Selfridges Limited-Edition Summer Beauty Box

Typically, beauty boxes are pretty hit and miss with me and with most of them being associated with the "surprise" type subscription boxes, I've never really been too convinced, however, as much as I find they can be a little risky, they are great opportunities to try luxury products if like me, you're obsessed with products.

 This Summer, Selfridges have put together a Limited-Edition Summer Beauty Box*, that costing just £25 hosts nine fairly good sized products, all of which I think are great additions. Fortunately, these aren't surprise boxes and pictured above is exactly what you will receive. With a combined value of £70, Selfridges really have put together a bargain box here, that I'm sure like myself, you would be super pleased with.

An Aqua Splash Tangle Teezer, a Models Own Neon Nail Polish, Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray 50ml, Molton Brown Aqua Shower Gel 100ml, Caudalie Beauty Elixir 30ml, St Tropez Instant Glow Face Lotion 50ml, Jane Tran Hair Clips, Erborian BB Cream 12ml, Lancaster After Sun Tax Maximizer 40ml and a St Tropez The Ultimate Tan in-store offer voucher make up this box, and although I'm sure the full contents won't all be to everyones tastes, I'm honestly pretty impressed with every product. My least favourite product would probably be the Jane Tran Hair Clips, but even so, retailing at £8 on their own, they make up a fair part of this exciting box.

The Selfridges Summer Beauty Box is available to buy now and if you are interested in ordering one of these boxes, I would highly recommend that you head here to Selfridges asap, as if the past boxes are anything to go by, I'm sure it will be out of stock pretty quickly. 

I'm really excited to finally give Caudalie Beauty Elixir a go and think it's a stand out product in amongst this box, what do you think of this Selfridges Summer Beauty Box? What products stand out to you the most?

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Yogi Pearl White Fat Barrel Hair Wand

 

Since having my hair coloured, I have found the only way to keep it looking sunkissed and avoid it looking in any way streaky, is to style it with a little more shape and volume and my go to hair tool for the last couple of months to achieve a bouncy somewhat more fancy look, has been the Yogi Fat Barrel Hair Wand in Pearl White*.

With the biggest part of the barrel measuring 32mm and the smallest part 25mm, it's a fair sized curling wand and helps me to achieve a bigger, bouncier curl as opposed to a tighter one, which is definitely the look I prefer. When it comes to hair tools, including this one, I've only ever used a couple without a clamp and although I must admit I do tend to burn my fingers a little more often, I find it so much quicker which I find is fantastic for me.

 In terms of how I style my hair with the Yogi Fat Barrel Hair Wand, I'm not one for having my hair too uniform or neat and never really have been, so I don't tend to go too neat or precise with the sections. I grab around six to eight sections either side of my parting and wrap the mid-lengths to ends around the wand in an outwards direction and leave for about 10 seconds. On release the curl is initially a little tighter and neater than I like, but my hair tends to drop slightly anyway, which leaves me with a bouncier wave and a lot more shape. If it doesn't drop once it's started to cool, I give it a little hairspray and brush it out with a wide toothed comb and it does the job perfectly.

If I'm honest, before being introduced to Yogi on this occasion, I hadn't ever come across the brand or the tool, but I'm really impressed with the quality of it and after finding myself reaching for it most days over the past couple of months, I would highly recommend it.

Its White design isn't completely too my taste and I don't think the flimsy plastic tube packaging that it comes in quite suits the price tag, but with its fast heating technology, lightweight base and 360 degree swivel lead, I find it such a quick and easy tool to use and I can't get enough.

Costing £64.95, the Yogi Fat Barrel Hair Wand is available to buy on their online store and in Boots.

Have you ever tried a Yogi Hair Wand? What do you use to achieve a curly bouncy look?

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Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder- Bronze 02

When I first heard that Laura Mercier were launching a range of five Matte Radiance Baked Powders  into their collection for the Summer, being the bronzer obsessed girl that I am, I was immediately drawn to them.

 Made up of four Bronze shades and a highlight, Laura Mercier describes the products as "an ultra-smooth baked formula that provides natural colour with soft matte radiance to the skin for a "bonne mine" healthy glow. Bronze shades give a soft matte finish and a hint of warmth."

In terms of a "bonne mine healthy glow", they're spot on and this Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Bronze 02* provides my skin with a really lovely bronze, healthy colour with a slight amount of luminosity. It's not overbearing at all and the shade is nice and subtle and although nicely buildable, it is pretty safe in that it doesn't reach an overly Bronzed shade, staying with the natural looking. 

In it's domed baked formula, the powder itself is lightweight and super soft to the touch and gently applied to my nose, forehead, cheekbones and cheeks, creates a really nice subtle sunkissed glow to the skin, whilst also looking natural and matte, which is how I personally prefer my bronzers. 

I really like how lightweight and soft this bronzer is and with the highlight shade now at the top of my list, I'm hoping that that follows suit and is just as lovely to use too.

 Available in four Bronze shades to suit different skin tones, which is actually quite rare when it comes to Bronzing products, I'm really impressed and think if you're looking for a product that will give you a beautiful bronzed look, whilst staying on more of the natural side, then it's definitely worth a try.  

 These classic Laura Mercier designed mirrored Matte Radiance Baked Powders are available now online and at Laura Mercier counters in Selfridges, Liberty, John Lewis and Space NK costing £23, which I think is a reasonable price for a Laura Mercier product.

I tend to go a little bronzer crazy in the Summer, will you be adding this Baked Powder into your make up bag?

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Bourjois Cream Blushes- Nude Velvet, Healthy glow, Rose Tender and Sweet Cherry

01 Nude Velvet, 02 Healthy glow, 03 Rose Tender and 04 Sweet Cherry

When it comes to make up, alongside lipsticks, blushes are probably my favourite product. I can't get enough of pretty a brightening shade to add a little bit of colour back into my cheeks and although I normally reach for powder products, recently with coming into Summer, I have found myself trying cream blushes a lot more regularly and these new four Bourjois Cream Blushes* have found themselves being applied more and more often. 

With my choice of shades never really moving too far away from the Peach and Coral part of the spectrum, it's fair to say that the first two swatched shades; 01 Nude Velvet and 02 Healthy glow, are my two favourites of the new range; fresh and beautifully brightening, the smallest amount adds a beautiful amount of pigmentation and blends into my skin really easily.
I don't have too many Rose or Pink shades in my collection as I personally don't find them the most flattering for me, but I do think that 03 Rose Tender and 04 Sweet Cherry are extremely pretty and if you're into Rose shades then you will most likely love them. Like 01 and 02, they also have a lovely amount of pigmentation and feel so soft on the cheeks, due to the cream to powder finish once blended into the skin.

Although these mirrored magnet closing Bourjois blushes were initially launched exclusively to Selfridges, they are now available to buy in both Boots and Superdrug costing £7.99 each, which I think is pretty reasonable.

What do you think of these new four Bourjois Cream Blushes?

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No7 High Shine Lip Crayon in Delicate Pink

Having an influx of darker and bolder shades make their way into my collection recently, it's about time that I made space for a new pretty Pink and this No7 High Shine Lip Crayon in Delicate Pink* is the perfect addition.

When I first became interested in lip products, this was one of my favourite kind of shades and I think it's an absolutely perfect colour for a pretty, feminine look all year round though in particular when the sun is shining. No7 High Shine Lip Crayons are pretty new products and since being introduced to the product in the intense shade Berry at a Boots event recently, I can't get enough.

Super pigmented and applying sheer yet buildable, the formula of these lip crayons is fantastic. They feel super balmy and keep my lips my feeling soft and moisturised which is lovely. Applying really easily and hassle free, I find these types of products are the perfect handbag products. Requiring no hard work with super easy maintenance, whether you're after a very subtle amount of colour or a bolder look to see you through the day, both are super achievable. 

I'm really impressed with the No7 Lip Crayons and am in love with Delicate Pink, which I must admit on first impressions, I was expecting to be a little darker. 

Available in five shades, these High Shine Lip Crayons cost £9 are available at No7 counters in Boots now.

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Bumble and Bumble Travel Sized Miniatures

Something that I'm always pleased to see high end brands launch is miniatures of their most popular products and so I am so pleased to see that Bumble and Bumble have launched and expanded their really accessible miniature line into the UK. 

I am a big fan of travel sized products, not only because of my job where I travel frequently and have to follow the strict 100ml liquid rule day to day, but also because it's a great opportunity to try a high-end, higher priced product before jumping into the deep end and spending a fortune on something that quite frankly, you might regret later.

I started my Bumble and Bumble experience, with miniature sized products just like these. I had wanted to try the Thickening Range so asked my parents to pick me up the miniatures in Sephora in New York a couple of years ago because honestly, I couldn't afford to buy the full size bottles and not like them. Although I absolutely loved the Thickening Spray and do to this day, I wasn't overly thrilled with the Shampoo and Conditioner but for the price of the travel sized products, I wasn't left as disappointed as I may have been had I spent £20 a bottle. I think miniatures are such a great way of introducing yourself with a brand or a product and although I highly rate Bumble and Bumble and would and do recommend them in a shot, I think having smaller sizes with of course, smaller price tags available is really handy to give more people the opportunity to try something.

In terms of travelling, which I suppose is what product sizes like this are on the market for, these are such brilliant options. I'm forever decanting sprays and lotions into empty travel sized bottles and so to have my favourite products all ready to go, is a dream -whether it be for holidays, weekends away or even just products that are easier to carry around day to day.

As much as I am always thrilled when brands launch their best-selling products in baby sizes, there have been a few times when I've been left a little disappointed by the price points- offering smaller products for really unreasonable prices, but fortunately I think Bumble and Bumble have been pretty fair.

With the majority of their miniatures sized at 50ml and their full size versions being 250ml, Bumble and Bumble are charging roughly about 1/3 of the price- at £5.50/£6.50 for the majority of their miniatures compared to the full size price of £18.50/£20 and roughly half the price for the bigger miniatures that are sized at about 125ml- half the size of the full sized products, which I really do think is reasonable. I know in theory you're kind of losing out, but for the convenience and the opportunity to try something before spending more on the full size, I think it's fair. Plus, I know these are pretty tiny to look at, but if you use the correct amount of product, they actually last a fair while!

BB Tonic 50ml*, BB Prep 50ml*, Surf Spray 50ml*, Styling Lotion 50ml*, BB Shine 60ml*, BB Texture 60ml*, BB Does It All 150ml* and BB Deep 50ml* are all available along with some of the other fabulous miniature sized Bumble and Bumble products, including selected Shampoos and Conditioners online and at Bumble and Bumble counters in Boots and Selfridges. 

What do you think of these travel sized products? Perfect just for travelling or would you, like me try them before buying the full sized bottle?

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