ORTIGIA SICILIA - FICO D'INDIA OVAL GIFT BOX

We received this gift box from one of our relatives in Italy and realised that not very many people know about the brand so we felt we should review it.

This is a beautiful gift which can be found here at a retail price of £45.00 which is a very reasonable price for the quality of the product and what is included in the set. The set itself includes a 300ml shower gel, 40g bar of soap, 7ml hand cream and a cone candle.

We love this gift set because it is presented in a beautiful printed and silver lined box and it contains a selection of the best selling Ortigia products in the best selling Fico D'India fragrance.

Now lets get down to the facts. The products are beautifully packaged in an ornate gift box, making it a fantastic gift for yourself or for somebody special. The products are infused with exquisite scents from Sicily. Fico d India is a cactus plant which aids skin regeneration. The smallest amount of shower gel and soap are needed as they lather up quickly, leave you feeling refreshed and have a long lasting scent. The Hand Cream is very rich and great for dry dehydrated skin, blended with natural lanolin and olive oil. A lovely bonus to this gift set is the Fico Cone Candle, with a rich aroma that fills the house.

The products are all natural scents and made from natural ingredients which include olive oil, vegetable glycerine, and organic colours and the best part is that the products are not tested on animals.

We absolutely love this gift set and will be buying it again. We recommend that you buy it too; if this gift set is a bit out of your price range then they also have smaller, individual products which are just as amazing. Also there are other fragrances which are based on Sicilian plants: Orange Blossom, Sicilian Lime, Pomegranate, Lavender, Fico d’India and Almond.

If you have tried this set then let us know what you think by tweeting us on our twitter page: @The1BeautyBlog

Thank you for reading this and we will see you on our next review!!

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PEPPERMINT BEAUTIFYING FOOT TREATMENTS

...No, thank YOU Body Shop!

Once again the Body Shop has struck gold in their Peppermint range, specifically designed to beautify feet for these hot summer months. Products within the range include foot scrubs, lotions, gels, recovery balms, and soaks.

We were asked to review some of the items in this collection and we chose to review the peppermint smoothing pumice foot scrub, the peppermint cooling foot lotion and the peppermint reviving leg gel, so here goes!

The peppermint scrub is simply a miracle product. It, alongside the entire peppermint range has an incredible long last scent, and feels cooling and refreshing in this tropical weather we are experiencing here is the UK. While it feels harsh to touch, it is the perfect consistency to revive dead skin cells from feet.

The reviving peppermint leg gel is lovely and soothes tired legs and it great if used after exercise to help your muscles recover, and after a long day at work.

The cooling foot lotion again smells amazing, and soaks into the skin perfectly. This does infact leave your feet and legs feeling refreshed and cooled after using the scrub and leg gel.

Combined these products really do hit the tri-fecta. Now that I have discovered how equally brilliant these products are in regards to packaging , consistency and value for money, this is something I will continue to buy and will explore the range.

Have you tried any peppermint products from The Body Shop? How do you find them?

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BENEFIT HELLO FLAWLESS OXYGEN WOW FOUNDATION AND STAY FLAWLESS PRIMER

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation

We have been incredibly excited to test this product for our 300th Twitter follower. This foundation is amazing, and totally flawless! It is available in 9 shades, and has buildable coverage. We use the shade 'Believe in me Ivory', and as there are 9 shades there is a shade to suit you for sure.



What do Benefit say about this product?

''Hello... it's flawless time!
Our new oil-free brightening liquid foundation builds from light to medium coverage for a natural complexion you can believe in.
It's you... just more luminous and healthy looking''

What do we think about this product?

The product has the typical girly benefit style packaging. It is contained in a clear bottle so you can keep your eye on how much of the product you have, and has a pump so the foundation is easily dispensable, without using too much of the product. This product doesn't have a strong scent: There is nothing worse than having a fantastic product that is intolerable due to an over-powering fragrance.

This foundation has an oil-free formulation which is fantastic for those of you with oily/combination skin, but it does keep your skin hydrated. The coverage is light-medium, but the great thing about this foundation is that it is buildable, so you can get a very light barely there look, to full heavy duty coverage without looking cakey. We prefer to apply the product using our fingers, or with our Sigma stippling brush to get an amazing air-brushed finish! Additionally,  the foundation contains SPF 25 to combat sun damage to your skin, but it is always advisable to wear a SPF under your foundation.

What do you think to the foundation? Leave us a comment below, and let us know of any alternative.

You can purchase this foundation here for £25.50

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Benefit Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer Review

This is a great primer! It is a light beige cream stick which applies evenly when swept on the face and gives a subtle shimmer. This is great, particularly for dark circles as the slight shimmer really illuminates the under eye area without appearing glittery. However I am sceptical about using it over blemishes as the shimmer may illuminate rather than conceal them. Therefor I think this product is ideal for people without oily skin as it would provide a touch of luminosity.

The product is very easy to apply. It is packaged as a stick primer so you simply twist the primer and apply onto cleansed skin. This draws your foundation to your skin and helps to keep it in place throughout the entire day. The primer did give the corresponding foundation a stronger look, and gave a smooth canvas to apply the foundation, but after 10 hours the foundation noticeably faded.

We do like the Benefit Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer, but we don't think it is as long lasting on our skin type as the Smashbox Photo-ready Primer. The subtle shimmer meant our under eye area was illuminated, but it did not flatter the blemishes on our skin. For our skin type we prefer a mattifying primer to combat oil, but for those of you with normal skin this primer would be great for you.

We bought our primer here for £24.50

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SKIN 79 SNAIL NUTRITION BB CREAM

Okay, so you may be a tad freaked out about the snail slime. I know I was to begin with – this sounds like some sort of Halloween product right? Although the snail slime is in there for a reason, it actually helps to reduce aging skin by making your skin produce more collagen, and therefore give you youthful skin. It also protects the skin by forming a moist protection layer.

This is the first Skin 79 bb cream I have used so I thought I was being pretty brave considering the 45% snail filtrate in it, but I am very pleased that I gave it a go; I bought the bb cream on Ebay for £20, which for 40g may have been a tad excessive, but it was worth giving it a try.

I rather like this product because not only does it give a dewy appearance – for obvious reasons ^^^ - it also contains SPF 45 which protects you skin from sun damage and also the packaging is lovely, it is a gold pump on a creamy/pearly container which makes it look very high end.

When I applied the bb cream I found that it was different from my usual Missha bb cream because instead of having a gray undertone it was more pink based so you don’t look quite as pasty faced. Another difference I found from the Missha bb cream is that this one was very runny, which means that it gives slightly less coverage yet it is still enough for days where you just want light dewy makeup instead of heavy matt makeup.

I do really like this bb cream as it is very light and dewy which is great for the summer months, and it gives a very natural, bright, finish to your skin. I do prefer more heavy duty coverage as I often get breakouts which need covering up but if you are lucky enough to have almost clear skin then this would be perfect for you. The only problem I have with this bb cream is that it is very difficult to find and as a result it can be pretty pricey: I have found the bb cream can go as high a price as £35.00.

I hope you found this review informative and helpful. Don’t forget to become one of our followers on twitter to see our upcoming reviews. :) xxxxxx

GUCCI PREMIER PERFUME

After ripping open the gift wrap in what can only be regarded as indescribable excitement, I knew this would be love at first sight.  Gucci Premiere Eau de Parfum is in high demand and in so many wish-lists, but as a luxury purchase, I thought I would write a mini review for you all.

So, let's talk packaging. On receiving this product, whether it is a gift to yourself or from a family member or friend you will be in awe of the beautiful packaging. If you are anything like myself the packaging is as equally important as the product itself. It is important not to judge a book by it's cover, but, you will be right on track. The box has a Gatsby feel, with a champagne colour and the double G symbols creating a unique pattern. The gold theme runs through onto the perfume bottle which is a reflective golden bottle with an attached decorative charm on the neck of the perfume bottle. Again, the Gucci signature is on the bottle stopper, and gives an immediate luxurious feel.

So, onto the most important part. The scent.  Scents are unique to each person, but what I can say about this perfume is that it is a sophisticated scent: If you are one for fruit scents this is probably not for you. This scent is rather woods, giving a musky tone, yet with citrus undertones from the orange blossom and bergamot. This is a feminine, natural yet sophisticated scent that people from the age of 21+ would appreciate. I am drawn to this fragrance for more glamorous occasions, which is mimicked in the extravagant packaging and alluring scent.

We have the 75ml which retails at £77.00 from Debenhams, so make sure you read this review and get a tester before you buy. This is also available at most department stores.

How do you rate the perfume??? 

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