Shiseido: IBUKI Holiday Gift Kit.

IBUKI means “inner strength” in Japanese and this skin care collection helps correct imperfections, dryness and roughness while providing optimal hydration. IBUKI helps strengthen skin resistance for clear and stable skin everyday.

Every year before Christmas most of the skin and make up brands release Christmas gift sets and each year there is a wider variety. I always get some Christmas sets for myself, as it’s a great way to try out new products and the sets are great value for money.

The first holiday kit I bought from feel unique was the IBUKI holiday kit. It comes in a lovely white and red box and it contains 4 products and costs £42. The value of the box is actually £73. It contains the following four products: 

1. IBUKI refining moisturiser 50ml. 

2. IBUKI general cleansing foam 30ml 

3. IBUKI softening concentrate lotion 15ml. 

4. Shiseido ultimate power infusing concentrate 10ml.

As it says on the feel unique description this set is multi-functioning, hydrating skin care range, specifically formulated for women in their 20s to early 30s. I purchased this set for my daughter she really loves these products and has been using them in her morning routine. I am way past my 20s but sometimes I use the moisturiser as well in the morning before applying my make up and I actually really like it. It’s a very light moisturiser and isn’t greasy, it feels very smooth on the skin and absorbs very fast so I can do my foundation promptly and now I’ve been thinking I might purchase this moisturiser for myself as well. I have used this product in combination with my Shiseido ultimune power concentrate and its a very good combo for my skin in the morning. This is a very good holiday gift kit and isn’t too pricey for the 4 products when usually just the moisturiser costs £42. So I'm definitely thinking of purchasing another kit for myself and as a present as well.

You can purchase it at http://www.feelunique.com/p/Shiseido-Ibuki-Holiday-Kit-59419 for £42.

Best Christmas present this year.

 I was searching for a gift for my kid for this year, and its so difficult to find them gifts after a certain age because they have everything they need and they don’t really know what they want either. I knew that my daughter always wanted a Polaroid camera but she wanted the digital one where you can pick the pictures to print, but in my opinion it wasn’t a very good idea because she’s always taking pictures on her phone. 

A few weeks ago I was watching my favourite youtuber for her Christmas gift goodies and she was talking about the Polaroid Zip portable printer and I was so happy I found something I knew my daughter would love and use. 

So we bought the printer and we were so excited we gave it to her early and she absolutely loves it. I honestly think it’s the best gift for anyone because we all take pictures al the time but no one prints them anymore so they just sit on our phones or computers but this way some of the best photos can be printed and will appear in the photo album or in collages or in a diary. 

The best part of this is the Zink paper it prints on can double as a sticker as well you can peel the back off and stick it on anywhere!

After buying the printer you need to download the Polaroid zip app onto your smartphone or tablet. The app has 6 access buttons:

1. Quick Print
2. Edit Print
3. Secret View
4. Collage
5.  Name Card
6.  My Zip

They each have the option of either going to your gallery or to the camera if you want to take and print a picture straight away. You connect the printer and the app via Bluetooth and use the My

Zip area to check the printer’s status.

1.  Quick print is an option if you’ve got a picture ready to print straight away or if you have previously edited it and you’re ready to print now. You will be able to pick the amount of that picture you'd like to print
2.  Edit Print this option allows you to pick a single picture and edit the photo before printing. You can add stickers to it, resize the image, add effects, rotate and draw on it.
3.  Secret View allows you to edit pictures and save them into that section and come back and edit it at a later time. You can also add text in this setting, stickers a voice message, a contact and a URL. 
   
4. Collage: Here you can choose pictures to create a collage, you can add up to 9 images however you’ve got to remember the print size for the printer is about 2”x3” so if you do choose to print 9 images as a collage they will be fairly small.
5. Name Card: You can create a name card with your picture on it, add your details and use it as a label
   
   for maybe laptops, phones, luggage tags and any other uses you need. Could be very useful for friends who are teachers and need to label students books!
6. My Zip: Allows you to check your printer’s status, where to buy more Zink paper and has a device manual.

It’s such an amazing gift; my daughter has started a photo book where she is sticking in memories from the year, it’s so easy to use and lightweight so you can bring it with you anywhere. You can also get it in a variety of colours to suit the person you’re buying for or alternatively if you’re buying it for more than one person in the same household they wont forget whose is whose. This is the perfect gift for anyone from scrap bookers to photo lovers and so many more.

You can buy it at http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00XM0XWUA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00 for £109.99

Lookfantastic November Beauty Box.

This is box number 2 from the lookfantastic limited edition collection. This collection has only 3 boxes with a Christmassy print on the box. It's the second box I have purchased from this collection; it contains 6 products and a beauty box booklet with product descriptions and details.

The lookfantastic beauty box monthly subscription is £15 with free postage and packaging. You can also get a 3,6 or 12 month subscription as well. From all the beauty box subscription boxes that I have previously purchased; I think the lookfantastic box is the best. It has the most variety of mini products, not just samples but mini actual travel size products, which help to develop an opinion of the product as you can get more use out of them to decide whether it works for you. I order the lookfantastic box in order to discover new brands and products, with this box I can try out 6 products for £15 which is a fantastic deal and opportunity as I won't be wasting hundreds of pounds on products that in the end may not suit me.

In this box I received the following products:

• Bellapierre: Full size Mineral Lipstick
• Korres: Guava Shower Gel
• Ole Henriksen: Empower Foaming Milk Cleanser
• Dr Pawpaw: Tinted Ultimate Red Balm
• Ren: V-Cense Youth Vitality Day Cream
• Kebelo: Enriching Masque

Bellapierre: Mineral Lipstick

It’s a full size lipstick in a gorgeous shade of red and the price of this product is normally £11.99 in the shops but in the box you get the lipstick along with 5 other products which is such a great deal. It's a beautiful mineral lipstick that has been formulated with natural waxes and rich mineral pigments.  The lipstick is 100% natural and the formula delivers a long lasting, nourishing colour.  I am not a big fan of red lipsticks but my daughter suits reddy types of lipsticks much better than I do so I barely managed to take a picture of it for the blog before she took it from me.

Korres: Guava Shower Gel

Korres is a Greek company founded in 1996 in Athens by a pharmacist. The products are based on natural ingredients. I used some of the Korres products before and I really liked their products and I am looking forward to using this shower gel. As it says in the booklet this product is rich in vitamins C & E, zinc and antioxidant enzymes. It enhances the skins immune system.

Ole Henrikson: Empower Foaming Milk Cleanser

It comes in a 30ml travel size bottle. According to the booklet this foaming milk cleanser transforms into a creamy lather effortlessly dissolving all traces of dirt and make up while helping to preserve the skins moisture. The recommended usage of it is: both in the morning and evening. I love Ole Henrikson products and I hope this one isn’t going to disappoint me.

Dr Pawpaw Tinted Ultimate Red Balm.

The balm is limited edition specifically released for Christmas. It contains natural ingredients including fermented PawPaw, Olive Oil and Aloe Vera. I tried this product as soon as I got it and it feels very good on my lips, the balm applies very nicely and doesn’t feel greasy, as well as giving my lips a touch of colour.

Ren: V-Cense Youth Vitality Day Cream

It comes in a 15 ml tube. I have heard a lot of great things about this brand and it is my first product, so I'm very much looking forward to using it. In the booklet it says this product is a multi-active daily moisturiser that prevents and minimises the appearance of premature ageing, the skin stays hydrated, protected and glowing.

 

Kebelo: Enriching Masque

The aim of the product is to give soft-textured tresses (locks of hair) and comes in a travel size tube. It’s designed for naturally dry hair to give it rich moisture, nourishment and shine. This is my first time using this product so it will be very interesting to see whether it's compatible with my hair.

You can buy this product at:  http://www.lookfantastic.com/beauty-box/lookfantastic-beauty-box-subscription/11140463.html?widget_id=124656 for one £15 payment for the current/next months box or via subscription.

E.L.F haul (it’s back in the UK)

E.L.F stands for eyes, lips and face, it is a cosmetics company based in New York, USA. The company creates skin care products, make up and professional tools including make up brushes and sponges. The company clearly states on its website that all their products are “cruelty free” and they are all based on minerals.

Scrolling through my bloglovin' subscriptions I noticed E.L.F was back in the UK so the first thing I did was order some products online. Before the company stopped selling the product in the UK, I used a lot of their products and one of my favourites was the make up brush cleanser and their make up brushes. E.L.F is a very affordable brand with amazing quality products. When looking at the E.L.F brushes you would never say they cost £2 and their quality is phenomenal. I still have some of the eye shadows and blushes, which I bought from before which are very pigmented and do not fall out.

Looking on the website I noticed some of the packaging has been changing from when I last ordered the products in the UK, I also purchased some products while I was visiting Australia also and the packaging is also different however the quality of the products has not changed.

So my haul this month has included: the blending eye brush, the daily brush cleanser, clear brow and lash mascara and the mineral infused face primer. Firstly the Blending Eye Brush which costs £2.00 its perfect sometimes I don’t understand how companies can sell very similar products at prices that are 50 times higher.  I love this brush it works very well and does the job brilliantly. It’s easy to clean and dries very quickly, at the moment I’ve got two of these brushes and many more which I previously purchased, what can I say I’m a bit of a shopaholic when it comes to E.L.F.

The Daily Brush Cleanser: I still have one that I initially bought in Australia, which is in the black bottle, but the newer packaging is brown. In my opinion although the packaging has changed the actual product itself hasn’t changed, it does a wonderful job and makes the brushes more hygienic to use without spending hours cleaning them.

The Clear Brown and Lash Mascara: I recently started using this product. As it says on the packaging the lash applicator lengthens and curls and the brow applicator defines and grooms. I only tried the lashes brush and it works more for lengthening my eyelashes, I'm not sure about the curling element as my eyelashes are fairly stubborn but my daughters on the other hand curl quite well with this product.

The Mineral Infused Face Primer: I have been using this product fairly often and I can say it’s a very good primer. My foundation has stayed on all day with no issues I only had a tiny bit of shine on my t-zone towards the end of the day but otherwise its perfect. In my next haul I plan to get the tone adjusting mineral powder, as I heard it covers redness and blemishes on your face.

You can purchase these products from http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk