Category Archives: beauty news

L’Occitane Anniversary Giveaway: 40 Years, 40 Prizes!

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l'occitane 40th anniversary giveaway

I have a rather special giveaway for you; as part of their 40th Anniversary celebrations, gorgeous beauty brand L’Occitane have forty prizes to give away to UK readers of A Model Recommends. And that’s not all: the forty winners will be able to pick their own prize! They can choose any one product from L’Occitane, whether that’s a simple bar of soap or a pot of luxury cream.

I have to say that I’d be really stuck if I was asked to pick one product from L’Occitane; I’m a habitual user of the Almond Milk Concentrate Cream (an unctuous, beautifully scented body treat) but the Divine Cream for face would be very high up on my list – it’s a little pot of luxury.

l'occitane 40th anniversary giveaway

Or there’s the set of special editions that have been given a makeover to mark the brand’s 40th – the Verbena Eau de Toilette with its pretty new box, the Lavender Foaming Bath with its decorative bottle, the rough cut soaps with their crushed lavender and verbena pieces…

l'occitane 40th anniversary giveaway

What would you go for? If you had to just pick one L’Occitane product? Do have a think, because your beauty wish might just come true! To be in with the chance of winning a L’Occitane prize, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling me which product you’d pick (don’t worry, your decision isn’t final) and make sure that you enter your email into the form where prompted so that I can get in touch if you win. Please see terms and conditions below before submitting your entry – good luck!

  1. The Competition starts at 7.45am on 21st July 2016 and closes at 12 noon on 28th July 2016. Any entries received outside the Competition Period will be void.
  2. One entry per person. Bulk, automatically generated or third party entries are void.
  3. 40 winners will win ANY single product of their choice from L’Occitane. Gift sets and special kits are not part of the competition. There are no runner(s)-up.
  4. The winner will be selected at random from all valid entries for this competition received before the closing date.
  5. The winner will be notified by email within seven days after the Closing Date. All reasonable endeavours will be made to contact the winner during the specified time.  If a winner does not respond within 14 days with their chosen product, cannot be contacted or is not available, the Promoter reserves the right to re-draw another winner from the valid/correct entries that were received before the Closing Date.
  6. The prize is non-transferable and there are no cash alternatives to the prize in whole or in part.
  7. Open to United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland residents aged 18 or over only.
  8. Standard terms and conditions for competitions apply.

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My Beauty Interview in Canary Wharf Magazine

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canary wharf magazine

I am absolutely terrible at keeping track of interviews and little features that I’ve done. I do collect the clippings and links, but actually the most efficient way of archiving them is to pop them into the website and so here’s my latest Q&A, recorded for posterity. It’s for the very glossy and lovely Canary Wharf magazine, and you can read the full pages online by clicking here. It’s on pages 64 and 65. I thought that the questions they asked were very good, at the time, and they’ve written the answers up as little “soundbites” – I like their style.

 Canary Wharf Magazine

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July Favourites

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july favourites

July favourites, including a response to some of the comments on my Best Budget Foundations video and one new product that I just don’t get. I don’t usually include dislikes in my favourites videos (mainly because they are supposed to be about things I love) but this particular product really took me by surprise.

You’ll have to click play to find out what it is – as usual all of the products are listed below the video pane. Enjoy!

BUDGET FOUNDATION VIDEO: https://youtu.be/rS7ZrOgDZmo

TILI BEAUTY BOX VIDEO (contains advertorial): https://youtu.be/0WPSFv0ff_4

This Month’s Favourites (and a Dislike!):

H&M Top: http://goo.gl/oLx7Hi

L’Oreal True Match – 23 shades: http://tidd.ly/52b55758

Effaclar Unifiant: http://tidd.ly/fe94f23a

Chanel Le Vernis

Eucerin Hyaluron Filler Eye Cream – didn’t even realise this was SPF15! http://tidd.ly/c0d7560e

Eyeko Skinny Mascara: http://tidd.ly/267ff347

Bourjois Mascara Volume Reveal: http://tidd.ly/b28f1422

Neal’s Yard Frankincense Cleanser

Dior Rouge Lipstick in Souffle Nude: http://tidd.ly/a67cc7d3

Becca Backlight Priming Filter: http://bit.ly/2a8MdoL

Origins GinZing Peel-Off Mask: http://tidd.ly/5978ce2c

The post July Favourites appeared first on A Model Recommends.

© 2016 A Model Recommends®: all opinions are my own and any sponsored or paid posts will always be very clearly marked. I accept press samples and receive product and services to review as part of my job. Outward links to retailers will usually be affiliate links. Please see here for full “about” section and disclaimer.  A Model Recommends and Ruth Crilly are registered trademarks.

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Baby Worries, Globetrotting and a New No5

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passport and chanel no5

I’m doing a bit of globetrotting this week. Actually, it’s more like France-trotting, or even, if we’re getting really specific, south-of-France-trotting. I’m in Grasse until Wednesday night and then at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday and Saturday. The Grasse trip is with Chanel, who are launching a brand new No5 fragrance – huge news. Huge! I shall update you as and when I have more information to share, but I imagine that this  will get quite a few people hot under the collar  – my Mum actually squealed when I told her. She’s a die-hard No5 fan. But then she also frequently douses herself in Coco Mademoiselle, and enjoys the odd spritz of Chance, so (secretly) I don’t think she’s picky – she just loves Chanel. Who doesn’t.

baby hand chanel no5

I’m quite anxious about my week away because of the baby. I’ve only ever left her for a night before, so two nights is quite a leap! Then I’m back home for a night before taking off again – I’m worried she’ll forget me. Is that a rational sort of worry to have? Should I tape a picture of my face to the inside of her cot? Perhaps record my voice onto dictaphones and hide them around the house, to begin playing at random times, controlled by me from my iPhone? Ha – that would be creepy.

But on the other hand: three days, two nights? All to myself? What a boon. I can’t wait. I’ve been planning the contents of my suitcase for about a month. Here’s what’s in my beauty bag, so far:

beauty bag contents

If you’re thinking “she’s just picked out all of the monochrome stuff so that her photo looks all trendy and nice” then you’d be right. I’m always perplexed by people who moan that blog pictures aren’t “real” enough, that “what’s in my handbag” photos should include torn receipts and tampons and bits of baby food stuck to mouldy plastic spoons. Who the hell wants to look at that? Surely you’d just peer into your own handbag? Give me a lovely clean pic any day, everything nicely arranged so that you can see the labels. Ta ever so.

I might do some mini reviews of the bits and pieces in the picture – the foundation is an old favourite, but there are plenty of new things there that I’ve recently started to test. The eye makeup remover is exceptional, I think, and I have high hopes for the new Chanel SPF – it’s so light and fresh-feeling.

suitcase contents lk bennett and chanel

Things that are definitely going in the suitcase: my camera (Canon Powershot GX7, brilliant, see here), my Whistles T-Shirt (here), my little Chanel bag (it’s tiny, I don’t even want to talk about it, I don’t know what I was thinking) and my Trench courts from L.K. Bennett. Can I just say that these shoes are perfect – perfect – mid-heelers. They look sexy, smart and flattering but are a cinch to walk in. Since pregnancy, during which my body decided that it would be a good idea to disintegrate the bones in my ankles and replace them with what feels like chewed up toilet tissue, I find it incredibly difficult to walk in high heels.

lk bennett floret heels

These – the Floret – are just right. My sole-mates. (See what I did there?) L.K. Bennett have 30% off lots of the Floret styles at the moment – not the shade above, but they do have beautiful ivory, rose pink and black nappa leather as well as marshmallow patent (gorgeous), printed patterned leather and bright suede finishes. They are all here – the code for 30% off is CC30. I’m dithering between the rose pink and the ivory. Great for the three summer weddings I have coming up… The discount takes the shoes down to around £117.

More on the contents of my suitcase later on – I have splashed out on a new case as my trusty old red one was starting to look very tatty. Fifteen years excellent service – if suitcases could tell stories…

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