Monday, 30 April 2018

Current Beauty Favourites: First Edition 2018

Hi beautiful people,
I'm trying to be more consistent with my posts, but it's hard. There's plenty to write about but I haven't had the time to sit down and collect my thoughts about all the products that I've tried out over the last couple of months.
I tried my hand at monthly favourites last year but I think I lasted all of 3 months? So here we go again, this time I've titled the posts as "current favourites" because they don't necessarily change month-to-month for me.

#1 SVR Sebiaclear Crème SPF50 for combination to oily skin (50ml)

Anyone with medium to dark skin, knows the struggle of finding a high SPF day cream that won't gives that grey lavender tinge or make us look "casket-ready". I've been using this since January and one tube lasts about 4 months; which is not bad considering I use it every day. I've only just repurchased. This creme is thicker than the Body Shop Skin Defence Multi-Protection Essence SPF 50 (which was a favourite in 2017) but its not greasy. It has a neutral scent (not unlike other sunscreens), it's easily absorbed into the skin and it has a dry touch finish. I wear it on it's own or under my Lancome teint idole ultra 24hr foundation without any issue. This one is a keeper. It's available at most Clicks stores and online.

Never leave the house without suncreen.

#2 Missha Time Revolution First Treatment Essence &  #3 Time Revolution Night Repair Science Activator Ampoule
I have been in love with K -beauty since my first haul on holiday to South East Asia 5 years ago. I got this as free gift when I purchased the Time Revolution Night Repair Science Activator Ampoule at a Missha store in Singapore last July. I wish I was more conscientious in taking pictures of my skin when I start a new skincare product. I use this essence twice a day on most days after toning, but before moisturiser, serum or a sheet mask. This essence contains yeast ferment lysate and helps to
soothe texture, moisturising, balancing, brightening, and has anti-ageing properties. 

The Missha Night Repair serum has been touted as the cheaper dupe for the Estee Lauder Night Repair serum and the Lancome Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Serum; all 3 contain yeast ferment lysate. I alternate it with the Naruko Night Gelly and The Ordinary Vitamin C suspension. 
It has no scent and it's easily absorbed into the skin, without leaving any sticky residue or film. I've reached the pinnacle in my skincare journey: I no longer wakeup with a greasy face in the morning (That's a win for K-beauty right there).
My skin has definitely improved in terms of texture its much smoother and my blemishes fade away more quickly (I'll attribute this to the combination of this Essence and the night repair serum). I've gotten to the point where I can go out without foundation. Yay! 

It's available in South Africa from SAMIKA and Pink Cosmetics. Or you can purchase from YesStyle for really good deals but the wait time is ~2 months.

#4 My Natural Hair Edge Gel
I have never been one to "lay edges" maybe because I was yet to find the one. This edge gel is so good that it can slick down type 4 edges without a brush (Sorcery! I tell you). It's soft and flexible, so it's easy to manipulate. The fragrance is like the other products in the range, a light herbal floral scent. It's available from Beauty on TApp and Shop for Life.

sLay those edges

#5 Camille Rose Naturals Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse
Alert the media people, I have found my holy grail shampoo. It smells like cupcakes...I love cupcakes. This one is hyped up on YouTube  and I was curious if it would be THAT good. It is! It suds up like regular shampoo but it doesn't dry my hair out and I can detangle with it and leaves my hair soft and manageable.A little goes a long way so this current bottle should last me a year. It's available at Style Studio and Beau2you.co.za

Wash Day Heaven

#6 Juvia's Place The Festival Palette
I love all my palettes from Juvia's Place. This latest like the others is full of brights in mattes and shimmers. I can do so many looks with this palette; from neutral to bright and bold. Everyone should try at least one Juvia's Place palette.  Here's my full review for the palette
This palette inspired by West African festivals

#7 Stila Stay All-Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso
Stila makes my favourite formula for liquid lipsticks; they last through the day with minimal fading and no feathering. I got this in a mini/deluxe as a free gift for purchasing two Stila items at Woolworths. It's a classic red lip, not as blue toned as Fiery (another favourite of mine), it's a dupe for Ruby-Woo in terms of colour but not wear: Ruby-Woo feels more drying on the lips. This shade suits every skintone and I love that. 

The Classic Red Lip; Stila liquid lip in Beso


Have you tried any of the products? What are your current favourites? Let me know in the comments below. 

See you in my next post, 
xoxo, 



Tuesday, 24 April 2018

The Festival by Juvia's Place: five looks, one palette

Hello,
I'm finally writing up my review for the latest Juvia's Place palette; part of 'The Festival' collection which includes an eyeshadow palette and two matte liquid lipsticks. I purchased my palette through Beauty Gifts by Melanie in early March as a birthday gift to myself. Other third party sellers that I've purchased from are SAMIKA, Pink Cosmetics and Fashion Police. You can also order the palette directly from Juvia's Place or Beauty Bay.
Let me tell you, she's gorgeous; Juvia's Place palettes are inspired by African culture and this one is inspired by the Wodaabe Gerewol in West Africa.
Here's the description from Juvia's Place:
 "The festival party filled with mystic trances. A celebration of daring and bold colors. Not for the faint heart. A beautiful blend of colors to make everyday festive. Consists of 9 highly pigmented shades."


You can already tell which I shades I'm really digging.

The palette consists of five matte shades (Izafa, Ofala, Mmanwu, Iri Ji and Oro) and 4 shimmer and satin shades (Uli, Keleke, Aba and Odogwu).

As usual, I like to give myself at least 2 weeks with a palette, before I post a review. I get to play with it and learn how to play with the shades. For a beginner, most Juvia's Place palettes can feel incohesive and challenging, but I'm not into neutral palettes so each new palette is fun learning experience.

Below are some of the looks I came up with (I had to do this twice, since my previous phone died on me and I lost all my pictures).

Look #1
EYES: Crease - Iri Ji, Outer  - Aba & Lid  - Uli. Liner: Lancome Grandiose Liner in 02. Mascara: L'Oreal Lash Paradise Voluminous. Lips: Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Heroine.



Look #2
EYES: Crease - Iri Ji, Inner and outer - Keleke & Centre Lid - Aba. Liner: Essence long-lasting liner in Purple Rain.  Lips: Stila Stay All-Day liquid lipstick in Amore 09
Look #3
EYES: Apply a light layer of Uli over the entire lide and crease. Then add Izafa to the outer corner. Liner: Lancome Grandiose and Lash Paradise Voluminous. Lips: Stila Stay All-day liquid lipstick in Beso.
Look #4
EYES: Crease - Ofala, Outer - Izafa & Inner - Oro. Liner: Lancome Grandiose and Essence long lasting liner in Berry Fantastic. Mascara: L'Oreal Lash Paradise Voluminous. Lips: Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Conspiracy

Look #5
EYES: Crease - Mmanwu, Inner and Centre Lid - Keleke & Outer - Iri Ji. Liner: Essence extreme long lasting liner in Blackest Love. Mascara: L'Oreal Lash Paradise Voluminous. Lips: Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Psycho.


For my eyeshadow base I use the Urban Decay Primer Potion in Caffeine, except for look #4 where I layed down a white base with the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (this is just to make the colours pop against my skin, especially the mustard yellow Oro). All the shades are buttery soft as expected from Juvia's Place. I feel as though the mattes not as velvety as the shades in the Saharan II palette (See Review Here). The shimmers are not as soft as those in the Nubian II palette (Review Here).

I'm not wearing any foundation in any of these shots, just sunscreen (SVR Sebiaclear Crème SPF50). For blush, I'm either wearing MAC in Devil with Springsheen as a soft highlighter or I'm wearing blush colours from the Saharan Blush palette Volume I (also from Juvia's Place).

Which of these is your favourite? Let me know in the comments section.

Until my next post, 
xoxo