Event | The Body Shop 2015 Christmas Collections

The Body Shop's Christmas event is one I look forward to every year mainly because I enjoy their limited edition Christmas collections and this year, the brand has opened another shop in the newly opened PAMA Shopping Village in Mosta, where the event actually took place.

This year, The Body Shop proposes three festive fragrances - Frosted Plum, Frosted Cranberry and Glazed Apple, of which the latter two are re-promotes from last year and the Frosted Plum range is completely new. 

Despite two of the scents being re-promotes, there is a good variety of new products which are found in all three ranges, such as the sugar scrub and the shimmer mists. This year, the majority of the products in the Christmas ranges are shimmery so do be aware of that if you are not a fan of such products. Apart from the individual products, you can also find them packaged in very festive cases too. 

In keeping with the Christmas theme, The Body Shop have also launched a limited edition makeup collection which really reminded me of The Great Gatsby with it's artdeco packaging and shades.

There are also some other new products and fragrances worth discovering such as the Spa Of The World range and the new Shade Adjusting Drops which help you get the perfect foundation shade for your skin tone! In fact, I got myself a bottle of the Lightening drops.

Then of course there are the usual gifts for him and her that are perfect for your office Secret Santa and a whole range of gifts to suit all budgets. 

When talking about The Body Shop, one cannot forget its humanitarian actions and this year, they have partnered with WaterAid to provide families with safe water. Proceeds from specially marked Christmas items will help the company reach its goals.

Lastly, The Body Shop is giving you a free gift with every purchase of over €35 and you can also apply for your Love Your Body card to get 10% off your purchases every time. 

Follow The Body Shop Malta on Facebook to keep updated.

Review | Essence Merry Berry Trend Edition Christmas 2015

One of the Christmas makeup collections I really wanted this year is the Merry Berry Trend Edition from Essence Cosmetics, a brand which is most definitely not new to this blog. As soon as I first saw pictures of this collection on a French blog, I knew I wanted to get my hands on it! 

I'm all about berry tones in winter and I was glad to see this collection deviating from the usual reds that this time of year is synonymous with. Let's have a look at the products that make up this collection, then proceed to swatches and pictures of the products I got. 

The star products in this collection are the highlighter and the scented gold dust powder but all products are packaged really pretty with the exception of the hair fragrance which has quite a plain appearance that contrasts with the glitz of the other products.

First up, the eyeshadows. There are two shades in the collection:

01 The Perfect Dress - light taupe/sand beige with a satin finish

02 The Masked Ball - aubergine purple with a satin finish

  Essence Merry Berry Trend Edition Eyeshadows
01 The Perfect Dress, left | 02 The Masked Ball, right

The transparent cases are quite simple but I still like them for the embossed confetti-like motifs on the eyeshadows and the actual colours still show through. I was surprised to see that these eyeshadows are not powdery as other Essence eyeshadows tend to be and that they have very good pigmentation and staying power. They cost €2.10 each for 2.5g of product.

Next is the Scented Gold Dust Powder which is only available in one nuance, 01 I Love My Golden Pumps. I'll admit this was an impulse buy just because it looks so cute, like an old perfume bottle! I will probably never use this to go out but when I tried it, one pump delivers quite an abundance of gold glitter and there is a good chance that your surroundings will end up all sparkly too. This product can be used on both hair and body. I really liked the vanilla scent this carries and just because it looks so chic, it has taken up permanent residence on my vanity. This costs €3.70.

Essence Merry Berry Trend Edition Scented Gold Dust Powder 01 I Love My Golden Pumps

Since the stand I bought them from was still intact when I went to buy the collection, I managed to get my hands on all three lipsticks. All three are in berry shades in keeping in line with the theme of the collection and I can say they are really up my alley! I like that the outer case is a true representation of the colour of the actual lipstick and has a satin matte appearance and the gold ring at the middle really adds a nice, festive touch! The three shades are:

01 Let The Berry-Tales Begin - deep burgundy purple with a creme finish

02 Pink & Perfect - straight up magenta with a creme finish

03 Red Rocks - raspberry pink with a creme finish

  Essence Merry Berry Trend Edition Lipsticks
L to R: 01 Let The Berry-Tales Begin | 02 Pink & Perfect | 03 Red Rocks

All three are very wearable shades and I think they will look good with many winter looks. The formula is very creamy and they last for a good 3 hours or so. The lipsticks cost €2.40 each for 3.8g of product.

Lastly, I have the nail polishes. I only got one of the opaque shades and the gold flakes top coat because I already have similar polishes in my collection. The nail polish I got is the shade 01 The Masked Ball which is the same aubergine purple as the eyeshadow bearing the same name. Under certain lights, this particular polish looks almost black. The packaging is what sold me to get this polish because it is just so cute!

  Essence Merry Berry Trend Edition Nail Polish
01 The Masked Ball, left | 01 I Love My Golden Pumps, right

The top coat 01 I Love My Golden Pumps comes in the same packaging and I was really impressed with the even application of the flakes which is not always the case with this type of polishes. Both polishes carry 8ml of product and retail for €2.10 each.

I really like this collection and I do recommend you go out and get it before it is gone as I anticipate it will sell out soon! The outlets at which the collection is available are the following:

Tony's Pharmacy, Gzira

Lowla, Zabbar

Trollees Supermarket, Qawra

Claire's Accessories St. Julians's

St.Catherine's Pharmacy, Zejtun

Arkadia, Gozo

Oviesse, Pavi

Rotunda Pharmacy, Mosta 

Pillbox Pharmacy, Naxxar 

Rational Pharmacy B'kara 

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