Pandora Silver Bracelet Offer - Today Only @ The Jewel Hut!!

This isn't strictly beauty related in the cosmetic sense, but it is an offer for somethings that I think are very pretty, and really just wanted to let you know, just in case you wanted to take advantage of the offer!

From now, until midnight tonight The Jewel Hut are offering a FREE silver Pandora bracelet to people who spend over £125 on other Pandora items, such as charms, bracelets, neckwear, earrings and watches etc. I think this is a really good offer as it means you can spend the £125 on a few charms for the free bracelet, where you'd usually have to pay for the bracelets on top, which would be an extra £60 on top.

As you'd expect, stock is subject to availability and it's all on a first come, first served basis until the offer ends later on tonight. Just add the items you want to buy to your cart and the free bracelet will be automatically added to your cart, once the £125 on relevant items has been achieved.

I've been lusting after a bracelet for a while, but unfortunately for me, this offer comes at a time where I just can't justify spending on that right now (arrrgh)! If I could justify it right now, I think I'd be spending a lot as I only ventured a few pages into the charm selection and managed to put 10 charms in my basket, at a total of £525... and that's without the £720 gold/diamond one (below) that I spied whilst I was looking.

£720!

What do you think of this offer, ladies? Do you like Pandora jewellery? x

New Blog Buttons!

This is just a quick post to let you know that I have, and am still changing my 'follow' option buttons on the sidebar to the right to make them a bit fancier (with the colour change when you roll over) but more in keeping with the new blog design.

I think they're currently all working, but if you find anything wrong with any of them, please do let me know. There are some 'widgets' on there that I just can't figure out if I can make them fit in a little more with the rest, so they may look a teeny bit out of place, but I am looking into my options for them to see if I can make them any better!

I still need to tweak some things (like the layout and some sizing) and possibly add a couple in but I just wanted to let you know what was going on in case you came across any issues... or thought you were going mad when they change, or if I accidentally muck some of the site layout up (it shouldn't happen, but you never know)!

Hope you like them!?

Competition - Win a Sigma Travel Kit Brush Set!!

Earlier today I reviewed the Sigma Makeup Travel Kit Brush Collection, and you may remember that at the end of the review, I said I would also be giving away an identical set to one lucky winner (prize provided courtesy of Sigma themselves, who will also send the prize to the winner)! That time has now arrived; and all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is:

1. Follow me via GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT (see the picture below if you’re unsure what this is) – you MUST do this, otherwise your entry will not be valid.

2. Leave me a comment in the post below with your Google Friend Connect name (the name that shows above the GFC icons when you’ve followed me – see example picture below).

3. In the comments box, please also leave details that I can use to contact you (it can be email, twitter or any other way that I can get hold of you) if you win!

4. For one extra entry you can follow me on Twitter and tweet 'WIN a Sigma Travel Kit Make-Up Brush Set worth $49 with @The_BeautyScoop! http://www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk #Competition' - if you're doing this, please don't forget to leave your Twitter name in your comment in the box below!

This competition will self destruct end in 1 month, on 30th September 7th October 2011 at 11:59pm (GMT) and is open internationally.

Good luck my lovelies! x

Edited: I've added 1 week onto the closing date due to receiving a few emails from people who have been struggling to enter because of Google Friend Connect. Hopefully this should give them time to enter!

Sigma Makeup Brushes - Travel Kit (Black) - A Review!

I was sent a set of Sigma brushes to try out as part of my affiliation with Sigma Make-Up and really wanted to tell you all what I thought of them. I had wanted to try Sigma’s brushes for quite a while but had never got around to making a final choice on which ones to try first so being able to try this Sigma Travel Kit out has really helped me on my way!

The reason I say it helped me on my way is because after trying these brushes, I know that I will definitely be purchasing many more of them very soon, as I have been SO impressed by the quality – in fact, I already have a list of what I want to buy in my next order!

All the brushes in the set are soft, but not too soft and have plenty of bristles which are great for picking up the right amount of product for each area! There are 8 brushes included in the set, and at $49 (plus shipping) I think it represents great value. The brushes available in the kit are:

E30 – Pencil Brush: I use this mainly for applying eyeshadow in the crease of my eye, before blending but it’s also good for any other smaller areas too – like the inner corner. I find that it picks up just the right amount of product and applies it effortlessly.

E40 – Tapered Blending Brush: As the name says, I use this for blending. It’s a bit bigger than I am used to, however it still does a great job for me. If you find it is a bit too big for your eye, you could also use it for buffing in concealer, especially to the under-eye area.

E55 – Eye Shading Brush: This is a fantastic brush for packing on the product, and I tend to use this on my lids more than anywhere else. The bristles are dense enough to hold plenty of shadow, but soft enough to not feel hard or restrictive when applying it.

F30 – Large Powder Brush: I quite like to apply my bronzer with this as it’s so soft, which means I don’t get any harsh lines after applying, which can sometimes be the case with harder brushes. It’s a little bit too soft for me to apply mineral make-up that requires buffing, but I’d generally use my Bare Escentuals brushes for that anyway, so it’s of no detriment to the brush for me, but I thought it worth mentioning to you!

F40 – Large Angled Contour Brush: This is a fabulous contouring brush, it’s precise but not too hard (again, no harsh lines when contouring with this gem)... it’s also good for applying regular blusher, if you’re not into contouring.

F50 – Duo Fibre Brush: I had never used one of these brushes before, but had always been curious about if they really did do anything that a regular foundation brush couldn’t and do you know what? I really do think it gives a lovely finish on the skin, something that *could* probably be achieved with a good foundation brush and a bit of extra effort, but this just makes it easy and I like that!

F60 – Foundation Brush: I’ve used (and still use) many different foundation brushes and this will definitely be added into the rotation as it applied my foundation smoothly, with no brush marks dragging all over my face and without sucking up all the product into the bristles too!! A quick tip if you do have a foundation brush that does this is to apply a tiny amount of moisturiser into the bristles before using (after washing) as this makes a barrier of sorts which allows the foundation to go onto your skin, not the bristles! :-)

Overall, I have no hesitation in recommending these brushes to you, they have surpassed my expectations and I am DYING to try out some more, so on pay day I will totally be making an order. Have you ever tried Sigma brushes before?

P.S: Make sure that you stick around as I’ll be posting a giveaway later, for one lucky reader to win this exact set for themselves.

P.P.S: If you can't wait for the giveaway and just want to buy some brushes right away then please feel free to use my LINK, you'll get a free gift for doing so and also if you use discount code 'GLOW2011' then you'll also get 10% off your order - not bad eh?!

Chanel Le Vernis Nail Polish, Miami Peach (203) - Swatched!

Chanel’s Miami Peach nail polish is a beautiful peachy hue with subtle gold shimmer running through it. I’d say on my skin that it was a pink-y peach, although actually in some lights (as you’ll see in the photographs) it actually seemed more orange-y!

I really love this summery shade, it applied nicely, although it did require 3 or 4 coats to achieve the desired ‘look’ - 3 looked ‘ok’ but as you can see on the photographs 4 coats look a lot better! It also dried quickly between coats which made things easier on that score.

Wear time was great too, I think it was about 4 or 5 days before I noticed any tip wear which is perfectly acceptable for me, and I think I could have probably worn it a week without any issues if I didn’t have so many other nail polishes to swatch for you haha!

Likey?

Celeb Sunday - Jessie J!

After V Festival last weekend, I just KNEW who I'd be featuring on this week's 'Celeb Sunday' post... it just had to be Jessie J and her GORGEOUS purple hair. It's not the most subtle of looks, teamed with heavy eye make-up AND orange-y lipstick, but it totally works for her (I'm not sure I'd be able to pull it off, though).  Also, just LOOK at her nails... love love love, totally over the top but who cares!

Also quite liking her hair below, too. Whaddya think ladies?

My Recent Selfridges Haul!

I paid for some additional Muji storage over the phone from the Muji concession at Selfridges in the Trafford Centre about 6 weeks ago, but promptly forgot about it more or less as soon as I had put down the phone. Anyway, I got a call a couple of weeks ago to ask if I was going to be picking them up soon which prompted a trip there and a mini (but expensive) haul ensued. I bought:

1. 2 Muji acrylic storage units (2 drawer, wide) - well, I collected them anyway!
2. 3 Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Eyeshadows (shades 2, 3 and 14)
3. Chanel Rose Platine Eyeliner
4. Clarins Beauty Flash Balm

I also tried to buy a back up MAC Hibiscus lipstick, but failed... anybody know where I may still get one (other than eBay)?

Will post about each product separately in more detail! x

 Shade 2.

Shade 3

Shade 14.

Chanel Rose Platine!

Feel Unique Beauty Box - Contents!

I’ve had Glossy Box for quite a while now, since the first box, actually and I’ve been fairly pleased with it for the most part... I’ve had my issues with it, a can of Batiste being a case in point for most people, but also things arriving broken (rather annoyingly a body oil that ended up ruining a dress and covering everything in the box with it) or missing completely.

I decided that I’d give the Feel Unique equivalent a trial, figuring it couldn’t hurt to do so... so here are my thoughts on what I received!

In the box there were 6 items, I haven’t tested them out yet, I’m purely reporting back on the contents of the box and if I thought it was worth signing up to:

bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara 5ml (Full Size 10ml £16 RRP) – I don’t think this is too bad for a sample, it’s half sized and that would make it worth roughly £8 at full retail cost (although you can get the full tube for less if you shop around, but for the purpose of this post, I’ll work from the RRP), and, as with most mascara, should last quite a while.

Thalgo Spray Frigimince, 50ml (Full Size 150ml £27 RRP) – This is a toning and refining spray, 1/3 of the full size product, which makes it roughly £9 worth of product (again, if going against full priced product). This is another product that I think should last a decent amount of time, enough to get a feel for the product and if it works for you.

Decléor Aroma Cleanse Mousse, 15ml & Muslin Cloth (Full Size 100ml £24.50 (ish) RRP) – This is a product that I actually bought the full size of prior to receiving it in this box, but haven’t got around to using yet. The amount you get is 15% of the full size product, and worth roughly £3.68. I’m not entirely sure that this is quite enough to get a good feel for the product if I am honest, although I have read that you don’t need to use much on each occasion so maybe you could get a decent amount of usage out of it if this is the case.

Xen-Tan Transform Luxe Daily Self Tan in Light/Medium, 30ml (Full Size 236ml £24.99 RRP) – This is a gradual tanner and if I am honest, one I’m slightly disappointed to receive. My problem being that if it’s a gradual tanner, you’re probably going to need to apply it a few times before getting to the shade you want, and there’s simply not enough here to cover your body, maybe even once... let alone 2, 3 or even 4 times. I know it’s a sample, but for me, I just don’t think I could get a good feel for this product from the amount given. It’s approximately 12.7% of the full size product which equates to £3.17 (ish) value.


Jimmy Choo Eau De Parfum (see below), 2ml (Full Size 40ml upwards £39.00 RRP) - I’ve got to say, this is another disappointment, don’t get me wrong... I love the scent (it’s one I am currently lusting after) but it’s something I could probably get for free in a department store if I asked for it. Yes you get a feel for the product as it’s a perfume so you don’t need that much, but I just think it’s a bit much to include something that you could very easily get, and for free if you really wanted to try it out. Value wise, it’s 5% of the smaller sized bottle of fragrance and worth approximately £1.95... or free (sorry, can’t let that one drop, ha).

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer, 20ml (Full Size 150ml £25.00 approx) – This is an intensive hair treatment and you get 13.4% of the full size product, working out to be roughly £3.35 worth of product. I don’t know what to make of the amount in all honesty, maybe if you have short hair it would be plenty, but for people with long hair, I’m just not sure how far this would go and whether you’d see any benefit in the maybe one use you’d get from it.

Total ‘value’ of the box is £29.15 which doesn’t seem too bad for the £10 I paid (including delivery) and the products aren’t too bad, but I wasn’t wowed... although I do think that I have been somewhat spoiled by Glossy Box and their full sized products. I’m going to give it one more delivery to see what I get and see if it’s something I’ll be continuing with or not.

What do you think of the box, have you had one? Did you get the same? Would you be pleased with these contents?

Feel Unique Beauty Boxes can be found here!