Have you met Pearl?

No, not your Nan’s bestie, but the newest must-have creation from that winner of a beauty brand, Benefit.

Girl Meets Pearl is an amazing liquid illuminator that hasn’t left my skin for the past few weeks for many reasons.

Isn't she pretty!

The ‘I Love It’ List:

– It’s the perfect golden pink. It’s like Benefit’s High Beam and my NARS Orgasm Illuminator were the stars of Knocked Up, and after one too many there was huge regret but in the end it was fine because hey presto! There’s a gorgeous new baby to love, and her name is Pearl.

– The nifty click and twist applicator dispenses just the right amount, with no mess. A huge improvement on my problem with ‘other’ love of my life High Beam.

– It’s versatile; mix it with moisturiser for a just-there glow, mix with foundation to add extra radiance, pat above or below makeup on your ‘high points’ such as cheekbones, brow bones and cupids bow to illuminate.

-It smells delicious! Raspberry and camomile are the scent of choice for Pearl, and she wears them well!

– Benefit have packed some extra skincare goodies in there for you. Sweet almond seed firms and soothes, while seasame oil moisturises.

Thank you, dear friends at Benefit, for creating such a wonderful product to join my family of illuminators. I know, family rules – you can’t play favourites. But I have the feeling that Girl Meets Pearl will be staying at the top of my beauty bag for a while…

Me, My Mum & Clarins

How did your mum (or other significant female in your life) contribute, if at all, to your beauty experiences? Did you inherit any favourite tips, routines, brands or products?

Maybe your mum wore little to no makeup, and that’s worn off in your own casual, natural style. Or the scent of a certain body cream will always remind you of your mother’s beauty cabinet.

One thing I certainly inherited beauty-wise from my mum was her love of Clarins – in particular the Eau Dynamisante fragrance and body oils. From a young age, I remember digging through her beauty bag of the moment, always themed with white, red and gold, always scored as part of a Clarin’s gift pack or GWP. When it came time for school camp, I took one of the old Clarins bags as my toiletry bag and woah, didn’t I feel chic.

For me, the Clarins brand evokes a feeling of class, grace and sophistication, and subtle luxury, (must be the French origins) something that even as a young girl I understood the power of. The products smell beautiful (think natural plant extracts and their accompanying scents), the packaging is divine, and the products effective, resulting in a cult following and a hugely successful history.

Of all of the Clarins bounty mum had, the prod I found myself repeatedly sneaking squeezes out of and then eventually stealing was the world-famous Beauty Flash Balm. Oh gosh, I love this stuff. Every gift pack that came on a birthday, anniversary or Christmas (it’s all she would ask for, and was an awesome fall-back gift – “Dad, just get a Clarins pack… no it doesn’t matter what’s in it!”) I would immediately dive in to see if there was a sample size Beauty Flash Balm, and consequently transferring to my own makeup bag. This is in teenage years of course, I wasn’t applying the stuff as an 8 year-old. I never did wear much makeup as a teen, only acquiring my first foundation at around 17, but I would use Beauty Flash Balm under some bronzer or just alone, quickly falling in love with the bright radiance and refreshed look – before I even knew what ‘illuminated skin’ was. It’s definitely set the precedent for my adoration of illuminating products.

$60 for 50mL

So it’s no surprise that it’s still going strong after 30 years. Yes, 2010 is Beauty Flash Balm’s 30th birthday. You don’t look a day over 24 babe! Promise! So strong in fact, that one tube of Beauty Flash Balm is sold every 20 minutes, and it’s been on the top 10 sellers list for every year of its life. Woo hoo!

That’s a whole lot of achievement in one little tube.

So, do you have a favourite product or brand you’ve inherited from your mum?
Have you ever tried Beauty Flash Balm?
Do you want to now? You should, it’s amazing.

Review: Dermalogica Clean Start Brighten Up SPF15

With my post-teenage breakout prone skin, I do get worried that even though I am fastidious with my cleansers and serums and all manner of potions, I am ruining all my hard work by clogging up my skin again with the wrong moisturiser – especially if I want one that has more on its plate than to just moisturise.

Our multitasking ways have spread to our creams, and why not? Isn’t it better to use one product that can do four things rather than load up layer after layer? But it does worry me that all that tinting and sun-protecting and anti-aging is counterproductive to my number one goal – eradicating these hormone humps.

Therefore it pleased me greatly when I realised that the breakout fighting Clean Start range from Dermalogica – of which I use the Bedtime For Breakouts and also at times the facial cleanser – had their own multitasking genius. Please welcome Brighten Up SPF 15 to the club!

60mL

So, it has its main function of moisturising down pat, in a rapidly absorbing and almost instantly non-greasy kinda way – the best way. It has a natural, light-coverage tint to help blend and even out skin tone, including any red marks from pesky pimples. It contains an SPF of 15, perfect for out and about sun protection, but if you’re planning to spend the day in the sun, you will need to step up the SPF factor. It creates a gorgeous, luminous yet not at all glittery glow, something I am definitely all about. And last but not least, I am comforted in that fact that Brighten Up, being from an anti-breakout range, won’t clog my pores and contribute to my skin woes.

Let me just count those winning traits for you – four. It’s a magical four-in-one prod.

Cute Casual Gym Wear. I Love It.

Jerry Seinfeld was on to a good thing.

A great thing even; runners as the daily footwear of choice.

His paring with blue wash jeans and tucked in shirts, once the epitome of 90’s cool, is now highly questionable, but the guilty comfort of an all-day sneaker wearing session lives on.

And this is where the purpose of the ‘cute casual gym wear outfit’ comes in.  Perfect for running errands, cleaning around the house, shopping or attending uni when you have run out of clothes and totally hating on your whole winter wardrobe (like me!)

Aside: It’s imperative that ‘gym wear’ is not the old see-through-in-the-ass leggings you should have thrown out years ago but like to watch TV in – leave that to the army of (shitty)leggings-as-pants wearers infiltrating a shopping centre near you. The purpose is to look decent, not caught out.

You get away with it because who knows? You might be heading to the gym later. Or maybe you’ve been, you fit little gym bunny you, and you’re just one of the 2.3% of the population who don’t sweat when they run. There’s always one of those girls at the gym, smugly accepting the stares of jealousy.

The aim of the game is to disguise your laziness in actually planning a real-life-outfit, and keep the public guessing. Therefore, you makeup must follow suit. Clearly you won’t want to be heading out with your normal sweaty red post-gym face, but a full face o’ slap won’t cut it either. Who goes to the gym looking like a pageant queen? The key is to stick to barely there, glowing natural makeup.

Here’s the makeup look I’ve teamed with the cute casual gym wear outfit I’m rocking today:

I always feel like tinted moisturiser sinks into my skin at unequal rates and by the end of the day, I’m looking a little blotchy with dark patches here and there. I am loving Becca’s SPF 30+ Mineral Primer at the moment, such a yummy smell, oil-free and great for extra UVA/UVB protection!

A light coating of Jane Iredale Dream Tint Mineral Tinted Moisturiser with SPF 15 gives great light coverage and is fantastic for camouflaging any red areas. On days like this, I find mineral based products to be best as they give a sheer, luminous coverage that won’t block your pores when you decide to break into an impromptu jog!

A few dabs of NARS Orgasm Illuminator helps to give your cheekbones that flushed, glowing, I-sure-did-just-run-5-k’s! look. I finish this up with just a light dusting of NARS Laguna Bronzer, because obviously I’ve just been jogging on Miami beach!

I usually leave mascara out, but a swipe will leave lashes just that bit more defined and darker.

The best thing is, it’s like a fake workout. Wearing runners puts an extra bounce in your step and I find myself walking faster and even jogging up stairs, and once I’m home and they’re off, it’s like in my mind I’ve been at the gym all day.

Ahh mind trickery, you’re the best!

Are you a fan of the cute casual gym wear look?
Do you pretend you’re going to the gym?
Never done it? You should! You’ll love it.

It’s so cheap, I must be on NARS.

I visited Times Square today, and amid the hustle and bustle of taxi horns and a million camera flashes going off, there was one beacon of joy and black and white simplicity that reached out and dragged me towards it. Sephora. The everything-beauty-mega-store.

One of the first make up brand counters I saw was NARS, which is stocked at Mecca Cosmetica in Australia, and may I say – expensive. That’s why my jaw hit the floor when I looked at the prices underneath the rainbow of blush samples popping out against their black background. No way!! Yes way. These prices were real, and I was in the midst of an Orgasm-overload as I rapidly applied the cult fave to either side of my face. And then I found the liquid illuminator version, gave a little squeal, and applied some more. And then searched for the bronzer on my wish-list, Laguna, and chucked that on too with the zest of a five-year-old discovering Mummy had finally left her make up draw unlocked. Needless to say, my face was a muddy-pink mess but I didn’t care. Just like the sales lady didn’t really care when I kept gushing, “No you don’t understand! This stuff is like $80 in my country!! Eeeeek!”

I finally left with 3 products, my first-ever NARS:
-‘Orgasm’ Blush
-‘Laguna’ Bronzer
-‘Orgasm’ Illuminator

Which came to a grand total of $87. (Okay, not including the $7 tax)
Had I have made the same purchase in Ausralia? $203.

Pause for dramatic effect.

Do you need an extra second? I sure did.

I think I’ll have to go back to try some foundation, which is only $41 dollars, give or take a few greens. (We’re in the US here..)

I’m so excited to incorporate these products into my everyday makeup routine and mix and match with different looks. (Bonus: guilt free!) Not only for the rave reviews and cult-classic status these products, in particular, Orgasm have, but for the luxe, stylish packaging, and as I’ve mentioned, I’m a sucker for chic packaging! The clip top powder cases are sturdy, and the black casing has a velvetly-rubber feel you could touch all day. Which I think I might.

Joy. Glee. Elation.

In new-prod-heaven,

Holly. x