Trying Happy Skin - My skin on Cloud 9

Happy Skin, sounds lovely, right? Isn't that what we are all after.

My skin is happy most of the time. A good diet and overall health & happiness contribute to that. But to keep my skin happy it's important to use toxin-free, natural skincare.

An Australian brand I have been keen on trying is Happy Skincare.

They just send me their Cloud 9 Deep Cleansing Balm & Raindrops On Roses Hydrating Toner.
Both products have a great, clean ingredient list. Both contain MSM which is a form of sulphur, naturally derived from Algae which has multiple benefits to the skin, including brightening and clearing acne.

The cool part is that the Cloud 9 Cleansing Balm is not a one trick pony.
You can also use the Cloud 9 Deep Cleansing Balm as a

• Hair treatment to tame the frizz
• Cuticle treatment for sexy nails and
• Foot balm so your tootsies always look good in a pair of heels
• Barrier cream when you're out battling the elements (perfect for snow season and winter cycling)

The cleansing balm is a great makeup remover and smells fresh.
You can use it with water as a cleansing milk or as classic balm cleanser by massaging the product onto dry skin and then removing it with a damp cloth.
The packaging is no fuss and great for travel. Nothing luxurious, no glass but practical.

The Hydrating Mist is a lovely rose water-based product. Great for refreshing makeup or skin during the day but also as part of your skincare regime. Ahhhhh! So refreshing.

I really love their Dilo Oil too, which I have featured previously. It's a super healer!

Happy Skin creates lovely no-fuss products with clean ingredients.

All certified vegan, cruelty-free and with mostly organic ingredients.
My verdict: Definitely worth a try!

News From Ere Perez

I have recently featured Ere Perez quite regularly over here and there is a good reason.

Ere has reformulated, added, repackaged...and overall just improved their amazing selection of toxin-free beauty products. Where I was previously only a fan of the Mascara, I have now included various products in my pro-kit.

If you haven't already check them out.

SKINCARE BY ERE PEREZ

Ere has recently added a skin care line.
Including an oil, with a wonderful woodsy/unisex aroma and lovely ingredients. It works well under makeup or mixed with it, but it's also a favourite with the Mr. to keep his beard smooth and hydrated :)

My fave is the new Papaya SOS Marmalade. A real multitasking product and an amazing alternative to regular Paw Paw Balm. It's a real Mum&Bub product, so no wonder I am in love.
I have been putting it on all the little boo-boo's over here, as well as on my cuticles.
It will make a great addition to anyone's makeup bag/handbag or pro-kit!

There is a lightweight cranberry lip & eye butter, more like buttercream :), which I love for prepping lips. (if you need extra care try the Papaya SOS Marmelade)
Most lip balms will have to be wiped or blotted off before applying lipstick, but this one just sinks into the skin and fully absorbs. Genius. It's more designed as a cream to target the area around the mouth where little lines tend to show up with age. That's why it's a great eye treatment too.

There is a serum, that looks like my morning smoothie: Green! And no wonder it's packed with Spinach leaf and healthy plant goodness. It's an anti-oxidant serum for all skin-types, for day&night.

Last but not least there is a refreshing Herbal Face Tonic, great for setting makeup, refreshing on hot Summer days or as part of your skincare routine.
 

MAKEUP ADDITIONS & UPDATES

The new eye-pallettes are wonderful, see them in my video here.
More about the nail-polishes here.
The bronzer also got a new and much sturdier packaging and last but not least they reformulated their foundations.

I am most excited about this as I love the brand but the foundations haven't really impressed me previously. I little too dry and tricky to blend. While made from beautiful ingredients they have lacked the pro-quality.

NEW OATMILK FOUNDATION
Not any longer, the practical, simplistic & stunning packaging is a squeeze tube, easy to use and super lightweight to carry. Hooray! It's a dream come true for the most sensitive skins.
No fragrance or scent whatsoever and with soothing oat milk, known for it's calming properties and to heal eczema and troubled skin.
The formula is best suited for normal to oily skin, or during summer in my opinion.
It still creates a beautiful subtle glow and applies well with fingers or buffing brush.
It's a medium to full coverage that wears very well throughout the day.
I easily found a great match to my skin tone, and like the range of colours they chose.
It's a smaller range of 6 so the skin tones on the very lightest or darkest might not find the perfect match. However, there are 2 options for fair, 2 options for medium and 2 options for deeper skin, which is a great starting point.
Thumbs up!

ALL PRODUCTS ARE VEGAN & CRUELTY-FREE
 

We Have A Winner!

You know I only recommend the best of the best in natural beauty to you, don't you?
I have got proof:
MAX&ME Sweet Serenity Mask&Wash just won Best In Show at the Indie Beauty Expo USA.

I was showing you how to use it and reviewed it in my home facial video here and kept mentioning it in different posts. Now you know why!
It's a winner. Just saying!

Summer Skin Series: Natural Sun Protection

The question of all beauty questions....
What is the best natural SPF?

Is definitely a tough one. There is no simple straightforward answer to this topic.
I will tell you what I am using personally and what works for me and why, as well as my take on all the confusing information about sunscreens. I hope this will be a helpful starting point for you.

There are two real types of sun protection a physical protection due to a mineral barrier (Zinc or Titanium Dioxide) or synthetic sun filters based on several different chemical compounds.
Then there are natural oils which can give a low level of protection.
I personally avoid any synthetic sun filters as they aren't toxin-free and contain many nasty ingredients that will be absorbed through your skin. The advantage, however, is that these filters are invisible. Therefore you can wear a light lotion and won't even see or feel that you are wearing sunscreen.
I rather protect my health and don't risk any of these being absorbed into my body.
That's why I am going with natural sun protection.
Another important reason is also the ocean & sealife as all the synthetic sunscreens are actually destroying the reefs and polluting the water & sea life each time you head into the water. We have no Planet B people!!!
So, get over yourselves if that sunscreen feels a little thicker then the toxic version, you are doing the right thing :)

What to look for:
Avoid nano zinc (nanoparticles are too small and can be harmful)
All nasty ingredients like fragrance etc, listed in my guide here.
Only buy products which do list ALL their ingredients.
Some sunscreen brands do not enclose all ingredients, step away from those.
.

Day To Day Protection

No.4 Vanilla Silk Hydrating Lotion
(or Vanilla Silk TINTED Hydrating Lotion)

These have natural sun protection due to Black Raspberry Seed Oil. This moisturiser goes on like a normal lotion, as it's not an actual sunscreen. It's super lightweight as well.
It also smells divine.
Combined with all the other clever Australian botanical ingredients, this protects your skin from the elements and keeps it young and healthy. Remember all my readers get a special discount, simply use "LIV15" at checkout!
Founder Anna Mitsios says
"A luxurious lightweight moisturiser with a natural SPF, rich in natural AHAs and antioxidants.Vanilla Silk Hydrating Lotion is a hydrating, firming cream with a luxurious satin consistency. This lotion has an abundance of wildcrafted Australian extracts which are potent antioxidants. The Australian Rosella Extract, one of the key botanicals in the skin care, is known as the "botox" plant - it is a natural source of AHAs which enhance the skin's natural cell turnover to encourage fresher and younger looking skin."I only wear a natural moisturiser for day to day wear, meaning walking the dog & bub in the park in the morning, mainly being in the shade, running small errands etc.
I have a medium skin tone that tans easily, so if you are extremely fair and sun sensitive this might not work for you. I love wearing hats & sunglasses and I cover up my shoulders on longer walks. This way I still get a healthy and important dose of Vitamin D, without overexposing my skin. If you head for a swim in the evening or early morning only then you can get away with this and won't have to worry about acutal SPF.

Beach/Outdoor Protection

If I am heading to the beach, for a very long walk or other any outdoor activities during the Summer months I do wear sun protection on my face & body. There is no way around it here in Australia. I still don't think there is a perfect product but here some great ones that work well for me.

For The Face
I use Jane Iredale Glow Time Full Cover BB Creme when I go the beach. This is a full coverage foundation! Yes, I would prefer not wearing makeup to the beach and especially not a full coverage... but this protects my skin SO well and is even water resistant. I always get a very sweaty nose too and this is the only stuff that actually stays put on hot summer days.
It's SPF25 PA++, but due to the physical barrier that mineral sunscreens create, I never burnt with this even on the beach in Australian Summer. Pretty Awesome! It doesn't block pores, goes on easily and has some amazing skin care benefits. This product is based on Titanium Dioxide, a natural mineral sunscreen. I believe that Zinc is the safest, but it's hard to find a good Zinc sunscreen for the face that doesn't have lot's of other rubbish in it and that isn't too thick and causes break-outs. It's also suitable for the most sensitive of all skins.
Make sure to double cleanse at night to remove this fully, as it really does stay on all day and takes extra care to wash off. My favourite oil-cleanser that washes this off instantly is Purity&Grace by Max&Me.

For The Body
UV Natural has become my go-to favourite mineral sunscreen for the body.
It's SPF 30 based on Zinc and enriched with lovely clean natural ingredients.
No funny smell, very moisturizing and suitable for babies as well.
We have been using this for the whole fam and have been super happy with it.
For a mineral sunscreen it goes on easily and it absorbs well. All Zinc sunscreen will leave a little white cast, especially if you are very tanned like me. On fair skin, you might not notice it and are more happy with it. I have tried them all. There is not such a thing than a natural sunscreen that isn't at least a little gluggy & white, as the Zinc which is needed in a certain concentration to protect from the sun is thick and white in itself.
I prefer vegan products and a lot of the natural ones do contain beeswax, but not this one, yay!
Another good one for babies but with beeswax is Moogoo SPF40 we got some given and used it on Faye and it's very good for babies. It's a little thicker than the UV Natural one. But again, I prefer no beeswax, if possible so UV natural comes out a winner. I also find it goes on more easily. This one is definitely great for dry skin and VERY moisturising, I heard people finding it too oily but I really like it. I have in an emergency used this on my face on a few occasions and was really surprised how it didn't make me breakout. Dave always uses this on his face when we go to the beach.
The Moogoo one is a little more "dry" if that makes sense so it won't leave the skin oily.

There are many great natural options out there, these are what works for us.
So there you have it! I hope this was helpful!

Natural Holiday & NYE Makeup Tutorial

I somehow managed to record this just before Christmas, but with some technical issues it took days to upload. However, it's up and live now, just in time for NYE.

I hope you enjoy this little tutorial.

A great start to the new year and all the glow & happiness from us to you!
Thank you for reading and following along, I am looking forward to 2018!

Products used:
Verdura Hydrating Mist Lotus via The V-spot
Max&Me I AM THE LIGHT
Edible Beauty Luminous Angel Drops (Highlighter)
Edible Beauty Gold Rush Eye Balm (use LIV15 at checkout for 15%off)
Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals Foundation
Ere Perez Waterproof Mascara
Ere Perez Chamomile Eye Palette in Beautiful
Fra Lippo Lippie in Red Betty
Jane Iredale Great Shape Eyebrow Kit
Jane Iredale Mattifying HD Powder in Translucent