Elemis Pro Collagen Oxygenating night cream 2ml (Full Size 50ml for £95 here)
The Pro Collagen range is Elemis's bestseller, the 'marine' ingredients are Laminaria Digitata and Red Coral which helps to maintain optimum skin condition while the Mediterranean algae, Padina Pavonica helps to improve skin suppleness, firmness and elasticity. The oxygenating benefit is helped by the anti-oxidant rich sesame and avocado oils delivering free-radical protection.
This cream is heavily scented which reminds me of Nuxe Huille Prodegiese. It sinks into the skin quickly and mositurises well without being greasy. I got 4 uses from this 2ml sample so you don't need much. My dehydrated skin has been feeling tight across my cheeks and this cream has alleviated it a little. My skin felt supple and looked healthy and slightly more radiant. The sample size meant that I couldn't test whether it delayed any signs of aging in the long term and I don't really have lines or wrinkles yet to see a difference in the short term. However I think this works to keep the skin moisturised and it does brighten up dull skin but the strong scent was a deal breaker for me because that can sometimes trigger my asthma attacks. The price of the full size jar is very expensive, retailing at £95 for 50ml. While a premium brand like Elemis spends a lot of their budget on clinical trials and sourcing the most effective ingredients, there is a part of me that thinks that you're just paying for the fragrance. Perhaps when I'm nearing 40 I might notice an anti aging effect but right now it's not worth it for me.
Elemis Gentle Rose Exfoliator 3ml (Full Size 50ml for £31 here)
Elemis Gentle Rose Exfoliator is a manual rather than a chemical exfoilator. It's a gel that contains micro jojoba beads rather than environmentally damaging plastic micro-beads to exfoliate the skin. However the beads are very fine and it seemed like they weren't enough of them to do the job. I found it more effective when I used two fingers to rub in small circular motions to get the beads to exfoliate. I have sensitive skin so anything with the word 'gentle' on a exfoliator will get my attention but it didn't really feel as if I'd got rid of any dead skin cells but rather I had given my skin a mini massage. This smells exactly like Turkish delight, the rose is there but it's not overpowering. I love the smell of jojoba but I couldn't smell it at all in the product which is a shame. Although Elemis says to use this once a week I feel that you could probably use this daily as it's so gentle. However I think that this will be ineffectual on most skins so I wouldn't recommend it.
When I was looking at swatches of Secret Salma online the lipstick looked like a bright almost fluorescent pink. However it's actually a darker, dusty pink that is a step up from a neutral looking pink and it is really pretty. It has a vanilla like smell. The sample cardboard applicator worked quite well. First you unseal it, fold the card over and place it between your lips as if you were blotting lipstick. Unfortunately it only has one or if you're lucky two applications so I couldn't really test how long it lasted on my lips but it didn't make my lips feel dry or uncomfortable. I am planning on buying one of Charlotte Tilbury's lipsticks although I haven't decided which one to get yet!
This feels lightweight but it's moisturising enough to use after a shower or bath when you need hydration the most. It also makes my skin feel soft. I also find that a little goes a long way so a bottle would last a while. It's creamy but also a bit greasy and takes awhile to sink in. The main reason why I wouldn't purchase this in full size is the smell! Although it does have some flower and leaf extract it does not smell herbal or of essential oils, it actually smells like it should belong in an industrial factory. Normally I prefer fragrance free products as my skin is very sensitive and fragrance is a common irritant. Unfortunately the smell lingers even after the cream has absorbed into the skin so it's a no from me.
Daisy Dream Marc Jacobs EDT 1.2ml (Full Size 30ml for £42 currently £35.70 here)
This is categorised as a fruity-floral perfume but to me it smells mostly like a sweet floral perfume. This perfume is inspired by 'boundless daisies and blue skies' and it is a clean, fresh scent and the bottle matches the scent exactly. I really like this perfume. The opening notes are blackberry, grapefruit and pear. The middle notes are wisteria, jasmine and lychee. The base notes or dry down consists of white wood, musk and coconut water. I can smell the blackberries, grapefruit, blue wisteria, jasmine and musk. I don't like very sweet scents so the grapefruit balances it and saves the perfume for me. I couldn't detect the coconut at all. While the smell is nice and sweet it's also fairly generic, it doesn't stand out. As the sillage is fairly soft and the smell is pretty inoffensive it would be good to wear at work. It tends to last around 3 hours on me which is OK I guess for an EDT, although I have read reviews of people complaining that for the amount of money this costs the scent should last much longer. Maybe the EDP is the way to go. This is a light floral scent that would be good to wear in the daytime in spring or summer.
