Wednesday 31 July 2013

Brands I wish were in South Africa- Chantecaille

Chantecaille is a luxury skincare and beauty brands that I have admired for a while. I cannot explain how beautiful their products are so I will just have to show you.

View their website (here) to see more of their beautiful products!


Tuesday 30 July 2013

When boredom strikes

I haven't really been blogging really over the last few days because I have the flu. I have been ridiculously bored in bed and I decided to start googling (that is a word, right?) a few things. I came across a DIY chocolate face mask for dehydrated winter skin.


Ingredients
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp yogurt 
1 tsp honey

All you have to do is blend the ingredients together and apply to clean skin! I have tried this mask on my own skin and it worked quite nicely. My skin felt hydrated and soft.

According to the website "The cocoa powder is a great source of antioxidants, the honey acts as a humectant and the yogurt soothes the skin. It’s the perfect mask for the winter season since it helps rehydrate the skin. If you have extra-dry skin, I recommend replacing the yogurt with almond oil for better results. "



Thursday 25 July 2013

Inglot haul

Yesterday I walked pass the Inglot store in Canal Walk and they had a big red sign up advertising their 50% off sale. When I went in store, they told me the sale items were actually now 70% off.
This is what I ended up getting.


The first two pans are concealers which were reduced to R25 from R79. I got a lighter shade for winter and a darker one for summer. I absolutely love it. My dark circles vanished completely and it blended perfectly with my skin tone.

The lipsticks I randomly took because the palette was free if you filled it. Although, number 75 is the perfect ox blood color that I have been searching for. These were reduced to R20 from R69.

In total I paid R110 for 2 concealers and 3 lipsticks, plus a palette with a mirror that was meant to be R365.

The sale is on till they have sold out all their sale stock. So go and have a look at what they have as soon as possible.
Have you ever purchased anything from Inglot? I might go back to see what else they have!


Wednesday 24 July 2013

Brands I wish were available in South Africa- Tarte

Tarte is one of those brands that have focused on everything you look for in makeup. The are also a cruelty free and eco friendly brand. Most of their products last 12 hours, contain a SPF and are waterproof. I cannot decide what I want most from them so here are the things that I would really like from them.

View their website here.


Monday 22 July 2013

Simple moisturizer review

I have been looking for an everyday moisturizer that won't be too oily for everyday use for a while now. I then came across the Simple brand in Clicks.


What I really like about this moisturizer is that it contains no perfume. It has absolutely no smell. I hate using a face cream that has a strong scent. It also contains vitamin B5 and glycerine to help soften your skin. 
I also love that this moisturizer does not make my skin oily but it still keeps it moisturized. Simple also has a heavier version of this lotion for more dry skin. 
The only thing I do not like about this moisturizer is that it does not contain a SPF.

Have you tried anything from the simple range?

Thursday 18 July 2013

Brands I wish were available in South Africa- Sleek

Although Sleek is available on Zando in South Africa, their selection is not as great as the selection you can get in the UK. I have read on Sleeks twitter page that they are going to relaunch the brand in South Africa, which I am quite excited about. Here are a few of the things I would like from Sleek but are not available here.
The things I would really like from them is the blush in Rose Gold and the Blush by 3 in Sweet Cheeks. The Contour Kit looks promising too as it has a matte bronzer, something I have not been able to find recently.

Have you tried anything from Sleek? What are your favorite products?


Monday 15 July 2013

How to perfect the cat eye

Before I perfected my own method of creating a cat eye, I searched for the easiest method online. I came across a blog called The Beauty Department that uploads the best tutorials. I find that their method of "stamping" your flick with a angled eyeliner brush is simple and works well. 

Source

I hope this is helpful! It was my go-to method for quite a while.

Friday 12 July 2013

Wish list #1

Today I thought I would do a different kind of post. The following items are things I really want and I would like to purchase in the future.

The product I am most likely to purchase over the next few weeks is the Mac Lipstick in Hang Up, the Studio Fix concealer and the Essence bronzer.
The Batiste dry shampoo for dark hair is always sold out wherever I go so I shall just continue hunting for that.
The Revlon lip butters and the YSL Rouge Volupte always look beautiful but the price has put me off from buying them. I really do want to try one out though.
I have heard only great things about the Tangle Teezer and i figured my incredibly long and knotty hair could benefit from it!

Whats on your wish list?


Thursday 11 July 2013

The Comforter

In winter, I am more likely to take long baths than to take a shower. Fun fact though, I have been allergic to bubble bath since I was a kid. When Lush opened up in South Africa, I bought their bath products because they are made with fresh ingredients and my body did not react badly to it.


The Comforter has to be my favorite bubble bar from Lush. It smells like berries and ice cream (thats about as descriptive as I get). Their bubble bars are easy to use. You can break off a small piece, hold it under running water as you pour your bath water and watch the bubbles form! Your entire bathroom will smell like the bubble bar and you will be left with a pink bubble bath. Your fingers also turn a scary shade of pink but once you rinse your hands, that goes away.



Wednesday 10 July 2013

Brands I wish were available in South Africa- Sigma Beauty

I have been watching beauty gurus on Youtube for several years and they all rave about Sigma Brushes. Although they do ship internationally, I wish I could find them conveniently in South Africa. Here are some of the products I would love to try from them.

They have a glove that you can wear to clean your brushes, makeup and brow tools but their best sellers are their brushes! The blue set is a travel kit while the black (which I will ask for my birthday next year, if I remember) is something I have always wanted.


Tuesday 9 July 2013

A little blog appreciation

Last night, I told myself that I would probably not blog today because I knew I would be incredibly busy. Then, I received a tweet from the lovely Irina telling me I had won a giveaway on her blog!
I was so excited that I decided to do a little blog post on her.



She has an absolutely beautiful blog and she talks about beauty and fashion. She hosted her giveaway and I entered by chance and I won a Katy Perry perfume, a Body Shop blush, Body Shop eyeshadow and perfume samples (picture taken from her blog).


Please go and have a look at her blog (here) and follow her . She is incredibly kind and her posts are always interesting.




Monday 8 July 2013

Storing your makeup brushes

For a while now, I have just been throwing my makeup brushes into a bag and hadn't realized how much damage it was causing my brushes. I thought I would share with you how I store my brushes.

The Marilyn Monroe boxes were a gift and I store my brushes in the last box. I keep my everyday makeup in the middle box and small things (cotton buds, cotton pads, swabs, etc) in the top box. I usually keep the perfume I am currently using on top so that it is convenient. On the right, you can see that I try and keep my brushes neat so that they do not lose their shape.

I found these ideas online and I thought they were clever!

Using a office spindle to store brushes and other small things (source

Using old jars and filling them with beads (source)



Friday 5 July 2013

June Favourites

Can you believe we are halfway through this year? Time has gone by so quickly. I have six months left of my degree (hopefully) and 7 months left till my braces come off!

Anyways, on to my favorites for June! Oh and I apologize for the quality of my pictures. My memory card of my camera has decided to play hide and seek with me.



Vitamin E moisture cream- I have been using this every night since I got it. You can read my review here.
Stila Convertible Colour- I love cream blushers and this one is perfect because it has a little mirror in side and it can be used as a lip color too.
Loreal Liss Extreme- This hair oil has been helping maintain my hair whenever I straighten it. It also makes y hair incredible soft.
Simple Moisturiser- I use this moisturizer during the day and I love it. I shall have a review up next week.
Essence Lash and Brow Gel- I recently became obsessed with maintaining my eyebrows and this is a good brow gel for its price (R29.99).

What were some of your favorite products for June?

PS: This is how my weekend has started.




Wednesday 3 July 2013

Brands I wish were available in South Africa- Benefit

Benefit is no longer available in South Africa, which is such a shame because they have such beautiful packaging and amazing products. I didn't really notice them when they were in South Africa but a few months after they had left, I started reading a lot more about them. Here are a few products I would love to try from them.


Tuesday 2 July 2013

Review- The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream

When winter started, my skin started drying out. I usually have incredibly oily skin in summer so the moisturizer I usually use makes my skin look greasy in winter. I decided to try out this moisturizer after a friend raved about it.
It does claim to be for all skin types so I am hoping I can use it in summer when my oily skin makes an appearance. I love that this cream feels light on your skin (like a lotion) and it blends easily into your skin. It also does not make my skin look greasy even though it is a cream that is meant to hydrate. It has a very subtle and soft smell which is nice because I do not like perfumed creams. 

The only thing I do not like about this moisturizer is that it does not have a SPF in it. I wear this on a daily basis and it would have been convenient if it did. 


Monday 1 July 2013

Mr Price Problems

I would like to warn you that this is going to be a rant about Mr Price and that it could be quite lengthy!

A few weeks ago my cellphone was stolen out of my mothers pocket (I had asked her to keep it for me) in the Mr Price store in Canal Walk. My mother had noticed someone following us but we just rushed out of the store. It did not occur to us to check our pockets but when we got to the car, we realized the phone had been stolen.

Now I know there was no way I would get my cellphone back so I decided to call the store to tell them to check their cameras so that they could maybe put up a warning about this guy that stole the phone. I spoke to the manager who told me they do not have any cameras in store. Have any of you been to Mr Price in Canal Walk? It is huge! I really do not understand how they do not have cameras. The manager was also very nonchalant and didn't even apologize for the fact that I was troubled in his store. He tried to end the conversation as soon as possible.

I then tweeted Mr Price and I did not get a response. I continued to tweet them but they ignored me and only replied to those who had something good to say about their store. It was really frustrating.

I then tried calling their call centre and they had me on hold for so long that I eventually just put the phone down and gave up.

I am incredibly disappointed in Mr Price. I have been buying from them since high school and I never expected them to have such bad customer service.

I am not the only one experiencing problems with them. Read Glamorous Glitters post (here) about her experience with Mr Price.

Have you ever had any problems with them?