Product Review: Aesop Tea Tree Leaf Facial Exfoliant

Late last year something horrible happened. I ran out of exfoliant!

Ok maybe a little dramatic. But I did run out of my much loved Daily Microfoliant. I was going to buy another one, but a friend had told me that I really should give Aesop’s Tea Tree Left Exfoliant a go.

And I’m very glad she did! It’s amazing!

Firstly what I love about it is that it’s a mix of crushed botanicals so more of a naturally based product. Plus it’s designed to buff the skin as opposed to use any acids etc to removed dead skin layers.

It’s also designed to be used with your cleanser. I really like this fact because it takes your cleanser to the next level, but it also doesn't matter what cleanser you use it with.

When you look at the bottle it looks really tiny, but I've had mine for about 4 months now and I still have about ¾ left. Not badgiven it’s only $39 from Aesop.

Highly recommend!

Nat xoxo

Lucky Number 13

It’s that time already. I really can’t believe another year has come and gone. I think the older I get the fast time moves along, which is quite scary.

2013. I’m not sure what it will bring yet but I have a good feeling since 13 is my lucky number.

Recently I have been going through quite a few changes and life has been a bit out of control (hence the lack of blogging).

Work has been crazy. My boss left for maternity leave. Work also went through a re-structure and we are currently in the middle of a transition period (which has left me doing the work of 2 people).

I am now a single lady. My boyfriend of 2.5 years and I decided to call it quits late last year. It was a really hard decision that we both made, and long term it’s for the best.

But not all is bad.

I joined an amazing gym called Elixr and started seeing a Nutritionist to really just take my health and fitness to the next level and I’m already seeing some massive changes in myself after a few short months.

I have finally found my passion in life and I’m going back to study this year. I’m study Nutritional Medicine. I’m so excited and really pumped to study and learn more about something that I’m really passionate about. I’m also doing it all online, so I will be working full time! It’s going to be challenging but it’s something that I really want so I’m willing to put in the work.

In terms of what 2013 has in store for me? Well I’m not really sure, and I kind of like that. I haven’t made any big new year’s resolutions. I just want this year to be happier and healthier then the last :)

I do have a few small goals. One is I would like to fully be able to do the splits. I’m close but not close enough. I really want to get back to blogging. I have been really slack in the past few months and I actually really miss it, so I promise more regular posts will be updated. And finally I really want to increase my health and fitness. I’ve already made good process, but I would love to take it one step further.

Lets hope I'm doing this before the end of the year!

I hope you all had a great Holiday Season and 2013 is treating you well!

Nat xoxo

Over exposure

This isn't so much of review or product mention as a little bit of a rant.

I went into the supermarket the other day to buy a new body moisturiser however I wanted to get one with an SPF seeing as we are heading into Summer.

When I got in there and was looking at the body moisturisers I noticed that only 1 of them had an SPF (special shout out to Vaseline for their body moisturiser with an SPF 15). I found this quite shocking.

I know you can buy just a standard sun cream and they now come in many different types and textures so you can find something that suits, but you would think with the anti-sun damage crusade a lot of the major beauty companies are on with their facial products this would extend into the body care area as well.  

Being one of the whitest people in Australia who doesn't tan (and fake tans turn me orange!) I'm a huge fan of covering up in the sun. But it would be nice to know that I can apply just a moisturiser everyday to ensure that I'm protected from the sun, not having to add a sun cream as well.

If you want to know why this is important, let me tell you some fun facts about the sun…

UVA’s cause the most amount of ageing on people out of all external factors. This includes drinking, smoking and unhealthy eating; although these don’t help either. You can get UVA's and UVB's, A's are the aging ones and B's are the burning ones. They don't actually stand for that but that's the easiest way to remember them. And it's important to protect yourself from both!

Another fun fact the second most ageing agent is Sugar (processed sugar not natural sugars).

Pigmentation and uneven skin tones make you look older then lines and wrinkles – I know at first I didn't believe it either, but it’s true. If you removed someone’s discolouration but left all their lines and wrinkles they would still look about 10 years younger.

15 minutes a day is all your skin needs of sun exposure to been healthy. Of course being in sunlight is good, but you don’t need direct sun exposure. Think about how much extra time that is when you are at the beach, in a park or doing any other outdoor activity.   

Fun fact about me – 20 minutes in the sun until I burn…

Yes I actually have a hat like this...

So if anyone knows of any good body moisturisers that have an SPF in it please let me know!

Nat xoxo

Holiday Season! Lets get spendy…

So it’s the end of November. How did that happen?? And November means

it’s almost Holiday Season. And Holiday Season means amazing Holiday Gift Sets! 

If you read my blog you will know that I’m overly obsessed with Benefit Cosmetics. It’s purely due to the fact that everything that they come up with is so damn amazing plus their products are great.

Needless to say they have released an amazing Holiday Season collection. Here are my favourite picks…

Perk Up & Away $64

Fast Train To Fabulous $34

She's So Jetset! $36

Away We Glow $36

You can get all these bad boys from the Benefit Website or from a Benefit counter here in Australia (in Myer and they have a few stand alone stores). Prices vary depending on where you buy them, but online is free international shipping with orders over $110. And trust me it’s easy to spend that much on Benefit!

Nat xoxo

The Product Review I can’t believe I haven’t done yet…

This is a product that I’ve been using for about 4 years now. I have always been into Beauty and especially skincare, but I guess you could say this product launched my pure unrivalled passion for it.

It’s SK-II’s Facial Treatment Essence. I was introduced to SK-II when I started working and they were one of my clients. So I got to test out a lot of their product and also learned a lot about their products and the brand in general.

What makes the Facial Treatment Essence, also known as The Miracle Water, so different to so many other products is the fact that it’s 90% Pitera. Pitera is an ingredient that was found in during the fermentation process in the Sake Breweries. The workers were quite old however their hands were youthful and flawless.

This is pretty much what the Facial Treatment Essence aims to do for your skin, make it flawless. It helps with the hydration of your skin, skin tone, firmness, clarity of your skin and the ageing. Pretty much does it all.

In terms of application (people generally get confused about this part), I always use it after my toner. Toner is designed to level out your skin, so make it a perfect base to absorb other products (i.e Facial Treatment Essence). If you use a serum  you apply it before that or any other moisturiser  So cleanse, tone, Facial Treatment Essence, then everything else you do.

Now if you know anything about SK-II you will know their that products aren't cheap. The Facial Treatment Essence goes for about $100 for the 75ml. My bottle is the 150ml, which goes for $150. But I have had that same bottle for over a year as you only need a few drops of it, so really it’s a great investment.

And can you put a price on having skin like Cate Blanchett?!

Nat xoxo

Product Review: Shu Uemura UV Underbase Mousse

While I was overseas I needed to buy an SPF 30+ cream because well lets face it I’ll turn into a red lobster in about 15 mins if I don’t.

So I was having a look around at the Airport in Korean when I can across Shu Uemura’s UV Underbase Mousse. This product really intrigued me because it was a mousse and also because it was a UVA and UVB under make-up cream.

It was a weird sensation putting mousse on my face, but it is quite light. It’s like putting a light air cream on.

The base is a really nice colour as well. It doesn’t add much, just enough to even out your skin tone a little but and it really works great under make-up (both powder and liquid as well as concealer and highlighters).

I have been wearing it pretty much every day since I bought it and I’m pleased to report I’ve had zero burn/colour on my face. It’s done a great job of keeping UV rays at bay.

I’m not sure how much it is here, but you will be able to buy it from the Shu Uemura counter.

Also I got mine in this super cute limited edition bottle! There are a range of them at the moment...

So if you are looking for a great base with SFP/UV filters this spring/summer I really can’t recommend this product enough.

Nat xoxo

SK-II has a new brand ambassador!

Kate Bosworth!

I love SK-II. I love Kate Bosworth. So I’m really excited about this partnership and this it’s a great choice by SK-II. Kate always looks flawless. For those of you who don’t know Cate Blanchett is another one of their brand ambassadors

I also love that they have 2 Kates, or Kate Squared! Well a Kate and a Cate really, but Kate Squared has a better ring to it.

If you haven’t heard of SK-II or tried their Facial Treatment Essence (which is their hero product) you really need too. It’s also known as the Miracle Water. It’s such an amazing product that it 90% Pitera. This has also made me realise that I haven’t actually done a post on SK-II yet so watch this space.

Here are some photos from the Beauty Directory from the SK-II Dinner with Kate.

Doesn’t she just look stunning!

Also just on SK-II – they do have a discovery set at Myer and DJs for $99. It gives you a luxury travel size of their main products. Worth trying if you haven’t already!

Nat xoxo

Illamasqua you are my hero

I find that living here in Australia can screw you over in terms of product prices. Everything seems to be double the price of the rest of the world. This ranges from clothing, make-up, food, take your pick. I think it comes down to the per capita ratio (we have a small population), lack of choice (we can’t just go to another country) and taxes both importing and exporting.

However one amazing make-up brand has taken a stand and dropped the price of their products up to 50% to match the rest of the world. Illamasqua!

Illamasqua have listened to the Australian population and take things into their own hands given the Australian consumer the option to buy nice reasonably priced beauty/make-up products.

Now I already had a bit of a love affair going on with Illamasqua and I generally recommended their products to people who were looking for a new foundation or eye shadow because they are truly great products, but now I feel even more inclined to.

(Illamasqua's new collection is out now! Check it out!)

I also think this is a very smart move on Illamasqua’s part. They have the love of the Australian consumer. If I’m looking for a new make-up product I’m going to go there 1^st because of the fact that they seem like they actually care. Plus their products are amaze balls.

So if you are in the market for some make-up, stop off at Illamasqua and support them on their crusade to give a fair deal to the Australian Consumer.

Nat xoxo

I'm Back!

So it's been a while! I've been to Europe and back, moved house, been insanely busy at work and unfortunately this has been a little bit neglected. But on the plus side I have HEAPS of content coming up. 

I bought quite a few exciting things while I was away that I'm dying to share with you all and some, well just say interesting thing, that I find amusing (not sure if you will or not).

To give you a little teaser, here is a quick snap of a bunch of the things I bought while I was away! 

All I'm going to say it they have Sephora in Europe...

Nat xoxo 

Product Review: Tangle Teezer

When I was at my hairdressers last she used the Tangle Teezer on my hair after it was washed and I was shocked. Normally my hair gets very tangled at the ends because of the extra blonde that is in my hair due to the Ombre. However with the Tangle Teezer is was like running a hot knife through butter. It was amazing.

Needless to say as soon as I got home I ordered myself 2 from ASOS.com.

These brushes look like the old fashioned ones that grandpa's used to use, that were round. And the bristles are really fine. I'm not sure what it is about the structure, but it just works really well on both wet and dry hair to get all your tangles out.

You can buy the large for $17 and the travel size for $20 on ASOS.com


Nat xoxo

Product Review: Aveda's Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair

Since I got balayage on my hair, the ends have been really dry as they are really blonde. Add that to the winter cold weather factor and I really needed something to help hydrate my hair. 


This is a great little product that hydrates, protects against breakage as well as containing thermal protection. 

I have been using it for a week now and so far so good. It's really nice light texture so it does a great job of hydrating, but at the same time doesn't weigh your hair down. So, if like me, you suffer from an oily scalp you don't really need to worry about it making your hair extra oily.

All in all I would say this product is a winner.


You can buy Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair for $49.95 from Aveda shops.


Nat xoxo

News Flash: Balenciaga's New Fragrance

Balenciaga have a new fragrance launching called FloraBotanic. The ad features Kristen Stewart and a very awesome looking Balenciaga Perfume bottle.

Check out the ad here:

The fragrance is due out in September and I personally can't wait!

Nat xoxo

European Inspiration

Given that I'm jetting over to Europe this week I thought I would get inspired by some awesome street style photos over at Style.com

Lets hope I come home looking as awesome.


Nat xoxo

What to take on Holidays...

So next week I'm going to Europe! Which I'm oh so excited about. The hard thing about going overseas is decided what to pack, or more like what not to pack since I know I'll be after getting a few things.

So after much decision making this is what I've decided to take away...

1. Benefit's POREfessional

2. Youngblood's Rice Powder

3. Benefit's Boi-ing

4. Nars' Laguna Bronzer

5. MAC's Mocha Blush

6. MAC's Leopard Luxe Eye Shadow

7. Illamasqua's Neutral Palette Eye Shadow

8. Benefit's BAD Gal Mascara

9. Nars' Bourbon Street Eyeliner

10. Stila Lionfish Eye Liner

1. Environ AVST Cleansing Lotion (In a smaller container)

2. Environ AVST Moisturising Toner (In a smaller container)

3. Environ AVST 1 Moisturiser

4. Alpha-H Liquid Gold

5. Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Eye Cream 

6. Dermalogica Daily Resurfacer

7. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Lightweight Sunscreen
8. SK-II's FTE

I'm planning on buying a few things while I'm away, so I'm trying not to take too much with me. Just the basics which I use on a daily basis. 

Nat xoxo

Product Review: Aveda's Pure Abundance Hair Potion

I'm always on the look out for products that are going to give my hair some volume. So I thought I would give the Aveda's Hair Potion a try since I've read heaps about it. 

This product is a styling lotion with kaolin clay and acacia gum (which is organic), to help give hair a little bit of body and lift.


This is the weirdest product. When first applied it feels like a powder, however then it turns into a gum like styling product. It also says to use this product directly on your hair, but I find putting it in my hands works better. 

It does do a great job of adding additional volume to your hair, however if you do apply too much of the product it can make your hair a little sticky. But if you are looking for something to give your hair a bit of volume if does do a good job.


You can buy Aveda's Hair Potion for $39.95 from Aveda shops.


Nat xoxo