Fairy Secrets Moisturising Lotion Candle Review

This was the item I was most excited to try from the Buzzsoc box I received earlier this month, you can read about the rest of the box here.  I had quite a few comments on my Buzzsoc post asking about it, so it's certainly an intriguing product and is nothing like anything I have ever tried before!

The candle that I picked is in the scent Euphoria.  It is a small 113gm candle and retails for £10.95 on Fairy Secrets website.  It is heavily fragranced without being overpowering.

This fragrance speaks to women who embrace sensuality and fantasy. A provocative blend of pomegranate, persimmon, green notes, black orchid, lotus blossom, liquid amber, mahogany woods, black violet, and a cream accord.

To use, simply light the candle and let it burn until a full pool forms.  Extinguish the flame, dip your fingertip into the melted pool of lotion and massage into skin.

I lit the candle for about 15-20 minutes, it seemed to melt slightly quicker than an ordinary wax candle so there was soon a pool of melted lotion.  I found the fragrance quite relaxing and soothing, it is beautifully scented and filled my lounge.

The lotion is quite liquid at the top but as you put your finger in it picks up some thicker lotion where it is starting to melt underneath the liquid.  This gives the lotion quite a thick, creamy feel.  The lotion is not hot and it doesn't burn or hurt your finger it is just warm.

I put the lotion on my arm and rubbed it in, as the lotion is quite thick it did take a few minutes before it absorbed but it left my skin super smooth! The lotion is made from 100% natural ingredients and contains pure USA soya, shea butter from Africa, aloe vera, virgin olive oil, jojoba, coconut oil and essential oils.

In my opinion this definitely feels like a pampering product rather than something you would use everyday. I could imagine having this lit while I soaked in the bath with a good book then using the lotion when I got out.  I wouldn't use it on my arms again, I think it would be better for dry areas like elbows and feet.  It feels quite soothing when it is applied and I get very dry shins in the winter (nice eh!) so I am definitely going to see if this soothes and moisturises them.  I don't think I would repurchase this product for myself but I would be pleased to receive it as a gift and I would purchase them for other people - I think it would make a fantastic and unusual present!

Have you ever tried a moisturising candle? Do you think you would purchase one?

Instyle Magazine illamasqua Freebies!

In August the lovely Grace over at All That Slap posted a link on Twitter to a great magazine freebie deal - sign up to Instyle magazine for 6 months at a cost of £7.49 and get some free Illamasqua goodies! 

Such an absolute bargain that I signed up straight away, the money was taken from my bank account at the end of August and the Illamasqua goodies arrived this week.  My first magazine is the November edition which will arrive in October.

Nail Varnish, Liquid Metal and Intense Lipgloss

The Nail Varnish is in the shade Lament

I painted my nails with this on Saturday and took this picture today so you can see how well it stays on with no chips! This is No7 base coat, 2 coats of Lament and Seche Vite topcoat.

The varnish applies nicely and the colour is gorgeous!

Intense Lipgloss in Femme

Liquid Metal in Electrum

Swatches of Femme and Electrum

The gloss is a beautiful pinky red that looks like a true red on my lips, I have been wearing it around the house when I come home from work! It lasts for a couple of hours before it needs to be reapplied.  The gloss can be applied lightly for a sheer finish or built up for more intense colour.  This is the first Illamasqua lipgloss I have tried and I absolutely love it and will be buying more!

Electrum is a beautiful antique gold shade when I swatch it on my hand but when I apply it to my eyes it seems to have a green tone to it which is really not flattering.  I think I need to play around with this a bit more to find a more flattering way to wear it, maybe a smoky eye and a touch of Electrum in the inner corners of my eye? Suggestions welcome!

The nail varnish retails for £14.50

The lipgloss retails for £14.50

The liquid metal retails for £17.50

What a bargain!! Thank you Grace :)

On a separate note, now that the dark nights are drawing in can anyone recommend a cheap but effective lightbox as my pics are looking a bit dark!

September Joliebox Review

My September Joliebox arrived on Saturday, it doesn't seem very long ago that we got the August box as it was delayed due to the Summer holidays.

Apologies that the pics are a little dark today, we have had torrential rain all day - lots of the roads are flooded and the sky is dark and grey, very miserable!

A nice blue box, think these must be left over boxes from August!

This months theme is Runway Ready - London Fashion Week

Balmi lip balm in Blackcurrant

This is a full size product and retails for £4.99 at Boots

The balm contains SPF 15 which is really handy in a lip product. The balm is a lot smaller than I thought it would be but it applies smoothly and feels quite moisturising.

I Love...Mango Face Mask

This is a full size 15ml product, I can't find a price for this online as it is in the Whats' New section on their website but I am guessing it would be no more than £1.

Redken Align 12 Protective Straight Lotion

This is a 30ml tube, 150ml retails for £15.15 here making the sample worth £3.03

Two Twistband Hair Ties

I can't find these for sale in the UK, but they retail for $2 each here, making the pair worth approx £2.50

Dr Bragi Bio Marine Exfoliant 

2 small samples, no quantity marked on the sachets.  Joliebox class these as an extra.

Ok so Joliebox have had some unhappy customers this month judging by some of the comments on their Facebook page, yes I think that the box is definitely one of the lowest value boxes that we have received BUT I judge a successful box not on the value of the contents but on whether or not I would use them and I would use everything in this box.

So, for me this is another good box from Joliebox!

Did you get this box? What did you think?

Buzzsoc Tryvertising!

Buzzsoc are the UK's first online "Tryvertising" members can pick up to five full sized products per month to try at home then complete a short survey after trying the product.  

Delivery was very fast and everything arrived in a huge box with lots of packaging.

These are the items I picked to try out!

Proganic Sour Cherry Juice

Kuching Java Tea

Brown Bag Crisps

BYS Eyeshadow

Fairy Secrets Moisturising Lotion Candle

I have tried everything now and filled out the surveys this morning which took less than 10 minutes.  I really liked the candle, crisps and tea but I didn't like the eyeshadow and the juice was a bit too sour!

You can read more about Buzzsoc here and sign up if you fancy trying some free goodies!

My Birthday Presents!

Well I'm another year older and I have had a week of celebrations! They started last Friday with a birthday meal and drinks with my friends and two of my sisters then I went to see Lady Gaga on Tuesday in Manchester with my best friend Vicki and it was the most incredible concert I have ever been to, truly unforgettable the whole arena danced none stop and the atmosphere was unbelievable.  We stayed over in a lovely apartment, did a bit of shopping, had a yummy lunch at the Hard Rock cafe and did quite a bit of drinking!

Jon took me out for lunch at the Blackhouse Grill in Chester and treated me to a day of shopping, which in typical style I couldn't find anything I liked - so I have saved my birthday money until I decide how to spend it!

I was absolutely spoilt rotten by my lovely friends, they actually made me cry because I was so overwhelmed!

Caroline from Musings of a Beauty Addict Mum sent me this- I knew it was from her as soon as I opened the box! She makes fantastic cakes and I cannot bake so this is going to come in really handy and maybe I will be able to bake a cake that actually gets eaten and not thrown in the bin!

I got these goodies from Karen memoriesmadeinsilver and Wendy. The magnet made me laugh because it's so true! The perfume smells lovely and the varnishes are so sparkly! 

I'm going to use the bath bomb tonight and the magnet is going on the fridge.

These are from the lovely Sandra over at Beauty_Balm. Gielly Green is an exclusive London hair boutique and I can't wait to use the hair mask!!

Nardin from Live Laugh Love sent me this gorgeous hot pink case, which would have been more than enough on it's own as it's a perfect size to use as a travel case and it's pink which is my favourite colour. She wrote on the label not to open until my birthday so my son hid it away so I wasn't tempted to look inside as I could tell it was really heavy! Look at all these fabby goodies, she is actually really naughty doing this but I'll get her back ;) Can't wait to start using everything!

I got this lovely snood from my friend Lissa, I don't think you can see on the pic but it has a silver shimmer running through. It'll keep me nice and toasty now that Autumn is setting in.

These are from my assistant Lucinda, L-R Pompeii Purple, Princesses Rule! (Has to be the best name EVER for a nail polish) and Westminster. I'm painting my nails with these tonight, I just need to decide which one!

These are from Vicki, the book is a jewellery case.  Look at those unicorn earrings! I put them in as soon as I opened them and wore them for the rest of the day. The bird cage necklace is beautiful and she said she knew it was the right present to get me as when she picked it up in the shop Lady Gaga came on!

These are from my friend Micah, the bottle stop says Blind Drunk! She bought me three bunches of flowers so my lounge looks really pretty and colourful!

Curtis got me a book charm for my pandora bracelet - I can't take a pic of it though as it's too small! Jon and I watched The Hunger Games film and I really liked it so I can't wait to read the books. The Lady Gaga perfume is really nice and you can't beat a bit of studded leopard print!

I was so spoilt! I got birthday money too from my Dad, Stepmum and my in-laws which I have bought a Thomas Sabo bracelet with and my sisters have clubbed together to get me a charm for it :) Just waiting for it them to arrive now.

I just need to decide what to spend the rest of my birthday money on! More Real Technique brushes, a leather jacket or wait for the MAC Marilyn Monroe collection? Decisions, Decisions!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post, I love every single one of my presents and I got some beautiful cards too.  Some very funny ones, some very personal ones and a fantastic homemade one - yes I'm looking at you Karen! Sparkly pink and a fairy, perfect.

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to the loveliest friends a girl could have, I am very lucky and I'm sending you all big thank you hugs xx

Selfridges Beauty Box - Alternative Box

I'm sure you will have all heard about the Selfridges beauty box by now and heard how us beauty lovers managed to crash the Selfridges website in our excitement to get our hands on one of these limited beauty boxes - it was honestly like trying to get sort after concert tickets! After the initial batch sold out Selfridges released a few more boxes and I was lucky enough to be sat at my computer and after a lot of hassle with the website crashing, payment authorisation crashing etc I managed to finally purchase a box.

However, the next day I got a phone call from Selfridges to say that a computer glitch meant that they had sold more boxes than they had in stock, I thought they were calling to tell me they would have to cancel my order but no they were telling me they were going to refund the postage of £4.95 making the box a total of £15 and were going to add in an extra item for the inconvenience! The downside being that the box wouldn't be dispatched until the first week in September.

No box arrived and we had an email to say that they were waiting on an item from the USA, then Thursday night a dispatch email! The box turned up yesterday, which was my birthday so this was a perfect present!

Yes Selfridges it really is!

With the box being delayed I wasn't sure if I would get the same products as the original box, but on inspection it looks like I did.

Philip B Katira Hair Mask 60ml.

Selfridges don't actually sell this product on their website, but I found it for £14.90 here

Stila One Step Skin Tone Correcting, Brightening Serum 30ml

This is actually one of the products I was most looking forward to getting in the box as I have been eyeing it up in Boots for the past couple of months. I love how pretty it looks!

It retails for £24.00 on Selfridges website

Estelle & Thild Organic Lip Balm 15ml

The balms is Raspberry and it smells gorgeous, it comes in three different colours - I got natural and it retails for £16 at Selfridges

Aesop Remove 15ml

This is an eye makeup remover, again I can't find this item for sale on Selfridges website but 100ml retails for £20.72 here making 15ml worth £3.11

Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask 5ml

Selfridges don't stock any Omorovicza products on their website, but 50ml retails for £57 here making the sample worth £5.70

Bio Effect EGF Serum 5ml

I have read rave reviews about this product and I can't wait to try it!

Again Selfridges don't sell Bioeffect products but you can buy the 5ml for £49 here

Antipodes Organic Avocado Oil & Rosehip 30ml

Bizarrely another brand that Selfridges don't stock?! Retails for £18.99 here

Ciate Pom Pom Sample Size

This is the extra item, I don't know how much this retails for as it doesn't have say how much is in it. It's a very pretty colour though!

The products total a whopping £131.70! I do think it is a bit bizarre that the box contains a lot of brands/products that Selfridges don't actually stock. I can't wait to try everything in the box, it was definitely worth waiting for and one of the best birthday presents ever!

 What do you think of the box? Did you manage to get your mitts on one?

What's in my Handbag?

What's in my handbag is a website where you can register to be selected to receive free samples.  Every week they put up a new "try" if you would like to receive the sample you register your interest then if you are chosen you end up with a surprise through your letterbox!

If you would like to register please feel free to use my referral link

I have been lucky to receive a couple of items of the past few weeks, a perfume sample and a face mask.

The personalised label is a lovely touch!

I received an Oskia Renaissance Mask.

The mask has worn quite a few awards Best Anti-Ageing Mask - Celebs on Sunday Beauty Awards 2011; Best New Product - UK Beauty Awards 2011, Best Mask - Red Magazine; Top Beauty Find of 2010 - The Beauty Shortlist

The mask is designed to increase cell turnover and is packed with beauty-boosting nutrients.  It is an exfoliating mask which leaves the complexion smooth, refined and illuminated.

This is a very generous 15ml sample and the full size of 50ml retails for £48.50 on their website making the sample worth £14.55! I can't wait to try it out.

The other sample I received came in an envelope.

It is a sample of Bond No.9 Central Park West

Top notes: narcissus, ylang ylang and black pepper

Middle notes: gardenia, jasmine, citrus-like lindena and orris

Bottom: vetiver, musk, white oak and treemoss

The full size of 100ml retails for a whopping £350 in Harrods, making this 1.7ml sample worth £5.95. It smells really nice but I could never justify spending £350 on a perfume!!

Have you signed up to What's in my Handbag yet? What samples have you received?