A Merry Diva Christmas!

Hi Divas!
It is the most wonderful time of the year indeed. I love Christmas and all the good vibes and festive cheer it brings. This year my family and I are very prepared for the upcoming day. We have done all our Christmas cleaning, hung up new golden curtains, finished all our crazy Christmas shopping and decorated the house. The only thing left to do is cook up a storm on Christmas Eve. In this blog post I decided to do a post on my top 5 favourite things for Christmas this year. And if you are wondering whether I was naughty or nice in 2016, then keeping on reading below.... ;-)

1. Favourite Christmas Decorations

2. Favourite Christmas Beauty Products

 I love getting all glammed up on Christmas day! I usually start with a gorgeous smelling body wash and lotion so the scent lingers on. I love the Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar range. It smells like Christmas indeed. For my face I love to wear my absolute favourite makeup to make me feel special. This year I will wear my number one foundation right now which is Too Faced Born This Way. For the eyes I will use the pretty Too Faced Bon Bons palette for some sparkle and shimmer. On my cheeks I will be warming them up with my Too Faced Sweethearts Peach Beach blush. I love wearing bright red lipsticks on Christmas day. My most loved is the Etude House Etoinette red lipstick. To top it off I will be spritzing the sultry Victoria's Secret Angel Gold fragrance all over my neck and decollete.

3. Favourite Christmas Gift Collections

4. Favourite Christmas Treats
 My favourite treats for 2016 would have to be chocolates! From the gorgeous and cute packaging to the different mouth watering flavours and caramel or nougat centres. They make excellent Christmas gifts for loved ones, great for Secret Santa games and just pure indulgence to eat on your own. Big Yessss! ;-)

5. Favourite Christmas Music

 Christmas music always reminds me of my late grandfather because he had a Nat King Cole carols tape (back in the day when we still had cassette tapes) that he would play and sing along with. That memory will always be a favourite of mine. Like her father, my mom adores Christmas carols too. We play an array of different Christmas songs in our house. We love rocking to Elvis, feel playful with Bing Crosby, get all cozy with Buble and feel sentimental and blessed with Il Divo. My most loved Christmas song is O holy Night.


6. Was I NAUGHTY Or Nice This Year?

 I was plain blank NAUGHTY! LOL ;-D


*****
I want to wish you all a blessed and wonderful Christmas and Festive Season. Thank you so much for supporting me and being true Divas this year! I love you lots. Let me know below what some of your favourite Christmas things are and if you were Naughty or Nice this year? ;-)
Divalicious Kisses

Xxxx

Range Review


Hello Divas!

The Body Shop is one of my favourite body products stores around. Their shower gels and body butters always feel very luxurious and are great value for money. They have an array of different scents to choose from, which I love. You can seriously never get bored in testing and trying out new flavours in the shop. Some smell good enough to eat! I recently came across the Wild Argan Oil range that was relatively new to me. What intrigued me most about the range is the emphasis on argan oil. Argan oil is known for being a liquid gold for hair. I have used many hair care products containing argan oil and it always made my hair feel soft and look shiny and healthy. I had no idea about the benefits it has on the skin, so I was interested to find out.


Argan oil is made from the kernels of an argan oil tree which grows naturally in Morocco. It contains high levels of Vitamin E, antioxidants and fatty acids. These are essential in preventing premature ageing, fading stretch marks, scars and warts and healing all sorts of difficult skin problems. It also prevents split ends in hair, nourishes nails and acts as a natural UV protection on your body. Moroccans have been using this miracle oil for centuries in healing all kinds of different body ailments. I was therefore very excited to find a range from The Body Shop that contains a high concentration of this amazing oil. We are currently deep in the heart of Winter in South Africa and my body and hair definitely needs some extra love and care for these cold months. Below are my reviews on some of the products in the range.


The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Shower Gel
This shower gel comes in the standard 250ml bottle. It looks very similar to the honey range so do check the label before purchasing it. I personally prefer this scent to the honey shower gel. Argan oil has a difficult scent to describe. It is almost like a warm nutty smell with a hint of sweetness to it. The body wash has a warm and inviting smell. It calms and rejuvenates the senses. This shower gel lathers well and cleanses my skin while leaving it feeling moisturised. I would definitely purchase this over and over again.

The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Rough Scrub

The scrub is packaged in a 200ml tub. It contains walnut shell powder and argania spinosa shell powder as the exfoliant. The scrub is not sticky or foamy in texture. It dissolves easily on the skin. It is best applied to the body with your hands. Scoop out half a handful on your fingers and rub it on your skin in circular motions. You will feel the exfoliants are rough in texture and remove dead skin cells easily. Once washed off with water your skin is left with an argan oil shine and feeling to it. This scrub is only meant for exfoliating. It does not lather up at all. You will need to use a shower gel to wash your body properly. This is a great product for a quick exfoliating session. I love that it leaves the skin feeling silky smooth. It has a stronger scent than the body wash too. Beware that the packaging can get a little messy as it is not in a tube. So be careful when applying it.

The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Miracle Solid Oil For Body and Hair

Spoiler alert: This is my absolute favourite product from the whole range! This is a solid oil packaged in a 50g metal tin which is perfect for travel. It is described as an oil to nourish dry skin and hair. To be totally honest, I had no idea how to use this product or what it was for so I just kind of tossed it in my cupboard and forgot about it. Until one day, my hands became so unbearably dry and cracked, I was willing to try anything to relieve it. My hands were so dry and cracked from the Winter cold that it would burn and itch when I applied normal hand cream to it. I remembered the solid oil tucked away in my room and I found it hidden deep in my cosmetic case. I had no idea if it would work but I thought I have got nothing to lose, so I gave it a try. 

My goodness! This product worked 10 times better than I ever expected. The product has a margarine like texture. Once applied, your body heat melts it and it soaks into the skin. It turned my crusty hands into a soft baby's bottom overnight! I gave some to my mom to try as she was suffering from the same problem and it healed her very dry hands too. This is seriously a miracle oil! I like to apply it at night before I go sleep and I wake up to gorgeous soft hands in the morning. I am really not exaggerating. This product is amazing on very dry and cracked or inflamed skin. If you are suffering from the same problem do give this product a try. I used a small amount on my hair and I did not like the result. I think it was a little bit too sticky and heavy for my hair type. If you have a thicker and coarser hair type than mine you might like this product on your hair. I give this full marks on my skin though.

The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Body Butter
This body butter was a bit lack lustre for me. Don't get me wrong. The body butter ticks all the boxes in the nourishing and moisturising department but the product didn't 'wow' me at all. I love The Body Shop's body butters. They always smell amazing and leave my skin feeling so good. This one however does not smell like anything at all. While I was applying it I was excited for that Argan scent but to my disappointment it was so subtle and completely 'meh'. The body butter moisturised my skin but I didn't get any amazing results. It's an average body butter. You will find much better ones in the other ranges at the store.

*****

My favourite product out of the range is definitely the Miracle Solid Oil. I urge you to give this product a try. It really saved me from embarrassing Winter wrinkled hands;-) Have you seen or tried any of this range? Let me know below.

Thank you so much for reading beauties. 
Hope you found my reviews helpful.
Lots of love. Xxxx

My Favourite Christmas 2015 Collections:

The Body Shop, Essence and Clarins

Hi Divas!

It is the most wonderful time of the year!!! The festive season is surely upon us and I am super excited. I just love the holidays and all the happiness and joy that it brings. I hope you have all completed your Santa shoe boxes or gifts for those less fortunate than yourself. You know it is more blessed to give than to receive. This year I teamed up with my local church and we made some Santa shoe boxes filled with goodies for an orphanage close by to our area. I cannot wait to see the surprise and happiness on the children's faces. Speaking of giving, are you done with you Christmas shopping yet? I sure am! I hate leaving Christmas shopping to the last minute. It really stresses me out. I thought I would do a post on my favourite beauty Christmas collections for those of you who are still struggling to find the perfect gift. Hope you enjoy!

The Body Shop Frosted Plum, Glazed Apple and Frosted Cranberry Collection:

Each Christmas season The Body Shop comes out with a limited edition scent filled with body washes, body butters, room sprays and candles. For the past two years I really enjoyed the Glazed Apple (fruity, sweet and fresh scent) and Frosted Cranberry (fruity and spicy scent) range. These two scents are my absolute favourite and I cannot resist buying a few items when the festive season comes along. This year I bought body washes, body butters and a delicious Glazed Apple candle that just delights all my senses. It seriously smells like heaven! The Body Shop added a new scent to their 2015 Christmas collection too called Frosted Plum. I am not a huge fan of this scent so I only bought the shower gel. If you love deep plum scents then you will surely love this range. These products would make excellent gifts for your best friend, sister, mom and granny. You can buy them individually or in a lovely gift set.

The Essence Merry Berry Collection:

I reviewed this collection last week. You can read it here. These products would make perfect stocking stuffers for the beauty and makeup lover in our life. Or you can be like me and just buy the collection as a Christmas present to yourself. After all you know you deserve it! Hahaha ;-) My favourite products from the Merry Berry collection are the lipsticks, nail polishes and the gorgeous starry highlighter powder. Don't you just love the packaging? It is so pretty and everything is under a R100 ($11). Score!!!

Clarins Christmas Collection: 

Clarins is my holy grail skincare brand. Every year they come out with various Christmas gifts packaged according to your skin care needs and age. Each gift comes with a free toiletry/ makeup bag along with two or more skincare samples. I bought the Clarins Multi-Active range as I am not getting any younger and need some anti wrinkle ingredients in my life. These gifts are on the higher end side of your beauty budget. They would make excellent gifts for the ladies in your life who appreciate skin care products and love to pamper themselves. You can visit the Clarins website here for more information of the gifts on offer.




Thank you so much for reading Beauties.
Happy Shopping!!!
Xxxx

Hi Divas!

This week I want to share my Bath and Body Works haul and some mini reviews on the products with you. This post is long overdue as I have had these products for almost a whole year now and have been using them religiously. I have acquired some empty bottles in my stash too. Bath and Body Works are not available in South Africa unfortunately. When I travel overseas I love trying out new products that are not available in my country. I wanted to share this haul with you to share my favourites from the brand so that you can have a clue of what is good at a Bath and Body Works in case you travel overseas and shop at a store or the brand miraculously decides to come to South Africa. Now wouldn't that be wonderful?!  ;-)

My first impressions of a Bath and Body Works store is pure amazement. There are so many different kinds of scents, bath products, fragrances and candles on offer. I really felt like a kid at a candy store smelling and testing out all the different products. The shop is visually appealing too as everything looks so pretty and girly. I absolutely love Bath and Body works packaging. It reminds me of Christmas time when everything in store comes beautifully wrapped. On my trip I bought candles, shower gels and some body mists. I was especially excited to try the Bath and Body Works candle range has they are raved about by many YouTube Beauty bloggers. I shopped so much at the Bath and Body Works store in Qatar, they even gave me a free pink tote bag. I will put the photo up on Instagram page. Besides Sephora, this is one of my favourite stores to shop at in the Middle East.

Bath and Body Works Shower Gels

Beautiful Day: The Beautiful Day range is my absolute favourite range from the Bath and Body Works store. This shower gel has a fruity sweet scent that lingers on your skin long after you have taken a shower. It smells like Spring and Summer all rolled into one. It is truly a beautiful scent that uplifts your mood when you use it. The shower gel is very gentle and lathers well. A little goes a long way. I swear I want 10 bottles of these.

Sweet Pea: The Sweet Pea scent in the body wash does not smell anything like the fragrance mist. To me it wasn't sweet enough and smelt a little off centre. I really don't know how to explain it, but it felt like there was a fragrance note missing. It did a good job in the shower but it is nothing to go crazy about. I wouldn't purchase this shower gel again as I feel there are better scents out there in the range.



Bath and Body Works Fragrance Mists

Beautiful Day: This is my favourite fragrance of life! It has a much deeper scent than the shower gel but it  still has a fruity and sweet fragrance. The top notes are apple, pear and blackcurrant. It has a warm fruity inviting smell. It reminds me of fun summer nights. I bought a bottle for my mom too and she loves it as well. These bottles come in 236 ml, so they will last a long time.

Sweet Pea: I absolutely love this scent just as much as the Beautiful Day fragrance. It is such a pity that the Sweet Pea shower gel doesn't smell anything like this. The fragrance is light, fruity and smells like spring time. The top notes are sweet pea, water pear and black current. I got a lot of compliments when I would wear this body mist to work. These last on me all day too. They are body mists packed with a lot of punch.

Bath and Body Works Candles

Paris Amour: This is a sweet and very light floral fragrance. Top notes are strawberry, tulips and apple blossom. When I burn it, it reminds me of white open spaces with a touch of pink. It is a very clean,  feminin and pretty scent.

Dark Kiss: This is a deep and warm black current candle scent. Top notes are bergamot, blackberry, Incense and Mirabelle. It has a smokey, sweet and fruity scent to it. This would be great to burn at night in your bedroom.

Warm Vanilla Sugar: I love all things vanilla as some of you may know. This candle is beautiful, warm and very inviting. The vanilla scent is soft and not overbearing. It has just the right amount of floral and vanilla notes mixed for a perfect candle fragrance. This one is great to burn any time of the day too.








Thank you so much for reading.
Divalicious Kisses
Xxxx

Hi Divas!

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? I certainly have and must admit that this time I bought more things for myself than anyone else. Oops! I always love this time of year as it is very festive in Cape Town. I love hearing the Christmas music, seeing the beautiful lights and looking at the pretty Christmas displays. I have a confession to make though. I think I am an addict and my addiction has been coming on for a long while now. I can't get enough of The Body Shop. I am seriously addicted. I would walk past the store and I have to go in and purchase something. Their pretty packaging and lovely scents keep calling my name. This past month I took advantage of their 3 for 2 special and went full force crazy in the store. I went about three times these past weeks purchasing goodies like there is no tomorrow. I love their shower gels and body butters the most. I can't use bubble bath so I use their soap free shower gels as a lovely pampering alternative. The body butters always smell heavenly and are rich and are very moisturising.


Below is a break down of my haul....

Glazed Apple Shower Gel
This is my absolute favourite shower gel right now. It smells divine and the scent lingers on your body long after you have used it. It is so pampering and gentle on the skin. I love to use it after a very long day. It definitely soothes tired skin. 

Glazed Apple Body and Room Spray

I prefer using this as a room spray. I spritz it all over my house and the rooms smell like Christmas! It has a sweet apple scent that is very refreshing and uplifting.

Glazed Apple Body Butter

I haven't used this body butter yet since I bought a travel size and am keeping it for when I go road tripping again. I really love the smell though. It is a warm apple fragrance which is very inviting and comforting.

Vanilla Bliss Shower Gel
I love all things vanilla scented. This is a creamy body wash that is great to use every day. It lathers well and a little goes a long way.

Vanilla Brulee Body Polish

My absolute favourite body exfoliant. It has a deep vanilla fragrance and it feels like I am washing myself in a vanilla smoothie. The extracts work well in exfoliating my skin. This is a limited edition product so get your hands on it as soon as possible.

Frosted Cranberry Shower Gel (not pictured above)

The shower gel has a fruity scent and is great to use after a long day at the beach. It smells like summer for sure!

Frosted Cranberry Body Butter

This is quite a heavy body butter. I prefer to use it in the colder months when my skin needs extra moisture. It has a warm cranberry smell. This is a limited addition that they usually only sell at Christmas time. I like to stock up and keep it for the rest of the year.

Indian Night Jasmine Fragrance Mist

I bought this bottle because of the 3 for 2 offer. I wanted to try a new scent. This one smells spicy and warm just like Jasmine.

Japanese Cherry Blossom Fragrance Mist

This is my favourite fragrance mist from the Body Shop. The 10ml is a perfect size to pop in your handbag, and use it to freshen up throughout the day. It is great for flights as well. I had it in my handbag on the plane and used it in Dubai airport after a long flight.

*Do you have any favourite scents or products from The Body Shop? Let me know below...*


Happy Shopping Divas!
Xxxx

Hi Divas

I thought I would start an international Series on my blog since I have many overseas brands in my beauty stash that are either not available or hard to find in SA. I want to do reviews on these products to help you make informed decisions when you buy these products online or you go overseas and have a crazy beauty shopping spree, like I did ;-) It is always good to know what is out there and know what to look out for when you travel. 

First up, we will be travelling to the U.K for the awesome Soap & Glory brand.

About Soap & Glory: 

Soap & Glory was founded by Marcia Kilgore in England. This brand not only comprises of bath and body products but has an extensive makeup range too. Their products are packaged in baby pink colours with slogans that will either make you laugh or blush. This brand is very playful and sometimes cheeky as well when it comes to product names. They draw inspiration from vintage pin up women mixed with 21st century humour.

Products I used:

- The Righteous Butter: What can I say about this butter? It is everything I ever wanted in a body butter plus more. Firstly it comes in a big pink 300ml tub. You ladies know I love all things pink so this is a serious bonus for me. Secondly the scent of this body butter is so amazing I could just sniff it all day long. It consists of mandarin, rose, jasmine, peach and warm vanilla notes. Thirdly this body butter is super moisturising. I would lather my skin with it in the evening and the next evening my skin would still feel soft and moisturised. This is perfect for dry winter skin as it contains shea butter and aloe vera. The butter formula has a moisture trap matrix to keep the skin hydrated for longer. I usually use this twice a week because it is so moisturising on the skin. I can understand why this is an award winning body butter. It is amazing and I want more.


-Clean On Me Shower Gel: Ladies!!! Hide this shower gel away from your husband, sisters, kids and everybody in your house hold. I swear to you this is the best shower gel I have ever used in my whole life. Take it from me, you wouldn't want to share one little drop with anyone. The 480ml tube of shower gel has a built in body lotion and mandarin peel extracts. The body wash is thick and creamy and lathers wonderfully on the skin. I can't get enough of the beautiful sweet fresh scent. I sometimes open the bottle just to take a whiff of it. Once you use this bath time will never be the same. My skin always felt clean, luxurious and moisturised. I need to buy 10 bottles!

-Flake Away Body Scrub: I have the travel size tub of this scrub. It is a thick sticky paste with shea butter, sweet almond oil, peach seed powder, sea salt and sugar. I rub the paste all over my body with my hands until the sugar dissolves. This sea salt and sugar exfoliates the skin while the shea butter and sweet almond oil leaves your skin feeling soft and glowing. This is a lovely scrub that is gentle enough to use every day. The scent is made up of Soap and Glory's famous original pink scent which is sweet with a little orange citrus twist. I would definitely buy a bigger tub of this scrub.

-Hand Food Hand Cream: The hand cream consists of Shea butter and Macadamia oil to moisturise and nourish dry hands. I must say that I was a little disapointed with this hand cream. I was expecting the hand cream to do wonders for my hands. Unfortunately it has a very light consistency and does not work well for dry winter skin. This would be best for summer time when your hands need a little moisture. This is my least favourite scent from the range. The smell is a little artificial and not soothing or calming. I probably would not purchase this again as I love hand creams that can be used all year round.

My favourites and absolute must haves:

It has to be the Clean On Me Shower Gel and the Righteous Body Butter. I truly feel like I don't want to live without these two products. They are the best in the range.

Things I still want to try: 

I would still love to try their makeup products and their Sugar Crush body range.

Soap & Glory is available at Rubybox.co.za in South Africa. Thanks for reading ladies. Hope you will find this series useful and informative.

Lots of divaliscious kisses.

Xxxx

Avocado Olive & Basil Body Wash and Lotion

Crabtree & Evelyn are well known for their luxury skin care products and gorgeous packaging. I received the body wash and body lotion in a beautiful vintage green suitcase as a gift along with a hand lotion. You can read my review on the hand lotion here.These are one of the first products I have ever used from Crabtree & Evelyn and I have to say that they have turned me into a fanatic.

Avocado Olive & Basil Body Wash
This body wash smells so divine, like you are being draped in shower gel touched by angels. I am not exaggerating when I say this. As you squeeze the golden liquid onto your shower sponge the gorgeous scent hits your nose and you immediately feel like you are in the clouds. The basil extracts in the body wash rejuvenate the skin and is a natural anti-bacterial ingredient for the skin. Your skin feels clean and energized after you use it.


Avocado Olive & Basil Body Lotion
The body lotion is perfect for dry winter skin but can be used throughout the year, as it is light in texture but very creamy and moisturising. Avocado and olive oil have amazing benefits when it comes to dry skin. Both oils are excellent for relieving dehydrated skin, soothes skin irritations and making skin look supple and radiant. The smell is heavenly and relaxes the body. I always feel pampered and my skin feels beautiful after I use it. 

***

I definitely recommend this range from Crabtree&Evelyn. It is truly beautiful. Go ahead ladies and pamper yourself. Even better put it on your birthday or holiday wish list and let your loved ones spoil you :-)




Hope you found this review helpful.
Much love.
XXX