Event: Selfridges Blogger Event with Mixed Gems Beauty

Rose from Mixed Gems Beauty recently hosted a fabulous beauty blogger event in Selfridges Birmingham.

Hosted in a private room, we met up at the Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream stand and were given a token to use in their special vending machine. I received a sample of the new fragrance whilst there was also a full sized bottle up for grabs!

We made our way upstairs and found a room laid out with stands from brands including NARS, Kiehls, Creme De La Mer, GHD, Tom Ford, Charlotte Tilbury and Estee Lauder.

However, before we dug into the make up the first thing we noticed was this fabulous display of personalised Krispy Kreme doughnuts. YUM! This was such a thoughtful touch and there was a frenzy as we all clambered to take a picture with our doughnut.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts

But I digress. As well as having a catch up and natter, we were able to sit down and spend some quality time with the beauty hall girls and find out more about products new and old.

Kiehls Calendula Toner - with real flowers!

Kiehl's Creme De Corps (it's on the Christmas wishlist!)

Kiehls Hydro Plumping Retexturizing Serum

Kiehl's Calendula Toner

I sat down with Nikki from Kiehls to talk about their new product, the Hydro Plumping Re Texturizing Plumping Concentrate, a serum that is packed full of hydrating glycerins to provide up to 72 hours moisture. I was also drawn to the Calendula Herbal Extract Alcohol Free Toner as I love natural products. Inside the bottle you can see REAL FLOWERS!! Amazing. I also love the Creme De Corps and just need to dive in and purchase this beauty; look at that soft whipped texture.

Amy's manicure in progress

Amy's Nars nails

Nars eyeshadows

The Nars stand

I then had a look at NARS where Amy from PYT had her nails done and we both had a play with the beautiful and soft eyeshadows. I then went over to Estee Lauder where they are offering 8 minute beauty makeovers. I opted for the lip makeover and tried out this gorgeous Pure Color Envy Lipstick in Eccentric and was also reminded of how accenting the cupids bow with a highlighter makes a huge difference.

Charlotte Tilbury Lip and Cheek Colour 

Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette The Dolce Vita - how pigmented is that bottom left colour?

Charlotte Tilbury Bronzer and Highlighter

Charlotte Tilbury lips make up bag

Charlotte Tilbury 10 signature looks

Beautiful Charlotte Tilbury make up bag

Charlotte Tilbury has some of the most divine products out there in some seriously glam packaging.

Lastly, I got to try out some insane items from Tom Ford!

Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Palette (I need these!)

Just as the evening was wrapping up I managed to squeeze in a few minutes with Karen from Creme De La Mer, but I'm dying to go back for a full consultation!

A big thank you to Rose for hosting event and to all the Beauty Hall girls who took the time to meet us and leave us with some fabukous samples to try out. As always it was lovely to see you all :)

August empties – Estee Lauder DayWear, Kevin Murphy and Garnier

It might not look like much, but I swear it’s taken me nearly a year to finish the Estee Lauder DayWear moisturiser as I’ve been using it on and off. This is probably my favourite day cream, it smells like cucumber and feels so refreshing on the skin. I would repurchase but I’ve got a full tub of Clinique Superdefense waiting to be used.

Other than that, it’s just the sachets from Kevin Murphy and Garnier.  I really liked the Kevin Murphy Luxury Wash Shampoo and Body Guard Conditioner, and I think I’ll have to invest when I can.

I’ve been using the Garnier sachets as part of the 7 day trial which I’ll be posting about later so stay tuned!

Perfume Collection Part 2 - Estee Lauder, Versace, Marc Jacobs, Herve Leger and Tommy Girl

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess

I can’t find this anywhere online to give you the composition but my friend thinks it smells mainly of oranges! I think it’s similar to this description of the new scent from The Perfume Shop: “Inspired by the warmth of the Mediterranean, a citrus floral blend with notes of Bergamot and Orange Blossom.” There is something very summery about this and it always transports me to a faraway beach! Saying that, I probably won’t repurchase it as I’ve overused it now and it's a limited edition anyway.

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Limited Edition

Versace Versus Time to Relax

I am in LOVE with this scent and I can’t find it anywhere. I got this years ago in TK Maxx for around  £5 and it really is my go to relaxing fragrance if I’m about to do something stressful! I only use it very rarely though as I don’t want it to finish!  Apparantly this is floral too and the description here says it includes freesia, apple tree blossom and hawthorn, as well as avocado, cedar, amber and sandalwood. If anyone spots a bottle of this somewhere, let me know!

Versace Versus Time to Relax

Marc Jacobs Blush

I had to buy this on ebay as I couldn’t find it anywhere else, and I think this might be my favourite perfume ever. To me, it smells just like jasmine but it also has some fruity notes such as bergamot, citrus and banana and florals including orange blossom, honeysuckle, freesia, tuberose according to this website.  It’s really rare now but I much prefer this, which is I think Marc Jacobs’ first ever fragrance, to his modern scents.

Marc Jacobs Blush

Herve Leger Avon

This is only a teeny handbag size that I purchased from ebay and although I did love it at first, now I find it a touch too strong and it lingers until the next day! It is described here as a citrus with woody notes, which I confused for musk.

Herve Leger Avon

Tommy Girl Summer Cologne 

I’ve had this for years and it’s such a big bottle that it’s never ending! I don’t even know if you can still buy this but here it's described as a floral fragrance. It is a bit too sickly for me and I only wear it in summer, but if anyone wants it let me know and they can have it for a few pounds as it is impossible to get hold of!

Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Girl Summer Cologne

This isn’t even an exhaustive list; for example, I always go back to Lancome Miracle and Davidoff Cool Water, I sometimes throw in some YSL Elle and I’m really keen to try out more high street perfumes such as one from Zara I really like.

Phew! What are your favourite perfumes right now? And which are the ones that you just keep going back to?