Elkin Don't Lose Your Head bracelet, and a couple of Christmas Trollbeads

Sadly, the Crazy Pig La Muerta ring didn't end up in my Christmas stocking (I thought it was a bit ambitious to put it on my christmas list; we tend to like to get lots of presents rather than one or two big things for each other). However, my christmas swag was not entirely without skulls, thanks to this bracelet.

It's an Elkin Don't Lose Your Head bracelet. Elkin was born after fashion stylist Eliisa Makin created some bracelets in breaks between pictures on a fashion shoot, and was promptly mobbed to make more for pretty much anyone who saw them. I can see why. They are still handmade from waxed cord and silver plated brass skulls, studs and a crystal fixer. They come in a variety of colours and also with antique gold finish on the skulls etc.

I love mine; it's got the glam goth thing perfectly and I've already got my eye on some more for stacking. They aren't inexpensive at £39, but it's a fair price in my view for something handmade (and done well) in England.  Elkin products are available directly from www.elkin.bigcartel.com.

I also received a couple of the limited Christmas Trollbeads - the white and gold bead and the white/blue/aqua patterned bead. These sold out very quickly indeed, so Mr London did well to grab them!

Here they are in a combination I put together using existing beads. The white bead with cubic zirconia (second from left) is by Summersday on Dawanda.com, all other beads are Trollbeads.

Here are both bracelets on, with my leather Trollbeads bracelet in the middle. 

I hope Christmas was good to you this year. Any particularly nice presents to report?

Monica Vinader sale now on

I do love the style of Monica Vinader jewellery, although I think it's a bit expensive for what it is (when did silver get so very pricey?)

I've built up my pendant over time; Mr London bought the chain and the Ava disc pendant earlier this year, I bought myself the labradorite Mini Luna pendant later, and the black onyx Small Nugget pendant was a Christmas gift. I wear it on the long 32" Jun chain.

There are quite a few items in the Monica Vinader sale at 50% off right now so if you do like the brand it's a good time to have a look. The carnelian Small Nugget pendant is £30, and I also like the look of the smoky quartz Medina Facet ring at £60 (only works if you are a size M though).

Monica Vinader sale: www.monicavinader.com/shop/sale.

Pai Chamomile & Rosehip Sensitive Skin Cream review

I bought my sister the Pai Tranquility Bath & Body Oil gift set for Christmas, and as my christmas present shopping does tend to work on a one-for-you-one-for-me basis, I also added a couple of skincare bits to the order for myself.

The Chamomile & Rosehip Skin Cream isn't quite rich enough on its own for my skin in winter and works better for me with the Lotus & Orange Blossom Bioaffinity toner. I know this because I dropped my bottle of toner and broke it (me and glass in a steamy bathroom is always a potentially hazardous combination) and found that my skin still felt a bit dry and parched after applying the moisturiser to a face dampened with just water. I've been adding a drop of argan oil before the Chamomile & Rosehip Cream which works fine to add the extra moisture I need, but I prefer using the Lotus & Orange Blossom Bioaffinity Toner and I'll be purchasing that (despite the glass bottle).

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. A reactive/sensitive skin isn't always very dry too, and this cream would be sufficiently moisturising for normal to moderately dry skin on its own, or you could just use a little more layered over particularly dry patches (for me, at this time of year, my forehead and cheeks). Pai also sells a Rosehip fruit & seed oil blend which can be used to supplement the skin creams.

On to the very good stuff: this cream is a godsend for reactive skin. It feels instantly soothing and comforting. The formulation is simple but cosmetically elegant; it's a rich lotion texture you don't have to wait half an hour to sink into the skin or blot away a layer of shine after applying it. I purchased it as a night cream, but I've been using it during the day too on days when I know I won't be seeing much daylight. As well as avoiding the usual mineral oil/silicones/parabens, Pai creams are also free from alcohol and beeswax (beeswax is a good barrier/sealant, but can also be occlusive and clog pores for some people). I've experienced no clogged pores or spots while using this cream.

Chamomile & Rosehip Skin Cream has a light, slightly earthy, scent - I mostly smell the chamomile with a hint of the rose geranium oil (I can barely detect the lavender in it at all). It is not floral or overpowering.

Pai lists the ingredients of all their products in full on their website (I wish more brands would do this) so just for the sake of review completeness, here is the ingredients list:

I bought mine from www.paiskincare.com and www.beingcontent.com also stocks Pai. Chamomile & Rosehip costs £24 for 30ml, which is at the reasonable and sane side of luxury skincare prices.

Content are offering a £50 Pai skincare bag with a 60 minute Pai facial in January 2012 (which costs £65) - details are here: Content/Pai January facial offer.

Happy Christmas, and Beauty Spotlight weekly round up 24 December

I wish you all a happy holiday and only good things for the year ahead. 

After all the running around, shopping, cooking, and headaches the holidays are actually here. The Beauty Spotlight Team wishes you a happy and very healthy Christmas, Chanukah and New Year. May 2012 be a beautiful year in all ways.

Joeybunny took part in the O Tannenbaum! perfume blogging project - see what woody perfumes stole her heart over at Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies!

If you've looking for the perfect balance between moisture and colour for the cold winter months then check out the tinted balms that Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed has been loving lately!

Beauty Info Zone has a brand new look. We're putting on the Glitz with Tarte for the holidays. Come see what Tarte and Beauty Info Zone have to show you.

At Everyday Beauty, Zuzu did the unthinkable and chose her favorites from a year's worth of purchases. Many of these items were not necessarily released as new this year, but they were new to her. Come read about what made Zuzu's best-of list.

Over at Lipstick Musings, Shannon has found a not-quite-red (for a change) that will rock your world in Guerlain Rouge Automatique Lipstick #168, L'Heure Bleue!


London Makeup Girl asks if you are washing your hair properly? She was mortified to find that she wasn't! Read the post and watch her video here.

Modesty Brown has a Butter LONDON Knees Up and shares some perfect twinkly red nail colours for the festive season.

Paula, from Older Girl Beauty, talks with MAC MUA Romero Jennings about Daphne Guinness and her upcoming makeup collection with MAC.

Looking for some last minute gifts? Pammy Blogs Beauty continues her Holiday Palette reviews with Too Faced "In Your Dreams" Palette.

Perilously Pale shares a Face of the Day post that will have you hopping running to place an order for some Rouge Bunny Rouge. Come see why this is one of her favourite brands!

Over at Pretty in Dayton, Styrch falls in love with Cult Nails Power Thief.

Prime Beauty reviews Benefit's new Hervana blush; it’s spellbinding and will hypnotize you—she hopes!

Visionary Beauty shares her collection of the delightful Rouge Bunny Rouge loose glitter pigments, including the two new tantalising shades; Caress of Mink and Embrace of Cashmere.

Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia Fragrance Chronicle

I do like the Jo Malone Fragrance Chronicles as a concept. A 30ml focal cologne from the main collection is accompanied by three 9ml mini colognes, in a faux-book box. They cost £72, and you could buy two 30ml colognes for that price, but the presentation does make a Fragrance Chronicle a very nice gift. I was sent the new English Pear & Freesia Fragrance Chronicle to review.

The Pomegranate Noir Fragrance Chronicle has Raspberry, Casablanca Lily and Guaiacwood mini colognes. This was the first Chronicle, and is still the best in my opinion; the accent colognes are lovely in their own right and the combinations work very well.

Red Roses - Moroccan Mint Leaf, Ice Rose and Honeycomb - interestingly, this wasn't the typical fruit/flower/wood Chronicle accent combination. That might not have worked with Red Roses, which is quite a clean scent (although I do like it with Nutmeg & Ginger, which is woody). This Chronicle was originally released for Valentine's Day, and was a pretty, romantic combination (although I didn't think the Ice Rose added much to the original scent, the Moroccan Mint was lovely with it).

Lime, Basil & Mandarin has Mandarin, Sweet Basil and Amberwood. (Fruit/Herb/Wood). I don't actually care much for L, B&M as a fragrance (it turns quite soapy on my skin) although I like it in the shower gel.

The new English Pear & Freesia Fragrance Chronicle has King William Pear, Freesia and Patchouli mini colognes. Like the Lime, Basil & Mandarin, instead of giving different scents to combine, the mini colognes accentuate the main notes of the focal cologne. To me, this is Jo Malone phoning it in; what's interesting to me about fragrance combining is using two very different colognes and seeing how they work together. Making a floral/pear cologne a bit more pear-ish feels like cheating to me.

In summary, if you know someone who adores the English Pear & Freesia cologne, this would be a lovely gift. If you want to introduce someone to fragrance combining, I'd still recommend the Pomegranate Noir Fragrance Chronicle first though.

Disclosure: PR sample

PS: Pear starts looking really odd as a word when you type it out over and over again. 

Are you washing your hair properly? An evening with Leonor Greyl

I was invited to (a very nice) dinner at the Johnnie Sapong hair studio at the end of November to learn about the Leonor Greyl hair care range. Leonor Greyl is a french brand based around natural botanicals and it's been going for over thirty years. I'm not sure how it's slipped under my radar because it's very much my sort of line; the products are formulated without parabens, sodium laureth sulphate or silicones. It's not easy to get hold of in the UK, which probably explains why I hadn't heard of it; it's available in Harrods and will be available online at www.johnniesapong.com.

I've given quick details of the products I've been using, but I've been specifically promising to put up a quick video on what I learned about how to wash your hair properly. I think it's probably self-evident that if you just quickly swoosh shampoo on your crown that you won't clean your whole scalp properly, but it is a salutary lesson to see the effect on your scalp under a microviewer.

I was diagnosed with an oily scalp with drier ends, which surprised me; I don't think of my scalp as oily. I'll be interested to see how my scalp feels and looks after using the shampoo for a while; I suspect I'll buy the shampoo for more normal hair when I use my current bottle up.

Apologies for the opening title - not sure what happened there except Miss London has been mucking about with iMovie.

(PS - I thought I said a video with all the products reviewed would be 'horribly long' - it sounds like 'horribly wrong' but I definitely meant horribly long).

The products I was given:

Bain TS: shampoo for oily scalp, drier ends. This smells of grapefruit (although it contains lime it definitely smells more grapefruity to me) and washes my hair without making it feel stripped. I wouldn't use it on fully coloured or bleached hair though. When I finish this I think I'll look into the Shampooing au Miel instead as I think that's a better fit for my scalp, which I consider to be more normal. My hair had been rained on when it was 'diagnosed' and I hadn't washed out other shampoo properly, which may have affected the reading. This is an excellent shampoo for an adolescent though: Miss London's scalp is starting to get slightly oily and this shampoo is perfect for her.

Masque Fleurs de Jasmin: thick, creamy conditioning treatment. Smells gloriously of (tea party) jasmine. I use a dab on the ends and mid lengths every wash as a conditioner.

Serum de Soie Subliminateur - a creamy fluid serum for every day use. This also smells of jasmine and leaves my hair looking and feeling smooth and well nourished. Good for all hair types except very dry and/or thick hair.

Disclosure: products provided were PR samples.

Beauty Works West Body Care range

I was recently sent some items from the Beauty Works West new body care range to try out. The products are formulated without parabens, synthetic colours and fragrances, sulphates, glycols and aluminium. I thought that aluminium was only a common ingredient in anti-perspirants, and there isn't one in the Beauty Works West range, but all of the other 'not in our products' are things I prefer to avoid.  All three products have the same scent - a gentle lemon citrus, which is a very pretty smell that works well on its own but is also neutral enough not to compete with a perfume.

The Sugar Cane Scrub has an unusual texture - the sugar and salt scrub particles are suspended in an oily gel texture. I found I do need to mix the scrub before scooping some out, in order to get the scrub particles which tend to sink to the bottom of the jar. Even with mixing the scrub before taking some out of the jar, the scrub particles are small and dissolve on contact quite quickly, leaving a film of moisture on the skin. Sugar Cane Scrub is best for someone who is looking for a particularly gentle body exfoliator. It does leave a film on the floor of a shower or bottom of a bath, and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone clumsy (I prefer to use a bubbling scrub myself to avoid accidents!)

Ingredients:

The Anti-Ageing Body Cream has good ingredients, smells lovely and I'd be happy to receive it as a gift, but I wouldn't buy it for myself instead of my usual body creams from Haus of Gloi or Paintbox Soapworks. I seem to be the opposite of most beauty bloggers; before I wrote my blog I'd happily buy Jo Malone Body Cremes (and they are still very good) at £40 a go, but now I'm converted to my independent ten dollar a jar body creams. The Beauty Works West Body Cream has a very rich texture but sinks in well. If you have specific concerns about ageing skin on the body, the extra anti-oxidants in this formula may make it worth the cost to you.

Ingredients:

I like the Anti-Ageing Body Treatment a lot; I can't say it's given me Miranda Kerr's bottom but my thighs and bum feel warmer for some time after I've applied it (which might indicate that the ingredients in it do help to support and stimulate the circulation). This is a cream texture too, which means that you don't need to layer another body cream over it for dry skin. If you are looking for something to help support skin texture in areas with sluggish circulation (nothing completely cures cellulite in my opinion other than a very strict diet with no booze or junk food) then this is a good option, and this is the one item I was sent I'd consider repurchasing for myself. I don't really suffer from cellulite, but the bum and the tops of my thighs are starting to look a bit dimply as I get older, particularly at this mince pie time of year.

Ingredients:

All the Beauty Works West body products are very firmly in the luxury price range, from £42 for the scrub to £59 for the body treatment. They do deliver a luxurious experience for the price though, and are the equivalent of luxury skincare for the body. Beauty Works West products are available from www.beautyworkswest.com.

Disclosure: PR samples.

Crazy Pig La Muerta skull ring

THIS is on my christmas list, because I don't think anything says 'Christmas' quite like a sugar skull ring.

If I don't get it I'm going to wait and buy it for myself in the new year. I'm having to physically stop myself going in the Crazy Pig Covent Garden shop, because the temptation is just too much and all of my disposable income has gone on presents already.

The website is www.crazypigdesigns.com (it's quite Flash heavy).

Hello Hello!

Sorry I've been a bit quiet on the posting front this week; it's my last week at work before Christmas, which means I've been snowed under with that (and for those of you who follow me on Twitter, yes, I've been cheating on the blog with the Skyrim Xbox game.)

I have a couple of posts planned in my head. This weekend I'm going to make a video on the Leonor Greyl haircare range, I have a review of some  Beauty Works body care in my head and a very quick review of the Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia Fragrance Chronicle (nice, but not as good as the Pomegranate Noir one). I've also been pulling out and using a few old MAC reliables that I may write a post on.

So, how are you? All ready for Christmas? I would be, if bloody Amazon hadn't lost a parcel and sent it by an untraceable method (Home Delivery Network, you fail at delivery).

MAC Gareth Pugh Ascension Nail Lacquer

This purchase was a complete whim. It's not quite as exciting on the nails as it is in the bottle - I can't ever seem to see the teal flash, although the grey-pink-green colour shift is apparent.

I do like this - a more subdued, grungy duochrome makes a nice change from the usual brighter ones. I'm not convinced it's worth £19 though, although it might be if you regret missing out on the OPI Katy Perry Not Like The Movies.

Neom Luxury Organics Gift Set - Hand Wash & Lotion

I was sent the Refresh Hand Wash & Lotion set for review purposes, and I liked the scent of this so much that I bought the Refresh candle for our kitchen. Refresh is a clean citrus-herb (lemon & basil) fragrance. This gift set is £27 for 250ml each of the hand wash and hand lotion, and it is available from www.neomorganics.com.

The hand wash is gentle but removes grime and gets rid of cooking smells effectively. The hand lotion sinks in quickly but leaves hands feeling soft and comfortable. The scent is refreshing but unobtrusive; it won't interfere or fight with any perfume you might be wearing, and it's a good choice for anyone who doesn't like strong or girly smells. It's a perfect gift for new mums, gardeners or anyone who washes their hands a lot.

Ingredients:

Disclosure: PR sample.

Beauty Spotlight weekly round up 10 December

The holiday season is upon us. Is your shopping done yet? Take a break, sit by the fire grab a cup of coffee or cocoa and gather some great gift ideas from your favorite beauty bloggers!








Nothing could be finer than a gift from Le Metier. Beauty Info Zone shares two beautiful nail polish sets that would fit into any beauty lovers stocking perfectly. How's your gift list coming along?

Take a look at the first installment of Prime Beauty's Holiday Gift Guide for 2011!

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed has skipped right over winter and has moved right on to Spring nail shades - check out Chanel Vernis in May and June and see if you don't agree that this was a good call!

At Everyday Beauty, Zuzu's Petals found another red lipstick to love. See what's so special about NARS Sheer Lipstick in Flamenco.

London Makeup Girl bought a couple of the new MAC Metal X cream eyeshadows. Are these less crease-prone than the 2007 version? See what she thinks here: MAC Metal X Gold Carbon and Palladium.

Can Quick BlowDry Shampoo by it FACTOR really reduce your blow dry time??? Pammy Blogs Beauty tests it out.

Modesty Brown takes us through a new purchase, a couple of old favourites and an item that was good enough for a fussy beauty blogger to re-purchase. She invites you to share your old, new and re-purchased items too.

With Christmas looming and the search for the perfect present upon us, Visionary Beauty has a look at the Trish McEvoy Portable Beauty collection in Romance.

Think a product called Loose Glitter Pigment sounds like something you could never pull off? Don't let the the name scare you. Perilously Pale shows you why the new neutral offerings from Rouge Bunny Rouge are stunning and MUST HAVES!

Joey is hypnotized by Aroma M's latest potion, Geisha Amber Rouge . Find out why this perfume is as potent as a drug at Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies !

Don't forget about the BeautyBloggers.org auction to benefit 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. Hurry, the auction ends Monday, December 12th.

Haus of Gloi Three Treasures and Sweet Potato Treat

My review of the other Haus of Gloi Yule products I tried last year can be found here: Haus of Gloi Yule review.  To summarise - love Snow Wolf, Eggnoggin is very good but too foody for me in the Pumpkin Butter, didn't care much for Hearth. Parkin is good, but also quite foody.

This year I decided to try the new Three Treasures, and Sweet Potato Treat which was a Reverie (very limited edition) fragrance last year.

Three Treasures is described as: Sacred gifts of frankincense, myrrh and gold. Smouldering with warmth and brightened with a touch of mandarin rind. 

Three Treasures is a mix of ambery resins (frankincense and myrrh) and a tiny bit of citrus (mandarin rind). It reminds me quite a lot of Jo Malone's Amber & Lavender - there is no lavender in Three Treasures but the mix of ambery resin against the subtle freshness of the citrus gives a similar feel/effect. It's subtle for a Haus of Gloi scent, plays nicely under fragrance and would be a good choice for a man. The frankincense in this is the same as that used in Snow Wolf to my nose; clean, dry and woodsy. I bought Three Treasures in the Bubbling Scrub and Pumpkin Butter, and it's excellent in both.

Sweet Potato Treat is described as: For me, this is the epitome of holiday comfort food: Sweet potatoes with mild spices, butter and brown sugar baked off with marshmallows. 


I'm trying to imagine this as a food; it sounds very sweet to me! I bought this one in the Whipped Soap as I tolerate sweet/foody scents better in that formulation (I just use it to shave). It's a very good, but very foody and sweet scent - warm, spicy (I can sniff cinnamon and nutmeg) and sweet. This reminds me of Parkin, but without the little bitter snap that Parkin has (from the black treacle and chestnut in the fragrance blend). I like the smell of it in the soap and I think it'd work well in the Bubbling Scrub too. It's only for you in the Pumpkin Butter if you love foody scents.

Haus of Gloi products are available from www.hausofgloi.com. The Yule scents are up now until early January. New Winter Reverie items are going up on Tuesday, although there are no descriptions of the scents as yet (they will most likely sell fast, based on past experience).

MAC Metal X Palladium applied

This is a picture of Palladium applied with the MAC 239 brush. It's a moderately light (rather than a heavy) application. I do find I need to dig a bit with the 239 to pick up the Metal X shadow, but it goes on better with the 239 than with fingers in my experience; with fingers you can get a richer, more metallic finish, but you also get more creasing and patchiness.

Palladium is a light ash shade, and doesn't show up that much on my pale olive skin. It would be more apparent on a darker or lighter skintone. I like it nonetheless; it reminds me of the shimmer shade from NARS All About Eve eyeshadow duo, and it makes for a quick shimmery eye that's day appropriate (I've also lined my upper lashes with a grey eye pencil for a bit of definition). I do still find the Gold Carbon more interesting and probably more useful. These do make a good base for powder eyeshadows for a more intense finish.

Paintbox Soapworks Yuletide Mariner and Victorious Sun

The Yuletide Mariner is a blend of spruce and evergreen with a salty ocean accord. Evergreen scents can smell like air freshener and marine scents like washing powder, so it's a credit to Hayley of Paintbox Sapworks that Yuletide Mariner smells like neither. A good evergreen oil has an almost jammy succulence to it, and I can only assume that's what is used in this blend because it has that wonderful, full-bodied, in-the-middle-of-a-cold-forest smell. If the Yuletide Mariner scent is made from fragrance rather than essential/absolute oils in the blend it uses bloody good ones. When I poke my nose in the pot I mostly get the evergreen notes, but when I use the scrub on my skin the cold saltwater smell comes out too. This is a perfect winter morning pick-me-up in the Sorbetto scrub.

Victorious Sun has jumped straight into my top five favourite body product scents. I love lemon verbena for its delicate zestiness, and thought it was a shame when Jo Malone discontinued the Verbenas of Provence Body Lotion because it's such a good scent to layer underneath other fragrances. In Paintbox Soapworks' Victorious Sun verbena is blended with frankincense and pepper, and the combination of subtle spicy warm notes with the refreshing verbena is glorious. It works very well in the Goat Milk body cream; it leaves a subtle citrus veil on my skin that doesn't fight with any fragrance I apply. I'm glad to find that the Goat Milk cream is sufficiently moisturising on my skin now the weather has turned colder, and I'm still enjoying the texture of it very much.

Both of these are from the Paintbox Soapworks Winter limited editions, available in the Etsy shop here www.etsy.com/shop/paintboxsoapworks. 

Aftelier Oud Luban (solid) and Secret Garden (liquid) fragrance reviews

Oud Luban is the new solid perfume from Aftelier Perfumes. It opens with orange and frankincense, then segues into a base of warm, dry, spiced woods. It smells almost austere and yet at the same time comforting, like the smell of winter pomanders in a church where a censer is burning. The oud blend in the base is warm and smooth, never overpowering or oily smelling. This is a beautiful fragrance for anyone who prefers something un-flowery, and is also a great choice for a man. On its own, Oud Luban has decent staying power; it lasts a good four hours on my skin without reapplication, although by that time only the ghost of the wood notes remain. As it is a solid reapplication is not difficult, and I like the ritual of refreshing it after lunch and breathing in the orange and incense.

Secret Garden liquid perfume, on the other hand, is all about the flowers. If you love Aftelier Honey Blossom but you would like something a little more vampy for the party season, Secret Garden is for you. I divide most jasmine-based fragrances into two families; tea party jasmine (grandiflorum) and nightclubbing jasmine (sambac). Secret Garden is firmly in the sambac camp. Secret Garden opens with an almost banana-like indolic haze on my skin, and then the flowers bloom together; the rich jasmine, rose and lotus. This secret garden is somewhere warm and dark, discovered on a midnight escapade.  In the base Mandy Aftel has used some vintage civet and castoreum together with patchouli, deer tongue (a plant!) and vanilla to give a rich, warm base to the fragrance.

There's something quite vintage about Secret Garden than reminds me of the classic feminine fragrances like the original Chanel No 5, Joy or Fracas. In the liquid perfume concentration it lingers closely to my skin and I've felt comfortable (and comforted) wearing it during the day in the cold weather.  This would be a lovely fragrance for the holiday party season, and is also available in the Eau de Parfum formulation if you like a lighter perfume concentration with more lift. The liquid perfume I sampled it in lasts well; three or four hours at pretty much full floral power, then gently fading into the warm base which lingers for another hour or two on my moisturised skin.

These two fragrances were composed as part of quite separate projects but they layer beautifully together; I'd like to know if this was a conscious decision or Mandy's sub-conscious at work. Oud Luban is an almost minimalist pared down blend of highs and lows, whereas Secret Garden lives and breathes in its seductive heart notes. Together, the combination is a beautiful spicy, woody, rich floral.

I also tried Secret Garden over an Aftelier Orchid solid sample I had already, and this combination was too overpoweringly floral and sweet for me, although I like both a lot separately. It does work well over Aftelier Muse solid, which is a more neutral (rather than strongly floral) amber fragrance.

Oud Luban also layers beautifully under Aftelier Tango liquid fragrance.

Aftelier fragrances are available directly from www.aftelier.com.

Disclosure: samples of Oud Luban and Secret Garden provided without charge.

L'Oreal Sahara Treasure winner and Beautybloggers.org reminder

There were some great present stories in my L'Oreal giveaway, and it was very difficult to choose one but I was determined not to wimp out and go with random.org.

In the end, with a little help from Mr L, I chose the story that really touched a personal chord. It was DalaLuz's entry:

My best present ever... definitely the plane ticket to the US that I got from my 'this is not to be taken seriously because way to long distance but it sure was wonderful while it lasted summer' sweetie. Since than better known as my hubby for the last 15 years :D Love does not need to be logical, it turns out! It also was my first Xmas present ever, because we did not celebrate Xmas but Sinterklaas in the Netherlands (nowadays more and more people do). Which is, btw, on December 5th, auspicious maybe? ;)

When Mr London and I first started dating (just after Christmas, actually) he'd only recently gotten out of quite a tempestuous relationship, so it's probably not that surprising that he told me that he 'wasn't looking for anything serious.' Well, fourteen years and one child later, I think we can safely say that something serious found him ;) Congratulations, DalaLuz. I have emailed you for your address.

Here's another quick reminder about BeautyBloggers.org for Doctors Without Borders. The auctions all end next Monday (12 December) so if there is anything you're interested in that you haven't put a bid in on, you have a week to do so. I know we're all thrilled with the amounts raised so far, and many thanks to Karlasugar for organising it again.

MAC Metal X cream shadows - Gold Carbon and Palladium

Some of the MAC Metal X have been released in the UK and are available online at www.maccosmetics.co.uk (a few of the colours are still marked as coming soon). I had a look at a couple of MAC counters and the MAC Covent Garden store without any luck, but finally found them in person in the Fouberts Place Pro Store. I bought Gold Carbon (metallic taupe) and Palladium (metallic ash).

Swatches on bare skin:

This is Gold Carbon applied with the MAC 239 brush, lined with MAC Grey Utility Powerpoint pencil, with nothing (no powder or powder eyeshadow etc) over the top of it. Gold Carbon gives a smudgy, glossy, smoky eye. I like it for an undone kind of look. It's described as metallic taupe by MAC, and I'd just about agree, although it is a dark, slightly blackened taupe. This does crease, although it's not as creasey as the Metal X cream eyeshadows from 2007 - I have Gilded Ash from that collection (although annoyingly I can't find it at the moment).

I pulled out  Black Ore Solar Bits (loose pigment - a black with gold sparkles) and patted it over the top of the Gold Carbon. It's very sparkly, good for a party eye, but not exactly suitable for work (I would wear the Gold Carbon on its own during the day though).

Black Ore is also a good base for Unflappable (charcoal/purple) powder eyeshadow from this year's Mega Metal collection.

I haven't used Palladium on my eyes yet, but I'll post pictures when I do. I bought Palladium on a whim; I do prefer the colour of Black Ore and I find paler metallics a bit more difficult to wear. I would say that Gold Carbon is much closer to the colour of Gilded Ash from 2007 than Palladium - Palladium is a paler colour, much closer to the actual colour of ash.

Beauty Spotlight Mystery Makeup Bag

It's time to peek into another Beauty Spotlight Team member's makeup bag, and this week Zuzu's Petals will show just how much she can squeeze into a tiny bag. What minimalist essentials might be hiding inside?

I'm fascinated to see what's in this one - I love Zuzu's blog and taste in cosmetics, even though our colouring is quite different - she's a fair, cool blonde. Click on the picture to go to Everyday Beauty and find out what good things are inside...

20% off Rouge Bunny Rouge at Zuneta until Monday

This is all over Twitter, but just in case you haven't seen it there (or aren't signed up for the Zuneta newsletters) there is a code for 20% off Rouge Bunny Rouge at Zuneta.com with the code ROUGEXMAS.

There is also code for free international shipping, which is FREESHIPXMAS. I think you can only use one code at once, so I'd go with the 20% off Rouge Bunny Rouge. If I could only have one eyeshadow (shivers a little at the thought) it'd be this one: Rouge Bunny Rouge Solstice Halcyon. I've actually hit the metal pan on mine.

Chantecaille Emotion Cheek Shade blush

Chantecaille Cheek Shades are, on the whole, best suited to people who prefer a subtle blush. There are some brighter colours in the line, but the lighter colours in particular tend to apply sheerly. They aren't hard or chalky, the texture is just extremely finely milled and gives a veil rather than a block of colour. If you like the finish of Armani powder blushes then you may also like Chantecaille, but if you prefer a formula like NARS or Illamasqua, I would definitely not recommend buying Chantecaille Cheek Shades without testing them in person first. 

Emotion is a warm, slightly coral pink shade that works with all but very cool lip colours. I reach for it on days when I want a little bit more colour than Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicata gives me, but I still want a subtle cheek colour. On my pale olive skin (MAC NC20) it gives a soft warm pink glow. I do find I need to reapply at midday to refresh the colour as it does fade within a few hours. 

Fresh Brown Sugar Affair Gift Set

I bought and used the Fresh Brown Sugar Body Polish years ago (literally over a decade ago as it was before I was pregnant with Miss London) when it was first sold in Liberty in London. At the time it was one of the first if not the first department store brand(s) offering a sugar body scrub; most other body scrubs were based on salt, ground seeds/nut/shells or polymer spheres. The combination of just-the-right-amount-of-grainy brown sugar crystals, skin softening plant oils and fresh lemon/citrus essential oils made it a well-deserved cult product. I am almost positive this used to contain arnica to soothe aching muscles, but I've checked the ingredients list on the back of the box several times and can't see arnica listed there so perhaps they've tweaked the formulation.

The Brown Sugar Affair Gift Set contains 200g of the Brown Sugar Body Polish, 100ml of the Brown Sugar Body Cream and 4.3g of Sugar Passion Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15.

The Brown Sugar Body Polish is as good as I remember it to be; just the right amount of scrubbiness to exfoliate and very skin softening (do be aware this is quite an oily scrub as it uses plant oils rather than any waxes/butters, so be careful when getting out of the bath or shower after using.)

Brown Sugar Body Cream is a medium textured body cream - it's definitely richer than a lotion, but it isn't as thick as a body butter texture. It sinks in quickly, and mimics and compliments the Body Polish scent. The Body Polish does leave a film of its oils behind on the skin if you don't follow with a foaming cleanser, so the Body Cream is the perfect texture to lock that in without being too heavy in my opinion.

Sugar Passion Tinted Lip Treatment is a sheer red balm. The cap twists on and off rather than clicking or pulling, which makes it more secure to chuck in a makeup bag. It is fragranced with a similar sugar/citrus scent to the other Sugar items, and feels moisturising on the lips. A word of caution - if you are a habitual lip licker, you'll only do it once with this Lip Treatment - the sun protection ingredients mean that it doesn't taste as good as it smells.

This gift set is either £32 or £35. The press release says £32, but that seemed very low to me (I remember paying £30-odd for 400g of the Body Polish when I bought it years ago) so I rang the shop to check. The chap in the shop said £35, which is still an extremely good price for this. If you know anyone who loves or loved Fresh, this is a great present and it's a lovely present for anyone looking for some pampering who isn't familiar with the line too.

Ingredients:

The only drawback with this set is that Fresh isn't available online in the UK, which is a bit of a pain. There is a single shop at 92 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4RD, but you can mail order by telephoning 0207 486 4100.

Disclosure: PR sample