Selfridges "Night of Nationals" Beauty event.

Selfridges throws these beauty events every two-three months, and they are well worth attending. Basically, you pay £10 for a ticket - this gets you a wristband entitling you to free drinks (alcoholic and non- alcoholic), a £10 voucher redeemable against ANY product from any range, and a goody bag at the end. As you enter the event, you'll also be handed a list of the companies and what offers they have - often VERY good GWP's to be had.

The goody bags can be a bit hit and miss - more often than not you'll get a load of perfume testers, sometimes you might get a lipgloss or something - My mum got an especially good one last time, containing a mini Dior shadow quint. Sadly this time, my goody bag was filled with perfume samples, which I'll undoubtedly sniff once then forget about... Oh well!

The theme for this night was Hollywood Glitz and Glam - a prize was given for the best dressed attendee apparently... unfortunately for me I was attending after a last minute swap to a late shift to accommodate a work colleague with a childcare issue. This meant that my plan to go home after my early shift and try to make myself look vaguely human fell by the wayside, and I ended up looking distinctly "thrown together" as indeed I was... It was clear that some of the attendees had gone to a lot of trouble,including fellow blogger Amy who was wearing an AMAZING vintage purple jacket (I believe she said it was a Rocha? I am a fashion imbecile though, so I might be wrong - Amy please feel free to correct me!), and had clearly made an effort with her makeup (she looked stunning). Unlike me, who slapped on a bit of foundation, blusher and mascara in the work loos...

I saved Illamasqua hauling til Saturday, as I knew I was attending the Masterclass event, but I did pick up some other stuff - onto the goods!

First up, I hit the RMK counter with gusto - I believe the offer was buy two items and get a lipgloss free, but I arrived late due to shift swapping, and so there was basically a big box of products that you could choose what you wanted from... I picked up three eye shadows and chose a free coloured mascara...

l-Jelly eye colour (cream shadow) in shade JE-01, Silver Gold Beige,
m - Powder shadow in shade SH-01, Shiny Brown Gold,
r-Cream shadow in JE-07 Chocolate.
Far Right, Mascara in "Deep Red"

Next up, I had a browse at the Laura Mercier - again, they had a GWP which enticed me as I have only ever used the tinted moisturiser from the range, which I really like (this and the Korres are my two favourite ones...). Regular readers may have realised that I have a bit of a thing for foundation, and I have noticed my skin becoming dryer as the weather grows colder, so I asked about their foundations... Now it must either be testament to the sales skills of the LM MUA, or a sign that I am an idiot, because I still bought a foundation after being advised/ insulted by her when she told me that my foundation was making me look "very dry"...
Hmm... I have a scary feeling it must be the latter. I also picked up some foundation sponges (the evangelical MUA was praising the high level of pigmentation in the foundation and preached about the "press and roll" method - she also advised that these can be used and re-used as they are machine washable... we'll see!).

I have a feeling Laura Mercier may be second only to Bobbi Brown in the whole "our way is the only way to wear makeup" school of thought... The MUA also appeared to have taken advantage of the free pink fizzy wine as she clutched my hand in an earnest way and pressed the phone number of the counter on me to book in for a complimentary makeup lesson - "We'll show you how to do your makeup properly!" (Thanks luv- I thought I didn't realise I looked that bad actually!)

Anyway, I picked up their moisturising foundation, an undereye concealer and the sponges, and I got a free eyeshadow in the shade "Cognac" a lovely rich red toned brown...

I also went to the YSL counter where the lure of the lipsticks proved too much - I already have a couple of the Rouge Voluptes and couldn't resist another one in the shade 26 (Peche Tendresse). I LOVE the formula of these lipstick and this one doesn't disappoint - yes they need a lot of reapplication and are not the most hard-wearing formula, but I really don't care lol - applying these is like a little treat each time.

I also picked up a Rouge Pure Shine (a formula I have never tried before) in shade 11 (Diamont Rose), a pretty pink nude shade with a silver shimmer. LOVE the packaging on these by the way! With my two purchases I recieved a GWP - I had a choice of two, and decided on this rather 80's style velvet clutch...

Inside the clutch is a little palette containing two eyeshadows, a high-lighter, lipstick and lip-gloss...
Finally, after reading Natalia rave about the La Prairie foundation (which costs a jaw dropping £114) in this fab post I called in at the counter and asked for some samples, which they kindly gave me... I can't wait to try this - in a way I'm hoping it doesn't work for me, as I know I will end up buying it if it's good lol!

Have you tried any of the stuff I have picked up? How did you find it?
MizzWorthy xxx

This Week I Cant Wait for....

A couple of lovely events planned this week... First up I'm off to the Beauty Night at Selfridges in Trafford Centre on Thursday night. I've been to a couple of these before and they are usually good fun. £10 get you a "lovely" wristband (in turn entitling you to drinks), a £10 redeemable voucher for anything in the beauty hall, and a goodie bag. At the first event, the goodie bag contained a full size lipgloss from Clarins. The second time, I got a lot of perfume samples, but my mum got a Dior shadow quad! I don't know if it's just me, but the assistants seem far less scary at these events, ie you can have a look at the products with a lower level of hard sell...

Secondly, I'm back at Selfridges again on Saturday for an Illamasqua Masterclass - I have attended one of these before and it was AMAZING. I learnt a lot and had great fun. I blogged about the experience here. I'm looking forward to playing with some of the new Dystopia products under supervision of an adult, rather than my usual childlike daubings...

Obviously, blog posts will follow!

MizzWorthy xxx

Garnier Bloggers Event!

I was amongst the lucky peeps who got invited to the L'oreal headquarters down in London last night for the Garnier event.

Obviously prior to this a little look round the shops was in order! I was pleased to meet up with Janaka (JJ26) Rebecca (Panda), Cat (Swirled Peacat), Olivia (OliviaCosmetics), and Amy (Lipgloss86), and we were also joined later by Mushine (Bubblegarm). I FINALLY got to have a look round the Beauty Meccca that is Selfridges beauty hall - fab! Although, I have to say I was disappointed by NARS usual problem of never having stuff in! I also called at the Kheils counter too to ask about moisturiser, and was majorly annoyed by the "Can't be bothered" attitude of the staff who tried to get me to buy a whole skincare regime. I left without anything from them lol! Obviously a little call into the Illamasqua counter was mandatory for me - will post about that separately though!

The actual building the event was held in - L'Oreal HQ - was really lovely - one of those modern, clean and miminalist glass sided buildings... We met up with lots of other bloggers including Kelly (Kelanjo) and Laura (Tallulahbella) who very kindly also offered to rescue me from wondering round London all day too! All the PR people at the event seemed really lovely - They made the effort to come and speak to each of us in person. We also had an AMAZING buffet laid on, which was extremely welcome at the end of a day wandering around London in the heat! I am happy to report that M&S Percy Pig sweets were on the table - my fave indulgence lol!

I was also really pleased to finally meet Natalie, who works for the PR company that organised the event - she was really helpful in the run up to this (and past events), in answering all my schtoopid questions anout booking train tickets etc, so I was really pleased to meet her, and say thank you in person.

After food, we sat down for a presentation re the company, and a breakdown of their products. The speakers all seemed very knowledgeable about the products and were also passionate about the way the company uses science in order to "extract the best bits of nature" - this means that the products are affordable, and natural, but also hopefully effective!

After the presentation we had a little mingle and a chance to have a look at the ranges and talk to the product managers about the ranges...

We also recieved a HUGE bag of stuffies to try and review. The main product we were all introduced to during the event was the new PureActive range. This is targeted at "Problem skin", and the products claim to tackle blemishes and red marks (which is a first!), and also promise to give results from the first day of use! The range includes a roll on "On the Spot" treatment (if you have the caffeine eye roll on from the nutritionist range then this is packaged in the same way - very handy for throwing in your handbag). There is also a Deep Pore Unclogging Wash, a Blackhead Clearing Scrub, a Spot Purifying Toner and a Spot Fighting 24-Hr Moisturiser. I have enlisted the help of my lovely BF Phil in testing this range as well as trying them out myself - he has acne prone skin, and I have issues with hormonal breakouts from time to time, so it will be interesting to see what he makes of it... He did have a little try of the scrub and the moisturiser this morning and said he thought it was "Good", and felt "a bit tingly" - which he feels is an auspicious start lol. Will keep you all posted on that one!

We also got a few other bits of skincare to try as you can see - a "Clean Detox" exfoliating wash, a Nutritionist Caffeine eye roll-on and a Pro X anti-ageing moisturiser.

I'm also super pleased that we got some Ambre Solaire sunscreen products. My pale sickly looking skin is NOT made to deal with the sun, and I always wear the highest factor I can get lol! Clear protect, which is my all time fave suscreen - feels totally not sticky, even in high factors. We also got a bottle of the new "Light and Silky" lotion to try out, and I got a couple of lovely bottles of spray on factor 50 (Or liquid lead as my lovely BF calls it - I used this last year on holiday, and it worked very well - I was pleased to come back just as pale as when I went - proof that it works lol - After all suntanned skin is damaged skin etc!).

To combat the paleness, we also got a can of no streaks bronzer in "Light Glow" - I'm going to be testing this out his week too! Also a bottle of my HG everyday body lotion - HydraLock - which I blogged about a couple of weeks ago - LOVE the stuff! We also got some Body Tonic Sugar scrub to try - I haven't ever tried this one before...

As L'Oreal are also involved with the Maybelline range - we got a few goodies from them thrown in too - lots of mascaras to try. Can you believe, I have NEVER tried Great Lash before! Can't wait to try these two hair dyes too - Herbashine apparently works in 10 minutes.

Ok - if you have made it this far well done! I just wanted do a few mini-reviews of the stuff I've tried so far and love.

First up - HydraLock Body Lotion - I have really dry legs and they itch like mad some times - this is the only product I've found that stops this! A bargain too - the 250ml bottle is only around £2.99.

Clean Sensitive Moisture Infusion Cleansing Water - If you are a fan of the Body Shop Camomile eye makeup remover, then I'd reccommend trying this one out - it feels like water and you swipe it over the face on cotton-wool. It removed my makeup well, without making my skin feel irritated, which is a rarity for me with drugstore ranges. I would never have bought this to try, but I'm really glad I got one - def repurchase for me!

Caffeine Eye Roll-On - I really like this, especially in this hot weather. It feels so refreshing and cool, and seems to give a nice temporary lifting and tightening effect - I'm not sure about long term effects, but this is a lovely thing to have in your handbag to perk up your skin when you feel a bit tired mid-afternoon...

PureActive On The Spot Roll on - same packaging as the caffeine roll on. This contains 2% Salycilic acid, which is apparently the highest concentration available over the counter. This promises to dry op spots and reduce red marks (you know those really annoying residual marks after a spot...) from the first day of use. Well, I've been dabbing this on my breakout today, and I've already noticed a reduction in redness - I'll keep you all posted on this one too!

Anyone tried any of these products? Any other recommendations?

MizzWorthy x