Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser – I’ve been using this as a standard body cleanser for years now, but lately I’ve reverted back to using it as a face cleanser as well. I’ve had some issues with dermatitis this winter, so I went back to basics in my skin care routine so I could figure out the source of the problem.
Paula’s Choice Hydralight One Step Face Cleanser – This is my all-time favourite cleanser, and one that you can guarantee I’ll always have sitting on my shower shelf. I’ve gone back to using this on a daily basis now that I’ve figured out it’s not a culprit in ‘dermatitis saga 2016’, and my skin is much happier for it.
Paula’s Choice Pore Normalizing Cleanser (sample size) – I picked up this sample sized cleanser the last time I placed a Paula’s Choice order, with the intent of my partner Sebastian using it to help keep his clogged pores at bay. I’ve been “borrowing” this to use as a spot treatment cleanser whenever I can feel a breakout brewing. A few of my friends have told me this is is a strong ass cleanser, and can be quite drying on the skin but I think because I only use it occasionally I haven’t seen any of the negative effects.
Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant – This is a long-time favourite of mine, and I use it every couple of days as a manual facial exfoliant. I alternate between using this or my Eve Lom muslin cloth, depending on my mood.
St Tropez Gradual Tan In Shower Lotion – I’m dipping my toe into the world of self-tanning this season, and I thought a gradual tanner would be a good place to start. So far I am liking this product, although the fact that you have to leave it on in the shower for three minutes has restricted my use of it to evening showers (which I rarely have), and weekend use. Due to that, I am not yet a bronzed goddess… But watch this space.
L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil – This is one of my favourite shower products, and one that I’ve repurchased quite a few times now. It feels like such a little luxury when I use this, it’s so luxurious and smells amazing.
Burt’s Bees Honey & Shea Sugar Scrub – I have to admit, body scrub is probably my least used shower product. However, considering I’m trying out different self tanners this season it’s become something of a necessity. This is another of my favourite products, and if you’re into gourmand scented body products it’s worth picking up for the scent alone.
Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo & Conditioner – This is my go-to inexpensive hair cleaning duo, and one that really works wonders on my hair despite the low price point. I always return to these products when I’m at a loss with what to use, as they’re my old faithfuls and they’re guaranteed to leave my hair looking and feeling soft and smooth.
LUSH Big Shampoo – If you haven’t yet tried LUSH’s Big shampoo, what the hell are you waiting for? I try to use this one a week to deep clean my hair and give it a little bit of extra bounce and shine.
Product Review: Jergens Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Moisturiser
I love Jergens, and apparently so does America as it’s their number one selling bodycare brand. *cue trivia music* I’ve been a fan of the fragrance free daily moisture from Jergensfor quite a while now, so I was really excited to try a new product from their body moisturiser range. I’ve been using the Shea Butter conditioning moisturiser for a couple of weeks now, and I’m happy to say that it was love at first try. It is quite a bit thicker than my usual go-to fragrance free moisturiser, and it’s perfectly suited for the colder weather. I also love the scent, I was trying for ages to figure out what it reminded me of and I settled on shortbread biscuits (delicious). The moisturiser feels thick and luxurious but applies easily to the skin and sinks in nice and quickly. It’s as gentle on my sensitive skin as the fragrance free moisturiser, which I am ecstatic about as ‘gentle’ is often not the case with a lot of other fragranced lotions. The Jergens Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Moisturiser retails for $7.99 AUD and is available for purchase from Priceline. (please note: product was sent for consideration for review)
Trilogy Giveaway
Trilogy is a high performance natural skincare range winning awards and fans the world over because, quite simply; it works. Trilogy Vital Moisturising Cream, hailed by European media as ‘the Rolls Royce of natural moisturisers’, contains a blend of 13 of nature’s most beneficial actives to help hydrate, repair and rebuild healthy skin. Trilogy Cream Cleanser is an award-winning, luxuriously rich cleanser with nourishing plant oils of rosehip, evening primrose and jojoba, which effectively removes all make up without drying your complexion. To win one of three gorgeous Trilogy skincare gift packs valued at $76.90 AUD, simply leave a comment below telling me “why you think Trilogy is winning fans the world over”. Winners will be drawn on October 5th and please note that this giveaway is open to Australian residents only. Good luck! For more information about Trilogy products and to subscribe to e-news, visit the Trilogy website.
Product Review: Schick Hydro Silk Razor
Here’s a scary thought: Spring is one month away. In the not too distant future we’ll no longer be hiding behind the safety of opaque stockings and long pants. Bare legs are necessary in the end-of-year Australian warmth, which means it’s time to start thinking about Spring/Summer beauty prep. First things first: hair removal. I simply cannot make leg waxing work for me. I have super fair skin and very dark hair, the combination of which does not work well when it comes to letting body hair grow out for an extended period of time. Ideally I would love to be able to wax my legs or go through a course of IPL, but realistically I can’t justify the time or money to spend on such things when I could pick up a decent razor and easily maintain it myself. I’ve been trying out the new Schick Hydro Silk Razor for a few weeks now, and I’m loving it. The razor contains 5 blades which helps to ensure that I pick up every single stubborn little hair (I’m sure we’ve all been in the situation where you discover a random stray patch on your leg that you’ve missed and it’s certainly not ideal). I also find the shape of the razor glides really easily over the bumps and contours of my body, far easier than any I’ve used in the past. I use leftover hair conditioner to lather my legs prior to shaving (thanks to Scarlett Johansson for that little beauty tip), so I didn’t notice that I experienced any additional benefit from the moisturising strips on the razor, but I did notice that they helped the razor to glide over my skin easily. The Schick Hydro Silk Razors retail for $14.25 AUD (the 4 cartridge refill packs are $19.25) and is available for purchase from Woolworths, Coles, Priceline and other pharmacies throughout Australia. (note: this product was sent for consideration for review)
Here is the fun part: I have the opportunity to give away 5 of the Schick Hydro Silk Razors to readers of The Belle Lumiere to trial and review on the blog. Please leave a comment below letting me know that you’re interested, and I will draw the 5 members of the trial team at random on Saturday 11th August. Please note that this is open to Australian residents only. Good luck!
ETA: The trial team has been chosen, congratulations to Paulette, Sabine, Dustyn, Gemma and Rosemarie!
June Favourites
Moroccanoil Glimmer Shine Spray – My friends and I have a long running joke about the “shiny hair group” of girls that we went to school with. These were the girls that everybody liked, who were surprisingly well put together for teenagers and who always had perfectly sleek and shiny hair. In the hierarchy of stinky sweaty grubby high school students they were like pretty little mutants sitting atop the food chain with perfectly coiffed hair. Recently, one of my friends passed comment that I could be in the shiny hair group and I think I owe it to this product. This works best for me when I spray it into my cupped palm, rub my hands together and then distribute it evenly through my hair. For some reason when I spray it directly onto my hair it turns into a stringy frizzy mess.
Face of Australia Liner in Purple – One for my fellow green eyed gals, this super cheap liner lasts really well throughout the day. It’s also a subtle enough shade of purple to work well with neutral eyeshadows for wearing to work. I’m just a sucker for purple eyeliner in general really.
Echolife Lavender Mist – I switched to the lavender mist once my rose version ran out and I am absolutely loving it. It’s a really gentle and calming spray and I feel like it’s helping to keep my skin balanced in the colder weather at the moment.
Haus Of Gloi Twice is Nice Body Lotion – Recently, my fellow beauty blogger Neena commented on Twitter that this lotion smelled like a particular Arnotts biscuit. As a connoisseur of biscuits in general, I immediately had to dig it out of my cupboard and see for myself. Happily she was right, this lotion smells exactly like butternut snap biscuits. Yum.
OPI Russian Navy – I’ve never been a fan of blue nail polish in general, but there is something so classy about the colour navy that I couldn’t resist trying this polish out for myself. I really like it, and I think it might be because there is a very subtle hint of purple to the colouring which takes the blue edge off a bit.