Nuxe Prodigieux huile de douche

Today's treat from the Marks & Spencer beauty advent calendar was Nuxe Prodigieux® huile de douche (shower oil). I've heard great things about their Dry-Oil Huile Prodigieuse® so was looking forward to trying this in the shower.

As the 'golden shimmer' of the precious scented shower oil is highlighted on the packaging, I was hoping that this left the shimmer on after the shower; sadly not. However my skin was super silky soft and remained so all day. I tend to moisturise after showering and prefer my shower gel to cleanse squeaky clean, but I'm a complete convert with this product and would be happy top pay the £10.50 price tag, which covers the combined cost of shower gel + separate body moisturiser.

golden shimmer shower oil

Filorga Meso-Mask

The Marks & Spencer beauty advent calendar gave my skin a well deserved treat today with the Filorga Meso-Mask.

With the winter cold my skin is suffering from the drying effects of central heating and my usual oily t-zone now has a dry cross section across my nose and cheeks.

The packaging claims it "enhances skin by improving luminosity and radiance, treats wrinkles and erases signs of fatigue" - my skin was left feeling refreshed and more plump than before, but interesting to see if it lives up to its claims with prolonged use.

"Apply generously"

Directions say "apply generously", but I wonder if I was too frugal as it absorbed quickly and the mask is to be kept on for 15-30 mins. I'll happily pay for results, but at £40 for just 50ml, slathering it on thicker would use it up pretty quickly!

Rosie for Autograph, Amazing Radiance Body Glow

Day 1 of the Marks & Spencer beauty advent calendar is the Rosie for Autograph's Amazing Radiance Body Glow. I'm really impressed too see it's a full size product at 120ml; retailing at £12.50 you've already got almost half the calendar's worth on Day 1!

The packaging says "Get instantly glowing and healthy looking skin with this moisturising, gently tinted lotion, with light reflective particles". I must say, the product looks really dark on first squeeze against my skin. But I did a swatch on my arm to show the difference and it blends to your natural tone just giving a lovely warm shimmer. Excellent for a little extra glow on the shins, but I'd steer clear of any non-waxed areas (eg forearms) as the product can clump on hair.

Sample squeeze

Swatch on forearm

Marks & Spencer beauty advent calendar

I'm excited for two reasons:

1. the Marks & Spencer beauty advent calendar is here!
2. and I'm restarting my blogging over the festive period

At just £35 for over £250 worth of goodies, I'd say it's one of the best value for money beauty advent calendars out there. With the wide selection of top beauty brands in the calendar, it's a snip of the price tags of the likes of Liberty's beauty advent calendar. You just have to spend £35 at M&S, so I bought a fab poncho jumper to qualify which I was going to buy anyway and it's super xmassy to get me in the advent mood.

The house-shaped design is clever, instead of perforated doors which can damage easily under the weight of the products each item has an individual box, reducing excess packaging (better for the environment) and super handy if you're going away for a couple of days as you can take the specific day boxes rather then the whole bulky calendar.

Keep an eye on the blog for honest reviews of the Marks & Spencer beauty advent calendar products each day

Essence: non-UV gel polish

UK press launch. Credit - Flipside PR

When searching for cutting-edge new beauty finds, value homeware store Wilko is not the first place that comes to mind - but it is indeed where I stumbled upon an awesome new beauty brand Essence.

Their point of sale states they're "Europe's no. 1 cosmetic brand", really? Looking at the stats though, they started in Germany in 2001, already big in over 60 countries worldwide and on further digging, it looks like Essence launched in the UK last year, but as they retail solely in Wilko stores in the UK, I've never come across the brand before.

'10 True Love' is a lot deeper and darker than this,
but camera lighting didn't pick it up

Covering all areas of cosmetics, but excelling in nails, the products are all low cost, starting at just 99p. 

What caught my eye was the long row of non-UV 'The Gel Nail Polish', with a vast array of rainbow colours and the their cute curvaceous bottles, they look good enough to eat, and the low price means you can justify a bit of pic 'n' mix nail candy.

I went for a classic dark warm red '10 True Love' (£1.60) and 'The Gel Nail Polish Top Coat' (£2.50), (as I didn't trust the full power of the low cost gel effect).

Ring finger is just the colour,
pinky finger is with the gel top coat

The colour had excellent depth, nothing like you'd expect for the price, and dried really quickly. '10 True Love' had a great shine, which meant I could just do 2 coats, but the top coat really added a fab gel-like sheen. The colour alone without the coat lasted perfectly for 4 days, but the nails I coated with the gel top coat that "lasts 60% longer" it did indeed last a full week.

Verdict: Really impressed with Essence's The Gel Nail Polish colour, high quality and the gel top coat really adds a lasting wow factor to your mani - no more shabby nails by Thurs/Fri in the office! The low price tag is what makes this so appealing and easy to experiment with. Looking forward to trying out the rest of the collection, and I'll be shopping a lot more in Wilko from now on.

Nails inc - Styled by You

While looking for presents for a girlfriend's birthday (or if I'm

more honest - treats that I usually end up buying for myself too), I stumbled across a cute little idea by Nails inc. "Styled by You" personalised nail polish. 

First pick your favourite colour or treatment, then customise the cap of the bottle with gems, messaging or embossed initials, finally design the box with stickers and then add a personal message. 

Clearly I've been living under a rock for the last few months, as these were released in May but I found a cute SBY collection Nails Inc released on the arrival of the Royal baby Princess Charlotte

The verdict: The price-tag is £25 and as they aren't bespoke shades, you could buy them as standard for around £14. To the beauty buff, they're quite a cool bespoke gift, but unfortunately the cost means I wont be sneaking an extra one in the basket for me this time.

EYE may have cheated this Valentines

Valentines confession: 'Max' and I have been inseparable since 2009, but in a moment of weakness, a friend with 'Benefit' caught my eye....

The one and only item of makeup I won't leave the house without is mascara, I can cope without foundation or lippy, but I truly believe the windows are the eye to the soul - and without mascara my soul looks pretty bleak!

Keen to try the latest lash innovations, I'm

often seduced by the "200% longer.... thickest ever.... gravity defying....this mascara WILL change your life" claims.

However, I always come back to my truly faithful Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara (£10.99),
which promises to "DOUBLE lash size appearance vs. bare lashes".

I've dabbled in Dior and lingered over Lancôme, but nothing beats my original Max Factor. And it's not just me - it's so popular, that they seem to bring out varying versions of False Lash with 'fusion', ' 24' and the limited edition coloured packaging that bears no relevance to the product inside (I've had gold, purple, pink and orange to name but a few).

After 5 long years together, I was starting to wonder if Max was the one, or if another could be the perfect match for me. Seduced by the knockout femme fatale POS artwork I tried Benefit's they're Real! mascara (£19.50)

At £19.50 it's almost double the price of Max Factor's False Lash mascara, but the results are really worth it.

The brush is fat and chunky and grabs every lash really well, to get great coverage.

My lashes were thicker and fuller, and most importantly they didn't become stiff and crunchy like some falsie mascaras do; they still feel soft and 'real' to touch.

Benefit's they're Real! mascara

I can't fault Max Factor's False Lash, it's been faithful to me and never let me down, and at that price I always keep one in my hand bag and gym locker for touch-ups and emergencies.

But ladies, size does matter - so in the search for a lasting lash love in 2014, it's out with the false (lash) and now they're real!

Max Factor's False Lash Effect mascara