The Balm Time Balm concealor: review and swatch

Product description :

Use this uniquely smooth anti wrinkle concealor to cover up dark circles and protect the delicate eye area from environmental stresses. Apply it to a clean face before bed to fight wrinkles while you sleep
and wake up looking fab!

price: $18.00 from the US.

availability: www.thebalm.com , Kit Cosmetics (Australia), www.sephora.com

Why is finding a concealor for the undereye area so damn hard? My current concealor is the MAC Studiosculpt, which is great coverage but tends to crease and accentuate fine lines underneath my eyes. After reading lots of rave reviews about this product I decided to give it a go.

This concealor is a very opaque and covers up dark circles and discoloration quite well. It’s quite long lasting, which is an advantage especially if you find that your concealor disappears on you during vigorous activities (such as merrymaking)

Time Balm swatch in ‘Light’

Unfortunately, I’m having a bit of trouble making this concealor work for me. It has a fairly dry, hard texture which is difficult to spread and I end up tugging the delicate skin under my eyes more than I would like. It also cakes and accentuates my fine lines like crazy.

I think the problem is my dry skin. I really need to find a super hydrating eye cream and prep the eye area before using this.

As for wearing this to bed as an anti wrinkle treatment- I find the idea of wearing concealor to bed a little ridiculous. I find it unlikely that this has higher levels of vitamin C, E, A then you might find in a good eye cream- and you’d end up smearing concealor on your pillow.

Have you tried this product? Does this work for you, and if so, do you have any tips to make it work?

Posted by myfunnyvalentine on Apr 30th, 2011 in Reviews, Swatches | 7comments

MooGoo Milk Shampoo saved my scalp.

3 comments

This was first made for a family member who had a scalp so itchy they went to bed with olive oil and cling wrap around their head. It took 6 months of trialling until we banished the cling wrap to the kitchen for good. Our Scalp Friendly Milk Shampoo has now become one of our best selling products. Read our ‘We got mail” page to see how much it has helped people with scalp problems. We use natural ingredients combined with ingredients to control the micro-flora of the scalp that can cause scalp problems for many adults and children. Fragrance Free. pH BAlanced. Natural Cleansers. [product description from MooGoo]

price: AU$17.50

Availability: In Australia you can find MooGoo at selected pharmacies, health food stores or http://www.moogoo.com.au/ (as far as I know, they also ship world wide)

For as long as I can remember, I’ve suffered from itchy, flakey scalp issues (one of my more attractive features). I remember when I was younger, I would go through so many tubes of steroid cream just to get through the night without pulling out all my hair.

I’ve been through lots of shampoos but I’ve mostly been using Head & Shoulders because it’s supposed to soothe and treat itchy flakey scalps (and they had such convincing commercials!). I never really saw any improvement with Head & Shoulders, but I kept using it anyway because I never really thought about an alternative.

Only recently did I come up with the realisation that:

1. If you use harsh detergent type cleanser on your scalp it is going to irritate the scalp, making any dandruff situation worse, and stimulating over production of oils.
2. Some of the harshest detergent ingredients in commercially available cleansers/shampoos are Sodium Lauryl Sulfate followed by Sodium Laureth Sulfate.
3. The first 3 ingredients in Head and Shoulders are (in order): water, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate.

I could kick myself.

About a month ago, I bought myself MooGoo’s ‘Scalp Friendly’ Milk Shampoo after reading lots of rave reviews about this brand. All I can say is OMG WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE???!!! My scalp feels healthy for the first time for years, and I’m not brushing dandruff off my shoulders every 5 minutes anymore.

Also, the back of my neck is no longer red and irritated after switching to MooGoo (I always thought it was silicones in my conditioner that did this, but it must be the harsh ingredients in H&S).

This product foams fairly well, but I find that you have to work it into your hair a little more than with other shampoos. Because the cleansing ingredients are so gentle, MooGoo advises that oily hair types may need to ‘double cleanse’ if you’ve gone awhile without washing your hair. My hair and scalp feels perfectly clean after using this though without double cleansing.

Ingredients:
Purified Water. Glucose Derived: Cocoyl Glucoside & Decyl Glucoside. Coconut Derived: Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate, Cocobetaine &Sodium Lauroamphoacetate.Glyceryl Oleate (Ester), Guarsilk, Piroctone Olamine, Glycol Distearate, Milk Protein, AllantoinFragrant Oil (Phthlate Free)

Posted by myfunnyvalentine on Apr 28th, 2011 in Uncategorized | 3comments

Tags: MooGoo, Shampoo

Worship Wednesdays: Coco Rocha

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???Coco Rocha has been one of my favourite runway models for years, and a constant source of beauty inspiration. Her fashion career started at 2004, making her one of the longest serving models still working the runways.

I could waft on for days about her, but instead I’ll leave you with some of my favourite Coco images from the runway, backstage, editorials, and ‘street style’ photos.

Coco Rocha: Michael Kors runway 2009 image from http://www.style.com/

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Chanel 2011 Fall runway

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Coco Rocha: Hermes runway detail fall 2009 image from http://www.style.com/

Coco Rocha backstage beauty image from http://www.style.com/

I can’t remember where this is from, but omg the hair, the makeup, and the dress!!!

I love Cocos gorgeous curves. How amazing does she look in this Dior red rose dress?

Coco Rocha at Aquascutum runway Spring 2010

Coco Rocha: Roberto Cavalli runway fall 2011

personal photos section from http://www.cocorocha.com/

Coco Rocha on her wedding day. Dress by Zac Posen.

personal photos 2011 section from http://www.cocorocha.com/

Posted by myfunnyvalentine on Apr 27th, 2011 in Worship Wednesdays | 2comments

I’m a (Pink) Sinner: Lipstick Queen matte lipstick in Pink Sinner

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After discovering Lipstick Queen’s Red Sinner lipstick in all it’s non-drying matte glory, I decided to pick up a pink from their sinner line.

price: $33.95 Australia, $18.00 US

availability: Kit Cosmetics counters (Australia), http://www.lipstickqueen.com/, Barney’s department stores (US)

Colour:

Medium cool toned pink- similar to NARS Pure Matte lipstick in Bangkok but a shade darker. It’s fairly pigmented, with approximately 70% coverage at first swipe, easily buildable to full opacity.

Texture:

Like Red Sinner, it is a matte that sits quite comfortably on the lips, and doesn’t drag when applied (unlike *ahem* NARS Bangkok). I find that it does settle into lip lines a little more than Red Sinner, so prepping the lips well with lip balm beforehand is recommended.

lip swatch: Lipstick Queen Pink Sinner lipstick

swatched from left: Lipstick Queen Sinner Lipstick ‘Pink’, NARS Pure Matte lipstick ‘Bangkok’

If this FOTD looks a little familiar to you, it’s because it’s the exact makeup (with different lippies of course) for the Revlon Colorburst Peach post I did last week. If you want to know the deets, just click on the link to go to the original post.

Posted by myfunnyvalentine on Apr 26th, 2011 in FOTD, Lipstick, Reviews, Swatches | 0 comments.

Playtime with Da Diz (video)

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Please excuse my ridiculous baby talk voice. Even my cat thinks it’s awful, but I can’t help myself! Next time I’m editing the sound out of my videos.

Do other cats go crazy when you drop things in boots? It’s one of his favourite games.

Posted by myfunnyvalentine on Apr 24th, 2011 in Dizzy | 3comments