Bliss : Diamonds in the rough - Hand-cream gift set

Bliss Website UK

A stunning offering from Bliss for christmas. Perfect for those cold days rolling in, especially if your hands tend to suffer and have dryness. Beautifully presented gift sets for the holiday season with the lovely scents associated with the festivities. Plus the perfect gift for a loved one.

They say :

The first Bliss Spa was opened in Soho, New York in 1996 by Marcia Gilmore following increasing demand for her spa treatment. The company has since grown enormously, with Bliss spas opening all over the world. The spa-inspired Bliss skincare and anti-ageing range gives you the opportunity to re-create the relaxing spa experience in your own comfortable surroundings.

Diamonds in the Rough set 

An ultra-hydrating, non-greasy, antioxidant rich, dry-hand soother, softener and smoother. The moisturising hand cream duo boasts both the peppermint and snowflake formulas so you can get into the Christmas spirit whilst hydrating your hands. 

Bliss snowflake hand cream

A frosty, winter wonderland scent. Containing macadamia oil and grape seed extract, the cuticle-smoothing, moisturising must-have Bliss Snowflake High Intensity Hand Cream, reminiscent of snow flakes, will leave your hands feeling silky soft.

Bliss peppermint hand cream

A refreshing, invigorating mint delight. Containing macadamia oil and grape seed extract, the cuticle-smoothing, moisturising must-have Bliss Peppermint High Intensity Hand Cream will leave your hands feeling silky soft with the scent of peppermint.

This hand cream has a lovely feeling and absorbs beautifully into the skin. The Snowflake tube has a beautiful fresh scent and the Peppermint is like having candy canes within a tube. So very festive scents within this special holiday edition.  It has the skin feeling soft and is absorbed quickly. It doesn't leave a residue or film that some hand creams can have. This is perfect for your handbag and on the go. You don't need a lot of cream to fully moisturise both hands, so these 2 tubes of cream will last a while and help keep the soreness of dry, cracked skin away. A beautiful gift if your stuck still for ideas to treat the ones you love. 

Soap and Glory - Christmas set : Zinging in the shower

Soap and Glory Website

So moving into the christmas period, you might be wondering what can i get a loved one ? Well below is one of the Christmas gift sets for 2014.  Soap and Glory is a firm favourite that you can never go wrong with. So if you decide to go with a Bath/Shower set or Makeup set, you know your getting quality from this iconic British brand. 

They say : 

 We're a fun, fresh, fearless, fantastic British beauty brand. And we're known for wonderfully effective bath, body and skincare products including the super-plumping lip gloss Sexy Mother Pucker™ and award winning The Righteous Butter™ body butter. Soap & Glory recommends applying products with happiness and abandon, because while beauty absolutely matters, it doesn't matter absolutely.

Fast, fresh and fruity. Invigorating, happiness inducing, wake me up before you go go out to impress, 

this irresistibly zesty, sweet-lime-scented trio features Sugar crush Body Wash, 

Sugar crush Body Buttercream and a mini Sugar crush Body Scrub, plus a luxe Body polisher.

This Soap & Glory gift set Includes:
• Sugar crush  Body Buttercream 300ml
• Sugar crush  Body Wash 250ml
• Sugar crush  Body Scrub 50ml
• A luxe Body polisher 

So this is one of the editions from the 2014 Christmas edition gift sets. Zinging in the Shower features the iconic, Sugar crush scent products. This scent is very refreshing and rejuvenating for any time of day. Its one of my firm favourites from Soap and Glory. 

Sugar crush : Body buttercream 

Soap & Glory’s must-have moisture-extreme, re-energizing, sweet-lime scented body buttercream for supreme skin smoothing! Loaded with shea and cocoa butter, almond and coconut oil, and a super-refreshing triple whammy of lime oil, kiwi juice water, and smoothing lime tree blossom extract, Soap & Glory’s new ultra-rich body buttercream is irresistible. 

After a bath or shower on still slightly damp skin, massage a handful of Sugar Crush Body Buttercream onto your skin from your toes to your shoulders.

The Sugar crush body buttercream is a luxuriously smooth and easy to apply product. The buttercream infused with the beautiful scent, which lasts during the day. Its thick and absorbs well to moisturise the skin through the day. I love this buttercream for my morning skincare routine, as it  keeps the skin intensely moisturised. It helps keep unwanted impurities out and also is perfect for the winter months. A perfect mix of many lovely oils and butters that keep the skin looking healthy. A lovely product offering from Soap and Glory. 

Sugar crush : Body Scrub 

Body fuses freshly-squeezed sweet lime, sparkling lemons, sweet vanilla musk and almond oil, with sea salt, smashed brown sugar, glycerin and macadamia oils to leave your skin feeling smooth, supple, and sexy. Miraculous on dry legs, elbows, it’s energizing, exhilarating, amazing.

Scrub in the shower once, twice, or three times weekly, depending on the level of scaliness you struggle with.

Beautiful scrub that really does come in handy during these winter months when dry skin can cause flakey skin. Again infused with oils and butters to help moisturise the skin during exfoliation. I would advise that you use this scrub on the body, with gentle motions to obtain the most from this scrub. Its refreshing and with the infusion go lime and lemon scents, certainly makes for a lovely morning awakening. 

Sugar crush : Body wash & Body polisher 

Body Wash (which doubles as bath bubbles) mixes mouth-watering kaffir limes, sparkling lemons, sweet vanilla musk and coconut oil. Energizing, revitalizing – it’s an instant wake up call for tired minds and bodies, with Cool Capsule X to cool and refresh, radiance-boosting Kiwi water juice and a super creamy M-Suds moisture-boosting base.

This shower body wash is the perfect moisturising soap and soak product. It can be used in the shower or to give you a luxurious bubble bath. Whichever you decide, i personally have a shower and this release's the most intense scents that make having a shower truly more enjoyable. You won't want to leave. It doesn't take much to get a lovely full sud filled body polisher, which is perfect for the days you are not exfoliating. The body polisher is perfect for the shower wash and anyone who needs daily removal of dry skin. It is gentle on the skin and does not grate.  

This Christmas set from Soap and Glory is a beautiful gift for anyone, or even the perfect treat to yourself. If you love the Sugar crush scent or are looking for a scent with a refreshing and invigorating set of products. I would highly recommend this set. Ive loved Soap and glory products and the Christmas sets that they have released. The perfect gifts for the Christmas season and beautiful for anyone looking to try the Soap and Glory range. 

Urban decay - Vice 3

Urban decay UK

So we are treated to another Vice palette and new shades. Stunning packaging and this time we are given a beautiful bag to protect the palette. I love the Vice palettes and this one has become my favourite. 

They say :

You can never have too much of a good thing. Satisfy your eyeshadow vice with 20 velvety, Never seen before shades—from an amazing soft black and a stunning burgundy to a rich, smoky red-black. Even MORE covetable than Urban Decay’s previous Vice palettes, this mesmerising, jewel-inlaid case holds 20 All new shades, a huge mirror, and a double-ended shadow and crease brush. The perfect finishing touch to this palette, a gorgeous matching bag. 

With so many different finishes—matte, satin, sparkle and even metallic, this palette is made for experimentation. The shades are arranged in columns: neutrals on the left, jewel tones in the middle and smoky shades on the right. Pair up the vertically colour-coordinated quads or go wild and mix them up. Urban Decay’s Pigment Infusion System™ gives each shade its velvety texture, rich colour, serious staying power and blend ability. 

With Vice3, UD pulled out all the stops. The extra slim case features hypnotic new artwork in an abstract stripe design, topped off with a bright, neon-green jeweled “Vice” icon to match the highly metallized green base. Use the coordinating bag to keep your Vice3 palette protected, or as a place to store your UD brushes and other essentials. 

Vice3 contains 20 shades of Eyeshadow: 

So below i have done swatches of each row to show the graduation of the colour.

Row 1 (from top to bottom on picture)
Revolver (soft black satin w/subtle floating iridescent pearl)
Defy (smoky taupe satin)
Angel (light taupe w/silver micro-glitter)
Last Sin (shimmer w/silver micro-glitter)
Beautiful row of neutral shades.

Jewel tones and Pink shades 


Jewel tones (from top to bottom)
Bobby Dazzle (metallic white w/pale gold micro-glitter)
Reign (rich brown satin)
Lucky (metallic bronze)
Vanity (smoky metallic eggplant w/multidimensional micro-glitter)

I love metallic colours to give my looks a pop of colour. So i can see myself using this  row alot. 
Pink shades (from top to bottom)
Sonic (metallic red-copper) 
Bondage (deep, smoky burgundy shimmer)
Alchemy (deep fuchsia satin)

Alien (pink-peach w/golden shift)

Nude shades and Jewel shades row 2 

Nude shades (from top to bottom) 
DTF (taupe matte w/subtle floating pearl)
Downfall (warm light brown matte)
Undone (pink-beige matte-satin w/subtle floating tonal pearl)
Truth (pale pink-nude matte)

Jewel shades row 2 (from top to bottom) 
Brokedown (metallic golden brown shimmer w/gold micro-glitter)

Heroine (deep navy blue w/subtle floating tonal pearl)
Freeze (metallic medium blue w/multidimensional micro-glitter)

Dragon (bright metallic green shimmer)

My Look using Vice 3

My look above is using a mix of Sonic, last sin, Alchemy and a small amount of  bondage. All blemded together and graduated to have last sin on the inner "V", then take sonic and alchemy lightly working them onto the lid. I only use pinks on the lid, as to graduate it up too the crease can look like a bruise. So to use more sonic for blending and then work the outer "V" with bondage. Defines the look more and keeps the look sharp. 

The Vice 3 shadows are buttery and creamy as all urban decay can be. Lovely array of neutral with colourful shades within this palette. Plenty of options to choose from. I cant wait to try more looks with this palette. 

Memebox : Snow white box

Memebox Website

So the princess that insprired this box, is the beautiful Snow white. Famed for her pure skin and light spirit. This box contains items that should make you, the fairest of them all. 

They say :

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all? You, with the Snow White Box, of course. The cooler months spell for the perfect time to brighten up skin, even out uneven complexions, and target pesky dark spots! Whatever shade of the rainbow your skin color is, optimize your skin’s radiance and clarity for luminous, glowing skin.

Contents : 

- Nella Fantasia : Oneday Whitener 

- Original raw First Essence : Vitamin essence 

- Faceflux : Anti-wrinkle revitalize cream

- Daltokki : Whitening Essence 

- 5 Seeds : Apple Water Brightning Scrub 

- Morningtree : Revitalizing Whitening Deep Spot 

Nella Fantasia : Oneday Whitener is a facial whitening cream. Which can be used to help even out skintone, or even help lighten a dark foundation. 

Faceflux : Anti-wrinkle revitalize cream sounds lovely and refreshing. Especially for the eyes, when you can look the most tired and the darkest of tired bags. 

Daltokki : Whitening Essence is an item i didnt think i could use but with a few drops, this could be a dark foundations saviour. Being a essence it wont dry your skin. Which is a bonus for the cold months drawing in. 

Original raw First Essence : Vitamin essence is said to contain a multitude of natural essence's. To help keep skin hydrated whilst you sleep but also to infuse the skin with nutrients. Its the time when the body is repairing, it makes sense to have a night product. So im looking forward to the results.

5 Seeds : Apple Water Brightning Scrub is a product i know will be amazing, as apple is packed full of fantastic skin vitamin. This is marvellously refeshing to the skin and ideal for dry skin types. Packed with vitamins and natural ways to remove dry skin. 

Morningtree : Revitalizing Whitening Deep Spot not found the need to use this as yet. However im sure it will come in useful to lighten any redness. Also help a spot thats healing to revitalise the skin. 

A lovely box with alot of products to give you a creamy fresh complextion. Also keep your skin fresh and hydrated.

Lush - Bella Fruta gift box

Lush UK website

Lush is a natural brand, that has such a vast and exotic range of products. Using the best ingredient's to give you, the most sensual, luxurious pampering.  So i was most surprised and overwhelmed, when i was sent a gift from lush. I cannot thank them enough. I hope that showing my gift will inspire anyone stuck for christmas ideas. 

Bella fruta Gift box

Is described as ; We're paying bathing homage to all things fruity with this gorgeous gift, designed to leave you feeling fresh and invigorated. Avocado butter nourishes the skin, fresh bananas moisturise and mangoes help to condition the skin.

Honestly if i could convey the smell this box radiates when you receive it, wow fruity lovers this is your box. Make haste and grab one before its too late. Now for the wondrous contents of this most beautiful gift box.

Comforter 

Sometimes you just need to shut yourself off from the outside world. This bar is supersized, so you’ll only need to crumble half a bar to make enough bubbles for a long, comforting soak. Cassis absolute gives a distinctive blackcurrant fragrance, while bergamot adds an uplifting note.

A scent you could smell for hours and never be bored. Beautiful bar full of rich colour and bubbles, a most beautiful product. I love the scent of this bubble bar and its lushness, i can't get over how much this scent makes me just relax. Plus your bathroom will smell amazing. A definite recommend for anyone who loves rich blackcurrant scents. 

Mango bath melt 

A gorgeous way to wake up and replenish the skin. The citrus fragrance  lifts the mood, the mix of butters are (cocoa, avocado and mango) a rich treat for the skin. It packs a hydrating punch. Avocado butter rehydrate's and work with the mango & cocoa, to soften and moisturise.

Wow packed full of mango fruity scent and feels like a buttery bar of goodness. I really enjoy these bath melts and as they are so soft. I will in future cut them to portions and then cling film it to preserve the butters. I could get 3 portions if i was using other products with this bath melt, however my husband likes this one so i do 2 portions. Its so rich and tropical that you will sit in the bathroom, until the scents leave which is a long time. 

Avobath bomb

Avobath in the morning to help you face the day. The oils will pick you up, also tackling dryness with avocado and olive oil. Containing lustre, giving a shimmering green effect to the water. It contains avocado and olive oil, to  make this an excellent for dry skin sufferers.

I haven't used this one as yet as I'm gifting this to someone, whom is going into hospital where skin can become dry and so sore. This will be the perfect pre-admission treat and relaxing gift i can give. Plus she loves green as its her favourite colour and the beautiful smell of this bath bomb is like just nothing you can describe. I know il be doing a christmas order so il purchase one.

Miranda

A skin-brightening and mood-lightening summery soap. Packed with fresh kiwi fruit and refreshing citrus oils, perfect for dull skin. Kiwi is full of natural fruit enzymes that break down dead skin cells,brightening your skin. Juniperberry oil an antiseptic helps congested skin, bergamot oil adds to your mood.

This soap made me smile so much when i opened the box, as it was like a jammy dodger of the soap world. The outside so fruity with the kiwi which was so soft on my skin. I have dry skin and this made my skin feel so moisturised and not sore. Usually I'm sore after a shower as the soap makes me itch and just goes so red, this didn't do anything like that. In fact my dead skin areas were looking like id exfoliated but not raw looking. Also my creams absorbed quicker plus it felt enjoyable. The whole evening routine i felt envigorated and just relaxed. So i will be buying another chunk of this soap as my Rockstar soap has run out.

Hand cream : Sympathy for the skin

We've packed this lotion with bananas, cocoa butter and vanilla to nourish and soften skin. Fresh bananas added to a loose emulsion of vanilla, cocoa butter and almond oil. Helps the skin easily absorb the vitamin, mineral-rich bananas. 

So this lotion for my hands is not lasting long as i must overuse this lotion. My skin and nails are so nourished and soft that I'm addicted. I love vanilla and banana so this pot will be gone by next week and i will mourn its passing, till my next order arrives. I highly recommend this lotion for anyone. 

Red fun

Ideal for children (of all ages) Red Fun. A 4-in-1 product, this gentle product can be used as a solid shampoo, bubble bar, soap, or even to play with. One of five colours. It contains orange oil and mandarin oil to add sunshine to your mood.

This is one of 5 colours in the Fun bar range, each having a certain mood to cater too if your an adult. This is a perfect family product as its natural and your not rummaging through numerous bottles, to find the child friendly products. So the children can be given a pick of a colour (Id recommend that you pre cut this for your bathroom, again cling film so each child can pick a colour) unwrap there own soap and have some play time. Then wash with the soap as they play, this is perfect for children. Plus adults whom have a little child at heart. 

What are your favourite lush products ?

New releases - Playboy

Now this is a brand where you just see the bunny, to know the name of the company. With a new set of high quality products, in my opinion. Playboy has really come into contend with the beauty community.

They say ; 

The Playboy brand has been synonymous with sensual glamour. Now one of the most highly recognized logos in the world, the cheeky bow tied bunny can be found on a new range of high quality colour cosmetics. It is that playful glamour that has been encapsulated into the new Playboy Make Up collection.

So the rundown of the products for your face. "Blushing Bunny" is multi tonal Blush/Bronzer. With the mixture of bronze, tans and vibrant pink within the bronzing pan. The rich warm hues of this matte powder will add a subtle glow to your face. In saying that, its very pigmented and i would use this more as a bronzer then a blush. The darker shade is very pigmented so just be aware when swirling your brush. 

The compacts have a leopard print design into which the infamous Playboy Bunny logo is embossed. The compacts contain a large mirror and a brush. Its also a secure compact and wont click open within your bag. I would say this type of blush is more of a bronze with a rose gold undertone to it stunning.

 I've used this for a while now, plus use a small angled brush. I love this blush bunny compact as it's so pigmented and just lovely. It's finely milled and a must have. 

Lipstick

I was kindly sent 2 lipsticks. Amazing packaging being that of a lustrious, alluring red with black writing. The shades I have are below and for a brand relaunch into makeup. Playboy really stepped there game up.

So as above you can see above, the red packaging with the bunny logo all over. 

Also on the bullet on the tube says "Playboy"in a way it's like a signature. 

I love centrefold pink, it's a vibrant and hydrating lipstick. Gives a beautiful even coverage on application. It's a really beautiful addition to anyone's makeup collection. 

Bunny girl is a vibrant vivid red. I was amazed how pigmented this lipstick is. Plus reds have a habit of not being so kind to wear. I didn't see any feathering or bleeding. Just a beautiful lipstick. 

Nail polish 

Is not usually my forte as I don't wear much. Il do the odd coat, as I do have shakey hands. 

Again vibrant pink with an extra bottle of polish sparkle. So application I must say was flawless. I only needed one coat and the above picture is the one layer. It goes on really smooth plus so vibrant and well pink. The pink is beautiful shade I would use. As for the sparkles will give you some bling for the weekend.

So the new releases I've not had the pleasure to review as yet, are below. Im looking into finding a supplier, so you can purchase if you like the cosmetics. Plus i myself wish to purchase some more facial items to try.

Introduction to the New Eye products from Playboy

Eyes 

Liquid Eyeliner & Mascara Kitten Eyes is a fabulously flirty, Liquid Eye Liner by Playboy Make Up. Kitten Eyes comes in a sleek black pot, the long wand and thin brush enables precision and perfection during application. Kitten Eyes has a wet look, jet black finish. 

Sleek Lashes

Sleek Lashes has lengthening, qualities ensuring your lashes appear longer. 

Playful Lashes

Playful Lashes volumizing to spread your lashes, too create fabulous 3D effect lashes.