Secret Garden Week 2: The Tulip – Symbol of “Perfect Love”

So last week we let you in on Week 1 of our magical Secret Garden promotion for August, a chance for you to add the enchantment of a perfect flower garden into your life. If you missed it, don’t worry, we are all set and ready to delight your senses a little more for Week 2! Every week in August we will be hiding secret codes on the COSME-DE.COM website, for you to search for, find and unlock cash value discounts and gifts!

Because we know how much you love beautiful products at beautiful prices, we have hidden secret codes on various COSME-DE.COM web pages, for you to hunt in the garden of amazing products to find! Once you have spotted these hidden gems, all you need to do is enter the code in the search box, which is easy to spot! And then, as if by magic, you will be the recipient of a cash discount or a free gift on your purchases! So hunt away secret gardeners, and make sure you get your share of the treasure!

Tulips in the garden

So, last week we concentrated on the magnificent rose, and this week we present to you her equally exquisite sister bloom, the tulip! Yes, the divine cup-shaped blossom, that blasts your beauty receptors with its rainbow of deep, true colours. The tulip is the symbol of “perfect love”, and that is what we want for you, to have a life filled with perfect love! The tulip also symbolizes “most admired and beloved”, so let’s bring it on week 2 of the Secret Garden promotion!

Your most youthful bloom

So, let’s get a little loving on ourselves, and start by loving our skin with Christian Dior Capture Totale Dream Skin Global Age-Defying Skincare Perfect Skin Creator. How does a soft-focus veil that instantly, visibly transforms the texture of your skin sound? How does tightened pores, spots, redness and wrinkle reduction, increased firmness and a glowy radiance sound? Grab yourself this luxurious treat from the Dior garden to find out!

Christian Dior Capture Totale Dream Skin Global Age-Defying Skincare Perfect Skin Creator

And speaking of youthful radiance, around the eyes is where we often get the first signs of aging. However, you can protect yourself from this by enjoying La Prairie Essence of Skin Caviar Eye Complex. Only the best for our beloved tulips! One drop of this essence is like a mini facelift that firms, nourishes and re-energizes the eye zone, fading lines and wrinkles away to give your skin its perfect bloom! If you have been working a little too hard recently, give your precious skin a boost and melt those under-eye signs of stress and fatigue far, far away.

La Prairie Essence of Skin Caviar Eye Complex

The sought-after blush of youthful skin is due to the fact that youthful skin retains moisture and always looks perfectly hydrated. You can help to put back what the sun, pollution and stress take out. Try SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel to replenish nutrients. Vitamin B5 helps with tissue repair, giving skin exactly what it needs to feel smoother and appear younger. The gel contains hyaluronic acid, the body’s efficient natural hydrator. You need a few drops on face, neck and chest. This pre-treatment will also help increase the benefits of your daily moisturiser.

SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel

And, last, but by no means least, let’s moisturize that body to perfection and improve appearance of any scars, uneven skin tone or stretch marks with the award-winning specialist skin care product – Bio-Oil. No smooth, peachy-skinned gal should be without it! Improve elasticity, pigmentation marks, scars, aging skin and dryness with just a few drops every day over the body or in the bath. It can even be used on the face.

Bio-Oil Nature Skincare Oil

So, the ultimate recipe for skin that glows and shines with youthful bloom! Happy hunting, and happy gardening this week!

Shout Out to All The Amazing Mothers Around The World!

Let’s take a minute to think about the strongest human bond there is – that between a mother and her child. It is the bond that will see a small woman lifting a car, or running faster than Usain Bolt, if she fears her child is in danger. It is the selfless, special caring and loving that only your Mother will have for you. When all else and everyone else fails, who will still be there for you, encouraging you, helping you, kicking your ass if that is what you need? Yup, it’s Mom!

Honouring your mother on Mother’s Day

So, this Mother’s Day, take some time to show her how much she means to you, to honour her and really make sure she understands just how much you appreciate everything she does for you. You can do this in many ways, by writing her a beautiful letter or card that expresses how you feel, and pampering her. There are many ways to show your Mom how much she means to you, and I have a few ideas too!

A little luxury

I know my Mom loves luxury, and beautiful skin and makeup products, but rarely buys them for herself. So, I use Mother’s Day as my chance to get her a little of the luxury she loves, and would not ordinarily buy for herself. I know she appreciates it, and I love a chance to make sure she is the one who is pampered and spoiled for a change!

I usually start out with some perfume. I love the way my Mom smells, and she is a big fan of trying different perfumes. She’s quite the risk-taker, and doesn’t stick to one perfume, so I would love to get her a sophisticated collection of Marc Jacobs miniatures. The Marc Jacbos Fragrance set  includes Daisy, Dot, Honey, and Daisy Eau So Fresh. Not only is the collection really beautifully packaged, but it gives Mom a range to experiment with, and maybe choose her favourite in time for a full-sized version for Christmas! My favourite of these is Dot, with the interesting and unusual combination of red berry top notes, mid notes of jasmine and base notes of driftwood, divine!

Marc Jacobs Fragrance Set

Get personal

If you want to really make your Mother feel super special, then take time to do something really personal for her. Maybe get your hands on some old photographs and some new ones and put time, energy and effort into making a scrapbook for her, with your photos, quotes, and mementos. Another present that will pull on your Mom’s heartstrings and mean a lot to her would be to make a video, with some still photos, a soundtrack she loves in the background and a recorded message from you. The more personal a gift is, the better, and if your Mom can see that you put time, energy and thought into a gift, she will feel loved and cherished, and that is the whole idea!

Go back in time

I am going to be the first to admit it, I have definitely given my Mother some wrinkles and grey hairs over the years, so she won’t mind at all if I get her Clarins Ultimate Anti-Aging Collection. It includes Double Serum Complete Age Control Concentrate, Extra-Firming Eye Lift Perfecting Serum, Extra-Firming Day Wrinkle Lifting Cream (All Skin Types), Extra-Firming Night Rejuvenating Cream (All Skin Types) and a pretty white cosmetic bag. Now you can’t say that doesn’t pack an anti-aging punch that will keep Mom looking as young as the day she had you! 

Clarins Ultimate Anti-aging Collection

Keep it natural

My Mom loves to keep her skin soft and fragrant, and is a big fan of organic ingredients in anything. She says that our bodies are not meant to have artificial ingredients applied, and she is a wise one! So, I think I will pop some Weleda Wild Rose Body Oil into my bag of Mother’s Day tricks. It can be used as a moisturiser or a massage oil to revitalise the skin, and the senses. 

Weleda Wild Rose Body Oil

Step into her shoes

Helping your mother out is another way to show your appreciation, perhaps my doing all the chores that she usually does, or cooking and serving her a beautiful meal (and cleaning up afterward!) The key is to think about your Mom, what she loves, and what would give her the ultimate warm and fuzzy feeling on Mother’s Day. If you step into your Mom’s shoes in your imagination and go through what her day is like, you will get inspiration as to what will be the ultimate mind-blowing Mother’s Day for her. And then you can justify to your brothers and / or sisters as to why YOU are her favourite child!

So, to all the Moms out there, we salute, love you and appreciate you, on Mother’s Day and every day!