L'Oreal Paris Nude Magnifique BB Cream review

Continuing my review of BB creams, I have tried out the new L'Oreal Nude Magique BB Cream (£9.99 from Boots/Superdrug). It is designed to recreate the texture and glow of perfect nude skin, it is aimed to be feather light on the skin and has smart pigmentation capsules that correct tone, cover imperfections and refines the skin texture. This texture reminds me of Soap and Glory Glow Job Moisturiser, which has bronzer included to brighten up your face and changes colour when you apply it to your skin. It also promises 24hour hydration with an SPF 12 (which does seem low for BB creams as they are usually at least SPF 15)

My favourite BB cream I have tested so far is the first one I ever tried, Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector which offers the most complex, complete coverage. I also love Maybelline BB Cream which my sister bought me from Thailand, which isn’t out the UK yet but offers a similar coverage. Where Garnier is dewy and gives a tinted moisturiser level of coverage, Nude Magique uses pigments so the cream starts out white and as you blend the pigments are released. The end result you can see here:

BB cream blended in to my skin

As you can see this medium shade matches my skin tone fairly well. However I have found the coverage to not be as complete as other BB creams, and I have applied foundation on top! I suggest you may prefer to wear this BB cream as a primer/skin brightener under foundation if you don’t have photo perfect skin! I do love the smooth texture of Nude Magique and am happy with the colour match with my skin. I know some people have complained the colours are either too pale or ‘orange’ looking!

What do you think is the best BB cream out in the UK at the moment? I haven’t tried Estee Lauder or No7 yet, are they worth trying out?   

ABSOLUT Instagram photography competition

ABSOLUT have come up with a great Instagram photography competition, giving you the chance to win a limited-edition bottle of ABSOLUT® LONDON designed by Jamie Hewlett. ABSOLUT London is a collaboration with Jamie Hewlett who has designed the bottle to celebrate the creativity of iconic periods, and the Londoners who defined them over the past 200 years, which have made London one of the leading cultural and forward-thinking capital cities in the world. I love it and will look good on your drinks shelf after you have consumed the vodka! ;)

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is capture an image of something that perfectly sums up one of London’s greatest features. Then you must add the #absolutlondon hashtag PLUS one of these categories… #london #entertainer #music #entrepreneur #fashion.

The cool London bottle designed by Jamie Hewlett

My Pinterest board on London fashion and style and what it means to me!

I have put together a Pinterest board on London fashion and style and what it means to me, to give you inspiration for the competition. What do you think?

For full details and to check out the current entries visit: http://facebook.com/absolutuk Good luck everyone! Get entering, it’s a fab competition!

Liz Earle Beauty Insider magazine

Beauty Insider magazine 

If you are a big Liz Earle fan like me you’ll be please to know they have just launched a brand new monthly magazine called Beauty Insider for UK customers. The magazine will include the latest Liz Earle news, behind-the-scenes stories, expert features and lots of invaluable advice from Liz herself.

Each Beauty Insider issue will also feature a new monthly skincare essentials regime with free p&p. Each month, our skincare essentials will include our tried-and-trusted daily essentials range along with a complimentary gift, specially chosen to meet your seasonal beauty needs. This month Liz Earle have selected the lovely Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask to help solve seasonal skincare woes. I love this mask, particularly after a busy week in the office; it’s perfect for re-hydrating dry skin that needs extra moisture. High performance botanical ingredients, including comfrey, help to tone and soothe while the balancing fragrance of rose-scented geranium essential oil aids relaxation. It also comes complete with the staple Liz Earle muslin cloth to help wash away. Lovely! It can also be used as an overnight intensive treatment – not sure if that would work for me I would cover my bed in face mask!!

If you can’t wait to read the magazine, you can see the latest edition online here: http://uk.lizearle.com/catalogview

What do you think of the new magazine and is it something you would be interested in reading?

Win a haircare park from L’Oréal Professionnel INOA in my blog competition!

I've got an exclusive blog competition for three of my lovely readers this week, courtesy of L’Oréal Professionnel. You could win one of three Colour Care haircare packs simply by commenting on this post. You must be a follower of my blog and I will select a winner next Friday 24^th February. Good luck!

 You may also want to try your hand at winning a trip to Paris, on the L’Oréal Professionnel Facebook page! They are on a mission to find the ultimate hair colour of the UK and Ireland with INOA COLOUR CONNECT on Facebook. With its interactive map that will calculate the nation’s most popular hair colours region by region, INOA aims to inspire hair lovers everywhere to join in and celebrate their hair colour by sharing how it defines them. The campaign is inspired by the revolutionary nature of INOA, which stands for Innovation No Ammonia and brings a breakthrough in hair colour which means no more ammonia and no more odour. INOA COLOUR CONNECT encourages hair fans and colour enthusiasts to add themselves to the map, upload a headshot and tell the community how their hair colour defines them. Each upload is then added to the interactive hair colour map. All entrants are entered into a draw to win one of a great selection of prizes including an INOA Colour Care Haircare pack or a Voucher Express voucher to the value of £50 every weekday, Monday through to Friday. All participants will be entered into the draw for the grand prize, an all-expenses paid trip for two to Paris, the capital of style.

What are you waiting for! Comment below to win a haircare park on my blog and pop over to the the L’Oréal Professionnel Facebook page to check out the hair colour map.

Good luck! Winners will be announced Monday 27^th February

My new hair!

 I don’t get to review many salons as my friend Leanne has a salon and I am a loyal customer! However she is now on maternity leave and I was offered the chance to visit JAS Hair, in Wilton, Salisbury. Their other salons are located in Salisbury and Christchurch and apart from hair services include an extensive range of beauty treatments, using Dermalogica, Fake Bake, Electrolysis, Jessica and Minx Nails. JAS Hair hairdressers are also specialists in Brazilian Keratin hair straightening which I am hoping to review at a later date. If you haven’t yet tried a Keratin treatment you can read a previous review I have done here. It is well worth the money!

The salon interior

 The salon itself is lovely, as you can see by my photos and very welcoming which is quite rare in hair salons as you find staff sometimes tend to be too busy to look after you. Not here! I love the beautiful garden out the back of the salon where you can sit outside in the summer whilst waiting for your colours to set. Shame I visited on a cold February day!

The gorgeous garden - shame it was too cold to go outside!

First of all I had my colour consultation from the lovely Shelly, who is the sister of the salon owner. She recommended I stuck with the highlights, but with three shades of blonde to try (one darker) and get my hair as natural looking as possible. I find with highlights the regrowth is quite obvious and I can't afford to keep getting my hair retouched every 6 weeks. The more natural the better for me!

Outside the salon - photo from Lydia Stamps Photography

Whilst I was waiting for my highlights to set (which didn't take long on my hair!) I received this lovely looking tray of tea and biscuits, plus some magazines to keep me amused. I then met with the lovely Robert Baker who was cutting my hair. Robert also works for Fashion Beans and you can follow him on Twitter @R0burt. Robert suggested that I go for a more choppy look, with layers at the back to give my hair more texture. I have been growing out my old layers as I found them difficult to maintain (ie I always had to have styled hair) but these were much longer layers which I like. Robert also chopped my length and finished it off in a blunt style. Finally he blowdried my hair (with his hands as that is better for your hair) and finished off with SchwarzkopfProfessional BLONDME Volume Miracle Cream (£11.45).

The gorgeous tea set!

 You can see the final result here! I love how natural my highlights look and the contrast of shades compared to my hair before. The team at JAS Hair were very professional, friendly and I really enjoyed my experience there so thanks for having me along. The price list the salon can be found here, plus you get 25% off if you are a student which is excellent as not many salons offer this.

Final shot of my new hair - love it! :)

 Let me know what you think!

♥

The Body Shop 'Chocomania' range review!

I was lucky enough to be sent a surprise package from The Body Shop containing several of their exciting new launches for February. If you are a chocolate lover (weirdly I am not!) you will love ‘Chocomania’, a chocolate inspired bath and body range. Made from 47% cocoa butter and offering 48 hours of skin moisturisation that is almost good enough to eat.

'Chocomania Body Butter (£12.50)

I tried the Body Butter which promises to give extra long-lasting hydration. It contains 13 Community Fair Trade ingredients – the most The Body Shop have ever put into one product. Ingredients include soya beans, Brazil nut, sugar cane, cocoa beans, coconut, olive, shea nuts! It leaves skin sweetly scented, and feeling softer and smoother. I can’t argue with the fact my skin was ultra soft and smooth – however I am not a fan of the smell which is quite sickly. It smells like chocolate ice cream, which I don’t like. I would imagine if you do like chocolate ice cream, then you will love it. The butter consistency is also much easier to rub in that other body butters I have tried, as I find sometimes they can be quick thick and difficult to rub in. This one is easily absorbed by your skin so a big thumbs up there.

The complete range consists of: Body Butter (£12.50), Body Scrub (£12.50), Body Lotion (£8), Lip Butter (£4), Shower Cream (£4) and soaps available in 100g for £2 or as a mini set for £3.50. For Valentine's Day, The Body Shop has also created a special Chocomania gift set which costs £28.

The whole 'Chocomania' range

Are you a chocolate lover, what do you think? Not for me as I am a berry fan but perfect for choc lovers and no calories!!

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation

Beautiful lid!

If you are a fan of pretty packaging (whose isn't?!) then you'll love this gorgeous Swarovski Crystal embellished lid on Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (£34). The downside is it's only available at Harrods and if you purchase 3 GA products but it's worth it to have such a beautiful foundation. The foundation itself is wonderful, providing sheer, luminous coverage and lasting all day. It also makes your skin look dewy and fresh, which is a must have for me when selecting foundation. Oil free it is also suitable for oily skin types and uses microfill technology to cover scars and blemishes.

Check out my photos below:

Floozie by Frost French

My lovely colleague Abby got me this lovely Lemon Meringue hand cream from Floozie byFrost French for Christmas, which I love so thought I would write about it on my blog! Floozie by Frost French is the new diffusion line from Frost French and is exclusive to Debenhams so you may not have heard of it (I hadn’t before).

The hand lotion is reasonably priced at £5 and presented in a multi coloured spot print gift box which looks awesome. The smell is also amazing and is just like lemon meringue pie my favourite dessert. Plus the cream also isn’t greasy so leaves your hands soft without being too slimy. Definitely one to try if you fancy something a bit different and is a great looking gift!

Clinque Moisture Surge Intense hydrator

Clinique have announced that early in the New Year they are introducing the new Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator (£32), which I have been lucky enough to try the past few weeks. I am a big fan of the Moisture Surge range and use the Sheer Moisture Tint and Day Cream for my dry skin. I love the smooth of the range and how soft they make my skin so was looking forward to trying the new addition out!

For drier and more delicate skins in need of intense hydration, the rich cream-gel was designed to satisfy the needs of those looking for extra moisturising benefits by offering a double-hit – maximum hydration plus moisture barrier repair technology. After just three days of use, clinical tests show that skin’s moisture barrier is dramatically strengthened and improved. I would definitely say my skin needed the boast and noticed it had felt more hydrated. I work in an office with air conditioning so need as much moisture as possible on my skin to ensure it doesn’t dry up throughout the day! Your skin is left with a healthy, dewy, supple look and stays comfortably plumped for up to 24 hours :)

Gel texture of the hydrator

So in conclusion a luxurious cream which instantly leaves the skin with a velvety soft feel, LOVE it! :)

RRP £32.00 / €45.50

Available from January 2012 

Clarins blogger event - an essay!

Last Thursday I was lucky enough to be invited to the Clarins Head Office in London for their inaugural blogger event. I don’t normally get to go to many events as they are normally not convenient for me to attend with work commitments, but luckily this event was a drop in event after work at a realistic time. Woop! I am also a die-hard Clarins fan and have been for as long as I can remember, so extra effort was also made on my behalf. I love their products and use a lot of them already so I was intrigued to find out more about the people behind the brand as well.

When I arrived I was shown round the new Christmas and January launches from Clarins and Clarins Fragrance Group. I also got to speak to the Head of Treatment who was fantastic and personally recommended which products I should use for my skin type. Shock horror, I have dehydrated skin so therefore was given products from the Daily Energiser and Hydration ranges to use as part of my daily cleansing routine. 

The lovely Clarins make-up stand!

 Fragrances from Thierry Mugler and Swarovski.


I also got to try out the latest limited edition fragrances from Thierry Mugler and Swarovski. The four fragrances of the house (Angel, Alien, A*Men and Womanity) have been enriched with food items such as cocoa powder, figs, caramel and caviar! They were a bit overpowering for me, but my favourite was definitely Aura the new fragrance by Swarovski. It has been described as an incandescent fruity floral which is centred around a prism...I love the stunning packaging as well as the smell :)

My new skincare routine! 

The Daily Energising range was recommended to me and my young (ish)skin! My skin issues — dryness, dullness, blemishes and loss of tone are all signs of exhaustion apparently. With Daily Energisers invigorating plant extracts, your skin will glow with renewed vitality — even after late nights, parties, studying, pollution and stress. I really love the Daily Energiser Wake-Up Booster (£15) in the morning which is a radiance boosting gel with a moisturising action to ensure a soft, smooth look while its toning benefits - lovely! I also love the Daily Energiser Lotion SPF15, which is a a lightweight, oil-free, melt-into-the-skin moisturising lotion that boosts radiance and protects against UV rays. It's really silky and blends into your skin easily which is a must for me when purchasing a moisturiser.

Clarins Rebalancing Oils (£33)


A drop of the oil at night after cleansing helps to tone, revitalise and restore radiance to moisture-depleted skin. I LOVE these and am thrilled to discover them as I used to just use night cream at night but the oil so far has moisturised my skin more intensely and left it baby smooth. Worth trying if you suffer from dehydrated skin like me!

Clarins Winter 2011 shot

Other bloggers enjoying the event :)

New Passion Face Palette - really chunky gold packaging. Love it!

Yummy Reindeer biscuits in my goody bag!

Thanks to Clarins for inviting me to the event, the PR team were all lovely and made me feel so welcome. Keep posted for individual reviews of the winter collection, more skincare products and perfumes!

PS - Clarins also hinted they may bring out a BB Cream next year. I am already very excited and hope I get to try it out as soon as possible!

The winner of the Clothes Show competition.....

..... is Sophie Cox well done!

I will email you now and send your tickets over to you tomorrow. Look out for a post after The Clothes Show next week talking about the show – I can’t wait until Saturday!

Win Clothes Show Live tickets!

Exciting news I have two tickets to giveaway to the Clothes Show Live next Saturday 2^nd December! I am really looking forward to attending for the 8^th year in a row, and hopefully will manage to get all my Christmas shopping done in one day (fingers crossed!) The bargains you can get on male & female clothes and jewellery alone are really worth the £27 ticket fee, I managed to pick up many items last year much cheaper than the high street and a much better choice!

This year the UK’s premier fashion and beauty event returns with an array of top celebrity guests and a brand new team of expert gurus, including international model Max Rogers and celebrity hairdresser Jamie Stevens, to make 2011’s show the most glamorous and interactive yet. I am looking forward to seeing some of the cast of TOWIE at the show (in particular Joey Essex!) Clothes Show Live in association with Suzuki is the UK’s largest fashion and beauty event featuring over 500 leading fashion and beauty brands to shop from, a 6500-seat Fashion Theatre and countless celebrity appearances over six days – it’s the ultimate girl’s day out! Whether shoppers are looking for a brand new winter wardrobe, presents for friends, spot celebrities or watch a fast paced catwalk show, Clothes Show Live is the number one destination.

Tickets!

Clothes Show takes place from the 2-7 December 2011 at Birmingham’s NEC. Visit www.clothesshowlive.com  for more information and tickets. If you aren’t going yet, make sure you buy your tickets now!

To enter my competition just make sure you are following me on my blog and leave a comment below with your name & email address. Good luck! I will get in touch with the winner next week!

Winter skin

As winter approaches, I find my skin becomes much drier than in summer and requires extra moisturiser. I also find my skin becomes slighly irritated, particuarly on my back after I had an allergic reaction to massage oil a few years ago when having physiotherapy. I had a massage recently at work and the therapist recommended trying Aloe Vera on my body to ensure my skin isn’t irritated as it is now very sensitive. The therapist also recommended cutting down on caffiene as well, which I have done dramatically during the day at work.

I also started using Herbal Aloe Soothing Spray from Herbalife on my body after a shower and as a moisture top up. Made from whole-leaf aloe, it helps soothe the discomforts of sun overexposure (not really required not but will use for this next summer!) and minor skin irritations. If you are lazy or don’t like heavy moisturisers this is perfect for you as it takes seconds to spray on your body, plus it is very light and easily absorbed. You also get a lot for your money, £11 for a large bottle. I am pleased to say since using the spray and cutting out caffeine I have definitely reduced my skin irritations, so will continue to use to ensure it stays this way.

Does anyone else have any tips for looking after skin in the winter?

Pudsey goes couture!

 If you are a fan of Children in Need and fashion then you’ll love the couture Pudsey makeover! Designers include my favourites Mulberry, Erdem and Giles Deacon , who have all designed one-off bears.

My favourite has to be the Mulberry bear, which I initially spied on the Mulberry blog. Quoted from their blog – “He is a complete one off and will be auctioned as part of the Designer Pudsey Collection to raise money for the charity’s many great causes. Mulberry Creative Director Emma Hill took the inspiration for the beloved character from our English roots and heritage of luxury leather craftsmanship.

Emma told the blog: “As with most things we create at Mulberry we wanted to keep him in touch with our roots. His leather, components and colours are mainly drawn from our men’s collection – he is a boy after all!”

All of the designer bears are being showcased exclusively at Liberty of London until the 18th November, and are being auctioned for BBC Children in Need, to help vulnerable children and young people right here in the UK. More information about how to bid for the bears is available on www.bbc.co.uk/Pudsey. The Mulberry bear is already at £620 on eBay so sadly I don’t think I’ll be bidding but it is still a great cause.

The Big Knit 2011!

My favourite Winter campaign is back again! Age UK and innocent have teamed up again to bring you the eighth annual Big Knit, and thousands of people across the country have been frantically knitting over the last few months to reach a fantastic total of 650,000 hats. 

For the Big Knit, Age UK and innocent ask knitters of all ages to get creative and come up with their own designs for mini-woolly hats to be placed on top of their smoothie bottles and sold in Boots and Sainsbury's stores throughout November. For each hatted bottle sold, 25p is donated to Age UK to help make winter warmer for older people across the UK.

The video below gives a nice overview of what the Big Knit is all about:

1. Pick up your hatted smoothie, please visit Sainsbury's (from 2 November) and in Boots (9 November) until stocks last. For each hatted smoothie bought, Age UK will receive 25p.

2. Take a photo of your hat! Innocent are running a hat tag game on their Facebook page, please visit www.facebook.com/innocent to raise even more money to make winter warmer for older people. To play the hat tag game, hold the little hat over anyone (or anything) so that it looks like they're wearing the hat, take a picture and upload it here. Innocent will donate 10p to Age UK for every picture uploaded, be giving away loads of smoothies to the weekly winners, and award £500 in Amazon vouchers to the 3 photos with the most votes overall.

Here are a few photos my colleagues at work took today! Get creating for a really special cause :)

♥ L'oreal Studio Secrets Universal Lip Glow ♥

I saw this new L'oreal StudioSecrets Universal Lip Glow product in this month’s Elle magazine and was instantly intrigued as I am a big fan of tinted lip balms/lipsticks. Both Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balm and Clinique Chubby Sticks have made it in my handbag as a daily essential, so as a sad beauty junkie I had to try this.

Here’s a little more info on the Lip Glow, which has been defined as a lipstick rather than a lip balm in the case of the others. It’s L’Oreal Paris' first lipstick that adapts uniquely to the moisture of your lips to form a bespoke, individual colour.  I love the result of a tailor-made shade of pink with a subtle finish. It’s not as strong as the Clinique Chubby Stick, but a real natural sheen (see photos below)

The lipglow feels really smooth on your lips and light, which as nice as most lipsticks do feel quite heavy for daytime wear. It is also enriched with pomegranate extract, emollient oil and polymers to leave your lips feeling soft and supple. I love the taste as well and am still trying to put a finger on what it tastes like! It’s very fruity!

The colour of the lipglow is very orange and transparent but don’t be put off! This is due to the combination of two gelling agents and the absence of wax. Either way it does look pretty cool. I also love the pink and black packaging (my favourite colours). The only negative I can find is it doesn’t seem to last that long on my lips, which is a real shame as that would make it a perfect product. Price is good too - £8.99 which is cheaper than the Clinque & Clarins products.

Let me know if you have tried this product and what you think!

ghd new styler update

If you are looking for a new pair of GHDs then check out these funky new stylers which are way more exciting than the normal ghd stylers! I am a huge ghd since I bought my first pair in 2002 and my life changed forever (no more frizzy hair!).

The limited edition BohoChic stylers gift set from ghd contains everything you need to create that perfect bohemian style. Including a heat resistant era inspired styler bag, two ghd sectioning clips, plus a get the look book and the ghd Gold Classic styler, the most luxurious styler to date.

I also love the new Pink Orchid styler, which features the ghd Gold Classic styler with a seductive twist ­ hot orchid pink styling plates. The contoured pink plates glide through hair effortlessly to give an ultra-shiny result. And a rounder barrel will let you get creative and achieve the style you desire, from feisty flicks to voluptuous curls. The best part is £10 from every sale (£129) is going to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

I am also a big fan of the Cloud Nine wide straighteners since I received them for a review 2 years ago as you can change the heat setting, but find ghd’s better for curling and styling the hair more. So there is always space for both on my dressing table!

What do you think of the new straighteners? Would you choose them over the traditional styler?

Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint review

I have timed my review of Liz Earle’s Sheer Skin Tint to perfection, as their first step into colour launches tomorrow! 

  

I featured the news about the Sheer Skin Tint last month here and have been trying it out for the past month alongside my new fav Garnier BB Cream. Liz Earle has spent three years carefully creating a high performance make up must-have, which leaves skin looking dewy, even and radiant. When applying to my skin, however it feels quite heavy and the smell is quite overpowering. It also doesn’t rub into my skin as easily as the Garnier BB Cream, which is a real shame as I love silky moisturisers. On the plus side it is suitable for all skin types and contains mineral UV protection SPF15 which is a must-have for me. The coverage is very natural looking and excellent for a tinted moisturiser, however for me the texture is just too thick for my dry skin so I am not sure I would repurchase for £21.

Sheer Skin Tint is available in three shades: Bare 01 for fair skin tones, Beige 02 for medium skin tones and Beach 03 for medium to dark skin tones. Another nice touch from Liz Earle is a sample of all three shades will be sent with your order to help ensure you have chosen your perfect colour match. I recommend if you have oily skin and don’t like shiny moisturisers (like the Garnier BB Cream) as I think it will be perfect for you.

What do you think? Have you tried the Sheer Skin Tint and how does it compare to BB Creams?