THE REN ROOM

THE REN ROOM is a bespoke beauty salon and therapy room, located in the environmentally friendly Primrose Valley Hotel, St Ives. They offer a wide range of treatments (most using bioactive skincare products by REN) including massages, facials, mud wraps, hair removal, manicures & pedicures. Everything about the REN ROOM has environment sustainability at its core, from the environmentally friendly wood floors & regionally manufactured eco paints on the walls to the organic cotton wool pads & fair-trade cotton towels used during treatments.

I decided to check the REN Room out to give my weary body a treat during my recent working holiday in St Ives.

Upon my arrival I was warmly welcomed at the reception desk & offered a drink whilst I filled in some details, to help the therapist best assess my treatment. The details included the usual health history as well as relating to what I wanted to get out of the treatment.

I was taken up the room itself by my lovely therapist, Kim, who talked me through my chosen treatment & various options relating to the experience. I had opted for a REN full body massage and was given a choice of REN oils, with Kim informing me of the relevant well-being benefits of each option.

The treatment really was 'Full Body' (A term that all too often is used pretty loosely when it comes to massages), starting with back, neck & shoulders, down the backs of the legs to the feet, before being turned turtle to pamper the front of legs, arms, stomach & chest. The continuation of the treatment to the stomach & chest are discussed during consultation, when you are asked if you’d like to go through with that part of the treatment or leave it out. Having never had my stomach massaged before, this wasn’t an opportunity I was going to pass up on, but it’s nice to be consulted & given the option (especially for the chest, the amount of times I’ve been completely taken by surprise when a masseuse has just pulled the cover down).

The pressure of the massage was just right, not too heavy, but enough to get rid of my tension & de-stress me. During treatment a combination of relaxation music & natural sounds (waves, birds singing etc) are played. I particularly enjoyed the sounds of waves, being so close to the beach; I actually repeatedly mistook this track to be the sound of actual waves outside the window.

I had an absolutely fantastic experience & definitely recommend heading down to The REN ROOM if you’re anywhere near St Ives. I can’t wait to plan my next trip to St Ives so I can book myself in for one of their REN Bespoke Facials.

Head over the The REN ROOM's website for details of all treatments offered, to book online & purchase gift vouchers.

Miss Sarah x

If you want to know what else I enjoyed getting up during my time in St Ives, check out my 
'St Ives Picks' video:



Hawaiian Tropic 'Lime Coolada' After Sun Body Butter

Hawaiian Tropic are known for their coconut scented sun protection lotions & tanning oils (as well as sponsoring bikini pageants), so it makes logical sense that they also make after sun products. For some reason I was still surprised when I spotted a range of after sun body butters on the Hawaiian Tropic stand in Boots. I think it was the term 'body butter' that intrigued me. Most after sun products I've come across have been in lotion form, but as shea/cocoa butter tends to feature quite highly in ingredient lists of these, it shouldn't be too surprising. 

I was also drawn in by the words 'Lime Coolada'. Cocktails & tropical fruit both feature quite highly on lists of things I love, so I had to give this a quick sniff as I walked by. I fell in love, right then & there. It didn't matter the price tag, this uniquely smelling body butter had to be mine. Fortunately Boots were selling it at a 50% discount of £5.24 (I later found out Asda & Home Bargains are offering even better prices: £5.00 & £3.99 respectively).

The formula boasts cocoa butter (to soften, smooth & rejuvinate skin), shea butter (to restore elasticity), mango butter (to seal in moisture & prevent peeling) & avacado oil (containing vitamin A to refine & firm skin).

I'd say the consistency is more of a heavy lotion (similar to that of posset or syllabub, if you've had either of those...can you tell my job involves Food? Haha!!) than a butter, but alot of products with this consistency call themselves butters, so who am I to argue?! The lotion, as I shall now refer to it, sports a pale green tinge. 

I'll be completely honest, until a couple of days ago it hasn't been sunny enough for me to need an after sun product, but I've been using this as a body lotion since its purchase. In fact I've been struggling to be in the same room as the tub without applying to any bare patch of skin I can find! It does take a short while to absorb into skin & can leave a slightly sticky residue, but nothing too unpleasant. It's highly moisturising & leaves skin feeling really soft.

As an after sun lotion it performs well too, I noticed a really nice cooling affect as I applied the lotion to my shoulders after sun exposure (on the single day it's been above 20°C this month!).

The scent is, without a doubt, the selling point of this product for me. It's a very tropical scent, with pineapple being the stand out fragrance, followed closely by lime. There are also hints of mango. It pretty much smells of the most amazing smoothie/juice you could imagine! After sitting on your skin for a while the scent changes a little, loosing some of the sharpness of the lime & pineapple and allowing the slightly more muted, sweeter notes of the cocoa & shea to come through.

This comes in one size, a pretty generous 200ml tub. It would usually take me forever to get through a body butter or lotion this size (I'm the queen of neglecting to apply body products), let alone an after sun lotion, but my current addiction has led me to already be almost a quartre of the way through the tub after a single week!

I know that I will probably continue to purchase this product for a long while to come. I love it just as an every day body lotion, the scent is a massive pick me up, the fact I can also use this as my after sun care is just an added bonus!

Anyone else tried this? Anyone tempted? What do you think of Hawaiian Tropic products in general? Holiday essential or just a gimmicky brand?

Miss Sarah x

GIVENCHY Le Prisme Yeux Quatuor in Pastel Model

My eyeshadow collection has, for quite a while, consisted of almost exclusively neutral & pink based shadows. I've never had a problem with this, until I recently started getting way too into this spring's pastel trend. For the past 6weeks or so I've found myself hunting through my palettes & piles of singles/duals for anything resembling a green, peach or yellow. My luck has been non-existence, so I made the executive decision to end my spending ban & invest in some lovely pastel shades.

I had decided to go with the MUA pretty pastel palette, but after repeatedly finding it out of stock in my local Superdrug, I started keeping a pastel eye out everywhere else I went.

It was during a Debenhams visit I came across this beautiful pastel Givenchy quad. The price massively put me off, £34 for 4 x 1g of eyeshadow! However, the colours were exactly what I'd been looking for & I admit I was pretty instantly sold on the gorgeous packaging! I discovered my Debenhams Beauty Club card had £20 saved up on it, so justified that the discounted price of £14 was an absolute steal.

The presentation of this quad is impeccable with each shadow moulded to resemble a prism.

The shadows are slightly shimmer based pastel colours: grassy green, zesty yellow, icy pink & blue toned grey.

I'm not going to pretend I haven't come across stronger pigmentation, but, for such pale colours, the pigmentation certainly isn't bad, especially if a primer's involved. There is a fair amount of fallout from these shadows, but I've found, depending where the fallout occurs, it can be blended into a lovely cheek highlight (shade dependent). These shadows blend absolutely beautifully & I can't stop playing around with them, creating a host of different looks.

Lastly I want to talk about the packaging. Givenchy packaging is always stunning & this quad is no exception, the design is sleek whilst feeling completely luxurious. Beauty meets brains with the 'Clap & Slide' magnetised mirrored lid & tool draw. The tool draw is, as far as I'm aware, a unique feature to this quad. A fully integrated slide out draw concealing three miniature tools: a standard foam-tipped applicator, a pointed foam-tipped applicator & an angled brush. This adds to the luxury feel of the product, although I'm sure I'm not the only person who wishes the foam applicators were replaced with miniature brushes.

What do you think? A steal at £14? Would you splash the cash?

Miss Sarah x

Cosmetics Crushes (Wish List-Summer 2012)

Last night the thought  'Ooh, I could do a lovely haul post/vlog once these items come' sprung to my mind as my mouse hovered over the 'Checkout' button on Debenhams' website...then the internet cut out. I realised this was the universe's way of telling me two things: 1) Get back to revision, you have an exam in under 36 hours & 2) Stop adding more expenses to your store card. You can't even afford to pay the current balance!

So I closed the tab & got back to revision, but I couldn't get some of the products out of my head (does anyone else have that problem when they've been thinking about buying something?). I figured I'd do a 'Wish List' post, to get the thoughts out of my system & to make me feel too guilty to splurge on any of the items until I have a legitimate way of financing their purchase.

These are the products I'm currently lusting after (don't worry, they weren't all in last night's shopping basket, I'm not that crazy...yet!!). I hope to add a couple to my collection before the summer's out, but for the sake of my bank balance I'm praying I don't give in to too many.

YSL Pure Chromatics in Shell (No.7) £39 - These beauties contain an exclusively developed pigment that, when wetted, transform into a intense, metallic cream.  I love the colours in this Summer 2012 Quad, they're perfect for summer & a bit more exciting than most of my current (mainly nude) collection.

Laura Mercier Sheer Cream Eye Colour  £16.50 - I think Laura Mercier's Belle Nouveau collection is my favourite of all the summer 2012 new releases (bold claim!) & these limited edition eye colours really capture the essence of the soft, candy-toned look of the collection. I'm particularly keen to get my hands on the 'Mauve Pastel' shade.

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Emerveille  £23 - I'm obsessed with finding the perfect cream eye shadow and although this Chanel favourite isn't the champagne colour I have my heart set on finding, I find myself swatching it every time I'm near a Chanel counter & falling in love a little more.

Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Highlighter  £23 - I almost purchased this 3 times yesterday, I think I'm in love with this Rose Gold highlighter from Elizabeth Arden's Spring 2012 Rose Aurora collection. It seems to have vanished from a lot of stores' sites, so I best take the plunge with this gorgeous powder soon, or else I'll miss out!

Soleil Tan de Chanel in Sable Rose £34 - This beautiful bronzing powder from Chanel's Summer 2012 range seems perfect for subtly warming up my complexion in the coming summer months. The pink tone gives a warm glow and avoids the usual 'dirty face' look I get from bronzing powders.

Laura Mercier Nail Lacquer in Lavender Cloud £12.50 - Another gem from the Belle Nouveau collection, I genuinely can't think of a lovelier nail colour!

Chanel Le Vernis in Island  & Holiday £18 - Two of three nail lacquers featured in Chanel's Summer 2012 range, these both screamed 'hot summer's day' to me. I'm particularly keen to get my hands on 'Island'...or find a pretty good dupe!!

Dior Vernis in St Tropez £18 - This is my pick from Dior's Summer 2012 Croisette Collection & would nicely fill a turquoise coloured gap in my pretty extensive nail lacquer collection.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover £26.50 - I've been tempted by Estee Lauder's original Double Wear for a while now, but as a sucker for anything promising maximum coverage, my attention has shifted to the Maximum Cover make up. Has anyone tried this? I'd be interested to hear thoughts. It didn't seem too scary when I swatched it on my hand, but I'm yet to attempt a face swatch!!

Dolce & Gabbana Creamy Foundation £35 - I came across this whilst searching for 'No7 Intelligent Balance Mousse' dupes (Something I'm keen to try but currently out of stock in Boots). I haven't worn a cream/mousse foundation for a few years, but in my head it'll make my skin look angelic. This seems like an ultimate luxury product & that just makes me want to get my hands on it even more!

Clinique Stay Matte Oil Free Foundation £21.50 - About a year ago I was desperate to get my hands on the Clinique Workout Make up (now discontinued), but it wasn't available in the UK. This appears to have the same ideas behind it, but with new technology. The idea is to stay in place no matter how hot, humid & sweaty you get...for anyone who's ran around London's Tube system in the height of summer during rush hour, you'll realise why this currently appeals to me!

Givenchy Rouge Interdit Satin in No.56 Delicate Rose £21 - I'm always drawn to the Givenchy Counter, the packaging is some of the most beautiful & interesting around. This rose toned lipstick gives a subtle 'just bitten' look to the lips & is my pick from their Été à Fleur de Peau Summer 2012 collection.

Dior Addict Ultra Gloss in Little Red Dress £21 - I know it's not the season for red lips, but I've been in search of the perfect red gloss for so long & I've finally found one that truly fits the bill, in this! This super pigmented cherry red gloss is packed with superfine shimmer, & just screams 'Fabulous Darling'.

Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Colour in Pink Peony £18 - This gorgeous medium toned pink was released back in February as part of Bobbi Brown's Spring 2012 Rose Gold collection, but I swatched it for the first time yesterday & immediately fell in love with the matte appearance & enchanting colour. I don't own any lipsticks quite like this one & I'd be surprised if I last more than a week or two without picking this beauty up, the feel on the back of my hand was incomparable...I can't stop thinking about it.

Have you tried any of these? What are your thoughts? Are you lusting after any make up products at the moment?

Miss Sarah x

Happy Birthday Glossybox!!

Glossybox turned 1 a couple of weeks ago & they have been celebrating like crazy. (If you follow Glossybox on Twitter or Facebook you'll be well aware of all the festivities). 

Cue the anniversary box!! 

I actually signed up to Glossybox a month ago with their anniversary box in mind (I figured it would be a good box to pop my Glossy-Cherry with). I actually ended up signing up in time for April's box (no complaints about that :) ), but have been looking forward to the anniversary box regardless.

The Anniversary Box:

Nice touch: special, anniversary gift wrap.

Packed full of goodies!

The Products:

NOBLE ISLE Summer Rising Bath & Shower Gel : Full size 250ml, £20

Noble Isle is a new company promising to bring you 'Britain in a Bottle', with scents capturing different areas of British countryside. From what I've seen of this company's website I can't wait to get my hands on more of their products.

Summer Rising is a lovely sweet yet fresh scent, fruity without the zing. It's is intended to capture the scent of Cornish Hedgerows. This is my kind of scent, combining Elderflower; Gooseberry & Orange Blossom for an uplifting, awakening shower experience.

LOLITA LEMPICKA Eau de Parfum & Si Lolita : £65 & £63 respectively per 100ml

To be honest I'm not entirely sure why these samples were in the box...neither of them are new releases as far as I can tell & I'm sure I'm not the only one who always seem to have a collection of perfume samples which have been slipped into bags during cosmetics purchases. I swear you only need to brush past someone on the street who's sister's dog's previous owner's cousin's wife works in beauty to have a handful of perfume samples thrust upon you. I resent them being presented to me in a box I'm paying for the privilege of receiving.

They're both lovely scents, quite fresh & sweet, the Eau de Parfum the sweeter of the two, but I don't like either of them enough to purchase them. Am I the only person who's NEVER once been inspired to buy a perfume from a sample, despite receiving crazy amounts of samples over the years?

APIVITA Express Beauty Mask with Cucumber : £3.50 per Sachet

Apivita express masks exclude synthetic ingredients & replace water with green tea infusion to enhance the antioxidant action. The cucumber mask is for intense hydration & aimed at normal/dry skin with first signs of ageing. I found this mask a little bizarre, I'm only really used to using clay based masks, so the milky, oily texture took me by surprise. Whilst on the face there was a strong smell of cucumber (shocking(!)) & Aloe Vera, I did experience discomfort in the form of stinging all over the lower half of my face, but I do have quite sensitive skin. Once washed off skin did feel softer & a little more hydrated. I'm used to seeing more of a difference from using a mask & I don't feel this mask offers enough improvement for me to want to use it again (My MAC cleanse off oil leaves skin much softer & more hydrated than this 'intense hydrating' mask did, which speaks volumes).

OSMO Berber Oil Hair Treatment : Full Size 100ml, £19.99

This is an Argan Oil based hair treatment intended to nourish dry/damaged hair whilst providing heat protection & reducing drying time. This is the product I was most excited about when I opened my box. I've been wanting to try an argan oil treatment on my hair for a while (but had promised myself I wouldn't buy any new hair products until I'd used up the mountain I already have) & am forever searching for something to sort out my dry, brittle, damaged mane (Never, ever replace your entire hair care with boots essentials 2in1 Shampoo/Conditioner, no matter how skint you are...that stuff marked the death of my hair 4 years ago!!). I am completely sold on the smell of this oil, it takes you by surprise & it took me a while to pinpoint the smell, but I think it's somewhere between the smell of the hearts & cola bottles you get in Haribo Starmix! No joke, it smells of sweeties, there's hints of cinnamon too. The texture took me by surprise too, I was expecting the texture of baby or olive oil but it is very viscous. Berber oil can be smoothed on to dry hair to sleek it out & add some shine (use sparingly though!!) or distributed through damp hair to improve body & movement. I must say I didn't notice a dramatic difference in drying time when used on damp hair. I think I expected a miracle with this when it comes to the condition of my hair, & whilst I think it did probably improve the appearance & condition a little, I didn't notice that much of a difference, but my hair is like the desert of hair. I reckon best results would be seen with slightly damaged/dry hair & would push it back into the 'normal' spectrum.

ELDORA Handmade lashes in H140 : £4.25 per pair

Same company, but a slightly (only very slightly) more wearable set of lashes than I received in last month's Lux Box. These bad boys are pretty OTT, although I did purchase & wear a lot (once should have been more than enough!) a very similar set about 18months ago (My going out make up look was very glamour-model-esque back then). These lashes are made from human hair (presumably not eyelash hair), so are nice and soft. I'm definitely going to try & use them at some point just so I can test out the application & wear etc of Eldora lashes, because their range is so extensive & reasonably priced, but not sure when. I'll have to try and arrange a big West-End night out...they might go down okay at Playboy Club, I guess. I'll give it a go.

This is what the (almost identical) pair I used to own looked like on...very, very OTT!!

GLOSSYBOX Compact Mirror & Birthday Balloon

A Glossy Box Compact Mirror & Balloon were included in the box as birthday treats, which I thought was a really nice touch. The compact found a home in one of my handbags & the balloon was instantly blown up & has been floating around my room since.

All in all I wasn't blown away by the month's box, I thought the balloon & mirror were lovely touches. I was expecting something really special from the anniversary box & I think including perfume samples is a complete let down for any box. I absolutely love the Noble Isle product & I feel, along with the Berber Oil, these are the kind of products that beauty boxes are all about, discovering new, mid-higher end products. The lashes & mask were 'meh', Eldora have been featured in a few beauty boxes of late, so aren't really anything new any more & the mask was nothing to write home about, both alright products & fine for a regular box, but I expected something more than these for a special, anniversary box.

Miss Sarah x

May Lux Box Full Review

I've been aware of Beauty Boxes for quite a few months, after first hearing about BirchBox in the USA. The UK options didn't seem to quite live up to BirchBox though, so I never took the plunge & subscribed, that is until last month. During one of my regular beauty Googling adventures I came across LUX BOX, a new company promising luxurious products & about to release their first beauty box. Lux Box were offering their first box at a discounted rate, so I jumped on board & signed up (this bit me with the Beauty Box Bug & I subsequently also signed up to Glossybox & the She Said Beauty box, but that's irrelevant to this post) . I received the first box about a month ago now, so have had a chance to really test out the products & I thought I'd share some of my views.

Lux Boxes cost £10 each + £2.95 P&P

1, 3, 6 & 12 month subscriptions are available with discounts on the longer subscriptions.

Along with actual physical products you also get discount codes for if you wish to purchase any items. There's also a monthly offer, which in May was 50% off Boudoir Lashes Lash extensions. I personally think that's an amazing offer, lash extensions can be pretty pricey, so 50% off is fantastic. I personally didn't make use of this, because I've spent the majority of my month sat in my room revising, so even at half price it wouldn't be worth it. The only let down with this offer is that Boudoir Lashes work out of BECCA Cosmetics flagship boutique in London, so if you don't live near London, the offer would be pretty worthless!
Once you've received your box you can fill in a short review questionnaire on each product on the LuxBox website, if you so wish. I really like the review format, I like having specific questions and being able to tick answers off in the form of a scale from 1 to 5 (appeals to my quantitative way of thinking), whilst still having the option to expand with words if I so wish.

On to the products:

Steam Cream: This came as a full size product with a limited edition tin (Ambigue by Mako Kikkawa). Steam Cream is a lightweight all-in-one moisturiser, handmade using natural ingredients fused together by steam. It's quite a hyped up, award winning product & I'd heard the name around before but never investigated. I found the scent quite strong for a moisturiser (especially one that's also meant for use on the face), the lavender is what struck me most (I think my sense of smell must be pretty sensitive to lavender, I often find it so overwhelming in products). If you're into herbal-essential oil scents then this is your thing. I mainly used this on my body, which I loved it for, it is very lightweight & melts into the skin nicely. I'm not one for using scented products on my face, but my skin has been super dry this month, so I thought I'd give the steam cream a go. This was not a good idea for my sensitive skin...it full on broke me out!! So I wouldn't recommend using steam cream on your face if you have particularly sensitive or acne prone skin. Over all I loved the steam cream & have almost used up the whole tin!! I'm not sure if I will purchase another immediately, but it's a product I'm sure I'll own again. I'm also pretty sure I'll buy these as gifts for people in the future as the interesting range of tin designs make them really cute & much more suitable to give as gifts than other skincare products.

Steam Cream retails for around the £12.95 mark & is available from a variety of department store & beauty boutiques nationwide (I think they also sell it in larger Topshop stores)

Eldora False Lashes: I received the D152 set, which to be perfectly honest I haven't touched (So can't really comment on application etc) because they are covered in Jewels...I'll save these for when I get asked to appear on dancing on ice, I think.

Eldora do have a ridiculously large range of lashes (both human & synthetic) starting from £3.90, so check out their website if you're a bit of a lash-fiend, & use the code 'ELDORALUX12' to get£5 off orders over £15 before 31st May 2012. 

BM Beauty Eyeshadows: These mineral eyeshadows are really pigmented. I'm not a massive fan of loose eyeshadows, I can't be bothered with the mess they create, but I do love the intense look you can create with them. The colours I received were Marble Sparkle (a silvery white) & Aquatic Galaxy (A blue-turquoise), they're not the kinds of colours I go for & I struggled to incorporate them into looks I would actually wear (the combination of being SO sparkly AND really out there colours was a bit much for me), but that aside I don't really have anything bad to say about these shadows, they give such an intense colour & can be blended quite easily too. I'm keen to try some of the more me-suitable colours, especially the ones in the 'Earthy Princess' collection. I do want to mention that the sample pots weren't the most suitable...I have pigment EVERYWHERE, even before I opened the pots for the first time it had somehow leaked out & got all over everthing, but the design of the full size pots are completely different, so should not be a problem.
I think they're reasonably priced at £7 for 2g & are available from the BM Beauty Website.

Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream: This is a three-in-one naturally active eye cream, blended with lovely things such as chamomile, lemon, cucumber oil, witch hazel, coconut, rosehip and carrot oils to help brighten, smooth & hydrate the eye area. I was pretty excited to receive this as I feel I've been on an eye cream hunting craze for the past few months, trying as many as I can get my hands on without spending too much. The 'sample' received was actually 10ml (sold on their website for £14), which is amazing as I'm always finding with eye cream samples there's never enough to fully test out if it works for you. I really like this eye cream, it's 99% natural & I found it gentle around my extremely sensitive eye area (I have problems with many eye products that claim to be okay for sensitive eyes!!), it has a tiny hint of a delicate, natural scent without being over powering. The formula is very lightweight & is easily absorbed. I've been using this almost exclusively as my eye cream morning & night for the past month and my eye area does seem a little brighter & less puffy. Obviously it doesn't work miracles (what realistically does?!), but I'd go as far as saying I've liked it more than any other eye cream I've used. I'm not sure if I'll repurchase in the near future as trying new eye creams is one of my guilty pleasures, but out of all the ones I've tried so far if I was forced to settle down & commit to an eyecream tomorrow I would almost certainly go with this one.
The Extra Care Wonder Eye Cream is available to purchase in 15ml (£20...£3 off with code 'luxboxmay' before June 30th) & 10ml (£14) sizes. I know Balance Me. bath & body products are available from John Lewis, although I'm not sure about their skin care. Check out the Balance Me. website though

MOA The Green Balm: I LOVE THIS STUFF!! It's a 100% natural balm containing herbs that soothe & heal with an infinite number of uses. My first thoughts were 'WOW this stuff does EVERYTHING', then I was actually unsure what I could personally use it for, I don't have eczema/rashes/skin complaints, I found the thought of its use as a cleanser a little bizarre, I didn't have any cuts/bites/burns/wounds that needed help healing. I had no use for the miracle balm!! I started using it on the dry patches on my elbows & as a lip balm, functions I felt wasted its true potential. I used the directions of warming it between fingertips to an oil-like consistency & using it as a cleanser with a hot flannel. I loved this (& I have tried so many cleansers & cleansing techniques in the past few months). Needless to say my little sample pot got used up pretty quickly. I currently have a BIG pot on order to be delivered asap. I feel this is one of those products that EVERY bathroom cabinet needs. My sister's getting her eyebrows tattooed next week & I'm going to give her a mini pot to help it heal, I also can't wait for my big pot to come so I can use it as a hair treatment on my dry ends. Check out The Green Balm website for more healing & beauty uses (I could sit here all day listing possible uses, but I'll let you go meander the website for yourself). 50ml pots are available for £9.99 & mini 15ml pots for £4.99. The discount code LOVEMOA20 can be used until 31st May 2012 for a 20% discount.

I'm so pleased to have been introduced to some amazing products through last month's LuxBox & I can't wait to see what will appear in this month's box. I definitely recommend giving Lux Box a go if you're looking into beauty boxes. You can sign up for just 1 month with no subscription, unlike any of the other boxes where you have to sign up for a rolling subscription & then cancel if you just wanted to try it for a single month. I also think everyone in the world should own a pot of MOA The Green Balm.


Have you signed up for Lux Box? What did you think of last month's box. Have you tried any of the featured products, what are your thoughts on them?

Miss Sarah x

NOTD: Heineken Cup Final

Today is the day of the Heineken Cup Final (If you don't know what that is...6 Nations Rugby at club level) at Twickenham & I'm heading off to watch later with some girls I used to play rugby with.

I decided it was only appropriate I coordinated my nails for the occasion. Both teams in the final are Irish & I don't hold allegiance to either, so I figured I'd do each hand in the colours of each team (Ulster & Leinster). I originally had the middle fingers white & attempted to paint the logo of respective teams on, but my shaky hands & lack or artistic ability meant this resulted in failure (Check my Twitter if you want to see a photo).

For the Leinster hand I used Ciaté's Snow Virgin, Ciaté's 3am Girl (Which looks black here but is actually a Navy Blue) & the yellow is from a brand called 'Pink Republic' & came in a Debenhams gift set a few Christmases ago, the colour doesn't seem to have a name though.

On the Ulster hand I used Ciaté's Snow Virgin, Barry M's Black (47) & 17's Supreme Shine in Risky Red.

For my thumbs I thought I'd do Irish flags. Again I used Ciaté's Snow virgin. The green is Topshop's Gone Fishing & the orange is Topshop's Peaches & Cream.

The top coat is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri & I used a Topshop base coat.

I think sports fixtures are great opportunities to do something a little more fun & creative with your nails & you can adapt colours & patterns based on the team you support.

Miss Sarah x