Lipgloss is my Life

OMG! I’m sooo impressed with Forever 21. (America’s version of Mr. P.) It’s now become this full on addiction and Karisa and I spend all our time trawling the site for awesomeness, creating huge wish lists, ordering up a storm…

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll remember that we ordered a bunch of stuff from the online site a little while ago and held thumbs, hoping the quality would be decent and that we wouldn’t get screwed on taxes… as it turns out, the clothes are AWESOME, super cheap (even when you convert from dollars to rands) and… (gasp!) WE DIDN’T GET TAXED! Seriously. We only paid for what we bought plus the delivery fee – nothing else. It took A WEEK to arrive and was DHLed directly to my door.

Everything arrived all neatly folded and in clear plastic sakkies. Delivery was $54/R432 (which we split).

Here’s my part of the haul:

That zexy little bandage skirt was R68 (yes, really), the grey leggings were R46 and the blazer cost me R240. Can you HANDLE it?!

Oooh, now get a close up on my soet li’l ringetjie:

$1,50 meaning a mere TWELVE RAND!

Needless to say, we’re now completely hooked and have just placed order number two. If you’re looking for gorgeous klere and aren’t afraid of online shopping, you’ve got to give it a bash. Still, there are a few things to bear in mind… for one, we might’ve gotten lucky. There’s no telling if the tax man let that one slide and is going to klap us on the next one, so it makes sense to mentally prepare for a potential tax of up to 50%. Thus, before you buy, ask yourself if you’re still prepared to buy it for double the price. (However, even at double, most things are still cheaper than in SA). We’re also sending our next haul to a different address (K’s instead of mine) just in case there’s any truth to that whole ‘they tend to let parcel number one slide but take note of it and then tax you on the second’ rumour.

Anyway, I’m now going to be blowing my hard-earned cash on clothes and accessories from Forever21. Would you be keen to give it a go?

X x x

I have a bit of an issue with toners in that, for the most part, I think they’re a little unnecessary. You actually don’t really haaaave to use one, but many beauty houses would have you believe otherwise. (Medicated toners, however, are a different story; i.e. those that have loads of BHA/salicylic acid in them are fab for blackhead busting…) But ja, getting back to regular plain old ‘toner for the sake of having a toners’… these can still be useful, if not compulsory, in that they do a great job of removing any excess make-up your cleanser didn’t fully take off. I mean how many times have you washed your face and then swept a toner-soaked cotton pad over your skin and marveled at the stuff it’s picked up? 

Anyway, the other day I was given Neutrogena’s bestselling Alcohol-free toner* and I think its utterly fab.

I love how it makes my skin feel super-fresh at night and its been doing a great job of wicking away all the oil and sweat I’ve been drowning in during our hideous li’l heatwave. I also like that it doesn’t sting or make my skin feel super-tight after use. So ja… if you’re looking for an awesome, value for money toner (it’s only R74,99), Neutrogena’s got your back.

*Ideally, any toner you buy should be alcohol-free ’cos it strips the living shizz out of your skin and depletes it of natural moisture. Still, loads of popular toners on the shelves still contain alcohol and don’t declare it upfront; you’ve got to go blind reading the teensy little ingredients list to make sure they’re alcohol-free. Bah…

X x x

P.S. Contrary to popular belief, toners can’t ‘shrink’ your pores. They can cause them to temporarily contract and appear smaller for a while, but by the time you’ve driven to work and had that first cup of coffee you’ll be back to what you started with. The easiest way to ‘disguise’ the appearance of your pores is with a silicone-based primer like Estee Lauder’s Idealist or a really good powder foundation. Just so you know…

As much as I adore lip gloss, you’ve got to give it up for a good lipstick. My absolute favourite is MAC’s Milan Mode, a bright shimmery fuchsia that brightens up my uber-pale cool complexion and, thanks to a rad blue undertone, creates the illusion of super white teeth. It looks a lot more ‘pers’ than it really is in the piccie (below), its actually much prettier in ‘real life’.

MAC Milan Mode; you know its love when you've bought it more than twice...

Anyway, there are a couple of other lipsticks due to launch later this year that I’m rather excited about; one being Smashbox’s Be Legendary (R160), due out in March. The collection consists of 14 new shades, some cream, others matte. Both have been infused with antioxidant vitamins C and E. I haven’t tried them yet myself, but they’re getting rave reviews from big deal bloggers in the states. 

This mooi rooi shade is the collection's 'signature' hue and is called Legendary.

Another lippie range I’m DYING to get my mitts on is the Kate Moss for Rimmel collection.

I want, I want, I want...

Everyone’s who’s tried it is declaring it THE SHIZZ  as they’re super-pigmented, apply like a dream and all of the colours are just ridiculously fab. My favourite hot mess beauty writer, Cat Marnell of XOJane* is acting like they’re the second coming, so they can’t not be awesome, right? Check her write up over here.

X x x

*Whaaat?! You don’t read OXJane? My God, get over there pronto! My fave thing to do at night when I have insomnia, which is like aaaalll the time, is read XOJane articles on my Blackberry. I love their real life ‘It happened to me’ stories; shizz like ‘I worked the graveyard shift at a sex store’ and ‘I relapsed into alcoholism on mouthwash’. Trust me, you’ll love it…