L’Occitane Advent Calendar and Gifts

Not too long along I posted about 32, yes THIRTY TWO beauty advent calendars that you could choose from and apart from some of them being absolutely amazing but a tad 'ouchie' on the bank balance, some of them are more affordable and simply fantastic.

This year L’Occitane not only have some amazing Christmas Gifts for men, women, your home and some amazing stocking fillers, they also have their first-ever advent calendar** and most readers will know that I am a huge fan of the brand and I am yet to try a product and not love it. This advent calendar is filled with 17 beauty products and a further 7 Provençal gift treats including a selection of their best-selling products and if you want to know which ones, then you can ruin your surprise here. It costs just £39 which is an absolute bargain.

What I think is fantastic about this calendar is that if you are not too familiar with L'Occitane as a brand, then an advent calendar like this would be a really good introduction, because not only do you get the excitement of opening an advent door everyday for 24 days, but the samples behind each are big enough to give you an insight as to what each product is like and give you the chance to decide whether or not you want to try a full sized version. 

 If like me you already love the brand, then it is the perfect opportunity to stock up on your handbag/desk samples.

Have you stocked up on L'Occitane gifts for Christmas?

5 Biggest Lipstick Putting On Mistakes

Putting lipstick on is not as easy as you might think. In fact, if you wish to wear it long and bright, you need to know a few common mistakes many women do. That might help you out understand how to wear a lipstick right and so – improve your looks radically as well.

1. Forgetting to hydrate

So, one of the firsts mistakes you might do is to forget about the crucial hydrating ritual every time you are planning to apply lipstick. Well hydrated lips will be a lot easier to maintain, and lipsticks will look a lot smoother then applied as well. Moreover, some lipsticks dry out your lips, and it is crucial to hydrate them at least after wearing lipstick too. So a simple lip balsam near your night table is vital to have.

2. Wearing wrong shade

Another big mistake is surely not choosing the right shade of the lipstick. The best way to get the rights shade is to look at your skin complexion, or even to your eye colour. Basic rule would be trying to match your skin undertones with lipstick's. Or do the opposite and match eye colours with the opposite colour of a lipstick. For example, if you have green eyes – purple toned lipsticks will be perfect for you.

3. Not considering your lips shape

You can choose a perfect lipstick colour, but you can still miss the shot if you haven’t thought your lips shape along with that. Rules are simple in this case: dark lipstick makes lips appear thinner while lighter lipsticks can make lips look fuller. So if you were gifted with thin lips stay away from dark shaded lipsticks. And if you are trying to avoid making your lips look even bigger than they are – better pick darker shades nude lipsticks.

4. Not using a lip liner

Lip liners were invented for a reason. And, in fact, there are a few reasons! First, a good lip liner will keep lipstick away from bleeding outside of your lips. Second, if you apply it all over your lipstick – it will last much longer. And finally, you can make your lip game a lot better if you use a slightly darker shade to create more visual interested and fuller lips.

5. Not having a lipstick in your purse

Finally, you are making a big mistake if you leave your home without a lipstick in your purse. First of all, you can’t predict whether or not it will stay in shape during the day. Also, every time you eat or drink something, more and more lipstick removes from your lips. So you are taking a risk of walking with weirdly coloured lips. Just by having one extra lipstick in your purse you will always be ready to fix things up and enjoy being a woman all day long! 

Can you think of any others?

*Guestpost

Win one of FOUR Lili Burton Brush sets!

We are so excited to partner with Lili Burton to bring you a fantastic giveaway!

We asked Lili how she got started and she shared their story with us:

"Over a girly dinner last year in the heart of London, Lili Burton decided to fix a problem facing her female friends and her: where could they find makeup tools that would help them apply makeup like a pro, wouldn't cost an arm and a leg and, yes, they had to look classy to match the rest of the expensive makeup in the bag.

They were frustrated (even in light of the abundant choices available). Lili Burton isn't the type who waits for it to happen. She makes it happen. So she approached a few makeup artists and asked what they valued about their brushes, what frustrated them, what were their clients' objections and desires.

It took a few goes to fine tune the brushes before the final "Oh yes, we love them!"

"Lili Burton is quintessentially British, but with a cosmopolitan twist, just like the birthplace of the brand."

With the help of @FemaleBloggerRT, the ORIGINAL retweet community for bloggers, Lili Burton is giving away £50 and a set of brushes to FOUR lucky winners!

Use the widget below to enter the giveaway. Contest open worldwide. Please visit the fabulous hosting bloggers and show them some love!

Rachel  //  Sarah  //  Rosie //  Teral

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let's Stop HIV with Kiehls, MTV Staying Alive and Tinie Tempah

I was sent this Kiehls package from Klout as one of their perks, infact this is my first perk I have ever received. As a blogger, Klout is important to me because it aims to represent how much influence I have, the higher your score (between 1-100) the more influential you obviously are. A Klout perk is a reward and they are given to you based on a variety of things, including where you live, your influential topics, or your Klout Score.  

Kiehls is a brand that I am aware of but have not used. So this is such a delightful treat for me because not only is this my first time using the product but it is also a limited edition put. Kiehls have released their limited edition

Ultra Facial Cream in collaboration with Tinie Tempah, who created the label on the pot and who is the MTV Staying Alive Foundation Ambassador. The Staying Alive Foundation is a global charity which produces ground-breaking, original content that delivers vital HIV prevention messaging to a young international audience, whether that is through documentaries, advertisements or simply reaching out to people. Figures show that over 78million people been infected with HIV since the start of epidemic and 39million people have died of HIV-related causes furthermore 42% Of all new HIV infections are in 15-24 year olds and I am sure you will agree they are quite shocking statistics, more of which you can find here.

Kiehls have been supporting the fight against HIV/Aids since the 1980s and to date have raised more than $2.5million. This year, they have chosen MTV Staying Alive Foundation as their official UK Charity partner for 2015 and these pots of Ultra Facial Cream featuring the limited edition label are on sale across Kiehls Boutiques and department stores and you can also find them online. For every pot that is purchased, Kiehls will make a donation of £2 to the charity. If you want to donate a little bit more, then Kiehl's and the MTV Staying Alive Foundation have also set up the option to text and all you need to do is simply text HIV1 to 70660 to donate £5 or you can text HIV1 £x to the same number to donate your chosen amount up to a maximum of £10.

So as well as donating to charity, you can get yourself this amazing facial cream. Described as being a light-textured, 24-hour hydrator helps to retain moisture within the skin, leaving skin feeling comfortable and well-balanced and it is not tested on animals. It can also be used both morning and night to keep your skin hydrated and I have been using it every morning after applying my Body Shop Serum and I absolutely love it and it is perfect for this kind of weather to give your skin some extra TLC.

You can join in to help Kiehl's to spread the word about this great cause yourself by sharing the news of their collaboration on Twitter and Instagram. Let’s stop HIV before it starts with #TINIExKIEHLS @kiehlsuk @tinietempah @mtvstayingalive.