Lady of the Lane

Lancome Spring 2012 Rosarie des Delices Collection

2012-02-08T10:00:00.000Z

Well here comes another beautiful candy coloured Spring Collection, this time from Lancome. I have to admit that although these colours aren't ideally suited to me I can't help but be drawn to them. The mint greens and candy floss pinks were a colour of my bedroom when I was in my early teens and I chose them and I still love them now and so the Lancome Rosarie des Delices (Rose Garden of Delight) collection was always going to appeal to me. It taps right into that very girly side of me. I always lean towards the rockier side of make up and/or scarlet lips but inside there's a girly girl screaming to get out!

The Lancome Roasarie collection is visually stunning and the products don't disappoint either.

The star product of the collection is the La Roseraie Blush (£34).

There is a stunningly pretty overspray on this blush which is why it has an airbrushed look to it. Underneath the overspray is a beautiful pinky-coral blush and pale pinky cream mother of pearl shade which apparently has a hint of green that helps to correct redness, I will have to look at this again because I hadn't noticed any green in it! Swatches of the two shades separately and blended:

This is truly beautiful and the sole reason I didn't buy the Chanel blush this Spring, because I think this is just as pretty and the colours not that different.

And on my cheeks:

Next up is the La French Touch Lipstick in Cotton Candy (£23.50). There are three shades available, Cotton Candy, Rose Candy and Sweet Marmalade. The packaging of these is to die for, so so beautiful. A gorgeous candy striped metal case.

I can't get over how matte the bullet looks but the lipstick is far from it! It also looks very coral in the above pictures, but it really isn't as you'll see below. Loving lightly glossy finish, but not sheer, and these feel very moisturising on. The only thing that I don't find so fabulous is the wear time, it's not my greatest concern though really when all the other points are so good. I'm more than happy to keep pulling this lipstick out of my purse :) Oh and this really isn't one for dry lips as you might notice in my pictures my lips are a little dry and it shows, on subsequent uses I've been sure to give my lips a gentle scrub and a touch of balm before use.

Swatched:

Next are the three Colour Fever Glosses in Green Petal, Rose Petal and Tangerine Petal (£18). I have Green Petal to show you.

Although perhaps a little scary in the tube, actually this is nearly completly clear with just the smallest sparse green sparkles in it. You have to look hard to see them on the lips/skin but they are there and they are super pretty. Trust me, you wouldn't want loads of green sparkle in your gloss... well maybe you would if you're more theatrical, but this definitely isn't theatrical. Looks closely!

And here it is over the Cotton Candy lipstick. If you enlarge you should be able to see the tiny little green sparkles.

Super pretty, very similar to Mac's Chillin' which is why I blog sale'd that one recently as I love this just a wee bit more but can't justify having both. I should also mention that these have a lavender scent, so if that's not your thing then AVOID! I think I'm pretty much on record as being a lavender lover though so it suits me just fine. The other colours are really gorgeous too I must add. Especially Tangerine petal which I keep going and hanging my nose over in Debenhams.

The final item from this collection I have to show you is the Les Yeux Doux Ombre Absolue Eye Palette (£33). Bit of a mouthful. Available in two colour ways, pinks which is Rose Romance and greens, Vert Tendresse.

These swatch nicely, but it is worth noting that these shades are designed intentionally to be subtle and sheer, presumably for a subtle hint of Spring colour.

I love these shades, they look great on, really good for those who like to wear colour without being too daring. You'll see what I mean when you look at them on my eyes. As always, I always go for a subtle look but it's certainly possible to ramp up the depth of colour if that's your preference.

The only thing I don't really understand is that the images I saw from US blogs showed these palettes as having a fifth colour, a liner shade and its a shame the UK versions don't have it.

Image source: Temptalia

My full face for a bit of perspective.

All in all a truly gorgeous collection with something for most people, if pinks aren't your thing, then there oranges and corals. So pretty. The blusher is my must-have item from this collection.

The only thing I'm a bit confused by is that I thought that there were two eyeliners available with this collection, from memory a frosted white shade and a shimmering pale green, I'd like both of them but I can't find them online at all! I'm sure I saw them on the stand in Debenhams when I kept going into swatch the glosses, but I noticed when I was in there a couple of days ago the display had been taken down already. I guess I'll go in and ask them if they have any! I was definitely going to buy the green one so I hope I can find one!

Oh and one last thing, you may have noticed thats not my hand the swatches are appearing on! I'm afraid Chloe is desperate to be involved if I do swatching before she goes to bed or when she's not at school so I conceded this time and let her help me out. Thanks Chloe!

*Disclosure - All items are PR Samples*

Anti-wrinkle Silk Pillow Case from Charlotte & Co

2012-02-07T10:00:00.058Z

I've read about the benefits of silk pillowcases on other blogs in the past and wondered to myself about them, but never quite got round to following up on my thoughts until I was contacted recently and asked if I'd like to try one.

The idea of the silk pillowcase is that it won't pull or crease your sensitive skin while you sleep and I have to admit I am unfortunately now of an age where I sometimes wake up with big pillow case marks in my cheeks. Sad times indeed, until now!

These pillow cases are beautiful. The quality feels amazing and they are an absolute joy to sleep on. I can confirm that I have not yet woken up with a creased face.

Another item I was sent is the Lavender Pillow Spray. I've long known the benefits of lavender both on my migraines on for it's sleep assisting properties and this stray is fabulous. Spritz onto your (silk) pillow (I am liberal as I love lavender), and settle down for a great night's sleep. Wake in the morning refreshed and crease free!

Love my silk pillowcase and spray. Whilst I can find no fault with the products which are fabulous they have not come to me without problem. I'm just going to bullet point them for ease and clarity.

My husband is properly put out that he hasn't got one too. And I do mean there was a proper poking out bottom lip and a pitiful "where's mine?".
I only have one, which makes laundering it a bit of a pain since I don't have a full load of delicates.
They are £29 or £55 for two each. (which is actually not bad but a bit too much for my pocket)
Husband and I would both absolutely love the duvet cover and sheet to match which would solve the not having a full load for the washing machine problem, but we can't afford it.
I now want quite a few things from the beautiful Charlotte & Co website, which are actually very reasonably priced. Namely the Easy Layering Dress £29, the leggings £19, the longline cotton hoody £17, the cashmere leg warmers £29, and the short Sheepskin boots £59. Hmm. It's unlikely I'll be getting all that but I might start with the dress and a top to go under it as I love it!

So apart from the price obviously all those negatives are a bit tongue in cheek, the products are fantastic.

Lets finish up with the positives!

Feel fabulous to sleep on.
The spray really helps you sleep.
Crease free face.
Charlotte came up with a fab suggestion when I was telling her about my husband wanting one, so now I've got his valentines present sorted, thanks Charlotte!
You can use the pillow spray to scent your room also.

So I suppose I should get saving up then, it would seem I have a lot to buy!

Absolute luxury and available from www.charlotteandco.com.

Jo Malone Red Roses for Valentines

2012-02-06T10:00:00.001Z

The Jo Malone Red Roses Collection was originally launched on Valentine's Day and it's pretty much perfect for Valentines Day this year or really any occasion.

The scent is a blend of seven roses with with added violet leaves and touch of lemon. It's...beeeyoootiful. Obviously it goes without saying that if rose scents aren't your thing you'd probably be best avoiding but if you like Rose scents then you should probably check out the range.

I was sent the Red Roses Travel Candle (£22) which is small, perfectly formed and deliciously scented. The candle, although travel-sized packs a powerful fragrance punch and not only fills my bedroom when lit but the whole upstairs...unlit my bedroom still smells of it. Gorgeous.

There are plenty of products in this collection, something for everyone including the candle. There's the Cologne in two sizes, a Body Creme, Hand and Body Lotion, hand & Body Wash, Bath Oil and a full sized candle. Most gorgeous of all is the brand new Red Roses Fragrance Chronicle (£72) a set containing Sweet Lemon Cologne, Honeycomb Cologne and Scarlet Velvet Rose Cologne. Sounds fabulous.

Worth putting on your Valentines wish list? Out now :)

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

My Eyebrows and Rapidlash Journey

2012-02-05T11:00:00.001Z

I had a massive eyebrow disaster. In fact most of my adult life has been an eyebrow disaster. In the nineties I plucked them into oblivion and permanently damaged them so that even when left to grow out they were full of bald patches and indeed one eyebrow started a good centimetre from my nose differently to the other brow and that would never grow back. A whole centimetre of over-plucked hair that wouldn't grow back.

As if that wasn't bad enough, I resigned myself to plucking the strays and filling in the bald spots with pencil/wax/shadow for the rest of my life. But then... well then I don't really know what happened. I just went insane with the tweezers, this time only the once, meaning no permanent damage but god, one eyebrow was a proper mess.

I resolved not only to grow my brows back out as best I could, but to see if there was a way I could get back the hair in the patches I plucked and permanently damaged in the early 90's.

It was then that I started researching Rapidlash and it's use on brows. I wasn't able to find a huge amount on the internet about it. I found excellent reviews about its use on lashes, and a v. small amount about it's use on eyebrows, but I decided I was going to try my luck anyway and was delighted when it arrived and the box said "Great on eyebrows". Hoorah.

Having read up on the product I knew that I was in for a long wait for results, maybe 8 weeks, maybe longer, but generally about 8 weeks was the time most people were quoting, but that was fine. I've gone the best part of 20 years with crap eyebrows, what difference will 2-3 months make?!

So what you get is a little tube, like a mascara tube with a serum in it and a brush.

Don't ask me how it works or what the active ingredients are, I haven't the foggiest and actually after one or two things that have happened recently it is my new resolution to pay more attention to ingredients...not that that helps us right now.

So basically I'm going to show you some photos, befores on the left, afters on the right. This is after 3 and a half weeks. Please feel free to enlarge.

Now obviously there's a lot of natural regrowth there and the hairs are longer giving the illusion of regrowth. The little red mark on the two bottom right photos is the remains of a spot, I'm not sure if it was caused by the product or not. Either way it didn't hang around too long. So you'll have to trust me to tell you honestly, even if you can't see it in the photos, that not only is there the natural hair growth but some of the bald patches that have been there for many many years are slowly but surely starting to fill in. I'm thrilled.

And that bit I mentioned earlier? The inner bit that was about a centimetre of baldness making my brows uneven. Well its all growing back! I never thought I'd see that hair again and I can't tell you how happy I am!

Here, have a look, you can see the long hairs that are where my brow used to start and you can see the tiny fine short hairs that are now starting to grow in.

Nearly 20 years there's been no hair there. It sounds odd to be so excited about a bit of facial hair I know but over plucking my eyebrows is my biggest beauty regret. I thought I'd ruined them forever but it looks like Rapidlash might just been my saviour. I've got a long way to go in terms of seeing full results and hopefully at the end I will be able to go to someone and have a proper shape done...but for now I'm just applying the Rapidlash every night, tweezing any obvious hairs that grow that are miles away from my eyebrow and leaving them to do their thing.

I can't wait to see how they turn out and will of course at the 8 weeks stage to see how its looking but so far so amazing!

I bought my Rapidlash from Amazon for £26. Approximately half the RRP. bargain!

Lush Love Potion Massage Bar

2012-02-04T11:00:00.001Z

I'm a long time fan of Lush massage bars. Not only do I use them in massage, or should I say my husband uses them on me in massage but I also use them as moisturisers. Nothing beats them for dry shins I find! My bar of choice is the vanilla one, possibly called Vanillary... I don't know and I can't check because it doesn't seem to be on the website...nooo! They'd better not have discontinued it! Anyway, for Valentines, as always, Lush have a little selection of new limited edition products, one of which is the divine Love Potion massage bar. Alas mine arrived a little battered.

Fortunately it wasn't rendered any the less useful. It's just a shame the top fell off because it's so cute! Anyway. You just warm these in your hands and then rub the oil where it needs to be. If I'm applying to my legs or something though I tend to just rub the bar up my legs and then rub that in.

The scent of this one is Lush's Love perfume. Apple blossom, orange root, lemongrass, cinnamon and a touch of carnation, you also can smell the cocoa butter base. I love this, in fact I prefer it to the Vanilla one, so all is not lost if the vanilla has been discontinued, my husband likes both but prefers the other. I get apple and cinnamon scent from this whereas my husband gets orange. It's lovely! £5.95.

There are other things available just for Valentines Day, a new perfume entitled 25,43. The unusual name is the amount of time taken to create the original perfume, 25 minutes and 43 seconds. Lime tonka accord with sweet warm hay notes and a fresh green citrus top. There's a soap, Sweetheart Soap scented with jasmine, sandalwood, ylang ylang and a bit of benzoin and bergamot. There a couple of favourites back this year, the Leap Frog Bath Ballistic and the Magic Mushroom bubble bar. A few new gifts as well. If you're looking for smelly valentines presents then do check out Lush. I'm going to go and sniff the perfume and soap I think.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Grazia Daily & Clarisonic

2012-02-03T22:35:00.001Z

Hey all,

It's been a loooong day today culminating in an evening with Chloe. I never let her stay up late and I do try to do as much with her as I can but we've been planning girlie night for ages and that was tonight. I've had a few sherbets as they say and Chloe put away a few glasses of pink milk and more choc chip cookies than would normally be allowed. Nails were painted and pictures were drawn. Hair was done and film was watched. It was lovely to do it, and we finished with a hot milky drink and a story. Lovely!

Oh and I also bought a Clarisonic. If you're desperate for one and don't want to pay the full price then click on the ad over there on the right, they are on Buyapowa and I'm hoping they'll go to best price of £90. I'm sure they will. I can't wait to get mine... I've hyped it up to being the answers to all my skin needs!

And in other news I'm Guest posting over at Grazia Daily today about getting the Pan-Am look, please had over and take a look!

Have a great weekend all!

The Japonesque Brow Kit

2012-02-03T10:00:00.001Z

As you all know I'm still in the process of growing out my brows and I have to say that it's going quite well... but more on that in another post soon. I was sent this Japonesque Brow Kit a little while ago and have been playing with it for a while now.

What you get is a little hard pink case that clasps shut and contains an array of things for fixing up your brows.

It's super cute.

Contained in the case is a pair of tweezers, a brow gel, three different eyebrow templates and a little palette which houses two shades of brow powder, a wax, a little brush to apply the products and a mini brush like a mascara wand.

The thing I can't get on with is the stencils, there is one that is similar to the natural shape of my brow, but I just can't get the knack of holding it in place. When I hold it, I just can't hold it tight enough to my brow so the powder stays within the template. I can't explain it too well but trust me, I'm pretty sure that's a user error. One of the two powders is far too red toned for me. This happens a lot. I really struggle to find brow colours that have no red in them sadly but the darker of the two is great. The powders are fantastic, no fall out, nice and smooth with plenty of pigment!

The tweezers are great and seem to grab the smallest hairs easily, the brow gel and wax do what they should do nicely as do the brushes included in the kit which although very short still do a great job.

This is a great kit with quality products. Even if you don't want or need the templates, its well worth having and perfectly handbag sized. I do love a cute little kit and this certainly is a cute little kit.

I can't find these in stock anywhere at the moment, but as soon as I have more information I'll add links.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Dior Spring - My Garden Party Picks.

2012-02-02T10:00:00.001Z

Oh I've been wanting to get this post done for ages as I'm so excited about it! I had so many other things I needed to blog about and I had so many photos to sort out of this lot that I kept putting it off. All done now though so now I'm just excited to share this with you. Of course you'll find most of these have already been covered by other bloggers but I'm keen to share anyway!

First up, the much coveted Waterlily nail varnish. Greens aren't really my thing but I was so taken with this particular shade I had to grab it. It is a lovely green with a hint of shimmer, and light rose scent. The rose scent really only lasts a day or two before being lost altogether and it wasn't all that strong to start with, that's fine by me, I didn't buy it for the scent, it does however smell nice!

Absolutely beautiful for Spring but I don't care if it's Spring or not this joins the ranks of the rare few polishes that I've removed because it was chipped and reapplied straight away. I love it that much.

The next thing I picked up was a Rouge Dior lipstick in Corolle Pink or Rose Corolle, I'm not actually sure which is the actual name since both are written on the box. It looks quite peachy in the bullet but on me, although slightly sheer, it's definitely a pink. The picture of it on my lips is absolutely terrible, I'm sorry.

I can't quite pull this shade off to be totally honest, it does work as part of the whole look and it's very Spring like but it's not the best suited to me. It won't stop me wearing it though. This is my first Dior lipstick and the texture and finish are gorgeous, very lightly glossy and nicely moisturising but without too much "slip", YSL Rouge Volupte, I'm looking at you.

Now for something a little more exciting, one of the two Eyeshadow palettes from the Garden Party collection. I picked the greens version for two reasons, as soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it and I knew the pinks and purples version wouldn't suit me too well. Anyway, the one I've photographed actually ended up going back as it was damaged, but I replaced like for like, it's so gorgeous!

The colours are to die for, that soft yellow on the bottom left is my favourite but I do love them all. I managed to put together an eye look that does them no justice at all and I'm sure you could create something really wonderful with these colours, but here we go anyway.

Just beautiful and perfect for Spring, the shimmer in these is very light, it's not sparkle city with these, but they aren't satin or matte either, and there's no fall out whatsoever, these are smooth as butter. Beautiful. Really delighted with this.

Finally, the Rosy Glow Blush. I wanted this, I wasn't sure it'd work on me but I had to have it. Rosy Glow is designed to use the moisture of your skin to enhance the product. So in essence, it will be different on everyone. You apply to your cheekbones and leave it, the colour gradually intensifies. If you want more, you add more. In the pan it is both beautiful and terrifying! The second picture is far more representative of the colour in the pan. Bright candy pink.

Swatches are pretty useless since they tell you nothing much, I've done one anyway so you can see, but a) my camera has washed it out slightly and b) it's immediately after applying and not intensified on my cheekbone.

As for how it looks on, well I've got a couple of shots that should give you some idea of how it is on me.

And there we have it, all the bits I bought from the Spring Dior collection which is an absolute beaut! I could have gone for more of the lip products, there are some lovely lipsticks and glosses, but I had to stop somewhere! Does anything from this collection take your fancy? I think it's my favourite Spring collection, even though it's not the most suited to me!

I'm also really looking forward to Lancome and Chanel. This year, I'm in love with all the collections, so far though its a toss up between Dior and Clarins. We shall see what the other collections bring!

Clinique Blushwear Cream Stick

2012-02-01T10:00:00.000Z

Clinique Blushwear Cream Sticks are the most beautiful textures and finishes. I have two to show you today, Glow Blush and Rosy Blush. I think there are five shades in total with Black Honey being a limited edition for Spring's collection.

The blushers are oil free but really silky, and certainly the colours I have are very natural shades. Lovely packaging on these too.

Swatches, Glow Blush and Rosy Glow.

You can see the shades in the swatches are nicely pigmented but you can make them as pigmented as you like on your cheeks as they are fully buildable. I personally err on the side of caution although it has to be said I really struggle to take photos of blusher on my cheek, they are always considerably more obvious in real life than in photos so I'm not sure how helpful these will be, but here goes anyway. First up, Glow Blush.

And then Rosy Glow.

Both beautiful, gorgeous textures and lovely consistencies make these a must have for understated every day make up looks. Beautiful. £20 each and available all year round except for Black Honey which is Limited Edition.

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

Lumos Instant Impact Bottom Coat and High Speed Top Coat

2012-01-31T10:00:00.001Z

I've been wanting to try Lumos for quite some time having heard a huge amount about it in professional nail forums and more recently on a few blogs. I am a Seche Vite devotee so was looking forward to seeing how this compared. To the best of my knowledge Lumos is only officially available from Sweet Squared, who only supply to professionals in the industry, but I do know that there is usually plenty to be had on Ebay with the set I have above going for about £18-£20 currently. I was looking at this with a view to using it in my business and for my personal manicures.

Anyway, this is only going to be a short review because there's only so much you can write about these products. It is my understanding that due the chemistry of the products you should only be using the two together, either the base or top coat alone won't give the expected results in terms of longevity on the nail.

Pros

Super Fast Drying
Unlike Seche Vite the product doesn't thicken up over time.
It's nice and shiny.

Cons

My manicures do not last.

I categorically do not recommend this and I certainly won't be using again. I'm so disappointed. Polishes that will usually last me say 3 days without a top coat at all have been chipping on the first day of wear since using this stuff.

I don't know if I'm using it incorrectly, but you know it's a base and top coat, how difficult can it be? All I can say is that it's not for me.

Next stop - INM Out The Door Top Coat. Until then I'll keep going with my nearly-but-not-quite-perfect Seche Vite.

I bought these myself. Unfortunately.

EDIT: I used these last night to give them one more go, within two hours three nails were chipped :(

Aromatherapy Associates Renew Rose Massage & Body Oil

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000Z

Aromatherapy Associates never fail to impress really. The Renew Rose Massage & Body Oil in an award-winning oil and on first use its not hard to see why.

It's a light oil, made with Evening Primrose Oil, Neroli oil and Rose oil.

I have been using mine as a moisturiser but when using it's easy to see why this is also recommended as a massage oil. Alone this moisturises really well but for an extra luxurious moisturising treat it works exceptionally well over the Rose Renew Hydrating Gel.

Where the Gel is lightly scented the oil is a more heady scent, which I suppose also adds to its usefulness in massage, and in this case the Neroli is evident and as it's one of my favourite scents this oil is perfection.

It leaves my skin feeling amazing. It's perfect for protecting again stretch marks in pregnancy, is highly recommended for those whose skin is exposed to the elements and for dry skin. I'm none of the above but I'm finding in this Winter weather this is really helping and it's such a pleasure to use. It's like a ritual for me now, stepping out of the shower, using the Hydrating Gel and then following with the Oil.

Also am thinking this is a good one for Valentines? It's a real treat and certainly would help to set the mood, wink wink.

100ml in a beautiful glass bottle is £36 and available from the Aromatherapy Associates Boutique & Treatment Rooms, and www.aromatherapyassociates.com.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Another Blog Sale

2012-01-29T17:54:00.012Z

I'm being extremely strict with myself in an effort to organise things so here's another blog sale. All items are items I bought myself, you won't find any PR samples here, and all are items I really like but I'm being so strict, if I won't use it, or rarely use it, it's going. Nearly all these items have great reviews elsewhere on my blog.

UK only I'm afraid. I'm really sorry, I've just had so many things get lost when sending overseas I daren't risk it any more.
First come First served. Leave a comment telling me what you'd like and your paypal address and I will send over an invoice.

Postage is £2 for recorded second class delivery and 25p per extra item.

Okay, so here goes.

Mac Lip Gelee in Resort Life use approx x3 £5. SOLD

Mac Pearlematte Eyeshadow Trio. Be warned, not very pigmented. £5.

Mac Cremesheen Gloss in Chillin', used x3 £4

Nars Downtown Lipgloss, used x3. £5

Mac Dazzleglass in Jingle Jangle, used x4 £5 SOLD

Mac Magically Cool Liquid Powder in Truth and light loads left, £10

Thank you!

Chanel Travel Aqualumieres

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000Z

I bought this recently. Its hard to come by as it's pretty old now. I bought mine on Ebay from a reputable seller, but it goes without saying that Ebay is awash with Chanel fakes so be very careful! It was £29.50.

The palette contains four lipsticks and four glosses and there's a long story as to how I came to buy it. Actually, its not what I thought it was when I bought it, but it turns out I like anyway!

Nothing more to say, just enjoy some pictures :)

The lipsticks are all satin finish and the glosses although highly pigmented in the swatches, are sheerer on the lips.

OPI/Nicki Minaj - Metallic 4 Life

2012-01-26T10:00:00.000Z

I'm no Nicki Minaj fan. I am however a huge fan of OPI and this latest collection really catches my eye. The colours are amazing and just look at this promo image.

I find that incredibly inspirational! It makes me want to get out my kit and try to recreate them all. I just think its amazing.

So I was sent one shade from the collection to try out, Metallic 4 Life.

Its small silver glitter and larger silver glitter in a black base. It is absolutely rammed with glitter which makes it quite gloopy, but that's just how heavily glittered polishes are, it's how it applies that matters and it applies perfectly.

I would say for perfection you need three coats, I noticed one nail was a little sheer after taking the photographs, but I've done two anyway. It's gorgeous. Sparkly and different. Love it!

Each shade is £11 and available from www.lenawhite.co.uk NOW!

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Yes to Carrots C Me Blush Lip Tints

2012-01-25T10:00:00.001Z

Ooh here's something lovely! Yes to Carrots would very much like it if you could say Yes to kisses this valentines day and to get your lips perfectly kissable they've created the C Me Blush Lip Tints.

There are six shades and I have Ready Red to show you today. The lip tints provide you with a touch of colour and promises to soothe, conditioner and moisturise. 99% certified organic ingredients, no carmine and no parabens, phenols, petroleum or phthalates. It's also highly worth mentioning that each Lip tint contains beeswax sourced from the Tung Teya community in Africa and all proceeds from the sale of their beeswax go back into the community to build schools and improve healthcare. So I think you'll find these are a truly worthy product.

Here are some pictures, hopefully self explanatory!

This is quite a pigmented product on my lips, but they are designed to work with the natural colour of your lips and my lips are quite pigmented so I suppose that shows. I also find this to be a quite coppery/orangey red, but it's lovely. There's a light mint tingle thing going on and it's definitely soothing. Not sure this product can do any wrong really, even the price is reasonable at £5.99.

The other shades available are Natural Smile (neutral), Cotton Candy (pale pink), Sunset Pink (sheer pink), Coral Sunshine (coral) and Chocolate Kiss (taupe).

These are available from www.victoriahealth.com.

*Disclosure - PR sample*

Babyliss Big Hair Changed my Life.

2012-01-24T10:00:00.000Z

I asked for and received the Babyliss Big Hair for Christmas and I just have to blog about it because I absolutely love it. It has revolutionised my hair styling.

I got that Babyliss Root Boost thing a year or so ago and although at first I loved it, I rapidly went off it. It seemed a lot of effort to use and it was hard to cover the crimping at the back of my head, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this, was it going to be another gadget that went unused. Absolutely not! I use this every hair wash now.

Basically it's a brush that blows hot air to dry and style with. The barrel rotates so you can put the barrel right up close to the roots and give them a lift and the pull against the rotation to style your hair quickly. It's absolutely magnificent. I'm trying to rein myself in a bit here but I am virtually evangelical about this. The barrel rotates in both directions according to the button you press which makes it easy to take all round your head.

You need to get your hair 80% dry by other methods first, either let it dry naturally or blow dry then finish off using the Big Hair. The amount of volume you can achieve is amazing and is totally adjustable depending on whether you've used styling products, dried your hair upside down or how much attention you give your roots with the tool.

I've just been using a bit of hair oil, as per usual, letting my hair dry naturally (in most cases) and then finishing up with the Big Hair.

Here's my hair left to dry naturally... I'm sorry about the lack of make up... I'd just showered.

And here's my hair after styling with the Big Hair...

It's not just the volume that makes it a saviour though its the fact that you can achieve a properly blow dried style in next to no time, something I have always totally failed at with a hair brush and hair dryer, this makes my life so easy. I must add that because I have short layers around the front it does give them too much curl in the fringe/front layers so I tend to go over the bottom of those tiny bits with the straighteners just to lose the curl. This is a very tiny amount of work though taking about 30 seconds and I am careful to go nowhere near the top three inches or so, so as not to lose the volume put in.

These are on offer in various places at the moment. The full price is £45.99 but I hear Curry's are selling them for £29.99.

This is not a sponsored post and no PR samples are included, I just love it!

Clarins Colour Breeze Spring Make Up Collection

2012-01-23T10:00:00.024Z

What a deliciously understated collection and one I fully intend to buy more pieces from as I've totally fallen in love! This is a collection for those that want a fresh Spring look with hints of candy colours but who want to avoid the brights in other Spring Collections (which I also love!). I have to admit that the collection wasn't on my radar at all until I ended up at the Clarins counter paying for something else (hello Dior - post coming soon) and whilst I was waiting for service this little stand caught my eye and I was totally drawn in.

The star product of this collection is the beautiful Colour Breeze Face and Blush Palette, £30 (Limited Edition).

This is the product that first caught my eye, a face powder with three delicate shades embossed into it. I think if you were very patient you could use those individual colours as blushers, I'm not and attacked the whole thing with a big fluffy brush for all over application as a setting powder. What a beauty! For me the colour is perfect but it's the finish that's just so beautiful, it's matte, really matte but adds just the subtlest hint of radiance and somehow over my foundation (in the pictures its Mac Studio Finish) I felt absolutely flawless and its the powder that gave me that amazing finish. Scroll down for pictures of it in use.

Also Limited Edition are the Vitamin Pink and Coral Tonic Instant Light Blushes, £19.

I have Vitamin Pink although you could be forgiven for thinking it's coral from the above picture. It's not, it's the pink and its my most favourite product from the collection. So much so I will be without question be going back for the Coral Tonic version. It's not cheap but the formula is to die for, blends like a dream and does what it promises, instantly lights. The colour is also really buildable which is great. I hope you can see that the following pictures are a blob of the Blush and then blended out a little.

And this picture I'm so happy with, it really shows the colour and radiance of the blush combined with the perfect finish of that powder. Never has my skin looked so good! You can also see here the Joli Rouge Sheer Lipstick. See below for details.

So the final item from this collection I have to show you is the Pink Coral Joli Rouge Sheer Lipstick. £16.50. I swatched this in store and fell in love. It is obviously, given the name, sheer and for this collection is also available in Pink Magnolia.

There are two swatches there because this lipstick is a bit chameleon-like, in the first swatch you see just a apricot tone and the sheerness and gloss shows, whereas the second shot looks a bit more pigmented and there's a little shimmer. I know it doesn't make sense but both are accurate. It's extremely moisturising, perhaps due to the mango butter and I love this! I've done just a few swatches to show you how different it looks in different light. They all came out a little out of focus I'm afraid :(

Oh and all of them on my miserable wide angled face with huge nose?

So that's all the things I have to show you but also available are Poppy Red and Baby Pink Joli Rouge Lipsticks, 8 New Glosses, Gloss Prodige Intense Colour and Shine Lip Gloss and beautiful Eye Palette with greys, turquoise and teal.

I think I'll go back and get the Eye Quartet, the Coral Tonic Instant Light Blush, A couple of the glosses, (Candy and Raspberry in particular look amazing) and I have a hankering for the Baby Pink Joli Rouge... I'm not sure my budget can stretch to all of those as well as the Chanel bits I want and all the Dior I just bought but I'm going to do my best! I've spotted it all on Special Offer over at Escentual.

This stunning collection is available and on counters now.

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

Just look at this insanity!

2012-01-21T11:00:00.000Z

I don't even know where to start sorting this lot out? If anyone has suggestions I'd truly appreciate it. I have the large drawer in the table and four Muji drawers and not much more room.

Perfumes, Oils, Perfume Samples...

Lipsticks...

Lipglosses and balms...

Primers, Foundations, Concealers, Powders...

Single/double eyeshadows, a few liners and lashes too...

Then there's the things waiting to be blogged about, candles and a couple of other things...

Four drawers of Nail polish...

Then there's this drawer....

Which breaks down like this. Skincare odds and sods...

Palettes...

Eyeshadow duos pain pots...blushers...

Blushers, bronzers, highlighters...

And then there's the Hair stuff

And the draw of stuff I don't know what to do with. Either waiting to be used, or used and won't use again, or samples from sample boxes.

I wish I could tell you that was all of it, but there's stuff in my handbags, stuff on my desk, stuff on my bedside table, stuff on the head of the bed, and lets not even think about the bathrooms. Re the make up though... I don't want to get rid of it, I love it, but I'd love to be more organised but am just not sure how to go about it... does anyone have any practical suggestions? In particular for the big massive drawer?

Thanks in advance!

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in POP and Waterbrush.

2012-01-20T10:00:00.001Z

I'm so lucky! I recently won the Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in POP and the Waterbrush from the lovely Lou's blog giveaway. A fantastic blog and if you haven't already, you should really check it out.

I was super excited about this for two reasons, one because it's always fab to win something and two, because I've been wanting to try one of Daniel Sandler's Watercolour Blush's for ages now!

POP is a limited edition shade created to raise awareness and funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, so a very worthy cause indeed.

A beautiful pink shade with a silver sparkle.

The colour is buildable but you only need a very small amount. What you see above is enough for just over one cheek. It's very easy to overdo as well.

I have to say that using this and the brush has taken quite a lot of practice for me to get right! I've put too much on, far too little, blended it out too far, not blended enough... but I've got it just about right now I think. Personally, I've found the blusher easier to apply with my finger tips. The brush is fab but I love it with more creamy blushers, it works extremely well with Mac Cremeblend brushes. Lets not forget the brush was designed to work with the Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush so I think you can safely say it's just me that prefers to use fingers, I just find the watery texture easier to work with my fingers, whereas I love a brush to work with thicker textures.

It's a gorgeous colour a really lovely shade but I feel that in real life it's a bit more obvious than my pictures show, the last one gives the best representation of the colour. It's gorgeous and the shimmer is subtle but gives life and glow to your skin.

Gorgeous.

So a huge huge thank you to Lou and if you'd like to get the blusher and brush for yourself then you can find them over at www.escentual.com.

Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips

2012-01-19T10:00:00.001Z

Don't be alarmed because I have the word Nipple in the title of this blog post!

I'm going to tell you about a fab balm that at long long long last has ended my search for a lip balm that works.

Stupidly it's not a new concept for me, but one that I'd forgotten all about.

Let me explain. I've had two kids, and I breast fed them both. When you're a breast feeding Mum the chances are you have nipple cream in the house. I don't know how much of a secret this is, but lots of Mum's already know that nipple cream is a great moisturiser for lips and anyway else. For me, when I got past the stage of needing nipple cream I forgot all about the other benefits.

Dr Lipp however, have stepped forward to remind me of how fantastic this kind of thing can be for your lips by selling the Dr Lipp Original Balm for Lips. You can use this anywhere, lips, nipples or anywhere you're dry... cuticles? elbows?

In texture this is very much like Elisabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream.

It's 100% medical grade lanolin which means it's 100% natural if that matters to you. There's no taste or anything. It doesn't disappear into or from your lips either. Its thick so it sits on top of your lips as a protective layer. That said whatever it does it works. My lips at long last are soft and supple so I'm really happy.

Word on the street is that Gwyneth and Kate Moss are fans.

I highly recommend this, it's worked for me where nothing else has!

It's £11 and available from http://www.cultbeauty.co.uk, http://www.zuneta.com/ and http://www.spacenk.co.uk.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Thierry Mugler Angel Liqueur de Parfum

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000Z

My Angel collection is getting a bit out of control now I have to admit. I have the EDP and The Taste of Fragrance versions along with the Eau de Toilette. And then for Christmas my lovely Mum bought me the Angel Liqueur de Parfum.

Angel Liqueur de Parfum is a Limited Edition perfume that was released in 2009. The novelty of this variant of the perfume is that your normal Angel is ripened in casks made of cherry wood.

It's, well its amazing. It's a comforting scent with all the usual Angel notes, Patchouli, touch of honey, bit of chocolate. They are all there. Then there's a bit of brandy and vanilla.

Describing perfumes is really not my forte at all, so I'm just going to say it's warm and a more mature scent that the original Angel EDP and it's perfect for these wintery nights.

Out of all the Angel's that I have I'd be hard pushed to pick a favourite but they are all different. This bottle is exactly the same as the Taste of Fragrance bottle, which means it stands, although I think the glass is a different colour slightly.

As with all Angel fragrances a couple of squirts lasts all day but unlike the EDP version you don't fill the whole room with your scent...although you don't have to sniff your wrist to get the scent either. The balance of this one seems just right.

Beautiful.

Mine came from www.Cheapsmells.com but they don't appear to have it any more but there do seem to be a few knocking around if you google.

Jo Malone New Vitamin E Daily Moisturising Creme

2012-01-17T10:00:00.001Z

I'm not sure you can beat a Jo Malone box coming through the door. It just cries luxury and when this one turned up there was no clue as to what was inside. There's a special kind of thrill opening a luxury box like this not knowing what's inside!

Well what's inside is the new Vitamin E Moisturising Day Creme SPF15.

A light but luxurious creme with the all important SPF15 and Vitamin E. There's lots of good ingredients, rosemary leaf and grape see extract to help combat free radical damage, barley extract and wheat germ to hydrate and caffeine to sooth and comfort.

The texture is to die for. It feels luxurious and rich yet is quickly absorbed and leaves no residue on my skin, I'm also finding it does a fantastic job of moisturising, and it's really had it's work cut out because having had a heavy cold I was suffering with a dry and peeling nose which is nice, and this creme felt like a soothing balm on. Lovely. It is scented, although I'm not sure what the scent is, it's light and fresh and clean smelling and certainly not overpowering.

All this fabulousness of course comes at a cost and that cost is £50. I can't honestly say I would buy this, not because it's not worth it, it's amazing, but because its more than I would spend on a moisturiser. If I had more cash, I definitely would.

There are other things in the Vitamin E range, the Lip conditioner comes highly recommended to me and is on my wish list and I'm loving the sound of the body balm and scrub but at £50 and £68 respectively, again they are just out of my price range for such things!

If the price doesn't put you off, then I highly recommend you try this beautiful cream for a touch of luxury in your life every morning. Just stunning.

Available now from www.jomalone.com

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

YSL Golden Gloss 45 - White Gold Opal

2012-01-16T10:00:00.001Z

My YSL passion goes on unabated and I bought myself this little beauty in the House of Fraser Sale. The usual price for these Golden Glosses are £22 but there were a few, including the Holiday collection shades that were down to approximately £14, and at my local counter they had loads left. The shade I grabbed is No. 45 - White Gold Opal.

A pale, largely clear base packed full of tiny pinky/purpley/bluey shimmer. I have to admit although it looks beautiful in the tube it also was a bit of a gamble as it looked potentially terrifying. I'm thinking pale 80's frosty look lips if it turned out fairly opaque. Actually it turned out to be much nicer than that but first here are a couple of hand swatches. The first has really caught a lot of reflection and confirmed my fears, the second, is reassuring.

And on the lips (the first is out of focus and shows the sparkle):

Not so scary really and to see it in full context here's my face. Actually unless you're close, it's just a pale pinky gloss.

Not at all scary. The formula doesn't let it down either. So still I've yet to try a YSL product I don't love. The formula for this is not too sticky, not at all gritty and long wearing (by gloss standards). It smells nice too, without being heavily scented.

I'm not a big gloss wearer as a rule, but I can never resist buying a pretty one and this definitely is. A real sale bargain although probably worth the full price in terms of quality.

A little Blog Sale

2012-01-15T17:56:00.005Z

Having a bit of a clear out of a few things I don't use or that don't suit me.

UK only, all postage is £2.50 for RECORDED delivery with 25p extra per item if you buy more than one thing. All items were bought with my own money.
First come, first served, please leave a comment with your email address and I will invoice you.

Mac Resort Life Lipgelee. Used about 3x. £8

Last thing, YSL Pure Chromatics quad, bought in blog sale, used about 5 times total. £10. No brushes.

That's it. Happy Shopping all!

Clinique Almost Lipstick & Quickliner for Eyes Intense

2012-01-13T10:00:00.001Z

This spring Clinique are going for a natural look with a variety of products that compliment each other. There are a selection of new products in the Almost Spring collection and a few not so new products. The re-promotes are the Naturally Glossy Mascara which I've talked about here, the Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturiser, which I talked about here, There are the Blushwear Cream Sticks, which I've not tried, three of which are permanent shades and there's a Black Honey variant which is a new Limited Edition. Then there are the things that I have to show you today.

Almost Lipstick. These are new according to the press release I have but are they? I have a vague memory of these existing in the past? There are 8 shades available, I reviewed Black Honey here and I have five more to show you. These lie somewhere between a lipstick and a lipgloss... not quite as glossy as a lipgloss, but sheer, smooth and intended to be sheer so they'll look different on everyone. I've done a few hand swatches here but they aren't terribly useful because of the sheerness but just in case they are useful to anyone here you go.

L-R - Lovely Honey, Shy Honey, Luscious Honey, Chic Honey and Tender Honey. (The same order as the photo at the top there).

What will be moderately more useful are the following lip swatches...but of course, since they are sheer and since they we all have different coloured lips... it's only going to be a guide. Here goes anyway.

These are lovely. Really lovely. I find them to be very moisturising and I must say the wear is exceptional. Chic Honey lasted me through two slices of Tiger Bread, a yum yum and two cups of coffee without needing a top up. I was truly amazed. Of all the shades, my favourites are Luscious and Black Honey.

I find them not altogether unlike the Chubby sticks but the Chubby Sticks have more pigment, the finish is similar though. £16 each and lovely. Having just had a horrible cold my lips are v. dry, but these are really helping so they are all I wear at the moment.

Finally are the Quickliner for Eyes Intense. These aren't new, and I've reviewed two of them here. In total there are six shades and I was sent Intense Black. £13.50

If black black liner is your thing then you need to check this out. I love these liners. They don't budge. I don't like heavy black liner around my eye, but I do like it on my waterline and these last well and really pack a punch. They don't smudge or budge one in place which makes then really impressive. The following pics show the liner drawn, and then smudged the best I could with the smudger on the end of the pencil.

You can see that although the line is faded, it's not actually smudged really, and this works well for me as this is my preferred way to wear it. Of course, if you want a true true black, this is perfect. Below, it's on my lid, and "smudged".

So there are some lovely things in this collection. The liners are highly recommended. I love Intense Plum and it's regularly used by me and the black is great.

According to the press release I have this is due out on 1st February but I have heard tell that people have been able to purchase already.

Paul & Joe Spring Collection

2012-01-12T10:00:00.003Z

Paul & Joe Spring. Joyous words to my ears. Given my new addiction to the brand and all. I mean just look at the packaging. In particular the nail polish box there on the far right. Good lord its lovely! One of the amazing things about Paul & Joe is the design of everything and the above products don't let you down even when you open the pretty boxes.

The first product I want to talk about is the bottle there on the far left which is the Moisturising Primer. This is part of the permanent line. The Primer is intended to extend the wear of your foundation and moisturise. It also contained a very subtle gold pearl, it's so subtle that it's extremely hard to spot but it's there to add a little glow. The primer comes in three shades and I was sent the second shade, 2- Miel. Although this product is fairly translucent this shade is a little too dark for me sadly. I've used it anyway so I can review and you'll see in the later photos my face is a little orange. The shade aside, its a lovely product, definitely moisturising and helps to keep my base in check all day. Very nice. This is £22.

Now onto a few bits from the amazing Spring Collection. In honour of Paul & Joe's 10th Anniversary, all the items are inspired by designer Sophie Albou's love of cats.

Firstly the lipstick in Meow, described as a natural pink.

Absolutely love the little paw prints all over the bullet. So cute. As for the colour, it looks very natural in the tube but not terribly exciting, but I absolutely love it! It's so gorgeous. Look!

I've just had a cold and my lips are a little dryer and flakier than usual which you can unfortunately see on the photo, but really we're looking at the colour, it's very nice indeed. This is £16, wears very well indeed and although it appears matte in the above picture it's not, it's more of a satin finish, with a light sheen. Lovely every day lipstick.

Next up, the Face and Eye Colour in Purr-fect. £19.50.

So cute! I'd not normally pick green shades for myself which is a shame as I'd have missed out on this beauty. The packaging is again, beautiful. Really really beautiful. It's a little cardboard box but if you were worried about carrying these around with you, Paul & Joe have it covered with a neat little thing.

Each box comes with a little band to keep your box shut. Cute! These are described as face and eye shadows, which probably only applies to the pinky-mauve and bronze variants not the green so I've obviously only used these as eyeshadows. The wear on them is excellent and the pigmentation is good too, although they didn't swatch brilliantly, on the eye though these are fab. The pale green shade is a fab all over colour with the dark green being a lovely rich shade perfect for the crease and the ivory is great for where ever!

Please keep in mind I'm growing my eyebrows out before you think I'm hideously unkempt. I am, but it's intentional. :)

It has a very pretty subtle shimmer.

Swatches of all of the above:

Finally there's Tigress Nail Enamel £10.

The only item I was sent that I wasn't keen on. There's nothing wrong with it, the formula is excellent as I've found to be the case with all Paul & Joe polishes. It's just that for a nude shade it leans a little too peachy for my tastes, it's a nice enough colour, just not my choice. Reminds me a lot of Revlon Grey Suede.

So that's it! There are two more things in the collection I will definitely be buying. Firstly the Matte Pressed Powder.

OMG OMG OMG. I love Paul & Joe Pressed powders and I need that one in my life.

And finally I have to confess I have done a total about turn on the Paul & Joe cat shaped products. I've always found them a little creepy but if I don't get the reddish Blusher Stick in my life I will actually cry. It's so beautiful!

Love this collection SO much. Will you be getting anything?

Available from http://www.beautybay.com/ as of 1st February.

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Treatment

2012-01-11T10:22:00.001Z

Please please forgive the stock image there...unusually for me I forgot to take photographs before I started using the product and my bottle has been kicking around the bottle of the shower for a little while now, lets just say it's not so photogenic any more!

So I'm a big fan of the Liz Earle Shampoo and Conditioner (note to self - order more!) and have got through three sets of it so far, it seems to really suit my hair and so I had high hopes for the newest product to join the Liz Earle Range. The Botanical Shine Treatment is for frizzy, coarse or unruly hair...my hair isn't frizzy, it's thick but not quite coarse but it is definitely unruly!

The Treatment is a blend of red algae, cotton extract and sumac wax to smooth and tame your hair, with a blend of essential oils and vanilla extract. It smells yummy.

You wash your hair and then apply the Treatment and then leave it. i leave it for ten minutes while I wash, shave, scrub the rest of me and then rinse it off, but for an extra boost you can leave it on for 30 minutes.

I have been using mine once a week or prior to a special event and have found that it leaves my hair extremely soft and shiny which is lovely. It does tend to get a bit fluffy, but since I always style my hair these days it's no bother at all, the main thing is soft and shiny hair. The effect is noticable and I've had several people ask if I've had my hair cut differently (I haven't) because it leaves my hair looking so freshly primped and preened!

£14 for 150ml and this seems to be lasting me a long time as a little goes a long way for me.

Available from LizEarle.com

More Beautiful Lush Lip Tints

2012-01-10T10:22:00.000Z

I've already blogged about the Celebrate Lip Tint and Chilli Tingle Lip Tint, both of which I loved so obviously I had to go back and get a couple more.

Snow Fairy Lip Tint was a Christmas Ltd Edition and I picked mine up for half price in the Lush sale. It's quite a bright pink in the tin, and the most moisturising out of all the Tint's that I've tried. I think I paid about £2.25 ish for this one and there were plenty of these left in my local lush. To be avoided if you're not a fan of Lush's pink things, this is a mixture of sweets and Calpol. I like it but I know plenty of people don't, and whilst it's not flavoured, it is strongly scented. It gives a nice healthy pink sheen to the lips.

Then there's It Started With a Kiss which is a part of the permanent line. A red lip tint that I paid £5.50 for. As with Celebrate and Chilli Tingle I don't find it terribly moisturising but I picked it up more because I find them a brilliant way to wear a dash of colour on the lips. This one again isn't flavoured but has a delicious scent of apple and cinnamon and gives a lovely red stain. I find this quite buildable too which I haven't noticed with other shades, you can build up the red to however you like it within reason.

So now I only have Latte left to get and add to my collection. I love these lip tints. With the exception of the Snow Fairy Lip Tint they don't really moisturise much which I feel they should do but that's not why I love them. I love them for the sheer hint of colour that makes them so easy to carry around and wear.

Before I go, swatches in case they are any use to anyone.

Love!

A Little Paul & Joe Splurge

2012-01-09T10:00:00.002Z

Okay so I might have done a little tiny weeny bit of shopping at ASOS and it might all have been Paul & Joe. Well I did mention lately that I was obsessed with the brand. In my defence three of the four items I bought were in the sale and I've already blogged about the gorgeous polish in the green box already. But what of the three remaining boxes? What might be contained within their beautiful designs? Lets be honest, if there's one thing Paul & Joe Beaute excel in, it's packaging. Both the outer and inner packaging is to-die-for-beautiful.

This is the first range of make up I've owned where I've kept it all in the boxes. It's not even very practical, particularly with the polishes, as the boxes don't fit into my polish storage too well but I don't care, the boxes are just too lovely to bin so I'm keeping them.

So what did I get then?

First up, from the permanent range, the Face Colour in Tango (£15).

A beautiful powder in a stunning compact. You can either use both of the colours separately or blended together. I'll certainly use them blended together.

This is a very beautiful colour but I have to be careful what I team it with, I've learned to my peril that it doesn't go with pink at all and I look positively jaundiced in it. Teamed with warmer colours this is a winner. I'll be looking closely at the rest of the colours (there's loads of them) and perhaps getting a couple more at some point. It's so soft and easy to blend I'm really happy with this.

Then we have a Nail Enamel from the Manhatten (Fall) Collection, in Downtown (Was £10.50 but currently £7 in the sale).

I can't say this is the kind of colour I'd normally go for but I grabbed it because it was in the sale and it coordinated with the other bits I was buying. The best way I can describe the colour is that it's very much like Nars Orgasm Blusher. A pinky-peach with a gold shimmer. It's very pretty. The wear on this was excellent. 4 days no chips. I only removed it because I broke a nail.

Finally, the absolute highlight of my purchases. The Manhattan Collection Colour Palette in Central Park West (was £30 but now £19 in the sale).

OMG OMG how stunning is that? The palette itself is so beautiful as is the inside of the case. The palette contains two brushes (I've not used), the inside lid is a mirror and you get four eyeshadows and a blusher, the middle shade being the blusher. And if they don't look pretty enough in the pans, then the swatches are amazing and more than live up to my expectations, they exceed them in fact. Each swatch on bare skin and one swipe of the colour.

Absolutely stunning. The Colour Palette is still on sale along with two other colour versions, both of which I'm contemplating going back for as they are so gorgeous and if they perform as well as this one then I feel I'd be missing out not having them!

I bought all of the above from ASOS as previously mentioned.

Look out for a post featuring the Paul & Joe Spring collection really soon :)

Japonesque Travel Flat Eyeliner Brush

2012-01-07T11:00:00.001Z

When I did my post about Japonesque Travel Brushes, I didn't have the Flat Travel Eyeliner Brush so I'm doing a quick post on this one now.

As with all the other brushes, this has now become my go to eye liner brush. I don't find the short handles a problem for me and in fact although I know they are travel sized brushes, it doesn't really register with me.

There really isn't a huge amount I can say about this brush. It does a perfect job, the bristles are stiff enough for me to be able to "push" product right into my lashes which is perfect as often when I use a liquid or pencil liner I find there's a slight gap between the lashes and the line I've drawn but I can use this brush to get really close and fill the gap.

Also brilliant for tucking up under your lower lashes and getting in there too. The line I get is perfectly smooth too, of course you can smudge it out but for me this is what I was looking for when it comes to lining with powder. Love it!

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Introducing Colour Couture

2012-01-06T10:00:00.000Z

Until very recently I'd never heard of Colour Couture and to be honest I still don't know a huge amount about them. From what I can gather Colour Couture is a budge priced range of cosmetics claiming to be of a professional standard. It's an extremely well priced range with plenty of products to choose from and certainly the bits I've got are very nice. Lets have a closer look.

First up the BB Perfect Beauty Base.

A BB cream, an all in one product to reduce redness, appearance of fine lines and blur out imperfections and very nice it is too. Has an SPF 15 too which is great. I really like the product but I'm a little confused about what I should do with it... on the tube it says "Time to Prime" and the name is Perfect Beauty "base" which makes me think it's a primer but in the description of the product there's no mention of it being a primer, indeed it implies it's a sort of foundation substitute. I've tried it both ways, alone it does a good job of evening my skin tone and it does gently hide minor blemishes like the smallest lines, hints of redness... but it doesn't do a good job on its own when faced with spots, but then, thats what concealer is for. Under foundation it does a great job too. It doesn't seem to clog my skin up, but it does a good job of hiding pores and fine lines, even under foundation. The best thing about this is it's a bargain at £5. Well worth a look.

Next, the Bronzing Block.

Very pretty in the pan and supremely pretty in swatches (see the end of the post for swatches) but lacking pigmentation on my cheeks. Instead this acts more as a highlighter adding a soft glow rather than colour.

It's a very pretty sheen and I've certainly reached for this a few times lately, but it's certainly not pigmented enough for me to use as a bronzer. I am going to to try it with a denser brush at some point though as the swatch had such great promise. Again, a bargain price of £5.

Finally the Pro Pigment Eye Shadow Quad.

The quad I received is the Grey, Light Gold, Mushroom and Dark Brown version. Handy little mirror in the lid and a brush/sponge applicator. The colours of this are amazing. The far right colour is brilliant especially. Swatch wise they weren't that impressive as the two middle shades are quite close to my skin tone, that doesn't mean they aren't pigmented, they are, it just means they don't show too well on my skin, on my eyes however they did a great job of blending with the darker colour for a light smoky eye.

Love it. And guess what? Yep, it's £5!

Here are swatches of all of the above, you'll see what I mean about the bronzer being quite pigmented in the swatch but not on my cheeks!

Having had a good nose around the website I've got my eye on the Sheer Lip & Cheek Tints, the Light Reflective Loose Powder and the Single Eye Shadows which are an amazing £2.50 each!

As far as I'm aware this range is only available from www.ilovecolourcouture.com and it's well worth a look!

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

Green People Facial Oil and Rejuvenating Cleansing Balm

2012-01-05T10:00:00.001Z

Until the company made contact a couple of months ago, I wasn't really aware of Green People. They sent me a couple of bits to try out and I'll say from the start that I fully intend to check out more things because the products are fabulous.

The Organic Rejuvenating Cleansing Balm is a truly beautiful product. It's recommended that before you start you hold a hot flannel to your face to open up your pores. Then you apply a small amount of the balm to the skin, massage in and then remove with a hot cloth, then finish by closing your pores with a cold flannel.

The balm smells out of this world which you'd expect given the Organic Ylang Ylang, Neroli and Jasmine oils. There's also Pomegranate and Rosehip oils for rejuvenation and elasticity. All you need to know is this, all make up melts away and your skin is left super clean, it's certified with the Soil Association and is Vegetarian. It contains no Parabens, Lanolin, ethyl alcohol, artificial perfumes, petrochemicals, phthalates and colourants. It leaves no oily residue on my skin, causes no clogging or spots and I love it! Unfortunately I can't provide you with a price as it doesn't seem to be on the website at the time of writing, I know it definitely was there so am assuming that it is temporarily out of stock and of course as this post was written a week before posting, if that situation changes I'll edit this post.

The Anti Ageing Facial Oil (£16.95) is another beautiful product. It was a winner in the Natural Health Magazine Beauty Awards and I'm not surprised. You simply apply this after cleansing using your fingers. I tend to use this at bedtime only although there's no reason for this as it doesn't stay oily on your skin. Suitable for those with eczema and psoriasis, this gentle oil contains Jojoba, rosehip and rose geranium oils, is free of all nasties, is vegetarian and vegan. I've found that when I use this at bedtime, in the mornings my skin is soft and plump and lovely. This will be part of my routine for a long time I think! You only need a couple of drops also so it will last a good long time. An extremely reasonable price as well I think for such a fantastic product.

Both Products should be available from www.greenpeople.co.uk but at the time of writing, only the Facial Oil is available. You can buy the Cleansing Balm from other stockists if you have a Google though but I am optimistic it will be back on the Green People site. I think I'm going to buy the kids shampoos and conditioners next and perhaps one of the moisturisers to try out :)

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Estee Lauder Pure Color Cyber Eyes

2012-01-04T11:00:00.000Z

Just a few months ago Estee Lauder released a limited edition highlighter as part of the Modern Mercury collection. The Illuminating Powder Gelee was a first of it's kind product with a liquid, powder and gel formula. It was a roaring success and a total sell out and has now been followed up by six eye shadows using the same formula.

Accompanying the six eye shadows are a selection of mascaras and eyeliners. The Pure Color Gelee Powder EyeShadow are £19 each and available in Cyber Copper, Cyber Lilac, Cyber Green, Cyber Teal Cyber Pink and Cyber Silver. I received Cyber Green to have a play with.

Cyber Green is a blackened olive green with gold shimmer and is really beautiful. These can be used both wet and dry although I am only demonstrating this used dry. Having seen these used wet elsewhere though I'm keen to give this a go soon ad the difference is quite dramatic.

It is a really fabulous colour and right up my street. Certainly in swatches and on the eye it is to all intents and purposes black, whereas in the pan you can see the green. The wear on this was good, lasting six hours before I started to notice fading.

At the end of the day:

At the time of writing (a week prior to the post date) I'm heading into town tomorrow to check out some of the other colours, I'm particularly keen to get a look at Cyber Teal.

Also included in the collection are six new Pure Color Intense Kajal Eye Liners £16 of which I was sent Blackened Plum and Electric Teal.

The colours are fab and although Blackened Plum looks black in the swatch above, I can assure you it is most definitely dark purple.

And to match the Kajal Eye liners are three new Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascaras (£22) in Extreme Teal, Extreme Violet and Extreme Copper. I was sent the Extreme teal and Extreme Violet to coordinate with the liners.

I have huge love of Estee Lauder Sumptuous mascara and I was going to link to my review but I'm shocked to find I've never reviewed it! Anyway, I love everything about these two. I love the colours, I love the effect given and the wear of them.

I'll show you the four products above in use then talk a bit more about them.

First the Blackened Plum Liner and Extreme Violet Mascara:

I realise the second photo is not terribly useful but the purple of my upper lashes is shown quite well so I've included it.

Then the Extreme Teal mascara and Electric Teal Liner.

The mascara's are fabulous and I can't complain about them at all. I'm looking forward to checking out the Copper one too.

The Kajal Eye Liners however I've not got on too well with sadly, they don't last too long on my water line (the teal eye pictures were taken half an hour after application) and I found when I lined my upper eye lid I found I had a lot of transfer to above the crease which is so annoying. The colours are fabulous but they just didn't work out too well for me.

My picks are the Gelee Eye Shadows and Mascaras and I think you definitely need to check them out. I also highly recommend you take a look at Lipglossiping as there are some fab swatches and and great FotD showing the products to much better effect than I have!

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

Paul & Joe Hallelujah Nail Enamel

2012-01-03T11:00:00.001Z

I recently received a few things from the Paul & Joe Ornamental Holiday collection which I reviewed here. I loved the bits I was sent and it whetted my appetite for Paul & Joe Beaute so I was compelled to go off to ASOS and buy more. I bought a few things and I'll review them all over the next couple of weeks but I'm starting with the Ornamental Nail Enamel in Hallelujah which has been on my mind since I received the press release a good month or two ago.

The polish is extremely sheer, slightly tinted green, but is full of green/gold and green/turquoise flakes and glitter. In the bottle it's stunning. I knew this was going to be too sheer for me to want to wear alone so I layered over a white polish to show off the effect of the polish.

The polish is stunning but the photographs are a fail for two reasons. One, this polish isn't supposed to be viewed in extreme close up, it's far prettier looking at your hands a a few inches away than close up and two, my camera simply refused to pick up the real sparkly gorgeousness of this polish.

So so so gorgeous. I know the photo's don't do it justice but you should totally consider getting it because it's a) gorgeous and b) reduced from £10 to £7 on ASOS at the moment! More of my Paul & Joe purchases coming soon!

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre in 113 Rose Parisien

2012-01-02T11:00:00.002Z

Happy New Year to you all! I hope you've all had a wonderful festive period with everything you wished for, material or otherwise :)

I was lucky enough to receive another Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre lipstick for Christmas. I've already told you about 108 - Ocre Rose and 111 - Rouge Helios both of which I love and I can now add 113 - Rose Parisien to my growing collection.

Rose Parisien is, in the bullet, indeed what I would call a rose tone and actually not quite what I was expecting, it looks a little more middle aged than I would usually go for. Beautiful, but not my usual kind of colour.

The application of this one is smooth and the lustre gives a soft pearl effect rather than metallic, frosty or golden and the big surprise is that it's nothing like how it is in the tube, but I'm learning that with these lipsticks swatching is essential. Turns out this is a soft pink on my lips and I love it for that. It's really quite beautiful.

See! Nothing like the bullet at all. Regardless this is gorgeous and these continue to be my favourite cosmetic discovery of the year. Truly beautiful formula, gorgeous finishes and they last really well too.

I will be heading out to buy more of these when I can. I just love them so much. Thanks hubby for a gorgeous lipstick!

Burt's Bees Super Shiny Natural Lip Gloss

2011-12-31T11:00:00.000Z

It's New Years Eve and I'm sure we all have fun things to do... I speak for everyone else since I'll probably be sat here doing what I always do, catching up on TV, blogging and sorting laundry out! I've never been a big fan of NYE celebrations which in the past have invariably meant being stuck in an over-filled pub or club, swaying as the crowd pushes you around and clutching a coat and handbag in one hand and a drink in the other... so no, I like my quiet New Year Eves!

Anyway, whatever you are all doing I wish you a wonderful night and a fantastic 2012.

On with this speedy review of Burt's Bees Super Shiny Natural Lip Gloss, in this case, which in this case is Zesty Red.

A 95% natural lip gloss that essentially is a protective lip balm. It provides a sheer hint of colour and nice subtle gloss. The effect is nice enough but there is a flaw with the product, or at least with my tube of product.

For the most part I like this product, it feels thick and protective on the lips without feeling gloopy and sticky but it contains these strange little hard beads of what feels like plastic but is probably some kind of wax? The beads are not packing the tube out so you aren't left with lips covered in grit but they are enough to feel a bit annoying.

It is uncomfortable, but once you've managed to get rid of it by whatever means then you're left with a nice hint of colour and a glossy sheen.

See if you can spot the little bead of whatever it is in the next picture...

I don't hate the product, I really quite like how it looks and it's really protecting and softening. It's just a shame about the little bits in it. It is however a bargain price at £4.49 so if you are looking for something to protect your lips from the elements this winter, that's nearly 100% natural, is reasonably priced and does a good job but you don't mind a little annoyance then please check it out.

I'm on the fence about this one, but there's no denying that after using it my lips feels so soft and conditioned. I'm just not sure I want a product with bits in.

My product was provided free of charge to me by http://www.cheapsmells.com/ and please be aware I am affiliated with this company.

Yves Saint Laurent Ombres Duolumieres

2011-12-30T11:00:00.000Z

In the last six months I've fallen obsessively in love with two brands, one is Paul & Joe the other is YSL. I've been fortunate to receive a few bits that were PR samples but have equally spent a fortune on the brand in recent months. I just can't help it. I've not found anything I'm not in love with yet.

One of the samples I was sent was an eyeshadow duo, officially known as Ombres Duolumieres. The shade I received is Shimmering Quartz/Deep Amethyst.

Purple is tricky for me, I don't tend to get on with anything too lilac, but this looked like a nice deep purple teamed with a very pale peachy pink.

In the pan they look fairly shimmery, but actually the shimmer is very subtle.

The swatches below are a bit of an odd colour but I'm including it because actually it's a closer and more accurate representation of the purple than the picture above which was taken with a flash.

Despite the deep plummy hints to the swatches of the purple, actually it's a much truer purple once blended on the lid and its very pretty.

Not only are they lovely colours but the wear on these shadows is incredible. The following picture was taken 9 hours later. No primer was used.

Slightly faded but otherwise perfect. I've teamed the shadows with an Estee Lauder Purple mascara which I'll be reviewing very soon but I really enjoyed wearing this look.

The Ombres Duolumieres comes in a multitude of colourways and at £28 are not cheap but the texture and wear is really something else. I'm keen to look at the Petroleum Blue/Oatmeal and Anise Green versions so will be having a look when I'm sale shopping, not that I'm expecting these to be in the sales sadly!

More gorgeous things from YSL, the price point is high but so is the quality!

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

A Small Post About my Eyebrows....

2011-12-29T11:25:00.000Z

I feel compelled to post this! My eyebrows are in the most god-awful state because I'm in the process of growing them out yet again, and not only that but I'm using Rapidlash on them too so they are a work in progress! I'm trying not to tweeze any of them at all so I can start from scratch.

I'm so self conscious every single time I put a picture up I figured in stead of moaning about them in each post I'd just do a tiny little post explaining why they are looking so awful at the moment! So bear with me!

Lush Chilli Tingle Lip Tint

2011-12-29T11:00:00.001Z

Well Lush, you've really outdone yourselves. The lip tints are the best things you've ever made. I absolutely love them. Celebrate is beyond lovely and goes with everything from a heavy smoky eye to a barely made up look. I love it but now I've added Chilli Tingle to my arsenal and I love it just as much. It's amazing. A fab and slightly scary bright orange in the tin. It's lovely.

For me it's only lightly moisturising, so probably not the best product for very dry lips but I wear this very much as a lip colour and any extra moisture I get from it are just an added bonus.

It is full of great ingredients though, obviously the lovely dried chillies, and hoja santa (an aromatic herb) and annatto seeds which have such a strong red colour in the seeds that the bush is known as the lipstick tree! Then there's jojoba oil and chocolate-scented cocoa butter and wax to protect and seal the colour. It smells gorgeous but really it's how it looks that I really love.

Re the taste, there's a hint of chilli but its mostly chocolate. I'd personally like to experience a bit more tingle!

Anyway, here it is on. it's a nice soft muted shade and not as scary as it looks in the tin!

Anyway, this is a Lush Christmas special and I'm really not sure how long it's going to be around after Christmas so if it takes your fancy you need to grab one fast!

It's £4.75 and I'll be trying to get the Snow Fairy one and the red one It Started With A Kiss. These are just brilliant for a hint of colour and they wear really well. Love them all.

*Disclosure - PR sample*

Mint Cosmetics On The Go Whitening Pen

2011-12-28T11:00:00.038Z

You may remember my post a little while ago about the amazing Mint Cosmetics Teeth Whitening Kit. I absolutely loved it and it worked very effectively and quickly on my teeth. My only real issue with the product was that I really struggled to get the mouth guards completely flush to my teeth so I found the gel got quite diluted with saliva. It's not a massive grumble as the results I had were amazing but I thought I might fancy a go on one of the On the Go Whitening Pens that Mint Cosmetics also make. These are largely designed for people who can't get on with the mouth guards, which isn't strictly the case for me but I just thought this might be easier and certainly a bit less time consuming.

It as, the name would suggest, a pen format, which you quickly and easily assemble yourself once you remove the plastic seal.

I should think most beauty lovers will recognise the style of pen, it's essentially the same as YSL's famous Touche Eclat. You click the end of the pen and the whitening solution will seep through the bristles. People will most probably be aware that you have to do a great deal of clicking the first time, but it's just a one off, from then on just a click or two gets all the product you need.

You then brush the gel onto your teeth avoiding your gums and tongue. Let it dry for 2 minutes and then you just need to leave it for 30-40 minutes... so don't have a drink or eat. You can repeat the process a few times a day if you wish and each pen contains 20 applications approximately.

I'm not including pictures this time because essentially I feel the full kit did all the work and I've been using the pens to keep it up and its really worked. You can see my teeth in all their glory on the home page of the Mint Cosmetics site. Easy to use and quick and highly recommended again.

The pen is also the more affordable option at £19.99, so £1 an application approximately and well worth it. The pens can't be as effective as the full kit simply because you are not using the guards and holding the gel flush to the teeth but it certainly does a great job and if you can't afford £50 for the full kit I do recommend the pen.

Great products. Highly recommended.

Available here.

The Ellis Faas Winter Gift Set

2011-12-27T10:37:00.000Z

I hope everyone had a brilliant Christmas doing whatever it is that you've been up to! As I'm scheduling this post in advance I can't report on it yet but I'm optimistic that I will have had a great time!

I'm doing a quick post to tell you all about the Ellis Faas Winter Gift Set.

As with all the seasonal gift sets from Ellis Faas, you get three co-ordinating products to give you a complete look.

This set contains three best sellers, the Ellis Red Milky Lips L201 for blood red lips, Creamy Eyes E103 which is a pitch black that blends like a dream or can be used as a liner and then finally a pale Milky Eyes in E209 which is gorgeous.

All three of these come with the brush style applicator rather than the sponge type and I really like the brush, however, the black is so incredibly pigmented I've not dared to put it directly onto my eyes for fear of making a mistake so I've been using my hand as a palette and picking up product from there using a brush. The black blends like a dream, well as does the Milky Eyes and it's really easy to put together a good look using these products, I've found applying the black first into and above the crease then dabbing the pale shade over the lid gives a fantastic stylish look. As for Ellis Red, what is there that I can say that hasn't been said before. it's blood red and it's bright. Really really bright. You can see it on me here.

Swatcheroonies.

I've really liked the colour combinations of all the sets I've been sent over the last year but I'd say this one is the most versatile. The black can be blended out for a smoky eye, or applied as a superb base, or just in a line for your winged liner (if I'd ever managed to do it without cocking the whole thing up at least) because with the formula of these, once they set and dry they just don't budge. Great stuff.

I'll try to bring photos of the whole look on, I've already done it but forgot to take photographs! The set is £55 and available from http://www.ellisfaas.com/

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Christmas, Christmas Parties and Japonesque Lashes!

2011-12-24T10:00:00.002Z

So here it is (nearly), Merry Christmas! This will be my last post before I take a few days off for Christmas. So what better than to show you my outfit and make up for the Christmas party I went to last week.

Not having been out for 5 years I was really looking forward to it, and my husband's employers had got us a very plush suite, complete with our own Christmas tree so I was feeling really rather posh indeed as I lounged around during the day before party.

I decided to go all out after a quick Twitter consultation (thank you London Makeup Girl) and whip out the YSL Noir Terriblement Palette for a smoky eye, along with a nice subtle lip featuring a YSL Golden Lustre Lippie which I think is my favourite purchase this year.

I don't have the best photos of my make up and outfit as the room was a bit dingy but I decided it was time to try out my Japonesque Demi Flair lashes.

It's fair to say I'm completely useless at applying lashes but these attached relatively easily so I went with it! The only problem I had with them was that the glue was in a big lump like a jelly so it was a good job that for some reason I'd bought some extra glue with me! So anyway, here's how I looked for the evening.

The lashes and make up were fab and I was so pleased and had lots of compliments, they stayed on all night but I do have to say I felt quite self conscious!

I also bought some fab Butler and Wilson jewellery but alas only one bit turned up on time for the party, I was so disappointed! Still I loved the bracelet and it complimented my outfit really well.

The night itself was amazing...but I was far far too drunk, the 2am tequila slammer was a mistake...was so fab to have a night away from the kids though.

Here I am at before I started drinking with my lovely husband. x

So that was that, a great night was had by all, and my lashes managed to last the night.

So all that remains is for me to wish you all a very happy and wonderful Christmas. Thank you everyone for the support over the last year, I am very grateful for all the support and comments and see you all on the other side.

Loads and loads of love and festive kisses.

*Disclosure - Lashes were PR Samples*

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre in 111 Rouge Helios

2011-12-23T10:00:00.000Z

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre lipsticks are my latest obsession. I bought one. I've asked for a couple for Christmas and I received this one as sample from the PR's. Rouge Helios. When I opened it up I had two thoughts, the first was oh! I really think I have too many red lipsticks now and oooh! I wonder how the golden lustre appears in this one?

First up, the beautiful golden metal case. Practically begging to be whipped out in public.

And here's the bullet. It's really red.

But this is the surprise... well have a look at the hand swatch first.

It's not opaque and it's not scarlet either. It does indeed have a soft lustre which on my hand looks a little bit bitty, and it's sheerer around the edges of the swatch. I was pretty excited because I love red lipstick but really struggle to find occasions to wear them, which is annoying as I have loads, could this be a red I could wear daily without feeling too self concious?

The answer to that is yes. It's beautiful.

On the lips there's no bitty-ness (although the bullet does feel a little gritty when you apply, it doesn't feel gritty on the lips) and in actual fact the colour has, to my eyes, more than a hint of coral which makes it soft and wearable.

Just to show you it in the context of my face here's a picture I really don't like but it's the only one I have so it'll have to do!

Normally I make my pictures large, that one is staying small ;)

Anyway, gorgeous, I can't get enough of these and since my husband had a House of Fraser box arrive today I'm optimistic that there'll be at least another one for Christmas. Fingers crossed!

At £22.50 these are not cheap but they are certainly my favourite lipsticks...for now at least!

Available from all the usual stockists such as www.houseoffraser.co.uk and www.debenhams.com.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

The Newest Thierry Mugler Angel Offerings

2011-12-22T10:00:00.001Z

I think I've talked fairly extensively about my love of Angel and indeed the whole back story of how I fell in love with it. I won't bore you with all that back story again but it's fair to say that Angel has been my longest running love affair and although there have been others and we've broken up once or twice I've always gone running back to it.

I've told you about the new Angel Eau de Toilette and as part of that review I talked about the original Eau de Parfum but I wanted to tell you about a couple of the newest items to join the Angel family.

First up the Christmas Limited Edition Angel with Bracelet. A lovely bottle of the original Angel Eau de Toilette in either 25ml or 50ml.

The bracelet comes in a little leatherette pouch and looks really pretty on, it's not made of silver or anything, it's a steel bracelet and zamac (!) star but it looks really pretty on and I love it. I won't tell you about the perfume itself as I've discussed it before, but it's really gorgeous if you like that sort of thing, which I obviously do! The 25ml is £51.50 and the 50ml is £66.50.

The really special new addition is Taste of Fragrance Angel. This time Angel is enriched with a Gourmand note, in this case, dark bitter chocolate.

As usual, a beautiful star shaped bottle, the great thing about this one is that it stands, unlike the Angel EDP which is a nice touch. I keep mine in their boxes always anyway but I know people like to stand their bottles up. As for the fragrance, well I'm just in love. Unsurprisingly. It is definitely chocolate, and I do mean POW in your face chocolate on it's first spray. It's a bitter chocolate and like all Angel scents it's not for everyone, however, I do think if you're on the fence about Angel, its worth giving this a sniff as it's different. Whereas the original is very patchouli heavy, this is a mellower scent. The chocolate fades fairly to a much subtler trace after about 30 minutes, but its still there if you give it a good sniff, it just seems to mellow out the patchouli. It's strong but it's not as overpowering as the original Angel, but still the fragrance lasts all day. Love love love it.

When I first heard about this I wanted to try it and I'm so happy I love it as much as I hoped I would. Am also getting the Angel Liqueur de Parfum for Christmas so I'm Angel'd to the max at the moment.

This one is £42 for 35ml.

I should also mention that part of this Taste of Fragrance there are also others in the line. Alien has been given a twist of salted butter caramel, Womanity has a touch of fig chutney and A-Men has red peppers. I'd love to try them all!

*Disclosure - Both perfumes were PR Samples*

MeMeMe Flawless Finish Cream Foundation

2011-12-21T10:00:00.001Z

Morning all!

Well for those who have moaned because I don't cover enough brands that are a lower price bracket (yes, really) my love of all things MeMeMe continues unabated. This time I'm showing you the MeMeMe Flawless Finish Cream Foundation.

Love! A gorgeous moisturising, luminous (not shiny and not matte) and has the essential SPF15. I really don't know what I can say about this other than it gives me a great finish. It is medium coverage and is gorgeous. MeMeMe seem to do no wrong for me at the moment, and the foundation is no exception, you would really think it was a much higher end foundation than it is.

If I was to say anything negative about it, it would be that it only comes in four shades which isn't great. I'm wearing Shade 2, Beige Blush, which is nearly perfect, just a shade too dark for me, so will be taking a look at Shade 1 next time I'm near a stand.

It's truly lovely and a very reasonable £12.50.

Available from http://www.mememecosmetics.co.uk and Superdrug stores.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Nails Inc. Magnetic Polish in Whitehall

2011-12-20T10:00:00.000Z

I can't imagine there are many people who haven't yet heard of magnetic polish but for the benefit of those who haven't, magnetic polish looks and applies just like a normal nail varnish, the difference being you can add a pattern to your nail using a magnet built into the lid.

Nails Inc. released a couple of colours not so long ago, a silver and a purple, and the two newest additions are Whitehall, a teal, and Kensington Palace, a raspberry and I was sent Whitehall, the teal to try out.

I have to be honest and say that I wasn't sure I was going to like the finish as I think on some of the blog posts I've seen it look a bit like the nails were deformed...but like crackle polishes beforehand, I think this is one those products you have to try out yourself.

Clearly I do not have the knack with these, instead of lovely waves I have blobs where it's darker! I need to practice more as having seen these on other blogs I know the fault lies with me.

There are two things I especially wanted to mention, the first thing is that the wear on this polish was excellent, lasting me over 4 days, I removed on day 5 with a little tip wear. The other thing is that theres a lovely iridescence in the polish that really isn't evident in the pictures. It adds a depth that is really pretty.

The Nails Inc. Magnetic Polishes are £13 each and £1 of from the sale of each polish is donated to the youth charity The Princes Trust. The Princes Trust gives practical and financial support to 13-30 year olds who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law and helps them develop key workplace skills such as confidence and motivation with great success.

Available from http://www.nailsinc.com/

YSL Pore Refining Skincare Brush

2011-12-19T10:00:00.067Z

Well I've pretty much lived my entire life without primer until this last year. The first one I tried was a massive fail and I nearly didn't bother trying another one. The next two were brilliant, one extremely highly priced and the other a much more budget buy.

So the Yves Saint Laurent Pore Refining Skincare Brush claims to be a skincare product but I'd have to say it's essentially a primer, the aim of which to mattify, reduce the appearance of pores and give you a generally smoother skin to work with.

The main thing that sets this product apart from other primers is the built in brush.

I wondered how it was going to work and how well the brush would work but really it was flawless, you twist the brush into the on position, give a gentle squeeze until a little bit of product goes into the brush, then you brush the product where you want it... for me that's the centre of my face mostly... down over my nose, up between my brows and out on to my cheeks... I don't generally use primer all over my face, just on the bits I want to deal with and those are the areas where my pores are the largest and most obvious.

Well it's another lovely primer. The wear of my foundation is definitely extended, my pores are indeed, all but the largest, invisible with the largest looking definitely minimised. It's a great primer. Is it £36 worth of primer? Well yes, I've spent more on primer that's for sure! I do absolutely love the MeMeMe Seventh Heaven primer, its probably my favourite budget product ever, and it's hard to choose between them really.

Actually on reflection I'm not even sure it's fair to, as the MeMeMe and Rouge Bunny Rouge Primer's aren't mattifying primers, whereas this one is. So in the end I recommend them all, and I think I can get away with saying that yes, I highly recommend this one if you are specifically looking for a primer that will mattify. I particularly like the application method of this one too, so far I've not tried it but I presume you can wash the brush for hygiene reasons.

Available from all the usual YSL stockists such as www.boots.com and www.houseoffraser.co.uk and priced at £36.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Orly Fall 2011 Nite Owl & Fowl Play

2011-12-16T10:00:00.000Z

And so I bring you the final two polishes from the Orly Fall collection, Nite Owl and Fowl Play. Talk about saving the best for last!

Ok so Nite Owl. It's not quite as warm as the above photo would have you think, it's a beige with silver shimmer and it's lovely.

A great work safe colour that is a little different from the usual beige shades thanks to the silver shimmer that adds an extra dimension.

And saving the very best till last, here's Fowl Play.

A purple jelly base (meaning that I used 3 coats for the above pics) full of flakies, predominantly red/purple/blue but in some lights, copper and gold and a hint of green too. It's stunning. Actually because I'm a blogger and because I do nails for a living I change my polish very frequently because I either have other things I need to swatch or because I simple can't abide a chip or tip wear... this lasted ages and I didn't want to take it off. I removed it on day 5 with very minor tip wear. This polish lasts a long long time!

You can see my swatches of the other shades from this collection here and here and it would seem actually I missed one, I've not reviewed Lucky Duck, but you can see great swatches over at Scrangie as usual!

Lovely little collection anyway, but definitely Fowl Play is the most stunning colour and the Must have from the collection.

*Disclosure- PR Sample*

A Christmas Glossybox You Tube Vid.

2011-12-15T17:09:00.000Z

Cringe!

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light

2011-12-15T10:00:00.000Z

I've been a devotee of Estee Lauder's Double Wear foundation for a long time now. I have several foundations that I reach for often and Double Wear is my favourite. Largely because I often have spots and it takes a special foundation to cover them up and Double Wear does a great job of it. I also love the Double Wear concealer, and the combination of the two products is pretty much unbeatable.

A couple of months ago a friend came round sporting a perfect complexion which she told me was down to Double Wear Light and since my skin doesn't always need the heavy stuff I thought perhaps Double Wear Light might suit me on the days where my skin is less blemished and I've always got my trusty Double Wear concealer to fall back on.

So I plumped for the shade "Intensity 2.0". Estee Lauder seem to do this with their sheer-er foundations, you just pick your intensity rather than a specific shade. Shade 2.0 is a tiny bit too dark for me, it's wearable but will be better in the Summer. It's only a fraction off for me so I suspect that Shade 1.0 would be too pale for my skin.

The foundation claims to last 15 hours and feel as light as air and I'd have to agree, this stuff stays put, all day long, without the heavy coverage of the original Double Wear, but still creating a flawless finish. It's clever stuff really and it's my new favourite. It also does a good job of minimising the massive pores on my nose. I hate those pores. *Cross face*

Anyway, here it is in action, you can still see a smattering of freckles showing through I think which gives you an idea of the finish.

As a final note, this is advertised as being light to medium coverage and it is, but its certainly buildable to give you decent coverage. A truly lovely foundation. Oh and unlike the original Double Wear foundation, no white face when using flash photography!

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

The Paul & Joe Ornamental Holiday Collection

2011-12-14T10:00:00.000Z

The Christmas collection from Paul & Joe this year is so incredibly pretty! It's one of those collections where I think I want everything just because of how good all the items look together. Actually I've never tried Paul & Joe before and I don't really know why since pretty much everything I ever see on blogs and in mags makes me drool.

So this is my first foray into the world of Paul & Joe cosmetics and the first thing is, isn't the outer packaging beautiful?

I know it's not really the outer packaging that interests people but I had to share it because it's so pretty. I was sent three products to try out.

First the Ornamental Pressed Powder (£22)

It is really a very beautiful item. The compact design is stunning and very worthy of pulling out for cosmetic touch ups in public places. The paler stripes within the pan of pressed powder are a little bit glittery. I've been sweeping a large brush over the whole thing and sweeping all over my face... a very small amount of glitter is apparent but it's a lovely powder, soft and gentle and brightening. For most people, the glitter probably makes it an evenings only powder, for me, I just don't care, bring it on! Very pretty little compact.

I was also sent two of the Nail Enamels (£10.50 each). On the left is Rockin' and on the right is Home for Christmas.

Both of these are quite sheer, and soft, if that makes any sense but they are both pretty.

Here's Rockin'.

A really pretty colour.

Home for Christmas is the one though!

Again this is sheer and the picture does not do it justice at all, it's so sparkly and festive, love this so much. I've got three coats on in this picture and it's just gorgeous.

The wear on both of these was fab, lasting 4 days before I removed because I had other polish I needed to swatch.

There are of course other gorgeous things in the Ornamental collection, I'm loving the look of the Green polish called Hallelujah, and the Self Select Eye Colour in Silent Night which looks like a delicious purple. I'll be looking more closely at this brand in future!

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

The Travalo Perfume Atomiser

2011-12-13T10:00:00.000Z

The Travalo! It's small, it's simple, it's clever and I can't imagine being without it now.

Essentially the Travalo is a purse sized perfume atomiser bottle. Mean you can easily and safely carry it around with you without having to carry your full sized perfume bottle around with you.

The reason this suits me is that although I love perfume and have several bottles on the go, I do frequently forget to actually put it on, usually remembering while I'm in the car on my way somewhere...now I have perfume always on me as it does fit in my purse with no bother although I should mention my fabulous purse is quite large but the Travalo isn't big, it's 8cm long and weighs a tiny 12g.

I did wonder how on earth the perfume would get in there but it couldn't be simpler, in fact all it takes to explain it is a simple diagram on the back of the box.

Remove the nozzle from your perfume bottle, and place the Travalo base onto the tube you have sticking out, pump up and down a few times and your Travalo is good to go. It took seconds. There's also a handy window so you can see how much perfume you have left in it but I'm told it holds over 50 sprays and certainly mine seems to be lasting well.

I have Angel Eau de Toilette in mine and its lasting well, it doesn't leak and finally I am wearing perfume every day, and able to touch up if I feel I could do with a bit more. The other thing that's so great about this little gadget is that it's completely safe for flying as it copes with pressure changes with no bother.

As I say, I use mine daily and it fits a need I didn't really know I had!

The Travalo costs £9.99 but you can find it for £7.95 on www.cheapsmells.com.

*Disclosure - Cheapsmells.com provided this sample*

Nars Mandchourie Eyeshadow Duo

2011-12-12T10:00:00.002Z

Nars Mandchourie Eye Shadow Duo is a release from the Nars Holiday collection and whilst it may look nice enough, I'm not sure I'd have bought it if it wasn't for it being a co-buy on www.buyapowa.com, Buyapower is a great site that offers products (at the moment mostly cosmetic), the more people that purchase an item, the lower the price, meaning that this duo cost me a fantastic £15 instead of the usual £23.50. This isn't a sponsored post or anything but I do highly recommend you keep tabs on that site if you want cosmetic bargains!

So back to the duo in question. A lovely navy blue, matte and what appears to be a grey with metallic gold through it.

Actually the goldy-grey on the left has a touch of blue to it as well.

I found the swatches a bit disappointing if I'm honest, they looked a bit wishy-washy and were decidedly...meh... have a look, but read on!

The swatches are nice, but not amazing...so that lulled me into a terrible false sense of security when it came to putting these on my eyes. The swatches are not at all representative of how these appeared on my eyelids. I loaded my brush and dabbed it on only to find that they were incredibly pigmented and indeed gorgeous! I had to do some serious blending out to undo the damage I'd done with my first brush strokes. Loving my new eyeshadow duo. Definitely not for the faint hearted but a definite hit for this smokey eye lover.

There's not really much more I can say about this, other than I love it, so I leave you with the usual photo's of me looking ridiculous with my eyes closed :) Oh and you can see a tiny bit of my new hair colour and style... I should do a post on that at some point I think!

This duo was bought with my own money.

Introducing Fresh

2011-12-10T11:00:00.001Z

You may not be aware of Fresh but they are fairly new to the UK and only available in their one UK standalone store in London. Which is a shame as the products are lovely.

The Citron De Vigne set (£20) is gorgeous, contains a lovely Eau De Parfum, which is quite alcohol-y on first spray but that dissipates quickly and you're left with a gorgeous lemon scent with a touch of Pinot noir and an earthy touch. It mostly smells sweet and sharp without being too foody. The same applies for the beautiful Body Lotion which is really moisturising and smells gorgeous and there are also 4 Lemon Sugarbath cubes which really do smell good enough to eat.

I really fancy the Brown Sugar range which just sounds gorgeous and the lip treatments with names like Sugar Rose and Sugar Passion sound delicious.

You can take a look at the US website www.fresh.com and purchase the sets from the Fresh London Store at 92 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4RD.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Myleene Klass Nails

2011-12-09T10:00:00.001Z

I'm not a fan of Myleene Klass. Not in any way, shape or form. I'm not here to discuss that though. I'm a fan of all things nail related and when I was offered the chance to try out some of Myleene's new Nail wraps I jumped at it. My only previous experience with nail wraps was Nail Rock which I really struggled with so I was keen to see if these were any easier and in terms of application they certainly are.

Lets have a look at the first pack, the animal print ones.

These come with 12 different sizes wraps, a nail file for removing the excess and a sheet of top coat stickers to add extra shine and durability which is a nice touch. It's simple, select the size that fits your nail, position it, file off the excess and move onto the next nail. I managed to apply all with very little bother, I did find the edges ended up a little rough and I had one or two tiny little creases but am certain that comes from my uselessness rather than the product and I really like the overall look.

Unless you look really closely these looked great but I didn't like the rough edges and found I had to remove them two days later as it was driving me to distraction. I don't mind though as I'd more likely use nail wraps for a special occasion anyway and I could certainly tolerate it for the duration of a night out. Removal was easy as they very easily peeled off, you do have to do it slowly and carefully so you don't pull off half your nail, but I found that wasn't an issue at all with these.

Lets look at the second set, a silver glitter on a grey background.

Again these came with a nail file but not a top coat. I did wonder if it was a bit of a rip off that in you pay the same whether you get the extra stickers or whether really, the ones that come without should be a bit cheaper. I presume these glittery ones don't need a top coat as it might spoil the sparkle of the glitter. These looked lovely on I thought.

Lovely, really twinkly and sparkly and I think second time round I managed to get the edges a little smoother, although still not as smooth as I'd like. But they looked lovely. I was all set to recommend these wraps highly until I came to remove this set which went disastrously wrong. What I found was that as I was slowly gently peeling, what was coming away was a clear layer with glitter and the grey back ground was resolutely sticking to my nail. And in fact I've got some damage to my thumb nail where it took some layers with it. The adhesive on these glittery versions is just too much. Take a look at the aftermath.

The grey did wipe off easily with nail varnish remover, but really you shouldn't be left with that mess and certainly they shouldn't be damaging your nails. I didn't have this problem with the animal print ones at all, they peeled off incredibly easily and left no residue whatsoever so in the end my final opinion would have to be that these look fab but avoid the glittery ones!

You can buy these in sets of 5 from www.jmldirect.com and they are a good price at £19.99 for five sets which I think is reasonable although I have to say I can't see the animal print ones there, although there are zebra print ones which are cool :)

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

Lady Of The Lane is One of 4Beauty's top Skincare Blogs!

2011-12-08T11:09:00.000Z

I'm very proud and a little dismayed to announce that I've been named as one of Channel 4, 4Beauty's Best Skincare blogs.

You can take a look here, it is real!

I'm in some amazing company so I highly recommend you check out the other blogs listed for great reads.

Thank you so much 4Beauty! Squeeeeeeee!!!

Yes Yes Yes to Blueberries!

2011-12-08T10:00:00.000Z

After a win with the Yes To Carrots Body Butter I was offered a chance to try a few products from the Yes To Blueberries range which unlike it's vegetable based siblings appealed to me just because of the fruity name.

I'm still taking great care to not mess my skin around too much and to use products that are silicone free and as natural as possible and the Yes to Blueberries range meets that criteria.

The bits I was sent are the Intensive Firming Repair Moisturiser, the Intensive Firming Eye Repair Cream and the Brightening Towelettes.

Blueberries are famously anti-oxidant rich and those combined with some special active ingredients can really help fight the signs of ageing. Also included in the range are Paracress Flower and Cotton Thistle to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles, promote collagen production and improve the skins elasticity. The entire range is 95% natural, paraben free, petroleum and SLS free.

First up the Brightening Towelettes, these are £7.99 for 30. Blueberries and coconuts to cleanse, remove make up and moisturise all in one. We all know that wipes are a poor excuse for cleaning your face properly but I think many of us know how it feels to just not be bothered once in a while. I certainly don't use these every day, but I've tended to reach for them on nights where I'm ill or exhausted and not wearing a tonne of make although I have to say they do a great job of removing make up as well. I really like these and they are perfect for having when you really really CBA to wash your face properly. These smell lovely, leave only a little residue on the skin, and what is left behind feels moisturising and lovely, rather than leaving my skin feeling tight. I would definitely consider repurchasing these as I do like to have wipes to hand just in case.

Next the Intensive Firming Repair Moisturiser £19.99 for 50ml. It's actually not as cheap as I thought it'd be for some reason but it's worth it. My skin is the clearest it's been in a long long time. I can't say for sure it's this as I'm using a cocktail of products at the moment and still loving my Origins skincare, but this is my day moisturiser of choice at the moment, it feels light and absorbs quickly but seems to be coping very well with my winter dry patches, i.e. there are none. My skin looks great and this is at least partially responsible. I am not sure my lines are reduced, they might be, but over all my skin is looking healthier and plumper. Very happy to keep using this one well worth the price tag. There is one negative though, my neck does not like this at all and if I ever sweep my hands down over my neck I get spots. Spots on my neck. I don't know why this is, its a bit odd, but its no problem for me really, I use a different cream on my neck and so long as it doesn't give me spots on my face I'm happy. I think this highly likely to be me being odd, rather than the product, it would make no sense that my face loves it, my neck doesn't!

Finally the Intensive Firming Eye Repair Cream £19.99 for 15ml. Again a lovely light product, quickly absorbed that smells nice and keeps my eye area looking pretty good, I'm not sure my lines are reduced but there is a general improvement to the whole area which I think is hard to pinpoint, but it is regardless, better. I'm not sure yet how it compares with my Origins Plantscription but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either.

This is pretty pricey I think and I think the packaging could be a little fancier for the price. I think the plastic dispensers (which are pumps) have a sort of cheapness about them (not in a bad way) which would lead me to think the products were around half the price that they actually are. Don't get me wrong, the packaging is really attractive, I'm just not sure it matches the prices of the products. That said, don't judge a book by it's cover and all that, the products inside the containers are fabulous (and again I do like the containers!!) and I highly recommend them.

*Dislosure - PR Samples*

Smashbox Bionic Mascara

2011-12-07T10:00:00.001Z

The Smashbox Bionic Mascara claims to be the first ionic mascara bringing you longer, stronger and voluminous super-power lashes! Well I don't know about that, I don't even really know what ionic means if I'm honest, all I really care about when it comes to mascara's is does it flake, does it smudge and does it clump?

Apparently that brush up there is specially engineered! No really! But it is engineered to give you a gentle coat on your lashes, with one sweep, be clump free and the formula of the mascara itself is long wearing and water-resistant.

So is it all of those things? Well I really really like it! Despite my scepticism about some of the claims it does what I want a mascara to do, it looks good, it wears well and it definitely doesn't clump.

I have a lot of lashes and consequently it can be really hard work for mascaras to get through them without clumping but this coats each last and separates them nicely and I love the look. It's not massively dramatic but I don't tend to love dramatic mascaras as my lashes are quite curly and if they are lengthened too much they just leave black marks all over my upper lids, so this is perfect, it adds a little length without being overly dramatic and the effect is great for every day.

This mascara has a RRP of £16.50 but you can buy it for a great price of £12.95 (a 22% saving) from CheapSmells.com. I've not included a link here but if you do fancy buying one of these, I do have an affiliate link over there on the right ---> which will take you to Cheapsmells.

Really like this mascara, a great one that matches my needs very well.

*Disclosure - I received this mascara courtesy of Cheapsmells.com*

Dr. Lewinn's Renunail

2011-12-06T10:00:00.002Z

I was recently given the opportunity to try out some of Dr Lewinn's Renunail products, namely the Regular Strengthener, Renunail Sensitive Nude and the Nourishing Oil. At the time though my nails were looking great and would not have been a great subject for testing these out. Step forward my lovely Mum.

Mum has been having some problems with her nails for some time now, with breaking and flaking so the ideal candidate for the products.

Here's a before picture:

And here's what Mum had to say about the products, followed by an "After" picture:

"I have used this product for four weeks, and generally speaking, I would say it is very good indeed. My right hand is not as good as the left, as the nails on this hand, continued to split and snap and I found it very difficult to deal with this adequately. However, I have persevered and find that my nails have grown and are much stronger. As the before photo will show, they were in quite a state. The after photo shows what a good improvement has been made, even though the right hand nails are much shorter. I am now using the Renunail Sensitive over the next weeks, but didn't find the nourishing oil particularly good at softening my cuticles. I will certainly keep on using this product, and this week, will be applying a varnish for the full effect!"

Looks fantastic!

All the products are available from www.drlewinns.co.uk and prices are as follows:

Renunail Regular Strengthener £17.50
Renunail Sensitive Nude £12.00
Renunail Nourishing Oil £11.00

*Disclosure - PR samples were sent to my Mum*

Christmas with Origins & Ojon

2011-12-05T10:00:00.001Z

Today I'm looking at the Christmas gift offerings from Origins and Ojon. Starting with Origins.

There's a great selection of gifts catering for most people's tastes, and a variety of prices, ranging from skin care to bath and body products. There are two Harrods Exclusive candles which both look gorgeous, in De-Stress and Relaxing at £22 each but top of my wish list is any of the Ginger Gifts. Origins Ginger is a new discovery for me and is my new favourite thing!

The ginger scent is just beautiful, it's Ginger, Lemon, Lime and Bergamot and it's both warming and uplifting, absolutely gorgeous. I have the Ginger Burst Savory Body Wash and the beautiful Incredible Spreadable Ginger Scrub. Both of which are divine and I'm keen to add to my Ginger stash. and so I've got my eyes on the Ginger Treats Set (£29).

This lovely set includes the Ginger Souffle Whipped Body Cream, the Incredible Spreadable Scrub and the Ginger Float Cream Bubble Bath.

I'm also going to put the Ginger Ways kit (£35) on my list as that contains the Body Wash, Souffle body cream and the skin scent. Lovely!

All available from www.origins.co.uk

Then there's the seasonal offerings from Ojon. I've fallen in love with the Colour Sustain range and so teh Color Sustain Christmas Set is top of my hair wishlist at £15.

Containing 60mls of the shampoo and 60mls of the condition along with 50ml of the Restorative Hair Treatment this is a must have for me.

Beautiful products that help to protect my colour and leave my hair soft and shiny. Also I'm wondering who I can buy some of the Damage Reverse Instant Restorative Hair Serum for as I love this too. I have about 5 different hair oils/serums on the go at the moment but this is probably my favourite..

Also loving the look of the Winter Rescue Hair Kit, containing a bottle of the Hair Serum (50ml) along with a 60ml bottle of Reverse Restorative Shampoo and Damage Reverse Restorative conditioner, £22.

Available from www.ojon.co.uk.

So those are my top picks from Origins and Ojon this Christmas, beautiful products I'd be delighted to receive!

*Disclosure - I didn't receive any gifts but the full size products pictured above were samples*

Go Wild with Batiste Dry Shampoo

2011-12-04T11:00:00.001Z

I've never understood people's love of Batiste. I've always hated the smell of all the varieties I've tried (don't even get me started on that tropical one), I don't like the way it leaves my hair feeling and I've never really understood why people don't just wash their hair... even when I had a new born babyI still managed to find 5/10 minutes in my day to wash my hair...but I have to admit I've done a complete about turn with this new one, Go Wild. There are two reasons. The first being I LOVE the scent. I love it. Why? Because it reminds me of Angel, my all time favourite perfume. It's a oriental fragrance with cocoa, vanilla, wood and musk and it smells delicious.

I still don't find that it leaves my hair clean, it leaves it feeling a bit powdery and I don't really like it BUT I've recently had my hair restyled and I've got lots of choppy layers in it and although I won't use this on my clean hair I do find that on day two after washing it gives my roots and layers a really good boost of texture so whilst I don't like how it feels in my hair I do like how it makes my style look. So yes, I'm converted! Certainly to this new version anyway, so long as no one makes me go near the Tropical or Blush varieties I think me and Batiste are starting a whole new relationship.

I've just been nosing at the Batiste website and am wondering if I might like the XXL Volume version too. I'll have to give it whirl next!

£2.99 for 200ml, its really inexpensive and I'm sorry Batiste and Batiste users, I take it all back. I just had to find the right one for me and now I get it!

Available from www.boots.com.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Amazing Harvey Nichols Gift With Purchase

2011-12-03T10:00:00.000Z

Just a quick little post that might help someone. I had this press release through last week and its such a fantastic offer.

If you're planning on buying any beauty products for Christmas Pressies then all you have to do is spend £70 on two products within Beyond Beauty and you get £80 worth of treats from cult beauty brands as a free gift!

The full contents are:

Precy & Reed Dry Conditioner 150ml

Butter London Nail Lacquer in Bluey

Strivectin-SD Instant Texturising Scrub 30ml

Blinc Mascara 0.7g

Blinc Eye Liner 0.7g

Bodhi Body Moisturiser 40ml

Korres Wild Rose 24-Hour Moisturiser 10ml

Burts Bees Milk & Honey Body Lotion 70g

This Works Clean Skin Daily Wash 30ml

Kyoku Sachet (a selection)

Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in Dove Grey

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Clear Lip Gloss 7ml

Green & Spring Indulging Shower and Bath Foam 50ml.

In store now, while stocks last!

Estee Lauder Pure Crimson Collection for Holiday 2011

2011-12-02T10:00:00.001Z

There doesn't seem to have been as much publicity for Estee Lauder's holiday collection this year I don't know why this is. It's a small collection, 9 pieces I believe, of which I have two to show you.

Firstly the Pure Color Eyeshadow Palette in Enchanted. (£35)

Swatches without flash:

And with Flash:

I think you can see that with the flash they all look rather shimmery, but actually, in natural light I'd describe them more as satin finishes. There's no glitter and no fall out in these at all. My faves are the amazing blue in the centre, the taupe and the bottom purple, but they are all nice and well pigmented.

I love this palette. At first I thought it was very much like the Surreal Violetpalette, and at first glance it is, but actually its not when they are side by side and this is much more wearable for me. I like the Surreal Violet palette a lot, but this much more every day wear for me as it's softer and more muted. It's lovely.

And then there's the Pure Color Nail Laquer, Enchanted Garnet (£14).

A truly beautiful red creme perfect for Christmas. I LOVE red polish, I wear it more now than I ever have done and this is my current favourite. A real beauty and perfect for the season.

I'm thinking I might pop into Debenhams soon and have a little look at the Cherry Fever Pure Color Gloss as it's really calling my name!

Anything take your fancy?

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Want To Be on a YSL VIP Panel?

2011-12-01T13:59:00.000Z

Are you over 30 and would you like to be one of 50 women selected to join the Yves Saint Laurent VIP panel to trial the new Forever Youth Liberator Serum before it launches in January?

If you are selected you'll be sent a 4 week supply of the Serum and be asked what you think of it.

The Forever Youth Liberator promises Anti-wrinkle, lifting, plumping and radiance. I'd love to try it!

Plus if you do a video review it will be featured on the Yves Saint Laurent Fragrance & Beauty Facebook page.

If you are interested you can apply via the Facebook App here:
http://apps.facebook.com/yslforever/

Liz Earle have Christmas Covered

2011-12-01T10:00:00.003Z

Liz Earle once again have their usual wonderful variety of gifts available this Christmas for men and women and for a variety of budgets. I particularly love the look of the Daily Face Treat set (£15.25), available in Normal/Combination, Dry/Sensitive and Combination/Oily and containing a mini Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser 30ml, 50ml Instant Boost Skin Tonic and Skin Repair moisturiser 15ml. All lovely products.

This Christmas Ltd Edition Cleanse and Polish is a lovely gift too, you get 150ml pump and one muslin cloth for £18.50 and it comes in a lovely festive box. I love Cleanse & Polish and know my Mum would love to receive this for Christmas!

Please head over the Liz Earle site to have a look especially if you are searching for gift ideas!

*Disclosure PR Sample*

Origins Clean Energy Cleansing Oil

2011-11-30T10:00:00.001Z

In my quest for better skin and with my new love of all things Origins, it was time to find myself a new cleanser. I knew, thanks to Caroline Hirons, that I needed a non-foaming cleanser and I've wanted to try a cleansing oil for a long time now So this seemed the natural choice.

I bought this to accompany the rest of my skin care regime and I'm really pleased I did as I love it.

This bright yellow oil, smells gorgeous and contains Sunflower, Sesame and Safflower oils. It dissolves every last scrap of my make up and leaves my skin soft and clean with no harsh foaming agents. This is suitable for all skin types as it's not at all heavy and doesn't leave any trace of oil on the skin after use.

To use, you just massage in to the skin, then add a splash of warm water to transform the oil into a milky lotion, and rinse away, although I wipe away with a clean muslin each time. Lovely stuff.

I do have one gripe though, the bottle needs a pump. It's just a screw top lid and you have to pour some out into your hands. If I don't lose some straight down the plug hole then it drips all down the sides of the bottle, its not a great design for the product. That aside it was £17 well spent.

EDIT: I have since been informed that you can buy a separate pump for £1. Which I now have and its fab, I now have no negative comments to make about this product.

Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia Fragrance Chronicle

2011-11-29T10:00:00.002Z

Christmas is coming and the beauty blogger is eating too much Stollen and looking at and getting excited about Christmas items from a variety of brands. Today I'm looking at Jo Malone and in particular one of the Christmas gifts I was extremely lucky to be sent. And I do mean extremely lucky. I feel lucky to be sent samples all the time but occasionally I am so lucky I actually feel like I shouldn't blog about something as it seems so huge I feel like I am bragging.

I'm not bragging, I'm reviewing a product I've been sent as I would with any other product but there's no denying this is one special sample.

The English Pear and Freesia Fragrance Chronicle from Jo Malone (RRP £72). This a beautiful gift presented in the form of a hard backed book as the name would suggest and all tied up with a red ribbon.

When you until the ribbon and open up the book you are presented with, on the right hand side, four bottles of fragrance. A 30ml bottle of English Pear and Freesia Cologne and three 9ml bottles, King William Pear Cologne, Freesia Cologne and Patchouli Cologne.

And then on the left hand side you'll find descriptions of each scent along with suggestions for layering to create new dimensions and scents. Please feel free to enlarge and have a read.

At first I wasn't sure I'd like the main scent, English Pear & Freesia, it's certainly nothing I would ever choose for myself but actually it's beautiful. Probably because along with the pear and freesia, theres a dollop of rose, amber, my absolute favourite patchouli and woods. They are subtle, very subtle but it adds a dimension to the fragrance (which still remains light and fruity) that really appeals to me.

The three accompanying scents are all different, the King William Pear adds more fruit and touch more floral in shape of peony and an extra dash of rose. Freesia Cologne is beautiful, violet, water jasmine and freesia and lastly and unsurprisingly my favourite, Patchouli Cologne. Warm leather, creamy vanilla, musk and earthy patchouli. Beautiful. And unsurprisingly again it is the Patchouli Cologne layered with the English Pear and Freesia that is my favourite and most worn. It's beautiful which surprises me as I'd never have guessed that Pear would be a scent I'd wear, which makes me all the more grateful to have been sent it to try.

If I've not sold it to you, or it's a bit more than you'd like to spend on perfume then there are plenty of other Christmas gifts from Jo Malone this year, at a variety of prices. I'd love to receive the Christmas Cracker containing 9ml of Grapefruit Cologne, 15ml of Lime Basil & Mandarin Body & Hand Wash and 15ml of Pomegranate Noir Body Creme for £28, and oh my gosh, the Roasted Chestnut Deluxe Candle a snip at £80 and therefore forever out of my league.

Shop online now at www.jomalone.com

*Disclosure - in case you didn't pick this up from my post, this is a PR Sample*

My Chanel Holiday Shopping Spree

2011-11-28T10:00:00.004Z

I have to say Chanel Holiday collection didn't really appeal to me on first, second and third glances. The eyeshadows looked nice but not very exciting, the lip colours didn't excite me, the Feerie powder looked stunning but useless for me and that lovely Lumiere Sculptee de Chanel highlighting powder looked gorgeous but didn't really call my name either. But the more I looked, the more things I saw that I really liked and then before I knew it'd placed a little order for four teeny weeny things. And all were a bit of a gamble if I'm honest as I'd not seen any of them in person and I wasn't at all sure they'd work on me. Turns out I'm absolutely thrilled will them all, one thing in particular.

Lets have a look!

First up, Rouge Allure Laque in Empire.

My first Rouge Allure Laque, It's a beautiful formula and a gorgeous everyday colour. I'm so happy with this but it really doesn't look on my lips anything like it does on swatches. I don't know if that's just me or not and it's not a grumble. In the swatch a bit further down, you can see if you look closely there are gold sparkles in the swatch, but I can't see them at all on my lips.

Next, the Soft Touch Eyeshadow in Blazing Gold.

The first of the two pictures is more colour accurate. This is a very yellow gold which is what appealed to me about this shadow. It does have a tendency to be a bit chunky but I've not had any problems with the application, in fact I really like it. A good purchase. It's shimmery but it's not sparkle city.

Next the Soft Touch Eyeshadow in Beige Lame.

The second, out of focus, shot is the colour accurate one and although it's out of focus I've included it because it shows off the true colour of this shadow. It's a warm beige on me full of minute pink, green and gold sparkle. It's absolutely beautiful and I really like it. The sparkle is very special and it isn't invisible once you put it on, you can see the sparkle, admittedly only if you're close, but it's there and very pretty. I must say though that within a few hours under my eyes and the tops of cheeks were covered in tiny pink and green specks of sparkle. So yes there is fall out, not on application, but over the course of the day. I don't mind though, it's not like it's big chunks of sparkle.

Finally, my absolute favourite the Liquid Eye Liner in Or.

It's a bright yellow gold and so far as I'm concerned the absolute highlight of the collection. I've pretty much given up on black liquid liners, I've tried gels with brushes, felt pens, fine brushes and all sorts and I never get a decent line, black is just too unforgiving for my wobbly hand. When I discovered Illamasqua's Glister Precision Ink I fell in love with a lighter look liquid liner on my upper lid. And to date Glister was my most favourite liquid liner ever, until now, Chanel's Or is perfection in application, consistency, and colour. But only if you don't mind your golds very yellow!

Here are swatches of all of the above:

Do you agree with me about the lip colour swatch, it looks much brighter and deeper in the swatch than it does on my lips? It's not a complaint, I love it.

So here are the shadows and liner on my eyes, Blazing gold all over, Beige Lame in the crease:

And my full face, including the Empire Rouge Allure Laque. I don't know why I'm looking a bit orange in the first one, given that in the third one its not so orange.

And the last picture is a shocker of a photo but I think it does a good job of showing accurately the colours.

Beautiful products and well worth a second look if you'd previously dismissed this collection as a bit dull. I love the combination of the products and find them incredibly flattering.

Oh and before I forget, they sent me a sample of the Vitalumiere foundation which is unfortunately the wrong shade for me, but the finish is gorgeous and it's an absolute dream to apply!

All products were bought by me from the fabulous http://www.garden.co.uk/ which is not an affiliate link, just one I recommend!

Christmas with Aromatherapy Associates

2011-11-27T10:00:00.000Z

Looking for lovely smelly Christmas gifts for the important people in your life? Well look no further than Aromatherapy Associates this year with the usual array of gorgeous products with something for most budgets.

My top pick HAS to be the Little Star (£10.00).

A star shaped tree decoration housing a little 7.5ml bottle of the best oil ever, Deep Relax Bath and Shower Oil. If you don't already know how much I adore this stuff then read all about it here! Not only a great little treat for someone special but if you're doubtful about spending £37 on the full size bottle then it's a great way of trying it out, it'll last for ages if you use it like I do, on your pulse points at bedtime.

But then for £5 more you can get two bottles in a lovely red box (but not a tree decoration). Two 7.5ml bottles, one each of Revive Morning and Deep Relax. Depends whether you want the star shaped box or not, this gift is definitely better value.

Taking a big price leap up, there's the three wick Comfort Candle (£45), 42 hours burn time.

I have the smaller £24 version of this which I keep on my bedside table and it's nearly dead... this would be a great replacement! Damask Rose and Ginger and it's gorgeous.

But if that's out of your budget (and it's definitely out of mine) then there's a little set with two small candles in Relax (myrrh and West Indian bay) and Revive (pink grapefruit and petitgrain). I might put that on my Christmas wish list.

And then there's the most expensive gift. The Ultimate Bath and Shower Oil Collection (9 x 7.5ml, £49)

It's a larger version of the Miniature Bath & Shower Oil Collection which is gorgeous. Alas, I won't be getting one of these but if anyone I know is feeling flush and doesn't know what to get me for Christmas then....

All gifts are available from the Aromatherapy Associates Boutique and Treatment Rooms in London, Liberty, Space NK, Fortnum & Mason and of course www.aromatherapyassociates.com.

Orly Sweet Peacock

2011-11-26T10:00:00.001Z

Just a quick and rare Saturday post to share this polish with you. I've already shown you two polishes from the Orly Birds of a Feather collection but I was just sent Sweet Peacock and put it on immediately (at the time of writing).

It's a bright blue silver foil with a splash of silver in it which I haven't captured too well in my pictures but it is there. If blues are your thing then this is gorgeous. I don't love blues as I just feel, as I've already said before, that I'm too old for them, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the beauty of a good blue and this is a great blue.

Without Flash, sorry this came out a bit out of focus:

And with flash:

Lovely. It's also worth mentioning that I found the other two shades from this collection tricky to work with and wondered if they were a bit old, whereas this one was perfect in application.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Lush Lips for Christmas!

2011-11-25T10:00:00.001Z

When Lush make things I like, I REALLY like them and whilst so much isn't for me since I decided I only like showering these lip products for Christmas are great... I'm actually contemplating back ups!

So first up the Pow Wow lip scrub (£4.75). It's a seriously unattractive colour but don't let it put you off. It's a lime scented scrub full of sugar and popping candy. In addition there's ginseng and caffeine to help you party all night and then there's organic jojoba oil, rose hip oil and argan oil. I admit it's not the easiest to use for a few reasons. Firstly my pot seems to have a bit too much oil in it so when I dip my finger in the pot I mostly get oil with a few bits of scrub. That's ok, it's super moisturising but it is very green and if it goes over the edges of your lips you WILL see it on your skin because it's green. Then the other thing is that the popping candy is not the easiest to scrub with because of the shapes and sizes. That said it tastes and smells gorgeous and it leaves my lips so incredibly soft and flake free, even if they were flaky to start with. A great product with loads of gorgeous ingredients and a little kick to help you through the part season.

And then there's the Celebrate Lip Tint, also £4.75. A tinted lip balm in pale pink.

It looks so pretty in its tin but actually that popping candy on the top is a bit irritating because it sticks on your lips. That aside, this smells gorgeous, and for some reason it was a hugely nostalgic smell for me, I've not been able to work out yet what it reminds me of, maybe it's just sherbet lemons or something but it smells gorgeous. It's supposedly cognac, lemon and grapefruit, I just get fruity loveliness. The colour of the tint is gorgeous and so is the texture. I've read reports that some people have found it a bit drying, that's not been the case for me at all, maybe because I'm using it regularly in conjunction with the scrub, but my lips are definitely kissably soft. You just have to inspect closely to make sure you don't have lumps of popping candy stuck to your lips!

It's a pink with a very subtle golden lustre.

And I'm sorry about this horribly unflattering photo you're about to see, but it's the only one I took that came out in focus...and I just wanted to show the colour in the context of my face.

Love it and although I'm considering back ups of both products it's the tint especially I love. Only next tin I get I'll scrape the extremely pretty popping candy off the top first.

I am also fancying very muchly the other two Christmas lip tints, Snow Fairy and Chilli Tingle. It's the latter that's really calling my name though, jojoba, cocoa butter and chilli... and it's orange. Looks gorgeous on the Lush website.

There are some lovely things from Lush this Christmas, some old favourites and some new but the lip products are my absolute favourites.

Go have a look, https://phoenix.lush.co.uk/

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

Ellis Faas Clips!

2011-11-24T10:00:00.001Z

Now this little thing here is an Ellis Clip. It's completely ingenious! Do you have more than one Ellis Faas pen? I do.

These little plastic clips join together like this:

And then your pens just slide in like so:

It just looks so cool and you can just slide out the pens that you want and slot them back in when you're done without having to undo the clips.

The whole point being that you can keep them all together easily and the above just rolls up for easy portability. It's so simple it's brilliant!

You can just easily keep your pens together and sling them in your bag or whatnot, I'm so impressed with such a simple idea. I've wanted one of the Ellis Holder's for ages, but I prefer the clips!

The clips are £2 each and available from www.ellisfaas.com.

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

Japonesque Brushes now in Boots!

2011-11-23T10:00:00.001Z

You've probably heard of Japonesque. If you're anything like me you'll know they make accessories that are highly regarded and viewed largely as a professional brand and that certainly is the case, until now.

Japonesque were inspired by the professional make up tools used in Japanese Kabuki theatres which were of superior quality and were originally made, as I suspected, for make up artists but now you and I can get our hands on these beauties at John Lewis and Boots.

Not only are they the creators of their own brand tools but are the go to designers and manufacturers of tools for some huge name retailers, such as Nars and Mac. So it's a pretty awesome pedigree.

The range available in stores are the Travel sizes but Japonesque promise that the short handled travel brushes are the same standard as the full sizes using the same quality materials and craftsmanship. I can't compare as I don't have any full size brushes, but all I can say is Wow, these are amazing!

It's a pretty extensive range and I've been lucky enough to try out most of it. First of all I must tell you about the packaging. It's relatively plain and functional which I like but on the back of each brushes box are all the details you need. It tells you whether the brush is natural or synthetic and how best to use it to apply your product, it also gives you diagrams showing where to place your product. It's a great actually, very helpful and I've read the back of each box avidly trying to learn as much as I can about product application and blending. I've always considered myself something of a dunce when it comes to the application of make up so I'm someone who really appreciates clear, concise instructions, which these are.

The range itself, as I've already said, is extensive and a mixture of synthetic and natural. All are extremely soft. A problem I've had with some natural brushes in the past is that they irritate my skin leaving me a little red and blotchy. I'm not sure what these natural brushes are made of but it's incredibly silky and soft and causes me no irritation. I've been using them for a few days now and I've not had any shedding while they are in use. I washed a couple the other day and I lost one hair which didn't concern me in the slightest.

These are not very cheap brushes but they aren't extortionate either and I would say they were perfectly priced given the standard of them.

Here's a quick run own of the brushes I have:

Brow/Lash Comb £9.75
Angled Foundation Brush £19.50 (this is FAB!)
Eye Shadow Fluff Brush (Medium) £14.75
Angled Eyeliner Brush £12.75 (so easy to use!)
Brow Definer £10.50 (perfect for applying powders to my brows)
Retractable Lip Brush (I don't have a price for this right now)
Powder Brush £29.25
Smudger Brush £14.75
Eye Shadow Crease Brush £12.75
Concealer Brush £10.50
Blush Brush £24.00

So its a wide price range with the powder brush being the most expensive at £29.25. All are worth it, you can tell when you're using these that they are quality brushes and I've really enjoyed using them. I won't hesitate to buy more to add to the set if there are any I don't have. Particular favourites are the smudger brush which I use daily, and the crease brush. I'm also loving the brow definer and foundation brush. They are all great though, I suppose I don't really use the brow/lash comb as I use other tools for those jobs but otherwise there's nothing there that I don't use regularly or wouldn't buy other than perhaps the lip brush which I only use occasionally as I'm a straight-from-the-bullet kind of a girl.

Very highly recommended brushes and actually I think a high quality range of brushes is something that I think has been lacking in high street stores.

Available from Boots now.

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

MeMeMe Blush Me! Pink and Sultry Eyes Trio

2011-11-22T10:00:00.001Z

I talked about the MeMeMe primer last week which I really really loved, and when I was sent the primer, I was also sent a few bits from their cosmetics line to try out. Having only tried a couple of things in the past it was nice to be given the opportunity to try some more bits. I'm a terrible make up snob and I really don't look at high street brands as much as I ought to if I'm brutally honest with a few exceptions (hello Rimmel Hide the Blemish). I was sent the Blush Me! Pink blusher and the Sultry Eyes Eye Inspire Classic Trio.

I was especially keen to try out the Blush Me Pink blusher.

It's a mid pink in the pan, but it looks bright too if that makes any sense. It also looks shimmery. So in short it's a little daunting. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your point of view), its actually much softer than it looks. As you'll see from the swatch pictures at the bottom of the post it's actually a very soft pink with shimmer, but the shimmer is very fine indeed so it's not too disco ball. It's actually very nice when you want only a subtle touch of colour and a little bit of glow. It's really nice. This retails at £8.50 but is currently on the website at an extremely reasonable £6.50.

I was also sent the Eye Inspire Classic Trio in Sultry Eyes.

This eyeshadow trio is slightly less warm than in my photograph. It's a nice trio, neutral colours. I found they performed extremely well. With the colours being easy to apply and blend and they wore well on me, lasting all day. I've been looking at the other colour ways available and there are some really great trios, I'm particularly loving the look of the Candy Eyes Trio featuring a mint, lilac and pink. The one I've got is nice enough though, I'll show you the swatches below along with the blusher. Again, this is a really reasonably priced product, costing £5.50 normally but on special offer at £4.50 on the website at the time of writing.

I've used the shadows here, with the dark used as a liner.

Swatches:

And both on. I found using the two products gave me a really natural look, soft and subtle and actually really rather nice for every day. I'm sorry you can't see the blusher too well in these, it's very subtle!

I've got a few more bits to try out and review for you, but overall I'm really impressed with what I've tried so far, the primer is fabulous and so are these two bits. I know there are some high street brands that I've tried that have done nothing to change my my snobbiness, but MeMeMe might just be the brand to convince me that not everything I buy needs to cost the earth!

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

Origins Super Spot Remover

2011-11-21T10:00:00.001Z

Spots! The bane of my life. Hormonal, stress, no reason whatsoever. I hate spots. Mostly I suffer with them hormonally but they can last for so long it feels like I have them all month!

I get all sorts, from pimples to the huge cystic spots that feel like a pea under my skin, I get them all although thankfully, the latter are rarer.

Origins Super Spot Remover is a tiny 10ml bottle of gel containing Salicylic Acid, caffiene and red algae. The caffeine and red algae help to relieve redness.

This stuff really really works. It works brilliantly on most spots I've had, calming and reducing the redness fairly quickly and you only need a tiny amount. The only thing I've found it not so great on is the big painful cystic spots and it might be that these are just so big and painful that it's harder to measure whether it's working or not! It's not a criticism really, I've said it before on my blog and it's still the case that I'm not sure there's anything that works on those spots and I'm not sure it's fair to judge a product on whether it gets rid of those monstrosities.

What it does do is work really well and effectively on anything that has a "head" or has had a a head. The bottle is tiny at only 10ml, but you really only need the tiniest amount and my bottle is lasting ages, despite very regular use.

The best spot treatment I've ever tried and at £12, it's affordable too. Definitely recommended.
*Disclosure - PR Sample*

MeMeMe Seventh Heaven Enriched Facebase

2011-11-18T10:00:00.002Z

MeMeMe isn't a brand I'm overly familiar with, having only tried a few bits in the past (lovely eyeshadows!), but when I saw the press release for Seventh Heaven Enriched Facebase I knew I had to try it out. I don't know why it appealed so much maybe it's the name, or maybe it's the packaging, or maybe it was the description, I don't know, but I knew I wanted to try it.

A moisturising primer containing ingredients to calm, repair, rejuvenate, nourish, brighten and hydrate, Seventh Heaven contains Shea Butter, Vitamin A and antioxidants, along with Rosebay and Geranium to heal and calm.

It's small but powerful pot. And it smells gorgeous, lemon and mandarin and the texture is that of a gorgeous moisturiser.

So the idea, as with most primers, is that you add a small amount to your face, leave to soak in for a minute or two then carry on with your foundation as usual.

What I was interested in was two things in particular, how would this cope with the dry patches on either side of my nose which foundations usually show up, and how would a primer that is moisturising cope with a whole day?

Well it's amazing! It's comfortable on my skin, it quickly absorbed, it left my skin soft and gorgeous, it moisturised (over my usual moisturiser), didn't clog in my dry patches and stopped my foundation clogging in my dry patches and my foundation stayed put all day with no shine. What more can you ask for? It's perfect and it's a fraction of the cost of my last primer, leaving me feeling like a bit of a fool to be honest! I don't need my super duper expensive one any more (although it is still fabulous, its just expensive!). If and when I ever finish my posh one, this will be the Primer I use for the rest of my life!

MeMeMe Seventh Heaven Enriched Facebase £15.00 available from www.mememecosmetics.co.uk and Superdrug stores nationwide. Seriously if you need a primer that moisturises then try this.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

More Little BU polish!

2011-11-17T10:00:00.001Z

I've already talked about Little BU nail polish extensively here. A new brand of nail polish for little girls that I absolutely love. I just wanted to show you a few more colours and tell you what they have on for Christmas.

L-R: Oliva, Kyra, Emma, Sofia

I must really apologise for the quality of some of these swatch photographs in advance. These were taken pre-new camera.

Olivia, a bright bright blue.

Kyra, a shimmery silver with a hint of beige. Sheer, but pretty.

Emma, a beautiful red.

Sofia, a dark dark purple with a lovely shimmer, which my picture failed to capture, hence the additional bottle shot.

The finish of all of these is beautiful and all are shiny and the wear is great once set with a hair dryer and top coat applied. For Chloe though, what I love is that if she wants polish on a Sunday, I just don't add the top coat and it washes off when she showers on Sunday night, ready for school on Monday. If she wants polish on for the whole weekend we use the top coat. Its great stuff. I think we're only two colours short of the full set now so I'll probably get one or both as stocking fillers for Chloe.

Of the four above Olivia is her favourite, she likes the blue, she's not so keen on Sofia (which I really like) because she says it's too dark and might as well just be black. I'm trying to tell her that it's cool, but she just says "not cool Mummy". I will bring out her inner goth before she reaches her teens...

I'd also recommend the Trio of Little BU polishes in an organza pouch (£25.95) as a great gift for any little girls you know! Available from Harrods or http://www.iluvlittlebu.com/

*Disclaimer - PR Samples*

Aromatherapy Associates Renew Rose Hydrating Body Gel

2011-11-16T10:00:00.001Z

Another lovely product from Aromatherapy Associates. It is almost as though they are a brand who can do no wrong when it comes to products. I've not yet had a dud.

The Renew Rose Hydrating Body Gel is as the name would suggest, a body moisturiser in a gel form. It's made with damask rose water, geranium and evening primrose oil and is lightly perfumed. It's a lovely scent but it is light, I'd like it to be a little stronger, but that's a question of taste and I'm well known for loving strong strong scents. I really love the smell, so much I'd like it to linger longer! I must say that after using this both my daughter and my husband commented on how nice I smelled.

It does leave my skin feeling soft and moisturised but it is a light moisturiser and as such I'd recommend it as being more suitable for the Summer months when you want something less intensive and I'd imagine that this would be wonderful if you'd caught the sun...

Perfect for someone who likes a light floral scent that isn't overpowering and doesn't need a heavy duty moisturiser for their body. At the moment I'm all about the Enrich Body Butter which I love.

The Renew Rose Hydrating Body Gel is available from www.aromatherapyassociates.com and costs £27.50 for 200ml so is definitely a luxury product.

*Disclosure - PR Sample*

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre in 108

2011-11-15T10:00:00.002Z

When I bought the Noir Terriblement palette I couldn't resist this lipstick too. I bought both online but it was the in store swatching that made me do it! I fell for about four of the Golden Lustre versions of the Rouge Pur Couture lipsticks but I bought 108 (Ocre Rose) which is possibly the safest choice for a beginner.

The packaging is to die for BUT I do spend far too much time trying to wipe off finger prints...

In the tube it looks pretty boring I suppose and truly, it's not the world's most stunning lipstick but regardless I absolutely love it. The "golden lustre" is incredibly subtle, you won't be seeing glitter in this lipstick, just more of an extra dimension I suppose, a hint of shimmer without frost. It's very pretty.

The formula is also amazing. It's moisturising but not greasy (which I really don't like in the Rouge Volupte formula), and it lasts surprisingly well on my lips. I was surprised to see my lipstick still in place after lunch the other day, this rarely happens to me, and is especially good in a lipstick that doesn't promise any long wear.

A gorgeous lipstick and I will definitely be going back for more, and perhaps trying out some of them without the Golden Lustre.

And a stupid face to show the colour in the context of the colour against the full glory of my skin colouring

I don't know what I'm doing either. idiot.

Anyway, gorgeous lipstick, I really love it and am pleased with my investment. It cost me £22.50 by the way and although it is a stupid price for a lipstick really, I'm happy.