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!

Footcare

I will admit that whilst taking care of the skin on my face is something that I take great joy and pride in - my night time skincare routine is so relaxing and part of my unwinding process after a big day - taking care of the skin on my feet is something that I tend to neglect. As a result, my poor tootsies are usually very dry and you'll often see the backs of my heels and little toes sporting the telltale blisters from working in an office and wearing high heels.

I thought I'd share some of the products that I have been using lately to keep my feet happy. My recent foot care routine has involved using the Scholl Velvet Smooth Essential Moisture Cream. This is a light, gel-like lotion to provide some easy and much needed TLC to your feet. It has a slight blue tint and smells quite fresh, not the usual overpowering peppermint smell of foot creams. It smooths over the skin on your feet easily (note: without the use of silicons, hallelujah!)




























I was a little worried the first time I used it, as I thought that it take a while to absorb and would end up all over my sheets after application just before bed. So I smoothed way too much over my feet, put on some socks, and went to sleep with sticky feeling feet. The next night, I thought I would put its 60 second absorbency claims to the test and tried it without socks. This time I used a more reasonable amount and found that in actual fact, it absorbed quite quickly! Scholl - 1, Bonnie - 0.


The Essential Moisture Cream is a great everyday foot lotion. I have found that my feet are not suffering from the dreaded winter dryness so much when I remember to put this on before bed. I would love to try a thicker cream for night time though, as I just do not have the time to put this on as part of my morning routine and it is a cream aimed at twice daily use because of its lightness. I feel that it doesn't provide quite enough moisture for my feet, so I would prefer something richer.

I have also really enjoyed using the Scholl Party Feet Gel Inserts to reduce soreness from wearing high heels. I find that these help to make wearing heels all day something that is more bearable and actually an enjoyable experience! They are a gel pad with a suede top, which I quite like as there is not that gooey feel that you get when using purely gel pads. They help to stop aching in the balls of your feet and I also find that they help to make your heels fit more snugly as they give your feet a little boost up, so there is less rubbing from your shoes in the first place.

Of course, once you have taken care of the dry skin and blister issues, there is nothing better than a nice pedicure to make those feet feel complete! One of my absolute favourite polishes to wear on my toes is Skyfall from the OPI James Bond collection. It is classy and sophisticated - something a little bit more than your typical red, more of a blood red bordering on burgundy. It is definitely my most reached for pedicure shade.

Price: Essential Moisture Cream $14.99 (Priceline), Gel Inserts $15.69 (Priceline)
Rate: absorbency, scent, efficacy, no silicons, affordable
Hate: cream could be more moisturising
Verdict: if you're looking for some simple and easy ways for foot care, look no further! Would definitely repurchase the gel inserts for all my future high heels too!

Scholl have kindly provided me with some of their products for consideration. I have reviewed the products in my own honest opinion.