beauty | stella mccartney eau de parfum

Stella McCartney Eau de Parfum - £69

Perfume is one part of my everyday routine that never gets tiresome. I love choosing which perfume will represent my mood for the day rather than which will represent the weather. If it's sunny outside, I seem to always be drawn to the darker, more wintery scents; completely logical I know! As my perfume collection grows, there has been one scent I've wanted to own for absolutely ages now and so when I opened up a full size bottle of Stella by Stella McCartney on my birthday last week I was ecstatic to say the least.

I feel like Stella could be a perfect year round perfume as long as you aren't afraid of slightly stronger scents. It is described as a floral scent that combines rose and amber notes with hints of wood, musk and mandarin orange. I adore this scent so much, I'm not quite sure how I managed until now without it. 

Have you tried Stella by Stella McCartney? What are your thoughts?

purchases | zara shopper with braided handles

Zara Shopper with braided handles here. 

Handbags are actually my weakness and this past week I seem to have given into this weakness a lot (four times to be precise). I saw this Zara shopper on the website a few weeks ago but found myself undecided after not being too keen on the brown-ish colour. I then saw a few people blog about it and saw that it was in fact nude and not brown and so I stayed up until midnight one night last week and ordered it in the sale! I love the size and the pinkish/nude colour of this bag and I also love the whole look with the braided handles and Celine-esque side panels. This bag is perfect for spring/summer and I can see this becoming a real favourite of mine, Zara is on point at the moment with their handbags!

Yves Saint Laurent 'Le Teint Touche Éclat' Foundation

YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat Foundation - £29

A couple of weeks ago I bought myself the YSL Touche Éclat and I have to say, I totally understand the hype surrounding that product; it really does brighten the face. After loving that, I then really wanted to try out the Le Teint Touche Éclat foundation after hearing so many good things about it. I restrained myself for a good few weeks but at the weekend after having my make-up done (again) by the lady at the YSL counter, I gave in and bought it and I don't regret it at all. 

This foundation has a soft gel focus rather than the usual opaque powder, which helps to mask any imperfections while brightening the face giving the same effect as the Touche Éclat. It is available in 22 different shades which are split into three groups; rose, beige and gold. I was matched to the shade B50 beige and I couldn't be happier with it, it's an absolute perfect match. To apply this foundation, I found it easiest to use a brush and with only one pump this technique covers my entire face. 

When applied, it gives a flawless finish without feeling too heavy on the face. I love how it's so lightweight and sheer, but still leaves you with a brighter and more even looking complexion; it feels lovely on the skin an the smell is nice too which is a bonus! 

Even though I've only used this foundation a handful of times, I just can't believe the finish it gives. My face looks fresh, luminous and bright without being shiny like I've found with some other foundations. I love everything about this foundation including the beautiful glass bottle and the pump application which makes things so much easier and means there's a lot less waste. I'd highly recommend this foundation to anyone with dry to normal skin, who wants a luminous, low to medium coverage look. 

Have you tried the Le Teint Touche Éclat foundation? What are your thoughts? 

Benefit High Beam Highlighter

A couple of weeks ago whilst browsing round Debenhams, I spontaneously decided to buy High Beam. I've heard so many people rave about how great it is but I've never really been that interested in trying it myself so I'm not really sure what came over me but I just bit the bullet and got it and oh am I glad I did; it's amazing!

High Beam is described as a 'luminescent complexion highlighter' and that's exactly what it is. When applied it gives a real glow to the face, especially when in the sun and as you can see from the above photos, it has a slight shimmer to it but nothing really that noticeable, it's more of a glow than a disco ball shimmer. I apply four dots on the top of each cheek, then blend it in and use any excess down the bridge of my nose. For some reason I really didn't expect to like this product but having now used it for two weeks, I know it's going to be something I will definitely be using for a long long time, I just can't believe i've waited this long to buy it. 

High Beam is £19.50 and is available online at Benefit Cosmetics or at Debenhams and Selfridges counters. 

Emma xo

follow me on TWITTER and instagram at iamemmawilde

L'Oreal Elnet Satin Heat Protect Styling Spray | Waves

I've been meaning to try the Elnett styling spray for some time now since getting my hair rollers but I've just never gotten round to it until recently. I picked up the waves version from my local Boots for the bargain price of £3.99 (I think this is a limited time offer?) as I felt this one would best suit what I was wanting to achieve more than the alternative straight or volume versions. 

Since using my hair rollers I've found that although they produce really big, bouncy curls, as my hair is so long and thick the curls only really last an hour or so depending on the weather etc before my hair just looks wavy. I wanted a spray that would protect my hair from heat damage as well as help to keep the curls in before I use hairspray. With that in mind I can only conclude that this spray is absolutely amazing! I curled my hair like normal and afterward found that I was left with beautifully defined curls that actually lasted such a long time. I actually can't believe how good this product actually is and why I haven't bought it sooner! 

One other thing I like about this product is the spray itself. Nothings worse than a hair product that has a tiny, super direct spray because all you're left with is various wet patches and no real results. With this however, the spray is very fine and it actually allows you to cover all your hair really easily. If you're looking for the perfect styling spray that's also a heat defence then I'd highly recommend this one. I've never found anything quite as good as this and for me it works wonders! 

L'Oreal Elnett Satin Heat Protect Spray is available in waves, straight and volume and can be found at Boots and Superdrug. 

Emma xo

follow me on TWITTER and instagram at iamemmawilde