Five Best: Lipglosses & Shines

This month's Five Best is brought to you by the lovely beauty junkie and my friend Hayley Woolf...this girl has a real life obsession with lip glosses and lip shines, so I knew she would be the perfect person to do a little round up of the best products out there for my readers.

As I don't really use lip glosses or shines myself, I thought I would get a friend to do the reviews for me. I will be publishing guest posts whenever an opportunity arises, hope you enjoy them!

1. I’ve recently invested in Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant and it’s now one of my (many) handbag essentials. It describes itself as a ‘multi-tasking miracle worker’ but I solely use it on my lips to leave them moisturised and with a lovely natural shine; simple but effective and definitely will be getting a repeat purchase. £26

2. These Burt’s Bees Lip Shines (New product) are one of my newest gloss discoveries of 2014 and are quickly becoming my new found favourites. The hydrating lip shines provide plenty of moisture whilst adding a beautiful sheer colour gloss and subtle hint of colour. Made from 100% natural ingredients including sunflower oils they’re perfectly pretty on their own for a glossy pout, or layered with your favourite lip colour. My two favourite shades are Whisper, for a subtle colour and Blush for a slighter deeper lip. Price TBC

3. DuWop Lip Venom is probably my all time favourite lip plumping gloss. If it's good enough for Ms. Aniston then it’s good enough for me. The tingly formula uses essential oils to enhance lips’ natural colour to help achieve a fuller looking pout. I’m a huge fan of cinnamon and ginger (two of its key ingredients) which may help explain my love for Lip Venom. Thanks to jojoba and avocado oil, renowned for their moisturising properties, lips are also left hydrated as well as plumped. The only downside is, that at £15 for such a tiny bottle (3.5ml) it’s a little pricey and runs out pretty quickly. An alternative plumping gloss is Sally Hansen Lip Inflation – again I love the cinnamony scent. £15

4. If you’re a gloss gal then you’ll love the new Shine Edition Lipsticks from Bourjois; a clever formula that brings colour, shine and a subtle gloss to your lips. Another new discovery of mine of 2014 and I’m sold by the magnificent concept; ¼ lacquered pigments & ¼ gloss extract.  I’m not usually a lipstick queen and it’s not often at all that I wear them so I’m impressed with this new collection and their ultra-shine results. £7.99

5. Last, but by no means least, is the New CID Cosmetics i-gloss - a light up gloss with a mirror, what more could a girl want? A favourite of mine for the last 4 years, accompanying me all around the world from camping trips in Australia (who would have thought a light-up lip gloss would suffice as a torch!?) to nights out in South East Asia. I-gloss has a gel formulation that gives high-glam lasting shine. My favourite shades are Moonstone and Honey Pot. £15

By Hayley Woolf, Beauty PR and Beauty Junkie

Five Best: Mother's Day Gifts

Mother's Day should be every day...especially with so many sweet gifts to choose from! If you have the budget, afternoon tea or a weekend getaway is always a winner...but if you don't, we all know mums love even the little gestures like cooking dinner or just spending quality time together at home.

I'm definitely going to spoil my mum...but have to keep it a secret for now! To give you a little hint, I've picked my favourite Mother's Day gifts, based on what my own mum would love. She is addicted to chocolate so I have done a special feature on the most delicious and unusual chocolates I tried this week.

1. This Organic Green & Black's Dark Chocolate Selection has officially converted me into a dark chocolate fanatic! Never thought I'd say that but with six different flavours to choose from, everyone can find something to their taste. My favourite flavours are the hazelnut and cherry. Spend all day with mum, take her for a country walk, and this set will then be the sweetest accompaniment to an afternoon coffee and an overdue catch up! £5.49

2. If she is a chocaholic, you can't go wrong with this grand box filled with organic Seed & Bean chocolates. The UK's only 100% ethically accredited chocolate company have this fantastic set filled with goodies made in Northampton and with the finest cocoa from all over the world. This Ultimate Box of Chocolate costs £80 and contains all their daring and unusual flavours which will keep mum sweet for probably a year! They also have cheaper gift sets online

3. If you are buying a selection of presents, Dorset's Fudge's Belgian Dark Chocolate Florentines are the perfect sweet snack for your mum to munch on whilst she opens all her other presents. Award winning, delicately refined, chewy, indulgent and deliciously more-ish, these biscuits are only £3.29 and sold at all supermarkets

4. Say thank you this Mother's Day with a little luxury from the East India Company. These unique and scrumptious Enrobed Strawberries are beautifully packaged and only £7.95. Coated in the finest white chocolate, it's a British classic that's a great gift even just on its own

5. Elizabeth Shaw have just introduced these luxury Connoisseur Bars, and the rich dark chocolate Blackberry & Ginger bar is absolutely delicious. The hints of ginger and blackberry flavours are subtle but divine, and at just £2.29 in Sainsbury's this is a perfect treat to add to some pretty flowers

1. Spoil mum with a brilliant one year subscription to Birchbox - every month she will get a surprise selection of beauty and lifestyle treats including makeup, skincare, haircare and lifestyle extras. £100 + P&P

2. This Crabtree & Evelyn Lovely Hands Gift Set from Amazon is the cutest beauty gift I have seen so far! A wonderful collection of six natural travel size hand therapy moisturizers, this set contains the most popular scents from their range such as the Rosewater scent and the refreshing Citron, honey and coriander scent. The most unusual scent is Avocado. My mum would obsess over these and have one in every handbag! £12.12

3. If you're strapped for cash but want to buy something of great quality and selection, this Cowshed Best of Cowshed Set is only £27 at Brand Alley and contains a Relaxing bath and shower gel, Invigorating soap, Uplifting body lotion, Seduction bath and body oil and two travel candles - a real treat

4. Every mum loves silk, and this gorgeous feather print scarf hand made by designer Claire Armitage from Cornwall will be a lovely accessory to many outfits, from Seek and Adore, £60

5. Make mum a cup of tea, put on a fun film and keep her cozy with a Wool Cellular Blanket from the House of Bath, £69.95

And finally, two great 'alternative' Mother's Day gifts...

Splurge

A robot vacuum cleaner that cleans your entire house for you with the touch of a button? I couldn't believe my eyes but this thing is real! The iRobot Roomba 600 Series has Dirt Detect audible sensors and all sorts of other neat features to keep your home squeaky clean. It will set you back £299 but you'll probably make your mum's dreams come true!

A Mother's gift

If you both really want to give back this Mother's Day, you can help some wonderful charities such as Railway Children to make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable kids in East Africa, India and the UK. These are truly gifts that keep on giving - from farming tools for a family (£20), food supplies (£12) and a school uniforms (£15) to first aid medical equipment (£50), there are lots of ways to help. If you want your gift to go even further, by giving £80 to the charity you will pay for a child to stay in a shelter for two weeks in India receiving protection and safety from the dangers on the streets.