Elemental Herbology: The Eye Elixir

Elemental Herbology Eye Elixir Review

I know that most of the time, if we’re choosing an eye cream to wear beneath makeup we want a formula that sinks in nicely and doesn’t leave a slippery residue. We want a cream that will disappear but leave the skin smooth and soft, plump out creases so that makeup doesn’t sit in the lines and – ultimately – prime the eye area so that it feels comfortable but firmer and refreshed. (Quite a big ask, when you think about it!)

But over the past six months or so, I have felt the need for something much more moisturising around my eyes – they have often felt dry and tired and I haven’t really enjoyed so much the feeling of a “refreshing” gel or “cooling” roll-on. I’ve felt a distinct beauty yearning for a very rich formula with a nourishing feel, something to wear on days off when I’m not really that fussed about prepping for makeup. Though the Eye Elixir from Elemental Herbology does, in fact, sit perfectly well underneath makeup, it has a really gorgeous long-lasting moisturising effect that feels comforting and protective. I know that “residue” isn’t usually seen as a positive thing, but sometimes I feel as though I want that layer left over, almost like a protective barrier.

And so I like the Eye Elixir because it feels so rich and nourishing, but actually the texture is quite lightweight and refreshing. There’s no heaviness to it at all – sometimes with a rich cream, you can feel as though the moisture is collecting in your eye bags! – it’s sort of energising, really, rather like one of those metal-ball-rollers, except without the extreme cooling effect.

I feel as though you get the best of both worlds with this one – long-lasting, rich moisturisation but with a light, almost delicate feel. It’s not the cheapest eye cream out there, but neither is it anywhere near the price of some of the luxury creams I’ve tried that have disappeared after an hour, leaving my eye area as crepey and baggy-feeling as it was to start with..

Elemental Herbology Eye Elixir Review

The only thing I don’t like so much is that because it takes a little while to sink in – you get a bit of white residue on the skin – it’s not ideal if you’re really rushing to do your makeup. But I’ve addressed that already, I suppose, and I’ve said that I like the residue, so I can’t have things both ways. No other gripes whatsoever, I’ve ploughed through this and it’s not often I stick with an eye cream until the end. I like the fact that it’s packaged in a pump and I don’t have to take off the lid from a pot or tube – it’s a true one-handed product, just press down on the top and out comes the eye cream. I sort of wish all eye creams were packaged like this. Clean, convenient and easy to cart about, they’ve even managed to keep it quite streamlined and non-bulky – I have eye things in similar packaging that are over twice this size for the same 15ml!

More eye cream reviews…

The blurb-bumf says that this elixir has a “botox-like effect” from its plant-based anti-aging ingredient and L-Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to stimulate collagen production and protect against UVB and UVA damage. There’s also a gentle astringent to firm the skin, powerful peptides to help with eye bags, Hematite (?) and Kombuchka (??) to restore tone and radiance, Blue Green Algae to help smooth and re-densify the skin and Macadamia Nut Oil, Aloe Vera, Yerba Santa, Rose Water and Lavender Oil nourish, soften and soothe the delicate eye region. Bloody hell. It’s not shy on things it can do, is it?

You can find the Elemental Herbology Eye Elixir at FeelUnique here, it’s £43. If you’re after a similarly rich-but-not-heavy eye moisturiser with a lighter price tag then take a look at my review of the Aveda Botanical Kinetics eye cream here. And for a lighter-lighter price tag, fear not: I’m on it. Testing in progress.

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BBB Beauty Box III

This time, I’ve teamed up with Latest In Beauty for The BBB Dream Box – number three in the BBB Beauty Box Line-up. I remember doing the first one and said I’d never do another! But, here we are… all 15 of the products are described in the video above, but if you’re in a rush or you just want to cut to the chase, the list of products is below.

I’ve selected fifteen amazing, and more importantly, effective, beauty products that I hope you’re going to have fun trying
out. Some brands are trusted friends, others are very welcome new discoveries, but each and every one of them brings something pleasurable to the beauty party and all have been tried and tested by me. The box is worth over £100 (we didn’t even have room for tissue paper this time!). Inside the box, you’ll also find offers from the brands as well as more information about why they’re the perfect choice for the BBB Beauty Box.

BBBBeautyBoxIII

I hope you enjoy The Dream Box – the third BBB Beauty Box – this time with Latest in Beauty – and all feedback is positively welcomed and encouraged. The link below bypasses the member log-in on Latest in Beauty, but I’d encourage you to join anyway if you’re a beauty box fan. It’s what they do!

Box Link: http://bit.ly/1qRJzFO

BBB/LIB Box is £19.95 (including postage)

Inside the box:

Benefit It’s Potent Eye Cream 3.0g (RRP £4.90)
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Full Size (RRP £19)
Elemis Treat Your Feet 20ml (£5.60)
L’Occitane Lotion Divine 50ml (£10)
Essie Spring Collection Nail Lacquer Full Size in 5 variants (RRP £7.99)
Ren Satin Perfection BB Cream 3ml (RRP £1.56)
Charlotte Tilbury Kiss (1 of 3 shades) (RRP N/A)
La Roche-Posay Eau Thermal 50ml (RRP £3.50)
Roger & Gallet Gingimbre Rouge 1.5ml (80p)
Janjira Art of Siam Hand Wash 50ml in two variants (RRP £3.50)
Lola Kabuki Brush (RRP £19)
Makeup Revolution Palette Full Size in 3 variants (RRP £4)
Bourjois Creme Blush Full Size in 2 variants (RRP £7.99)
KNEIPP Herbal Bath Full Size in 2 variants 100ml (RRP £7.95)
Bee Good Honey & Wild Water Mint Cleansing Water Full Size 100ml (RRP £10)
Postage Details: Postage is free and available to UK and Northern Ireland. We are not able to ship internationally. If you are Ireland based, don’t forget ParcelMotel.

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Giorgio Armani Bright Ribbon Collection

Giorgio Armani Bright Ribbon

The Giorgio Armani Bright Ribbon Collection is an unexpected mid-season capsule of six new shades for lips and six new shades for nails. It’s a mix of pastel and bright juicy shades that are really summery and fresh. Created for Giorgio Armani by Linda Cantello, inspiration is a summer garden. Above, from bottom clockwise: Coral 305, Coral 306, Plum 603 and Pink 509.

Bright Ribbon Swatch

As you can see, they’re sheer with a lovely sheen to them without being high gloss.

Bright Ribbon Nails

Nails are again a mix of brights and pastels – that creamy orange (501) is calling my name! My sample boxes are only numbered, not named so starting with pink and going clockwise: 300, 500 and 706.

The Giorgio Armani Bright Ribbon Collection launches this month so keep your eyes peeled for a splash of summer.

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The Luxe Hair Fragrance with a Touch of Shine

luxe shine spray

My Colab Luxe Shine hair fragrance is out! Sorry for the delay, I think I was slightly premature with my excitement when I started doing a song and a dance about it a few weeks ago. But you can now find it at both Superdrug and Feelunique – it’s £4.99 for a 200ml can (£3.99 at Superdrug at the moment) and if you love dark and oudy fragrances then this will be right up your street. There are notes of Bergamot, Oud and Cashmere so it’s a really warm and sexy scent – grown-up rather than girly, woody rather than sweet.

There’s a light sheeny shine from this fragrance spray thanks to the precious oils in the formula – it’s perfect for adding just a touch of gloss to finished hairstyles. It’s very lightweight, so great for fine hair (like mine) that can easily be overwhelmed with heavy glossing products, but do still tread carefully – a little goes a long way, so start with a spritz and build up if you feel you need more. I like to use my fingertips to work the spray through the lengths and ends, it gives my hair a kind of piecey definition that looks very casual and undone. It’s also quite brilliant for spraying down the length of a ponytail to give it some gleam.

If you want to see the spray in action, check out my September Favourites video. It’ll be making another appearance very soon, I’m planning quite a glamorous video using the Dolce & Gabbana AW15 makeup collection and I want my hair to look supremely amazing.

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Weekly Window Shop: The Best Nude Court Shoes

best high heels

Welcome to this week’s shopping obsession: nude court shoes. I need some to finish off my “key spring outfit”, which is my faux-leather Karen Millen skirt with wrap blouse/Hush cashmere/soft marl t-shirt. Nude – or beige – shoes also look incredibly chic with everything from stonewashed jeans to cocktail dresses – they are as much a wardrobe staple as the LBD.

Key criteria for my nude shoes? Not too high (my ankles seem to have completely lost the ability to hold me upright in high shoes since having the baby), slender heel, non-patent finish and preferably a pointed toe rather than round. Though you’ll see that I did go a bit off-piste, mainly because my friend Rach kept sending me tantalising links to other styles…

lk bennett best nude shoes

Let’s start with the favourites – Floret from L.K. Bennett in soft nappa leather, pictured above. These are just perfect, really; a great heel height that gives shape to the legs but is easy to walk in and leather in a sophisticated beige tone. Not “elastoplast nude” but a posh, smart neutral. I love these. They are £175 here. (There’s 25% off site-wide with the Grazia code GRX25 at the moment – not on this shoe style, unfortunately, but on most others.)

jimmy choo agnes suede pumps best nude shoes

Jimmy Choo’s Agnes suede pumps only just miss out on the top spot because I fear I would wreck them within the first day. I’ve had suede before and on the second wear I walked straight into a London Puddle. (As we all know, a London Puddle is no ordinary puddle – the surface has a thick layer of oil and essence of dead bird and the main body of liquid comprises of 50% alcohol-wee and 30% spilt mocha-choca-latte. The remaining 20% is probably a mixture of acid rain and commuters’ tears.) But – my God – these shoes are elegant, aren’t they? View them from all angles (you really want to) at Jimmy Choo here. The Agnes in nude suede, £395.

aldo suede pump in bone

ALDO, handily, have a more affordable suede pump for those who need to negotiate London Puddles – not quite so heart-achingly slender but pointy and stiletto-heeled and in a beautiful bone shade. You can find them online here – they’re £65.

dune claudette woven pumps best nude shoes

OK, let’s go off-target for a moment, because these woven open-toe beauties from Dune are – as my friend Rach says – very Chloe. The heel on the Claudette is slightly higher than my ankles can easily handle, but I’d sacrifice a bit of bodily wear-and-tear for these. Ha. Find them here – they also do them in a deeper shade.

best nude high heel shoes

Still off on a bit of a tangent; these Coach pumps take a classic pointy-toe court and add something of a hard edge. On a sidenote, I have to say that I am incredibly impressed with Coach’s customer service; they made a bit of an error with a Christmas present I bought and they could not have handled it better. (I shop online under my married name, so I didn’t get any special treatment!) You can find the beadchain pump in “beechwood” here – it’s £225.

office melanie shoes

And finally, the Melanie almond-toe court heels in suede. I realise that half of the shoes here have been suede and so are quite incompatible with the whole walking-around-London scenario, but they do look so soft and enticing, don’t they? I’d invest in a big can of suede protector if you’re going down this route… The Melanie heels are £50 online here.

Next week could be a round-up of the best Egyptian cotton sheets and duvet covers. I must have spent around thirty hours obsessing over the different thread counts and comparing prices but I’m worried that people are clicking away from my Weekly Window Shop in their droves! Ha.

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