiance into photographing the process for me. So here is my absolute go to Party wear Get ready with me. I really hope you enjoy...

Starting with the base, and for me there is absolutely no other option for a night out/party than Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation. With the most beautiful full - but totally natural - coverage that lasts for hours on the skin, plus the added bonus that it contains no SPF meaning it's perfect for Flash photography (and let's be honest, Instagram photo's), this is the perfect option for foundation which I genuinely couldn't recommend enough.

Once I've buffed my foundation in - I'd be a liar if I said I don't spend a good 5 minutes buffing it in - it's time to conceal the area's that the foundation couldn't cover. Now, despite Luminous silk being extremely high coverage, my eye bags are the colour of ~~my soul~~ my wardrobe, black. So this is where Mac Pro Longwear concealer comes in. This is one that's been raved about by so many bloggers but I just never really considered it. I highly, highly regret this decision now as it has quickly become one of my all time favourite base products. With industrial strength high coverage and wear time, this conceals (the majority of) my dark circles, completely eradicates redness and blemishes and once it sets, completely stays put until it's time for removal. An incredible concealer!

Once the concealer is locked into place, it's time to do the same for brows and my favourite product to tame my completely unruly brows is Benefit Gimme Brow. I have quite thick brows with just a few sparse areas so Gimme Brow in Light works perfectly to fill in those sparse areas and keep them in an arch shape, and not looking like they've had a fight with each other, flying off in all different directions.

Can we also just a give me a round of applause for the fact that I managed to talk about brows without using the phrase "On fleek"? [insert hand clapping emoji].

Eyeshadow is hands down one of my favourite makeup items. I love that there is just so much option, you can create such a huge variety of looks, and generally just completely change your look from day to night with a touch of a brush. Palette's are my ultimate favourite because they kinda take the guesswork out of makeup and my absolute favourite palette of late - which has somehow done the impossible of taking over from my Urban Decay Naked palette - is the Too Faced Chocolate Bon bons palette.

An absolutely stunning mixture of wearable shimmer and matte neutrals, with a flash of colour in the form of a beautiful bright pink and grey teal colour. I started with Cafe Au lait all over the lid, blending Molasses Chip into the outer corner for a warmer, smokier effect. I then used Bordeux - the prettiest purple/brown matte colour - in the crease and underneath the eyes, really bringing the whole look together. Finally, adding the beautiful matte highlight in the form of Divinity to my brows and the stunning Satin sheets in the tear duct/inner corner to really make the eyes (are you ready for the most nauseating phrase in existence?)... pop!

No makeup look of mine is complete without a winged liner (which is never quite on fleek but let's just roll with it) and this is where the Make up Forever graphic liner comes in. A very opaque black ink that's ridiculously long lasting [insert hands up/hallelujah emoji here] but mostly, mostly it's just an absolute saviour for those just a little bit crappy with liner. I.e me!

To finish off the eyes, I'm going in with perfect duo (Brad and Angelina, who?) in the form of Benefit Roller Lash and Benefit They're Real. With Rollerlash providing the curl and length and They're real killing it in the volume and definition game, these two really are the perfect combo!

Eye's did - yes, I feel as nauseous using the term "did" as you do reading it - it's time to bronze up my extremely pasty face and to do this, I used Benefit Hoola. An absolutely beautiful, completely non-orange bronzer that works as the perfect contour/bronzer and applies seamlessly!

Blushed and bronzed, it's time to accentuate my non-existent cheekbones with the most gorgeous highlighter in the form of Benefit Mary-Lou Manizer. The most stunning highlight which is so finely milled but really packs a punch in the pigment department. This is definitely not a subtle glow so if that's what you're looking for, then maybe this isn't for you. But for a gorgeous, "going out" glow, this is easily my go to product.

Finishing off with the lips. Now, I know that big bold lips are a firm favourite for a lot of ladies when it comes to going out but for me, whether it's an everyday look or night time look, I would rather accentuate my eyes than my (already stupidly accentuated and Jay Z like) lips so I settled on my classic nude lip combo of the Urban Decay Naked Lip liner and Urban Decay Naked Lipstick.

Time to set my ~~20inches of~~ makeup in place and for that, I have been absolutely loving Bareminerals Perfecting veil. A gorgeous, finely milled and lightly pigmented powder that just makes your skin look flawless!

The final look, which was incredibly awkward and hard to pose for so let's have a spritz of perfume, paint the talons and get into my party outfit, yeah? Perfect, let's do it...

As I kept my makeup quite light and girly, I wanted a fragrance to compliment that and Victor and Rolf Flowerbomb fits the bill perfectly. A fresh, fruity but very sensual fragrance too, this classic always makes me feel amazing.

Time to paint my nails and whilst a bright red/glitter/silver/[insert your own choice of festive - but equally tacky - choice of nail colour here] was tempting, I opted for a slightly more classic plum/purple shade in the form of the gorgeous Essie Bahama mama. One of my all time favourites!

Time to get the glad rags on and get partying.

(Said nobody under the age of 90, ever...)

My look was based around this absolutely stunning Debenhams Black long sleeved pleated dress which yes is black, but the beautiful lace top - with the addition of the high neck - and the pleated skirt just makes it that little bit special. It's one of those dresses that are perfect for so many occasions and I know I will definitely get so much use out of it, for sure.

Now, I love clothes a lot. A hell of a lot. But I do have a very special place in my heart for bags and shoes and these Faith black lace up stiletto's just blew me away from the first moment I saw them. They're the perfect mixture of classic, with the pointed court shape, but also really modern with the delicate tie ups. Elegant, sophisticated, sexy but ridiculously stylish (and in the sale for just £31) these are definitely my ~~baes~~ go to "chic shoes" at the moment.

Finally, I went with a clutch that's quite different for me but I absolutely adore it. The Black Disco hard case clutch gives that bit of edge to what I think is quite a girly outfit and finishes off the look perfectly. I love the more classic structure mixed with the delicate chain and the fun glitter and black pattern just gives it the extra special party look. Perfect for a New year's celebration in my opinion.

So that brings me to the end of my first ever full get ready with me. I have to say, this is definitely one of my favourite ever posts and I had so much fun putting it together. Each product I used - most of which are in the boxing day sales [insert hands in the air/high five emoji here] - I genuinely absolutely adore and couldn't recommend highly enough.

I would love to know what some of your go to party wear products/items are? Will you be heading down to Debenhams to stock up on a killer dress/shoes/box clutch that makes me far happier than it should do? I would love to hear your thoughts :)