A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I hereby declare that Autumn has finally begun.

As I walked my daughter to school this morning, I could see my breath swirling around infront of me, just as misty as the surrounding fog that threatened to obscure anything further than 100ft away.  Leila asked if it was nearly Christmas… in response, I let out a shudder.

While my brain may slowly be getting to grips with the idea of colder, darker climes… my nails, aren’t.

Clinique’s Really Rio may well be a summer screamer but I’m not ashamed to wear it, whatever the weather!

A pretty peach with a super-glossy finish and a slight jelly-esque quality that makes it look warm and squishy on the nails.  The coverage is a little sheer and you’ll need a few coats to achieve the finish above but it wears beautifully well, longevity is a dream with next to no tip wear, even after four-days.

Really Rio is available to buy on counter and online at clinique.co.uk, priced at £12 for 9ml.  I’ve also spotted a couple of minis on offer for £3-a-piece from directcosmetics.co.uk – bargain!

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This year, China Glaze’s Fall release includes one of the prettiest polishes I’ve seen in a very long time.  Choo-Choo Choose You, from the All Aboard collection, is an absolute stunner and one that I’d gleefully describe as a “must-have” this Autumn.

To my eyes, the base shade is a dusky violet/taupe, China Glaze describe it as a purple/grey smoky shimmer but I can’t pick up the grey in it at all.  Regardless of the base shade, China Glaze do it a dis-service with such a mediocre description, talk about underplaying its depth and chameleon-qualities!

Choo-Choo Choose You is packed with a myriad of colour-changing shimmer.  The polish duochromes from base to tip, in some lights it looks quite olive-y, in others… almost coppery.  It’s quite, quite, beautiful!

Thanks to the guys at @nailpolish_uk, I have three bottles of this lovely polish to giveaway to you fantastic lot!  If you’d like to get your hands on one… please enter via RaffleCopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

T&C
1. Start date for this competition is 16th September 2014
2. Closing date for this competition is 20th September 2014
3. There is one prize to be won, a bottle of China Glaze Choo-Choo Choose You (worth £4.95 each). No cash alternatives.
4. Competition is open to UK residents only.
5. Lipglossiping.com is the sole promoter of this competition.
6. Personal details will not be kept or forwarded and are only used in the context of this competition to inform the winner(s) of their prize status.
7. Three winners will be selected at random from all entries received.
8. Winners will be notified within 5 working days and will be expected to reply to an email sent to the address used to enter the competition within 5 working days or risk forfeiting the prize.

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Apart from the baby thing, 2014 will forever be known to me as the year of the lipstick.  We’ve been treated to some fantastic lip launches this year haven’t we?  From Estee Lauder’s dreamy Sculpting Lipsticks to Clarins’ Spring Joli Rouges that I literally wore all Summer long… just some of the great examples that I’ve enjoyed over the past nine-months.

Bringing up the rear with another extremely well-formulated lipstick launch is Clinique.  I’ve had the pleasure of trialling their new Long Last Soft Matte Lipstick which launched back in May/June kinda time – sorry for my tardiness but I was busy with that whole “baby thing” I mentioned before.

There are eight shades available in the line-up, ranging from ultra-bold oranges and reds to more demure but equally pigmented nudes.  It’s not the most comprehensive selection but this isn’t a problem for me.  Choice is great… but in all honesty, I’m a terribly indecisive person, choosing a Friday night takeaway practically tips me over the edge.  At least with this range, if I want a red… my mind has been made up for me and I don’t have to examine the ever-so-subtle nuances between ten different shades of crimson.

The packaging is sleek and sophisticated.  It’s heavy enough to feel reassuringly solid in my hands, with a part matte/part glossy exterior and some very tactile ridges.

#45 crimson – #50 beauty – #51 plum

Crimson is a bold red with strong cool undertones that give it vivacity and sparkle but its bold pigment means that you really do need a lip brush to do it justice.  There’s nothing informal about this red, wear it loud and wear it proud!  Beauty is the archetypal my-lips-but-better shade.  A shade that removes all traces of anaemia from my otherwise pasty complexion and injects life with the least amount of effort on my part.  When you don’t know which lipstick to choose in the morning, this is the one your hands would reach for.

Plum is a shade that I haven’t seen very many blogs featuring but I think it’s my favourite of the three!  It’s easily the most vivid plum-shade I own.  It leans purple enough to induce excitement without filling me with the I-can’t-wear-this fear factor.

But most importantly of all, how does the range feel and wear on the lips?

Amazingly well as it happens.  My first instinct was to be completely surprised by how the bullet glides.  There’s an expectation with long-lasting lipsticks of a drier texture, one that drags and skips during application… but not these…. they positively glide over the lips.  I wouldn’t go so far as to call them “buttery” but they’re very smooth and comfortable.

As for how the range wears, well that’s also worth getting excited about because I was able to apply in the morning and still enjoy how the colour looked mid-afternoon.  The pigment does fade after about 4-hours, but it fades evenly and cleanly, leaving a soft stain on the lips.  They’re not the lightest-feeling lipsticks in the world to wear (unlike the Estee Lauder Sculpting Lipsticks, which are frankly made from pixie pee) but neither do they feel heavy or drying on the lips.

Infact, my lips suffered no ill-effects at all from day-long wear, whether I’ll be able to say the same once Winter sets in, time will tell.

#45 crimson – #50 beauty – #51 plum

#51 Plum

Clinique Long Last Soft Matte Lipsticks are priced at £17.00 each and are available to buy on counter or online at clinique.co.uk, boots.com, and other outlets.

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When Joe was born, I received a couple of products from Childs Farm – a brand that specialises in toiletries for little ones. I wouldn’t usually blog about children’s products, I mean… I’m not entirely sure how many of you would appreciate a foray into mummy-blogging, I actually started Lipglossiping to get *away* from being a Mummy for five-minutes!  Having said that, and the reason that I’m even talking to you about this range is because, well… I’ve stolen something from the range for myself.

The first thing you’ll notice about Childs Farm products is the delightful packaging, full of playfulness and colour that gives a hint to what awaits you inside.  The labels depict real animals and ponies that actually live on Childs Farm,  the Hampshire home of the brand’s owner, Joanna.

The products have been formulated to be as natural as possible and are free from parabens, SLS, mineral oils, and artificial colours rendering them suitable from newborn-age upwards.  The scents are blended beautifully and elaborate on the brand’s styling with funky fusions: the strawberry mint shampoo is summer in a bottle.  And this is partially why I’ve stolen it for myself.

The other reason is that I’m now 3-months post-partum and that lovely pregnancy mane that took 9 months to thicken is shedding in tear-inducing handfuls.  Everytime I change a nappy, wipe a stinky fist, or unload the washing machine… I’m met with strands of my hair.  They get everywhere!  It’s with this in mind that I’ve been reaching for this gentler shampoo… and also the reason why, when I noticed the brand was currently on offer in Boots, I popped in to restock and grab the detangler spray!

Now, where’s that candy?  I feel like stealing something else from my babies…

Childs Farm products are currently on 3for2 and are available to purchase instore and online at boots.com, priced from £3.99 each.

* press sample

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With both a 5-year old and a 12-week old baby, time to myself is the most precious commodity in my life. When Leila was born, I treasured my daughter’s nap-times and would use them to invest in some quality pampering time. I knew that I could have been spending those precious hours catching up on lost sleep but to this day, I believe that taking the time to spoil myself was the key to preserving some normality in a newly-changed life.

This time around, my time is even more compressed. If Joe is napping, I tend to spend any spare moments with Leila. I miss not being able to spend so much one-on-one time with her and we’ve developed a new-found addiction to making loom-bands!

That being said, I have sorely missed the time to myself and I won’t deny that it’s taken its toll on my well-being. I’m sure that I’m not the only Mum to experience this but honestly? I feel less attractive, scruffier and not so well “put together” without my usual beauty routine. Superficial as this may seem on the surface, it really impacts on my confidence daily.

When I first saw Sali Hughes’ new videos for Clarins, I was inspired. I’ve been around the beauty scene long enough to know how to do a 5, 10, or 15-minute look… but it was only when I saw how beautifully polished she looked in such a short amount of time, that I realised I needed to get back into the game!

I decided to sit down and work out exactly which parts of my beauty routine were most important to me. What did I need to focus my limited amount of time on perfecting? My complexion? Concealing my tiredness? Or perhaps just introducing some much-need colour to my face? For me, it’s all about good skin and luminosity… I’ve always been crazy for a glowy, radiant look but without compromising on a decent base upon which to build it.

Clarins sent me a few products to see if I could use Sali’s videos as a starting point and tailor my own time-saving routine.

I separated the “essentials”… the items I knew I couldn’t leave the house without. Mascara, eyeliner (liquid is my preferred choice), and a base product. Then I got to work on the luminosity aspect of my look.

I ended up with a stripped-back list of products, nine in total. A routine that I hoped would balance the time I had available without compromising on creating a polished “me” that would improve my confidence at the school gates in the morning.

I also had one more set of criteria up my sleeve. No brushes. In the mornings, I don’t have time to spot-clean brushes, that kind of luxury is a weekend-only deal. Could I do it with only the tools provided and my fingers? I had about 10-minutes to find out!

On a freshly-moisturised face, I started with a small amount of Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch, a pore-filling primer that gives your make-up a headstart. If your base is right, you’ll be surprised at the much-improved performance of your subsequent products. I dotted the primer onto my troublesome areas, around my nose and across my cheeks before blending with a clean finger.

Next up, faking some luminosity. I turned to the brand’s new Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base in 02 Champagne for some help. The yellow tone neutralized the ruddiness in my complexion whilst simultaneously illuminating and brightening. I concentrated my application across my t-zone for a more natural glow.

BB Creams are a firm favourite of mine and the Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream also delivers a generous SPF25, plenty of protection for a standard day spent running the odd errand. I found the formula non-greasy without accentuating any dry patches and it worked well to unify my skin-tone. It also applied nicely using just my fingers.

Finally, in my quest for complexion perfection, I turned to Clarins Instant Concealer … more out of necessity than choice. My under-eye circles have packed their bags and they’re ready to move out! This concealer blends beautifully with a light texture that doesn’t sacrifice great camouflage or sit in my fine lines.

Base done… next, on to colour.

Clarins Multi-Blush in 04 Rosewood is a product I was already familiar with. It’s a cream blush that blends better than most with a slightly drier texture that melts into the skin, imparting a natural flush without mattifying my cheeks.

I was unsure about what to do with my eyes… I knew that in 10-minutes, I’d be limited to a single shade and was tempted to go without eye-shadow altogether. In the end, I opted for a quick sweep of Ombre Minérale Eyeshadow in 08 Taupe, you know I can never resist a taupe! Using the sponge-tipped applicator provided, it barely added 20-seconds to my routine.

To define my eyes, I pressed the brand’s innovative 3-Dot Liner into my lashes and because I wasn’t concentrating on creating a flick or drawing a hard, graphic line, I didn’t need to go back in with a damp q-tip to correct mistakes. There weren’t any!

The final product for the eyes was mascara, I can’t leave home without it! Clarins Be Long Mascara increases length and creates further definition with an easy-to-use small brush that reaches every lash.

The final flourish to complete the look was a quick swipe of Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 05 Candy Shimmer. This gave a gentle flush of low-maintenance pink that reflects light and further served to brighten my complexion.

And the final result?

Glowy and polished! Ok, so it’s not a cutting-edge look but… you know what? It’s exactly what Clarins promised.

It’s a “you, only better” look. And that’s just what this new Mum with no time for anything more adventurous ordered!

* sponsored post

Clinique are all about the chub nowadays aren’t they?  All of the chub, all of the time.  Chubby lips, chubby eyes, and now chubby cheeks.  Of course, they should have started with the cheeks really… I mean, whoever heard of chubby lips anyway?

The Chubby Stick Cheek Colour Balms are a continuation of the rest of the chubby family, perfect for on-the-go application and chucking in a weekend bag.  There are presently only four shades in the range, but there’s enough variation that it should be easy to choose the right one for you.

The Chubby Stick’s domed tip glides effortlessly across the cheek, delivering a well-sized stroke of colour with good pigment from just a single swipe.  Once applied, the cream formula is easily blended with either your fingertips or a brush.  I prefer to initially blend for placement with a clean finger before ensuring that the edges are smooth with my foundation brush.

Despite the aforementioned cream formula, the sticks are holding up well during our current heatwave and showing no signs of quality degradation, sweating or any other unfortunate things that makeup can do at this time of year.  The formula is second-to-none – it feels only creamy, never greasy and despite being oil-free, there’s no streaking or dragging on the skin.  The blush delivers a fresh, glowy look that flatters my skin without emphasising my pores or exacerbating my dryness.

The four shades swatched above are as follows:

Robust Rhubarb – a pretty coral
Amp’d Up Apple – a tawny rose
Roly Poly Rosy – a vibrant, warm pink
Plumped Up Peony – a deep plum

In the shot below, I’m wearing Roly Poly Rosy to complement my lipstick, also by Clinique (Chubby Stick Intense in Plushest Punch).

Clinique Chubby Stick Cheek Colour Balms are priced at £19 each, available online now from clinique.co.uk and in stores from 1st August 2014

* press sample

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Our lashes are longggggg, with many a curly end.  That leads us to who, knows what… what to use…

We want hold!  Long enough to last the day.

We don’t want heavy… just natural muh-scar-ruhhhhhhhhhhhhhs.

Brownie points if you recognise the song I couldn’t stop myself from butchering.  I’m sorry.

Clinique Lash Power Feathering Mascara is a relatively new release, having launched only a few months ago.  It promises a softer, more natural look without compromising on hold and an overall fluttery effect.

The key thing to remember with this mascara is that it places a lot of stock in being a buildable product with a formula geared toward the application of more than one coat.  Of course, if you really only want a touch of darkness and gloss added to your lashes, by all means… stop after a single coat.

If, however, you want a little more va-va-voom, you will need to apply a couple of additional coats to get the finish you require.

The wand delivers a fine application of product, well-distributed almong the fluttery bristles which really comb-through the lashes as you sweep the brush from root to tip.  The formula never clumps and neither does it leave behind blobs of product at the tips, regardless of whether you’re on your first or third coat.  Longevity is good and I don’t suffer from flakes or smudges as the day progresses.

Ultimately, whilst I recognise and admire the strengths of this latest “natural” mascara from Clinique, I don’t really like it.

The tube contains only 5.5ml of product, a few ml less than Clinique’s other offerings while retailing at a few ££s more.  I’m quite happy with the finished result – as shown above – but to achieve this, I need to apply 3-coats.  That could get expensive, quickly.

In a classic, “it’s not you, it’s me” scenario… I’m not a good target market here.  I don’t want natural, barely mascara’ed lashes.  I want floor-sweeping doe eyes.

Thanks Clinique, but I’ll stick to your High Impact mascara for now.

Clinique Lash Power Feathering Mascara is priced at £18.00 and available to buy on counter and online from clinique.co.uk

* press sample

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When I first read about the innovative formulation of these delightful new blushers from Clinique, I was naturally a little sceptical.  I mean, most new releases nowadays claim to go beyond the realms of technology in a quest to deliver cosmetics that are like nothing you’ve ever used before.  That’s standard industry bullshit and we all know it.

The thing is though, I actually do believe that Estée Lauder Companies, Inc may indeed have robbed some faraway land of their makeup pixies…

First of all, Estee Lauder come out with the most brilliantly formulated lipsticks I’ve tried in a while, now swiftly followed by Clinique’s rather wondrous new Cheek Pops.  But what exactly is so marvellous about them?  Read on and I’ll tell you…

To begin with, they look bloody incredible, don’t they?  The fine detail in the gerbera daisy design is exquisite.  Completely frivolous and by-the-by, of course… but when has such kerb appeal ever been a bad thing?

The powder texture has an unusual quality… most definitely a powder in formula but in application?  Much more like a cream or gel finish.  It’s translucent and utterly buildable.  Pale girls rejoice, the Clinique team have created a wonderful balance between ethereal and pigmentation.

The depth of colour that you apply to your cheeks is very controllable.  I suffer from the horrors of one swipe with the brush often being too much once applied to my face, for these…. I can comfortably layer on a single swipe and then return to the pan for a second dusting over the apple of my cheek.  It’s a rare joy.

Even the swatches above show the rather lovely translucent nature of the pigmentation, they’re sheer but not lacking in oomph.  You can visually appreciate the quality and luminosity of the skin below the swatch which gives a far more natural and realistic blush effect once on the cheeks than most powder blushers can even dream of achieving.

The four shades available range from the candy-inspired to the more natural warmth.  My personal favourite is the cool-toned and punchy Plum Pop which carries a subtle river of silver iridescence.  Lasting power on these varies a little… the brighter shades generally offer a bit more of a stain-effect that is still present in the evening, while the more subtle and neutral Ginger Pop has disappeared from my cheeks by bedtime.

Clinique’s Cheek Pops are priced at £16.50 and available to purchase now on counter and online from clinique.co.uk

* press sample

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I bet there are generations reading this post right now who grew up without ever using an old-fashioned bar of soap as part of their daily cleansing routine.  I think I just missed the moment that soap became thoroughly unfashionable because throughout my 80s childhood, we never did a monthly shop without picking up a couple of bars.  Wrights for my Mum who adored the smell, Pears for us kids because we all loved the fact that it was see-through (simple things, simple minds…), and Imperial Leather for my Dad, because, after all… he is a man, man!

Soap was kind of a big thing in our household and looking back, I can’t remember when this changed.  But change it did, nowadays… the only time soap gets bought is when I spot something on the shelves at TKMaxx that smells (or looks) so damn good, I just can’t leave it behind.  I never purchase bars of soap as a bathroom necessity, simply because it’s not as convenient as its liquid counterparts.

The decline of mass-market purchasing of soap bars isn’t without its benefits though.  Moving into more of a niche market means that manufacturers have been able to really concentrate on turning the humble soap into an indulgence rather than a necessity and nowhere is this more apparent than with a brand like Crabtree & Evelyn.

Now, the truth is… there’s just not an awful lot I can say about soap.  Even soap that’s as beautiful as this Crabtree & Evelyn Heritage Vetiver & Juniper* one.  It smells amazing, it lathers, and it cleanses.  I don’t use it on my face… my skin would never forgive me, but I do have fun chasing it around the shower.  But most of all, you’d pick this up because of its scent, “Incroyable!” as the French would say.

I don’t mind admitting that I called in a sample of this purely because I adore masculine Vetiver and/or Juniper smells… I wanted that gorgeous clean MAN smell near my nose, and I wasn’t disappointed.  It’s warm and woodsy, outdoorsy and a little bracing… Mr. L has taken to shaving with it, and I’ve taken to sniffing him regularly.  Soap just got interesting again.

The British brand do an entire range of Heritage Soaps including: Avocado & Olive Oil, Black Sea Mud & Seaweed (tempted), Milk & Honey, Crabapple & Mulberry, and Verbena & Lavender, priced from £6.00.  Your nose should check them out as a matter of urgency.

This one, the Crabtree & Evelyn Heritage Vetiver & Juniper Milled Soap is priced at £7.00, and is available instore and online at crabtree-evelyn.co.uk.  It’s also currently online a little cheaper, at escentual.com.

Do you appreciate a good bar of soap?  Do you ever buy it?

* press sample

** I can’t stop singing “soap, perfect soap, is the gift of Christ our Lord” – huge kudos if you remember changing the lyrics during assembly too!

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This February marks 10-years of the KISS IT BETTER appeal with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.  The appeal is the brainchild of ex-beauty director Carmel Allen whose daughter Josephine was treated at the London hospital for Neuroblastoma, the appeal helps to raise awareness and funds for children suffering from cancer.

For this special, 10-year anniversary, the Clinique team have partnered up with retail giants House of Fraser and throughout the month of February, £2 from every Clinique lip product (lipgloss or lipstick) sold on counters in House of Fraser stores will be donated to the charity.

In addition to this, you can also purchase the Limited Edition A Different Nail Enamel For Sensitive Skins in the shade ‘Kiss it Better’.  A purchase of this vibrant, hot pink with its skin-friendly formula will guarantee that 50% of the £12.00 RRP goes directly to the appeal.  This polish is stocked exclusively on House of Fraser counters for the month of February.

For further information on the KISS IT BETTER appeal and ways to donate, visit www.gosh.org/kissitbetter

After approximately 4hrs of sleep last night, I’m not feeling particularly blissful about my bump today.  Chronic heartburn that jumps so high it singes my ears and a hyperactive breech baby, keen to explore its Irish roots with a bit o’ dancing on my cervix ensures that the only bliss I’m likely to find in my expanding bump for now is my new-found ability to rest a cup of tea on it.

Having said that, there’s something to be said for my current condition.  Mostly based around the opportunities to stuff my face with gleeful abandon and use all manner of lotions and potions in the name of baby-bump pampering.

Of course, there are many companies out there only to happy to help us ladies nurture our bumps in the way in which our beauty-loving souls desire.  One of these brands, better-known for their health and spa resorts are Champneys.  Their Blissful Bump* range features a host of preggo-belly indulging goodies that make great gifts for Mum’s to be.

The brand sent me a few bits from the range to have a look at, and I’ve welcomed the bonafide opportunity to tell the rest of my family to bugger off away from my shower treats.  Did I tell you that my 4yr old has genuinely stolen my NEOM tranquility bath foam and even offered up her Matey bubble bath like it’s a legitimate replacement?!  I’ve created a monster.

Anyway, back to the range from Champneys!

My favourite item in the range is the Ginger Inspired Room Spray… which wasn’t the most obvious choice but any kind of obnoxious smells are like Kryptonite to my preggo-nose and I’m ridiculously sensitive to the fact that our car smells a bit like a turnip.  Of course, I’m the only one who can actually detect this aroma (unless my husband is messing with my mind and does actually have a turnip concealed in the glove compartment).

I usually swear by a tin of California Scents Coronado Cherry to make the car smell amaze but my sensitive nose has gone into overdrive and the Champney’s Ginger Inspired Room Spray is the only scent room/car fragrancer that I can handle.  I’m sure Champneys actually intended far more sophisticated uses for their product in the boudoir… but disguising turnips in my Citroen Picasso will have to do for now.

My second-favourite item in the range is the Blissful Bump Shower Cream which delivers a rich, creamy lather and delicious scent.  It’s a skin-softening wonder and leaves me feeling lush and pampered.  At £6.00, it also happens to be the cheapest item in the range.  Who says I’m high-maintenance?

The spa brand also offer a couple of bump-moisturising products in the form of a stretch-mark oil and a body butter.  If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know how terrible I am at bothering with body-moisturising but what you might not know about me is that I have a solid belief that nothing will prevent stretch-marks, nothing that can be applied and rubbed in anyway.  In my opinion, you’re either genetically destined to get ’em, or you ain’t.

That’s not to say that moisturising your bump like a loon is a thankless task, but I just don’t believe that it will achieve anything other than soft skin.  So knock yourself out… but don’t bother telling me that religious use of Bio Oil on your bump saved you from a road-map of the Swiss Alps across your belly ‘cos I just won’t believe you!

The entire body range has been formulated to be free from parabens, paraffin oils, and SLES, focusing on the importance of conditioning and soothing the skin.  The scents used are beautiful, the packaging… divine.  The prices are high-street friendly and make the perfect gift for family and friend’s who are expecting.

The Champneys Blissful Bump Range is available to buy instore and online at boots.com, prices start from £6.00

* press sample

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Had I not spent the day trying to find a quiet little hole to climb into, I would have blogged this within seconds of it landing in my inbox this afternoon.

But as things stood, what with Leila trying to cough up her knee-caps all night, I didn’t get much sleep.  Excuse my tardiness, infact I should be in bed now, catching up on my beauty sleep… but I couldn’t bring myself to leave this unblogged any longer… because ladies, Crabtree & Evelyn are presenting us with an offer that will send us scrabbling for an unloved tube or pot of hand-cream!  On your marks, get set…

…GO!

It’s only a mother-funking Hand Cream Amnesty!  Who doesn’t love a beauty amnesty?  Don’t know what one is?  Let me give you a little insight…

Basically, take any old hand cream (not a C&E one, that would be stoopid!) into your nearest Crabtree & Evelyn store before the 12th March and – while stocks last – a kindly sales assistant will swap your surrendered hand cream for a free Crabtree & Evelyn 25g Hand Therapy worth £5.00!  That’s all there is to it but do check out the T&C in the image above just incase.

Do you have any half-empty hand-creams that you’re willing to part with?  I know I do!

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