March, 2010
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Review: Bodyshop Nutmeg & Vanilla body scrub
Amy and I always strive to make it really clear when we’ve been given products to review and when we’ve paid for them, because that always effects our reviews, even if we try to not let it. Another ethical dilemma that I’ve come up against recently is what happens when the product I want to review is a gift? So, full disclosure, for Xmas the lovely Lisa gave me this body scrub. It was an excellent present – she knows I like body products, and she also knows that I love the smell of vanilla and spices. So, absolute props to Lisa for the thoughtful gift. But she’s not under review here, the scrub is. Does it do what it says it does?
Get smooth, radiant skin this season with a luxurious creamy exfoliating scrub with nutmeg and natural exfoliants to leave skin feeling soft,smooth and delicately fragranced with the comforting scent of toasted nutmeg and vanilla.
Well, it smells lovely in the shower, although the scent doesn’t carry much further afterwards. And it does feel luxurious and creamy. But it doesn’t feel like a scrub! I know that I have strict scrub requirements (I like it to feel really really rough) which both products I’ve disliked (Celebration Banana Cream Pie scrub) and products I love (Nature’s essence) fail at, compared to my awesome homemade sugar scrub. This Bodyshop scrub contains crushed walnut shells and petunia seeds for exfoliation, so it feels a little gritty, but not very. Plus, the petunia seeds look kind of like bugs, and so they’re not very much fun to have all over you – although it’d be hilarious to give to someone who’s been smoking P and is already freaking out about insects anyway. It’s a bit messy in the shower floor and walls, but washes away pretty easy with a direct stream of water. If you just want a very very gentle scrub, it could suit you, or you could use it with a scrubbing mitt for a real good go. It was a present so I don’t know how much it cost, but Bodyshop stuff in general isn’t very cheap. You can feel virtuous that the honey in it is fair-trade, but for an every day thorough scrub, I’d recommend you invest in some almond oil and a nice essential oil and make your own instead.
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-03-28
- Jezebel does tips on eyelining http://bit.ly/9KhWV9 #
- I need some more ideas for my fave woman in technology for Ada Lovelace Day on the 24th #
- RT @gracielouie http://twitpic.com/1ajkvz WOW – over 450 SMASHBOX items have just arrived and my floor is a sea of colour – gorgeous!! #
- @findingada Help, I'm trying to update my profile with my post's url but my profile won't update! #
- Jezebel does Polyvore, with predictably awesome results: http://bit.ly/9fts83 #
- Did anyone take photos of the FIZZ makeup at the @prettyx3 party? If so, can you please send them to me? Thanks loves! #
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More ANTM liveblogging silliness
After the jump, Lisa and I get our complaining on. Spoiler alerts: we hate Tahlia and London. And Tyra. And your freedoms. And John Key. Read the rest of this page »
Trend alert: multi-hue nails
I’m picking this will be the next big thing:
Painting your nails in multiple (but similar) colours. And not just because you’ve got buttloads of pinks left over from Pretty Pretty Party swaps either. Go ahead, prove me wrong, kids…
Black lipstick and telephones
I’m imagining by now that you’ve seen the new Lady Gaga video for ‘Telephone’, and if for some unknown reason you haven’t, it’s embedded below. It is, quite simply, AMAZE.
There are of course many parts of the video to love, but the part that struck me the most? How awesome Beyonce looked in black lipstick:
Now, for ages I’ve thought that black lipstick could totally be done without being all gothy (in fact, I tried my hand at blue lipstick in 2008), and now finally I have proof! I lust for it so hard. I popped into the M.A.C counter at Kirks to see if they had it in stock, but they said it was from a couple of collections ago. Way to make me feel awesome, M.A.C.
Then, I saw Nina from The Style Hive tweet this pic of her as a Eurasian Beyonce which I hope she won’t mind me sharing here:
She looks amazing and I am so very jealous. Apparently that colour is Chanel Hysteria, which came out over a year ago and is sold out. I am so up to date. Okay, so I’m rambling, but the point is, I need to get my hands on some dark lipstick. But I don’t actually have any money. Make me some recommendations anyway please!
And of course, the best accessory to wear with black lipstick? Chuck Bass.
Product wars: Shu Uemura vs Garnier
I bought some sample Shu Uemura cleansing oils off trademe.co.nz recently. Shu is ordinarily a very expensive brand, and elusive in NZ (though you can buy from Kosmakit in Auckland). So I was eager to try this High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil.
This cleansing oil is supposed to cleanse skin and remove waterproof makeup leaving skin fresh and refined. According to beautypedia.com, this product actually contains a skin-irritating menthol derivative that creates only the illusion of freshness.
But is it a good cleanser? I pitted it against Garnier Clean & Sensitive (which I’ve previously reviewed here) and I don’t think it was nearly as good. It left a lot of mascara residue on my skin and felt even more oily than the Garnier.
So Garnier wins this one. Check out our Winningest Products page for more reviews.
The first row of cotton pads shows the results of the first swipe of the eye for each product. Both products removed most makeup, but the Shu Uemura left mascara residue on my skin.
Review: Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me
Paula, I’m never going to the cosmetics counter without you…never ever again.
I’ve said it before: Consumer Magazine NZ does not give enough thought to the beauty industry. Think about the proportion of your personal or household income spent on hair products, body washes, lotions, fragrance, cosmetics….it’s huge! I’ve looked many times at Consumer’s index of product reviews, and while it’s brimming with appliances, electronics, and service providers, you’ll find very few beauty product reviews.
I can’t think why, because Paula Begoun, author of ‘Don’t go to the Cosmetic Counter Without Me’, makes it look easy.
Basically, she looks at the ingredients list of each product; cross references them against published research; checks back against product claims; weighs the price of the product; and bam! product is reviewed. (OK, so there is a little more to it.)
The book is really a database of the vast majority of beauty products reviewed using the same robust method alongside a simple rating system. Readers can quickly read up on a particular product before purchasing, or look up Paula’s recommendations. If you have preferences for non-animal tested products, paraben-free products, etc there’s enough info there for you to narrow down your search for the best products for you.
And, Paula has a complete and frequently updated database online at beautypedia.com which I also subscribed to. (The book came with a coupon for half price subscription using the code: BP50. But you didn’t hear that from me.) I haven’t been posting on ppp recently because I have been scouring the database for reviews of every product I can think of.
I love beauty products, but that doesn’t mean I have to be made a fool of by marketing and sales creeps. Not anymore! Thanks Paula.
D5 Creation