My Dad Loves Bon Remede

If this isn’t the best beauty testimonial, I don’t know what is. Forget Justin Bieber talking about his ‘hormones’ in that creepy ad for Proactiv (side note: Justin, please, you are not African-American and therefore your use of ‘dat’ for that sounds ridiculously unwarranted – I don’t care what Usher told you) – this is gold.

A few months ago I posted my review of the fabulous organic skin care range Bon Remede, which you can read here if you missed it. Man this stuff is amazing. Beautiful packaging that you will want to display, and super effective product. Perfection, in anyone’s standards; my Dad’s it seems.

Now, Mr. Curtis considers himself quite the joker. Even if he knows it will get him in trouble and in the stinkiest dog house, he will crack that joke. (Although his penchant for putting dead animals in family members shoes is slightly worrying..) He just can’t help himself. His high pitched uncontrollable giggle let’s everyone know he thinks he is onto a winner, and admittedly, sometimes he is. Like with this email, I was LOL-ing all over the place.

(Back story: Dad has ridiculously dry elbows, so when I found out that this little pot of gold worked like, well, gold I lent it to him. Key word: LENT. So when I wanted it back, he ranted on about how I can barely walk in my room for all the products strewn around, and he was keeping this one. And so for a few months, I would steal it back off him, revel in my soft elbows, and then he would come and search for it, and steal it back. Eventually I just gave up, repressing my sadness about no longer having soft elbows until this email popped up.)

From:     bcurtis@*******.com.au
Subject:     Emailing: Lotion testimonial
Date:     1 April 2011 1:44:51 PM
To:     holly@onyamagazine.com

Dear Beauty Editor,

I just want to share with you this fabulous product I have been using.
I’ve never had more youthful hands and graceful elbows.
The only problem now is that I can’t find where to purchase MORE!
Can you help?

Chow Bella!
Kiss kiss…

B.

Yep, this is the picture he took.

The Answer? Well Dad, after your latte and pear danish (oops, ‘meeting’) on Toorak Road, you can pop over to Flowers of Toorak, or maybe the The Graceful Garden in Malvern (see the other stockists here). Or, buy it online here. Too easy!

He is a construction manager, I wonder how this will go printed up on the job site!

Ah, gotta love the Curtis sense of humor… my Uncle is the same.

Review: Nivea Visage Q10 Plus Anti-Wrinkle Tinted Day Cream SPF 15

Oh, how I love a wonder-prod! An ‘overachiever’, keen to do it all for less. Stand up and take a bow, Nivea Visage Q10 Plus Anti-Wrinkle Tinted Day Cream SPF 15 – what a mouthful!

This is a product sure to cause some excitement. Containing the famed and ultra popular (60,000 units sold a DAY) Q10 plus Anti-Wrinkle formula to work on your skin during the day, as well as SPF 15+ UVA/UVB protection to stave off new wrinkles from sun damage – this is not your average tinted moisturiser.

RRP $18.89

The colour is perfect, providing light coverage that helps even out any discolorations or uneven patches. I think it’s a great ‘everyone’ shade, as I’ve passed it around to various friends and family with different skin tones and it’s looked fantastic on each of them. Of course, if you have the type of background that is very light or very dark, then this might not work as well.

The forumula is super hydrating and blends into the skin well, and also mixes with other products (eg illuminator) without a problem. It does take a bit longer to dry than you may be used to, so I tend to get started on my hair before going back for a swipe of bronzer – otherwise you end up with the dreaded patch of bronzer where it has stuck to the damp cream! The illumination it provides was well above what I expected, so most days I wear this product alone and revel in my dewy glow.

Don’t believe me? Well, I was just creepin’ the NIVEA website and saw that they’re offering a free sample! Free! Quick, click here.

Have you tried this?
Don’t you love a 189 in 1 product?!

Review: KORA Soothing Day & Night Cream

Miranda’s won me back on the KORA Organics train with her Soothing Day & Night Cream.

I wasn’t too fussed with the Rich Body Cream, which was the first product from her organic and beautifully branded (that aqua is just divine!) debut beauty range.

$59.95 for 60ml

The Day & Night Cream absorbs much faster than the body cream, which one was one of my gripes with it. Personally, I like a cream – whether face or body, to sink into my skin like it’s never heard of hydration. But that’s just me.

Like all of Miranda’s range, the cream smells amazing. I’m picking up hints of subtle lavender and sandalwood, but as I’ve mentioned before – I’m no scent master!

Immediately, my skin is butter soft and it dries to a satin-velvet type finish thanks to the hero ingredients of Noni, Chamomile, Evening Primrose Oil and Avocado. Kelp, Olive Oil and Lavender also rank highly on the impressive ingredients list.

While it would make a fab makeup base, I have found myself using this cream predominately at night, due to it’s super hydrating quality, and also the fact that it lacks SPF for day time wear and may be too heavy for my skin type during the day. Coupled with some SPF primer, it would make a great day cream for those with drier/senstitive skin.

Congrats M-Kerr, I can now say I am a KORA fan after a slightly shaky start.

Bobbi Brown Treatment Lip Shine SPF 15

I received this slick rick of a lip prod in my amazing MBBE gift bag and it’s got me even more excited for summer – if that’s even possible!

Why? Because there is nothing more you need in a lip product than what the Bobbi Brown Treatment Lip Shine SPF 15 offers! Nothing!

3 in 1 for $46

While it would be perfectly amazing all year round, I can see this really coming into its own come summer. Firstly, the SPF 15 protection is a highlight – many of us forget that our lips are skin too! Skin that can be burnt and damaged by the sun, just like the rest of our body.

Spending a lot of time outdoors as I do in summer, my lips tend to get dry due to the salt water and sun exposure (I’ll never give up my love of the beach!) Luckily the base function of this product is a treatment, and treat it does! With an impressive list of moisturisers such as cocoa and shea butter, jojoba oil, and apricot kernel and avocado oil my lips are left soft and full. For those concerned with aging lips, Bobbi has you covered with peptides, Vitamin C and Paracress which are included to diminish fine lines and increase collagen production.

It’s an ultra creamy and hydrating formula, without being sticky at all. It also lasts quite a long time for being a hydrating shine product, I find they tend to slip off my lips and transfer onto everything else.

Now the colour, could you get any more summery than ‘Nectarine’?! This is what got me really excited, as well as being my first foray into orange-y toned lip products. It’s my toe in the pool of the orange lip trend, one I hope to fully dive into soon. Bobbi Brown’s Nectarine is definitely a pinky-orange though, quite mild on the orange tone, so don’t be scared off by my talk of orange. If Nectarine isn’t your fruit shade of choice, there are 11 others to choose from. Personally, I want basically all of them. Maybe a hot pink next?

Quite coral isn't it? But then again it looks different in every light, quite cloudy today!

Congrats Bobbi, this is a multi-function prod that’s easy to use and maintain, with sheer, build-able colour that hydrates like nothing else. Love the glossy, black slim packaging by the way. Winner!

Share The Happy

Now, that’s an intriguing headline for Hump Day morning. If you’re struggling to get your engines going to climb that hump, Clarins (that brilliant French skincare company) may have just the right ingredients to make you smile.

It’s one of the great things about life. Smiling, and more importantly making others smile. It’s refreshing when these two goals are recognised by a global company, especially one with the stature of Clarins.

Now, let’s get to making you smile: http://www.sharethehappy.com.au is an interactive website with the goal to make you smile. It’s a simple concept really; share a compliment with the world, and a random person somewhere will receive it. You can log on to the site, read others’ compliments, and then send them on to friends and lovers, or just absorb them yourself. Cute hey?

Not only are the smiles for free, but so are the samples of the new Clarins range, Daily Energizer. The tab ‘Compliment Yourself’ brings up the options for receiving your sample of the new products, aimed at young women aged 16 – 25.

When I talk about Clarins to my friends, (you may have read about my love of a certain Clarins legend,) a common remark is that they think Clarins products are for older women. While they do have great anti-aging products, it’s not just for the more mature skinned among us – and the proof is in the Daily Energizer pudding.

Now the youngin’s can experience the luxury that is a heavy, frosted glass jar of Clarins joy.

I have been using the Daily Energizer Cream-Gel with such enthusiasm I look forward to washing my face so I can apply. The texture is amazing, and as the name suggests, is a thick gel that absorbs rapidly into the skin, creating a glow and radiance without a hint of shimmer, yet has a matte finish. How do they do it?!

The lotion drys quickly, and acts as the perfect base for makeup. I’ve been using a primer with SPF included as well, as the Daily Energizer cream-gel does not have SPF protection.

This post could not be complete without a mention of the heavenly scent that accompanies the application of the cream-gel. While not a pro in any way when it comes to scents, I’ve definitely put my finger on it being Frangipani with a hint of citrus – divine. When summer finally arrives it will be the perfect daily moisturiser, light, non-comedogenic and the gel texture will feel sublime, especially when popped in the fridge for hotter days.

The power ingredients of vitamin C, turmeric and Ginkgo biloba help to cover minor imperfections and increase skin radiance by increasing micro-circulation. I wouldn’t say the cream tingles on application, but I can definitely feel something happening. I even went out without a wash of bronzer on the other day, a big deal for a Lover of Bronze.

Clarins Daily Energizer Cream-Gel

While I was happy to wait until I was a mature lady (living in my Parisian apartment and retiring to my chateau on weekends, of course) to enjoy my many Clarins potions, I am so happy to say that those of us with younger skin can make the most of it – glowing and radiant.

Over and out, I’m off to Share The Happy.

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.

Review: Kosmea Replenishing Moisture Cream

I’m awaiting the day (with a fully prepped beach bag) when my skin will reject the idea of anything heavier than a light fluid as daily moisturiser of choice. Until then, I’m loving Kosmea‘s Replenishing Moisture Cream.

Kosmea are the Australian made and owned wonder-folk that not only have their signature product, the fabulous Organic Rose Hip Oil but a whole range of rose hip oil based skin care targeted for different needs. I’ve posted before of the wonderful time I spent with the Kosmea Clarifying Facial Wash before it got all empty on me and we had to break up. Tear.

The Replenishing Moisture Cream, funnily enough, is just that – replenishing. I favour this cream for night, as the super hydrating nature and lack of SPF protection (Kosmea do have a SPF 30+ day cream) lend to such a decision. I have used it during the day however, and the result was just as great – no shine, oily skin, and no (extra) breakouts.

The perfect texture between too thick and well, too thin, it’s rapidly absorbed and instantly turns skin into a velvety bed of softness, with no greasy residue. After waking, my skin was plump, glowing and incredibly hydrated. Best! Even better when plied on after a good exfoliation. Wish I had of included this in my in-flight beauty artillery!

If winter is kicking the glow out of your skin, I would definitely recommend trying this beauty out to set your skin on the right track for spring.

Tried and love Kosmea?
Never heard of them?

Review: Ellipse Skin Science Face and Neck Moisturiser

Source: Primped

When I received this as part of the PRIMPED VIP package my curiosity kicked in. I’d never heard of Ellipse as a skin care brand but boy were they making some promises!

They include: “This face and neck moisturiser aims to help reduce the appearance of fine lines, increase collagen, exfoliate, moisturise and protect.”

Now I don’t have any fine lines or wrinkles as of yet, (I’m still struggling to kick teenage-ville to the curb – oh, about three years overdue?!) so I didn’t notice any obvious differences in my skin, but it did feel plumper as a result of applying. I tried it on my boyfriend who has fine lines around the eyes, and they did seem to fill out and were definitely less noticable. However my Mum, who does have some wrinkles normal for her age, found that the cream didn’t make any obvious or dramatic differences to the appearance of her lines. Her verdict: a nice regular cream that went on beautifully and helped smoothed my foundation out, but nothing special in the realm of wrinkles.

It was non-greasy for a relatively thick cream, and didn’t cause any increased shine throughout the day, points!

I found it to be a fantastic base for my makeup, however as it doesn’t contain any sunscreen I had to apply my regular SPF 30+ moisturiser before hand, or just use the Ellipse as a night cream. The lack of SPF does go down as a slight negative in my book, but I suppose if you want a multi-tasking day/night cream … no-can-do-SPF.

The smell and packaging were also nothing too impressive. My first thought on the scent was ‘moisturiser’ – and I’ve tried, but can’t really expand on that. Just a standard, pleasant moisturiser smell. The packaging is simple, and I usually enjoy tubes but found after time the seal wasn’t as tight and it started to leak out, so that when I opened the cap it was already full of cream. Kinda like what happened here.

For $40, it isn’t too overpriced for the job it does, but I would suggest it would suit those with normal skin experiencing the first signs of fine lines and wrinkles, not somebody that already has deeply set wrinkles.

Review: Sodashi Enlivening Body Lotion

Source: Sodashi

I had heard so much about the all-natural, 100% chemical free skin care brand Sodashi that I tore the top of the Enlivening Body Lotion packaging (recycled and printed with vegetable dye – impressive) right off. No time to fiddle around with sticky-taped seals when you have one of the most lauded natural skin care brands to apply!

And apply I have! My (body) skin would be classified as normal; not too demanding but still appreciates a little TLC. As the cold sets in, I have needed to step up the TLC a little and the Enlivening Body Lotion has really risen to the task.

24 hours, cold air, two hot showers and a night on an electric blanket and my skin is only just showing signs of mild dryness. That’s a tough test for me, but the Sodashi lotion has passed, with extra props for being all-natural.

While I wouldn’t say the lotion is rapidly absorbed, it does not take long – especially while drifting off in your sensory experience! Immediately after absorption, it is completely non-greasy; a must for those rushed mornings when you need to get dressed now without your clothes sticking.

The scent is uplifting, as you would expect from a product from the ‘Awaken’ range, yet no fragrances are used. Natural oils of lime, lemongrass, ylang ylang, cypress and bergamot are credited for the refreshing effect on the senses, along with added benefits of circulation support, muscle relaxation and relief of anxiety.

I’m a lover of beautiful packaging and Sodashi seriously does it for me. The heavy glass bottle (which looks black yet is violet when held up to the light to protect the natural ingredients from sunlight damage) and minimal writing are understated luxe – I just love it.

I am also totally in love with the fact that Sodashi is an Australian brand, and that they still make their products in Fremantle, WA. No selling out to the big guys – I like!

Sodashi spa treatments are raved about by Beauty Editors all over and are offered in exclusive day spa retreats and hotels – definitely on my ‘must do’ lust list. Researching spas nearby I came across the Japanese Mountain Retreat -wow! One can dream, right?

Have you heard of Sodashi before?
Used anything from their range?
Dying to try a spa treament like myself?

I’m a ‘Special’ Beauty Product Saver. Are You?

Why is it that we ‘save’ some beauty products for only ‘special’ occasions? You know the ones. The accessories for our daily perfumes; the body washes and moisturisers that compliment and strengthen the scent. There are others; the expensive body oils, limited edition items, gifts that end up as display items rather than used ones.

Maybe it’s just me?

I’ve always done it though, whether keeping the complimenting body washes until there is no perfume left to marry it to, or waiting for an occasion to roll by that is worthy of my set aside ‘special’ products only to find they are so rarely used I forgot to even apply them.

Nearly two years ago I received a beautiful gift from my mother – a Chanel N^o5 scented body powder and puff, and the No 5 Sensual Body Elixir. How fabulously vintage-boudoir. While these items look beautiful on my dresser table, I can’t help but think they should be used more, rather than left to collect dust.

And so I found my quarter-year beauty resolution. Why shouldn’t I use these beautiful products on a regularly, if not daily, basis? Shouldn’t we all be able to justify each day as ‘special’ enough to pat oneself with a divinely scented N^o5 powder puff?

My bevvy of 'special' products.

My regular Palmolive shower body wash has been joined by my Marc Jacob’s Lola wash, and on nights out I am layering the scent of my Chanel Coco Mademoiselle with the adjoining body wash and moisturiser. I remind myself to make bedtime a little more luxurious with some of the N^o5 body oil, and I’m finding the delight in using the powder puff after a shower.

Keeping in mind I would never want to become blasé/desensitised about/to such beautiful, and expensive products (maybe that is why they were regarded as so special and to be saved in the first place? Knowing I couldn’t just run out and buy them myself?)  I will aim to not let them go to waste, while still appreciating and respecting the fact that these are not your run-of-the-mill daily beauty items.

Are you a product-saver?
What items do you regulate to special occasions only?