After a recent trip to Thailand, where coconut is plentiful, I was intrigued when I was offered the chance, to review a few local coconut products. All the products in my article on The Health Benefits of Coconut, are available from Wellness Warehouse stores or their online store. [Read more…]
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Sultans Gold Argan Oil from Lushberry
Winter is definitely the season, when it can be very easy to neglect your skin, especially when it is covered in layers of clothing but it is vital to maintain good moisturising habits, regardless of the season.
My daily routine includes using a body cream or body butter, either once or twice daily and if I feel my skin requires extra hydration, I use a vitamin E or tissue oil.
I was recently asked to review products from the Sultans Gold Argan Oil range, which is available from the fab new online store Lushberry.
The three products I was given to review are: Sultans Gold Luxurious Body Oil with Argan, Sultans Gold Pure Argan Oil and the Sultans Gold Luxurious Body Lotion with Argan.
Argan oil, known as Liquid Gold has been used for centuries, by the women of the Berber tribe in Morocco, to help rejuvenate their skin and nourish hair and nails. All Sultans Gold Argan oil products are produced in Morocco under the strictest quality conditions by an accredited ISO 9001 manufacturer.
Sultans Gold Argan Oil is said to combat the premature ageing process of the skin. It has also had great success in the reversal of signs of ageing, by helping to regenerate skin cells. Argan Oil also promotes skin elasticity, which helps to prevent stretch marks and cures the discoloration of the skin resulting from stretch marks. It can also strengthen weak or brittle nails.
Sultans Gold Luxurious Body Oil with Argan~ Argan Oil is combined with Jojoba and Sweet Almond Oil, which are easily absorbed into the skin and is suitable for daily use. This sensual oil is delicately scented with the orange blossom of Morocco and will help keep your skin moist and hydrated by reducing evaporation. This is a perfect treatment for sensitive skin, it will improve marks and scarring and has excellent anti ageing properties.
One of the benefits of this body oil is that it can be used as a supplement to Sultans Gold Luxurious Body Lotion to increase both its richness and its effectiveness. I have found the Body Oil particularly effective after my recent trip to Thailand, as the heat and frequent swimming left my skin exceptionally dry.
Sultans Gold Pure Argan Oil ~ This 100% Organic Oil is rich in vitamin E and can be used on your skin, hair and nails. I have being using as a cuticle oil and it works beautifully to keep your cutiles wonderfully soft! I have tried using it on my hair before styling but found it a bit too oily for my hair, which is very fine.
Sultans Gold Luxurious Body Lotion with Argan Oil ~ Is suitable for all skin types. It is light in texture and is easily absorbed into your skin, to provide total hydration. It is rich in vitamin E which improves the elasticity of your skin and slows down the ageing process and helps to prevent stretch marks.
I absolutely love this body lotion, which is light and none greasy but still suitably moisturising. It leaves your skin smooth and silky and the fragrance is heavenly.
To find out more about these and other great products visit the Lushberry website by clicking here.
MAC Trends Spring Summer 2013
Just before my trip to Thailand, I attended a MAC Trends Spring Summer 2013(SS2013) event, which I enjoyed immensely! Unfortunately I did not have time to write about it before I left for my travels but I had to share it with you!
I learnt a few new tips and beauty tricks to use in my makeup routine and I hope you will find it helpful as well, especially when looking at choosing colours for the season ahead.
The morning started out rather wet and cold but we were greated with steaming muggs of coffee or yummy hot chocolate, which was the perfect way to warm up! We were also treated to a variety of eats, giving us a chance to mingle and meet some of the other beauty lovlies.
We were then given the heads up on beauty trends around the globe by the lovely Michelle-Lee Collins. She introduced us to the key elements for MAC Trends Spring Summer 2013.
The most significant trend for SS2013 is a move to minimalism, where ease and edge become one, a season when the key beauty notion is one of simplicity.
Michelle then explored the various trends for the season, highlighting the properties of each one, demonstrating each look on one of the gorgeous MAC models.
The purity of a perfectly pared back skin (SIG-NATURE). A languid wash of colour (NU-ANCE) that takes in shades of highly pigmented pastels from turquoise and lemon to silver and translucently dark metallics. A monochromatic Bedouin bronze, blurred on the eyes and bone structure (PURI-TAN). An easy graphicism of purist colour blocked on lids or lips (SCI-CHEDELIC). There’s a delicacy to beauty this season that speaks to the way women really want to look in the here and now, a time when subtle, fresh and confident feel more appropriate than hard, sexy or powerful.
There is a definite move away from hard lines, which is key for SS2013. Seamlessly humid finishes, over powdering is out with more of a natural “glow”. Cream colours prevail, with radiant complexions and balanced brows, which tend to dominate the face less than last season. Over tweezed brows are a thing of the past and more natural “fluffed-up” brows are in, forming the cornerstone to every look.
“Sig-nature”~
The look is naturally perfected, super polished skin which, beautifully rich. Skin is highly reflective with a marble-like, alabaster-like quality.” Mineralized Moisture SPF 15 Foundation, is used to delicately shape and bring skin to life with the most subtle, sensitive techniques. Skin-identical pigments are used around the eye.
Lips are neutral, translucently balmed or with just the slightest touch of lipstick, to perfectly heighten the natural tone. Soft lines, no hard contours…hazes and haloes of light.
Brows frame your look, with no mascara. This sounds a little scary at first – using no mascara but I have tried it during the day and I am liking the softer look you can achieve, by using only eye shadow and liner.
Nu-ance ~
Beauty has had a “palette cleanse” in its most literal sense this season, as clean, popping pastels express a modern romance with paler colour. Think Turquiose, Lilac, Lemon, Mint, Aqua, Apple and Peach — shades pulled from heightened nature, from seascapes to sunsets. A natural base with pops of colour.
Flashes of silver and cold metallic FEEL FRESHLY FUTURISTIC. A nod to the 60s in placement — embrace a rounded eye shape. The new view on smoky: A TRANSPARENT WASH of depth invariably with a metallic sheen. Flat matte is less relevant than buffed-in creamy tints this season.
I am really loving this trend I love using colour on my eyes especially in the evening. This is a fun way to create a bit of drama without being OTT!
Sci-chedelic
Op-art colour with refined drama, confidently committed and effortlessly cool, never bourgeois or overstated. Colours are bold and applied with conviction! Vivid colours are worn on a base of lightness and luminescence. Eyes are fierce with bold pops of colour on the lips.
“Poetic with a twist of something edgy, so gutsy and punk it’s chic.”
Even the red lip becomes part of a contemporary colour story, thanks to modern matte textures and pops of hyper-bright pigment. Lip lines are less harsh with a feeling of “colouring outside the lines”.
This look is quite dramatic and probably not suited to everyday wear but experimenting with certain of these elements, can be great for creating more drama, for a night out on the town!
Puri-tan~
A puritan, gently applied, gleaming makeup, with a “sun-kissed” glow. Features are brought out in a palette of desert shades, with sepia eye-tones, transparently tinted in washes of cream colour, adding a sophisticated monochrome feel to the face. Think Bronze, Wheat and Golden Honey-Beige tones, giving a buffed and burnished feel. Within this palette there is a sophisticated return to the smoky eye, which is more effortless and transparent.
It’s about using tan-relevant shades to accent the eyes and add warmth to the face in molten, softly metallic textures.
I learnt so much from this event – one of the key things Michelle pointed out was not not conform to historical beauty norms, try different approaches and have fun with it! A great tip, from Michelle, which I have being using, is to apply colour below the bottom lash line which opens up the eye so much more.
Thanks to the team at MAC for a wonderful morning and a great goodie bag!
Travel My Dream Destination
Earlier in the year I published a post sharing my Top Dream Destinations, little did I know that one of those dreams would be coming true in just a few short months! In just under two weeks we will be winging our way to Thailand!!!
I am still pinching myself 🙂 Life has been so busy of late, that I have had very little time to get excited but we did do a bit of luggage shopping for the girls last weekend and I think the reality has eventually sunk in.
All thought truth be told, I really love to travel but hate the packing part! It is a task that I am truly useless at, I am an “over-packer” of note. I pack for every season or eventuality and usually need to take shoes to match each outfit, a trait which my eldest seems to have inherited from her mother. Have been assured by friends{you know who you are and I am trusting you ;)} that all I need are shorts, T’s, summer dresses and flops – I will try to be restrained!
We have never been to Thailand before, which makes it even more exciting and after the past few weeks of super cold weather I am ready to board the plane tomorrow! The thought of sun, sand and beautiful aquamarine water and not to forget the cocktails – is very appealing at the moment. It may however be a shock for my body, going from jeans and jumpers to shorts and T-shirts but I guess I will find a way to cope 😉
Most of all I am really looking forward to the Thai Cuisine, which is an absolute favourite of mine. I cannot wait to experience the authentic version, which I am sure will be better than anything I have tasted before.
So blogging will definitely be erratic, if and when I am able to share, I will, even if it is just a photograph or two. If you have any travel tips to share I would love to hear them, so please leave a comment below this post.
For more travel related posts please click here…
One20fit
Last week I was invited to try out an EMS training session at One20fit, which is in Claremont in Cape Town. For those of you not in the know, EMS stands for electro muscle stimulation. You may recall the Bodytec EMS trial session I did last month, well One20fit works on a very similar principle to that. [Read more…]