Beauty Review: NEOGEN Bio-Peel+ Gauze Peeling Wine

With cold weather coming our way soon in the Northern hemisphere, I felt that it was time to invest in a good exfoliator to help me manage dry skin that goes hand in hand with Autumn and Winter. One such product that caught my eye was the Neogen Bio-Peel+ Wine Gauze Peeling Exfoliator (quite the Tounge twister!), which is an example of both Chemical and Physical exfoliation.

Neogen is a Korean Skin Care brand that is very nature orientated so they use natural ingredients and innovations found in the wild. The Bio-Peel+ range comes in three different variations such as Lemon (for brighter skin), Green Tea (to soothe skin) and the one I have which is Wine (Anti-Aging).

First Impressions:

• I Love the packaging, it’s simple and informative, and it looks very clinical which was clearly the idea behind the design.

• The smell is strong but it’s not offensive as it’s quite a sweet grape scent.

• It doesn’t feel too rough on the skin which can be an issue with some exfoliators.

• After washing it off, my face felt smoother than smooth jazz 

How to Use:

Step 1: Make sure you cleanse your face first, I like to do a double cleanse using an oil cleanser followed by a foam cleanser which leaves your face makeup and dirt free. The cleansers I’m using at the moment are Simple’s Kind to Skin Hydrating Cleansing Oil and my trusty Cleansing Story Grape Seed Deep Cleansing Foam.

Step 2: Pop one of the gauze pads onto your index and middle fingers and with the gauze side gently swipe it outwards across your face.

Step 3: Now flip the pad over and use the bobbly side to smooth over your face again

Step 4: Rinse your face with warm water and marvel at how smooth your skin is! Continue with the rest of your usual skin care regime such as a toner or essence followed by moisturiser.

Verdict: ♥♥♥♥♥

I have only used this product twice over two weeks, but I have noticed that on the days that I have used it my makeup has applied much better and there are less flaky dry patches appearing on my face. I might try using it twice a week for the next two weeks and see if that makes the results even better.

Book Review: Spring Garden

Spring Garden or 春の庭 (Haru No Niwa) was first published in 2014 in Japanese and has now been translated into English, the novella also won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize upon its release.

Read From 20/05/17 TO 28/05/17

Spring Garden follows two characters Taro and Nishi. Both live alone in an apartment building that is to be demolished as soon as the last tenant’s lease is up. Taro and Nishi form a bond with each other as their temporary lives intertwine, and Nishi’s fixation with a Sky Blue House across the street brings them on a journey of self-discovery and realisation of how fast the world around them changes.

Spring Garden is an unusual read and while the book is only 154 pages the story stays with you long after. Nostalgia is a theme that runs deep through the story, especially for Nishi, her life has very much evolved around the Sky Blue house and it’s a strange but utterly human moment when she finally steps inside the building and realises that it’s not what she always hoped it would be and that the house has changed over the years just like the whole city around her.

That’s the core of the story, the idea of change and evolution, the characters change the city changes and even the interior of the Sky Blue house changes over time. This is something I love about novellas, their ability to tell a short but moving tales. And as someone who loves Literature, I must say that no one can beat Japanese writers for these intimate and odd little stories.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

A captivating story of Nostalgia and how the world around you will always keep evolving whether you’re ready for it to or not.

💋It's National Lipstick Day 💋

National Lipstick Day is celebrated on the 29th of July and some retailers such as MAC are giving away free lipsticks!! So if your out and about today go get yourself one!!!

The lipstick is one of the most enduring and iconic pieces in any woman’s (or man’s) makeup kit. A flash of colour be it pink, peach or a vibrant red is all it takes sometimes to make you feel a little more confident in your own skin so in honour of this makeup staple swipe on some colour and be a total badass today!

My Favourite Lipsticks:

So in honour of National Lipstick Day here is a small collection of my most worn lipsticks

Starting us off from the left is the delectable Chanel Rouge Allure in the shade 104 Passion. This red is one of the nicest I have seen. The finish is smooth and satiny and is a pleasure to wear.

Next up is Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution in the shade Walk of Shame which is a sort of pinkish berry colour. This colour while not red is still a great shade for an evening out.

MAC Matte in the shade Mehr which is a dusky blueish pink and is perhaps the girliest shade out of my high-end lipsticks. Mehr is very wearable and a must have summer colour that would compliment denim cutoffs and any slinky little dress for day or night.

Back to Chanel now with the Rouge Coco collection in 434 Mademoiselle which may just be the most flattering colour ever, I think 99.99% of women (and men) could wear this shade and look flawless. With the name Mademoiselle, it evokes connotations of the young as it literally means Miss in French. So is this lipstick an elixir of youth for the lips, most certainly. Anyone no matter their age can swipe on this lipstick and spritz on some Coco Mademoiselle Perfume (my favourite perfume I own) and become their inner Coco Chanel.

My last two are from the fabulous Charlotte Tilbury which are both delightful nude shades. Firstly there is the Matte Revolution in the shade Very Victoria and then the K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick in the shade Penelope Pink which is similar but different in the fact that it’s a little lighter than Very Victoria and the fact that it’s more of glossy finish than matte. Both shades work exceptionally with a dramatically bold smokey eye or for a low key no-makeup makeup look.

Chanel Haute Couture AW17/18 Show Review

This year the Chanel Haute Couture AW17/18 show took place at the Grand Palais in Paris and the set design was utterly gorgeous and whimsical! The Eiffel Tower took centre stage as models adorned in Lagerfeld’s bold designs weaved intricately through the crossroad stage.

Famous faces filled the front rows from Chanel regulars such as Kristen Stewart, Caroline de Maigret and Julianne Moore to Pop stars Katy Perry and Pharrel Williams, filmmaker Sofia Coppola also attended as did style icon and actress Tilda Swinton (Who recently wore a custom-designed Chanel gown in Bong Joon Ho’s film Okja). International faces included Japanese Actress Nana Komatsu (Silence) and Chinese Model Liu Wen.

As always with Chanel Tweed made an appearance on much of the collection, it is the Chanel signature after all. And despite the fashion house being over 100 years old, Chanel is still managing to make Tweed fresh and different with each season and show. In the Chanel Haute Couture AW17/18 show it was all about the silhouettes, dramatic yet wearable shapes dominated the catwalk and the mixture of tweed and leather made for an interesting combination.

My Favourite Looks:

• Outfit 5 – The romantic sleeves and the flecks of different colours that were weaved into the tweed.

• Outfit 18 – It feels quite 60’s mod

• Outfit 27 – The terracotta coloured skirt again adds to that romantic vibe the collection was giving off in both the clothes and the charming Parisian Garden setting. I love how the cropped tweed jacket also complements the skirt.

• Outfit 40 – Dramatic and classic, it’s one of the classiest dresses that still has a daring side with the ruffles on the sleeves that harmonises with the busily decorated top half and the plain yet classic black bottom half.

• Outfit 51 – Another dramatic all black look, I love the ruffled black dress and how the sparkly netting glistens underneath and on the arms with movement.

Let me know in the comments section what your favourite outfit from the collection is!!

Song of the Week - 도원경(桃源境/Shangri-La) By VIXX

Concept kings VIXX are back with a brand new song and mini album called 도원경 (Shangri-La) and it’s really something quite special especially the stunningly visual music video.

The song itself is quite the hybrid of genres, it’s R&B with electronica elements and a little traditional music (courtesy of what I presume is the Gayageum) all mixed into one satisfying audio experience. The vocals in Shangri-La are absolutely on point, especially the chorus which is divided between Leo and Ken.

The music video for Shangri-La is literally the most aesthetically pleasing music video I have ever watched! It’s utterly gorgeous, from the fan dancing to Ken’s floral tattoo, colliding planets to pretty blossoms every frame looks like a piece of art. Also, VIXX look stunningly beautiful and poised and their outfits are made out of various silks of varying shades that match the aesthetics of the video perfectly. This video is literally flawless.

The detail in the video is impeccable too, I did a little research into the idea of Shangri-La which is often thought of as an exotic oriental paradise. Officially Shangri-La’s origins are rather modern which surprised me, this well known ‘Eden’ was thought up by novelist James Hilton in his 1933 novel Lost Horizon as a Tibetan utopia where the dwellers were practically immortal. In turn, it’s thought that Hilton was inspired by Shambhala, the Tibetan kingdom or Pure Land which is a celestial realm. This inspiration is quite clearly seen in the video as every set looks perfect and otherworldly especially with the white backdrops, the sparseness in some places and then the abundance of natural elements such as plants, rockeries and water in other moments.

Another inspiration for the imagery in the video is clearly 桃花源記 (The Peach Blossom Spring) a Chinese fable by Tao Yuanming wherein a fisherman discovers a paradise hidden in a forest of Peach Trees. The blossom and the plucking and appearnce of peaches in VIXX’s video clearly can’t be a coincidence so a closer look in Tao Yuanming’s famous fable could potentially give an insight into the meaning behind the Shangri-La video. Peaches are a symbol of immortality thus they most defintly link back to the Shangri-La storyline of immortal beings. The symbolism in this music video is all very interesting and potentiallyty with each watch you could uncover another layer of meaning.