Tag Archives: Benefit

Beauty reimagined: Fabled by Marie Claire

Posted in Beauty by

fabled-by-marie-claire-review-1Imagine a gorgeous place where your favourite beauty brands come together. That would be enough, right?

Add some beauty experts edits and opinions, from a leading magazine, to make your life easier when choosing the best products for you.

fabled-by-marie-claire-review-2Then, top it off with a real shop full of friendly and approachable professionals in the counters.

Enough? Thought so, but there’s more: online shop with the superb Ocado delivery service, within a chosen 1 hour time slot.

Too good to be true? Maybe, but it’s real. All this is Fabled by Marie Claire.

And you can experience it right now as I have an exclusive 15% discount code for you, lovely readers, to start shopping online right now: VOU039323938, valid until the 26th October 2016. 

To me, the concept is genius: an online shop tons of amazing beauty brands covering makeup, skincare, hair and fragrance, supported by the magazine expert edits, reviews and trend watching.

Beauty lovers that might be short for time, or are not sure about what red lipstick to go for, now have a haven to make their lives easier and help them nail they beauty needs.

And The Fabled Shop in London’s Tottenham Court Road? Dreamy!

fabled-marie-claireI was about to place my order at fabled.com and decided I needed a new foundation. Took the opportunity to try the new Urban Decay All Nighter foundation.

So I went to the shop for a colour match, as I work nearby. Even though I told the lovely makeup artist on the UD counter I was not buying, she was lovely, helpful and super friendly.

I also wanted to get myself a new eyeliner – I went for Estée Lauder Little Black Liner. Obviously both will be reviewed soon!

fabled-by-marie-claire-review-3Now to the order. The site is clean, well categorised, so it is easy to use and find what you’re looking for. You can also look for specific brands, skin concerns, the Marie Claire edit and specific filtering within categories.

They have an online chat to help you in those decisive hours and placing the order is very quick and painless, with Ocado delivery (free over £15, £3.90 otherwise) slots from 5:30 am to 11:3pm.

And you can attach it to your grocery shopping. Now, that’s as exciting as it is dangerous!

Remember, you can get 15% off right now with my code VOU039323938, valid until the 26th October.

fabled-by-marie-claire-review-4At fabled.com and at their fabulous The Fabled Shop at 21 Tottenham Court Road, London, you can find Aveda, Aromatherapy Associates, Balance Me, Bobbi Brown, Benefit, bkr, Burberry, Clinique, Caudalie, Crabtree & Evelyn, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Essie, Eyeko, Estée Lauder, Eylure, ghd, Giorgio Armani, Gucci,  Hugo Boss, He-Shi, Lancôme, Lipstick Queen, L’Oréal Paris, Marc Jacobs, Maybelline, Nails Inc, NARS, OPI, REN, Rimmel, Seche, St. Tropez, Skin & Tonic, T3, This Works, The Balm, Tom For, Urban Decay, Zelens (breathe) and much more.

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You know the drill, but I’ll say anyway: this post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.

A whole Cheekathon on board the Good Ship Benefit

Posted in Beauty, Make Up by

benefit-cheekathon-palette-review - 3What if you could have all your cheek makeup needs solved by one fabulous, great value palette?

Well, Benefit granted you that wish. The Cheekathon palette has five shades of blushers and bronzers, to flatter all skin tones.

benefit-cheekathon-palette-review - 1In this palette, you get five full-sized – you read it right: FULL SIZED – blushers and bronzers, including their most loved and best-sellers.

benefit-cheekathon-palette-review - 1What do I get, Dani, you ask. Well…. Apart from the super pretty box (come on!), you get dandelion, the prettiest of ballerina pinks, hoola matte bronzing powder, great for contouring, rockateur rose gold for extra, slightly shimmery glow, dallas, another bronzer, warmer than hoola and CORALista, a pink-coral blusher, my favourite from the lot.

All on my face!!!

All on my face!!!

Now, the beauty of this palette is that you can use one, mix a couple or few or even use them all to create the ultimate look.

Oh, and the price? Only £44.50. Each individual sells for £23.50, so you are getting a lot for your money! What’s not to love?!

You can get the Benefit Cheekathon palette from House of Fraser, where you can also get the whole Benefit range as well as other fabulous makeup.

While I am on the Benefit subject, they have set up a fabulous addition to the Thames: the good ship Benefit, which is our good old H.S. Hispaniola prettified: think pink carpet on the Hoola deck, a They’re Real mascara restaurant (called Lashitude), afternoon tea at the Brow Lounge, a lower deck POREfessional Vault and Pinkton Parlour bars and a fantastic floating boutique, with the whole Benefit range with 10% off. No, not lying.

img_1059And it has a brow bar at the boutique to top it off. I had mine shaped, and OMG. No one is ever touching my brows again, I’ll be back soon, maybe his time I get a tint too.

Prices are £12.50 for shape and £19.50 for shape and tint.

Place is beautifully decorated, with a gorgeous view of Southbank and London Eye/Big Ben, the cocktails are delicious and I hear the food is great too. Check out their website; entry is free and you can also book online!

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Thanks House of Fraser for having me!

This post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.

Amped up lashes: I discovered the Benefit They’re Real! Tinted Lash Primer 

Posted in Beauty, Make Up by
benefit_theyreal_lash_primer_review - 2There is something about Benefit I canto quite gauge. I love their packaging, adore the name and the concept behind their products, see thousands of people who swear by them but nothing I tried seemed to quite work for me.
Until now. To my surprise, at the uber generous QVC SS16 press preview bag, there was a Benefit They’re Real! Tinted Lash Primer.
Let’s start with the brush. It’s a plastic, with super thin and flexible bristles in varied lengths that will get right in there, on to every little lash. It also has a spiky end, which is fabulous for lower lashes.
benefit_theyreal_lash_primer_review - 1 (1)The formula is gel, in a watery brown colour, which is great and can be used on its own for a lighter, feathery and super defined look.
But as a primer it truly shines. It separates and defines, conditions and gives a little bit of lift and volume.
benefit_theyreal_lash_primer_review - 1Mascara application (admittedly, my new found love from Charlotte Tilbury), is somehow smoother, lashes go that extra mile in terms of length and separation.
Am I about to start a love affair with Benefit?! Not yet, but I am not dismissing it. At all.
benefit_theyreal_lash_primer_review The Benefit They’re Real! Tinted Primer costs a brilliant £14.55, plus £2.95 p&p from QVC. You can also get it in shops nationwide, as well as online.
Beauty at QVC is something I have rediscovered recently. Apart from having an extensive range of amazing big known and boutique brands and great prices, they will also carry exclusives and special packs which usually carry a very special price tag too. Well worth checking for all you beauty needs!
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This post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.

So Many Lovely Things beauty retrospective 2015: makeup

Posted in Beauty by

beauty_retrospective_somanylovelythings2015. What a fabulous year for the blog. I never expected all the amazing things that happened, brands, products and, above all, people I met.

Just amazing; I feel grateful and privileged.

Among so many great products I tried this year, it is very hard to pick my favourites, but here it comes. Without further ado, the best makeup of the year goes to:

Overall highlights:

Black lipstick

If you asked me, I’d have never in my life said I’d wear black lippy outside fancy dress. During the day? Oh no. But I did, and I freaking loved it.

It did something to my face, almost softening all of my other features. Did I mention I love it?

MDMFlow Di La La is THE black lippy to have.

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 2Charlotte Tilbury

After resisting that all important first purchase as I did find the makeup was on the pricey side, I succumbed after trying a few fabulous items John Lewis sent to me.  Since then, I’ve added seven extra items to my CT collection.

Massive big up to the Colour Chameleon Eyeshadow Pencil and even more to the Fat Lashes mascara, which is indeed a miracle worker (review coming very soon).

Foundation, lipsticks, eye pencil, lip pencil, brow pencil, eyeshadows… everything is fabulous.

Lipstick

rouge_louboutin_velvet_matte_lipstick - 2Louboutin Rouge Velvet Matte Lipstick: beautiful inside out. I don’t think  have to talk much about this one. Too pretty to miss.

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 1 (1)Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G Love bite lipstick: usually a finish I don’t go for, a kind of lustre, but oh, boy, this is pretty. An orange red, with a fab sheen, but not too much, and great durability.

Foundation

hourglass immaculate foundation reviewHourglass Immaculate: replaced my long standing foundation and proved its price tag. One downside is the lack of SPF in this product. so close to perfection…

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation: not replacing the one above but worth of mention. Nothing I try for Tilbury is less than great. Together with my faithful MAC Studio Fix, makes for a cheaper everyday alternative to the pricey Hourglass.

Highlighter

hourglass_ambient_lighting_edit_palette_review - 4Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette: all the highlighting you will need, plus blushers and a bronzer. Just perfect.

thebalm_maryloumanizer_highlighter_review - 4The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer: the shade on this highlighter is just great. Not too gold, not too yellow, and its a fab multitasking – looks great on eyes.

inika highlighterInika Light Reflect Highlighting Creme: a fabulous product which delivers a great glow. Plus it’s vegan, organic and halal.

makeup revolution vivid baked highlighterAnd a special mention to my favourite budget highlighter: Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Peach Lights. A bit 2014 but still going strong.

Primer

hourglass veil mineral primer reviewHourglass Veil Primer: reigned absolute this year. No contenders to this product; it fill all the expectations from a primer – it smooths, aids product distribution and duration, as well as making makeup sweat proof.

Eyeliner

nyx_twotimer - 3NYX Two Timer: a great, precise, easy-to-use product with fabulous pigmentation and durability. Plus a friendly price tag.

gosh xtreme gel liquid eyelinerGOSH Xtreme Liquid Gel eyeliner: the finish on this product is superb, think vinyl, with incomparable shine. And it’s immovable.

Urban Decay Ink for Eyes: a tiny tiny pen with extra fine nib for precision lining. Very neat.

Eyeshadow

charlotte_tilbury_colour_chameleon_review - 1Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon Eyeshadow Pencil: easy to use, great durability, fab colours. Enough said.

Urban Decay Naked 2: yes, you read it right. 2. Even with the Smoky buzz this year, which I succumbed to, that old palette remains my favourite and is used daily.

Mascara

Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes Mascara: Definition and separation: check. Non-clumpy formula: check. Longer lashes: check. Natural volume: check. Perfect.

nyx doll eye mascara reviewNYX Doll Eye Long Lash Mascara: definition, fan-effect and a pocket-friendly price tag.

Benefit They’re Real Eyelash Primer: what a surprise I got with this product. Separation, fanning, conditioning and a flattering brown tint that makes it wearable on its own.

Tinted products

La Roche-Posay Effaclar BB Blur: what a great surprise this was. Its mousse consistency delivers a surprisingly good durable coverage and caters for blemish prone skin. Win. Launches early 2016.

caudalie2Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Tinted Moisturiser: good, radiant coverage, full of grape goodness and a handy SPF 20.

I am sure I missed some loved ones, but these are for sure, my beauty highlights.

What product was your favourite in 2015?

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This post mentions some press samples.

 

 

Primed and prepped: a guide to primers

Posted in Beauty by

which_primer - 2 of 6 (1)Many a times I went on about how primers changed my life and how important they are in the makeup routine. I will give you a brief round-up not to bore you.

Continue reading →

Beautiful christmas: my selection of beauty gifts

Ho ho ho. It is December and I feel I am officially allowed to say the C word without attracting some dirty looks (and the “already?!” expression n their faces). Obviously, I am talking about CHRISTMAS, silly.

Most people know someone who is a beauty fanatic and if you are not one yourself, choosing the right thing can be quite difficult. But fear not, So Many Lovely Things will give you an easy solution that is certain to cause a good impression.

I went through my favourite places for beauty buys and here are my picks:

Up to £25

studio_smokey_eyesA good all rounder for a great price. Studio products are great value for money. This Smokey eye kit, for £6, is certain to please. New Years eve eyes, sorted!

eyeko_liner

I love the Eyeko Skinny liner – it is my favourite and I use everyday. This double pack from QVC is excellent value for £14 and after trying you will certainly need a second (and a third – you won’t live without it, ever!)

nivea_kitClassic skin care brand Nivea pulled together a lovely pampering selection with Honey Face Masks, Body lotion, Pearly Shine Lip, Cleansing Wipes, Moisturising Day Cream, amongst others. For £15, this gift goes a long way. Available at Boots.

loreal_sos

Post Chirstmas excesses will show on your face. Pull yourself together with this L’Oréal Port-Party Beauty SOS and be ready for the next one in no time! £10 from Boots.

rodial_bauble

A pretty bauble from Rodial, with its lovely Glam Balm inside. A tiny bit of luxury to plump those lips for that all important unde the mistletoe action! £14 from Harrods.

rae_morris

I love this book. Rae Morris’ classic Makeup: The Ultimate Guide will help you get the grips with makeup and look even more fabulous! Only £12.50 from Amazon.

sanctuary

The Sanctuary’s Best Sellers Collection is a great body indulgence kit with their classic scent. £15 from Debenhams.

clinique_candy

Clinique’s Chubby stick Whole Lotta Candy collection means you will have three beautiful shades to choose from for the New Year’s party! £20 from House of Fraser.

babydoll

Pretty doll eyes with YSL Baby Doll Mascara Set – to put it on and remove later! Find it at Boots for £24.50.

nailsinc_minis

Must Have minis from Nails Inc – lots of shades to start well the year – fro nudes to neons – this will keep your talons colour going for a while! Great value of £23.52 from QVC!

clinique_party_tips

Festive talons courtesy of Clinique’s Party Tips nail polish set.. Three pretty shades for sensitive skin for £20 from House of Fraser.

elemis

Discover Elemis’ great Tri-enzime kit with this 4 piece set, for only £24.12 from QVC.


opi_fullytied

OPI’s Fit to be Tied #2 has two beautiful nail shades and delivers glitter in the right amount. £18.55 from QVC.

clinique_3step

Clinique’s classic 3 step kit is one of my favourites cleanse, tone and moisturise sets. Have a go with this intro collection and see for yourself. £20 from Debenhams.

liz_earle

The Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser is a classic – and is has a special edition for Christmas – £26.25 for 200ml cleaner and 2 muslim cloths!

Over £26

naked3

I couldn’t leave out the Naked 3 palette from Urban Decay, coming out on the 12 December for £37. Hurry!!!

mac_stoke_midnight

Beautifully packaged MAC’s Stroke of Midnight eye kit in Smoky got me hooked. Smokey eyes paradise with Chillproof, Retrospeck, Gaelic Gold, Well Put Together and Carbon (my fave matte black eyeshadow). At £32, exceptional value for money.

 

benefit

Benefit’s Groovy Kinda Love gift set has their best sellers to keep you pretty – and all for £29.50 from Boots.

ud_glitter

Sparkle! The Urban Decay Starlight Glitter set can help with that! £30 from House of Fraser.

Damsel-in-De-stress

Guinot has brought some lovely gift boxes this year, each one looking to fix a “problem” in a girl’s life.

Ready Set Glow will deliver complexion brightening tools; Damsel in De-Stress will pamper and help relief stress; Supercharged Youth Boost delivers a boost for ageing skin. They also have a male grooming gift set called Tied up, with a face wash, after shave and shaving brush! They are priced between £46 and £64 and can be found at your nearest salon using Guinot products or at the Salon Skincare website, amongst others. website

ysl_youthliberator

Reveal a younger you with YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum set, £64 from Boots.

lancome_visionnaire

Lancôme’s Visionnaire is of my favourite serums – and this set has lots of amazing goodies to accompany it! It costs £82 from Boots.

mac_brushes

This classic selection of half size MAC brushes is amazing – and a fantastic value too at £42.

lancome_alber

And finally, a girl can dream…. fro £300 you can get the WHOLE Alber Elbaz collection for Lancôme at Harrods. Sigh…

Smashbox freebies

Posted in Beauty, Make Up by

Smashbox productsAfter much procrastination to commit, I decided to subscribed to some magazines.  One of them, Elle, has sent me a Smashbox make up set as a welcoming gift.

I am very sceptical about things that come free – I have been terribly disappointed in the past – so I opened the envelope with an anticipated dissatisfaction.

I would love to say that I was proven wrong and started vehemently believing in free stuff – this is not the case, but I  can say I was pleasantly surprised with the goods I received: O-Gloss Gold, Photo Op brightener and Soft Effects Powder Eyeliner, in aubergine.

Smashbox eyeliner

My favourite one is probably the eyeliner. When I saw the “aubergine” colour, I was a bit annoyed and thought: “typical, they never give you a great staple, like black, for free!”, but it turns out that it is quite dark, and close enough to be worn as an option to black.

For me, the best use was to recycle my eyeliner, I tried it on top of my reliable albeit very tired after a long day at the office,  MAC smolder eye kohl and it looked fantastic. In the morning though, when applied on fresh eyes, it was a bit messy, as it is very loose and fine powder, and the line was a bit rough – but maybe I need to get used to the applicator. Once you get it right (it took me a few minutes,  a cotton bud and a foundation retouch below the eyes!), it looked ok.

Smashbox lipgloss

The lipgloss did what it said on the tin – it changed from a guilded gold to a peachy tone and apparently, the peach colour of this intuitive lipgloss adjusts to your skin, giving you the best match for your complexion. Lips looked nice, the colour was good for me, I really like the golden sheen and the consistency and taste of the lipgloss were alright.

As for the highlighter, it was satisfactory, but not better than my usual Benefit High Beam or my YSL Touché Eclat.

All in all, I can say that I probably wouldn’t buy them. Maybe I could give the eyeliner a go but the £17 price tag for the duo (the black is paired with the aubergine), makes me think if it is really worth it. Good to try new brands and products though, and what I will probably do is use its applicator with other eyeshadows, as quite like the idea behind it, and see how it goes!