Follow-up

The nail polish arrived. I did my nails in Midnight Cami today and it's perfect. Shimmery dark blue. I love it. Quite tricky to apply because it's so dark and mistakes stand out but I won through.

And the Kiehls peely thing? Am LOVING it. 10 years younger? No. But glowing? Yes, I'd say so. It's a keeper. And it's so low maintenance. No scrubbing and effort required. Put it on, go to sleep, wake up looking better. Marvellous.

Winter nail polish

I know I'm obsessed with nail polish. I make no excuses for it. I think painted nails look better than non-painted nails. I try not to buy nail polish as I get my nails done weekly at work by a lovely person who comes in - link on the right of my blog.

But this week, I decided I needed some. I bought two bottles online. Both Essie. The best nail polish in my - much researched - opinion. I got Damsel in a Dress which I know I love as I have had my nails done in it a few times. It's a beautiful purple without being obviously purple rain. It's quite deep and looks delicious in the winter.

The other one is called Midnight Cami. Described as a twilight blue on the site. It's not though because twilight blue is surely quite pale? Being as it's not dark yet. And this is very dark. So that's stupid isn't it? Or am I reading too much into it?

Follow-up post about the Dermalogica sun cream

Before I went to France, I blogged about the Dermalogica sun cream. I've just realised I never reported back and I promised Foreigner I would. Foreigner lives in a hot climate all year round. Yeah, I'm jealous too.

Anyway, I loved it. It's not greasy at all and it worked a treat. The first week was really hot and not so much as a red nose for me. I highly recommend it.

Kiehl's Overnight Biological Peel

Last week I was reading the beauty pages of something. I couldn't tell you what as I read dozens of magazines, newspapers and supplements. Anyway, they were talking about salon treatments you could buy and do yourself at home. One that caught my eye was this little baby - Kiehl's Overnight Biological Peel. It gave it a rave review and said it was totally safe.

Is it just me that is a little freaked out by the word 'peel' in beauty? It makes it sound like your skin will literally peel off and you'll be left with sore, red patches. Like when Bill is in full sun trying to rescue Sookie in True Blood. Only maybe not that bad.

But I've always had time for Kiehl's and I figured it's been ages since I bought anything new to try. So I hot-footed it to the Kiehl's counter in House of Fraser, Westfield, where a very nice man demoed it. I was impressed as I couldn't remember anything about the product when I asked about it. I said, "I read about it last week, it makes you look 10 years younger overnight, do you have it?" And he knew immediately what I meant.

You put it on in place of your moisturiser before you go to bed. And you wake up 10 years younger. To be fair, he did say that was unlikely.

I put it on last night. You don't need much which is good news as it's expensive - £38.17 to be exact. Although of course much cheaper in the US. I woke up this morning, rushed to the mirror and...

Ummmmmm. Not 10 years younger but definitely smoother of skin and brighter of complexion. Which has nothing to do with my 9 hours sleep I had. Oh no. It's all down to this!

You mustn't use it more than three times a week. I'll report back in a few weeks an let you know if I think it's worth the expenditure.

The nights are drawing in...

I quite like this time of year. I know the getting dark at 4pm is fairly grim but let's look on the bright side, you can get away with shaving your legs once a week or less. You don't have to have pedicured toes all the time (although I do because it makes me feel less depressed about winter).

And you can have more baths. At this time of year I crave comforting scents and I am currently loving good old Dove bubble bath. It smells like Granny should smell and I like it. And it's cheap too which is a bonus.

Lush has also come up with some lovely A/W ballistics. They call it the Christmas range but I prefer my title. I've had a So White and it was gorgeous. It creates a snowy froth on the top of your bath. And I have a Cinders ready to use but am put off by reports that it stains the bath. Cleaning the bath after you've got out of it is no fun.

And I am loving Moringa bubble bath by The Body Shop. It's a pretty floral and nice for when you've had a tough day at work and just want to feel girlie.

Talking of The Body Shop, they've totally copied Lush and have a Retro thing going on. They've brought back some old favourites! I bought some of the Passionfruit Cleanser because I used to love it. I can report it still smells exactly the same and is a very good cleanser. Only £3.99. Bargain. They also have the banana shampoo which I also used to love. Find out more here.

The last day of summer

Back from France and been a bit busy and had no time to update the blog.

Terminal 5, Heathrow. Mecca. I bought some holiday perfume. Always nice to have a perfume new for holidays so that when you wear it you are reminded of happy days. As you know, I didn't really need a perfume but that's never stopped me. But guilt crept in as I really do have LOTS of perfume. I compromised and bought a perfume that only cost £17. A Guerlain one at that. Who'd have thunk?

I got one from the Aqua Allegoria range - very light and summery and in the most beautiful bottles. It's all sparkly and orange and it was perfect for the south of France. However now I am back in Autumnal London, I think it's going to have to have a rest as I want spicy warmth now.

Current loves

A little round up of what I am currently loving or lusting after.

I blogged about Mario Badescu summer shine lotion the other week. I would like to report that I love this stuff and can't wait to use it in proper sunshine. It smells lovely and it's so subtle.

Serge Lutens perfume. I am in love. Gorgeous, beautiful, sexy perfume. They pretty much all smell gorgeous. I've not bought any but my lovely friend gave me three samples and I am enjoying them a lot.

I can't get enough of the blu my mind OPI nail varnish. It's such a deep fantastic blue. Like the Mediterranean on a perfect summer's day. The best toe colour you can wear in the summer.

Urban Decay eyeliners. I am getting quite a collection now. With the Urban decay primer, these are just fantastic and they stay on all day long. No smudging, nothing. Worth every penny - they are about £11 which is great value. My latest purchase is 1999 - a lovely soft grapey purple.

I said in my last post that I was on the look out for my sun protection. The wonders of having a blog. Another lovely friend read it and gave me a full bottle of Piz Buin 1 Day Long lotion, factor 30, you only need to apply it once a day. She's just come back from Greece and said not a red mark on her. So job done there.

The Olay Aqua Physics night cream is also impressing me. Very nice consistency and no greasiness. I can recommend it.

Lest you think I spend stupid amounts on everything, I am really liking Superdrug's Coconut and Shea butter bubble bath. Lots of bubbles and a nice coconutty scent. You have to like your coconut but really, how could you not?

And finally, I had my eyelashes tinted yesterday for the first time in years. What a result. Maybe I will give up on my quest to find the perfect mascara and go for this from now on!