PINK | All I Want Body Mist and 2 in 1 Wash & Scrub

Every single time I look at the products I end up bursting into a terrible rendition of Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas' haha!

A couple of weeks ago, during some last minute Christmas shopping, I found myself exploring an area of PINK I've never visited before. I absolutely love the Victoria's Secret body sprays (I have about 5 now... oops!) but I've never really given a second thought to the PINK body care section. I always assumed their scents wouldn't be as 'grown up' or as flattering as the VS version but I was completely wrong. I picked up a couple of body mists as presents for my friends but when I walked past this limited edition Christmas scent I could not stop myself and I just had to buy the body mist and 2 in 1 Wash & Scrub as an early Christmas present to myself!

Even before I smelt the product I was sold just by looking at the packaging! My terrible camera really doesn't show how gorgeous and festive the design is: the shiny, foil like effect hasn't transferred that well on camera but when it catches the light the bottle sparkles and reminds me of Christmas lights and tinsel which looks so pretty sitting on the side of my bathtub! The scent itself is just beyond amazing, I might even have to say that I prefer this over my beloved Pure Seduction spray from Victoria's Secret. It's described as a mixture of White Vanilla and Berry Spritz but to me this smell just reminds me of the holidays even though there isn't a hint of cinnamon, spices or nectarine. It has such a comforting effect and it is perfect for everyday wear. I've been getting so many compliments when I wear this, even from my mum who isn't usually a fan of sweeter, more fruity scents! The fragrance lingers for quite a long time, especially when I use the two products together. The 2 in 1 Wash & Scrub lathers up nicely whilst the small, exfoliating beads effectively scrub the skin without being too harsh. The Body Mist contains 250ml of product (the same as the VS Mists) and the Wash & Scrub contains 300ml which will last me ages!

The products retail for £15 each but, if I remember correctly, you can purchase 2 for £18 or 3 for £25. However, this scent is limited edition and from what I can tell from looking at the US website I think some, if not all, of the All I Want products will probably be going in the sale so I might have to stock up in case they don't bring it back next year! Also, if anyone knows when the VS Sale begins in the UK please let me know!

What are your favourite Christmas scents? Do you have any favourite PINK products?

(P.S. I purchased these products with my own money and I'm not sponsored by Victoria's Secret however I am part of the VS PINK Street Team at Leeds University! If you go to Leeds Uni you might want to check out my post here for more information as we run loads of events and giveaways throughout the year!)

Paris in December

Just after we'd been to the top of the Eiffel Tower & my amazing breakfast (cake is acceptable as breakfast in Paris!) from Ladurée. 

The Seine at night & Ladurée at the Champs-Élysées (we ate many, many macarons!)

Selfies & Christmas trees at Notre-Dame

The Eiffel Tower as it sparkled at 7pm & the Christmas decorations inside of Galeries Lafayette

My painting from an artist in Montmatre & Dan and I at the top of the Eiffel Tower

I've been a bit (*cough* very)  absent from my blog lately (I'm blaming my rubbish phone camera, a lack of lighting and ridiculous amounts of Uni work!) but I've missed writing on my little space of the internet! I'm hoping to get back into blogging in the New Year, but I hope you've all had a magical Christmas and are enjoying the holidays as much as I have been. 

 During my absence I turned 21 and my absolutely amazing present from my boyfriend was a trip to Paris (via London, but I didn't take many photographs there!) We decided to take our trip in December as soon as we'd finished University for the semester and as a bonus Paris was lit up with beautiful Christmas lights! We stayed for 3 nights in the loveliest hotel (Hotel Da Vinci) which was situated in Saint Germain, an area I'd totally recommend if you were thinking of staying in Paris - the Lourve, amazing shops and bars and the metro were only minutes away. We spent our first day at the top of the Eiffel tower, exploring the Champs-Élysées and the huge Christmas market and walking around the gardens of the Louvre. Tuesday was a ridiculously busy day, we took advantage of the wonderful weather and walked to Montmartre where I bought a cute watercolour painting of the Eiffel Tower. Afterwards, we made our way to Moulin Rouge which is situated on a very interesting street... and then we visited  Galaries Lafayette and stopped off at Hard Rock cafe for a well deserved burger. Our evening was full of sparkling lights on the Eiffel Tower, a quick trip to Notre-Dame and a late night walk down the Seine, making our way home after a stroll over the love lock bridge. Our final day was a rainy one so we walked around the Musée d'Orsay for a few hours, bought our last salted caramel macaron of the trip and then caught the Eurostar back to London!

If you ever get the chance make sure you visit Paris at Christmas, it's such a magical place and I can't wait to go back!

Victoria's Secret PINK at Leeds University!

I don't know how many of you are from Leeds or go to Leeds University but something really exciting is currently happening at my university! If you're from America, or follow Victoria's Secret as avidly as I do, you'll know all about PINK (Victoria's Secret's little sister store) and its presence on campus in America - over 99 universities take part in the scheme to celebrate all things Pink! It seems like England is fully embracing all things Victoria's Secret this year with the London Fashion show in December and the Campus scheme kicking off in Leeds and Manchester!

 Each University has two campus reps and a group of girls who make up the street team that help to run special PINK events across campus. As a lucky member of the Leeds Street Team, I thought I'd write a little post to spread the word that PINK is now on campus! After our successful Bra Fitting event on campus, where we fit 200 girls and gave out 200 £10 vouchers to spend, we can't wait to announce the date for our Holiday shopping event with even more discounts and competitions! We'll also be hosting an exclusive viewing of the London Fashion Show before the end of the semester and, as always, our competitions run constantly throughout the year.

If you'd like to win loads of PINK goodies and keep up to date with all the latest Leeds PINK news, please follow our Facebook page @VS Pink at Leeds University.

You can also find us on instagram and twitter:

@vspinkatleedsuni

@vspinkatleedsuni

If you don't go to Leeds or Manchester University, what do you think of PINK coming to England? Where would you like the Campus scheme to go next? 

Essence Superfine Eyeliner Pen

Essence Superfine Eyeliner Pen - £2.50

If there's a part of my daily make-up routine I simply can't skip, it has to be liquid eyeliner. I'm constantly on the look out for something to challenge my current favourite, Stila's Stay All Day Liquid Eye Liner, which gives beautiful, precise black lines and it really doesn't budge. But, at £13.00, it can become quite a pricey addition to my make-up bag, especially when I forget to tighten the lid and it ends up drying out fairly quickly! 

When I stumbled across Essence, a super cheap German brand now stocked in Wilkinsons, I couldn't resist picking up the Superfine Eyeliner. The brand actually had about 4 different liquid eyeliners to choose from and a variety of kohl and gel formulas as well. I decided on the Superfine Eyeliner in deep black as the pen nib was rather similar to Stila's Stay All Day liner and I was hopeful that I'd found a dupe.

Although it's not perfect, for £2.50 this eyeliner is rather impressive. If I'm ever short for cash and out of liquid liner I would happily pick this up again! The Superfine Eyeliner's staying power is fantastic and it doesn't budge all day until I take it off with a make-up wipe (rather easily which means no sore eyelids). It also produces a very black line however my main issue is with the application which tends to effect the pigmentation of the liner. Every so often, usually at certain angles, the felt tip nip refuses to release the product and sometimes the line begins to get more transparent and less pigmented in certain areas which I think you might be able to see in the swatch above. The problem would normally be easy to fix by simply going over the line again but, unless you use a kind of dabbing/patting motion to release the product onto an already existing line, which can get messy, the sweeping motion of relining almost removes the original line completely (in a kind of make-up remover effect, I hope I'm making some kind of sense here!).  To fix this problem I usually just add a little bit of black eyeshadow over the lighter, less pigmented areas but for girls in a hurry, or people seeking the perfect liquid liner, this will definitely be a problem which is such a shame as the other elements of the product are really good.

Despite the application issues with the Superfine Eyeliner, I'm still very eager to try out more from products from Essence - especially the other eyeliners! The formulation seems to be brilliant and, hopefully, the other products will avoid the application issues!

What are your favourite Essence products?