Beauty Road Test: The Beauty Chef and More

 

I just got this one in before the end of March! One more Beauty review post, following on from my story on dry body brushing last week. I really have been trying a lot of new products over the past month to six weeks, here are some of the skin and hair care products. I am still aiming to be as natural as possible in my skin care, but find hair products a little trickier to manage. See more about that below. 

Mother Earth Aromatherapy Rehydration Facial Scrub

I picked this little jar up from a health food store in the Claremont Quarter a few months back when I noticed a huge gap in my skincare routine. I'd moved over and thought I would buy a facial scrub later. I looked at a bunch of natural brands, and wanted to try something inexpensive and locally made. This one by Mother Earth Aromatherapy also smelled the best. Made in Fremantle, the brand is described as being truly natural, made with the highest quality natural organic ingredients (no parabens or bad chemicals), love and care. I would say that a little goes a long way, so I will be using this jar for some time, and have found it to leave my skin smooth but hydrated and smelling of natural oils. It is specifically developed with dry and mature skin in mind- which doesn't really fit my profile, however it is a beautiful product to use. With daily scrubbing, the skin can retain more moisture, being up to 25% more effective. That's got to be good. 

The Beauty Chef Glow Inner Beauty Powder

I came across this powder in a health mag at first, then began to notice it pop up on Harper and Harley's Instagram, in Harper's Bazaar etc. Reading the story and philosophy behind The Beauty Chef founder Carla Oates, (find more here) I decided to give her Glow Powder a try. I have had it for a few months now and add it daily to my muesli, energy balls or smoothies. It is made up of twenty three skin loving super foods designed to assist with radiant skin. It tastes like Acai berries, is rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and amino acids. The unique natural fermentation process breaks down foods making them ready for the body to absorb allowing probiotics which colonise the gut and promote a heap of health benefits. It also contains prebiotics which encourage the growth of good bacteria. So basically the powder helps to create healthy skin from the inside out. There are no preservatives, colourings or flavourings, so it looks like a yellowish green colour, and tastes great.  

At $59.95 per 150g it seems like a bit to spend on 'powder' if you think of it that way, but, if you are anything like me and have bought a ton of different super food powders, minerals and supplements before individually, you will no doubt know how much these can add up to. By combining this formula in one, I can guarantee that I get a healthy dose of excellent vitamins, minerals etc in one easy container, without having to buy, store and open a bunch of different products. I prioritise looking after my skin, and would like to hope that the evidence is obvious. I love this product and highly recommend it to anyone who choses to look after their health and skin. 

Dr Browner's Magic All-One! Organic Lotion

Well, with a name like that, and packaging resembling something of a 90's hippy dream, it would be easy to overlook this item on the shelf. Needing a good natural body lotion, I really asked the lady at the health food store to recommend a few options. I absolutely go mad for lavender and coconut, so ended up choosing this one. The packaging and name may seem OTT but the product is great. I found this one in a health food store, so keep an eye out, or else find it here.

Peaches and Clean Fragrance Oil

Mario and I kept seeing the Peaches and Clean products around, and I was drawn to this natural oil fragrance so strongly I just had to get it. With a purse size roll on glass bottle, I can take it with me to touch up and feel fresh through out the day or night, and as it is entirely natural, made up of lavender oil, it is beautiful on the skin. From the same brand (also made in Fremantle) I bought Mario a bottle of the Beard Oil, which has worked wonders in keeping his beard soft and tameable between visits to his 'beard trimming guy'. So sophisticated! 

Burt's Bees Acai Rejuvenating Lip Balm

Full of all the good stuff, this Acai berry balm is good enough to eat, and actually hydrates the lips unlike the majority of unnatural lip gloss products which dry out the delicate lip skin. 

Kevin Murphy Shimmer Shine

While visiting Me. Style salon a couple of weeks back I mentioned not liking hairspray and needing a sea salt style spray to hold my wavy hairstyles. This Kevin Murphy spray was recommended as the right product to retain some of the styling shape- without that coated in sticky, dry spray feeling, and contains a shimmery powder which picks up light. Now, it isn't a 100% natural product, but as I said, finding GOOD natural hair products seem to be harder than finding natural skincare, so I am adopting a bit of a mixed bag in my beauty kit. Kevin Murphy products do not contain parabens or sulphates and use renewable and sustainable resources where ever possible. The Shimmer Shine Spray contains Baobab seed extracts (from the African Boabab tree, which contain vitamins A, D and E), bamboo extracts (which prevent irritation, and damage to the cell structure), essential fatty acids, vitamins A, C and E as well as Immortelle (derived from the Helichcrysum plant, rich in antioxidants to stop sun damage to the hair). It is a non-oily formula, I like the hold it gives my hair, and the shimmery part is pretty cool too. Overall, this is a lot better than using hair spray for me, and is less strongly scented and heavy with chemicals than that of some other sea salt sprays I have tried in the past. 

That is it for March, and I still did not get to my cosmetic products photographed, and ready to share! Stay tuned, and by all means, please share any other beauty or hair care finds in the comments below. 

xx Jenelle 

Hair Essentials

Left to Right: 

Kérastase Nutritive Bain Satin Shampoo

Kérastase Nutritive Lait Vital Condishioner 

L'Oreal Professionnel Tecni.art Play Ball Beach Fizz

GHD Hair Straightener

Organic Coconut Oil 

Hair care and styling for me is pretty minimal. I love long hair which is slightly unkept, a touch messy, wavy and loosely curled. My hair parts naturally in the centre, and doesn't take to well to accesories. In that I mean that they fall out, clips slide out and litter the floor, unbeknownst to me. 

I am not really one to do much with my hair, nor experiment much further than with shampoo or conditioner. For years I dyed it, probably in rebellion of going to a private school, where I had to be natural and I just wanted to do something different. It has been blonde, red, pink, black, copper, orange, and all sorts of shades between. I realised at one point that being brunette in winter and blonde in summer was expensive and not so healthy. So I finally let it grow out, which led to some nice ballyage for a little while, but as it is now, is 100% natural, virgin hair. I get it cut about once a year- I should go more, but I just don't care to. 

I have tried SO many shampoo and conditioner brands, and find that the Kérastase Nutritive range by L'Oreal Paris is the best for me. As I don't go into a salon very often, I like to ensure that I am using a product that works well for me. Pre-wash I will sometimes massage in coconut oil and leave it for half an hour before washing.

I have never been someone to add volume-root powders, dry shampoo or anything else. As long as it is relatively clean, simple and heat protected it's all good. 

As you can see from the images above, which are the same images I take in to the hairdresser each time to say- "I want this style"it is pretty much a messy wave deal. I tend to let my hair dry naturally, then blow dry a little if needed, add Kérastase Nutritive Nectar Thermique which is a great protection product, then curl using my GHD straightener. Once I have curled it I brush it out to form waves, spray in some sea salt spray, scrunch and go. I top it up with a little bit of hairspray if it looks windy, but I don't mind it dropping out. Once it looks awful I can always chuck it up in a pony tail or bun anyway.

Over a year ago I chopped my hair off into a short crop and hated not being able to put it up in a pony tail. I liked the look, but it suited straightening more and I don't really love having straight hair. It is okay every once in a while, but curls and waves are sexier. Just look at the Victoria Secret girls (I die for that hair styling) big, bouncy, flirty, fun curls are just hotter and more passionate. 

Poker straight hair on me looks unnatural and sometimes dirty. 

When in Perth I visited Head Studio, which is probably one of the coolest places in town. I booked an appointment online (so handy). They led me in to sit in the waiting area, where they offered me a coffee from the amazing smelling barrista coffee bar. I was trying to think of how I wanted it cut, and how to explain "I just want to look like Erin Wasson" when the stylist came to find me. Uh, this woman looked like a copper- headed version of Erin Wasson, and I almost had to say, "Um, I want to have your hair." Awkward! Needless to say I knew I was in safe hands, and the results were just right. She curled and messed up my hair by twisting it as she blow dried- which to me was like some kind of hair-stylist magic. They also stocked all of my L'Oreal products of choice.

Now I am back in Adelaide I have to find some where new to go, so if anyone has suggestions, hit me up! 

For a bit of fun I put together some of my hair hits and misses in a hair-photo diary of sorts...

I still have a Makeup Essentials Blog post for you to come in my Beauty series. 

If you have any hair tips/ tricks to share with me please do! 

Much love, Nell. xx

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