The Body Shop Bloggers Event - Baked to Last

As you may already know, The Body Shop held a blogger's event at The Westbury last Friday.

It was an opportunity to show us some new products, explain and demonstrate how they work and talk a bit about the latest Body Shop campaign.

As always, the venue (the penthouse suite on the rooftop, very swanky!) looked fabulous and it was lovely to be greeted with champagne, mini sandwich's and sweet treats, yummy!

During the presentation, we were introduced to the new haircare range, specially formulated to be environmentally friendly. I'm most keen about trying the new hair butters, I'm hoping it will sort out the frazzled mess that is my hair at the moment!

We were then shown the new Baked to Last collection - powders that are available as eyeshadows, blushers and bronzers. Each product is slow baked for 24 hours on terracotta discs to ensure intense colour, rich coverage and long lasting staying power. I've already fallen in love with one of the bronzers which gives a beautiful glow to the skin so I'll swatch and review the range shortly.

The Vitamin C line (which I've used in the past and loved) has been revamped. Formulated to give radiance to your skin, the products in this range promise to give your skin a glow. The Skin Radiance Powder Mix particularly appeals to me; a 10 day treatment that gives your skin an intense boost of Vitamin C.

Another new introduction to The Body Shop range were the Delipcious Lip Sheers (available in 9 shades) and the Tinted Lip Balms (available in 4 shades), perfect products for this summer that deliver a natural, sheer colour to the lips whilst also giving a moisture boost.

To finish off, celebrity makeup artist Chase Aston was on hand again to demonstrate the new baked products and lip balms...

Finally, a spokesperson from EPCAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children) gave us an update on The Body Shop's latest campaign, which aims to bring awareness to human trafficking and fight against it.

The Body Shop will be raising funds for intervention and support to those who are victims of this crime through their sales of their Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream. £2.36 from each tube sold will be donated to ECPAT.

A petition has also been launched calling upon governments to give children greater protection against trafficking by ensuring every child in the UK is provided with a guardian to look after them. If you want to help take action, you are able to sign the petition in-store or online at www.thebodyshop.com/stop.

Overall, I had a lovely afternoon chatting to The Body Shop girls and Chase, who assured me that the eyeshadows didn't need a primer underneath (I'll be putting this to the test soon, very impressive if it's true!)

Yet another lovely event, thanks to everybody who put the afternoon together.

Reviews and swatched to follow shortly!

Benefit Crescent Row Fragrances - The Second Story

Soon to hit Benefit stores are 3 new Crescent Row fragrances. You may recall the original girls of Benefit's Crescent Row…

Laugh With Me Lee Lee
My Place or Yours Gina
Something About Sofia

Like the first three fragrances, the newest editions have also been given their own persona and poem. Crescent Row's Second Story introduces:

Garden of Good & Eva

Lookin' to Rock Rita

So Hooked on Carmella

I found the packaging absolutely charming and delightful. Each box resembles a little apartment...

The box opens to reveal a bottle of eau de toilette inside...

So Hooked on Carmella
This is a sweet and delicious scent, it reminds me of Cream Soda and caramel with lingering lemon - yum!

Top notes: lemon, grapefruit, rhubarb
Middle notes: cyclamen, peony, tiare flower
Bottom notes: vanilla, sandalwood, amber

Garden of Good & Eva

My favourite scent of the three, I have no idea how to describe this but it's truly lovely!

Top notes: pear, watermelon, ozone acords, muguet

Middle notes: rosebud, jasmine petals, green violet leaves, freesia

Bottom notes: sandalwood, musk, cedarwood

Lookin' to Rock Rita

A summery and floral fragrance, this leaves a lingering smell of spice and freshness.

Top notes: lemon, coconut, freesia

Middle notes: juicy fig, hyacinth, violet

Bottom notes: sandalwood, Brazilian rosewood, vanilla

It's always difficult to describe fragrances so the only advice I can give is to head to a Benefit counter and have a sniff of these gorgeous fragrances yourself. I'm sure you'll love them and find your own favourite!

Benefit's Crescent Row fragrance are priced at £29.50 for 30ml and available at Benefit Boutiques and Boots from 30th June 2010

Weekend OOTD

As you all know, it was sweltering this weekend. Here's what I wore in an attempt to keep cool...

Top: Topshop

Skirt: New Look

Sandals: Local Boutique

Bag: Peacocks

Watch: Sekonda

Bangle: Primark

I bought these sandals from a boutique in my local town. They're a simple flip-flop with added cuff detail. Around the ankle are layers of beads, feathers and fangs(?) Not only do I love how they look, they are super comfy too and haven't given me any blisters like my other new sandals which are evil to wear.

I finished the outift with a cheap and cheerful bangle from Primark...

and a bag from Peacocks...

The Body Shop Blogger's Event: OOTD & FOTD

Hello girlies, hope everyone has had a lovely weekend frolicing in this glorious sunshine! My weekend started early when on Friday I attended The Body Shop Blogger's event at the lovely Westbury Hotel in London. I thought this would be a good opportunity for an OOTD as I hadn't done one in a while. A summary of the day and reviews will follow shortly. For now, here's what I wore...

(Didn't want to include this due to the awful white face from the flash but it shows the jacket!)

Maxi Dress: River Island

Denim Jacket: River Island (bought off eBay)

FOTD:

Face:

Clinique Anti-Blemish Foundation

Benefit Erase Paste

L'Oreal True Match Powder

Lancome Bronzing Palette

Benefit Coralista

Eyes:

The Body Shop Eyeshadow Trio

Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Une Eyeliner

Revlon Fantasy Lashes

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil

Lips:

Rimmel Volume Booster Lipstick in Glam

Accessories:

Sekonda watch

Nails:

Primark (part of the Beauty Babes set)

Bronze & Amber Bracelet:

Primark

Flower Ring:

Boots

Fake or Fair - Zuneta Guest Blogger Post

I was the Guest Beauty Blogger over on Zuneta yesterday. The topic of discussion was fake tan - those who over do it and those who say no to it. Head on over to the post here if you fancy having a read and adding your own thoughts on the subject.

<>

Favourite Lip Combo: Rimmel Glam Lipstick & No. 7 High Shine Lipgloss in Dream

A favourite lip combination of mine involves these two products...

♥

Rimmel Volume Booster Lipstick in Glam

(image from Google)

This looks like a fairly dark shade in the picture, but once applied it's close to my own lip colour, one of those 'my lips but better.' It's a perfect nude for those who don't want to go too nude and want a more natural colour.

This lipstick gives a slight tingle to the lips due to the 'volume-boosting' ingredients. It's creamy to apply and leaves a beautiful satin finish.

I've been searching all over for this lipstick (mine has almost come to an end) and to my horror I can't find any Volume Booster lipsticks in stores, let alone the shade Glam. However, a quick Google search showed these are still available to buy online, phew!

No. 7 High Shine Lipgloss in Dream - £8.75

This is a gorgeous shimmery beige/nude shade that looks great on it's own or paired with a lipstick. I love this gloss as it's not only a lovely colour but it applies smoothly and is not at all sticky, just how I like it.

With light-reflecting pearls, this gives a lustrous shine and makes lips look plump and juicy. Also containing SPF15, Provitamin B5 and Vitamin E, this gloss protects lips whilst also conditioning them.

Here's what the two look like combined...

A soft nude colour suitable for everyday wear. This is my go-to combination, I love it!

What are your favourite lip combinations?

NOTD - 17 Pink Lemonade

Whilst at the till purchasing two of 17's lipsticks this weekend, I was informed there was a 3 for 2 offer on all 17 products, so I grabbed the first product that caught my eye - a nail polish called Pink Lemonade...

Despite the name I don't really see much pink in this colour. The reason I liked the look of it was that it looked like a gorgeous peachy coral.

The first coat was very sheer, so I applied 3 in total to achieve the opaque colour above. I love the formulation of this nail polish, it's glossy and has an almost gel-like finish. For this reason it reminds me of Lancome's Juicy Tubes, only for your nails!

The perfect summer colour, this reminds me of sunsets and cocktails...lovely!

17's Fast Finish Nail Polishes are priced at £3.49 and are available in Boots

I've been very impressed with 17's nail polishes, I think I'll be returning this weekend for more!

Lancome Tropiques Minerale Golden Croisette Bronzing Palette

New from Lancôme this June is the Tropiques Minerale Golden Croisette Bronzing Palette - a limited edition palette that is both beautiful and versatile. The palette contains three shades; a deep bronze, a coral and a pinky mauve. Blended together with a brush, these three light-infused shades contain just the right amount of shimmer to create an instant healthy glow.

Here it is in action...

(It looks a lot more impressive and lovely in real life, I promise!)

I really love this, it's a gorgeous palette to use this summer when you don’t want to be lugging around a multitude of products.

Lancôme's Tropiques Minerale Golden Croisette Bronzing Palette is priced at £33.

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor

If you’re like me and you hair tends to get a little frazzled during the summer months from all the sun, sea and styling, this is the perfect pick-me-up. Aussie’s 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor is an intensive conditioner designed to nourish and treat your hair when it’s looking a bit worse for wear. It smells delicious and leaves hair feeling silky smooth and soft. This is the only product that sorts out my dry split-ends and transforms it into healthy looking hair!

Aussie's 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor is priced at £4.59 and is available at most supermarkets.

Xen Tan Mousse Intense

I’ve been a fan of Xen-Tan’s Deep Bronze Luxe (review here) for quite some time now as it gives a natural golden glow, so I was interested to try the mousse version to see how it compared. Mousses are my preferred formulation for fake tan; they’re easy to use, quick to apply and dry almost instantly. The Xen-Tan Mousse Intense did not disappoint. I used my mitt to apply as I do with all mousses. At only around £3 I find they're the best way to apply mousse self tan and make it an even easier process. It's hard to go wrong if you use one of these!

The first thing I noticed was that the Xen Tan Mousse was creamy and smooth to apply. It glided along my skin easily and blended nicely. It has the same delicious vanilla cupcake smell as the lotions so I was left smelling good enough to eat! It dried within a minute and most importantly, the colour was perfect. Upon application I was left with a subtle hint of a tan, by morning it had developed into a golden tan. As if my magic I looked as though I’d been on holiday for a week!

After trying Xen Tan mousse I've found I much prefer it to St Moriz (review here.) It’s much more creamy to apply and I find it less drying. It has more of a golden/olive undertone rather than a reddish one which I find the St Moriz mousse to be. I noticed this particularly on my hands, the most troublesome part of the body to tan! With the Xen Tan mousse they looked naturally sun-kissed and there were no awkward lines, whereas I have all sorts of trouble St Moriz!

Overall, a fantastic product which I’ll be purchasing in the future.

Xen Tan Mousse Intense has an RRP of £21.95 for 118ml and is available to buy here.

Barielle Summer Nail Polishes

If you’re after some gorgeous colours for your nails this summer, Barielle’s Shades Summer Collection will have you spoilt for choice.

I was sent the 3 shades I thought looked prettiest: Slow Motion - a pastel metallic lilac, Freestyle - a pastel metallic green with silver glitter and Belly Dance - a nude taupe...

♥ Slow Motion

This looks amazing on tanned hands and it's a lovely girly shade for summer. The metallic finish adds a nice edge to the usual lilac variances we’ve seen offered by other brands.

♥ Freestyle

I though this looked pretty in the bottle, and to a certain extent it looked pretty on my nails. However, I’m still not a fan of green nails. I don’t know what it is about them, but I don't think I could never bring myself to wear green nail polish out in public!

♥ Belly Dance

Belly Dance seems to fit somewhere between Eyeko’s Posh Polish and Nails Inc's London. Perfect for both day and night, I love it!

Barielle's nail polishes were easy to apply, streak free and dried within a few minutes. I'll be having a look at the other colours in the range to add to my collection.

Barielle nail polishes are priced at £8.00 for 14.8ml and contain no formaldehyde, toluene or dibutyl-phthalate.

Available to buy here.