Aromatherapy Associates

Sweet Samples

Beauty samples can be great or they can be difficult to access and annoying to use. I have uncovered a cache of very lovely beauty product samples in my makeup area. I have the tendency to hoard the good ones. I'm not talking about your usual vial of perfume here, but mini sample sized top shelf beauty products. Here are some of the best which I have vowed to use up in the coming weeks. 

I'm sorry I didn't photograph this before tearing it open and trying it out but such was my love for it. This came included in my online Sephora order and it is the YSL Vernis A Levres Rebel Nudes sample pack containing three beautiful colours and a mini lip brush. These lip stains are lovely and have gone straight to the top of my duty free wish-list. Ten points to YSL for the inclusion of the lip brush.

By Terry Nutri-Regenerating Firming Lift-Oil - how cute is this little bottle? This is a clear example of a skin sample which I will definitely use. I have almost been too scared to try the By Terry skincare. I love there makeup so much that trying their skincare can only lead to many purchases on the horizon. Watch this space.

By Terry Terrybly Densiliss Foundation. I was lucky enough to be given this sample in the exact match to my skintone by the makeup artist in the By Terry store in Paris. In fact, she gave me two of them. So handy for when you are travelling light and don't want to take entire bottles of product with you. I'm off to Paris in April and these will certainly be coming with me.

Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil. Once again a magical, easy to open bottle of goodness that is just begging to be used up. Perfect to throw in your bag for a weekend away. 

Things that make me happy ....

I've been a little bit lazy on the blogging front lately. I was flying along, all super organised in February and then March hit and I hit a mental wall. There are so many beauty blogs out there and so many people writing blasé reviews and for a while I lost the love of it.

I've decided to get back to basics. The reason I started blogging in the first place was to have an outlet to tell people about the products that I love. So here are some things that are making me happy right now. Plain and simple.

Stila cheek palette - i'm embracing the powder blush and it feels good. Part of my Sephora haul from last week, this slim blush palette features 5 shades, all of which are a little bit different to my standard pink-toned blush that I use daily. You can find it here for $16 USD / £10.14.

Mavala Nail Polish in Ivory Beige. In case you hadn't noticed, nude nails are all the rage right now. This one is the perfect nude without being too white as I fear some of these new nudes have a tip-ex effect which i'm not that into. The mini bottle and price also means I won't feel guilty when the trend swings back to dark nails again - £3.40 at here

Aromatherapy Associates bath oil gift set - I have finally delved into my Christmas present. These really are the rolls royce of bath oils. While I find the price a little hard to swallow (£39 for the standard sized bottle ... ouch), they are far superior to any others on the market. The set is £32 here.

My Favourite Things - October

I thought I would share a few of my favourite makeup  and beauty things that I have discovered throughout the month of October. 

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MUA Matte Palette. MUA just keep delivering with these amazingly well priced palettes. It features 10 matt shades which was exactly  what I need as my eyeshadow collection was weighing far too heavily on the shimmery side. Seriously, it is only £4.00 pounds here and the quality is great. You can't go wrong! They ship internationally too.

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Aromatherapy Associates De-Stress Muscle Gel. This stuff is dreamy. Rubbed on after a night time bath, it encourages an extra deep sleep. I got this inside the Liberty Beauty Bag a while back and it has been a great discovery. The full size of this product is currently on sale for £17.60 here, with free international shipping. I am also a massive fan of the Aromatherapy Bath Oils .. check them out, they are amazing! 

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Karla Cosmetics Face Charts. Created by the amazingly talented Karla Powell, I had been searching for something like this for a long time. Having previously been using MAC face charts I had stolen off the web (i'm sorry MAC) and printed on copy paper, the paper quality on these ones is lovely. Karla is also currently holding a competition - the creator of the best face chart will be assisting Karla on one of her upcoming shoots. I am working on my entry right now! You can buy these here for £11.00.

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Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush is the perfect berry stain for my lips right now. More details here

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Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. This is still my current favourite luxe splurge. I have been using it on myself and on photo shoots and i'm loving it. More detailed review here

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I can't wait to see what favourites November throws up for me.