A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Smashbox’s answer to the Urban Decay Naked franchise is finally here, and for anyone who can’t get enough of these nude eyeshadow compendiums, prepare to have your head turned by another claimant to the throne.

The Smashbox Full Exposure Palette features a full set of complementary shimmer and matte shades.  Complementary in the sense that they pair up beautifully… you’re not really looking at a full palette of fourteen-different shades, it’s less convoluted than that.  Consider it more like a palette of seven daily-use shades that give you a choice between two textures.

The housing is pretty substantial in a I’m-not-very-portable kinda way.  If you don’t mind the chunkiness of the UD palettes, then this won’t bother you but if you prefer something a little more streamlined, take a look at the recent Clinique offering as an alternative.  The front of the Smashbox palette features some too-gorgeous-for-words holographic lettering that made me go a little weak at the knees.  I’m not ashamed to admit that my head gets turned by such frivolity… it’s beautiful.

Once inside, there’s a large mirror, the fourteen eyeshadow pans, and a high quality, double-ended brush.  The brush is worth a particular mention as it’s been designed to work in partnership with the textures in this palette.  One end should be used for applying the matte shades and one for the shimmers.  It’s a nice touch.  There’s also a mini mascara included.

Onto the shades themselves, this is, afterall… the heart of the palette.

I would have prefered to see the mattes along the top row here… they are, after all, the workhorse part of the palette.  The mattes are beautiful, non-chalky and rich in colour.  They apply with great pigmentation and blend smoothly… a reason in themselves to pick up this palette.  The seven shades offer the full-spectrum from palest to darkest along the neutral line and I can’t really fault them.

I can’t say the same for the shimmers.

The top row of the palette will confound you.  How can the mattes be so uncomplicated and these beautiful shimmers so… high-maintenance?  The easiest way to give you an idea of how they apply is to remind you of the “notorious” glitters from Urban Decay, the likes of Midnight Cowboy… such a beautiful shade but so finickity.  With the Smashbox Full Exposure Palette, you’re basically getting a set of seven of these along the top row.

Are they unworkable?  No.  Are they useless?  No.  But you have to learn to love them if you don’t want to cast the whole thing out the window.  The learning curve for this isn’t steep but for many, it will be an ask too far.

The base of the shimmers is only lightly pigmented, meaning that you’re going to need a primer for these shades to display anything more than a pretty scattering of glitter across your lids.  This isn’t a problem and I recommend using something like the Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy which still works better for adhering glitters to your eyelids than anything else I’ve tried.

Alternatively, you can just go with it and ride this palette bareback.  Embrace a dusting of complementary light (and lack of colour) across the matte base that you’ve applied from lower portion of the palette.  That is after all, I’m assuming… the reason why these shades work so nicely paired as you look at them from top-to-bottom in the pans.  Just be sure to do your eye-makeup before your foundation routine to work around any fall-out issues.

Basically, this palette, beautiful though it is… has its pitfalls.  There’s room for post-purchase disappointment if you don’t know what you’re getting from it… so do go and check it out on the counter with an open but cautious mind about whether it would fit in with your beauty routine.

A final special mention goes to the rather nifty eye-shape chart that the brand have included.  It features mini-tutorials on how to use the palette to suit a variety of eye-shapes from almond to round, downturned to monolid, and even includes some tips and techniques for hooded eyes.

Have you tried this palette?  What are your thoughts?

The Smashbox Full Exposure Eyeshadow Palette is priced at £36.00 and is available to buy instore and online from boots.com or smashbox.co.uk

* press sample

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I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear about a new all-in-one face base, I get very hopeful at the thought of being able to shave minutes from my morning beauty routine… any opportunities to hit the snooze button in bed are precious to me and I welcome them with open arms.

Sarah McNamara is a lady that I’d never heard of before but her range is available to purchase in the UK via QVC and includes a variety of products based around the idea of one-step application products that are designed to “instantly transform your skin”.  Her hero product, and the one that launched the brand’s range is the original Miracle Skin Transformer SPF20 which has recently been flanked by the illuminating “Spotlight” version of the product, which I’ve been trialling over the past few weeks.

The product claims to be a 5-in-1 skin enhancer to help hydrate, prime, illuminate and protect your skin.  My hormonal dryness is the bane of my life at the moment and I’m sticking to products that promise to brighten the dullness and provide coverage that I can amp up with concealer as needed.

On paper, the Miracle Skin Transformer Face SPF20 Spotlight should be exactly what I’m looking for… but can a suit-all product cope with my drier-than-normal complexion?

At this time of year, I’m not too concerned about SPF protection but in the Summer, I would be all over the SPF20 this product provides… my only caveat is whether you’re actually applying enough of it to achieve the rating stated on the bottle.

The formula is silicone-based with the traditional primer slip and glide.  It takes a reasonable amount of rubbing in to blend so I’d recommend applying it with your fingers rather than a brush, something I’m happy to do with a lighter base product.  The illumination is there in the form of a subtle and rather grown-up sparkle which you can hopefully detect in my swatch photo set above.

My biggest issue with this product is that it’s sadly just too dark for me.  The original Miracle Skin Transformer is available to purchase in a variety of shades but this Spotlight (illuminating) flanker is only available in the one shade.  It’s best suited to fair-medium skintones and if you’re any paler or darker than this, you’ll be limited to applying only a thin layer of product before it starts impacting on your natural skin colour.

Sadly, this isn’t the answer I’ve been looking for… it copes well with my dryness and doesn’t ball-up or migrate toward the drier patches but it’s just not the all-in-one solution I was hoping for.  Because of the shade, I can’t actually apply enough of the product to achieve any kind of even skintone without darkening my pale skin… so for me, it works purely a primer… and I already have plenty of illuminating primers that I’m happier with for my skin-type.

I’d have little hesitation in recommending this as being one of those products that would probably work fabulously on women without any real skin issues, I could imagine it being a great summer-holiday investment for fair/medium-skinned folk who are looking for a little sun protection and illumination without a foundation-heavy feeling on their skin.

Sarah McNamara Miracle Skin Transformer Face SPF20 Spotlight is available to buy online from qvcuk.com, currently priced at £26.88

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I’ve just been reading about the upcoming Elemis TSV (Today’s Special Value) which will be available to purchase exclusively on QVC this Sunday from midnight.  It’s a little on the expensive side for a TSV and sadly it doesn’t look like it will be available with an Easy Pay option, but it does offer an astonishingly huge saving on the RRP, along with some truly-targeted skincare.

This Sunday’s Elemis QVC TSV will give viewers a choice between the following two purchase options for the 5 Piece Anti-Ageing Collection…

The first offering is the Pro-Collagen option which includes 4 full size products and 1 “special” size product.

• Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser 150ml
• Gentle Rose Exfoliator 50ml
• Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm 50ml
• Pro-Collagen Marine Cream 30ml
• Pro-Collagen Advanced Treatment 15ml
• (all five products are worth £148.50)

Alternatively… and perhaps better suited to more mature skin-types…

…is the second collection, the Pro-Intense option which includes 5 full-size products.

• Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser 150ml
• Gentle Rose Exfoliator 50ml
• Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm 50ml
• Pro-Intense Lift Effect Day Lotion 30ml
• Pro-Intense Eye and Lip Contour Cream 15ml
• (all five products are worth £199.50)

Both sets will be available at the special price of £62.00 on the day.

For more information, you can check this video out on the collection(s) which will tell you a little more about the products included…

Do you partake in a bit of TSV excitement?  Does this one capture your imagination or is £62 without an Easy Pay option a little too much of a stretch bearing in mind that we’re only one pay-day post Christmas!

Watch the Elemis on QVC on Sunday 16^th February – Midnight, 1am, 4am, 7am, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm & 11pm on Sky Digital Channel 640, Freeview Channel 16, Virgin Channel 740 and Freesat Channel 800.  Alternatively, you can watch online at www.qvcuk.com/elemis

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I haven’t really explored the B. range at Superdrug since its launch, to be honest… I just can’t say that any of the brand’s releases have inspired me to make the trip further-afield to a better-stocked Superdrug.  I saw a press release for their new B. Vibrant Lip & Cheek Colours, and for one moment… I thought I might well be converted by the look of these chubby lip crayons.  But was I?

Along with one of the new B. Vibrant Lip & Cheek Colours in Fandango* – a hot pink, I was sent the new B. Sculpted Contour Kit in shade Dark*.  I’ll start with the Lip & Cheek Colour first…

It’s packaged in a traditional, crayon-style format with a twist mechanism to raise and lower the waxy nib, perfect if like me, you hate having to sharpen anything!  It feels well-made and the colour glides over the lips effortlessly.

Perhaps a little too effortlessly, you see… it feels quite greasy and to achieve anything like the kind of vibrancy I was expecting, you need to layer up.  More layers = more grease.  It’s not a great combination.  I wasn’t expecting a matte formula but there’s just something about the way this feels that doesn’t appeal to me.  It’s not sticky and it’s not overly heavy, it’s just… not quite there.

Once I’ve built up the pigment to a medium-high finish (the swatch above shows about 5 swipes with the crayon), I tend to grab a tissue to blot.  That’s the only way I can enjoy wearing this shade on my lips.  To be fair, this doesn’t take down the pigment too much and possibly increases overall wear time but I just wanted something more instantly vibrant from a product that calls itself… vibrant.

As for my cheeks?  Perhaps the multi-use function of this product has something to do with why the formula feels the way it does… but you know about my distaste for sharing my lip products with my face and if I saw someone smearing their lip crayon around on their cheeks after I’d just watched them apply it to their mouth, I might be forced to spit on a tissue for them.

The B. Vibrant Lip & Cheek Colours come in five shades, ranging from a soft pink through to a rather striking mandarin.  I’ve only tried the one shade and would be interested to hear your thoughts on the others!

The other new release from the brand is a Sculpted Contour Kit that is available to buy in light, medium, and dark.  This is the “dark” shade choice.  The kit is split into two pans containing just over a total of 10g of product.

The powder, the contouring side of the pan feels finely-milled with a nice, soft texture and a good amount of pigment pay-off.  The cream highlight shade is an oddity.  When I first saw it in the pan, I angled it under the light, expecting to see some mica particles glimmer back at me.  But no, either mine is defective or it’s just a translucent white cream.  Much like a thin, theatrical greasepaint.  On my skin, it doesn’t do an awful lot other than look… greasy.

Once blended, it reminds me of putting a slightly more-refined version of vaseline on the high points of my face… there’s nothing wrong with this, women have been using vaseline as a highlighting trick for years, it just wasn’t quite what I anticipated.  It’s best applied at the end of your makeup routine, otherwise any setting powder that you apply will ruin the effect.

All in all, I’m not excited or enthused about these two releases from the budget high-street brand.  In 2014, I expect better formulas for the not unsubstantial RRP price tags of these products.

B. Vibrant Lip & Cheek Colour in Fandango is priced at £7.99 but currently a third off at £5.32 for a limited time.  B. Sculpted Contour Kit in Dark is priced at £11.99 but currently a third off at £6.99 for a limited time.  Available to buy instore at Superdrug and online at superdrug.com

* press sample

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Launching in February are a duo of bright hair chalks from The Body Shop…. perhaps not the usual release you’d expect from the British brand but an interesting one nonetheless!  The chalks promise to provide bright, temporary colour and wash out easily with a spot of shampoo.  The two shades available, Tickle Me Pink and Falling For Blue look brilliantly bright in their pots but need do take a little effort to transfer this brilliance onto the hair.

The Body Shop recommend that blondes use the pink, whilst brunettes might like to opt for the blue… but where’s the fun in that?  Colour for all I say!  Blondes shouldn’t have any problems rocking both shades and Leila loved the blue… especially when I did her a hidden streak that she could wear to school this week.  On darker hair, you may find it beneficial to dampen the strand before applying, this will ramp up the intensity of the colour.

You do need to get your fingers dirty during application as the best method is to place a finger or thumb over the hair to trap it in place on-top of the chalk before sliding the pot down the strand.  You can also twist the piece of hair before applying to create a brighter effect.  Once you’ve finished, spritz a little hairspray on the coloured strands to lock the shading in place.

The Body Shop Hair Chalks will retail at £5.00 each and will be available instore and online at thebodyshop.co.uk

* press sample

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I don’t know about you, but I woke up this morning with a distinct “Hello Monday morning, I’ve been expecting you…” kinda feeling.  Maybe it’s because today is officially the “bluest day of the year”… maybe it’s because I’m dragging my heels over doing the last bit of my tax return and you know… tick-tock.  Or maybe it’s just because I looked out of the window and saw a sheet of ice about an inch-thick covering the car just before the realisation that I forgot to buy de-icer this weekend.

Whatever the reason, I feel that it’s my mission in life (today, at least) to spread a little joy.

And what could be more joyful than the opportunity to win a brilliant brush set from The Body Shop?  Nothing!  You see, these brushes are a makeup bag staple for any ladies getting serious about makeup.  I cut my teeth on The Body Shop brushes… their softy-synthetic loveliness is gentle on the face and kind to the bunnies.  They’re well-cut, solidly constructed, hard-wearing, and give a beautifully-polished finish day after day.

To make buying a little easier, the UK brand has recently released a trio of Brush Collections (Essential, Expert, and Ultimate) which take the effort out of trying to decide which brushes to add to your arsenal and today, I’m giving away one set of The Expert Brush Collection.

The set includes:

Eyeshadow Brush
Lipstick & Concealer Brush
Blusher Brush
Foundation Brush
Face & Body Brush

Basically everything you’d need to create a full face of beautifully-applied makeup!  The set retails at £30 online, but is worth a staggering £58 were you to buy each brush individually!

To enter the competition and stand a chance at getting your hands on the brush set, simply leave a comment below, telling me a silly joke.  Go on, let’s have a bit of cheer among the misery of Blue Monday!

T&C
1. Start date for this competition is 20th January 2014
2. Closing date for this competition is 27th January 2014
3. Winners will receive 1x The Body Shop Expert Brush Collection (worth £30). No cash alternatives.
4. Competition is open worldwide.
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. One winner 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.

January needs a bit of radiance.  As I sit here typing, the sky is battleship grey and the rain is coming down in the most persistent of fashions.  The heating is on and I’m nursing the dregs of my cuppa like my life depended on it.  Radiance is something that is sorely missing from my life right now.

I love a good highlighting product, but in particular, I’ve always been drawn to the clicky-clicky pen types that dispense their glow onto a precision brush.  The most well-known of these is undoubtedly YSL’s infamous Touche Eclat, a product that has topped the bestselling lists for over two decades.

The Body Shop’s Lightening Touch Universal Radiance is a “one-shade-suits-all” radiance product that should not be confused for a concealer.  In fact, the brand does a rather impressive range of similarly-packaged concealing products in a variety of skin-loving shades.  This one however, is pure highlighter.

A few twists of the base will prime the pen and allow the product to flow into the brush tip.  The first thing you’ll notice is the shade, a pearly pink that glistens with reflective particles.  In my opinion, this isn’t quite as universal as promised.  Undoubtedly more suited to skin tones with a rosy undertone, those with darker or olive bases would benefit from something with a warmer, less silvery hue.

The texture is fluid, light and blends beautifully with the fingertips.  You can work it into the skin for a sheerer finish or aim for a gentler touch to create a more prominent highlight.  Perfect for use across the brow bones, cheekbones, and cupid’s bow, the precision brush delivers pinpoint accuracy to ensure you don’t end up looking like a disco ball.

I raided my collection of highlighters to dig out some comparisons which you can see below.  Most interesting to note is how completely different The Body Shop Lightening Touch Universal Radiance is from YSL’s Touch Eclat Radiant Touch which delivers a more subtle and less sparkly luminosity to the skin.  Closest in appearance is Benefit’s High Beam and Givenchy’s (discontinued) Mister Bright.

An interesting point to note though is that Benefit’s offering delivers 13ml of product for £19.50 compared to The Body Shop’s offering of 3ml for £14.00 – I’m just not entirely convinced that the convenience of a pen delivery system is worth an extra £3 per ml!

The Body Shop Lightening Touch Universal Radiance is priced at £14.00 and available to buy in store and online from thebodyshop.co.uk

* press sample

If you’ve been into a TKMaxx store recently, you might have spotted some lovely goodies from Sue Devitt.  I was alerted to the discount store’s recent haul of premium cosmetics by the lovely Wordbird on Twitter who only had to mention the eye pencils to have me running to my nearest store.  If you don’t know about the Australian brand (and the makeup artist behind the name), let me quickly tell you a little bit about it.

The brainchild of international makeup artist Sue Devitt, her brand was born from her love and experiences of travelling around the world.  You may recognise many of the shade names as global locations (particularly some lesser-known Australian ones!) that she has visited throughout her career.  The line was based around an idea to bring together the benefits of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals alongside a colour palette of cosmetics.  In the UK, the brand was sold in Fenwick, and Harvey Nichols but alas folded earlier this year.

My TKMaxx “splurge” came to a total of £15

Sue Devitt Intensifier Eye Pencils (£1.99 ea)

Esna Eyeshadow and Vanuatu Blush (£1.99 ea)

Sue Devitt Seaweed Gel Based Liquid Foundation in Tanami (£3.00)

I’ve only really had a quick play with the pencils which are creamy and richly pigmented.  They move about fairly easily and the chubby format dictates a slightly more lived-in look but I’m loving using them as all-over eye colours and smudged under the lower lashline for a more informal wear.

The foundation has a ton of slip and feels lightweight on the skin, you can see that the shade Tanami is more my Summer colour so I’d suggest it as a good match for a NW20.  It delivers a sheer finish but doesn’t feel too drying on my parched skin.

The eyeshadow and blush, I’ve yet to wear but both feel finely-milled with a decent pigment and a soft, almost creamy (powdery) application.

Have you spotted the Sue Devitt range at TKMaxx?  Picked up any bargains?

Whether you’re the kind of girl who revels in a red, takes comfort in a faithful skin-toned nude, or paints the town pink… you’ll recognise the transformative power of a great lipstick.  It’s the one item in a girl’s makeup arsenal that can take a look from zero-to-hero in a second with the minimum of fuss.

However, geting down to the serious business of choosing the perfect lipstick is always a subject up for great discussion!  The choice of shade, texture, and finish can be somewhat overwhelming when confronted with a bewildering array of counters at your local beauty hall.

Japanese beauty brand Shu Uemura were responsible for one of my first high-end lipstick purchases when I fell in love with a perfect pinky-nude that paired beautifully with a smoky eye.  I relished finally finding a range that offered more than just the standardised option of slug-toned nudes, they offered true nudes for all skin-tones!

Never content with resting on their laurels the cult brand have re-launched their entire Rouge Unlimited line of lipsticks and you’re practically guaranteed to find your perfect match among the impressive 44 new shades available.  The new range incorporates some cutting-edge technology to ensure the smoothest of applications whilst delivering head-turning pigment.  The brand promise to achieve all of this without the usual compromise on comfort thanks to an active moisture-locking cream plus lip care which will help protect and nourish your lips.

The behind-the-scenes video above is not only beautifully shot but gives a good insight into the new range’s transformative ability, also… can you say cheekbones much? *swoon*.

Sponsored Post

If you’re left feeling disappointed by the synthetic aftertaste from your el-cheapo Advent Calendars, never fear… I’ve got something here to perk up your taste-buds.  Some of our favourite stores and brands are running Advent promotions and competitions to get you back into the Christmas spirit, here’s a quick run-down of some of my favourites…

Clinique

Every day from the 2nd – 8th December, the brand will be unveiling a Christmas treat available with online purchases.  I’d love to give you a full run-down of what will be on offer but the bods at Clinique HQ are keeping their secret’s firmly under wraps until the morning of the offer.

They have, however, released a few teasers which include…

Monday 2nd December – The Christmas party must-have
Tuesday 3rd December – All you need is Comfort & Joy this season
Wednesday 4th December – Treats for everyone
Thursday 5th December – All you’ll want for Christmas is this
Friday 6th December – A Happy Friday it shall be
Saturday 7th December – A cracking treat
Sunday 8th December – You’ll wish it could be Christmas everyday

Log on to www.clinique.co.uk each morning to discover the latest treat….

Urban Retreat

If you’re feeling a bit bleary-eyed, you’d better reach for the Optrex.  Your peepers will need to be in top condition to scoop the prizes on offer at Urban Retreat’s Beautique.  Starting today, the company are relaunching their Great Christmas Quest campaign featuring a decadent array of prizes up for grabs!

Simply log-on to the site from 12pm daily this week and begin the treasure hunt, scouring the site for the standout present icon selling for only 1p.  When you find it, add it to your basket and checkout to claim the prize but be quick about it, you’re in a race to be the first to secure the item!

For more information and find out more about the prizes up for grabs, follow the brand on Twitter @URBeautique and keep an eye on the #XMASQUEST hashtag.  You can also find more details online at Urban Retreat.

Escentual.com

The beauty emporium are once again running their ever-popular #EscentualWish promotion on Twitter!  Hooray!  Starting this Thursday and running for one week, the company will be randomly selecting a winner each day on Twitter to receive their most wished-for Escentual product!

If you want to join in with the fun, simply get involved using the hashtag #EscentualWish and follow the brand on Twitter @escentual

Superdrug

For Facebookers everywhere, this one’s for you.  Head on over to the Superdrug fan page and jump on board with the high-street retailer’s 25-day Christmas extravaganza!

Every day from now until Christmas, open the virtual door and discover a new prize up for grabs.  Make sure you enter your details into the prize draw form which resets every night at midnight.  Good luck!

Big Green Smile

Last but not least, natural beauty experts Big Green Smile are running a 12 Days of Christmas promotion featuring a host of beauty bounty from some of the world’s best-loved brands.

To be in with a chance of winning, head on over to Big Green Smile and check out the entry form and T&C for this promotion.

Hope you’re feeling lucky folks!

As you may have guessed from the title, I’m totally blaming the pregnancy hormones for this one.  Whether or not they are actually culpable remains to be seen but it feels slightly less shameful to rest the responsibility upon my ever-increasing levels of hormonal angst.

Some women eat coal, crave the taste of rubber and leather… me?  Well, I just want to smell like all of those things instead.  You can keep your girly florals, sweet fruits, and vomit-worthy vanillas… give me all of the MAN SCENTS.

Were my pockets big enough, I’d carry the above candles around with me 24/7, pausing regularly for a sniff before continuing on my way.  My Jonathan Ward Woodstock candle, which I picked up whilst scouring the shelves at T.K. Maxx is the least masculine of the trio and perfect for the season, reminding me of a dampened but very-much-alive forest floor… woody and aromatic.

My Mum picked up the Rigaud Cuir de Kyara candle for me after spotting it nestled on a tabletop at her local Emmaus in France.  She said that the smell of pure, unadulterated leather “nearly knocked her head off” and thus, knew instantly that I would fall in love with it.  She was right.  It’s a blinder and I’m now obsessed with finding other candles from this Parisian brand.

Finally, and thanks to a Zuneta/Amazon bargain, I’m pleased to finally be able to add this Malin + Goetz Vetiver candle to my collection!  I haven’t been able to walk past the display of M+G candles in Liberty for ages without stopping to sniff this one in all its earthy, woody and downright sexy glory.

But my obsession with man-scent doesn’t just stop at candles.  Oh no!  It gets far more serious…

I bought L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Tea for Two during their Summer sale a couple of years ago and it was love at first sniff but recently, I just can’t get enough of it and have upgraded to a massive 100ml bottle in order to get my fix.  The perfect blend of smoky embers, honeyed tobacco and warming ginger to keep all thoughts of frostiness at bay this Winter.

Ahhh, Molton Brown… I remember when I first came across your distinctively delicious Re-Charge Black Pepper scent (now called black peppercorn) a few years ago whilst staying at a hotel in Basel.  To this day, I kick myself for being good and not stealing all the hotel toiletries, it just felt too naughty to take the ones that I hadn’t actually opened to use during my stay!  Instead, I scoop up other people’s spoils on eBay and long for the candle version!

My final fragrant craving is one that Mr. L is less than impressed with.  He can cope with sharing most of his scents with me, infact… many times, we purchase a fragrance under the certain knowledge that we’re doing so in order to share the bottle (it makes a £70 splurge so much more palatable split two ways).  My desires to wear his smells-just-like-a-freshly-wet-shaved-man Floris Santal*, however, are falling on deaf ears.  I’ve been allowed a quick spritz, twice.  Only twice.  I actually think that might constitute domestic abuse.

Are there any “boy” scents that drive you wild?  And, question is… are you wild enough to wear them?

* press sample

In these times of austerity, does anything seem more wasteful than spending ££££ on disposable face wipes?  But for every face-wipe detractor out there, you’ll find someone who wouldn’t be without the convenience of their skincare-enriched, disposable towels.

As someone who tries to avoid too much water when cleansing, I’ve been known to use face wipes as part of my cleansing routine.  Not to remove a full face of makeup, but to freshen my face in the mornings…  I have to admit, however, that I’ve never paid more than around £6 for a pack.  I’m not sure I could bring myself to pay any more than this… but would you part with the cash for any of these?

01: Murad Clarifying Wipes for Blemish-Prone Skin (£18.00, lookfantastic.com) – 30 wipes per pack / 60p per wipe

These wipes from Doctor-led brand Murad have been enriched with witch hazel, algae extract, grape seed extract and vitamin E.  Designed specifically for blemish-prone skintypes, the wipes promise to tighten your pores, regulate sebum and oil production and protect your skin from free radical damage.

02: Dermalogica Skin Purifying Wipes (£14.40, jerseybeautycompany.co.uk) – 20 wipes per pack / 72p per wipe

The Dermalogica Skin Purifying Wipes contain Antibacterial Triclosan, extracts of Balm Mint, Coneflower and Camphor, Salicylic Acid, and witch-hazel to cleanse, remove excess surface oil, and purify the skin.  These are particularly recommended for popping in your gym bag as a post-workout freshen-up.

03: Ole Henriksen Truth To Go Wipes (£15.00, hqhair.com) – 30 wipes per pack / 50p per wipe

For a less astringent cleanse, the Ole Henriksen Truth To Go wipes offer naturally based mild surfactants to gently lift away dirt and impurities while essential fatty acids nourish the skin.  These orange-scented wipes also include Vitamin C and Micro Algae stimulates Collagen production to lighten, brighten and tighten the skin.

04: Stila Ready for Take Off Moisturizing Cleansing Cloths (£12.50, fenwick.co.uk) 30 wipes per pack / 42p per wipe

The clue is in the name.  These wipes from Stila promise to deliver a more moisturising cleanse, perfect for the upcoming colder months.  Containing extracts of  lavender, chamomile, and aloe vera these wipes are made without synthetic fragrance, mineral oil, sulfates, parabens or phthalates, making them a great choice for more sensitive skins.

05: MAC Cosmetics Wipes (£15.00, debenhams.com) 45 wipes per pack / 33p per wipe

These oversized wipes from staple cosmetic brand MAC promise to make quick work of makeup-removal.  Saturated with M·A·C cleanser and infused with vitamin E, they offer a convenient cleanse.  Less of a skin treatment wipe, more of a fuss-free cleanse and go.

Would pay over £10 for a pack of face-wipes?  Are you a fan of any that I’ve mentioned?