Desires and Deals

In the first of an occasional series, I thought I would highlight a few of the products that have been recently launched that have caught my eye, along with some fantastic deals I've spotted this week that may take your fancy.

Desires

The Sanctuary Skin Perfecting BB Cream SPF15 - £14.99, The Sanctuary, Boots

Available in two shades, this is the latest BB cream to hit the market.  I really like The Sanctuary products and at at this price, I will certainly be up for giving this BB Cream a try.  Sanctuary products are also currently 3 for 2 on their website.

 

Benefit Cabana Glam Kit - £28.50, Benefit, Boots, Debenhams, Look Fantastic, House of Fraser

Benefits Kits are always a great way to try out some of their star products.  This Spring / Summer kit contains the much praised bronzer Hoola (reviewed by me here), Some Kind-a Gorgeous, Posietint, 3 neutral eye shadows in Peach Fuzz, Bronze Buzz and Cocoa Pizazz, a cheek brush and eye shadow brush.  A great gift for someone special or for yourself!

Jo Malone White Lilac and Rhubarb Cologne - £72, Jo Malone

I popped into a Jo Malone store this week hoping to have a quick sniff of the three new colognes in the London Blooms collection.  They did not have the fragrances available to purchase (although they are now available on line), but I was able to have a brief sniff of the three testers they had and it was White Lilac and Rhubarb which attracted me instantly with its fresh, Spring smell, reminiscent of a country garden.  I believe these are limited edition for the Spring / Summer season and unfortunately they are currently only available in 100ml bottles, which makes the cologne a rather pricey investment.  If they come out with smaller, more purse-friendly bottles, I will be there instantly!

Deals

L'Occitane Enchanting Cherry Princess Collection, was £58, now £39

I had a quick sniff of the new Cherry Princess Fragrance in L'Occitane last week and it is so lovely and fresh.  I'm not always a fan of overly floral scents but this has a sweetness added to it which lifts it slightly.  The set contains 50ml EDT, 250ml Shower Cream, 75ml Body Gel and 30ml Hand cream (I adore L'Occitane Hand Creams!) making it a great buy if you like the scent, or it would also make a great Mother's Day gift.

Daniel Sandler Makeup Case, was £80, now £40

If you are looking for extra storage for your makeup, this Daniel Sandler Makeup case is currently half price and will hold heaps of products.  I'm very tempted by this as I have lipsticks hiding everywhere at the moment!

Lip Expert, By Terry, Space NK, was £21, now £10

For not much more than the price of a drugstore gloss, this is the chance to snap up some By Terry products for less than half price.  I haven't tried any of By Terry's glosses previously but I have heard so many raves about their products, I will certainly be having a closer look at these. 

Hope you are having a fab weekend,

Victoria

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Review: Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

This came in my Laura Mercier gift set that I purchased in the Space NK sale after Christmas and being fairly new to Laura Mercier, I was excited to give it a go.

 

The size primer I have is 30ml which is pretty generous as you only need a small, pea-sized amount to cover your whole face. The full sized tube is 50ml and I could see it lasting quite a while since you don’t need to use much. It isn’t cheap but it is priced in line with other premium beauty brands and you can often get small sizes in gift sets.

Not a pea-sized amount!

 

The primer itself is very light in consistency and glides onto the skin easily. It feels very comfortable to wear, almost like a moisturiser, and dries quickly so you don’t have to wait long before applying your foundation over it.

When using this, I did find that my foundation lasted a little longer and it certainly seemed to create a much smoother base for applying it. However I did end up feeling quite oily, especially on my t-zone where I am prone to oiliness anyway, and I actually felt it made these areas worse than they would have been had I not been wearing any primer. Laura Mercier state that this primer is suitable for all skin types, which I would disagree with. In my opinion this would suit those with dry or normal skin better. From looking on the website, I see that the brand also makes a oil-free version which I think I would be more suited to, so I may give that a try.

Verdict

Whilst I appreciate that I probably do not have the correct skin type for this primer and I would have been better with the oil-free formulation, I can see how it would work well for those with dry or normal skin. I loved the fact that it seemed to be absorbed into my skin rather than sitting on the surface feeling like I am wearing a silicone mask! It did prolong the wear of my foundation and didn’t break me out but I fear that, despite what it may say on the tube, this is not for all skin types and those with oily skin should give it a miss and try the oil-free version.

3.5/5

Price – £28

Where to Buy – Space NK, Liberty, House of Fraser

Review: Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume Mascara

I have been a recent convert to Laura Mercier products after my initial delve into them with the Secret Camouflage proved to be a disappointment. I recently purchased a gift set in the Space NK sale for the bargainous price of £35 instead of £70 and this mascara was included in the set. Now I certainly don’t need more mascaras as they seem to breed in my makeup box (to the extent that even my hubby mentioned this fact during his speech at our wedding!) but I have been very impressed with this one since I’ve been using it over the past couple of weeks.

 

The packaging is the typical sleek, chic look expected from Laura Mercier and the mascara itself promises to dramatically thicken, lengthen, curl and sculpt lashes with each stroke. The lightweight, nutrient-infused formula leaves lashes super-shiny, soft and clump-free all day long.

 

The wand is a regular mascara wand which I found very easy to use, not so small it takes forever to coat all of your lashes and not too big you end up poking yourself in the eye with it (or is it just me that does that?!). The formula itself is rather wet, which I like as I find drier formulas end up clumping together quickly on me. It does mean it takes a minute or so to dry though – which I found out after putting my glasses on afterwards and promptly finding mascara smudges all over the lenses!! When dried, it felt soft and lightweight, which I must say I prefer to ‘crispy’ lashes. It almost felt like I wasn’t wearing any mascara at all but the effects of lengthening and thickening were very obvious.

 

I have pretty straight lashes which I tend to curl most days and this mascara did a fairly good job of maintaining the curl, although towards the end of my working day, they had drooped a little. I was pleased to discover there is no flaking under the eye with this product and it was very easy to remove at the end of the day (cough, Benefit They’re Real!, cough!).

 

Verdict

Whilst Laura Mercier’s Full Blown Volume Mascara will not give you a super dramatic false-lash effect, I do find it a very pleasing mascara for daytime use and it subtly enhances lashes for a natural effect. I particularly liked the fact that it was a wetter formula which dried to a soft touch and I would certainly consider re-purchasing (if I didn’t have a zillion and one mascaras in my box still to use!)

4/5

 

Price – £18.50

Where to Buy - Space NK, Liberty, John Lewis