Review: Hilfiger Woman Peach Blossom

After the successful Launch of Hilfiger Woman two years ago, Hilfiger Woman Peach Blossom is the first flanker to see the light. It's as All-American-Preppy as Tommy Hilfiger can be, and if you're a fan of fresh, fruity, florals you're sure to like this one. The concept: a lush and chic floriental to represent the ultimate expression of romance, combined with an element of playful intrigue. It's sparkling and charming, innocent with a provocative wink.

Oh So Preppy - Hilfiger Peach Blossom

Notes-wise, Peach Blossom opens with Bergamot, White Peach and Cassis. The heart is made up of Purple Iris, Mimosa and Vanilla, and the Dry down creates warmth with Musk, Tonka Bean and Smoked Coconut.

I love the Peach, Bergamot and slight floral notes I can identify - it's light, feminine and fresh - I'm just not crazy about the Coconut dry down - it's not an OTT suntan lotion coconut at all, but Coconut seems to be one of those scents that people either love or hate, and I've never loved it. In my opinion, it comes within a hair width of cheapening the whole fragrance. It's luckily not prominent enough to put me off the scent, and I'm using this one on sunny days - it would be a perfect spring fragrance, and I'm looking forward to using it more often then.

Hilfiger Peach Blossom is available from Edgars and Red Square stores at R390 for 30ml and R585 for 50ml EDP.

C xx

Get the Look - Eva Longoria

Ever wondered how to go about recreating the most glamorous of the Desperate Housewives' look? See how I would do it on Beauty South Africa over here.

Not-so-desperate Housewife Eva Longoria

C xx

Want to spend some time with Connie Ferguson on 'The Wild' set?

Connie is the brand ambassador for the Garnier Even range, and if you share your best even skin tone secret with her, she'll share a few of her tricks with you. The winner will get to spend a day on set with Connie, where I'm sure there will be plenty of time to milk her for secrets.

Even Complexion Secrets, who me?
Connie Ferguson for Garnier

I don't have the ultimate secret to even skin, but the best one I have to contribute would most certainly be applying sunscreen come rain or shine. Not only do I apply sunscreen, I go to ridiculous extremes to avoid direct sunlight on my face and arms, because I spontaneously burst into sunspots whenever I spend just a few minutes in the sun(think: a drive with the window down, a walk down the road, accidentally sitting in the sun when we're having lunch outdoors, etc).

Competition closes 31 August. For details, visit this website.

C xx

Review: Perfume Calligraphy by Aramis

Perfumy Calligraphy is the latest fragrance offering from the house of Aramis. It has some very interesting elements to it - it's unisex, for one. The packaging is very rather simple and masculine - very Eastern-sheikh-like (it reminded me of the most interesting job interview I had ever been to - the position was advertised as 'Sales Rep - Pharmacy product line', but what it actually was, was 'Sit on tiny Palestinian man's lap, and occasionally market Sexual Enhancement supplements with unpronounceable names to dodge pharmacists, who would probably also prefer you do so while sitting on their laps').

I've had this scent for a good month now, and my feelings about it has changed so often that you might have mistaken me for a chameleon on a Smartie box. I like it, I don't like it. It smells masculine, it smells feminine. To give you an idea - at a braai, I assaulted two female and 4 male friends with a couple of spritzes each. The girls both said it smelt like an older man fragrance, and the boys all said it smelt like older woman. They were all around thirty-ish, which makes them not the target market - but I found it interesting that nobody could pinpoint the scent (I didn't tell them it was unisex).

Perfume Calligraphy by Aramis

This is the typical dark oriental scent my mom would kill for, and I'm holding it hostage so that she has no choice but to come visit me in December. If not on a 40+ woman that likes a strong oriental scent, I imagine this fragrance combined with a grey-haired man in a brown leather jacket, that rides a BMW cruiser bike when he's not the CEO of his successful import business. Or something.

The Name:
Much like Perfumery, the art of Calligraphy dates back thousands of years, and is known as the most highly regarded element of Islamic art. Perfume Calligraphy reflects the pairing of two ancient crafts, where Arabic script and modern fragrance come together.


The Fragrance:
The unisex scent opens with notes of Cardamom, Lemon and Cinnamon, has a heart of Myrrh, Golden Saffron flowers and Rose Absolute, with base notes of Patchouli, heated Ambers and Musk.


Perfume Calligraphy by Aramis will be available at Edgars stores from 23 July, RRP R1150 for 100ml EDP.


C xx


PS - Captain Courage, my feline friend, LOVES this one. She rubs up against the bottle, licks it off pulse points, and tries to nap close to it whenever possible. Maybe they omitted the inclusion of Catnip extract 'cos it didn't sound as fancy as Myrrh?

Review: Estee Lauder Revitalising Supreme Global Anti Ageing Creme

Yup, I'm using products that are labelled as Anti Ageing Creams. Newsflash: If you're over 25, you should probably be doing so too. But I'll save that speech for another day.

This cream is marketed as a multi purpose anti ageing product, and is intended to address not only hydration and nourishment, but also lines and wrinkles and lack of radiance and vitality. I've copied a section of the press release, so that I can give you an idea what claims I was testing it against:

Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme
Global Anti Ageing Creme

As skin ages, it begins to feel dry, losing its youthful radiance, and its needs are constantly changing.  By reactivating skin’s natural ability to look younger, REVITALIZING SUPREME GLOBAL ANTI-AGING CREME anticipates and responds to skin’s changing needs, delivering advanced science, nutrients and moisture deep within skin’s surface to help delay the look of signs of aging. With 10 patents worldwide, this supremely lightweight, high-performance, multi-action creme features Estée Lauder’s new, breakthrough IntuiGen Technology™to beautifully revitalize the look of skin. Derived from nature, this powerful technology helps revitalize skin from within, addressing multiple visible signs of aging by supporting skin’s natural activation of Nrf2, a “master switch” that turns on multiple anti-aging pathways within the skin.  The breakthrough formula also features an advanced SIRT-1 Technology to help rejuvenatethe look of skin by providing cells with more time to carry out their natural restorative functions. Additionally, a powerful Barrier-Building Complex, potent anti-irritants and anti-oxidantsnourish skin with replenishing moisture and nutrients to help skin resist the signs of ageing.


The test: Two of the most stressful weeks of my life. Including (but not limited to): Deciding to move to Gauteng, quitting my day job, assisting with finding a replacement for my day job, taking a four day trip to Gauteng to do house hunting, coming back without having found a house, etc. 

Here's what I found:
Hydration and Nourishment: My nose and lips were seriously suffering with the dry Gauteng climate, but my skin was absolutely fine. It was comfortably hydrated and nourished throughout, without a hint of tightness or flaking, which often occurs in winter. I also have horrible dehydration lines/expression lines on my forehead that become visible as soon as my skin is under nourished/neglected - I watched them get less prevalent day by day.
Revitalizing and Rejuvenation: Through late flights, followed by late nights in smoke-filled pubs, early mornings and heavily stressed individuals driving in areas they do not know at all, my skin looked plump and clear throughout. I should also point out that I have not developed any blockages or congestion, even though the texture is deliciously rich (Yay! Am I a grown-up now?).
Barrier-building, Anti-irritants, Anti-Oxidants: Tick, tick and tick - No irritation whatsoever.


They go on to talk about amazing technology that offers both short and long term benefits on expression lines and sagging, but (a) I fortunately don't have many lines yet and (b) I do not have the lab equipment to measure such results. Texture-wise, I found it slightly odd at first - as in not so spreadable. I realised it works best if you warm it between your palms for a few seconds, and then apply. It sinks in without leaving a greasy film, yet you can still feel there's something that's preventing discomfort. Overall verdict: A winner in my book. 


Key Ingredients:
Sunflower and Barley extracts: Improves skin's moisture retaining ability
Vit E and Caffeine to soothe inflammation
Black Bamboo (Intuigen Technology) extract to help cells boost age resisting functions


Available at R540 for 30ml and R725 for 50ml


C xx

Are These Leopard Print Nails Too Ghetto?

I'm a fan of nail wraps/nail polish strips in general. Of the Sally Hansen ones, I particularly like the Zebra (another animal print, yes) and Houndstooth designs. And quite a few people seem to like these, but I think this particular leopard print is way too ghetto for me. Can we discuss this?

Ghetto Nails?
Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips in Kitty, Kitty.

Does my thumb look big in this?
Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips in Kitty, Kitty.

Yes? No? Need Proof? Do a Google image search for 'Ghetto Nails'. The second image you'll see is this one:

Ghetto Animal Print Nails (source)

And then you don't have to scroll down far to see this:

Ghetto Fabulous Nails (source)

What I want to know from my fashion forward readers: Does the fact that it's a more subtle leopard print make any difference to its ghetto rating? Now is probably a good time to say that it's ever so slightly shinier than it looks in the pic. Ghetto ratings out of 5 and comments are now welcome. 

C xx

PS - I just heard that the Sally Hansen nail polish strips was a promotional line, and will no longer be available in SA. Pout Pout. I also may have heard that they're launching a new line with a celeb in September. I shall keep you posted.

PPS - There are MUCH scarier things to be seen when image searching ghetto nails, but I succeeded (for once) not to veer off topic.

Review: Decleor Aroma Cleanse Cleansing Water for Face and Eyes

I normally can't be bothered to use an eye makeup remover - I either wash my face in the shower or sleep with my makeup use cleansing wipes. And I've mentioned before that I don't get how all that rubbing and pulling can be good for one's eye area...

Decleor Aroma Cleanse Cleansing Water for Face and Eyes

But if there's one product that makes makeup removal less of a pain, it's this one. It's a thick-ish, gel-like liquid that glides on very smoothly, and if you soak cotton disks and let it sit on your eyes for half a minute, mascara and everything that goes along with it will slide off without hassle. It's good for you too - it contains essential oils of Lavender, Neroli, Chamomile and Marjoram and floral waters of Rose, Sweet Clover and Mallow.

RRP R285 for 250ml.

C xx

PS - As the name suggests, its not just for the eyes, you can cleanse your whole face with it.