REVIEW: Best In Beauty 2014 winner, Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner...

Well now, those generous beautyheaven folks have introduced me to some amazing products over the last six years, including a number that I wouldn't normally purchase (and which I now wouldn't dream of being without), and lo and behold, this is another - Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner...

Apart from discovering a new love, trialing this particular product has resulted in an addendum to my personal beauty dictionary - to me a toner has always been something that follows a cleanser, removing the last traces of makeup and grime from the skin, as well as (hopefully) shrinking pores, and applied to the skin using a cotton pad. This little bottle is something quite different - a delightfully refreshing spray that cools, calms and tones, and can be used either before moisturising or after applying makeup, anytime actually, and on any part of the body...

I'll admit it took a few days for me to even consider trying it out, mainly because I've been averse to spraying anything on my face for as long as I can remember. Two reasons for this - 1) I wear glasses, so anything that wets my face needs to dry before I feel comfortable enough to put them back on again (blind as a bat without them), and 2) in the past I've accidentally sprayed my face numerous times with all sorts of nastily inappropriate things - hairspray, deodorant, flyspray, air freshener etc., and my clumsiness has SO put me off using any kind of spray, in a bottle or a can. Of course this isn't an aerosol so it's hardly the same thing, but still I was hesitant...

Anyway the day came when I took a deep breath and spritzed my made-up face - well now, that wasn't so bad after all, in fact I found it a delightful experience. The toner has a very delicate rose fragrance, and it sure made me feel cooler and calmer, and it didn't take long to dry either - less than 20 seconds (probably because it's such a fine spray), so the waiting-to-put-the-glasses-back-on thingy was not an issue. Next I tried it after cleansing my face (on a hot and humid night), and I reckon that's when I succumbed to its charms - quite blissful really, cooling and revitalising, my skin felt hydrated and soft before moisturising, and almost as if it had firmed up a tad...

So now I'm hooked on this award winning bottle of goodness - it's 100% vegan (and not tested on animals), and contains no alcohol, nor any of the other usual chemical ingredients that can irritate or upset the skin's natural balance. I find it soothing, refreshing and amazingly pacifying. It's quite warm here inside my blogging HQ - I've just sprayed it on my neck and instantly enjoyed some relief from the heat, and my skin also feels like it's had a hydration boost. I reckon I'll continue to use it in the cooler  months, if for no other reason than it simply gives me a lift...

Thank you ever so beautyheaven and Sukin for the opportunity to try this lovely product - at under $10, I'll definitely be purchasing it once I've hit the last squirt ♥

This is my first ever Sukin product - I'm most definitely impressed, and certain to be heading to my nearest chemist to sample the rest of the range. So gals, please let me know what Sukin products you love - I need a hand as to what to try next!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

HAPPY  NEW  YEAR  EVERYONE!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

REVIEW: Best In Beauty 2014 winner, L'Oreal Base Magique...

Another one of the awesome products to win a beautyheaven 2014 Best In Beauty Award - L'Oreal Base Magique. This was the very first primer I ever tried, way, way back, not long after I joined bh six years ago. I have to giggle profusely when I think back to those early discovery days when I started reading about primers (on my favourite beauty website), and thought "goodness, that's one thing I sure don't need" - well I couldn't have been more wrong! I couldn't BELIEVE the difference this primer made to my skin, and the overall flawless finish it gave to my complexion. Of course since then, I haven't missed a day of using one of the plethora of primers available in the marketplace, but I have missed using this little beauty, and I'm so grateful to beautyheaven for gifting this jar of magic to me recently, and reminding me just how much I love it...

So what is it that sets this primer apart from all the others? Having tried so many, and then having used this baby every day for the last three weeks, I can emphatically declare it's the marvelously mattifying effect it has on my combo skin, and the way it instantly melts away my enlarged pores...

I have a very active oily T-zone, and regardless of the foundation I use, I'm constantly patting oil-absorbing powder onto this troublesome area throughout the day, especially around my nose. What I've noticed in these last few weeks is that I've only had to do this once (if at all), around lunchtime. Apart from this bonus to an often frantically busy working gal like me, this primer makes my complexion look smoother and heaps more refined from the get-go. At 59, I'm a bit long in the tooth to go without foundation on any day, but after spreading this pretty pink cream over my skin, I can get away with just a tinted BB cream - believe me, that's a freedom I treasure ♥

The consistency is quite thick and almost wax-like, and works best if it's warmed between your fingers before applying. Instantly my skin feels like silk - well, more like smooth satin actually. There's no longer any hint of sheen or shine, and the huge pores on my nose vanish in the blink of an un-made-up eye. My foundation just glides on over the top, and even if I use a particularly thick formula, it's easy as pie to spread it evenly, and the finish is darn near flawless...

There's no sunscreen component, but my current moisturiser is 30+, and combined with an SPF in my foundation, my face is sufficiently protected for this to not be an issue. And at the end of a long day, my font de teint is still intact, and looking almost as good as it did at 5am.

In summary, a brilliant primer - for gals dealing with a complexion that's awash with oil, this is most definitely a winner in my book, and I reckon it would work equally well for dry-skinned beauties because of it's amazing soothing and smoothing properties ♥

Have you tried L'Oreal Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer yet?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

REVIEW: Best In Beauty 2014 winner, Bioré Self-Heating One Minute Mask...

Towards the end of every year, that totally-in-the-know team over at beautyheaven announce their winners of the Best In Beauty Awards - an amazing list of the products most adored by their loyal members. These goodies are invariably the Holy Grails of the gals who vote for them, and consequently the cream of the crop of what's available in the market place...

This year's list contained a few surprises, but overall it's pretty darn impressive (here's the link), and I'll be reviewing some of my faves over the next few months, starting with this winner of the Best Face Mask, Bioré Self-Heating One Minute Mask with Natural Charcoal...

I'm the first to admit that I'm pretty slack when it comes to masks - I love them to bits, but I'm hopelessly time-poor, and consequently don't use them as often as I should. Well, that WAS the case, but all that's changed since I discovered this unbelievably quick and deep cleansing mask. I've been using and loving these fascinating little sachets for months now (usually once per week, sometimes more), and there's always a spare pack or two in my drawer - I just hadn't gotten around to posting a review. And then last week a box arrived courtesy of bh (as well as some other winning gems) and reminded me that it was high time I waxed lyrical about it...

This is the quickest mask you'll ever use, and one that will leave your complexion super soft, toned and feeling as clean as a whistle. I have to say though it's somewhat peculiar, like nothing else I've tried before. I use it in the shower because it's easier, and there's less mess than doing it over a basin. I wet my face, tear open the sachet, and squeeze the yucky looking dark grey cream into my hands. Instantly I can feel it heating up (whoa!), so I start massaging it into my face. It's almost a sticky, mud-like consistency,  but really easy to spread, and while the cream itself feels deliciously warm at first, after about 30 seconds, my face starts to feel cool, as if I've patted it with menthol. How weird is that?

It smells quite pleasant, hard to identify, but it's not a chemical scent - I'll go with "earthy" lol. After a minute, I rinse away the goop, and pat dry my newly refreshed and refined face. My skin doesn't feel tight or dry, there's no irritation, and the softening effect is amazing. I guess it's not really a mask in the traditional sense because you don't leave it on for more than 60 seconds - I'm more inclined to call it a souped-up deep pore cleanser ♥

At $8 a box, each sachet costs $2, which I think is a teeny amount to pay for something that gives my complexion an extra cleansing boost, and even shrinks my pores a tad. The sachets are amazingly travel friendly, and my only gripe is that I find it quite a challenge to squeeze all the cream out of the foil pack, but then again, I've always been all fingers and thumbs when it comes to sachets...

In summary, I love this product, and will continue to re-purchase it (three or four packs when it's on special!) - thanks again beautyheaven for sending me this little treasure, and for giving me a much needed poke to write this long overdue review ♥

Take care of you,
kats xxx