A Christmassy Trollbeads Bracelet

 From left (lock) clockwise. All Trollbeads unless otherwise noted: flower lock (that you can't really see, it's on the wrong side), silver stopper, lucky knot, green stripe, bee on hive, kimono ume (limited edition, still available online though), viking, golden cave, red stripe, forget me not, Eagle Bay Designs ancient river, turtle, Eagle Bay Designs golden seas, green feather, brew of the moor, Mees & Merel red armadillo, mermaid, turquoise prism, silver stopper.

Here's a close up of the two Eagle Bay Designs beads. These are made individually by glass artist Doug Clark, and they are absolutely beautiful beads. I'd buy more if I wasn't so wary of customs charges (I took the risk recently with Ancient River as it is just so lovely, and was lucky for once). The other thing I like about Eagle Bay Designs is that the beads come in two different core sizes - one that fits most European Charm Bracelets, and one that specifically fits Trollbeads. I like being able to buy the smaller core size that matches my Trollbeads exactly.

Eagle Bay Designs beads are available from www.eaglebaydesigns.com, and Mees & Merel from Etsy www.etsy.com/shop/meesmerel.

A new London - Isabella

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may remember that one of our two guinea pigs, Stacy, sadly died at Easter. She had been prone to upper respiratory problems, and despite antibiotics and lots of TLC she passed away on Easter Friday.

We left Candace on her own to see how she'd be without Stacy before rushing to replace her, although we were tempted to do so. Guinea pigs are generally very sociable creatures and should not be kept without a friend/cellmate. The guinea pig hotel where she spent her summer holiday kept an eye on Candace to see if she was interested in and agreeable to other guinea pigs around her, and as she was happy to chat and sniff other girls through her cage and through their respective runs (they don't chuck them in together) we decided that a replacement would be a good idea.

Candace seemed noticeably sad and lonely after her holiday ended. I know to some people it seems silly to project emotions on an animal, but even Mr London (who is not as sentimental about animals as I can be) agreed that she did look sad. Her home is in our dining room so she does have company, but it's not the same as someone from the same species. Candace was also the more passive and sociable of our two guinea pigs, and while Stacy would probably have been happier as a solitary pig, we agreed it wasn't satisfactory for Candace.

We looked, quite hard, for a replacement from a rescue home. Unfortunately, they all prefer to re-home in bonded pairs and we couldn't find any solitary female guinea pigs looking for a friend. I completely understand this - if you do let someone take a single guinea pig and you are left with a single she or he can't be re-homed on their own, and they do honestly get quite fond of each other (or learn tolerate the other one, in Stacy's case).

We finally bought a new guinea pig from a pet store. I still struggle with my conscience over this; I really wish we hadn't had to do it, but Candace was looking increasingly sad and listless. She has perked up noticeably since we brought Isabella (we're sticking with names from Phineas and Ferb) home. Isabella is tiny compared to Candace; I really don't like to think how she'd have gotten on if she'd gone from being in the big container inside the pet shop to being in an outdoor hutch as they're more typically kept.

If you are considering getting guinea pigs, I'd urge you to look for rescue pigs rather than buy from a pet shop. Our biggest worry was that Isabella would be a) not a girl or b) already pregnant. As guinea pigs gestate for 72 days, we still don't know for sure that she isn't (we're booking a visit to our vet to check). Guinea pig 'bits' (to put it delicately) don't look that different in the girls and boys, and though we've had a quick look and are pretty sure she is a girl, I'm not a guinea pig expert.

Here's the video of their first meeting. For some reason it isn't full screen (we took it on the iphone) sorry!

Sarah Chapman Skinesis Exfoliating and Hydrating Boosters - review

The Sarah Chapman Skinesis line is quite compact in terms of different products, which is one of the things I like about it. At launch, there were an oil based cleanser, general anti-ageing serum (in two different strengths), spf 15 day cream (again in two different strengths) an eye cream and a night treatment oil. About 18 months ago she also introduced three 'Booster' serums to the line. I bought the Exfoliating Booster and was sent the Hydrating Booster by the PR officer for the brand. There is also a Skin Tone Perfecting Booster which I haven't tried yet.

I use Hydrating Booster in the evening under my night moisturiser. You can also use this one in the morning, although I find an evening application sufficient to keep dry patches at bay. This is a thickened watery texture, and absorbs quickly with no stickiness. As well as glycerin, rosewater, sodium hyaluronate and marine extracts, it also contains beta glucan. This is a great ingredient (derived from oats) as it calms sensitivity and can be beneficial for skin that tends to break out as a reaction to stress. If you have skin that is basically oily but also dehydrated, I'd recommend this product.

Ingredients list:

The Exfoliating Booster is too strong for my skin. Its recommended usage is three nights a week, but I found if I used it twice a week that my skin felt very sensitive after the second application in the week, and was often a bit touchy after a single application. I have quite fine-textured skin that doesn't need a lot of exfoliation, and if that's your skintype too I'd recommend skipping this product - I have an exfoliating product from another brand that I like more and I'll be reviewing it soon.

If, on the other hand, you find that most exfoliators on the market don't work on your skin and you have quite oily or resistant skin, this may suit you better.

Ingredients list:

These are expensive at £57 each, but they are also a good 30ml size. Sarah Chapman products are available from SpaceNK and QVCuk.com.

In other Sarah Chapman news, I'm back on the Eye Recovery. I noticed the fine lines around my eyes getting worse, so took myself off to SpaceNK to buy a new one sharpish. This was one of the first products I ever reviewed on this blog: you can read my original review here: Sarah Chapman Eye Recovery. Nearly three years after I originally started using it this is still the eye cream that I rely on and go back to again and again.

Disclosure: Hydrating Booster PR sample.

Tom Ford Silvered Topaz eyeshadow quad - thoughts after using

After using this for a few weeks, I've come to the conclusion that although the Tom Ford quad is lovely (and I have no problem with the pigmentation of the shadows) I'm more of a single eyeshadow type of person. In this case, the single eyeshadow in question is Armani's Eyes To Kill in #4 (Pulp Fiction). 

Tom Ford Silvered Topaz Eye

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill #4 Pulp Fiction

Not exactly the same, but a pretty similar look achieved with a single shadow. If I had more time in the morning, I'd use the quad more. Having paid £60+ for it, I don't want to just use one of the colours in it. I know Tom Ford favours quite a 'done' and polished look, but it doesn't fit in with my everyday lifestyle.

Beautiful Christmas Gifts from Pai

Each of these Pai gift sets is safely under £20. The Serenity Kit (£15.99) includes 225g of bath salts scented with Frankincense, May Chang and Grapefruit and 100ml of the Comfrey & Calendula body cream, and the Tranquility Kit (£13.99) is 50ml each of a bath oil and body oil both scented with Jasmine & May Chang.

I haven't tried either of these kits myself, but I know Pai and trust the brand enough to recommend without trying them. I'm also planning on buying one (probably the Tranquility one - it'll be cheaper to send) for my sister, and she'd kill me if she thought I'd given her a PR sample for Christmas. As a precaution, I wouldn't buy these for anyone who was pregnant, due to the essential oil content. (I'm certain my sister isn't).

Available through the Pai website: www.paiskincare.com, and other stockists.

One for West Ham Fans - Mr Moon has left the Stadium personally signed by Jeremy Nicholas

It's not really beauty related (Mr Nicholas probably won't thank me for writing that) but it is a good present if you have a West Ham fan in the family.

Jeremy Nicholas is a radio presenter and journalist, and was the West Ham stadium announcer for ten years. This is his account of his time there.

I've bought a copy for Mr London (shh!) and had it personally dedicated to him by purchasing directly from Jeremy Nicholas' own website. It costs a couple of pounds more than buying through Amazon, but I think it's worth it for the dedication alone (but then, I did queue up for hours in Waterstones to get Paolo Di Canio's book signed for him one Christmas. Mr Di Canio was a lovely, lovely man).

Nice handwriting, and I like the touch of the irons too.

The link is www.jeremynicholas.co.uk/shop/buy-mr-moon-book or www.mrmoonhasleftthestadium.com/buy-signed-copies

Just don't buy it for any Millwall fans.

Beautybloggers.org Prepares for Year Two - buy lovely stuff for a great cause

Here's an opportunity to shop for a great cause: the BeautyBloggers.org annual charity auction.

For the second year in a row, beauty bloggers and brands have joined forces for an online auction benefitting Doctors Without Borders.

Participants have donated a treasure trove of the best lotions, potions, products, and gadgets. Donated items range from the hottest items from this year’s holiday collections to hard-to-find exclusives and limited edition cult favorites. When the auction ends, winning bidders make their donations directly to Doctors Without Borders, through the site’s secure giving page.

The auction will be live Monday, November 28th through Monday, December 12th.

I was sorry not to be able to take part last year, but I put aside a brand new in box MAC Fafi Strawbaby that I was considering putting on Ebay ready for this year.

I'll be putting a link to the site in my sidebar. There are loads of fantastic items available, so please have a look and support it if you can.

L'Oreal Colour Infallible eyeshadow in Sahara Treasure

Now this is a bit odd. These used to be called Color Infallible (see my post on Flashback Silver for evidence) and now they are La Couleur Infallible. If L'Oreal can't make up their mind, I shall use the correct english spelling.

I think this is one of three new colours released for Winter; I don't remember seeing it or Bronze Goddess (greenish bronze) or Goldmine (yellow gold) previously.

Sahara Treasure is a nice shimmery sandy beige, a slightly faded old gold shade. Goldmine is noticeably more yellow.

Swatches at different angles below. It's undeniably shimmery, but the colour is neutral and not so light that it's startling. I wore this to work today with some brown eyeliner without feeling too tinselly (although I do wear a lilac streak in my hair and rings with skulls on to work, so I'm probably not the most reliable suitable-for-work barometer.) 

Boots have a three for two deal on L'Oreal products at the moment, so I also bought Goldmine (not sure I'll ever wear it, but I will swatch it) and another Sahara Treasure to do a quick giveaway with (it's nearly the holiday season and I'm feeling festive).

If you'd like to throw your hat in the ring for the spare Sahara Treasure, I want to know what your best present ever was. My decision is final (although if it's really hard I'll get Mr and Miss London to help). I'll close the competition and pick a winner on Sunday 04 December. You're welcome to enter by email or comment, but please either check back on my blog on 05 December or send me a contact email address to get hold of you if you win. Open internationally.

Neom Organics Complete Bliss Candle

Neom Organics Candles are made with a blend of vegetable wax and essential oils, rather than paraffin and synthetic fragrances. These are £37.50 each, but they are massive and burn for 55 hours (I'd say they are roughly twice the size of a Diptyque candle).  Smaller travel candles are available for £13.

I was sent this one to try by the PR for the brand. The Complete Bliss blend has been created for indulgent moments and romantic treats. (I have not told Mr London this, as I wouldn't want to raise his hopes.) It's also apparently good for headaches and stress - the Neom candles are serious aromatherapeutic treatments, and I can confirm that they burn very cleanly and with a good (and obviously high quality) scent. Complete Bliss is a beautiful rich rose scent, and I think I can smell a little citrus (lime?) in there too. We've been burning it in the evenings after long days in London, and it is a very good scent to unwind and de-stress to.

I'd buy from this brand in future; the Rebalance candle sounds lovely for winter (mandarin, cinnamon and clove). I've been looking for a replacement for my favourite Diptyque Pomander  as I'm trying to avoid candles with any paraffin in them.

Neom also does a range of body care - I was sent the Complete Bliss Body Oil and it's lovely after a bath or shower although I find it takes longer to sink in than a body cream.

Neom Organics can be purchased from the website www.neomorganics.com. If you sign up for the newsletter you get 10% off your first order and they also send you details of special offers (and there are lots coming up for Christmas).

Disclosure: PR sample.

Beauty Spotlight Mystery Makeup Bag

It's Pretty in Dayton's turn to open her makeup bag this week. It looks pretty innocuous but you won't believe how much fits in this plain black bag!

Click on the photo to go to www.prettyindayton.com and see what's in this week's bag.

Liz Zorn Soivohle Underworld and Love Speaks Primeval fragrance reviews

I've wanted to try some Liz Zorn fragrances for a while (since Carrie at www.eyelineronacatblog.blogspot.com said that if she ever had a signature fragrance made, she'd pick Liz Zorn to make it) but it was only recently through the excellent Nathan Branch that I found out she does ship internationally - see his post on Liz Zorn's Meerschaum and her new Pour Homme fragrances here: Nathan Branch on Liz Zorn. After a month or two of dithering (full bottle or sample of Underworld?) I went with caution and ordered a handful of samples from the Soivohle Absolutes range, egged on and helped by Carrie on Twitter.

There are Modern Naturals (100% natural ingredients) and Mixed Media (some artificial ingredients used) in the range, clearly set out in two separate categories. Liz Zorn is an artisan perfumer; her creations are intriguing, distinctive and sometimes challenging. I love that about them.

Underworld (Modern Natural) opens with some Sturm und Drang; coffee and clove notes lift darkly from the skin. It then evolves into a beautiful spicy floral jasmine-rose blend, resting gently on the vetiver and balsam in the fragrance base. My skin tames bigger naturals, so this is mostly a darkened floral on my skin, and the vetiver is more of a supporting act rather than taking centre stage. Underworld begins with Hades, but ends with Persephone on my skin.

I've been utterly infatuated with Underworld; a full bottle went straight on to my Christmas list and the other scent samples I ordered only got a look in when my Underworld sample was nearly finished (I'm saving the last couple of days' wear for days that really need Underworld).

The next sample I've moved onto is Love Speaks Primeval (Modern Natural). This is described as a classic chypre and I do get the bergamot-floral-oakmoss evolution of notes, but on my skin it's mostly about the botanical musks and the hyrax. When it's first applied the animalic hit is strong, even on my beast-fragrance-civilizing skin. It smells of not-quite-fresh sweat (you know how Napoleon allegedly told Josephine not to wash because he'd be home soon? That.) After the first few fox-in-a-hen-house moments, it smooths out into a warm, leathery musk note, the type of my-skin-but-better smell I love. Mr London particularly likes this one on me.

Soivohle fragrances have some serious longevity too; I can smell them at the end of the day and I don't need to hold my wrists to my nose to get wafts of the scent as I move.

The website is at www.lizzornperfumes.com.

Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Taupe

This isn't a Brow Pencil, oh no. It's a Brow Sculptor. (Insert some bumpf about the architecture of your face in a Californian drawl here, and you're on the same page as Mr Ford.) 

It's a very good brow product though - despite having both Suqqu and Shu Uemura brow products in my collection, I bought this after seeing it used on a friend. The actual brow stuff is in a flat chisel shape, similar to the shape of the Shu Uemura Hard brow pencil when it's sharpened at the counter in the naginata (staff-sword) style. This shape enables you to achieve a very defined, precise brow.

I bought shade 2 Taupe - a greyish brown. It's a little darker than Shu Uemura Seal Brown, but similarly has no red tones.  

There's a brush at the other end for grooming the brow hairs up before applying the pencil; this allows you to see where there are gaps that need filling more easily. 

You can then unscrew the brush to reveal a sharpener hidden away in the end of the pencil to maintain the chisel shape. This is a lot safer than sharpening a Shu Hard brow pencil with a craft knife! (I use a normal pencil sharpener with my Shu Uemura - I'd sever a hand trying to sharpen it in the blade shape myself.)

My eyebrow before filling in:

The same eyebrow afterwards.

Like the rest of the Tom Ford line, this is expensive at £32. I am glad I bought it (brows are a thing of mine) although if you use and like the Shu Uemura I wouldn't say you need to rush out and buy it.

Blogger Bloggers - setting your site feed to short and preventing content theft

I made a positive decision not to set my blog feed to the short version when I started blogging as I know that people like to read through email/google reader instead of being forced to come to the blog to read the whole post. I'm not driven by page views, so I didn't mind that at all - I'm happy that someone wants to read what I write, however they read it.

Unfortunately, I had to set my blog feed to short when I discovered it was being used to populate some spam blogs (splogs). Not only is it annoying to see your content stolen, if you use the Blogger platform, it can lead to your own blog being marked as a spam blog and frozen (Blogger searches for identical content on blogs as a way of identifying splogs). This happened to www.modestybrown.com only last week, and although she had access restored quickly I don't think she'll mind me telling you that she had a very unpleasant and panicky hour or so until it was resolved.

I found my content being republished by chance as a result of searching for a small brand I'd reviewed, but you can check for unusual uses through Feedburner (if this is how you are publishing your site feed). Click on the 'see and manage more uncommon uses>>' link in feedburner to see where your content is being republished. Most of them will be through things like Bloglovin or in the blogrolls of other bloggers, but if you see an address that is unfamiliar it is worth having a look and checking it isn't a splog.

Setting your feed to short means that only the first paragraph is published in the feed reader, which makes your feed less valuable to a splogger, and means that your blog won't be identical to the splog. It's easy to do.

Just go to 'settings' 'other' and set your blog feed to 'short' rather than 'full'.

If you set your feed to short, it's also helpful to make sure you have a mobile device template enabled on your blog. This is also simple to do through Blogger. You just go to 'templates' and enable a mobile template. It makes it easier for people to read your blog on a mobile device, so it's well worth doing in any case.

I hope this post is helpful. I'm not a technical wizard by any means so if I can do this, anyone can.

Special apologies to Tsunimee/Liloo who is going to curse me for encouraging people to set their feeds to short. You don't want your favourite blogs deleted though!

Algenist Regenerative Moisturiser SPF 20 review

I don't care for these 'discovered a great skincare ingredient while curing cancer/solving world hunger/making rocket fuel' stories. I like skincare as much as the next person, but I do think that if you are trying to develop sustainable energy sources you should really concentrate on your day job.

With that grumble out of the way, I've been using this most mornings since I bought it in August, and I'm finally ready to review it. I'm generally (but not overwhelmingly) positive about it.

Algenist is a gel-cream texture that absorbs quickly - it's not as heavy or rich feeling as the creams I usually favour in the winter. I find it leaves my skin well hydrated, but it can also leave a slightly shiny/plastic-y looking coating on my skin on warmer days if I apply too much (Chantecaille Firming Sun Cream SPF 30 remains my first choice summer moisturiser). I haven't experienced any cysts, but I have noticed some clogged pores on my cheeks around my nose and on my chin if I'm not careful when cleansing and if I don't exfoliate once a week. It has a light, slightly minty scent that dissipates quickly.

My skin is generally in good condition and I haven't noticed any particular marked improvement using this moisturiser, although I haven't had any flakiness or dry patches either (I've been using it with my usual Skinceuticals C serum in the morning).

I think this would be a good choice for a dehydrated skin, particularly for one that isn't inherently dry by nature (for a good explanation of dry v dehydrated, read this post on The Beauty Mouth: Beauty Mouth Dry or Dehydrated Cheat Sheet.) It's also a good option for men; it doesn't smell girly, it sinks in well and feels soothing on just-shaved skin. Mr London has been dipping into my jar since he ran out of his Anthony Logistics moisturiser.

This costs £68 for 60ml, and has some good ingredients for that price (as I would expect): the algae polysaccharide complex that the line is based around, as well as vitamin C, a polypeptide, pea extract and apple seed extract. It doesn't have vitamin A or any of its derivatives in the formula (vitamin A in day creams is a bugbear of mine). I also like the fact that you can buy a version of this without spf in it for those who are sensitive to or choose not to wear a sunscreen.

I'll continue to use this, and would consider repurchasing it. I bought mine from SpaceNK, which I think is the only UK stockist currently.

Ingredients:

Great pictures of Tom Ford Metallic Mink and Metallic Moss eyeliners

I know that a lot of people are having to buy Tom Ford makeup online, so I wanted to share a blog post with great pictures of two of the eyeliners - it's from www.makeupandthings.blogspot.com - a lovely blog that's worth a read even if you're not interested in Mr Ford's offerings.

The post is here: Tom Ford Eye Defining Pencils in Metallic Mink and Metallic Moss

Metallic Mink is definitely on my Christmas list.

www.Fruitylashes.com also has great pictures of three of the new lip colours that you can see here:

Flamingo

Wild Ginger

and here's what Violet Fatale looks like on her.

Beauty Spotlight weekly round-up November 12

The Beauty Spotlight Team always has excitement in store for you. Whether you are in the mood for fragrance, lipsticks, eye products or giveaways there’s something for you. If you want to put in your opinion about Limited Editions (and we all have strong opinions about that!) or learn about Google + we can provide that too. Have fun reading this week’s links.






Joey over at Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies can't believe that she's in love with a celebrity fragrance. Regardless of the name behind the fragrance, there is just no denying how delicious Boyfriend by Kate Walsh smells!

There’s a lot of sassiness going on at Beauty Info Zone. TheBalm Shady Lady Volume 3 has invaded Marcia’s life and she’s inviting others to play too. Come see what these ladies are up to now.


She may not be a Metal Queen - but Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed is embracing the metallic makeup trend! Check out her swatches and see if you might like to go metallic too!


At Everyday Beauty, Zuzu's Petals found the perfect juicy fall red lip gloss in NARS Bad Education.


Over at Lipstick Musings, Shannon is the victim of a happy mistake when she discovers Dior 5 Couleurs Eye Shadow in Rosy Nude. Stop by to see why she was so pleased to get the wrong item!


London Makeup Girl is having a rant about Limited Editions that have a shorter life than a Mayfly. Do you agree with her? Read her post (and some interesting comments) here: Limited Editions and other foolishness.


Modesty Brown shares her current staples, including swatches of Rouge Bunny Rouge sheer lipstick in Murmurings and Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Bonheur.


Find out what eyeliner that Paula, from Older Girl Beauty likes so much that she wears it most days of the week.


Is the cold weather making you dry? Well, be sure to enter Pammy Blogs Beauty's Carmex Healing Skincare Giveaway!!!


Check out Perilously Pale for a chance to win skincare from
Yonka Paris!

At Pretty in Dayton Styrch is introduced to a body whip that could very well be her Holy Grail body moisturizer.


Tarte gives more than just Lip Service to their limited edition LipSurgence Collection. One for you and two for Prime Beauty!!


The time-honoured holiday parings of red and gold shades is captured with Les Scintillances de Chanel, Visionary beauty checks out the eye shadows on offer; classics with a twist.

I wish more cosmetic brands would...

...provide foundation samples. Particularly in the UK and Europe, where we can't return used cosmetics generally. Not only is there the issue of matching colour,  it is also very helpful to check that a formulation doesn't bother your skin (I am sure Replica and Proximity would both agree with me on this).

There are very few brands that do this; Zuneta provides samples of the foundations that it stocks, and Illamasqua had samples of the Skin Base available. Online perfume retailers (and particularly the independents) offer small samples at reasonable prices, and I do wish more cosmetic brands would do the same. 

Instead of the beauty sample programmes that give you no choice in the product you receive (and quite often samples that you don't want) I think it'd be excellent if someone would offer foundation samples from a range of brands with a choice of shades (that you can chose yourself). I'd be happy to pay a small fee to try before buying a larger tube or pot. 

What do you wish cosmetics brands would do?

Paintbox Soapworks Goat Milk Hand & Body Cream review

I bought the goat milk hand & body cream from Paintbox Soapworks because I love their scents, especially Dead Leaves On The Dirty Ground. I didn't expect it to be sufficiently moisturising for my very dry skin in winter, as it looks (and is) a lighter consistency than the Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Butter I swear by. I have been very pleasantly surprised; I've been using this after my showers for just over a week now and my skin remains hydrated and comfortable the whole day through, including the skin on my shins. The lactose from the goat milk also provides gentle exfoliation without stripping the skin; good if you suffer from ingrown hairs on the legs or bumpy bits on the tops of the arms.

It is a lighter texture than HoG pumpkin butter, and looks and feels like lightly whipped cream or greek yoghurt. It sinks in to my skin quickly and I can dress immediately, but it still leaves a well-conditioned look.

The level of scent is more subtle than the HoGs, although it still lingers nicely on the skin. I love Dead Leaves On The Dirty Ground in the sorbetto scrub and it works well in the goat milk cream; it's a clean, smoky, earthy fragrance that works well (and doesn't fight) with the dark fragrances I favour.

Ingredients List:

Paintbox Soapworks has also just released their winter Yule Collection, and I received a sampler soap in the Snoggin' scent with my order. I don't usually care for foody scents but the orange zest in this stops it being too sweet for me and I'm tempted to order it in the sorbetto. There are some other very interesting scents in the winter collection: I've ordered Yuletide Mariner sorbetto and The Victorious Sun goat milk cream. A list of all of the scents is below - they all come in the soaps and sorbettos but I've only spotted The Victorious Sun in the goat milk cream.

The Yuletide Mariner - Spruce, Balsam, Salt Water, Cold Rain.
Snoggin' - Egg Nog, Extra Brandy, Nutmeg, Blood Orange.
Poinsetta - Fizzy Champagne, Cranberry.
Comfort and Joy - Gingerbread, Mulled Wine, Cider, Saffron.
White Snow, Bright Snow - Peppermint, Fresh Snow, Pale Vanilla.
The Victorious Sun - Lemon Verbena, Frankincense, Black Pepper.

Paintbox Soapworks items can be bought at www.etsy.com/shop/paintboxsoapworks

Limited Editions and other related foolishness

If you are considering buying the Suqqu Christmas Kits from Selfridges London, don't bother (or at least ring first to see if they've found any more stock). These had sold out by lunchtime on the day of launch last Thursday, which seems completely ridiculous to me. There may still be some stock in Selfridges Manchester/Birmingham, but I would recommend ringing to check.

I am not interested in items that I need to plead in advance or camp overnight to be able to purchase, and the fast-selling limited edition carousel is one of the things that turned me away from MAC as a brand. I prefer to be able to consider a purchase rather than rushing into it because if I don't do so the item will be gone. I also think this fuels the market for reselling cosmetics for daft prices on Ebay.

The launch of the new Jo Loves range from Jo Malone (the lady, not the brand) has thrown up a new variation of this restrict-availability-to-increase-desire phenomenon - there are four fragrances in the line, and a new one is launching each day this week from Monday to Thursday. Today in Selfridges London you can sniff all four fragrances, but you can only buy Pomelo. Tomorrow you would also be able to buy Green Orange & Coriander, Orange Tulle on Wednesday, and all four including Gardenia on Thursday. This seems very odd to me, and I just don't get what Selfridges or Jo Loves are trying to do with it; to me it's just a bit annoying to be able to smell a fragrance but not buy it for three days (unless you fall for Pomelo, in which case you're fine). Here are my thoughts on the fragrances from a quick spritz on some tester strips:

Pomelo - fizzy citrus, like a sweeter grapefruit

Orange Tulle - aquatic orange citrus/floral

Green Orange & Coriander - green herbal scent, some background sweetness to it

Gardenia - creamy white floral

If the descriptions sound quite straightforward, it's a reflection of my impression of the fragrances. They were all pretty but none really captured my interest; if I was going to recommend a soliflore based range at the moment it'd be Les Bohemes by Opus Oils. That being said, I liked the Gardenia the best and I think it'll be a good seller from the line after The Duchess of Middleton Cambridge allegedly wore a similar simple Gardenia scent for her wedding fragrance. The counter was quite busy, even though they were only selling one of the fragrances yesterday.

What do you think of the limited edition thing? Does it increase your desire, or annoy you?

Sappho Organic Cosmetics Liquid Foundation

I wrote recently about being introduced to Sappho Cosmetics at the launch of the www.nutribeautyproducts.com website, and I was subsequently invited to a Sappho Cosmetics UK launch/introductory event. The line was created by makeup artist JoAnn Fowler while working on the programme The L Word, and it was formulated in response to some of the actresses' concerns about the ingredients in mainstream cosmetics. All of the products are paraben, mineral oil and silicone free. Additionally, the liquid foundation contains skin beneficial ingredients like DMAE and MSM, as well as various plant and essential oils.

Ms Fowler was kind enough to match me to a foundation shade herself, and picked out Leisha. A swatch to show the colour is below. Leisha is a fair, neutral shade, and is the second lightest shade in the liquid foundation. The shades are named after the actresses on The L Word, and an image search for the 'actress name + The L Word' is actually quite a good way to narrow down the correct colour choice for you.

Blended out. I put a lot on my hand to show the colour, but it blends in well and doesn't gather in lines on my hand.

Picture applied. I've applied it quite heavily for this photograph, but it doesn't look heavy on the skin. Leisha is a perfect match for my skin tone. The formulation is aloe vera based, feels light on the skin, but isn't drying. I think it would suit a range of skin types, from moderately oily to moderately dry.

Close up picture.

The only caution I'd give with this foundation is that the light reflective particles can give a tiny sparkle under bright artificial lights. I've taken a picture of my blended hand swatch using flash, and you can just see the scattered sparkles

Ingredients:

Disclosure: PR sample.

Beauty Spotlight Mystery Makeup Bag

It's time for a look inside another Beauty Spotlight Team member's makeup bag, and this week it is Older Girl Beauty's turn to pull back the zipper and she what she keeps close at hand. By the looks of it, it seems like she might just have the kitchen sink in there - let's look and see what Paula has in her makeup bag...

5 Laura Mercier Eye Kohl Pencils for £31

I was in SpaceNK yesterday lunchtime with £5 burning a hole on my NDulge card, and decided to pick up the Laura Mercier Brown Copper Kohl Eye Pencil. As part of the winter gift sets, Laura Mercier is selling 5 full size Kohl Eye Pencils for £31 (£26 with my £5 off) - these are usually £15.50 each, so it's a really good saving.

The colours are as follows:

Pictures of the pencils (not in the same order, sorry) Left to right Black Violet, Brown Copper, Black Navy, Stormy Grey, Black Gold

Swatched: Black Gold (it's not really that black, it's more of a smoky antique gold) and Black Navy (which does have a more blackish base and navy blue shimmer). I haven't swatched the others yet, as I'm trying to decide whether to do a quick giveaway with Black Violet and Stormy Grey. 

 Here's a picture of the Black Gold applied to my upper lashline and then quickly blended out with a smudge brush. You do have some time to blend/smudge these, but after about 5 minutes they seem to set quite well. I can't comment on longevity yet; I've only been wearing this since this morning (I wanted to get the post out in case this set sells out quickly).

Edit: after comments from Olivia and Proximity, I just (6:30pm) tried smudging out the eyeliner I applied this morning at about 7am, and I could still smudge it. These don't set. On my dry, non-hooded lids they last well, but if you want something budgeproof I wouldn't recommend these. I do like the formula for the soft, blended look that I like to wear.

So, thanks to the very nice sales assistant at SpaceNK Covent Garden who asked if I'd seen the set when I asked for the single Brown Copper Pencil. If you're curious about high end eye pencils, this is a cost effective way to try a few at once and the colours are all good ones.