Currently Wearing: Essie's For the Twill of It
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For the Twill of It, you minx
A purple-y, green duo chrome entrenched in a creamy grey base.
Fun times ahead!
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Buy me now?
Head, shoulders, knees and toes: ECO.'s Body Lotion
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Eco. Body Lotion
It's sweet. So sweet. My nose goes into overdrive whenever I dispense ECO.'s Body Lotion into the palm of my hand. It's nutty with a powdery softness that carries me through the day. Yum!
ECO.'s Body Lotion isn't all that creamy, but in this case I don't think it needs to be. It's a lightweight moisturiser that begs to be massaged onto freshly showered arms, legs, hands and tootsies.
Wash. Rinse. And then it's Body Lotion time!
Just like the back of the bottle claims, my skin is left "feeling soft and supple." It's a great moisturiser to use year-round.
The only bummer? It's only 100ml. Why can't you come in a huge vat?
The Bagful breakdown:
Total amount for the ECO.'s Body Lotion:
- $13.00 AUS / $12.00 USD
Value for money spent (performance and quality):
- 9 out of 10 bags — Fan for life.
Would another purchase be on the horizon?:
- But wait, there's more! ECO. sells body wash, too!
*PR sample provided – Thoughts and ramblings written here are completely my own.
Night and Day: Nat.Eyes agebloc collection
/Why two tubes? In this case are two tubes better than one?
On closer inspection and a bit of reading (it's important to do that from time to time, or one of these days I swear I'll end up with blonde eyebrows -- don't put it past me) to find out more.
The eye gel is for day, whereas the cream is for night.
Both tubes feature an ingredient called IBR Snowflake, its scientific sounding name is Leucojum aestivum bulb extract.
What the heck is that?
It's [IBR Snowflake] a naturally derived ingredient from the bulb of a Summer Snowflake which has been found to help slow down the skins' ageing process, reduce wrinkles and even lighten skin. In fact, NAT. refers to it as the "botox alternative."
Maybe I should smear this stuff all over my forehead wrinkles while I'm at it!
Now here's where both tubes differ.
NAT.Face Eye Gel for daytime
NAT.agebloc eye gel also features AHAs (Alpha-Hydroxy Acid) for cell turnover and "natural cucumber, chamomile, pansy and lime blossom extracts" to help reduce the appearance of puffiness and darkness in the under eye area. Once applied, the clear gel gives off a cooling/refreshing sensation, dries almost on contact and leaves my eye area properly hydrated.
Huge fan here.
NAT.Face Eye Gel for nighttime
As for the eye cream chamomile extract "soothes and calms" eyes, while the natural vitamin e "helps boost the production of collagen and repair the top layer of skin." For all that the gel brings, NAT.agebloc's eye cream leaves me wanting and expecting more. This particular agent of the night supposedly works to fight fine lines and wrinkles as well, but it has only succeeded at stinging my over-tired eyes. It's certainly not the sort of experience I'm after prior to hitting the sheets.
Personally, I'm going to shelve the eye cream.
Moral to the story: One (the right one, of course) is enough.
The Bagful breakdown:
Total amount for the Nat.Eyes agebloc collection:
- $74.00 AUS — if you don't want the set, the gel and cream are also sold for $39.00 and $49.00, respectively.
Value for money spent (performance and quality):
- 5 out of 10 bags — for the set. When it's time for me to replenish, I'll just buy the eye gel.
Would another purchase be on the horizon?:
- The Sea Salt Smoother sounds enticing.
*PR sample provided – Thoughts and ramblings written here are completely my own.
//source: IBR Snowflake
Can you spare 15 minutes?
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Hello.
This is me approximately 15 minutes before heading over to the new Chanel Beauty Boutique, (which just so happens to be conveniently located in my backyard -- I smell trouble) for a flash 15 minute makeover.
As you can see, I'm not wearing a heck of a lot in the photo above.
Hi again.
The key players
The products..
- Les Beiges in Shade 20 to freshen up and minimise shine
- Les Beiges in Shade 30 to contour
- Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Malice (watermelon red)
- Les 4 Ombres Quadre Eyeshadow in Eclosion - three of the four shades were used as follows:
- Garnet Purple was applied all over my eye lid and blended out just above my crease to create a purple smoky eye
- Champagne Shimmer was used to highlight my brow bone
- Pearlescent Melon was used to break up the Garnet Purple at the inner corners
- Stylo Yeux Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Grenat (a heavy leaning purple merlot) to line along the lower and upper lash line
- Inimitable Waterproof Volume Mascara in Noir
- Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipshine in Satisfaction (nude-ish brown-y pink)
The experience was nice enough, granted it was on the Saturday before Mother's Day -- it was clear selling perfume was their focus. As soon as my 15 minutes were up I was asked what I liked, which I fully expected. When I finally blurted out I was waiting for the Summer 2014 release (btw, it hit shelves earlier this week in Australia) the makeup artist abandoned me. At least she did me a solid by painting my whole face.
The two standouts for me were the Les Beiges Powders and the brushes, especially Powder Brush No. 1 (far right).
This was a free service Chanel offers in all of their boutiques. If you're not after a flash 15 minute makeover you could indulge yourself by opting for a mini facial, a luxury hand treatment, an express hand massage and nail polish or even a fragrance journey.
And if you do visit the Chanel Boutique in Melbourne's Emporium, be sure to ask for Melissa -- she's my favourite.
