My New Favourite Fragrance

For the first Christmas my boyfriend and I spent together, buying presents for each other was quite difficult! We'd set a budget of about £50 and I spent forever trying to put together a little hamper of presents for James, as he's a man who tends to buy what he wants when he wants it, rather than waiting for his Birthday or Christmas. James is also one who struggles for gifts, he often resorts to vouchers but he wanted to get me something physical as it was our first Christmas together. On Christmas Eve 2011 I was presented with a perfectly wrapped little Chanel box, containing a 30ml bottle of Coco Mademoiselle. I love this fragrance! over two years later I still have some left and I still use it often. Until the Christmas just gone, this little Chanel bottle was the only fragrance I owned! This year for Christmas, I was spoiled and after the festive season was over, I found myself with 5 perfumes! 

Now, moving on from that anecdote, here's another little story. I got to university in the centre of Newcastle, which leads to dangerous money being spent on nice food and all too many strolls through beauty halls. A very close friend of mine and I were wasting some time in our Friday break wondering Fenwicks beauty hall and found ourselves in Jo Malone. I'd only ever been in a few times before, once for my Mum's Birthday where we had their hand an arm massages (Amazing!). I saw a little bottle on the top shelf named 'Earl Grey and Cucumber' and Sarah and I just looked at one another. Sarah loves Earl Grey, and this fragrance was 100% her! After we umm'd and ahh'd for a little while it become an 'I will if you will situation' and Sarah and I left the shop with two beautifully wrapped boxes and posh little bags, and purses £39.50 lighter! 

I spent quite some time choosing my fragrance, I'd always lusted after the cologne intense range offered by Jo Malone but found the price tag off-putting and I decided I wanted a 30ml bottle. After much deliberation, I decided to go with Jo Malone's signature cologne, Lime Basil and Mandarin. This cologne smells like nothing I own, it's fresh, citrusy and light. Jo Malone describe the fragrance as 'Peppery basil and aromatic white thyme bring an unexpected twist to the scent of limes on a Caribbean breeze'. It's difficult to describe this scent, it's fresh and reminds me of spring and summer. If you have a Jo Malone near by, I urge you to go and take a sniff! 

Two things had always put me off Jo Malone, one being the price (£39.50 for 30ml!) and the other being the staying power of a cologne rather than an eau de parfum as I have issues with fragrance lastings on me. I need not have worried though, this probably lasts on me better than Chanel or Dior does! Most fragrances only last me between 2-3 hours, but this can last on me for closer to 4-5 hours and clings to my clothes really well, so even if it's not on my skin I can still smell it. The issue of price I've managed to justify, as really the price for 30ml is around that of most high end fragrances such as Dior, Chanel and Guerlain. The uniqueness of this fragrance also makes it worth the price to me, as with the Jo Malone colognes it's easy to mix them and blend them to give a very unique and personal scent. 

I've really enjoyed using this fragrance and I'm now completely besotted with the brand! I already have my eye on a few other fragrances for my Birthday, I think that Wild Fig and Cassis, White Jasmine and Mint, and Vanilla Anise are topping my list, but I don't think there's one I can say I don't want! 

Hello! + Haul.

Hello there everyone!

After a massive blogging break, I'm back with a little haul today. I apologise for the massive gap, with university starting and getting into the swing of it, then Christmas, exams, a few bouts of tonsillitis! (the suckers are coming out in May! Yay!) I'm finally finding myself with time to blog, so I thought why not come back with a haul.

My haul, unboxed! (Sans Lip balm, which had already made it's way into my handbag.

Did you know that some big M&S's have a beauty section? it's full of brands like REN, Nuxe and Murad, but also carries smaller  brands I'd never even heard of! It's given my quite a list of brands I want to try out. As my lovely Mum is an M&S Premium Club member she gets vouchers and promotions quite often, and she had received a 20% voucher. We had intended to just pop into M&S and get the things we were after, and pop into Boots (sick Simone requires lemsips!) and head home. I had gone with the idea in mind of picking up a new bottle of REN's ClearClam Clay Cleanser and REN's micro polish cleanser.  When I got there, I discovered there were none the REN Clay Cleanser left! Of course, like any beauty addict, rather than go home and buy it online, I had to have a look around. I stopped to look at Murad, a brand  I had used one product of a long time ago on Holiday in Florida to clear up the skin on my arms (I tend to suffer with blocked hair follicles) and it worked really well. It was a spur of the moment purchase from Sephora and I used it in the shower and thought nothing of it, I was on holiday! Anyway, I decided to have a look at some of their products and found they sold some pretty decent sized try me kits, and that all Murad products were buy one, get one half price, and I could still use my 20%...so of course, I got two!

Each set contains four products and I look forward to trying them out! I'd wanted to try their products since my boyfriend took me away to Rockliffe Hall (which was amazing) and I had a good look at their products there as it's what they use for facials.  I had intended to get a facial there, but as we only had an over night stay and had other treatments booked, I didn't get time to fit it in! We are planning to go back in April for my Birthday, so maybe I'll get to have one then if I like the products. 

Murad Ban Blemishes starter kit, price £29.50 at Marks and Spencers

First, the 'Ban Belmishes Starter Kit' this contains for products; their Clarifying Cleanser, Exfoliating Blemish Treatment Gel, a moisturiser known as Skin Perfecting Lotion, and a Blemish Spot Treatment. The products are of course not full size, but are generously sized so I should be able to get a good idea of how my skin likes or dislikes these.

Above - Murad Ban Blemishes Starter Kit.

Below - Murad Sun Undone Starter Kit, Priced £29.50 at Marks and Spencers

The second set I bought is their 'Sun Undone' Starter kit. Now, I don't have sun damaged skin, I've only been sunburned once (honestly! live in Saudi Arabia for 10 years = no sunburn, go on holiday to Spain once = Lobster child!) so I didn't buy this for that reason. The reason I chose this one was the fact this one is their 'revel radiance' line. It reminds me a lot of REN in terms of the packaging, it's the same orange shade. This set contains a cleanser as well, this time it's their 'Essential C-Cleanser', a serum called 'Advanced Active Radiance Serum', a moisturiser 'Essential C Day Moisture with SPF 30' and the matching eye cream, with SPF 15. Once again the sizes are generous and should allow me to get a good mix of products to see what suits my skin. The only worry I have with Murad is that some of their prices are not very student purse friendly, but if a product works I'm happy to pay for it. 

Above - Murad Sun Undone Starter Kit

Below - REN Radiance Micro Polish Cleanser, Priced £20 at Marks and Spencers

I also bought the REN Cleanser. I really bought into the idea of chemical exfoliation, however after getting a sample size of this, I realised my skin really does love a gentle, physical exfoliation. This one smells really nice and fresh (The whole radiance line from REN smells fresh and citrusy) and has little, tiny beads that exfoliate, and also contains glycolic and lactic acid. It's gentle and packs a good punch!

NUXE Lip Balm, Priced £6 at Marks and Spencers

I also bought this lip balm from NUXE. Now, everyone in my family has this! I have a pot, my mum is onto her second, my brother has one, and my boyfriend steals mine! Once you use this, it's very difficult to go back to anything else, and I wanted the stick to carry around in my handbag. Nothing else will cut it!

Marks and Spencers isn't really a place I tend to associate with beauty, normally I go there for good food and basics like socks, underwear and tights, but they've really impressed me! Their clothes are actually looking really good too! Next time you're in a big store, check if they have a beauty section, if you're in the North East, I know that M&S Newcastle has one (second floor, where the ladies wear is) and so does the Metrocentre. The staff are really helpful and really know the brands too. 

Have you hauled much lately?

Bobbi Brown Moisture Rich Foundation Review

Confession? I hate buying foundation. I'm pale, have combination but dehydrated skin and it's just no fun at all for me to find something that works.

I've tried everything, from cheap high street foundation to Chanel and everything in between and I think I'm yet to find the perfect foundation! but this, is pretty damn close.

I decided that I'd try Bobbi Brown, they do lighter colours than other brands and have many formulations. I went in with the intention of walking out with Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation, as that's my desired look with foundation, my skin, but perfect, without looking fake. The lovely lady on the counter talked to me about my skin and what I wanted from my foundation  she said that Skin would be too lighter coverage for me and that Moisture Rich would be a better option. 'Moisture Rich!?' I thought to myself 'Surely it'll just slide off' but I asked to try it anyway, and see what I thought. I often fall in love with the way I look at the counter when I'm buying things, only to get it home and find that I hate it! So I left empty handed to examine my face under better lighting and see what I thought of the colour and look of the foundation, and I was quite impressed. 

The foundation offers medium coverage but can be built up to full. My skin sucks it up minimally and it does last a good amount of time on my skin, when set with a powder. At first, it feels too matte when set with a powder but 10 minutes on and my skin looks quite glowy and natural, like the foundation has settled. The coverage looks natural, while still hiding all my flaws, without looking like a mask. I prefer to apply this foundation first on the back of my hand and then dot it onto my face, and use a brush like the Sigma F80 or the Real Techniques Buffing Brush to blend it in. 

The downsides of this product are few, but they could be deal breakers for some. The bottle it's self glass, which isn't a big downfall for me but could be if you often have to travel, I wouldn't have enjoyed bringing this foundation to my boyfriends when we were living apart as I feel I'd probably end up breaking it on the train down. The other downside of the bottle is that it's a pour out lid, now the foundation it's self is thinner than MAC Studio Fix Fluid, which can go through a pump, and some other Bobbi Brown foundations are packaged with a pump, so the fact that this one isn't is a bit of a downside for me. The other issue I have with this foundation is the colour, I have the shade 'Porcelain' which is a nice colour, a touch too dark for my skin, but currently I can get away with it, however in the winter when I turn so pale I look sort of blue, I think it's going to be much too dark. This wouldn't be an issue, if Bobbi Brown hadn't stopped selling their lighter shade 'Alabaster' in the UK, which seems a weird choice as you'd think, over here in the UK, the land with no sun, pale foundations might be a good move!

This foundation also photographs nicely, with minimal flashback! 

Overall, I find this to be a good, medium coverage foundation that feels nice and light on the skin and looks natural, while still hiding all my flaws, however the packaging isn't ideal and I hate brands that don't sell their full range of shades in the UK as well as the USA. I really enjoy using this foundation and think it's the best I've used to date, however I'm always on the quest for better! I also feel this foundation acted as a gateway drug for me into more Bobbi Brown products and I have since spent quite a lot of money on their products, and really enjoy them! I have my eyes on their brand new 'Luminous Moisture Treatment Foundation' as it sounds perfect for me and they do the Alabaster shade!

Smashbox Photofinish Primer Review

I've completely, 100% used up this product, so I think I can give a pretty good review of this.

I decided to buy this primer before I started college last September and it lasted me until around March, I didn't buy the full-size, but instead the travel size. It cost £12.50 from boots. When deciding to get one, I was faced with the challenge of choosing which one. I've always heard that for acne-prone skin that the photofinish light was great for my skin, and I thought the hydrating one might be something for me as I also have dehydrated skin, so thought that the Hydrating version would be for me. After going through the options with the sales assistant, I decided to buy the original and give it a try, and then I could try a different one if I didn't like the original. 

The packaging is nice, it's sleek and my travel size is perfect for travelling and ml for ml, it's not much more expensive than buying the full-size, as mini's often can be. The only thing I have to say about the packaging is that towards the end of the product, it becomes quite a challenge to get it out of the bottle, however I did think that mine had reached the end a few times, only to be surprised that more could come out. 

I apologise for reusing the photo, but mine is grubby, empty, bent out of shape and topless!

In terms of the effects, I felt this primer gave me a good base for make up, it was smoothing  so helped foundation glide on and sit nicer on my skin. I also think I have quite enlarged pores on my cheeks (my Mum says this is in my head though) and this product has a soft-focus effect on them, making them look smaller. The silicone feeling helps my foundation stay on rather than being sucked up by my dehydrated skin and I'm pretty sure that this has a big impact on helping my make up last longer. Overall I enjoyed using this primer, I really like using primers and felt that this one made a big different. It's texture reminds me of a primer which GOSH makes, which costs the same amount of money but for around double the product, however my skin didn't agree that and it caused my skin to break out and I had more clogged pores than usual. The Smashbox primer didn't do this to my skin and I didn't notice it make any difference, good or bad to my actual skin. 

Now, the question is would I buy it again? I think I would buy a smashbox primer again, maybe not this specific one as I think I'd quite like to try out their hydrating one, or the Laura Mercier Hydrating one to see which I like better.

So a question to you all, when it comes to foundation primer, do you do or don't? I'm definitely in camp 'do'! 

Wishlist #1

At the moment, I'm craving new things. Maybe this is to do with starting university so I'm feeling an element of 'new academic year, new season, new start' (Gosh, I hate it when people say that!) and I just want to start a fresh with some of my beauty and skincare products, so here's a wish list!

1. Clarisonic Deep Pore Cleansing Brush Head £21

I'm in dire need of a new brush head for my clarisonic, I don't use mine too regularlly but I'm starting too, and after watching Suzy from Simply Suzy I decided that I needed this one, having only used the sensitive one and as Suzy uses the same cleanser as me, I really want to try out her combo of cleanser and brush head. I think I'm also going to do an in depth review of my Clarisonic as it's one of those love it or hate it, is it worth the money products.

2. Origins Drink Up Mask £22

I've heard loads about this mask and my friend Lisa from bought this and mentioned it in her blog post on 'The Triple Threat Face Mask' I really want it! I think I'm going to try track down the smaller size of this and see how I get on with it. I have combination skin but I find the oily, spotty side of my skin much easier to deal with than the dehydration!

3. Tom Ford Shape and Illuminate £55

After hearing much about this product I just SO want to try it! I love to contour and prefer creams and I'm yet to find the perfect highlight but this product looks pretty much perfect. I wonder, that opening the door to Tom Ford Beauty is going to be an dangerous idea, especially considering I could walk from uni to the counter, as the metro station is in Fenwicks...oh dear!

4. Alpha H Liquid Gold £31.50

I think I just need this! after feeling like I've pretty much perfected my basic skincare, but I still feel like I need a few extras to get my skin in tip top condition and my main issue with my skin is the texture, and this promises to help! After hearing about this for months, I think I'm ready to take the plunge!

5. Illamasqua Nail Polish in 'Facet' £14.50

I love nail polish, but I'm a nail biter and useless at painting my nails. After recently getting gel nails and loving them (my nails are so strong and lovely underneath too!) I'm starting to love painting my nails, I love colours like this, OPI Metro Chic is my all time favourite polish and I think this polish looks just as beautiful! 

So here it is, these are some of the things I'm craving at the moment, what things are you currently lusting after?

Kerastase Nectar Thermique Review

My hair, is my pride and joy. After a hair dye disaster I cut my hair short, much shorter than I'd ever had before, and I started growing it out. Much later after that disaster, around 2 years ago I went to a new hairdresser and had my black dye lifted out to a very dark brown. She had used two products on me that made my hair feel so soft! I bought them both (online, for cheaper prices). One of the products, was Kerastase Nectar Thermique, now I'd heard it mentioned before and seen it on blogs, and I'd used one product from the brand before, a hair masque, but I'd never used any Kerastase styling products before as they are quite expensive at £18.90 a pop! This product can be bought for around £16 online.

This product is a hybrid of leave in conditioner and heat protectant as well as smoothing your hair and preventing frizz. It's a thick, white cream, which you apply a 'walnut sized amount' to your hands and then rub through your hair, I apply this mainly to the ends of my hair but as it's my heat protectant, I also take a light amount right up to the root, but very lightly. I find this product gives my hair so much shine, and does product my hair from the heat effectively. This is brilliant if like me, you regularly fail at using a spray in heat protectant (I also hate the smell of almost all of them!). This product smells really good, it's lightly fragranced but I can't described what with, it's a nice, and inoffensive smell. 

I'd actually put my hairs growth in the past two years partly down to this product. Of course, it doesn't make my hair grow, but it does protect your hair from the heat and condition it, and I think this has meant that at my regular trims, my hairdresser has taken much less off and my hair has grown much longer and so much healthier than it did in life before this product! I had a small period of time when I didn't have this product and bought it back as soon as I could. If you're after a smooth blow dry, some heat protection and a little bit of extra conditioning, then this is a great product.

What are your holy grail hair products? 

A Skincare Haul

Over the past year, I've become really interested in skincare. I've always known the importance of looking after my skin, but never really found the right products that gave me the results I was after, not since I tried my first set of proper skincare when I was about 14, Clinique 3 Step, which at the time, I loved and now wouldn't touch with a barge pole. I think my interest in skincare has really stemmed from reading the wonderful, no nonsense skincare blog of Caroline Hirons, (you MUST read her blog) and since applying, slowly her tips, tricks and following her product recommendations, my skin has never been better. 

Through Caroline's blog, I discovered the brand REN. Some products skincare products which I lust after are well out of my price range at the moment, but I find REN to be very affordable, and very effective, two things which are my top priority when looking for skincare. At the weekend, my lovely Mum had a 20% of Marks and Spencer voucher, if you didn't know, lots of great skincare brands are available in larger M&S stores and online, so I decided this was the time to stock up on some products, so here's what I got 

Goodies!

First, I decided to repurchase my favourite ever cleanser. Now, I know I've previously raved about my Clarins foaming cleanser, but this blows it out of the water! I still love that cleanser, but I'd choose this one over it. This has a clay base making it feel like a mask each time that you use it. When I'm using this product, my skin is much clearer, brighter and softer. 

REN Clearcalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser

Then I chose to buy the Clarifying Toner, now I know some people don't do toner but I definitely do! Toner is NOT for removing the last bits of make up on your skin though! if you need toner to do that, you need to wash your face properly! Nor does it close your pores, this toner balances and lightly exfoliates your face, this one is affordable and easy to get hold of, so I thought I'd give this a try before I think about splashing out on P50.

REN Clarifying Toning Lotion

I also decided to get REN's balm cleanser. This is a balm which you can use you remove your make up, my ClearCalm does not remove make up, and shouldn't be used to do so, so I wanted something that would be suitable for a first cleanse to remove make up and sunscreen, and I decided to go for this one as I've had a sample before and it doesn't hurt my eyes, and I can never be bothered to use a separate eye make up remove before I take off my face make up.

REN No.1 Purity Cleansing Balm

My last purchase wasn't from REN, but instead Nuxe. A brand I'd seen before but never tried, this was sort of an impulse purchase, recently my lips had been so dry they'd been cracking, although I drink my weight in water each day (Okay, maybe not my weight, but I do drink more than 2lt) so I don't think I'm dehydrated. I bought this because I'd heard it mentioned on blogs and thought I'd give it a spin, I liked the texture and my Mum thought it was lovely, so I bought two of them. One for her, and one for me. My Mum is a woman who has, for the past 20 years slathered some vaseline on her lips before bed, and after using this for a few days has told me that she's noticed a big different. 

Nuxe Lip Balm

I think I'm good for skincare for a while now! just need a new moisturiser and a hydrating toner and I think I'm all good! What about you? do you love skincare too?