Back to basics. Tales of an uber-consumer.

It's funny that the older I get the more I get interested in getting back to the basics.

Instead of constantly looking for stuff to do, I now crave peace and quiet and a day spent sitting in the sunshine reading a book sounds like a perfect day indeed to me.

Same goes for my skincare routine as well. In my 20s I was lucky to have a sister who was a cosmetics consultant and scored a lot of free swag, of which I'd apply religiously, and usually all at once (and I wonder why I suffer from adult acne now).

Sadly those days are gone and I am loath to spend hundreds of dollars (nor can I afford to) on the latest and greatest anti-ageing stuff.

The internet is awesome as you can look up anything and read reviews before you spend a cent on the new and improved whatever that probably does as much good in reality as slapping on sunscreen. It's been through the internet that I've discovered two of my greatest secrets that I am utterly and completely obsessed with.

The first one is Rosehip Oil. This came about as I realised I was 'of an age' where a serum was pretty much a total must unless I wanted to resemble a wrinkled prune lady in a few short years or less. Any decent serum seems to carry an equally hefty price tag, of which I simply couldn't see my way to paying. I then heard about Rosehip Oil. I had concerns that it may make my face too oily and clog my already clogged-up-enough pores and exacerbate my adult acne, but for the price I thought I'd give it a whirl anyway.

And I'm really glad I did! Anyone who's put this under a night cream can attest at just how amazing your skin feels. And because it is gentle, it doubles as an eye cream and I swear has also made a difference to the dark circles I've had under my eyes since like forever.

It doesn't work too well during the day as makeup likes to just slip off it, but it's become my total 'must' at night before I go to bed. Love it. Love it.

And whilst I might be of a 'certain age', I am still fighting the good fight on those crows feet and it seems to plump out my between-the-eyebrows angry girl furrows that piss me off so much. Not quite Botox in a bottle, but for the price, I'll take it.

Although clearly this is catching on because the price over just a few years has increased from a mere $7.95 to lucky-if-you-find-it-for-under-$20. Bastards.

My second find is one I only stumbled onto a few months ago and that is Epsom Salts. Apparently this has been known for centuries as basically your everyday miracle remedy for just about anything, but ignorant old me only just found out about it.

Readily available at my local supermarket, it's not really a salt, but Magnesium Sulfate. Apparently most of the population is magnesium deficient (who knew) and by soaking in this stuff you absorb it through your skin and it claims to do the following:

• Detox your body
• Soothe your aches and pains
• Helps you sleep well
• Relaxes your nervous system
• Helps you absorb calcium and nutrients more readily

To be honest, I didn't care about any of that so much as I just wanted soft skin. So when I heard it was an excellent exfoliant, I was sold (baby's bottom elbows, anyone? I swear!).

What I didn't realise, though, was how much it helps your stress levels, reduces tension headaches, and generally makes you feel like a million bucks. Apparently this is because it helps raise your seratonin levels, which let's face it, I need all the help I can get. And it seriously makes your care-factor zero, which may or may not be a good thing.

And you can pretty much use it for anything. Mix it with cleanser, rub it straight on your body, pumice your feet, even remove the buildup from your hair. I also mix it with honey once a week do a deep cleanse and it is DIVINE.

Apparently you can stop slugs, make your garden grow and remove splinters but my care factor about that is pretty much zero. I'm all about the skin here.

So for visitors wondering what the jar of honey is doing alongside my shampoo - there's your answer.

So getting off my soapbox and back on point, it's really exciting discovering some of these 'old wives' remedies that have not only stood the test of time, but are even better than the latest technology. I've had heaps of people thinking I've just been to the beautician as my skin just looks so much brighter and a whole lot less angry.

That's not to say I'll discontinue my practice of being an over-eager consumer any time soon or stop worshipping at the altar of Ebay, mind you. And I've searched everywhere but have still never found a natural, cheap alternative to replace my beloved Benefit Benetint Lip and Cheek Stain. Until that happens, the economy is safe(ish). At least from me.

xx

Seeing red. Or not...

Note to self:

When you freak out and wash strawberry blonde hair colour out of your hair after 15 minutes of the recommended 25 (because the colour on the box was more 'red' than you wanted), the only thing that happens is you've darkened your blonde hair a shade or two to more resemble the natural 'mouse' you've spent years trying to get away from, just with a slight golden tinge.

Oh, and you've just wasted 15 bucks.

And no-one notices.

Nice work.

At least my hair feels all shiny though.

Fail.

xx

Lash me.

Help!

Can anyone recommend a great mascara for me?

I'm a bit of a mascara junkie. My lashes are flat, light coloured and nowhere near as thick as I'd like. A decent blacker than black mascara can totally change the way I look (none of this brown crap that makeup artists always recommend for green eyes...black all the way) and make my eyes totally pop.

A few years back I was so in love with this particular mascara, I think it was a Maybelline one. It curled, lifted and separated perfectly without looking like a few stray spiders had crawled in the vicinity of my eyes (OK skin crawling sufficiently now...dropping subject).

It wasn't gluggy, it wasn't too thick and it allowed me to do my customary dozen or so strokes that it takes to sufficiently 'lift' my old pale lashes without clumping them all together. Brilliant stuff. Best part was the price!

So OF COURSE it got discontinued. Because everyone knows to never fall in love with a product because it's a sure-fire way of ensuring it's taken off the shelves.

(Benefit - I'm calling you out here - if you ever, and I mean EVER, dare to discontinue your lip and cheek stain in Rose, there will be bloodshed. Lots of. Just saying).

So ever since then I've searched in vain for another really great mascara. I've tried expensive mascaras, cheap mascaras, and everything in between. Some are OK but they're not GREAT, you know?

So what's your mascara nirvana? I'm almost at the end of my tube of ho-hum mascara and would really like to rock a decent lash again.
xx

Maybe she's born with it...

I'm a giant big sucker for advertising particularly when it comes to beauty products. A great ad can leave me salivating and totally believing that THIS is the item that will change my life. I too can look like a Victoria's Secret model if only I had the right shade of lipstick...

Totally.

In my defence, the beauty industry wouldn't be raking in a gazillion dollars if YOU didn't think the same.

So my latest must-have crush has been the Maybelline Shine series that looks so unbelievably good on TV that clearly it will give me Angelina Jolie lips too, right?

Yesterday I rushed out and spent ages simply AGONIZING over all the different colour choices. Should I go with a bubblegum pink, or something darker and more mysterious? So many to choose from and my hand was completely multi-coloured after having to sample the test colours.

Decisions. Decisions.

Of course, being the creative female I am, I then thought outside the box and decided, why not get two? Hey, they were on sale.

I am now the proud owner of 'Juicy Pink' and 'Red Revival', because one of these days I will actually bother to wear red lipstick and I NEED to be prepared.

So far I've applied them and am slightly disappointed. They're shiny, great colours and feel good, but I simply didn't see Linda Evangelista staring back at me in the mirror, just me with some lipstick on (no comments about lipstick on pigs please!).

No this isn't a sponsored post, Maybelline aren't paying me anything (although if they'd like to, that's pefectly OK with me).  They just have me right where they want me because they know and I know that next time I go via the makeup counter, those self-same lipsticks will be singing my name with their siren song.

Because it's simply a matter of time and the right product that will enable my transformation from mum to supermodel. We all know that.

xx