Sephora's Minnie Mouse Collaboration

As we are both massive Disney fans, this news cheered our week! Sephora has announced that it will be creating a limited edition, seven piece makeup collection based upon Minnie Mouse, which will make its debut this April.

Rumour has it that there will be a white and black eyeliner duo, a twenty eyeshadow palette, a luminising blush, a cherry red lipstick and of course, a smattering of polka dots and bows! As Sephora now ships internationally, this means nabbing limited edition collections is far easier.

We can't wait to see Minnie's ideas....about time that she did something without Mickey being involved!

www.sephora.com

Kay's Beauty Wish List

I've been starting a list of beauty products that I wouldn't mind getting my paws on and the following are my top 5. I think I need to start a Christmas list and perhaps Santa will do the honours...

1. FARMACY SLEEP TIGHT FIRMING NIGHT BALM – $48 for 1.7oz
This is to be worn overnight, which tightens the skin and with extract of the South African acmella plant, encourages collagen production, evens skin tone and minimises wrinkles. Best of all it's a balm that transforms to an oil-gel, which dry skin will definitely appreciate. It's super duper ingredient is Echinacea GreenEnvy, which, from the blurb seems to protect the layers of the skin....similar to a heat protective spray for hair! It's also formulated without paraben, sulfates and phthalate and the packaging looks all hippy dippy spa, which is thoroughly appealing! 

2. HOURGLASS AMBIENT LIGHTING EDIT PALETTE – £65 

I love Hourglass, especially the Ambient Lighting Palette. I have hit pan on all three powders but this time....there are six! Strobe Light (new) Dim Light, Diffused Light (as per the original) and Luminous Flush, Mood Exposure and finally, Luminous Bronze Light. 

3. COLBERT MD ILLUMINO BODY OIL –  £90 for 75ml
See review for the face oil. Seriously, it's amazing! I can only hope that the body oil is equally as luxurious and works just as well. 

4. BURT'S BEES CITRUS FACE SCRUB – £10.99 for 55g
Made from all natural ingredients, such as ground almonds, oats, pecans and rose petals to gently exfoliate skin. For the price and the ingredients, I'm sold! 

5. AURELIA PROBIOTIC SKINCARE – £45 for 50ml
The Night Repair Oil is my first port of call. Initially, the word probiotics in the title reminded me of some kind of supplement or maybe even Actimel! However, the range is 100% natural and is designed to soothe dehydrated skin. Ingredients include: 100% pure botanicals (which helps the absorption), Kalahari oil providing essential fatty acids, Mongongo oil, which restructures and regenerates the epidermis, Kigelia, which tightens the skin, Baobab, which provides Omega 3, 6 & 9, and Hibiscus, which is used to fight free radicals and reduce stress. 

If you have tried any of these products I would love to know what you think of them!

Sephora Shopping!

I'm always hoping that Sephora will come to the UK. I mean, it's in Europe, so surely it's only a matter of time before we can parade the London streets with stripey black and white bags. However, saying that, I also quite like the fact that it's a holiday treat. I like planning my Sephora list at the airport and stocking up on products that are Sephora exclusives or far more cost effective with the exchange rate. It's part of the holiday shopping process, especially when I go to the U.S.

So here is my Sephora shop from my recent trip to America: 

Glam Glow Flashmud Brightening Treatment – $69.00 for 50g
I have always wanted to try a Glam Glow product and this seemed a better mask for my skin than others. The price suggests that it should be good...hopefully.

Marc Jacobs High Shine Lip Lacquer in Hot, Hot, Hot – $28.00 for 5.0ml
This is going to be a present and I am sure the hot pink colour will be stunning on my friend.

Algenist Advanced Anti-Aging Repairing Oil – $79.00 for 30ml
Formulated with Microalgae Oil and brown algae, which although sounds like your splashing on pond water, it is light, absorbs easily, doesn't smell weird, does not contain parabens, dermatologist tested and genuinely has improved the elasticity of my skin. Hurrah.

Ole Henriksen Brightening The Clean Truth Cleansing Cloths (travel pack) – $8.00

Anasastasia Beverley Hills Duo Brow Eyeliner Brush #12 (spoolie and angled brush) – $18.00

Hourglass Veil Fluid Makeup in Light Beige – $60.00 for 30ml
Paraben free, collagen boosting, skin tightening, long lasting foundation, SPF 15

Hourglass Veil Fluid Makeup in Honey – $60.00 for 30ml
Paraben free, collagen boosting, skin tightening, long lasting foundation)

Above - Honey; Top - Light Beige

La Vanilla Healthy Deodorant in Pure Vanilla x 8 – $8.00 each
All natural ingredients, no harsh chemicals, no parabens or any other nasty preservatives. Why did I buy 8? Because they work and cost a fortune in the UK!

Beauty Blender (enough said) – $20.00

Formula X The System To Go – $16.00 4 x 3ml
Travel sized, basic nails set. Includes Nail Cleanser (no idea what that is!), Base Coat, Top Coat and a nude coloured varnish.

Velour Lashes (100% real silk lashes) – $23.00

Hourglass Film Noir Mascara – $28.00 for 0.35oz
I love Hourglass products. They are beautiful products and are also mindful that consumers are more concerned with parabens, sulfates and other harsh chemicals.

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer – $52 for 30ml
Paraben free, collagen boosting, skin tightening, long lasting foundation, SPF 15.

Dr. Jart + Ceramidin Oil Balm – $35.00 for 10oz
Comes with a spatula, so fingers don't have to go into the pot! The product transforms from balm to oil but is not greasy and absorbs easily. It is designed for dry skin and has refreshed my aeroplane dry skin! Cruelty free, dermatologist tested, paraben free and can be used on face, skin, cuticles and ends of the hair.

Hourglass 1.5MM Mechanical Gel Eye Liner – $16.00 for 0.002 oz
Ultra-black gel liner in a pencil. I'm going to appreciate the lack of cleaning a brush everyday!)

Formula X The Match – $16.00 4 x 3m
Travel sized polishes; red, pink, nude and turquoise.

Anastasia Beverley Hills DipBrow Pomade in Ash Brown – $18.00 for 0.14 oz
I'm so excited to try this out. It is a brow product, ideal for sculpting and defining brows. It is waterproof and humidity proof!

Summer Nails!

From left to right: Essence, Essie's blanc, Sephora's Formula X in Hercules, Clinique's Hi Sweetie, OPI's Drip Dry drops and Sally Hansen's 220 Cafe A Lait

Off the back of Jen's Christian Louboutin nail varnish post, I have been busting out my summer shades. I'm not one for nail art, not because I don't like it but because I do not have the patience or co-ordination to be creative. However, I love colours and bright nails make me happy! 

1. White: Classic, somewhat classy, beautiful with a tan and seems to be ever so popular with brides this summer. Move over French Manicure. However, be careful with top coats. Some can turn the white a bit beige or even a light pink. Pretty but not the white that you started with.

Essie's 'blanc'

2. Hot Pink: This will always be my favourite. Any variation from a reddy pink to a true fuchsia.

3. Nude: This is a good one for travelling when you don't mind if your nails get a little chipped from lifting cases (and carrying duty free shopping bags) because it gives nails a bit of umph without being obvious and, therefore, the chips aren't obvious either.

4. Orange: There are two times of year that I wear orange colours: Summer and Halloween. If I can resemble a Caribbean island and a pumpkin, then I'm happy.

Christian Louboutin's Escatin

5. Gloss it: Can't be bothered with the upkeep on holiday? Use a nice top coat and gloss up your nails. Bourjois 1Seconde Top Coat is my favourite.  Long lasting and gives a gel look.

Sephora Formula X nail varnishes

The Sephora brand is just bedazzling at the moment. Everyone and their dog has heard about Sephora's nail varnishes and lip creams, which is basically why I bought both on holiday. I have watched too many YouTube videos praising them to not grab them! I did have to control myself and I didn't buy every colour.... only because bankruptcy might not be fun. I would have happily brought 50+ nail varnishes back in my suitcase. 

After a general perusal, I ended up buying a nude and two summer colours: a hot pink (which is my favourite pink to date and lord knows I have a smattering of pinks) and a mint green. Proper mint green. I love it. 

POSITIVES

• Dries quickly (mind you, I do tend to put on Quick Drying Drops) but it's still pretty good. 

• Long lasting. The mint lasted six days before chipping, the pink lasted five days and the nude lasted seven days. Obviously this will depend on how much you use your hands (immature smirk) 

• Easy to apply. 

• One coat is practically opaque, two coats will ensure that it is. 

• The top cap means that travelling is easy – no spillage. 

NEGATIVES

• Some colours last better than others. 

In a flamboyant moment, I declared that I would throw out all of my other nail varnishes and replace them with Formula X. Perhaps that would be taking it a bit far but these really are the dogs b***ocks or, as I prefer to say, the badgers batters.  

Please excuse the fingers. I blame my dad.... must have been some dodgy chubby finger genes. 

www.sephora.com 

Sephora Cream Lip Stains

From top to bottom, No. 1, No. 3, No. 5, No. 6, No. 8.

My boyfriend and I had a culture packed holiday in Italy this summer. Having toured The Sistine Chapel and Vatican, we set out to look at The Trevi and have a sit down on The Spanish Steps. It was then that I noticed people were carrying Sephora bags. I literally stopped dead in the street and began harassing poor Italians as to where Sephora was located. It turns out there are three. We visited two (only because I didn't realise there was a third!) and I picked up a selection of Sephora Lip Creams.

POSITIVES

• Pigmentation

• Long lasting 

• Consistency 

• Colour does not bleed 

NEGATIVES

• Can be a little drying- I wear a lip gloss over them, usually a clear gloss and that sorts the issue. 

• Colour can transfer onto teeth so do the whole finger in mouth trick (I realise that I'm immature but that's made me smirk.) 

From left to right, No. 1, No. 3, No. 5, No. 6, No. 8.

www.sephora.com