Holiday Break

Hello girls!

I'm going to Italy tomorrow so I won't be able to post for the next 10 days.

I'll be very busy sorting things out for my wedding next year plus I want to spend every minute possible with my family.

To make up for my absence, I promise I will have a huge holiday haul to share with you all!!! :)))

see ya soon.

xx

FeelUnique - October Box

It's time to review this box! This was my first FeelUnique beauty box and gets thumps up all the way from me.

First, the actual box. I like the colours: black on the outside and the fuchsia inside - I adore Fuchsia btw.

Also the drawer type of aperture which makes it really sturdy and it's a good size as well (a tad smaller than the other brands).

Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash

Really excited to receive this one. I like to try different face washes, because I don't like to use the same one all time and give my skin a change. This product is a two-in-one exfoliant, the granules are very small and not too abrasive so suitable to use every day. I've been using it since I got it and I didn't experience any tightness or spots. It also smells so good, like candy floss. :)

Also, I always wanted to try Bliss, especially the FatGirlSlim but never got around to buy it (anybody recommend it??!!) - I haven't been disappointed by the brand and I would purchase this wash in the future.

TIGI Catwalk Sleek Mystique Straight Collection Blow Out Balm

If you read any of my previous beauty box reviews, you'll know I'm not a fan of styling products; I just don't like to add unnecessary chemicals to my hair. Anyway, for a second I got excited about this one because, as you can see in the pictures, It has got some sparking particles in it. Unfortunately, I didn't see any difference to my hair whatsoever, so this item will go in the swap pile.

Crabtree & Evelyn India Hicks Island Living Spider Lily Ultra Moisturising Hand Therapy

My god - can a hand cream have a longer name??!!

Anyway, I devour hand creams so this is definitely a product that won't go to waste. 

It's a posh hand cream - something that I wouldn't normally buy - but it will be a nice treat for my poor hands, for sure. Nice smell and right consistency (not too thick).

Orly Nail Lacquer in Naughty

Unfortunately, the brush of my bottle is split in half and I haven't received a replacement yet so I will do a separate post when I'll be able to try it.

All I can say for now is that I like the colour and I know the brand but I never tried it before.

Caudalie Vinexpert Radiance Day Fluid SPF10

Caudalie - another brand I've read so much about and I always wanted to try and here is my chance now! :)

This is a day cream which also offers firming, protective and anti-wrinkle actions during the day. 

I definitely noticed a radiance enhancement as soon as I apply it but the smell is too strong I'm afraid, and that;s reason why I'm not planning to purchase it again. It's a shame as I'm liking the performance of the product. Also, It's described as 'fluid' and I would expect a lighter consistency as gel, serum maybe but It just feels like a cream really.

The other criticism would be with the packaging: it's too big for the actually amount of cream in fact it feels like it's empty (and I'm sure you all read the complaints on their Facebook page).

Burberry Body Eau de Parfum

This is a 6th bonus item so I don't mind it's a parfum. I actually ordered a sample on their Facebook page few weeks ago but I never received it so I'm glad I can try it anyway because... I like it!

****

All in all, I love this box and I'll keep my subscription for now; maybe, I'd like a make up item in the next one (I don't see nail polish as make up, personally)...

All products are for sale on FeelUnique.com, of course - and if you order before the 31th of October, you can get 10% off with code BBOCT10

are you going to take advantage of the discount?

Giveaway - Winner

It's finally time to announce the winner of my recent competition...

EVELYN

Well done girl!!! :)

You can congratulate her on her lovely blog!

xx

Boudoir Prive' - Delivery

Good Saturday everyone!

Have you received your Boudoir Prive' box yet?

If not, maybe you don't want to look down... :P

Personally, I think the box is an improvement on the previous one - I like it better, now I'm off to have a play about with the products.

bye bye

xx

Face & Outfit of the Night

Sister-in-law (to be) Birthday Dinner

FACE
L'Oreal Studio Secrets Smooth Resurfacing Primer
Lancome Teint Miracle in 02
Benefit Erase Paste in medium
Mac Cremeblend Blush in Something Special

EYES
Mac Paint Pot in Painterly
Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in 86 Ebloui
Ellis Faas Mascara in

LIPS
Lancome L'Absolu Nu in 101 Corail Evanescent

***

This is what I wore (sorry for the poor quality phone pic)

Dress: Warehouse
Cardigan: Matthew Williamson for Debenhams
Scarf: Topshop

Giveaway - Update

YAY!!! I've made it to 50 followers & Thank you so so much to everybody following my blog.

That means the giveaway is now closed. I will pick up a winner in the next few days...

xxx 

Yves Saint Laurent The Black Collection

YSL Autumn Collection for 2011 mixes classic pieces with more eclectic yet elegant colours. 

I think the pictures will speak for themselves:


Eyeliner Effet Faux Cils

This is my favourite item of the collection! I use cream eyeliner regularly and the colour is a nice change to a boring black, plus intense enough to give depth to the eyes.
 The swatch above is no. 4 Sea Black, a rich metallic blue... isn't it gorgeous?
To be honest, I've fallen in love with every single pot available -  they come in 6 shades: Black, Grey, Bronze, Blue, Burgundy, Green.


Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils

Another classic revisited for the new season!
The colour I got is no. 5 Cherry Black, which you can't really tell from the picture (sorry) but it's a deep purplish black. It's perfect to complement my green eyes, adding a bit of sparkle to the look.
But if your eyes are another colour - not to worry - the mascara also comes in the same 6 version as the eyeliner.
I really like the brush: it has got a slight twist which helps grab also the smallest lashes.


Eyeliner Effet Faux Cils

Confession: I've never used a liquid eyeliner before!!
As mentioned before, my tool of choice is the cream version; mainly because I always thought the tip of these pens looks too big and secondly I was worried it would dry out faster.
I'm a converted user now!! This pen is so easy to use and very precise, plus I'm liking the wet, bright look you can achive with liquid liner, instead of the matte finish of a cream one.


La Laque no. 127

It's a really good quality polish: it dries super fast, good coverage and it's a proper blue! Many others I've seen on the high street just end up looking black.

I wanna try the bronze so bad but it seems to be sold out everywhere!! :(

****

 

Face:

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation no. 6

YSL Touche Eclat no. 1

Bourjois Blush in Lilas D'Or

Eyes: 

YSL Eyeliner Effet Faux Cils no. 4

YSL Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils no. 5

Rimmel Colour Mousse 8hr no. 8

Lips: 

Mac Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Full Speed


*pr sample*

Mag Freebie

I'm sure you all know about this already... anyway, I got my copy last week in Tesco.

A few posts ago I was raving about L'Occitane Limited Edition Shea Butter Lip Balm and now Maire Claire is giving away a free hand cream with the november copy.

You can take your pick between cocoa butter, hibiscus, rose or original; I chose hibiscus!

Honest, I had no idea how this flower smells like but I'm instantly in love. <3

This is a full 30ml product which sells for £7.50, whilst the magazine is £3.60...  you do the maths, I'm tempted to get another copy. 

...

...and today my fiancé came home with another copy with the rose version. sweet, innit?! :)
This version is also lovely but I still prefer hibiscus - I can't stop smelling my hands when I use it.

Happy Hands indeed!! :)

GlossyBox - October Edition

umm, kudos on the extra bonus item and beauty bag but 3 products of the same brand is not cool! :(

I'm curious to see what everybody else's got now...

What are your thoughts?

xx

Nails of the Week

A couple of days ago, I received this set in the post and I couldn't wait to try it. 

Nails Inc released a special collection, dedicated to Gossip Girl. Personally, I've never seen the show but I'm loving these nail sets.

In the box, you'll find a base colour and a overglaze polish and there're 3 different combinations available: Lily, Serena, Blair.

 The Lily version - which is actually my favourite - recommends to apply 2 coats of the Lily plum black polish and then finish with 1 or 2 of the High Society top coat.

Sorry for the messy nails but I forgot to take a picture. This was taken after 6 days wear - still not too bad I think.

I think they are both gorgeous! As you can notice, the glaze varies between green, yellow and orange depending on the light. I could totally use Lily on his own and experiment with High Society on top of other colours.

What do you think? Do you like the effect? :)

*pr sample*

Giveaway - Update

Just a wee reminder to all my followers that I started a giveaway last week; it will close when I reach 50 followers... fast approaching!!! :)

If you wanna give it a go, leave me a comment here!

Buona Fortuna! :)

xx

Fake Tan - a must read!

Hello beautiful!

Fake-tan fan or not - personally, I fall into the second category - I recommend you visit Lipstick & Pearls and read this amazing post. 

Voe, its author, is a very knowledgeable lady and every post is a pleasure and discovery to read. 

Happy reading!! :)

xx

Boudoir Prive' - September Edition

Hello girls!

If you read my 'opening the box' post, you know that I was disappointed by this box; I took a couple of weeks to ponder all the products and I'm sorry to report that still I'm not blown away by its content.

Let me explain in details about every single item:

My fiancé' making fun of my excitement 

Tropic Skincare Body Smooth: this is a posh scrub, basically. Actually, at the moment I'm using The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Body Scrub and as soon as I opened the sample, it came to mind.
They are identical: same citrusy smell, same consistency but I would recommend The Body Shop because it's cheaper.
Also, Les Indispensables card kinda of amused me: although, it's in effect a body scrub, the instructions read: rub onto dry hands... My guess is they realised the sample wasn't enough to cover your body.
Price £19.95

Agent Provocateur L'Agent: this is a perfume sample. It's ok but i wouldn't purchase it: personal taste - of course - but I find it quite ordinary. I smelled a tons with the same spicy, exotic notes before.
Mind you, I loved the Etat Libre d'Orange that we received in the previous box but again, I'm getting fed up of collecting perfume that I'm never going to use (and I could have got for free in any department store!).
Price £70 (100ml) £50 (50ml)

Macadamia Hair Repair: I was half satisfied with this product; I'm interested in hair oil but I had just received the L'Oreal Mythic Oil in the GlossyBox: bad timing I suppose. If you want to compare the 2, the Mythic Oil is a full size and it's got a pump, whilst the Macadamia is going to be a nightmare to dispense.
Prices starting from £5.75 for 10ml bottle but you can get it cheaper here.

Colbert MD Nourish Eye Cream: this is one of the products I'm excited about!! I'm a bit obsessed with eye creams since noticing the first fine lines (sob sob) and this one seems to be a favourite of Kate Middleton so I'm up for checking out the hype. I haven't tried it yet because I'm using the StriVectin-SD now but I will let you know if I see any improvement.
Price £90

Zoya Nail Polish in Neeka: I like this one (Hurray! I can hear you scream). This is a purple with gold flakes - really pretty indeed and it's part of the new Smoke & Mirrors Collection. On top of that, they are free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP and camphor which makes me feel less guilty. I should really give my nails a break and let them breath sometimes...
Included, we received a colour wheel which I thought was just a way to make the box look fuller. I really don't see the point in it, I already have enough clutter in my house and in fact it is already in the bin. Thank you but no thank you.
Price £9.98

Neeka teamed with Ciate' Big Yellow Taxi on ring finger

Cargo Cosmetics Boogie Nights Eye Pencil in 04 Black: sorry but I can't get excited about this wee crayon. Personally, I prefer softer eye pencils and the glitter is too chunky so doesn't apply evenly.
 Price is £13 BUT for a set of 5 pencils, which makes this pencil 2.60quid and it feels like it.

Mai Couture Blot & Bronze Papier: this is an extra bonus item. Basically, for many reasons this box was sent out late and many people on the Facebook page were annoyed. Personally, I didn't mind the delay: these things happen and I appreciate the work behind, especially for a young company. I knew I was going to get my box sooner or later.
Anyway, I'm a bit puzzled on the actual existence of this product: I usually blot my t-zone and bronze the outside of my face. How is this going to work? I'll try it but probably not on a night out. I'm terrified on the end results.

Finally, I suppose you can say I wasn't happy with this box. I'm not going to be hypocrite and make an amazing review... for what? I loved the first box and I raved about it here.
I wanna stress this is only my personal opinion on the products, I like the beauty box subscription service per se' and that's why I have decided to give it another chance and still get the next box... maybe it's the Curse of the Second Box (I didn't like the 2nd GlossyBox either :))

xx