YSL…YSL…YSL…YSL…

Hi Everybody,

Last month it was my birthday and I was very lucky to receive a YSL gift card from my mother-in-law and brother-in-law. I have never tried YSL make up before so this was a wonderful opportunity to try some of the make-up range.

I choose four items. I’m always looking for a good foundation so I bought the Touche Eclat Le Teint Awakening Weightless Foundation in ‘Cool Ivory’. The packaging is, as you would expect, luxurious. It is a glass bottle and the cap is wonderful with that iconic emblem on top.  I am very impressed by this foundation. It really does feel weightless when you apply it onto your skin. It does give nice coverage as I have had blemishes and it did a great job in covering them.

If there is one YSL product you must try it is Touche Eclat Radiant Touch. It is the most famous     concealer/highlighter. They were the first to come up with the idea with the pen effect applicator. it is a wonderful easy to use product that every women should have.

I do like a nice blush so I choose Blush Volupte Heart of Light Powder Blush in ‘no 5 favourite’. It comes in a lovely little pouch and it smells great! It is quite pigmented so you don’t need to use very much. It is a wonderful everyday pink.

I love the packaging of YSL lipsticks, it shouts quality and class. Rouge Volupte Radiant Lipstick in no 32 ‘Jealous Coral’. This wasn’t the one I wanted to buy as the sales assistant made a mistake when taking it from stock and I didn’t realize until I came home! It is a nice coral-peachy colour easy to apply and non-drying. It is a creamy version so you do need to re-apply it onto the lips. I will buy the one I really wanted very soon!

YSL really do make some wonderful make-up and this was a lovely and interesting experience in sitting down and having your make-up been applied by somebody else. When you go home and experiment yourself you really do see and feel the difference from what I call the everyday make-up you use.

Rxx

Christian Dior ‘Miss Dior’ EDP.

 

Hi Everybody,

One week ago it was Valentine’s Day and my husband made me a surprise. A beautiful perfume by Dior, Miss Dior. The original perfume was created by the great man in 1947 who named it after his sister, Catherine. The story goes that Catherine burst in unexpectedly when her brother was brainstorming names with his muse Mitzah Bricard. “Ah, here’s Miss Dior!” Bricard said. “Miss Dior: now there’s a name for my perfume!” Christian replied.

The bottle is a beautiful rectangular shape with a embossing design on the bottom of the bottle which gives a 3D effect when viewing from all angles.The cap has a beautiful bow and a frosted ‘CD’ emblem.

It is a beautiful, light white floral scent with patchouli and mandarin right from the start with this fragrance. I feel jasmine and a touch of peach as well. The rose is also there on the dry-down. It is interesting how it compares to Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle which is more citrus of the two. Miss Dior is much the sweeter of the two perfumes.

Miss Dior is a wonderful everyday perfume, it is very feminine and seductive. It can be worn by all ages as it is subtle and discreet. It is a beautiful fragrance and everything about the perfume, including the packaging, is classy.

I like this quote from Christian Dior.

‘That is why I also became a perfumer – to see all my dresses appear upon opening a perfume bottle, and to dress every woman in the scent of desire. Perfume is the indispensable complement to the feminine personality; it is the finishing touch to a dress, and a signature, like the rose with which Lancret signed his paintings’

Rxx

Space NK & Mac Mini Haul.

Everybody,

I always have a look at the SpaceNK website and see what new products they have. One day I noticed that they had the Kevyn Aucoin book ‘Making Faces’ in stock but only available to buy online. So I added it to my basket but of course I had to add a few extra things to go with it! As it was my birthday, I received my little gift of a mini Kevyn Aucoin ‘The Essential Mascara’. What a nice little treat from SpaceNK. I then added for £10.00 the Laura Mercier smoky-on-the-go set. It comprises a full-size full blown volume surpreme lash building mascara,  caviar stick eye colour in Tuxedo and Kohl eye pencil in jet black. It also includes a nice illustrated instructions to recreate a look. A nice bargain I think.

MAC is always busy in Brighton and now that they have moved to a bigger store, even more so! I picked up 2 items. The famous 217 blending brush beloved by so many of us. It is a fantastic little brush, smooth and blends the product nicely. I also bought a lipstick from the amplified creme range in the colour ‘Chatterbox’. It is a lovely soft pinky coral. A very nice everyday colour and smells good. I’m still exploring the MAC range of lipsticks but so far so good. I did apply on my dry lips once and it didn’t look good.  It’s much better when your lips are in good condition and not too dry.

Rxx

Rosie For Autograph Make-up Line.

 

Hello Everybody,

We all know that Rosie Huntington-Whiteley ‘s perfume and lingerie lines for Marks and Spencer have been very successful. Therefore it was only time that a make-up line would be launched to keep the Rosie brand going!

I had seen the range on the website but you have go and have a look at it in store. I went to the Brighton M&S to look but no stand was there. Luckily I found somewhere on the beauty section and she was very helpful in helping me. The range was launched in the media but nothing was arranged in the stores to launch it. No stand was set-up so they could only show it to customers who asked to have a look at the range they had in store.

I wanted to buy everything! The packaging is a rose gold look which looks pretty on the eye. Her name is nicely etched in Black and looks good.

I picked out three items.The first was the cream eyeshadow stick in colour ‘Movie Star Crush’. It is a brown-purple eyeshadow. it has a velvety finish, long-lasting and easy to blend. Impressed for the price at £12.50.

The second item was a cream blusher in the colour ‘Natures Blush. It is a very nice coral pink colour. I am really impressed with this cream blush. I m not joking but it stayed all day and didn’t move my foundation. It is quite pigmented and not sticky at all and very easy to blend in. It is quite expensive at £14.00 but the quality is very good and you do get a nice size of product.

My final item was a lipstick in the colour ‘Look of Love’. A coral-pinkish red. It stayed on all day and is hydrating and didn’t dry my lips at all. A beautiful colour and I liked the detail of the rose on the lipstick. A nice touch. £14.00 is up with the bigger brands, Mac is £15.50 for a lipstick.

Overall, I was very excited to try the range and I have been very impressed by the quality of the products. I think I will be going to visit the stand and buy more a few more items from the range. I have to say a big thank you for the service I received at the M&S store in Brighton, the staff were very helpful to me.

M&S are making a big effort with their beauty ranges,especially with Mary Greenwell as their beauty ambassador. The Brighton store had Pixi and Stilla which was great to see. M&S is now on the map for all things beauty and that is great for the high-street. Keep up the good work, M&S!

Rxx

 

Oskia Micro Exfoliating Balm.

Hi Everybody,

I do like browsing on the net after Christmas at the sales as you can pick up some serious bargains for beauty and perfume. While looking at the Fortnum & Mason site I came across some lovely items in their sale. Unfortunately I would love to have purchased everything but I couldn’t so I decided to buy one item.

Oskia is an British brand and was formed by Georgia Cleeve  who discovered the benefits of using MSM. MSM is a natural forming sulphur and the benefits of MSM include boosting collagen production, promoting circulation and help to decrease inflammation.

The Oskia Micro Exfoliating Balm  is a luxury item for your skin and my first time in using their products. It comes in a large box for a 50ml pot. The ingredients include MSM, sillica and other natural ingredients. It is a rich, thick balm and comes with a little spoon which I use to measure out and I do find that it is enough to exfoliate your face. When applying onto your wet skin it becomes soft and balmy with a milky texture but you feel the granules on your skin. It is so gentle and leaves your skin so smooth and soft. You really feel the difference immediately and I haven’t been so impressed with a skin treatment for so long. The smell is quite pleasant.

Although expensive, you know that the ingredients are natural and I would love to try the cleansing gel in the future.

This was a fantastic bargain purchase from F&M for £23.00 and it is well worth the normal asking price of £46.00. You and your skin will not regret it.

Rxx

 

 

Guerlain Shalimar Parfum Initial L’eau EDT.

 

Hi Everybody,

The commercially successful experiment of Shalimar Parfum Initial in 2011 was the first start to broaden the appeal of the iconic Shalimar to a wider audience. In 2012 they launched Shalimar Initial L’Eau as a lighter version to Initial.

This version has the iconic Shalimar bottle with the cute little tassel with the ring emblem. It is a beautiful bottle, so distinctive and utter classy. It really looks luxurious on your dressing table.

The scent from the beginning is quite powdery. Some say citrus, I feel floral tones. Lilly of the Valley, Freesia, Iris and hyacinth. The hint of Vanilla and Tonka Bean is also there. The grapefruit gives you  bitterness but not distracting at all. It has a delicate luminous feel to it.  This is a not a warm fragrance but cool and fresh and is a perfect summer fragrance, but of course you can wear it at any time!

Even though it is EDT, the longevity is like a EDP, I can still smell it hours after putting it on in the morning. That is real quality.

This is a youthful fragrance in my view but keeps some of the original aspects of the Shalimar EDP and Shalimar Initial EDP. I love this fragrance, it is completely different to anything else I wear. I finish with a quote from the man himself.

‘A Successful perfume is one whose fragrance corresponds to an initial dream’ Jacques Guerlain

Rxx