Merry Christmas!

Hello lovelies, 

Just a little note to say Merry Christmas! Hope you're all having a wonderful day filled with happiness and lots of scrummy food! 

Fragrance Direct Wishlist

Hello lovelies,

Let me first start by saying that this post is in no way affiliated with Fragrance Direct, I just really love their site. If you're not familiar with Fragrance Direct, it's a website that sells all things beauty related at bargain prices. Without further ado, here are my fabulous Fragrance Direct finds:

Giorgio Armani Si Gift Set 50ml - £57.99

Every time I go into Sephora, I always spritz myself with this. It's expensive but the gift set option is great, it smells so mature, yet modern. It makes me feel all grown up and sophisticated. 

Macadamia Deep Repair Masque 250ml - £10.99 

This has been on my wishlist forever and a day. My hair is really in a state at the moment and is in desperate need of some nourishment. 

Rimmel 60 Second Nail Polish 8ml - £0.99

If you're an avid reader of my blog, then you'll already know just how much I love Rimmel and especially the formula for this polish. And at less than a pound per polish, you really can't go wrong.

L'Oreal Colour Infallible Eyeshadow 3.5g - £1.50

There's been so much chatter about these little pots, especially the shade Cranberry but I'd probably go for the shade bronze goddess, it would work so well with greeny blue eyes.

OPI Nail Lacquer 15ml - £3.99

I love OPI nail varnishes but can never bring myself to pay their full RRP. I'm particularly after Excuse Moi, it's a gorgeous multi coloured glitter with a red base from the Muppets Collection 2011. I'm not too bothered if the polish comes from a previous collection, I pick based on the shade. 

Just until 9am tomorrow morning, Fragrance Direct are offering an extra 10% off gift sets when you use the code GIFTSET10, making it the perfect time to grab those last minute gifts. 

Have you done a Fragrance Direct Haul recently?

Review: La Roche-Posay Serozinc Toner

Hello lovelies,

I'd heard so much about this product and on a recent trip to the pharmacie, it just fell into my basket. For those of you not in the know, Serozinc is  a Zinc Sulphate solution formulated with just that and little else, it can be sprayed on a cotton pad and swept over the face post-cleanser and used as a toner.

Serozinc is anti-bacterial and purifies the skin, as well as soothing irritations and prepping the skin for moisturiser. Zinc is a natural astringent so it's great for my combination skin. I've been getting dry patches with this weather but this really soothes them. I've found that I've been suffering from less blemishes and any existing ones are quickly fading. I wouldn't be put off even if you have sensitive skin, as the zinc is a natural element and it's actually really gentle. 

I tend to use this every couple of days, I wouldn't use it everyday as the zinc acts as a natural exfoliater and I like to switch this up with my beloved Botanics toner. I originally used this by spraying Serozinc directly onto my skin but I found that I was wasting quite a lot of product, so now I spray onto a cotton pad and sweep it across my face.

La Roche-Posay Serozinc can be picked up in the French pharmacies for around the 6 euro mark but if you're not planning a trip to France any day soon, then you can order Serozinc off Ebay for £13.75 including postage. 

Have you tried Serozinc?

Review: Rimmel Lasting Finish Soft Colour Blush in 020 Pink Rose

Hello lovelies,

If you haven't tried the Rimmel blushes yet, you're in for a real treat. I seem to be naturally gravitating toward Rimmel at the moment for all my makeup needs. I've yet to find a Rimmel product that doesn't tick the boxes for me.

I picked up Pink Rose off ASOS after looking at swatches and reviews online. Moving into Winter, I like my blush to give me that rosy glow as if I've just stepped inside from the cold and the majority of blushes that I own are more coral toned for the summer, when I have a bit of colour. I swept Pink Rose on my cheeks first thing in the morning and it's still there at 10pm.

I find you have to be quite light on application, I was a bit heavy handed the first time round and ended up having to pat the colour down, I would say Pink Rose has medium pigmentation. It just adds a lovely natural sheen.

My only bugbear is the packaging, it's quite flimsy and it's not something I would just fling into my bag, I'd be worried about the compact cracking and I find it a bit tricky to open. Nevertheless, I don't want to detract from what a gorgeous blush this is and it's definitely one of my Winter staples.

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Soft Colour Blush is available from ASOS for £3.99

Have you tried any of the Rimmel blushes?

Monthly Favourites/ November

Hello lovelies,

Eeeeekkkk 22 days till Christmas! 20 days till I get to go home! I just had to get my little excitement outburst out of the way first. I really don't want to say I can't believe it's already December but honestly I can't, time just seems to be flying by. I've only got a few items that I've really been loving this month as I haven't really switched up my routine that much. I picked up the L'Oreal Skin Perfection Serum at the airport and so far so good but I don't think I've been using it long enough to definitely say it's a fave but it deserved a mention.

Mavala Nail Polish in 195 Shimmer Violet - £4.50

I spotted this whilst having a little nosy around the French pharmacies and couldn't not pick it up. Shimmer Violet is one of four polishes from the Arabesque Collection, which feature four metallic shades inspired by Autumn/Winter 2013. Shimmer Violet is a gorgeous light glossy purple with a hint of shimmer running through it, perfect for all those Christmas parties!

L'Occitane Shea Butter Dry Skin Hand Cream - £8.00

I may have featured this previously in one of my favourites but at the moment it's the only product working on my hands. They never normally get dried or chapped but this year, they're cracking. I don't know whether that's a mixture of now doing the washing up or spending days outdoors but they're definitely in need of some tender loving care. I've never been much of a fan of hand creams as I find them too greasy or they don't absorb quick enough but this is my saviour, it's so nourishing and I find myself slapping it on throughout the day. 

Bioderma Micellar Water - £4.50

I picked up a mini to try out because I went to Rome for the weekend. There's so much talk of Bioderma in the bloggersphere so I'm pretty sure you've heard of it. I wouldn't say it benefits my skin but it's such an effective makeup remover and just dissolves any makeup. I do like it but wouldn't say it's any different to the L'Oreal Micellar Solution if you can't get your hands on this.

Have you tried any of these? What products did you love throughout November?

Review: Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

Hello lovelies,

Now you all know what a fan I am of the Wake Me Up Foundation and I'm always on the look out for anything that will banish those hideous dark circles under my eyes. I picked this up recently in my Rimmel haul and it has certainly been put to the test today, after 5 hours sleep I had to get up for a plane and I've been up since 4.15am, so don't look too great...

I absolutely love this concealer, it definitely lives up to my expectations. It's quite thick but it blends out so well and doesn't crease or settle in the fine lines under my eyes. I picked this up in the shade ivory, which I believe is the lightest shade. I tend to be a lighter shade of concealer for my under eyes as it illuminates the skin and does make me look more awake, which I certainly needed this morning!

The Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer is available from ASOS for £5.49 (they have free worldwide shipping)

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend. I went on a spontaneous trip to Rome, so I'll pop a few photos up in my next post for you all to see. 

Have you tried any budget friendly illuminating concealers?