face moisturiser

Steamcream 3-in-1 Moisturiser [Night Before Christmas Design]

January 27, 2013 by Stacey Leave a Comment

Continuing my long tradition of irrelevance, I thought I’d show you my brand new Steamcream 3-in-1 Moisturiser in Night Before Christmas ($21.65AUD). Well, it’s 331 nights before Christmas. If you’re cringing right now, I strongly recommend you avoid my loungeroom, where you may happen upon a half-dead Christmas tree.

My love for these multi-purpose moisturisers is deep, strong, and well-documented (see here and here). Made in the UK, Steamcream 3-in-1 Moisturiser is created with natural ingredients (although it does contain tiny amounts of parabens as a preservative) using an unusual steam infusion method. The end result is a delightfully wobbly, lavender and rose-scented, super-moisturising cream. And it’s vegan!

I kind of think that the best thing about Steamcream 3-in-1 Moisturiser is the tin. Although the contents are always the same, each metal tin features a limited-edition design. As well as working with established designers, Steamcream runs a design competition every year (see the 2012 winner, ‘Lighht From Space’, here). Once you’ve finished the tin, you can wash it and use it to store bits and bobs.

I was able to snaffle up one of the marked-down Christmas design tins on ASOS left over from the holidays. A total cheapskate at heart, I am content with it being Christmas on my face all year round. That design is now gone, but there are lots available on ASOS at the moment – I thought this one might be fitting for The Cat’s Pyjamas?

* Steamcream does not participate in animal testing. It is a vegan brand. This post contains affiliate links.

Filed Under: Beauty Tagged With: 3-in-1, design, face moisturiser, Night Before Christmas, skincare, Steamcream, vegan, Xmas

Sukin Hydrating Body Lotion Loves Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB)

July 16, 2012 by Stacey 4 Comments

As our skin faces extreme elements such as winter’s cold winds, we can experience dull, parched skin. Enriched with a delicate infusion of aloe vera, nettle, horsetail and burdock combined with rosehip, avocado and jojoba oils to hydrate thirsty skin and improve elasticity. Suitable for all skins types.

During July and August 2012, Sukin will be donating $1AUD from the sale of each Hydrating Body Lotion ($19.95 AUD/500mL) to Keep Australia Beautiful. Sukin’s fundraising campaign coincides with Keep Australia Beautiful Week (August 20-26), which aims to remind people about the simple things they can do in their daily lives to reduce their impact on the environment. Do you remember going on excursions to pick up rubbish in primary school during Keep Australia Beautiful Week? Maybe it was just my school that used us a tiny chain gang.

Sukin Hydrating Body Lotion is an easily-absorbed, medium-weight body lotion with the distinctive Sukin fragrance – mandarin, lavender, vanilla. Sukin is one of my favourite Australian skincare brands; each product is formulated without sulfates, parabens, mineral oil, artificial colours or fragrances (and a whole bunch of other ingredients I’d rather be without). Sukin is also 100% carbon neutral and 100% vegan.

Note: Sukin do not conduct animal testing or used animal-derived ingredients. This product was provided for consideration in accordance with the Disclosure Policy.

Filed Under: Beauty Tagged With: action, charity, face moisturiser, fundraising, Hydrating Body Lotion, skincare, Sukin, vegan

Lush Imperialis Moisturiser

December 17, 2010 by Stacey 2 Comments

One thing I love about Lush Australia is their generosity with handing out samples of their skincare products. Instead of feeling like I had to wheedle a sample from a suspicious sales assistant (like I have experienced with some other brands), the Lush sales assistant I was speaking to practically pushed two generous samples into my hands when I went in-store recently to check out their facial moisturisers. It’s a win-win strategy, really: I get to try the product to see if it works for me, and they’re much more likely to get a sale from me if I’ve tried something and loved it.

The sales assistant recommended two moisturisers that would be good for my skin type (combination skin, in particular an oily T-zone and dry patches around the edges of my face): Vanishing Cream (45 g, $39.95 AUD) and Imperialis (45g, $30.95 AUD). After using the samples for about a fortnight each, I went back and bought a full-size tub of Imperialis.

Although both are designed for combination skin, I found that Vanishing Cream was a touch too light to adequately moisturise the dry, flaky skin around the edges of my face, while Imperialis with light enough not add to my oiliness but rich enough to soothe my flakies.Vanishing Cream would be a fabulous moisturiser for anyone with oily, acne-prone skin.

Imperialis‘ calls itself the ‘majestic moisturiser’:

“If you want a finely crafted, good value cream that simply moisturises – this one is for you! Made with lavender, orange flowers and tiger lilies to create well-balanced skin. Good for faces that are oily in places and dry in others or a troublesome T-zone.”

Like most Lush face moisturisers, Imperialis comes in a black plastic tub. Of course I would prefer a more sanitary pump bottle, but I can manage with the tub. The moisturiser has a thin cream consistency: it certainly isn’t a fluid moisturiser but neither is it a thick, stiff cream. In the tub, it is a light pink it colour and smells just divine. It’s floral aroma is fresh and delicate.

When I apply it to my skin with my fingers, I find that it dries down to a reasonably matte finish within a minute or two. The floral aroma fades in this time as well. Over the course of my day, I feel Imperialis provides the right amount of hydration for my skin type.

You might have noticed that I’m on a real Lush kick at the moment. If my acne flares up again, I know I’m going to want straight-up chemicals, but for now I’m enjoying using natural products. I’m still taking baby steps into the realm of skincare (for some reason I’m just not as confident at experimenting with skincare the way I am with makeup), and I find that I can rely on Lush products to be good quality and generally provide value for money… and they give me lots of samples to play with!