There are loads of imitations but there’s only one BeautyBlender, the world’s first egg-shaped foundation sponge. It’s ‘exclusive material’ ensures your product isn’t absorbed and remains on its surface before being transferred to your face so you end up with minimum wastage and a finish that’s nothing short of fabulous.

To celebrate the fact that the brand’s now fifteen years old (OMG, I feel old!) it’s launched a new limited edition baby pink sponge, inspired by pink champagne, that they’ve christened Bubble.

If Bubble’s calling your name, you’ll be glad to know you can find her (of course she’s a girl!) in Placecol’s online store for R405. They stock the full line up including the micro mini, beauty blusher, body blender and more.

Moving on, there was big news from Arden earlier. They’ve announced Reese Witherspoon as their new ‘storyteller-in-chief’. To be honest, I’m not really sure what this means. Clearly she’s going to be ‘a face’, but it sounds like they’re giving her more creative control, saying things like ‘Reese will help to shape the brand’s narrative’ so let’s watch this space and see how it all rolls out.

What I am sure of, however, is that I really like Arden’s new spritzer – Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Miracle hydrating mist (R350). What’s nice about it is that it isn’t just a thermal water. It contains water-binding glycerin, a blend of antioxidant-rich super fruit extracts plus a super-soothing duo – aloe juice and apple leaf extract.

I like that when they say ‘mist’ they mean it. The spray is super duper fine so you don’t end up drenching your face when you use it. You could easily use it repeatedly throughout the day and you’re not going to alter your make-up. It’s also got a lovely uplifting scent thanks to a mix of rose, bergamot and lemon water. This makes me happy ‘cos I’m possibly the only girl in the world who isn’t crazy about the original Arden Eight Hour scent. (Sure, I don’t mind it. But I don’t love it.)  If you’re a fan of spritzing or want one to use on a plane, this is a lovely pick. As it’s the standard travel size (100ml) you don’t have to decant it. Just toss it in your travel bag and don’t forget your passport.

Lastly, let’s talk about Skinderm pure exfoliating glo pads (R395 for 30 pads, Perfect 10.)

If you loved Nip + Fab’s Glycolic Fix pads and were annoyed when they disappeared from Clicks you’ll be glad to know you can replace them with Skinderm’s option. Much like Nip + Fab, Skinderm’s glo pads are infused with glycolic acid (an AHA) but go a step further to include salicylic acid too (BHA). This is great because the AHA will exfoliate the surface of your skin while the BHA exfoliates inside your pores. (It also boasts about skin tone-evening mulberry extract but that’s listed after fragrance in the ingredients list so the amount that’s in there is negligible.)

I’ve been using them for a while now and they’re lovely. I generally use high percentage AHA products but can’t do that all the time as sometimes my skin becomes sensitised and I need to scale back. They’re a perfect pick, however, for anyone who wants to start using AHA and needs to build a tolerance.

My only two ‘mini moans’ are that they don’t disclose the AHA % and I wish they were packaged in airtight individual sachets a la Dr. Dermal but hey, what can you do. If it helps, Skinderm is a little more wallet-friendly and their ingredients list is very similar to that of  Nip + Fab’s and that product’s AHA percentage is 2,8.

Love, love

Leigh

P.S. For the record, whenever I write about AHAs I get people asking me to recommend my favourite products and this is tricky as everyone has a different level of tolerance but I’ll pre-empt this and let you know mine is high so my personal two top pics are Dermaceutic Light Ceutic skin toning night cream (8% glycolic acid plus a vitamin C complex for R800) and Environ Alpha Hydroxy Gel 13% glycolic acid for about R200). Yep, I’m aware the price difference is huge and I can’t give you any reason for it. I really don’t think the more expensive option is ‘better’ in a way that would make a huge difference.