Bobbi Brown Bronze Shimmer Brick - Plus Giveaway

Bobbi Brown is a brand of make-up that I have never used before. Obviously I have heard of it, but always thought it was designed for people with a much darker skin tone than my own pale version, how wrong am I!

When the lovely Ashley from Mizspa contacted me to ask if I would like to try the Bronze Shimmer Brick, I jumped at the chance, having hit pan on my beloved Hoola, I am in need of a replacement and this sounded amazing and is described as follows:

"For an instant glow that's like moonlight, sunlight and candlelight, all at once, take this full feathery brush, twirl around the compact and sweep across the face. The result is addictive"

It comes packaged inside this wonderfully sleek black palette with the Bobbi Brown logo/insignia clearly visible. 

Once it has been opened up, you can see that the Shimmer brick is made up of 5 colours which I would describe as being from top to bottom as a pale gold, a champagne pink, a warm bronze, a rose gold and finally a deep copper bronze. There is a lovely mirror which is takes up the one whole topside of the compact, which is obviously always really helpful and handy to have.

The shimmer brick itself is fairly pigmented and shimmery and it reminds me of the baked eye-shadows that I have from other brands. It comes with an accompanying brush which is perfect for applying this too your face without adding too much of the product and the bristles themselves are really soft and smooth to use. As well as using this on your cheeks, you can also use it as an eye palette, which I discovered after not paying too much attention to the make-up item I was adding and it works really well, again you can build up the colour, or leave it to be as natural as you want it to be.

I am so impressed with this Shimmer Brick that I have been offered one to give you lovely readers as a giveway. As always the entry form can be found below and all you need to do is complete it.  This is also an International give-away, so you can all enter.  

Please note the first few options are mandatory and entries will be checked.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Eye of Horus Teal Malachite Goddess Eye Pencil

Eye of Horus, for those of you who haven't heard of them or come across them, is an Australian cosmetic brand who have recently launched here in the UK, they want to awaken the Goddess in each and every woman.

As you can see, the brand is Egyptian inspired, with the products themselves being based on makeup used by the Egyptians. It all began when the ladies behind the brand, who suffered from sensitive eyes and fine brittle lashes, spent some time researching how the Ancient Egyptians used natural waxes and oils in their iconic eye make-up. So you won't be surprised to find that their products are paraben free and state that they used the ancient formula as a basis to make their eye makeup range to provide products which are long lasting, non irritating, nourishing and great for sensitive eyes, not to mention avoiding the use of nasty chemicals

The Goddess Eye pencils contain ingredients such as Beeswax, Candellia and Carnauba wax, all of which you can find on the back of the packaging. I was sent the Eye of Horus' Teal Malachite Goddess Eye Pencil* (£13) which is a beautiful vibrant Teal colour described as being:

"Teal Malachite Goddess Pencil. Mesmerize with ancient metallic malachite. Adorn and enhance your eyes with this hypnotic shimmering jewel – like formula

Gorgeous aquamarine / teal colour is perfect for day wear to illuminate eyes or get that eye popping effect for evening wear".

I absolutely love the colour teal when it comes to clothes because it is such a lovely shade of being not quite blue but not quite green, but somewhere in the middle. This eye pencil is an almost metallic shade and the crayon is really soft to use.

The pencil itself comes with a smudger on one end of the pencil to make blending the pencil under the eye a much easier task. However once you have blended it and it has set it doesn't budge all day and the colour doesn't fade at all. Whilst this is not the colour I would probably choose to wear because I have bright blue eyes and I am not sure it is a good match, I have tried and tested it and perhaps once I get to grips a little more with applying it properly, I will include further photos, but for the time being, I have swatched it so that you can see just how lovely the shade is. It is also waterproof, so ideal for wearing on the waterline as well as under the eye.

There are nine different shades to choose from with these pencils, definitely something for everyone ranging from Emerald Goddess, a brown shade, black and a stunning purple shade called Jewel Amethyst, all of which you can find online.

Have you tried any products from Eyes of Horus?

Caudalie Divine Oil

Caudalie is a brand that I am new too and one from which I have no great knowledge about, so when the opportunity arose to try out their Divine Oil** product from Farmaline I was delighted and jumped at the chance.

Being a recent convert to oils, for the hair, face or body, I am amazed at how well my skin and hair react to them, more so because my skin can either be quite dry in part and also quite oily, especially my face.  As this is a multi-use oil which can be used on your body, hair, nails, as a massage oil and as a bath oil, I couldn't wait to try it out.

The Divine Oil, which comes in this pretty glass bottle with a wooden lid, is a dry oil and to use it you simply spray it onto your skin.  What I love about this oil is the scent, I won't lie it is beautiful, more so than I expected it to be.  It is described as follows:

"Caudalie Divine Oil is a multi purpose dry oil with an intoxicating fragrance. It moisturizes, nourishes and enhances the skin thanks to its unique formula made with exceptional blend of Grape, Argan, Hibiscus, Sesame oils combined with patented anti-oxidant Polyphenols.

This quick-absorbing oil is formulated with anti-oxidant grape seed Polyphenols, moisturizing and nourishing oils of grape, hibiscus, sesame and argan. It envelops the skin with a subtle, floral and sun-kissed fragrance, with woody notes."

I have used this oil inn a variety of different ways and having done so, I love it all the more. If I use it after showering, I apply this to my entire body and face, though I haven't tried it on my hair.  You can either spray it directly onto the skin, or into the palms of your hands to massage onto the skin, my own preference is directly onto the skin because it disappears really quickly, as a dry oil there is no grease or residue left on the skin, the one thing you are left with is a stunning scent.  The photos below show some on my arm and then massaged in how there is no greasy residue left behind.

If you use this in the bath as a bath oil, the scent really comes alive as soon as it comes into contact with steam and then when on your skin in the bath, you massage your skin and once you have dried yourself, you will have soft, smooth and again lovely scented skin.

Towards the end of last year, I was introduced to facial oils, something I never would have dreamt I could use because my skin is normal/combination – leaning towards the oily side and I always assumed that adding an oil would leave my skin congested and even more oily, how wrong was I and infact it is the complete opposite, I have lovely, soft, smooth and very moisturised and hydrated skin after using this.  I do tend to use it mixed in with one of my night creams a few times a week as a little extra pampering treat.

This Caudalie Divine Oil has become one of my most used products since I got my hands on it and my skin really likes it not to mention so do I

Have you tried this product? What do you think of Divine Oil?

Caudalie uses natural active ingredients that are biodegradable, free from toxins such as parabens and petrochemicals and free from animal cruelty

Wantable Make-up Box for February

I don't know whether you have heard of Wantable and that they now ship to the UK?  Well I was offered the chance to try and test out of their boxes** for review purposes.  The choice of boxes with Wantable are:

• Make-up - within your box you will get 4-5 full sized products
• Fashion Accessories - 3-4 boutique accessories
• Intimate - 4-5 premium essentials

All the products you get within your box come from your profile which you set-up and then complete a series of questions answering how much you like/dislike things, it is quite a comprehensive form and the idea is that it is used to select products for you box, so for example, if you don't like mascara, you can say so and you should not get any within your box.

I opted for the make-up box to try and test, completed my questionnaire and firstly, I was quite impressed with how sturdy the box is and how really nice packaged the contents were as to avoid them getting broken, dented or smashed during its shipment.

Now to the contents in a bit more detail:

ncLA Nail Lacquer - retails for $16

In shade Drop Dead Gorgeous which is deep royal blue shade with added sparkle, I am yet to try this, but it is the kind of shade I would wear on my toes.

LAQA & Co - Fat lip pencil in Wolfman - retails for $18

This isn't a product I have come across before, though I do love how pretty the shade is and it is really lovely once applied.

DEX New York Lipgloss - retails for $18

The shade of this is called Christopher Street Orchid and as you can see from the picture above it is a lovely shade of pink and once on the lips it is slightly tacky, but not so much that I want to rub it off.  It looks great on its own or over some lipstick

Sorme Shimmer Glow - retails for $24.5

This is a sparkling mineral face and body bronzer in Bronzed 85 and it is like nothing I have used before.  You simply shake the powder down into the brush by turning it upside down and then brush it over your face and body as you deem appropriate.  Inside the wand, the shade does look quite dark, but once applied it is quite light and there is a lot of sparkle.

Sorme Anti-aging Trial Size - retails for $0

It says on the packet that this is a silky perfecting primer which smoothes skins surface, fills in wrinkles and diminishes discolourations for flawless long lasting make-up.  It then goes on to say "cliniqually proven Dermaxyl helps reduce the depth of lines, wrinkles and crows feet as Vitamins A, C and E plus nourishing Grape Seed Oil hydrate the skin and help prevent free radical damage".  So quite a lot of claims for this little sachet to live up too and I am looking forward to putting it to the test. 

Wantable boxes cost $36 per box, which is roughly £21-£22 per month, my box is worth a whopping $76.5 or £46 which is amazing really and I have been introduced to some new brands and some products I have never used before. 

If this is something you think you might like to try, simply click HERE and choose your box.