Happy New Year!

 (image from www.boncherry.com/blog)

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and beautiful 2011!

With love from Nic and Leanne

X

Winter Skin Saviour - Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream

Like most places in the UK, Liverpool has been under a blanket of snow for over the past week (actually at the point I am posting this, it's all gone - Thank god!!).  Last Tuesday, we recorded the lowest temperature in the whole of the UK, it was -17 degrees c, colder than Moscow!! 

As you can imagine, the extreme cold weather coupled with my agonising 3 hour commute each way to work  (which usually takes 30 minutes) and back has left my skin in a bit of a state. Sore, dry and incredibly tight.  My skin was not happy with the current weather and boy did it let me know about it.

  Imagine how delighted I was to hear Nic from Pixiwoo  recommending Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream  in a recent video, as her winter skin saviour. Nic has got fantastic clear skin, although I believe her's leans towards the dry side.  Whereas mine is most certainly combination.  Either way, her skin looked so flawless and calm that I decided to give it a whirl. You can view the video here . Actually, I just noticed that Sam is also using the same cream and uses it in a 5 minute face tutorial that you can view here. Anything that can make my skin look as good as the Pixiwoo girls, has got to be worth a shot.

I purchased Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream  from Boots and it cost about £7.99. The texture is somewhere between a cream and gel. It emulsifies quickly into the skin, leaving soft, smooth finish.  Given that I have combination skin, I have mainly been using this at night and randomly throughout the day while I've been at home.  Thankfully, my skin no longer resembles a crocodile. Shame I have to go back to work next week really, but I hope that my commute will be shorter and that my skin won't get into the same angry, painful state as it was in.

Thank you Sam and Nic for introducing me to another great product. Do you have a winter skin saviour?

Boxing Day Bargains

I'm not going to lie. I hate sale shopping. Overcrowded shops, worn out/pissed off staff and shoppers who think that sales shopping is a contact sport. No thank you!  However, the one exception I make is for perfume, usually from Boots.  My lovely Aunties and MIL/FIL provide me with a small stock of Boots vouchers in lieu of presents and I will usually brave the sales to stock myself up with perfume for the year.  It's something I've been doing for a number of years, so I'm becoming quite adept.

This year was much the same.  I opened gift-cards on Christmas Day with worried glances "I hope that's ok? It is what you wanted, isn't it?" YES! It's exactly what I wanted!!  So yesterday, The Boy played a blinder and offered to go with me to Mecca, I mean Boots.  God love him, he was regretting it from the moment we set out.  With all the snow we've had, he probably would have just wanted to stay in and play on his xbox. And yet, he still offered to come with me, out of a sense of complete devotion or stupidity. We couldn't decide which. Perhaps both!

I decided that I was going to aim for perfumes that I don't currently own. Although I did make one exception. And this is what I came home with.

Giorgio Armani - Armani Code

Jean Paul Gaultier - Femme Classique

Givenchy - Play

Dolce & Gabbana  - The One

Calvin Klein - Euphoria

My exception to the rule was Euphoria. I love this perfume.  I was given a bottle by a friend who didn't like it. It was love at first sniff for me.  I also have very fond memories of my birthday trip to New York, as this was the scent I took with me.  Plus, the 50ml bottle of EDP and body lotion at Boots was a steal at £21.50! What is not to like. 

Femme Classique I've had before and I thought it was about time I revisited.  Armani Code and The One are both entirely new to me.  I've given each a thorough sniff, but never actually got round to purchasing.  This has now been rectified.  Play is a bit of a funny one.  I actually wanted the Play Intense (which is the little purple bottle on the right hand side of the gift set) but I only found this full price at the stores I checked.  If anyone see's this on offer, can you please let me know? I NEED that for my collection!  Anyway, Play is a nice scent in it's own right, so I've decided to give this one a whirl too.

I did get some other perfume sets for Christmas from the Parental Units (Givenchy - Ange Ou Demon), my Bro (Paco Rabanne - Black XS) and my cousin (Hugo Boss - Orange).  So I think I'm all set for a beautifully scented New Year.  

Has anyone else braved the sales or has any perfume to recommend? You know me, I'm all ears!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Just thought we would take a moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We hope that you enjoy this special time of year with the ones that you love.

Have fun!

Nic and Leanne

X

Mac Lust

Has anyone seen the new MAC collections due for release in the UK in early January 2011??  Ladies,  I've got some serious lust going on!!

Lets face it, it's freezing cold and snowy out there. So I've been safely tucked up at home watching Temptalia's You Tube videos and I have to say I'm quite taken with a number of items from the MAC Stylishly Yours and Champ-Pale collections.

Although I would find it quite difficult to work with the vibrant pinks and purples of the Stylishly Yours collection, I'm instantly drawn to it.  It's certainly not a collection for the Neutral Nellie's amongst us, although the Cream Colour Bases appear to be quite wearable (for me and my pale skin anyway!).  I particularly like Tickle Me Pink and Virgin Isles.

Champ-Pale is certainly less threatening. If you liked the Urban Decay Naked Palette, you'll  certainly love this.  Muted, classy and understated, there is not a single thing from this collection that I wouldn't want.  I'm not going to lie, I want all the Lip Gelee's (Bubble Lounge, Luxure, Sin-tilation and Straight to the Head) and pretty much all (I'd say 3 out of 4) of the Paint Pots! Greedy? Moi?  My favourite lust is the Rose Ole Special Reserve highlighting powder, it looks so beautiful.  But then again, I bet the Chez Chez Lame is pretty amazing too.

Anything that catches your eye??

My Change4Life & the Beauty Bloggers Christmas Weightloss Challenge: Week's 7 & 8 - Final Update

I'm not exactly sure where the time has gone, but it has been 8 weeks since the BBWLC began. I didn't bother posting any update last week. I stayed the same, was my TOTM and I was probably getting the start of this horrible cold that I have now got. In truth, I was very lethargic about the whole thing.  This week however, I lost another 4lb making that 

-13.5lb in 8 weeks!!

To say I'm delighted would be an understatement and I've decided that this week,  there are some benefits to this rotten cold! 

 I think that using the WeightWatchers system has made me think more about the kinds of food I am eating, portions and also realising that I don't have to deny myself anything, I can have a treat and still not fall off the wagon.  I'm not going to lie and say it's all been plain sailing. It hasn't. The change from Points to ProPoints threw me a bit of a curve ball.  There is nothing worse than learning a system, only to have it change 3 weeks in!!  But I can say that it has been easier than I thought.  Changing how I view food has been pivotal for me. 

 It turns out that I've turned into a bit of a "bargain hunter", deciding not to trade in my Points values on food that I don't feel is good value. Oooooh get me?!?  However, there are some occasions where only a Cadbury's Twirl will do. Bugger the points! 

So this is the end of the BBWLC and I'm delighted to have taken part in this challenge with all the ladies listed below.  Everyone has been so supportive.  I've loved the updates on Twitter. It's been a really positive experience and I want to take the chance to thank all the girlies for their support and congratulate them on their achievement too. 

However, this is not the end of the WeightWatchers road for me. I intend to plod along my merry way and see how I get on.  I won't continue to bore you all with the weekly updates though. I will spare you that much. Rest assured my journey is just beginning and I'm positive that this is the start of a Change4Life for me.

Nic @ Obsessive Cosmetics Disorder

The Bristol Beauty Blog

Fudge Smoothies

Who is She???

Margaret

Behind the Shoes

Real Girls Beauty

Stacey @ The HQ of Beauty

Gidders1 (via Twitter) 

Lucy @ Beauty and the Blogger

Alice @ Super Gorgeous

Blast from the past: Avon Haul

Having heard so much talk of late about Avon, I was glad when my Mum informed me that a work colleague of hers was an Avon representative. I could have just ordered on-line, but I thought as I was feeling the "old skool" vibe ordering from Avon, that I'd like to have a browse through the brochure.. I used to spend hours looking through my Auntie's Avon catalogue as a child.  Ahhhhh happy days.

So, I got the SuperShock Mascara in black, as well as the black option of the much discussed SuperShock Gel Eyeliner.  As I am full of cold, I've not really had the inclination to have a play about with make up, or actually wear any at all.  I'm afraid I've generally been looking like a hobo of late. Hopefully normal service will resume shortly.  And while I can't tell you about how it wears on the eyes,  I can tell you is that I was rather impressed at the staying power of the gel eyeliner swatch on my hand.  I do have the tendency to have slightly watery eyes, but I guess I'll just have to road test it, although initial reports are good.

 I also picked up the In a Blink, Eyeliner and Shadow pencil in teal and a Ultra Colour Rich lipstick in the colour Pout.  I'm getting quite into lipstick at the moment.  I've always been a gloss girl, not quite sure what has exacted a change - dare I say it - my age? Who knows!  Pout is a lovely creamy nude.  Its an inoffensive, glossy neutral that would look great on anyone. It's also fairly low maintenance lip colour, which is a winner for any day I am at work.

(L-R SuperShock Gel Eyeliner, In a Blink Eyeliner/Shadow and Ultra Colour Rich Lipstick)

 As is often the case with Avon, I also managed to benefit from a free gift.  I got an additional SuperShock Mascara, Nailwear Pro in shade Romance and Spotlight moisturising shimmer gel.  If I'm honest, I would only end up using the mascara.  I'd love to try out the nail varnish, but it is just not the kind of shade I would usually go for and as for the spotlight gel - it is just something I would never use!

 I've already decided that these few freebies can be added to the ever increasing pile of goodies/essentials I've collected for Give and Makeup.  If you haven't heard about this non-profit initiative and their work supporting Refuge, I urge you to check out their website and offer your assistance in any way you can. It's for a great cause. 

Have you been revisiting the Avon catalogue recently? Any gems to report?

Elemis TSV - Today only!!

This week, the lovely people at QVC sent me a sample of the brand new Elemis Melting cleansing gel and I have to say, I thought it was fantastic.  I'm not usually a fan of orange scented things, but this cleanser smelt just like 2 of the only orange scented/flavoured things I actually like. Cointreau and Terry's Chocolate Orange.  It was really luxurious texture and my skin felt clean but not stripped.  


So the reason QVC sent me a sample of the cleanser was to herald the amazing Elemis TSV.  At the time I am writing this post (12:21am) over 20,000 people have ordered this TSV because it is such amazing value. 

Contains:

• 1 x Skin Nourishing Hand & Body Lotion (300ml) - in a limited edition super size, this intensive milk protein lotion that is gentle and skin-friendly helping to moisturise and soothe.
• 1 x Melting Cleansing Gel (125ml) - Elemis' newest product; an ultra purifying dual-phase cleanser perfect for challenged, tired and stressed skin.
• 1 x Pro-Collagen Marine Cream (30ml) - award-winning moisturiser helps to actively reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles whilst hydrating you skin.
• 1 x Exotic Frangipani Monoi Bath & Shower Cream (200ml) - gently cleanses your skin leaving it feeling soft and delicately scented.
• 1 x Exotic Frangipani Monoi Moisture Melt (35ml) - this is rapidly absorbed into the skin leaving it satin-smooth with a beautiful aroma. 
• 1 x silver bag

I love the Pro Collagen Marine Cream, but I cannot justify the cost of that one product alone.  That's why I love the TSV's, where we get a chance to try a little of everything. What I particularly like is the fact that they are offering this product on 4 Easy Pay's of £9.99, which means that you can afford to treat yourself to this fabulous set without feeling guilty.  It's not usually the time of year that you think about treating yourself is it? 


Well, I have my TSV, that should be arriving in 3-5 working days. Will you be treating yourself?

My Change4Life & the Beauty Bloggers Christmas Weightloss Challenge: Week 6

So, another week has passed.  And after last week's disappointment, I can be forgiven for not relishing the opportunity to have another stand-off with the bathroom scales. But I am happy to report that I am...

-1lb lighter this week!

The lovely The Bristol Beauty Blog informed us that collectively, the BBWLC have lost 51.5lb!! A MASSIVE achievement. Well done ladies and still another fortnight to go.... 

Nic @ Obsessive Cosmetics Disorder

The Bristol Beauty Blog

Fudge Smoothies

Who is She???

Margaret

Behind the Shoes

Real Girls Beauty

Stacey @ The HQ of Beauty

Gidders1 (via Twitter) 

Lucy @ Beauty and the Blogger

Alice @ Super Gorgeou

Impromptu NOTD for WBB and Debbie

Quickly changed my nail colour this morning before we went to see Harry Potter (yes, it was awesome!), so here it is.  Essie Smokin Hot, especially for WBB and Debbie.  It looks much darker on the nail than in the bottle. But that only serves to make me love it even more. I'm so glad I picked this one.

What do you think?

Nails: New Arrivals

Look at these beauties!

I came home from work to find that my eBay nail varnish mini haul had arrived from the US of A. Whoop Whoop! And so while I've just jumped in the bath, I enlisted the help of The Boy to photograph my new purchases (Thank you x).

First up, is China Glaze Bogie (pictured above) and is taken from their Vintage Vixen collection.  As the name might suggest, it's named after Humphrey Bogart and is quite simply, a classic.  It is a gorgeous plum metallic.  It does look a little darker in the bottle, but that's just up my street.  I'm so glad I picked this one.

Also from the China Glaze Vintage Vixens collection, I picked Emerald Fitzgerald, a teal blue/green. In natural light, you'd be hard pushed to say this wasn't black.  Gorgeous. I love colours like this.

Essie Going Incognito is from their winter line. This beautiful jewel like green really jumped out at me. I have a scarf and hat in this colour.  Again, this a deceptive colour.  At first glance it appears to be almost racing green, but give it a bit of flash/natural light and you have got a gorgeous vibrant Jade.  I wear alot of black. So I get a feeling that this will be worn lots.  Looking forward to trying a bit of Konad on this over the weekend.  Would be the perfect base colour to show of white Konad designs.

Woah mama! Essie Smokin Hot is the most amazing murky guruple.  It's not quite mauve, grey or taupe. What it is, is seriously lovely.  If you like those dirty, muted colours. This one is for you.  Instantly I can list about 4 people on Blogger/Twitter/YouTube that will adore this colour. WBB, you are one of them!!

Currently on my nails I'm wearing William Tell me about OPI (Swiss Collection) which I adore.  I would have taken a pic, but its been on for a week and is getting a little shabby. Will try and do a NOTD over the weekend using my new additions.

What do you think ladies? Anything that has caught your eye?

My Change4Life & the Beauty Bloggers Christmas Weightloss Challenge: Week 5

So it's week five and I've hit a bump in the road.and put on 1/2 lb.  To be honest, I've not been as good as I know I can, and have been since the BBWLC began.  The change to the Weight Watchers programme to ProPoints has lulled me into a false sense of security too.  But no excuses, it happens!.  This is a brand new week and I am back on the WW wagon.  I'm not too upset,  I've still lost 8.5lb overall in 5 weeks.  So that is nothing to sniff at.

Hopefully I'll be back next week with tales of loss! 

Ladies, how goes it this week? Lots of success I hope.

Nic @ Obsessive Cosmetics Disorder

The Bristol Beauty Blog

Fudge Smoothies

Who is She???

Margaret

Behind the Shoes

Real Girls Beauty

Stacey @ The HQ of Beauty

Gidders1 (via Twitter) 

Lucy @ Beauty and the Blogger

Alice @ Super Gorgeous

I'm done with: TBS and Philosophy shower gel's and Elvive Shampoo and Conditioner

The Body Shop Wild Cherry Shower Gel was certainly nice enough.  I think I bought this when it was on offer, 2 for £7 maybe.  I love anything cherry scented but I wasn't blown away by this.  It was nice, but not amazing and the scent was a touch synthetic for my liking.  I'll purchase from this range again, but probably not this particular scent.

Philosophy Coconut Macaroon 3 in 1 was a pleasure to use.  It came from The Cookie Exchange set that The Boy got me last Christmas.  As you know, I don't like coconut to eat but I love the smell.  For me, this was a perfect combination of coconut and cake.  Sort of coconut and vanilla if you will. Exactly what it said on the label.  It made for a very warming, comforting bath-time.  Perfect for chilly autumnal evenings.  I love the recipes on the front of the Philosophy products and I always think I should give them a whirl, I just never get time! Has anyone tried out one of their recipes? I'd be very interested to hear the outcome. Again, I'll be certainly re-purchasing from the range but not this particular scent.  It's not made it into my Philosophy top ten!

L'Oreal Elvive Full Restore Shampoo and Conditioner was purchased yonks ago and it has taken an eternity to finish them.  That's great news for your purse, but only if you love the product.  Thankfully the brand advocate (Cheryl Cole/Tweedy - or whatever she is calling herself these days) didn't put me off purchasing.  Anyway back to the products, I think the main reason I bought this was that it was seriously reduced in Superdrug, I needed shampoo/conditioner so I gave it a shot.  It's by no means the greatest shampoo I've ever used but it was adequate.  I got the "weak, limp, lifeless" version. Do you think they may have been referring to Cheryl with that?!?!? Ok then, just me!   Elvive was supposed to improve my hair's strength, density, vitality, shine and silkiness.  I'm not sure if I can say truthfully that it achieved any of those claims. Certainly if it did improve any of those 5 key areas mentioned, I sure as hell didn't notice it.  I wouldn't rush out to re-purchase this. But if its was the only thing I could lay my hands on, I'd use it again.

There's nothing I'm particularly bowled over with this week.  Anything you are mad for at the moment? I could do with a bit of inspiration.

The Boy is now an MCSE!

Apologies, this is totally non-beauty related post.  But oh well, I'm afraid you will have to humour me.  I'm a very proud girlfriend and I want to share it with you. 

The Boy has been working his little techie arse off for the past 2 years to achieve his MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) qualification.and today he finished his final exam.  He has funded this qualification himself, with no assistance from his employer (that's another story!) yet they will stand to benefit greatly from his achievement.  To put this into perspective, he is now the most qualified member of the IT Services Team.  I just hope he gets the recognition he truly deserves from work. Although, that appears doubtful!! 

I just want him to know how incredibly proud I am of him and his achievement. See, all that hard work has been worth it in the end. Well done, you little IT Geek! ;o) 

xxxx

  

QVC Beauty Day - Sunday 14th November

Could I love QVC any more than I currently do? Hmmm I don't think so.  So, just to seal the deal they are having another Beauty Day on Sunday 14th November.  Have a look at Alison Young's preview video here

I believe the TSV is Gatineau .  Not something I'm interested in and I have my Mother's Christmas present already, so it will be a no-go for me.  Still, fingers crossed they will have a few Beauty Day special prices and gifts. I think I'll have a jarmie day on the couch on Sunday.  Not sure if I'll be able to distract The Boy from the xbox for that long though. Wish me luck ladies!

My Change4Life & the Beauty Bloggers Christmas Weightloss Challenge: Week 4

Week 4 already, blimey! eBay helpfully reminds me that its 46 days to Christmas - no pressure there then!!!!

So this week has been a toughie for me.  I've had a nasty cold through the week and went out for dinner on Saturday (special occasion).  But I am pleased to report...

I lost 1.5lb!!

I continue to be delighted with my current downwards trend, even when I've been under the weather for most of the week.  How has everyone else done this week?? Has anyone else found Week 4 tough?

Nic @ Obsessive Cosmetics Disorder

The Bristol Beauty Blog

Fudge Smoothies

Who is She???

Margaret

Behind the Shoes

Real Girls Beauty

Stacey @ The HQ of Beauty

Gidders1 (via Twitter) 

Lucy @ Beauty and the Blogger

Alice @ Super Gorgeous

My Change4Life & the Beauty Bloggers Christmas Weightloss Challenge: Week 3

So here we are at week 3 already. Doesn't time fly in the run up to Christmas?  As you already know, a group of Beauty Bloggers are aiming to lose 7lb by the 6th December. And we are well on track to smash this goal.

  I was actually dreading my weigh in this week. It's TOTM for me and I'm full of cold, so I wasn't feeling  as though I'd had particularly successful week.  So this morning I edged onto the scales and realised that....

I lost another 1lb!!

Considering that I had everything crossed that I didn't put anything on, I'm both surprised and delighted that another lb came off! 

That makes my total at week 3: -7.5lb. But I am not stopping there!  No, I'm going to carry on and see what happens.  My WeightWatchers online membership runs until January. So I will just keep plodding along my merry little way.  The lovely The Bristol Beauty Blog reliably informs us that we have collectivley lost 38lb so far. Well done ladies.  I'm so proud of us!! 

Nic @ Obsessive Cosmetics Disorder

The Bristol Beauty Blog

Fudge Smoothies

Who is She???

Margaret

Behind the Shoes

Real Girls Beauty

Stacey @ The HQ of Beauty

Gidders1 (via Twitter) 

Lucy @ Beauty and the Blogger

Alice @ Super Gorgeous