I've been loving rosehip oil as a ultra rich face serum as a fix for my dry, tight skin for a few years now. I've made my way through a few different brands from Trilogy to the generic one for a local health store. So far my favourite has been REN's Rose O12 Moisture Defence serum, despite its exxy price tag, it's consistently left me glowing. I'm still happy to look around for a less pricey alternative though,and A'kin Pure Alchemy Cellular Radiance Serum may just be the one. Rosehip oil tops the list of largely organic or Australian ingredients. A few other of my skin favourites follow, including macadamia, olive, jojaba and sunflower oils, along with extracts of pomegranate, calendula, seabuckthorn and chamomile extracts. I've previously used A'kin's plain rosehip oil with decent results, so was hoping this formula would amp up the moisture to help my dry skin recover from a rough winter.
My poor, unsuspecting hair, pre-dye |
Last weekend I was kept inside by the yucky Sydney weather. With the boyf busy doing up his resume, I very quickly got bored off my tits and decided to dye my super blonde virgin hair in order to bring out some highlights. Obviously I had no idea what the shit I was thinking, as after a half hour dalliance with a box of the lightest colour (I won't name the brand, but I also won't buy it again) I could find at the city Priceline, my previously totally fine hair was a Gaga-esque yellow. I looked like corn. There were also dark patches around my hairline where I'd not applied enough dye. To make it worse, I re-read the instructions, and in the teeniest print at the bottom of the leaflet it said NOT FOR USE ON VERY LIGHT HAIR. Shut.The.Frick.Up! I then spent the rest of the afternoon sobbing into a mixing bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough.
Post dye - black and gold awfulness |
That's not Natalie Portman, but Nine d'Urso, daughter of Inès de la Fressange
When I first heard that Italian brand Bottega Veneta, known for their crazy-soft leather products (there are some bad, unprintable lest the feds show up at my door bad things I would do to get my grubby hands on one of their classic purses) was side-stepping into perfume production, I wasn't pleased. Do we really need another overerly sweet, fruity,musk and vague white flowers mash up in the already overloaded market. Although the licencee Coty has previously produced some lovely scents for other brands, the market often plays for the masses, and the heritage and luxury of a brand such as Bottega Veneta could get lost somewhere beneath the frothiness of the eager to please PR and spin.
Although I'm not super omg unicorn rainbows stoked about every house having its own signature scent, I was pleasantly surprised by Bottega Veneta's effort.