Origins Starting Over Eye Cream

Another of my skincare beauties for you to read about today :)

As you know we are both fans of Origins as a brand and a trip to Cosmetics Company Outlet normally throws up another Origins purchase for me seeing as the products have a discount, it would be rude not to!

This time I picked up their Starting Over Eye Cream, which claims to be age-erasing and contains Mimosa.

The box blurb states it also has Fennel Seed to reduce appearance of crows feet and eye area, also smoothing out the crepiness on your eye lids and hydrating them all in one swoop!

This is what I like to read, multiple benefits in one tiny little pot!



The tiny pots for eye creams are great, I love how they are all of the same design and only the lower pot colour changes.
Owning this and GinZing and Eye Doctor the three of them look quite good together piled up! Though all have different functions so I don't feel too badly about it...

This pot houses a thick white cream that applies to your eye area and sinks in surprisingly easy considering its thickness.



I was surprised it was absorbed so well as it feels so dense when you touch it in comparison to other eye creams which are comparatively lighter in texture.
However this absorbed just as easily as lighter creams and I've had no reaction from my sensitive eyes.



I do always get a little annoyed at the pots for their functionality. Although they're quite cute they're not very practical and I end up digging my fingers in for product and getting it all inside my nails which are usually long.
This kind of freaks me out with the amount of contamination the moisturiser has when used twice a day for a long period of time, and the loss of product from constantly wasting it underneath my fingernails!

I should use a cotton bud to remove product from the pot but again this is wasteful so I won't do that and my hands are normally clean when I apply this anyway....it's just a little bug bear of mine at the moment!



You can see the cream above and below and how easily it sunk into my skin.
It feels very hydrating and for that reason I do believe it has helped with some fine lines that have started appearing around my eyes.

I don't have too many but I believe prevention is better than cure so will be applying this as much as possible to prevent any more from appearing!

Have you tried any eye creams from Origins? What's your favourite eye product?

L xxx

No7: Youthful Glycolic Peel Kit

As an additional post today I couldn't resist but show you this bargain.

The No7 Youthful Glycolic Peel Kit:

I couldn't resist but pick this up, especially at the introductory price of £19.95 instead of £24.95.

It contains 8 bottles of the Youthful Peel, a Post Peel Neutraliser and a Calming Recovery Balm and of course an instruction booklet.

Glycolic peel kits are supposed to be great for helping your general skin tone, fighting wrinkles and fading scars so I was very excited when I saw it and snapped it up.

I was even more excited when I realised that the current No7 vouchers also work!

So not only is there £5 off the kit anyway...you can get an extra £5 off with your vouchers! But only until this Sunday, so get a move on if you want to pick this up!

What do you think of this kit? Are you a peel fan or an intrigued newbie like me??

L xxx

Review: Smashbox Smoke Box Eyeshadow Palette

Who doesn't love a smokey eye??
I think they're a staple look for any girl wanting to have a more dramatic look.
You can do a nude smokey eye for those times when subtlety is needed, go dark and mysterious with greys and blacks, pop with a flash of colour and sparkle the night away with metallics and glitters.

It's probably the most versatile look in the make up book!

Smashbox have brought out the absolutely wonderful Smoke Box which when I saw in CCO in Swindon's McArthur Glen I just had to snap it up.

Firstly the outer packaging looks really simple and I love that they show an image of the contents, it's always good to get a peek of what you're paying for.

I also love the 'colour wheel' type strip along the side showing the colours inside the palette and these are pretty true to form, aside from the metallic ones which don't have their metallic bits on!

The palette itself is as sleek and simple as you've probably come to expect from Smashbox. Similar to Mac they tend to leave their products do the talking and most people would agree that they 're both pretty awesome, so simplicity is key!

It may seem gimmicky to some, but I think keeping up to date with technology and putting a QR code on the back for a Get The Look video is pretty good. YouTube is booming with make up tutorials and its another way for publicity and getting products across to new people.

So inside the palette.

Above you can see there's a mirror that fills the entire size of the case, this I love!

Can always use a mirror like this when you're on the go which is perfect with this palette for day to night looks after work etc.

It also comes with a mini brush which I always ignore. I ignore them mostly out of habit as they're never big enough for holding product to get the look that you know you can achieve with bigger and better brushes but I keep it there for emergencies.

You can see the names of each colour above, I love Alabaster for a base as it's just slightly lighter than my skin colour so blends in perfectly and creates an even base.

Roast, Thunder and Seafoam are the metallic offerings in this palette with Roast being more glittery than the others. Blackout is a perfect matte black for blending and lining the eyes and blackcurrant is absolutely gorgeous.

The colour are swatched below on my arm.

L-R: Alabaster (almost disappears on my skin!), Thunder, Blackout, Roast, Blackcurrant, Seafoam.

Some colours are sheer like Seafoam and for some reason Blackout doesn't show up at all on my arm but when applied it does show up really dark but not as pigmented as Mac Carbon.

Here are some looks I created with the palette:

Using Alabaster as the base, I then applied Thunder over the main lid and Blackout to the crease, before applying Seafoam to the centre of the lid for shimmer.

This is a great easy smokey eye sticking to greys and silvers. The colours are really easy to blend and applied smoothly.

Below shows a second look:

Excuse my unruly brows here! 

This look uses Alabaster as a base again, Thunder on the inside lid, Blackcurrant on the outer corner and Roast applied to the centre for some shimmer.

This look can be worn for day time too and I love wearing it as its not a common colour but does look really nice and I get lots of compliments on it.

I do sometimes get some fall out from the product but luckily it doesn't stick to my face and brushes off easily but this can be annoying.

I feel like these pictures don't do the colours any justice though, Blackcurrant is a beautiful colour, as is Roast, Seafoam and Thunder.

Blackout could be more pigmented but when applied to the eye properly it does come out quite black.

Alabaster is a beautiful colour particularly on paler skin as it is a perfect base and blends in perfectly!

Have you tried any other Smashbox eye palettes?

Which is your favourite?

L xxx

Antipodes: Divine Face Oil

This post has been a looooooooooooooong time coming.

I have been a huge fan of this face oil ever since receiving it in the Selfridge's Beauty Box last year.
I have raved about this to anyone who would listen to me but for some reason felt that writing my post on it would just be lost in a load of others all saying the same things so I didn't type up anything.

But I'm still in love with it and want to add my voice to the mix!

Antipodes are a really cool brand, all the way from New Zealand using natural and organic ingredients to make super sonic products with a multitude of benefits.
Now sold in 9 countries around the world the company only started in 2006 which is amazing to have got this far and just shows what reliable brand it is.

Divine Face Oil contains organic avocado oil and rosehip which scientifically stimulates synthesis of collagen production in human skin cells by up to 51%.
It's packed with antioxidants and essential nutrient rich oils which smell of jasmine and sweet orange.

It has so many benefits to skin it's almost unbelievable. You can read them on the back of the box in the picture above but essentially it's anti aging, hydrating, rejuvenating and absorbs UV light from the sun to protect skin.
Sounds like a miracle oil!

I apply a few drops of this to cleansed skin morning and evening when my skin is feeling a little dry and dehydrated (which is most of the time lately!)
You rub in the oil in upward motions and pay special attention to spots, scars and any other blemishes including lines.
This to me was really weird, at the time I hadn't ever used oils on my face and was so worried about my skin breaking out etc but I really had nothing to worry about!

The dropper is my favourite part of the product because it reminds me of old medicines and being a scientist I automatically am drawn to glassware and it can't get much better than when it contains organic skincare too!
It's so easy to use and control the drops and the oil sinks into your skin so quickly.

One of the best things about this oil?? It's only £19.50! This is a bargain considering the effects and it's lasted me almost a year and I'm still not close to finishing it.

The oil is suitable for most skin conditions but particularly useful for dry and combination skin.

I've found it brilliant at hydrating my dry patches, and I feel it's cleared up so many of my blemishes and scars as the red spots on my face are fading pretty well.
The biggest factor about this oil is that it hasn't made my oily t-zone any oilier than it normally would be which has been perfect and something I was really worried about.

I'd fully recommend this to anyone and cannot wait to get my hands on some other Antipodes products.
I've heard absolutely loads about their Aura face mask containing Manuka Honey (one of my favourite New Zealand products from my family living there!) and the Juliet Skin Brightening Gel Cleanser.

Hopefully this combination of products will get my skin to behave itself.
Dealing with an oily t-zone and then dehydrated skin on the rest of my face with scars is really getting to be hard work!

What have you tried from Antipodes? Do you love organic and natural skincare?

L xxx