November Birchbox Cosy at Home

Novembers Birchbox** has arrived and oh my it is a good one!  Cosy at Home November 2014 is about nights in, wrapping up and staying warm at home.  With that in mind, the amazing team behind Birchbox have put together an edit of products which have been specially chosen for a pamper night in!

 

This month there are five different products to try, one of which is full sized and one I cannot wait to try.

Dr Jart+ is a brand most people will associate with BB cream, I know I do and that is where my experience starts and ends.  In this months box there is this Water-Act Skin Mist which is designed to boost skin's internal moisture levels with an anti-oxident infused facial spritz.  You use it after cleansing by gently spritzing your face from a distance of 20-30cm with your eyes closed.  This has an RRP £18.

Weleda Pomegranate Creamy Body Wash follows and this is a 20ml sample and it smells absolutely amazing.  Said to be a nutrient loaded moisturising in-shower wash which is infused with sandalwood, davana and neroli.

Lipglam Natural Lanolin Lip Balm is next and this is a fats actin balm that delivers moisture for up to 8 hours - ooh watch out Elizabeth Arden!! It uses 100% natural ingredients and when on the lips it is so soft and smooth you don't know it is there and it makes a greast base before applying your lipstick!

Beauty Protector Protect & Treat Hair Mask comes in these two cute little  tubs and is designed tog rejuvenate and protect your hair.  It combines argan oil, honey, amber and crush pearls (wow) and is designed to be used after shampooing by simply applying it to the ends of your hair, leave on for 5-10 minutes if you have oily hair and up to 20 if you have dry hair.  I am definitely looking forward to trying this, it smells divine and is a lovely pastel pink colour.  

Lord and Berry Mini Bronzer is the last item in the box and in shade Sunny it looks like this, almost like an eye shadow for a palette. Said to be super fine and matte, this bronzer helps to create a healthly glow for a burst of radiance.

If all of that wasn't enough, there is one little treat in the box by way of chocolate - yippee and it is a Montezuma Mini bar, an indulgent treat of creamy milk chocolate made from the finest organic cocoa beans and it tastes absolutely amazing!

So that is October's Birchbox, isn't it fantastic?  Did you get your Birchbox this month?

Airmotion Hairbrush

Airmotion is a new, multi-use hairbrush which has been developed by experts who have over 27 years experience within the hair industry, these experts understand those contributing factors which lead to daily stress and strain on your hair.  Specifically designed to reduce daily ear and tear on your hair, Airmotion uses superlite materials to glide along the contours of your head.

The man behind Airmotion, Grange Snell said:

"As a professionally trained hairstylist by trade, I wanted to invent and design a brush which incorporated revolutionary design, high-quality materials with outstanding performance: the result is a precision engineered multi-use hairbrush"

I was kindly sent the Airmotion to try, I am one of those people who has dozens of hairbrushes but can never locate them, so I was looking forward to trying the brush. Mine is a lovely black and white coloured brush and there was a helpful little factsheet to tell me more about it, for example:

The brush is made up of unique Tri-bristle technology which combines 3 different lengths and diameters of bristle, which in turn provide the ultimate penetration for any hair type.  This means no hair is left untouched and as it glides through your hair, it leaves it smooth, detangled and stress free. 

The tri-bristle formation is said to actually help smooth and straighten hair, helping to remove frizz while you brush to leave your hair soft and glossy.

The brush is said to be perfectly balanced in shape and size with an ergnomically friendly handle to make Airmotion suitable for even the smallest of hands and it won't slip out of your hand if you use it with wet hands or even in the shower!  It can be used by people who are left or right handed.

When I first started using this brush, I was surprised at how lightweight it is in my hands. Most of the brushes I own have a fair bit of weight in them, with this, you hardly know it is there.  My hair is never knotty and tangled, but I do sometimes suffer from frizz and static, so using this hairbrush, whilst you can feel it running through your hair, there isn't that dragging sensation, where you can feel your hair being pulled from the root, especially after it has just been dried. I have also noticed that there are less hairs in the brush after using and a lot less static, which means I don't have to run for the serum constantly - another massive bonus.

The AirMotion Pro Hairbrush retails at £11.95, which I think is such a good price for a product that is such good quality, gentle on my hair and one which actually feels like it is brushing all of my hair and not just the hair that the brush can get too, by that I mean right to the scalp without scratching it. 

Oh and can I mention how fab the black and white monochrome colouring of the brush is!

Have you tried the AirMotion Pro Hairbrush?

There is currently an amazing 20% offer off the final price, simply quote AIRMOTION20 at the checkout

Flamingo Candles Lemon and Lime Mojito

Flamingo candles is a brand I have seen on many blogs, so when I got the chance to try out my own candle, I was every bit as excited because I am candle obsessed, even as I sit and type this, my Flamingo candle is burning away. If you haven't heard of the brand, Flamingo Candles are handmade candles which use soybeans and natural cotton wicks, they contain no no petroleum, paraffin or beeswax products and more information about the brand can be found HERE.

The candle I was kindly sent is Lemon and Lime Mojito and it smells exactly as the name would suggest and is described as follows:

"Fruity and exotic Lemon & Lime Mojito is a fruity aroma incorporating notes of freshly squeezed juicy lemons combined with notes of warm orchids, infused with fresh lime with added notes of cool aldehydes, mandarin and grapefruit".

Once the lid has been removed there is a sudden citrusy scent which captures your senses and once alight, that scent is magnified and quickly spreads throughout the entire house. I am a huge fan of candles which have a big scent and this one is definitely one of those, it is fresh, zesty and is perfect for those Sunday afternoons once everything has been cleaned, scrubbed and polish to sit back and relax too with a cuppa whilst browsing blogs or reading the paper. 

Flamingo Candles' Classic Jar Candles cost just £12 each and you can find them on the Flamingo Candle website, Amazon and Asos to name a few. They also offer upto 50 hours of burning time which I think is really impressive for a candle of this size. Next on my list of Flamingo Candles to try is
Oriental Lotus & Rose Otto Scent Melt and the Coconut Lemongrass Scent Melt to see if they are as good or better than similar products out there!

Have you tried anything from Flamingo Candles? Do you have a favourite scent?

Bourjois #24HRPartyReady Event

A week or so ago, I got to attend the Bourjois 24hr Party Ready Event which was put together to show us some of their new releases in time for Christmas, along with Bourjois, GHD were going to be joining them to introduce us to some of their new tools - this excited me quite alot. Before the event, I got to meet up with Jenni, Danielle, Louise and Louise's friend Chelsey in Leicester Square for a quick drink before we made our way to the event which was being held at the St Martin Lane Hotel which is stunning inside and is the kind of hotel that makes me want to see what the rooms are like because the foyer is so amazing!

Once we located the room we were to go too, the first thing I was greeted with was a choice of cocktail (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and then given an introduction as to what I could expect to see in the room as well as tasting one or two lovely canapes!

The first I went too was the GHD section, there wasn't much of a queue and I was introduced to the lovely Chris who talked me through some of the appliances I could see in front of me (it was so hard not to fill my handbag when he wasn't looking) and then asked which one I would like to try, so for a change, I opted for curly hair - all of this will come in a post on its own, for the meantime it is back to Bourjois!

The one product that stood out to me was the eye shadow palettes which are absolutely stunning, especially when you can see them all lined up next to one another

Thankfully we had some lovely ladies from Bourjois on hand to show us these Smoky Stories Quads, how to use them and how to get the best out of them. I have to admit that I absolutely loved them all, they are just stunning and can be used as a palette on their own or you can mix and match which to me is brilliant. There are different 8 shades to choose from and each palette has 3 different shades and a top coat shadow with highly concentrated glitter. however what is more amazing is that the lovely cream-powder texture has an integrated base shadow primer so you don't have to use anything else with them to keep them lasting all night.  When asked if i had a favourite palette, I had to admit I couldn't choose one from another, they are all amazing, especially the rose gold one!

Next up came the new releases of the Rouge Edition Velvet lipsticks which look something like this

Rouge Edition Velvet has a new shade which is Shade 09 Happy New Year and I have to say is pretty stunning and such a lovely shade to wear. It is matte, lightweight finish and makes your lips feel really moisturised. Unlike other products I have tried, the velvet feel with these products is quite natural, it doesn't feel a though you have stuck velvet to your lips, the colour is also quite stubborn, once it is applied there is no moving it until the time comes for you to use your make-up remover to wipe it off. Other shades you will find within this range are 07 Nude-ist and 01 Personnne ne Rouge which is a stunning red shade, very bold and most definitely an all year round shade.

The new shades within the Colour Edition 24h eyeshadow are the products which also sparked my interest, especially as there are two new shades. I already have a few shades from the range, but am glad I have been able to add 07 Flocon d'or which is a frosty white shade. Once applied it gives a really lovely light colour which I use as both a base and as a highlighter and hen there is 08 Marron Givre which is a warm chocolate brown with a little hint of sparkle, perfect for the party season which isn't too far away.

Sticking with eye make-up we have a new mascara and eyeliner too. The Volume 1 Seconde Ultra Black Mascara is said to be blacker than black and captivating. It features a high concentration of high intensity black pigments which give you an enchanting gaze for up to 16 hours! Add to it the Mega Liner in Ultra Black which has a no smudge formula and an angled felt tip applicator to allow you the ability to control the shape and size of your liner, you have the makings of the perfect night out make-up.

The final products are the 2 new shades within the One Seconde Nail Polish range. We have 44 Grey to meet you - a stunning gun metal grey which has a great shine to it and 45 Glitterizer which is a silver glitter packed full of little flecks of sparkle to add over your Christmas nails to get you in that festive mood, or just because you can and want too!. Also making an appearance was 11 Rouge in Style, whilst red isn't my favorite nail colour, this is a shade which is perfect for for Christmas time. These polishes are great, the "fan effect" brush which makes applying polish a breeze, perfectly fanning out and covering the nail bed in one single stroke.

Thank you for having me Bourjois, I had an absolutely fantastic night, and the goodies I received are out of this world and I am still enjoying playing with them, but here is a sneak peak as to what you can expect to find in future posts.

What do you think to these new releases? Is there anything which has really caught your eye?