New In Beauty : Clarins Joli Rouge Lipstick

It's big news, lipstick lovers, because Clarins have done the unthinkable - they've gone and played around with their infamous Joli Rouge lipsticks, revamping the formula.... and guess what? They're incredible. Often when a brand plays around too much with an already incredible product, the new launches are just 'different' and not 'better'. They play just for the sake of playing (plus, how fun must it be being a chemist in a beauty laboratory! I'd forever be creating new concoctions!) and I didn't think that there was much to be improved on on the Clarins Joli Rouge lipsticks. OK, maybe an extra shade or two might have helped, but Clarins have gone all out, and bought out 25 new shades, just in time for Autumn.

It's been over a year since I first reported on the Clarins Joli Rouge lipsticks (see my first review here) and since then they've become the lipsticks that I reach for mostly in the cooler months, when my lips are in need of some nourishment as well as a blast of colour. The new formula is even more moisture-enriched, so you can toss out your balms - because with organic marsh samphire extract and mango oil ingredients, these lippies will give you smooth, soft and nourished lips as well as a high shine, highly pigmented colour. 

With a scrumptious red berry scent, it does take a lot of willpower not to want to lick your lips constantly, but the Joli Rouge is a pleasure to apply so reapplication is never a chore. The tip seems to snugly fit the shape of your lips, with the point meaning you get a precise application every time. The beautiful gold casing ( much more beautiful than the previous silver designs if you ask me ) is the final detail that gives these lipsticks a great big nod of approval from me!

As for the shade range, you'll find everything from bright spring corals (701 Orange Fizz) through to deep autumnal tones (705 soft berry) as well as everyday dusky pinks - my current favourite lip style, such as the above - 751 Tea Rose.

The new Clarins Joli Rouge lipsticks have just launched, and retail for �19.50 each.

Will you be trying the new Clarins Joli Rouge?

xoxo

I Am Juicy

As a child of the nineties, I grew up dreaming of the day I'd finally own a Juicy Couture velour tracksuit, and those pop-tastic brightly coloured handbags. Although sadly I never got my hands on either of the above, I did manage to somewhat collect Juicy Couture fragrances, and, delighting the pre-teen version of myself - Juicy Couture has launched a new Eau De Parfum - I Am Juicy. Who am I kidding - even the twenty something version of myself is obsessed with this fragrance!

If you're a fan of the previous Juicy fragrances (especially Viva la Juicy) then you'll detect a familiarity with I Am Juicy - with notes of Gardenia and Cashmere Woods, following a pop of Raspberry and Passion Fruit top notes. The Raspberry notes linger, giving the fragrance a sweet scent, but it's still a creamy and gentle perfume.

The bottle is a chic, golden, almost idol-like creation. It exudes glamour, just like the scent within. I've been reaching for it both in the day time and for nights out, and find it extremely long lasting and suited to almost every occasion. Yes, there's something about it which gives the fragrance a hint of nostalgia, but as our generation has grown, as has the brand, making it every bit as desirable as those velour tracksuits back in the nineties!

The fragrance is out now, and available online at �50.00 for 50ml.

xoxo

Grey Suede

Have you ever encountered a fashion item that makes you want to build up your entire seasonal wardrobe around it? Something so special that you want to incorporate it into every outfit? 

Well, that's exactly what happened when these Grey Suede over-knee boots from Ted & Muffy came into my life. My search for the perfect pair of grey over knee boots began last Winter, I couldn't bring myself to splurge on another pair of Russell & Bromley's so began looking for alternative brands, but my search was uneventful and as the Spring months dawned, I gave up. But it's always the way. When you stop looking, they come to you, whether you're looking for love, a new house perhaps, or just the perfect pair of boots. Cheesy as it may be, that's how my Love Story with these boots begins.

I'm a firm believer that if you're going to splurge on a fashion item, then reach for the stars - go for it, but only for your favourite, timeless accessories. As millennials, we are always wanting new, fresh pieces on an all-too-regular basis, and that means that after one of two wears of that pinstripe jumpsuit, we bid 'au revoir' because we are 'over-it'. I've always been an avid saver, always on the look out for a best-buy, and I look for those key pieces that are high in quality but do not break the bank. That's why investment pieces should happen where there is a whole lot of ROI. Yes, I'm talking about Return On Investment on my blog but you see where I am going with this? As a 'see it, buy it' generation we want lots of things, and we want them right now, so it's important that we carefully plan out our larger splurges.

So while these boots may not be as cheap as a pair you'd find in any old high street retailer, they've already earned their ROI and will undoubtedly be my 'most worn' item of the Autumn Winter season and beyond.

With the boots making the statement, the rest of this #OOTD is classic casual, with white jeans from New Look and my favourite Grey Marl T-shirt from Whistles.

In case you're wondering, they are the Acantha Knee High Boots in Dove Grey Suede, and the tie fastening at the top ensures a perfectly snug fit for any leg shape. Upon purchase, you're asked to measure your calf size to ensure that the boots fit you absolutely perfectly - just be sure to measure when you're wearing light jeans, not bare legs like I did - otherwise they can be just a touch too snug!

As for the finer details, my Rebecca Minkoff Marble Tote added some much needed texture to the look, while my accessories were all Rose Gold, including my new favourite watch from Daisy Dixon, and a stunning ring from Swarovski. My delicate necklace is also Swarovski, another piece which you'll see my wearing on an all-too-regular basis in upcoming looks.

What are your favourite investment pieces?

xoxo

A First Look at Aerin

Aerin is one of those brands that I'd admired for the beauty of the products, lusting for the delicate gold packaging, pining for the printed bottles - basically all my Instagram dreams come true. I had not, however, expected to be equally if not more blown away by the quality of the products themselves. My first dabble with the brand included testing out a couple of their Rose Balm Lipsticks, the Multi Color for Lips and Cheeks, and their instantly recognisable Amber Musk Body Lotion.

The Rose Balm lipsticks come in a pleasantly weighty gold tube - a satisfying 'click' closure and frosted detailing on the lid. A beautiful design without detracting from the product within. The lipsticks are incredibly moisturising thanks to the natural wax ingredients usually found in balm products, and yet the luxurious texture gives the medium coverage that you'd expect from a light lipstick. The finish is slightly glossy, but, preferring the matte look at the moment I chose to blot with a tissue which gave a very natural, but still fully pigmented finish. My two shades, Perfect Nude and Coral Sands are not only both beautifully flattering, but also the two colours which I see myself alternating between for the remainder of the Summer months.

The cream formula of the Multi Color made me a little nervous at first - I'm historically not the most skilled at applying cream products to my face, so I began by dabbing the taupey rose shade onto my lips. A cross between a balm and a cream, the formula gave a beautiful soft shade - incredibly natural, like my By Terry Baume de Rose but even softer and more delicate. Pleased with the shade (and blown away by the gorgeous rose scent), I dared to apply it to my cheeks. If only all of my cream products could be this easy to apply. I dotted the cream onto the apples of my cheeks, and used a brush to blend. The result? A warm, very natural and healthy glow that my powder blushers could only aspire to give me. The shade 'natural' is a colour that i'll be reaching for on a daily basis as Autumn sets in, it's so wearable, and build-able too. On the cheeks, and on the lips, the Aerin Multi Color is a new unexpected favourite.

The Aerin Body Lotion is possibly the most beautiful of the bunch, the first impression really wows, and I knew instantly that this one would be displayed proudly on my bathroom shelves. The moment the lotion came into contact with my skin, I felt the luxurious lotion quenching and softening, and the fragrance took me by surprise - a warm coconut and rose scent, with a musky infusion which lingered on the skin. My skin looked, and felt refreshed, and the lotion sank in almost instantly - as far as first impressions go for a body lotion, I can't imagine they get much better than this.

Have you tried Aerin yet?

xoxo

Festival Lookbook

This weekend, I was whisked away to V Festival by Sure - for a weekend of dancing, camping and hanging out with some of my absolute favourite bloggers. I rummaged through my wardrobe and pulled out my most festival appropriate outfits - starting with this gorgeous silky jumpsuit from Little Mistress, as well as my new favourite top from Missguided, and a pair of bejewelled sandals from Amazonas which turned out to be an absolute essential for every look.

I'm such a fan of the gorgeous material from this jumpsuit, it made me feel luxurious and glamorous despite having spent the entire day (and previous night!) in a field! I pulled together some of my favourite accessories from the Z collection from Accessorize, along with my fitbit which perfectly coordinated with the blue from my outfit!

Throughout the whole festival, I tracked my motion on the fitbit, by the end of the 2 days I'd managed to walk a total of 5km ( no need for the gym this week! ) and walked over 15,000 steps - despite barely emerging from the VIP campsite! It's incredible how much movement we actually do without really feeling like we're doing any exercise! I didn't fancy the showers on the campsite, but luckily I still felt fresh even when leaving at the end of day 2, thanks to Sure's Motionsense freshness technology - where the more you move, the more protection you get thanks to these fancy microcapsbltes which break with friction! The fragrance of the antiperspirant was incredibly fresh so despite our surroundings I still felt (and smelt!) squeaky clean.

To read more about the Sure antiperspirant as well as my other Festival Beauty Essentials, take a peek at Monday's post here.

Bracelets from top : Ottoman Hands   |   Monnier Freres   |   Z for Accessorize

Bag by Jessica Buurman

Sandals by Amazonas

Want to see these looks in action? Here's my Festival Lookbook video :

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SHOP THE LOOK

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Bobbi Brown Skincare

When I mention 'Bobbi Brown' what pops into your head? The classic Shimmer Brick, or those beautiful neutral eye shades that we all know and love? I bet you it isn't skincare. But this all changed recently when I was invited into the store for a skincare consultation, and within a few minutes of sitting on the makeup artist's chair, I'd fallen in love with the skincare. The oil felt so gentle and luxurious on my skin, the moisturisers seemed to skin in within moments, and the smell? Unlike any skincare that I've ever used before.

Let's start with the Soothing Cleansing Oil. As a somewhat lazy cleanser, preferring to just wipe away the day's makeup with a Micellar water, it takes something seriously special for me to actually bother with water - but the texture, fragrance, and overall luxury experience of using the Bobbi Brown Soothing Oil means that I actually get excited about taking the day's makeup off. I use one or two pumps to remove my makeup, massaging into dry skin before emulsifying with water. I remove with a warm, wet flannel before moving onto the toner.

While many toners leave my skin feeling dry, Bobbi Brown's Hydrating Face Tonic does exactly what is says on the tin, and leaves my skin feeling soft and soothed after application. In the evening my skin is left feeling totally clean, and when I use in the morning my skin is in the perfect condition for applying my next products.

My eyes (or the bags underneath...) need serious attention, but with too little time and too much to do I can't be waiting around for a luxurious eye cream to sink in, so Bobbi Brown's Extra Eye Repair cream is like a saviour in a pot. It sinks in by the the time I've made my morning cup of Green Tea, so I'm ready to apply makeup just moments later.

With combination skin, the Bobbi Brown Hydrating Face Cream feels like it was designed with me in mind. It's a lightweight formula but also provides by skin with the hydration that it needs, as well as nourishing and conditioning areas that need a little attention. It's pricey, yes, but I use about half the amount that I'd normally scoop out of my previous moisturiser, meaning that this little pot should be hanging around for quite some time!

Have you discovered Bobbi Brown skincare yet?

xoxo

Festival Beauty Essentials

Woohoo I did it! Survived my first festival since my teenage years (they feel terribly long ago), and, well, it really wasn't too hard. Despite absolutely loving my home comforts - electricity, warm showers, beauty products - you know, the essentials, I really don't mind camping. Having spent a month in a tent in Tanzania when I was 17, just one night in a field doesn't really phase my any more. Plus, I chose my beauty essentials wisely which definitely makes things a lot easier!

The first think I popped in my Festival Beauty bag is my By Terry Sheer Expert Foundation. No matter how neglected my skin feels (and after a night in a tent it's going to be pretty darn neglected), this incredibly moisturising foundation gives my skin that 'apr�s facial' glow, making it appear as though I've had 8 hours sleep when really I was tossing and turning on a camping matt all night. I buffed it in with my Real Techniques buffing brush, then applied a lot of under eye concealer to mask the dark circles. The By Terry Terribly Densilis ( does anyone even know what this name means?!) concealer did the trick, it has anti-aging and skin loving ingredients but I love it for its super long lasting coverage on days when I really need it.

For other areas that need coverage I relied on Benefit's Boi Ing concealer - this also came with me in my handbag for midday touch ups. This stuff doesn't budge or fade, so you can rely on it for looking flawless all day long.

I packed the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette for creating both everyday subtle looks, with shades to build up a deeper brown smoky eye in the evenings. Nudie, Honey Pot and Push Up were used to create a lightly shimmering look for the day time, but then I added some Erotica to the crease and Sexpresso to build up a dramatic evening look.

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For my brows, my new Tweezerman tweezers came in surprisingly handy - why is it that my brows decide to grow out of control when I just have a handheld mirror to rely on?! I'll never know, but there was no chance of me mixing up my tweezers with anyone elses thanks to the personalisation - I got my new pair engraved with my name at Selfridges and this pleases me probably far more than it should!
I used the shade Sexpresso from the Too Faced palette again to build in some colour to the brows, before setting with my new Clinique Just Browsing gel, which has a coloured formula so for an even more natural look you could get away with using the gel by itself.

My lashes were curled with my Tweezerman Rose Gold Lash curlers before I coated them with my Estee Lauder Waterproof mascara. This stuff seriously doesn't budge, and once lashes are curled - the mascara holds the curl all day, all night. It's perfect for long-use wear like at a festival!

I couldn't have survived the festival without my anti-perspirant, and I took the new Sure Compressed Shower Fresh deodorant. Not just because I knew I'd be craving that squeaky clean, freshly showered feeling, but also because of it's fancy new motion sense technology which active with movement - so the more dancing, the better!

I was also thankful for my Venus Snap which I keep in my travel bag - with temperatures were up to 29 degrees my legs were out, and thankfully my pins were silky smooth thanks to this nifty number!

What are your Festival Beauty Essentials?

xoxo

My First Vlog! Inside the Barry M Factory, Yoga at The Shard & Benefit Beauty Launch!

With a very exciting few days planned, I decided the time was right to film my first ever Vlog! Join me for lunch hanging from a crane with Benefit to launch their new Air Patrol primer, Yoga at the top of The Shard with Touch of Silver, a tour of the Barry M Factory, as well as a lovely Afternoon Tea with a twist! I hope you enjoy it!

As always it would mean a lot to me if you would subscribe to my channel!

xoxo

Fragrance Friday // A Bespoke Experience with Floris

Last Saturday, something really rather special happened. I was invited to the Floris boutique in Belgravia for an appointment with a master perfumer, to create a bespoke fragrance. I have to say that I was a little nervous, my fragrance knowledge leaves much to be desired, my preferences change almost every other week, so how could I decide on a specially created personal scent?

Upon stepping into the shop on Ebury Street, my nerves subsided as it became clear that this wasn't just about making a fragrance, it was about making and reliving memories, an experience that's all about you. In the back room beneath the store, surrounded by huge glass bottles which are expertly labelled by the perfumer, the 'nose training' session began. I was presented with four types of fine fragrance bases - all from within four fragrance families; citrus, floral, woody and oriental scents. Each one I tried before narrowing it down to just two, which were applied to my hand to see which had the nicest fragrance on the skin. During the consultation I was told about the history of each fragrance, who had worn it throughout history - and with a list of celebrity and royal fans as great as Floris', it made for very interesting conversation! I chose Amaryllis as my base note, but as for the rest? Well, that's top secret!

I was then presented with a range of complimentary fragrances including citrus, spice, wood and flower scents, again reducing twenty or so different scents down to my favourite four or five before testing these on my skin. I picked up so many snippets of information that I'd previously not known about some of the most common fragrances - such as did you know that musk is a product of the Musk Deer from the Himalayas?! I certainly didn't!

I waited patiently while my unique cocktail of ingredients was mixed together, before being presented with my bespoke perfume. A blend of all my favourite scents and memories, all encapsulated in a personalised glass bottle. As you become familiar with your fragrance, you choose a name. I went for Thudufushi Noir - if you've been reading my blog for a very long time (or maybe you just know me) then you'll understand why this is terribly soppy and meaningful, but if not? Well, that's just my little secret!

It's hard to put into words what an incredible experience it was, and one which of course i'll remember for years to come when I spritz on my bespoke perfume. If you are looking to buy someone something which is luxurious, unique and totally romantic, then look no further. The entire experience is all about you, your likes, loves, dislikes, your emotions and your memories. It's therapeutic, discovering a little more about yourself, or remembering parts that you'd forgotten. If it sounds soppy, I'm sorry, but words fail to describe what an incredible experience it was.

A Fragrance Consultation at Floris is �450, and includes your bespoke Eau De Parfum and a beautiful engraved bottle, as well as your very own fragrance recipe so that you can have your very own fragrance remade for you when it is all finished.

Thank you to Floris for inviting me to such an incredible experience!

xoxo