Keep your festive shopping COOL..

Ok so it's that time of the year when most of the major beauty houses have clearance sales. These events can get pretty rough,so follow my guide how to survive them and you're sure to bag some great products at amazing deals.

1.The sales don't normally get advertised, so it's best to keep your eyes and ears to the beauty playground for any information. 

2. Be nice to anyone that may know someone or who's aunty's sister even remotely knows anyone connected to the sale or cosmetic house.

3. Act mildy interested and contain your excitement when that information eventually surfaces.

4. Get your shopping buddy sorted. It's best to stick to your BFF because believe me...ain't nobody got your back like she does when there are tables and tables laden with the best cosmetics and products at less than half of retail value. Make sure your schedules can be cleared at a moments notice if you have work obligations. (I leave that up to your imagination)

5. Arrive early and scan the area to familiarise yourself with what is packed where. 

6. Sale anxiety is high so ignore the annoying sales assistant who tells you not to open the lipsticks because there aren't any testers on the sale floor. 

7. Calmly set your sights on your target as the minute you make a go for it, you can bet there's about ten other crazed glammies wanting the exact same item as you. At this point engage the annoying sales assistant to count the entire stock pile and whip out your credit card ready to proceed with payment. From now on she's your new best friend until sale is complete. 

8. Assume everything is still for sale up until it's paid for so don't turn your back. There's always some sale induced mad woman ready to snatch your haul. Keep your eyes on your 'buys' up until the sale is complete and make a quick dash for the nearest exit.

9. Make sure you leave your contact details at the point of sale so you get onto that exclusive mailing list and NOT to repeat this madness next year. Hopefully you the get the private sale day notifications.

Happy shopping days daisies..

xx

Smitten or bitten..

The days seem to be warming up finally, and that just makes me one happy chappies bubblegum. I also found the Elizabeth Arden factory store in downtown Woodstock, and I couldn't resist some bargain buys. They stock some lovely body products ranging from soaps and body dusting powders to the more decadent original branded perfumes. It's worth a visit if you stocking up for some early Xmas and teacher gifts, or maybe just for yourself. I found some cool eye masks and Revlon pencil liners but they stock loads of branded cosmetics and products.

Revlon's Just Bitten is a pretty chubby stick lip stain, that come in some amazing colors. It's not a new product and has since been improved as there are lots of thumbs down here. 

THUMBS UP..

1. The koki like pen applicator does give an accurate application as the precision of the tip helps with hand steadiness.

2. As its a lip stain, the colour didn't move so that's a plus I guess.

3. It has a lip balm attached and because I love any lip balm.

THUMBS DOWN..

1. It's very drying though, hence the attached lip balm. 

2. It's a mini balm that I'm sure won't last as I used more balm because my lips went that dry. 

3. The stain really cracked my lips after using it twice in different shades. I actually needed to do a lip scrub to get my lips back to their former glory.

4. It's a bummer to remove, and this after I applied a color too dark for everyday wear. It took me two cleansers to get rid of it, and I still had residue.

As I said, Revlon has improved on this product since, they now do a chubby stick all in one balm stain, more like a crayon and similar to the Clinique happy chubby sticks. 

With a shrug I have to say, not the best buy. If your budget doesn't allow huge spend on products then I guess you can get away with the small issues here. For me, it's a definite no no. My lips are way too precious not to have them in working order.

The factory outlet is in Sir Lowry Road top main road closer to the Salt River Road intersection, so it's worth a quick pop in. 

Happy happy sunny days...

It's almost weekend again xx

Sweet memoirs..

Writing has always come very naturally to me, and I'm grateful to many including my parents who nurtured my passion for reading and inspiring such a great love in my life. At times it can be very daunting, and yes there are days when I've been completely up against a wall. 

Having amazing content however, makes writing just a little bit more of a breeze. In this case, more like a sultry ocean breeze.

I popped by another sweet little soirée at the Jo Malone boutique in Canal Walk, to celebrate the launch and experience some Wood Sage & Sea Salt Fragrance.

Instead of the traditional signature black ribbon, Wood Sage & Sea Salt has sailors rope and knots as part of the packaging. So in keeping with this theme, ladies were treated to a jewellry making workshop on how to tie bracelet knots, creatively clever I know. I opted for a simpler baby blue bead because the whole tying of knots was a bit too much for me. 

Coming back to the fragrance, one would imagine sea salt to be an odd combination in any fragrance, but knowing Jo Malone, I graciously accept the unexpected. I love how one's sense of smell has this amazing way of triggering memories, and associating it with a particular time in your life. Inspired by the English coast, a feeling of being caught in a comforting fresh salty ocean breeze, with waves splashing onto white sandy shores is exactly how this scent made me feel. It gave me happy thoughts and childhood memories about balmy summer days. It's clean, it's earthy, it's fresh, it's subtly woody with the sultry sage also playing around there quite happily.

With Jo Malone, every fragrance is possible. If you new to the brand, this is an amazing fragrance as a first purchase. For those in the know, it's a wonderful addition to your Jo collection. 

Here's to new memories and blissful sunny days

Happy weekend..xx

How do I love..thee?

My lip obsession hasn't seemed to have subsided of late, and I don't suspect it will either. I'm still milling around the glam counters, buying and testing amazing products so much so that I decided to take a rather huge leap down this amazing road of beauty and cosmetics. Yes, Alice has new adventures and hopefully soon I can shed some more light, but that's a rabbit hole for another day.

So while I was daydreaming, another posh British brand seems to have landed on our shores, bringing with it doses of fruitylicious treats. Tropical infusions of mango & papaya, strawberry & coconut creams or dreams or something, to name but a few of the delishously silly fruity potions. The full range includes bath and body products, lotions and lip treatments with colour glosses. I'm not sure if the entire range has landed yet as I only stumbled across the lip treatments at a local department store.

It's called  I love...

...and maybe over time we may just fall in love. 

I tried the raspberry & blackberry lip balm, and lemon & lime. A bit of an ice lolly moment going there and somewhat reminiscent of summer beach days, with tropical fruits that smell heavenly and glide on as smooth as a fresh fruit smoothie. It's moisturizing and nourishing as most lip balms go. So I guess, another mini pot to the collection. Reasonably priced and actually a tad cheaper than another British cosmetic brand that seems to have taken the Cape by storm.

A little bit of love to add to my collection..

Happy weekend guys..xx

 

Hellllloooo Sephora..

Who doesn't like to get a little black and white delivery every now and then, and yes I simply adore Sephora. It's like a little bit of make up heaven whenever I get the opportunity to pop in. I was extremely disappointed when the store in Saudi was closed every time I went shopping a couple weeks ago as I love to make international beauty purchases whenever I can. 

Ok so what's inside the bag..

Rouge velouté sans tranfert Cream Lip Stain...yay me! 

A velvety smooth stain that glides on application, stays on your lips and doesn't move. I found no residue on my teeth which always happens after I apply a red lip, and no color bleeding. It's a classic intense red, but oh so sexy. I think I found the ONE..

There's not much to review here..my work is done. It's perfection!!

Happy Thursday loves..mmmmwah!

Beauty Banter..

I get asked this question quite often, and a lot lately.

What's my beauty regime and what range of products I use? And my response generally to everything is...you have to do what works for you and the skin you're in.

The beauty counters and stores are filled with literally hundreds of brands, some that have been around for many years and some new and innovative potions that promise to perform some sort of miracle.

Reviews and results from products are based on the individual, just because some bloggers endorse brands and look like a million dollars, doesn't necessarily mean it's going to do the same for your skin. In an ideal world maybe, but not this one. The gene pool is a huge influencing factor and some woman are just blessed with a better quality skin than others. 

Trying new products really is trial and error as one cannot know how your skin is going to react to lashings of new products. I can tell you horror stories about how I've gone through so many different brands at a huge cost of course, and then it just doesn't work for me or has me breaking out. I end up throwing it out because I cannot recommend something that I personally am not happy with. The thing is, it probably would be just fabulous for your skin. And the beauty about all this beauty mumbo jumbo is that its exactly the same fine thread that runs through this wonderful journey of life. I don't know what's going to be the best possible product for you, you need to make that discovery all on your own.

All I do is try and make the decision a bit easier by showing products that I personally love, if I don't I'm also going to tell you that it's pretty awful. 

I've been thinking about what woman want and I always try to keep it relevant to what I want. I want truth, I want honesty and yes maybe I do get some free stuff, but that doesn't sway me. I must admit, I do tend to splurge on high end beauty products, but I also mix and match different brands and use simpler cheaper products to create a regime that works for me. 

Your skin changes all time, so what you may have been using five years ago is not necessarily working for you right now, and maybe you havent even noticed because all seems good in that department. 

We all get tired of doing the same thing and similarly so does your skin. Harsh environmental changes, air conditioners etc all affect you. Give your skin a breath of fresh air, with something as simple as changing the cleanser that you've been using since you left school, or add a facial mist to combat anti-oxidants. 

Ultimately, be comfortable with your choices and accept the skin you're in. You may not look like the girl in the magazine but you may just be pleasantly surprised with the small change.

That's my bit of beauty banter for this cold Tuesday morning..

Hugs and xx

Baby..Baby..Baby..OH!

So I'm back from my travels and I'm just checking on how those gorgeous lips have been during these past couple of weeks? 

I'm just sooo inlove with the Maybelline BabyLips moisturizers which come in Oh sooo cute, adorable packaging which makes you want to grab one in every flavor, which is precisely what I did. I must admit, packaging sways me a lot when making purchases..💕

I went with the Hydrate, Intense Care and Peach Kiss which has a little color for a naturally fresh & dewy kiss, and to top that they're all super sweetly fragranced as well.

Super soft, super hydration, super nourishing treatment for your precious pouts when you need an extra bit of love..

They are an absolute steal at about R24.95 a pop, so grab a tube or two and pop into your purse.

Fabulous Monday loves..💕