beauty

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Product review: Woohoo Body deodorant paste

I recently came across the Woohoo deodorant paste at my local health food store.  I was in dire need of a new deodorant as my previous deodorant had all but given up the ghost.  The lass behind the counter recommended the Woohoo paste and I took it for a spin.

 

I don’t remember the last time I got this excited about a deodorant.  Maybe I’ve never been this pumped about something that gets rubbed on my armpits.  But I want to draw your attention to this product today because I’m hooked on it.

 

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Image from Woohoo Body

 

Deodorant paste is not a concept I was really familiar with before I tried this product.  During my teen years I used aerosol body sprays.  When I started shaving my armpits I graduated to a roll-on to avoid the agony of spraying B.O-basher on my raw pits.  And last year I started using solid stick deodorant.  But this paste was entirely foreign to me.

 

The Woohoo paste comes with a teeny little spatula, which you use to scoop out a pea-sized bit of deodorant.  You then work the paste between your palms and as it warms up it softens up and spreads.  You then rub it into your armpits with your fingers.  Let me tell you, I felt really weird that first morning, massaging the paste into my pits.  But now it’s just a regular part or my morning routine.

 

Before I talk about how the Woohoo paste performs, I should take a time out to talk about the difference between an “antiperspirant” and a “deodorant”.  See, a lot of us use an antiperspirant, which stops you from sweating.  It does this by blocking your pores so the sweat can’t escape.  A deodorant doesn’t stop you from sweating, but it does stop the sweat from smelling bad.  Woohoo deodorant paste is a deodorant, not an antiperspirant.

 

It’s important to make this distinction because I am very used to antiperspirants.  So it was a bit of a shock when I experienced wet armpits while wearing this product.  My first thought was “oh crap, my deodorant’s failed” and I waited for the offensive stench to start wafting from my underarms.

 

But then….the stink never came.  Even though I was sweating, I didn’t smell.  It was fantastic.

 

Now let me tell you, I’ve put this deodorant to the test in some pretty harsh conditions.  I’ve worn it on 40 degree days while I’m hanging out with no air conditioning.  I’ve worn it to a performance review at work.  I’ve worn it to a 12-hour punk concert where I danced wildly for extended periods.  And in all of those situations, my armpits have been stink-free.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever found another deodorant that has held up as well.

 

I’ve never had any issues with the deodorant leaving residue or marks on my clothes.  Even when I’m wearing crisp white, it doesn’t leave any stains at all.  Once it’s rubbed into your armpits it’s invisible.

 

I also love the fact that the Woohoo deodorant isn’t heavily scented.  I like to wear perfume and it’s irritating when my deodorant interferes with my scent of choice.  The Woohoo paste has only the lightest scent, which wears off soon after you apply it.  I got the Urban variety, which smells really fresh and breezy, like clean linen.

 

The Woohoo deodorant is kinda on the pricey side.  It’s $17.95 for a 70g pot.  However, I’ve had my pot for three months and I’ve used about a quarter of it.  I reckon one pot will last me a year of daily use.  I usually go through a stick of roll-on deodorant every three to four months.  So this actually works out a tiny bit cheaper in the long run.

 

Best of all, this product is cruelty free and vegan.  So no animals have to suffer for you to be stink-free.  Everybody wins!

 

I really can’t recommend this product highly enough.  I’m so flipping impressed with how well it performs and I just had to tell you all about it.

 

Have you ever tried a deodorant paste?  Did it work for you?

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Product review: Bandelettes.

 I’m a card-carrying member of the Chub Rub Club.  I have generous thighs that touch at the top and generate enough friction to start a fire when I walk long distances.  I like to imagine that my thighs like each other so much that they just can’t keep their hands to themselves. But all this thigh-action can cause some pretty painful chafing. So I’ve been on the lookout for something that will prevent the chub rub.

I came across a product called Bandelettes.  Bandelettes are bands that you wear around your thighs to prevent chafing.  The kind folks at Bandelettes sent me two pairs of their revolutionary thigh bands to try out.

My Bandelettes arrived just as the weather in Benalla reached scorching temperatures.  It was perfect timing and I was eager to take them for a spin.

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The first step to getting the best performance out of your thigh bands is ensuring that you buy the right size.  To do this, you should measure your thighs with a flexible tape at the point where your thighs touch.  Then, refer to the sizing chart to make sure that you select the correct size.  The reason I got two pairs is because I’m on the cusp of size A and B.  The website recommends to size down if you are in between sizes to ensure a snug fit.

I got two different designs and colours.  This design is called Black Onyx. As you can see, the Bandelettes resemble the tops of stay-up stockings.  They are lined with two non-slip silicone strips to help them to stay in place.

This design is called Beige 1004.  My first impression of the Bandelettes was that they are so pretty!  So many shapewear and utilitarian underwear designs are ugly and matronly, but these look downright sexy.  If I happened to be wearing these on a date and things started to heat up, I wouldn’t be at all embarrassed to let my companion catch a glimpse of these.

To wear your Bandelettes, simply pull them up onto your thighs and position them at the point where your thighs touch.  This will be slightly different for every person.  Make sure that the bands aren’t twisted and are lying flat against your skin.

After I’d positioned my Bandelettes, I threw on a maxi dress and headed out for dinner.  I had to walk quite a long way to get to the restaurant, and I didn’t feel so much as a twinge.  The Bandelettes were so comfortable to wear.  They didn’t rub, slip or roll at all.  I was worried that they might make me feel even hotter in the humid summer air, but actually I felt cooler without the friction from my thighs.

The following day I wore my beige Bandelettes to go shopping.  I walked for hours without any chafing.  Once again, the bands didn’t budge at all.  I experienced similar results with both sizes.  The bands were also extremely discreet, and weren’t visible at all under my clothing.  I had been concerned that the lace might create a static effect that would cause my skirt to cling to them, but this wasn’t the case at all.

The bands are very easy to wash and dry.  I hand-wash them with my delicate items and then lay flat to dry.

Bandelettes retail for $14.99 each  and come in a huge range of colours, including black, red, beige, white and chocolate.  There are even unisex bands if you don’t like the feel or look of lace.  The unisex bands would be a perfect addition to your active wardrobe to prevent chafing while jogging or cycling.

I would highly recommend Bandelettes for my fellow members of the Chub Rub Club.  Not only do they look cute, but they work brilliantly too.

These items were provided for my consideration.  The opinions contained in this review are my own honest views.

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Daily outfit 13/1/2014

Several months ago, I was given a cute vintage pin-curling tool from my friend Miss Fairchild.  I haven’t felt motivated to set my hair in months, so it’s just sat in it’s cute little box until now.  But last week I had a night to myself and I decided to give it a shot.  And I was so happy that I did!

This little beauty cut my setting time in half.  It only took me about ten minutes to curl my entire hair, when I’d usually spend between twenty and thirty minutes arranging my curls.  Plus, my setting pattern actually stayed pretty neat, rather than being a total hodge-podge as it normally would be.  The tool also made it so much easier to keep the ends of my hair neat while setting, which is something that I’ve always struggled with.

I did have a bit of trouble brushing the curls out though.  The tool allowed me to make much smaller and tighter curls than I can do by hand, and so when I released them from the pins there were millions of ringlets cascading from my head.  I began brushing and immediately panicked because the whole lot frizzed up lie mad.  I looked like I had a terrible 80’s perm, and my hair took up seven times as much space as it normally would.  Ahhhhh!

But the thing with pin-curls is that you have to persevere.  Sometimes the brush-out process can be lengthy and tricky.  This type of set tends to frizz, and you need to be firm with your curls in order to tame them.  Eventually, with plenty of brushing and a bit of pomade and spray, I managed to create these lush curls.

This is one of the nicest pin-curl sets I’ve ever done.  The curls are much more uniform in shape and size, so they formed perfect waves when the brush-out was complete.  I can’t wait to use my Sculpture Pin Curler to create some more precise sets.

(If you’re interested in learning more about pin-curling, you might like to check out this post about creating pin curls or this video I made about my pin-curling tips)

I decided to wear my pretty curls with some of my Christmas loot.

I am wearing:

– White lace blouse by Koko (gift from my parents)

– Black harem pants from Target

– Grey Tony Bianco ankle boots (thrifted)

– Vintage Jet brooch (gift from my parents)

– Sapphire ring (inherited from my Great-Aunt Anne)

I was originally going to wear jeans, but it was far too hot.  So I opted for cotton harem pants instead, which was a very smart decision.

I have noticed that every Christmas and birthday for the last four years, Mum has always bought me something white and lacy.  Perhaps it’s her way of hinting to me that she’d like to see me get married soon (in addition to, y’know, flat-out telling me so all the time).

I wore this outfit to go to the movies to see St Vincent, which was absolutely fantastic. Not what I was expecting at all, and truly great.

Did you get any clothes for Christmas?  Have you worn them yet?

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Disney Villains Makeup tutorial: Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

I’ve all but retired my Disney Villains Makeup tutorial series.  Although it was a lot of fun to begin with, in the last few months I just haven’t felt inspired to keep it going.  I was really struggling to think up ideas and I just felt it was better to leave it be than to try to force myself to film more videos that I wasn’t happy with.

That is until last week.  I got a comment on one of my videos requesting a tutorial inspired by Oogie Boogie, the Bogeyman from The Nightmare Before Christmas. And all of a sudden my mojo was back!  I leaped at the chance to create a seasonal look inspired by one of my all-time favourite movies.

For this look, I wanted something ghostly and gothic.  I chose a few shades of green and blended them together to create a striking eye.  I used a khaki colour that was reminiscent of Oogie’s sack-cloth body, but added a pop of day-glo green that reminded me of the glow-in-the-dark colours in his lair.  I’ve been dying to use a black lipstick for one of these looks, and it was the perfect way to pay homage to Oogie Boogie’s gaping maw.

I’ve actually worn this makeup a few times now.  I like the punk feel this look has.  If you feel that it’s a bit over the top, you can always wear a slick of clear gloss on your lips and just play with the green eyeshadow.

 

If you’d like to request a makeup tutorial, please feel free to get in touch with me.  Have fun playing with this look and let me know if you try it out for yourself.

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NYX Boudoir Provocateur Mascara review.

I’m extremely picky when it comes to mascara.  My eyes are my favourite facial feature, and I like to highlight them with sweeping lashes.  I’m also quite fickle about whether I want my lashes to look thicker or longer.  My lash desires change depending on my mood.  So how awesome would it be if I could get one mascara that could do both?

Luckily, I found the Provocateur mascara from NYX’s Boudoir collection.  This genius product allows you to choose thicker or longer lashes with the twist of the wrist.

This nifty design has two levels in the lid of the tube.  For thicker, fuller lashes, open the tube at level one. For longer, more defined lashes, open at level two.  The opening at the top of the tube narrows or widens depending on which level you twist, controlling the amount of product that’s deposited on the brush.

Level one leaves the top of the tube quite wide, so a lot of mascara appears on the brush when you take it out of the tube.  I use this level when I want thick, dramatic lashes.

In this photo, I’ve applied one coat of the Provocateur mascara at level 1.  As you can see, my lashes appear very thick, but there are a lot of clumps and the lashes tend to stick together.  However, I found that this setting is great for using before applying false lashes, to make my natural lashes blend into the falsies a bit better.

At level 2, the brush is wiped clean, so there are fewer clumps and globs of product.  This setting is perfect for achieving defined, sweeping lashes.

Look at that length!  I tend to prefer this setting for my day-to-day makeup.  It looks much cleaner and my lashes don’t stick together as much.

In terms of longevity, the NYX Provocateur mascara performs very well.  I apply one or two coats of this in the morning and it lasts all day.  I haven’t noticed any flaking or fading.  I have worn this product a number of times with my contact lenses and it hasn’t caused any irritation of my eyes.  Although it isn’t a waterproof mascara, it seems to hold up on days when I’ve got a touch of hayfever and my eyes are lightly watering.

In addition to the awesome performance of this product, I love the fact that it’s cruelty free.

The best bit about the NYX mascara?   It costs just $6.  Seriously.  I think that makes it the best budget mascara I’ve ever tried.  It is great value for money and out-performs some of the luxury brands I’ve used in the past.

I am totally addicted to this mascara and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Have you tried any of the NYX mascaras?  What did you think?

*This is not a sponsored post.  I purchased this item with my own money and my opinions are unbiased and genuine*

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Liptember, raising funds for mental health for women.

I’m feeling particularly excited today.  Not only is it the beginning of a new month, and the start of Spring, but Liptember commences today!

What’s Liptember?  Its an awesome fundraising initiative to help raise money for research into women’s mental health.  Participants commit to wearing lipstick every day for the month of September and find sponsors to donate to the cause. It’s a truly excellent idea and I am so excited to be taking part this year.

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If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that I’ve struggled with a variety of mental health issues for most of my life.  I’ve had depression and a generalized anxiety disorder since I was a teenager.  This manifested as an eating disorder in my teens and emetophobia for a big chunk of my life.

In addition to my own struggles, I’ve watched some of the people closest to me battle their own mental health issues.  I’ve seen some of my favourite people suffer from depression and anxiety, addiction, suicidal thoughts and behaviours, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and so many and varied problems.  I’ve seen and felt the sting of the stigma that comes with having a mental illness.  I’ve felt the frustration at being unable to access the help I need, or watching a friend go through hell because the systems that are in place to assist those with mental illness are woefully inadequate.  I’ve lamented mates who have experienced crippling side effects from medications that will control their mental illness but create a minefield of physical ailments. I’ve studied psychology and marvelled at how little we know about something that affects so many people.  So you can see why I care so deeply about mental health.

Now, Liptember is quite special because it focuses on raising money for mental health research for women.  You might be wondering why it’s so important to look at women specifically, rather than raising money for mental health research for all.  There are a couple of reasons why I believe it’s vital to support this cause:

– Firstly, most research into mental health is carried out on white, adult males.  This research is brilliant, but it can’t be directly applied to women, who have a different biological chemistry to men.

– There are a range of mental health issues that only occur in women, such as postnatal depression.

– Many drugs which are currently used to treat common mental illnesses cannot be taken by women who are pregnant, and can lessen the effectiveness of some forms of contraceptives.  I believe that it’s important to find medical interventions which can be taken by women without impacting their reproductive health.

– Advances in research into mental health in women may provide important insights into the way we treat mental illness in all people.

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So I’ll be wearing lipstick every day in September, and taking a photo each day and posting them here on the blog.  I won’t be able to post each day, but I’m aiming to  have a weekly update with all the photos from the previous week.  I see lipstick as a profound personal statement for combating mental illness.  It seems simplistic, but when I’m feeling low, I like to put on a swipe of bright colour to cheer myself up.  For me getting dressed up is a form of creative expression, a way to take control and feel good about myself.  My lipstick is the war paint that helps me feel a bit more confident when I’m overwhelmed or down.

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So how can you get involved?  There are a couple of things that you can do…

– Firstly, you can donate to my Liptember page.  All donations over $2 are tax deductible and every dollar counts.  It doesn’t matter if you donate $1 or $100, I’ll appreciate every single donation.

– You can also purchase your official Liptember lipstick for just $4.99.  You can buy your lippy at any Chemist Warehouse store.  For the first time, Chemist Warehouse are now offering the Liptember lippies on their online store with international shipping available.  How exciting!

– If you’re really keen, you can sign up and start fundraising yourself.  It’s super easy to set up your fundraising page and begin raising funds for this awesome cause.

– I’ll be donating 10% of every sale from my etsy store to Liptember.  I’ve got all kinds of hand-crafted items and e-books available.  I’m also happy to create a custom-made to-order item just for you.

So what are you waiting for?  Click on over to my fundraising page to donate.  I truly appreciate each and every donation.  Thank you so much for supporting this awesome cause.

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Product review: Innoxa 2 in 1 eye shadow and eyeliner stick.

Lately I’ve been on the look-out for a new eyeliner.  I am very fussy when it comes to eyeliners and it’s so hard to find one that meets my specifications.  Around the same time that I began my hunt, Innoxa sent me one of their 2 in 1 eye shadow and eyeliner sticks to try out.  Although it’s not perfect, this product does tick quite a few boxes and is a great addition to my makeup kit.

The packaging is very simple and compact, which I like.  The pencil is sleek and narrow and fits comfortably in my hand.  However it’s not so thin that it’s difficult to get a proper grip on it.  I feel that this is important when it comes to eye pencils, because my hand is less than steady so I need something that’s easy to hold onto if I have any hope of drawing a straight line.

The pencil is double-ended, with an eye shadow at one end and an eyeliner at the other.  This is a great idea, particularly for women who love to travel because it takes up very little space in your makeup bag.

 

I was sent the brown black pencil, with a brown eye shadow and a black eyeliner.  I have to admit that I didn’t have high hopes for the eye shadow.  I’ve not had much luck with cream-based shadows, and even less so with pencil eyeshadows.  But I was willing to give this one a shot.

The first thing that I noticed is that the eyeshadow comes with a spring-loaded applicator tip.  It re-fills itself so you can apply it right from the pencil.  I was a bit wary of this, because I prefer to apply my shadow with a brush.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  The eyeshadow goes on smoothly from the pencil and the applicator tip gives you a lot of control.  I used my finger to blend out the colour a bit and the end result was lovely.  The one thing I didn’t like was that the rubbery texture of the applicator pulled at my lids a little bit.  But this was one minor downfall in an otherwise stellar product.

 

The shadow also stayed put beautifully throughout the day.  Cream eye shadows are notorious for creasing, but this one was excellent.  The colour didn’t fade even after a long day at work.  I was extremely pleased with it.

 

Now, onto the eyeliner.  To begin with, I love the fact that the eyeliner has a twist-up mechanism.  This eliminates the need for sharpening and makes sure that your eyeliner remains crisp and fresh every time you use it.

 

The liner itself is a beautiful dark black.  So many pencil liners are a bit wimpy in the colour department, tending to run more to grey or charcoal.  I prefer my eyeliners to be as black as a crow at midnight, and this one definitely delivers in the colour department.

The texture of this eyeliner is just beautiful. It is silky and glides on easily.  This would be an ideal product for eyeliner novices to practice with, because it is so easy to use.  It can be used to create a clear, crisp line or smudged for smokier looks.  I do find that the liner doesn’t really set, so it is susceptible to smudging throughout the day.  However, this is fairly typical for pencil liners, due to their creamy texture.

One thing I wasn’t so thrilled about with this pencil is that it would not draw on my waterline.  I don’t often wear liner in my waterline, but I do occasionally like to place it there for some of my mod-rocker looks.  Try as I might, I couldn’t get this liner to transfer even a dot of colour onto my waterline, so that was a definite downfall for me.

 

The liner lasted very well, without any fading.  I did notice that it smudged a little throughout the day, but as I said before, this isn’t uncommon with pencil liners.

 

Overall I was very impressed with this product.  I would recommend it for travelling fashionistas, because it can be used entirely on it’s own to create gorgeous eye makeup.  You don’t need to pack any brushes or sharpeners, just throw this pencil into your bag and off you go.  At $14.95,  this double-ended pencil is a steal.  Best of all, it’s 100% cruelty free.