Monthly Archives: June 2012
Argan treasure
From the Middle East, I bring you: the awesome, the unbelievable, the wondrous, the extremely hyped: ARGAN OIL!
Naturelle d’orient: Argan Oil
What is it and what does it do?
Argan oil is obtained from the nut of the Argan tree unique to Morocco. It’s known to live up to 450 years and adapt perfectly to extreme drought. There used to be numerous trees, but the past 100 years that number got divided by 2 and now they’re endangered and protected by UNESCO.
Buying argan oil from a respectable source is fine. If it is extracted with respect, it does not harm the tree.
The nutritional value is – wait for it..! – pretty much the same as olive oil’s. However pure argan oil is a lot more expensive because it’s harder to process. One liter of argan oil takes around 12 – 20 hours of hand processing.
It contains
- Myristic acid (will make the oil absorb very well)
- Oleic acid (insect pheromone, haha. And helps anti-inflammatory agents penetrate the cell membrane)
- Alpha linolenic acid (anti-aging)
- Palmitic acid (reinforce skin’s barrier function)
- Stearidonic acid (anti-inflammatory)
- Vitamin E (promotes healing and strong antioxidant)
- Carotenes (protect from UV)
All of these ingredients make the oil an anti-inflammatory moisturiser, and it apparently helps to prevent skin cancer as well (so they say, don’t know how much I believe of that, but you can decide that for yourself).
Why would you buy argan oil if you have olive oil?
Three reasons! The first for me, is that it doesn’t smell. I can’t stand olive oil in my hair or on my face.. The second is that it absorbs into the skin way more easily. And the third one, is that it doesn’t feel heavy on the hair/face. It feels very light, doesn’t weigh your hair down.
Warning
Watch out for scams when buying this, check the ingredients on the packaging.
The 100% pure form can be used in food, but the version we can buy here often contains ingredients that should not be swallowed. There may be other ingredients in there which are good for your skin, but then be aware of the fact that you shouldn’t ingest it.
Morrocans will know the oil very well, they will know how it looks, smells etc.
But companies often try to trick us foreigners into believing we’re buying pure agran oil by putting it on the packaging in big bold letters. Then when you check the ingredients, argan oil may just be a small ingredient.
I am speaking out of experience, yes. The product you see above is not pure argan oil, because you cannot ingest it. Even though they told me to get this one in the store (because it was a little more expensive but it would be worth it since it was pure. -_-’) after a bit of research I found out that it is not.
Which is fine, there’s no junk in there, the mix was specifically designed for use on hair and skin. But still, if I’d have the choice, i’d go for the all natural version.
Soo what do I do with it exactly?
- daily moisturizer, you can apply it right after you shower
- massage oil: as opposed to commercial oils, this will actually moisturise your skin
- get rid of any inflammation on your skin (Acne, Chickenpox, Psoriasis)
- finishing oil for your hair: use sparingly, or you’ll look like a greaseball
- conditioning mask for your hair: massage it on your scalp and let it work its way in there, it will temporarily “fix” split ends
- use as ingredient for face masks
- rub it onto cuticles to strengthen nails
- medical advantages: has been known to soothe pain in case of Arthritis and Rheuma, good source of fatty acids
The verdict
It retails for around $40–50 for 500 ml. Which is a pretty steep price, compared to other oils. But then again think about how much pay for a general hair shine serum (that often doesn’t even have nourishing properties, it just adds shine).
All grudges put aside, I may have payed too much for my “pure argan oil”, but it does really work well for me. I mainly use it as a hair mask when my hair needs a quick fixer upper. I’ll work it into my ends, rinse it out right before I leave and blow-dry my hair.
For use as a moisturizer, this will probably do the trick on dry skin. However if you have oily skin like me an oil-free moisturiser will probably be better.
So what do you think?
Essence I love stage
Yes yes, UD is no longer available to cruelty free shoppers. But enough crying, there are plenty of alternatives out there!
I used to be a giant fan of the Primer Potion, as was everyone else AND their hamster. Seeing as you can even whip up a primer yourself though, it can’t be that hard to create an amazing primer for other renowned brands either.
What a primer does:
it forms a barrier between your skin and whatever you put on top. It evens out your skin, and catches the natural oils in it, to make sure they don’t creep into your make-up and mess it up. There are face primers, eye primers, even lip and eyelash primers..
They come in translucent versions, as well as colored ones. The colored ones will make whatever you put on top POP even more!
And so my quest begins! Looking for the best primer, that will have my eyes intact for when I wake up in a hundred years because of a prince! Or the alarm clock!
I’ll start off with very accessible drugstore ones, and work my way up to the highstreet to compare. Who knows, these might even be better.
First in line, the Essence: I love stage eyeshadow base.
Left: one swipe, full form
Right: sheered out a little
This primer used to be limited edition, but because it got hyped, they decided to bring it into the permanent line.
Packaging
A small, sturdy tube perfect for traveling, with a doe-foot applicator. Works perfectly, nothing to complain about there! 
Colors & pigmentation
This primer is only available in one color for the time being, a light skin tone, which dissapointed me. For such a large company you’d think they come up with more colors than just the one.
The swatch above was taken on my inner arm, which is the lightest part of my body. As you can see this might not work for you if you are super duper fair. Fair/dark skinned people out there, this color will work just fine.
As a general guideline, to make colors pop, you’ll want your eye primer to be a lighter color as your skin itself.
(unless you want to go smokey..)
A second disadvantage to pay attention to regarding color, is that it’s completely yellow-toned. If you have pink skin, this will look very out of place.
All this taken into consideration, IF it matches your skin tone, its pigmentation is lovely. It will cover up any veins or discoloration you may have to make sure whatever color you put on top shows up in its true form.
Texture
Like a liquid concealer, very creamy and blends into the skin perfectly. You have some time to work with it as it takes a while to dry. Be sure to set it with powder after you’re done applying. Since it takes a while to dry, it will definitely sit in your crease if it’s not dry yet.
Staying power & quality
This primer needs some time to dry, about 20 secs, so apply a thin layer. Once it’s all dried up, your shadow should stay intact for a good 4 hours in humid weather. In the winter it’s a full 8 for me. (my eyelids are oily)
As far as the price goes, this is a nice primer. However, if you apply it heavily it doesn’t stay put at all so be light-handed with this one.
The verdict
It’s available in drugstores around Europe for 2.49 euros, so it’s more than worth its money. But not the primer you’re looking for to keep you going all day and night, it’s too slippery for that.
This bandwagon’d better be comfortable!
I noticed a lot of people making a Facbook-page for their blog, and thought it was such a good idea! That way we can share interesting little finds without having to compose an entire post about it!
Keeps the blog clutter-free right?
Come like my page if you like the master plan! Haha
Another bandwagon i’ll be checking out soon, is Instagram.
It kind of looks like a digital photo album to me! Anyone out there that likes using it? Or that thinks I should stay away? LOL
The poet’s darling
Maaan i’ve been so busy with furniture thrifting/shopping/moving the past couple of days. It’s a fun kind of busy though!
However I took a little pitstop on the interwebs, and came across resin rings. Do you feel the nostalgia creeping in right now?
In the 90s I remember they put anything in resin to wear on your body, it was amazing! I loved it!
My favorites were the real flowers in resin. I’d stare at them for hours in class.
Here’s my 10 favs!
MoonTideArt: Floral cocktail ring $10
This next concept is pretty cool, you pay for a random piece of resin flower jewelry, so you’re always surprised!
Botanical creations: Mystery $22.09
Shpangle: Custom flower pendant, custom price
Hanamiusa: Nobile orchid necklace $55
Luck, anyone?
Craft4me: Pendant with real flower, price inquiry
This next rose one is so fragile.. amazing
Swaggerunique: Rosebud teardrop silver £19.99
Sisicata, Small moss pendant $44
Sisicata, Fluffy dandelion pendant $120
And then the winners HAD to be these:
Paisley Petals: Fresh flower rings $15-$25
Colleen Jordan: Wearable planter no. 2 $32
Fresh, living flowers on your hand and neck!! It just doesn’t get better than that! <3
Patience, dear!
Have you heard of Wishwall and Lockerz?
Both websites basically reward you for advertising items.
You can browse the website/the web and when you see an item you like, you share it with people you know. That way you’re really advertising for them and you can get nice discounts on that item!
Wishwall is a bit different from Lockerz. I’ll just do a quick rundown.
Lockerz, The Social Life that Pays™
This website used to reward you with full items for free I heard, but that has changed a little.
The way it works now:
- By uploading items, adding images, inviting friends, shopping, etc you earn Lockerz PTZ.
- You can save up and put these PTZ into an item you would like to buy, to get a conforming discount.
Basically you’re just building up a balance in PTZ, that you can look at as gift cards.
Wishwall
- By uploading items, wishing for items, and sharing them with friends you unlock Rewards.
Wishwall doesn’t work with a point system, every item has its own rewards. A reward is not attached to your account but to the item, you can’t invest it in something else.
However, you CAN choose to redeem a gift certificate instead. That means you get a small amount of money that you can choose to use anywhere on amazon. - Your number of wishes doesn’t mean anything really. It just keeps you from not wishing for a million things, while not sharing. If you run low on wishes Wishwall will top you off again the next day!
- Rewards change according to how many likes they get, you can get items for free if they become really popular.
Mind you, if the manufacturer of the item you posted does not want to participate, you do not get a discount. But you’ll see that soon enough.
On both websites, networking is key of course! The bigger your circles, the more chance your item will move up in the charts and generate a nice discount for you.
(However you do not need to be friends with the entire world. It’s very doable for the normal croud. Even for the antisocial croud.)
They way I work with these websites is: when seeing an item online, instead of impulse buying, I give it 2 weeks. That way I might knock half off!
Here’s my most followed item on wish for example:
If I now get 5 people to join, I get a $14 discount on this item. That makes the top $26 instead of the normal $40 on the website.
You don’t necessarily need to have 5 people join though. Even people just Wishing for your item will give you discounts already. It depends on the item, what they require you to do.
Lastly, i’d just like to add that you can post celebrities or cute animals as well. Yes. You won’t get the celeb/animal but it’ll be a concept item, and if a lot of people like it you can redeem a gift card (on Wishwall) or earn PTZ (on Lockerz) to invest in another item instead.
