A tad less excessive

Howdy partners,

I'm not sure if you recall but many millennia ago I posted a little ditty about the fact that whenever I am forced (by an armed guard with a very pointy bayonet, no less) to journey from my humble abode to a far off distant land (in a word, Adelaide), I feel the need to carry with me at least twice my weight in beauty products. A phenomenon which causes my long-suffering bf severe bewilderment, arm-strain and long bouts of uncontrollable swearing. I therefore resolved to cull my ever-expanding travelling beauty stash when I went a-travelling last week, resulting in this:

and from another angle, this:

 
and from a third, more birds-eye-esque angle, this:

(Don't worry, that is not someone sitting on the toilet next to the products in this last photo, it is simply the case of a very unfortunately positioned jacket)

So, as you can see, I have whittled everything down to the bare essentials:

·         shampoo and conditioner (Pantene Pro-V Extra Straight Shampoo & Extra Straight Conditioner ($7.99 each)) - I know Pantene is supposed to be really horrible and stripping (not in an erotic way) and damaging to your hair, but I've never found anything else that makes my hair as shiny and clean and, dare I say it, bouncy as this, I even kind of noticed the straightening effect on my normally terribly unruly locks;

·         cleanser and exfoliator (which I could not leave at home as my voyage fell on an exfoliation day - is everyone as anal about exfoliation as me? Not anal exfoliation obviously, although each to their own, but rather a bit finicky about facial exfoliation? Perhaps that's enough about this increasingly unsettling path I'm heading down), currently I am employing Neutrogena's Deep Clean Cream Cleanser ($13.99) - which I have been using for ages and have never found anything better than, it actually contains salicylic acid so I suppose it gives you a mini-exfoliation every time you use it - and Biore's Skin Preservation Even Smoother Microderm Exfoliator ($19.99) - which I'm really liking due to it's fine beads which aren't as rough as other exfoliants can be - to perform these tasks;

·         other products of note in the loot include Al'chemy's Ginkgo & Jojoba Intensive Moisture Vitamin Masque ($18.95) - which is excellent for making hair look (and feel) rather healthy; Formula 10.0.6.'s Deep Down Detox Ultra-Cleansing Mud Mask with orange and bergamot ($8.99) - a really good purifying mask, I usually use it after exfoliating just to make sure I get all the nasties out of those all-consuming pores; Garnier's Fructis Style XXL Volume Restructure Thermo-Active Texturising Spray ($7.95) and Schwarzkopf's Straight & Glossy Heat Defense Zero Frizz Spray ($8.99) - for volumisation (not a real word) and heat protection respectively; as well as Biotherm's White D-Tox [Bright Cell] Moisturiser ($94.00 - a bit pricey I know, but I got it in a pack with a White D-Tox Make-Up Base from Myer for about $100, so there are bargains out there to be had) and QV face's Revitalising Eye Cream ($15.99) too boot!

So I think I have gotten a little bit better, at least I shouldn't be getting back spasms from lugging that lot around anytime soon!

Oil me up, baby

Don't worry, it's not what you think - you cheeky little monkey. This is not a post about natural female body building and my particitation (or lack there of) in it. Hey, whatever floats your boat right?

No, not really - just kidding with your lovely selves. It is instead a post about the rate at which I have lately been slathering my person with oils of differing varieties (ie. a rate of absolute knots!) I'm not sure what first attracted me towards moisturising with a body oil rather than a traditional cream moisturiser, perhaps it was the fact that the near freezing weather down here in the south east of South Australia (wow, that's a lot of south and just a tad of east) has quite rapidly been turning my skin into a gigantic flakey nightmare, or perhaps it was the realisation that I had run out of every creamy moisturiser that I currently have lined up on my bedside table except for the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Natural Bronze Body Lotion ($12.95) which I didn't feel was quite appropriate considering the gloomy grey skies outside.

So, long story short I reached for my trusty Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil ($35.95 for 45mL) which I realise is not strictly an oil designed for moisturising the entire body but I figured it's such a versatile little winner of a product that it would do the trick, and I was indeed (uncharacteristically) right! Yay! Here's what it looks like in my garden if you were wondering:

It did indeed leave my skin lovely and moisturised, or moisture-ful if you will, and as a little bonus the pesky little stretch marks that we all love to hate were noticably less noticable as well! The only problem I can see with using this as a full-time all-over body moisturiser is that after 3 weeks I had nearly finished an entire 45mL bottle (now that's a lot of oil) and at $35.95 a pop it might not be entirely cost-effective for those of us who are on a bit of a tight budget. But you know this rosehip oil will always be a part of my life as it's just such rich, organic, wonderful product.

So, I was of course so enamoured with the moisturising potential of a bit of oil that I went down to my local fish and chip shop and asked if i could bathe in their deep fryer. No not really (oh, so many jokes today), but I did however pop down to Priceline on my weekend visit to Adelaide and pick up a little bottle of Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Body Oil ($10.60). I was actually looking for the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Oil ($9.95) which is available in cocoa butter and rosehip and you can see reviewed on beautyhaven here, but since it was no where to be seen I thought I'd give the body oil a go, which you can also see here in my garden:

Although it doesn't feel quite as nice as the Trilogy oil it does absorb into the skin very easily (once you get the hang of not squirting too much out and thus ending up in a big oily mess) and leaves it nice and moisturised without feeling like you're all oily. It also smells like chocolate - kind of like a less pungent but more chocolatey version of the smell of the Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion ($7.40) - if that makes any sense at all. So yes, oil seems to be a big winner when it comes to giving the old skin sheets a massive moisture hit especially given their tendency towards winter flakiness. Hoorah!

Ain't she a beauty

Hello lovely readers,

It seems that I must once again apologise for the extended sojourn I have taken between posts, if only there weren't so many butterflies for me to chase and puddles for me to jump in. But anyway, enough about my life, let's get down to the nitty gritty (quite literally) of some lovely products I have been giving a burl for the past few weeks - namely, the highly scrubberific a bit of rough exfoliating salt scrub and the very soothing flutter eye balm from wonderful Australian skincare company that loves all things natural, Ulittlebeauty.

First of all, the a bit of rough exfoliating salt scrub ($19.95):

which is packed with all sorts of goodies like macadamia nuts (not whole ones of course), coffee, jojoba oil and salt - which in truth is less of a goodie and more of a seasoning, but makes the scrubiness of this scrub wonderfully envigorating none the less. Inside it looks a little something like this:

I have only ever really tried 3 body exfoliating scrubs in my time - one which I have previously written about, the Garnier bodytonic sugar scrub, the second was a catastrophic bit of DIY which had olive oil and brown sugar flying everywhere and turning me into a big oily mess - well even more of one, and the third was of course this one which after consideration of the scrubbiness, naturalness and making your skin look really good and healthy after you've used it-ness factors, is a big winner in my books. I really love the natural feel of this product (if that makes any sense at all) and it does make my skin look really nice and smooth after use. The only thing that was a tad annoying is figuring out where to put the tub in the shower to prevent it from filling with water - oh how I envy those with a handy shower shelf!

The other Ulittlebeauty product that I have been rocking around with for the past few weeks is the lovely under eye puffiness and bagginess-relieveing flutter eye balm ($24.95):

At first I was a tad unsure about this eye cream (which includes ingredients such as organic chamomile flower extract, macadamia seed oil, organic aloe, and Kakadu plum extract) as when I popped it on it didn't feel as though it was working as much as my previous eye cream (QV face's revitalising eye cream), but after sticking with it for a couple of weeks I (many apologies for the cliched term) really noticed the difference. There was a definite reduction in puffiness and the darkness of my much loathed under eye circles, I also really love the feel of this cream and with all those wonderful ingredients in it this product must be good for you.

Till we next meet.

xoxo







Excessive maybe?

Hello again,

Long time, no blog - which I am extremely sorry about, it seems that sometimes my laziness knows no bounds. I have lately, however, been flitting about the place graduating from uni and such and because of this I had to trek down to Adelaide for a total of roughly 45 fun-filled hours. What concerned me most about the trip was not whether I would slip and fall on my face whilst walking across the stage to get my certificate though, it was in fact the sheer number of face, skin and hair products that had to make the trek down with me in order to make me look somewhat presentable. Resulting in what was once a bare sink at my parents' house becoming a gigantic mountain of lotions and potions, looking like this:

And from another angle looking like this:

And this:



(Please excuse the terrible photos courtesy of my not-so-technically-advanced phone)

So anyway, the realisation that my bag of products was bigger than my bag of clothes, reading material, hair-styling equipment and shoes was quite concerning, but really I don't know what I could've left out - I depend on all of these products to pull together and transform me from a greasy, frizzy mess to a far more primed and proper version of myself. I mean of these 25 products I rely on the Kosmea Australia Clarifying Facial Wash ($34.95) and Hydrating Rosewater Mist ($19.95) to clean my skin without being too heavy or chemically, I also need the Biore Even Smoother Microderm Exfoliator ($19.99) to give my pores a really good clean out - a spring clean if you will, and the A'kin White Tea & Aloe Vital Hydration Gel Creme ($35.95) to keep my face skin nice and moisturised as well as the A'kin Lavender, Geranium & Jojoba Hand, Nail & Cuticle Creme ($16.95) to do the same for my hand skin, the Formula 10.0.6. Deep Down Detox Ultra-Cleansing Mud Mask with orange and bergamot ($8.99) also does a very thorough job of giving a good clean and would thus be imposible to travel without.

Then of course there's the Kora Organic Rich Body Lotion ($44.95) for an excellent and very organic-feeling (if that makes sense) moisture-injection, the Garnier Body Tonic Sugar Scrub ($11.95) and the Palmer's Shea Butter Body Wash ($5.95) - which I only just started using and have become very impressed with due to it's moisturising nature, very delicious smell and lack of sulphates - which all result in a very well cleaned and moisturised torso.

The Klorane Gentle Shampoo with Oat Milk ($12.95) and Softening & Detangling Conditioning Balm with Oat Milk ($12.95) (which I first discovered in Paris - well they were kind of the same products but I haven't actually been able to find the fabulous Klorane volumising shampoo here in Oz - tragically as it was utterly amazing) are of course essential due to their ability to be used everyday without being to harsh on my little hair folicles as if I don't wash my hair everyday it feels like I haven't even woken up! There's also the Al'chemy Ginkgo & Jojoba Intensive Moisture Vitamin Masque ($18.95) which I use twice a week to make my hair lovely and shine-tastic. Then we also have the Garnier Fructis Style XXL Volume Restructure Thermo-Active Texturising Spray ($7.95), the Schwarzkopf Straight & Glossy Heat Defense Zero Frizz Spray ($8.99) and the TRESemme Salon Finish Extra Hold Hairspray ($7.95) all of which keep my hair relatively voluminous, un-damaged and under control from attack by nasty frizzies.

Lastly we have a bit of Sally Hansen Strengthening Nail Polish Remover for Weak, Thin Nails ($5.45) which has been working quite well thus far, O.P.I. Nail Lacquer in Coney Island Cotton Candy ($19.95) - a lovely light pinky/corally shade, and Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat ($12.99) just to top it all off nicely.

So, as you can see I spend far too much on beauty products. No, I mean karting all of this around for only 45 hours stay does seem a bit excessive but culling it down would be very very tricky indeed, like having a birthday party without animal ballons - even if my bf says I don't need it (trying to save some coin I should expect). The scary thing is - these pictures don't even include my make up!

Until next time...

xoxo

To firm or not to firm?

Hey hey hey,

I must begin by apologising for the delay in my second post, I quite literally created such a monumentously gigantic hairspray-filled up-do on the weekend that my hands have been stuck in it for days rendering me completely incapable of writing this to you all. No not really, I kid. But I did in fact crack out the old hairspray on the weekend as I was feeling a tad disillusioned by the noticable lack of opportunity there is to get dressed-up and made-up and quiffed-up here in Keith (unless walking around with liquid eyeliner and high heels whilst doing the vacuuming is your thing - which, if it is, all the more power to you), so I thought to myself 'what the hell' and I had a bit of a dolling-up session for a quiet dinner at home with my lovely bf on Saturday night - very nice.

So, anyway, enough about me - how are you?

What I actually wanted to chat about today was this little firming moisturiser and scrub combo from Garnier (bodytonic sugar scrub ($11.99) and bodytonic toning and firming moisturising lotion ($8.99) - with seaweed extract nonetheless) that I have been using for a bit over a month now but am still not quite convinced how I feel about it.

The scrub is ok, actually it's pretty good - it makes my skin all soft and smooth and stuff - it's just that it doesn't really live up to the Ulittlebeauty A Bit of Rough Salt Scrub ($19.95 - but I got it on sale from DJ's) that I was using before it. Which, although it was a bit of a mess to handle as it was in this jar that I didn't really know where to put in the shower and always ended up getting all water in it, I loved it because it made my skin feel wonderful with coffee, macadamia oil, jojoba oil and all manner of lovely things in it which always gave my skin a nice bit of pep. So compared to that, the Garnier scrub was just a bit too artificial feeling and not as peppy - if that makes any sense at all - on the plus side however, it was much easier to handle being in a tubey bottle.

The bodytonic toning & firming moisturising lotion also posed to me a conundrum - causing me to furrow my brow in a very unflattering and wrinkle inducing manner - as it promised me that it would have a firming effect in 7 days and it really kinda did. The only thing was that it wasn't really all that moisture-y and felt a bit like I was rubbing some kind of liquid plastic into my skin. That said, my skin was not dry and it was noticabley firmer, and looking at it from the position of just having finished my first bottle and having previously tried firming lotions such as Nivea's Q10 plus firming body lotion ($6.50 - but I'm pretty sure I got it at Chemist Warehouse for under $5)

which, although it is an absolute gem for the price, wasn't even comparatively as firming as this moisturiser - I'd definitely try this baby again! I might just need to save my pennies and treat my skin to a bit of KORA Organics Organic Rich Body Lotion ($44.95) before giving the Garnier another go however, as too much plasticy feeling stuff all in one go can't be very good for you.

xoxo

Inaugural Post: blue fingers, pink toes

Howdy y'all,

Thank you immensely for tuning into my blog, it's just a little ditty I thought I might start writing in order to document my move from the big smoke of Adelaide to the noticablely littler smoke of Keith in South Australia's South East - a small puff to Adelaide's big smelter, if you will. I must confess I have a possibly unhealthy obsession with all things beauty-related, so I thought I might confide in this blog all of the products I love, love not so much, and the ones that make me sad and angry and disappointed because I had such high hopes for them (you know who you are Biotherm). So I hope you enjoy it, and that I don't come off to preachy, and that a lot of well-moisturised, well-manicured, and well-quiffed fun is had by all.

I thought I might begin by telling you about an illness I came down with about this time last week called 'omg I live 2 hours from the nearest Priceline and so now when I encounter one I go absolutely mental and buy up many many fabulous things that I love but really don't need-itis'. It's a heart-breaking disease, and in myself manifested itself thus:

Well, truth be told I also encountered a Target and thus the amazing polishes that have had me walking around for a week looking like multi-coloured Barbie are Rimmel London's Blue My Mind ($7.95) from the 60 seconds range:

b collection by Bloom for Target's Tokyo ($15.95):

And pulling it all together was the amazing Sally Hansen's Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat ($12.99):

From a technical perspective, the Rimmel polish has some kind of new crazy flat-ish brush that I had never seen before, which did kind of make it easier to put on but as I am a bit of an uncoordinated wonder I found that twiseling the brush around so that the flat bit of the brush was facing my nail was a bit of a nightmare (I'm sure less coordinationally challenged people would find it very easy to use, however). The colour of Blue My Mind was a bit more purpley than expected and on closer inspection I'm not sure it looked very nice against my skin tone, but I had fun wearing it none the less.

The Bloom polish was one of my biggest revelations, the consistency, the colour, and the ease of application were all fantastic. I rarely ever apply nail polish without going outside the nail (uncoordinated as charged) but with this it was an absolute breeze. I think I may have to sneak back into Target whenever I'm next near it and buy the whole collection as this polish is absolutely amazing!

And last but not least, Sally Hansen, you're my hero. I've never had a base & top coat (cheeky little two-in-oner) that allowed me to forget about having to re-touch chips in my nail polish for an entire week! I applyed these babies last Tuesday night and only last night did one of my fingers chip - AMAZING. I've also tried the other Sally Hansen top & base coat in the silver bottle (Diamond Strength Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat) as well as OPI top and base coats, but this one absolutely rocks my socks right off.

Till we meet again.
xoxo