Pebble Penn

I received the December Marie Claire - The Parcel as my KK present this year.
It was so exciting and couldn't help but think what an awesome present for people who love their beauty products!

I had no idea that Marie Claire had a beauty box, I know there has been a recent influx in beauty boxes with varying qualities, the ones I know the best are probably Bella Box and the Korean MeMeBox.
The idea of these beauty boxes is really nice but it all comes down to luck - it is easy to end up with lots of small products that you don't use / can't use  - but then you can always gift it to your girlfriends to try.
The Parcel was a heavy package, once you remove the sleeve you will see this very chic black box.



I was so surprised with the amount of product I received in the box, some even looked like it was full size! I really like looking at the goodies before reading the little description card!









Overall I am really impressed with the box, it had a variety of products from hair to nails to skin care to make up which I personally find more exciting!
If you were looking to try out a beauty subscription box I would definitely recommend the Marie Claire - The Parcel to you. It is exciting anticipating the products you will find, and as you can see the brands in The Parcel are reputable and well known ones which always brings piece of mind!

Wanted to say Thank You for the awesome KK present Miss B!
Love lots!

This post is a shout out to all the lazy girls out there!
I had no idea that there was such thing as a Spray Moisturiser until about one week ago - and it has massively changed my life! Ok… maybe a little exaggerated - but it has shaved off time in my morning routine and I have become more vigilent with putting on moisturiser to my body. And now - I can't go back!



It was actually an accident that I came across this spray moisturiser, I was actually there with my boy friend to buy super tough man hand cream (haha) which is also in the real world called DU"IT Tough Hands - for those who have no idea what I am talking about, think manly looking bottle of hand cream for the gents out there who also want to own baby soft hands without the perfumes associated with the general hand creams.
Anyways, completely sidetracked, I saw that Vaseline intensive care spray moisturiser on sale, so I could not resist. I chose the bottle for Dry Skin Repair - because I have been lazy and my skin is really really lacking in moisture, especially with the change in weather as it gets hotter.
On the bottle, it says Absorbs in seconds, repairs dry skin. It is non-greasy, with micro-droplets of Vaseline Jelly. On the scale of light to rich - it is light.
Cost is $4.95 AUD at Woolworths.


What I liked… 

- It moisturises and absorbs into the skin so so so so easily! The micro-droplets of Vaseline Jelly is so effective, it literally absorbs in seconds!

- Non-greasey texture. I was a little worried about the thickness and the texture of the cream - I had no expectations as to how the consistency of a spray on moisturiser was meant to be. But, it was great, non-greasey and non-sticky after application. Putting on clothing straight after is not an issue.

- Consistent Dispense! The spray is so consistent if does not need re-spray. You have the peace of mind of knowing where you want the moisturiser to go is where it will be. There will be no abrupt stutters in the spray nozzle. Clean on press all the way down the legs - easy.

- Convenience. Best Best Best thing about spray on moisturisers, is that unlike the conventional moistueriser it doesn't leave residual in your finger nails or require as much time to "dry".

What I disliked… 

- I can imagine in winter when the weather is cold and skin is even dryer then in winter that one spray across the skin would not be enough to combat the cold weather. But that can easier be combatted with an additional application. Or maybe try a different variant of the Vaseline Spray and Go and go for one that is richer in texture, since this is only classes as "light" on the bottle.
So not really a dislike, just food for thought for when winter comes in 6 months time.




Repurchase? 
Yes! I will definitely repurchase, and will most likely replace all moisturiser in the house with spray ons.
Every minute of my time in the morning before work is so so precious - rather than getting annoyed with cream in my fingernails, and waiting for moisturise to absorb and dry - I think Spray and Rub will be the way to go instead. Easy, convenient and time saving!

I usually do not purchase products without researching them and reading reviews, but Vaseline is such a trusted brand that I could assume that there would be no issues.

I believe that there are 3 variants of the Vaseline Spray and Go so I am looking forward to seeing whether the other variants will have different and more moisturising affects. Check out the Vaseline website if you are interested.

I love when technology meets the beauty world. I am so excited to write this review as I have a huge success story to go with it!

The Market 
The facial cleansing "machines//gadgets"market leader is definitely the line of Clarisonic products. I would imagine it holds huge market share due to being the first company to release this.

However, with all things technology related, as time passes and competition increases, there will be duplicates and innovations by other companies looking to enter the market; a simple google search will uncover the market to now have Clarisonic, Olay, Proactive, Neutrogena Wave and Phillips VisaPure. From budget alternatives such as Olay, Neutrogena Wave and Proactive, while you have the Clarisonic and Phillips VisaPure on the higher end of the pricing spectrum.

After weeks of research (cause it's expensive!!) I settled on purchasing the Phillips VisaPure after watching a couple of Hong Kong vloggers rave on about it! It is super unfair that Asia always get the good stuff before us, but at last - Phillips VisaPure was released in Australia October 2013.



The Phillips VisaPure Facial Cleanser (SC5275/10) - AUD $149.95 Shaver Shop Doncaster

I purchased the "pink" model as I received a AUD $50 discount, making it the same price as the lower one speed model.
A week and a half on - I cannot live without my Phillips VisaPure!

The Claims
- The brush vibrates and rotates, pulsating to break up surface dirt, dead skin and make-up residues.
- 1 minute timer to avoid over clean
- Entirely waterproof, brush and machine
- Comes with a charging stand
- 6 hours of charge, 30 minutes use (thus = 30 days without charging technically)

I Love It Because... 

- Improved Complexion and Reduced Pimples
My pimples went from large, sore, red and constantly reoccurring pimples, to drastically reduced flattened pimples; signs that the pimples will sizzle and disappear. I have been using this for a week, and this type of result is amazing, I have confidence with the routine I wrote about in the last post, and the additional help with cleaning off make up, I can definitely rid my face of unsightly pimples!!

- It cleans off dead skin! 
I have been using Vichy Laboratories, Normaderm Hyaluspot, which aims to dry out the pimples and eventually kill it.
Therefore my face had flaky dry skin pieces falling off, making putting on foundation impossible due to the flakiness. The Phillips Visapure managed to slowly remove all the dead skin off my faee over the course of a week and now I have nearly completely ridded my face of the dry flakiness.

- It comes with two brush heads. Sensitive. Normal. It has two pulsating options. Gentle. Deep. 
I love options. So having two brush heads and two pulsating options is perfect for me.
I have never washed my face so rigorous before, I use the gentle brush and the gentle option in the morning, the gentle brush and deep option after work when I have to ensure all the make-up is taken off my face.
P.S I like the design of the brush because it is smaller then the large brush heads that have saturated the market, it reaches places like sides of the nose so much better!

- It is waterproof. 
So I am a clutz. So being entirely waterproof means I don't have to worry about dropping it in my face washing basin that is filled with water.

- Excellent Battery Life. 
I have heard not-so-positive things about the battery life of the Clarisonic, and also the budget facial cleansers such as Olay, Neutrogena Wave and Proactive all use AA batteries.
I love that I do not have to worry about the Phillip Visapure, I just come home and I clean off all my make up.

- My own face wash works on the Phillips VisaPure. 
So after reading MsBerryStylish's comment, I realised I had forgotten to touch on this point. The Phillips VisaPure has really researched into this market prior to producing the VisaPure because it allows you to use your own favourite face wash with its product.
Could possibly be because Phillips is dominantly a small appliances and electronics company, and thus creating their own face washes to go with the gadget is out of their scope of business.

- Replacement heads are cheap. 
Prior to purchase I did consider the future cots that I may incur from the purchase, this included upkeep costs of repurchasing replacement brush heads.
The Phillips brush heads don't go past AUD$20 a pop, quite good considering the brush will only hygienically last for maximum of three months!








xoxo
Penn

For those of you who know me, the Pimples vs Penny saga has gone on for more then a decade.
I thought I had won after high school before uni and my complexion was amazing and skin was clear.
However unfortunately I am here to tell everyone the war is not over!

So I stopped eating healthy as often as I should, stressed from work I stopped sleeping at appropriate times and I got lazy with my routine because my skin was ok! But this time, the pimples have surfaced on my untainted cheeks! *cry* I personally think pimples on the cheeks are so much worse then on the forehead because skin on the cheek and around the eyes are more delicate, and its also more obvious.
If you look at my last posts, I had a pimple just near my eye and it was so obvious and annoying and could not be covered.

So here is my battle plan!

Strike 01 - Drink Massive Amounts Water.
When I say massive, I mean lots and lots and lots and lots... you get the idea!
I believe water flushes out toxins in your system, and keeps you looking hydrated. At least there wont be dry flaky skin peeling off the face.
So what I do now is wake up and drink a full mug of warm water prior to getting dressed and doing my skin routine.
Then during the day, everyday, I haul around my massive glass 800ml VOSS water bottle. Purchased from speciality grocer Thomas Dux at The Glen for approx. AUD $6.
side note; i dislike plastic bottles because sometimes if you have left it out in warmer weather, there is an unpleasant "plastic" taste in the water. Might just be me.

• My Choice of Weapon; 

VOSS. glass 800ml water - AUD $6



Strike 02 - Clean Hands. Clean PillowCase. Clean Hair. Clean MakeUp Brushes.  
This is a matter of behaviour and control.
I love putting my hands on my face to hold up my head. And I liked to touch pimples just to see how pimply I was (stupid - but everyone does it). And my hair use to fall on my face.
But that all has to stop. Because your hands, your hair may have touched a million dirty things prior to making contact with your face.
So I try not to touch my face at all now and keep my hair out of my face for everyday wear and on night outs I might have a side fringe where the hair may possibly touch my face.
I also clean my brushes and pillow cases periodically. I never realised how often I was putting not-quite-clean-but-not-dirty things against my face.
End note - Clean Everything that comes in contact with your face.

• My Choice of Weapon; 

Crabtree & Evelyn. Rosewater Antibacterial Hand Gel 250ml - AUD$250 [I purchased this on sale for AUD$5 - tip is to go on boxing day! ]
Daiso. Brush & Sponge Cleaner - AUD$2.80




Strike 03 - Remove MakeUp Religiously. 
I used to have very tiring days at work where I often came home for dinner at 8pm? 9pm? and I just wanted to eat, and plop on the sofa and sleep till the next sunrise.
But research has shown that your pores secrete sebum which moisturises and protect skin by removing dead skin and irritants. However, with make up on, pores clog and sebum can cause acne. Not letting skin breathe also causes your skin to age at an increased speed!
There was one time where I came home at 5am and I just fell on the bed and I slept for about half and hour and woke up from a nightmare about getting horrible pimples and I pulled myself together and went to wash my face. I love my Skin Conscience.

• My Choice of Weapon;

Strike 05 - Spot On. 
Sometimes sore pimples and scars need that little bit of attention. For ages I used antibacterial eye ointments prescribed by my doctor from my eye infection, that I left in the fridge and dot it on my pimples. Ok Ok, I am not recommending old eye ointments, but it worked! I am guessing because has antibacterial properties, and also because it created the barrier.
So for everyday going to work no-one-is-really-looking-at-me look, I put no my Moisturiser, my Vichy Spot cream for a protective layer over my pimples so it doesn't come in contact with dirt, and then my BB Cream.




Strike 06 - Mask It. 
I love face masks. It hydrates and sometimes its the quick fix that you need before a night out.
When me and le bf went to Korea, we purchased around 60 pieces of facial masks from Lotte World Etude House! Little bit cray cray.
However recently I have taken a preference to tubs of gel masks. I would recommend ones that are not too harsh and does not make your skin sting on application. A stinging sensation probably means your skin is too sensitive for the product. Leave it for another try or swatch a bit of your face. If not, then you and that mask were not meant to be. Pass it onto your gfs, maybe it is the perfect mask for them!
I find that frequent uses of not too harsh gel masks can minimise white and black heads on the face, the strips of blackhead removers we all use to use as kids, is a harsh and very immediate way of removing the blackhead, however it leaves your pores exposed and enlarged. Which means, more dirt will go in and the process starts again.
Now, what I require from masks are a little bit different, I don't mind small results each time, where over time it will have an overall improvement.






The Saga continues! Will give an update on how the battle is going in a month or so!

I want to consider purchasing a face wash machine, either Phillips or Clarisonic. Does anyone have any particular recommendations?

xoxo
Pebble