Review: Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream

So like all people interested in beauty stuff sometimes I can be a complete lemming sheep and try something just because others have said how great it is without any research of my own. Case in point is Oilatum which I purchased after watching a video of the Fabulous Pixiwoo sisters talking about their favourite items. Now Sam mentioned Embryolisse, while Nic favoured Oilatum - and if Embryolisse was easier to obtain I would probably be doing a review on that instead. *hangs head in shame*

Prior to Oilatum I had been using Lancome's Primordiale moisturiser and something in that was making my skin pissy so I wanted a cheap alternative and that's what Oilatum was. In a nutshell I used this product day and night for nearly a month and my skin recovered. Now currently using my second tube I am ready and more importantly motivated to write the review.

Packaging: I love a good plain packaged tube - no issues from me.

Smell: None that I can smell- whoo hoo!

Texture: For me this is somewhere between a cream and a lotion. It is both creamy and light making it very easy to absorb into the skin. I tend to double my moisturisers as eye creams and this did not irritate my eyes in anyway. I love the smooth feeling to my skin once it has absorbed -which happens almost immediately.

Performance against its claims:
 They say:

• penetrates deeply to intensively nourish irritating, dry and sensitive skin
• free from fragrances, preservatives and emulsifiers
• helps to repair your skin's natural barrier

I say:

• I did feel that this was nourishing to my skin and certainly calmed the irritation I was experiencing
• as I said I cannot smell anything 
• not sure how I could prove that, all I can say is that this helped with the issues I was having after using my new Lancome moisturiser

Value for Money: You get a 50ml tube and I paid about $23 AUD including postage from a UK seller both times. I used my first tube of this day and night for over a month before it finally gave out. I think it is a great product but for me the exchange rate and postage costs are reason enough to look around closer to home or even make my own - which is what I have been learning about on other blogs.

Have you tried any Oilatum products?

Review: Palmers Cocoa Butter Gentle Daily Cleanser.

I have been putting off doing reviews for ages so I decided to actually chain myself to my laptop to get a few done to post over the next couple of weeks and I'm starting with one of the oldest I have on my list - a cleanser I have had for months from Palmers.

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know I love Palmers Night Cream (I'm about to finish my second or third jar soon), so I was eager to try more of their skincare range.

Packaging: I like simple packaging and am a huge fan of tubes so this got a thumbs up from me just on first impressions. However, I have found in the middle of winter that the formula is a little hard to squeeze out of the bottle at times (my bathroom is also freezing in winter) which is ok but a little annoying. Overall though it's sleek, portable and for the most part easy to get the amount you need.

Smell: I am on record as not being a fan of the usual Cocoa Butter smells. The fragrance of this one is similar to the night cream but is a little stronger which I wasn't keen on but it is not a deal breaker. To me the fragrance in this range is perfumey in the same way that Lancome is perfumey so buyer beware on that one.


Texture: This has a lovely rich texture and feels creamy which I love, given I have dry skin. It doesn't lather up into bubbles - but you can still feel it working into your skin. I have used this cleanser with my Sigma Beauty Brush very successfully. What I like most is that it does remove my makeup (I do not wear long lasting foundations like EL Double Wear or waterproof mascara) without giving me that tight dry feeling I get with some cleansers. If you have oily skin I'm not sure you would like the richness of this product.

Performance against its claims:

They say:

• Milk proteins and antioxidants brighten and hydrate, leaving skin soft, fresh and glowing

I say:

• My face does glow afterwards and it does feel hydrating

Value for Money: This cleanser comes is a 150g tube for around $10 which makes it a total bargain for those who dry and sore/irritated skin.

Here's the issue for me... I like Palmers, I like the cleanser, I can't fault it at all but it doesn't have wow factor for me. I find myself easy distracted away from using this consistently by other cleansers but I will happily use this one up and possibly repurchase in the future.

Have you guys tried this cleanser -what did you think?

Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick - Coral Gleam

I love these lipsticks and have previously reviewed and swatched them here.

Recently I picked up Coral Gleam and I love it -

Bare Lips above and Coral Gleam Lips below

I'm a little bit terrified!

I've pretty much had the same Blog design is since I started up but lately it has felt a bit old and drab. So tonight I have gone and changed it and I would love to know your constructive thoughts about the face lift. Consider the following questions:

• Is it clear and easy to read?
• Does the background look too busy?
• Are there too many colours?

Anyway I really appreciate you thoughts and while I am at it can I also ask one other question -

• Would you like me to have a clear disclosure policy on this blog in addition to what is written in the "about me" section?

Thanks in advance for your feedback and hope this Tuesday night finds you well

Jac x

Adelaide Beauty Conference Round Up

I'm sure there will be a bucket load of tweets and blog posts about the first Adelaide Beauty Conference but if you want to hear how it went down by a 30 something, easily distracted and forgetful (I cannot believe I forgot my camera) nail polish addict then you have come to the right place.

I've also decided to amuse myself by writing the rest of this post newspaper style ... so enjoy another post of cray cray with the Jac' star.....

Adelaide's inaugural Beauty Conference was held last night at the luxurious Liquid Hair Salon located in Adelaide's CBD. On hand were a bevy of Adelaide's blogging elite (and me) to take part in learning about the latest and greatest offering from Cloud 9 and Dermalogica, as well as on site demonstrations from the very talented Kitty of MissyKittyCharms and Violet Le Beaux.

The evening started with a fantastic demonstration of some of the offerings from Cloud Nine featuring Emma (Liquid Hair's Owner). The O  is a state of the art curler system that heats each curler in 6 seconds and yet the time saving does not mean a reduction in the quality of the curl. Below are the results Emma created using the O curlers, curling wand and straighteners -

NOTD: Zoya's Rica

Hands up if you are sick of hearing me go on about how much I love Zoya - my hands up! My only problem is that I really do and I love showing how pretty their finishes are. Plus I buy mine - so I'm putting my money where my mouth is - but if anyone wants to send me free Zoya just let me tell you my address RIGHT NOW! lol.

So without further delay let me show you some pretty pictures of Rica which is a crazy pink/orange duochrome glitter. This one is special - grrr I ALWAYS say that - but it's true! All pictures are with 2 coats, no top coat in natural sunlight.

As the sunlight was showing more of the pink than the orange I also look a shot inside without sunlight (or flash).

I get my Zoya from Nailsetc or eBay.

NOTD: Zoya's Tiffany

Tiffany was released as part of Zoya's Flame collection and is described by Zoya as "pink, peach and light copper toned foil particles accented by flecks of gold". Sounds fancy doesn't it? Again Zoya are pretty much spot on in their description as there are tones of peach, pink and light copper visible both in the bottle and on the nail.

Let's have a closer inspection shall we -

And while the bottle shot makes this one look sheer, This shade was opaque in 2 coats, applied well and dried quickly. All photos were taken in natural sunlight.

I am sad to say this one chipped after a couple of days - and like when I wore Gemma (who also died a quick death on my nails) I had been doing stuff around the house requiring more than usual frequent hand washes. Quite frankly though this one is worth the effort even if I only get a couple of days.

Is Tiffany something that would tempt you?