Breast Cancer Beauty Products

I'm not going to tell you about the importance of breast cancer awareness because you probably already know. What I will tell you is, that if like me, the mere thought of doing a sponsored marathon or walk for charity has you breaking out in sweat then don't worry - there's an easier and funner (is that a word?!) way to raise money! Some of the big beauty brands have come up with special limited edition pink products to support the cause. Which one (if not all) will you be buying?!

Estee Lauder Elizabeth Hurley Pink Ribbon Lipstick Collection, £25

Estee Lauder Elizabeth Hurley Pink Ribbon Lipgloss Collection, £25

Clinique Great Lips, Great Cause Glosswear Key Chain, £15

Clinique Special Edition Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion, £35

Estee Lauder Pink Ribbon Collection Jewelled Pin, £10

OPI Pink of Hearts Nail Laquer, £9.95

Bobbi Brown Pink Shimmer Brick, £29.50

My favourites are the Shimmer Brick and OPI nail varnish (surprise, surprise!) And don't quote me on this but most, if not ALL, the proceeds from the sale of Bobbi Brown's Pink Shimmer Brick will be going to charity. The rest will be donating £2 - £7.50 from each sale. I love non-guilty makeup! What will you be picking up??

Sami xx

PS - Normal blog posting will resume shortly - I've just been taking it slowly since Ramadan because my days are usually a blur of work, eat and sleep! Ramadan Mubarak to all my Muslim sisters reading this :- ) xx

MAC Studio Sculpt & MAC Strobe Cream

I've been umming and ahhing over getting MAC Strobe Cream for a while now. Some people absolutely love it while others say it's nothing special, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to splash out £20 on a whole tube. Instead, I got a little sample pot to try out.

Side Note: I have to say makeup samples are a marketing genius... they are also v.helpful to the consumer :- )

Anyhu... I'd seen a lot of makeup artists using the Strobe Cream with MAC Studio Sculpt foundation for photoshoots to create a luminous glowly look. So I mixed the two together and what did I get? I gorgeously glowing dewy face is what!

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Sorry about the dodgy lighting... but as you can see my skin has some luminousity, which is usually only achieved by using a highlighter

Alone, Strobe  Cream is a bit... meh. And Studio Sculpt can be quite thick and heavy (I sometimes have to add a bit of moisturiser to make it more wearable during the day). So when I added Strobe Cream the consistency became much silkier and easier to blend.

Anyone else tried this combo out?

Sami x

With love, from Paris +

So as you know I'm a bit depressed to be back from Paris but what has cheered me up is the lovely things I picked up from Sephora while I was there. This was my first time in Sephora and OMG - it is a beauty addict's wet dream! There were so many lovely things but I limited myself to buying products from brands that weren't available in the UK. Here's what I walked away with....

I seriously would've brought more if the stupid currency rates weren't so high!

1) Sephora Contouring Brush

The first thing that caught my eye was the Sephora brushes - they have a range of hot pink ones that I immediately fell head over heels with! This one is a contouring brush but it's good for highlighting too. The bristles were really soft and I haven't experienced any shedding yet. The only problem is that because it's so long I don't really know where to store it... but I guess that's just part of the design :)

2) Sephora Bath Cube in Vanilla

I haven't tried this yet but I LOVE vanilla and it was only 50 cents so I thought why not.... The Sephora bath and body range is a bit like The Body Shop, they have body butters, bath cream, fragrances, etc in a huge variety of scents.

3) Sephora Body Spray

I picked up a few of these sprays to give as gifts. I think they were about 4 euros, which isn't bad considering the scents are really lovely and last for ages. I wish all perfume would have this travel friendly packaging option as I'm currently lugging a huuuge bottle of D&G around in my handbag!

4) Make Up Forever HD Blush

Okay I don't know much about Make Up Forever, only that a lot of celebs use it and it is extremely hard to get a hold over here, so I played it safe went for the HD Blush. There were about eight different shades ranging from bright pink to warm peach and a helpful guide with images of models wearing each shade so you could get an idea of how it would look like on you! I've used this a few times and the consistency is very smooth and creamy. It also blends like a dream!

5) Sephora Eyeshadow

This cost me nearly 11 euros and it was rubbish! Even with Urban Decay Primer Potion it creased, looked chalky and had near to nothing pigmentation. Urgh - don't buy these, seriously!

A few other things that I lusted over....

Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Omg this scent is amazing - but too expensive to buy over there

Paco Rabanne Lady Million The newly launched women's version of One Million, which I adore

What beauty products would you recommend to get from abroad?

Sami x

+ Back from Paris & a Guerlain offer

Hey guys... I'm back from a lovely break in Paris to the rain.... ergh! 

Expect some FOTD's and a haul post - I know I'm on a makeup ban BUT it was Paris... and my birthday... so I thought I'd let myself off for a few days :-)

I'll also post some pics of my weekend later tonight as I'm currently having problems transferring pics from my cam to my laptop... Grrrr

Anyway, seeing as I have no interesting pics to show you guys right now I'll leave you with this Guerlain offer, exclusively at Selfridges. The first offer seems a bit naff but the second one is quite cool... spend £80 and receive a free perfume! I love Geurlain products but find them sooooo expensive!

Do you guys like Guerlain products... and if so what are your absolute must haves??

Sami xx

PS - I get quite a lot of press releases and info on the latest health and beauty products sent to me through work... would you guys be interested in more posts like this?!

All I want for Christmas...

A few weeks ago I went to the Selfridges Christmas press day to get a sneak look at their Xmas collections. Of course, being Selfridges, they didn't disappoint. Here are a few things that I have already included in my wishlist!

The L'Oreal Advent Calendar, £TBC

My eyes nearly popped out of their socket when I saw this. It's packed with mini beauty products from the L'oreal family including Lancome, Shu Uemura and YSL. I really, really, really want this!

Viktor & Rolf Christmas Limited Edition Perfume, 50ml, £75

I love the V&H perfume bottles - they're so glamorous and unique, and this one is no exception - eye candy for sure.

Shu Uemura Customised Manga Lashes, £25

Personalisation is really big right now - everyone wants to be unique! Shu Uemura have taken advantage of this and created a special palette for you to deisgn your own lashes. Personally, I'm not too keen on the whole Manga theme but this would make a great gift.

Benefit Wonderland Set, £44.50

I love seeing what gift sets Benefit will come out with and although this one isn't as exciting as Powderazzi or Celebutante it does include some lovely products like the Bad Gal mascara. 

Bobbi Brown Essential Brush Collection, £160

I am drooling over this luxurious brush set and I'm sure the truly dedicated makeup addicts/artists will be rushing out to get it!

Bobbi Brown Mini Brights Palette, £45

I would looooove to get this as a gift - the colour range is amazing! The only issue I have is that it is tiny in real life - like the size of your palm! So for £45 it's way overpriced. 

....and here's what's not on my wishlist:

Luminess Air Platinum Airbrush System, £295

I know everyone wants to get that perfect airbrushed look that you see in magazines but I don't think this is the best way to go about getting it. It just seems a little tooo vain and tacky for my liking. They also have an Airbrush Tanning Set, which actually seems like a good idea as it eliminates the messy tan application process. (IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THIS LET ME KNOW AND I'LL GET MORE INFO FOR YOU - I WASN'T TO EXCITED BECAUSE I DON'T REALLY NEED A TAN!)

There were lots of other beauty goodies that haven't been mentioned (including a £3000 giant Chanel No5 perfume bottle!) but these were the things that really stood out to me.

Although I was impressed with the Selfridges Xmas collection I was disappointed by the PR staff, who to me, seemed quite rude! There were moments when I asked a question at least twice and got no reply or acknowledgement.

I work for a niche publication so, even though most PR people are lovely, their are some (usually ones who look after the bigger brands) that have this superiority complex and think that they don't need publicity in our magazines!

Anyway, rant over... let me know what you will be putting on you Xmas wishlist :- )

Sami xx

Purple Eyes

I know I tend to be quite boring with my makeup looks so I thought I'd attempt to do something different today. A few months ago I was given an eyeshadow quad from No7 as part of their Christmas range and it had the most amazing blues, greens and purples (I'll do a seperate post on these as I COMPLETELY forgot to take pics... silly me!!) The matte purple stood out to me the most because it was so vibrant and looks so lovely with brown eye/tanned skin.

So anyway, here's my take on the 'purple smoky eye'. It's not amazing but it is my first try!

FACE: MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC42, Barry M Blusher in Pink Orchid*,

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer, MAC MSF in By Candlelight, MAC Natural MSF

EYES: Shu Uemura Gel Liner, MAC Pigment in Dark Soul*,

Purple Matt Eyeshadow from Quad*,

MAC MSF in By Candlelight as a Highlighter, L'Oreal Millionize Mascara

LIPS: Rimmel Lipstick in Vintage Pink,

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker XL Extreme Plump

 

Hope you likey xx