IndieAna- In Search of the HolyGrail

So, how is it nearly Easter????????? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Easter, but it seriously only seems like we just got over Christmas! I have a few empties and 2 products that are not finished, but I am saying goodbye to anyway. Ciencia8 Arestaline8 - Loved it, sad to see it go. It was hydrating, firming and felt so beautiful on the skin. Repurchase? I can't justify spending so much on a product that needs replacing monthly. Wotnot Face Wipes- I bought these from the Catch of the Day bargain website. I thought they were nice to use. Helped to rid makeup, without being rough on my skin. For those into facial wipes, I'm sure you'd love them. Me, I just want something to clean my face without staining my face washer, I'm not really particular on the brand. Repurchase? When on sale, most likely. Can't say I'd go out of my way to buy these in particular. Skinn by Dimitri BioCell Hydrofusion Masque - This was quite a thick gel mask, but was easy to...

I really like the idea of sheet masks, but for some reason, I just rarely get around to using them. Well, I decided to leave them near my bed, so that I can apply while I relax and read a book, or watch tv, or whatever. That was months ago. I finally grabbed a sheet mask, after I come across it when I was actually reaching for something else. Not a full face one, but Mirenesse Power Lift Superstar Eye Sheet Mask. Taken from the Mirenesse website " Expiry date for wrinkles (I love that!). A rejuvenating transdermal hydrogel eye sheet mask. Intensively treats signs of ageing. Helps reduce the appearance of puffiness, dark circles, discolouration and fine lines. Recommended for all skin types."  The eye masks come in a foil packet, I just love the classy Mirenesse packaging.  A single use eye mask duo, contoured to fit nicely under the eye area.  I couldn't not do a sheet mask selfie! :) Although the sheets contain beautiful ingredients for thi...

Agent Provocateur is a sample that I had purchased via My Perfume Samples . I'd put off using it for some time. Being a fave among many, I wanted to save it until I had used some of the other samples.  Description " The composition starts strong and sharp with a spicy note of saffron. Warm floral notes of magnolia, Indian jasmine, and gardenia blend together with strong woodsy-chypre scent. There is very animalistic amber and musk notes in the base ." My skin amps up the amber and musk in this perfume. I detect a spicy floral, but I find it gets a little lost in the powdery scent. It's like a powder, dare I say that grandma would wear.  I do, however, like the scent left on my clothes. Yes, powdery, but more of the soft floral, it's quite pleasant. I must say that this perfume was nothing like I thought it would be, I'm so glad that I bought a sample. No full sized purchase of Agent Provocatuer, I find it nice, but I want more from a perfume than ...

If you read my blog, you'd know that body products don't often get much love from me, they're a necessity, not one of my obsessions. When the lovely Kiley contacted me about her product, I said yes because I love to support indie companies.  Description taken from the website - " Our scrubs contain coconut oil, essential oils or fragrance oils and of course, sugar. Sugar crystals are small and don't have the same abrasiveness that salt or sand have. Coconut oil contains high levels of vitamin E, and is easily absorbed by the skin, leaving you feeling great, not greasy."  I received the mini scrub in Lemon Cheesecake, complete with essential lemon oil. The consistency is a lot drier than my experience with other body scrubs, albeit limited. The mini scrubs come in small glass jars. I love the handwritten tag, a nice touch and I think it's cute. The first thing I did was take the lid off and have a sniff. Oh yes, tart yummy cheessecake,...

My daily browse through Instagram brought the #WearYellowFor Seth campaign to my attention. Seth Lane is a 5 year old boy who suffers from SCID or Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease, also dubbed the "bubble boy disease". It is a genetic disease that arises when the body is born without the very important T-cells, the white blood cells that "communicate" with other immune cells when the person is sick. So you can imagine how terrible and dangerous it would be to live without an immune system. The disease is thankfully very rare, but there needs to be more awareness, because there is now a blood test available that can detect SCID, and if caught in time, is totally curable. Great news, but so sad for little Seth. Yellow is a colour said to signify a strong immune system, and is also now Seth's favourite colour. In the wake of this brave little boy's second bone marrow transplant, his mum was hoping for support from family and friends. Little did sh...

A super easy way to turn a nail look into something special is by using water decals. The hardest part of application would be placement, but I much prefer the finished look to using stickers. My personal experience with stickers is that even when I use a top coat, they tend to lift from the nail, so frustrating! I wanted a pink nude base for the white floral designs of the decals. OPI "Dancing in the Isles" seemed like the perfect choice. Once the 2 coats of nail polish had dried, with tweezers I held each design (cut out with scissors earlier) in a jar of water for 20 or so seconds, then placed on the desired area of the nail. I find gently moving the backing with my finger, slides it off, with the design left in place. I so hope this makes sense. The decals I bought from eBay do have instructions. I finished the look with Essie "Pure Pearlfection". This gorgeous top coat gives a beautiful shimmer to any nail look. Have you tried water decals be...

Although I don't get excited about body products, I still like to moisturise my body. Generally I will just use Coconut Oil, but I find it a little too heavy in Summer,  I did consider repurchasing Nivea In-Shower Moisturising body wash, which I loved, but just hate the packaging. Maybe I'm too clumsy, but every bottle I have had, I have dropped and eventually broken the flip top lid, which is a problem for a product designed to use in the shower. Another product that sounded almost as easy to use is the Vaseline Intensive Care Spray Moisturiser. I bought the Cocoa Glow version. Formulated to moisturise, yet absorb quickly into the skin, this spray can be used all over the body. With the promise to not leave any greasy residue, it's perfect for use after a shower, as you don't need to wait long to dress. The spray comes in a decent 190g sized metal bottle. I really like the clever top. Simply twist to reveal the spray nozzle. I will start by ...

Sally Hansen Satin Glam nail polish gives a matte finish that is slightly textured. It's easy to apply and is not streaky on the nail. Unfortunately on my nails, it's not very long-lasting. It doesn't chip so much, as just wear away from the tips. This starts happening to me within the first day of application.  I can forgive the lack of lasting power, just look at the gorgeous colour that "Taffeta" is! The nail polish seems to bind quite well, so that I can touch up the edges with a swipe across my tip with a tiny amount of polish on the brush. In fact, that's what I had to do to my nails for the photo above. I hope you are having a fabulous Sunday! :)

Description- " It's opening notes include apricot, Italian bergamot, and iced basil sorbet. The main note of the perfume is, of course, orchid, which is mixed with freesia and Sambac jasmine flowers. The base is made up of autumn woods, cashmere, musk and vetiver ." Oh yum, upon first spray of Beyonce "Rise", the perfume bursts with sweet, golden apricot and tangy herbs, what a delicious blend.  Upon drydown, hello beautiful creamy florals, my favourite kind. The musk and woods ground this perfume. Beautifully rich, yet powders down making the fragrance like a warm hug. Very close to the skin and cozy, but there's an aura of elegance. Like wearing a warm jumper, that is so soft, yet luxurious. I don't get very good longevity with this perfume, becoming very close to the skin within an hour, but I do get gentle wafts from time to time for maybe 2 more hours, which is still not long lasting. However, I am contemplating a full size, and sprayin...

Geek Chic Cosmetics  has been on my indie wishlist for so long. Because of my abundance of loose eye shadows, I had put myself on a spending ban, especially with eye shadows. Check out my mineral eye shadow collection , you'll understand why, lol. On a buying frenzy close to Christmas, I caved and added 4 more eye shadows to my collection. I thought I did pretty well at stopping at such a small number.  Typical of loose shadows, these come in a jar. The sifter is a handy addition.   Deadliest Woman in the Universe - From the "Awesome Mix Collection" this is a matte green with red duo chrome. The Destroyer - Also from the "Awesome Mix Collection" this shade is an electric blue with red shift.   N7 - From the "N7 Collection" this shade is bright red with silver shimmer . Bigger on the Inside - From the "Timey Wimey Collection" this colour is a blue base with golden shimmer". Here's 2 looks that I cre...

Since I have been incorporating some treatments from Skinn into my skin care routine, I have found myself using a mask a lot more often than I ever have. In fact, I have 3 masks, using them 3 times each per week. One being Biocell Hydrofusion Masque. Taken from the TVSN website " Reveal a more supple, soothed, balanced and lifted complexion with the highly concentrated, supercharged mask. Infused with optimal amounts of essential minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, plant extracts and soothing agents to replenish depleted moisture levels and restore skin to a more youthful state. This multi-therapy treatment helps to reduce the look of wrinkles with a unique complex that positively impacts the skin barrier function and helps to nourish and plump dull and moisture deprived skin. Dehydrated skin is actively replenished and enriched for a more radiant complexion." Simple 58ml tube. No mess, no fuss! A flip top lid covers the dispensing hole. Jelly like gel co...

Obviously when it comes to St Patrick's Day the colour green comes to mind. So, I thought I would play with some green nail polishes to create a nail look. I began with a white nail polish base, using Models Inc."White". Then with 3 different shades of green and a dotting tool, I created a fun dotticure. Well, the Irish are a known to be a little"dotty", right? Kidding, of course!  Beginning with a darker to lighter green, I used Australis Nail Colour "Endless Star", Ulta3 "Jelly" and LA Colors Color Craze "Mint". For some sparkle I applied 2 coats of Kleancolor Nail Lacquer, which I bought in a set, and doesn't happen to have a label with name. I don't actually celebrate St Patrick's Day, but I do love an excuse to create a theme based nail. Thanks for reading! :)

Yes, I'll admit it, I bought Ciate nail polishes mostly because the bottles are so pretty. The shade I am showing you today is actually a colour that I did not have in my collection, so that makes up for it, right?  "Fly With Me" is such a pretty teal. What is not showing up in the photo is the subtle pink shimmer shift. What was the last beauty item that you bought because it looked good?

I have many Possets perfumes that I love. There's quite a few that I still want to try, but really need you get through the samples that I already own. Today I have Silver Carnations for review.    Description -" ...stays true from the first moment until the last. The "silver" part that you love combined with the spice and carnation that you wanted".  Although, there is the cool element of silver, being a carnation blend brings the creamy, spicy, almost cinnamon note. Part warmth, with a cool edge, they should be at odds, but It's quite the opposite.  The blend is so smooth, with the slightest of food edge. It reminds me a little of chai tea. Except this fragrance emanates such a feminine touch. Such a delight to wear thanks to its uniqueness. 

When it comes to eye shadows, I have a weakness for metallic shades. So, when indie online seller, Makeup Geek released the new collection "Foiled" , I was on it! I was so excited that I went to the store with the intention of ordering the set. I was a little disappointed that there were none left of the complete collection, but went ahead and ordered some singles.  Surprisingly, I only bought 3, I think after I got over the initial excitement, I decided that I only needed to try a couple to satisfy my craving.    Jester - " Bright mossy green with slight gold undertones"   Flame Thrower - "Warm copper" Grandstand- "Neutral with a rose gold hue" Oh, these eye shadows are just so pretty! That metallic goodness........... Here's what I created using the trio. Now, I must stay away from the Makeup Geek website so I don't buy anymore! :)