Beauty Blitz

This week I have sort of a turquoise themed Beauty Blitz for you. I've had all of these products for about 2 months now so I've really given them a good trial and I am so excited to share them with you. Again, some products are new to market and others are new to me or have been recommended by one of the girls. So I hope you find something useful out of these reviews!

Phillip Kingsley Waterproof Hairspray: R515

This stuff was put to the test in Bali and Singapore recently. I would never have previously been tempted to spend this amount on hairspray, and for the sake of disclosure I must mention that this was a PR drop - but I am definitely repurchasing. I wore my hair in a top knot most of our trip because of humidity - but my hair is just too short to stay up. This stuff kept my bun in place and my stray shorter hairs styled up just fine. All damn day. It was never sticky and it never failed to wash out nicely at the end of each day. I'll have a good rant in a travel post about the weather in Singapore but for now all I'll say is that anything that worked in Singapore, will work anywhere, and is worth every penny!

Coola UV Makeup Setting Spray

Why has no one thought of this before? Or why didn't I? I suffer from pigmentation quite badly so I am holy about wearing sunscreen. Any product that has a decent SPF rating get tossed into my shopping cart without a second thought. I use a makeup setting spray every single day, so one that doubles up as extra protection from the sun is a must-have in my books. I really made this baby work when I spent the day cycling in the boiling NYC sun two months ago - and my makeup stayed put all day, and I didn't even get the slightest colour on my face. Normally I'll get a little red on the snorkel if I don't reapply sunblock on a long day in the sun. So I am impressed. Very impressed. It isn't available here in SA, so beg a friend who is anywhere near a Sephora to bring some home for you.

Kate Spade Walk on Air fragrance: $75 - $95

This was an impulse purchase after being swept up by all the pretty things in their flagship store on Madison Avenue. I went in to buy a handbag and came out with this as well. I normally love sweeter scents like Narcisco/Tom Ford Black Orchid - but this fun and fresh scent felt just like a spring day near the seaside and I just had to have it. Its clean, light and feminine with notes of lily of the valley, magnolia, linden blossom and jasmine.
I promised myself I'd save it for spring/summer but I've probably worn it at least twice a week since I bought it because I love the freshness.

The Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalising Essence Lotion: R195

This, along with the revitalising cream, was sent over a few weeks ago. I've been testing both - however this one has been easier to add to my routine as I am pretty set in my ways with my moisturiser. The oil is light enough to add before my moisturiser even for daytime. Just a drop warmed between my hands and patted on to my skin after cleansing and toning is more than enough. I am enjoying it especially for this transitional weather. Cape Town takes until December to decide if its summer or not, so this is handy for hydration and keeping skin plump all day long.

 Cafe de Bain - about R60? I wish I'd bought more!

I regularly panic and go on bubble bath binges. Instead of stocking up routinely, I buy a ton of bubble bath products and then use them all, and ultimately go for almost a month without my beloved bubble baths. Then I get to a mall and buy one form almost every store I go in to. This was a sweet surprise find at Pick 'n Pay of all places and I only picked it up because I grabbed the matching bubble bath first. After smelling it I was hooked and grabbed the body wash too. I only wish I'd stocked up because I've been back since and haven't found these again! If you see these anywhere in Cape Town, please let me know. The smell takes me right back to Laduree in Paris.

Sharing the secret

If you haven't treated yourself to the famous RetailBox 'Secret Box' yet, you've been missing out. For only R190 you get a mystery box sent your way with full size, salon brand, haircare products sent your way. Most salon shampoos cost R200 alone.

This month has been my favourite one yet. Courtesy of RetailBox, it arrived earlier in the week and I have been itching to share whats inside. I was told to keep it hushed until today - so best you read quickly and then hurry up and snap one of these up before they sell out.

Inside you'll find the Schwarzkopf Oil Miracle range. The range is brand new in SA and to RetailBox, so we all got first dibs on trying it out. The range is aimed at those with dry, damaged and dehydrated hair. So if you've been more of a sinner than a saint with your straightening iron, and those monthly highlights, this is for you.

Barbary Fig Seed oil is rich in fatty acids, smells like sweets and does wonders for your hair and scalp. The keratin smoothes the frizz and keeps those ends looking fresh. So like I said, if you've nuked your hair with styling aids too much lately, you must try this out. For R190, you are getting the Restorative Shampoo, Restorative Conditioning Mist AND the Treatment. Together they are worth R620. Its a no brainer really.

My favourite item in the bunch is the leave-in conditioning mist. I have very fine hair, and thick, gloopy conditioners are just way too heavy. All I need is a light spritz and a comb through before I start with my styling. The smell is heavenly and lasts all day.

Get yours over here at Retailbox - while stocks last.

xx

Beauty Buys | Retail Box Secret Box

I really enjoy a clever idea and I love trying new things. For these reasons alone, I love the RetailBox Secret Box concept. You click on over to RetailBox, pay R199 and then excitedly wait for a box packed with premium hair care products to arrive at your door. A premium shampoo brand will generally set you back at least R250 per product, so you can see why this Secret Box idea is so very appealing.

The Secret Box 10 (available as of this morning!) is for my fellow thin-haired ladies. My solution to my problem was hair extensions ultimately, but to keep the little hair on my head that I had happy, I was using NIOXIN. My other half still does. There is no other brand that works like this one, and you can walk into just about any salon worldwide and they'll have this product on their shelves.

NIOXIN does everything it promises. Lets call it the yoga of haircare (because yoga really does change your body, but thats a post for another time). It revitalises, volumises and refreshes the scalp, while getting the moisture balance right. The NIOXIN Hair System Kit 3 for Fine, Chemically Treated Hair is a unique system of complementary products that work in unison to achieve resilient, thicker looking hair and a refreshed scalp. 

This set contains the following products:

NIOXIN System 3 Cleanser Shampoo 

NIOXIN System 3 Scalp Revitaliser Conditioner 

NIOXIN System 3 Scalp Treatment 

Recommended retail price for all of this is normally R536. This is without the fabulous NIOXIN paddle brush they've popped in the box as well. So you're looking at over R600 worth of product, for a third of that price. 

Don't say you weren't informed. This one is going to be gone in a flash.

Power tools from Paul Mitchell

Okay, I meant power tools for girls. And I'm not talking about drill bits and pliers in a shade of pink. Hair styling gizmos surely count as power tools? Well they should, especially the ones I am about to share with you.
Yesterday a very exciting launch went down. I couldn't be there in person due to meetings, but I had spies and insiders give me the skinny on what all the fuss was about.

Paul Mitchell has launched a new styling tool range called NEURO Intelligent Styling. The range consists of a hairdryer, smoothing iron, styling cones and rod, and hot rollers.

In a nutshell, this range is killing the competition with their patented SmartSense microchip, and their IsoTherm titanium plates - ensuring fast, perfectly regulated heat.

If these guys are designed for incredible international stylists like Takashi Kitamura, and are destined to be staples in salons - then I certainly wouldn't mind owning these myself. The dryer boasts 1874 watts of power, 4 heat settings and a cool shot button.

230 degrees Celsius in 30 seconds. That'll do pig, that'll do. Beautifully cushioned plates and bevelled edges make for a user friendly design. The SmartSense chip is working its magic the whole time, reading the temperature 50 times per second and responds in a quarter of a second, optimising heat recovery. Fancy no?

The curling rods heat up to 230 degrees Celcius in 60 seconds, feature and automated shut-off system which you can customise and features the wondrous SmartSense chip for seriously fast heat recovery.  And it comes in 3 sizes so all hair of all lengths and thickness has a friend.

Retail Box is yet again ahead of the game, and will be stocking this range this month. So send out your Christmas wish lists to those who love you asap.

New in the Hair Aisle

I think I've mentioned this before, but does anyone ever leave Clicks with only what they initially walked in to buy?
I never, ever do. I have a list, and then within 10 minutes, I've filled half a basket and not even glanced at my shopping list yet.
The beauty and hair aisles get me every time. Clicks has a few new fancy-pants suits in their marketing and logistics team, and you can tell by all of the new brands and fabulous products that are hitting our shores daily and being stocked at your good 'ol neighbourhood Clicks. Just wait until the Christmas range descends on us....then you'll be seeing a beauty feeding frenzy, and I'll be leading the pack.

To start off, I have some hair goodies to show you. The first is a hair curler that is taking names and gaining a serious cult following.  It is called the Babyliss Curl Secret. I must admit, that due to my hair being short and comprising of only about 3 hairs, I am not the target market. So in the name of research, I sat through a few demos on some willing participants. It really is idiot-proof. Seriously. If you're struggling with curling your hair using a straightener, then listen up. In fact, watch these amazing demos from fellow blogger babes, Luzanne from Pink Peonies and Anja from Glitz and Grammar. They have mermaid hair and show you how it's done beautifully.

Next up is the new range from Schwarzkopf. I have been a fan of this brand for years, and always have both their salon and retail range in my shower. This new range is called MILLION GLOSS and after using it for a few days, it really did make my hair look shinier.  They talk about a concentrated gloss elixir, which sounds wonderful. But, like I said above, I don't have much to work with. My crowning glory is fine and thin, so products that promise shine, also generally promise a ton of grease too. So I am quite chuffed to report the non-greasiness of this product. Thin-haired girls, use without fear. It is definitely worth adding to your haircare artillery for when your hair is looking rather dull.

Both products are available at Clicks currently.