Dermalogica products have been around for years, this is however the first time that I have ever used them and I have to tell you, I am loving them.  Yes, I know, I haven’t tried their full range or even a complete range but the 3 sample products that I received from the #BWB goodie bag have definitely left me wanting more.

I received  the following samples for review:  1 x 22ml Skin Hydrating Masque, 1 x 50ml Multi-Active Toner, 1 x 30ml PreCleanse as well as a sample eye cream which I sadly lost when I was away in Johannesburg.  I have been using the 3 products listed above over the last couple of weeks and I can tell you the following:
The Skin Hydrating Masque is a refreshing mask that hydrates and replenishes dehydrated skin.  I have been using it once a week for the last few weeks.  The application is easy enough, you simply apply it over your already cleansed face and throat and then let it absorb for 10-15 minutes, thereafter rinsing it off thoroughly.  I personally found that it definitely does hydrate the skin and I love the supple feeling that gets left behind after the rinse.  You can pick up a 75ml tube for R590.00.

The  Multi-Active Toner  is great at refreshing and hydrating your skin. The first time I used this was after flying to Johannesburg – my skin was dehydrated and felt incredibly ‘icky’ and this completely perked me up (even over my makeup). The directions state that it’s a refreshing facial spritz which hydrates and smooths the surface for application of your moisturiser which would follow.  The toner includes soothing lavender, balm mint and arnica and is free from all artifical frangrances and colours.  You can pick up a 250ml bottle for R520.00

The PreCleanse is absolutely phenomenal.  It’s a deep-cleansing oil which melts away anything and everything (impurities & makeup) from your skin, leaving it feeling amazingly soft, clean and nourished.  Basically you use your clean, dry hands, massage a few drops of the PreCleanse oil over your face until it creates a light, milky emulsion and from there you rinse your face with lukewarm water.  I just can’t even explain to you how much I love this product and if I could afford it, I would ensure that I am never without it, but alas, for R520.00 for a 150ml, it just isn’t in my budget.
You can find Dermalogica products at all good salons or you can click here to find a salon nearest to you.  Dermalogica can also be found on the following platforms:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Saturday saw the amazing ladies from the #BWB family meeting up for some yummy breakfast (or cake on my part) at the Love Cake Cafe in Burgundy Estate.  It was the first time I had actually stopped into the cafe, even though I go through to the centre there almost every weekend for some reason or another (since my bestie lives around the corner from it).

This months #BWB theme was Mother Nature (Re-cycle, Re-use & Re-purpose)

This months #BWB theme was Mother Nature (Re-cycle, Re-use & Re-purpose)

The first thing you notice when you enter the cafe is the beautiful colour scheme as well as the decor on the walls.  There are amazing paintings/portraits as well as beautiful sayings/quotes on the walls.  The second thing you notice is the amazing cake display that they have over to the side :)  (yes, I know, I am a cake whore.)

 

 

I had to take Jensen along with me due to the hubs not being available to babysit but it really wasnt a problem since there is a small little play area right outside the cafe where the boys (Cupcake brought her little minion along too) played.

This picture was taken by Cupcake of our little boys

The ladies had such a lovely time, talking about everything that you can imagine while we enjoyed some amazing cappuccino’s (I may or may not have had 3).

Cappuccino magic

This right here is an award winning red velvet cake. I reckon if heaven had a taste, it would be this.

 

The #BWB ladies doing a little bit of admin on their buddy cards :)

The amazing #BWB ladies

Love Cake Cafe also have an amazing reward system in place where for every espresso based drink you can collect a heart stamp on their business card and for every 10 stamps you get a free hot espresso drink (I may or may not have already collected 4).  You can find Love Cake Cafe in the following ways:

Website | Facebook

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You know that movie Cocktail? Starring Tom Cruise?  
Well, who cares!  I don’t need to go to a tropical beach and stare at a brunette dude sans six-pack wearing dark shades as he shakes up a Margarita when all I need to do is open up my freezer, whip out my  frozen pouch of Original Cocktails Margarita, pour it into a glass and climb into my pool a mere 20 feet away!

Original Cocktails have been making South African woman and men happy with their amazing variety of pre-packed, ready to freeze and drink cocktails since 2008.  Their range started with 3 mixes – Strawberry Daiquiri, Pina Colada’s & Margaritas and has now been extended to include an extra 4 mixes, namely Cosmopolitan’s, Mojito’s, Singapore Slings & the absolutely amazing Gluhwein.

Original Cocktails are made with real fruit juice and 5% alcohol and are packaged in 300ml servings which are the perfect amount for you to unwind.  

 

You simply freeze your cocktail for 8 hours, squish up the pouch and pour into a cocktail glass (or like me, a wine glass since I don’t own any cocktail glasses).  Also, I should mention, you can also get 2L boxes of cocktail mix which you can freeze before a party too.

At our last #BWB meeting I received an amazing frozen Mojito pouch to enjoy and trust me, AWESOMNESS!  

Original Cocktails were also one of our sponsors at the #CPTBloggerMeet earlier this year where we were able to spoil each blogger to a couple of cocktails at the venue, trust me, they loved it.

You can find Original Cocktails on the following social platforms:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Ralo Cosmetics have been around South Africa for a good couple of years and I have often walked into their store in Canal Walk and picked up a few things at REALLY good prices.

I received a Brilliant Lash Mascara in black as well as a Professional Eyeliner Pen in black at the last #BWB meeting and was absolutely excited to give them a go.

 

The first thing I noticed when I picked up the items was the packaging.  I am absolutely in love with the mascara packaging with the silver and diamantes, it feels and looks so elegant in my hand.

The mascara itself coats the lashes beautifully with a second coat and leaves them really nicely defined and gives them volume.  The product is nice and thick too.  The wand itself doesn’t have much of a shape and I know my description probably doesn’t make sense so I will put in a picture here for you to see what I mean.

Either way, it works really nicely without any clumping at all.  My one problem that I do have with it is the scent, it smells a bit too chemical for me and yes, once its on my lashes I don’t smell it at all but when I open the tube I can definitely catch the scent of it.

The Professional Eyeliner Pen is a new one for me as I normally only use the Kajal pencils.  Initially I struggled a bit with it and still have a bit of trouble using it along my waterline but if I use it to create a cat eye then it works perfectly.

You can pick up the mascara for only R59.50 and the eye pen is available for the same price of R59.50.

You can shop online at Ralo by clicking here and they are also available on the following social media sites:

Facebook | Twitter

*I apologise for the terrible flashy pictures, they were all taken with the flash on and I didn’t realise until afterwards*

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Hey Gorgeous!  No, not you silly, the company, Hey Gorgeous!
They are absolutely amazing and have seriously been making the rounds for a while.  Their products are absolutely divine in both scent and quality.

I took a few minutes to run through their website and on their home page they list 10 things about them which I found really interesting and would like to share it with you:

♥  Everything we make, we make with love.
♥  Hey Gorgeous is family run. Real people. Real products.
♥  We source locally and use only natural ingredients.
♥  Our planet is important to us. We try to keep our carbon footprint small.
♥  Our products are cruelty free! We only test on our friends.
♥  Our testimonials are all 100% true. We stand by this.
♥  We stand by our products. They really work.
♥  We love helping people feel confident and gorgeous.
♥  We’re relatively young, but we have big dreams and amazing friends.
♥  We are based in South Africa, but we now offer worldwide shipping.

So with those 10 points, who wouldn’t want to try out some of their products?

At the last BWB meeting we received an awesome Cupcake Bath Bomb from them and at first, I really didn’t want to use it because… it’s a cupcake darn it.  But, after our Rain Expedition I decided that after a 6 hour drive, too little caffeine and a couple of bee stings that I needed to climb into a hot, steaming, cupcake bath bomb filled bath and just relax with my Kindle.



When I took the Cupcake out of the packaging and breathed it in, the first scent I got was floral, possibly rose and then I held it under the running water for a few seconds before my fingers started to burn off and then dropped it into the tub.

The scent took over the room and I imagine that that’s what it would smell like if I was in a rose garden, spinning around like that chick from The Sound of Music.

 

Also, it turned the water pink, so I totally felt like a princess.

When I finally managed to pull myself out of the bathtub I was so completely relaxed and my skin felt as though I was wrapped up in angel wings #TrueStory!

I absolutely adore Hey Gorgeous!  and can’t wait to get my hands on some more of their products!

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By now, you might have gathered that I’m really fond of my natural products. I wish sometimes I could go to Elysium – that commune in Wanderlust, and just live off the earth. When I come across and use natural products, I get a distinct feeling of being ONE with Mother Nature. Yes, I’m THAT girl.

I’ve been lucky enough to receive 3 items that are simply amazing natural products and they also evoke a sense of nostalgia (well, at least for me).

Nuxe Huille Prodigieux Multi-Usage Dry oil – BLOGGERS WHO BLESS GOODIE BAG

This little gem was sponsored in my Bloggers Who Bless goodie bag and while I was a little apprehensive to try it, I must admit that I fell in love with the smell from the get-go.

It’s basically an all-purpose oil which is suitable for your face, body and hair and you’ll be amazed to see that a little (even a drop) goes a very long way. It’s made up of 30% precious plant oils and it’s 98.1% NATURAL! That’s basically 100% and totally good enough for me. From what I can gather from Lipgloss is my life, it’s on sale at Edgars and Truworths and it’s also pretty reasonably priced too! I would totally pay R210 for 50ml of this stuff. Quite simply (and just as Leigh mentions in her post) it smells so bloody good, you can’t afford to not have a bottle at all times.

But wait, there’s more! Because Nuxe has managed to capture the scent of the dry oil and made a le parfum for us perfume enthusiasts!

*air punch*

Optiphi – Essence 1.618 – aromatic balm – CPT BLOGGERS MEET

I remember sneaking into Gran’s secret drawer and fishing out (digging out with my little nails) the scented balm she had pressed into a silver Victorian locket. And ever since then I may have come across the concept maybe… once or twice? I was enamored with it every time.

Optiphi has their own aromatic balm and it is such a lovely fragrance. It’s a lovely dark (almost plum) colour and I want to say “it smells like Killer Queen by Katy Perry”. I love that it’s tiny enough that you can take it with you everywhere you go – you can even put it in your wallet! According to my source (hiehiehie nudge nudge wink wink) this is becoming a fast favourite and it seems like they’re working different scents too. So I’m seriously excited about seeing more of these aromatic balms.

For your nearest stockist of Essence Balm – Contact OPTIPHI – 0126676244 | E-mail – info@optiphi.com or visit our Facebook Page – or Twitter page – @optiphi

Image from Complete (and utter) Disbelief

 

SKNLogic’s SKNrenew foot balm with fig extract – BLOGGERS WHO BLESS GOODIE BAG

Made from Fig Extract, Shea Butter, Vitamin E, Cucumber extract and Orange oil (amongst other natural ingredients), this magnificently hydrating balm is sure to moisturise, protect and reduce the depth of wrinkles in the feet.

I generally don’t use lotion on my feet because I feel like I’m sliding everywhere and it feels like my feet double up as a dirt collector, but with this balm (because it smells so friggin awesome) I made a conscious effort to do it properly. After a good foot scrub and a lovely soak, I slathered on the balm and slipped on my wool socks and the next morning I was left with youthful looking feet.
 

I also think that at R85 for a 75ml tube, and considering that you don’t use a lot of it, it is very affordable and totally worth it. To find your nearest stockist click here and go spoil your feet.
 

I will definitely get myself these spoils again!

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NUXE Huile Prodigieux Multi-Usage Dry Oil.  That’s a mouthful right?  I cant pronounce it, I tried, numerous times and I have failed.  What didn’t fail though was this oil.  Holy smackeroos, this oil is absolutely amazing.

I received a small bottle from our first #BWB (Bloggers Who Bless) meeting and at first I was hesitant to try it out because firstly, that name made my head explode and secondly, I had absolutely no idea what it was for.
A few weeks ago I decided to do a wee bit of research in order to find out a little bit more about this oil and what I could use it for.  This is what I found:
Description:
Effective by Nature - 98.1% of the ingredients in this Dry Oil are of natural origin, it is a unique combination of 30% Precious Plant Oils and Vitamin E to nourish, repair and soften your face, body and hair in a single step.
Precious Benefits - Your face and body are left feeling soft and silky.  Your hair is supple, soft and shines with health.
Advice:
Apply this Dry Oil to your face, body and hair all year round, in summer and in winter.
Mix a drop of Huile Prodigieuse® with your usual foundation for easier glide-on application with no sticky effect.
Spray a little Dry Oil into the palm of your hand then gently tousle your hair for a natural result. Sprinkle a few drops of Huile Prodigieuse® into your bath for a truly relaxing experience
Star Active Ingredients:
With its unique concentration of 6 Precious Oils (Borage, St. John’s Wort, Sweet Almond, Camellia, Hazelnet Hazelnut and Macadamia) and Vitamin E, this easily-absorbed, multi-usage Dry Oil will leave your skin soft and silky in a single step, while your hair will be left with amazing softness and shine. No preservatives.

I first tried the oil out on my face about 2 weeks ago and boy oh boy, it leaves my face feeling so amazing soft and moisturised.  The scent of the oil is absolutely amazing too, its got a sweetish nutty scent which is too die for.  I then started using it on the rest of my body and my skin has honestly never been this soft.
I have even used it in my hair both as a treatment and also to give my hair a bit of a shine when it was looking a little dull.
Another great thing is that a little really does go a long way.
You can pick up a 50ml bottle of NUXE Huile Prodigieux Multi-Usage Dry Oil for R210.00 from Rubybox.  It is a little costly but it is definitely worth it.
Would I buy this oil?  Absolutely!  In fact, I already have one waiting in my cart for payday :)

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