MAC Cosmetics Divine Night Preview Event

On Tuesday night Jules and I attended the preview of the new MAC collection, Divine Night, at the V&A Waterfront. MAC describes the collection as follows: Divine Night captures the moment when flashing lights illuminate a flair for finery and limitless luxury that can only be described as divine. Gorgeous colours in rich finishes inspire an evening on the scene and to be seen. Enjoy yourself – past midnight, the darkness keeps the secrets. How fabulous, don’t mind if I do…

Continue Reading

Review: Wella SP Volumize Range

A couple of weeks ago the lovely ladies from Modern Hair sent Jules and I some Wella products to try. One of my biggest hair concerns is lack of volume – whilst I have quite a lot of hair, it’s very fine and can look limp easily. Based on my feedback, they sent me a few products to help boost up my locks: a shampoo, leave-in conditioner, mask and mousse from the Wella SP Volumize Range – that’s a lot of volume right there! And in the words of the inimitable Dolly Parton: “The higher the hair, the closer you…

Continue Reading

A Beauty-Full Birthday

A Beauty-Full Birthday | All Dolled Up

I turned 30 this past weekend and although the number means very little to me, my friends took it upon themselves to spoil me rotten with all manner of extravagant gifts. I now have more Le Creuset in my life than I ever though possible but I also scored some gorgeous beauty-related bounty. Here’s the haul: Essie Trophy Wife This nail colour from Hannah is so “me” – a deep, teal blue pearl that makes me feel like a mermaid. I think it’s the perfect toenail colour for summer, and would also make a fantastic base for metallic nail art…

Continue Reading

An Afternoon with Estée Lauder

It’s almost too easy to be a fan of Estée Lauder. When a company creates such iconic products as Advanced Night Repair, Double Wear foundation and MagnaScopic mascara, quality becomes an absolute given. So we were understandably rather excited to be invited to spend an afternoon with the brand at the Mount Nelson to learn about some of their new launches. The most exciting addition to their product line-up has to be the launch of the fragrance Modern Muse. Inspired by the duality of the modern woman – both soft and feminine while being strong and powerful – it’s the type…

Continue Reading

Manicure Monday: Essie Topless & Barefoot

With summer fast approaching I have shelved my usual plummy reds and purple nail polishes in favour of something a bit more light and fresh. My go-to shade for the past two summers has been Topless & Barefoot by Essie, which I think sums up the spirit of summer perfectly (I mean, don’t we all want to be topless and barefoot? I know I do – well, in a way that doesn’t get me arrested, of course). The shade is a lovely soft pinky beige and, this is going to sound ridiculous but please humour me, it looks expensive. You…

Continue Reading

Brand I Wish Was in SA: Origins

Brand I Wish Was in SA: Origins | All Dolled Up

Our love for Origins face masks is well documented – we’ve previously mentioned the miraculous spot-zapping powers of the Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask and reviewed the super-hydrating Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask. The brand’s mission is to produce high-performance natural skincare that uses plants, organic ingredients and 100% natural essential oils. All products are formulated without parabens, phthalates propylene glycol, mineral oil, PABA, petrolatum, paraffin, DEA and animal ingredients, and are manufactured using a combination of renewable resources, wind energy and earth-friendly practices. Apart from the proven efficacy of their face masks, Origins also gets glowing recommendations for a…

Continue Reading

La Dolce Vita Make-Up Tutorial

Regular readers will be familiar with our deep love for Charlotte Tilbury. My favourite look from her eponymous make-up collection is ‘La Dolce Vita’ and so I thought I would attempt to recreate the look for you using products available in South Africa. Note: I struggle to do a proper cat-eye flick, so this is more of an interpretation than a recreation, strictly speaking…hope you enjoy!

Continue Reading

Review: Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser

Regular readers will be familiar with my three beauty obessions: lip products, foundations and body moisturisers. Damn, I love a good body moisuriser – so much so that I struggle to stick to just one and usually have several on the go at any given time. At the moment I am rotating between Lush Dream Cream, Mama Mio OMega Body Oil, Nivea Q10 Plus Firming Body Oil, and a mixture of E45 and NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Usage Dry Oil. But I have a confession to make: this week I found something that has completely knocked my socks off…so much so that…

Continue Reading