Lipgloss is my Life

Okay, so I hate covering several products in one post; it’s not great for my SEO but hey. I’ve taken on so much mag work this week I actually feel a bit panicky and hysterical. Still, despite the fact that my face is tingling with stress, I’m still going to manage to get my pretty on thanks to a host of hot new beauty goodies that all deserve attention.

Schwarzkopf Gliss Hair Repair Ultimate Oil Elixir

Schwarzkopf Gliss Ultimate Oil Elixer mask, conditioner, shampoo, leave-in conditioning spray and Nutri-Serum spray.

Schwarzkopf Gliss have launched their new Ultimate Oil Elixir range. Ingredients-wise, you’re looking at nourishing argan oil, gold particles to add shine and lots of hydrolized keratin to fortify brittle, damaged , straw-like locks. The kind of uber droog, straw-like hair you end up with after you hit the ghd or bleach batch a li’l too hard.

Knowing this, I thought it would be waaay to heavy for my hair but perfect for those dealing with the aforementioned dramz but – surprise surprise – it’s actually working for me. I’ve been using the spray on conditioner, regular conditioner and mask on my lengths and it leaves them feeling silky, looking shiny and very easy to brush while wet. The shampoo doesn’t make my hair feel greasy either and cleanses so gently that I don’t have to use conditioner in my scalp area.

If you’re hair’s in a bad way and needs lots of TLC, this is no Kerastase Masquintense (the ultimate nightmare hair situation saviour) but it’s definitely one of the best inexpensive non-salon solutions on the shelf. I also like the way it smells; like creme brulee!

Oh! One last thing; if you’re torn between the shimmery oil and the leave in conditioner, consider this; the former is quite silicone so it adds shine but doesn’t hydrate half as much as the latter which is why I actually prefer it.

Garnier PureActive Intensive charcoal scrub 

Garnier PureActive Intensive charcoal scrub, R89,95.

Garnier has a new facial wash scrub on the shelves and this one’s a real goodie. I’ve tried a couple of their scrub-washes and find they’re not really scrubby enough to give my face a regte exfoliation; the kind that actually helps to remove facial self-tan.

This new one, however, has a nice concentration of scrubbies. If you use it on a slightly damp face as opposed to a wet one, it’s actually pretty fierce which I like. Aside from oil and impurity-absorbing charcoal, it also contains zit-zapping salicyclic acid.

Skin Republic Spots + Blemish Anti-Spot & Pore Refining face mask sheet

Skin Republic Spots + Blemish mask R34,99, Edgars, Red Square and Dis-Chem.

On the topic of spots, Skin Republic (formally known as Skin Logic) have added a new spot-busting mask to their range. It contains loads of glycerine to help hydrate your face while astringent witch hazel tones up your pores. The mask also includes antibacterial tea tree oil (but not enough to irritate sensitive skin), salicylic acid to exfoliate deep inside your pores and collagen-encouraging gota kola extract.

I used it last week and liked that it left my skin looking plump yet taught. Also, thanks to the inclusion of chamomile extract, it helped soothe a bit of redness around my chin, the result of an overzealous exfoliation session not related to Garnier’s charcoal scrub, promise.

Clicks Argan 5 

Argan 5 Precious Oil Elixir, R99,99, exclusive to Clicks.

Clicks have added yet another exclusive new brand to their portfolio; Argan 5, a range of argan-oil infused products that hail from the UK and are currently flying off the shelves at Boots.

I got to try Argan 5 Precious Oil Elixir for skin, hair and nails. I really liked that this product wasn’t just a blend of silicones with just a dash of argan oil thrown in. It lists argan oil as its very first ingredient along with these guys:

• Baobab Oil – contains vitamins A, D, E and F as well as Omega 3, 6 and 9.
• Kukui Seed Oil – rich in Omega 3 and 6.
• Moringa Oil – rich in antioxidant collagen-encouraging vitamins A and C.
• Sacha Inci Oil – contains vitamin A and high levels of  Omega 3 and 6.

If you’re a fan of multi-tasking oils consider using this one; the formulation is fab.

Sally Hansen Maximum Shield

Sally Hansen Maximum Shield nail strengthener, R79,95.

Struggling with weak, brittle nails? New Sally Hansen Maximum Shield has a dual aldehyde formula that bonds to your nails to make them harder, tougher, more durable.

To explain, the more layers on your nails, the more fortified they’ll be. A good example of how this works is to use the paper plate analogy; it’s easy to bend or break one paper plate, right? But if you stack ten together you’re going to have a tougher time in bending them or ripping the stack in half.

Anyway, as far as base coats go, this is great. I like that it dries in a flash and the finish is shiny enough to be used as a top coat too. Bonus!

Seen anything you’re dying to try? Bought any of the above? Chat to me in the comments section.

Love, love

Leigh

I have a bit of a love-hate affair with Filorga. Some of their stuff is fab but they tend to have a penchant for weird and wonderful ingredients; next gen shizz that’s supposed to be totes amaze but doesn’t always have a million scientfic studies from various independents to prove it and that type of thing tends to make me nervy.

So ja. When their Pigment-Perfect Dark Spot Corrector arrived I kind of braced myself with an inner monologue that kind of rang along the lines of this: ‘Right! So what are they using this time? Extract of South Romanian rabid eel eggs?! God! Why can’t these people just use a tried and tested spot corrector at a nice, high, effective concentration? Something like vitamin C which yes, is super ‘boring’, but proven by a zillion dermatologists to work?’

And then I sat down, read the press release and felt like a total bitch after discovering Pigment-Perfect’s key ingredient is ‘a new generation of vitamin C offered in a more soluble and stable form to help reduce melanin synthesis and even out the complexion’. Yayness!

Filorga Pigment-Perfect dark spot corrector serum R685, selected Edgars and Red Square stores.

Another key ingredient Filorga’s keen to point out is hop extract to help reduce melanin production while reducing the number of active melanocytes to decrease the size of existing spots. It sits very low down in the ingredients list though but this doesn’t bother me as I see they’ve used good ole vitamin B3 (niacinimide) right up top along with the vitamin C and that’s a real goodie when it comes to slowing down melanin transfer.

But of course there’s the obligatory weird and wonderful ingredient; Lanacrys 2B. I’ve never heard of Lanacrys 2B and can find pretty much zip about it via Google but Filorga say it’s an extract of golden chamomile that has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. (For the record, there’s loads of info regarding Golden Chamomile and its efficacy as an antioxidant; it’s a nice pick. I just couldn’t find anything on Lanacrys 2B, the derivative that Filorga’s using.)

Texture-wise, Pigment-Perfect feels fabulously light and silky on my face. It’s a great hydrator for anyone with oily/combination skin. I also LOVE that it’s packaged in a tube to protect its ingredients from oxidising. I’m currently in the middle of using a hydroquinone-based product I bought overseas to zap two dark spots around my eye area (damn ye, birth control pill and sunshine) so I’m not able to test this on my own skin but from a formulation-perspective I can tell you that its a very nice option if you’re looking for something to help blitz mild to medium pigmentation*. Just team it with a high SPF and you’re good to go.

Love, love

Leigh

*I’m saying mild to medium because if you’ve got serious pigmentation I wouldn’t stuff around with OTC products. Rather get your ass to a dermatologist and get something on presciption. They might even suggest you try laser therapy or a series of skin peels which sounds like a total las but you’ll be more likely to end up getting the results you’re after.

Last week the sweet peeps at sloggi (yes, that’s right; no capital, okay?) spoiled me with a double set of one of their comfiest underwear lines; a sloggi Light bra and hipster 2-pack. Value-wise, it’s kind of ridiculous; 2 bras for R229,95 and 2 hipster briefs for R119,95.

The undies have cute little bow details on the back, the same that’s on the front of each bra.

The bra’s cups sit nice and close together and are padded to the point where it’ll give you a zexy plunging cleavage while the hipster briefs are made from nylon and cotton with loads of spandex for stretch so they feel fabulously soft and feather light against your skin. I like that, because of how stretchy they are, they don’t cut into your ass and create a soul-crushing muffin top.

As I spend a good chunk o’ time running around in teensy little party rokkies, I’ve bought lots of different invisible seam undies over the years and sloggi’s are definitely the most comfortable as well as the sheerest. The weave’s so fine, in fact, that the black material could easily be used to make a pair of tights.

Anyway, I wasted no time in ripping off my clothes to take a selfie of me rocking my hot new sloggi onderklere.

You have no clue how many squats it took to get my ass looking like that.

My flatmate Kim has just pointed out that the above pic looks nothing like me and that you probably won’t believe me when I tell you it’s just li’l ole me in a choc-coloured wig a la Britney during her breakdown. You can’t listen to her though. Girl’s obviously wracked with the jellies. The only thing she gets in the mail are speeding fines and pamphlets from a local car wash. No sexy sloggis for that hater face, oh no.

You, however, can win with sloggi and there are not one but two ways to do it.

Enter sloggi’s ‘feel good with sloggi’ competition via Facebook.
Two of you could win R1000 worth of sloggi underwear, spa pamper vouchers worth R1 500 and have R500 donated to a charity of your choice. For details on how to enter (it’s beyond easy) visit the brand on Facebook.

Enter MY competition that’ll runs until COB Thursday.
If you win, sloggi will give you R1000 worth of sloggi underwear which works out to be approximately 4 bras, 4 hipster briefs and 6 g-strings. Get set for the year, y’all!

All you have to do is drop me a mail on glossycomps@gmail.com with the subject ‘sloggi comp’. You don’t have to follow me on twitter or any of that kak, just drop me a mail, okay? Once I’ve got all your entries I’ll let Kim earn a few forgiveness brownie points by having her pick one out.

So what are you waiting for girls? Get clicky clicky and hold thumbs you’re a winner with sloggi.

Love, love

Leigh

It’s that time of year again; Societi Bistro’s holding a culinary tour through Italy. As of the 15th, each week for ten weeks, the restaurant will serve up a new menu consisting of Italian specialities paired with a carefully chosen wine inspired by various parts of country.

To give you an idea, here’s a look at week/region 7:

Region 7 Tuscany & Liguiria - Wednesday 26th June to Tuesday 2nd July 2013

Menu

La Ribollita R38

hearty Tuscan bean soup

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Bistecca alla Fiorentina R145

grilled 500g T-bone steak, fresh lemon

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Candied Fruit Gelato R10 per scoop

We highly recommend a 125ml glass (R25) of Terra del Capo Sangiovese or bottle (R122).

For those on a budget, know that there are cheaper weeks. For example, there are weeks featuring lasagne and Melanzane Parmigiana (yummy aubergine bake) and those cost around R70/R80.

Anyway, to celebrate the launch, Societi Bistro invited a bunch of media peeps to wine and dine in their courtyard, giving everyone a little taste of what’ll be in store for the weeks to come. Of everything I tasted I most enjoyed their infamous uber-succulent T-bone steak that they flame grill with just a little olive oil and lemon juice. Simple. Perfect. Amazeballs.

I also enjoyed the Melanzano Parmigiano, Cape fish served on salsa and the lentil stew. Oh and let’s not talk about the evil chocolate and nut gelato? I knocked back a good three cones but they were totally worth the treadmill time. Usually, if you go to Societi, you can order up a scoop of their gelato for a mere R10. If you haven’t done this yet, do it the next time you go; it’s always ridiculously good and as far as I’m concerned a dinner or lunch at Societi would never be complete without it.

Yummy melanzane up top; Mario and Clouds getting their gelato mania on; below on the left is the steak a la awesomeness and the v delish fish on the right.

..

Up top is the yummy lentil stew with sausage and below is are the mussels served in tomato, white wine, garlic and chilli. I’m not a mussel fan but Clouds and my date, Farmboy, agreed they were ‘rustic’ and ‘delicious’.

Wine-wise, I most liked this boy:

Anthonij Rupert Terra Del Capo Sangiovese

It’s a light, juicy red with notes that include raspberry, black cherry, a hint of liquorice and a bit of vanilla oak and nutmeg spice. I could only really pick up on the berries and liked that it’s light, easy to drink and has a low alcohol content; the kind of red you could easily drink in the sun at a braai. It’s also not going to murder your wallet as it retails for around R75.

Want to get a look at the full menu? Pop on over here.

Love, love

Leigh

If you spotted a sloggi comp on the blog and now can’t find it, don’t panic. The post went up prematurely and will be back up on Wednesday. Sorry about that!

Please don’t send your entry email through again, I’ve got it safe and sound so you can consider yourself in it to win it.

Love, love

Leigh