Sultry Shanghai Summer

Hello cash-crafty ladies and coin-savvy gents (yes boys, we hope you’re out there reading too!), budget beauty is back on Wellness WA.

Before I make a start here, a confession. I have never been to Shanghai. The closest I’ve been to making it to Morocco is probably Monaco (does Moroccan Oil count?) and this fiscally-challenged correspondent has certainly never ventured subcontinent. So I’m not sure how well qualified I am to assess these new destination-themed Napoleon Perdis bath products, on shelves in Target since October, but I’m taking on the challenge anyway!

The range includes bath salts, body washes, a spritz and a lotion. I was lucky enough to try three of them: the Shanghai Ginger body wash, Moroccan Citrus body lotion and Jaipur Jasmine bath salts.

Rather than The Orient, the Shanghai Ginger shower gel reminds me of a German gingerbread house. It’s a little bit sweet and spicy and the fragrance is a great warming wake-up . At night-time I’d use something a little more mellow though. It’s suitable for boys as well as girls, if you’re looking to cut cleansing costs in a household with lads too.

The Moroccan Citrus body lotion has a light orange fragrance but is by no means overpowering, and doesn’t clash with the shower gel if you are looking to use the products in conjunction with one another. It absorbs quickly and easily, contains no parabens or sodium lauryl sulfate and is seriously moisturising considering its weight.

Derived from the flowers of the jasmine shrub, the Jaipur Jasmine bath salt is at once delicate, evocative and calming. Believed to have astringent, anti-bacterial and anti-depressant qualities jasmine is a perfect bath ingredient and an excellent choice if you’ve got a half-hour to spare in a hot tub.

Priced between about $10 and $20, the range is a special treat for if you usually stick to the supermarket aisles when you’re shopping for the shower.

Available from Target stores nationally or online at Napoleon Perdis Set Cosmetics.

Review by Athanae Lucev, a freelance journalist and writer with a keen eye for a pretty bargain.

Be well,

xoxo

♥

Sleek and attractive packaging? Check. Inside mirror for touch-ups? Check. Affordable? Absolutely.

Budget beauty specialists Australis deliver again with their cheap and cheerful range of new lip butters, which grew on me the more I used them.

The ball shape means they are light and easy to pick out amongst a plethora of items when you dive into your handbag.

I found that the pigments looked much more concentrated in the packaging than they turned out on the lips, but considering they are a butter, not a lipstick, I don’t think this is a big issue.

‘Tall Poppy‘ (pictured above), one of the five shades in the range, looked from the packaging to be a bright Barbie-pink colour, and is described on the Australis website as “clear with a hint of bright pink”. To my mind, a ‘bright pink’ pops on the lips, and this doesn’t. It is, however, a very pretty and demure shade, and a deeper colour is possible with more layering of the product. It’s actually very similar to one of my favourite lipstick shades, Lancome’s Vintage Rose.

Mmmm! ♥

The second shade I tried, the cheekily-named ‘Brownie Points’, had light caramel tones and is super subtle, but gorgeous with a dark smoky eye and a sweep of bronzer. Both shades would suit any complexion or skin colour, but one tip: don’t eat them – they don’t taste great!

Retailing at $8.95 the butters are a very reasonable purchase. Though not super-nourishing, they provide your smackers with a bit of protection, with aloe vera and vitamin E among the ingredients. My lips did tend to feel a bit dry and dehydrated by the end of the day, and I felt myself reaching for the paw paw ointment for some relief by late afternoon.

Australis though, are the stalwart of being able to create great looks on a tight budget, and these butters are a great addition to their range.

Review by Athanae Lucev, a freelance journalist and writer with a keen eye for a pretty bargain.