Office Beauty Essentials

 When it comes to work, I'm fairly laid back when in regards to beauty. I don't tend to wear any make-up, do anything special with my hair, or worry too much if my nails aren't painted. I do, however, keep a few little beauty essentials on my desk at all times to keep me fresh and happy.

Hand cream- Top of my list of must have items no matter where I am, but especially at work. I can't stand having even slightly dry hands, so when I am sat at a desk for 7 hours a day, I need one close by. At the moment I am using the Pink Pepperpod Replenishing Hand Cream from Molton Brown which may well be the best that I've ever used...but that's a post of its own.
Lip balm- I love the Soap & Glory Smooch Operator lip balm because of its rich and buttery yet non-sticky formula and gentle vanilla scent, so I always like to keep a tub of this on my desk. I'm halfway through my third pot at the moment.
Hand gel- I am a hand gel obsessive and panic if I don't have on stashed nearby. Using phones, keyboards, shared toilets and assisting with courses in various locations all mean potential for germ spreading so I like to keep my hands sanitised. My current bottle was only 59p from Lidl and the aloe vera leaf powder makes it that little bit softer on the skin.
Perfume- I do my fair share of dashing around to different locations to assist with courses, deliver things to tutors and attend meetings, so I think it is essential to keep a bottle of perfume on the desk so that I can freshen up during the day. At the moment I am working my way through Guess "Seductive" which isn't a favourite but it is a fresh and fruity scent that gives a nice midday lift.

What essentials can you not cope without at work? Do you keep beauty bits and pieces on your desk too?

Annie xx

Bath and Body Works PocketBac Hand Sanitisers

I don't know about you but hand sanitisers are one of my handbag essentials. I like to be able to know that I can quickly disinfect my hands anywhere any time I want to. Bath and Body Works, a beauty cult company from the US make the nicest range by far in my opinion.

The cute and colourful little bottles hold one of 40 different fragrances and they range from the likes of cherry blossom through to ice cream sundae so there's something for everyone to enjoy. The three that I have are Vanilla Berry Sorbet, New York Golden Apple and Pink Vanilla Macaroon and they all smell amazing in addition to killing off germs. There is still a faint alcoholic smell like you get with all hand sanitisers but this is largely disguised by the intended scent.

The sanitiser has a light, liquid gel formula that like any other evaporates away on the skin however like most others do, I haven't found that this dries out my skin or stings like billy-o on scratches, instead I'm just left with hands that feel soft and clean and smell yummy. The little blue balls that are dispersed through the product also vanish on impact with the skin so theres's no worry about being left with grainy hands.

Bath and Body Works isn't readily available in the UK at the moment, but the hand sanitisers are super easy to get hold of on ebay for just £1.99 with free postage. Definitely worth investing and they also make sweet little extra make weight presents. I'm hooked.

Annie xx

Clarins The Essentials Palette

I haven't really gone down the road of showing off all of the lovely things that I was treated to for Christmas, mainly because I squirrelled them away into their proper homes fairly quickly to restore some calm post Christmas, but one thing I had to show you is The Essentials palette from Clarins.

It has been noted by some that this palette isn't all that dissimilar to the Urban Decay Naked offerings however, I feel that whilst the shades have their similarities, as anyone who has used a Clarins eye shadow will know, the quality really is something else. Although they are powder, the shadows all apply so smoothly its almost as if you're working with a cream and their pigmentation is brilliant and with a selection of matte, shimmer and pearl finishes this palette really does have the lot. When a palette comes with a brush I usually end up throwing it aside because I find that companies just don't go to the effort to make sure it's high quality, however this brush is perfect both in size and density for creating lovely soft, smoky looks.

The packaging is a bit of a mixed bag in my opinion as I like the design of the outer casing with its stripes however I do think that Clarins could have perhaps put in a little more effort on the presentation of the internal packaging which is just a fairly average, drugstore looking plastic tray. I can't help but wonder whether this was to keep the price down in line with the UD offerings but I do think that metal or even sturdy cardboard like the outside would have looked a lot better and felt more special.
One handy feature is the looks sheet that comes with the palette which is a good addition for those who might be a little overwhelmed by the little row of neutrals sat before them however some written instructions might have been a good idea!
Over all I think that this limited edition palette is a real hit and I've found myself reaching for it most days. And at £35 is is also slightly cheaper than the Urban Decay palettes so if you can find one then grab it!
Annie xx