Glossybox "All I Want" Advent Calendar - Part 1 - Days 1 - 12

Now I know that some people don't like them but personally I love a luxury advent calendar. I've always had an advent calendar ever since was a child, and even though we've now come a long way since the cardboard and glitter calendars of my childhood, opening a box or a door every morning in the run up to Christmas still gives me that hint of childhood excitement.

We're well advented out in the house, between 2 people and 3 cats, we seem to have acquired 6 advent calendars. The cats have one with kitty heart shaped treats inside, my mum has a Lindt chocolate one, and a NEXT home fragrance calendar, and somehow I've ended up with 3. I have a traditional Cadbury's one, a lovely Moo Free chocolate one which was a gift from a friends parents and I also have a luxury beauty advent calendar, which this year is from Glossybox.

Pretty much every brand and store this seemed to be doing their own advent calendar this year, and there were so many that I could have chosen or gone for, but after receiving a press release, I decided to go for the Glossybox UK All I Want Advent Calendar. This to the best of my knowledge is Glossybox UK's first advent calendar, and as expected it proved to be extremely successful and it did in fact sell out. I'm super grateful that Mummy Lou ordered it for me as part of my Christmas present, the retail price was originally £99 for non subscribers, but subscribers like me got the chance to pre order it for just £75. I also had some Glossy Credits which you could redeem against it, so we paid a little bit less in the end.

The designs itself is beautiful, wrapped in a pink ribbon, it's predominately in shades of pink, rose gold, and grey. Open the door and you're greeted with 24 different sized boxes all filled with goodies and shred, the boxes themselves are stacked on 4 little shelves within the box. That's not all though adhered to the inside of the left hand door is another box, with a 25 on it which is just the icing on the cake in my opinion, it's really nice to have an extra gift on Christmas Day itself.

Unlike the calendar that I got last year, this one probably isn't quite as reusable, but I'm definitely going to think of a way to reuse it, obviously you could refill it as it is, or you can use the individual boxes either for gift wrapping or for storing decorations. I'm definitely going to try and resuse it even if I just put something on the little shelves, we'll see, but it's definitely too pretty to just recycle.

Even though I had a few hints (okay a full contents list!) it's still exciting opening the boxes every morning and seeing what's inside! I've been posting day by day pics on Instagram but like in previous years I thought I'd share some initial impressions about the products inside on the blog, some of them will be full reviews with swatches and so on and with some products I'll just be telling you about more about what it is, what does, and an idea of the retail price so you make your own mind up as to whether or this calendar was worth the money - so a little but here are days 1 - 12.

Day 1 - NARS Velvet Lip Glide - 3.4ml - Immoral

Ah, NARS, who doesn't love a bit of NARS. They're one of those brands that I would happily buy everything from, providing I had unlimited funds that is,  I love their products, and thanks to the Glossbox All I Want Advent Calendar I've been able to try another one.

Lip colours are the one area where NARS and I haven't really got on, but this one thankfully was a winner. NARS Velvet Lip Glide is the perfect mix of a lipstick and a gloss, they apply with the smoothness of a gloss but with the intensity and pigmentation of a lipstick. Containing waterlily and white tea they are moisturising on the lips and have a smooth satin to semi matte finish.

Immoral is a beautiful creamy, cool fuchsia pink shade, it's extremely pigmented and it feels smooth and nourishing on the lips. I am officially in love with both this colour and this formulation. You can see a quick pic of it below and I am also wearing it in upcoming December 2018 Glossybox Unboxing Video x The one pity is that this shade appears to be a limited edition and quite hard to find, if you're in the USA though you can be this shade in this deluxe mini size as part of duo for around $16. Glossybox estimate this deluxe mini size at around £13.72 - a full 5.7ml Velvet Lip Glide retails at around £23. Although it might be quite difficult to get your hands on this particular shade, there are lots and lots of other shades to try, and I'm definitely going to be splashing out on a few more of these in the future x

Day 2 - Nip + Fab Hydrate Dragon's Blood Fix Plumping Serum - 30ml

I've tried a few products from Nip + Fab, mainly from the Glycolic and Kale ranges but I've never tried anything from their Dragon's Blood range before. A few people have told me how much they like this product and apparently Kylie Jenner is a fan too.

The idea of dragons blood sounds a little bit scary, but no komodo dragons, Smaugs, or Drogons have been harmed in the making of this product, dragons blood is in fact the sap from the Croton Lechleri tree, which when teamed up with velvet flower extract and hyaluronic acid provides intense moisture, plumpness  and comfort to all skin types but especially dehydrated and sensitive skin that is prone to redness. My skin is strange at the moment I have a few hormonal spots on my chin but at the same time, it feels quite dry, so I might give this ago in the run up to Christmas to see if it can perform a festive miracle or two x This is a good 30ml size which Glossybox value at around £11.97, the regular 50ml size retails at around £19.85

Day 3 - Yankee Candle Small Jar Candle - Berry Trifle 104g

I do love a candle especially when it's cold and dark outside, there is something so warming and soothing about candlelight, especially when it smells as good as this one does. Apparently there were two different scents but the one I got was Berry Trifle. I love food and fruit scents so this one is right up my street. It has a mouthwatering warm, fruity, berry scent with just a hint of vanilla and creaminess. Between us, me and Mummy Lou could probably own our own candle store and we I first smelled this I thought we already owned this one, but the one we actually have is the similar smelling Berry Jam, so Berry Trifle is a welcome addition to our extensive candle library. This is a Yankee Candle Small Jar Candle, which burns for 20-30 hours, they retail at £8.99 so this was a nice item to receive.

Day 4 - Philip Kingsley Body Building Conditioner - 60ml

Now, I'm a huge Philip Kingsley fan, Elasticizer is a must have and I regularly use the brands shampoos and conditioners and I have a few other bits to try. I've tried a couple of their conditioners before but I've never tried this one before. I've reviewed the corresponding shampoo before (read my review here) but this is new to me. I haven't had a chance to try it yet but once I've cleared a few more products out of the shower I'll be giving this ago.

According to Philip Kingsley (who are a professional trichology brand) this is an ultra lightweight conditioner that's ideal for fine hair types, it's designed to add moisture without weight, and it's designed to thicken the appearance of each individual hair strange, and detangling the hair as well as combating frizz and fly aways. Sounds good? I'll probably let you know what I think in a future empties post x This 60ml size is quite hard to find but it retails at around £7.00, the 75ml size retails at £10 if you fancy giving this a go.

Day 5 - MDM Flow Greater Than Mascara - 6.5ml

I've tried a couple of lip products from this UK, cruelty free brand before, but I've never tried any of their eye or face products. Now I haven't opened this that because I've already got a couple of mascaras on the go but it sounds pretty promising. According to everything that I've read this is a highly pigmented black volumising mascara, with a indented brush designed for increased volume and clump free application. It's also apparently long wearing but it contains a unique Easy-Off formulation that makes it easy to remove with either water or a water based eye make up remover. Sounds good and I can't wait to give it ago - I'll let you in a future post what I think about it if you're interested. This full 6.5ml size of the MDM Flow Greater Than Mascara retails at around £18.

Day 6 - 3INA The Lip Primer - 10ml

I've used a few bits from 3INA in the past but this is new to me x I've never much of a fan of lip primers if I'm honest - the majority either seem to dry your lips out or they just look like you've covered your lips in concealer, this is a little bit different. As well as being paraben free, vegan, and cruelty free, it's also water based. It's basically just a slightly iridescent pink, liquid cream. It matiffies the lips without making them dry or sore. I've mainly be using this under both lipsticks and glosses and it definitely makes the majority of them that I've tried last a little bit longer. You can also use it as a lip nourishing produce and on top of lipstick to give a more mattifying effect. This is a full size and retails at around £9.95.

Day 7 - Patisserie De Bain Strawberry Cupcake Bath & Shower Creme - 50ml

I was a little bit excited when I saw this, I do love fruity smelling shower products and this is the scent of summer in a tube just what you want when it's freezing outside! Patisserie De Bain are the sister brand of Yorkshire based company Rose & Co. I've tried a few Rose & Co products, and my mum is already a huge fan of Patisserie De Bain's Sugared Violet range, but this is a new scent to us both. This vegan friendly shower product apparently smells exactly like strawberries and cream, yummy! I'm in a wintry and warming mood at the moment when it comes to shower products so I'm going to hang on to this one and keep for when it quite so vile outside x This product has an estimated RRP of £2.99.

Day 8 - Real Techniques 200 Expert Foundation / Face Brush

I do love a make up brush and I was thrilled to open one of my little boxes, and see a make up brush from Real Techniques. If you haven't heard of Real Techniques where have you been?? It is an excellent, and affordable make up brush for make up artists and You Tuber's Sam and Nic aka Pixiwoo. I love their brushes and this is a limited edition version of one of their most popular brushes, their foundation / face brush. Their brushes are cruelty free, soft, durable and silky, and in this case in particular they look amazing. This brush which perfect for applying both cream and liquid foundations has super soft, densely packed duo fibre hairs. The body of the brush in a gorgeous almost rose gold, pink metal, and a almost rubberised feel plastic. I can't actually find this brush for sale on it's own so it's definitely a limited edition, a comparable brush would retail for around £9.99 but if this one has taken your fancy then it is available as part of the newly released Everyday Essentials Set which retails at around £19.99 and contains 4 brushes including this one and a Miracle Complexion Sponge.

Day 9 - Charles Worthington Take Aways Volume & Bounce Body Booster Mousse - 50ml

Now I've got to be honest I don't really use hair mousse, my hairdressers occasionally uses it before she blow drys my hair but it isn't something that I use at home. My mam on the other hand has crazy curly hair, and as a result she loves her mousse, so she's already nabbed this, and fingers crossed she likes it. From celebrity hairdresser Charles Worthington's line this mousse contains collagen is designed to boost volume, and give body, bounce, and lasting volume x This is a travel sized mini and has a retail price of around £2.49.

Day 10 - Bare Minerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Infusion - 7.5ml 

I actually have a tube or two of this but as yet I haven't tried it. You may be familiar with bare minerals as a make up brand but did you know that they've now branched out into skincare. It's a natural progression I guess for a natural brand that already produced make up with so many skincare benefits. This sounds amazing and I'm actually going to try it out tonight. Containing Bare Minerals patented Long Life Herb Extract. this is basically an all round skin replenisher, which is designed to promote a more youthful appearance, by adding moisture, and diminishing the appearance of fine lines, pores, wrinkles and uneven skin texture. You simply apply it to the face and neck after cleansing both morning and evening. You can either use on it's own or under your normal moisturiser for extra boost. According to Glossybox this 7.5ml size retails at around £7.29.

Day 11 - Bellapierre Cosmetics Kiss Proof Lip Finish - 3.8g

Bellapierre are another mineral based make up brand, all of their products are toxin, paraben free, and cruelty free, and contain only naturally derived ingredients, I own a few of their products already including some of their pigments and I've been pretty impressed with the things that I have tried but this is something new!

Now this product has flummoxed me a bit - At first I wasn't sure exactly what it was - was it a lip gloss or was it a lip sealer like Lipcote, designed to keep your lipstick in place no matter who many people you kiss under the mistletoe, it turns out it's probably a combination of the two. Kiss Proof Lip Finish is a hydrating clear lip gloss that is designed specifically to be worn on top of Bellapierre's Kiss Proof Lips Cremes, transfer what is in essence a matte product to a long lasting glossy one

Obviously you can use over any lip colour and I actually tried it over NARS Immoral and wow the difference in appearance was phenomenal, for a pretty satin finish to a full on almost mirror like gloss finish in one sweep. The gloss is a bit runny but it gave a fabulous almost mirror like finish to the lips and believe it or not it improved the wear time of something that was already pretty long lasting. This is a full size and retails at £15.

Day 12 - MUA Make Up Academy Eyeshadow Palette - Cosmic Vixen 

and on day 12 my true love, or Glossybox in this case, gave to me a full size MUA Make Up Academy Eyeshadow Palette. Although they are definitely at the lower end of the price spectrum, Make Up Academy Eyeshadow Palettes are pretty amazing and I already own quite a few of them but I didn't have thankfully I didn't have this one.

This palette is both talc and cruelty free and contains 15 fabulous shades in a mixture of textures, mattes, shimmers and high pearl finishes, this palette isn't for the faint hearted, there are some pretty out there shades in it. From pinks, almost reds and corals, to mauve's, purples and plums, there are some bright colours in this palette. Fear not that because it also has a few gold, taupe's and bronzes so it isn't all scary. If you like the idea of Urban Decay Naked Cherry with just a touch of Naked Heat thrown in then this palette is a fab budget alternative.

All of the shades feel soft and silly and the shimmers and pearls almost have a creamy feel to them. As you would expect pigmentation wise it's the shimmers and pearls that will blow your socks off, smooth shimmery, buttery and delicious colour payoff. The mattes on the other hand whilst feeling soft and silky vary slightly, the pay off on the darker colours in fine, but some of the paler shades are a bit chalky.

In reality I probably wouldn't have bought this palette, a lot of the colours are just slightly too bold for me but even though I've just managed to swatch it I'm really thinking that I could make more of the colours work for me than what I first thought. It's definitely going to be one that I'm to experiment with in the new year. This is a full size palette and retails at a pretty fabulous £5.

So 12 days down, (well more like 16 now) and a week and a bit to go before the big day - Verdict? So far, so good - A good assortment of products, full sizes and prices, and a few fabulous new discoveries - Highlights? too many but NARS, 3INA, Yankee Candles, and Real Techniques are the things that excited my most, we'll see though when I've had a proper play. Don't forget you can keep track of the days and the boxes on my Instagram and I'll be posting days 13 - 24, hopefully on Christmas Eve. In the meantime if you have any questions on any of the products in the calendar so far, I'd love to hear them so leave me a comment below xx

Exploring John Lewis, Newcastle -- The Beauty Retreat And The Beauty Hall*

I don't know if this applies to other bloggers, but in my world at least, blogger and press events are like buses, you don't attend anything or get any invites for what seems like forever and then in the space of a couple of days 4 invitations appear in your inbox!

It's been a busy couple of weeks in LouLouLand heading to events and what not and now I'm just trying to get my photos edited, and get my thoughts together, so that in my next few posts I can tell exactly what I've been up to. I know posts about events aren't for everyone but I promise you they aren't just about bloggers and journalists showing off and drinking fizz, when you attend an event yes probably will have a bit of fun, but at the same you're experiencing new products and new things and you're learning things that you can pass onto your readers In essence I guess we do reconnaissance work and suss things out so you don't have to.

Last Wednesday I was one of a number of North East bloggers that were lucky enough to be invited along to John Lewis, in Intu Eldon Square in Newcastle city centre, to attend what was to be their very first official blog event. John Lewis is one of the big 3 department stores in Newcastle city centre, and it's another store that has it's roots firmly planted right herein the North East. Formerly known as Bainbridge's, the store originally started trading on a small scale in Newcastle in around 1838 and ultimately became one of the first true department stores in the world, it changed hands and locations several times over the years before eventually be taken over by the John Lewis Partnership in 1952. The store traded successfully as Bainbridge's for many years before the Partners voted in 2002 to somewhat controversially change the name to John Lewis (at least in my mums eyes - it will always be Bainbridge's to her ;)

The purpose of last weeks event was to give us an opportunity to see just exactly what John Lewis has to offer the beauty lover, from the numerous cosmetic counters in the beauty haul, to the self selection stands and of course the Beauty Retreat.

Heading into the Beauty Retreat area of the store we greeted with glasses of bubbly, event programmes, and goodie bags, and we given the opportunity to have a chat, to try some canapes, and to enjoy the live music provided by a very talented local singer and musician, David. We then a had a talk from the Beauty Retreat Manager, Clare Meadows, about the Beauty Retreat and the night ahead. There were quite a lot of us in attendance so we were split into two groups to make sure we had an opportunity to try everything that was on offer to us. Whilst one group explored the beauty hall and the beauty counters, the other group had the opportunity to try out some of the brands that the beauty retreat has to offer, and try out some of their 10 minute taster treatments

In it's simplest terms the John Lewis, Newcastle Beauty Retreat is a spa within a store, with subdued lighting, and calming colours, the first room that you enter is a combined reception area and a treatment area where you can get brow and hair removal treatments from Blink and Jessica manicures and hand treatments, both of which we had the opportunity to try on the night.

Go upstairs in the Beauty Retreat and you're greeted with a Clarins Spa offering everything from facials to massages and self tanning. Clarins were offering pressure point massage tasters on the night but I'd already made my mind up what I wanted to try and that was downstairs.

As well as the reception and treatment areas, the Beauty Retreat also features 4 individually decorated, and furnished treatment rooms that are devoted to some of the biggest spa and skincare brands on the UK scene, ESPA, Liz Earle, Elemis and Decleor. As tempting as it was try everything that was on offer, time was really was of the essence, there were still a lot of bloggers who wanted treatments, and we only had an hour before the two groups swapped over so we had to be selective over what treatments we tried

On reflection I probably played it safe, and top of my list were two brands that I loved and I've used on and off for years, Liz Earle and Elemis. Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish is a cult product and rightfully so, it does exactly what it says it does, but the team from Liz Earle were giving us the opportunity to try out some of the newer versions of the classic C+P. Whilst keeping the base the same Liz Earle have started to experiment a little bit, and have introduced several versions with different essential oil blends. I tried a couple but the stand out for me was definitely the Rose and Lavender, I sometimes find the eucalyptus in the original too stimulating but this one felt more calming on the skin and I think it's something that would be lovely to use at night.

Another skincare brand that I love has to be Elemis, Pro Collagen Marine Cream is probably the best moisturiser I have ever used, and I can honestly say that I've loved nearly everything from them that I've tried. Again the treatment room was perfectly suited to the brand with the subdued lighting and beautiful aromas emanating from all sides, and what Elemis were offering us on the night was a taste of their Deep Drainage Facial. This wasn't about make up removal, so the make up stayed put, this massage was all about the feeling and the sensation. I was only lying on the massage bed for a few minutes but I could easily have stayed there all night. My therapist gave a gentle facial massage with just enough pressure and positioning to relieve all of the tension in my head, my sinuses and in all my facial bones and muscles. When she'd finished my head literally felt lighter, and despite the bubbly, and the warmth of the room I felt very clear headed and refreshed.

Speaking of refreshing, something that I love and that I always find relaxes me is a head and neck massages, hell any massage come to think of it, and when I saw that French, aromatherapy brand Decleor were offering a relaxing neck and shoulder massage, I knew I had to give it a try. If you've ever tried anything from Decleor you'll know that it's not only about results, it's also about the power of the scent. Like all of the spa rooms, they were lightly fragranced, with products (including the new advent calendar) on display and the lighting was both calming and subtle. Although I was wearing a dress, sitting down my therapist still had enough access to both my neck and my shoulders to undo some serious knots. Even though this was just a massage taster the therapist was really professional and enquired about the strength of pressure and how the massage felt throughout. After only a few minutes my neck felt less achy and I noticed a definite improvement in my all be it common muscle pain and tightness. She finished the massage with an application of their Circulagel, which is crammed full of menthol and camphor and gives the skin that fabulous hot, cold feeling. Although it's specifically designed for tired and aching legs, this product is great for relaxing sore and achy muscles all over the body and it's definitely something that spoonies like me need in out lives

By this time it was time to swap over and it was time for my group to attack the beauty hall and see exactly what John Lewis has to offer. The Newcastle store has most of the big beauty brands that you would expect and a few more besides, showcased in a spacious and light, and airy environment. It goes without saying that anyone can go up to a counter and ask for advice but on the night, a lot of the counters were offering some special demonstrations and makeovers just for us. We could try everything from the new Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer, to crimping and hair styling with GHD, to focus makeovers from Bobbi Brown, Chanel, and Benefit.

Again I wanted to try everything that was on offer, but that just wasn't realistic, so I settled for heading to just two counters, Bare Minerals and NARS. On the night Bare Minerals were offering a statement lip tutorial but being the beauty junkie that I am I wanted to find out a little bit more about their new foundation release Bare Pro. The lovely MUA, Sophie colour matched me and then applied a little bit of the product so I could see how it felt it on the skin, the colour match was perfect and since it's supposed to be great for concealing large pores, I've added it to my ever expanding beauty wishlist.

One of the most popular counters in John Lewis, Newcastle has to be NARS. Although it's a department store staple in many southern stores, we only have two department stores in the North East that stock it and John Lewis s one of them.

I was greeted warmly by their make up artist, Jane, who as well as being super friendly, was also very knowledgeable about the brand and it's history. I asked her a few what could be seen as difficult questions about the brands ownership, and their decision to sell in China, and she was more than happy to answer them and clarify a few issues with me, not only did she do that but she also gave me one of the best on counter makeovers that I've ever had.

The NARS demonstration that we were offered on the night was entitled, "Make Up Your Mind" and the focus was NARS' signature smokey eye look, which Jane created by using their Velvet Shadow Sticks, as well as just making up my eyes though, Jane went on a gave me a full face make over featuring everything from the new Orgasm Liquid Blush, to the Orgasm Lipstick, and the Sun Wash Bronzing Powder. I also found out that I've been using the wrong shade of NARS foundation so Jane matched me perfectly to Mont Blanc and gave me a full list of accompanying products in the correct shades.

The result was a relatively fresh, neutral face look, which was counterbalanced by the most amazing, cover girl, catwalk, rock chick smokey eye look. I really did look runway ready as I snapped several selfies of my new glam look whilst in the make up chair, sods law though when I took the pictures off my camera and phone, they were are awful, blurred and unusable, to say I was devastated was an understatement. All that hard work and nothing to show for out. I was gutted but I was so impressed with the makeover that I wouldn't hesitate to return to NARS in John Lewis in the future, for another make up masterclass.

By the time my rock chick transformation was finished though, the night was just about drawing to a close, so we headed back into the Beauty Retreat to finish the remaining canapes and cross our fingers that our lucky numbers might come up in the raffle. Alas I wasn't a winner but three lovely ladies walked away with goodies from Molton Brown, Trilogy and Charlotte Tilbury. Then after a lot of thank you's and chatter, a group of North East bloggers and their plus ones felt pampered and glamorous as hell and they headed off into the night clutching their goodie bags full of beauty samples and Charbonnel and Walker Champagne Truffles

It really was an amazing night, as well as getting to spend some time with some of my fellow bloggers both old and new, I learnt an awful from all of the brands that I spoke to and I left with a product wishlist as long as my arm, and if anyone is listening I would love a series of Elemis facials and Decleor massages in my Christmas stocking! I can live in hope I guess haha. I just want to thank everyone at John Lewis, Newcastle and of course all of the counters, therapists, brands and make up artists who looked after us last Wednesday night, and of course David for the fabulous musical accompaniments. You can find out more about John Lewis Newcastle and exactly what services they have to offer on the official John Lewis website.

*Blogger Event

NARS NARSissist Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette

Some people love high end make up and some people love budget beauty personally though I'm somewhere in the middle.Nowadays I don't believe that you have to spend a fortune to get a good quality product but sometimes it's nice to treat yourself and buy something a little bit more expensive.

If you're not a regular high end purchaser, Christmas and birthdays may give you the perfect opportunity to splash out and either treat yourself, or let somebody treat you to a designer beauty product or two. Way back in May I celebrated a 30 something (cough) birthday, and I was lucky enough to receive a little bit of money, most of which I spent on beauty and make up. One of the things that I bought from SpaceNK was this gorgeous limited edition NARS palette.

The NARS NARSissist Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette is packaged in a beautiful, but hard to photograph, chunky, silver, mirrored palette.

It contains a full sized mirror, and 8 x 1g eye shadows in the Dual Intensity formulation. This is one of NARS newest formulations and the multi dimensional effect shadows can be used wet or dry. The shadows can either be used dry to create a sheer wash of colour or they can be built up or used wet to create, a solid block colour, which is crease free and can supposedly last for up to 8 hours.

One of the key difference between high hand and more budget palettes is usually the applicators that they contain. More often than not cheaper palettes contain sponge end applicators I don't know about you but personally I don't know why they bother including them, they're  okay if you're desperate but I tend to put them in my craft stash or just throw them away. This NARS palette though is just quality personified  and includes an all be it scaled down, but excellent quality travel sized fluffy eye shadow brush, which can be used both wet and dry. This brush is a valuable inclusion and one I will actually use.

The palette contains a variety of shades ranging from shimmering neutrals, that are ideal for a paired down everyday look, to rich dark, smokey shades that are perfect for the party season. Although this palette can be used both wet and dry, I've just swatched it dry to give you an idea of the depth and multi dimensional qualities of the shadows

On the top row from left to right - Europa which is a beautiful, pale, iridescent pink peach, Himalia which us a shimmering topaz colour, Ursa Major which is a yummy glazed chocolate colour and Subra, which is a black orchid, almost burgundy, rouge noir shade.

and on the bottom row from left to right - Andromeda - a pale, alabaster shade, Lysithea, which is probably my favourite colour and is described as a silvery, shark grey, Giove which is a deep navy blue, and Sycorax which is a midnight black shade.

Good pigmentation and embossed eye shadows are words that don't often go hand in hand, but as you can see from these pictures, these shadows are extremely pigmented, and buildable, and they have a smooth almost creamy texture. If they look like this dry then you can imagine how amazing they look when they're wet.

This palette retails at around £45 and whilst it isn't cheap I think it's definitely worth the money - it's not only aesthetically pleasing but everything about from the shadows to the brush just screams quality. Unfortunately it was a limited edition so it's not that easy to get a hold of now but I have managed to track a few down on Sephora if you're in the US, and on ASOS and Harvey Nichols if you're in the UK.

If you can't manage to get your hands on this palette or if you only like certain shades, all of the colours apart from Ursa Major are available individually,in a 14g full size, for £21. The beautiful black orchid, burgundy shade Subra is also available along with 3 other Dual Intensity shades in the new NARS Steven Klein Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette Dead Of Summer for around £35.

Are you a NARS fan ? I'd love to hear your thoughts and your recommendations x