Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Kit

Alongside a bunch of lovely and wearable makeup kits this Christmas, Laura Mercier are also releasing this beautiful skincare kit, based on their Infusion de Rose line.  It's not a line I've tried properly (yet) outside of having one of the products used on me a couple of times in makeovers this year, but this is a great value kit if you're a lover of either roses or Laura Mercier skincare, or both.

Inside are a full-size Infusion de Rose Nourishing Oil (normally £43.50), which I've tried once or twice, a 30ml jar of Infusion de Rose Nourishing Creme (normally £55 for 50ml) and a sneak peek at a brand new product, a full-size Infusion de Rose Nourishing Lip Balm (which I guess will retail at around £18 when released).

The oil is quite thick and beautifully (but gently) scented with rose,  but it blends easily into skin.  It's plant-oil based, and free from artificial fragrance and mineral oils.  Whenever I've used it previously, I've loved it.  You'll be seeing it a fair bit in my skincare of the week posts from now on, I think.  I've not tried the Creme version, but I've read good things - Laura Mercier skincare generally isn't bad at all.  I've tried the lip balm a few times now and like it very much - the tube has an innovative rubber tip, which makes applying to the lips very easy, but the balm tends to harden in cold weather, so you may want to warm it between your hands before applying.

At £75 for all three, this is a good interesting way to try the range before plunging into full-sizes. 


The Fine Print: PR Sample 


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Maison Francis Kurkdjian Globe Trotter

I never leave the house without a perfume (occasionally without things like my wedding ring, my oyster card, and house keys though), and nine times out of ten, the perfume I carry with me throughout the day is in one of these glorious atomisers from Francis Kurkdjian.  I apply whatever fragrance I'm wearing for the day in the morning before I leave the house, and if I think I need a top up before I head somewhere else in the evening, I spritz myself with whatever I have in one of these.

Heavyweight and beautifully crafted, these feel wonderful in the hand.  The tops are magnetised so they won't fall off in your bag - the magnets are incredibly strong, and you can have literally minutes of fun putting them on the wrong way round only to watch them spin and settle themselves correctly with a satisfying "clunk" when they land.

The atomisers take 11ml bottles of a wide range of Maison Frances Kurkdjian fragrances (which come in sets of 3 bottles and are available from £60 - bottles are usable without the atomiser too, which is really handy) mine are both currently filled with Aqua Universalis Forte, which is possibly the cleanest - and I really do mean that in a good way - fragrance ever.  The refills are sold separately from the atomisers, but there are a wide range of fragrances to pick from.

My personal favourite is the zinc finish, as I love the textured effect, but the gold is really pretty too. The Zinc finish costs £85, and the gold finish is £95, and both are available from Selfridges.

They come complete with leather covers - matched to the colour of the EU passports! - to protect the atomisers in your bag.  The zinc atomiser in the pictures here is a couple of years old now - and has been carried around with me almost every day in that time - and is still as good as new.  A pricey investment, perhaps, but a thing of beauty is a joy forever. 

The Fine Print: PR Samples


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Laura Mercier Glam to Go Kit

I do love this time of year for makeup kits!   Laura Mercier is one of my favourite makeup brands (my all-time favourite eyeshadow of all time is Laura Mercier Twilight Grey) and they have some cracking kits this Christmas, and this is my favourite one.  Look at that gorgeous packaging!

Opening it up, there's more of that gorgeous burnished packaging, and a sparkly lipgloss (Lip Glace in Sparkling Daiquiri), and when you flip up the flap, these are revealed:

A blush (Rich Nectar - gently peachy), a mid-tone bronzer, and four neutral eyeshadows, which  are: Espresso Bean (dark brown), Ro-Cocoa (taupe), Vie en Rose (grey-taupe) and Coquette (soft off-white).  All the shades except Espresso Bean are lightly shimmering.  I love that they are all neutrals, it makes the palette beautifully versatile, and very useful.  I'd have liked a pinker lipgloss, personally, but that's just me.  At £35 this contains practically everything you need for a full makeup (barring foundation and mascara) and this price, for Laura Mercier, is quite a bargain.

A great accessory for any handbag, this one.

The Fine Print: PR Sample


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A Charitable Christmas List

This time last year, I wrote a heartfelt post about homelessness and, and how Give as You Live are helping charities by enabling you to do your Christmas shopping quickly, easily, and allowing you to donate to the charities of your choice at no extra cost to you.

Well, it's time to remind you of Give As You Live once again,  and talk to you about the charity I've chosen to support this year.  In a nutshell, Give As You Live collects money from retailers to donate to a charity of your choice, at no cost to you.  You can either shop through the Give As You Live website, or through their toolbar, which you can download to your desktop, and use through your browser.  You select your chosen charity, and shop away to your heart's content.  The full cost of the charitable donation is borne by the retailer, which include brands such as Amazon, Debenhams, Liberty, and hundreds more besides! 

Both the website and the toolbar act as price comparison tools too, so you can actually save yourself some money, and do some good for charity too!  Give As You Live have already donated more than £3 million pounds to charities in the last year and a bit, which is amazing, but there's room for more.

This year, the charity I'm supporting though Give As You Live is Diabetes UK.  In the interests of disclosure and transparency, I should let you know that I work for the organisation (I look after the accounts for several different sections of the charity).  However, this isn't why I've chosen them this year.  What I didn't realise before I started working for Diabetes UK is that diabetes used to be a death sentence. Even now, when medical research is such that we can control the condition a lot more easily than we used to, diabetes is still an incredibly serious, and incurable, condition.  10% of the entire NHS budget goes towards dealing with diabetes, and it's complications -which include amputations, blindness and kidney problems - and that is an astonishingly high figure.   

I'm choosing Diabetes UK because, in the short time I've been there, I've come to understand the value of what they do to support the lives of people with diabetes, and I hope that, if one day my life is touched by the condition - I'm a prime candidate being short and fat and rather elderly,  though I'm hoping the diet I've been on in the last six months will help lessen my risk - they'll be around to help me too. I already know they'd help anyone who is a current sufferer, and their families.

Anyhoo,Give As You Live and I have put together a little gift list of things that have caught my eye over the last 12 months, and, if you decide to buy any of them through the links on this page then a donation will be made to Diabetes UK.  No pressure though, if you want to donate to anyone else, feel free! 

OPI nail polish ‘I’m Indi-a Mood For Love’ £11

A brilliant and beautiful pink, which will raise £0.11p for charity with Give as you Live

UGG Australia Trainers £95

Heaven for your feet.  The pair I bought last year haven't been off my tootsies since they arrived. Raises £2.37 for charity with Give as you Live

OPI ‘The Top Ten’ £28.50

Ten of the most popular nail varnish shades from one of the most popular nail varnish companies around. Raises £0.28p for charity with Give as you Live

Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser £57

Simply the best tinted moisturiser I've ever tried. It will raise £1.42 for charity with Give as you Live.

  

Zelens Moisture Infusion £85

I'm in love with Zelens this year.  They haven't - yet - knocked my adoration of Kate Somerville off it's perch, but as KS has just been discontinued in the UK, and Zelens are still here, it's only a matter of time. Raises £2.55 for your charity with Give as you Live.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation £27.50

The most popular foundation in the UK, and the most popular foundation currently in my flat.  Make someone's day and buy them one now. Raises £0.82 for your charity with Give as you Live.

Le Snob: Perfume £6.75

A witty and well-written introductory guide to fragrance by the writer of Persolaise.com.  I love my copy, and have been begging MrLippie to read it for weeks so he stops describing everything as "orangey" or "flowers". Raises £0.16 for your charity with Give as you Live.

Clinique chubby stick £16

The original, and still the best lipstick/balm hybrid, in the twist-up pencil.  Lovely stuff.   Get one for your lipstick-phobic best friend now. Raises £0.64 for your charity with Give as you Live.

Tom Ford Eye Colour Quad ‘Titanium Smoke’ £62

Everyone needs a bit of Tom Ford in their makeup bag, and this is my favourite palette out of the four I have, it's probably the most versatile, too. Raises £2.48 for your charity with Give as you Live.

  
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Christmas Countdown - Gift sets

This week, I'm mainly going to be showing you a mixture of stuff I'm getting for people for Christmas, and the odd piece of random stuff that I want for Christmas myself ...

For Him:

Neals Yard Smooth gift set:

Yes, I'm starting of with a present for a male, I thought why not?  Costing £27, this set includes face wash, moisturiser, body wash and shaving cream, and is an ideal way to introduce organic and natural products to the men in your life.  The smell isn't too overwhelmingly "aromatherapy", they're rather neutral, in fact, but this remains a good value set filled with award winning products from Neal's Yard, I swear by their Frankincense Hydrator at this time of year, and this little box is definitely ending up under my tree for someone this Christmas!

For Her:

Sanctuary Spa Kyphi and Mande Luxury Body Treat Set.

Costing just £20 this is an ideal set for someone who can't make it to The Sanctuary themselves, filled as it is with a selection of The Sanctuary's signature spa treats.  The set contains:  Sensuous Body Souffle, Sensuous Bath Creme,  Sensuous Body Scrub all  in the Mande Lular scent, alongside Kyphi Honey & Lotus Nourishing Bath Creme, with some Kyphi Shea and Almond Body Lotion.  They kindly add in a "Spa Skin Body Polisher", which is a shower puff to you and me.  Personally, I love the good-sized red vanity case you get with this, just hoping the recipient this one is going to this year.


 For Me:

Tom Ford Black Orchid gift set:

Yes, I've mentioned this one before.  But I still want it.  A lipstick, a nail varnish and perfume, all named Black Orchid, this is a gift set to treasure.  And, I promise, I will...

The Fine Print: No samples harmed in the writing of this guide - all links provided for imformation purposes only, and are not affiliate links.