A bit of pampering

I’ve been to about 5 or 6 Nutrametics parties over the past year or so and they are always a bit of fun. I’ve been to a hot rock massage one, champagne and strawberries one, a make-up lesion one, so even if you aren’t interested in buying anything you can have a bit of fun.

So the last party that I went to I thought it would be fun to have my own. So on Sunday a few of the girls 

came over and we had a facial party.

I was a lot of fun and we got to try out so of the products. Although I love my skincare routine and I’m not really interested in changing what I’m using at the moment (can’t face not using my Rationale!) they do have some nice treatment and mask products and some of their make-up and body products are pretty good.

I did order a few things, which I’ll do a post on once they get here, but I also got these 2 products at the party.

Also because it was January and double rewards month each guest got a little body wash.

It was a lovely girlie Sunday afternoon.

Nat xoxo

Glossy Box Beauty – January 2012

The 1^st months Glossy Box, fitting in with last week, was all about brining on the start of summer and to celebrate Australia Day.

And in our box we got…

1. Nivea’s Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser

2. Sheer Cover’s Nourishing Moisturiser

3. Sheer Cover’s Lipgloss – I got Pink Praline

4. Kosmea’s Daily Facial Exfoliant

5. Mirenesse’s Tight Liner Hydra Eye Liner – I already have this in Black but I got Sapphire Blue, which was good since I love this eye liner!

And that’s it folks. What do you think about this box?

Nat xoxo

I love goodie bags

Especially when they contain things that I can use!

Last week I went to a Revlon consumer insights meeting just to talk about make-up, skincare and pretty much everything about beauty. Needless to say this was a great way to spend about an hour and the best part was it was for work. YAY!

Also for giving up a hour of our time to talk about beauty, like it was a hard task, the lovely people at Revlon gave us some goodie bags with some little make-up bits and pieces.

What we got in our bags were…

Revlon Colour Burst Lipstick in Cherry Ice

Just Bitten Lipstain and Balm in Victorian

Nail Polish in Princess

Grow Luscious Plumping mascara in Blackest Black

ColorStay Aqua in Medium Deep (too dark for me)

We also got an eyeliner but I gave that to a girl at work. I was feeling nice since I just got a bag full of goodies!

I have used the Revlon Just Bitten lipstain before and it’s really good!

Nat xoxo

BellaBox – January 2012

This is the 1^st beauty box of the year! How exciting! Needless to say this box was all about the New Year with the box theme being “Out With The Old, In With The New Naturals”

And this is what we got in our lovely boxes…

1. First Aid Beauty’s Ultra Repair Cream

2. Pangea Organics’ Lip Balm

3. Soleo’s Sunscreen

4. Sparoma Organic Product’s – I got a roll-on fragrance

5. Halloween Kiss Fragrance

6. Violet Lips – This product looks awesome! It’s like the nail strips but for your lips

7. Herban Essentials Towlettes

8. Qi Tea – I can’t wait to try these out. I love Green Tea and Green Tea variants

Quite a dynamic first box from BellaBox! Look forward to the rest of the boxes.\

Nat xoxo

Health Update: Bikram Yoga

So as part of my uber crazy 2012 Ultimate Health Goal I decided that it might be a good idea to try out Bikram Yoga. I’ve heard heaps about it before and everyone that I know who has done it says it’s amazing.

Bikram Yoga is a style of Yoga that runs for 90 mintues and consists of a series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercise. Doesn’t seem so bad until the 40.6-degree room that it’s done in is mentioned. I’m not a huge lover of the heat so I knew this would be a challenge.

I started last Thursday at the Bikram Yoga College of India in Darlinghurst with a few girls from work. They have a special for newcomers which is a $17 10 day trial. It’s a pretty amazing price since a casual class is $18. I also really liked the centre because it was chilled out and wasn’t full of crazy skinny/fit intense yoga fanatics.

At first when I walked into the room the heat didn’t seem so bad. That all went to hell once we started. It’s a pretty damn intense yoga session! About 15 minutes in I could feel water running down my back and by the end of the session I was soaking. I gave up trying to wipe my face because 5 minutes later it was back.

That's pretty much what you look like after about 5 mins...

But by god did I feel amazing! I was happy that I was able to finish the entire session. Some of the moves were the same as Ashtanga Ygoa which I’ve done before so I had an idea on my to do them.

After I finished I don’t think I’ve ever felt so amazing. I felt energetic, clean and detoxified. The next day at work everyone said that my skin looked glowing and I looked really fresh.

I loved it so much I went back on Friday as well, and then on Sunday and again tonight!

So if your looking for something to get you fit this year I highly recommend Bikram Yoga! It’s not for the faint hearted but it’s so worth it.

If you live in Sydney I highly recommend Bikram Yoga College of India in Darlinghurst.

Nat xoxo

New Year, New Me – enter 2012 ultimate health goal!

I’m really excited that it’s a new year. Not because 2011 was really horrible or anything, it was just very intense and full so.

I’m uber excited to be done with uni (for now), back to work full time and all in all get my life in order, and that includes my new goal to get super healthy!

Enter 2012 Ultimate Health Goal!

I’m a firm believe that the way to treat your body is directly linked to what you look like and that everything you put into your body or do to your body has an effect. I also think that it doesn’t matter what skincare you use if you don’t take care of yourself because I won’t work unless you give it something good to work with.

Enter the Body Ecology Diet!

A friend from work is a bit of a health nut like me, and she has gotten me to eat a lot better over the past year and recently told me about this amazing diet. It’s more of a body re-balance and cleanser then a diet.

The way the Body Ecology Diet works is by ridding your body of all the nasties and toxins that build up to result in overall better health and wellbeing.

There are 7 key principles, but the main gist of it is no sugar, no gluten, no dairy and all pure and healthy foods. You also can’t have any artificial sugar, so no diet cokes for Nat L. Another big thing is probiotics and hot water with lemon…try drinking a hot glass of water with a whole lemon 1^st thing in the morning. Not easy.

This diet is really about making you function like a well-oiled machine.

It also works on a balance system of 80/20. Everything should be 80% veggies and 20% grain or 20% protein. Also you should only eat until you are 80% full.

There’s a lot more to it, so if you are interested check out the website here.

I know it all sounds very complex, difficult and not fun!  But the results will be an overall healthier Nat with better skin, 100% functioning body and sporting my natural body shape (i.e. if you have excess kgs to lose they will go, personally I’m most excited about this).

I’m currently on stage 1 – which goes for about 3 months and is the hardest part…YIPPEE!

Wish me luck! And I will keep you posted on how I go and the results/benefits!

And I may even post a recipe here and there should you wish to try some of it out for yourself!

HERES TO THE 2012 ULTIMATE HEALTH GOAL!

Nat xoxo

Product Head To Head: Battle of the Bronzers

If you’ve seen any photos of me on this blog (or anywhere else) you would have noticed that I’m pretty fair. I have been called everything from see-thought to pasty. I myself prefer the term porcelain. It just sounds better. 

So when it comes to choosing a bronzer I have to be very picky as most are way too dark.

I have discovered two that I think are worth a big mention, Benefit’s Hoola and Nars’ Laguna. 

I love both these bronzers because I can use them on my milky white skin and it doesn’t look like I got dirt on my fact. Yes I have had that problem in the past with bronzers. People did think I had dirt on my fact because it was too dark. 

Oh the shame.

First Up Benefit’s Hoola!

Hoola is a light brown matte bronzer. It also comes in this cute little box! I really do love Benefit’s packaging.

What did I think? This is a really great bronzer because you can build up the colour. That means really white people like me can use it and it looks natural. The matte effect also means that it’s really wearable during the day and you can also wear it at night with an illuminator over the top. The only problem I found it that the colour builds up really quickly, so if you are like me and only looking for a light bronze effect be careful when you first put it on.

Next Is Nars’ Laguna!

Laguna is a light brown bronzer with light golden shimmers. Also a call out about the packaging, how sleek is it?! Nars are great like that. Simple and elegant!

What did I think? This is really the perfect bronzer for me. It’s light, the light golden shimmer gives your skin a great glow plus it’s a really subtle colour so you can’t make the mistake of applying too much first off (unless you soak your brush in it that is). I really can’t rave about this product enough!

And if that didn’t give it away, the winner is Nars’ Laguna. For my skin tone you really can’t beat it. It works both during the day and at night. A special mention to Hoola because it’s also a great product, not as good, but still a great product.

You can buy Benefit’s Hoola for $28 on the Benefit website and you can buy Nars’ Laguna for $55 

from Mecca Cosmetica.

Happy Bronzing!

Nat xoxo

Product Review: Illamasqua Nail Polish in Scorn

I love Illamasqua products. They always manage to do a great quality product that’s just that little bit special. I have used several of their products ranging from blush to eyeliner.

But their really special product, in my eyes anyway, is their nail polishes. The really special thing about their nail polishes, apart from the amazing colours, are their textures. They have the standard high gloss finishes, matte finishes, satin finishes and even rubber finishes. Yep you heard me rubber! How unbelievably amaze balls is that!

I have three of their lovely colours in Scorn, Vice and Propaganda

Since I love them so much I thought it would be a good idea to do some posts on them!

First up is Scorn, which is a black matte colour.

What did I think? I really love this colour because it’s not a true matte black. It doesn’t have the dimensions of a high gloss polish but has a slight satin finish. It applies really well and I also find if dies really quickly (more then most other nail polishes). I also find that it doesn’t chip a lot, which is great because I hate skanky nails. All in all a great colour that’s a little bit different then your everyday black!

I got mine in America so I only paid $14, but I think you can pick them up from Myer for about $34. More then your average colour but they really are awesome.

Nat xoxo