Versace Crystal Noir

Now if you had seen my Christmas wishlist well you may have remembered seeing this beauty. The Versace Crystal Noir EDP. Well as you can see my wishes certainly came true as this beautiful jeweled top bottle is sitting rather nicely on top of my dressing table. I first became familiar with this strong scent a few years ago while going on the ultimate fragrance hunt in Boots, lets just say I left with quite a “few” perfume samples. At first I wasn’t the biggest fan of this scent but the overwhelming scent left quite a mark after leaving the sample in a drawer to gather dust. A few years on and I have since been dying to get my hands on it, Christmas 2014 was my time.

Now in terms of describing scents I am no expert, I just tend to go with that smells damn good or no I don’t like that but I will try my best on this one. It is very different to any scent I have ever owned, its a very strong and sophisticated scent. It definitely lives up to the Versace image with a very feminine, seductive and powerful feel to it. It has a strong floral scent to it with notes of gardenia, amber and tuberose. It has a long lasting scent which is just what I am looking for, however it may not live up to my all time favourite fragrance Alien by Thierry Mugler but its close enough. In my fragrance terms, I’m loving it!

What is your favourite scent?

 

 

Nars Lip Pencil Coffret

Now if there is one brand that I have became a little obsessed with this year then its Nars. When I heard about their limited edition Holiday sets I pretty much squealed with excitement and considering how amazing they are you can understand why. I jumped on the Nars Lip Pencil bandwagon not too long ago when I purchased the also holiday edition Lip pencil in the shade Mandore which I love and I did a little review here. So obviously when I seen this Nars “coffret” of lip pencils on sale as part of their Christmas range it was of course top of my list for gifts… for myself (obviously). This set is exclusive to Space NK and retails for £32 which is incredible considering one lip pencil retails for £18, these pencils are a tad smaller than the usual ones but its still unbelievable value.

The set contains five very wearable shades with nudes to pinks and red. There are three Satin lip pencils: Descanso, Torres Del Paine and Yu; and there are two Velvet matte lip pencils: Iberico and Cruella. You can probably tell from the swatches above the finish of these formulas, the satin lip pencils of course have a very smooth finish and glide on easily and while the other two matte pencils are still smooth they have a more thick matte finish. Descanso is a pretty nude pink shade perfect for everyday wear, Torres Del Paine has a slightly brighter toned light pink shade, then Yu is a striking bold fuschia pink. Iberico is probably the scary one but no need to worry its a nice and different orangey shaded red and then there is Cruella which is just a nice matte red.

This set is perfect as a Christmas gift for a beauty lover or if you are like me then a great gift for yourself! 🙂

So are you a fan of the Nars Lip Pencils?

Christmas Wish List

Can you believe its less than three weeks until Christmas! Christmas is by far my favourite time of the year, I just love the atmosphere and all the events in the run up to the big day. Anyway of course there is always a little gift giving across Christmas and I have put together just a few things I would quite like to own. Some of these items you may recall me mentioning them before in other posts but sadly they just haven’t came my way yet!

Benefit They’re Real Mascara – Its one of the most raved about mascaras in the beauty world and I want to try it out for myself. I love the Benefit Bad Gal lash mascara and would love to give this one a try.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette – Well obvious one here, I picked up the original naked palette and the third one this year and with one left to get its no surprise this is on my list!

Versace Crystal Noir – I have been failing quite recently in the perfume department, I am really in need of a good strong bottle of scented stuff. This scent is quite different for me but its strong and dark.

Real Techniques Eye Starter Kit – If you seen my Fave brushes post not too long ago you will know I am a huge fan of the Real Techniques brushes and one thing I don’t own is any of their eye brushes. I would love to add these to my collection and hopefully they are as good as their other brushes.

What is on your wish list this Christmas?

Benefit Tinted Lip Balms

I can’t be the only one suffering from a case of winter chapped lips!? My lips have really gotten bad in the cold weather recently and I had been looking for the right solution. After piling on the layers of Vaseline and EOS, I was still having no luck. As I have being wearing quite a lot of bold lipsticks recently its important I don’t have dry patchy lips or they will just show through so I needed a good balm to keep them moisturised. I then pondered upon the Benefit balms…and god was I in luck!

These lip balms cost £14.50 each which is quite pricey for just a tinted lip balm but I was gonna do it anyway! Although as part of the Christmas Benefit range they have a “Sweet Tintations” set which includes two full sized balms and medium sized cheek tints for an amazing price of £19.50! So of course I went with this super deal instead picking up two balms. I am so impressed with these lip balms. For a lip balm they have really great pigmentation so look great on their own. I love the fact that they come in a lipstick style bullet applicator, it just looks better and is so much easier to apply imo. Although the most impressive part of these balms is the hydration factor. I put the Bene-balm on under my lipstick and my lips felt so hydrated and moisturised for hours, they are so long lasting and make your lips feel incredible.

Another amazing product by Benefit and definitely my favourite lip balm product. The Sweet Tintations set is also a great gift idea for Christmas!

Have you tried the Benefit balms?

Christmas Recipe: Gingerbread Men

We are in our final full week before Christmas and this is when serious planning needs to be considered. We all like a good treat during the holidays and there is nothing better and easier than gingerbread men. They are a perfect treat for all the family and could even be a great gift idea!

Ingredients

350g/12oz plain flour, plus extra for rolling out

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

125g/4½oz butter

175g/6oz light soft brown sugar

1 free-range egg

4 tbsp golden syrup

writing icing

cake decorations

Instructions (45mins – 1 hour)

Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon and pour into the bowl of a food processor.

Add the butter and blend until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.

Lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together, add to the food processor and pulse until the mixture clumps together.

Tip the dough out, knead briefly until smooth, wrap in cling-film and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.

Roll the dough out to a 0.5cm/¼in thickness on a lightly floured surface.

Using cutters, cut out the gingerbread men shapes and place on the baking tray, leaving a gap between them.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown.

Leave on the tray for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

When cooled decorate with the writing icing and cake decorations.

Credit to BBC Good Food for recipe.