It’s not often that I finish a product – I usually lose interest half way through and then either leave it lingering on my bathroom shelf, or pawn it off onto one of my friends (thank goodness for Jules and Jes). However, in a rare turn of events, I have managed to finish not one, but EIGHT products simultaneously! Here’s the run down of ‘The Empties’…
This past weekend a group of us girls made our way down to Grotto Bay Private Nature Reserve to celebrate our darling Natalie’s 25th birthday (sweet man, she’s still so tiny!). It was a weekend filled with good food, great wine, lots of laughing and, of course, elasticated waistbands. For weekends like this, minimal/no make up is the order of the day, but since the whole weekend was being documented and I didn’t want to look like a complete dog, I had to pack a few basics. Here’s what made the cut…
What would Friday be without a little product lust, am I right? Cult Beauty is, without question, my favourite beauty website – it stocks the most elite products, which have been tried and tested by industry professionals, so you know you’re getting the very best. I have been known to cruise the site obsessively, earmarking all the products I’m desperate to try (problems). Sadly, it seems that I have been able to exercise restraint for once in my life (I can neither confirm nor deny that this restraint was brought on by the exchange rate), so these beauties will have to…
We have been nominated in the Beauty Blogger Category of the Fairlady Best of Beauty Awards! We couldn’t be happier and feel honoured to be nominated alongside blogs we love, such as Kiss Blush and Tell, Style Scoop and For The Beauty of It. This nomination means the world to us because we have poured our hearts and souls into All Dolled Up over the last six months, and to see it go from strength to strength has been the most fulfilling, rewarding experience. We really value all of our loyal readers and we still can’t quite believe that anyone…
I have read a lot about Smashbox primers over the years but for some reason I never got around to buying one until recently. As you will no doubt know by now, my skin has gone a bit haywire so I have had to make the most of every cosmetic option available. This primer came home with me last week after a little (read: large) V&A Waterfront spending spree and it has really won me over.
A few weeks ago I popped into Edgars and picked up a sample of the Estée Lauder Double Wear Light Stay-In-Place Make Up, as I had been wanting to try it for a while. As I’ve mentioned previously, you can visit any Estée Lauder counter and they will happily give you a sample of any foundation which should last you up to seven days (why don’t more brands do this?). I have played around with this foundation a lot recently, and I must confess, I am seriously impressed.
A few weeks ago Jules and I started the Change Your Skin Challenge with Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate (“MRC”). I have been keeping very quiet about the Challenge because my skin has been quite temperamental, whereas Jules’ skin has responded really well and is looking better than I’ve ever seen it.
I am thirty years old and therefore old enough to know better. But sometimes you look down at your hair and it’s so split and damaged that a force bigger than you compels you to have it cut immediately. This happened to me last Friday afternoon. I usually see Andret at Mooi, who is the best hairdresser in the world. Fact. Unfortunately (for me), it seems that every woman in Cape Town agrees with me, so it’s near on impossible to get an appointment unless you book weeks in advance. My broken barnet needed tending to, and sharpish, so I…
A couple of weeks ago the lovely ladies at Little Black Book PR got in touch with me to see if I would be interested in going to meet with their local !QMS Medicosmetics expert, Anel Engelke, to find out a little more about the brand and learn about how the products work. I had been wanting to try QMS for a while now as a couple of my friends use it and absolutely rave about it (you can read our friend Natalie’s post on QMS here), so I happily accepted and booked Anel’s first available appointment.
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer My love for Laura Mercier, and her world-famous Secret Camouflage Concealer in particular, has been well-documented. I have yet to find a concealer that does as good a job as this one does – it covers anything and everything and has the most incredible staying power, even without a setting powder (no mean feat). The unique two-toned camouflage system allows you to customize the colour to perfectly match your skin tone, thereby ensuring that you have an exact colour match all year round. Sadly not available in SA yet (my boyfriend brought this back for me…