All I want for Christmas is...all of these Korres Gift Sets!

For the most indulging stocking fillers, check out the limited edition holiday-inspired gift sets by Korres. The Greek skincare brand’s ALL I WANT packs together a mini hair & body beauty regime, while HOLIDAY TREATS is a tribute to Korres’ best-selling body scent, Guava – my FAVOURITE!

ALL I WANT 50ml RRP: £12.00

Japanese Rose Showergel /Creamy-foam showergel with long-lasting moisturising effect. Wheat proteins form a protective film on the skin, maintaining its natural moisture level. Active Aloe®, rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc and antioxidant enzymes, enhances the skin’s immune system

Japanese Rose Body butter / Smoothing and moisturising body cream, ideal for dry elbows, heels and knees. Shea butter and Quince extract have softening, moisturising and restructuring properties. Sunflower, Almond and

Avocado oils nourish the skin, thus restoring its elasticity and smoothness

Rice & Proteins Shampoo / The multimineral combination of Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese and Zinc restores energy to scalp cells, thus regenerating fragile hair. Provitamin B5 hydrates and reduces the rate of splitting. Rice and Wheat proteins remarkably enhance elasticity and protect hair from breaking

Achillea Conditioner / Conditioning milk, which untangles the hair without any build-up effect. Rich in Achillea extract that revitalises and softens the hair. Provitamin B5 penetrates easily into the hair shaft, reducing the rate of splitting and providing long-lasting hydration.

HOLIDAY TREATS 50ml RRP: £12.00

Guava Showergel / Creamy-foam showergel with a long- lasting moisturising effect. Wheat proteins form a protective film on the skin, maintaining its natural moisture level. Active Aloe®, rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc and antioxidant enzymes, enhances the immune system of the skin

Guava Body butter / Smoothing and moisturising body cream, ideal for dry elbows, heels and knees. Guava is an important source of vitamin C, which stimulates collagen synthesis. Shea butter and Quince extract have softening, moisturising and restructuring properties. Sunflower, Almond and Avocado oils nourish the skin, thus restoring its elasticity and smoothnes.

FULL-SIZED FLOWER POUCHES

JAPANESE ROSE COLLECTION RRP: £18.50

Velvet sweet essence of rose buds.

A body collection warmed by the scent of elegant Eastern rose petals, featuring a showergel and a bodybutter packed with antioxidant enzymes as well as softening and moisturising natural ingredients.

Japanese Rose Showergel 250ml/Creamy-foam showergel with a long-lasting moisturising effect. Wheat proteins form a protective film on the skin, maintaining its natural moisture level. Active Aloe®, rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc and antioxidant enzymes, enhances the skin’s immune system

Japanese Rose Body butter 150ml/ Smoothing and moisturising body cream, ideal for dry elbows, heels and knees. Shea butter and Quince extract have softening, moisturising and restructuring properties. Sunflower, Almond and Avocado oils nourish the skin, thus restoring its elasticity and smoothness

JASMINE SET RRP: £22.50

A captivating aroma of newly opened Jasmine buds.

The JASMINE SET collection - Jasmine Showergel, Body Butter and Toning Body Mist - brings a fresh-flowery breeze into the winter-holiday season, while toning and hydrating the skin.

JASMINE Showergel/ Creamy-foam showergel with a long- lasting moisturising effect. Wheat proteins form a protective film on the skin, thus maintaining its natural moisture level. Active Aloe®, rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc and antioxidant enzymes, enhances the skin’s immune system.

JASMINE Body Butter/ Smoothing and moisturising body cream, ideal for dry elbows, heels and knees. The Shea butter in combination with Sunflower, Almond and Avocado oils nourishes the skin, thus restoring its elasticity and smoothness.

JASMINE Toning Body Mist/ Toning body mist, rich in Sodium, Magnesium, Zinc and Manganese, a multimineral complex that works to restore energy to skin cells.

Which set is on your Christmas wish list? I want Holiday Treats and Jasmine.

Tis the Season for bright lips and metallic eyes

Lived-in liner with smokey eyes and fuschia lips is as hot as a Winter log fire this Christmas. I've always loved lived-in smokey eyes, I tend to always do this look on myself - subtly smudged and rather sexual!

Get party-pretty with Korres stunning colours which are all formulated with herbs and natural ingredients.

The Korres products I'm loving are;

EYELINER (BLACK)– Formulated with Macadamia Nut Oil and Vitamin E to nourish the skin, these 100% Cedar Wood pencils come in an array of colours. RRP: £7.00

EYESHADOW (SILVER 51S) – Bright, glowing shade with Sunflower and Evening Primrose Oil, which creates a gentle natural-ingredients-based formula that does not burden the skin. RRP: £11.00

EYESHADOW (METALLIC GREY 55) – Created with Sunflower and Evening Primrose Oil, it cares for the delicate eye area while offering a shimmering effect for an intense metallic look. RRP: £11.00

MANGO BUTTER LIPSTICK (FUCHSIA 54) - Moisturising lipstick with Mango butter for a brilliant high-shine wet look. RRP: £15.50

GUAVA LIPSTICK [PINK 17]- this extended-wear lipstick with a smooth, moisturising texture cares for the lips due to the Guava extract, a rich source of vitamin C, that offers antioxidant protection. RRP: £15.00

CHERRY OIL LIP GLOSS (LIGHT PINK 11) – This is just like Nars' Turkish Delight Gloss. Brush on pure, intense colour that lasts with this formula, rich in Cherry and Jojoba Oils that keep lips hydrated and soft. Vitamins C and E for antioxidant protection. RRP: £11.00

On Twitter, MissJulesBerlin and I have decided that as we are such massive Korres fans, we may start an Offical Korres fan club! Who wants to join? Sarah at iheartcosmetics?

Selfridges Celebrity Garage Sale

I have never ever been to a car boot or garage sale before but when I heard that the Selfridges garage sale is 'a really really great garage sale' and all in the name of charity, I just had to stop by.

Celebs and PR darlings cleared out their designer wardrobes on Sunday (14th Nov) to raise money for Mothers4Children. the stunning Yasmin Le Bon (I couldn't stop staring, absolutely beautiful) and her daughters were there, the lovely Louise Redknapp, Trinny and Susannah, former All Saints Mel Blatt, swimwear designer Melissa Odabash (one of my fave brands) and fashion and beauty PR guru - Jenny Halpern.

It was such a lovely day, I went with the intention of only staying for an hour. I stayed until the end at 4pm, when the celebs were dropping prices down to £1! There was a delicious cake stand where I scoffed a huge muffin and whoopie pie.

It was sort of weird going through Pearl Lowe's and Louise Redknapp's clothes, but to be fair, a lot of the stuff was unworn with the original tags. I almost collapsed with excitement when I saw Melissa Odabash, I LOVE her bikinis, which retail at around £300, here she was selling some gems with all the original tags, for charity. I really like her, she said she was happy I was buying her bikinis because I was "hot"! Made my day!

It was such a great day, can't wait for the next one!

Check out some the beauties I bagged!

DVF Maxi Dress

Gucci Top



Diesel Black Label Dress

One of my Melissa Odabash bikinis

Wake up your skin with Evian!

After a rather heavy long weekend, I was feeling a little worse for wear. Fortunately, I remembered I had a can of Evian Facial Spray. A must-have product which I never fail to pack for holiday and long plane journeys.

I was desperate to awaken my skin (and myself), so I blasted my face with a super extended spray of Evian mist, which is 100% natural, mineral balanced and PH neutral (with identical purifying properties to the Evian Natural Mineral Water).

It felt like a splash from the French Alps (well, more like how I imagine what a splash from the French Alps feels like). It’s a glorious product, leaving my skin feeling hydrated and refreshed. I am actually going to buy another can to have in my desk at work. I really need it in the office environment, especially during winter when the heating is turned up to the max.

I also noticed that my moisturiser and make-up glided on with extra ease afterwards, so I’ll be using this as a part of my daily routine now. Magnifique!

The millions of micro-droplets instantly moisturise skin, increasing skin hydration by 16%! Can even be used on babies and children.

LOVE it! A make-up IT girl must-have!

RRP: 50ml £3.50

150ml £8.95

300ml £8.95

Another post-party pick me up

When I was around 20, I discovered Caudalie’s beautiful product ‘Eau de Beaute’. I used this on myself after partying hard until the early hours of the morning and also on models/shoots after they had also been partying hard.

It’s a Beauty Elixir which revives skin and smells heavenly! Like the Evian Face Mist, it awakens skin and is a great base for make-up, as well as to freshen up skin throughout the day. I don’t have this product right now, but the smell will remain with me forever, which evokes so many memories! I can smell it right now as I think about it. Ahhhhhh!

Eid Murbarak

I must apologise for the delay in this post. I was meant to do this over the weekend but got caught up in the celeb car boot sale at Selfridges (separate post coming once I've snapped my gems for you to see).

Tomorrow is a special day for Muslims - Eid. To celebrate, I would like to share some goodies with four of you.

I have an amie skincare gift set which contains a purifying face wash, matte-finish moisturiser, eye make-up remover and a cooling clay mask (which smells like refresher sweets, yum - actually, are they still around?).

Eid giveaway

I also have two goodies from my favourite toothpaste brand - Yotuel, my everyday toothpaste - the all-in-one whitening toothpaste and a tooth whitening pen, which I haven't tried yet.

Finally, I have a Badger sleep balm and a Rose & Co rose petal salve (an all-round salve and must-have for all handbags.)

All you have to do is, post 'Happy Eid' or 'Eid Murbarak'.

I'll pick names out at random, depending on the number of comments.

Happy Eid!

x

Chocolate Wax at the STRIP club

Fellow beauty bloggers and friends know how much I love my chocolate and also how I am STRIP's number one fan. Last month, I visited STRIP in Soho after reading about it in the Harper's Bazaar Top 100 Beauty List. Since that visit, I haven't stopped singing from the hilltops about it to all my girlfriends. I was eager to book in for my next appointment, this time I just had to try out the chocolate room.

Yesterday I booked in for my usual wax at the flagship branch of STRIP in Chelsea. The gorgeous shop assistant welcomed me into the store as I was trying hard to not check out the beautiful underwear on display (my other weakness after chocolate and make-up).

I was taken up to the delicous 'Chocolate' room for my treatment by the lovely friendly Carleigh. As we approached the chocolate room I could smell the chocolate, if my eyes were closed I could have been fooled into thinking I was in a chocolate factory. The wax smells and scarily looks like real, warm milk chocolate, I think Carleigh was worried I might actually eat it while she left me to get ready for my treatment (as I was greedily eyeing it up).

The Chocolate room looks like the boudoir of a Parisian it-girl, with a chaise lounge and crystal chandelier. Carleigh put a music channel on for me while she waxed away, she is very interesting, like Chelsea who waxed me last time. She was explaining the benefits of hot wax and why it's better to use on your va-jay-jay rather than strip wax. It's less painful for a start (I didn't flinch once, barely even realised I was getting waxed until I had to move my legs up here and there) and it's better for gals like me who are prone to ingrowing hairs (urgh, so annoying).

Once again, I didn't want to leave. How could I leave my beloved Chocolate room? Carleigh finished me off by applying some glorious chocolate oil, yummy! I totally understand why some of STRIP's clients buy this oil by the truck-load, it's divine!

Before I forced myself to leave, I had a sneek of the 'Magnifico' room, this room is exclusively for male waxing only. The boys even have a special man wax, called Magnifico. The 007 poster is sure to distract and relax the first-timers. Back, sack and crack boys?

I keep saying it, but waxing definitely doesn't get any better than this! Waxing for me is now a treat rather than a chore.

Thank you STRIP.

Your number 1 fan.

x

Emma Hardie: The Midas Touch

My lovely generous friend Laura gave me an Emma Hardie ‘Natural  Lift and Scuplt Facial Starter Kit’ to try out. I recommended Eve Lom to Laura a while ago, she loved the way the product worked but couldn’t bear the smell (which I personally like), she came to me saying how she has found an ‘Eve Lom’ type of product that she loves.

Moringa Cleansing Balm and Rosehip Exfoliating Seeds

I know exactly who Emma Hardie is (all passionate beauty bloggers do) and have even seen her range of products in Space.NK. I know this will sound strange but I felt so guilty trying the Emma Hardie products, like an affair in the beauty world (the two cleansers were even kept away from each other in my bathroom). 

‘Cheating’ on Eve Lom was actually worth it. The Moringa Cleansing Balm melts into skin like butter, Laura is also right about the divine smell which is a combination of Orange Neroli and Sweet Almond Oil. The Cleansing Balm is so silky and hydrating, it even doubles up as a soothing, softening mask.

The Moringa Seeds, Wild Sea Fennel and Vitamin E balance, purify and has minimised the appearance of my open pores. The Orange Neroli and Mandarin extracts combined with Jasmine and Rose revive dull, dry and dehydrated skin (which is mine lately due to turning up the heating full blast at home, work and in the car). Like Eve Lom, it removed my entire make up including my MAC Liquidlast eyeliner.

Directions: Mix a few drops of warm water with the Moringa Cleansing Balm in the palm of your hand to create a milk. Apply to face and neck using circular motions and massage thoroughly (can implement the facial exercises at this point), to melt away make-up excess oils and grime. To remove, soak the cleansing cloth in warm water and squeeze out excess, gently wipe over face and neck, taking extra care around the eye area. Use the gently abrasive muslin side of the cloth to exfoliate dry, lined, thickened and congested areas and the smoother micro fibre side for more delicate and sensitive areas.

I absolutely love the Aromatherapy infused Rosehip Exfoliating Seeds. They are 100% natural, botanical seeds which I combined with the Moringa Cleansing Balm once a week to thoroughly exfoliate my skin. All you need is a little sprinkle which goes a long way. Amazing product!

Benefits of the Moringa Cleansing Balm;


- Thoroughly cleanses and tones skin.

- Helps to purify and minimises the appearance of open pores.

- Calming for sensitive skin

- Revitalising for dull and mature skins.

- Can be used as a rescue balm on dry elbows or knees, or as a lip balm.

- Doubles as a soothing mask if left on the skin for ten minutes

Step by step instructions to perform your own facial at home

The Starter Kit also contains step by step instructions on facial massage. Emma Hardie’s philosophy is about applying great products correctly, she has researched the science behind facial massage to understand its role in skin rejuvenation. I am just dying for a Natural Lift and Sculpting Facial with the lady herself, but for now, I’ll keep up with my DIY facial massage using the Moringa Cleansing Balm. I am super impressed!

Check it out at Space.NK or www.emmahardie.com. 

Loving Linziclips!

This is a rather unusual post for me but I have to share these unusual claw clips with you. Linziclips are flat-backed hair clips which don’t dig into the back of your head like a standard claw clip. There are loads of different colours in different sizes (mini, midi and maxi).

I like them because they are pretty claw clips, they are the best looking a claw clip can ever look. My friend likes them because they don’t kink her perfectly straight hair.

You can find them in most local pharmacies, if not, they are available from Fenwick and Daniel Galvin Salon.

Have you tried them out yet?

Boob lift spray

I have been using the LIERAC bust lift spray for around three weeks now. It's become a part of my morning routine after moisturising, I just spray my bust area and it sinks in right away - don't even have to rub it in.

I must warn you, the picture you're about to see was NOT planned..my sister Zorra was being a paparazzi pervert, snapping away at boobs and butts. When I saw the picture on facebook, I noticed the skin on my decolette was looking rather radiant and then it hit me, this is clearly the result of using the LIERAC bust spray everyday.

I'll be using this all year round now to prevent the 'wrinkly chest' look I really dislike. Check out the original post to learn more about LIERAC here.

I have to add that I LOVE the Marlies Dekkers bra above, from Apartment C.

What are your thoughts?

Scrub everyday to keep the cellulite away

After seeing Liz Earle’s Energising Body Scrub in the Harper’s Top 100 Beauty Products, I just had to try it.

The Energising Body Scrub (which smells divine) cleanses and exfoliates skin on thighs, butt, hips and upper arms. I particularly like the ground olive stones, which feel like they’re really sloughing away the dead skin cells without scratching the skin. A 50p sized dollop is enough for both thighs, but I love the smell and the way it feels so I have been using a 50p sized amount for each thigh and hip. It feels more like a gel, which I love. I’m not a fan of oily body scrubs, not only because they leave a mess and residue in the shower but also because I can’t shave my legs properly after. This is a must-have product for me and all year round one at that. I don’t believe in just using cellulite treatment products 6 weeks before a holiday, I think if you use them all year round you’ll see better and more long-term results. I wish it came in super size, I’m running out quick!

Energising Body Scrub

 

Ingredients;

Ground Olive Stones, Damask Rose Flower water and 9 pure essential oils (sweet orange, grapefruit, geranium, peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary, pine, patchouli and petitgrain).

Price for a 200ml tube costs £12.50

After using the Energising Body Scrub, I have recently started using the follow-on product , the Energising Hip and Thigh Gel. It’s a really light and deliciously scented gel which sinks into skin immediately.

Energising Hip and Thigh Gel

 

Ingredients;

Damask Rose Water and pure essential oils (grapefruit, sweet orange, rosemary, cajuput, eucalyptus, geranium, patchouli, pine, peppermint and petitgrain).

Price for a 200ml bottle costs £10.75.

Available from John Lewis, QVC or online at http://www.lizearle.com./

Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's Superskin!

Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate

No wonder argan oil in known as the ‘gold of Morocco’. It’s a golden oil rich in natural vitamin E. I am using it on my hair, my body and now my face. My hair is shiny and my skin feels nourished and looks radiant. I wanted to wait for a few weeks before I posted this review. I have been using the Superskin Concentrate by Liz Earle for a month now and it’s a truly wonderful product. I use it every night after washing my face and I noticed a difference within the first few days of using it.

Superskin Concentrate is an aromatic, intensive nourisher for the face, neck and décolletage. Specially formulated with 100% pure plant oils, such as organic rosehip oil to help repair, rich argan oil to nourish, neroli to calm and soothe, and essential oils of lavender, chamomile and natural source vitamin E, to nourish and protect skin.

I massage it into my skin each night (the smell helps me fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow) and when I wake up, my skin feels smooth and looks plump and radiant, which is a great base for my make up. There was one night where I was so tired, I didn’t use it. I regretted that the next day, I could really notice the difference. This is now my night time must-have treatment. It’s so rich and sinks into skin effortlessly, you only need two pumps for the whole, face, neck and décolleté.

Use oil as a night time nourisher to help plump, rebalance and smoothe skin.

How to use:

For optimal results follow the specific facial massage techniques below to help clear toxins, reduce puffiness, boost circulation, encourage cell renewal and aid lymphatic drainage:

Step 1: Warm a small amount of Superskin Concentrate in your hands and breathe in the aromatic aroma. Then massage onto the skin with up upward and outward movements using firm pressure.

Step 2: With your fingertips, lightly smooth in an outward circular direction along the

cheekbones to above the eyebrows.

Step 3: Finish by gently sweeping your hands up the neck and over the décolletage.

Can also be used to prevent dehydration on long-haul flights, to rescue sun parched skin, nourish dry skin and can also be used to rebalance combination and oily skin.

28ml glass bottle costs £37.00

Limited Edition Collector's Piece

The Cleanse & Polish Limited Edition is set to become a collector’s favourite. The multi award-winning cult beauty classic has been re-packaged in a beautiful limited edition silver canister. Delivering clean, soft and radiant skin for everyone. The beautiful canister can also be used to store your Cleanse & Polish all year round. Perfect for a Christmas gift.

Includes: 150ml pump plus muslin cloth x1.

 

RRP: £17.50