Get In Touch With Your Wild Side

This next post is about a new skincare brand called Wild. It is a natural, fairly traded brand which currently has a range of body butters and soaps. I found out about this brand after interning with them for the past few months and honestly, the products are to die for!
I am a bit of a sucker for essential oils anyway, but the combinations that Valerie (Wild's founder) has put together are spot on!

I think I'll begin by listing the body butter/soap combinations and a brief description of what they do:

•  Baobab with Frankincense and Vanilla- Baobab oil is actually very similar to the current beauty must have Argan Oil, it is actually higher in anti oxidants and vitamins, which makes it an excellent anti-aging product. Combined with the added frankincense and Vanilla, which gives it a warm, spicy scent, it regenerates skin cells and stimulates adrenalin which reduces wrinkles and plumps the skin.
• Marula with Ylang Ylang, Lavender and Patchouli- Marula is one of the most powerful anti-oxidants going. Combined with the balancing Ylang Ylang, soothing Lavender and relaxing Patchouli, it has a beautiful floral scent.
• Kalahari Watermelon with Grapefruit and Lime- This is particularly good for oily skin, it is easily absorbed. the Grapefruit and Lime are great for unclogging pores and healing acne.
• Cape Chestnut with Rose Geranium and Chamomile- This is a particularly interesting one because the Cape Chestnut oil has natural UVB absorbers in it, so it is great to guard your skin from the weather. The Rose Geranium and Chamomile are known for their soothing properties and the added Aloe is great for healing, as it is an anti inflammatory. 
• Avocado and Aloe- This one is fragrance free and great for sensitive skin; healing and soothing, it is a gentle, extra nourishing cream.

The creams and soap all have Shea Butter in them, which is obtained from an African charity called Afrikids. This adds to the amazing moisturising qualities that they have. Since using the cream my skin has become silky smooth, and not just for a few hours after application...there is a noticeable, long term difference.

They are all light creams that don't make you feel as though you have literally just put a knife in to a tub of anchor and slathered it across your body. The baobab cream is slightly richer than the rest, but this doesn't make it any less easily absorbed; just more luxurious. My personal favourites at the moment are the Cape Chestnut and the Marula. But I also love the Watermelon soap which is so zingy and refreshing, perfect to wake me up on those mornings when I want to destroy my alarm clock!

As you can see from the images, the packaging is great. They are inspired by West African fabrics and are the perfect way to brighten up your bathroom or bedroom! And what's even better is they really do evoke Africa, which is the whole point of the brand.

The body butters start at £15.25 and the soaps from £6.25...and they are a fab investment because the products last such a long time. Perfect for all that leg prep us girls will be doing for the summer!

Little Miss Pradatini

x

Let's Enjoy The Lighting...

For a woman, putting your face on is often just as important as accessorising an evening dress with diamonds and a beautiful clutch bag. It can often provide a much needed confidence boost on those mornings when you wake up with a horrible spot and tired looking skin, which leads me to my product review of the day; MAC Strobe Cream.

Image courtesy of www.maccosmetics.co.uk/

This is genuinely the life saver in my make up bag now, its pearly, creamy texture peps up the most worn out looking face and adds an instant radiant glow. The best thing is that a little goes a long way. I have had this bottle since June last year and, despite using it on a daily basis, I still have half left.
I simply put a little on my cheeks, forehead and around my eyes to provide a little glow, or pep-me-up, if you were to my skin.
It is a light cream which I think is essential if you are going to be applying foundation or tinted moisturiser over the top of it. For me, I just added a little pressed powder (I currently use MAC's Studio Careblend in Light or Rimmel's Stay Matte in 001) and some blusher, which I tend to keep matte during the day to avoid looking like I've just been to a disco in the 70's. Glitter overload isn't cool when you are 22...

It comes in two sizes and is priced at £12 for 30 ml or £21 for 50ml, so really, in these hard economic times we find ourselves in, the 50ml makes sense to purchase...even if it is only a small saving. It really will last for ages. I'm beginning to wonder whether mine will ever run out. That really would be something wouldn't it; a never ending brightening cream....

Buy it here: http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/178/364/Products/Skincare/Moisturisers/Strobe-Cream/index.tmpl

Little Miss Pradatini

x

 

My Beauty Staple

For me, there is nothing more important than cleansing my face. My skincare regime is an investment for the future; insurance, if you like, against the dreaded old age and wrinkles. There is no point in attempting to beautify myself with cosmetics if I’m working with a terrible base in the beginning. I have waded through a large and varied amount of cleansers before I reached for my saviour product of Liz Earle’s Cleanse and Polish. 

Image courtesy of http://uk.lizearle.com/

What I, and a whole host of other men and women alike, love about the Cleanse and Polish is its ability to give you a healthy glow as well as smooth, clean skin. It does what it says on its oh-so-attractive duck egg blue jar without making you feel like you have rubbed your face with a sheet of extra course sandpaper. Granted the natural element to Liz Earle’s range adds to the gentle feel in her skincare products  but there is always a real feeling from some synthetic products, that you have just removed your day’s make up with paint stripper. Whilst I love make up, I don’t cake it on thickly enough to want to feel as though my skin is dissolving at the mere wipe of a cotton pad or muslin cloth.

The delicious scent and creamy texture make the Cleanse and Polish a dream to apply; it is almost a disappointment to take it off. That is until you see the result; which is beautifully dewy, clean looking skin. What more could a girl want?