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24 December 2015

So long, 2015

When you read this the husband and I will be in one of our favourite places in the world: Wilderness. We are staying there for a few nights after which we will be visiting family in George until just after Christmas. Then off to Cape Town to stay with my mom until early in the New Year. I am excited to get away as this has been a long and, mostly, torturous year.



This is my last blog post for 2015 and I'll be back early in January with my favourite things from the past year. I hope you all have a pleasant festive season and that you enjoy the time away from work, wether with family or elsewhere. For those of you who are travelling, please be safe.

I would also like to thank all my readers for your continued support. Thank you for reading my blog and commenting on my posts, and thank you for all the social media love. I appreciate each and every one of you!

Until next year!

Hildegarde
xoxo

21 December 2015

Benefit's 12 Days of Christmas

Advent calendars are definitely not for pre-school and primary kiddies anymore: more and more beauty brands (not to mention chocolatiers!) are coming out with adult versions of advent calendars. Although the selection is not nearly as exciting in South Africa as in Europe, we are also slowly catching on to the adult advent calendar trend and I for one am very happy with that. 


I bought one of the Benefit Party Poppers packs weeks ago and today I'm going to show you the contents. Normal advent calendars are 24 days (1 December to 24 December), but some brands such as Lush and Benefit are doing more of a "12 days of Christmas" thing where you get 12 gifts instead of 24.



The Benefit Party Poppers pack is filled with beauty minis and they are ideal for popping in your handbag. I already have a couple of these minis, but it's always nice to have extras.

Skin

The Total Moisture Facial Cream comes in the cutest little glass post. It's quite a thick cream and it has a lovely fresh scent. The Pore-fessional comes in a 7.5 ml tube which is much larger than the normal mini that they give away at the counter. The Pore-fessional is a tinted facial primer and can be worn alone or under makeup. I love the fact that it immediately smoothes over pores and makes the skin look more even. 

Cheeks

Rockateur is a cheek powder (blush for the rest of us) and is a lovely almost peachy colour. Watt's up! is a golden highlighter and is simply stunning. This mini comes in a metallic tube and twists up, so cute! Another famous highlighter is High Beam. It's a pale pink champagne colour and is also called "supermodel in a bottle".

Eyes/eyelashes

I was thrilled to get a mini Ooh La Lift as I've heard of it but never tried it. It's a pale pink highlighting liquid that brightens and lifts the under-eye area. There are also two mascaras included in the box: They're Real! and BAD Gal Lash. I actually would have liked another Roller Lash mascara, as I don't really get on with They're Real!, but I'll give it another go. The final eye product is the They're Real! Remover which is a waterproof eye makeup remover.

Lips

There were two lipglosses in the box: Sugarbomb and Hoola. Sugarbomb is basically the lipgloss shade to match the Sugarbomb blush, and Hoola is the gloss shade to match the Hoola bronzer. Sugarbomb is a pinky brown with golden shimmer, and Hoola is a beautiful golden honey with golden shimmer. The final product is Lollitint which is both a lip and cheek stain and is a light pink-purple shade.

I loved opening this advent calendar and I would gladly have paid twice the money for a full 24-day advent calendar. It doesn't look like it's available online anymore, but perhaps you can get it from one of the Benefit counters at Edgars.

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo


17 December 2015

New Collection: Wet N Wild Silver Lake

I was browsing the makeup isles of a different Clicks than usual, and I spotted a new collection on the Wet N Wild shelf. There wasn't really any info about it, but from what I could gather from the internet is that it's called "Silver Lake" (not the one in Pretoria East, ha!) and that it came out in the northern hemisphere's spring. So this collection is actually quite a few months old already, but it seems that we've received it to coincide with our summer, which makes sense. Because the collection has already been discontinued overseas, I am having trouble locating official images showcasing the entire collection. The only products I saw at Clicks were nail polishes and eyeshadow palettes, but I don't know if there are more items in the collection.

Eyeshadow palette in "Vinyl collection"


There are five eyeshadow palettes, each containing six shadows. The palettes all contain pastels and range from blushes and pinks to blues, to turquoise and marine shades, to an orchid-inspired palette, to nudes. Obviously I went for the nudes because as pretty as the other palettes are, I can't see myself applying blue or blush eyeshadow.

"Vinyl collection" contains warm toned autumnal colours. There is one matte shade, two metallic sheeny shades, two shades with shimmer, and one with full-on glitter. The matte camel colour (top left) is silky and buttery and is great for using all over the lid. The shadow top right is a bronzy gold with glitter, but looks beautiful at night. The second row contains a shimmery gold (more yellow than the previous shade) and a metallic taupe. The bottom row contains a metallic khaki green and a shimmery rich cocoa brown with gold shimmer particles. All the shades apply beautifully and blend well. I like wearing the camel shade all over the lid with the metallic taupe and the cocoa brown in the crease. Wear-time is what we've come to expect from Wet N Wild, as is the price. I think this palette was around R75 which is very good value for money considering you get six good-quality eyeshadows.

Nail polishes



There are six nail polishes in the collection, all creamy and pastel. I bought four but only kept three as one is part of a Christmas gift. There is a watermelon pink ("Warm filter"), a shimmery periwinkle ("Wear skinny jeans"), a mint green ("Tree hugger"), a lilac ("Reject the mainstream"), and then a pinky nude and a mushroom grey nude.

I haven't worn any of the nail polishes, but I'm pretty sure it's going to apply - and wear - like a dream. You can go take a look here for swatches.

The more I look at photos of the other eyeshadow palettes on the internet, the more I wonder how I would look with blush shades on my eyes... Be right back, just going to Clicks quickly!

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

14 December 2015

A Merry Berry Christmas

I have said it before, but the limited edition collections from essence are a bit of a hit and miss for me. Some are mesmerising, while others are a bit "meh". The 2015 Christmas collection from them, however, is simply stunning.


As you can see I bought most of the collection. From the moment I saw the first picture of this collection on Twitter, I just knew it was going to fly off the shelves. I think I bought everything except the eyeshadows.

Lipsticks


I have been pleasantly surprised by essence lipsticks in the past, and this time is no exception. There are three shades in the Merry Berry collection: 01 Let's the berry tales begin, 02, Pink & Perfect, and 03 Red rocks (from left to right in the bottom photo). Number 01 is a purple plum shade and looks very vampy. Number 02 is a very dark pink, and number 03 is a dark red-pink colour. All three colours are more suited to winter, but can be pulled off in summer nonetheless.

The lipsticks are extremely creamy and pigmented. They don't last the whole day, but fade evenly and reapplying doesn't leave me with gross lips. Even though the finish is matte, the texture is comfortable and doesn't dry out my lips, yay! All in all these are a fabulous buy if you're looking for some punchy lipsticks.



Nail polishes


For most people, these are the stars of the show. I mean, just look at the cute bottles with the gold lettering and the domed lids! There are four colour polishes and one glittery top coat. The colours are (from left to right): 01 The masked ball, 02 Purple with purpose, 03 Pink & perfect, 04 Red rocks, and 01 I love my golden pumps. Number 01 is a very dark blue purple and I think it would look great paired with the "Let's the berry tales begin" lipstick. Numbers 02 and 03 are dark purples: 02 is a gorgeous bright shimmery purple, whereas 03 is more of a reddish purple (the name also corresponds to that of one of the lipsticks). Number 04 is a beautiful dark pink and also corresponds to one of the lipsticks. The glittery top coat is a clear polish with different sized gold glitter which looks gorgeous painted over any of the previous nail polishes.

The brushes are quite big and the polishes are very creamy. One coat left me with opaque nails which is an odd find in such a cheap drugstore brand. I love the colours but my favourites are the bright purple (number 02) and the dark pink (04).

Scented gold dust powder - 01 I love my golden pumps


I have to admit, I bought this solely for the bottle. How cute is the little golden "potion" bottle with the old-fashioned perfume pump?! One pump releases a puff of fine golden shimmer. I'm not one for body glitter, but this is quite fine and can be subtle if you are light-handed.

Hair fragrance (mist) - 01 I love my golden pumps


Apparently hair mists are going to be the next craze. This bottle contains very fine glitter and smells like vanilla. Whenever I'm wearing this the husband sniffs my hair and tells me I smell nice, so I suppose you can say it's husband-approved!

Highlighter - 01 I love my golden pumps


This highlighter is just gorgeous. The compact is the standard essence blush-bronzer-highlighter packaging but the highlighter itself is gorgeous... Lots of little embossed stars make up the highlighter which is a beautiful subtle shimmery gold. It's not incredibly pigmented so you can't go overboard and end up looking like a disco ball.

I bought the collection at Dischem, but I know Clicks stores also stock it. I bought mine more than a month ago and I'm still seeing it in stores, so there's still time to grab a few stocking fillers!

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

10 December 2015

Festive Nail Art: Christmas Lights

I haven't had time to experiment with nail art designs for quite some time, so it was a nice change to sit and play around with different colours. I saw a photo of Christmas lights nail art on Polishpedia and I wanted to see if I could copy it. Mine didn't come out nearly as nice as theirs, but for a first try I suppose it isn't too bad. 




What you will need



A comfortable workspace with good lighting
Old towel

Base coat 
Coloured polish: white, black, red, green
Top coat
Quick dry drops (optional)
Polish remover 
Small angled brush 
Dotting tool or very fine nail art brush
Cotton rounds

Step-by-step tutorial

Starting off with clean, dry nails, paint a layer of base coat on your nails. You can use any base coat you like, I used the Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat. Let it dry.


Next, paint on two coats of white nail polish, letting each coat dry before painting on the next one. You can use any opaque white nail polish, I used Essie "Blanc" as it gives a nice opaque finish in two coats and doesn't take forever to dry.


When the white coats are dry, take your polish remover and the angled brush to gently remove any polish that might have landed on your cuticles or your skin. I love the essence Nail Art nail polish remover and the UBU angled eyeliner brush for this. You can use a cotton bud, but I find that sometimes the fibres get stuck in the polish, or that the tip is too fat and you end up taking off the polish on your nails too.

Now on to the scary fun part. You will need your other polishes as well as a tool to create your "string" and your lights. I used essence Nail Art Stampy Polish in "002 stamp me! black" as it is very opaque. For the coloured lights I used Mavala in "Cuzco" and Barry M in "Green Berry". You can use different colours if you want, anything goes! My dotting tool is from essence, but you can use the head of a pin, a bobby pin, or even a toothpick. My dotting tool wasn't fine enough so my "string" came out too thick. A very fine nail art brush wouldn't worked better, but I unfortunately don't seem to own anything like that!





Take the dotting tool (or brush) and the black polish and create a pattern for your string. I more or less followed the pattern on Polishpedia, but you can create any design you like. Then go in with the red polish and create little elongated splodges (that's a technical term) for your lights. When you're done with the red, go in with the green (or whichever colours you prefer). 




When your nails are dry, and I mean *really* dry, paint on your top coat. If your nail art isn't completely dry, the top coat will streak the colours and create a mess. For my top coat I chose Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat as I absolutely cannot live without it. I like to follow that with a few drops per nail of the essence Nail Art Express Dry Drops: it dries your manicure and hydrates your cuticles in one go.


And there's the final product! Let me know if you would like to see more tutorials. I'm going to go look for cheap nail art brushes for my next project, any ideas on where to get them cheap?

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

07 December 2015

The Christmas Tag

Seeing as it is December and everyone around me is going mental for Christmas tunes and striped stockings, I thought I'd get into the swing of Christmassy things here on the blog. What better way to kick it off than with a Christmas Tag! I hope you enjoy reading this and please leave a comment below if you'll also be doing this tag on your blog, I'd love to read it.



1.What is your favourite Christmas Movie/s?

This is going to sound very cynical, but to me, all Christmas movies have the same storyline. The average guy doesn't like Christmas, he magically gets transported to the North Pole, something happens to Santa and he has to jump in to help deliver present, the spirit of Christmas hits him, he believes in Christmas, and he makes it back in time to give his son/daughter their Christmas gift. Secretly, I love these movies... That being said, I think my favourite Christmas movie has to be The Nightmare Before Christmas (whose plot isn't too far off from what I described above!). To me that movie depicts the perfect balance of Christmas cheer and darkness.

2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

When I was a child and couldn't stay awake until midnight, we would open presents on Christmas morning, but for the past 20 years or so we open our presents on Christmas Eve. 

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?

When I was much younger my eldest brother and his family lived far away and we didn't get to see them too often. He would tell us that he won't be able to come home for Christmas, but then their car would stop in front of our house a day or two before Christmas; that was always his Christmas gift to us. I still remember how happy we all were. My best Christmas memories are where my whole family were together (mom, dad, both brothers and their families).

4. Favourite festive food?

Oh my goodness...this has to be the thing that I love the most about the festive season! I basically love everything, but if I had to choose it would be my mom's roasted leg of lamb and her trifle for dessert.

5. Favourite Christmas gift?

That is a difficult one... I tend to be easily pleased when it comes to gifts, but the most recent favourite gift I received was a Nespresso machine from my husband a few years ago.



6. Favourite Christmas scent?

I love the smell of the Christmas tree and the tinsel when you take it out of the box after a year! Apart from that I love the smell of fruit cake, maybe more than I like the taste!

7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?

In our family everyone comes together (usually at my mom's house) on Christmas Eve and we dine on cheese, crackers and cold meats and drink wine and cocktails that my mom and I invent. The Christmas tree's lights are on in the background and there is usually some or other Christmas show on the TV or carols playing on the stereo. Then at midnight we open our presents.

8. What tops your tree?

A big golden star, of course!

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?

I always wanted an electric train set (dad said those were for boys) and one of those chemistry sets where you get test tubes filled with all kinds of powder that you can do experiments with (mom said it was too dangerous).

10. What's the best part about Christmas for you?

I really struggle with Christmas as I want to love and embrace it, but it is also a very sad time for me. That being said, the best part about Christmas for me is being with family. Even though I don't see them very often, family is everything.

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

30 November 2015

Monthly Favourites: November

While typing this I'm trying not to think how little time there is left of this year! It feels like the sand in the hourglass is running out quicker and quicker each year, and sometime in the future December is going to be following Easter! Anyway, on to my favourites for the past month!




Sampar Crazy Cream*

I spoke about Sampar's Crazy Cream here. Although it's a bit of a weird product in terms of where in your skincare/makeup routine to use it, I've really been getting into it these past few weeks. It adds a nice glow and a burst of hydration to the skin and makes everything I put on top just look that much better.

Max Factor Creme Puff blush in "Lovely pink"

I was so excited when these were finally available! Unfortunately we only get four of the shades and I picked up two. My favourite is "Lovely pink" which is a light warm pink with a bit of shimmer running through it. The blushes are small and compact and you can throw them in your bag without worrying that they'll suddenly open. The colour also makes me look awake and healthy, which is never a bad thing.

Benefit Roller Lash mascara

I received this sample when I attended the opening of the Benefit counter in Menlyn. The wand is curved and separates and lengthens my lashes nicely. I find that this is also one of the only mascaras that I can use on my bottom lashes, win!

Morgan Taylor nail polish in "Lip service"

I once had this colour painted on my toenails when I went for a pedicure and I fell in love. I finally bought a bottle and it's been on my toenails ever since. It's a gorgeous bubblegum pink, perfect for summer! The formula is also what you would expect from Morgan Taylor polishes: creamy, opaque, and long lasting.

The Body Shop Japanese Camellia Body Butter & Polynesian Monoi Radiance Oil

This has to be my favourite combo of the moment: mixing The Body Shop's Japanese Camellia body butter with a few drops of Polynesian Monoi radiance oil before slapping it on my skin. The Japanese Camellia body butter is air light and sinks into the skin beautifully without leaving any sort of tackiness. The smell is absolutely incredible without being overpowering. The Polynesian oil can be used on anything from the face to the hair, and also smells incredible. The two mixed together gives the skin a slight sheen but without stickiness, and smells delicious.

What were your favourites for the month? Let me know in the comment section!

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

*PR sample

26 November 2015

Empties Post #6: Body Scrubs

I thought I'd do an empties post today, seeing as I have a lot of them lying around. You know those times when everything feels like it's being finished at the same time? Well I think that time's come for me! Today's post will focus on body scrubs. I was quite surprised to see how many empty body scrub containers I have accumulated, but I suppose that just means I like to exfoliate!



The Body Shop really do make some of the best body scrubs and as you can see, they are my favourites. The Early-harvest Raspberry body scrub looks and smells like raspberry jam. It's a juicy plum-coloured scrub with an almost jelly-like consistency. It contains raspberry pips and it's a nice and gentle scrub. The smell is simply amazing and I will definitely be repurchasing this if I can find it (I believe it to be limited edition).

The Vanilla Brulee body polish is another limited edition Christmas product, oops. It comes in a tube and is a thick, slightly gritty, cream. It's a pale yellow colour and reminds me of vanilla custard, hmmm! It has a deliciously warm and comforting scent and it polishes the skin nicely. I will repurchase this if I can find it again, although it doesn't seem to be in stores this year.

The Honeymania body scrub is the same consistency as the vanilla one: it looks like a body butter, but it has a slight grit to it. It smells like honey and wildflowers and isn't sickly sweet at all. It's a lovely comforting smell and the scrub leaves your skin silky smooth without turning it red.

Another brand whose body scrubs I love is local company Sorbet. I received the Sorbet Renew Salt Polisher from the Spa Escape range as part of a gift and I was smitten. I can't even begin to explain the scent. Due to the colour of the packaging I thought it would have a marine scent, but instead it has a slightly sweet spa scent. It's incredible and I can't keep my nose out of the tub! As the name suggests it's a salt scrub which means it's very scrubby, but the oil added to the body scrub keeps it from being abrasive. In fact, after a body scrubbing session you might get away with not applying a body lotion afterwards. I will definitely buy another one of these.

Two honourable mentions go to another two local brands: Blendbox and Rain. The Blendbox Grace Body Scrub smells just as amazing as the Sorbet scrub: a little bit like cream soda, a little bit like sour jelly sweets, and a little bit like a spa. It's also a salt and oil scrub so it removes all the dead skin cells as well as moisturising your skin. It's a lovely product and I can highly recommend it. The Rain Biologie Kalahari Melon & Honeybush body polish is a seductive blend of local ingredients. It's also an oil-based scrub so it leaves your skin beautifully polished and moisturised. It smells like Rooibos tea and honey and wild flowers. It's an amazing product and also one I would recommend.

That was it for my body scrubs! Looking back I realise that I loved them all equally and my preference only depends on the ease of availability and price: The Body Shop might be a bit more expensive than the rest, but there's a store in every large mall and they always have sales! Which body scrubs would you recommend I try? Come on, enable me.

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

19 November 2015

My Christmas Lush Haul

I love am obsessed with Lush, but I find their products very expensive so I tend to only buy items from the limited edition collections a few times a year. I then save these items and enjoy them throughout the rest of the year. This past weekend I went to the new Lush store in Rosebank, Johannesburg, and I picked up a few Christmas goodies.

On a side-note: every major area in South Africa now seems to have at least one Lush store. Cape Town has three, Durban has at least one, Johannesburg has two, and I heard that Pretoria will be getting one very very soon. Fingers crossed and wallets tucked away!


Shower gels


As someone who only takes baths in the dead of winter, I'm much more attracted to Lush's shower gel offerings (as you can see from my obscene number of shower gels). Rose Jam is a favourite that I discovered last year and I just had to get the biggest bottle there is. It contains organic Turkish rose (rose oil and rose absolute), sweet Fair Trade vanilla, and argan oil, so it leaves your skin super soft although the shower gel itself doesn't feel creamy. It smells like roses and Turkish Delight, but it's not sickly sweet. I adore the smell and I have to try hard not to lick the bottle.

Snow Fairy is another favourite and this will be my third bottle (I'm currently still working my way through a large bottle that I purchased last year). This is a much "younger" fragrance in the sense that it's very pink and smells very sweet (it smells like raspberry cooldrink). It contains carrageenan seaweed extract to soften the skin.

The Yuzu And Cocoa shower cream is the brightest and the first yellow shower cream I have ever owned. It contains fresh yuzu juice (a type of Asian citrus), cocoa and tonka absolutes, as well as grapefruit and bergamot oils. It really does smell like chocolate oranges, and although I don't like the combination of chocolates and oranges, this does smell simply divine. It's a very runny consistency for a shower cream, which I learned the hard way.

The last shower cream is the only one that I have a matching bath bomb of: Lord of Misrule. This bright Christmassy green (slightly shimmery) shower cream smells exactly like the bath bomb. It contains wheatgerm oil (excellent for moisturising), black pepper, patchouli oils, and Fair Trade vanilla absolute. The scent is difficult to describe, but it's herby and spicy, and the vanilla definitely cuts through the spiciness and makes it absolutely incredible. 

Bath bombs



First up is the Yog Nog bath ballistic. Oh my goodness... I've heard people sing the praises of the Yog Nog soap, and this apparently smells exactly the same. It smells like toffee with a hint of spiciness. It contains clove bud oil, ylang ylang oil, cocoa powder, and Christmas spices. I can't keep my nose out of the packet and I can't wait to dive into a bath with this toffee ball!

The other bath bomb I bought is the Lord of Misrule. As mentioned earlier in the post, the bath bomb and the shower cream smell the same, and I think it will be a nice combo to use together in the bath. This is one of my favourite scents from the Christmas collection.

I wanted to buy the Cinders bath ballistic, but I keep missing it, both in-store and online. One day she will be mine! What other suggestions do you have for Christmas goodies? I might just put in a small order when Cinders comes back in stock...

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo


16 November 2015

Cray-cray for SAMPAR's Crazy Cream

Ever since SAMPAR landed on our shores I have been intrigued by their products and the classy pink and white packaging, so I was delighted when they sent me their latest "Cosmakeup" product. "Cosmakeup" can be described as makeup that serves a dual purpose: it offers immediate visible results as well as long term clinically proven efficiency. SAMPAR achieves this "double action" promise by enriching their formulas with a complex they call "Urban Advance". This is a powerful anti-pollution shield that kickstarts the skin's vital functions and boosts the performance of SAMPAR's ingredients. 

Crazy Cream - Tan*


Crazy Cream is described as the "ideal fusion of comfort and technology". It's a perfecting tinted moisturiser that comes out whitish-grey and adapts to your skin tone. Your complexion is evened out and hydrated for 24 hours. I can't comment on the last fact because I don't think I've ever gone 24 hours without washing my face! The Crazy Cream also stimulates the skin's protection against photo-ageing UV rays. Your skin is left radiant, glowing, and perfectly even-toned.



The crazy cream is to be applied in the morning after your usual skincare routine (moisturiser included). You can apply it alone for a natural look or as a base for your makeup. I find it to be an excellent base for makeup, but that it doesn't provide enough coverage to be used on its own. The product comes in a beautiful clear and silver pump bottle, but I would have liked the bottle to have a lid or some sort of stopping mechanism, because with my luck something in my travel bag will press on the top and squirt the Crazy Cream everywhere.

All in all I think it's a really lovely product and that it definitely deserves a place in my makeup bag! SAMPAR products are sold at certain Woolworths stores. According to their Facebook page these stores are: Cavendish, V&A, Tyger Valley, Blue Route, Canal Walk, Westville, East Gate, Mall of the South, and Mall of the North.

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

*PR sample

12 November 2015

Top products for surviving summer

It seems that, no matter in which part of South Africa you find yourself, there is intense heat and no rain. Not only are we at the start of summer, but with the current drought there is no summer rain to cool us down. I wanted to make the title of this post something along the lines of "Tips for surviving summer", but that would entail drinking lots of water, taking cool showers, and splashing in the pool, all things you need a lot of water for. So instead I'm focussing on skincare products to see you through summer.



Vichy Idéal Soleil SPF 50 BB Cream

I've spoken about this before and I think it's absolutely perfect for the South African summer. You get a BB cream with an SPF of 50 in one product, what could be greater? The texture of the BB cream is velvety smooth and blends beautifully into the skin. It doesn't just sit on the skin like some products do, and adds a lovely glow to the skin. It doesn't offer a lot of coverage in terms of blemishes, so you might need a bit of concealer afterwards. It has serious staying power and doesn't break me out.

Vichy Eau Thermale Thermal Water spray

I use this as a toner, to wet my makeup sponge, and to cool myself down during the day. It has become an absolute godsend. It yields a fine mist of mineral-rich water that hydrates the skin and I'm obsessed.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Facial Mist

This was probably the first facial mist I ever owned and I still always have a bottle on hand. The mist is fine and it has a lovely rose scent. I suppose it doesn't even begin to compare with the thermal waters, but I still love it for a quick refresh in the afternoons.

REN Vita Mineral lip balm

My lips get disastrously dry during summer and I can't stand all the flaking and peeling. This covers my lips in a nice thick layer of moisture and soothes my flakey lips. The texture might be a bit too heavy for some people during the hot summer, but I slap on anything that helps my lips.

The Body Shop Spa Of The World Japanese Camellia Cream

Now this is technically not a summer survival must-have, but hear me out. In summer I have to moisturise every day and I hate the oily and greasy feeling that is left on my skin by certain products. That and the fact that some leave a white residue on your skin and you have to keep rubbing and rubbing until everything is finally rubbed in. Not with this body butter. The texture is light and creamy and it is instantly absorbed into my skin. No greasy residue, no tackiness, I can immediately get dressed and the smell is also absolutely divine. When I want a bit of a glossy look on my legs, I mix some of this with another Spa Of The World product, but more on that later in the month...

Nivea Sun SPF 30 Pocket Size

I have to admit, I'm not the most diligent when it comes to applying sunblock. I tend to only apply it if I know I'm going to have an outdoorsy day, oops. That being said, no more excuses with this little travel friendly guy! It's small enough to fit into a handbag or even your pocket (not skinny jeans, but I anyway hope that you won't be wearing skinny jeans in this weather) and there's enough product for a couple of applications.

What are your summertime essentials? Let me know in the comment section!

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

05 November 2015

Empties Post #5: Makeup

I feel like I haven't done an Empties post in forever. That being said, I have a big pile of empties under my bed, so expect these types of posts more regularly! Today's post is solely on makeup products that I've finished.




Primer

The Victoria Secret Make It Last Primer & Set Makeup Spray featured in my monthly favourites back in March (you can read it here). It's a colourless liquid in a spray bottle with a fine nozzle that can be used as a primer as well as a setting spray. I have used it as both, but I prefer to use it as a setting spray or to dampen my beauty sponge as I normally use different products to prime my skin. It's not the cheapest setting spray, but at R190 it's also not the most expensive. The 120 ml bottle will last you quite a while. I really enjoyed using this and I've already bought a second one.

Powders

The essence All About Matt! loose powder has been a staple in my beauty routine for quite a while. The powder is super fine and doesn't look cakey, but it's a pain to travel with. I also think this has been discontinued as I haven't seen it in store for ages. I did manage to pick up another one somewhere in a sale bin, but I think this is it for the loose powder. The Catrice Prime and Fine Mattifying Powder is a slightly larger but much flatter compact (and it has a mirror!). It's a pressed powder which means you can throw it in your handbag without worrying about a cloud of dust if it spills. I bought a few Bourjois pressed powders which I want to use up first, but for the price point (around R90) I will definitely be repurchasing the Catrice powder.

Concealers and highlighters

The Bourjois CC Eye Cream in "23 Golden Beige" is a CC cream for your under eye area: it brightens and evens out the skin tone. Instead of the usual brush it has a silicon tip and a twist-up end that dispenses the right amount of product. It's a lovely product and lasts a long time. I haven't repurchased this as I am trying out a few other things, but I definitely will repurchase it!

The Clarins Instant Light Brush-On Perfector is Clarins' answer to the YSL Touche Eclat. It comes in the most beautiful gold packaging with a twist-up end and a brush. I have it in the shade 02 which is the perfect shade for me. I love using it under my eyes, in the inner corner of my eyes, and everywhere else I would like a bit of highlighting. This is an amazing product and I will definitely be repurchasing it.

Eyebrow products

I have been through quite a few of the Smashbox Brow Tech To Go eyebrow pencils but had to find an alternative as it became almost impossible to find my shade (Taupe) anywhere! The product contains a twist up pencil on one end and a spoolie with brow gel on the other end. It's a two-in-one product that makes doing your eyebrows a breeze. When I run out of my current eyebrow products, and my shade is in stock again, I will definitely be repurchasing.

While I was between Brow Tech To Go's, I tried the Empro Triangular Brow Pencil. It has a twist-up pencil on one end and a rather large spoolie on the other side. I struggled to use the pencil as you had to press really hard to make any sort of mark. The colour also came out quite uneven. I won't be repurchasing this.

Lip products

In this empties post I have a whopping five lip empties, but if you know how religiously I apply lip balm, you'll know that this isn't a lot! The Nuxe Rêve de Miel is a cult classic and it's easy to understand why: classy glass jar, French product, thick rich balm. This lip balm is a thick yellow colour and the texture is at times slightly grainy. It smells almost citrussy with a hint of honey and it soothes the most dry and chapped lips. At R150 it's quite a pricey lip balm, but believe me, it goes far. I apply this every single night before I go to bed and this jar lasted me just over a year. Cost per use is pretty fair, I'd say. I have already purchased a second jar and am still using it every night.

Another favourite is the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick. It's basically the much-loved eight hour cream in smooth stick form. You apply it as you would a lipstick, and I liked applying it when I start doing my makeup, so that when I need to apply lipstick my lips are nicely hydrated. The only problem with this is how quickly you go through it... It lasted only a month or two and I remember it being quite expensive.

I love The Body Shop's Aloe Lip Care tube and have already gone through a few. It's a nice thick gel-balm and is easy to pop in your handbag. It's not a fussy lip gel, but it does the job very well. Dry lipped gals (and guys), this one's for you...

The Lip Ice Natural Infusion Honey Cream lip balm had a lovely creamy honey scent, but I didn't enjoy the feeling it left on my lips. I like lip balms melting into my lips, but this felt like it just sat on top of my lips. It also felt like, the more I applied it, the more I had to apply it. I won't be repurchasing this.

The last product for this month is one of the Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms ("Intense care"). I have to be honest, the colourful packaging drew me in! It has a subtle smell and I found that it moisturised my lips better than the Lip Ice, but not as well as the others mentioned here. I probably won't be repurchasing this, I'd rather try some of the other variants in the range.

Phew, thanks for reading all the way to the end! You definitely deserve a cup of coffee or tea after this...

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo




02 November 2015

Monthly Favourites: October

This past month flew by and I have quite a lot of favourites to show you! There are some skincare bits, makeup bits, and a hand product. Let's get cracking, shall we?

Skincare



Two of the samples I received from SKOON. skincare for my facial analysis (you can read my first impressions here) made it into my favourites for this month. I am loving the bright orange Peptide Resurfacing Cream as well as the Overnight Hydrating Mask (Ruby Marine). The Peptide cream really brightens my skin overnight, and the hydrating mask keeps everything gloriously moisturised and plumped.

I've spoken about the REN Wake Wonderful Night-Time Facial* here, and I've been using it religiously twice a week since I've received it. It brightens and smoothes my skin and I absolutely love the effects.

It also has to be said that the combination of all of these products have really shaken my skin back to life, so to speak.

Makeup


I have more eyeshadow palettes than I dare to count, but this little palette stole my heart in the month of October. For about R90 you get six buttery shades ranging from a pearly white highlighter to a deliciously dark and warm chocolate brown. There are three matte shades and three shimmers. The texture is smooth and buttery and they blend easily. Colour payoff is good and they last well with a primer. The two shimmery brown shades to the right of the palette are my favourites, and some days I wore just one of these two on my eyelids, with no fallout or chunky glitter.


For the past few weeks I've been trying out a couple of new drugstore mascaras, and so far this is the one I've liked the most. The Maybelline Lash Sensational Lash Multiplying Mascara has a curved plastic brush with small bristles. I find that it combs through my long lashes and separates them nicely. It also doesn't clump at all. There is a bit of transfer on my brow bone, but I can live with that. All in all a very nice, pitch black mascara.



I have been stalking the Bourjois counter at my closest Clicks for weeks to get my hands on the new Rouge Edition Aqua Laque liquid lipstick. I love the velvet matte version (you can read about it here) and this is a similar product but only glossy and more liquid-y. I have this in the shade "07 Fucshia perché" which is an amazing warm pinky red. It glides onto my lips easily and is quite cooling. The packaging and the applicator is exactly the same as the matte versions, but the differences are in the shades and the texture of the product. This also slightly dries down, but it's still glossy and comfortable on the lips. It's not smudge proof, but if you're not eating or drinking while wearing it there shouldn't be any reason to fear a lipstick smear on your cheek.

Other


The last product in my monthly favourites basket is a hand cream from Clicks. The Oh So Heavenly range is coming out with loads of products at the moment, from skincare to BB creams. Although I haven't tried out any of these (I do, however, love their bubble balms), I can now vouch for their hand creams. I once saw on Twitter someone raving about how good the hand creams are, so off to Clicks I trundled when mine was finished. There are three variants and I chose the "Naturally Nourishing" hand cream in the Butter Me Up range. The tube looks like a tube of paint, and is small enough to fit in your handbag. The smell is absolutely amazing, it contains 15% shea butter and that is exactly what I smell. The hand cream is a thick pale cream that envelops your hands in a delicious buttery haze. It feels quite rich but after about half a minute there is absolutely no residue left. Your hands are just nourished and happy.

That's all for my swoon-festival of today. Which of these products caught your eye? Let me know in the comments section.

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

*PR samples

29 October 2015

Travel Post: A day in and around Krugersdorp

The husband and I went to Krugersdorp two weekends ago. Krugersdorp isn't exactly a holiday destination, but I had a SafariNow voucher and I saw on Google Maps that there were a lot of cool stuff to do and see close by.

No8 Guest House







We stayed at No8 Guest House in town and it was a really quirky and modern guest house. It's basically a big house that was partitioned into small bachelor flats, each with its own entrance, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and backdoor. All the rooms' backdoors lead to a big swimming pool and a lapa of sorts. We were only there for one night so we didn't utilise the pool or the braai facilities.

We mostly lazed around at the guesthouse and went to explore the town. We ended up watching the rugby match (South Africa versus Wales) at the Silver Star Casino on the big screen outside. There were a lot of people, and the lucky ones (those who planned well) got seats at restaurants while the rest of us sat on restaurant steps. It was a great evening and we had a celebratory dinner at one of the restaurants when the crowds thinned out.

The next day (Sunday) we had a big delicious breakfast at the guesthouse before checking out. I would recommend this guesthouse solely on the owner, Eksteen. Eksteen is so welcoming and friendly, it feels like you're visiting a friend.

Rhino & Lion Park

After checking out we went to the Rhino & Lion Park just outside Krugersdorp. Entry into the park was R140 per person, which seems like a lot, but we saw a LOT. We saw everything from ostriches to lions to rhinos to wild dogs. It was money well spent and I can definitely recommend it! There is also cub interaction as well as a rehabilitated cheetah, Anabelle, who runs after a 2 litre bottle at high speed. Sounds weird but it's awesome to see a cheetah accelerate! The highlight of the afternoon was when I got to feed a giraffe! Below are a couple of photos taken on the day.

White rhino wallowing in the mud

Sable Antelope

Eland

King of the jungle!

Cheetahs
Buffalo

National bird - Blue crane

Two wildebeest locking horns over a salt slab

White rhino family - mommy, baby, and presumably daddy in the background

Me feeding the giraffe


Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo