I’m so excited to be kicking off this year’s Christmas content with this exciting L’Occitane collaboration. Since visiting Provence with the brand earlier in the year, Anna and I have been working closely with L’Occitane to bring you guys something quite special; the first installment this month and then we’re also going to be doing something really exciting early next year, but you’ll have to wait to find out about that – ooh such a tease. 

But for now I get to show you our very own exclusive beauty bag; a collection of our joint favourite products from L’Occitane. The cosmetics bag they come in is so great, it opens up really wide so you can stuff it full when you’re travelling, and with it comes a limited edition sleeve with the cutest illustration. I’m so in love with the illustration of Anna and I, it’s definitely something I’ll keep forever as a memory. So let me tell you what’s inside, although I’m sure you guys can guess. The Almond Shower Oil – duh – we’re both obsessed with this, especially in the colder months. Then we have the Lavender Foaming Bath, a product I use on a weekly basis as a pre-sleep pamper (I usually go a bit overboard with the bubbles) alongside the Relaxing Pillow Mist. I’m so excited by the mini pillow mist because the full size is too large for travelling so this one I’m keeping for my next trip! There’s a mini of the Precious Cream which is a really luxurious face cream and then finally the Almond Hand Cream which is the perfect handbag size and I love the scent of this one.

To purchase our exclusive beauty bag, click here.

As well as the beauty bag there is a huge range of Christmas Gifts to pick from, there’s something for everyone from skincare to body care, both men’s and women’s. I’ve narrowed down all my favourites here. There are two advent calendars, my favourite being the illustrated Classic Beauty Advent Calendar which is full of some of their best selling products. If I had to pick my favourite gift box it would have to be the Almond Voyage Collection, for obvious reasons, it comes with my favourite Almond Shower Oil but in the perfect little travel-size!

My edit of favourites can be found here.

If this wasn’t all enough, L’Occitane are offering you guys free delivery when you spend £15 and a free Festive Handy Treat Tin with any order over the next two weeks! Just use the code LILYLOVE at checkout. So if you’re starting to put your Christmas shopping list together, L’Occitane seriously have you covered!

This blog post contains a paid for advertisement by L’Occitane.

Photos by Lydia Collins

If you haven’t heard of Glossier, seriously where have you been? Emily Weiss, the founder & CEO of beauty editorial site Into The Gloss started Glossier as the effortlessly cool beauty brand for the girl who likes to keep things simple. Glossier found a niche a ran with it and after visiting the New York show room a few times I now know what all the fuss is about.

Glossier strips back all the fluff of the beauty industry and delivers simple, easy-to-use products that can be purchased as easily as groceries using their tick list service in the show room. If you’re ever in New York it’s really worth a visit, the girls in-store wear cute pink boiler suits and once you make your way up to the top of an unassuming office block you’ll find yourself perusing amongst all the other beauty lovers. It feels like you’ve been let into an exclusive club, oh and don’t forget to ask about the merchandise when you get to the till!

Glossier is finally making it’s way to the UK in October, so to get you guys excited I’ve compiled my own guide to Glossier based on the products I’ve tried and tested.

THE MUST-TRY SKINCARE LIST // 

I was not convinced that I’d like the Milky Jelly Cleanser at all, especially as I’m so besotted with my Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel but I don’t mind being proven wrong and in this case I definitely was. It’s not milky at all, it’s a gel cleanser that feels really gentle on the skin and works perfectly as a single cleanse on minimal makeup or a second cleanse on heavy makeup. I’ve been using this every day and loving it! I first tried the Balm Dot Com when it first came out and wasn’t that fussed but after hearing Anna describe it as a matte lip balm made me want to give it another go and she was right! It’s the perfect “I’m not wearing lip balm” lip balm and my favourite scent is the coconut. I haven’t tried all the serums as they’re not all suitable for my skin but I’ve really been enjoying the Super Bounce as a hyaluronic, hydrating base before my moisturiser. It’s similar to the one from The Ordinary, my only frustration is at how small it is, I’m already onto my second bottle!

The Invisible Shield SPF 35 is one of their more recent launches and unlike other facial SPFs this isn’t a cream, it’s more of a lightweight gel. It’s very easy to spread over the face and feels light enough to apply makeup on top.  I tried both the masks but the one I would say is worth picking up is the Mega Greens Galaxy Pack, which is an exfoliating, detoxing green mask. I find it best applied with fingers, working it into the skin before rinsing off with a cloth. It’s full of anti oxidants and you can really feel the difference on your skin after using it. Finally for skincare, the Priming Moisturiser Rich is a brilliant night cream. At first when I used it I got a little red around my nose but my skin quickly got used to it and now feels great when I apply it. It’s a very thick cream, a bit similar to Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream and so I only use this one at night.

THE MUST-TRY MAKEUP LIST // 

The Cloud Paints are a really cute take on cream blushers and after recently meeting Emily she inspired me to start mixing colours, literally like paint – genius! They’re very creamy and blend out beautifully onto the skin, but be warned they are very sheer. The colours seem a bit strange at first but I mix Beam and Dusk to make a pretty everyday pink. Generation G is Glossier’s answer to lipstick, they’re matte and lightweight and come in the most wearable shades. I own Cake, Like and Zip! The Stretch Concealer is a funny one and it’s taken me a while to get used to it. At first I thought no this isn’t for me, it’s way too sheer and greasy for my dark circles. I kept going back to it though as the finish is so light and dewy it’s almost anti-ageing! Now I like to use it on my chin, around my nose and under my eyes but I simply top up my under eye area with a fuller coverage concealer. It works really well as a base but I’ve definitely realised that on it’s own this concealer is for those with very little blemishes to cover. Finally, the Lip Gloss, another product I hadn’t considered using until Emily recommended it. I haven’t worn clear lip gloss for years but there’s something so sexy about minimal makeup and just a swipe of clear lip gloss and seeing as this is completely non-sticky I have been enjoying using it every now and again.

THE ONES TO GIVE A MISS //

Personally I found a few products to be a bit of a miss when I tried them. The Perfecting Skin Tint is a lovely idea, a sheer coverage foundation but it literally had zero coverage when I used it and felt completely pointless. There’s sheer and then there’s sheer. I like the idea of the Haloscope highlighters and the formula is nice too but as it stands the shades available don’t really work for me. Topaz is too warm, Quartz is too pink and although I like the idea of Moonstone (an almost sheer white), there’s just a bit too much glitter in it for me. I’ll be waiting for a non-glittery champagne! I tried the Soothing Face Mist when Glossier first launched and it just didn’t impress me because of it’s simplicity. It didn’t work as a makeup setter so I didn’t really see the point of a very simple rose face mist. The Priming Moisturiser is the lighter version of the rich one but for me it just didn’t sit right so I would say skip straight to the rich version. I wasn’t sure where to put the Moisturising Moon Mask, as I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I feel like you can get a similar result from something like the Origins Drink Up Intensive mask, it doesn’t feel like anything unique, but it does hydrate my skin nicely so it depends if you already have something similar in your skincare collection.

THE ONES I HAVEN’T TRIED //

They’ve just released the Wowder, a powder that is supposedly glow and airy, I can’t wait to try it. The Boy Brow isn’t something I picked up as the brush looks too small for my huge brows and I also skipped the Super Pure and Super Glow serums as they’re not right for my skin and I haven’t heard great things about them.

As a sidenote, I also have the Glossier jumper and pin, can anyone say FAN GIRL?! If it’s a brand you’ve heard about but haven’t yet dabbled in, get ready for October because trust me you’ll want to get involved! I’m excited to see their plans for the UK – bring it on!

SHOP MY FAVOURITES

Photos by Lydia Collins

As always I am very late to the party, but when it comes to skincare I quite like to take a step back and wait for the reviews to roll in before I give it a go myself (also Fleur totally forced me to try this). The Ordinary is the latest launch from Deciem, a skincare brand I already know and trust. If you want to know more about Deciem and their umbrella of amazing brands, you can check them out here. But today, let’s talk about The (not so) Ordinary. What initially stood out to me are their crazy low prices and I found this blog post from Caroline really helpful and interesting when trying to figure out how they do it. The idea of the brand is to strip things back to basics… basic, not necessarily easy. The formulations are pure, non-fussy and the packaging says it as it is without any fluffy marketing words. The descriptions of the products are very science and ingredients based so you sort of need to know quite a bit about skincare, although saying that, the staff in their Spitalfields store are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.

So let’s talk products. They all seem to dupe some of my favourite skincare products but at a fraction of the price. I got sent a few products but then went into store to pick up some others, so here’s a quick roundup of my hits and misses.

The Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution (£6.80) is a great dupe for the Pixi Glow Tonic (£18), I use this on a cotton pad a few times a week in the evening. I don’t use physical exfoliants so I love these gentle, acid alternatives.

The Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (£5.90) is my favourite product from everything I’ve tried, as someone with dehydrated skin it’s a brilliant product to layer under everything. This for me is a brilliant dupe for the Bakel Jaluronic Serum (£106!!) and I use this every single day to help with hydration. The Advanced Retinoid 2% (£8) is one of their most popular products as it’s so cheap for a 2% retinoid! This product helps to visibly reduce the signs of ageing and although I started slow, applying it only once a week, I can now use this twice or three times a week. The 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil (£9) is a great dupe for the Pai Rosehip Bio Regenerate Oil (£22), without the added Vitamin E. I like to use an oil in the evenings and although I find this one slightly harder to spread around the face, it does really hydrate my skin before bed.

The Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12% (£8.90) is one of their three vitamin C products but I chose this one as it’s water based so isn’t heavy and feels great on my dry skin. This helps to brighten my skin and I use it as a serum mainly in the evenings.

So when it comes to the misses, there are a couple of products I didn’t get on with and one that I’m still not sure of. The Natural Moisturising Factors + HA (£4.90) is a daily moisturiser made from a collection of compounds that are naturally present in the skin. Although I feel like this does hydrate my skin, I don’t love the feel of it on my skin and it takes quite a while to sink in with a slightly tacky finish to it.

Although they offer a silicone primer too, I found the High-Spreadability Fluid Primer (£5.50) to be too slippy on the skin, I prefer something even more hydrating and this just didn’t do it for me. When I went into store I tried the Coverage Foundation but they didn’t have any in stock so I bought the Serum Foundation instead (£5.70) which comes in 21 shades. I was expecting this to be light and hydrating but instead found it to be quite heavy in an awkward clingy way, it’s a very strange formula, maybe I did something wrong but I didn’t get on with it at all.

Overall I think it’s a really exciting brand and a great way for people to embrace a proper skincare routine without spending hundreds of pounds. I went in to the store with my friend Debs who came out with quite a few new products having only spent £25, which I think is brilliant!

Have you tried anything from the brand? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Any other products I should try from them?

I didn’t really know what to expect when going to see Dr Stefanie Williams at the Eudelo clinic, I was invited in to have a complimentary appointment and I jumped at the opportunity! I’ve never had my skin looked at in this way before and I found it fascinating to learn more about it. Let me tell you a little bit about how the appointment went…

It started with a consultation; a chat about my current skincare routine, things I’ve noticed about my skin, skin concerns, my exposure to the sun growing up… there were all kinds of questions asked. Dr Stefanie then took a look at my skin under a light to assess for herself but luckily I’m quite good with my skin so she knew what to expect going off what I’d told her. I was then taken into a side room to have my skin analysed by a special skin machine (that’s the official name for it I’m sure!). It took 3 close up photos of my face from different angles before printing out a detailed analysis showing results that the human eye can’t see. It measured UV spots, brown spots, red areas, texture and pores. We then went back into the consultation room to discuss the results.

I was pretty chuffed to see my results and Dr Stefanie was impressed too. The results are compared with other people who are the same age as you and have the same skin tone so it’s completely realistic. Anything above the line is considered above average and I scored very well in terms of sun damage, texture and pores. She think the machine couldn’t differentiate between moles and dark spots so we kind of ignored that one and then interestingly I was below average for red areas. I have never considered my skin red but I was told that because my skin is olive toned it may have been hiding the redness in my skin the whole time. Just because you might not be able to see the redness, it doesn’t mean it should be treated.

We discussed my current skincare routine and which things can be kept and then Dr Stefanie reccomended a new, simple routine catered to my skin type and my new exciting journey into my thirties (can you sense my sarcasm?). In the morning I can still cleanse using my Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel but I now follow that with the La Roche Posay Redermic C10 Fluide which is a serum that’ll help with plumping and fine lines. I then follow that (if I need to) with my Bakel Jaluronic serum which I was using before and then if I’m going to be out the office I’ll use the La Roche Posay Anthelios Comfort Cream SPF 50. In the evening I cleanse, then use the Bakel serum and then follow that with the La Roche Posay Redermic R but I have been introducing this slowly, only once a week for now. This is a 0.3% retinol that helps with texture and with wrinkles. My evening moisturiser is now the Skinceuticals Redness Neutraliser and then I finish with the Avene Physio Lift Eye Cream (when I remember!).

My appointment was pretty straight forward and I’m proud that the effort I’ve put into looking after my skin has paid off but I left the consultation thinking “wow, my sister REALLY needs to do that”. So we went back! Let me tell you about my sister Carly and her skin…

Carly (10 years older than me) has never worn makeup or properly looked after her skin before, I don’t think she’ll mind me saying that. The odd moisturiser here and there but no daily cleansing, serums etc in sight. The two things that I’ve always been concerned about when it comes to her skin is pollution damage, as she wears no makeup there is literally no barrier on her skin to protect it. Sun damage is also something I worry about as she’s not the best with SPF and again, her skin is more exposed. It’s hard to be taken seriously as the little sister so I knew that the super duper skin machine would make her realise that she needs to step up her game!

The results were amazing and showed Dr Stefanie and Carly that she in fact, as suspected, suffers from rosacea. Rosacea is the reason her skin is red, but more importantly why it’s so bumpy. She would previously describe her skin as sensitive and prone to “heat bumps” but in fact this was all due to the rosacea. Although redness can sometimes be covered by makeup, Carly was never able to use foundation because the bumps on her skin made it really difficult so although the redness is hard to treat I think once the bumps are under control she’ll have a much easier time. Rosacea is actually genetic so although it can’t be cured as such, Dr Stefanie was optimistic about treating it.

Step one was to prescribe two medicated creams, one for morning and one for night and then some tablets to help speed up the process. Step two, a new skincare routine to help in the longterm. As Carly’s routine is specific to her skin condition I don’t want to recommend specific products to you guys. We left the appointment and I think for the first time Carly felt inspired to change her skin habits. It’s an overwhelming feeling when you don’t know how to help your skin so being told what exactly to do has given her some clear homework to get on with.

Appointments at the Eudelo clinic are expensive, I think for my skin type it’s not necessary but it was without a doubt worth it for someone like Carly. I’ll try and keep you updated on her skin journey to see if things improve!

January is a pretty special month, it’s the month I started my blog almost 7 years ago! But screw that, it’s an exciting month because… wait for it… Caroline Hirons is releasing her first ever skincare product!!! oh-em-gee.

Years ago Caroline recommended the Pixi Glow Tonic and it immediately became a staple product in almost all of our skincare routines. Since then Caroline has developed a close relationship with Pixi so it only seemed right for them to collaborate and make something pretty special.

I never even considered double cleansing before Caroline told me about it so the “Double Cleanse” is the perfect name and introductory product for her. The tub is split into two parts, a solid oil cleanser to break down your makeup on the left and a cream cleanser to cleanse and hydrate your skin to the right.

As Caroline said herself, one day she’ll make a product that’s rich and full of all kinds of gorgeous luxurious scents but for this launch it was important for her to make something that could be used and enjoyed by all. The cleanser is paraben free, fragrance free and it’s not tested on animals. It’s really non-offensive but also completely effective at the same time! Winner.

I’ve really loved trying out the cleanser over the past few weeks, a small amount of the solid oil takes off my makeup perfectly and the cream cleanser is really nourishing and soft on the skin. My only concern, which I have mentioned to Caroline, is that I might run out of one cleanser before the other. I think separate refills would have been great but I’m now quite conscious of how much I use of each so I can try to finish them at the same time.

It’s a lovely product that I know will do so well! It’s available from Pixi on 10th January, it’s £24 so put the date in your diary and get ready to be converted to double cleansing!

Photos by Lauren Shipley 

Well this is exciting! My all-time favourite cleanser is celebrating it’s 3rd birthday this month… any excuse for a party eh! I’ve used the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel for years and I have been through plenty of bottles. If you don’t already know, it’s a gel cleanser that turns into an oil when it’s worked into the skin. It removes makeup so incredibly well and leaves your skin feeling clean but nourished.

Now I know you’ve heard me ramble on about this product enough times already but this time it’s different. To celebrate 3 years Oskia are holding an amazing competition. Throughout the month of October, three golden Renaissance Cleansing Gels will be hidden in three unexpected customer orders and those three lucky customers will win a year’s supply of Renaissance Cleansing Gel, eeeeek! If you’re not one of the lucky three, you still have a chance to win as twenty golden tickets will also be hidden, entitling the finder to a free cleansing gel.

It doesn’t surprise me that one is sold every ten minutes and I couldn’t be happier for Georgie Cleeve, the founder of the brand. Good luck to those of you that take part! A year’s supply?! I’m definitely getting involved.

You can purchase your cleanser here.

Photo by Lauren Shipley.