Review: Latest In Beauty - The Heart Beauty Essentials Box + Free P&P Reader Code

Latest In Beauty have teamed up with Heart FM again for another great value, and full to the brim, box of beauty essentials. There's a good mix of brands too, so let's see what's inside!

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Review: Latest In Beauty - The Capital FM Beauty Box

Latest In Beauty have teamed up with London's Capital FM and released a filled to the brim box of beauty goodies for a bargain price.  Let's take a closer look!

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6 Easy Makeup & Skincare Tricks to Make Tired Eyes Look More Awake

I don't know about you, but I'm definitely not a morning person and always wake up looking like a zombie with huge dark circles.  In order for me to look more awake, I rely on these easy skincare and makeup tricks.

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May Favourites

I have a small handful of beauty favourites from last month; these have all been used a lot recently and are wholly recommended if you're looking to pick up something new.

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Beauty Roundup: The Best of 2013

I'm a little late posting this but here we go!  This is my beauty roundup of the past year, showcasing the creme de la creme of the products that I fell in love with during 2013.   

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5 Mini Reviews: L'Occitane, NEOM, Rimmel, Korres & Aromatherapy Associates

I set aside these samples a while ago and have only just gotten around to finishing them all up.  It's safe to say that my samples stash is in a much more manageable state these days.  I can finally close my Wonder Woman Tin properly!

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February Favourites

February may be the shortest month of the year, but that's not going to stop me from finding a good handful of beauty favourites.  Here's what I've been loving this month:-

The London Oil Company Morning Glory & Sleepy Head Body Oils* have been keeping my skin soft, hydrated and not to mention, smelling gorgeous.  As the names suggest, I've been using Morning Glory to brighten up the process of waking up first thing and Sleepy Head to send me off to the land of nod.  Another gorgeous smelling skin softner that I've been enamoured with is LUSH Ro's Argan Body Conditioner.  It's a simple slap it on and wash it off in the shower deal for those times when I'm running late (which let's face it, is always!).

Make-up wise, I've mostly been wearing Inika Creme Colour in Rosehip* on my cheeks which has a wonderful creamy formula that lasts all day, and my lips have been constantly decorated with those budget friendly Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers in Celestial, Luna and Nude Eclipse.  I've also discovered a new favourite concealer corrector in the guise of Perricone MD No Concealer Concealer*, so I'd say it's been a pretty good month!

What beauty products have you been loving lately?

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Worth The Hype: Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers - Celestial, Luna & Nude Eclipse - Photos & Swatches

 Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer (5.5ml, £5.99 each, link)

Apocalips, Apocalips, Apocalips.. I hope you're not all bored of reading about these amazing, creamy, super pigmented lipstick/gloss hybrids yet, because here's another post about them!

I instantly loved the look of the Apocalips Lip Lacquers the minute I set my beady eyes on them and I was even ready to break my spending ban just to pick some up.  Luckily I had a ton of Boots points on my card left over from xmas, so the hard part was simply deciding which ones to get.

I played it safe and picked up two of the most everyday, wearable shades, Celestial and Luna, plus the token nude, Nude Eclipse, to try out.

 Nude Eclipse

Like all nude shades, Nude Eclipse will be a love it or hate it thing for most people.  I'm still on the fence as to whether it suits me or not, but regardless, I'm sure it's one that will quickly grow on me the more times I wear it.

 Luna

Luna on the other hand was love at first sight.  This beautiful warm peach shade works like magic for instantly brightening up my complexion, and it's a perfect colour for the upcoming Spring season.

Celestial

Celestial has proven itself to be one of the most popular shades on the blogosphere and I certainly see why!  This blue-toned, dusky-esque pink is so easy to wear and you can make it look brighter (as above) by applying just a little, or darker by adding an extra coat (like the swatch).

I'm a big fan of these and find them long lasting, non-sticky and moisturising.  I would recommend exfoliating your lips before applying them though, because they will show up any dryness, but other that, they're pretty amazing and well worth the hype!

Have you picked up any Apocalips yet?

Which ones are your favourite shades?

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March Empties

Thought I'd post my empties a few days earlier than usual as the recycling is being picked up tomorrow and it would be good to get these out of the house! Here's what I've used up this month and whether I would repurchase them or not:-

James Brown London Scandalous Intensively Glossy Rescue Treatment - A very good hair mask for weekly treatments. Only thing I didn't like about it was the highly perfumed scent which put me off using it for ages. Repurchase? No, I think it's been discontinued now. Korres Quince Body Butter - Loved this, fantastic for dry skin and soaks in immediately, gorgeous subtle scent too. Repurchase? Yes. Purity Facial Wash* - Used this as my in-shower foaming cleanser for a few months, stopped using it as it dried out my skin too much, but then started using the rest of it up these last couple of weeks due to the change in weather. Repurchase? No, doesn't really suit my oily/combo skin, would be better for very oily/sensitive instead. Lush Ultra Bland - Amazing cream/oil based cleanser that removes makeup quickly with no scrubbing. You only need the tiniest amount to do your whole face with so a little definitely goes a long way with this. Repurchase? Not at the moment as I'm happy with my Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish, but it might be something I come back to at some point.

Laura Mercier Eye Shadow in Vanilla Nuts - I've had this for such a long time but it took me forever to hit pan on it, and I've finally only now used the whole thing up! Repurchase? Not sure if they do this shade anymore and I wouldn't really need another neutral eyeshadow due to UD Naked Palette, but Laura Mercier eye shadows are really good, wonderfully soft and pigmented. Blistex Raspberry Lemonade Blast Lip Balm - This was a nice change but it got a little too sickly for my liking when I used it a lot. Repurchase? No. Lush Sweet Lips Scrub - Love this, lasted me a good couple of months. Repurchase? Yes, though I may try a DIY version. The Body Shop Hemp Foot Protector - Got this travel size pot from a gift set at xmas. I do like it but I like my usual Lush Fairtrade Foot Lotion more. Repurchase? Probably not. BareMinerals Original SPF Foundation in Medium Beige - I really liked this sample and think it's a great foundation, though the coverage is on the sheer side, it's very good for people with oily skin. Repurchase? Yes, will buy a full size once I've used up some of my other foundations.




Caudalie Quenching Sorbet Creme - This was OK, but had a really strong floral scent which I wasn't keen on. Repurchase? No. Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque - Can't really vouch for the 'agesmart' properties that this claims to have, but it was pleasant to use and I got about four uses out of this 15ml sample. Repurchase? Maybe in the future. Crabtree & Evelyn Lavender Bath & Shower Gel - This was a little on the artificial side for me scent-wise, think there are much nicer lavender products on the market. Repurchase? No. L'Occitane 20% Shea Butter Hand Cream - Seriously the BEST hand cream ever, I always seem to have a travel size one of these around. Repurchase? Yes! Westlab Himalayan Bath Salts - I asked around to see if anyone wanted these and I got a resounding "NO!" so I ended up using them myself last week. They did nothing for me, had virtually no scent and it was like sitting in a bath of plain hot water. Only positive thing I can say is that they didn't irriate my skin. Repurchase? No.

Clinique Redness Solutions Makeup SPF 15 - Liked this a lot, all of the Clinique foundations I've sampled in the past have been great so I'll definitely look more into their range when I need a full size. Repurchase? Yes. Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Soft Beige - Still umming and ahhing over this. The shade was a perfect match for me right now (would probably need one a touch darker for summer) and I liked the formula a lot but you need a lot of powder on top of it if you have oily skin like I do. Repurchase? Not sure. Bourjois Organic Bio Detox Foundation - Hands down one of the worst foundations I've ever tried! It was patchy, stuck to my face like glue and refused to blend. Awful! Repurchase? No! Avon Advance Techniques Frizz Control Lotus Shield - This is pretty good, reduced frizz by about 50% and made my hair a lot more manageable. It also didn't make it look greasy which is always a bonus with these products. Repurchase? Yes.

What products have you used up this month?

*PR sample

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NOTD: Rimmel 10 day black polish

Well Rimmel, your 'up to 10 days' nail polish lasted around two days before chipping into one big old mess. The polish itself is pretty good, but marketing claims that fail to deliver Annoy Me. Think I'll stick to my trusted Urban Decay's 'Perversion', next time I fancy dark nails.

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