The Body Shop Argan Body Care - review.

You may remember me writing about some of The Body Shop's Wild Argan range before. I still swear by the lip balm I featured there, it's the only thing that has kept my lips super soft and smooth after a dry spell I'm currently still battling with, and it repaired them really well and also really fast.

So when a couple more new products turned up on my doorstep I was excited to put them to the test too.

The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Body Butter* - £13 200ml.

The body butter now comes in a bigger size of 200ml instead of 50ml which is obviously much better value and will now last forever as you only really need a small amount. The body butter is really creamy but also quite solid (i'ts not called 'butter' for nothing) so using only a tiny amount and then just taking the time to work in into your skin really goes far. It's really perfect for troublesome areas like knees and elbows. I also use it on the tops of my arms on my healed tattoos. Also, this stuff smell incredible! It's definitely not a subtle scent but it's really gorgeous and lingers for a long time.

The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Rough Scrub* - £13 200ml

I'm usually pretty dubious about using body scrubs as they can sometimes be really rough on the skin, this one is actually really soft and the 'grainy' type feeling is coated with a kind of gel, I suppose is the best way to describe it. It's alot 'looser' than other body scrubs I've used but feel really gentle and also does the exfoliating job. I've used this a few times but it's one for the shower as I hate being left with the remnants of an exfoliator in the bottom of the bath!

Using the Rough Scrub in conjunction with the body butter is the best way to get the best of both of these two products for extra soft skin - obviously!

Have you tried any of the Argan range? What is your Body Shop must-haves?

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The Library of Fragrance 'Moonbeam' Review.

The Library of Fragrance are "single scent" cologne sprays that are set out to remind us of our favourite, most unappreciated every-day scents. Most fragrances are just a scent using many different 'notes' however these are linear and don't change over time on the skin and just simply smell like what they are set out to - which makes them all pretty much Unisex too!

For example if you love the smell of Baby Powder - then they've got a fragrance just for you!

Now, there are some very weird ones such as Mushroom, Holy Water (wut?) and Pizza (nooo girl!) that I don't want to try. There are also some interesting ones that I definitely do want to try such as Steam Room, Fireplace and Thunderstorm.

There are over 101 scents to chose from and you can layer and experiment with them all to create your own unique scent which is pretty awesome!

Anyway, what the hell does a Moonbeam smell like?!

Let's set the mood, imagine looking out at a huge lake on a clear, warm Summer night in a wooded area, there is a full moon hanging low in the sky that almost seems to meet the water creating a shimmering path. This beautiful sight is very magical and delicate much like the fragrance so I can totally see how this got it's name.

Moonbeam is a very subtly sweet scent with a deep base so it's very hard to describe. The website says it was inspired by a Shelley poem and 'wanted to capture the dual nature of the moonbeam, reflecting elements of both the innocence of light and the passion of night...' which I definitely get from this scent!

Moonbeam is available at Boots and is £15.

Have you tried any of the Library of Fragrance?

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The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Range - review.

Today I want to share with you the new Wild Argan Oil range from The Body Shop. 

I was really excited to try this range as usually whenever I use Argan oil products I feel them leaving me shiny and don't soak into the skin for agess which is really annoying and gross, so I wanted to test out The Body Shop who have a high standard of great products to NOT do this. 

I am a huge Body Shop fan, when I was a kid I used to love going in and smelling and picking up the animal-shaped soaps (remember them?) and was always intrigued by their ethics for using their money to help endangered animals and working with human rights. The Argan range is no different, the Argan nuts are ethically hand-picked and then extracted using old Moroccan methods.

The Body Shop Argan Oil Body Butter* - £13
Wild Argan Oil Radiant Oil for Hair and Body* - £14

The body butter is really thick, it does take a while to absorb but it does leave your skin feeling really soft and smooth for a long time. Worth the wait if you have a while after a bath or something. 

The oil is what I was worried about it doesn't actually take long to absorb in the skin and leaves it smelling amazing! As for my hair I was scared I'd be left with greasy looking ends but not at all! It's so fine and leaves my hair feeling soft and fluffy. But bear in mind you only need a tiny bit!

The Body Shop Argan Shower Gel* - £4
The Body Shop Argan Oil Lip Balm* - £4

The shower gel doesn't have an overpowering scent but does make your whole bathroom smell amazing after use. A little goes a long way here again it's froths up well and gives a great refreshing wash.

The lip balm is my favourite product. I'ts been a life-saver in these cold weeks! It is very solid but once on it stays on for such a long time I'm left with soft lips all day.

What are your fave Argan Oil based products? I love the smell so much I really want to try a shampoo/conditioner set! 

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Raising Eyebrows with Benefit

Last week I was invited by Benefit to join them and their world-class team of experts to talk all things brows!

Now I may or may not have mentioned it here but I actually do nothing to my eyebrows...I only pluck a couple of strays but nothing more. I've always been curious but never taken the plunge to do anything with them.

When I got to meet the UK Head MUA Lisa Potter Dixon, who I've followed on Twitter since about 2009 now, and Global Brow Expert Jared Bailey. Jared basically took me under his wing, he said I will never forget me first time and I don't think I will - he was so gentle and kind, and it was in a fancy hotel suite too! We are talking eyebrows wax, tint and shaping here and now I will never go back!

First we started with the 3-point brow mapping technique which is marked to give your brows the right shape to suit your face. Then Jared custom blended a tint together to tint my brows - here is the pic we took with my tint on: 

I'm so glad my eyebrows didn't really look like that! 

Next up was the wax, most of us know the pain of waxing, short, sharp and leaves you looking red! But afterwards Jared used Boi-ing the industrial strength concealer to hide any redness and BOOM here are my new brows: 

I love them! I know now why people love theirs too! I'm going to get tinted and waxed when I need it from now on and of course I only trust Benefits' Brow Bars to do it! 

After the service I was given a Brow Prescription of some products which I should use to help enhance the brows  super easily:

Browzings* - Wax and Powder combo which includes a guide-book and tweezers.
Gimmi Brow* - This smudgeproof fiber gel enhances the smallest of hairs to make your brows much fuller.
High Brow Glow* - An eyelift in a pencil!
Raising Eyebrows* - An amazing guide to all things brows, from the history to do's and don'ts - perfect for a brow amateur like me! 

I had the best time and want to thank Benefit so much for the afternoon and of course Jared for sorting my brows.

There is also a new limited edition Benefit brow product which I will be giving away on my blog in a few weeks time which I can't wait to share with you - so make sure you check back!

Have you ever used any Benefit for your Brows?
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Ocean Salt Self-Preserving LUSH Review.

As if they couldn't get any more kinder to us, LUSH have now turned 3 of their best-sellers into Self-Preserving! 

Ocean Salt, Dream Cream and Mask of Magnaminty have all been given the self-preserving treatment which basically means all synthetic ingredients (although totally safe) have been replaced with natural preservatives which means the product is now Vegan. It also has much less water inside which gives the product a much longer shelf life compared to other non-solid products. 

Ocean Salt Self-Preserving Face and Body Scrub c/o LUSH.

Ocean Salt smells divine! It's a very fresh smell with the top ingredients being Grapefruit extract and Lime extracted Vodka. Basically a cocktail!

Although this is marketed as a face scrub I actually prefer to use it as a body scrub to help with stubborn dry areas. The main ingredient in this is Sea Salt which after exfoliating really keeps the skin feeling sooo soft! The scrub is pretty coarse - which personally I love! I love to feel like something is working so when it feels like the scrub is getting rid of dry and dead skin, it feels great.

Have you tried any of the self-preserving range yet?
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Old Wives Tail - Luxury Hair Treatment review.

Hi there!

I've had a lush weekend back home in sleepy Devon and back in Cardiff which is on lockdown for Obama and other world leaders' arrival for the Nato conference. You will have to twitter-search or Google to get the full effect of what it's like here at the moment but it resembles the film 'Children of Men' or a Zombie apocalypse survival town. Police with guns, giant mental fences and people filter-systems - Scary!

Anyway onto something a little more light-hearted, today I have to show off a luxury hair treatment from Old Wives Tail (I think the spelling mistake is deliberate here!)

Organic Clove and Jojoba Organic Oil Treatment*

The first thing that caught my attention with this brand is that it is 100% animal friendly and 10% of profits go to charities that are stopping animal testing and protecting animals from it. The packaging insn't that striking however it's true to it's natural and organic roots which is always good.

This hair treatment is mean't for hair that is brittle, dull and broken (exactly like mine!), I found it hit and miss for a few reasons (mostly totally my own fault) and here is why:

First up you have to leave the treatment on for an hour - now finding an hour in my day where I have nothing to do except sit with treatment on my damp hair is hard BUT I managed it! Then I'm pretty sure because it felt like I wasn't using alot of product/it wasn't going far, ending in me using WAY too much. Instead of massaging it into my scalp as instructed I actually put it all over the ends of my hair (as I thought I'd put it on the part that needed the treatment rather than the parts I felt didn't) which after the wash-out left my hair pretty greasy.

The plus side is my hair smelt amazing and felt super soft, so if I find another spare hour at some point and re-try this I will definitely follow the instructions properly and hope for real results :)

Do you have any dry/broken hair treatment miracles you can share with me? I really need them!

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Michael Kors Siren Lip Luster Review.

Hello!

Today I have a beauty review to share with you, I've actually had this product for a while now as part of a Michael Kors Holiday Collection I was sent to try out earlier this year and I thought I'd share with you one of the products I've only just started using properly. 

In the hot weather I can't stand to wear lipstick (or foundation) unless I'm on a night out as I feel like it's sliding down my face! I remembered this lipgloss and that i hadn't tried it out yet properly so I gave it a while the other weekend whilst I was out and about during the day and it was really great:

Michael Kors Lip Luster - Siren *

I love the translucent barbie pink look it has, the subtle glitter in it (that you can't feel on your lips) really makes it shine without being too gloopy or thick.

Another thing about this is that it has a slight scent to it which you can smell every now and again without being too overpowering or off putting.

The applicator is quite small but thats good for me as I won't get it all over my face, also the packaging is gorgeous! I love the gold shiny-mirror like lid.

Have you tried any Michael Kors make-up before? I have a nail polish, lipstick, bronzer and perfume too - I use the perfume almost everyday it's so great for this weather!

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Yves Rocher Youth Intensifier Serum.

With the weather being warmer (despite being raining 24/7!!!) I feel like my make-up just sliiides straight off my face so I tend not to wear it during the day when at work or if I'm staying in. This has been great for my skin, although this week I appear to of had a breakout but I did have a facial last week during a spa day.

Even though I'm 24 I think it's important to take care of my skin by using anti-aging products and with that all-natural products! 

This is why I'm super excited to share Yves Rocher's youth intensifying serum with you:  

Yves Rocher - Youth Intensifier Serum*

Yves Rocher harvest the botanical ingredients used in the product from their own fields in Brittany, France, they are all about the power of plants. They are also super ethical which is a HUGE plus point for me they never use endangered plants, any animal-based products (bar beeswax), they never test on animals and only use palm oil sustainable by the RSPO.

Now onto the product!

The serum is very light, dries in quickly and doesn't leave any sticky or greasy feeling on your skin just a soft and smooth feeling. It can be used on its own, day or night or also in conjunction with your daily skincare routine.
The products claims that after:

1 Day - Skin radiance is restored
1 Week - Wrinkles are reduced and skin texture is refined
1 Month - Skin appears radiant with youth.

I don't know how you appear radiant with youth but I'd definitely say my skin does look more radiant after 2 weeks of use at least once a day - and people have even commented on it!

I really want to try some more products by Yves Rocher as I love their ethics and approach to skincare plus this has been a winner so far!

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Estee Lauder Double Wear, High Cover Concealer Review.

Hello!

Hope you had a great weekend, I didn't do alot but did go for a looong stroll around the Southerndown cliffs and beach again this Sunday with some pals, it was so nice to get some super fresh air in my lungs!

I'm terrible when it comes to concealer, I've used so many and they've never been the perfect one for me, which leaves me thinking, does such concealer even exist?! I usually use THIS L'oreal one but despite going back to it I think I just go back because I don't know where else to turn.

Recently I got to try the Estee Lauder Double Wear, Stay-in-Place High Cover Concealer which I was a little nervous about trying a 'flat-pack' concealer (if that makes sense) rather than a stick.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer*

I chose the shade 'Extra Light' as I always use pale foundation. The colour is probably still a tiny bit too dark for me still but if you bend it well into your foundation it is fine.
The consistency scared me at first as it is super high coverage so a little goes a long way! It does a really great job at covering scars and marks on the skin and totally covers them up however I feel its a little too thick for me to use for full on blemishes.

Do you use any Estee Lauder make-up? I've just noticed the advert on UK TV at the moment that says the Double Wear is the UK's best selling foundation - pretty cool!

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Haagenbath - LUSH Ballistic Review.

Hello!

Today I thought I'd share with you my little bathtime routine and do a small review of an amazing LUSH Ballistic Bath Bomb!

I like to have at least one bath a week (usually on a Sunday) and I always take them in the evening so they settle me ready for bedtime. When I'm having a bath I love to either use lots of bubbles or treat myself to a LUSH Bathbomb, turn the lights off, light lots of candles and read a good book (currently reading Stiff by Mary Roach - its awesome!).

I take my phone with me just incase but I keep a hand towel on the floor next to the bath so if I do need to grab it I can dry my hands first.

During the LUSH sale on Boxing Day I decided to pick up some items I'd never tried before. One of the items on sale was the HaagenBath Ballistic which I've heard is often discontinued then bought back etc. so I really wanted to try it - I wish SO badly it was always available as It's definitely one of my most favourite LUSH Bathbombs I've tried!

The Ballistic has bits of chocolate in and smells like Spearmint so it actually ends up smelling like mint-chocolate ice cream which is my absolute fave smell! The chocolatey parts melt into the water and give you a lovely cocoa butter and almond oil coverage making your skin super soft and smooth. There is also Spearmint oil in it that helps sooth and calm skin. 

The water looked like a strawberry milkshake which was yet another reason why I've fallen in love with this Ballistic.

Like I said before I really hope they bring this back soon as I need to experience this again!

I'm going to go into my local LUSH this week to pick up some of the new Easter products which I'm super excited to try.

Hope you have a great weekend whatever you get upto.
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Cardiff Tiger.

I'd never heard of Tiger stores before I saw them landing in St.Davids Center in Cardiff. As the *ahem* resident beauty and lifestyle blogger for St.Davids, I was excited to be given a little bag of treats from Tiger to try-out and give my opinion on!

Dead Sea Hand + Foot Cream - £4 each.
These are super light creams that rub in easily for some super soft skin! They aren't perfumed either and are packed with goodness.

Nail Polish - £1.

Its such a pretty colour! It's glittery but without actual chunky glitter in it (and we all know what a pain in the backside that is to get off!). Tiger also have a bunch of other make-up that I'm dying to have a go at!

Duck Head Mount - £4.
I had this on my bathroom door and loved it until this weekend where it met it's untimely demise and smashed into a thousand pieces after a over-zealous door shut :(

I also have a Dead Sea Black Mud Body Wrap that I cannot wait to try!

They also have this cuuuute washi tape that I'm dreaming of.

Had you heard of Tiger?
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Black Whitening Toothpaste - beauty review.

This rainy weather is making me SO down at the moment, I don't know if it's just me being so busy at the moment but I feel exhausted and like my body is starting to get a bit run-down - really hoping I don't get ill!

Today I have review for you of Black-Whitening toothpaste! Yep, that's right!

This toothpaste has activated charcoal in it which has apparently been used for centuries to whiten teeth safely and fight bad breath:

Beverly Hills Formula Perfect White BLACK *
£4.99 available in Superdrug

Weeiiiird.
It looks like a sci-fi nightmare.

Actually the gel toothpaste doesn't make your teeth black, it just turns to your normal white-toothpasey froth as you start to brush.

I usually HATE the taste of the original Beverly Hills Formula Whitening toothpaste (that I've used on and off for years) but this actually tastes of mint! It's fresh and light and the gel doesn't leave that weird gritty feeling in your mouth like the OG does.

I've been using this for 3 weeks now and I've not noticed any dramatic changes. I did take before and after pictures, there was a small difference but I don't want close up images of my teeth all over my blog :p. It does say brush for 5 minutes for best results but who honestly has time or patience to do that?!

I'm definitely sucked into the black-whitening toothpaste novelty but I think thats all it will be for me!

What are your thoughts on the look of this black-white toothpaste?

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LUSH Santa's Lip Scrub review.

LUSH Santa's Lip Scrub - £5.50*

First up I have to comment on the smell of this scrub - coca cola! Delish! Smells like cola cubes.
I love the smell but the taste (I was told you lick it off) is kind of weird - maybe I'm just not used to using a lip scrub yet. I've never used one before but they definitely do their job, after rubbing the product on followed by the lick off my lips feel instantly smoother as all the chapped, dry skin gets a pasting.

This product is great for Winter and perfect for using before applying a lipstick so your lips are soft and smooth with no dry skin ruining your application.

There are tiny little edible hearts sprinkled on the top aswell which look cute but kind of annoyed me as they were only decoration and def not needed!

Have you tried a LUSH Lip Scrub before?

X


P.S - I will be announcing the winner of my giveway tomorrow :)

Essence Stay Matt Lip Cream - beauty review.

Last week I got an awesome package from the beautiful Kathi of GoldieGrace (seriously you have to check out her beauty blog it is amazing!) sent me a German package full of sweets and her drug-store beauty faves in a swap for my Kat Von D 'True Love' eyeshadow palette. 

I've decided to write about my favorite item from the goodies I received:

Essence Stay Matt Lip Cream - Smooth Berry

This picture doesn't really show it but when you first pull it out, it looks quite glossy, so then you are all like 'um is this gonna be matt or what!?" and then...

IT IS MATT! I love this it smells amazing - like Fluff Mashmallow pots! I love how matt it actually turns out it's just wonderful!

It's amazing for the smell alone but really this product lasts forever and I wish I could get ahold of it here (does anybody know if you can?!) as I want one in every colour!

Ever used this brand before?

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Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream (Light) - Beauty Review.

Howdy!

I've been a bit MIA the past week, I ended up with Tonsillitis and have been drooling in my bed. But now I'm much better (thankyou Penicillin!) and cant resume normal blogging.

Today I have a little review for you on the Clarins BB Cream. I love BB Creams for summer and Clarins are always awesome for skincare and beauty products so when I was asked by Escentual.com to give it a try - I jumped on board! Also I saw the gorgeous Kate from ghostparties talking about it on Twitter so - THIS ONES FOR YOU KATE! :P

A little funny thing about Escentual.com is that the Clarins Gold Spa, pharmacy (which stock the best products) and offices all run from the road over from me! Which is AWESOME! One of the team members even came to my house to personally deliver this to me ;) 

The Clarins BB Cream in 'Light'. It is SPF25 and a 45ml tube is £22.40

The colour is 'Light' but I feel its still a bit too 'orangey' for me, I'm super fair skinned so for me I felt like I could see the usual suspect lines as the rest of me is pretty pale too. Id say it's more on the shade '2' side if you were to compare it to other foundations/BB's. 

The coverage is light/medium, it blends really easily and goes on super well (I'm a 'use-my-hands kinda girl when it comes to applying foundations). It gives you a great natural look so I'm super sad it made me a bit orange :( I would totally recommend it for those who use darker shades though but would advice to go a shade lighter than usual.

Have any of you used the Clarins BB cream? What are your favourite BB's for very fair skin?

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MAC Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara - review and swatches.

Hey! 

Hope you have all had an awesome extended weekend, I loved all the wedding related posts I've seen! I've been a little ill and people who follow me on Twitter might have noticed BUT I'm back on track now, so here we go.

You may remember me saying in THIS post that when I ordered my MAC Quite Cute Blush, I got a free mascara, well here it is!

Haute & Naughty Double Effect Mascara - £17.50 (or free in my case!).
Instantly fell in love with the glittery packaging. 

What it is, the pink lid you see is one mascara brush, then the glitter lid is another which with the pink inside, doubles up.

This is just the pink lid's brush.

Before with no mascara.

After with the 1st brush.

Then here is what it looks like with the 2 brushes combined.

With the 2 brushes.

As you can see I have REALLY short stubby eyelashes, so I preferred using just the 1st brush as was lighter for my eyelashes. I guess my opinion is a little bit bias because I don't really get any benefit out of using the 2 brushes together because of my tiny lashes, but if you had nice healthy ones I could totally see it working!

Anybody else tried/got any reviews of this? I'd love to see.

X

OPI Texas Collection, Lil' Shooters - review and swatches.

I had seen a few swatches of the OPI Texas collection around on the Internet but saw this Lil Shooters set which is great to try out a couple before deciding if you want to spend £10.50 on a full 15ml bottle.

Each one is 3.75ml (just like the Katy Perry mini's) so they don't last long but you can get a good idea of if you like a shade enough to buy a full one.

(L-R) Austin-tatious Turquoise, I Vant To Be A-Lone Star, Do You Think I'm Tex-y, RapiDry Top Coat.
£12 ASOS.

Austin-tatious Turqoise is a gorgeous blue-green with a hint of glitter. The perfect Americana, cowgirl blue.

I Vant To Be A-Lone Star a really pale starry sky blue. So pretty.

Do You Think I'm Tex-y? A dahlia-pink colour, very hot!

RapiDry Top Coat is a super fast, long lasting, non-yellowing, high-gloss shine topcoat. Wow!

1st Coat. Please excuse my bad false nails!

3rd coat.

3rd coat with RapiDry Top Coat.

I really love these three colours, their collection is alot bigger than these but from other swatches I've seen these three definitely stand out as the best.

The Texas collection is also the first OPI collection to feature their new sorbet formula, which is supposed to be more translucent giving a light-glossy finish, "similar to the look of icy, water-based sorbet." It totally works with the Do You Think I'm Tex-y and kinda with the Austin-tatious Turquoise, but not so much with the other.
I also had white-tips so the translucent-ness didn't work too great for me.

However, I will definitely be picking up the Austin-tatious Turquoise in a full bottle and I LOVE it! It's so shiny in the sunshine, it looks like the ocean.

Have any of you tried the Texas Collection?

Hope you all have a great Easter weekend if you are celebrating :)
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Maxfactor Lipfinity Lip Tint Pen - review + swatches.

Some of you may remember this post I did on the Topshop Lip Marker - well it turns out it wasn't as great as I had hoped, within 2 weeks it was really dried out.

Then I heard that Maxfactor was bringing out a whole range of lip tinting pens I thought I'd give the whole 'drawing on your lips with a felt tip' fad another go!

This time I waited until a month after I bought it to review it so here it is:

There are 6 different shades, I picked up the most 'red' one named 'Royal Plum'.
£5.99 Superdrug.

1st one is what I could get out of the Topshop lip pen.
2nd is the Maxfactor.

Maxfactor on. It also lasts a long time - it's not fully waterproof but it dries fast and lasts a long time.

It is definitely better (and cheaper) than the Topshop one, it's easier to apply and also you don't need to keep going over it. It's been a month now and it hasn't dried up at all which is great. Probably not ideal for a night out but definitely great for daytime/work/uni/whatever.

Thought I'd just show you all my make-up box :)

Hope you all had a great weekend! Anybody watching the Oscars tonight? I will be staying up late watching a live-stream.

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