October Glossybox

Rather delayed with this month Glossybox review as I wasn't pleased with the pics I took below and never had the time to redo them. So without further ado here's my review...

L'oreal Tecni Art 5 - I'm not a fan of styling products. I have a fear of damaging my hair and not using the product correctly. I'm not very experimental when it comes to my hair. I do colour my hair x3 a year and I'm on a mission to get my hair to its healthiest and longest form. I will save this for a Summer Day after many beaches day I've got planned.

Everything Hair - Scalp Massager - I ♥ this. It's a circular massage brush with soft plastic bristles. It cups nicely in between 2 fingers for a really good invigorating, refreshing head massage. And who's not a sucker for a good head massage? Here's something not many know about me, I have a slight indent on the top middle of my head. Hilarious I know. Massaging that specific spot (it does feel creepy at first, my own mother don't want to touch my scalp lol) feels like a full body massage for me. TRUTH! Those brave enough to offer me a head massage, left my hair in knots. Now with my scalp massager, I can DIY without the knots. You can use the massager to work in your shampoo as it helps remove dirt from your scalp too and its only 25bucks.

Clip In Hair - Made of 100% human Remy Indian hair, hair we dream of. They easy to clip in and I received a trendy pink shade. I'll be rocking my clip in hair this Sunday at the Avon Justine iThemba Walkathon in aid of Breast Cancer.

Calvin Klein Euphoria (Women) - I quite like this fragrance. A blend of exotic fruits, rich black orchids and sensual woods. Will definitely be adding this to my wishlist.

Calvin Klein Encounter (Men) - ♥ This gets me weak in the knees. A blend of freshness, warm cognac and sensual woods. Drool...

4Flavour Earrings - Pleased to see a 6 pack of studs as I only wear stud earrings. The turquoise hearts are my favourite. Gotta ♥ 4Flavour. I am wearing the bottom center studs today :)

Also packaged inside is 15% off voucher from EverythingHair. Free Delivery on all orders over R800 and it literally stocks everything you hair needs.

Gotta ♥ Glossybox

My First RubyBox

Here's to my first Rubybox. I was hoping to qualify for the limited edition Khiels box but fell short, nonetheless I'm pleased with my box. Rubybox (just like Glossybox) is a monthly subcription of 4-5 beauty samples for you to try out for a smaller fee of 100 bucks (incl delivery). Packaged in a petite slim black box it contained some useful products.

Green Cross Rough Skin Remover - Upon opening the box the first thing you smell is this amazing scent of Camomile and Peach. I've used Green Cross products before and its a favorite of mine. Used on clean dry skin, just after a bath, apply either to hands, elbows or feet. The stone granules remove any rough skin, wipe away any excess granules and leaves you with moisturized delicious smelling skin. 

Sally Hansen Nails & Cuticle Hand Creme - My must have with me everyday, everywhere. I'm obsessed with hand cream as I have very dry skin, especially after washing my hands. I keep hand cream in all my hand bags. I love this Sally Hansen 24 hour moisture creme, rich in Shea Butter and a refreshing lemon scent.  I love an all in one product that soften hands, smooths the cuticles and conditions your nails.

Rubybox Tools Eye Lash Curler - I'm grateful for my long lashes but amped to receive this since I'm considering going back into Makeup. It comes with two spare pads (white rubber).

Guess Seductive - ♥♥♥ This is the kinda scent that excites me. It contains Bergamot, Florentin orris and warm Vanilla. It literally is Seductive in a bottle. A must add to my wishlist.

Zehra Age Beautifully - Here's a product said to turn back time to more youthful skin. Never heard about this product before and cant say if the two samples given, works. It's a unique collagen oral supplement to help skin looking younger. Its a lightly vanilla flavoured powder form that you dilute in a glass of water, consists of vital antioxidants, Co-Enzyme Q10 and Vitamin C and free of preservatives and colourants.

I plan to keep my subscription till the year end, if it's as useful as this months box I sure will continue. Rubybox has a great online beauty store with fantastic specials, rubypoints system, a manbox etc. Start signing up ladies, ideal surprise gift to yourself for only 100 bucks and makes an excellent Xmas gift.

♥

Reasons not to…

I’ve been thinking of this for a long time now and every single time I’ve been reaching the same conclusion.

As much as we’d like to do what we want, when we want and how we want ALL of the time, we are restricted by the rules that govern us. Rules such as time, money, circumstances and the system.

Even though, we abide by these rules for many reasons (some of them obvious), at what point do we draw the line between personal happiness and do the things we HAVE to do versus the things we WANT to do. At what point in time do we have complete happiness in what we do. I’ve started noticing that happiness lies within the chosen balance in which you have in your life…

For me, personally, I am a perfectionist. So very rarely did I feel a sense of complete balance in my own life. At the times that I did, it never lasted very long. It always seemed to be a tossup between the most important things in my life: work, my label, and family/friends/men. When one was going great, i had the other one in the back of my mind and just dreading every bit of how it made me feel.

So what do I do to create this balance….? And why do the obvious and most apparent reasons always seem so difficult. Why do I find every reason not to do the things that need to be done?

Take our jobs for example. We have every reason not to stay in a job that is unfulfilling, unrewarding and does not in any way portray the true worth of who we are (judging by your salary!) yet we stay.

We stay in relationships when there is every sign not to. We somehow manage to justify, in our heads that him making us feel good for just one day can override the other 6 days in a week he made us feel like shit.

We see reason not to speak up for what we believe in and continue to do the things we firmly believe is not right.

We make it “ok” by saying: “IF I was richer, IF I was in charge, IF I didn’t have family/kids/obligations….” The list goes on.

But where does it all stop. At what stage do we make the decision to be completely happy in what we have, what we do and even more so what we believe in? At what stage does it become “acceptable” to go against what you were taught to believe in and start going with the things you believes in.

The only limits we have in life are the limits set upon us by ourselves. The only limits that hold us back are the limits put onto us by other people (and that we were taught to believe).

The terms I hear people say all too often and which I dislike so much are “let’s hope”, “I wish” and “go with the flow”. To me that’s like leaving your car keys in your ignition and “hoping” they won’t steal your car!

I can’t speak for all of ya’ll but I do feel safe in speaking to the masses when I ask the question…. Why do so many of us leave the keys in the ignition and “hope” our car won’t get stolen. In the very same way, we have learnt to take proper steps to avoid disaster of our car being stolen, why we not take the necessary steps in other sectors of our lives. In extreme cases, why do some of us choose not to drive our own car and not even take that risk/responsibility of looking after your own car? Yes, I could go on about this damn car which is a whole other topic on its own.

But why do we not take control of our own lives, why do we do the things we do, why do we procrastinate ALL the time, and most importantly, why do we believe in other people more than we believe in ourselves???

For me, it’s not that simple. But thinking about it, it’s not that hard either! For me, I think my resistance and utter dislike to change and “surprises” bothers me.

“Our biggest fear is not that we will fail, but that our success will be beyond fathomable” 

Beauty and Style Event

So over the lovely long weekend, Redbow was invited to participate at the Beauty and Fashion event hosted by Contour Events and Design. An event held in celebration of Woman's Day and upcoming Summer. Also on showcase were Joy Jewellery, Indhi, Kim Trout Makeup and Crimson Cherry cupcakes.  It was a beautiful summers day spent with a bunch of lovely ladies, drinks and snacks and all things trendy this Summer.

Here are just a few pics from the event.

RedBow Sample Sale

Joy Jewellery

More jewellery by JOY

Indhi

Makeup by Kim Trout

Gift Bags

Inglot

Lauren looking fab in her RedBow purchase

Beautiful garden at the venue

September Glossybox

Happy Spring!

Though the skies are still grey at times and my heater still in use everyday (I'm a cold chicken), it's a great feeling to say it's Spring. To look forward to long hot days, sunflowers, pool parties (I hate the beach), crop tops, starry nights, cocktails, sunblock, topless men etc. Everything is just more happier, sexier, brighter, hotter. I'm a winter baby (born in July) but a summer baby at ♥ (son dassie). Glossybox this month got Spring onto a good start, lets get into it...

Sans Soucis - Herbal Day Balsam
I've never heard of this brand before but I'm totally loving it. The scent...not so great but great in every other sense. I love how moisturizing it feels on the skin and leaves a healthy glow to it. It contains natural herbal extracts and mineral-rich spring water to condition the skin, balance the moisture level and makes the skin resistant against irritation, redness, stress and the environment. I can say it definitely helped the redness especially on my cheek area from old pimple scars. And a bonus, it makes application of foundation afterwards so much easier.

L'occitane - Almond Milk Concentrate
I was pretty pleased to see L'occitane in my box this month again, their products are amazing. Firstly I love the scent it has such a soothing effect. It's made up of almond oil and milk to nourish and soften the skin and Silicium to firm and tone the targeted areas. It's light yet creamy and works well with my dry skin without the greasy residue.

Salon Care - Moisture Boost Serum
I've only started using this two days ago and can't really say much about it. It's meant to add moisture to the skin and leaves you with a glow. I find it not as moisturizing and never noticed any glow (sad face). The applicator spray pump was tough to use too and just a little too runny for a serum.

Carolina Herrera - CHL'EAU
My first impression of this was it's just too strong for me. But as time went on the scent softened on my skin and became more lighter. It's floral scented made from lemon blossom, orange blossom, bergamot flower, jasmine, heliothrope, lilly of the valley, sandalwood flower, laurel, cinnamon flower and apple blossom. Perfect for Spring time.

Prada - Prada Candy
I thought I'd like this more than the Chl'eau based on my first impression but the Prada Candy is just too sweet like its name. Its signature notes are caramel, musk, vanilla and benzoin, nonetheless a young, sweet, flirty aroma. I will give this another try too see if I like it.

4Flavour - Gold Cuff
Upon opening this months box, this caught my eye first. ♥ it! I'm loving the big cuff trend and this goes perfect with my gold collar necklace I got off ebay recently.

The cherry on top in the months Glossybox...VOUCHERS!
Sisley Treatment Voucher worth R1600.00
L'occitane 15% off voucher
Clipinhair R150 off voucher

♥

Baby Beauty

Since my baby nephew entered our lives almost a year ago, I was reintroduced to Johnson's Baby. Best for Baby, Best for You.

If you don't know I have very dry skin and I'm lazy about moisturizing, applying it only when I need to. I really wish I could get into moisturizing my entire body daily. It's such an effort after a long hot bath.

That's where Johnson's Baby Oil comes to play. One squirt added to your bath water locks in up to 10x more moisture on wet skin than an ordinary lotion can on dry skin. Which ultimately means I don't have to apply any moisturizer after bathing :) Whoop Whoop! You feel it working immediately when you get into the bath, skin feels silky smooth and who doesn't like smelling like a baby. Just be careful it makes you and the bath tub slippery.

Now that you feeling silky smooth, how about Johnson's Baby Aqueous Cream 24 Hour Moisture Protection that can be used as a mild cleanser. I believe my skin could do with any extra moisturizing. The pump dispenser makes application in the bath easy. I just apply it onto my wet skin not massaging it in completely, I then take my bath sponge and work it in. Hows that for double moisturizing? Super silky smooth, now there's rrrreeeaaly no need for me to moisturize after a bath.

For the days I have to moisturize and show off some skin I use Johnson's Baby Soft Lotion. The only lotion I've used that absorbs quickly, skin's moisturized without that greasy feeling. I love mostly that I can apply it to my legs before bedtime and my legs don't feel sticky when rubbed against each other. I can't stand sticky legs.

Reasons to buy Johnsons and Johnsons

• If its best for baby its perfect for you
• Inexpensive
• Multi-purpose
• Who doesn't ♥ smelling like a baby

♥

Nail Tips

Afraid to Wear Brights and Neon's on your Nails? 

DON'T BE!

Here is a great easy way to wear the new nail color trends for the Summer. Just apply it to the tips of your nails. 

I started off with Avon Mineral Fix as a base coat. It helps to strengthen your nails and I only paid R25,00 (regular price R82.95) for it from an Avon Representative.

Then I applied my all time favourite Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in shade 04 Blue Me Away. I applied this free-hand but if you don't have a steady hand just apply some scotch tape on your nail as a guide line. Wait for the polish to dry completely before removing the tape.

For a top coat I used Sally Hansen Mega Shine, dries in 60 seconds and last for days.

voilà!