Empties / May

Body Items

SilDerm Stretch Mark Massage Oil: another GlossyBox offering coming to an end. I use body oils daily after the shower and this is pretty average. Don't get me wrong - it's not bad and it didn't make any difference to my stretch marks (not that I had any hopes, anyway) but it's nothing extraordinary either. It smells like lavender and rosemary.

Repurchase: nope, I can get alternatives for cheaper.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer: the Elasticizer is one my favourite hair masks. You leave it on pose for 20 minutes before shampooing; it needs to be applied on wet hair which kinda of annoys me because by the time I jump in the shower, I'm freezing! ;) but that's me for you, I get cold very easily.

You can read my original review here, my opinion hasn't changed.

Repurchase: yes.

No7 Smooth & Improve Cellulite Treatment: hated it hated it hated it and then multiply by a 1000. The actual product takes ages to absorb and, even with all the massaging, I didn't see any improvement on the cellulite. I didn't enjoy using the applicator either (you can see a picture here) but had no choice because you can't open the bottle and use it normally. Well, you may want to cut the bottle like I did, if it gets REALLY frustrating.

Repurchase: hell no... it's over 20 quid and not worth it!

Lush Fair Trade Foot Lotion: I really like this foot cream and I have used it few times in the past. It looks quite thick but doesn't leave a greasy residue; it smells minty but not in an overpowering way and it's bright pink!!! The joy! :D

Repurchase: yes

Face Items

Jane Iredale PureLash Extender and Conditioner: I didn't actually finish this product but found it at the back of my drawer and had completely forgot about it. It's all dried up now and pretty old so I wouldn't use it on my eyes anyway. I remember not being particular impressed with it and it made my lashes crispy too.

I have tried few lashes primers but, to be honest, it's an additional step so rarely use them; also because I don't see a huge difference - one day I'll try the much hyped Dior one and see what I've been missing out on.

Repurchase: no.

REN Frankincense Revitalising Night Cream: to be honest, I've been *I don't want to say disappointed* unimpressed by many REN products and this cream is also average for me. It absorbs well and I strangely love the peppery smell but I can't justify buying it for that reason alone. It's still a nice night cream but I can get the same performance cheaper from the high street. Shame! :(

Repurchase: nope.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair: What can I say? This is my favourite night serum. I know it doesn't work for everybody but when I use it, my skin looks considerably improved OVERNIGHT!

No spots, radiance and smooth skin so I'm a bit sad to see it go but it was nearing the expiry date so can't complaint, it lasted a long time.

Repurchase: absolutely!

Sprout Cleanser: I used this cleanser to remove the first layer of make up at night; it did a good job and left my skin soothed. I found the scent to be soothing for the mind, too. 

Sprout has actually re-branded as S.W. Basic of Brooklyn but for what I can see that's the only thing that has changed - Full range review here!

Repurchase: yes.

Sorry for the loooong post but I did finish more items than usual this month (hurray!) - do you like empties posts?
xxx

Giveaway Winnings

Recently, I have been really lucky as I won 2 blog giveaways - YAY!!! :)

First, I won this Fever Eyelashes from Sam @ Honey Go-Lightly
They are surely something - very luscious but surprisingly light to wear.
I will save them for a special occasion! Pretty fab!!! :)

Then, I won the Blue Illume Toothbrush from Holly Arabella.
Pretty excited to try this out! For what I read, the light technology should improve whitening and oral hygiene.
I'm not sure about the brightening powers - and don't mind as I'm happy with my shade of white - but if it really helps killing bacterias, its definitely welcome! :)

First time I won anything... so chuffed!!! :)

Have you ever won any giveaway? Do you enter many?

Delivery / Feel Unique

FeelUnique run a special discount for Leap Year, at the end of February so I picked up few essentials.

(btw, we are already in April... where did all the time go??!! :S)

Cosmopolitan Beauty Expert 4-way Nail Buffer: my current buffing file was falling to pieces (literally) so it was time to get a new one. I haven't used the Cosmopolitan' one before but I'm happy so far: it has 4 sides with different purposes, I'm sure... all I know is that it leaves my nails super shiny and smooth. :)
Also, the square shape is easy to hold and to work with.

Clarisonic Replacement Brush Head - Normal: I got this brush for my fiance' :)

I can see him getting intrigued when I'm using my Clarisonic, so that way he can give it a go too; I think, he likes it too because he is using it regularly and it's helping exfoliate between shaves too.

At the touch, the normal brush is very similar to my sensitive' one, to be honest but apparently, this one is also recommended for decollete' e arms.

I'm still using my first brush (since Christmas) but it still looks in good condition and I only use it about 3 times per week.

Do you have a Clarisonic? How often do you use it?

Finally, I bought these Eylure The Collection Individual Lashes: normally, I just buy the normal edition in the cardboard packaging but they've been sold out for ever in my local Boots, so I decided to try these ones. I want them for the wedding anyway, so these should be even better than the ordinary ones; the 'knot' is definitely smaller so should be less visible.
The box is really cute, with all the butterflies, and I can always use it to store wee bits after use. :)
I noticed I never use the long ones, tho - any tips on how to cut them shorter but still looking good??

Do you order from FeelUnique often?

xxx

Giveaway Reminder & Haircut

It's now, officially, less than a month to my wedding - arghhhh!!!

I'm mostly excited now and I can't wait for the big day but at the same time I don't want to come too fast... I'll, probably, sounds weird but I'm loving being engaged. :)

Anyway... also, a reminder about my giveway - you got time until the 20th march and you can enter here:

http://fashion-olic.blogspot.com/2012/03/giveaway-time.html

Yesterday, I went for an haircut.

I haven't had my hair this short since before the engagement; I have been growing it, just in case I decided in a particular style for the wedding but, to be honest, I don't suit up-dos and I prefer my hair short, anyway.

I have a couple of trials booked in Italy but if nothing convinces me, at least I still have my 'fresh' haircut to fall back on. :)

The fringe is a bit shorter than usual but that way, it has time to grow to the right length for the big day.

Pardon the messy make-up but I had to brush a massive quantity of hair off of my face. ;P

Finally, I popped in Boots to collect my Revlon Lip Butters delivery; I decided to get it delivered in store to avoid missing the postman since I knew I was in town for the haircut.

I have been waiting for so long about these to come out and got a bit carried away and ordered 6 - they're in offer, 2 for £10 and they'll be available in store from monday.

I'm planning on going to swatch them and then decide which ones to return so sorry but they're still sealed (it's a torture!!).

Which ones should I keep? :)

I, also, ordered these extra bits:

Eylure Naturalites 101 - these are my favourite Eylure lashes.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in medium - everybody seems to love this so I had to try it. I'm, especially, hoping it won't crease.

Nailene Perfect Tips - I'm not into french manicure but I wanna try the nude/light blue which is trending after Zooey Deschanel picture. 

Boudoir Prive' no1

I know that the Boudoir Prive' box was received over a week ago, but I decided to wait to have tested all the products before writing this post, purely because I thought it was a bit pointless making a post with just a list of the content since all the boxes were identical.

First of all, I'm not going to make comparisons with the GlossyBox because, apart from the fact that they are both subscriptions, the class  of products provided are different - so let's concentrate on the Boudoir Prive' in this post.

First impressions: good! I like the packaging: pink and it's got a magnet to close it securely.

Also, top marks on the personalised card - lovely touch - and the mirror stickers - devil is in the details! :)

Ok, let's move on the actual products:

- BABOR HRS Lifting Extra Firming Cream: this is my favourite sample of the lot! It feels so luxurious and it disappears into the skin. I really felt an improvement on the texture of my skin but the amount provided is too small to really see an improvement in lifting. It also smells so good that I want to eat it. I've been using it mornings and evenings. Full size 50ml sells for £82.

- ETAT LIBRE D'ORANGE Putain Des Palaces & Rien: I'm usually quite fussy with perfumes but I like both - luck! I would describe them as old fashion, parisian, opulent & sophisticated. The striking tones are leather and incense. 

If I need to choose a favourite is probably 'Putain'... ummm, what does this say about me, oh dear! :P Only criticism: the sample bottles haven't got the name on it, so I will have to keep them in the plastic bag to know which one is which. Full bottles retail for £52.50.

 - OLAVIE Antioxidant Body Butter: this is my least favourite; purely because I don't use 'simple' moisturisers for my body but prefer to get anti-cellulite or firming products. In any case, this butter melts into the skin, leaving a lovely scent of grape-y acidic undertones (maybe, I'm not using the right words, but IT IS lovely!:)). Fails on the packaging tho: the products is not fluid and my fingers are simply not strong enough to squeeze that bottle, I'm nearly giving up on using this now. Full jar is £43.55.

- JANE IREDALE PureLash Extender and Conditioner: it took a few attempts to learn how to use this properly: what I can recommend is not let it dry completly, wait 5 minutes and when it starts to go clear, apply your mascara. I find that it made my mascara go lumpy when dry. Honestly, I didn't see any improvement extension-wise but I hope it helped condition the hair. In general, I'm not too keen this pre-mascara products as we are always already in a rush when getting ready (isn't it?!) and I don't really need to add another step - that's why I will not repurchase. On the other hand, I use a serum before bed (hoping it makes a difference). Full price £13.

-SACHAJUAN Hair Repair: this is another top product - my second favourite! I put it on for 10 minutes after shampooing as a treatment. It smells amazing and leaves hair super soft. I just can't wait to wash my hair again to use it! That's how much I love it. :)
On top of that, this is a full size bottle - £11 for 100ml.

- BLOOM Green Tea & White Tea Duo: I know few people were puzzled when received tea in their beauty box but the company says that beauty also comes from within - and I totally agree with that! (Plus, the veteran BirchBox often included comestible good like muesli bar... so why not?!)

My favourite of the two will have to be the green tea with jasmine, rose petals and echinacea.

White tea - with fennel, peppermint and aniseed - was too minty for my taste; it is still lovely but I would get bored of it easily, I reckon.

I did feel like treating myself, drinking these teas: they retail for £4 per 10 teabags... totally luxurious if you ask me!!!

To summarise, it was a really good box - I had the chance to try niche brands that are hard to come across (to be honest, I didn't know any of these before). All in all, the box didn't have a WOW factor because the brands are not so well known but the products sure deliver.

Hope this was helpful - What you people out there think? :)

a

xx