YOU BEAUTY DISCOVERY BIRTHDAY SPECIAL SEPTEMBER 2014

You Beauty Discovery has become one of my favourite beauty boxes to receive every month. It’s now been a year since they launched and I've been a subscriber since the beginning. The concept of the box is that they give the customer the choice to pick two items from a list of around ten products every month. I love picking my choices and it still gives you that surprise element as they might be items you wouldn't normally pick up, or beauty products you have wanted to try for a while.

This month they also included some birthday treats, £25 off your first order with Hello Fresh, two soothing Crabtree & Evelyn tea bags and a face sponge. Everyone also received an extra full-sized product, the Toni & Guy Glamour Volume Plumping Whip – which I already own and love. This is applied at the roots before blow drying to create body and volume.

The first product I chose was the Eyeko Hydrogel Eye Patches which come in packs of two and we received two sachets. I’m always excited by these kind of skincare products, I love a good face mask. You place these directly underneath the eyes and they help to instantly brighten and revive tired eyes. Great to use after a night out or if your feeling extra tired as they help with puffiness and dark shadows and leave your skin hydrated. Just leave them on for 30 minutes, take them off and carry on with the rest of your skincare routine. You can gently pat the eye area to help the skin absorb the nutrients, they contain concentrated botanical blend with Vitamin B and fruit extracts to treat the delicate eye area. I haven't tried much from Eyeko, so I'm looking forward to giving these a go on a pamper evening.

My second choice was from a brand I hadn't really heard much of, Ark. I received the Ark Age Aware Skincare Loving Body Wash and Body Butter duo. These are great products to have with the colder months coming and perfect for travel. These products help to soften skin with a blend of essential oils, chosen to boost your well-being. The scent is lovely - a creamy, sweet floral Rose, Jasmine and Orange flower, it actually reminds me of the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish.

You Beauty still have a few options available for this month, but a lot of them went out of stock straight away, so you have to be quick to make sure you get what you want. I think You Beauty Discovery is a great box if you enjoy discovering new products and at £6.95 it’s a lot cheaper than other beauty boxes.

Are you subscribed to a beauty box?

BENEFIT MAJORETTE CREAM BLUSHER

Benefit are well known for their boxed powder blushers in their cute, compact packaging. Coralista, Bella Bamba, Sugarbomb and Dallas are a few of my favourite shades. The box powders are handy as they come with a brush, mirror and plenty of product which lasts ages. The newest make-up item to the Benefit collection is the Majorette Cream Blusher. The blush is a cream to powder formula, which you can wear alone or layer under your favourite boxed blush for more colour. The shade is a lovely pink peach which is definitely my sort of colour. There is no shimmer which is actually quite refreshing as many of their boxed blushers do, but it still gives a nice healthy glow to the cheeks. The formulation is creamy and a little goes a long way. You can apply this with your fingers or I like to use the Real Techniques Stippling Brush and apply it to the top of my cheeks. The shade is really natural, the formulation is long wearing and definitely stays around longer than my powder blushers. You could even use this on the lips too. I've always said I'm much more of a powder blush kinda-girl, but cream blushers are becoming more and more popular and brands are bringing out multi-use products which are so much easier to use on the go as you don't need tools.

The packaging is so cute, much bigger than I thought it was going to be, but still compact. The round, scalloped edged compact is a gorgeous item to have handy in your handbag. The product didn't come with any outer packaging, which I thought was strange for Benefit, but the blush is pretty enough on it's own. The blusher also has a lovely, sweet pomegranate scent which is nice when you're applying it. The name of the product is much more suited to the American market, but I think it fits in nicely with the rest of Benefit's make-up line. The blush is priced at £23.50 for 7g of product. I'm really looking forward to using this more throughout Autumn, another great make-up release from the brand, they have been on point this year with their new products. It will be nice to see if they release any more shades in the future. 

Will you be trying Benefit's newest cheek product?

FEELUNIQUE SALE BEAUTY HAUL

Feelunique currently have a massive sale on with up to 50% off, so I decided to treat myself to a few things I've had my eye on for ages. There were so many bargain beauty buys I could of added to my basket, but I held back and only chose things that I have been desperate to try for a while. My package arrived really fast and I'm really pleased with my purchases so far, so I thought I would share with you what I bought.
Firstly, I was after a mask to sort out my congested skin around the chin area and ended up buying two. I spotted the Clarisonic Deep Pore Decongesting Clay Mask which was £16.50 and decided to give this a try after really enjoyed the Clarisonic Deep Pore Brush Head. This mask is suited to oily skin or skin with enlarged pores, you use it twice weekly and it helps to decongest pores. I have already used this once, it's a really thick formula and I like the idea that you leave a thin layer on for 10-15 minutes and then take the mask off using the Clarisonic. My skin instantly looked less irritated and any redness had faded, the clay absorbed all the oil and removed dead skin cells and impurities. They also do a cleanser in this range, which I'm interested in trying.
The other mask I bought was the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Instant Oatmeal Mask which was £14.00. I have wanted to try this for ages, ever since FleurdeForce raved about it. This is a mask aimed at more dry or distressed skin and helps to nourish and rejuvenate the skin. I think this will be a great mask to apply during the week for a much needed pick me up that will help hydrate the skin. You leave this one on for 10 minutes and First Aid Beauty's range is perfect for even sensitive skins.
I then bought the Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Cream Limited Edition which was £16.80, this has to be the most unnecessary purchase of the haul. I didn't need another body cream, but I'm sure it's going to be a product I'm really going to enjoy and it's a bit of a treat buy. Elemis have created this special edition body cream to celebrate 10 years of the award winning Frangipani Body Oil. The cream is enriched with macadamia oil, sesame oil and Tahitian mono oil, which gives the product it's luxurious scent and leaves the skin hydrated and silky smooth.
My last purchase from feelunique was the Redken All Soft Supple Touch which was £12.11. I have used the Shampoo and Conditioner from the same line before and really enjoyed them, so wanted to try more products from them. I've also been really into leave in treatments and conditioning my hair, especially the ends. This has all the benefits of a cream in a lightweight spray version and improves the lasting condition and shine of your hair, I'm very excited to start using this.

You can currently receive an extra 10% off everything including sale items using the code FINAL10.

Will you be buying anything from the Feelunique Sale?

PERFECT PAMPER PRODUCTS - BATH TIME

My favourite way to pamper myself is to take a bubble bath after a busy day. So I light a few candles, use a bath bomb or bath melt and read my kindle or a magazine. I find this the perfect way to relax and have a bit of me time. I am currently reading Pieces of You By Ella Harper on my kindle - really enjoying it so far. My candle of choice is the Champneys Mediterranean Bliss which makes you feel like your at a spa, when actually your in the comfort of your own home. I also love these cute Bath Mallows and Bath Tulips from Bomb Cosmetics.
The Body Shop Honeymania Bubble Bath Melt, 300ml £8.00 - I take more baths than showers and this product helps to enhance that experience. I love that the product comes in a tub rather than a bottle. It does mean you have to scoop the product out though, making you use more of the product than you actually need. The scent is heavenly and the formula creates so many bubbles which moisturise my skin at the same time. This has to be one of my favourite products from the Honeymania range, it's so luxurious, creamy and has a rich floral scent. This helps me relax and leaves my skin feeling super soft.
Aromatherapy Associates Revive Evening Bath Oil, 55ml £40.00 - When I don't want so many bubbles but still want the relaxing scent I like to use a bath oil. I only like to use this on special pamper evenings when I've got time to enjoy the product. You only have to use a tiny amount but the scent fills the whole room. This is a treat product but it re-energises your body and a little goes a long way.
Ren ClearCalm 3 Clarity Restoring Mask, 50ml £30.00 - This is a product which I like to apply while I'm in the bath. This is great for clearing up blemish prone skin. I like to cleanse skin, apply this and leave it on for 15 minutes. I like to use this once a week when my skin is feeling more congested. It soothes, calms, reduces the size of pores and gets rid of redness. It's great if you have oily or combination skin, the formula is thick and creamy and you can see a difference instantly. I recommend Ren products to anyone.
Rituals Sweet Orange & Cedar Fortune Scrub, 150ml £10.00 - I got this product free with a magazine a while ago and instantly fell in love with the uplifting scent. It's a lovely product to use on legs for silky smooth skin. The formulation is a scrub and cream in one, so it's not harsh on the skin and it moisturises at the same time. I would definitely try a different scent when this one runs out.
Soap & Glory Orangeasm Body Butter, 300ml £10.00 - I have loved orange scented products recently. I just used up the body wash from the same line and couldn't get enough of the scent. The formula is thick and creamy and contains orange beads which melt into the skin. This is a great product to use on dry skin and perfect for the colder months coming. The fresh scent lingers around for hours on the skin, I like to apply this straight out of the bath in the evening. Soap and Glory will always be my number one for body care, read more about my thoughts here.
Soap & Glory Heel Genius Foot Cream, 125ml £5.50 - Another Soap & Glory product which I love. I have gone through so many tubes of this, the product is so effective. When my feet are in need of some love I like to apply this before I go to sleep and I wake up with super soft feet. If my feet are feeling dry or worn out I apply socks over the cream for a more intense treat.

What are your favourite pampering products?

& OTHER STORIES BEAUTY - SANDAL PINK BLUSHER

Blusher has to be one of my favourite beauty products to buy, I must admit I have quite a few. I like the variety of colours and most of the formulas available, but powder form has to be my favourite. & Other Stories is the sister brand to High-Street stores H&M and Cos, it’s clothing line is similarly priced to Zara and their beauty line is similar to Topshop make-up. I bought this & Other Stories blush a while back and it has to be one of my most used in my collection. I picked up the shade Sandal Pink, the shade is a shimmery, peachy pink and has a strong pigmentation that gives the cheeks a healthy glow. I always seem to pick coral, peach shades of blush as I think they go best with my skin tone and hair colour. There are lots of shades to choose from, but for me this blusher gets more use at the weekend or evenings than every day because it picks up so much colour.

I like the simple, clear, magnetic packaging. I'm sure it won't look as nice as I use more and more of the product. The product is buttery, creamy and blends nicely into my base. It’s a soft powder for adding sun-kissed colour to your face, I like to use the Real Techniques blush brush with this product. Blush doesn’t seem to last too long on me, but because this shade is so pigmented it stays put for longer than other formulas. I like the use of the Romeo and Juliet quote embossed into the product, 'Go girl, seek happy nights to happy days...’ I know this will disappear with use but it’s a nice touch than just a plain compact. It would have been nice to see this throughout the brand on other make-up items. I think you get a good amount of product for the price, £10.00 for 5.5g of product and very similar quality to my favourite everyday Soap and Glory Love at First Blush.

As well as their own range, & Other Stories also offers branded make-up including brands such as The Balm. I've also tried bath and body products from & Other Stories, I especially love their body scrubs and body butters.  The only thing that puts me off the brand is the £6 p&p online as I don't live near a store. But I do need to try more of their make-up range after really enjoying the blush. 

What are your & Other Stories recommendations?