Philosophy Keep the Peace

Keep the peace is a new line of skincare from the very famous Philosophy, they have launched 3 skincare products which target redness and sensitivity. My skin always seems to always have trouble adjusting to the Autumn/Winter climate and then throw in the central heating it's a recipe for disaster. Luckily since using 2 of products from the range I've not experienced any problematic skin. The packaging and colours used is very calming which is great and I love the little quotes which Philosophy are famous for on their products.

Keep the peace Super soothing serum is so gentle on the skin it gives your skin a protective veil helping calm redness on the skin and irritation. If you have super sensitive skin or some form of sensitivity this would be a must for your skincare routine. The formula is a very light liquid not a greasy serum at all, I apply this every morning before applying Keep the peace super soothing moisturiser and it gives my skin an added layer of hydration and protection from the environment. Whether you're an early start commuter or an early mummy bracing the cold weather, rain and wind this would be great for all skins to add this into their routine.

£42 * 27ml

 key ingredients:

• tocotrienols - a form of vitamin e that consists of the entire range of tocopherols making it a powerful and effective antioxidant

• linoleic acid, glycine soja (soybean) sterols, phospholipids - help to reduce transepidermal water loss and help replenish loss of lipids in the skin

• plukenetia volubilis seed oil - antioxidant-rich in omega 3-6-9; properties help restore damaged, dehydrated skin

• bisabolol - helps minimize irritation

• tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (vitamin c) - antioxidant that acts as a free radical scavenger and helps support natural collagen

 Keep the peace super soothing moisturiser has become my holy grail moisturiser for this time of year. As you can see from the photo below I've been using this every morning and love how my skin feels and looks. The scent is soft and not fragranced which is nice, surprisingly this is not a heavy thick formula but very creamy and hydrating which is perfect for my skin. I've noticed my skin looks more even and no signs of dry patchy areas which I hate.

 £36 * 60ml

key ingredients:

• sodium hyaluronate - helps provide additional moisturization

• bisabolol - helps minimize irritation

• magnolia officinalis (magnolia) bark extract - helps soothe skin and reduce redness

• tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (vitamin c) - antioxidant that acts as a free radical scavenger and helps support natural collagen

• phoenix dactylifera (date) seed extract - provides antioxidant and skin calming, soothing properties for sensitive skin

Whilst I'm not new to Philosophy as a brand this is the first time I've tried their products, the one product which always pops into my head whenever I hear about Philosophy is their best seller Purity Cleanser. Have any of you tried this? I love the the fact this can be used as an all-over cleanser for the eyes and face which is so convenient.

There is also a facial mask from the collection which gives an instant soothing calming effect to the skin and also helps control dryness and irritation.

Do you suffer from sensitive skin? 

Will you be trying Keep the Peace?

What's That Coming Over The Hill???

Is it a HexBug?? With Christmas on it's way I thought this would be a great post to share with you about Hexbugs which are these tiny little jittery bugs which my son loves. Wait even if you don't have any children of your own or in your family do you have cats? Yep even our furry felines have taken a liking to HexBugs, if you search YouTube you will find lots of videos showing cats having lots of fun with them. My son was lucky to have the chance to try the limited edition Zombie HexBugs which are perfect for Halloween as well as a couple of the coloured original HexBug nanos.

They come housed in these spooky coffins which I think is a great idea, on their backs they have a skeletal clip on layer which glows in the dark. As you can imagine these have been played with on a daily basis since they joined our home.

There are different series of Hexbug nanos for you Hexbug fanatics out there, these two below are from the Newton Gravity series. There's another series called Newton Motion and they have a super sweet pink Hexbug which is cool.

My son bought the Hexbug Glow in the dark track below with his own birthday money, you can buy the original Nano habitat sets in lots of different packs. I think the Habitat set is a great starter set, you get enough track to build lots of different tracks but also you get 2 Nano Hexbugs which is great. The track easily clips together, you can make as many different track sets as you like.

 

So that you can get a true idea of how fast and neat these little bugs are we filmed them for you, also if you don't have any of the Hexbug track then fret not my son also enjoys making tracks out of his Duplo which is great and even Lego!



Hexbug Nano Habitat Set

Duplo Hexbug City

Overall these make great gifts and you can use most objects to create a track, I would recommend the individual Hexbugs as great stocking fillers. They are loved my girls and boys and come in an array of colours. Hexbugs also are available in other bugs such as the spider, inch worm, crab, ant and original so somethin for everyone regardless of age or whether you're a human or animal ha ha!


Also Hexbug was recently honored in the UK by the Mum's Choice Awards, you can read the full article here.

What do you think about the Hexbugs?

Christmas Festive Treats

We recently visited our local Garden & Leisure store to see the beautiful christmas arrangements and scenes. We always visit every year and my son loves going to their grotto, I will try and take photos next time we visit so you can see how great the store is. They have so many colour coded displays with every colour christmas decoration you can think of! I'm not sure about you but we have a mix 'n' match tree which has an array of different ornaments which I've collected my whole life and most of them all tell a story which I think is magical and what Christmas is all about.
So when I saw this beautiful Peacock decoration I had to have it, he was glistening on the hanger and he soon fell captive in my shopping basket amongst a scrummy Christmas Eve Yankee Candle Wax Tart.

I must admit whilst I'm new to wax tarts, I first used a wax tart last year which was a homemade one not by myself. Sadly I found the scent soon went only after a couple goes and this put me off trying them anymore and I soon resorted back to using oil. However since trying the Yankee Candle wax tart I don't think I would ever try or waste my money on any other wax tarts or oils again. I've burnt the tart 3 times and the aroma is still filling the house with a lovely christmassy scent.

Yankee Candle say the wax tarts can burn up to 8 hours each which is amazing. This one cost me £1.15 and well worth the money, not only am I going to go back to stock up for the winter but I'm also thinking of picking up a selection for stocking fillers. I know my mum would love a selection of the winter themed fragrances all wrapped up. The other scent which I wish I picked up but will pick up next time is Christmas Rose, I'm a rose scented devotee anyone but this just smelt divine and very homely.

Have you tried the Yankee Candle wax tarts? 

Which scents are your favourite?

Accessorize New A/W 2011 Makeup Collection

Accessorize have launched their new makeup collection which includes a fab foundation with SPF20!! The collection also consists of new baked blusher shades and eye shadow shades and 2 new mascaras. Photos??? Yep they're coming right up now peeps feast your eyes...

Picture Perfect feels great on the skin and gives a great full coverage, this is in the shade of Warm Honey and even though I'm fair this is slightly to cool for my skin so I need to use bronzer over the top it give me more colour. However apart from that I would say for the price this is a good all rounder, there's 5 shades to pick from so I would prob be the next shade up or maybe mix it with this shade to get a better match.

£8 / 35ml

Next up is my favourite item out of the collection which is one of their baked blushers in the shade Wowzers, I've been reaching for this blush lots lately and had a great response to it. You've probably seen the photos from my Saturdays face post but I'm actually wearing the products mentioned in this post. I love the soft cool pink shade it creates which my skin tone. These blushers are so pretty with a marbles pattern, there's another 3 shades which all look stunning and I have my eyes on them.

£5

Accessorize have also released new shades of their popular baked bronzers, look at how gorgeous these duo baked bronzers are. They look so smooth and they feel so smooth to touch, I did think they both look very similar but once swatched to the eye they are slightly different however if I had to pick one I would probably pick Pearl Sands because the darker bronze shade looks more of a matte whereas Bondi has a slight shimmer to the darker shade and think for the winter a matte bronzer works better. Both of these will give you that healthy glow which sometimes we lack in the winter so why not cheat and use one of these to give you a quick pick me up.

Pearl Sands & Bondi

I'm afraid to say that both the mascaras from the collection where disappointing for myself, I tried them both a couple times each and just found they didn't coat my lashes well and took a long time to build up the product. If you're looking for a VERY natural look then both of them would be fine but if like me you like thick long black lashes I would give these a miss. 

Waterproof Mascara £5.50 and Collagen Mascara £6

Baked Eyeshadow Duo & Trio, both of these a stunning and perfect for the festive season, if you follow my blog then you will know that I've taken a personal liking to grey shadows. I find myself wearing a dark charcoal shadow most days with a soft pink lip and cheek. I have used both of these during the day very softly on the lid a made sure I really buffed out the lines. They both have staying power and I couldn't pick between the pair because they both have beautiful shades. I would say that the marble shadow Aphrodite would be more of an evening shade because it's too sparkly for day wear for me personally. I like to wear a matte smokey eye for the day. You can use these dry or wet for more intense look or even an eyeliner. I found them very pigmented and would recommend these to everyone.

 £/ £4

 

 Dazzling Devastating & Aphrodite

I've shown posted these images before but wanted to share them again here with this post as these are the products I've used to create my FOTD.

Have you tried anything from the new collection?

Does anything tickle your fancy?

MeMeMe NOTD

Morning lovelies I have a quick NOTD for you today, when  initially saw this shade I did think spring time but I must admit since applying Serene on my fingertips this is actually a stunning winter shade! All that's missing are some pretty white snowflakes.

I love the wide brush which makes application so much easier and quicker! You can pick up Serene online at www.mememecosmetics.co.uk or from selected Superdrugs.

What shade do you have on your nails now?

FILGORA Sleep & Peel Night Cream

Hello cherubs I hope you are all well and wrapping up warm, it seems the good old British weather is finally back!
I have a skincare review for you today which is exciting, I've been using this for a few weeks now and wanted to share my thoughts with you. Filorga is a resurfacing night cream which is part of the anti-ageing range by Laboratories Filorga. Sleep & Peel has a growing list of A-list fans including Lady Gaga who is raving about Sleep & Peel.

What's so special??

Well Sleep & Peel is a cellular renewal boosting cream which helps to soften the skin, fight premature ageing and correct imperfections. 

The NCTC ( a unique formula of 55+1 ingredients identical to the ones used in Aesthetic Mesotherapy ) and Hyaluronic Acid cocktail in this clever cream is added 6 varieties of hydroxyl-acids ( AHA and BHA ) of different molecular sizes that guarantee progressive and controlled exfoliation. Two matrikin peptides combined with brown algae and alpha arbutin provide a protective, lightening and efficient anti-ageing action.

The packaging and the way the product is displayed is very nice and screams high end brand, this is not recommended for women who suffer from sensitive skin because of the active ingredients.You can use Sleep & Peel every night or like I do every other night or every 2 nights. I have been using this in conjunction with my other night cream and my skin has been fine no reactions. It does mention on the box that it is perfectly normal to experience a slight tingling sensation when first applied. I must have touch skin because I didn't notice any tingling.

I've noticed how much clearer and brighter my skin has been since using the sleep & peel which is great because I always seem to get dry flaky patches on my skin which lets face it doesn't look great when you apply your foundation! This is become a MUST for my skincare regime and I love the fact you go to sleep and when you wake your skin looks so fresh and clear! Add it to your Christmas lists ladies because this is worth the pennies and the hype.

 Well if it's good enough for Lady Gaga...right?

Sleep & Peel can be purchased from House Of Fraser £54.00

Have you heard of the Laboratoires Filorga range? 

Would you like to try the Sleep & Peel?

SKULLDUGGERY Winners!!

Thank you to everyone who entered, the 5 lucky spooky winners are-->>

1. Sarah

2. Jen

3. Aysh

4. All things Bright And Beautiful

5. Jade

I have contacted all of you lucky ladies, please contact me back asap so i can arrnage for your prizes to be sent.

Well done, I hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Nip + Fab Sheer Make-up Fix

Until recenlty I had been suffering from blemish prone skin, I'm sure it's been hormonal and down to my lack of water intake! Since then I have drank more water and have been using a new primer which has helped my blemishes calm down and even disappear.
As for the packaging it remains the classic Nip + Fab logo and pattern which is always eye catching and very clear. The Sheer Make-up Fix comes in a handy sleek tube which is easy to travel with and use.
You can wear this alone or underneath makeup as a primer like I do, once applied your skin is hydrated, plumped and smoother.

Nip + Fab say:

A multi tasking wonder gel. This unique formula instantly evens skin tone + texture whilst reducing the appearance of fine lines. Sheer Make-Up Fix contains Osilift® which refines the skin's surface with immediate smoothing and lifting effects and keeps make-up in place thoughout the day.

The clear gel sinks into the skin quickly and feels light on the face, this has really made a difference to my foundation looking flawless on my face. I found I noticed the difference most on my forehead where I had cluster of tiny spots under the skin which looked awful.

 
Nip + Fab Sheer Makeup Fix retails at £14.95and can be purchased from www.Nip+Fab.co.uk or Boots stores and online.

Have you tried this? Would you try it?

The Muppets By O.P.I Christmas Collection

The Muppets have been around for years and we all know the characters from The Muppet Show which was created by Jim Henson. I adored the Muppets and was very excited and happy to see this collection and learn that they've made another film in time for Christmas.There's still a bit in me which loves them, I think as soon as you see the characters they make you smile. I was very lucky to receive 2 shades from the new collection to review and share my thoughts with you all on my blog. The collection consists of 12 shades which are all eye catching, a real mix of finishes and colours.
I am SUPER excited to share my photos because for this review no words can capture how beautiful both these polishes actually are so I'm just going to dive straight in with a gallery of photos to show you. Oh and before you see the gallery please excuse my sad nails they just don't seem to grow at the moment I need to keep them painted to make them stronger.

Warm & Fozzie

A feel good shade of warm copper

Warm & Fozzie is a beautiful shade for the Autumn, a mix of copper and gold metallic hues give a warm finish which looks great on the nails. I tried to be festive and tried the red O.P.I shatter polish over the top on my ring finger, I left my baby finger bare so you can see the difference. I can see me wearing this shade all through the Autumn and winter.

 Rainbow Connection

The Rainbow glitter of your dreams.

 

Swatches

 I took swatches of Rainbow Connection over the top of 2 different O.P.I polishes, I thought I would try a very soft subtle background polish and opted for Sweet Heart which would really show off how pretty Rainbow Connection is. Next I thought a nice bold cream polish would compliment Rainbow Connection and was drawn to Jade is the New Black. Well OMG I will let the pictures do the talking! I love this combo so much and it screams Christmas, I have nick-named this mani Christmas Tree.

The Muppets Christmas Collection 2011 is available now to purchase from  www.lenawhite.co.uk and retail at £10.50, I recommend you snap any of these shades up before they sell out because they are so pretty and festive! Below shows you the other polishes in the collection, I think they all look fab!

Thanks for reading which shades do you want??

Do you like my Christmas Tree nail look?