Posts tagged Rose

Valentine’s Gift Ideas: 10 Under £10

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For today’s Valentine’s Gift Ideas post I have put together a gift guide of ten Valentine’s gifts, all of which cost under £10 each.  Around this time of year, the prices of romantic gifts, such as chocolate and lingerie, are often hiked up.  However, as this guide shows, if you shop savvy you don’t have to spend a fortune to treat that special someone (or yourself!) to something nice.  The guide features some traditional gifts, but also fashion and beauty themed items.

valentines 10 under 10

Hotel Chocolat Lovely Hearts Classic £6.50 / Thorntons Because I Love You Premium Collection £6.00 / ASOS Heart Friendship Bracelet £2.00 / Yankee Red Raspberry Candle £7.99 / George Entice Lingerie Set £7.00 / Floozie Red Heart Fairisle Scarf £6.60 / Tesco Rose Petals in a Jar £5.00 / LUSH Heart Throb Bubble Bar £3.65 / Models Own Colour Chrome £4.99 / LUSH The Kiss Lip Gloss £5.95

What will you be gifting to your loved one this Valentine’s Day?

Naomi x

Fragrance Direct Valentine’s Look: English Rose

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The lovely folks at Fragrance Direct recently set me a fun challenge – to create a look for Valentine’s Day using make up from their site.  I was given a budget of £20.00, and could choose five items in total.  I initially planned to go for smokey eyes and vampy red lips, but as that’s quite a clichéd Valentine’s look, I went for something a bit different in the end.  I wanted to keep it simple, so I settled for a fresh-faced ‘English Rose’ look that makes the most of my pale skin, with pretty pink cheeks, lips and nails.  After all, roses are what Valentine’s is all about, right?  These are the five items that I chose…

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Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation in ‘Light Porcelain’ £5.50 / Rimmel ScandalEyes Thick Eyeliner in ‘Black’ £5.00 / Bourjois 10 Day Anti Choc No Chips Nail Polish in ‘Shade 26′ £1.99 / Maybelline Clear Smooth Blush in ‘Fresh Rose’ £2.50 / Calvin Klein Delicious Luxury Creme Lipstick in ‘Mesmerize’ £1.99

Total: £16.98

On the high street, these products would have cost over £35.00 in total, so to get everything for under £20.00 is a massive bargain!

As was allowed, I used a few bits and pieces from my make up bag to complete the look (namely concealer, face powder, a bit of kohl eyeliner and mascara), and here is my finished look…

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I must say, I am really impressed with the staying power of all of these products.  The lipstick stayed put through a meal and several drinks, the eyeliner didn’t budge at all until I removed it, the foundation gives amazing coverage which lasts all day, as does the blusher, and the nail polish is supposed to stay chip-free for 10 days!

I’m happy with my Fragrance Direct Valentine’s Look – it’s subtle, but still pretty, and I think it’d be perfect for a relaxed Valentine’s Day lunch.  You can check out Fragrance Direct’s full range of cosmetics here.

Naomi x

*These make up items were sent to me by Fragrance Direct.  All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*

BeTrousse Glitz & Glamour Beauty Kit

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2013 has been a quiet year for BeTrousse so far, with only a sale to their name since December, but towards the end of March I received their first beauty kit of the year, the Glitz & Glamour box.  I was beginning to worry that they had run out of ideas so I was pleased to receive another kit unexpectedly, especially as it’s a good one!

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The Glitz & Glamour beauty kit contains five full-size products to help you ‘get gorgeous’, and so far they haven’t disappointed.  Every item in the box is different this time, with no repeats from past boxes, and no similar products within the box!

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From Left to Right:

Jason Rosewater & Chamomile Normalising Shampoo

Benta Berry G-1 Exfoliating Facial Cleanser

Fair Naturally Mango & Safflower Body Moisturiser

Make Believe Enhance Shimmer Lip Gloss

Tulecos Tonifying Oil

As usual, BeTrousse provide full-size products so you can get a real feel for each one before deciding whether to repurchase, so for now I will give my first thoughts on each product and review a few, if not all of them, at a later date.

Jason Rosewater & Chamomile Normalising Shampoo – 255ml – RRP £7.29

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This is the first shampoo to appear in a BeTrousse box and I absolutely love it.  It is delicately scented with rosewater and chamomile (no parabens!), which help to soothe and balance the scalp, as the natural ingredients remove dirt without stripping away moisture.  As such, it leaves hair feeling incredibly soft and clean, and also adds volume.  A definite winner!

Benta Berry G-1 Exfoliating Facial Cleanser – 30ml – RRP £14.00

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I haven’t yet tried this G-1 Exfoliating Facial Cleanser, but it is 100% natural and claims to remove impurities from the skin.  I’ve used a Benta Berry moisturiser in the past and it was quite pleasant, so if this is anything like its cousin I expect it will do its job well!

Fair Naturally Mango & Safflower Body Moisturiser – 200ml – RRP £3.99

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Fair Naturally’s Mango & Safflower Body Lotion is the cheapest product in the box, but also my favourite.  It smells absolutely delicious, like peach yoghurt, and has a rich, creamy texture which massages in well, leaving skin feeling soft but not greasy.  It’s organic, fair trade and made in the UK too – three things I always look for in products.  I will be repurchasing this one!

Make Believe Enhance Shimmer Lip Gloss – 15ml – RRP £10.00

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Make Believe are known best for their tanning products, and this lip gloss is supposed to enhance your tan.  It is very sheer, but has a slight pink colour to it and a beautiful shimmer.  It smells a bit like watermelon, but the scent soon turns a bit plasticky which isn’t great.  I’m not usually a fan of tube glosses as they tend to be quite sticky, but this one feels lovely on the lips – almost like a lip balm.

Tulecos Tonifying Oil – 50ml – £33.00

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I wasn’t familiar with Tulecos before receiving this box, but I have since learnt that they are an organic French brand who use essential oils to create luxury products.  This tonifying oil contains peppermint oil, and is for use on the feet.  It feels silky soft on the skin, has a relaxing, cooling effect, and softens any rough bits almost instantly.  A fab little addition!

BeTrousse’s Glitz & Glamour beauty kit is available online and costs £10, which is well worth it considering you get five full-size products with a total RRP of £70, especially as with most beauty boxes you’re lucky if you get one full-size product for the same price!  The box is full of unfamiliar brands and everything in it is great quality, so if you want to try something new for less then this is the box for you.

Naomi x

*This BeTrousse Glitz & Glamour Beauty Kit was sent to me by BeTrousse for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*

Jurlique Rose Essentials

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With only a week left to go until Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d share a gift idea with you which puts a luxurious twist on the traditional bunch of red roses – Jurlique’s Rose Essentials.  If you have a beauty-obsessed loved one to buy for this year, or even if you want to treat yourself to a pampering session, then Jurlique’s rose scented skin care products are ideal.

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The Jurlique Rose Essentials set contains three luxe rose scented products, and they come packaged in a beautiful gift box, which definitely makes this set a pleasure to receive!  Once you remove the red and gold cardboard wrap, the box you are met with looks like a gorgeous gold treasure chest, patterned with delicate roses and leaves, which fits the Jurlique tagline perfectly – ‘Your gift of beauty to treasure’.  It is even sealed with a sticker that looks like a lock, which makes the set feel that little bit more special, and builds the anticipation as to what you will find inside.

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The three products inside the box are wrapped with red tissue paper, and the gold ribbon and embossed brand logo all add an extra touch of luxury.  The products are a 100ml bottle of Rosewater Balancing Mist, a 300ml bottle of Rose Shower Gel, and a 150ml tube of Rose Body Cream.

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Here is a brief review of each product to give you an idea of what they are like…

Rosewater Balancing Mist

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Jurlique’s Rosewater Balancing Mist contains Rose Essential Oil, Marshmallow and Aloe, which combine to form a hydrating mist which improves and balances skin tone.  I like to spray this on to my face after a long day, as it refreshes tired skin and, unlike some mists, is delicately moisturising so it doesn’t dry your skin out or leave it feeling greasy.  The packaging the mist comes in is very plain in contrast to the gift box, which is slightly disappointing as I like a bit of colour, but the glass bottle makes it look and feel a bit more impressive than if it were plastic.

Rose Shower Gel

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This pinky orange coloured shower gel contains a mix of natural essential oils, and like the mist leaves your skin feeling fresh, and extremely clean.  I usually use shower creams as normal gels sometimes dehydrate my skin, but Jurlique’s Rose Shower Gel is actually quite moisturising, which is lovely, and can be used all over the body.  The lather that one pump of this gel gives is impressive, and a little goes a long way.

Rose Body Cream

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The Rose Body Cream is my favourite product in the set.  It is enriched with Jojoba Oil, Shea and Cocoa Butter, so as you can imagine it is intensely moisturising, but it is also a lot lighter than some body butters.  The cream doesn’t sit on the skin making a greasy mess either, rather, it is easily and quickly absorbed and is very kind to the skin.  I suffer from dry hands so have been using this as a hand cream, and so far the results are good, and my hands feel a lot softer!

All three products have a very sweet but authentic scent of roses, which is reminiscent of an English garden on a summer’s day (how corny and romantic!)  It’s a very feminine scent, and isn’t at all overpowering, so the products can be layered for a long-lasting, gentle aroma.

This whole set just oozes quality.  The products are all generously sized and feel amazing on the skin, and the packaging is incredible.  The Jurlique range is a bit of a splurge (products start at £10 each, ranging up to around £30), but sometimes these things are worth it, right?  You can view Jurlique’s range of skin care products here, at LookFantastic.com.  Or, if Jurlique isn’t for you or your loved one, LookFantastic also stock a wide selection of other Valentine’s Gifts, including Nails Inc Bling It On Leather & Skulls, which I reviewed here.

Naomi x

*This Jurlique Rose Essentials set was sent to me by LookFantastic.com/The Hut Group for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*

What I Wore to my Friend’s Wedding

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Hi everyone,

This weekend has been yet another busy one for me.  Today is my mum’s birthday, and tomorrow will be her husband’s birthday as well as their 1st wedding anniversary, but perhaps the most exciting event of the last few days was my close friend’s wedding yesterday!  I’ve known Kat for 11 years, since seconday school, and she is the first out of our group of friends to get married, so it was a very special day :)  The bride looked absolutely beautiful and I was so proud of her – it was wonderful to see her so happy and I wish her and her lovely husband the very best for their future together.

You may remember that a few weeks ago I posted about What I Wore to my Step Brother’s Wedding, so I thought I’d do a similar post about what I wore yesterday.  The colour scheme of the wedding was powder blue and baby pink, so I thought I’d go all girly and incorporate some pink shades into my look.  As you can see, I kept it simple and went for a far less dramatic make up look than last time…

Make Up used:

  • Benefit Porefessional.
  • Colortrend Fresh Face Oil-Free Foundation in ‘Ivory Beige’.
  • Colortrend Perfect and Hide Concealer in ‘Light’.
  • MUA Pressed Powder in ‘Shade 1′.
  • The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Stain (used on cheeks) in ‘Rose Pink’.
  • MUA Pretty Pastels Eyeshadow Palette – Shades 4 and 11.
  • MUA Immaculate Collection Eyeshadow Palette – Shades 8 and 9.
  • Avon Glimmerstick Eye Liner in ‘Blackest Black’.
  • Bellápierre Lash Building Mascara in ‘Black’.
  • Avon Glow Lip Gloss in ‘Ultra Violet’.

  • Dress from Chiara Fashion.
  • Shoes from Primark.
  • Necklace from Avon
  • Bag (not pictured) from eBay, originally from M&S.

I hope you’ve all had a fun weekend too!

Naomi x

Nail Art: Vintage Roses

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After a week of wearing dark coloured nail varnish, I fancied something slightly more pastel today.  I’d been seeing a lot of vintage floral nail art doing the rounds lately, so I thought I’d have a go myself.  I used a lovely little flowery tea cup as inspiration, as you can see!


The colours I used for this are:

  • Avon Nailwear Pro in ‘Vintage Blue’ (Background)
  • Avon Nailwear Pro in ‘Viva Pink’ (Roses)
  • Avon Nailwear Pro in ‘Pastel Pink’ (Rose Swirls)
  • N.Y.C. Long-Wearing Nail Enamel in green (Leaves)
  • Avon Peeling and Brittleness Solver (Base and Top Coat)

What do you think?  I think it’s a great look for Spring :)

Naomi x

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