The Best Beauty Advent Calendars for 2014

It's coming up to that time of year again, but whilst you frantically search for that awkward present for the friend from work, who you know is getting you a present, but quite honestly you have no idea what to get them..... read next weeks post for a little help on that one! I've made it simple to buy your advent calendar! But the advent calendar's featured below aren't like your average Cadbury's advent calendar with a Santa and Rudolph stuck on the front, Oh no, this is another ball game. 

Let me introduce.... The Beauty Advent Calendar.

Many cosmetic companies are now joining the club and have cottoned on to the fact that, no, woman aged 18 and above do not want a chocolate advent calendar, we want a box with 24/25(if were lucky) box, housing all manner of beauty products, some to try out, and some of our firm favorites, although, actually i think i'll pop to ASDA and get a Cadbury's one too. It'd be rude not too!

Listed below are my top picks of the beauty advent calendars for this year, follow the links to buy the products, but I would do it pronto as these sell out very quickly!

1. The Selfridges Advent Calendar 2014 

24 beauty products, from brands such as Lancome, Kiehls, Yves Saint Laurent. 

Priced at £85.50 and sells out REALLY FAST!

Selfridges Advent Calendar 2014 - SOLD OUT

2. The Body Shop Beauty Advent Calendar 2014

'24 days of Joy' Any product with this motto on is definitely coming home with me! I have ordered one of these for myself, after seeing all of the products, and the price (£50) I was sold! The little minitures are great for weekends away and holidays, and allow you to test out lots of products, try it before you buy it as they say! 

Featuring Nail Colour, Body Butter, and Shower gels (see website for details)

The Body Shop Advent Calendar 2014- BUY ME

3. You Beauty Discovery Advent Calendar 

Key word - Discovery. I LOVE the look of this advent calendar, so many great brands (Caudalie, rituals, Laura Mercier), it's like Space NK in a box! According to the website its worth £240 in total and it retails at £49.95 (plus delivery) but I think it's one of the best! 

Discover Me - You Beauty Advent Calendar

4. Benefit Advent Calendar - Candy Coated Countdown (nice bit of alliteration there!)

 In at four, is Benefit's 2014 advent calendar, inside this lovely, candy themed packaging are 24 mini benefit beauty treasures, such as Benetint, Badgal lash, and they're real. I think this advent calendar would be a great gift for a younger girl, who's just discovering makeup, as it is ideal for trying and testing and the packaging is easy on the eye! RRP £60

Benefit Advent Calendar 2014 - See all product details here

5. THE ULTIMATE BEAUTY ADVENT CALENDAR! - wait for it - 

The Jo Malone Advent Calendar

(available instore only)

First of all, look at it! It's bloomin gorgeous! Although £250, who wouldn't pay that amount for such beauty, I can't seem to find any information online, and after asking in store, they confirmed it is instore only. A girl can dream.... 

Amy

xxx

Clinique - Take the Day Off cleansing balm REVIEW

Today I'm going to review this cleansing balm by Clinique, this is the first cleansing balm I've tried and I've been lusting after Emma Hardie's super popular Moringa cleansing balm for months, but the hefty price tag has often put me off, enter Clinique! After watching Tanya Burr's skincare routine on YouTube  a while ago I instantly wanted to give this cleansing balm a go.

The take the day off range for Clinique is a popular one, containing a cleansing 'bar', a cleansing milk, a makeup remover and this cleansing balm. The price of the product comes in at a reasonable £21, more affordable than that of Emma Hardie status.

Should you buy this product?
If you like the luxury of a product, for example the scent and easy on the eye packaging, then no, this product isn't for you, head down to Space NK and stock up on Ms Hardie. However if you prefer a no fuss, no frills, and sensitive skin is one of your concerns, this cleansing balm might just fit the bill.

Value for Money?
Yes it may be a lot more money that of your average run of the mill make up remover, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for, and seen as though a little goes a long way with this product, I would say it does have value for money... Always a bonus in my eyes. 

Does it contain Mineral Oils?
Although I often read and listen to beauty You tubers banging on about mineral oils, I can't say I've ever taken much notice of this seemingly influential ingredient. However I understand that this product is free from these pesky oils and would definitely say I'm going to be steering clear of products that may contain them as my skin is looking it's best ever, I'd be a fool to go back to them.  

How to use:
Scoop out a finger tip sized amount of product and apply to a dry face, you'll notice the balm soon turns to an oil as you work it in to your skin, after you feel the product has combined with your makeup, you have 2 options, one, rinse off with warm water, or, as I prefer to do, use a muslin cloth or a flannel to wipe away the remaining makeup. I feel that this technique allows you to ensure all the days makeup is truly cleansed off. 


Where can I get my hands on it?
Online is your best bet. I've tried every shop in London, Manchester and Liverpool and NO ONE stocks this popular balm, Clinique please sort it out! But John Lewis often have it in stock on their website, and if they don't, they'll email you alerting you when they do - Genius!

All in all, you need it! What are you waiting for! Head over to John Lewis now!

Buy Here - Clinique Cleansing Balm

A Trip to Liverpool

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A New Year means a new found dedication to writing blog posts weekly and sticking to a schedule, I promise! So from now on there will be a new blog post going live every Monday evening at 8pm sharpish so keep your eyes peeled this coming Monday (the 13th FYI).

Recently I took a little shopping spree to Liverpool with one of my Uni friends, and as is always the case, my intentions lay in buying some clothes, specifically t-shirts which I desperately need but... Why buy t-shirts when you can buy make-up, skincare, and basically anything from Boots? So with that my haul begins!

Forever 21 'beagle' t-shirt £11.50

Forever 21 Elephant earrings £1.60

Maybelline Baby Skin Pore eraser £7.99

Real techniques - core collection £21.99

NARS Laguna bronzer £26

On a side note, presuming your a beauty junkie like myself, Liverpool is a great city to visit to get some good beauty shopping done! Harvey Nichols recently opened a store dedicated to beauty 'The Beauty Bazaar' which is just off Liverpool one on Manesty's Lane, near Urban outfitters. The Bazaar houses all the favuorites including NARS, MAC, Benefit, Bobbi Brown, and so much more. Check out their website for more information http://www.harveynichols.com/beautybazaar

A Little Bit of LUSH Lovin'

Last week I decided to have a scope around my local LUSH store as I'd seen so many youtuber's and bloggers mentioning their Christmas collection. 

Does anyone else LOVE the heavenly smell of the store? Even when your just passing by!

So after having a little looksie (half an hour to forty minutes, not gonna lie!) i decided to pick up a couple of things, but the stand out item was 'Star Light, Star Bright Bath Melt' Oh My! 

Retailing at £3.30 for 40g I think this is an absolute bargain for the pure luxury it adds to bath time.

The smell of this product is define, LUSH describe the scent as 'Refreshing ginger and zesty lime oil' which I think describes the smell really well.

The star light, star bright bath melt is creamy and leaves skin soft to the touch, it also leaves a silver sparkly residue, of which some may not like but I love! I'm planning on having a bath using this product before I attend a wedding in a couple of weeks time to give me that glowing skin look!

Let me know if you'd like an outfit of the day of my wedding outfit!

Amy xxx