Just Chopped

I get a haircut about once a year at Just Cuts and have always been satisfied with the results.

I cannot say the same for yesterday. I regret not being more specific about what I wanted but I gave a similar description last time and couldn't help almost skipping out of the salon and flicking my hair (similarly to those hair shampoo commercials).

They do have a 7 day guarantee policy where they can fix it within 7 days but I'd rather let it grow out a bit and get a different hairdresser to make it look more like a haircut rather than me going blindly at it with scissors.

I went to my regular mother's group aftewards and was met with, "Oh, you chopped your hair!" which pretty much summed it up. There are different length strands sticking out from everywhere.

My brother described it very accurately with, "You look like a mother".

Budget skincare rants and raves

As you know Zoe I too recently fell victim to age paranoia and purchased the Nivea Q10 Eye cream!

I've been using it regularly and it's been working well. Superficially, anyway. But I did an analysis of the ingredients and found them to be not terribly effective! In case you don't know the higher in the ingredients list something is, the more the product contains.

Ubiquinone - or Q10, the supposed active ingredient - is halfway down, right after tapioca starch and Nylon-12 (whatever that's used for!).

What is most alarming is the silicone content. Cyclomethicone and dimethicone are right up the top. Silicone is used in shampoos and skincare as a film to seal the hair or skin over and prevent moisture evaporation. It's by no means a bad ingredient, but it's only a superficial temporary fix!

Finally, the sunscreen component is negligible. It has an SPF of 4! Why even advertise that? Thankfully the active sunscreen ingredient is Titanium Dioxide, a physical sunscreen rather than chemical absorber, as many commercial products contain. Chemical-based sunscreens have been shown to be far less effective than physical products, and can even deteriorate the skin's resistance to UV rays over time!

As a preventative anti-aging eye cream, this won't do. I am extremely vain. So I'm definitely going to have to upgrade to something with effective ingredients once the income starts coming in again!

On a different note, budget skincare is not all bad.

Of all things, Aldi's face cream range sparked a frenzy when it was released in the UK and is regularly compared to high-end brands such as La Mer and Sisley.

I've only tried the Night Cream version as it seemed to have the highest concentration of active ingredients - ubiquinone or Q10, panthenol which is vitamin B5 and retinol. It's also mineral oil-free! On the downside, it stinks like old lady perfume and is a bit heavy. I mainly use it on my forehead because that seems to have sustained the most sun damage over time.

I bought it for $4.99 about six months ago. I went to Aldi yesterday and it's $8.99! I guess they know they're onto a good thing.

Dearest Eyes,

I'm writing to tell you that I am sorry. You have served me well over the years while I used you excessively, thinking that you could handle anything. Now I realise, you are not getting any younger. While you are still far from being old, you definitely look tired and worn out.

In the last year or so, I have bought some creams to help you look and feel a bit better but they haven't really done much, have they?

I hope you like Nivea Anti-Wrinke Q10Plus Eye Cream. I think it stopped you from getting worse. But what I know makes you really light up is Natio Eye Brightening Cream. Even after a day of stress (e.g.heavy eye make-up/computer/TV), as soon as the smooth cream (and I have never tried a softer one that glides on so easily) is on, you feel and look totally refreshed. If I put it on before bed, when you wake up you look truly reborn.

Once again, I'm sorry for what I've put you through and most likely will in the future. I hope you understand and will do your best to not age too soon for your time.

Lots of love,
Zoe

Flirt Cosmetics Sale Alert

Local Target stores are discontinuing Flirt Cosmetics, an American makeup line that produces budget equivalents to MAC professional products, as well as the American Beauty line - a low-end alternative to Estee Lauder.

Flirt's range of colour cosmetics receives rave reviews over at Makeup Alley so I thought it would be worth checking out with the 50% off and additional buy one get one free promotion. I'm glad I did!


I left with four eyeshadows (original RRP $20 each), two blushes (RRP $24 a piece), a lipstick (RRP $20), three lipglosses (RRP $20), two luminisers (RRP $30) and two eyeliners (RRP $20). So it was $308 worth of stuff for less than $80. Did I need $80 worth of makeup? Probably not, but the savings were top-notch. And after this haul I probably never need to buy makeup ever again!

The eyeshadows, lipsticks and eyeliners are the standouts, in my opinion. The texture of the eyeshadows are soft and they are ultra pigmented - just like MAC's! I hear they are made in the same factory. The lipstick I got - #20 Cool, which is a super fun Barbie pink - is moisturising and long-lasting. And the eyeliners are soft-textured with great colour payoff!

Eyeshadows clockwise from top left: Vibrant Violet (vibrant mid blue-toned purple), Candy Hearts (pearlised pastel grey lilac), Glamourazzi (mid-tone purple with copper reflects), Bo Peep (matte cream with sparkles).

Top: American Beauty All-Over Glow in Pink Glow, Middle L-R: Flirt Lipgloss in Mighty Aphrodite, Flirt Lipstick in Cool, Bottom: 2x American Beauty Fabulous Feel Liquid Lipcolor in Pink Pearl.

Flirt Eyeliner Swatches L-R: Pool Party (pale blue), Sugar Pie (white).

If you're in need of some new makeup then I definitely suggest you check the range out. Just don't overdo it with the frenzied basket filling (...like me).

It's only stocked at selected Targets unfortunately, and for some reason not all are running the promotion! I can vouch that 50% off + BOGOF is definitely at Parramatta and Merrylands in Sydney, however. Bondi and Burwood are only doing 50% off. Happy shopping!