Yves Rocher Giveaway

Remember the other day I created a step-by-step tutorial to create a green eye shadow look using Yves Rocher products? Well, I now have an exact same set of these goodies to give away to one lucky person, how amazing is that!  The set contains:

1 x Eye Shadow quad in Brilliant Green
1 x Kohl Kajal
1 x Volume Vertige mascara in black
1 x Eye shadow primer
(all pictured above)

For those of you not familiar with the brand, here's a bit of a background.  The botanical French brand started out in 1959 and have been creating makeup and skincare that embraces the goodness from plants since those early days.  In France, in La Gacilly, they have their own botanical garden where they grow more than 1100 species of plant to be used in their products (how amazing is that!?).  They're also committed to ethical product development, focusing on their natural ingredients. They also sell their products in 88 different countries across the globe, boasting over 30 million customers.  I must admit, I never realised they had such botanical roots, it makes me appreciate and love their makeup even more.

Here's the rules to enter:
1.  You must follow the conditions using the Rafflecopter widget
2.  False entries will be removed
3.  The giveaway will run for 2 weeks from today, until Saturday 18th April at midnight
4.  The winner will have 48hrs to respond to my email notification, otherwise another winner will be selected
5.  This giveaway is only open to people living in the United Kingdom

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Yves Rocher | Smoky Eye Challenge

I was recently challenged by the lovely people over at Yves Rocher to create a smoky eye look using their products.  Not one to shy away from a challenge I thought I'd step up and see what I could come up with.  The only thing I didn't know until I opened the parcel was what colour eye shadows I'd be getting.  To my delight they were green (one of my favourite colours to wear).  I thought instead of just creating a look and going 'tah dah!' I'd do a bit of a step-by-step tutorial on how I created it too, that way you could try to recreate it if you wanted to :)  

This is pretty much the way I create most looks - as in light colour on inner third, medium shade on outer two thirds, and dark colour on outer v and blended into the outer third - then blend it all together :)

Before I get into the tutorial I thought I'd talk a bit about the products I used.  I prepped my skin with my usual base, my Bourjois Radiance Reveal foundation, setting it with Witch Anti-Blemish pressed powder.  I used my Anastasia brow wiz on my brows and that's it.

I've used Yves Rocher makeup products quite a bit over the last year and have always liked them, they're a decent brand with some lovely quality makeup.  I was pleasantly surprised just how good the eye shadow primer was (£12.50*), given how oily and hooded my eye lids are, it takes quite a lot of work to get eye shadow to stay put on me and this did the job well - at least 6 hours with no movement at all.  The eye shadow quad in the shade brilliant green (£25*) was like the others I've used, really nice quality, well pigmented and very blendable - I like how these colours weren't boring, there was a nice combination of brightness, darkness, matte and shimmer, a beautifully balanced palette.

The kajal liner (£15.90*) was great too, slightly on the waxy side, as opposed to being crazy soft, which I actually prefer as it tends to stay put better when it's more waxy (I find).  That being said, it blended really well with a fluffy brush when used under the eye too.

The mascara (£22*) was lovely, I actually reviewed this quite a long time ago (you can read my review here).  Their signature reservoir on the volume vertige works really well to grip the lashes, coating them well with mascara, giving them great definition and volume.  All in all a really nice mascara.

Here's how I created the look:

The finished look :)  I hope you the look I created - I tend to wear darker eye makeup and always have, so to me, I'd be happy to wear this out in the day, but I know that's not for everyone :)

I really like Yves Rocher makeup, I think they're lovely quality and I've been pleasantly surprised by some of their pieces more than others.  I think some of their products could have slightly nicer packaging for the price, but the quality of the actual products is on point.

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*Post contains PR samples

Yves Rocher | Eye Shadow Quad in Red Hot Brown

Notice my rookie mistake? Yep, I photographed the palette after swatching it... bad blogger! Now that my wrists have been slapped, lets crack on and talk about this pretty palette.

When I think of Yves Rocher, I tend not to think makeup, I think body washes and lotions - that's how I've known them as I've grown up.  But their makeup is a bit of a best-kept-secret, from what I've tried so far, I've been genuinely impressed.

Take this Red Hot Brown palette for example, ok, quad not palette, it's made up of 2 mattes and 2 shimmers, all four being really well pigmented and a lovely soft buttery quality - the dark brown espresso shade being particularly awesome.  All blend beautifully too as you can see in the pics above.  To create this look I used the top left shade all over my lid, and the bottom right espresso shade on the outer v and through the crease - keeping things nice and simple - I also smudged the lighter shade under the eye, and the darker colour on the outer third.

The quad comes in at £12.50 (current sale price which is 50% off) which places it at the top end of the high street, which is probably where I'd place it for quality.  The packaging doesn't feel 'high end' but it doesn't feel cheap either, it's sat somewhere in between.  As for the eye shadow quality is impressive and the shades in the quad all compliment each other really well - the only thing I'd have preferred to seen is maybe a slightly more berry shade instead of the one on the bottom left - I'm a sucker for autumnal shades and wearing a berry shade through the crease.  The full price for this is £25 though, and I do feel that it's not worth that money - personally, if I'd paid £25 I'd have been a little disappointed with the quality of the packaging, but while it's on offer I think it's a great buy :)

Overall a really pretty quad with very wearable shades where you can easily create a day to night look, making it light, or deep and smoky.

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*Post contains PR samples

Newsflash: Yves Rocher Black Friday deals

Yves Rocher currently have just launched some amazing Black Friday deals - they start today and go on until Monday 1st December, they have up to 70% off 40 of their best selling products, good deal eh!  Could be a great opportunity to pick up some of your favourite products, try some new ones or pick up some affordable presents or stocking fillers for loved ones.

Anyway, I've put together a quick image on some of my top picks from their best sellers and a quick links to help you find them :)

Raspberry lip balm 99p instead of £3.00  |  Vanilla silky lotion £2.99 instead of £5.90  |  Apricot fruity scrub £2.29 instead of £6.60  |  Blusher £3.39 instead of £9.50  |  Mascara £2.99 instead of £9.00  |  Vanilla eau de toilette £3.49 instead of £9.50  |  Cleansing water face & eyes £2.49 instead of £7.00

What would be your top picks or on your wishlist?

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*Collaborative post

April 2014 Favourites

I usually do my monthly favourites on my YouTube channel, but seeing as I haven't uploaded to there for 2 months, I thought I'd do it on here :) 

I haven't been wearing 'that' much makeup this month, mostly just eye makeup.  If you saw my 'Yes to Cucumbers' review, then you'll know why I haven't been able to wear foundation until the last few days.  Thankfully, even though I still have some dry patches on my cheeks, I'm able to get away with wearing it again.

So, here's whats been on my face :)

Chanel perfection lumiere velvet

A full review will be coming of this in the next couple of weeks, so do not fear!  Either way, I love it! Perfect for oily skin, but be careful if you have lots of dryness as it does highlight dry skin.

Giorgio Armani eyes to kill mascara in 01*

This is a pretty mega-awesome mascara, another one where a full review is imminent.  It thickens, lengthens and helps curl, gives great volume and just generally makes your lashes look pretty sweet.

Yves Rocher volume vertige mascara*

Another awesome mascara, I've already done a full review of it here.  One coat is not so impressive, but 2-3 coats and your lashes will look spectacular!  

Smashbox 24 hr photofinish shadow primer*

This little beauty I reviewed on the blog earlier in the week, I really do prefer it to the Urban Decay primer potions I've been using for the past few years and will 100% replace it when it runs out, it's great if you have really oily lids :)  Review here.

GOSH forever eye shadow pencil

This little beauty (combined with the Smashbox primer) is amazing - put this on top of the primer, then your chosen eye shadow on top and you'll have some serious staying-power.  I get about 12+ hours out of it before any creasing starts to appear, which is unheard of for me :)  Review here.

Dolly Wink liquid eyeliner*

I never thought I'd find a liquid eyeliner that I'd prefer to my Chanel one, but here I am and Dolly Wink has stolen me away!  It has a really fine point on it so you can create a beautiful wing, it lasts all day, doesn't transfer onto my lid and is a great black (not a grey-black), here's my review.

Giorgio Armani eyes to kill silk eye shadow

When I went to the Giorio Armani event, I fell in love with this and just couldn't leave without it.  It was the first piece of makeup I'd bought in ages too, so I didn't feel too guilty about the price :)  It's a beautiful combination of purple with flecks of gold - it's very similar to the L'Oreal infallible shadows in that they're pressed, and come presented in a similar way.  It's long wearing and just beautiful :) Review here :)

On writing this up I'm aware lots of these favourites are items that were PR Samples (as noted by the *) but these are products I genuinely love and recommend.  I'd never review a product stating I liked it, if I didn't, and I certainly haven't been asked to include any of these in my favourites, these are just what I've been reaching for above everything else this month :)

What's been your favourites this past month?

This months Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Jaina from Which Beauty Box UK

 

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Yves Rocher mascara & lipstick review

Top row one coat, middle row two coats, bottom row three coats

The good people over at Baobella Boutique approached me about the possibility of reviewing these. After using the Yves Rocher camille cleanser I was definitely interested, that has become a morning and night staple for me so I was keen to try some other products from Yves Rocher.

First up, the mascara.  It's enriched with a fixing botanical extract (their claim), and has a reservoir wand that they say picks up just the right amount of product.  The wand is similar to ones I've seen on other mascaras, but with rubbery bristles, it also has a flexible end (like the Maybelline mega plush). Until now I wasn't sure how that would be useful (it seemed pointless with the Maybelline one), but when I used this after the first coat, I found that the flexible wand made the bristles cling to my lashes better, the result being - more mascara on my lashes, and the bristles brushing through them better.

I think this might be one of the best mascara's I've ever used, and that's saying something.  It thickens, curls and lengthens, giving me magnificent lashes - I'm sure looking at the pics you'll agree!?  The Yves Rocher Volume Vertige mascara costs just £10.50* at the moment which includes 50% discount.  It compares with all other mascaras I've tried, both high street and high end and looking at these pictures, I think it shows them all up too :)

Next up, the lipstick, or should I say Yves Rocher Grand Rouge lipstick in Shining Pink.  Both products have nice sleek packaging and feel pretty good quality.  The lipstick is an unusual colour, sort of like a blushy dusky pink, with a soft shimmer (not glittery).  It's very hydrating and not drying at all, and very well pigmented.  It's not going to stay on your lips all day, it has pretty typical wear of a couple of hours without needing a touch up, but my favourite thing about it is the colour, it's so pretty and not quite like any other I've seen, it's pretty perfect for my skintone too :)  If you're interested in picking this up, it costs £9.75 at the moment (which is with 50% off) over on their website.

What do you think of these?  Would you purchase either of them?

This months Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Jaina from Which Beauty Box UK

 

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Yves Rocher pure calmille cleanser & toner

I was a little bit nervous when I was asked to give this a try, it's a leave-on cleanser, not something I've used before, but you know me, always willing to give something new a go :)

Yves Rocher is really big in France, when I was over there at the end of January, most of the pharmacies had Yves Rocher displays in their windows, or were selling lots of their ranges.  Their affordable and good quality.  And lets face it, France is known for having outstanding skincare products!

Like I said, the Yves Rocher pure calmille cleanser is on the affordable end of the price range at £5.50 for 200 ml of product, and filled with organic camomile - something I'm a BIG fan of, camomile tea is my favourite :)  It's packed with nutrients and goodness, so makes sense to turn it into gentle skincare.

It's a cleanser and toner in one, that's described as a milk infused with flower water.  When you apply it, just squirt some product onto a cotton pad, rub the pad together to distribute the product then wipe over your face.  It doesn't leave a residue on your skin, but sinks in leaving your skin feeling velvety soft. Once you've done that, just let it dry for a minute or two and then apply your usual moisturiser.

This has become part of my skincare routine and I really feel it's attributed to me having some of the best skin I've ever had.  It's such a gentle and mild product, it hasn't irritated my skin at all, but has done a great job at cleansing and removing any bits of 'the day' that's been left on my skin after I've removed my makeup.

After the success of this product, I'm thinking about trying more of the range to see if I get similar results :)  If you're interested in giving it a whirl, you can find it on their website here :)

This months Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Ash from A Beauty Moment

 

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