>>>candy crush: BUTTER UP!

 

I don’t know how this completely passed me by but currently The Body Shop are having their annual Body Butter price reduction. If you love slathering on shea (or any of the other delectable and delicious fragrances) for sensational softness and heavy duty hydration, make sure you visit a bright and beautiful Body Shop store before March 9^th to stock up on this perennial favourite with 30% off the usual RRP.

I’ll let Vanilla take me back to 4^th form high school awkwardness, Coconut to my fresher frolicking’s and Vitamin E to sensible workforce entry early days.

What are your favourite fragrances and flavours of this iconic, body pampering must have?

>>>beauty banter: FOR THE LOVE OF SCRUNCHIES

I love scrunchies. I expect to receive a few disbelieving sartorial sneers for this statement however I truly don’t understand the resentment towards the humble frilly scrunchie.  Besides being a super-cute little bit of fabric adorning an otherwise boring hair ‘do in an ever so functional manner scrunchies successfully serve as a beauty tool too. Hate when you have to tie your hair up for the shower/gym/just to get it off you face and you end up with an ugly kink in your hair? Yeah me too. Enter aforementioned elasticated wonder and you can avoid all kinds of hair kink crap. The soft fabric around the hair tie means that your hair isn’t squeezed so tightly and aggressively leaving it soft and smooth when you pull it out. Even if you would never dare leave the house with a scrunchie, do consider having one at home I’ll be adding this little ASOS duo pack to my cart for $11.30 ) so you can keep your hair smooth and kinkless (and look super cute while doing so).

>>>tgif: THREE CUTE CHEAP DATES (PRODUCTS) TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS VALENTINES DAY

If you are in the lonely hearts club (and even if you’re not) this Valentine’s Day, why not pop out and bag yourself a honey by way of a sweet, cheap beauty babe? Below are three of my favourite such gratuitous beauty treats, guaranteed to thrill, love and caress without expecting a single thing in return and certainly sans lovers regret. Happy Valentine’s day sweet-hearts.

 

1.       Matrix Biolage Hydratherapie Range

After having used almost every salon shampoo under the sun I still can’t go past the sensational Hydratherapie range by Matrix. This range is all about hydrating the hair with aloe and passion fruit, so perfect for most hair types that can always do with a little TLC. I love the shampoo which feels (and smells) fresh, foamy and glorious as you massage it in and your hair feels healthy and hydrated before you have even slicked on conditioner. My other must have from the range is the Aqua-Immersion Crème Masque – which may just be the best masque I have ever used. Hair feels incredibly moisturised, strong and soft after soaking in this for a couple of minutes. At a price point of around $30 a pop this is salon hair-care that delivers top results at an affordable price.

 

2.       Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

If you fancy a beautiful bright pop of colour on your lips but not the burden of heavy lipstick then give these little beauties a try. They come in a range of shades from delicate soft pinks and peaches, bright and poppy oranges and reds to deep and sexy fuchsias and plums. They are super hydrating and leave the most perfect whisper of colour on the lips even hours after the balmi-ness  has worn away – meaning your lips look and feel kissable and delicious for hours and hours.  At around $22 , don’t feel guilty for two (or three… or four) timing these kissable colours.

 

3.       MAC #20 Half Lashes

Bat those lashes and make all the boys stare in MAC’s #20 Half Lashes. These false lashes will add fullness and a gorgeous flirtatious flick to the outer halves of your lashes. These are so easy and stress-free to apply on yourself, just apply the glue to the strip and pop them on to the side, after mascara - looking straight in the mirror. They don’t look at all fake on, so will have people envious of your natural, full, thick lashed beauty. What I love the most about these is that you can’t feel them at all – with most false lashes you can generally feel them tickling and irritating the inner corner of the eye but because these just sit on the outer half of the eye you can’t feel a thing. You can take these out for a night several times before you need to dispose of them so for $26 you are getting a lot for lash for less.

 

4.       Yourself. Love yourself sick and you’ll never need anybody else to – and if you don’t feel quite like that today, fair enough - but to paraphrase Elizabeth Taylor – pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick and pull yourself together. Believe in the transformative power of beauty. XOXO

>>>monday mind (re)set: BRONZED BURGUNDY

Normally I like to wait for the mercury to drop before considering a deep dark lip hue but these Instagram snaps (circa two weeks ago) of the gorgeous Jessica Alba have me craving crimson. Jess makes this look perfectly fresh and summer appropriate for those of us sunning about below the Tropic of Capricorn with a brilliant bronze and burgundy combination.

What makes this look fresh and radiant is the focus on keeping the skin suitably suntanned (do this with a little facial fake tan, some of my faves listed in this post) to complement the warmth and depth of the darker lip. Bronzer is concentrated high on the cheek bones and forehead. NARS Casino or MAC Bronze bronzing powders are great products to recreate this look with. Swirl your bronzer on with a great big fluffy brush and finish with a good healthy dusting of bronzer on your eye lids to finish - this means you spend less time (if any at all!) blending eye-shadow around the lid, as you have darkened them just so. Add a little brown pencil and lashings of mascara. I feel bare without blush so even though this look is liberal on bronzer I would still go in with one of my all-time favorite all-purpose blushes - Margin by MAC. This blush suits any skin tone, and any lip combination as it is the perfect mixture of pinky-reddish-peachish bronze. We all have our favorite tones of lippy so choose your deep dark color depending on which colors you love and find normally suit you. If you love red tones go for something like the rich brown-y red Dubonnet. If you need a tiny pop of pink go for Craving, and if you love vibrant bursts of colour try cult-classic Rebel (last three lippies all by MAC). Apply a layer and blot with a tissue before adding a second to ensure the colour is strong and lasts through your Monday morning coffees. 

I adore the softness of Jess' hair here - create this by putting a soft bend in your hair by twisting your hair straightener 180 degrees through sections of hair. Try and make the curl quite tight as it will drop within thirty minutes (and if not rake serum coated hands through your hair) and lend itself perfectly to this softly smouldering un-done summer look.

>>>product crush: GREAT LITTLE BEAUTY THING TO CHANGE YOUR (MANICURES) LIFE

Do you hate going to painstaking lengths to perfectly paint your nails only to have them chip a day later? Well then may I subtly but firmly suggest you get thee down to your local Farmers or pharmacy and pick up some fabulously new and improved nail colour goodness by poly-chromatic nail authority – Essie. Recently purchased by the L’Oreal Group you may notice that the Essie stands are looking extra sleek and sharp of late, just one change the Group have made to make the Essie brand even more dazzling and dynamic than ever before. The polish formulas are apparently all new and improved and my favorite update to the range? The brush. The new tapered wide brush in the little pots of lacquer loveliness makes a seriously impressive difference to the application of your pick of pigment. It coats nails in just one swipe, depositing the precise amount of product for a perfectly polished finish. All of the colours on offer are sure to satisfy all discerning tastes but I especially swoon over the Good to Go top coat. A coat of this significantly extends the life of my paint job, keeps it bright and shiny and dries so super fast there is no smudge or splodge stress and associated disappointment.  Grab some of this and your manicure will always be fresh, fabulous and good to go.