Phil Smith Xtravagant Hairspray!

I’ve tried many hairsprays throughout the years, but have always gone back to my trusty favourite, Elnett as none of them ever performed anywhere near as well as Elnett does (or at least on my hair, anyway); so when I got the chance to try out some Phil Smith products (more posts to come on these), I was very eager to see how well the hairspray performed.

The answer? Very well actually, I was very pleasantly surprised by it as to be quite honest, I wasn’t expecting much from it – not for any other reason than based on my previous experience with hairspray that wasn’t Elnett. The first thing I noticed was the scent... a lovely tropical coconut smell, which I instantly loved as it’s so much nicer than the smell of most other hairsprays (including Elnett), even though I’m not usually a lover of coconut scents on my body!

I found the spray very easy to use, and actually could hold my hair up, spray and have it more or less stay put straight away – although you still had chance to mess around with it before it ‘set’ so to speak. The spray also kept my hair in place very well and wasn’t at all crispy or hard feeling; I also felt that my hair was still able to move around, whilst holding its shape which is a major plus point as nobody wants super stiff lego hair, do they?!

I really like that you can keep adding to the hair to increase the strength of the hold (once the previous spray has dried) – this is perfect for me as I don’t always need a firm hold spray, so this means I’d need to buy more than one spray... which isn’t a major problem but this does seem to solve it all the same.

The price is be £1.99 for a small 75ml can in Sainsburys (found via mysupermarket) compared to Elnett 75ml £2.00 in Tesco (found at Tesco.com), all prices taken today (25th January 2011) so I would expect the price to be roughly the same for all variations (I have the 250ml can, I think it would possibly be around £4, judging by a few different websites). I would be happy to pay this as I do feel that it performed just as well as Elnett on my hair for the styles I’ve tried it with.

Disclosure: PR Sample

Sponsored Post: Nivea Pure Natural Range - Review!

I love natural products; I feel that when they’re done well they really do stand out above so many other products; I don’t use them exclusively but when I find a natural product that works, I’m happier to use that than a product that possibly isn’t quite as natural - or not at all, in some cases! This is the reason I jumped at the chance to try out the new Nivea ‘Pure & Natural’ range, a set of products designed to care for your skin (and also 'deliver incredible results'), naturally and affordably.

The range is 95% natural – that’s not bad going in my book, especially for a brand that isn’t primarily situated in the natural skincare market. I’ve had a look at the ingredients list and there doesn’t appear to be anything too scary in there – no parabens, silicones, colourants or mineral oils - fab!

The lead ingredient in this range is Argan Oil, said to be a natural source of Vitamin E, rich in essential fatty acids, and a natural antioxidant – I’m no scientist but that sounds pretty good to me.

Now onto the products and what I thought of them...

Firstly, the absolute stand out product for me – the Hand Cream (£3.05, 100ml)! This is seriously amazing; it’s almost instantly absorbed (yes really), doesn’t feel at all greasy or sticky and does a brilliant job of moisturising – plus it smells gorgeous (more about this nearer to the end of this post, as the scent carries out through the range).

They say the ‘hero ingredient’ in this product is the Argan Oil as this ‘gives hands intense moisture and free radical protection’, and well I can’t really say if I am getting free radical protection but I really do feel like this moisturises intensely and will actually continue buying this as I love the silky soft feeling on my hands when using it.

I think my second favourite product is the Milk & Honey Lip Balm (£1.99 4.8g); it smells beautiful (it’s the only product with a different scent to the rest of the range) and actually, it reminds me a little of Lush Honey Trap (which also smells delicious). I don’t really think that it has a taste, but that’s fine with me as it means I don’t lick it off before it has had a chance to do its work!

My lips felt moisturised without being sticky and the balm also lasted a good length of time on my lips without me feeling the need to reapply. This has been by my side ever since I received it, and I will be purchasing another when I’ve used this one up!

The Cleansing Lotion (£3.36, 200ml) did a great job of cleansing my skin; it got what appeared to be all of my makeup off without a great deal of effort and left my skin feeling lovely and clean after use. It’s not the kind of cleanser I would normally use, but I was pleasantly surprised with how well it took my makeup off and how my skin felt afterwards.

I loved using the Cleansing Toner (£3.36, 200ml) as it left my face feeling refreshed and clean without any tightness or stinging. It was the perfect cool feeling I needed after using the cleansing lotion (mentioned above) which felt heavier than my usual wash off cleanser, and also (weirdly) my oil cleansers too.

Now I have mixed feelings about the Anti-Wrinkle Day Cream (£8.49, 50ml) as my face felt lovely and moisturised when using it, but I didn’t really notice any difference on the very fine lines I have. Maybe I haven’t used it long enough for it to make those changes yet (just less than 4 weeks of usage*), or maybe I was expecting too much based on the claim of ‘visible wrinkle reduction’ that was on the outer packaging?!

Having said all that, I would probably consider buying this again at this price, purely because the moisturising aspect was more than acceptable - and I guess any wrinkle/fine line reduction would just be a (very) welcome bonus, rather than an expectation.


*I will use this pot up and update if I do see any changes in my fine lines (shhhh) skin after further use.

I put the ‘Rich Body Moisturiser’ (for very dry skin, £3.57 for 250ml) through the tough test of moisturising my small psoriasis patches (and the rest of my body, of coruse) and was really quite pleased with it. I wasn’t expecting it to get rid of the patches, and it didn’t... but what it did do was keep the patches soft and moisturised enough to be exfoliated, which left them feeling a little smoother than I expected it would.

The cream absorbed quite well, not immediately but quick enough that I wasn’t hanging around, bored and waiting for it to do so; and the scent stayed on my skin for ages, I got wafts of it throughout the day – which was nice. I also didn’t feel like the moisturiser was too heavy for the rest of my body that weren't quite so dry, but I can imagine that this wouldn’t be the case for everybody – and for those who need/prefer a lighter moisturiser, they do also have a body lotion available for normal to dry skin (at the same price)!


As mentioned near the start of this post, all the products seem to carry same fragrance (all bar the lip balm, as mentioned), it’s a fragrance that I really, really like as it’s very fresh and clean smelling without being boring, or overpowering either.

Anyway, I am probably waffling on now so I will love you and leave you, but first I should tell you (in case you wanted to purchase anything) that this beautifully scented, and generally very effective range is available from February 20th, which incidentally is the day before my 30th birthday.

This is a sponsored post, but my opinion remains my own and if I’ve praised products it’s purely because I felt they deserve it based on how they performed on my skin. x

http://www.nivea.co.uk

Decleor QVC Beauty Today's Special Value - Product Information!

To follow up on my QVC TSV post, now I’ve had some more information I can now tell you some of the products available in the TSV; they will be:


100ml Hydra Radiance Smoothing Cleansing Mousse
150 Prolagene Gel
15ml Excellence Sublime Regenerating Cream

Plus 2 other gorgeous Decleor products, to be announced at midnight on Sunday (or you may see it as Saturday night, still – like I do haha), so you’ll have to tune in to find out – although I have a sneaking suspicion that there may be a small Excellence Night Cream in there somewhere as on the original mail shot that I received from QVC mentioned that it was a new addition to the range – and what better way to show it to people? I could be wrong though, so please don’t shoot me if I am! :-)

You’ll also have to tune in to find out the price, but I can tell you that the normal price is £54, so it will be less than that, but by how much? Ooooh!

Decleor/TSV shows are scheduled throughout the day on Sunday at 12am, 4am, 7am, 9am, 11am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm so there’s plenty of chances to watch – just don’t let it sell out before you buy one if you really want to purchase.

Here's a little bit of information about the products that we know are included:


Prolagene Gel

“A complete body treatment to smooth skin imperfections, both natural and accidental. It supplies the deep tissue with the active ingredients necessary for the reconstruction of its natural collagen.


This exclusive DECLÉOR formula:


helps revitalize the support structure of the skin,
helps accelerate the skin’s renewal process,
helps diminish unsightly marks.


Applied on the affected parts of the body, this gel leaves a supportive and protective film on the skin. Day after day, your skin renews itself with increased tone and firmness.”



Decleor Hydra Radiance Smoothing Cleansing Mousse

“Hydra Radiance Smoothing Cleansing Mousse (100ml) from Decleor. The three-in-one cleanser is enriched with oat milk to deeply cleanse, plus papaya extract and Japanese white mulberry to gently buff away dead skin cells, leaving your complexion silky smooth with a luminous glow.


Contains hylauronic acid, a potent protein, which will help tackles the signs of ageing”



Excellence de L’Âge Sublime Regenerating Cream

“The ultimate solution to combat all signs of advanced ageing for a firmer, more comfortable and younger looking skin. This global anti-ageing skin care – a potent, luxuriously rich anti-ageing daily moisturiser – combines an innovative Phyto-Age Complex with a unique cocktail of 4 Essential Oils to act directly on wrinkles, loss of firmness and pigmentation irregularities.


Day after day, the skin is softer, more supple, ‘plumped-up’ and luminous.”

Decleor QVC Beauty Today's Special Value - Sunday 23rd January!

There's talk of another fabulous beauty 'Today's Special Value' (TSV) this Sunday on QVC, this time with Decleor. Now I haven't got all the finalised details as yet (I'm waiting on the confirmation of the items included in the set, but I will post them the moment I find out).

However I have been told that you will be able to get your hands on their Hydra Radiance Smoothing Cleansing Mousse, that launched on QVC back in August last year... and what's more is that I've been told that this luxurious cleanser will be available at a reduced price on QVC Beauty!


If you’re not already clued up on QVC and their TSV’s then you also need to know this:

The TSV will be available at the special price for 24 hours only.

QVC regularly sell out of their TSV products so it’s quite likely that it may sell out before the 24 hours has passed, i.e. don’t waste too much time thinking about it and risk missing out.

QVC offer a 30 day money back guarantee (excluding postage costs) so you’ve not much to lose if you decide you don’t want it or that it’s not right for you - even if it’s been used, because they’re that confident with the products and brands they sell!

You can order online at www.qvcuk.com/tsv, and also over the phone on 0800 50 40 30.

If you wish to see the product demonstrations then go to Sky channel 640, Freesat channel 800, Freeview channel 16 or Virgin TV channel 740 on the day to watch when the show is on, or you can watch online at www.qvcuk.com on the day (whenever you like) too. 

New No7 Exquisite Curl Mascara!

I’ve been very lucky to be given the chance to test out No7’s new, not even released yet Exquisite Curl Mascara, and I was very excited to do so as I love love love their Exceptional Definition Mascara.


The blurb says:

“The aptly named Exquisite Curl Mascara has a curved brush, tailored to enhance curl and volume. The unique formula with curl-setting polymer helps keep lashes lifted throughout the day. The result? It curls lashes by up to 90 degrees. Eyes look more open and lashes extended from root to tip – get ready to va va voom!

Available in Black and Brown/Black.

“This mascara gives a lift to the lashes for a wide open-eyed look. The bend in the brush helps to manipulate the lashes in to place and get a good coating at the roots.”

Lisa Eldridge, No7 make-up artist and creative director”

I say:

I absolutely loved using this mascara, I could easily get away with just one coat (without my Clinique lash primer) and still get a fantastic curl – in fact I was so pleased with the curl that I’ve been able to stop using my heated eyelash curlers when using this product as the curl really is defined and it stays put – great for when you’re in a rush, or running late (like I usually am). Apparently this is down to 2 things, the first being the obvious curved brush which has been designed to enhance, curl and create volume; the second thing is a curl setting polymer that helps the curl to stay put all day long. Whatever it is, it works.

I had difficulty getting huge amounts of volume from the one coat, in fact I found that it actually gave more length than volume on my lashes (which isn’t bad, as who doesn’t want longer looking lashes?) but I did find that 2-3 coats gave a better volume.

The mascara consistency is quite thick, which I thought may cause a problem with coating the lashes, and also clumping but honestly there was hardly any – I think this was down to the brush being quite full and bristle-y (see below). I did need to work the lashes from the second coat to keep them separated, but this is quite the norm for me with most mascara to be honest!

I’ve already mentioned the staying power of the curl, but felt I should also mention that I was very impressed with the staying power of the mascara itself, again, without the use of any primer (to make it a fair test based purely on the mascara, not additional products giving it extra help). I don’t think it’s waterproof, but I do think that it’s as good as you’ll get without it being so, for staying power.

Once I have my brows threaded (on Friday), I’ll put up a before and after mascara shot to show you the full effect I got with it – I’m too embarrassed to show you right now as they’re in a sorry state (due to me putting my back out, and also being ill) and that just wouldn’t be right for the first ever viewing of my eyes on here, haha!

The mascara goes on sale on the 26th January and will cost £13.00 for 7ml of product – I’d be more than happy to pay this, and will actually do so when this tube runs out.

http://www.boots.com/en/No7-Exquisite-Curl-mascara_1161016/

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday!

After looking at many photo's from the Golden Globes, I thought I'd post some of them up to show you some of my favourite overall looks (hair, makeup and dress - the lot) and find out what you thought!

 

Olivia Wilde's Golden Globe Makeup!

Olivia Wilde looked radiant on the red carpet at the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards, her dress was to die for but her makeup was absolutely spot on; this was down to celebrity makeup artist Spencer Barnes, who teamed up with NARS to create her look.

“Olivia's look was inspired by images she collected of what she refers to as ‘the French girl.’ I wanted her skin to be fresh and clean with eyes that extended outward. Touches of rose gold and sheer pink-veiled lips completed her youthful coquette-ish look,” Spencer said.

If you would like to recreate the look, using the very same NARS products then here is what you’ll need (although some products aren’t out right now, so some patience will be required):

Face

• Sheer Glow Foundation

http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/complexion-3/sheer-glow-foundation/sheer-glow-foundation.html

• PRO-PRIME Multi Protect Primer with SPF (NEW for summer 2011 – available 1st April exclusively at Space.NK) – if you can’t wait then you can try using NARS Makeup Primer with SPF.

http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/complexion-3/makeup-primers/pro-prime.html

• Copacabana Illuminator (NEW for spring 2011 – Available February 15th exclusively to Space.NK) – an alternative until then is NARS Copacabana Multiple.

http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/color/multiuse/the-multiple.html

• Amour (peachy pink) Blush

http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/color/blush-and-bronzers/blush.html


Eyes

• PRO-PRIME Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/complexion-3/makeup-primers/pro-prime.html

• Nouveau Monde Duo Eyeshadow

(NEW for spring 2011 – http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/the-latest/spring-2011)

• Hollywoodland Soft Touch Shadow

(NEW for spring 2011 – http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/the-latest/spring-2011)

• Mambo (chocolate brown) Eyeliner Pencil.

http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/color/eyes/eyeliner-pencil.html

• Larger Than Life Lengthening Mascara

http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/color/eyes/larger-than-life-mascara.html


Lips

• Fantasia (barely there soft peach) Lipliner Pencil

http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/color/lips/lipliner-pencil.html

• Madere Pure Matte Lipstick

(NEW for spring 2011 – available February from www.narscosmetics.co.uk)

• Frivolous Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

(NEW for spring 2011 – http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/the-latest/spring-2011) - the picture above is from makeupandbeauty.com where you can also find a review and swatch of it.

Clinique Mascara Trade In Offer - Exclusive To Debenhams, Plus Other Debenhams Beauty Offers!

I noticed that Clinique and Debenhams were partnering up to offer a similar version of the successful mascara trade in that Clinique had with Boots last year and thought that those of you who missed out for whatever reason may like to know so that you could take advantage of the offer this time around. The offer runs from today until 30th January and the following details apply.

“Trade in your current mascara (any brand) for your choice of deluxe mascara (choose between High Impact & High Lengths Mascara) for FREE, plus enjoy a FREE eye makeover. 

Exclusively at Debenhams.
No purchase necessary.
Not available with any other Clinique offer.
One per customer, while stocks last.”


Whilst browsing the site I noticed a few other offers that looked well worth checking out, so I’m just pasting in the details for your perusal. All the offers below end on the 30th January 2011.

Estée Lauder

“Discover NEW DayWear SPF 15, the most important thing you'll put on today. Plus, with any DayWear purchase, enjoy a FREE eye makeover and a FREE* Lash Primer deluxe sample, exclusively at Debenhams.

*One per customer, while stocks last."

DIOR

"Bring your current foundation to most Dior beauty counters for a colour match and leave with a complimentary 3 day trial* of your perfect Dior foundation.

*One per customer, while stocks last."

Lancôme

"As the Official Beauty Partner to the BAFTA's, Lancôme are offering a BAFTA inspired Spring make-over, come in store and have a play. Plus, get a FREE* sample of the New Genifique Nutrics Dry Skin Moisturiser available until 30 January.

*One per customer, while stocks last."

Elizabeth Arden


"Celebrate the launch of Elizabeth Arden's PREVAGE® Eye Ultra Protection Anti-Aging Moisturizer SPF15 and PREVAGE® Eye Advanced Anti-aging Serum with a FREE skincare consultation and receive a complimentary PREVAGE Eye sample*.

*One per customer, while stocks last."

Clarins


"It's the new year and the perfect time for a new skin care routine. Head to Clarins for a personalised skin care consultation and when you buy any product from the cleansing range you'll get aFREE* Clarins headband and one recommended Day and Night cream sample. Available until 30 January.

*Offer available from 4 January until 30 January. Not to be used in conjunction with any other Clarins offer. One per customer, while stocks last."


Also, one final treat from Debenhams for Beauty Club members:

"Get 500 bonus points* when you spend £25 or more on beauty and fragrance.


*Bonus points are limited to one set per customer, per day. Min spend of £25 in one transaction applies and will be automatically applied when paying in store or online"

All information and images were found here!