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2014: The Year of Oils

I have always been quite fond of beauty oils, but they have never really formed a big part of my beauty regimen. Last year changed that. 2014 saw amazing skin and hair oil launches and I also had the opportunity to try products that have been around for a while. I have fallen in love with so many oils that it is quite difficult to choose a clear favourite in each category so I decided to give you a round up of products that I highly recommend you give a try.

Essential-Oils

 

FACE

In the past I have been weary of facial oils as I was always worried that they would cause more oiliness and congestion, but I quickly learnt that it is not the case. Facial oils work wonders for my skin especially during the winter months as my skin can become very dull and even flaky. Change of season is particularly harsh on my skin and oils have proved to be lifesavers. Winners include Lipidol Overnight Face Oil, L’Oreal’s Age Perfect Extraordinary Oil and Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse (and yes… this oil is as good as they say). An oil that deserves a very special mention is Naturals Beauty’s Sweet Orange Wrinkle Banisher. This oil takes top spot on days that my skin is very sensitive. It is amazing and I will be making sure that I have enough of this beaut in my stash when winter comes a knockin’. This is most definitely one of my best beauty buys of 2014.

I also tried a couple oil cleansers and two really stood out: Dermalogica’s PreCleanse and Lipidol’s Cleansing Face Oil. You will note in my review of the Lipidol Cleansing Face Oil that I liked it as a pre-cleanser, but I don’t use it just for removing make-up anymore. It has proven to be a perfect morning cleanser and it works beautifully as a second cleanse. It has been a godsend on sensitive skin days and this product will be repurchased again and again.

BODY

My skin is very dry and body oils work the best to combat scaly, dull skin. Favourites of 2014 include Lipidol’s After Shower Oil and the REN Moroccan Rose Otto Ultra-Moisture Body Oil. I have recently discovered Nivea’s Firming Body Oil and I adore it! It is light, absorbs very well and does not aggravate my eczema-prone skin. It is true love, people. Well worth a go. Yet another Lipidol product that deserves 5 stars is the Lipidol Sunscreen Oil. It feels like the After Shower Oil but with an added SPF… need I say more? One of my best beauty discoveries of all time is the TanOrganic Self Tanning Oil. I am allergic to the chemicals in self-tanning products, but this organic self-tanner gives my a gorgeous tan with no negative reaction. Read my full review HERE.

HAIR

I don’t think a day has gone by that I have not used a hair oil since discovering what a major difference it has made to the condition, look and feel of my dry, chemically treated hair. To treat my hair I love to use Africa Organics Hair Treatment Oil (I love their hair care products) or good old organic coconut oil. To treat and style, INOAR Extreme Premium Oil and Moroccanoil can’t be beat. My full Moroccanoil review is on it’s way. I now understand why the brand has such a cult following. Great budget-friendly options include Dark and Lovely Amla Legend Oil and OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco (available at Foschini).

xoxo

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TanOrganic Self Tanning Oil Review

I posted about this tanning oil a couple of weeks ago as I had a little sample to try out and it blew me away. I was very happy with the results as this is the first self-tanning product that I have found that I do not have a terrible reaction to. My eczema does not like the chemicals in self-tan. Have a look at my previous post HERE to learn more about this organic self-tanning brand and why my skin is so happy with it.

The fabulous people from TanOrganic then sent me a full size Tanning Oil!!

world-first-tanning-oil-300x300
R599… and worth every cent.

I usually struggle with my eczema as soon as the weather becomes warmer as my flare-ups are more frequent in summer. This weekend I decided to bite the bullet and try it even though my skin is not 100% clear. Please note that I do not have weaping or infected eczema. I would not recommend any type of cosmetic product in those severe cases! My skin just tends to get very itchy, red and extremely dry.

The instructions say to apply the product to cleansed and moisturised skin. I did a head to toe exfoliation and then applied Lipidol’s After Shower Oil. I gave that a while to completely absorb and then I used my hands to work in the tanning oil. It was super quick and simple. Because it’s an oil, I found it very easy to spread the product evenly. I just made sure to apply a little less on the areas that tend to be a bit drier and where self-tan tends to easily ‘show’… elbows, ankles, knees, etc. I love that there is no need for a tanning mitt and that, after a quick wash, there is no evidence of a self-tan application left on my hands. The oil didn’t take very long to absorb and left my skin feeling beautifully moisturised. I got dressed almost immediately afterwards, and I haven’t noticed any marks on my clothing. I mentioned in my previous post that there was no typical self-tan smell… unfortunately that is not completely true. Because I applied self-tan all over my body this time (not gutsy enough to try self-tan on my face yet), I could detect a feint scent. Not overwhelming, but it is there.

After about 6 hours I had some colour! Yay. The change wasn’t dramatic, but my skin looked healthy and glowing. And I was not Jersey Shore orange! My mom popped in last night and commented on my beautiful tan. She was surprised that it came out of a bottle as it really does look natural.

I also love that the tan is buildable and I can reapply after 3 – 4 days.

AND… yet again… no reaction! Just soft, smooth, tanned skin.

This product gets 2 thumbs up!! Thank you TanOrganic.

xoxo