You might think that beauty bloggers don’t want beauty products for their birthdays, but you would be mistaken. I, for one, certainly do, and I am always delighted when I unwrap a gift and see something beauty-related inside. This past birthday was particularly fruitful in that regard, so I thought I would share some of my spoils with you.
Full credit for inspiring this post must go to Luzanne from Pink Peonies who published a haul on her blog this morning that had me salivating! BIOVEA is an online store that stocks a number of hard-to-find-in-SA international brands. The real clincher is that they have a local warehouse so delivery is fast, cheap and the package doesn’t have to cross borders so NO CUSTOMS! Every order comes via courier and they currently have a side-wide sale running so you can get 14% off for the next couple of days. I’m trying to save up for my trip to the…
I feel like I am living out of Country Road tog bag at the moment – between my flat, my boyfriend’s house and weekends away, I feel like I am constantly packing and unpacking. Thankfully, putting together my makeup/hair/toiletry bags for the next morning/weekend are often the easiest part because the basics are always the same. These basics are my Holy Grail items – the ones I never leave behind and the ones I always repurchase. It was actually surprisingly difficult to narrow it down to 10, so I have included 5 honourary mentions too – although not the loves of…
Guys, I’m SO excited. I’m off to the States in a few weeks and while I’m really looking forward to visiting Sephora, I’m apoplectic at the thought of the big US drugstores filled with bargainous treats! I’ll be trying to find products in one of three categories: things I need, things that are stupidly cheap or things that I’m guaranteed to get lots of use out of. What I’m hoping to avoid is buying things that are basically dupes for existing products in my stash although a certain amount of that is inevitable as I always get overexcited when I’m…
I’m trying to make a concerted effort to use up more of the products I have rather than constantly buying new things. I don’t always (hardly ever) succeed but it’s the thought that counts, right?! Recently I’ve dug out a few gems though so I thought I’d share them with you: Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge Every time I pick this up and start using it again, I wonder what ever made me stop. It’s often touted as a cheaper alternative to the BeautyBlender and while I’ve never tried the latter, I can’t see how it could possibly work more…
I will lay the blame for this firmly at the feet of Anna and Lily (we’re on a first-name basis now). I first heard about the new Rouge Coco lipsticks during one of Lily’s recent weekly vlogs, where she and Anna were flown to Paris to visit Coco Chanel’s apartment (where did it all go wrong for me, I ask you) and to learn more about the lippies. The range comes in 24 shades and each colour is named after those who knew Coco Chanel best – her friends, lovers and muses. I was immediately drawn to the shade ‘Adrienne’, an…
We’ve all been there. You wake up with a mouth like the underside of Ghandi’s flip-flop after one too many bottles glasses of champagne the night before, and one look in the mirror is enough to send you into a spiralling depression. But never fear, the right combination of skincare and make-up essentials can take you from Miss Havisham to Heidi Klum in a matter of minutes – here’s how: Exfoliating mask After a thorough cleanse, I like to give my skin a refreshing kick-start with a brightening or exfoliating mask. The REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial is perfect…
Revlon PhotoReady Skinlights Face Illuminator This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise! I wrote about this in my recent ‘Currently Loving: Drugstore Edition’ post and have used it every single day since I bought it. I have been playing around with it a bit and have tried mixing it with a few of my foundations to see which one gives me the glowiest finish. Although the MAC Mineralise Moisture Foundation + Skinlights does create a beautiful effect, I have to say that the real winning combination is Clarins True Radiance Foundation + Skinlights. Wow. This foundation imparts a youthful glow all on its own,…
I only really discovered nude lipsticks last year; they’ve always been Camilla’s thing but I tended to gravitate towards bright colours. I was even a bit naive about how much one nude can differ from another – there are pink nudes and neutral nudes and brown nudes and peachy nudes and caramel nudes and… Luckily, I feel that I have now educated myself on the value of these subtle but chic lip options and started to amass something of a collection. Here are my favourite five within the “rosy nude” category, let me know if you want more posts like…