♥ The Detox Box ♥

When I was offered the chance to try above contraption I was initially hesitant.

So you sit in a tiny wooden box, heat coming at you from all angles, with the intention of sweating? My claustrophobia, extreme dislike of heat and penchant towards hygiene were all quite adamant they wouldn’t be letting me step foot in this so called ‘Detox Box’.

Still, I somehow overcame these hurdles and found myself a few weeks ago dressed in my bathers, wrapped in a towel with a vague sense of anxiety about my impending 45 minute vacation to Sweatsville, population: me.

I was given a big bottle of water and told to drink as much as I needed, the temperature was able to be controlled from inside which was nice, and I found myself fiddling with the temps a bit to reach the ‘sweet spot’ of perfect heat for me. Left with a stack of old magazines (you can read in the sauna, because it’s a dry heat!), I settled in and adjusted to the heat.

At one point I turned it down because it felt too hot, but then I put it back up again because I found myself WANTING it hotter again! I drank the whole bottle of water, and found myself sweating mostly towards the end. It was a really unique and relaxing experience, I left feeling very calm and peaceful.

After the sauna you can have a shower and when I looked in the mirror at my skin, my face was glowing. I really feel like it did help to ‘detox’ me!

The Detox Box, or Infrared Sauna, comes with a long list of benefits, as well as a list of precautions:

♥ The equivalent of 30 mins exercise in one 45 minute session
♥ Sweats out toxins
♥ Promotes a feeling of wellbeing and relaxation

If you are pregnant, have any heart / circulatory issues, or are taking medication it’s advised to seek medical advice before jumping into a sauna.

This is going to be a real treat come winter, when you can cosy up in your own private warm cocoon. The best part is it’s only $35 for 40 minutes or so of sauna bliss!

After this treatment I had another omnilux session too 🙂

Location:

Skindeep Medi-Spa Perth
Shop 4 Central Park Building
777 Hay Street, Perth
Western Australia 6000
T. (08) 9226 2997

Have you ever had a dry sauna?

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

Today we’re going to get a little bit hippie on you and suggest some of our new found favourite eco and earth lovin prods! Some of them smell like nature, some of them make sure our animal friends stay safe and some of them have a low environmental impact. They’re all winners in their own way… so throw on your hemp tee, grab some used-tire sandals and follow me into the wonderful world of earthy delights.

First stop, a firm fave for many years: LUSH! They use use fruit and veggies, essential oils, and synthetic ingredients (this means minimal animal harm!) in all products. All lush products are vegetarian! In addition to not using animal fats in their prods, they are also test on people, not bunnies 🙂

Lush Cosmetics – Grass Shower Gel RRP $9.95-$34.95

Flip the cap and take a whiff, showering with this will make anyone believe you’ve spent all day rolling around in a pile of freshly mown lawn clippings. The uplifting scent gets me going in the morning, and there’s also real wheatgrass in there, so it’s almost as good as gulping a shot of the bad tasting (butohsogoodforyou) stuff. Almost.

Hottie Massage Bar – RRP $9.95

Jojoba, cocoa butter, shea butter, vanilla absolute, black pepper and ginger oil are the ingredients that make this ultra melty massage bar so good for post-workout soreness. SUPER SENSITIVE SKINS BEWARE THOUGH! While I adored having this massaged onto me thanks to an obliging boyfriend, his super sensitive eczema prone skin had other ideas and unfortunately became irritated after using it. I also have sensitive skin and was fine, so if you’re unsure, maybe test some on your skin down at your local Lush shoppe and wait a day to see if you’re safe. I hope you are, because this is a real treat.

Body Shop Earth Lovers range

Coming in delectable flavours such as pear and lemongrass, fig and rosemary and my personal favourite apricot and basil, this new range by The Body Shop is made with 100% recyclable plastic bottle, no sulphates, parabens, colourants or soap AND the gel itself is 100% biodegradable! The gorgeous scents pack a punch and that makes this one of my favourite new ‘good for the Earth’ prods 🙂 At only $14.95 you could treat yourself to a couple as well.

Echolife Macrobiotic sea salt bath crystals!

I am enjoying these baths sooooo much lately, and given we are on the edge of Autumn-Winter, it feels so lovely to slip into a warm, steamy tub. I must admit, I don’t know too much about macrobiotics, but these salts claim to be an excellent way of absorbing all the minerals the sea contains in balance.

I am not kidding when I tell you that until Yesterday I hadn’t been to the ocean in about 2 years! If you’re like me and don’t get down to the beach often enough, or are unable to due to living nowhere near one, then I think a sea salt bath is the next best thing. Just writing about this is making me want to go turn on the taps… 🙂

Endota Organic Honey & Cinnamon Lip Balm – RRP $17

Now to some organic lip smackin’ goodness. This honey and cinnamon lip balm is iiiiiiincredible! Tastes like a chai tea for the lips, or honey cinnamon toast. Perfect for this weather we are currently having! This yummy critter can be found on my lips on a daily basis. I recommend! You can check out the scent for yourself in the city David Jones 🙂

That’s all for now my loves, if you have any suggestions for great eco products we should take a look at then leave a comment!

Happy rainy Tuesday!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

1. Australian Grown Sunflower Seeds

I recently became interested in how I could get more Vitamin E in my diet as it’s said to be fantastique for the skin, brain and overall wellbeing. Sounds good to me, I thought, and went on my merry way to buy some sunflower seeds, which are little treasure chests of vit-e (along with lots of other nutrients)!

Unfortunately I was disappointed at how hard it was to find Australian grown and produced sunflower seeds – they were all imported from overseas. I decided to check with Organic ‘n Green, the place I buy my organic veggies from and lo and behold they stock certified organic Australian grown sunflower seeds as well – this company never ceases to impress me!!

I’m now the proud owner of some sunflower seeds that were grown within our shores, and I’m loving adding them to my salads and trail mixes 🙂

♥

2. The tastiest drink!

Today I had this smoothie, and it was totally delicious, I call it the Double Whammy Banana & Blueberry Smoothie:

♥ 1 x cup of Vitasoy vanilla soy milk
♥ 2 medium sized ripe / just overripe bananas (decadent in these times!)
♥ 1 x cup of frozen blueberries (or more if you prefer)
♥ 1 x cup of baby spinach
♥ 1-2 tsp wheatgerm

Whiz it all up and you are left with a tasty dream treat. Vanilla soy milk is SO much more palatable than regular soy milk, in my opinion. The vanilla Vitasoy can be hard to come by but if you see it, pick some up, I bet you’ll like it!

3. Omnilux

I’m still going with my Omnilux sessions! For best results you need to have at least 2 sessions a week over a 4 week period. I just had my third treatment today. I can definitely tell the difference in my skin the day after! The other interesting thing to note is that the red light is about 40x brighter than the blue light! For me, the red takes me about 5-10 minutes after the session is completed to re-adjust to normal vision (with goggles and cotton wool) but with the blue or white light it’s no problem at all! I’m currently having my sessions at Skin Deep in the city and I always look forward to my next sesh :)!

♥ Eyeliner – & Brush

4. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner & Brush

For the ‘makeup skills challenged’ among us, and I firmly plant myself within that group, this little duo from Bobbi Brown is a lifesaver. It is SO EASY to create a great eyeliner look with these two products, that it’s almost ridiculous. It lasts a long time too and comes in 10+ classic & quirky shades. There’s a reason why this pair have earned cult status worldwide and consistently make it into the top tens of industry experts… but if you’re like me, and still traversing the lower slopes of the makeup mountain (where do I come up with this!) then these are solid beginners companions. Highly recommend. Available online at the official Bobbi Brown online store.

Hans Bruechle..!

5. Date my Mate

Here’s something fun that’s a little bit different! Local fella and man of various infamy, Hans Bruechle, and a friend have teamed up to do ‘Date my Mate’ which is a web series dedicated to reviewing ‘everything in Perth’ as well as getting in a few sneaky dates here and there. The catch? They choose each others dates! Makes for some good giggles.

In the latest episode, Hans heads to the day spa and his mate takes on a brutal personal training session. All while trying to woo a ‘lady’ of the other ones choosing!

That’s all for now my darlings! Please feel free to share your current beauty & wellbeing crushes with me!

Be well,

xoxo

♥ Snakey Skincare ♥

I like to think of Rodial as being the new kids on the block. Although starting up in 1999 surely means that by now they are no rookies, still, Rodial is new to my life. I’ve tried a couple of their products so far, and although their sometimes unusual ingredients have come under a bit of scrutiny here and elsewhere I’m sure, I have really enjoyed them. So I’m adding two more to the pile.

Rodial Glamtox Cleanser – $80

Number one (the first I tried and the one I preferred) Rodial’s Glamtox Cleanser. At first when I read that this product had lightening agents in it I thought ‘OH NO please if I was any paler I would disappear’ but, as you can probably imagine a. I am a bit dramatic and b. it doesn’t exactly work like that. I really loved this cleanser because it was thick, had a great smell, removed make up easily and guess what- after using it everyday for two weeks I noticed discolourations and marks that had been on my face for a while now start to lighten and fade. That’s the first time I have ever seen that happen! Thank you lightening and brightening agents. All round a really lovely hard working little cleanser.

Rodial Glam Balm – $100

Number two was the Rodial Glam Balm 2 in 1 lip and wrinkle plumper. By definition it is ‘2 in 1’ but I found that this balm was really versatile and could really be called ’HEAPS in 1’.

It can be used as an anti ageing treatment for the face, lips, neck and hands and I found I started using it on small cuts or small areas of dry skin as well as to keep my lips hydrated. It’s the perfect size to carry around with you in your bag and isn’t greasy or sticky, so if you hate that gluey feeling of some lip-glosses or lip balms this is right up your alley. I didn’t feel the plumping effect but the condition of the skin on my lips became softer and smoother- actually any skin I put it on became softer and smoother and just generally better looking and feeling.

I am also very much looking forward to using it as in-flight mask because the moisturizing quality of this product really gives me confidence that using it will help side step that dried out, crackly feeling your skin gets when you fly (and I live in Western Australia so going anywhere on a plane is always a long trip). An ideal multi-purpose purchase.

Article by dream snake-lovin babe, Adriane Daff.

Be well,

xoxo

♥ Ain’t no party like a Kiehl’s club party! ♥

Kiehl’s. Since 1851. EIGTHTEEN FIFTY ONE. These guys have got looking after your face down to a fine art. So how are they helping the modern gal quash her skincare concerns? Let’s find out…

Kiehl’s Supremely Gentle Eye Makeup Remover – $36

I have a very real fear of getting things in my eye that will burn excessively, but recently I was involved with a project that meant I had to wear a lot of heavy eye makeup 6 nights a week and I knew that I was going to have to do something, nay USE something, to get it off. So I tried Kiehl’s Supremely Gentle Eye Makeup Remover with much hesitation and told those around me that if it hurt I would hurl the bottle out the nearest window with the intensity of a thousand suns.

Of course, my dear logical reader, there was no hurling. The lightweight formula doesn’t smell, doesn’t sting, doesn’t burn, doesn’t HURT. It seems completely free of the things that would lead to causing irritation in the eye or the delicate skin around the eye. Now you might be wondering with all this delicacy and cucumber and apricot kernel oil – does it actually work? You bet your eyes it does. A little on a tissue or cotton ball completely removes the make up from your eyelids and eye lashes. And in my case eyebrows as well (I told you it was HEAVY makeup).

I’m in ur makeup cupboard, testin ur productz.

And for those contact lens wearers – completely safe for you too. You can rest assured knowing its Ophthalmologist tested (see image above). This product easily does the job without causing any discomfort or pain.

Kiehl’s Epidermal Re-Texturizing Micro-Dermabrasion – $84.

This no pain, max results thing seems to be a reoccurring theme with the Kiehl’s crew, because I am in full-blown love with Kiehl’s Epidermal Re-Texturizing Micro-Dermabrasion. It’s a super duper exfoliator that you have complete control over. Squeeze out a small ‘nickel sized’ amount and apply it to your clean, damp skin in circular motions. Wait – if feels too rough! Then just go easier! Wait – I’ve had enough! Then just stop! See? You ARE in control. My skin felt cleaner, clearer, smoother and better without any makeup on it, which for me is always the benchmark of a product doing its job superbly.

I guess I really lost sight of how important exfoliation is after a bad Micro Dermabrasion experience at a salon. But not getting rid of the dead skin cells, product build up and other things that get in the way of good skin can contribute to bad skin no matter how much you cleanse it. I’m sorry I have neglected exfoliating my face for the past couple of years but it is back and boy oh boy it is great.

Kiehls’ Double Strength Wrinkle Filler (Available on Kiehl’s counters)

And finally we have the Kiehls’ Double Strength Wrinkle Filler, espousing to fill those wrinkles and lines you may wish weren’t there. Now, I’m a long way off from what is maybe the desired clientele of this product BUT I’m a smile-y kind of person, and continually creasing my face in the same place in the same way is starting to show.

Did this instantly fill my lines? No. Did it improve the condition of my skin in terms of elasticity and how moisturized and smooth it felt? Absolutely yes. Would I keep using it? Yes again. Because better skin condition of those areas that do get a work out (facially speaking) will surely lead to a reduced appearance of fine lines. And short of invasively having them filled with something from the inside, I think taking care of the outside is a smarter, safer and much more enjoyable bet. Good one Kiehls.

Reviews by Adriane Daff, dream babe extraordinaire.

Be well,

xoxo