I’ve got a nice little beauty snippet round-up for you this morning. Are you ready to dive in?

Dermalogica opens a new concept store in the V&A Waterfront

A nice spot to snap up your products or indulge in a treatment, Dermalogica’s new concept store is just opposite Country Road and close to the Frank Fowden hair salon on the upper level of the V&A. As far as treatments go, there are two types on offer, the first being a ‘quickie’ 20 minute MicroZone treatment in which just one problem issue is addressed, things like fine lines, dryness or congested pores. This takes place in the chair (featured in my collage up top) and is walled off from the rest of the store so you won’t have shoppers gawking while you get your beauty on.

The other, more intensive treatments take place in a regte, egte treatment room at the back. I can’t show you piccies, alas, as it was a little too dark to photograph, but it’s a nifty little space and I love that you can customise your ‘mood lighting’ with a choice of several colours. (Turns out I’m a magenta girl…)

By the way, as an opening special, Dermalogica V&A are offering the following: Book three BioSurface peels and receive 50% off your third or book six and get the last one free.  Nice!

Elizabeth Arden’s about to introduce Green Tea Yuzu EDT

It’s no secret I’m a huge Arden Green Tea fan. I’ve been wearing that scent in the summer during high school and it’ll always be my ‘go to’ fragrance for when I just want to smell clean and fresh. Having worn it for so long, I have lots of happy summer memories attached to it, so, for me, it’s definitely a ‘pick me up’, mood-lifting type of scent.

Anyway, Green Tea is always reinventing itself and, to date, there are at least ten variations – Iced, Spiced, Camellia, Cherry Blossom, Lotus, Lavender… there are seemingly endless ways to consume your favourite cuppa. The latest, however, is especially lovey – Green Tea Yuzu, a sparkling citrusy, herbaceous blend that just screams summer.

Upon first spritz, my nose immediately picks up grapefruit, something green, an aquatic note and then it dries down to become a ‘sunnier’, less sharp version of the original Green Tea I love and know so well.

Officially, however, the notes are listed as including yuzu (kind of like a grapefruit, typical to the East), bergamot, lemon, green tea, thyme, mint and neroli that rest on a bed of musk, birch and ambrette. Personally, I don’t pick up on any of the base notes and this suits me just fine – I want my ‘summer juice’ to smell fresh.

If you’re a fan of the original scent or looking for a light, lovely, ‘everyday’ scent – something along the lines of Issey Miyake, Armani’s Acqua di Gioia or L’Occitane The Vert – then Green Tea Yuzu is going to make your day. Keep an eye out for it as of 11 August. A giant 100ml bottle costs a mere R365 making it seriously good value.

L’Oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream hits the shelves

I’ve had a flurry of skin perfecting, primer type products cross my desk in the last little while but this one’s especially nice. Hoekom? Well, for one thing, it’s got a slight tint to it as opposed to being the standard white (which can make darker skin tones look ashy) and available in two shades – Light to Medium and Medium to Dark.

Another plus is that the prince point – R199,95 – is pretty decent when you consider how long the tube is going to last you – you only need to use the teensiest drop. I found that both the lighter and darker shades worked well on my skin as they’re actually pretty similar in colour (see below). While I’d have preferred to have taken shots of the product on my face, I’ve just had a Dermapen treatment and am at the dry, flaky stage (don’t stress – that only lasts 48 hours or so) so my hands will have to do.

While you can apply it under or over make-up, I like to use it on top as wiping foundation over it removes some of it which diminishes it’s effect somewhat. Being oily-skinned, I find many silicone-based primers mattify at first but then encourage a wild case of the oilies later on. This one, not as much. Then, when my face inevitably does grease up as the day goes on, I can simply apply my beloved MAC Blot powder without having it ‘catch’ or go muddy in the areas where I’ve used the primer. Yayness all round!

Love, love

Leigh