Brasil 2014 / L'Occitane Au Bresil

Brasil 2014 has been a popular inspiration for LE Collections this season.

Inspiration from south American culture with the energy and artistic predisposition, as well as rich natural resources and ingredients, indigenous of these lands.

The two new plants at the heart of L'Occitane Au Bresil Collection are: Vitoria Regia and Jenipapo. 

Vitoria Regia is a water lily found in the Amazon river that sleeps during the day, to protect from the sun rays and blooms at night, revealing pink petals and a delicate scent.

Its dual life has been perfectly captured in L'Occitane Vitoria Regia Day Flower - fresh and light with citrusy notes and the acidity of the green apple. A proper summer scent!

And L'Occitane Vitoria Regia Night Flower - with more powdery under-notes, dominated by musk and sandalwood and a hint of peony.

If you’re a L’Occitane aficionado, the consistency of L'Occitane Vitoria Regia Day Flower Handcream* is thinner than the shea butter counterpart and perfect for warmer months. It absorbs instantly and leaves the hands velvety soft and hydrated.

L'Occitane Vitoria Regia Night Flower Soap* echoes the decadent scent with the gorgeous engraving on its surface; it's fantastic and nearly too beautiful to use. The formula doesn't strip the oil on the skin and leaves the hands nourished and clean. 

Both scents come also as 300ml and 100ml Eau de Cologne bottles too.

Jenipapo is a citrus tree from the Cerrado region that basks in the sun its entire life and rapidly grows above the rest of the savannah to absorb the sun's energy.

The protective and moisturising properties of the fruit are well known to the native populations and they have now been used by L'Occitane to create this suncare line for the face & body.

L'Occitane Jenipapo Lip Balm Spf25* comes out as a clear gloss and it has a green and fruity mouthwatering flavour: you'll find exotic notes of watermelon, pina colada and vanilla.

The line also includes Body Jelly Milk Spf20, Shower Oil and Perfumed Oil Roll-On.

Local artists helped create the pretty illustrations of the flowers on the packaging and they are worth of turn-of-the-century Impressionist paintings. 

L'Occitane Au Bresil is out now in store and on Loccitane.com

Brasil 2014 / Neve Cosmetics Quetzalcoatl Collection

Many brands are jumping on the bandwagon of Brasil 2014 with their Summer collections.

Neve Cosmetics took inspiration widely from Ancient South American civilisations in general and Pre-Columbian Mexico in particular. The actual name of the collection - Quetzalcoatl - is a Mesoamerican deity which means feathered serpent.

This influence transpires in the names of the products, as well as in the vivid and powerful hues that recall the colourful feathers of this mysterious and supernatural creature.  

The collection includes 2 mineral blushes, 4 mineral eyeshadows and 2 eye pencils; all Neve Cosmetics products are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Neve Cosmetics Blush in Maya* is a pale pink with pink shimmer; thanks to the subtle shimmer, it also doubles as an highlighter and gives a true healthy glow to the cheeks. It's really beautiful and perfect for me, since cool toned blushes suit me best.  

If you prefer a bit more warm on the cheeks, the other blush of the collection - Flame Tree - is a pinky coral with fuchsia particles (sounds pretty awesome too!)

Neve Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Quetzal* is the personification of this mythological bird with its duo-chorme turquoise and green pigments; Desert*, instead, is a more wearable warm brown with golden glitter, that reminds me of the sun-kissed, dry soil of this rich continent.

You can play it safe or be more daring and they work particularly well when applied wet; these two together are made for each other and complement beautifully!

Finally, Neve Cosmetics offers 2 eye pencils to define the look: the luminous Cielo/Turquoise* and warm Terra/Brown - the names are pretty self-explanatory really!

The quality of these pencils is very high, as always - they are soft to work with, long lasting and have high pigmentation.

I have to say that this is my favourite collection from Neve Cosmetics so far. The histrionic reflections make these hues tridimensional... and have I forgotten about the packaging?! I think the turquoise & bronze combo is simply beautiful.

What do you think of this collection? :)