Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel - Sample Review

As mentioned in my Apivita Express Beauty Mask post I am trying a new sample each week. This week I tried out the Elemis papaya enzyme peel. The Elemis product description is as follows: 'The natural exfoliating fruit enzyme action of Papaya and Pineapple smooth, brighten and clarify the complexion. This unique, non-granular exfoliating cream contains nourishing Milk Protein, Anti-Oxidant-rich Vitamin E and Marine algae to moisturise, repair and protect the skin. Perfect for complexions which are sensitive or mature.' 

As I applied the product I was skeptical as to how this product was exfoliating or a peel as the directions said to wipes off the product with a damp cloth, rather than 'peel' it off. It felt smooth, rich and creamy and very easy to apply, but as stated on the website, was non-granular. My face felt tight as the cream dried and soaked in to my face. I left it on for around 20 minutes and then washed it off with a warm cloth. Although this product smells and feels great while on, after my face had dried, I noticed no difference in the condition of my skin and I probably wouldn't look at purchasing a full sized tube of this. My skin is already quite soft, and as a 21 year old, it is also pretty wrinkle free, so it was not a surprise that there was no noticeable change. 

Schick Hydro Silk Razor Review

When it comes to hair removal I can get pretty lazy because let’s face it, how boring is shaving your legs! I have very sensitive skin, especially on my legs, and am allergic to soap, so most razors out there don't really suit my needs. I have tried waxing cream, wax and a tonne of different razors and all have left my skin irritated and red. After reading Jess's review on the Schick Hydro Silk I was quite excited to try it out, as it seemed to have some great properties such as the easily melted serum which is dermalogically tested and the 5 curve sensing blades. I was lucky enough to receive Hydro Silk before it hit selves for a test run. The pack came with the Schick Hydro Silk handle with razor attached, a spare razor head and a small wall mount with suction cup.

Since falling pregnant shaving my legs has been my last priority, I put this razor to the test on my au natural legs!

The first thing I noticed about this razor was the handle, it is a gorgeous blue, and very easy to hold as the wide end fits perfectly in your hand and is not slippery at all. I did some research and could not find out whether the serum contained soap, so I just gave it a go, and was delightfully impressed. With a few seconds under the water and the serum was ready to go, and made the shaving experience beautiful, no extra shaving creams were needed. And most importantly, I did not come up with any sort of rash, I was thrilled! As I headed up my legs towards my knees, I got a little nervous, as I always do with razors. I always end up with small knicks on my knees that sting for days, but not this time! The curve sensing blades pulled through and no blood was shed! I am amazed at how well these blades worked, even though I had two full legs of hair, it took next to no time to shave them perfectly, and I didn’t even have to go back over the same spot repeatedly like I do with other razors I have tried.

Overall this has been the best hair removal experience I have had in my many years on the search for something that doesn’t irritate my sensitive legs. I will definitely be re-purchasing the Schick Hydro Silk when it hits the shelves. I am so grateful I was able to try this razor out, as I know I would have over looked it in stores, because in the past razors just haven’t worked for me. Last but not least a big thank you to Schick for creating such a wonderful and easy to use razor! And Jess for the opportunity to try out such a great product!

Lush UK Haul

I finally received my Lush UK package last weekend and am already completely in love with the products I have already begun trying out. Overall, this package including postage cost me around $95 AUS. I would have paid a lot more if I had purchased from my local Lush store in Adelaide, plus the Retro items are not available in store, let alone Australia. So far I have used Coolaulin conditioner, which smells divine and actually like real coconuts, along with Trichomania. My hair is always soft and tangle free after using these together. Lemony Flutter is my new favourite product as my fingers are always looks worse for wear, and I have noticed the changes in them after applying this regularly over the past few days. You barely need any, I have used it over a dozen times and you wouldn't even know. Shine so bright is something I am going to need to get used to, it is more of a hard balm than a cream and I haven't found a way I like to apply it yet, but it does smooth down the fly away's and split ends and the scent is amazing. Karma Komba and Jungle are two favourties of mine that I stocked up on and I have reviews for them here. I haven't used Slammer or Rub Rub Rub as of yet, as I am still using up the rest of my current scrub and wash, but let me tell you, I am so excited to use them both as they both have a gorgeous scent, Slammer having a citrus punch and Rub Rub Rub having a subtle blossom scent. I also was given a little sample of Lustre dusting powder, a fine golden powder used to give your body some shimmer and glow, oh and don't forget the alluring scent of Lush's Lust!

I am so pleased with my package and will definitely be ordering online from Lush UK again!

What's your makeup style TAG

This is my second tag post, taken from a favourite blog of mine Beauty in a Bottle.

1. EEK! You’ve got five minutes to do your makeup for a date. What’s your minimum?
Foundation, setting powder, blush and thick mascara. I always have chapstick on so that too.

2. Pick a trend—crazy cat eyeliner, super hot pink blush, or feathered false lashes?
Crazy cat eyeliner, I already do a very small cat eye most days. I am not a pink cheeks or fake lashes person at all haha.

3. If you had to either give up all makeup for two months or give up your skincare for a week, which would you pick?
Probably the skin care for a week, as my skin is not all that bad. I'm not all fussed about the makeup either though.

4. What beauty products are always in your purse?
Chapstick always! Mostly my daily makeup bag stays in my handbag because I do it in then car on the way to work with my husband.

5. Are there any beauty products that you keep coming back to throughout the years?
Hmm, not really. I am always finding something new that I fall in love with. It used to be Maybelline full and soft mascara, but since finding my current mascara by Revlon, I haven't use it.

6. Smoky eyes or red lips?
Brown smokey eye for sure.

7. Lipstick or lipgloss?
Chapstick. I find lipgloss to be sticky and I don't like the way it feels!

8. Are there any products that you never expected to like but ended up loving?
Not that I can think of, no.

9. Any products you expected to love, but ended up hating it instead?
Lush, Rehab.. I don't hate it but I don't love it as much as I wish I did. It is very clarifying so I don't use it very often as I find it strips my hair. The scent is devine though!

La Riche, Directions hair colour.

As mentioned in my post, Haircut Horror Stories and New Haircut Ideas, I get bored with my hair very easily and am always looking for something new and exciting to do with my hair. Being pregnant means cutting back on using harsh chemicals to colour my hair, as when colouring my roots, the chemicals can travel through my scalp in to my blood stream, harming my baby. There are inconclusive tests as to whether this is actually harmful to bubs or not, but I am not willing to take that chance.

As I can not bear to think of getting my hair cut at this time, as finally my hair is at a better length, I decided I would add some colour to it. I chose to colour my hair with La Riche Directions, as I used this brand in Midnight Blue for my 'something blue' streak at my wedding in February.

PROS

• Comes in a huge range of colours
• Plant based, so no harsh chemicals
• Low scent, no harsh smells
• Vegan 
• No Animal Testing
• Vibrant colour that doesn't fade fast (5 - 6 weeks of colour)
• Gives hair shine
• No give off of colour on your hands when heat is used to style the hair
• Cheaper than others (I bought two pots for under $20 AUS, including postage)
• Comes in 88ml pot, easier to use, lots of product.
• Adds colour highlights to dark hair

CONS

• Not sold in Australia, have to buy on eBay
• Waiting time, can't make split second decision to colour hair(Usually comes within two weeks depending on seller) 

So far I have tried Dark Tulip, Midnight Blue and Rubine, as shown below. 

In comparison to it's competitors sold in Adelaide, La Riche takes the cake every time. I have found that colours from Fudge and Renbow Crazy Colors seem to fade with washing quite quickly, leaving your hair looking faded after a week or two. They also tend to give off colour on to my hands after using heat styling, which is really quite annoying. The biggest thing for me would be their price, these products have so many cons, yet charge at least $18 per 75ml tube (Fudge). Renbow charge about the same for a 100ml bottle, but the staying power is the same as fudge, it fades quickly and is not worth the money if you are wanting coloured hair for long periods of time.

I completely recommend La Riche Directions, if you can wait the extra two weeks. For me, the wait is worth it. 

Apivita Express Beauty Mask - Sample Review

As I sorted through my cosmetics on the weekend I realised just how many samples I have, and that I should try a new one each week and review them, because who knows, I might find something new to use.

This week I used Apivita's Express Beauty with cereals nourishing mask. I received two sachets of this product in my Priceline skincare goodie bag. The packaging stated that this was a mask made with wheat germ oil, oat and rice extracts, honey, olive and sunflower oil and orange essential oils to nourish and hydrate skin. As you can see it is also free from Parabens, Silicones and Propylene Glycol which is always a plus. 

The scent of the mask is subtle and I couldn't detect any citrusy scent from orange oils, it had more of a subtle cereal scent. The application was quite creamy and thick and easy to apply, but I found that one sachet was far too much for one use. I expected it to be a one use sachet as you can actually buy them in packs of the same size, anyhow, better more than less I suppose. After leaving the cream mask for around 15 minutes, most of it had soaked in to my skin, and I rinsed. My skin didn't look any different, but did feel a little softer. I didn't notice any dramatic changes that would cause me to purchase this product for myself. In saying that I do not really suffer from dry skin, so this product may have just not been right for me. 

Overall, I would not purchase this, but would recommend it to those with dry skin as it is very moisturising and soaks in to the skin well. 

How I use Lush's Jungle solid conditioner bar.

Lush is known world wide for their amazing all natural products and being environmentally friendly, especially with their non packaged shampoo and conditioner bars. Currently I am using Karma Komba shampoo and Jungle conditioner, see here for me review on both of these products.

As I said in my review, Jungle is a much harder bar, and does not 'rub' as well directly on hair or between my hands. As suggested by many forums, I tried breaking a little off each shower and melting it in to my palms before rubbing it on to my hair. I ended up with more product in the breaking and melting process on the floor than I did in my hair, it really was not working for me. So I decided to give something else a go that I had seen on youtube a long time ago. I sliced a little chunk off of the bar, chopped it up and placed it in an old H'Suan Wen Hua hair treatment container and added enough hot water to cover the chunks, gave it a little shake and left it over night. The next day I had a liquidy conditioner that I could apply with ease.

I have found that using boiling water from a kettle, enough to cover the chunks and then shaking until they are all melted and leaving to set gives the best consistency, because air bubbles are created and form after shaking and leave it feeling thick and mousey. Remember, never melt down the whole bar at once, because the preservatives used are meant to be for the solid bar, and your conditioner may go off otherwise. I make enough each time of 2 - 3 washes as I was my hair every 2 - 3 days, so it is never sitting longer than 2 weeks.

Are there any other fancy tricks out there? Have you tried solid shampoo and conditioner before?

I would love to try: Crystal Essences

Crystal Essences are a natural yet powerful deodorant made from salt minerals that prevents body odour rather than masking it. They come in spray, roll on or towelette form and currently have three great scents, all with different properties. They do not contain any harsh chemicals such as Aluminum Chlorohydrate, Aluminum Zirconium or Phthalates.

The scents and their properties as stated online:

• Charmomile & Green Tea — Combines the stress reduction of Chamomile with the powerful anti–oxidants of Green Tea.
• Lavender& White Tea — Merges the natural anti-inflammatory gifts of lavender with the relaxing benefits of White Tea. 
• Pomegranate —  Enjoy the natural antioxidant powers of this proven “super fruit” to help protect and regenerate your skin.

Crystal also stock an unscented deodorant that would be great to wear with your favourite perfume. I would love to try all of the scents to find out which works best for me, and if they are more effective than regular supermarket deodorant. As a lover of all things natural, these really appealed to me, after spotting the pomegranate spray in the bathroom while my auntie in-law was over from Perth.

So far I have not seen these in store, only online for around $7.45 AUS on aussiehealthproducts.com.au .

Hopefully they make an appearance in some local stores soon as they seem to have really taken off in the US and the UK. As usual the Aussies are a little slow to catch up to growing trends!

What other natural deodorants are out there? Are they Available in Australia? Have you tried them, and do they work more effectively than regular deodorant? I would love to hear what you have to say!

What I Want Wednesday - Real Techniques Brushes

image source

After reading so many great things about the Real Techniques brushes, I have found myself really lusting to try them out. I did some research and found these two, the stippling brush and the expert face brush, appealed to me the most, as I haven't yet found a brush I like to apply foundation with. I love how they are also multi purpose and I can create the base of my look, foundation, powder, highlighter and blusher, with the same brush. They are available in my local Priceline for around $25 each, luckily I have found them online at iherb.com for a much cheaper price ($25 for both including postage) and will probably find myself purchasing them soon enough.