GinZinging your eyes out for spring

I think we can all agree that spring has now sprung! 
I mean, I feel like I may  have tanned during this past bank holiday.
What I also think we can agree on is that spring really makes you want to have a fresh, happy looking face. Whilst this is the dream, sometimes that's not the default face you wake up with.
In my case, I tend to wake up in the morning having slightly puffy and dark under eye areas. I'm assuming its genetics mixed with not always sleeping like a baby or as much as a baby would.
But I'm happy to say that for the past 5 months I've been testing the bejeezus out of the following eye cream and can throw some conclusions at you.

Origins has created some of my absolute favourite things, like the life saving overnight hydrating mask that I've mentioned here and in a lot of other posts you can find by checking the  "origins" tag in this post.
 
But this is definitely the reason why I tend to trust them when it comes to skincare.
Now, I am aware that my dark circles are persistent little fellows and while this cream promises to make a real difference in reducing the appearance of the shadows, I was not expecting miracles.
But I have to tell you, once you actually apply this under your eyes, the dark becomes light. You have no idea how impressed I was when it happened! I had tried a number of other creams and serums meant to make your eyes look more awake, but none of them actually made the difference that this has.
I can always rely on it, even on those awful mornings when my eyes sting and present me with new shades of red.
And I'd like to think that after almost half a year of using it, I can confidently say that. One more thing I was thrilled by, was the fact that the tiny pot that I got while buying the GinZing face cream, and which contains around 15g of product, has lasted me for all this time.
In all fairness, eye creams should be used in smaller quantities, but the effectiveness that is concentrated in this, is quite thrilling!

So if you need something to make you look fresh and happy, this is the little pot for you!




                    You can also Follow on * Bloglovin *  Twitter * Facebook *  

The dream fragrance - Jo Malone's Orange Blossom Cologne

I shan't lie, it's been a while. We could be dramatic and say that it's been since last year! But we won't be dramatic today.
What we will be, is excited! And I am so immensely excited to be able to share this beautiful scent with you. I have been contemplating about getting it for quite a while now, but I think we all know what the price of a full grown Jo Malone cologne is (it's around 90£ in case you wonder). So that added a bit of a rational element to the impulse buy.

But here's the fantastic thing that happened: as I was catching a flight from Stansted, I ended up with time to spare, and in my wonderings around the duty free area, the glorious Jo Malone stand suddenly appeared in front of me. 

Since I am not one capable to fight the urge to smell their perfumes, I calmly approached the bottles. You cannot imagine the size of my eyes when I looked at the price and it said 64£ ! Clearly, that made my decision to buy this beauty very easy, very fast.

The scent basically bring everything together that I love: it's fresh but not Rexona fresh...it's citrusy but not lemony, it even is a bit musky and woody. And as I smell myself (totally normal under the circumstances), there is even a hint of sweetness to it, but not the kind that will give you headaches. If your nose can somehow imagine a slightly bitter orange type of smell, you are on the right path.

Not to mention the fact that it lasts for so long that if you throw your shirt in the laundry basket, the laundry basket will start having a very pleasant fragrance.

And before you accuse me of overs-spritzing, I don't. Two or three spritzers and you're set!

Basically, I am in complete and utter bliss each morning when it hits my skin! Have you tried any Jo Malone perfumes? Would you recommend any other? Or one that would go along with this?

And my advice: if you have a serious Jo Malone craving, try looking for it when you're in an airport next time!


                                You can also Follow on * Bloglovin *  Twitter * Facebook *  

Brand Obsession: Kiko

Some people know this already, but I might as well make it public: I'm kinda obsessed with Kiko.

Over the past couple of weeks I've more or less purposely stumbled into the Kiko store on Regent St. quite a few times.
In all honesty, there wasn't something I desperately needed, make-up wise, because as us beauty bloggers know, you don't really need half of what's in your collection, but you buy more anyway. 

Well, Kiko is kind of the ultimate encouragement to buy more stuff you don't absolutely need because they have SO many things to pick from, the prices are almost too good to be true and the quality is borderline unbelievable. 
I will tell you now, I like their lipsticks more than I like the MAC ones. (You may select to throw things at me at this point).

Not being a red lipstick person, I found that their Smart Lip Pencils are perfect for trying out colours without actually having to buy a lipstick. Not to mention that for clumsy people like me, a lip pencil used as lipstick has the perfect staying power. It's great as a first try because it stays in place, doesn't smudge and doesn't make you panic each time something comes close to your lips. 
After being totally convinced by its red greatness I went ahead and purchased a deep berry one today (shade 710). The red I love is shade 705 and I will do a post with swatches for them if you want.
Also, did I mention that these pencils currently cost 1.90£ ? Let that sink in.

Speaking of lip stuff, they have such a perfect array of shades that I always seem to find a shade that looks good on me. Like the very natural looking nude in 900 and the pinky coral in 902 , above. Corals look so awkward on me 90% of the time, but when I tried that on, it was instant love.

I'm probably the most fussy mascara picker and the fact that I have found a mascara that is non-fiber and that looks like it would be, makes me immensely jolly. Cue Kiko Volumeyes+ Mascara. One word: fantastic!

And lastly, the bane of my existence: concealers.
I am now pretty confident that my concealer problem is solved. I will keep you updated since I've only tried their Full Coverage Concealer once, but already am pretty positive that we will be friends. Good ones.
Usually it's either too creamy, too dry, too agitated (aka moves like it's nobody's business), too flaky or simply has not enough coverage. I'm looking at you Erase Paste!
This one, on the other hand is the perfect mix and the perfect coverage. Rarely do I get excited about something as I do about a good concealer.

Basically, what I am trying to say is: I love Kiko!  There is not one product that I have tried that I have not been impressed with. I'm not even sure how that's possible but good heavens, it seems to be!




                                You can also Follow on * Bloglovin *  Twitter * Facebook *