Recently I was especially lucky to win some Elizabeth Arden products all the way from Dave Lackie in Canada. It’s always exciting to get post but more so when there is an airmail sticker on the front!
Inside my package my prizes consisted of a large pink makeup/toiletries bag and two lipsticks. The lipsticks were from the beautiful colour bold liquid lipstick range from Elizabeth Arden New York. I don’t own anything of this brand so I was excited to see the colours and test the items as well.
The bag was of excellent quality and a great size, it is ideal for weekends away where you need a number of toiletries. I like that it’s branded also, I didn’t own anything with Elizabeth Arden on until I won this competition. The bag is bright and is made to a high standard with an inner seem that runs along the base to ensure long lasting uses.
Both lipsticks I won were of a type I hadn’t tried previously, with a flocked tip applicator, which was soft and allowed for an even coverage when the lipstick was applied. Also the texture of this kind of liquid was soft and its colour was of high intensity (more so in the pink). The final look is more of a gloss than a lipstick, and I found that the staying power was greater than a matte kind. Another good thing about the sponge and the click (in order to apply the product), it gave out the perfect amount of liquid in order to coat the lips. I like how the shape of the applicator felt comfortable to use and the way in which the entire lipstick is shaped was complementary to its unique style. This range of Elizabeth Arden lipsticks also contain glycerin and emollients which moisturise the lips adding softness for a more comfortable wear.
I prefer the more nude and brown shade of lipstick, the pinker shade just doesn’t go with my complexion sadly. However the brown compliments both the colour of my skin and lips, and enhances my natural look. See for yourself in my swatch and application on my lips below.
Here are the two swatches and lipstick shades next to one another, as you can see a complete contrast, one subtle and the other vibrant. They are soft but have great staying power, a lipstick that looks like a gloss.
I want to thank Dave Lackie for holding such incredible competitions on both Twitter (where I won) and on his blog. If you wish to check them out for yourself the link is below http://davelackie.com/
Thank you for reading this short review today, thanks again Dave, and I wish all of you luck with any competitions that you enter in the future.
✩ Sabrina ✩
I am lucky enough to bring you a selection of items from Gift Company throughout October and November. This UK based family run company prides itself on providing unique and quality giftware, homeware and furniture.
I have already begun to place items into the box, it can be something used to cheer you up on a bad day, to look back at fun things you did and places you visited. And it makes you realise just how lucky you are to be able to put these things safely inside a box such as this…
I was extremely lucky recently when I won another bloggers competition where she was giving away a Limited Edition Urban Decay Eyeshadow Vault. I didn’t own anything like this so I was amazed at the quality and the amount that I received in this prize.
The vault was rather heavy when I unpacked it, and it was displayed in such a professional manner, with a sleeve covering the box. I was pleased to find inside 20 individual eyeshadow pots and the vault itself decorated in a unique way. The lid even stays up by itself! I will list the pots and names with colour variants later on in this post, but for now I want to review the box as a whole.
I won this incredible looking vault as a prize, which was a collaboration between Urban Decay and the blogger Michelle at her blog Thou Shalt Not Covet (link at the end of this post) but this Limited Edition vault is worth approximately £195!
My two favourite shades out of this whole collection are Solstice and Rockstar (swatches above). I love how deep and vibrant these two colours are, one red based and one purple based.
Here is an example of the size of the pots in my hand.
These pots are great for taking away with you if you plan to wear one shade of eyeshadow for a weekend for example. The convenient sizes and shapes make for easy transportation in makeup bags, then you can store the whole vault together in the mean time. Though I now need to get a bigger makeup drawer after getting mine!
Thank you so much for reading this review, I have been impressed by the quality of the Urban Decay Eyeshadows, and I want to thank Urban Decay and blogger Michelle for the opportunity I had to win this great prize. You can find the links to the websites below.
On my most recent store visit to Dorothy Perkins I picked up a few items in the summer sale. Three bargain vest tops in three floral colours and designs. Two pairs of capri ultra soft jeggings, and a floral bomber jacket.
(It had to be a changing room selfie because I was so pleased with my finds).
Bomber Jacket styling; Black skinny jeans and a blue floral vest, a casual look to be worn with flats or trainers. This is ideal for a cooler summer evening and ideal for Autumn layering as well. The jacket is great to brighten up plain clothing if you’re after a feature piece. Bomber jackets are all the rage right now and many on the high street have a floral design, if you want to stay on trend I can recommend you buy one. They circle around in fashion as well, so try and get a good quality item that you can revisit in a few years time.
This seller also sells a set of a sun, moon and star, as well as just a star and moon. I like the pieces in my next picture because it means you can add a further earring of your choice if you have a third piercing, or that you can just wear the two stud types if you only have two piercings in your ears.
More earring stud styles available from this amazon uk seller include Hearts, Stars, Moons, Circles, Triangles, Round with Silver or Cubic Zirconia and other symbols and shapes (such as the feathers/leaves in my image below). You can see the full range by visiting the sellers amazon page (links at the end of the post).
Here are some images of the earrings in my own ears to show sample sizes, I do have quite small ears, you can normally find specific sizes on the sites that you purchase jewellery from.
Another site that I have previously purchased earrings from is Cherry Diva. They have a variety of sterling silver items for sale. These arrow earrings are fabulous, unique and highly detailed, I like that these kind of earrings can make your ears seem unusual because of the shape and orientation. You can wear them at whatever angle you please to suit your lobe shape.
‘October Treatbox’ is designed to make you happy and make you smile this month. The French quote card in this box made me smile broadly because it is very appropriate for my month of October because I will be taking a trip to Paris in a few weeks time. It reads ‘beauty has no age’ when translated and is something I completely agree with. (Thank you Treatbox for testing my French language skills before my trip!)
So what else are we expecting? The nights are drawing in and getting colder, so we need comfort and happy items, let us see what Zoe has planned for us. So let us open the box and reveal October’s contents…
I have recorded the initial unboxing of the treatbox this month as well, and details of it will be available at the end of this post.
My favourite items in this months box are the Lisa Angel Heart Tassle Bracelet, the Notepad, the French Quote card and the Magnet, all these items are well made or useful and/or pretty. I especially like the uniqueness of the bracelet and the note pad is perfect for someone like myself who lives by lists and organising.
I hope you have enjoyed the October Treatbox reveal, there may well be more of them in the future. If you do decide to subscribe to a Treatbox then please leave me a comment on one of my posts, I would love to know what you think of your own TreatBox when you get it.
If you’re headed abroad it’s always interesting to find some local and contrasting products to what might be available to you back home. I was very grateful to my friend for getting me these pieces to try!
I recently purchased jewellery from Cherry Diva for the first time. I was drawn in partly because of a sale they had on, and also because I had wanted a pair of their earrings for almost a year and decided now was the time to get them. Just in case stocks changed and they no longer sold them, I didn’t want to wait too much longer in case I missed out.
I always purchase sterling silver because I have sensitive skin. At Cherry Diva they have a range of sterling silver products and a great number of choices for all kinds of styles.
So that you can see the size of the earrings I have photographed one in front of a five pence piece.
The other items I bought were two delicate nature inspired sterling silver rings. One has a large flower like a daisy and has hearts on the band. The other has three different kinds of small flowers on one thin band.
I’m impressed with the quality of the silver and I just hope that the items remain in good condition over the time in which I use them. I was happy with the prices that I paid in the sale, I’m not sure if I would pay the prices individually, but collectively with a free delivery is tempting.
Below is a link to my video of the unboxing if you wish to hear my thoughts for yourself, and see the physical size of the bottles as I hold them.
Since subscribing to Treatbox I find that I am always looking forward to the first few days of the month. When I receive the box it’s not just a treat for me, it’s something that is both a surprise and a pick me up that is often filled with joy and inspiring things.
The quotes within each treat box usually make me feel good about myself and give me an appreciation for things. There have been some wonderful items included in the past months boxes and I have great respect for how Treatbox founder Zoe, manages to keep her wonderful ideas and products going. Each month I find I’m pleasantly surprised, so much so that I continue my subscription for another month.
As some of you will know I love to photograph these boxes in great detail and outline every inch of the products and contents for my readers. This months wonderful theme is “Take Time For You” with a box filled with relaxing items.
Here are a selection of photographs for you to see from the items in September’s box, and then I will list all of the items contained. I was extremely grateful as well to Zoe for including an extra gift in my box this month, as a thank you for my support with her Treat boxes, the individual image of this will be included after the original box contents.
Inside the September Treatbox you will find an Inspirational Quote Card which reads “Almost Everything Will Work Again, If you Unplug It For A Few Minutes, Even You” with a marble effect background, A Manicure Set – mine was in a pretty polka dot case an ideal handbag size, A 7th Heaven Face Mask, 4 Scented Candles, Teapigs Teabag – mine was Peppermint, A Bookmark which has a marble effect background and reads “Just One More Page”, A Tin of 12 Watercolour Pencils, A Colour Therapy Book with 60 pages and more than 30 designs to colour in, A September Calendar Page perfect for organising your month ahead.
If you would like to order a TreatBox for yourself or for a gift then you can find Treatbox by searching that keyword on Facebook and/or visit their website in order to get your very own TreatBox 
The beauty of subscribing to TreatBox is that there are a range of subs to choose from, then each month your box gets sent to your door. Inside it could be a range of gifts from homeware to accessories, edible items and other useful things, as well as trinkets, jewellery and inspirational quotes too!
I hope you have enjoyed the September Treatbox reveal, there may be more of them in the future. If you do decide to subscribe to a Treatbox then please leave me a comment on one of my posts, I would love to know what you think of your own TreatBox when you get it.