by Annette @ Wellness WA | Jan 4, 2012 | Products, Reviews
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QV Skincare have done something marginally wonderful in recent years: they’ve branched, and reinvented, and started to carve out a place for themselves beyond the moderately daggy babies-and-skin-problems niche.
QV Purifying Mask
This mask is a creamy, very pale brown, smells faintly of clay (surprise) and is one of the maybe three masks I’ve ever used that didn’t immediately have some stingage as it went onto my skin. It’s so mild I can actually layer it on right up to the edge of my nostrils, i.e. one of my really sensitive areas.
It does this thing, initially that makes me squirm like an idiot – it tickles. Luckily this stage passes fairly fast, and when it dries, you’ll have a vision of your older self when you look into the mirror. It dries sort of translucent, but hugs into your wrinkles and dries you out. With this mask on, I can guarantee you’ll look older – but not bad enough for it to immediately register that you’re wearing a mask. This mask has spooked the bejesus out of my boyfriend, lets put it that way.
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I find it’s best removed with a wet flannel – lukewarm water is fine, warm would be nice in winter – and be prepared to rinse that poor towel within an inch of it’s life. Kaolin clay clings to material like you would not believe.
The mask seems to operate primarily as a neutralizer – on my oily, blotchy and occasionally pimply skin, it calms, de-oils, reduces inflammation and leaves my skin soft and smooth. In drier gals, it seems to add some moisture and plump up the skin. It’s also so incredibly hypoallergenic you could use it every day, and wetting your face beforehand will ensure you need very little for a lot of effect. Awesome stuff.
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♥ QV day cream with SPF 30+
Oily ladies have a perpetual issue – sunscreen. Because we have to wear it, especially us Australians, especially us ultra pale motherland Australians. And sunscreen, by design, is oily. And because it’s loaded with zinc oxide (the bit in sunscreen that does the sunscreening) which blocks the pores it can cause breakouts, blackheads, and make your poor face sweat horribly. And no one wants a sweaty face. No one.
I’ve been battling the sunscreen issue for years now, and seem to have sidestepped it totally by just not going into natural light between 10am and 4pm, but I know it’s not addressing the issue, and ultimately I need a sunscreen. I have met the occasional marginally successful foundation with a 15+, which is probably fine for most parts of the world, but for Australia? You really need to start at 30+.
So QV’s day cream with SPF 30+ is a small miracle. It’s not 100% there – I do need to point that out – but it’s damn close, doesn’t irritate or break me out, and leaves no white cast. And it doesn’t interfere with my makeup application, and in fact I struggle to put on makeup properly without it. It leaves just the right amount of slip on my skin for easy application, and a little bit goes a long way. For those with facial sunscreen issues, I’d suggest giving this a whirl. It’s a cheap gamble and I guarantee that at the very worst, nothing bad will happen. Bless these baby-friendly products.
If you’re in the unenviable position of being sensitive skinned, or excessively anything (oily, dry, you know), I can’t stress how much it’s worth paying some attention to QV and their Face line. And even if you’re not – sometimes you need a basic scentless, cheap, stable product, and these are totally that.
Surely I’m not the only oily-as-sin pale lady? How have you coped with your skincare as the months have gotten warmer?
Review by Suzanne from Don’t They Know Who I Am? A highly silly and irreverent beauty and skincare romp. Come and visit Suzanne for indie, drugstore and high-end cosmetics and skincare. And the occasional unrelated rant. Or else follow on @HogSandwich for daily tomfoolery!
by Annette @ Wellness WA | Jan 3, 2012 | Alternative Therapy, Organic, Products, Reviews, Wellness Tips
There’s a lotta love to be had for products that have more than one use, not only do you save money and time, but you also save on precious bathroom bench space, something which is worth an increasing amount these days!
Here are my three current favourites:
♥ Jane Iredale Antioxidant Spray
Packed full of antioxidants and smelling like delicious oranges/tangerines, this product has a lot more uses than just pepping up your face on a hot day.
♥ Sets mineral makeup, of which Jane Iredale produce some pretty awesome varieties.
♥ Use to wet brushes to use with eyeshadow and make liquid liner, genius!
♥ Spritz over hair to control static.
The great news is that you can do all of this while smelling like summery citrus fruits. RRP $39.
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♥ Essential Kit Multipurpose Wonder Balm
This stuff beats regular paw paw balm any.day! It’s certified organic, smells absolutely amazing – kinda like a chocolate orange, and 100% of the ingredients are from a natural origin. Plus NO animal testing or animal products and it’s made in Australia! SIGN ME UP 🙂 It even tastes yummy… should you accidentally (or not so accidentally) lick your lips.
Can be used for…
♥ Lip balm, smoothing eyebrows, giving your cheeks a highlighted glow, moisturising nails & cuticles, a thick body moisturiser, smoothing flyaways, soothes dry heels, protecting cuts, shaving… AND under wetsuits on long swims apparently!!!
It’s fast becoming a staple and comes with me everywhere. So much love! RRP $22.95.
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♥ Tisserand Ethically Harvested Lavender Oil
I’ve only just started to really get into essential oils and candles, but have always had a soft spot for lavender. Ah, quell-er of stresses, easer of sleeps! It’s always been good to me, and I’ve recently discovered that it has a lot more uses than I initially thought, lets have a look:
♥ A natural way to take the sting out of burns
♥ Super successful zit zapper – have been hitting this one up a lot lately, and it’s working!
♥ 6 drops on a damp flannel to help a headache
♥ Disinfectant for cuts & to help new skin grow
♥ And of course, a few drops on the pillow to de-stress & help you fall asleep 🙂
What are your favourite multi-tasking beauty & wellness products? Share with us below!
Be well,
Annette
xoxo
by Annette @ Wellness WA | Jan 1, 2012 | Other
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Merry New Year! 2012 is finally here and there is so much that I’d like to squeeze out of it, so I thought I’d share my goals with you, and I would love to hear your goals as well 🙂
Main Goals
♥ Develop my sense of style
When I was younger I had a pretty ‘interesting’ sense of style, I loved (and spent a lot of time) op shopping and putting together crazy outfits and would have a lot of fun wearing them. These days I tend to stick to a play-it-safe combo of jeans, teeshirt & converse shoes which, while comfortable, doesn’t totally showcase my best features or inspire much girly confidence. I plan to develop a killer selection of dresses and skirts that will allow me to try being a bit more feminine and fun with my style 🙂
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♥ Learn GHD waves / how to use a hair curler
I’ve never been able to create pretty wavy hair with a heat styling tool, this year I’d love to be able to mix that into my very limited hair styling repertoire!
♥ Work on my posture
Sitting at the computer for long periods of time means my posture needs some work, I plan to do lots of yoga and stretching, plus get regular massages to help keep my back and shoulders nice and relaxed.
♥ Find 2 new pairs of jeans I love
For some reason this is hard for me, I’m going to try and manifest some perfect jeans into my life this year! 😉
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♥ Go on a yoga retreat
I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, head somewhere quiet for the weekend eat delicious wholesome food and practice a lot of yoga. This is the year!
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♥ Learn to swing dance
A few friends of mine swing dance, and they LOVE it! It looks like so much fun and I think taking up dancing again will be fantastic for my wellbeing and fitness.
♥ Be the best in my class at school
Given that I haven’t studied for about 10 years, I’m pretty nervous and incredibly excited about going back to school to study Public Relations. I am however very motivated to do well in the course and I aim to study my derriere off in order to achieve this goal.
♥ Spend time with one friend I haven’t seen for a while each week
This one is pretty self explanatory! I have so many fantastic people in my life, as I’m sure we all do, but sometimes it’s hard to find the time to catch up or easier to spend time with your ‘usual’ friends. This year I’m going to reach out to those I haven’t seen in a while and rekindle some friendship flames.
I have more, but those are the main ones! I would love to hear your goals for the year, or what you think of mine!
Be well,
Annette
xoxo
by Annette @ Wellness WA | Dec 31, 2011 | Other
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2011 – thank you. You constantly amazed me with the new and unique opportunities and good times that were frequently presented, here’s a tiny rundown of my year:
♥ Took a promotion at work, and from all accounts did pretty good in the new role
♥ Flew to Melbourne with my boy to see ‘The National’ for the first time and ate some amazing vegetarian food
♥ Viewed ‘Jimmy Eat World’ for the first time
♥ Took my first makeup masterclass
♥ Went along to a meditation course (didn’t quite finish it though, but held out for 4 weeks!)
♥ Took floor barre ballet classes for the first time
♥ Started as the Beauty Writer for X-Press magazine & contributor for eVoke magazine
♥ Began seeing a naturopath
♥ Met a lot of incredible people in the Perth beauty & wellness industry
♥ Made the decision to quit my job and return to study next year (!!)
♥ Began to organise the first Perth Online Beauty Media networking event
♥ Completed a 6 week photoshop course (highly recommended!)
♥ Did my first green smoothie demonstration @ Lululemon! Spreading that smoothie love.
♥ Began to overcome a deep seated fear
Tomorrow I’ll share with you my goals for the new year ahead!
I’d love to hear any of your years highlights though, so leave a comment below if you’d like to share! 🙂
I wish everyone a wonderful New Years Eve… see you in 2012! x
Be well,
Annette
xoxo
by Annette @ Wellness WA | Dec 30, 2011 | Products, Reviews, Wellness Tips
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This crushes edition is pretty product-centric because there are just so many amazing things that have flown into my world in the past few weeks, I’m super excited to share ’em with you, so lets get started 🙂
♥ Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser
I’ve been a longtime fan of the regular Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser, and probably a little reluctant to venture away from what I know and love! The illuminating version takes it to the next level, while you can wear it on it’s own (it’s SPF 20), my favourite way to use this is mix a dollop with my regular, fairly matte foundation and watch the compliments roll in.
If you want a fresh faced glow, this is going to go a long way towards getting you there! Add plenty of sleep, green tea and exercise in and you’re set. It also comes in 4 shades, I use ‘Bare Radiance’, am a total ghosty-face and I LOVE it. RRP $78 from Adore Beauty.
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♥ Seven Wonders Argan Oil Spray
This stuff makes sleek, shiny hair almost too easy to achieve. Having tested out the rest of the range in a previous crushes post, I was a fan, but I was finding that having to rub the oil on your hands and apply to the hair was putting me off a bit. And then swoops in this guy, all spray-nozzle and thinner consistency.
Through a bit of trial and error, I’ve found the best way to get shiny, but not oily, hair is to spray one pump onto your brush and then run through slightly damp hair. This goes against the key beauty rule of NEVER BRUSH YOUR HAIR WHEN IT IS DAMP EVER EVER EVER, but really, I think we all secretly do. If you don’t, comment below and I will heap some praise on you!
This method has given me a lot more control over rogue flyaway hairs & will also make the bottle last a looooong time. Approx. $32.
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♥ Franc Essential Serum
I’m loving this crazy right now. As a girl who is obsessed with her rosehip oil almost exclusively, this serum took me by surprise. It actually does contain rosehip oil, as well as: macadamia, apricot kernel, avocado, carrot, centella, evening primrose, vitamin e, geranium, lavender, rose & sandalwood oils. Quite a few of which are organic. The vitamins that make my skin react so well to rosehip are in here, as well as a whole party full of other good stuff as you can see.
The smell is also far superior, kind of a musky-candy scent, and a little goes a loooooong way. I’m still testing this out but I can safely say that my skin really enjoys drinking it up at night, and I am thoroughly enjoying the way it looks in the morning. Winnah. RRP $72.
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♥ Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Colour in Sweet Nectar
Before Sweet Nectar, I’d never worn a bright lip colour. Reds & multiple shades of pinky nudes yup, anything a bit out there – nup. I adore this, slicking it on gives me that little bit of extra confidence, even on a regular day at the office. It goes on super easily, and when worn with a glowy foundation (as above), some mascara and a little creme blush you’ll have the ultimate easy beauty look. It also contains an SPF of 12 which is handy!
While the RRP is $44, there are some awesome deals available on StrawberryNET with some of the other Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Colours from $14.50!!! Worth a look if you’re after some high-quality, but cheap, lippies.
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♥ Detoxing Clay Bath
At the moment I’m reading a detox book (more about that in the next crushes edition) and have become interested in possibly doing a light detox of my own. Nothing too full on, just a lot of healthy eating, green smoothies, yoga, quinoa salads, tofu and veggies, and no junk. The last part is the trickiest! Even though I do eat healthy the majority of the time, I am quite keen on my indulgences too.
When I heard about the detoxing Mojave Green Clay Powder, I thought it would be a good way to ease into a detox. It felt great to have a clay bath, though I didn’t have any symptoms of detoxing such as a headache afterwards, I’m going to keep up with them once a week or so and more frequently when I start my real detox and see how I go! $19.90 for 450 grams.
That’s it for this week, hope you enjoyed! If you have any questions or suggestions about my crushes then feel free to leave a comment below!
Be well,
Annette
xoxo
