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Tuesday 28 January 2014

Rainy Day Victorias Secret Giveaway

Hello My Lovelies,

Hope you are all doing well and are having a fabulous Monday so far! I have been planning this post since before Christmas but for some reason everything got in the way and it never made it on the blog until today. As you may know i had a weekend away to London a few weeks after my 21st Birthday in November. I had the most amazing time walking around London, going to Winter Wonderland and doing a spot of shopping. I couldn't resist stopping by Victoria's Secret whilst in London, we always stop by the VIP Angel Suit when we go. Whilst i was there i picked up a few bits and pieces for myself, some Christmas presents and also something for one of my lovely followers!

I was saving this giveaway for a rainy day (no pun intended haha) and i thought what better way to fix the Monday blues than something a little fun. I have got a 2000 follower giveaway planned already so fingers crossed in a few months i can show you all that too…I am so excited! I just wanted to host a small giveaway to celebrate, say thank you and give something back for the constant support i am getting from the bbloggers community. I have literally made so many amazing friends, discovered so many other bloggers, new products and managed to escape the stresses of reality and University right now through writing on my blog. Thank You!!


As you can tell from the title of this post and by looking at the pictures above I am giving away something from Victoria's Secret which is one of my all time favourite stores. How cute is this umbrella?! It's pink, girly and it's Victoria's Secret! I loved this umbrella so much we actually purchased a few of them and i thought i could give one away to one of my amazing followers. Just for the record…I never knew how hard it would be to take photos of an umbrella!! I really hope the pictures do it justice as it is such a cute piece. It does say 'Victoria's Secret London' on the rimb so i think this is a London store exclusive! Also, just a side note, you won't be receiving the one in the images above…you will be winning a brand new one which is still all wrapped up and has tags on :D

Rules: You MUST be following my blog through GFC & Bloglovin' to be qualify for this giveaway

This Giveaway will run for just over 4 weeks until the 28th February 2014

I am using 'Rafflecopter' for this giveaway so please follow the instruction on the widget about how you can enter this Giveaway! :) Also, the more you enter the better the chance you are of winning this Giveaway :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck Everyone!

Lots of Love

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Monday 27 January 2014

Skin Chemists | Bee Venom Facial Oil

Hello My Lovelies,

I hope you are all doing well and are having a fabulous Monday so far. The weekend literally just flew by…there is not enough time in day haha! There is nothing i love more than one a Sunday than having a good ol' pamper session to get me ready for the following week to come. I was sent some Skin Chemists skincare goodies and i have really been loving incorporating them within my skincare routine as they are raved about brand from celebrities such as Kate Middleton, Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss and more. They all look absolutely amazing so i jumped at the chance of giving them a try. 

At first when they mentioned to me Bee Venom i was a little on edge because usually a Bee sting injects the Venom into your skin causing more harm than good right?! You can click here to check out the in-debth sciene behind the range and also watch a testimonials video. 


Skin Chemists Bee Venom Facial Oil is a revolutionary product, it contains real Bee Venom as the active ingredients, to produce a fantastic, noticeable, anti-wrinkle effect. It is the first of it's kind, fusing the efficacy and potency of the proven results of Bee Venom with the luxury and comfort of an oil, it provides skin-tightening, toning and brightening benefits. Something I have always read and have learnt from older generations is that you can never start too early to banish those pesky wrinkles we are all bound to have one day…sobs!

The Bee Venom in the formulation increases blood circulation, and the movement of nutrients between the levels of the skin, firming and plumping the skin to reduce the visibility of fine lines and wrinkles. It contains Manuka Honey, which deeply nourishes and moisturises the skin, leaving it soft and fresh. Combined with Alpine Rose Stem Cells to help prevent the loss of collagen within the skin, and to prevent damage to the tissue, increases the vitality of stem cells in the skin. Almond and Bassabue Oils are vital ingredients, they have a huge range of benefits and are rich in Linoleic Acids, and Vitamins A,D and E. Linoleic Acid, which is also know as Vitamin F, is an essential fatty acid which regenerates and moisturises the skin. The Almond Oil traps moisture in the skin, keeping it moisturised all day long. Something we all need during the cold winter months right?!Vitamin E gives the facial oil emollient properties, which enables the oil to be absorbed into the skin.

Bee Venom has developed itself something of a Royal fan club from when Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall began using it prior to her wedding to Prince Charles, she then subsequently passed on her secret to Kate Middleton before her own wedding. This has resulted in an avid celebrity following of the Bee Venom trend, with the likes of Victoria Beckham, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, Tulisa Contostavlos and Naomi Campbell favouring Bee Venom to maintain a flawless complexion. 

The Facial Oil officially launched last Tuesday 21st January 2014 so you can now purchase it from the website. I have been using it for around a week now and i think it is such a luxurious product. I apply one drop to my hand and then i gently massage it into my face and neck. Skin Chemists recommend wearing it alone or under a moisturiser, so i did wear it under my makeup a few days last week to test it out and it felt weightless and it did keep my skin moisturised. The only negative thing is the price, £98 is quite steep for a 15ml facial oil, however you only need one drop for you entire face so i feel it would last you a very long time. However, the lovely team at Skin Chemists have given me a discount code for you all, if you use the code 'BEEOIL2014' at the checkout the Bee Venom Facial Oil can be yours for £29.99 - which seems like such a better price!

I hope you all enjoyed this review! Like always lovelies, if you have any questions, requests or if you just want a chat you can contact me on my social media or leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you all and i make sure to read every single comment…they really make my day!

What are your thoughts on facial oils? Would you incorporate them into you skincare routine?

Lots of Love
*PR Sample
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Tuesday 21 January 2014

Come Join The #AussieParty

Hello My Lovelies,

I hope you are all doing well and are having a fabulous week so far. So, Australia has always been a dream vacation of mine and fingers crossed that reality will be coming true really soon. I have a fun and exciting post for you all today which will introduce a new product by Aussie Hair Care but also to celebrate Australia Day. This coming Sunday (26th January 2014) is Australia Day and to celebrate myself and a few other bloggers will be having an #AussieParty on twitter with Aussie Hair Care. If you have any hair related questions then hair expert Liz Taw and other bloggers will be available during the party to answer any questions you may have. I have already compiled a few questions i want to ask Liz. The idea behind the Twitter Party is to celebrate Australia Day and making sure you have party perfect hair all ready for the festivities you may have planned. I for one have had lots of hairstyle envy and motivation lately with all of the Golden Globes and SAG awards ceremonies lately. Who doesn't love getting dolled up and getting pampered for a change?

The #AussieParty will be on Twitter this Friday (24th January 2014) from 12.30pm - 1.30pm. As it is a Twitter party then the use of the hashtag #AussieParty will be in use so you can easily pick up the feed and get your questions answered by Liz Taw. I for one will be joining in on the Twitter Party and i hope to see you all there too. Also, for all of the Aussie Hair Care fans (including myself, i cannot live without my 3 minute miracle) in February Aussie will be lunching a new product to their line…their '3 Minute Miracle Light Deep Treatment Mousse'. According to Aussie it is a do it all mousse that offers deep nourishment for your hair while being lightweight and very affordable coming in at £4.99. I do love new product releases…I will definitely be giving this new hair saviour a try when it launches.

Like everything you have read so far? Well, that is not everything. Fancy winning the new Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Light Mousse and some other Aussie Hair Care goodies? Be sure to join in on the chat this Friday (24th January 2014, 12.30pm-1.30) and use the hashtag #AussieParty as 10 entries will be selected at random to win either the Ausie Aussome Volume or Aussie Mega range. Sounds pretty amazing right?! Who doesn't love a good ol' twitter chin wag with fellow bloggers, beauty experts and brands?

Click Here for T's & C's :)

Have you tried any Aussie products before? If so which are your favourites? 

Lots of Love

*Sponsored Post
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Saturday 18 January 2014

Chanel Le Vernis | Rouge Noir

Hello My Lovelies,

Hope you are all doing well and are having a fabulous weekend so far. I have had a lovely day out with the family organising some exciting things which will be revealed soon. I made sure to have a well deserved Saturday lie in this morning after having a pretty stressful week at University jam packed with presentations and deadlines. So, to make myself feel better and being the typical girly girl i am i decided to go treat myself to a manicure. Myself and Mamma Meola typical go every month just to treat ourselves and i love our quality time together, gossiping shopping and making plans haha. 

The salon we go to has every single nail polish brand and colour you could think of but occasionally we will bring our own just in case we want something they might not necessarily have. Whilst working with Chanel the last few months i have really fallen in love with their nail polish line. I only have two in my collection so far after giving into temptation over the Christmas season and i can't wait to grow my collection more, they are so divine.


Myself and Mamma Meola decided to get matching nails and use one of my new Chanel polishes #18 Rouge Noir. Rouge Noir is in fact Chanels No.1 selling nail polish and i can see why, it is such a classic and iconic shade that will compliment so many different outfits and occasions. It is very much a typical autumnal shade but who says you can't wear a dark shade like this in the summer time…i love mixing my nail polishes up. 

As you can see from the picture it is very much a deep burgundy shade and two coats was the perfect opaque application for me. In the past i have had Chanel polishes last on my nails up to 3 weeks so i am very excited to see how this shade will hold up. The packaging itself is stunning and the brush is extremely handy and precise. In the salon it took three strokes to apply the polish with no streaking and without making a mess. I know from experience from applying more dark vampy shades that they can tend to get a little messy. I don't mind going back and cleaning up the edges with a cotton bud and nail polish remover but it can get a little time consuming. Drying time was pretty average and under a UV light took around 10 minutes to dry completely with a clear top coat. 

Overall, i am really glad i ventured out and tried a nail polish a little more outside my comfort zone. IT is a stunning shade and i am really loving it so far. Like always lovelies, if you have any questions, requests or if you just want a chat you can contact me on my social media or leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you all and i make sure to read every single comment…they really make my day!

Have you tried any Chanel polishes? Have you got your eye on any particular shades?

Lots of Love
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Friday 10 January 2014

The Perfect Selfie with World Duty Free

Hello My Lovelies,

Hope you are all doing well and are having a fabulous New Year so far! I have literally been glued to my computer doing University work and i seriously cannot wait for the next few months to be over and to graduate in July! It's extremely stressful but it will all be worth it in the end. On a brighter note, I was recently contacted by the lovely team at World Duty Free to take part in their 'Perfect Selfie' challenge. I was literally over the moon as World Duty Free is a treasure chest and great escape whilst at the airport and who doesn't love a cheeky splurge at duty free?! So, i though why not give it my best shot.

They sent me a gorgeous makeup bag with an added 'World Duty Free' luggage tag (so adorable) jam packed full of coveted makeup goodies…my eyes where literally like the heart eyed emoji, i was that excited! I had a little rummage through the makeup bag and discovered lots of amazing makeup goodies and thought they would create the perfect bold lip and smokey eye party look. You would never catch me in a bold red lip as i never used to think they suited me but since being part of the blogging community i have really come out of my comfort zone and got so more confident with my makeup and if you follow me on Instagram then you will see the odd selfie shot with a bold lip…whoop! 



To create my selfie look i firstly applied 'Benefits POREfessional Primer', mainly concentrating on my t-zone area to reduce pores to ensure my base would apply more smoothly. This is an award winning product by benefit that i cannot fault. I have used it in the past under and over makeup and love how it leaves my skin. I then applied 'Estee Lauder Daywear' which is sheer tint release advanced multi-protection anti-oxidant moisturiser with SPF 15. This is a product i have had my eye on for a while after watching countless videos of Nic from Pixiwoo using it. For me personally thank goodness i was having a good skin day as it is such a sheer tinted moisturiser and i would need more coverage. I think this would be the perfect base product for when your on vacation. To complete my base i then applied the famous 'YSL Touche Eclat' under my eyes, on the top of my cheek bones, down my nose and a little on my cupids bow to enhance the dewy glow look from the Daywear, i then applied a tiny amount to my eyelids to act as a primer for my eyeshadow. I have used Touche Eclate in the past but i am so glad i rediscovered it as i have fallen in love with it all over again! To contour and slightly warm up my complexion i added the 'Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer' in all of the classic places like in the hollows of my cheeks, my temples and a light dusting everywhere to enhance a natural glow. This is the first time i have ever used a Guerlain bronzer and it is such a stunning product. The packaging is just divine and i love the embossed logo pressed into the powder. It is a natural bronze shade with slight flecks of shimmer which i adore. I then used 'Benefit's Brow Zings' to enhance and fill in my brows. This was my first time using this product and i now understand why everyone loves it. Its so simple to use, leaves a lovely finish and the mini tweezers that come with it are adorable!

I then reached for the ever so fabulous 'YSL Very YSL Black Edition Palette', it is such a stunning palette and i wish it was a permanent product but it is Limited Edition to World Duty Free, so if you like it grab one whilst you can lovelies. I already used a small amount of the Touche Eclate to primer my eyes and then took the peachy shade and applied it all over my eyelid for a wash of natural colour. I then took the bottom sparkly bronze shade and applied it to the otter corners and crease of my eye to start my smokey eye, i then took the black sparkly shade and added it to the outer corners of my eyes to add a little more definition. It's not a super Kim K smokey eye but i do love a soft neutral esk smokey eye which could be worn to a numerous amount of occasions. Personally, on my eye shape i do love a cat eye wing to finish off my eye makeup, so i sprayed a thin liner brush with MAC Fix+ to create a liner consistency from the black sparkly eyeshadow and run it along my lash line and created a small flick. I then took the gorgeous pinky bubble gum shade blush and sweeped it across my cheek bones which was then accompanies by the white eyeshadow on the tops of my cheek bones, brow bone and inner corners of my eyes to act as a highlight (this is one of my favourite makeup tricks). To finish the eyes i curled my eyelashes and then applied a few generous coats of the best mascara in the entire world (I love it that much) 'Benefit  They're Real' mascara to give me that false lash effect without the need of using actual falsies. 

Last but certainly not least we have the lips. I firstly applied the 'Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Tinted Lip Protectant' to prep my lips ready for the gorgeous red lipstick. the 8 hour range by Elizabeth Arden has always been loved in the Meola household and we always stock up when we can. Once the lip balm settled into my lips i applied the stunning 'Bobbi Brown Lip Colour in Old Hollywood' to my lips. It is such a pigmented, glossy and moisturising red shade and it has become one of my new favourite lipsticks. I have only ever tried other Bobbi Brown product and now i really want to try more lip products. It is a divine Old Hollywood shade which would look fabulous on anyone, it was extremely easy to apply and lasted so well throughout the day. 

Whoop...The selfie look is complete! I would love to know what you think of the finished look and how you would have created the perfect selfie. Overall, this was such an amazing package from World Duty Free and i love every dingle product they included…its a beauty bloggers dream! If you would like to see a full review on a particular product then pretty please let me know. Like always lovelies, if you have any questions, requests or if you just want a chat you can contact me on my social media or leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you all and i make sure to read every single comment…they really make my day!

Lots of Love
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Wednesday 1 January 2014

Balance Me | Shine On Tinted Lip Salve

Hello My Lovelies,

Hope you are all doing well and had a fabulous New Years! I can't quite believe that we have started a brand new year…a year full of possibilities. I am still on Christmas break until next week so i intend on taking every possible opportunity to do something productive. I'm not sure if it is just me but i have set out a type of wish list / new years resolutions for myself and i feel so determined for 2014. I would love to know what some of your resolutions for the new year are?

Whilst working at Chanel over the Christmas and New Year season it has been a definite must keeping my lips in good condition, as the weather has been very unpredictable and quite cold it can take a toll on your lips. I have been mixing up a wide range of lip balms and one that has really helped me especially during those lunch time touch ups prepping my lips for lipstick has been the Balance Me Shine On Tinted Lip Salve in Rose Blush. Balance Me is a lovely natural brand that create some absolutely beautiful skincare goodies and now they have decided to delve into the world of colour. 


These shine on tinted lip salves are a mix between a lip care saviour and lipgloss all wrapped into one amazing product. It is perfect for smoothing, plumping and hydrating lips whilst injecting a rose blush pop of colour. They are currently available in 3 shades, Rose Blush, Nude and Ruby Red and also a Limited Edition shade in Sheer Raspberry and are 100% natural. 

The lip salves are packed full of ingredients that our lips love, a trio of Organic shea, mango and cocoa butter to plump, soften and protect against the elements whilst vitamin and essential fatty acid-laden rose hip, jojoba and virgin coconut oils soothe and hydrate. The combination of the ingredients and oils help prolong hydration power of the lip salves whilst they lock in the colour and glossy shine. As for the colours, they are 100% natural also and are formulated with natural minerals, designed to give a pretty rose blush hue to it's sophisticated natural blend of micra-based tints. Unlike other lip salves and products on the market you can apply it as often as your lips demand for a colourful, silky satin finish. Plus, the handy slanted applicator offers a super quick and mess free application…perfect for the girl on the go!

The Balance Me Shine On Tinted Lip Salves are available to purchase  on the Balance Me website or in a wide range of other stockists like LookFantastic.com, Harvey Nichols, Waitrose and John Lewis. I think these lip salves could be a great dupe or cheaper alternative to the Lancome Juicy Tubes. I would love to know what you think and if you have given them a try before. Like always lovelies, if you have any questions, requests or if you just want a chat you can contact me on my social media or leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you all and i make sure to read every single comment…they really make my day!

Lots of Love
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