Thursday, September 30, 2010

How *not* to DIY sauna steam experience

The hot babes from Lush sent me some stuff to try out last week and I was all 'awesome, I love Lush! Their stuff kicks ass'. Cos their stuff does kick ass. I know their stores can be a little overwhelming to visit because there are so many strong scents, but their products are so unique and creative, and way friendly to the environment.

One of the things they sent me was a Token To The Forest Gods Sauna Tab and, me being me, instead of reading the instructions I decided I would use the product how I saw fit. This didn't quite go to plan.

Lush recommend you drop the tab in the water of your finnish sauna, because who doesn't have one of those. However, if you live in reality, you use it as a steam toner by dropping it in a bowl of hot water and steaming your face with the beautiful grapefruit, orange and neroli oils - the ultimate pick me up.

Me? I turned my shower onto super scalding hot, threw the tab on the ground, turned the shower down and stepped into the steam. It worked, kind of. I sat down in the shower to be closer to the fizzing action, and my shower was definitely infused with the fresh zing, but I feel like I probably should have just popped it in some water and concentrated it on my face. There's a lesson in this: dogs aren't meant to eat chocolate. I mean, always follow the instructions. Sure, go crazy sometimes. But generally instructions are there for a reason.


Price: $1.95
From: Lush
Why you need it: To steam the impurities right out of your face! (as long as you do it right)

Picture credit: lush.com - this product was offered to me for consideration

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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

I got the Power! It smells like sexy man. Not at all like douchebag rapper.

Personally I think 50 Cent is a douchebag and I don’t like to bring him any extra attention – he does a good enough job of that on his own with his twitter diatribes and whatnot (incidentally, check out Queen's English 50c for a hilarious translation service of all of Fiddy’s tweets).

No, I write today because I think the lid on Fiddy’s latest fragrance Power is really cool. It’s a metal disc with nuts and bolts, and a beautiful intricate pattern engraved on the plate in the middle. Tres masculine. I also like the way it smells, but then again I am quite partial to wearing a men’s fragrance. My very first fragrance was actually the men’s Tommy from Tommy Hilfiger – I still have a bottle in my stash and pull it out on occasion.

In fact, the make-up of my beloved Tommy is very similar to Power: top notes of green citrus and fruit, followed by darker woods, peppers and berries, and then dry base notes. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to it. Power has more bite to it though...it lingers on the skin, and I really enjoy the way the oak moss and black pepper dance with the nutmeg and lemon. Sublime. Either way, I had to steal it back off my FiancĂ© – we both can’t wear the same fragrance, can we?

Price: $49/50mL or $79/100mL
From: Myer, Priceline, Perfume Connection, some pharmacies
Why you need it: It’s a good masculine fragrance without being too masculine (sorry Fiddy) – excellent for girls who like something a little stronger.

Picture credit: lighthousebeauty.com - this product was offered to me for consideration

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Public service announcement

Read this carefully and let it sink in...Batiste Dry Shampoo is going to be available in Coles and Woolworths.

Mark these dates in your diary:
Nov 5 - Blush and Tropical hit shelves
Nov 12 - all seven variants hit shelves (including brown and black! yes!)

Batiste dry shampoo is one of my desert island products, so this has me doing flips. High five, big supermarket chains!

The Four In Hand Dining Room, Paddington - SO good!

It was my darling FiancĂ©’s birthday last week, so I loaded him into a cab with a couple of our close friends and we trotted off for dinner at the recently-two-hatted Four In Hand Dining Room in Paddington. We did the degustation, but after seeing everyone else in the restaurant being served their 12 hour braised lamb, I was having serious food envy.

That’s not to say the degustation was bad – on the contrary, it was fantastic. All five courses offered something unique and tasty – we’re talking delicate sashimi, lamb done three ways and pigs ear schnitzel. The Four In Hand kitchen has a ‘nose to tail’ philosophy, where no part of the animal goes to waste. They also use seasonally fresh produce – the three different ways the strawberries were prepared in our dessert was testament to that.

More than the affordable and tasty food, what I loved most was the warm and cosy atmosphere. The staff were friendly and inviting, making us feel welcome in their little corner of the pub. So often I have been at expensive restaurants and felt awkward, like we were an inconvenience to the staff, but the guys and girls here made us feel really comfortable. The restaurant is a really sweet little dining room and you can’t help but feel at home.

We will definitely be heading back for that lamb, and another round of the cheese platter. Damn, that was some good cheese!

Price: Degustation is $85 for 5 courses or $110 for 8 courses (plus $50 and $65 respectively for matching wine)
From: Four In Hand Dining Room – 105 Sutherland St Paddington
Why you need to go: To enjoy a beautiful meal in beautiful surroundings.

Picture credit: fourinhand.com.au

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Monday, September 27, 2010

Thick, healthy, shiny hair has never been so easy!

Have you always wanted thick, healthy, shiny hair? That’s a pretty dumb question, right. What about longer hair? Me too. My amazing hairdresser Jade at Atlantis has put me onto a ripper of a product. I have been using Activance for four weeks and my hair is in the best condition it has ever been.

Taking a step back, your hair has a natural essential hair molecule called rhodanide. Lifeless and damaged hair has significantly lower levels of rhodanide than healthy, shiny hair does. Rhodanide gets worn away through things like washing, blow-drying, straightening, health and the environment, so you can imagine a pretty hardcore routine of blow-dries over winter has left my hair feeling a bit dull.

After four weeks of spraying Activance through damp hair after a wash, my hair has never been in better nick. I have even been getting compliments on how thick and healthy it is looking – virtually unheard of considering I'm the mayor of Limp Town (where hair is always lifeless)! AND I had it cut 4 weeks ago and it has almost grown back to the previous length (I can judge this by my top-knots). If you want your hair to be healthy and shiny, then for the love of chocolate milk get yourself some Activance!

Price: $55 (one bottle should last you three months)
From: The Activance website has a list of stockists, or you can order online (+$10 shipping)
Why you need it: Healthy hair is never out of fashion

Picture credit: catwalk.com.au

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Friday, September 24, 2010

Sweet Tarts, Ring Pops, got that candy bling - thanks Mariah!

Embarrassing confession time: one of my all time favourite songs is Fantasy by Mariah Carey. It reminds me of a really good time in my life, it’s a fun song and whenever I hear it I can picture the video clip with her rollerblading along in little short shorts.

You may have figured out by now that I have a total sweet tooth, so when Mariah’s three new Lollipop Bling fragrances landed on my desk I was on them with the kind of voracity I usually reserve for a bag of Party Mix. Sugary-sweet candy perfumes make me happy. It’s a simple pleasure and not necessarily the most sophisticated of fragrances, but they are fun to wear and they make me feel good. That’s what beauty products are all about, right?

Honey (yellow bottle) is a bright and sunny daytime fragrance with a mix of honey, pineapple and freesia. Freesia is one of my all time favourite flowers and perfume ingredients, and it blends perfectly with the sweetness of pineapple. Yum!

Mine again (red bottle) has chocolate and raspberry top notes and a subtle middle note of magnolia. I think it’s the most ‘adult’ of the three and would be appropriate to wear out at night.

Ribbon (blue and pink bottle) is the most candy of all of the fragrances, with the sugary scent of blue raspberry and a hint of floral. This one is (apparently) based on the blue ring pop that Nick Cannon proposed to Miss Mariah with. How romantic!

All three of the bottles have Mariah’s signature butterfly on the top, and the boxes are covered in holographic candy, butterflies and swirls. I love that Mariah doesn’t ever want to grow up – as long as she keeps producing confectionary fragrances and bubble-gum pop tunes, then I’ll keep lapping them up.

Price: $49
From: Myer, Perfume Connection
Why you need them: To sweeten up your day

These products were offered to me for consideration

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Thursday, September 23, 2010

Tiptoe through the tulips with Portmans

Have you been into a Portmans store recently? Amazing. Sydney just got a big new Portmans in Pitt Street Mall (which I think might be a flagship) and it is G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S. The racks are overflowing with sugary sweet floral confections for summer, and the store is full of lovely vignettes that inspire (me to open my wallet). Pop over to Sassybella and check out the campaign imagery for the Spring campaign – sad that an illustration is way hotter than I will ever be. 

I haven’t been a floral dress wearer since I was about 12, but after the success (read: compliment magnet) of my orange Urban Outfitters dress, I was ready to take that plunge again (twice – I’ll tell you about the dress I got for my engagement party soon).

I went out on a limb and bought a white dress with pink and purple-y grey flowers. White means I need to be fairly vigilant with my fake tan, but I have a cupboard full of new tans that I’m trying out at the moment. Or, will try out when I get the motivation. Are you a floral girl? Have you been into a new-look Portmans yet? Are you looking forward to fake tan season?

Price: $99.95
From: Portmans
Why you need to check out their stores: It's like running through a field of poppies!

Picture credit: portmans.com.au

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I took all your recommendations on twitter and tried out Parlux. WOW!

Just putting it out there...I’m a total blow-dry loser. I cannot for the life of me blow dry my hair. But apparently it wasn’t me, it was the piece-of-sh!t leaf blower I was using before. They say a good workman never blames his tools (but a bad workman does, so bring it on).

The girls at Parlux know what a nozzle novice I am and hooked me up with the new Parlux 3800 Eco Friendly Ceramic & Ionic Dryer. Honestly it’s like going from a 20 year old Mazda to a sweet Audi. They sent it to me to try for just 2 weeks but it has changed my life and my hair so much that I’m going to buy it off them. There are so many good things about this dryer that I don’t know where to begin.

It’s easy to hold. It’s light. It gets my hair to 80% dry in about 90 seconds. My frizz has definitely reduced. When I blow dry it straight, it stays straight. But most of all, my hair doesn’t feel dry and brittle like it used to. This could be a combination of the dryer and another miracle product I am currently using (which I’ll tell you about soon, I promise!) but my hair has been soft, sleek and shiny these last 2 weeks (apparently that’s the negative ions). It locks the moisture into the hair rather than blasting it out. Smart.

Bonus: this baby is good for the environment. We’re talking recyclable materials, low energy consumption, ozone friendly and cute recycled paper packaging.

Price: $189.95
From: Check the Dateline website for stockists, but you need to hit up Hairhouse Warehouse and Price Attack
Why you need it: This is 2 speeds and 4 temperatures of pure power, baby. Considering all I did before was flick ‘on/off’, you should be really impressed right now.

This product was loaned to me for review, and I was so impressed I bought my own.
 
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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Purple power with blackcurrant Eclipse mints!

If your school experience was anything like mine, you weren’t allowed to eat in class. BUT you could get away with eating Soothers and Butter Menthols because they were ‘medicinal’. Ha!
I used to chew through blackcurrant soothers like they were lollies, which is probably why they have absolutely zero effect now when I have a sore throat. 

I still love blackcurrant lollies and I was stoked to stumble across blackcurrant Eclipse Mints. So much win! They’re a sweet burst of juicy blackcurrant with a hint of mint – very much like a blackcurrant Soother. Plus, the packaging is a sweet metallic purple which would look amazing as a nail polish (see: OPI for Sephora Rocker Chic collection Just A Little Dangerous purple)

Price: Around the $3 mark
From: Convenience stores
Why you need it: Live it up! Peppermint is so yesterday (literally)

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Monday, September 20, 2010

Start your day with a minty fresh burst!

I’m going through a pretty crazy peppermint phase right now. I have always been a spearmint girl (green eclipse mints > blue eclipse mints, and don't try to tell me otherwise) but in the space of 2 weeks I came across three different mint body washes which are making me feel more peppermint than peppermint patty.
Sudz Pure Goats Milk Soap is made right here in Sydney (bigs up to the 02) and it’s totally gentle on the skin. It’s a cake soap and it has fresh goats milk, olive oil, coconut oil and sweet almond oil – good enough to eat, right? The peppermint cake is a scrub, so it’s full of grainy bits for sloughing away your winter skin and starting fresh for your fake tan. I’ll be honest, the scrubby bits aren’t that gentle so it’s probably not suitable for you if you don’t like hardcore scrubbing, but I like to feel the skin being scratched off my legs. Peppermint scent rating: 8/10 – minty, but doesn’t linger.

Wash With Joe is the perfect hit of java for those who don’t drink coffee but still like a caffeine rush (like me). This is a big foamer – lather is up with a puff and go to town. It might be called Coffeemint, but it’s more mint than coffee (I think it also has a hint of chocolate, but perhaps that just wishful thinking on my part). Did you know coffee is a natural deodoriser? Yep – perfect for neutralising sweaty bodies. Pass it on to your man. Peppermint scent rating: 9/10 – a powerful mint that stays on the skin. 

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps are kind of weird. The liquid soap is very liquidy, so you have to be careful when you’re pouring it out of the container. It doesn’t sud up (emulsify) quite like normal soap, so you have to work quickly and spread carefully, but it does leave skin really soft and clean. It’s all organic, with extra virgin olive oil, jojoba, palm and hemp oils, and 2% of it is pure aromatic essential oils. No wonder this one gets 10/10 on the peppermint scent rating scale – it punches you in the face and then hangs around just to kick you in the nostrils some more.

Sudz Pure Goats Milk Soap
Price: $7.90
From: Health food stores and the Sudz website

Wash With Joe
Price: $34.95/473mL
From: The Tukk website

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap
Price: $7.95/236mL
From: Health food stores and the Dr. Bronner website

Picture credits: drbronner.com.au, sudzsoap.com.au - These products were offered to me for consideration

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Friday, September 17, 2010

Cob’s sweet and salty popcorn is poptacular

The slogan for Cob’s Natural Popcorn is try it just once, we guarantee you’ll be hooked!

There is truth in advertising. This is definitely the tastiest snack food I have ever eaten (and I eat a lot of snacks. A LOT.) It somehow manages to be both sweet and salty at the same time. How do they do it? Sweet AND salty together!

Cob’s have 5 flavours of popcorn - original and sea salt organic, original and sea salt natural, and natural cheddar cheese. I don’t understand what the difference between organic and natural popcorn is, and I haven’t tried the sea salt so let’s just assume it’s a bit saltier, hey? Details that I could probably go about my daily life not knowing.

But my goodness...the natural. This is like the Rolls Royce of snacks as far as I’m concerned. It’s incredibly moorish – I challenge you to eat just one handful. There is of course the ever-present danger of kernels getting stuck in your teeth, but it’s a risk I am perfectly happy to take. I am so addicted.

Price: $4/125g bag
From: my local green grocer (Maloney’s on Crown Street)
Why you need it: It’s a healthy snacking alternative

Picture credit: cobspopcorn.com.au

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

For all my sensitive sisters out there

I get horrifically sensitive teeth (it’s just one of my many ailments) and I normally use Sensodyne toothpaste to keep the ouchies at bay. I saw the ads for the new Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief and decided to get one of the samples they were offering. I’m such a sucker for advertising.

It tastes like bad breath. Simple as that. I don’t think it’s any better or worse than Sensodyne in terms of sensitive protection, but it tastes like bad breath. Far be it from me to tell a toothpaste company how to do their job, but wouldn’t you go for minty-freshness? I don’t even mind the cinnamon toothpaste I usually buy when I'm in America. But yeah, bad breath flavour seems a bit counter-productive.

Has anyone else tried the new Colgate Sensitive? Do you get sensitive teeth? Think bad breath flavour is a good idea?

Price: $10.89
From: Supermarkets
Why you need it: Well...let's discuss that, shall we?

picture credit: colgateprofessional.com.au

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Testing out TheO at Atlantis

I went and saw my amazing hairdresser a couple of weeks ago (Jade at Atlantis in Paddington) and she totally worked a miracle on my sad, depressed hair. I had been trying to grow my mop for some time and it just didn’t seem to be going anywhere except skankytown – the perils of balayage and not looking after the blonde bits properly. Jade did a cracker job of cleaning up the length, giving me body and movement, and repairing a terrible hack job someone else had done on my fringe (as an aside, it’s always embarrassing when you have to get a genius to fix someone else’s bad handiwork).

While I was there, Jade also did my hair using TheO, Cloud Nine’s amazing new toy. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but when Jade pulled out TheO I was a little confused. It looked like a plastic wine bottle chiller, only shorter. And then there were the big velcro rollers. Did people really use big velcro rollers anymore? Apparently so.

So you pop a special roller into the wine cooler, leave it for 30 seconds and then it beeps at you to tell you it’s done. By done, I mean the roller is not hot yet but it will be. You roll the roller into your hair and, instead of starting out hot and cooling like a normal roller, it actually gets hotter as it’s in your hair. And then it cools again obviously. This whole process takes about 10-15 minutes.

Now because my hair is just past my shoulders and these are FAT rollers, I didn’t get curls but I did get rich woman body and bounce. There was more movement, height and width than I have ever gotten from a blow dry. Even the best blowdry couldn’t get results like this. And my hair stayed inflated all day and well into the night, and still had some life the next day too. If you’re into rich woman hair, you need to get one of these OR go to a salon and get someone to do it for you (like I will be doing again for my engagement party).

Price: Blow dry’s and styles range from $39-$85 – check their website
From: Atlantis Hair - 2 Regent St Paddington
Why you need to go to Atlantis: The whole team are lovely and they really know their craft. Plus they are hilarious!

Now I know it doesn't make much sense for me to write a post about my hair and not actually post a picture of my hair. I know. But the pictures were taken on my old phone and do you think I can find them anywhere? Of course not. So while you wait for me to go to my next appointment, you can occupy yourselves by visiting Ms. Critique and checking out her experience with TheO.

Picture credit: theobycloudninehair.com


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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

More chances to win! New beauty site! So many exclamations!

Did you notice the new ad to the side? AND the one down the bottom? Gosh you’re observant.

While we’re chatting (this is the segue), have you checked out Rouge mag yet? It’s a sweet online beauty website (kind of like this one, but prettier) and it’s jammed full of really cool articles and how-to’s with all the beauty bits and bobs you need to know. The super-glam Melissa Hoyer is the Contributing Editor and she knows loads of stuff about everything! AND I have written a feature that will be up there soon.

SO to celebrate the launch of Rouge, they are giving away a trip to the Golden Door Spa on the Gold Coast Hinterland. All you have to do is 1) join and 2) no wait, that’s it. You get return airfares, accommodation and spa treatments for you and your favourite person (hint: that would be me). It’s a kickass prize for doing something that you probably would have done anyway since you’re pretty smart like that.

Comp closes on October 7th, so don't drag your heels! And don’t forget who told you about it if you win!

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Monday, September 13, 2010

Vibrate your way to truly clean skin

This one is a bit of an essay, but bear with me because it has a happy ending.

I am fortunate enough to have been trialling the Clarisonic for the last couple of months and I am being 100% honest when I say it has changed the way I clean my skin.

Just to back the bus up a minute, the Clarisonic is a ‘skin cleaning system’ (read: handheld device) that already has a cult following in the US. It is consistently one of the top 5 products sold at Sephora, which is kind of a big deal. You know how an electric toothbrush works, right? It uses ultrasonic waves to get in between teeth and take them to a new level of clean. Same deal here, but for your face. I have to admit I was a bit sceptical, but once I actually tried it I was hooked.

The Clarisonic is an electric brush with soft bristles that uses gentle sonic waves to cleanse far more deeply than you manually can with fingers or a wash cloth. It cleans out your pores without having to resort to using harsh chemicals, and their clinical results show that 6 times more makeup is removed than with manual cleaning.

Now I know from all my lessons over with the girls at Dermalogica that you should be cleaning your face for 2 minutes to really get the dirt and makeup out (especially if you use hardcore pore clogging primers). Let’s be honest though, I’m more like a 30 second girl. The Clarisonic forces you to spend at least a minute on your face because it’s on a timer. They call it the T-Zone timer...20 seconds on your forehead *beep*, 20 seconds on your nose and chin *beep*, 10 seconds on one cheek *beep*, then 10 seconds on the other. It beeps at you when it’s time to change ‘zones’ so there’s no cheating.

The Clarisonic comes with 3 different types cleansers, but it’s fine to use with your own cream, foam or gel cleanser. It’s not really ideal for an oil cleanser though, so you may want to skip it if you’re 100% dedicated to getting oily. Personally, I have been using my Decleor foaming cleanser and it is like a match made in skin-cleaning heaven (kind of like normal heaven but with gentler clouds and no pimples). As an aside, the Decleor foaming cleanser gets two very enthusiastic thumbs up from me – it’s gentle, smells good and cleans really well.

Best bit – it’s totally waterproof. Mine lives in the shower and, since it gets 2 weeks battery life, I only have to charge it once a fortnight. Very minimal effort required.

There are two different types of Clarisonic available in Myer and DJs, plus the professional version in certain clinics and salons for all those professional type people.

Price: Classic - $329; Plus - $369 – you can also buy replacement brush heads and cleansers (the brush heads last about 3 months)
From: Myer, David Jones
Why you need it: To give your skin a whole new level of clean , and cleaner skin means all your products will work a whole lot harder. If I had three thumbs, this would get three thumbs up.

Note: I was all ready to do a video about this amazing little device but, well, let’s just say I’m currently trialling a new pimple treatment. And yes, I am that vain.

Picture credit: clarisonic.com - This product was sent to me for consideration

Friday, September 10, 2010

Yay! Exciting news for 5 chocaholics!

I have just drawn the 5 lucky winners of the Lindt gold bar prize packs.



Three cheers for Amanda D, Roxy A, Emma-Louise C, Ben B and Arianne J. I'll be sending these packs off today so you should be getting your treats early next week.

In case anyone is interested, I entered all the names into excel and used a random generator formula. Yay for maths!

Pucker up!

I know I mentioned this lippie a few of weeks ago, but I have to gush again. Normally matte lipstick is really cakey and drying, and by the end of the day you can virtually peel it off. Yuck. Looks great for a little while and then the cracks literally start to form.

Nars is different. Nars have created an innovative blend of intense colour, long-last goodness and, here’s the kicker, a hydrating formula. Matte! Hydrating! When the Nars kids first told me about this I thought they were puffin muffins. How could anyone create a hydrating matte lip? But they did. And it’s moisturising. Not like super I-used-a-chapstick moisturising, but when I apply the lippie at 8am, I can reapply at midday and then at 4 and still be fine when I get home.

It does feel a little bit different to normal lipstick. I find that I am very aware of it when I have it on. Francois Nars recommends that you don’t apply it too thick and I would agree with him (he’s a smart cookie) – one gentle swipe is enough. It’s so pigment-rich that you only need one little layer for colour, and any more than that feels cakey (and wears off quicker).

I intend to rock this all summer with bronzer. It’s such a safe an easy party look – bold, matte lip and shimmery cheeks. If bold red (Vesuvio) isn’t your thing, then it also comes in deep aubergine (Volga), soft rose (Bangkok), cinnamon plum (Tonkin), black cherry (Terre De Feu) and nude beige (Tashkent). My other suggestion from the range would be the nude beige - gorgeous with a peach cheek and loads of lashes.

Price: $54
From: Mecca Cosmetica
Why you need it: For a classy and edgy take on the bold lip. Think of this as an investment.

Don't forget: the best way to see if a lipstick is the right colour for you is to swipe it on your index finger! That little patch of skin most closely matches the tone of your lips.

This product was sent to me for consideration

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Thursday, September 9, 2010

A couple of public service announcements for a Thursday:

Did you know that you should regularly clean your makeup brushes. Think about it...they are not only full of product but also skin cells. And then you dip that dirty brush with old prod and old skin cells back into your nice, expensive makeup palette and, well, yuck. You get a much nicer application and you keep your makeup hygienic when your brush is clean. I spray my brushes after each use and then wipe them on a square of toilet paper (which is then obviously thrown in the bin, you josie grossie). Quick and easy.

Grab a bottle of Mecca Cosmetica’s Brush With Success from their store/kiosk/online. It contains alcohol for germ fighting, silk protein and pro-vitamins for keeping the bristles in good nick, and a clean scent so that you don’t cringe next time you put the brush near your face. It’s only $22 for 125mL, which is cheap as chips (maybe chips at a posh restaurant), and it will last you for aaaages. Splash out.

I am completely obsessed with Eat Drink Chic by Amy Moss and I think you should be too. Every visit to her site makes me want to overhaul my house/wardrobe/life and be more gorgeous. It’s an ever-changing inspiration board. Same can be said for Little Bits of Lovely, which is like interiors-porn (sorry for describing your beautiful blog as porn, Rachel, but it gets me excited.)

Don’t forget to enter the competition to win one of five gold bars full of magical Lindt goodness. Comp closes at 5pm today and I’ll draw it tomorrow morning. Just shoot me an email with chocolate in the subject line and your name and address inside the email. Maybe next time I’ll do a mail in competition because it’s too hard to take bribes over email. I kid! I kid!

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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Girl Meets Pearl - my face meets new levels of illumination

Sigh. This is a really hard post for me to write. I feel like I’m cheating on a long time lover by even thinking about it. Okay. Here goes.

I have been a long time user of Benefit’s That Gal. In fact, my very first post ever on this blog was about That Gal. It’s the lovely pink primer that I glide on every morning under my foundation or tinty moisty. Always brightens. Always reliable. Love the Manhattan skyline packaging.

Cut to me chatting to one of the Bene-babes (aka employee of Benefit) when she dropped a bombshell. They were bringing out a new brightener. Girl Meets Pearl was going to be the older, more sophisticated sister to my beloved That Gal. I think I actually audibly gasped! They weren’t replacing That Gal were they? No no, this was just new and better. I might normally like new and better, but I was a long time That Gal devotee. The conundrum.

I got my hands on it and I played with it and I’m sure you can guess the rest. I fell in love. Hardcore, deep, passionate love. I was giddy with excitement. Sure, I feel like a traitor. But Girl Meets Pearl is just so amazing that I have made the switch. Where That Gal is brightening, Girl Meets Pearl is illuminating. That all said, Girl Meets Pearl isn’t strictly a primer. In fact, the Bene-babes encourage you to whack it on as illuminator over the top of your makeup. There is room in my heart for both (although maybe not my makeup bag), but if you want beautiful, glowing illumination, you need to hunt down Girl Meets Pearl. You’ll fall in love like I did.

Price: $53
From: Benefit boutiques and counters (and on sale today!)
Why you need it: For dewy cheeks and a healthy glow.

This product was sent to me for consideration

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Monday, September 6, 2010

WIN! A gold bar full of Lindt chocolate

I have the perfect way to start the week for you...

Would you like to win one of the Lindt packs I was drooling about on Friday? You would?! Good for you.

Lucky for you I have FIVE to give away. All you have to do is email me. No questions, no tweets, no links, no 25 words or less (my most hated of all competition entry methods). I would love it if you did share my blog with your friends. Or if you sent a tweet about it. Sure, it would be great, but you don't have to. No pressure.

Just send me an email at sendmestuff@stuffthatibought.com - put Chocolate in the subject line and include your name and postal details. Don't worry, I never keep your details on file - competition emails get deleted as soon as the comp ends. Speaking of which, I'll close this at 5pm on Thursday (Sept 9th) and announce the winners on Friday (Sept 10th).

The fine print: This comp is only open to Aussie residents - I don't imagine it would be easy for me to post chocolate overseas. Competition opens at 7am September 6th and closes at 5pm September 9th. Prize will be drawn randomly and judges decision is final.

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Travel light: Bloom lip colour cards don't take up much space

I completely busted my back about 3 weeks ago. Not like a little bit sore – we’re talking full on can’t get out of bed busted. I slipped 2 discs back in 2008 and one of them just keeps on slipping, so that put me out of action for a week. Then as it was healing, I compressed a nerve and that also had me flat out. You would think I was 70 years old, right?

Anyway, all these trips to the chiro/physio/acupuncturist are fun (read: expensive), but now I’m focusing on getting better. One of the first things I did was dump my super-chunky carrying-the-kitchen-sink tote for a light little clutch. The small bag meant I had to cut down to essentials only (wallet, keys, office pass, blackberry) and assess the weather each day (Brolly weather? Sunnies weather? No? Not carrying them!)

This also meant I had to let go of carrying 3 lip balms, 5 glosses and 2 lipsticks ‘just in case’. Lucky for me the kids at Bloom heard my call and saved my lips with their new Colour Card For Lips. It’s a slim little slide open pack the size of a business card holder with 6 different gloss colours and a brush. Can be used for lips AND cheeks (maybe not every day but definitely in emergencies) and 6 colours means you have all the right shades for various looks.

There are three options: Pretty in Pink (which is, uh, obviously varying shades of blue), Natural Delight - my palette of choice (nudes and berries), and Colour Chameleon (a mix of reds, berries, pinks and browns - pictured). For just $14.95, this is much lighter option than carting full sized glosses and balms. Thanks for saving my back, Bloom!

Price: $14.95
From: Myer, David Jones, Bloom Flagship (South Yarra, VIC) and Bloom online
Why you need it: Perfect size for a clutch when you want colour options but are limited on space (or weight). Start thinking about Christmas party season!

This product was sent to me for consideration - Picture credit: bloomcosmetics.com

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Happy Chocolate Day!

Happy Chocolate Day! Well, I’m a day early. September 4th is World Chocolate Day. If we’re going to get technical, Chocolate Day is July 7th, National Chocolate Day is October 28th and World Chocolate Day is September 4th. Then of course every day is Chocolate Day in my house. Any excuse, really.

So Lindt got me completely excited for chocolate day by sending me a gold bar full of their new Swiss Gold range. Can you imagine my face when this landed on my desk? I think my hips and thighs started quivering in anticipation (read: fear).

Lindt have four different bars in the new Swiss Gold range – Milk, Milk with Hazelnut, Milk Fruit & Nut, and White with Almonds. Hea-ven. The Hazelnut bar is full of actual hazelnuts, which are chunky and crunchy and so yummy. The Milk is of course the amazing milk we know and love from Lindt, and to be honest I didn’t get a chance to try the Fruit & Nut because someone ate it all before I could even get a square (notice there are only three bars in the pic on the right? yeah...). But the White with Almonds...ohhh...what a winning combination! I don’t even like white chocolate and I was totally taken with the sweetness mixed with the almonds. Yum!

Definitely an excellent way to celebrate Chocolate Day. And we might be extending these celebrations into next week. Check back next week to see why...

Price: $4.00 - $4.50
From: Supermarkets and everywhere else you can buy Lindt
Why you need it: Celebrate Chocolate Day in gold style.

This product was sent to me for consideration

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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Pimples and blemishes and inflammation, oh my! How I'm taming my angry skin

My skin has been throwing tantrums lately. Not just little foot stamping, harrumphing tantrums. We’re talking angry, petulant child in a shopping centre, throwing themselves on the ground type tantrums. Bad. Naughty. Frustrating. (I blame a new health supplement I have just started taking)

I have been doing my best to keep things under control by alternating between two different face masks and hitting the spots with a targeted treatment. First up is my old faithful DDF Sulfur Therapeutic Mask, which you get from Kit. This is a clay mask with sulfur in it (smells a bit weird but definitely not unbearable), and it works its little ass off to draw the impurities and oil out, whilst also drying out what’s already there. Not only can you use it as a mask for 5-10 minutes, you can also use it overnight as a spot treatment. I know sulfur sounds hardcore, but you only use this mask once a week. Have acne? I implore you to seek out the DDF acne line.

I have been tag teaming that with a new offering from Grown that contains wheatgerm, gingko & cranberry. This one is also a deeply purifying white clay mask that replaces nutrients as it goes. The DDF mask is more clinical, while this one puts good stuff in as it takes bad stuff out (think nourishing, firming and brightening). It’s organic and smells really yummy, and is a totally luxe treat.

Phew. I'm like Rafael Nadal with all my clay bases covered.

I have also been hitting the nasty spots with Burt’s Bees Natural Anti-Blemish Solutions Targeted Spot Treatment, which contains salicylic acid. If you haven’t made friends with salicylic acid yet, you should. This is the nice kind of acid that sheds dead skin, unblocks pores and kills germs. Only use it on the spot though – if you slap it all over, it will dry out stuff that doesn’t need to be dried out. Awkward. I put a little bit on the end of a Q-Tip and dab it only where it’s needed. Smells like tea tree oil, works a treat.

DDF Sulfur Therapeutic Mask
Price: $54.95 (113g)
From: Kit Cosmetics

Grown Deep Purifying Facial Masque
Price: $39 (65mL)
From: David Jones

Burt’s Bees Natural Anti-Blemish Solutions Targeted Spot Treatment
Price: $19.95 (7.5mL)
From: David Jones, Terry White Chemists, other chemists

Why you need these grime-fighting super heros: To help ward off the evils that can lurk under your skin.

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