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Total Detox Facial at the Debenhams Elemis Skin Lounge

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Elemis Skin Lounge

Both my skin and my general desire have been *crying out* for a decent facial as it has been such a long time since I’ve had one.  I was invited along to have an Elemis facial at Debenhams and I’ll admit that I was a bit unsure about the concept of having a facial in a shopping centre; mainly because I have terrible skin at the moment and didn’t fancy having all my make-up removed before walking out into a terrifyingly brightly lit shopping centre in the middle of London’s Oxford Street.  Thankfully, the Elemis Skin Lounge is placed right next to an exit, so you can literally scarper and be outside in less than 30 seconds.

Elemis Skin Lounge Total Detox Facial

The Elemis Skin Lounge is positioned behind the Elemis stand at Debenhams in Oxford Street.  There are two treatment rooms meaning that the full Elemis spa menu is available to book and I went for the Total Detox facial as my skin is struggling at the moment being both dry and spotty.  I had a chat with my Facialist, Olivia, beforehand and I mentioned that I was seeking a pampering experience that would also help my skin.  Olivia took all this into account when putting together my facial.  Once we’d had a chat and I tried out the facial scanner (more of that in another post) I was taken into the treatment room which is a wonderfully peaceful and calming area that’s dimly lit and gently scented with soothing music played in the background.  I got ready for my treatment, tucked myself under the cosy blankets and towels and my treatment started.

Elemis Skin Lounge Facial

First of all I was given a foot cleanse with hot towels and pressure point massage.  This was a really nice touch as it immediately calmed me down and settled me into the right frame of mind for my facial.  After the foot rub the facial itself started and my skin was gently cleansed, toned and massaged.  My upper body, chest, shoulders and upper back were massaged too before I was given a peel off mineral-rich mask and an Indian Head Massage whilst the mask set.  The Total Detox facial is the perfect balance of results-driven treatment and extremely relaxing pampering.  I felt a million times better after the facial, a feeling which lasted right through to the next day, and it made a big difference to my skin which immediately looked clearer and had last that dry, parched feeling it had been suffering from recently.  I’m such a huge fan of Elemis (as regular readers will definitely know!) so I anticipated a good facial experience but it really did surpass my expectations.  It isn’t cheap at £75 for an hour of treatment, but you will feel the benefits afterwards, so if you can afford to budget for this a a monthly treat then I strongly recommend you do! The Elemis Skin Lounge that I visited is situated in the Beauty Hall at Debenhams on Oxford Street (more info call 020 7518 7442) but there are also Elemis SpaPods dotted all over the place with a smaller selection of treatments.

*PR Appointment

Kiko Life in Rio Summer Collection

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Here we have, quite possibly, my most favourite Kiko launch to date; Kiko Life in Rio is a beautiful, summery collection of wearable brights and easy nudes that all work together allowing you to find a look that you like.

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I am so impressed with these releases and a few of them are already being put to use on a daily basis! Here’s a closer look at the collection:

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The Tropical Heat Waterproof Eyeliners are available in six shades and priced at £7.90 each and the two shades I have are 01 (light gold) and 05 (medium purple) both of which are shimmery and highly pigmented.

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I haven’t tried these yet but I love both shades and even though the purple isn’t something I’d normally go for, it’s such a pretty shade that I can see myself giving it a whirl.

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Next up are the Creamy Touch Eyeshadow Duos which are my favourites from the collection.  They’re dual-ended pencils with complimentary colours of the creamiest shadow I have ever come across in my life at each end.  They produce the most astoundingly smooth finish that’s easy to blend and work around which you have a few minutes to do before it settles into place.  The two shades I have are 104 (matte mid pink and light sparkly pink) and 101 (matte, light beige and matte dark brown).

Kiko Life in Rio Creamy Touch Eyeshadow Duo

I’m not sure I could pull of 104 as pink shades tend to make me look rather knackered, but 101 is phenomenal; I use the lighter shade all over the eye and the darker shade worked into the lashline which gives brilliant and very natural definition.  There are six shades of these available and they are £9.90 each.

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The Essential Bronzer and Sun Lovers Blush are the usual fabulous shades you get with every Kiko collection.  These are trusty staples rather than products to get excited about, but the design is fun and you get plenty for your buck.

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The Essential Bronzers are £16.90 each and available in two shades and the Sun Lovers Blush are £14.90 and available in four shades. The shade I have in the bronzer is Warm Melange – 200, and the blusher is Atlantic Camellia – 04.  In the swatches the left swatch is the bronzer, the middle two are the individual blush shades and the far right is the blusher shades all merged together.  The final effect of the blusher reminds me of Bobbi Brown’s Antigua and would be a great choice for paler types who are prone to going red in the sun, as this shade will work naturally with that!

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The Exotic Shine Lipsticks are my second favourite from the launch due to the fab shades and gorgeous formula.  The shades I have are 01 and 03 with the beautiful muted pink shade of 01 being my absolute favourite and fab to wear with the brown shades from the Creamy Touch Eyeshadow Duos.

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The formula is moisturising and buildable and I can see these being very popular.  There are six shades in total and each costs £8.50.

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The Sun Show Nail Lacquers are fantastically vibrant shades shot through with heavy shimmer making them a really easy way to embrace the colourful Rio look.  There are ten shades in total and I have 469 and 473.  473 is the purple shade that I’ll definitely be using for my next manicure as it’s just soooo pretty!

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I’ve seen swatches of some of the other shades and they really are fab, so definitely worth checking out for £5.90 a pop.

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The Life in Rio Face Brush is a multi-use brush that I think would be best suited to contouring with either powder or cream products.  I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but I do love Kiko brushes so I’ll report back with how I get on once I’ve had a play.  It’s £16.90.

The other products in the Life in Rio range Sunproof Cream Foundations (£14.90, 3 shades), Sunproof Powder Foundations (£14.90, 3 shades) Sunproof BB Cream (£9.90, four shades) and the Shimmering Body Oil (£12.90, 2 shades).  As you can see, it’s another mega collection that launches this month (April 2014) and if I had to pick one thing that embodies the collection, I’d go for the nail shades.  However, the creamy shadow duos and new lipsticks are gorgeous too, so have a good nose through it when it lands as there are a few gems to be found.

*PR Samples

Latest in Beauty Editor’s Picks The Spring Collection

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Latest in Beauty Editor's Picks Spring Collection

I think I’ve lost all understanding of time as it seems like only recently we saw the arrival of the Glamour edit from Latest in Beauty, but that was actually quite some time ago! I’m happy to report that we have yet another corker of a collection in Spring’s Beauty Editor’s Picks.  Here’s a look at what’s included in the box:

  • Rimmel BB Cream Matte (8ml)
  • Teeez Mysterious Crystal Eyeliner (0.3g)
  • Teeez Desert Metals Mascara (10ml)
  • Essie Repstyles Snakeskin Magnetic Nail Colour (13.5ml)
  • Paul Mitchell Dry Wash Express Dry Waterless Shampoo (50ml)
  • Neom Orghanic Complete Blissh Hand Cream (50ml)
  • Jurlique Calendula Redness Rescule Soothing Moiusturising Cream (5ml)
  • Dermalogica Ultra Calming StarterKit (various sizes x4)

That’s eleven products in total, although the majority are sample sizes.  The big appeal of Latest in Beauty boxes for me is the fact that usually all products are appealing and you don’t get a lot of ‘box filler’; that’s demonstrated in this box with huge brands such as Essie, Neom, Dermalogica and Rimmel.  I think it would be an ideal box for Beauty Bloggers as there’s so much to review in here; you’ve got 9 separate posts if you include the box itself.  It’s a really good mix of make-up and skincare and I think most people would be very happy with this.  The Latest in Beauty Editor’s Picks Spring Collection is available now for £14.95 plus £3.95 postage and packaging here – link.  Don’t forget there’s also the Glamour Beauty Edit available here – link – which is probably my favourite beauty box to date.