New Year's Nails

This is what my nails looked like for our New Year's Eve Party!

 

The bottom colour is "Sinful Colors; Let's Talk" and the top is "Tip Top Rocky Road Glitter".

Yes, it is over the top glittery, but it looks like a New Year's Party should look.

The Tip Top Glitter is lovely, mostly silver, with multicoloured flecks - there is a bit of red, yellow and blue depending on the light. 

Inside the December Rubybox

I have never done a Beauty box review, mostly because there used to be so many reviews.  However, lately there seems to be less, so here I go with mine.  

If you do not know what a Rubybox is, you should first read this post. 

I received one of the ‘normal’ December Rubyboxes, not the Tanqueray one.

Inside were:

A Rubybox branded foundation brush

It is valued at R149.99.  Rubybox has been adding quite a bit of tools lately.  I wish I could get a lash curler, then I would have the complete set of Rubybox tools, all received in the monthly boxes.  I am not sure whether I like the brush.  I apply foundation with my fingers, which works just fine.  Might give it a try.  The brush is large and really, really soft.  (Updated:  I did try the brush and still think I prefer my fingers.  The brush is great for getting the BB cream out of the sachet, though!)

Garnier BB cream

Included were 7 sachets of the BB cream, nicely tied up in an organza bag.  Two colours were included, light and medium, which is nice, since I get to try both.  I have been itching to give a BB cream a try since I have read so much about it.   I am not sure that I am a fan of this BB cream.  It gave lovely coverage, but was a bit thick and oily.  It is really hot in Durban lately.  I will give it a second chance when it is a bit less hot.  In this heat everything feels oily.  (Updated:  I like the BB cream more and more as I use it more.)

Elizabeth Arden red door perfume sample and Issey Miyake perfume

This is a really old fragrance, but it smells wonderful.  I might even get myself a bottle.  I love the perfume samples in Rubybox and would be really sad if I received a box without a perfume sample.  There was also a tiny one use swipe of Issey Miyake men’s perfume.  Really small. 

Decleor eye and lip cream

I always like it when I receive serums, eye creams or any other anti-aging potions.  These are so expensive to buy and I never know what to get.  Being introduced to various options via Rubybox is perfect.  I have not used this one yet, but am looking forward to giving it a try.

The box came with a Beauty Bulletin, a small fold-up broshure advertising various beauty products.  It was done well, but looked a lot like any advertisement insert you would received in a newspaper.  The usual card describing the various products was absent, something I missed.

All in all this box was OK.  I estimated the value at R203, however most of this is because the foundation brush costs R150.  The actual products inside were only worth about R50.  I am not sure whether I appreciate tools in the beauty boxes.  I never buy tools and feel I do not need it.  However, I covet an eye lash curler and I really use the cheap looking make-up brushes I received in a Glambox a lot; so maybe I need tools more than I realise, and this is a great way for me to get it.

Essence nail polish

Nude nails are all the rage now.  And it looks lovely and sophisticated.  I also decided to try nude nails and bought Café Ole from Essence.  I love the colour.  It is the only colour I want to wear now. 
 

But I am less than impressed with Essence.  In all honesty it was cheap, and you probably got exactly what you pay for.  The nail polish cost all of R25.  It is a dream to apply.  The paint brush is wide and works well.  The consistency is perfect and it applies easily, dries quickly and does not smudge while applying.  The other great thing was that it was fairly opaque, even though it was a light colour.  One coat looked decent.   Two coats gave a lovely finish. 

However, it does not last even 24 hours.  It chipped really badly after one day.  I will definitely buy a nude colour nail polish again, but I will not buy Essence, unless I want to experiment with an unusual colour.  It is cheap enough for experimenting.



This is what the polish looked like after 24 hours.  Not good ! 
The colour also looks funny on these photos; it i a lot more like the photo on top.

I found mine in Dischem, but think it is sold elsewhere as well. 

Fordoun Spa

This will be my first Spa review.

Flotation pool

I spent two days at Fordoun Hotel and Spa in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.

Rasul treatment

I had three treatments in the spa:  A Swedish full body massage (one hour), half an hour in the flotation pool and a Rasul treatment.  They offer a full range of body treatments, massages, aromatherapy, manicures and pedicures.  They also had special treatments for pregnant moms.  Their full range of treatments (and prices) are given here.

Their one unique selling point was that they made products from local ingredients and had some treatments and products inspired by traditional Zulu herbs and practices.  They have a traditional healer as director. For example the Rasul treatment used the mud used by local Zulu women. 

The spa was big, the staff were friendly and professional and the therapist knew what she was doing.  The spa is a bit on the expensive side, but they have packages available that makes it all a bit more affordable.  My skin was silky smooth afterwards, I was totally relaxed and during the massage she did amazing things to my legs and knees.

The hotel is 5 star and was lovely.  The rooms were enormous, the bathroom was as big as some other hotel rooms I have seen, the staff were friendly and the meals were great.   Every single person greeted you as you walked around on the property.  The setting is lovely.

 
All in all a worthwhile trip !

Clinique Long Last Glosswear

I just finished this very nice lipgloss.  It is quite dark and provided lovely colour for my lips.  I sometimes wore it with lipstick, but I mostly used it alone and it provided enough colour.  It is glossy and fairly sticky.  I guess the only complaint would be its extreme stickiness.  It was quite long lasting.  The colour I had was called bonfire.  You can see other colours here.

Just one complaint to the engineers designing these kind of things.  Why do you make the applicator too short to reach to the bottom of the tube?  I could not reach about the last 1/5 of the tube. 

This tube is very old, and looks slightly battered after years of travelling in my handbag.

The length of the applicator means you are not able to get to the last bit in the tube.   

 

 

Clarins HydraQuench Tinted Moisturizer

I guess the problem using a type of product you have never tried before is that you have nothing to compare it to.  I have never used a tinted moisturiser before.  I have used tints (as in concealers and foundations) and I have used moisturisers, but never the combination.  And I did not like it the first time

I would have written a very different review of the Clarins HydraQuench Tinted Moisturizer after a single use.  I would have said:  I hate it.  I felt like it was neither a good moisturizer, nor a good foundation.  It did not feel as if it penetrated my skin and moisturised it at all.  Definitely no hydra quench.  It felt like it sat on top and functioned like a foundation.  It was a little ‘stretchy’ like a foundation.  But it was a really light, almost see through foundation, so it did not cover everything I would want a foundation to cover.  On the plus side, I did not look heavily made up and very natural and I liked the colour.  It blended very well with my skin tone.  Since the tint is so light, I do not think it would matter much if the shade did not match your skin tone perfectly.   It also had an SPF of 6. 

However, I continued using the product all week.  And my skin was soft and smooth at the end of the day.  It was almost as if the moisturiser kept moisturising during the day.  And I used a normal foundation later in the week and found that it also did not cover up everything I hoped a foundation would hide.  So maybe I was a bit harsh with the poor tinted moisturiser the first time I used it.

According to Clarins:  Skin-smoothing pigments deliver radiant translucennt colour and reflect light perfectly for a beautiful natural looking complexion.  They optically minimize fine lines, imperfections and signs of fatigue to deliver an instantly fresh and luminous complexion.

Some reviews can be found here, here and here.  I am not the only one who did not like it.

Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel

I love nail polish.  I like wearing it not only because I like it, but because it can hide many sins.  I often have paint or ink or grout (I tiled a large part of my house in the evenings over a few months – trust me tiling is hell on hands and nails) under my nails.  I can either paint them or struggle to get them perfectly clean.  I often choose to paint them.

I have never used Revlon nail polish before.  I wished I did.  I will definitely buy it again.  This product is amazing.  It goes on smoothly and lasts and lasts.  If you do not garden or tile, you almost get a week out of it. 

The colour I tried is a bit odd.  It is called lingerie pink, is very visible and I am not sure that it goes with my skin tone.  It felt a bit Barbie-ish for me.  Maybe if you are very pale it would look better than on my slightly tanned hands.   The colour is also very light and needed 3 coats to give an even cover.  And I think the polish got a bit thick with 3 coats, thus scratching more easily. 

Summary – Lingerie Pink :  No

Revlon Top Speed – A resounding YES !

After a week of wear