Liz Earle make-up

Liz Earle is one of those brands you know is good for you but is frankly a bit dull. I think the packaging is tedious and although I know people rave about Cleanse and Polish, I can't quite be bothered with it. However, Sali Hughes gave the new make-up range such a great review a few weeks ago, I decided to investigate.

There is a huge Liz Earle just off Kings Rd and it's a beautiful shop, the perfect place for a browse. The make-up range is small which I like. On Sali's recommendation, I looked at the cream blush first. The texture on this is the best I've ever seen, it literally glides and blends like a dream. I could have bought two or three but in the end plumped for Coral. I will definitely be buying more of these as they are foolproof.

I was intrigued to read about the mascara base, it claims to make your lashes look thicker and longer. You can use it under any mascara. For £10, it was worth a go. What I have noticed the most is not that it makes my lashes look longer (nothing makes them look longer in my opinion, your lashes are a set length) but that it reduces smudging. I get a lot of smudging with mascara as the day wears on. I've tried everything but always resemble a panda by the end of the day. This reduces that. It doesn't eliminate it but there is improvement. Plus, yes, it makes lashes look thicker.

I was also impressed with the eye pencils especially the Golden Bronze. I didn't buy it but only because it was the same day as the Bliss pedicure and various other expenditures and I decided to try and be sensible. I am regretting it and will return. It's a gorgeous colour.  I also liked the look of the lip glosses.

All in all, I am impressed and the simplicity of the range is very appealing. I also got to choose a sample of a skincare product and choose this exfoliator. It's excellent and smells divine and so I am recommending that too!

All in all, a success. Perfect make-up for the natural 'no make-up' ladies.

Bliss Super Slough Scrub

I bought this at the Bliss spa after my pedicure. I bought a lot of things, they had a sale and I am weak in the face of a sale. Anyway, I am loving this. It's really easy to use, it rinses off easily and it smells good. Skin is smooth and soft afterwards. I know it's quite expensive and normally I don't spend lots on body scrubs but this has changed my mind. I am especially loving it post-holiday when your skin feels a bit dull as the tan wears off. I wish I could lie in the gorgeous sunshine we're having at the moment but sadly not.

I highly recommend this.

Birthday perfumes

Don't ask me where the time goes but another birthday hit me this month. The advantage of getting older is that your friends and family learn your taste. My love of perfume is very well known and I am delighted to say that none of my nearest and dearest would consider getting me something from Duty Free. No, my tastes run a little more exclusive than that darlings.

The award for most attention paid to this blog goes to my two dear friends who scoured, scoured these pages I say, to decide what to get me. I wrote about Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino 15 months ago! That's what I call an eye for detail. I can't even begin to tell you the joy that this perfume gives. It's properly, perfectly wonderful. I've just come back from Mallorca and I do love a perfume you associate with holidays and this will now be one of them. It's perfect for sunny climes. In fact, it's exactly how you expect Portofino to smell like; orange blossom and lemon. It's very sexy, in fact it is unisex and it's complex yet fresh. Worrying CoverBoy took a shine to it so I shall be hiding it obviously.

Speaking of CoverBoy, he got me a very indulgent present.

Bois Des Iles is my desert island fragrance and my wedding scent. I have a 200ml bottle of it which is lovely and all but you can't take it with you anywhere. It's really a bit of a trauma as I know you'll understand. Since the Chanel exclusives are now available in 100ml bottles, I dropped hints. OK, I told him exactly where to go (Selfridges) and lucky me, he trotted off. Since he pretty much hates central London on a Saturday, I call that love.

Finally, my brother and his family got me Liz Earle's perfume. Again, I did ask for this (before I knew I was getting a perfume bonanza!)

I've been wanting this for a while and it's gorgeous. Very summery and I think excellent value as a French house would charge twice as much for it. I also took this to Mallorca (yes, I took two perfumes, what of it?!) and it was perfection. You can read more about it here.

I was also given a bottle of Apres L'Ondee by another dear friend and so I am wafting around in a cloud of scented glory. I don't understand people who don't wear perfume, it really gives me so much pleasure and I genuinely believe you can never have too much of it.

I have plenty more to tell you about too. Givenchy, Opi and Essie nail varnish, St Tropez sun cream, Liz Earle make-up (very exciting), Bliss body scrubs. It's been a big beauty month. Watch this space...

A freshly squeezed pedicure please

Yet again I had one of those days where I just know I'd be fabulous as a millionaire. I went back to the Bliss Spa for a special Birthday Pedicure. You may wonder how good a £60 pedicure can be. Well, let me tell you, it can be wondrous.

It lasts an hour and this is a place that has a menu of pedicures, hot almond and milk, double chocolate, head over peels! I went for Freshly Squeezed because a) you got a free glass of orange juice and b) you got a special Essie nail varnish. I'm all about freebies. It was delightful from the word go, fresh orange slices went in the water along with their blood orange gel and essential oils. It smelt heavenly. My feet were buffed, scrubbed, buffed more, scrubbed more, attended to with more detail than you can imagine and then massaged and finally the toenails painted with meticulous care, they are a work of art. The orange juice was all iced up and delicious, I had magazines galore. Sex And The City was on the television. Basically it was a dream pedicure. My feet were like baby feet at the end.

I picked Essie's Oli Caliente for my colour, again there was so much choice, it was a bit overwhelming.

At the end I was given my bottle of nail varnish in Freshly Squeezed - exclusive to the salon don't you know and full size. I was also given some body butter as it was my birthday (well, it is on Monday) and get this - if you go in your birthday month, you get 15% off your treatment. As if it couldn't get any better, there was a tremendous sale on and I got a whole load of goodies for half price. I don't think I could have been happier, I bounced out with my baby smooth feet and hit Liz Earle and Peter Jones. But that's a different story...

I highly recommend the Bliss Spa, no spa I've been to is comparable to the treatments. It's fun and totally pampering.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo Cream Gel Shadow

You know how I am obsessed with eye make-up? Well, I read about these 24 hour eye tattoos and just had to try them.

The great thing about Maybelline is it's so cheap, it hardly matters if you end up using it twice and chucking it out. Not that I condone filling up our landfills so I usually try and find a teenager to give my experiment buys to.  However, this I am impressed with. Basically you apply it and it stays put all day long. Properly stays put, no smudging and fading. I got Tenacious Teal and have been using it as an eyeliner with my fabulous MAC Flat Definer brush (which everyone needs, it turns all your eyeshadow into eyeliner). I am looking forward to experimenting further, look at the model on the page:

I reckon I could pull that look off! She has to be wearing coloured contact lens, right? It comes in 10 shades although my local Boots only had about four. I like the look of Bad to the Bronze and Edgy Emerald. These are great summer fun and at £4.99 each, worth a go.