New Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfectors

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors: £17 each*
top-bottom: #04 Petal Shimmer, #05 Candy Shimmer, #06 Rosewood Shimmer
My relationship with the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in #02 Apricot Shimmer (review here) is still well and truly in honeymoon period territory. It's a complete no-brainer when it comes to deciding on a lip product; the perfect mix of a balm, tint and a gloss all rolled into one providing both a hint of colour and a whole lot of moisture to boot. As of this month, three more shades been rolled out to join the family, and they're every bit as fabulous as their predecessors..



Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in #04 Petal Shimmer
First out of the trio is Petal Shimmer, which reminds me a little of the apricot tube with a smidgen less peach. Almost a 'my lips but better' shade, this could be seen as both the most sensible option, but also perhaps not worth bothering with depending on your budget or tastes. Personally I'd like a bit more pigmentation for my buck, which brings us on to..



Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in #05 Candy Shimmer
My favourite of the bunch, Candy Shimmer. A beautiful midtone pink that brightens the face and gives a little something to an otherwise neutral makeup look. The perfect balance between girly and grown up. Divine!



Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in #06 Rosewood Shimmer
Last up is Rosewood Shimmer, a caramel-brown nude that I actually like a lot better than I expected to! This one does seem the most 'mature' out of the trio and I expect it would look amazing on those with darker skintones too.

As I've said before, I think the 'shimmer' in the names is a really silly description as they are perfectly glitter-free, thank you very much. I'm not saying this is a bad thing though, as I think they're pretty much perfect. Whilst the newly added trio seems like a tweaked version on the original lineup, I don't think there's a dupe here for Apricot Shimmer so they're not exactly identical. If you're hesitant to fork out on what is essentially a glorified lip balm (although I can't tell you enough about how nice they are!), once again Escentual have them up for a little bit cheaper. I know you're tempted.

What do you think of the new Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors? Do you have a favourite shade?

Emma

We'll Always Have Paris

So it's been over a month since I was in Paris and I've only just got around to posting about my trip! To be honest I'd been putting it off because I had so many pictures that I was useless at whittling down, and I didn't want to get sad and miss not being there. My boyfriend and I only visited for a couple of days and spent the whole time doing typical tourist things. We managed to cram quite a lot into the trip if you ask me! Here's a little itinerary of our stay..

We travelled via Eurostar which took a couple of hours and was pretty fuss-free despite travelling in the rush hour to get to King's Cross on a Monday morning. Arriving at around 2pm we decided to grab a Metro ticket and head to the hotel to freshen up and decide what we were going to do with the afternoon/evening. We stayed at Mama Shelter which has an edgy feel with its typographic carpets, mask lamps and concrete walls. The free wifi and movies came in very handy as we were absolutely shattered both nights! On the first night we ventured over to the Eiffel Tower to see the city from up high. It was a nice time to go as we got to see views in daylight and also when everything started to light up. Beautiful.

On our second (and only full) day we had a little look around town (I just had to visit City-Pharma, naturally..) followed by a generic couples' rite of passage, Pont de l'Archevêché - more commonly known as Lovers Bridge. Ultra cheesy but it had to be done - can you spot our padlock? After grabbing a bite to eat in a lovely restaurant I can't remember the name of (let's face it, they all look incredibly similar!) and just generally mooching around the shops we hit some more attractions in the form of the beautiful Moulin Rouge and checked out the breathtaking sights from the Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

The last day included a longer-than-intended visit to the Musée du Louvre. It was probably the hottest day out of the three we were there and the surroundings were too beautiful to resist enjoying lunch in. As for the museum itself, a visit to the Mona Lisa was a must and I was taken aback by the amazing ceilings throughout. Of course I didn't just visit for that, but this post would have been even more picture heavy otherwise! After a pit stop at Ladurée for some authentically French macarons it was time to have a quick look at the Notre Dame before heading home. Sadly the inside was already closed when we got there- although I'd been in before, I'd have loved to see all the beautiful stained glass again.

And there we have it! Have you been to Paris before? I think it's time to plan my next visit already..

Emma

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Concentrated Cream

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Concentrated Cream: £2.13
Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Concentrated Cream is a very rich, concentrated body cream designed to smooth very dry skin as well as provide some relief. Containing vitamin E, the cream also helps to diminish the appearance of scars. The tube is fairly small, probably about the size of a hand cream and is a good size for travelling or just putting in a (fairly big) handbag. The formulation is definitely very thick which might not be everyone's cup of tea. That said however, this is obviously targeted towards those with drier skin types and is great for giving back the moisture in a big way. I don't find that it takes forever to sink in, but it's definitely not a cream you can apply and expect to get dressed straight away. It's a nice product to apply at night as by the morning the scent has died down a little, considering it's pretty strong at first.

As I said in my review about the Palmer's Natural Bronze, I like to use a heavy duty colourless body lotion first on any drier areas such as my elbows, feet, hands and knees to dilute the tan in those places, and I find these two to work out really well when used together. This has a lot to do with the scent as obviously a different fragrance might smell strange against the cocoa butter , but I've found it to moisturise the areas well and stop the tan from oversaturating problem areas.

Overall I do like this, it's not really a luxurious feeling cream but it does help to relieve extreme dryness, and like I said seems to work well for me with the gradual tanning lotion. For a couple of pounds I'm pretty impressed but I won't rush out to repurchase as I'd probably prefer a more lightly fragranced alternative! Have you used this before?

Emma

Bumble and bumble Texture Creme

Bumble and bumble Bb. Texture Creme (150ml): £21.50*
In the run up to summertime I've been pining after that dreamy, beachy hair that suddenly becomes so popular instead of glossy locks. My hair is naturally in pretty good condition at the moment, but can almost be too soft, especially at the top, and can look a bit.. blah when it comes to styling without a little bit of help. I've been using the Bumble and bumble Bb. Texture Creme for a good while now and thought it was about time to show it some love on this here blog.

The Bumble and bumble Bb. Texture Creme basically aims to give the hair a messy-on-purpose look, mattifying and lifting the hair and just generally roughing your barnet up a bit. It can be used throughout all of the hair but I've got a specific little routine at the moment. You use this only on damp hair, so after washing I take a pea sized amount, rub it between my hands and work it into the hair almost at my scalp, avoiding the very front (as I find that this part gets dirty more quickly if I mess around with it). The texture of the creme is a little bit like jelly, and if you rub it between your fingers you can feel the tiny bits of grit more easily. I prefer to only use this on the top part of my hair, as it provides the slight hold and creates the lift at the roots that I need. I love freshly washed hair but the main drawback is that it can just be so flat, so this really helps there. I don't find it necessary to distribute throughout all of my hair as it gets a little drier towards the end anyway. I just kind of wipe my hands through the rest of my hair with what remains on them rather than concentrate on putting product all over. After using a heat protectant on the rest of my hair, I dry it upside down to create even more volume at the root.

It's no budget buy at just over £20, but I've had this since way before Christmas and you can hardly tell I've used it since a little goes such a long way for me. I'd recommend it if your hair is prone to being a bit limp, and you prefer not to backcomb. I think this would be a great choice for those with shorter hairstyles longing for a bit of texture, or if you have longer hair and just want to give it a bit of oomph without looking too 'fresh out of the poodle parlour'. I also love the packaging - the lid unscrews slightly to reveal a hole that dispenses the product. No more misplacing the cap or making a mess.

What do you think of the Bumble and bumble line? Have you tried this product, or anything similar that you'd recommend?

Emma