Right! I’m back from that blissful holiday in Vietnam and now have a ‘to review’ backlog that’s just killing me. In fact, in the last 48 hours, I’ve received a whopping 19 products on top of the pile I’ve returned to (yep, my throat’s closing up with anxiety as I type) so you can expect a series of posts featuring multiple items for the next little bit. I know many of you girls actually enjoy these as you consider it more bang for your visit so if that’s you it’s your lucky week.

First up, you should know that NIVEA have just launched a new antiperspirant line-up called Protect & Care, inspired by their iconic Crème. Both the roll-on (R19,99) and aerosol (R29,99) promise 48-hours of dryness but are alcohol-free and formulated with ‘caring’ ingredients like hydrating glycerine and avocado oil plus soothing panthenol.

While all the above is good to know – and yep, it’s definitely good at sweat-busting – I’m really enjoying using the roll-on for the sole fact that it smells exactly like the brand’s aforementioned Creme. Now, every morning is a fun flash back to the 90s, a super happy, care-free period of my life when I used to religiously slap the contents of that li’l blue pot on my legs before heading off to high school. Just one sniff and I can practically hear Goo Goo Doll’s Iris (‘memba that?!) ringing in my ears.

My new favourite body lotion of the moment, however, is Lush Dream Cream. Formulated for super sensitive skin, its main ingredient is ultra soothing oat milk. Now, if you’ve ever suffered from eczema, you’ll know an oat milk bath (specifically colloidal oatmeal) is a great home remedy to sooth and hydrate while the antioxidants in the oats have been proven to have a certain anti-inflammatory effect.

While I don’t have eczema or, even sensitized skin for that matter, I love how this ultra light-weight gel-creme textured lotion absorbs into my skin in a flash and leaves a wonderful cooling sensation in its wake. It’s a difficult one to explain because it doesn’t feel ‘cold’ or menthol-induced in the least – just ‘soothing’ – like you’ve just applied a cool towel to eyes that are puffy. If you’re in store please give it a bash and you’ll immediately know what I’m talking about. Other notables in the mix include hydrating rose water, organic cocoa butter and glycerine plus calming chamomile, tea tree and lavender oil and the resultant fragrance is wondrously soft and ‘clean’ – like laundry that’s just been pulled from the dryer.

Next up, there’s a new make-up brand in town called 3ina. I keep looking at it and my brain says ‘eina!’ but apparently it’s pronounced Mina. It hails from Europe (but google can’t tell me where exactly) and was created by two ‘retail gurus’ I’ve never heard of, Pablo Rivera and Mark Eve. Mysterious origins aside, it’s rolling out across the globe pretty fast with its first SA store opening up in Jozi’s Eastgate Mall with more to come across the country as the year marches on.

The brand’s plus points are its wide variety bold colour cosmetics at affordable prices with products averaging at around R150 a pop. In this way, it reminds me a lot of INGLOT. I was given a few of the items to try and can tell you the following – the quality of the nail polish I tried (a cornflower blue shade called 121) was very good in that all you needed was two coats to get full opacity and the finish was nice and glossy.

I also quite liked the lip gloss. The shade I was given (109, a ‘suits everyone’ barely there pink that doesn’t make milky-looking lines on your lips – thank God!) will be a nice pick for anyone who likes their lip gloss shiny, but non-sticky. (Personally, I prefer the super tacky kind as it tends to be more long-lasting but know a lot of women prefer a non-sticky texture so 3ina’s probably going to float your boat.)

Lastly, Dove sent me a li’l pakkie to announce the launch of their new ad campaign – #BeautyAtEveryAge.

I can’t find the ad on YouTube to link to it, but if you’ve watched anything there lately you’ll definitely have seen it. Somehow missed it? It essentially highlights the fact that some women are proud to announce their age when they’re young but get a little weird about it as they get older. Personally, I can’t relate to this campaign at all. I’ll be turning 36 early next year and couldn’t give a toss and the much older women I’ve quizzed around me all feel the same way. Still, clearly there’s an audience for this as Dove did a little research and say only 10% of the women they spoke are proud to reveal their age, but there’s no indication as to who they approached or what the circumstances where.

Are you one of those woman who feels embarrassed or in some way negatively defined by your age? Also, do you really believe that woman are beautiful at every age or, like me, do you find that concept a little bit twee? If this were true then surely ‘looking more youthful’ wouldn’t be the beauty industry’s number one selling point? The cold, hard fact is that 24-year-old women generally turn more heads than 64-year-old women. It’s just the way it is. But the key takeout for me is that I’m totally okay with that. Feeling ‘beautiful’ when I hit my later years will be a ‘nice to have’ but it’s certainly not a focal point. Rather than ravishing, I’d prefer to feel valued, loved and confident in a body that might be falling to bits but, much like my age, is never going to define me. Maybe, in a round about way, that’s kind of Dove’s point. They’re probably referring to ‘beauty’ in a more abstract way. But I still can’t relate to their campaign as, like I said, I don’t have an age hang up. To me, it feels like an issue that perhaps my grandmother’s generation might have dealt with when they were young. Also, for the record, did you know that Hilary Clinton is 68? Oprah is 62, Helen Zille is 65 and my favourite Helen of the lot – the fabtastical Ms Mirren – is a ripe ole’ 71! Right up until this moment I never knew any of their ages nor did I care and I suspect that neither do they!

Still, one thing I can relate to is Dove’s lovely Deeply Nourishing body wash so there’s always that.

My favourite Dove product to date, however, is still their awesome Intensive Repair shampoo, conditioner and treatment. You can read my rave review over here.

But ja, either way, please chat to me in the comments below regarding their new campaign. Did it hit home for you? I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts.

Love, love

Leigh