The Advent of a Little Luxury Every Day with the Launch of L'Occitane's 2017 Advent Calendars!

L'Occitane will always be synonymous with luxury skincare & beauty so what if I told you you could have a little luxury every single day in the run up to Christmas? Well that's exactly what my fave French brand have asked me to do. Enter two of the most covetable beauty advent calendars on the market as L'Occitane release both their classic and luxurious versions this week, you have to see them to believe them. You also have to be quick to get 'em!

WIN Your Own L'Occitane Travel Essentials Collections - FIVE to Give Away!

Long time readers will know I'm a long time advocate of award winning French natural beauty and skincare brand, L'Occitane. Their luxury products fit nicely into my 'Treat yo'self' ethos and several of their products make recurring appearances on my Holy Grail lists. So when they approached me to collaborate on an exclusive Travel Essentials Campaign (you won't see this on any other timeline), there was only one Mon Dieu! before I readily agreed. Could it BE a better fit?

With the countdown to summer being officially on, LOccitane have introduced their Build Your Own Travel Essentials Collection. Forget decanting, measuring and hoping your products make it past the eagle eye of airport security, simply choose a minimum of three deluxe minis from your body, hair & skincare faves HERE and nab yourself a complimentary, snazzy cosmetics case to go with!

This wouldn't be a CherrySue collaboration if there wasn't something in it for you, dear readers and L'Occitane wouldn't be one of my all time favourite brands to work with if they didn't agree, so to celebrate this special offer we've organised five, yep FIVE Travel Essentials Collections to be won. 

Simply pick your favourite 3 luxury minis & limited edition cosmetics case from THIS LIST and pop them in a comment below for your chance to win. For an extra entry, you can tag a pal to choose their own or you could share this post on your own timeline (be sure to tag me so I can count it, oui?).

Open to both Éire & the UK (sorry postage restrictions won't allow more) we'll announce five winners on May 31st. 

Bonne Chance et Bon Voyage! 

*This post is part of 

an exclusive sponsored

campaign with L'Occitane. 

If it weren't for your support

that wouldn't be possible, you

absolute legends xx*

The Last Minute Mother's Day Gift Guide for Every Budget

Mother's Day may be fast approaching and pay day may be long gone but no matter your budget, I got you (and your mammy/baby momma/wife). The temptation to pop in an eye wateringly large bottle of gin was almost too much to resist but know this, when all else fails, gin works. Corrina has already shared the top 5 experiences for under €50 to share with do mháthair HERE so I'm rounding that off with some pretty products should you prefer. 

L'occitane Almond Velvet Serum & Balm - Review!

I try not to gush about products here on CherrySue but when one of your all time favourite brands releases a more luxurious version of one of your all time favourite products then you best believe gushing's gonna happen. L'occitane's Almond Velvet Youthful Body Duo are the posher older sisters new to the cult favourite and personal Holy Grail Almond collection and they couldn't be lovelier. 

Three new patents are combined to pack a powerful skincare and anti-aging punch with these body care beauties. Almond proteins from the almond fruit for lifting and toning. Almond buds united with rose buds for skin refinement and almond leaf cells, which can promote synthesis of Collagen and Elastin. This active complex works on five signs of ageing: dryness, lack of firmness, lack of tone, fine lines and irregularities in skintone.

ALMOND VELVET SERUM 100ml - €46

This lightweight, heavenly scented serum is the first of its kind for L'occitane. Pairing the almond active complex (the science bit above) with vitamin C, makes this easily absorbed anti-aging serum an absolute joy to use. Immediately my skin was smoother and with a couple of weeks use the difference is notable. 

I can't attest to a reduction in fine lines as the lines on my boddeh are anything but 'fine' but my skin tone is noticeably brighter. I've been more inclined to wear shorter sleeves as a result and that's always a great thing, especially coming into the warmer/muggier months.
I legitimately never thought I'd use an anti-aging body serum in my lifetime but only last night caught myself holding this weighty bottle to my night light to gauge when I might need another. At €46, it's not cheap for a veritable frippery but I can see myself using this (from the waist up anyway) (I'm weird like that) for the forseeable. 

ALMOND VELVET BALM 200ml - €49

Almond Milk Concentrate is and always has been a HG body product of mine. There have been ructions 'round Casa Cherry way when I find a large shovel hand amount has been gouged from the latest pot, though I don't deny the Gorgebags their luxuries (the spoiled gits). I must have bought those jars back to back for about 8 jars now so when I say that Amande Velvet Balm is Almond 2.0, please know that I don't say that lightly. 

With a more delicately powdered scent than its predecessor, Velvet Balm melts into and comforts the skin like no product I've used before. I've found myself showering just so I can apply it to fresh skin and enjoy that experience all over again. The actives that target the five signs of aging truly are the cherry on top for me, hence the review after just 3 weeks. Of course I'll report back with any breathtaking skin changes but for now it truly is about the experience of this Balm. 

Think of this duo as the posher older sisters of the Almond range, you know the ones that travel the world and give the best pressies? Everyone's favourite kind. While I'll certainly be repurchasing the original Almond Milk Concentrate for the lads (it's a fave of theirs too), Almond Velvet Balm is firmly on the repurchase list for Mama as soon as this jar is devoured.  

Tell us, are you an Almond Collection fan? Reckon you'll give this new duo a trial? 

WIN - L'Occitane Jenipapo World Cup Summer Sets!

I can't be the only one that's managed to avoid seeing a minute of the World Cup already, can I? My only interaction with the snorefest that is a month of soccer so far has been rolling my eyes at tweets arguing for and against the obsession. 

Luckily L'Occitane have stepped up to give us a little silver lining of escapism in the form of their stunning Made in Brazil Jenipapo range. You'll remember I fell entirely in love with it on our recent hollier. Well now three of you lucky ducks will get to kick off the summer in style with a Jenipapo Summer Set for yourselves. Neat, huh? 

All you got to do is follow the simple 'gimme a click' section below. I guarantee once you flip the cap on this scent you'll be hearing samba drums and searching for your sequinned feather bra to shake your own maracas. (Don't think I don't know) 

Good Luck, everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Best SPFs - Tried & Tested ft Ambre Solaire, L'Occitane, Nuxe, Shiseido & Vichy (Selfie Warning)

It's a well known fact (it is!) that I go through an awful lot of preparation and devote a lot of time to trialling products before a full review. When the summer launches, consisting mainly of new sun protection and SPF skincare began to roll around in April, I knew there was nothing for it than to gather up some Gorgebags and hop on a jet plane to the sun. It's not an easy job but someone has to do it, right? 

First up we had to find some sunshine - Aaah 33 degrees of Majorcan sunshine? 'at'll do!

Garnier Ambre Solaire Dry Mist: Factor 20 Brilliant for the beach!

A new one from the Garnier laboratories, Dry Mist is available in 3 Factors and what one might call 'a can of witchcraft'. The tiny spray nozzle dispenses a fine transparent, delicately scented, mist that feels dry to the touch almost immediately. 

Non sticky and formulated with mattifying powders that leave a satin finish on the skin, this invisible SPF soaked in within moments and left my poor Momma baffled. She's a big believer in SPF being alabaster white in order to be doing any sun protecting. Each time she sprayed it was echoed with 'Can't be, CAN'T be'. It can, it could and it's pretty bloomin' good!

Nuxe Sun Delicious Cream for Face

The new suncare range from luxury brand Nuxe is delicious by name and delicious by nature. My pick of the SPF crop for this sun holiday had to be the Delicious Cream for Face (yep, really). Formulated and scented with sunflower, water flower and carob oil, this rich SPF lotion is a joy to apply and reapply and reapply, which is handy at factor 30 as you'll need to do it quite a bit through the day. 

I found myself alternating this with Shiseido Factor 50 as I'm plagued with pigmentation but it never once left my mála and I now have a pretty decent sunkissed glow because of it. Alcohol and paraben free I found it didn't clog my pores or become too heavy on the skin like some facial SPFs can. It's a deliciously scented winner. 

L'Occitane's new Jenipapo Protecting Body Jelly Milk

Another new release, the L'Occitane Jenipapo Body Jelly Milk is an SPF 20 and available in their Made in Brazil collection. Designed for the women in Brazil, living in hot and humid climates, this nourishing body milk was a joy to use, the SPF was just a sunshiney plus. 

Formulated with shea butter and the Jenipapo extract from the sun worshiping Brazilian tree of the same name, it feels more like a body treatment than an SPF. It soaks in quickly, leaves no sticky residue and lightly scented the skin with the smell of bright florals. Having used a Piz Buin spray, Adam used this to cover a mole on his shoulder blade a second time, we could actually see the white ring of protection that evening as he changed for dinner. Jenipapo, you're a keeper. 

Vichy Suncare Oil

This beautifully scented oil from Vichy is another that you'd be hard pressed to believe is an SPF at all. It possesses all of the Vichy sun care goodness though, just in a silky soft oil solution.

Containing broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection, this oil is also fortified with Vichy Thermal Spring Water (another sunshine favourite that occupied our Mallorcan fridge for the week). This is the one that Momma threw in her mála more often than any other - her alabaster worries clearly abated after Ambre Solaire. 

 

Ambre Solaire Wet Skin

Another newbie from Garnier this year is Ambre Solaire's Wet Skin. This is pretty big news for those that love to swim on their holliers or those that like to sit with their legs in the pool trying not to gawp at the gorgeous girls on their own holidays *ahem*. 

Non greasy and almost as invisible as its Dry Mist compadre, Wet Skin is very water resistant and can be applied directly to wet skin (hence the name). While the scent on this one was too 'alcoholic' for me, the lads absolutely loved it. We didn't even get to the end of the week and it was all but used up. They spent a lot of time in and around the water. #vantagepoints

Shiseido Expert Sun Aging Protection Lotion Plus - Factor 50
So protective, it watches for sharks, while I sip sangria!

I hadn't realised Shisiedo were number one for sun care in the US, had you? Having used two of their products this week I have no notion why they aren't battling for the top spot on Irish soil too. This Protection Lotion was a manna for our skins this week and always the fall back when the sun was at it burniest. Like a protective, dependable veil for the skin. 

Whiter than any of our other picks, what with the higher SPF, this lotion took slightly more time to apply but felt nourishing and comforting while doing so. Light enough to be used as a make up base, this is one I'll be repurchasing for a long time to come. And see their complementing SPF foundation?! BLAHHDY LOVE IT, you'll have to wait for the SPF make up post for more on that though. Soz. 

SPF'd up but you'd never guess for our 'in the sea' selfie

Whether you're jetting off to sunshiney climates or catching your rays here on home soil, the importance of SPF can't be overstated but you don't need me to wag my finger and tell you that. These 6 iterations won't set you wrong if you're looking to make a purchase, it's just a shame* we had to go to so much trouble** to fully test the blighters out. 

Tell us, what's your SPF du jour? Do you have a brand you go back to again and again? 

* unbridled joy
**absolute feckin' pleasure 

Mother's Day Gift Guides - Whatever Your Budget - Under €20 - Under €50 - Under €100

I know a lot of you clever peeps will be well set for Mothering Sunday this week, - for those of you that aren't yet? You know it's Mother's Day this week, right? Should you be in possession of a Mother (Mother in Law/God Mother/Awesome Aunt) you might want to read on. 

I've put together a couple of ideas, whatever your budget, to show your Mamito that you love her. Of course love doesn't cost a penny and she will, most probably tell you - 'Arragh, you shouldn't have!!' but she will be grateful and you will be the favourite child. True story. 

We've spoken about or reviewed pretty much every product here before, so if you're unsure about an ingredient or different stockist just leave me a comment and we'll sort you and your Momma out. Rest your reading eyes and feast 'em upon your best buys for every budget: 

What say we? 

Of course all your Momma really wants is to spend some time with you, even if that's just bending your ear on a 30 minute phonecall home or even better a lunch somewhere swish. 

These are preeeety nice sweeteners too though, right? 

Tell us, have you bought your Mother's Day Gift yet? 

Are you a Momma yourself and looking forward to the day? 

To the Comments!

Valentines for Him ft L'Occitane, Molton Brown, Sennheiser, Odeon, Netflix, Body Shop, Blue Beards Revenge & IRFU

Hands up, Ladies, I know the majority of you, that celebrate the Hallmark Holiday, have sorted your Valentine's weeks ago. For those of you, however, much like me have nowt done and could do with some suggestions. (Of course Poppa's Day & Birthdays are always cropping up too). 

1. The Bluebeards Revenge Starter Kit - (€25.95 Here)

One of the Gorgebags' favourite manly brands, this starter kit is exactly the kind of grooming your man can cut his teeth on. A taster of most of what the brand has to offer and a beard rash free fizzog for you. Score. 

2. Sennheiser In-Ear Buds - (€42 Here) (OR in store in Arnott's Dublin)

There's not many men I know that don't always need earphones, my own Pops included. Sennheiser are one of the most sought after brands in the business and that's not for nowt. With powerful sound, deep base and noise isolation, the CX300 II are about as much bang for your buck as you can get. 

3. Netflix Subscription - (from €7.99 Here)

Look, I'm not saying 'Buy the man a bowling ball' but the fact that Season 2 of House of Cards launches on Netflix on February 14th is a very happy coninkadink, OK? 

4. Molton Brown Silverbirch EDT - (€49 Here)

Again, purely conincidental but Silverbirch just happens to be one of my favourite scents in the Molton Brown range. Rich and spicy with cedarwood, silverbirch & jasmine, you're going to want to get up close and personal just for a sniff. Win/Win. 

5. Odeon Vouchers - (€10 upward Here)

Ooh a night or two at the flicks, that'd be nice wouldn't it? AND, he's probably going to want to bring you along too. Yep, it's another bowling ball. DO IT. 

6. BodyShop Maca Root Skincare Trio - (€30 Here)

If you, like me have ever walked in on your SO liberally applying your Shiseido Ibuki Gentle Cleanser by the lashing load then you're gonna want to get that man some visage wash of his own. STAT. With Maca Root and Fairtrade Brazil Nut Oil, both lads loved these washes & creams. 

7. Ruggers FTW: Misc

This is more than a suggestion to yell COYBIG. A nice little gesture for the one you love could be to buy some ticéadaí to his favourite team/sport/ball throwing peeps and accompany him to a match. This is an especially nice gesture if you can't stand the shower but short shorts and tree trunk thighs? I'll say no more. 

8. L'Occitane Collection for Men - (€49 - SAVING €28.50 Here)

Here's a little known fact about the brand I've been bigging up lately - L'Occitane do some Kick Ass Men's collections! This bountiful set of 4 luxury products is blended with lavender, black pepper, nutmeg and smoked woods and smells like MAN. As with the Molton Brown justification, you get to mooooove closer and enjoy the process very much indeed. 


Again, as with the For Her post yesterday, I'll suggest that the simplest things can be the way to go this Friday. Allow him the remote for an hour or so (don't go too mad now), bring him his brekkie in the leaba or even just turn off your mobile for the evening to give your beloved some undivided attention (I get cold sweats just thinking about that one). 

Tell us - have you bought your gift yet, will you be buying one? You know I'm nosey - you also know he's not reading...

Valentines For Her - ft Hourglass, Lush, The BodyShop, L'Occitane, Estée Lauder, GlossyBox, Chanel & ALL the Irish Mags

I'm going to try very hard not to use the word 'Self Gift' in this post but if you happen to be single on VDay or PALentine's Day this year just know that you totally deserve these gifts of gorgeousness too and should most probably buy one or all for yourself. 

With that disclaimer out of the way, MEN OF IRELAND, listen up - if you have a girlfriend and/or SO and consider yourself a pretty cool dude then she probably has great taste. These last minute Valentine's gifts are sure to earn you some brownie points - you can thank me afterwards (I prefer PayPal). 

1. Hourglass Ambient Blush - £28 Here. 

The world and her Aunty want this blush, the world and her Aunty need this blush. You don't need to know why but you do need to know that, upon review, Mood Exposure is the way to go and Space NK is the way to get it. Dogs may cower at the sound she makes when she opens this. GO. 

2. Lush Love Box - €33.50 in Store (Review Here)

We know you think the shop smells weird, we care not for these schmetails. Go to Lush, buy this box. Over 1/2 of the contents are sexy time oriented with baths, massages and whatnot. They're NEVER a bad Valentine's thing. GO. 

3. Body Shop White Musk Smokey Rose Collex - (€32 Here)

Assuming you or your lovah aren't 16, she is going to have fond memories of White Musk from the Body Shop. This Smokey Rose edit is that only sexed up - a lot. A stunning combo and the entire range for just over €30?! GO. 

4. Irish Mags Subscription (from €30 for a YEAR here)(or directly from site)

Nothing says repeat pay off louder than a gift that keeps on giving. What magazine have you spied your loved one fawning over in the past? You know what would rock her cashmere socks? A year's supply of that very glossy right to her doorstep courtesy of you. Google the site of her mag of choice to get the best sub deal and possibly a cracking subscription gift too - remember to think Irish first (as pictured) and again, I take PayPal. GO. 

5. L'Occitane Sensual Red Cherries Gift Set - (€52 here)(€25.50 off!!)

Sensual. Red. Cherries. One. Third. Off. Entire. Set. Go. 

6. Estée Lauder - Polish (€17.30 Here)

Is your gal of choice a nail polish fiend? Well then you have great taste, my friend. The nicest thing you can do for a nail polish nut is pick her up a polish she would never dare splash out on herself. Take a quick squizz at what she usually likes and find a similar colour to completely and luxuriously blow her mindhole. GO. 

7. GlossyBox Subscription - (From £30 for 3 months Here)

Much akin to the mag subscription suggestion, a sub to have a box of surprise beauty delivered to your Chica's doras every month will equally float her boat and rocket you into her good books, repeatedly. A lovely idea for beauty lovers and surprise addicts alike, you really can't go wrong with a Glossybox sub. GO. 

8. Chanel Rouge Coco Shine - (€28 Here)

There's just something so luxurious about a brand like Chanel. Again, it's something your beloved might have trouble splashing out on herself but a little black box from the man she loves this Friday is guaranteed to raise a smile if it has Chanel emblazoned across it. The Rouge Coco Shines are the easiest colours not to get wrong and most flattering on most skin tones so pick a colour you'd like to kiss passionately from her lips and enjoy. GO. 


Of course all of these suggestions are for beauty loving babes and truthfully your lady would be very happy with a fresh cup of tay and perhaps a little brekkie in bed, at a stretch a tank of petrol so she doesn't have to worry about it for the week perhaps? - Hell she might settle for you whipping the hoover about the place. But should you be stuck and wanting to impress - I can't recommend this little lot enough. 

Have a lovely evening, whatever you get up to. 

(Ladies, I'll have 
a fellas post up later, yesh?)

2013 Top 10 Beauty Faves ft Bourjois, Benefit, Rimmel, La Roche-Posay, Smashbox, Maybelline, Loccitane, Stila & L'Oreal

Were you to tell me at any stage during the year that I'd whittle down every purchase, pr sample and press release down to ten of my very favourites then I'd have laughed in your face so haughtily that the breeze would have ruffled your mane - but I've only gone and done it. 

These Top Ten of 2013 are not only products that knocked my beauty socks off but that I have purchased again, purchased for gifts and seriously believe your life could be enriched by purchasing too. They're great like. 

1. L'Oreal's False Lash Flutter Midnight 

Black Mascara

Choosing a mascara of the year is much akin to Sophie's Choice, that's how highly I rate the lash coaters ability to change your entire visage. Benefit's They're Real has been a stalwart of mine with YSL's BabyDoll elbowing it's way to the front and Maybelline's The Rocket holding it's own but once I'd given False Lash Flutter a... well flutter, they were all forgotten. 

This is all of those mascaras combined and then some. Perfect formulation, unusually effective brush and ne'er a clump nor flake to be seen. If you haven't tried these puppies yet - do it. 

2. Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum

Again the competition was stiff in 2013 for one foundation to rule them all. Smashbox's Liquid Halo revolutionised gel effect coverage, Clarins Extra Comfort quenched the skins of the nation and Max Factor's Whipped Cream foundation changed the minds of thousands but Bourjois, my sneaky little petite pois, you did it again with Healthy Mix Serum. 

I have recommended no other foundation as often as I have this and that's across the board to friends, family, colleagues and even once or twice to undecided browsers in Boots. Healthy Mix Serum glides over your skin, and sits weightlessly in place affording me to look a hell of a lot better than I have any right to do and it has never, not once let me down. For a Healthy Mix, I have an unhealthy obsesh. 

3. Rimmel Salon Pro with Lycra in Assoc 

with Kate Moss

If ever I were to be run over by a bus the thing I'd most dread people finding is not my shady internet search history but my vast and I mean VAST nail polish stash. We're talking thousands so when it comes to choosing a standout for an entire year that's damn near impossible. 

Were I to choose the line that I repeatedly cleaned off and reapplied time after time though? The Rimmel Salon Pro line win, hands down. With a huge range of brights, nudes and pastels, these lycra infused polishes dry to a higher shine than any other I've worn sans top coat. They've also garnered the most compliments from random strangers. At just €6.45 (or 2 for €8) these polishes should be a staple in every girls stash. 

4. Benefit Rockateur

I've always been a big fan of Benefit's Box o' Powders collection, not so much the exorbitant prices they charge their Irish fans but as a product, I've loved each and every one. When the word broke that not only would their newest box, Rockateur be smaller but that it'd be the same price as the rest I swore I wouldn't cave. SWORE. 

That was until I was giftef a FeelUnique.com voucher and realised that I could nab it for £23 with free delivery. From the first swish it was lust. Rockateur gives me that subtle rose gold glow that even I have to do a double take to appreciate time and again. It's creamy soft, it's stupidly flattering and it's easily the prettiest blush product I've ever owned. (I even bought a second one and I NEVER buy a second one)

5. Smashbox Always Sharp Pencils

While Stila, Essence and even Sigma have all had my heart this year as far as liners go, the Smashbox Always Sharp Pencils just can't be beaten for me. In a range of six colours, that have been extended with 3D shimmering versions, these point tipped pencils give me a perfect line every single time. You get in and around a minute to smudge it up or leave it as is and Hey Presto, it's stuck. 

The innovative lid means you never have to find a sharpener again as with two twists the pencil is magically sharpened again to a perfect point. There are cheaper pencils but when it's a result you want every single time, without fail I'd go with this pencil again and again. 

6. Loccitane Divine Cream

I truly couldn't count the amount of ablutions, creams and concoctions that I was lucky enough to try this year. La Roche-Posay's Hydraphase Intense has to get an honorable mention, Shiseido's Ibuki moisturiser for luxury pampering and L'Oreal's Revitalift Laser Renew blowing both the Mother and me away, the top spot still has to go to Loccitane's Divine Cream. 

Relaunched in 2013, I have genuinely never used a face cream that made such a dramatic difference to the appearance and feel of my visage in such a short space of time. It's not chump change at €82 for 50ml but the tiniest amount goes a very long way. Having used my press sample sparingly, lovingly but religiously, I parted with my hard earned eurobux in December and re bought this elixir - not only that but I'll do it again. 

7. La Roche Posay Cicaplast Lips

You're right you know, as far as I'm concerned there's nothing the LRP team can't do when it comes to healing, treating and enhancing our skin. I have yet to try a product that I didn't love, even if the blue and white packaging baffles even me sometimes. 

The launch of Cicaplast lips in 2013, however, was a revelation. I use Cicaplast Baume B5 for anything and everything and recommend it until I'm as blue in the face but this paraben free, fragrance free lip version of the balm has literally saved my kisser several times. During a hellish few days in A&E over Christmas this was the only thing to save my dry and aching lips - giving me instant relief and comfort and healing my dry, sore lips in the space of a day. 

To be used as a cracking base for brightly coloured lippies, a salve for red sore schnozzes or just as a lip saviour for all the family, this little white tube is a handbag/pocket/purse/glovebox/desk essential. 

8. Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind Concealer

Though a little hesitant about this concealer at first glance, I think it was the spnge applicator that gave me the heebie jeebies, Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind won me 'round and how. 

Bright enough to use under eye, it instantly vamooses my dark circles. I press the concealer onto my finger to cover up blemishes and I insist on having this in my bag when I get my brows threaded as it instantly calms and covers the tell tale redness associated. I've found it tough to find this one in stores but as soon as I do? STOCKPILE. 

9. L'Oreal Studio #TXT Supersizing Volume Spray

I can only imagine that Trish from Love/Hate was going through cans of this stuff in Season 4 to achieve her majestic disco lion's mane. L'Oreal's #TXT works better than any other volumising spray I've ever used and at half the price too. 

No stickiness, no shine, no mahoosive knottage as a result just larrrrge voluminous grúaig in just a couple of sprays. This stuff does EXACTLY what it says on the tin. Awesome. 

10. Stila In the Light Palette

The amount of shadows and palettes I possess is not natural, I know this. I have recognised it as an illness and accepted it about myself (whilst buying more palettes) but if I were to pick one of the stacks of 'em that stood out in 2013 it would have to be the Stila In the Light wonder. 

Easily the most beautiful and versatile neutral palette I own, there's rarely a day goes by that I don't reach for this. Basically any eye look can be achieved with zero fall out and incredible staying power. Every single time I travel, this is the one palette that comes with and that's not for nothing. If you're a neutral fan, I'd urge you to add this to your collection sooner rather than later. I guarantee you won't regret it. 

And that's them, the Top Ten standouts for me of 2013 - what do you reckon? Agree? Disagree? 

Have you made a similar list? I'd love to check it out or is there some product that you're certain I'd love for 2014? Lemme know!

L'Occitane FLEUR D'OR & ACACIA and CÈDRE & ORANGER for Christmas 2013

The Christmas launches just like the Christmas posts are coming thick and fast this past fortnight. I have tried my best to abstain but, seriously, you best prepare yo'selves as I dive right in and let you know what's on the way. This new Christmas in Grasse launch from L'Occitane for example, FLEUR D'OR & ACACIA and CÈDRE & ORANGER, two stunningly scented ranges are to join La Collection De Grass and are aimed at the more discerning man or woman (or both) in your life. 

Sparlking Fleur D'Or Shower Gel: €13, 75ml EDT €55, 30ml Hand Cream: €10.50

The scent of Fleur D'Or & Acacia immediately put me in mind of Marc Jacobs Honey (one of this years stand out creations). Warm and inviting, this deep musky harmony stops short of sweet with undertones of honey and bergamot that are deeply comforting and  perfect for the winter months. Let me paint you a picture, I sprayed the EDT on my geansaí as soon as it arrived and immediately inhaled deeply and hugged myself. This stuff is good. 

The shower gel (for only €13!!) is almost lit from within with tiny golden flecks that catch the light. There's a luxurious rich foam with the smallest amount of product in the shower and it leaves skin soft, pampered and subtly scented. 

Also in this range are:

• 100ml Shimmering Luminous Oil: €26
• 175ml Body Milk: €18
• 50g Perfumed Soap: €8.50
• Scented Candle (which WILL be mine!): €30

For him: EDT: €55

The mens haven't been looked over in this L'Occitane Christmas edit with the launch of this intense and zesty Cédre & Oranger range. Truth be told, I would use this entire range myself without blinking, I firmly believe the bracing, invigorating scents smell incredible on women's skin. 

As it happens I sprayed Cèdre & Oranger on my arm to test and as I stood stirring the spag bol last night, the eldest came back twice to smell what it was (it wasn't the spag bol). I love when a scent can lure you in like that so instead of revelling in this one myself, this bottle will be popped into his stocking come the 24th, along with some of the other goodies from the range: 

• After Shave balm: €27
• Shower Gel: €13
• Perfumed Soap: €8.50

On my perusal of L'Occitane's new Irish site I found something incredible though, on the run up to Christmas, both of these ranges are available in gift sets for €74 a piece. Totting up numbers quickly, that's one cracking deal. At the moment there is all kinds of offers going on onsite including free souvenirs from Provence with every order. I'm filling and refilling my virtual cart as we speak!