The Bad News on Face Wipes

Face wipes. Everybody's used them once or twice or more in their lives because they are so convinient to use. I was reading Becky's blog today and I read her recent post about her confessions. Her last confession was using face wipes occansionally, even though they are bad for your skin. So I guessed a lot of people wouldn't know why face wipes are bad for your skin, myself included. I went onto those Yahoo questions that you can search on google and picked up, from various answers, why they are bad and now I'm sharing them with you.

I would like to say first that I do occansionally use face wipes but not everyday (it's my guilty secret...) Okay so while face wipes are easier to use, not to mention handy, face wipes only remove impurities from the surface of your skin, which I guess is alright since all you mainly want to do is remove your make up from the surface but remember make up can settle in your pores and clog them up leading to pimples.

Apparently face wipes lead to extreme dryness of the skin because face wipes don't contain moisturiser in them. I wash my face straight after I've used face wipes since I hate that feeling of the wet, almost sticky feeling it leaves on my skin (I shiver just thinking about it...) so I can't really say if my face wipes have ever dried my skin out. And talking about that, face wipes are soaked in some pretty harmful chemicals (I can't say all brands use these chemicals but I saw my brand of face wipes do contain one of these harmful chemicals.)
Here's a list of ingredients to watch out for:

1. Propylene glycol and Dipropylene glycol - these are irritants!
2. Parabens
3. Phenoxyethanol - another irritant!

Also, think about it, we've always been told in school that things that contain moisture in them are a breeding ground for bacteria... face wipes are packed on top of one another in all that moisture with the heat of the light bulbs in the shop shining down on them, not to mention that face wipes sit in the shop for months at times waiting to be sold so they have to have some sort of preservative or alcohol in them to retain their use. Now think you're rubbing that face wipe with possible bacteria and all those irritant chemicals all over your skin and your delicate eye area!

Now I'm sure I've scared people into not using them so instead I'll say try using a cream cleanser. It will remove make up and get into your pores, moisturise and condition your skin. Sounds better right? Right.

Hope this helped.

xxx

In Love With Lancome Rouge 322M

I was going to do a post on the Catrice Ultimate Moisture tinted moisturiser but I'm still trying to figure out what exactly to say about it. It's a bit of a tough one but I'm wearing it today again and will make up my mind about it soon. Anyway's I was rummaging through a handbag of mine that I completely forgot about and in one of the little pockets inside I found my Lancome Rouge In Love 322M lipstick hidden there.

This is a sample from when the GlossyBox was in still in South Africa. This was paid for, not given to me.

I got this in The GlossyBox a year or two ago, time has gone so quickly I really don't even remember. I remember I did like the lipstick but I also remember there was something that I didn't like too much about it. I put it on yesterday to go to work and then I remembered what it was that made me stop wearing it. It doesn't last very long on your lips. It rubs off even after an hour of wearing it. I like a lipstick to stay put for quite a while. I also find that if you don't put a lip balm on first before the lipstick, it doesn't go on very smoothly ad it's not very hydrating. It's almost like a matte lipstick but not...if that makes any sense at all.

I will say this though, the colour that I got was so amazing for me. It suits my skin tone and it's like my actual lip colour except more intense. It's like a pinky, orangey, perfect colour that when it goes on my lips it just gels with my lip colour. It's name "Rouge In Love" really is love! Well with it's colour at least.

Now you know how I complained about how it goes on and how long it stays on for? I can work around all of that just because of the colour! I put on some very hydrating lip balm so that the lipstick just glides on and then this gorgeous colour and I'm all set. The colour is also great because I don't have to use a mirror to put it on, which I love because I hate constantly looking in a mirror... I always feel vain when I do it. But that's just me. I am in love with Lancome Rouge In Love, negative bits and all!

This is the gorgeous colour on my lips. My lips but more enhanced :)

Have you tried Lancome Rouge In Love lipsticks?

xxx

Michel Mercier Professionnel Detangling Brush

In my recent post today about my mini haul (which you can see here) that I did yesterday, I mentioned the Michel Mercier Professinnel Detangling Brush. I have used it last night, this morning (when my hair is at it's worst!) and throughout the day today and I must say I am impressed.

Michel Mercier Brush - R98.95

I first saw this brush at the local Dischem store when my sister pointed it out to me and I thought it was a load of rubbish - just another hairbrush that claims to do wonders when it really doesn't do anything of the sort. I left it and didn't think about it until I saw it on Lily's blog. She gave it good praises so I thought I should go out and try it.

The Michel Mercier brush comes out in colour codes for three different hair types: Fine hair in pink , Normal hair in green and Thick hair in blue. I got mine for normal hair because I wouldn't say my hair is course and thick.

This brush really detangles your hair and makes it smooth with no yanking in your hair. There was little breakage or damage to my hair. The beauty of this brush is that the bristles are strategically placed all over the brush with short and long bristles to grab hair all over head properly. The handle is also very comfy to hold because of the grip you get on it. I'm glad I saw Lily's post about it and she says shes glad she bought it, well I'm glad I bought it too. Thanks Lily!

Brushing my hair has been such a breeze even though I've only used it for a day. But if I can be impressed in a day then this will be the perfect brush for me for a couple good... years. I recommend this brush for sure if your hair and your hairbrush have daily fights with one other!

Enjoying my good hair day today!

You really should too!

xxx

My Mini Haul

Yesterday after a LONG day of work I decided to go get a few things to treat myself. My boyfriend came along with me (although I'll never do that again because the amount of questions he asked about makeup were unbearable - Ladies be warned...) So lets start!

My mini haul looks too cute!

My haul consists of:

Michel Mercier Professionel detangling brush for normal hair - R98.95.

Right at the top of the photo is the Catrice Defining Blush in Love&Peach - R45.95. I'm trying this cosmetics brand for the first time so I'm praying they work wonders since it's so affordable!

In the middle of the photo in a matt black tube is Catrice Ultimate Moisture in 030 Honey - R73.95. I'm wearing this today so I'll review tomorrow what my thoughts are about this stuff but so far so good!




Just a close up on the three products I just listed :)

Next, under the blue bottle, is a Cala Professional Concealer 513 Brush - R49.95. I used this today and it speads the concealer very well especially for under the eyes. It's quite a sturdy brush and it's affordable. Hope it lasts long though!

The big blue bottle is Trevor Sorbie Professional Beautifully Moisturised Ultimate Moisture Mask - R99.95. This is for thick hair and it says it creates a heat protectant barrier and it enhances shine. Another new brand I'm trying so hopefully it won't dissappoint me. I'm going to the beach this weekend so it will be the perfect time to test this out along with the Michel Mercier brush.

Last but not least is Essence Pure Skin Anti-Spot Compact Powder in 02 Sand (how offensive that my skin can be called the colour of sand) - R39.95. It fight spots? Somehow I really doubt that and I won't really be able to test that theory out because that would mean to stop washing my face with face wash and I will not do that. Someone brave enough to try? I didn't buy this for it's "anti-spot" factor, I just needed a compact powder.

Another close up!

So there is my mini haul! I will review all these products in time. The brush I will probably review later today so that I can test it throughout the day but so far I have not been dissappointed!

Have you tried any of these products before?

xxx

P.S My nail polish has finally chipped! So that nail polish has lasted for 5 days. Don't know about you, but that is long enough for me! You can see my review on my nail polish here.

Know Your Face & What It's Telling You

Today I thought I should do a post about what your skin is telling you when you have breakouts. I learnt this from my dermatologist years and years back and it really helped me understand so hopefully it'll help you too. So here it goes:




Picture of Myself Describing The Areas of the Face I'll Talk About

   

• Breakouts on your forehead mean that you are stressed and that you have not had enough sleep.There isn't much you can do about stress apart from trying to relax but you do have to make sure you have enough sleep at night. You may think makeup will cover bad skin up, and it will mostly, but makeup always looks better on a healthy face! Try eight hours of sleep (depending on your routine and what you do) and cut back on the coffee so that when night time comes you feel sleepy instead of on a caffeine buzz.

• Above your brow represents your immune system. You generally get pimples above your brow before, during or after you've had the flu. Try keep your immune sysytem healthy by eating lots of veggies (sorry if I sound like your mum but your mum was right when she tried to shove veggies down your throat when you were younger!) so that you get the correct vitamins you need for beautiful skin.

• Breakouts on your forehead means overindulgence. That whole slab of chocolate you had last night will show up here. I'm not going to tell anyone not to eat chocolate, sweets or fizzy drinks because then I'd have to practice what I preach and giving up chocolate and sweets will make me go insane. However I will say eat and drink "bad things" in moderation.

• Breakouts on your cheeks show how good your lung quality is. If you smoke it's best to stop because smoking for a girl just doesn't look right and the wrinkles you get because of smoking is not worth it. If people around you smoke very heavily try move away from them because it will still effect you in the long run.

• And the last one I'm sure we've ALL had because pimples on the sides of your chin represent your hormones. So depending on which ovary is ovulating during that time of the month (when you don't want to hold your boyfriend's hand) then one side of you chin will show that. There isn't anything you can do really to stop pimples from breaking out on your chin because its your hormones controlling it but don't freak out too much about these breakout's! They only come once a month (phew...)

I hope this post helped you understand your skin and what it's telling you. Pay attention to your skin and it will tell you what you need or don't need. Please remember that pimples are hereditary (yes, you can blame your parents for this one!) and it does not necessarily mean that you have an unhealthy diet. If you've cut down on chocolate completely, you don't smoke or you eat very healthily and you still suffer with breakouts and no amount of various face washes or masks help your skin, maybe go see a dermatologist. They will pick up on the problem and help you!

Also I have to add that you HAVE to have a skin care routine. A skin care routine is highly important (even though I didn't think so at one stage). You need to make sure all your makeup has been removed by using wipes or makeup remover, cleanse your face with a good face wash (you can see my face wash here), exfoliate if you need too and always, always, always apply a moisturiser! There's nothing worse than flaky skin when you put your makeup on!

Did this post help?

What's your skin care routine and do you stick with it?

xxx

What's On My Nails

I never used to do my nails very often because I could never find a nail polish that didn't chip. Seriously I used to paint my nails and the very next day or even that night my nails would be chipping. So eventually I gave up, although I still didn't stop buying nail polish because they're so pretty!

On Saturday morning I felt like doing my nails so I hauled out my coral red colour that I'm in love with at the moment!

From Left: Yardley Treatment Proteinised Glaze R52.95 & Kangol Nail Varnish in Mango Tango R49

In all fairness when I bought this Kangol nail polish it was more orange, hence the name Mango Tango. I didn't really like the orange colour that it was but I bought it anyway cause I was going to mix it up a bit. I rumaged through my nail polish collection and found a strong red that was a bit too red for me and I started pouring the red into the Kangol nail polish. Needless to say I made the most beautiful coral red colour I've ever seen!!

All Kangol nail varnishes go on so smoothly and perfectly when you apply two coats to get that pop of colour. They do chip if you don't put a top coat over it (sigh...) and that is when I discovered this baby from Yardley. My holy oath I promise you that this Treatment from Yardley is just the shizz. It says that it strengthens and hardens your nails and prevents staining and chipping. That is exactly what it does. It makes your nail polish look shiny and it almost gives it a gel finish at first and then it dries and settles in with the colour nail polish you've applied. It's a little bit sticky if you don't put enough varnish on so you really have to put a lot on the brush. It dries semi quickly but I find that even if you think your nail polish is dry... it's not really. That's with most nail polish though. I find it does strengthen your nails which is a plus for me because I have very weak nails that break at the drop of a hat. I can't judge about it preventing stains because my nails don't stain easily.

As I said I applied nail polish on the Saturday morning and since then I've washed dishes, the car, my hair and dug in dirt to plant some pretty plants in the garden and used a scrubbing brush to get the dirt out from under my nails and now on a Monday morning there is still NOT ONE CHIP!! For only R52.95 I think this was one of the biggest bargains I've ever bought in my life.

The finished product - isn't the colour lovely?

I highly recommend this Yardley product and my promise to you is you won't be dissappointed! And just to prove how long this nail polish will last for I will do another post on when my nails start chipping and we can count the days it's lasted for and the activities it's outlasted!

Would you use this product?

Have you tried Yardley before?

Let me know if you'd be keen for a follow up post!

xxx

Favourite Shampoo & Conditioner's

Shampoo and Conditioner have to be one of the most important task of all for your hair. As I'm sure most of you know you're actually not supposed to wash your hair every night or every second night even. You're supposed to wash it twice a week according to some hair specialists. Personally I wash mine every second day and if I can't help it every third day. It's healthy for your hair's natural oils to nourish your hair instead of shampoo's and conditioner's.

My hair routine would be to wash my hair thoroughly with shampoo that suits my hairs needs and then condition it. I don't condition my whole head as it leaves it oily, flat and just weighed down. I only apply conditioner to a third of the way down my hair targetting the tips of my hair.

I'm going to review two shampoo's and two condioner's that I've been using lately for my hair.



From Left: Avon Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo, Lee Stafford Bleach Blonde Shampoo, Aussie Frizz Miracle Conditioner, VO5 Gloss Me Smoothly Conditioner (Please excuse the blurry images - my camera is giving SUCH problems! Sigh...)

 Avon Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo - was on special when I purchased it for R39.95.

This shampoo has got to be the best shampoo under the sun. I've never really been a fan of Avon (don't ask why because I have no clue) but lately I've been taking a chance and ordering from them and I must say Avon has some real gems in their product line and their prices are real good too! The shampoo feels like you don't need to even apply conditioner to your hair because it leaves it SO soft, its just a dream. It smells clean but almost floral-like too. Its a pearly white formula that spreads everywhere, it'll last forever since you don't have to use so much product. When I woke up in the morning after using the shampoo my hair wasn't a frizzy, unruly, dry, thick, damaged (blah blah) mess that my hair usually is (I definitely can't pull off the sexy bed head look...). My hair was tame and soft and it looked shiny. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that suffers from hair like mine and since it's moroccan argan oil you'd feel a bit exotic usuing this. Usually moroccan argan oil is crap expensive and for Avon to sell it at such a good price (I think the normal selling price is R60...don't quote me on that cause I really don't know) its a must have for anybodys hair routine. I hope I convinced you with the price! :)

Lee Stafford Bleach Blonde Shampoo - R95.99

I don't have bleached blonde hair just to clear the air but I just want to get one thing straight and that is shampoo or conditioner for blonde hair is NOT only for blonde hair! Brunettes can use it too! Hooray! I find my dark brown hair sometimes has a bit of brassy, redish tones to it which I think makes my hair look unwashed and greasy because it just doesn't look right with my hair. I bought this when I had ombred my hair and I didn't want brassy tones in my blonde ends. Needless to say after I bought this shampoo I dyed my hair back to brown much to my bank accounts dismay (even though it wasn't expensive but still...) This stuff works! And I mean seriously! Okay I'll admit it's very drying on my hair but an extra dose of conditioner does the trick. I wouldn't recommend using this as an "every day shampoo" because of how drying it is. The shampoo is a lovely dark purple that has incredible smell that I really can't describe. All in all it gets rid of the brassy tones like it should but you can work around the drying effect it leaves your hair with.

Aussie Frizz Miracle Conditioner - R 69.95

Now this conditioner has saved my hair. I always leave my conditioner in for 3 minutes or so for it to actually work and "sink in". As I've said before my hair is frizzy and unruly. This calms my frizzies down very well and softens my hair without weighing it down. It's a beautiful minty blue colour and it smells great. Aussie use all the natural products from Australia and I must say Aussie has done very well. There isn't really anything bad about this product although I do find it dificult to get the formula out the bottle and when I eventually do get it out I use more than I intended as it just pops out.

VO5 Gloss Me Smoothly Conditioner - R59.95

I've never used VO5 before so I don't know how good their products are. I did however buy this conditioner because my sister recommended it and also because you just don't go shopping with my sister as you come out with more than you intended to buy and with your bank card worn out... With that said she persuaded me to get this and I will say I wasn't blown away by it. To be honest I'm just using it so I don't feel bad about wasting money on it. That sounds harsh... Anyways this product does work by taming frizzy hair and it definitely "glosses you smoothly", a little too smoothly... It weighs my hair down and it makes my hair feel a bit greasy and you can feel the conditioner sitting in your hair even after washing it out. On the other hand it works wonders for my sisters hair and her hair looks healthy and smooth. Maybe it works for some peoples hair but it definitely hasn't worked for me. I literally use a tiny amount so that it doesn't make my hair greasy. If you like a strong perfumed smell in a conditioner then that's a plus. The smell is quite strong and floral based. Not my best buy.

Have you tried any of these hair products?

What's your hair care routine?

xxx

The Body Shop Shea Sugar Body Scrub

Morning every one! What a beautiful Friday morning it is! I would like to apologise for not posting anything for the past two days as I was having a well deserved break and I was not allowed near a computer for two days because of the soft tissue injury in my wrist.

Today's post is about The Body Shop's Shea Sugar Body Scrub. My boyfriend bought me this for our anniversary and I have not stopped using it! It really polishes your skin and makes it all glowy.






The Body Shop Shea Sugar Body Scrub - R125.00

 
The smell is clean and very subtle which is nice because it doesn't over power your nose with the smell. As it states its a sugar body scrub so it is literally like big sugar grains that exfoliate your skin to make it soft and look better too. I've only used this for about two weeks and I really can see a difference to my skin. It looks glowy and feels so soft. You can SEE the difference not only feel it.

With these two pictures above you can see the sugaryness about it. It looks watery with a few grains in it. The only thing about this body scrub is that you have to use A LOT of it as it doesn't spread very well so you end up using tons of it and it won't last you two months because of the amount you have to use to do your whole body. I've only used it twice in two weeks and already it seems like I've used it every single day. But with that said I think that is the only "negative" thing about it.

Like I said the smell is heavenly without being over powering, it exfoliates your skin like never before and you can see and feel a difference in your skin. Only use this when you can feel your skin needs a good polish down and if you're addicted to exfloliation like me :)

Did I mention that The Body Shop doesn't test there goodies on animals?? That's a plus for me!

What Body Shop products do you use?

Would you try this body scrub?

xxx

Favourite Mascara's

There is never a day that goes by when I don't wear mascara. I just don't feel complete without it. It makes my eyes seem bigger and more awake and it simply just adds drama!

From left to right: Maybelline Great Lash Mascara, Essence Multi Action Blackest Black Mascara and Revlon Grow Lucious Waterproof Mascara

I chose my three favourite mascara's that I use almost constantly. I have others but they either too lumpy or there's just something about them that I don't like. I'll review Maybelline Great Lash Mascara first:

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

This one works really well! I think it has to be my favourite out of the three! The brush is small enough to reach every eyelash, it doesn't clump up and it actually does what the adverts say it should do! It makes my eyelash's longer and curvier. I think the only thing I find it lacks is it doesn't make your eyelashes thicker (my opnion though - others could disagree!) It's a very black mascara, which I like because it creates drama. And did I mention the brush is small enough?? I love that the brush is small because I like to get ALL my lashes with mascara without poking my eyes out with a massive brush!

Essence Multi Action Blackest Black Mascara

Essence Multi Action Mascara is a tricky one for me. I find the brush "picks up" too much mascara for me which tends to clump on the lashes because there's just too much mascara on it. On the other hand I just use an eyelash brush to just comb the clumps out and you are left with curly, long, thick black lashes that make you say wow! I must add that Essence has a wonderful range of beauty products that are just the bomb but I don't think their mascara's are their best product. It seemed to slip away from them. All in all it is a good product and you can work around the bad aspects of it (like the clumping but personally I don't think mascara should clump and you shouldn't have to work around it) I do like this macara but Essence needs to step it up!

Revlon Grow Lucious Waterproof Mascara

Last but not least is the Revlon Grow Lucious Mascara. This is a really good mascara and I try to ignore the daunting brush as it is quite large! Over time you get used to the huge brush and the way this mascara applies you definitely wouldn't care about the brush size! This brush grips the lashes so that it doesn't clump and adds heavenly length. I tend to use the very tip of the brush to grab the small lashes on the inner corner of my eye (if I didn't the "huge-ness" of the brush would mess up your lashes and end up messing up your eyeshadow!) This mascara adds length and makes your eyelashes appear thicker and curvier! I don't like the fact that it's waterproof as it's REALLY hard to wash off when you are removing your make up and it dries out your lashes quite hecticly (I remove this mascara with baby oil as it adds moisture back to my lashes - and it removes the mascara better!) I do like this mascara but I can't help but think how much more I would love it if it had a smaller brush and if it wasn't waterproof!

I do enjoy using these three mascara's daily and they might have a few drawbacks but they are very worth it because of the effect it gives your lashes!

xxx

Garnier Skin Naturals Oil Control Deep Clean Face Wash

Garnier Skin Naturals is a deep clean face wash for oily skin. I have combonation skin that tends to get shiny and oily sometimes. I only use this when I feel my skin needs some attention to that shiny T-zone I suffer from at times.

Garnier Skin Naturals

This face wash is actually really quite drying on the skin and definitely not recommended in winter. If you have really oily skin I would give this a go but apply a really moisturising face cream afterwards as your skin will feel tight. When you wash your skin with this it adds a tingling sensation to your skin and it feels great because it feels like its working. I find it makes my skin really soft and it feels clean. It stops pimples but if you suffer from blackheads it might not work too well.

I have noticed an improvement in my skin from using this face wash (even though it dries out my skin a little too much - I work around that with face cream because I think it is worth it!) I will change my face wash though during winter of course.

I recommend this if you suffer from oily skin because it really does work!

Hope this post helped!

xx