Limited edition pink beauty products

A little delayed thanks to my lack of a laptop and a last minute email, but I figured better late than never!

As you probably know, October marks Breast cancer awareness month, and like previous years, beauty companies have gotten on board by releasing limited edition products with a portion of the profits going to charity. Having gone through the press releases, here are my top picks:

Estee Lauder have 2 lip sets, with a choice of lipstick in Elizabeth lavish pink

or Evelyn wildly pink, RRP £18.50 with £5 donation.

Elemis have brought out a great value Think pink beauty kit

RRP £29.90 (worth £59.80), and are pledging to donate £10,000.

Clinique have released a super cute Great lips, great cause keyring set,

RRP £15 with £2 donation.

Finally Chapstick have released a limited edition

Cherry chapstick, RRP £2.49, with 20p donation.

All 4 products are limited edition and are available throughout October, so if anything takes your fancy, hurry down to the shops as there are only 5 days left!

Did any of these products catch your eye? Have you brought any other limited edition beauty products?

Bourjois Autumn/Winter 2011

Back in September, I was invited to Bourjois HQ for a little preview of what they're bringing out this Autumn/Winter. There isn't a collection as such, but they are bringing out 2 new products, as well as adding some new colours to existing lines:

My top pick would have to be their smile enhancing lipgloss. The product comes in 2 parts, a brightening gel which you paint onto the teeth itself, and a lipgloss, which contains 'white focus pigments' to give the appearance of whiter teeth. I'm still undecided about the brightening gel, but I love the lipgloss and out of the 6 shades, I'd highly recommend 04 and 05.

This was closely followed by the new healthy mix serum foundation. Compared to the original, it has a more gel like consistency, is oil free and gives a lighter coverage. With extracts of lychee, goji berries and pomegranate, it smells deliciously fruity and gives a semi-matte finish to the skin.

Finally some new additions to their range of Sweet kiss lipsticks and 10 day nail varnishes. There are 3 new lipstick colours (L-R: Fushia cosmopolite, Rose folk and Rose cachemire), and 4 new nail varnish shades, which unfortunately I didn't get the names for, but how gorgeous are hot pink and navy shades!

Bourjois Autumn/Winter 2011, available from Boots and Superdrug.

Are you a fan of Bourjois make up? Any of the new products catch your eye?

Origins united state toner review

Towards the end of summer, I noticed my skin was getting particularly oily during the day and when I mentioned this during an Origins skincare consultation, I was recommended their United state toner to try.

The toner contains extracts of laminaria, soy protein, bergamot and spearment, which claims to control oil production without drying out non oily areas.

Not surprisingly it feels very refreshing and balancing on the skin, and like all toners, it helps to remove any last traces of make up and cleanser. At first it did exactly what it claims on the bottle. Over time my chin did start to feel a little dry with daily use, however I loved it's mattifying effect on my t-zone.

So now I use this every few days, focusing on my t-zone and it works a treat. My skin feels a lot more deep cleansed and balanced and I hardly ever need to blot or re-powder anymore. So overall, a big thumbs up from me!

Have you tried any Origins skincare? What's your favourite product for oil control?

2 exciting new haircare launches

A few weeks ago, I was invited to 2 haircare launches, both of which were for exciting new products which have now hit the high street:

First up is the new Tresemme split remedy range, which has been designed to smooth over and prevent split ends. Although nothing can repair split ends once they occur, this range uses 2 oppositely charged polymers to attract the ends back together, thus giving the appearance of healthier hair.

Now I've just had a haircut, but when it comes to haircare, split ends are the bane of my life (I'm forever cutting them off!) so I'll definitely be putting these products to the test and will report back in a few months, which is when I usually start noticing them.

Another new product is the Charles Worthington salon at home hair straightening kit. Retailing at £19.99, this comes in 2 versions - one for coloured and another for non coloured hair.

The kit is designed to be used like a hair dye, and contains cysteamine, which 'reprogrammes the hair' to inhibit frizz and curl for up to 40days.

At the event the model did comment on the smell, so expect something rather unpleasant during use, but it gets to work in 20minutes, and left her curly hair smooth and sleek without compromising on volume.

What's your biggest haircare concern? Will you be trying either of these 2 products?

Avon supershock max mascara

A new addition to the Avon mascara collection, Supershock max has a chunky brush with short spikey bristles and claims to give up to 15x more volume:

Despite the length of the bristles, it gripes the lashes well and after 2 coats my lashes are visibly more volumised and defined. The short bristles also makes it ideal for coating the bottom lashes and I've yet to have any problems with clumping.

There is a downside though- like a lot of mascaras, it smudges a little by mid afternoon. However I really like the lengthening and volumising effects and because of this I tend to wear it a lot on night's out and weekends when I don't need my mascara to be as long lasting.

Have you tried any of the Avon mascaras? What's your favourite long lasting mascara?

Disclosure: PR sample

NOTD- Orly Glam

I'm a bit of a magpie when it comes to nail varnishes, so it was no surprise when I fell in love in love with this particular shade.

Ruby red in colour, with finely milled glitter particles, it looks just as pretty on the nails as it does in the bottle.

The varnish was nice and pigmented, and despite the the glitter particles, it felt relatively smooth and was easy to remove. Definitely worth trying if you also have a thing for glittery nail colours!

Have you tried any Orly nail varnishes? What's your favorite nail varnish shade?

PR sample from Graftons

Molton Brown navigations through scent

Having used various Molton Brown shower gels and body lotions through the years, I've come to associate them with quality products, unique scents and simple packaging- 3 elements which they've translated perfectly into their new perfume collection.

Named Navigations through scent, each perfume is inspired by a different location across the globe and all 5 are designed to be unisex (although some are more masculine than others).

When it comes to perfumes, the bottle can be just as important, and I'm glad to say Molton Brown have got their packaging just right. Housed in simple cut glass bottles with a sleek silver twist up lid, the perfumes are leak proof yet at the same time effortlessly stylish and expensive looking.

Iunu- a spicy floral oriental with notes of ginger, elemi,
jasmine, ylang ylang, patchouli and oakmoss.

Lijiang- a fresh floral with notes of pink berries,
osthmanthus, white tea, musk and vetiver.

Singosari- a spicy woody fragrance with notes of incense,
ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, vetiver and patchouli.

Apuldre- a green aromatic with notes of juniper berries,
cedar wood, violet leaf, leather and styrax.

Rogart- a woody fresh scent with notes of juniper berries,
elemi, sweet maple, fir balsam and gaiac wood.

Having smelt all 5, I really strugged to choose between Lijiang and Rogart. Lijiang was gorgeously fresh and light, whereas Rogart was a warmer more smokey scent. In the end, I opted for Rogart, as I felt it was more unique and better suited to the colder weather, but depending on what you are looking for, I'd highly recommend both scents.

Have you tried any of these scents? What's your favourite Molt0n Brown product?

Greetings from Down Under!

After a year of anticipation, we finally landed in Melbourne last week. Sadly the weather for our first week was just miserable - so wet and cold that I almost wanted to be back in the UK! Luckily we've met some fellow students who are lovely and for now the weather seems to be warming up.

I've scheduled plenty of posts and have limited internet connection here, so am hoping to carry on blogging as normal.

Whilst I'm here, I'm also planning on doing some photo diaries, but for now here are some photos from my first 10 days here:


Have you ever been to Australia? Any tips for a first time visitor?