Saturday 31 October 2015

Autumn Shades from Barry M's Speedy Dry Range




Since Barry M launched the new Speedy Quick Dry collection earlier this year, I've been utterly obsessed with the whole range. The original collection of just nine-piece pastel has now turned into a much wider range. They released some amazing shades for summer and now they are back with a whole new range of Autumn. If you don't know already, the whole of the Speedy Dry range carry a racing theme, both in terms of the packaging and the names - which as an F1 fan, makes me a very happy lady. 

The formulation of these polishes is so impressive! They are made for the person who just has no time to paint their nails, you literally need five minutes with this formulation. They dry really quickly, which means you just need to apply two thick coats and you're good to go. The pigmentation of these are really good, so if you're in a real rush, you could probably get away with just a single wash of colour. The finish of the shades is really glossy and they last really well on the nails! The two shades I have here are 'Sprint Finish' which is a deep pomegranate, wine red shade and 'Dragster' which is a lovely dark grey.

The Barry M Speedy Quick Dry polishes only cost £3.99 and you can pick up them up from BootsSuperdrug and the Barry M website.
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Friday 30 October 2015

My Tips For Getting Your Beauty Sleep

Getting our beauty sleep is more important than a lot of us believe. Not only does it give us time to recuperate physically and mentally, but it also gives our skin time to breathe. A good nights sleep can lower stress levels and put you in a better mood, but it also shows on our face and in our skin. So when Eve Sleep invited me to share my top tips for getting good nights sleep, I was happy to take part! 



Keep a regular bedtime 
It sounds silly, but our brain and body quickly become accustomed to when we go to sleep. If you think about jet lag and how difficult it is to overcome, our bodies are going through the same thing every time we change our bedtime. Keeping a regular sleep pattern helps us to fall asleep and stay asleep! I’ve definitely noticed that since I’ve been keeping a regular bedtime, it’s been much easier for me to fall asleep. There is nothing worse than tossing and turning around trying to drift off! It’s also easier to wake up, which is annoying when I wake up at 7am at the weekends, but it’s worth it when you need to wake up for work.

Take time to switch off
It’s really important to take the time to ‘switch off’ before you go to bed. I mean this in the most literal sense, switch off your phones, TVs, iPads, laptops and just take some time to chill. I love to treat myself to a relaxing bath, I chuck in a bath bomb and some oils and I just take the time to chill. I find it’s pretty difficult to check my work emails from the bath and it forces me to take some me time. Another thing I like to do is just have some chill time before it’s time to sleep. I’ll frequently light a candle and spritz my pillow with the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray. You could even give yourself a little facial massage or listen to a meditation podcast.



Get a good mattress
When I was younger I definitely underestimated the power of a decent mattress. Particularly when I was at University, our landlord gave us a pretty rubbish mattress and I had a whole heap of neck problems and backaches and pains. It shows when I travel too, as soon as I switch to a different mattress in a hotel, I often wake up in pain for the rest of my trip. Your mattress should be both comfortable and supportive and you should change it every 8 years. 

I really love the look of Eve Sleep, their fun-loving attitude immediately caught my eye (check out #eveonabike on Instagram), but their product sounds amazing too. They create one mattress which is made up of both latex and memory foam, which promises you 10 YEARS of firmness. However, what swings it for me is the reviews that are raving about the relief from back and joint pain, as the memory foam layer supports body alignment. Eve Sleep actually give you the chance to trial their mattresses for 100 days, which is incredible. When was the last time you changed your mattress? If you're suddenly experiencing neck and back pain, it might it be time for something new!

Use your beauty routine 
Some things come and go, but one thing that rarely changes is my bedtime beauty routine. I’m a big believer in helping my skin as I sleep and it’s a great way to relax. The Nuxe Reve De Miel lip balm is a product I use every single night without fail. It's packed full of amazing ingredients that helps your chapped lips with it’s an award winning formula. I’m also a huge fan of the Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Night Pads, you simply take a pad, run it over your skin and you're good to go – they are fabulous at fixing decongested skin. 

I’d love to know if you’ve tried any of these ideas, or if you have any tips? Leave them in the comments below.

This post is sponsored by Eve Mattress, find out more about them here. The content has been written by me and the opinions are entirely my own. 
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Thursday 29 October 2015

Thursday Tittle-Tattle #20

'Thursday Tittle Tattle', is a Hope, Freedom, Love blog series which has quickly become home to some of my popular posts. The series is dedicated to breaking news of the beauty world. From time-to-time, Thursday’s blog post will be dedicated to news featuring; beauty and lifestyle news, events, discounts, and even a bit of fashion news thrown in too! It's October, which means we are well and truly into swing of Autumn. Not to mention that the beauty world is starting to become saturated Christmas releases and beauty advent calendars! Here are the things that caught my eye this week:


Nails Inc release Christmas gifts
I'm a huge fan of Nails Inc and they've recently launched their brand new range of Christmas gifts. My favourite gift is the Festive Cracker Collection (here), which features six crackers, each with a full sized polish inside, retailing for £38. Another favourite of mine is the Snowglobe Nail Polish (here), which you have to shake to disperse the glitter, it's so cute! 

Sleek MakeUP Limited Edition 24K Gold Collection
This collection is just gorgeous! I don't think I've felt this compelled to buy a Sleek Makeup launch is ages! My favourite item is definitely the Gold Standard i-Lust Palette, which just screams Bobbi Brown dupe! It has a whole range of shimmery and metallic shades. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, there is the Midas Touch Highlighting Palette and the Glitter Me Lip Gloss. 

NARS joins Feel Unique
Beauty fans worldwide will be rejoicing, as NARS has officially launched at Feel Unique. In celebration of the launch Feel Unique have two EXCLUSIVE palettes. My favourite of the two is the Eye-Opening Act Inoubliable Coup d'Oeil eyeshadow palette (£29 here). It features a whole host of Autumn shades, including two gorgeous purples. Shop the whole NARS collection here.

Goody bag at Blow LTD
If you're planning to have a bit of a splurge, Blow LTD is the place to go! Right now you can get a free goody bag, worth £130, when you spend £80. Just enter 'GOODY' at the checkout to recieve your free bag, including goodies from; GLAMGLOW, Ren, ABH, Leighton Denny and Jouer. See the full contents of the goody bag here.

My Geek Box offering 10% for all new customers
If you're looking for a gift for the geek in your life, you might want to check out my blog post on My Geek Box (here). It's a fantastic subscription box service especially for geeks, featuring several items and a t-shirt in every box. Right now you can grab 10% off all subscriptions by entering the code 'HELLO' at the checkout

Free shipping on Anastasia Beverly Hills products with Cult Beauty
If you saw my haul yesterday (here) and fancy following suit, you can get free shipping at Cult Beauty when you buy any Anastasia Beverly Hills products. They've actually just launched the 'Self-Made Palette' (£26 here) which is a stunning palette holding 14 beautiful eyeshadow shades.  Click here to shop the Anastasia Beverly Hills products. They've also got three great free gift offers, including a free deluxe selection when you spend £40 on Kevyn Aucoin

Looking for your Autumn boots? Head to Clarks! 
Clarks have just announced that you can save 25% off all full-priced boots at Clarks! I'm in desperate need of a new pair to get me through Autumn/Winter, so I know what I'm doing this afternoon! You just need to enter 'BOOTS25' at the checkout and the offer will run until November 1st. Shop here.

Free STILA eyeshadow palette when you spend £50 at Very Exclusive
This offer almost feels too good to be true! Right now you can get a free Stila Palette worth £30 when you spend £50 at Very Exclusive. The palette is one of the lovely 'Eyes Are The Window' palettes, which are just stunning. Simply spend £50, add the palette to your basket and then enter '6VLKP' at checkout. Shop beauty at Very Exclusive here

Lancôme has announced their limited edition Christmas makeup collection
The collection is inspired by the "poetry and the colours of a secret Parisian garden" and includes a whole host of special sets. Which actually, do not seem too badly priced in the slightest! As well as their six-eyeshadow winter palette, my favourite gifts idea is the Lip Lover Mini Set, three Lip Lover minis for £20 (here). My other favourite set has to be the Hypnôse Volume-à-Porter set which houses the Hypnôse Volume-à-Porter mascara, a Lip Lover mini and a Kohl Crayon mini for £22.50 (here). 

You've not got long left to shop Escentual's French Pharmacy sale
I wanted to give you your last reminder that you don't have long to shop Escentual's French Pharmacy Month! At Escentual this month you can save 1/3 off all French Pharmacy skincare. The offer will run until November, so there is plenty of time to stock up! Some of my recent favourites include the AQUAporin ACTIVE Revitalising Eye Cream and the Ole Henriksen Invigorating Night Creme. Click here to shop the full French range.

Halloween beauty offers


I'd love to hear about what the favourite beauty news is this week? Speak to me in the comments below!
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Wednesday 28 October 2015

Spending Money With Cult Beauty | Haul

I've never shopped with Cult Beauty, so it was truly only a matter of time before browsing became shopping. I'm solely blaming this haul on Ceryn's Corner (sorry Ceryn) because after watching her video on the Anastasia Beverly Hills Illuminator, I couldn't resist. Let me say that 'Free Shipping' offers were completely made for mugs like me! From the highlighter, things spiraled out of control until I reached the magic number. Lets take a closer look at what landed on my doorstep last week!  





Anastasia Beverly Hills Illuminator in Riviera

Lets start with the instigator of this whole haul, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Illuminator! This product has been so popular that two out of four shades are already out of stock. In the end I opted for 'Riviera' as I just couldn't resist the rose gold hues. There's no doubt that this product looks incredible, it's one of the prettiest items in my whole makeup collection. The beautiful embossing takes inspiration from art deco, the formula is finely-milled and pearlescent. I cannot wait to test this on my cheekbones...

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz
I couldn't leave the Anastasia Beverly Hills brand page without adding the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz to my basket. This product is no stranger to beauty blogs world wide, it's been raved about no end! I'm actually coming to the end of a lot of my brow products, so I figured it was the perfect time to try this! Brow Wiz is a tiny little pencil which aims to take the fuss out of doing your eyebrows. There's a pencil on one end and there's a handy spoolie on the other. It retails for £15.50 here.

I actually fell in love with almost all of the Morphe Brushes, but I noticed that a lot of them use animal hair, which I wasn't so keen on. There was definitely a gap in my collection for the Tapered Mini Blender Brush. I've wanted something similar to this for a very long time, in particular for blending under my eyes. It comes in a very chic design and the synthetic bristles are really, really soft. You can use the Tapered Mini Blender Brush for precision application of powder, cream or liquid formulations. It retails for £6, which I felt was incredibly reasonable

Almond Liquid Soap from Dr. Bronner

I've actually had a bottle of Dr. Bronner Liquid Soap in my collection before and I was a huge fan. I've just finished my bottle of baby shampoo, so I felt this was a good time to repurchase. Dr. Bronner is a 60-year-old brand, who formulate their liquid soaps without chemicals, making the most of the organic ingredients. A must have for your collection, especially at £5.99 a bottle.

I'd love to know what you think of Cult Beauty if you've shopped with them before. What is at the top of your wish list? I have an ever-growing wish list on Pinterest here
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Tuesday 27 October 2015

Dollibox: The New Subscription Box On The Block

Beauty subscription boxes are no new thing, but there's a new brand on the block hoping to get in on the action. Dollibox is a very familiar concept; a new online subscription service, providing five personalised beauty samples to your door each month. Dollibox encourages you to fill out your beauty profile, in order for them to personalise what arrives in your box every month.

Here we have the October Dollibox* which arrived earlier this week. It comes packaged in a bright pink cardboard postage box, which you unwrap to reveal the contents inside. In the top of the box there are two cards, these cards outline the details of each product hiding inside. Lets take a closer look at the contents, as there are actually seven items in the box if you include a little extra mini sachet of face mask.



Eye CANDY Eyelashes

I've been trying to remember where I've heard of this brand, then it came to me! This is the brand that were originally behind the launch of the Tanya Burr Cosmetics line. These eye lashes come 18 different variations, in a total of four different styles; Dramatise, Naturalise, Volumes and Maximize. Eye CANDY say that the lashes are really light and that they are "often seen in make-up artists kits". 

Tantruth - The Ultimate Tan
I'm personally not a fake tanner and I've not heard of this brand before. It seems like a weird product to get in the colder months but I know that lots of people rely on their fake tan in their winter months. Tantruth say that they offer "luxurious, professional tanning products", whilst promising you gorgeous summer colour in a matter of hours! Simply apply the fake tan after you've exfoliated and allow four-six hours for the colour to develop.
Next in the box is a two sachets of face mask (one full sachet and one mini) from Feeling Beautiful. This brand is completely new to me, but apparently they are famous in the US, taking the likes of Ulta by storm. The masks are "free from irritating and chemical ingredients" which makes them perfect for sensitive skin types. Feeling Beautiful have TONS of different masks in two different sizes (a tube and a sachet) and they actually retail for under $5. I'm looking forward to trying this, I love a good face mask!

I love the name of this brand, I think it's very clever. It's another brand I've never heard of, but I'm always excited to try a new oil. Oil Arganic is actually sold at Feel Unique, I've just never spotted it before! It is a multi use oil (you can use it on your face, body, hair, nails, stretch marks and scars) and it's a dry oil which contains no water. Oil Arganic say that it's instantly absorbed into the skin, leaving it smooth and radiant. It's unique selling point is that it's actually made with tanned skin in mind, it aims to making your tan last longer without fading.

OSMO Wonder 10 is a product designed especially for dry hair, which is something we all need help with in the winter months. OSMO Wonder 10 aims to breathe life into your hair, boosting it with hydration and getting rid of frizz. It aims to repair dry, damaged hair, whilst protecting colour and helping to give your hair volume. By the description, it actually reminds me of the 'It's a 10!" spray that everyone raves about.
As a nail polish junkie, I've definitely left my most exciting item to last. The Little Ondine polishes come such interesting packaging, which you slowly unwrap to reveal the nail polish inside. These polishes are said to be "odour free, quick drying, and free from harmful or toxic nasties". When you're done with the polish you simply peel the colour off your nails?! These polishes sound pretty revolutionary, so I cannot wait to try them.

I had no idea what to expect from Dollibox, but I'm really quite impressed. I love that the box had six interesting items in the box. Almost all the brands are new to me, so it was really interesting rummaging through the contents of the box. It seems to be good value for money too, the Little Ondine Nail Polish alone costs £11, so you're easily getting your money back! If you're interested in trying Dollibox, you have three subscription options at the moment! You can get a monthly subscription which costs £10 per month (plus P&P), a 6 month subscription which costs £54 (plus P&P) or finally a 12 month subscription which costs £102 (plus P&P). The postage and packaging costs are fairly standard too, costing £3.25 per delivery.

You can sign up for Dollibox at www.dollibox.co.uk
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Monday 26 October 2015

The NEW Mud Marvels Mask from Merumaya

Merumaya have had such a successful year! It's been fantastic to watch them grow both in the bloggersphere and the wider beauty community. Merumaya is a British brand, launched by Maleka in the Spring of 2010, fulfilling her dream to bring "Merumaya Integrative Effective Skincare" to live. Merumaya followed Maleka's 27 years of experience and it snowballed into international success.




So when I was invited to try out the brand NEW Mud Marvels Mask* from Merumaya, my response was a very rapid 'YES PLEASE'. The new Mud Marvels Mask, is powered by charcoal, which is rapidly becoming an ingredient that is popular in face masks. The mask aims to be deeply cleansing, whist being charged with oxygen for absorbency. It aims to "extract toxins, deeply cleanse and unblock pores". If charcoal was not enough for you, it's also packed with volcanic ash which also draws out imperfections for a smooth and bright finish. It even contains "nourishing oat oil, sweet almond oil, vitamin E and cocoa butter" to encourage hydration and softness. Sounds perfect right?

I've seen a few people complain about the 'branding' Merumaya, but I actually think it's nice and simple. The face mask comes packaged in a box, which definitely gives it more of a premium feel. Inside the box, the mask comes in a handy tube, in the classic Merumaya packaging. The mask is quite thick, so it takes a bit of oomph to squeeze it out onto your hands. The texture and formulation feels like a classic mud mask, it's thick, it's cooling and it feels really lovely on the skin. 

I applied the Mud Marvels Mask in the traditional way, smoothing an even layer all over my face and neck, avoiding my eyes and lips. It immediately feels relaxing and cooling on the skin, just what you need after a long day at work. The mask did not tingle, sting or aggravate my skin. As the mask dried it didn't even get that standard "tight and crispy" feeling, I actually almost forgot I was wearing it - that's how comfortable it was! 

I left it on the skin for 15 minutes and then Merumaya advise you to remove it with a muslin cloth. It was really easy to remove too, there's nothing worse than pulling at your face after a face mask. It's not good for protecting your skin from aging and it kind of ruins the how relaxation for me! After removing Mud Marvels Mask my skin immediately looked smoother and brighter. Which is pretty tough going when you've already been awake for 14 hours! My skin felt really soft and hydrated too, it seemed to treat my skin imperfections, without sucking all the hydration and oils out of my skin. 

It's safe to say that I was really impressed with this mask! I honestly think it's well worth the £19.50 price tag (here) and I'll definitely be repurchasing when this tube runs out!
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Sunday 25 October 2015

Double Trouble From Essie


For this weeks nail post, I wanted to write about these Essie Duo Sets! I don't see a lot of coverage about these sets in the bloggersphere, so I wanted to bring them to your attention, just in case you didn't know all about them! I can never leave an Essie stand without treating myself to these, they just look so cute in their little box (sad but true)! These little duo sets retail for £12.99 and they have two full sized nail polishes inside. Which of course, is really good value as they are normally are priced at £7.99 each. The best part about these duos are that there are no 'duff' colours, as they are specially created sets which contain Essie's best selling shades.

This mini Essie haul was initially fueled by my love for the 'Prep 'n' Protect' duo! This is a reoccuring purchase of mine, as it contains my holy grail favourite Essie Grow Stronger Base Coat, which is paired in the set with the Good To Go Top Coat. The nail care range from Essie is fantastic, the base coat keeps my nails in top condition and the top coat always stops my polish from chipping. 

It would have been a crime to walk away from the stand, without going home with 'Favourites To Fall For'. As soon as I saw the colours inside the box, I knew I had to have it. The colours inside are 'Bahama Mama' which is a gorgeous rich purple and 'Chinchilly' which is a really pretty slate grey. Both shades are staple classic Autumn shades, which have already both graced my nails on numerous occasions.

I highly recommend these duo sets from Essie, I think they have great colour combinations and they offer a great saving off the normal retail value! (Dare I say that these make great stocking fillers if you're already planning your Christmas shopping). Next on my hit list is the 'Ravishingly Rouge' set, which is a perfect pair of winter reds! I'd love to know what you think of them in the comments below!
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Saturday 24 October 2015

Four Ways To Ace The Autumn Metallic Trend | Autumn Edit

As I briefly mentioned in my Autumn Edit, metallic eyes are back this Autumn. Luckily there are a number of ways to work this trend. I'm here with five great products to help you work the trend. I have everything from soft metallic hues, to strong glitter pigments. 




Nude Eyeshadow Palettes
There are plenty of eyeshadow palettes on the market which offer metallic and bronze hues. Lets face it, if you're a beauty fan, you probably already have one in your collection, which is great as you can work the trend without spending a penny. One of my favourites is the Stila Countless Colour Pigment palette, but I also love my Bobbi Brown palettes, as they often have brown and copper shades. If you want to purchase something new, Maxfactor have just released the Smokey Eye Drama Kits, which look perfect!

Loose Eyeshadows From The High Street 
One of the great ways to work this trend is using loose eyeshadows. They tend to come in a ton of metallic shades and you can really build them up to give you strong pigmentation. The best bit is that there a ton of loose eyeshadows on the high street, which makes it a great budget option to try the trend. Pictured above is Models Own Espresso, which is a stunning chocolate brown shade with gold glitter, although it seems to be discontinued! Another great option is the Barry M Dazzle Dust, which comes in loads of colours! 

Metallic Cream Eyeshadows
One of my favourite products at the moment is the Bourjois Color Edition Eyeshadow in the shade Or Desir. It's a stunning bronze colour which fits the metallic trend so perfectly. The shade is so pigmented and it's really easy to apply and wear. If you're looking for something more glittery you could try the Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadows, they have metallic shades in almost every hue, including a stunning blue. 

Eyeshadow Pigments 
If you want to go all out on this trend, pigments are the way to go! In the picture above I've included the Illamasqua Pigment in Furore, which will be on my dressing table from now until Christmas. The pigmentation is stunning, it really is something special. It gives you a metallic finish and it literally lasts all day! Another great brand for pigments is MAC - they have well over 50 shades and one pot could last you a lifetime! 

Have you experimented yet with this trend yet? I'd love to know if you have any tips!
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Friday 23 October 2015

Inside My Sample Drawer: Hand Food

The latest series on Hope, Freedom, Love is ‘Inside My Sample Drawer’. It’s dedicated to providing mini reviews on the samples that have been clogging up my makeup stash. So once a week, I'll be sharing a cute miniature fresh from my sample drawer and sharing my first impressions of the product. Today I'm talking about this miniature tube of Hand Food from Soap & Glory.




When we were in Bath recently, we found ourselves with really dry hands after visiting the spa. We had been in quite hot water for around five hours and our skin was feeling a bit parched. Rather stupidly I had not packed anything for this eventuality, so I ran into Boots to pick something up. I ended up choosing Hand Food from Soap & Glory, which is actually an old favourite of mine, which I have not used in such a long time!

The miniature version of Hand Food comes in a little pink tube, with simple branding and you just squeeze the hand cream out onto your palms. The formula of Hand Food is really nice, it's fairly thick and it soaks into your skin quite quickly. It's definitely not the quickest absorbing hand cream I've ever tried, but it's certainly up there with some of the best. If you compare this to some of the really expensive hand creams, it can have a bit of a greasy feeling to it. However, when you compare this to the same price point it's one of the better creams. You just need to give it some time to work into the skin and you're good to go. 

Hand Food has quite a traditional Soap & Glory scent, officially it smells of "fresh bergamot, strawberries and mandarin, with floral and fruity midnotes, and musk, amber and warm vanilla". In all honesty it's just a floral, unobtrusive scent, which Chris doesn't mind, so it's definitely not too girly. What I will say is that it can have a weird taste to it, so I wouldn't apply this to your hands before you plan on eating. 

All in all, I think this is a great product! When you consider that a HUGE tub of this only costs £7, it far exceeds it's price point on quality and formulation. The mini tube of Hand Food only retails for £2.50, which is such a bargain price, well worth picking up to chuck in your handbag. 
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Thursday 22 October 2015

Thursday Tittle-Tattle #19

'Thursday Tittle Tattle', is a Hope, Freedom, Love blog series dedicated to breaking news of the beauty world. From time-to-time, Thursday’s blog post will be dedicated to news. I'll feature beauty and lifestyle news, events, discounts, and even a bit of fashion news thrown in too! It's October, which means we are well and truly into the Autumn swing of things! The beauty world is starting to become saturated Christmas releases and beauty advent calendars! Here are the things that caught my eye this week:

Elizabeth Arden takes inspiration from New York for Christmas Launches
The new Christmas collection from Elizabeth Arden has launched and it’s called the New York Beauty Must-Haves. It’s completely exclusive to Boots and contains; Eight Hour Cream Intensive Daily Moisturiser for Face SPF15, Visible Difference Skin Balancing Exfoliating Cleanser, Ceramide Lash Extending Treatment Mascara in Black and Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Melon.  If you want this set, now is the time to buy it! It’s worth £91, retails at £60, but Boots are currently selling it for £24.50 here

W7 launches budget Advent Calendar
We’ve had a few Advent Calendars launch recently that are sporting a low price tag and W7 is the latest. It only costs £23.95 but it contains 24 mini products for you to open in the month of December. You’ll be able to buy it at the end of October.

Charlotte Tilbury launches new shades of the Colour Chameleon pencils
The Colour Chameleon eyeshadow pencils from Charlotte Tilbury now come in a whopping thirteen shades, as four more have been added to the collection. The pencils offer intense eye colour, that’s paraben-free and stays in place for up to TEN hours. The new shades are Intoxicating Violet, Gold Digger, Enchanting Indigo and Mesmerising Mink. The shades are limited edition though, so you need to move quickly! If you fancy adding five to your collection, the brand new gift set looks amazing. It retails for £90, which saves you a bit of money off the retail price. 

Models Own launch ‘Glitter Gel’
I’m a HUGE fan of the Hyper Gel collection from Models Own, so the news of ‘Glitter Gel’ has me on the edge of my seat. We’re talking sparking glitter polishes suspended in the classic Hyper Gel formula.  My personal favourite shade is ‘Starburst’ which is perfect for this time of year. The new range actually launched yesterday with Superdrug, so you can buy them now!

The Real Techniques Deluxe Holiday Set is only £20 at Superdrug
If you're looking for a treat for yourself (or a friend of course) the lovely Real Techniques Deluxe Holiday Set is only £20 at Superdrug right now. Which saves you a whopping £10 off the retail price. Shop the set here.

The Guerlain Christmas collection has me swooning
Guerlain’s Snow & Splendour Christmas Collection doesn’t launch in full until November, but I’m already swooning over it. It’s particulary dangerous as Escentual have a lot of the items and I’m about to place a skincare order! My favourite though is the Meteorites Flocon Enchantés, which is a load of illuminating pearls and little stars hidden under a delicate powder puff. 

The Beauty Advent Calendar from Sally
Coming in at £42 we have the Beauty Advent Calendar from Sally. It’s available in Sally stores and at sallyexpress.com. I actually think this one looks like a calendar that is really good value for money. It has 24 doors and it boasts an impressive array of brands including; TIGI, Wella, Schwarzkopf, OPI and Lord & Berry. It retails for £42 here

Don't forget that Escentual's French Pharmacy Month is BACK

I highlighted this last week, but I wanted to remind you that Escentual's French Pharmacy Month is BACK! At Escentual this month you can save 1/3 off all French Pharmacy skincare. The offer will run until November, so there is plenty of time to stock up! Some of my recent favourites include the AQUAporin ACTIVE Revitalising Eye Cream and the Ole Henriksen Invigorating Night Creme. Click here to shop the full French range.

bareMinerals Christmas launches
I fell in LOVE with the whole Christmas line from bareMinerals last year, so I’m excited to see that they are back again with an impressive line of gifts. They have something for everyone from the Swept Away set, 5-piece mini brush collection to the Starlit Eyes set which gives you everything you need for the starlit eye look for party season. There’s even the Everlasting Enchantment which retails for £80 and has a whopping 22 items inside!

New London Store for KIKO
KIKO have announced that they are opening a brand new London store in Covent Garden! It opened on October 20th and it has hundreds of products spread over two floors. So you can now pick up your cosmetics, skincare, nail polishes and all other beauty accessories in the fancy new store! 

What is the most exciting news you've seen this week?
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Wednesday 21 October 2015

Wear Paperback with The Library of Fragrance | Autumn Edit

The Library of Fragrance has now been stocked at Boots for one whole year! Over the last year they've take the bloggersphere by storm, creating scent after scent that blows us all away. In celebration of their first birthday and being stocked in over 400 Boots stores, they are bringing new scents to the store. The new scents are five of their top sellers from their own website; OudPaperbackPistachio Ice CreamSalt Air and Wet Garden.





In case you don't know much about The Library of Fragrance, they have been around since 1996. Created by Demeter Fragrance Library Inc (a New York company), they began with just three scents (Dirt, Grass and Tomato) and now they have over 300! You can currently pick up 56 of these luscious scents from Boots and there's a larger selection available here in the UK via the The Library of Fragrance website. The scents are made to be simple and uncomplicated. They aim to capture one single scent at a time and they made to be subtle additions to our perfume wardrobe. The premise of the business is to create scents that surround us all day every day, but are often under appreciated. This is so true with The Library of Fragrance Paperback Cologne*, it's designed to celebrate our love of literature, bringing the smell of an old fashioned book shop to our dressing table. 

The Paperback scent is something I knew that I'd either love or hate; it sounded great on paper (excuse the pun) but I wondered if in reality it would be a bit odd. What I can say is that I utterly love this perfume, when I walk past my dressing table I cannot resist spritzing this on my wrist. It's very sweet, it has this a strong vanilla note, which I actually normally hate, but it's just brought alive by the woody musty, dusty smell running through it. I honestly did not prepare myself to love this quite as much as I do, it's beautiful. What I found really interesting is that University College London can actually use the aroma of books to measure the condition and age of piece - I love that there's actually a scientific use case for the smell of a book! What's great is that The Library of Fragrance scents are made to be layered, so I've been pairing this with my Peach cologne for a fruity note.

If you have the chance to pop into a Boots store and try The Library of Fragrance, you definitely should. I challenge you to walk away without buying one, especially as they only retail for £15 each (or two for £25)

Have you tried anything from The Library of Fragrance? I still have my eyes on Fresh CoconutRain and Mango, which ones would you pick?
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Tuesday 20 October 2015

Dazzling Daises From Pandora


I've not written about jewellery on Hope, Freedom, Love for ages, but I just had to share this little beauty with you all. For my whole life I've never, ever been a ring kind of girl. I think it's because I used to have really had nice nails, so I never wanted to invest in jewellery to show off my hands. However, recently I've found myself admiring everyones rings and I've had such an urge to up my ring game. 

I've had my Pandora bracelet since I was 18 and after admiring my sisters' Pandora rings, I decided that Pandora was the place to go. I was out shopping a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't resist a bit of 'window shopping'. We all know how the story goes, window shopping turns into real shopping and you're soon walking out the shop with a pretty jewellery bag. 

After much deliberation in the Pandora shop for quite a while, I was stuck between three rings, but in the end I opted for the Dazzling Daises ring. It's a silver ring with three little daises, which are embellished with bead-set cubic zirconia. I think it's so pretty and so delicate, it looks so fancy when it catches the light. It's safe to say that I have no regrets picking this up, I love it and it's a great addition to my Pandora collection.

I honestly think these little rings from Pandora make lovely payday treats, but also really perfect gifts for any ladies in your life. The Dazzling Daises ring retails for £55 from Pandora Stores, but you can also pick it up from online Joshua James Jewellery
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Monday 19 October 2015

The £15 Eyeshadow Palette That Has Blown Me Away

When I purchased the L’Oreal ‘La Palette Nude’ palette in the shade ‘Rose’, it was a complete on the whim purchase. It was on offer at Superdrug and I just fancied giving it a whirl. I love it when a late night beauty purchase pays off, because this palette really is top dollar. 






This palette was actually originally released last November, I remember gossiping about it with many of my beauty friends at the time. It was dubbed to be the L’Oreal answer to the new Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, bringing rose and pink hues to the high street. Inside the gloss black compact, we find a handy mirror and 10 beautiful neutral eyeshadow shades. The shades all have a pinky, rose edge to them, with a beautiful purple shade and a champagne white thrown in for good measure. The palette also comes with a little brush, which has the standard useless foam applicator on one end, but a more handy brush on the other.

The compact itself is actually made out of plastic and it’s really sturdy. It’s not difficult to open and it’s quite small, which makes it a travellers dream. The shadows inside are a good size, they are about the width of a standard eyeshadow brush, which makes application a dream. The eyeshadows are pigmented beautifully, there’s actually nothing I don’t like about them. They have enough pigment that you’re not stuck for ages applying them, but they are not too pigmented that you get yourself in a royal mess. There is no fallout on the shadows, which for me is a huge plus, I don’t have time to clean up my foundation before dashing to work!

My favourite shade of the lot has to be the aforementioned purple shade, it’s absolutely gorgeous blended through the crease. It’s also beautiful all over the lid for something a little more smokey. I can’t believe it’s taken me the best part of 12 months to cave and buy this palette, as I’m now starting to wonder how I ever lived without it.

You can pick up the L’Oreal La Palette Nude palette from Boots and Superdrug, retailing at £14.99. 
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Sunday 18 October 2015

Get Gel Envy With Revlon



The Revlon Gel Envy polishes have been around for quite a while and I've just never got round to purchasing some to try. I was in Boots recently and they were on offer, so I thought I'd pick up a couple to try. Our local Boots had a pretty rubbish selection (especially when you consider there are 33 shades) but in the end I chose Up The Ante and Queen Of Hearts

Up The Ante is a plum, purple shade which definitely dries darker than the lilac shade on the bottle. Whilst Queen Of Hearts is a burgundy, red shade which is perfect for Autumn. The formula of these polishes is beautiful, they apply beautifully and the colour payoff is gorgeous. They have a great brush which means it's easy to coat the nail and they dry quickly, which is always fab when you're in a rush. The only thing I did not like about these polishes, is that they chip SO quickly, I've never experienced anything like it! 

The Revlon Gel Envy polishes are designed to be a two-step system. First, you apply your colour and then you apply the Diamond Top Coat, which seals everything in place. So I'm wondering if the Diamond Top Coat would extend the wear time of the polishes? I hope so anyway! Have you tried any of the Gel Envy polishes from Revlon? Have you tried the Diamond Top coat that goes with them?

The Revlon Gel Envy polishes retail for £6.99 each from Boots, Superdrug and tons of other retailers. 
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Saturday 17 October 2015

My KIKO Haul

I’ve had my eye on KIKO for quite a while, I’ve watched release after release and I’ve slowly fallen in love with a lot of items. After much deliberation, I decided to treat myself and I did a little bit of shopping on KIKO’s website. I thought it would only be right to then share the haul with you guys, here’s what I picked up!







The Pigment Loose Eyeshadow comes in 16 shades and is a “highly concentrated loose powder eyeshadow with pure pigments and pearls”. You can see in the picture that this is a little pot of loose pigment, which you can use as an eyeshadow. After playing with this a little, I can safely say that this stuff is VERY pigmented. I need to find a way to use it, without getting myself in a mess. It is however, very blendable and you can build it up to be quite an extreme eye look! 

I’ve had my eye on this particular blush for quite a while, as it’s had quite a lot of blog coverage. It’s a special blush formula, which is a satin matte finish, which is a lightweight powder, which is very velvety and bouncy to the touch.  It comes in the most gorgeous golden packaging and the colour is very pigmented. 

These stick eyeshadows from KIKO get some pretty RAVE reviews, so I knew I had to have one in my collection. I actually added five different shades to my basket, but I ended up settling for ‘Golden Mauve’. They are rumoured to offer extreme hold, whilst providing blendable and intense colour – sounds amazing right? They come in a gorgeous matte black packaging and there are actually 32 different shades to choose from! 

This is another product that I’ve seen everywhere and I just could not resist. It’s a gorgeous iridescent colour, designed to add a gorgeous highlight. The bullet is a really great shape and size, it’s not too big, so it comfortable fits on your cheekbones. The formula is very creamy and it has a high percentage of pearl. It’s honestly such a really beautiful creamy texture, whilst still being easy to blend; I cannot wait to test it properly! If the pink shade doesn’t take your fancy, they do a gold shade too!

The second blusher I picked up is more of a traditional formula, it actually comes in six different shades, I opted for the shade ‘Pink’. The Colour Blush Veil is the most gorgeous backed blusher, which gives the most gorgeous radiant finish on the cheeks. It’s fantastic for giving a finish that gives you a truly glowing complexion! The compact of this is really tiny, so I can already tell it’s going to be great for travelling. 

These kinds of duo palettes are right up my street! This is a “highly pigmented compact eyeshadow duo” which comes in four colour combinations. The finish is buildable and the formula is really blendable. I choose the ‘Cream-Chocolate’ as it’s such a great everyday duo, it’s a great one for your handbag for midday touch-ups. 

This last item was actually a freebie and it’s beautiful, so I’m pretty chuffed! It’s a beautiful eye pencil which you can use both for the waterline and lash line. It’s the most buttery, soft texture which leaves a matte finish. The colour is so pigmented and it’s the most beautiful brown, purple hue. If you like the sound of these, they actually come in six different shades, so there are a few to collect.

I’m yet to properly experiment with these products, so I’d love to know what you think of them if you’ve tried them! Also if you have any KIKO recommendations, please leave them in the comments below, I feel another haul coming on… 
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