NEW LAUNCH: THE CULT BEAUTY STARTER KIT

Whilst browsing Cult Beauty for the new launches I came across the Cult Beauty Starter Kit and honestly, it is quite the find!  If you love beauty, are doing your Christmas shopping or want to treat yourself, then this will be the best £30 you have spent in some time.

Described by Cult Beauty as 'Uniting six ‘Holy Grail’ heroes from NARS to The Ordinary, the Cult Beauty Starter Kit’s certain to trigger a beauty best friendship' inside the box you will find the following:

The Ordinary’s Squalane Cleanser (50ml) - The is an incredible cleanser and one of my favourites from The Ordinary range.  Said to have been carefully formulated for all skin types, this clever potion dissolves makeup and the day’s dirt while simultaneously moisturising with a combination of squalane and other lipophilic esters.

Pixi’s Retinol Tonic (100ml) -  A derivative of vitamin A, retinol promotes skin renewal, brightens skin tone, reduces acne and boosts collagen production.  This zero-to-low irritation tonic will soften fine lines and revitalise skin without any of the irritation commonly caused by retinol use.

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask (30ml) - This has been on my 'want list' for some time because just love the sound of it. With watermelon extract being the main ingredient, something which is acclaimed by Korean beauty buffs for its ability to soothe irritated and inflamed skin with luscious, skin-restoring vitamins, antioxidants and amino acids. In the process, this sleeping mask helps to retexturise the skin that’s lost its glow-jo so you wake up looking luminous.

NARS’ The Multiple (4g) in shade ‘Orgasm’.  Said to suits every skin tone The Multiple can be applied all over the face, used as a highlighter on high points of the face and used to enhance eyes and lips as well as cheeks. The formula is enriched with vitamin E and açaí oil to deliver antioxidant benefits and protect the skin.

Charlotte Tilbury ‘Pillow Talk’ (1g) - A lipstick that possibly needs no introduction, Pillow Talk which is a light mauve pink shade and as a latecomer to fangirl over it, for me, it is that perfect everyday shade.

Huda’s incredible Topaz Obsessions (10g) – This is one beautiful palette and it features nine shades of which four are vibrant duo-chrome shimmers and five are creamy mattes and in all honesty, there isn't a single shadow I dislike on here. 

For £30 I cannot believe what an absolute bargain this Starter Kit is. It includes so many amazing brands and with an overall value of more than £100, I would be grabbing it quick (here).

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Top 10 Gin Advent Calendars 2019

If you know me personally, then you will know that my alcoholic drink of choice is Gin. For many years I have loved trying out different Gin brands and over the last two years has Gin become a bit of a fashionable drink that everyone wants to try. You have Pink Gin, Colour-Changing Gin, Purple Gin, Orange Gin, Elderflower Gin and Rhubarb Gin to name just a few of the ones in my cupboard!  

Only a few days ago I posted my Beauty Advent Calendar Post which has been a really popular read but alongside beauty, you can get many other different types of Advent Calendar and within the adult option we have GIN! Hurrah.

Drinks By The Dram's Gin Advent Calendar (£124.95) - This Calendar features 24 wax-sealed gins which are hidden behind 24 doors. 

Inside you will find the likes of Roku Gin, St. George Terroir Gin and Salcombe Gin.

Costco Gin Advent Calendar (£59.89) - Featuring 24 bottles on 5cl Gin this calendar features some well-known brands.

Brands such as Edinburgh Gin, Beefeater and Greenalls but there is also an inclusion of some rather different sounding gins such as Sipsmith Lemon Drizzle Gin.

GinKiosk (£124.95) - Gin Foundry’s Ginvent advent calendar features 24 hand-selected gins.

Inside you will find a whole host of Gin brands which include Stanger & Sons, Brindle Distillery and Tappers to name just a few and it is available right now.

Halewood Wines & Spirits (£42) - The 12 Gin Advent Calendar features 12 handcrafted, or organic, or flavoured gins inside a really amazing value for money calendar.

Each gin serves as a double measure 50ml, contains gins from Whitley Neill, JJ Whitley and Liverpool Distillery.  On sale right now.

That Boutique-y gin company (£49.95) - Behind each of the 24 windows, you'll find a different 30ml wax-sealed dram of stupendous gin from the world's first independent gin bottler, including some of the best distillers around the globe.

First4Hampers Plain Gin Advent Calendar (£124) - With every Gin suitable for both Vegetarians and Vegans, this cracker has 24 doors to be opened. 

Behind each door you'll find a different miniature bottle of gin and not just any Gin, here you will find carefully selected Gin that is not available anywhere else, meaning you might find your new favourite. Available now from First4Hampers.

Virgin Wines (£99) - This is Virgins first ever Gin Advent Calendar and it comes with 24 different bottles of premium craft gin, in a variety of styles such as Old Tom, London Dry and various flavours. 

Indulge in delights such as the Japanese inspired Kokoro Gin or and the award-winning Silent Pool Gin. 

B&M Gin and Tonic Advent Calendar (£34.99) - Incredibly popular last year, this year the advent calendar is said to be better than ever.

inside it includes popular gin brands such as Bombay Sapphire, Gordon's and Tanqueray to name a few and each bottle is 50ml.

First4Hampers Gin Advent Clock (£79.99) - This one is rather funky and it takes on the shape of a clock. It is funk, quirky and even refillable so you can use it all year round for the miniature gin bottles that you accumulate.  

Featuring 12 gins from brands such as Tanquery, Jawbox and Edinburgh Gin to name just a few.

Gin & Tonic Advent (£95) - From John Lewis, we have the Gin & Tonic Advent Calendar which has 25 doors to be opened.

This calendar is described as including a 70cl on-trend pink gin (40% ABV) by The English Drinks Company. It features one Gin and 24 tonics to pair it with and I really like the concept and the mixture of drinks available. It is on sale right now.

Ten Gin Advent Calendars

Ten Gin Advent Calendars, all totally different in style and something for all budgets.  If like me, you like a good Gin & Tonic as a tipple, then there should hopefully be something right here to tempt you!

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Gym For Your Skin Introduction and Product Review

I love it when I come across a new brand that I really like from the first use of products, more so when I have never come across them before and I do so by chance.  Gym For Your Skin (GFYS) is one of those brands and I was lucky enough to meet Helen, the brands Managing Director, who gave me a full rundown of the brand, its meaning, the ethos, the products and of course I got to ask a million and one questions.

Gym For Your Skin has a total of 8 products split into four categories - Cleansers, Moisturisers, Vitamin Serums and AHA/Exfoliating Serums.  I have two products to share with you that I have been using which are the Warm Up Conditioning Cream Cleanser and the B-Hit Vitamin B Booster Serum.

I love a good cleanser and am a huge of double cleansing, something you will see me harp on about a lot throughout my blog posts.  I live and work in London and there are days when you can just feel how grim and dirty your skin is, to the point that a cotton wool pad turns a murky grey shade in one wipe!  From GFYS, the Warm-Up Conditioning Cream Cleanser (£22) is described as being a 4-in-1 cleanser which is broken down to mean it is like a creamy wash-off cleanser, make-up remover, moisturiser and a face wash all in one.

Made from the finest clinically and naturally active ingredients sourced from around the world, this cleanser is absolutely lovely to use and it is so incredibly creamy. Packaged in a pump-action bottle, you only need one or at a push two pumps of this cleanser, it does have a fairly thick texture but on the skin it feels just so silky smooth, almost like using a moisturising cream.  It uses what GFYS refers to as the power 7 as ingredients and they are:

• VITAMINS A B C E - Powering recovery
• MINERALS (ZINC OXIDE) - Powering defence
• LACTIC,MALIC, SALICYLIC - Powering renewal.
• ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS /LIPIDS RICH IN OMEGAS 3 6 9 - Blend of apricot kernel seed, cranberry seed, starflower, safflower, squalene, wheatgerm oils + ceramides) for Powering condition 
• GYCLERINE + COCONUT WATER - Powering vitality
• CO-ENZYME Q10 + GLUTATHIONE - Powering energy
• GREEN TEA + RESVERATROL - Powering protection

Perfect for using in a morning or an evening, you apply the cleanser to your face as though it is a moisturising cream (dry skin) and then wet your face with water and massage onto and into the skin, at this stage it emulsifies and it smells just beautiful too, no overpowering chemical scent and no irritation.  After using my skin feels just incredible, it is soft, it is smooth and it feels clean.  For an extra treat, I lather my face with the cleanser and then apply a hot cloth over my face to let the steam work its magic!  As you can tell, this cleanser has made quite the impression!

The second product is the B-Hit Vitamin B Booster Serum (£37) and the description reads - Add B for Brilliance. Add vitamin B-Hit booster either because you want to 'getaway' from dryness, irritation, sensitivity, reactive skin and blotchiness. Or choose it to kick-start a lifetime of your best stunningly healthy luminous skin.

Helen insists that every skin needs a dose of Vitamin B daily because it is an amazingly effective and essential daily source of skin energy, boosts skin's immunity, reduces pigmentation and creates a brilliantly strong foundation for healthy skin. It builds the skins lipid barrier and creates stunningly dewy skin.  It is also said to be great for those with acne and Rosacea as it helps to calm the skin and reduce any excess oil which in turn helps to reduce the likelihood of blemishes.

B-Hit is THE great hidden skin strengthener, radiance booster and supplement for when you feel your moisturiser just can't cut it or if your skin feels flat and isn't in its best condition.

Again, this serum is also powered with by the 7 ingredients above and what I love about using this serum is firstly how refreshing it feels on the skin when applied and the scent is again just beautiful and really uplifting with a natural fragrance rather than one which is manufactured.  On the skin, it absorbs on contact and again with its pump dispenser, one pump is more than enough for the face and neck.  It can be applied in the morning and/or evening depending on what your preference is within your routine.  For me, it is a morning product.

All of the products from Gym For Your Skin can be used to create a routine, each one tells you in which order they need to be applied, so if skincare isn't something that you have got your head around, GFYS is actually really useful .  The team at GFYS also offer face-to-face video chats or you can chat with them via Facebook, Instagram, or on Email. During this chat, you can talk about your skincare issues, ask questions that bamboozle you and ask for advice on which products are best for you and your skin - a unique way of getting to know a brand as well as being given some guidance.

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.