Mother's Day Gifts With Fragrance Direct

I think this perfume gift set is the most beautifully packaged/presented gift set ever! I was able to choose this gift set to review by the amazingly lovely people at Fragrance Direct. I have made quite a few orders through Fragrance Direct before with my own money so I definitely wanted to work with them. Even though this product was sent for review it does not change my opinion of the brand/products, my opinions are my own - for more information on my disclaimer, click here.

I have the *Valentino Valentina Eau de Parfum Gift Set (50ml, £52.50) which I have to say is just so beautiful, I am a bit of a sucker for packaging and this box and perfume bottle are divine! I haven't owned a perfume from Valentino before but I do always give them a sniff when I am browsing through Boots etc. Firstly, the delivery time was good and the gift set was very well protected. 

Now, the packaging, I really cannot say enough good things about the packaging and presentation of this fragrance. The box looks like a designer hat box, it is a gorgeous pale pink with a ribbon so you can carry it I guess. The box would be great as a storage box too, it just looks so decadent, luxe and super expensive in my opinion. The set looks like a stunning Mother's Day or birthday gift. For these photos I did want to have pink flowers but I could only find red, I think I am going to start doing the typical blogger thing and have flowers in more photograph backgrounds, so pretty! The perfume and lotion bottles themselves are equally beautiful. 

The fragrance contains top notes of tuber and green apple, middle notes of jasmine, strawberry, African orange flower and tuberose and base notes of cedar, amber and vanilla. It sounds just like the type of fragrance that myself and my mum love. It smells divine, I think it would suit a wide range of ages as it is a feminine, floral but musky fragrance that I think most will love.Overall, a lovely fragrance with equally lovely packaging that would make a fantastic (and very luxe) Mother's Day gift! 

For more information on this fragrance and to view other gift sets check out Fragrance Direct, here. You can save 10% of this beautiful gift set and others by using the code: GIFTSET10 at the 

checkout (ends midnight 23rd March)! What do you think of this gift set?

Other gift sets @ Fragrance Direct:

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Review: Arbonne #1

I was contacted last year about reviewing some products from Arbonne and Arbonne isn't a brand that I had heard of before but after a browse on their site I said yes, even though these products/samples were sent for review it doesn't change my opinion of the brand/products, for more information on my disclaimer, click here. 

Firstly, I have the *Arbonne Perfecting Liquid Foundation in the shade 'Porcelain' (£31) which I wouldn't really describe as 'Porcelain' but it does match my pale skin well, I think it is the lightest shade. I have a sample of it (about 1/3 of a bottle) and I have been using it on and off for almost two weeks and I have to say, it is a really nice foundation. I have dry and sensitive skin so finding a good foundation can be really difficult but this one has full/medium coverage and when applied on top of moisturiser and primer it doesn't emphasise dryness. It blends really well, it doesn't irritate my skin and it covers most of what I want to cover - you only need the tiniest amount otherwise it can look a bit caky. ★★★★☆, 4/5. 

I also have the *full size blusher in the shade 'Ballet' (£20) and if you have been reading my blog for a while you will know that I do not wear blusher. It is one of the very few makeup items that I never really use (along with tan and fake lashes). Although I have used this to review and it is such a pretty natural pink shade - the name 'ballet' is definitely accurate. The blush applies and blends well, it is not super pigmented so you don't have to worry about looking like a clown! ★★★★☆, 4/5.

The last product I have to review in this post is the *Lip Polish in 'Brown Sugar' (£18) - now before opening the sachet I expected it to be a brown sugar lip scrub (clearly I didn't read the leaflets for this sample) so I was disappointed to see it was a lip gloss in a browny shade. I tried it and it is actually really nice, on my lips it looks like a rosy pink, brown shade (because of my natural lip colour) and it makes my lips looks fuller and glossy. It does feel a little bit sticky and heavy on the lips but it lasted fairly well and it was very smooth on the lips. ★★★★☆, 4/5. 

Overall, I am impressed with the products I have tried and I am definitely interested in more Arbonne cosmetics such as their eyeshadows, CC cream and fragrances too. I will have another post reviewing the other samples I received over the next week or so - to see more Arbonne products, click here. Have you tried Arbonne products before? 

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Blogger Competition: HOF 'Inspired By Mum'

I was recently contacted by House of Fraser asking whether I would like to take part in their new Mother's Day, 'Inspired by Mum' blogger competition. You have to be a blogger to enter - to enter you just need to create an outfit or beauty look inspired by your mum, then photograph your look and post it on your blog. In the post you need say which item from House of Fraser would 'complete' your look, it could be an accessory, clothing item or a beauty item. Leave a comment on the House of Fraser Competition blog post (here) with a link so they can see your blog post entry. The competition closes on the 2nd April at midnight, for more information check out House of Fraser's blog. Here is my entry/look!

The photos of me are from a couple of months ago, I have been ill recently so I had to use older photos but the makeup is the same as I wear all of the time

This makeup look is one that I wear the majority of the time, it is inspired by my mum as she wear very natural makeup which is defined and simple but pretty. My mum is never overly made up with makeup (unless she is dressed as an umpalumpa for world book day at work) so I take her lead with my makeup. My stance on my makeup on the whole is to define and perfect as much as I can, I love to contour and cover but keep my skin looking like skin. I think less is more although I do love me some winged liner. Here are the steps to achieve my natural 'inspired by mum' makeup look.

Base: For my foundation I used the Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation in the shade 'believe in me ivory' (£25.50) which I love but the shade is a bit too dark so I use a really small amount and blend it down my neck too. I used my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to apply my foundation, it is amazing as all of the RT brushes are. Now onto concealer, I have super dark circles and dry skin especially around my eyes...then add in a couple of very fine lines and it is a concealers worst nightmare! I haven't found my dream concealer and I don't think I ever will but this Clinique Airbrush Concealer (04, £18) is the closest thing I have found so far to perfection. It is a great shade, it has medium coverage, it doesn't emphasise dryness and it blends incredibly quickly/easily. 

Brows: My mum doesn't do anything to her brows but mine are so unruly that I have too. I fill them in pretty much everyday and I used my Mac Eyebrow Pencil in Lingering (£13). It is a fantastic twist up pencil, so quick and easy to use. Then seal with brow gel, I love the Tweezerman Brow Mousse but for this look I used a MUA clear mascara. 

Eyes: I always apply something on my eyes and for a quick two eyeshadow look I use my Nars Pleasures of Paris palette which I have had for ages. I use my trusty Nars Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Primer (£18) first and this primer is one of my holy grail products. I have quite deep set eyes and eyeshadow always creases on me - this primer keeps my eyeshadow crease free for most of the day, which for me is very impressive. Then I apply the shade 'abyssinia' all over the lid for a brightening base; then just along the upper lash line I apply the shade 'cordura' to define the eyes and it makes the lashes look thicker and fuller instantly! Then onto the lashes themselves, both myself and my mum always wear mascara, I think it makes a real difference overall.  Firstly I use my Shu Uemura eyelash curler and yes it is worth the hype (and the slightly steep price tag). I either use my Lancome Hypnose Star mascara (£22.50) or my Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Waterproof Mascara. 

Lips: For the lips both myself and my mum like to keep it natural - unless it is an evening look, in which case it is plum shades all the way! For this natural daytime look I used the Revlon Lip Butter in the shade 'pink truffle'. 

To complete my 'inspired my mum' look I would have to choose the Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Fragrance (£48). For as long as I can remember my mum has had Chanel fragrances as a gift from my dad. They look so expensive and luxe, I love the smell of Coco Mademoiselle, it always reminds me of my mum when ever I smell it. 

There is my entry into the House of Fraser Blogger 'Inspired my mum' Competition! What do you think of my look? Are you going to enter the blogger competition? 

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Mother's Day Gift Guide #1

Mothers day in the UK is just around the corner, it's Sunday 30th March so I thought I would create a gift guide, suggesting items for you to give your mother/guardian or grandma. This is not a sponsored post, the items featured are from Jasper Jewellery, Lush, After Noah and Joules. 

1. Jasper Jewellery Platinum Swarovski Crystal Necklace (£18, €22): I actually have this necklace, I was very kindly sent it to review and my mum really likes it so I think it would make a nice dainty, sophisticated present for mothers day. And Jasper Jewellery items come in boxes and they are already gift wrapped for you! Don't forget you can use my code to get €5 off your order, valid until 31st march - ofbeautyandnothingness5

2. Joules Floral Patch Dog Keyring (£6.95): A cheaper but still cute option. I love this adorable dog keyring, it is a cute and fun present which definitely doesn't break the bank. Great for dog/animal lovers. 

3. Joules Yellow Floral Handy Hand iPhone 5 Case (£19.95): For those techy mums (not my mum!) here is a gorgeous floral iPhone case, it comes in an iPhone 4 size too. As well as this lovely floral design there is also a cute nautical style design. A similar floral design is also available for other tech items and luggage tags etc. Joules is a fantastic place for gifts, in my opinion. 

4. Lush Mothers Day Rose Bubble Bar (£2.95): The cheapest bubble bar and in my opinion, the cutest. Lush bring out new collections for monthers day and other holidays, they are limited edition. Ths one looks and sounds, well, lush!

5. Bougie Artisanale Parfumee Petit Madeleine Candle (@ After Noah, £24): Who doesn't love candles (well my mum is quite paranoid about candles) but I think candles can be so relaxing and cosy especially at this time of the year when it is still really cold outside. I actually won this candle yesterday on Ahem it's Emme's blog giveaway - I can't wait to try it! 

6. The Guilt Free Gourmet Book (£16.99): This recipe book contains gorgeous sounding recipes that do not contain wheat, dairy or sugar - great for a health conscious mum or a cooking mad mum like mine! I really want to have a look through this book, it sounds great, especially as a vegetarian I eat practially the same food all of the time - the grilled polenta with mushrooms and swiss chard sounds great! 

There are my picks for mothers day gifts, well I like all of them for myself too...

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Review: Wild Olive Tuberose & Jasmine Candle

I was very kindly sent three items from the lovely people at Wild Olive, which is a bath, body and candle company based in Derbyshire, England. I am always happy to support British brands. Even though I was sent these products to review, my opinions are my own, for more information on my disclaimer, click here.

I have the *Wild Olive Tuberose and Jasmine Natural Soy & Olive Candle (170g, £6.95). Firstly, the packaging is just gorgeous, the box is super cute and it would make a lovely gift for Mother's Day or birthdays. The presentation is divine, the candle tumbler is glass so it feels quite expensive and I love glass tumbler print too. Overall, it looks quite luxe and expensive!

I have never tried anything, candles or bath/body products, that have 'tuberose' in them, I'm not sure what it is supposed to smell like but it is gorgeous. The scent is very sweet, floral, powdery and it makes me think of sugared almonds, marshmallows and sweet summer time flowers when I smell this candle. The candle burns/melts well, it melts all the way to the sides of the glass tumbler so all of the wax is being used and none of it will be wasted. The wax melts slowly so I think this candle will last quite a long time, the candle is stated to burn for approx. 23 hours. 

The scent is lovely, it is not too strong which I think is a good thing because the scent is quite sweet and floral and if it was very strong then it may be a bit sickly. The scent is quite delicate but definitely noticeable and it disperses fairly well to other rooms. Overall, I am very impressed with the price, packaging, scent and quality of this candle. I am looking into other scents - the mandarin & bergamot candle sounds gorgeous!  ★★★★★, 5/5. 

Have you tried Wild Olive products before? 

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Lulu Loves Birchbox

I was subscribed to Glossybox for about one year and then I subscribed to Birchbox and a lot of the boxes were amazing, especially their first box but back in September/October 2013 I unsubscribed to all of the boxes as I was receiving really poor boxes! However, when I saw that Lulu Guinness was going to collaborate with Birchbox, I was quite excited so I ordered! But all is not as it seems...

Firstly, the box, now I thought that the actual box had the Lulu Guinness stripes/design on it but no it is a sleeve! I wanted to keep the box for the stripes on it but it is a flimsy sleeve that I am going to be throwing away so I was really disappointed!

The leaflets that come with the box - one is an information sheet about the samples in the box, there is also a code to get you £20 off a £100 spend on Lulu Guinness. The third leaflet is for a free 'makeupper' and to try the new Gimme Brow. You also get a stick of Lulu Guinness rock/candy which is cute but I will not be eating it, I am giving it to a friend. 

The first sample is a fragrance sample and I am not a big fan of fragrance samples I think they are kind of filler samples to make it look like you received more. However this is the Christopher Wicks English Laundry No7 Fragrance which smells sweet but musky, my mum likes it and it is quite nice but I am going to give it to my mum. I do love the simplistic packaging though. 

Benefit Stay Don't Stray Eyeshadow and Concealer Primer is the second sample and it is the one I wanted the most. I have wanted to try this primer for months but I am in love with my Nars pro prime. I have tried this a couple of times and while it keeps my eyeshadow looking nice, it isn't as good as my Nars pro prime. Also it has a tint which is too dark/orange for my skin and it emphasises dryness. 

Thirdly, Molton Brown Rhubarb and Rose Hand Cream, this hand cream smells just as nice as it sounds. It smells like old fashioned boiled sweets, maybe like pear drops or rhubarb and custard sweets/candy. I love the scent but I hope it doesn't irritate the eczema on my hand. 

The last couple of samples include the Dr Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner which I will try and use on my nose as I do have large pores there and see how it works. The last sample is the Aromaworks Serenity Body Oil which I haven't tried and I am not a fan of oils - for the face, hair or body so we will have to see about this. 

Overall, I am quite disappointed by this Birchbox, I thought the box would be striped but it is a sleeve. The sample I was most looking forward to using (benefit primer) was a bit disappointing and didn't live up to the hype for me. It is safe to say that I am going to unsubscribe now...again! ★★☆☆☆, 2/5. 

Did you receive the Lulu Loves Birchbox? What do you think?

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