Author: brightandbeautyfull

Haiku Review: Carino Professional Miracle Oil from Aldi

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Shake, shake, shake — doo doo
Doo doo DOO doo! Shake, shake, shake!
Shake your bottle. Shake

YOUR BOTTTTLE! It’s official: this is the world’s worst haiku! And I don’t even care, because it is making me laugh.

This is a glass bottle. I am thrilled by its glassness. It feels like the kind of bottle into which an old-fashioned apothecary might have poured a distillation of some healthful tincture. Or a snake-oil salesmen would have filled it with water and a splash of peppermint, claiming the mixture to be a cure all for everything from persistent cough to impotency.

Excuse me, I seem to be having a past life flashback. Or two.

The oil in this bottle has nothing to do with snakes, of course. It’s another in an ever expanding category of ‘things with argan oil in them.’ And as argan oil is so ‘now’, it can get pricey. At €3.99 it would really be good if this was good.

It’s good. And the thing is, I believe much of its goodness is down to the bottle. It’s not so easy to shake out, which ensured that I didn’t use too much. I hate having bad hair days, down to not knowing what was the optimum amount of a new styling product. I’ve had to figure out how to pump a half-pump of product, or how to drizzle jussst the right amount out of a container. This one was perfect from the go, because after a few shakes, you think Ah, sure, this is enough, and it is. And as it was teeny, tiny amount, I expect this to last me long enough to carry over into my next lifetime. Talk about excellent value!

Colour Me Impressed!

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Okay, let me begin with a disclaimer: the nicks on the Sally Hansen Greige Gardens were in place before I even left the house. I had taken delivery of it just before I was heading to the horses; in a fit of inspiration, I lashed it on, and then proceeded to feck it up within minutes. The thing I am looking at here, and as regards the Catrice Cosmetics Ultimate Nail Lacquer in Karl Says That’s Trés Chic {whew, that’s mouthful}, is chipping and peeling.

No chipping and peeling a’tall! Even after a lesson of focused flat work, which means that we pretty much didn’t stop for the guts of an hour. This means that there was no sitting around waiting to jump, and that means that my hands were in use the whole time — so that means that the gloves-on-nails effect was in total play.

Time to up the ante, though, as the thumb and forefinger don’t curl around the reins, and therefore don’t suffer as much friction as the rest of them. I think there is a full manicure {or, since I’ll be doing it myself, a ‘manicure’} in my future this holy day weekend. And then we’ll see who is impressed!

{Ach, the state of my cuticles!}

Sally Hansen Complete Manicure retails for €8.95; Catrice Cosmetics Ultimate Nail Lacquer goes for €2.49

The Day Cream v Night Cream Debate Continues

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Or is it, in fact, concluded? The lads at Human+Kind have developed an All-in-one Day+Night Cream, a super-hydrating, double-dipping, wear-it-all-day-and-night-long concoction that makes having a million and one products in your bathroom superfluous.

{I like having a million and one products in my bathroom.}

Back in February, I had gone on record, wondering if it was actually necessary to use both a day cream and a night cream. Two days later, I posted a response to my own query, thanks to a talk given by Sally Penford of the International Dermal Institute. Okay, thought I, I will carry on observing the day v night divide…

And then this landed on my desk. Now, I have been using, to excellent effect, this brand’s Anti-Ageing Cream, at night, and I’ve been pretty darn pleased. I’m willing to give this a go, though, and will let you know how my skin reacts to it. At €23.95, this is great value, but we’ll see how quickly I use it up, given that it’s going to be in service twice a day.

And on a graphic design-y note: the packaging! Gorgeous!

Also! Sneak preview of how at least one varnished nail survived horseriding!

Ooh, Let’s Try This, Too: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

In Greige Gardens! This neutral purple-y grey is just lovely, and we’ll put it to the ‘horseriding glove test’, too.

<< In more evidence that I have A} freaky, awful nails and B} no dignity whatsoever, here’s a really creepy picture of me  trying to show you what this gorgeous colour looks like in the wild.

Well, that is hilariously awful, so here’s the actual bottle itself, so you can see how it is actually pretty.

What is going on with my palm? It’s looks so stretchy and gross! Half the pictures I take of my face don’t make it on here, which has nothing to do with dignity and everything to do with vanity. I don’t what is up with the iPhone camera lens, but it makes my nose look like I sup a bottle of whiskey every night, and then get into a fight: red and squashed.

I also received a bottle of Nude Now, which sounds like an order, and sorry but I’ve got stuff to do that requires clothing. I kid.

Anyway, we’ll see how I get on after this evening’s equine adventures. Fingers crossed for a good result, ha ha.

Both of these go for €8.95, and can be got at selected pharmacies, and department and grocery stores nationwide.

Haiku Review: L’Oréal Nude Magique BB Cream

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

Gray, yet shiny cream
With an odd gritty texture?
Strange but true magique.

NO, SERIOUSLY. This BB cream stuff, how is this not merely tinted moisturiser*? I could google that, and I will, but for now, I would just like to say that this latest product from L’Oréal is actually magique.

Nude Magique BB Cream (€14/£9.99) doesn’t much look like it, though.

Yeesh. I don’t know, I thought it might look at least a little bit like a skin colour — a skin colour that was alive. The pearlescence gave me hope, though: it looked pretty, and I figured, well, some highlight-y primers have that kind of sheen. If worse came to worse, I could just put some foundation over top of it.

And it felt weird too, a little bit sandy, or something? The slightest bit of grit, not like a facial exfoliant, but there was definitely some sort of textural thing going on that I didn’t expect. These would be the Smart Pigment Capsules, which are the things that make the magic that occurs upon…

Application! I watched with wonder as the shiny, pearly cream turned into my skin tone, only better. I took some pictures, which I don’t know, are these at all helpful? I didn’t mess around in pshop {maybe I should have; brush your hair, Conley!}, so you can see how strangely unlike my skin the cream is, and then how well it blends to become a light and bright version of the colour of my face.

Eh, I don’t think this is as convincing as it should be, because this is a pretty incredible product. Please visit Lovely Girlie Bits for clearly superior photographic evidence of the efficacy of this jawn. This is perfect for those days when you absolutely cannot be bothered to do your full routine, but don’t want to go out there, well, nude.

I have gotten into the habit – a habit of a whole entire week — of lashing this on before horseriding, because of the SPF. It is great, because I get protection and perfection without looking like I some eejit putting on make up to go horseriding. I put some on yesterday, in fact, when I went showjumping and won my first rosette!

Was the Nude Magique my lucky charm?!?! Hmm, won’t go that far {and believe me, I could} but I will say that this will take up a permanent place in my notoriously fickle make up bag.

* Because, depending upon the brand, you get anti-aging, high SPF, even skin tone, moisturizing, sebum control from the BB, which you don’t get from the tinted moisturiser. So it’s like a treatment thing and a make up thing in one. Right, got it.

Origins Global ReLeaf: A Correction

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

So that wee 50ml tube is actually not for sale, it was a promotional thing. But don’t let that stop you availing of this great thing, which again: a tree is planted in your name by Origins whenever you buy something from their A Perfect World franchise.

And remember, either a full-sized tub of A Perfect World Age-defense moisturiser with White Tea (worth €45.00/£32.00) or Starting Over Age-erasing Moisturiser with Mimosa (€50.00/£36.00) can be yours when you bring in an empty thingie of any other skin cream, from your local Origins counter, from 15-28 April! That is a genius treat!

I Fully Support This Initiative: Origins Global ReLeaf

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

I think Earth Day is in April. Think? I can know that in a quick second — yes, that would be 22 April. Life without Google is simply not worth contemplating.

Origin are going one better, or 29 better, and have declared April 2012 to be Earth Month. I am digging this, and so will they: when you buy anything from their Perfect World™ line, the company will plant a tree on your behalf as part of their Global ReLeaf initiative.

That is excellent! I would very much like to have a dogwood planted on my behalf. One of the gardens in my new road has one, and it is gorgeous. Or maybe something majestic like an oak. Maybe I will just have to buy two products.

{I am quite sure that you can’t control the brand of tree they choose, so enough of that fanciful flight!}

I’ve been using the Antioxidant Moisturiser with White Tea* and have been liking it bunches. The thing with these lil’ tubes of Origin is that you think, Hmm, that tube is lil’, but you don’t need much to get excellently moisturising coverage. They sent me the new Origins A Perfect World™ BB SPF15 Age-defense Tinted Moisturizer with White Tea (€35.50/£27.00) which I am still in the process of forming an opinion about, and which is launching next week.

Opinion is fully formed re: planting trees. More of that, please.

Oh, also! Origin are holding a Trade-In Day in 21st April. If you bring in any empty skincare product (from any brand) you can trade it in for a complimentary full size of either Starting Over™ Age-erasing Moisturizer or A Perfect World™ SPF25 Age-Defense Moisturizer. Good deal!

*Will edit for prices when I get them. This may not have been launched yet, either.

In Which I Get Botox and Restalyne in My Face {VI}

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

I realise that people are reading about my face, so it follows that it {my face} would be scrutinised like a map. Maps are things that make you frown, right? Frown in concentration, that is: you’re looking for where you are going, and your eyes get squinty, and your brow furrows, and your mouth turns down.

The people who are staring at my face are going to need Botox! And I am going to undo all the work if I don’t stop making faces at my face as well!

It’s getting on… two weeks since I got treated. There are bumpy bits that came up yesterday, near to my mouth, where the Restalyne was injected. Cue another meltdown, which didn’t last long because, really? I’ve had worse pimples in the centre of my forehead. After having exhausted myself emotionally in the first week or so, I realise that energy squandered in this direction is a waste of time.

Speaking of the centre of my forehead. Continue reading →

Speaking of God

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

No, really.

I’ve got all manner of things ranged across my desktop — the actual wooden surface of my desk, not the screen of my laptop — and one of the lot is Breath of God by Gorilla Perfume, which has been named one of the top 100 fragrances of all time.

No insult to the Deity, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

It’s strong {not surprising, lol}, but when I first used it, I sprayed it alllll over myself, and had a headache by the end of the day. Right this second, I have sprayed the tiniest amount, half a pump {yes, it’s possible} on the pulse points at my wrist.

Simon Constantine, perfumer at Gorilla, devised this scent upon returning from a trip to Tibet. The main notes of the fragrance are neroli, lemon, melon, jasmine, rose, vetivert, sandalwood, cederwood, amber, and musk. {I am still on the lookout for those perfume lessons.} Anyway, to me, without having any fancy knowledge about this sort of thing, there seems to be a terrific elemental balance to this fragrance, and perfect balance of masculine and feminine. In fact, I would very much like to squirt a dude with this, I bet he would smell yum-my.

I am finding that the eeensy amount I’ve sprayed is just enough. Every time I scooch up my glasses or play with my ponytail — lost in thought — I get a whiff off my wrists and it’s lovely: fresh; a bit sharp; invigorating, but not in a pushy way. Or, as the crowd who wrote The Little Book of Perfumes: The 100 Classics put it:

Surreal combinations – lemon ham, grape leather, bubblegum tobacco, loquat vetiver – rise from its depths each time it comes to attention, hour after hour.

Whoa. Lemon ham? I wish I even knew how to smell like that. Wow.

This is very intense, and even now, some time post-spritz, this is making its presence felt in a different way, as mentioned above; rather than fading, it feels like it’s getting stronger. Which is weird. So, if you are looking for a scent that lasts for, well, an eternity, I can recommend this one without reservation.

€39/£32/$42.95 for 30g

Little Book of Perfumes: The 100 Classics (2011) by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez can be purchased at all usual online outlets. I’ve just wishlisted one myself…