Saturday Girl SA: beauty

I may have gone a little overboard in the LUSH store recently……. as one does. I have been using drips and drags of cream and scrubs and finally after they all finished I decided it was time to invest in new ones! Summer is coming up and I definitely feel like I want to shake off the long winter (and my dry skin) so what better place to sooth the soul and spoil ones self. PS: If you ever want to buy me a gift - you know where to go……

I cannot recommend LUSH products enough. For some reason I always had this perception that they are pricey. Actually they are well made products that really WORK and are reactively inexpensive compared to some of the other products out there that are loaded with all sorts of weird chemicals. I had a little LUSH sabbatical because I no longer have a bath since moving, so we only have shower now and I forgot about all the other great products they have - not just cool fizzy balls for the bath.

So here is a little break down of the three products I am currently in love with.

RUB RUB RUB - Shower Scrub
This is a fine sea salt scrub with a light fragrance of mimosa and orange flower. It isn't too harsh on the skin as a scrub and its perfect because it lathers up and becomes incredibly soft and smooth making it a fantastic shower gel. I suffer with dry skin and if I use a very heavy exfoliator which sometimes aggravates my skin. This is just the perfect combination and you can also apply it to dry skin before you hop into the shower for deeper exfoliation. The best part is, you can still smell it on your skin later in the day and it really does feel very luxurious when you apply it. I haven't tried it yet, but they also recommend you use it in your hair as sea salt creates volume and is great for massaging the scalp. If anyone has tried this let me know! Also fantastic for tired feet!

NEW CHARITY POT - Hand and body lotion
Each Charity Pot aims to create change through funding small grassroots groups working in the areas of environmental, human rights and animal protection and 100% of the proceeds from each sale go to charity.

This particular one "aims to educate the local community in squatter camps in and around Cape Town on the harmonious relationship between humans and animals. " - Lush SLUSH fund.

It contains Fair Trade cocoa butter, fresh aloe and moringa oil, as well as rosewood oil, geranium and ylang ylang. Ummmmm I cannot even become to express my deep love for this lotion. I don't know if I will use another brand for a really long time - because this brand works. You do not need a lot of it and it absorbs into your skin beautifully! I am a big fan of the Dove Shea Butter Body Lotion, by oh my heavens, this stuff simply steals the show. It is another level of luxurious. It smells edible and is incredible and I just want to lie in a bath of it (if I had one and it came in that quantity) because its that good! Yes that good. It leaves my skin feeling so nourished and after a hot shower it soaks in beautifully. It has a slightly oily texture so you need to rub it in well and I usually apply it at night before bed. I also use it in morning on my arms and elbows and it doesn't leave me feeling greasy or sticky. I am punting this product to everyone I know, especially if you suffer from dry skin. I use it as a hand cream at night before I sleep when it will have the most chance of absorbing into my skin and I can already feel my hands are softer and less dry. Please try it and let me know your thoughts!

LIP SERVICE - Lip balm
I am a huge DCT Blistex fan and have always suffered with dry or cracked lips so its my ultimate go to lip balm. I gave my last pot to a friend and since then have been looking for alternatives to DCT, I haven't found one to be honest but this is a close second. Just some of the ingredients include, apricot kernel oil, cocoa butter, beeswax and extra virgin olive oil. It has a granular texture to it so feels a bit weird, but once you apply it its very smooth and soothing and it doesn't dry out easily. It also, obviously smells incredible and edible.

So those are my top three favourite LUSH products at the moment and the one thing I have noticed is that you don't need a lot of each product and they really do last. Quality for sure and I will be stocking up when this lot runs out. I have yet to find a LUSH product that is disappointing and I am going to stay a big fan I think. Don't forget to return your empty lush containers!

For more information on other products and prices check out the LUSH South Africa online store

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Recently I put up a review for the new Schwarzkopf Color Mask. I have been waiting for awhile to do this review so I could really get a feel for the products and because my hair has had a little bit of a beating after a stressful year - introducing the new Schwarzkopf GLISS with Liquid Nutri-silk

The new and improved formula with Liquid Silk aims to increase the gloss factor and provide hair with a silk like feel and look. The range can be used for every day use, but I find since my hair is fine, everyday of ALL the products at the same time, can make it a little oily, especially if I don't use a small amount of conditioner (rookie error). overall I really like this product. This Keratin aims to enrich and nourish your hair while repairing it. This range is designed for brittle, dull hair.

Gliss Liquid Silk Shampoo

Smells amazing and lathers up beautifully and rinses out easily. This is also great if you have long hair that's in need of some TLC

Gliss Liquid Silk Conditioner

For me personally, I find with all the Keratin products, you don't need a lot of product to get the job done. You really need a small amount of conditioner and it works into your hair with a silky texture and amazing smell. Also easy to rinse out.

Gliss Hair Repair Mask

This mask is a total must. It is very nourishing and aims to leave your hair supple with a nice glossy look. I love this mask because you only need to leave it in for 1 minute. The texture and feel of the mask is very luxurious and provides intensive care.

Gliss Express Repair Condition

My favourite! Simple to use - towel dry your hair a bit and spray the express repair conditioner in. This for me is the winning product of the range. my hair felt like it was more supple and had a nice healthy glossy shine to it without it looking flat and oily. Also works well if your looking for something to detangle your hair before blow drying it.

I would say what works personally for me - the shampoo and conditioner are great for daily use, mask 2-3 times a week, depending on how brittle your hair may be, the leave in conditioner is perfect for after every wash. not the greatest picture (was on my way out one evening) but this is what my hair looked like after using all the products above. I find the conditioner and mask really help boost volume as apposed to weighing down my hair with product.

If you have any thoughts or have tried the product yourself, I would love to hear about it!

xxx

Saturday Girl SA

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I got the opportunity to try out these amazing new permanent hair dyes from Shwarzkopf. For me personally, I don't dye my hair simply based on the fact that I am rather happy with my hair colour and I am also not ready to take a leap into the world of hair dye, yet! So my lovely friend Emma tested out the light brown shade 665 for me. (Another friend will be trying out the blonde next week).

I love Schwarzkopf products because they are a sure bet for top quality and I find their hair care range (which I am currently trying out - see review soon) provides a lot of moisture and a shine. My mom and my friends dye their hair and often the feedback is the same - hair that is dry and weak after home dye application. It is always lovely to go to a salon and have a professional do your hair, but cost wise, it can become expensive and I really think what the colour mask offers is salon quality that you can do at home. It comes in a variety of gorgeous natural looking shades as well.

What it promises:

Color Mask has a unique and luxurious hair mask texture. The hair mask contains amino-active-protein and vitamin-oil-complex resulting in incredibly soft to touch and deeply cared for hair with a healthy, glossy shine.

Emma's review

I was really excited to try the Schwarzkopf Color Mask as I had read up on it on other blogs and had only read great reviews about it. The shade I tried was “Light Golden Brown”. As you can see in the pic, my hair was previously a golden blonde colour that had a faint reddish tinge to it (natural colour).

I opened the box to find a small tub of Developer Cream, a tube of Colour Cream, a sachet of Hair Mask and an instruction leaflet with gloves.

I squeezed the tube of Colour Cream into the jar with the Developer Cream, and as per the leaflet, and shook it for about 40 shakes, or until the two creams looked like they were combined. I must say that I absolutely loved this aspect of the dye, as there is no mess and no fuss. I put on the gloves and worked the product through my hair as much as I could with my fingertips and then clipped it up with an oversized hair clip. The leaflet suggests leaving it on for 30 minutes but I left it on for 40, as I had dyed my hair previously and the colour didn’t take to my hair properly.

After 40 minutes I rinsed the dye out. The nice thing about this dye is that it doesn’t take long for the water to run clear.

I had some dye on my ears and neck but it came off easily with warm water and a cloth. Next I applied the Hair Mask to my hair (I only used about half the sachet) and again clipped my hair up and waited 2 minutes for the mask to soak in. I rinsed it out completely and then combed my hair and let it dry naturally. The mask made my hair feel, look and smell amazing!

I then inspected it to see how much of a difference there was. The new colour was apparent in my roots and the front part of my hair, but I didn’t get enough coverage all over. I was a bit disappointed by this but I knew I should have used 2 boxes as the leaflet said that 2 boxes should be adequate for hair that is longer than shoulder length (and mine definitely is!)

The only thing I didn’t like was how strong smelling the dye was. It is a pungent ammonia smell that made my eyes water slightly, but the smell was gone once I had applied the hair mask, and actually smelled amazing afterwards. Natalie so kindly bought me another box of the dye and I dyed it again, this time focusing on the back and the ends.

The result was fabulous! It is more of a coppery-brown colour but I really love it. This was only my second time dying my hair ever, but I will definitely go back to buy the Schwarzkopf Color Mask as it is the easiest at-home hair dye I have seen advertised, and is at an affordable price-point for its quality.

My hair felt considerably soft to touch and didn't feel brittle at all. This is a great product for women who are wary of purchasing dye because of the damaging effects it sometimes has. It definitely deliver what it promises.

Thanks to Natalie and Schwarzkopf for the opportunity to try this product.

Thanks Emma :)

xxx

Saturday Girl SA

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