Kissable Lips for Valentines Day!

So Valentine's Day is fast approaching (cue 500,000 romantic-themed posts & gift guides!) and I'm sure all of you are thinking about your plans for the evening, perhaps spending it with a certain someone special?

But let's face it... boys don't like lipstick, lipgloss or chapped lips, so a trusty lip balm that will keep your lips soft, smooth and smoochable is your best bet for a memorable kiss this Valentine's Day!

The lovely people at Nivea sent me one of their Hydro Care lip blams to make sure my lips are in tip-top shape for a bit of smooching come February 14th. Nivea's Hydro Care lip balm works a little differently to other lip balms, providing a occlusive lipid film that helps the lips retain moisture, leaving them soft and hydrated for longer. The perfect companion for Valentine's Day kisses!

And who will I be smooching?!

Well... apart from Woof (who I do like to kiss, but not on the lips because let's face it... no one likes dog breath!) I'm hoping to get a kiss from my boyfriend Mike (A boring answer, I know, but it would be slightly poor form if I didn't considering we've been together for over three years!)

Who are you hoping to get cosy with this Valentines day?!

Nivea Hydro Care lip balm is only £1.75 and available nation wide now.

*This post was sponsored by Nivea, who sent the lip balm for review*

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Techno-Beauty for The Masses!

'Techo-Beauty' has been one of the most rapidly expanding areas in the beauty market over the last few years and is undoubtedly one of the most exciting arenas for future development. Although beauty gadgets have been available in various shapes and forms for many years, there have been rapid developments in recent times that have seen treatments normally associated with salons become available to the masses in their own homes.

With contraptions such as the Boots Smooth Skin IPL device and Clarisonic Brushes becoming commonplace in many a beauty conscious individual's bathroom, I was invited by techno-beauty veterans Slendertone to attend the CEW (Cosmetics Executive Women) Techno-Beauty breakfast event not only in order to learn more about the products available to us now, but also the potential developments that we are likely to see in the near future.

The event was sponsored by Slendertone and Carisonic and comprised of an expert panel of techno-beauty experts including Dr. Patricia Smith, CEO of the Bio Medical Research Group and Slendertone Face, Dr. Robb Akridge, Vice President of Clinical Research Pacific Bio-Science Laboratories (representing Clarisonic) and Annalise Quest, the General Merchandise Manager for Beauty at Harrods (below).

The discussion was lead by Nadine Baggot, Health and Beauty Editor of Hello! Magazine, who put to the panel various issues that the techno-beauty world faces as it enters the mainstream market including competing with salon services, issues when tackling global markets and attempting to assess exactly what results consumers expect to see from bringing beauty gadgets into their own hands.

The expert Panel in action!

The discussion showed that there are certainly many unexplored avenues in the world of consumer beauty gadgets. With Slendertone hoping to one day lead the way in creating a product that not only improves muscle tone, but also burns calories at the same time, it is easy to see that there is a fine line between dream and stark reality. What seems too good to be true has the potential to become reality with the help of expanding technological capabilities. Now that the demand for the technology to be available at home is there, I for one am sure that the transition from professional to consumer-available beauty technology will happen much faster in the future. We certainly have exciting times ahead of us!

Magdalena from Slendertone and I before the disscussion began

What do you think will be the next techno-beauty phenomenon? Do you think Salons are losing out to increasingly accessible and easy to use beauty gadgets in the home?

Slendertone have kindly offered me one of their Ab toning products to try out over the next few weeks. Although nervous, I am optimistic that this may be the answer to helping me tone up after a little more than over-indulgent festive period! I'll keep you posted!

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On the Hunt for Holographic!

Since I managed to get hold of the much sought after and elusive GOSH Holographic a few weeks ago, I have been on the look out for similar holographic polishes. There are a few different companies selling 'holographic' nail polish, one of which being US company Nubar, which I like not only because it rhymes with fubar (and I'm clearly immature!) but also because they are free of Formaldehyde, DPD and Toluene (all of which are common ingredients in nail polishes, and have been directly linked to forms of cancer, birth defects and reproductive harm... not nice!)

But back to the polishes. The shades I chose were from their 'Prisms' collection: Brilliant (right) for myself and Treasure (left) as a prize for one lucky follower!

I have to admit I was disapointed when they arrived, as the swatches online looked fabulously two-toned and holographic. In real life they are much more subtle and have a suede-like appearance in the bottle.

The holographic particles are definitely there, and in the right light you really can see the holographic effect, but they are no where near as eye catching as GOSH's Holographic polish. The formulation is also very thin, needing three coats to achieve the below shade.

Having said that, these shades are much more wearable. They are subtle and pretty, whilst still being different and eye-catching. Great if you want to wear something a bit special but don't want it to look OTT or childish.

The thing that really blew me away about these polishes however, was their staying power. With three coats and no topcoat, my nails stayed perfect for 4 days and even now (day 7!) they are only just showing real signs of wear. They have an amazingly glossy finish too.

The Nubar Prism collection polishes are priced at £9.25 each, but are available online for £7.85 (including free international delivery) from feelunique.com

In order to win 'Treasure' (left) all you have to do is:

1. Be a follower of my blog

2. Comment on this post

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

What do you all make of holographic nails? Do you prefer the OTT GOSH look or a more subtle effect like these Nubar shades?

The winner of last week's China Glaze giveaway is:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kirsty

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Cult Beauty Hits Selfridges!

I popped down to the Cult Beauty pop-up shop in Selfridges yesterday to have a nosey through their selection of cherry picked beauty, skin and haircare products and to enjoy a glass of bubbly (why not?!)

I was pleased to see my foundation of the moment from Face Atelier on the shelves, along with some fabulously packaged (and surprisingly reasonably priced!) hair care from Tara Smith.

I was most taken with these cute and quirky postcard-style make up bags by Cerise sur le Gateau (the starry one at the back being my personal fave!)

The shop's only open until Monday so if you'd like to discover some rare but fabulous Cult Beauty products then hot foot it down to Selfridges this weekend. The counter is located right next to the main tills, opposite Shu Uemura.

Cult Beauty are also offering a free Como Shambala Invigorate travel set to those who sign up to their newsletter online (click here for more info!)

I even took my nephew Spike along for some retail therapy (the kind lady on the tills let him have his very own Spike-sized Selfridges bag... starting a bad habit early!)

If you ever need a reason to hit Selfridges beauty hall (let's face it, you don't!) then this is it girls!

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This Valentine's Day... Go Miniature!

We all love feeling a little loved on Valentine's Day, but I must admit sometimes I think it gets a little over the top. That's why this year my preference is for small but beautiful, thoughtful gifts. I will be uploading a more extensive gift guide on my YouTube channel next week but for now, I thought I'd show you two beautiful fragrance miniatures that any girl would (and should!) be delighted to receive. Hint hint, boys!

The first is Marc Jacobs' adorable miniature purse spray. This 20ml EDT comes with a 15ml refill and makes the cutest addition to your handbag, allowing you to have your perfume bottle on hand at all times. After all, you never know when you might need to smell fabulous! It is available now, priced at £27.

The second miniature recommendation I have to show you all is definitely for the more glamourous amongst us. Juicy Couture's fabulously bling perfume ring holds a secret stash of their 'Couture Couture' fragrance within it's bejewelled facade. Couture Couture if definitely Juicy's most sophisticated fragrance in my opinion, so it makes the perfect accessory for a night out, or even a date! (you never know, it is Valentine's Day after all!) Priced at £35, It will be available from 1st February.

What's on your Valentine's wish list this year girls? Or are you going to be treating yourselves to anything special?

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Aveda Smooth Infusion Challenge: Update!

I thought I'd update you all on the my progress with the Aveda Smooth Infusion line. If you didn't catch the last post, I was invited into the Aveda Institute for a treatment and blow dry using Aveda's newest hair care line: Smooth Infusion, which promises to keep frizz at bay for up to twelve hours.

I was mightily impressed by the performance of the products in the salon, but I thought I'd update you on how they are performing in my less skilled-at-styling hands!

I have a slight natural wave to my hair and I tend to rough dry it, then straighten the front sections if need be. It tends to be frizzier at the front (most likely due to heat abuse!) and knots very easily in the lengths.

I was very impressed with the way this line left my hair feeling: soft and smooth, yet not weighed down like a lot of 'anti-frizz' products. I'd say (as an estimate!) that my hair was around 50% less frizzy than it was when using my normal shampoo & conditioner, so first impressions have been great! I've also been avoiding using any other product on my hair, including finishing products, to make sure that any results noted are down to the smooth infusion products alone.

I have only used the Glossing Straightener a few times (the most expensive product from the line). As I like my hair to have more of a natural finish rather than poker straight, it's not really a product I would have picked out anyway, but I haven't been overly taken with it when I did use it.

The Style-Prep Smoother has to be my favourite product from the line, it is a light gel consistency that makes styling unruly locks a much less stressful process!

The shampoo and conditioner are both highly concentrated formulations too, so although this line is rather pricey (£14.50-£18.50), the bottles will last a good amount of time.

So the products have really impressed me at home, the next test is to see if the line lives up to it's 12 hour no-frizz promise... I'll be putting it to the test on the tube and in the rain to let you all know if this line really does deliver.

Wish me luck!

*This post was sponsored by Aveda as part of a month long trial of the Smooth Infusion line*

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Like Rubenesque, but Better!?

I was doing a little internet shopping the other day (click here to see what else i purchased!) and I came across a Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in Sippin' 'n' Dippin' for £6.95 on cheapsmells.com (It is a limited edition shade but currently on the Benefit website for £14). Having never tried these before, but heard great things about them, I added it to my cart thinking that the colour looked pretty and wearable.

When it arrived, I discovered that it is an almost exact dupe for MAC's much admired and celebrated Rubenesque paint pot, which will set you back £13.50.

Above: MAC Rubenesque

Below: Benefit Sippin and Dippin

I'm sure most of you will have seen Rubenesque, if not own it yourself but I thought I'd upload a few comparison pics for you all to see.

Left: MAC Rubenesque

Right: Benefit Sippin and Dippin

Those of you thinking of picking up Rubenesque may want to reconsider as personally, I think Sippin' 'n' Dippin' may be slightly better. The formulation is thinner and easier to apply, while the colour is ever-so-slightly more peachy/pink, with rubenesque being more predominantly gold.

Left: MAC Rubenesque

Right: Benefit Sippin and Dippin

What do you think ladies? Do any of you own either of these? Will anyone be checking out Sippin' 'n' Dippin'? At that price I think it's hard to say no!

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Finally! Natural, Affordable Skin Care: Nivea 'Pure & Natural' Review

Over the years I've become increasingly wary of what I'm putting on my skin. 'Organic' has become a label that you see everywhere in the beauty world, but I'm not too concerned about organic ingredients. What I'm more concerned with is 'Natural' skin care. i.e. no scary chemicals that we as consumers (not chemists!) can't pronounce the names of, let alone have a clue what they are and the potential effects they have on our skin.

Natural products are only just starting to appear on 'drugstore' and supermarket shelves. That is why I was excited to be asked by Nivea to try out their upcoming 'Pure and Natural' skin care line. Not only are these products 95% natural but they are free from parabens, silicones, colourants and mineral oils. And the best part of all? They start from just £1.99!

Too good to be true? Read on to find out!

I tried out 6 products from the new line:

Clockwise from left: Cleansing lotion (£3.36), Cleansing Toner (£3.36), Body Lotion for Normal-Dry Skin (£3.57), Hand Cream (£3.05), Moisturising Day Cream (£5.10), Milk & Honey Lip Balm (£1.99)

Firstly, the cleanser. I've never been a fan of milk/lotion cleansers so I wasn't expecting to like this one. I was pleasantly surprised by the scent which is very light and fresh (and is the same for the whole line) It removed my make up effectively and I preffered it to the last milk cleanser I used (Jo Malone, no less!) Having said that, I'm not converted. If you like/use milk cleansers this would be a good thing to try, but for me personally, it isn't my type of product.

The toner on the other hand was right up my street and has remained a skin care staple since I started using it a month ago. It's gentle enough not to leave your skin feeling stripped, but effective enough to leave your skin feeling refreshed and even. I'm a big fan of this one, especially for the price!

The body lotion has a balm-like texture, and for that reason isn't absorped into the skin as quickly as one might like, but when it has absorbed it leaves your skin feeling super soft and supple. The fresh fragrance (my favourite aspect of this line as a whole) lingers on the skin, which is nice.

The hand cream is fabulous! Light, non-greasy and easily absorbed into the skin. There really isn't much else to say about this apart from the fact that the next time you run out of your hand cream, this should be your next purchase. And it's a bargain for a little over £3.

The Moisturising Day Cream is definitely my star product from the line. It's rich and very moisturising yet easily absorbed and doesn't feel greasy on the skin. It doesn't irritate my skin at all, even if it enters the eye area (which many creams do!) If you have sensitive skin and rely on products like aqueous cream (as my sister does, who I shall be buying a pot of this for ASAP!) then this is definitely worth a try, especially if you are worried about questionable ingredients like mineral oil.

Last but not least... (this is getting to be rather a long post!) the Milk & Honey Lip Balm. As expected, this is a lovely little balm, but then I wouldn't have expected anything else from Nivea, as their lip balms are always a fall-back item for me. This one has a delicious scent though (as I'm sure you can tell by the name) and has been a hand bag staple for me over the last month.

All in all I was really impressed by this line as a whole, especially considering how inexpensive it is. To summarise, I've put each item into one of three categories:

'Must Try' : Moisturising Day Cream, Hand Cream

'Worth a Look' : Cleansing Toner, Body Lotion, Lip Balm

'Skip-able' : Cleansing Lotion

The Nivea Pure & Natural line will be available nation wide from the 20th February. Will you be trying any of these products out?

*This post was sponsored by Nivea, as part of a month long trial of the new line*

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Jamaican Out?!

I've never bought any China Glaze polishes in the UK before, so when I saw a display whilst perusing Sally's the other day, I decided to pick one up. In fact, the colour that I chose was so pretty I just had to pick one up for one of you lovely ladies too!

The shade I went for was 'Jamaican Out' (oh, what a pun!) which is a gorgeous coral-pink with golden shimmer.

Sound familiar?! It is actually pretty similar to a shade in the Alessandro collection I picked up at TKMaxx (see below post) but this was a bit of an impulse buy and I kind of forgot I'd just bought the other one... whoops!

I'm sure I'll wear it a lot none the less, and it is really a gorgeous colour. What do you think? Any China Glaze fans out there?

If you'd like to win a bottle of this polish all you have 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 so I can get in touch if you win!

To clear up some confusion... My giveaways are ALWAYS open internationally and they run each week from Friday - Friday (occaisionally I'll get too busy to post on a Friday but in those rare cases, the post will go up on Saturday!)

The winner of last weeks giveaway for the Soap & Glory wipes is:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DaintyMakeup

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Spring Time Nails from TKMaxx!

Every time I venture into a TKMaxx I always spend a good half hour rootling through the beauty section to see if I can find any little gems. I must admit I usually leave empty handed, but last week I found myself at the checkout with this cute little set.

I'd never heard of the brand Alessandro before (from a little googling online I believe they are German!) but there were a tonne of these in various sets, shades and sizes in my local shop (which usually means they are making an appearance all over the place!)

I picked out this particular set because I thought the colours were great spring shades, and Chanel's Orange Fizz is the only member of the orange/coral nail polish family that I own.

My favourite shade is this golden peach/coral colour. You can see the shimmer in the bottle in this snap but not on the nail. In real life I'd say the shimmer translates to about 50% what it looks like in the bottle... so a really pretty effect.

The second colour was another orange/coral tone, this one actually very similar to Chanel's Orange fizz: very pretty!

I think this shimmery pink is my second favourite shade. It has very a very subtle shimmer to it and will look great come spring time.

The next colour is not particularly unique, but a very useful shade to have in your collection: an opaque baby pink. A great 'not-quite-natural' nail.

The final shade is a funny one. It's a bright red/pink with blue-toned pink shimmer. I love the idea of this colour but on the nails, something about it looks slightly cheap... or maybe it's just me? A pretty toe colour I think.

Overall I was very impressed with the application of these polishes. Despite having mini brushes (as they are mini-bottles!) they applied smoothly and lasted the standard amount of time.

The set was £6.99 reduced from an original RRP of £18

I'd love to know if anyone else has tried or heard of this brand before? If not, what's your favourite TKMaxx beauty purchase?!

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Ingenious Pencils From New CID Cosmetics

I must admit I've become really rather fond of London-based cosmetics brand New CID recently. Their fabulous 'Eyes, Lip & Cheeks' palette being a current staple of my make up bag, I was excited to discover two more little gems this week.

New CID make a variety of clever dual-ended pencils, but the ones I've fallen for are the i-flick and the i-groom.

The first is a dual ended black eye liner with a retractable pencil at one end and a felt tip liquid liner at the other.

Packaged in sleek white, it is a fabulous 2-in-1 product that not only saves space in your make up bag, but allows you to create a number of different looks with one product. The liquid liner has an ultra fine nib, allowing you to draw even the thinnest of lines with ease. It's seriously waterproof too!

The i-groom duo comprises of an angled, retractable eye brow pencil for easy application (and no need to sharpen!)

...with a little brow-grooming wand at the other end to make sure your eyebrows are groomed to perfection, even on the go!

These are priced at £18.50 and £15.50 respectively, but are available for £16.20 and £13.50 (with free international delivery!) from feelunique.com

Have any of you tried New CID Cosmetics? Tempted?

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My Tooth Whitening Mission: The Results!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going to be trying out Crest Whitestrips. Well I have finished the course and thought I'd let you all know how I got along!

First of all a quick low down on the application process. The kit comes with 14 sets of strips (upper and lower teeth). During the treatment, you are meant to apply a set every day for 14 days, leaving them on for 30 minutes each time. The strips stick quite firmly to your teeth during this process, so you are still able to talk and go about your normal activities. I generally applied mine in the evening, before bed.

And now for the (grizzly!) photos:

Before

After

As I'm sure you can all see, there is a marked improvement in the whiteness of my teeth! Overall I was really impressed with the result, considering I paid £26 ($40) I really think these are worth the money if you're thinking about teeth whitening but don't want to shell out to have it done professionally.

My friend actually had her teeth professionally whitened at the same time that I was using the Crest Whitestrips, and kindly let me include some before and after snaps for comparison.

Before

After (though in different lighting!)

As you can see, there is also a noticable difference, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra money...

The only downside to Crest Whitestrips (and to teeth whitening in general) is that they are not particularly healthy for your teeth, and that they do tend to increase the sensitivity of your teeth during use. I experienced increased sensitivity during the treatment, but it wasn't too bad (nothing that swicthing to Sensodyne toothpaste couldn't fix!)

So all in all, if you are set on the idea of tooth whitening (and you've read up on the downsides for your teeth!) then I think that Crest Whitestrips are definitely worth a try. They really do work and are considerably cheaper than professional whitening.

If you're in the UK, it is much cheaper to buy these in the US (or get someone to buy some for you!) but you can still get hold of them via various UK websites and from ebay (Though be warned when buying from ebay, these do have an expiry date!)

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Disco Balls of Fairy Dust!

While dusting my limbs with this sparkly fabulousness before heading out to a party this weekend, I reminded myself that I really should tell you about this little product!

Jelly Pong Pong are a make that I hadn't caught wind of for a few years (since their quirky shop in Covent Garden closed about four years ago, to be precise) and was happy to find out they were still going strong and more than happy to try out some of their products.

My favourite of the collection has to be the 'Crystallizer' a shiny gunmetal ball filled with four different shades of magically sparkly, super fine powders!

They are all pretty colours individually and could be used on the eyes but personally, I don't like pfaffing with that sort of thing and prefer using this as an 'all over' body dusting type product.

Messy finger-swatching!

They create a pretty lilac/pink colour when all mixed together and this colour dusted on the skin leaves a gorgeous iridescent pink sheen that is perfect for parties and reminds me of being ten again (but slightly more subtle this time!)

The packaging is fabulous too, and would make a gorgeous gift! They are £15 and available from JellyPongPong.com

Has anyone else tried Jelly Pong Pong products? Thoughts?!

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