Sneaky Peak: Jo Malone Wild Bluebell

Today I was invited along to the unveiling of the newest fragrance from Jo Malone: Wild Bluebell. Upon entering a fabulous Georgian town house, I was instantly transported into a fantasy world of fresh bluebells, rabbits and whimsical fairytales. The new fragrance (and it's colourful campaign) is somewhat of a departure from the norm for Jo Malone.

It's a rather different scent that has something quite unusual about it. It combines not only fresh bluebell but clove, lily of the valley and jasmine. With subtle white amber and musk base notes coming through once it settles on the skin, this light scent remains fresh and floral yet still complex and intriguing.

The accompanying ad campaign is perfecting fitting for the scent, telling the story of a girl named Bluebell... 'Terribly English. Naughty but nice. A girl who lets nature run riot for all the right reasons'

Really quite beautiful don't you think?

The bad news? It's not available till September, but take note ladies! This is definitely one to look out for... The scented candle is particularly lovely.

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OPI & Essie Goodies!

A fabulous package arrived in the post yesterday from my good friend Allison (otherwise known as Amarixe)

While in New York with her in April, I was complaining about how extortionately expensive my favourite OPI polishes are in the UK. As Allison is a fellow nail polish addict (I love her nail of the day posts on her blog especially - check them out here) she clearly took note and when this bundle of goodies arrived on my doorstep yesterday, I couldn't wait to try them all out!

From left to right: OPI Flashbulb Fuschia, My Private Jet, Ski Teal We Drop, DS Magic, Essie Cute as a Button

I've had my eyes on My Private Jet for a long time so I applied that first and I wasn't disappointed! As I'm sure many of you know, this shade is famous for being Kim Kardashian's favourite. OPI have more recently come under fire for reformulating it to contain less holographic glitter (the old one was more of a classic 'holo' polish) but honestly, I really love how subtle this colour is...

A gorgeous grey-brown shade, the holographic shimmer is very subtle and only shows up when the light hits it. In low light it looks kind of like little white flecks, almost like a starry night sky. Love it!

My second favourite of the bunch is the bright blue-purple shimmer 'DS Magic'. a gorgeous eye catching colour that will be great come summer time.

Flashbulb Fuschia is also a beautiful shade, a bright blue-toned pink with a super subtle silver shimmer... gorgeous! This is exactly the kind of colour that always draws me in - so girly!

The final two shades don't require such close-ups as they don't have shimmer but 'Ski Teal we Drop' is a gorgeous deep teal (funnily enough!) and 'Cute as a Button' (my first ever Essie polish... excited!) is a super pretty light coral - perfect for summer toes!

I absolutely adore OPI polishes (they apply like a dream!) so it's a real treat to have so many new colours without the hefty UK price tag attached. Can't wait to wear my first ever Essie either... thank you Allison!

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The New (& Fabulous) Dior Mitzah Collection

It is quite rare for an email to arrive in my inbox and within 5 minutes be up on my blog. But I feel that the latest limited edition eyeshadow palette from Dior just needs to be seen by you all... immediately.

How gorgeous is this?!

The Mitzah Palette, which was designed in honour of Mitzah Bricard (Christian Dior’s muse and great friend, below) will be available exclusively at Selfridges from the 1st June.

I haven't tried the shadows myself so can't comment on the pigmentation, but if these are well pigmented, this palette could actually be a great everyday option! Just see the look below...

At £60 it's definitely more of a wishlist item than a shopping list item. But we can all dream!

Dior are also releasing two new nail polishes dedicated to Mitzah Bricard and her love for leopard print.

Ebony (912) and Camel (622) are a little more affordable at £17.50 each, and you can layer them to creat our very own leopard nail art!

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Lips I'm Loving!

While having a much needed clear out of my ridiculously heavy and oversized handbag this afternoon, I counted up all of the lip products I was lugging around with me... no fewer than seven! A little overkill don't you think?

None the less, I do love all of these lippies I was hoarding away and as most of them are fairly new additions to my collection, I thought I'd blog about them!

1. Burberry Lip Mist in Feather Pink - The newest release from Burberry (they only came out this week I think!) This is quite simply the most fabulous textured lipstick out there. It feels almost like a gel when it glides on and leaves your lips feeling smooth and lovely. The colour is a great 'your lips but better' shade. I'm totally in love with the super-luxurious magnetic closure packaging too!

2. Dior Addict Lipstick in DiorKiss - This is the colour that Kate Moss is wearing in the advert for Dior's latest line of lipsticks and I think it's set to become something of an iconic colour for them. Just bright enough to catch your attention, but not bright enough to make you feel uncomfortable wearing it... This is fast becoming a staple colour in my collection.

3. MAC's Creme Cup - The latest edition to the pile, this pale lilac-pink has quite a cult following online. I absolutley love the rich, creamy formulation of the MAC cremesheen lipsticks and can't believe I didn't buy this shade sooner - gorgeous!

4. Shiseido Shimmering Rouge in PK407 - For some reason anything bright fuschia with blue shimmer draws me in like a magpie and this lipstick was no exception. It's super bright in the tube but appears very sheer on the lips, making it quite wearable yet still unusual and fun. The formulation is very light and moisturising too so great for daytime wear. The packaging looks and feels super glamourous. The name however, does not (but I can let that one slide!)

5. NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Carthage - My favourite, yet (unsurprisingly!) least worn colour of the bunch. This is a scorchingly bright matte pink that I am dying to wear on holiday this summer... if only summer would hurry up and arrive sooner!

6. MAC's Costa Chic - My second most recent purchase, on recomendation from the lovely Tanya Burr (or Pixi2woo on YouTube) this looks almost orange in the tube but a gorgeous coral-pink on the lips... another perfect shade for the summer holidays.

7. NARS Lipgloss in Wonder - Last but not least, this super sheer tangerine gloss from the NARS summer collection is surprisingly wearable and looks great (as it is shown above) layered over MAC's Costa Chic... exotic yet wearable!

So girls, which is your favourite? And how many lippies are lurking at the bottom of your handbag?!

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Fight the Frizz... With a Pillowcase?

I have heard rumours here and there about silk sheets and their benefits for your skin and hair, but was surprised to hear that there is a brand solely dedicated to natural silk pillowcases. 'SilkSkin' pillowcases boast a list of beauty & health benefits including:

• Helping to prevent fine lines and wrinkles appearing through maintaining moisture levels in your skin.
• The same moisture-maintaining properties also claim help to relieve eczema and dry, irritable skin and scalps
• Reducing 'bed head' by avoiding the friction that is common between cotton sheets and hair strands
• Dettering dust mites, therefore leaving you with 'cleaner' bedding (they don't live in silk apparently!)

As a fairly skeptical person in general... I have to say I was not convinced that these pillowcases really would make a difference when I was offered to try one out, but none the less I was intrigued and agreed to play guinea pig.

And I'm very glad I did.

One week later my hair is significantly less knotty and ruffled when I wake up in the morning - Not totally frizz-free but I'd say it's a 60% improvement! As for the anti-ageing benefits, I don't think that is something you can monitor so well, but the pillowcases do feel amazing against the skin, they are ridiculously soft and feel super luxurious.

The one downside is the price. These don't come cheap at £36 each and to be honest, I'm not really sure how much difference using these would make when compared to another type of silk pillowcase... none the less, I'm seriously impressed by these and would certainly recommend them to anyone else who (like me!) wakes up with a birds nest on their head every morning!

I'm definitely a convert.

SilkSkin products are available to buy online here or in Harvey Nichols. Would love to know if any of you have tried these, or like to sleep on silk... any other converts?

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Sneaky Peak: Max Factor Liquid Effect Eyeliners

Last week I was given the chance to try out a new line of eyeliners from MaxFactor. I thought I’d share my thoughts with you all as these are something you might want to keep an eye out for once they hit the shops in June. The ‘Liquid Effect’ liners are Max Factor’s answer to the Urban Decay 24/7 and Make Up for Ever Aqua Eyes Liners… super soft pencil liners that go on like a dream, stay smudge-able for 30 seconds or so before setting and becoming super waterproof and long-wearing.

There are 6 shades in the line including the standard black, brown and grey colours, a rather garish green, a pretty plum and my personal favourite… a lilac-grey-taupe shade called Lilac Flame (third from the left)

Overall I’m seriously impressed with these liners. They are much better than the MUFE Aqua Eyes in my opinion, and on a par with the Urban Decay 24/7’s. For some reason the black applies better than the others in the waterline, but they all apply beautifully along the lash line and stay on all day. The little smudger on the end comes in useful if you want a more messy look…

I’m not sure what price these will be. Max Factor isn’t normally cheap as chips but it will most certainly be more affordable than Urban Decay so if you’re on the market for a new liner I’d recommend checking these out, especially ‘Lilac Flame’.

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Red Carpet Makeup Tips from MAC

I was kindly invited along to view a demonstration by top MAC make up artists Neil Young and Lynsey Alexander creating their favourite red carpet looks for the upcoming Philips British Academy Television Awards 2011. I thought I'd take to my blog to share just a few of their top tips for looking immaculate on the red carpet, or in the case of us mere mortals... when you're being photographed!

Neil's red carpet look focused on the lips, using my personal favourite MAC lipstick, Show Orchid. His top tips for using bold, statement colour were:

• Skip lip liner for a more modern bright lip

• "If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got" - Be brave with colour to change your look and avoid getting stuck in a makeup rut.

• Take a moment to look at yourself each morning. Some days certain features stand out, let that dictate what you want to accentuate that day.

Lynsey's look focused on the eyes, creating a unique take on the classic smokey eye. Her top tips for red carpet glamour were:

• Take an antihistamine tablet before an event if you are very nervous and prone to blushing. This will stop you looking red-faced in the photographs (also a great one for nervous brides-to-be!)

• Don't stick to the standard, old fashioned make up rules (i.e. Five eyeshadow colours) but adapt them to the look you are creating, and to your individual features.

• Don't forget to take your foundation over your ears if your hair is up to avoid them mismatching!

I absolutely loved both of the finished looks and picked up some great tips for the next time I'm in front of the camera.

What do you think girls? Which look would you chose to walk the red carpet?

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L'Occitane Pivoine Flora

I popped along to the L'occitane store in London's Covent Garden last night to take a peek at their brand new make up collection, released in conjunction with the launch of the new Pivoine Flora eau de parfum fragrance. Not usually one for heavy floral scents myself, I had a feeling I'd emerge from the cellar-style store feeling a little queazy but (thank goodness!) I was wrong.

The Pivoine Flora collection celebrates the peony, my favourite flower. The packaging is to die for, a mixture of hot pink peonies and old fashioned bottles. The scent itself is surprisingly light for a floral perfume. Initially quite sharp, with a relative burst of grapefruit hitting your senses, the scent mellows out into easily discernible violet notes mixed with peony and magnolia. A beautiful scent in homage to a beautiful flower.

The makeup collection is a whimsical, girly creation of pale shades and earthy packaging adorned with watercolour ballerinas. Each compact carries the subtle Pivoine Flora scent which makes a very nice touch... if you like all things girly, this collection is for you!

The limited edition line comprises of a pretty eyeshadow quartet (below), a stunning bronzer with a gold shimmer spray (which looks gorgeous, but as usual disappears after one use) a selection of creme face duos (think NARS multiples, but much cheaper!), four different eyeshadow duos and a selection of glosses and lipsticks.

My top pick would have to be the Incredible Lip Shine, a clear gloss that adapts to the colour of your lips to enhance their natural beauty (very similar to the famous Smashbox 'O Gloss', but half the price at £9)

I was also drawn to the super cute Eau de Toilette Intense roll-on perfume. The perfect size if, like me, you like to switch fragrances on a weekly basis or if you're looking for the perfect handbag-sized scent. (£14)

Overall, I was very impressed by the whole range of products, and would definitely recommend taking a peek!

The Pivoine Flora collection is available online and in store now.

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Skin SOS!

This week my skin has been misbehaving. Badly. I'm sure you've all been there... trying out a new product only to find that your skin seems to attempt to run in the opposite direction, resulting in big time break outs. This has happened to me only a handful of times but this time seems to be the worst.

I'm not going to name names and point the finger at the product in question, as everyone's skin is different, but said product (it was a foundation) had left me with huge lumps, bumps, spots and pimples all over my forehead and cheeks (usually areas of my face that don't tend to play up!)

I thought I'd take to my blog to tell you all about the two products that have come to my rescue and helped relieve this nightmare breakout.

My first skin saviour has been Monu's Cleansing Balm. I was given this product at the National Beauty Blogging Event a few months back and it has been in my bathroom ever since. I got into the habit of using it to cleanse my face when I was in the bath, somewhat of a weekly treat for my face rather than an everyday staple but it really came into its own when I used it in an attempt to help relieve my tight, sensitive, irritable skin this weekend.

I honestly can't tell you how much better this product made my skin feel. I smoothed it on, massaged it in and then left it for a few minutes as a mask (you're not technically meant to do this, but I find it works fantastically well!) The balm melts into a luxurious feeling oil on the skin and I'm convinced the powerful concoction of essential oils not only made my skin feel less tight and irritated but also left it visibly less 'angry'!

It smells divine too, very relaxing (just what you need when suffering from pizzaface-related stress!). It's not cheap at £35 but you get enough to last you a very long time, and for the effect it had on my skin, it's well worth it!

My other skin saving product has been the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage concealer duo. I've used this concealer for a long time and have repurchased it on many occaisions but had recently forgotten just how good it is at concealing embarrassing break outs.

This is by far the best concealer I own when it comes to covering up blemishes and has been a god send when I needed to face the world this weekend (nothing can disguise the bumpy texture of my forehead right now, but at least it neutralises the redness!)

Would love to know what products you all rely on when you're having a 'Skin SOS' moment...

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