A slightly more relaxing portrayal of Omnilux.

I’ve been intrigued with Omnilux for quite a while now, but nothing quite cemented the interest like hero dream-bebe Zoe Foster and her unforgettable words at the PRIMPED look book event last year:

Well then. We by no means suggest you do such a thing, but it’s good to know the option is there.

With this little thought wailing around in my brain for the past 12 months, along with some unshakable pimples and a desire for clearer skin – I bit the light therapy bullet and booked in for a sesh of Omnilux at Skin Deep Medi Spa in the CBD.

A photo of me having my Visia Analysis done… 😉

First up though, I had my skin analysed by Lauren, the spa manager, with a Visia Skin Analysis machine. For those of you who hate close-ups, you’re not going to like this! However I see it as a necessary evil to help uncover what the main areas of skin concern are. So a bunch of photos are taken from all angles with your head in the machine and once finished you’re shown the pics and talked through the problem zones.

My personal areas of concern were dehyrdation around the eyes, uneven skin tone and acne bacteria, mostly on the chin 🙁

A regime of both Omnilux red (collagen & lymphatic stimulating & healing) and Omnilux blue (acne bacteria destroying, pow pow) is recommended, as well as some light chemical peels and exfoliation suggested (but I don’t think I’m quite ready for the peels yet!)

Twenty four hours pass and I’m back in the medi-spa for my first Omnilux treatment (the red one to start with)…gulp!

A hop, skip and a double-cleanse later, I’m lying on the treatment bed with my hair in a disposable cap waiting to make friends with this piece of machinery that is promising me pretty skin.

The first thing to note is that the lights sit just a couple of centimeters above your skin, unlike in the image above where it’s shown to be about 30 centimeters away. I’m a bit claustrophobic so I asked the therapist to stay with me during my first treatment and she was more than happy to do so. As it turns out, if you feel that it’s too close they can move it back a bit, or you can wiggle down out of it for a minute.

Secondly, even with little goggles on and my eyes closed – THE LIGHT IS SO BRIGHT! It gets better after a few minutes but I hadn’t read about that anywhere so was surprised.

Throughout the treatment I’m aware of a slight warmth, but it doesn’t feel hot.

The twenty minutes pass pretty quickly with chatting, and you can probably bring in your iPod if you like, or just relax to the peaceful music that is piping through the spa.

A vitamin B serum is applied to my skin, which apparently helps, as well as a moisturiser. For Omnilux to be most successful, you need to have two treatments a week for a month, and then you can dial it back to once a month. It takes a few sessions to really start seeing a difference, but today I’ve felt that my skin might just be looking that little bit better already…

Zoe.

Time will tell though, and I’m excited to continue on my journey to Zoe Foster worthy skin.

Omnilux revive (red) is $95 a pop & Omnilux blue $75, they’re not cheap, but if they do as promised I’ll be more than happy to keep making the room in my budget.

I went to the Skin Deep Medi-Spa located at:

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

Or you can find another salon in Perth that provides Omnilux here!

Have you tried Omnilux yet? Would you? Do you have any other questions for me? Comment below!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Weleda Prodz

Continuing with my Weleda love affair are two new products that I have been trialing, both of them are from the Wild Rose range. Even though I love the smell of roses I was initially hesitant to try the Wild Rose range in fear of smelling a little too nana-ish (no offence to my nana or any other nana’s reading this!). Rose was always a fragrance that I had associated with older women, but Weleda proved me wrong! I tested the Wild Rose Body Oil and also the Wild Rose Smoothing Facial Masque.

The Wild Rose Body Oil is described on the Weleda website as “luxurious, exotic moisturiser” and I have to hands down agree! With jojoba, sweet almond and rose oil to deeply moisturise, restore suppleness and increase elasticity this is one truly decadent body oil. Unlike some other body oils I have tried this one was absorbed into my skin immediately, not leaving it oily or greasy. It’s best applied straight after a bath or shower whilst the skin is still damp. The divine scent which is more exotic than overly floral lingers afterwards for a calming feeling.

The oil from these sweet things is one of the masks ingredients. Yes, these exact peaches!

The Wild Rose Smoothing Facial Masque is designed for skins that are in need of some extra hydration or those that are showing the first signs or ageing. Seeing that I’m about to hit the big 30, I thought this wouldn’t be a bad one to try. Ingredients such as peach kernel oil, rose oil and mallow extract all work overtime to promote skin renewal, soften, rehydrate and vitalise skin. This masque is great for those skins in need of a little pick me up or dehydrated skins. I work long hours in an air-conditioned environment, so even though my skin is more combination it’s pretty prone to dehydration and this masque is the perfect solution. It can be used 1-2 times a week for about 15-20 minutes. You can either wash it off or for an extra intense treatment leave it on. Get glowing!

Check out http://www.weleda.com.au for stockists.

Review by Hannah L.

Be well,

xoxo

♥

Hey guys! Even though we’re still dealing with the tail end of a contagious little bug that’s been flying around the office and getting out of bed is tricky… I couldn’t not announce the winners of the Lendan & Wellness WA giveaway.

So without further illness chat, please congratulate our lucky winners!

1 ♥ Commenter 21 “Georgie” has won the Lendan Hair Pack (Shampoo, Leave-in Cream & Hair Mask – RRP $54)!

2 ♥ Commenter 27 “Aileen” has won the Hair to Go Polish Spray RRP $24.95!

3 ♥ Commenter 30 “Kristy Sweeney“” has won the Aqua Rituals Hydro-Repairing Night Cream, RRP $85 & Beauty Flash x 2 RRP $14.95.

Congratulations everyone and thanks to Lendan for sponsoring the giveaway! We have a competition coming up for our Facebook fans only next, so make sure you’re a fan to be eligible to enter.

Be well (unlike me at present!),

Annette

xoxo

♥ ♥

I’m sure you’ve heard about chia seeds (or the more sexy sounding scientific name Salvia Hispanica) by now! If you haven’t, they have been taking the world by storm for the past few years with their incredible nutritional profile, essential fats, protein, minerals, vitamins and fiber.

Here are a few fun facts about chia seeds:

♥ Contains the highest known plant concentrations of omega-3
♥ Great source of both soluble & insoluble fiber
♥ A complete vegan protein
♥ Three times more iron than spinach, four times more antioxidants than blueberries, seven times more vitamin c than oranges! (source)
♥ On their own they are really crunchy (and get stuck in your teeth!) but if you leave them in water for 10 minutes, they swell to form a gel like substance so can be used in dry food preparation as well as liquids, like smoothies.
♥ In 28 gms of chia you can find: 9% of the Daily Value for protein, 42% dietary fiber, high amounts of the essential minerals, phosphorus and manganese, moderate calcium content, and trace levels of potassium and sodium (source, Wikipedia)
♥ Can you say, chia pet? These cute little guys are made from chia seeds too!

♥ I want this chia puppy!

So today I was sent an e-mail asking where you can purchase chia seeds in Perth, and I wanted to let everyone know that it is REALLY, REALLY easy!

Chia seeds have become so popular now that I’ve seen them frequently in Coles, Woolworths and IGA’s (in the health aisle), as well as your more traditional outlets – health shops.

If you’re looking for organic chia seeds I’d suggest trying Manna Wholefoods or Mt Lawley Wholefoods, but if you’re just after garden variety chia then a trip down to your local supermarket should prove successful 🙂

Chia porridge

My personal trainer, Sarah, sprinkles chia seeds on porridge for breaky, which is one really easy way to incorporate these little nutrient gems into your diet.

Stuart Watkins, my personal meditation / yoga trainer, as well as Emma from The Raw Kitchen are big chia fans as well. These three are some of the healthiest people I know!

Hope I’ve helped some of you out 🙂

Have you tried chia seeds before?

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Rosehip Buds ♥

Rosehips are good guys, let me persuade you with a few quick facts about these high performing little cuties:

♥ Very high in vitamin C (an excellent antioxidant).
♥ Rose hips contain some vitamin A and B, essential fatty acids and antioxidant flavonoids.
♥ Can be used to help prevent / treat colds and flu.

The other thing they are great for?

♥ Plumping up your skin and giving you an incredible glow.

My skin is temperamental, dry in some spots, breakout prone in others – it’s very frustrating and makes it difficult to find products that will gently pat my skin into relaxed, glowy submission.

Rosehip prods are one of the very few that I’ve found that can accomplish this task of making my skin happy.

SO! What are my favourite picks and how do you go about getting your own little Rosehip Routine going? Well, I’m glad you asked…

1. A Clean Start

First up we want to remove all traces of makeup, dirt and midnight pizza snack grease to get the skin back to its natural state.

♥ ♥ ♥

Wotnot Natural Wipes contain heaps of goodies that are fantastic for the skin, one of them being our current hero Mr. Rosehip. My skin always feels great after using these, I highly recommend them and have turned quite a few people into fans. They can be tricky to source, but the Wotnot Website has free shipping so if you like your wipes all natural, organic & good for you then look no further!

2. Time for a Cuppa

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Next up, it’s time to get the rosehips working some magic from the inside. Packed with Vitamin C, this type of tea is a powerful ally in the quest for great skin.

Vitamin C has been proven to help our skin out in the following ways:

♥ Key ingredient in the production of collagen, which keeps skin firm & strong.
♥ Being an antioxidant, it stops pesky free-radicals, which destroy collagen leading to fine lines, wrinkles and dry skin.
♥ Antioxidants also help in the fight against UV rays.

Enough reasons to put tea cup to mouth? If not, it’s a very refreshing drink in Summer, served chilled. It has a tart taste (which I love), but if it’s a bit much pop some honey in and away you go!

I use a random supermarket brand called ‘Tasty’, but T2 Tea have some great varieties depending on how fancy you want to get. 🙂

3. Gonna Get Gooey

♥ ♥ ♥

So your face is clean, sippin’ on tea. Now it’s time to get masky. This Endota Honey & Rosehip Mask is ROCKING MY WORLD right now by making my skin dewy and ultra hydrated.

Apply to clean skin, it’s pretty goopy due to the honey, and jump in the shower after 10 minutes to rinse off. Emerge and be amazed at how soft and transformed your skin has become!

This green tube has now become a staple for me. CANT.GET.ENOUGH!

Update! Unfortunately, my one and only has been discontinued!!! In it’s place is the Rosehip & Myrrh Facemask which I’m told is also excellent, but I haven’t had the chance to try this one yet. If it’s good enough for the Three Wise Men however…

4. Oils aint Oils

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This organic rosehip oil claims to reduce wrinkles, blemishes and to maintain your most succulent skin and I can’t help but agree with the good Endota folk. As I’m currently out of both moisturiser and primer (scandalous, I know) I massage a drop of this into my skin post-shower in the morning before applying makeup, and rub a larger amount in post-shower-pre-bed at night.

My skin is noticeably more prone to blemishes and dryness when I’m not using it – I really do notice the difference. It also feels wonderful to be using a certified organic skincare product that contains heaps of NATURAL goodies for my skin to gobble up.

5. Don’t Forget the Lips!

♥♥♥

Rosehip is good for your lippies too! Packed full of natural ingredients, I’ve found the Aesop Rosehip Seed Lip Cream just a little bit dreamy. It leaves my lips soooo soft after using it, and it’s the perfect ending to the Rosehip Ritual! I’ve found it works best to apply at night and wake up in the morning to soft, lush lips.

I hope you enjoyed the Rosehip Ritual and possibly feel inspired to get some of these hips of roses into your life as well!

Let me know if you have any questions or have tried any of the above products! Rosy kisses.

Be well,

Annette

xoxo