Birthday beauty swag

I did very very well this year in the realm of birthday beauty swag. Mr London and I have a long-standing arrangement by which we give each other lists of things we would like and the gifter gets to pick stuff off it, so the giftee is still surprised.

This year, I received:

Jo Malone Red Roses Cologne

Jo Malone Orange Blossom Body Lotion

Ren Purity Cleansing Balm. This is quite new; it's Ren's Eve Lom-esque oil/wax based cleanser. It smells lovely, but it does not rinse clean away contrary to its claims. It does leave a waxy film unless I use a muslin to remove it properly.

Sarah Chapman Age Repair Serum. I have wanted to try this for ages. It's quite rich for a serum; more of a cream texture than a traditional silicone or oil based serum. I will report back after using it for a reasonable amount of time, and I won't start using it consistently until the weather is cooler and my skin needs more nourishment.

Chantecaille Narcissa lipstick. This is a replacement; I have actually used this lipstick up. Chantecaille have changed their lipstick packaging into the same sleek shape as the Lip Chics, but I think I quite miss the old traditional design. Narcissa is a non-shimmery warm natural rose shade.

Chantecaille Rose Gold eyeshadow. This is one of the new iridescent eyeshadows. These have much better pigmentation than some of the older Chantecaille eyeshadows, which are very sheer. Rose Gold is a warm beige with very slight rose undertones, metallic and soft, and quite similar in texture to the old Shu Uemura metallic eyeshadows.

I will try to add pictures of the Chantecaille when I have better light; they are both really very pretty.