bagsy - Meet your handbag's new best friends!

Today I am introducing bagsy to you, a new beauty collection of multi-tasking must-haves for the handbag. If you are anything like me then the make-up bag you carry around is probably full to the point of seam ripping because you need and want so many products with you on the go. Well bagsy is a British born collection of easy to use beauty essentials which let you be prepared for any event with their new collection.

The one thing that stands out to me with bagsy is the packaging, yes really. I was lucky enough to to go a preview event to see the collection for myself and it is stunning. Someone has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into making these items look aesthetically delightful, making you want them before you even know what it is. Created by a team of people who have for years worked alongside some of the worlds biggest brands, they have come together to launch their own collection, using their expert knowledge of formulas, shapes, shades, colours and popular selling products and this is what they have:

Wonder Wand - I absolutely loved this product from the first swatch. It is one pencil which doubles up to be a highlighting and concealing crayon (how clever is that!). This little 2-in-1 product is great for highlighting and concealing on the go, so whether it is blemishes or undereye circles - voila, toodle pip Wonder Wand has it dealt with. (£18).

Pretty Cheeks - The little blush is dome shaped and has a formula that looks like a cream, feels like a cream but it isn't a cream, it acts like a powder. The dome shape allows you to use it on those cheeks bones and then effortlessly blend it in, using your fingers or a brush with no effort at all. It is available in two shades - Velvet Rose and Velvet Coral and even I loved the look of Coral on my swatch. (£16)

Ray on Sunshine - This matte-finish bronzer is delightful. The packaging is slim rather than bulky and it has a mirror. It is engraved with "Sunshine is my favourite accessory" to make it even more amazing and it is sold in two shades - Light medium and Medium Dark which sounds a tad daunting, but the light medium works really well with my skin tone because again it is an effortless blender. (£18)

There are three types of lip products which are called Lip Velvet, Wow Lips and Lip Cocoon and all three are again items I feel like I need in my life.

Lip Velvet is a matte liquid lipstick which is lightweight, soft, hydrating and amazingly pigmented. Once applied it lasts for a good 4-5 hours before you need to re-apply it but as it does fade, it leave behind a lovely tint on the lips, which can be brightened with a bit of clear gloss. 

It is available in four different shades - No Frills, Spilling Plates, Rush Hour and Living the Dream. What I love about these is the packaging, some people on Instagram have compared them to the Opaque Rogue sticks from Hourglass, but you can judge for yourself what you think. The shade swatched below is Spilling Plates (£12)

Lip Cocoon - This is another product I loved as soon as I saw it. It is a lip balm but not just any lip balm, it is one of the prettiest designed lip balms I have come across. 

Available in Lemon and Raspberry, they are scented and smell like fresh Lemons and Raspberries and give a very subtle hint of colour. They glide onto the lips and are super hydrating. (£7)

Wow Lips is a chubby stick, something most people love, have and use. There are four different shades available - Killer Heels, Happy Days, Ready to Wear and Cocktail Hour and they are not only glossy but also again very pigmented. (£12)

The final piece of make-up is for the eyes and is called Beautiful Eyes. This lightweight eyeshader is easily blended and the feathery texture stays put throughout the day no matter what’s thrown at you. Available in Pearly Bird, Caffeine Fix, The Big Smoke and Take The Plunge.  The shade swatched below is Caffeine Switch.

Hair Wonder - (£5.00) An instant refresh for hair, this subtly scented dry shampoo mist volumises roots and absorbs oil with a blend of rice and tapioca. It smells absolutely amazing and in my view, you can never ever have too much dry shampoo at home because you never know when you might need it!

Heavenly Hands - (£6.00) Made with a blend of natural essential minerals of zinc, magnesium, iron and silicon, this soft-whipped cream leaves hands silky soft but never greasy.  Again, this is another definite handbag must for me and the cream for this is divine.

Make Up Bag - (£15.00) For all your bagsy treats, this amazing Flamingo designed pouch is roomy, it looks amazing, it is very cute and it looks amazing in any handbag.

So there you have it, bagsy!  A range which is beautifully packaged and one that has excited me enough to want to know what they have planned next!

The bagsy collection is launching on Monday 15th June on Feelunique.

What are your impressions of bagsy?

Bourjois SS15 New Launches

So last week I was really lucky to be invited the swanky penthouse of the beautiful Edison Hotel in Central London to take a peek at the brand new Spring/Summer launches from Bourjois.

The new releases feature products for your brows, lips, nails, eyes and face - so everything is pretty much covered and there is definitely something for everyone.

As soon as I entered the room, my eyes were immediately drawn to the La Laque nail enamels RRP £6.49. What stands out is the unique shaped bottles which have been streamlined to give them that sleek, modern look. Available in 12 shades, the formula is concentrated in pure, saturated pigments to give full coverage and shine from the very first coat. The accompanying brush covers the nail in one stroke with absolute precision and with a no-drip stem, it means less mistakes and the right amount of enamel. These polishes launch in May this year.

Staying with the nails theme, the Magic Nails Care pot RRP £5.99 is an innovate treatment which provides a new way of looking after your nails. The jojoba oil-based formula intensely nourishes your nails and cuticles meaning your nails grow stronger and your cuticles more supple. The magic sponge inside the pot is designed with an innovative sponge which massages the nail. These are exclusive to Beauty Mart now and available nationwide in April.

Next we have the Rouge Edition Aqua Laque Lipsticks RRP £8.99 which as you know have already hit the shelves. The first thing I love about these is that they are incredibly moisturising, add to that the formula is really light when applied and finally the application itself is so so smooth, the wand just glides across the lips. These lipsticks are available in 8 shades which range from a punchy nude shade, through to a Rose shade and then on through the reds and then to the pinks.

Brows are something I am just getting into you. That is because mine are almost at the point where I can do something with them and maybe get a bit of shape, once I pluck up the courage. You see, a few years ago, a department store brow bar got a tad thread happy and I almost ended up with no brows, so it has taken a long time for me to get them to this point. That aside, Bourjois has an amazing launch of products to be released in the form of a pen, pencil and mascara not forgetting the Illuminating pencil!

The Brow Natural eyebrow felt tip pen RRP £6.99 is equipped with a discreet, semi-transparent formula which allows for you to to much more subtle in reshaping your eyebrows. The precise tip makes it really easy for you to sweep along your brows, it is smudge free and promises to last for 16 hours! What I love about these is the actual felt tip, whether you need small subtle strokes or much thicker lines, the choice is really yours. The felt tips come in three shades - Blond, Chatain and Brun which translates to light blond, light brown and dark brown.

Next is the Sourcil Precision brow pencil RRP £4.99. This is more of a traditional brow product that is designed to fill in the brows using its soft tip and with a handy built-in brush, in one stroke your eyebrows will be neat, reshaped and intensified. This pencil is available in 6 shades - Noir Ebene, Chatain, Blonde Fonce, Blond Clair, Noisette and Brun Brunette. 

Brow mascaras are a new product to me but I have in recent weeks noticed them being mentioned across Twitter. They are designed to give the brows a quick tidy up with minimal effort. The Brow design brow Mascara RRP £7.99 uses a tinting an setting formula to style your brows, using a soft bristled brush, you can tidy up and fill in your brows in an instant. There are 4 shades to choose from which are - Blond, Chatain and Brun plus for those who just want something plain, a transparent formula.

To product that caught my attention from the brow range is the Brow Beauty touch eye illuminating pencil RRP £6.99. Using a stroke of this pencil underneath each brow arch to emphasise your look using the illuminating formula. The one thing I like about this pencil was the non-greasy creamy texture which glides onto the skin and blends with no effort, making your eyes look brighter and more open. Available in one shade - Slightly Pearly.

The Nude Sensation Foundation RRP £9.99 features this incredible light whipped mousse effect, it is so feather light on the skin that it feels as though you are wearing nothing. Said to smooth out your complexion and blemishes rather than camouflage them, there are 4 shades to choose from - Nude Clair, Nude Rose, Nude Dore and Nude Ensoleille. 

As you can see from the swatch, once it has been blended, you can just see the colour on the skin.

These are available nationwide from May but have been exclusively launched to www.feelunique.com now.

So there you have it, this is what Bourjois has to offer for SS15 - have you seen anything you like the look/sound of?

Boots No.7 Match Made Lipstick Service

I finally got my act together and went into a local Boots store to try out their matching service and the No.7 girl was so lovely she offered to do both foundation and lipstick - winning!  The match made service is totally free and the little device which is no bigger than the average television remote control, reads your skin precisely to decipher which shade of foundation, concealer and lipstick will suit your skin tone. 

So I sat down behind the counter and was asked if I was wearing any make-up, which as I was, it was removed for me and then the gadget was placed on my cheek and she did it on both sides of my face to ensure she got the right reading, both sides registered my perfect shades and before showing me the machine, off the lady went to collect the foundation to try on my skin and then gave me a card which listed all of the lipsticks I should try.  

My skin shade was matched to Cool Vanilla which gave me a huge amount of option with regards to lipstick, so I had a good time swatching them.  As you can see below there is a choice of 10 different lipsticks from the Moisture Drench side and 7 for Stay Perfect - all of which I swatched except Rose Mist as it wasn't in stock.

As I couldn't decide which shade I liked more than any others, the lady who was testing the products on me offered to make the choice with her colleague, which sounded interesting, so having agreed they went off and spent 2-3 minutes deciding which one they thought would look best and picked one for me. I wasn't allowed to see it until it had been applied and once I did see it, I knew I was going to be buying it. 

 The shade I was given is Spring Pink which is a No.7 Moisture Drench Lipstick designed to keep your lips smooth and soft. Hypo-allergenic, Fragrance free, SPF15.

As for the foundation, the shade I was matched too is a Stay Perfect Superlight foundation in shade Cool Vanilla which I have to admit is brilliant, I absolutely love it. Described as being a new innovation in life-proof, light weight foundation. It gives a naturally flawless look which stays perfect for up to 24 hours. It has an SPF 15 and is hypo-allergenic too.

The best part of the whole experience is that there was also a 3 for 2 offer on at the time, so I needed to select a free product and this is what I chose.

Overall, I am really happy with the service and wouldn't hesitate to try something like this again.  There will be pictures of both the foundation and lipstick in a future post as well as the highlighter.

 Have you tried it?