December, 2008
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Fun in the sun
Southern Hemisphere Christmases are the best! Hot, hot days that languish into the evenings, bees buzzing, barefeet, ice creams.
But this is, afterall, a beauty blog (of sorts), which wouldn’t be complete without a rant about protecting your skin from harmful UV rays and dreaded dehydration.
Tut-tut you sun-sinners, and here are my most favourite summer beauty products:
- Clinique Super City Block spf 40 facial sunblock. It smoothes over the skin and blends perfectly with other moisturisers and make-up. In fact, it gives my face a lovely dewey feel. Brilliant. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.
- Cancer Society Sunscreen Aerosol Spray spf 30 for the rest of your bod. I know they got in trouble for their trigger spray not being all that, but the aerosol is easy to apply and not greasy or sticky.
- Living Nature refreshing body lotion sure is refreshing! and soaks right into thirsty skin.
- I also have it on good authority that Aveeno daily moisturising lotion is great for cracked heels.
What are your best summer buys?
A dollop of awesome
(This guest post is courtesy of PPP P.A.G Hadyn)
When the lovely Miss Amy and Miss Joanna gave me the brand new Dollop pomade I was skeptical. After all, I am a Dapper Dan man and have been for years. But, friends, I can tell you I have changed my tune.
Dollop’s pomade is, like any pomade, greasy to the touch and is perfect for creating those beautiful Donald Draper hairstyles that all the ladies like these days.
Hadyn or Murray or Don?
What sets Dollop apart is the wonderful smell. Dollop’s spicy ginger fragrance is incredibly nice and is a nice change from the usual chemically smells of other men’s hair products. And best of all it’s all natural ingredients.
The texture of Dollop pomade may put some guys (and girls) off. It is a greasy oily and can give your hair a dirty feel. But don’t worry, it softens during the day and feels like “normal” after an hour or two.
Also the clever both-ways-up Dollop logo means I always know what I’m reaching for (no matter my state in the morning).
(And as a person with long hair who usually doesn’t do very much to it, I think a tiny little bit of Dollop rubbed through makes a really nice light setting product, but Hadyn stole the stuff away before I had a proper chance to experiment with it)
Merry Christmas!
Thanks for all your comments and tips and clicks! Hope you’ve had a Merry Xmas.
Here’s my favourite things about xmas so far:
Feliz Navidad carol
Popping Magical Elves chocolates
French toasted Panettone for breakfast
Flowering Pohutukawa in our tree
Tee shirt for the cat that Mum made.
Barbie’s a box of birds
Just goes to show what a classy lady Barbie is – I can’t see the Bratz pulling off this look.
This from: boingboing
The Birds-themed Barbie doll is licensed Mattel toy.
In 1963, Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense, gave us a tale of terror not soon forgotten in his film “The Birds.” Dressed in a re-creation of the stylish green skirt-suit worn by the film’s ill-fated heroine in an iconic scene, Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” Barbie® Doll celebrates the 45th anniversary of the acclaimed film. From the doll’s classic ensemble to the perfectly painted expression to the accompanying black birds, every aspect captures the film’s infamous appeal.
What a girl wants…
Wish-list website boxedup.com gave us some inside info on most popular brands requested by girls this Christmas. Number one is Lush – a bit of a surprise. No surprise to me that MAC is no. 2 though.
TOP EIGHT MOST WANTED BRANDS – GIRLS
Lush
MAC Cosmetics
Abercrombie & Fitch
ASOS
UGG
Marc Jacobs
Hello Kitty
Juicy Couture
And the winners are…
Winners of the Black Opal prize:
Fishie and Lilly
Winner of the Linden Leaves prize:
Maria Guerra
Congratulations winners! We’ll email you to arrange things.
And thanks everyone else for entering.
Poll Dancing
I’ve added a polls plugin to the site so that we can ask you all the vitally important questions that we’d like answers to.
First up, I’m having many many dilemmas about what I should wear to the most important night of the year, the TAWA Ceremony. You can see pictured what I wore last year, so obviously I need to top that.
Do I go with my old standby, the green dress and belt, ala Tom’s Mad Men Party? My black and purple dress ala Amy’s 30th? Or do I wear this blue dress that I haven’t worn very often, which Karen is currently making me an extra petticoat for so that it’s a decent length? The first two offer up a lot more cleavage which I think would help console those who don’t win, but they’ve made big public outings before. Should I go for something different? Or if I’m going to be running around like crazy freaking out about organisation stuff, should I just make sure that I’m comfortable?
What should Joanna wear to the TAWAS?
- The blue dress (50%, 13 Votes)
- The purple & black dress (27%, 7 Votes)
- The green dress (23%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 26
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Enter our competitions! They close Tuesday so jump to it.
First, there’s the Black Opal comp – if you’re in Auckland, or have dear friends in the Big Smoke, then enter!
Second is the Linden Leaves comp – manly man-smells could be yours!
In the news: semi-permanent lash extensions
Not to be confused with false eyelashes, a do-it-yourself option that lasts for a day or evening, extensions require a real commitment, since they are glued one-by-one to natural lashes.
The process can take 45 minutes or longer and cost from $40 to $100 and more, depending on the number of lashes and the skill and training of the beautician.
Still, the extensions are smudge-free, last for weeks and are said to be immune to a dip in the pool or a visit to the sauna.
“I do it for fun. Your eyes look so much wider and bigger,” says 24-year-old Asuka Miyajima, an extension aficionado who works for a fashion firm. “It looks like mascara but lasts about two weeks. And you don’t have to put on too much make-up.”
At Glamour Eye Salon in downtown Tokyo, Makiko Kurokawa, 26, plies her trade with the precision of a skilled artisan.
In a demonstration on an assistant reclining on a narrow bed, Kurokawa first covers the lower lashes with tape to protect them, then applies a criss-cross of tape from the eyelids across the eyebrows to create tension so that the real eyelashes protrude.
After brushing out the natural lashes with a cotton swab, she takes up tweezers and glue and delicately begins attaching the extensions, in this case 25 strands between 10 mm and 11 mm long (0.4 inch), one by one to individual natural lashes.
After a brief blast of cool air from a small hair dryer to dry the glue, the tape is removed and the process is complete.
Mighty party Jo!
Jo’s South Pacific party last Saturday was fantastic! Sun, bbq, cocktails, snacks… oh, and a tiki shack!
I went in Pearl Harbour garb (1940s-esq). I got the idea for my hair from pursebuzz (of course) See her video below..
D5 Creation