American Beauty

A few weeks ago I sent a parcel off to the lovely Sarah from Modern Damsel which had a mixture of beauty bits and sweet treats in and in return she sent me some American goodies. The reason behind our 'swap' / gift exchange was down to a Nars Eyeshadow Duo in 'Kuala Lumpur' that I'd brought but never used. Sarah had mentioned she had it on her wishlist and when I said she could have it she offered to get me something in return and it turned out neither of us could resist adding a few extra goodies in so I was ecstatic when a parcel turned up for me from America! Inside was the Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer in 'Medium', the Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara and the Labello Fruity Shine Lip Balm, all products I've never come across in the U.K. I've yet to try the mascara but I love the Kat Von D concealer and the Labello tinted lip balm already so if you want to see a review on any of the products, let me know! If you haven't come across Sarah's blog already go have a little look http://newmoderndamsel.blogspot.co.uk/ or send her a friendly tweet as she's such a genuinely nice girl!   What products are you currently lusting after that you can't get your hands on? On my list is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes, Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation, Maybelline Baby Lips and Sonia Kashek's concealer palette.

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WARNING - Laura Mercier Candles 'Fresh Fig'

 (IMAGE - TAKEN FROM GOOGLE, NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED.)
A while back in the January Sales I visited the Laura Mercier counter and picked up a Creme Brulee Body Set, Fresh Fig Candle, cosmetics and a perfume. Until recently I hadn't wanted to use the candle as originally they're £29 and I really didn't want to re-purchase another for full price so I was savouring it.

 Last Sunday however my bedroom was absolutely freezing so I decided to light my Laura Mercier candle to warm up my bedroom a bit and relax before work. I never normally fall asleep with candles on (I know the dangers and I'm paranoid about such things) but on this occasion I nodded off for around an hour.

I awoke with a tight feeling chest and upon opening my eyes I thought my room looked foggy, or perhaps my eyes were a bit blurry but I soon realized my room was filled with black smoke. After scanning my room, looking for evidence of a fire I realized my candle was to blame. As soon as the candle was blown out, my windows were open and I was trying to figure out what had caused the candle to release so much smoke. I then realized that around my finger nails were dark and chalky and then that my nostrils were completely blackened inside. Of course, this worried me and when I started coughing up black mucas and feeling out of breath my mum demanded I go to A&E but being stubborn I refused and instead she rang our local medical centre. They assured me that as long as I didn't start coughing up blood and didn't pass out I should be ok but that I was lucky I hadn't put the candle on before I'd gone to bed and fallen asleep otherwise I could of had carbon monoxide poisoning. Obviously the smoke had entered my lungs which isn't good for you under any circumstances.

I've since attempted to contact Laura Mercier several times, all to no avail. I've rang my local counter twice, only to be made to feel like a nuisance and assured that 'HO' would be getting in touch with me - they didn't and it's now five days on. After tweeting about the incident I did receive a reply from Laura Mercier, but once I replied to them saying I wasn't complaining for the money they ignored me. I then tweeted again asking if there was someone I could speak to about the incident, only to be ignored again. Since then I've emailed the company, only to receive a generic e-mail reply - totally uninterested in what I had to say.
Having exhausted all options, I feel that since the company are doing nothing to help, or assure me their candles are safe I need to pass a warning on to as many people as I can for my own piece of mind at least.

I've brought a fair share of candles in my time from budget unnamed brands to Neom and Yankee Candles but NONE have ever caused me such concern. I honestly believe Laura Mercier must have a bad batch of candles, so if you've brought a Fresh Fig scented candle in the Christmas Sales or recently please be careful and burn in well ventilated areas - keep an eye on it.

On this particular visit to Laura Mercier I'd spent over £200 on cosmetics, perfumes and gift sets. I have nothing against the brand and enjoy some of their products, this is just my personal experience with an item of theirs. I was never interested in getting my money back, however an interest and even a 'we'll look in to the issue' would of sufficed.

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Rio 60 Second Neck Toner Review

*Rio 60 Second Neck Toner, £33.99   Nowadays there are contraptions that zap away hair, reduce cellulite, even work out your body without having to move from the sofa but I'd never considered that there might be a product to tone your neck. Well, today I introduce to you the Rio 60 Second Neck Toner. Designed, as the name would suggest, to tone up your neck and get rid of the dreaded double chin, this device promises a firmer neck after using this for just 60 seconds a day. This little beauty uses electrical impulses (sounds scary, don't worry it's not!) to stimulate muscles in to passive exercise. This movement is similar to nerve pulses that you'd experience whilst exercising and just means your muscles are contracting and then relaxing.  As you need the Conductive Gel to use the 60 Second Neck Toner you have to do a little patch test in advance just to ensure you're not allergic. This literally entails popping a small amount on your neck for 24 hours and keeping an eye out for any irritation. Once you've done this, you're ready to test the product out! Do be warned you will feel a slight tingling, bizarre sensation at first but it's fine it's just the device doing its job. To use, all you need to do is apply a small amount of the Conductive Gel to the two golden contacts, place the contacts on a treatment area and decide what intensity you want by using the + and - buttons. Now, you're probably wondering what the treatment areas are so let me explain. Treatment Area 1; Underneath your chin, avoiding any adams apples. Hold in place for 60 seconds. Treatment Area 2; Underneath your chin to the left, near to where you feel your pulse. Hold in place for 60 seconds. Treatment Area 3; Underneath your chin and to the right, once again near to where you feel your pulse. Hold for 60 seconds.   Pretty simple, ey?
So did it work? Both myself and my mum tested this out and I'm happy to report we both saw improvements in the appearance of our necks and profiles. I don't have a double chin (or one that I'll admit to!) so I just needed the skin tightening slightly and this did the job for me. My mum had slightly looser skin and a bit more to work on so she was my main test subject. After a few weeks we noticed her neck looked firmer and she no longer had to extend her neck like an Ostrich during family photos. It didn't completely get rid of the problem area, but definitely helped to tighten the skin and improve the appearance. I'll keep you all updated on whether we see any more progress.
What's the quirkiest beauty device you've ever tried?

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Rimmel Apocolips Lip Lacquers in 'Nude Eclipse' and 'Big Bang'

Rimmel Apocolips Lip Lacquers, £5.99

Recently the Blogging World has gone nuts for the latest offerings from high street brands. One of those products was the Rimmel Apocolips Lip Lacquers which are available in eight shades and can be found in Superdrug or Boots. At just £5.99 these wont lighten your purse too much which is why I picked up two shades, Nude Eclipse and Big Bang. At total opposite ends of the colour spectrum, Nude Eclipse is a pale nude, with a pink/brown undertone and Big Bang is a vibrant, classic red.

The Apocolips are a new hybrid of lip product that has the pigmentation and longevity of a lipstick with the sheen and ease of application of a lipgloss - best of both worlds? Almost. After application you're left with opaque colour and a glossy finish but after a few hours the effect has worn off to leave a matte finish which can be slightly drying. For me, this isn't an issue as I love matte lips and it means these have the longevity you need for an evening out, or a day at work. I do find that the nude shades have a shorter wear time but this seems to be a common theme with nude lip products!

The packaging is quite sleek and compact - no where near as luxurious as the Loreal Glossy Lip Stains but practical and great for chucking in your handbag for touch ups or after work makeovers. Inside, you'll find a doe foot applicator which can make for hard work with precise lines but you just need a little extra patience when applying brighter shades. The only downside for me is the fragrance which smells quite artificial and almost like plastic.

 These remind me of the Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing lip colours, so if you're looking for something similar in finish and consistency but slightly cheaper - Rimmel is the way forward. Have you tried the Rimmel Apocolips yet?

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Dainty Doll at Fragrance Direct

If you have a twitter account and joined in any of the #bbloggers chats recently, then you'll of no doubt seen that Fragrance Direct had added Dainty Doll to their stocklist and the products were all massively reduced in price. Being a beauty obsessive, I wasn't going to miss out on such an offer and placed an order immediately, all the items I received were as new and I've been overly impressed with the quality. I purchased three lipsticks in total, two were 'BabyLove' which is a milky, pale nude and the other 'Couture' a deep, burgundy lipstick. All were well packaged, pigmented, creamy and relatively long lasting. At £1.99, you really can't complain. I also picked up two powder blushers in the shades, 'Orange County Girl' - potential Nars 'Orgasm' dupe?! and 'Hippy Shake' a gorgeous, pale pink with shimmer. I love the simple, chic packaging of the compacts and they all come with mirrors for on the go touch ups. I've recently gone on a cream blush purchasing extravaganza so I couldn't decide whether to pick up another from Dainty Doll but in the end I decided why not?! The cream blushers were only £1.99 so I picked up 'Billion Dollar Babies' - a taupe, brown that adds a nice glow to your cheeks. My final purchases were the Eyeshadow Base in 'Frankie Girl' - similar to 'Soft Ocre' by Mac but with a powder finish and the mascara/eyeliner duo which was the only disappointing product for me as the mascara was dried up and the eyeliner was slightly watery and took a lot of effort to build up an opaque line. If you haven't heard of Dainty Doll before, then it was created by Nicola Roberts from Girls Aloud after she became fed up with the lack of offerings for pale skinned girls. So, not only is this like perfect for fair skinned ladies - but also women of colour too, as I've tried and tested it on my (fake) tanned skin.   There's still a few products on the Fragrance Direct website, with prices ranging between 99p - £2.99 it's a bargain not to be missed. Especially since not long ago these Dainty Doll products were selling for £11+ in Boots!   Products to purchase - Powder Blushers, Cream Blushes, Eyeshadow Base and Lipsticks. Product to avoid - Mascara/Eyeliner Duo

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Instagram Diary

Hello all!

Sorry for my recent blogging absence, I feel like there's not enough hours in the day lately but I assure you blog posts will re-commence towards the end of this week as I have LOTS to show you all. Just to keep you updated with what I've been up to here's a little update in photos...

 As you can see I've been doing a lot of shopping recently, I wish I could say what's photographed above is it all but sadly that wouldn't be true. In my defence, Boots and Superdrug had offers on, I had £5 on my Beauty Card and Debenhams had 10% off Beauty! I finally picked up a YSL Glossy Lip Stain, some much lusted after goodies from Mac, a few bits from the new Topshop make up line and new Rimmel / Maybelline goodies.
On Saturday night I went out with my family for my Dads 50th birthday and we had a lovely meal in a local restaurant that's beautifully decorated! I had a tasty chicken terrine, a steak mince burger which was absolutely HUGE and then an assiette of mini desserts to finish. Afterwards I headed out with the work lot for one of the girls birthday and wore my New Look Aztec print midi dress - made complete with control knickers (sexy!) to suck in my food baby.
The next day was my Dads actual birthday and my mum whipped out a giant cake from Valerie Patisserie and if I hadn't had enough cake already a few days later I visited Valerie Patisserie for a slice of Chocolate Gateau and a hot chocolate. And as if you've not seen enough cake already - I'll finish off with a photo of a lemon drizzle cake I made for a customer at work.

Fancy seeing more photos? Check out my Instagram - lisamichellexx
If you want to keep up to date with what I'm doing, tweet me @GoldenGloww

xx MWAH

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