Hero products

The next couple of posts will be about favourite products and makeup. Sorry if you’re thinking: oh noooooooooo! But strange as it may seem, my posts on makeup and skincare are high rating. So I thought I’d talk about some of the hero products I simply couldn’t live without.

So here are the nine products that I use daily – from L-R:

L’Oréal Elvive Re-Nutrition Nourishing Creme Conditioner with Royal Jelly. This conditioner has a lovely creamy consistency to it and a wonderful honey/coconut smell. It’s supposed to be for dry hair and the royal jelly helps to nourish – I have normal to oily hair but the conditioner certainly doesn’t weigh my hair down. It washes out easily and my hair is soft and silky. I’ve been through countless bottles of this luxurious conditioner.

Sensodyne Iso-Active Whitening toothpaste. I’ve used the Sensodyne range for years and years. I have very sensitive teeth so I don’t stray from Sensodyne, although this whitening toothpaste is new for me. It comes out as a gel then foams up as you brush. I think I prefer my normal Sensodyne toothpaste though (Sensodyne Rapid).

The Body Shop Shea Beautifying Oil. I’m a long-time fan of The Body Shop and have already reviewed this oil. There are 11 oils in the range but I have not ventured beyond Shea. It was love at first sniff. I use it every night on my hands, neck and a bit in the hair. It has the most intoxicating smell and I just love to retire for the night with wafts of this Shea Beautifying Oil lingering on my pillow.

Nivea Natural Oil. I bought this in Italy and it was immediate love. You can’t get this in New Zealand so I bought two more bottles whilst in Stockholm recently. This is hilarious I’m sure but because I don’t speak or read Italian, I thought it was an oil for dry skin. And I’ve been using it this way for months. Ah, nope: it is a shower gel but I haven’t used it in the shower. I simply slap it on my legs and arms or anywhere else that is suffering from dryness. It has a very delicate, very pleasant scent and apparently has 55% nourishing oils. It’s velvety and has certainly taken care of my rough heels. I guess it whips up into a foam in the shower – I might try it.

David Babaii for Wildaid – Bohemian Beach Spray. I have been through countless bottles of this little gem. This week, Farmers in Christchurch (department store) had a buy one/get one free thing going on – so I snapped up two more bottles. The first thing to say about this spray is that it smells gorgeous – like piña colada and you get summery whiffs of pineapple and coconut throughout the day.

My hair is super, super fine and has zippo body. Just my luck in life. This is the only product that gives me some boof (as in bouffant) and I can use it on wet or dry hair. It’s eco-friendly, cruelty-free and non-aerosol. No sulfates, parabens or nasty petrochemicals either. Here’s the description of the ingredients from the website: Globally sourced, Bohemian Beach Spray contains sea salt from the Dead Sea in Israel for naturally enhanced texture; mineral rich Volcanic Ash from the Vanuatu Islands of the South Pacific for increased volume; a trio of Blue Algae, Mango and Kiwi that keep hair thoroughly hydrated. Shea Butter, Jojoba Oil, Hemp Oil and Cupuacu Butter further aid moisture retention.

Ten percent of profits go to Wildaid (global wildlife conservation organization). I’ve had no dramas taking the spray all over the planet with me – Italy, France, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Sweden (geez, I’ve travelled a fair bit this last year). The bottle hasn’t leaked or exploded. Awesome product and I don’t use hairspray anymore because this spray gives my hair enough body to hold.

Antipodes Juliet Skin-Brightening Gel Cleanser. Antipodes is a New Zealand brand of skincare. I’m fortunate living here because NZ has some amazing skincare brands. Antipodes is a favourite but the gel cleanser is my all-time fav cleanser. I don’t like the name I must say. Juliet? Skin-brightening? I don’t get the connection. Whatever. The smell is divine – green apples with a hint of cardamon. It’s a gel cleanser for normal to oily skin that very effectively whips off all your makeup.

New Zealand kiwi fruit and hibiscus flower extracts help to exfoliate the skin and reveal brighter, cleaner blemish-free skin. I will say that since using this cleanser (about three months now) I’ve had no breakouts and a less oily T-zone. Manuka honey saves this gel cleanser from leaving you with that tight feeling skin you can get with gel cleansers. Another ingredient is antioxidant-packed Vinanza Grape, which gives the cleanser a slightly brownish hue. The cost is NZ$39.00 but a little goes a long way.

And then in the front row of the photo above, L-R are:

Evolu Healing Lip Treatment. Evolu is another NZ brand, like Antipodes, that is derived from organic or botanical ingredients. This lip product boasts thyme and rosemary along with Manuka Honey. I use this every night and wake up to super soft lips. It’s the best lip conditioner or treatment I’ve ever used. LOVE.

Clarisonic Mia. I’ve waxed lyrical about my pink Clarisonic Mia many times. I’ve been using it for nearly 18 months now, every night, and you can read my review here. Once I’ve cleansed with the Antipodes gel cleanser, I do a second cleanse using the Clarisonic – either with Antipodes or The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash. The Body Shop cleanser I’ve used for years but only tend to use it if and when my skin is acting up.

Moreish Natural Skincare Salvation Balm. Moreish is yet another great NZ skincare range. The Salvation Balm is a bit like the legendary Aussie Lucas paw paw ointment, which I also use regularly. So possibly it should be in the photo above. But, for the moment, I’m using the Moreish balm because it is a great under-lipstick treatment. Before slicking on the lippie or gloss, I condition the lips with a bit of the balm. It’s also great for itchy bites and as a cuticle treatment. Basically anywhere there is dry skin. The Moreish range is based on Argan Oil and the balm contains argan, sweet almond, flaxseed, olive, coconut, jojoba, wheat germ and rosehip in a non-sticky Beeswax base.

Fresh supplies

In July last year, my great Aussie mate visited us bearing gifts. Well, one very important gift – a pink Clarisonic Mia. Here it is in all its unwrapped glory.

For the uninitiated, a Clarisonic is a sonic skin cleansing system that delivers deeper cleansing and improves skin texture. The Mia is a smaller Clarisonic and ideal for travelling. It’s been to Rome with me (twice now), Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa, Australia and will be accompanying me to Sweden in the next few weeks.

As we get older, the process of cell regeneration slows down and so skin cells are shed more slowly. If you don’t exfoliate, these skin cells build up to the point where your skin looks dull or rough. By exfoliating, you get rid of the dead stuff and reveal lovely new skin cells and moisturiser can sink in more thoroughly. So the Clarisonic helps to exfoliate and also helps to remove dirt and makeup.

My mate also delivered Mia brushes – enough to last a year. We both talked about how we’d then source more brushes. In Malaysia last year, I was two weeks too early. The Clarisonic was due to arrive in Sephora just after I flew home to NZ. Thailand and South Africa don’t have the Clarisonic so I couldn’t pick up brushes during my visits to these countries. And weirdly, Sephora in Rome doesn’t carry the Clarisonic.

It was up to my mate to save the day. She visited New York during July and hotfooted it to Sephora to pick us up supplies. I requested the deep pore cleansing brushes. Over the last year, I’ve used the sensitive skin brushes and I thought it was time for a change.

So what’s the verdict on the Clarisonic? Well, there is no doubt in my mind that it’s made a significant difference to my skin. I have less breakouts and my skin has a brighter appearance. I have oily combination skin that has hissy fits in hot weather and I really think the Clarisonic has helped out here. In Rome last year, I was there in July and August – the deadly hot months – and my skin didn’t erupt anywhere near as much. I cleanse as normal then use the Clarisonic every night, usually with The Body Shop’s Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash.

I’m looking forward to seeing what difference the deep pore cleansing brushes deliver. But I have two months to go until I need to change brushes (it’s recommended you change every three months). Visually, the brush looks the same as the one I am currently using but, to the touch, it seems softer.

The brushes come in a twin-pack so with two packs, I have four brushes. The cost was USD$87.10 or around NZ$107.00. I could purchase the Deep Pore Cleansing brush from Adore Beauty and have them shipped across from Oz. But each brush costs AU$34.95 (plus $3.18 GST) and shipping would cost at least AU$10.50 – so the total would be around AU$150.00 or NZ$195.00.

So it was brilliant that my mate went to the United States. Now, I wonder if I can find some Clarisonic brushes in Stockholm. I’m due there in about two weeks. News on that soon. Is there a Sephora in Stockholm?

Nothing better than a Sephora bag!

Two twin-packs – Deep Pore Cleansing brush.

The Deep Pore Cleansing brush.

Four brushes for USD $87.10.

One more sleep

My great mate has just left after spending six days with us. It was a miracle frankly that she even arrived here. Talk about Fawlty Towers. I was expecting her to arrive on June 30, on an afternoon Jetstar flight. But she rang from Sydney airport to say the flight had been cancelled due to the Chilean volcanic ash cloud. She didn’t even get to check-in. Mind you, Air New Zealand kept flying – they flew below 24,000 feet.

She was then due to fly out on July 5 and was to arrive on that dreaded night flight – the one that gets into Christchurch around 10.20pm or so. I was about to leave for the airport in the darkness of night when the phone rang. My friend said “the plane left without me“. Ah, I think what she meant was she was snoozing in the Qantas lounge and missed her name being called to board the flight.

We kept joking that there was just one more sleep until she arrived. And indeed there was because she flew out of Sydney the next day, July 6. She joked that she had a checklist – don’t go to sleep in the Qantas lounge, tick; board plane, tick. I had my own checklist – make sure you board a flight that is Christchurch-bound, not Moscow-bound, tick.

I arrived early at the airport only half-expecting her to emerge from Immigration. Fortunately, I love hanging around airports – it’s a hangover from my youth, when my Dad used to take me to Sydney airport to see planes land and take-off (he was a fighter pilot after all). And then finally, she came rushing out of Immigration. We hadn’t seen each other since February 2010, so it was fantastic to see her again and it was like all my Christmases had come at once because she brought PRESENTS. Three of the items I requested she buy for me in New York (a stop-over for her on the way back from a year in the Caribbean) and she put up with me nagging her about being careful with the Mia.

What is the Mia you ask? Only THE most coveted item on the planet. Well, not quite but those of us in the know when it comes to skincare are aware that the Clarisonic Mia is a sonic skin cleansing system that delivers miracles. Basically, it deep cleanses and improves skin texture. The Mia is ideal for travelling and I wanted one in pink (naturally). The Clarisonic isn’t available in New Zealand and the Classic (the larger version) is available in Australia but is pretty expensive (AU$329.00). My mate carefully hauled the Mia from NYC to NZ via Sydney and really we should have thrown a party in its honour. Love, love, love this product. She bought one too, in mauve, and also managed to get a year’s worth of brush heads for both of us.

I also asked her to get me THE most lusted after bronzer in the United States for Summer 2011 – Dior’s Diorskin Nude Glow Healthy Glow Summer Powder in Aurora (001). It was a close call – should I get Guerlain’s Terra Inca, which has great reviews, or Dior’s Aurora? In the end, it came down to Dior because it’s a pretty peachy pink colour and more wearable for my skintone. I read that it had sold out in many places in the US but my mate headed for Bloomingdales and managed to get it. Frankly, this bronzer is a work of art – it’s a gorgeously textured, woven pattern and I’m reluctant to use it but will.

The third item was a perfume I first had a few years ago but have not been able to get in Australia or NZ – Hanae Mori’s Magical Moon. Hanae Mori is a Japanese fashion designer and Magical Moon is an oriental-floral with notes of vanilla, musk, sandalwood, guava and Osmanthus flower. I’ll do a fuller review of this scent once I’ve reacquainted myself with it. She bought this perfume at Sephora (the mecca of cosmetics and skincare) and included with it were samples of Hanae Mori perfume and lotions. Bonus!

As gifts, my mate gave me the fourth series of Mad Men, which we watched each night whilst scoffing a Memphis Meltdown ice-cream (usually Big Hokey or Big Bikkie flavours). We have declared the Big Bikkie flavour to be the best, followed by Big Hokey. Neither of us like Gooey Caramel or Big Choc Brownie – sorry Fonterra. Her mum (who is like my second mother) gave me Moroccan Oil, which my hair cannot live without and I scored three packets of Haigh’s Milk Chocolate frogs, yum.

We spent the six days going on a food tour of Oxford and surrounds. I’ll do a review of the Dunsandel Store and She Chocolat soon (She Chocolat is a Chocolaterie and Restaurant in Governors Bay, Christchurch and is a must-see if you’re visiting the city). Unfortunately, it was pretty crap weather during her visit so she didn’t really get to see the horses up close and personal. Hopefully, I’ll be in Sydney soon and we’ll go to our favourite food haunts.

The Clarisonic Mia.

In pink! The accompanying Clarisonic cleanser is crappy, wouldn't bother buying it. You can use any cleanser really.

Dior's must-have bronzer for Summer 2011.

A work of art really - the Dior bronzer in its sleek silver case.

A welcome return to my perfume collection: Hanae Mori's Magical Moon.

My mate coming out of immigration. Was so great to see her after a year and a half.