Lola James Harper Perfume - 26 Together Is Always Better

Lola James Harper is not a brand I am familiar with, but it is a fragrance and lifestyle brand founded by Rami Mekdachi who is not only a Photographer and Musician but the Creative Director for major luxury brands including Hotel Costes, Chloé, Lacoste, and Roger Vivier. With such a portfolio to the name, it comes as no surprise that the fragrance I have in my hands - 26 Together Is Always Better is not only exquisite in every way, but it has the most incredible scent.

The outer packaging is quite plain, simple and straightforward, nothing stands out particularly and this is because I think everything you need to see is hidden inside the box. Wrapped around the bottle is a piece of paper which is almost like a thank you note from the Lola James Harper team, a special touch which I really liked and the part which stood out for me is the following:

The most important thing to keep in mind is to wear your Eau de Toilette during moments you cherish, with the people you love, to add to Lola James Harper fragrances your own memories and state of mind.

For me perfume is just one of those items that for me always signify something special and remind me of events, celebrations and so on. The bottle itself brings about the phrase 'less is always more' and I just love the elongated design which leads itself to a heavy glass bottle that is sturdy and very chic.

This scent, 26 Together Is Always Better by Lola James Harper is a Aromatic Green fragrance for women and men. With notes of Green Tea, Jasmine, Rosemary, Violet , Gaiac Wood and Cinnamon. From those notes you get a lovely earthy green freshness from Green Tea, Jasmine, Rosemary and then comes the scent of Violet which offers a touch of sweetness with the scent of violets before the notes of Cinnamon and Gaiac Wood come through to add some warmth to the scent.  From the first spritz this scent is just beautiful, like that perfect Spring day in a bottle as the scent of flowers, grass, freshly dug earth and I absolutely adore it in case you hadn't guessed and it is one I am not sharing.

A 100ml bottle of 26 Together Is Always Better is priced at £100 right here from Selfridges and if you are looking for an extra special gift, this is most definitely it.

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

Kiehls Nightly Refining Micro-Peel Concentrate

Kiehls Nightly Refining Micro-Peel Concentrate is a product I knew very little about until it landed in my lap and having read very little about it, I had no idea whether or not it was any good, lived up to any claims it made or something else. For once, it was exciting to use a product that I only new about thanks to the information on the box.

With a price tag of £41 it needed to be superb for me to give it the thumbs up and whenever you read a skincare review on this blog, I will have used or have been using that product for weeks, sometimes months before putting fingers to keyboard. It is rare that anything will appear if I have never used it. 

The description:

“Nightly Refining Micro-Peel Concentrate helps to refine the feel of rough texture, revealing newly radiant, refreshed skin. Clinically-demonstrated to help accelerate surface skin cell turnover*, this facial serum freshens and smooths the skin for a youthful radiance, visibly refining skin tone and texture over time.”

So with claims to restore radiance and soften skin within one week of use, as well as to visibly refine texture and even skin-tone within a week of use whilst renewing the skin without irritation is quite a bold claim and one that I found quite exciting, because my past experience with Kiehls has only ever been amazing.

So what is it and how do you use it? This product is a leave-on serum which has the description said, has been formulated to accelerate the skin cell turnover process to reveal fresher, smoother, younger-looking skin. To do this it is enriched with sustainably-sourced quinoa husk extract from which, its powerful exfoliating properties help release dull surface skin while visibly evening skin tone and refining the feel of rough texture over time. Impressively still, each bottle contains a concentrated extract of 2,000 Quinoa husks sustainably-sourced from Bolivia.

With an oil like consistency, the accompanying pipette helps making the dispensing of the oil a very easy and not so messy process. I find that I only need two-three drops for my entire face and neck. 

To use the concentrate, it is recommended by Kiehls to use it after cleansing and toning but before you apply your serum and any further moisturising and night creams.  Once on the skin, it is not an oil that absorbs immediately into the skin, it takes a bit of massaging to absorb the majority of it and there is a slight tackiness feel to the skin which isn't too unpleasant and it is something you do get used too and something I am willing to put up with owing to much I love this oil.

Having used this on my skin and again, nothing ever appears on this blog without being used for some weeks, usually 4-6 sometimes longer, I love the effect it is having. There is the inclusion of AHA there has been no irritation, my skin isn't tingling or sore. Instead my skin has become smoother to the touch, the dryness on my cheek has all but been eradicated without the need to use something much more abrasive and the redness that I occasionally suffer with is seemingly a lot less red than usual.  So far Kiehls it is a massive thumbs up from me.

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*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

Gosh Spring 17 Collection – the Contour, Cover & Conceal sticks

As you may have seen from my last post with the stunning Liquid Matte Lips, the Spring 17 launch from GOSH is just incredible with so many amazing products. 

This time it is the turn of the Contour, Cover & Conceal sticks, something I didn't expect to like, but actually am really impressed with how incredibly easy they are to use.

These are multi-purpose sticks and you can use them to contour, cover, conceal, strobe and define! Designed to create a perfect flawless complexion. The camouflage function of the sticks are infused with cleansing actives that promote improvements of your skin. 

They work to eliminate small imperfections, reducing visible pores and leave behind a smooth silky feel on the skin. What really impressed me the first time I came to use them was how incredibly pigmented they are. With six colours within the collection, there should be something for most skin tones whether you are very pale like me or have darker skin. 

Those shades are:

• 001 Vanilla Highlight 
• 002 Golden Highlight 
• 003 Light 
• 004 Medium 
• 005 Dark 
• 006 Very Dark 

I can use Vanilla right through to medium and then the final two are too dark for my skin, even for contouring. That said I have used the other four shades for highlighting under the brow, in the inner corner of my eye, my cupids bow under my eyes, the bridge of my nose and they work so well to Contour, Cover and Conceal and they do not crease, they are long lasting and you can blend with a brush, sponge or your fingers depending on your preference.

As they come in the form of a crayon, they are also great for using on the go and are the perfect size for your makeup bag.

Swatches L-R go numerically 1-6

The GOSH Contour, Cover & Conceal sticks which are perfume and paraben free as well as being Vegan friendly retail for £9.99 each and are available from Superdrug where they are currently on offer.

*this post contains PR samples/Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise

Squidger - The Get It Out Gadget

As a beauty blogger I am surrounded by tubes of products and one thing which really annoys me, grinds my gears and other such phrases, is when you get to that point in the tube where no amount of squeezing is going to get you absolutely anywhere other than angered! Well, there is one gadget that I have been playing with for the last few weeks which comes to your rescue, before you need to reach for the scissors and that is the Squidger.

The Squidger is described as being the tool which "removes the frustration of getting that last annoying bit out of your tubes of cosmetics, moisturisers, cleansers or toothpaste - saving your pocket and the planet at the same time". Infact, the Squidger can extract up to 20% more out of your tubes if used correctly.

It took three years to come together and perfect and is designed to fit most 75-150ml tubes but with a bit of practice you can use it on bigger and smaller tubes. I did find it a bit fiddly when I first used the device, so it is worth practising the 'squeeze' on a tube to get the hang of it. Made of a hard plastic, the Squidger is available in 4 colours - Pink, White, Blue and Purple and it looks like this:

To get the hand of using this Squidger, I slid it on and off my toothpaste tube and then followed the handy little guide shown on the back of the cardboard packaging to get the most out of using it.

Image Credit - Squidger

What I love about this tool is that it is so easy to use and when you use it for the first time, you want to gather up all your tubes of products and just squeeze the life out of them, something so simple yet so genius, leaves you wondering why you hadn't invented it and how you have gone for so long without it. Some might see it as a bit of a gimmick,  but it does help to get the very last bits out of that tube and you just never know when you might need that last drop!

Priced at just £4.99 you can find the Squidger right here.

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise