What is BB cream?

BB creams are popping up on shelves everywhere – but what are they? BB stands for beauty balm, blemish balm or beblesh balm, depending on which brand you’re looking at. BB creams are said to have originated from a cream that dermatologists recommended after cosmetic surgery to help repair skin and cover damage. They became popular in Korea after some …

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Awesome beauty from your kitchen – Olive oil

Gphoto I love it when a beauty product does double duty and well – lip/cheek tints, lip and cuticle balms, BB creams, cotton buds… I love it even more when DIY beauty turns out better AND cheaper than anything you buy! I’m a big fan of oils, and olive oil is definitely near the top of the multitasking list. As …

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Is mineral oil dangerous? Part 2

Angela Mabray I’m looking at whether mineral oil, an incredibly common moisturiser – possibly the most common moisturiser, check your moisturiser’s ingredients – is dangerous again. Read part 1 here! 3. Mineral oil is comedogenic and will make you break out – FALSE Mineral oil appears on a large range of “comedogenic ingredients” lists. Once upon a time (well, in …

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Is mineral oil dangerous? Part 1

Angela Mabray Mineral oil gets quite a bad rap… why? We’re going to take a look at the most common reasons people give for why you should avoid mineral oil this week in a 2-parter: 1. Mineral oil comes from crude oil… I’m not putting gasoline on my face! – FALSE Flcelloguy While it’s true that mineral oil comes from …

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DIY whipped body butter

I bought a tub of unrefined shea butter recently, and I’ve been rubbing little bits into any rough patches on my legs whenever I had an opportunity. Unfortunately, it’s hard to use since it’s grainy as hell (a result of being heated and cooled in transit), so I finally decided to do something with it – I made some lovely …

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Lab Muffin Guide: What’s in a moisturiser?

(Roger McLassus) We all know what a moisturiser does (it moisturises, duh!) – but what exactly goes in one, and how does it work? Skin dryness is, quite simply,  when your skin loses too much water (the technical term is transepidermal water loss, or TEWL). Moisturisers are used to slow water evaporating, and restore the original soft texture and look …

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Review: Crabtree & Evelyn India Hicks Island Living Spider Lily Body Cream

SummaryMoisturising components – shea butter, avocado butter, mango seed oil, olive oil, grapeseed oilEffectiveness – a little goes a long way!Scent – “tropical green citrus”Packaging – lovely, heavy, durable containerPrice – $0.23/g This product has a mouthful of a name! It’s my favourite “indulgence” beauty product. And yes, it does great things for your cuticles too! I received this for …

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My top 8 of 2011

These are the 8 health/beauty things I couldn’t do without this year, in no particular order:     1. Seche Vite – quick dry, smudge-fixing, shiny goodness.     2. Shea butter – all-round awesome moisturiser. I use it straight out of the tub, but I’ll probably scent and whip it soon.     3. Eyeliner brush – I do …

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