A lifestyle blog
My skincare routine has changed significantly since my original post on the subject over four years ago. While I think my routine was right for me, my skin and my budget at the time, I’m actually much happier with my current routine and line-up. If you’re looking to shake things up, you might be happy to implement some of the changes I have made.
If you are even remotely interested in the beauty industry, chances are you’ve heard of dermaplaning. It is is one of the latest beauty techniques that involves a trained aesthetician shaving your face with scalpel, which of course sounds so appealing (NOT!). Basically it removes all peach fuzz and dead skin cells and it is not invasive at all, comparable to a more extreme microdermabrasion. I’ve heard a tonne of international beauty bloggers talking about it but haven’t really heard anything about it from our local scene. So when I spotted these face razors (called Brow Razors) in Dischem I jumped at the chance of trying the treatment at home.
Can we just all take a moment to acknowledge that this year has really flown by before diving head first into this post. Like seriously, it is the last week of July already! Which also means that we’re just about halfway through winter. It is usually around this time that I start getting bored with the season and my wardrobe. It might be because I favour a monochrome wardrobe, but lately it just feels lacking. I’ve somehow fallen into a trap where I wear variants of the same outfit day-in and day-out.
I usually start off with one of my year-round essentials for great cuticles – a good cuticle oil. I’ve used and liked this one from the Body Shop before (the smell is heavenly!) but whilst this one from Sally Hansen isn’t as convenient it is just such better value. Regular application keeps my cuticles from becoming dry and white, making it easy to keep them at bay.
I usually follow this up with a thinner Vitamin E-based hand cream. Something like the cult classic from Vaseline usually does the job. It just immediately soothes and gets absorbed, leaving my hands feeling wonderfully soft. I’ll often pop something like this on during the day as well as it doesn’t leave my hands feeling greasy and it isn’t gross to touch anything afterwards.
Valentine’s Day seems as good a reason as ever to celebrate some of my favourite (fruity) floral fragrances. There is just something about the warm weather and cheesy-romance of February that makes it seem a little more acceptable to love the feminine scents (although I wear them year round).
Whether you’re looking for a gift idea or, like me, just appreciate a little pink fragrance: here are my tried-and-tested favourites.
I’ve documented my struggles with finding the perfect foundation before (here), but after living with just a BB cream for about four months I started to feel the need for more coverage. So the hunt for the perfect foundation began all over again. For me that would be a medium coverage (but buildable) foundation that is glow inducing, lasts about 12 hours, is undetectable and comfortable even on my sensitive and dry skin. I’ve come to accept though that the PERFECT foundation most likely won’t fit within my budget, so some sacrifices would have to be made.
Enter the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation and Concealer, which manages to cover all my flaws (dark circles included) without being detectable or irritating to my skin. The foundation delivers enough moisture to keep my skin feeling happy, but the finish is very natural and not as dewy as I would have liked. This is however easily rectified with a little bit of facial oil mixed in.
I usually apply my foundation at around 07h00 in the morning and only take it off at 22h00 in the evening and this is where it beat all the previous contenders, as it looked even better after a few hours of wear. My cheeks usually have foundation for breakfast, but this manages to keep the rosy-ness (made-up words are the best!) at bay and only goes slightly patchy around my nose (nothing that my finger can’t touch up).
In terms of coverage, less definitely is more. I usually make around 3 to 5 small dots on my face with the doe foot applicator and then blend in with my Real Techniques Expert Face brush. Then I go back in for concealing should I need to (usually a little bit around my eyes). I’ve found that the coverage is definitely buildable to full but then it takes a while to settle before it starts to look natural. It doesn’t crease like other concealers do around my eyes and also doesn’t feel dry.
With a wide shade range available and ticking so many boxes, I believe that this could be a favourite among many.
In a recent conversation with friends we wondered why so many beauty products names’ could double as porno’s (here is looking at you Nars!). Wet & Wild is an affordable range available at Clicks that I haven’t taken seriously until now. Shout out to Cara Fay for this discovery- Bare it All is a peachy-brown shade and almost straight-up dupe for MAC’s famous Velvet Teddy.
As with most popular drugstore finds, it was a little hard to track down but Tygervalley has recently been restocked.
So I finally broke down of six months (yup, that was half a year!) and started wearing foundation again. I blame the cold winter air for drying out my skin and making it look extra blotchy and red. I remember looking into the bathroom mirror one day at work and rushing over to the MAC counter during lunch just to get something on my face, I was that embarrassed!
I can’t resist a good bargain! Whilst I apply the same principle to my makeup bag as that of my closet – quality over quantity – I find that when you know what you’re getting yourself in to, affordable makeup doesn’t have to mean you’re settling for something sub par. Having said that, as with all makeup brands irrespective of price, not all brands are created equal. And even less so when it comes to their products! Some excell at lip products whilst others might excell at foundations. So to help you demistify the beauty isles of Clicks and Dischem, I thought I would share my all time favourite drugstore beauty favourites.
When Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup mentions a product she loves, I take notice. I think it is because she isn’t a fickle beauty blogger and likes to stick to what is tried ans trusted, just like I do. So when she recently mentioned a new contender for favourite mascara, the Catrice Glamour Doll Waterproof mascara, I took note! Not only is this brand available in South Africa, it is also super affordable and waterproof.