GREEN ANGEL

Wind-ter Getting You Down? Moisturise at Night!

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / Leave a comment

I don’t know about you, but the gale force winds are wrecking my head, espesh with being out on the horses in it. I haven’t minded the noise at night, though, and I’m doing my best work in the dreamtime to keep my skin from getting wrecked, never mind my head.

Lashings of cream at night is my only man these blowy days. I’m a big fan of sleeping through the hard stuff, and by deeply moisturising at least three times a week, at bedtime, I feel that I’m keeping my complexion in good nick.

Here are three of my favourites.

GREEN ANGEL
Yeah, I know it says ‘daily’ on it, but GREEN ANGEL Seaweed Daily Moisture Face Cream with Jasmine, Neroli & Vitamin E {€24.95} is well able for double duty at night. Anything with seaweed in it is going to be alright by me — add in those oils, and this is bliss in a jar.

NUXE
NUXE have a new addition in their Merveillance Expert Rich Correcting Cream {€40}, and it’s a good one. I’m happy to use this as directed in the morning, but have been finding it to be great at night, too. Actually? Rather better, as the consistency of the cream is rich and thick. While it does absorb nicely, I’m finding its thickness and richness to be better at the end of the day as opposed to the beginning of it.

ORIGINS
Oh, hello, darling. I love, love, love ORIGINS High Potency Night-A-Mins Renewal Cream {€45}, and wish they would make a version that was for the entire body. I hoard this, TBH, because it is like a miraculous new-face-in-a-jar. It never fails to make my skin glow the morning after the night before; the only thing I’ll say against it is that it smells so good, sometimes I keeping myself awake breathing it in. Just me…?

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I had long wondered about the day cream v night cream debate — as in, what’s the difference? — and posted about it here…

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OMChristmas 2013: Gifts That Give

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I played a game yesterday, unbeknowst to the charity muggers who were also involved. Instead of crossing to the other side of the road to avoid them, I tried to see how close I get to them and avoid eye contact — of course, whilst still saying ‘No thank you’ politely. I got pretty close! Then I felt bad, because they are only trying to do a job; and then I was like, but this whole notion of buttonholing people in the street to give money to help the less fortunate — surely there must be a better way.

Well, the below are a few beautyfull ideas in which to do so. I’m sure — I hope! — there are many, many initiatives that I have missed, as this post is somewhat cursory. Surely there are many big corporations out there who are working with worthy causes to raise finds and awareness. O.o

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ELEMIS was something of an inspiration for this post, as they recently reported having been able to donate £36,000 to GAVI (Global Alliance of Vaccines and Immunisations).

The money was raised through the sale of the very special limited edition 10th anniversary edition of their Papaya Enzyme Peel, about which I wrote here.* The donation provides 5-in-1 Pentavalent vaccines to fully inoculate children in Africa against five diseases.

You can still avail of this offer, while supplies last. Equally, the brand have an initiative for breast cancer: Think Pink Beauty Heroes {€42.20; bliss.ie} is a fantastic little zippered pouch of goodness, with travel sizes of five of the best of Elemis: Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm {20g}; Pro-Collagen Marine Cream {15ml}; Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm {15ml}; Pro-Collagen Lifting Treatment Neck and Bust {15ml}. Elemis pledged to donate £10,000 to the Breast Cancer Care charity to raise money for research.
ELEMIS charity gift

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L'OCCITANE Solidarity SoapL’OCCITANE‘s Rose Tenderness Solidarity Soap {50g} is €4, and 100% of profits from the sales of this special edition  will finance eye-health projects run by NGOs in developing countries. The L’Occitane foundation is particularly committed to supporting the blind and visually impaired, which I didn’t know! Learn something new, etc.

It’s a gorgeous wee stocking stuffer, and suits just about every lady and girl on your list. I don’t use much soap that comes in bars these days, but when I do, I am surprised at how long it lasts!

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GREEN ANGEL for barnardos
GREEN ANGEL ,the Irish seaweed beauty brand, have long been associated with Barnardos, offer up their Golfer’s Hand Repair Treatment gift set {€29.95} This handy {ha, ha} gift for the golfer in your life will help everyone. Including here are hand scrub, hand cream, and a bar of the especially great lavender soap. A percentage from sales goes to the children’s charity.

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LUSH‘s Charity Pot {€16.85/240grms} is extremely transparent: not the pot itself, but the way in which sales of it help fund projects. The guidelines and mission statement are right there on their website, with their specialist areas being the environment, animal protection, and human rights.
LUSH CHARITY POT
In the last financial year, the brand donated £340,000 in those areas.

Hello. That is pretty awesome. Do your bit to help by buying a Charity Pot for a pal. The moisturiser is made from cocoa butter: it smells deliciously chocolatey and so will you. Your pal will. Or your sister, or niece, or mum. Or whomever!

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*It’s the Enyzeme Peel in the wee photo that I’m talkin’ ’bout; not sure that the awesome toiletries case is still A Thing.

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OMChristmas 2013: Guaranteed Irish Gifting

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

GUARANTEED IRISH We are a small island, but we make a whole lotta stuff. It’s not all jam and rashers either — although! I can thoroughly vouch for the deliciousness of the brown bread that comes from Fitzpatrick’s Woodlands House Hotel in Adare, as I have scarfed that up myself during a stay there, reviewing Revas Spa for the Irish Tatler Spa awards earlier in the year. Must post about that here…

Anyway! I spotted a loaf during a recent presentation from Guaranteed Irish, a showcase of the very best that Ireland has to offer during the festive season. Everything looked gorgeous, and it was a revelation to see how well-represented the Irish touch is, in terms of self-care — and by self-care, I mean beauty products and candles. Candles are so important.

IRISH STILL LIFE 1I wanted allll the candles. Having been made familiar with the Cloon Keen brand, thanks to their presence in the Shelbourne Spa, I was happy to see them represented, and was also happy to meet a new brand, about which I will talk below.

I don’t even know what’s on this table, and I’d enlarge it but I was so overwhelmed, it’s a little bit shaky. Maybe not overwhelmed as such, just dead impressed at the lovely, lovely things arrayed before me.

Here’s more:
IRISH STILL LIFE

And here’s a small round up of things that I love, and think you — I mean, your loved ones! — will love, too.

IRISH BIA feed your skin
BIA BEAUTY Feed Your Skin set {€80} includes Mellow Mandarin Moisturiser; Orange & Grapefruit Exfoliant; Stop the Clock Eye Gel; Apple Blossom Body Butter; and Detox Body Scrub. All take their scents from essential oils, and the scrub in particular is terrific for treating cellulite. There’s more info at the Cork-based concern’s website on biabeauty.com.

GREEN ANGEL face cream set
O, seaweed! Is so awesome. GREEN ANGEL offer up their fab duo, Daily Moisture Face Cream & Night Cream {€39.99} I can personally gush about the day cream: it is so silky and absorbs perfectly, yet feels so rich. I love the little blast of aromatherapy too, as the Jasmine and Neroli are invigorating enough to give me a wakey-wakey boost in the morning, but not so much that I am bouncing off the walls. Go to greenangel.com to see the full line.

IRISH PIXY TEMPTING GIFT BOX €14.95
All of PIXY NATURAL SKINCARE’s Christmas offerings are priced under €20! I myself am tempted by their Tempting Gift Box {€14.95} which comes with a heart-shaped soap, two skin nourishing mini bath bombs, a creamy lip balm, and the Internet’s favourite Lime Body Scrubs, also heart-shaped, and a perfectly natural exfoliating treat. See pixy.ie for more well-put-together gift boxes.

LA BOUGIE
Ooh, LA BOUGIE! Also from Cork — what is going on down there, is it like the locus of creative beauty entrepreneurs or wha’? — the company present us with candles in an array of scent combinations that are spectacular. Pictured is my very own Sweet Pea & Pear 140g candle {€19.95}, and I gotta say, I am deeply attracted to the Ginger & Black Pepper and the Honeysuckle & Sea Salt. This bad girl will burn for 40 hours; there’s 220g versions that burns for 55! {€29.95} Go for the glow on labougie.com.

IRISH VOYA
VOYA is also a purveyor of Irish seaweed-infused products, and here’s three gift sets that pretty much are like their ‘best of’ collection of hits: the Organic Voyager Set {€40} features 75mls each of Squeaky Clean Body Wash, Softly Does It Body Moisturiser, Silky by Nature shampoo and Forget Me Knot conditioner; 1,2,3, Glow {€58} comes with a full-sized Ritzy Spritzy facial toner and Cleanse & Mend facial cleanser, and a mini 7ml jar of Me Time moisturiser; the Body Gift Set {€48} Softly Does It body moisturiser and Squeaky Clean body wash. Not pictured is the Hair Gift Set {€40} Silky by Nature shampoo and Forget Me Knot conditioner. The full complement of product is on voya.ie.

NAT'L PRINT MUSEUM FAIR
The Christmas Fair at the NATIONAL PRINT MUSEUM runs from 29, 30 November and 1 December; rock up on Friday between 16.00-20.00, and on Saturday and Sunday between 11.00-16.00. It’s free to enter, although your wallet ought to be lightened considerably once you clap your eyes on all the artistic, unique offerings. There are also make-your-own opportunities for all the family, although I’d say it’ll be a bit late to be hand-printing your Christmas cards, hmmm? See nationalprintmuseum.ie for directions and the like.

Also, for more creative goodness, check out TALBOT GALLERY & STUDIOS on Talbot Street, D1 and their Selection BOX exhibition. All the artworks are 12 inches x 12 inches and priced at €200, making for an affordable start/expansion of your collection. Find the list of artists here; I bought a picture a couple of years ago, and it’s really one of the nicest things you can do for yourself — loved ones! Loved ones! Everybody! Art is for everyone!

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What is Wrong with This Picture?

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

SO RONREY
How crazy it this? Compared, of course, to this…
OMHaircare
… which is crazy in the other direction.

So what’s up with that?

A} The tub is smaller, in my new place — which I have lived in for a whole year, so is not really ‘my new place’, but is considered to be such, by me and many of my pals.
B} I have been trying & testing away, for The Herald, and have used up a lot of shampoo and conditioner in the last two months.
C} Er. There is actually a little bucket-y thing full of stuff tucked away here, next to the toilet.
SO RONREY, NOT
Ha, ha.

My bath looks so nice and clean and uncluttered! But also a little bit sad. Especially the super lonely little tub of John Frieda Sheer Blonde® Blonde Hair Repair Conditioning Treatment {€7.03}, which I use for pre-shampoo deep conditionin.

The thing is, every single one of these combos is a guaranteed Good Hair Day, of a Very Specific Sort.

*For a Thick, Full, Voluminous Hair Day: Well, Mane ‘n’ Tail, obvs. Couldn’t be happier to have this available in Ireland. Years ago, I ill-advisedly cut my hair short, and this grew it all back in like, no time a’tall.

*For a Super Shiny and Soft Hair Day: It’s a toss up between the Trilogy Refresh & Shine Shampoo & Conditioner {€15.95/each} and the Green Angel Seaweed Shampoo & Conditioner {€14.95/each}, because both are efficacious in the soft-and-shiny department. Neither are too fragranced, either, if that is an issue for you.

*For a Happy, Magically Clean and Healthy Scalp Hair Day: I am loving Aveda’s Invati Range. It’s a system! which includes Exfoliating Shampoo, Thickening Conditioner and Scalp Revitaliser {€27/€29/€54}; all three can be bought as a set from petals.ie for €100 with free shipping in Ireland.

And what’s in the bucket-y thing? That’s a post for another day…

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See here for the run down on the product in that second photo.

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Green Angel and Barnardos: Win/Win

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Typing too quickly, that title came out ‘Win/Wine’ — which is not exactly wrong.

I’ve been off the Green Angel frequency in the last while, and am looking forward to giving some of their new products a go. In the meanwhile, here’s some infoGREEN ANGEL event about their fundraising fashion show in conjunction with Barnardos, at the Ballsbridge Hotel on 22 March.

{Click on the image to enlarge.}

The company use a lot of seaweed, which I love love love. I’ve gotten me paws on some Seaweed Cleansing Lotion with Cucumber and Sage Extracts, which I am gasping to pry out of its package and take it for a spin {TWSS!} There’s also some Seaweed & Aloe Eye Gel that I’ll be happy to test, as well. Sure, I’ll try anything! {She also said that.}

Do support the initiative above, and make a day of it: go and get a blow dry, and/or your makeup done, and then take your bad self out and show it all off.

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The Green Angel website is under construction; email them at shop@greenangel.com for stockist information.

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Haiku Review: Green Angel Sunrise Body Smoother

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

High maintenance, me:
On hols*, but missing my STUFF.
Would love a good scrub.**

Oh, the perspective one gains when life throws out a challenge. I admit that I am spoiled, and even as hard as this beauty reviewing can be {yes, it can be}, I enjoy it thoroughly, but I also take things for granted, and have high expectations. And I also can get kind of… bitchy about things. Continue reading →