A Long Awaited Haul!

After a self-imposed curb on beauty product spending, I've recently found my shopping mojo again and this week, I've had a lovely selection of goodies come into my possession.

I went a bit crazy on the nail polish front and purchased 6 Essie polishes - the entire Mirror Metallics collection, and Lilacism, which I've had my eye on for quite some time.

I won a giveaway from the lovely Sukie at A Little Bit of Everything, of one of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Stains which I have been dying to get my hands on, along with a Lancome Juicy Tube in Mandarin and a No 7 Lip Liner in Nude.  I'm so excited to try all of these out as I am a total lip product junkie!

And finally, Charlie at Lady of the Lane held a blog sale earlier in the week where I picked up two items - a Mac Lip Gelee in Lush & Bright and a Chanel liner in Platine.  

Let me know if there are any items you would like to see reviewed.  I'm off for a play with my new goodies!

L'Occitane Haul

There's noting better than opening a large parcel full to the brim of new beauty products, and its even better when it arrives at work brightening up your morning!

I was after a new gentle daily facial scrub and decided to try the L'Occitane Angelique Exfoliating Gel.  Of course, whilst I was browsing the L'Occitane website, something else fell into my basket - the Chelsea Harvest Collection which was reduced in price.  

It contains:

• 75ml Pivoine Flora Shower Gel
• 75ml Fleur Cheri Shower Gel
• 75ml Verbena Shower Gel
• 50ml Organic Lavender Hand Purifying Gel
• 35g Lavender Scented Sachet
• 125g Honeysuckle Bonne Mere Soap
• 15ml Shea Butter Hand Cream
• 15ml Rose 4 Reines Hand Cream
• One-day Divine Trilogy Trial

I love trying out new products and little travel sizes are perfect for this.  I'm looking forward to trying out the Shea Butter and Rose hand creams, as well as the Fleur Cheri Shower Gel.

I also found a code to get a free Spring Collection set worth £24 so of course I had to have it.  This set comes in a cute make up bag and contains:

• 125g Honeysuckle Bonne Mere Soap
• 75ml Fleur Cherie Shower Gel
• 50ml Lavender Clean Hands Gel
• 35ml Almond Shower Oil
• 10ml Shea Butter Hand Cream
• 2 x 8ml Almond Milk Concentrate.

The other set comes in a small wicker basket which will be perfect for extra storage.

L'Occitane also sent several samples of skincare and body lotion - they are certainly not stingy with the samples!

Have you tried anything from L'Occitane?

What are your favourite L'Occitane products?  I'm always looking for recommendations of new products to try!

Mini Haul - Alpha-H, Davines, Max Factor and Dior

A quick post to show what I have bought / received this week.  Sorry for the quality of the photos - I wanted to get these up and my flat has awful lighting!

Alpha-H  Daily Exfoliator and Alpha-H Handcream

I was after a new daily scrub and I’ve heard good things about the Alpha-H range.  I purchased the handcream as Beauty Bay were doing a promotion where you got a free Alpha-H eyecream if you purchased two products and I always need handcream!  The eye cream didn’t arrive though as it was out of stock grrrrr!!

Davines Nou Nou Illuminating Shampoo

I’d heard several people rave about this shampoo for coloured hair.  I’m wishing I had also picked up the conditioner too as I didn’t realise I am almost out of my Tigi Dumb Blonde.   I may have to do another order!  Not that impressed by the packaging though, it looks a bit like something I could have done!

Max Factor Lipstick in Ruby Tuesday

I won this a while ago from a giveaway with Special K.  It looks rather bright so I’m not sure if I will have the confidence to wear it outside the house – it may be donated to my mum as she is the Red Lipstick Queen!

Rouge Dior 351 in Elegant Pink

Another prize from a giveaway, this time from Pink Lady Apples!  I love winning lipsticks!  I haven’t tried any Dior lipsticks before and this looks like a very wearable, bright pink so I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

As an aside, Boots are currently running a giveaway where you could win one of 5000 Benefit Lip Glosses.  You need to buy 2 bottles of Diet Coke, scan the leaflet listing the promotion (I found this attached to the fridges next to the coke) and swipe your Advantage card.  I love Benefit glosses so fingers crossed for this one!

Have you tried any of these products?  

Mini Haul!

A quick post to show you some of the products I have accumulated over the past week or so and what you can look forward to seeing reviewed over the next couple of weeks. 

A-England Polishes in Tristam and Guinvere

I haven’t tried any A-England polishes before so I’m looking forward to trying out both of these and doing some swatches /NOTD posts for you. I love discovering new brands!

Tigi Bed Head Dumb Blond Shampoo

I was getting particularly fed up with the Naked shampoo I have been using (review coming up, but I guess you can tell what my thoughts are already!) so went back to an old favourite. This keeps my coloured hair looking bright and shiny without weighing it down and gets rid of any product build-up. 

Garnier Fresh Essentials Eye Make up Remover

Another repeat purchase. I’m onto my 3^rd bottle of this and haven’t found anything better so far. It works wonders on my eye make up without stinging my sensitive eyes.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub and Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash

I love the scent of both of these and I’m looking forward to seeing how they work! 

Victoria

x

Christmas and December Gifts and Purchases!

 

Its a little late but as I was away visiting various family members for the past 2 weeks, I haven't had a chance to show you these yet.  I was very lucky at Christmas and received quite a few lovely gifts. I've also made a few purchases recently from Buyapowa (again!) which are also included above.

I will be doing reviews of some of these products soon when I have had a chance to test them out properly, but please let me know if there are any in particular you would like to know more about.

Fragrances

I tend not to buy perfumes myself so had asked for several of these as gifts.

Prada Candy  - I love this!  It is very sweet but not in a sickly way and the bottle is gorgeous

Tom Ford Violet Blonde - I had a sample of this and promptly fell in love with it.  I had been leaving hints for hubby about this and amazingly it appeared under the tree on Christmas morning!

Jo Malone Honey and Nectarine - another one I had a sample of and loved.  I adore  sweet smelling perfume, and pretty much everything Jo Malone makes I like!

Jo Malone Cologne Collection - this was a surprise present from my parents which I was really pleased to receive.  It contains minis of Grapefruit, Red Roses, Vanilla & Anise, Pomegranate Noir and Wild Bluebell.  I already have Pomegranate Noir but I am looking forward to experimenting and combining some of the others and creating my own bespoke scents.

Make up

Bobbi Brown Anniversary Lip Palette  - a gift from my mum.  I am in love with this, and love every colour I have tried so far.  A review on this will be up soon!

Chanel Smokey Eyes Palette - I bought this just before Christmas.  This is my go-to palette for a smokey eye look and it is the 3rd time I have bought it!  I  never hit pan on any make up but I have been purchasing this for years!

Mac Lipglass in Pink Clash - Another purchase by me.  I hadn't tried any lipglasses before, previously being more of a fan of Mac's lipsticks.  I've been pleasantly surprised by this.

Mac Sheertone Blush in Blushbaby - an impulse purchase but I have been enjoying using it so far.

Eyelure individual lashes - I have slowly been getting used to applying and wearing false lashes and these will be great for a more natural look.

Bobbi Brown dual ended liner in Chocolate and Bronze - a gift from my mother in law who apparently had major difficulties finding this as it was sold out everywhere at the time.  It is so soft and easy to use.

Maybelline The Smoother Skin Retexturising Primer - I've only used this a few times so far but I am quite liking it and you only need a tiny amount for your whole face.

Bath and Body products

After mentioning to everyone how much I love bath bombs I got quite a few for Christmas!  This is fine with me though as I love a relaxing bath and its great fun experimenting with all the different bath bombs, although not as much fun when you have to clean the bath out afterwards!

I received several Christmas-themed lush bath bombs, including the cute Little Christmas Pud and the melting snowman which I am looking forward to trying.  I also received a number of Bomb Cosmetics bath bombs and melts which are also super cute.  

I didn't receive many gift sets this year, but I did receive one from my boss.  From Marks & Spencer it contains hand and nail cream, body lotion, bath milk and shower gel.  Marks & Spencer always do good quality products so I am looking forward to trying these.

I hope you all had a fab Christmas and New Year.  

Victoria

x

Mini Haul and Wins!

Just a quick post to show you what has arrived on my doorstep this week!

Neal's Yard, Seaweed Salt Scrub - this fell into my shopping basket when I was picking up a  few presents for people.  I like Neal's Yard as everything is very natural and full of essential oils.  First impressions of this scrub is that it has a VERY distinctive scent, but I will be testing it out over the next couple of weeks and will post a review on my thoughts soon.

Batiste Wild Dry Shampoo - I won this in a blog competition from the lovely Phoebe at Peluxe.  I haven't had a chance to use it properly yet but it is supposed to be an oriental scent and I really like the other products in the Batiste range so I am looking forward to using it!

N.Y.C Products - I won all of these from Emma at Fluff and Flipperies.  I've never tried anything from N.Y.C. before so I'm very much looking forward to to trying these out.

Nail Polish, Sidewalkers - a lovely looking concrete grey

Liquid Lipshine in Brighton Peach Beach - this looks gorgeous and I can't wait to wear this as I love peachy glosses

Metro Quartet Eyeshadow in Riverside Park

High Definition Defining Mascara

Hope you had a fab weekend - mine has mostly involved drinking mulled wine and Baileys and putting up Christmas decorations!

x

Pre-Holiday Haul!

As it was my last day at work today for three whole weeks, I thought I would celebrate by having a little lunchtime spree in Boots!  A lipgloss purchase always cheers me up a stressful, busy day!

I bought:

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel in a small tube.  I use this regularly as it works well with my oily / combination skin and I wanted a smaller, travel-friendly version to take on my holidays.

Carmex MoisturePlus Ultra Hydrating Lip Balm in Pink and Peach – I will do a brief review of these shortly as I love them!  I bought the peach earlier in the week and liked it so much I had to pick up the pink when I saw it today - and it was free as I bought it with my points!

Benefit,Ticket to Glossytown – I saw these on another blog a few days ago and thought it was a great price, especially as I haven’t tried any of Benefit’s glosses before.  As I have said previously, I am not the biggest fan of Benefit’s packaging but these mini glosses are very cute.  A review and swatches are coming up soon.

This week I also bought the Bobbi Brown Sparkle Eye Shadow in Denim from an eBay seller.  I had been after this for a while and it had popped up on eBay occasionally but not at a price I was prepared to pay.  It came out with the Denim and Rose collection last year I think.  I’m not going to do a full review of it as it has been discontinued now and isn’t that easy to get hold of but I am a little disappointed with it as Bobbi Brown’s quality is normally very good. 

  

As you can see from the swatches below, it is VERY sparkly and isn’t that pigmented. Due to the bad light in my flat, the it looks as though it is a sparkly grey, however in real life it is a true denim blue. The swatch on the left is one swipe and the swatch on the right is 3 swipes and I had to swipe across the shadow quite forcefully as it is very dry.  I have worn it today though by patting it onto my lids rather than brushing it on and not blending it too much, and this seems to work better as you can actually see the colour and not just lots of silver sparkle!  It does last well throughout the day without creasing, when worn over a primer and I didn’t have any fall out which I was very surprised by as I usually expect to have glitter everywhere by the end of the day when wearing a sparkly eyeshadow!

All in all, I am pleased I purchased it as it is an interesting colour and unique to my collection, it just could have been executed better.

I’m starting my 3 weeks off work in the best possible way tomorrow with a Nail’s Inc 3 Week manicure at the Champagne Nail Bar.  I’m so excited for my holidays!

Body Shop Mini-Spree!

When the weather turns grey, cold miserable outside, I can’t face going out on my lunchbreak as I do during the summer and instead I turn to internet shopping.  This morning, a small delivery from the Body Shop arrived on my desk. 

I bought:

Earth Lovers Shower Gel in Pear and Lemongrass  - I am looking forward to trying this as it is 100% biodegradable and sulphate, paraben and colourant-free.

Sweet Lemon Shower Gel – This is the second time I have purchased this and it is a lovely clean fresh smell. I will be taking it on my holidays to Thailand next month.  I know most places give you wee bottles of shower gel and shampoo but I much prefer to take my own if I am going away for any length of time.

 

Aloe Vera Body Butter –  also got for my hols and to sooth any burnt bits and bites.  Hubby requested a body butter that ‘doesn’t have a girly scent’ so this is for him too..  There was also a deal on if you bought one body butter you got another half price (ie for £6) so I thought I’d try the Sweet Lemon one as I love the shower gel and there’s nothing better than smelling like a giant lemon!

I’ll be posting a review of the Earth Lovers Shower Gel shortly once I’ve tried it later this week.