Makeup Haul

Recent Beauty Haul

This has 2 layers, you shake the bottle to mix the fluids and then apply it to a cotton pad/ball to clean your eyes.  Works well but was slightly irritating to my eyes if I rub them afterwards.

All day eyeliner?  Not really, seemed to wear off within an hour!!!

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lip Liner in "Wine".  Lasted less time than my Avon Glimmersticks for lips liner.  Meh great colour, crap wear time!

Miki is a cheap drugstore brand aimed at the tween/teen set.  I got Navy eye liner and Black Mascara 2 for AU$5, pretty good.  The eyeliner I haven't been able to use properly, it's a liquid one and I end up looking awful, I need to practice more!!  The mascara is nice and works well!

Maybelline EyeStudio Palette in Taupe Temptress.  Great palette, good colours!!

Avon Simply Pretty eyeliner.  Looks great on, nice soft look for day or night!

Models Prefer Ready Set Gorgeous mega palette from Priceline AU$40 (RRP AU$50)

So far with the small experiments I have done, this is a winner.  Great pigmentation of shadows, lip gloss was pretty and it even has pencil eye liners, blushes and eye gels!  Here is a look I tried recently using this palette for the lips, cheeks and eyes!

Nutrimetics Haul

Nutrimetics Haul

Howdy doody readers!

I finally crumbled and have jumped on the Nutrimetics Bandwagon and ordered some items :)

I ordered 3 items, which came in a silver tote bag complete with big red bow and the brand name on it.  Very festive!

Here is a group photo of all the items!

#1  Ultracare+ Microdermabrasion Kit

AU$85.00

I had read really good reviews about this product from independent sites so I thought I would give it a go.  The kit contains a Resurfacer in a toothpaste-like tube (60mL).  The Resurfacer contains quartz crystals and lavender flower extract.  The Resurfacer  is a white paste with little grey flecks in it (quartz particles).  It has a very faint lavender fragrance which is rather pleasant.

The box contains instructions on how to rub it on your face.  It feels very gritty and ex-foliates really well.  You do have to be careful you don't rub too hard or in one spot for too long as you will injure your skin!

The second bottle is a pump (yay) canister of the Rehydrator SPF25 (40mL).  This is nice and soothing and is highly recommended as the skin will be sensitive to sunlight after your treatment.

Recommended treatment is once or twice a week.  This kit is NOT recommended for sensitive skin types.

I found it did a good job ex-foliating my skin and I had a lovely tingly feeling for a short while after my treatment.  I think it does a good job, but for the price tag of $85 I won't be repurchasing when I can get cheaper ex-foliators which do the same job.

Ultracare+ Moisturising System Duo

AU$59.00

Nutrimetics Blurb says "This light oil-free serum provides continuous hydration to the skin, and locks it in to prevent moisture loss, smoothing the appearance of skin and keeping it looking fresh and soft. Buy one and get one free."

So this serum came in two boxes tied together with a red chiffon ribbon for the festive season.

The bottles are silver with red writing on them.  They have a giant dropper to draw up the serum which I found awkward and clumsy to use.

The serum is clear and of a thin gel consistency which spreads really easily.  It is quickly absorbed and dries leaving a very thin layer on the skin, hard to describe, it's not an unpleasant feeling by any means.

However, I find that when I use my Nivea Pure & Natural Day Cream or my Avon Anew Reversalist Night cream (I use the serum twice a day after cleansing) the creams I put on top seem to flake and ball up a bit.  This is really disappointing as I was hoping it would perform better.  I recently finished off my Avon A-F33 serum which was pricey (AU$65) but did a great job of moisturising and didn't make my creams flake and ball-up.

I will persist with this for another few days.  However I'm not really impressed by this item at all so far.

nc Sheer Tint Make-Up SPF 15  (On special AU$13.90 - usual RRP $20)

This item I bought thinking it would be like a BB cream.  It appears to be on paper.  But when they said sheer they weren't lying.  It's sheer alright, so sheer its literally like putting an un-tinted moisturiser on.  As you can see from the swatch on my hand above - I did spread it on my skin on the left of the photo, and it disappeared!!!!!  Another dud.  On the plus side, it does feel nice on my skin and makes it feel soft.

So in summary, 2 items aren't good. One product is good - but over-priced for what it does.  I really expected more than this from Nutrimetics!  Have you used Nutrimetics products?  I hope your experience was better than mine!  Comment below!

Models Prefer Magnifying Mirror

Models Prefer Magnifying Mirror

I bought this mirror last week as I needed a magnifying mirror with lighting as well.

I bought it at Priceline for AU$30.  It runs on a 9V battery.

The mirror itself feels nice and sturdy with a decent amount of weight in the base so it doesn't feel like it will fall over easily.  It has 2 mirrors, you just flip the bezel to which side you want - normal or magnified.

The light is OK, it could be brighter.  I will keep it for a little while longer and see how I go.  

The other Vanity mirrors I have seen that are similar but run on mains power cost AU$30-50 more than this one.  

It magnifies 3x which isn't a huge amount but I have good eyesight, so I just want the magnification for makeup touch-ups not to actually see to apply the makeup, which I know is an issue for some people.

The ones I looked at in other shops had 10x magnification.  Just so you know, brace yourself if you look in a 10x mirror, I nearly died of fright seeing my pores like that!!!

If you are curious about magnifying mirror reviews there is a very good one on YouTube by Angie of HotandFlashy.  She goes all out to give in depth reviews of products she likes and dislikes.

All up I like this mirror for the AU$30 price tag.  It does the job and looks quite nice sitting on my table!

Do you use magnifying vanity mirrors?  What do you think of them?

Clarisonic Mia 2 Review

Clarisonic Mia 2 Review

I bought this nifty little device on Ebay a few weeks ago, it cost me AU$94.00 + AU$15 postage.

The unit came with an Australian adapter for the US plug which was good; as I wondered if I would have to buy one separately myself.  I'm glad I waited until I received the item before buying one.

I also bought 2 replacement heads in the "Deep Pore Cleansing" type from a different seller on Ebay, they cost me AU$13.95 + AU$7.95 postage.  The Clarisonic unit itself came with a Sensitive brush head.  I have been using the Sensitive brush head.

The unit took about 20 hours to charge up initially.  It has a nifty little magnetic charger which sticks to the charging point on the unit.  

The unit itself is compact and fairly light.  It is a sealed unit with rubber buttons on the handle.  One button switches the unit on/off.  The other button toggles the speed - allegedly, I pressed it and haven't noticed a difference?  

Around the buttons are indicator lights.  They illuminate when charging and when the unit is running.

I have been using this twice a day with the Beauty Essentials Clean Creamy Cleanser which I talked about here.  My skin on the whole has been looking and feeling a lot cleaner and softer, and a bit brighter.

I have also noticed when I use it after cleaning my face with either wipes or washing by hand I still get makeup coming off onto the Clarisonic Brush, amazing!

You don't need to press hard with this product, just run it over your face in small circular motions to clean your skin.

For unit care I just dry it off with a towel, remove the brush head and dry underneath and then lay the unit and the brush head on my table separately so they can dry out.  The brush heads are supposed to be replaced every 3 months.

My verdict is this product is a hit, but pricey.  I can't see AU$100+ value in it, but it does what it does really well!

Have you got a Clarisonic or other similar device, what do you think about it?

Arbonne for Face Review

Arbonne Sample Pack for Face Review

I picked up a couple of sample packs 2 weekends ago at at local school fete.  There was various stalls there including a Nutrimetics stall and Arbonne.

I had heard of Arbonne but never had an opportunity to try their products so I bought 2 sample packs for face to see what the products were like.  The lady running the stall was the Arbonne rep for this area.  Her name is Kendall and she was very enthusiastic and friendly.

The sample packs were AU$5 each and contained 7 products.

The packs were nicely presented in a fold out card with little slots to hold the sample tubes of product.

Another great thing about these packs was there were instructions for each product and what order to use them in.

I will review them in the order of the leaflet!

Smoothing Facial Cleanser

This is a runny whitish creamy fluid with a rather pungent citrus smell which I wasn't keen on.  I found it did an ok job with the cleansing and didn't dry my skin right out.  I would not buy this product, the smell wasn't that great.

Regenerating Toner

Only received a small sample of this but it seemed to go a long way.  Watery and clear with a pleasant scent.  I'm not sure what toners are meant to do, I can't say I felt better or worse for using it.  But it smelled nice.  Would not buy a full size version.

Intensive Renewal Serum

Pale yellow creamy serum, spread well, sank into the skin quickly.  Left a sort of sticky residue for a short while then was completely absorbed within a minute or so.  Very slight clean scent.  I like it.  Depending on the price, would buy a full size version of this.

Corrective Eye Crème

I was told not to use this on the eyelid itself, rather underneath the eye and on the brow bone.  I haven't really bothered with this, I don't tend to put product around my eyes specifically, I find they seem to get in my eyes and make them itch or my vision gets blurry from oils etc going in my eyes :)  Would not buy a full size of this.

Restorative Day Crème & Extra Moisture Restorative Day Crème

These contain SPF 15.  I found they left an oily or greasy feel to my skin and never truly absorbed.  Makeup slid off or balled up, big no from me.  Not sure if it was the SPF or my skin type?

Summary

Overall I am glad I had the opportunity to try these products out for AU$5 per sample pack, I think that the products were average, I don't know the full price for the items and I doubt I would specifically seek out the rep and buy them.  

Also I found it slightly disturbing that the company touted their products as "Pure, Safe, Beneficial" but the ingredient list inside the card showed a truckload of synthetic and artificial ingredients.   Pure?  Safe?  Hmmm.

Have any of you heard of or tried Arbonne Products before?  What did you think?  Comment below!

Jan x

Swisse Responded!!

Cut'n'paste of their response below!!

Thank you for your email regarding Swisse Polish Face Exfoliant and Palm Oil.

We are happy to advise that Swisse Skincare products do not directly contain palm oil as an ingredient, however, some ingredients are derived from Palm oil;

• Cetyl alcohol is derived from coconut oil. 
• Glycerin is derived from coconut and palm oil. 
• Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate is derived from glycerin and Palm oil. 

Swisse Wellness are delighted to inform you that we use certified sustainable palm oil, produced from palm oil plantations that have been independently audited and found to comply with the globally agreed environmental standards devised by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is an international non-profit association that brings together conservation groups and palm-oil firms and will not certify oil grown on land that was deforested to farm the crop. 

These stringent sustainability criteria relate to social, environmental and economic good practice. We use only raw materials suppliers that are signatories to this agreement and use sustainable palm oil in their materials. We would like to note that Swisse Wellness has officially been granted formal acceptance as a supply chain associate into the RSPO - the RSPO is a global body set up to help monitor and control the sustainable use of palm oil throughout the world. 

Furthermore, Swisse Wellness has committed to ensuring that any palm oil sourced for any of our cosmetic products is sourced from RSPO certified providers. 

If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our friendly Naturopathic Customer Service Team on 1800 SWISSE.

We wish you a healthy and happy day!

CLED! ("Celebrate Life Every Day!" That's the Swisse Team Spirit!)

Claire-Elyse EdenNaturopathic Communications and Customer Service

Isn't that great!?!?!  Superfast reply too, so I take back my earlier post and will link to this one in it.  Good Job Swisse!

Cleanser-geddon!

Cleansers!

Just wanted to share the cleansers I am using at the moment!

The BE Creamy Cleanser I just got from Priceline for $3.49.  I bought this in preparation to use with my new Clarisonic which should arrive next week.  I was slightly annoyed when I read the ingredients to see that Cetyl Alcohol was ingredient number 5, oh well, fortunately so far it hasn't been drying to my skin, which is good!

I got this product for $6.49 from Priceline.  I saw on Youtube channel gossmakeupartist that the only thing you need to get rid of blackheads is to cleanse as normal and then use a product with Salicylic Acid in it to help clear the sebum from the pores so it doesn't oxidise and cause that black dot we all love to hate, you just have to use it on the affected areas each day and should see an improvement, will keep you updated!

Last but not least I have started using Swisse Polish Face Exfoliant twice a week in the shower to try and brighten my skin.  It works well.  It has a thin, runny consistency with very fine grains in it.  Be sure to rinse this off thoroughly otherwise you end up with a sandy residue on your skin when you are dry.  However I was dismayed to see it uses palm oil, this means poor old Orang-utans have their homes cut down to make palm oil for these products.  I won't buy any more of this product.  In fact I just emailed the company about this subject, I hope they will consider it and respond.  UPDATE! They responded here