My pick of Beauty Christmas crackers

Christmas crackers enchanted me since my first Christmas in the UK. In Brasil, where I come from, there wasn’t anything like that, and I thought it was great.

When I discovered beauty Christmas crackers, my little heart skipped a beat. How fabulous: a little treat to pick you up before your meal, after you already been to the excitement of opening your gifts.

Here is my pick of Christmas crackers to make you day more beautiful!

dermalogica_xmas_crackerDermalogica, £30 for 3, from Selfridges

One of my go-to beauty brands has a cracker with some of its best-sellers: the precleanse, the gel cleanser and the daily microfoliant. Poses the perfect opportunity to try and fall in love!

ted_baker_xmas_crackerTed Baker, £24 for 3, from Debenhams

Ted Baker beauty surprises you with a mini fragrance or nail colour.

clarins_xmas_crackerClarins, £49 for 6, for Selfridges

A bit pricier, but well worth it, as it is packed with Clarins Classics: Nail Treatment Cream, Miniature Rouge Eclat Lipstick, Miniature Wonder Perfect Mascara, Gentle Refiner Exfoliating Cream, Beauty Flash Balm and Eau des Jardins Treatment Fragrance.

debenhams_xmas_crackerDebenhams, £4.50 for 3

Super cute in its nutcracker soldier packaging, this won’t break the bank and will bring a treat of lipstick, nail polish or lipgloss.

thisworks_xmas_crackerThis works sleep plus, £12

Ah, how I love this little spray. Give the gift of good sleep, in a cracker. So good it’s sold out on the this works site, but Boots has it still!

jomalone_xmas_crackerJo Malone, £32

Delightful and fragrant, you crack yours to a lime basil & mandarin cologne, a blackberry & bay body & hand wash or nectarine blossom & honey body crème.

nailsinc_xmas_crackerNails Inc, £38

A brilliant selection of six full size new and best seller nail shades, this is perfect for the girls’ Christmas dinner!

steamcream_xmas_crackerSteamcream, £8.95

Classic all-round skincare Steamcream mini-tin inside this silver cracker. Great for vegans!

boots_no7_xmas_crackerBoots No7 Cracker Collection, £16 for 6

With 3 nail colours and 3 BB lips glosses, at this price you can treat all ladies of the house at cracker time!

cowshed_xmas_crackerBullocks by Cowshed, £9, from John Lewis

One for the boys: a male body wash and 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. Cowshed has a female version too.

moltonbrown_xmas_crackerMolton Brown, £32

With a feminine and a masculine version, these crackers come with a pink pepper hand cream, body lotion and body wash for her and a black peppercorn body wash, body lotion and a Bai Ji Hydrator cream.

margarethdabbs_xmas_crackerMargaret Dabbs, £12

Containing the best seller Nail & Cuticle Serum.

Phew! Hard to pick, but still a couple weeks to go! What’s your favourite? Have you seen any amazing ones I missed?

Happy Christmas!

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Shine and shade with the gorgeous Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit palette

hourglass_ambient_lighting_edit_palette_review - 1Can Hourglass do anything wrong? From what I can gather, the answer is no. I am flooded with fear every time I approach the counter as I know I am about to part with a great chunk of money.

With the Ambient Lighting Edit palette is no different. In fact I knew it wouldn’t as last time they brought out an ambient lighting trio, I was very close to buying it.

This one has six amazing products – a powder, two highlighters, two blushes and a bronzer.

The powder, called iridescent Strobe Light and is new to the brand, gives that airbrushed effect, it’s almost translucent for my skin tone, with a glow sheen to set and tune skin to perfection.

I have to admit that this is only good for me when my problem skin is having a good day as it doesn’t conceal much.
hourglass_ambient_lighting_edit_palette_review - 4The highlighters are beautiful; a subtle, non-glittery shine that catches and reflects the light beautifully.

Dim Light has a peach undertone to blur and highlight and Diffused Light is pale yellow, or white-golden to boos clarity and conceal redness.

Both work very well. hey are so subtle that you will only realise they are hard at work when the light catch it. Beautiful and long lasting too.

hourglass_ambient_lighting_edit_palette_review - 3The blushers are marvellous. Mood Exposure has a soft plum tone and is fused with Mood Light powder, for extra brightening. I didn’t think would go with my skin, but it’s my favourite.

Luminous Flush is a champagne rose shade combined with Luminous Light powder, to add a candlelit glow.

The fact they are marbled with some of the powders created a gorgeous colour which is subtle, multi-dimension and multi-tasking. They are very pigmented, extremely blendable and complimentary to the highlighting powders.

The bronzer, Luminous Bronze Light, was my biggest surprise. A medium tan shde is fused with Luminous Light, for a very soft and warm glow.

hourglass_ambient_lighting_edit_palette_review - 6It is subtly glittery, it has good pigmentation (a little goes a long way!), applies well and makes for a decent light contour.

Every single product in this palette is very wearable. The compact is gorgeous and a pleasure to whip out of the makeup bag, although not that small. It is great for a day to night transformation or touch ups in the day. Hourglass says the colours are complimentary to all skin tones.

The deal breaker with the Ambient Lighting products is their Photoluminescence Technology, which filters out harsh light and refine the appearance, as if the skin is glowing from within and not the surface. Hourglass products are free from parabens, talc, fragrance, nanoparticles and gluten.

  Is it with the £65 price tag? If it’s within your budget, definitely yes. I thought I was going to regret. Well, I didn’t, especially when I picked it up at the beautiful Liberty London.

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Dani’s Little Book of Fashion: a little quirk

outfit_quirky_somanylovelythings - 20I started this outfit with the shoes. There. I said it. I fell in love with these lovely boy-ish brogues in silver leather and cow’s hair (yes, how amazing is that?) from Office and had to style it.

Coords are another little obsession of mine and I am finding quite hard to find AW ones; but this Zara number fit the bill ok.

outfit_quirky_somanylovelythings - 23The fabric is thicker and slightly textured; the trousers are super wearable. Although the sleeves are shorter than 3/4, it looks great under a little jacket! Also, I love the little buttoned up details on the back and the small roll neck.

Plus, it makes decent office wear, just add heels and voilá: it’s business proof!

outfit_quirky_somanylovelythings - 7Bag wise, as I went for another little bit of quirk, I opted for my gorgeous Lulu Guinness Lips clutch, in black. I’ve wanted a LG lips clutch for forever, so I am glad I got one to call my own!

outfit_quirky_somanylovelythings - 12For the colder days, a fur coat, which is another obsession of mine. This one is short, from H&M, a discreet black ombré, with purple-burgundy “roots”.

Since I wore black lips for LFW, I’ve been dying to wear again. Admittedly, it is not a look that you can insert anywhere in your life, but I am trying to make some space for it.

That shift to striking lip colour really made me think more about different shades and purple was always something I wanted to wear. So I got my NYX Face Art Purple Blaze eyeliner and filled it in.

To amp it up, I added MAC’s impossibly bright Nicki Minaj Viva Glam pink in the middle, to create a subtle ombré.

Eyes were simple, with MAC’s Vex across the lid and brow bone and a little bit of MAC’s Iris, a fabulous lilac perfect for bringing out brown eyes (and lifting them when you are tired!) on the crease.

They were lined in a super flick with Urban Decay Ink for Eyes in Perversion and I added my super fave Eylure Fleur Loves lashes for a discreet flutter.

A comfortable, simple outfit with a few quirky twists; a very easy way to incorporate a different touch to you neutral daily outfits – a bag, a funky lip, striking shoes. Only one will make your outfit pop!

And I am still on the lookout for winter coords! Send them my way if you spot any!

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Styling and posing: Dani Dutra

Photography: Andy Edwards

Location: Stratford’s Gerry raffles square

Get ready to party with Topshop

topshop_party_roomCertainly I am not the only one that wished I had a lovely place to get changed after work to head off to a party. This festive season, Topshop gives you just that.

The Topshop Party Room at Oxford Circus is a little secret that gives you the comfort of a private room to get ready with your friends, from the 12 November to the 23 December.

Personally, I find the concept super interesting. I hate getting ready in the office or gym toilets, especially when the event is more sophisticated and demands special hair, makeup and clothes.

Just adding a pic of Lola's cupcakes because I can...

Just adding a pic of Lola’s cupcakes because I can…

The experience comes with a personal stylist, complimentary makeovers (Topshop Beauty) and hair styling (from Hershesons), refreshments and cupcakes from Lola (yum) and a festive good bag with party survival essentials and makeup.

Oh, and there’s a photobooth (you all know my love for photobooths) and a bar open to those who are 18+!

It costs £10 per person, minimum of 4 people, and the amount is redeemable against purchases on the day, which frankly i find super cheap. Get mor info on the Topshop website. I took a look and is selling out fast. HURRY!

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A new tinted moisturiser in my drawer: Dermalogica Sheer Tint SPF20

dermalogica_sheer_tint_review - 1Remember when I said I didn’t like tinted moisturisers then it all changed? Yeah, it seems I’m on a roll, now with the Dermalogica Sheer Tint SPF20.

I’ve been using Dermalogica products for a while now and so far everything I tired is a hit. See for yourself how much I love my moisture boost and eye cream.

This one does not disappoint. It has a lovely texture and the colour medium is a good match for me.

dermalogica_sheer_tint_review - 3It has some shimmery particles, which are the light-diffusing iron oxides, but not too much; just enough for that lovely healthy glow.

It also contains hydrolyzed pearl amino acids, hydrating hyaluronic acid and antioxidant walnut seed extracts. All these ingredients help improve
 the texture and appearance of fine dehydration lines in the skin.

The coverage is extremely sheer, so perfect for a non-makeup day. After all, is is an SPF 20 face moisturiser and feels very comfortable on the skin.

dermalogica_sheer_tint_review - 2I’ve been using it a lot to go to the gym, used everyday on holidays and sometimes is just a nice brightening base for makeup, to be honest.

The Dermalogica Sheer Tint SPF20 is priced at £34.80 and can be our chased on line or at Dermalogica shops and concession nationwide.

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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.

The best beauty advent calendars 2015

It’s October, I know, but Christmas seems so close (?) I can almost smell it. And I’ve seen so many fabulous beauty advent calendars that I can barely contain myself.

Looks like this year companies really upped their game.

So I am listing my favourites on the market. With offers this great, a little more than a month to decide might seem a long tim – but it is not.  Before you know, you’ll be popping that number 1 window…

charlotte_tilbury_beauty_advent_calendar_2015The Book of Make Up Magic, Charlotte Tilbury, £150

Is there anywhere Ms Tilbury is not in at the moment? No. And her advent calendar, albeit counting with “only” 12 items, including a fair share of CT classics, is fabulous. You can sign up now to be the first to know when it becomes available.

house_of_fraser_beauty_advent_calendar_2015Color Couture, House of Fraser, £20

Coming in at an almost unbelievable price, this lovely beauty advent calendar is packed full of HoF own beauty brand. I had a peek at their Christmas show and it is full of very wearable items. Fantastic value for money.

 liberty_beauty_advent_calendar_2015Beauty Advent Calendar 2015, Liberty, £149

Limited edition, beautiful inside and out…. Oh, Liberty has done it again and it’s full of their fabulous premium brands, including Diptyque, Hourglass, Kiehl’s and Aromatherapy Associates.

It’s available now from the Liberty website or in-store. And you get that welcome overdose of pretty Liberty print.

bodyshop_beauty_advent_calendar_201524 Happy Days, The Body Shop, £60 and £80.

The Body Shop is bringing out not one, but two advent calendars. The 24 Happy days advent calendar, the “standard” one, contains bath and body classics plus some new launches.

The 24 Happy Days Premium Advent Calendar includes more luxury ranges such as the fabulous Oils of Life.

bodyshop_beauty_advent_calendar_2015_1Plus, they are partnering up with WaterAid, and for each selected Christmas gift they sell, water for a whole day is provided to a family in Ethiopia.

selfridges_cosmic_beaty_advent_calendar_2015Cosmic Beauty Advent Calendar, Selfridges, £95

Think the iconic shop beauty hall in a box. With an outer-space motif. What’s not to love? Exactly. Armani, Kiehl’s, Lancôme, Shu Uemura, Urban Decay, Viktor & Rolf and YSL classics and launches are in there. Even better, you can get it now!

ciate_beauty_advent_calendar_2015Mini Mani Month, Ciaté, £49.99

Nail addicts all look forward to this one, which has become a Christmas classic. Every year it seems to get better and this edition comes with a special Olivia Palermo shade too.

No excuses not to have festive nails throughout December!

benefit_party_poppers_advent_calendar_2015Party Poppers, Benefit, £34.99

Music with your festive calendar? Yes, please. Plus 12 minis to live in your handbag during the party season. Available now.

makeup_revolution_advent_calendar_2015Makeup Revolution Advent Calendar, £45

A fab calendar packed with 25 full size (yes, all full size!) Makeup Revolution products, which I love, selected by staff at their HQ and the 25th is a Christmas gift. Sweet. Available at Superdrug.

m&s_beauty_advent _calendar_2015Beauty Advent Calendar, M&S, £25

Packed full of well-loved brands, this advent calendar comes in at an affordable £25, but there’s a catch: you must spend at least £25 on M&S beauty to be able to buy.

lush_12days_ofchristmas_contents_beauty_advent_calendar_201512 Days of Christmas, Lush, £49.95

Natural and fragrant bath product in all shapes and sizes to prepare you for the big C day. And oh, yeah, it’s vegan too!

loccitane_beauty_advent_calendar_2015Noel Approche, L’Occitane, £39

24 luxurious hair, body and skin care treats awaits inside this super cute calendar, available later this month.

no7_boots_beauty_advent_calendar_201525 Days of Beauty Wonders, Boots No7, £38

A fan of Boots No7 brand? well, you are in for a treat. There are loads of skin care, body and makeup here, including six full-sized products. You can sign up to be the first to know when it launches.

you_beauty_discovery_advent_calendar_2015YOU Beauty Advent Calendar, £59.95 (plus P&P)

You can get £330 worth of great brand products in this advent calendar – Caudalie, Benefit, Molton Brown, REN, Rodial and more, all await behing the little doors. Available from You Beauty Discovery.

As I said, plenty to look out for, and for  all budgets! Always worth remembering Primark usually brings a couple out at around the £10 mark.

Which one do you want to get you beautifully manicured hands on?

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You can take a look at my 2014 selection here.

Unleashing my inner Rebel with John Lewis and Charlotte Tilbury

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 1My nature has always been a little bit rebellious. I am not mutiny prone, but do enjoy shaking a few feathers now and then.

My style is, albeit “normal”, quite rebellious in the sense I don’t really care what people think. I dress for the occasion, myself and the way I feel on that moment. And the same goes for my makeup.

So no wonder when John Lewis got in touch with me to pick a Charlotte Tilbury look to re-create, I was drawn to The Rebel.

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 1 (1)After deliberating between looks I love and wear, The Vintage Vamp and the Bombshell, I settled for the one that is quite close to my soul, but ultimately that I find harder to wear.

Let me explain. I always struggled with the red/green combination. I love green eye shadow, but also love red lipstick, but always thought of it as a bit Christmassy. The fact this looks pulls it off is quite exciting.

Also, I do struggle with making a smokey lower lash line look good on me, so I am hoping to pick up Ms Tilbury’s tips and tricks and make it work.

On top of that, I do the other two favourite looks quite often, so it is great to try something bolder and different.

charlotte_tilbury_rebel_look_john_lewis - 2Armed with my Charlotte Tilbury The Rebel Look kit, which contains Luxury Palette Rebel Eyeshadow quad, Rock n’ Kohl Bedroom Black eyeliner, Cheek to Chic First Love blusher, Lip Cheat Kiss n’ Tell lip liner, K.I.S.S.I.N.G Love Bite lipstick and Lip Lustre Hall of Fame lip gloss, I set off to create my own rebel.

And I picked a night in the town rebel.

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 2After creating a face base (Hourglass Primer and foundation mainly), I started with the eyes by adding the primer colour in The Rebel Eyeshadow Luxury Palette, a creamy metallic beige which is also great for highlighting, to the whole lid.

I used the pencil shadow brush to add this lighter colour to the inner corner of my eyes, to open and highlight them.

Still with that brush, I added the enhance shade, a lighter emerald green, contouring my crease and creating a shape, then a blending brush to colour in from the outer to the inner corner.

With a smoking brush I added the smoke colour, a rich pine green, above the crease created with the enhance shade and first smoked up upwards. Then I smoked downwards. With the pencil shadow brush I added to the lash line and smoked upwards.

With the same brush and colour I lined my lower lash line, making it go over my comfort zone on purpose, to create a more smoked look.

Finally, I applied the gorgeous pop shade, a rich seaweed green with gold flecks, with my finger, as suggested by Ms Tilbury herself.

The eyeshadows are soft, very pigmented, blend beautifully and have no drop whatsoever.

Using the Rock n’ Kohl Bedroom Black eyeliner I lined my upper lash line and pulled a small flick. I also lined my bottom lashes water line. I then used the pencil brush to rub the kohl in both lash lines, giving it a more fluid edge.

I coated my eye lashes with mascara and applied Eylure Fleur Loves lashes.

Then I used my usual contouring shade (a dull brown from Inglot) to the cheeks, and applied Inika and Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked highlighter high on my cheekbones and middle of the face, above my lips cupid bow and centre of the nose.

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 3Using the Cheek to Chic First Love blusher swish shade above and below my contouring, near the hair and jaw line, as well as neck and chest, I moved on to apply the pop shade onto my cheekbones.

I finished the look with the stunning K.I.S.S.I.N.G Love Bite lipstick, which is a lustrous vivid orange-red, perfect for my skin, after lining my lips with the butter soft Lip Cheat Kiss n’ Tell lip liner. To add extra oomph, I dabbed Lip Lustre Hall of Fame lip gloss to the centre of the lips.

Then I added a little star just to make it cute.

The Rebel is a bold, beautiful and brave, celebrating uniqueness, which I think, for me if just perfect.

And I am over my red/green fear. Watch this space, it will appear more often. Plus, I have at least 5 Charlotte Tilbury products on my list now, as I love what I tried. *sigh*

John Lewis is a new stockist for Charlotte Tilbury makeup and there you can find all the extensive  CT makeup range and all 10 amazing look sets, including The Rebel, which cost £165 each and have all the items you need to create a day and night version of the makeup look.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for the Charlotte Tilbury Book of Make Up magic advent calendar, which will be available in John Lewis. It is to die for, I promise!

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Maybe you are thinking: But Dani, did you really need that many pictures of you? Well, no. I did, however, love them and had a lot of fun doing the look and taking the pics (thank you Andy!), there were 80 in total and I think I did well. At least they are in galleries… no?

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

Fluttering my Fleur de Force Eylure lashes

eylure_fleur_de_force_review - 1When I heard about the Eylure collaboration with superstar blogger/vlogger Fleur de Force I was intrigued.

Being a fan of Eylure and knowing the fabulous range of lashes they offer, what could she bring, apart from her off-the-charts popularity? Continue reading

Pam Hogg’s Lawless SS16 catwalk show

pam_hogg_ss16I am a huge fan of Pam Hogg. Everything about her designs scream that rebelliouness London fashion has been historically known for in the fashion week circles.

Last season, her autumn/winter was all about childhood tales gone a bit wrong and the story telling on the catwalk was just fantastic. Continue reading

Nominate So Many Lovely Things for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2015

Those who know me will know I really blog for myself. It’s something I love. But I suppose getting an award wouldn’t be so bad…

I would be forever grateful if you could nominate So Many Lovely Things for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2015 under the Best Beauty Blog (ambitious, I know).1441186218-cosmoblogawards-2015-nominatemebadge

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the followers, the comments, the interaction with people who share the same love as me, the fabulous brands that believe in me and in what I do.

 

And oh, the unique ability to inspire, even if one person out there, and to perhaps give them a little nudge to enhance their amazing selves… it is truly priceless.

But my blogging has a more selfish reason to be: me. My passion for beauty, style, fashion – and shoes – that is so huge that leaks out from my small person into these virtual pages.

Most importantly, it has given me comfort when I needed the most.

I never thought that, in claiming my little corner of the internet, I would be exposed to so many amazing things.

It has given me the chance to work with amazing brands, it has exposed me to a wealth of knowledge which is ever growing, backing up my love for the subjects.  And the people… I met amazing people.

I feel extremely lucky, privileged and humbled. Oh, and eternally grateful.

However, I take an award wouldn’t go amiss, right? So please (I say again, just in case) nominate me for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2015 in the Best for Beauty category. It’s super quick, and you can do it by filling the form on their page.

You never know, I might even get shortlisted! Should I be, there will be a little post asking you (yes, I always ask too much) to vote for me.

And thank you. Not just for this, but for being here. There’s a lot of love going round.

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