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

Merry Christmas Everybody!

I hope that you're all having a fantastic day, I just wanted to say a big Merry Christmas to you all and thank you for reading my little old blog. xx

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) 'Noir Terriblement' 5 Shadow Palette!

YSL have done it again with another palette that I adore, their Noir Terriblement Palette is inspired the the classic tuxedo and even comes with it's own little 'tux' jacket - very cute.

You might think that a palette of blacks would be a bit, well, boring... but there's enough difference in both the the shade, texture and finish of the shadows to make it a worthwhile purchase for me. I actually find that one leads towards more of a brown-y tones black and one more grey-black too.

No flash (dull day, sorry).

I love a smoky eye, which is another classic look, and this palette is perfect for creating one; especially with the white highlighting shade that you can use both to highlight and also to further change the shades of black on your eye, making them more grey if you desire.

On the left I have swatched the shadow with no base, and to the right I have used Urban Decay Primer Potion (a staple in my beauty bag) and onthe white shade, the UDPP is at the top.

As you can see, the depth and shimmer/glitter are both more intense when using the primer, but I quite like that the shadows have a buildable quality to them when using them with no base, as this to me makes them a lot more suitable for daywear, where a full on black smoky eye may not be as appropriate! This also means that you would get a lot more use out of your palette and that can only be a good thing.

I hope you can see the differences in the shades in these photographs, I tried to capture the images in varying shades of light to show that there were slight differences to the shades.

Available for £39 from House of Fraser and other YSL stocking department stores. x

Christmas Gift Guide: Valentino 'Valentina' Perfume!

It's Christmas Eve, oh my god, I actually cannot believe it's here already and will be gone even quicker than it arrived. I had so many more gift guides planned this year, but unfortunately postal and email issues, along with the fact that time has been going at least twice as quickly as it should have really kicked most of them to the kerb so I hope you have enjoyed the little gift ideas that I have managed to post up!

Perfume is always a sure fire hit in my Christmas stocking (I don't actually have a stocking, but it's better than saying in my Christmas carrier bag, or badly wrapped present as Mr Beauty Scoop has forgotten or rushed the wrapping lol), and I am sure many of you ladies feel the same?! Well, this fragrance is one of my new favourites.

For a start, the bottle is beautiful - a pleasure to place on my dressing table and one that stands out from a lot of my other perfumes (I own a lot). The floral decoration actually feels like very thin ceramic or porcelain - I actually thought that it could be plasticky or something before I got my hands on it, not even for any reason either lol.

Side view to show the floral decoration.

The notes in Valentina instantly caught my attention, here's the description that I was sent "Calabrian bergamot is a hymn to exuberance and freshness, shaken up by the insolence of white Alba truffles. In their trail, jasmine, Amalfi orange blossom and tuberose celebrate radiant beauty, while being offset by the rebellious delight of wild strawberries. Finally, the nobility of cedar is seduced by the captivating sensuality of amber" I thought these notes sounded like they'd be really lovely together... and they totally are. I absolutely adore the fragrance.

My first thoughts when I actually smelled the perfume was that it reminded me of Nina Ricci's Premier Jour (even though I don't think they share many of the same notes - from what I can tell they only share vanilla and amber), but my mind changed when it settled as it started to then remind me slightly of Hugo Boss, Deep Red perfume with a touch of Armani Code too, that also share a few notes with it; thankfully it's not exactly like any of these, as I own (and love) all three of them.

I actually cannot stop smelling my wrist whilst I wear this perfume, I can't get enough of it and I've had compliments on it whenever I have worn it. Yet again, my mum is coveting a bottle for herself - her birthday is in February so maybe she'll get lucky for it. :-)

I think this perfume would be perfect for any occasion, day or evening and also for any season as the different elements of the notes keep it from being too floral/sweet (summery) or woody/spicy (wintery)!

Since it is Christmas Eve, I thought I should write about something that you could actually rush out and buy right now, and this is available now from most department stores (I've seen it on Debenhams, Selfridges and John Lewis websites, so I expect it to be in stores too) and also online if you can wait until after Christmas. 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!

Chistmas Gift Guide: Jonathan Ward Candle - The Gypsy (From The Russia Collection)!

I love a good candle, especially through the dark and cold winter months where all I ever want to do is snuggle down with a duvet with a beautiful candle burning in the background (well, we don't have a log fire so candle fire is the best we can do)!

This candle by Jonathan Ward, London fits the bill perfectly as it looks stunning (that red and gold packaging is screaming Christmas to me - in a VERY classy way) and smells good enough to wear as a personal fragrance.

The Jonathan Ward website says:

A deeply sensual Gypsy inspired floral with notes of Carnation, Sandalwood, Rose, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Bergamot, Patchouli, Amber, Cedarwood.

Housed in a Ruby red collectable glass and complete with a signature printed box.

Ingredients:

Amber, Cedar Wood, Jasmine, Patchouli, Rose, Sandalwood, Bergamot, Carnation, Ylang Ylang

The scent of this candle is stunning, and has a very unique scent to it - I really don't think that there's anything I can compare it to, but I will say that it has the perfect mix of floral and warmer notes to my nose,and they keep it from being too seasonal - I'd happily burn this candle at any time of the year.

As expected, the scent is also very strong and you get a great scent throw from the candle in the room without it even being lit, I love this as it's not always practical to burn a candle if you're not going to be in long enough to appreciate it, so this still gives you some enjoyment from the candle.

Even Chloe wanted to smell it.

I'm never disappointed with Jonathan Ward candles, I know that what I am getting is a completely luxurious and well made candle that smells divine, and will burn cleanly and evenly, and for a decent amount of time too. I really do feel that you get what you pay for with a JW Candle, and actually, when I have broken it down before they don't work out that expensive if you think of how much it costs per hour or use.

For instance, this candle is available in both medium and large sizes at £25 and £35 respectively and the medium candle has a 30 hour burn time which equates to 83p per hour whilst the large burns for 45 hours which equates to about 78p per hour- not that much in the grand scheme of things, it's not even minimum wage! In fact, one hours burning cost would probably just about buy you a bottle of water which may last about the same amount of time, or less.

I'm pretty sure there are many others like myself, who at Christmas would love the treat of a very special and very posh candle, something they may not buy themselves as it is quite a luxury item, but still very affordable in gifting terms, I feel.

To view the rest of the collection, or to purchase this one please do visit the Jonathan Ward website (you might also want to check out his other candles whilst you're there)!

PR Sample - Views 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!