Giveaway Time!

Oh, this latest Fleur Cherie collection from L'Occitane is so pretty! The full range is released on Monday, but I have a gift set to give away to one of my lucky readers. Containing a full size Fleur Cherie eau de toilette, a bath soap, a set of brightening face powder pearls and the almost too pretty to use lipgloss you can see above.

The Fleur Cherie range is based around orange blossom and all the items in the gift set are beautifully packaged and scented. This is a lovely present either for yourself or for hoarding for a Christmas gift for someone else. There's a whole range of makeup too, which I'll show you more of next week, I think you'll like it, I certainly do!

The rules:

1) be a follower of this blog via google friends connect (on the right there)
2) leave a comment on this blog post telling me your favourite scent, and why
3) be UK resident, and please leave an email address I can contact you on in your comment
4) that's it!

The prize will be despatched direct from L'Occitane's representatives upon receipt of a valid postal address.

Prize will be drawn on Friday 5th November - invalid entries will be disqualified. Good luck!

NOTD: NARS Mash

I was obsessed with this shade from the first moment I saw it, a glorious golden-khaki, it's slightly different (metallic greens are my current nail varnish obsession) and I had to have it:





I love it. The above pic shows two coats over a sticky basecoat and topped with Seche Vite. First coat goes on quite sheer, but the second finishes it off nicely.

It's oddly work-appropriate, and very pretty, it flashes bronze and copper sparkle when you move your fingers around.

However this is a *chiptacular* polish! I've worn it several times now, and each time I've had to remove it within 48 hours (once within 12!) thanks to chipping. Still wear it though because I love the colour so much, but I'm not entirely sure I'll be buying any more polishes from NARS in the future, to be honest.

MASH is part of the NARS vintage collection which is available from Selfridges and SpaceNK, cost £13.50.

A question

If you went for a keratin treament and got these results, what would you think?

After blowdry (1st wash, 3 days after treatment):

Close up:

And, after airdrying (2nd wash, four days after treatment):

Close up:

Excuse the dodgy lighting - and my best "Prisoner Cell Block H" expression, but I wondered what you guys thought of my hair (not my face, please)?  More details about the process in a later post.

I've had a similar treatment before, see those results here.

Tom Ford Lipstick - Pure Pink

£35. For a lipstick. Even I, who will quite happily shell out a whopping £25 a throw for a new Guerlain Rouge G (review of a new one of those coming up soon, btw) every now and again, am thinking that £35 is just a little OTT. For a lipstick.

But, this isn't just any lipstick. This is a Tom Ford lipstick, and for all I know is made from precious dyes hand-extracted by virgins at the fullest of full moons, rare waxes to be found only in the magical village of Brigadoon, and then pressed into the moulds by the great man himself. They're not of course (they're made by Lauder Group), but they are pretty damn fine all the same. Soft to apply, richly pigmented and moisturising on the lips, they are a treat.






An expensive treat, admittedly. I'm amusing myself by figuring out, every time I wear it, the cost per wear, which is currently £2.92 at the time of writing (or £2.916 recurring if you want to be precise). Look, we accountants have to amuse ourselves somehow!

The main draw for me is the colour of this one, a cool, BRIGHT pink, this is a happy shade. A confident shade, and one I love wearing.






It's not glossy, but lips are saturated with colour that lasts (and lasts), but it will coat cups glasses and pens in pigment too, every time you eat or drink.

Overall: Do I think these are overpriced? Hell yes. Am I thinking of buying another? Dammit, I am. More than one, in fact, despite having been underwhelmed when I saw the line initially. I think the secret ingredient in these is crack.

Tom Ford: evil genius. Pass it on.

Bogies!

Yes, I am a child, but I can't deny that a large part of the charm of this shade (for me) is it's name. Which is actually Bogie, not bogies, but I never let truth get in in the way of a stupid joke. Did I tell you that I once bought a blusher purely because the shade was called "Wind"? Anyway, I digress ...

Hailing from the recent China Glaze Vintage Vixens collection (and actually named after Humphrey Bogart) Bogie is a glorious metallic aubergine, with a hint of silver in the mix. It's garnered a lot of compliments this week, and I love it.



Application was fabulous, this applied perfectly in two coats, and, even now, four days after it was first applied, is still going strong, with no chips and only minor tipwear.




I just wish China Glaze were easier to pick up in this country, I got my bottle (alongside most of the rest of the utterly beautiful Vintage Vixens collection) at the Professional Beauty Show at Olympia recently.