Current Crushes, aka What You Should Put On Your Shopping List RIGHT NOW!
Paintings by Fawn Gehweiler.While there are some things you buy which don’t really enhance your life at all, there are other discoveries which definitely improve things. Shoes are nice, but discovering your perfect skincare regimen, for example, can be a complete game-changer — no longer worrying about the perfect concealer, far fewer “ugly days”, etc. Here are a collection of things I’ve been using for a while which make me really happy — & some which might make you happy too!
My skin is really great right now (touch wood!) & has been for the past couple of months. I don’t know why for sure, but other than cutting down on processed food (which definitely helps), I am going to chalk it up to the regular use of the following three products.
Clarisonic PRO Deluxe Professional 4-Speed Skin Care System
I had wanted one of these for a really long time — check the reviews on Amazon to find out why! — & when I received one in my goodie bag at IFB’s Evolving Influence, I actually squealed! Since then, I have been using it every day & I SWEAR, my skin has never looked better. Even those little things which look like they might become blemishes disappear without a trace.
It’s essentially a little brush which whizzes around & buffs in your cleanser, while exfoliating your skin at the same time.
I think this is a miracle product. It makes all your other skincare work so much more effectively, which is great. I don’t use expensive skincare anyway — my cleanser is Simple Cleansing Lotion which you can buy in the supermarket in Australasia — but it’s great to see it going the distance.
While the Clarisonic itself is not cheap (almost $200), I think it’s worth saving up for. Few things make you feel as good about yourself as having amazing, clear skin, & that is a fact!
When I get out of the shower, I cover my face in cleanser, wet the Clarisonic & turn it on. After that, I use Burt’s Bees Repair Serum around my eyes & jojoba oil on my face before putting on my make-up.
I don’t use it in the evenings, because I think that would be a little excessive. Instead, I remove my make-up with a baby wipe (the sort with aloe vera & vitamin e!), then apply hyaluronic serum. See below! By the way, baby wipes & make-up removal wipes usually have the EXACT same ingredients, but baby wipes are much less expensive! Let this be a lesson to you. Be sure to buy unscented ones with aloe vera, though!
I found out about this from a beauty post Zoetica did, & when I happened across it in Wholefoods in Austin, I quickly snapped it up. First of all, it has a very strange smell, almost sickly sweet, but it does such AMAZING — & I mean, really, AMAZING — things to my skin that I am willing to put up with it. (The Dish thinks it smells like pen ink, while I think it smells like a candy store?!) When I put it on, it feels tingly & almost a bit burny, which made me quite nervous at the start but it has proven itself to be so brilliant that I don’t mind.
I use it every night before I go to sleep or on days when I’m not wearing any make-up at all. The reason for this is that it’s quite thick & makes me look really shiny, which is not the kind of base I want for my make-up.
I swear, I swear it is smoothing the fine lines on my face, plumping the areas around my eyes & mouth, & it’s doing something really fantastic for my complexion in general. My skin has never looked this good — except for when I was eating 100% raw! So, for those of you (um, for those of us, myself included!) who don’t have the discipline or interest in going raw, this is an excellent way to fake it. On the outside anyway!
O3mega+ Glow by Genuine Health
Adding this into my regular vitamin routine has really done amazing things for my skin. Again, I can’t tell how much of it is this & how much of it is the Clarisonic + the hyraluronic serum, because I started them all at the same time, but I would say that those two plus Genuine Health’s skincare vitamins make up the holy trinity of skincare.
I used to take regular Omega 3 capsules (good for the brain!), but when I saw that Genuine Health, my favourite vitamin brand, had Omega 3 made specifically to improve skin, I was all over it — & it’s great. Definitely does the trick.
By the way, if you’re interested, my daily vitamin regimen = O3mega+ Glow, Multi+ Daily Glow & Perfect Skin, all by Genuine Health. I’ve written about Genuine Health before, because when I started taking their vitamins I was blown away. I recommend them to EVERYONE!
Genuine Health recently sent me some Dermalipid to try out too, & I’ve added it into my morning pill routine. Apparently it takes about a month for you to see any effects from it, so I’ll let you know!
Full Coverage Concealer by Make Up For Ever
THE HOLY GRAIL FOR UNDEREYE CIRCLES. I am not kidding & I have done the research. Make-up artists always seem to be able to make my circles disappear but I can never recreate it at home & it is the most frustrating thing ever.
Everyone I spoke to about it had a different suggestion, ranging from YSL’s Touche Eclat to Benefit’s Erase Paste, but no. They don’t do it for me. THIS DOES, & I learned about it from a sweet man in a Texan Sephora. The key is to DAB it on, & to be sure to blend it up past the inner corners of your eye (otherwise you just look weird). This stuff is incredible, I’m telling you. Makes me look wide-awake & peppy, which is worth its weight in gold! I use #4, but you really need to go test it out to make sure which shade is right for you!
I was sent this ages ago, & recently rediscovered it in a poster tube under my desk. I pinned it to my wall, ordered some coloured whiteboard pens & started using it. Um, oh my god. It is fantastic. It’s such a simple idea but so brilliant — it’s a whiteboard poster with various sections to keep you on top of your life.
The four major sections are a big blank space at the top (for brainstorming, motivation, general reminders), monthlies, this week’s specifics & weeklies. I use the monthlies section to plot out articles — I write the title in each space so I know whether the day is covered, content-wise. The weekly specifics part is for things that need to be done this week: appointments, events, etc. Weeklies reminds me of the regular things, like seeing my personal trainer or various features on my site.
Man. I LOVE being able to look at my wall & see everything for the next month laid out for me. It is making a serious difference to my life!
Red Bull Energy Shots
Haha, I love these. I have three sitting on my desk right now. Every time I see my editor, she fills my handbag with them. They’re tiny, only 59mL, so you can carry them around without even feeling it, & quick to drink. Best for a mid-afternoon boost, or for keeping you awake in a boring meeting! Word up!
Since I got my hands on this little wonder, I have not touched my Nikon D80. Have. Not. Touched. I mean, I will probably use the D80 for outfit photos but when it comes to anything else, I think the Leica has it covered.
First of all, it is tiny, so I can throw it in my purse without injuries to ye olde shoulder (a problem the D80 had always had). Secondly, it shoots video, so I have no need for my Flip. I love my Flip but, well, it is a little redundant now. Thirdly, the photos are fantastic. The wide angle lens is mind-blowing, the colour & detail is truly sexy & well, let’s just say, I am smitten. It also has this rad “pinhole camera” feature which makes everything look way cool. P.S. I took this photo in a crowded, pitch-black club with no tripod. Um!!! WOW!
I would recommend it to everyone who wants a really high quality point-&-shoot, especially people who want more control over their pictures. The D-Lux 4 has so many options that you can really customise the way your photos look. SWOON.
Wolford Hot Dots
Sexiest thing ever. Every woman should own a pair of these. When I got them, I put them on with a pair of heels & walked back & forth across my living room ogling myself in the mirror — which is why I say every woman should own them. They make your legs look super-long, it’s amazing.
I bought mine on eBay. You used to be able to get them at Saks & Neiman Marcus but not any more, so eBay is probably your best bet. They were pretty expensive so I’m keeping them in the bag & treating them with the utmost care!
I really hope the weather stays cool for a while so I can get some wear out of these before summer hits!
(I always think I am a short girl until I realise that I need “tall” or “extra-tall” stockings so that I am not always hoiking them up. What do the truly tall girls do?!)
Photo on the left by me, photo on the right by arienette9. Absolutely Alice & Mad As A Hatter by O.P.I.
These are both from the Alice In Wonderland collection & I love them! I’d say about 70% of my nailpolish collection is glitter anyway so it was a sure bet I’d fall for these!
Absolutely Alice is SO beautiful — electric eel blue glitter shot through with silver pieces. It’s absolutely hypnotic & kaleidoscopic. In the picture above I’m wearing it over a dark blue by Essie which really makes it pop. Galaxy nails!
Mad As A Hatter is more like a confetti explosion. Purple, green, orange, silver & gold glitter all combined together, absolutely a party for your nails. The girl in the photo is wearing a black base underneath which looks amazing, & I think it would look just as fantastic worn over a purple or emerald green base!
Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity Shimmer Dust
A must for 21st Century Marie Antoinettes & disco banshees. This is the only thing I’ve tried from Tarina Tarantino’s beauty range, but it is amazing.
Last summer one of my favourite things to do before I left the house was douse my head with silver glitter hairspray, which made me look like there had just been a fairy orgy on my head. It was not subtle & it made The Dish feel crazy. (Hahah.) Sparklicity Shimmer Dust is totally different though, the glitter is very very fine & the effect is delicate as opposed to hallucinatory/psychotic. You can use it on your face, hair or body, & is, in my opinion, the perfect accompaniment to cotton candy hair.
Also the bottle is very beautiful & looks like it is filled with crushed opals. How can you say no to that? Fact: you can’t.
What are your favourite products du jour? Is there anything in your handbag that you absolutely cannot live without? Let us know!