Free Ojon shampoo and conditioner

Just thought I'd share this great offer:

On Thursday 29th September, Ojon are giving away a full sized Shampoo AND conditioner to John Lewis customers. To take advantage of this great offer, simply bring in an empty bottle of shampoo or conditioner (any brand) and they'll trade it for a Damage reverse shampoo and conditioner (whilst stocks last).

Your empty bottle will then be sent either for recycling or for energy recovery.

Sadly I won't be in the UK but I hope at least some of you will be able to take advantage of this great offer!

Have you tried any Ojon haircare? What's your favourite haircare brand?

Maxfactor colour elixir lipsticks

At a recent Maxfactor masterclass, make up artist Caroline Barnes challenged us to wear a different shade of Elixir lipstick everyday:

Now there's no denying I'm a lipgloss girl at heart, but 60% of these lipsticks are made up of moisturising ingredients such as shea, avacado, aloe butter, and anti-oxidant white tea. They even claim to improve lip moisture and over time leave you with a smoother surface.

L-R: Angel pink, English rose, Pink brandy, Bewitching coral, Ruby tuesday, Burnt caramel, Mulberry

I always apply lipsticks over a balm, but these are creamy, nicely pigmented and non drying on the lips. In fact a couple of shades 'stain' the lips, so when the lipstick wears off, you're still left with some colour.

Top- Pink brandy, Bottom- Bewitching coral

There were a couple of shades (Angel pink and English rose) which were too frosty for my liking, but the others were lovely, and having tried all of them out, my favourite shades are pink brandy and bewitching coral. Both are summery shades which gives a polished look to my make up and makes me feel glamorous yet fun!

Pink brandy

Bewitching coral

On a final note, how nice is the packaging! Encased in gold tubes with a block of colour at the bottom, they remind me of the more premium Estee Lauder lipsticks and look far more expensive than their £7.99 pricetag.

Available instore and online at Boots.com

Are you a lipstick or lipgloss girl? What's your favourite shade?

Sleek make up PPQ me, myself and eye palette

As part of London fashion week, Sleek make up have teamed up with PPQ to bring out a limited edition iDivine palette, so you can recreate the catwalk look at home:

(click to enlarge)

At first glance, this palette looks scarily bright, but on closer inspection there at least 6 neutral/smokey shades which I can see myself getting some use out of. That said, if you do like bright colours, then this would be a great purchase as there are some gorgeously pigmented and smooth eyeshadows.

Like most palettes, it includes a mixture of matte and shimmery shades, and apart from Pink beret and Supernova, I had no problems getting the eyeshadows to show up on my skin.

The PPQ palette is available exclusively at www.sleekmakeup.com while stocks last.

What do you think about the new palette? What's your favourite Sleek palette?

Burt's Bees and London fashion week winner

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. After numbering all the valid enteries, I used random.org to select the winner:

And the winner is.....Tass!

Well done Tass- can you please email me your address by 9am tomorrow and I'll arrange for your prizes to be sent out.

Thanks again for all your enteries!

NOTD- 17 fast finish nail polish in Revenge

A beautiful deep toned purple colour with tiny flecks of shimmer and a glossy finish. The nail varnish needed 2 coats for an opaque even finish and it was relatively fast drying, although not quite as fast as the 60seconds it claims on the bottle.

L- 17 Revenge, R- Barry M Dusky mauve

At first glance it reminds me of Barry M dusky mauve (one of my favourite nail varnishes) but when swatched next to each other, Revenge is lighter in colour and has more of a metallic finish.

Have you tried any of the 17 nail varnishes? What's your favourite autumn/winter shade?

Disclosure- PR sample

September's Glossybox

This year just seems to be going by so fast! It seems like only yesterday that I was opening July's Glossybox and now the September box is here.

2x Dead sea spa magik salt brushing satchets
Plum by Mary Greenwell perfume sample
Neal & Wolf glow super shine spray
MOA the green balm sample
HD Brows eye &brow palette in Vamp

Themed 5 future classics, the brands are less well known, but they have all been tested by the Glossybox team and deemed to be box worthy.

Once again, the RRP of the products outvalues the subscription cost of the box and the standout item for me has to be the HD Brows eye & brow palette in Vamp.

As you may have gathered, I'm obsessed with neutral eyeshadows at the moment and this palette has four gorgeous matte shades which can be worn both as eyeshadow or to fill in your brows.

In other news Glossybox have recently announced that they will soon be offering a gift subscription service. There are also plans for a men's box which will again feature 5 products, but on a less frequent basis.

Have you tried anything from these 5 brands? What do you think about this month's box?

Disclosure- PR sample

Giveaway: Burt's Bees spa set and London fashion week tickets

To celebrate London fashion week, Burt's bees have kindly offered to give away a set of their new spa products, along with 2 tickets to London fashion week for Friday 23rd September (11am-5pm).

For you chance to win:
- Leave a comment below with your email address
- Be a follower of this blog
- For an extra entry, simply tweet about the giveaway (make sure you include @peonieslilies in the tweet so I can enter you accordingly)
-The giveaway will close at 11:59pm on 18th September

Please note this giveaway is only open to UK readers and travel will not included in the prize. The winner will receive a set of products from 1 of 3 spa scents and the prize will be posted by Burt's Bees.

Good luck!

New additions to my skincare routine

Trilogy certified organic rosehip oil
Over the years I've become obsessed with oils, and this is great for moisturising any dry patches. A little bit goes a long way and I literally need the tinest of drops to intensively nourish the area of dryness around my chin. The oil does take a while to sink in, but it feels very light and non-sticky on the skin. Best of all, it's 100% natural and only contains pure rosehip seed oil.

Laidbare intense hydration creme
Since my Forest secrets serum ran out, this has been my go to night cream. I would describe it as a thick gel creme texture with a delicate rose scent. The moisturiser sinks in almost straight away, leaves my skin feeling hydrated and I always wake up with radiant, plumped up skin.

Vichy aqualia antiox 24hr hydrating fluid
This was originally sent to me to use as a moisturiser, but like a lot of products which contain spf, it broke me out. However after my L'oreal matte fluid finished, I tried this over my usual moisturiser and it works well as a facial sunscreen.

The light fluid offers spf12 and UVA protection, gets absorbed quickly and doesn't feel at all greasy on the skin. Like most sunscreens it has a dewy finish so I'd recommend powdering over the t-zone and I usually blot my skin around mid afternoon to keep shininess at bay.
(PR sample from escentual.com)

Have you tried any of the above products? What's your favourite facial sunscreen?

2 year giveaway winner

Thank you to everyone who entered my 2 year giveaway, I loved reading your entries and I've now got a long list of holiday destinations to check out.

So without further ado, after numbering all the entries, I used random.org to select a winner and the winner is..... Jennie (Sailboat).

Jennie- could you please email me (peonieslilies@gmail.com) with your address, and I'll get the prizes posted asap :)

Thanks again for all your entries and look out for another giveaway very soon!

5 minute make up

Now that I'm back on placement, time has become super precious in the morning. As a result, my make up application has to be very quick and these are the products I've been using to make myself look presentable in 5 minutes:

I always start by applying Madara tinting fluid. This adds a little coverage and to help even out my skintone. I then apply some much needed Flawless concealer from MeMeMe for my dark circles.

For the cheeks, I've been using Sleek Suede blush. It gives a really natural flush of colour to the cheeks and lasts well throughout the day. Finally I brush on some Urban Decay powder to my t-zone.

To finish off the look, I simply apply 2 coats of Avon supershock max mascara, a slick of Murad energizing lip protector and I'm good to go!

How long do you spend applying make up in the morning? What are your must have products?

Liz Earle healthy beautiful skin facial

Located beneath the Liz Earle flagship store in London are several treatment rooms, and last week I was lucky enough to spend an hour in one of the rooms being thoroughly pampered:

Even before the facial started, my every need was pampered to. Water was offered on arrival, there was a wardrobe to hang up my clothes, and the treatment bed was heated to ensure maximum comfort. The therapist even positioned the bed to take the pressure off my back.

After a thorough skincare consultantion my therapist Joanna got to work. My skin was deeply cleansed, toned and then exfoliated.

After that, the real magic started. Using some Superbalm, Joanna started to massage my skin, a gentle lymphatic massage to start off with, then focusing more on my problem areas. Prior to the facial, we'd discussed my pressure preferences, so she was firm but relaxing. So relaxing in fact that I managed to fall asleep and only woke up as she was getting ready to apply a mask.

As I have combination skin, she used a mixture of the Intensive nourishing mask and the Brightening mask. During this time I was also treated to a shoulder and neck massage.

Finally, everything was cleansed off, moisturiser and Lip and eye treatment applied, and I was left to slowly get dressed.

After the facial my skin looked radiant and plumped up, it also felt super smooth and nourished. If anything too nourished, but by the evening, the lymphatic massage must have kicked in and after cleansing my skin felt a lot cleaner and lighter.

A week on, my skin still looks radiant and feels reasonably smooth around my T-zone. I didn't suffer any breakouts as a result of the facial but it did bring a pre-existing spot to the surface.

All in all, it was a thoroughly relaxing and pampering experience. I left feeling rejuvenated and my skin a lot smoother and more radiant. It's not the most deep cleansing of facials, but none the less, still very effective and fits in perfectly with the gentle luxury I associate with her skincare products.

Have you ever been for a facial? What are your favourite Liz Earle products?

Illamasqua AW11: Theatre of the nameless collection

Following on from my NOTD post, I thought I'd show you the rest of the Illamasqua AW11 Theatre of the nameless collection.

Inspired by the essence of self expression that transformed 1920s Berlin, Theatre of the nameless features a mixture of opulent hues, decadent pigments and fearless application.

As you'd expect from Illamasqua there are plenty of bold daring colours, but also lots of gorgeous wearable shades, making it my favourite collection yet:

Cream pigments and shimmery pure pigments

Shimmery blusher in Morale and Ambition- love these!

Intense lipgloss in Belladonna, Facade and Violate.

Rubberised nail varnishes in Vice, Taint, Faux pas and Kink

Not surprisingly I gravitated towards the more conservative colours, and my top picks from the collection would have to be Morale shimmer blusher, Androgen cream pigment, Belladonna lipgloss and Beguile pure pigment.

What do you think about the new collection? Any particular product catch your eye?

An Illamasqua Vice NOTD

I am loving all these new nail varnish textures - first there was matte, then magnetic and now Illamasqua have come up with a new rubberised finish.

Described as a waxy candle like finish, it's a mid point between glossy and matte - the varnish does reflect some light, but still has a mattified look to it.

There was a choice of 4 colours, and I decided to get my nails painted with Vice, a gorgeous berry wine colour which will be perfect for Autumn.

To celebrate their launch, Illamasqua are currently running a competition on their website, so if you'd like to win one of these nail varnishes, then click here.

What's your favourite nail varnish finish? What are you wearing on your nails this weekend?