Summer Favourites 2014

Hi divas!

Here in the Southern Hemisphere summer is almost going out the door. I have had a great summer in my home town, Cape Town. My favourite things to do is obviously going to the beach, shopping and enjoying festive season activities at the V&A Waterfront Mall and harbour and hot summer night parties in Long street. There are some beauty products that I have really enjoyed this summer and have been using them religiously. So I thought I would share my summer favourites for 2014 with you:

1. Clarins 50+ Sun Wrinkle Control Cream For Face: 

I did a review on this cream last week. You can read it here. The cream is a real miracle worker for me this season. It protected my skin from sun burn with its high 50+ SPF and it is the perfect moisturiser to use when applying makeup in smelting hot days.

2. The Body Shop Shower Gel in Vanilla Bliss: 

I adore all things vanilla. It is my favourite scent. This vanilla body wash is milky in texture and is perfect to use after a long hot day in the sun. The shower gel is very luxurious and soothes tired skin. I feel pampered and relaxed after I use it.

3. The Body Shop body butter in Mango: 

I am not a big fan of the actual Mango fruit but this body butter smells so amazing it actually makes me want to drink a mango smoothie. The scent reminds me of a tropical island; sweet, fruity and exotic. The body butter is light and moisturises my skin perfectly.

4. John Frieda Frizz-Ease Conditioner: 

I hate blow drying my hair in hot weather. I prefer to leave my hair naturally curly and rock some beach waves. I like to use the John Frieda Conditioner for curly hair as it moisturises my curls without weighing it down. My hair looks bouncy and curly without the horrible frizz.

5.  Stila Set Illuminate Baked Powder Trio: 

I love all things Stila and this is actually my favourite Stila product ever. The powder gives me a beautiful summer kissed glow. I love to add it on the apple of my cheeks to illuminate and accentuate my cheekbones... because I really don't have cheek bones. Lol

6. Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Sorbet: 

Ooh ladies, this lip butter rocks my socks! This colour just screams Desle. It is a bright hot pink which resembles a watermelon shade. I love wearing it on summer nights when I go out for drinks with friends. It is a shade for someone who loves to be noticed in a crowd.... Uhmm, that's me! :-)

7. Nails Inc in Marylebone Lane: 

The red glitter nail polish reminds me of Christmas and festive parties. If you want to add loads of glitter to your outfit in a classy way this nail polish would be perfect for you.

8. Rimmel Salon Pro in Brit Pop: 

I reviewed this awesome blue colour nail polish last week over here. I am absolutely in love with this fun colour. It definitely turns heads when I wear it. It is so bold and bright which is perfect for summer

9. Pretty Bows: 

Bows are the prettiest accessories to add a girly vintage charm to any outfit. Wear it in your hair, pin it to your clothes or your bag for a cute and whimsical look. My studded black bow is from Mr Price.

10. H&M Arm Candy: 

I bought these beautiful bracelets in Qatar and have been wearing them with all my watches. I love that it can be worn with any outfit. I like to mix and match accessories for different playful looks.

11. Burberry Summer Perfume: 
This scent is so beautiful it literally gives me a high when I spray it. I have received many compliments when I wear this gorgeous perfume. It has notes of lily of the valley, freesias and rose. It is a citrusy scent which has hints of pomegranates and mandarin orange. And it's Pink! Hello!

 Hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know what your favourite summer essentials are below.

Lots of Divalicious kisses.

Xxxx

Hey Divas!

I got this lovely Rimmel London Salon Pro nail polish free in the January issue of Glamour South Africa. I was super excited to try this nail varnish as it was a full size bottle of this unusual but fun colour. I haven't really noticed this range in stores as I have my favourite brands that I tend to stick to when buying nail polish. This lovely shade of blue is called Brit Pop and is in the Salon Pro Kate range of the Rimmel London makeup brand.

The polish comes in a 12ml bottle with a thick brush that coats the nails evenly. The consistency of the nail varnish is quite thick so one stroke of colour would be enough. I applied two coats in the above photo as I wanted my nail colour to be strong and bright. I added silver glitter and a flower nail art sticker on my ring finger just for fun. I am very impressed with this nail polish. Not only is the colour strong and bold the consistency of the nail varnish is perfect. The polish lasted for four days on my nails with no chipping. 

To tell you the honest truth I am in love with this nail polish. It is fun, vibrant and long lasting. It is perfect for these hot summer days we have been experiencing in Cape Town. The colour is versatile and can be worn throughout the year no matter what the season.  If you want to add a playful pop of colour to your nail polish collection be sure to not miss this one!

Divalicious kisses
Xxxx

Clarins 50+ Sun Wrinkle Control Cream For Face

Hi ladies!

Here in Cape Town we have been experiencing such a heat wave this past weekend with temperatures reaching a maximum of 40 degrees Celsius in surrounding areas. Everybody has been slapping on liberal amounts of sunblock and drinking tons of water to protect ourselves from the blazing heat. Normal body sunblock works great to protect the arms and legs from sunburn but when it comes to the face, sunblock can be a nightmare.

Firstly, normal sunblock makes your face super sticky, oily and shiny. Sometimes your face is left looking white or grey depending on your brand. Makeup over sunblock is even a bigger nightmare as I have found it has caused my pores to clog and I would have a mini breakout on my face. Last year when I took my first trip to Qatar I went on a serious hunt to find the perfect sunblock in a face cream as I knew I would be riding camels in the desert and my face wasn't going to look pretty.

I usually use Clarins products in my daily skincare routine and decided to give the Clarins 50+ face cream a try. I definitely wasn't disappointed. The face cream comes in a 75ml bottle and with quite a hefty price tag might I add, sigh! At first the cream's consistency looks like a normal sunblock and might be too thick and rich for my face. Once applied and rubbed in, the face cream soaks wonderfully into my skin not leaving a trace of sunblock behind. My face does not feel sticky or oily. Instead I can apply my makeup without worrying about it smudging on my face. I just love the smell of the cream too. It has a light floral summer scent that is very pleasant compared to what most sunblocks smell like. 

I always feel confident to step out into the sun when I wear this face cream as I know my face is protected and is moisturised. I cannot comment on the wrinkle control though as I do not have wrinkles. The product says that it reduces age spots but I don't have any evidence that it does as I don't have age spots, which I know of! I bought this cream for a specific purpose and that is to protect my skin from the sun, moisturise my face and be a perfect base for makeup. I can tick all three boxes confidently as it does the job in those areas. If you are looking for a good 50+ face cream and don't mind paying a little extra then this would be a great option for you. 

Thanks for reading!

Xxxx

 

So let me tell you ladies I went a little cray-cray a few weeks ago when I was in Doha Qatar. I went to my favourite mall called Villagio and what did I see before me? SEPHORA! Can we all just have a freak out moment?! Seriously ladies, I went insane in this famous beauty store. I have read so many beauty reviews and watched many vloggers talking about Sephora and I couldn't believe I actually had an opportunity to shop there. It is seriously every beauty bloggers dream as the store is packed with international makeup, perfume and skincare brands such as Urban Decay, Two Faced, Benefit and Sephora beauty products. When I walked into the store I felt like a kid in a toy store. There was so much to see, so much to touch and play with. I even totally forgot to take pictures inside the store as I was too preoccupied with my purchases.

The first counter I ran to was Urban Decay makeup. As it is not available in South Africa and the Naked 3 palette just launched I really wanted one of the iconic palettes. Low and behold they were all sold out. Big sigh! So I opted to buy the Urban Decay Ammo palette as the colours looked bright and beautiful. The next thing I bought was the Front Cover makeup book. This collection is filled with cat walk inspired looks of the season. The book comprises of eye shadows, brushes, lipstick, nail polish and a blush. The last thing I bought at Sephora was a beautiful Dior Addict lipstick. Since it was going to be my birthday the following week I decided to go big and spoil myself with a Dior product. I know that if I was in South Africa I would never have bought me one. So I thought what the heck I am in a different country experiencing new things, let me spoil myself. As they say go big or go home! I bought the Dior Addict lipstick in shade Model 564. This is one purchase I will never regret I love this lipstick to the max. There is a Pupa eye shadow and lip palette in the photo below but I did not purchase it at Sephora. I bought this beautiful palette at another beauty store. I have fallen in love with Pupa makeup and couldn't resist this beauty.

Sephora was not the only beauty store I shopped at. I ran across to Boots and stocked up on my favourite Soap&Glory products. H&M were having a serious winter sale so I took the opportunity to buy me a pretty purple dress, bangles, necklaces, nail art brushes and mascaras. Zara had a massive sale too so I couldn't resist buying the cute orange polka dot dress there. Finally at another shopping centre not far from my hotel I bought my favourite Hershey's chocolates, Pupa makeup palette and Victoria Secret body products.

Look out for reviews on all the beauty products I bought as I have been testing away. I might do a look post with my dresses and jewellery so look out for that too. 

Thanks for reading. Much love

Divalicious kisses.

XXXX

P.S... I just had to show you photos of Villagio Mall in Doha. It is a popular mall designed on an Italian Tuscany theme. There is an actual canal running through it. So beautiful!!!

Mwah Xxx