MAC Giveaway: And The Winner Is...

...Camelia Andrasescu! Congrats, Camelia - I'm emailing you now!

Thanks to everyone for entering xxx

The Language of Flowers

As I write, I'm swaddled in blankets and have a steady flow of Lucozade to hand: yup, I have succumbed to the dreaded seasonal lurgy and am feeling completely vile.

To cheer me up, I've been watching one of my absolute favourite BBC period dramas, Cranford, which is based on a series of novels by Elizabeth Gaskell. The tale follows a formidable group of single and widowed women in Victorian England and is one of the most charming, funny things I've seen in years. Despite the early episodes being somewhat lacking in romance, one of the women receives anemones from an admirer, prompting her friends to consult The Language of Flowers, to decipher the meaning of this gesture. At a time when it was not proper to display emotion or speak freely of feelings held, each flower carried with it a secret meaning, so that messages could be quietly conveyed through the giving of a small bouquet.

I love the romance of this idea, and thought I'd look for the meanings of a few of my current favourite products:

Liz Earle Energising Body Scrub - Contains geranium which represents elegance and gentility

This scrub is one of my favourite recent finds. The grown up, herbal scent is complex, and the initial hit of pine and geranium soften to orange blossom for the perfect olfactory wake up call! What I like most about this product is that the consistency of the gel means that it stays where you put it until it's washed off. So many scrubs run away in the water flow as soon as they're applied, yet this one really grips. For this reason, and for those of you craving a bit of elegance in your life, it's definitely worth a look.

Jo Malone Red Roses Bath Oil - Contains red roses which represent true love

It comes as no surprise that red roses represent enduring love, which is perhaps why I will never get tired of this beautiful bath oil. The scent is so beautiful, and perfect for a long, relaxing bath complete with glass of wine and candlelight. No need to wait to receive red roses from an admirer, if you ask me: definitely one to treat yourself to!

Palmers Olive Hand and Foot Cream - Contains olive which represents peace

After a freezing few weeks, I have found myself utterly reliant on this cream which I first tried at my parents' house. For some reason, my Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Hand Cream just hasn't cut it this year, and it's been well and truly usurped by Palmers. And at a fraction of the price, who am I to argue?! It may not be able to bring peace to anything more than your tired winter-worn skin, but when the temperature plummets, that's more than enough for me.

So those are a few of my favourite floral products, and I'm keen to know about yours! Will you be consulting the Language of Flowers to find out their meanings?

Oh, and don't forget to enter my MAC giveaway here!

Image courtesy of joycetice.com

CLOSED: New Year Neutrals Giveaway!

At last, I'm finally getting round to posting my new year giveaway! This is my way of thanking all of you lovely people for reading and commenting on my blog, and generally making this a really enjoyable experience for me.

Yesterday, I did several laps of Selfridges Beauty Hall, looking for gorgeous things to include in my giveaway, and I couldn't help but come back to my two most repurchased makeup products, both from MAC: Painterly Paint Pot and Big Baby Plushglass. What better way to share my favourites with you that to give you a chance to win them?!


Painterly is a beautiful nude beige that is the most perfect 'slick and go' eye product I've ever found. It looks pretty, polished and brightens the eye beautifully. It's also a fabulous base product, and makes an amazing foundation for a neutral eye. It's a cream formula that dries to a lovely, smooth finish.

Big Baby Plushglass is one of my all time favourite lip products. It's a soft peach with a slightly pearly finish, and the gloss contains vitamin E and plumping ingredients that give you a moisturised, full lip. It's the kind of easy product that leaves you looking fresh, chic and is a holiday favourite for me.

Now, onto how you can get your hands on these lovely things! The prize for one lucky winner is 1 x Painterly Paint Pot and 1 x Big Baby Plushglass. To be in with a chance of winning you need to:

1. Be a follower of this blog
2. Post 'I'm in!' in the comments below along with your email address or your twitter username
   
3. To increase your chance of winning, tweeting or blogging about this giveaway will buy you an additional entry (make sure you post the link in your comment and include @TheBeautyHall in your tweet)

The giveaway is open internationally, and a winner will be drawn using random.org on Saturday 22nd Jan 2011 at 9pm, GMT.

Good luck!

A Nice End To The Week...

I seem to be having all kinds of good luck this week, as I've just had an email from Rahua letting me know that I won their 'Rahua Resolution' competition! The prize includes shampoo, conditioner, finishing treatment and the thing I'm most excited about, Rahua Elixir, which promises to rebuild even the most damaged tresses. Sign me up!

Needless to say, I am very excited, and will be posting about it as soon as I get everything and try it out. Yey!

On the subject of prizes, after being held up at work today, I didn't get chance to buy my giveaway prize. I will be heading to Selfridges at lunch time tomorrow, so will post tomorrow night. Usual giveaway rules will apply (you need to be a follower and leave a comment) and it will be open internationally! Check back tomorrow for more details.

Giveaway: Barry M Instant Nail Effects! CLOSED

All across the land, run of the mill manicures are being transformed by Barry M Instant Nail Effects polish. After seeing Big Fashionista's fabulous nails yesterday, I knew that this was something I had to own. I dashed out this morning and snagged the last two bottles from my local Boots: one of which is for me, and the other is for one of you lucky people! Yes, it's competition time again!

To be in with a chance of winning, here's what to do:

1. Be a follower of my blog

2. Post a comment below telling me your favourite product, polish or treatment that keeps your hands and nails looking fabulous. Multiple entries won't be counted unless...

3. ...you write a blog post or include a sidebar link back to this competition on your blog. If you do this, include the link to your blog post about this competition in your comment below and then you may enter another 2 comments (meaning that you get 3 comments in total, thus 3 chances to win. Subsequent entry comments just need to say 'enter me' - I don't expect you to come up with multiple favourite products!) If you don't include the link, I won't count your additional comments as valid entries, so don't forget!

4. The competition will close on Sunday 17th October at 1800 GMT. The winner will be announced that evening and should contact me by email with their address details by Friday 22nd October. I am happy to post internationally so all entrants welcome! Remember, don't include your email or postal address in the comments section. I don't want any of you getting spammed!

And if you don't know how Instant Nail Effects works, check out this video and prepare to be amazed!

Birthday giveaway: we have a winner!

I have been checking my blog stats religiously, as I've been hovering at 49 followers for the past few days. Tonight, I refreshed the page and I was so excited to see that the blog has reached 50 followers! I know it's not the biggest number, but for me, it marks my first blogging milestone, and it's so much down to your support and lovely comments.

So to mark the moment, I can finally pick a winner, and that winner is Louise! Email your address over to me, I will send the prize out as soon as I get it!

Thank you all again for reading, and let me know your thoughts on possible themes for my next giveaway. My first thought is hair, but I am happy to be led by you!

xxx

MAC giveaway: We have a winner...

And that winner is Luce! Thank you so much to everyone for all your lovely recommendations, as I've had so much fun looking through all the shades. Of the suggestions made, I decided to go for Gleam and Honesty eyeshadows and Faux lipstick, all of which were recommended by Luce, so I'm very pleased! I also got Bare Study Paint Pot and Strobe Cream which I am in love with, and consequently, I'm looking very glowy!

I didn't end up getting my make up done again over the weekend, and just chose colours online which my boyfriend then picked up for me - what a good boy he is. I am thinking of booking in to get my make up done for my cousin's wedding in September, so if I do, I will be sure to post pictures of that look. As for today, I am SO busy with work, hence no FOTD with these products, but I promise I will do one soon.

Luce, if you send me an email (address is in the 'email me' link - I know that's stating the obvious but just want to be sure!) we can arrange your prize! Well done on your top recommendations!

Image courtesy of dailydecorator.com

Birthday giveaway prizes!

You'll be pleased to know that I braved Oxford Street in the rain to secure the birthday giveaway prize today: you should count yourselves very lucky! I selected a few of my favourite products at the moment and have gone for some light, summery colours, despite the hideous weather we're having here in London. The winner will receive:

1 x Maybelline The Falsies mascara in Black

1 x No 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Flirtini, a gorgeous sheer pink that kind of looks like you've been eating a few too many cherries!

1 x Barry M limited edition nail paint in 30, a beautiful and intense lilac (a little darker and warmer than standard lilac and really pretty!)

1 x Aussie 3 Minute Miracle sachet

1 x Dermalogica Ultra Calming Cleanser sacher

1 x Armani Silk lipstick tester blister pack including Satin Silk (a rich, caramel nude), Pure Silk (a vamp-it-up Russian red) and Sparkling Silk (a slightly shimmery gloss)

1 x 7ml sample of Aveda Tourmaline Charged Hydrating Creme moisturiser

1 x 5ml sample of Aveda Tourmaline Charged Eye Creme

This competition will be open to the first 50 followers of this blog only, and for your chance to win, simply become a follower and tell me what your favourite, can't-live-without product is in the comments section below. The winner will be selected at random from the first 50 followers who have posted a comment. There are no restrictions on postage so you can enter this competition no matter where in the world you live! So what are you waiting for?