Clarins Beauty Gift

I interrupt the Kiehl's series to highlight a special deal that is running at the moment till 9 June. 

I have written in the past how the best way to buy products from the larger beauty houses is to wait till they run specials where you get a free gift with purchase.  These come around once or twice a year and I manage to space my purchases to coincide with these.  This is what Clarins offers:

 

 

 

 

 

If you buy a serum or moisturiser and any other product you get a 30 ml bottle of Eau des Jardins (a perfume), a large bag and you can choose two of the travel sized products.  The travel sized products are fairly large, between 30 and 100 ml.  This is the list you can choose from:
Wonder volume mascara
Gloss prodige lip gloss
Extra-firming day cream
Instant eye makeup remover
Multi-active day cream
Beauty flash balm
Super restorative night cream
Moisture rich body lotion
Hydraquench cream
Hand and nail treatment cream

I was wanting to buy the exfoliating toner after reading about it on Caroline Hiron's blog.  And then I saw this special was coming up, so I just spent an additional R500 on a moisturiser I really did not need at the moment in order to qualify for the free gift. (It all makes perfect sense, I was saving.) All the while feeling so chuffed with myself.  To put things in perspective, the toner only cost R350.  I chose two of the moisturisers for my free gift and discovered a small sample of an eye cream in the box with my moisturiser.  I was completely baffled by the Eau des Jardins.  The writing on the packaging did not help much since it talked about picking you up and treatment oils.  Google is your friend and I have since discovered that it is a perfume.  Very citrusy and nice.

The bag is enormous, kind of pretty, but has Clarins written at the bottom all over it and does not have a zip at the top.  So I am not entirely sure whether I would ever use it.

So rush before 9 June, you have an excuse to do some shopping.

Kiehl's series Nr 8: Eastgate

 

Last week Friday I was walking around in Edgars in Eastgate.  (I do not live in Johannesburg, so this does not happen often.)  I turned a corner, and literally stumbled into a Kiehl's shop.  It was a big surprise.  There was so much buzz about the shop opening in Sandton, but I have not heard anything, anywhere about a shop opening in Eastgate.  The sales lady said they were open for only 3 weeks and that they did not launch this store so nobody knew about it.  The sales lady was absolutely lovely, allowed me to touch literally everything in the shop and gave me a bunch of samples.  (Which means that my Kiehl's series just got a lot longer!).

The shop is a lot larger and in my opinion nicer than the one in Sandton.  I did not think to take a photo of the shop.  Sorry.

People in Johannesburg, please head to Eastgate and treat yourself to something nice.

And people in Durban, she said they were also opening in Durban.  She did not know where.  Something to look forward to.

Kiehl's series Nr 7: Superbly smoothing argan conditioner

 

I liked the conditioner.  I am a much bigger fan of Kiehl's conditioners than I am of Kiehl's shampoos.  The conditioners are just perfect.  I use a tiny bit, it slides onto my hair and just immediately make my hair feel coated and manageable without feeling oily.  Definitely a keeper.

 

From the package:  This conditioner is formulated to effectively detangle and provide intensive smoothing for a long lasting frizz free finish, our rich formula is entirely silicone free. Blended with Fairly-Traded Argan oil plus Safflower Seed Oil this conditioner thoroughly smoothes hair without weighing it down, while helping to prevent fly-aways.  Combined with Cocoa Butter this formula provides effective levels of moisture and shine.  Out smoothing preparation effectively tames your mane to impart a marvellously manageable sleek appearance. 

 The list of ingredients included: Argan oil, safflower seed oil, caster oil, sesame seed oil, candelilla wax, cocoa seed butter, orange peel oil, eucalyptus leaf oil.

 

There is a review here.  You can also read several reviews here.

Kiehl's Series Nr 6: Superbly smoothing argan shampoo

My review should be read with the caveat that I only used this shampoo for about 4 washes.  I did not have a full size product, but only a few samples. 

It must be so easy to market this since you can use all the right buzz words that seem so popular with consumers.  It contains fairly traded argan oil, is silicon free, sulphate free and paraben free. 

The product is intended for coarse and unruly hair.  I do not think my hair is coarse, but it is thick and in Durban all hair is unruly. 

The shampoo smells really bad.  It has a strong medicinal smell to it, my guess would be  the eucalyptus.   I tended to use a lot more shampoo than I normally do, since it felt like the shampoo was not doing anything, just disappearing into my hair.  That said:  my hair was clean (so it was obviously just me) and felt really soft afterwards.  I was touching my hair constantly, it was so soft.   There are several oils in the ingredient list:  cedrus atlantica, orange peel oil, eucalyptus , sesame seed oils and cocoa seed butter. 

From the package:  Formulated to provide intensive smoothing for a long-lasting frizz free finish our shine enhancing formula is entirely silicone free.  Blended with fairly traded argan oil, high in anti-oxidants and essential oils plus safflower seed oil, a naturally derived emollient this shampoo helps tame fly-aways without weighing hair down.  Superbly smoothing argan shampoo is luxuriously smooth , sulphate free and gently cleanses without stripping color or over-drying hair.  Our preparation helps to reveal hair’s natural radiance for ultra-smooth more manageable appearance. 

The shampoo is very expensive and I have a hard time convincing myself it is better than my much cheaper alternative.  It costs R235 for 250 ml.    A colleague who has very long lovely hair and always buys very expensive shampoo loved this shampoo.  She thought it was perfect and was much more impressed than me by the sulphate free claim, since she uses only shampoos that are sulphate free. 

It is available through the Edgars fashion hot line.

I found some reviews:  This one from South Africa and another from someone who used a sample.  This review is from further afield. 

Kiehls series Nr 5: Kiehl’s olive fruit oil nourishing shampoo and conditioner

 

 

After washing my hair with this shampoo, I have been touching my hair all day long, because it was so soft.  The smell was also nice and soft.  It is meant for dry, damaged and under nourished hair.  It includes avocado oils, lemon juice and olive fruit oil. 

 

 

There are few things I like as much as a good conditioner. A nice moisturising conditioner makes a large difference to the look and feel of your hair. And then it matters less whether you use a good shampoo. This conditioner is great, not heavy or oily, but left my hair nourished and shiny and very manageable. I would definitely place this on my list of things to replace.

I tried hard to find reviews from South Africa. You can read lots of reviews from users on the Kiehl's website and another American website here. You can find some South African reviews here and here.
I do not have the exact price, but I think it was around R195 for 200 ml for the conditioner and R209 for 250 ml of the shampoo.  I like the idea that they sell the conditioner in a smaller size than the shampoo.

Kiehls series Nr 4: Kiehl's Amino Acid shampoo

I remember reading somewhere that coconut oil is the only natural ingredient that can penetrate hair and therefore make a real difference to a shampoo.  This shampoo contains pure coconut oil.  It also has a lovely smell of coconut oil, soft and summery, not overpowering like the coconut in sunscreens.  It reminded me of the smell of coconut you would actually eat. 

 

This shampoo is definitely different from ‘normal drugstore’ shampoos.  First off, it is really expensive.  It is a bit difficult to get accurate South African prices for Kiehl's products, but it sells for $18 for 250 ml in the US, which translates to R144.

This shampoo left my hair silky smooth and soft.  I loved it, and kept touching my hair because it was so nice.  I even tried using it without conditioner and it was fine and still soft, which has never happened with other shampoo.  I prefer to follow the shampoo with just a tiny bit of conditioner, though.

Now the bad stuff.  Although I loved the way my hair felt, I did not like to wash with it.  There was no lathering (yes, I know the lathering is bad for my hair) and sometimes it felt like my hair was not getting clean.  I often ended up repeating the lathering twice, thus washing my hair three times, because it did not feel clean.  When I tried to use the last little bit in the bottle, I added water to the bottle and shook before I put it on my hair and it lathered beautifully.  I wished I had tried this earlier.  I usually justify expensive products by saying “A little goes a long way”, but in this instance I used a lot more shampoo than I normally do before it felt like it worked.

I swim a lot and have stopped using the shampoo when I wash my hair directly after swimming in chlorinated water, because it lathered even less and made my hair feel even less like it was getting clean.  Please note:  My hair were perfectly clean when dry.  It was just while I was washing that I did not like it.

My hair was soft and perfect with this, for one day.  On day two it started getting greasy and definitely needed a wash every second day.  I often go three days between washes with ‘normal cheap drugstore shampoo’.

I do not think I will replace the bottle, mostly because of the price.  But if you do not care what it cost to have soft, silky hair you should give this a try.  It is meant for all hair types.

I could not find a single South African review, this was the closest I came. Some international reviews can be found here,  here, here, here (from a dude) and here.

Kiehl's series Nr 3: Kiehl's Rubybox

 

I am really intrigued by Kiehl's.  I think it is such a pretty brand, with an interesting ethos and story and some different products.  It also has a bit of a cult brand image.  So I was keen to investigate and see whether their products are cool or not. 

I received the Rubybox Kiehl's box, which was my first introduction to the brand.  Rubybox had a Kiehl's box at the same time the brand launched in South Africa.  The box came with 6 products.  You can see a review and description of the Kiehl's box here.  and a review here. 

I received a few samples at the small shop at the Dubai Airport and I also bought a travel sized shampoo and the midnight recovery oil. 

I thought I would do a short series with a post every second day reviewing the Kiehls samples I received, both in the Rubybox and in Dubai.  The reviews will be short, since they are based on small samples and not long term use.  This is basically what you can expect to see reviewed.

Kiehl's series Nr 2: Shops

South Africa has one Kiehl's shop inside the Edgars in Sandton City.  And a second (temporary?) one in Cape Town.  You can however order Kiehl's products from anywhere by contacting the Edgars Fashion Hot line.  It will then be delivered to a shop close to you. 

I was lucky enough to also bump into one on the Dubai airport.  I had a fairly long layover in Dubai and perused every single item in the shop to pass the time.  The shop assistant was very friendly and also gave me a few samples to try.  I also bought something small.

This is what the shop in Dubai looked like.  It was small.

 

And I think this is what the one in Johannesburg looks like.  Photo not by me, but I lost the source, apologies.

 

 

 

And some photos showing their pretty shops all over the world

 

 

I have no idea why their aesthetic appeals so much to me.  But it does.

 

Kiehl's series Nr 1

I am not often swayed by the packaging of a product, but for some reason Kiehl's does it for me.  Some of their packaging are so old world and utilitarian, like this

 

and I love it !

 

And some are really modern and funky, like this

And I love it too.

 

I am going to do a short series on the few Kiehls products I have tried.  Look out for more regular posting by me while I do this series.  The idea is to post something short about Kiehls every second day.

 

Sally Hansen nails and cuticles hand crème

 

I received a 28 ml sample of this hand cream in my Rubybox.   On the tube it promises 24 hour moisture.  Soften hands, smooth cuticles and condition nails.  It also comes with shea butter, one of my favourite ingredients.  The shea butter is fairly high in the ingredients list, always a good sign, although there is more Safflower seed oil in it than shea butter.

I have to confess I do not think I would ever have chosen this off the shelve in a shop.  However, it was great.  The thing I liked most about this cream was its smell.  It has a strong citrus smell, my guess would be oranges.  It is a fresh, pick me up smell.  Apparently citrus smells wake you up and improve concentration.  This cream provided moisturising, was not greasy and was a perfect hand cream.  I have used up the entire sample and would definitely consider buying another one.  My favourite body/hand cream is definitely Palmers.  I am not sure that this one was better than Palmers, but it was less thick and oily if that is important for you.  I also do not think it was better than the Dr Ndlovu I tried. 

I do not struggle with my cuticles, nor do I ever use a cuticle cream, so I cannot say whether it was an effective cuticle cream. 

I have seen it in Clicks and it can also be bought from Rubybox for R59.95 for 96g. 

You can read some other reviews here. 

My April 2013 Rubybox

Sooooo, I am late with the review of my April Rubybox.  I promised myself it would definitely be posted in April, but that ship has sailed.  The fact that my camera cable (that I need to move photos from my camera to my computer) has been missing for a few weeks definitely contributed to the delayed review.  Here is my very late review of the April Rubybox. 

 

I received the following in the April Rubybox.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush

I do not really use dry shampoos en received one long ago in a Rubybox.  It was from Lee Stafford and although I loved other Lee Stafford products I did not like the dry shampoo.  I am therefore keen to find out whether I do not like dry shampoos in general or whether I did not like that one specific dry shampoo.  I have not tried it yet, but Batiste, you will now determine whether I ever again buy a dry shampoo (no pressure !).  I was thus quite glad to get this in the box.  The card claims it is a full size product, but it is really very small. 

Lamelle Correctives Recharge CE complex

This product improves skin firmness, fine lines and discoloration; thus in short an anti-aging product.  I am keen to try this.  It is a small 2.5 ml sample.

 

Beauty Factory C Originals Hand and Nail Cream

I am out of hand cream, this came at a great time.  I am keen to try it.  It is a 10 ml sample.

 

NYX single eyeshadow

A full size single colour eye shadow.  It is a lovely brown colour; between brown and olive green.  I have been using it almost daily since I received it and liked it.  The application is perfect and it provides good colour and lasts well.  My only complaint might be that it is a single colour, I do better with palettes.
 

Primeve Plus

Evening primrose supplement for PMS and menopause; 5 capsules.

B-Cal Ultra

Multivitamin and mineral supplement w, also 5 capsules

Although I know that multipvitamins are important for the health of your hair and skin and therefore influence how you look, I am not sure how receiving 5 capsules helps you to decide whether a product is worth buying.  I have popped the capsules, and my only comment would be that they are really, really big to swallow.  I do not know whether I am more healthy after using these capsules.  So a bit of a duh review wise.

 

My summary:  I miss the perfume.   Please, please Rubybox, put a perfume in every single box.  Please.  Other than that I liked the box – I like the eye shadow and would use everything else in the box. 

 



The advantage to taking so long with my review is that there are plenty of other reviews I can link to.  You can find other reviews of this Rubybox  here, here, here, and here.  All these boxes looked different from mine.