Luxurious Body Oil

You can see the slightest gold shimmer between thumb joint and wrist

This Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or is a a shimmering dry oil. Firstly, the French name of the product Huile Prodigieuse Or translates to ‘prodigious gold oil’. I think the term prodigious might be meant in the sense of miraculous. Maybe not walking-on-water miraculous, but rather feeling-like-a-goddess miraculous. 

This multi-purpose dry oil can be used on the face, body and hair. So far, I have just used it on the tops of my cheekbones as a highlight and on my wrists for a light fragrance. There are many highlights (pun intended) of this product: the packaging, texture, fragrance, colour, and finish. It feels, looks and smells gorgeous and luxurious. The oil comes in a chic glass bottle with a gold-coloured twist-cap, To apply, you dab a few drops of the oil onto the relevant body part and rub gently. 

According to the Nuxe website, 95.2% of the ingredients in this shimmering dry oil are of natural origin. It contains six precious oils: borage, St. John's wort, sweet almond, camellia, hazelnut and macadamia. Mmmm. This combination produces a very warm, gentle scent. As the name suggests, the Huile Prodigieuse Or contains iridescent gold particles that leave a very light shimmer on the skin. The oil can be used any time of year, as it gives a subtle glow in winter and accentuates warmth of complexion in summer.

This is essentially illuminating oil that makes you feel radiant and chic for a while. The only point to consider is that the oil is not particularly long-lasting; as in, the fragrance and shimmer do not tend to last for more than a few hours. That said, I would still highly recommend this product as the feeling when you apply it is pretty heavenly.

Feel free to let me know what you think of this or any other shimmering/dry oils!

Garage Sale = Bargain Beauty

Savvy Classic Blush in Silky Pink

Wearing Revlon ColorStay Longwear in 320 Trade Winds

 

Hello! I recently attended a garage sale/yard sale, kind of by chance. I found out about it on Reddit in the sub-group for my city, which surprised me as it was the first time I learned of the sub-group. It's actually a pretty handy way to find out about things in your city. Who knew? Not me. Anyway, I made a vague mental note to check it out if I would be in the area that day. Long story short: I was, and I scored a couple of beauty bits and pieces.

So, I got three nail polishes and a blush - and paid almost nothing! All were practically new and I don't think there's a huge issue with using that kind of stuff secondhand (I wiped all the products down anyway). 

Two of the nail polishes were from the ColorStay Longwear range: 005 Base Coat, and 320 Trade Winds. I had been somewhat on the lookout for a bare bone/nude/sand shade and was keen once I spotted Trade Winds. The third polish was from the main Revlon range in 210 Electric Pink, and technically a re-purchase. This is a bright, hot pink: like a watermelon frenzy and nice in warmer weather. 

Lastly was the blush: Savvy Classic Blush in Silky Pink. Savvy is a drugstore brand here in Australia, and the blush was like new. It is a warm, medium pink with the subtlest sheen to it. It does feel silky as the shade name suggests, and only a light swirl with the blush brush is needed to get some nice colour.

I guess this post is mostly to demonstrate that how you never know what good-condition items you might find and pay next to nothing for. Go out and explore!

Let me know if you have had any interesting garage/yard sale finds!

Amazing Hair

The OGX Repairing Awapuhi Ginger Instant Recovery Mask is delectable. Its main ingredient us awapuhi ginger, which has traditionally been used as an ingredient in Hawaiian beauty and health remedies. The awapuhi extract is derived from the mature flower of the plant, which has the pleasant fragrance. Mmm...pleasant.

So, I know this is intended to be used as a hair mask. You’re supposed to apply it to just-washed hair, leave it in for a while, then rinse it out. However, I use it as a leave-in conditioner, following the above steps but skipping the rinse. With relatively thick hair, this gives a smooth finish and lustre without weighing my hair down. For those with finer hair, it would probably work best to actually use it as a mask and actually rinse it out! Each to their own. 

Another reason I like to leave this in my hair to dry is that the smell is amazing. It is a calm balance of sweet, fruity and floral that can make you feel like you are on holiday. In Hawai’i. Under a waterfall.  

If a hair mask is not your type of product, I still recommend anything in OGX’ Awapuhi range because of the fragrance. They have shampoo, conditioner, the mask, and a leave-in styling oil, so enough options for different hair situations.
 
Let me know what you think of this or any other OGX products!

Colour Theory

I recently came across the Colour Theory make-up line, with an inexpensive ($4 Australian), wide, colourful nail polish range. It is made in Australia and appears to be available at Australian drugstores for the most part. I tried two nail colours: Pink Pearlesque (pale salmon nude), and It's A Boy (pale duck egg blue).

Texture-wise, this does impressively for such an inexpensive product. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The finish is smooth and mostly matte with a light gloss. As with most nail polishes, it takes two coats to reach ideal opacity (i.e. at least 90%). The polish dries fairly quickly (couple of minutes) and well, so that you can proceed with your normal business and not worry too much about instant chipping.

Both colours are quite flattering, as they strike a balance between modest and fun. It's A Boy is only just on the warm side of blue (rather than cool blue), but does not appear green or veer towards being a mint colour. Pink Pearlesque is decidely warm nude/pink, and would work as a nice everyday colour.

Feel free to share your thoughts on this or another drugstore nail polish line!

Cruelty-free Lipstick

 

 

The Body Shop Lipstick in Shade #53

This is a) the only lipstick I own from The Body Shop, and b) the only true red lipstick I own. And may I say, it does the trick.

This lipstick is from the range that precedes the current Colour Crush range. Shade #53 is a true cherry red with a matte finish and is a classic shade to suit most skin tones. The texture is quite dry when applied, but this is no problem when you first apply a soothing lip balm underneath such as the Labello Milk & Honey lip balm (so moisturising!). Once you have applied a layer of lip balm as a base, the lipstick works well when dabbed on to create a couple layers of colour. In this way, you can almost use the lipstick as a stain rather than full-blown opaque colour.

Depending on how much you talk/drink/eat during the day, the lipstick lasts pretty well and you could easily get half-way through your day before considering re-applying. Also, because of the aforementioned dryness on application, this actually means the lipstick is less likely to rub off on your teeth or water glass etc. I don't know about you, but one thing I am keen to avoid when it come to make-up is having lipstick on my teeth! As a side note, I believe the lovely Lisa Eldrige recommends (as do many people) that you blot in between layers of lipstick applied, to minimise 'mobility' a.k.a. lipstick on your teeth. It works for me so far.

Feel free to let me know your thoughts on this or any of The Body Shop lipsticks!

Shimmer Heaven

   

The Body Shop: Shimmer Cubes Palette 24 (Lily Cole collection)
Swatches left to right: Live Lilac / Tint It Pink / Think Pink / Go Violet

 My first beauty post: it's been a long time coming! Since allowing myself to get caught up in - and enjoy - the world of beauty blogs and YouTube videos, thought I would try my hand at doing a makeup review. I wanted to contribute to the infinite pool of beauty reviews as I have always found reading reviews really helpful. So, it seemed natural to feature a product that I really enjoy, from a brand I appreciate.

Let me first explain two things: a) I bought this palette in the Goa airport in India; and b) I bought it in 2012 but actually only started using it early 2014. 
Point (a) is because The Body Shop prices are so much cheaper in India than in Australia, so I was not letting that opportunity pass by! Point (b) is because I keep a little treasure trove of beauty items hidden away so that I can go and open one when I feel it's right. Another interpretation of this might be that I am RIDICULOUS, not using things straight after buying them. However, I feel completely justified in the method to my madness because I really enjoy having a mini back-up collection of products for when I want to try something new. 

Basically, this exact palette may not be as easily available two years later, especially if that store in India only carried specific items for a limited time. Suffice to say, the palette is not on the Body Shop website, although there are still other shimmer cubes palettes. The closest comparison is this palette. I hear The Body Shop is permanently lowering some of its prices, which is great if you have been pining for something you can now afford!

Aspects I love
- The colours : the cool purple, champagne, rose pink and mulberry colours are simply gorgeous. They are very flattering on my pale skin, but I suspect they would work very well on many skin tones. I could stare at these shades for hours (and probably have, collectively).
- The texture : light and fine particles are packed well into each mini cube of colour. The shadows are buildable, using either a dry brush or a brush wet with water. I personally prefer applying with a dry brush for a lighter day look, although you sometimes feel the need to pack it on to have an effect.
Be mindful
- The packaging : it definitely looks nice and cute, but I would only ever leave this on your dressing table or stable desktop. The respective lids do not secure in any way, so do not bother putting this in your everyday bag lest it fall out everywhere. That said, if you really want to take this travelling, an elastic band wrapped around should hold the lid/s in place for a while.

Overall, this is a beautiful set of eye shadows whether you are a beginner or more experienced. The colours wear nicely through the day and add a little fresh colour to your soul windows (a.k.a. eyes).

Feel free to let me know what you think of this or any of the Body Shop Shimmer Cubes!