The Black Pearl Blog - UK beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog: June 2013

Vera Wang Lovestruck EDP

Vera Wang Lovestruck EDP* 50ml £39.99

When I first noticed this beautiful Vera Wang EDP online, I had a massive urge to buy it. I am a sucker for pretty packaging and the fancy flowers on the bottle really make this perfume stand out. When I was offered a chance to review a product from Chemist Direct, I knew exactly what it was going to be, as soon as I spotted Lovestruck :)

Sunday Manicure: Lilac Illamasqua Speckle + swatches of other speckled alternatives

I always wanted to try one of Illamasqua's Speckled Nail Polishes, but I very rarely spend more than £10.00 on a bottle of nail polish. The regular price of this beautiful nail varnish is £14.50, but... I managed to get it for £7.50!

Budget Friendly "Pamper Night" Products

We all love a bit of pampering, but not everyone can afford luxury brands on a regular basis. I am not going to lie - I love high end products, but... it doesn't mean that I don't use affordable alternatives. In fact, I am a massive fan of some budget friendly options!

Favourite highlighters: theBalm, NEW CID, MAC, Glo Minerals & Jane Iredale

My collection of highlighters became slightly excessive, but the fact that I now need a separate "highlighter drawer" in my dressing table, doesn't stop me from buying more. In fact... I just received my Illamasqua order with two of their Illuminators and... I also bought my dream Guerlain Metoerites Pearls last night :) It is turning into an obsession, but I love a bit of sparkle and a healthy glow! I will definitely review the Meteorites and Illamasqua Illuminators on the blog soon, but today I am sharing my current favourite highlighters.

Some Of My Summer Essentials

I've been planning to post this "edit" since the beginning of June, when we got to enjoy a lot of sunshine :) but choosing the products to feature was harder than I thought. When I was preparing this post, I put over 30 products in my summer basket, but I managed to narrow it down to 17 :) Most of them are products I discovered recently, but I also included some of my all time favourites.

Leopard Print Perfection- Leopard Print Bag With Gold Studs

Studded Leopard Print Bag* $63

I love leopard print accessories and as soon as I noticed this beautiful bag on oasap's website, I had to have it! I have been looking for a studded leopard print bag for over 3 years (or longer) and finding the perfect one seemed impossible, until I spotted this beaut!

OCC Lip Tars, Loose Colours and Creme Colour Concentrates

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics is one of the most popular vegan and cruelty free brands and I have always been intrigued by their products. OCC was created by a fashion runway and celebrity makeup artist David Klasfeld and provides pro quality cosmetics, known for their great formulas. I was kindly sent a selection of OCC goodies from Cocktail Cosmetics and I am excited to share my thoughts with you!

OCC Obsessive Compulsive Lip Tars* in shades Interlace and Memento £11.95 each

When I tried the lip tars for the first time, I squeezed far too much product out :) I didn't realise how amazingly pigmented they are! The tiniest amount of the lip tars, gives opaque, even coverage and a beautiful satin finish. Each Lip Tar comes in a plastic bag with a little lip brush, making the application and storage hassle free.

Sunday Manicure: Cookies and Cream, Shooting Star and 18K Gold Leaf Top Coat

Caviar manicure is a trend you either love or hate :) It is a bit tricky to apply, but if you follow the instructions, you should be fine. To keep it simple, I only used caviar pearls on the accent nail. I used the Mini Ciate kit, I got with this month's Marie Claire magazine and added the OPI 18 K Gold Leaf Top Coat. I adore the final effect! It looks very elegant and pretty.

Exfoliating Toners: Clarins Gentle Exfoliator and REN Clarifying Toning Lotion Review

I couldn't be more excited to write this post! The products I am about to review made a massive difference to my skin and I have never experienced such a dramatic change! I am sure that you are familiar with some exfoliating toners, especially the "hard to get" Biologique Recherche Lotion P50 or Pixi Glow Tonic. I wish I could purchase them easily, but to be honest... I am not so determined to get my hands on them anymore and I am happy with my current toner routine. My skin has been transformed, thanks to REN Clarifying Toning Lotion and Clarins Gentle Exfoliator.

Elegant summer outfit - designer edition

I love a mixture of white and yellow in an outfit, so I decided to put together something extremely elegant and summer appropriate, based around the gorgeous Alexander Lewis Cut Out Dress.

Bonbi Forest Antlers Necklace

Bonbi Forest Gold Antlers Necklace* (£19.75)

You might have seen this beautiful necklace on my instagram, but I really wanted to share more photos of it on the blog. I actually took some outfit photos, but they came out blurry :( I wish I had time to retake them, but with a hyper toddler glued to me all day, it isn't as easy as it sounds :)

I was kindly sent this gorgeous necklace from Bonbi Forest and I absolutely love it! It features two gold plated deer antler shapes, with a dark semi precious Amethyst gemstone in the middle. The chain and lobster clasp are gold plated and there is a cute little Bonbi Forest tag and a gold star attached to the extender chain. So pretty!

Macadamia Haircare Maintenance Set

Macadamia Canteen Gift Box* £49.99

I adore Macadamia's Deep Repair Masque, so I was very excited to try more products from their haircare range. I was kindly sent this beautiful Haircare Maintenance Set* in May, but when I was moving house, I placed it in one my storage boxes and totally forgot about it. I finally got a chance to try out all the products last week and I am in love!

Ted Baker Pretties: Bow Wash Bag and Flip Flops

I was recently offered a chance to pick a couple of items from Surfdome to feature on the blog and as soon as I noticed that they stock Ted Baker accessories, I knew exactly what I was going to choose :) I was planning to purchase the wash bag and flip flops anyway (for my holidays), so it seemed like a perfect opportunity.

My neon wishlist

I adore the look of neons and brights for summer and I am slowly injecting more colour into my wardrobe. Most of the clothes I wear are black and grey, but I like to buy colourful pieces too. As long as the shape of a dress, jacket or top is right for me, I am happy to wear yellow, pink or bright green.

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Collection review and giveaway

I adore bareMinerals makeup, so I was super excited to try out their new range of Marvelous Moxie lip products.
I was kindly sent a lipstick in shade Fly High, a lipgloss in shade Sparkplug and a lip liner in shade Empowered.
I also have the exact same products to giveaway to one of my lucky readers :)

Home decor: adding a nautical touch

I am still adding finishing touches to our new house and it seems to be a never-ending task :)
When I was asked to choose a product from Not On The High Street , I was instantly drawn to the home & garden category.I was looking for something nautical themed and I fell in love this gorgeous set of four beach hut boxes.
I had my heart set on it, even though, I had to wait a couple of weeks for it to be back in stock. They must be pretty popular. I was planning to place them in the bathroom, but... they ended up in the living room, on the bottom shelf of an alcove. This way, I can admire them all day.

Recent beauty buys

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a lovely Sunday! I love seeing what other people buy, so I decided to add another little haul post ... Oooops :) I can't stop buying beauty bits and I placed more online orders last night... I am super excited to get my Neom Travel Candle and Kiko Makeup. Here is what I bought recently:

NEOM SUMMER SALE

As a massive fan of Neom Organics, I had to let you know about their summer sale. Many of you often comment on my Neom reviews, saying that the prices of their products are too high for your budget, so this is your chance to treat yourself to some Neom goodness. I must admit- I buy most of their products on sale. I love a bargain! The selection of reduced items isn't huge, but you can choose from 2 full size candles (£25 each), 3 travel candles (£10 each), a reed diffuser (£20), a reed diffuser refill (£12) and a body cream (£20). Something for everyone.

I treated myself to the Serenity Vanilla & Sandalwood Travel Candle and my total came to £8.50 with all the discounts available for every new customer. By signing up to Neom's newsletter, you get a discount code that entitles you to free Next Day Delivery (normally £5) and as a welcome gift, you also get 150 Neom Points (worth £1.50) This way you save £6.50 with your first order. Fantastic! Let me know if you ordered anything :)

You can shop the sale here.

Beauteco Box June 2013

From all the beauty boxes I have ever received, Beauteco Box* is the most impressive one.

I was very happy with the contents of my May box , but the June one is even better!

Real Techniques Duo-Fiber Brush Collection Review

Real Techniques Duo-Fiber Collection* £23.99

Real Techniques brushes are absolutely amazing and I can't imagine doing my makeup without them. I own the Core Collection, a Powder Brush and a Blush Brush. I was planning to invest in the Starter Set as well, but I have far too many eye shadow brushes already.

The newest addition to Sam's range is the limited edition Duo-Fiber Collection, consisting of three high tech brushes.

theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer aka The Luminizer review

theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer aka The Luminizer* 8.5g £15.00

This review is an exciting one for me, because the Luminizer is my first product from theBalm.

The brand gets a lot of love from bloggers and it has been on my radar for ages.

I can describe my first experience with the brand in one word- LOVE!

Eye Of Horus Makeup - Inspired By Ancient Egyptians

When some beautiful Eye Of Horus products landed on my desk, I was very intrigued.

I really like the name of the brand and the simple black and gold packaging, inspired by Ancient Egyptians is right up my street. I have a soft spot for anything ancient religion and mythology related :)

Monartti Butterscotch Amber Ring

I adore jewellery and my love for it is turning into a slight obsession. The newest addition to my collection is the beautiful Butterscotch Amber Ring from Monartti.

Polaroid Style Prints

I love photography and I always print out a lot of pictures for my photo albums. Why? The answer is very simple. Can you imagine showing your child their baby photos, trying to find them on your 20 year old hard drive? (if it still exists after all those years) It wouldn't be as easy as picking up a photo album! I can't imagine going through all the folders, with thousands of files!!! I take hundreds of pictures every day, so printing out all of them is impossible, but... I make sure to keep my photo album updated :)

Products I've been loving lately

I don't write "favourites posts" regularly, but I really wanted to share some products I have been loving lately.

As you can see, there is a lot of them, so I should probably avoid writing another long intro (see last post) and crack on with the post... right now :)

My Favourite Nail and Cuticle Oils

If you read my blog regularly, you will know that I always complain about weak nails and dry cuticles.

I am one of those people with paper thin nails and no matter what I do, I will never have strong nails. I can make them slightly stronger, if I take supplements and use oils and treatments on a regular basis, but as soon as they grow past a certain length, they break easily.