And to celebrate, I was sent a few bits and bobs to test out it’s efficacy!

I was provided with a mixing palette, a few lipsticks blotting papers (its actually *not* a sanitary towel…), a lipbrush and some lipcote to have a try of. Oh, and we also received a specially made jammie dodger style biscuit, but I couldn’t find that for the photographs… *wipes crumbs away*

Now, while I love the idea of mixing up lip colour (and I usually do that for clients when doing makeup), returning home last night after a typically hectic shift, and a trip to the garage curtesy a mystery noise beneath the car, I was in a pretty bad mood, and decided to test it on one of my long-loved-never-worn shades. This one happened to be Byzantin by Chanel…

… In actual fact the lipstick is NOT fluorescent pink as this picture suggests, however I had lighting issues and no idea how to resolve them, so my profuse apologies for this!

Now, I have memories of lipcote from around 15 years ago, involving it stinging on application, and feeling very drying on the lips, so I was a little concerned that the same would be true this time around…

Use is simple enough – the product comes in a nail polish type bottle and is painted over lipstick.

So how did it fare? Well, the stinging sensation still happens, but passes fairly quickly, and the product definitely doesn’t feel as drying as I remember. I could see this possibly leading to lip dryness if it was used on a daily basis, but as a product used every now and again for night times or strong lips it’s not bad, given the £3.45 pricetag.

As for fading – I did notice that when eating and drinking there was some lip-colour transfer onto glasses or cutlery, but definitely less than I’d expect with a creamy formula lipstick, or a strong colour. There was no bleeding of colour, and the lipstick was definitely more smudge-proof than normal.

Lipcote also deserve a big thumbs up in my opinion for being a cruelty free brand, which is suitable for vegetarians…

So, my honest overall thoughts on this are that this is a handly little product for nights out and “special occasion” use, but those with lips prone to drying might want to give it a miss.

Disclaimer – this is a sponsored post.

When I hear the name “Eucerin”, I automatically think of eczema relief creams – My poor sister used to suffer with it as a child and I have memories of her being slathered in their creams to give her some relief, and they did a good job at that… Euceryn now have an entire range of skin care, backed up by an impressive century of research and knowledge of the skin, it’s aging processes, and various other ailments ranging from dryness to over production of oil. Eucerin was for example, one of the first brands to recognise the importance of maintaining the acidity levels in skin (which is where many brands fall down – a lot of face washes for example, render the skin’s surface alkaline, making it more prone to bacteria and blemishes… The Eucerin website, which you can find HERE, is a great resource for those looking into any issues with their own skin…

That said, this is not a range I’ve used before, however it can be found now at Boots, and seems pretty reasonably priced – the range is priced between £8.57 to £30.63 for their latest high tech Hyaluronic acid containing wrinkle busting range.

I was sent their hand and foot creams to try…

I have to say as a nurse I wash my hands and use alcogel all the time, which leaves them in a pretty poor state sometimes. I am also out and about a lot visiting patients, which takes it’s toll on my feet – whilst I wouldn’t say I have the worst trotters in the world, they definitely aren’t the best.

Both these creams contain Urea (the hand cream has 5%, whilst the foot cream has a heftier 10%), and while this isn’t the most glamorous sounding of ingredients, its one of the most effective for binding moisture into the skin. They also both contain lactate, which helps deal with dry skin gently.

The hand cream is rich and effective, but it sinks easily, and given how rich the cream is, I love how non-greasy this feels – I despise my hands feeling greasy from handcream – it makes me want to wash my hands immediately, which kind of defeats the purpose. This is a great staple for hard-working hands which suffer from dryness, and I’d also see it as a good option to carry around in the winter for those who find that time of year hard on their hands.

As detestable as I find greasy hand lotions, I find greasy foot lotions even worse – this one sinks in as easily as the handcream, but obviously needs a good massage into the heels and drier areas. I’ve been using this at night and sleeping in socks (sexy huh!), and I’ve found it’s actually starting to make a difference in how my feet feel on both the heels and the callused areas. Over a couple of weeks with persistent use I’m expecting good things from this.

My one word of caution with both these creams is that they do contain parabens, so those who prefer to avoid, or find parabens allergenic will probably want to give these a miss… Both are fragrance free.

Both are available now at Boots; the handcream retails at £8.57 for 75mls, and the footcream retails at £10.85 for 100mls.

Have you tried any other products from Eucerin, and what would you recommend?

Disclaimer – this is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed of the products are honest and 100% my own. 

Howdy doody peeps, you may remember some time ago I mentioned the P&G summer online event (see THIS POST for more info…). Well, as with last years event, this one was a big success, thanks to the questions submitted by you lot – funnily enough the most popular question from the poll was about how to achieve a smooth lady like bikini area (Seems the 70′s style ‘fro is still not a good look for “down there” then…)

There were lots of lovely experts on hand at the event, so here’s a couple of extracts from the footage… Firstly, Caroline Barnes, chief makeup artist for Max Factor…

And since you all seem so interested in hair removal, here’s a clip from Nicola Joss, representing Braun and Venus…

You might also remember that if your question got asked on the night then you stood to win a big old goodie bag – to check if you were one of the lucky ones, click on the link HERE and register to watch the event… Good luck! (Winners will also be contacted soon by email!)

Disclaimer – this is part of a sponsored post brought to you in association with HandPicked Media and P&G

Regular blog readers may remember last year’s P&G webcast, which gave us all the chance to interact live with their brand ambassadors.

On Thursday 2^nd June 2011, P&G will be hosting a similar event, involving ten P&G ambassadors including…

Caroline Barnes for Max Factor;

Ben Cooke for Herbal Essences;

Nicola Joss for Venus and Braun;

Other brands represented will be Silvikrin, Sebastian Professional, and Wella.

P&G want to know what questions you want answering by voting in this poll;

If you have any other burning questions then leave them in the comments box below, because if your question is picked on the night then you will will a goody bag from Proctor and Gamble, filled with all their star products to try.

As mentioned in my recent post about the new Braun Epilator, I’d love to know what ideas they have for the next model up in the series!

Check back here on the 3rd June to see if you won, and also to have a look at the broadcast…

Disclaimer – This is a sponsored post on behalf of Handpicked Media and Proctor and Gamble.

One of the things I am constantly aware of when I review products, especially skincare, is ingredients. Sometimes you feel like you need a BS detector to separate out stuff that is actually known to benefit the skin, and things that just seem to be manufactured by advertising bods to part us from our hard earned cash.  Is it just me, or does the feeling that you are maybe, just maybe being conned, take the fun out of choosing products?

This is basically also the thinking behind the line Paula’s choice, which was created by Paula Begoun, who has over thirty years in the cosmetics industry. The line aims to take out the guesswork behind skincare, as only scientifically proven ingredients are involved in the products, and from what I can gather it’s already a well established brand in the US, and is now available in the UK HERE.

The Paula’s Choice line is focused on both basic skincare, as well as targeting problems in the skin. One thing that impresses me about the website for the line is that there is a huge section in which she reviews other ranges, recommending them or otherwise based on the efficacy of their key ingredients. Having read through a few of her reviews, I like the way the site just seems to offer an objective opinion rather than just dissing poor products and pushing their own line.

Two new “hero” products which sound interesting have recently been launched in the RESIST, anti-ageing line. First of all the RESIST daily smoothing treatment with 5% AHA combines glycolic and salicylic acids to clear blemishes and stimulate collagen production. There is also the RESIST super antioxidant serum which supports the action of the smoothing treatment and boosts the level of antioxidants in the skin, reducing the speed of ageing.

There’s also a great contest running at the moment, so if you’d like to meet Paula “The Cosmetic Cop” Begoun, in London for a spot of afternoon tea ( during which you will have the chance to ask all the questions about skincare you ever wanted to), then all you need to do is subscribe to her newsletter HERE, before 31^st May 2011, which will mean you are both entered into the draw and you’ll also be kept up to date with any new products in the line.

Paula Begoun

The prizes on offer are;

1st prize: Three people will win afternoon tea sessions with Paula Begoun (including transport to London). 

2nd prize: Two people will win Paula’s Choice skin care sets (worth £135 per set).                                         

3rd prize: Ten people will win a personally autographed copy of Paula’s best-selling book ‘Don’t go to the cosmetics counter without me.’

Winners will be informed via email by 01/06/2011. Please note this draw is restricted to UK citizens only.

Find out more about the Paula’s Choice range HERE

Find out more about the contest on the facebook page HERE and on the Paula’s Choice site HERE.

Disclaimer – This is a sponsored post in association with Paula’s Choice and Handpicked Media. This is NOT  a review, and should not be taken as such.

Now I have a decent haircut, the one thing I still crave is a bit of volume… My hair is fine, flat and floppy. Styling product looks ok for the first day, and then goes flat. Unless of course an atom of moisture hits me then I turn into a crazy frizzball…

Now, I’m not saying I want to look like this…

 But I’d love to have hair that looked effortlessly bouncy, not overstyled or too formal…

http://www.youtube.com/v/vBFF0_iVsdY?fs=1&hl=en_GB

To me, this looks like an easy and far less strenuous manner of achieving bouncy shiny locks, and I like the way it doesn’t look like your hair is going to end up hopelessly tangled either…

Fancy a chance to try one of these? I have one Big Hair styler, worth £45 to give away.

To win, just follow the blog if you aren’t already,and leave a comment below saying you want to win.

Please leave one comment only – it’s fairer that way, and multiple entries won’t count.

You don’t need to say why you want the styler as I will be choosing the winner randomly.

The contest will close at midnight on Friday 8th October 2010 (UK time), and I’ll announce the winner soon afterwards.

Small print – this is a sponsored post in association with Handpicked Media and Babyliss.