Haul / House of Fraser

'Evening Ladies!

Just a quick heads up: if you're on O2 and download their priority moments app, there's a promo code to use in House of Fraser. You need to spend £40 and you'll get a voucher worth £15 (to be spent in January 2013)... not bad at all. 

Anyway, I was in town on Saturday and went to pick up a couple of things that I've been wanting to try for a bit - It was also 10% off beauty department... double whammy!! ;)

Laura Mercier Radiance Foundation Primer

I swatched this in SpaceNK few months ago, just out of boredom, and I was hooked.

It made my skin looks so healthy and radiant (dah!) and it went straight on my wishlist.

I have also seen it in many youtube videos and it does make the skin look beautiful.

It's a rosy/champagne shade and it's supposed to shine through your foundation and - as you can see in the picture below - it makes a huge different to my hand. I can't wait to try it out!!!

Nars Blush in Sin

I've been pondering to buy this one for a while; I tend to prefer warmer toned blushers so I pretty much checked it out every time I'm at a Nars counter but I was never convinced enough to buy it. 

Until the lovely saleslady tried it on me - It was instant love! I couldn't believe how this cool shade suited my skin in such a discrete way.

Sin is a deep plum, berry shade with just a tiny bit of gold sheen - Perfect for winter!

I can see myself pile it on my cheeks until march - definitely a new staple in my collection.

About the voucher: last year, I treated myself to a Bobbi Brown lippie - I'm thinking of getting another lipstick... Tom Ford anyone??! :D

This week I'm in love with...

Since receiving the Caudalie Divine Oil as my birthday treat few weeks back, I've been rediscovering the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse OR.

I was first introduced to this oil when I received a sample in a GlossyBox - I went quickly through the small bottle because I fell in love with it and I couldn't get enough of it.

The scent is absolutely divine and, because I'm very smell-sensitive, this product doubles as a perfume for me. I picked up the golden shimmer version, last Spring.

The smell is also very similar to the Caudalie' one, although the blend of oils is different; Nuxe's includes borage, st johnswort, sweet almond, camellia, hazelnut and macadamia.

Between the two, I prefer the Nuxe oil because it feels drier and not sticky at all, whilst the Caudalie leaves a greasy residue on my skin.

The glitter does separate from the oil so you just need to give it a good shake before application and - although it looks pretty glittery in concentration - it just leaves a subtle glow, once blended.

The only thing I'm not too happy about is the packaging: I would prefer a spray bottle (mine is not but I understand there's a spray version available on the market) and the writing on the bottle rubbed off straight away (I literally kept finding wee white letters on my hands!).

This product is great in the summer - perfect to enhance a tan - but it will also looks beautiful in the upcoming festive season - as an extra glamorous touch for your Christmas parties.

Have you tried this oil before?

xxx

Space NK Birthday Present

Last month was my birthday and I was pleasantly surprised when I received an email from Space NK with a  voucher to take in store and collect my birthday present.

I thought it was really sweet, since most of the merchants just give you a discount code - implying you need to spend money, of course.

My present was 15ml bottle of Caudalie Divine Oil.

I was thrilled because I read amazing raves about this product and wanted to try it, anyway.

It comes in a spray glass bottle and, even though is a sample size, I reckon it will last me quite a long time.

This oil is a blend of grape, hibiscus, sesame and argan oils and smells gorgeous!

It can be used on the body, face and hair and it's a dry oil but I still find it too oily on dry skin so I've been using it on damp skin, just out of the shower.

Thoroughly enjoying it - Thank you Space NK! :)

***

Congratulations to Emily @ One Way Beauty  that won my Birthday Giveway!

Your prize will be with you soon :)

x

Delivery / SpaceNK

Last week, I received an email from SpaceNK about new releases and I was trilled to see the NARS Foreplay Palette!!!

I went in store the following day but they didn't have it here in Glasgow - disappointment :( - the sale assistant mentioned that it's probably only available in London at the moment and It will arrive up north later on... but to be fair, I couldn't wait... hehe ;)

of course, I picked up something else too ;)

NARS Foreplay Palette

 "Foreplay is a deconstructed Orgasm"

I just think this is beautiful looking cheek palette; love how the 4 shapes play with the black lines - You get a lot of product but the packaging still looks slick and slim.

Inside you get a big square of Orgasm Blush plus a  peach matte blush, a pink matte blush and a gold highlighter.

It's, actually, perfect for me as I don't own the single orgasm blush - and as much as this palette is attractive and desirable, I wouldn't want to have a double.

Honestly, I never got the hype around this blusher: I swatched it many time in store and yes, I could see it's very pretty... but I only completely understood the value of it, once it kissed my cheeks.

It's so unbelievably and effortlessly flattering and I would imagine it does work on every skintone.

byTerry Aqualip Jelly Tint

Been eyeing this for a while too - but it was sold out on the website, for a while... luckly, it came back in stock just as I was placing my order.

I really like my L'Oreal Studio Secret Professional Universal Lip Glow - I know it's hit or miss because it depends how it react to the ph of your skin but it looks really vivid on me... unfortunately, it last 20mins tops! :(

When I saw the Jelly Tint, instantly reminded me of it... but with the added lasting performance.

It looks neon orange in the tube but it's indeed a bright pink, when applied on the lips; man, this is bringing the 'stain' to an all new level - I couldn't get rid of the swatch on my hand for a day, seriously!

It's so fresh on the lips, it really feels like a splash of water and although the pigmentation is definitely there, it still remains sheer.

Clarisonic Delicate Brush Head

The website offers free delivery over £60 so I picked up a Clarisonic replacement head, too.

I tried the normal and sensitive before so I decided to get the delicate one, this time - I'm due to change my current one, anyway.

Finally, I also received this samples...

... and there was a gift with purchase over £75:

VERY excited!! I always wanted to try Institut Esthederm but it's very expensive; these are good size bottles too - unfortunately, I won't have a chance to use them now so I'll just keep them sealed and take them with me when I go to Italy next spring (hopefully!).

The pochettes are gorgeous, too.

Hope you liked the haul! :)

Discovering... Space NK

Discovering - because I have only recently found out that Space NK runs a reward scheme with a points card; well, I'm sure the majority of you already know about this but I only discovered this recently, reading blogs.

Mainly, I do my beauty shopping in Debenhmas because they always have promotions on and - most importantly - they have a loyalty card.

Then, until now, I would buy brands that they don't sell - Laura Mercier, Nars - in House of Fraser or John Lewis. Now, I will definitely go to Space NK since, at the same price, you also get points... meaning money off in the future!

Anyway, for my first purchase I got Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Deauville - Light 4.

This is my current favourite foundation and it's in my maybe list for the wedding.

I'm still not 100% sure as I have a couple of other contenders that I really like too but I don't think I can buy Nars in Italy so I got myself a bottle.

I'm also thinking I may tan a wee bit so I'm keeping a sample of Santa Fe - which is also a good match for me - to mix it with... just in case I need to go a bit darker.

I apply it with Real Techniques Buffing Brush or only with my fingers - it's a joy to work with and the finish result is just beautiful. It last a long time on me, even without setting - actually, I prefer not to set it with powder and let the glow coming through.

***update: I did use this foundation for my wedding... full products list coming soon :)***

my hand is not the perfect place to swatch the colour as it's much darker, apparently, than my face...

... but it blends really well and it's a perfect match on my face.

samples

Have you tried this foundation? Do you like it? :)