What Questions Would YOU Ask The Pixiwoo Sisters?

I recently posted about Sam and Nic Chapman's upcoming Real Techniques UK tour that's due to start, and finish next week and have since been given the opportunity to interview the girls ahead of the Manchester leg of their tour. So, I thought I'd find out if you guys had any burning questions that you'd like me to ask them - especially if you can't make it to any of the locations, or there's not one close enough to you.

If you do have a question that you'd like me to try and have answered for you then please leave it in the comments box below and I'll get through as many of them as I can, in the time that I get. x

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Sam & Nic Chapman aka Pixiwoo to Tour UK With Real Techniques!

Makeup artists and YouTube/Blogging gurus, Sam and Nic Chapman are/heading off on an official 5 day tour of the UK in August with Real Techniques, the makeup brush brand designed by the pair that has taken the UK by storm, to meet their customers and fans.

During the tour they will be demonstrating hot makeup looks, giving makeup application tips and advice, answering any all important beauty questions that you may have for them, and posing for photographs too.

If this sounds like something you want to get involved with, you can catch the talented duo in the following locations:

• Monday 4th August - 5pm to 7pm; Superdrug, Marble Arch, 508 – 520 Oxford Street, London W1C 1NB 
• Tuesday 5th August - 5pm to 7pm; Boots, 116 Cribbs Causeway Regional Shopping Centre, Patchway, Bristol, BS34 5UP 
• Wednesday 6th August - 5pm to 7pm; Superdrug Beauty Studio, 51-52 St David’s Centre, Cardiff, CF10 2DQ 
• Thursday 7th August - 5pm to 7pm; Boots, Trafford Centre, 10 Peel Ave, Manchester, M17 8BD 
• Friday 8th August - 12pm to 2pm; Boots, Jervis Shopping Centre, 125 Upper Abbey St, Dublin 1, Ireland

I'm hoping to attend the Manchester leg of the tour, so hopefully I'll see you there. :-) x

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Deichmann Collaborate With Fashion Blogger, Caroline Blomst for Spring Summer 2014!

Most people have their ‘thing’ when it comes to fashion… be that dresses, hats, bags, jewellery, shoes or whatever else takes their fancy. Me? I’m an ‘everything’ kinda girl. I like things, I like lots of them and they have to meet my exacting style standards; especially as I’m also incredibly indecisive. However, it has to be said that I do hold a dear place in my heart, and my wardrobe, for shoes. You see shoes are the only things I could always rely on, even at my heaviest, to fit me.

So am I a ‘shoe’ person? Why yes, yes I am.

When it comes to purchasing shoes, I’m totally a Carrie wannabe, in that I would love to be able to say that my budget stretched to the likes of Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahniks to be worn as my shoes du jour; alas, I tend to be more of a high street girl. That’s not such a bad thing though, as the good thing about fashion these days is that you don’t actually have to spend the earth on an outfit for it to look good, or make a statement.

This is why I love brands that pull out all the stops to bring us designs that look great, but without the threat of bankruptcy, or broken hearts due to our weeping bank balances. It’s not even necessarily that you end up saving as much as you think, as if you’re anything like me, money off/money saved just means you can buy more. Half price? This to me just means I can buy twice as much!

Which brings me onto the new spring/summer 2014 collection from forward thinking European shoe brand, Deichmann, which launched today (here) and was under heavy embargo so as excited as I was to tell you, I was unable to do so!

The collection, comprising of 7 different shoe designs has been designed in collaboration with Swedish fashion uber-blogger and all round fashionista Caroline Blomst, is to be stocked in store and online by Deichmann UK, with prices starting from just £17.99 and reaching no higher than £27.99. Good news for your bank balances, girls!

Video footage of the collection, provided by Deichmann UK.

The collection was an instant hit when I saw it, and whilst I might not wear every pair of shoes myself, I think that it's bang on many trends that are current right now. The 2 styles from within the group that totally caught my eye were these beauties:

Peep toe shoe boot with cut out detail, 27.99

These boots are so flexible, and could be worn with pretty much anything from your wardrobe, from jeans and leggings to skirts, dresses or even shorts; meaning they will easily span throughout any season. The 4.5 inch heel is fairly high, and with only a very slight platform to offset the height too. However, I found these shoes more comfortable than I first thought they would when they arrived with me, largely due to the fact that the boot styling almost fully encases the foot, instantly giving much needed support to the foot and ankle (the adjustable fastening adds to the overall look of the boots and can be tightened or loosened to suit your ankle size thus avoiding the shoe slipping off the foot as you walk - safe as well as stylish?

Peep toe with drop side and metallic heel, £27.99

These glam metallic accented heels are possibly my favourite item as they totally appeal to my glam nature and weekend wardrobe of bodycons and bandage dresses. The design is also mega flattering as they instantly lengthen your legs, and who here doesn't want longer looking legs?! Metallic accented shoes featured highly at Paris Fashion week recently, so these are totally now, however I expect to get wear from these for quite some time to come! Adore.

 My final thoughts?

You can see the thought that has gone into the collection as a whole; and it's apparent that whilst style is high up on the agenda, Caroline also wanted these shoes to get a lot of wear, with comfort also seemingly factoring highly.

Her consideration that the designs were versatile, and could be styled with a plethora of different outfits, tailored to your own personal style preference, is also glaringly obvious; and I'm quite sure that this collection would not look out of place on any of the fashionistas that we all know and love.

Unfortunately my camera gave up the ghost which meant that I could not shoot the shoes sent to me in the manner I had planned, so I apologise for the stock images, but it at least ensures that you actually see the collection.

View the boot-y!

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Boots Star Gift of the Week: Soap & Glory 'Yule Monty Limited Edition Jonathan Saunders Bag'!

So this is the one most people wait for every year, the Soap & Glory Boots Star Gift of the Week better than half price offer, this year it's named 'The Yule Monty Limited Edition Jonathan Saunders Bag'.

It's popular every year, because of the fab products and huge saving, and so I expect it will sell out very quickly, so go get it now... go quick. x


Boots say:

"Start with a bottle of the legendary SUGAR CRUSH™ Body Wash, add a big tub of THE RIGHTEOUS BUTTER™ Body Cream, our HEEL GENIUS™ Foot Mask, our HAND FOOD™ Hand Cream, PEACHES AND CLEAN™ (the ultimate any-skin type face cleanser), THICK & FAST™ our glamorous Super Volume Mascara, a tube of our top-selling THE SCRUB OF YOUR LIFE™ Body Buffer, our BUTTER YOURSELF™ Body Lotion and – making an appearance in the perfect universal shade of Pink Out Loud - it’s our SEXY MOTHER PUCKER™ XL Lip Plumping Gloss (all in a whoppingly fab zip-up toiletry bag). MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Includes:

• Body Wash
• Body Cream
• Foot Mask
• Hand Cream
• Face Cleanser
• Super Volume Mascara
• Body Buffer
• Body Lotion
• Lip Pumping Gloss
• Toiletry bag

How to Use

Soap & Glory recommends applying products with happiness and abandon." <- I like this bit. :-)

Take me there!

 

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Boots Offers: £99.99 Discount on Philips Lumea Precision Plus & Ted Baker Star Gift of the Week... & More!

Just spotted these deals in my inbox and wanted to pass them on to you, since they seem rather good, and I know saving money at this time of year is always handy. Of course this could just be persuading you to spend money that you hadn't planned to spend, but they are still bargains and sometimes it can't be helped. ;-)

First up is the Lumea Precision Plus, an at home IPL device from Philips which is now £350 (online only), saving you a hefty £99.99. Now I haven't used this, but it does get good reviews, and if you're looking into long term hair removal, represents great value in both at home devices, and when compared against the cost of salon/professional treatments.

I also noticed that the previous model, the Lumea Precision also had a large discount of £104.99 (online only), taking it down to a very affordable (for this kind of product) £295.

Next there's the Boots Star Gift of the Week, this week being a fab looking Ted Baker Sitting Pretty gift set, down from £45 to £22 (online and in store)... a perfect present for a loved one, I think. This is available until midnight tomorrow, when a new offer will become available.

Includes:

• Bottle of Body Wash (250ml)
• Tub of Body Scrub (300ml)
• Bottle of Body Lotion (200ml)
• Bottle of Bath Foam (250ml)
• Tub of Body Soufflé (300ml)
• Bottle of Hand Cream (125ml)
• Vanity Case (100% polyester, handle: 100% PVC)

I also noticed they were offering £10 off £60 spends in toys and gifts... which also applies to the star gift of the week, saving you an extra tenner if you were to want to buy 3 for various people in your life. Handy to know. This deduction is done automatically for you, and I believe ends at midnight tonight.

Finally there's various discounts on fragrances available here and an added incentive of an extra 1000 points (£10 worth) if you buy 3 at the same time.

So all in all, not a bad bunch of offers to be had. Will you be purchasing any? x

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Boot Star Gift of the Week - Soap & Glory 'The Best of All' Set!

It's here! The Soap and Glory 'Boots Star Gift of the Week' has finally come around, which to me means Christmas is just around the corner, and that I had better get my skates on and buy the rest of my Christmas presents for my family... eek!

Contains:

• The Righteous Butter™ Body Butter (300ml)
• Hand Food™ Hand Cream (125ml)
• Sugar Crush™ Body Scrub (300ml
• Smoothie Star™ Body Milk (500ml)
• Clean On Me™ Shower Gel (500ml)
• Heel Genius™ Smoothing Foot Mask (125ml)
• Peaches & Clean™ Cleansing Milk (200ml)
• Super-Colour Sexy Mother Pucker™ Lip Plumper (3ml)
• Thick & Fast™ Mascara (10ml)

Will you be purchasing? These ALWAYS sell out, so be quick if you want one!

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Boots Star Gift of the Week - Gok Bag of Indulgence!

This week's Boots 'Star Gift of the Week' is 'Goks Bag of Indulgence' from his popular bath and body range. The bag is actually a lovely looking vanity case, and I'm very tempted by this offer, just for that alone haha! That being said, the bag is stuffed full of fabulous sounding products containing various oils that you just know are going to be good for your skin, especially the argan and almond oil varieties.

Contains:

• Body wash with rose oil (200ml),
• Body lotion with rose oil (200ml),
• Bath essence (200ml),
• Body butter with Argan oil (180ml),
• Body polish with Almond oil (180ml),
• Gold coloured body puff.

 Have you used products from the Gok range before? Does this tempt you? x

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Another Boots.com Discount Code!

Just a quickie, but here's a couple more discount codes for use on Premium Beauty orders at Boots.com - these are great if you wanted to save money on your beauty buys, but weren't planning on spending more than £100 to use the code in this post.

 Offer: Save £5 when you spend £50 or more on selected premium beauty products
Code: PREMIUM5
End Date: 13th November

Offer: Save £10 when you spend £75 or more on selected premium beauty products
Code: PREMIUM10
End Date: 13th November

Enjoy. x

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Boots 10% off £100 Spend Code!

This is just a quickie post as I've just had an email come through telling me about this fab little offer. I like to post about these offers when they come through as I know that money saved at this time of year is always helpful (well, it is at any time of year, but in the run up to Christmas, it is especially so)!  I can easily spend £100 at Boots... Chanel/Dior etc, anybody(?!), so this is perfect for me.

You could even use it if you have their Star Gift of the Week offer in your order (or at least it doesn't say that you can't in any T's&C's) when it comes back in stock - should it be within the next week, meaning you have even more of a saving on that! Not bad, eh!

Save 10% when you spend £100 or more

• Code: PWOS10
• Ends: 30/10/2012

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Boots Star Gift of the Week - 17 Ultimate Collection!

With another week, comes another offer from Boots in their annual Star Gift of the Week event. This week we have a set from 17 cosmetics that looks great and is a snip at £17, down from £35.

The set even has some make-up brushes included too. Ok, so they may not be MAC quality (although I haven't seen/felt/used the set in any way, so you never know), but I'm betting they'll be fine for starting off/taking on your travels etc. The colours look lovely too, universally flattering, and easy to wear, don't you think?!

In the picture, the set has a Frontcover gift set feel about it, with the book format... this is both good and bad, as it's nice to have all the things you might use together in one set and is clearly a great gift option, but it's not all that practical in terms of taking it away with you due to the extra, quite unnecessary bulk - in my opinion, of course.

Contains:

    5 x Lip Gloss Godets (6.4g total),
    5 x Pressed Powder Eye Shadows (6.4g total),
    8 x Baked Powder Eye Shadows (5.7g total),
    Blusher,
    Bronzer Trio in Limited Edition Colours (8.2g total),
    Pot of Eye Liner in Black,
    Compact with Metallic Cream for Eyes, Lips and Cheeks,
    Limited Edition Mascara in Black,
    2 x Eye Pencils in Coffee and Black,
    17 Photo Flawless Skin Primer,
    Lash Curler,
    Pencil Sharpener,
    5 Piece Brush Kit,
    Hints and Tips from Makeup Artist Vanessa Guallar.

Not bad, eh?!

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Boots Star Gift of the Week - Extra 10% Off TODAY ONLY!

In my Boots post the other day, I told you about the new Boots Star Gift of the Week offer, and today is its last day before it changes! Not only is today the last day, it's also the ONLY day where you can save an EXTRA 10% off the sale price, making it an even better £26.

To get the extra discount, enter the code BOSS10 at checkout.

This extra discount means that you're saving you a whopping £34.00 on the original price of £60.. so if you've been lusting after it, maybe this could be the final thing to sway your decision?!


Boots.com

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Boots Star Offer of the Week - Boss Orange Evening Essentials Gift Set!

In my Boots post the other day, I said I was looking forward to seeing what offers they had in store for us in the run up to Christmas. Well, as scary as it feels, that run up apparently begins now, as they've unveiled their first star gift of the week for 2012!

The Boss Orange Evening Essentials gift set is now £29.50 until Thursday 11th October, saving you a whopping £30.50 on the original price of £60.

I love this fragrance, it's beautiful... I'm a little bit gutted though, because I already own a brand new bottle of it. So, I have a dilemma, do I buy a back up (even though I have a huge amount of perfume to get through), or should I restrain myself and save my money for something else?

It's a tough call for me, but this is still a great offer and would be perfect as a Christmas gift for one of your loved ones, or even as a little gift to yourself (if they/you haven't already got one, of course).

Boots.com

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Boots 3 for 2 Christmas Shop Open & New Discount Codes!

Cor blimey, I can't believe it's already October and we're now starting to think about Christmas - especially as we didn't actually get a summer! Does anybody else think this year has flown by?

Anyway, Boots.com have launched their annual 3 for 2 Christmas shop, although whilst I'm not entirely sure they have their full stock on there just yet, I'm rather looking forward to seeing what offers they have in store for us this year.

Talking of offers, I also have a couple of discount codes for use on Boots.com and as usual, I thought I'd pass them on to you guys, money saved is always welcome I'm sure.

Save £5 when you spend £40 or more on selected Fragrance
Code: FRAG40
Ends: 13/11/2012

Save £20 when you spend £100 or more on selected premium beauty
Code: PREMIUM20
Ends: 13/11/2012

Both codes are live already, and I know I'll definitely be making use of the premium beauty code. I'll treat myself to some YSL, Lancome, Clarins and Chanel I'm sure... well, it is almost Christmas. ;-)

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Boots - Save £10 When You Spend £80!

Just a quickie as another offer just dropped into my inbox and I wanted to pass it on to you, I mean who doesn't like to save money, right?!

Save £10 when you spend £80 or more!
Code: AUTUMN
Ends: 27/09/2012

Boots.com
 

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

FrontCover Packing Case - Swatches!

Hello there, sorry I've been a bit absent for the last couple of days, Christmas has been a hectic one where I haven't managed to get much time at my computer, not even on my new laptop either (that I rather ironically got for Christmas from Mr Beauty Scoop).

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas with lots of lovely presents? Feel free to tell me what you've been given in the comments below - I'm always interested to find out (and a little nosey too haha)! I'll be putting up a post with my gifts when I am back at home, although I didn't actually get many beauty related gifts this year, unfortunately (still, I'll treat myself in the sales)!

Anyway, this is just a quick post to show you the swatches from the FrontCover Packing Case gift set that I mentioned in my Last Minute Gifts From Boots! post! I've only got swatches of the eyeshadows and blushers, as unfortunately the other photographs with the lip gloss on are at home on my other computer.

The shadows are lovely, very pigmented and they apply very well too as their texture allows for a smooth application with fantastic blendability - I'll do an EOTD with these for you soon. :-)

The blusher shades that are included are very shimmery, not glittery really but they are very glowy so if you prefer matte blush shades, these may not be your ideal shades. They are lovely all the same, and some make great highlighters too.

I've shown the blushers individually and also mixed together to give you some idea of what they would all look like when blended - obviously this will be different for everybody depending on your skintone and how heavily you mix the colours etc.

This was £18, but will now be £9 in the Boots 50% sale. x

Christmas Gift Guide - Last Minute Gifts From Boots!

If you're not very organised for Christmas and have pretty much missed all the last delivery dates for online purchases, then this little gift guide could hopefully give you a little help and save you from turning up empty handed on Christmas morning!

I think that Boots is a great place to visit for this last minute gift grabbing, as not only do they stock their usual fabulous cosmetics and fragrances (and more, but let's keep this beauty related) but they also have a plethora of Christmas gifts available at varying price points. Here's a selection of my favourite from this year's gift selection:

FrontCover:

Packing Case is a lovely little set from FrontCover that contains everything that they think you need for a weekend away; including 4 fine line baked powder eyeshadows, 4 fine line baked cheek colours, double ended black mascara/sealer, mini black kohl pencil with smudger, double ended suit-all lip stain and iridescent gloss, translucent pressed powder, mini tweezers, cheek brush and double ended eye applicator! Now that's quite a lot for the £18 that it costs... and that's without including it in the current 3 for 2 offer - bargain. I'll be posting swatches of these later today.


No7:

No7 Liplicious Library (£16 and included in 3 for 2 offer) - 5, 5ml No7 lipglosses in shades Marshmallow, Angel Cake, Caramel, Sweet Peaches and Sherbet Twist for £16 (also on 3 for 2 currently)! Perfect for the pouts of your loved one(s) and the colour selection is great too - there's a gloss for almost every occasion in there.

17:

17 Large Eye Palette (£10 and in 3 for 2 offer): - A great palette containing both day and night appropriate shades all in a slim case (not always a fan of cardboard casing, but a lot of brands are using it these days, so I won't moan about it throughout as that would get tedious)! The DAY shades included in the set are: Limited Edition Green, Medium Purple, Light Pink, Orange and Pink and the NIGHT shades include - Limited Edition Bronze, Dark Purple, Grey, Light Blue, Dark Blue (5g of each selection, 10g total). I had swatched these, but the photographs broke somehow - will try to redo on another post as soon as possible.


Strictly Come Dancing:

The Eye Colour Collection (£16 and included in 3 for 2 offer) - I think this set encompasses everything that Christmas is, shimmer, shine and glitter with double ended eyeliners (including glitter options), gold, silver and bronze chunky pencils, mascara and normal eyeliner pencils too. Again, a lot of the swatch photographs I took are with the ones that broke,but I did salvage this one from the chunky pencils.

Strictly Latin Lookbook (£10, and also included in the 3 for 2 offer): Another multi product gift set, containing eyeshadow, pressed powder, and lip glosses. I love that this comes with a pull out section with hints and tips on how to get the look. Bargain.

PR Samples - Views and extensive last minute gift shopping knowledge are my own!

Boots 'Kiss Me Quick' Lollypop Face Cloth!

I love that this face cloth is fashioned into a lollypop, and actually it must look fairly realistic as Mr Beauty Scoop thought it was a lolly when he glanced at it!! It's a quirky little stocking filler that costs £3.50 from Boots.

I do have a couple of niggles though, and I'm hoping that these were a one off on this particular cloth. The first issue was where the lolly stick had been stuck onto the cloth, as when I pulled it off, it actually pulled some of the thread with it, so just take care when doing this if you do get one.

Secondly, where the plastic kimble tag had gone through the cloth to hold it into the lolly shape created holes that whilst fairly small, were still quite evident.

Finally, there were a few more imperfections like more pulling and also a bit of irregularity in the pink sections of the cloth where it appears patchy.

However, all that being said, I'd still be happy to receive one on Christmas day as the cloth does what it needs to and is soft on the skin too (I'm just being a bit picky with the comments above). Not to mention the novelty fun factor in receiving one of these (and it's also great for those on diets who are trying to avoid real lollies) so not bad for just £3.50!

I found it rather funny when I looked at the care instructions and it instructs to 'sponge clean only' haha... have a look below!

Latest Online Discount Codes & Special Offers!

This isn't a definitive list, but just some of the online stores that I have affiliations with who have emailed their latest codes. I thought you might be interested in them, with Christmas coming up (only 39 days, yikes) and gifts to buy! As I receive more emails, I'll do more posts but this is what I have right now!

Fragrance Direct - 20% off Jewellery until 18th November 2011. Enter code JE20 at checkout.

Feel Unique - They have a lot going on so I'll list it all below, all codes expire on 19th December 2011 as this is their cut off date for Christmas posting (for UK addresses, Europe is 12th December and the rest of the world is 5th December)!

Codes:

Save £5 off £75 code: FIVESTARXMAS
Save £3 off £50 code: XMASWISH
Save £2 off £25 code: STOCKINGFILLER


Free Gifts:

Feel Unique Tigi Offer - Purchase any two TIGI Bed Head or Catwalk Christmas Gift Collections & get another absolutely free!

Feel Unique Emma Hardie Offer - Free Emma Hardie Amazing Face Natural Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm 15ml & Cleansing Cloth worth over £8, when you purchase any Emma Hardie Amazing Face product (Offer excludes Emma Hardie Amazing Face Dual Action Professional Cleansing Cloths x3)!

Feel Unique Elemis Offer - Free Elemis feelunique.com Exclusive Anti-Ageing Heroes Set worth over £37.00 (containing Elemis Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser 30ml, Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel 15ml, and Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream 15ml) when you purchase any two Elemis products (exclusions apply, and only one free gift per order).

Feel Unique Clarins Offer - Purchase any two or more Clarins products, one to be skin care, and receive a free Clarins Beauty Kit worth £25.50 (contains Beauty Flash Balm 30ml and Hand & Nail Treatment Cream 50ml).

Boots.com - Codes:

Ending 27/11/2011:


£5 off when you spend £30 or more on Fragrance & Fragrance Gift Sets - Code: FRAGRANCE1

£5 off when you spend £30 or more on premium cosmetics and skincare - Code: PREMIUM1

10% off Fitflop Winter Boots - Code: FITFLOP1


Ending 25/11/2011:

Save £5 when you spend £50 or more on Electrical Beauty - Code: ELECTRICAL5

Save £10 when you spend £100 or more on Electrical Beauty - Code: ELECTRICAL10


House of Fraser

50% off Tresemme Hair Dryer Gift Set - Now £25!

Spend £30 on Elizabeth Arden and receive the Beauty Treasures Holiday Colour Collection for £45 (worth £290)