Review: YSL Black Opium Eau de Toilette

Last week I was working late in the office when I had an unexpected call from reception asking me to come downstairs to sign for a delivery. I was very happy to see that the mystery package was Yves Saint Laurent's beautiful new eau de toilette Black Opium. It certainly cheered me up!

YSL Beaute describes the new EDT as mysterious, but sensual. Vibrant, yet with a new femininity at its heart. It is designed to be distinctly different to the Black Opium eau de parfum.

Notes of zingy blackcurrant, juicy pear, quirky mandarin peel, fragrant jasmine tea and orange blossom give this initially sweet feminine scent depth and complexity with flavours of green coffee bean, musk and white wood.

 The new diamond dust bottle gives homage to the original, but is a fun twist on a classic.

The Black Opium Eau de Toilette is a beautifully rich, yet sweet and wearable fragrance. There is definitely something very addictive about it!

YSL Black Opium EDT is available here for £39 for 30ml.

Update - YSL Touche Eclat available in Selfridges!!

So many of you expressed your excitement about the launch of YSL's Touche Eclat foundation and I am thrilled to let you know that it will now be available exclusively from Selfridges stores and Selfridges.com from the 24th of June!

Do check out my review here! xxx

YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat

YSL's iconic Touche Éclat needs no introduction. 20 years after its launch YSL have decided to take their winning formula one step further by developing a foundation with the same principles. Le Teint Touche Éclat is a foundation that is designed to target shadowy areas and define contours, while being weightless on the skin, erasing imperfections and enhancing your natural features.

I was so excited to be sent a small sample to try before Le Teint Touche Éclat launches nationwide on July 9^th. This foundation comes in an impressive range of 22 shades grouped into three undertones. I chose the pale BR10 Beige Rose, which is the lightest of the cool toned shades.

The formulation of this foundation is very light. It blends into the skin instantly giving a low/ medium coverage that looks very natural. If you already have good skin this foundation is ideal - evening skin tone and adding a subtle, healthy glow while still being fairly matte and almost undetectable on the skin. Even when adding another layer this foundation still looks sheer and never cakey or heavy. It really does let your skin shine through!

As my skin gets fairly oily throughout the day I prefer to add a little extra coverage with concealer to cover undereye circles and any blemishes/ scars and set it with MAC MSF powder to ensure my makeup lasts.

I have really enjoyed wearing this foundation as it looks so natural and can't wait for the whole range to hit stores so I can pick up a deeper shade for the Summer!

Are you a fan of the original Touche Éclat? Are you excited about the launch of YSL's new Touche Éclat foundation? Only a month to go!! xxx

YSL La Laque Couture - Rose Futuriste

Yves Saint Laurent's latest nail collection La Laque Couture contains 30 timeless shades created to represent the couture legacy and the contemporary creations of the House of Saint Laurent. The range of shades is really impressive with muted pinks, neons, metallics and even some illusive taupes - a little something for everyone. I was immediately drawn to these when seeing the ad campaign... not least because of those amazing shoes!

I was kindly sent three shades to try out. Nothing brings excitement to the office like the arrival of a little YSL package. All the bottles look so luxurious in their glamorous gold packaging and luckily the product inside has never been a disappointment.

(Without flash)

 

(With flash)

The two pinks above are pretty similar, but after much thought (I'm deep like that lol) I finally decided on the cooler pink of the two No. 11 Rose Futuriste to paint my talons. The first thing I noticed is the amazing brush. Now, I am no heart surgeon and my hands are a little more than shaky, especially when working on small areas, but application with this brush was so quick and easy. The bristles are quite sturdy, while the brush is wide and flat with a curved edge, which means you can create the perfect shape at the cuticle and smoothly cover the whole nail in polish in one or two strokes. Come to think of it I think this is my favourite brush of any brands I have used!

The polish itself was deeply pigmented and pretty much opaque in one coat. It dried pretty quickly with a high gloss finish. I always use Seche Vite as a topcoat, a 'control' in all my nail polish experiments if you will ;).

I absolutely adore this colour. Bright pink has been the perfect antidote to the recent weather!

YSL La Laque Couture polishes retail at £18 and can be purchased online from Selfridges here.

Have you tried any of the new YSL Couture polishes? Which are your favourite shades? Were you equally impressed with the brush? xxx

YSL Glossy Stain

Glossy Stains from Yves Saint Laurent are designed to provide intense colour and shine, while being extremely long wearing. They look like a gloss, last like a stain and have the deep pigment of a lipstick. I love a bold lip colour so I was really excited to try these to see if they really deliver in all these categories!

I was kindly sent the Glossy Stain in shade 1 - an extremely deep and vampy purple.

On the skin this shade definitely has a plummy undertone with a high gloss finish. When first applied it has a smooth gel texture and can be sheered out a little or built up for greater impact. It fades down to a matte dark pink, which actually lasted on my hand all day!

My lips are quite pigmented so they counteracted the blue/ purple tint and gave the overall colour more of a red undertone. The application did require a steady hand, but the pointed tip of the applicator made it easy to get a defined edge without the aid if lipliner.

As you can see with just one slick of gloss the colour is extremely intense, however I did find that it looked darker on the inside of my lips in some areas. I'm not sure if this is just because my lips were dry that day so the tint clung to these areas more... I definitely need to play around with this shade a little more as I am determined to make it work for me in the future!

I am also keen to try out some of the lighter colours to see how intense they will look and play around with adding the Glossy Stain over a lipstick.

The YSL Glossy Stain retails at £22.50 and can be purchased online here.

Have you tried any of YSL's lip stains? What are your favourite shades? xxx

Glossybox - Harrods Edition

This month Glossybox has an extra special treat in store for their subscribers. The March Glossybox is being brought to you in association with Harrods beauty hall!

This special edition box contains five out of a possible fifteen products including Clarins moisturisers, Fendi, Valentino and Versace perfumes, Bliss body butter, Molton Brown shower gels, YSL serum and SK-11 cream. Though my favourite product of them all is the adorable Burberry miniature lipstick!

The products I received in my box this month were:

• YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum (can't wait to try this!)
• Molton Brown Heavenly Gingerlily Moisture Bath and Shower
• Narcisco Rodriguez for her
• Ojon Damage Reverse Instant Restorative Hair Serim (love this)
• Burberry Miniature Lip Mist Copper no.202

I may have to go all out and admit that this is probably my favourite G'box of all time. I love the mix of products and brands and can see myself using every single one. Oh and did I mention the mini Burberry lipstick?

It's probably unnatural to get so excited about a mini lipstick, but it's just too cute!

What do you think about the March box? Are you excited by the Harrods edition? Which of the products are your favourites this month? Do you have also have a strange obsession with miniatures? ;) xxx