Space NK Spring Beauty Edit 2019.

Space NK always has the most wonderful GWP events in the Spring and Autumn and I always plan my major beauty restocks around them. Not only do I replenish my favourite products I get a bunch of samples and mini sized luxury beauty products to try out!

This years event was open to NDulge* members on Tuesday 12th February and to all other customers on Wednesday 13th. It goes without saying that this would make a perfect late Valentine's/Galentine's Day gift to yourself - there are some gift bags still available but if you would like one do hurry as they go fast. 

To qualify for a gift bag you need to spend $285.00 (pre-tax) either in-store or online (us.spacenk.com and enter the code SPRING18 at checkout). I know that it is quite a lot of money to spend all at once but if you do need products now is a good time to shop for them as the gift bag has an amazing value of over $450.00. 

The samples and minis come packed in a blush cosmetics bag that is actually smart enough to be used as a clutch bag. All the samples are generously sized and all come from premium brands such as Omorovicza and Oribe.

Space NK GWP's tend to be quite heavy on skincare items as a rule which is something that pleases me immensely!
This year's bag contains sixteen skincare items.
There is a full-sized pack of face wipes from Patchology and two chemical exfoliants from 111 Skin and Malin+Goetz. I am very pleased that there were four serums (including my favourite Sunday Riley Good Genes) and a face oil by Emma Hardie as I have completely run out of serum samples. There are five face cream samples, two of which, Omorovicza Rejuvenating Night Cream and REN Glow Daily Vitamin C Gel Cream are generously sized 15ml ones. Finally skincare wise, for a deluxe pampering session, there are three masks, including one of my all-time favourites - Clark's Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask.

For makeup lovers there wae three lip products; a Kevyn Aucoin Lip Pencil, a tinted mini balm from Ilia and a clear sparkling Altered Universe Gloss by Lipstick Queen.
I was also happy to find minis of ByTerry Hyaluronic Hydra Powder and Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer which are both great to carry around and take on trips and I'm keen to try out Coola MakeUp Setting Mist containing SPF 30 as soon as the weather heats up.

Haircare items are all generously sized. 

To refresh and style my do there is a handbag size Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo and a Bumble+Bumble Thickening Spray. To ensure my hair is in tip-top condition there are masks from Briogeo, Christophe Robin, and Miriam Quevedo, along with a mini Rahua Classic Conditioner and Waterfall which is a leave-in moisture and shine enhancer by R+Co.

  

The final treat is a mini Diptyque candle.

It goes without saying that I'm thrilled with my gift and can't wait to get stuck into the gift bag and discover some new favourites!  

*NDulge is Space NK's customer rewards program and it is well worth joining if you are not a member. As well as early access to sales and promotions, there are invitations to special events and every time you shop you are rewarded with points that convert to cash rewards that you can redeem on future purchases.
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Free Birthday Beauty Goodies 2018.

I have to admit to being rather negligent of C&C of late. I've been exceptionally busy and somewhat stressed due to aforementioned busyness which all added up to not having the time to blog. If I did have any free time I found that I wasn't in the mood to witter on about books and beauty things, either because I had pressing things that I should be doing (laundry, errands etc), or I needed to totally relax and simply sit and watch tv/play candycrush/flip through a magazine etc.

However, during my birthday month (August) I did manage to find a little time for myself and gather up a few beauty related freebies.

Ulta offer members of its Ultamate rewards program a different birthday gift each quarter. No purchase is needed to reclaim your birthday gift from Ulta but you do need to pick it up in a store as they won't add it to an online order. Summer's gift was a mini It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara. I must be one of the few people who hasn't tried the CC Cream from this brand, but I do have an eyeshadow palette from them that I love so I have high hopes for this mascara. I love mini mascaras! Not only are they a great way to try out new mascaras, they are such a handy size to pop in your bag or take on a trip. I'm always excited to get a mini such as this and get them from goody bags and GWP's so frequently that I rarely need to actually buy a full sized mascara!

Sephora offer members of it's Beauty Insider program a choice of birthday gifts. This year the choice was either Glamglow or Bite Beauty. There's something about Glamglow that I find off-putting for some reason - perhaps it's their glittery masks or their cartoon tie-ins? I don't really know - but it was easy for me to choose the gift from Bite which contained a sample of their amazing Agave Lip Balm along with a mini Amuse Bouche Lipstick and a mini Matte Cream Lip Crayon.

Space NK has upped their birthday gift game and now offer members of their NDulge program a little gift bag with three minis of their best selling products. You can add this birthday treat to an online order or collect it in store (I'm not sure if you need to make a purchase or not to reclaim in store, you do need to to do so online). I feel like I lucked out as my bag had a handbag sized Oribe Dry Texturising Spray which is always a great freebie to receive, a generous 10ml sample spray of Diptyque Philosykos EDP which is my favourite summertime scent, and a 15ml jar of Rodial Bee Venom Moisturizer which alone is worth a whopping $60.00!

Kiehl's offer their 'Kiehl's Family' members a #1 Lip Balm free with any purchase during your birthday month. I know that it's better than nothing but I do feel that this offering from Kiehl's, who were once known for their generous samples and promotions, is a little lame. Every year it is a #1 Lip Balm (which I don't even find to be all that great, its basically a petroleum jelly bal with a very small amount of sunscreen), you need to make a purchase to claim what is a low-value item, plus you can't combine it with any other offer. I actually didn't even claim mine this year as I didn't feel the need to buy something I didn't really need just in order to get a lip balm I don't even like all that much!

Anyhow enough of my complaining...

Diptyque is my favourite perfume house so I was thrilled when I found out that if you subscribe to their emails in the U.S. they will send you a birthday email that you can use in any of their standalone stores to claim either a mini candle or a 10ml EDP spray, no purchase necessary. I opted for the perfume spray and chose the fragrance Tempo which I believe is a Limited Edition of theirs. The Sales Assistants are always so nice at Diptyque and they also gave me a couple of their regular perfume samples which was a kind touch.

CVS recently overhauled their Beauty Rewards program and it now offers a free birthday gift to pick up instore, no purchase necessary. This year it was a Poparazzi Nail Polish and I picked out a wearable nude/greige.

In addition to my mini birthday haul pictured above, I also received a coupon code for 15% off orders during my birthday month from Cult Beauty and Caudalie added 30 points to my MyCaudalie Rewards account. 

I'm very happy with my birthday freebie this year, there are some nice treats here and the best thing is that they didn't cost me anything! Let me know if there are any birthday beauty treats I have missed out.

These offers are available in mainland USA. Other countries may have different gifts and conditions. Gifts and conditions may change and are subject to company policies and rules. 

Samples Galore and Why I'm Having a No-Buy-July

Here's something a little different from me - a two-part rambling beauty post!

Firstly, samples.

I haven't actively been seeking out samples but in the last couple of weeks, I amassed all the samples in the two photos with very minimal effort on my behalf!

CVS has upped their beauty game of late and in addition to the standard drugstore lines they already carry they have added a KBeauty section, got their act together with their French pharmacy offerings as well as stocking a few new decidedly upmarket ranges (Glamglow! Clarins! Dermalogica!). Visit on the right day and they have samples available, my local branch has a friendly lady advisor who thrust a whole load of Vichy samples at me (see all those serum sachets - enough for a week!) one day and on other days I picked up samples from La Roche Posay and Apothecare Essentials.

I've made a few beauty orders recently, only one of which was for myself I hasten to add...
Two orders from Space NK (sale items for myself and Windle and Moodie hair products for Mr C&C) netted me a handful of sample sachets and a mini Rahua Shampoo. I always love samples from Space NK and I'm particularly keen to finally try out some body care from Oribe. The sachets of Cote D'Azur Body Wash and Lotion are plump sachets stuffed with product and I can't wait to rip them open and fill my bathroom with the scent of Oribe!

I ordered Mr C&C some Bumble and Bumble from Sephora so I got my standard three samples - not the ones I picked however. Sephora rarely seems to send the samples you select and more often than not send those annoying blister packs of foundation/concealer/lipstick - which are the only samples I actually dislike and never use. However to soften the blow one of their weekly specials was a  'Beachy Waves' sample set with five sachets of shampoo and conditioner, and three styling products, one of which is my favourite Bumble and Bumble Don't Blow It Fine (H)air Styler.

MrC&C, aka The Kiehl's Addict, needed some of their facial products so I took advantage of a Father's Day promo they had offering deluxe samples and a dop kit. I kindly picked out manly samples which I gave to him but did pick up one of their Creme de Corps Soothing Oil to Foam Body Cleanser which I'm hanging on to as it sounds like something I will enjoy!

Part Two - No Buy July!

I've been fortunate to stumble upon so many irresistible beauty bargains lately that my stash of full-sized products is pretty impressive and that of samples even more so! One of the joys/perils of the beauty industry is that it is ever evolving and there's always something new to tempt us. Having said that after my skin had a bout of sensitivity I've been sticking to a fairly streamlined routine and for the moment I have been enjoying using a steady rotation of pretty basic products that I have in stock, and so has my skin!

 I'm doing a No-Buy-July as there is nothing that I actually need (things I want - that's another story) and I want to reduce my stash (so that in the future I can add to it again!)  I'm also a little gun shy of experimenting with new stuff until my skin has settled down again.  August is my Birthday month so I know I will be buying myself a few birthday treats. And, before we know it, it will (scarily) be September and the whole merry-go-round of GWP'S and launches will start again. I always, always, do the bulk of my beauty shopping in February/March and again in September to take advantage of gift bags from Space NK, Barneys New York and Cult Beauty. 

I love a challenge (as long as it's not too daunting a one) and I'm actually looking forward to this No-Buy month! I'm away on a short holiday at the beginning of the month so I will feel less guilty about eating every meal out and buying cocktails. I'm also planning on giving my wardrobe a bit of an update with the money I would usually allot to beauty products. 

It's an interesting project for me to tackle and while I know I'm not going to ever stop buying beauty products I'm considering doing a No- Buy a few times a year in the future. Let's see how I get on, wish me luck!

Next New Space NK Event NYC 2018.

If you have seen my beauty related posts you will know that I love a good GWP and that I like to attend beauty events whenever I can. I'm fortunate to be living in NYC and there are often events to attend and some of my favourite events here are those hosted by Space NK as not only are they very informative they frequently include generous gifts and/offers.

Last month I attended one of their Next New events, a ticketed event that occurs once a year (I believe last year's, which I missed, was the first). The event was held in NYC's West Village one evening and ticket holders got to meet and chat with founders and representatives from thirty-four brands whose products are stocked at Space NK. Not only were the reps interesting, friendly and informative about their brand's newest releases, each brand had gifts for attendees which ranged from selections of samples to full-sized products. There were also mini makeovers and hairstyling available on site. And I mustn't forget to mention free drinks and nibbles!

It was a bit of a last minute decision by me to attend this year's event but I am so glad that I did as it was a truly amazing evening! A pre-purchased $25.00 ticket was exchanged at the entrance for a $30.00 gift card to use either on the night or at a later date and guests were given a tote bag to fill with their purchases and gifts.

Everybody I met at the event was lovely but I particularly enjoyed talking to fellow Brits from Votary and Windle and Moodie. The Votary girls were beyond generous with their gift as were Artis, Oribe and Rossano Ferretti. I also had a lovely chat With Francesco Clark from Clark's Botanicals who is as inspiring as he is nice.

I could not believe how many gifts I walked away with (and I didn't even stop by the Lipstick Queen, ByTerry or Ilia stands!) over $600.00 worth of product plus three cosmetic bags and the Space NK tote bag! I'm going to use everything from the event.

I'm so happy that I got to experience this wonderful evening and hope that I can visit it again next year. A big thank you goes out to Space NK for organising such a great night and also to all the participating brands.
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Space NK and Sephora Sale Mini Haul.

To be totally honest my beauty stash at the moment is in rather good shape and there isn't anything that I'm about to run out of, but y'know if it's on sale and if it's also something that I love then it seems silly not to take advantage of good offers... 

Having said that there wasn't all that much that caught my eye in either the Space NK or Sephora post holiday sales so my sale splurges were rather tame compared to other years and I only picked up three items.

First up Space NK: 

I had had my eye on the Oribe gift sets ever since I saw them at the Space NK Christmas preview so when I saw the Travel Essentials set on sale I popped it in my basket straight away! I have used the Gold Lust Shampoo and Conditioner and loved it. Not only does it smell amazing it leaves my hair soft, silky and manageable and it is so rich and luxuriant that you only have to use a small amount of it. Normally Oribe costs way more than I care to spend on shampoo and conditioner so I'm deliriously happy to have generously sized 50ml tubes of each of these. 

I've had numerous samples of Gold Lust Dry Shampoo over the years but there's always room for one more in my stash! I find that this is very much a dry shampoo, rather than a texturiser ,but it is an excellent dry shampoo that freshens hair and makes it smell wonderful without weighing it down or leaving any white residue behind. (I once made the mistake of being far too liberal with a hair oil and this put things back to normal in an instant!) This 62ml spray is the perfect size as well, small enough to carry around in a handbag, but large enough to last you a while when traveling. 

The item that sealed the deal for me with this purchase was the roller ball of Cote D'Azur EDP. This fragrance is a light wearable summery scent that smells very similar to the hair products. It is a citrusy floral with some woodsy notes and while it isn't the type of scent that I would normally pick out for myself I like it because it reminds me of the hair products. My usual perfume preferences are a lot warmer and heavier than this (I primarily like spicy scents with notes of Oud, leather and violet) but it's not always suitable to wear such fragrances so I like to have one that's lighter that I can wear during work times that won't offend people by being too overpowering... Having said that, I'm pleased that this is an EDP rather than an EDT so it does have a little staying power on me. I also love the fact that this is so portable and that I can use it if I freshen up after work before going on to an event or dinner. 

I've not yet used the BalmEssence Lip Treatment (I'm trying to finish things up before opening new ones at the moment) but I'm looking forward to cracking it open! It is a clear balm containing Shea Butter, Camelina Oil and Vitamin E, it smells like lemons and is the most fabulously packaged lip balm I ever saw in it's Versace-esque gold pot.

All of these Oribe goodies came in a smart grey toiletry/make up bag that is lined with a gold and grey fabric and has a metal framed opening so not only is it sturdy, you can easily see what is inside. Normally the bags from gift sets go straight into my give away pile but I like this one so much and it is so practical that I'm hanging onto it!

There was a time when every time I ordered something from Space NK I chose a sachet of Kane NY Serum Savant Primer as one of my three samples. I love this serum! It plumps and protects the skin whilst perfectly prepping it for the application of make up. Containing squalene, glycerine and Hyaluronic Acid it is a featherweight emulsion that always left my skin feeling comfortable and looking firm and lifted. BUT at $235.00 it was far too pricey for me to purchase... That is until it went on sale for $59.00! I( actually had $40.00 of NDulge points to spend also so this was a must buy for me.)

 I cannot wait to start using this but I know I'm going to miss it when it's gone as I doubt I will ever be able to afford it again! The packaging of this BTW is gorgeous, it has a very futuristic feel.         

And onto Sephora...

I had to peruse the Sephora sale although I wasn't looking (or expecting) to get anything... And then I saw the Etat Libre d'Orange Discovery Set on sale for less than $10.00!  I bought one of these samplers two years ago and enjoyed it so much. Etat Libre d'Orange is a perfume house that takes a modernist approach when creating their niche fragrances, which are all complex and somewhat unusual. 

The tag line on this sampler is 'Find the Scent that Calls Your Name' and while I liked them all there are four that I particularly liked:

Fat Electrician, a smoky yet creamy incense like fragrance with vanilla notes.

Jasmine and Cigarettes, a soapy jasmine with tobacco notes.

Fils de Dieu, a heavy oriental scent containing citrus notes that is quite powdery and a little musty.

Putain des Palaces, intensely powdery and warm, very long lasting, with dirty amber notes.

This time around the vials came with atomisers and were packaged in a round metal tin so it felt more like an actual gift rather than a set of samples.

I had been using my previous set somewhat sparingly but now with a back up I'm happy to use them more generously!

So that's my sale round up, some luxury hair care, an everyday perfume along with some quirky ones for the weekend and a premium primer. I'm so pleased with these three items - perhaps sometimes less really is more!

Space NK Holiday Preview Goody Bag.

On Thursday night after work I hot footed it to the Space NK Holiday Preview to have a peek at their holiday gift sets and seasonal items. There was a wide selection of gifts and limited edition items any of which I would be happy to give or receive!

The Space NK team did a fantastic job of creating a warm festive atmosphere in spite of it being an unseasonably balmy November evening. The holiday items were beautifully displayed in a gorgeous hotel suite: 'The Thompson Suite' at The Beekman Hotel in Lower Manhattan (thebeekmanhotel.com). 

Drinks and canapes were available and there was a pretty amazing gift bag that I received as I left. I love a good gift bag and this one is quite exceptional! 

Here's a look inside...

Skincare and Make up.

There are some lovely skin treats in this gift bag. 

For cleansing, a sample of Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm which is a beautifully indulgent cleanser - I'm always happy to get samples of this as it's one of the most expensive cleansers out there! It's no secret that I'm not a huge fan of Eve Lom but I'm actually quite excited to try out the new Gel Balm Cleanser which is formulated with Shea Butter and Grape Seed Oil rather than the mineral oils previously found in Eve Lom products.

 There are also samples of Kat Burki Bio Correcting Cream, 111Skin Space Defence Bright Eye Lift Gel, and ByTerry Baume de Rose, all of which are luxury skincare items that I'm always happy to be given! 

The bag also contains a half sized Smith and Cult Lip Gloss in the shade 'Flesh Riot', a pinky nude shot through with a festive gold shimmer.  

Haircare.

There are six haircare items in the bag and they are all generous samples or full sized items. 

From R+Co a full sized Death Valley Dry Shampoo and a sample of High Dive which is a leave in conditioning cream. I already love Death Valley, it has the most wonderful fig fragrance and it adds a nice amount of grit to my hair that adds texture. I have got along with all of the R+Co products that I have tried so far so I'm happy to try out High Dive (I like to use a daily conditioning cream on my hair while it is damp).

There are generous sized samples of Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo and OUAI Wave Spray. I have quite a stash of dry shampoos (this one is very much a shampoo rather than a texturiser) and salt like sprays but I do use both fairly frequently. These are both good products and I will certainly get around to using them.

I can never have enough shampoos to try out so I'm looking forward to using Miriam Quevedo White Caviar Shampoo, sulphate free, this will be perfect to use on my coloured hair. 

The final hair product is Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt. I have seen this innovative shampoo and scalp cleanser all over the place and I'm looking forward to testing this out very much! This is a full sized 75ml pot as well so I expect to get quite a few uses out of it.

Perfume and Body Care. 

Diptyque is possibly my favourite perfume house so I'm always thrilled with any samples I get from them. I'm especially happy whenever it's a 10ml sample of one of their newly formulated Eau de Parfums. 'Do Son' is a tuberose based scent with notes of neroli and rose and a touch of musk to 'dirty it up' and stop it from being overtly floral, it is a very wearable everyday scent for me.

The bag also contains a sample of Aromatherapy Associates Lavender and Peppermint Bath and Shower Oil which is a very aromatic and relaxing addition to any bath. 

I'm so happy with my unexpected gift bag (which is worth over $250.00!) and although I will use everything in it I am particularly looking forward to trying out the Eve Lom Gel Cleansing Balm, the Christophe Robin Sea Salt Scrub and wearing Diptyque Do Son.

It's never too early to start consider your holiday shopping and Space NK have some great gift ideas. www.spacenk.com/us