'Get Glam' With Diet Coke and Benefit Cosmetics Offer

'Get Glam' this Spring with this fantastic collaboration between Diet Coke and Benefit Cosmetics.Out now and until March 2012 are these rather fabulous limited edition designed Diet Coke cans depicting three of Spring's hottest looks.

Choose from Modern Romantic featuring a floral and pink lips design, True Fashionista featuring a hounds tooth pattern and striking red lips and finally the Rock Chick can features Zebra print with daring orange lips.

Every time you buy a can from the 'Get Glam' collection you will receive a £5 voucher code redeemable on purchases over £20 from Benefit Cosmetics online.

Guest Commenting On Beauty Look Of The Week!

Just a quick post to let you know that today I can be found over on MyDaily.co.uk offering my opinion on the look that two celebrities are rocking on the red carpet. This week the choice is between Lea Michele or Kirsten Dunst. Click here to find out who gets my vote...

Do you agree with my choice?

InStyler® Rotating Hot Iron Straighteners - Hair Tool Review

I am very pleased to be bringing you my first ever hair styling tool review!

The InStyler Rotating Hot Iron is billed as the ultimate 3 in 1 styling tool - promising to straighten, add volume and curl. The idea being that you won't need any other as this does it all!

It features a 32mm Hot Rotating Cylinder, a Heated Brush,Temperature LEDs and a Power Button.You may think it odd that I mention the power button but I have in the past used straighteners that do not have one. It also comes with a sectioning comb and a heat protective mat to rest the straighteners on that doubles as a storage bag.

The Instyler has 3 temperature settings with LED indicators :

Hi  (triple bar): 196° C - For thick, coarse hair
Med (double bar): 157° C - For thin to medium-textured hair
Low (Single bar): 140° C - For fine, thin hair
Off (no bars)

When you turn on the InStyler the LED lights flash as it is heating up, when it is ready the LED becomes solid  and stays lit, telling you that it has reached the desired selected temperature. I think this is a really useful feature. Push the button once for high heat, a second time for medium heat and a third time for low heat and then .

I have been giving this a whirl (literally) ever since I received it for review purposes, and have found it to be a real pleasure to use.

It is so simple to use - I have really thick hair so I have been using it on the highest setting.  To straighten you section the hair as you would with a pair of ordinary straighteners, place in the Instyler, cylinder side to hair and glide the Instyler down the hair. When the Instyler closes the cylinder rotates.

By far my favourite way to style my hair is to flip in, I follow the steps as above but nearer the ends I flip the cyclinder side outwards and the brush inwards - this creates fabulous ends. I have seen the end of straight lank hair just wonderfully styled hair with volume. It has honestly been a revelation.

 I have already given you a peek of what stunningly gorgeous waves it creates in this post. To create the waves, section the hair as normal, wrap a section around the cylinder and close for 5-10 seconds. Gently release hair and repeat on all sections until complete. I was surprised at how quickly I could create this effect.

Don't worry though as full instructions and a demo DVD are provided when you purchase the Instyler.

Plus points -

Practical To Use
Fool Proof
Easy To Create Different Styles
Lightweight
Brushes As You Go
Smooths
Delivers Fabulous Volume
Creates Gorgeous Big Waves and Curls

I have only one negative against the tool - the Instyler is noisy although, like most white noise I have used it so often that now I don't even notice it..but that really is it. I LOVE it :-)

Admittedly it may appear to be pricey but it is so versatile as a styling tool and as someone who would prefer to pay the hairdresser to get the perfect blow dry as I was so useless at using hair tools.. this is saving me money and showed me that there really is something out there that I can use. I cannot imagine living without it now.

The Instyler is available from most Boots stores, QVC and from www.instyler.co.uk costing £99.99

Free Lip Gloss! - Stila Makeup Amnesty: Stila Steal

To celebrate the opening of the new Stila Counter at Harvey Nichols London, Stila are introducing 'Stila Steal' makeup amnesty for one day only. On the 19th January 2012 from 10am Stila are offering all beauty lovers the chance to trade in an old lip gloss (even one that isn't Stila) for a complimentary Stila Lip Glaze in Kitten, a gorgeous suits all nude shade. The lip glaze is worth £15.

Will you be there to pick yours up?

Accessorize Eye Shadows - Dazzlingly Devastating and Aphrodite

Back in November I wrote about how much I liked the bronzer and blusher above from Accessorize in this post, since then they have been used probably more than any others I own.

Today I turn my attention to the Eye Shadows I was sent.

The trio of eyeshadows is called Dazzlingly Devastating and the duo is called Aphrodite.

Once again they feature the same cute Butterfly design packaging and sturdy flip top lid.

Baked Trio Eyeshadows 1- Dazzlingly Devastating swatches

In the pan I struggle to see the difference between the two dark shades but if I look close enough it appears to be that the shade on the left is a dark grey with mulit-coloured flecks of shimmer. The shade on the right is more of a charcoal colour with grittier flecks of ice blue! The central eye shadow is a smooth shimmery cool silver.

Pictured above is how the shadows transfer to the skin. Pigmentation is good, this is with just one swipe of my finger. You can clearly see the multi-coloured flecks, the shimmer and the sparser flecks in the charcoal.

Staying power is good and they don't crease. I am really impressed.

Baked Duo Eyeshadow 11 - Aphrodite swatches

Aphrodite is very appealing in the pan but I am not entirely sure this combo is for me and so I haven't yet applied it to my eyes but I will do!  The white would make a good highlighter for the inner corners of the eyes or the brow bone. The black with red swirl is something that is new to me so I need to work out how best to blend it and show it off on the eyes... If you take the black on its own and apply it to the skin it isn't much different from the dark grey in Dazzingly Devastating. The swatch on the right involved my finger running across the shades of black and red (not blended). Texture wise these are smooth and silky, really nice.

On the Accessorize website I have spotted Illusion Merged Eyeshadow in Golden Caramel which is a creamy swirl of baked gorgeousness and looks like it is completely up my street :-) I need to purchase this.

Accessorize makeup is available to purchase at participating Accessorize and Superdrug stores.

No7 Lash Adapt Mascara - Reviewed

I have never tried false lashes and to be honest I may probably never try them for various reasons, as a result I am always on the look out for fabulous mascaras that can give me volume and length. I have always been left disappointed by No7 mascaras which promise the earth but have never really lived up to my expectations of them until now.... Lash Adapt Mascara claims to 'take your look from day to night' and allows you to add 6 coats clump free. It promises to build, define and volumise lashes.

Lash Adapt has to be the mascara that I had the least hopes for but has wowed me the most. 2 coats of mascara is perfect for my day look but if I want an evening look I can, if necessary, add up to 8 coats, no sign of clumping and my lashes remain as soft as anything. That is seriously impressive!

Close up of brush

The wand is a good design, nice and comfortable to hold. The brush is a good size, is easy to use, and doesn't feature a funny shape that leaves you requiring a degree to work out how to use it! It separates and coats the lashes perfectly and each coat really does apply as if it were the first.

As always I provide the before and after shots so you can see just how much of a difference Lash Adapt actually makes. I haven't used eye lash curlers or enhanced the images.

Before

Using Lash Adapt Mascara

The volume and length are really visible here, this is after 5 coats.

As this was a press sample available before its launch it doesn't actually state on the tube which colour it is but it looks like it is black.

Lash Adapt is available in three shades - Black, Brown/black and Deepest Black and costs £12.50

Happy New Year 2012!

 2012 New Year Fireworks - Image from BBC footage

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

First of all I just want to say how incredible the New Year London fireworks display was, best ever in my opinion.

I cannot believe that it is 2012 already, didn't 2011 go fast?

So as a New Year dawns it is time to make some New Year resolutions...

1. I aim to increase my fruit and vegetable intake - As I am allergic to many tree fruit I need to cook the fruits before I can consume them, not just pick them from the fruit bowl like most people can do. So I foresee a year of many baked/steamed/boiled fruit.

2. I am to get more active - find time for at least 30 minutes of some form of exercise every single day

3. My last resolution is to spend more time on my hair. Try out more products to find the products that bring health and shine to my hair and make it generally more manageable.I also plan to visit the hairdresser more often than I currently do.

Last year I said I would spend more time writing. In 2011 I introduced a Friday Column to BeautySwot which created an outlet to write about various subjects and also allowed me to write fiction in the form of short stories which I enjoyed writing immensely. This year the Friday Column will continue.

Thank you all for your support in the last year and I look forward to you all returning this year for more beauty, spa and afternoon tea related news, reviews and much much more.

Bettina x