Product Buzzword of 2012

I know a lot of people will be writing posts about their best products of 2012 and I most likely will do the same once I've had the chance to think about what mine are!

However when I was thinking of what products have featured heavily in my 2012 and also in general in the cosmetic/blogging world there was only one type of product that stood out in my mind: oil.

Image from Thrive Farm Wordpress

How many types of oil are there available??

Hair oil, face oil, body oil, shower oil.......

In particular Moroccan/Macadamia/Argan oil have taken the cosmetics world by storm and although I haven't used much of it, I have used the Macadamia hair mask and the Ojon oil and am very much a fan of both!

I have used some body oils but I'm always in a rush and am yet to find one that sinks in fast enough and does a good job.

As skincare is one of my favourite topics and aisles to browse in store, I have tried and tested a few face oils this year that has been my biggest surprise.

Starting off my year with oily skin, the last thing I would have put on my face is oil!

Once my skin changed due to stress and became drier and covered in cysts, I was forced to apply more moisturiser to combat the lack of hydration that I'd never experience before.

This included oils and now I would never be without them!

They helped clear some scars on my face, hydrated dry patches and did not in any way affect my oily t-zone! (Particularly Antipodes Divine Oil)

This for me was a revelation and I have been happy to swallow my words on adding oil to oily skin.

Do you agree that oils have been the biggest buzzword of 2012?

It makes me wonder what will be the product type of 2013...does anyone have any ideas?

I think nail art comes a close second as the biggest hype in 2012, maybe it hasn't had its day yet....or maybe products with a distinct lack of chemicals will become even more popular and product choice will increase with demand?

Who knows!

You know however, that we will all be watching! I for one cannot wait for 2013!

L xxx

Review: Macadamia Oil

Absolutely months and months ago in the February JolieBox I received a sample sachet of the Macademia Oil Deep Repair Masque.

For some reason I rarely use hair products even though I own loads of them and so this has taken me a while to get around to using.

I have however had really dry hair that's felt really brittle and just generally not nice, so I routed around in my collection to find it and test it out.

Firstly, as I've had this for so long I only have the one photo which is pretty lame so I apologise for that. I thought I had more and used it and threw it out so I'll try not to babble on too much!

I'd heard great things about this sachet, not just about the contents but that fact that the sachet was so big it allowed you to have multiple applications of the product, which is always lovely as using something once can be misleading.

I managed to get 2 applications out of this as I have really long hair and slapped in on all over my head.

I could have got 3 if say, I'd concentrated it on the ends which is what I would normally have done if my hair hadn't felt so dire.

The other thing I'd heard was that it was a fabulous product that really worked.

Having never tried Argan oil or Moroccan oil before I had nothing to compare it to aside from other hair masks, and I have to say this is one of the best ones I've ever tried.

The mask felt really nice on my hair to being with, not too runny it ran onto my face but easy enough to spread around my entire head covering all of my hair. I've no idea how long I left it for but I showered and scrubbed etc in the shower meaning it was on for around 10 minutes.

My hair instantly felt softer and smoother after washing it out and after drying with my hair dryer as normal it felt in much better condition. I used the other half of the sachet 5 days later in an attempt to improve the condition further and keep the softness there and it worked a treat!

I would buy this in a heartbeat, especially as Cheap Smells have the entire range, with a huge 500ml pot of this retailing at £24 instead of the RRP of £36, bargain!

If this sounds a lot to you then let me explain, the sachet was 30ml meaning 15ml for each application for longer hair.

The 500ml tub contains 33 full applications working out at 72p each.

Pretty hard to say no to that isn't it??

I'm in love!

L xxx

When L told me she had this in her joliebox I was so envious. I adore the Macadamia products. My hair dresser introduced me to the range probably two and half to three years ago, the salon used this mask as a treatment. I also used to add this on when I went there and pick up this sachets.

It leaves your hair feeling so soft, manageable and really helps improve the condition. Unlike L I'm a hair mask  lover. I've tried my fair share. I'm currently using the Lee Stafford for hair that doesn't grow treatment (not entirely convinced it works but can't stop using it now I've started in case it does)

This product also smells amazing. I should add her I'm blonde and have never had problems with it and my hair dresser used it on me, as I did read in some posts people had been told it's not suitable for blonde hair.

The Macadamia healing oil treatment is amazing as well. Its on cheap smells for £13.68. Which is such a bargain. This bottle is 125ml and lasted me 6 months when I had it. It is by fair the best oil I have tried. Recently I've been trying cheaper versions to try and save myself  money and they aren't as good. While L has found it as this bargain price I'll be ordering. It'll work out at just £2.50 a month. Bargain.

Have you tried the Macadamia Range? I love it!!

Love M

xxx

Jolie Box UK: February

This is my 3rd Jolie Box and the first one I've blogged about.

I'm assuming every body knows what it is and you've probably seen a post with this months contents in anyway, but if you haven't then the following pictures should help you out!

Here's the box the products come in:

I quite like how simple it is, I love black, classic shapes and classic designs..this box = winner in my books!

The inside always has a 'menu' type card, which I love, and the addition of a new drawstring bag with this month's box:

I originally thought the bag was a bit pointless, but as I'm trying to make an effort to be eco-friendly I think this is an improvement on the shredded paper and tissue that normally lines the boxes. I also took the bag to London with me to protect my camera getting scratched so it can be reused :)

The products are shown below:

On the left in the photo below is the Taaj Himalaya Micellar Water (an anti-oxidant make up remover) and on the right is the Lavera organic hand cream

I haven't tried the make up remover yet, I'm saving it until I've finished off my old one (trying to get rid of as many 'old' things as possible!) but the hand cream smells and feels divine! I'm not a hand cream fan but I'm increasingly using it as I seem to have quite a lot and my hands feel better for it. This hand cream is organic and has almond and shea butter in, I can smell these in the cream but if I close my eyes I SWEAR it smells like chocolate orange! Might just be me tho...ha

Another thing to note is that the make up remover contains water from the Himalayas....is this just a gimmick or does it genuinely have properties worth trekking there for?? I'm not sure yet!

I am yet to buy into the Moroccan oil, Argan oil etc hype, but I was pleased to see this full size sample of the Macademia Oil Deep Repair Masque.

M has used Macademia oil before and loves it, so I'm intrigued!

I have high hopes for it, although I'm not sure how many applications I'll get from the sachet. I'm hoping to get 2, but my hair is quite long so that might not happen!

The Jane Iredale Lip and Cheek stain also intrigued me, it goes on clear and then reacts to your skin and mood to give a pink colour that suits you.

I'm never convinced that these can change that much, I understand it reacts to heat and chemicals on your skin, but does it really give that much of a difference?

That being said, I LOVE how small it is, next to it is a miniature Posie Tint, just to show you how small it really is! Too cute for words. And apparently its quite pricey for the full size, around £20.

I threw it in my bag for my weekend in London and did try it out, it gives a nice pink shade on the lips, haven't used it on my cheeks though.

The Kimia Rejuvenating Facial System is something I have never heard of and also have yet to try.

It contains a facial oil that you massage into the face before spraying on an activator.

Will be saving this for an evening when I have time to use it properly.

I'm looking into using oils to clean my face as I hear they can be extremely beneficial so this will be a good test to see if they suit my skin.

Do you sign up to any Beauty Boxes?

I love the idea of them, but as I no longer have a job I think I'm going to cancel my subscription, it doesn't interest me so much and the money isn't something I feel is justified by the products.

That, and I'm determined to get through the absolute mountain of products I've accumulated over the past few years...you would be horrified if you could see my room!

If you want to hear about a specific product then let me know, I think otherwise though unless its absolutely amazing or completely rubbish I might not bother, as I'm afraid these products don't excite me much as of yet...this might change when I try the hair masque and the facial oil!

L xxx