Lipgloss is my Life

The last time I attended a Crocs event I ended up sitting down on a prop deckchair and slamming my ass into the floor. It hurt. A lot. So I was a little wary about attending a Crocs blogger photoshoot to promote their new Wellie rainboots but I sucked it up and hit send on my RSVP. I mean what’s the worst thing they were gonna do to me, right? Gussy up me up in hair and make-up and then pour icy cold water down back? Ha ha ha… don’t be silly… Except they did just that. The bastards.

Fortunately, once I got used it, it was super duper fun… okay, okay, so that’s a total lie too. It wasn’t. I’m like a cat. I hate being wet. But my God aren’t super gorgeous photies like these totally worth it?!

Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh…

..

Do you like pina coladas? Getting soaked on a set?

I snapped a few behind the scenes shots myself:

Fun, fun, fun.

Our camera guy, Craig Kolesky, is a super fancy sports photographer who’s work’s appeared in mags like Sports Illustrated and ZigZag. Dude’s got some serious skills and the patience of the Gods. Every time they turned on the rain machine I’d shriek and bitch and throw a horrible little diva tantrum.

Craig: ‘Come now Leigh! Step out and kick at that puddle.’
Me: ‘Noooooo! Oh my Goooood! I’m so weeeetttt!!!’
Craig: ‘Yes, well it is a rain machine. Come now, kick at that puddle dear.’
Me: ‘Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!’
Craig: ‘You’ve got to stop hunching up your shoulders. I can’t shoot you if you look like you’re in pain.’
Me: ‘I am in pain. Nooooo! Make it stop!!!’

Honestly, I really do think the people in the studio a level below thought we were making some kind of twisted torture porn. But ja. Like I said the piccies were totes amaze and I got to walk off the set with not one but two pairs of Crocs Wellies.

Crocs Wellie rain boots in Forest, R499,95.

Now I know Crocs have their haters but I’m completely unashamed to admit I freakin’ love these boots. Love them! I have no idea why women would want to spend thousands of rands on those random Hunter boots that are so bloody heavy and just scream ‘I’m a pretentious fashion slave’ when you can pick a pair of Croc’s little darlings for half the price. Aside from looking fab, they’re also as light as air. Every friend who’s spotted them in my room has picked them up and gone ‘Oh! Oh gosh. These are light, hey?’ followed by ‘What? They’re Crocs?! Nooo…’

Anyway, if you want a pair of Crocs Wellie boots yourself you can pick ‘em up online over here or pop into your local Crocs store. And when you spot me wearing them out and about at all the upcoming winter food fests don’t you dare give me kak about it, okay? I’m not a fan of every shoe the brand makes – those slip-on clogs are so not my bag – but as far as rain boots go, Crocs Wellie boots are my new babies.

A big dankie to Tim Starke of Crocs SA for inviting me along, I absolutely love my piccies.

I put my foot down and said I wouldn’t do this last shot unless I was in the middle. Kidding. Kidding. It just kind of happened that way. Promise.

From left to right you’ve got Dimi from StyleScoop, Shoe Girl, myself, Mischa from Brandslut and Emma from StuffbyMissEmmaJude.

Love, love

Leigh

Dove’s new Deep Care Complex-infused Nourishing body lotions have hit the shelves.

Dove Nourishment body lotions, R33,95 a pop.

According to the brand, their new bad boys stand apart from all the others as they offers deep-penetrating hydration that can last for up to ten days. This is according to a study that proved that, if you apply their lotion three times a day, you’ll still be able to find its nutrients hanging around in your skin for up to six days later.

Anyway, while I’m not naked enough to be able to slap my body lotion on three times a day, I’ve been using Dove Intensive Nourishment body lotion for extra dry skin (pictured in the centre) pretty regularly. It contains the Deep Care Complex of hydrating oils that includes sunflower oil as well as other hydrating ingredients like glycerine, urea and collagen amino acids.

Despite being mega-moisturising, I like that Intensive Nourishment feels nice and light and absorbs super-fast. If I didn’t know it wasn’t the most hydrating out of the new crew I’d never have guessed and, for me, this is a good thing. I want my skin to get all the moisture it needs but don’t like having to apply thick, heavy body butter-type formulas.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a very nice daily body lotion, Dove now have some fab new options. Just remember, to really keep dry skin at bay, keep on getting jiggy with your exfoliator. You’ll get the most bang for your buck from any hydrator if your skin isn’t congested. You want whatever you’re using to be able to easily penetrate deep down into the bottom layers of your stratum corneum, not get stuck in a swamp of dead skin cells up top.

For more info from Dove, visit their Facebook page over here.

Love, love

Leigh

Style36 sent me a spoilicous pakkie of treats the other day to highlight some of the beauty brands they have in store.

From left to right: GloMinerals gloss R194, Sparitual (vegan) nail colour R55, SKNLOGIC renew foot balm (R85) and cleanse cream (R130) with fig extract, Bioderman Sensibio H20 cleanser R149,95 and Uriage Eau Thermale water R99,95.

I was thrilled to see the Bioderma cleanser in the mix; it’s one of my beauty staples ‘cos it feels like water on your skin but takes off sommer anything. I’ve also used Uriage Thermal Spa Water before; you can read my review over here.

But ja. Getting back to Style36. It’s kind of crazy how big the store’s gotten in such a short space of time. They’re now offering same day delivery before 11am in selected areas of Cape Town which is flippen’ awesome and these selected area shoppers now have the option of paying cash on delivery. Also, if you live within the Cape Town city bowl or 20km around it, you’ll be able to try on your shoes while the delivery dude waits to ensure it fits perfectly.

Have you used Style36? Was there service any good? I’ve shopped a few online stores in SA and so far, in regards to service, I was most impressed by Mr Price, Stylemology, Takealot and Loot. If there’s anyone else you loved (or loathed) feel free to let a girl know in the comments section.

Love, love

Leigh

When it comes to pigmentation, I’m not really inclined to look for solutions from drugstore brands. Many of them contain proven spot-lightening ingredients, things like niacin (vitamin B3) and vitamin C but, because they’re cheap cheap, they don’t have a high enough concentration of them of to really be super effective.

It’s kind of the same deal with retinol products. Drug store brands want to sell, sell, sell. They want to appeal to everyone. They don’t want to include lots of retinol, which can be very irritating if not used correctly, and have the uninformed masses freak out when their face starts to redden or peel. They don’t need that type of ill-deserved crappy press. So, they end up using it in a piss willy concentration just so they can legally say ‘with retinol’ on the bottle. Or they use it’s much weaker, less effective cousin, pro-retinyl or retinyl palmitate.

Anyway, you can imagine my joy to discover a drugstore pigmentation buster that contains vitamin C. Lots and lots and lots of it. Better yet, it’s served up in a metal tube (not a stupid jar) to protect it from oxidizing. Oh my freakin’ God. Here’s my doing a cousin Balky-style dance o’ joy.

The li’l darling I’m on about? Garnier Dark Spot Corrector daily illuminating moisturiser.

Garnier Dark Spot Corrector daily illuminating moisturiser, R99,99.

Aside from the stable vitamin C, it also contains a bit of salicylic acid to help keep your pores clean and clear. Texture-wise, it’s a light crème-gel that can be used alone if you’re oily-combo like me or under your daily moisturiser if you’re dry. Just make sure you team this with a good sunscreen. You can undo all your hard-won lightening with just one day of sun exposure.

Now, regular readers, I know the first thing you’re going to ask me: ‘OMG. You reviewed Filorga’s Pigment-Perfect the other day and said that was totes amaze too! Should I now buy Garnier’s?’ Well it’s like this; Filorga’s treatment is fab in that it contains loads of vitamin C as well as niacin. It’s always better to attack pigmentation with an array of ingredients as opposed to just one. Different ingredients work in different ways so you’ll be attacking it from all angles and this will help increase your odds in winning. The downer is that Filorga’s cream costs five times as much as Garnier’s. If you’re struggling for cash, I’d pick up Garnier’s. In regards to the quality you’re getting for the amount you’re paying, I don’t know of anything else that’ll beat it.

Love, love

Leigh

You know you’re life’s possibly taken a bit of a low road when you find your panties in the post box. Chances are you aren’t acting like the fine young lady your mama and daddy raised you up to be. It’s that or you’ve been totally spoiled by Lingerie Letters which is totes the case for me. Sjoe.

The envelope read ‘sealed with a little ooh la la la…’

This month’s lady pants are all about strawberries and cream hence the pink cotton and lace. Marie Antoinette would be proud, right? While they’re not the kind of thing I’d pick out for myself this is possibly a good thing. A nice way to get me out of my black hipster thong rut.

Anyway, if you want to get your panties in the post – or send them to someone else, pop on over to Lingerie Letters’ website. From as little as R95, you can have a different pair of panties sent to your post box in discreet packaging. (The postman’s not going to know you’re the type who’d possibly like him to ring twice. Provided he’s a hottie. And drives a car as opposed to a rickety red van like that Pat dude.)

Important deets to know: you can choose between a one, three and six month subscription; choose your favourite style (thongs, briefs or either) and select your size which ranges from XS to XXL.

Thanks Lingerie Letters, this was a fun surprise.

Love, love

Leigh