Selfridge's Beauty Box Part 2

As I'm sure you know by now as we've mentioned a lot (we are both just excited to give this away to someone as we were excited when we received ours) we are giving away one of the much spoke about Selfridge's beauty boxes. (here)

As we decided to split them I ended up with four of the products. Today I'll be talking about 3 of them as I haven't used the fourth as I had two serums and wanted to use one for as long as possible so I could give a better review on it.

First up is the BioEffect EGF Serum. This is a cellular activating serum. That is meant to restore, rehydrate and rejuvenate skin. This was the product I was most excited about trying. I'm like L and my spots have been leaving nasty red marks on my face that take ages to fade. I've also been keen to add a serum to my skin care system for a while.

BioEffect serum is great it only includes 9 ingredients which I love. It's great to see such a sort list of ingredients. One thing I'm confused about is on the box it says apply to clean cleansed skin at night yet on the boots website it says apply morning and night. I've been using it only at night.

So far I've really enjoyed it. I've used it every night for the past 9 days. I cleanse my face and apply four drops of it. It's a clear bottle with a cute dropper pipette. I prefer this style of bottle for serums as I think it's easier. It's quite a liquid serum so a little goes a long way. So far I've had no breakouts my skin is well conditioned and it hasn't made my skin feel over oily. I tend to apply this an hour before bed then apply a night cream and eye cream just before bed.

The 5ml sample size costs a huge £49.00 in boots so isn't something I'll be buying anytime soon but I do love it and was glad to get it in my box.

Next up is the Estelle and Thild organic lipbalm. This came in the flavour raspberry.

First up how cute is the packaging. I love all the pretty flowers on it. Secondly I love that it's in a tube. I hate lip balms you dip your finger in. Hence why I don't use Vaseline. Thirdly raspberry is a flavour I love. Finally it's a certified organic product containing great moisturising ingredients such as beeswax , jojoba oil, shea butter and olive oil. This is another product that only contains a total of 8 ingredients!

This is a very thick moisturising lipbalm that I love. The fragrance is subtle and not at all over powering. I love that I put it on at night and can still feel the after effects when I wake up in the morning.

It's colourless so great for putting over lipstick during the day. The lip balm costs £16 from here. This site offers free shipping and they have it in different colours. I really like this product and would pay the extra for it those months that I could afford to splurge.

Lastly for me is the Omorovicza mask. I was so excited to try this product but to be honest was a little disappointed with it.

In my opinion 5ml isn't a big enough sample of mask to try. To get a decent layer on your skin you need to use the whole pot and before commiting to spending £57 on the 50ml pot (available from House of Fraser) I'd like to have been able to try it more than once.

It does feel really soft on the skin and left my skin feeling very smooth and soft and there was no tightness or stinging which you can sometimes feel with a face mask.

But only being able to try it once means I won't be splashing out for this product as I feel the lush face masks do the same job at the moment. If I'd had enough to try it a little more maybe I'd have been convinced.

Are you hoping to win the giveaway to try any of these items? Do you already own any of them?

Love M

xxx

September Wishlist

Argh September already. Where is this year going. I really can't wait for the end of September though as it's an exciting month for me now. I'm going back to university. I'm lucky and my work is funding me to go back part time to re-train. I'm so excited to go back and start learning new things again (I'm such a geek at times). As well as going back to university I'm off to America at the end of this month so this wishlist is some products I'm hoping to pick up over there.

If you're a regular reader of our blog you'll know I've done quite a lot of shopping this month even though I'm meant to be saving. Some of my buys can be seen here and here.

From my August Wishlist, I picked up the a River Island bag, A hair oil (not the one I wanted but L has got that one) and some shoes. Not the Kurt Geiger ones, but I am still eyeing up some of those pairs. All the purchases are in my hauls above.

Clothes

So what am I lusting for this month. After a recent trip to Matalan with my mum to pick up a birthday present for a friend I'm seriously loving a lot of the clothes in there. I'm so impressed with the clothes they have in there at the moment.

I love this jumper, I tried this on and didn't buy it but have thought about it since. It comes with a white vest top and  the jumper is a short ish one. It's a bargain £10

This dress would be great for work and I think it would be so flattering. I really like the bright colours and is £22. This colour is only available online but they do have a different colour version in store.

How amazing is this duffle coat. Gorgeous and only £40 I always love that it has a hood. I really want a nice coat that has a hood.

I'm obsessed with winter colours. I adore bottle green and burgundy and all shades like that. This pencil skirt is a  really pretty colour and would really brighten up a work wardrobe. A bargain at only £12

Black jeggings/ skinny jeans. These are more like a skinny jean than a jegging to me.  They are only £14, and long enough for me. They are a sort of soft material and I can imagine them being so comfy.

Lastly from Matalan a gorgeous Peplum top. L has this in white and black and it looks stunning on her. Royal blue is a colour I adore and I want trousers this colour too. I'm not sure the peplum style will suit me as I'm pear shaped but I really want to try this and it's reasonable for only £12.

Make Up

As I'm off to America I will be stocking up lots on Revlon as it's loads cheaper there. I will be getting L and I the colorstay foundation. (review here)



I'm really keen to try some Wet and Wild eyeshadows as I've heard great reviews on them. This is the one I will be looking out for most. I love the neutral shades in this.



Image from good images.

I also hear a lot about cover girl so I will be picking up some of their foundations to try. I need to do some research before I go to decide which one will be best for me. I'm also hoping to pick up some Mac while I'm there. I thinking of trying the studio fix foundation and picking up some eyeshadows. Any make up you would recommend me to pick up while I'm there?

Nails
Another thing I plan get is lots of nail varnish. I'm obessed with nail varnishes and can't wait to pick up lots of China Glaze, Essie, Revlon and OPI nail varnishes.



On my list to get is China Glaze for Audrey and the hunger games collection if I can. Essie ballet slippers and a few others. Revlon nail treatments, their scented ones and the gel like finish ones and OPI Nail envy for mum and me.

Make up Brushes
I love my Real Techniques brushes and want to get the core collection and the eye kit one as well as another stippling brush.



Jeans
You can see I need to save lots of money with all I plan to get. L has a list for me too. Lastly I'm hoping to get some Levi Curve ID jeans. I've wanted these a while. I have a bit of a JLO bum so finding jeans that fit at the waist can be a pain for me so I'm hoping these will be amazing. I love the concept of these and hope more designers follow this.



http://gyaniz.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/levis-curve-id.png

I think I'll be needing bold curve!

So that's my list. It's a long one this month. What are you lusting so far?

Love M

xxx

Review: Origins GinZing

I'm sure most of you have tried this out at some point as it's one of those HG products that everyone loves!

Origins Ginzing is a gorgeous eye cream that claims to de-puff the eye area and brighten dark circles.

Firstly I love the name, GinZING! Definitely makes me want to apply it in the morning in the hopes of waking me up and making me look/feel more human.

(I am not a morning person if you couldn't tell!)

This has not replaced my beloved Eye Doctor  as I still use that in the evenings, but this compliments it by working its magic on my dark circles in the morning.

The packaging is great as usual, and the orange tub adds to the Zing factor that I love.

You can see the colour and consistency of the eye cream below, really thin but in a good way so that it sinks into your delicate skin around your eyes without requiring hardly any rubbing in.

The colour as well shows that it won't show up as a white film and as it has tiny tiny particles that reflect the light it can really help to combat those dark circles.

It almost reminds me of high beam in a way as the particles are so small that they most definitely do not show up as glittery but the colour is the same. 

By no means is this a weird under eye highlighter, its the perfect combination of soothing eye cream and subtle reflection.

I absolutely love this product, I wouldn't be without it in the mornings!

It is a little pricey coming in at £21 but for a gorgeous eye cream that sinks in asap and reflect the light so dark circles don't show, whilst also being eco friendly and free from chemicals definitely has my vote.

If you have the money I would definitely splash out!

I have a few more Origins goodies to post about after using them for the past 2 months.

What is your favourite Origins product? Do you have a lust list?

L xxx


(Giveaway link is here)

Review: Origins Zero Oil Moisturise Lotion

On one of my recent Origins splurges I picked up the Zero Oil moisture lotion as my skin is generally quite oily and I'm always trying to beat the shine.

However my skin being the fickle thing that it is decided to dry out so although I have started using it on my whole face, I now only use it on my T-zone as everywhere else needs a little more hydration.

First off as its oil free its a great moisturiser for those who want to beat the shine and it moisturises without leaving any excess on the skin and quite frankly it disappears!

It also leaves quite a nice base as it mattifies the skin too.

As you can see on the packaging it has Saw Palmetto and Mint which gives it a really nice clean smell and makes you believe that it won't be breaking you out, which it doesn't. 

I also love that its non pore blocking (non-comedogenic) and non-acnegenic so you're almost guaranteed to see great results if you purchase and use this moisturiser on your oily skin.

My skin on my t-zone definitely feel hydrated enough when I use this and I love that in the morning it gives you a matt effect which helps with oiliness for a good few hours for sure.

Unfortunately for me my skin has done a complete 360 on me at the moment and is currently in need of extra moisturisation which is totally unlike it so I've got myself a sample of the Make a Difference treatment (oil free though!) to see if it helps.

The ladies are always lovely on the Origins counters I've been to and are so helpful and always give out a sample of the product you are lusting after if you're not sure about buying it.

I always find it a pleasure to go back which is obviously what they want, but it never feels like they're trying to take your money which other counters should take note of!

I will be continuing to use this as I have for the past few weeks as it works perfectly on my T-zone and I have to admit that maybe my pores are even shrinking which would be an epic bonus!

Look out for tomorrows post with another of my Origins purchases which is a HG product for some people, including me!

Do you have a favourite Origins product? Have you bought any recently or are lusting after anything in particular?

I'm an Origins junkie for sure!

L xxx

And don't forget our giveaway, 1 week left to enter :)