Hi Ladies

As I mentioned in my decluttering and organising blog post here, I will be doing a monthly ‘First Impressions’ post, starting this month. So, below are my first impressions of all of the products I have tried for the first time this month.

*Sampar 3 Day Weekend gives a lovely glow to my skin. It has a lovely light texture, but still does a great job moisturising.

*Sampar Crazy Cream (Shade Tan) is a new cosmake-up product from Sampar. The coverage is very light, but buildable, and it perfects skin, making it look more radiant and even. It applies white and then turns into a tan colour. I wouldn’t wear this on its own, as I don’t think it provides enough coverage for me, I would describe this as more of a skin perfecter than makeup.

*Sampar Street-A-Peel confused me a bit. How exactly was I meant to use it? It is a milky fluid, and the packaging says apply to cleansed face, and remove excess with a cotton wool. The website says apply as a foundation cream on make-up-less skin. Whatever that means! Anyway, I apply it as a serum, before my face cream. It is meant to reveal a healthy glow by gentle micro-peeling. I haven’t seen any major effects, but my skin definitely looks brighter immediately after application.

*Sampar Ultra Hydrating Fluid a thin texture fluid that does an amazing job moisturising without being heavy, a perfect moisturiser for hot summer days. Loving it!

Sampar is available at Edgars and Woolworths (in store and online) as well as on Red Square. For some reason some of the products are way cheaper on Red Square online, like half price.

*Avene SPF 50 Emulsion I have used this as a face sunscreen and it works really well under makeup. It is not greasy, so it does not slide off the face and the great SPF coverage is a must.

*Avene D-Pigment I passed this on to my mom, since she suffers from pigmentation. She is enjoying using it so far, she uses it at night before her face cream.

*Avene SPF 50 Kids Spray is so easy to use. It is a milky liquid spray, it is easy to apply and spread. It doesn’t leave a white residue, and because it is for kids, it would suit sensitive skin.

*Avene Thermal Spring Water is my favourite! I use it to dampen my Makeup Sponge. I use it if my makeup looks a bit too dry, flat and powdery. I use it after cleansing and before moisturising to refresh and hydrate the skin. This is a star product!

Avene Products are available at Clicks

Everyone was patiently waiting for *Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water to arrive in SA. And it is finally here. I use this as a final step in my cleansing routine, to make sure my face is perfectly cleansed. I wouldn’t use this as the only cleanser, as I feel my skin needs a bit of a deeper clean/massage. There are two variants, one for sensitive skin, and one for oily acne-prone skin. I can’t really tell the difference between the two, but I have neither sensitive skin nor acne-prone skin, maybe that’s why.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water is available at all major retailers.

*Nature’s Carnival African Sun Triple Moisture Body Cream is amazing! It has an amazing light scent that makes me want to sniff it all day, with key fragrance notes of Golden Apricot, Pink Peonies, and a hint of Praline. It is extremely moisturising without being greasy. Definitely a favourite! The packaging reminds me a lot of Bath and Body Works.

*Raspberry Vanilla Fusion Body Butter smells amazing, and is so rich and moisturising, without being greasy. I have stashed this away for winter, because it is that good! Dare I say that it is more moisturising than The Body Shop Body Butters.

*Midnight Envy Fragrance Mist is a light fragrance mist which is perfect for summer. Unfortunately I am not a huge fan of the scent, although my mom loves it and uses it every day. I would have preferred another scent from their amazing range.

Nature’s Carnival products are available on their website here as well as on Takealot.com and Zando.

Wow is all I can say about this skincare range! *Skoon allows you to customise your routine based on your needs. If my skin is feeling a bit needy I add two drops of the Rosehip C Concentrate to the Super Moisturiser. If it is feeling a bit dull I add Glow Drops. If it is feeling hot and oily I use the Moisture Gel. And the Cleanser Make-up Remover is amazing! Their prices aren’t cheap, but you are definitely getting quality! You can also get yourself some trial packs, where you can sample some products and believe me you will love them. The sample sizes are pretty generous, and because the products are so concentrated you don’t use much at all. Check out the Trial Packs here, here and here.

I received the *Retail Box Secret Box 17 to review which included these two products, and the Treatment Oil. I have been using the Treatment Oil on my lashes and brows too, and it seems to be doing well. You can read the full review of these products here. And, keep your eye on the Retail Box site as well as their social media here, the Secret Box 18 will be released soon. You will have to beat me to buying one!

I finally started using the *Billion Dollar Brows Universal Brow Pencil (R269) and I am quite liking it. I usually use powder for my brows, I feel a pencil looks to drawn on and harsh. And it is hard to find a pencil that is a dark enough brown and a light enough black to suit me so that I don’t look like a crazy person. This Universal Brow Pencil is perfect for anyone! The more you draw on, the darker it gets. It has a spoolie on one side too. This is really a great product.

Billion Dollar Brows is available on the Retail Box Website here as well as at Stuttafords.

Well, I am not really new to *invisibobbles, since I wear them all day everyday, but I am new to this pretty pink one which is a limited edition Breast Cancer Awareness Pack. You can read more about it here.

Beauty Treats Matte Blush Palette is a stunning affordable palette that I picked up at Dischem for about R70. I have only tried a couple of shades, and I really like it. It is a bit big and bulky, but it does have ten blush shades, so let’s not be fussy. The quality of the blush is excellent, it blends well, and doesn’t have a cheap clown-like finish.

Benefit Sugar Bomb is a face powder, that gives a brightening effect. It gives a slight colour to my skin, but not much. I like to use it on the outer edges of my face, where I would usually apply bronzer.

Lollibalm is a moisturising balm which is quite moisturising, with a slight tint. It is okay, I wouldn’t buy a full size, but I would use this until it is finished.

Benefit Products are available at selected Edgars and Red Square stores as well as on Red Square online.

Essence Nude Lipsticks in 02, 04, 05. It’s Nude Time (04) is way too light for me, it makes me look like a ghost, so Blog Sale addition! The other shades are pretty, and quite long lasting, great for the price!

Catrice Nude Lipstick in Nude-Tastic (Far Left) is amazing! Awesome shade, isn’t drying and is long lasting.

Physician’s Formula Argan Wear BB Cream in light/medium has an SPF 30 and medium coverage. It is important to shake the BB cream, because of the oil. I really really love this!

Physician’s Formula Nude Wear Foundation in light/medium is a great lightweight foundation that gives a healthy glow to the skin. If you are looking for a foundation, I highly recommend looking at this one if you like a luminous finish.

Physicians Formula is available at Dischem.

I have been using Nivea Post Shave Balm as a primer, and I love it. It is fresh, cool and moisturising and works so well as a primer, it even works well before your moisturiser. I learnt this from Nikkie Tutorials and Desi Perkins.

Maybelline Baby Lips Hydrate is a nice lip balm. Nothing wow, nothing bad. It’s just a lip balm.

Labello Raspberry Rose Lip Butter smells heavenly! It leaves a bit of a white tinge on my lips, but I love using this because of the scent. So, I just use it around the house or before bed.

This LA Girl Color Balm in London Nude doesn’t suit me at all! Blog Sale here it comes.

I am loving all of these products! The Essence Smokey Eye Pencil is really pigmented and long lasting, even on my waterline. The NYX Orange Concealer is great at correcting dark under-eye circles, I like that it is really thin, as opposed to other creamier correctors. NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Honey has a peach undertone which is great for dark under-eye circles. It doesn’t crease much, and has a hydrating formula. Clarins Lip Oil smells amazing, gives a slight tint, and is very moisturising. Rubi Lips Lipstick from Cotton On, I am not sure what shade this is, since the shade name is on the wrapper, not on the packaging, which is slightly annoying. But the colour is amazing, so yay! Benefit Ooh La Lift is great to tap onto the under-eye area after applying your concealer, it really helps to brighten the area. Lastly, Physician’s Formula Eyelash Booster Eyeliner is meant to be a black 24 hour liner that helps boost lash growth. The colour is more dark grey than black, and it definitely does not last 24 hours, the applicator is amazing though. As for the lash boosting qualities, my lashes do look pretty great, so it could be helping, or it could be the Moroccanoil, or a combo.

And those are my First Impressions ladies!

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