The Sunday Spend

Enabling...

• ASOS have some great offers on beauty at the moment - my favourites are Face Lace, Paul & Joe and Lord & Berry
• Cocktail Cosmetics have some special offers - my picks are Daniel Sandler's Beyond Sunset quad and Real Techniques Nic's Picks.
• Cult Beauty have an amazing goody bag available when you spend over £100. Seems a lot but they have amazing skincare products so top up and get over £150 worth of genuinely good products
• Feel Unique have some great giveaways - I've already entered the Phyto one.

What's in my hospital make-up and washbag - Friday Video

Here's a little peak inside my make-up and washbag that I've packed to go to the hospital to have the baby. I'm really sorry if I seem a little lack luster - I was feeling exhausted and not very well when I filmed this but bare with me - it may be useful! I've listed below all the products I mention that I have used and would recommend. There are some here that I wouldn't necessarily buy again or that I haven't tried so I'm not linking to them...

• Balmi 
• Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray 
• This Works In Transit Camera Close Up 
• Blistex Lip Brilliance
• Avon Quad in Mocha Latte
• Maybelline Better Skin concealer
• MAC Eye Kohl in Smoulder
• Benefit Sugarbomb
• Real Techniques Shading Brush
• Daniel Sandler Smudger Brush
• MAC Blot powder
• Paperchase Watermelon Washbag
• Halo Antibacterial Wipes
• Soap and Glory Clean on Me 
• Soap and Glory Righteous Butter 

Friday Video - Face of the Day 14th January 2015

This is a quick (despite my chatting) easy way to do polished make-up without feeling, well, too made up so great everyday make-up or for the office. Full a full list of product see below...

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in 13 Warm Beige
Liz Earle Signature Eye Colour in 05 Bronze
L'Oreal Superliner Perfect Slim
Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara
Estee Lauder EE Cream in Light
Maybelline Better Skin Concealer
Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow
Kiko Blusher in Sound Coral
Sleek Makeup Luminous Pressed Powder in 01
MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge
Eyeko Fat Brush Mascara
Maybelline Colour Drama in Minimalist
Paul & Joe Beaute Lipgloss in 05

Dowal Walker Christmas

When I first met my husband I was at university and he was a restaurant review for a what's-on-in-London website and I thought he was incredibly glamorous and he used to complain that he was always having to do Valentine's Day reviews at Christmas and Christmas in July and I thought he was a moaning miny. Now he's a consultant and I am a blogger and so it's me that spent quite a lot of a very hot July going to Christmas events and trying to take endless notes and photo's so I don't forget all the festive wonder before it all comes out in July.

Some of the gorgeous palette's from Paul & Joe

Limited edition Lipstick compacts from Paul & Joe

I don't usually write about events that I've been to as I think it's a bit weird but Dowal Walker PR did such a fun Christmas preview last week that I thought it was worth a mention. A major perk of this job is you do occassionally get your hands on some fabulous samples to try out and this Christmas event was no different - we were given empty bags when we arrived and told to take anything we wanted from the huge glass bowls dotted around the rooms. Sadly I was on 'mum-time' so only managed to arrive half an hour before the end when there was hardly anything left (I have suggested goody bags be made up for those who have to do bath time before they are able to get out). However I still came away with some amazing things to try out and was blown away by their amazing client list and the products I tried out on the night.

I am a huge fan of Paul & Joe Beaute, not just for the show-stopping packaging every product I've tried has been fantastic quality and worth the money I paid for it - it's rare to find a brand that does both so well. We got really cute kitten make-up bags to take away with us and a sneak peak at the up-and-coming products they have on offer this Christmas including new limited edition lipsticks and cases, lip concealer pencils (a must have) and Lip Liner duo's.

Nails Inc have collaborated with It Girl Alexa Chung to bring out a range of incredible nail colours for Christmas. I tend not to focus on nails so I probably wouldn't have noticed these had I not gone to the event but the sparkle colours are absolutely gorgeous, fun and sophisticated. Sadly I missed all the samples though did manage to get some Gel Effect Top Coat which I'm hoping will be a more reasonably priced dupe for the Dior one which was huge last year.

HealGel is taking the makeup and skincare world by storm and this was the first chance I'd had to actually try some out. For those who don't know HealGel is an aqueous gel with active ingredients created by plastic surgeons and dermatological biochemists who wanted to create a range of skincare that actually worked to soothe, repair and protect the skin. They have just bought out HealGel Body and I tried their world-renowned HealGel face which seemed lovely (though applied to the back of my hand). Can't wait to try more of this.

Fell in love with this Japonesque palette

Percy & Reed are by far and away my favourite company for haircare products - if it was easier to get hold of I would never use any dry shampoo but theirs. One of the samples I did manage to pick up was the Shine & Fragrance spray and this smells divine. Perfect for the morning after the night before,  giving your hair a spritz when you are going out straight from work or as a present for a pregnant friend - I hated my hair smelling of cooking smells when I was pregnant so this spray would have been a godsend.

So those were my favourite picks of the night from brands I do know. I was also introduced to Grown Alchemist - a new organic skincare range and their Vanilla and Orange Peel hand cream is to die for. Free from artificial chemicals their products focus on a whole range of needs from anti-aging, anti-blemish and dryness to redness, oily skin and uneven skin tone. Definitely a brand to try out.

Cheer Up

At the risk of sounding sorry for myself I’ve been having a bit of a tough time of it recently. My dear dog Pippo had to be out down leaving a big empty hole in my family and our house. Having rescued him from Italy two years ago I’d expected him to be around for a while but unfortunately he had inoperable tumours and there was nothing we could do. It’s hit us all really hard.

I’ve also been living in a building site due to a burst radiator and now that work has finally started the hot water has decided to stop. Three days and counting – thank god for the fabulous Miss W who has let me nip over to use her shower. Otherwise I think I would have no friends left.

It’s vaguely comforting to know that I am not the only one (you never are!). A pregnant Nicole Richie has been sentenced to time in prison but who knows when and for how long? I am all for celebrities doing time if they’ve done a crime but I am absolutely terrified at the thought of Nicole even being pregnant – I think she needs to sit quietly for the next 7 or so months until it’s born. Britney too has been not having the best of times – although she still seems to be in complete denial and have lost the ability to stop doing things she shouldn’t. Having had some sort of ‘episode’ on a photo shoot for ‘OK’ magazine she has also been acting weird on the set of her new video. If you had gone through a messy public divorce, had a messy public meltdown involving head shaving and umbrella wars and were constantly at risk of having your children taken away from you what would you chose as your comeback video?? Yes that’s right Britney – dress in leather waistcoat, shorts two sizes to short and fishnets and pole dance. That will restore everyone’s faith. This will work best if you punctuate practises with vacant eyed puppy cuddling.

I think what we all need sometimes is something to cheer us up in product form – and I’m not talking about Valium. Unfortunately I am too poor to be able to buy anything but a girl can dream. So here are some products I really want to try that are packaged and pretty to make a girl feel better.

Meteorites Powder for the Face (£30) by Emilio Pucci for Guerlain. The packaging is simply divine and is described as “the secret to a perfect complexion”. Made up of multicoloured beads each add something to the skin – the green takes away redness, pink adds healthy glow and gold adds highlights.

Mac Cosmetics Pigment in (£15) this is great for adding shimmer to the cheeks and brow bone or indeed anywhere and is available in over twenty different colours but my choice would be Frozen White or Frost as they look great over light blusher or on the brow bone.

Paul and Joe’s Eye Colour comes in 20 different shades and a cute compact. I really like the light green (01).

Crayon Liner in No 1 by Pixi (£12). This is a gorgeous green that will really make you feel like summer is finally here.

Benefit Hollywood Glo Body Lustre (£22). This body balm adds a rose gold glimmer to your body. Perfect for arms and shoulders now that the sun is finally out.

Flower Eye Colour by the Body Shop (£9). Comes in two colours – I love the look of La Cruz in Aqua Peach.

And finally Palette Mauresque for the complexion by Yves Saint Laurent (£36). Also available for the eyes but this is the one to go for I think made to give a healthy glow this mixes browns and pinks to avoid either the flushed or the dirty look.

Let me know if you are lucky enough to have any of these products or if there is something that you think I've missed that can cheer you up. Remember everything is impermanent so no bad feelings can last forever. xx

Treat of the Week 19th -25th February

This week its Paul and Joe's Lip Gloss which has become a permanent fixture
in my make-up bag since someone unwisely left it at my house - Caramel Rose is my favourite (I hasten to add that no-one has attempted to claim this lip gloss I'm not just holding it hostage). Go on... treat yourself xx