As part of the ‘Beauty with Heart’ collection, The Body Shop brought out some lovely new skincare products and created a summer makeup collection with Lily Cole.

First of all, the body butters have a brand spanking new packaging that is 100% recyclable. The design and photography seems sleeker than before, focusing on the main ingredient (strawberry, almond etc) and they minimized the word count to just the essential. My favorite ever body butters are moringa, lemon, satsuma, almond and brazil nut.

New Beautifying Oils, available in the most popular scents to moisturize the body, hair and face. Having as main ingredient the nut oil and being 99% made of natural ingredients, this product is a dry oil that will seductively perfume your body while providing hydration and nourishment. So far i used it on my hair (hair ends) and on my body, love how soft and fragranced my skin gets. Also this oil type looks great on a tan during the summer, adding that desirable supermodel shine and radiance.

New Body Mists – this spray will probably become a real cult product amongst teenagers and the younger clientele alike. Available in loads of yummy scents (cocoa, moringa, strawberry, lemon etc) this will lightly scent the body and act like a skin tonic. Honestly, i would’ve preferred this to come in a plastic container and not in a glass one and also, its not really my thing, as i don’t really want to smell like strawberry all day long. Nevertheless, this is a great budget buy as a first perfume for a very young person.

New Lily Cole Makeup Collection - this is the new summer collection, developed closely with TBS’s new spoke person and activist Lily Cole. Beside the usual lip glosses and shimmery cubes in novelty colours (pretty lilacs), three new innovative products were launched.

The Lip & Cheek Dome in pink and coral will lightly add a tint, whilst looking very natural. Unfortunately on my skin, the coral one barely shows and i have to add another powder blush on top. On the lips it feels very comfortable and hydration, but again pigmentation is barely there. Surprisingly, this is Lily’s favorite product but i suppose she is a lot paler than i am.

New Pearl Radiance Primer – the answer of Twilight shimmery skin. Im joking of course, this primer comes in very cute pink pearls packaging that have to be worked into the skin to disperse. Again, im not mad into this as it has a shimmer and sparkling bits so i would definitely not use it all over. Instead, if you apply it on your cheek bones and decolletage this primer will add a beautiful glow on the skin.

New Lip Balms – probably one of my favorite product from their new releases. I wasn’t ever a fan of TBS lip balms, they seemed too waxy for my liking and not moisturizing enough. Well, these new babies are the complete opposite! I have the plum one, apparently designed for a mysterious lady (yeah that’s me lol) and i constantly have it in my pocket to refresh during the day. Very hydrating, non sticky and gives a great shine and tint to lips. I say tint, but it has almost a medium buildable colour so great alternative to a gloss or chopstick.

Have you tried anything from TBS yet? How did you find their products? xo

* PR samples

Its like happiness in a bottle!

Satsuma is such an up lifting, optimistic scent, fills the whole house with the fragrance when i shower.

Love, love, love it! Don’t ever discontinue it!

As promised, here is a full review of the products got in my goodie bag from The Body Shop Honey Bronze event.

They were very generous and provided great goodie bags, containing almost everything in the range. I got the one with the Shimmering Dry Oil, Bronzing Gel for the face, Lip Nectar, Brilliance Powder and Big and Curvy Waterproof Mascara.

 

 

 Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil

(25.95 euro/100ml)

I’ve used it all weekend, the weather was so hot and gorgeous so i could wear just t-shirts and sleeveless tops. I was too lazy to fake tan so i just used this to add a bit of shimmer to my pasty arms.

          

Here is a swatch of the oil and how it looks blended, the shimmer is barely there and instead it provides a very nice sheen.

I had to remove the nozzle, being in a glass bottle was hard to get the product out. Karim gave us this little tip at the BS event and it works a treat.

My skin felt moisturised and soft, not oily at all. The oil didn’t stained my clothes, but as a precaution, it shouldn’t be used with silk garments.

Don’t use it on the face, just on the neck, decolletage and arms. I will be using it on my legs as well just to get that Hollywood glow.

One thing i wasn’t really keen on, the scent is a bit too sweet for my liking and it kinda lingers too. Although i got compliments on it, i would’ve preferred something more subtle so it would not interfere with my perfume.

Honey Bronze  Bronzing  Gel for Face

(18.00 euro/30ml)

This is by far my favorite product from the bunch! It is fantastic!

At first when i read the description, i thought this is a classic self tanning product – the sort you would apply at night and have a tan in the morning.

No, Honey Bronze Bronzing Face Gel is more of cheek stain – it provides instant glow/tan. With a mousse type consistency, it can be applied on the cheeks, temples, hairline and anywhere else you need a bit of glow. You can use it on a bare face if you already have a tan (maybe on holidays), just to add contour and volume.

Here is a swatch of the gel and in the right side you can see it blended.  There is a slight difference between my wrist and my hand, it is more noticeble in real life.

I used it on top of my foundation (no natural tan yet!), mainly on top of my cheeks. Although it is a stain, it didn’t dry to fast and it was very blendable (used my fingers). I’m always afraid that i will actually stain my face and i wont rub it properly. I applied my blusher on top and that was it. I loved how it lasted all day long, offered a bit of shimmer and a lovely color – not to dark, not to light.

Very impressed!

Honey Bronze Lip Nectar

(14.50 euro)

I got the Lip Nectar in the shade Honey Beige, there is another shade available slightly brighter – a orange/coral shade. My one has a slight gold shimmer, feels lovely on the lips and it last more then your usual gloss. I am a fan of lightly/sheer pigmented glosses, so this worked a treat.

And a little swatch:

 Honey Bronze Illuminating Powder Brush

(25,95 euro)

The Honey Bronze Illuminating Powder comes in a brush type, very similar to the Lancome Tropique Mineral one. The Body Shop cleverly got rid of the push-on button type and instead they made theirs with a shake-on mechanism. This will avoid the clogging of product that happened with previous bronzing brushes.

The powder can be used on the cheeks, neck, decoltage, arms, legs…you name it. Karim even used it on his mum’s hair, to add shimmer sun kissed looking tresses. Very clever!

Big and Curvy Waterproof Mascara

I’m not a fan of using waterproof mascaras on a daily basis, as i dont need it. I will definitely use the Big and Curvy mascara on my holiday, as i wanna add a bit of glamour to my look hehe

Karim said that the formula is really good, it will stay on rain or shine so make sure you use a waterproof eye makeup remover (the bi-phasic type). I used in the past the Lancome Bi-Facil, L’Oreal and Garnier, they are all good depends what brand you fancy and of course, the daily budget. 

And there you have it! What do you think of the new Honey Bronze?

 NB. All products were part of a goodie bag received at The Body Shop Event for consideration only. I am not affiliated with the brand, nor am i paid to review it. Honest post as usual.

Hello lovelies, how are you keeping?

After an amazing Bank Holiday, filled with parties and barbeque’s i finally got around to do some blogging. I know, I’m the worst blogger ever *hangs head in shame*.

Last week, last Wednesday to be precise, i was one of the fortunate blogger who got invited by the ever so lovely Suzanne to attend the launch of the new Body Shop Honey Bronze summer collection and meet the amazing Karim Sattar – The Body Shop International Make-Up Artist.

Upon arrival  in the flag ship store on Grafton Street (Dublin), we were greeted by the helpful staff and offered canapes and champagne glasses. What can i say, they really know how to pamper a girl!

The shop itself was smelling delicious as allways (NB. must bring myself to buy some of the home fragrances, gorgeous scents!) and honey bronze workshop tables were all around us.

I stayed beside the pretty ArtDonatella and the lovely girls from VivaAdonis, believe Karen from Lovelygirlybits was right behind us. Hi girls x! You can spot in the crowd Kirstie from the famous Beaut.ie and other great beauty bloggers and journalists.

Shortly, Karim started to present the Honey Bronze collection, showcasing it on a beautifull Body Shop girl. Karim was great at explaining all the products, while making funny commentaries and just making the whole experience truly enjoyable.

Some of the tips and advices on how to create a bronzed goddes look with the Honey Bronze products:

1. Don’t use an eyebrow pencil to contour the brows, use instead a soft eyebrow powder.

2. Apply your bronzer/blusher underneath the brow bone as well, supposedly knocks off 5 years of your appearance.

3. Don’t use mascara on the lower lashes, it is more youthful to have a full set of lashes just on the top. As well, don’t use a khol pencil on the bottom, line your eye with a dark soft brown eyeshadow.

4. As for eye shadows, Karim used the Shimmer Cubes – mainly the Gold shade on the lid, while contouring the eye with a Bronze shade. Apparently Jane Fonda, is one of the celebrities who love the shimmer cubes. Also, another trick – if you are not a fan of the shimmer, use a silicone primer to mattify your shadows.

5. Karim applied first the Bronzing Gel for the face, which is very similar to a cheek stain. The texture is one of a mousse, being very blendable and easy to use. It can be applied on the cheek, hairline, neck and everywhere else you need a bit of a tan. The bronzer/blusher can be used on top.

6. This summer is all about the matte bronzers for contouring, so forget shimmer. There is a new shimmer bronzing brush in the range, that can be used on the apple of the cheeks or even on top of head (yeah you heard me, on your hair!) to add shimmer, shine and that sun kissed look.

I loved the overall look, it wasn’t overpowering and very natural. Like your skin, only better. I’m not a fan of in your face, orange tan that is so obvious is fake. I love a hint of bronze, sun kissed describes how i like it. With Honey Bronze, you will create a healthy, sunny and natural look.

I will do a following post on the generous goodie bag, i used everything for a week now so i can provide an accurate review.

 Another highlight of the evening was the eyebrow threading by Bushra. Never had my eyebrows done before, mainly because they are quite sparse and don’t have a great shape. Boy oh boy how that has changed!! The lady was amazing, in a couple of minutes she gave a great set of brows, still cant believe how clean they look and what a great shape she gave me.

Bushra I’m forever in your debt! I will have them done monthly now with herself, its only 12 euro and it is really worth it.

 For more coverage on the Body Shop event, check this great bloggers: Beaut.ie, ArtDonattela, VivaAdonis, Lovelygirlybits,  Fluffyblog,  Rosemary MacCabe, Mwah.ie.

Ladies was a pleasure to meet you finally, felt a bit surreal…feels like i know you for ages, but then i don’t. Hard to explain, but I’m sure you get me.

Many thanks to The Body Shop for inviting me, was a real treat to attend the event and to meet the fabulous Karim.

Chat soon xxx

 

NB. All photos courtesy of The Body Shop PR.

Hi lovelies, hope you had a wonderful weekend!

I went for dinner and movie last night and ended up seeing Inception. I think i liked it (!?), its not the easiest movie to watch after a couple of wine glasses and a huge steak lol. My brain was in standby state ha ha. Is it just me who saw similarities between Inception and Shutter Island? I mean besides sharing the same actor (good ol’ Leo), whats up again with the wife and kids story? Ah well anyway, i liked the effects and enjoyed the actors, was a good night.

Last week, The Body Shop PR sent me a few items from their autumn Smoke and Fire Collection to try and review, so for the past four days i have been using their makeup products. Here it goes.

I got the Cheek and Face Powder  Autumn Leaves in Chestnut, a single eyeshadow in Golden Peach and the limited edition Kajal Eyeliner in Charcoal (black). I must say that the colors were spot on for me, i love the golden/peachy tones as they match my skin very well.

The Autumn Leaves cheek powder is a soft shimmery peachy blush/highlither with pink undertones. I use it on top of my blush or on my chest and sholders. At first i thought it will be very glittery and OTT but no, its actualy weareable – it looks lovely on taned skin. Also the shimmer its not the spray-on type, wich its a good thing.

The eyeshadow is a soft shimmery peach, with a creamy texture. I would compare it with the UD Smog eyeshadow, has the same finish, but with a richer texture. I used it as a base, all over the lid with Smashbox Bronze in the crease.

Tried to swatch it, but you cant realy see it. Its noticeble in real light tough. I know…I’m a real help like always.

The most interesting item was the Kajal Eyeliner. The shape of it is very weird, it looks like a pointy black lipstick!

What i liked: it is intense black, goes on smoothly and the shape of it, makes application a dream. I’m disastrous with eyeliner, but this one went on very easily.

I didn’t like that it smudges fast and it doesn’t last a long time, i mean if i touch my eye or use it on the water line, its gone in an hour. Another thing is that due to its shape, i don’t know how I’m going to pare it. Maybe with a butter knife i will go around the edges…although again, its very soft so I’m going to waste a lot of product. Or maybe i will use an eyeliner brush, anyway I will see when the time comes.

Price wise the products are quite reasonable, for their good quality. The kajal eyeliners (available in black, grey and green) are 10,95 euro; the cheeck compact wich i higly recomend its 22,00 euro and the single eyeshadows are  11,95 euro each.

Smoke and Fire Collection will be released in Ireland on 2nd of September.

NB. The products were PR sample for consideration. This is my honest opinion about the products.