Lush Gorgeous Facial Moisturiser

Lush is one of those brands that I want to try everything (and I want to try it now!) from because it all looks and smells amazing, yet I have tried very few of their products outside of those catering to the bath and shower. The Gorgeous Facial Moisturiser is my first foray into their skincare line and I definitely will not be stopping here!

Gorgeous promises to melt easily into the skin and give a soft, matte feel perfect for day time. It also claims to be able to adapt to suit every skin type made with six organic oils and butters.

Gorgeous is a really light, surprisingly non-greasy lotion, given all of the oils included in the formula. It is slightly thick (almost the texture of runny yoghurt) but I would not describe it as a cream. It spreads easily over the skin and absorbs quite quickly. You are not left with a heavy, 'I just applied a really nourishing moisturiser' feeling - instead you can start applying makeup straight over the top, which makes it perfect for me in the mornings before work. In the time that it takes to do my eye makeup, my skin has gone from tacky after application to matte and ready for makeup. It provides more than enough moisture for me throughout a 12 hour day out of the house and in office air conditioning, even in winter.

Gorgeous has a sweet, nutty scent and is packaged in the typical small black Lush tub. I do not love the packaging because unfortunately it is prone to leakage around the sides and I cannot help feeling that if I am going to pay this much for a moisturiser, I would like it to be packaged in something that looks and functions a little better. The scent is quite strong and it does linger for a little while after application, so if you are someone that is quite sensitive to heavy fragrances in cosmetics - even if natural - then you might want to avoid this one.

One of the really great things about this moisturiser is that I would have to agree with its claim of being able to adapt to suit any skin type. I have fussy skin that can go from dry and flaky one day to oily and breakout-prone the next. However, Gorgeous provides enough moisture on the days my skin is feeling dry and also does not leave me with an oil slick for a face by the end of the day. It is a moisturiser I can comfortably lean on day to day if I am not sure what mood my skin is is (yes, it has moods!).

The six organic oils and butters included in Gorgeous are organic extra virgin olive oil, organic cold pressed evening primrose oil, organic cold pressed avocado oil, extra virgin coconut oil, organic cold pressed wheatgerm oil, and organic cold pressed grape seed oil. It has a beautiful base of orange blossom honey water (lush!) as well as containing glycerin and fresh organic fruit juices lemon, orange and pineapple to help provide a mattifying effect. 

I was fortunate enough to be given this moisturiser to try after attending the Bloggers United first birthday event at the new Lush store on Murray Street in Perth back in June (shout out to the lovely and generous Lush ladies who let us invade their store!), but it is one that I would not hesitate to repurchase despite the steep price as it is such a solid, every day moisturiser that is so nourishing for my skin.

Price: $74.95 (Lush website) [$1.67/g]
Rate: mattifying effect, hydration, reliability, gentle, natural
Hate: expensive (up front but not so bad on per gram basis), packaging, like all Lush products it has no preservatives so expires relatively quickly
Verdict: would repurchase (but would probably decant into easier packaging to handle!)

Kosmea Hydrating Rosewater Mist

The Kosmea Hydrating Rosewater Mist is my hydrating toner of the moment and boy, is it a good one! It is a beautiful rose-scented mist with a thicker feel to it than other sprays I've used - you can almost feel all the nutrients sinking into your skin. It is not an old lady rose and rather I find it quite a refreshing and vibrant scent.

I use it after cleansing morning and night to start the process of adding moisture back into my skin. If I am using an acidic toner, which is usually about every second day, then this comes after that. I use about three sprays all over. Probably a bit generous, but I love this stuff! With the extra slip on my skin, it is much easier to apply other layers of skincare as you do not have to push them around your face. They just glide on to the skin with the moisture from the toner, with another bonus in that you do not need to use as much product to cover all of your face.

It is made purely of rose flower water with a little bit of citric acid. It is such a lovely formula that I have found has really helped to bring moisture back into my skin, especially when cleansing has left it feeling a little bit tight. It feels very luxurious on the skin. I love that it is packaged in a plastic spray bottle, as you would not believe the number of times I have dropped it (klutz!) and have been glad that it is not made of glass. It is my favourite hydrating toner that I have used to date, which is a big call as hydrating toners are one of my favourite skincare products and one that I have used for many years!

Price: $19.95 (Kosmea website) [$0.16/mL]

Rate: scent, efficacy, skin feel, spray bottle packaging

Hate: nothing!

Verdict: would repurchase as it is one of the best hydrating toners I have used

Dr Lewinn's Refining Toner

One of my favourite skincare items is any sort of acidic or exfoliating toner. Traditional exfoliating scrubs are way too harsh on my sensitive skin so I love to use something that is more gentle on the skin, but still achieves the same clarifying and brightening effects. One of the exfoliating toners that I have recently had on rotation is the Refining Toner by Dr LeWinn's.

This is a very light, alcohol fee toner with witch hazel and citric acid (lemon extract). It is very gentle and will not cause any sort of sting when applied due to the acids beings relatively mild. I soak a cotton pad with the clear liquid and apply all over my face, neck and décolletage after cleansing on nights when my skin is in a good condition and does not need something more heavy duty to clear up breakouts and brighten my skin.

This is great for if you are just starting to add an exfoliating toner to your routine and you are a little bit nervous about some of the more heavily acidic versions. It will aid in keeping your skin clear from breakouts or clear any active ones faster and is a much gentler way of exfoliating than harsh scrubs that can scratch and irritate the skin. The hydrating ingredients included will ensure that this does not dry your skin out either.

Ingredients include aloe leaf juice, witch hazel extract, cucumber extract, lemon extract, Vitamin B in the form of panthenol, and allantoin (a by-product of uric acid that is an anti-irritant and skin protectant). It is fragrance free, so will not sting your nostrils either! Primarily natural, with some great cleansing and hydrating ingredients, this is a simple toner that has helped to keep my skin refreshed and clear.

Price: $29.99 (Priceline website) [$0.15/mL]
Rate: Ingredients, packaging, gentle, natural ingredients, hydrating
Hate: Not as effective as other exfoliating toners
Verdict: This is a great, gentle version of an exfoliating toner, however I prefer toners with a bit more kick!

Go-To Skincare Face Hero

I have been wanting to try the funky and fabulous Go-To Skincare range by Zoe Blake for such a while now - those exfoliating pads especially! - and have been trialling the Face Hero oil for the last couple of months. I have been using it as more of a heavy duty injection of moisture for when my skin is feeling particularly dry or dull, rather than an every day serum.

It's quite a thin, runny oil compared to some of the face oils I have previously used (even in the middle of winter!), so you have to be careful as it is likely to run out of the dropper without any prompting! This does make it easy to spread over the face however and ensures every part of your face can enjoy the goodness. It smells divine in a woodsy, herbal way with a slightly sweet undertone from the orange blossom and rose gardenia natural fragrance.

I tend to use this one at night rather than in the morning as it is a little too heavy for underneath makeup. When I wake up in the morning after applying at night, my skin is glowing and nourished with not a dry patch in sight. It does sink in quickly after applying, although you are left with the characteristic film of oiliness from applying an oil product. I also like to apply this over my lips when they are particularly dry and top with a lip balm overnight. I wake up with hydrated lips in the morning with no flakes.

Is this a face hero, as its name implies? I certainly think so. I like to have a couple of different oils and serums on the go at once, and depending on how my skin is feeling will determine which one I use each day. When my skin is dull, dry and generally needing some TLC, this beautiful golden oil is the one I reach for. If I have any dry flakes, this is an oil that will certainly clear them up overnight. It is a great option for when I am feeling like using something very natural with minimal ingredients that won't irritate my skin.

Ingredients are, of course, completely natural. Almond, jojoba, macadamia, brazil nut, evening primrose, buriti, arnica, rosehip, calendula, and kiwi fruit seed oils all feature. Making up the remainder of the ingredients list is Vitamin E in the form of tocopherol, a natural antibacterial and preservative extract from the New Zealand totara tree called totarol, rosemary seed extract, and natural fragrance.

Price: $45.00 (Go-To Skincare website) [$1.50/mL]

Rate: Ingredients, efficacy, scent, packaging, Australian made and owned

Hate: Nothing!

Verdict: Would repurchase and so keen to try out more from this awesome brand!

P.S. What do you think of my outdoorsy photos for this post? I might have made a bit of a fool of myself taking photos of skincare products outside the front of my house (conveniently situated on the corner of a very busy roundabout intersection). Eh!

Jurlique Rose Love Balm

The Jurlique Rose Love Balm is one of my favourite lip balms - a multipurpose balm for any dry or chapped skin that comes in a little antique-style brown tin. It has a stunning rose scent and a smooth, thin balm texture. It often comes in a set with the beautiful rose hand cream around Christmas time, which is the way I was first introduced to it. It was recently endorsed by Kim Kardashian herself, if that's enough to make you interested in this gorgeous little tin of goodness.

The Love Balm is not quite as thick and hydrating as my favourite overnight lip balm Nuxe Rêve de Miel, however I find that it does a great job so long as your lips are not in terrible condition in the first place and is great for during the day. The thin texture makes it perfect for layering under other lip products for hydration, though it can be a little slippery. It does tend to separate a little as you work your way through the tin and especially in warmer weather. This does not stop it being effective though, just can cause it to feel a little grainy on the lips. I also like to use it as a cuticle balm and it will quickly clear up any dry or peeling skin around your fingernails.






























Main ingredients are olive oil, beeswax, safflower seed oil, soybean oil, caprylic triglyceride (an emollient extracted from coconut), calendula extract, chamomile extract, marsh mallow root extract, French rose extract, daisy extract, viola extract, purple coneflower extract, and Vitamin E in the form of tocopherol. It does contain both alcohol and fragrance which may be triggers for some to avoid. Overall, the beautiful flower extracts and various oils make this a hydrating and fragrant balm that I really love.

Price: $16.00 (Jurlique website) [$1.07/mL]
Rate: Australian made, natural ingredients, efficacy
Hate: can separate, packaging (tin is sometimes a little tricky to open)
Verdict: would always repurchase, I am nearly through my second tin

nu'trir Hydrating Mineral Day Cream

I have been on the hunt for a new day cream for quite some time and this new one by natural Australian skincare brand Nu'trir caught my eye last time I was browsing Priceline, so I thought I would give it a go.

It is quite a gluggy texture with a flesh-toned colour that looks like it will be difficult to spread on the skin and would leave a noticeable colour to your skin. The complete opposite is true though, and this cream thins out beautifully when applied and leaves no visible tint. It might leave your skin the slightest bit more evened out in colour, but nothing really noticeable. Certainly this is not in the realms of a tinted moisturiser.

One thing that I do particularly enjoy about this day cream is that it has a slight mattifying effect. It sinks into the skin really quickly and does not leave a dewy, 'I just moisturised' look. However, it still leaves my skin comfortably hydrated throughout the day. I have found that it is one of the better moisturisers to use under makeup as it helps to delay the oily t-zone to late afternoon at least. I tend to have drier skin, especially on my cheeks and nose, but this provides enough moisture for me throughout the day. Thirstier skin may struggle.

The day cream has quite a heavy lime scent from the natural oils included in the formula. Some mornings, this is a joyous wake up call but other mornings it can be quite heavy and cloying as it takes a little while to fade. If you are sensitive to fragrance or essential oils, this is not the day cream for you. I enjoy switching it in and out of my routine depending on how I am feeling about the scent on that particular day (fussy, I know!).

Ingredients wise, this has olive oil extract, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as sunscreen agents, jojoba seed oil, vitamin B (panthenol), B3 (niacinamide), E (tocopherol), C (ascorbyl palmitate) and A (retinyl palmitate), green tea extract, aloe vera, eucalyptus, and lime oil amongst others. The prime reason I picked this up in the first place was because it is a moisturiser that contains no silicons!

The packaging of this product is quite stunning. Homewares, makeup, clothing, jewellery and everything else are going through a copper/rose gold phase at the moment, so if nothing else this pot will look gorgeous on your dressing table. It has a big chunky rose gold lid that makes the product feel very luxe. No spatula was included so this is one of those moisturisers that you have to dip your fingers into.

Price: $39.95 (nu'trir website) [$0.80/mL]

Rate: ingredients, packaging, mattifying effect, efficacy, Australian made and owned

Hate: scent

Verdict: I am just not a huge fan of the scent so this would not be a repurchase for me, despite that it is a really lovely moisturiser that helps my makeup to last longer

Latest Buys

Since I started my full time job out of university, I have had a bit of extra cash to spend on my greatest vice - skincare. I reasoned that, seeing as I did not spend the money on the recent Priceline skincare bag, I would spend my money on things that I actually did need. "Need". Two of my recent hauls are featured here.




























The first came about because of a David Jones GWP on Clarins. I did not need much more convincing than that to go and pick up the Everlasting Foundation that I had heard great things about and also a new moisturiser that I definitely did need. The other bits were just a bonus! Clarins is one of my favourite skincare brands and their products are just beautiful. They all smell divine and look so classy standing around on my dressing table.

The second big spend came about when I noticed a post from Amy from Bottled Beauty advertising her blog sale. I was there in a flash! She had so many lovely skincare bits for below half the retail price so I could not help myself. I picked up two pieces from Antipodes and the Go-To Skincare Face Hero serum. I have been dying to try out some of the Go-To Skincare range so this was a perfect way to start.

I have so much new skincare to try out and I cannot wait to get stuck into it all! Let me know if you would like to see any particular reviews on the products featured here and I will put it on the top of my list.

Have a great weekend all!