I Finally Caved...

I'm sure you've all heard about (or already own!) the Garnier 2-in-1 Tinted Eye Roll-On. This skincare-makeup hybrid product is rapidly acquiring somewhat of a cult following and somehow I had managed to resist the temptation to buy it... until I walked past Superdrug this weekend and saw that it was half price! It would be rude not to, surely?!

When I got this home and had a play I have to say I was impressed, and after three days use I'm definitely a convert. The metal rollerball is really cooling on your eyes and certainly feels like it's doing its job.

The formula also contains caffeine which apparently helps to eliminate bags by reducing the amount of moisture in the skin cells under the eye and also works to eliminate dark circles by increasing blood flow through the capillaries under the skin, helping the tissue around the eye to repair itself faster. I'm not sure about how effective this is in reality, but the product as a whole definitely helps erase any puffiness around my eyes.

The concealer itself is also a great consistency, blending into the skin very easily. Although it does look a little messy when first applied (which is one of the reasons why I resisted buying it for such a long time) The formula is very light and moisturising, so what seems like quite a lot of product is actually just about right.

It comes in three shades (very fair, fair & medium-dark) which is better than a one-shade-fits-all approach, but still doesn't quite cater for everyone. I chose the second lightest shade 'fair' and it's perfect for brightening up my eyes. If you haven't already tried this I'd definitely recommend doing so while it's still half pricein Superdrug. for £5.10 you can't go wrong! (and if you're already addicted... now's the perfect time to stock up!)

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The One That Got Away!

I recently made a video on my YouTube channel entitled 'My Top Products for Beautiful Hair' (Click here to watch it if you haven't already!) Typically, a few days after filming this video I discovered a product that would most certainly have been included had I got round to trying it sooner... The Joico K Pak Deep Penetrating Reconstructor.

I was given this product at the National Beauty Blogging Event a few weeks back and it sat unloved in my bathroom for a few weeks. When I finally got around to giving it a whirl last week I was blown away!

This deep conditioning treatment left my hair feeling super soft, rejuvenated and much stronger. It's packed with Keratin (hence the 'K' pak I think!) so unsurprisingly, leaves your hair feeling strong and sleek. It smells divine too, so is a real treat to use and has definitely found a place in my weekly hair care routine! At £12.75 (from feelunique.com) it's also quite a bit cheaper than some of my other favourite treatments, so I'm a happy girl (with shiny hair!)

Have any of you tried this treatment, or anything else from Joico? This has certainly left me wanting to try more!

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The Perfect Mother's Day Gift?

Mother's Day is fast approaching (April 3rd!) and for those of you who are still yet to decide on what to treat your mum to this year, I have the perfect solution!

Yesterday I took my mum down to Harrods to treat her to a Nubo White Diamond Radiance Facial. As a woman who is utterly obsessed both diamonds and skincare, I thought I'd hit the nail on the head with this one... and I wasn't wrong!

Nubo's Diamond Peel & Reveal transformative treatment containing real diamond dust (above), is the central product in the White Diamond Facial. It promises to noticeably diminish fine lines, eliminate dead skin and impurities, and to brighten and promote natural luminosity.

My mum was suitably impressed and rather intrigued by the concept of combining two of her favourite things in life, along with a tasty brunch in Harrods... brownie points, here I come!

I also thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get her Mother's Day treat in early in order to write a review for you all, albeit with the promise of no before and after photographs!

After spending a good 15 minutes marching around Harrods trying to find the right place (the Nubo section in the 'Beauty Apothecary' hall, not Urban Retreat!) we were greeted by renowned facialist Caroline Hitchcock and taken into a secret room on the other side of the Beauty Hall (confusing, I know!)

My mum emerged 50 minutes later glowing, singing Caroline's praises and telling me all about the Nubo line and how she was converted.

Nubo's 'Beauty by Appointment' facials cost £50 to book, but this is fully redeemable against any of their products, so it's essentially a free treatment! My mum umm'ed and ahh'ed over the line deciding which was her favourite product but in the end decided the 'Voile' (a makeup/skincare hybrid type product that lies somewhere between a primer and a tinted moisturiser) and the 'Eye Focus' Cream were her top picks.

For more information visit the Nubo website or call Harrods on 0207 7301234 (Ext. 3285) to book.

Brownie points guaranteed!

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Accessorize Bronze: Pretty, but not Perfect

If you watched my last haul video on YouTube, you may have seen my latest nail polish purchase. (On a side note, you'll also know that I bought it in an attempt to match the colour of my new car, which it is absolutely nothing like so we won't worry about that!)

This is my first purchase from Accessorize's new line of cosmetics and I'm rather impressed! They have quite a large selection of nail polishes, including quite a few pretty duochrome shades, which aren't too common on the high street at the moment.

This shade is an interesting combination of golden bronze and a pinky-plum colour. It applied smoothly, opaque in two coats and (helped along by Sally Hansen's Insta-Dry top coat) dried in next to no time.

Having said that, something about this colour leaves me wanting more. Don't get me wrong, I like it... but I don't love it. From the look of the bottle I thought it was going to be more pink, but in most lights it's the bronze that shines through (which doesn't show in the photos, typical!)

As the title suggests this polish is pretty, but not perfect. I'd love to try some more of the Accessorize line though, I was really impressed by the quality and packaging.

Would love to hear all your thoughts on the new line? Anything that's caught your eye?

*update* I initially posted this polish as 'Aztec' but have since found out it is in fact 'Bronze' and my box was mis-labelled - sorry girls! x

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Sleek 'Avoir La Peche' Collection: Peachy Keen or You've Been Tangoed?!

The latest release to come from Sleek Makeup is the 'Avoir La Peche' collection. I was sent two items from the three-piece collection today and thought I'd do a little review for you all.

I must admit the packaging drew me in instantly... pretty peach flowers make the collection look cute and appropriate for spring time.

The 'Pout Polish' tinted lip conditioner in Sugar May did not disappoint. I love the colour, love the scent, love the consistency, love the product. It leaves you with a nice nude sheen to your lips and for £3.58 you can't really go wrong. It's also got SPF15 which is an added bonus!

The blush on the other hand, I was rather disappointed by. Rather than the pretty peach colour I was expecting, 'Pan Tao' is nothing less than a bright, luminous orange.

Perhaps wearable if using a very light hand on lighter skin tones, I think this blush is better left for those amongst us who have much deeper skin tones, as I find it hard to imagine it being flattering on anyone else. At £4.30 it won't break the bank, but I definitely wouldn't have bought this myself.

Last but not least, Sleek are also releasing an eyeshadow palette called 'Paraguaya' (which I wasn't sent)

From looking at pictures and swatches online, I was actually pleasantly surprised to see that the colours do look fairly wearable (Considering peaches and corals can be hard to pull off, I wasn't expecting that!) Having said that, there are definitely a few 'dodgy' orange shades, but if you like peachy eye shadows then this could be a winner. Sleek's eyeshadow palettes are great quality and great value at only £6.49 for 12 shadows.

All in all? I think the concept and design of the packaging for this line was top notch, but the colour choices left a lot to be desired. Unless you're a particular fan of orange cheeks and eyes, the pout polish is the only must-see product in this collection.

The new collection is available in selected Superdrug stores and online now.

What do you think girls?

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Eau so Fresh: One Minute with Hannah Holman!

As part of the launch for Marc Jacobs' latest fragrance 'Daisy Eau so Fresh', I was given the opportunity to ask rising star of the modelling world and face of the new fragrance, Hannah Holman, a few questions.

She attended the interview wearing not a scrap of make up, and still managed to look utterly fabulous (so jealous!) See the video below to see what she had to say about the new fragrance, her favourite 'fresh' make up look and how she feels at having come such a long way in the modelling world at only 19...

As for the fragrance itself (which is available now) it's a lighter, fruiter version of the much loved Daisy.

With notes of raspberry, apple blossom and jasmine petals, it's a great spring/summer fragrance that is really easy to wear. I prefer it to the original Daisy, as it's not quite so floral (sometimes I find daisy can be somewhat sickly?!).

Has anyone else tried this yet? What do you think of Hannah's answers?!

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The Winners!

So the end is here! Thank you all so much for entering my six consecutive giveaways this week. I wish I could give each and every one of you a prize just for reading my blog, but I'm afraid there can only be 8 winners!

And with out further ado...

Day 1

The winner is: Emma Greenwood

Day 2

The winner is: Jojo *Update* Jojo didn't reply to my emails so I had to select another winner which is... Heavenly_Charm! Congrats!

Day 3

The winner is: Samanth19

Day 4

The winner is: alistyles

The runner-up is: Krista

Day 5

The winner is: Stephanie xx

Day 6

The winner is: babblingkatie

The runner up is: Dannii

Once again, thanks so much to everyone who entered... normal blogging will now commence!

Fx

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Elemis & Temperley Collaboration!

I'm sorry to have bombarded you all with various new release and charity posts recently but there are just so many fabulous things coming out this spring, I can't help myself!

I got a press release through today announcing that one of my all time favourite skin care brands Elemis are collaborating with one of my all time favourite fashion deisgners Alice Temperley to release a limited edition 'Safari Traveller' kit which looks like this...

Isn't it simply fabulous?! I absolutely love it!

Not only does the case look beautiful but it contains seven travel sized bottles of Elemis' best selling products:

Pro Collagen Marine Creme 30ml

Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser 30ml

Soothing Apricot Toner 50ml

Exotic Cream Moisurising Mask 15ml

Skin Nourishing Shower Creme 100ml

Papaya Enzyme Peel 15ml

Exotic Frangipani Monoi Moisture Melt 35ml

The Moisture Melt is one of my personal favourite products to use as a hair treatment, so I was thrilled to see that one in the line up!

To launch this gorgeous travel set, Elemis have also teamed up with charity foundation Mothers4Children which was set up by model Lisa B and helps raise and allocate funds to various charities that help children in need throughout the world. £1.50 from the sale of every bag goes to the charity. While I had hoped it would be a higher percentage of the £79 retail price, I still think it's a wonderful collaboration as Elemis hope to raise £50,000 for the charity in total.

Lisa B modelling the Temperley travel cases for men (top) and women (bottom). Yes, there is a mens version, but let's face it, you're all more excited to see the ladies one!

The travel sets will be available for a limited time in John Lewis between the 12 - 27th March 2011 before their national and online release in May. If you get your skates on, you might be able to get hold of one for Mothers Day - I think it would make the perfect mother's day treat!

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Kiss Art!

When I was asked by Max Factor to create my very own ‘Max Factor Kiss Art’ using the Lipfinity Liptint pens as part of their charity ebay auction for Macmillan Cancer Support, I jumped at the chance. What I didn’t envisage at the time however, was a table of three boys (I say boys, in fact they’re all 25, but certainly don’t act their age and so will be referred to as boys!) being present when I opened the package of pens and paper.

The boys, thinking they were highly comical and original decided to take a new view on the title ‘Kiss Art’ and went about creating a work of art emulating Gene Simmons…

Mike, Matt and Dodge gather round to plan their masterpiece…

In fact Dodge and I ended up feeling really rather left out and decided to make our own, rival Kiss Art! (Which may or may not have been more impressive than the boys’… if you’re into impressionism?!)

We must admit at this stage, we cheated a little and resorted to using a sharpie too! Shhhh don’t tell anyone!

Getting creative with Matt’s dog Mutley (he’s not cute at all, eh?!)

After half an hour or so, the inevitable happened and the boys decided to put the lipfinity pens on each other...

The finished articles… masterpieces I’m sure you’ll agree!

Max Factor are going to be auctioning off some decidedly more professional pieces of ‘Kiss Art’ that have been created by celebrities such as Pixie Lott, Eliza Doolittle and Amy Molyneux of PPQ. The bidding commences on ebay's charity site on the 28th March 2011 and will be open for at least a week.

All of the proceeds go to Macmillan Cancer Support, so get your bids in for a good cause and your chance to have a piece of celebrity artwork hanging on your wall!

*This post was sponsored by MaxFactor, who supplied the materials used*

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The 5,000 Follower Giveaway: Day 6! *CLOSED*

So the end of my 5,000 follower giveaway is here and I'd like to take another chance just to thank you all for supporting me and my blog over the last year. I have had so much fun posting my thoughts and make up discoveries for you all and I hope you continue to enjoy reading them... normal blogging will resume tomorrow, I promise!

For my final giveaway I have two prizes up for grabs...

The first prize is a bottle of the limited velvet edition Marc Jacobs Lola Eau de Parfum 50ml along with the scented shower gel and body cream. One of my personal favourites, this bottle will look fabulous on your dressing table (if it's not already there, of course!)

The second prize is a set of CK One goodies including a 100ml Eau de Toilette fragrance, a shower gel, body lotion, deodorant and soap.

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning is...

(I'm sure you've all got the gist by now!)

1. Be a follower of my blog

2. Enter a comment on this post

3. Don't forget to include your email address or twitter name so that I can get in touch if you win!

ENTRY NOW CLOSED!

This giveaway is open for 24 HOURS only and will close at midnight 7th March 2011. The winners will be chosen at random and announced on the 8th March 2011. It is open internationally.

*Only ONE entry per person please, any more will NOT be counted*

Good Luck, and once again, thanks to each and every one of you!

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The 5,000 Follower Giveaway: Day 5! *CLOSED*

For my last-but-one day of my big blog giveaway I have a huge pile of pampering goodies for one lucky follower to win, courtesy of Topshop Makeup, Goody Hair and Kiss Nails.

The prize consists of (hold your breath…)

Topshop... Face Wipes, Nail Varnish Remover, Brighten pen in Moonlight, Balm in Sheen, Kohl in Saddle, Lip Stick in Rapturous, Liquid Liner in Infinite, Nail Varnishes in Airplane and In The Red

Goody… 4 Jumbo Self-Holding Rollers, 17 Gentle Pontytailers, 3 Stayput Headbands, 6 Sectioning Clips, 48 Black Bobbies, 1 Gelous Grip Curling Brush, 1 Ouchless Conditioning Comb, 1 Ouchless Brush, 1 Multi Purpose Comb Set (contains 6 combs)

Kiss/Broadway… 1 Jet Dry Nail Glue Duo, 1 Set of Flexibilbe Nail Art Stickers, 1 Paint and Stencil Kit (black, white & silver glitter nail art pens, plus stencils), 5 sets of Fashion Express Broadway Nails (various designs), 4 sets of Fashion Dive Broadway Nails (various designs), 2 sets of Kiss Everlasting French Nails, 1 All or One Aritifical Nail Remover

To be in with a chance of winning this huuuge pile of goodies, all you need to do is:

1. Be a follower of my blog

2. Write a comment on this post

3. Don’t forget to include your email address or twitter name so that I can get in touch if you win!

ENTRY NOW CLOSED

This giveaway is open for 24 HOURS only, closing 6^th March 2011 at midnight GMT. It is open internationally. The winner will be selected at random and announced on 8^th March 2011.

*Only ONE entry per person please, any more will NOT be counted*

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What Beyonce Did Next...

Yesterday I got the chance to catch a whiff of Beyonce's second foray into the perfume world: 'Heat Rush'.

Beyonce's first fragrance 'Heat', was released last summer and I am a big fan. If you haven't smelt the original fragrance it's surprisingly sweet and fruity. I expected Beyonce to go a little more obviously 'Sexy' with her fragrance debut but was pleasantly surprised to find that the scent was actually light, fresh and fruity.

Her second fragrance release follows along the same lines. Heat Rush, if anything, is even sweeter than the original scent. It smells like a freshly mixed cocktail! With top notes of passionfruit, blood orange and cherry this is quite understandable, but it settles into a slightly more smooth, subtly floral scent.

For me, this was an instant hit. I LOVE it and would definitely recommend everyone who likes the Escada perfumes to have a sniff when this is released on 6th April. Another plus point is that it won't break the bank at £27 for 50ml and £36 for 100ml Eau de Toilette.

The one downside? They didn't change the bottle... which I really don't like!

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The 5,000 Follower Giveaway: Day 4! *CLOSED*

Day number 4 of my 5,000 follower giveaway is here already (time flies when you're having fun after all!) and today there are going to be two winners!

I have a selection of products from two of my favourite British brands Jemma Kidd and Elemis to give away and I can't wait to see what you all think!

The first prize is an Elemis Cleansing & Toning Duo comprising of my personal favourite Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash and the complementary Balancing Lavender Toner along with a selection of Jemma Kidd products including her Pro Skin Perfection Kit which houses citrus and peach colour correcting creams along with a shimmery all over radiance creme and a concentrated lip and cheek stain.

There is also one of my favourite Glosstick lipsticks in 'Hibiscus' (an eye catching coral colour that is perfect for spring!) and last but not least, a Jemma Kidd Essentials Palette. This palette contains six wearable eye shadow shades (including a matte black to create the perfect smokey eye!) a lip gloss, cream blush and miniature brushes for on-the-go application.

The name says it all... this palette contains all of your everyday 'essential' colours!

I also have a runner-up prize in the form of another Elemis Cleansing & Toning Duo, this time containing their Anti-Ageing Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser and Soothing Apricot Toner.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning either of these is:

1. Be a follower of my blog

2. Enter a comment on this post

3. Don't forget to include your email address or twitter name so that I can get in touch if you win!

ENTRY NOW CLOSED!

This giveaway is open for 24 Hours ONLY and closes 5th March 2011 at midnight GMT. It is open internationally. The winner will be selected at random and announced on the 8th March 2011.

* Only ONE entry per person please! Any more will NOT be counted!*

Good Luck!

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New from Burt's Bees...

I got the chance to try out the latest product to be released by natural skin care brand Burt's Bees today and I have to say I was nothing less than seriously impressed. I'm already a big fan of the brand (which you may have gathered if you've seen my previous posts about them!) so I had high expectations for their new 24 Hour Body Lotions.

There are four varieties in the new line, all specifically targeted for different types of skin. There's Aloe & Buttermilk for Sensitive Skin, Cocoa & Cupuacu for Dry Skin, Fragrance free with Shea Butter & Vitamin E for all skin types and last but certainly not least (as it's my personal favourite!) Milk & Honey for normal to dry skin.

If you've tried their original Milk & Honey body lotion you'll know that it's not just the scent that is wonderful... I'm not sure what it is but something about the formulation of the Milk & Honey products is cooling on the skin. They both make your skin feel so fresh and soft. I think I prefer the new formulation to the original though, as it's more the consistency of a body butter, rather than a milk so it feels more luxurious to apply.

The new line has been formulated with something called 'Liquid Crystal Technology' (sounds technical!) Which is meant to emulate the state of your skin in order to help the lotion to penetrate and for the nutrients to be more effectively absorbed. I don't know anything about liquid crystals but it certainly leaves your skin feeling baby soft!

The 24 hour moisturization body lotions are available online now (£8.50 incl. delivery at feelunique) and will be in stores from April, priced at £9.99

Any other Burt's fans out there? Any of these new formulas take your fancy?

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