Votary Rose Maroc & Sandalwood Facial Oil

Way back in December I received Votary's Rose Maroc & Sandalwood Facial Oil (30ml - £65) in my Liberty Advent Calendar (£165) on day 17. It had been on the wishlist for ages and I was so excited to try it.

So did it live up to my expectations? Oh yes!

The oil which is hand-crafted in small batches smells deeply of roses with a hint of woods and is wonderful - I think it's even better than I was expecting. The oil is made with plant oils and botanicals and is great for dry and dehydrated skins and I've found it to be my skin's best friend when it's been feeling dry and out of sorts. The skin is left plumped, radiant and nourished.

To use: apply 4-5 drops to palms, warm and then cup your palms around your nose and inhale. Smooth onto face and neck taking care to pat gently around the eye area.

Have you used this facial oil or any other products by Votary? I'm after the new body oil next!

Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar: Days 9-25

You can see what I received in my Liberty Advent Calendar days 1-8 HERE.

Day 9 - Davines Oi All in One Milk 50ml - which is a hair conditioning treatment (and one which I'm looking forward to trying!) It hydrates, tames, adds shine, softens, de-tangles, adds volume..the list seems endless as to what it can do!

Day 10 - Marvis Toothpaste x 2 - which are handy for travelling. I gifted on the Licorice one as I didn't fancy it.

Day 11 - Byredo Bal D'Afrique Hand Cream 1oz - which was one of the ones I was waiting for! This is gorgeous. I really like it.

Day 12 - NARS Lip Gloss in Baby Doll 4ml - which is a sweet pink shade.

Day 13 - saw us get cult product Eve Lom Cleansing Creme and cloth. I'm not a fan of this so I'll pass it on.

Day 14 - ODEJO full size bottle of perfume! Unfortunately, I'm not so keen on this one.

Day 15 - a lovely nude lipstick from Trish McEvoy - this one escaped the calendar before the 15th!

Day 16 - an oldie but a goodie! From Dermalogica there is Daily Microfoliant.

Day 17 - Votary Facial Oil with Rose Maroc & Sandalwood 30ml - this is a full size which is worth £65! I started using this the day my advent calendar arrived. Absolutely love it! Review will be up soon.

Day 18 - Blinkbrow Night Brow Balm - I've never tried a brow balm before so looking forward to trying this out.

Day 19 - Skin Laundry Gentle Foaming Face Wash - again from a brand I'd not heard of before. Looking forward to testing it out.

Day 20 - Kai Body Lotion mini - I'm a huge fan of this brand. Love their perfume oil so happy to have this in my stash.

Day 21 - Dr Sebagh Serum Repair 20ml - this is another full size and worth £69! Looking forward to trying.

Day 22 - Surratt Blush in Cantelope which is another full size and worth £23! 

Day 23 - ESPA Overnight Hydration Therapy in a luxe travel size - used this before and loved it.

Day 24 - Le Labo Santal 33 Purse Spray - this was another one I couldn't wait to get. Love it.

Day 25 - Diptyque Figuier Candle 70g (worth £20) again looking forward to this one! I love the Diptyque candles.

I've loved this super luxury calendar which has been an absolute joy. Did you get one? What did you think of the contents?

Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar - the first 8 days

The Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar has been one of the most luxurious gifts I've ever had! It sold out the same day it went on sale! I couldn't decide whether I should get it or not (£165) as it wasn't cheap. I was over the moon when hubby said he'd buy it for me! I did have delivery issues and customer services were useless so because of this it'll be my one and only online purchase from Liberty....(oh and they also cancelled everyone's TopCashback)

The calendar itself is exquisite and well made. I'll be using it to store bits-n-bobs. Inside each drawer with the product is rose gold crunchy paper - it's the little things..

Day 1: Aveda Hand Relief Moisturizing Creme 40ml - this is a good size and a product I've used before and loved. It deeply nourishes the hands and has a minty-herbal aroma.

Day 2: Aurelia Probiotic Skincare Refine & Polish Miracle Balm 20ml - again a product I've tried before (and which I'll enjoy using again!) It has a very gentle exfoliating action.

Day 3: Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips & Cheeks 3.7g in shade Powder Pink which is worth £20!  This is a really pretty shade which I'll enjoy using.

Day 4: Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo 30ml - again a shampoo I've used before & enjoyed.

Day 5: Jin Soon Nail Lacquer (full size) - I'm not really a polish fan so I'll gift this on. Pretty shade though.

Day 6: Laura Mercier Hydrating Foundation Primer 30ml - I'm always looking for the perfect primer. Again, I've used this before but not for a while. Happy to have it back in my stash.

Day 7: Co Bigelow Rose Salve 14g - I love anything rose scented so I'll give this a try.

Day 8: Malin+Goetz Vitamin E Face Moisturiser 29ml - I've again tried this before. It's great size for travel so I'll pop it in my holidays bag.

What do you think of the Calendar so far?

Advent Calendars

I've been extremely lucky this year. My hubby treated me to the Liberty Advent Calendar, I bought the You Beauty Box one and my friends Magi and Derek on Tuesday night surprised me with a Yankee Candle one - I'm not going to bore you all with a post everyday - instead I'll do a weekly roundup.

Day 1 - Aveda Hand Relief Moisturizing Creme 40ml - I've used this several times before and it's a lovely hand cream. Perfect for winter. Looking forward to trying this again!

From YOU Beauty Box Advent Calendar on day 1 I got one of my favourite cleansers from Aurelia Probiotic Skincare - Miracle Cleanser 30ml with a Bamboo Muslin Cloth which is presented in a little velvet drawstring bag (which is a nice touch) - see my review HERE.

The Yankee Candle Advent Calendar contains tea lights and a votive and today I got a Candy Cane Lane tealight which has a sweet minty aroma.

Are you opening an Advent Calendar today?

November: Lately I've been Loving

The arrival of my Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar. I had lots of stresses regarding delivery and customer services weren't the best.  It is lovely but it will be my one and only online order from Liberty. The calendar itself is beautiful and the contents super luxe. Roll on 1st December!

My Love Me Beauty picks from The #Nightfall Edit included a second Kat Von D lipstick mini (1.2g). I absolutely love the shade magick - so wearable! My other picks were two Caudalie Hand Creams (each 30ml) and Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm (25ml). I also adore that make up bag it's so cute! 

Get £21 worth of credit if you use my code SANDR174.

My gin baubles arrived from Pickering's Gin each one is filled with 50ml of gin! Can't wait until I get my Christmas tree! (if they last that long!)

I swithered about getting the recent Cult Goody Bag - buying 3 Christmas presents softened the blow a bit! As ever the goody bag is jam packed full of beautiful things to try.

This book called Reunions by Chris Porsz is one of the most amazing things! He took photos in the 70s, 80s, and 90s in Peterborough and revisits the locations and people and takes the photo again in the current day. It's a must read. Every picture really does tell a story..pick yours up HERE.

I won tickets on a twitter competition to Edinburgh Foodies Festival - thanks again My Little Black Book! We had a great time sampling delicious food and drinks - some things which caught my eye (and tastebuds) - Narcissus Flowers, Loch Ness Gin, Mademoiselle Macaron (the rose ones are my favourite!) and Aelder Elixir. Roll on the summer one!

I've been testing out two new perfumes* from Ancienne Ambiance which are absolutely gorgeous - Colonia IX EdP which is a woody oriental and Colonia VIII EdP which is sweet/woody. Expect a full review shortly - I absolutely love both of them.

What have you been loving this month?

*complimentary