Gift Idea: Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse!

100ml £28

Hey Beauty Lovers! Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse is another great gift idea. The packaging is quite impressive, a chic heavy glass spray bottle, which looks great on a vanity table. This dry oil can be used on face, body and hair. It's one of the most iconic Nuxe skincare products, which has also won the Tatler Beauty Award 2013! This oil gets immediately absorbed into the skin without leaving a greasy film and makes the skin feel super soft and nourished. It's also great to apply into the ends of dehydrated hair, making it look shiny and healthy! And the scent is just divine!

LOVE

Stocking Filler: Nuxe Reve de Miel Hand and Nail Cream!

only £10!

Hey Beauty Lovers! When it comes to stocking fillers you can't go wrong with a nice hand cream! My pick is the Nuxe Reve de Miel Hand and Nail Cream. Reve de Miel is a lovely range which has a warm and gentle honey scent, perfect for this time of the year. This hand cream is specifically designer for dry and damaged skin. Honey, Sunflower and Vitamin E help the broken and agitated dry skin to heal, while nourishing and protecting from further dehydration. 

LOVE

Top Five Lipbalms: Nuxe, Bliss, Cowshed, Clarins, Avene!

Hey Beauts! Although I'm a lipstick girl through and through, I do gravitate towards lipbalms during the fall. Lips tend to get dehydrated when it gets really cold and need extra love & care... Going through my lipbalm collection I picked the ones that I enjoy wearing most for one reason or another, but all of them are really lightweight and super moisturising!

Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care SPF15 in 01 Natural Crystal - a pretty shimmery natural nude lip shade, nourishing, protecting and enhancing lipbalm that tastes of mangos! Comes in other three shades: pink, red, and chocolate.

Bliss Fabulips Softening Lip Balm - it's a clear stick lip balm which I tend to put on while I'm doing my make-up so that by the time I get to my lips they will be nicely moisturised but non-greasy for the lipstick to go on beautifully. The scent is sweet vanilla with a citrus hint.

Cowshed Lippy Cow Natural Lip Balm - also a clear but liquid lip balm, super lightweight. It's an oldie but goodie, out of them all it lasts less but the scent is so delicious that I can't resist from topping it up ever so often. It has essential oils of linden blossom, rose geranium and ylang ylang.

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 04 Petal Shimmer - I believe this is one of the newest shade additions to this lip balm range, available in other five shades, every single one is very pretty and natural. Petal Shimmer is a gorgeous rosy subtle pink. I love wearing these Clarins lipbalm all year round, they are like addictive candy, you want one in every colour! It's beautifying and plumping without that tingling effect. 

And last but by no means least is the Avene Cold Cream Lip Cream - it's a new lip care product that works magic in no time. It heals the most severely dehydrated and chapped lips almost immediately. When my lips are beyond dry I apply a generous coat and leave it for a couple of minute, then simply with a q-tip I make sure to thoroughly rub the dead skin off, et voilà! The rest of the day lips are guaranteed to look beautifully luscious and totally irresistible!

LOVE

Nuxe Discovery Event with a Surprise!

 The beautiful Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse, Multi-Purpose Dry Oil for Face, Body and Hair

is much loved talked about in the beauty industry and has even received The Tatler Beauty Awards 2013

 This Nirvanesque range is great for first wrinkles, it helps similarly to botox to relax the skin

and smooth fine lines + first expression lines.

 Nuxellence Jeunesse is the new release and has already become No.1 Face Care product in France!

It's a youth and radiance revealing fluid, that helps to rejuvenate tired looking skin. 

 These are Nuxe Cleansing products, they smell amazingly beautiful of Roses, 

in fact the whole space was filled with this delicious scent! 

Some of the products here are: Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals, Micellar Foam Cleanser with Rose Petals, Gentle Exfoliating Gel with Rose Petals, and Clarifying Cream-Mask... 

 Chic setting, Laduree Macaroons and a beautiful French skincare brand - dream scenario!

 Nuxuriance is the Anti-Aging Re-Densifying range for mature ladies! This range consists of Day Cream for Normal to Dry Skin, Emulsion for Combination Skin and a Serum for All Skin Types. 
It intensely firms the skin and would make a great skin treat for your mom!

 This is the lovely Charlotte, who is the artist behind the chic Nuxe illustrations, signing the posters!

A quick snap after the event, with the Nuxe goody bag filled with great products to try!

Hey Beauties! Last week I went to the Nuxe event to be introduced to the gorgeous skincare products in depth! It was lovely to see some of their award winning best-sellers, products I haven't tried yet, as well as new releases - a true discovery! All Nuxe products have a heavenly scent, some are more floral, others have a very gentle classic scent, but they all are incredibly beautiful. One that made me almost feel emotional is the scent of the Reve de Miel range, the Hand & Nail Cream and Ultra-Comfortable Body Cream has that classic gentle feminine scent, it reminds me so much of my childhood and my grandmother's beauty routines, she had a hand cream with the exact scent! The famous Lip Balm from the Reve de Miel range has a more lemony scent, which is pretty delicious!

The surprise at the event was that I got to meet the lovely Charlotte, who does the chic illustrations for Nuxe! We had a chat about the brand, and she admitted that her favourite Nuxe products are the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Dry Oil and Reve de Miel Lip Balm. My first ever Nuxe experience was a few years ago when I tried the Huile Prodigieuse, the shimmery version. I really love this oil, it looks so beautiful on summer tanned skin, it can be applied it on face, body and hair. Personally I love Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse on my arms, shoulders, and collarbones, gives you the most beautiful decadent sheen! I haven't use this oil in my hair yet but apparently it looks stunning on blonde hair making the highlights shiny and pretty, so I will definitely try it this summer - thanks Caitlin for the tip! 

And of course Reve de Miel is my top favourite lip balm to this day, it's got a lovely matte texture and I love to apply it just before going to bed. It deeply moisturises the lips and you wake up to healthy looking pout! Also I have learned something new: apparently make-up artists mix the shimmery Huile Prodigieuse and Reve de Miel Lip Balm together to create a beautiful lip product! I will do a separate blogpost on the products I got in my Nuxe goody bag, very excited about those! 

LOVE

Gift Guide 2012: The Morning After Pick Me Up Look!

This look is for those morning-afters when you have a little bit too much to drink the night before... Which for me happened to be Friday night... On Saturday I woke up with a disastrous hangover, it literally was the worst of my entire life! Oh boy, it makes me feel terrible even thinking about it but lets face at least once in your lifetime you will have to wake up looking pretty scary, something like Samara, that girl from The Ring... And since over the festive time we all relax a little and let ourselves go, and you know, eat and drink more than we perhaps should - I though it might be a good idea to share what make-up I wear when I am not in my best shape but wouldn't want the entire world to know this by looking at me... 

To begin with, once you have managed to get back home and not be seen by anyone you know, lots of water and fresh air always help to flash out the toxins... I always take Berocca and try to sleep as much as possible... Get yourself very comfortable, have a nice long shower and put on your comfiest pair of pyjamas... Slowly you'll start regaining some energy, but I find hangovers completely drain your face of any life-associative colour and skin felt incredibly dehydrated... So today I made sure to apply Caudalie S.O.S. Thirst Quenching Serum and Nuxe Lip Moisturizing Stick after thoroughly cleansing my face... 

Because I had to infuse life back into my face I chose colours that instantly pick you up and make you look the opposite of what you feel, fresh and healthy! After I did my foundation I used a highlighter to make my skin look nice and glowy, I quite like my Bobbi Brown Face Highlighter Pen in Opal... Something simple yet chic for the eyes like Dior 3 Couleurs Glow in Nude Glow palette, just a wash of that natural colour all over the lid and the highlighter on the brow-bone... Estee Lauder Quick-Thick Eyeliner in Punker Black is my go-to fail-proof eyeliner!

The main actors in this play are Mr Tom Ford Blush and Miss Chanel Lip... I wore this lip combo to the Estee Lauder Christmas event, this is actually a lip look I have been most complimented on ... It is incredibly flattering, a beautiful orange red that gives you this very cute and chic mouth! First I lined and filled in the lips with Chanel  Precision Lip Definer in 56 Orange Intense, and then on top I applied Chanel Rouge Allure Lip Colour in 97 Incandescente... God I love this combo! The liner brings out the orange in the lipstick, and it ends up looking pretty matte and gorgeous! 

And as for the blush, of course I had to dig out the most lux product I could think of, Tom Ford's make-up range is just so glamorous and sexy, and that's exactly how it makes you feel... Tom Ford Cheek Color in 03 Flush is a fabulous bright peach that goes very well with an orange-red lip, both making your face look alive and delicious... And of course who wouldn't love to find a beautiful Tom Ford blush or lipstick or anything in their Christmas Stocking...

LOVE

Loving Right Now...

I was going to round up October with the things I'm loving right now but I was on a tight schedule, so here they are starting off November, shall we...

First of all, I decided to include a book, a best-seller I got last month and have really enjoyed reading... It's by Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist and winner of 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences... The book is called Thinking, Fast and Slow... It's a fantastic book, but also pretty intense in terms of being densely packed with info, you actually need to think a lot when reading it... But it's not written for scientists, it's still readable and actually pretty fun... I had to take a break half way through though, and friends of mine who also were reading it said it's one of the best books they have ever read but also took breaks... Let me just say that reading Vogue after Thinking, Fast and Slow becomes a totally different experience... Nuff said... 

That little beaded Matreshka [aka Russian doll] bracelet I have been wearing non stop through October, you can actually see it in most of my look pics, I got it at River Island for like three quid but I love wearing it with my chunky gold Michael Kors watch, it adds a nice little fun element... Elie Saab, if you read my blog frequently you will know how much I have been enjoying this beautifully sensual fragrance lately, if not check out these features: The Search for the Perfect Fragrance... + Fragrance & Journalism: Each to their Own...

The other two new additions are Deborah Lippmann Forget You glitter nail lacquer, which I have used to create my Halloween inspired nails, you can check it out by clicking here... It's such a fun and festive shade, which is also just perfect for the party season coming up! It's part of the current line and makes a great stocking-filler, if you want to fill up your Christmas stocking with it it's available exclusively at House of Fraser Stores... And the other addition is Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Busy Signal, which is a very pretty chocolate bronze... Makes blue eyes pop! A warm autumnal look coming soon...

And finally two lip products as this is the season for being good to your lips! I have been using Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care... It's a flattering nude, my lips but better shade - for more info and swatches just click here... And last but by no means least, when I was going through my handbag collection I found Cowshed Lippy Cow Natural Lip Balm... It was a happy occasion as it was gone missing for a while and I had no idea where it was... Some of the ingredients are essential oils of linden blossom, rose geranium and ylang ylang... It doesn't last much on the lips as it's very light and liquid but I am absolutely addicted to the scent and taste, it shoots me right back to the beautiful snowed in Cowshed weekend, the crackling fireplace, the stunning landscape...  

Few years ago I stayed at the award-wining Babington House where the Cowshed Spa was at, in Gloucestershire... I had a few great treatments done, my favourite was the mud treatment... The Mud Room is specifically designed for this treatment, I was provided with I think four or five different types of mud, each of them was intended for a specific part of your body, so I got all muddy and sat there drinking water, then it got steamy and the automated shower went on... And then you put on the proper lux heavy hooded-bathrobe and sit in front of the fire having a cup of tea... Uhh heavily! I was left feeling super relaxed after that treatment, not to mention the super smooth baby skin... Anyways on each trip to the Spa I was stocking up on the products, I still have the hand cream, and few of the massaging oils, they all have a lovely natural herbal scent... And that's how I discovered Cowshed...

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Loving Right Now...

In the past couple of weeks I have been enjoying a few beauty products that I want to share... I found myself reaching for the Dior 3 Couleurs Glow palette in 651 Nude Glow ever since trying the look that is suggested by Dior... It's from the Dior Golden Jungle Fall 2012 Collection... The look that Dior suggests with this palette is a very natural, wet looking and chic, with hardly any colour and very light eye definition... It would be flattering on any skin tone or complexion, it's very versatile, you can also create more dramatic look with it, click here -> Dior 3 Couleurs Glow in  Nude Glow... I will do a separate blog post wearing the Dior look... 

For those of you who are reading my blog regularly the next item won't be a surprise, it's the MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist... It's been a recent re-discovery of mine, and as a base it gives any eyeshadow that certain je ne sais quoi... I have tried light and dark eyeshadows, both looked great over it... The next eye product that's been well loved is L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim Eyeliner... It only comes in black, and it's got a very slim felt tip applicator which makes it easy to draw a very precise line, getting right on top of the lash line...

Laura Mercier Mineral Powder SPF 15 in Rich Vanilla foundation is fantastic to finish of any foundation... You can use it on it's own, and that's what most people do, but I like to buff a little bit of it on top of my liquid foundation... It's not powdery or heavy, in fact it's very light and dewy... It makes any foundation look more beautiful, more flawless, I highly recommend checking it out! I've just repurchased my second pot, and have done a full review [click here] in my previous blog post... 

Talking of foundations, I have been trying to finish up a few of them I had for a while and after seeing so many great reviews of the Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman make-up brushes I decided to try Stippling Brush I already had... I purchased it a while ago and used it for cream blushes and now I decided to try it with foundations... Omg! It even made the difficult-to-apply foundations go on flawlessly... It's also great for contouring and highlighting... Because it's synthetic it doesn't take in much of the product, washes and dries super fast... I love love love it!!!

And finally, Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm has done a great job on my lips, for the full review click here... They look incredibly healthy, and smooth... But it's not just that, even the natural colour of my lips looks emphasised, as does the lip line... Not sure how exactly it works but the ingredients seem to repair and replenish lips so well that I find myself not wanting to wear a lipstick... This may sound crazy but the other night I was watching The Good Shepherd with Angelina Jolie - there was a scene when she had bare beautifully full lips and it actually reminded me of how mine look now, minus the volume...

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Nuxe Reve de Miel...

The Nuxe Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm that everyone raves about finally landed into my hands and on my lips! Going from what was meant to be summer into even worse autumn weather here in London I got dry and chapped lips, which isn't great for when you are trying to channel a dark fall lip... I now understand everyone's obsession with this little pot of gorgeousness and want to share my love too, in case you don't already have this baby sitting on your night-table... 

It's consistency is thick which makes it stay and not slide away... The scent is zesty and refreshing... Honey, Plant Oils, Shea Butter, and Grapefruit Essence help to nourish and protect lips... I like to use the lip balm over night as it stays longer that way and helps to repair chapped lips by the time you wake up... I really like the matte natural finish of this balm... And the Nuxe Lip Moisturizing Stick is a lighter, perfect handbag version for when on the go if you don't like sticking dirty fingers in the lip balm pot... I keep mine on the vanity table and always apply it when I'm doing my make-up before I apply lipstick... It feels very moisturising, has a little bit of a sheen but not glossy at all and smells equally gorgeous!

LOVE

Vogue Beauty Russia September 2012...

Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care SPF 15...

wearing on the lips: Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care SPF 15 in 04 Charismatic Red...

When I saw Natalia Vodianovaon on the cover of Vogue Russia September 2012 issue I had to have it, to join my Vogue collection... I love N.V. she's my all time favourite top model... Sh is just stunning but most importantly she projects that element of purity and youth... And she's a clever girl too! To add to the excitement, at the back there was a beauty supplement called Beauty Special Project and that's where the editorial pics are from... I loved the focus on red and plum lips... What was striking however is that the supplement was filled with articles and advertisement for plastic surgery... It almost seemed to be dominating beauty... Every culture interprets beauty in a different way... In Russia it seems that plastic surgery has become as regular and casual as having lunch with your girlfriends... 

To me plastic surgery doesn't naturally coexist with beauty... It's not like you have to cut your face to look beautiful... I have nothing against it when it's done tastefully... I definitely would get fillers done with time, frowning is a bad habit that's hard to ditch... But seeing so many Russian celebrities having their foreheads pulled over the head and down to the ass, excessively injected faces, oddly places fillers and implants... I'm sorry but I don't find a frantic grimace particularly beautiful... Not to mention all that horrendous healing process they go through to only end up looking like the Batman Joker face...

Then there was a whole article featuring eight 'busy' women, most probably oligarchs' wives, and how they manage to look so 'great'... Most of them look like they had poorly executed plastic surgery done... Couple of them even proudly admit to it... There's one extreme case of bad surgery and that is a woman whose husband operated her... Oh lord, I don't know what she looked like before, but she basically now looks like ahem, a stoned rabbit... But she seems to like the look as she said she would not have gone to any other plastic surgeon and her husband wouldn't have trusted anyone else to the the job... Hmm...

But there is an interesting looking article which I haven't had time to read yet, but it's on my agenda... It's about how 'busy' women restore their level of energy... That is something I am curious about... When you work immensely hard, putting your career above everything, you can find yourself prioritising your career even over your friends and family, or men... It takes over your entire life... Personally I would much rather invest my energy into career than men... I had to cancel quite a few dates and meetings with friends in favour of my work... So you also need to know how to recharge your batteries... What to do... Lets just hope the article won't recommend implanting or injecting some chemical catharsis substance for your mind and soul...

LOVE

Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care...

Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care in 01 Natural Crystal...

Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care in 

01 Natural Crystal, 02 Legendaire Pink, 04 Charismatic Red...

Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care is the most beautifying lip product... It looks like a lip gloss but works like a treatment lip care... In the pictures I'm wearing the nude colour, it's a very pretty shimmery [as are all the other colours] nude that enhances your own lips and gives your complexion an overall super natural radiance... The pink and the red are beautifully pigmented... In fact the lip gloss is very flattering, especially the red, it just makes you look fresh and gives you a cute as a button lip... This Lip Care is like a pigmented balm with a glossy finish... Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Sunflower Oil, Sweet Almond Oil and Vitamin E help to hydrate, nourish and give your lips replenishing effect... It also has SPF 15 to protect your lips! I have been addicted since trying it, the light formula makes it very pleasant to wear... And omg the scent is just so delicious, and every colour smells different!

LOVE