Covered in Oil, Crazy: Reporting Back

I put all this stuff on myself the other day.

I also used the Hairwonder Anti-hairloss Lotion, which didn’t make it into the family portrait due to low reziness.

The lotion went on first, massaged into the roots of me follicles and rubbed around the scalp. This is the sort of thing that the efficacy of which will only tell with time. Howevs, if you are worried about having greasy roots, don’t be. It didn’t feel like much either way, which is grand if you’re worried about your hair getting weighed down, perhaps not so great if you’re looking for some kind of tingle on your scalp. Me, I do like a bit of tingle, makes me think that something is working.

Then… ah. Bio-Retinoid Anti-Ageing Concentrate from REN. I do love a good serum, and this is one of the best I’ve tried yet. It smells organic without smelling too organic, if ya know what I mean, and even though it is a serum and therefore oily-ish, it doesn’t feel slippery or slimy. If your are a morning-rush person, you’ll want to give this plenty of time to sink in, or maybe just use it at night: it does take a longer than most to sink in. I didn’t feel the absolute need to follow this up with a moisturiser, which I think may be good news for people who have oily skin and don’t want to add to it.

The thing with using oil on oily skin: The face needs a protective barrier of oil to fend for itself against the environment. I reckon, then, if your skin is oily, it is fighting the good fight, but way too hard. A helpful, judicious amount of applied oil helps the skin in its daily battle, and because it doesn’t have to work so hard, it doesn’t break out as a reaction. ??? That sounds plausible to me.

My favourite kind of oil is oil for the bod, and it was with great delight that I popped the top of Lanolips Herbal Treatment Body Oil. It smells lovely… but the bottle is made of hard plastic, making it increasingly difficult to dispense, as one’s hands get quite slippery. I also found that it absorbed too quickly, meaning the coverage wasn’t great, meaning I had to try to squeeze out some more… I might save this for exposed limbs only, and the ever-popular décolletage — it seems too much trouble otherwise.

Last but not least: Mythic Oil from L’Oréal Professionel: Colour Glow For Colour Treated Hair. I will have to back to you on this, because I used it and then forgot about it. Which is, I think, probably in its favour? I wasn’t like, Oh my God, what is wrong with The Hair today?!?! But I can’t remember if is was exceptionally special, either. I’ve also got a sample of Mythic Oil Milk, which can be used at any stage, either as a detangler, a blow drying product, or a finishing spray. As it is milk, it didn’t make it into this category.

Hmmm, any other milk-ish products I can cobble together? Call me crazy and cover me in milk???

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See here for prices.

Various Updates on Stuff That Has Been Featured

*John Frieda Precision Foam Colour
I was just thinking, I really ought to email ‘Audrey’ and see how she’s getting on,’ and this morning, lo and behold, in the inbox!

Thought I’d let you know: dropped in home last night, shook my hair out of ponytail and the mammy said: Wow! Your colour is great, is that still the John Frieda stuff?

No photo was attached, but you can have a look at the result here.

Also: ‘Audrey’ says her hair is amazingly soft. I am now glancing over at my box of light ash blonde…

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*Avon ANEW Clinical Resurfacing Expert Smoothing Fluid
Commenters keep asking me how I got on with this, and I guess I really haven’t given a definitive answer. I have not been consistent, and I’m not gonna lie, so I can’t really hand down a judgment yet. Too many other treatments to review, and I didn’t want to try to tan and use this at the same time? Is that dumb? Because this maybe giving me an even clearer, cleaner canvas upon which to paint my bronzey goddessness? Shoot.

I did have these thoughts, if you’re interested.

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*The Oily Stuff from Yesterday
I’ll have to get back to you on that in more depth, but the REN Bio-Retinoid Anti-Ageing Concentrate is, I must say, pretty darn brilliant. I almost did do the thing where I forgot to close the cap, but caught myself in time. I really don’t want this all over the floor — I want it all over my face!

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*Appropos of… Not Much, Except Maybe in Honour of Wella
Except I clearly cannot go a whole week without posting a picture of my face.

Wella Professionals took a bunch of us out to dinner last night in Thorntons, which is a Michelin Star restaurant, and I am not a foodie — it was, in fact, my first foam — but that was one terrific meal. The food, the service, the wine… the wine, which was a Sauvignon Blanc, which I generally dislike, but this one! Clos du Porteau ‘Les Chaffines’ Touraine 2010, completely gorgeous, and not so pricey according to Monsieur Le Google!

Oh, and the event was an introduction to Illumina Color, a new range of natural looking hair colours that increases the level of light reflection and shine when the hair is dyed. We saw several representative treatments — blonde, red, brunette — and they were very, very Wow.

But, yeah, the wine: it’s the way it gets poured? The fancy way, where you take a sip and the waitress refills, and then you take another sip, and the waitress refills — so you have no idea how much you are drinking, and if you’re me and not drinking all that much lately, things go a bit pear-shaped. And then self-portrait high-jinks ensue in the taxi home, because the clever women repping Wella gifted us all with Rayban Aviators — so that when we get our hair coloured with Illumina, we won’t be blinded by the glow.

I was a little afraid of the shades, but I think they will work just fine.

***

Very cool image, look at the reflection of me taking the picture of me! Hmm, am I still drunk?

Call Me Crazy and Cover Me in Oil

Oh, wait, this is not that sort of website! Apologies to all search engineers who have happened upon Bright & Beautyfull! expecting… something else.

The last thing in the world I wanted when I was a teen was shiny, shiny skin. For some reason, I must still think I am a teenager, because the notion of putting anything oil-based on my face makes go all no waaaaaaay.

But of course, now I am aging, shine = youth, and holy wow, I’ma just put oil on everything I can reach.

Now, we already know of my deep and abiding love for Clarins Huile Prodigieuse, so the oil-as-body-treatment isn’t really all that strange. In fact! Here’s a lovely little homey hint: I used to put a few drops of an essential oil of my choice into a bottle of Johnson’s Baby Oil, apply on wet skin post-shower, and let it half dry. Soft scented skin, and very, very economical. {I favoured ylang ylang — sexxxxy.}

I’ve got a couple of new things to try all over, so I am going to slather myself up with the following, from left:

I find the brand name Lanolips a bit odd as it is applied to their Herbal Treatment Body Oil (€12.90), but upon initial sniff, it smells good, like fresh cut grass.

REN presents us with the Bio-Retinoid Anti-Ageing Concentrate (€50). I have come round to a serum-y approach to facial care, since I’ve gotten over my adolescent fears. I must be well over that teen POV, because I have many a senior moment when it comes to dropper applicators: I forget to close the cap afterwards, in which case the stuf gets all contaminated, or else I knock it over and it ends up all over the floor.

This is new to the Mythic Oil family, from L’Oréal Professionel: Colour Glow For Colour Treated Hair (€19). I found the original version of the oil of myth to be a steep learning curve. I think half a pump does my hair good, and a half of a drop more makes it too greasy. We’ll give this go.

This didn’t look like much of an embarrassment of oil, so I added this into the mix: Hairwonder Anti-hairloss Lotion (€19) — I know, I know, it says it is a lotion, but it really isn’t! It is a serum-y oily thing. now, I know: I have a lot of hair, and so far, knock wood, not losing any of it, so this is more in the line of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of hair.

Oh! And since the split fingernail scare, I have been assiduous in my application of Dr Lewinn’s Nourishing Oil.

I’m going to be so shiny, you could see me from space.

***

Haiku Review: REN Guérande Salt Exfoliating Body Balm

I applied this dry.
I dislike dry salt scrubbing.
Or do I?!? Let’s see…

I’m a featured columnist in the upcoming issue of Irish Tatler, and when asked for my latest beauty secret, I wrote: ‘Read the directions!’ Because I hardly ever do, and it has lead to some near misses. like thinking that the hair exfoliant was a styling product, for example, and wondering why it was so gritty. Luckily, I am not so thick as to have put, I don’t know, hemorrhoid cream on my toothbrush, but I tend to take products at label-value. If it says something about hair on it, and it’s in a tube, well, it’s styling product, right? Right?!?!

It’s a first world problem to do with mouse type. I swear, doing this job has ruined my eyesight, because of all the four point type I’ve had to read over the years. Since I didn’t bother with me specs when I decided to test REN’s Guérande Salt Exfoliating Body Balm, I squinted and saw that the recommended application was to a dry body avant le douche.

I prepared to do so, grumbling, because stupid salt scrubs are always so crumbly, and half of it goes down the drain, or is all over the floor, because I can’t get into the shower and then turn on the water, because the first blast is always frickin’ ice cold, and ugh what a drag… But the result was totally worth it, and the salt-ness of it is actually contained in a balm, which goes on smoothly, and not a grain is wasted. Huh.

I suppose I should amend my exhortation: read the directions completely. And maybe the label.

One day I actually read the label in its entirety— because I was wearing my glasses — and saw that you could also use this on a damp bod, if you wanted a gentler exfoliating experience. And so I did, and you know what? I prefer the dry brush effect! Not that this wasn’t as effective when wet, but I do prefer a bit of rough when it comes to exfoliation {…} and you get a double-scrub effect: you scrub it on dry, you scrub it off wet — it feels remarkably thorough for a home treatment, and the result is really soft, sweet smelling skin.

Yeah, so, I would have known better, and saved myself some gurning, but there you go. Happy enough to use it as it is intended after all.

€24 (available on cloud10beauty.com)/£20

♥Day: A Rose By Any Other Name…

… is a bit of a cliché, but clichés are clichés for a reason. Not only because they are fail-safe, go-to solutions! Okay, maybe only because of that.

In the course of surfing about, I’ve discovered that the auld dozen long-stemmed red rose gambit has been getting trashed from here to New Zealand. Me, I like all sorts of flowers, and can see the point of the giver maybe getting a little more creative. And rosy scents, well.. they can have a bit of an old biddie vibe.

As you can imagine, the 14th of February releases an avalanche of rose-related objects, and I’ve culled a bunch {LOL} that I think can cover the rosy bases without making it tragically unoriginal.

This is great — it’s a lip balm by ANDREA GARLAND. The Valentine’s Day Silkie Brooch with Rose Essential Oil (£26; purchase on http://www.andreagarland.co.uk) keeps your lip care handy, pinned right there to your jacket or your jumper, and it is infused with our friend the rose, as well as benzion, grapefruit and lavender. Refills are a fiver, which is a snip. If you’ve suddenly decided you’re going to start kitting yourself out exclusively in vintage clothing, this is the perfect accessory to such a look.

Rose Otto is is an essential oil, and it is highly prized because it takes about 60,000 roses to produce one ounce of oil. Seriously! And, like, one drop of the stuff is equal to two and half dozen. Sheesh! I found that the REN Morrocan Rose Otto Ultra-Moisture Body Oil (€40/£34/$65) was really effective on damp, just-out-of-the-shower skin. By contrast, the offering from AROMATHERAPY ASSOCIATES Renew Rose Massage Body Oil (€43.50/£36/$61) is aces on a dry bod. I’ve experienced many of the oils in AA line, and they are excellent.

Top off your rosy outlook with PERCY & REED Splendidly Silky Shampoo and Conditioner (€17.60/20.10/£14/16). I promise I won’t link to that post again {hint: search for My Name is Susan… on this site, if you don’t know what I’m talking about} but to recap: I am addicted to haircare products and naturally would not pass up the chance to try a new one. This has rose in it, along with apple, citrus, amber, ivy… the list actually does go on. I found the shampoo to be a bit drying, and so needed extra conditioner to mitigate that, but the result is indeed splendidly silky, and shiny. And manageable, which I never really thought of what that meant — given my devotion to this line of stuff, that seems ridic. I felt this made the mane manageable because I haven’t bothered flat ironing it, and it looks pretty boss. Plus! Second day hair was remarkably fresh and fabulous.

Last but not least, let’s shed some sweet-smelling light on the subject of roses with a Red Roses Home Candle from JO MALONE (€50/£38/$65). The scent is comprised of not one but seven different long-stemmed beauties, along with some other scents (violet leaves, spearmint, lemon) thrown in. With a burn time of 45 hours, wowee, you can get a lot of mileage out this one: Jo Malone candles fill the home with fragrance, and the gorgeous smell lingers long after you’ve put out the flame. And here’s hoping your partner d’amour does the same…

Looking for a good deal? cloud10beauty.com are offering a free REN Body Wash or Body Cream when you buy any 2 REN products. so load up on the Rose Otto!

Sweet Sixteen: REN Hydra-Calm Cleansing Milk

This is number fifteen in the series, woo hoo! And I’m waffling about what the finale is going to be…

I am not a big fan of cleanser. Based on the post I am working on re: day creams v night creams, in which I am thinking about not bothering with the cream of the night, it is hard to imagine what my beauty regime actually entails, if I am a big cleanser h8r.

I dunno: I think I just hate the mess it makes when you use the stuff — or maybe I just make a big mess? Splatters of water all over the place, from scooping water on my face to clean off the cleanser, and I haaaaate the feeling of water running down my neck and arms. I think I must suffer from some sort of rare condition, because written out, that is just freaky.

But then I got some REN Hydra-Calm Cleansing Milk to review, and I think I may have changed my mind.

This is so thick and rich, it feels like you are icing your face like a cake. It’s thicker than milk, actually, and think ‘Cleansing Custard’ might be a better name. The very first time I applied this, I sighed aloud — it’s that nice. It’s … well, it’s sensuous, which is weird in a cleanser. And as sexy as it is, it gets the job done, removing even the most stubborn of make up, even my waterproof inner eye liner, which is a tough customer.

Thanks to its chemical-free state, my skin didn’t feel squinchy after I’d rinsed it off. I don’t mind a good feeling of squinch — makes me feel like my pores have been seen to — but I do know that it’s not the best state for my skin to be in. I get the clean, shiny result of such squinch-making cleansers, without the stress to my complexion.

I still haaaaate the feeling of water running down my neck and arms, though, and tend to use this in the shower in the a.m., even though I feel like this kind of product does its best for me in the p.m. Well, you never know, I may get over my squeamishness. Either way, this is a keeper.

€25/£18/$32