Yesterday was the last entry into the 12 Days of Giftmas series but seven of the giveaways are still up and running. I thought I'd just pop up a quick masterpost so you can get your entries in before the rest close!
Happy Christmas!
Caudalie (Micellar Water and Divine Oil) - Closes the 13th of December 2015 at midnight. Willow (€20 gift voucher) - Closes the 14th of December 2015 at midnight. MyLadyBug (3 Month Subscription) - Closes the 15th of December 2015 at midnight. OPSH (Howlite Urban Outfitters Bracelet) - Closes the 16th of December 2015 at midnight. VOYA (Angelicus Serratus Nourishing Body and Massage Oil) - Closes the 17th of December 2015 at midnight. The Zipyard (€30 gift voucher) - Closes the 18th of December 2015. Flormar (2 Lipsticks, 1 Lipgloss, 1 Nail Polish and 1 Blush) - Closes the 19th of December 2015.
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On the sixth day of Giftmas my true love gave to me, French skincare that's chic...
Caudalie is a natural French skincare brand that has highly concentrated and effective formulas, is cruelty free, includes no parabens, uses recyclable and recycled materials in their packaging, tries to minimise its effects on the environment and donates portions of their sales to charitable organisations. As well as having a soul, it's a brand that offers results. They emphasise attention to detail and put some products through up to 200 trials to ensure that they have the most desirable textures. The results are creams, lotions, oils and elixirs that feel soothing and delicious on the skin, that are a joy to use. Their eye cream, in particular, is a personal favourite - the best one I've ever tried.
Which is why they needed to be included in the 12 Days of Giftmas.
"But what, pray tell, might this 12 Days of Giftmas be?" you're probably asking.
The 12 Days of Giftmas is a project that occurred to me last week. An idea that I ambitiously decided to go through with very last minute - I must be a lunatic. It's a sort of advent calendar for me and my readers, a way of saying thank you for reading and rewarding you in a small way. For the first 12 days of December, I will be writing a post every day on a shop, brand or item that would make good gifts. This is instead of the long gift ideas posts I've done in the past and offers a more in-depth look at some amazing companies and things. To complement each post, I've also teamed up with these fantastic brands and will be giving something away each day! So, the 12 Days of Giftmas will give you some gift ideas and the potential to win something for a loved one (or yourself!).
Caudalie, like many beauty brands, do great gift sets for Christmas that suit lots of budgets and offer great stocking filler options. However, if you happen to know someone is looking to try a new cleanser or moisturiser, there's a wide range to choose from depending on their particular skincare concerns. I can't recommend the Polyphenol Anti-Wrinkle Eye & Lip Cream (RRP €25.60) enough for anyone with mature skin or who just likes seriously creamy eye creams. If you're buying a gift for a skincare lover who likes to try out new things, consider their Make-Up Remover Cleansing Micellar (€17.90 for 400ml) water. Admittedly, it's not the sexiest gift in the world, but it's got an awesome pump design which is handy and hygienic, it'll switch things up for Bioderma devotees and it's extremely good value for quite a highend cleanser. Similarly, their Divine Oil (€16.80) is what it says on the tin (or bottle, I guess); divine. Intensely moisturising and pretty to look at, skincare nerds will love it. And, for fans of cult beauty icons, their famous Beauty Elixir (€10.90 for 30ml) is a must. Just spritz it on intermittently throughout the day for a moisture boost and to look refreshed.
When it comes to gift sets, there are a few I'd recommend. The best thing about all of them is that they're really good value. You can get substantial gifts for under €30.00 and rather luxurious ones for more. The likes of Space NK stock really great baubles with bestsellers inside which make fantastic stocking fillers. You can get a 15ml Divine Oil for €9.00 and a 30ml Beauty Elixir for €12.00.
In addition, there are sets like the Hand Cream Trio that has three different beautifully scented hand creams in a pretty presentation box for €13.00 and the Must-Have set with four minis of their key products (including the Beauty Elixir, a cleansing oil, hand cream and moisturiser) for €19.50.
There are many, many more options so if you don't have a massive budget and want to give someone the gift of skincare indulgence, hit them up.
So, if you want to give this amazing brand a go, why not enter my giveaway of two Caudalie bestsellers - the Micellar Water and Divine Oil.
1. Sadly, I can only keep my giveaways open to Ireland this time around. I apologise to those who might disappointed but I have to keep the generous brands that I'm working with in mind!
2. The prize is Caudalie's Micellar Water and Divine Oil.
3. All you need to do is comment below here or on Facebook with who you'd give it to - or if you want it for yourself! However, you must be following me on at least one platform (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin', Tumblr), let me know which one in the comment if it's not obvious!
4. Competition closes a week from now on the 13th of December 2015 at midnight Irish time.
5. Winners will be chosen at random.
6. I will then comment below the winner's comment and ask you to email my official blog email address.
And that's that! Good luck and see you again tomorrow for the next brand and giveaway!
(Thanks to Sally and Caudalie for working with me!)
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Well, horrendously late as this may (heh) be, here's my May Favourites 2015! There's been lots of beauty products that I've liked but I've limited myself to only mentioning the ones I'm truly loving for now, I'm sure the rest will pop up in some other guise or another. In fact, my favourites this month are mostly cultural in nature; music, anime and television. And then there's the appearance of an absolute pillar of beauty in Dublin.
Ore Monogatari (My Love Story is the official English title) is the only anime this month. I often feel I've run through all the anime in the genres I like and I didn't think I'd like this one at all. But something made me give it a go anyway and, damn, if I was wrong! Charming, funny and very sweet, it tells the tale of Takeo, a giant mountain of a teenager who frightens women and girls but is adored for his physical prowess by other boys. His scary appearance belies his very gentle and kind nature. In fact, he's prone to saving strangers on a regular basis without expecting any kind of compensation. When he saves the beautiful Yamato from being groped on the train, she falls in love with him almost instantaneously. Best of all, she loves him, not in spite of how he looks but for it. She genuinely finds him handsome. Cannot recommend this enough, it'll make you happy.
On a very different end of the spectrum is Outlander, which has featured on my favourites before (I think) but has since come back and finished for the season. I was dying for every episode which I find less and less common a trend. If you haven't seen it, go now! It features time-travelling, period drama, beautiful Scottish landscapes (and a particularly beautiful Scottish man) and lots of intensity. The major thing I've taken away from it is that "mo chroí" (my heart in Irish and Scottish) is defo my new favourite pet name.
Then there is the music. I've been going mad for Sorority Noise, a kinda garage rock, fuzzy sort of band that very much remind me of early Weezer. And, again with the opposite ends of a spectrum thing, I'm digging the new EXO album, "Exodus," and its repackage so hard. The danciest, slickest thing I've heard in ages, it's got crazy-on point styling and ridiculously good choreography and MVs.
As I said, I've limited myself with the beauty favourites, so I have just one make-up, one skincare and one service favourite. The make-up pick is Topshop's Cream Blush in Head Over Heels (£7.00). I already spoke about it in my post on their 5 Years of Topshop Beauty Collection but it's basically a really pretty, natural shade that is light on the skin and blends easily and beautifully. The skincare item that I'm mad for at the moment is Caudalie's Polyphenol C15 Anti-Wrinkle Eye and Lip Cream (€36.66*). It's immediately soothing and feels just wonderful on the skin. That it doubles up for eye and lip is especially useful for travelling.
And the service favourite is Tropical Popical, a Dublin nail salon that is quirky, fun and well-established. I dropped in at the start of the month on a Saturday and, luckily, snagged a drop-in appointment. I'd just gotten my hair cut and, while I liked the result, the hairdresser announced there and then that he was cutting six inches off. I'd been thinking about getting rid of a bit for a while but it was around seven years of growth gone instantaneously and wasted on the floor. I'd felt like I couldn't really say no, given how quiet the salon was and how yerman was acting like I was being silly just for questioning him. As I say, I liked the result, I was just a little fragile and taken aback. Which is why the kindness, professionalism and charm of Tropical Popical and their staff made me feel loads better. I got the mini-mani which is reasonable at €15 and I would highly recommend! Great experience all around.
So, that's what I was feeling in May. I'd love to hear about what you guys were into!
(* Press Sample. All opinions are my own.)
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Two words I love, right next to each other: beauty and breakfast. Two things I love, all around me: food and skincare.
LloydsPharmacy sure do know how I like to be woken up!
Yesterday morning at the Gallery of Photography in Temple Bar, LloydsPharmacy hosted a Beauty Breakfast for press and bloggers in order to launch their inaugural own brand of skincare, SKINeffect, alongside their Get Summer Healthy campaign which they say "aims to promote healthy skin and bodies in Ireland over the summer months covering both the cosmetic and nutritional elements that comes with good healthcare practice".
In order to help you do this, you can avail of their Skin Analysis Service in selected stores or fill out a skincare questionnaire and have a custom-built regimen put together just for you. I actually tried this out on the morning with the lovely girls from Dermalogica and learned lots of interesting stuff about my skin. Much I knew but they offered me names for things and solutions. And let me know that the lines on my forehead that have been stressing me out are expression lines and nothing to be overly worried about - thank Christ.
As well as the SKINeffect range, LloydsPharmacy also stock a wide range of other brands across their 87 stores nationwide, including Avene, Caudalie, Clarins, Dermalogica, Eucerin, Trilogy, Neostrata, Nuxe, Revive Active and Udo’s. Their SKINeffect range covers all areas of skincare and is available now. This weekend LloydsPharmacy will be offering special skin checks so, pop into your local store to find out more.
I'm pretty excited to try some of their brands that I've been creeping on from afar but had never had any products from before now. Especially Caudalie (Shout out to how awesome they were on the day! Hi!) and Nuxe.
Right, well I'll just go back to smearing creams on my face. Give your skin love, people, it's your biggest organ!
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