Mother's Day Gift Guide with L'Occitane

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and if you've left things until the last minute then there's no need to panic! If your Mum is anything like mine, then I have a feeling she'll love everything featured in my Mother's Day gift guide.

My Mum never treats herself to luxury bath and body products, but I know she loves nothing more than a relaxing bubble bath and a rich body lotion. L'Occitane is actually one of my favourite brands for gifts all year round and they always offer great value sets with the prettiest packaging. Their mother's day gift sets are really lovely this year, so I've picked out a couple of my favourites to feature!

My Nighttime Skincare Routine

To be honest, my morning skincare is pretty minimal. Despite the fact that I'm usually walking around like a zombie, makeup brush in one hand and coffee in the other, I never actually leave myself enough time for a complicated routine before work.

This is why, for me, evenings are well and truly allocated to skincare and I've been using a combination or products lately, some new and some old, which have been working really well. I may have also made an exciting purchase from The Ordinary very recently to add to my routine too, but more on that in a few weeks time!

New Skincare Additions from Embryolisse

After trying the cult favourite, Embryolisse's Lait Creme Concentrate, a few months ago (blog post here) I've been rather curious about what else this French Skincare brand has to offer. The lovely ladies at Sparkle PR were actually kind enough to send over two more Embryolisse products and I've been putting them thoroughly to the test over the past few months: so much so that I've almost used them both up completely! I was so excited when I saw Embryolisse's Micellar Lotion* arrive on my doorstep and after recently trying Garnier's Micellar Water I couldn't wait to compare the two and see if there really is a difference between drugstore and higher end Micellar Waters. The other product is the rather unusual Embryolisse Artist Secret Radiant Eye*, also known to the French as Secret de Maquilleurs, or the 'Make-up Artist's Secret',which is a Cooling Gel Stick that claims to make you look and feel wide awake instantly.

Exploring French Skincare with Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré

Apart from dabbling a little with a few La Roche Posay products the realm of French Skincare is still rather strange to me. Of course, we've all heard the rave reviews by now from bloggers and glossy magazines alike about how the French simply cannot be beaten when it comes to skincare products so naturally I've been rather curious to try out more from different brands. But sometimes it's a little difficult to decide where to start. So, when I was offered the opportunity to try out Embryolisse's Lait-Crème Concentré* I excitedly jumped at the chance. I've heard so much about this product and I couldn't wait to see if this little tube lived up to all of that hype for myself. But hey, if it's good enough for Elle Macpherson then it must certainly be doing something right. My jaw dropped when I recently found out she was 51!

A favourite among makeup artists for its versatility, this simple cream has many uses, ranging from a moisturiser, a primer, an after-shave balm and a makeup remover.  Personally, I only tend to use this regularly as a moisturiser but I've been investigating this cream as much as possible and I can vouch that it removes eye make-up really well without causing any irritation. I just prefer to stick to my usual routine (Simple Wipes followed by Garnier's Micellar Water) but if I ever need to pack light for a trip away this cream always comes with me. As for its uses as a primer, I tend to need a little extra help around my T-Zone if I'm going to be wearing makeup all day. If I'm only pottering around and intending on removing my makeup by 6 o'clock then my combination skin seems to be able to keep the oil at bay but I wouldn't ever say that the Lait-Crème Concentré would replace primer in my routine completely. As a primer I think it's a nice alternative to use on a more relaxed makeup day: it hydrates, smooths the skin for an easier makeup application and it does help to control oil to a certain extent without mattifying the skin.

Embryolisse's Lait-Crème Concentré is probably best known as a moisturiser and for my skin it provides just the right amount of hydration for daily use. The cream itself is rather rich but it has quite a thin consistency once applied. When warmed up between the palms a little really does go a long way and I usually only need a pea-sized amount to cover my entire face. It leaves quite a glowing (not greasy!) finish and overall my skin looks much healthier since I've been using this. I've found it to be a truly gentle cream that hasn't caused any irritation and when I was suffering from dry, flaky skin around my nose - thanks to a horrible cold - this was the only cream I found that didn't sting when applied it onto my poor, sore nose. I've even used it on my hands and irritated areas of my legs post-shaving and it has worked wonderfully!

I think the hype around this cream really stems from the simplicity of Lait-Crème Concentré: it's a no fuss cream that gets the job done. It's gentle, has a very mild fragrance and feels lightweight on the skin. I have a feeling that you might not be impressed with this cream if you're on either end of the skin spectrum (with either very dry or very oily skin) but if you're looking for a gentle, hydrating multi-purpose product that doesn't cost a fortune I can't recommend Embryolisse's Lait-Crème Concentré enough! Of course, all skincare is subjective and what works for me might not work for you but for £13 for 30ml it's worth giving it a go just to see if you agree with the hype or not! I certainly do and if you've tried it already I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments below!

You can purchase Embryolisse's Lait-Crème Concentré from Boots or online at Feel Unique and Cult Beauty.

*This post contains a Press Sample sent for review.

Latest In Beauty Awards Box 2015

Latest In Beauty always put together the most incredible beauty boxes and I've been a fan of the company for just over a year now. My first ever box, The Glamour Beauty Power List 2014, impressed me so much I've been an addict since and even though I haven't blogged about them all I've had quite a few boxes in the past year! When I spotted a tweet from the lovely Jaina from Which Beauty Box UK, about the Latest In Beauty Awards Box I knew immediately that I had to buy it!

Latest In Beauty's newest box allows the customer to select their own products out of 32 finalists which have been separated into 8 categories: Best Newcomer, Cult Classic, Body Beautiful, Green Award, Hottest Haircare, Skincare Saviours, Best Eye Makeup and Must Have Makeup.  There are also 3 options: Box 1 (£8.99) contains 3 products, Box 2 (£12.99) contains 6 and Box 3 (£16.99) contains 9 products. Each individual awards box is designed to allow the customer to try some of the finalists before casting their vote in the Beauty Awards. The winners of each category will be announced after voting closes on the 26th July. A 'Winner's Box' will then be created and available to purchase shortly after the voting has ended! 

Every Beauty Awards box purchased also counts as one entry into LIB's the amazing giveaway where you can win every full sized finalist which is word £875!

I decided to pick up Box 2 (I'm having major regrets about not opting for Box 3!) and added 6 of my favourite products to the box! You can see what I picked out below! 

Skincare Saviour: The Body Shop's Wild Argan Oil Miracle Solid Oil for Body & Hair (RRP: £8.00)

Must-Have Make Up: Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Hawaiian Smoulder (RRP: £8.99)

Green Award: Burt's Bees Lip Balm (RRP: £3.69)

Best Eye Makeup: Eye of Horus Scarab Sapphire Goddess Pencil (RRP: £17.00)

Daniel Sandler Long Lasting Waterproof Eyeliner in Green Velvet (RRP: £9.25)

Skincare Saviour: Burt's Bees Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream (RRP: £10.99)

The Best Eye Makeup category was amazing this year and it was so difficult not to add every finalist into my box! Competing against the Daniel Sandler and Eye of Horus liners was a full size Magnifibres Brush-On Lashes mascara and a Collection Fast Stroke Liner, both of which were so tempting! I tried to opt for products I was in need of mostly (hence the Burt's Bees Lip Balm which I adore!) so I did leave out a couple of categories but if you're not attempting to cut down on spending like I am I definitely recommend picking up Box 3! It's such good value for money. 

Have you created your own Latest In Beauty Awards Finalist Box?

Let me know what you would pick in the comments below! 

P.S: You can get free shipping this weekend when you spend £10 or more with the code: LIBJULY15

Review | bareMinerals Pure Transformation Day Treatment

bareMinerals Pure Transformation Day Treatment -£45
For those of you who live in the UK I'm sure you've heard about this month's incredible Cohorted beauty box. All of the products featured in the box looked amazing but it was the bareMinerals Pure Transformation Night treatment that caught my eye and made me immediately rush over to the site to see if, somehow, there was one left in stock. Sadly, not all of us were lucky enough to get our hands on the box (*sob*, I'm still not over it) but I was lucky enough to be sent the bareMinerals Pure Transformation Day Treatment* by the lovely Ally at bareMinerals at the start of the month to try out. I thought this would be the perfect time to share my thoughts about it with you all as I've noticed, after sobbing my way through many Cohorted reviews in jealously, that a few bloggers seem apprehensive about the idea of a powdered evening skin treatment. So, if applying a mineral powder treatment at night isn't your thing (or if you love it so much you simply need to add more of this magical treatment to your face) then the bareMinerals Pure Transformation Day Treatment* might be right up your street!

When I received the Day Treatment in the post I'd honestly never heard anything about it. I remember when the Night Treatment was first released and the YouTube community went crazy for it but nothing was ever mentioned about the Day version. Excited and intrigued I immediately popped over to Google to find some blog reviews but I really struggled to find any at all - it seems it has been outshone by its more famous sister. I thought the best way to describe the treatment was to quote the bareMinerals website as they explain it much more effectively than I ever could:

'bareMinerals advanced daytime mineral treatment with SPF 20 helps protect skin from sun damage and reduces the appearance of pores while improving luminosity. Contains moisture minerals to keep skin hydrated and targets signs of aging with ActiveSoil Complex, proven to increase cell turnover and provide antioxidant defense.'

After wearing this for almost a month I have to say that it's definitely a neglected gem of the beauty world! Not only does it contain SPF whilst keeping the skin hydrated throughout the day it also creates this natural radiance that I was actually astounded by and, for me, is definitely the best element of the product! It creates such a healthy, glowing from within complexion that you just can't achieve with highlighters.

How to Apply
The bareMinerals Pure Transformation Day Treatment is the last step in your morning skincare routine before you begin applying your makeup. It's tinted so it provides a sheer tint of colour that's easily buildable to achieve a light/medium coverage. The product is available in 4 shades (Fair, Light, Medium and Tan) and I'm currently using the shade Light which is just a tiny bit too dark for me thanks to my pasty, in desperate need of a holiday skin. On my good skin days I've been wearing this alone with just a tiny bit of concealer and when I need a bit more coverage I just dust a little bit of my foundation over the top (and the luminosity is still visible!) The kabuki, as with all the bareMinerals brushes I've used, is so soft and distributes the product evenly but I do wish the treatment was available to buy separately as it looks like this brush will last for such a long time!

Improvements in the Skin
As I'm lucky enough not to suffer from large pores I can't comment thoroughly on how well this treatment works in reducing them. The only area where my pores are (or should I say were) noticeable is on my nose. Immediately I noticed the treatment covered them wonderfully but after a week or so I realised they were actually getting smaller and now I think they're hardly visible. I'd love to see how well this product worked on somebody with larger pores but from the results I've seen on myself it gets a big thumbs up from me! The dry skin I often suffer from around my nose has also cleared up and I've noticed a transformation in the general appearance of my skin. After a few weeks I've found my skin looks healthier, vibrant and more even in skin tone.

The Pure Transformation Day Treatment contains 6g of product and retails for £45. It is expensive but as a multi-purpose product I honestly think it's worth the price (which is something I never expected myself to say when I discovered how much this cost!) I've found that I'm wearing less and less foundation every day when I use this and I'm beginning to feel much more comfortable and happy in my own skin. For a product that gives me so much more confidence and an amazing glow I think it's definitely worth paying a little bit extra for and I'm dying to get my hands on the Night Treatment.

Have you tried any of the bareMinerals Skincare range?

Let me know what you think of the Day (or Night) Treatment in the comments below! 

*contains a PR sample

Wishlist | Beauty #2

This year I've decided to organise myself and my spending habits a little bit more. I've been realising lately that I can buy those products I really want, even if they are a bit pricey, if I save my money instead of buying little things here and there that will probably be forgotten about within a month or two. I could guiltlessly buy myself the Nuxe Rêve de Miel Lip Balm, for example, if I make my own lunch at home instead of buying a Tesco Meal Deal three days a week when I'm in University over lunch time! No more unsatisfying sandwiches and luxuriously soft lips? That's sounds like a good deal to me!

Skincare
This year I'm getting serious about skincare. It's always been a bit of an unexplored area of beauty for me and recently my skin has been begging for more attention. At 21 I'm not going to get any younger and *gasp* I think I might see a wrinkle forming on my forehead. It's time to take some serious action and hopefully if I can try out one new product every two months my skin should be wonderful before my 22nd birthday! Currently, I'm lusting over:

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo [+]  - £15.50 (currently £11.62 at Boots)
I've heard wonders about this product and apparently the new, plus version is even better than the original. My friend Fiona, over at Fi's Little Blog, recommended this to me and apparently it does wonders on blemishes and acne marks.

La Roche-Posay Serozinc Spray - £8.50 (currently £7.29 at Escentual)
Both Suzie from HelloOctober and Alix from I Covet Thee included this in their 2014 favourites. I've never tried any form of toner before and the Serozinc Spray is a light mist that tackles excess oiliness and blemishes. It only contains only 3 ingredients: Spring Water, healing Zinc Sulphate and astringent Sodium Chloride and apparently it soothes and calms redness which is something my skin definitely needs right now!

Nuxe Rêve de Miel Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm - £9.50
£9.50 is very expensive for a lip balm but my lips always suffer the most, whether it's winter or summer. Honestly, they're just never happy and I've been dealing with dry lips since I was younger. It's a big favourite among the YouTube and Blogging community and it's something I'm willing to splash out on if it can heal my pesky dry lips!

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate - £36.00
I'm sure you've all heard the hype around this product and who doesn't want younger, healthier looking skin in the morning? If this can make my face look radiant after late night library visits then I think I better invest now before dissertation deadlines, essays and exams hit once more. It is super expensive but it should last a long time if only 2-3 drops are required in one use and I love the bottle and the little pipette!

First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads - £20.50
I've read a lot of mixed reviews about the Radiance Pads but there are so many bloggers who rave about them so I really want to try them out for myself. They brighten, tone and exfoliate the skin - a little bit like the Effaclar Duo +, so if I do purchase them I probably wouldn't use the two products together!

Haircare
My hair has been feeling limp, dull and just not silky during the winter months. I really want to bring it back to life and have smooth and silky locks again. So my two haircare picks (and hopefully hair heroes) are:

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer 75ml - £15.00
I've tried and loved Philip Kingsley's Daily Damage Defence Spray and as the Elasticizer is the brands most famous product, claiming to deliver elasticity, bounce and shine to the hair, it seems like a good place to start my quest for healthy hair. I really want to start investing more time and care into my hair routine and there are so many positive reviews about this moisturising treatment I'm curious to see if it lives up to the hype!

Charles Worthington Volume & Bounce Texturising Spray - £6.99
This product is part of Charles Worthington's Salon at Home range which I'm a big fan of. I've already reviewed his Leave-In Conditioner here and I think the range offers high quality products for a reasonable price. This spray has cropped up in Fleur de Force's 2014 favourites and her hair always looks full of life and voluminous - something my hair is definitely missing. I love the result of texturizing products but I hate that so many of them make the hair stick together. Hopefully this won't have that effect!

Make-Up
Of course there are a thousand make-up items I want (I'm thinking of everything Charlotte Tilbury!) but there's nothing I desperately need right now. I've placed skincare as a priority this year, so I've only chosen one make-up product in my wishlist.

Bourjois 123 Perfect Colour CC Cream - £9.99
In Suzie's (Hello October) latest video she reveals that this CC Cream is a dupe for Dior's Diorskin Nude BB Creme, a product I've been lusting over for a while now. I've never tried a CC cream before and I absolutely love Bourjois' face products so for £9.99 I'm willing to give this a go! My current liquid base is a little too dark for me so I'll be definitely getting the lightest shade of this. Also, Boots are currently offering a free Rouge Edition Lipstick when you spend £12 on Bourjois so I might buy this right now!

What's currently on your wishlist? 

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Discovering Skincare

I'll be honest, I've never really been a skincare kind of girl. I use the Body Shop's Vitamin E Day and Night cream religiously but apart from the odd experiment with various kinds of face wash my interest with skincare has always ended there. Until recently, however. Maybe it's because I've entered another decade of my life and the reality of wrinkles and ageing skin is edging ever closer but since I've turned 20 I've became rather curious about the world of skincare. And let me tell you, it's rather baffling.

I finally understand why toners exist in the world and I'm slowly starting to develop a skincare routine (hurrah!) but I still have a lot of things to try before I find my dream combination of products! My favourite way to discover new products without breaking the bank is to use skincare samples and this week I've been trying out three new products: L'Occitane's Amande Hand Cream, Clinique's Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream and the ever so famous Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser by Liz Earle. I've fallen in love with two of the products and I can't stop using them. The Liz Earle Cleanser and L'Occitane Amande Hand Cream have been my skincare favourites this week and they were wonderful to use. Together, they've added a little luxury into my life which is a great treat after a stressful day at work!

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 L'Occitane's Amande Hand Cream
The scent of this hand cream is so gorgeous and I often find myself wishing I could eat the entire tube! It just smells so delicious and it has a really comforting scent - I'm constantly reaching for it when my hands a feeling a little bit dry. Enriched with Almond Oil and Milk, this hand cream is soothing and really helps to soften the skin. Unlike many of the hand creams I've tried in the past, this feels light and manages to absorb quickly into the skin without sacrificing any of its moisturising qualities. I'm really impressed by L'Occitane and I can't wait to try out more of their products.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser
Who hasn't heard of this cleanser? I received this sample in my May Birchbox but I was so busy with exams at the time I didn't get round to testing it out. I usually remove my make-up really quickly with Simple Cleansing Wipes so using a liquid cleanser and muslin cloth was a strange experience.  In the morning I use this on my face before moisturiser and at night I prefer to remove my eye-make first then use the cleanser to remove the rest of my make-up. The all-natural ingredients are brilliant for sensitive skin and the hype around this product is truly deserved! My skin was left feeling really clean, smooth and soft and the scent was so relaxing!

Clinique's Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream
To be honest, I didn't really enjoy using this eye cream and I'm so glad I had a sample of this instead of buying the full sized product. If I applied this in the morning before my make-up it didn't absorb very well and my concealer started creasing and when I applied it at night the effect wasn't as impressive as my beloved Vitamin E Night cream! Maybe older women would benefit more from this eye-cream and its wrinkle correcting effects (I should probably give this back to my mum!) but I personally didn't see or feel a difference when I applied this. It isn't a bad product, it moisturised my eye area a little, but it didn't blow me away either.

If you have any skincare recommendations I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

(The Cleanser was part of my May Birchbox, the Clinique Eyecream was a gift from my mum and the L'Occitane handcream was free when I used a voucher from L'Occitane)