glossybox - the christmas edition

What's red and shiny and comes through your letterbox a few days before Christmas? It's the Glossybox Christmas Edition!* 

The usually girlish pink box has had a festive facelift and is as shiny and red as Rudolph's nose! This box is part two of the Glossybox Christmas Gift Guide and is packed full of products to get you in the seasonal spirit. 

This is the first time I have decided to feature my Glossybox contents on my blog, despite kindly being sent a few boxes in the past. I am always a bit too late to the table with my posts and then I feel I have nothing much to add to whatever has already been said. However I am so impressed with this month's offerings, so much so I may have even snuffled a little squeak of glee as I raised the lid and revealed its goodies, that I really wanted to share them with you.

Blink + Go Eyeshadow and Blush Palette, (full size - RRP 14.95)

Popping a full sized makeup item in the box is a sure fire way to get my eyes dancing with delight! I was really pleased to unearth this palette rather than the mascara that I have seen in some of the other Christmas glossyboxes. I think it is nice that they have varied the contents slightly, but that is because I am smugly happy with my box. This is way more exciting than a mascara. The palette has two layers, the top layer offering six very wearable eyeshadow colours, the bottom revealing two pink-toned blushers. I can't vouch for the quality of this product yet, but am looking forward to giving it a whirl.

Bioniva Eye Wrinkle Treatment (small sample size)

Possible the consolation product in this month's box. No not a perfume sample, but a small pot of Bionova's eye wrinkle treatment cream. This doesn't really float my boat, but that's because I don't have eye wrinkles...yet. Others may be thrilled that they can trial something that retails at £43 for a full-sized product, and isn't that the whole point?

Rituals Foaming Shower Gel (full size - £6.50)

At first glance I thought this was a deodorant which I thought was an odd addition to the Christmas Glossybox, unless they suspect us all getting a little bit sweaty as we race around the shops doing our last minute shopping! But no, it is a foaming shower gel from Rituals which has an amazingly sweet, floral aroma.

Cargo Cosmetics Classic Lip Gloss, Serengeti (travel size)

A lipgloss: thumbs up. A lipgloss in a gorgeous, iridescent peach colour: double thumbs up! The full size of this lipgloss retails at £10, but I think this dinky travel-sized product is more than adequate. Lipgloss seems to last me ages anyway. I really love the look of this and am excited to review it in more detail in a future post.

Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle Mini Nail Vanish (mini) with Stripped to Go Sachet

Possibly the trump card of this month's offerings. This mini Deborah Lippmann nail colour is an enticing blackened raspberry varnish with magenta and red glitter. It is really quite fabulous and perfect for the impending party season! Full size, this would cost £16 so I am more than happy with my little pot of Razzle Dazzle. Along with the nail varnish there was also a Deborah Lippmann polish remover finger nail mitt. Can't say I have ever used a finger mitt before but sure it will be very handy.

 So all in all, Glossybox's Special Christmas Edition certainly got my bells a ringing-dinging and it really did feel like Christmas had come early when this box arrived!

To sign up or to find out more about Glossybox, then you can find all the info here.

What are your thoughts on this month's box?

Twitter . Facebook . Bloglovin'

View Post

liz earle pampering hand treat

With only 12 days until Christmas day, you are either feeling particularly smug with yourself as you are surrounded by neatly wrapped Christmas presents, or you are filled with mild panic as your shopping list grows and the shops become more frenzied.

I wanted to share with you this really sweet Pampering Hand Treat gift set from Liz Earle which could be the perfect last minute purchase for that tricky aunt or beauty-obsessed sister. Inside the package you will find:

Hand Repair (100ml) This is a non-greasy, powerful hand cream that provides instant protection and relief for your hands; enriched with natural soothing ingredients such as echinacea and vitamin E. I am obsessed with hand creams, especially during the winter months when my skin can get really dry, so this product is perfect and I love the chunky packaging and handy pump.

Orange Flower Hand Wash (30ml) This fragrant, foaming hand wash is particularly gentle leaving your hands soft and sweet smelling. It contains Panthenol and betaine, derived from sugar molasses, which moisturise the hands whilst extracts of orange essential oils and geranium fruitily fragrance the skin.

Superbalm (5g) This is known as Liz Earle's emergency skin salve, which rescues and soothes the skin. It can be used on any dry areas such as lips, elbows, knuckles and heels to gently soften and calm dry skin. It can also be used to condition nails and cuticles. It is made from pure plant oils, natural waxes and Shea butter and is a handy little addition to your handbag.

So, have you got all your Christmas shopping done?
Or are you like me and leaving it to the last minute as always!

Twitter . Facebook . Bloglovin'

View Post

rawr

top - H&M    skirt - Forever 21,
belt - charity shop   earrings - Accessorize

Another amazing find in Forever 21. I had been looking for a fitted, knee length, animal print skirt for a while now and this beast of a skirt ticked all the right boxes; and it was only £10 something! Bargain.
I hope you are all having super weekends. I am just warming up from a day of hockey spectating and getting ready for my first festive outing of 2011 with my hockey team tonight. We are going for some yummy grub and then a few drinks afterwards. I think there might even be some pulling of the crackers! It officially feels like Christmas now.
x

View Post

Benefit the POREfessional

I'm not going to lie and say that I religiously use a primer in my day to day makeup routine. In fact, it is the one stage I would gladly skip when time is precious, and I have happily pasted on my foundation sans primer many a time. For me, priming is more of a luxury step in my makeup routine for when I have plentiful time and a desire to achieve the perfect base. My primer of choice at the moment is MAC's Prep & Prime Skin Brightening Serum which is alright - but to honest, I am not sure whether I use primer because I like it or just because I feel a good beauty blogger ought to! Sometimes a well moisturised face is just adequate.

Benefit's the POREfessional is a dual-action prime and touch-up balm that promises to minimise your pores, help blend your makeup and refine your complexion. It would be true to say that I hate my pores. At the start of the day they are pretty much invisible but as the day, and my makeup, wears on, they slowly become more and more exaggerated as my makeup begins to sit in them. I hoped the POREfessional might be my salvation... 

The formulation of this product is extremely silky and lightweight and the skin-coloured, oil-free cream glides onto your bare skin so smoothly. It is a lot thicker in consistency to your average serum and clearly leaves a fine, translucent layer on your skin after application. The moment the balm touches your skin and you begin to blend, the feel of the cream magically transforms into a silky, powdery finish. The idea isn't to totally swamp your face in this balm, but to pat and blend it into your troublesome areas with your fingertips. I mainly focus on my cheeks and down my nose - these are the main areas I suffer from pores. Wait a few seconds and then apply your foundation as you normally would. Benefit also say that you can use the POREfessional during the day, to disguise any pores that may have reappeared, by applying the balm over your makeup. Now this did not work for me, applying this product over my existing, particularly powdery makeup just made it a bit messy and didn't make any difference. Because you are only applying the POREfessonal to key areas and not smothering it all over your face, you could still use your primer first, and then layer this on top. I have pretty much cast my Prep and Prime aside and am just using this alone for the time being.

The POREfessional really does work wonders when applied under your makeup and does definitely help minimise the appearance of my pores. Imagine polyfilla if you will, the way it glides over cracks and holes, creating a wonderfully smooth and even canvas to then create your masterpiece on. Benefit's the POREfessional is the beauty girl's polyfilla, just slightly less industrial and definitely more pretty and sweet smelling!

The POREfessional (22ml) is available from Benefit Cosmetics and retails at £23.50, a pretty exemplar price by Benefit's standards. It may seems quite pricey, but you need to apply so very little, this tube will last you a good few months or more.
Have you tried this product? What do you reach for to prep and prime your skin?
x

View Post

frost bite

Top - Forever 21

Necklace - Forever 21

Leggings - Topshop

Fur coat - Motel Rocks

My much awaited fur coat finally arrived from Motel Rocks! I attended a recent Motel Rocks event as a guest of Glossybox and we were given the opportunity to chose one piece from their new collection. The decision was not hard as upon arrival I had instantly navigated towards this 90's boyfriend fur coat which is oh so strokable, soft and snug! The sizing is a little suspect - I went for extra small and the coat is still huge on me; I feel a bit like a giant gorilla! I think it is just the style of it, and it doesn't stop me from absolutely loving it. It really is the perfect coat to keep me toasty during these wintery days.

On a side note - I love Forever 21! I went to the Westfield Stratford City last weekend and could have spent a small fortune in their store. Three levels of loveliness! I am trying to schedule in a cheeky revisit before Christmas if I can.

I hope you are all well, having good weeks and keeping warm.

x

View Post

pink punch

Double Hit Lip in Pink Punch - LOOK Beauty £7
available from Superdrug

Pow wow! This lipstick and lipgloss duo from the new LOOK beauty range certainly packs a punch. An awesome hot pink with blue-ish undertones which does wonders for making your teeth look decidedly dazzling! The lipstick itself has quite a glossy finish and goes on very smoothly. The consistently is quite slippery on your lips so you need to apply it a few times to work up an opaque colour. This is a bit of a shame but does mean that it doesn't stain your lips at all. The lipstick is pretty scentless, whereas the lipgloss actually smells like those old-school fruit salad chewy bars. Very sweet. Some may not like this - but personally it doesn't really offend me. 

First two photos - the lipstick sans gloss.
Second two photos - the lipstick and the lipgloss for a double hit lip look!

This is really fun product - and both the lipstick and lipgloss have quite a good staying powers and didn't dry my lips out at all. If you like the look of this lip duo then LOOK beauty do it in a few various shades and is great value at just £7! I personally would probably just wear the lipstick on its own as I am not that fond of the overly glossy/gloopy lip look. It doesn't mix well with long hair and English windy weather! 

Have you tried any products from the new LOOK beauty range yet?
x

View Post

primary instinct

Dress - H&M   Necklace - H&M

Woo, it's finally the weekend :)
Have a good one girls.
x

View Post