Tuesday 29 December 2009

We have moved

To the real posh-ville.

Join us there, we are expecting you :)

Wednesday 16 December 2009

The new Posh-ville



The new posh-ville is now open for viewing and subscribing.

I will still be posting stuff on here until the 29th of December when the sire officially moves. I am keen to get suggestions and feedback on the new site. www.posh-ville.com

Stay beautiful...

Tuesday 8 December 2009

Choosing a Good Eyecream

Most people tend to ignore their eyes when it comes to moisturising. Your eyes actually need more moisture than your skin because they get dehydrated more easily (that's why tiredness shows there) and eye wrinkles are notoriously difficult to get rid off cosmetically. That's why eyecreams were created.

Eye cream is really important when it comes to make-up. A lot of mature women don't wear make-up because they are worried it will set and accentuate fine lines. Actually this may be because the skin is dehydrated and when you put on make-up, it 'drinks' up the moisture in the make up and dries it out. A good eye cream will not only hydrate the area and reduce this, but it can also serve as an eye base for your make-up too.

Of course there are many out there which all claim to do weird and wonderful thing. Some are designed to brighten up the eyes because of the reflectiveness. Some claim to make the skin look smoother,  hide puffiness and in the long run, reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

The important thing when choosing is to consider, as you would do other skin products, the ingredients and if you are sensitive to them, your kind of skin (dry/normal/oily/sensitive) and the results you are after. If I wanted an eyecream, I'd want one that brightens,moisturises and is natural. You might need one that reduces dark circles or one that reduces puffiness and fine lines, or one that is calming. Don't just buy any eyecream or else you might not be impressed with your purchase. You must also invest in one which gives good value for money. With most eye creams you only need a little at a time but look at the net weight and the price and ask yourself if it is a reasonable investment. Your best bet is to read customer reviews. There is nothing more handy than the experience of someone who has tried it before (eyecream.org and eyecream. com are two places to start). Watch out for magazine and other media reviews. You will probably not get it right the first time you try and you may need to try a few different creams before you find the one that works for you. My advice would be to give it about 4-6 weeks for results to start showing. Mischievous had a go with the Garnier eye cream. This is another experiment from Total Beauty. Don't forget the SPF as sun damage can accelerate wrinkling and also you can get skin cancers around the eyes. Most eyecreams do not have have SPF so I would suggest an SPF moisturiser over the eye cream or an SPF foundation. Use eyecreams overnight if you are trying to replenish the moisture content or cause cell regeneration. I use Burt's bees radiance Eye Cream on myself.  Like I said it is all about preference.

Using a good eye cream can save you from looking like you need 100 years of sleep everyday! Hopefully you'll be more adventurous with your make-up when you realise that the fine lines aren't so bad anymore...

Stay beautiful...

Monday 7 December 2009

Chocoholicks by Jane Iredale


 Chocoholicks

I am addicted to chocolate and this is no exception. I love this product. It contains 4 chocolate lip glosses. How?


JI website
"Four shades and flavors of hydrating glosses provide a delicious array of options for your lips and your palate.
Truffle is a rich, chocolate brown gloss tasting of decadent, double chocolate.
Chocolate Orange is a shimmering copper gloss pairing the flavors of deep, dark chocolate and zingy orange.
Strawberry Cream is a glossy pink and tastes of luscious berries dipped in chocolate.
Caramel is a sheer bronze gloss with sensuous, buttery sweetness.

Natural Formula:
• Formulated with 100 percent natural ingredients
• Uses sunflower seed oil for its antioxidant benefits and jojoba seed oil for hydration"


They all smell gorgeous I almost want to eat the whole thing up but I can't. Here are some pictures:





You can get them here for £25.46. Mmmm yummy Christmas!


Thursday 3 December 2009

Veludo Velvet by Christopher Drummond Beauty

Type: Beauty product- Natural foundation
From: Just Beauty Direct (UK)
Price:
£50.00; $65.00 from CDB
Relationship with Brand/Store: None
Rating

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Do we recommend it: Only if you have extremely sensitive skin or feel like spending a lot of money.

Details:
Veludo Velvet is Christopher Drummond Beauty's all natural, organic based vegan foundation. This is basically a mineral powder foundation, but the unique thing about it is that it contains no Zinc Oxide, Bismuth Oxychloride or Titanium Dioxide. These three things are known irritants in some people who can't even tolerate normal mineral foundation. There's also the added claims from the website:

* Sweat resistant, yet allows the skin to breathe.
* Contains plant extracts, exotic fruit infusions, and antioxidants to help improve skin texture.
* Helps protect against the sun with phyto ingredients.
* Cosmetic-grade ingredients will not clog pores,
* Ingredients help bind moisture to the skin, so it is not drying.

When you buy it you get 8grams of product in a dark jar, a little travel jar and a spatula so you can transfer a small amount at a time from the dark jar for use (this is because the powder is sensitive to UV light); and a flat top synthetic brush.


All these come in a large cylindrical container.


First of all mineral foundation is very good for the skin because of the lack of chemicals, healing properties etc. Also a product that can be created without including Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide will be a welcome relief for all those who are sensitive to these ingredients. I like the idea of the little travel jar and using a little at a time. It stops you from contaminating the entire product and it also stops the product being degraded by UV light. You get a brush with it, which means you don't have to go out and buy a brush. The brush is synthetic, in keeping with the vegan theme.
Every time I've used it I found that it blends really well with my skin and a tiny amount is all I need.

If you know much about mineral foundation, you'll know that Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide are the main natural sunscreens used. So this foundation compromises on sun protection to give you less ingredients. There is some 'sun protection' in it but there is no mention of the SPF, which is not a good thing. Sun exposure is itself a skin irritant and in this day and age of increasing sun damage, SPF is not something to compromise on. I also find it a bit ironic that other products from this brand in the same category (e.g. Saude Pele) have Zinc Oxide in them, because of its soothing properties. Hmm...
I would never pair a flat top brush with loose powder, simply because of the potential of packing too much on the brush. I also know that natural brushes are better for powder than synthetic ones, because of their ability to hold and release more particles evenly. However, I never really got to test my CDB brush properly because this is what happened after I took it out of the packaging for the third time:



Considering that this product cost £50, surely a better quality brush would have been more appropriate. I could not return it because you can only return within seven days of purchase. This foundation blends very well, but so does my Jane Iredale PurePressed base and Bare ID foundation. You get 8g of product here whereas with my JI one, I got 10.5g for half the price!

The conclusion: If you have the need for foundation that is absolutely rid of all irritants or you are a vegan through and through, then this is for you. Also if you are professional, this would be a good addition to your kit, because you might across one of those people. Otherwise, I recommend you get another brand of good mineral foundation. It will cost you a lot less and you will get better value for your money.

Stay beautiful...

Wednesday 2 December 2009

President Yar Adua's sickness

I bet you expected something beauty related right?

No this is stolen property from: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile=1&id=285001108#/profile.php?v=app_2347471856&ref=ts&id=661491158


Of Sick Presidents by Abba Kalgo...

President Umaru Yar’adua is a sick man. There can be no doubt about that with the recent official confirmation after a trip to a Saudi hospital. His state of health prior to his election and subsequent assumption of office has been a subject of speculation, rumours, truths and half truths. Since the official confirmation, there have been widespread calls from prominent Nigerians for his resignation while others are asking that the powers of the constitution in matters of this nature be invoked. The debate is valid, the requests are justifiable and the concerns are legitimate. The matter that I believe should stand above all these concerns, debates and requests however, is that of ability. Is President Yar’adua able to serve out the rest of his term even with the underlying health issues? Do his medical conditions hinder his ability to govern? Will he make a full or enough recovery for him to properly govern Nigeria? All these questions need to be answered before any decision is taken on the future of Nigeria. Why I believe that these are the important questions that need to be answered is a matter of sick presidents and history.

America’s war time president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt who steered the country through the conflict from 1939 to 1945 was far from being in a good state of health. He had been in declining health even before the United States joined the war. Not only was his afflicted with paralysis, he was diagnosed with numerous ailments including coronary disease, angina, emphysema, systemic atherosclerosis and hypertension. Despite these conditions, Roosevelt did manage to help the United States win the war, preside over rebuilding part of a battered nation and even win re-election before he eventually succumbed to his illness years after his health issues began.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy who is perhaps America’s most celebrated president in modern times did have serious medical conditions that hindered his ability to move physically. He had chronic back problems, Addisson’s disease that hindered his body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and hypothyroidism which led to depression, joint and muscle pain.

Another American President, Dwight Eisenhower was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and ventricular aneurysm as a result of a heart attack suffered while in office. Mr Eisenhower did make a recovery enough to see him serve out the rest of his first term and even win re-election. He remained president until 1961 a full six years after suffering the initial heart attack in 1955. He did live for a further 8 years after leaving office. He died in 1969.

Closer to home, former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, did complain of breathing difficulties while addressing a political rally in 2004 and was rushed to hospital. He did make a full recovery and mastermind an ANC victory at the polls. He was president until September 2008 and is living in retirment in relatively good health. Also in 2004, during the celebration of Zanzibar’s 40th independence anniversary, the then President Benjamin Mkapa addressed a Nation after being away from the country for several months seeking medical treatment. He lives a relatively healthy life in retirement since serving out his full term in office.

Looking at all these personalities who were in similar situations with Umar Yar'adua based on their deteriorating health conditions and also being presidents, it is very premature in my opinion, to start any talks of succession, stepping down or ascension until a clear picture of President Yar'adua’s health is in the public glare and assessed by experts and authorities in the field. Even at that, it has to be confirmed whether the president is capable of making a full or sufficient enough recovery to return to his constitutional duty of running the country. Even if he is not, it has to be shown beyond doubt that his condition will cause him to be unable to discharge his duties. Until that is done, I say Mr President is just a sick man as many of us have been in the past and wish him a speedy and full recovery.

Amarya.com- Organic beauty store review

Type: Website- UK based online store
Products/Services- Certified organic beauty products
Shipping- UK/EU/International
Relationship with Brand: None

Rating:

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Do we recommend it: Yes!

Details:
Finally we have a 100% certified organic beauty store in UK! Amarya is an online store that sells certified organic beauty products. They also have a store and salon in London, where they offer therapeutic services. I took advantage of a promotion which I saw on facebook and purchased a few products from them.

I had been searching for a particular lotion from Santa Verde for a very long time and was excited at discovering they stocked it. I don't have to pay €15.50 for shipping from Germany any more.
They have a wide variety of brands and I was very impressed with how my products arrived in 2 days, especially as I didn't pay a dime for shipping.This store offers free shipping on all UK orders and 28 days money back guarantee.

The downside of course is the cost of the products. Certified organic products tend to be more expensive than regular ones anyway. The Santa Verde Medium Aloe Vera cream cost €19.90 (£18.10) from SV and £28.00 from Amarya. It is still cheaper than buying from SV and paying the cost of shipping though. The cost may be justified by the purity of what you are buying. You know that extra care was taken when that product was being made and it has gone through a certification process and passed.

If you are a natural beauty freak I would certainly recommend you visit this store. Right now they are offering free gift wrapping services and a free gift when you spend £35.00 or more. Perfect timing for the festive season.

On the side: In my part of the world- Amarya means first time bride. It is a word associated with innocence :)


Stay beautiful...
 
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