Holy smokes, it's a mask-off

Well, if I'm honest, it's more like a mask symposium.

Facial masks that is - I'm sorry, I know you were all having Jim Carrey flashbacks and preparing to reincorporate 'Smokin'' into your vocabulary - but no, unfortunately for face painters specialising in green, today I will be gabbing on about none other than the humble face mask, its varieties, uses, and how it likes its eggs cooked after a long night of doing the bus stop in a disused underground car park (sunny side up, of course).

Now face masks can have a myriad of different uses, and depending on your skin concerns you can pretty much find one (scout's honour) that will enhance the effectiveness of the products you are already using to treat said concerns (eg. purifying) or that will help you out with naughty skin issues that might be seasonal (eg. hydration) or ageinal (not a word in the English-sense sure, but I'm rolling with it) (eg. firming). Or you could be like me and have such dry, clogged, and un-even skin that you need a thick combination of all three applied weekly with a trowel by a hairy tradesman named Bob (just kidding - his name's Ken).

A mask of the purifying variety that I have been using for quite some time now is the Formula 10.0.6 Deep Down Detox Ultra-Cleansing Mud Mask ($8.99), which looks suspiciously like this:

I have been enjoying the texture of this mask (as much as one can enjoy a texture - ie. a butt-load), the only mildly weird thing about it is it's smell which reminds me of cough medicine just a touch, which surprisingly enough isn't such a pleasant smell to smear all over your face. Looking on the bright side however, what's 10 minutes of being a citizen of weird smell-ville (which incidentally was voted Australia's tidiest town in 1994) compared to the way in which this mask leaves skin looking extremely clear whilst also decongesting pores something fierce (the mask contains kaolin clay which apparently is a bit of a whiz kid when it comes to pore cleaning). And for the meisly sum of $8.99 this product has thus far lasted me months and months - which makes it a major winner in my book (entitled Major Winners, A History).

A firming mask that I have nearly run out of due to its undeniable awesomeness-factor is the St. Ives Timeless Skin Mineral Clay Firming Mask ($9.99), which in its current emaciated state looks like this:

Now this little multi-tasking mad man does an excellent job of deep cleaning the skin and telling blackheads to take a hike (it too contains kaolin clay) but it also leaves skin feeling noticeably firmer and more perky (if I may be so bold). The texture of this product is really lovely, if your idea of lovely is smearing a light, greenish, clayey type paste on your skin (which mine naturally is). The mask does become quite dry on the skin but after it is washed off, leaves skin feeling very soft and (more importantly) looking much clearer and firmer. Winner winner chicken dinner I would say (if I used such expressions).

I have used hydrating masks in the past (one of my favourites is the Clarins HydraQuench Cream-Mask ($62.00) which although it is quite the pricey little number, it is very good to skin that is in dire need of moisturisation (STAT!)) but in recent times I have found that a DIY-mask recipe of egg white mixed with honey is very effective when it comes to giving skin a bit of hydration. And hey, if you get a bit peckish during your pampering you can always just give your face a bit of a lick (joking, joking - I much prefer to put it on toast anyway).

So anyway, do you like any of these masks? Hate them with a passion? Have others that you would like to share with the group? Share, share away!

Vote for me!

I do apologise if that sounded like a demand, it was meant more as an excitable suggestion.

As I'm sure many of you beauty savvy so and so's are aware the beacon of all beauty-related knowledge, tips, trends as well as the occasional Lancome Juicy Tubes-coated pig-in-blanket (they're all the rage, apparently) Primped is currently holding a competition to find a lucky-as-a-pig-in-mud (wow, lots of pig references today) beauty reviewer from each state to basically get free products and review them. That's right, FREE products, for FREE (ie. none of that pesky money has to flee your precious lady wallet in order for you to get lots of awesome beauty loot), and all you have to do in return is review the lovely things they send you.

Sounds too good to be true, right? Well you'd be wrong wrong wrongity wrong, I said a-wrong wrong wrongity wrong (a-wrong wrong wrong) - How I Met Your Mother anyone? No?

In actual fact it is completely true, and I suggest if you love all things beauty, get a literary tingle in your nether regions from writing, and love Primped you should really enter RIGHT NOW (oh and you should probably live in an Australian state or territory also - sorry Uzbekistan, I don't make the rules).

Or failing that, (can you sense the impending shameless self-promotion) you could always vote for little old me!

That's right, oh readery ones, you can vote for me (or Sara from SA as I am formally known) and make me one happy little chappy. Or you could just go and get a banana Paddle Pop and forget all about it, but I'd really prefer if you'd vote.

Toning Up

Ahoy there maties,

Thought I'd just write a little something (not about my current Tae Bo-centric exercise routine which you may have concluded from reading the title - is referencing Tae Bo very outdated?) but in actual fact about the recent re-appearance of toning that has popped up quite unexpectedly in my face washing routine.

Now I used to be quite the avid toner, if I do say so myself, toning around the place like a crazy rose water scented fool. I think I had Clinique to blame for this early obsession as their 3-step skin care system cleaned up my pimple-prone teenage butt (and by butt I mean face - or do I? - yes, yes I do) really well until my $5 a week pocket money allowance made all things Clearasil seem much more financially viable (not nearly as kind to the skin though).

I finally gave up on the entire premise of using a toner, figuring that since cleansers no longer contained animal fats and the like that in the olden days (you know, like the time before krumping was socially acceptable) would require the use of a toner such as rose water to remove any residue left on the skin after cleansing, they were no longer necessary. But oh how wrong I have been proven to be, namely due to this little cheeky number:

This A'kin Hydro Essential Lavender Cellular Brightening Mist ($24.95) first caught my eye due to its somewhat outlandish statement that it would brighten my cells - jury's still out on that one unfortunately. Fortunately however, this lovely mist is very refreshing and calming and really accentuates the cleansing power of my cleanser (if that makes any sense at all) by refreshing my face-skin and making it feel as though it is utterly clean but still full of moisture, which is a feeling a lot of cleansers can strip away.

I have noticed that my skin has been much calmer and less prone to freaking out and showing me a very unwelcome face full of red splotches in the morning - oh how I detest a splotchy morning, really ruins my vegemite toast. Thus I think I'll be jumping back on the toner bandwagon for the foreseeable future.

But I am interested to know how others feel about the good old toner. Necessary? Waste of 20 precious seconds? Really yum when sprayed/sloshed/rubbed on pineapple?

Personally, I like it on Hotdogs.

Put a goat on it

Well hello there gorgeous, aren't you looking lovely today. What? No of course I'm not just complementing you to get you to read me more - you're a stone cold fox, you know that.

Anyway, enough about our petty arguments, there are some real issues to be discussed here and some of them even involve goats and whether or not a modern lady should feel comfortable rubbing them on her eyelids. Others of them involve cucumbers and natural yogurt, or maybe that was my lunch, who can really be sure. But I digress...

I have been feeling a tad morally unsure of late, ever since I was given a bonus gift at Priceline of an Australis Eye Shadow Brush Set. As I perused the list of materials I found that two out of the three brushes in the set contain none other than - goat's hair. Now here comes the part of the conundrum that I'm not quite sure about...wait for it...is this weird/creepy/gross/unethical, in a nut shell - should I be concerned?

Here's a picture of the brushes for your observation:

and another after they had successfully escaped from their plastic and cardboard prison (from left - angle brush, fluffy eye shadow brush, large fluffy brush):

So in order to put my concerns in a biscuit tin and toss them off a bridge (or in other words, get rid of them) I had a bit of a search around on the old netty net to find out what most makeup brushes are really made of. Because in all seriousness, what had I thought I'd been sweeping all over my mug? Leprechaun eyelashes?

I found quite a good run down here which informed me that the most common material used for makeup brushes IS goat hair which is medium soft and very good at holding powder, adding to ease of application. Other hairs that are used for makeup brushes include sable, pony (fortunately not of the My Little variety), something called camel (which apparently is not camel at all but rather a combination of squirrel, goat and pony hair), and (you guessed it) squirrel (which is apparently the softest of the hairs, but for some reason just feels wrong). There are also synthetic brushes of course, which might sit a little bit better with the conscience. However, from what I read the hair is obtained through shearing rather than 'knocking off' the animals.

The two goat hair brushes in the Australis set (the fluffy eye shadow brush and the large fluffy brush) do feel very soft and do apply product well, as opposed to the synthetic angle brush which is a bit scratchy and hard (never the best feeling close to ones eyeballs). So in conclusion I'm still not really sure how I feel about them, can I live with the thought of a herd of goats being cold just so that I may have something soft to apply my eye shadow with?

Any thoughts?

Merlin's beard, that's shine-sational!

(Professor Slughorn reference anyone?)

Good day friends, countrymen and fellow ghetto-blaster toting fiends (oh yeah, I walk around with my own personal soundtrack, Spice Girls and Right Said Fred mostly, but enough about my uber-cool life).

Only the other day I was contemplating why on earth they don't make pina colada flavoured lollypops (pineapple growers conspiracy?) when I happened to notice how lovely and shiny my hair was looking. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not usually the type to wander about simply 'noticing' how wonderful I look, far from it in fact, but in this particular instance I was given a bit of assistance in looking quite hair-tastic (in more of a Farrah Fawcett fashion as opposed to Harry and the Hendersons) by a wonderful little product I have come to truly adore. The little beauty in question is the Ginko & Jojoba Intensive Moisture Vitamin Masque ($17.95) brought to you by the lovers of all things natural, Al'chemy, and looking suspiciously like this:

I first gave this hair mask a whirl after I had developed a slight addiction to the Pantene Pro-V 3 Minute Miracle hair treatment masks ($7.99 for a pack of 3) and was rapidly turning into a pack-a-week user. My hair was delighted with the situation but my bank balance was less so, which led me to search for a product with a bit more longevity. My hunt through the Priceline shelves turned up this little gem which as well as being lovely and sulfate and paraben-free also lasts me and my mid-back length, thick as thieves hair months and months even with 3x weekly uses (I know, I know, I have a problem).

The texture of this hair masque (do fancy names make for better products? In a word, yes) is nice and creamy and it's very natural-smelling - like sticking your head in a rosemary field or a mossy wood. The instructions say that it should be left on for 5 minutes in order for the natural goodness to take it's full effect but I find that just a few minutes (or however long I have after my shampoo, conditioner, shower flamenco routine) is sufficiently long for the shininess to take effect. And take effect it does, giving even my lanky, winter tortured locks a nice swoosh and shine.

So, til next time, shine on you crazy diamonds.

Sophisti-glitter

Oh hey there, I wasn't expecting you (just kidding, of course I was. Who else is going to bring me my nacho cheese Doritos? What, you forgot them?! Never darken my doorway again!)

This week I've been quite the little busy bee (whoops, nearly wrote busty bee - awkward) having trades people invade my house and doing exams and such, so I thought I may not have time to (gasp) give myself a bit of a maincure. But fear not oh gorgeous ones, I had a little trick up my sleeve (of wizard-esque proportions) which allowed me to squeeze one in without having to have a big slap-dash mess all over my digets. And what was that little tricky trick you may ask? It was GLITTER!

Now I'm not talking the kind of glitter polish that we all used to rock as 7 year olds (oh yeah, primary school chic) but rather a glittery concoction from OPI (by the name of Extra-va-vaganza ($19.95)) which incorporates amber, silver and greeny coloured glitter particles in quite a wonderful way like this:

And on some weird fingers I found out on the street:

The beauty of glitter isn't only in the fact that it's super fun (although that's probably like 94% of the beauty), it's also that its really easy to paint on (and build up) and if you do accidently paint into skin territory its really easy to just fleck off (yes, that's the technical term). And as someone who is quite familiar with the art of painting your nails so that someone might think that in fact a dog with a slight jitter painted them, glitter is a massively appealing option. Dancing like a maniac on the weekend here I come!

red, RED or rouge

It's Friday yo, and you know what that means - it's time for me to dust off the old wand and invisibility cloak and start up my weekly Harry Potter marathon once again. But before I lose myself in magical wonderment I thought I might just have a bit of a gab about one of my favourite things in the entire world (after raspberry licorice of course) - LIPSTICK!

Now because winter seems to have come around early this year - just like a nosey aunty who just knows (nose?) that you have left the vacuuming until the last minute before her visit - and as such I believe it is in fact minus a bazillion degrees today (celsius that is, it would be minus a squadrillion fahrenheit). Therefore what better time than turn your lips a delectable shade of rouge in order to heat things up a bit. Being a long time lover of a bright lip (perhaps because I am quite the lazy daisy when it comes to doing extravagant eye make up, or perhaps just because it is mega-fun!) I have quite a collection going on at the moment and I thought I might just share with you three of my favourite reds. Hoorah and here we go...

No.1 (the red): Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Rose ($23.95)

Which looks a little something like this:

I know, I know, it isn't exactly red as in 'fire engine' but it is a lovely darker-than-pink but lighter-than-full-on-red colour which is excellent if you feel like doing a red that's not too-red (if that makes any sense at all). It's also a really low-maintenance lipstick which is lovely and smooth when it goes on and doesn't dry lips out at all - excellent all round I say. Now, rather embarrassingly, here it is on some lips which may or may not be mine (but most probably are):

No.2 (the RED): Maybelline New York Moisture Extreme Lip Colour in Royal Red ($14.95)

As seen here in my garden, where it often hangs out:

Now this is a red. And if I'm honest, I probably only wear this when I'm feeling particularly adventurous as it is a colour that kind of smacks you in the face a bit. When I do pluck up the confidence to swipe it on I make sure I go really light the eye make up, otherwise I feel I may stray into clown face territory, which wouldn't be ideal. Whilst not as creamy and smooth a texture as the Revlon lipstick, the price point is very reasonable and the lipstick comes in so many colours, it really is a bit of a champion. Oh yes, and here's me again, looking quite the fool as per usual:

No.3 (the rouge): Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte in #17 ($55.00)

Looking very sexy here:

Amazing. Enough said? No this really is a wonderful lipstick, to the untrained eye it looks very similar to the colour of the Maybelline specimen but it's just so creamy, smooth, rich, silky, other adjectives pertaining to wonderfulness, and it smells amazing - like berries or violets or something equally as delightful, it really is a dream. I bought this little beauty in Paris last year and so it's kind of become my 'very special occasion' lippie, it is a bit on the pricey side but it's so luxurious it's well worth the cashola. I'm sure you're quite sick of my ugly mug by now, but here I am once again and all YSL-ed up:

Have a good weekend!