BellaBox – November Box 2011

Earlier this month I got my 2^nd BellaBox. I was really impressed with the 1^st BellaBox and I’m delighted to say that the 2^nd one was just as exciting.

This month BellaBox focused on International Cult Brands, which I really loved because I’m obsessed with cult brands and products. So I was really excited to see what we got…

Lancome’s Visonnaire. There has been so much hype around this product so I was really excited to get this in our BellaBox this month.

3 product samples from Erborian Korean Skin Therapy; BB Crème Au Ginseng, Yuza Sorbet Moisturizing Emulsion and Elixir Au Ginseng. I’ve heard so much about BB crèmes recently, so I’m eager to try that out.

Gatineau’s Melatogenine Force Collagene.

Orofluido’s Beauty Elixir for your hair. I have become obsessed with hair oils recently and loving trying new ones, so this is up on the “try it out” list.

Twistband for your hair.

Obessive Compulsive Cosmetics’ Lip Tar. I got Pageant and it’s a great color and is really long lasting.

And that’s it folks! I was very happy with this month’s box and really can’t wait until we get next months.

Nat xoxo

1st Blog Giveaway Winner!

I’m happy to announce we have a winner for my 1^st blog giveaway! YAY!

Personally I was really excited and as the lovely Corrina was when I told her she had won! I will be sending off her goodies this week so she should have them asap.

To recap this is what she what the lovely Corrina will be getting….

Thanks to everyone who entered and stay tuned because I just might be having another giveaway soon.

Nat xoxo

Product Head To Head: Facial Wipes

I recently got a few different types of facial wipes so I thought I would test them all out and do a product head to head. The FOA and Nivea ones I got from the ABBW and I bought the Simple ones before the ABBW (pack of 2) because they were on sale. I know buying cheap skincare goes against the name of my blog but I have this thing called a shoe addiction so I have to pull in the purse strings sometimes. I know it’s horrible, but you should see my shoe collection! It’s amaze balls…

Anyway! Back on track, I really like to get all my make-up off before I use my cleanser (so it can do it’s job properly) so I find facial wipes to be pretty awesome things.

The 3 wipes I've been using are...

Facial Wipe 1: Simple’s Cleansing Facial Wipes

What they say: These wipes have no alcohol, no oil, no perfume, no color, are non-drying, non-greasy and remove waterproof mascara.

What did I think? I liked this facial wipe but didn't love it. It does an alright job of getting make-up off but my main problem was the smell. It's not good. I don't like really strong fragrance smelling products but this just smells bad and it's a bit of a turn off really.

Facial Wipe 2: Face Of Australia’s Purifying Cleansing Wipes

What they say: These are due action cleansing wipes that will remove all types of make-up including waterproof and stay-put. They are also alcohol free so they won’t dry out our skin.

What did I think? I think this would have to be the holy grail of make-up wipes! It's fabulous! It does an amazing job of removing make-up, and even gets rid of all my eye make-up, which is quite a big deal. And it has a really pleasant smell. All in all AWESOME!

Facial Wipe 3: Nivea’s Daily Essentials Gentle Facial Cleansing Wipes

What they say: These wipes are enriched with Almond Oil & Calendula Extract that removed make-up and waterproof mascara. They do contain alcohol though (BOO!).

What did I think? I have to say this wipe had the nicest texture and felt lovely on my skin, even though they do contain alcohol. However at removing make-up epic fail. I thought it had gotten all my eye make-up off, but when I washed my face hard-core panda eyes. Such a same because it really is a lovely facial wipe

So just so everyone is clear the winning facial wipe on overall texture, smell and removing make-up is Face Of Australia!

You can buy all of these products from Priceline, Woolies, Coles etc except FOA, which is only sold in Priceline, Kmart and Big W.

Nat xoxo

Product Head To Head: Alpha-H Gentle Daily Exfoliant VS Dermalogica’s Daily Microfoliant

I love Exfoliators and I love the concept of daily Exfoliators! (always makes my skin feel really clean). Recently I have tried two really great daily Exfoliators that are both, check this out, powder based. I know this isn't a "new" concept but to have to admit, the novelty factor is pretty awesome.

Daily Exfoliator 1: Alpha-H Gentle Daily Exfoliant

I was first introduced to Alpha-H through their Liquid Gild range (which I'm currently using) and I got a sample of the Gentle Daily Exfoliant in my BellaBox last month.

The Gentle Daily Exfoliant is an enzyme powder that contains pineapple and papaya extracts.

What did I think? I really love this Exfoliator! The texture is more like a paste then your typical Exfoliator texture. I found that as well as exfoliating (which it did a great job of doing) it also made my skin really luminous.

Handy hint: for a more intense exfoliation add Alpha-H’s Liquid Gold with the Gentle Daily Exfoliant instead of water.

Daily Exfoliator 2: Dermalogica's Daily Microfoliant

I was 1st introduced to this product in one of my Lust Have It boxes a few months ago and then I got a full sized product a few weeks ago.

The Daily Microfoliant is also an enzyme-based powder that is made with rice.

What did I think? Again this was a really good Exfoliator! Although it's powder based as well, it forms more of a foam texture. It's quite light on the exfoliating so it really doesn't harm your skin if you use it everyday. However I did find that I still needed to use a stronger Exfoliator once a week.

How did the 2 compare? Oh do I have to pick?!?! This is really hard because I love using both products, but if it was life or death and I had to pick one I would have to go with Alpha-H’s Gentle Daily Exfoliant.

This might be a bit of a shock because I know the Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant is a cult favorite, but I did find that Alpha-H's Gentle Daily Exfoliant worked better for me.

You can get your hands on Alpha-H's Gentle Daily Exfoliant for $59.95 and Dermalogica's daily Microfoliant for $83.5.

You really can't go wrong with either because they are both great!

Nat xoxo

Lust Have it! – November Luxury Lust Pack

So after a little blogging break due to the never ending fun of Uni, I'm back and ready to blog!

When I got home Friday week I couldn’t believe that it was that time of the month already for my November Luxury Lust Pack! Where did October go?!

My box looked lovely this month! Clearly Australia Post found something else to play with this month took care of it this month.

And here is what we got in our packs!

RoC’s Complete Life NEW Technology Daily Moisturiser

Nude By Nature’s Lip Liner in Chique Natural Mineral Lipliner

Lancome’s Tresor Midnight Rose

Hawley International’s Miracle Shine 2 Step Miracle Nail Shiner

Keratase’s Nectar Thermique

I was happy with this box and I will use most of the products but I didn’t find it as exciting as the previous months. With that said, one 1st few boxes have been pretty damn amazing (especially the ABBW Box).

Enjoy!

Nat xoxo

Brand In the Spotlight: Rationale Essential 6 Night Range

In our ABBW goodie bags we got a lovely little invite from Rationale to have a skin consultation. I’d heard a lot about Rationale from a friend at work who swears by it, so I really jumped at the opportunity to find out some more about it. And I’m so glad I did (I’m really calling the ABBW the gift that keeps on giving)!

I arranged my consultation with the lovely Linda from Rationale, and she set up my on call consultation with Jo the training manager.  

Consultation numero uno: so when Jo called we basically talking about my skin and what’s been going on with it. We talked about my current skincare routine and what things I would like to change about my skin. At the end of the consultation Jo said she would send me out a sample of the Night Essential 6 Rationale range.

The Essential Six are designed to deliver everything that your skin needs in 6 products. Pretty awesome huh?? And here I was thinking that I needed hundreds. How silly of me.

There are 3 products in the night range.

First up there is the Preparatory Cleanser. The Preparatory Cleanser is enriched with ultra gentle cleansing agents and soothing botanicals that are designed to cleanse and hydrate. The cleanser also contains Niacinamide and Panthenol to restore the skin’s barrier function, contains vitamins, A, C & E to reduce inflammations and Licorice Root and Chamomile extracts to cleanse and calm.

Next is serum number 1, the Skin Refining Serum. The 1^st night serum (step 5 in the whole essential six), the Skin Refining Serum restores skin luminosity, unclogs pores and reduces visible signs of pigmentation. Gentle botanical alpha and beta hydroxy acids gently acidify the skin, restoring surface pH and optimal luminosity.

Lastly is serum number 2, the Retinaldehyde Serum. The Ratinaldehyde is a natural form of vitamin A found in skin cells. It is involved in cellular repair processes. Used nightly, Retinaldehyde restores skin integrity promoting smoother, firmer, clearer, skin and enhanced luminosity.  

A few days after my consultation my essential six night range samples showed up with a few additions, two of the different rationale day creams to protect my skin.

So far I’m really impressed with the essential night range. The products are really lovely and make my skin look bright, luminous and hydrated. I’ve also noticed that I’m not really getting any spots during “that time of the month”. I normally don’t get too many spots but during that time I normally got one or two. So I’m very happy to report that they seem to be at bay at the moment! The only thing I have found it that if I wear heavy make-up I need to use make-up remover before the cleanser. The cleanser is supposed to remove all make-up as well as cleanse the skin, but I find I need to use a remover first.

ABBW ladies, if you haven't arranged your Rantionale consultation yet get onto it!

Product Update: Alpha-H’s Liquid Gold Prep & Prime

So a month ago I got Liquid Gold Skin Perfecting System starter kit as part of the ABBW. The 1^st product in the system is the Liquid Gold Prep + Prime.

Liquid Gold Prep & Prime is 90% natural ingredients with Glycolic Acid.

Specifically Prep + Prime contains: Thyme, Cucumber, Chamomile and Glycolic Acid. Also what I really like is that all the Liquid Gold products are free from detergents, parabens, kojic acid, hydroquinone, artificial fragrances and colors. 

Liquid Gold Prep & Prime is designed to build tolerance to active enzymes and fruit acids, which are in the other Liquid Gold products. At the same time as doing that it also improves the appearance of fine lines, open pores and broken capillaries. A lot for one little product huh?!

I started using Prep & Prime about a month ago and I have to say I was a little bit skeptical. This was purely because you use it alone every morning after cleansing. You then only apply sun protection and make-up if you want. And I’m very happy to say Prep & Prime really showed me, because this product is amazing!

After using it for only a month I have noticed a big difference in my skin. I’m lucky that I don’t really have any big skincare concerns (and I hope it stays that way for quite a few more years), but because I do have very fair sensitive skin it marks really easily. Most of these I can cover up with make-up but I also thought it would be lovely to not have to worry about them at all. Since using Liquid Gold’s Prep & Prime they have gone down, A LOT! I really can’t believe what a difference it has made. I have also noticed that my skin just looks better and brighter.

I’m going to keep using it until the bottle is finished, even though they say you can move on to the Liquid Gold Original after you have used Prep & Prime for a month. Personally I can’t wait to use Liquid Gold Original if it’s supposed to even better then Prep & Prime!

So if you haven’t tried Alpha-H’s Liquid Gold range I highly suggest you do, and for only $99 for the set you really can’t go wrong.

Nat xoxo