October Favourites

This month it took me a while to choose my favourites as I've been switching between products quite a lot. I'm fickle like that haha. Also, apologies for the quality of this photo, you may notice them not coming out so bright for the time being, I just don't get a chance to use daylight at the moment unless it I do my photography at the weekend. I'm going to try to take lots of swatch photos during weekends when I can take advantage of the daylight so that I have them done for when I post during the week. Anyway, here is what I picked this month:

Urban Decay Naked Palete

You have probably seen this thing everywhere, all over the internet but I truly love it. The colours are so easy to use and work well together in pretty much any combination. It is a foolproof palette and is very flattering. It is a really good staple to have in your collection and many people will find that these are the only neutral shades they need... unless you are a hardcore makeup fanatic!

MAC Lightscapade

This came from one of the recent collections from MAC. Mine isn't one of the most beautiful pans of this but it is still lovely. It gives me a nice glow to my cheek bones and has made it's home in my everyday makeup bag.

Enchanted foaming sugar scrubs (Gingerbread Ghosts, from the Halloween line is pictured but I have been loving the scrubs in general). I doubt many people have heard of Enchanted Bath and Body, if you haven't, I suggest you head over to enchantedbath.co.uk and have a look. I've been a fan of Sarah's scrubs for a while, in fact a like a lot of her products. She is a one man band at the moment but she works amazingly hard to get her orders done to top notch quality. If you have heard of or are a fan of Isle of Eden, Enchanted makes a great alternative to anyone based in Europe. Sarah will ship further afield too however. The Halloween line will be discontinued soon so get in quick if any take your fancy. I will get a quick review of my latest order up soon.

Bronzer

I have been using bronzer to contour my cheeks a lot this month, mainly this one which is MAC's Golden. It is subtle and most suited to lighter skintones. It has a very subtle shimmer in it but is still fine to use for contouring. I've also been enjoying NARS Laguna.

L'Occitane Ultra Rich Body Cream

My skin especially on my legs is very dry. It gets worse after shaving but I normally hate using body moisturisers as they take ages to sink in and they make it hard to get dressed after using them which is not good if you like to wear skinny jeans like me. This one is different, it sinks into my skin so quickly even though it is so thick. You can hold the pot over your head and it wont come out. It has 25% shea butter in it which helps so much with my skin. My skin is much more supple and glowy than it was before and best of all, it no longer flakes!

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle EDP

This was a birthday present from my Grandad. It is such a beautiful and sophisticated yet youthful perfume. I always thought that Chanel perfumes were a little too mature for my liking but I adore this one. If you have smelt Miss Dior Cherie, it is on a similar line to that but it doesn't smell the same to me. I find this one more sophisticated and elegant, not as sweet and the end of the perfume has a lovely muskiness to it. I find that it smells different on me every day, I never know exactly what I'm going to get so it makes it even more enjoyable to wear. Amazing thing, skin chemistry!

Jennifer xx

QVC TSV 23 October 2011 - L'Occitane

I love L'Occitane so I am pleased to see a new TSV from them for QVC. This is their Christmas TSV so comes in a lovely gift box. I bought last years and was very impressed and this one looks great too. This years box costs £39.96 (also on easy pay of £9.99 over four months intrest free) with £5.95 p&p.

There are two options for this TSV, warm or floral.

Warm:
1x Verbena Liquid Soap 500ml
1x Vanilla Flower Shower Gel 500ml (exclusive)
1x Citrus Verbena Hand and Body Wash 300ml (exclusive)
1x Delice des Fruits Shower Jelly 75ml (exclusive, not yet in stores)
1x Vanilla Flower Hand Cream 30ml (exclusive)
1x Milk Extra Gentle Shea Soap
1x Gift Box

Floral:
1x Lavender Liquid Soap 500ml
1x Pivoine Flora Shower Gel 500ml (exclusive size)
1x Cherry Blossom Hand and Body Wash 300ml (exclusive)
1x Plum Blossom Polishing Shower Gel 75ml
1x Pivoine Hand Cream 30ml
1x Milk Extra Gentle Shea Soap
1x Gift Box

See here for more photos and to buy.

The warm version is appealing to me, yummy!

Jennifer 

Marie Claire L'Occitane Free Gift

With this months Marie Claire, they are giving away a choice of four different L'Occitane Shea Butter hand creams. The three pictured are actually all brand new and limited edition, the fourth is the original scent. I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before but L'Occitane's Shea Butter hand cream is actually my favourite EVER hand cream. I have eczema and this softens my skin so well. Usually it only comes in the regular Shea Butter scent which has a blue label, you can see a picture here. As it is my favourite I decided to get all three scents because I use it all the time so will be nice to have a change.

The hand creams are all 30ml which retails for £7.50 on L'Occitane's website or you can buy the Happy Hands trio which includes all three new scents for £20. The magazine was £3.60 so the three hand creams cost me £10.80, just over half price. Bargain!

The new scents are:
Hibiscus Flower
This is my favourite one, the smell is delicious. It is strange because it is a flower yet it smells really fruity, almost like apricots. It is quite Summery. I think any age group would like this, it is even suitable for men as it isn't floral or in your face.

Cocoa Flower
This is an odd scent, in a good way. It smells luxurious, slightly chocolaty but also sweet and perfumey. It is really sophisticated. My Mum liked this one especially. It is a very comforting scent too.

Desert Rose
L'Occitane are well known for their beautiful rose scents, this one delivers too. I would say this one smells quite sweet and fruity as well as rosey, it reminds me of Turkish delight. It is not sickly though. I really like it.

L-R: Hibiscus Flower, Cocoa Flower, Desert Rose

I really like the patterned packaging, these are all inspired by African countries (Egypt - Hibiscus Flower, Ivory Coast - Cocoa Flower and Morocco - Desert Rose) so reflect African prints. I also think they look quite Christmassy too, a bit like wrapping paper and the bright colours look so festive. They would make great Christmas presents, the scents are available in lip balms and body creams too.

The actual texture of the cream is very thick, a little goes a long way. You will not be left with greasy hands though as it sinks straight into the skin. This is another reason I love the Shea Butter creams, no greasy marks all over my mouse and keyboard at work!

L'Occitane's Shea Butter hand cream is one of my beauty must haves so if you are looking for a really good quality hand cream, go try this, you wont be disappointed!

Jennifer

Monthy Favourites: July 2011

Hello all! It's that time again so let's get started. These are the products I've been using a lot during July.

First up, my newest perfume, Viktor and Rolf's Flowerbomb. It is a lovely perfume, floral, hence the name but with a good amount of sweetness to it but not so that it is cloying. It is a bit powdery and has a hint of fruit. I've got the EDT version, it is quite a strong perfume so you don't need a lot.

Next, MAC Semi Precious Goldstone MSF. I need to get my reviews up for this collection still. I'm a big fan of mineralize skinfinishes from MAC, I have a few different ones and enjoy using them a lot. I love the glow they give and their ability to highlight, blush and contour all in one (if it is a colour which isn't too light) The MSFs in the Semi Precious collection are quite special because they come with a splodge in the middle of a different colour. Goldstone allows you to use the middle to highlight and the outside to contour or use as a bronzer. Or you can mix them together and get a soft warmth to your skin. I love using this mixed on my cheeks and into my temples. It gives me a little bit more colour and makes me look like I've been on holiday.

Sleek's Monaco iDivine palette is next, if you have seen my Sleek look posts you will know that I have been getting good use out of it. It is a really fun, summery palette and has some gorgeous well pigmented shades in it. It has converted me to Sleek and I'm really looking forward to whatever future releases bring.

In the bottom row, the first product is Crazy Colour in Fire Red. I've had my hair coloured red at my hairdressers a while ago and she recommended using this when I washed my hair to prevent fading. For every other hair wash, I mix some of this with my conditioner and leave it on my hair for 10 minutes then wash out well. It boosts the vibrancy of my hair so that it doesn't look faded. Definitely something to try if you have coloured red hair as it tends to fade quite quickly. There are a large range of colours from Crazy Colour, blues, violets, greens etc so whatever colour your hair has been dyed, you colour probably find a suitable shade to use to 'top it up'. No peroxide is needed so it is easy to use.

Next to that are two L'Occitane products, one is a hand cream - this one is the Cherry Blossom one and the other is the Shea Butter lip balm. I always use L'Occitane hand creams, they are my favourite and work so well. The only one I dislike is the honey version because I don't like the smell of honey. They do have different consistencies but they are all lovely and moisturising. The Shea Butter one is the thickest and the Verbena is the most gel like. If you have dry skin or eczema, like me, try these out because I really find they work. The tube pictured is just a 15ml mini size but they do 30ml and larger sizes. I have a 100ml tube of the Shea Butter one for when my hands are horrendous.

The lipbalm is a really good product, the one I have is a trial size, it only has about 1cm of product in it but it is enough to realise how good this is for my lips. I tend to have dry lips but this deals with them so well, I will be repurchasing this when I'm out of it.

The lipstick is MAC Gem of Roses, another product from the Semi Precious collection. This is my perfect 'my lips but better' shade. It has a lustre finish so I find it quite moisturising although they never last very long on lips. It never looks bad when it fades though because it merges in with my natural lip colour anyway. I like this for days when I either can't be bothered to put much on my face or when I have a lot on my eyes.

Lastly is Benefit Benetint. This is a fantastic product for summer, once it is on, it just does not budge. It gives a perfect healthy flush to cheeks and looks so natural. You can use it on lips as well but I'm not really a fan of it on me because I find it quite runny so takes a while to get it looking even and it does fade unevenly from my lips throughout the day as I'm eating. For my cheeks though, I love it.

So there we go, has anyone else tried these products? What do you think of them?

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Jennifer x

May 2011 Favourites

Hi everyone, I hope you have had a good weekend, mine has been pretty wet here in London :( Sorry this post is quite late! These are the products I have been using a lot during May.

Top L-R: Chanel Imitable Intense Mascara in Noir, Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation,
MAC Fix+, MAC Stereo Rose MSF
Middle: MAC Sun Blonde Eyeshadow, L'Occitane Shea Butter Handcream
Bottom three products: MAC 222 brush, MAC 239 brush, MAC Spiked Eyebrow Pencil.

Yep, there is quite a lot this month!

Firstly, Chanel Imitable Intese Mascara. This mascara has become my favourite one I've ever tried. My eyelashes always look lengthened, volumised, they hold their curl, it is dark black, it doesn't flake/smudge, it doesn't clump, all of them are separated well. Yes, I just love it and it is perfect every time.

Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation: This gives a lovely dewy finish to my skin, it makes me look healthier and awake. It doesn't give much coverage but I am lucky enough to have skin that doesn't really get spots often and my skintone is quite even so I only need minimal coverage. I apply it around my nose and across my cheeks then up towards my forehead where I need a little coverage and then anything that is left gets blended over the rest of my face. I find it nice and moisturising and it doesn't cake or oxidise at all and looks good all day. I only need half a pump for my whole face so I can see this lasting a good while for me. The colour match is perfect too.

MAC Fix+: This can be used in a few ways, some people use it under their makeup, some use it over, some use it to refresh their face in the day, others use it on their makeup brushes before applying eyeshadow to make the pigments more vibrant. I like to use this over my makeup as I find that it makes everything look finished well and takes any powderiness away from the areas I have applied powder to. It also helps to make my foundation last better and seems to prevent it from transferring too much (like if I was to blow my nose). Some people hate this product so I think it depends on what you want to use it for.

MAC Stereo Rose: Yes this makes another appearence. I don't need to say much about it really as I've featured it before. I have really been loving this over the last few months, it is such a pretty colour and I really understand why it is such a 'cult' product.

MAC Sun Blonde Eyeshadow: This is from the Surf Baby collection and I've really enjoyed wearing this. I've put it with blues, greens, gold, coral and white and I think it is a very flattering shade of yellow. It looks fun and Summery.

L'Occitane Shea Butter Handcream: This is a savior product for me. My hands have been quite dry and sore with ezcema and this is my favourite handcream. It is so thick yet absorbs so well. It is literally like a drink for my hands. I really like the smell too, it reminds me of baby powder but I'm not sure what it is actually scented with, probably soft white florals. If you are looking for a really good quality, rich handcream, definitely have a go at this one.

MAC 222 brush: I'd been using my 217 brush and wanted a new blending brush so I had a second one for when I'd used it with dark colours and didn't want to get muddy eyeshadow with light colours the next day. I thought I'd try this one out and I really like it. I find it blend much more softly and it also allows me to get deeper into the crease area for more precise application due to it's tapered shape. I still feel that the 217 is useful and I sometimes use both of them together.

MAC 239 brush: I needed a better brush to apply eyeshadow over my whole lid. I saw that Temptalia used this one a lot so bought it. It is just right, it picks up so much colour and makes it easy to pat/sweep it on and get the full colour. You can put less on the brush and use it to sheer out colours too. It is a good size and does it's job really well. I have since bought a second one so I have one for light colours and one for dark colours (I am too lazy to wash my brushes after each use).

Finally, MAC Spiked Eyebrow Pencil: Obviously if you were buying one of these, you would pick the colour that was right for you. I've been getting better at using this and now can make my eyebrows look pretty neat and crisp. You can use it lighter if you just want to fill in the sparse areas or use it a little heavier to get a really good shape. I like it because I can draw in each hair and it looks real as it's nib is very fine. The only thing I don't like about it is that you can't wind it up to see how much is left and then wind it back down because once it has been wound up, it can't be put back inside! Don't forget that if you get one, you will end up with the 'lead' sticking out and not being able to put the cap on! - I haven't done that by the way lol!

I hope you enjoyed my favourites this month :)

- Jennifer