Origins Earth Month + Freebies!

This month Origins will be doing their bit in supporting Earth Month - raising awareness by enticing their customers to try some of their best selling products for free!

Global ReLeaf - For every product purchased within the A Perfect World franchise between 15th – 28th April, Origins will plant a tree to help restore areas damaged by wildfire and help clean our air and water on the customer’s behalf.
Trade-In Day is 21st April – Bring in any empty skincare product (from any brand) and trade it in for a complimentary full size of either Starting Over Age-erasing Moisturizer with Mimosa (£36.00/€50.00) or A Perfect World SPF25 Age-Defense Moisturizer with White Tea (£32.00/€45.00).
 
I am a huge fan of Origins and can personally recommned the APW moisturiser. It works amazingly well to hydrate and soothe the skin without feeling heavy. It also smells delicious! So what do you have to lose? Just pop down to your local Origins counter with an empty container and receive one of Origins' amazing full size products! xxx

Origins products are formulated WITHOUT:

Parabens ● Phthalates ● Propylene Glycol ● Mineral Oil ● PABA ● Petrolatum

Paraffin ● DEA ● Animal Ingredients (except cruelty-free honey and beeswax)

STEAMCREAM: Love for Japan

STEAMCREAM is a cult, award winning product that can be found in many a celebrity makeup artist's kit. Made with fresh, natural ingredients fused with a shot of steam it is a multi-purpose cream that can be used to soften and moisturise the face and body. With an impressive list of ingredients including orange blossom water, almond oil, cocoa butter, lavender essential oil, rose absolute and neroli essential oil it is suitable for all skin types.

Holding a strong tie to their origins this Anglo-­Japanese brand launched the LOVE FOR JAPAN project on the 11th of March, exactly a year after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. The project will be an on­‐going fund raising initiative to provide sustainable and committed support to the people of Japan. It will donate 100% of the funds raised through the sale of the red LOVE FOR JAPAN tin to help the people still coping with the awful effects of this tragedy.

If you have wanted to try STEAMCREAM and see it's benefits for yourself then now is the perfect time! The special LOVE FOR JAPAN tins are £12.95 and available exclusively here.

Have you ever tried STEAMCREAM? Are you tempted to pick up a tin for a good cause? xxx

butter London S/S 2012

When the new butter London collection images dropped into my inbox this month I had to stop myself from letting out a squeal. I am sure my colleagues at work would not have shared my excitement! The colours in this collection are absolutely stunning and there is definitely something for everyone.

I was lucky enough to receive two shades from the range, including the one I was desperately hoping for - the beautiful, shimmery, multi-faceted and rather originally named 'Knackered' and the vivid, creamy teal 'Slapper'.

All the butter polishes are 3 free with no Formaldehyde, Toluene or DBP and are priced at £12 each here.

Knackered is described on the website as a sheer, twinkling oyster shade flecked with micro glitter particles. This polish is a true duochrome, with facets of lilac, silver and minty green infused with a rainbow of glitter.

With flash.

Without flash.

I was so excited to try this polish (even though I had just had my gels done at the salon so couldn't apply it to my own nails) that I commandeered a very reluctant hand model. If he ever sees this he will be very unimpressed... No nasty comments about the man fingers please, it was either these or Maxie's claws. I was desperate! :P

As mentioned the polish is quite sheer, so to build up the intensity I applied four coats. Once opaque you can see the range of colours light up at different angles, and the glitter really dances in the light! Stunning!

I can't wait to try this polish on top of some darker colours to see what kind of effect it can create as a topcoat!

Have you tried butter London polishes? What do you think of their latest colour palette? Are you a little bit obsessed with the glittery beauty of Knackered? Lots of love for my hand model in the comments please! xxx

L'Oreal Lumi Magique

After reading the breakdown of the products used in LFW I noticed that L'Oreal's new Lumi Magique Light Infusing Foundation was all over the catwalks. I was particularly lusting after the milky, natural skin seen in the Mulberry show, which used both the LM primer and foundation. 

I therefore jumped at the chance to try the collection which includes a trio of luminising products - Lumi Magique Light Infusing Foundation, Lumi Magique Touch of Light Highlighting Pen and Lumi Magique Pure Light Primer.

I don't want to make this review too long, so let's concentrate on the foundation first. The Lumi Magique foundation is designed to illuminate and revitalise the look of dull skin with instant radiance. It claims to provide 24 hour hydration and 14 hour luminosity (not sure how this is measured?), while being oil free and non-comedogenic.

I was sent C1 Rose Pearl, which is the lightest in the selection of 6 shades. It is a real shame that there is a limited range to choose from, but I have found that to be the case in all too many a drugstore foundation (this topic really deserves a post of its own). 

The foundation itself has a light consistency, and as you can see from the above is pretty thin and runny. This makes it super easy to blend into the skin and it looks very natural once applied and feels light and fresh. It has a light/ medium coverage and evens the skin beautifully, while adding that illusive glow.

The photo above is unedited (other than cropping) and shows two pumps of foundation applied with a large flat topped brush. The coverage isn't heavy, letting the skin show through and giving it a clean, dewy and natural finish. As I have some larger pores around my nose I was worried that it could highlight these, but luckily it sits on the skin very evenly, without highlighting flaws. It offers just that little bit more coverage than a tinted moisturiser so I did find that I needed to add concealer on any blemishes and redness. Plus, as my skin can get quite oily in the t-zone throughout the day I like to set it with a powder, so after this photo was taken I applied my usual makeup.

The foundation still looked quite glowy, even when set with powder and definitely gave my skin that extra bit of life! Throughout the day I did notice that my forehead, nose and chin did become shiny, but that was easily fixed with some blotting or extra powder. Lumi Magique isn't particularly long lasting, especially on oily skin, but I would recommend it for those with dry skin as it is very smooth and feels hydrating.

The new L'Oreal Lumi Magique foundation is available for £10.99 from Boots and Superdrug.

So what do you think? Does the Lumi Magique foundation look luminous? Have you tried this new foundation? Are you tempted to pick it up? What is the most important aspect of your foundation? Is it oil control, lasting time, coverage or indeed 'luminosity'? xxx

MaxFactor Fantasy Fire... My take!

MaxFactor's Max Colour Effect Mini Nail Polish in Fantasy Fire has been causing quite a stir on the blogosphere! Apparently the colour is a dupe of a long discontinued Clarins polish, but I'm not easily swayed by the hype and wanted to try it with no preconceptions.

Seeing this polish in real life I can assure you the photos really don't do it justice. The warm purple base is brought to life with a true rainbow of shimmer. The holographic effect is beautiful, with sparks of red, gold, blue and green lighting up the polish at different angles.

 (With and without flash) 

However, on application I did find that the polish was very sheer. I am not terribly patient when it comes to nails so a polish that dries quickly and is opaque in one or two coats is essential. Fantasy Fire needs a generous three or four coats to reveal it's beauty, and though I do love the colour and think it was worth the effort, it does require a little tenacity.

The above shows the polish after three heavy coats and as you can see the colour is still a little sheer. Luckily, the shimmer hides the majority of the nail bed, so it still looks pretty spectacular!

In addition to the polish I was sent a little nail art kit so that I could recreate Zarra Celik's Purple Leopard designs. I am no nail art maestro, but I try my best! What do you guys think of my attempt?

If you want to create your own or a similar design you can follow Zarra's tips below. It really is so much quicker and easier than I had imagined! Even the bf was impressed with my left handed efforts :P. 

Fantasy Fire is selling fast, and is already going at 3 times the price on ebay! Luckily, new stock has been added to stores and I have found it for £3.99 in Superdrug and Boots.

What do you think of my leopard design? Have you tried MaxFactor's Fantasy Fire polish? Are you tempted to try it? xxx