Beauty Products I want to try in 2014!

Not quite a wishlist but when you read other peoples blogs and think "Ooh I want to try that" I decided that I would create a list of products I want to try:

So it is almost like having a wishlist really, some of them I have seen reviewed and some of them I haven't, but they are:

1. Billion Dollar Brows Brow Boost - Billion Dollar Brows Brow Boost is a deep conditioning treatment formulated to help strengthen and condition thin, weak brows which mine most certainly are due to over-plucking and one dreadful waxing experience in a salon (never again).  Retails for around £25

2. NARS At First Sight Eye & Cheek Palette which includes - Deep Throat Blush and Laguna Bronze as well as Eyeshadow Top Row: All About Eve, Nouveau Monde and Eyeshadow Bottom Row: Bellissima, Cordura (II).  Retails for £45

3. This Works dream believers - I often suffer from broken sleep (cats meoqing at the window to come in and out all the time) and this little kit has a really lovely description "Wrap yourself in a cocoon of soothing essential oils – any place, any time – with our versatile hand and body cream, deep sleep dream cream. Let the calming properties of Lavender relax your senses by applying our protective sleep balm to your pulse points". which makes me want it more.  Currently on offer for £16 (and I have the sleep balm already).

4. Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish - seems to be a cult favourite amongst the world of #bbloggers and is yet to be a bandwagon that I am to jump on. Prices start at £14.75

5. Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot - an oil absorbing, shine controlling face powder for all skin types, which sounds perfect to me and is available in Boots for £12.

6. Glam Glow Mud Mask - Another product that I see frequently on beauty blogs and people rave about it, so naturally I want to try it.  Apparently great for when you need great skin and a glowing complexion in just 10 minutes.  Retails at around £25

The next three products are listed because I am intrigued, slightly scared and a bit obsessed with them:

7. Rodial Dragons Blood Eye Cream - The product description for this is fabulous

"This instantly cooling gel refreshes and hydrates puffy tired eyes with Rose Water, Arnica and Dragons Blood. Instantly brighter, the delicate eye area is restructured to thicken translucent skin and plump wrinkles. Hyaluronic Acid comforts dehydrated skin and refines the skin's surface for wide awake eyes" - it contains Dragons Blood!!  Anyway it costs £45.  I also want the Snake Mask which I have a sample of somewhere in one of my jars, I just haven't tried it yet, hence why it doesn't appear on my list.

8. Heaven by Deborah Mitchell Bee Venom Mask - Again the intrigue comes with the words Bee and venom it sound stingy but is it really?

"Containing Manuka Honey, renowned for its soothing and healing properties, it also contains the magic Bee Venom ingredient that works to control the facial muscles for immediate lifting, tightening and firming, whilst getting to work on frown lines and wrinkles"  and it costs £25.30 for 15ml

9. Dr Organic Snail Gel - Yes another gruesome sounding product and I simply want to try it because it sounds totally gross and it does actually contain Snail Slime, here is the description:

"Dr. Organic Snail Gel is a moisturising, soothing, anti-aging gel which harnesses the remarkable cosmetic benefits of Helix Aspersia Muller, a unique substance the snail produces to quickly regenerate its own shell and skin when damaged. Combined with organic Aloe Vera and our proprietary blend of bioactive ingredients it effectively soothes and hydrates the skin". It retails for £19.99

The final products on my list isn't something gruesome sounding it is:

10. Naked 3 Palette - Yes totally hopping on the bandwagon with this one, it seems like everyone has it and I don't and from the three of them, this would be my preference.  Retails for £37

11. MAC - Not just a Lipstick but there have been quite a few products that I have seen of late that I really want to try, the only problem is the stores scare me.  I have only ever walked into one and was pounced upon before I had even shut the door with the lady telling me how many amazing products she could see me wearing, that I turned around and left. Oh and Sharon and Kelly Osbourne doing a range - I want it!

So there you have a list of products that I really want to try in 2014.  Do you have a list and have you tried any or many of these?

Rose & Co.

I love being introduced to new brands.  Without being a blogger, I doubt very much I would discover and love as many brands as I am doing now.  One of those new brands that I have been introduced too is Rose & Co.

Rose & Co. to give a brief introduced was created by Patricia and Caroline Rose when they bought an old druggists shop in Yorkshire. With a love of all things vintage, beautiful and romantic, they restored the shop to its former Victorian splendour and a quirky but charming beauty apothecary was born.

I went sent a lovely box of products from Rose & Co*. and oh my did they look delightful. Not only were they beautifully packaged inside this lovely box, inside was so many lovely products that I didn't know where to start.

So, inside my lovely box I had this wonderful Lip Balm Collection which contains Rose Petal Salve, Cherry Kiss and Sweet Vanilla Salve.  They are packaged inside these wonderful little tins and they smell amazing.  The perfect gift for someone like me who is something of a lip balm addict.

A Sugared Violet Handcream which is described as being "A moisturising hand cream fragranced with the delightful scent of sweet violets. Apply regularly for soft, sweetly scented hands and nails. Beautifully packaged in a glass jar and decorated with violet "scraps". Handcream aside, it is simply adorable to look at and the scent reminds me of Parma Violets, those sweets you might of had as a child.

Sugar Rose Fairy Cake and fancies for the Bath which you simply put into the bath as you would any similar product and it is packed with skin-loving cocoa and shea butters and sweet almond oil not to mention the wonderful lemon Bon-Bon scent it also gives off.  It smells simply divine.

Lemon Bon-Bon Body Cream - this cream couldn't smell more like lemon bon-bons if it tried, it reminds me of the old corner shop near my grandparents where we would go at a weekend for a treat and I would always get my Grandad his favourite lemon bon-bons.

An Excellent All Round Beauty Salve - described as being "The perfect must-have beauty balm for lips, cuticles, rough skin, dry patches, lashes & brows, or anywhere you need a little shine" and it is tube form, so you can use it as easily as you do a lip balm and it is brilliant.

What I love about these products, aside from their scent is how wonderfully kitsch the packaging is.  I am a sucker for pretty packaging and something that stands out from the crowd, these products almost certainly do that.   I also love a company who has their own blog and Rose & Co do just that which you can find HERE and it provides a great insight into their products and you might just find the odd offering of a discount code too.

Rose & Co. products are sold in Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, House of Fraser, Heal’s, Cologne & Cotton and select independent retailers.

Have you tried any Rose & Co. products?

How I get Organised!

I am not the most organised person in the world, I try but if it wasn't for post-it notes I would probably forget what day of the week it was.  So in an effort to stay organised and not rely on my iPhone diary to tell me what is meant to be happening or that I am meant to be in a meeting I bought a Filofax:

What I love about this Filofax is the design, totally not something I would usually go for because it isn't pink, but I love the colour too.  Not to mention it was a bit of a bargain from Ryman being reduced from £34.99 to just £10 with all of the inserts:

So included within this Filofax is a 2014 diary, an addresses section, the personal section where you put your own details should you ever lose it and need it to be returned, a to do list, some plain and some coloured lined paper.

When the lovely Anna from Mrs Brimbles tweeted that she had some Filofax inserts for review from her Etsy Shop I jumped at the chance to do this.  Being a cat lover, I naturally chose the cat ones and what I love about these inserts is that you can sit and colour them in an they are just so pretty, you can see what is in the set HERE and there are some shown in the photograph below.

So, hopefully with this little bargain beauty I will now remember where I am supposed to be and when, what I have to do, my deadline and so on... I use it for both work, private life, socialising and blogging and so far it has been a total god send!

Do you have a Filofax?  How do you keep yourself organised?

Herra Hair Perfume & Giveaway

Last week I attended my very first event with Bloggers Love in Leicester Square here in London and with me was the very lovely Claire from Pinkchickclaire. At the event we were lucky enough to meet a lot of really lovely people from some fantastic brands, some better known than others and many who have been going for just a few months.

The brand I am mentioning today is Herra whose story you can read about in the main website. Herra produce a product called Herra Protect Hair Perfume which is exactly what it states it is, a perfume for your hair, yes really. Now I am sure we are all massive fans of perfume, have a huge collection and more often than not when spritzing ourselves will spray some in the air and walk through it, thus perfume hits the hair, well I was told not to do that by my hairdresser because it dries your hair out.

Before I got my hands on it, Herra has featured in many publications and magazines including Vogue and it is beginning to get quite a following in the world of celebrities.

Herra say...
'Herra Protect Hair Perfume is an innovative product created by the joint expertise of London's finest hair talents and a leading fragrance expert. A revolutionary product with weightless, protecting and hydrating ingredients accompanied with the Herra epsilon signature fragrance.'

One thing I love about products is their packaging, if it catches my attention, I am more likely to want to know more about it and find out what it is and Herra does just that. packaged inside this sleek black box with gold writing, the bottle itself is just as sleek and stylish and the right size for putting in my handbag.  

I do as much as I can to look after my hair, I get it cut regularly, I shampoo, I condition and I use treatments when my hair is in need of it. One thing about living in London is that washing and conditioning my hair is fine, but wandering around all day amongst smog, pollution and other irritants (such as people smoking) can make my hair smell and make me paranoid and if I am going to an important meeting, I don't want to smell like I have been sat in a smoking shed all day, I want to smell good. So I have been putting Herra to the test and admittedly I did thing it was a bit of a fad and not something I would really use, as good as it sounds, but I will admit I was wrong and have used it a lot more than I thought and everyone in my office have also been spritzed and sprayed and are equally impressed, the boys not so much, but you cant have everything.

Herra has three main components to protect, moisturise and to add fragrance:

• PROTECT - Sunflower extract protects the structure of the hair. It helps provide protection against UV and can prevent colour fade, whilst olive fruit extract is rich in antioxidants that help shield the hair against pollution and free radicals.
• MOISTURISE - Glycerin helps provide ample hydration and seals in moisture, without weighing down the hair.
• FRAGRANCE - The Herra signature fragrance is a blend of the finest key notes creating a fresh modern, uplifting experience that appeals to all.  Ingredients include: Italian bergamot, loquat fruit, midnight orchid, rose, white jasmine, mimosa, heliotrope, lily, vanilla, tonka bean, sandalwood and musk.

For me the scent is something i have to like to use a product and I love the scent of this, I find it quite uplifting and a mixture of being fruity and floral, neither one being more dominant than the other, it simply works and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Herra Protect Hair Perfume is available from Herra Hair Care at £24.99 (50ml) and I have one to give-away thanks to those lovely people at Herra, to enter into the draw all you need to do is complete the form below and a 50ml bottle could be winging its way to you very soon and naturally I would love to know what you think to it should you win:



a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a UK only giveaway, please ensure you are at 16 years of age or have parental permission because I will need your address to send the prize too.  All entries will be checked before the winner is announced.

Introducing Beautykinguk!

Today I am excitedly introducing my beloved hubby and his blog to you all...

Yep here is and you can find him at www.beautykinguk.co.uk and on twitter @beautykinguk and bloglovin.

Steve will be giving his view on the male side of things and will include everything from hair gel and hair wax to shampoo and moisturising cream.

Please do go and give him some support....  thank you!

How do you treat your feet?

I may have mentioned once or twice (a lot) that I have a bit of a disliking for feet, but I put aside my dislikes and ensure, like the rest of my body, my feet are well taken care of, the very thought of having to go see a chiropodist makes sure of that.

Now there is nothing like a good pampering session, I love to come home, light the candles, dim the lights and get out my foot spa, slightly ancient though it is, it works and I have never been more thankful for it, especially if I have been on my feet all day and they are tired, throbbing and sore.  I have flat feet so more often than not I have some sort of gel heel support in my heeled shoes for comfort, but my feet still throb by the time I get home.

Once the water is ready for my feet, I sit back, usually put on a face mask and relax as my feet are slowly massaged and I begin to relax usually with my kindle to escape from reality for at least half an hour.  One of the best things about my foot spa is that it massages your feet and also has these extra little ridged rollers which are really good for that little extra deeper massage and the water never gets cold because it has what is called a smart heat feature.

The pampering doesn't end there of course, once my feet have been dried, I decide which colour I am going to paint my toenails from my ever-growing collection of nail polishes. Then once my nails are dry, I grab some of my pedicure footcare products some of which I mentioned in another post HERE.  Those items include such my foot buffer, foot cream and once I am finished buffering and moisturised, I then place some pamper socks over them, usually over night to ensure the cream has plenty of time to absorb itself and my socks are similar to these but pink (of course). Beyond pampering your feet, these socks help you stay warm and comfortable overnight. Moreover, these socks' warmth allows your blood vessels to dilate and enhance stimulation, improving your feet’s appearance. When you wake up in the morning, and they're looking pampered, why not indulge further and sell some feet pics? That’s a great way to make extra money while giving your feet the care it deserves.

What I find when wearing my pamper socks as I call them is that the following morning my feet are much softer, smoother and almost certainly dry skin free.

Does anyone else follow a certain foot pampering regime? Are there any products you would recommend?

*sp

Candles Candles Candles

I burn candles nearly every day and there is nothing I love more than coming home from work as the evening draws in, closing the curtains and lightening a few candles to create that much wanted relaxing atmosphere. I don't just have candles in the lounge, I also have a few in the bedroom and whenever I have a nice long relaxing bath, there are a few placed around the bath to again create that atmosphere.

A few weeks ago, I was kindly sent these wonderful products from the Scented Candle Shop* and in my box which you can see below is:

• Yankee Candle Housewarmer Jar - White Christmas
• Yankee Candle Votive Candles - Welcome Christmas x 2
• Wax Lyrical Porcelain Frangipane Roomscenter Holder x 2
• Yankee Candle Jar Shade - Small (Snow Covered Mosaic)
• Yankee Candle Tray - Small (Snow Covered Mosaic)
• Prices Candle Lighter

I have always wanted a plate and shade for one of my candles and it has been one of those items that I have never got around to getting, so I was so chuffed to see something so beautiful inside my box. As soon as I attached it to my lit candle, it really came to life as you can see in the photos below:

The Scented Candle Shop stocks well over 2,500 different types of candles and scented products which include scented and unscented candles, wax tarts, tea lights, votives, pillar candles, candle holders and a vast array of candle accessories. Alongside Yankee Candles you will find brands such as WoodWick, Colony Candles, Bolsius and others aside.

If you are looking for some new candles, any of these would be perfect. The Scented Candle Shop recently started a youtube channel and here is one of the videos below.

Do you love candles as much as I do? Do you have a favourite brand?